Ripon Town (part 1 of 3)

Ripon Town

I can only say, 'they know not what they do.' They might, with greater propriety, denounce all denominations of Christians, except their own, because they differed from each other as to what are the truths of the Bible. The Roman Catholic believes in transubstantiation - in the real presence - that the real body and blood of Christ are contained in the consecrated wafer. He goes to the Bible for the truth of this doctrine. Some Protestants go to the same book to prove this doctrine rank blasphemy. Most of the Christian world finds in the Bible the doctrine of the Trinity, while the Unitarian sect, one of the most intelligent and intellectual in this country, finds in it the unity of the Godhead. The same might be said of all the various doctrines, of the different religious sects and denominations ; they are all according to their respective advocates, to be found in the Bible, however inconsistent or antagonistic they may be. When then, these reverend gentlemen tell us that Spiritualism denies the truths of the Bible, will they be so good as to agree upon and inform us what these truths are? Christ never taught sectarianism. That has been taught by the creeds of men. Out of these creeds has sprung the antagonism of the Christian world - an antagonism which brought Cranmer and Latimer and Ridley and Servetus to the stake - and which would bring Spiritualists to the stake also, if we were not so far advanced in the light and progress of the nineteenth century. Every real Christian looks forward to the time when this antagonists shall be done away, and we shall stand on one broad platform, founded on the doctrines taught by Christ, instead of the doctrines taught by the creeds of men."

In 1854, Martin Mitchell, a man prominent in the affairs of Fond du Lac City and County, compiled and published a history of the towns and county - the first and last given to the public up to date. It contained about 100 pages, and was printed by J. A. Smith, then publishing the Western Freeman newspaper at the city of Fond'du Lac. The work was quite an undertaking at that period, and contained some information which might not otherwise have been preserved. It was the first book published in Fond du Lac County. »

Mr. Whinfield has been a prolific writer. Some of his favorite themes were reform in spelling and punctuation, protection, political economy and manufacturing. He wrote a pamphlet in 1867, upon iron industries and iron manufacturing in the Western States, which contained valuable information. It was written, the author advertised, " with a view to the establishment of iron works in the Western States, and the use of peat as a fuel." From his work this quotation is made:

"It may be asked how one who has written and argued so much upon the injustice of protection, can now consistently come forward with a proposition to partake in the profits assured by that injustice?

" To this there are various and sufficiently satisfactory answers. In the first place, without protection, the wealth of these Western States in ores, and" the best and cheapest of fuel, would enable us to compete with European manufactures and leave a large margin of profit, to which must also be added, the cost of transportaton and other incidental charges upon importations.

"Again, the pertinacity of Eastern manufacturers, and the excess of wealth they have already acquired, through protection, to the vast cost of the West, will for a long time defeat the desultory efforts of the advocates of free trade. It behooves the West, therefore, for selfprotection alone, that it should make an effort in its own behalf, and that it can do so and profitably compete, in this field of enterprise with the East, will be shown in the text.

"But there is another and more generous motive to excite Western minds - a natural desire for, and a pride in, the progress and prosperity of their country.

"To the writer, something may be allowed for old associations - as the old hunter pricks his ears to the music of the hounds - something for a desire to bring his property into profitable use, but chiefest of all - for the time witii him has long passed when any of the selfish pleasures wealth can purchase could be much appreciated - a pardonable ambition to be numbered^among those who have been of service to their generation."

This last paragraph in the extract refers to the author's efforts to secure the establishment of iron-works near tlie deep peat beds on the " Ledge," a short distance east of the city of Fond du Lac. A further quotation is made:

" The production of a superior quality of pig-iron, peculiarly calculated for stove work, hollow-ware and all kinds of fine castings, holding out inducements to the makers of such articles to settle here.

" The production of heavy castings from the blast, or first smelting, at a much cheaper rate than from the cupola, which necessitates a second melting.

" The production of a superior quality of merchant iron, equal to Juniata iron, and manufactured at a much less cost. The ductility of this iron, the economy with which it may be worked, the saving in cost and in working, from the abundance of the cheapest and best fuel for their purposes, would gather i-ound the supply iron-workers in every department of ironware, and consequently a large working population would be brought into the country.

"The first work of this description, would be the forerunner to many others of alike character, still adding to the smaller factories and multiplying the population, to the permanent benefit of the agricultural interest, the vast increase in the value of property, and the rapid and permanent improvement of both city and country.

" Those great undertakings, which only wealth profitably invested can accomplish, would be carried out to their full extent - drainage and roadmaking in particular - would be among the first improvements.

" The contemplated railways - the Sheboygan, and the Air Line to Milwaukee, with others in addition^would become a necessity, and for all which our own resources would be sufficient for providing material and converting it to the different purposes required.

"To have a just idea of what iron-works would do for Wisconsin, it is only necessary tocall to mind Belgium, and, indeed, Etfg'.and, and ask the question - What would either of these countries have been without her iron-works?"

In 1873, David P. Mapes, the "founder of Ripon," published a volume of nearly three hundred pages, entitled, " History of the City of Ripon and of its Founder." The peculiarity of his style may be discovered from an extract, taken from the prefoce :

" Before writing this history of myself and of the towns I have aided in building, I will say that I have been frequently asked to write it out and get it into book form. If there is anything in my long life and experience worth keeping on the shelves of the book-case, or taking down and reading, here it is ; and you who have had my acquaintance will see it is the 'old Captain,' right over. I have not attempted to show the scholar or the statesman, but simply to give a true history of myself and times, as I have seen them, for I have learned that those who attempt to pass themselves off for something they are not, are discovered at once by the discriminating public. * * * So here it is. As thoughts have come to me I have penned them ; and you, critics, take them and deal gently with the old man, for such now they call me, if I do feel young. I have written this without gloves, for I meant it should come barehanded, if the hand may appear." Tlie book has met with a liberal sale.

In musical circles, on both sides of the Atlantic, the name of Fond du Lac is familiar as the birthplace and home of Abbie Beeson Carrington. She was born June 13, 1856, and up to August, 1875, was a pupil of C. F. Kumlau's, in Fond du Lac. She then went to Boston, and entered the New England Conservatory of Music, graduating from that institution in June, 1877. Being encouraged by the professors of the Conservatory to study in Italy for the opera, she sailed with her parents (Edward and Susan E. Beeson) September 1, 1877, for Milan, where she became the pupd of Signor Guiseppi Parini and Madame Marini, in vocal culture ; Madame Boreome, in language, and Signor Ranconi, in elocution. After studying one year in Milan, Mrs. Carrington accepted an engagement under the tiom de plume of lola Barbo, and sung as prima donna in several of the cities in Northern Italy during the fall and winter. Returning to Milan, she continued her studies until July, 1879, when she sailed for New York, where she now resides.

Mrs. Carrington's first appearance after returning to America was on Wednesday evening. October 7, 1879, at Boston. This paragraph, from the Musical Record, of that city, is only one of scores of similar import published on that occasion :

" Abbie Carrington achieved an immediate and triumphant success. She sung the ' Shadow Song' from Meyerbeer's 'Dinorah,' and for an encore the ' Bolero,' from Verdi's ' Sicilian Vespers.' She also sung ' Hear Ye, Israel.' Her voice is rich, sweet and flexible. She is very artistic in her method. The former selections were sung with the utmost ease, grace and fluency, while in the latter she evinced rare dramatic skill. Her debut was a complete triumph."

Soon after, she engaged with Theodore Thomas, in New York, where her success was equally flattering, and also filled several engagements with the most popular concert companies, and now with the Mendelssohn Quintette Club. The commendation she received from the musical and secular press of Italy and America would make a volume ; the Italians, the most severe musical critics in the world, being even more enthusiastic in her praise than her own countrymen. While Mrs. Carrington was singing in Italy, the Boston Folio published a lengthy article upon her success in that cradle of music and art, of which this is an extract v

"An Italian impressario, desiring a soprano prima donna, after a hearing, chose her from several applicants, oft'ering her a lucrative engagement, including two benefits, and in one year from the time she entered Milan she made her debut in ' Traviata,' making an almost unparalleled success for a debutante. She was called before the curtain nine times, and in the confusion, ' Brava ! brava ! ' could be heard from all parts of the house. During her stay in Piacenza, the scene of her first triumph, she was visited by many citizens and musicians, congratulating her upon her grand success. She was at once off"ered engagements by several impressarii. During this engagement, she constantly gained in the favor and admiration of the critical Italians, both for her singing and her acting, and at the close of the engagement she was waited upon by a committee of citizens, who thanked her for the great satisfaction and delight she had given them.

" At Cervia and Ravenna, Italy, she made her grandest success in the part of Gilda, in ' Rigoletto,' which gave an opportunity to show her great dramatic powers, and her success can best be imagined from the fact that at the conclusion of her engagement there she was escorted from the Opera House with a military band, mid cheers and shouts of ' Bravo ! bravo ! Long live lole Barbo, the American nightingale!'

" At the time of writing this sketch, Mrs. Carrington is singing in Ravenna, in the operas of 'Faust,' 'Traviata,' 'Lucia,' ' Puritana' ' Rigoletto,' and the 'Bohemian Girl.' Her voice is a high dramatic soprano, ranging from G below to E flat in alt, sustaining the high E flat with perfect ease. All the tones are pure and even throughout the entire compass of her voice. She is twenty-two years of age, tall, with a fine figure, and large physical powers."

No man in Fond du Lac County has done so much to make the name of Wisconsin familiar in all the great wealth-centers of America and Europe, as Mark R. Harrison, of Fond du Lac. His paintings are hung and admired in all the leading art galleries of the world, and rare descriptions of their beauties grace the journals of Canada, the United States, England, Germany and France. He has done much to establish the reputation of the West as the home of genius and art; done much for his profession, but more for posterity. He rescued from oblivion the forms and hues of a hundred varieties of wild flowers, which are seen no more in Wisconsin - which have been trampled under foot, and crushed out forever by the destructive march of civilization. The prairies no longer blossom as when the Indians - who turned no furrows - were their only occupants, and no pen could picture the bewildering beauty of a whole county blossoming like the rarest garden in paradise. Mr. Harrison sought out the hiding-place of every bud and blossom, transferring their varied hues to canvas, as the magic power of dew and sunlight gave them birtii. In after years, when wheat and corn and cities cover the land, its inhabitants can find on his canvas, everything but the delicious fragrance of a prairie in full bloom.

When Mr. Harrison began to paint in Fond du Lac, in 1852, he was too poor to take his pictures to mai'ket or even send them. Permission was asked to hang them in offices and stores, where they remained until some traveling stranger recognized their merits, and secured them at his own figures, for Mr. Harrison was at work for money, as he says now, " to keep from starving." That he was a cultivated artist then, and even before, while a resident of Canada, is apparent from the Toronto, Canada, Mail, of September 5, 1879, which described his " Cain and Abel," painted in 1835, and now owned by the Canadian Government.

Perhaps more valuable even than his rescue of the flora of the primitive West for the generations of the future, are Mr. Harrison's historical paintings, representing the habits, customs and rites of the uncivilized Indians, in love, marriage and at the grave. From a thorough search of aboriginal history ; from persons well acquainted with the tribal traits and characteristics of the Indians, as well as from Longfellow's legendary poems, Mr. Harrison obtained correct ideas for his pictures, and those who live after the last vestige of the red man has disappeared, can turn to these paintings, and observe the features, dress and ceremonies of the original lords of the American soil.

The "Burial of Hiawatha," painted for William Lucas, of St. Louis, Mo., is the representation of a scene which no beholder can easily forget or describe. In the fringe of a grand old hemlock forest, through whose gloomy aisles and snow-bent boughs the shadows of evening are silently advancing, stands a group of Imlian men and women. It is the time of famine, so graphically described by Longfellow, and in the midst of the group of mourners, lies one of its victims. The stern, strong faces are pinched by hunger and clouded by woe. The dead alone is without sorrow - without the expression of suff"ering. A hollow has been scooped in the virgin snow and neatly lined with evergreens; and around the grave, in front of those whose unfathomable but stoical sadness seems to impregnate the very air and every surrounding object, are scattered sprigs of the fragrant hemlock, in accordance with the Indian custom. The pallbearers, dressed in their most gaudy attire, as they always are at the burial of a distinguished member of the tribe, have lowered the chieftain's dead wife, "Minnehaha, Laughing Water, loveliest of Dacotah women," into her snow-made tomb. She is richly dressed in pure white garments, in accordance with the usages of her people.

Near by, seated upon a fallen hemlock, his partially shaded face resting upon his hand, is Hiawatha, her husband, the mourning chieftain. He is overwhelmed with grief. Across his knee is thrown the last garment made by Minnehaha, it being the custom for the husband to bear to her final resting-place the last garment made by his deceased consort. Still nearer to the grave of snow, is old Nokomis, wrapped in sorrow - prostrate with her last earthly grief. She rocks feebly to and fro, and wails :

This is one of Mr. Harrison's best pictures, and one of the finest productions of Western art. It is not superior, however, in historical value or artistic merit, to others of the same class, three of which are conceived from Longfellow's same poem. Mr. Harrison had beautiful photographs of large size, taken of these paintings, and sent them to Mr. Longfellow as a Christmas gift and art souvenir, for 1879. Another painting of considerable power in this series, is the gathering of the warriors before the battle of the Rose Bud, at which Gen. Custer fell. The scene is a rich and beautiful valley, at the base of a high and barren mountain, around whose brow a mighty storm is gathering, and the picture was taken just as Crazy Horse addressed - while standing in his saddle - the assembled chiefs and warriors:

" The pale-face hath driven us from the graves of our fathers - from the rising to the setting sun. They have driven us to these barren hills [with a gesture toward the beetling crag], and here they will not let us have a home."

The faces of Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Black Dog and other leading chiefs, were taken from life, gleaming with that fierce anger and malignity seen only in the countenance of an Indian.

Mr. Harrison's paintings, which have attracted most local attention and advertised abroad the unsurpassed beauties of Wisconsin scenery, are such pictures as "Elkhart Lake," a rare sheet of water in Sheboygan County; " Sandstone Bluff," a bold, rocky cliff on Green Lake, and several other scenes from Green Lake, the gem of all Wisconsin waters, situated in the county of the same name.

What has been pronounced in England Mr. Harrison's most powerful painting, is his " Cromwell's Charge at Marston Moor," which has been owned in that country during many years.

But one of his modern master-pieces on canvas, is a picture finished in 1879 - " Cleopatra's Triumph." It is of large size, and represents more labor than almost any other painting produced in America. It contains 300 figures, all richly but differently dressed ; scores of columns with sculptured bases and ornamented capitals, boats, buildings, the sea, flowers and every detail pertaining to the Egyptian court at the time it represents. At the left rises the stupendous pile called Cleopatra's Palace (begun by Alexander the Great, and finished after his death, B. C, 323, by Ptolemy Soter, the first Greek ruler of Egypt). Its length was more than four thousand feet, and its elevation a wilderness of columns, statuary, pillars, emblems, deities and ornamental sculpture piled tier upon tier in solid, shining marble, to a dizzy height, and reaching down to the sea. At the base of the gigantic columns which guard the entrance to the palace, are slaves feeding serpents, Egyptian gods, and to the left the Sphynx, while at the right swarm the royal guards, harpists and banner-bearers, dressed in purple and white, ready to welcome their beloved and beautiful Queen. On the steps of the palace stands a beautiful figure, like that of an angel, called the Goddess of Peace, holding in one hand the white dove of welcome, and in the other the scepter - symbol of power - to be delivered to the Queen. Beyond the Goddess lie the terrible Egyptian deities, with wings and claws, and still fartheron the magnificent malachite obelisk, whose polished surface of blue and green carbonate of copper shimmers in the sunlight, and which is surmounted by the god Apis. In the centre of the picture, and under a gorgeous canopy of feathers borne by a slave, is the Queen Cleopatra, with a rich crown sparkling and flashing on her brow.

By her side walks that great Roman warrior and statesman, Mark Antony, humble and subdued in the presence of her genius and beauty. He goes to her palace a willing captive - 'tis " Cleopatra's Triumph." Behind follows Antony's helmet-bearer; near by is a richly attired Egyptian priestess, presiding at an altar of burning incense; farther on, a swarthy slave is guarding the golden vessels landed from the galley, and far out to sea is the Pharos, 500 feet in height, one of the Seven Wonders, whose light guided ships across the Mediterranean Sea. The golden galley, impelled by silver oars in the hands of Nubian slaves, and alive with harpists, naiads and cupids, lies near in" all the magnificence which the wealth and skill of Egypt could bestow. " Castle Canyon," painted by Mr. Harrison in 1862, is now in Paris, and held at $25,000.

Mr. Mascraft, who has been Mark R. Harrison's student a number of years - and the only student Mr. Harrison ever had - although a young man, has a reputation abroad as an artist of rare genius and promise. He is not a copyist, as so many are who claim to be artists, but sketches from nature. He is an enthusiastic and patient worker, a lover of his profession and has painted many pictures of great merit. Those which sold for the highest figure and gave him the best reputation among artists abroad were, '- The Morning Mist," " Cattle in a Storm," " Lost in the Snow," and "Around the Camp Fire." The last one has received especial praise, being a strong and vivid picture of camp life as Mr. Mascraft recalled it from his own experience as a soldier in the rebellion. His pictures have nearly all sold in the East, where they are in demand, and where he is well known as an artist of genius, truth and skill. He makes frequent trips for the purpose of making new sketches from nature, and always with rare success. He is modest, and never mentions his profession or work, preferring to let his paintings win their own way on their merits.

A prominent Eastern journalist known as " Waldemere," -in a series of able papers upon " Our Coming Men and Women," devoted a lengthy critique to "Lisle Lester's" writings, and her promise as an author, from Avhich the following is extracted :

" The writings of this lady have been almost exclusively confined to magazine and newspaper literature. Now that she has paused in this work, and will soon publish in more solid shape, the result of her researches, it is quite proper to review what she has done, and examine the quality and power that will guide the future labor.

" As a writer she may be called versatile, yet there are classes of literary work she never touches, and has a strongly developed taste for certain specialties ; prominent of all, the historical and descriptive. Under this classification, she has given to print extensive papers on California, Oregon, Nevada and the Pacific Coast Territories, Peru, Mexico and the West Indian Islands. These papers embrace history, biography, description, adventure and relic lore.

" Her descriptive faculties are the best ; her language is rhetorically able and fluent. Some of the most admirable specimens of her authorship in this class of writing are a series of papers entitled ' Pencilings of the Pacific,' 'Two Years in Jamaica,' and 'Lisle Thread.'

" The second prominent feature of her writings, after the historical, is dramatic journalism. She has published and editorially conducted two dramatic papers, dramatized considerably, and contributed largely to dramatic publications. As a theatrical essayist and correspondent, her opinions command a high estimate from the profession. The ' Life of Charlotte Cushman,' written and compiled during tiie years 1877 and 1878, will soon be sent to press. It is apparent that some of her most eminent eflx)rts will be found in the dramatic literature of the future.

" The next most sparsely indulged feature of her literai'y work is satirical humor ; combined with it, a defense of principles and people, that has conspired to bring out from her pen some very strong, caustic, independent articles from time to time.

'' The most important of these papers already current, was a series of articles published in the Washington Chronicle in 1877, entitled, ' Only-a- Woman Series.' "

The pearl of all "Lisle Lester's" writings is tlie limited poetical thought that has found expression in print. These poems remind one of the stifling sobs of a child, struggling in suppressed weeping.

The saddest of these are gems, and every line seems drenched with tears - no doubt they conceal the key to the heart-side of her life, that the world is not admitted to. Illustrative of the emotional-friendship verse, written under what may be denominated the " indulgence of affections," the following is given:

"Lisle Lester" never dabbled in political writing, nor lent her pen to any of the " hobbies " and "isms " with which the world is well supplied at the present time. She never wrote a novel nor a romance of any kind. At the present time, she is putting into shape for the press, some important works that will decide her position in literature. She has not hurried into print, nor sought premature fame, and in this she has exhibited good judgment, and, doubtless, laid a solid foundation for the future.

Under this romantic name, Miss Elizabeth Farnsworth, now Mrs. Mears, of Oshkosh, wrote more voluminously than any other Fond du Lac County lady author. She began early to write rhymes, ditties and acrostics for the press, some of wiiich were sweet and musical. In addition to poetry, "Nellie Wildwood " dipped into romance and the drama - one play, entitled " Black Hawk," drawing good houses at jNIadison and other places in the State. Her most elaborate work was a sixty-page book, entitled, " Voyage of Pere Marquette, and Romance of Charles de Langlade; or, the Indian Queen. An Historical Poem of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries." It was written for Harrison & Stevenson's " Art Union," in 1860. From this book, as descriptive of the approach on the shores of Lake Winnebago, before the coming of white men, of such a glorious morning as could only be seen in the unsettled AVest, is taken the following :

" 'Tis early morn - the heavens are softest blue, And the broad lake has caught the same fair hue ; While from the dreamy West the cooling breeze Waves the green drapery of the lofty trees, Amid whose cool and leafy shade is heard The matin-song of many a bright-winged bird. The robin's note from hedge of wilding rose - The mourning dove pours forth her loving woes - The thrush, with joyous gratitude elate - The speckled partridge, whistling to its mate -

And all the feathered choristers of song, Rouse the clear echoes, vales and groves among. The fragrant zephyrs, 'mid the flowers that sleep With morning freshness on thesenses sweep.' The rising sun gilds tree and headland tall - The crimson beams soft ling' ring where they fall. Till earth and arching skies in splendor bright Mingle in one, thus bathed in golden light."

Mrs. Fisher has never published anything in book form, although she has written much worthy of such preservation. She writes for the Phrenological Journal and various other publications. From the Fond du Lac Reporter of February, 1877, is taken the following :

In 1868, Maurice McKenna, who had written for the press and various periodicals, published a small volume of poems entitled, " Elva Lee." The principal feature of the work was a romance after the style and meter of Walter Scott's " Lady of the Lake," which was presented with this :

To The Reader

Of all the poets - or those who have dropped into verse for the amusement of friends or in response to that inspiration which no pen can describe but which occasionally bursts into a glow with all persons of genius, throwing their very souls into a dance of rhythm and transport of beautiful thoughts - none claimed by Fond du Lac County have become so widely known as Alice Arnold Crawford. Her beautiful life, attractive personal and mental attributes and premature death add a peculiar interest to her productions for even those who care nothing for the intrinsic merits of poetry. She furnished articles in prose and verse for the leading publications of the day, and, in 1875, after her death, an unrevised collection of her writings, making a book of nearly two hundred pages, mostly in verse, was published in elegant style by Jansen, McClurg & Co., of Chicago. The two distinct and unlike moods or styles in which Alice Arnold Crawford wrote, are well illustrated by two poems here reproduced :

Blind Handel

He sat alone - his solemn service (^'er ; No muftjed footfalls sounded on the floor ; The distant clangor of llie closing door From arch to arch leaped down the low octave Of dying echoes, and wiihin the nave Dropped into silence.

Calm and sweetly grave, As one in whom some joy and sorrow blend. The blind old iflan, beside his limewora friend, Still lingered lovingly. .Across the keys F e felt the warmlh of sunshine, and the breeze

At play upon the silver of his haii-. And, down the iiisles, he linew llie list'ning air In conscious enipliness luing dead and still, But wailing for the soul of melody to thrill Its sileuce into life.

As one who loved them much, He sought the keys. They yielded to his touch. And liy some strange intelligence lliey caught The thrilling impulse of their master's tliought, And followed sofily, or in cchnes rang Their sweet response, while he, trembling, sang His life-song unto them :

" We are alone Oh, voices of my soul ! and j ly unknown To those who know and love you less than I, Is borne to me upon the melody That wakens at my will. I fell no need of sight; But, reaching forth, I draw my warmth and light From out the world of sound, that fine and mystic sense Vouchsafed to me makes more than recompense For outer darkness ; since (lie shadowy line That shuts me from the world wins the divine To blest communion until life grows sweet From hidden springs, and makes itself complete From sources of its own.

" i\Ien pity me ; And little eyes that mine shall never see Turn tenderly to watch the groping feet That, hesitating, tread the aisle and street. They look on me as one whose night and day Are wearily the same, and sadly say My blindness is my prison, and no star That, key-like, hangs without the dungeon bar, Shall ever turn or open unto me The royal dawn, or noontide majesty.

" And yet 1 sorrow not. No life is dark Whose inner chambers hold the vital spark Of heavenly happiness. I only stand Within the shadow of my Father's hand, And list, through all the ling'ring eventide, For loving tones that, comforting, abide Forever in the air. Oh, perfect gift ! Oh, blessing marvellous ! By thee I lift The upper windows of my charniL'dsoul, And let the li.armonies of Heaven roll Full voiced into mine ear.

" And still I wait. My groping fingers clasp the golden gate That bounds the sweet hereafter, while the hymn That trembles from the harps of serapliim Floats out 10 me ; the soft and mellow pipes Awaked by me are but th' imperfect types Of what 1 hear - the faint interpreters Through which I speak to men - sweet messengers From me unto the world. I ask no moi'e Since ' my Redeemer liveth ' to restore In His own time the fullness of my sight. Then, for the loss of earth s imperfect light. The crystal day shall evermore be given. And Handel, ' blind and old,' shall see in Heaven."

Thk Forest Eastek

[This poem was published at Easter-tide in Ilarper's Weekly, engraved on a beautiful cross whicli covered an entire page of that publication, and attracted wide attention. The cross was entwined and Irellised with the ricli green vines and bright star-blossoms of the trailing arbutus, bursting through crusts of snow and creeping about pillars of ice, with the deep, gloomy solitude of a Nortiieru forest for a background.]

Look ! how shadows in the glow, Melted from their icy keeping, out of hidden cells are creeping; Out of twilight niches leaping at the beck'ning of the liglit. Has the spring remembered Easter in the Northland still and white? Have the symbols of the morning deck'd the dim cathedral wood ? Have they written, " He is risen," in the snowy solitude? Are the lilies incense breathing? Are the fair camellias wreathing

Robed a cross or strewed a shrine." Ay, the Spring has chosen well - belter than we understood. Open star and budded bell best befit the cloister cell

Of the templed wood ; Best unfold the mystic story from the secret of its own ; Best proclaim the risen glory from the life itself has known. Blossom of the Wilderness! God-child of the snow's caress ! Heaven shall love thee not the less, blooming here alone.

The news that Fort Sumter had been fired upon and had surrendered reached Fond du Lac, Ripon and Waupun Saturday evening, April 13, 1861, but was not generally disseminated until Sunday. Everything was dropped, and people rushed to the centers of population and information for the latest news. Newspapers were in demand and commanded almost any price, one man paying a dollar for a copy of the Chicago Tribune. Impromptu meetings to sustain the Government were held everywhere, the first of which any record was left being held Sunday evening, April 14, in the city of Fond du Lac. On Thursday evening, the largest meeting ever held in that city was addressed at Amory Hall, by Edward S. Bragg, J. M. Gillet, S. E. Lefferts and Mason C. Darling. The intensity of the excitement, patriotism and enthusiasm manifested cannot be described. Resolutions upholding the Government, and couched in the strongest possible language, were adopted. About $4,000 was raised to care for the families of soldiers, and pledges were offered on every hand to furnish wood, meat, flour and provisions to soldiers' wives and children. Men offered houses free of rent ; physicians offered medical attendance free of charge, and the City Council voted, at a special meeting, although it had no right to do so, $5,000 to aid soldiers' families. Patriotism and generosity ran riot. War meetings were appointed in almost every schoolhouse in the county, and speakers were in great demand. The demand, however, was supplied, as men who had never made a speech before, and have not since, proved to be fountains of patriotic eloquence. The Reporter, of Fond du Lac, in its issue of April 27, 1861, thus briefly but graphically describes the excitement of the hour:

" We should, perhaps, make an apology that the Reporter is lacking this week in the usual amount of matter. The events of the week have occupied our whole attention. Our workmen are worn down with night work in getting out extras of telegraphic reports, which we print morning and evening. Nor can we publish all the war news, for want of room and for want of type-setters to get up the type. Two of our workmen have enlisted.

" The war feeling is so intense and absorbing that much of the business of our city has been stopped; men are collected in crowds on the streets, and before the recruiting office of Col. Lefferts. Mechanics have left their shops, clerks their desks, printers their cases, laborers their usual employments, and all are prepared to take up arms in defense of the flag of their country."

Capt. John McGinnis offered the services of the Hibernian Guards of Fond du Lac, five days after Gov. Randall's proclamation was posted, and they were accepted. This was the first offer of a company from Fend du Lac County. It was not the first company to leave for camp, as it was composed of only thirty men who were willing to fight, and some recruiting was necessary to secure the necessary seventy-eight.

The first man to enlist in Fond du Lac County was Colwert K. Pier, and the second was Christian Klock. This was on Monday forenoon, April 15, and they signed the roll in S. E. Lefferts' office, at 494 Main street.

Party lines were nearly obliterated, old feuds were forgotten, and a new era in good-fellowship and patriotism inaugurated. Old enemies, both political and social, met at recruiting gatherings, and made speeches together.

Patriotism and a desire to do something for their country were not confined to the men- The ladies were busy preparing little things for the soldiers to take with them ; making flags» committing patriotic songs, making rosettes of red, white and blue, and lending their influence by being present at all war meetings. When the first company left Fond du Lac, each member was presented by the ladies with an elegant silk rosette and a Testament, and the company with a large and costly flag. These were presented at Amory Hall on Tuesday evening, April 31, at which time the company assembled to take the army oath. W. C. Kellogg administered the oath, and so enthusiastic were the spectators, ihat one and all arose and took the solemn obligation also. Rev. George B. Eastman made a prayer, and E. S. Bragg the following speech:

CiTizKN Soldiers: In obedience to your own patriotic impulses to defend a flag hallowed by the blood of patriots, the maintenance of which was bequeathed to you as a legacy of a glorious ancestry, you are about to bid adieu to friends and kindred, to put off the garb of peace and assume the " slow-measured tread of grim-visaged war." In days of old, the knight did his devoir under the colors of his " ladye-love." The remembi'ance of the sweet, sad parting cheered him when gloom was stealing o'er his spirit, and rendered doubly ilear the achievements of his arm. In later days - in the limes which tried men's souls - the women of America clieered the soul of the patriot; the mother gave her husband and son as willing offerings, and the maiden wiped the death-damp from the brow of her lover without a murmur. That race of noble women 'is not yet extinct. They are as ready now as then, at their country's call, to make the sacrifice.

Capt. McCall, through me the women of Fond du Lac bid you and your soldiers God-speed in your holy purpose. By my hand they entrust you with these colors as a parting token. Maintain them in the front of the battle. Let them never be sullied by an ignoble act on the field, or in the camp. Protect them, if need be, with your blood,, remembering always, th,at they possess the talism.inic power of a woman's blessing.

Oil behalf of the Badgers, I tender to the ladies of Fond du Lac our heartiest thanks for this beautiful flag, assuring them that each and all of us, rank and file, will do our utmost to protect it from dishonor. And, whether on the field, or in camp, on duty or olf, the remembrance of the fair givers will ever be cherished.

Two days after this, May 2, 1861, the company took its departure amid a strange commingling of cheers, sobs and tears. The train left Thursday morning over the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, from Fond du Lac, and the city was literally jammed with people from all parts of the county, to whom the idea of war and the sight of soldiers were novel and inspiriting.

Before their departure, a splendid dinner was served by the proprietor of the Lewis House, Mr. B. S. Patty, while the bands discoursed music, and patriotic speeches were made outside of the hotel. This company (I), called the "Badger Boys," was assigned to the First Wisconsin Regiment ; was the first body of Fond du Lac County men to start for the war, and consisted of the following officers and privates:

Innumerable copies of the "Star Spangled Banner," and miniature flags, on which were printed various patriotic mottoes, and extracts from the speeches of great men, were scattered about the country, and the work of recruiting went on at an astonishing rate, the time of enlistment at first being for only ninety days. Flags floated everywhere. Bulletins naming the prominent men who had enlisted, and scraps containing the seditious utterances of Southern men and officers, were freely circulated to increase, if possible, the enthusiasm for enlisting, and at the war meetings, men who could not enlist would " bid " for volunteers. That is, A would call out, " I will give $50 for the next volunteer;" B would say, " I'll give $100," and so on until another volunteer was secured, the meetings continuing until late at night. A description of the wild excitement and intense enthusiasm of one war meeting would apply to all of them, and they were held everywhere in the county.

The follofling card, printed on imitation bank paper, was suddenly and unaccountably found in liberal circulation, furnishing the salaries of soldiers in diSerent positions: Colonel, $218 per month; Lieutenant Colonel, $194 ; Major, $175; Captain, $118 ; First Lieutenant, $108.50; Second Lieutenant, $103.50; Brevet Second Lieutenant, $103.50; First, or Orderly Sergeant, $29; other Sergeants, $27; Corporals, $22; privates, $20, and musicians, $21 per month.

These figures, though not correct, mixed well with the enthusiasm of the hour, and recruiting went on more rapiilly than ever, until it was announced in one of the local papers of May 25. 1861, that " Fond du Lac County has furnished a greater number of volunteers than any other county in the State, not even excepting Milwaukee. We have now nine full companies, and three more nearly full, more than enough for one full regiment. Of these, six companies have enlisted for three years, or during the war. Should the exigencies of the war require it, we are confident the number could be doubled in this county. Our volunteers compare favorably any in the State. They are a fine, able-bodied set of men, who entered into this business because they felt it their duty to do so, leaving their fields and workshops, and occupations, to be supplied by others. It is an indisputable fact that Capt. McCall's Company stands at the head of the First Regiment for good order, sobriety and military bearing. They have earned a reputation in their short period of camp life, of which they may well feel proud. Should their example be followed by the remaining companies, Fond du Lac will have the proud distinction of having better men in the field, as well as more of them, than any county in the State."

In a very few days after the first company was organized under Capt. J. V. McCall, within thirty days from the time Gov. Randall's proclamation appeared in Fond du Lac County, the following six companies had been organized, officers chosen and their services accepted : Capt. Emerson's '"North Star Rifles," of Taycheedah ; Capt. John Maginnis' "Union Guards," of Fond du Lac; Capt. Gage's "Hamilton Guards," of the towns of Osceola, Auburn, Ashford and that vicinity; Capt. E. S. Bragg's "Rifles," of Fond du Lac; Capt. Bertine Pinkney's " Rosendale Guards," of Rosendale; Capt. 0. H. La Grange's "Ripon Rifles," of Ripon ; Capt. Clark's " Waupun Light Guards," of Waupun, and the " Oakfield Rifles."

Before this time. Company I had begun to have "some experience," and it will be interesting to know what it was and how the members liked it. Many of the boys had been accustomed to fine clothes, luxurious homes and plenty of money, and not a few of them took along well-filled trunks. C. K. Pier wrote weekly letters to the Fond du Lac Reporter, signing himself " Trowloc," in one of which he said :

" We have at last received our clothes, which they call uniforms, although one would think to see the company on parade, that the tailor had warranted each uniform to fit the largest man or the smallest boy. The cloth is gray, of various shades ; much of it is of poor quality and will not stand hard service. The pants have a black cord down the sides, and the coats have brass buttons and stand-up collars. On Monday (May 13), Col. Starkweather presented the regiment with a remnant of Washington's flag. Yesterday (May 15), we commenced our second course on soldier's fare. One more, and we will be on regular army rations. The contract has been let to feed us at 39 cents per head. Each man has a metal plate, spoon, knife and fork, which he must take care of himself. About 6 o'clock, the Orderly Sergeant calls out, ' Company I, fall in for breakfast,' and, as the call is passed from tent to tent, you take your plate in one hand, knife, fork, cup and spoon in the other, and step into the ranks. But be careful as you go into the eating-house that you do not slip down in a pool of coffee. As the boys range themselves along the rough table, the Orderly commands, 'Inward face - take seats.' At first, a teacup of mustard, a box of pepper, salt and vinegar, ai"e the only articles in the line of victuals to be seen ; but, immediately, a pan filled with slices of bread an inch or more in thickness, another of boiled potatoes, followed by one filled with meat, come in rapid succession. The bread is 'baker's,' and good; the potatoes are good enough, and the meat - well, as to meat and gravy, we won't take any this morning. The waiter fills your cup with coffee, which you sweeten and taste. It is cold, and appears inclined to coagulate. Another waiter appears, and while steam rises in large volumes from his pitcher, cries out, ' Hot coffee ! ' You want some, of course, but what is to be done? Your cup is full, you cannot swallow its contents, and there is no dish into which to empty it. You look around and find everybody in the same fix. Finally, a sly one comes to an ' about face ' and pours his coffee on the ground. In an instant you follow suit, and so do the others. Now it may be understood whence came the pools of cofi'ee on the ground. * * * After finishing your meal, should you wish to clear your plate of fragments, you empty them on the table or where you did the cold coff'ee. You clean your dish with bread, dip it in a large dish of hot water, and wipe it with paper."

The boys got their pay about the 1st of June, and their genius was taxed to smuggle " liquid dry goods " into camp, as it was against the rules to be caught with a bottle.

On Monday before the First Regiment left Camp Scott at Milwaukee, the death of one Monroe, of Company C, took the spirit nearly all out of the boys. On the 9th of June, they started for the front, and the journey to Maryland was one continuous ovation. Music, cannon, cheers, ice water, hot coffee, lunches, fruits, papers, prettj' girls and shouting men met them at every depot. At one village in Ohio, the people were so enthusiastic as to allow their daughters to board the train and ride with the soldiers until the returning train was met. Some of the Fond du Lac boys put up at hotels, and were liberal with money received from friends and relatives at home. Their first fighting was at Falling Waters, in Virginia, July 2, 1861. It was a wild, harum-scarum battle, but the boys thought it was a big thing. The First Regiment lost one man (not from Fond du Lac County), and C. K. Pier wrote home that he saw two of the enemy stretched dead in a field, while David Babcock sent back word that " in the free and rapid distribution of bullets, the rebs had attained to a proficiency that was truly astonishing." Afterward, the battle of Falling Waters was a standing joke among the veterans, and is to this day.

Lyman M. Ward went out from Fond du Lac in the first company of the First Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers. He was the author of - " Dodge the big ones."

After serving with the original First, Col. Ward, as he was familiarly known, helped to organize, and, from the beginning to the end, was identified with the Fourteenth Regiment. At Pittsburg Landing, notwithstanding the terrors and disasters of the first day's fight, the Fourteenth absolutely refused to break or run. Their splendid behavior won for them the title, " Fourteenth "Wisconsin Regulars." Three times, during the second day, they charged and captured a rebel battery, and each time, for want of proper support, were compelled to let go their prize. Most every one has heard in one shape or another the story of the officer who told his men they might dodge " the big ones," but few are acquainted with the real incident which gave it origin.

While forming the line for the fourth charge, this regiment drew the concentrated fire of all the enemy's guns within range. Shell, grape and solid shot swept over and about them with shriek, hiss and roar, which only one who has been there can appreciate. The Colonel passed along, cautioning the men to stand steady, assured them they had that day made their names immortal, to keep their ranks solid, that a man Avas as apt to dodge in front of a bullet as to avoid it, and that another hour would surely give them the victory. Just then, a perfect tornado of iron and lead swept over their heads; every man and officer involuntary dodged, when Lieut. Ed. Ferris said: " But, Colonel, when they shoot a cooking stove right past a man's ear, can't he dodge just a little? "

Five minutes later, the regiment again went for that battery, and never let go of it. As a trophy of that day's service, the Government assigned one of the captured guns to the State,, and it is now at Madison.

Citi Of Fond Do Lac First Ward Citt Of Fond Dp Lac Second Ward

Fiiurteenth Infantry - Co. A - S. D. Baker, John Brecker, Sterling Peters, A. J. Scott, James Thomas. Co. F - James Gorman. Co. H - James Pound.

Thirty-S'cnnd Infantry - Co. A - William Higgs. .James Hayes, Robert Marshall, D. A. Morrison. Co. II - Frank Conisky. James J. Dilley, .lames D. Dilly, James Hayes, Horace E. Mann, Miles .''eeley, A. C. Tucker.

Town Of Bteon

Thirty-eighth Infantry - Co. A - De Villiers B. Barrows, Joseph C. Devens, Alberat A. Dye, Horace A. Hudson, Lieut. George .M. Pier, Charles W. Robbins, Edgar M. Taylor, Benajah Taylor.

The Braft

There was some excitement in Fond du Lac County when the order for the first draft was promulgated. This was not because of the large number of men to be drawn, for the quotas of most of the towns and wards were pretty nearly full ; but because a local paper had said the Government had no right to *' tear men from their homes to be btitchered for the tyrants at Washington," which caused a misapprehension to grow up in some quarters as to what a draft really was. Many expected a squad of armed soldiers would appear at their doors with handcuffs and chains, to take all the male inmates at all hazards. When this misapprehension was corrected, there was less excitement and fewer threats of resistance.

The draft was begun by the Sherift' in Fond du Lac County about the 1st of September, 1862. Dr. W. H. Walker was Examining Surgeon, with his office at Fond du Lac. The Ripon Times gave a graphic account of the appalling number of men who were attacked with fatal maladies during August, while the draft papers were preparing, and the Saturday Reporter, of Fond du Lac, in its issue of September 20, said :

" For one whole week, the Draft Commissioner's and Surgeon's office in this city has been crowded with applicants for exemption. The side-walk in front of the stairway in Darling's Block has been crowded, and the passage crammed full. A large number of certificates have been issued, attesting to the great degree of mortality prevailing. No doubt, in many cases the applicants were unfit for military duty, and should not be abused for applying there, but so man}' robust and healthy men have come up, that some wag put ;>. sign over the door labeled " Cowards' Headquarters," and, no doubt, it was with justice to hundreds we have seen under it."

M. W. Seely was County Commissioner, and had an office at Fond du Lac for the purpose of examining the evidence of those who claimed exemption from military service, under Order No. 99 of the War Department. These exemptions were granted where men had been convicted of felony, or were members of families with a certain number in the service, or were the necessary support of children or aged and infirm.

This was a large draft. About 20 per cent of those who " drew prizes " when the wheel turned in Amory Hall, at Fond du Lac, presented themselves for duty. After this draft had been ordered and the enrollment begun, the melancholy feelings of men of sound body and middle age who suddenly received word that their friends in Canada were " very sick - not expected to live," was sorrowful to behold. Twenty who thus suddenly learned of illness among their Canada friends, left Fond du Lac in a single night. Thirteen left Waupun on a certain Sunday evening, and about the same number tore themselves away from Ripon. Canada did not appear to have at that time well ones enough to properly care for the sick, and the good men of Fond du Lac could not see them suffer.

In November, 1863, a Draft Association was formed, with headquarters at Fond du Lac. S. D. Stanchfield was President ; Edward Beeson, Vice President ; Keyes A. Darling. Treasurer, and T. D. Pooles, Secretary. Each member paid a certain initiatory fee, and if the fund thus obtained was not sufficient to pay the $300 for each member drafted, a pro-rata assessment sufficient for that purpose was made.

After tb.e November draft had taken place. Provost Marshal Phillips' office was thronged night and day. The substitute business was also good, but more than one-half of those hired or purchased as "subs" decamped for Canada as soon as they secured the $300 bounty, with some additional local bonuses. These "bounty-jumpers" were mostly natives of Canada, who made a business of getting money in the manner mentioned.

The next draft was in October, 1864 - the vigor with which recruiting was pushed making Fond du Lac able to escape a draft in January, 1864, even if it had not been postponed. There was another call March 14, 1864, for 200,000 men for the navy, which, with the two previous calls for 300,000 and 200,000 men, respectively, swelled the number to 700,000. This made the number to come from Wisconsin large ; but Fond du Lac County, as a whole, not only escaped this draft, but in some towns had credits ahead of her quota.

The Fond du Lac Reporter of April 26, 1864, said : " The Fourth District - Capt. E. L. Phillips, Provost Marshal - is now ahead, as it has been for a year past, of all other districts in the State in filling the calls made. It has furnished, also, a greater per cent of drafted men for duty and of commutation money than any other district in the State. This, we think, is due almost entirely to the able management of affairs at the headquarters of the district. The State does not have three more efficient officers than Capt. Phillips, Commissioner Burchard and Surgeon Carey."

The draft of October, 1864, was made in Spencer Hall, Fond du Lac, on Wednesday, October 5, for Fond du Lac County, or rather the towns of Eldorado and Auburn. Eden, Osceola and Ashford were behind, but before the draft for the balance of the district was completed had fillei their quotas and no draft was had for their benefit. For Auburn, 132 names were enrolled as liable to draft, of which 74 were drawn. For Eldorado, 131 were enrolled and 84 drawn.

Oa the Saturday succeeding this draft, one of the Fond du Lac papers had the following, giving the names of the drafted : " More than one-half of the men drafted in Eldorado on Wednesday have run away."

On Friday, January 27, 1865, a supplemental draft was made for the more delinquent towns of the Fourth District, and the town of Eldorado was the only one in Fond du Lac County for which the draft wheel was turned. The deficiency was 17 at this draft, but only one man was secured.

The last draft in Fond du Lac County was conducted by Gen. Charles S. Hamilton, who was appointed Provost Marshal of the Fourth District, in place of Capt. E. L. Phillips, about the middle of March, 1865. This draft was for only a portion of the county, many towns and wards having their quotas more than full. The draft was for Ehlorado, with a deficiency of 60 ; Forest with 21; Auburn, with 14; Csceola, with 16; Eden, with 11, and Ashford, with 7. The Marshal thought it necessary to post the law against draft riots in some of these towns. The men drafted this time never saw active service, the war closing soon after.

Scraps Of War History

The first man to shed Wisconsin blood on a Southern battlefield in the rebellion, was Lieut. William A. Matthews, of Company G, First Wisconsin Volunteers, who was severely wounded at the battle of Falling Waters, in July, 1861, in Virginia. He enlisted at Fond du Lac, his home. The last Wisconsin blood shed was at the capture of Jeff Davis, in Irwin County, Ga., May 10, 1865, when several men were wounded by volleys fired by a detachment of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry upon a detachment of the First Wisconsin Cavalry.

The Third Regiment was quartered during several weeks at Camp Hamilton, in Fond du Lac City. Edward Pier and John W. Carpenter had the contract to supply the men with food, which they did for 38 cents apiece, per day. The regiment was commanded by Col. Charles H. Hamilton, and consisted of ten full companies, or about eight hundred men. This regiment broke camp at Fond du Lac and left for the front on Friday, July 12, 1861. The ladies gave to nearly every soldier some article of comfort before the regiment left Fond du Lac.

Capt. Emerson's '- North Star Rifles," of Taycheedah, left for camp Monday, June 24, 1861, and Capt. E. S. Bragg's " Rifles " left July 1, 1861. His company consisted of 120 men. This company was raised by Capt. Bragg.

Company A, of the Thirty-second Regiment, was in camp for a while in 1861, at the fair grounds in Fond du Lac, but soon afterward joined the regiment in Camp Bragg, at Oshkosh.

Col. Edward Colman (Sheriff in 1878 and 1879) had a recruiting office over the office of the Bank of the Northwest. Other recruiting oflSces were opened by Sergt. M. W. Petters and Sergt. Higgins, during 1862.

The town of Empire held a war meeting August 22, 1862, and voted $3,000 for bounties to those who would enlist before the draft, which was expected to take place on September 1, following.

The " Fond du Lac Mill Boys " composed a company of 104 men, enlisted by Capt. Alexander White, in Fond du Lac, in August, 1862, nearly every one of whom was a mechanic, machinist or millwright. As Capt. White, Deputy Warden of the Wisconsin State Prison since 1878, was a splendid machinist and mechanic, being one of the owners of the Hiner & White L'on Works, it was said of his company, that they could build and equip a railway with cars and locomotives ; build a mill, make a rifled cannon, erect a truss bridge, or do anything in the mechanical line, even to making clocks and watches. In this company, five Derusha brothers and si.x of their brothers-in-law enlisted. No company in Fond du Lac ever got such a large number from one family. This company went into camp at Oshkosh September 1, 1862.

In October. 1862, nearly one hundred negroes - men, women and children - arrived in Fond du Lac, from Northern Alabama, in charge of the Chaplain of the Fourteenth Regiment. They were mostly taken as servants in the city of Fond du Lac.

Gen. Lyman M. Ward, now of Benton Harbor, Mich., enlisted at Fond du Lac as a private, and won all his promotions by "gallant conduct on the field of battle."

Prairie Grove was one of the hottest battles of the war. Capt. Strong's company, from Ripon, was highly complimented for the part it took in that cngiigement.

In the Ripon papers of December, 1862, was a long letter giving a description of governing cities in the South by military law, and particularly how Norfolk and Portsmouth, Va., wore being governed by Maj. Alvan E. Bovay, who was Provost Marshal of those cities until the latter part of 1863.

In February, 1863, Kingman Flint, son of the late Judge Flint, was promoted to Second Lieutenant in the regular army. A few months later, he died at Pensacola, of black vomit. He was a wonderful man, physically.

In December, 1862, the County Boai"d of Supervisors passed a resolution to furnish aid after that date to the families of volunteer soldiers. Each person so aided was required to furnish evidence to the nearest Supervisor, that he or she was a relative of a volunteer soldier, and dependent upon him for support.

Gen. 0. H. La Grange, afterward for several years Superintendent of the LTnited States Mint at San Francisco, enlisted at Ripon, and traveled to his final high position from the bottom round of both the military and civil ladders.

The Turners, of Fond du Lac, raised a company for Gen. Sigel's regiment, and turned over every dollar in their treasury to pay bounties for new recruits.

Jerome B. Johnson, now Superintendent of Mails at Milwaukee, was shot through th& groin at Bull Run, and lay six days upon the field, without food or attendance. He lived, and, in October, 1862, was able to return to Fond du Lac. But he never was able to return to his regiment.

A Mr. Temple, of Lamartine, anxious to get into the service of his country as soon as possible, went to the front and enlisted, being assigned to Company D, of the Third Regiment. Next day he was shot dead in buttle.

In October, 1862, occurred one of the largest funerals in Fond du Lac. It was at the burial of Grier Tallmadge, a son of the late Gov. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, who died at Fortress Monroe in September.

In x-Vpril, 1863, the ladies of Wedge's Prairie collected fifty barrels of provisions and some cash for tiie soldiers. They then formed themselves into an Aid Society and continued the work of doing for the soldiers.

In April, 1863, the members of Company A, Thirty-second Regiment, sent home to their families, as the surplus saved from three months' pay, the sum of ?4,263.

The first work of the Soldiers' Aid Society of the town of Byron, in 1863, was to collect, for the boys in blue, two loads of food and clothing and $116 in cash. The society afterward did much more in the same direction.

William Frost, of Eden, went to Memphis, where he had one soldier son dead and another fatally ill, in May, 1863, and, a few days later, his family received word that he, too, was dead, having been lost overboard while crossing the Mississippi.

War speakers were occasionally hustled, and some of tliem injured, in some portions of the county. At Taycheedah, R. B. Charles was set upon while speaking in favor of the war and the Administration, and quite severely injured. While this was going on, his harness wa?

destroyed and his wagon torn in pieces. At Ripon, there were two or three wlio made demonstrations of disloyalty; but after one of the parties had been led to the mill-pond, and had the depth of the water taken before him, with the understanding that water was considered excellent for treasonable utterances and demonstrations, the balance subsided.

A military company Avas formed in the southeast towns of the county in June, 1863, with the f)llowing officers : Captain, Fred Baldwin; First Lieutenant, Nicholas Gaifney ; Second Lieutenant, E. C. Coon; First Sergeant, E. A. Whitney; Second Seargeant, 0. P. Howe; Third Sergeant, E. C. Airhart; Fourth Sergeant, A. A. Bratt; Fifth Sergeant, G. N. Hatch.

The " Badger State Guards" were raised by C. K. Pier, at Fond du Lac, in the summer of 1863, with the following olficcrs: Captain, C. K. Pier; First Lieutenant, C. T. Carpenter; Second Lieuteniint, F. R. St. John ; First Sergeant, D. M. Wilson ; Second Sergeant, John ALller; Third Sergeant, W. 11. Allen; Fourtli Sergeant, John Markle ; Fifth Sergeant, Solon W. Ed^on. This company went out, after being drilled by Capt. Pier, as Company A, Thirtyeight Regiment, three years. Pier Avas made Colonel of RegJment, and Carpenter Captain of Company.

The " Union Guards " were raised at Ripon, with Herman Stempel, Captain ; W. T. Whiting, First Lieutenant; Lyman B. Evcrdell, Second Lieutenant, and N. Bowerroan, of the Prairie. City Record, First Sergeant. The company was organized in September, 1863.

In August, 1863, Dr. Walker took from the tongue of F. H. Farr, of Company K, First Regiment, two double teeth, which had been there imbedded about a year previously by a minie ball.

In October, 1863, four small children, whose mother was dead, gathered in Eden as mourners at the funeral of their last relative, Peter B. Miller, their father, of the Nineteenth Regiment. It was a sad sight.

In January, 1864) all there was left of the Fourteenth Regiment returned home, time of enlistment having expired. The regiment, which contained only 302 privates and 19 officers, was given big receptions at Chicago, Milwaukee and Fond du Lac. At Milwaukee, eloquent mention was made of iMichael Mantran. of Fond du Lac, for his conduct at the terrible charjre at Gettysburg. Every man in the regiment re-enlisted. Speeches were made at Fond du Lac by Gen. C. S. Hamilton and Col. Lyman N. Ward.

In January, 1864, the Common Council of Fond du Lac voted to pay a bounty of $100 for recruits for the city, and, a week or two later, increased the amount to $200 for each recruit.

Charles II. Benton was piomoted, in April, 1864, to be Second Lieutenant of Company G, First Regiment, and Thomas Bryant, First Lieutenant of Company H, Thirty-second Regiment. Soon after, Lieut. Benton was made Quartermaster of the First Regiment.

" Col. Edward Stuy vesant Bragg, of this city, has been promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers. Nearly three ye.irs ago, he entered the service as Captain of Company E, Sixth

Wisconsin Regiment. He rose, by grades, to be Colonel of the regiment, was in all the fights with the " Iron Brigade," and especially distinguished himself at Antietam and Gettysburg. During the recent battles in Virginia, at Spottsylvania and the Wilderness, he had command of a brigade, and handled his troops like a veteran, winning great favor from his commanders. For his gallant conduct on these occasions he has been commissioned. Gen. Bragg will be heard from whenever there is a fight, as he believes in striking to hurt."

Capt. W. W. La Grange, of the First Regiment of Cavalry, wounded through the body at Chattanooga, in December, 1863, died at Ripon. after a painful surgical operation to extract the shot, July 1, 1864.

J;etters tov soldiers who were prisoners within the rebel lines were required to have 10 cents upon them in Confederate stamps. Those who had friends among such prisoners were furnished with Confederate stamps free by John J. Beeson, at Fond du Lac, to whom they were sent by Lieut. Bannister. Lieut. Bannister had confiscated them, of course.

In July, 1864, Maj. George W. Driggs published a neat book, entitled " Opening of the Mississippi; or, Two Years' Campaigning in the Southwest."

Charles F. Sayre, who died at Port Hudson of sickness and wounds, was only sixteen years of age. He was the only support of a father who had been prostrated in the service.

Col. 0. H. La Grange, of the First Wisconsin Cavalry, who was considered by the rebels such a valuable and successful officer that he was put " under fire " at Charleston by them, was exchanged in August, 1864. To put an officer " under fire " is where, when he is held as a prisoner, he is placed so as to be exposed to the fire directed by his own side upon those who hold him.

G. H. Clark, Company K, First Wisconsin, and Ed. McGlachlin, who escaped from the rebel prisons, said that the greater shai-e of the appalling number of Union prisoners who died in confinement was caused by starvation and brutal treatment.

In February, 1865, Edward Colman was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the Fortyninth Regiment. At this time, Lieut. Crane, of Oakfield. was the only officer left in Company G, Thirty-sixth Regiment.

February 14. 1865, the city of Fond du Lac voted $30,000, to be used in paying bounties to soldiers enlisted to fill the (juota of the city. It did so, and with some to spare.

After warm weather began in 1864, the arrival of dead soldiers in Fond du Lac County was of daily occurrence during several months. Some were brought home shot dead ; some after having died of wounds, and many after dying of malarious diseases.

Capt. Milton Ewen, Miles Schoolcraft, Lieut. Col. Charles H. Morgan and others were many months in the prison-pens of the South. They finally escaped. Schoolcraft arrived home in December, 18(34, but the others were kept in prison till the following spring. His story appeared in print at the time, as follows :

" Miles Schoolcraft, of Company H, Thirty-second Regiment, arrived home Wednesday night, direct from Annapolis. He was taken prisoner while out with a foraging party, near Atlanta, last summer. He was first placed in prison at Eastport, Ga. During the march of nine days on the road, the rebels only issued three crackers to each man. From there he went to Andersonville, and remained there three months and thirteen days. During that time, the daily ration consisted of a piece of corn bread three inches long by two wide and two thick, with a piece of bacon about the same size. The men were treated brutally, in every possible way. On the least provocation, and sometimes none at all, the prisoners were knocked down with clubs or shot by the rebel privates and officers who guarded them. From one hundred to one hundred and twenty Union prisoners were buried every day, most of them dying from scurvy. Very often, no rations would be issued for two or three days. His hat, shirt and boots were taken, and he went into the prison-pen barefoot. From Andersonville he was taken to Charleston. Here good rations were issued, and the scurvy disappeared. From Charleston he was taken to Florence, S. C, and remained two months. During this time, the rations consisted of one pint of corn-meal per day, with a half-teaspoonful of salt every other day. While at Florence, 690 of the Union prisoners died. Only 3,000 were in the encampment. At Florence he saw Charlej'- Banker, of Oakfield, hale and hearty. No other Fond du Lac man was seen by liim. From Florence he went to Charleston, and was paroled with the first lot of 1,000, and arrived safely at Annapolis, where he received two months' pay and commutations for rations during the time he was a prisoner. He was given thirty days' furlough."

Capt. C. T. VVyman's story is also given. He arrived home in July, 1864. These two accounts, from men well known in Fond du Lac County, will show to coming generations what was endured by thousands of the boys in blue for their country, when, indeed, they did not succumb to disease, starvation or brutality, and start on their last long journey from the festering pens of Libby, Florence and Andersonville. Capt. Wyman's story appeared in the Fond du Lac Reporter of July 2, 1864, as follows :

"C. T. Wyman, of Company F, Twenty-first Wisconsin Regiment, whose escape is already well known, has given us an account of the manner in which he left rebeldom. He was on the way from Danville, Va., to Andersonville, Ga., in company with a large number of prisoners, being transferred beyond the reach of Yankee cavalry. On the 18th of .June, when two days' travel from Milledgeville, Ga., Lieut. Custar, of the Twenty-fifth Indiana Regiment, proposed- to Wyman to jump from the cars, which was agreed to.

" After working over two hours, they succeeded in getting the caps off the guns of the two guards, and then bolted through the open door of the car, the train running about twenty-two miles per hour. On reaching the ground, they rolled up close to the ends of the ties, and thus escaped the observation of the guard on top of the train. After the train was out of sight, their exultation can scarcely be told.

"Then commenced a long, fatiguing journey, almost entirely by night, through woods, swamps, by-ways, over hills, fields, and everywhere except through villages and regular roads. They depended entirely upon the negroes for assistance, who proved true to them in every particular instance. The greatest delight of the negroes seemed to be to aid them in every possible way.

" On the tenth night, while traveling a by-road, they suddenly came upon three rebel soldiers who were hunting for a runaway slave. There was no chance to run, so they quietly surrendered and were taken to a house close by. While supper was preparing, both managed to escape to the brush, in which pursuit was useless. Two or three nights after, they were confronted by a couple of home guards (rebels) who attempted to capture them, but who were .so ignorant of the use of fire-arms on such an occasion that they were left stunned and senseless on the ground

"All along the route every plantation had several dogs, and on the slightest alarm from them the men would rush out to see if their horses were not being conscripted by the gentle Jeff, or the rough riders of the Yanks. After tioenty-tlLi-ee nights, they reached the Chattahoochee River, having swam three other rivers, and the next day reached the Union lines, where there was some tall clieering. Without arms, or any food except berries, herbs and such as they could pick up on the way, they had traveled nearly three hundred miles through the heart of Georgia."

The stories of escapades like these, or of disease, starvation and death, might be lengthened out indefinitely, in writing the history of those who were taken prisoners, but these will suffice as illustrations.

The Ladies' Aid Society of the city of Fond du Lac, formed early in the w\ar, did an immense amount of work for the soldiers of Fond du Lac County. Many of the ladies who belonged to this Society devoted their entire time and attention to its labors ; and the number of garments made, purchased or collected ; the amount of dried fruits and food of all kinds, as well as books, newspapers and periodicals, sent to the soldiers was truly astonishing. Regular meetings did not cease to be held until about the close of the war, and the energy of its members never relaxed. The soldiers, both sick and well, sent home many a blessing to the women who were thus laboring, without hope of reward, in their behalf, and those labors will never be forgotten as long as there is a Fond du Lac County soldier left to recount his experiences.

In the public prints, the capture of Jefferson Davis, ex-President of the Southern Confederacy, has always been credited to the Fourth JLchigan Cavalry. This is unjust to the soldiers of another State, and a falsehood on the most important leaf of American history.

The First Wisconsin Cavalry, raised in Fond du Lac County, mostly at Ripon, by Col. . Edward Daniels, now of Washington, deserves most of the credit for his capture. This regiment had been lying at Macon, Ga., after participating in its capture, under the command of Lieut. Col. Henry Hearndon, now of Madison. 0. H. La Grange was the Colonel, but was then in command of the brigade. A detachment consisting of four companies, the First Battalion, or about one hundred men, was ordered to capture Jeff Davis, then supposed to be passing through Georgia with a large party. The detachment, which was commanded by Lieut. Col. Hearndon, struck Davis' trail at 5 o'clock of Sunday, Jlay 7, 1865, near the village of Dublin, Laurens County. All the darkies verified the supposition that Jeff was fleeing through these parts, but the whites declared it was only a few prisoners. Finally, a little girl standing outside of a house where the supposed Davis party had stopped, when asked if " Mr. Davis had gone away yet," innocently replied, "Yes, he's gone that way." The trail was plain, and the detachment hurried on. At Abbeyville, or " Poor Robin Ferry," a detachment of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry came up. under the command of Col. Pritchard. The two Colonels had a friendly talk, each showing the other his orders. Pritchard was to take the ferry and patrol the river. But Col. Hearndon, whose honesty gained him the name of the " Puritan Colonel," went further, and disclosed to Pritchard not only his orders, but that his men had struck Jeff's trail ; had followed it several days ; pointed out to him the direction the ex-President of the Conferderacy was taking, and showed scraps of paper found on the trail by W. 0. Hargrave, of Ripon, to prove that there was no doubt Davis was near by. Pritchard ktiew that the Government had offered $100,000 for the capture of Jefferson Davis, but Col. Hearndon did not. The former thereupon took advantiige of the hitter's confiding communications, and pushed ahead of the First Wisconsin detachment, striking Davis' trail ahead of them, and coming up with the Davis party late at night of the same day.

Being weary, their course lying through the " barrens," where the clay-eaters, or " white trash," barely eke out a miserable existence, the First Wisconsin boys followed on less rapidly.

Superintendent of Schools. - G. B. Cooley, 1858 ; George Perkins, 1859 ; L. H. D. Crane, 1860 ; G. J. Allen, 1861. After 1861, the system was changed and the city was placed under the jurisdiction of the County Superintendent.

C. E. Bennett, and H. D. Phelps, 1871 ; W^illiam Workman, C. F. Dodge and John Bush, 1872; J. Dobbs, J. M. De Frees and William Ralston, 1873; J. Dobbs, H. 1). Phelps and C. A. Shepard, 1874 ; J. Dobbs, Charles Cowan and G. W. Dellinger, 1875 ; J. Dobbs, S. W. Dodge and August Zinth, 1876 ; J. Dobbs, C. M. Cooley and A. Wood, 1877 ; J. Dobbs, W. M. Treanore and F. S. Wilson, 1878 ; E. L. Runals, N. Mason and T. R. Freeman, 1879. (Mr. Freeman moved into the First Ward after his election, thereby losing his office, to which C. E. Bennett was elected by the Council.)

Post Office

The name of the first place for the reception and delivery of mail in Ripon was Ceresco. The office was located in Ceresco - for there was not even one house on " the hill" where Ripon now is - and Lester Rounds was Postmaster, receiving his commission in 1844. The mail was carried during the winter of 1844-45, from Ceresco to Fond du Lac by John Limberf once a week. He went on foot, and had one of Nathan Hunter's pillow-cases for a mail pouch. Sometimes he was well laden. The second Postmaster was William Starr (now deceased), and the office still remained in Ceresco. In 1849, D. P. Mapes made an exertion to remove the post office from Ceresco to " the hill," which had been named Ripon. The Whigs were then in power, and, as the members of the Wisconsin Phalanx were mostly Democrats, the task was accomplished, and E. L. Northrup was given the appointment. Mr. Northrup did not secure possession of the office until March 30, 1850, although appointed the latter part of 1849. In 1853, Mr. Starr made an effort to secure the appointment of Postmaster again, and to move the office back to Ceresco. His competitor was David P. Mapes, who, of course, desired to retain the office at Ripon. The contest was a spirited one, both candidates making the journey to Washington to plead their cause. Mr. Mapes was successful, however, and that ended all efforts to get the post office at Ceresco. When the members of the Wisconsin Phalanx first lost the post office, they formed themselves into a funeral procession and turned their loss, which was really a serious one, into a joke. In January, 1854, in order to induce A. M. Skeels (now deceased) to settle his business at Ripon, Mr. Mapes resigned the office of Postmaster to him. The name of the office was changed from Ceresco to Ripon in 1855. Mr. Skeels was succeeded in May, 1861, by Jehdeiah Bowen, who erected a stone building on the east side of Public Square especially for the post office. During the month of February, 1864, Mr. Bowen received the mail but once on time, owing to the snow blockade. He t][ierefore employed a man and team to fetch the mail from the cars wherever they might be blockaded. This he deemed necessary, as the war of the rebellion was at its height and people were anxious to receive intelligence from their soldier friends. Many times during that winter the post office was kept open all night, the lobby being crowded until 3 o'clock in the morning by men and women who had friends in the army. Mr. Bowen resigned and was succeeded in September, 1866, by David McKercher, who had just become a resident of Ripon at the time of his appointment. Mr. McKercher was succeeded in 1870 by Hiram S. Town, the present incumbent. In the spring of 1879, the post office building burned, together with a quantity of mail matter and valuable records. A room on the ground floor of Greenway's Block was then arranged for the post office, which is the most commodious and convenient Ripon ever had. The post office at Ripon is second-class, with a salary of $2,000 per year to the Postmaster, and an allowance of $450 for clerk hire. When the office was first removed from Ceresco, the revenues were $1.60 for th& first quarter. Now the receipts are $1,000 per quarter, asfde from the money-order fees, which amount to $150 per year.

History Of Fond Dt' Lac Coltnty Public Schools

The first school taught in Ripon was in the fall of 1844. Lester Rounds was teacher, and the schoolroom was in the Wisconsin Phalanx building in Ceresco. The next year, the Phalanx people erected a stone schoolhouse on Lot 1, Block 5, corner of Church and Liberty streets, in which Mr. Rounds was also a teacher. This was not at first a public school, for it was maintained by the citizens of Ceresco for the benefit of their own children, there being no others in the vicinity. As the surrounding country became settled soon after, they took advantage of the law which allowed ten families to erect themselves into a school district, and it became a public school.

It is agreed between School District No. 5, in tlie town of Ceresco, and Edward Daniels, a qualified teacher of Green Lake, that the said Edward Daniels is to teach the common school of said district for the term of five months, for ihe sum of $26 per month ; and for such services, properly rendered, the said district is to pay to the said Edward Daniels the amount that may he due according to this contract by the 1st day of May, 1850.

Mr. Daniels taught this " term of five months " in the stone schoolhouse erected by the Wisconsin Phalanx, which was afterward, February 27, 185'2, deeded by them to School District No. 5, for the sum of $225.

The deed is a quaint document. The Phalanx seal, a piece of yellow linen cloth about one-half an inch wide and three times as long as wide, appears next to the names of the grantors, which are signed in a small hand. The grantors are Warren Chase, R. D. Mason, Russell Smith, Jacob Woodruff, Jacob Beckwith, James Clarkson, J. M. Boutelle, Carlton Lane and John Irving. The old school building here deeded has disappeared.

In March, 1857, Hiram S. Town and his wife, for the sum of $200, deeded Lot 5 in Block 1, Ceresco, to District No. 5 for a schoolhouse site, and that same spring, Gilbert Lane and Seth G. Strong gave bond to build for $2,000, and furnish all material, the octagon-shaped building of mortar and gravel, now called the Ceresco Schoolhouse. When first finished, it contained but two rooms, one above and one below. These have since been partitioned so as to furnish rooms above and below for study and for recitations. Up to 1879, the building had been sadly neglected, having gone without repairs, paint, sidewalk and proper outbuildings. It was surrounded by gullies or mud, and was a dreary place. During the year mentioned, several hundred dollars were expended in repairs. The scholars have laid out tasty flower-beds and gardens ; purchased through their own efforts an encyclopedia, and now contemplate erecting a fountain, for which abundant water is near.

The school is prosperous. A high-school department was established in this district in 1877, as the following minutes, taken from the school record-book, show :

Adgurn meetin Cald To order By the Director L E Nole H D Alen was elected Chairman The Comity Report the Clerks Books is Correkt With one or to Mistake.

Motion to adopt the free high school law amenament to adopt the high school law if it dont in Criese our cxspences Motion Loste Vote on motion to adopt free high schoole was adopted

The district employs four teachers, who have charge of four departments - Primary, Intermediate, Grammar and. High School - all in one building. The total number of children of school age in District No. 5 is 324.

District No. 2. - Notice for a meeting to be held at Mapes' Hotel (the Ripen House), October 21, 1850, for the formation of District No. 2, was postedabout the 1st of October, of that year, by Levi Parker, Superintendent of Schools of the town of Ceresco. The meeting was held at the house of H. D. Scott, in Ceresco, instead of at the hotel. D. F. Shepard was chosen Director ; E. L. Northrup, Treasurer, and C. R. Pedrick, Clerk. Those present voted to erect a school, and raise for that purpose a tax of $300. Arrangements were made for the use of the house then occupied by D. F. Shepard for a schoolhouse until one could be erected. This building was the one erected in 1849, near where the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railway depot stands, by Samuel Pedrick. The following contract shows who was the first teacher in the district :

It is agreed between School District No. 2, in tlietowu of Ceresco and Emily E. Turner, a qualified teacher of said town, that the said Emily E. Turner is to teach the common school in said District for the term of three months, for the sum of $1.7.3 per week; and for such services, properly rendered, the said District is to pay the said Emily E. Turner llie amount that may be due according to this contract, on or before the 1st day of April, 1851.

In April, 1851, the first school tax, amounting to $69.05, was collected in District No. 2, to pay teacher's wages and other expenses, which had been advanced by E. L. Northrup. Finally, in October, 1852, it was voted to add another $100 to the sum ($300) already voted to be raised to build a schoolhouse, and to erect a building 22x36 feet. The Building Committee were : H. Sabin, Mr. Bearss, A. E. Bovay and A. P. Mapes, who furnished the plans and specifications. The building, now occupied as a dwelling, was erected on what is now called the " Park," opposite the present brick schoolhouse on Fond du Lac street.

The main portion of the brick schoolhouse was erected in 1860, by G. W. Sawyer, for $2,'J00, who furnished all materials. The site, which is Lot 40 on Fond du Lac street, was purchased of E. P. Brockway for $600. In 1871, Samuel Allen built an addition to the brick schoolhouse, 25x35 feet, for $2,615, and furnished everything. The building is now in good condition.

The district being large and the number of scholars constantly increasing, two wooden schoolhouses were erected in 1860 for the accommodation of small scholars. The one on the corner of Shepard and Doty streets cost $485, and the site $150. The one on Howard street cost $500, and the site $150. The number of scholars still continuing to increase, the Mapes dwelling, next to the brick schoolhouse, was purchased in 1877 and made into a schoolhouse, at a cost of $1,038.89 for the site and building.

The total number of scholars in 1879 in District No. 2 was 724. The district employs ten teachers, wlio have charge of four Primary Schools, two Intermediate, one Grammar and one High School.

Ripon Watek-Power

The privilege of using for manufacturing purposes the heavy fall of water in Silver Creek, where it flows through the city of Ripon, was purchased by David P. Mapes, of Mary Eleanor Watson, through her attorney, John S. Horner, in 1849. It was first improved by Mr. Mapes, in 1849 and 1850. The first dam was built by him where Eureka street now is, the road-bed being originally the dam. The next dam was built by ilr. Mapes at Scott street, in 1853, for the Gothic Mill. The Eureka street dam was tapped when Mr. Dellinger built the new Ripon Mills power, in 1866. The very first utilization of the water in Silver Creek was in 1844, at Ceresco, by the Phalanx. The fill is about 100 feet from Scott street to Ceresco Mills, and before the large marshes east and south of Ripon were drained and cultivated by the farmers.

History Of Fond Du I.Ac County

-water was abundant for all purposes. Before such drainage, these marshes acted as reservoirs from which the water came down slowly. Now the water runs off much more rapidly, thus making the supply somewhat inadequate after the marshes are once drained.

As a compensation for the privilege of laying the trunk which conveys water to G. W. Bellinger's mill, he was obliged to stipulate that the city might always take water from his bulkhead for fire purposes and for sprinkling streets. It has a "head" (fall) of fifty feet, thus furnishing a tremendous power.

Fire Department

The city of Ripon was without a fire engine or fire department until 1875, when a chemical engine was purchased for $2,500, and a volunteer company organized with Hazen R. Hill as Chief Fire Marshal. He was succeeded in a few months by H. J. Goodall, who has since held that position. The company numbers fifty members, who are divided into " Engine Company, No. 1," and ''Prairie City Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1." The members receive no pay from the city, but after serving seven years they are exempt from poll tax, jury duty and military service, except in case of an invasion of the State. They have good uniforms and a sum of money in the treasury which was obtained from firemen's balls and the 2 per cent tax on premiums from the insurance agents of the city.

For gallant service at the great fire in Oshkosh, in 1876, the company received two silver trumpets. The city erected, on the north side of Jackson street, a two-story wooden building in which the engine and hook and ladder truck are kept, and in which fire meetings are held. The city has a standing reward to the teamster who has the first load of water to the fire, and also pays a private individual for hauling the engine to and from fires.

The officers are: H. J. Goodall, Chief; W. B. Allen, First Assistant; A. Lanning, Jr., Second Assistant ; B. F. Keenan, Secretary; W. H. Vermilye, Treasurer.

Gas Works

In 1872, C. L. Lightburn began the erection of the Ripon Gas Works, on Pond street, on the south shore of the upper mill-pond. Although comparatively small, the works cost upward of $25,000, being thoroughly built and well equipped. The city advanced $1,000 in cash to Mr. Lightburn, to aid in their construction, which was returned to the municipality in gas at $30 per lamp-post per annum. In 1876, A. L. Dobbs came into possession of the works, which had been idle for some months. Mr. Dobbs entered upon the manufacture of gas, which, however, he discontinued after eighteen months, the business being unprofitable. The works now lie idle. They are now owned, except a claim of the county for two or three years' taxes, by a Milwaukee firm.

Hotels Of Ripon

Ceresco had no hotel at first, but travelers and strangers were lodged and fed at the large boarding-house belonging to the Phalanx people, or by D. P. Mapes, who lived on a farm east of the present city, or by the Dakins, who lived a few miles west. The Central House, which now stands opposite Bateman's flouring mill, was erected in one or two years after the Wisconsin Phalanx began business, but Ceresco has had no hotels for many years.