Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin - Chapter 3, 1880 (part 2 of 15)

Before 1841, the settlers received all their goods and furniture from Green Bay, by way of the Fox River and Lake Winnebago. They were brought up in Durham boats, carrying eight or ten tons and propelled up the rapids by a crew of ten or twelve men, the price charged being |1 per hundred pounds. The boats belonged to a company with the high-sounding name of Fox River Transportation Company. Considering the laborious process of propelling the boats up the rapids and making several portages, the price was certainly reasonable, although when added to Green Bay prices it made commodities viery dear to people who had hardly any means of raising money.

The settlers generally brought with them clothing enough to last a year or two ; but in spite of all the good wife could do in the way of mending and patching, it could not last forever. Everything is perishable in this world and somehow clothes have a wicked way of being most perishable of all; after awhile the original garments wpuld not bear the patches. What was to be done ? Good looks will hardly pay for a new suit, especially in a country where there are no stores. So it came to pass that the settlers bought from the Indians buckskin coats, without being too particular about their being second-hand articles and smelling smoky. Almost every one of the early settlers sported his Indian coat in those days, and I must confess that they were quite light and comfortable, but they looked neither dandy nor very dignified. Even the grave old doctor who founded the city of Fond du Lac wore one of the things at times, and I must say that he did not look like a learned doctor at all. But still he looked somewhat like an Indian doctor. The Indians called him Mushkihi-enini, the medicine man.

The pants were often made of buckskin also ; more frequently the tattered garment was faced with buckskin over the front, which operation gave it a longer lease of life and usefulness, and, like charity, threw a mantle over many failings. Could you now see those courageous and worthy men, many of whom have reached their last resting-places, leaving honored names and good deeds behind them, file down Main street on a busy day, it would no doubt provoke a smile, but with them, it was the result of sheer necessity.

What about their fare ? Milk and butter they had in abundance, and also pork and excellent potatoes. They had enough of coarse food ; but as you know, variety is the spice of life, and to eat constantly pork and potatoes arid beans is apt to become monotonous in the end. George W. Featherstonehaugh, of Calumet, said that he had fed so constantly on pork, that he could not look a hog in the face without feeling guilty and blushing. Tea and coff'ee were quite scarce articles, as well as sugar, and were not used freely, although a little was kept for company. The country was ransacked for substitutes. Even such articles as wheat, barley, peas, beans, dandelion roots, crust cofiee and many other substitutes, were resorted to and decorated with the names of tea and coffee, but when you came to taste, especially without sugar, the fraud was too palpable and would not go down, in spite of all assurances that the drink was very healthy indeed, far more so than the real articles, which, as everybody knows, are notoriously injurious to the system. I drank water mostly in those days.

The mail carrier had to do many errands for the settlers, buying for them in Green Bay such light articles as tea or tobacco, and he was therefore a very popular character with the settlers. But, after all, the greatest dependence in emergencies, and the one most practiced, was borrowing. Every family knew pretty accurately the condition of the neighbors' flour or pork barrel and supply of groceries. In case of sudden emergencies, some youngster was dispatched to the neighbor with compliments and the request of the loan of a cupful of tea or some sugar, a few pounds of pork, or a panful or two of flour for a few days. Those few days were often protracted into weeks, but the borrower was seldom called upon to return the loan until the lender herself found her own provision exhausted, when frequently both parties had to wait together for better times and more propitious skies.

Yet, in spite of these many privations, the settlers had many happy days. The positions in which they were placed made them more dependent on one another than now, and they were consequently excellent, neighbors and always ready to assist each other, whether for a raising or a logging bee ; there was, I think, a greater cordiality. Often they would start in the morning, with the old sled drawn by the yoke of oxen, and visit a neighbor perhaps three or four miles away, and make a day of it, returning in time to do the chores and the milking, after enjoying their visit far more than our fashionable calls are now enjoyed. At those visits, each party told all its news, and talked over its plans for the future. Party politics were entirely ignored in those days, and the offices were bestowed upon the best men. There was also an inexpressible charm about the deep solitudes of the smiling prairies, dotted with beautifully variegated flowers. Delicious wild strawberries were so plenty in places, that one could hardly take a step without crushing some. The country was a very paradise for those who were fond of shooting, and many times I have got, in two or three hours, as many prairie chickens and pigeons as I could carry ; so that the people of the house declared they would throw them away unless I would do my share of the picking. The fish and water-fowl were equally abundant.

This county has now attained a large population and considerable wealth. The origipal 189 of 1840 have grown into more than 50,000 in 1875. The poor early settlers are now living either in affluence, or, at least, in ease and comfort. Their days of hardships, privations and toil have passed away, and they can now sit under their own vine and fig-tree to enjoy the repose they have so richly earned. Wealth has increased at a greater ratio than population. Good dwellings have taken the place of the old log cabin, refinement has succeeded cramped poverty. Fine turn-outs and good roads have replaced the sled, and the ox team, and the Indian trail. Schoolhouses, some of them elegant structures, dot the land. This is as it should be, and with you I rejoice that it is so. But are we not running from one extreme into another? Are we not living a little too fast? Are our cakes and pies and puddings, our ice creams and sweetmeats and dainty fare generally as conducive to health and bodily vigor as the coarser food of former days? Do we take sufficient bodily exercise? Vigorous exercise creates a vigorous appetite for strong, solid food ; a lack of it leads to dyspepsia and pallid cheeks, to a want of' desire for food ; the appetite has to be coaxed with dainty delicacies and condiments which are injurious to the system. Late hours aggravate the evil. Please think a little on these things; they deserve the consideration of all. Remember that there is neither happiness nor beauty without health.

I would especially say a word of advice to those who are tempted to run into debt for the acquisition of perishable articles of luxury. The day of reckoning must come and embitter the enjoyment. Debt, in itself an evil under any circumstances, is only tolerable when contracted for purposes of legitimate production, the acquirement of imperishable real estate or articles of necessity, never for the gratification of luxurious living or ostentation. Better wait a year or two ^nd get what you wish when you have the money to pay with.

The periodical recurrence of commercial revulsions is always traceable, in a greater or lesser degree, to the prevalence of extravagant living and display and consequent debt in the community. Failures are simply impossibilities with those who owe nothing. A man who is largely in debt is like Damocles with a sword suspended by a thread over his head. He does not know when the sword is coming down ; he is in constant dread and consequently cannot be happy. Micawber is right ; let us live within our means and display nothing but what is our own - what we have paid for.

A little reflection will enable you to understand how slow the improvement of the county must have been in the early times of its settlement. Nature had done much, it is true ; the climate was healthful, although the winters were cold, the soil was as fertile as could be wished, prairies were inviting, and only required to be turned over to produce abundantly; but everything had to be done, and there was not even a blacksmith-shop or a mill within twenty miles. We frequently ground wheat, or parched-corn, in our coffee-mills. If an ax or hoe was lost or broken, we had to procure others from Green Bay, sixty miles distant, a journey of three to four days on horseback, the roads being impassable for wagons on account of the deep mud holes ; nor do I think that there was a single lumber-wagon in the settlement or a good span of horses. Hauling was mostly done with oxen with a sled or a cart.

Our mails were brought to us on the back of an Indian pony every Friday evening. John Bannister was the Postmaster at the old Fond du Lac log house. On that day, I usually left my place about 5 o'clock in the afternoon and walked down six miles to get my mail. But I never went without my dog and my trusty double-barrel. Sometimes on my return, between 10 and 11 at night, it was so dark that I could not see my way. I had to feel the old Indian trail, which was worn some six inches below the adjoining level, and if I stepped out of that trail I knew it instantly. I occasionally saw glaring eyes apparently looking at me as I walked along, but was never attacked.

The mail carrier was a French boy of seventeen or eighteen, called Narcisse Baudoin. Upon one occasion, having left the mail-bag with Mr. Bannister, he jumped on his pony to go and spend the night as usual with Laborde, three miles distant. When about half a mile from the house, he was suddenly attacked by a pack of wolves, which bit his nag very badly as well as his own legs, and did not relinquish their purpose until he reached the house and people came out to his help with lights. If he had had much farther to go, he would have been inevitably devoured by the ferocious brutes.

Improvement, I repeat, was slow. How could it be otherwise ? How far could fifty pairs of arms go toward improving this great county or developing its resources ? You need not be told that all improvements are the results of human labor and capital. The labor means men to perform it, and they were not here ; the capital, if we except a few tools, house furniture and provisions, was totally wanting. There was not a man who could show $200 in cash, and very few who had even $10. That was the time of wild-cat money. The banks of Michigan had all failed or suspended. There was one bank at Mineral Point which was good. There was also one bank at Green Bay, called the Bank of Wisconsin. In January, 1840, the cashier and teller took the assets of the bank and started in a double sleigh for Detroit. They were pursued and overtaken by some Green Bay people, and surrendered some of the wild-cat money, but it did not make much difference, foi" the money was good for nothing. Probably what the Waupun man took along with him -v^s better money.

Everything has changed since the early days, but who would repine ? Who would regret the past ? Who would go back to the old hardships and privations ? Who would wish to see again the long caravans of Indian ponies, squalid squaws and uncombed papooses ? Who would desire to see again his bed sheets black with swarms of mosquitoes, to hear the whole night long their hateful music, to feel again their stings, as well as those of other unnamable insects ? For my part, I say most emphatically that I would not ; such experiences are enough for one human life.

Mr. and Mrs. Lo have long since vanished from the scene ; the young LoS are not within sight or hearing, and we do not regret them. Novelists and poets have invested the Indian character with romance and poetry. Hiawatha is very good as a work of fiction ; but we, who have seen the Indian in all his squalor and debasement, cannot see the poetic side of him at all. We know what the Indians are, and we are extremely fond of their absence. We have tried to educate them in the arts of peace and civilization - in habits of industry and of self-supporting reliance. Our efforts have proved mainly miserable failures. Like the denizens of their native forests, they are untamable, and, like them, they will finally disappear. The onward march of civilization is not to be arrested by one species any more than by the other. Forward is the motto.

What a sublime spectacle is presented to us by this nineteenth century, the grandest of all those that preceded it ! What great discoveries have been made by the astronomer, the chemist, the physicist, the mathematician, the geologist and the other men of science who are patiently interrogating nature and wresting from her grasp the most hidden secrets !

What grand results have already been achieved ! The steamboat, the railroad, the telegraph, the photograph and many other wonderful inventions, are only the earnests of future discoveries and triumphs of scientific and mechanical skill. The steam engine and its workings are more familiar to us than the hand-loom and the donkey were to the people of Biblical history. The ten thousand voices of the press scatter news, science and literature broadcast, even to the dwelling of the humblest. By means of improved machinery, man or woman can earn more comforts by one day's labor than could formerly be procured by a week's laborious toil. Let us foster all laudable industries by honoring and rewarding those who have made discoveries beneficial to the human race. They who pass away from earth, without posterity being the gainer for their having lived, have lived in vain. From scientific research alone can mankind ever hope to attain advancement. Let us, then, by all means^ encourage the spread and study of science. Let it be taught independently of any religious or political bias or prejudice, simply for the sake of the great truths which flow from the study of the history of our earth, as indelibly written in its strata, as well as in the ever active, unalterable laws and properties of matter.

Through the study of nature and her immutable laws only, can men hope to ever arrive at a comprehension of the true attributes of the Deity.

In this new land, on this fruitful soil, let all well-meant ideas and investigations have a hearing and a respectful examination, even though they may conflict with doctrines and beliefs hoary with age. Free discussion is never dreaded by those whose position is impregnable, or by the sincere friends of truth.

Ever since Adam ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, have his descendants, like Oliver Twist, felt an irrepressible desire for more. An impulse so persistent and so universal cannot be wrong. It is an inalienable part of the human mind, and I, for one, never can believe that nature has yet spoken her last revelation to man. Her last word is to be obtained only by patient scientific research and investigation, if at all.

On the 17th of June, 1836, my father arrived at Green Bay, in search of his three sons, whom he had sent West two years before, to seek their fortunes. He had been quite sick on the boat coming up the Lakes, and was in feeble health. I had purchased one small pony and engaged others, so that when my father came, I could accompany him to where my brother Colwert was. The Frenchmen at the Bay from whom I expected to hire ponies, tried or pretended to find theirs, but without success ; we, therefore, on the 20th, started with one only. I tried every man I met to hire a horse to ride to Fond du Lac, but without success. When we got to Shanty Town, about half-way to Depere, I asked an old Frenchman where I could hire a horse for my father to ride to Fond du Lac,'to be gone a week. He said that he had a good one, and that if I would give him a dollar a day for its use, I might have him. I asked him where his horse was. He told me it was on the commons. I told him several men had been looking three days for their ponies, and could not find one. He declared he could get his in one hour. We waited two and a l^alf, when he came with his horse. That night we got as far as Grand Kaukalau, and stopped with one of the Stockbridge Indians over night. My father was quite sick during the night, so that I gave up the idea of going any farther. I was up early to look after the horses. The feed was good but the fence was poor. I found the animals all right. My father was very anxious to see Colwert and his wife, also the country where we intended to make our future homes. An old squaw gave him some medicine ; made him a strong cup of tea, which he drank, but he could not eat much breakfast. He said that he would go on as far as he could, for he did not like to go home until he had seen all his children. We found the way exceeding wet. It was almost one continuous slough of water and mud for sixteen miles to where the Stockbridge Mission was then building. Here we found the Rev. Cutting Marsh, a missionary to the Indians. He had a house up and partly inclosed ; also a stable completed. He let us have all the feed for our horses he had - about six quarts of oata. My friend, Mr.- Joseph King, was with us, so that we had three horses. We got some dinner with the missionary, and about 3 o'clock we left to find our way as best we could to my brother's. Before our arrival at Fond du Lac, we encountered a severe rainstorm ; swam our horses across a swollen creek ; got lost in the darkness as night came on ; but, finally, after much difiiculty, reached my brother's house.

We stayed here a few days, but it rained most of the time, and the creeks were overflowed and more than half of the surface of the country was under water. My brother and I were anxious to know what our father thought of the country for farming purposes ; but he was unwell, a long way from home, and quite outside of all civilization ; he said but little on any subject. AH we got from him in relation to the place was that it looked like a good country for grass. As my father was a farmer, and had haying and harvesting at home to attend to, he soon felt it was necessary to start for home. A short distance before we arrived at the Bay, I asked him if he thought mother would ever see this country. After riding several rods he replied, that if she ever expected to see her children or be near them, she would have to come here, " for," said he, " three of her children are here now and the rest of them will come, and they will never leave such a country as you and Colwert are in and go back to Vermont." Before he started home, he gave me the money to pay for the 160 acres which we had reserved for him, and said that he was going to return to tell his family what he thought of our location, and to consult with them ; and that he should write us what they concluded to do. In a few days, he left Green Bay for home. And thus ended my second visit to Fond du Lac.

In September, I received a letter from my brother Colwert, in which he said that he had a quantity of hay cut and ready to stack, but that he had no one to help him stack it, and requesting me to come to Fond du Lac and help him. On the 14th, I started to go there. When I reached Wright's (now called Wrightstown), I stopped^as was the custom with all others at that time - to feed my horse and get dinner. I there met a stranger from New York State, by the name of Harkness, who inquired where I was going. I replied that I was going to the upper country. " Well, sir,". said he, " when you get to Fond du Lac, I would advise you to stop at least a week. I stopped there nearly two weeks to rest. Look at the country, and get acquainted. Why, sir, they are the best people I ever met, and that is the best-kept house this side of Buffalo. After you pass there, you will not find another such place if you travel 500 miles." I said to him that I thought I would avail myself of the benefit of his experience, and stop when I got there ! The next day I reached my brother's, but now came two days of damp weather. Mr. Benjamin Funk, from the region of the lead mines, came along the next day with a drove of cattle, going to the Bay. Of him we purchased two yoke of oxen and a cow and a calf, to pay for which I gave him an order on Daniel Whitney, at the Bay. The weather now became fair, and we stacked the hay. I sold my horse to a man from Manitowoc, and walked back home. This ended my third visit to Fond du Lac.

Some time in December, 1836, I received another letter from my brother at Fond du Lac, in which he told me that he was getting short of provisions of all kinds, and that it was not expedient for him to leave his wife there alone for the length of time that it would take him to go to the Bay and return ; that he wished me to get some man to pack a couple of horses and bring him some provisions, if no other way could be found. I spoke to Mr. Whitney about the matter, and he told me that he had agreed to send some goods to my brother to trade with the Indians, and that he ought to have done it before, " And now," said he, "I will furnish a horse and train if you will go and take a load up to your brother's." I said to him that there was no road, and that I could not get there with a team. He ridiculed the idea, and said there was not the least trouble, that the ice on the lake (Winnebago) was good. I said to him that I was not accustomed to the lake, and that I was not pleased with the idea of attempting to cross it alone. But his reply was that I was not accustomed to a frontier life ; that there was not the slightest danger on the lake ; that I could not make a hole in the ice in half an hour large enough to get a horse into the water, and that, as yet, there were no cracks in the ice. Said he, " If you will go, I will risk the horse." So, on the 20th of December, I started from Green Bay, for the fourth time, for Fond du Lac. It was a mild, misty morning. Before I got to Wright's, it rained quite hard. While I was there, the wind came from the north and the rain changed to snow. I started, and before I reached the Stockbridge Mission, the weather was quite cold. The harness on the horse was frozen so stiff that it was hard to get it off. The next morning was extremely cold, so much so that the Rev. Mr. Marsh tried to dissuade me from going on that day ; " For," said he, " I fear you will perish before you reach your brother's."

However, knowing that my brother was short of provisions, I thought best to try to get to him. I went on the lake at Pipe Village. I found the snow so badly drifted that I was compelled to tread the snow for some rods before the horse could get through to the lake. This, I think, detained me near or quite an hour. In the mean time, the wind blew so severe from the southwest that it was with difiBculty that I could keep my horse from turning around. After I got on the lake, the snow was so strongly driven by the force of the wind, that I could only see a few feet before the horse. The snow upon the lake was in drifts, with places of sometimes half a mile of smooth, uncovered ice. The cold was so intense that I was obliged to go on foot or perish. It was the worst day but one that I can remember, and that was January 1, 1864. I traveled as fast as possible until about 3 o'clock, when my horse dropped his hind feet through the ice into the water. I was behind the train. I sprang to him as soon as possible, and loosened him, but, in his struggles to get out, I saw that the ice was crumbling and breaking off. Soon he was in the water all except his head. There was a drift of snow of several rods in width where he went in, so that I was able to stand. I put the lines around his neck and choked him, and, in his struggles, I pulled him on the ice, but it immediately broke, and when he went in again, he took me with him. I sprang on top of him and went over him, and caught on the ice on the other side. I was in the water up to my waist. I then got out. I believe it was pretty quick and spry work I did. My overcoat was frozen stiff. I now discovered that my hands were frozen. I then whipped them around my body until the blood was pressed into them, and they felt warm. I then went round the broken ice and placed the horse's head or neck across the shaft. He was quivering, but otherwise motionless. I saw that he was gone, and I now started to find the only house in Fond du Lac County.

My boots were filled with water and frozen stiff. My clothes were wet up to my waist. About this time, I saw the sun for the first time through the day. It appeared to be about an hour above the horizon. Where the ice was covered with snow I could get along very well ; but where it was smooth it required all my strength and utmost dare to stand. I succeeded in reaching land just before the sun disappeared. The prairie had not been burned and the snow was about seven or eight inches, including the grass. Near the lake it was blown to the depth of two feet or more. The wind was blowing strong from the southwest, and the weather was intensely cold. I made the best time possible to reach my brother's house, knowing that was the only chance for my life. Of course I was in great anxiety for fear I could not find it. I struck the timber about one hundred rods north of the house. The cattle had been out on the east side of the timber that day ; and I will here say that I never was so glad in my life to see the tracks of a cow, as it was just as darkness was closing in upon me, on the 2l8t of December, 1836 ! I soon reached the house, when I found that my hands were badly frozen, and also my cheeks. 1 1 found in the house my brother's wife and a lad from Brothertown, whom my brother h*d persuaded to stop with her until his return ; for, not having heard from me, and their provisions being short, he had started that morning in company with a traveler who came along, to go to the Bay. Some idea of the storm I encountered may be had when I state that we had passed very near without seeing each other's teams at all.

The next morning, the young lad accompanied me back to the spot where my horse had been left. I found him in the same position in which I had left him the night before.

My husband, Reuben Simmons, was born in Litchfield, Conn., being left an orphan when quite YQung. He served an apprenticeship as carpenter and joiner, and then went to Bainbridge at the age of eighteen. Soon after this, we were married. I was born at Old Milton, in Saratoga County, N. Y. We lived in Whitestown, that State, many years, where our five children were born, four sons and one daughter. In the fall of 1836, my husband took his eldest son, Alonzo, and went to Green Bay, then Wisconsin Territory. He remained there all winter, taking contracts for building, and accumulated quite a little sum of money. Early the next spring, leaving Alonzo at Green Bay, Mr. Simmons started for home on the steamer Hendrick Hudson, arriving in due time at Delta, Oneida County, where we then lived. We soon made preparations to move to Green Bay, starting on our journey on the 4th of July, 1837. At Rome, N. Y., my husband chartered a canal-boat, and in about two weeks we reached Buffalo, where wo remained five days. We then took passage on the steamer Constitution for Detroit, arriving there in safety, and remaining there eleven days awaiting a boat for Green Bay.

We finally took passage on the old steamer Bunker Hill, a condemned boat. On the second day out, the steamer took fire, but by great labor and care of both passengers and crew, it was saved from burning, but it had to be continually watched during the residue of the passage. The next day, when out of sight of land, the main shaft broke, but by hoisting a jib we ran back over a, hundred miles to Presque Isle, where a wooden shaft was put in in place of the broken one. By a constant application of oil, this was made to answer the purpose, and we all landed safely at Green Bay, after a long and stormy passage.

We took up our residence there, keeping a boarding-house, my husband working at his trade. In the fall, he, with three others, took a large log canoe and paddled up the Fox River to Lake Winnebago, carrying his own provisions and other necessaries, and camping on shore wherever night overtook him. After traversing the shore of the lake, he finally reached the mouth of the Fond du Lac River, up which he and his companions paddled their canoe, camping near the log house which had been erected by the Fond du Lac Company in the spring of 1836, on Lot 9, Block 9, in "the town of Fond du Lac," better known as "The Old Fond du Lac House." It was a double log house, and was quite large and roomy. In the morning, they started out, and for some days traveled over the beautiful wild prairies - all in a state of nature, covered with wild flowers in every direction. My husband and his companions returned to Green Bay safely after a very pleasant trip.

James Duane Doty was a resident of Green Bay, though not at that date a Judge ; he had been out of office for over five years. He was, in addition to being one of the principal shareholders in the Fond du Lac Company, also the owner of much other real estate in the Territory. After his becoming acquainted with us, he was anxious to have my husband take his farm, afterward known as the George D. Ruggles farm (south half of the northeast quarter, and the north ha,lf of the southeast quarter of Section 6, in Township 15, of Range 18 east), in the present town of Taycheedah.

Mr. Simmons entered into a contract with Doty - the latter agreeing to furnish lumber and materials for building a house on the farm, my husband to erect it at Doty's expense.

In the winter of 1838 - 39, Mr. Simmons hauled all his lumber and materials for the house from Green Bay through the woods, he having, the previous fall, drawn a load of lumber up 'to what was to be our new home and built a board shanty, 12x16 feet, making three tiers of bunks on one side. He put a cook stove in one corner and provisions in another. In that way he, with his three men, lived during the winter while building the house, living very warm and c05;y. My husband finished the house in the spring. It was large, and was the second frame house erected in Fond du Lac County. In March, 1839, we all came from Green Bay and moved in. Our family consisted of my husband and myself, our little daughter, eight years old, and our four sons ; also, two hired men, one of whom was a Brothertown Indian. Our house had loose boards laid down for a floor and blankets hung up at the windows. Mr. Simmons afterward finished the house and we remained there until the next spring, when we moved on a larger farm Mr. Doty's, afterward known as the Phillips farm. It was the south half of Section 7, in Township 15 north, of Range 18 east, in the present town of Empire. It had a large stock of cattle, from sixty to one hundred head, where my husband, with his four boys and two hired men, carried on farming on a large scale for the then new country. All our butter, cheese, honey (which was abundant, wild in the woods) and pork he had to take to Green Bay in winter or by boat in summer, there being no nearer market at that time. These articles he traded for necessaries for the family.

His usual way was to go to Green Bay each spring and fall with a Durham boat, taking his youngest son, Amasa P., to help guard the goods and talk to the Indians, and four Indians to propel the boat. On his return heavily loaded, arriving at the rapids, he would funload half of the goods, leaving his son to guard them, and, with the Indians, who would wade by the side of the boat, lift it over the entire rapids, then unload and, remaining there himself, send the Indians back to get the remainder of the -goods, and so on over all the rapids until they arrived at Winnebago Lake, then, by coasting around the shore, he would get home, after a trip of about seven days. If the family ran short of any necessaries after that time, they had to go without until the next trip, as there were no stores nearer than Green Bay, sixty miles away.

I would sometimes run short of pins and the boys would cut thorns from the trees, which I used, making a very good substitute. On one occasion, the boys' boots gave out and for a long time they had to wear Indian moccasins. Yet, in all these years, the entire family were happy, being blessed with good health, plenty to eat and plenty of work to do.

In the fall of 1841 and the following winter, my husband built a house on what we now (1879) call our old homestead, which he had purchased while we were living at Green Bay. It adjoins the city limits of Fond du Lac and is the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 23, in Township 15 north, of Range 17 east, in the town of Fond du Lac. We moved on the place in the spring of 1842, where I have ever since resided - my husband dying ten years ago, at the age of seventy-three years. I am now (1879) in my eighty-fifth year.

In the fall of 1839, Mr. Simmons and our son, A. P. Simmons, went to Green Bay for their winter supply, taking four Indians along to propel the boat. They had a quick and pleasant trip going down, loaded the boat with necessaries and started back. That night it commenced raining and rained nearly every day for two weeks. They had a hard time during the entire return trip, and when five days out their provisions were exhausted ; but as good luck would have it, they found some Indians on the river bank of whom they bought some wild rice, and, by boiling it, made it quite palatable. On that the entire party lived for eight days.

There were bands of four tribes of Indians here for some years after we came : Menomonees, Pottawatomies, Winnebagoes and Chippewas. The two latter were treacherous and very troublesome at times. On one occasion, the Menomonee chief gave out that as soon as the grass grew in the spring, so their ponies could live, they would drive off or kill all the whites. This alarmed the few settlers, and a meeting was held by them and cautionary measures taken. Dr. M. C. Darling wrote to the Department at Washington, informing the authorities of our situation, but^o reply was received.

One warm day, my husband, with all his men and boys, being down on the ridge clearing and breaking up a large piece of land for corn, saw something shining very bright below TaycKeedah, at the edge of the woods, and could not imagine what it was. He took a pony and rode down to make inquiries. When he arrived where Taycheedah now is, he met Col. Worth (afterward General in the Mexican war) with a regiment of soldiers. They encamped there for the night, and, after a hearty shake, the Colonel asked Mr. Simmons if he could furnish them with some eatables. He told him he could, and started for home ; arriving there, he had the cows all driven up, twenty-two in number, and, milking them, put the milk on an ox wagon, together with pork, bread, flour, butter, honey, cheese and other articles; he then started with his yoke of oxen, and when he arrived at the camp a file of soldiers were detailed to guard the wagon and its contents, and Mr. Simmons handed it out to the soldiers until it was all gone. The next day, Col. Worth moved up to Fond du Lac and then camped again, when my husband again met him with a similar load. The Colonel had come to remove the troublesome Indians west of the Wisconsin River and wanted interpreters. Mr. Simmons had a half-breed by the name of Charles Bopery working for him, who could talk good English and the four Indian languages. He let the Colonel have him, and he remained with him until the troublesome Indians had been collected and taken to the west side of the river. We were never troubled with them again. Some months after, a band of twenty or thirty came back to Fox Lake and encamped. A Mr. Stevens, an old pioneer, the only. settler in that section of the country, a brave, noble man, went out alone and tore down their wigwams and drove them off never to return again.

When Col. Worth got the Indians on the banks of the Wisconsin River, ready to cross, they all refused to go, saying their forefathers were buried here and they would die here too. The Colonel brought up a platoon of soldiers and (the Indians all being in their canoes) fired over their heads, but that did not frighten them. He next brought up afield piece (cannon) and fired that off; then he told them the next time he would load with grape and cannister and fire amongst them. The old chiefs talked it over and finally concluded it was too much for them, and they paddled over to their new home, adjoining the reservation of the Sioux Indians, who were their deadly enemies.

Old Father Halsted, a Methodist missionary, located among the Stockbridge and Brothertown Indians, was the first man who ever preached a sermon in this county. A good old-fashioned Christian gentleman, he would ride up here and preach to us as often as he could, say once every two or three weeks. He first preached in the house of Edward Pier and from that time, for a number of years, preached to the early settlers, speaking in different houses at different times, the people paying him in flour and other necessaries, and sometimes a very little money - little indeed, for the people had but very little.

In an early day, the Government cut a military road or track through the woods from Fort Howard (Green Bay) to Fort Winnebago (Portage). It was a poor apology for a road, but could, be used in winter and, in very dry weather, in summer. That was all the road we had out here until 1841 or the next year. Some men in Milwaukee sent word they would meet the settlers at the Milwaukee River and cut a track or road through. The inhabitants accepted the offer, and one day a gang started out with a large pair of oxen owned by Mr. Simmons with ox chains and provisions for the trip. The party consisted of E. M. Simmons, Oscar and Oliver Pier and Harvey J. Peck. They cut the underbrush, moved the logs and bridged the small streams with poles, making a passable road. The boys met the Milwaukee party at the river and camped together over night, having a big jollification. That was the first Milwaukee road, and in dry weather we could go through with teams, taking a small load of wheat, which would sell for 45 to 50 cents a bushel. The next winter, a road was cut through to Sheboygan in a similar manner and by the same parties here. A few years after emigration starting, a plank road was built in nearly the same track. Then there was an outlet for grain to the lake and people began to prosper.

The first Fourth of July celebration held in the county was in our front yard. We built a bower of green boughs, then drove stakes in the ground and laid on boards for a table. This we covered with tablecloths. The seats around the table were built in the same way. Then we took a sheet and with pieces of red and blue cloth made a respectable flag, which we attached ,to a long pole. One of the men climbed to the top of the tallest tree and fastened it there. It showed plainly for miles around. This was the first American flag raised by citizens in the county. Most of the people in the county - men, women and children - came, each family bringing what they could of good things to put on the table ; and when all was on, it wa's a bountiful table, indeed, enough for all and plenty to spare. When everything was ready, they all formed in line. Alonzo Simmons, with his violin, played Washington's March, and they marched and countermarched until they were all finally seated at the table. Dr. Darling delivered an address and many toasts were drank. Taking it all together, it was a grand old time, and all went to their homes happy indeed.

The prairie fires were sometimes terrible. In March of the spring that Mr. Simmons built his house on "the old homestead," we had all the timber to build with, which had been hauled the fall and winter before. It was piled up closely, the snow was gone and the grass dry. One day in the forenoon, we saw black smote arising in the south, when my son, A. P. Simmons, took a pail and, riding his horse as fast as possible, arrived there in time to "back fire" and save the timber; but the next thing was to save himself; he jumped on to his horse, the fire after him, leaping sometimes twenty feet, then catching again. At last, becoming cornered, he had to turn and ride through the fire with all speed, and, in doing so, burnt the hair all ofi^ where it was not covered with his cap and also the hair ofi" the sides of his horse. He got back home nearly exhausted. It was quite common to have our hay-stacks burned. One fall, our hay was nearly all burned, and, having a large stock of cattle, my husband had to go to the woods and out down trees and let the cattle browse ofi" the tops. By care, he brought them through the winter without losing any.

On a certain day, some fifteen or twenty Indians came to our house. They had been having whisky from Luke Laborde's, enough to make them ugly. All our men folks were away threefourths of a mile, and I was alone with my two youngest children - Amasa, twelve years old, and Eliza Jane, nine. The Indians came in and demanded whisky. I told them we had none, but they would not believe me. The pantry door being open, they saw some bottles standing on the shelf and -were determined to get to them, but I told them they must not. At last, they made a rush for it, and I, having prepared myself for the emergency, took a small chair in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other, stopped them and finally drove them out. The last one I pushed out, and he fell on his back, hurting him somewhat. They were very mad, and said they were going home for their guns and left. I then sent Amasa on horseback for his father, and he came home itnmediately. Soon after he arrived, the Indians came back with guns, but, when they saw him, they stood around a short time and then left. The next day, the chief brought a fine, fat deer, dressed, and made me a present of it, saying I was a very brave squaw ; and I never had any trouble with that band after.

The first store in this county was started by James B. Clock and George Weikert. They bought a small stock of goods and put them in the north half of the old Fond du Lac House, and, by boring holes in the logs and driving in pins and laying on slabs and pieces of boards, laid their goods on and made quite a respectable store.

The first singing school was at the little old schoolhouse, built where the city now is. A paper was circulated and each one subscribed what they could and sent to Sheboygan, and a Mr. Robinson (now living at Ripon) came and taught the school two nights each week during the winter for $3 a week, the people boarding him and his horse during his stay.

The first dancing school was taught by A. H. Clark at our house, there being no other large enough for that purpose. My husband had put up a temporary partition through the center of the house, and, by taking it down each time there was a dance, it made quite a good dancing hall, being 18x32 feet. For some years, large dancing parties were held there, until the old Badger Hotel was built, where the city now is, on the corner of Main street and Western avenue. That was the first hotel, strictly such, built in this county.

I emigrated from Green Bay to Fond du Lac County in 1837 - to the town of Calumet. At that time, there was but one house between mine and Milwaukee - seventy-nine miles - and that was occupied by Colwert Pier and brother. The Brothertown Indians were our neighbors on the north, and the Menomonees were the roaming occupants of the prairie. We moved from Green Bay in a yawl-boat, and after entering Winnebago Lake, we hoisted sail and with a pleasant wind soon came in sight of the prairie on wbich my house was built. We had never before seen a prairie, and the impression the sight produced was enchanting. It reminded us of the poet's description of the "sweet fields arrayed in living green," in the Promised Land. We found our log house prepared for our use ; and for several years it became the occasional shelter for the night of the lawyers and judges going from Milwaukee to Green Bay, to attend court. Such were seasons of social intercourse without the restraints of courcly etiquette.

In the early settlement of the town of Calumet, wild game was abundant, and the deer were hunted for their skin and meat. One Sunday morning, my hired man came into the house in a great hurry, saying, " Mr. White, where is your gun? There is a deer in the road close by." Said I to him : " The poor animals are entitled to one day in seven for a breathing-spell and respite from death, and my gun shall not be the instrument of his death." The timid animal escaped. Another anecdote : The mountain wolves were plenty. One day I was raking wheat on the lot, and hearing the cry of distress from one of my hogs, I dropped my rake and ran in the direction of the cry, and, within about fifty rods, I came in sight of a large wolf who had nearly killed a hog that would weigh one hundred pounds. He fled, when he saw me, into the bush. As the hog could not live I put him out of his misery, and near by I set a trap between two saplings, built a circular brush fence on one side, put the carcass next to it and in front of the bait. I buried my trap, fastened by a log chain. Next morning early, with my two dogs, I went to the place and found the chain in its place and the trap gone. The dogs traced the wolf through the underbrush for about half a mile, when, emerging into the open woods, they espied him. The bulldog grappled with him till I prevented further contest. He was as passive as a lamb, and allowed me to tie his mouth and legs, and, with assistance, carry him home. ,

I was obliged, by the importunities of the Menomonees, to open a small store for their accommodation, but refused, under all circumstances, to furnish them with "fire water." As a proof of their honesty, I must chronicle an event that occurred at their yearly pay ground.

I had trusted them during the year with goods to be paid for either in skins, or at their yearly payment in money. I attended their payment, and employed a half-breed as an interpreter and assistant, who stood with me at the door of the Agent's tent. At length an Indian came out with his money in silver in one corner of his blanket. A trader, that had sold him whisky, demanded his pay, and seized hold of the blanket, determined to have it. My halfbreed commenced to interfere in my behalf, but I told him to desist, and just then the Agent took the Indian into the tent. Several hours after, as I was standing conversing with some gentlemen, I felt my coat pulled, and, looking round, I saw a hand filled with silver extended toward me. The squaw of Kiskotopway, my debtor, tendered to me the amount of my claim, saying her man had sent it to me in preference to paying the man who crazed the Indians with "fire-water."

I acted as agent for most of the Germans of Calumet, in buying their land for them. They were an honest, industrious and prosperous community.

Among the early settlers of Fond du Lac county with whom I was intimate, I recall the names of Dr. Darling, Edward Pier, J. M. Gillet, Gov. and Maj. Tallmadge, Gov. Doty, George McWilliams and Dr. Delaney. An incident connected with Dr. Delaney I will mention : For several years, I was Postmaster at Calumet Village, but, in consequence of my support of Charles Doty for the Legislature, and the consequent defeat of R. P. Eaton, the Democratic nominee, the Democratic representation in Congress procured my discharge as Postmaster, and the removal of the oflBce from our village.

As the next Representative was Gov. Doty, I wrote to him, stating that as we had lost the post oifice from our village, in consequence of our support of Charles, we should look to him for its restoration, and I recommended Dr. Delaney as Postmaster.

In a short time the Doctor (whom I had not informed of my doings) came to my house, bringing his appointment as Postmaster, and inquiring if I knew what it meant, as he had made no application for the ofiice. I told him he might thank Gov. Doty for the appointment and me for the recommendation.

The oldest of the settlers of Fond du Lac County are mostly gone to a fairer clime, and of a more enduring and satisfying tenure than this. We have not in this ephemeral existence full scope for development. There is an irreconcilable discrepancy between our powers and their full display if this life is the end of our conscious being. We begin to live here; we shall continue to live beyond the reach of death as social, progressive and immortal beings.*

I came to Fond du Lac in the summer of 1846, at the solicitation of Dr. Darling, and started the Fond du Lac Journal, in connection with Mr. Hooker, who had a business interest in it. Hooker sold out to Edward Beeson ; and afterward, on account of ill health, I disposed of my interest to Beeson. In the fall, J. M. Gillet started the Whig, and, some time after. Hooker obtained an interest in that paper.

Fond du Lac was a city of magnificent distances, and an enumeration of all the inhabitants within a distance of three miles amounted to one hundred and fifty-three. Dr. Darling and a Frenchman by the name of Hebert, accommodated the traveling public. The merchants were M. S. Gibson, Clark & Weikert, Smith & Gillet and A. P. & G. N. Lyman, by their agent Dewey. Jason Wilkins run a grocery, and D. R. Curran started his drug store that fall. The Badger House was opened that fall or winter, by Lewis & Morris. Drs. Babcock and Walker were the practicing physicians. Dr. Darling and John Bannister were local land agents. Peter V. Sang kept tavern at Seven Mile Creek ; Mr. Nathaniel Perry at Taycheedah, and Harry Giltner at Forestville, on the Sheboygan road. Among the noted names at that time were ex-Go vs. Doty, Tallmadge and Beall; the Conklins, Piers, George McWilliams, Frank Moore, E. W. Drurj, Judge Stow, Myron Eaton, 0. S. Wright ; Warren Chase, of Ceresco ; Selim Newton, the Gillets, Morley, McCarty, Driggs, Slooum and others. The steamer Manchester, owned by George W. Featherstonhaugh, was running on Lake Winnebago, commanded by Capt. Houghtaling, with Jonas Warden as mate, and J. Tyler as engineer. Warden is now Captain of the Lake Superior, one of the finest steamers running from St. Louis, and Tyler is running a ranche near Los Angeles, California. Driggs & Morley had a saw-mill on the river west of the Court House ; Davis & Smith built the first steam saw-mill on the river, at Lower Town, in 1846. In the fall, Smitb made, as he supposed, an exploration of all the pineries on Wolf River, and returned satisfied that there Wiis not pine enough on the river to run their mill three years, sold out at a sacrifice, and left for the East. There has been billions of lumber cut on the river since then.

In the spring of 1849, Moses S. Gibson and Frank P. Catlin, of Fond du Lac, were appointed Receiver and Register of the United States Land Office, at Hudson. Mr. Gibson now has a clerkship in the Treasury Department at Washington, and Mr. Catlin makes his home at Ripon, although he is at present visiting his sons in this vicinity. S. S. N. Fuller, who had been Register of Deeds, District Attorney, etc., of Fond du Lac County, came to Hudson in 1850, and a year or so after was elected Circuit Judge of this District. After his term expired, he went to Western Iowa,, and died a few years since.

After disposing of my interest in the Journal, I became a granger, and started a farm in the present town of Eldorado, which I had the pleasure of naming. In the fall of 1849, I removed to Hudson, where I still remain.

'* ^Lear Raymond - I received lately a strip of newspaper, iaclosed ia an envelope, in which is a ilattering reference to myself. I judged it was a slip from the Fond du Lac Commonwealth, though it was guess-work. As reference was made in that to my letter to you, I inclosfe to the editor, with my compliments, a card which I wrote yesterday. You will please to say to him that I did the best I could with the means at my -command. George White.'

" The card referred to by Mr. White is one not so large as an ordinary business card, and a little broader than a lady's calling card. On the face is written : ' Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Written by the subscriber in his 83d year, for the editor of the CommonweaUh. Washington, D. C, August 8, 1879. George White.' On the other side is Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, so plainly written that it may be read easily without the aid of a glass. At the first.glance, the back of the card appears to be simply painted gray ; but on a closer examination the words and sentences plainly appear. We doubt whether there is another octogenarian in the Union who could have executed the work before ub."

" We saw," says a writer in a Fond du Lac paper of 1879, "a lengthy letter to day written to J. R. Tallmadge, by George White, of Washington. Mr. White ia one of the very earliest settlers of Wisconsin, having been here when the Tallmadges reached Wisconsin, over thirtythree years ago. He laid out the village of Calumet, which contained buildings at as early a day nearly as did Fond du Lac. He ia now eighty-three years old, and a clerk under John A. Bentley, in the Pension Bureau, doing as much work as any of the clerks. And he does it well, too, the lett4r shown us being written more elegantly than could be done by most business men of thirty. Here is good cheer to you, good father, who helped to make the wilderness blossom as the rose ; and may you enjoy the rose many years to come. - Fond du Lac Oommonvtealth, ^ugutl SO, 1879.

My first visit to Fond du Lac, County was in August, 1841, on my way from the Oneida Indian Mission, where I was then stationed, to attend the session of the Rock River Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was held that year at Platteville, Wis. Where the village of Calumet now stands, a man by the name of George White lived, and had made some improvements on a farm. I saw no more settlements or improvements till I came to where Pond du Lac City now stands, where there was a log house near where Darling's Block now is, where Dr. Darling lived and kept entertainment for travelers. There was a house then standing on Brooke street near where the railroad bridge now is, and there was a bridge across the river at that place, but there was no one occupied the house, and the travel was diverted another way farther up the river. A number of families had settled south and southeast of where the city now is, and had opened farms, and A. D. Clark had built a saw-mill on the West Branch of the Fond du Lac River. There was a log house erected at Seven Mile Creek, where they entertained travelers, which was all the settlement there was between Fond du Lac and Waupun. At Waupun there were but two families.

I made my annual journey through the county, with an occasional call at Fond du Lac on business till 1847, when I was stationed on the charge and came to the town of Fond du Lac to live. In 1846, there was a great rush of immigration into the county, and the ague and fever prevailed everywhere. In some places, there were scarcely well ones enough to care for the sick. But the ague disappeared in 1847, and there were settlements formed in different parts of the county. A man by the name of Wilkinson settled 'a little south of where the village of Oakfield now stands, and there was quite a settlement in that neighborhood. They had built a log house, which served for schools and religious meetings, for they were generally connected in every settlement.

Fond du Lac was then a small village with great expectations, inasmuch as it was the county seat. They had built a house which answered for schools and all kinds of meetings, religious and political, arid also for a Court House, where justice was administered by Judge Stone as civil Judge. A saw-mill had been built, and the frame for a grist-mill had been put up by Wheeler & Morley, but Mr. Wheeler was killed in 1846 by the falling of a tree, while getting out timber for his mill, and the work stopped. The mills were located a little below the Western avenue bridge.

A steam saw-mill had been built on the river a little north of Arndt street, by Cornelius Davis, and a number of stores and shops and houses were subsequently built at the foot of Arndt street on the river ; also a large warehouse was built on the north side of the street, close to the bridge. But the dams that were built about that time across the outlets of the lake at Neenah and Menasha raised the water so that they were under the necessity of deserting the place. On the west side of the river, opposite Cotton street, they formerly drew saw-logs with two yoke of oxen out of the river, and drew them up to A. D. Clark's saw-mill, some two miles, more or less. By that, any one may judge how much those dams have raised the water in the lake. Taycheedah was an enterprising village about this time, and was thought by some to be the coming city, but the rising of the waters blasted all their prospects. A man by the name of Geisse had built a stone flouring-mill there, and they had quite a business place there for some time. B. F. Moore at that time was a prominent business man at that place.

As was before stated, schools and religious meetings go together in Yankee settlements, and they were provided for in every settlement. In the fall of 1847, there were schools established not only in Fond du Lac and Taycheedah; but in the south part of Fond du Lac, where Dr. Adams had settled, there was a flourishing school. There was also a school in Byron, and also a post office near where the Methodist Church now stands, Mr. Orin Morris, Postmaster. There was also a school established in the Genessee settlement in Oakfield. Four miles west of Fond du Lac, on the Waupun road, there was a flourishing settlement.

Edward Beeson, Jesse Homiston and his son settled there at an early day, with others whom we cannot now name. Joseph Stowe kept entertainment for travelers a little beyond where the Four Mile House now stands, and E. W. Drury, Esq., had opened a farm a little west of him. Mr. Stowe not only opened his house for travelers, but also for religious meetings, and when he built a shed to accommodate the traveling community, he made a hall over it for the public worship of God, but did not keep strong drink for any one. At this time, there was a whisky tavern at Seven Mile Creek, kept by a man who had been a member of the church. He sent word to the Methodist minister that he wished to have preaching at his house and also wished to unice with the Church. An appointment for preaching was circulated in the neighborhood. The time arrived and a large congregation assembled, and. aftet- preaching, an opportunity was given for any who wished to unite with the church to make it known, when the landlord presented himself for membership. The minister asked him if he was willing to abide by the rules of the church, and informed him we had a rule that not only forbade drunkenness, but the buying and selling of spirituous liquors, or drinking them unless in cases of extreme necessity. He argued the case quite earnestly, and quoted Scripture to prove his position, but the rule was in his way and there was no way to get by it as long as he sold spirituous liquors, and the Church failed to get the influence of the landlord, and the landlord failed to get the Church to sanction his business.

The Methodist Church sent ministers into this county at an early day. In 1842, a Mr. Halsted and Mr. Smith were stationed here. Their charge included Brothertown and all this region of country where there were any inhabitants. Mr. Halsted lived near where Mrs. E. H. Galloway now lives. From that time, there has been a regular supply of Methodist ministers sent to Fond du Lac County in different parts as the people wished. In 1852, there were two Methodist Churches built in the city - the one that now stands upon the corner of -Marr and Third streets, now owned by the Evangelicals, and the other built on Arndt street, now owned by the Presbyterians and used for a mission chapel, on the west side of the river.

In 1847, there was a Congregational minister living in Fond du Lac by the name of Spofford, and the Congregationalists built the church now occupied by the Free- Will Baptists, about the time the Methodists built theirs.

There are many charms in Western prairie life for those who are lovers of nature and of reflective minds, that can never be effaced, and particularly to the early settlers of this country. The variety of its scenery ; its vast expanse of undulatory prairie and woodlands and oak openings ; its ledges of limestone, their fissures and grottoes ; its crystal lakes and streams ; its bubbling springs and rivulets ; its Eden of flowers and waving grass ; its abundance of wild game ; the fertility of its soil ; all conspire to make the thoughtful pioneer feel that there had been prepared a new paradise or Eden for his inheritance. In this spontaneous garden of beauty the first settlers made their locations.

They were mostly youngerly men, brimful of health, energy, and kindness for one another. Among them, I remember, with the greatest kindness, Colwert Pier, Edward Pier, M. C. Darling, Selim Newton, John Martin, Col. Conklin, Gustave de Neveu, John Carswell, N. P. Tallmadge, W. R. Tallmadge, E. H. Galloway, J. M. Gillet, Bertine Pinkney, Capt. D. P. Mapes, Warren Chase, Hugh Hubbard, the Olmstead brothers, and many others. These were a few among many of the men that braved the privations and difficulties of pioneer life to lay the foundations of one of the most populous and wealthy counties in the State. They and their coadjutors are the men who have packed their provisions on horseback, or human backs, from Green Bay or Milwaukee, fording rivers, crossing what seemed to be bottomless sloughs, living for weeks and months in houses without floors, and, in some instances, with bed-sheets sewed together and drawn across the rafters for a roof

Several families of my acquaintance ground the materials for their bread in a coffee-mill, and, for their meat, subsisted upon the wild game of the forest, which was plenty. Still the novelty of our surroundings, the primeval beauty of the landscape, the unity, equality, and mutual dependence of the people, made the little society a paradise, and I sometimes almost grieve for the good old days of pioneer life.

There are some incidents and anecdotes connected with the first settlement of the town of Oakfield, that will not be forgotten while any of the pioneers remain, one of which I will relate " here. Rupell Wilkinson was the first settler in this town. He came from Fond du Lac, built a shanty, .and moved his wife and goods. After remaining some weeks, they became lonesome and went to Fond du Lac on a Saturday, to remain over Sunday. While absent, the Indians (it was supposed) burned the shanty and its contents. They returned to Fond du Lac and remained some time, and then came back with two brothers, John and Robert. In the mean time, Sherman Botsford and John Bierne had settled in the same vicinity. In consequence of the burning of the shanty of Wilkinson, it was agreed among the settlers that, in case of an Indian attack upon the settlement, they were to fire a gun nnd all rendezvous at Fort Botsford (Botsford's shanty), that being made of logs and covered with troughs that rendered it impervious to water and bullets. Botsford and Bierne kept "bach." Bierne had been to Fond du Lac and returned to Botsford's shanty late on a wet evening. He had with him a flask of what always warms and cheers the heart of an Irishman, and lightens the shanty of a bachelor, and leads to the desire for fun and frolic. They concluded to inaugurate an Indian scare. Botsford went out and fired his gun, and then they jumped into bed. It so happened that the two Wilkinson men were from home. Upon hearing the report of the gun, their wives sprang from their beds, seized their infants, and, in their night habiliments, made their best speed for Fort Botsford. They found the men in bed. The latter immediately sprang up and threw each a blanket round the fugitives, and sat down for explanation. Botsford afterward said he measured t^e strides of the ladies next morning, and they would have done credit to any practiced pedestrian.

Among the early settlers were severaV families of English people - Burletons, Shuttleworths, Halls, Whitmores and others. They were like most of the settlers, of small means or none at all, except their energy and muscle. Mrs. Burleton was taken sick soon after arriving. The neighbors ministered to her wants as well as their limited means would allow, and she was nursed by her sister, Mrs. Bledsoe. On returning from church (the log cabin), my wife and I called to see how she was. Mrs. Bledsoe declared she was a'most dead. " She would have been dead afore now, but the folks, going to meeting, called and put her out in her dying, and she hadn't got through'f't yet !"

Our town was organized by the Legislature in the winter of 184:6-47. During these years, it settled rapidly. I think the first tax was the largest ever paid in proportion to population and property. The expense of a town organization, the laying-out and making highways and bridges, together with our poor-tax (we had then no county system for the support of the poor), made the tax high for those who had any improvement or capital. The first public building in the town was a log schoolhouse, which served all the purposes of church, town hall and rostrum.

Close upon the settlement of our town followed that indefatigable and zealous individual, the Methodist itinerant preacher. Mr. Ellwell, a Methodist preacher from the East, had settled in Oakfield. Mr. Requa, I think, was on the circuit. I cannot here record the name of Requa without a tribute to his memory. He was, I think, a good Christian man, and peculiarly adapted to his vocation. He was a man of culture ; his imagery of happiness or misery, of the power of love and charity, expressed through his sympathetic soul, I shall always remember with much pleasure.

The ministers and brethren consulted together and came to the conclusion that the settlement ought to have a revival of religion. Accordingly, a series of meetings was inaugurated and kept up for several weeks.

There were some incidents and sayings that may seem trivial, but they belong to that time, and exhibit the manner, culture and mode of expression of that era, and consequently are noted. One young exhorter, wishing to quote that Scripture 'which says: "Not one jot nor tittle of the law shall pass away," got it " tit and jottle." Mortified at his mistake, he stammered on " tit - tit - tit," until some brother gave him "jot," and he got through.

Another young man, who had experienced a change of heart, was requested to tell his young companions of his joys of redemption and forgiveness. He said to them, " My young friends, you need to give your hearts to Jesus; if you do not, you will surely be lost; you are all on bruin's rink."

A little innocent girl " thanked the Lord that He had taken her feet out of the mud-hole and established them on a rock." The titter of the juveniles spoiled the rest of the communication.

But the quaintest and most original of all was by an aged brother. When called upon for his experience, he said : " Last night, as I went to prayer, it Lord coom down like a mighty rooshin wind, and like to took it top off it ould shanty."

Another elderly brother who was requested to make the closing prayer, ended his petition in these words : " Now, 0 Lord, let salvation come to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, for Christ's sake."

In the mean time, the county was rapidly populating, and there began to be a surplus of production. Fond du Lac was our only market. Surrounded by a flat, and at that time, wet prairie, it was at certain times in the year almost inaccessible. I w^rote an article which was published in the Fond du Lac Journal, then edited and published by Edward Beeson, which was favorably received, recommending the building of a few leading plank -roads from the tablelands surrounding the city on three sides, over the low prairie, and finally called a meeting to be held at the log schoolhouse in Oakfield. The meeting was attended by Dr. Darling, Robert A. Baker, John Sewell and Judge Flint, of Fond du Lac, Alvin Foster, of Mayville, and several persons from our town. The subject was discussed, and an adjourned meeting agreed upon to be held at Fond du Lac some time in the future. That meeting was held, and, if I remember right, the Forest, Fond du Lac & Waupun Plank Road Company was organized, with several branches. The roads were built in due time, and from that moment a new impetus was given to the business of the city and country about it. A plank-road had been previously built from Fond du Lac to Sheboygan. After the completion of the Mayville branch of the plank-road, I have loaded five teams with 100 bushels of wheat each, and drawn it to Sheboygan with ease and comfort, whereas, I have often seen the time when I would have given the whole toll to have been extracted from one mud-hole.

Speaking of wheat reminds me of my first grist. The first fall that I came into the country, I started a saw-mill. Dr. Adams, of Byron, wanted lumber, and I wanted bread, so we made an exchange. He was to deliver ten bushels of wheat at Conklin's mill in Empire, the only grist-mill in the county, and receive lumber for his pay. The wheat was delivered, and, at the appointed time, I sent for my grist. It was not ground. I waited for a month and sent again, ihstructing the man who went for it that if it was not ground, he should take it to Taycheedah, get it on board of Houghtaling's steamboat and send it to Neenah. The grist was sent to Neenah. But the covetous Neenahites (unlike the honest miller who, having forgotten whether he had tolled a grist, said he would toll it again, as it was better to be twice right than once wrong), took the whole grist, bags and all !

It has beea said that no human happiness is unalloyed. Our quiet community was destined to be the victim of another Indian scare. At an early day, Solomon Juneau, in the goodness of his heart and his love for the Indian, had purchased of the Government forty acres of land on the east shore of Winnebago marsh, and deeded it to the Indians (it is known by the euphonious name of Smut's Point), so that they might not be trespassers upon the settlers when fishing, hunting and trapping on that miasmatic frog-pond. Word came by riders and runners that the Indians in their war paint, brandishing their tomahawks and scalping-knives, were swooping down upon the settlements in the north part of the county, massacreing the feeble and innocent indiscriminately, and making the welkin ring with the savage war-whoop ; and the people were all rushing to Fond du Lac and Taycheedah. A runner was sent to Oakfield with the appalling news and also the news that there was another band at Smut's Point, preparing to meet the invaders from the north. The neighbors gathered together, and I was oflFered the command of a squad to go down and attack them in their forty-acre garrison. Your humble servantj either from fear or incredulity, declined the honor, but said to my neighbors that if it were true we had better defend ourselves at home than make an attack. The settlers in the west part of the town, however, concluded to attack the enemy in his entrenchments. A citizen of Oakfield organized a corps, armed them with guns, scythes, pitchforks, and I do not know but with plowshares, threw out his scouts and skirmishers, and, cEirefuUy feeling his way, marched to Smut's Point. The gallant leader arrived at Fort' Smut, and to his chagrin found but one old Indian and squaw, who turned pale and trembled in their moccasins at the military array. They said, in broken English : "Me good Indian; me no kill; scalp shmoky man - ^megood!" The officer wheeled his command right about face, gave each soldier an honorable discharge, and in a little speech told them he should know just where to find the gallant defenders of the county when next assailed.

The first settled minister in this town was, I think, the Rev. Samuel D. Darling, a man of strong, positive feeling, tender sympathy, of excellent judgment, a leader in every charitable and benevolent work, a genial, good man, who will long be remembered in this community. The Congregational Society erected a small church, the first in the town, and installed Mr. Darling Pastor. The congregation was small and the members not affluent, consequently his salary was small and he was obliged to cultivate a small farm to support his family. He occupied the pulpit for a number of years much to the satisfaction of his congregation and the public. He finally gave up his preaching for farming. He fell dead from his seat in Opera Hall while attending a literary meeting, as many in the county will remember. The church was purchased by the Baptist Society, enlarged, and is now presided over by the Rev. Mr. Lewis.

The need of a place for religious instruction was felt in the east part of the town, and a joint-stock company was formed for the erection of a Union Church in the village of Oakfield. The stock was taken by all denominations, and by those of no denomination. The church was built and paid for, the ladies instituting dime sociables to furnish it and purchase an organ. A 'Pastor was hired for one year - Rev. Mr. McFarland, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The congregation was large, and a general feeling of harmony and kindness prevailed. The stock paid a dividend of ten per cent to the stockholders, the incidental expenses being mostly contributed by the audiences. The social feeling was cordial and the community were happy. After another year, two churches were organized - a Baptist and a Congregational.

The Episcopalians have a small church and congregation in Oakfield Village, presided over by the Rev. Mr. Wright, Pastor of the Episcopal Church of Waupun, which is well attended.

Nearly thirty-five years have elapsed since the rapid settlement of the county commenced. When I survey the change from a primeval wilderness to a wealthy and populous county, with its cities and villages, its churches and schoolhouses, its mills and manufactories, its beautiful country residences, its thousands of acres of cultivated soil, all produced by the labor and skill of its inhabitants, I am almost astounded by the power of human possibility.

Many of the first settlers have passed over the mystic river ; many still remain, but their days are in the sear and yellow leaf. We shall all soon have to balance the ledger. But I pray that we may all adopj; the sentiment of the poet Burns, whom I quote :

I came into the Territory of Wisconsin on the 14th day of September, 1845. I purchased in the town of Calumet 423 acres of prairie and timber land and moved in the next spring. I landed at Milwaukee and came to Fond du Lac by way of Watertown and Oak Grove. I took dinner at a little tavern, about sixteen feet square, kept by a Frenchman. My bill of fare was a large beefs head, cooked whole. It looked like a sign on a butcher's shop. The house was where the Opera House now stands. There were then no bridges between Milwaukee and Fond du Lac. I arrived in Calumet May 26, 1846. Winter wheat on Boyd's Prairie was two feet high. I immediately commenced work on my farm and fenced the whole of it.

The winter of 1846-47 was a mild one. The lake [Winnebago] opened on New Year's Day, and the ice piled up on the east shore very high in some places. The next winter, I had to go to Oshkosh to purchase some lumber, as there was a saw-mill at that place then, hut the hill, where the heart of the city now is, was then oak openings and scrub bushes with a few small houses set on blocks. Lake Winnebago was at that time frozen over, except now and then spots of a rod or more in diameter. It was twelve miles across, and, as I was a good skater, I made the distance in something over an hour. In returning late in the day, I broke one -of my skates and encountered a snowstorm. The consequence was, I did not reach the eastern shore until 10 o'clock at night, and then in an exhausted condition.

On the 6th of June, 1844, we arrived at Milwaukee in the old steamer "Missouri." Mil- "waukee was then a small, lively place, peopled by thorough, enterprising inhabitants. It seemed to already wear the appearance of a city. , The streets were for the most part sidewalked and planked, and many buildings of fine structure graced the grounds. Hotels, churches, etc., were scattered here and there. Indeed, Wisconsin Territory was rich with such a place as Milwaukee.

Our destination lay farther north, to Fond du Lac, in a wild and almost unpeopled region, yet possessing very attractive features of scenery and home comforts. No train of cars stood ready to convey us out of the city - far from it ! but, through a dense, wild forest, almost totally uninhabited, we were obliged to wend our way, drawn by " slow, sure-footed beasts" - oxen, and then not until we had tarried a week at Milwaukee, waiting for my father, Lyman Walker, to go through to Fond du Lac and return with the conveyance. The Monday following, we were prepared to depart, and then for the first time we commenced the true work of pioneering in good earnest. Our goods and effects, which were packed in large boxes, were piled into a wagon, firmly and in order. Upon the top of that generous load my mother and myself took seats, the elevated position afibrding a fine range of vision.

But few families had emigrated and settled between Fond du Lac and Milwaukee, and -even those were mostly foreigners. However, we were so fortunate at the close of the first day's journey as to obtam shelter from the driving rain ; poor as the accommodations were, any place was acceptable. The road through these dreary forests was almost impassable, for the spring had been very backward and rainy, and in the woods the mud was - " I dare not say how deep." Often during the weary days, we were obliged to halt for an hour at a time, in a perfect sea of mud, to extricate a wheel of our burdened wagon, which, generally, as soon as out, was spinning on the top of a neighboring stump or log. In such dilemmas, I, being a small child, was often mysteriously handed from my seat to a position amid the brambles and bushes upon the opposite side of the road - -although gracefully, yet at the peril of broken bones. Here and there, in those dim old woods, we frequently hailed little opening oases, radiant with thousands of beautiful flowers - the very air was fragrant - such flowers as are only found in the West. Indeed, one would be reminded of a painter's sketch, in which he had thrown the rarest specimens of the floral world.

One week from the day we left Milwaukee we arrived in Fond du Lac. Only a few teams had ever passed over the road before. When one considers the short space of time it now takes to go to Milwaukee from Fond du Lac, and thinks of it taking one week of hard labor only a few years ago, he is well impressed with the great and rapid change that has swept over this part of the State in a very short period. Riding from Milwaukee to Fond du Lac in 1844, after an ox team through a wild region, over a new road, in the rain, and " a stranger in a strange land," is quite a contrast from stepping into the cars at the La Crosse Depot in Milwaukee and arriving at Fond du Lac in about three hours.

As we emerged from the forest upon the Fond du Lac prairie, it presented more the appearance of a lake than a prairie, it was so completely immersed in water. Lake Winnebago met our view beyond, and, had the wet season been past, and this lovely spot, in its usual beauty, burst upon our view as we afterward beheld it, we should have uttered a loud exclamation of surprise. It was wild and new, yet strange and beautiful.

Only those who have emigrated to the West in early days, can realize the feelings we experienced as we gazed upon our wild home. Indian wigwams met our view in different directions, and curious savages crept stealthily around, scrutinizing our persons and baggage. At thisperiod, there were but four families in the settlement : M. 0. Darling, a French man and family, the Bromleys and the Greens. This comprised the society of Fond du Lac in 1844. There was then one store of limited contents. The Indians kept up the trading traffic of venison^ maple sugar, fish, berries, and other articles, which, indeed, furnished the table in rich style. Strawberries, raspberries and wild plums were abundant ; the prairies were red (so to speak) with large, wild strawberries. From the Indians, we could purchase these delicacies for a meretrifle. Brass buttons and similar trinkets were far better than money. The savages were peaceable, kind and friendly, worthy of the Menomonees and Pottawatomies.

We were by no means without roads to more early settlements - to Sheboygan and smaller places, although at times the highways were impassable in the woody regions. During the summer, a fine log house was erected for our abode ; a beautiful portion of the prairie, together with a Strip of woodland upon its side, was fenced off, and life in the West commenced in good earnest. Hay for the cattle was at the door, as it were, in its sweetest luxuriance ; in the river, within a stone's throw of our. house, fish of various kinds were caught in large numbers. Plums ripened in our dooryard, raspberries lined our fences, and the butternuts fell rattling among the leaves. And although the polished furniture, the soft carpets, and like former comforts were not to be had, yet happiness did not withdraw her charming society from our new home ; however, there were timeS' when older ones recalled the joys of their New England homes with a sigh and saddened tone. Such is human nature ; and that heart that would break all its early home-ties without a regret is hard indeed.

At a small distance from the village, a saw-mill was erected on a small stream, affording necessary lumber for the use of the settlers - mostly burr-oak and bass wood, ash 'and maple. Pine could only be obtained from the northern regions, then almost totally uninhabited.

The first summer was one of frequent storms. At times, the prairie would be completely deluged, looking, for many hours, like a glassy lake, the water having no convenient opportunity to flow off; trees would be uprooted, and split from top to ground by lightning; roofs of houses were lifted gracefully from their places ; it seemed, indeed, during some of those fearful storms as though the rolling thunder and sweeping wind would rend the very earth with their fury. Never, since that season to -the present time, have I witnessed such devastating storms and experienced such an inclement season in the West.

The summer and fall of 1844 found many new-comers to Fond du Lac and vicinity. Rev. William H. Sampson commenced his ministerial labors as Presiding Elder in this regions of scattered inhabitants. A schoolhouse was built; and Fond du Lac being the county seat,.

the building served well for a Court House. It was also used on Sundays for a meeting-house. Other buildings soon graced the village plat. Farmhouses were seen at a distance; fences began to lengthen in every direction ; cattle and horses were observed grazing upon the prairies ; speculative men from abroad were busy around us ; the red man retreated slowly from the scene of progression and civilization ; the mail, that comer of welcome and interest, paid us weekly visits ; indeed, progress was rising through the country in every direction. The merchants found less time for amusements, and money, that shining, bewitching metal, circulated more liberally from hand to hand. The usual hum of action and life lengthened into louder strains ; while the barking of the wolf became less common, and the prowling wildcat crept still farther into the thicket.

In the fall of 1844, occurred the second session of the Territorial District Court ; and connected with this event was a mirthful incident. Lawyer Fuller found himself in his opinion, unfit to appear in the court-room on account of the dilapidated condition of his boots. He felt himself in rather peculiar circumstances. He meditated long upon the affair. Could he go into the presence of people and fellow lawyers with his toes protruding through his boots ? Or, worse yet, could he leave them off- altogether ? His independence at length came to his relief ; he determined to go barefooted, honorably and independently, which he did, much to the fun of his fellows.

On the east side of Winnebago Lake were a number of little villages. Three miles from 'Fpad^dtrLac was Taycheedah, consisting of a tavern, store, mill, shoeshop, tinshop, and a number of residences. Fifteen miles farther on, stood Calumet, mostly settled by Germans. A short distance north was Brothertown, peopled with Brothertown Indians. Here the first steamer that ever sat upon the waters of Winnebago Lake, was constructed. On the other side of the lake the country was more wild in its appearance; dense forests extended nearly the whole distance from Fond du Lac to Fox River. > At the point where this river flows into Winneba/io Lake, there were two houses which comprised the village of Oshkosh.

In the year 1845 and the following one. Fond du Lac Village and county had been kissed warmly by progress, and presented the appearance of a thrifty, prosperous place. Many families ^ad swelled the community. Other places of which we have spoken rapidly progressed.