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Much of the information here set forth is based on the recollections of 
early settlers in the Lake Mills area. To the members of these pioneer families

who enduredmn hours of questioning, I am ver7 grateful. I am especially 
indebted to Mr. Stoughton W. Faville, whose activities as a farmer-naturalist

began in the early sixties and without whose patient cooperation this paper

could not have been written. To Mr. John Hooper, whose journal and recollections

date back half a century, to Professor Aldo Leopold for his critical reading

of the mascript, to Dr. John T. Curtis for his suggestions concerning the

section on plants, and to Dr. A. W. Schorger for his suggestions concerning

the section on animals, I am also greatly indebted. 
Area Studied 
This report deals principally with 10 farms (2400 acres) now within the 
Faville Grove Wildlife Area. The area lies on the west bank of the Crawfish

River in the towns of Waterloo, ilford, and Lake Mills. Events of particular

importance, however, are traced for a larger area, roughly 10 miles in radius.