USA > Wisconsin > Buffalo County > Biographical history of La Crosse, Trempealeau and Buffalo Counties, Wisconsin : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States, with accompanying biographies of each; engravings of prominent citizens of the counties, with personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 70
USA > Wisconsin > La Crosse County > Biographical history of La Crosse, Trempealeau and Buffalo Counties, Wisconsin : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States, with accompanying biographies of each; engravings of prominent citizens of the counties, with personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 70
USA > Wisconsin > Trempealeau County > Biographical history of La Crosse, Trempealeau and Buffalo Counties, Wisconsin : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States, with accompanying biographies of each; engravings of prominent citizens of the counties, with personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 70
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go prepared to protect myself, in case there canoe by his friends in a seriously wounded were bidders on the land. I took with me condition. In the afternoon an Indian came down from the camp, where North La Crosse is now situated, and told Hatch that the Indian would die, and advised him to leave. as the Indian had many friends and they would certainly kill him. I advised Hatch to take a canoe and go to Prairie du Chien; after we all got through talking and advising Mr. Hatch, he told the Indian to go back to the camp and tell the Indians that he intended to kill him, and that if he lived and he ever saw him again, he would certainly kill him. Well, we were all frightened, fearing the re- snlts. The Indian recovered, and was always after that a very warm friend of Mr. Hatch. The Indian was afterwards shot and killed at South Rapids, Minnesota, in 1849, by Calvin Potter, which caused quite an excitement, and the troops and volunteers went up from St. Panl to quiet the disturbance. There was another instance where Mr. Hlateh figured with the Indians. Mr. Pauley was running a shingle eamp for ns up on Cunningham creek, and he came down with a team of horses to get some supplies, and while coming down Black River Lake the horses broke through the ice; the water was not very deep, but they perished from the cold. The Indians assisted in getting them out of the water on to the ice. The harness and sleigh were left there, and Mr. Panley came on down to the house and told us of it. The next morning we sent up for the harness and sleigh, but there were no horses or harness there. The Indians had ent the horses to pieces and packed them off with the harness. Their camp was where Onalaska now is. 1 sent Mr. Hatch up with blankets and food, and told him not to return without the harness. The Indians all denied having the harness; Mr. Hatch told them that the "tall trader" had told him not to re- · about all the money we had, which amounted to 8700 or $500; on my way stopped at Prairie du Chien to see II. L. Dowsman, and from him received a letter of introduction and also of credit to Mr. Parish, the Receiver of the Land Office, in which he requested him to accept my bid for any amount that I saw fit to bid on the land, and that he would be responsible in case there was any compe- tition, which Mr. Parish consented to do. The sale was adjourned one day to give us time to fix up some little matters between ns. The sale eame off the next day: we had no trouble, as there was no one who dared to bid against us; so we got our land at $1.25 per acre. I secured the original town-site of about 100 acres, eighty or 160 acres on what was called the Miller farin, 160 acres near the lower end of the prairie, and seventy acres of the Bnn- nell claim, what is now Burns' addition to La Crosse. In the early winter the late Major Hatch. who first talked with me about going West and could not come with me on account of his mother's siekness, came out in June, 1543, when I was on my way East, and came to Prairie du Chien and remained there until December or January, and then came to La C'rosse and elerked for me until 1848, when he left for St. Paul. He was a courageous inan, and was not afraid of man, Indian or the devil. I will here relate a little ineident that took place. Hatch was down near the river, where the public landing now is, when an Indian erawled up behind him with a club in hand raised to strike him. Lafayette Bunnell, who was standing up near the house, saw the action of the Indian and "hollered" to Ilatch; Ilatch turned and dodged the Indian's blow; a club happened to be near by, which he picked up and struck the Indian on the head, and the Indian was taken away in a
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turn without the harness, and he prepared to esty that continued up to the time of his eamp with them. After being there a day |death. or two, or more, the Indians became satis- fied that he meant what he said and would concluded to bring in the harness. It was returned in pieces. it having been distributed in several camps. Hatch returned with the harness. The Indians all became very much attached to Mr. IIateh, as he never manifested any fear, and was always truthful with them.
In the year 1845 J. C. Davis, W. T. Price, William Hibbs. Henry O'Neil, O. H. Dibble, execute my orders; they held a council, and , Wm. Gillirgen, Calvin Potter, Win. Horan, John Perry, Joel Lemon, Mr. Stickney, Joseph Clancy and others arrived and went on up Black river. John M. Levy came up and purchased from Jacob Spaulding the build- ing put up by Colonel Mills, on the corner of Pearl and Front streets. Mr. Levy and Dr. Suaugh formed a co-partnership and erected a two-story frame building, which was the first frame building erected in La Crosse. That year, or the next, we put a two. story front with a ball alley running back one story, on the lots now occupied by a brick building, near the cold-storage provi- sion house on Front street. One ball was made out of a pine knot, which was used in the alley until a full set came from St. Louis. In after years the building was turned into a broom factory and burned down a year or two after. In the winter of 1844 or '45 Miller went up to Holmes' Landing, now Fountain City, and traded with the Sioux Indians, and returned in the spring. Mr. Hatch took his place and traded the fol- lowing winter. In the spring the house was torn down, rafted and floated to La Crosse, and put up where the cold-storage house now stands, and was used in connection with another building as a trading house or store, which relieved the house we lived in, and gave ns more room, and we were not annoyed with the Indians so much.
At another time when Mr. Hatch was trading for us at Holm's Landing, now Foun- tain City, he again displayed his courage. IIe, in course of trade, had given some credits to Indians; he went out to the Indian camp one day with a horse loaded with goods, for the purpose of trading and collecting his credits given the Indians. He unloaded his horse when he got to the camp and entered it. He soon asked the Indians to pay their eredits; they had some talk among them- selves, coneluded they would not pay them, and so informed Mr. Hatch. He very coolly took out from one of the sacks containing goods, a small keg of powder and put it on the fire, and then sat down. The Indians with consternation and fright immediately vacated the camp and left Hatchi in full pos- session. As soon as the Indians got out of the camp or wigwam, which was in a moment, Mr. Hatch kicked the keg out of the fire. In about an hour the Indians ventured up and peeked into the wigwam, and saw Hatch sit- ting there smoking his pipe. They counseled among themselves, and came to the conclu- sion that there was some great spirit about the man,-that they had better go in and pay what they owed him. They went in and opened their sacks of furs, paid all they owed, and sold him all they had left. In this and other ways Mr. Hateh gained a reputation with the Sioux Indians for bravery and lion-
Our first child was born at Prairie du Chien in 1844, and was named Andrew Jack- son, and died at La Crosse in 1845. It was the first white child which died in La Crosse; it was buried on the old burying-ground on a knoll on Third street, since graded down, where Barclay's plow factory is now located.
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The remains were removed to the Oak Grove after my return I went up to the mill to see Cemetery. The date of the slab or tomb- stone is the oldest in the cemetery. In 1846 Ilon. Daniel Cameron, brother of Peter Cam- eron, and IIenry Atkinson, James Day, John Elder, Mr. Brockwas, Amos Elliott, Robert Garrett and some others arrived and went up Black river. Fetherline and wife came and remained in La Crosse, and lived near Jay street. When O. Il. Dibble returned from Black river in 1845, he reported to me that he had found a good mill-site on the West Fork of Black river, about a mile up, and persuaded us to go in partnership and put up a sawmill. I went down to St. Louis and purchased the machinery and iron for it, and sent men and supplies up, and Mr. Dibble went up in charge of the outfit. 1 double sash sawmill was built, and got to running in the summer of 1846.
how they were getting along, as there was some dissatisfaction in the manner in which the work was being done. Mr. Dibble drew out of the concern, I paid him for his ser- vices and he left the country. In two or three months the mill was completed and commeneed to saw lumber. The river being low. no lumber was run out that season. A stock of logs was cut in the vicinity of the mill, hanled and rolled upon the ice in the mill-pond, and some on the bank. In the spring the mill was started to sawing; abont 300 MI. feet of lumber was rafted, but there was not a sufficient rise of water to run it out of the then unimproved river, and it lay tied up to the bank a little way below the mill. Mr. Miller and wife were living there at this time, and had charge of the mill and a stock of goods. In the latter part of June In the fall of 1845 myself and wife went East, and spent the winter with our friends; left La Crosse on steamboat for Galena, and from there on stage to Chicago, and through Michigan to Detroit, and from there by I went up to the mill on horseback to see how things were getting along; I found the lum- ber rafted as above stated, and between 300 and 400 M. feet piled up fifteen to twenty feet high along the bank of the river, and steamer to Buffalo, from Buffalo by canal, everything was going on satisfactorily. After railroad and steamboat to Westport, New remaining there three or four days, I New York. After spending a very pleasant time in visiting with our friends, we started on our return to our Western home in March ; traveled by stage to Troy, New York, and by steamer down the Hudson river to New York city, from there by rail and steamer to Baltimore, and by rail from there to Cumber- land, where we took the stage ronte over the Alleghany Mountains to Pittsburg; from there by steamboat to St. Louis, there changed on to another boat for Galena, and from there to La Crosse, arriving some time in April, and were nearly three weeks making the trip.
While absent, the erection of the sawmill on Black river, under the supervision of Mr. Dibble, progressed very slowly, and soon
started back to La Crosse. The river was very low at that time, and one could, in places above the forks, cross the river by stepping from one stone to another. The first night I staid at Mr. Nicholas' mill, sev- eral miles below the falls. I noticed that evening a dark cloud up the river, and there was a light rain that night there. The next morning was clear and bright and I resumed my journey home to La Crosse, and arrived there that evening. The next afternoon a man came down from Black River Falls on horseback, and reported to me that there had been a very heavy freshet and carried away nearly everything on Black river, and that he was sent down to have me take men and
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Mr. Spaulding went to St. Louis and hired about 100 men to come up and man the rafts to run them down the river. When he re- turned from St. Louis with the men the river was very low, and there was no cash market for the logs above the rapids and as I did not want store pay for the logs, coneluded to sell our logs, and did sell them to Mr. Spaulding and entered into co-partnership with him to rebuild the mill at Black River Falls, and turned in the three rafts of logs, cattle and horse teams we had up Black river as part payment. Mr. Spaulding started down the river with his ten log-rafts. The river being very low his rafts were stranded on the sand-bars at divers times on the way down the river.
go up to the mouth of the river above Black River Lake and boom the river, to stop the logs and lumber from running into the lake. After hearing his story I told him that I had just come down from up the river, and the river was very low, and could not credit his story, and did not for some time. I finally concluded to do as requested, got tools, rope, ete., and some men: paddled up in a canoe above the head of the lake into the river a little way, and found to my satisfaction that the report was too true, as the river had boomed itself with logs, lumber, shingles and mill timber for a distance of nearly eighteen miles. We returned to La Crosse. and the next day got full reports of the dis- aster. It was reported that there must have been a cloud-burst with the storm on the In the latter part of the month of Octo- ber Mr. Spaulding returned with his rafting- tools and foreman, and about twenty barrels ot provisions, on all of which I had to pay the freight and passage. I asked Mr. Spauld- ing if this was all he had to go on with to rebuild and stock the mill, and he said it was: said he had bad luck in getting his rafts down the river, and was taken sick himself, and had to depend on others to attend to his business. I replied it looked as though he was "broke," and I knew I was to a certain ex- tent, and that I thought two broken concerns could not get along well together, and asked what he would take and cancel our contract; he said 8250, and I gave him credit for $250 - on the logs and took his note for the balance. However, Mr. Spaulding, with his indomit- upper river, as in a very few hours there was an eighteen-foot rise on the swift rapids where our mill was located, and mneh higher in other places. There was not a boom on the river that withstood the raging waters, not a mill but what was more or less dam- aged. It took away our main and wing dams, all the logs and Immber rafted, the lumber that was piled up and one corner-post of the mill. It was said that those high piles of lumber went down over the dam and falls, and the reaction and force of the water then and there tore them to pieces. Jacob Spaulding's mill at the falls was taken ont, but the dam stood the test. In three or four days there were about 100 men at work. breaking the jam, and each owner of logs getting them out and separating them, ac- |able pluck and courage, went on and erected cording to their marks. The men worked a mill on the site of the old one, and on a more extensive seale got in a stock of logs during the winter. I sold the remains of our mill and plant to Mr. W. K. Levis and re- tired from the lumber business. In conse- quence of working in the water so long dur- ing the warm weather, rafting out logs and there about six weeks, myself with them, and all of us slept in our wet clothes nights. Every Saturday night I would go home and return Monday morning. When we got through Myriek & Miller had three Missis- sippi log-rafts, and Mr. Spaulding seven.
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lumber, many of the men were taken sick, on me. We went and made settlements as some of whom died. I was also taken sick. far as ()'Neil's creek. and settled with all par- ties and took their notes; on our return we dissolved partnership. with the typhus fever. \ steamboat was up the river, and on its return I was carried on board of the steamboat by H. M. Rice, Cap- tain Harris and others, and taken to Prairie du Chien, and was carried off the boat by the same men, up and into Mr. John Falsom's house, which stood near the American Fur Company's store, and I recollect hearing one of the men remark: "When he comes out of here, he will come out feet fore- most." Mrs. Myrick accompanied me, and with the services of a good physician. Dr. Day, and my wife's good nursing, I came ont all right and returned to La Crosse.
Desiring to know how we stood finan- cially, it was necessary for us to have a settle- ment with the man with whom we had been dealing on Black river. In December of that year Mr. Miller and myself started up Black river on foot, for the purpose of hav- ing a general settlement with everybody. I packed the books with a blanket and Miller had the bottle of whisky. When we got to La Crosse river, out some three or four miles, we found it not frozen over. We took off our boots and pants and forded the river, dressed and took a drink and went on. and when we got to the Half-way creek did the same thing. Mr. Miller got his clothes on sooner than I did and started on. and I never saw him again until we got through to Mr. Douglas' sawmill. When the little stimulant that I had drank became exhausted, I became weak and faint and could not walk more than a mile without stopping to rest. I recollect that I felt very indignant towards Mr. Miller because he went off with the bottle of whisky and left me alone, and when I got through after dark, some two hours after Mr. Miller, I gave him a piece of my mind; he laughed, thinking it a very good joke he had played , through all right, but they seemed to suffer
In October, 1847, Mrs. Myrick and myself went down to Prairie du Chien, where soon after a pair of twins were born. About a month after I purchased a pair of horses and double wagon with spring seats, and got ready to start home overland to La Crosse. We secured a nurse-girl to go with us, and fixed ourselves as comfortable as we could, 'and started. The roads were not in good condition, being frozen and very rough. The first or second night a snowstorm came on, and when we got up in the morning found we could go no farther with the wagon. I succeeded in getting a two-horse sleigh, and started on our journey. The day was bitter cold, the wind blowing from the northwest, and we had to face it nearly all the time. I was afraid we would freeze before we could get to a sheltered place where we could stop and build a fire to warm ourselves by. There was no habitation or settlement the last thirty or forty miles, until we reached way down in Mormon Cooley. We drove as fast as we could until we reached the head of Mormon Cooley, and when we got down about two miles found a sheltered spot from the wind, stopped, made a good, big fire, thawed on- selves out, rested a little and then resumed our journey. The road being almost no road at all, we had to drive very slowly. We made ont to get to Mr. Coonley's farm some time after dark, who lived at the old Mormon set- tlement. Ilow glad we all were to get into a house again, where we could get warm and something to eat! We were about six miles from home, where we arrived the next day about eleven o'clock, glad to see our home again, even ever so humble. The twins came
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some from the cold and the rough ride. In two or three days I returned with the driver to take back the sleigh and get the wagon, and took the trail down Coon river to the Mississippi, a distance of ten or fifteen miles, and came up to La Crosse on the ice.
title to the lands. In 1851 and '52 a new survey was made by William Hood, which was recorded, but there was no particular change made from the first survey.
I settled up my affairs in La Crosse and np Black river as well as I could, and pre- pared to leave La Crosse; I think it was the first week in June I shipped my family, household goods and merchandise on board steamboat for St. Paul, left my family there, and with then and teams went up the Mississippi river to Crewig river to get out timber and lumber for some buildings to be put up at Sauk Rapids. While at work there I met with the misfortune to cut my foot, and was taken down to Mendota and St. Paul in a canoe. I was on crutches from June until the following January. The lum- ber was rafted and run down the river; it broke all to pieces in running over little falls, but enongh was caught just above Sauk Rapids to put up two big buildings, by hauling some sawed lumber from Still- water. After one of the buildings was par- tially built I moved my family up there and remained through the winter.
In May, 1548, Hon. H. M. Rice had the contract to remove the Winnebago Indians to their new reservation at Long Prairie, Minnesota, and requested me to give him my assistance and to accompany him up the river to look up the new home or agency for the Indians. Mr. Rice embarked on board steamboat at Prairie du Chien with his horse, and on arrival of the boat at La Crosse Asa White and myself took passage with our horses to accompany Mr. Rice on his trip North. On arriving at St. Paul we saddled our horses and started. On our way up Mr. Rice made me some propositions in regard to business enterprises which I thought best to accept, having suffered severe losses by the great freshet the year before, and know- ing that if I remained at La Crosse and con- tinned in the lumber business I would be sick more or less, as I had been before. We went up to Sauk Rapids, Mr. Rice going on Up to 1848. when I left La Crosse, we kept a hotel on a small scale, and for some years it was the only place where the hungry and weary could get accommodations, and up to the time I got married did most of to Long Prairie, and I returned to La Crosse to prepare to carry out my engagements with Mr. Rice. After my return to La Crosse deeds were made ont between Mr. White, Peter Cameron and myself, according to our | the cooking myself. Soon after Mrs. J. M. original elaim lines. I also executed deeds Levy arrived; Mrs. Myrick called upon her and found her at the wash-tub, washing. That summer they would occasionally go to the La Crosse river, abont where Medary's tannery is now situated, and pienieking all alone, by a little spring that ran out of the sand-bank into the La Crosse river. Onr neighbors were not very near; on the north, up the river, Wm. Bunnell lived, near Mount Trempealean, about twenty miles from La Crosse, where we went with a one-horse to Mr. Miller of half interest in the land em- braced in the original town site of La Crosse and a deed in full to the Miller farm at the bluffs. Deeds were also executed to those who had built on lots under an agreement that deeds should be given them after title was obtained from the Government. The plat made from the survey in 1542 was never recorded, I suppose because there was no register office at La Crosse, and having no
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train up on the ice on a visit, and remained two or three days; on the south, or down the river, Prairie du Chien was the nearest place. The sawmills on Black river were owned and situated as follows: The first mill, owned by Wm. and Thomas Douglass, about twenty-five or thirty miles up Black river, on the west side; the next was Jonathan Nichols, on the west side, on a ereek by the same name; the next was Shepard & Valen- tine's, some three miles below the falls; and just above and on the other side of the river was James O'Neil's, and then Jacob Spauld- ing's at Black River Falls; the next above the falls was John Levy's mill, on Levy's creek, and next was Thomas and Peter Hall's mill, on Hall's creek; then John Morrison's mill, on Morrison's creek; then Myrick & Miller's mill. on West Fork, about a mile from the fork; then Mr. H. MeCollin's and James O'Neil's mill, on Cunningham's and ()'Neil's creeks. Before spring I sold out my interest. and returned to St. Paul in the spring, where I remained most of the time ever since.
In 1851 Timothy Burns, Lieutenant-Gov- ernor of Wisconsin, came to St. Paul with a letter of introduction from II. L. Dowsman, and wanted to buy my interest in La Crosse. 1 sold him my half interest in the original town-site, and other property which I held there. I sold it for part cash, and the bal- ance in two years. The first payment was made, and for the second payment I took baek one-fourth interest in the original town- site of La Crosse. I have been selling lots off and on ever since, and still hold a num- ber of lots in La Crosse. Although I made no improvements in buildings in La Crosse, I find from my books that I have paid out over $70,000 in taxes, assessments, etc., on | property there.
Since arriving in Minnesota I established
trading posts and stores at Sank Rapids, Itasca, Sank Center, Trover Dessionox, St. Peter, Winnebago Agency, Yellow Medicine, Red Wood Agency, Big Stone Lake, Fort Ransom, Fort Seward. now Jamestown, Big Bend, at Pembina and other places, and they were in charge of clerks or some one inter- ested in them. I attended supplying the goods and paying for them.
My business with the Sioux Indians was closed at the time of the outbreak in August, 1862, when my brother Andrew, who was in charge of the different trading posts in the Sioux country, was killed, together with four other clerks. The goods were taken by the Indian», and all the buildings burned, sus- taining a loss of $100,000, which was par- tially paid by the Government, it being in some way interested in them. But my trad- ing at points in Dakota were continned until 1876, when I retired from the business.
In connection with my business in those years, I have been interested in mining en- terprises in Nevada Mountain and Vermillion Lake; in oil and coal mines in Pennsylvania; copper on Lake Superior and Black Hills, in Dakota and West Virginia, with the usual chance of ninety-nine in a hundred of losing everything I put in, which amounts to about $100,000.
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