Dane County, Wisconsin - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 2 of those read), 1880 (part 2 of 5)

What has been written in support of Nicolet's claim as the re-discoverer of the Mississippi is based upon this declaration of Father Vimont, in the Jesuit Relation of 1640: "The Sieur Nicolet, who has penetrated the furthest into these so remote countries, assured me that, if he had sailed three days further upon a large river which issues from this lake, he would have reached the sea." It is evident that the " remote countries " referred to by Vimont are those of the upper lakes traversed by Nicolet, and that the words, " this lake " had reference to Green Bay and Lake Michigan combined. But we are told, also, that the phrase, " a large river," means the Wisconsin, and that "the sea" spoken of is the Mississippi, Nicolet taking the word missippi (great water) to mean "the sea," instead of that river. A careful consideration of the length of the Wisconsin below the "portage," and of the time usually employed by Indians in navigating it, justify the assertion that the words of the Relation of 1640 - " if he had sailed three days further upon a large river " - =^have no application to that stream. The words " three days further " clearly imply that he had already sailed several days ; whereas, the distance, 118 miles, down the rapid current of the river, from the "portage" to the Mississippi, was less than three days' " sail " for the swift birch-bark canoe of the savage, and would have been for the swift birch-bark canoe of Nicolet. Upon examination of the Relation of 1654, a sentence is found which has heretofore escaped attention in this connection : " It is only nine days' journey from this great lake [Green Bay and Lake Michigan combined] to the sea," where " the sea " is evidently identical with the one mentioned by Nicolet to Vimont and spoken of by the latter in the Relation of 1640. It is discovered, upon investigation, that the average time for canoe voyages up the Fox River, from its mouth to the "portage," in early times, was nine days. The "sea," then, of Nicolet - missippi oi the savages - was the Wisconsin River,

A word as to the mistake of Nicolet in stating, that, while on " a large river " (the Fox), he nearly reached- "the sea." Nicolet's mind, even before he left the St. Lawrence, was inflamed with vague reports of a "great water" to the westward of Winnebgoes, which was supposed by him to be a sea. When, therefore, he entered Green Bay and the Fox River, and heard the savages, as they pointed toward the west, repeat the word missippi (great water, not "father of waters ") it was an easy matter for him to mistake their meaning and conclude a sea was nigh, when, in fact, they were trying to tell him of the Wisconsin, which was itself the " great water," or a tributary thereof. But why should Nicolet have " sailed " up Fox River to within three days of "the sea " (that is to say, of the Wisconsin), and have gone no further ? The answer is that six days' journeying brought him to the homes of the Mascoutins, or Fire Nation - Gens de Feu. These Indians were a powerful nation of Algonquins, who had for their neighbors, probably, the Kickapoos and Miamis. It is certain that Nicolet visited not only the Winnebagoes, but some of the surrounding tribes. It would be his policy, of course, to smoke the pipe of peace with the bravest and most warlike of these, were they of easy access. Such were the Mascoutins, as is to be inferred from cotemporaneous accounts and from the journals of those whites who, not long after, saw them in their villages, located, probably, within the present limits of Green Lake County, Wis. West of the Mascoutins, at that period (1634), there were living no tribes of Indians either u^on the Fox or Wisconsin ; at least, there is no tradition that such was the case. Beyond the Wisconsin, and a,bove its confluence with the Mississippi, there resided some Dakota bands - the terrible Sioux. Without doubt, a journey so far as the villages of these savages was not to be thought of by Nicolet, if it was his purpose, as it must have been, to return to the St. Lawrence early in the summer of 1635. It is suggested, therefore, that hfe turned back, after visiting the Mascoutins, to the Winnebagoes - going up Fox River no farther than the village of the Fire Nation.

It will be borne .in mind that Vimont speaks of a "large river [the Fox] which issues from the lake," meaning Green Bay and Lake Michigan combined. Now, the account taken from the lips of Nicolet by Vimont, found in the Relation of 1640, was not, propably, reduced to writing until sometime subsequent to its narration, and very naturally the writer (Vimont) would conclude that the narrator was mistaken in stating (and he probably did so state) that the "large river " flowed into Green Bay ; at the same time declaring that, had he sailed three days further upon it, he would have reached the sea. Rivers do not flow out of seas into lakes ; they frequeatly flow out of lakes into seas. Doubtless, then, when Vimont wrote down his recollection of what Nicolet had told him, he took the liberty of correcting v^hat would seem to be so manifestly an error. Hence, as the sentence stands in the Relation of 1640, Fox River flows out of Green Bay, but every one knows that it empties into it. The language, therefore, of Vimont, as now interpreted, is equivalent to this: "The Sieur Nicolet, who has penetrated the furthest into the upper lake regions, assured me [Vimont] that if he had paddled his birch-bark canoe three days further up the Fox River, which flows into Green Bay, he would have reached the Wisconsin." Nicolet, then, did not reach the Wisconsin River; and he was not in Dane County at that period, nor at any subsequent or previous date.

John Talon, intendant of Canada, labored assiduously to develop the industrial resources of Now France. In 1670, he ordered Daumont de St. Lusson to search for copper mines on Lake Superior, and at the same time to take possession, in a formal manner, of the whole interior country for the King of France. St. Lusson set out accordingly, accompanied by a small party of men and Nicholas Perrot, a Canadian voyageur, as interpreter, who spoke Algonquin fluently and was favorably known to many tribes of that family. It was arranged that St. Lusson should wmter at the Manitoulin Islands, while Perrot proceeded to invite the tribes to a general conference at the Sault Ste. Marie, in the following spring. The interpreter, having first sent

St. Lusson and his men, fifteen in number, arrived at the Sault more than a month in advance of the day set for the meeting. When all the Indians had reached the rapids, the Frenchman prepared to execute the commission with which he was charged. A large cross of wood had been made ready. It was now reared and planted in the ground. Then a post of cedar was planted beside it with a metal plate attached, engraved with the royal arms. " In the name," said St. Lusson, " of the most high, mighty and redoubtable monarch, Louis, fourteenth of that name, most Christian King of France and of Navarre, I take possession of this place, Sainte Marie du Sault, as also of Lakes Huron and Superior, the Island of Manitoulin, and all countries, rivers, lakes, and streams contiguous and adjacent thereto ; both those which have been discovered and those which may be discovered hereafter, in all their length and breadth, bounded on the one side by the seas of the North, and of the West, and on the other by the South Sea : declaring to the nations thereof, that from this time forth they are vassals of his majesty, bound to obey his laws and follow his customs : promising them on his part all succor and protection against the incursions and invasions of their enemies : declaring to all other potentates, princes, sovereigns, states and republics - to them and their subjects - that they cannot and are not to seize or settle upon any parts of the aforesaid countries, saveonly under the good pleasure of his most Christian majesty, and of him who will govern in his behalf; and this on pain of incurring his resentment and the efforts of his arms." Thus passed, so far as words and shouts could effect it, the Northwest, including the whole area of the present State of Wisconsin, under the domination of France. And why not ? She had discovered it, had to a certain extent explored it, had to a limited extent established commerce with it, and her missionaries had proclaimed the faith to its wandering savages. But none of her fur-traders, none of her missionaries, none of her agents, had yet reached the Mississippi, the great river, concerning which so many marvels had been heard. Now, however, the hour was at hand, in which would be solved the problem and be revealed the mystery of the "great water " of the savages. The Governor of Canada was resolved that the stream should be reached and explored. He made choice of Louis Joliet, who was with St. Lusson when the Northwest was for the first time claimed for the King of France, and who had just returned to Quebec from Lake Superior. This was in the year 1672. Said the Governor, on the 2d of November : " It has been judged expedient to send Sieur Joliet, to the Maskouteins [Mascoutins] to discover the South Sea, and the great river they call the Mississippi, which is supposed to discharge itself into the Sea of California." " He is a man," continues Frontenac," " of great experience in these sorts of discoveries, and has already been almost at the great river, the mouth of which he promises to see."

Joliet passed up the lakes, and, on the 17th of May, 1673 (having with him Father James Marquette and five others), started from the mission of St. Ignatius, a point north of the Island of Mackinaw, in the present county of JVIackinaw, Mich., journeying in two bark canoes, firmly resolved to do all and to suffer all for the glory of re-discovering the Mississippi. Every possible precaution was taken, should the undertaking prove hazardous, that it should not be foolhardy; so, whatever of information could be gathered from the Indians who had frequented those parts, was laid under contribution, before paddling merrily over the waters to the westward, and up Green Bay to the mouth of Fox River. Thg first Indian nation met by Joliet was the Menomonees. He was advised by them not to venture so far into ulterior regions, assured that he would meet tribes which never spare strangers, but tomahawk them without provocation ; that the war which had broken out among various nations on his route exposed him and his men to another evident danger - that of being killed by the war parties constantly in the path ; that the " great river " was very dangerous unless the difficult parts were known ; that itwas full of frightful monsters which swallowed up men and canoes together ; that there was even a demon there, who could be heard from afar, who stopped the passage and engulfed all who dared approach ; and lastly, that the heat was so excessive in those countries, that it would infallibly cause their deaths. Nevertheless,

Joliet determined to persevere ; so he ascended Fox River to the portage, he and his companions heing the first white men to set foot upon any portion of the territory now constituting Columbia County.

Joliet found the Fox River very beautiful at its mouth, having a gentle current. It was full of bustards, duck, teal and other birds, attracted by wild oats, which were plentiful, and of which they were very fond. As the party advanced up the river a little distance, it was four.d to be difficult of ascent, both on account of the currents and of the sharp rocks which cut their canoes. Nevertheless, the rapids in the stream were passed in safety, when the party, not long after, came to the nation of the Mascoutins. In their village were also gathered two other tribes - the Miamis and Kickapoos. The Miamis were found to be civil in their deportment. They wore two long ear-locks, which gave them a good appearance. They had the name of being warriors, and seldom sent out war parties in vain. They were found very docile, disposed to listen quietly to what was said to them. The Mascoutins and the Kickapoos, however, were rude, and more like peasants, compared to the Miamis. Bark for cabins was found to be rare in this village, the Indians using rushes, which served them for walls and roof, but which were no great shelter against the wind, and still less against the rain when it fell in torrents. The advantage of that kind of cabins was that they could be rolled up and easily carried whenever it suited these Indians in hunting-time.

The view from the Indian village was beautiful and very picturesque, for, from the eminence on which it was perched, the eye discovered on every side delightful prairies, spreading away beyond its reach, interspersed with thickets or groves of lofty trees. The soil was found to be very good, producing much corn. Plums, also, and grapes were gathered in the autumn in quantities by the Indians.

" We knew," wrote Father Marquette, " that there was, three [thirty] leagues from Maskoutens [Mascoutins], a river entering into the Mississippi ; wo knew, too, that the point of the compass we were to hold to reach it was west-southwest, but the way is so cut up by marshes and little lakes that it is easy to go astray, especially as the river leading to it is so covered with wild oats that you can hardly discover the channel. Hence, we had great need of our two [Miami] guides, who led us safely to a portage of twenty-seven hundred paces [the site now occupied by the city of Portage] and helped us to transport our canoes to enter this river [Wisconsin], after which they returned, leaving us alone in an unknown country in the hands of Providence.

"We now leave," continues Marquette, "the waters which flow to Quebec, a distance of four or five hundred leagues, to follow those which will henceforth lead us into strange lands. Before embarking, we all began together a new devotion to the Blessed Virgin Immaculate, which we practiced every day, addressing her particular prayers to put under her protection both our persons and the success of our voyage. Then after having encouraged one another we got into our canoes. The river on which we embarked is called Meskousing [Wisconsin] ; it is very broad, with a sandy bottom, forming many shallows, which render navigation very difficult. It is full of vine-clad islets. On the banks appear fertile lands diversified with wood, prairie an.d hill. Here you find oaks, walnut, whitewood and another kind of tree with branches armed with thorns. We saw no small game or fish, but deer and moose in considerable numbers."

As these adventurers floated down the Wisconsin, they saw on their left the territory now constituting a portion of Dane County ; and in all probability they passed over parts of what are now the towns of Roxbury and Mazomanie, which extend to the center of the channel of that river ; they were, therefore, the first white men to pass over a part of what is now the county of Dane, and it is not at all improbable that they may have landed somewhere within its present limits.

On the 17th of June, with a joy that was inexpressible, Joliet and his party entered the Mississippi. After dropping down the "great river" many miles, Joliet returned to Green

B38 Histoey Of Dane County

Bay, thence to Quebec, to report his discovery and explorations to the Governor of New France, while Marquette remained at the Bay to recruit his wasted energies.

Early French Explorers

Not many years elapsed after the visit of Joliet and his companion to the Wisconsin, before that river was again navigated by civilized man. Louis Hennepin, a Recollet friar, and his party, as a detail from La Salle's expedition to the Illinois, reached the portage in 1680, on his way from the Upper Mississippi to the great lakes, passing up the Wisconsin and down the Fox River to Green Bay. He says :

" After we had rowed about seventy leagues upon the River Ouisconsin [Wisconsin], we came to the place where we were forced to carry our canoe for half a league. We lay at this place all night, and left marks of our having been there by the crosses which we cut on the bark of the trees. Next day, having carried our canoe and the rest of our little equipage over this piece of land [the portage], we entered upon a river -[the Fox] which makes almost as many meanders as that of the Illinois at its rise."

"About forty-five leagues up this river [the Wisconsin], on the right, is a portage of more than a league in length. The half of this portage is a bog ; at the end of this portage, there is a little river [the Fox] that falls into a bay called the Bay of the Puanz [Green Bay], inhabited by a great number of nations that carry their furs to Canada."

" On the 8th of October [1766], we got our canoes into the Ouisconsin [Wisconsin] River, which at this place [the portage, now the city of Portage] is more than 100 yards wide ; and the next day arrived at the Great Town of the Saukies [Sauks or Sacs]^ This is the largest and bestbuilt Indian town I ever saw. It contains about 90 houses, each large enough for several families. These are built of hewn plank neatly jointed, and covered with bark so compactly as to keep out the most penetrating rains. Before the doors are placed comfortable sheds, in which the inhabitants sit, when the weather will permit, and smoke their pipes. The streets are regular and spacious, so that it appears more like a civilized town than the abode of savages. The land near the town is very good. In their plantations, which lie adjacent to their houses, and which are neatly laid out, they raise great quantities of Indian corn, beans, melons, etc., so that this place is esteemed the best market for traders to furnish themselves with provisions of any within 800 miles of it.

" The Saukies can raise about 300 warriors, who are generally employed every summer in making incursions into the territories of the Illinois and Pawnee nations, from whence they return with a great number of slaves. But those people frequently retaliate, and, in their turn, destroy many of the Saukies, which I judge to be the reason that they increased no faster.

" While I stayed here, I took a view of some mountains that lie about fifteen miles to the southward [Blue Mounds], and abound in lead ore. I ascended one of the highest of these and had an extensive view of the country. For many miles, nothing was to be seen but lesser mountains, which appeared at a distance like hay-cocks, they being free from trees. Only a few groves of hickory and stunted oaks covered some of the valleys. So plentiful is lead here, that I saw large quantities of it lying about the streets in the towns, belonging to the Saukies, and it seemed to be as good as the produce of other countries.

" On the 10th of October, we proceeded down the river, and the next day reached the first town of the Ottigaumies [Foxes]. This town contained about fifty houses, but we found most of them deserted, on account of an epidemical disorder that had lately raged among them, and carried ofi" more than one-half of the inhabitants. The greater part of those who survived had retired into the woods to avoid the contagion.

" On the 15th, we entered that extensive river, the Mississippi. The Ouisconsin, from th^ carrying-place [the portage] to the part where it falls into the Mississippi, flows with a smooth but a strong current ; the water of it is exceedingly clear, and through it you may perceive a fine and sandy bottom, tolerably free from rocks. In it are a few islands, the soil of which appeared to be good, though somewhat woody. The land near the river also seemed to be, in general, excellent ; but that at a distance is very full of mountains, where, it is said, there are many lead mines."*

The Wisconsin Kiver An Early Highsvay

At various times in the las*, half of the seventeenth century, also during nearly the whole of the eighteenth century, the Wisconsin River was a highway of travel between the great lakes and the Mississippi, for the fur-trader, the missionary and the explorer. Small squads of French soldiers sometimes passed down this stream to Western posts returning to the St. Lawrence by the same route. But the way was sometimes blockaded by the Fox Indians, who lived first upon the Fox River and then upon the Wisconsin. In the course of time, the French lost their supremacy upon these two rivers, and the English took (at least a nominal) possession of them. This was in 1761. Thenceforward travel was not seriously interfered with until the year 1827. Meanwhile, the two water-courses had passed into the possession of the United States. In 1814, Col. McKay, of the British Army, came up the Fox River from Green Bay, with a large force of whites and Indians, crossed the portage to the Wisconsin, and floated down that stream to Prairie du Chien, capturing the post at that place from the United States. In 1818, William Farnsworth, who subsequently resided at Sheboygan,' accompanied by twenty others, traveled from Green Bay to St. Louis by these rivers and the Mississippi. In 1819, the Fifth Regiment of United States Infantry moved up the Fox River from Fort Howard, and down the Wisconsin to Prairie du Chien. Ebenezer Childs, a well-known Wisconsin pioneer, made the same trip in a bark canoe in 1821. He conducted the first Durham boat that ever made this journey. In 1826, a flotilla of thirty-five boats carried the Third United States Infantry from Green Bay to St. Louis by the same rivers and Mississippi. In 1827, Gen. Cass passed along this route to ascertain the feeling among the Winnebagoes toward the United States, for hostilities were portending with that nation. It will thus be seen that along the northwest corner of what is now Dane County, passed and re-passed, at longer and shorter intervals, civilized as well as savage men, from the time the first white man passed down the Wisconsin until the period when the county received its first settler ; and it will hereafter be seen that the travel afterward greatly increased. Only glimpses as yet of the county had been caught from passing boats ; no one had explored its interior who left a record behind him of what he saw. The Four Lakes and the Four Lake country had often been seen by the French trader and voyageur ; but of the surpassing beauty of these lakelets and the surrounding country, nothing had been as yet published to the world. Americans generally were in ignorance of the whole region. Occasionally, a hardy miner passed beyond the limits of the lead region, or some explorer crossed the country from the settlement at Green Bay to the lead mines. To the outside world, however, the valley of the Yahara was as yet a sealed book ; no account of it had appeared in print, nor had any map noted its beautiful lakes.

The Winnebago War

During the winter of 1825-26, there were confined in the guard-house of Fort-Crawford, at Prairie du Chien, because of some alleged dishonest act, two Winnebago Indians. In October, 1826, the fort was abandoned and the garrison removed to Fort Snelling. The commandant took with him the two Winnebagoes. During the spring of 1827, the reports about the Winnebagoes bore, at Prairie du Chien, a threatening aspect. It was circulated among them that the two members of their tribe at Fort Snelling had been been killed. It was apparent that a spirit of enmity between the Indians and whites in Southwestern Wisconsin was eff'ectually stirred up.

In addition to this, were the daily encroachments of miners in the lead region ; for the latter had, at this time, overrun the mining country from Galena to the Wisconsin River. Finally, the difficulties led to an open rapture.

On the 28th of June, 1827, Red Bird, We-Kaw, and three of their companions, entered the house of Rijeste Gagnier, about two miles from Prairie du Chien, where they remained several hours. At last, when Mr. Gagnier was least expecting it. Red Bird leveled his gun and shot him dead on his hearthstone. A person in the building, by the name of Lipcap, who was a hired man, was slain at the same time by We-Kaw. Madame Gagnier turned to fly with her infant of eighteen months. As she was about to leap through the window, the child was torn from her arms by We-Kaw, stabbed, scalped and thrown violently on the floor as dead.

The murderer then attacked the woman, but gave way when she snatched up a gun that was leaning against the wall, and presented it to his breast. She then effected her escape. Her eldest son, a lad of ten years, also shunned the murderers; and tl^ey both. arrived in the village at the same time. The alarm was soon given ; but, when the avengers of blood arrived at Gagnier's house, they found in it nothing living but his mangled infailt. It was carried to the village, and, incredible as it may seem, it recovered.

Red Bird and his companions immediately proceeded from the scene of their crime to the rendezvous of their band. During their absence, thirty-seven of the warriors who acknowledged the authority of Red Bird, had assembled, with their wives and children, near the mouth of the Bad Axe River. They received the murderers with joy, and loud approbation of their exploit. A keg of liquor which they had secured was set abroach ; and the red men began to drink, and, as their spirits rose, to boast of what they had already done and intended to do. Two days did they continue to revel ; and on the third the source of their excitement gave out. They were, at about 4 in the afternoon, dissipating the last fumes of their excitement in the scalp-dance, when they descried one of the keel-boats, which had a few days before passed up the river with provisions for the troops at Fort Snelling, on her return, in charge of Mr. Lindsay. Forthwith, a proposal to take her and massacre the crew, was made, and carried by acclamation. They counted on doing this without risk ; for they had examined her on the way up and supposed there were no arms on board.

Mr. Lindsay's boats had descended the river as far as the village of Wabashaw, where they expected an attack. The Dakotas on shore were dancing the war-dance, and hailed their approach with insults and menaces, but did not, however, offer to obstruct their passage. The whites now supposed the danger over ; and, a strong wind at that moment beginning to blow up stream, the boats parted company. So strong was the wind, that all the force of the sweeps could scarcely stem it ; and, by the time the foremost boat was near the encampment, at the mouth of the Bad Axe River, the crew were very willing to stop and rest. One or two Frenchmen, or half-breeds, who were on board, observed hostile appearances on shore, and advised the rest to keep the middle of the stream ; but their counsel was disregarded. Most of the crew were Americans, who, as usual with our countrymen, combined a profound ignorance of Indian character with a thorough contempt for Indian prowess. They urged the boat directly toward the camp with all the force of the sweeps. There were sixteen men on deck. It may be well to observe here, that this, like all keel-boats used in the Mississippi Valley, was built almost exactly on the model of the Erie & Middlesex Canal boats.

The men were rallying their French companions on their apprehensions, and the boat (named Oliver H. Perry) was within thirty yards of the shore, when suddenly the trees and rocks rang with the blood-chilling, ear-piercing toiies of the war-whoop, and a volley of rifle-balls rained upon the deck. Happily, the Winnebagoes had not yet recovered from the effects of their debauch, and their arms were not steady. One man only fell from their fire. He was a little negro, named Peter. His leg was dreadfully shattered, and he afterward died of the wound. A second volley soon came from the shore ; but, as the men were lying at the bottom of the boat, they all escaped but one, who was shot through the heart. Encouraged by the non-resistance, the Winnebagoes rushed to their canoes, with intent to board. The whites, having recovered from their first panic, seized their arms, and the boarders were received with a very severe discharge. In one canoe, two savages were killed with the same bullet, and several were wounded. The attack was continued until night, when one of the party, named Mandeville, who had assumed command, sprang into the water, followed by four others, who succeeded in setting the boat afloat, and then went down the stream.

Thirty-seven Indians were engaged in this battle, seven of whom were killed and fourteen wounded. They managed to put 693 bullets into and through the boat. Two of the crew were killed outright, "two mortally and two slightly wounded. The presence of mind of Mandeville undoubtedly saved the rest, as well as the boat. Mr. Lindsay's boat, the rear one, did not reach the mouth of the Bad Axe until midnight. The Indians opened fire upon her, which was promptly returned, but, owing to the darkness, no injury was done, and the boat passed on safely.

Great was the alarm at Prairie du Chien when the boats arrived there. The people left their houses and farms, and crowded into the dilapidated fort. An express was immediately sent to Gajena, and another to Fort Snelling, for assistance. A company of upward of a hundred vpiunteers soon arrived from Galena, and the minds of the inhabitants were quieted. In a few days, four imperfect companies arrived from Fort Snelling. The consternation of the people of the lead mines was great, and in all the frontier settlements. This portion of the country then coatained, as is supposed, about five thousand inhabitants. A great many of them fled from the country.

On the 1st of September, 1827, Maj. William Whistler, with Government troops, arrived at' the portage; and, while there, an express arrived from Gen. Atkinson, announcing his approach, and directing him to halt and fortify himself and wait his arrival. The object of the joint expedition of Gen. Atkinson from Jefferson Barracks, below St. Louis, and of Maj . Whistler, from Fort Howard, at Green Bay, was, to capture those who had committed the murders at Prairie du Chien, and put a stop to any further aggression. The Winnebagoes were advised that the security of their people lay in the surrender of the murderers of the Gagnier family. While Maj. Whistler was at the portage, he received a call in a mysterious way. An Indian came to his tent, and informed him that, at about 3 o'clock the next day, " they will come in." In reply to the question, " Who will come in ?" he said,. " Red Bird and We-Kau." After making this answer, he retired by the way he came. At 3 o'clock the same day, another Indian came, and took position in nearly the same place and in the same way, when, to like questions he gave like answers ; and at sundown a third came, confirming what the two had said, adding that he had, to secure that object, given to the families of the murderers nearly all his property.

There was something heroic in this voluntary surrender. The giving-away of property to the families of the guilty parties had nothing to do with their determination to devote themselves for the good of their people, but only to reconcile those who were about to be bereaved to the dreadful expedient. The heroism of the purpose is seen in the fact that the murders committed at Prairie du Chien were not wanton, but in retaliation for wrongs committed on this people by the whites. The parties murdered at the prairie were doubtless innocent of the wrongs and outrages of which the Indians complained ; but the law of Indian retaliation does not require that he alone who commits a wrong shall suffer for it. One scalp is held due for another, no matter whose head is taken, provided it be torn from the crown of the family or people who may have made a resort to this law a necessity.

About noon of the day following, there were seen descending a mound on the portage a body of Indians. Some were mounted and some were on foot. By the aid of a glass the Americans could discern the direction to be toward their position. They bore no arms, and no one was at a loss to understand that the promise made by the three Indians was about to be fulfilled. In the couse of half an hour they had approached within a short distance of the crossing of Fox River, when on a sudden singing was heard. Those who were familiar with the air said, "It is a death song." When still nearer, some present who knew him said, "It is Red Bird

The Menomonees and other Indians who had accompanied the troops were lying carelessly about the ground, regardless of what was going on ; but when the " scalp-yells " were uttered, they sprang as one man to their feet, seized their rifles, and were ready for battle. They were at no loss to know what these "yells " were; but they had not heard with sufficient accuracy to decide whether they indicated scalps to be taken or given, but doubtless inferred the first.

Barges were sent across to receive, and an escort of military to accompany, them within the lines. The ^hite flag which had been seen in the distance was borne by Red Bird.

And now the advance of the Indians had reached half up the ascent of the bluff on which was the encampment. In the lead was Car-i-mi-nie, a distinguished chief. Arriving on the level upon which was the encampment of the Americans, and order being called, Car-i-mi-nie spoke, saying, " They are here. Like braves they have come in ; treat them as braves ; do not put them in irons." This address was made to Col. McKenney. The latter told him he was not the big captain. His talk must be made to Maj. Whistler, who would do what was right. Mr. Marsh, the sub-agent, being there, an advance was made to him, and a hope expressed that the prisoners might be turned over to him.

The military had been previously drawn out in line. The Menomonee and Wabanackie (Oneida) Indians were in groups, upon their haunches, on the left flank. On the right was the band of music, a little in advance of the line. In front of the center, about ten paces distant, were the murderers. On their right and left were those who had accompanied them, forming a semi-circle ; the magnificent Red Bird and the miserable-looking We-Kaw a little in advance of the center. All eyes were fixed on Red Bird. In height he was about six feet, straight but without restraint. His propor,tions were those of most exact symmetry ; and these embraced the entire man from his head to his feet.

He and We-Kaw were told to sit down. At this moment, the band struck up Pleyel's Hymn. Everything was still. Red Bird turned his eyes toward the Ijand. The music having ceased, he took up his pouch, and, taking from it kinnikinnic and tobacco, cut the latter in the palm of his hand, after the Indian fashion ; then, rubbing the two together, filled the bowl of his calumet, struck fire on a bit of punk with his flint and steel, lighted and smoked it. All sat except the speaker. The substance of what they said was as follows :

They were required to bring in the murderers. They had no power over any except two ; the third had gone away ; and these had voluntarily agreed to come in and give themselves up. As their friends, they had come with them. They hoped their white brothers would agree to accept the horses, of which there were perhaps twenty ; the meaning of which was, to take them in commutation for the lives of their two friends. They asked kind treatment for them, and earnestly besought that they might not be put in irons, and concluded by asking for a little tobacco and something to eat.

They were answered and told in substance that they had done well thus to come in. By having done so, they had turned away our guns and saved their people. They were admonished against placing themselves in a like situation in the future, and advised, when they were aggrieved, not to resort to violence, but to go to their agent, who would inform the Great Father of their complaints, and he would redress their grievances ; that their friends should be treated kindly, and tried by the same laws by which their Great Father's white children were tried ; that for the present. Red Bird and We-Kaw should not be put in irons ; that they should all have something to eat and tobacco to smoke.

Having heard this. Red Bird stood up; the commanding oflicer, Maj. Whistler, a few paces in front of the center of the line, facing him. After a moment's pause and a quick survey of the troops, he spoke, saying, "Jam ready. '^ Then, advancing a step or two, he paused, saying, " I do not wish to be put in irons. Let me be free. I have given away my life ; it is gone " (stooping and taking some dust between his finger and thumb and blowing it away) "hke that," eyeing the dust as it fell and vanished from his sight, adding, "I would not take it back; it is gone." Having thus spoken, he threw his hands behind him and marched up to Maj. W histler, breast to breast. A platoon was wheeled backward from the center of the linCj when, the Major stepping aside. Red Bird and We-Kaw marched through the line, in charge of a file of men, to a tent provided for them in the rear, where a guard was set over them. The comrades of the two captives then left the ground by the way they had come, taking with them our advice and a supply of meat, flour and tobacco.

We-Kaw, the miserable-looking being, the accomplice of the Red Bird, was in all things the opposite of that unfortunate brave. Never were two persons so totally unlike. The one seemed a prince, and as if born to command and worthy to be obeyed ; the other, as if he had been born to be hanged - meager, cold, dirty in his person and dress, crooked in form like the starved wolf, gaunt, hungry and bloodthirsty ; his entire appearance indicating the presence of a spirit wary, cruel arid treacherous. The prisoners were committed into safe-keeping at Prairie du Chien, to await their trial in the regular courts of justice for murder.

The next spring, Red Bird, We-Kaw and another Winnebago prisoner were tried at Prairie du Chien, before Judge J. D. Doty, who went from Green Bay, by way of the portage, for that purpose, convicted and sentenced to death. Red Bird died in prison. A deputation of the tribe went to Washington to solicit the pardon of the others. President Adams granted it on the implied condition that the tribe would cede the lands then in the possession of the miners. The Winnebagoes agreed to this. Mme. Gagnier was compensated for the loss of her husband and the mutilation of her infant. At the treaty held at Prairie du Chien in 1829, provision was made for two sections of land to her and her two children ; the Government agreed to pay her the sum of $50 per annum for fifteen years, to be deducted from the annuity of the Winnebago Indians.

In closing this account of the " Winnebago war," we give an anecdote which places the Winnebago character in an amiable light : The militia of Prairie du Chien, immediately after the affair of the boats, seized the old chief, De-kau-ray, and four other Indians ; and he was informed, that, if Red Bird should not be given up within a certain time, he and the others were to die in his place. This he steadfastly believed. A messenger, a young Indian, was sent to inform the tribe of the state of affairs ; and several days had elapsed and no information was received of the murderers. The dreadful day was near at hand, and De-kau-ray, being in bad state of health, asked permission of the ofi&cer to go to the river and indulge in his long- accustomed habit of bathing in order to improve his health ; upon which Col. Snelling told him if he would promise, on the honor of a chief, that he would not leave town, he might have his liberty and enjoy all his privileges until the day appointed for his execution. Accordingly, he first gave his hand to the Colonel, thanking him for his friendly offer, then raised both hands aloft and in the most solemn adjuration promised that he would not leave the bounds prescribed, and said if he had a hundred lives he would sooner lose them all than forfeit his word. He was then set at liberty. He was advised to flee to the wilderness and make his escape. " But no!" said he, " do you think I prize life above honor?" He then complacently remained until nine days of the ten which he had to live had elapsed, and still nothing was heard promising the apprehension of the murderers. No alteration could be seen in the countenance of the chief. It so happened that,, on that day, Gen. Atkinson arrived with his troops from Jefferson Barracks, and the order for the execution was countermanded and the Indians permitted to return to their homes.

Immediately after the cessation of hostilities, the miners pressed farther to the eastward in the lead region, and, as a consequence, the western limits of what is now Dane County were reached.

Ohaptee Iii

FiBST Settlee in Dane County - Dane County Explored - Indian Trails - First Koad in THE County - A Glimpse of the Wilderness- The Black Hawk War- The Four Lake Country After the Black Hawk War - Early French Residents.

The first permanent American settler in Dane County was Ebenezer Brigham. He was born at Shrewsbury, Worcester Co., Mass., April 28, 1789. In 1818, he came to Olean Point, in the State of New York. The Alleghany River was then the only channel known through Western New York, and that was only navigated by canoes, rafts or skiifs. He came through in a canoe, and at Pittsburgh took a flatboat down the Ohio River. The villages on the river were all small. During the journey down, he saw but one steamboat. On arriving at Shawneetown, he landed and walked through to St. Louis. There was nothing at that place but a small French settlement - not more than three or four brick houses in the town. In 1822, he followed up the Mississippi, on horseback, to Galena, where he found James Johnson, a brother of Richard M. Johnson, who was just opening the mines. Galena then consisted of one log cabin completed, and another under way, which he assisted in finishing. He subsequently returned to Springfield, 111. In 1827, he started for Wisconsin with an ox team, seeking the lead region again. At that time there was a large emigration to the southwestern part of the Territory, as lead ore was abundant and the price remunerative. He remained awhile with a small party on what is now the Block House Branch of the Platte River, about four miles south of the present village of Platteville, in Grant County, for the purpose of prospecting for mineral. From this point the party retreated in haste to Galena, owing to the commencement of hostilities by the Winnebago Indians. In the spring of 1828, he removed to Blue Mounds, the most advanced outpost in the mines, into what is now the town of Blue Mounds, Dane County, where, at some abandoned diggings, on Section 7, he soon discovered a valuable body of mineral, as lead ore was then and still is called by the miners in the lead region. The lode discovered by him had previously been worked by Indians and white men. The only source of food supply was from Galena. On his arrival he erected a cabin, the first house, in what is now Dane County, built by a permanent American settler. Its location was on the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 5, as afterward (in 1833) surveyed by the United States Surveyors. It was east of south of the JEast Blue Mound, and distant from it nearly half a mile. Soon after he had raised his cabin, he took a trip with two companions to Fort Winnebago, to asQgrtain whether food could not be more easily obtained at that point. The route taken was north of Lake Mendota, on the line of the military road afterward laid out. He obtained a supply of salt pork, hard bread, powder and some other things, of a sutler, not loading heavily, and on the return struck south, striking the old trail that formerly ran between Lake Monona and Lake Mendota, following it up to the hill where the State House in Madison now stands, where he encamped overnight. Intercourse with the Indians had made known to him the existence of the lake region before he started. From the enchanting view of the spot, he predicted that a village would be built there, and probably be the future capital of the Territory. The isolsited condition of Mr. Brigham, where he settled, will be apparent from the statement of a few facts: The nearest settler was at what is now Dodgeville. Mineral Point and other mining places where villages have since grown up, had not been discovered. On the southeast, the nearest house was on the Des Plain es River, twelve miles west of Chicago. On the east, Solomon Juneau was his nearest neighbor, at the mouth of the Milwaukee River, and on the northeast, Green Bay was the nearest settlement.

Shortly after locating at the Mounds, Mr. Brigham, in company with William S. Hamilton, Mr. Gratiot and some others, visited Green Bay in order to settle on certain boundaries between the whites and the Indians. The line was fixed upon, and the Indians blazed the trees along this line, notifying the whites not to pass it, a prohibition not at all effectual, as any one would readily conclude.

For several years after his coming, the savages were plentiful around the Four Lakes ; a large Indian village stood near the mouth of Token Creek ; another stood on the ridge between Lake Waubesa and Lake Monona, and their wigwams were seen at different points along the stream.s.

Soon after his settlement, he was honored with the appointment of Magistrate from Lewis Cass, Governor of the Territory of Michigan, of which Territory Wisconsin was then a part. He held this commission for four years, and all the duty he performed during that time was to marry one couple. He often related an anecdote of being called upon to go some thirty miles to marry a couple, but, on arriving within a short distance of the place, word had been left there that the fair lady had changed her mind, and he must not come any farther. Mr. Brigham, however, went on and introduced another friend, who succeeded in making a contract, and the next spring he was called upon to ratify it ; this was the only official act of a fouryears' term of Justice of the Peace.

The principal object of his location at the Blue Mound, as before stated, was mining for lead. His first diggings were on the section line between Sections 7 and 18, but his furnace was immediately west of his house. The location of his diggings was a mile and a quarter from his house, in a southwesterly direction. The military road ran east and west, between the house and his mine. Brigham, however, cultivated the soil in a small way, having his fields near his house. One of the " leads " on his land was " proved " before his death to the depth of over seventy-five feet, when the workmen were prevented by water from going deeper. Upward of 4,000,000 pounds were taken from this mine with no other machinery than the common windlass, rope and tub. His lead was hauled to Green Bay, Chicago and Galena. On his first trip to Chicago, there was not a house or wagon-track between that place and Blue Mounds. He was fifteen days in reaching his destination, fording with his oxen and load of lead the Rock and Fox Rivers, and the smaller streams on the route. In this expedition, he was accompanied by a favorite dog, for which he was offered in Chicago a village lot, which was situated where now ia the most valuable property in that city. In those days, the whole site of the town could have been purchased for a few hundred dollars.

Brigham, at the organization of the Territorial Government, was elected a member of the Council, and was re-elected, serving nine terms, from 1836 to 1841. When the State Government was organized, in 1848, he was elected a member of the Assembly. He died at the residence of his niece, Mrs. H. G. Bliss, at Madison, September 14, 1861, aged seventy-two years. He was never married.

It must not be supposed that Brigham was the first white man - the first American - at the Mounds ; but, although this was not the fact, yet he was the first permanent settler. Before him, as already explained, the diggings had been worked. William Deviese went there in the sprmg before Brigham 's arrival, where he found two men named Moore, who were trading a little, m whisky at least, and one John Duncan, a very large and powerful man. But on the 12tb day of August, Deviese moved to Sugar River diggings, leaving James Hawthorn to continue the work there. So it seems certain, that Brigham, upon his arrival, found miners at work at the Mounds, but none of them made a permanent stay. John B. Skinner had had at one time a furnace there. However, it is certainly known that, at the date of the survey of the lands at the Mounds, which was in 1833, there was left but one resident in the vicinity, and that one was Bbenezer Brigham.

It may be mentioned in this connection, that Brigham, at an early day, kept many articles, tor sale to the miners and pioneer farmers. The prices current in those times were different from now. An examination of an old day-book shows that, on the 28th day of June. 1828, he sold to-

Samuel Carman, one barrel of flour, charging for the same $8, and four pounds of sugar at 20 cents a pound. On the 17th of July of the same year, Duncan and Proctor were sold a halfbushel of salt, for which they were charged $1.25. Labor was cheap in those days. Thomas Jones was credited on the 28th of June, of the same year, with four days and a half s work, at 69 cents a day, and John Murphy with four days' work at 77 cents a day. On the 6th of February, 1830, Wallace Rowan is charged for one pair of moccasins, 50 cents ; for one pint of whisky, 25 cents ; for one bushel of corn, 50 cents.

Mr. Brigham, on the 23d of October, 1830, agreed with W. J. Medcalf, to winter eight head of beef cattle, from the 1st of December until the 1st of April, 1831, for $48, and also to deliver him 100 bushels of corn at the portage (Fort Winnebago) for $70. Indeed, from the start, it is evident that "Brigham's Place," was one of business ; for, during the year 1828, he had accounts with John Murphy, Thomas Jones, Downing Lot, Samuel Carman, John White, Mr. Kellogg, Kirkpatrick & Brigham, Mr. Wentworth, James Cloyd, Duncan & Proctor, Noah M. King, Mr. Dinwiddy, Terwan & Elington, Fish & Kellogg, Mr. Rader, Alexander Wilson, Soward & Blackamore, Thomas H. Price, Andrew Orr, -William Fulton, George Spangle, Elijah Slater, Slater & Brigham, and Mr. Fish. It will be seen, therefore, that, although Mr. Brigham had located at the extreme eastern diggings of the lead region, he did not lack for laborers or for customers. It was not long after his location at the East Blue Mound before the road from Prairie du Chien to Fort Winnebago (this fort being erected in the fall of 1828, the very year of Brigham's arrival) was laid out, and already along the old Indian trail between these points was considerable travel. Then followed the road from Milwaukee to the Mississippi by his place ; so that by the time emigration began! to set in pretty briskly in this region, the Blue Mounds presented the air of a lively place. In 1836, Mr. Brigham was appointed Postmaster, the first person receiving that appointment within the present limits of the county.

The following anecdote, related by Ebenezer Childs, illustrates the " cuteness " of Mr. Brigham. " I left Carrollton about the middle of May [1827], passed through Jacksonville, where there were a few houses ; the next place was Springfield [111.], which had a population of about two hundred.

" Thence I went to Sangamon, where I met Ebenezer Brigham, from Worcester County, Mass. He was the first live Yankee that I had seen from my native county since I had left there, in 1816, and I was the first tha.t he had seen from that county. I had a yoke of blind oxen that gave my men a great deal of trouble to drive. As Brigham had a treadmill, I thought my blind oxen would do as well for that purpose as though they could see, so I proposed to the gentleman from Worcester County to exchange my oxen for a horse. He said that, as we were both from Worcester County, he would try and accommodate me. I told him my oxen were a little blind, but I thought they could do him good service. After it became a little dark, I took him to see my oxen. He liked them very well. He then took me to see his horse. It was by this time quite dark. I did not examine him much, but he appeared to be a fine-looking animal. We exchanged honorably, as we were both from Worcester County. We did not wish to take any advantage of each other, as we w^re from the same native region ; in a word, we felt and acted like brothers. . But the next morning, when I joined the drove, I found that ay new horse was as blind as a bat, and I do believe he had not seen for ten years; and he appeared older than the ancient hills around us. But it was all right, as friend Brigham and I were both from Worcester County. We have many a time since laughed heartily over our early trade."

From " A Genealogical Register of the Descendants of Several Ancient Puritans by the Names of Grout, Goulding and Brigham," published in Boston in 1859, is found the following concerning the first settler of Dane County :

" He [Ebenezer Brigham] is the proprietor of a large tract of land, rich iipi agricultural and mineral f-esources, and one of the original proprietors of the city of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, now hardly twenty years old, yet containing, in 1859, a population of 12,000 souls. Mr. Brigham depends not on his wealth, nor this humble record, to preserve his history. He is exten- sively and advantageously known, and, when the whole of his character shall come to be written, the reader must feel that a good name is emphatically better than riches, and constitutes the value of a posthumous memory." Mr. Brigham is buried in the beautiful cemetery of Forest Hill, near the city of Madison, where a fine monument is erected to his memory

While it is exceedingly probable that Americans had been in other portions of Dane County besides those washed by the Wisconsin River, yet no record is extant of any visit to its interior before that of Ebenezer Brigham in 1828. That he should have been captivated with the beauty of the lakes and their surroundings, seen as they were in a state of nature, no one who is familiar with the country can wonder.

In the month of May, 1829, James Duane Doty, Henry S. Baird and Morgan L. Martin, of Green Bay, performed a journey from their homes to Prairie du Chien on horseback. These gentlemen had, in 1825, 1826, 1827 and 1828, taken the same trip by water, by the way of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, which was then the usual mode of communication between the two places. At the time above alluded to, they were anxious to obtain a knowledge of the country outside of this route, and of which no one had previously written. They were accompanied by a Menomonee Indian as guide, who led or rode a pack-ho~rse. Their route was not a direct one, as the Indian was not well acquainted with the country west of Lake Winnebago. Following Indian trails as far as practicable, they traveled on the east side of that Lake to Fond du Lac, thence by way of Green Lake to the Four Lakes, crossing the Yahara between Monona and Waubesa Lakes, the site of the present city of Madison, and on to the Blue Mounds and Dodgeville, crossing the Wisconsin about six miles above its confluence with the Mississippi. They saw no white people after leaving home until they reached Brigham's, at the East Blue Mound. However, none of the impressions of these visitors were published until long after ; but events were not far distant which were to bring hundreds of Americans within what are now the limits of Dane County ; and of what they saw of this region, and especially of the Four Lakes, the outside world was soon advised. Reference is here made to the Black Hawk war.

Indian Trails

When Americans first visited the Four Lakes, they found Indian trails leading across this region in various directions. The most noted of these was the one running from the Blue Mounds, in a northeasterly direction, to the north side of Lake Mendota ; thence in nearly a north course to what is now Poynette, in Columbia County ; thence to the portage of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, where the United States had built Fort Winnebago. In what is now the town of Montrose was a noted crossing of Sugar River, called the " Fish-Trap Ford." It was directly north of what was called at an early day, " Sugar Creek Springs" or " Dogharty's." The trail, in going north, after crossing the river at this ford, divided, one branch leading to Lake Mendota and the other to Lake Kegonsa. There was a trail leading from the northwest side of Lake Mendota round the north side of the Lake to the maple grove now known as McBride's Point ("Maple BlulT"). But the principal trail in this region led from the northwest side of Lake Mendota around its west end, in a south and southeast direction, between Lakes Wingra and Lake Monona, to the south side of the last-mentioned lake, across the Yahara, to what is now known as Winnequah. There were also trails running in a southeasterly direction on either side of the Yahara and Lakes Waubesa and Kegonsa, and in a north and-south course through the eastern parts of what is now Dane County ; but these were not so generally used as some others. As the Indians occupying this region, when first explored by Americans, were Winnebagoes, of course these trails were Winnebago trails. Whether or not the Sacs and Foxes had any trails leading to and from the Four Lakes region is unknown ; it is reasonable to suppose, however, that they had.

The first regularly laid-out road in Dane County was what was known as the " Military Road." It was built at the expense of the United States for the transportation of supplies from Fort Howard, as the army post was called at Green Bay, to Fort Winnebago, near what is now the city of Portage, Columbia County, and Fort Crawford, at Prairie du Chien, and for the passage of troops to and from these posts. In summer, provisions and the munitions of an army could be transported in batteaus by water from the lakes to the Mississippi, but in winter this could not be done ; hence the necessity for a road between Forts Howard and Crawford, by way of Fort Winnebago. It was run out through Dane County two or three years after the building, in 1828, of Fort Winnebago. The road was a crude aifair, and wa;s constructed by cutting through timber land, clearing a track about two rods wide and setting mile stakes. On the prairies, the mile stakes were set also, and mounds thrown up of earth or stones. On the marshes and other low places, corduroy roads were made by crossing timbers, and covering with brush and earth. It followed the well-trodden Indian trail from Blue Mounds to the northwest side of Lake Mendota ; thence in a northerly direction to Fort Winnebago, in what is now Columbia County. For a number of years it was quite a traveled road ; but, in the course of time, was abandoned as a continuous route from the Mounds to the Portage. Concerning this highway, a report was made to Congress September 1, 1839, by Capt. T. J. Cram, as follows :

" Commencing at Prairie du Chien, and running east as far as to the Blue Mounds, thisroad is laid on the ridge dividing the waters flowing toward the north from those flowing toward the south. At the Blue Mounds, this dividing ridge deflects toward the northeast, and continues on this course to within about four miles of Fort Winnebago, where it is lost in a summit level, denominated 'the Portage.' This remarkable summit is one among a few others of similar character in our country, possessing the property of dividing the waters flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from those which flow into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The part of the road from Fort Crawford to ' the Portage,' a distance of about 115 miles, will need the sum of |5,700 to be expended, chiefly in the repairs and construction of small bridges and the opening of ditches, which are not only necessary to the immediate use of the road, but also to the preservation of the road itself. The construction of a safe and permanent road across the ' Portage ' for about four miles, will require the sum of $5,955. Owing to the periodical overflowings of this summit level, the road ajiross it is rendered utterly impassable, and continues so for several days at a time, amounting to some weeks during each year. At such times, the United States mail and travelers to Fort Winnebago are obliged to be taken around on a circuitous route of a;bout fifteen miles, crossing a lake on their way, in order to reach the desired point ; and it is not unfrequently the case that the unwary traveler is led into the middle of ' the Portage,' before he becomes fully apprised of his danger, when all of a sudden, his horses are mired in the midst of a flood of water, from which he finds it impossible to extricate his team, and might perish in sight of the fort, but for the assistance of the soldiers, who come off in canoes to his rescue. A thorough and critical examination has been made with a view of constructing a road around 'the Portage.' It is found, however, that the cost of such a construction, besides an increase of distance and the inconvenience of a ferry, would quite equal the cost of making the present road good and safe at all times.

" The sum required to complete the construction of the part of the road between Fort Winnebago and the south end of Lake Winnebago, a distance of about sixty miles, is $6,320. The land in the vicinity of this portion of the road is of good quality, and similar in most respects to that described elsewhere in this report. From the south end of Lake Winnebag to within about six miles of Fort Howard, at Green Bay, the road is exceedingly bad, and the cost of transportation over it is a heavy tax upon the settlers, and tends greatly to retard the settlement of the whole tract of country between Green Bay and the Wisconsin River.

" The tract of land bordering the east side of Lake Winnebago, and thence along Neenah River to Green Bay, is chiefly covered vith excellent timber, consisting of various kinds of oak, white pine, sugar-maple, basswood, black walnut, etc., and, from its proximity to navigable waters on both sides, must become valuable. The soil of this tract is deep, with a substratum of limestone, and, being well watered with numerous small brooks, is well adapted to farming. The military road along here passes directly through the settlements of the Brothertown and Stockbridge Indians. The farms of the Brothertown people are in a promising condition ; and the clearings, fences and snug buildings show that their proprietors are not behind any of the farmers of Wisconsin in the art of agriculture. Their respectable appearance, civil and quiet demeanor, and exceedingly industrious habits, all combine to render them good and worthy citizens of the United States. It is to be regretted, however, that the general appearances of the Stockbridge settlements are not so favorable ; and yet, were it not for the contrast of their neighbors, the Stockbridge people might be said to have evinced signs of civilization not often met with in the settlements of the red men.

" The cost of constructing the road from Fond du Lac to Green Bay, about fifty-six miles, would be fl7,292, to be expended in bridging, ditching, and filling the wet places with durable materials, all of which exist in abundance on the road. Thus the whole sum required to complete the construction of the military road from Fort Crawford, by Fort Winnebago, to Fort Howard, an extent of about 235 miles, amounts to $35,267. This sum, with strict economy in adopting the most simple kind of construction, would not more than cover the cost of completing this road, which, in a military point of view, is of unquestionablei mportance ; connecting, as it does, a chain of military posts which the safety of the people of Wisconsin and the north part of Illinois will require to be maintained for several years to come."

" During the latter part of February [1831], the cold became less severe. The snows melted away, and by the beginning of March, the weather was so warm and genial that we were quite confident of being able to make the journey [from Fort Winnebago to Chicago] on horseback without any serious difficulty.

" Our plans once settled upon, the first thing to be provided was warm and comfortable apparel. A riding-habit of stout broadcloth was pronounced indispensable to my equipment. But of such an article I was destitute. Nothing among my wedding traveling gear seemed in any way to offer a substitute. What was to be done ? The requisite material was to be found in abundance at the settlers' store (the shantee, as it was technically termed), but how to get it manufactured into a suitable garment, was the question.

" The regimental tailor was summoned. He was cook to one of the companies, and there were at first some doubts whether he could be permitted to forsake the spit for the needle, Jlurmg the time I should require his services. All his tailoring-work had, heretofore, been done at odd times on a bench in the company kitchen, and thither he now proposed to carry the ridinghabit. I suggested that, in order to superintend the work, I should thus be driven to take up my abode for the time being in the barracks, which would be a decided inconvenience.

" To remedy the difficulty, he was finally so happy as to find a soldier in ' Company D,' who consented to officiate in his place as cook, until his term of service to me should expire.

" Behold, then, a little, solemn-looking man in his stocking-feet, seated cross-legged on an Indian mat by my parlor window. He had made all his arrangements himself, and I deemed it wisest not to interfere with him. The cutting-out was the most difficult part, and, as he bad never made a lady's riding-habit, that task fell to my share. I was as great a novice as himself, and I must admit that this, my first eflFort, was open to criticism. But the little tailor was 01^ a difiFerent opinion. He was in an ecstasy with our joint performance.

" ' Upon my word, madam,' he would exclaim, surveying it with admiring eyes, ' we shall have a very respectable garment !' I do not know how many times he repeated this during the three days that the work was in progress.

" I believe he had not perfect confidence in the culinary powers of his comrade of ' Company D,' for regularly a half-hour before beat of drum, his work was folded and laid aside, his snips gathered up, and, all things being restored to order, he would slip out, resume his shoes, which, Turk-like, he had left outside the door, and speed over to the barrack-kitchen to see how matters were going on.

"In the meantime, great preparations were making below, under the supervision of our tidy, active little French servant, Mrs. Pillon, the wife of one of the engages, by whom the irregular and unmanageable Louisa had been replaced.

" Biscuits were baked, a ham, some tongues, and sundry pieces of salt pork were boiled, coffee roasted and ground, sugar cracked, isinglass cut in pieces of the size requisite for a pot of coffee. For the reception of all these different articles, cotton bags of different sizes had been previously prepared. Large sacks of skin, called by the Canadians porches, were also provided to hold the more bulky provisions, for our journey was to be a long one.

"The distance from Fort Winnebago to Chicago was not very formidable, it is true, if the direct route were taken ; but that we knew to be impossible at this season of the year. The route by Kosh-ko-nong was out of the question ; all the Indians being absent from their villages in the winter, and the ice being now gone, we could have no means of crossing the Rock River at that place. i

"There remained, therefore, no alternative but to proceed south to Dixon, or, as it was then called, Ogie's Ferry, the only certain means of crossing this broad and rapid stream. This route being so much out of our direct course that we could not hope to accomplish it in less than six days, it was necessary to prepare accordingly.

" Mr. Kinzie decided to take with him but two men : Planteand Pierre Roy - the former to act as guide, on the assurance that he knew every mile of the way, from the Portage to Ogie's Ferry, and from Ogie's Ferry to Chicago.

" The claims of the different saddle-horses were discussed, and the most eligible one was selected for my use. We hesitated for a time between 'Le Gris ' and ' Souris,' two muchvaunted animals, belonging to Paquette, the interpreter. At length, being determined, hke most of my sex, by a regard for exterior, I chose ' Le Gris,' and ' Souris ' was assigned to young Roy ; my own little stumpy pony, ' Brunet,' being pronounced just the thing for a packsaddle. My husband rode his own bay horse ' Tom,' while Plante, the gayest and proudest of the party, bestrode a fine large animal called 'Jerry,' which had lately been purchased for my use ; and thus was our cortege complete.

" Having taken a tender leave of our friends, the morning of the 8th of March saw us mounted and equipped for our journey. The weather was fine - the streams, already fringed with green, were sparkling in the sun - everything gave promise of an early and genial season. In vain, when we reached the ferry at the foot of the hill on which the fort stood, did Maj. Twiggs repeat his endeavors to dissuade us. from commencing a journey which he assured me would be perilous beyond what I could anticipate. I was resolute.

" Our party was augmented by an escort of all the young officers, who politely insisted on accompanying us as far as Duck Creek, four miles distant. Indeed, there were some who would gladly have prosecuted the whole journey with us and escaped the monotony of their solitary, uneventful life. In our rear followed an ox-cart, on which was perched a canoe, destined to transport us over the creek, and also over an extensive marsh beyond it, which was invariably at this season overfiowed with water to a considerable depth. We had much amusement in watching the progress of this vehicle as it bumped and thumped over the road, unconscious hitherto of the dignity of a wheeled carriage.

" Our little, shock-headed, sunburnt, thick-lipped Canadian (who happened most miraculously to be the husband of my pretty servant, Mrs. Pillon) vociferously shouted, aa the animals lagged in their pace, or jolted against a stump, ' Bfarahez, don-g,' 'regardez,' garde,' to our infinite diversion. I was in high spirits, foreseeing no hardships or dangers, but rather imagining myself embarked on a pleasure excursion across the prairies. It had not even suggested itself to me that a straw bonnet and kid gloves were no suitable equipment for such an expedition. Never having traveled at so inclement a season, I was heedlessly ignorant of the mode of preparing against it, and had resisted or laughed at my husbani's suggestions to provide myself with blanket, socks, and a woolen capuchon for my head and shoulders. And now, although the wind occasionally lifted my head-gear with a rude puif, and my hands erelong became swollen and stiffened with the cold, I persuaded myself that these were trifling evils, to which I should soon get accustomed. I was too well pleased with the novelty of my outfit, with my hunting-knife in a gay scabbard hanging from my neck, and my tin cup at my saddle-bow, to regard minor inconveniences.

" On reaching Duck Creek, we took leave of our young friends, who remained on the bank long enough to witness our passage across - ourselves in the canoe, and the poor horses swimming the stream, now filled with cakes of floating ice.

" Beyond the rising ground which formed the opposite bank of the stream, extended a marsh of perhaps three hundred yards across. To this the men carried the canoe which was to bear us over. The water was not deep, so our attendants merely took off the pack from Brunet, and my side-saddle from Le Gris, for fear of accidents, and then mounted their own steeds, leading the two extra ones. My husband placed the furniture of the pack-horse and my saddle in the center of the canoe, which he was to paddle across.

"' Oh, no,' said I, 'I will sit on the little trunk in the center ; I shall be so much more comfortable, and I can balance the canoe exactly."

" A vigorous push sent us a few feet from the bank. At that instant, two favorite greyhounds, which we had brought with us, and which had stood whining upon the bank, reluctant to take to the water, as they were ordered, gave a sudden bound and alighted full upon me. The canoe balanced a moment, then yielded, and, quick as thought, dogs, furniture and lady were in the deepest of the water.

" My husband, who was just preparing to spring into the canoe when the dogs thus unceremoniously took precedence of him, was at my side in a moment, and, seizing me by the collar of my cloak, begged me not to be frightened. I was not in the least, and only laughed as he raised and placed me again upon the bank.

" The unfortunate saddle and little trunk were then rescued, but not until they had received a pretty thorough wetting. Our merriment was still further increased by the sight of the maladroit Pillon, who was attempting to ride my spirited Jerry across the marsh. He was clinging to the neck of the animal, with a countenance distorted with terror, as he shouted forth all manner of French objurgations. Jerry pranced and curveted, and finally shot forward his rider, or, rather, his burden, headforemost, a distance of several feet into the water.

. " A general outcry of mirth saluted the unfortunate Frenchman, which was redoubled as he raised himself, puffing and snorting, from his watery bed, and waddled back to his starting-place, the horse meanwhile very sensibly making his way to join his companions, who had already reached the farther bank'

Well, wifie,' said Mr. Kinzie, ' I cannot trust you in the canoe again. There is no way but to carry you across the marsh like a papoose. Will you take a ride on my shoulders.'

'I confers that the gentleman staggered now and then under his burden, which was no shght one, and I was sadly afraid, more than once, that I should meet a similar fate to old Pillon ; but, happily, we reached the other side in safety.

" There my husband insisted on my putting on dry shoes and stockings, and (must I confeas it ?) drinking a little brandy to obviate the effects of my icy bath. He would fain have made a halt to kindle a fire and dry my apparel and wardrobe properly, but this I would not listen to. I endeavored to prove to him that the delay would expose me to more cold than riding in my wet habit and cloak, and so, indeed, it might have been ; but, along with my convictions upon the subject, there was mingled a spice of reluctance that our friends at the fort should have an opportunity, as they certainly would have done, of laughing at our inauspicious commencement.

" Soon our horses were put in order and our march recommenced. The day was fine for the season. I felt no inconvenience from my wet garments, the exercise of riding taking away all feeling of chilliness. It was to me a new mode of traveling, and I enjoyed it the more from having been secluded for more than five months within the walls of the fort [Winnebago], scarcely varying the tenor of our lives by an occasional walk of half a mile into the surrounding woods.

" We had still another detention upon the road, from meeting Lapierre, the blacksmith, from Sugar Creek, who, with one of his associates, was going to the Portage for supplies, so that we had not traveled more than twenty- three miles when we came to our proposed encamping ground. It was upon a beautiful stream, a tributary of one of the Four Lakes, that chain whose banks are unrivaled for romantic loveliness.

"I could not but admire the sagacity of the horses, who seemed, with human intelligence, to divine our approach to the spot where their toils were to cea'se. While still remote from the point of woods which foretold a halt, they pricked up their ears, accelerated their pace, and finally arrived at the spot on a full gallop.

"We alighted at an open space, just within the verge of the wood, or, as it is called by Western travelers, ' the timber.' My husband recommended me to walk about until a fire should be made, which was soon accomplished by our active and experienced woodsmen, to whom the felling of a large tree was the work of a very few minutes. The dry grass around furnished an excellent tinder, which, ignited by the sparks from the flint (there were no loco-foeos in those days), and aided by the broken branches and bits of light- wood, soon produced a cheering flame. 'The bourgeois,' in the meantime, busied himself in setting up the tent, taking care to place it opposite the fire, but in such a direction that the wind would carry the smoke and flame away from the opening or door. Within, upon the ground, were spread first a bearskin, then two or three blankets (of which each equestrian had carried two, one under the saddle and one above it), after which, the remainder of the luggage being brought in, I was able to divest myself of all my wet clothing and replace it with dry. Some idea of the state of the thermometer may be formed from the fact that my riding-habit, being placed over the end of the huge log against which our fire was made, was, in a very few minutes, frozen so stiff as to stand upright, giving the appearance of a dress out of which a lady had vanished in some unaccountable manner. * * * We carry with us in our journeys on horseback only a coffeepot, a tea-kettle, and each rider his tea-cup and hunting-knife. The deportment at table is marked by an absence of ceremony. The knife is drawn from the scabbard - those who remember to do so, vouchsafe it a wipe upon the napkin. Its first office is to stir the cup of coffee - next, to divide the piece of ham which is placed on the half of a traveling biscuit, held in the left hand, to fulfil the ofiice of a plate. It is an art only to be acquired by long practice to cut the meat so skillfully as not, at the same time, to destroy the dish.

" We take our places around the mat to enjoy what, after our fatiguing ride, we find delicious food. The Frenchmen are seated at a little distance, receiving their supplies of coffee, meat and bread, and occasionally passing jokes with the bourgeois, who is their demigod, and for whom their respect and devotion are never lessened by his affability or condescension.

" The meal being finished, the table furniture is rinsed in hot water and set aside until morning. A wisp of dry prairie-grass is supposed in most cases to render the knife fit to be restored to the scabbard, and, there being at this season of the year no amusement but that of watchmg the awkward movements of the spanceled horses in their progress from spot to spot in search of pasturage, we are usually soon disposed to arrange our blankets and retire to rest.

" All start from their slumbers. The fire, which has been occasionally replenished through the night, is soon kindled into a flame. The horses are caught and saddled, while a breakfast, similar in kind to the meal of the preceding evening, is preparing ; the tent is struck, the packhorse loaded - tout demache, as the Canadian says. The breakfast finished, we rinse our kettles and cups, tie them to our saddle-bows, and then mount and away, leaving our fire, or rather our smoke, to tell of our visit.

"March 9. - Our journey this day led us past the first of the Four Lakes [now known as Mendota]. Scattered along its banks was an encampment of Winnebagoes. They greeted their father [John H. Kinzie, Agent], with vociferous joy - hon-jour, Shaw-nee-awkee; Hee-nee-karry-hay-noo ?' (How do you do?) To this succeeded the usual announcement, ' Wyg-kap-rah tshoonsh-koo-nee-no ! ' (I have no bread).

" This is their form, of begging ; but we could not afford to be generous, for the uncertainty of obtaining a supply, should our own be exhausted, obliged us to observe the strictest economy.

" How beautiful the encampment looked in the morning sun ! The matted lodges, with the blue smoke curling from their tops, the trees and bushes powdered with a light snow which had fallen through the night, the lake, shining and sparkling almost at our feet - even the Indians, in their peculiar costume, adding to the picturesque.

" I was sorry to leave it, as we were compelled to do in all haste, Souris, the pack-horse, having taken it into his head to decamp while we were in conversation with our red friends. As he had very sensibly concluded to pursue his journey in the right direction, we had the good fortune to overtake him after a short race, and, having received much scolding and some blows from young Roy, whose charge he specially was, he was placed in the middle of the cavalcade, as a mark of disgrace for his breach of duty.

" Our road, after leaving the lake, lay over a ' rolling prairie,' now bare and desolate enough. The hollows were filled with snow, which, being partly thawed, furnished an uncertain footing for the horses, and I could not but join in the ringing laughter of our Frenchman as occasionally Brunet and Souris, the two ponies, would flounder, almost imbedded, through the yielding mass. Even the vainglorious Plante, who piqued himself on his equestrian skill, was once or twice nearly unhorsed, from having chosen his road badly. ' Sometimes the elevations were covered with a thicket or copse, in which our dogs would generally rouse up one or more deer. Their flrst bound or ' lope ' was the signal for a chase. The horses seemed to enter mto the spirit of it, as ' halloo ' answered ' halloo ;' but we were never so fortunate as to get a shot at one, for, although the dogs once or twice caught, they were not strong enough to hold, them. It was about the middle of the afternoon when we reached the Blue Mound. I rejoiced much to have got so far, for I was sadly fatigued, and every mile now seemed like two to me. In fact, the miles are unconscionably long in this country. When I was told that we had still seven miles to go, to ' Morrison's,' where we proposed stopping for the night, I was almost in despair. It was my first journey on horseback, and I had not yet become inured to the exercise.

" The door opened hospitably to receive us. We were welcomed by a lady with a most sweet, benignant countenance, and by her companion, some years younger. The first was Mrs. Morrison, the other Miss Elizabeth Dodge, daughter of Gen. Dodge.

" My husband laid me upon a small bed in the room where the ladies had been sitting at work. Ihey took ofi" my bonnet and riding-dress,' chafed my hands and prepared me some warm wine and water, by which I was soon revived. A half-hour's repose so refreshed me that

I was able to converse with the ladies and to relieve my husband's mind of all anxiety on my account. Tea was announced soon after, and we repaired to an adjoining building, for Morrison's, like the establishments of all settlers of that period, consisted of a group of detached log houses or cabins, each containing one or, at most, two apartments.

" The table groaned with good cheer, and brought to mind some that I had seen among the old-fashioned Dutch residents on the banks of the Hudson.

" I had recovered my spirits, and we were quite a cheerful party. Mrs. Morrison told as that during the first eighteen months she passed in this country, she did not speak with a white woman, the only society she had being that of her husband and two black servant women.

" A Tennessee woman had called in with her little son just before tea, and we amused Mr. Kinzie with a description of the pair. The mother's visit was simply one of courtesy. She was a little, dumpy woman, with a complexion burned perfectly red by the sun, and hair of an exact tow color, braided up from her forehead in front and from her neck behind. These tails, meeting on the top of her head, were fastened with a small tin comb. Her dress was of check- ered homespun, a ' very tight fit,' and, as she wore no ruff or handkerchief around her neck, she looked as if just prepared for execution. She was evidently awe struck at the sight of visitors, and seemed inclined to take her departure at once ; but the boy, not so easily intimidated, would not understand her signs and pinches until he had sidled up to Mrs. Morrison, and, drawing his old hat still farther over his eyes, begged for a whang, meaning a narrow strip of deerskin. The lady very obligingly cut one from a large smoked skin, which she produced from its receptacle, and mother and son took their leave with a smiling but rather a scared look.

" After tea we returned to Mrs. Morrison's parlor, where she kindly insisted on my again reposing myself on the little bed to recruit me, as she said, for the ensuing day's journey. My husband, in the meantime, went to look after the accommodation of his men and horses.

'' During the conversation that ensued, I learned that Mrs. Morrison had passed much time in the neighborhood of my recent home in Oneida County, that many of the friends I had loved and valued were likewise her friends, and that she had even proposed to visit me at Fort Winnebago on hearing of my arrival there, in order to commence an acquaintance which had thus been brought about by other and unexpected means.

" Long and pleasant was the discourse we held together until a late hour, and mutual was the satisfaction with which we passed old friends and by-gone events in review, much to the edification of Miss Dodge and of the gentlemen, when they once more joined us."

The Black Hawk War

In previous pages, the Black Hawk war has been dwelt upon in a brief manner ; but, as the Blue Mounds, the country to the north of them, and the immediate vicinity of the Four Lakes, are all localities where stirring events occurred during that brief conflict of arms, the subject is again, properly referred to ; and, so far as the immediate territory of Dane County is concerned, it is to be, necessarily, treated at some length. The principal points of interest, where there were Americans living, when reports of trouble first began to circulate, were the Blue Mounds and Fort Winnebago. At the latter place, at that date, John H. Kinzie was Indian Agent, He had the assurance of the Rock River Winnebagoes of their firm friendship. The return of Black Hawk to the west side of the Mississippi dissipated all fears at the portage ; and the same was the result at the Blue Mounds. But, in the latter part of April, 1832, when the news reached these points that the Sac chief had recrossed the Mississippi, with the flower of his nation, once more to take possession of their old homes, the alarm was greater than before. To guard against surprise, Brigham and the settlers in the vicinity of the Blue Mounds, built a block-house in a commanding position on the prairie, near the mounds, about a mile and a half from the former's residence. The buildings were commenced May 10, and completed about the 24th. They consisted of two block-houses, each twenty feet square, and a log building in the center, thirty feet by twenty feet, for a storehouse and barrack. The whole was inclosed by a picket fence of about" loO feet on cash of the four sides; the pickets were of stout oak, sixteen feet high, planted three feet in the ground. To defend the fort, fifty men were enrolled as a company, on the 20th of May, as follows : Ebenezer Brigham, John C. Kellogg, John Daniels, George Force, Thomas MeRaney, John Messersmith, William Collins, Jacob Keith, John Sherman, Robert Collins, Jonathan Ferril, Moses Collins, Moses Foreman, W. G. Aubrey, Esau Johnson, A. G. Houton, Jeremiah, Lycan, Jason Putnam, Alpha Stevens, Hugh Bowen, John Steward, John Dalbey, Daniel Evans, James Hanlon, William H. "Houghton. Ed Beouchard, James Hayes, Thomas Hillson, James Smith, Jefferson Smith, R. S.Lewis, Solomon Watson, Harvey Brock, Samuel Davis, Fernando MeRaney, Milton McRaney, Allen Rand, Henry Starr, Anson Frazier, J. B. Deshon, Samuel Woodworth, Emerson Green, John Messersmith, Jr., Henry Messersmith, George Messersmith, Robert Crayton, Albert Hunt, French Lake, Henry Powell. James Aubrey had the first command of the men assembled at the fort ; E. Beouchard was First Lieutenant, and, after Aubrey's death, succeeded to the command until June 14, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Capt. John Sherman. The families in the neighborhood all assembled in the fort, as no one knew how long they would be free from the attacks of the Sac warriors.