Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin - Chapter 15: Reminiscent, 1912

Chapter 15: Reminiscent

Mrs. Sarah Bishop wrote: "My father, C. L. Pierce, came to Fond du Lac in 1847 and was married to Calista Fargo in 1848. They lived in the house which stood many years at the southeast corner of Marr and Third streets. It was a one-story house, built on the two streets and known as the 'castle' in early days. Four families lived there, namely: Judge Drury, George White, A. W. Pierce and my father and mother.

"George Arnold's parents were neighbors on the corner of Fourth street, and Luther Ellis lived across the way where Mr. Potter's residence now stands. My mother went to Delavan, Wisconsin, to visit her parents, and I was born in that village in 1849. When I was three months old we came home to Fond du Lac, making the journey in a lumber wagon to Racine, visiting my father's people and then continuing our trip. This has been our home continuously since. My mother died in 1899, and my father passed away this year (1912). I had one brother, George A. Pierce, who died in 1887.

"I remember the old Badger Hotel, with its flowing fountain, the 'big foun¬ tain,' on Marr and Fourth streets, and the first one in the city at the corner of Main and Division streets. When I was five years old I fell into the big hogs¬ head, which was in the ground under the flowing water. I was rescued by Ed¬ ward Doolan, one of the earliest settlers, who lived in a little log house on the bank of the river where the Fritz store building now stands. I remember the old postoffice on North Main street. I also remember the spring which was on the McWilliams property, where the malt house now stands. The big thornapple trees which grew over the spring were a delight to us children when thornapples were ripe.

"I remember the big woods on Division street, west of where the railroads are. They were very low land and called the flats or the inland. In the spring time they were all under water. The river was crossed by means of fallen trees. My father's shop and barn were on the corner of Division and Main streets.

"I have seen the city grow from a few houses and business places to the beautiful city it now is, known far and wide for its good roads and streets and its great white way. The churches and schoolhouses have all been built during my time. I have an Indian paddle, used in the Fond du Lac river many times in

1848; a badge of the Wisconsin Volunteer Fire Company No. 1; and a picture of C. N. Snell, who was city marshal when M. C. Darling was mayor. I am contemplating a trip to California this fall, perhaps to make my home. Should I remain, I am sure there will be no place so dear to me as Fond du Lac, and who knows 'East, West, Hame's Best.' "

''When my father took his homestead two miles west of the city it was all a vast wilderness and the Indians were there in great numbers. I remember one afternoon I came home from school and there was a group of Indians there and father was at the grindstone sharpening their knives, and when he had gotten the knives sharpened, one old Indian knocked father's hat off his head and grabbed hold of his hair with one hand and had the knife in the other. From his actions I thought he was going to kill my father and how I did scream, and then the Indians laughed. As I look back now it seems as though we had a hard time with the red men.

Chased A Bear

"Our house was located on a little rise of ground on the banks of the river. It was the west branch of the river that runs through Fond du Lac. We watched the Indians go down the river in their canoes and we children were so afraid they would stop and come to the house. We used to wonder why father was never afraid of the Indians. One time we saw a bear in the clearing near the house and we children chased after it, thinking it to be a black calf, but our father called us back and he went after it himself. I remember how good the flesh meat from the bear was. When father and the boys would go down to Seymoure's Mills fishing, they would come home in the morning and get the ox team and wagon to bring home the fish. They would unload them on the bank of the river and then what a time we would have cleaning them.

"In the winter what a time we would have with the snow, which at times would be so deep that we would have to put two and three yoke of oxen on a sleigh to go around to the neighbors to gather up a load of young folks to go to a spelling school or a singing school. The snow was so deep that the stumps could not be seen and the first thing we would know we would all be thrown from the sleigh into a snow bank. Oh ! for those old times back again. It makes me homesick to look back and remember those old times. My father has been dead a great many years and the old homestead is still there, although in the possession of strangers, but my heart still goes out to it in loving remembrance."

"My parents came from Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1846, and settled in the town of Empire. The Pier family and a few others living near the city tried to induce my father to purchase some property near them, but just at that time de Neveu creek was on a rampage and real estate in the coming city was decidedly damp - it was worse than that - it was submerged. Father allowed he came west to acquire a farm, not a water privilege. I mention this incidentally, not that it is a matter of general interest, but merely to show that had my father's judgment been different my financial standing of today would also have been different.

"It was in 1857, if my memory is not at fault, that we moved to Fond du Lac city. At that time Fond du Lac was a mudhole, pure and simple. It was divided and generally known as upper town and lower town, and there was a strong rivalry between the two sections, particularly among the pupils of the different schools. Many and frequent were the 'scraps' indulged in with vary¬ ing results as. to who were the victors. Lower town was the business end of the city. From there there were several boats running to Green Bay and inter¬ mediate points, as well as to Wolf river towns. The Shebogyan plank road handled a large amount of traffic between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, bringing general merchandise of all sorts from Sheboygan, and returning to Sheboygan the wagons were loaded with wheat. I do not think at that time a bushel of barley had ever been raised in the county. The average tariff on wheat on the forty mile haul was from fifteen to twenty cents a bushel. Some of the farmers hauled their own, but that was what it was worth, yet we of today 'holler' about freight rates.

"All this has been mentioned and threshed out by other and more able cor¬ respondents. The question is 'Will I be in at the home-coming?' I have been debating that question for two months past. I am considerable of an old settler myself. Fond du Lac is and always has been my home. To be sure I have been away as my business required, but when I wanted to go home, I always went back to Fond du Lac. I have always had property interests there. I was going to say I was born there, but that would be a mistake. The first two years of my life were spent in New York. To make up for this I was married in Fond du Lac at our residence on Sophia street near the corner of Forest avenue, on Christmas eve, 1847. My dead are all buried in your cemeteries. Nearly all I hold dear in this world are there. Will I come? I want to see the few old ones of my class that are left. I want to meet the many who have made their homes there at a later day. I want to see you all and shake your hand. Great God, man, I must come! To be sure I am seventeen hundred miles away from the dear old town which is considerable of a long way, but I want to see you all so badly that I just must come. So please save me a hall bedroom some¬ where, or if that is not possible tell Frank Nolan I am on the way and he will

"It is now nearly forty-five years since I left your city and I can say that in all that time there has never been a single day that my thoughts have not gone back to the 'Old Home.' Of course, I have during that time visited for a short time the home of my childhood, and the memory is dear to me.

mentioned in these letters. I remember well the old swimming place in the west branch, and the crop of 'blood suckers' each boy harvested when he came out, also the tying of shirts among the scamps. All this is yet fresh in my memory.

"I remember perfectly the upbuilding of that part of the city west of Main street and north of Division street, my father having arrived in your city in April, 1855. He owned the shop on the northwest corner of Macy and Division, near the bridge, and built our home on Doty street, in what was then heavy woods, and I think he built the hrst house on Doty street. I remember well when the woods were cleared for this purpose and from his shop to the house there was only a path running through the woods. 1 was in your city in 1910 and the old shop was still standing. 1 could write of much more along these lines but do not wish to tax your time. Now and then I note in the list of deaths as shown in the papers, the passing away of many of my old boyhood friends. It leaves a feeling of sadness which I cannot well explain. Recently occurred the death of Tom Hastings, and just before T. S. Weeks, and now the death of John Dana - all friends of my early days. It makes one feel that he should do all in his power to attend this Home-coming and meet there such of the old boys as come home once more. In the nature of things we are getting old and not likely to see each other very often in this life. Our timber is getting shaky, the varnish is wearing off, we are showing age,

"These being the facts, I think we should try our best to be on hand, put on our 'blue bonnets, tie the yellow ribbons up under our chins, and once more be boys again/ and in memory of 'other days' sing,

Pioneer Statesman Once Lived In The Town Of Empire Was A Territorial Governor

James Duane Doty, the second territorial governor of Wisconsin, was one of the earliest pioneers of Fond du Lac county. He built a house in the town of Empire in 1838, where he lived two years. He was president of the original Fond du Lac Land Company and selected the site of the then village, now city of Fond du Lac. Governor Doty, the ablest and most comprehensive of our pioneer statesmen and the one who possessed a better knowledge of the terri¬ tory and its resources than any other man of his time, was born at Salem, Wash¬ ington county, New York, November 5, 1799.

In 1819 he was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Michigan and soon after was elected clerk of the supreme court and secretary of the territorial legislature.

In 1820 General Cass made his famous tour of the lakes and penetrated the source of the Mississippi in a flotilla of birch bark canoes. Doty was secretary of the expedition and his report is looked upon as embodying the most accurate information to be had in reference to the conditions of the country before it was settled by the whites. At the close of this expedition, at the age of twentytwo, having revised and published the laws of Michigan, Doty went to Wash¬ ington and was admitted to practice before the United States supreme court. In 1832 he was appointed by the secretary of war to lay out military roads from Green Bay to Prairie du Chien and to Fort Dearborn, now Chicago.

The first legislature of the territory of Wisconsin met in 1836 and fixed the seat of government. Governor Doty, knowing the topography of the coun¬ try better than any other man, entered a large tract of land between the lakes at Madison - a beautiful location - platted it and offered free a site in the midst of a fine natural park for the capitol buildings. After a bitter fight he was vic¬ torious and Madison was chosen as the seat of government, much to the dis¬ appointment of speculators and politicians who wanted the capital located else¬ where. Yet all concede now that Governor Doty selected the most beautiful loca¬ tion in the state for the state house.

Governor Doty was territorial governor of Wisconsin from October 5, 1841, to September 16, 1844. He made a vigorous attempt to have the southern boun¬ dary of Wisconsin established on a line drawn westward from the head of Lake Michigan as the ordinance of 1787 provided which would have made Chicago, instead of Milwaukee, the metropolis of Wisconsin.

It certainly was a tribute to the shrewd sagacity and business ability of Mason C. Darling, a country village doctor, to be a match in competition and litigation with a land company with a large capital - for those days - with Governor Doty, one of the most brilliant lawyers and ablest statesmen in the state at its head.

In 1846 Governor Doty was chosen to serve in the convention to form a new state constitution and in 1849 was elected to congress and reelected in 1851. In 1861 he was appointed superintendent of Indian affairs in Utah. In May, 1863, he was made governor of Utah, in which capacity he was forced to con¬ tend with the bloody and unscrupulous powers of the Mormon church, which office he held at the time of his death, June 13, 1865.

I cannot and would not forget that Fond du Lac homecoming. First, because the charming and in all ways delightful memories of it all are stamped so deep and so firm upon memory's plates that they will ever remain a beautiful and uplift¬ ing chapter in the history of every one who returned to the old home city and enjoyed the happy occasion.

Second, because I am sure that Fond du Lac set the state and nation, yes, and the world, a homecoming pattern that need not be improved upon, if, indeed, it can be.

It was a week of as perfect entertainment and pleasure as any sane, normal mortal should be allowed to make a bid for; and, besides, the pleasure and en¬ tertainment were of a character profitable and creditable alike to residents and visitors. Intellects were brightened, understanding broadened, eyes feasted, hearts gladdened and patriotism much increased by the exercises and experiences. Picture to yourselves a genuine family reunion, one without a jar or a flaw, full of good cheer, and you will have a good idea of what was experienced at Fond du Lac last week.

How was it brought about? I shall give you only a partial answer, not for my own gratification or the gratification of the people of Fond du Lac, for we all have been paid over and over again by the cluster of unforgetable events,

To all such let me give a word of advice : When you have decided to enter upon such an enterprise, and I hope that every city in Wisconsin with a popula¬ tion of from 5,000 to 50,000, will make a decision - send a commissioner to Fond du Lac to interview that city's committee of arrangements, in quest of informa¬ tion as to how to plan and how to execute, and then plan and execute as Fond du Lac did, without a hair's variation. They know how it is done. Do not be discouraged when I say that Fond du Lac began to prepare for this fifteen or twenty years ago, when the old city was anything but attractive, save in one respect. It emphatically has had an attractive population ever since 1836, when the Pier brothers broke ground for the first log cabin.

One of the homecomers expressed the sentiments of a thousand children, gray haired as well as youthful, who had returned to the old home, when he said : "I believe that the Fond du Lac of the past and the present has more kindly, noble hearted, patriotic, hospitable men and women to the acre than any other spot on earth, not excepting the garden of Eden."

So much attention had been paid to growing such a population that the city improvements were rather neglected. This is no time or place to tell how back numberish Fond du Lac was previous to fifteen or twenty years ago, when it dawned upon the people that it was time to clean up, build up and make a real city, one as full of beauty, conveniences and comfort as possible, with attractions on every street, a veritable health resort.

A year ago they had so far carried out their plans, had wrought such a com¬ plete transformation, had made a new and a model city, that they were not only well pleased with their achievements, but they had seen an unyielding desire to have their former fellows come home and join them in rejoicing over the changes.

There was nothing of the commercial, nothing of the selfish in the desire. They were now planting for a crop of dollars. They had a lingering, loving and a hungering wish to again meet the neighbors and friends of the long ago - people who had swarmed to nearly every state in the Union. They knew they had something to show them well worth looking over ; in short, that Fond du Lac was there in all her beauty, with the goods, with good health, fine streets, twenty miles of them well paved, long rows of mercantile houses, many factories, churches, schoolhouses, shady bowers, strong banks roomy homelike hotels, beau¬ tiful parks, a model street car line, perfect water and drainage systems, streets lined with residences that would adorn a city many times more pretentious, public buildings that will be ample when the city is fifty years older and has a population much greater than its present 20,000, a public library, Masonic temple, Elks' hall, armory, not to mention several other spacious halls, a Y. M. C. A. building, and a manufacturing output that put to blush a long line of cities with three or four times their population.

The cry went up from all sides: "We must have a homecoming." The city was splendidly equipped for the enterprise. It had an up-to-date mayor, a live wire business men's association and women's clubs of like character, all backed by the rest of the population. The right kind of a committee on arrangements was created, all of whose members seem to have tried to see which could be the most loyal, active and useful. Hundreds of traveling men of the city and state were primed to seek out the names and addresses of former "Fondy" inhabitants. By that and other means 4,000 addresses were secured and all were sent such an earnest, loving, whole souled Fond du Lacky invitation to come home that more than a thousand came and the rest sent a shower of letters of regrets and reminis¬ cences that will long be an attraction in the public library. All sorts of recep¬ tions, reunions and interesting public meetings were planned.

The Masons, Odd Fellows, the Grand Army, Knights of Pythias, Elks, high school, church societies, business societies, National Guard, etc., have to have reunions or banquets and some of them, both. Not a detail seems to have been overlooked during the six months of preparing.

Every train on the four railroads was met by cheerful committees. The first impression given the guests was a lasting one. They saw what I have no hesi¬ tancy in declaring was the most beautiful, and at the same time the most patriot¬ ically decorated city ever looked upon. That sounds too loud does it?

Imagine the well shaded and handsome city decked with several hundred, and I think five hundred, large, waving, welcoming American flags, bright and laughing, fresh from the factory, reinforced by thousands of fluttering, smiling, dancing smaller flags. That was "Fondy's" decoration for what I am bound to say was a homecoming without a superior, to date. Who wonders that it thrilled, heartened and gave added inspiration to the returning battalions?

For years I have been pleading for that style of decoration on all occasions when decorations are called for. There is nothing more beautiful and appro¬ priate ; nothing which leaves a more abiding and desirable impression ; nothing that is calculated to make a people more patriotic and gladder that their home is in this liberty affording nation - this American republic that stands first among the world's countries. And from a money point of view, it is cheap. May the day soon come when all communities will pattern after Fond du Lac in the mat¬ ter of public decoration. It is not what can be said by the house owners, and I am proud to have once lived with that good people, in praise of Fond du Lac and her hospitality, but what cannot be said.

It was a week of joy to both visitors and visited. I do not want to appear as wandering beyond the bounds of truth, veracity and sincerity in speaking of that homecoming week, but I am going to say, and a thousand former "Fondyites" will back me in it, that it was a week of mingling of people who will ever be puzzled to name another week in their lives that was more completely crowded with genuine happiness ; and if they all are not gladder than ever that they were born ; that they are citizens of the best country God ever blessed ; that they once lived in dear old Fond du Lac, and that they have been back to Fond du Lac, good old Fond du Lac, I misjudge them. It was eminently fitting that such a glorious event should include a safe and sane Fourth of July, the most success¬ ful celebration the city had ever known or witnessed, by 50,000 people; one in which thousands of school children participated and were taught lessons in patriot¬ ism that will make them better men and women, more worthy of citizenship in this land of freedom and boundless opportunities.

James Pumpelly of Indianapolis, Indiana, delivered a very entertaining ad¬ dress, taking for his theme "Old Settlers; Governors Tallmadge and Beall," speaking as follows:

"If any friends of this assembly of home-comers were the old friends of fifty-six years ago, I might ask you, do you remember this incident or that inci¬ dent of old times that I am about to tell you, but I fear to learn that time in his certain flight has left me, one of the oldest - memory only. The friends have passed away from a city gorgeous in its foliage, in its beautiful streets, smooth and perfect sidewalks and very handsome dwellings, instead of the town of my memory fifty-six years ago, small, contracted and almost shabby, surrounded by miles of fenceless prairie over which sometimes the prairie fires swept even to the borders of the old court house yard.

"Fifty-six years ago I visited this place and at last found my old school¬ mate, John Tallmadge, son of Governor N. P. Tallmadge, four miles out on the prairie, living in an old two-story log house.

"In those times, in order to make you of the younger generation realize how primitive this state was, I will merely tell you how I got here. There was no railway, no Chicago & Northwestern to Fond du Lac, only rail from Chicago to Milwaukee, from Milwaukee by an old fashioned sidewheel steamboat to Sheboygan and thence across country by stage to Fond du Lac, passing through Taycheedah, as I afterwards learned, a village quite as lively and active then as the larger town three miles beyond. This village was where ex-Lieutenant Governor Beall lived, a prominent man in the politics of the country, who wrote the present constitution of the state on its admittance to the Union a short time before my arrival. And there flourished Pruss (called Prise) the storekeeper and an enthusiastic politician, and among prominent men there were Mr. Perry, father of your well known banker; James Perry, one of the younger men of my time fifty-six years ago; and Spinks, the tavern keeper, and others of whom my memory is full, but of whom we cannot linger to speak. Just a word of the lovely, the gracious, the Christian woman, Mrs. Beall, whom many of the old and this later generation knew to love and venerate, a friend to all, the mother and with others, the founder of the Home for the Friendless.

"Forgive these notes by the roadway - and we at last reach Fond du Lac. We find a Lewis House and a small livery stable and we find a driver, Bill Howe, later your constable, to take us to Governor Tallmadge, who lived, as I mentioned above, in an old log house of two stories, four miles across country. John met me cordially, as schoolmate would. His mother, an immensely stout woman, but evidently a lady in breeding and association, talked to me in most gracious words of social life in Washington, where she and her husband were evidently prominent. Governor Tallmadge was a short man, but stout of build and active in his movements. He and Senator Macy, whose great extensive grounds and house were but a mile away, were great friends both politically and commercially as I think that they were on the inside in many moves of the government.

Musicians Of The Early Sixties

"Macy was a large, pompous man, senator of the state. When he was home he entertained sumptuously and quite grandly for those times and plainly I remember one such a party in the winter when we who waited at Macy's for the parties from Fond du Lac, waited long and anxiously. It was snowing and blowing - nearly a blizzard. We began to have doubts of the safe arrival of the expected ones but at last at a very late hour, a snow covered, big sled load arrived; their story of being partially lost on the prairie was pitiable. It seems the snow, driven by the wind, was actually blinding. The driver lost all direc¬ tion and the horses refusing to face the storm, moved in a circle, and after an hour the half frozen ladies found themselves back near the old court house. The blizzard quieting by this time, the jolly crowd started again bravely and reached port and warmth. There among the jolly, determined company were Mr. and Mrs. Frank Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Curren, young Mr. Ruggles, who there was to meet his future wife, the pretty, lively Julia Tallmadge, then just back on vacation from her Milwaukee boarding school, and others, - the lively, active and brilliant young Bragg who has so lately passed away, who became a really famous and brave soldier and a most prominent lawyer. I do not remem¬ ber whether Mr. Eldridge, another prominent lawyer, was there. If he was, he and Mr. Bragg were friendly enough - no signs of future rivalry in law or politics.

"What a luxurious supper Macy gave us ! An immense saddle of venison graced the head of the long table, the enlivening wine flowed freely, and after¬ wards came the dance, ending late at midnight, or rather, early morning, with the Virginia reel where I met my fate in Miss Bessie Beall as my partner. Old people to whom I am telling stories of old times, where have they and all the good times fled? To true happiness I doubt not.

"I was much with John Tallmadge at the log house and Boardman, the young surveyor, was often there. I helped him in surveys and in laying out the paths of that fine piece of ground given by Macy & Tallmadge for a ceme¬ tery, and it was Tallmadge who was intensely interested and enthusiastic over Bulwark's famous novel 'Rienzi' who insisted that Rienzi should be the name of the cemetery. As he had some title in the land, his poetical name is in¬ scribed today over the arched gateway to the home of many of those I have been talking about, as it lives in history for all time.

"I could tell you stories of old times down to the '60s. Then came war, suffering, sorrow and death. But of this you well know. You have learned it in literature and what your fathers have told you. Many Fond du Lac residents sleep beneath the green sod of the south. Wisconsin has as much as any state in the Lmion contributed to the defense of the flag. Among those regiments which dwell especially in the memory of this locality are the Second, Sixth, Eighth and Thirty-second, and in the latter, of which I raised forty men in Company H, the record of the Thirty-seventh Wisconsin is also noteworthy. It was in this regiment that Colonel Beall's youngest son, Upton, a boy of seventeen, received the terrible wounds from which he afterwards died.

"Home, coming home, the center of life, of real happiness, the last word on the lips of the dying mankind to come back to such a lovely home as this. 'Why did I leave it?' was my first thought on marching through its lovely streets the night I arrived."

Some Prominent Fond Du. Lac Pioneers

''Some Prominent Pioneers/' was the theme of an interesting paper read at Armory E. by H. C. Moore, Tuesday afternoon in connection with the home¬ coming program. Mr. Moore spoke as follows:

''It may not have been the good fortune of all here present to have taken a trip by automobile over the county of Fond du Lac, but to those who have been so fortunate there can be no wonder or doubt that the superb natural scenery, abundance of verdure, almost perfect drainage conditions, together with the richest of alluvial soil, was reason enough for the location of pioneers who had left very similar conditions in their eastern homes, and that the ledge east of the present city should have been so largely taken up by former residents of the Hudson river country. The view from many of the high points over the Taycheedah and Fond du Lac prairies and across Lake Winnebago could not but remind them of their former handsome homes.

"On July 6, 1896, I was favored with a trip over one of the famous show places of the Old World, down the Rhine from Frankfort to Cologne, a beau¬ tiful, bright summer day, when the whole country was clad in its loveliest ver¬ dure, the terraced vineyards, the carefully cared for shrubbery and lawns, with castles in various conditions of decay or repair on nearly every prominent point or bend in a very crooked river, all combined to show a view worthy of many pleasing articles which have been published regarding this famous scenery.

"Just three weeks later I took passage on the glorious Hudson river from New York to Albany, the day being even more perfect than the one spent on the Rhine. The river in its magnificent breadth, the color of the water with the re¬ flected lights, the Palisades, the distant clew of the Catskill and Adirondack mountain ranges impressed me as far eclipsing anything I had seen in Europe.

"Now to the point of interest; just two weeks later I was at home in dear old Fond du Lac and over the ledge in an auto, where from the high points overlooking Lake Winnebago, skirted on the west with numerous cities and farms I was surprised to find a grand view of natural scenery - not surpassed anywhere. The following day skirting Lake Winnebago on a steamer, viewing the entire east shore could compare favorably with the Hudson, except that by reason of the greater expanse of breadth, the view was even more grand.

"I have made these comparisons to uphold the judgment, good sense and artistic tastes of the pioneers who were among the first to locate in Fond du Lac.

"I have a pardonable pride of being the grandson and namesake of one, who with his noble wife and eight children left their home on the scenes I have just described on the Hudson river, Poughkeepsie, New York, to become pioneers of Fond du Lac in the late summer of 1841, - Colonel Henry Conklin, perhaps remembered by a few here present, and of whom I will speak later, desiring to mention the pioneer in a chronological order, as to dates of coming to Fond du Lac.

"It will be impossible in an afternoon's talk to mention in detail all the pio¬ neers of Fond du Lac, therefore the early ones can be but glanced at. giving

Mound Builders First Pioneers

"The first pioneers of whom we have any record were probably a semibarbaric race, commonly known as the 'mound builders,' as is attested by vari¬ ous artificial formations and utensils, many of which have been found in Fond du Lac and adjoining counties. Next were the various tribes of Indians, then as early as 1634 it is believed that the first civilized man, a French voyageur and trader, set foot on what is now known as Wisconsin, followed by various missionaries and traders, down to the arrival of Father James Marquette in

"The French held possession until the fall of 1761, when the British came into possession and held until 1816, when the American forces arrived at Green Bay. These, generally speaking, were the earliest pioneers of more or less prominence.

Iion. James Duane Doty

''It is of individuals more intimately associated with the development of Fond du Lac and whose names and memories are familiar to some of you that I shall speak, intentionally omitting some of those who are to be the subjects of other speakers.

"The first of whom I can find any record is Hon. James Duane Doty, born in Salem, Washington county, New York, in 1799, appointed by President James Monroe, in 1823, judge of the district court covering territory embrac¬ ing all of what is now the state of Wisconsin. He first located at Prairie du Chien, removing later to Green Bay, where he resided about twenty years. He resided in Fond du Lac county, in the town of Empire, from 1844 to 1846,. when he moved to Menasha, Doty's Island, where he died in 1865.

"In 1830 he was appointed one of the government commissioners to survey and locate a military road from Green Bay to Chicago and to Prairie du Chien, part of which road ran through Fond du Lac and is now known as Military street.

"Fie was active in the work of locating the capital of the state at Madison, was territorial governor from 1838 to 1841, when he was succeeded by Gov¬ ernor N. P. Tallmadge, whom I mention casually, as his life and associations with the state and county will be the subject of another speaker.

"Governor Doty, having been through the site of the present city in locating the military road in 1830, stands as the earliest pioneer, and being one of the original stockholders of the Fond du Lac Company in 1836 was largely inter¬ ested in the advancement and development of the city. The only monument of the record to his memory now here is Doty street. He was a man of broad, stalwart character, with nerve and energy to make a successful pioneer, to ad¬ vise and aid in constructing the foundation of a commonwealth, of which we are now proud.

Lac by the beautiful natural conditions, rich forests and fertile prairies, there were many who came to better their conditions of health and finance.

"I have in mind one who was born in humble circumstances on a farm in Pennsylvania in 1800, afterwards moving to Ohio, where as a young man he suffered pool" health but was advised by his physician to try the bracing air of the northern lake region. George McWilliams came to Green Bay in 1830, and having been there little more than a year, he decided to return to Cleveland, Ohio, and right here was the turning point in his career which resulted in his being a pioneer of Fond du Lac.

"On the porch of the little tavern at Green Bay sat an elderly military of¬ ficer, General Brooke, at that time in command of the LInited States troops at Fort Floward, and in whose honor the first street laid in Fond du Lac was named Brooke street.

"He having observed a porter carrying a trunk to a boat, turned to young McWilliams and said: 'Whose trunk is that?' On being answered that it was ' McWilliams' and that he was about to leave the country, the general at once shouted to the porter and ordered him back to the tavern, saying, 'Me, you are not going home ; I want you here and have use for you.' He then ex¬ plained that he had received orders from the government for extensive im¬ provements in the fort, barracks and other buildings, and on the spot offered McWilliams the position of superintendent of construction, which post he ac¬ cepted and held for four years, during which time the fort and barracks were constructed practically as they remained until the troops were withdrawn from the post.

"In the year 1832 George McWilliams accompanied a small band of soldiers, guides and couriers with messages from Fort Howard to Fort Crawford via the east side of Lake Winnebago, passed through Taycheedah and Fond du Lac, camping one night near what is now known as Seven Mile creek. He made several trips over the road previous to becoming a stockholder of the Fond du Lac Company in 1836. It was largely through his information that the company lands were located, and from this date, as secretary of the Fond du Lac Company, his business connections began in Fond du Lac. Although he did not take up residence here until 1843, he might easily be called the earliest pioneer among those who afterwards made this their home. He located on a part of the tract 38, section 10, extending south of the company lands to Divi¬ sion street and west of Main street to Brooke street. Near the Main street1 front in 1852 he built one of the finest houses then in the village, doing much of the carpenter work himself, and to his credit as a mechanic, the house with doors made by his own hands, is still in good repair, and as a most fitting coin¬ cidence is now occupied by a daughter and granddaughter of his old time pio¬ neer friend, Joseph King.

"When Wisconsin was organized as a territory in 1836 George McWilliams served as member of the first territorial legislature of the splendid common¬ wealth now the state of Wisconsin. He was one of the first justices of the peace appointed for the territory by Governor Dodge. He was a man of sound judgment. His investments were judiciously made and his undertakings uni¬ formly successful. He was active in promoting the early welfare of what is now the city of Fond du Lac, was the second mavor for two terms, was inter- ested in the banks, schools and churches, being one of the founders of the Epis¬ copal church which has since become the cathedral, with its many valuable ap¬ purtenances.

"In personality and manner he was a marked gentleman, seemingly rather austere and reserved, but enjoying the companionship of his friends to whom he became strongly attached and for whom he could not do too much. He passed the latter years of his life in his quiet home, where he died in 1883, and was buried by the order of the Knights Templar, with which order he had long been identified.

"A very close friend of George McWilliams, coming as a pioneer at nearly the same time, was Joseph King. Though not prominent in public life, he was one of the makers of history of Fond du Lac, coming here in 1836, first as a farmer and later as a business man. I have the pleasure of his personal ac¬ quaintance and always thought that his genial smiling countenance and kindhearted manner seemed to be well described by a quick enunciation of his name as Jo King (joking) was his habit as well as his name. His daughter, Mrs. A. W. Chapman, now living, bears the distinction of being the first white girl baby born in the county.

John Bannister

"John Bannister, who came in 1836, was a surveyor and helped in laying out the original plat of Fond du Lac, was register of deeds in 1839-40, 1841 and 1845. H is family consisted of a wife and three sons. The elder, John, who was the first white child born in the county, died before reaching maturity.

"In business life Mr. Bannister was quiet and unassuming. He built the first large shipping warehouse and dock on the river at Scott street, just north of the east end of the Scott street bridge and carried on an extensive shipping and forwarding business until after the entrance of the Fox River Valley Union railroad, soon after which the shipment by boats on the lake was practically deserted. I have not the date of his death but remember it as 1859.

Dr. Darling

"Mason C. Darling, the first mayor of Fond du Lac, who came here from Sheboygan in 1838, was the first practicing physician who located here. He acquired large properties in various locations near the Fond du Lac Company and was always in sharp competition with them, and having the better location was very successful in inducing settlers to buy his lots. He gave to the county the site for the court house for county purposes only. He gave away odd pieces of lots to his friends who helped to put up buildings, established the first bank, put up the first large brick block, which was for years known as Darling's block, built a fine residence and for years had the handsomest house in the city. He was firm and forceful but very kindly in manner and in a quiet way did much to start Fond du Lac on its way to the present beautiful city of homes. He moved to Chicago in 1854, where he died in 1856.

Gustav De Neveu

"Gustav de Neveu was born in France in 1811. After having finished his education he embarked for America in 1834, returning in 1836 to reembark in 1838, coming directly to Fond du Lac. In 1840 he married Hariet P., daugh¬ ter of John Dousman of the Island of Mackinac, of whom it is said that he as¬ sisted in hauling down the British flag and hoisting the stars and stripes on the island at the close of the war of 1812.

"Mr. de Neveu was a man af literary taste and fine mental attainment. He was a genial host and with his wife made a home where every one was welcome and was finely entertained with true French hospitality. The family consisted of eleven children, two of whom, Misses Emily and Lucy, are still holding the reputation of the old home for hospitality and good cheer.

"I consider it an honor and pleasure to have had an intimate personal ac¬ quaintance with the entire family and think they class as one of the best develop¬ ments of pioneer energy and lovely spirit the county has produced. Mr. and Mrs. de Neveu have both passed away but their memory will ever be dear to their friends.

Reuben Simmons

Reuben Simmons and wife, Louise Parker Simmons, first came in 1836, and in the winter of 1838-9 built their home in Empire, afterwards, in 1841, moving to the town of Fond du Lac, where with their children, one daughter and four sons, they remained during their lives. Of the sons many of you might have known Alonzo and Amasa P. The daughter, Eliza Jane, became the wife of J. P. Klock, a well remembered railroad man. His daughter now living is Mrs. Henry F. Whitcomb, of Milwaukee. Mrs. Levant Richardson, an adopted daughter, became the wife of A. H. Clark, who came to Fond du Lac in 1841. Of their children Mrs. Edward Kent, Louis H. Clark and A. H. Clark are now living.

Colonel Henry Conklin

"Colonel Henry Conklin and family came to Fond du Lac in 1841 and located on a farm on the ledge where now stands the beautiful property known as St. Mary's springs. The Colonel with his six boys cleaned the home lot and erected a palatial log house. After establishing the home, the Colonel acquired large tracts of land in the towns of Empire, Byron, Fond du Lac and Oakfield, and with the boys went south to Illinois and Indiana and drove the first large drove of cattle and sheep into this part of the state, and within my recollection as late as 1855 they were still handling stock.

"Soon a grist mill was needed and the Conklins built the first one where is now Leonard's mill, and later another at Oakfield. The family having had educational advantages in the east, it was not surprising that one of the older boys, Edgar, should become the first school teacher in 1842. Henry and Robert were natural farmers, retiring later in life to live in the city. William D. be¬ came a lawyer and county judge. James T. was the first chief of police. Theo- dore, the only survivor of this family, spent most of his life as a miller. His twin sister, Frances, never married. The other sister, Eliza Mary, became the wife of Benjamin Franklin Moore and later the mother of ten children.

"Colonel Conklin was one of the four contributors to build the first schoolhouse in the county, for which he furnished a bell taken from the steamer Ad¬ vocate on the Hudson river. He was one of the founders of the first Baptist church in Fond du Lac. His name was cast on the first church bell still held by the church. He was always found willing and anxious to take part in any move for the interests of the county and for his manly spirit of advancement was looked up to as a leader of men and respected and loved by all who knew him. After an active life he retired and came to this city, where he died in 1868.

B. F. Moore

"As a passenger on the same canal boat which brought the Conklin family in 1841 was a young man destined to become one of the prominent pioneers of Fond du Lac. Benjamin F. Moore, born in Maine in 1819, possessed rugged sterling qualities of the country of his birth cut out of hard sound timber, without knots, sap or flaw - the stuff from which to make pioneers. The ac¬ quaintance started on the canal boat, matured and resulted in the marriage of Benjamin Franklin Moore and Eliza Mary Conklin, October 27, 1844.

"On arriving at Taycheedah in 1841, B. F. Moore with his uncle, J. L. Moore, established a store in an Indian trading post - at the time the only store between Green Bay and Milwaukee - and here the farmers might trade a bushel of wheat for a yard of print. These were the good old days when wheat was worth seven cents a bushel and calico was all made in Europe. In 1843 Mr. Moore started the first sawmill on the Wolf river near Shawano. In the early '50s he be¬ came interested in steamer transportation on Lake Winnebago, later, with John Fitzgerald of Oshkosh, owning all the steamers on the lake and running them with success and profit till railroad communication threatened the boat lines. He then sold out and Fond du Lac lost her water shipping interest.

"Mr. Moore was one of the organizers and first president of the Bank of the Northwest, now the First National Bank. He was a large holder of real estate and principal owner of the LaBelle Wagon Works. He was a successful business man and accumulated quite a large property which occupied his atten¬ tion during the later years of his life. He loved travel, was a great reader and deep thinker, an honorable, upright and just citizen, highly respected, a kind father, with a creed based on the principle of love for his fellowmen and faith in a God broad enough and good enough to care for all of his creatures in the universe. He died February 18, 1904, his wife having preceded him six months. Their family consisted of ten children, nine of whom are still living, and six, including myself, are now in the city.

Chief Justice Stow'

"After Wisconsin became a state, among the first acts of the legislature was a bill dividing the state into five judicial circuits, the fourth comprising Brown,

"The constitution provided that the circuit judges should also constitute the supreme court and that one of their number should be elected chief justice. Under this provision Alexander W. Stow was elected and convened the first session of the state supreme court at Madison January 8, 1849.

"Chief Justice Stow had the reputation of possessing keen talent, quick per¬ ception, honest judgment, full of natural humor and quite eccentric. Many laughable incidents have been connected with his personal and professional life.

1 will cite but one of many as an illustration. A case came before him for jury trial involving the foreclosure of a snap mortgage on a poor man's farm. With¬ out following the detail of the trial it resulted in a jury bringing in a verdict for the plaintive, thereby dispossessing the poor man of his title to the farm. On receiving the verdict of the jury the judge, after asking a few questions and deliberating a few moments, to the surprise of all connected with the case an¬ nounced that 'the verdict of the jury is hereby reserved and judgment of the court is rendered in favor of the defendant.' Then turning to the jury he stated that it would take more than twelve men to steal a man's farm before this -court.

"The judge was for a number of years a resident of Taycheedah, later mov¬ ing to Milwaukee, where he died in 1854. He was one of a family of judges, his father a judge and member of congress from New York in 1812, two brothers, one of whom, Marcellus K. Stow, many of you can remember as a pioneer judge, who with his family resided on East Division street. His son, James W., and grandson, Marcellus, are now in the city.

J. B. Perry

"There is probably not a resident of mature age in the city or surrounding county nor a home-coming visitor who has not in some manner known and trans¬ acted business with a gentleman who I think has the distinction of having been not only an early pioneer, but further of having served the longest continuous business career of any man now living in the city. - I take great pleasure in naming as such, James B. Perry, at present the president of the First National Bank, the oldest banking institution in the city. Mr. Perry as a young boy came with his father, Nathaniel Perry, to Taycheedah in 1842 and to Fond du Lac . in 1849, where he assumed the position of assistant register of deeds under Nelson Wood, the register. In 1854 B. F. Moore, A. G. Ruggles and others opened the Bank of the Northwest, which was later merged into the First Na¬ tional Bank. In May, 1855, Mr. Perry became associated with said bank from which time until today, more than fifty-seven years, he has been actively en¬ gaged in the general management of the bank business, which, by reason of a stable conservative policy, has successfully passed the various prosperous times of Fond du Lac as well as weathered the panics of 1857, 1873 and others, always * steadily advancing in strength and prosperity. Having passed a successful business life and still holding the reins as president, he has relinquished the de¬ tail of the business to younger hands, passing it on to his son, Ernest J., who is now cashier.

"In 1854 Mr. Perry married Clara, the daughter of William and Polly Carey, who with six schildren came to Fond du Lac in 1845. The only living members of the Carey family are Mrs. Perry and Mrs. H. K. Laughlin. Their brother E. A., commonly known as Ed. Carey, died in 1910."

In Days Gone By

At a recent meeting of the Fond du Lac Old Settlers Association Miss Alice Stearns, of the town of Springvale, contributed a very interesting paper of a distinctively local coloring. The sketch is well and entertainingly written and as to its undoubted historical value the reader is left to determine. It reads as follows :

"We love and reverence the pioneers as we love and reverence all good men and women for what they have been and for what they have done. It is well for us who live in times of luxuries and conveniences, made possible by the toil, thought, courage and heroism of the early settlers, to turn aside from the en¬ grossing pursuits of today and dwell upon the virtues and deeds of those who have formed from the wilderness and primeval soil, the county of which we are so justly proud.

"Many amusing and pathetic incidents are related of the ways and means of transportation in the early days of this state. Rev. Dr. Miller, of Methodist fame, who landed at Racine in June, 1844, says: 'The Madison, a crazy old steamer that could lay on more sides during a storm than any other water craft that I have ever seen, landed us on a pier in the night and thence we reached the shore in a scow. At Racine we engaged a man to take us, six in all, with our trunks, to Delavan. The roads were almost impassable. The rains had fallen so copiously that the streams overflowed their banks, the marshes were full and the prairies inundated. We made an average of fifteen miles a day. Our vehicles stuck fast eighteen times between Racine and Delavan. Sometimes we found these interesting events would occur in the middle of a broad marsh. In such cases the gentlemen would take to the water, sometimes up to the loins, build a chair by the crossing of hands and give the ladies safe passage to the prairie beyond. To make the chair and wade ashore with its precious burden, involved a very nice adjustment of balances. If the three went headlong before they reached the shore, each received a generous coat of mail.'

''The following is the experience of our worthy secretary, A. T. Glaze, in reaching Fond du Lac from Milwaukee, August 24, 1850. Accompanying his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Beeson, then editor and proprietor of the Fond du Lac Journal, he left the American House, Milwaukee, at four o'clock in the morning, after payment of $3.50 each, in Indiana uncertainty, belived by some to be money. The stage company agreed to land them at Fond du Lac with certainty and reasonable speed. The arrival at Menomonee Falls at nine o'clock brought them to a glorious ham and eggs breakfast at Bancrofts, at three in the afternoon to dinner at Hall's 'half way house,' ten o'clock to Theresa, and as the party walked into the old Beeson home on Third street, where Guse's wagon shop now stands, the hands of the clock pointed to exactly 3 130 in the morning. Please reflect that most people who now cover the distance by public conveyance, grumble grievously if the time limit exceeds two hours by a single minute, but in this case it was just a half hour less than twenty-four hours and it was by no means a long trip at that time. The early boyhood days of Mr. Glaze were spent in Ohio with his grandparents, on the edge of the notori¬ ous 'black swamp.' lie crossed that famous bog many times, but never did he see a more interminable labyrinth of mudholes, water, bogs and brush than they ran into in the Rock river woods, between Hall's and Theresa. With as experi¬ enced a driver as the well known 'Long Sam' while endeavoring to avoid a bad looking mudhole, the leaders of the four-horse team jumped a brush fence and a bad upset was the result.

"In 1844 a company of twenty-four from New York state, among whom were the Hazen brothers of the famous martial band of Springvale, landed at Mil¬ waukee in June. A team of three pairs of oxen was purchased, wagon decked, boxes and trunks loaded, when it was found that but three could ride. There were eight women in the company. Did they wait for a parlor car? No, indeed. They uncomplainingly took turns in walking. They left Milwaukee Monday morning and Saturday night found them within three miles of what is now Oakfield, the wagon stuck in the mud and the oxen too tired to travel further. One of the men remained with the team and the others bravely resumed their journey. Every rod seemed a mile to the weary, foot-sore company. After what seemed to be hours, the log cabin of Lorenzo Hazen came in sight and the company were gladly received. Too tired for supper, they took boots, bundles of clothing, foot rests, anything they could lay hands on for pillows, and with puncheon floor for feather beds, were soon oblivious to their surroundings. Three of the Hazen brothers were soon keeping house in single room shanties with puncheon floors and troughed roofs, which had the faculty of letting most of the rain find its way to the room beneath. Their furniture was home made and the good house-wives did all their work for one summer out of doors by camp fires. Their bread was baked in a kettle. As the summer of 1844 was very rainy, such outdoor work was no light task. For this story and many other facts, I am indebted to Mrs. Sanford Hazen, of Ripon, lovingly known as 'Aunt Susan.' Her courage, her bright, cheery manner of today tell us she was the life of this little company. The mud must not have seemed so deep, the bogs less numer¬ ous, the hills not so high or steep by the sunshine and cheerfulness of her pres¬ ence.

"In 1852 Mr. Wedge took a party of young people to Fond du Lac for shop¬ ping. It was dark when they started for home. About a mile from town the heavy wagon stuck, the horses gave a quick jump and the result was a broken whiffletree.

"This was rather a dark outlook for a party sixteen miles from home. The girls were carried to high ground, a lantern procured and the whiffletree spliced, but the party had had enough mud ride for one night and remained at the Two Mile House until morning. In early times Fond du Lac and vicinity was truly a veritable mudhole. A joke was perpetrated at the Lewis House one morn¬ ing, when the guests were horrified at seeing the toes of a pair of boots sticking out of the mud and Colonel Ewen was appealed to without result, but later on 'ye hostler' admitted that in a spirit of mischief he had placed them there.

"In the early days teaming, pleasure driving, racing and farm work were mainlv done with oxen, and thev were not to be despised either. On July 4,

1851, while many were returning from the celebration at Ripon, an ox team ap¬ peared on the scene and ran by every team but one. Those who knew my father in those days well know he had a good team and headed the line. For miles he had to be on the alert to be sure that the oxen did not pass him.

"When Elder LeFever came to Rosendale, the family were invited to dinner at the home of Senator Bertine Pinckney. Mrs. LeFever was shocked at the idea of riding after oxen on her way to a senator's home to dine, but when once started she saw the amusing side and had a merry ride. They were received with all the courtesy due a coach and four. When Elder LeFever was a young circuit rider, near New York city, he was overtaken by a severe rain storm. Two young ladies were also overtaken by the rain and circuit rider. He bowed to the strangers who decorously returned the courtesy, and one quaintly re¬ marked : 'Don't you think it looks like rain?' To make a long story short, she afterwards became Mrs. LeFever.

"The resourcefulness of the pioneer often proved true the saying that 'necessity is the mother of invention.' During the first year of Mrs. H. D. Hitt's life in Wisconsin, she gathered some wild gooseberries on the ledge, and having dour and lard, decided to have a pie. No rolling pin was forthcoming, but pie she would have. In the emergency, her eyes rested on the camphor bottle. Eureka ! Pie she did have, the crust rolled out with a camphor bottle. This was too much for Mr. Hitt, and with fire in his eye he started for the wood pile. Selecting a fine stick of butternut of the proper size, he soon had a rolling pin which still remains in use in the family. I will pledge my word that it has rolled out crust for more good pies than any other family rolling pin in the county.

"July 4, 1852, mother thought she would have a pie for dinner and going to the garden gathered all the currants and all the gooseberries, and yet they were not enough for the pie. But pie she must and would have, so she gathered rose leaves, which added to the fruit, made the best pie we ever ate. As a substitute for apples for pies in the early times, the housewife sometimes boiled pumpkins in vinegar and sliced them for pies. Pumpkin molasses was also made by many in the emergency for table supplies.

"At the first banquet held at Ripon College, Mrs. Tracy, the dear mother of the college, wished to hear the address, which was given at Pedrick's Hall at four P. M. As she was matron she had to superintend serving the collation, as it was then called. She cut the cakes, put the cream into the twenty pitchers, locked all in the cupboard and hied away to the hall. After the address, she rushed back to serve, when, alas! the cream was sour. Filled with inventive genius, she sent one student to milk the college cow, which was then pastured on the campus, another to milk the cow owned by President Merriman and another to milk the cow owned by Mr. Mason. They certainly had plenty of fresh milk for coffee.

"Madam N. Hunter, of Ripon, the only living member of the Wisconsin Phalanx, is very interesting in reminiscences of pioneer life. She furnished the first mail sack in which the first mail was carried between Ceresco, now Ripon, and Fond du Lac. It was a pillow case and the lock was a tow string. The carrier did not have even a blazed trail to follow but used a compass as a guide.

"It was difficult for early settlers to obtain flour. They sometimes had to team sixty to ninety miles and the trip required from two to four weeks. Joseph

Fairbanks, who was county surveyor in early times, and whom the people of Waupun always speak of as 'Uncle Joe/ on one of these milling trips was detained longer than he expected, and the supplies at home were running low. Finally Aunt Hannah used the last of her meal for a small Johnny cake, which she baked in a quart basin. Just as it was cool enough to eat, her sister-in-law came in to see if she had any food to spare. She said her children were crying with hunger and she had not a morsel to give them. Aunt Hannah broke the cake in two parts, giving her the larger piece. Then she divided the remainder between her two little boys and sat down to cry, utterly discouraged. At mid¬ night 'Uncle Joe' returned and she did not wait until morning for the cooking of a meal which was to her breakfast, dinner and supper. On the trip 'Uncle Joe stayed one night with a pioneer family. The hospitable settler gladly made a bed on the floor for the children and 'Uncle Joe' took the one vacated. He was congratulating himself on his good fortune, when right by his head a bell rang. The settler had tied his cow to that corner of the cabin and every time she moved the bell tinkled. About eleven o'clock the old chanticleer, roosting on top of the cabin, proclaimed that morning was come, and continued to proclaim until morning did come. There was not much sleep for 'Uncle Joe' that night.

"George Russell, of Brandon, used to enjoy telling this story. When they flrst came to Brandon they were very poor, having just money enough to pay for oxen and wagon with which they made their wedding trip. Their house was a pole shanty without a floor. Mrs. Russell, faithful helpmeet that she was, drove the team and he held the plow in the farm work. One day they heard of a rich settler who had come into the town. He was so rich that he had paid the government price for his land and also had a seventy-five cent coffee mill. 'Now, Miranda,' said Mr. Russell, 'you must make their acquaintance, and in doing so you must take along a pan of wheat and see if they will let you grind it.' Miranda walked the three miles, ground the wheat and returned home in time to make a shortcake for supper, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

''Wild game was plentiful but as a general diet the people soon tired of it. In some localities pork was a luxury. Mrs. J. Amadon, of Waupun, invited her sister and family to spend Thanksgiving with her, and as a special inducement said to her: 'We will have hot biscuit and the best milk gravy I know how to make.'

"As we read the history of the Pier and Wilkinson families, first settlers' in the towns of Fond du Lac and Oakfield, we can but wonder at the heroism and fortitude of the early settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Russell Wilkinson were the first settlers in Oakfield, their nearest neighbor being Edward Pier, of Fond du Lac. Crude log cabins, howling wolves at night, Indians constantly passing, peeking in at the windows or boldly walking into the house, and women of the family often left alone for days at a time, these were a few of the things it required cour¬ age to endure. Mr. Pier knew of their unprotected lives and always watched the Indians as they passed his place, to see if they had indulged in fire water. If such was the case, he sent a man to protect them. Once when Mrs. Wilkin¬ son was alone she saw some drunken Indians coming. She quickly barricaded the door and windows, then waited in terror for them to fire the cabin. They were on the roof, pounding on the door, howling and yelling. Suddenly it be¬ came quiet and she heard the bark of a dog. Then she heard a white man's rap on the door which she opened to find that Mr. Pier had sent a man to her assistance. History tells us that the Indians afterwards did burn the cabin while the family were at Mr. Pier's home. Two other settlers came into the town and an agreement was entered into that if the Indians attacked them, the firing of a gun was to be the signal for all to meet at the Botsford cabin. One night Messrs. Botsford and Bierne thought it would be a good joke to scare the Wilkinsons, and fired the signal gun. The women jumped from their beds, grabbed their infants and in their night clothes made speed for the fort, only to find that the rumpus was the result of a frolic. It is due the Indians to say that they were troublesome but not dangerous, unless they had taken an undue quantity of the white man's fire water, the same fire water that is still a disgrace to our country. We are glad to be able to say that public sentiment is stronger against the liquor traffic today than it was in 1850. May 1950 see every saloon, club house, every place where liquor is licensed to be sold, driven from our coun¬ try by the irresistible force of public sentiment.

"Mrs. Lyman Bishop tells how her sister outwitted the Indians. Mrs. Ban¬ nister had just made some fried cakes when a squaw came in but did not stay. Mrs. Bannister knew, however, that she would soon return with others. Under her log house was a place for tubs which were put through a trap door in the floor. She quickly put the pan of cakes through this door and covered them with a tub. Six Indians soon arrived, as expected, and looking through cup¬ boards and places where they thought they might be stored, failed to find the cakes. Mrs. Bishop was very much frightened and started for help. She for¬ tunately met a teamster who soon put the Indians to flight.

"Three hundred Menomonee Indians at one time camped on the farm of Thomas Boyd, in the town of Calumet. Adam Boyd, of Waupun, well remem¬ bers playing with the Indian children. One day as he entered the camping ground he noticed that the Indians were very much excited. Then a squaw took him into a wigwam and covered him with robes and blankets and told him not to move or speak. After what seemed to him hours, she uncovered him and told him to go. The Indians had been drinking and the squaw knew there was danger.

"In 1847 Edward Beeson owned a farm in the town of Fond du Lac in the Arthur and Crofoot neighborhood, and lived there with his family. The com¬ paratively innocent Menomonee Indians were numerous in the neighborhood and there were also some of the dangerous Winnebagoes, always in mischief. One morning early Mr. Beeson left home for Taycheedah to have a grist ground, leaving at home Mrs. Beeson and her then little son, John J., in after years the founder and editor of the Fond du Lac Reporter. Early in the forenoon Johnny was missing. He was searched for all over the place but could not be found. Mrs. Beeson was alarmed, fearing he had been stolen by the Indians, and promptly sought the assistance of such of the neighbors as could be reached. While the search among the Indians was in active progress, Johnny crawled from a straw bed behind a board Mrs. Beeson had placed against a tree for a hen's nest.

"Mrs. Lingenfelter, of Brandon, told me that in 1852, one hot summer day, she was resting on her bed, when whack ! came something which struck her on the shoulder. She very soon found it to be a large snake that had fallen from the upper logs of the house. Privation, sorrow, loneliness, sickness and death were linked in the chain that bound these settlers very closely together.

"In 1846 William Galland, with his wife and family of six children, located in Lamartine. All looked bright to the family until the parents were stricken with typhoid fever. The care of the sick ones and the children fell upon the eight year old daughter. With the best she could have done the sick ones must have died had not Mr. Storey, a new settler, taken them to his own home to care for them. Mrs. Lyman Bishop, who came to Fond du Lac in 1845, and made her home with Isaac Brown, gives an account of sickness in the familes of two brothers by the name of Wright. They lived in quickly constructed shanties and three were stricken in one family and two in another. Mrs. Colonel Tryon gave up her home to one family. Mrs. Bishop did sewing during the day and watched nights. When it rained the watchers held umbrellas over the sick and put pans and plates on the beds to catch the water as it fell. Four of the five died, strangers in a strange land. Mrs. Bishop had the fever herself but grit pulled her through and she still lives in her home on Third street, a hale and hearty old lady of about eighty years. Coffins for burial of the dead were home made. Many still remember the loving services of Elder Vaughn in times of bereave¬ ment. Fie not only made coffins for the loved ones who had passed away but preached the funeral sermons and gave consolation to the surviving friends.

"Grateful ought we of this later generation to be for the attention given by the early settlers to education. Primitive indeed, were the buildings but the teachers were generally from good eastern schools. One student from an east¬ ern college thought it belittled him to be examined by a town board, but in order to teach had to comply with the law. Elder Brown, of Springvale, con¬ ducted the examination. They got along nicely until they came to algebra. A question was asked and the student replied : T think you would not understand if I should explain it to you.' This was too much for the good elder, and ques¬ tion followed question until the young man did not know 'where he was at.' Finally the elder told him he would give him a permit to teach if he would brush up on algebra. The primitive school buildings were also used for church services by the settlers who came sometimes many miles in the conveyances used at that time. Divine services were always well attended. One Sunday the schoolhouse at Rock river would not hold the people. They stationed them¬ selves at the doors and windows, when a little girl was heard to remark : 'Oh, mamma! just see how full the schoolhouse is on the outside/

"Before our honored president had a box for his wagon he had what they called a buckboard with a chain underneath for a foot rest. As he was return¬ ing from church with Mrs. Hitt, who was holding a child in her arms, the board caught an obstruction and tipped, nearly throwing them to the ground ; but Mr. Hitt did not intend leaving his wife in that fashion and seized her with one hand and held the mettlesome colts with the other until the vehicle righted it¬ self. Alas ! her wedding dress had been caught by the chain and completely ruined.

"United States senator and afterwards cabinet minister, T. O. Howe, was in his time one of Wisconsin's ablest and most popular men. In 1850 he was circuit judge and Fond du Lac county was in his circuit. While upon the bench he was noted for three things : knowledge of the law ; clearness in his. charges to juries; and determination in maintaining the dignity of the court.

"The Fond du Lac county bar at this time consisted of Judge A. W. Stow, Judge C. M. Tompkins, J. M. Gillett, Robert Flint, C. A. Eldredge, Edward S. Bragg, D. E. Wood, F. H. Waite, John C. Truesdell, O. B. Tyler, W. H. Ebbets,

I. S. Tallmadge, James Coleman, E. W. Drury, W. C. Dodge, A. W. Paine, Carson Graham, Jared Chapel, Amos Reed, Campbell McLean, E. Hodges, J. A. Eastman, M. C. Eaton, C. F. Davis, Samuel W. Beall, total twenty- five. With a population then of less than 2,000, now nearly 20,000, the difference is just about a half dozen. Ripon had Judge Seely, E. L. Runals, Jerre Dobbs, A. B. Hamilton and John S. Horner. Waupun had Eli Hooker and the then noted litigant, Rufus P. Eaton, could be found at Pipe Milage, town of Calumet. Alas! of these thirty-two lawyers constituting the bar of Fond du Lac county, but two, Edward S. Bragg and Jerre Dobbs, remain here to recall legal events , of the past, all the rest having passed on to the other shore.

"A somewhat noted case found its way to the 'calendar of Judge Taylor's court, and it must have been an important one, requiring as it did, the talent of three lawyers on one side and two on the other, and involving the value of a two months' old calf. The frequent disputes of the lawyers and their earnest¬ ness about points of law that the judge thought to be trifling, aroused his anger and he suggested that possibly there might be present in court other calves than the one mentioned in the pleadings. This caused an audible smile, but a reply from the bar came that such might be the case, but there was not far away an¬ other domestic animal whose voice is not as musical but sometimes conveyed as much wisdom and wit as people more gifted and more pretentious. The laugh was long and loud and no one dared to show wrath."