Jefferson County, Wisconsin - The whole text, 1879 (part 1 of 28)

Laws Of Wisconsin, Miscellaneous, Etc., Etc

ETC., ETC., AN EXTENSIVE AND MINUTE SKETCH OF ITS CITIES, THEIR IMPROVEMENTS, INDUSTRIES, MANUFACTORIES, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, SOCIETIES, ETC., ETC., WAR RECORD, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT MEN AND EARLY SETTLERS, ETC., ETC., ETC.; ALSO HISTORY OF WISCONSIN, CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND OF WISCONSIN, CONDENSED ABSTRACT OF LAWS OF WISCONSIN, MISCELLANEOUS, ETC., ETC.

Biographical Skktc'Hes

The first explorers of the valleys of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi and its tributaries, seem not to have noticed, to any considerable extent, the existence within these vast areas of monuments of an extinct race. Gradually, however, as the tide of emigration broke through the barriers of the Alleghanies and spread in a widely extended flow over what are now the States of the Northwest, these prehistoric vestiges attracted more and more the attention of the curious and the learned, until, at the present time, almost every person is presumed to have some general knowledge, not only of their existence, but of some of their striking peculiarities. Unfortunately, these signs of a long since departed people are fast disappearing by the never ceasing operations of the elements, and the constant encroachments of civilization. The earliest notices of the animal and vegetable kingdom of this region are to be found in its rocks ; but Wisconsin's earliest records of men can only be traced in here and there a crumbling earth-work, in the fragment of a skeleton, or in a few stone and copper implements - dim and shadowy relics of their handicraft.

The ancient dwellers in these valleys, whose history is lost in the lapse of ages, are designated, usually, as the Mound-Builders ; not thnt building mounds was probably their distinctive employment, but that such artificial elevations of the earth are, to a great extent, the only evidences remaining of their actual occupation of the country. As to the origin of these people, all knowledge must, possibly, continue to rest upon conjecture alone. Nor were the habitations of this race confined to the territory of which Wisconsin now forms a part. At one time, they must have been located in many ulterior regions. The earth- works, tumuli, or "mounds," as they are generally designated, are usually symmetrically raised and often inclosed in mathematical figures, such as the square, the octagon, and the circle, with long lines of circumvallation. Besides these earth-works, there are pits dug in the solid rock ; rubbish heaps formed in the prosecution of mining operations ; and a variety of iipplements and utensils, wrought in copper or stone, or moulded in clay. Whence came the inhabitants who left these evidences to succeeding generations .' In other words, who were the Mound-Builders .'' Did they migrate from the Old World, or is their origin to be sought for elsewhere? And as to their manners and customs and civilization - what of these things.? Was the race finally swept from the New World to give place to Red men, or was it the one from which the latter descended .' These momentous questions are left for the ethnologist, the archsologist, and the antiquarian of the future to answer - if they can.

Inclosures and mounds of the prehistoric people, it is generally believed, constituted but parts of one system; the former being, in the main, intended for purposes of defense or religion; the latter, for sacrifice, for temple sites, for burial places, or for observatories. In selecting sites for many of these earth-works, the Mound-Builders appear to have been influenced by motives which prompt civilized men to choose localities for their great marts; hence, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee and other cities of the West are founded on ruins of pre-existing structures. River terraces and river bottoms seem to have been the favorite places for these earth-works. In such localities, the natural advantages of the country could be made available with much less trouble than in portions of the country lying at a distance from water-courses. In Wisconsin, therefore, as in other parts, the same general idea of selecting points contiguous to the principal natural thoroughfares is found to have prevailed with the Mound-Builders ; for their works are seen in the basin of the Fox river of the Illinois, in that of Rock river and its branches, in the valley of Fox river of Green bay, in that of the Wisconsin, as well as near the waters of the Mississippi.

While a few circumvallations and immense mounds, such as are common to certain other portions of the United States, are discoverable in Wisconsin, yet by far the largest number of earthworks have one peculiarity not observable, except in a few instances, outside the State. This characteristic is a very striking one The fact is revealed that they are imitative in form - resembling beasts, reptiles, birds, fish, man. All these, for convenience, are usually classed under the general name of "animal mounds," although some are in the similitude of trees, some of war clubs, others of tobacco pipes. Generally, these figures are in groups, though sometimes they are seen alone. For what purpose these earth-works were heaped up - they rise above the surface two, four, and sometimes six feet - or what particular uses they were intended to subserve, is unknown. It is, however, safe to affirm that they had some significance. A number resemble the bear; a few, the buffalo; others, the raccoon. Lizards, turtles, and even tadpoles, are outlined in the forms of some. The war eagle, and the war club has each its representative. All this, of course, could not have been a mere happening - the work of chance. The sizes of these mounds are as various as their forms. One near Cassville, in Grant county, very complete in its representation of an animal, supposed to be of the elephant species, was found, upon measurement, to have a total length of one hundred and thirty-five feet. Another in Sauk county, quite perfect in its resemblance to the form of a man, was of equal length - a veritable colossus ; prone, it is true, and soon to disappear, if it has not already been destroyed, by ravages of a superior civilization.

In portions of Wisconsin, as well as in a few places outside the State, are found earth-works of another kind, but quite as remarkable as the "animal mounds," which, from their supposed use, have been styled "garden beds." They are ridges, or beds, about six inches in height and four feet in width, ranged, with much apparent method, in parallel rows, sometimes rectangular in shape, sometimes of various but regular and symmetrical curves, and occupying fields of from ten to a hundred acres.

The Mound-Builders have left many relics, besides their earthworks, to attest their presence in Wisconsin in ages past. Scattered widely are found stone and copper axes, spear-heads, and arrow-heads, also various other implements - evidently their handiwork. As these articles are frequently discovered many feet beneath the surface, it argues a high antiquity for the artificers. Whether they had the skill to mould their copper implements is doubtful. Such as plainly show the work of hammering, indicate an art beyond that possessed by the Red men who peopled America upon its first discovery by Europeans. In a few instances, fragments of human skulls have been found so well preserved as to enable a comparison to be drawn between the crania of this ancient race and those of modern ones ; the results, however, of these comparisons throw little, if any, light upon "the dark backward and abysm " of mound-building times.

The evidences of an extinct people of superior intelligence is very strikingly exhibited in the ancient copper mines of the Lake Superior region. Here are to be found excavations in the solid rock; heaps of rubble and dirt ; copper utensils fashioned into knives, chisels, and spear and arrow-heads; stone hammers; wooden bowls and shovels; props and levers for raising and supporting the mass copper; and ladders for ascending and descending the pits. These mines were probably worked by people not only inhabiting what Is now the State of Wisconsin, but territory farther to the southward. The copper was here obtained, it is believed, which has been found in many places, even as far away as the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, wrought into various implements and utensils. But there are no traces in Wisconsin of a " copper age " succeeding a " stone age," discernadle in any prehistoric relics. They all refer alike to one age - the indefinite past; to one people - the Mound-Builders.

When, as early, it is believed, as 1634, civilized man first set foot upon the territory now included within the boundaries of Wisconsin, he discovered, to his surprise, that upon this wide area met and mingled clans of two distinct and wide-spread families - the Algonquins and Sioux. The tribes of the former, moving westward, checkec^the advance of the latter in their excursions eastward. As yet there had been no representatives of the Huron-Iroquois seen west of Lake Michigan - the members of this great family, at that date dwelling in safety in the extensive regions northward and southward of the Erie and Ontario lakes. Already had the French secured a foot-hold in the extensive valley of the St. Lawrence ; and, naturally enough, the chain of the Great Lakes led their explorers to the mouth of Green bay, and up that watercourse and its principal tributary. Fox river, to the Wisconsin, an affluent of the Mississippi. On the right, in ascending this bay, was seen, for the first time, a nation of Indians, lighter in complexion than neighboring tribes, and remarkably well formed, now well known as the Menomonees.

This nation is of Algonquin stock, but their dialect differed so much from the surrounding tribes of the same family, it having strange guttural sounds and accents, as well as peculiar inflections of verbs and other parts of speech, that, for a long time, they were supposed to have a distinct language. Their traditions point to an emigration from the East at some remote period. When first visited by the French missionaries, these Indians subsisted largely upon wild rice, from which they t'ook their name. The harvest time of this grain was in the month of September. It grew spontaneously in little streams with slimy bottoms, and in marshy places. The harvesters went in their canoes across these watery fields, shaking the ears right and left as they advanced, the grain falling easily, if ripe, into the bark receptacle beneath. To clear it from chaff and strip it of a pellicle inclosing it, they put it to dry on a wooden lattice above a small fire, which was kept up for several days. When the rice was well dried, it was placed in a skin of the form of a bag, which was then forced into a hole, made on purpose, in the ground. They then tread it out so long and so well, that the grain being freed from the chaff, was easily winnowed. After this, it was pounded to meal, or left unpounded, and boiled in water seasoned with grease. It thus became a very palatable diet. It must not be inferred that this was the only food of the Menomonees; they were adepts in fishing, and hunted with skill the game which abounded in the forests.

grounds upon, or adjacent to, the Menomonee river. Finally, after the lapse of a century and a quarter, down to 1760, when the French yielded to the English all claims to the country, the territory of the Menomonees had shifted somewhat to the westward and southward, and their principal village was found at the head of Green bay, while a smaller one was still in existence at the mouth of their favorite stream. So slight, however, had been this change, that the country of no other of the surrounding tribes had been encroached upon by the movement.

In 1634, the Menomonees probably took part in a treaty with a representative of the French, who had thus early ventured so far into the wilds of the lake regions. More than a score of years elapsed before the tribe was again visited by white men, - that is to say, there are no authentic accounts of earlier visitations. In i66p, Father Ren6 Menard had penetrated the Lake Superior country as far, at least, as Kewenaw, in what is now the northern part of Michigan, whence some of his French companions probably passed down the Menomonee river to the waters of Green bay the following year ; but no record of the Indians, through whose territory they passed, was made by these voyagers. Ten years more - 1670 - brought to the Menomonees (who doubtless had already been visited by French fur-traders) Father Claudius AUouez, to win tiiemto Christianity. He had previously founded a mission upon the bay of Chegoimegon, now Chaquamegon, or Ashland bay, an arm of Lake Superior, within the present State of Wisconsin, in charge of which, at that date, was Father James Marquette. Proceeding from the " Sault" on the third of November, Allouez, early in December, 1669, reached the mouth of Green bay, where, on the third, in an Indian village of Sacs, Pottawattamies, Foxes and Winnebagoes, containing about six hundred souls, he celebrated the holy mass for the first time upon this new field of his labors, - eight Frenchmen, traders with the Indians, whom the missionary found there upon his arrival, taking part in the devotions. His first Christian work with the Menomonees was performed in May of the next year. Allouez found this tribe a feeble one, almost exterminated by war. He spent but little time with them, embarking, on the twentieth of that month, after a visit to some Pottawattamies and Winnebagoes, '' with a Frenchman and a savage to go to Sainte Mary of the Sault." His place was filled by Father Louis Andre, who, not long after, erected a cabin upon the Menomonee river, which, with one at a village where his predecessor had already raised the standard of the cross, was soon burned by the savages; but the missionary, living almost constantly in his canoe, continued for some time to labor with the Menomonees and surrounding tribes. The efforts of Andre were rewarded with some conversions among the former ; for Marquette, who visited them in 1673, found many good Christians among them.

The record of ninety years of French domination in Wisconsin - beginning in June, 1671, and ending in October, 1761 - brings to light but little of interest so far as the Menomonees are concerned. Gradually they extended their intercourse with the white fur traders. Gradually and with few interruptions (one in 1728, and one in 1747 of a serious character) they were drawn under the banner of France, joining with that government in its wars with the Iroquois; in its contests, in 1712, 1729, 1730, and 1751, with the Foxes; and, subsequently, in its conflicts with the English.

The French post, at what is now Green Bay, Brown county, Wisconsin, was, along with the residue of the western forts, surrendered to the British in 1760, although actual possession of the former was not taken until the Fall of the next year. The land on which the fort stood was claimed by the Menomonees. Here, at that date, was their upper and principal village, the lower one being at the mouth of the Menomonee river. These Indians soon became reconciled to the English occupation of their territory, notwithstanding the machinations of French traders who endeavored to prejudice them against the new comers. The Menomonees, at this time, were very much reduced, having, but a short time previous, lost three hundred of their warriors by the small pox, and most of their chiefs in the late war in which they had been engaged by the then French commander there, against the English. They were glad to substitute English for French traders ; as they could purchase supplies of them at one half the price they had previously paid. It was not long before the sincerity of the Menomonees was put to the test. Pontiac's War of 1763 broke out', and thejiost of Mackinaw was captured. The garrison, however, at Green bay was not only not attacked by the savages, but, escorted by the Menomonees and other tribes, crossed Lake Michigan in safety to the village of L'Arbre Croche ; thence making their way to Montreal. The Menomonees continued their friendship to the English, joining with them against the Colonies during the Revolution, and fighting on the same side during the war of '812-15.

When, in July, 1816, an American force arrived at Green bay to take possession of the country, the Menomonees were found in their village near by, very peaceably inclined. The commander of the troops asked permission of their chief to build a fort. " My Brother!" was the response, " how can we oppose your locating a council-fire among us .' You are too stron^ for us. Even if we wanted to oppose you we have scarcely got powder and ball to make the attempt: One favor we ask is, that our French brothers shall not be disturbed. You can choose any place you please for your fort, and we shall not object." No trouble had been anticipated from the Menomonees, and the expectations of the government of the United States in that regard were fully realized. What added much to the friendship now springing up between the Menomonees and the Americans was the fact that the next year - 1817 - the annual contribution, which for many years had been made by the British, consisting of a shirt, leggins, breech-clout, and blanket for each member or the tribe, and for each family a copper kettle, knives, axes, guns and ammunition, was withheld by them.

If was found by the Americans, upon their occupation of the Menomonee territory, that some of the women of that tribe were married to traders and boatmen who had settled at t'-e head of the bay, there being no white women in that region. Many of these were Canadians of French extraction ; hence the anxiety that they should be well treated, which was expressed by the Menomonees upon the arrival of the American force. At this period there was a considerable trade carried on with these Indians at Prairie du Chien, as many of them frequently wintered on the Mississippi. The first regular treaty with this tribe was " made and concluded" on the thirtieth day of March, 1817, "by and between William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste Chouteau, commissioners on the part and behalf of the United States of America, of the one part," and the chiefs and warriors, deputed by the Menomonees, of the other part. By the terms of this compact all injuries were to be forgiven and forgotten ; perpetual peace established; lands, heretofore ceded to other governments, confirmed to the United States ; all prisoners to be delivered up ; and the tribe placed under the protection of the United States, " and of no other nation, power, or sovereign, whatsoever." The Menomonees were now fully and fairly, and for the first time, entitled to be known as " American Indians," in contradistinction to the term which had been so long used as descriptive of their former allegiance - " British Indians."

The territory of the Menomonees, when the tribe was taken fully under the wini, of the General Government, had become greatly extended. It was bounded on the north by the dividing' ridge between the waters flowing into Lake Superior and those flowing south into Green bay and the Mississippi; on the east, by Lake Michigan; on the south, by the Milwaukee river, and on the west by the Mississippi and Black rivers. This was their territory; though they were practically restricted to the occupation of the western shore of Lake Michigan, lying between the mouth of Green bay on the north and the Milwaukee river on the south, and to a somewhat indefinite area west. Their general claim, as late as 1825, was north to the Chippewa country: east to Green bay and Lake Michigan ; south to the Milwaukee river, and west to Black river. And what is most surprising is that the feeble tribe of 1761 had now, in less than three quarters of a century, become a powerful nation, numbering between three and four thousand.

The Menomonee territory, as late as 1831, still preserved its large proportions. Its eastern division was bounded by the Milwaukee river, the shore of Lake Michigan, Green bay, Fox river, and Winnebago lake ; its western division, by the Wisconsin and Chippewa rivers on the west; Fox river on the south; Green bay on the east, and the high lands whence flow the streams into Lake Superior, on the north. This year, however, it was shorn of a valuable and large part by the tribe ceding to the United States all the eastern division, estimated at two and one half million acres. The following year, the Menomonees aided the General Government in the Black Hawk war.

That the Menomonees might, as much as possible, be weaned from thefr wandering habits, their permanent home was designated to be a large tract lying north of Fox river and east of Wolf river. Their territory farther west, was reserved for their hunting grounds until such time as the General Government should desire to purchase it. In 1836, another portion, amounting to four million acres, lying between Green bay on the east and Wolf river on the west, was disposed of to the United States, besides a strip three miles in width from near the portage north, on each side of the Wisconsin river and forty-eight miles long - still leaving them in peaceable possession of a country about one hundred and twenty miles long, and about eighty broad.

Finally, in 184S, the Menomonees sold all their lands in Wisconsin to the General Government, preparatory to their movement to a reservation beyond the Mississippi of six hundred thousand acres ; but the latter tract was afterward re-ceded to the United States ; for, notwithstanding there were treaty stipulations for the removal of the tribe to that tract, there were obstacles in the way of their speedy migration, resulting, finally, in their being permitted to remain in Wisconsin. Lands, to the amount of twelve townships, were granted them for their permanent homes, on the upper Wolf river, in what is now Shawano and Oconto counties - a portion, but a very small one, of what was once their extensive possessions. To this reservation they removed in October, 1852. Thus are the Menomonees, the only one of the original tribes of Wisconsin who, as a whole, have a local habitation within its limits. This tribe refused to join the Sioux in their outbreak in 1861, and several of their warriors served as volunteers in the United States army during the late civil war.

It is now over two centuries since the civilized world began to gain knowledge of the existence, in the far West, of a tribe of Indians known as the Winnebagoes - that is, men of the sea; pointing, possibly, to their early migration from the shores of the Mexican gulf, or the Pacific. The territory now included within the limits of Wisconsin, and so much of the State of Michigan as lies north of Green bay. Lake Michigan, the Straits of Mackinaw and Lake Huron were, in early times, inhabited by several tribes of the Algonquin race, forming a barrier to the Dakotas, or Sioux, who had advanced eastward to the Mississippi. But the Winnebagoes, although one of the tribes belonging to the family of the latter, had passed the great river, at some unknown, period, and settled upon the head waters of Green bay. Here, this "sea-tribe," as early, it is believed, as 1634, was visited by an agent of France and a treaty concluded with them. The tribe afterward called themselves Hochungara, or Ochunkoraw, but were styled by the Sioux, Hotanke, or Sturgeon. Nothing more is heard of the Ouenibigoutz, or Winnebegouk (as the Winnebagoes were early called by the Jesuit missionaries, and the .Algonquin tribes, meaning men from the fetid or salt water, translated by the French, Puants) for the next thirty-five years, although there is no doubt that the tribe had been visited meanwhile by adventurous Frenchmen, when on the second of December, 1669, some of that nation were noted at a Sac (Sauk or Saukis) village on Green bay, by Father .\llouez.

The Indian Tribes Of Wisconsin

As early at least as 1670, the French were actively engaged among the Winnebagoes trading. " We found affairs," says one of the Jesuit missionaries, who arrived among them in September of that year, " we found affairs there in a pretty bad posture, and the minds of the savages much soured against the French, who were there trading ; ill-treating them in deeds and words, pillaging and carrying away their merchandise in spite of them, and conducting themselves toward them with insupportable insolences and indignities. The cause of this disorder," adds the missionary, " is that they had received some bad treatment from the French, to whom they had this year come to trade, and particularly from the soldiers, from whom they pretended to have received many wrongs and injuries." It is thus made certain that the arms of France were carried into the territory of the Winnebagoes over two hundred years ago.

The Fox river of Green bay was found at that date a difficult stream to navigate. Two lesuits who ascended the river in 1670, had "three or four leagues of rapids to contend with," when they had advanced " one day's journey " from the head of the bay, " more difficult than those -which are common in other rivers, in this, that the flints, over which" they had to walk with naked feet to drag their canoes, were so " sharp and so cutting, that one has all the trouble in the world to hold one's self steady against the great rushing of the waters." At the falls they found an idol that the savages honored ; " never failing, in passing, to make him some sacrifice of tobacco, or arrows, or paintings, or other things, to thank him that, by his assistance, they had, in ascending, avoided the dangers of the waterfalls which are in this stream ; or else, if they had to ascend, to pray him to aid them in this perilous navigation." The devout missionaries caused the idol " to be lifted up by the strength of arm, and cast into the depths of the river, to appear no more " to the idolatrous savages.

The mission of St. Francis Xavier, founded in December, 1669, by Allouez, was a roving one among the tribes inhabiting the shores of Green bay and the interior country watered by the Fox river and its tributaries, for about two years, when its first mission-house was erected at what is now Depere, Brown county. This chapel was soon after destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt in 1676.

The Winnebagoes, by this time, had not only received considerable spiritual instruction from the Jesuit fathers, but had obtained quite an insight into the mysteries of trading and trafficking with white men; for, following the footsteps of the missionaries, and sometimes preceding them, were the ubiquitous French fur traders. It is impossible to determine precisely what territory was occupied by the Winnebagoes at this early date, farther than that they lived near the head of Green bay.

A direct trade with the French upon the St. Lawrence was not carried on by the Winnebagoes to any great extent until the beginning of the eighteenth century. As early as 1679, an advance party of La Salle had collected a large store of furs at the mouth of Green bay, doubtless in a traffic with this tribe and others contiguous to them; generally, however, the surrounding nations sold their peltries to the Ottawas, who disposed of them, in turn, to the French. The commencement of the eighteenth century found the Winnebagoes firmly in alliance with France, and in peace with the dreaded Iroquios. In 1718, the nation numbered six hundred. They were afterward found to have moved up Fox river, locating upon Winnebago lake, which stream and lake were their ancient seat, and from which they had been driven either by fear or the prowess of more powerful tribes of the West or Southwest. Their intercourse with the French was gradually extended and generally peaceful, though not always so, joining with them, as did the Menomonees, in their wars with the Iroquois, and subsequently in their conflicts with the English, which finally ended in 1760.

Green bay, the Winnebagoes were found to number one hundred and fifty warriors only ; their nearest village being at the lower end of Winnebago lake. They had in all not less than three towns. Their country, at this period, included not only that lake, but all the streams flowing into it, especially Fox river; afterward e.xtended to the Wisconsin and Rock rivers. They readily changed their course of trade - asking now of the commandant at the fort for English traders to be sent among them. In the Indian outbreak under Pontiac in 1763, they joined with the Menomonees and other tribes to befriend the Britisli garrison at the head of the bay, assisting in conducting them to a place of safety. They continued their friendship to the English during the Revolution, by joining with them against the colonies, and were active in the Indian war of 1790-4, taking part in the attack on Fort Recovery, upon the Maumee, in the present State of Ohio, in 1793. They fought also on the side of the British in the war of 1812-15, aiding, in 1S14, to reduce Prairie du Chien. They were then estimated at 4,500. When, in 1816, the government of the United States sent troops to take possession of the Green bay country, by establishing a garrison there, some trouble was anticipated from these Indians, who, at that date, had the reputation of being a bold and warlike tribe. A deputation from the nation came down Fox river and remonstrated with the American commandant at what was thought to be an intrusion. They were desirous of knowing why a fort was to be established so near them. The reply was that, although the troops were armed for war if necessary, their purpose was peace. Their response was an old one : " If your object is peace, you have too many men ; if war, you have too few." However, the display of a number of cannon which had not yet been mounted, satisfied the Winnebagoes that the Americans were masters of the situation, and the deputation gave the garrison no farther trouble. On the 3d of June, 1816, at St. Louis, the tribe made a treaty of peace and friendship with the General Government; but they continued to levy' tribute on all white people who passed up Fox river. English annuities also kept up a bad feeling. At this time, a portion of the tribe was living upon the Wisconsin river, away from the rest of the nation, which was still seated upon the waters flowing into Green bay. In 1820^ they had five villages on Winnebago lake and fourteen on Rock river. In 1825, the claim of the Winnebagoes was an extensive one, so far as territory was concerned. Its southeast boundary stretched away from the source of Rock river to within forty miles of its mouth, in Illinois, where they had a village. On the west it extended to the heads of the small streams flowing into the Mississippi. To the northward, it reached Black river and the upper Wisconsin, in other words, to the Chippewa territory, but did not extend across Fox river, although they contended for the whole of Winnebago lake. In 1829, a large part of their territory in southwest Wisconsin, lying between Sugar river and the Mississippi, and extending to the ^Visconsin river, was sold to the General Government ; and, three years later all the residue lying south and east of the Wisconsin and the Fox river of Green bay ; the Winnebago prophet having before t'lat date supported the Sacs in their hostility. Finally, in the brief language of the treaty between this tribe (which had become unsettled and wasteful) and the United States, of the first of November, 1837, "The Winnebago Nation of Indians " ceded to the General Government " all their lands east of the Mississippi." Not an acre was reserved. And the Indians agreed that, within eight months from that date, they would move west of " the great river." This arrangenient, however, was not carried out fully. In 1842, there were only 756 at Turkey river, Iowa, their new home, with as many in Wisconsin, and smaller bands e' ewhere. All had become lawless, and roving. Some removed in 184S; while a party to the number of over eight hundred left the State as late as 1873. The present home of the tribe is in Nebraska, where they have a reservation north of and adjacent to the Omahas, containing over one hundred thousand acres. However, since their first removal beyond the Mississippi, they have several times

The Ixdiax Teibes Of Wisconsin

When the territory, now. constituting the northern portion of Wisconsin, becai..e very generally known to the civilized inhabitants of the eastern part of the United States, it was found to be occupied by Indians called the Chippewas. Their hunting-grounds extended south from Lake Superior to the heads of the Menomonee, the Wisconsin and Chippewa rivers ; also farther eastward and westward. At an early day they were engaged in a war with the Sioux - a war indeed, which was long continued. The Chippewas, however, persistently maintained their position - still occupying the same region when the General Government extended its jurisdiction over the whole country south of the Great Lakes and west to the Mississippi.

By treaties with the Chippewas at different periods, down to the year 1827, the General Government had recognized them as the owners of about one quarter of which is now the entire State. The same policy was pursued toward this tribe as with neighboring ones, in the purchase of their lands by the United States. Gradually they parted with their extensive possessions, until, in 1842, the last acre within what is now Wisconsin was disposed of. It was the intention of the General Government to remove the several bands of the Chippewas who had thus ceded their lands to a tract reserved for them beyond the Mississippi ; but this determination was afterward changed so as to allow them to remain upon certain reservations within the limits of their oldtime hunting grounds. These reservations they continue to occupy. They are located in Bayfield, Ashland, Chippewa and Lincoln counties. The clans are known, respectively, as the Red Cliff band, the Bad River band, the Lac Courte Oreille band, and the Lac de Flambeau band.

Of all the tribes inhabiting what is now Wisconsin when its territory was first visited by white men, the Sacs (Sauks or Saukies) and Foxes (Outagamies) are, in history, the most noted. They are of the Algonquin family, and are first mentioned in 1665, by Father Allouez, but as separate tribes. Afterward, however, because of the identity of their language, and their associations, they were and still are considered as one nation. In December, 1669, Allouez found upon the shores of Green bay a village of Sacs, occupied also by members of other tribes; and early in 1670 he visited a village of the same Indians located upon the Fox river of Green bay, at a distance of four leagues from its mouth. Here a device of these Indians for catching fish arrested the attention of the missionary. "From one side of the river to the other," he writes, "they made a barricade, planting great stakes, two fathoms from the water, in such a manner that there is, as it were, a bridge above for the fishes, who by the aid of a little bow-net, easily take sturgeons and all other kinds of fish which this pier stops, although the water does not cease to flow between the stakes." When the Jesuit father first obtained, five years previous, a knowledge of this tribe, they were represented as savage above all others, great in numbers, and witliout any permanent dwelling place. The Foxes were of two stocks: one calling themselves Outagamies or Foxes, whence our English name ; the other, Musqnakink, or men of red clay, the name now used by the tribe. They lived in early times with their kindred the Sacs east of Detroit, and as some say near the St. Lawrence. They were driven west, and settled at Saginaw, a name derived from the Sacs. Thence they were forced by the Iroquois to Green bay; but were compelled to leave that place and settle on Fox river.

Allouez, on the twenty-fourth of .April, 1670, arrived at a village of the Foxes, situated on Wolf river, a northern tributary of the Fox. "The nation," he declares, "is renowned for being numerous ; they have more than four hundred men bearing arms ; the number of women and children is greater, on account of polygamy which exists among them - each man having commonly four wives, some of them six, and others as high as ten." The missionary found that the Foxes had retreated to those parts to escape the persecutions of the Iroquois. Allouez established among these Indians his mission of St. Mark, rejoicing in the fact that in less than two years he had baptized "sixty children and some adults." The Foxes, at the summons of De la Barre, in 1684, sent warriors against the Five Nations. They also took part in Denonville's more serious campaign ; but soon after became hostile to the French. As early as 169.3, they had plundered several on their way to trade with the Sioux, alleging that they were carrying arms and ammunition to their ancient enemies - frequently causing them to make portages to the southward in crossing from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. Afterward they became reconciled to the French; but the reconciliation was of short duration. In 1712, Fort Detroit, then defended by only a handful of men, was attacked by them in conjunction with the Mascoutens and Kickapoos. However, in the end, by calling in friendly Indians, the garrison not only protected themselves but were enabled to act on the offensive, destroying the greater part of the besieging force.

The nation continued their ill will to the French. The consequence was that their territory in 1 7 16 had been invaded and they were reduced to sue for peace. But their friendship was not of long continuance. In 17 18, the Foxes numbered five hundred men and "abounded in women and children." They are spoken of at that date as being very industrious, raising large quantities of Indian corn. In 17 28, another expedition was sent against them by the French. Meanwhile the Menomonees had also become hostile ; so, too, the Sacs, who were now the allies of the Foxes. The result of the enterprise was, an attack upon and the defeat of a number of Menomonees ; the burning of the wigwams of the Winnebagos (after passing the deserted village of the Sacs upon the Fox river), that tribe, also, at this date being hostile ; and the destruction of the fields of the Foxes. They were again attacked in their own country by the French, in 1730, and defeated. In 1734, both the Sacs and Foxes came in conflict with the same foe; but this time the French were not as successful as on previous expeditions. In 1736, the Sacs and Foxes were "connected with the government of Canada; " but it is certain they were far from being friendly to the French.

The conflict between France and Great Britain commencing in 1754, found the Sacs and Foxes allied with the former power, against the English, although not long previous to this time they were the bitter enemies of the French. At the close of that contest so disastrous to the interests of France in North America, these tribes readily gave in their adhesion to the conquerors, asking that English traders might be sent them. The two nations, then about equally divided, numbered, in 1761, about seven hundred warriors. Neither of the tribes took part in Pontiac's war, but they befriended the English. The Sacs had migrated farther to the westward ; but the Foxes - at least a portion of them^still remained upon the waters of the river of Green bay, which perpetuates their name. A few years later, however, and the former were occupants of the upper Wisconsin ; also, to a considerable distance below the portage, where their chief town was located. Further down the same stream was the upper village of the Foxes, while their lower one was situated near its month at the site of the present city of Prairie du Chien. At this date, 1766, the northern portion of what is now Wisconsin, including all that part watered by the streams flowing north into Lake Superior, was the home of the Chippewas. The country around nearly the whole of Green bay was the hunting ground of the Menomonees. The territory of Winnebago lake and Fox river was the seat of the Winnebagoes. The region of the Wisconsin river was the dwelling place of the Sacs and Foxes.

During the war of the Revolution, the Sacs and Foxes continued the firm friends of the English. At the commencement of the nineteenth century, only a small part of their territory was included in what is now Wisconsin, and that was in the extreme southwest. In 1804, they ceded this to the United States ; so that they no longer were owners of any lands within this State. From that date, therefore, these allied tribes can not be considered as belonging to the

Pre-Teeeitorial Annals Of Wisconsin

Indian nations of AV'isconsin. A striking episode in their subsequent history - the Black Hawk War - comes in, notwithstanding, as a part, incidentally, of the annals of the State.

Deserving a place in a notice of the Indian tribes of Wisconsin is the nation known as the PoTTAWATTAMiES. As early as 1639, they were the neighbors of the Winnebagoes upon Green bay. They were still upon its southern shore, in two villages, in 1670 ; and ten years subsequent to that date they occupied, at least in one village the same region. At the e.xpiration of the first quarter of the eighteenth century, a part only of the nation were in that vicinity - upon the islands at the mouth of tlie bay. These islands were then known as the Pottawattamie islands, and considered as the ancient abode of these Indians. Already had a large portion of this tribe emigrated southward, one band resting on the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, the other near Detroit. One peculiarity of this tribe - at least of such as resided in what is now Wisconsin - was their intimate association with neighboring bands. When, in 1669, a village of the Pottawattamies, located upon the southeast shore of Green bay, was visited by Allouez, he found with them Sacs and Foxes and Winnebagoes. So, also, when, many years subsequent to that date, a band of these Indians were located at Milwaukee, with them were Ottawas and Chippewas. These "united tribes" claimed all the lands of their respective tribes and of other nations, giving the United States, when possession was taken of the western country by the General Government, no little trouble. Finally, by a treaty, held at Chicago in 1833, their claims, such as they were, to lands along the western shore of Lake Michigan, within the present State of Wisconsin, extending westward to Rock river, were purchased by the United States, with permission to retain possession three years longer of their ceded lands, after which time this " united nation of Chippewas, Ottawas and Pottawattamies " began to disappear, and soon were no longer seen in southeastern Wisconsin or in other portions of the State.

Besides the five tribes - Menomonees, Winnebagoes, Chippewas, Sacs and Foxes, and Pottawattamies - many others, whole or in part, have, since the territory now constituting the State was first visited by white men, been occupants of its territory. Of these, some are only known as having once lived in what is now Wisconsin; others - such as the Hurons, Illinois, Kickapoos, Mascoutens, Miamis, Noquets, Ottawas and Sioux, are recognized as Indians once dwelling in this region ; yet so transitory has been their occupation, or so little is known of their history, that they scarcely can be claimed as belonging to the State.

Commencing in 1822, and continuing at intervals through some of the following years, was the migration to Wisconsm from the State of New York of the remains or portions of four tribes : the Oneidas, Stockbridges, Munsees and Brothertowns. The Oneidas finally located west of Green Bay, where they still reside. Their reservation contains over 60,000 acres, and lies wholly within the present counties of Brown and Outagamie. The Stockbridges and Munsees, who first located above Green Bay, on the east side of Fox river, afterward moved to the east side of Winnebago lake. They now occupy a reservation joining the southwest township of the Menomenee reservation, in Shawano county, and are fast becoming citizens. The Brothertowns first located on the east side of Fox river, but subsequently moved to the east side of Winnebago lake, where, in 1839, they broke up their tribal relations and became citizens of Wisconsin territory.

When, in 1634, the first white man set foot upon any portion of the territory now constituting the State of Wisconsin, the whole country was, of course, a wildei-ness. Its inhabitants, the aboriginal Red men, were thinly but widely scattered over all the country. Jean Nicolet, a Frenchman, who had been in Canada since 161 8, and had spent several years among the

Indians, was the first of civilized men to unlock the mystery of its situation and people. French authorities upon the St. Lawrence sent him as an ambassador to the Winnebagoes, of whom he had heard strange stories. On his outward voyage he visited the Hurons - allies of the French - a tribe seated upon the eastern side of the lake which bears their name, and Nicolet was empowered to negotiate a peace with them. '' When he approached the Winnebago town, he sent some of his Indian attendants to announce his coming, put on a robe of damask, and advanced to meet the expectant crowd with a pistol in each hand. The squaws and children fled, screaming that it was a manito, or spirit, armed with thunder and lightning ; but the chiefs and warriors regaled him with so bountiful a hospitality, that a hundred and twenty beavers were devoured at a single feast." Such was the advent of the daring Frenchman into what is now the State of Wisconsin. -

" Upon the borders of Green bay," wrote the Jesuit, Paul le Jeune, in 1640, " are the Menomonees; still farther on, the Winnebagoes, a sedentary people, and very numerous. Some Frenchmen," he continues, " call them the ' Nation of the Stinkards,' because the Algonquin word Winipeg signifies ' stinking water.' Now they thus call the water of the sea ; therefore, these people call themselves ' Winnebagoes,' because they came from the shores of a sea of which we have no knowledge ; consequently we must not call them the ' Nation of Stinkards,' but the ' Nation of the Sea.' " From these Men of the Sea, Nicolet passed westward, ascended Fox river of Green Bay, until nigh the portage to the Wisconsin, down which stream he could have floated easily to the Mississippi, the "great water" of his guides, which he mistook for the sea. This adventurous Frenchman, when so near re-discovering the river which has given immortality to De Soto, turned his face to the eastward ; retraced his steps to Green bay, and finally returned in safety to Quebec. This was the first exploration of what is now Wisconsin - only fourteen years after the landing of the Pilgrims upon the wild shores of New England.

Wisconsin, for twenty-four years after its discovery, was left to its savage inhabitants. At length, in 1658, two daring fur traders penetrated to Lake Superior, and wintered there. They probably set foot upon what is now Wisconsin soil, as they made several trips among the surrounding tribes. They saw, among other things, at six days' journey beyond the lake, toward the southwest, Indians that the Iroquois had driven from their homes upon the eastern shores of Lake Huron. These Frenchmen heard of the ferocious Sioux, and of a great river - not the sea, as Nicolet had supposed - on which they dwelt. This was the Mississippi ; and to these traders is the world indebted for a knowledge of its exist..nce ; as De Soto's discovery was never used, and soon became well-nigh, if not entirely, forgotten. From these upper countries, in the Summer of 1660, the two returned to Quebec, with three hundred Indians in sixty canoes, laden with peltry. This was, indeed, the dawn - though exceedingly faint - of what is now the commerce of the great Northwest. Nineteen years after flashed a more brilliant light; for, in 1679, the "Griffin," laden with furs, left one of the islands at the mouth of Green bay, on its return - spreading her sails for Niagara, but never more to be heard of.

Following in the footsteps of the fur traders came the Jesuit missionaries to Lake Superior - one of them. Father Menard, as early as 1660, reaching its southern shore as far to the westward, probably, as Kewenaw, in the present State of Michigan. There is no positive evidence, however that he or his French companions, visited any portion of what is now Wisconsin; although the next year, 1661, some of his associates probably passed down the Menomonee river to Green bay. Following Menard came Father Claude AUouez, arriving on the first day of October, 1665, at " Chagowamigong," or " Chegoimegon," now Chequamegon, or Ashland Bay, " at the bottom of which," wrote the missionary, " is situated the great villages of the savages, who there plant their fields of Indian corn, and lead a stationary life." Near by he erected a small chapel of bark - the first structure erected by civilized man in Wisconsin. At La Pointe, in the present Ashland county, he established the mission of the Holy Ghost.

The next Catholic mission in what is now Wisconsin was that of St. Francis Xavier, founded also by AUouez. Upon the second of December, 1669, he first attended to his priestly devotions upon the waters of Green bay. This mission, for the first two years of its existence, was a migratory one. The surrounding tribes were all visited, including the Pottawattamies, Menomonees, Winnebagoes, and Sacs and Foxes. However, in i67i,one hundred and five years before the Declaration of Independence, there was erected, at what is now Depere, Brown county, a chapel for the mission of St. Francis Xavier. Thus early did the Jesuit Fathers, in their plain garbs and unarmed, carry the cross to many of the benighted heathen occupying the country circumscribed by Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior, and the "great river" - the Mississippi.

French domination in Wisconsin dates from the year 167 1, the very year in which it seems the indomitable LaSalle, upon his first expedition, passed the mouth of Green bay, but did not enter it. France then took formal possession of the whole of the country of the upper lakes. By this time, the commerce with the western tribes had so attached them to her interests that she determined to extend her power to the utmost limits - vague and indeterminate as they were - of Canada. An agent - Daumont de St. Lusson - was dispatched to the distant tribes, proposing a congress of Indian nations at the Falls of Ste. Mary, between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. The invitation was extended far and near. The principal chiefs of Wisconsin tribes, gathered by Nicolas Perrot in Green bay, were present at the meeting. Then and there, with due ceremony, it was announced that the great Northwest was placed under the protection of the French government. And why not .' She had discovered it - had to a certain extent explored it - had to a limited extent established commerce with it - and her missionaries had proclaimed the faith to the wondering savages. But none of her agents - none of the furtraders - none of the missionaries - had yet reached the Mississippi, the " great river," concerning which so many marvels had been heard, although it is claimed that, in 1669, it had been seen by the intrepid La Salle. But the time for its discovery, or properly re-discovery, was at hand, if, indeed, it can be called, with propriety, a re-discovery, since its existence to the westward was already known to every white man particularly interested in matters appertaining to the Northwest. Now, however, for the first time, its upper half was to be, to a certain extent, explored. For the first time, a white man was to behold its vast tribute, above the Illinois river, rolling onward toward the Mexican gulf. Who was that man ? His name was Louis Joliet ; with him was Father James Marquette.

Born at Quebec, in 1645, educated by the Jesuits, and first resolving to be a priest, then turning fur-trader, Joliet had, finally, been sent with an associate to explore the copper mines of Lake Superior. He was a man of close and intelligent observation, and possessed considerable mathematical acquirements. At this time, 1673, he was a merchant, courageous, hardy, enterprising. He was appointed by French authorities at Quebec to " discover " the Mississippi. He passed up the lakes to Mackinaw, and found at Point St. Ignace, on the north side of the strait, Father James Marquette, who readily agreed to accompany him. Their outfit was very simple : two birch-bark canoes and a supply of smoked meat and Indian corn. They had a company of five men with them, beginning their voyage on the seventeenth of May, 1673. Passing the straits, they coasted the northern shores of Lake Michigan, moved up Green bay and Fox river to the portage. They crossed to the Wisconsin, down which they paddled their frail canoes, until, on the seventeenth of June, they entered - "discovered" - the Mississippi. So the northern, the eastern and the western boundary of what is now Wisconsin had been reached at this date ; therefore, it may be said that its territory had been explored sufficiently for the forming of a pretty correct idea of its general features as well as of its savage inhabitants. After dropping down the Mississippi many miles, Joliet and Marquette returned to Green bay, where the latter remained to recruit his exhausted strength, while Joliet descended to Quebec, to report his "discoveries" to his superiors.

Then followed the expedition of LaSalle to the west, from the St. Lawrence, when, in 1679, he and Father Louis Hennepin coasted along the western shore of Lake Michigan, frequently landing ; then, the return of Henri de Tonty, one of LaSalle's party down the same coast to Green bay, in 1680, from the Illinois; the return, also, the same year, of Hennepin, from up the Mississippi, whither he had made his way from the Illinois, across what is now Wisconsin, by the Wisconsin and Fox rivers to Green bay, in company with DuLhut, or DuLuth, who, on his way down the " great river " from Lake Superior, had met the friar ; and then, the voyage, in 1683, from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river, by the same route, of LeSueur, and his subsequent establishment at La Pointe, in what is now Ashland county, Wisconsin, followed several years after by a trip up the Mississippi. The act of Daumont de St. Lusson, at the Sault Sainte Mary, in 167 1, in taking possession of the country beyond Lake Michigan, not being regarded as sufficiently definite, Nicolas Perrot, in 1689, at Green bay, again took possession of that territory, as well as of the valleys of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and extending the dominion of New France over the country on the Upper Mississippi, and "to other places more remote." The voyage of St. Cosme, in 1699, when he and his companions frequently landed on the west coast of Lake Michigan, upon what is now territory of Wisconsin, completed the explorations in the west for the seventeenth century.

Following in the footsteps of early explorations, of self sacrificing attempts of the Jesuits to carry the cross to the wild tribes of the West, of the first visits of the lawless cotircurs de bois, was the military occupation - if such it can be called - of what is now Wisconsin by the French. The ninety years of domination by France in tiiis region were years of only nominal possession. The record of this occupation is made u[) of facts concerning the Indian policy of the French rulers; their contests with the Sacs and Foxes; their treaties, at various times, with different tribes ; their interest m, and protection of, the fur trade , and kindred subjects. The Indian tribes were, at most, only the allies of France. Posts - mere stockades without cannon, more for protection to fur-traders than for any other purpose - were erected upon the Mississippi at two points at least, upon what is now territory of Wisconsin. On the west side of Fox river of Green bay, "half a league from its mouth," was a French post, as early as 1721, where resided, besides the commandant and an uncouth squad of soldiers, a Jesuit missionary ; and near by were collected Indians of different tribes. Of course, the omnipresent fur-trader helped to augment the sum-total of its occupants. This post was, not long after, destroyed, but another was established there. When, however, France yielded her inchoate rights in the West to Great Britain - when, in 1761, the latter took possession of the country - there was not a French post within wliat is now Wisconsin. The " fort " near the head of' Green bay, had been vacated for some years; it was found "rotten, the stockade ready to fall, and the houses without cover;" emblematic of the decay - the fast-crumbling and perishing state - of French supremacy, at that date, in America. Wisconsin, when England's control began, was little better than a howling wilderness. There was not within the broad limits of what is now the State, a single /wm fide settler, at the time the French Government yielded up its possession to the English; that is to say, there were none according to the present acceptation of the term "settler."

The military occupation of Wisconsin by the British, after the Seven Years' War, was a brief one. La Bay - as the post at what is now the city of Fort Howard, Brown county, was called - was, on the twelfth of October, 1761, taken possession of by English troops, under Captain Belfour, of the Eightieth regiment. Two days after, that officer departed, leaving Lieutenant

Pre-Tekritorial Axxals Of Wisconsin

James Gorrell, in command, with one sergeant, one corporal and fifteen privates. There also remained at the post a French interpreter and two English traders. The name of the fortification was changed to Fort Edward Augustus. This post was abandoned by the commandant on the twenty-first of June, 1763, on account of the breaking out of Pontiac's A\'ar and the capture of the fort at Mackinaw by the savages. The cause of this war was this : The Indian tribes saw the danger which the downfall of the French interests in Canada was sure to bring to them. They banded together under Pontiac to avert their ruin. The struggle was short but fierce - full of " scenes of tragic interest, with marvels of suffering and vicissitude, of heroism and endurance;" but tlie white man conquered. The moving incidents in this bloody drama were enacted to the eastward of what is now Wisconsin, coming no nearer than Mackinaw, which, as just mentioned, the -savages captured; but it resulted in the evacuation of its territory by British troops, who never after took posses?ion of it, though they continued until 1796 a nominal military rule over it, after Mackinaw was again occupied by them.

An early French Canadian trading station at the head of Green bay assumed finally the tbrm of a permanent settlement - the first one in Wisconsin. To claim, however that any French Canadian is entitled to the honor of being the first permanent white settler is assuming for him more than the facts seem to warrant. The title of " The Father and Founder of Wisconsin " belongs to no man.

After Pontiac's War, one of the noted events in this region was the journey of Jonathan Carver, who, in 1766, passed up Fo.\ river to the portage, and descended the Wisconsin to the Mississippi. He noticed the tumbling-down post at what is now Green Bay, Brown county. He saw a few families living in the fort, and some French settlers, who cultivated the land opposite, and appeared to live very comfortably. That was the whole extent of improvements in what is now Wisconsin. The organization of the Northwest. Fur Company ; the passage of an act by the British Parliament by wJiich the whole Northwest was included in the Province of Quebec ; the joining of the Indians in this region with the British, against the Americans, in the War of the Revolution; the exploration of the lead region of the Upper Mississippi by Julian Dubuque; the passage of the ordinance of 1787 ; the first settlement of the territory northwest of the River Ohio; and the Indian war which followed, are all incidents, during British occupation, of more or less interest for the student of Wisconsin history. He will find that, by the treaty of 1783 and of 1795, ^^'tli Great Britain, all the inhabitants residing in this region were to be protected by the United States in the full and peaceable possession of their i:)roperty, with the right to remain in, or to withdraw from it, with their effects, within one year. All who did not leave were to be deemed American citizens, allowed to enjoy all the privileges of citizenship, and to be under the protection of the General Government. He will also find that less than two years was the whole time of actual military occupation of what is now Wisconsin by British soldiers, and that English domination, which should have ended at the close of the Revolution, was arbitrarily continued until the Summer of 1796, when the western posts, none of which were upon territory circumscribed by Lakes Michigan and Superior and the Mississippi river, were delivered into the keeping of the United States. Thus the supremacy of Great Britain ovej the Northwest was, after an actual continuance of thirty-five years, at an end.

Although the General Government did not get possession of the region northwest of the Ohio, throughout its full extent, for thirteen years subsequent to its acquirement by the treaty of peace of 1783 with Great Britain, nevertheless, steps were taken, very soon, to obtain concessions from such of the colonies as had declared an ownership in any portion of it. None of the claimants, seemingly, had better rights than Virginia, who, by virtue of conquests, largely her own, of the Illinois settlements and posts, extended her jurisdiction over that country, erecting into a county so much of the region northwest of the Ohio, as had been settled by Virginians or might afterward be settled by them. But as, previous to her yielding all rights to territory beyond that river, she had not carried her arms into the region north of the Illinois or made settlements upon what is now the soil of Wisconsin, nor included any portion of it within the bounds of an organized county, it follows that her dominion was not actually extended over any part of the area included within the present boundaries of this State ; nor did she then claim jurisdiction north of the Illinois river, but on the other hand expressly disclaimed it.

Virginia and all the other claimants finally ceded to the United States their rights, such as they were, beyond the Ohio, except two reservations of limited extent ; and the General Government became the undisputed owner of the "Great West," without any internal claims to possession save those of the Indians. Meanwhile, the United States took measures to extend its jurisdiction over the whole country by the passage of the famous ordinance of 1787, which established a government over "the territory of the United States, northwest of the River Ohio." But this organic law was, of course, nugatory over that portion of the region occupied by the British, until their yielding possession in 1796, when, for tlje first time, Anglo-American rule commenced, though nominally, in what is now Wisconsin. By the ordinance just mentioned, "the United States, in congress assembled," declared that the territory northwest of the Ohio should, for the purposes of temporary government, be one district , subject, however, to be divided into districts, as future circumstances might, in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient. It was ordained that a governor, secretary and three judges should be appointed for the Territory; a general assembly was also provided for; and it was declared that religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education should forever be encouraged. It was also ordained that there should be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said Territory, " otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." Thus was established the first Magna Charta for the five great States since that time formed out of " the territory northwest of the River Ohio," and the first rules and regulations for their government.

Under this act of Congress, Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor of the Northwestern Territory, as it was called, and Samuel H. Parsons, James M. Varnum, and John Armstrong, judges, - the latter not accepting the office, John Cleves Syraraes was appointed in his place. Winthrop Sargeant was appointed secretary. At different periods, counties were erected to include various portions of the Territory. By the governor's proclamation of the 15th of August, 1796, one was formed to include the whole of the present area of Northern Ohio, west of Cleveland ; also, all of what is now the State of Indiana, north of a line drawn from Fort Wayne " west-northerly to the southern part of Lake Michigan ; " the whole of the present State of Michigan, except its extreme northwest corner on Lake Superior ; a small corner in the northeast, part of what is now Illinois, including Chicago ; and so much of the present State of Wisconsin as is watered by the streams flowing into Lake Michigan, which of course included an extensive portion, taking in many of its eastern and interior counties as now constituted. This vast county was named Wayne. So the few settlers then at the head of Green bay had their local habitations, constructively at least, in "Wayne county. Northwestern Territory." It was just at that date that Great Britain vacated the western posts, and the United States took quiet possession of them. But the western portion of what is now Wisconsin, including all its territory watered by streams flowing northward into Lake Superior, and westward and southwestward into the Mississippi, was as yet without any county organization ; as the county of St. Clair, including the Illinois country to the southward, reached no farther north than the mouth of Little Mackinaw creek, where it empties into the River Illinois, in what is now the State of Illinois. The

Pre-Territorial Anxals Of Wisconsin

" law of Paris," which was in force under French domination in Canada, and which by the British Parliament in 1774, had been continued in force under English supremacy, was still " the law of the land " west of Lake Michigan, practically at least.

From and after the fourth day of July, 1800, all that part of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio river, which lay to the westward of a line beginning upon that stream opposite to the mouth of Kentucky river and running thence to what is now Fort Recovery in Mercer county, Ohio ; thence north until it intersected the territorial line between the United States and Canada, was, for the purposes of temporary government, constituted a separate territory called Indiana. It included not only the whole of the present State of Illinois and nearly all of what is now Indiana, but more than half of the State of Michigan as now defined, also a considerable part of the present Minnesota, and the whole of what is now Wisconsin.

The seat of government was established at "Saint Vincennes on the Wabash," now the city of Vincennes, Indiana. To this extensive area was added "from and after" the admission of Ohio into the Union, all the territory west of that State, and east of the eastern boundary line of the Territory of Indiana as originally established ; so that now all " the territory of the United States, northwest of the River Ohio," was, excepting the State of Ohio, included in Indiana Territory. On the thirtieth day of June, 1805, so much of Indiana Territory as lay to the north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan to Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the same bend through the middle of the first mentioned lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States, was, for the purpose of temporary government, constituted a separate Territory called Michigan. Of course no part of the present State of Wisconsin was included therein ; but the whole remained in the Territory of Indiana until the second day of March, 1809, when all that part of the last mentioned Territory which lay west of the Wabash river, and a direct line drawn from that stream and " Post Vincennes," due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, was, by an act approved on the third of February previous, constituted a separate Territory, called Illinois. Meanwhile jurisdiction had been extended by the authorities of Indiana Territory over the country lying west of Lake Michigan, to the extent, at least, of appointing a justice of the peace for each of the settlements of Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. All of what is now Wisconsin was transferred to the Territory of Illinois, upon the organization of the latter, except a small portion lying east of the meridian line drawn through Vincennes, which remained a part of Indiana Territory. This fraction included nearly the whole area between Green bay and Lake Michigan.

When, in 1816, Indiana became a State, "the territory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio," contained, besides Ohio and Indiana, the Territories of Illinois and Michigan, only ; so the narrow strip, formerly a part of Indiana Territory, lying east of a line drawn due north from Vincennes, and west of the western boundary line of Michigan Territory, belonged to neither, and was left without any organization. However, upon the admission of Illinois into the Union, in 1818, all "the territory of the United States, northwest of the River Ohio," lying west of Michigan Territory and north of the States of Indiana and Illinois, was attached to and made a part of Michigan Territory ; by which act the whole of the present State of Wisconsin came under the jurisdiction of the latter. During the existence of the Territory of Illinois, a kind of jurisdiction was had over the two settlements in what is now Wisconsin - rather more ideal than real, however.

In 1834, Congress greatly increased the limits of the Territory of Michigan, by adding to it, for judicial purposes, a large extent of country west of the Mississippi - reaching south as far as the present liounil.iry line between tlie present States of Iowa and Missouri; north, to the territorial line between the I'nited States and Canada; and west, to the Missouri and White Earth rivers. It so continued down to the fourth of Jul)', 1836.

A retrospective glance at the history of this region for forty years previous to the last mentioned year, including the time which elapsed after the surrender of the western posts, in 1796, by the British, discloses many facts of interest and importance.

The Anglo-Americans, not long after the region of country west of Lake Michigan became a part of Indiana Territory, began now and then to cast an eye, either through the opening of the Great Lakes or the Mississippi, upon its rolling rivers, its outspread prairies, and its dense forests, and to covet the goodly land ; but the settlers at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien were mostly French Can,idians at this date, although a few were Americans. The General Government, however, began to take measures preparatory to its occupation, by purch.asing, in 1S04, a tract in what is now the southwest portion of the State, of the Indians, and by holding the various tribes to a strict account for any murders committed by them on American citizens passing through their territories or trading with them. Comparative peace reigned in the incipient settlements at the head of Green b.iy and at the mouth of the Wisconsin, which was changed by the breaking out of the war of iSia, with Great Britain.

The English early succeeded in securing the Wisconsin Indian tribes as their allies in this war; and the taking of Mackinaw by the British in July, iSi;, virtually put the latter in possession of what is now the eastern portion of the State. Early in 1S14, the government authorities of the United States caused to be fitted out at St. Louis a large boat, having on board all the men that could be mustered and spared from the lower countryVand sent up the Mississippi to protect the upper region and the few settlers therein. The troo^is landed at Prairie du Chien, and immediately proceeded to fortify. Not long after, Colonel McKay, of the British army, cro.'ssing the country by course of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, with over five hundred British and Indians, received the surrender of the whole force. The officers and men were paroled and sent down the river. This was the only battle fought upon Wisconsin soil during the last war with England. The pdst at Prairie du Chien was left in command of a captain with two companies from NLtckinaw. He remained there until after the peace of 1815, when the place was evacuatet.1 by the British.

When it became generally known to the Indian tribes in what is now Wisconsin, that the contest l^tween the United St.ues and Great Britain was at an end, they generally expressed themselves as ready and willing to make treaties with the General Government - eager, in tact, to establish friendly relations with the power they had so recently been hostile to. This was, therefore, a tavorable moment for t.xking actual possession of the country between the Mississippi and L;ike Michigan ; and United States troops were soon ordered to occupy the two prominent points between Green Bay .and Prairie du Chien. At the former place was erected Fort Howard; at the Litter Fort Crawford. At Green Bay, half a hundred (or less) French Canadians cultivated the soil; at Prairie du Chien, there were not more than thirty houses, mostly occupied by traders, while on the pr.xirie outside the village, a number of forms were cultivated. Such was Wisconsin when, at the close of the List war with Great Britain, it began in earnest to be occupied by Americans. The latter were few in number, but in iStS, they began to feel, now th.it the countr>- was att.iched to Michigan Territory and the laws of the L'nited States were extended over them, that they were not altogether beyond the prvJteciion of a government of their own, notwithstanding they were surrounded by savage tribes. Their happiness was increased upon the erection, by proclamation of Lewis Cass, governor of the Territor\- of Michigan, of three Territorial counties: Michilimackin.ic Brown .ind Crawford. Their establishment dates the twenty-sixth of October, 1818. The county of Michiliniackinac not only included all of tlie present State of Wisconsin lying north of a line drawn due west from near the head of the Little Noquet bay, but territory east and west of it, so as to reach from Lake Huron to the Mississippi river. Its county seat was established "at the Borough of Michiiimackinac." The whole area in Michigan Territory south of the county of Michiiimackinac and west of Lake Michigan formed the two counties of lirown and Crawford: the former to include the area east of a line drawn due north and south through the middle of the portage between the Fox river of Green bay and the Wisconsin ; the latti'r to include the whole region west of that line. Prairie du Chien was designated as the county seat of Crawford; Green Bay, of Brown county. On the 22(1 of December, 1826, a county named Chippewa was formed from the northern portions of Michiiimackinac, including the southern shores of Lake Superior throughout its entire length, and extending from the straits leading from that lake into Lake Huron, west to the western boundary line of Michigan Territory, with the county seat "at such point in the vicinity of the Sault de Ste. Marie, as a majority of the county commissioners to be appointed shall designate." Embraced within this county, - its southern boundary being the parallel 46^31' north latitude, - was all the territory of the present State of Wisconsin now bordering on Lake Superior.

Immediately upon the erection of Brown and Crawford counties, they were organized, and their offices filled liy appointment of the governor. County courts were established, consisting of one chief and two associate justices, either of whom formed a quorum. They were required to hold one term of court annually in their respective counties. These county courts had original and exclusive jurisdiction in all civil cases, both in law and equity, where the matter in dispute exceeded the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace, and did not exceed tlie value of one thousand dollars. They had, however, no jurisdiction in ejectment. They had exclusive cognizance of all offenses the punishment whereof was not capital, and the same power to issue remedial and other process, writs of error and mandamus excepted, that the supreme court had at Detroit. Appeals from justices of the peace were made to the county courts.

The establishing of Indian agencies by the General Government ; the holding of treaties with some of the Indian tribes; the adjustment of land claims at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien ; the appointment of postmasters at these two points, were all indications of a proper interest being taken by the United States in the affairs of the country. But a drawback to this region, was the fact that, in all civil cases of over a thousand dollars, and in criminal cases that were capital, as well as in actions of ejectment, and in the allowance of writs of error, and mandamus, recourse must be had to the supreme court at Detroit; the latter place being the seat of government of Michigan Territory. However, in January, 1823, an act of congress provided for a district court, and for the appointment of a judge, for the counties of Brown, Crawford, and Michiiimackinac. This court had concurrent jurisdiction, civil and criminal, with the supreme court of the Territory, in most cases, subject, however, to have its decisions taken to the latter tribunal by a writ of error. The law provided for holding one term of court in each year, in each of the counties named in the act ; so, at last, there was to be an administration of justice at home, and the people were to be relieved from all military arbitrations, which frequently had been imposed upon them. James Duane Doty was appointed judge of this court at its organization. A May term of the court was held in Prairie du Chien; a June term in Green Bay; a July term in " the Borough of Michiiimackinac," in each year. In 1824, Henry S. Baird, of Brown county, was appointed district attorney. Doty held the office of judge until May, 1832, when he was succeeded by David Irvin. This court continued until 1S36, when it was abrogated by the organization of the Territory of Wisconsin.

western portion of the State; but it was not until the year 1825, and the two following years, that very general attention was attracted to them, which eventuated in the settlement of different places in that region, by Americans, who came to dig for lead ore. This rapid increase of settlers awakened the jealousy of the Winnebago Indians, at what they deemed an unauthorized intrusion upon their lands, which, with other causes operating unfavorably upon their minds, aroused them in June, 1S27, to open acts of hostility. Murders became frequent. Finally, the militia of Prairie du Chien were called out. On the twenty-ninth of August, Brigadier-General Henry Atkinson, of the United States army, with a strong force of regulars, ascended the Wisconsin river to put an end to any further spread of Winnebago disturbances. He was joined on the first of September, by one hundred and thirty Galena volunteers, mounted, and under command of General Henry Dodge. The Winnebagoes were awed into submission. Thus ended the " Winnebago War." It was followed by the erection at the portage of Fort Winnebago, by the United States.

.A.fter the restoration of tranquillity, the United States proceeded by treaty with the Indians, to secure the right to occupy the lead regions. This was in 1828. The next year, the General Government purchased of the Winnebagoes, Southwestern Wisconsin, which put an end to all trouble on account of mining operations. On the ninth of October, 1829, a county was formed, by the legislative council of the Territory of Michigan, comprising all that part of Crawford county lying south of the Wisconsin river. This new county was called Iowa. The county seat was temporarily established at Mineral Point. Following this was a treaty in 1831, with the Menomonees, for all their lands east of Green bay, Winnebago lake, and the Fox and Milwaukee rivers.

There was now a crisis at hand. The most prominent event to be recorded in the pre-Territorial annals of Wisconsin is known as the Black Hawk War. This conflict of arms between the Sacs and Foxes and the United States arose from a controversy in regard to lands. By a treaty made at Fort Harmar, just across the River Muskingum from Marietta, Ohio, in January, 1789, the Pottawattamie and Sac tribes of Indians, among others, were received into the friendship of the General Government, and a league of peace and unity established between the contracting parties On the third of November, 1804, a treaty at St. Louis stipulated that the united Sac and Fox tribes should be received into the friendship of the United States, and also be placed under their protection. These tribes also agreed to consider themselves under the protection of the General Government and of no other power whatsoever. .\t this treaty lands were ceded which were circumscribed by a boundary beginning at a point on the Missouri river opposite the mouth of the Gasconade, and running thence in a direct course so as to strike the River Jefferson at the distance of thirty miles from its mouth, and down that stream to the Mississippi. It then ran up the latter river to the mouth of the Wisconsin, and up that stream to a point thirty-six miles in a direct line from its mouth ; thence by a straight ' course to a point where the Fox river of the Illinois leaves the small lake then called Sakaegan, and from that point down the Fox to the Illinois, and down the latter to the Mississippi. The consideration for this cession was the payment of goods to the value of two thousand two hundred and thirty-four dollars and fifty cents, and a yearly annuity of one thousand dollars - -six hundred to be paid to the Sacs and four hundred to the Foxes - to be liquidated in goods valued at first cost. Afterward, Fort Madison was erected just above the Des Moines rapids in the Mississippi, on the territory ceded at the last mentioned treaty. Then followed the war with Great Britain, and the Sacs and Foxes agreed to take no part therein. However, a portion afterward joined the English against the Americans along with other Western tribes. At the restoration of peace the Sacs and Foxes held treaties with the United States. There was a renewal of the treaty of 1804.

Pre-Territoeial Annals Of Wisconsin

Such in brief is a general outline of affairs, so far as those two tribes were concerned, down to the close of the last war with England. From this time, to the year 1830, several additional treaties were made with the Sacs and Foxes by the General Government: one in i822,by which they relinquished their right to have the United States establish a trading house or factory at a convenient point at which the Indians could trade and save themselves from the imposition of traders, for which they were paid the sum of one thousand dollars in merchandise. Again, in 1824, they sold to the General Government all their lands in Missouri, north of Missouri river, for which they received one thousand dollars the same year, and an annuity of one thousand dollars for ten years. In 1830, they ceded to the United States a strip of land twenty miles wide from the Mississippi to the Des Moines, on the north side of their territory. The time had now come for the two tribes to leave the eastern shore of the Mississippi and retire across the " great water." Keokuk, the Watchful Fox, erected his wigwam on the west side of the river, and was followed by a large part of the two tribes. But a band headed by Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or the Black Sparrow Hawk, commonly called Black Hawk, refused to leave their village near Rock Island. They contended that they had not sold their town to the United States ; and, upon their return early in 183 1, from a hunt across the Mississippi, finding their village and fields in possession of the whites, they determined to repossess their homes at all hazards. This was looked upon, or called, an encroachment by the settlers ; so the governor of Illinois took the responsibility of declaring the State invaded, and asked the United States to drive the refractory Indians beyond the Mississippi. The result was, the Indian village was destroyed by Illinois volunteers. This and the threatened advance across the river by the United States commander, brought Black Hawk and his followers to terms. They sued for peace - agreeing to remain forever on the west side of the Mississippi. But this truce was of short duration.

Early in the Spring of 1832, Black Hawk having assembled his forces on the Mississippi, in the vicinity of the locality where Fort Madison had stood, crossed that stream and ascended Rock river.' This was the signal for war. The governor of Illinois made a call for volunteers; and, in a brief space of time, eighteen hundred had assembled at Beardstown, Cass county. They marched for the mouth of Rock river, where a council of war was held by their officers and Brigadier-General Henry Atkinson, of the regular forces. The Indians were sent word by General Atkinson that they must return and recross the Mississippi, or they would be driven back by force. " If you wish to fight us, come on," was the laconic but defiant reply of the Sac chief. When the attempt was made to compel these Indians to go back across the "great river," a collision occurred between the Illinois militia and Black Hawk's braves, resulting in the discomfiture of the former with the loss of eleven men. Soon afterward the volunteers were discharged, and the first campaign of Black Hawk's War was at an. end. This was in May, 1832.

In June following, a new force had been raised and put under the command of General Atkinson, who commenced his march up Rock river. Before this, there had been a general "forting" in the lead region, including the whole country in Southwest Wisconsin, notwithstanding which, a number of settlers had been killed by the savages, mostly in Illinois. Squads of volunteers, in two or three instances, had encountered the Indians; and in one with entire success - upon the Pecatonica, in what is now Lafayette county, Wisconsin - every savage (and there were seventeen of them) being killed. The loss of the volunteers was three killed and wounded. Atkinson's march up Rock river was attended with some skirmishing; when, being informed that Black Hawk and his force were at Lake Koshkonong, in the southwest corner of what is now Jefferson county, Wisconsin, he immediately moved thither with a portion of his army, where the whole force was ordered to concentrate. But the Sac chief with his people had flown. Colonels Henry Dodge and James D. Henry, with the forces under them, discovered the trail of the savages, leading in the direction of the Wisconsin river. It was evident that the retreating force was large, and that it had but recently passed. The pursuing troops hastened their march. On the twenty-first of July, 1832, they arrived at the hills which skirt the left bank of that stream, in what is now Roxbury town (township), Dane county. Here was Black Hawk's whole force, including women and children, the aged and infirm, hastening by every effort to escape across the river. But that this might now be effected, it became necessary for that chief to make a firm stand, to cover the retreat. The Indians were in the bottom lands when the pursuing whites made their appearance upon the heights in their rear. Colonel Dodge occupied the front and sustained the first attack of the Indians. He was soon joined by Henry with his force, when they obtained a complete victory. The action commenced about five o'clock in the afternoon and ended at sunset. The enemy, numbering not less than five hundred, sustained a loss of about sixty killed and a large number wounded. The loss of the Americans was one killed and eight wounded. This conflict has since been known as the battle of Wisconsin Heights.

During the night following the battle, Black Hawk made his escape with his remaining force and people down the Wisconsin river. The women and children made their way down stream in canoes, while the warriors marched on foot along the shore. The Indians were pursued in their flight, and were finally brought to a stand on the Mississippi river, near the mouth of the Bad Axe, on the west boundary of what is now Vernon county, Wisconsin. About two o'clock on the morning of the second of August, the line of march began to the scene of the last conflict in the Black Hawk War. Dodge's command formed the advance, supported by regular troops, under Colonel Zachary Taylor, afterward president of the United States. Meanwhile an armed steamboat had moved up the Mississippi and lay in front of the savages ; so they were attacked on all sides by the exasperated Americans. The battle lasted about two hours, and was a complete victory for the whites. Black Hawk fled, but was soon after captured. This ended the war.