USA > Wisconsin > Winnebago County > History, Winnebago County, Wisconsin: Its Cities, Towns, Resources, People > Part 21
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The First Fourth of July Observance in Oshkosh.
"The first celebration of the Fourth of July ever held in Osh- kosh took place in 1848. This was when only a small part of the present city was surveyed and platted. The celebration was held on land owned by Joseph Jackson and W. W. Wright, laying in the now Seventh ward. The then surveyor was the late Joseph H. Osborn, founder of the Pioneer Club of Winnebago county. Webster Stanley (who lived at the mouth of the river) was of- fered a lot in the new village plat if he would build thereon and run a public house, or tavern, as it was called then. He accepted the offer and chose a lot where now stands the National Union bank, and erected thereon a large board shanty and opened it up to the traveling public in the summer of 1848. The inhabitants dwelling here and vicinity held a mass meeting at the shanty hotel and after several short speeches it was voted unanimously to celebrate our national independence on the com- ing Fourth of July, then close at hand, committees were ap- pointed to make all necessary arrangements for the occasion. The writer was appointed a committee on music, and immediately dispatched a message to a Mr. Mansur, who had lately located on the lake shore about three miles south of Neenah, who played the snare drum, to join us in this celebration, as we had no mar- tial music here. W. C. Isbel was engaged to play the fife. These two constituted our martial band. As no clearing had been done, scattering oak and hickory trees were interspersed all over the village plat, and hazel bushes covered what is now Main street. On the third of July Mr. Jackson and myself took our scythes and mowed a road through the bushes and grass to the river, where Main street bridge is now located, so the com- pany could march to the river, where a log dock had been made for the steamer Manchester to land and take on freight and pas- sengers. On the morning of the glorious Fourth some powder was burnt in old muskets and shotguns, and a blacksmith's anvil was also fired several times. Anything to make a noise. The drummer was on hand in good time; also the fifer, and their
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stirring music soon brought young and old together, that being the first time the fife and drum had been heard together in this new country, and this martial music sent a thrill of patriotism through the crowd such as was never felt here before. The tables were set under an awning of bushes and the wide spread- ing branches of large oak trees where now stands the beautiful Athearn hotel. Mr. Jackson was chosen marshal of the day, and G. W. Washburn was chosen orator. Mr. Washburn had lately arrived in this embryo city from the east, and being a lawyer had located in Oshkosh to practice his profession, and soon became one of our leading citizens and one of the foremost in the progress of the city. When all was in readiness the whole com- pany was formed in a double line headed by the martial band, followed by the orator, with Miss Henrietta Wright (now widow of the late T. E. Crane) as partner. The line of march was then taken up following an Indian trail (as there were no streets) up to Wright's grove, where now stands the High school, where a platform had been erected and seats provided for the occasion. The Declaration of Independence was read (I do not remem- ber by whom), but it was read all the same, and again the anvil was made to belch forth its voice and the people to give three rousing cheers and a tiger for the Fourth of July. Mr. Wash- burn was then introduced to the company by the marshal and stepped upon the platform and delivered the oration, which was listened to with profound attention by all present. Again the gun and cheers sounded out into the forest in honor of our na- tional independence. The marshal then formed the line as before and marched back to the shanty hotel and then to the dinner tables, which were groaning under the delicious viands prepared by Madam Stanley, who well understood how to do it. After satisfying the inner man the company broke up. Just then the steamer Manchester landed at the dock and Captain Hough- teling and his crew were invited to take dinner, which was ac- cepted, after which the captain invited all who wished to take a ride on the steamer. Quite a goodly number accepted his kind invitation. A general good time was enjoyed by all.
Interesting Data From the Diary of an Old Settler.
My father (George Wright) being a millwright by trade, was employed in September, 1836, to build a saw and grist mill at Brothertown, and as money was scare in those early days in this
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part of Wisconsin, he was compelled to take in payment for his services all kinds of farm truck that could be used in the family, including grains, etc. He was very methodical in his business transactions, as shown by an account book that has descended to me and which is an heirloom of the family. In glancing over the several accounts, some of them balanced and others still open, I find that articles of produce were quoted as follows: Wheat at $2 per bushel; corn and oats the same price per bushel; potatoes, $1.50 per bushel; turnips, $1 per bushel; butter, 50c. per pound; eggs, 50c. to 75c. per dozen. The above prices con- tinued about the same until 1838, when I find wheat at $2, corn at $1.50, oats at $1.50, potatoes at $1, turnips at 50c., butter at 50c., eggs, per dozen, 50c. to $1; flour, per barrel, $20; pork, per barrel, $30 to $40, according to quality; common calico, 20c. to 25c. per yard. Tea and coffee were not much in use in those days. A small quantity of tea was kept on hand, but only used in case of company.
Farming tools were very scarce and high priced. My father succeeded in purchasing what was called a bull plow in the spring of 1838 at Brothertown, for ten dollars. The plow had a heavy point, with landside bolted to the point and an upright standard. The moldboard, beam and handles had to be made of wood and fastened to the point. The above described plow was made by a blacksmith by hand and was a poor excuse for a plow, but was the best we could do at that time. Some two or three years thereafter we purchased a cast iron plow at Green Bay, but that was not much of an improvement on the bull plow. In looking over an old account book of my own, opened in 1837, I find prices of various articles of food as follows: In the spring of 1838 butter had dropped to 38c. per pound; eggs were selling at 30c. per dozen; mess pork was selling at 20c. per pound; Indian sugar at 7c. to 8c. per pound. We had no other sugar in those early days and we were glad to get that. We used to trade butter and eggs with Robert Grignon and other traders for sugar. This maple sugar was made and put up by the Menom- inee Indians in what they called mococks, made of white birch bark, of all sizes, weighing from one to seventy-five pounds. Sometimes we would buy direct from the Indians when they came from their sugar camps in the spring to occupy their plant- ing grounds in this vicinity.
Very many people of today know nothing about the modus operandi of Indian sugar making. I will give it as I saw it.
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The Indians made a suitable cut in the tree with an axe, for the sap to ooze from. Under the lower end of this cut they drove in an iron gouge. In that puncture they put a wooden spout to carry the sap into a receptacle made of white birch bark that would hold about two quarts, from which to make the sugar. At the camp they had one or more kettles to boil the sap in. Those kettles were the receptacles of any meat food they might wish to cook by boiling. Such things as fish, pigeons, muskrats, squirrels and the like, all went into the boiling sap. When done, the meat was taken out and the liquid boiled down and made into dry sugar by stirring as it boiled. I have seen them strain the sap through a woolen blanket like those they wore, but many did not strain their sap at all. Of course fish bones, rats' claws and other debris were in evidence in the sugar, if examined closely. The following verse handed me by a friend is appro- priate to wind up this sugar story :
THE INDIAN. He hunts and shoots, he traps the rats, He is a dirty buggar; He strains his sap through his shirt flaps And makes it into sugar.
Nearly all our business transactions among the white popula- tion and Indians was done through barter, as no one had any money to brag of but once a year, and that was when the In- dians received their annual payment from the United States Government in payment for lands purchased from the Indians in 1836 by Governor Dodge. Many of the settlers attended these payments with articles for trade with the Indians, figuring to get hold of as many of those silver half dollars as possible. (They were always paid in half dollars.) That was the best oppor- tunity to gather in a few dollars they would have for a whole year. Some of the settlers would trust the Indians for provi- sions, etc., and receive their pay at the payment in the fall; and then whoever trusted the redskins would have to watch them very closely on the day of payment or they would not get their money. Mr. Indian would slip out of sight like an eel in muddy water, after being paid his portion. I know this from personal experience.
But to resume prices. Cattle and horses were not very plenty, but were not held at high prices. Working oxen were worth
RECOLLECTIONS OF WILLIAM W. WRIGHT. 221
from $60 to $80 a pair. My father purchased a pair of six-year- olds for $80 cash and an excellent cow for $30. Fifty dollars would buy a good French pony. Indian ponies could be had for much less. Day labor was from 75 cents to $1 per day, and no striking, either. In 1843, sheeting was selling at 121/2 cents per yard and common calico at the same price. Fresh beef was sell- ing at 4 to 5 cents per pound. In 1845, flour was selling for $4.50 per barrel; mess pork at $12 per barrel.
Earliest Lumbering.
It may not be of any particular interest to many readers to be told who cut the first pine logs on the Wolf or Rat river; yet as that industry has grown to mammoth proportions in a few years and very many have been made wealthy thereby, it may not be out of place to put on record what seems to be the very com- mencement of the lumber industry' of this part of the State of Wisconsin. In the winter of 1839-40 one Richardson Johnson and a Frenchman by the name of Lamott came from Green Bay to Butte des Morts and stopped at Augustin Grignon's and in- quired the way to Rat river pinery. They then secured an Indian to guide them to the desired location. They crossed what was then called Bald Prairie to Rat river and up that stream to where the pine timber came nearest to the river, and there commenced operations, erected shanties for living in and also for their team. This fact became known to us at Oshkosh very soon thereafter by the Indians, with whom we were well acquainted, and as we were very anxious to get timber for a barn and also logs for making shingles it was soon settled that Joseph Jackson and myself should go into that pinery and get what we wanted in that line. No one to our knowledge had ever cut any pine on the Wolf or Rat rivers; in fact the native pines stood all along on the banks of the Wolf unmolested when our first lumbermen went to lumbering on its banks later on. We soon got our outfit ready-my team, a good yoke of oxen, and sled, also provisions for ourselves and team, and away we went for Rat river pinery, where we arrived the same day just at dark. We followed the track of Johnson and Lamott part of the way across the prairie and up the Rat river for about two miles, where they left the river at a point not far from the timber. We followed their track and soon found them in their log shanty. They had been there three or four days and had
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done some cutting. We stayed with them that night, and the next day erected a shanty for ourselves and oxen. Neither Mr. Jackson nor myself knew anything whatever about logging, but we did know how to hew timber, as that was then a part of a carpenter and joiner's business. We cut and hewed our tim- ber first and hauled it to the river, and then went for the shingle logs. We cut twelve or fifteen very nice logs and undertook to haul them on our sled. Neither of us knew how to load a log, and it took us about two hours to load one of our largest and best logs. Finally it was on the sled and we hitched on the team and started. Crack, smash and away went the team with the sled tongue. The sled stood still and did not start an inch. We looked at it with dismay. Mr. Jackson says, "What are we going to do?" "Well," said I, "we will try the Brother- town Indian plan." We could do nothing more with the sled, so we cut a strong heavy maple crotch and hewed and smoothed it off and got it all ready to use that day; next morning we hitched the team to the crotch and placed it alongside the sled, rolled the log onto it and started the team, and this time the log came also. We hauled them all out to the river in that way and placed them with our timbers ready for rafting in the spring. It had taken us nearly two weeks' work to get our timber and logs banked. Our neighbors had nearly completed their lumbering and would soon break camp. We bargained with them to bring our timbers and logs down river with theirs in the spring, which they agreed to do. Our barn was not erected until the spring of 1843. It was erected where Doctor Dale's dwelling now stands. His front yard used to be our barn- yard. Some time in the fifties it was sold and removed. The next I knew of it the late Tim Crane had it on his farm on the Omro road, where it now stands with some of the same tim- bers that we took from the Rat river pinery more than fifty years ago. In the winter of 1842 Clark & Farnsworth cut logs and timber on the Wolf river below the present site of Fremont. Thomas Evans (brother of the late David Evans) lumbered in Rat river pinery in the winter of 1842 and 1843. P. V. Wright, Milan Ford and Gill Brooks lumbered in Rat river pinery and brought out quite a respectable raft of logs the following month of May, 1843. In September, 1844, the steamboat Manchester, Captain HTotaling, towed two small rafts of logs to Fond du Lac for a Mr. Clark, who lumbered near the present site of the village of Fremont on the Wolf river. These were the first logs
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ever towed to Fond du Lac by steam, and I believe the first ever taken there from this point. This lumber business brings to mind a little incident that happened in the camp of Wright, Ford & Brooks' company, as told by one of the party. They took turns in cooking and had breakfast very early so as to get to work by daylight, consequently must do their cooking by lamp- light. Brooks was cook at this time. He went to the spring a short distance from camp for water to make coffee and dipped it up in his pail in the dark and filled his coffee kettle and in due time called the others to breakfast. When about through breakfast one made the remark that the coffee tasted queer and not as usual. Finally they all thought there was something un- usual in the taste of the coffee and they began an investigation, which terminated in finding a large frog in the tea kettle well cooked and tender. They felt no bad effects, however, from the use of frog juice (as they called it) and passed it off with a hearty laugh.
The first great commercial occurrence that took place in Osh- kosh after its incorporation as a city was the advent of the North- western railway, which reached Oshkosh in the month of Sep- tember, 1858. This was truly a wonderful event for this city, as very many of the inhabitants had never seen a railway before, much less to ride on the cars. Now we had an opening to the out- side world and could go to Milwaukee and Chicago without much trouble. It was considered that it would help wonderfully in building up the young city, and so it did. We felt as though we were really in the swim. The first settlers here never expected to live long enough to see a real live railway in this wilderness. The officials of the road sent invitations to many citizens of Oshkosh and other cities for a trip to Chicago on the formal opening of the road. The writer and wife were among those invited, but owing to sickness were unable to go, and we were thankful that it so happened. For in the smash-up that took place south of Watertown five. Oshkosh people were killed and several others in- jured more or less-a very sad ending to that pleasure excursion.
The next stirring event that struck Oshkosh was at the break- ing out of the Rebellion in 1861, by the capture of Fort Sumter and the seceding of the southern states from the Union. J. W. Scott, who had seen service in the Mexican war and was well versed in military tactics, immediately closed up his business as jeweler and offered his services to the Governor, who gave him a captain's commission, and he proceeded at once to raise a com-
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pany of volunteers for the army. Very soon he had squads of men drilling in the grove (now the High School grounds), and great enthusiasm prevailed in the city. Men readily enlisted, and in a short time his company was full. They were quartered on the old fair grounds plat of twenty acres, lying just west of the present North park, where long board shanties were erected for their accommodation until they were called into active service. Gabe Bouck also received a captain's commission and raised a company in the city to replenish the thinning ranks of the army at the front. Although it made stirring times for Oshkosh, yet there was a foreboding sadness about it that was not pleasant. When the boys in blue returned from the war (what was left of them) it was a joyous time for those that survived the dangers and hardships of the war.
Indian Payments.
I will attempt to describe an Indian payment of more than fifty years ago, but I will probably come far short of the reality. It was an Indian payment (as I saw it) of the Menominee tribe. Per- haps a little explanation would not be out of place as to what an Indian payment really was. It was the paying of a stipulated sum of money annually by the Government to a tribe of Indians for land previously purchased by the Government by special treaty with the tribe of Indians who owned the land. The Gov- ernment agreed to pay them a certain specified sum annually until the land purchased was all paid for. The payment which I am about to describe was made to the Menominee Indians, of which Chief Oshkosh was the head chief of the nation. His summer residence and planting ground was where the North park is now situated on the lake shore. The tribe was divided into several bands and an under chief was appointed over each band. Chiefs Black Wolf and Red Jacket's bands inhabited the lake shore between Oshkosh and Fond du Lac. The names of the two other chiefs were Big Wave and Little Wave, who lived up the Fox and Wolf rivers. The town of Black Wolf is named after Chief Black Wolf. One or two persons who could speak the Indian language were appointed by the Government to go through the whole tribe and enumerate them, taking down the name of every one, old and young, to whom payment was to be made. The manner of paying was as follows: Notice would be sent to the chiefs (by word of mouth) of the time and place of
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holding the payment, and the chief of each band would notify his people that they were to receive their annual payment of money (silver half dollars always), also a certain amount in provisions, blankets and other merchandise stipulated to be paid to the Indians. As the time appointed drew near one might see canoes coming from up the Fox and Wolf rivers and from points around the shore of Lake Winnebago loaded with pappooses, dogs and camp equipments, usually many more dogs than children. The canoes were mostly propelled by the squaws. The first Indian payment I attended was held at Big Butte des Morts, where the village of that name now stands. But one white man lived there at that time, Mr. Augustin Grignon, a Frenchman who kept a trading post for barter with the natives. This payment was held in the fall of 1838 to the Menominee Indians from the United States Government, which had pur- chased a large tract of land in the summer of 1836 by special treaty at a place called Cedar Rapids, on the lower Fox river below Appleton. The purchase was made by Governor Dodge, who was then Governor of Wisconsin territory. The eastern boundary was the lower Fox river and west shore of Lake Win- nebago; thence west and north up the Fox and Wolf rivers. I do not know how far this purchase extended west and north. The way these payments were conducted was as follows: The paymaster would come on the ground at the time appointed, bringing the specie, accompanied by a company of United States soldiers as guard. A large tent was set up near the center of the pay grounds, together with a pole and a United States flag thereon. A large table was constructed of boards near the cen- ter of the pay tent and the specie counted out for every name on the pay roll and placed in piles. Then the interpreter called the head chief first, who marched into the tent and stopped at the table, and his portion of money was swept off the table into his blanket, which he held for the purpose. Then the next chief in authority was called, who received his money in a like man- ner. Those belonging to his band were also called individually and paid in like manner. Then the next in authority was called, etc., until the whole tribe had received their pay, which required about two days. During the paying the Indian traders who had unsettled accounts with them (and most of them had) would station themselves at the door of exit and when an Indian came out with his money a trader that he owed would grab him, and if he did not pay voluntarily, Mr. Trader would proceed to take
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his money by force and count out what he claimed and give back the balance. Then another trader would take him in hand, and so on until the red skin would have nothing left. I saw a trader grab a squaw (a widow) and she fought him off and ran for her wigwam. The trader followed her and after a hard fight with her and nearly destroying the wigwam, he finally succeeded in getting the money. She did not intend to be robbed without a struggle. These squabbles were of frequent occurrence. The paymaster paid no attention to them. The agent allowed no whisky on the ground while he stayed there, but the traders would outwit the agent and soldiers too. They would hide their barrels of whisky in the marsh two or three miles from the pay grounds among the grass and rushes, and one canoe would start out as they said to catch some fish. After a while they would come back with a bottle or two of whisky and the first thing the agent knew he would hear the howl of a drunken Indian in camp. He would send a soldier and bring him into the big tent for examination, but could not find out anything by the drunken redskin. Then the soldiers would be sent out to search for the whisky to no purpose. The pork and flour in barrels was dealt out to them before the money was paid, and the Indians would sell their pork to anyone that would buy it for anything they could get, as they did not like salt meat. Their beef was driven to the ground on foot, as the Indians preferred to slaughter it themselves. They would drive the cattle a mile or two from the pay ground, then surround the herd with guns charged and commence firing at them promiscuously. Then a stampede would begin. The cattle would be wounded."
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XVI.
NATIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATION.
Under the territory of Wisconsin, which was inaugurated July 4, 1836, and lasted until the inauguration of the state in 1848, the territory of Winnebago had no resident representation as such. It was not organized as a county until 1842. Prior to that time as part of Brown county its representatives were resi- dents of Green Bay. In 1842 the name of Winnebago county first appears as represented in the council by Judge Morgan L. Martin, of Green Bay, who at the same time represented eight counties, covering a territory from Stevens Point to Lake Michigan. The representatives for this wide territory were Gen. Albert G. Ellis, Mason C. Darling and David Agry. In 1845 the county had as representative in the assembly a Stockbridge Indian, William Fowler. In the last territorial legislature Mason C. Darling was in the council. The convention to form a state constitution met at Madison in 1846 with Gov. James Duane Doty, of Neenah, as member for Winnebago county. On submission to the people the constitution was rejected in 1847. The second constitutional convention met in 1847 with Gov. Har- rison Reed, of Neenah, as member from this county. This con- stitution was adopted and the first session of the state legisla- ture met at Madison, June 5, 1848. Fond du Lac and Winnebago county were joined by the constitution as one senatorial district and Warren Chase elected first senator. IIe had led a colony to Silver creek and founded the community of Ceresco, afterwards Ripon. The first Oshkosh senator was John A. Eastman in 1850. The year 1853 the county first had two assemblymen, Curtis Reed. Menasha, and Col. L. M. Miller, Oshkosh. The county formed one senatorial district in 1853, 1854 and 1855, with Gov. Coles Bashford, of Oshkosh, as senator. Then came Senator John Fitzgerald, banker and steamboat monopolist. In 1859-60 Judge G. W. Washburn was senator. He died in 1907 at 84 years of age. S. M. Hay, the late ancient banker of Oshkosh, was senator in 1862. The city of Neenah was represented in the sen- ate by Judge J. B. Hamilton several terms. The city of Menasha
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