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

Chapter with an unread heading (no. 2 of those read)

Indian OccrPANCY - The Mascoutins, Kickapoos, Miamis, Foxes, Sacs and Winnebagoes - Early Government - First White Men in Sauk County - Early Visits to Sauk County - How Sauk County got its Name - Sauk County on Early Maps - "The Winnebago War " - United States Land Surveys and Land Districts.

Indian Occupancy

Modern scientific research has demonstrated to an almost absolute certainty the fact that the first inhabitants of this Western territory were the ancestor of "our noble red men," the North American Indians. And, this being the case, the fifty millions of people calling themselves "the white representatives of a boasted civilization" are simply the progeny of foreign invaders.

In applying the principles and results of these acknowledged truths to the territory whose history falls within the province of this work, we cannot consistently overlook the character of this pre-historic occupation, so far as the evidence of it exists. It is very properly termed prehistoric occupation ; for,, unlike our more fortunate brethren of the Eastern Hemisphere, no inscribed tablets of aborginal times have been preserved to us, and we have been left to grope in the dark in search of something tangible upon which to base the logical conclusions so recently arrived at. True, a variety of testimony presents itself in proof of the generally accepted theory, that a very powerful race of no ordinary degree of intelligence once held possession of these hills and valleys ; their implements of agriculture, of war and of commerce, are yet quite numerous, and are highly prized by archaeologists ; their battle-walls and mound-like tombs time and the ravages of civilization have not yet obliterated. But among all these mysterious evidences of ancient habitation, no traces of a written language are found to establish the date of such occupation or the origin of the occupants. The theory that they were the ancestors of the present race of Indians is founded upon the hypothesis that the habits and customs of the so-called Mound-Builders, as is shown in the pattern of their unique instruments, were not materially different from the habits and customs of the inhabitants of this country at the time of the first visitation of the French Jesuits. There is no convincing reason in the argument that the ancient earthworks, so numerous in Wisconsin, were built and utilized by the Aztecs, and many able writers upon the subject have long since abandoned the ground taken in defense of this theory. The indolent and predatory habits of most of the Indian tribes now in existence cannot be held in contrast with the habits of the first occupants as an argument against their identity; for we do not know that they were not similarly disposed. And, though it may bo true that the designers and builders of these ancient fortifications and queer-shaped mounds were uniformly industrious, it is also historically true that races degenerate ; and it is further of historical record that in the past century " Poor Lo's " tribulations have been of a nature calculated to speed him on his downward course.

Upon this subject the late Dr. I. A. Lapham, who was a close student of the Indian character, says: "The inhabitants of Egypt have ceased to build pyramids and sphinxes; the Greeks have ceased to erect temples, and yet we have reason to believe that their descendants occupy the same country. Is it more strange that the ancestors of the present Indians should have erected mounds of earth than that the aborigines of any country should have had habits different from their posterity ? We need not, therefore, look to Mexico, or to any other country, for the descendants of the Mound-Builders. We probably see them in the present red race of the same or adjacent regions. If the present tribes have no traditions running back as far as the times of Allouez and Marquette, or even to the more recent time of Jonathan Carver, it is not stran<Te that none should exist in regard to the mounds, which must be of much earlier date, Ifc is by "considerations of this nature that we are led to the conclusion that the Mound-Builders of Wisconsin were none others than the ancestors of the present tribes of Indians."

Dr. Lapham thinks the relative ages of the different works found in Wisconsin are probably as follows : First and oldest, the animal-formed mounds still to be seen in many parts of the State, and the famous works at Aztalan, in Jefferson County ; second, the conical mounds built for sepulchral purposes, which come down to a very recent period ; third, the indications of garden-beds, planted in regular geometrical figures or straight lines ; fourth, the plantations of the present tribes, who plant, without system or regularity, in small hillocks.

Within the boundaries of Sauk County are found many notable and interesting evidences of pre-historic occupation and existence. The geographical position of the county is such as to intimately associate it with some of the important chains or series of earthworks that are found extending along most of the favorable routes for primitive transportation between the great lakes and the Mississippi River. The county in this regard seems to confirm the generally accepted theory that primitive man existed in greatest numbers along the borders of lakes and rivers ; and the more prominent these bodies of water and the position occupied appear with relation to the great problems of transportation and subsistence, the more numerous are these ancient artificial works.

The importance of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers and their navigable tributaries has been recognized by all nations and tribes in this region that have a written or traditional history. This and the numerous evidences of a pre-historic occupation found along their entire course, would seem to warrant a conclusion that these rivers have furnished a medium of transportation from the days of primitive man's unrecorded existence down to the present time. In this great thoroughfare of ancient and modern times, the " portage " occupies a central position, and, judging from the many evidences of pre-historic occupation, Sauk County was once a favorite abode of primitive man. He was presumably nomadic and war-like in his nature, and the causes which led to his departure from this region are shrouded in a mystery as deep and indefinable as are the particulars of his advent.

The first positive knowledge we have of his successors comes to us through the medium of French Jesuits. We are told that as early as the year 1615, Samuel Champlain heard of a tribe of Indians living many leagues beyond Lake Huron, called the Fire Nation, better known at a later date as theMascoutins. Their homes were upon the Fox River at that time, as it is believed, and hore they were visited by civilized man a little less than a score of years after. It is presumed that their villages were located within the present limits of Green Lake County, somewhere on Fox River, between Berlin and Lake Puckaway, and that they claimed as their hunting-grounds, among much other territory, that now included within the boundary lines of the county of Sauk. The nearest tribe to the Mascoutins down the Fox River was that of the Winnebag'oes, whose homes wore at the mouth of that stream. To the south, extending perhaps well up Ilock River, W!i3 the territory of tlie Illinois. In the immediate neighborhood of the Mascoutins (but in what direction is unrertain), were the Kickapoos and the Miamis. The Illinois, who lived in a country " where there was a quantity of buffaloes," were afterward driven beyond the Missis- sippi, but subsequently returned to the river which still bears their name. Meanwhile, there commenced an emigration of the Mascoutins and their kindred, the Kickapoos and Miamis, to the southward, as far at least as the south end of Lake Michigan. Their place was taken by the Foxes and their relatives, the Sacs, and, in time, these also emigrated, but not to the southward ; the course taken by them was to the west and southwest. It is certain the Foxes claimed for a time the country now forming Sauk County, as well as much other circumjacent territory. Then came the Winnebagoes from below - that is, from the head of Green Bay - moving up the Fox River by degrees, having outlying villages on the shores of Winnebago Lake and in the valley of Rock River. They finally reached the " portage," and their territory extended down the Wisconsin. This brings us to the time when the United States began making treaties with them. The first of these was held at St. Louis, June 3, 1816, with that portion of the tribe residing on the Wisconsin. This treaty (soon after the war with Great Britain, in which the Winnebagoes engaged on the side of the British) was one for peace only, no cession of land on the part of the Indians being made to the United States. In 1820, the Winnebagoes had five villages on Winnebago Lake, and fourteen on Rock River. The claim of this war-like tribe was very extensive, so fiir as territory was concerned. Its southeast boundary stretched away from the sources 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 westward and southwestward into the Mississippi. To the northward, it reached as far as Black River and the L^pper Wisconsin ; in other words, to the Chippewa territory : but did not extend across the Fox to the lands of the north side, although they contended for the whole of Winnebago Lake. Within their territory, then, in 1825, was the whole of the present county of Sauk.

By treaties held with the Winnebagoes in 1829 and 1832, all their territory south and east of the Wisconsin River was acquired by the General Government. West of the Wisconsin, including the whole of the present county of Sauk was still a part of Winnebago territory ; but, in November, 1837, this nation ceded to the General Government all their lands east of the Mississippi River. Not an acre Avas reserved. So the Winnebago title to all of what is now Sauk County was extinguished, and the whole was ready for the surveyor.

Early Government

The first civilized claimants to the territory now included within the boundaries of Wisconsin were the French. The whole of the Northwest was claimed by France from 1671 to 1763, when it was surrendered to the British. By the "' Quebec Act " of 1774, all of that region was placed under the local administration of Canada. It w^as, however, practically put under a despotic military rule, and so continued until possession passed to the United States. Before the last-mentioned event, and during and after the Revolution, the conflicting claims of Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, to portions of the country, were relinquished to the General Government. All these claims were based upon supposed chartered rights, Virginia adding to hers the right of conquest, as she contended, of the " Illinois country," during the Revolution. As early as October, 1778, Virginia declared by an act of her General Assembly, that all the citizens of that commonwealth who were then settled or should thereafter settle, on the western side of the Ohio, should be included in a distinct county, which should be called Illinois. No Virginians were then settled as far north as the southern boundary line of what is now Wisconsin, and, as none thereafter located so far north before Virginia relinquished to the United States all her rights to territory on the western and northern side of the Ohio, it follows that no part of the territory which afterward became Wisconsin Avas ever included in Illinois County as a part of Virginia; nor did the last-mentioned State ever exercise any jurisdiction over the territory of this State, or make claim to any part of it by right of conquest- Wisconsin was never a part of Virginia.

Notwithstanding the passage of the ordinance of 1787, establishing a government over the territory northwest of the Ohio River, which territory was acquired by the treaty of 1783 from

Great Britain, possession only was obtained by the United States of the southern portion the northern part being held by the British Government until 1796. Arthur St. Clair, in February 1790, exercising the functions of Governor, and having previously organized a government for 'the country under the ordinance above mentioned, established in what is now the State of Illinois a county which was named St. Clair. But, as this county only extended north "to the mouth of the Little Mackinaw Creek, on the Illinois," it did not include, of course, any part of the present State of Wisconsin, although being the nearest approach thereto of any organized county

In 1796, Wayne County was organized, which was made to include, beside much other ter^ ritory, all of what is now Wisconsin, watered by streams flowing into Lake Michigan. From 1800 to 1809, what are now the limits of Sauk County were within the Territory of Indiana, and in the year last mentioned passed into the Territory of Illinois. It is probable that Indiana Territory exercised jurisdiction over what is now Wisconsin, at least to the extent of appointin <' two Justices of the Peace, one for Green Bay and one for Prairie du Chien. In the year ls^)9, the Illinois Territorial Government commissioned three Justices of the Peace and two militia officers at Prarie du Chien, the county of St. Clair having previously been extended so as to include that point, and probably Green Bay, thereby bringing into its jurisdiction what is now Columbia County. In the course of time, other Illinois counties had jurisdiction, until, in 1818, what is now Wisconsin became a portion of Michigan Territory.

By a proclamation of Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan Territory, of October 26, 1818, Brown and Crawford Counties were organized. The county of Brown originally comprised all of what is now Wisconsin east of a line passing north and south through the middle of the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, except a small portion of the Door County peninsula, which was included in the county of Michilimackinac. The limits of the county extended north into the territory of the present State of Michigan so far that its north line ran due west from the head of Noquet Bay. An east and west line, passing near the northern limits of the present county of Barron, separated the county of Crawford from the county of Michilimackinac on the north ; on the east it was bounded by the county of Brown ; on the south, by the State of Illinois, and on the west by the Mississippi River. The present county of Sauk was thus included in the county of Crawford. By an act of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, approved October 29, 1829, to take effect the 1st of January following, the county of Iowa was established, embracing all the present State of Wisconsin south of the Wisconsin River and west of Brown County; in other words, it included the whole of what was previously Crawford County lying south of the Wisconsin River. This left the territory now comprising Sauk County still remaining in Crawford County. On the 6th of September, 1884, the county of Milwaukee was set off from Brown County, embracing all of the last-mentioned county south of a line drawn between Townships 11 and 12, in all the ranges east of Range 9.

By an act of the Territorial Legislature, approved December 7, 1836, Township 10 north. Range (j east, and Township 10, Range 7, were included in the then newly organized Portage County, which embraced all the territory of the present Columbia County, and the western tier of towns in Dodge. Upon the formation of Sauk County, in January, 1840, the above-described territory was set off from Portage County and attached to Sauk. From this date to the spring of 1844, Sauk County was attached to Dane County for judicial purposes. In this year it \\;is fully organized.

John Talon, intondant of Canada, labored assiduously to develop the industrial resources of New France. Jn ll»7'), he ordered Dauniont de St. Lusson to search for copper mines on Lake Superior, and at the same time to take possession, in a formal manner, of the whole interior country for the King of France. St. Lusson set out accordingly, accompanied by a small party of men and Nicholas Perrot, a Canadian voyageur, as interpreter, who spoke Algonquin fluently and was favorably knoAvn to many tribes of that family. It was arranged that St. Lusson should winter at the Manitoulin Islands, while Perrot proceeded to invite the tribes to a general conference at the Sault Ste. Marie, in the following spring. The interpreter, having first sent messages to the different tribes of the North, proceeded to Green Bay to urge the nations upon its waters to the meeting.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In jtassing down this river they entered upon territory now included within the limits of Sauk County - the first white men who ever looked upon its hills or valleys, who ever floated along its soutiiern bonier, or ever, perhaps, set foot upon its soil.

On the ITth of June, with a jt)y that was inexpressible, Joliet and his party entered the Mi.s.si8sippi. After dn.pping down the '' great river " many miles, Joliet returned to Green Bay, thence to Quebec, to re|)orl his discovery and explorations to the Governor of New France.

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

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

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

In 1766, Jonathan Carver made a voyage to St. Anthony's Falls, by way of the portage, from the East. Of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, and the carrying place [the portage], he wrote :

" The Fox River, from the Green Bay to the carrying place, is about one hundred and eighty miles. From the Winnebago Lake to the carrying place, the current is gentle, and the depth of it considerable ; notwithstanding which, in some places, it is with difficulty that canoes can pass through the obstructions they meet with from the rice-stalks, which are very large and thick, and grow here in great abundance. The country around it is very fertile, and proper in the highest degree for cultivation, excepting in some places near the river, where it is rather too low. It is in no part very woody, and yet can supply sufficient to answer the demands of any number of inhabitants. This river is the greatest resort for wild fowl of every kind that I met with in the whole course of my travels ; frequently the sun would be obscured by them for some minutes together.

"About forty miles up this river from the great town of the Winnebagoes, stands a smaller town, belonging to that nation. Deer and bears are very numerous in these parts, and a great many beavers and other furs are taken on the streams that empty themselves into this river. The river I am treating of is remarkable for having been, about eighty years ago, the residence of the united bands of the Ottigaumies and the Saukies, whom the French had nicknamed, according to their wonted custom, Des Sacs and Des Reynards - the Sacs and the Foxes. About twelve miles before I reached the carrying place, I observed several small mountains, which extended quite to it. These, indeed, would only be esteemed as mole-hills when compared with those on the back of the colonies ; but as they were the first I had seen since my leaving Niagara, a track of nearly eleven hundred miles, I could not leave them unnoticed.

" The Fox River, where it enters the Winnebago Lake, is about fifty yards wide, but it gradually decreases to the carrying place, where it is no more than five yards over, except in a few places, where it widens into small lakes, though still of a considerable depth. I cannot recollect anything else that is remarkable in this river, except that it is so serpentine for five miles as only to gain in that place one-quarter of a mile.

" The carrying place, between the Fox and Ouisconsin Rivers, is in breadth not more than a mile and three-quarters, though in some maps it is so delineated as to appear to be ten miles. Near one-half of the way between the rivers is a morass overgrown with a kind of long grass ; the rest of it a plain, with some few oak and pine trees growing thereon. I observed here a great number of rattlesnakes. I observed also that the main body of the Fox River came from the southwest, that of the Ouisconsin from the northeast; and, also, that some of the small branches of these two rivers, in descending into them, doubled within a few feet of each other, a little to the south of the carrying place. That two such rivers should take their rise so near each other, and, after running such different courses, empty themselves into the sea at a distance so amazincT (for the former, having passed through several great lakes and run upward of two thousaml miles, falls into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the other, after joining the Mississippi and run an e([ua\ number of miles, disembogues itself into the Gulf of Mexico), is an instance scarcely to be met in the extensive continent of North America. I had an opportunity, the year following, of making the same observations on the affinity of various head branches of the waters of the'^St. Lawrence and the Mississippi to each other, and now bring them as a proof that the opinion of those geographers who assert that rivers taking their rise so near each other must spring from the same source, is erroneous. For I perceived a visibly distinct separation in all of th'em, notwithstanding, in some places, they appeared so near that I could have stepped from one to the other.

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

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

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

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

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

The Wisconsin River was visited by Maj. S. H. Long in 1817, and again in 1823. He says : " The Wisconsin River, from its magnitude and importance, deserves a high rank among the tributaries of the Mississippi. When swollen by a freshet, it affords an easy navigation for boata of considerable burden through a distance of more than one hundred and eighty miles. [The actual distance to the portage is but 118 miles.] Its current is rapid, and, like the Mississippi, it embosoms innumerable islands. In a low stage of water, its navigation is obstructed by numerous shoals and sand-banks. At the distance from its mouth above mentioned [which is too great an estimate by over sixty miles], there is a portage of one mile and a half across a flat meadow, which is occasionally subject to inundation, to a branch of Fox River of Green Bay, thus affording another navigable communication which boats have been known to pass."

In 1819, the Fifth Regiment of the United States Infantry made the voyage from Fort Howard, near Green Bay, to Prairie du Chien, by way of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, crossing the portage. Capt. Henry Whiting, of that regiment, says : " The Fox River, from Lake Winnebago to the portage, has always a strong current, and is often entirely overgrown with grass and wild rice, but presents no other impediments. It winds through a narrow prairie, bordered by oak openings and undulating lands, generally of a beautiful appearance, but probably not remarkably rich in their soil, which, wherever the river washes them, seems to be a sandy, reddish loam. The portage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers is about two thousand five hundred yards ; the road runs over a marshy prairie. There is a Frenchman (Francis Le Roy) residing on the rising ground between the rivers. He keeps the proper transportation for boats and baggage. The limestone bluffs and highlands begin on the Wisconsin about eight miles below the portage. Just above Prairie du Sac appears to be the apex of the highland of that river, and the head of the great valley through which it winds."

Ebenezer Childs records making the same trip in a bark canoe, in 1821. He conducted the first Durham boat that ever went up the Fox and over the portage.

In 1826, a flotilla of thirty-five boats carried the Third United States Infantry from Green Bay to St. Louis, by the same streams and crossing.

The name this county bears was suggested to the minds of those upon whom the great responsibility of christening it devolved by the traces they found of an Indian village, once located on the Wisconsin River, in the present town of Prairie du Sac. History, both written and traditional, tells us that the tribe to whom the village belonged called themselves the Saukies. Having searched the vocabulary of Indian appellations in vain for the root of the word, the writer addressed a professional friend (who is an adept in Indian nomenclature), holding a high position in the Smithsonian Institution, requesting a scientific explanation. The following reoly sheds electric-light luster upon the subject :

Dear Sir - Sacs, Sauks and Saukies are synonymous - all being the names applied to the Indians closely allied to the Foxes. The .Jesuit missionaries wrote "Saukies," which was afterward cut short into " Sauks ; " but the French, finally, wrote (as more in harmony with their language) "Sacs," the identical pronunciation being retained. The latter orthography is the one usually adopted by English and Americans ; hence we find almost universally in our printed books " Sacs and Foxes." Now, the county got its name from " Prairie du Sac ; " but in the use of the word, the old adage of being " more nice than wise" was reversed ; it was "more wise than nice" to call it "Sauk County" instead of "Sac County." The meaning of the word as applied to the village, is, of course, the

" As the details of the war which eventuated in the expulsion of the Sauks and Foxes from the Fox River Valley, in 1746, are of much interest, I shall give them as fully as I have learned them from the lips of my grandfather, Charles De Langlade, who took an active part in some of the occurrences narrated, and from other ancient settlers and Indians.

" The Outagamies or Foxes were at this time ocated at the Little Butte des Morts, on the western bank of Fox River, and some thirty-seven miles above Green Bay. Here they made it a point, whenever a trader's boat approached, to place a torch upon the bank, as a signal for the

* Aiigiistin Grignon was once the possessor of the famous "Grignon Claim," upon which a large portion of the city of Portage now stands. He came by the property through John Ecuyer, who held it under French title, and deeded it to Grignon in 1832; the instrument being, of course, a United States patent, was signed by Andrew Jackson, President - Ed.

traders to come ashore, and pay the customary tribute which they exacted from all. To refuse this tribute, was sure to incur the displeasure of the Foxes, and robbery would be the mildest punishment' inflicted. This haughty, imperious conduct of the Foxes was a source of no little annoyance to the traders, who made their complaints to the commandants of the Western posts, and in due time these grievances reached the ears of the Governor of Canada.

'" Capt. De Velie was at this time commandant of the small garrison at Green Bay. He was relieved by the arrival of a new officer, whose name I have forgotton, and the new commandant brought with him demands for the Sauks of the village opposite the fort, who had hitherto demeaned themselves well, to deliver up the few Foxes living among them, in consequence of inter-marriage or otherwise. All were readily given up, except a Fox boy, who had been adopted by a Sauk woman. De Velie and his successor were dining together, and, becoming somewhat influenced by wine, some sharp words passed between them relative to the tardiness of the Sauks in rendering the Fox boy ; when De Velie arose, and taking his gun and a negro servant, crossed the river to the Sauk village, which was surrounded with palisades or pickets. He found the Sauks in council, and was met by the Sauk chief, of whom he demanded the immediate surrender of the remaining Indian. The chief said he and his principal men had just been in council about the matter, and thought the adopted mother of the youth w^as loath to part with him, yet they hoped to prevail upon her peaceably to do so. The chief proceeded to visit the old woman, who still remained obstinate, and De Velie renewing his demands for immediate compliance, again would the chief renew his efforts; and thus three times did he go to the sturdy old woman, and endeaver to prevail upon her to give up the boy, and returning each time without success, but assuring De Velie that if he would be a little patient he was certain the old srjuaw would yet comply with his demands, as she seemed to be relenting. But, in his Avarm blood, the Frenchman was in no mood to exercise patience ; than he at length drew up his gun and shot the chief dead. Some of the young Sauks were for taking instant revenge, but the older and wiser men present begged them to be cool, and refrain from inflicting injury on their French father, as they had provoked him to commit the act. By this time De Velie, whose anger was yet unappeased, had got his gun reloaded by his servant, and wantonly shot down another chief, and then a third one ; when a young Sauk, only twelve years of age, named Ma-kau-ta-pe-na-se, or the Black Bird, shot the enraged Frenchman dead.

" The garrison was too weak to attempt the chastisement of the Sauks, but upon the arrival of a re- enforcement, joined by the French settlers, Charles De Langlade among them, the Sauks were attacked at their village, where a severe battle occurred, in which several were killed on both sides, and the Sauks finally driven away. In this Sauk battle, two of my father's uncles were among the slain on the part of the French. The Sauks now retired to the Wisconsin River and located themselves at Sauk Prairie, where they still resided, and had a fine village, with comfortable houses, and were apparently doing something in mining lead, when Carver visited the country in 1766, but which appeared to have been several years deserted when I first saw the place, in 1705, as there were then only a few remains of fire-places and posts to be seen. Tlie brave young Sauk, Black Bird, became a distinguished chief among his people, and Mr. Laurent Fily, an old trader, told me many years since, that he knew Black Bird well at the Sauk village at the mouth of Rock River, and that he lived to a good old age, and Fily added, that he was the same person who in his youth had so fearlessly shot De Velie."

As early as the year 1G32, Samuel Chnmplain, then at Quebec, drew a map of the Valley of the Saint Lawrence, and of the region of tlie Upper Lakes - the first attempt of the kind. His delineations of the country to the westward and northwestward of Lake Huron were wholly from Indian reports. Upon this map. Fox River is placed to the north of Lake Superior, and the ^\ iscdiisin is rudely given as leading into a northern sea. There is a narrow space between the two rivers, and, possibly, it had been described to him by the savages.

But the first map of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers and the portage, made with any degree of accuracy, was by Father James Marquette, who accompanied Louis Joliet up the first-mentioned stream and down the last, in 1673. The portage is distinctly traced, and the general course of the two rivers given. Other maps were published at subsequent periods, down to 1768, when the one by J. Carver appeared, attached to his '' Travels." This one is, considering the circumstances under which it was made, exceedingly creditable. It locates the " carrying place " - the portage - and has a representation of Swan Lake, besides a pretty accurate delineation of the Baraboo River. On the south side of Lake Puckaway is the Winnebago Upper Town, and on Sauk Prairie, down the Wisconsin, is located the '' Saukies Chief Town." The Portage, then, in 1766, was about the boundary line between the Sacs upon the Wisconsin and the Winnebagoes upon the Fox River.

In 1830, John Farmer, of Detroit, published a " Map of the Territories of Michigan and Ouisconsin." Fort Winnebago appears as if situated between the Fox and Wisconsin, while *' Roi's " [Le Roy's] house occupies the site where the fort was, in fact, located ; that is, on the east side of the Fox. Pauquette's place is designated farther down the last-mentioned stream, but on the west side. The Baraboo River is noted as " Bonibau's Creek." Winnebago villages are represented down the Fox and the Wisconsin, and upon the Baraboo.

Farmer's revised map of 1836, has Fort Winnebago in its correct position, on the east side of Fox River. The whole of the territory now constituting Sauk County is a complete blank, except as a part of Crawford County. There is, however, a rude representation of the Baraboo Bluffs, but the Baraboo River is wholly wanting.

The first ''Map of Wiskonsin Territory, compiled from Public Surveys," has upon it, correctly located, the village of Prairie du Sac. There is also represented, immediately opposite Arena, the village of Ozaukee, located on the north side of the Wisconsin River, and upon its immediate bank.

On Mitchell's "Map of the Settled Part of Wisconsin and Iowa," of 1838,' the territory now constituting Sauk County is correctly represented as constituting a small part of the territory north of the Wisconsin River, belonging to the Winnebago Indians.

On a manuscript " Map of Wiskonsan, drawn by Charles Doty and Francis Hudson, 1844," now preserved in the archives of the State Historical Society, the boundaries of Sauk County are correctly delineated, and so much of the Government survey as was then completed is indicated. But the first published map upon which Sauk County appears, is that of Morse & Breese, of 1847. Upon this map, the townships and ranges are indicated, also the Baraboo River.

The next published map upon which Sauk County is represented, was Farmer's map of Wisconsin and Iowa, in 1848. Honey Creek and the Baraboo River are pretty correctly delineated, while Prairie du Sac and Ozaukee occupy the same positions as in previous maps.

Sauk County, upon the admission of Wisconsin as a State into the Union, was so frequently represented upon various maps that farther notice is unnecessary.

Though this memorable conflict did not take place in Sauk County, an account of it will be interesting, as showing the causes which usually lead to Indian wars : In the early part of the year 1827, a party of twenty-four Chippewas, being on their way to Fort Snelling, at the mouth of St. Peter's River, were surprised and attacked by a war-party of the Winnebagoes, and eight of them were killed. The commandant of the United States troops at the fort took four of the offending Winnebagoes prisoners, and (certainly with great imprudence) delivered them into the hands of the exasperated Chippewas, who immediately put them to death. This act was greatly resented by the chief of the Winnebagoes, named " Red Bird," and in addition to this source of enmity was to be added the daily encroachment of the whites in the lead region ; for at this time they had overrun the mining country from Galena to the Wisconsin River. In the spirit of revenge for the killing of the four Winnebagoes, Red Bird led a war-party against the Chippewas, by whom he was defeated, and thus, having been disappointed, he turned the force of his resentment against the whites, whom he considered as having not only invaded his country, but as havinc aided and abetted his enemies in the destruction of his people.

Some time previously, a murder by the Winnebagoes had been committed in the family of a Mr. Methode, near Prairie du Chien, in which several persons had been killed. It was apparent that a spirit of enmity between the Indians and the whites was effectually stirred up ; and, for the first time since the war of 1812, disturbances were daily looked for by the settlers and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About noon of the day following, there were seen descending a mound on the portage a body of Indians. Some were mounted and some were on foot. By the aid of a glass it could be discerned that the direction was toward Maj. Whistler. They bore no arms, and Whistler was at no loss to understand that the promise made by the three Indians was about to be fulfilled. In the course of half an hour they had approached within a short distance of the crossing of Fox River, when, suddenly, singing was heard. Those who were familiar with the air said, " It is a death-song." When still nearer, some present who knew him said, "It is Red Bird singing his death-song." The moment a halt was made, preparatory to crossing over, two scalpyells were heard.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As soon as a considerable tract of country south of the Wisconsin was secured from the Indians by treaties, the General Government commenced the survej of it. -,, ,1. ^ . f

The northern boundary line of the State of Illinois, fixed April 11, 1818, on the parallel of 42° 30' north latitude, became, properly enough, the base line of these surveys. A principal north-and-south line (known as the Fourth Meridian) was run, extending from the base line to Lake Superior, at right angles with the last-mentioned line. The Fourth Meridian is west of the territory of Sauk County, running on the east boundary of what is now the county of Grant, and on the west boundary of La Fayette and Iowa Counties, and thence onward due north, a distance west of the most westerly point of Sauk County of six miles, striking Lake Superior a short distance west of the mouth of the Montreal River.

Parallel lines to the Fourth Meridian were run every six miles on the east and west sides of it. The intervening six miles between these lines are called ranges. Range 1 east is the first six mile? of territory east of the Fourth Meridian ; Range 2 east is the second six miles, and so on to Lake Michigan - Sauk County lying in Ranges 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 east.

Parallel lines north of the base line (the north boundary line of the State of Illinois) were run every six miles, which, crossing the ranges at right angles, cut the whole into blocks six miles square, called townships. These are numbered by tiers going north from the base line, the first tier being known as Township 1 north, the second tier as Township 2 north, and so on. As the most southern boundary of Sauk County is distant from the base line seven townships, of course the first or most southern tier of townships in the county is numbered 8 north ; and as there are six tiers, they are numbered consecutively Townships 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 north. But the county doe? not include the whole of Townships 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 north, of Ranges 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 east, as a considerable portion is included in the Counties of Columbia, Dane, Iowa and Richland.

By the end of 1833, a large amount of public land in Wisconsin, south and east of the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, had been surveyed ; and, the fact being reported by the Surveyor General, two land districts were erected by an act of Congress, approved June 26, 1834. These districts embraced all the land north of the State of Illinois, west of Lake Michigan, south and southeast of the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, included in the then Territory of Michigan. The area was then divided by a north-and-south line, drawn from the base line to the Wisconsin River, between Ranges 8 and 9. All east of that line was called the Green Bay Land District ; all west, the Wisconsin Land District. A land office of the eastern district was established at Green Bay ; of the western district, at Mineral Point.

It was provided in the act of Congress creating the Green Bay and Wisconsin Land Districts, that they should embrace the country north of the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, where the Indian title to the same had become extinguished. On the 1st day of November, 1837, the Winnebago Indians ceded to the General Government all their lands east of the Mississippi River. By this treaty, the United States came in possession of lands north of the Wisconsin, of which that portion now constituting Sauk County was a part; so this territory (with much other) was ordered surveyed, which survey, as before stated, was finished in 1845. The two land districts - the Green Bay and Wisconsin - were then extended north, Sauk County falling in the Wisconsin District, the land office being at Mineral Point.

An old settler who witnessed the sale of lands in the Milwaukee District, says : '' Each Register and Receiver of a land office had a salary of $500 per annum, together with 2 per cent upon all sales, until the whole amounted to $3,000 a year. During 1835-36, most of the land between Rock River and the Mississippi and Wisconsin were offered for sale. Eight hundred and sixty-three thousand acres and more were sold, a large portion of which fell into the hands of speculators, which greatly retarded the settlement of the country. Most of those lands remained unoccupied for many years. The Milwaukee Land District embraced the southeast portion of the territory as far north as Manitowoc. The Green Bay District was north of it, and Mineral Point west. The first officers of the Milwaukee District were Col. Morton,

Register, and Rufus Parks, Receiver. The first sale was advertised to take place November 18, 1838, and found the settlers generally unprepared to purchase their claims. They therefore petitioned to President Van Buren for a postponement of the sale for one year. It was granted for three months only, and commenced February 19, 1839. The settlers were afraid of having their lands bid upon by speculators at the sale, and formed combinations to protect each other in obtaining their lands at $1.25 per acre. To effect their purpose, one man in each township was previously chosen to bid off each man's land and give his name to the clerk of the register. Thus all confusion was prevented, and each man obtained his claim. The sale in the Milwaukee District was conducted in this manner. It commenced on the south line of the Territory, near Lake Michigan, and proceeded to the north line of the district, when they offered the next range west, and so continued until the whole was passed over, making about 132 townships in all, and nearly 27,000,000 of acres. In offering a township for sale, the register began at Section 1, and went through each section in regular order until he reached Section 36, except Section 16, which was reserved for school purposes. Each section was offered for sale in 80-acre lots, beginning at the northeast corner and going through in regular order, making 228 offers in each township. Each purchaser had his name taken down by a clerk of the register, with the description of his land, the number of acres purchased, together with the price paid. At the close of each day's sale a copy of these sales was given to the Receiver, who took the money of each purchaser and gave him a receipt therefor, which was called a duplicate. The duplicate was by act of Legislature made evidence of title upon which deeds could be made, until the issue of the patent from the General Land Office. The patent was a deed from the United States to the purchaser, made upon parchment and signed by the President of the United States and the Commissioner of the General Land Office. At the close of each public sale, the office was closed for three months, to give time for the land officers to make their report to the General Land Office, and prepare plats of each township, showing that lands had been sold. When the land office was opened for private entry then land could be purchased in lots of 40 acres, which could not be done at public sale. At the sale of lands in the Milwaukee District a very small amount was bought for speculaton, the experience of 1835-36 not having been forgotten, when immense sums were lost in the purchase of wild lands during the terrible speculative mania of that period ; so that nearly all the lands not taken by actual settlers were left open for private entry of actual settlers. It was the unfortunate policy of the United States Government in the earlier period of its history to discourage the settlement of its hinds previous to their sale, and to sell, when they sold, in very large tracts. After a time this policy was changed, permiting persons living upon the public lands at a given time to buy 160 acres previous to the sale, at the minimum price of $1.25 an acre. They also changed the law in regard to the sale, so that they were offered in 80-acre lots at the public sale, and could be bought at private sale afterward in lots of 40 acres.

The early land surveys in Wisconsin were made under the direction of Micajah T. Williams, of Cincinnati, the father of Maj. Charles H. Williams, now of Baraboo. Mr. Williams was appointed Surveyor General of the Northwestern Territory by Andrew Jackson.