Baraboo City (part 2 of 5)

The Lower Dells

The river here is broader and the banks present a greater diversity of bluff" and bottom than in the Upper Dells, but the character of the rock composing the banks is the same, and a similar, though varied, succession of curious and pleasing forms is presented. The rocks have been worn and hollowed and rounded into every imaginable shape. In some places, great shelves, with stalwart young pines growing upon their very edges, overhang the dark waters ; elsewhere, perpendicular walls loom up like the front of some vast fortification, and, a little further on, a similar wall is supplemented with coigns, bastions, projecting towers and covered archways ; again, the recks are rounded at their bases, so as to resemble the sterns of small vessels - much inferior in size and appearance to the ponderous hulks at the Navy Yard in the Dells above. Then the rocks slope gently downward to the green, grassy vale, where a pretty farm gives charming variety to the panorama, and on the opposite side to the broad bottom, where the village of Newport once stood in her pride, now interesting in her remarkable decay.

Farther down the river are more noted objects. The lofty banks here, as above the dam, are crowned with a luxuriant growth of trees, shrubs, plants and grass. The first attraction after leaving the dam, going down the river, is Taylor's Glen, on the left - a wild half-cavern and half-vale, which winds around and under the village of Kilbourn City.

Echo Point. - Standing upon the rocky cliff" where the tunnel from Taylor's Glen comes out under the railroad, any unusual elevation of the voice brings a prompt and distinct response from the massive, smooth-faced cliff" opposite, every word and tone being repeated with surprising clearness and accuracy. Persons curious in such matters (and who is not ?) may easily reach Echo Point by walking a few rods down the railway, to the river bend, and descending the pathway to near the mouth of the tunnel, where the benches of the rock aff"ord good standing-places.

Bears Cave is on the same side, a few rods below, and is a hole in the rock, with a cleft extending out to the edge of the cliff", and thence downward to the water's edge, the cave forming a recess near the top.

Chimney Rock is a little further down, on the same side, and in size is less than the one up the river, but greatly resembling it in situation and appearance.

Then comes the Pulpit, standing near the water's edge, and shaped like the sacred desk in some sanctuaries. Below this on the river, but above it in height, is

Stultz Rock, a terror to raftsmen, whose rafts are sometimes drawn into the eddy and whirled to destruction thereon. Steering clear of this treacherous place, and turning a point, we have in front of us

Signal Peak, upon which the red man, it is said, used to light his signal fires to warn his brethren up and down the river when there were enemies around. Swinging around the bend, we soon come to the

Sugar Bowl, which stands out in the stream, as cleverly molded as one could wish. The shape of this singular freak of nature is as true to its name as that of anything up the river, though it is hardly so striking as the interior of the Devil's Jug.

The Inkstand next claims attention. At first first view it seems a counterpart of the Sugar Bowl, but we soon perceive a difference. The rock, entire at the top, parts a little way down, and the passage, tapering gradually, is at the water wide enough to admit a small canoe. It bristles on the top with small pines.

Lone Rock stands in massive majesty mid-river, smiling with its summer chaplet of verdure upon the tawny flood that washes its feet. It is a broad oval in shape. As we approach we find that its sides are perforated with caverns, into the largest of which, the

Cave of the Dark Waters, or, as the Indians call it, the place of the Nah-huh-nah, we push our boat and rest awhile. From the other side, a few straggling gleams of light reach us through

Eeflection Arch. - Nothing in this vicinity is more curious and wonderful than this rock, the outer walls and internal caverns of which show the abrading effects of different currents and eddies of water. Leaving this romantic spot, we head up stream along the south side of the river, to

Grotto Rock. - This is formed by an immense flat rock, and is supported by massive jambs of the same material. It is quite spacious, and is surmounted and surrounded by the luxuriant arborescence and verdure, which throw a graceful charm over all the scenery oft his region, and form a lovely setting for many a striking or quaint and curious picture.

Places of interest in the Lower Dells besides those already mentioned, are Falls of the Dam, Coldwater Spring, Earle's Cave, The Ovens, Hawk's Bill, Bald Hill, Cobble Stone Cove, and many others.

Minor Pleasure Resorts

The Peewit's Nest. - Two and a half miles west of Baraboo is located the romantic Skillet Creek Falls, better known, perhaps, as the " Peewit's Nest." Skillet Creek derives its name from a skillet-shaped rock which exists near the falls. The name of Peewit's Nest is attached to the place for the reason that large numbers of the species of bird commonly known as peewit, or peewee, build their nests among the rocks, A road leads within a few rods of the spot, which is a gorge but a few feet in width, but of great depth, comparatively, formed by Skillet Creek in passing through rock of different degrees of hardness. For a quarter of a mile above the " Nest " the water is still and deep, imperceptibly moving in a channel probably twenty-five feet wide. Then comes the dam, a structure half-natural, half-artificial, of twelve or fifteen feet span, but hanging thirty-five feet above the water below. Before the dam was built, the water, after collecting to a depth of twenty feet or more, ran in a trickling stream over the thin rock which formed the foundation for the artificial portion, erected in 1856 by John R. Shoards. No swelling flood will ever carry out this dam until rock shall rot and mortar mold, for it is literally " dovetailed " into the solid rock, extending fully fifteen feet higher than water has ever flowed. Immediately below the dam, the gorge opens, and on the north side is the Peewit's Nest proper. It consists of a perpendicular opening, shaped like a horseshoe, about fourteen feet the longest way, with its open side nine or ten feet across, the walls on the side opposite the stream being slightly overhanging. Across its throat, some twelve feet above the water, rests a sill, the remnant of the floor of a retired blacksmith's shop, commonly believed to have been of the bogus order, which was in full blast as early as 1845. William Brown, of Baraboo, at that time having a plow which needed mending, took it there for repairs, and only succeeded in landing it in the shop by letting it down with a rope from the overhanging cliff forty feet above. From this circumstance, the extent of the blacksmithing operations there may be guessed. Ill-natured persons surmised that the building was thus peculiarly located, being over a pool twenty-five feet deep, in order to scuttle any disagreeable-looking dies or molds in case of a sudden visit from " the powers that be," or, rather, that were. Below the " Nest," the stream speedily contracts to a width of about eight feet, and here, probably, is the only mill-wheel in the world whose axles rest in sockets of solid rock. The wheel is itself thirty-four feet in diameter, with a face of about four feet breadth, and bearing on a five-inch axle. This wheel once furnished power for a small saw-mill, situated at the mouth of a gorge, and admirably contrived so that one man performed all the necessary labor for running it. Here, in early times, Mr. Shoards sawed about 200,000 feet of lumber per year. This wheel utilized 99 per cent of the force of the water, a greater portion than any other pattern then in existence ; and the necessity for this economy in force is apparent on looking at the stream a little lower down, where it trickles no faster than a thirsty cow could drink. Yet this little stream has performed the wonderful work of cutting its way through the solid rock to a depth, in places, of seventy-five feet.

While upon the subject of counterfeits, it will be in place here to say something of another mysterious spot, said to be located in Section 33, town of Franklin. Ine arly times, it was known as "Bogus Camp," and is thus described by a gentleman who visited it over twenty-one years ago. "It is situated in a sly-looking pocket of natural formation in the rocks, overhung with high bluffs. In front is located a pretty grove of oaks and maples, and near by a refreshing spring leaps from the hillside. When I visited the place in 1858, in company with several gentlemen, we found an old trough, about thirty feet long, which conducted water into a log cabin, which was then partially decayed. Within the cabin was a dilapidated forge, and, it is said, an old pistol and other trinkets had been found there before. Near by was a powerful press, constructed of trees. A rock maple, eighteen inches in diameter, had been felled in front of a sturdy old oak. The maple, for a space of six feet opposite the oak, had been hewn down, and in the flat surface was sunk a groove two inches wide, three inches deep, and about six feet long, intended probably to receive a bar containing counterfeiting dies. In the standing oak had been mortised a hole, perhaps six inches square, and deep enough to receive the end of a lever ; and near by we found the lever, a red elm, seven inches in diameter and seventeen feet long. Here, doubtless, fifty years ago, a gang of outlaws carried on their nefarious work uninterrupted."

The Upper and Lower Narrows. - Near Ableman Station, in the town of Excelsior, the Baraboo River has cut through the high range of bluff's, making a wild and ragged gorge nearly a mile in length. For most of the distance the revine is just wide enough to admit of the passage of the river, railroad and a wagon road. At some points the overtopping walls are 200 feet high. The place is known as the Upper Narrows of the Baraboo, and is an interesting spot, very convenient of access. It was at the south end of this gorge that Col. S. V. R. Ableman, recently deceased, finally decided to locate, in the belief that it was the only place a railroad could pass up the Baraboo Valley. And he was right. Here can be procured the finest specimens of the quartzite rock and the most beautiful conglomerates found in the State.

On Section 31 of the town of Excelsior is another gorge, known as the Narrows of Narrows Creek. In its structure and rock occurrences, it is similar to the Narrows of the Baraboo, the veined quartzite, however, being less developed than at the latter place.

The Lower Narrows has its romantic features as well, and must be seen to be appreciated. Geologically, it is an interesting locality. Prof. Daniels thus wrote of it twenty-two years ago : " The lower part of the Baraboo Valley is one of the most interesting portions of the State. In variety and picturesque beauty of scenery it cannot be surpassed in the West. The Potsdam Sandstone has here been violently disturbed, and in some cases changed from a soft, crumbling state into a very hard quartzite, usually of a red color, but often gray, or banded with red and white. Ranges of this quartzite extend often several miles, and form lofty hills with precipitous escarpments. The high blufis of the Baraboo at the Narrows, at Spirit Lake and at Garrisonville, are mainly composed of quartzite. At the latter place, just back of Mrs. Garrison's house, the quartzite forms the top of the bluflf, while at the base the sandstone seems only slightly changed, and furnishes a building material of excellent quality. On the opposite bank of the river the rock is unchanged, but a band of limestone occurs in it so pure and extensive as to be quarried and burnt for lime. This is located on land owned by Mr. Eiky, and is the only instance of the discovery of good lime in the Potsdam Sandstone of this State."

Parphrey s Grlen. - Eastward from the mouth of the valley of Devil's Lake, Section 29, town of Merrimack, the southern face of the quartzite range continues high and bold. On Mr.

Fitzsimraons' place in Section 22, near what is known as Parphrey's Glen, a favorite resort for pleasure seekers, one of the highest points on the whole range of bluffs occurs. _ This point is in use by the United States Coast Survey as a signal station. Parphrey's Glen is the objective point for tourists and others seeking a view of nature's beauties. There was once a grist-mill at this place, and the oldest settlers whisper that previous to that time a distillery flourished there and corn was made up into juice ; but of course no one will believe such a slander. The ruins of the pond and mill now form a romantic place of special interest. The dam Avas built across the mouth of a canyon which is walledin by sandstone, some fifty to seventy-five feet in height, worn out far back into the rock at the lower side, walls nearly touching at the top. After proceeding up this channel some thirty rods, you are surprised and pleased on turning a point to see a series of beautiful cascades. Very fine ferns and mosses abound here in profusion. After you have taken your picnic lunch, you can drive two miles farther and visit

Borward's Gorge, in the town of Caledonia, Columbia County. This beautiful dell is the ancient bed of a small lake, no doubt. The different stages of water are marked by the erosions in the rock and the terraces washed up at the several boundaries. At one point, the creek has worn a bed through solid rock, and the south shore is a perpendicular wall, most beautifully covered with mosses, kept continually moist with the drip from a spring at the top of the bluff. It is called "Weeping Rock."

Mirror Lake. - Situated between the Dells and Devil's Lake, as connecting links, as resting-points on the way, are several beautiful scenes. They are located upon Dell Creek, a small river emptying into the Wisconsin at the ruins of Newport. The water is very pure, consequently shadow pictures are one of the principal features of this pretty locality. Mirror Lake isthe name given to about three miles of Dell Creek, along whose shores are glimpses of a narrow canyon with its moss-covered walls from seventy-five to one hundred feet in height; the beautiful fern-clad Dell, with its sparkling spring brook, and shady seats; the mossy grotto to whose ragged out-lines cling the exquisitely tendriled vine, and ever-varying shaded lichen ; the overhanging crag, bare of all foliage, as if fearing to risk its life at such a dizzy height. On the left as you go up the creek you find

Tlte DeviVs Postoffice, situated at the outlet of a small ravine ; the shelving letter-boxes, deliveries, etc., are all there. Imagine the Postmaster and call for your mail. Next, on the same side, is

The Bee-Hive is on the left. It resembles an old-fashioned bee-hive, the base about half way to the top of the bluff, the apex reaching to the top. At the terminus of the creek is situated

Fern Dell. - This is one of the neatest little places in this whole region. Is a valley hemmed in by overhanging rocks, about seventy feet high, a mass of verdure clinging to their sides.

Congress Hall. - This is on the east of the village of Delton, a short distance from Mirror Lake. Is evidently an old bed of Dell Creek. At ordinary times, but little water is found - in the shape of a small rivulet formed by springs, which winds its way through. The Hall is an eroded canyon, in the soft yellow sand-rock, wildly broken and distorted in its windings. Some places where the rock is harder, the passage is quite narrow, and then widens into large, spacious rooms. These views as they develop are quite pleasing and somewhat different from all others in this section. It is well worth a visit. The Dell Creek is noted for its excellent fishing - mostly pickerel and black bass.

It is confidently believed that no county in the State, or any section of equal size in the State, can successfully compete, in point of variety of scenery, with " Old Sauk " as a pleasure resort. And there is certainly no part of Wisconsin that approaches it as a vast schoolroom for the study of nature's wonders.

Forty- THREE Years Ago - Advent of the Pioneers - The First Village Surveys - Baraboo IN 1847 - The Baraboo Claimants' Association - Substantial Improvements - The Railroad AND its Beneficent Results - The Busy Baraboo - The Post Office - Government - Organized as a Village- The Baraboo Whisky War - The River on a Rampage- Origin of the N"ame "Baraboo" - An Immortal Brotherhood Destructive Fires in

Baraboo - Banks - A President in Baraboo - Educational - Religious - Hotels - The Tom Paine Anniversary - Secret Societies - Temperance ^Esthetic and Social Life - The Cardiff Giant - The Home of the Dead - Olla-Podrida - Lyons - Manchester.

Forty-Three Years Ago

Wisconsin having been Organized as a Territory in April, 1836, its first Governor, Henry Dodge, after perfecting the arrangements for its government, took the initial steps toward securing a cession to the United States of the remainder of the Winnebago territory. By treaties held with this Indian tribe, in 1829-1832, all their lands south and east of the Wisconsin River had been acquired by the General Government. A large area of territory west of that stream, including the whole of the present county of Sauk, still belonged to them. In the summer of 1837, Gov. Dodge, having consulted with the principal Winnebago chiefs and ascertained their views, proceeded to the national capital to perfect arrangements for a second treaty. In this he was successful. Even at that early date, a large number of adventurous individuals, anxious to lay claim to the fertile lands of the Winnebagoes when they could legally do so, impatiently awaited the result of Gov. Dodge's negotiations.

Henry Dodge, Jr., a son of the Governor, was then located at Mineral Point, at that time a scene of much activity in consequence of the recently discovered lead mines. Being in communication with his father in Washington, he occupied an important position as one naturally calculated to receive the first information relative to the success or failure of the negotiations then pending. Among the few individuals enjoying the confidence of young Dodge were two Milesian miners - Archibald Barker and Andrew Dunn - names not unfamiliar in the subsequent history of Sauk and Columbia Counties. When, in November, 1837, the last treaty with the Winnebago Indians had been signed, ceding to the United States Government all their lands east of the Mississippi River, Gov. Dodge at once conveyed the intelligence to his son in advance of its public announcement. Messrs. Barker and Dunn were not disappointed in their anticipated receipt of information upon the subject ; but the sequel illustrates the proverb that "haste makes waste."

Taking their departure from Mineral Point, they proceeded northward in the direction of the Baraboo Valley, of which they had already heard favorable rejjorts from roving Indians. They reached the Wisconsin River at a point a few miles south of the present site of Sauk City, constructed a light raft and were soon across the stream. They passed over the sand plains of Lower Sauk Prairie, and pushed on through the more inviting region further north. A deepworn Indian trail led them through the dark and lonesome ravines and over the grand old hills east of Devil's Lake, and, finally, to the banks of a considerable body of water, which, from its sluggish appearance, they supposed to be a bayou belonging to " the sand-island stream," the Wisconsin. Following the trail toward the West, in search of a convenient crossing (Mr. Barker says he then believed the end of the bayou could not be far away, and that they would soon pass around it) they discovered that the water moved, almost imperceptibly, in the opposite direction to that wliich they were traveling. Soon they came to a place where the water was more shallow, and they saw that it was a living, moving stream, and, for the first time, discovered that tliev were on a river, of considerable width and volume. It was the Baraboo, the stream that threads the center of the valley of which they were in search, A low, rumbling sound, which become more and more distinct to their expectant ears as they pursued their journey, told of rushiiifT waters, and sped them on in eager anticipation of new disclosures. The winding trail soon bruu'dit them again to the water's edge; and here they beheld the famous Baraboo Rapids, now so dextrously harnessed to turbine wheels. Near by, they found a rude log bridge, partially the work of man, but chiefly the result of floods, wiiich had carried the drift-wood from above and lodged it upon the rocks, over which the translucent waters of the Baraboo leaped in api)arent ecstasy. Crossing to the opposite shore of the stream, the adventurous explorers again struck the Indian trail and continued their westward course, passing over ground now incluiled in the village limits of Baraboo. Bounding a heavily wooded hill and turning slightly to the north, the trail led them to a large open space almost surrounded by forest trees and undergrowth. It proved to be an abandoned Indian corn-field, and, to the agricultural mind, was like an oasis in a desert ; for here were several acres of land almost ready for the plowshare. The merits of the stream for water-power purposes having previously been discussed by the claim-iiunters, they resolved to go no farther, and at once made preparations to camp for the night; for the shades of evening had overtaken them, and the chilly November atmosphere was a sufficient admonition that nature's shelter must be sought. Here, beneath the protecting branches of a stalwart oak, the weary men were soon lost in sleep, dreaming, mayhap, of happy homes and plenty ; for, although they were in a new and strange region, far away from friends, tiieir hopes were bright, their slumbers golden-visioned.

Tiie next morning, the two hardy miners set about the task of building a cabin, having brought with them the necessary tools. During the following day, while Barker and Dunn were busily engaged at work, having reared the walls of their prospective shanty to a height of five or six feet, their progress was suddenly arrested by the appearance of a band of Indians, who, in angry tones and Avith threatening manners, interposed their objection to further proceedings, and demamled that the new-comers leave the premises immediately. The irate natives emphacised their expressed disapprobation by tearing down the unfinished cabin. The two white men - and on that occasion they were unusually white - attempted to explain matters, telling the Indians of the recently matured negotiations between their leading chiefs and the "Great Father," but all to no purpose. The information was not oflicial. The great chiefs had not yet notified their people of the fact that a treaty had been made, and, until such notification came from the proper autliorities, no pale-faced pre-emptor of Indian corn-fields would be permitted to live upon the we.^t side of the Wisconsin River, unless at the peril of his life. Such was the import of the rod man's wish, clearly expressed in his repeated ejaculation, /mckachce, and the two white men knew too n)uch of the Indian character to disobey.

(lathering their little stock of provisions, their blankets and axes, they quietly withdrew, leaving the Indians in possession. Following the Baraboo River along its north bank, they reached the Wisconsin and camped for the night. The next morning they pushed on up that stream until they cajue to a point opposite "the Portage." Crossing to the opposite shore, they visited Fort Winnebago, where they remained a few days, undetermined as to future movements. During tiieir stay at the Fort, Ilugli McFarlane, with whom they were acquainted, came up from Mineral Point. He, too, had been favored with special information concerning the treaty with the Winnebagoes, and was in search of a claim. jNIcFarlane said he had good reason to believe a city would some day be built near the ^'carrying-place" (the Portage). A?ide from the Fort buildings, there were then less than half a dozen houses within a radius of fifty miles, but there were indications that the interest then centering about Fort Winnebago would result in a large pcnnai.ciit settlement in that vicinity. Procuring a stock of provisions. Barker, Dunn and .McFarlane crossed the Wisconsin River and made a joint claim of the land opposite the west end of the portage, in the belief that this would prove to be the most favorable point for the loca- tion of the prospective city. Here they constructed a cabin of logs, chinking the cracks between with a composition of mud and grass ; but, soon after its completion, the grass took fire in the middle of the night, and the entire structure was destroyed, together with the eifects of the occupants, including their boots, hats and coats, the occupants themselves barely escaping with their lives. In this sad plight the three men crossed the river on the ice and reached the Fort early the next morning, their feet sore and bleeding, having walked nearly two miles over the frozen earth. As soon as convenient, they returned to Mineral Point, making the trip on foot, wrapped in blankets, their pedal extremities encased in Indian moccasins.

head-waters of the Baraboo River, where he superintended the cutting of the first "run" of logs that ever passed down this stream. The logs were sawed at the mill of Wood & Rowan, and Mr. Barker floated the lumber down the Baraboo and Wisconsin Rivers to Dekorra, in Columbia County. In the winter of 1842-43, he again went up the river with a crew of six men and four teams, for the purpose of cutting and launching another " run " of logs. The snow Avas two feet deep on this occasion, and the party were nine days traveling thirty miles, being compelled to cut roads and bridge the streams along the entire route. Mr. Barker declares that to have been the coldest winter he has ever experienced in Wisconsin. Before reaching the pineries his feet were so badly frozen that it became necessary for him to have medical attendance. Being unable to walk, he proceeded to Fort Winnebago in a wagon and remained there under treatment until early in the spring, having suff"ered the loss of all the toes of his right foot. Returning to the pineries as soon as he was able to travel, he succeeded in getting together a large number of logs, and, when the river opened in March, ran them to Wood & Rowan's mill. Here they lay awaiting the sharp tooth of the saw until June, 1813, when, during the great freshet of that spring, they went over the dam, and, together with the saw-mill, were carried to the Gulf of Mexico. After this calamity, which also worked untold ruin to many others, Mr. Barker, in casting up accounts, found that he had but five toes and one horse - "a very sorry nag." The latter he soon traded off, for fear of accidents, obtaining theref)r the land he now lives upon, in Section 29, town of Baraboo. Since then his experience has been varied. The first wheat he raised he hauled to Hecock's mill, near Dodgeville, Iowa County, giving half of his crop to have the other half ground into flour, and paying cash for ferriage over the Wisconsin River. And yet he was more fortunate than most of his neighbors, who, having neither money nor teams, were compelled to grind their grain in coffee-mills.

Advent Of The Pioneers

The first settlement at the Baraboo Rapids resulting in permanent location commenced in 1839. with the coming of Eben Peck, Wallace Rowan, Abram Wood and James Van Slyke. Mr. Peck Avas probably the first of these to make a claim to any portion of the territory in this region. Messrs. Rowan and Wood came about the same time, or very shortly after. The particulars of the settlement of these parties will be found in a subsequent article of this chapter, devoted to the diff"erent water-powers. Wallace Rowan is accredited with having been the first settler in Columbia County. He lived near the present site of Foynette, and kept a sort of half-way house between Mineral Point and Fort Winnebago, where he numbered among his guests many persons whose names have since become eminently connected with the history of Wisconsin. He came to Sauk County in company with Abram Wood in 1839, The two made a claim of the land and water-site at the "Upper Ox-bow" of the Baraboo River, and built a saw-mill thereon, the first mill on this stream. Rowan had a large family ; he lived with them near the Upper 0;x-bow. Wood was also a man of family, his wife being a squaw, the daughter of the Indian chief De-ko-ra. She is represented as having been a superior woman, considering this fact, while Wood is remembered as the terror of the country. He was a very large man, of dauntless energy, fearless and daring ; a hard drinker, rough and profane, and most terrible when angered, if under the influence of liquor. A few anecdotes may serve to illustrate the character of the man. He was peaceable enough when sober, but when tipsy he went prowling around the country in a lawless way, helping himself to anything he desired, and taking vengeance on those whom he did not like. One night he entered the cabin of one of his neighbors and deliberately carried off a keg of beer. He was discovered in that act by the lady of the house, who grabbed him in the back by his shirt, he being coatless, and demanded that he should relinquish the beer. This he showed no disposition of doing, and, her grip being a firm one, he dnicrrred her a considerable distance, bawling out the while at the top of his voice, " Keep fast hold, madam, and I'll take you straight to h - 1 ! " His taking of a Mississippi River steamboat at an early day is quite amusing, and shows the fearlessness of the man's nature. He and three others who styled themselves the " Baraboo Rushers," took passage on a steamboat ^ for Saint Louis. On the way, one of the boatmen took ill with the cholera, which was raging at the time. The idea of the cholera on board caused much consternation, and it was decided to leave the sick man on shore. But none of the crew would venture near him, so great was their fear of the disease. Then up spoke Abe : " Give us a blanket, and we, the Baraboo Rushers, will take him ashore. We ain't afered of man or devil, much less a gripe in the stomach." A blanket was furnished, and at the next landing the four men took the victim off, carrying him straif^ht to the hotel. " We want a bed for a sick man," said Abe to the landlord. " Beds all full," was the reply. " Show me one, I'll empty it d - d quick," retorted Abe. But the landlord was not disposed to do so. Meanwhile, the captain, considering that the " Baraboo Rushers " w^ere exposed to the infection, concluded that then was his time to get rid of them ; and without a touch of the bell put the boat out from the landing and continued the journey. The " Rushers," seeing the state of affairs, dropped the sick man on the hotel porch, and started after the boat. They were all good swimmers, and in a very short time they " overhauled her. To say they were angry does not half express what their feelings were. As soon as he touched tlie deck, Abe began to swear, and such swearing even those boatmen had never heard. He cursed all of the crew from the highest to lowest, up and down and every other way. At last, the captain threatened to put him ashore. This was the signal for a row. The " Rushers " were armed after the manner of backwoodsmen, with tomahawks, knives and revolvers. Flourishing these, they sprang forward for a battle. The suddenness of the attack and the daring of the men, so surprised the captain and crew that they surrendered without a struggle. When he had them completely at his mercy, Abe flourished his tomahawk over the captain's head and cried : '' We don't want your d - d old rickety boat, but we intend to teach you that the Baraboo Rushers are not to be trifled with. This craft never lands again until we say so, nor starts till we get ready. If that don't suit you, we will run her to h - 1 in spite of you." The captain was very willing to agree to the terms, and for the remainder of the trip the " Rushers " had things their own way,

Rosaline Peck* was the first white woman who ever looked on Baraboo Valley. She came here with her husband, Eben Peck, and his brother Luther, in the fall of 183i). They made the trip from Madison to Sauk Prairie in a carriage. From thence they were obliged to travel on horseback, following an Indian trail to the Baraboo River. The water was very high, and Mr. Peck advised his wife not to cross the river, but she was determined to see the claim made by Mr. Peck a few months previous, and so swam her horse across at the expense of a thorough wetting.

Ciipt. Levi Moore* looked in on this part of the world in 1840. He at first thought that he could not live in so wild a country, and was about turning his face in another direction, when he accidentally met Mrs. Peck. Her bright, hopeful face caused a re-action of feeling, If a little woman like her could endure the hardships, he certainly could. So he remained.

What IS known as the middle mill-power was claimed in June, 1844, by George W. Brown, n resident of Whitewater. The land was pre-empted in 1846, at the land sale, by William Brown, t a brother of George, who deeded it for the claimant. George W. Brown, upon his arrival in 1844, immediately set about improving the power, and, in August of the same year, Marvin Blake, a brother-in-law of the Browns, George Grant and several workmen made their advent here, for the purpose of assisting in the erection of a saw-mill at that point. While excavating for the mill, the workmen found the remains of a mammoth, some eight feet from the surface. The position of the bones showed the animal to have been some thirty-six feet long. The bones, though apparently well-kept, on being taken from their resting place, gradually airslacked and became dust. The mill was in running order the next spring, but, in 1847, it proving insufficient for the amount of work to be done, a better and larger mill was erected on the same power. A few months previous to the erection of the saw-mill, its proprietors had built a grist- mill on the opposite or north side of the river, and this was the first grist-mill on the Baraboo. It began work with one run of stone.

W. H. Canfield came to this part of the country in 1842. He found his way hither from Madison by means of marked trees, the road having been surveyed, but not improved. He took up some land near Skillet Falls, some three miles from Baraboo. Himself and wife lived in a dry-goods box for six weeks, and until the erection of a log house was efi'ected. Hiram Webster, now a blacksmith on Third street, was also one of the comers of 1842.

The building of the mills of course brought many new-comers, and as early as 1845, quite a village had sprung up. Previous to this, times had been hard for the settlers. People pounded the wheat and corn they used for bread, or ground it in hand-mills. Capt. Moore had a handmill which for a time served the whole country. Money was not to be had, and people had great trouble in securing their lands from parties who went about "jumping claims," the settlers, in many cases, not being able to make the necessary improvements to hold them, and having no means to defend their rights. Even when the land came into market, in 1846, few if any were prepared to attend the sale. But at or near that time. Maxwell purchased from the Government the mill claim held by Eben Peck, and in 1848 moved here with his family. The Pecks had previously let a portion of their claim pass into the hands of Augoston Haraszthy, and he had erected a small frame house near the dam, and had opened a store there. This buihling the Maxwells purchased in order to obtain an undisputed title. They then built, on what is now the east side of the square, the first frame building on the north side of the river. This was for a long time known as the "corner store." The same year, 1847, the Western Hotel was erected by Col. Sumner. D. K. Noyesf came to town the same year, and found the Western in process of building on his arrival. This hotel was kept for a time by Col. Sumner, and later was many years under the supervision of William Wallace.

In 1845, Lewis Hayes, Delando Pratt and Josiah Hayes bought a portion of the middle power and erected a shingle and lath mill, and a chair- factory. Philarmon Pratt,* in 1847, bought the saw-mill and a half-interest in the water-power. The next year he settled with his family at this place.

The first physician in Baraboo was Dr. Charles Cowles. He came from Ohio to Milwaukee in 1846. Milwaukee at that time had less than two dozen houses in it. Leaving his wife and child in the Milwaukee woods, he went to Baraboo, or rather to the residence of his father. Judge Lauren Cowles, a short distance below Baraboo. The Judge started immediately after his son's wife and child, but, owing to the bad state of the roads, it took two weeks to make the trip. The Doctor began to practice at once in this part of the country. But that was up-hill work in those days. In January, 1847, he showed, on one occasion, a most remarkable endurance - going after supper to see a patient a distance of sixty-four miles, facing a keen north wind, and stopping for neither rest nor refreshments of any kind. The next year, the Doctor came to Baraboo and purchased the two lots where his residence now is. The total cost of the lots was ^7. He still continues to practice here.

David, Samuel and Simeon Crandall, brothers, in company with Ira Angle and G. W. Knapp, came to Baraboo in 1846, and the five and their families moved into the log schoolhouse on the south side, where they remained until buildings could be erected.

Another arrival of 1846 was the Walbridges, Elisha and Eleazer, brothers. The former died in the army. Eleazer Walbridge is a real estate and insurance agent, still residing here. Mr. lierschinger came to town the same year.

The First Village Subveys

At the land sale which took place in 1846, one of the County Commissioners, Prescott Bri"hiim, purchased the f|uarter-section of land now included in Baraboo proper, with his own money, for the county. The Commissioners platted a village, having the court house square in the center, and named it Adams, at the suggestion of Mr. Brigham, who held the Adams family, of Massachusetts, in great esteem. This was done in April, 1847. The village of Adams is described as follows in the field-notes of Charles 0. Baxter, the surveyor : " Commencing at the northwest corner of the southeast quarter of Section 35, Town 12, Range G; thence east forty chains to the (juarter-post between Sections 35 and 36 ; thence south thirty-nine chains sixtyfour links to the section corner on the town line ; thence west on said line thirty-one chains fifty links to the Baraboo River ; thence north forty-one and west four chains ; thence north seventy-eight and west six and eight one hundredths chains to an open line through Section 35 ; thence north thirty-five chains fifty-five links to the place of beginning - the plat covering the southeast quarter of Section 35, Township 12, Range 6. except a small fraction on the south side of the river."

About the same time. George Brown caused a survey to be made of his property, the greater portion of which lay south of the river. He called his plat Baraboo. From the field-notes of the surveyor, we find the boundaries of the plat to have been as follows : Commencing at the northeast corner of Section 2, Town 11, Range 6; from thence south six chains thirty links to the Baraboo River (eight chains fifty-eight links to the south bank of the river) ; thence south twenty-two chains seventy-five links ; thence Avest twenty chains ; thence north thirteen chains ; thence east twenty chains to the east line, one chain seventeen links south of the river - the plat covering forty acres, a strip e((ual to about thirty lots lying along the south side of the river, being "reserved for private use " by Mr. Brown for mill and other ])urposcs. The plat extended north of the river to the extent of thirty-four lots, 62x132 feet in size.

On the 14th of January, 1849, the Board of County Commissioners ordered that the name of the village plats of Adams and Baraboo, as they then (and do now, in fact) appeared upon record in the Jiegister's office, be changed and known by the name of Brooklyn. The villages continued to be separate, however, until the village charter, which was obtained in May, 1866, united them under the name the place now bears. At the suggestion of the postal authorities in Washington, in 1852, the name of Adams was dropped. The post office was thereafter known as Baraboo. The following additions have been made to the original plats: Mrs. Peck's First Addition, .June 15, 1849; Wallace's Addition, August 9, 1849; Mrs. Peck's Second Addition, July, 1855; English's Addition, November, 1856; Moore & Drown's Addition, April, 1860; Thomas' y\ddition. May, 1«73 ; Camp's Addition, September. 1873; Brown's Addition, October, 1N73; Langdon's Addition, July, 1874. In July, 1855, R. G. Camp laid out an addition east of Mrs. lack's Addition, which he called the village of Litchfield - a favorite name with the Judge, he having been born in Litchfield, Conn. - and his son Arthur made an addition to the village of Litchfield in September, 1873. These two last additions are not incorporated with in I lie sprin;,' of the year 1847, I arrived with my wife and family at the village of St. Charles, in the State of Illinois, where my wife's sister, with her husband, John Lock, and family, ha(l taken up their residence. The fever and ague prevailed everywhere in the West that season. To a new-comer it was discouraging. Mr. Lock had gone to Baraboo with his son Lafayette, and his wife (now Widow Nelson), who with his daughter still reside in Baraboo, was waitii^^g the result of his exploration. I was introduced to Mr. Eber Crandall, who had been to

Baraboo, and had entered lands upon which he intended to locate as soon as possible. His three brothers (David, Samuel and Simeon) and two sisters, with their husbands and families, had already taken up their abode at Baraboo. Seeing that the ague prevailed in St. Charles, and, as far as I could learn, everywhere throughout Illinois, I concluded to start for Baraboo, where Eber Crandall assured me that the disease did not prevail. I accompanied a man from Canada, whose name I cannot recall, he having a team and covered wagon. At that time, corn was one shilling and oats 10 cents per bushel ; hence our supplies did not cost much. We Avent by the way of Sun Prairie, my fellow-traveler having a desire to visit an acquaintance who had the previous year taken up his residence on that prairie. We stopped at Waterloo overnight and in the morning struck Sun Prairie, which at that time included all the prairie between Waterloo and Mineral Point. We drove all day and met only one person, from whom we could get no information. Fearful of getting lost and night coming on, we struck for the timber, and, fortunately, right to the shanty of my comrade's friends, where we stayed all night. We started early in the morning for Dekorra, on the Wisconsin River, at which place we found a deserted blacksmith shop and other marks of an abandoned settlement. We perceived a feri-y-boat on the other side of the river, and by waving our handkerchiefs, at length persuaded the boatman to come over, and we were landed safe on the west side of the Wisconsin" River. We then drove over the bluffs, on the summit of which there was here and there a settler. I remember one, named Lewis, an Irishman, who had served in the United States Army and received his discharge at Fort Winnebago. Descending the bluffs to the Baraboo River, we found no habitation in sight, but discovered a rope fast to a tree and extended across the river, and on the opposite bank was a ferry-boat. We yelled and hallooed, and, at length, discovered a tin horn suspended on a small burr oak tree. Finally, after repeated blowings by first one and then the other, we perceived a woman running, who jumped into the boat, took hold of the rope and pulled the boat across to us. There was quite a rapid current in the river, and in her efforts to get the boat across the woman blistered her hands. Imagine our surprise on finding her a most intelligent lady. She informed us that her husband, Andrew Garrison, had gone over to their former home on Sauk Prairie, and that the hired help was with William Eiky, at the limekiln. Mrs. Garrison (afterward Mrs. Dr. Taylor) directed us where to find feed for the horses, and prepared for us an excellent dinner ; and, after partaking heartily, we started for the county seat. As we passed up the Baraboo Prairie, we saw here and there a breaking-team turning over the virgin soil. We passed Mrs. Peck's place. She was at that time engaged in having a house built, while she and her family occupied a shanty in the rear of her present residence. Opposite here, Frederick Stanley had erected a shanty, which he and his family occupied. I expected to see something of a town, but on we drove, and just as the sun was setting we came up to a log house, over the door of which was a buck's horn. I jumped out of the wagon, and, the door being open, entered. The house consisted of one large room, in the middle of which, seated around a table, were some half-dozen men in red shirts, playing cards. Finding I Avas not observed, I started back to the wagon, feeling alarmed for our ladies. At a short distance, I perceived a tall, stoutbuilt man, and, stepping up to him, I said, " Sir, is there no other place that a stranger could get accommodations over night, only there?" pointing to the buck's horn. I discovered in his features an open, manly expression, and intuitively felt that we were safe. lie opened his broad, frank mouth, and said, "Yes, if you will take up with such accommodations as I have in my little house, you are welcome," at the same time starting with me toward the house. On entering, I found a house unsurpassed for cleanliness - in fact, one of the cleanest I ever had my foot in. This was the home of Alexander Crawford. Here he lived with his wife and his son John. Although the couple were somewhat advanced in years, they seemed to be perfectly happy. Here I met my brother-in-law, John Lock, who was boarding with them. He had located a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, and sent his son back to St. Charles after cattle, intending to break up and improve the land, and move up his family as soon as possible ; but when his son Laftiyette arrived at St. Charles, he found a recruiting rendezvous bidding up for volunteers for the Mexican war, and he enlisted. His love for army life never forsook him. He was araon<T the first to enlist in the three-months service of the late war, and soon after being discharged, on the expiration of the time of his enlistment, he re-enlisted, and was Orderly Sergeant of Company F, Eleventh Wisconsin Infantry. So he was in the first and in the last battle of the rebellion. Mr. Remington, then a young attorney, was boarding at Crawford's, and actin<^ af-ent for the County Commissioners in disposing of lots at the county seat, then called the villat^e of Adams. I boufrht some three or four, not intending that I would ever settle on them. I loolced around for a day or two, but it was such a wilderness of a country that I could see no prospect of making ray business at all profitable. I could not see where customers were to be found that would sustain a tailoring establishment. I started back for St. Charles, stopping on the way at Madison, Janesville, Beloit and other villages, in all of which business was dull and ague prevailing. I returned to St, Charles, not knowing or having determined where I would locate. Eber Crandall assured me that in a very short time Baraboo would be a large town. I finally hired teams, and, with wife and two children, started thitherward. The last day of our journey we reached the foot of the bluff's about sunset, and put up at the Hoover tavern. It was kept by Mr. Hoover's son-in-law. Job Barstow. Mr. Barstow piloted us in the morning over the bluffs. On the way, we met people who were returning from the Fourth of July celebration, which, I learned, had been held at the house of Mrs. Peck, at Baraboo. We passed over what was called ^he west road, and crossed the river near Wood & Moore's mill. We passed near the house occup ied by Abraham Wood and the saw-mill known as Moore's & Wood's mill. The village of Lyons had the same year, or previously, been laid out, but, owing to tlie enterprise of George and William Brown, who had that season selected the quarter-section of land adjoining for a county seat, the few settlers at Lyons felt somewhat jealous at the superior prospects and advancement of Baraboo. We drove on down to Brown's mill and crossed a rude bridge which spanned the river near where the present bridge stands. Erastus Langdon had built a house (i. e., had an inclosed frame). He kindly proff'ered us shelter, and his kind lady prepared for us a good dinner.

Dr. S. P. Angle at that time occupied a shanty near where John Loy's shop now stands. He introduced me to Col. Maxwell, who was then engaged in the framing of a building which was afterward known as Maxwell's store, and stood on the corner where the Burrington Brothers afterward built a better one. I was greatly discouraged, but the old Colonel, who most of his life had pioneered it, gave me every encouragement possible. He told me that Col. Sumner had gone east to Ohio after his fiimily, and would build a good hotel. He introduced me to old Mr. Caiifield, who was a generous, good, kind-hearted man, who pi'offered me house room free of expense till such time as I could build. My family, in the meantime, was at the house of Erastus Langdon, who kindly proff'ered to shelter us until we should conclude what we would do. Daniel Kelsey, then a young man, was boarding with them. I finally purchased Mr. Langdon's house, and he moved out and into a shed. Marvin Blake, a brother-in-law of Mr. Langdon's, lived in a shanty near where his present residence stands. The house which I bought from Mr. Langdon was neither lathed nor plastered, and it had a shake roof Jeptha Jackson occupied a small house which stood in the street near where the American House now stands, owned at present by Mv. Peck. George and William Brown had, some two years ])revious, made claims to the land embracing the water-power, and which at that time constituted the village of Baraboo proper; William had sold his interest to George, and George soon sold a portion of the waterpower to Philarinon Pratt, with the saw-mill. George intended fully to improve the north-side grist-mill. In raising an addition to it, a timber fell on his head and killed him. Delando Pratt had some two years j)reviou3 purchased from the Browns a portion of the water ])Ower, and commenced the manufacture of laths and bedsteads. Owing to the sudden death of George W. Brown, business became somewhat suspended. His father, Chauncey Brown, was his legal heir, and he with his son William, administered on the estate. They proceeded to complete the mill. Philarmon Pratt and the lirowns became involved in law, and for years they kept up the fight, so that every term of the court Pratt vs. Brown and Brown vs. Pratt filled the calendar. Delando Pratt sold the portion of the water-power he owned to John Seaburn, and joined his father-in- law, Mr. Scherraerhorn, in the tanning business. Both of those establishments in a short time were destroyed by fire. The Browns had completed the mill, and afterward that was burned. Such were the circumstances that myself and a few others were fully satisfied in our own minds that it was the work of an incendiary, and we believed we knew who he was. The dam went out, and for a long time Baraboo proper was at a stand-still, no business being done. Finally, Joseph F. Sanford and Patrick A. Bassett bought it and built the present mill, now owned by R. H. Strong.

Lyman Clark came to Baraboo in the spring of 1847 and pre-empted forty acres directly southeast of the original village of Baraboo. But, anxious to build a hotel, he disposed of it to Judge Camp for a mere trifle. Lyman built the Baraboo House. He never turned any one away, money or no money, and frequently would apply to me to lodge some of his guests, and he would often consult with me as to the best means to help some new arrival. I remember one morning he came to my house and said that there was a family, consisting of a man and wife, Avith two children, that had been stopping at his house for some days, and were out of money ; that the man was sick, and the woman was a tailoress and willing to work ; that he had a span of young horses and a wagon. The day previous, Clark said he had killed his only cow for meat, and had not feed for this man's horses. I went over and found the family greatly discouraged. I owned a shanty atid lot near where Mr. Patrick Dougherty now resides. On consulting with him, they concluded to move into it. Soon the man recovered his health, and in a short time he purchased land north of Baraboo and the Wisconsin River, where, I believe, he still resides. His family are grown up, and I understand all are in comfortable circumstances. His name is Gardiner Myers. After he had become prosperous, I joked him relative to his feeling so discouraged on his first arrival.

Col. D. K. Noyes, then a young man, came the same year, and, I think, taught school one quarter. He then engaged in land agency, pre-empting and entering for settlers. As there was no room in the tavern in which to transact business, he would run over to my house, which consisted of one room with a shed in the rear. In that room I carried on tailoring, had my workbench, the cooking-stove, table, etc. Sometimes a half-do^en of neighbors, besides him, would come over with two or three new arrivals and make out their pre-emption papers or contract to enter lands for them. It was fun for us men, but pretty trying for the women, who at times were greatly bothered to get along with the housework. It soon became evident that David's mind was not settled. He hurried up, the next season, a little house near where Daniel Kelsey lives, and then started for Vermont. In a few weeks, he returned with his better half and went to housekeeping.

The first political meeting I attended in the West was held at Widow Peck's house. She had built her house that year. The upper part was a hall, where Harris Searl, who was Justice of the Peace, and resided with Mrs. Peck, held his court. Being the only large room in the vicinity, it was used for public meetings, balls, etc. In the fall of 1847, Col. Batkin, then a lawyer, who, by the way, was a great practical joker, residing at Madison, was a candidate for member of the Territorial Council. The Colonel was a Whig, and his competitor, whose name I have forgotten, resided in Marquette County. It was agreed that they would jointly canvass the district ; hence, they were to hold a joint discussion at Baraboo. Public notice having been given, nearly all the inhabitants turned out, so that Mrs. Peek's hall was well filled. By agreement, it was Col. Batkin's privilege to open the discussion. He commenced by complimenting the intelligence of his auditors, whom he flattered up to the highest notch, and in eloquent and glowing terms, eulogized the beautiful valley of the Baraboo, dwelling on its magnificent advantages, its water-power, its great manufacturing privileges, its romantic scenery, its productive soil. Then he paused, and at length exclaimed : " One thing you especially need, and you are justly entitled to it ; and that is, a good road over the bluffs. How can you procure it ? How can that most desirable end be attained ? I will tell you how ! If, through your sufferance, I have the honor to represent you in the Territorial Council, send me your petition to organize a company for the purpose of macadamizing the highwa v over the bluffs. You don't desire to subject the inhabitants of Sauk Prairie to pay toll on the way to your mills, nor persons coming to transact business at the county seat. Hence, I shall endeavor to get an appropriation from the Territorial treasury to macadamize that road." Of course, cheers rolled up for Col. Batkin. His competitor hemmed and hawed, and assured them if they voted for him, he would do all for them that Col. Eatkin could do or had promised to do. The meeting closed with a speech from Hon. William Welsh, of Madison. Then Jim Badger struck up the violin, manyjoined in the dance, and did not go home till morning. The next discussion between these two gentlemen was at Prairie du Sac. The Colonel's competitor led off; so he thought he would take all the wind out of the Colonel's sails. He started in, deprecating their condition, being shut out from communication with the beautiful valley of the Baraboo, and having to pass over such a miserable, dangerous road. If he should be elected, he would put a bill through the Legislature appropriating a sura toward macadamizing the bluffs. At that time, Prairie du Sac was smarting under the removal of the county seat, and hoped to get it back again ; hence, anything that would contribute to the advancement of Baraboo, Prairie du Sac was decidedly opposed to. The Colonel rejoined ; '" Fellow citizens : I am astonished at the diabolical proposition made by the gentleman. What is that he proposes ? Why, that you shall be taxed to build up a town in a barren, worthless, rocky, stone-bound region, where there is no town, nor never ought to be one ! When I look upon your beautiful, rich prairie, your magnificent river, the trade and business which must necessarily center here, I think with indignation of the proposition made by my opj)onent, that you should be taxed to help build up a competing town, where neither God nor sensible man ever intended there should be one." The Colonel was overwhelmingly elected. He carried both sides of the bluffs.

The following year, George Hiles built a rough building, directly west of the Baraboo House, for a store. He procured some whisky and a few groceries. Soon after, William Hoxie came from McHenry County, 111. He brought with him a remnant of an old stock of goods, and went into partnership with Hiles. In a short time Samuel Hiles came. Mr. Hoxie was elected Justice of the Peace. W. H. Clarke, known as " Mayor Clarke," also as the " Lion of Sauk," at that lime resided at Sauk City, but soon after removed to Baraboo. He was considered the best counselor at law the county afforded. Among the first cases which were tried before Esquire Hoxie, a motion was made to dismiss. It was argued pro and con. The court seemed perjdexed - hesitated. Samuel Hiles was present; he watched earnestly the countenance of the Justice. His sympathies evidently prompted him to assist the court. At length he exclaimed:

Ill 1840, Rev. Warren Cochran came. He was a man of very decided, positive character. He thought bis mission demanded that everything should move under his dictation, and yet, I presume, he was sincere. He was opposed to every kind of amusement. He h;id great powers of invective. 1 remember once hearing him preach, in which he denounced and ridiculed dancing. " Some," said he, " hold that it teaches them to be graceful in their movements, and really teaches them gentility. " Well," said he, "in this locality, they have a quadruped to teach them manners." James Badger was the fiddler. On the day following this sermon, William Diinhip, who was then Sheriff of the county, met Badger and told liim that Cochran had outrageously abused him. " Why, he called you the worst name that could possibly be applied to any one, a ({uadruped ! " "What is that ?" says Badger. "Why, it is the worst name that could be given any person. I would prosecute him I Right out before the whole congregation he called you a (|uadniped." Neither Dunlap nor Badger knew what the term meant,and Badger was fin- some days in dead earnest in his threats to prosecute Cochran for slander.

Judge Camp came, I think, in 1848 - it may have been 1849. There were several from Litchfield County, Conn., who came about the same time, among whom were Mr. Tuttle, now in the nurseiy business, and who was for a time partner with David Munson in the mercantile business ; Deacon Clark and family and others ; Lodge Brier came from Indiana, but was a brother-in-law of Judge Clark and also of James Maxwell Brier, was a millwright and built the mills known as the Maxwell Mills.

Warren Cochran sought to make Baraboo just what a quiet New England village was, not considering that our population was cosmopolitan, and could not all be alike. But such was his organization that every one must submit to what he deemed right. Howevev, he saw the necessity of combining as many of the religious elements in one body as possible. Being himself a Congregationalist, he sought to unite the Presbyterian element with the Congregational. For a time it seemed to progress favorably, but there was Deacon Lodge Brier, a Hoosier possessed of all the rigid prejudices of the old Scotch-Irish character ; Judge Camp and Deacon Clark also, who had come from Litchfield County, Conn. Then, there was Dr. Cowles, who taught the choir. The discordant elements, of course, could not long remain united. Disagreement and difference of views sprang up. Elder Cochran would not yield a hair's breadth. Judge Camp was the leader of the opposition ; Deacon Brier sided with the Judge ; Deacon Marvin Blake stood in the breach, trying to conciliate both sides. They had a very angry discussion at a church meeting held on a certain Saturday afternoon. Dr. Cowles, laughing in his sleeve at the whole performance, sided with the Elder. Elder Cochran preached the next day, and took for his subject "Prejudice." He eloquently portrayed the various manifestations of prejudice, and finally exclaimed : " There are those in the congregation who, if they were transferred to heaven in their present condition, would walk the gold-beaten streets of the New Jerusalem, and gaze on its pearly walls - yes, they would walk up to those walls and pick those pearls, and deliberately turn around and say: 'We have got as good an article as these in Litchfield!" " That was the hair that broke rhe camel's back. No more union of Presbyterians and Congregationalists in Baraboo. The Elder next attacked secret societies, Masonry and Odd Fellowship. Well, we had neither then at Baraboo, but the boys had a society known as the " One Thousand and Ones." It was a burlesque on all secret organizations. But the Elder, in his sermon, after denouncing Masonry and Odd Fellowship, said : " I don't know what that order is, but I believe it consists of one thousand rascals to one decent man.

We organized a lyceura and debating club, and invited some of the ablest lecturers of the times, among whom was Ichabod Codding. Mr. Codding was pleased with the liberal sentiment of Baraboo. He did much to elevate the standard of free thought, and divested orthodoxy of some of its more odious features. The result of his labors was the organization of the Unitarian or Liberal Christian Church, and the erection of their meeting house. But there was still a more liberal element prevaili ng in that community - a class who demanded the reasons, the why and wherefore, of every doctrine. But the war commenced and absorbed every consideration. Hardly a regiment left the State for the seat of war that had not a representative of Sauk County in its ranks. Sauk County was patriotic.

The Bakaboo Claimants' Association

Great excitement existed in the Baraboo Valley at the time of the Government land sale, and for some time afterward, regarding the claims of early settlers. The people, unable to hold their lands by law, banded together for mutual support until such a time as they could get the money to make their payments. The Baraboo Claimants' Association was organized September 7, 1846, as a means of protection of the rights of first settlers, Alexander Crawford being appointed chairman of the meeting held at that time. An extract from the constitution will show the purpose of the organization.

" Whereas, Congress has from time to time passed pre-emption laws for the purpose of encouraging the settlement of the public domains and securing to settlers the benefit of their improvements, and, whereas, under a full belief in the protection aflforded by these laws, many enterprising, industrious and worthy citizens have embarked their all, and been induced to settle on Government land in this section of the country, thereby spending labor and means, and undergoing all the privations incident to the settlement of a new country ; and whereas. Government has recently proclaimed these lands for sale on the 20th of November next, without giving the usual notice of six m.onths, as has always been done, thereby depriving the settlers of timely notice, and placing it out of their power to procure means to purchase their lands at the public sale ; therefore, for the purpose of securing to ourselves our just rights, and to protect our improvements, it is unanimously resolved that we will be in readiness to protect each other in our respective claims to the utmost of our power ; and that a claim shall consist of not more than 320 acres, in two legal subdivisions, for the purpose of farms or settlement only, and not for speculation."

The officers of the Association were: Harvey Canfield, President; Abe Wood, Vice President, and John B. Crawford, Secretary. The resolutions were signed by fifty-six persons, residents of the precinct of Baraboo. The following were within the limits of what is now the town of Baraboo, and will show who some of the early settlers were : Harvey Canfield, Ralph Cowles, Andrew Garrison, Andrew Washburn, Job Barstow, Jr., Nathan Dennison, Hiram Webster, J. T. Clements, G. Willard, Andrew Paulson, Chester Matson, E. G. Williams, James Christie, Alexander Crawford, John B. Crawford, Dr. C. Cowles, Luther Peck, A. F. Washburn, Marvin Blake, J. H. Jackson, Job Barstow, Chauncey Brown, J. Lamar, W. B. Clement, Edward Johnson, W. IL Canfield, Erastus Gilson, James Waddle, Levi Moore, Abe Wood and H. P. Van Valkenburgh.

Notwithstanding the organization of this society, the lands were in some cases entered from under the settlers. From the Madison Express, of August 24, 1847, something more respecting the society and its work is learned : '' Previously, Eben Peck had started for California, and had probably been massacred by the Indians, as nothing was ever heard of him afterward, and nearly all of his party are known to have suffered such a fiite. This left Mrs. Peck to fight her battles alone, and to support herself and her two little children. A meeting of the Claimant Society was held August 10, 1847, with James Waddle in the chair. Count Haraszthy, an Hungarian, addressed the meeting, and ])ictured out their wrongs in glowing terras. A committee of five was then appointed to draft new resolutions, the substance of which was as follows :

" ' Whereas, certain persons not residing in the county, unjustly and in defiance of the rights of early settlers of the county, have entered the claims of those, who, from unseen and unfortunate circumstances, have been unable to protect themselves, and as Chauncey Brown has chosen to seize upon, and enter lands, embracing all the improvements of Widow Peck ; it is resolved that we will defend and protect each other ; that we will prevent any and all persons from taking possession of the lands thus entered by Chauncey Brown, Jr., one Esterbrook and Simeon Crandall, and use our best endeavors to punish any person or agent of such person who shall attempt to take possession of or improve such claims.' "

The fourth of July had been celebrated for the first time that year, and the table was still standing in the grove. After the resolutions had been drafted, a meeting was held at that place, and it was resolved that Simeon Crandall should listen to the reading thereof. He refusing to come peaceably, they carried him to the spot and laid him out on the table. But as soon as an opportunity occurred he made an attempt to escape, and would have done so had not an enthusiastic dog, that had the rights of old settlers at heart, seized and detained him until his captors could again get possession of him. He was therefore obliged to listen to the reading of the resolutions; and he afterward made a satisfactory settlement with the claimants of the land. But Chauncey Brown, Jr., held on to his newly acquired property, refusing even to sell it. The enraged settlers fallowed him finally to Sauk, where he had taken refuge, taking him from his bed one stormy night, and forcing him to begin with them, on foot, a return journey to Baraboo. On the way, after repeated threats of hanging, they rolled him in a mud-puddle, and that brought him to terms. Ho agreed for a certain amount of money to deed the land to Mrs. Peck. To consummate this all parties went back to Sauk, where the deed was made out and the money paid into his hands. The money he gave for safe-keeping to the official by whom the business was transacted. I'.nt the matter did not end here. The deed, having been "obtained by force, would not stand in law, and by taking tiie matter into the courts Brown won the case. The land suit was in law five years, and cost Mrs. Peck several hundreds of dollars. Besides all this, not being able to prove her hu.sband's death, she did not have the same advantages in entering lands as the others had. In order to secure herself a home, she borrowed money at 50 per cent interest, and purchased an 80-acre piece, upon a part of which she now resides.

There were other similar cases in which the association participated as "the defenders of old settlers' rights ; the foregoing, however, will suffice to show the character of them.

Substantial Improvements

The growth of Baraboo has been of the cautious character, and what it is to-day is the result of mere necessity. This speaks well for the frugality and bank accounts of its citizens, though in the 'past five or six years there has been a more general unloosing of purse-strings. Let us review the various stages of its growth. In April, 1856, a local correspondent wrote : " The village and vicinity are rapidly increasing in population. In the village there are six churches organized ; three of them have good houses built, and stated preaching. Baraboo has a population of about 2,000, and is the most healthy, as it is the most beautiful, village in the State. We have a first-class female seminary, and it is in a very prosperous condition. Baraboo has a water-power superior to any within a hundred miles of her. On what is known as the Baraboo Rapids, within a distance of less than two miles, four dams have been built, and there is a chance for another. At the lower mills, known as Manchester, there is a large flouring-mill, a saw-mill, and a carding and cloth-dressing establishment. At the next dam above, which is situated centrally in the village of Baraboo, there is a large grist-mill - built the past season - a saw-mill, a lath, picket and shingle machine, an extensive cabinet and planing establishment, and other machinery. At the next dam above is a saw-mill ; and at the next above that is another sawmill, doing the best business of any mill on the river ; also an extensive machine and cabinetware establishment, which gives employment to a large number of hands.".

A year later, the editor of one of the local papers set forth the advantages of the place in the following terms : "We have one bank, one banking-house, eight dry-goods stores, five grocery stores, three hardware and stove stores, three drug stores, two flouring-mills, three saw-mills, one carding-mill, one tannery, two furniture factories, one sash factory, one pottery, one jewelry store, one book store, five hotels, a livery stable and two markets. We have besides half a dozen physicians, as many lawyers, the same number of clergymen, two dentists, two daguerreans, five or six painters, as many shoemakers, half a dozen blacksmiths, five cabinet and wagon makers, two gunsmiths, and as many harness-makers."

In 1862, the institutions were thus reckoned up : One bank, three boot and shoe stores, one bakery and confectionery, six blacksmith-shops, two cabinet warerooms, three cooper-shops, five dry-goods stores, two drug stores, two dentists' rooms, one daguerrean gallery, two flouring-mills, three grocery stores, one gunsmith shop, two hardware stores, four hotels, one harness-shop, one hub-factory, one jewelry store, one millinery and book store, one music store, two meat markets, one mill for grinding corn, one pump factory, one sash and blind factory, three saw-mills, two tailor-shops, three wagon-shops, one woolen-factory, one college and one female seminary.

" It is a perfect New England town," says a writer of 1863, " transplanted to a new country, with its wide streets, shaded by beech, locust, elm and maple trees, its clean, fresh-looking white-painted homes, embowered in shrubbery, roses and trailing vines ; its gardens, fruit orchards, pleasant walks and that general air of refinement denoting a population intelligent, cultivated and independent. Baraboo, although the shire town of Sauk, one of the oldest and richest farming counties in the State, is more especially noted for its manufactures, to the development of which it has brought a genuine Yankee skill and perseverance. The beautiful Baraboo River, gracefully winding through the valley about a stone's throw from the court house square, is the archimedean lever that turns numberless mill-wheels, and offers a cheap, immense and inexhaustible motive power to future mills and factories that must sooner or later arise upon its banks. The beauty of the scenery in the vicinity, differing from that of other parts of the State in its larger variety, is the universal remark of travelers and tourists. The residents themselves pay but little attention to it and frequently go abroad for "a change of scenery." The somewhat renowned Baraboo Bluffs lie but two miles distant, in view of nearly every part of the village ; and the steep declivities of the " lake gorge " are likewise visible. Overhangmcr the north side, is a beautiful hill known as Mount Mercy. The village itself is adorned with many fine oaks of open forest growth, and the surrounding knolls and valley-dimpled plains are covered with handsome groves and shrubbery."

The Railhoad And Its Beneficent Results

When the Chicago & North-Western Railroad had been completed to Baraboo, the company very wisely selected this place as the grand central distribution point for what is known as the Madison Division, and temi)orary workshops, roundhouses, etc., were erected with all the speed consistent with the uninterrupted progress of the road westward. The effect upon the business interests of Baraboo was immediately perceptible. There was a general revival in trade, and a noticeable activity in real estate. South Baraboo, especially, became the scene of renewed enterprise. There seems to have been an awakening of the progressive spirit that predominated in pioneer days, when mills and dwellings, schoolhouses and churches, were completed in a fortni'dit. Building lots were in greater demand at advanced prices ; likewise, brick, lumber and stone. Mechanics and common laborers were less plentiful than formerly ; there was no longer any excuse for idleness. Handsome brick stores and hotels and neatly finished dwellings was the result. Baraboo long since took on the airs of a city, and the gradual and substantjal increase in population during the past ten years entitles her to recognition as such.

In 1879, the railroad company enlarged their shops and increased the capacity of their roundhouse to twenty-five stalls. The total amount expended in improvements of this character was from .$40,000 to .^50,000. A large portion of this was paid to residents of Baraboo for material and labor. The average number of men employed in connection with the company's shops at this point is about one hundred. The estimated disbursements on the division will reach nearly 1^00,000 per month, or $720,000 per annum. Of course, this amount is not all disbursed in Baraboo. For instance, the aggregate of the monthly salaries paid to agents, telegraph operators and clerks distributed along the line of the division will reach about $4,000. It is estimated that $12,000 per month is paid out to " train men " (conductors and brakeraen), $4,")00 to section men, and at least, $10,000 for extra men employed in connection with the construction department. The monthly salaries of engineers and firemen approximate $8,000; $r>,000 per month, is considered a fair estimate of the average amount expended in the construction and the repair of bridges, and a like amount is disbursed every month among the employes of the com|)any who are stationed permanently in Baraboo. Supplies and ordinary repairs cost $10,000 per month on an average. Here we have nearly three-quarters of a million dollars for operating expenses alone, expended annually on the division running from Belvidere to Winona, a distance of 21'J miles. Baraboo, being located midway between the two points, and being the division headquarters, necessarily reaps vast benefits from the road, other than the advantages arising from its favorable situation. It is claimed that about $200,000 of this amount is expended in Baraboo. This may be a slight exaggeration ; it is considered, however, a very fair estimate, speaking in I'ound numbers.

There is no denying the fact that the permanent location of the division headquarters at this point, combined with the ordinary advantages of the road, has placed Baraboo in the front rank of interior cities in Wisconsin. A few years ago, the place was scarcely known outside a radius of fifty miles ; now it has become renownetl, wherever civilization has penetrated the Western lleniisphere. This very desirable condition of things has been brought about chiefiy through the energy of its own citizens in striving to secure an outlet by rail. A great many earnest efl'orts were made in this direction at an early day, but the citizens were deceived in the promises made flicin by the managers of Milwaukee's railway interests. It was not until they " put their own shoulders to the wheel " that outside capital saw a safe investment in the construction of a road through the Baraboo Valley. The road completed, Baraboo's advantages as a business place, as a jjerinanent lioiiic, and as a summer resort, became known.

A6T0R, Lenox And Tiuden Foundations

Rich and his brother, Willis B. Rich, bought Mr. Vittum's remaining interest, the firm becoming Rich, McFetridge & Rich. In the fall of 1879, Henry Rich purchased his brother's interest. Messrs. Rich & McFetridge are now carrying on the business under the name of the Island Woolen Company. Their goods, mostly fancy cassimeres, are manufactured from the fine-blood wools of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. The annual product of their looms is between ninety thousand and one hundred thousand yards, and they give employment to about thirty-six hands. Sales are made throughout the Northwest.

In 1867, M. J. Drown and others organized the Baraboo Manufacturing Company with a capital stock of $35,000. The company had for its purpose the building of an extensive furniture factory on the Island Woolen-Mill dam. The project was soon perfected, and the factory put into successful operation. In 1876, the personal property of the company passed to the First National Bank of Baraboo, and the real estate to William Andrews. The concern was subsequently transferred to the Island Agricultural Works, whose managers recently turned their attention to the manufacture of Maj. A. McNaught's " Challenger Threshing Machine," ten of which were turned out and put in use during the season of 1879. The Agricultural Works Company now have a contract with Minnesota manufacturers to put in use in that State a number of " Challengers " equal to any other machine of a similar character.

The Lower Water Power. - In the summer of 1839, Eben Peck and James Alban crossed the bluffs from Sauk Prairie, for the purpose of exploring the Baraboo Valley, a glimpse of which Mr, Alban had but recently seen from the high bluffs east of the Devil's Lake. They struck the Baraboo River at a point since known as the Lower Ox-bow, about one mile below the present village of Baraboo. Crossing over the stream, they came upon two small Indian villages, the inhabitants of Avhich met them with frowns of disfavor. The two white explorers, regarding discretion as the better part of valor, recrossed the river as if to return over the bluffs ; but, instead of doing so, they camped for the night near the stream, upon the land that Mr. Peck had pre-determined should be his claim. Returning to Madison, Mr. Peck's home, he gave a glowing description of the region he had visited, and he announced his purpose soon to make a home at the foot of the noble rapids. In the fall, he, in company with his wife, Roseline, and brother Luther, again visited the spot, crossing the bluffs on horseback, Mrs. Peck riding upon a man's saddle. They met with no opposition from the Indians, and, while passing through the fertile precincts of what is now known as Peck's Prairie, they met Wallace Rowan and Abram Wood, who were on their way to examine the Baraboo Rapids. The Pecks returned to Madison, and Wood and Rowan soon afterward made a claim further up the river.

A month later, James Van Slyke and Chester Matson visited the Baraboo Rapids, and, after a careful inspection, concluded to locate on the Lower Ox-bow. It is not quite certain whether they knew at that time that the land had been previously claimed ; at any rate, they commenced work upon it, and, being short of money, they acquainted James Maxwell, then of Walworth County, and Berry Haney, of Dane County, with the fsxcts concerning the advantages of the location, and from them obtained means to improve their power.- Upon this subject Mr. Maxwell says : " Van Slyke returned to Walworth County in the early part of the following winter (1840) and induced me to take a half-interest with him in building a saw-mill, he to do tlie work, I to furnish the means. Hence, in the early spring of 1840, I let him have two yoke of oxen, chains and wagon, loaded them with a set of saw-mill irons, pork, flour and beans, and he set out for the Baraboo Valley with four or five hired men."

At what date they commenced work upon the dam is not positively known ; it is the opinion of a few old settlers that Wood and Rowan i)receded them in making the first improvements on the Baraboo River. Work progressed rapidly, however, until Van Slyke & Co. were summoned to Madison to prove their title to the property. This they failed to do.

" The suit with Peck," continues Mr. Maxwell, " dampened Van Slyke's ardor, and, the June floods sweeping away what improvements had been made, he sold the mill-irons to Wood & Rowan, disposed of the provisions, and drove the train back to mc, I think some time in July, 1840."

In the fall of 1840, Mr. Peck moved his family from Madison and took up his abode on his claim. Hut he, like other pioneers of a new country, was kept busily engaged earning the necessaries of life for his family, and had no time to devote to improvements. In 1846, when the land was ready for market. Van Slyke again put in an appearance and entered the land under the pre emption act of June, 1840. Mr. Maxwell furnished the means to enter it, for a half-interest, and afterward purchased the remaining half Van Slyke executed the deed to Maxwell August 14, 1846, but did not himself receive a deed from the Government until 1848.

In the winter of 1846-47, Col. Maxwell, his son James and a man named Esterbrook came hither and ran the lines of the Van Slyke claim. They found Count Haraszthy upon the premises with a stock of goods, and found also that they should require another "forty " to cover the entire water-power. Esterbrook, by agreement, went to Mineral Point and entered the requisite "forty." This he deeded over to the Maxwells November 17, 1848. In the spring of 1848, the dam and race having been completed, work was commenced upon the saw-mill.

The subsequent transfers of the present grist-mill property, as they appear from a recent deed made of it, are as follows : July 18, 1849, Col. Maxwell sold to his son James, and Benjamin L. Briar ; in November, Benjamin McVickar purchased a quarter-interest, and, about tiie same date, James T. Flanders purchased another quarter ; September 25, 1850, Maxwell and Briar deeded the remainder to McVickar & Flanders; April 1, 1854, McVickar sold to Mr. Flanders; January 27, 1857, Mr. Flanders deeded to Sarah Jane Cook ; September 25, 1857, John and S. J. Cook to John Woodruff; October 21, 1859, the Sheriff, under foreclosure, to Walter P. Flanders and Ebenezer Lane ; Lane immediately sold to Flanders, who in October got a deed of the Sheriff; December 22, 1866, W. P. Flanders to Charles II. Wheeler and Olivet W. Gunnison ; August 19, 1870, they conveyed it to W. S. Grubb ; October 5, 1874, Mr. Grubb to B. M. Jarvis and J. C. Spencer ; a year later, Jarvis sold his interest to R. H. Spencer.

Of the improvements which have been made upon this water-power, a great deal might be written. The old Maxwell grist-mill (now the woolen-mill) was built under the supervision of B. L. Brier, now of Jamestown, Tenn., and, the saw-mill having burned down, a new one was erected upon the ruins of the old, in 1857, by the Cooks, whose names appear in the foregoing as purchasers from Mr. Flanders. They also built a tannery, and purchased of L. Brier a carding machine, and from other sources obtained one set of woolen-mill machinery, and put it into operation in the saw-mill building. This property having passed back to Mr. Flanders, he rented it in 1858 to John Dean, who added new looms, and, assisted by his brothers, James and William Dean, carried on the business until about 1865. In the meantime, the Maxwell gristmill, which had been doing good service, was leased by the proprietors of the Baraboo Flouring Mill, on the " Central " dam, and closed down. The machinery was subsequently purchased and placed in the Honey Creek Mill, now the property of Koenig k Fagel. The empty mill building and the water-power were tlien purchased by Mr. Dean, and utilized by the removal of his woolen machinery thereto. Andrew Andrews and Henry Rich becoming the partners of Mr. Dean, the institution was conducted for a time under the firm name of John Dean k Co. It then passed to the hands of Joseph Ellis, Ira L. Humphrey and G. H. Bacon. The latter sold his interest in 1873 to M. J. Drown. Under this management, operations were suspended in the fall of 1874. Levi Crouch subsequently beofime the purchaser of tlie Ellis interest. During the early part of the summer of 1880, Edmund Brewster purchased tlie property, and is now engaged in erecting extensive buildings for a paper-mill. The old woolen-mill will be devoted to the manufacture of yarn.

For the past six years, the old saw-mill building has been run as a grist-mill, having been fitted up for that purpose by Spencer Brothers. The mill has two runs of stones, with a combined capacity of forty barrels per day.

The Central Mill Privilege. - In 1844, George W. and William Brown came to Baraboo from Whitewater, the former in June and the latter in July, for the purpose of locating permanently. They laid claim to the land upon which South Baraboo now stands, including the water site now known as the " Central Mill Privilege," and commenced building a dam across the founders, and the firm name was then changed to Daniels, Munson & Co. The late Andrew Andrews succeeded to the management of the institution, which finally proved unprofitable, and business was suspended. The buildings were located on the river, about one block below the main bridge, and covered some 450 square feet.

The Post Office

The first settlers of Baraboo had but little time to devote to letter-writing, and, correspondence between they and their friends in far-off Eastern homes being limited, a post office was not among the first requirements. It was not until the winter of 1846-47 that serious thoughts of having a' jiost office in the then embryo village were entertained. Prior to that time, the pioneer citizens had received their mail matter from Prairie du Sac, and it is needless to say that, the country being naturally in a wild state with few roads, there must have been considerable irregularity. A post office was finally established, early in 1847, Dr. Seth P. Angle being the first^'Postmaster. Prescott Brigham, liaving loaned money to the county with which to purchase the land for a county seat, insisted upon his right to give the place a name, and, out of his great admiration for the abilities of certain members of a renowned Massachusetts family, he chose to call it Adams, and it was so recorded in the Post Office Department at Washington. The multitude of post offices in the United States similarly named, however, soon convinced Government officials that the name must be changed, and the citizens were officially notified of the fact. The next question was, What shall we call it ? And, as is usual in cases of this kind, there was a division of opinion. An effort was made to call it Brooklyn, the name of the town in which the villai'e was located ; but opposition to this proposition soon became so violent that the Brooklynites were compelled to abandon the ground they had taken in favor of it. Finally, in 1852, the name Baraboo having been substituted for Brooklyn, as it applied to the town, the villagers agreed upon the adoption of the same name, and the momentous question was settled, once, and doubtless, for all time to come.

When the post office was first established, Mr. Brigham, who lived on the road leading north from Prairie du Sac, contracted to carry the mail. During fair weather, he made regular weekly trips ; but in the fall, winter and spring, the seasons of bad roads, he rarely came through oftener than once every fortnight. A remedy for inconveniences of this character finally came in the form of better roads, and, at a memorable period in the later history of the county, the iron horse came snorting through the great Baraboo Valley, distributing epistolary favors and the great dailies, fresh from the lightning printing presses, to all classes