In the strenuous labor of land clearing, women otten participaiea
equally with men.


to Prairie du Chien along the Military Ridge-a hog-
back of land that transverses Wisconsin south of the
Wisconsin River. A branch of this road split off at
Dodgeville and headed through Mineral Point to Ga-
lena. Another road ran from Racine through Janes-
ville to Dubuque, and still another from Milwaukee
to Madison.
    Rivers were of immense importance. In 1836,
Milwaukee businessmen planned the Milwaukee and
Rock River Canal, which, though it failed, drew set-
tlement along the proposed route and caused roads to
be built. Pioneers also ascended the Fox River of
Illinois, by which they could reach Rochester in Ra-
cine County. Farm locations were developed as near
as possible to roads, canals, rivers, and later to rail-
roads.
     Some early settlements were in the southwest,
where English, Welsh, and Cornish had come to labor
in the mines, and in the southeast: from the south-
east parts of Kenosha County and Racine; along
the Rock River where Beloit and Janesville were new
names on the land; and further west to Lake Geneva,
Troy Lake, Whitewater, Delavan, Spring Prairie, Elk-


1he log houses were snugly laid.


7