A Standard History of Waupaca County, Wisconsin. An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial, Educational, Civic and Social Development.

              4 HISTORY OF WAUPACA COUNTY
the more direct route to the Mississippi by way of the Fox, and planted those Indians in the water-way of travel which fastened the more familiar name on^' the lesser and more sluggish stream, endowing it with an un¬ deserved dignity. This spirited historic attitude is well illustrated by an article published in the New London Press a few years ago, by Charles F. Carr, its editor and one of the advisers and contributors of this work. It is to the following effect.
Wolf River—Its History and Biography
The Wolf River, which has its beginning 150 miles northwest of Green Bay in a Forest County lakelet, and turns southward, carves a way down to Lake Poygan, is properly the noble stream which pours into Lake Winnebago from the northwest, and then with a mighty rush proceeds on its way northward to the great lakes, along the base of the w^atershed which parallels the western coast of Lake Michigan and ter¬ minates in the islands of Green Bay.
The Jesuit Fathers, who labored so faithfully among the savage tribes to civilize them, in seeking the Mississippi traced this river above Lake Winnebago, and on reaching the great widespread at the head of Butte des Morts, where the tributary flowing from the southwest empties its lazy flood into the Wolf, pursued that tributary to the Portage, and erroneously called their highway by one name, from Green Bay to the carry, between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. Thus the long unexplored main river (Wolf) above the junction came to be treated on the maps as a tributary, and to be dubbed the Wolf. This unfortunate geograph¬ ical error has been so long persisted in, that a correction in these latter days is perhaps impractical, as it could not be righted. As a consequence the branch is styled the trunk.
To be geographically correct the Wolf empties into Green Bay and the little insignificant branch termed the Fox empties into the Wolf. This important and noble river has thus been robbed of what Nature originally intended belonged to it.
The Wolf River is over 300 miles long, but in a straight line from head to mouth is 112 miles.
The Wolf River drains the southern portion of Forest County, nearly half of Langlade, Shawano, Waupaca, Outagamie, except one small corner, a large portion of AYinnebago and a portion of Oconto eounties. From Shawano downward its banks are usually low, thus not suitable for water powder purposes. By the original government survey it is declared navigable for boats 120 miles, or from Lake Poygan to Shawano.
There is some grand scenery on the upper river, as it passes through