History of Buffalo County Wisconsin 10847607, Part 16

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But it appears that the first claim had been made to Congress in 1806 with no result. In 1823 Mr. Van Dyke, from the commit- tee on public lands reported to the senate adversely to the claim.

In a report of 1825 Mr. Campbell of Ohio, also from the com. mittee on public lands, demonstrated, after an exhaustive discus-

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208

EARLY EXPLORATIONS.

sighted. He was the friend of La Salle, and his removal was equivalent to the destruction of La Salle's colony on the Illinois river. The incapacity of De la Barre was so apparent that after three years he was superseded by the Marquis de Denonville. Within the three years of his reign falls the sending of Nicholas Perrot to the Mississippi for the purpose of establishing a trading- post on Lake Pepin. This Nicholas Perrot was one of the many interpreters, who were in government employ, sometimes under the direction of the governor, but oftener under that of the intendant of the colony. Most people have a very confused idea of the French government of Canada. It would appear to anybody but a Frenchman of the old regime (ancien regime) that the govern- ment was a sort of military despotism, arbitrary enough, but highly concentrated. So it was in all, except the finances. The King did not consider the government as a machine to extend his power so much, as to increase his revenues. Kings like Louis XIV, and Louis XV, and the intervening regency, needed money, and not a little of it. Hence an instrument was created to make sure of that money everywhere. The intendant was this instru- ment. Canada was, according to the view of King and court nothing but a large trading station; colonies were out of the question for they might cost money, and might wish to get rich themselves. The fur-trade was yet the ruling interest and the governor, then in accordance with the intendant, selected Perrot to open up a new source of it among the Sioux. The character of Perrot is not without suspicions. One of his name attempted to poison La Salle, but it may not be possible to identify the two as the same. Certain it is that any enemy of La Salle was sure of favor and promotion under De la Barre. It was, however, late under his government that Perrot was dispatched to the new post,., for in 1685, the year of Perrot's expedition, De la Barre himself was superseded by Denonville. The post established by Perrot was near the lower end of Lake Pepin on the Westside and may have been at Frontenac. He seems to have remained less than two years, for he went down to Quebec or Montreal during 1687, and took part in the war against the Iroquois in company with Du Luth and Durantay. It is reported that Indians, of the tribe of the Miamis, brought lead to his trading post. Circumstances make it improbable that this should have happened, though it is quite

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EARLY EXPLORATIONS.

possible that about that time the Miamis, who dwelt upon the lower part of the Wisconsin, worked some of the lead mines in their neighborhood. The intervening space, a distance of perhaps two hundred miles (160 from Prairie du Chien to Frontenac) was occupied by Winnebagoes and Sioux, and probably by Sacs and Foxes: In 1689, the same year in which Denonville was sup- planted again by Frontenac, Perrot, after convening all the neigh- boring nations at Sault St. Marie for a general treaty of peace among themselves and submission to the French government, re- turned on the 8th of May to his abandoned post with forty men. But he must soon have left again, and was afterwards among the Miamis. With him was Pere Marest of the Jesuits. It is not known what became of him and his post afterwards.

After the reinstatement of the energetic Frontenac there seems to have been more enterprise in the Canadian government. The first adventurer on the Mississippi was

Le Sueur,

said to have come in 1683. His first post was upon an island in the Mississippi opposite or below the mouth of the St. Croix River. Le Sueur was eminently a pioneer of Minnesota. It does not ap- pear that he established any post on the Lake, nor that he found Perrot's post occupied. His life and achievements are quite inter- esting, but not of any importance for our purpose. He came again in 1695, took some Sioux and Chippewas to Montreal 1696 and went to France 1697, was captured on the high sea by the English, released 1698, and came up the Mississippi 1700. Abandoned his fort on the Minnesota in 1702, after which he was in Louisiana or in France. His associate Penicau left some papers about their ad- ventures. If Le Sueur should have been at his first post in 1683, he would in that case have preceded Perrot. The next fort on the lake was built by.

Boucher de la Perriere,

who arrived at the place on the 17th of September 1727. It was near Stockholm on the eastside of the lake. With him was the Jesuit Father Guignas, who gives-a glowing description of how the birthday of Charles de Beauharnois, then governor of Canada, was celebrated at the fort, which was named after him. In the follow- ing spring, after a winter remarkable for the want of snow or the small quantity of it, the greatest flood on record occurred, but it

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is an error to suppose that the fort was abandoned on account of it, for the flood did only reach to the floor of the buildings. The narrative of Guignas makes it probable that it was evacuated on account of the hostility of the Foxes or Outagamies, though it is rather odd to think, that at that time they should have had the power to molest a post'in a country so near the Sioux, and after- ward claimed by that nation. It is however certain that the Foxes were at that time a' powerful nation, and almost always at war with the French.

The trading posts and forts on Lake Pepin must have been occupied, and have probably been repaired from time to time, although Capt. Carver says nothing of them. One thing is strange, that is, that of all the places on the Lake, or on the river for some distance above it, none retained a French name, except Frontenac. It is hardly necessary to caution the reader not to confound this Frontenac with the fort of the same name built by La Salle on Lake Ontario, on the site of which now stands the city of Kings- ton, near the outflow of the St. Lawrence from the lake. Fronte- nac in Minnesota' is in Goodhue County, on Lake Pepin, opposite Maiden Rock. There were several forts, which in this case always means trading-posts surrounded with palisades, in the neighbor- hood, one at Point au Sable or Sandy Point, and one on Prairie Island, which the French called Isle Pelee, but where these points really, or exactly, were, is not now to be found out very easily. Charlevoix who wrote in 1721 placed Isle Pelee above the Lake. The history of French forts is almost as puzzling as that of Indian tribes.' The influence of these temporary possessions was almost nothing, except that in later or more modern times' the trading posts were much more numerous and important on the Minnesota side than on that of Wisconsin. This may be ascribed to the fact that the ancient trading posts attracted the Indians, and the In- dians in turn attracted the traders, most of whom were of French extraction, pure or mixed. Prominent examples of these later traders in this neighborhood were La Bath and Alexis Bailey, but in their times the necessity of forts was no longer very urgent, ex- cept for military establishments.

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212

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

country. It is true they had villages and cultivated some land, but their tenure was not intentionally permanent, and not pro- prietary. The same might be said of the traders, that came among them, and it is a matter of history that the French Government of Canada as well as of France discouraged colonization or perma- nent occupation, in another word-settlement. A few depots or entrepots, however, were absolutely necessary, and the aggregation of some settlers around such posts of trade could not be pre- vented, though it might be discouraged. The missionaries, afraid that they would have to share influence, power and profit with permanent settlers, instigated the government to its narrow policy of anti-colonization. Thus we find, that during about one hund- red and fifty years of nominal, and of eighty years of virtual pos- session of Wisconsin by the French, there was only one, still un- certain, settlement within its present boundaries. This was at Green Bay, the place first visited by an embassador of the French · governor to the Winnebagoes in 1634. This visit is described in the chapter on Jean Nicolet. The next settlement was at Prairie du Chien. The evidence for this is not very direct, and it is rather due to the advantageous situation of the place, near the mouth of the Wisconsin River, that we are inclined to believe in a very early settlement at this point, than to any documentary testimony in regard to it. There are, indeed several circumstances, which seem to contradict this assumption. The first is that under the administration of De la Barre, the governor, who succeeded to Frontenac, an enemy to La Salle, and opposed to all colonization, sent Nicholas Perrot (not Parrot as the Blue Book says) to. the Mississippi to establish a trading post on the river, which was erected on the westside of Lake Pepin, 1683. Other forts were subsequently erected by Le Sueur, Laperriere and others, and, according to the opportunities of trade and other circumstances, occupied or abandoned, while yet there was nothing said of. a post at the mouth of the Wisconsin River. It seems that an offi. cial document relating to taking possession of the Upper Missis. sippi country by the French dated May .28, 1689, has among.its witnesses " Monsieur De Borieguillot " commanding the French . in the neighborhood of the Ouiskonche on the Mississippi. This points to an establishment of some kind, perhaps only a stockade or trading fort, intended by the government to be occupied, but

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certainly not by a garrison. It is true that in the same year the active Count of Frontenac had been reinstated in the government of La Nouvelle France, and there was some hope of better times, but there had been a period of inactivity for about seven years, and there were no arrangements for garrisoning so distant a post. In the same year King William's war began and lasted about eight years. The energies of the Canadian government were largely engaged in this, and distant enterprises could hardly be thought of. There were certainly always some adventurers, who preferred living at peace with the Indians of the West to fighting the English and the Iroquois in Canada; there was more gain and more fun in it. Such may from time to time have congregated at the mouth of the Wisconsin or the most favorable point of settle- ment near it, and some kind of establishment, intermittent though and unreliable, must have been at the place. It is not very ini- portant whether one Cardinelle and his wife settled at the place in 1728, the year of the great flood, but the establishment of a French trading post in 1737 with a stockade for protection seems to indi- cate some settlement previously unprotected. Another account, however, places the establishment of that post in 1755 and con- nects it directly with the village of Prairie du Chien.

All this is called in question by a circumstance mentioned by Captain Jonathan Carver, who visited these parts in 1766. He mentions a large Indian town, but no fort, and the merchants who had come with him, did not winter at the mouth of the Wis- consin, but on the other side of the Mississippi, on the Yellow River, about ten miles above Prairie du Chien. As for the last circumstance, which seems by many to be considered as proof positive, that there was no accommodation for the traders at Prai- rie du Chien, I can see nothing of the kind in it. The winter sea- son was on hand, and Captain Carver himself found his progress prevented by ice about five weeks after he had left his fellow trav- clers. The traders, perhaps, knew more about the conditions of a successful winter establishment than the Captain. In fact we find that long afterwards it was a custom of traders in that neighbor- hood to live during the winter among the Sioux, and during the summer at the Prairie du Chien. This clinching proof against the existence of a settlement at the latter place is therefore not so very decisive. Another circumstance must come into consideration,

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Prairie du Chien was within the territory claimed by the Winneba- goes and their confederates. Traders were most probably abundant among them, and new ones would naturally go to the Sioux, across the river. It is, moreover, probable, that Carver's companions were Englishmen, or Yankees, who might have found it uncon- genial among the Frenchmen. French tradition says that the Prairie du Chien was bought of the Fox Indians probably in 1755, the purchase being confirmed in 1802 by a Fox chief. The name of the Prairie was derived from another Fox chief, whose Indian name was " Ahin,' whic the French translated by " chien," which in English means " dog." In the history of the " Indians," and in " Political History" much of the events connected with Prairie du Chien had to be related. In this chapter we propose to consider its relation to the extending settlements. In this regard it must be regretted that the inhabitants of the place were French. They were very good pioneers, or rather adventurers, but lacked one essential quality of settlers or colonists. They did not want, and -could not be expected, to settle, that is to make up their minds to stay in a certain place, and to improve that place, so as to make their stay pleasant and profitable; they were too mercurial for that by inheritance, and spoiled by the allurements of the Indian trade, a trade which was a game at hazards rather than anything else, and thus just suited to French dispositions. Their farming operations were crude and limited. Hence there was no ambition for improvements in tools and implements, and the emigrant, who wanted to settle down in such a neighborhood, found, that there was no dependence on the people for many of his most urgent wants. Nevertheless, the place could not help becoming a basis of supplies for the advancing settlements as well as for Indian -traders. As late as 1781, under British rule, the population being still overwhelmingly French, the more reliable history of the place begins. Four years previous, says the French tradition, the old fort had burnt. In .1781 the first purchase of land, which looked like an intention of founding an actual settlement, was made for three traders, by Governor Patrick Sinclair of Mackinaw. Its extent was six miles up and down the river, probably from the mouth of the Wisconsin six miles up the Mississippi, at an average width of six miles from that river on the east side. In 1796 the United States took formal possession, which, however,

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216

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

List of Settlers in the lower part of the County when La Crosse County was set off :

J. Adam Weber Frank Weber Henry Goehrke Andrew Bærtsch

At Holmes' Landing or in the neighborhood.

Claus Liesch Caspar Wild Victor Probst

John C. Waecker & At Twelve Mile Bluff. Joseph Berni

PIONEERS.

But the original first settler had left for the country farther up the river. It was:

THOMAS A. HOLMES.

From the moment that I had concluded to write the history of Buffalo County, I was anxious to learn as much as possible of the life and circumstances of the man, whose name precedes this article. Authorities on hand were exceedingly reticent on the sub- ject, and demonstrated their ignorance not less by contradicting themselves than by silence. That very important personage, the oldest inhabitant, even after Holmes was not on hand, and every- body told a different story. It is asserted in one place that in 1841 when Johann Adam Weber arrived at Holmes' Landing, the original proprietor or possessor of that place had been there 15 years, having come in 1826. It was further asserted that no one knew where Mr. Holmes went after leaving his late residence; but it was darkly hinted at that he had gone

" To the land of the Dacotahs, To the land of handsome women; Striding over moor and meadow, Through interminable forests, Through uninterrupted silence." -(Hiawatha.)

In the course of time I wanted to study the manners of the Sioux or Dakotas, and as Minnesota had been their latest abode in our neighborhood I borrowed of my friend Emil Leonhardy an old Atlas of Minnesota, expecting to find all about the Sioux, of which I was rather disappointed but in listlessly turning over the leaves, I was attracted by the article headed:

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PIONEERS.

SHAKOPEE.

Having thirty or more years ago heard of that town, and of the Indian Chief for whom it was named, I examined closely and found the following:

Early History.

The first settlement was made in Shakopee, while the Indians were yet present in undiminished numbers on the Minnesota. Thomas A Holmes, a native of Pennsylvania, who had been a pio- neer in Milwaukee and Janesville, Wisconsin, 1835 to 1838, and a trader among the Indians at Fountain City, St. Paul, Sauk Rapids and Itasca, came in 1851, and located the land where Shakopee is situated. He was one of the original proprietors of the town, as he had also previously been of Milwaukee, Janesville, and several other towns in the Northwest.

Here, then, were several pointers which were diligently made use of. The first step was to find out whether Mr. Holmes was still alive, and whether he was, in that case, at Shakopee or some other place. Not having any acquaintances in Shakopee, I con- cluded to appeal to the liberality of the Press at that place. Rowell's Newspaper Directory showed that that there were two papers at that place: "The Shakopee Courier " and the "Scott County Argus," both of which were addressed and replied as fol- lows:

SHAKOPEE, Minn., Jan. 22, 1887.

Office of Shakopee Courier, C. A. Stevens, Publisher.

MR. L. KESSINGER.

Dear Sir :- Thomas A. Holmes now lives in Culman, Alabama, where he went some years ago to help built up that section of the sunny South, having completed his labors in that direction here- away in the North. You might write him, but I understand he says he can only just about write his name now, but "can skin a muskrat quicker than an Indian." I had a pretty long acquaint- ance with Uncle Tommy, and always found him "straight as an arrow," and full of fun. He was a general favorite in this section

Respectfully,

C. A. STEVENS.

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PIONEERS.

Office of the Scott County Argus, Wm. Hinds, Editor and Publisher. SHAKOPEE, Minn., Jan. 27, 1887. L. KESSINGER, EsQ., Alma, Wis.

Dear Sir :- Thomas A. Holmes was the founder of this city, as well as Helena, Mont., and some thirty other towns, and is at present living at Culman, Alabama, to which place he moved six or eight years ago. He is as young as he was forty years ago, but as I was born some ten years after he had settled here, I can give you but few particulars of his eventful career, although there are many here who could. Yours truly

WM. HINDS.

This led to a direct correspondence with Mr. Holmes, which on his part was carried on by Mr. J. A. Johnson, Publisher of the " Alabama Tribune " of Culman, Culman Co., Alabama. The first letter is as follows:

CULMAN, Ala., Jan. 23, 1887.

L. KESSINGER, EsQ.

Mr. Thomas A. Holmes, of whom you write, is now a resident of this place. He will be 83 years old in March. Though quite old, he is enjoying good health, and is as earnest in building towns as he was forty years ago. He is married, and his wife is a de- scendant of the Woodbury stock of Vermont, though much youn- ger than he. He does not recollect Buffalo County. I presume it has been formed since your state. He refers you to Milo Jones, now living at Fort Atkinson, on Rock River, above Janesville and near Watertown. Mr. H. is a remarkable man and has seen much of border life among the Indians as a trader.

J. A. JOHNSON .

- On February 7th, I addressed another letter to Mr. J. A. John. son, into which I included a more or less accurate and elaborate description of Holmes' Landing as it was, such names of places and persons as Mr. Holmes could not fail to remember, and which I had learned from an extended study of local histories of our neighborhood. I also suggested the gift of a photograph of Mr. Holmes for a frontispiece picture. This brought the following reply :

CULMAN, Ala., March 5th, 1887.

Dear Sir :- In reply to yours of February 7th, Mr. Holmes says, that he landed there late in the fall of '39 with Robert Ken-

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220

PIONEERS.

June 1st, 1887, I addressed to the Pioneer Press of St. Paul a short note, inquiring, whether the above named gentlemen, or either of them, were still alive and in St. Paul. To this I received the laconic answer: "They are both dead." From a footnote in the History of Winona County I learn that Major Hatch died at St. Paul Sept. 14th, 1882, of cholera morbus. The subsequent letters grew out of suggestions already related above, and such as occur in Mr. Jones' letter.

Letter of Milo Jones:

FORT ATKINSON, Feb. 26, '87. L. KESSINGER, EsQ.

Dear Sir :- Yours of 17th re- ceived and contents noted and in reply would say, from memory: In Sept. 1835 on my return from a survey in the north, I met T. A. Holmes in Milwaukee, who in- formed me he had purchased a piece of land on Rock River un- sight and unseen,-thought he had a town-site, and water-power, and wished me to locate it for him.

At that time the Rock River valley was unknown, as there were no settlements above Rock- ford. (Ill.)

A party was organized consist- ing of T. A. Holmes, William, John and Joshua Holmes, John Inman, Geo. Fulmer and your humble servant. After 2 or 3 days cutting and clearing in Mil- waukee woods, we succeeded in getting to what was then called Prairieville with our teams, and I think the first one through the tim ber to openings and prairie

Remarks.

This agrees with the state- ment of Mr. J. P. McGregor as to Mr. Holmes' residence at Milwaukee, but contradicts the statement of Mrs. Atwood as to her brother's removal to his land on Rock River in 1835, since it is highly improb- able that the removal took place so late in the season.

The name of Prairieville sug- gests an embryo settlement be- fore the expedition related by

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PIONEERS.

and in due time reached the Rock and located the land, running some levels.

Laid a village plat, and named it Rockport from the fact of a Big Rock on the right bank of Rock River, near where the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad now cros- ses, and now a part of the present city of Janesville. On our return to Milwaukee with the new city in embryo, and with the glowing description of the beautiful Rock River country, all eyes along the lake were turned in that direction. Janes of Racine made his way out, and, I think, bought John Holmes' claim on the left bank of the river, where the Meyer's house now stands, and when the land was surveyed and sold, purchased it, and platted and named it Janesville. As· to the time of Holmes going up into your coun- try I will refer you to Mrs. Kate Atwood of Janesville, and Robert Kennedy of St. Paul, who are the only 2 (two) in that early settle- ment of this state in the Rock River valley.

Robert Kennedy was a brother of T. A. Holmes' first wife. From either of them. I think you can ascertain T. A. Holmes' residence which, I believe, is in Alabama. I should have replied to your note sooner but have been absent on a survey.

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History of Buffalo County Wisconsin 10847607, Part 16

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