Vernon County, Wisconsin - Chapter 18: Pioneer Reminiscences, 1884

Chapter 18: Pioneer Reminiscences

When I landed at Prairie du Chien on the l7th day of June, 1845, I looked up north over the country that now contains the counties of Crawford, Vernon, Monroe, La Crosse, Jackson, Clark, Dunn, Pepin, Eau Claire, Buffalo, Barron, St. Croix, Polk, Price, Burnett, Washburn, Ashland, Bayfield and Chippewa, only two of which, Crawford and Chippewa, had existence. The cities of La Crosse, Eau Claire, Hudson, Chippewa Falls, St. Paul and Minneapolis, were not. The years in which their existence was to commence had not come around. The spring before, 1844, as I stood on the deck of a steamer at St. Louis, that was taking on pas.?engers and cargo for a trip up the Mississippi river, I noticed, fixed around on the bow of the boat, painted signs bearing the names of Nauvoo, Keokuk, Dubuque, Prairie La Crosse, Reeds' Landing and St. Peters, denoting that the boat was to touch at those points. These were about all the cities there were at that time between St. Louis and St. Peters, the head of navigation, or supposed to be then, on the Father of Waters. While the name of St. Peters has been lost sight of as a "local habitation," and Prairie La Crosse has been changed to poetic La Croise, we have at the head of navigation on the

Mississippi, the two magnificent cities, St. Paul and Minneapolis, containing together, a population of 150,000 souls, and each having a reputation that is as wide as the commercial world.

In 1845, when the wintry winds came whistling down from the shores of Lake Superior, the great inland sea whose wide stretch of waters were there hardly looked on by the eye of the white man, they swept over immense and unexplored forests of pine and hard wood timber, unvex'd by the woodman's ax, and the tablelands, the valleys and the patches of prairie that are now full of human habitations and of life, lay in silence awaiting the coming of the hardy pioneer. True, on the Chippewa, the Black, the Red Cedar and the St. Croix, there were a few small saw mills running single saws, and a few woodmen engaged in cutting logs for the mills, and this is all there was to break the silence from the mouth, of the Wisconsin river to the shores of Lake Superior.

In 1855, two years after my settlement in Bad Ax county, when the census was taken, Crawford county had a population of 3,323; Bad Ax county, 4,823; La Crosse county, 3,904; Monroe county, 2,407; St. Croix county, 2,040; Trempealeau county, 493; Buffalo county, 832; Chippewa county, 838. The other counties of northwestern Wisconsin were not then in existence. The whole population that was scattered from the Wisconsin river to Lake Superior, even so late as in 1855, was but 18,660. Probably ten years before, in 1845, when I landed at Prairie du Chien, the population did not exceed 1,000 suuls in all northwestern Wisconsin.

In 1851 the counties of Bad Ax and La Crosse were organized from portions of the territory of Crawford. In what manner Bad Ax county got its name, no one seemed to know. The oldest settlers did not know. Even the late Judge Wiram Knowlton, of Prairie du Chien, who was (]uite an archaeologist did not know. There were various theories on the matter. Some contended that the name was a corruption of the f'rench word bateaux; that some French trader loaded bateaux with goods to trade to the Indians for furs, and that he anchored his boats at the mouth of the Bad Ax river, and established a trading post there; that the Indians could not say bateaux; that the nearest they could come to the pronunciation of the word, was bada.r, and that thus the name of Bad Ax got fastened on the river, and the river gave the name to the county. I do not know how correct this theory may be, one thing is certain, the waters of that river have ever been cool, clear and sparkling, and bright, and the trout that darted through its crystal waters, very large, lively fellows, and of superior flavor. That stream deserves a better name. Another theory of the older settlers was, that in the long, long ago, when Prairie du Chien was nothing but a French trading post, a trader loaded his bateaux with goods of various kinds to trade to the Indians for furs; that he, too, moored his boats near the mouth of the Bad Ax, and that he had, among other articles, a large quantity of axes which he traded off to the Indians; that the axes all proved to be bad, worthless, and that the trader and the river near whose mouth he traded, got the name of Jiad Ax, and the lattei gave the name to the county. These traditions will prol:)ably soon be lost, and the origin of the name will be concealed in eternal mystery.

But whatever may have been the origin of the name, it was from the first a blight to the county, although the old pioneers seemed to be a long while in learning the fact. What has even been a source of wonder to me, is, that the Legislature of the State ever gave such a name to the county, but after it was done, successive Legislatures seemed to take delight in making fun of it, and of its inhabitants. For many years the Legislature held annually, what was called a "Session of the Sovereigns," the whole thing being a huge burlesque, and in those sessions, in one form or another. Bad Ax would be wrung in. On such occasions, the "Gentleman f rom ^afZ ^cfe," would figure conspicuously.

It is a fact that letters came to the postoffice in Viroqua with the figures of broken, bruised, battered, bent and twisted axes preceding the word county, tlius by caricature indicating the county in which Viroqua was located. Soon after I settled in Viroqua, I saw enough to convince me that the name was retarding the settlement of the county. Still, many of the old pioneers seemed to like the name, and were satisfied with it. There were those who thought the very oddity of the name would attract settlers. In . 1859 I made a move towards getting the name changed. I drew up a petition to the Legislature, leaving a blank for the new name, as I had no particular choice, but would have been satisfied with any good name that would be acceptable to the people of the county. I presented the petition to many of the old settlers, not so much for the purpose of gettitig their names to it, as for the purpose of getting an expression of opinion on the expediency of having the name changed. I saw from the manner in wliich my petition was received, that the time for getting the name changed had not then come. Thei-e were those who said they would ride through the county to get signatures to remonstrances against changing the name if I pressed my petition. I did not press my petition, for I felt assured the changing of the name was only a question of time. There were voung people growing up all around to whose ears the name Bad Ax sounded uncouth, and I knew the sturdy pioneer would have to bend to "young America." The change came, however, a little sooner than I expected, for in 1861 Judge Terhune came into my office one day with a petition to the Legislature, asking that the name be changed to Vernon, and with a bill that he had drawn making the change. The bill was well and carefully drawn, and bill and petition were sent to Gov. Rusk, who then represented one of the Assembly districts in Bad Ax county, in the Legislature. He at once introduced the bill, it was soon passed, approved and became a law, and the name Bad Ax went into - not oblivion, unfortunately, but "into the flood of things that are past" - at least so far as applicable to the county. But there was even then too much bad ax in the county ; there was Bad Ax City (now Genoa), Bad Ax postoffice (now Liberty Pole), and the Bax Ax river. All have passed away but the river, and let that remain, it is a romantic remembrancer of the past.

In 1853 the population of the county was small and scattering. To the north of the village [Viroqua] I believe no house was visible until the hollow near what is, or used to be, known as the Mead school house. In this hollow were two small log cabins occupied by Norwegians. What became of the Norwegians I do not know. The next house was occupied by Oliver Langdon. It was on the farm owned by the late merchant Goodell. Langdon moved to the southern part of Crawford county many years ago. He was one of the justices of the county in the early days. In the extreme north of Coon prairie Peter La Mois and George Smith had opened farms. These two old pioneers left the county many years ago, Smith going to Kansas and La Mois moving down into Crawford county. Then ten miles north from Viroqua, was the hospitable cabin of the late Ingebregt Homestead. On cold, blustering wintry evenings, any belated traveler that came near his humble home would see a bright light of welcome shining in all the windows. Homestead was, in every sense of the word, a model pioneer. Six miles further north, and just in the edge of Monroe county, although there was no Monroe county then, Jonathan Hazen had established himself. Hazen's father was one of the pioneers of Crawford county, and when the country between Viroqua and Sparta became too thickly settled to suit Jonathan's tastes, with true pioneer instincts, he pulled up his stakes and moved farther west. East of Viroqua one half mile was the farm of Thomas Gillett, Sr., familiarly called "Father Gillett." There was no other settler in that direction except James Foster and William Reed, until the woods bor- dering the west Kickapoo was reached. Old father Gillett was a marked character. West of the village Ananias Smith was laying the foundations for those large farming operations he afterwards carried on so successfully.

There were no pther settlers in that direction until the immediate vicinity of Springville was reached. Here the late John Graham, an imigrant from Indiana, had located and built a flouring mill, and the late Hon. James A. Savage was keeping a dry goods store. South of Viroqua were Nicholas Vought, Ashley Ensign, Judge De Frees and Henry Seifert. Beside these I think there were no other settlers until Liberty Pole was reached.

Almost all pioneers, in whatever direction their lot may be cast, whether north or south, east or west, are marked characters. It will be diflicult to do full justice to such old pioneers as Father Gillett, who for years saw the sun rise, circle over and set beyond Round Prairie when it lay in primeval beauty, waiting for other hardy pioneers to come and take possession of it; to the Rev. James A. Cooke, whose great sympathizing heart went out in the fullness of love to everybody; to the saintly Deacon Patterson, who, in the purity of his life, made the whole valley of the Bad Ax lovely because his home was in it; to the venerable Father Nichols, whose pilgrimage extended over four score years; whose hands dispensed blessings; whose voice spoke continual benedictions; whom none knew but to love and none loved but to praise; to Samuel McMichael, of Springville, a bold, out-spoken, uncompromising patriot, who was among the first of the Vernon county hosts to enlist, and who went into the bloody battle of Shiloh, unflinchingly, only to be taken prisoner by the rebels and to languish and die a patriot's death in a rebel prison. But I cannot name - I wish I could - nor even allude to all the pioneers of much maligned Bad Ax county, but now glorious old Vernon county. A large proportion of them have fought life's battle, laid off the armor and fallen

"asleep with the fathers." Many died and are buried in the county whose foundations of future prosperity they helped to lay; many moved away and died in other counties and States and some still live either in Vernon or elsewhere.

In 1853 there were but three towns in the county - Viroqua, then known as the town of Farwell, in honor of Gov. Farwell; Jefferson and the town of Franklin, then called the town of Bad Ax. From these three all the other towns that now compose the county have been . organized. There were at that early day many prominent men in the county. There were Griggs, Lawrence and Higgins in the southern part; W. S. Purdy' in the southwestern part; Berry and Ira Stevens at Victory; Savage, Sudderth, Spencer and Cale in Springville and vicinity: Homestead and Ole A. Running in the northern part and H. C. Sayres on the Mississippi, in what is now the town of Genoa. At Readstown there were Orrin Wisel and William H. Austin.

The late Hon. Andrew Briggs was supervisor of the town of Bad Ax; Edmond Strang of the town of Jefferson, and, I think, Oliver Langdon was the supervisor for the town of Viroqua, or Farwell, rather,as it was then called. Those three gentlemen constituted the county board of supervisors, and the late Hon. William C. Mc- Michael was the clerk.

None of these men are now alive, unless it be Strang and Langdon; but, living or dead, this may be said of that county board and of its t clerk, in all their oflicial acts: They worked for the best interests of the county; they all had faith in the future, that the county had a prosperous and influential future before it, and they shaped their legislation accordingly. Indeed, it was one of the strong arguments of the men who opposed the changing of the name of the county, that it was so favored with rich soil, fine prairies, splendid timber lands, wholesome waters and quarries of stone, that let the name of the county be what it might, it was destined to be a populous, rich, intelligent, influential and strong county in the State in the near future. And the faith of the old pioneers was well founded. Vernon was somewhat late, perha])s, in coming to the front, but when she came, she came to stay. Like every other newly settled portion of the country, she has had at various times within her borders some exceedingly hard cases. Her soil has been stained with blood shed by murderous hands, and private property has been at times at the mercy of thieves and robbers. But, undoubtedly, during all the years of her existence, she has maintained as healthy a tone of public and private morals as any other county or community of the same age. Surely, considering her years, she can boast as many churches and schools, as many pleasant hearthstones and strong young men and lovable young women as any of her sister counties in northwestern Wisconsin.

In 1855-6 I was assessor and collector of taxes tor the town of Viroqua, with the exception of the new town of Hillsboro, which embraced the two townships east of the meridian line. The town of Viroqua embraced all the territory of the northeastern part of the county, including the present town of Christiana. In the winter when I was collecting taxes, it was hard to tell which were most proprietors, white people, Indians, or bear and deer. I certainly had many dreary walks through the forests, where are now the towns of Webster, Whitestown, Clinton, Forest, etc. Tiie humble log cabins of the early settlers were very few and very far between, and considered myself very fortunate in being near some pioneer cabin when night overtook me. It will not be amiss, perhaps, for me to relate one little incident that transpired while I was performing the duties of assessor and collectoi-. I was assessing the property of an honest Norwegian farmer, in the north part of what is now Christiana, and in assessing his personal property he told me, as I understood him, that he had eighty head of sheep. I wondered where in creation he could keep so many sheep, and I asked him several times about them, but I understood him every time to give the number as eighty. So I assessed him eighty sheep. In the winter when I went to him to collect his taXjhe thought it was very high,ao he sent for a neighbor who could talk good English to come in and see how it happened that his tax was so high. The neighbor came, and wanted me to read over the man's assessment, and I read it over, and everything was satisfactory until I came to the sheep, then I learned that it was eight sheep he had instead of eighty.

For eighteen years I watched the growth and development of the county, from its chrysalis state in 185.3, until it had broadened out into an influental county in 1877, commanding the respect of the other counties in the State. It will be well to notice a few things that transpired during that period of time, and that materially aided the county in its social, moral and intellectual development.

And the first that I will notice is a great debate that occurred in the winter of 1854, that not only called out all the home talent, but called in several speakers from outside the county. The subject of debate was the teachings of the Bible on the question of human slavery. I cannot tell now how the debate originated, further than that it grew out of a sermon preached, or a lecture delivered, by the Rev Iia Wilcox, who, I believe, still lives, enjoying a venerable old age. He wa.s in active service there as a VVesleyan minister, and was a strong anti-slavery man. Who it was that first took the positiovi that the Bible justified African slavery as it existed in the southern States, and maintained it in a public address in reply to Mr. Wilcox, I do not now remember; but it was done by some one. This called out a reply, either from Mr. Wilcox or his son-in-law, the Rev. Aaron Cooley, and the result was a debate that extended through several weeks. I recollect very well of Judge Terhune, Cyrus F. Gillett, K. P. Gillett, Rev. Daniel Parkinson,

George McCormick, H. W. McAuley, Revs. Ira Wilcox and Aaron Cooley, of the county, speaking in the debate, and I remember that I spoke once myself. There was also a gentleman who came down from Monroe county by the name of Rathburn, and who was, I believe, at that time the county judge of Monroe county, to speak in the debate, and one or two other gentlemen whose names I have forgotten, likewise where they came from, participated in the discussion. The debate was held in the old log court house, which was filled night after night to its utmost capacity with eager listeners, who came from far and near. Probably such a debate would not create much excitement in Vernon county now, but then it was something new to have such a debate there; it was the topic of conversation by the fireside, in the workshop and on the streets. People came from Springville, from Liberty Pole, and from the Kickapoo woods to listen. It was the first time that a subject had arisen that called out such a universal expression of opinion, and it made the people acquainted with the scope of home talent in debate. In this respect it set the people forward. I shall be pardoned for relating one incident that transpired during the progress of the discussion.

Capt. O. C. Smith, then a resident of the county, but now a citizen of Dodgeville, was at the first a strong anti-slavery man. He was raised in southern Ohio, and so near the line of the "underground railroad" that every fibre was imbued with hatred of slavery. But in the course of the discussion he became converted to the doctrine that the Bible justified slavery, and he proposed to maintain his views with a speech. So he came in one evening with a large Bible under his arm, and when the meeting was called to order, he ascended the platform that was "desk" for the school teacher, "pulpit" for the clergyman and "bench" for the court, and prefaced his argument by reading this extract from Job: "I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not show you my opinion. I said, days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise; neither do the aged understand judgment; therefore, I said, hearken to me; I also will show my opinion. Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say. Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that considered his words." And applying the quotation from the Bible to those who had maintained in debate that the Bible did not sanction human slavery, he went on and made a strong argument that it did. Whether the captain was really convinced as he pretended to be, or not, I cannot say.

Another thing I will mention was the establishment of a newspaper in the county. Although the Western Times did not do much towards leading public opinion, and did less towards forming it, still the columns of the Times afforded the people an opportunity to express publicly their opinion ou the current topics of the day, if they desired to do so, and it gave local tradesmen and mechanics a chance to advertise their wares and their trades. By means of the exchanges in the printing office, Bad Ax county was brought into connection with the rest of the world. The editor, as a general thing, made a judicious selection from other papers of articles for his, and the Western Tim,es became quite a factor in the work of educating, bringing together and assimilating the pioneers of the county. It had a tendency to make the settlers one people. When they began to assimilate they began to improve, raorally> socially and intellectually.

Another event that greatly aided in the development of the county was the organization of the county agricultural society. I look upon the county agricultural society as one of the great educators of the day. It gives the farmers and mechanics and tradesmen, their wives, sons and daughters, an opportunity to come together and exhibit with just pride, the products of their fields, warehouses and shops, their gardens, looms and spinning wheels and needles. It is not easy to measure the extent of the influence tor good that the winning of a premium at such an exhibition has. We may not feel that influence, but it is potent in some breast. To the honor of Vernon county be it said that she has not failed to hold an exhibition every year since the society was organized. For a few years when the society was weak, it was a burden to some to carry it along. But tlie right men had hold of it and clung to it, and knowing the great advantage to the county it would ultimately prove to be, when of suflicient age and vigor to go alone, they never faltered. Charles Waters, Capt. Cade, Ananias Smith, J. A. Somerby, Ralph Hall, F. K. Van Wagoner, Alson Keeler and others whose names might be mentioned, carried it along till the time came around when it did not have to struggle for existence.

Another event that put Vernon county a long step forward was the elevation of George Gale to the bench as judge of the sixth circuit. There were dignity, sobriety, legal knowledge and learning all combined in the judge.

The old lawyers who had been admitted to the bar by courtesy, because they had been or were justices of the peace, gradually disappeared. The people knew full well that the public safety - the protection of life, of prop erty, and all the rights that grow out of the domestic relations - rests securely only in the prompt, impartial, yet stern administration of the laws of the land, and universal satisfaction followed the election of George Gale. Since his time the sixth circuit has had a superior class of judges in the persons of Flint, Bunn and Newman.

But Vernon county lifted itself up to a very i high position in the sight of the world when she gave her stalwart men so freely to the Nation in defense of its unity against the assaults of rebels and traitors. The county was intensely radical in its devotion to the Union. She hhd been for some years growing up to a very high standard. There are some yet living in Viroqua who will recall the time and place, and remember with what zeal a large majority of the people united one night in burning in effigy Stephen A. Douglas, on the repeal of the Missouri compromise. Staid, sober men became fairly wild with enthusiasm as the effigy, which had been carefully prepared by Thomas Crawford and others, lit up the whole heavens as it hung burning from the high limb of a stately oak - one of hundreds that shadowed all the ground on the west side of Main street. Equal zeal was manifested when a mass meeting was called to organize the republican party out of the ruins of the old whig party, with the help of such democrats, who, foreseeing the storm that was sure to come, arraigned themselves distinctively with the party whose fundamental principle was; "no further extension of slavery." But I would not by any means intimate that the democrats of Vernon county were less loyal to the government than the republicans were. The county, at the time of its organization, was democratic, and remained so until 1856. And while during the war the democratic party in that county barely maintained its existence, yet some of the best men of the county were democrats all the time. They were staunch but loyal in their democracy, and they never voted under any other name. It was no copperhead democracy ; it was the democracy of Jefferson and Jackson. It was their political religion and they lived true to their faith.

The people of Vernon county watched with anxiety the clouds that flitted athwart the political horizon from 1854 up to 1861 ; and when Sumter was fired on, all the patriotism of the people was aroused. In June and July, 1861, company I of the immortal 6th regiment was recruited principally in Vernon county. It was the first opj)ortunity the county had of

While I do not suppose Vernon county outran her sister counties in her devotion to the Union, and while I suppose her sons did not display any greater readiness to volunteer than did the men of other counties ; yet she was not t)ehind in any respect. She kept her quotas so well filled under everv call for volunteers, that few, very few, had to be drafted. The county was represented in almost every regiment that went out of the State, and it may be said of her, changing somewhat the language of Webster: "The bones of her sons falling in the great struggle of the Union with the armed hosts of rebels, now lie mingled with the soil of every State from Virginia to Texas, and there they will lie forever."

By Mrs. Cyeus D. Turner

Three young men, Hartwell, Cyrus and Jerry Turner left Stykeesville and Sheldon, W^yoming Co., N. Y., about the 1st of May, 1854, and came west, making explorations for government lands, intending to go into the Bad Ax river valley; but, way-worn and weary from many miles of travel, they stopped for a time at Mr. Wilson's, at Kickapoo Center, to rest. Mr. Wilson told the boys there was government land up the Kickapoo three or four miles. So here they came, and after looking over the valley as best they could, they concluded to enter lands here. Hartwell took lands on Camp creek and some in Vernon county. Cyrus took lands in Richland and some in Vernon. Jerry took a tract in Vernon, where Mr. Gill's residence now is, which he afterwards traded for the farm of Mr. Richards near the town plat of Viola.

mill and town. The mill now owned by A. C. Cushman stands where they located the town plat across and higher up the river, and in Richland instead of Vernon.

A short time after they had returned home, Hartwell again came back and entered more lands, and ^with him came Lyman Jackson. Mr. Jackson entered lands where Mr. Sommers' residence now is, and Hartwell and Jackson both built log buildings, Jackson on said premises and Hartwell near the mouth of Camp creek. Then Hartwell again returned to New York, Mr. Jackson remained here expecting his family to come on in company with the Turners. The 1st of September five families came: William 'I'urner and wife; Hartwell, wife and two children; Cyrus Turner and wife and two boys; Salma Rogers and wife and two children; Lyman Jackson's wife and two children; Jerry Turner, John Fuller and AsaPetten. AsaPetten soon returned to New York. Boxes were constructed for household goods and merchandise and labeled Viola, Wis., of which place we all had about as much real knowledge as we have of the "man in the moon."

We came around the lakes to Milwaukee, and from there with our own teams. Our journey was altogether a pleasant one until we left Richland Center, then a town invisable, and entered the woods, with sometimes a road and sometimes not. Crying children, tipped over wagons and camping out, sitting uj) on chairs for fear of snakes, helped fill the programme of our journey; many walked as long as strength lasted rather than peril the lives of the little ones which they carried in their arms and on their shoulders.

Well we did, after spending two nights in the woods, arrive at a jumping off place, which proved to be Kickapoo Center; poles had to be placed in the upper hill wheels of the wagons to prevent the wagons from turning summersault, and going down, down, down, we did not know where to, but in due time the roof of a small low log building greeted our view. Here

Cyrus Turner left his family for a few days, for his youngest son, Winett C. Turner, was quite sick. The rest of the colony moved on up the river to establish them.selves in the log mansions prepared for them, which Mr. Jackson and Hartwell had built; in the intervening time of absence Laal Clift and family from Illinois, formerly 'of New York, moved into the pioneer mansion of Camp creek until he had built one for himself, where his residence is now.

Cyrus Turner looked over his land entries and jjroceeded to lay out a town line, his iirst survey did not please him, and he again made another plat which is now a part of the city property, although some of the streets have been fenced up for many year. The first thing to be done was to excavate a log for a canoe with which to transfer travelers from shore to shore of the Kickapoo, which was fordable where the Waggoner's mill now stands. The next, a double log building, was erected just in front of the horseshoe bend on the eastern bank of the river fronting the river, and the maple trees now there mark the spot in front of the house, and where all the road there was then.

Into this double log house he moved his family and merchandise about the middle of December; with John Fuller's help he built stables, and thus was made as comfortable for winter as circumstances would admit.

Part of the pioneer building was used for a store, and in the store the next summer a school was taught - this being the first school - by Helen Jackson. The winter of 1854 - 5 was mostly spent in hauling provision, making roads, and trying to get enough timber cleared away to enable the sun to shine in upon us.

House building was yet in its infancy here. The Gotliic, Ionic, Doric orders of architecture are but little known; the style of which all the principal buildings here are composed may be termed "Kickapooric," for several sprang into existence about this time, which consisted of rolling logs up on to each other so as to enclose a square pen until the required height was obtained when the structure was covered with split boards, called shakes in western vernacular, which are nailed on by placing poles across them, thus making a very picturesque roof and a well ventilated attic. The space usually inclosed is about 1 8x'20 feet or about the size of your dining-room. This is the house of the pioneer, this little room is the kitchen, diningroom, pantry, bed-room, nursery, and frequently the up-stairs and down cellar for a family of about a dozen members; into this are stowed beds, chests, dishes, boxes, babies, pots, kettles, and all the trumpery and paraphenalia, and you can easily imagine what a paradise of commotion it is, there cannot be much of coveting for all are on an equality even in taking pleasure rides after ox teams and faring sumptuously upon wild game or mush and milk, or the most dainty dish of all, batter, warm griddle slap, pan cakes with pumpkin butter or wild honey. Our first religious sermon was preached in this pioneer building by Mr. Neher, of Forest, and in the summer of 1855 a little log school house was erected near the county line, and in a remote part of the town plat. Here our Sabbath school was organized, a library fi'ora the America Sunday School Union was procured, and we did well, notwithstanding all our difficulties; trees were chopped down, corn and potatoes planted, if disposed to indolence the melodious music of tlie mosquito or the silent aches of our limbs reminded us of action, by fighting mosquitoes or rubbing our rhneumatic limbs, or pass the time in shaking our superfluous flesh off.

In the latter part of the summer of 1855, Mr. Algees and family came, and with him Sarah. John Fuller saw fit to take to himself a wife, and said Sarah was the bride. The marriage ceremony was performed by Mr. Wilson, J. P. of Vernon Co., and the guests, bride and groom marched down the river over the county line, as supposed (but didn't), that the ceremony might be valid, and there under the canopy of Heaven, cheered by the rippling music of the waters, by a large log on the bank of the Kickapoo, the sacred pledges were taken. This was the first wedding. Andrew Hall came this year and located lands, where the old pioneer building, above or on where the Richards farm now stands,and returned to New York, and now the winter is upon us, and we prepare to clear up, and tlie exercises are changed - land-lookers cease to come among us, and the Indians take their places for company. And now we have to exert ourselves considerably in order to keep from freezing, which can only be done by stirring rapidly about, rubbing, robed in buffalo robes or bear skins. If we can survive the night the sun may shine in upon us at about 10 o'clock, and relieve us of some of the intense cold, by jilacing the thermometer in a position to receive its most direct rays, or as the little boy says, "Papa, bring in the thermometer, and it will thaw out!" In 1856, Mr. Hull and family came and moved into the log house above Mr. Richards', which he soon exchanged with D.C. Turner for the lands he now owns, and where he has so long kept hotel. The day that he moved here his son, Jasper C. Hull, was born, thus the first birth - but not on the town plat - Oct. 1, 1850. This same fall C'. D. Turner built a small plank house - where' Mr. Cushman's house now stands, and moved into that.

William Mack, a half breed from Picatonic country, now appears among us. lie bougiit out the store of D. C. Turner, and built a wooden structure, which is now attached to Mr. Tate's store. Witli Mr. Mack came Mr. Goodrich and family. Mr. Goodrich built a plank house on block three, which is still standing. Here his little daughter, Libbie Goodrich died. This was the first death. She was buried near the house on the said lot, near the southern line of the street, where her grave is indistinct.

their summer vacation in Viola with the family of D.C. Turner. In three days after their return to Chicago, Howey Willie Turner, D. C. Turner's oldest son, was a corpse. Here appears Dr. Gott, of Viroqua, for the first time; yet his skill was of no avail. This child's death was a crushing calamity upon his family.

Mr. Keith, Howey Willie and Freddie Turner were buried on the mound between the residence of Charley Tate and Nelson Buegor's store for several years, but disinterred in 1869, and removed to the Viroqua cemetery, along with the remains of William Turner.

In the year 1857 Viola Mack was born, and received a lot in block three for her name. This year also D. C. Turner bought out Mr. Mack, and commenced buying ginseng, which business he followed for eight successive years. Buying and clarifying and drying was also largely carried on by James Turner and Henry Livingston, from Kentucky.

D. C. Turner built another store, and the old Mack building was used for a dry house. The store then built is now a part of H. C. Cushman's.

Our teachers were Salma Rogers, Helen Jackson, Jennie Loveless, Marion Gill, (afterwards Mrs. Dr. Gott, of Viroqua), and Miss Dailey, of Readstown.

Our postoflice was established as a side office, and the mail was carried from Viola to Kickapoo Center by some one hired by private persons. At one time D. C. Turner gave the mail carrier (^20) twenty dollars to get the office on the route, which was done for one week only, and again thrown off.

Lots were sold and given away. Salma Rogers was offered (10) ten acres of land adjoining the town - where Mr. Cushman's residence, Waggoner's store and many other buildings are now - if he would only build himself a

The fall of 1856 Harry Turner and family, Mr. Gill and family, Mr. Loveless and family, Amos Fuller and family came on. Harry Turner bought out Lyman Jackoon; Mr. Gill bought out the tract of land, Jerry Turner had entered and now resides there. Amos Fuller went to blacksmithing, got sick of the country, and went back in the fall of 1857. In the fall of 1859 Henry M.Keith and family came here and bought the pioneer home of Mr.Hull. Mr. Keith had been obliged to resign his situation in the Brown school of Chicago on account of ill health. He received a death blow from a band of ruffians in that school building of which account the papers of Chicago detailed in full particulars. Mrs. Keith taught our school one summer, before her husband's deatli,which occurred Feb. 18, 1861. In the winter of 1859-60 our school house was made lively frequently from time to time, in which Jerry Turner and Van S. Bennett figured largely.

1858-9. About this time several acres of land were given by C. D. Turner for a cemetery on the mound east of the new school house, where Mr. Clark now resides. This did not suit and became outlawed. Mr. Keith, consequentlj-, was buried and removed, as before mentioned.

1860-1. The second pioneer house was removed, and the residence Mr. Cushman now occupies was erected. John Fuller left for California. Mrs. Keith left for the Chicago school again. General political excitement prevailed : the war was upon us ; consequently no improvements were made for some time.

Jerry Turner enlisted ; was second lieutenant, then first, then captain of company H, 5th Wisconsin Infantry. Here is an extract from Henjamin Lawton's letter, as written to Harry Sherme's family : "He fell while charging on Mary's hill, back of the city of Fredericksburg. He was struck in the head by a large ball ; I think it must have been a canister shot, for it made a hole about the size of a canister shot. He was shot so dead that he did. not move. He was a brave and noble soldier. We mourn his loss and always will. He has been the main stay of company H ever since we came out. When the captain fell I staid with him and took care of his body, which I agreed to do when I first came out ; I told him I should stand by his side until the last, and I have done so. I tried my best to get his body embalmed and sent to you ; but I could not for want of an ambulance to get it carried to Falmuoth. Our quarter-master assisted me all he could, but it could not be got, for every thing in the shape of wagons was used to bring the wounded off the field, so we had to bury him in the city." He was killed May 3, 1863.

Company I, of the l'2th Wisconsin Infantry, was organized and drilled here until ordered to headcjuarters. Hartwell Turner was captain of tliis company. While this regiment was in Leavenworth he was very sick. C. D. Turner, his brother, went to and staid with him till he could be brought home.

From 1861 to 1864 it was only tear, war, rear, until scarcely an able bodied man was left in the town of Forest in 1865. D. C. Turner was quite sick, was drafted, and Dr. Terhune, of Viroqua, reported for him, as he was under the doctor's care for sometime, until he was able to go to Boscobel, prepared to furnish a substitute, but was not accepted. From this time more or less sickness followed. He gave up the mercantile business and sold out to Mr. Tate. In 1865 Mr. Harrington and fiimily, John Bryan and C. Ward, came. N. D. Ward, of the 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, returned from Texas.

1866 - The new school building was erected in 1867. D. C. Turner built the store Mr. Waggoner now occupies, and commenced the mercantile business again ; bought out the steam mill and sold it again - hardships of pioneerlife told by failing health - and in 1868 the farm was sold, the store closed out and the building sold to Alonzo Clark. Every line of business was settled up and closed out, and in the spring of 1869 he looked over the southwest Missouri country, and purchased lands in Dade county, two and one half miles west of Greenfield. To this home he moved hii family in the spring of 1870. His health improved by this change of climate ; he built a house, planted on orchard, and made improvements, for about two years, when he gave up work entirely, each day taking a little less exercise, until November, 1873 ; then he could no more move around with us, to cheer us by his loving, patient endurance. He was confined to his bed for three months, when, on the 5th day of March, 1874, he passed

His remains were sent to Viroqua, and there the last solemn rites were given him by the Masonic Order. He had many, many friends in his new home in Missouri. He is gone from us, but his life still lives, for he was a kind husband and an indulgent father.

Of the five original families that came to Viola in 1854, only two are here now - Salma Rogers' and H. L. Turner's. Of the twenty persons, or children, of that time, these are still living : Salma Rogers and wife and two children ; Mary Bews, of Deadwood ; Frank Rogers, of Viola ; Hartwell Turner and wife, Lyman Jackson, wife and son, of Oregon, Wis.; Helen Jackson Drenn, of Centralia, 111.; Dewitt C. Turner and his mother, Greenfield, Mo.

I wrote lately to an old friend, living at a distance for information, and have just received a letter from her, and learn that the first death in Vernon county was a child of William C. McMichael; it died February,1847, at the spring afterward known as the Silver Springs Mill, two miles east of Viroqua. The mill burned down four or five years since. The next death was that of Mrs. Rice, who died September, 1847.

Jacob Johnson, a brother-in-law of T. J. De- Frees, emigrated to Vernon county with the latter. He died in 1870, and is buried at Viroqua. His wife is living in southern Iowa at the advanced age of eighty-eight years, is still enjoying reasonable health, reads the news, and keeps up with the times. Mrs. Nancy B. DeFrees, my mother, died March 14, 1882, at the age of seventy-seven, is buried in the cemetery in this city. I noticed in a sketch of Vernon couuty a short time ago, that Dr. Tinker was mentioned as the first physician. Such is not the case. Dr. H. G. Weeden was the first regular practicing physician in the county. He located there in the fall of 1851. Dr. Tinker arrived two or three years later. Dr. Weeden was a man of culture and refinement, had received a finished education in the east. For many years he was the leading physician in the county. The fearful tornado which visited Viroqua June 28, 1865, killed one of his children - a little girl three years old - and injured himself and wife very seriously. It also destroyed their nice home and much valuable property. The doctor never recovered entirely from the shock. He went to Montana in the spring of 1866, and died there in the fall of 1872. His wife and daughter still reside in that remote territory.

The old gentleman died there many years after, and his two sons, Louis and Lee Grant lived in the locality till after the close of the war of the rebellion, when the former emigrated to Missouri. The latter still resides in the county, I believe.

William IL Purdy was also a leading citizen in early time. lie held various offices in the county, is now a resident of Pratt Co., Kansas. George A. Swain and James Cook settled there in the spring of 1847, the former at what is now Brookville, the latter, on his farm east of Viroqua. They were leading members of the M. E. Church, and in early times did much toward the support and permanent organization of that society. The have both died within the last year. Mr. Cook at his home near Viroqua, and Mr. Swain in eastern Kansas.

James Bailey was an early settler. He came with his wife, to what is now Liberty Pole, in tlie autumn of 1846, soon returned to Prairie du Chien, where his wife died, he came back to Vernon county, and soon married a Miss Clark, residing on West Prairie. She and her sister, who married a Mr. Chandler, were wedded at the same time. My father officiated, he being then county judge, making one ceremony do for both couples.

I also remember a couple in Vernon county - I purposely omit names - for whom my father obtained a divorce. A few weeks after they again presented themselves for the purpose of being married. He performed the ceremony which again made them husband and wife. But only a short time elapsed, before they again appeai-ed asking for another divorce, and it was again procured for them. Subsequently both p.arties married, it is to be hoped with happier results.

I al.w remember a woman who came there leaving a husband in the east. She soon married a dashing widower. It afterward transpired that she had never obtained a divorce from her first husband. The last husband had promised to get one for her after their marriage. But he failed to keep his promise, and she appealed to my father for redress. He secured for her a divorce from the first husband, and then she was again married, or rather remarried to the second.

Among the early settlers in Springville were Isaac and William Spencer, Charles and Henry Waters, Dr. Sudduth, Mr. Strange, the Cheatham brothers, and others that might be mentioned. Isaac Spencer was a man of culture and ability. When he came to Springville he was a wi<lower. He soon after married a Mrs. Thompson, a widow, from Bad Ax city. Her first husband was drowned from off a steamboat near that place. The lady was young and interesting, and vei*y much attached to her husband. The evening she was expecting him home she went to neighbor's to borrow a candle, said she wanted to burn it out looking at Mr. Thompson, as she had not seen him for some time. An hour or two after, his dripping corpse was borne into her presence.

In the spring of 1853 0. C. Weeden came to Viroqua, from Vermont, and soon followed a number more of New England people, making valuable additions to society.

During the years of 1846-7, the residents of the county all went to Prairie du Chien for their mail matter, and it was understood that any peison going, was to bring the mail for the entire neighborhood. Even with that arrangement, sometimes weeks would elapse between the times of receiving the mail. That hardly compares with this age of steam and daily mails.

In those first years the inlial)itants of the county were obliged to go to Prairie du Chien for all their supplies, and many of them went with ox teams.

Neighborhood dances were at that lime a favorite amusement with many of the settlers. Spelling schools were also a jjleasant and profitable pastime. The young people, and some who were not so young, would gather at the log school house, or at the cabin of some resident, choose sides and spell. Those who stood longest without missing a word were the victors ; and many times there would be three or four, perhaps half a dozen, who would not be spelled down at all. W. W. DeFrees, Milton Southwick, Esther A. Bishop and Lida P. De- Frees were almost invariably on the floor last and were considered the champion spellers. Lida P. DeFrees died March 11, 18H9;W.W. De- Frees, Feb. 7, 1870. They both lie buried in the cemetery of Viroqua. Milton Southwick, I think, is still a resident of the county, and Esther A. Bishop, long since married, has for many years resided in Nebraska.

being an original and eccentric character. He was for a time school superintendent, and taught one or two terms. Some amusing stories are told of his novel methods of governing.

Isaac Spencer was the first school superintendendent. That was when the town system prevailed. Rev. L. L. Radcliff was the first county superintendent. After him came Hartwell Allen, who is doubtless still a resident of Vernon county. He served a number of terms, was a popular and eflicient officer. He is a man of much natural ability, a great reader and a deep thinker. I think he has long since retired to the shades of private life.