Dunleith Township (part 1 of 2)

History Of Jo Daviess- County

and, as a rule, the inhabitants were quite as orderly and quite as mindful of each others' rights as they have been in later days. Property was safe, and doors needed no locks.

Lieut. Thomas arrived at Fever River in October (probably), 1824, and established his headquarters in a double log cabin which then stood on the bank of the river, in the middle of what is now Main Street, about sixty feet south of Gear Street. On the north side of Gear Street, close by the agency, was a little pond, fed by a large spring,' and a little creek connected the pond with the river. Immediately after his arrival, Lieut. Thomas issued an order to all miners to suspend operations the next day, (the absence of records renders it impossible now to fix the precise date). William Adney, D. G. Bates, John Barrell and John Furlong were working the " Old Cave Diggings," and had just uncovered a sheet of mineral when the order came to stop the next day. They worked all night, and the next morning had raised 100,000 pounds. All mining operations stopped, but only for a short time. Within a week they were at work again, under direction to sell the mineral only to licensed smelters,* so that the government could collect the rent lead.

No records can be found of Major Anderson's transactions, and two old volumes marked "A" and "B," containing some of the transactions of Lieut. Thomas' agency during 1825-'6-'7, which are preserved in the archives of the county, are all of these records available for this work. Mr. Charles Smith was the sub-agent residing here, and came with Lieut. Thomas, who lived at St. Louis and visited Fever liiver occasionally.

The first established regulations of which record remains, and probably the first code promulgated by Superintendent Thomas, bear date '' 1825," but were undoubtedly issued very early in the Spring, and are as follows :

First. - All miners shall forthwith report themselves to the agent, who will enter their names on a register and give them a written permit to mine on ground which is not leased.

Second. - Without such written permit, no miner shall dig or mine ; he shall forfeit his discovery and all mineral he disrs, and be prosecuted as a trespasser.

Third. - Any miner who gives false testimony in any dispute or arbitration, or before any magistrate, or who is convicted of stealing ore or any other thing, setting lire to the prairie or woods, cutting timber where it is prohibited, shall forfeit his permit to mine or dig, and no smelter shall purchase his ore or give him any employment.

Fourth. - When going to di>/, two or more miners must work in company. They are permitted to stake off three hundred yards square, lines to be nortli and south and' east and west.

Seventh. - When a dispute shall arise respecting the right to ground,*the matter shall be arbitrated among miners or smelters. On their failing to settle it, a reference to the agent, whose decision shall be final.

Eighth. - No person is permitted to build a cabin, cultivate land, cut timber, or settle in any manner, without written permission of the agent.

Ninth. - Whenever surveys of discovery are required, they will be surveyed twenty rods by forty, running to cardinal points, the length to correspond with the course of the lead, and the discoverer will be entitled to a certificate of survey.

* Miners could sell mineral only to licensed smelters, for which the government col lected one tenth for rent, and paid them for smelting it. Miners were paid for only nine tenths of the mineral they delivered. It is said that in later years the smelters have received from the government the value of the lead thus paid, but it belonged to the miners, not to the smelters, and the money should have been expended in public improvements in the territory, in the absence of the rightful claimants.

Tenth. - No miner shall hold two discoveries at the same time, nor shall any miner be permitted to go on other ground until his lead is dug out or sold, or until he abandons it and renders up his certificate of survey.

Eleventh. - All miners must report to the agent the name of the smelter to whom] they deliver their mineral, and the amount they deliver in each quarter.

Twelfth. - No certificate of survey shall be sold or transferred to any other than a miner who has a written permit, or to a smelter who has a license; and no survey or other diggings shall remain unwrought for more than eight days in succession on penalty of forfeiture.

Fourteenth. - Any miner who shall disobey or go contrary to any of these regulations, shall forfeit his permit to dig or mine; and should he attempt to cut timber, mine, farm, cultivate land or build cabins, without written permission from the agent, he will be prosecuted as a trespasser on United States land.

Form Of Pekmit To Miners

or otherwise rightfully occupied. He is not to set fire to the prairie grass or woods, and must deliver his mineral to a licensed smelter, and comply with all regulations.

Fever River, , 1825 General Regulations

Smelters and lessees will have their ground on Fever River off two hundred yards in front on the^river, and four hundred in depth, running in right lines perpendicular to the river.

No timber to be cut within one hundred yards of Fever River bank, from one mile above its mouth to and one mile above the point where January's cabins are situated.

M. Thomas

Persons desirous of taking a lease are notified that Bonds in the penalty of $5,000' with two sureties, are required, when a lease for 320 acres, as usual, will be granted, provided the ground is not occupied. Blank Bonds may be had of the agent, who will make the survey when the bonds are given.

Regulations For Smelters

Third* - To smelt with a log furnace, or furnaces, at all times when one hundred thousand pounds of ore (»>r more) are on hand at any one furnace.

Seventh. - To keep books which shall contain an accurate and true arcount^f all lead ore, ashes or zane purchased or du<r, of a'l smelted, and of the amount of lead manufactured or purchased; from whom purchases were made, and from whence the ore was dug. Said books to be open for the inspection of the U. S. Agent of Mines, and a monthly transcript of the contents to be furnished to him, to be verified on oath, if required.

Eighth. - To clean, or cause to be Cleaned, all lead ore previous to smelting it, and to weigh a charge of the log furnace when required and the lead made from such charges.

Ninth. - To pay to the United States a tax of one tenth of all lead manufactured from ore, ashes or zane, to be paid monthly in clean, pure lead, to be delivered at the U. S. Warehouse (near the mines), free of expense.

Tenth. - To build a strong log warehouse twenty by sixteen feet, one story high; the logs to be squared as not to admit of a bar of lead being passed between them, to have a strong door witii a good and sufficient lock, to have a log ceiling in the usual manner; said warehouse to be located at such place as the agent for mines shall direct, to be built free of expense to the United States.

Eleventh. - Not to employ in any manner whatever any miner, lessee or smelter who has forfeited his permit to dig, his lease or license, on written notice to that effect being given by the agent.

Twelfth. - A non-compliance or neglect of performance of any one of the foregoing articles to constitute a forfeiture of this license and of the Bond given for the faithful performance thereof, and on proof being offered to the Agent of the United States that such forfeiture has been incurred, his written notice to the smelter shall be sufficient to suspend the stipulations aforesaid.

Thirteenth. - No sale, transfer or shipment of lead is to be made by said smelter until all arrears or tax which are due are paid; nor any removal of lead from the place of manufacture, without the consent of the Agent of the United States. The said to be allowed wood and stone for smelting and furnaces, and to cultivate enough land to furnish his teams, etc., with provender and his people with vegetables.

It is distinctly understood that the Bond given for the performance of the Stipulation in this License is to be in full force and virtue until all arrearages of rent or tax are paid to the Agent of the United States, and a written settlement is made with him, on which a certificate that no such arrearages exist shall be given, when thejBond shall be null and void.

John S. Miller, a blacksmith, has permission to occupy and cultivate U. S. land. He will comply with all regulations for the cutting of timber, etc. 20 acres. Dated May 16, 1825. (Signed) M. THOMAS, etc., etc.

The first recorded survey of mineral land was of " five acres of mineral land (a discovery lot), two acres in length by one quarter of an acre in breadth, lying and being on what is known as 'January's patch diggings,' " bounded by " beginning at a stake on the north side of a rocky bluff," running to stakes in mounds to the place of beginning. This was a survey for Patrick Dngan and Barney Ilandley, dated Fever River, May 28, 1825, and signed Charles Smith, Acting Sub-agent, IT. S. Lead Mines.

There is also recorded, June 21, 1825, a survey of 320 acres of mineral land on Apple River, for David G. Bates, the original field notes being taken July 2, 1823. Signed, John Anderson, Major U. S. Top'l Engineers, on Ordnance duty.

A copy of a bill of lading of May, 1825, shows that lead was transported from the Fever River mines to St. Louis for forty cents per hundred pounds.

According to the Regulations, all disputes between the miners were settled by the U. S. agent. The earliest account of these of which record now exists is a " Record of Proceedings in the case of Dugan and Welsh and David Mitchell." Joseph Miller and Ebenezer Orne were witnesses for Dugan and Welsh, and Joseph .±Iardy, Stephen Thrasher and William H. Smith, for Mr. Mitchell. There were no lawyers to complicate matters. The witnesses stated what they knew in few words, and the case was summed up and adjudicated by Lieut. Thomas, who gave one half the mineral dug on the disputed claim to Mitchell, "and it is considered that the other half is an ample compensation to Dugan and Welsh for the labor they bestowed on digging it. Their conduct was violent and quarrelsome, which will be utterly discountenanced at these mines. Mr. Charles Smith, acting Sub-agent, will see this settlement carried into effect." Signed M. Thomas, Lieut. U. S. Army, Superintendent of Lead Mines, and dated May 21, 1825.

Orne and Smith, on the same day, Israel Mitchell testified that Col. Anderson stated that " Mr. Hardy was the oldest applicant for survey on the river."

The following extracts from reports made by Charles Smith, to his superior officer, are valuable as showing the exact state of affairs at that time :

June 11, 1825. Hardy and Jackson are running an ash furnace. Meeker is smelting in his log furnace. Vanmatre's ash furnace will be in operation to-day. Perfect harmony exists among the diggers. The Rcsulations appear to give universal satisfaction. Every man appreciates the protection which they afford, and the security they give to their operations presents a stimulus to enterprise, and prevents encroachments upon the rights of others. The difficulty of borrowing or hiring a horse when wanted has rendered necessary the purchase of one. I have accordingly bought one - old, to be sure, but serviceable - the price $20. He will be worth as much, probably, a year hence.

June 11, 1825. I have just visited a discovery made by C. Armstrong and I. Thorn, about % of a mile south of the cave diggings. They dug 20 or 30 feet before they struck mineral. 2,000 were taken out in three hours - 6,000, at least, are in view on the west side of the digging, and I struck mineral over one half of the bottom. The hole is about five feet in diameter.

Lead was low, and Smith already begins to find that the miners appreciate the situation. The following extracts are significant, and indicate that the miners were not quite satisfied with the reign of Thomas, and were expecting a change. They were not delivering mineral to the licensed smelters with much alacrity.

July 4, 1825. The diggers generally are keeping back their mineral, some with the expecta'ion of raiding the price, and others in the belief that licenses will be obtained by smelters from below. I understand that Meeker offers $18, an increase of 50 cents on the former price.

July 22, 1825! Smith reported that in his opinion some regulation is necessary to enable the smelters to keep their furnaces in operation. The diggers are deluded with an expectation that mineral will rise, and as they are generally able to hold on, they refuse to make deliveries.

July 22, 1825. Lieut. Low is here with 25 men; arrived on the llth inst. ; he is encamped near the Agency's establishment for a few days and occupies the finished cabin, with my permission, until he can select a suitable scite for building barracks.

Lieutenant Low came here with his irien to build barracks and remain to enforce the regulations and the collection of the lead rent, as well as ti» compel the miners to deliver their mineral to the licensed smelters, whether they desired to do so or not. Lieutenant Low selected as a ni itable " scite " for barracks a point on the west side of Fever Iliver, at about one and one half miles below the Agency establishment, cleared the ground, erected a flag staff, but before the barracks were commenced, the order was countermanded and Low left with his command. The point is still known as " Low's Point." Tholozan & Detandabaratz afterwards had their smelting establishment on the east side of the river, about half a mile below u Low's Point," or half way down the " Long Reach."

It is to be interred that the orders of Lieutenant Thomas were not always obeyed with the promptness desired by military officers. The following is selected from a large number of similar orders on record at that time because Mr. Meeker was one of the prominent men at the mines, as well as to show that then, as in later days, such men sometimes took their own time.

Sir. - By an order of Lieut. Thomas, of the 18th of May, 1825, you were required to "erect the warehouse stipulated in your license as a smelter (at the place on Fever Kiver where it will be designated to you), without delay, as it was required immediately. You have since, by consent, commenced the erection of a cabin in lieu of the storehouse, and made considerable progress in that building. You are now required to erect a storehouse (agreeably to the stipulation in your license) from the foundation on such ground as will be designated to you, or to complete the cabin, at your election. Should the order not be complied with within a reasonable time, the fact will be reported to the Principal Agent, and such measures adopted in the meantime as will be justified by the 12th Article of your license.

Charles Smith, U. 8. A.

Notice is hereby given to all the diggers of lead ore upon the public land in the vicinity of Fever River, Small Pox and Apple Creeks, that they must forthwith deliver to the licensed smelters all the mineral they have dug; and in future, the smelters, when guaranteeing the tax to the United States, will take measures to have the ore delivered at such times as may be convenient - at least once every month. A refusal on the part of any digger to comply with this order (which is in accordance with the true intent and meaning of the Regulations), will cause his permit to dig to be forfeited, and the ore already obtained will be taken possession of by the Agent for the use of the United States.

M. Meeker, Esq

Sir: - Unless immediate provision be made for the hauling and smelting of mineral at the digging-*, as well as for a satisfactory settlement therefor, notice will be given to diggers to deliver their mineral to licensed smelters, without regard 10 existing guarantees, it is necessary that the order of the 5th of September should be immediately complied with.

The first recorded return of lead mineral received and on hand at the furnaces of M. Meeker and Bates & Yanmatre, the only licensed smelters at that date, from April 3 to May 31, 1825, shows that Meeker received from sundry persons 30,342 pounds, and Bates & Vanmatre 25,601 pounds. Total number of diggers who have permits, 69. June 30 the number of diggers had increased to 89: July 31, 96. In August the number of diggers permitted was 105. Five smelters reported in August, viz.: Meeker, Bates & Yanmatre, Hardy, Jackson and N. Bates: At the end of September there were 127 diggers, and the live smelters had manufactured during the month 154,323 pounds of lead. The name of Gratiot first appears in these monthly reports in December, 1825, but he made 110 return until June following. The number of diggers at the end of December is reported at 151, but the aggregate amount of lead manufactured was only 2,792 pounds.

January 31, 1826, the name of Gibson appears in the list of smelters; diggers number 163; 29,185 pounds of lead manufactured, but the amount of mineral at the diggings was estimated at 425,000 pounds.

In April, 1826, the number of diggers was 287; amount of mineral at the diggings, 900,000 pounds; lead manufactured, 78,528 pounds. May shows a rapid increase of the number of diggers, 350. Mineral at the diggings accumulates, but only 6,927 pounds of lead are reported as manufactured by licensed smelters. June, the first return of Gratiot appears; 406 diggers; 173,479 pounds of lead. July, 1826, Comstock's name appears among the licensed smelters; 441 diggers; 140,781 pounds of lead, and 1,400,000 pounds of mineral at the diggings. October, 1826, diggers, 548; smelters, 7; 269,405 pounds of lead; 1,500,000 pounds of mineral at the diggings. This is the last report to be found.

Although this region was then heavily timbered, it seems that lessees and smelters were favored by the government, and farmers and villagers had to go to the islands for their wood, as is shown by the following:

Notice

Those persons who have received permission to occupy land in the vicinity of Fever River, are hereby informed that all timber for fuel, fencing, or building, must be obtained from the islands in the Mississippi, and from no other place in this vicinity, as the timber elsewhere is reserved for the purposes of smelters and lessees.

The following document will be interesting now, when people can own their land. Then, and for a long time afterwards, the only title to land was by permit. All the people were tenants at will, of the United States, liable to be ejected from their homes at any time, at the caprice of one man. It is proper to add that, in 1826 the people at the mines petitioned Congress for more permanent titles, but no attention was paid to their request:

It having been requested from the U. S. Agent for Lead Mines to 'grant us permission to build, and enclose in a small quantity of ground for our convenience, it has been granted upon the following conditions -viz. :

That we will not claim any right, title or interest in the said lands (other than as tenants at the will of said agent, or such other agent as may be appointed for the superintendence of the mine-*), and we hereby bind and obligate ourselves to quit said premises upon one month's notice to that effect, being given by said agent - it being understood that these persons who have licenses or leases are not included in this arrangement, but are to occupy agreeably to their contracts. No transfer of said ground or improvement will be made without ihe consent of the agent, and will be subject to the aforesaid regulation.

A large number of names are attached to this Register, among whom are many of the leading settlers. The first name is R. W. Chandler. James Harris and Jonathan Browder, first Commissioners of Jo Daviess County, are among the first signatures. James Foley, Sam S. Lawrence, Geo. W. Britton, T. H. January, Thomas Ray, Win. H. Johnson, JS". Bates, Thomas Hjmer. J. P. B. Gratiot, Sam. C. Muir, A. P. Vanmeter, Amos Farrar, J. W. Shull, F. Dent, B. Gibson, James Jones, Elijah Ferguson, Isaac Swan, David M. Robinson, E. F. Townsend, H. II. Gear, and R. H. Champion are among the signers of this unique document.

A report from Charles Smith, dated July 25,1826,says: " I have surveyed the upper street in the town, and staked off the lots 50 feet, 41 in number. There is a great itching for privileges, and a superabundant measure of independence. Complaints about right to ground, and this, that and the other right are accumulating every day, both from diggers and settlers, and God knows what and when will be the end of all things. The dead and the living both conspire to cause me a great deal of trouble. I am no prophet, but I will be mad enough to predict that not many months will elapse without the necessity of the intervention of military force (the only force that can be recognized in this county), to protect the interest of the mines, and to encourage their development. Every day adds proof of their immense importance, and justifies the employment of every possible means for their protection and support. The competition among smelters may, I dare say will, have a tendency eventually to injure the mines, by producing a reaction upon themselves, and exciting a rebellious spirit among the miners."

Mr. Smith's allusion to the dead and the living is explained by the fact that in earlier days the people buried their dead in various places along the bench where Bench Street is now. These remains had to be removed, of course, when the town was laid out, and caused the goodnatured Smith a deal of trouble. His gloomy predictions, happily, were not fulfilled.

Thomas McKnight * arrived at Fever River as sub-agent November 15, 1826. His first report is dated November 28, 1826, in which he says : "I arrived here on the 15th inst., but did not receive the government papers until the 20th, in consequence of having a little house to repair for an office. Mr. Dent, the bearer, leaves here to-morrow morning. I am told that there is a great quantity of mineral lying, and will lie, all Winter unsmelted. There is a great scarcity of corn for feeding teams. A great many of the teamsters are sending their teams down to the settlements to winter."

The " little house " referred to by Mr. McKnight is still standing on the west side of Main Street, Galena, about one hundred and fifty feet north' of the corner of Spring Street, on lot three. The stone "government house," built for a warehouse in which to store lead, in 1829, by Harvey Mann and others, is still standing a little further north, on lot six.

Here occurs a list of persons in whose favor ti.e superintendent has notified his acceptance of bonds for leases. The list was evidently made and entered of record in November or December, 18^6, and entries of dates of surveys made subsequently :

John P. B. Gratiot, survey made; John Cottle, survey made; Ira Cottle, survey made; George Col Her* survey made; Jes>e W. Shall, survey made; M. 0. Comstock, survey made Jan 22, 1827; John Barrel, survey made Jan. 22, 1827; William Henry, survey made .fan. 22, 1827; P. Hogan, survey not made; Bouthillier. survey not made; Tholozan, survey not made; Charles St. V rain, survey made April 5, 1827; David G. Bates (Cave), survey not made; John P. B. Gratiot, (section timber land), survey made.

Tke first mention of the " Town of Galena " occurs December 27, 1826, in a permit to Patrick Gray and Thomas Drum, to occupy lot No. 25 in the Town of Galena, fifty feet fronting on Hill or Second Street, running back to the bluif, but this permit is dated " Fever River."

January 23, 1827, a permit was granted to Gray and Drum to enclose fifty feet on First (or Front) Street, north of Davis, for the purpose of building a bake shop thereon.

There may have been, probably were, other permits to persons desiring to occupy " town lots " prior to the above, but these are the first that appear of record. The future City of Galena was laid off, and evidently named, in 1826, as these records show, but permits of the superintendent were the only titles the people could have to their lots, improvements and homes, and these they must vacate and abandon on thirty days' notice. The United States still retained ownership.

Historians have given, as one of the causes of the " Winnebago War," which occurred in 1827, the fact that the Indians were dissatisfied because the miners were encroaching on their territory and digging mineral on the north side of the "Ridge," which they considered the boundary of the " five, leagues square." In this connection, the following letter and orders will be of interest :

* Mr. McKnight succeeded Charles Smith as resident sub-agent, and remained until Lieut. Thomas was succeeded by Capt. Legate, in 1829. Chas. Smith died at Galena. March 3, 1829.

SIR: It is doubtful whether you are within the limits of the country which the United States, by treaty with the Pottawattomies, etc., have a right to explore for mining purposes. Under this circumstance, you will not remove further towards Rock River. Should you prefer to remain where you now are, you are at present at liberty to do so, with the express understanding, however, that, should that part of the country be eventually decided to belong to the Winnebagoes, you remove when duly notified of the fact from this office. I am, sir, your obedient servant,

Circular To Smelters

Sirs : You are hereby directed' to desist from working over the Ridge, and to employ no force whatever, either in hauling or smelting any mineral that may have been, or in the future may be, raised there. Also to make no purchases of said mineral from any digger.

Charles Smith

On the same date miners were notified that they had no right to go beyond said ridge for the purpose of mining, and were ordered to suspend all further operations until further orders from the superintendent.

On the loth of November, 1827, the following persons having struck leads prior to the 3d of July, 1827, beyond the ridge, were licensed to dig or work them out without interruption, k< but no others were to be allowed to mine beyond the Ridge under any circumstances whatever:" Cabanae, for Ewing & Co. ; Stevens, for Kirker & Ray ; Riche, for Winkle ; Elijah Ferguson ; Hawthorn & Deviese ; Carroll, for Dickson ; Stevenson,, transferred to Blanchard ; Gillespie & Hymer; Stevens & Co.; George Ames' survey ; Moore & Watson, sold to Blanchard ; Foster & Hogan.

July 2, 1827, Lieut. Thomas granted a permit to M. C. White to burn one lime of kiln (kiln of lime) above the mouth of Small Pox. Or. the same day, Mr. Comstock had permission to cut fifty large trees for building logs, near the large mound south of Mr. Gratiot's survey. Arbitrations were ordered between McKnight and Ewen Boyce & Co., on Mackey's survey, and between Jacob Hymer and WillBaker, to take place on the 7th.

There will not, for the present, be any town laid off at the Old Turkey Village, commonly called Grant River Town. All persons are hereby forewarned from building cabins or houses there, except such licensed smelters who may locate in that vicinity, and such smelters will first obtain a special permission.

Aug .14, 1827, a permit was granted to Messrs. D. G. Bates, and Jefferson and Hempstead to make a wharf, or landing, in front of their houses and lots, provided such landing is at all times free to public use: no building to be placed upon it.

On the 8th of August, 1827, Michael Dee was convicted by arbitrators of having stolen certain articles, the property of Thomas Williams, and all smelters and miners on Fever River forbidden to harbor said Dee, or give him any employment.

History Of Jo Davie8S County

McKnight left no records except a few recorded permits, and except the two volumes from which the above extracts have been made there are no records of the transactions of the Lead Mines Agency accessible, unless they are preserved in the War Department at Washington, and a letter to that department, asking for information, has failed to elicit a reply.

The only entries to be found of date later than 1827 are a code of regulations for miners, dated April, 1833, and signed Tho. C. Legate, Captain Second Infantry, Superintendent U. S. Mines, and another and shorter code, dated October, 1840, signed by H. King, Special Agent U. S. Lead Mines, in which miners were required to pay not to exceed six per cent of the ore, or its equivalent in metal, to the United States.

Under Lieut. Thomas' administration, Charles Smith and Thomas McKnight were resident sub-agents^ at Galena. About 1828, the agency was removed to a log building there recently erected under permit, by Barney Dignan, on the southwest corner of [Main and Washington Streets. In 1829 the office was in the first building above Mr. Barnes' boardinghouse on the upper (Bench) street, and in later time, and until discontinued, the office of the superintendent was in Newhall's building, southwest corner of Hill and Main Streets.

In 1829, Lieut. Thomas was succeeded by Capt. Tho. C. Legate, Second Infantry, under whom Capt. John H. Weber was assistant superintendent. Major Wm. Campbell, Col. A. G. S. Wight and K. H. Bell were also connected with the office. In November, 1836, Capt. Weber's signature as superintendent appears of record, and it is probable that he was appointed about that time.

As previously shown, under the old system, which generally prevailed until 1836, diggers were permitted to sell their mineral only to licensed smelters, and the government collected the rents (ten per cent until 1830, and six per cent, subsequently, delivered at the United States Warehouse, in Galena) of the smelters. The prices paid to miners were made with that fact in view. In 1827, as clearly indicated by the letter Irom Lieut. Thomas to E. Ferguson, and subsequent orders, the diggers and some of the smelters were operating on lands not owned or controlled by the United States, in some instances having the permission of the Indians and paying them for the privilege, and in more cases, probably, trespassing on their domain. It had begun to dawn upon the people that five leagues square comprised only a very small portion of the lands rich in mineral wealth, and -it was not possible for the government agents to prevent digging for mineral outside the limits of the reservation, over which only could the United States exercise control. The superintendent of the United States Mines had no authority to grant permits on Indian territory. He could forbid such trespass, but it would require a military force to prevent mining beyond the limits of the reservation, provided the diggers obtained the consent of the native owners. It was plain that the government could rightfully collect rent only of those who obtained their mineral within the recognized limits of the " five leagues square." The agent could not justly demand any of the lead obtained beyond the limits of the reservation, and this led to difficulty. It was unjust to pay rent to the Indians and pay it again to the United States, nor could the agent collect rent even if it had been surreptitiously obtained. Some of the smelters, and especiallv those operating on Indian lands, either with or without the permission of the natives or buying mineral from diggers operating beyond the jurisdiction of the agent, began to refuse to pay rent, alleging that as they obtained lead from Indian lands and were not protected by the government, they were under no obligation to pay. The agent was placed in an embarrassing position. They were obtaining mineral on U. S. lands, but they were also obtaining it on lands over which the United States exercised no control, he had no means of determining the amount actually due the government, and therefore could not enforce payment of any. This refusal became more general until the unauthorized sale of the mineral lands in Wisconsin, in 1834, and subsequently by the Register of the Land Office at Mineral Point, (called " Shake-rag " in early mining days), who in violation of his express instructions, permitted a large number of the diggings actually worked to be entered. Many miners were thus outrageously defrauded and their rights were disregarded. From that time they declined taking leases, and the lead office gradually fell into practical disuse. Captain Weber remained as agent until about 1840, but his agency was purely nominal. The regulations were not enforced. Smelters paid no rent, and there was a season of freedom from governmental supervision. In 1840, however, an attempt was made to revive the office. EL King, special agent, was sent to the mines, probably to investigate Weber's loose manner of doing business, or rather his neglect of business. " With Mr. King," says Mr. Houghton, " or very nearly the same time, came John Flanagan." * Mr. King remained but a short time. Weber was removed or superseded, and Flanagan left in charge, with instructions to enforce the regulations established by Mr. King. About the same time, Walter Cunningham, who, says Mr. Houghton, "had been appointed to investigate the Superior copper mines, returned from a tour through that region and established himself here with Flanagan. From this time, the regulations required the miners to pay the rent " not to exceed 6 per cent of the ore, or its equivalent in metal," but in practice, it is said, the rent that was collected was generally paid through the smelters, as formerly. Flanagan, his associate, Cunningham, and a clerk named Conroddy, by their associations and habits rendered themselves exceedingly odious to the people. Flanagan commenced a large number of suits against individuals for arrears of rent, compromised them for what he could get in cash, but, it is said, made no returns to the government of his collections, defrauding the people and the government at the same time. He was accustomed to say to the people that the " government must be

* Since this was in type, a letter has been received from Captain W. B. Green, who was familiar with the events of that period, which contains the following: "The Lead Mine Agency was suspended for several years prior to 1841. After the inauguration of President Harrison, in 1841, the agency was revived and Flanagan appointed superintendent - revived, probably, to give Flanagan the appointment. Previous to the suspension of the agency, the royalty to the government was paid by the miners through the smelters. After the revival of the agency under Flanagan, the attempt was made to collect the royalty directly from the miners. The attempt was only a partial success, as the miners generally refused or evaded the payment. During the suspension of the agency, through affidavits gotten up (as affidavits can be to prove any thing w'hen taken e.r.-parte), a bill was lobbied through Congress, "-ivin» one of the early smelters a large sum of money for royal ty paid by him on mineral purported to have been taken from Indian lands outside the original purchase. This established a precedent of "which most of the other smelters availed themselves, and in a similar manner had Hrge sums voted them - in the aggregate, it may be, amounting to more than all the royalty received by the government from the mines. The truth is, there was but a very inconsiderable amount taken from the Indian lands prior to the purchase of the lands south of the Wisconsin River, in the Winter of 1827-'8. What little there was should, of right, have been paid to the Indians; or, ignoring their right, it should have been paid to the miners who actually paid it, as the smelters took the royalty into account when t hey purchased the mineral, and deducted it from the value thereof."

paid first," and his arrogant declaration to smelters and others that "I am the government," sufficiently indicates his character and the disposition lie made of his collections. If ho was '" the government," there was no necessity of making returns to any body, and none were known to be made by him. Complaints of his high-handed proceedings reached Washington, and in ordered by thet Secretary of War to Galena, to investigate Flanagan's administration. He came, but remained but a few days, dismissed Flanagan and placed Maj. Thomas Mellville, of Galena, in charge of the office temporarily, until report could be made to the War Department, and a Superintendent should be appointed.* The next year, 1844, according to the best information to be obtained, John G. Floyd, of Virginia, was appointed to the office. Mr. Floyd made an effort to enforce the collection of rent and in some measure succeeded, but was removed in 1845, at the instance of Hon. Joseph P. Hoge, then member of Congress for this (then Sixth) district, and James A. Mitchell was appointed as his successor, who remained until the office was finally discontinued about 1847, when the lands were thrown into the market. Practically, however, the office was little more than nominal after the resignation of Capt. Legate, in 1836. Under the pre-emption laws a large amount of mineral lands had been entered. Settlers were required to make oath that no mineral was being dug on the lands they desired to enter, and this requirement was easily evaded.

The people generally considered the Agency as an imposition, and it was impossible to secure the implicit obedience to the rule of the Superintendent that obtained in the days of Thomas and Legate. The experiment of reviving the office was not a success. The Government found upon trial that, instead of being a source of revenue, the management of the lead mines produced constant drafts upon the Treasury, and at last, after the settlers had petitioned in vain for years, early in the session of 1846-'7, Congress authorized the sale of the lands. A receiver was appointed, and by the 5th day of April, 1847, says Seymour, " land to the amount of $127,700 had been sold at minimum prices,f and the days of governmental supervision or ownership of the lead mines ended."

The amount of lead shipped from various ports on the Mississippi, principally from Galena, for nine years prior to the discovery of gold in 1849, and the estimated value thereof, is as follows:

In 1849 the gold discoveries in California disturbed " the even balance of ordinary business operations " in the lead mining district. The tide of

* Later information renders it certain that Flanagan was not appointed until 1841, arriving at Galena July 9 of that year. Capt. W. H. Bell's report was printed in the Spring of 1844.

immigration that had been directed to this region was diverted to the Pacific Coast, and a large number of miners and business men, dazzled by the glitter of California gold, left to seek their fortunes on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Large amounts of real estate covered by valuable improvements were forced into market and sold at nominal prices, to obtain the means wherewith to remove to California. Enormous rates were paid for money and a large amount of capital was withdrawn from the usual channels of trade; improvements, commenced or contemplated, were sus-~ pended or delayed, and the heavy emigration from the lead to the gold, mining region was seriously felt. A large number of men usually engaged in prospecting, and by whom new and important discoveries had been constantly made, were no longer here, and operations were principally confined for a time, to old " leads." But in compensation for this the price of mineral advanced to $28 per thousand (it had at some periods been as low as $8 or $9, and was seldom higher than $22) and this advance caused operations to be renewed in diggings that had been abandoned as too unproductive to be remunerative. Writing in 1850, in discussing the effect of the "gold fever," Mr. Seymour says: " Although lead is one of the baser metals, and does not strike the imagination like pure gold dug from the bowels of the earth, yet it immediately becomes gold in the pockets of the miner, for nothing but gold is given in exchange for it by the smelter, and it is always in great demand at the market price. If enterprising men were willing to undergo here half the privations and sufferings which they endure by a journey to California and hard labor in the gold mining, their happiness and prosperity would probably be as well promoted by their pecuniary success, saying nothing of the extreme perils thereby avoided, and the painful disruption of domestic ties, so common to this class of emigrants."

The Weotebago War

The year 1827 is memorable in the history of Jo Daviess County as being the period of the first serious troubles with their Indian neighbors, experienced by the settlers, dignified now by the title of the " Winnebago "War." All the territory north of the Ordinance line of 1787 was in the undisputed possession of the Indians, except the reservations at the north of the Wisconsin and on Fever River, and- the mining district in Jo Daviess County and Michigan Territory, outside these reservations, was occupied largely by the Winnebagoes. Early in 1827, miners, settlers and adventurers flocked hither in great numbers, and inevitably extended their explorations for mineral beyond the " Ridge," recognized as the line of the " five leagues square," although it does not now appear that the limits of the reservation were ever accurately determined. Many rich leads were discovered on Indian lands, and miners persisted in digging there, in direct disobedience of the orders of the superintendent of the United States Lead Mines to desist and withdraw from lands on which the United States were not authorized to even explore for mineral. In exceptional instances the right to mine was purchased of the Indians, but in most cases the restless searchers for mineral wealth totally disregarded the orders of the superintendent and the rights of the Indians, who, according to the acts of the trespassers " had no right which a white man was bound to respect." Frequent disputes occurred in consequence between the miners and the Indians. Mr. Shul^l, who had discovered a fine lead and had erected a shanty near it, was driven off, and his cabin' destroyed by the Winnebagoes, who, owning the land, did no more, and perhaps not as much, as whites would have done under similar circumstances, to protect and preserve their rights and property. The dissatisfaction and ill feeling engendered by these encroachments upon their territory was, perhaps, a minor cause of the outbreak, but had no other cause operated to further exasperate the Indians, the difficulties might, and probably would, have been amicably adjusted without bloodshed.

About this time, and while these disputes between the miners and Indians were occurring, two keel-boats, belonging to the contractor to furnish supplies for the troops at Fort Snelling, while on their way up the river stopped at a point not far above Prairie du Chien. where were encamped a large number of Winnebago Indians. John Wakefield, Esq., In writing from memory an account of the war, if it can be called such (and it must be admitted now, writing in a spirit of bitter prejudice against the Indians, who had been peaceable and friendly with the settlers here, until provoked beyond endurance) says that these boats were run by " Capt. Allen Lindsey, a gentleman of the first respectability in our country," and that he was with his boats on this particular trip, but it is to be hoped that "Wakefield was in error, for no " respectable gentleman " could have permitted men under his command to indulge in such fiendish excesses, not only endangering their own lives, but imperiling the safety of all the frontier settlements as well.

Reynolds says ' that after stopping at the Winnebago camp " the boatmen made the Indians drunk - and no doubt were so themselves - when they captured six or seven squaws, who were also drunk. These captured squaws were forced on the boats for corrupt and brutal purposes. But not satisfied with this outrage on female virtue the boatmen took the squaws with them in the boats to Fort Snelling." Another version given by Harvey Mann, and others who were familiar with the events of that year, is that the boatmen and the Indians had a drunken frolic; that several squaws were kept on board the boats all night, and put ashore the next morning before any of the tribe had recovered from the effects of their " spree," and the" boats continued on their voyage up the river. These accounts agree as to the main fact that the boatmen committed a gross outrage upon the Indians, and provoked an attack.

"When the duped and injured Winnebagoes had slept off the effects of their debauch and became sober enough to comprehend the outrage committed upon their women, and the injury done them in " this delicate point," they were intensely exasperated, and resolved to wash out the stain upon their honor in blood. What white people would not have done the same, under similar circumstances ? Runners were sent out in all directions summoning the warriors to the scene of action at once for an attack on the boats when they returned. A war party of the Winnebagoes went from Jo Daviess County, in the vicinity of Galena, to aid their northern brethren in avenging the insult they had received. Capt. D. S. Harris states that at this time a band of 15 or 20 of these Indians stopped at his father's house, on their way up the river and were very insolent. "Old Cnrley," a friendly Indian, had notified the family of the intended visit, and the younger members had sought refuge in the neighboring cornfield, leaving only Smith and Scribe in the house with their mother. "The Indians," says Smith Harris, "were very insolent, as was not unusual for that tribe. They offered no personal injury, for Scribe and I stood by our guns. They did attempt to take some articles of goods we had, but we told them if they didn't let things alone we should shoot, and they knew we meant it. They finally left without doing any harm, and we felt much relieved." This band went north, and, it is said, murdered a family near Prairie du Chien. Four "Winnebago Chiefs called upon the Gratiots, at G-ratiot's Grove, and informed them that on account of the action of the whites, they should be unable to restrain their young men from declaring war, and as they did not desire to harm the " Choteaus " (as the Indians always called the Gratiot family) they had come to tell them that they had better remove. But careful inquiry among those who were here during that year fails to develop any evidence that any outrages were committed by the Indians in the mining district at that time, either before or after the insult by those drunken keel-boatmen, and which the injured party intended to avenge upon the guilty parties themselves.

Wakefield says that some of the Indians "came aboard of Lindsey's boat on his way up and showed such signs of hostility that he was led to expect an attack on his return, and provided himself with a few fire arms so that in case of an attack by them he might be able to defend himself." Other accounts state that the boatmen anticipated an attack upon their return. Why, if they had done nothing to provoke an assault ? The Indians were peaceable, and even in the mines where they had reason to complain of the encroachments of the whites upon their territory they had done nothing more than to drive off the trespassers.

Of course the boatmen expected an attack on their return trip, for they knew they deserved it, and the dispassionate judgment of humanity, after the lapse of half a century concurs in that opinion. Knowing this, they attempted to |run by the Winnebago Village on their return, in the night. The watchful, vengeful Winnebagoes, however, were not to be eluded. The boats were forced to approach near the shore in the narrow channel of the river at that point, and there, says Reynolds, " the infuriated savages assailed one boat and permitted the other to pass down " unmolested. The presumption is that the boat assailed contained the oifenders whom they wished to punish. Reynolds' account of the fight is as follows : -

The boatmen were not entirely prepared for the attack, although to some extent they were guarded against it. They had procured some arms, and were on the alert to some degree. The Indians laid down in their canoes and tried to paddle them to the boat ; but the whites, seeing this, tired their muskets on them in the canoes. It was a desperate and furious fight, for a few minutes, between a good many Indians exposed in open canoes and only a few boatmen protected, to some extent, by their boat. One boatman, a sailor by profession on the lakes and ocean, who had been in many battles with the British during the war of 1812, saved the boat and those of the crew who were not killed. This man was large and strong, and possessed the courage of an African lion. He seized a part of the setting pole of the boat, which was about four feet long and had on the end a piece of iron, which made the pole weighty and a powerful weapon in the hands of " Saucy Jack," as the champion was called. It is stated that when the Indians attempted to board the boat, Jack would knock them back into the river as fast as they approached. The boat got fast on the ground, and the whites seemed doomed, but with great exertion, courage and hard fighting, the Indians were repelled. ( " Jack," unmindful of the shower of bullets whistling about, seized a pole, pushed the boat into the current and it floated beyond the reach of the assailants.) The savages killed several white men and wounded many more, leaving barely enough to navigate the boat. Thus commenced and thus ended the bloodshed of the Winnebago War. No white man or Indian was killed before or after this naval engagement.

The arrival of these boats at Galena and the report of their narrow escape created great alarm, intensified by «the arrival, the same day, of a party who had fled to Galena for safety, anticipating war, and by the warning given to the Gratiots. All mining operations ceased ; the miners and scattered settlers hurried to Galena for safety, built stockades and blockhouses in their own neighborhoods, or left the country. A little fort was built at Elizabeth, another at Apple .River, and still another in Michigan Territory. These forts, although not needed then, were afterwards found " very handy to have in the family."

Governor Edwards received information, on which he relied, that the Winnebago Indians had attacked some keel-boats, that the settlers and miners 011 Fever River were in imminent danger of an attack from a band of the same and other Indians (although the facts, as reported to him and upon which he acted, have never been made public), and called out the Twentieth Regiment Illinois Militia, under Col. Thomas M. Neale, who were to rendezvous at Fort Clark (Peoria), "and march with all possible expedition to the assistance of our fellow citizens at Galena." The brave citizens "of Sangamon rallied to the rendezvous, and, with ten days' rations, marched to Gratiot Grove, and - finding no hostile Indians there, disbanded and went home.

Gen. Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan Territory, who had been appointed by the government to hold a treaty with the Lake Michigan Indians, at Green Bay, arrived there about this time, but, finding but few there and hearing that the Lake Indians had received war messages from the interior, hastened to communicate the startling intelligence to the military commander at St. Louis. He ascended Fox River from Green Bay, descended the Wisconsin and Mississippi, and in nine days arrived at St. Louis. It is said that " among the Winnebagoes he discovered warlike preparations, but his sudden and unexpected appearance among them in a birch canoe, of larger size than that used by ordinary traders, filled with armed men, with the U. S. flag flying, led the Indians to suspect that he was accompanied by a superior force. To this fact and the rapidity of his movements may be attributed his safety and the men under his command." A single birch bark canoe, with armed men enough in it to overcome thousands of hostile savages for hundreds of miles, must have been worth seeing.

On his way down, Gen. Cass stopped at Galena, where" Gen. Henry Dodge and Gen. Whiteside had raised a company of volunteers, ready to march against the terrible foe. An eye witness of his arrival says that in the midst of the alarm then prevailing the excited people heard singing, and thought the Indians were coming, but soon their fears were allayed, for they saw, gliding gracefully up the river, around the point below the village, a large canoe flying the United States flag and containing an American officer and six Canadians dressed in blue jackets and red sashes, with bright feathers in their hats, who were singing the " Canadian Boat Song " as they bent over their oars, and with measured strokes sent it flying to the bank, when Gen. Cass stepped ashore amid the cheers of the assembled population. " Armed men " were few and far between in that boat.

Immediately upon receipt of news from Governor Cass, General Atkinson marched with 600 men to the "seat of war," and formed a junction with the Galena Volunteers at Fort Winnebago. "Thus far they had marched into the bowels of the land without impediment." During all this period of alarmr excitement and feverish expectation of a descent of the hostile Indians upon the defenseless frontier settlements in the mining district, what were these Indians doing? They had had time enough to have swept the white settlers on Fever River out of the country, or out of existence, before the "imposing display of such a large number of troops in the heart of theij* country dampened their war spirit and induced them to surrender their chiefs," but it does not appear that they murdered a single settler or committed any serious depredations after they had punished the keel-boatmen who had so grossly insulted them.

Capt. D. S. Harris, who was a volunteer in the Galena company commanded by Gen. Dodge, says: "We marched to Fort Winnebago, where Red Wing was brought in a prisoner, and that was the end of it." The Winnebagoes surrendered Red Wing and We-Kaw, the two chiefs who had led the attack upon the keel-boats, when Gen. Atkinson made the imposing military display in " the heart of their country." Red Wing was imprisoned at Prairie du Chien, where he was to be kept as a hostage for the good behavior of his nation, but his proud spirit was broken by confinement that he felt was unjust, and he soon died.

Thus ended the Winnebago War, which was really only an attack upon some keel-boatmen, provoked by the outrages upon the Indians by the boatmen themselves. There was no war°elsewhere, but the prosperity of the mining region was temporarily checked by the alarm and consequent suspension of mining and business.

Whether, had the Indians succeeded in their attempt to murder the offending crew of the boat they attacked while they permitted the other to pass down the river unmolested, they would have entered upon the war path against all the white settlements in this region, must forever be a matter of conjecture, and while there were and are differences of opinion, the most of the survivors of that period of excitement coincide in the belief that had not the Indians been stung to fury by these drunken boatmen there would have been no trouble. The mineral lands could have been bought, as they were, subsequently, by treaty. If the government, when it demanded the surrender of Red Wing and kept him as a hostage, had arrested those boatmen and imprisoned them for life, both for the outrage they committed and for recklessly disturbing the peace, and destroying for a time the prosperity of the frontier settlements, and causing so much damage to the innocent settlers, or had delivered them to the Indians to be kept as hostages for the good behavior of their class, it would have been only even-handed justice.

Soon after this disgraceful, and in some respects ludicrous, affair, a treaty was made with the Winnebagoes by which for twenty thousand dollars paid in goods and trinkets at fabulous prices, they were satisfied for the damages sustained by them in consequence of the trespasses on their lands, and relinquished a large tract of these lands to the miners.

The Black Hawk War

The great event of the year 1832 was the Black Hawk War. The reader is familiar with the general history of this war, but there are some incidents connected with it and some phases of it familiar to the survivors of the sturdy rank and file that participated in it, who had and still have their opinions relating to its causes and conduct, differing from most published accounts, that should be recorded. The war was commenced and most of the blood was spilt in what was then Jo Daviess County. Mostly confining this sketch to these events and to the causes of the war as received

A correct history of Dunleith can not be written without going back to the period when white people first disturbed the primitive condition of the towering bluffs and the narrow valley that nestles down between their base and the great Mississippi River. Although a French Indian trader named D'Bois is known to have maintained a trading post on the land now owned by Augustus Switzer, two and a half miles east of Dunleith, and almost directly opposite the Iowa bluffs where Julien Dubuque (after whom the City of Dubuque was named) was buried, no data can be found to fix the time when this trading post was established, or how long it was continued. The best sources of information indicate that Dubuque and D'Bois came at the same time, and that, while Dubuque stopped at the mouth of Cat Fish Creek, on the Iowa side, D'Bois (or Dubois) chose the Illinois side as his field of operations. When the first permanent settlers came, in 1832, the old cabins erected by D'Bois were still standing, and although they had fallen into partial decay, one of them was refitted and made to serve as a school house for the first school ever taught in the territory now embraced within Dunleith Township. The site of that old cabin is enclosed in the beautiful farm residence grounds of Augustus Switzer, and within a few feet of his summer house. That these cabins were allowed to remain so long after D'Bois abandoned them can only be attributed to the friendly disposition of the Menominee Indians, and the respect and friendship they entertained for their builder and first occupant.

Some authorities say that the island (now nearly gone) just below Dunleith, and almost directly between the Dubuque and D'Bois interests, was occupied by white men long before settlements were made at Galena - that rude (log) smelting works had been erected there by a Missouri miner named George E. Jackson as early as 1811. The island on which these smelting works were operated has been well-nigh washed away, and consequently the last remnant of Jackson's cabin and his log furnaces has disappeared with the island on which they were built. There are no data to be found to show how long Mr. Jackson occupied this island or the extent of his operations, but it is known that he built a flat boat on which the product of his furnaces was carried to St. Louis, and that he experiencad a good deal of trouble with the Indians in making his trips to St. Louis. Neither is it known when Jackson abandoned the island, or the causes that induced him to give up his undertaking, but in the Fall of 1823 he returned to the mining district and settled at or near Galena.

Some authorities say that D'Bois and Dubuque came to the country together, but separated on their arrival, as already shown - the former opening an Indian trading place on the Illinois side, and Dubuque on the Iowa side of the Mississippi. While there are no records to be found showing the time when D'Bois built his trading cabin at the site already described, it is known that Dubuque was here as early as 1788, hence it is reasonable to suppose that D'Bois commenced his operations simultaneously with Dubuque, and there is. but little reason to doubt that the first cabin built by a white man in the territory of Jo Daviess County was built by D'Bois, in what is now Dunleith Township, many years before white men began to work the lead mines at Galena. Add the further well authenticated statement that George E. Jackson occupied the island already indicate'd, and engaged in smelting lead ore as early as 1811, and the fact is pretty well established that the first white men to claim an abiding and business place within the present territory of Jo Daviess County were D'Bois and Jackson, and that within the territory now embraced in this township, the primitive stillness of a region now so full of life and business was first disturbed by the innovations of white men.

When D'Bois took his departure, either for other wilds, or the fancied happy hunting grounds of the Indians, among whom he traded, and Jackson and his associates (if he had any) abandoned the island, the country relapsed into its natural condition, and left the Menominee people " monarchs of all they surveyed," until the early Winter of i83i-'2, when Eleazer Frentress, a native of North Carolina, came into the township, and selected a claim of 320 acres at the site of the present Frentress homestead, and immediately set about the erection of a double log cabin. Mr. Frentress and his family, consisting of his wife and children, had emigrated from Wood River, in Madison County, near Alton, to the Galena district in the Spring of 1827. They took passage at Alton on board the steamboat "Indiana," and on the 7th day of April, of that year, were landed at the present site of the City of Galena. At that time, says Mrs. Frentress, there were not more than a half dozen cabins in the place, and entertainment in any of them impossible to be secured. There was a keel-boat tied up at the landing, and that afforded all the shelter possible to be obtained, and that was placed at the service of the new comers. At that time there were glowing reports of the discovery of rich leads of galena in the vicinity of what is now Cassville, Wisconsin, and not finding things at Galena to his liking, and the keel-boat in which they had found shelter since their arrival on the 7th, being bound for Cassville, Mr. Frentress determined to go on there in pursuit of fortune. A man named Camp and his wife, who had also found shelter and a resting place on the keel-boat, accompanied the expedition, if it may be called such, and there is a very strong probability that Mrs. Frentress and Mrs. Camp were the first white women to venture into the untamed wilds of Wisconsin - especially in that part of it around Cassville. At this time Mrs. Frentress was the mother of two children - Thomas, aged four, and Lucy, aged two years - and it will require no very great stretch of imagination to recognize in Mrs. F. a courage amounting to heroism, when she assumed the risk of placing her babes and herself beyond the pales of civilization and at the mercy of hordes of Indians. The boat landed its passengers at a mining camp, very nearly where Cassville has been built, and there they were left to find shelter from the elements of the weather in the rude tents of the miners, and where they remained for a period of three weeks. At the end of that time they found their way to Grant River, and settled down to mining life in the near vicinity of Beetown. Here a company was formed, and active operations commenced, and successfully prosecuted until the 4th of July, 1827, when there came an Indian scare, and the camp was hastily abandoned. On the morning of that' day the men of the camp had gone to Cassville, and when they arrived there they found that a keel-boat descending the river had been attacked by the Winnebago Indians, one man killed and another one wounded. The cargo box had three hundred bullet holes within it, while the hull of the boat probably had as many more. At Cassville all was excitement and alarm. The Beetown miners hastily returned to their camp, and prepared to leave immediately for Galena. The women quickly packed what few bed-clothes, wearing apparel, etc., they had in boxes and trunks, which were secreted in a dense thicket near by ; a few provisions - a little bread and a little meat - put into a basket or sack for the children, and hurried arrangements made for a forced march to Galena. The camp possessed two horses - two women, two children and one sick or disabled man out of the fifteen who composed the male part of Beetown. The two women and one of the children were mounted on one of the horses and the sick man on the other. The cooking dinners were left over the fire, and at four o'clock the flight to Galena was commenced, and kept up until far into the night, when they reached a windfall, where the fallen timber, thick undergrowth, etc., so impeded their progress that, in the darkness they found it impossible to proceed further until daylight, and they went into camp - or rather, they halted until morning. As soon as it became sufficiently light to enable them to find their way out of the fallen debris, the flight was resumed, and a little after twelve o'clock, July 5, 1827, tne party arrived at Galena, and Mr. Frentress and his wife stopped at the house and home of her father. The distance traveled, said Mrs. Frentress to the writer, was from fifty to sixty miles, every step of which was full of dreadful apprehension and terrible suspense.

When the Indian scare had somewhat subsided, Mr. Frentress went down to Peoria, where he remained about one month, when he returned to Galena, and soon after went back to the mines at Beetown, where he remained undisturbed until he sold out his interests for $700 in the Winter of i828-*9. The sum thus realized enabled him to fit himself out with a team of horses, a cow or two, and the necessary implements to engage in farming pursuits, and he leased or rented a farm on Fever River, about four miles above Galena, where he remained until he commenced the improvement of the claim already mentioned. The Frentress Cabin was a double one, built out of round logs, and then " scutched " down. There was a hall, or entry, between the two parts, and, for many years it was regarded as the grandest farm house in all this region of country. Its doors were always open, and its beds and its table always free and welcome to every one who claimed its hospitality. Although Mrs. Frentress now occupies a very handsome brick residence, the *' old log cabin '' is still preserved as a memento of pioneer days.

The old cabin was finished in the Winter of i83i-'2, but was not occupied by the family until the 7th of September, 1832 - after the close of the Black Hawk War.

In the Spring of 1832, as soon as the frost was out of the ground, Mr. Frentress commenced breaking the prairie sod with a view to making a crop. Potatoes, corn, etc., were planted, and the foundation of a home in the wilds of the Menominee and Sinsinawa Valleys commenced in goodly earnest. While Stephen D'Bois built the first cabin in this region, to Mr. Frentress belongs the honor of turning over the first furrow of prairie sod.

While the making of this pioneer farm was under way, the Indians were concentrating their forces with a view to negotiating a new treaty, the Black Hawk War was precipitated, and for a time the industries of the mines and farms were interrupted - in fact, almost entirely suspended. May 14, of that year (1832), while Frentress was busily at work on his claim, plowing and planting, his wife sent a runner «to him with the information that the Indians were reported to be marching on Galena with the threatened purpose of destroying every man, woman and child in the settlement. He unhitched his team from the plow, left it standing in the middle of a furrow, and hastened to Galena to join the forces that were being mustered to resist the apprehended invasion, and, joining Captain Vosburgh's Company, which was made to form a part of Colonel Strode's regiment, he continued with that command until a peace was conquered by the subjugation of the Indians. September 6, 1832, he was mustered out of service, and on the 7th, the goods of the family were packed and loaded into wagons and the journey to the new home commenced. There were neither roads nor crossing places on the streams. Trackways for the wagons had to be cut out and the banks of the streams dug away to afford crossings, and two days- were consumed in making the trip of less than ten miles. On the afternoon of the 8th of November, 1832, the family moved in and took possession of their new home - a house built the Winter previous. Thus was commenced the settlement of that part of Jo Daviess County, which, in later years, came to be known as Dunleith.

About the same time that Frentress made his claim, Thomas Jordan made a claim on the banks of the Mississippi River, and to which he removed his family the same day that Frentress moved to his claim. For a number of years Jordan maintained a canoe ferry to the west shore of the Mississippi River to accommodate the little trade and the large number of mining explorers from Illinois and Wisconsin (then Michigan Territory), who looked forward to the time when they might have a legal right to occupy the lead mines which had been worked by Julien Dubuque from about 1788 to the time of his death in 1810. The occupancy of a claim at the present site of the City of Dunleith by the Jordan family, in September, 1832, establishes the fact that they were the pioneer settlers and the first white people to claim a permanent abiding place in a locality now so full of intelligence, business activity and manufacturing industries, and the site of a city that is known throughout the civilized world for its production of labor-saving machinery.

The Jordan cabin was built very nearly on the site now occupied by Suiter's livery stable, and the well in the street in front of that stable was dug by the Jordans soon after they occupied their pioneer cabin.

In the Spring of 1833, the Mattox family came in and settled about half a mile east of the Frentress family, and one by one settlers continued to come in and make claims, and build cabins and settle in the neighborhood, until there was quite a community.

In the Spring of 1832, two men named Boxley and Thompson made claims in the Callagan bottom, north of the Frentress place, broke some land and planted a few acres of corn. It seems that they paid no attention to the alarm that called Frentress from his claim on the i4th of May, and that they remained to cultivate their fields. While engaged in plowing their corn, they were fired upon and killed by the Indians. The exact date of these Indian murders, Mrs. Frentress does not remember, but thinks it must have been some time in the month of June, by reason of their bodies being found between two rows of corn where they were plowing.

This much by way of a history of the pioneer settlement of the Dunleith district, and we now take up some of the later events, although they are among the occurrences of half a century ago.

Emsley H. Frentress was the first male child born in the settlement, his birth occuring on the loth of February, 1833. [He died on the 2ist day of November, 1876.]

The first female child, according to Mrs. Frentress' best recollection, was Lydia Ann Mattox, now the wife of Duncan Cameron, of Oakland, California. The date of her birth is not remembered.

The first school was taught in one of the D'Bois cabins, before mentioned. It was a subscription school and was taught by a man named Kennedy. The next school was taught in a small plank house, erected for the purpose on the Frentress place by the Frentress and Mattox families. These parties also employed the teacher and became responsible for his salary, although the children of the other families of the neighborhood were admitted.

The first religious meetings were held in this school house, under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in i838-J39. Revs. J. Crummer and James, who had been commissioned and sent to this part of Illinois, by the Conference district, of which it formed a part, as Circuit Riders. They held services alternately, and every body in the neighborhood were regular attendants. Services were not held regularly every Sabbath - sometimes once in two weeks, and sometimes not more than once a month.

The first deaths within the territory designated as Menominee Township, of which Dunleith formed a part until March, 1865, were the decease, by In- dian murder, of Boxley and Thompson, in the Callagan bottom, in June, 1832. The first from natural causes, was the death of Zachariah Hoffman, who died of cholera, in 1833.

The first orchard in the township was planted by Mr. Frentress, in 1837. The trees were bought at Montague's nursery at Waddam's Grove, in what is now Stephenson County. To some readers it may seem a little strange that no orchard should be started until 1837, while the settlement of the township was commenced almost five years before, but this is explained by the fact that the Fever River Country was regarded by many people as only a mining country, and entirely unsuited to agricultural or horticultural purposes, and that the early settlers were almost exclusively mining adventurers and speculators, who, when they first came, did not expect or intend to become permanent residents, nor to engage in any business not directly connected with mining.

The incidents so far related cover the early settlement of Menominee and Dunleith Townships. After the Indian troubles were permanently settled, in 1832, there was not much to disturb the conditions of pioneer life. For several years straggling Indians would come along, but the only annoyance they occasioned was in persistent begging and petty thefts. Claim hunters and settlers kept coming in, new cabins were built, new farms opened from year to year, until within ten years all the available land was claimed, and for the most part occupied. By-and-by the old cabins gave way to a better class of buildings, and thus, without the occurrence of any thing of historical interest, the country continued to improve and prosper, until the building of railroads came to be considered a measure of commercial necessity. Among the early railroad enterprises of Illinois, was the Galena and Chicago Union. January 7, 1846, a meeting of the representative men of the several counties along the line of the proposed road between the Mississippi River and Chicago, was held at Rockford, to consider the feasibility of buying out the interests of a New York company, who had obtained a charter under the name and style of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Company. This company had also obtained a tract of 1,000 acres of land on Dupage River, and, in 1838, had done some work on the prairie west of Chicago. This much being accomplished, the undertaking was left in abeyance. Some time in the latter part of 1845, Messrs. Ogden and Jones, of Chicago, negotiated with Messrs. Nevins and Matteson, for the purchase of the charter and franchises of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Company, for $20,000. When the Rockford meeting of January 7, 1845, had assembled and organized, Mr. _ Jones, of Chicago, introduced the following resolution, which was adopted :

Resolved, If a satisfactory arrangement can be made with the present holders of the stock of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Company, that the members of this convention will use all honorable measures to obtain subscriptions to the stock of said company.

This recitation covers the history of the beginning of that railroad, the completion of which, in later years, connected the Mississippi, at Dunleith, with Lake Michigan, at Chicago.

In 1850, Mr. Douglas, then a member of Congress, secured the passage of a law, making a large grant of government land to aid in the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad, the managers of which had become possessed of that part of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad between Galena and Freeport. And while the building of the last named road was well under way between Freeport and Chicago this large grant of land to the Illinois Central Railroad Company gave a new impetus to every enterprise of the country adjacent'to Dunleith. In June, 1855, this road was completed to the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, at the present site of Dunleith.

In 1849, there was but one house and one fishing shanty, at Dunleith, but by the time the road was completed, June i, 1855, as many as fifty substantial

The land on which the city was laid out was entered from the government by Augustus Gregoire, at the land sales at Dixon, in the Spring of 1847. By the death of Augustus Gregoire, Charles Gregoire, a brother, succeeded to the ownership of the land, fifteen acres of which he sold to the Railroad Company for railroad purposes - freight house, depot buildings, etc. In 1853, a town company, composed of George W. Sanford, Jonathan Sturges, Morris Ketchum, George W. Jones, George Griswold and Charles' Gregoire, was formed, who were known as the Proprietors of the Town of Dunleith, to which company Charles Gregoire conveyed the northwest quarter of section 29, the southwest quarter of section 20 and fractional sections of 19 and 30, all in town 29 north, range 2 west of the 4th principal meridian, which was laid off into lots, blocks, streets, avenues and alleys, and named upon the plat and records, as Dunleith, in honor of Dunleith, Scotland. The plat was filed in the office of the County Clerk (W. H. Bradley, clerk), duly acknowledged by Charles Gregoire, December 14, 1853. The plat was made by John C. Goodyear, County Surveyor, certified and approved March 16, 1854, and recorded March 18, 1854. The first public sale of lots was had in the Summer of 1855, although some lots had been sold and occupied soon after the town was laid out. Frederick Jessup and Charles Gregoire were general managers for the proprietors, and Jessup the ruling spirit. In making sales of lots, Jessup imposed the condition that all purchasers of lots in Sinsinawa* Avenue should erect thereon nothing but three-story brick buildings, and that no spirituous liquors should ever be sold therein. Under these conditions, what is now the Commercial House and Post-Office building, at the corner of First Street and Sinsinawa Avenue, was built by Colonel James Robinson, for storage and commission purposes. A man named John Monti, of Galena, bought a lot on the corner of Second Street and Sinsinawa Avenue, and in 1855, erected thereon a three-story brick building for a general store. This building was destroyed by fire in the Fall of 1877. The first building erected on the town plat, after the town was laid out, was built by Charles Gregoire, for hotel purposes, and occupied a position on Wisconsin Avenue, a short distance above Sinsinawa Avenue. It was a twostory brick, erected in 1853, and at one time was known as the Bates House.

The first store, or trading place, was opened in 1854, by Charles Wheeler. Wheeler occupied a small frame shanty that stood on Wisconsin Avenue, almost opposite the hotel building erected by Gregoire, and which was first called the Dunleith House, but afterwards the Bates House, as already stated. In 18 - John Clise opened a store in the Monti building, and where he continued in business up to 185 - . Holdorff was also a merchant during the same period, and in 1857 Augustus Switzer, who had engaged in farming in Menominee Township for several years (the earlier part of his life having been spent in mercantile persuits), purchased property in Dunleith, remained here and opened a store at the corner of Third Street and Sinsinawa Avenue, his present place of business. From that time forward until the bridging of the Mississippi between Dunleith and Dubuque, business was good. Dunleith 's star was in the ascendant. Lots ran up to almost fabulous prices. A number of grand enterprises were projected and some of them commenced, but the beginning and completion of the tunnelf and bridge, in 1868, resulted in the derangement of many plans, threw many men out of employment and the means of making a living at Dunleith, and hence they were compelled to seek remunerative engagements elsewhere. The transfer of passengers and freight between Dunleith and Dubuque was of itself sufficient to employ fifty or more men and a number of teams. But their occupation vanished when the first train of cars passed through the tunnel, and crossed the bridge to the Dubuque side, and thence onward toward the setting sun, to the lands of the Nebraskas and Dakotahs. From the time the railroad was completed,' in 1855, up to the opening of the bridge, in 1868, the transfer business was heavy, and it is said that the gentleman who managed the business for the transfer company (and the company was really composed of railroad officers who were prevented by statutory provisions from being known in its management), who was the ostensible president and owner of the stock, wagons and other appurtenances necessary to the business, realized, in clear cash, in the twelve or fifteen years the transfer traffic was continued, the handsome fortune of $182,000 ! Certain it is that from an employe in a Galena store, a few years before, he accumulated at least money enough to build one of the handsomest residences in Dunleith, and to venture on several undertakings that promised large returns, but all of which proved disastrous failures.

Among the other grand undertakings of the friends of Dunleith - of those who saw a bright future and a great city in the near advance of years - was the Argyle House, named after the Duke of Argyle, Scotland, a relative of the Jessup already mentioned as agent and manager for the proprietors of the town of Dunleith. The Argyle was built in 1855. It was a four-story brick, with stone basement, with a front of 145 feet on the railroad track, and 50 feel deep, covering an area of 7,250 feet. The object in building it was to accommodate the railroad and river passenger traffic, and there is a strong suspicion that transit affairs were so managed as to detain travelers here over night, and thus " make it pay." But like the transfer business, when the bridge was completed the Argyle's glory departed. It has gone into decay. Its walls are dingy and brown. A few of its lower rooms are occupied as shops ; and some of the ifpper rooms are occupied as residences by families, but for the most part it is unoccupied and tenantless. When first opened, it was managed by a hotelier from Chicago, named Luce, and in its almiest days had no psuperior on the Upper Mississippi. For ten years or more it was the pride and glory of Dunleith, but now its walls are blackened and weak, and its unoccupied rooms cheerless and dark.

Pro Bono Publico. - A Market House, with City Hall, was built in 1865. A Fire Company was organized about the same time, of which Augustus Switzer was foreman for a long time. A Fire Engine, Hose Cart and Apparatus, Fire Bell, Fireman's Silk Flag, etc., were purchased, without cost to the city, through a series of entertainments and balls, under the supervision and management of the Company's foreman.

EDUCATIONAL. - The original part of the present graded school building was erected in 1858. In 1864 an addition was made of sufficient size to afford ample room for fine, well conducted departments. This building is a plain, unpretentious brick structure costing only about $5,000. School is maintained about nine months of the year, during which the best educational talent to be had in the country is employed. There are 400 scholars (between six and twentyone years of age) in the district (No. i) entitled to school benefits. Of these, 250 are enrolled. Out of this number there is an average daily attendance at this time (Jan., 1878), of 220. Robert A. Hayes is principal, assisted by H. P. Caverly, Grammar Department; Carmie Daggett, Intermediate ; Kate Paul, Second Primary, and Julia Joy, First Primary.

CHURCHES. - The Presbyterians erected a small frame church in 1855, which was also used as a school house. This building gave way some years ago, and is now known only in name.

The Congregationalists commenced work here in 1861, and built a brick church edifice near the present school house. They occupied it until about 1870 or 1871, when they ceased, and sold their church building to the Methodists, who kept up regular services for about four years, when the society became too weak to maintain a pastor, and gave way before decreasing membership. The building is now occupied by the German Lutherans, who have regular preaching every Sabbath. They also maintain a well organized Sabbath-school The services and Sunday-school are conducted in the German tongue.

The Catholic Church edifice was erected under the management of Rev. Fathers Jarboe, Fortune and Bernard, in 1857, at a cost of $3,500. The contractor was William Melvin, a carpenter. He sub-let the stone work to James Muldowney, and the brick work to a man named Morrison. The church is a plain, substantial one, in which services are conducted every alternate Sabbath by the Rev. Father McMahan. The society has a membership of about 70 families.

NEWSPAPERS. - Dunleith had a weekly newspaper from June, 1857, to May, 1861 - four years. The first few (5) numbers were printed in Dubuque, by the Flaven Bros., who named their paper the Dunleith Commercial Advertiser. In August following the first issue, Mr. E. R. Paul, then of Potosi, Wisconsin, became interested in the publication, and removed hither a press and material, so that the sixth number, dated August 12, 1857, was printed entirely in Dunleith. In a brief time the Flaven Bros, retired, Mr. J. R. Flynn taking their interest. Flynn also withdrew in a few months, leaving M. Paul alone in its management. He continued to publish The Dunleith Advertiser until its discontinuance in May, 1861. At that time its patronage was transferred, as was also its proprietor, to the Galena Courier. No one has since ventured to establish a paper in Dunleith. The printing material was afterwards (in 1863 or '64), sold to parties in Lanark, Carroll County, this state.

Manufacturing Industries

Burt Machine Works. - The leading manufacturing industry is known and designated as above. They are not only the most extensive in Dunleith, but among the best known in the West, and are really the saving interests of the city in which they are maintained. This establishment was commenced in 1856, by D. R. Burt, father of C. S. Burt, as a manufactory of combined reapers and mowers, and were continued in that interest until destroyed by fire in 1863, which involved a loss of $50,000. Soon after the fire, the business was resumed in an old building near by, and during the early part of 1864 new buildings (the ones now occupied), were erected at a cost of $10,000, and supplied with the latest styles of machinery at an additional cost of $25,000. When operations were commenced in the new buildings, they added the manufacture of shingle-machines to that of reapers and mowers, and the combined industries were continued up to 1869, when the manufacture of reapers and mowers was abandoned, with the intention of making the manufacture of shingle machines a specialty, but there came a demand from Dubuque parties for large numbers of the Julien Churn, and the Burts entered into a contract to supply the demand, and turned out about 10,000 of these domestic machines. This additional industry did not interfere with their other machine operations, or cripple their capacity for other work. When the demand for the Julien Churn was supplied, the shops were employed almost exclusively, up to 1876, in the shingle machine business. At that date they added facilities and machinery for the manufacture of the McDermott Riding and Walking Cultivator, which line of business is still continued. The shops, as now managed, can turn out 3.000 of these cultivators per year, a little less than ten per day of ten hours, or nearly one cultivator per hour.

AP*ELD HUGO, Harness Maker; Dunleith ; born in Prussia Feb. 14, 1841 ; came to this country in 1852 ; enlisted in Co. D, 27th Regt. la. V. I. Aug. 16, 1862; mustered out Aug. 8, 1865; was engaged in capture of Little Rock, Ark., and eight other severe engagements, under A. J. Smith, 16th Army Corps; married Caroline Boiler, of Guttenburg, la., Sept. 16, 1866; have two children, Edward and Sophia ; held office of City Treasurer 1872, Town Clerk two years.

Armstrong Alexander

Molder; Dunleith; born in Galena Feb. 15, 1846; came to Dunleith in 1856; married Margaret Shalfo, from Minn., in 1865; have one child, Charles; has been engaged with C. S. & S. Burt for the past ten years.

BUCKLEY JOHN, Baggage Agent la. Div. I. C. R. R. ; Dunleith ; born in Susquehanna Co., Pa., July 4, 1832; came to this Co. in May, 1855; has been in the employ of the I. C. R. R. 23 years ; crossed the new bridge on the first train from Dunleith to Dubuque and took charge of the Baggage Department of the Iowa Division ; married Catharine McMannus, of Galena, July 5, 1857; have ten children: James H., John B., Annie C., Daniel, William L., Charles J., Martin H., Berlha K., Henry L. and one not yet named; lost two; held office of Alderman two years, Mayor three years, member School Board for the past eight years.

BURT CHARLES S. Manufacturer of Shingle Machines and Agricultural Implements, Third St., Dunleith; born in Grant Co., Wis., in 1838; came to Dunleith in May, 1856; married Mariana Blanchard, of Concord, N. H., in Sept., 1861; have three children living: Angelo R., Frank A. and Claudine B. ; lost one, Florence ; held the office of Alderman several terms ; holds the office of County Supervisor at this time.

BURT DANIEL, R. Retired; P. O. Dunleith; born in Florida, Montgomery Co., N. Y., Feb. 29, 1804; moved to Canada West in April, 1826; moved to Mich, in 1830; married Miss Ashley, of Clermont, N. H., in 1831 ; located in Grant Co., Wis., in 1835, where he purchased 3,000 acres of land ; in 1841 he was elected to the Territorial Legislature of Wis. and served four years; settled in Dunleith in 1856, since which time he has been extensively engaged in the manufacture of agricultural implements, smut machines, etc., together with his farming; two children, Charles S. and Roccy M. ; wife died Sept. 19, 1864 ; married present wife, Mrs. Mary J. Enor, Jan. 16, 1866; his son, Charles S., and brother, Silas, carry on the manufactory..

BURT SILAS Manufacturer Shingle Machine and Farm Implements; Dunleith; born in Montgomery Co., N. Y. ; came to Jo Daviess Co. in 1857 ; married Harriet Preston, of N. Y. ; had two children, Charles S., Hattie M. ; held office of Town Trustee 3 years, and School Director 5 years.

CAVERLY H. P. Assistant Principal in High School ; born in Straftbrd, N. H., May 10, 1839; married Lizzie M. Anderson, of Hanover, 111., Nov. 21, 1861 ; had six children : May L., Allin B., Cora E., Clarence C. ; two died in infancy ; came to this Co. in 1861 ; held office of Town

Jo Dav1E8S County Directory

CHAPMAtf J. B. Painter; Dunleith; born in England, Oct. 14, 1826; emigrated to 111., in 1848; settled in Jo Daviess Co. in 1856 ; married Betsey Winsor, from England, 1848; had thirteen children; three are dead.