Before the time of the glacial epoch Skillet Creek probably emptied into the Baraboo River where the city of Baraboo is located, two or three miles below the present confluence. The moraine material filled a portion of the bed of the stream and after the ice receded it was forced to find a new course near where three roads meet, a short distance above Skillet Falls. The upper portion of Skillet Creek tumbles down the Baraboo Bluffs over a bed which dates to Potsdam times while the lower portion is of much more recent origin, something unusual in the history of streams. This interruption in its career has resulted in the picturesque waterfalls. From the highway east of Skillet Creek one has a view of the terminal moraine to the east and of the highly productive outwash plain. Marched With Napoleon Continuing on the highway a mile west of Pewit's Nest one observes a rural burying ground on the slope of Rock Hill. A little south of the center in Rock Hill Cemetery sleep two soldiers who marched with Napoleon in his world-disrupting European conquests. On a marble stone one reads: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Michael Hirschinger * * Died * * March 20, 1853 * * Age 67 Years * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The father of former Assemblyman Charles Hirschinger, this soldier's most thrilling experience was his march to Moscow in the fall of 1812 and his retreat with the great Corsican. Half a million men marched triumphantly into the beautiful city, only to have it reduced to ashes in their very presence. This meant the destruction of Napoleon's army. The soldier often retold the retreat through the Polish snows, recalling that some of his comrades, after crossing streams, perished in the snow. The tomb of Mrs. Hirschinger is near that of her husband. Near the grave of Michael Hirschinger one reads on a stone about all that is known of still another Napoleon soldier: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Michael Nippert * * Died * * May 23, 1864 * * Age 70 Years, 2 Months * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * As to his martial deeds but little is recorded. By his side sleeps his wife. Napoleon went to St. Helena; Hirschinger and Nippert came to the Baraboo Hills. Hirschinger Spring A mile and a quarter south of the cemetery, where the road bends to avoid plunging into it, a spring of delicious water bursts from the hillside and escapes into the quietude of a wooded dale. This obscure valley is known as Pine Hollow and the tortuous streamlet, which finds its way for almost a mile through the towering timber of this delightful retreat, is known as Pine Creek. Ferns, mosses, and certain varieties of wild flowers hide the gray of the rocks which are piled high above the stream. The dale is one of great attractiveness to a loiterer through this unfrequented wood of the Baraboo Hills. CHAPTER VIII