Darlington City (part 1 of 7)

Darlington City

the "Five Leagues Square." In this connection, the following letter and orders will be of interest, whatever may have been the primary cause of the Indians' ill-will :

Sir - It is doubtful whether you are within the limits of the country which the United States, by treaty with the Pottawatomies, etc., have a right to explore for mining purposes. Under this circumstance, you will not remove further toward Rock River. Should you prefer to remain wh re you now are, you are at present at liberty to do so, with the express understanding, however, that slinuM that part of the country be eventually decided to belong to the Winnebagoes, you remove when duly notified of the fact from this office.

U. S. Lead Mining Office, Galena, October 1, 1827. Sirs - You are hereby directed to desist from working over the Kidge, and to employ no force whatever, either in hauling or sme'ting any material that may have been, or in the future may be, raised there. Also to make nc purchases of said mineral from any digger. Charles Smith.

On the same date miners were notified that they had no right to go beyond said ridge for the purpose of raining, and were ordered to suspend all further operations until further orders from the Superintendent.

On the 8th of October, 1827, an order was issued directing all discoveries of lead to be reported to the Lead Mining Office, Galena. On the 15th of November, 1827, the following persons, having struck leads prior to the 3d of July, 1827, beyond the ridge, were licensed to dig or Avork them out without interruption, but no others were to be allowed to mine beyond the ridge Mwc?er ajiy circumstances tvhatever : Cabanal, for Ewing & Co. ; Stevens, for Kirker & Ray; Riche, for Winkle; Elijah Ferguson, Hawthorn & Deviese ; Carroll, for Dickson; Stevenson, transferred to Blanchard ; Gillespie & Hymer; Stevens & Co. ; George Ames' survey, Moore & Watson, sold to Blanchard ; Foster & Hogan.

July 2, 1817, Lieut. Thomas granted a permit to M. C. White to " burn one lime of kiln [kiln of lime] above the mouth of Small-Pox [creek]." On the same day, Mr. ComstT)ck had permission to cut fifty large trees for building logs, near the large mound south of Mr. Gratiot's survey. Arbitrations were ordered between McKnight and Ewen Boyer & Co., on Mackey's survey, and between Jacob Himer and Will Baker, to take place on the 7th.

Notice

There will not, for the present, be any town laid off at the Old Turkey Village, commonly caTIefl Grant River Town. All persons are hereby forewarned from building cabins or houses there, except such licensed smelters who may locate in that vicinity, and such smelters will first obtain a special permission.

August 14, 1827, a permit was granted to Messrs. D. G. Bates, V. Jefferson and Hempsted to make a wharf, or landing, in front of their houses and lots, provided such landing is at all times free to public use ; no building to be placed upon it.

On the 8th of August, 1827, Michael Dee was convicted by arbitration of having stolen certain articles, the property of Thomas Williams, and all smelters and miners on Fever River forbidden to harbor said Dee or give him any employment.

McKnight left no records, except a few recorded permits ; and, except the two volumes from which the above extracts have been made, there are no records of the transactions of the Lead Mines Agency accessible, unless they are preserved in the War Department at Washington, and a letter to that department, asking for information, has failed to elicit a reply.

The only entries to be found of date later than 1827, are a code of regulations for miners, dated April, 1833, and signed Thomas C. Legate, Captain Second Infantry, Superintendeni U. S. Mines, and another and shorter code, dated October, 1840, signed by H. King. Special Agent U. S. Lead Mines, in which miners were required to pay not to exceed 6 pei cent of the ore, or its equivalent in metal, to the United States.

Under Lieut. Thomas' administration, Charles Smith and Thomas McKnight were Resident Sub-Agents at Galena. About 1828, the agency was removed to a log building there recently erected under permit, by Barney Dignan, on the southwest corner of Main and Washington streets-

In 1829, the ofiEice was in the first building above Mr. Barnes' boarding-house, on the upper (Bench) street, and in later time, and until discontinued, the office of the Superintendent was in Newhall's building, southwest corner of Hill and Main streets.

In 1829, Lieut. Thomas was succeeded by Capt. Thomas C. Legate, Second Infantry, under whom Capt. John H. Weber was Assistant Superintendent. Maj. William Campbell, Col. A. G. S. Wight and R. H. Bell were also connected with the office. In November, 1886, Capt. Weber's signature as Superintendent appears of record, and it is probable that he was appointed about that time.

As previously shown, under the old system, which generally prevailed until 1836, diggers were permitted to sell their mineral only to licensed smelters, and the Government collected the rents (10 per cent until 1830, and 6 per cent subsequently, delivered at the United States warehouse, in Galena) of the smelters. The prices paid to miners were made with that fact in view. In 1827, as clearly indicated by the letter from Lieut. Thomas to E. Ferguson, and subsequent orders, the diggers and some of the smelters were operating on lands not owned or controlled by the United States, in some instances, having the permission of the Indians and paying them for the privilege, and in more cases, probably, trespassing on their domain. It had begun to dawn upon the people that five leagues square comprised only a very small portion of the lands rich in mineral wealth, and it was not possible for the Government agents to prevent digging for mineral outside the limits of the reservation, over which, only, could the United States exercise control. The Superintendent of the United States Mines had no authority to grant permits on Indian territory. He could forbid such tresspass, but it would require a military force to prevent mining beyond the limits of the reservation, provided the diggers obtained the consent of the native owners. It was plain that the Government could rightfully collect rent only of those who obtained their mineral within the recognized limits of the " five league square." The agent could not fully demand any of the lead obtained beyond the limits of the reservation, and this led to difficulty. It was unjust to pay rent to the Indians and to pay it again to the United States, nor could the agent collect rent even if it had been surrepcitiously obtained. Some of the smelters, and especially those operating on Indian lands, either with or without the permission of the natives, or buying mineral from diggers operating beyond the jurisdiction of the agent, began to refuse to pay rent, alleging that, as they obtained lead from Indian lands and were not protected by the Government, they were under no obligation to pay. The agent was placed in an embarrassing position. They were obtaining mineral on the public lands, but they were also obtaining it on lands over which the United States exercise no control, he had no means of determining the amount actually due the Government, and therefore could not eriforce payment of any. This refusal became more general until the unauthorized sale of the mineral lands in Wisconsin, in 1831, and subsequently by the Register of the Land Office at Mineral Point (called " Shake-rag " in early mining days), who, in violation of his express instructions, permitted a large number of the diggings actually worked to be entered. Many miners were thus outrageously defrauded, and their rights were disregarded. From that time they declined taking leases, and the lead office gradually fell into practical disuse. Capt. Weber remained as agent until about 1840, but his agency was purely nominal. The regulations were not enforced, smelters paid no rent, and there was a season of freedom from Governmental supervision. In 1840, however, an attempt was made to revive the office. H. King, special agent, was sent to the mines, probably to investigate Weber's loose manner of doing business, or rather his neglect of business. Mr. King," says Mr Houghton, "or very nearly the same time, came John Flanagan."

A letter from Capt. W. B. Green, who was familiar with the events of that period, contains the following information: " The Lead Mine Agency was suspended for several years prior to 1841. A.fter the inauguration of President Harrison, in 1841, the agency was revived and Flanagan appointed Superintendent - revived, probably, to give Flanagan the appointment. Previous to the suspension of the agency, the royalty to the Government was paid by the miners through the smelters. After the revival of the agency under Flanagan, the attempt was made to collect the royalty directly from the miners. The attempt was only a partial success, as the miners generally refused or evaded the payment. During the suspension of the agencj, through affidavits gotten up (as affidavits can be to prove anything when taken ex-parte), a bill was lobbied through Congress, giving one of the early smelters a large sum of money for royalty paid by him on mineral reported to have been taken iVom Indian lands outside the original purchase. This established a precedent, of which most of the other smelters availed themselves, and in a similar manner had large sums voted them - in the aggregate, it may be, amounting to more than all the royalty received by the Government from the mines. The truth is, there was but a very inconsiderable amount taken from the Indian lands prior to the purchase of the lands south of the Wisconsin River, in the winter of 1827-28. What little there was, should, of right, have been paid to the Indians, or, ignoring their right, it should have been paid to the miners who actually paid it, as the smelters took the royalty into account when they purchased the mineral and deducted it from the value thereof/'

Mr. King remained but a short time, Weber was removed or superseded, and Flanagan left in charge with instructions to enforce the regulations established by Mr. King.

About the same time Walter Cunningham, who, says Mr. Houghton, had been appointed to investigate the Superior copper mines, returned from a tour through that region and established himself here with Flanagan. From this time, the regulations required the miners to pay the rent '-not to exceed 6 per cent of the ore or its equivalent in metal," but in practice, it is said, the rent that was collected was generally paid through the smelters, as formerly.

Flanagan, his associate, Cunningham, and a clerk named Couroddy, by their associations and habits rendered themselves exceedingly odious to the people. Flanagan commenced a large number of suits against individuals for arrears of rent, and compromised them for what he could get in cash, but, it is said, made no returns to the Government of his collections - defrauding the people and the Government at the same time. He was accustomed to say to the people that the " Government must be paid first," and his arrogant declaration to smelters and others that " I ;ira the Government," sufficiently indicates his character and the disposition he made of his collections. If he was "the Government," there was no necessity of making returns to anybody, and none were known to be made by him. Complaints of his high-handed proceedings reached by the Secretary of War to Galena, to investigate Flanagan's administration. He came, but remained but a few days, dismissed Flanagan and placed Maj. Thomas Mellville, of Galena, in charge of the office, temporarily, until reports could be made to the War Department, and a Superintendent should be appointed. The next year, 1814, according to the best information to be obtained, John G. Floyd, of Virginia, was appointed to the office. Mr. Floyd made an effort to enforce the collection of rent, and in some measure succeeded, but was removed in 1845, at the instance of Hon. Joseph P. Hoge, tlien member of Congress for this (then Sixth) District, and James A. Mitchel was appointed as his successor, who remained until the office was finally disconti.nued, about 1847, when the lands were thrown into the market. Practically., however, the office was little more than nominal after the resignation of Capt. Legate, in 1836. Under the pre-emption law, a large amount of miueral lands had been entered. Settlers were required to make oath that no mineral ivas being dug on the lands they desired to enter, and this requirement was easily evaded.

The people generally considered the agency as an imposition, and it was impossible to secure the implicit obedience to the rule of the superintendent that obtained in the days of Thomas and liCgate. The experiment of reviving the office was not a success. The Government found upon trial that, instead of being a source of revenue, the management of the lead mines produced constant drafts upon the Treasury^ and at last, after the settlers had petitioned in vain for years, early in the session of 1846-47, Congress authorized the sale of the lands. A receiver was appointed, and by the 5th day of April, 1847, says Seymour, "land to the amount of $127,700 had been sold at minimum prices, $1.25 per acre for farming, and |2.50 per acre for mineral lands, and the days of governmental supervision or ownership of the lead mines ended.

The amount of lead shipped from various ports on the Mississippi, principally from Galena, for nine years prior to the discovery of gold in 1849, and the estimated value thereof, is as follows :

In 1849, the gold discoveries in California disturbed " the even balance of ordinary business operations" in the lead-mining district. The tide of immigration that had been directed to this region, was diverted to the Pacific Coast, and a large number of miners and business men, dazzled by the glitter of California gold, left to seek their fortunes on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Large amounts of real estate, covered by valuable improvements, were forced into market and sold at nominal prices, to obtain the means wherewith to remove to California. Enormous rates were paid for money, and a large amount of capital was withdrawn from the usual channels of trade ; improvements commenced or contemplated, were suspended or delayed, and the heavy emigration from the lead to the gold raining region was seriously felt. A large number of men usually engaged in prospecting, and by whom new and important discoveries had been constantlv made, were no longer here, and operations were principally confined for a time to old "leads." But in compensation for this, the price of mineral advanced to $28 per thousand (it had at some periods been as low as $8 or $9, and was seldom higher than $22), and this advance caused operations to be renewed in diggings that had been abandoned as too unproductive to be remunerative. Writing in 1850, in discussing the effect of the " gold fever," Mr. Seymour says : " Although lead is one of the baser metals, and does not strike the imagination like pure gold dug from the bowels of the earth, yet it immediately becomes gold in the pockets of the miner, for nothing but gold is given in exchange for it by the smelter, and it is always in great demand at the market price. If enterprising men were willing to undergo here half the privations and sufl^erings which they endure by a journey to California and hard labor in the gold mining, their happiness and prosperity would probably be as well promoted by their pecuniary success, saying nothing of the extreme perils thereby avoided, and the painful disruption of domestic ties, so common to this class of emigrants."

In 1859, Hon. Charles Bracken prepared an historic statement of the early times in the lead region for the purpose of influencing a Congressional grant of lands for railroad purposes. So far as these annals are concerned, the value of the document lies in the expression of facts, and also in the report thereto appended, giving a list of those who mined prior to 1830, and paid rent to the Government as well as tribute to the Indians. Mr. Bracken wrote :

" At a treaty held by Gen. William H. Harrison with the Sac and Fox Indians, at St. Louis, on the 3d day of November, 1804, those Indians sold to the United States all the land east of the Mississippi River, extending from the mouth of the Illinois River to the mouth of the Wisconsin River, including the lead mines east of the Mississippi. Another treaty was held on the 24th of August, 1816, at Fort Crawford (St. Louis), between the United States representatives, Gov. Edwards, Gen. Clark and Mr. Choteau, and the Ottawa, Chippewa and Pottawatomie Indians. The Indians then proved, to the satisfaction of the Commissioners, that the country sold to Gen. William H. Harrison did not belong to the Sacs and Foxes alone, but was jointly the country of the Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, Winnebagoes and Pottawatomies of the Illinois. The Winnebagoes were not parties to this treaty, and, as a result, the Government ceded to them all the country lying north of a line running west from the southerly bend of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, reserving, however, a quantity of land north of that line equal to five leagues square, to be laid in such tract or tracts as the President of the United States might deem proper. Some six years after the ratification of that treaty, the President, acting under authority vested in him by the act of March 3, 1807, which authorized him to lease the salt springs and lead mines belonging to the Government, directed the Secretary of War to lease the lead mines. Acting under this order. Col. Bomford, of the Ordnance Bureau, on the 15th day of June, 1822, advertised in the principal newspapers throughout the United States that proposals would be received for leasing any land of the Government containing lead mines. Col. James Johnson, of Kentucky, responded to the notice, and became a lessee of the Government for the lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, and was the first person to come into the country for the purpose of mining under Government auspices. He proceeded with keel-boats to Fever River, where, although accompanied by Maj. Forsythe, the Indian agent at Rock Island, his landing was resisted by the Winnebago Indians (who had assembled in arras to resist the landing of any white men, saying that the Sacs, Foxes, Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawatomies had received presents and payments for lands which belonged to them, and that they never sold to the United States). After Mr. Johnson had counseled with the Indians for several days, and made them presents of merchandise and provisions, they consented to his landing and raining and smelting in their country. Others received similar leases and followed him, and the result was that, at the time of the treaty of Prairie du Chien, in 1829, when the Indian title to the country was extinguished, the miners had dispossessed the Indians of every foot of land where there were indications of lead ore. In thus taking possession of the rich mineral lands belonging to the Winnebago Indians, they carried out the object of the Government, as evinced by the clause of the treaty at Fort Edwards, in 1816, which authorized the President to reserve a quantity of land equal to two hundred and twenty-five sections in their country. As the (quantity of land covered by a smelting lease was limited to three hundred and twenty acres, or cne-half section, the entire quantity reserved would authorize four hundred and fift}'' leases, and the Government well knew that, when that number of her citizens were dotted over those lands, the country was virtually lost to the Indians forever, and the result proved the correctness of this cunclusion.

"-It cannot be snown by any record, that a tract of land five leagues square, or any less in quantity, was ever officially located or reserved, as provided for in the treaty at Fort HoAvard, in 1816; ijut, under the orders of the Superintendent of the Lead-Mine District of the Upper Mississippi, surveys were made for licensed smelters, covering a half-section of timbered land each. It appears that no record was kept of such surveys ; yet, in every instance where a lease- was granted a survey was made, and, as timber was necessary for smelting purposes, these surveys were always made in groves where plenty of wood could be obtained. It may be assumed, that, although there was no record kept, as the surveys were made under the direction of the President, and had metes and bounds regularly established, they must necessarily be considered as a part of the reserve under the treaty: yet, that position would not affect the miners' claims seriously, for in x<o instance was the mineral smelted taken from the timbered surveys ; it was taken from the adjoining prairie lands, which were undoubtedly the property of the Indians. So well was this understood by the miners and smelters that, at a very early day, they refused to pay rent for the lead dug and -smelted from the Indian lands. The consequence was, in the spring of 1825, troops were ordered from Fort Armstrong (Rock Island) to force the payment of the rent. Against this military exaction the smelters strongly protested.

" Up to the year 1825, the country east of the Mississippi, lying between the Rock and Wisconsin Rivers, and extending north to Lake Winnebago, was claimed conjointly by the Ottawas, Chippewas, Winnebagoes and Pottawatomies of the Illinois. The Winnebagoes, it will be remembered, were not parties to the treaty of 1816, at Fort Howard, and they were the actual occupants of the land around Fever River, and who resisted the landing of Col. Johnson. Previous to his arrival. Van Matre, Shull and others, who were licensed as Indian traders, also mined and smelted in the country. They were tolerated in this because they were married to Indian women, not because they had any recognized right to do so, conferred by the Government. But, after the arrival of Johnson, all who were smelting in the country were compelled to take out licenses and pay rent to the Government.

" At the treaty concluded at Prairie du Chien, on the 19th day of August, 1825, known as the 'Treaty of Limits,' the seventh and ninth articles divided the mining country on the east of the Mississippi between the Chippewas, Winnebagoes, Ottawas, and the Chippewas and Pottawatomies of the Illinois, and, by the tenth article of the treaty, the United States solemnly establishes and recognizes the boundaries.

" In the summer of 1827, the Winnebago chief. Red Bird, attacked some keel-boats on the Mississippi, above Prairie du Chien, and killed some of the hands.*

"Previous to that time no attempt had been made by the miners to cross the boundary line established in 1825,* but then a military expedition was sent against the Winnebagoes to capture Red Bird. The miners who accompanied the expedition discovered numerous indications ol mineral, and in the fall of 1827 a number of them prospected in the country, and a valuable discovery of mineral deposit was found near Dodgeville (in Iowa County). During the following year other mines were discovered.

" The miners purchased the right to mine here from the Indians, and, therefore, when called upon by the Superintendent of the lead mines, refused to pay rent to the Government. The consequence was, troops were ordered out from Fort Crawford (Prairie du Chien), to remove the miners from the Winnebago country. To avoid this issue, the miners finally consented to take out leases and pay rent to the Government, and did, therefore, actually pay two duties for the privilege of mining - bne to the Indians to keep them quiet, and one to the Government to prevent expulsion.

" The Winnebagoes never consented to the reservation with the other tribes who made the treaties of 1804 and 1816, although they were, as shown, part owners of the country ; neither can any evidence be adduced showing that the reservation provided for in the treaty of 1816, was ever located, except in the matter of timber surveys'before mentioned. * * *

" When the first leases were granted, in 1822, the Fever River mines were fully 300 miles beyond the border settlements, and the Mississippi was the only thoroughfare into the country, and keel boats the only means of transportation. The consequence was that the necessary implements for mining purposes, as well as the necessaries of life, were taken to the mines at an enormous expense. For years the prosperity of the mines was retarded because the Government discountenanced any attempts at agriculture ; the agents assuming that the fencing of farms would consume timber needed for smelting purposes. At first the ore was smelted in log furnaces, and thereby a heavy loss was sustained. For two seasons the mining and smelting operations were suspended, and great sacrifices were made by the miners in defending the country against the Indians. The miners, at a great loss in the expenditure of time and labor and money, and though suffering the worst dangers and deprivations that are to be met with on the frontier, opened this portion of the country to a permanent settlement. The expenditures of Col. Johnson alone amounted to, $10, 000."

Those Who Mined Prior To 1830 Political History Of The District

The legislative actions by which the mining district has been geographically changed, may be briefly and appropriately stated here, at the risk of repeating certain statements given in the general history which opens this volume.

The ordinance of 1787 provided that not less than three, nor more than five, States were to be erected out of the territory northwest of the Ohio River. Three States were to include the whole territory, and these States were to be bounded on the north by the British Possessions ; but Congress reserved the right, if it should be found expedient, to form two more States of that part of the territory which lies north of an east-and-Avest line drawn through the southern extremity of Lake Michigan.

It is not necessary to trace the various changes of territorial jurisdiction to which Illinois, and especially its northwestern portion, was subjected, until the admission of the State into the Union in 1818. During all that time this section of the country was inhabited only by Indians, and this whole region was claimed by them. In 1804, the Sacs and Foxes, then a powerful tribe, by a treaty made at St. Louis with Gen. Harrison, then Governor of the Territory of Indiana, ceded to the United States all their lands lying east of the Mississippi ; but Black Hawk and other chiefs who were not present at St. Louis, refused to be bound by it. All the territory north of the line drawn west from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the

Mississippi was in the undisputed possession of the native tribes, when the State of Illinois was erected, in 1818, except a tract about five leagues square on the Mississippi, of which Fever River was about the center, which, by treaty with various tribes in 1816, the United States Government had reserved, ostensibly for a military post, but really to control the lead mines. The Government had had knowledge for many years of the existence of lead mines here, but their location was not known, and it was thought that all would be included within the limits of the reservation. . The Government designed to own and hold exclusive control of these mines.

In January, 1818, the Territorial Legislature of Illinois, assembled at Kaskaskia, petitioned Congress for the admission of the Territory as a sovereign State, with a population of 40,000.

The petition was sent to Nathaniel Pope, the Territorial Delegate, by whom it was promptly presented, and it was referred to the proper committee, which instructed Mr. Pope to prepare and report a bill in accordance with its prayer. The bill, as drawn in accordance with these instructions, did not embrace the present area of Illinois, and, when it was reported to Congress, certain amendments proposed by Mr. Pope were reported with it. It was generally supposed that the line established by the ordinance of 1787, namely, the line drawn through the southern part of Lake Michigan, west to the Mississippi, was to be the northern boundary of the new State. But this, if adopted, would have left the port of Chicago in the Territory of Michigan, as well as all the territory now embraced within the limits of fourteen rich and populous counties in Northern Illinois. A critical examination of the ordinance, however, convinced Mr. Pope that Congress had the power, and could rightfully extend the northern boundary of the State as far beyond the line provided in 1787 as it pleased. The principal amendments proposed by Mr. Pope, therefore, were, first, that the northern boundary of the new State should be extended to the parallel of 42 deg. 30 min. north latitude - this would give a good harbor on Lake Michigan; and secondly, more important than the boundary line, to apply the 3 per cent fund arising from the sale of public lands to educational purposes, instead of making roads, as had been the case in Ohio and Indiana. These amendments were adopted without serious opposition, and Illinois was declared an independent State.

These important changes in the original bill, says Mr. Ford in his History of Illinois, " were proposed and carried through both houses of Congress by Mr. Pope on his own responsibility. The Territorial Legislature had not petitioned for them - no one had suggested them, but they met the general approval of the people." The change of the boundary line, however, suggested to Mr. Pope - from the fact that the boundary as defined by the ordinance of 1787. would have left Illinois without a harbor on Lake Michigan - did not meet the unqualified approval of the people in the northwestern part of the new State. For many years the northern boundary of the State was not definitely known, and the settlers in the northern tier of counties did not know whether they were in Illinois or Michigan Territory. Under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, Wisconsin at one time laid claim to a portion of Northern Illinois, "including," says Mr. Ford, writing in 1847, '-fourteen counties embracing the richest and most populous part of the State." October 27, 1827, nine years after the admission of the State, Dr. Horatio Newhall, who had then recently arr-ived at the Fever River Settlement, wrote to his brother as follows : " It is uncertain whether I am in the boundary of Illinois or Michigan, but direct your letters to Fever River, 111., and they will come safely." In October, 1828, a petition was sent to Congress from the people of that part of Illinois lying north of the line established by the ordinance of 1787, and that part of the Territory of Michigan west of Lake Michigan, and comprehending the mining district known as the Fever River Lead Mines, praying for the formation of a new Territory. A bill had been introduced at the previous session of Congress for the establishment of a new Territory north of the State of Illinois, to be called "Huron Territory," upon which report had been made, in part, favorable to the wishes of the petitioners, but they asked for the re establishment of the line as ordained by Congress in 1787. They declared " that the people inhabiting the territory northwest of the Ohio had a right to expect that the country lying north of an east-and-west line passing through the southernmost end of Lake Michigan, to the Mississippi River, and between said lake, the Mississippi and the Canada line, would remain together " as a Territory and State. They claimed that this was a part of the compact, unchangeably granted by the people of the original Stores to the people who should inhabit the "territory northwest of the Ohio." They declared that the change of the chartered limits, when Illinois was made a State, was open invasion of their rights in a body when they were unrepresented in either territory ; that " an unrepresented people, without their knowledge or consent, have been transferred from one sovereignty to another." They urged that the present "division of the miners by an ideal line, separating into different governments individuals intimately connected in similar pursuits, is embarrassing." They asked for "even handed justice," and the restoration of their "chartered limits." The Miners' Journal, of October 25, 1828, which contains the full text of the petition, says : " We do not fully agree with the memorialists in petitioning Congress again to dispose of that tract of country which has once been granted to Illinois ; but we think that it would be for the .ntercst of the miners to be erected, together with the adjoining county above, into a separate Territory. And we firmly believe, too, that Congress departed from the clear and express terms of their own ordinance passed in the year 1787, when they granted to the State of Illinois nearly a degree and a half of latitude of the chartered limits of this country. Whether Congress will annex this tract to the new Territory, we much doubt, but we believe the ultimate decision of the United States Court will be, that the northern boundary line of the State of Illinois shall commence at the southernmost end of Lake Michigan." The petition was unavailing, and the northern line of Illinois remains unchanged, but the agitation of the subject by the people of this region continued. In 1840, the people of the counties north of the ordinance line sent delegates to a convention held at Rockford to take action in relation to the annexation of the tract north of that line to Wisconsin Territory, and it is said the scheme then discussed embraced an effort to make Galena the capital of the Territory. Resolutions were adopted requesting the Senators and Representatives in Congress for Illinois to exert their influence in favor of the project. The labors of the convention produced no results ; but, until the admission of Wisconsin as a State, there was a strong feeling among the people of Northwestern Illinois that they rightfully belonged to Wisconsin, and there was a strong desire to be restored to their chartered limits. Perhaps the heavy debt with which Illinois was burdened at that time may have had some influence in causing the feeling.

St. Clair County, organized April 28, 1809, included the whole territory of Illinois and Wisconsin, to the line of tipper Canada, north of Randolph County, these two being the only counties in the territory.

Madison County was erected from the, St. Clair, September 14, 1812, and comprised all the territory north of the second township line south, to the line of Upper Canada. County seat, Edwardsville.

Bond County was organized out of part of Madison, January 4, 1817, and extended in a strip about, thirty miles wide on each side of the Third Principal Meridian to the northern boundary of the territory.

Pike County was erected January 31, 1821, from Madison, Bond and other counties, and embraced all the territory north of the Illinois River and its South Fork, now Kankakee River. This was the first county erected by the State of Illinois, which embraced the present territory of the lead region. A Gazetteer of Illinois and Wisconsin, published about 1822, says that the county " included a part of the lands appropriated by Congress for the payment of military bounties. The lands constituting that tract, are included within the peninsula of the Illinois and Mississippi, and extend on the meridian line passing through the mouth of the Illinois, 162 miles north. Pike County will no doubt be divided into several counties ; some of which will become very wealthy and important. It is probable that the section about Fort Clark (now Peoria), will be most thickly settled. On the Mississippi River, above Rock River, lead ore is found in abundance. Pike County contains between 700 and 800 inhabitants. It is attached to the first judicial circuit, sends one member to the House of

History Of The Lead Regiok

Representatives, and, with Greene, one to the Senate. The county seat is Colesgrove, a post town. It was laid out in 1821, and is situated in Township 11 south, in Range 2 west of the Fourth Principal Meridian. Very little improvement has yet been made in this place or the vicinity. The situation is high and healthy, and it bids fair to become a place of some importance." This is all that is known of the town of Colesgrove, the county seat of all this region in 1821.

Fulton County was formed from Pike, January 28, 1823, and included all the territory north of the base line, and west of the Fourth Principal Meridian, which had been in Pike.

Peoria County was created from Fulton, January 13, 1825, and, with some exceptions, included the same territory that comprised Fulton. The county seat was Fort Clark, now Peoria, and the first election of which record exists, within the mining district, was in Fever River precinct of Peoria County, August 7, 1826. The election was held at the house of James Smith. This was the trading-post then recently located by Amos Farrar and occupied by Smith as a tavern ; a double log-cabin that stood on the west bank of the river about half way between the foot of Perry and the foot of Franklin streets. Galena. Water street now passes over its site.

I hereby certify that Nehemiah Bates, T. W. Shull and Andrew Clamo, judges, and B. Gibson and Joseph Hardy, clerks of the election, were severally sworn before me as the law directs, previous to entering upon the duties of their respective offices.

There is a tax-list of 1826 on file at Peoria, containing two hundred and four names of men in the Fever River settlement, but the Deputy Collector who undertook to collect the taxes reported that the settlers openly defied him, and refused to pay a cent. This recalcitrant condition grew out of the uncertainty of to whom allegiance was due, as described in the foregoing pages. The people of the region from the first days to the present have been noted for1;heir law-abiding character, with this exceptional exhibition of feeling.

The narrative of the political creation of the counties of Grant, Iowa and La Fayette, is pursued in the works devoted to those several counties by the. Western Historical Company, and need not be detailed at this point.

His first visit to the lead mines was in August, 1828. He settled in Monticello, in the vicinity of the Galena leaxl mines in the following month. Capt. Benj. Funk, Thos. Wiley and R. H. Magoon band a band-mill at what is now Wiley's Grove, then called Funk's Grove, in Monticello. After seeing the mill in successful operation, Mr. Magoon went to the Blue Mounds, and, after a brief sojourn, entered into co-partnership with Esau Johnson and Henry Starr for the purpose of smelting. The enterprise proved a success. About December, 1829, he disposed of his interest in the business and returned to the Grove, now part of La Fayette County, but then erroneously accredited to Jo Daviess County, 111. He re-engaged in the smelting business, having erected a furnace, which was completed about May 1, 1830. He subsequently made the discovery that he was nearly one mile within the boundaries of Michigan Territory. The United States Surveyors denominated his place of residence " Magoon's Grove," in deference to the proprietor. This likewise proving a successful year of smelting, he broke up twenty-five acres of prairie land, which he seeded down with forage supplies. In the early part of 1831, all the mineral in view was smelted, as Mr. Magoon, in anticipation of increased prices, was paying a higher rate per ton than others believed they could afibrd. This anticipation proved faithful, for, on the arrival of steamboats, lead advanced in figure. With the profit thus realized by his shrewdness, he invested in a stock of general merchandise, such as always finds ready sale in a miner's camp. In 1831, he fenced in a hundred acres of arable land, and extended his operations in ore to the absorption of his whole capital and $8,000 borrowed from Robert Graham, of Galena.

The winter of 1831-32 was marked by Indian inroads, which, coupled with authenticated reports, presaged a bloody influx of the Sac and Fox tribes in the ensuing spring. These rumors were still further corroborated in May, 1882, by information that the British bands of Sac and Fox Indians had crossed the Upper Mississippi River, ascending Rock River, with the intention of effecting a union with the Pottawatomies, and inaugurating warfare against the whole race of whites. Fully aroused by the threatening aspect of affairs, every settlement of miners and farmers began to erect forts for their mutual protection. Every other business was abandoned, as of secondary consideration, until these improvements were fully achieved. When Funk's Fort was completed, R. H. Magoon was elected Captain, a position which he resigned in a few days, for the express purpose of joining a mounted corps, a branch of the service which he considered more effective in waging war with a fleet-footed foe. Benjamin Funk was elected to fill the vacancy. Moving in such hazardous times, and at no moment confident of his own safety, he called upon Mr. Robert Graham and deeded to that gentleman his entire estate as collateral for the loan of $8,000. The transfer was reluctantly accepted by the capitalist, who vainly essayed to dissuade R. H. Magoon from his purpose.

This business satisfactorily accomplished, he removed his wife and three-months-old son to a place of safety in Galena. Then, arming himself, he joined an expedition under command o', Col. Dodge that was setting out to reclaim and inter the bodies of St. Vrain and others, who had fallen in an encounter at Plum River. Parts of four companies composed the force, with a few independent volunteers who were starting forth to war on their own account. The first halt was made at Fetter's, a point nine miles from Gratiot. Before alighting, Col. Dodge strongly impressed on the rugged yeomen the necessity tliat existed for unanimity of action, and urged them to study discipline. The troop was then formed into a hollow square, and, on receiving orders to " Dismount," each man removed his saddle ar.d laid it on the ground where he, dismounted, and turned his horse out to graze. The orders were, that if an alarm was sounded during the night, each man should spring up in bis place, and thus be formed in hollow square, to repel an attack.

The line of march was resumed in the morning, and, later in the day, the bodies of St. Vrain and three companions were found and properly buried. One of St. Vrain's number, a Mr. Hawley, was not found. The march was continued on to Dixon's Ferry, on Rock River, where Mr. Magoon was assigned as Second Lieutenant of Capt. Clark's company of mounted volunteers, and in that capacity assisted, with an escort of twenty-five men, to conduct Gen. Brady to Ottawa. Col. Dodge was in command. The journey and return trip was accomplished in immunity.

The camping-place selected was the very spot where St. Vrain and his men encamped the night before they met their fate. At Kellogg's Grove they encountered Capt. A. W. Snyder and his company, from St. Clair, 111. Capt. Snyder reported that they had a brush with the Indians several hours previous, and, despite the assistance afforded by Gen. Samuel Whiteside, a portion of his command was sadly demoralized at a sight of the Indians. At the close of the conflict, it was found that several of the Illinois men were killed, whereas their foes escaped almost unscathed.

Before arriving at Gratiot's Grove, a halt was made to graze the horses. No provisions were visible for the bodily support of the soldiers. They were placed in a quandary for a time, not knowing how to remedy the omission. In the vicinity was Fetter's deserted house, and, while wandering around the premises, one of the men descried a huge, rusty iron kettle. Summoning assistance, the kettle was cleaned out and filled with mustard greens, from which they expected to sup sumptuously. Alas for the hopes of men ! When the mess was boiled, it proved unpalatable and nauseating. Arriving at Gratiot's Grove, Col. Dodge informed the volunteers that they had covered two hundred miles in five days, thus averaging forty miles a day. May, 1832, was occupied in general skirmishing and guerrilla warfare, which permitted the utilization of Col. Dodge's 200 mounted men. The united strength of the Sacs, Foxes, Win nebagoes and Pottawatomies, was 600 warriors, a force that could have annihilated the gallant miners had they met in a pitched battle. When the mounted men were dispatched to Ottawa, Black Hawk, who had been reconnoitering the white men's position, realized the serious error committed, and instructed Little Priest to make a descent on Fort Ilamilron.

Little Priest and his war party invaded Spaflford's farm and killed four out of six men entrenched in an open corn-field. One of the men, named Spencer, effected his escape by concealing himself during the fight. The other fortunate was a Mr. Million, whose fleetness enabled him to outstrip his pursuers, and bring the awful tidings to Fort Hamilton. The information was thence disseminated by couriers among the different forts. On the 15th of June, Apple, a resident of the fort, was found dead within half a mile of the fort, bearing unmistakable signs of a murderous attack by the Indians. The exigency of the occasion demanded immediate and energetic action. A pursuing party was organized. Little Priest attempted evasive tactics, but, being hotly pressed,' was compelled to ambush himself where the ground inequalities gave him the vantage. The whites charged valiantly in a sweeping fire, that inspired each man to greater action. The position was captured, and every Indian ruthlessly slain, with the same degree of mercy that they had meted out to their white victims. Not a soul escaped to narrate ill the wigwam the desperate struggle. About June 20, word was received by Capt. Clark that the fort at Blue Mounds ^vas besieged. To "boot and saddle" was quickly sounded, and all M vailable mounted men were marched to the threatened locality. A halt was made at Porter's Grove, six miles west of Blue Mounds, and on consultation the march Ava5 continued throuwh the luglit. Nearing the objective point, ihe mutilated body of Lieut. George Force was found, the remains were carefully collected, and, with a blanket for a shroud, laid in a grave on the open prairie. A parade was held on the ridge, and, in the unanimous opinion of the people of the fort, the Sacs were far the more numerous. The march south was continued to Willow Springs, \vhere they camped were driven for the night. During the night the startling intelligence was received that a large party had appeared from the direction of Pecatonlca, and were marching toward Apple River Fort, on the site of the present town of Elizabeth. Capt. Clark instantly ordered the company to saddle, a feat that involved nearly an hour's time, owing to the dense darkness prevailing. They set out upon a forced march, and had proceeded seven miles beyond White Oak Springs, when overtaken by an express messenger, who related the capture of Apple River Fort. He alleged that when approaching the fort that morning, and when within l)hiin sight, he had seen two hundred red demons charging on the fort. The fire was active and incessant for a time, and then ceased altogether. Despairing of the fate of the garrison, he liad hiistened to convey the information to Capt. Clark, whom he had expected to meet at White Oak Springs. Capt. Clark and Lieut. Magoon, after a hasty consultation, concluded to re-enforce White Oak Springs, and to notify the commanders of Fort Gratiot and Fort Funk to maintain a vigilant guard, and forward any fresh intelligence of the aborigines' movements. The mounted company clamored loudly to be brought face to face with Black Hawk and his braves, so as to wreak on them a terrible and sanguinary vengeance. Capt. Clark departed to lilarm the habitues of Fort Gratiot of their danger, leaving Lieut. Magoon in charge. That officer caused every man to test his rifle, wipe it out and reload for fresh service. These movements were onlv completed Avhen two men, attached to Funk's Fort, arrived, saying that the Indians were marching on that place, and when last observed were within three miles and still approaching. Supported by eleven volunteers, Lieut. Magoon made all haste toward the Fort, which he reached without adventure. No Indians were in sight, and, on prosecuting inquiry, it was rendered obvious that a foe only existed in the excited imaginations of the Orderly Sergeant, who, mistaking a scouting party from a neighboring post for Indians, sounded a premature alarm. In the morning, great relief was experienced on learning that Apple River Fort was intact, Capt. Stone having effectually scattered the enemy, who beat a precipitate retreat toward the east. An order was received from Col. Dodge, in the afternoon, directing that a messenger should be dispatched to Kellogg's Grove to inform them there that the trail of a large war party was visible two miles north of his station, and warning them to maintain a strict guard in the absence of volunteers. Capt. Funk and Jacob Duval bore the dispatch to its destination. Maj. Dement, of Kellogg's Grove, sent out scouts in the morning. They quickly returned with a cry of " Indians." General excitement prevailed ; every one in the camp was astir. All semblance of order was lost, and Maj. Dement vainly strove to organize his battalion out of this disturbed rabble. They all sallied forth regardless of order, some on horseback, and others, too eager for the fray to catch their horses, on foot. Unopposed they advanced until Black Hawk and his sterling warriors emerged from cover, uttered their Avar whoop, and charged on the disorderly mob. The whites retreated in overwhelming disorder, in many instances the infantry being trod under foot by their own cavalry. Maj. Dement exerted himself to the utmost of his ability to restore a semblance of order, but his praiseworthy efi'orts were unavailing. The troops fell back on the houses, wherein they sought shelter from the well-directed missiles of Black Hawk's sharpshooters. Maj. Dement, irritated at defeat, ined outside the protecting walls, and angrily strode up and down the path. Not until a wellreman directed bullet from the enemy passed through his hat was Maj. Dement induced to seek shelter at the importunities of his friends. The Indians continued firing on the house until finally, tired of this amusement, they crossed the prairie to the east, and disappeared in the Yellow Creek timber. The damage inflicted by this visitation was the loss of fifty horses, shot dead or crippled.

The following evening, Capt. Clark was handed a dispatch from Col. Dodge, ordering him to proceed to Fort Hamilton, and, after drawing ten days' rations, join the regiment then preparing to march on Black Hawk. ¥o rations were visible at Fort Hamilton, and, weary and hungry, the mining regiment had to make the best of its way to headquarters, where no remedy existed for their complaints. A brace of tough plow oxen were killed for their benefit, but this "bull beef" could not be masticated by the strongest man. Capt. James A. Stephenson was elected Lieutenant Colonel, and, the plans of the campaign having been matured, the route of march was taken up. Progress was extremely slow, owing to the numerous marshes which intersected their path having to be bridged to enable the passage of artillery. So tardy was the march that Black Hawk defiantly boasted that " he could go before the white beard (Gen. Atkinson) and raise corn." Half famished, and driven to the verge of desperation by hunger, the miners petitioned Lieut. Col. Stephenson to permit them to advance to Fort Winnebago to obtain supplies. The request was complied with, under the express stipulation that the mounted company should return by the same route. Alexander and Henry's brigade and Col. Dodge's regiment were included in this order. Arriving at the fort, Clark's company enjoyed their first meal for ten days. On proposing to return to the main body, much rebellious discussion was aroused, as the men, one and all, were opposed to the snail-like progress of the regular army, preferring to march to the head-waters of Rock River, in hopes of overtaking and chastising the Indian chief. Col. Dodge, although expressing doubts of their ability to master Black Hawk, freely promised to accompany them. After reflection, Gen. Henry promised to cast his lot with the mining' regiment hi pursuit of Black Hawk.

An incident of the campaign will serve to illustrate some of the difiiculties the miners had to submit to. Prior to marching up the Rock River country, two barrels of flour were served out to each company. By design or oversight the two barrels served to Clark's corps were musty and sour. Col. Dodge refused to replace them with flour of palatable quality. On being acquainted with the refusal, Lieut. Magoon selected a file of his best men, and, marching to the staff" quarters, deliberately bore off" the precious goods. This peremptory course, becoming known to the officers of the staff", caused some comment, but, beyond a feeble demur, no action was taken. Having thus secured rations, the line of march was taken up. On the second day, about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, it began to rain, and maintained a constant downpour until midnight. Tents were unknown luxuries to these hardy pioneers, who camped down in the grass with saddles for pillows and the weeping heavens for covering. As might have been expected, in the morning the men arose, dripping wet, and resumed their ordinary duties. In course of time, the miners arrived at the rapids near Whitewater, below Horicon Lake, and, after crossing to the east side, a halt was called. During that halt, Lieut. Magoon became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln. The place where the troops halted was in an open grove of sugar-trees, with a thick undergrowth of red raspberry bushes. In riding along the border of this patch, the Lieutenant came to an opening, where he could see a dwarfish Indian slowly walking around a very tall, lean white man. As the Lieutenant halted to observe the ludicrous appearance of the pair, the white man noticed the actions of the Indian, and remarked to his visitor, "I wonder what the little Indian wants?" Lieut. Magoon replied, "I suppose he is taking your altitude ; see how he cocks up his eye as he goes round." Further conversation led to an exchange of names, the future Pi-csident of the United States giving his cognomen as " Abraham Lincoln, of Springfield, 111." Referring to this informal introduction, Lieut. Magoon says: "They met frequently after the war, and often spoke of our first acquaintance, and of the little Indian cocking up one eye at him."

From this grove they marched up Rock River a few miles, then recrossed and bivouacked for the night. Shortly after, an express arrived in camp from Gen. Atkinson, reporting that

Histoky Of The Lead Region

Black Hawk's trail had been discovered below where we first crossed Rock River. The track was retraced, and the pursuit became exciting. On all sides in the vicinity of the trail, the Indians had dug spikenard, which vouched for their being famine stricken. Subsequent developments rendered safe the conjecture that no white army could have been kept banded too-ether under a similar train of adverse circumstances. After several days of close pursuit, thelcouts reported, at about 6 o'clock in the evening, that the enemy's rear was in view, a short distance in front. The soldiers were in a timber thicket on the north side of Second Lake, northeast of Madison, on the margin of a creek, the banks of which were thick set with brush. It was resolved to camp for the night and devote the whole of the ensuing day to routing and demoralizing Black Hawk's forces. The camp was early astir, breakfast was gulped hurriedly, and accouterments donned so as to be prepared at a moment's notice. The morning wore away without any command being issued, and the impatience of the men manifested itself in murmuring at the protracted delay. At 9 o'clock, orders were issued to mount. The order of march was Ewing's battalion in the lead, the mounted miners, and then Gen. Henrv's regiment. They crossed the creek, and were marching over the present site of Madison,*^ when a gunshot was heard on the banks of the lake, to the left. In a few minutes the shot was explained by the appearance of the regimental surgeon bearing in his hand a trophy in the shape of afresh Indian scalp, reeking with blood. He had surprised the Indian trying to draw a bead on some ducks, and had popped him on the spot. Seeing the Indian fall, he rushed from cover, and, gaining possession of his tomahawk and scalping-knife, began to rend the scalp from the head. The pain partially revived the victim, who muttered some words in his native guttural, which elicited from the surgeon the following : " If you don't like being scalped with a dull knife, why didn't you keep a better one ? " He then dispatched the Indian and returned to camp.

The army continued the march on the trail which followed around the south side of the upper lake. They had camped on the southwest side of the lake, and their cold camp-fires showed they had several hours' move of the soldiers. Hitherto the march had been conducted at a walking pace, and now it was altered to a quick trot. After passing over a distance of four miles, a solitary Indian was discovered ahead on the trail. Col. Dodge ordered ten men from Capt. Clark's detachment to advance and kill him. With cocked rifles, the detail advanced. Learning of their presence and his prospective fiite, the Indian stoically retreated to a tree, where he steadied his rifle, and, after taking deliberate aim, fired. Clark's men replied with a volley, which they followed up with a bayonet charge. The Indian seized the nearest bayonet in his naked hands and attempted to wrest it from the soldier, who, by a powerful effort threw the Indian, face down, on the ground. With great agility he recovered his position, and again seizing the bayonet. He was forced to release his grasp, and the weapon descended with such force as to penetrate through the body and pin it to the ground. The hapless Indian struggled to release himself, but the brutal volunteer sprang on the body, and, with merciless ferocity, extracted the bayonet and inflicted seven additional thrusts through the body. A parcel enveloped in the folds of an antiquated blanket composed a portion of the Indian's equipment, but no man had the temerity to investigate the contents, fearing contagion or vermin. In the next fall, a hunter named Rowan visited the scene, and, prompted by curiosity, opened the package, which displayed to his astonished gaze the gold watch owned by Lieut. Force at the time of his death at Blue Mounds. The Indian's rifle had been cliarged with six rifle-balls, the entire number lodging in the thigh of a soldier named Isam Hardin. Two hours subsequently a view was had of thirty mounted Indians, about eighty rods to the left. One of Henry's regiments was detached to follow them, while the main body continued on the trail. This troop of mounted Indians were making in a southerly direction, while the others were continuing due west. Fearing a decoy, Henry's regiment was re-called, and the whole army descended into a valley opening toward the Wisconsin River. The march was continued cautiously, the scouts maintaining a lead of thirty rods. As the army defiled down the valley, the width increased and the bank on the right dwindled in proportions until equalized with the surrounding surface. At this natural outlet, the alarm was communicated from the scouts, who shouted, "Here they come, thick as bees."

Col. Dodge, in a cool tone, ordered his forces to "dismount and form line." The order was executed in a trice. The next command was, " Advance to the top of that eminence." From the elevated range a good view could be obtained. Here the scouts were retreating down the valley, vigorously apjjlying whip and spurs, to escape a score of Indians in pursuit. Capt. Clark opened column to admit the pas&'age of the scouts, and then, forming line, presented a solid front to the foe, which had approached within six rods. A volley was fired, and one Indian bit the dust. The Galena company, with a well-directed fire, demoralized the enemy, who fled in dismay to a sate position behind a ridge forty rods distant. Col. Dodge ordered his men not to expose themselves or to expend a single shot without a sure target. The only wounded was Capt. Parkinson, Second Lieutenant, who received a bullet in the thigh. An inspection of arms followed, when the rifles were cleaned and priming renewed. Col. Dodge then ordered the charge, and the force advanced with eager rapidity, without encountering any obstacles. On arriving at the brow of the blufi", they were saluted by a volley, which passed over their heads. On the return fire six Indians fell, and the remainder retreated at the top of their speed. In the meantime, another party of Indians had outflanked Capt. Clark, who, by a welldirected charge, coupled with tha skillful maneuvering of his company, averted a disaster and routed his opponents. They fled for a swamp of tall grass cane, which aff"orded them suitable shelter and covered their retreat to the opposite bank, where they emerged and disappeared in the woods. Owing to the late hour, it was deemed advisable to postpone the chase and recuperate for the night in camp. When another day was heralded in, the enemy had disappeared, having, during the night, beat a hasty retreat across the Wisconsin River, without removing their lodges. A short journey brought into sight Black Hawk's camp on the west side of the Wisconsin River, about half a mile off". His camp was much larger than the camp of the military, and in the struggle of the preceding day the whites must have been greatly outnumbered. It was then decided to return to Blue Mounds. To facilitate the transportation of the three wounded soldiers - Isam Hardin, Robert McGee and Enoch Nevill - litters were prepared from the materials of a tent presented by Maj. W. L. D. Ewing to Capt. Clark's company. The loss was one killed and eight wounded. The return journey to Blue Mounds was tedious, owing to general ignorance of the topography of the country. To gain a rest rendered necessary by a month of incessant toil, day and night, the miners removed to White Oak Springs. Here the first information of the battle of Bad Axe, which occurred August 22, was received. This pleasant news was rapidly succeeded by an invitation for an Indian treaty at Rock Island, where a general peace was concluded. The war being terminated, the different military divisions were discharged, with the exception of Capt. Clai'k's and Capt. Gentry's companies, which were held in reserve. When the treaty of Rock Island was concluded, the miners were notified of their discharge from the Federal service, the Government having no further need for their services. By an infamous arrangement of the commanding officer of the forces, Col. Dodge, the two mining companies known respectively as Capt. Clark's and Capt. Gentry's men, were forced to assume the expenses of their own corps during the campaign. The sum of over $4,000 was accordingly deducted from the pay of the men by the Paymaster, acting under orders from Col. Dodge. Having been involved in war for five months, ending in the Fall of 1832, Lieut. Magoon returned to commercial life, as, during his absence, his financial aff"airs had suff'ered. To add to his misfortunes, Robert Graham, his heaviest creditor, succumbed to the cholera, and the estate reverted to an administrator, who was inflexible in his demands. The years 1833, 1834 and 1835 were highly profitable, and successful to such a degree that he speedily regained his independent rank in finance.

In 1836, Lieut. Magoon opened a large store of dry goods and groceries in the village of White Oak Springs. One mile east of the village, he long operated an ash furnace for smelting slag as well as mineral. His store in Monticello and his furnaces there he also operated at a remunerative profit. He sold out his store in White Oak Springs in 1837, closed his ash furnace, near by, in 1840, and closed his store and furnaces in Monticello in 1842. Continued to reside on his large farm in Monticello, which he adorned with extensive improvements till

History Of The Lead Region

Lieut. Richard H. Magoon, we here state, was a man of greatest energy and integrity in business ; repeatedly, from 1829 to 1836, rode on horseback from his furnaces in Wisconsin, four hundred miles, to St. Louis, through storm and cold, swimming rivers, the saddle at night his pillow, and often the sky his only covering. His grave is in the cemetery at Darlington. He had his faults, but, looking back upon his forty-seven years all crowded with business in the mines, he could have made the honest boast, that, although cast amid the license of a new country, he never visited a gaming-table, never deserted a needy friend, never liked a negro, intensely despised the lazy, invincibly kept his word of honor-bright, and his contracts to others always at par with gold.

The Beginning Of Settlement

The first settlements perfected by permanent occupation in La Fayette County, were made during the year 1824, and were due to the existence of the lead mines, which have since contributed so materially to the accumulation of wealth and increase in values. There had been visitors who came into the country prior to that date, but these were made up, as a rule, of transients, adventurers and the like, to whom no place was home, and the pressing experiences of the hour the uncertain lines wherein their lives were cast. The history of their occupation of the territory now comprehended within the limits of La Fayette County, is consequently enshrouded in mystery, which the lapse of almost three-quarters of a century has tended to intensify. This is due in a great measure to the absence of records and the fact that those who came, as also contemporaries, have all passed away, rendering it impossible to determine with any degree of certainty the name of him who is entitled to the distinguished honor of record as the first who even temporarily sojourned in the lead regions of what was then known as- Michigan Territory. The weight of opinion inclines to the belief that a few straggling soldiers of fortune, with the habits and restless disposition of a Bohemian gypsy, may have strayed into the mines and sought their development. They had been identified, it is said, with the operations undertaken by Dubuque andD'Bois, but, tiring of the monotony and sameness of the scenes about the settlement, made by these French cavaliers, sought with a change of " base " that relief which it brings. We know that Jesse W. Shull, as early as 1818, traversed and explored what is now La Fayette County ; and, in that year, employed by the Hudson Bay Fur Company, trafficked with Indians and some French, then the only inhabitants of the county. Some rude mining had been done, some mineral raised, even before that date ; and here and there, he found evidences of where smelting had been done, even long before that early period.

Settlements had grown up in the region adjoining subsequent La Fayette County, at a date anterior to that mentioned herein, notably at Galena and other points, which afterward became the source of supplies to miners, and were built up by the immigration to the mines, and the patronage such immigration attracted. It would seem strange indeed, with the knowledge of the immense deposits of lead and the abundance of game in this region, if its settlement was procrastinated beyond that of other points possessing no more fruitful sources of wealth nor advantages for settlers. Roving traders and agents of fur companies who operated throughout the Northwest, could hardly have overlooked the value of sites, since fringed with flourishing villages, which have been built up and become the residence of intelligence, enterprise and wealth. They undoubtedly came into the wilderness annually, and, remaining only long enough to exchange their commodities for furs and minerals, returned to their abiding-places without leaving any finger-boards to guide the historian in his pursuit of facts. But, thus far, no records of such occupation have been discovered, and the only positive evidence of settlements available after decades have elapsed, is to be found in the statements of those to whom the award is made by universal acclamation. The proof that visitors had ventured into the wilderness prior to the corning of settlers in 1824, is established by the traces of mining which they discovered, cvi- dently the work of other than Indians. Some of the largest leads in the mines, particularly about Shullsburg, were advertised to white men by the Indians, who elaborated eloquently, it is said, and with great earnestness, upon their inexhaustible sources of wealth. They had tested their richness for years, and spoke familiarly of the vast deposits of mineral to be found beneath the surface.

At this time, the present county was an almost uninhabited wilderness, possessing, as would seem from the refusal of traders and strollers to remain within its limits, few attractions, and those few of the most limited character. The nearest settlements were Galena, Dubuque, Prairie du Chien, at that time, and relatively of as much importance as St. Louis subsequently became. Chicago then consisted of a few rude cabins inhabited by half-breeds, and gave no indications either from its location or the immigration tending in that direction, of what was reserved for the future to disclose. Peoria was at the south and further east. Vandalia, subsequently the capital of Illinois, with a number of struggling settlements, filling up the intervals, so to speak, between these ambitious but impromptu municipal weaklings, constituted the permanent growth of that day in the great territory which has since reflected back the star of empire, St. Louis was then struggling for existence, and, notwithstanding the wealth and enterprise therein residing, the battling was difficult if not desperate. The confines of civilization, in its most perfect development, were limited to the settlements contiguous to Lake Erie and the western parts of the Eastern States. He who struck out for a home in the Territories was regarded as an adventurous traveler to a country whence return was a question of chance and not of probability.

This, then, was the condition of afiairs as they existed sixty years ago, according to sources of information in that behalf, presumably correct. There was naught to attract save the intrinsic merits of the location, which, combined with the hopes of a future, were sufficient to direct the residents of Southern and Eastern States to Wisconsin Territory as an objective point of great interest. To those who at home were independent, it furnished as an incentive the resources for enabling men of means to add to their accumulations. To the imprudent and impoverished, pulling with steady stroke against the current of an adversity both pitiless and uncompromising, it held out a hope for better days, when he, too, could enjoy a home with his household gods clustering, like olive plants, about his table. To the speculator, it afforded a field for operations incalculably valuable ; to the scientist, an opportunity for discovery ; to the scholar and the Christian, the occasion for labors that have since returned to bless the inventors.

As a consequent, the class of people who established themselves in La Fayette County, and have since been identified with its growth and the development of its wealth, were men of rare excellence. Earnest, frank and kind, they made all men friends by being friends of all men. Illustrating by example rather than precept, they bridged the brief interval between purity and sin by the power of kindness, and looked with eyes of charity upon the mistakes and failings of man. Brave but tender, they were indeed loving, generous Christian men, who have left the shore touched by a mysterious sea, that " has never yet borne on any wave the image of a homeward sail," their deficiencies made up in the book of life by the love they bore their fellows.

And so, too, of the pioneer women, those who braved the absence of home, friends, and congenial associations to accompany their fathers and husbands and sons into the trackless waste of the Northwest, and contemplated a future the horizon of which was darkened by discouragement and gloom. Yet they faltered not, but sustained and soothed their husbands by a trust in the outlook that was constant and bore an abundant harvest. As wives, they were the most agreeable of companions, and as friends the most faithful and affectionate. As mothers, gentle as children ever had the misfortune to lose, who corrected the most pernicious of evils by the most tender management of them. Prudent from affection, and, though most liberal of nature, they practiced economy from the love they bore their husbands, and, at critical periods, preserved order in affairs from the care of which the husband was relieved. She reclaimed her choice from despair, urged his indolence to exertion, and was constantly by to admonish industry, integrity and manhood.

The Early Miners

Prior to permanentsettlements, temporary residences had been established by lead prospectors in various parts of this coanty. Indeed, the settlement of the vicinity was induced by lead discoveries made by miners who radiated from Galena, which at that time was a point of importance. Whenever the discovery of ore was made, a settlement f)llo\ved, composed, as sugirested, largely of fortune-hunters, a portion of whom became permanent and influential residents. In 1824, it is said, lead was discovered in large quantities in the southwestern part of the present county, near New Diggings, by a party from Galena, consisting of Duke L Smith, George Ferguson and a few others, who began their work and succeeded in turning out immense quantities of the metal to their profit. There can be no doubt but that La Fayette County - or, as it was then known, Michigan Territory - would have been settled at an earlier date but for the hardships imposed through a Government Superintendent of Mines, and also the danger apprehended from attacks by the Winnebago Indians.

In 1824, a Superintendent of Mines was appointed for the mineral country claimed by the Government in the Upper Mississippi district. His duties were confined to the enforcement of rules and regulations formulated by himself, and, as they did not always represent that portion of remedial justice in which the law, by reason of its universality, was deficient, tiieir enforcement was calculated to create a variety of opinion, generally adverse to this official. Miners were compelled to locate their claims on land which was free from the claims of others, and restricted in the sale of their ore to licensed smelters. They were obliged to submit to these regulations, because there was no retreat, and the proof of damage the county sustained by the peculations indulged is to be found in the increased numbers who immigrated into La Fayette when these regulations were removed, and mining became the business of private individuals, companies or corporations.

Another influence that was exerted disastrously in the earlier settlement of this portion of Michigan Territory were the menaces of the Winnebago Indians. They manifested a vindictive uneasiness from the date when adventurous miners first appeared in the future county and began their prospectings. These expressions of uneasiness, as will be seen further alonir, culminated, in 1827, in open rupture between the savages and the settlers, which compelled the Government to interfere and conquer a peace that was concluded three months later at the Portao;e. To these two almost impassable embargoes is to be attributed, in a very great measure, the delay experienced in effecting permanent occupation of the domain.

Notwithstanding the difficulties cited, the wave of emigration began to tend in the direction of the lead mines at a day when the Indians were prime factors in its prevention and lords of the soil. As above noted, the first permanent settlements made are sail] to have been commenced in 1824. The authority for this is general repute, though there are. those who claim that their coming occurred during the year 1828.

It is asserted that Henry and J. P. B. Gratiot came in the year 1824. Others maintain that it was not until early in 1825 that they came into the country. At all events, they were there in the latter year, engaged in mining and smelting and conducting business with the Indians and settlers. They are believed to have been the first white men who effected a lodgment in the vicinity which resulted in both permanence and profit. To them is due the honor of laying the foundation in Southern Wisconsin for a large proportion of the wealth, intelligence, morality and enterprise which has ever characterized the inhabitants of that favored region. To these, as also to Col. Parkinson, Col. Moore, Jesse W. ShuU, Samuel H. Scales, the Murphys, and the thousand and one men of nerve and character who came in during this period, is to be attributed the prominence La Fayette County has ever occupied in the history of the State. The occasion is here availed of to commend them to the honorable consideration of generations yet unborn for their courage, their steadfastness and pioneer perseverance. Tlie Gratiots settled at a point near what has been known as Gratiot's Grove, which became celebrated as the location of Fort Gratiot during the Black Hawk war. The settlements made in 1825 were included between the present Shullsburg and the Ridge.

Among those who made their advent during 1826, hoth before and after the Winnebago troubles, were the Van Matre brothers - John, Joseph and Lewis - who began mining in Shullsburg Township, developing what has since been known as the Badger Lot Diggings, having been discovered by these adventurous men through the information imparted to them by an Indian squaw, who pointed out the ore thrown up by Badgers in mining. Jesse W. Shull came the same year and settled in the same vicinity, as also did Devee and Hawthorne, who opened the Stump Grove mines on the Ridge, between the Fever and Pecatonica River ; Work and Redford, who employed about twenty men and operated mines on lands east of Shullsburg, now owned by the McNulty Brothers; Abraham Miller, a man named Wakefield, Isaac Hamilton, Humphrey Taylor, George Earl, the Townsends, and many others who made the vicinity of Shullsburg their abiding-place. It should be observed this section of the county had been sought a year previous by Choteau & Pratt and Col. Henry Gratiot, as a field of operations for lead mining. In the summer of that year, the latter gentleman purchased the privilege of sinking for ore in the vicinity from the Indians, paying |500 therefor, and was employed in profiting from his investment when the rush of '27 began. As early as 1826, there were six log furnaces in operation, and sixty French and Indians employed at Gratiot's Grove.

To continue with the list of settlers who came to the county in 1827 : D. M. Parkinson and family reached New Diggings that year; John Armstrong established himself, it is claimed, in 1826, and struck a promising lead, which he afterward sold to George Ferguson ; Solomon Oliver settled on Fever River, near the Benton line ; Abraham Looney located on the same stream, as also did D. Oliver, a Mr. Leland, Caleb Dustene, a brother-in-law of Gov. Henry Dodge named Willard ; P. A. Lorimier, who subsequently removed to the Dubuque mines ; Warren Johnson, A. D. Wakefield, Thomas Oliver, a family named Jones, Peter and Benjamin Carr, George Wiley, James Hutchinson, Harvey Carvener, John W. Blackstone, Calvin Curry, Mr. Vosburg, Mr. Harper and others, all of whom put up habitations in the present limits of the New Diggings.

In the spring of the same year, a number of straggling miners had made some approach toward settling up Benton, though here, as in New Diggings, the claim is urged that the township was first visited by pioneers, who came to stay, in 1826. These were a Mr. Rawlins, accompanied by Ashford Rawlins, his son. In March, 1827, Andrew Murphy adventured into Benton with his family, consisting of a wife and five sons, and to that gentleman does the present prosperity of the township owe its origin. Attending him into the wilderness was Peter O'Leary and Catharine, his wife, an old family servant named Peggy, and a French adventurer by the name of Francois. The "group " hailed from St. Louis, and erected their temporary domiciles east of what was afterward known as Murphy's Mill and Furnace. These composed and concluded the roster of settlers who came into Benton that year.

The arrivals in other townships were necessarily limited, immigration being mostly confined to sections of the county wherein ore could be obtained in paying quantities. Fortunatus Berry settled near Gratiot's Grove, in White Oak Springs ; Col. William Hamilton, son of Alexander Hamilton, in Wiota Township, and engaged in mining and smelting, erecting the first furnace in the county, save the furnaces built by the Gratiots. This settlement was known as " Hamilton's Fort." Hamilton also platted a village, which he named Wiota, hoping to induce settlements and hasten improvements ; Jameson Hamilton began the building up of Darlington ; George Skellinger came to Gratiot's Grove ; Richard H. Magoon began smelting in Monticello, and afterward built and operated other furnaces in White Oak Springs ; Samuel Scales, Capt. Frank and Mr. Deering began the settlement of White Oak Springs. These were aided in their labors by the willing brawn and " pat " advice of those who also came during the same year, notably, James and John Woods, William, Thomas and Augustus Chilton, Andrew Clarno, Hugh McGeary, Anthony Miller, Crawford Million, Mathew Colvin, Col. James Collins, Jerry Adams, A. V. Hastings, Conrad Lichtenberger, George Lott, John Atchinson, Anson G. Phelps, David Southwick, Sample Journey, Frank Washburne, H. H. Gear, George and Marvin Watson, John Shultz, George F. Smith, John Williams, and others throughout various portions of the county, who exchanged the courtesies of pioneer life and united in acts of pioneer safety in Belmont, Kendall, Wayne, Argyle and elsewhere, though their names and the current of their lives have become obscured with the lapse of years. Added to these was a colony of immigrants, who came hither from Selkirk, a primitive settlement on the Red River of the North, This colony was made up, in part, of Antoine Bane, Joseph Varien, Peter Gorey, the Breckler and Rendsburger families, Gabriel Gorke and others, who established themselves near Gratiot's Grove, where they engaged in mining and smelting.

The First Farm

The first farm, or what is now claimed as such, was opened up this year. Its location was at Gratiot's Grove, and the ambitious husbandmen were A. C. Ransom and Kingsley Olds, who came into the county from the American Bottom, opposite St. Louis. They planted a crop of corn, but an early frost nipped the growth before harvest, and they were denied the profit of reaping their reward for the industry and enterprise they had manifested.

In the record of names of those who came during 1827, the claim is not indulged that it is complete. Far from it. Tiiere were others who ventured into the wilderness, as stated, but who, having left no "tracks " behind them to guide the historian in his search for facts and legends appertaining to their coming and going. The deeds they accomplished, the trials they endured and the triumphs which blessed their endeavors are reserved for future days to unfold and elaborate.

The Winnebago War

The most important event of this year was the Winnebago war, in which the unfriendly disposition of the savages culminated during the month of June. At that time old citizens state there was a considerable population in the county, and mining operations were being carried on with profit to all concerned. During this year, De Vee and Hawthurne, with other prospectors and miners, crossed the Ridge, which was regarded as the dividing line between civilization and barbarism, and trespassed upon the Indian mineral deposits. This Ridge is two miles north of the village of Shullsburg. All the territory north of the ordinance line of 1787 was in the undisputed possession of the Indians except the reservations at the mouth of the Wisconsin and Fever Rivers, and the mining district in Jo Daviess County and Michigan Territory. Many rich leads were discovered on Indian lands, and miners persisted in digging there in direct disobedience to orders against such intrusion issued by the Superintendent of the lead mines.

In treating of this episode in the history of the contest for supremacy in La Fayette County, it must necessarily be referred to generally the part taken in the struggle by the early settlers of that county forming incidents simply.

In exceptional instances the right to mine, as already stated, had been purchased of the Indians ; but in a majority of cases the search for wealth in La Fayette County, as elsewhere in the lead region, had been prosecuted with an entire disregard of Indian rights or immunities. The crossing of this dividing line was, consequently, the occasion for disputes without number, and occasional bloodshed. Jesse W. Shull, who had discovered a rich lead over the Ridge, was driven off, and his cabin and preliminary works destroyed by the Winnebagoes. But these, it is claimed by authorities presumably correct, were not the immediate causes of the war. Had the contrary been the case, they might have been adjusted without open hostilities. But while these disputes were pending, two keel boats, owned by the contractor, engaged in furnishing supplies to the troops at Fort Snelling, while en route to that post, halted in the vicinity of Prairie du Chien, where a large number of Winnebago Indians were encamped. The crews of these transports, it seems, visited the Indian camp, when they rendered the savages helplessly drunk, and kidnaping a number of squaws fled to their boats and pursued the trip to Fort Snelling with these Indian wives as enforced companions. Another version is that the squaws were detained for one night only. There is no dispute about the fact of outrage. When the Winnebagoes realized with returning consciousness the part that had been taken by these disreputable types of human animals in the scandalous drama cited, they very naturally became exasperated, and determined to wash out the stain upon their honor with blood. Runners were sent out in all directions summoning warriors to the scene of action at once, and recruits assembled at Galena with the avowed purpose of avenging the insult which had been thrust upon their race. When preparations were completed for an advance, a division of the revenging army marched north in the direction of Prairie du Chien, while another division was distributed about the adjoining settlements, which were occupied by miners and others who had become a part of the population at that time. While the danger was impending four Winnebago chiefs visited Gratiot's Grove and informed the settlers there that on account of the action of the whites they were unable to restrain their young men, and that as they did not desire to harm those with whom they had lived upon amicable terms, it would be necessary for them to move elsewhere to avoid the consequences. As a natural result this intelligence produced feelings of the most serious apprehension, and excited the inhabitants throughout La Fayette County to take immediate action for defense. It was impossible to fly, the country being occupied by the wily savage thirsting for blood as a panacea for the wrongs which had been done to him and his wife, and naught was left but to take immediate counsel as to the most available and etFectual means of dexense.

Meetings were accordingly convened and efforts inaugurated to prevent a surprise, as also to repulse an attack. In July a fort was built on the prairie, to the north of Gratiot's Grove, and, though not tested, would have proved a formidable obstacle to attack. The "fort" was really a block-house, it is said, with defenses at each corner, and was for the times as formidable as skill could render it. Though not deemed necessary to be built until the war was well under way, its completion was hastened by the workmen, and reached before any imperative demand was made upon its resources.

In the meantime, the settlers had enrolled themselves for self-protection throughout the county, and become perfect in the knowledge of their duties anterior to the necessity for their employment. A company of eighty, under the command of Capt. HoUingsworth, was assigned to the defense of this portion of the territory, and quartered at the fort, but beyond an occasional scout in pursuit of adventure rather than the enemy, the occasion for their services did not arise.

A second fort or block-house was constructed in the immediate vicinity, by Capt. Jesse W. Shull. It occupied the site of old yhullsburg, on land now owned by Augustus Estey, about 200 yards from the furnace, and was garrisoned by a company of thirty men who anticipated the accomplishment of heroic deeds, which, however, the absence of opportunity failed to realize.

Preparations had been set on foot elsewhere to resist the advance of the foe, and in the light of subsequent events proved to have been most timely. Gov. Edwards, of Illinois, received information on which he relied, that the Winnebagoes had attacked keel-boats, that the miners and settlers of Fever River were in danger of attack, and that a general massacre of the inhabitants was to follow. Acting upon such information, he issued a proclamation calling out the Twentieth Regiment Illinois State Militia, which was to rendezvous at Peoria, thence to march with all possible haste to the assistance of their fellow-citizens at Galena. The brave soldiers accordingly assembled, and, with ten days' rations, marched to Gratiot's Grove. About this time, Gen. Cass, who had been appointed by the Government to hold a treaty with the Lake Michigan Indians at Green Bay, arrived at that point, but finding few there, and hearing that the Lake Indians had received war messages from the interior, he hastened to communicate this startling intelligence to the military authorities at St. Louis. He ascended Fox River from Green Bay, descended the Wisconsin and the Mississippi, and in nine days reached St. Louis. It is said that among the Winnebagoes he discovered warlike preparations, but his sudden and unexpected appearance among them with a force of armed men, caused a panic, and dissipated among the savages any disposition to war. En route to St. Louis, Gen. Cass halted at Galena, where Gens. Dodge and Whiteside had massed a force to march against the threatening foe. In the midst of the alarm then prevailing the excited people heard singing, and concluded that the days of disaster had come indeed. But their fears were allayed when they witnessed a large canoe filled with troops gliding gracefully up the river, and halted opposite the village. Their cries of alarm were changed to merry meetings, and their quakings of fear to delightful measures. Immediately upon receipt of news from Gov. Cass, Gen. Atkinson marched with a force of 600 men, and formed a junction with the Galena volunteers. The Indians had by this time concluded that it was useless to longer contend for supremacy, and surrendered their chiefs - Red Wing among the rest, who was imprisoned at Prairie du Chien, where he was kept as a hostage for the good behaviour of his nation ; but his proud spirit, broken by the indignities to which he was subjected, precipitated an illness which caused his death. The tribe made peace at the treaty of the Portage and grim-visaged war smoothed his wrinkled front and hung up his bruised arms for monuments, without having inflicted upon the settlers serious loss of life.

Thus ended the Winnebago war, but its effects were experienced for years, it might be said, after the dusky warrior resigned the contest, and ceded to the whites possession of the territory for which he had so fruitlessly contended. With the first alarm, miners, speculators, prospectors, and the host of immigrants and adventurers who always make a new country of promise the base of their operations, with one accord fled to places of security. The pick and gad were left idle ; the ax which had been laid at the root of the forest tree was cast one side ; the plow remained idle in the rich furrows of the prairie, and desolation usurped that prominence which but a short time previous had been accorded to industry and prospective prosperity. Very many, as already observed, remained in the country, and became factors in the forces enlisted for the common defense ; a limited number essayed individual protection, and hunted the lairs of the foe singly and solus. But while this was the case, a majority of the body politic sought at military points elsewhere the safety they imagined was denied them at home. And this was by no means the only discouraging effect visible. The development of the mines, notwithstanding the flattering inducements therein offered, was temporarily delayed ; and it was not until the summer sunshine again kissed the horizon, the flowers again decked the prairies, and the summer birds once more caroled their refrains, that new life, activity, industry and fortune combined to induce the results which long, long years ago stamped La Fayette County as a point of irresistible attraction. Through the succeeding winter but little was accomplished. The dreams of youth, the chastened wish of manhood, the hope of one day resting from labors of so diligently pursuing Fortune's smile, that an interval of reflection might be interposed between old age and the tomb, lay dormant.