History of Crawford and Richland counties, Wisconsin, Part 67

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899. [from old catalog]; Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1298

USA > Wisconsin > Richland County > History of Crawford and Richland counties, Wisconsin > Part 67
USA > Wisconsin > Crawford County > History of Crawford and Richland counties, Wisconsin > Part 67

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

*We have no further certain information of this chief. Me-en-itch, or the Eagle a Sauk chief of Missouri, signed the treaty of 1815.

Mau-que-tee, or the llakl Eagle, a Fox chief, signed the treaty at Rock Island in 1832.

Pr -- a-cnin-a-car-mack, or Black Headed Eagle, father and son, signed the treaty with the Sauks and Foxes in 1836; and the same year Pe-a-chin-wa, a Sauk chief, signed the treaty of Dubuque, with Gen. Dodge.

464

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

said he had traded too long with the Indians to be afraid of them, and started to collect the debt.

On his way to the village he met the chief, unarmed, riding on the very horse he had threatened to take. Approaching him, he dragged the chief off, gave him a beating, and got on the horse himself and rode it home, and tied it before the shanty door. When he told his wife what he had done, she said she was afraid the chief would seek revenge, and warned her husband to be cautious. Soon after Mrs. King rushed into the cabin and said that Gray Eagle was near at hand with some of his people. Upon hearing this, King arose to go ont to the horse, but he scarcely reached the door before a bullet from Gray Eagle's rifle pierced his brain, and he fell across the thresh- hold a bloody corpse. The Indian took the horse.

Mr. Stock, the remaining trader, persisted in his refusals to give the Indians credit, which so enraged them, that they shot him through the heart. After this last tragedy, the surviving members of those two families removed from the old claim, and for years after, no white man lived in the valley, which, from the mur- ders perpetrated there by the Indians, has ever since been called Bloody Run.

Sneh is a description and history of the place where I went to live twenty-four years ago; and it remained about the same until within two or three years. I lived there two years and raised two good erops, and spent the pleasantest two years of my life. The Indians were very numerous, their reservations being close by, and they sometimes stole my corn and potatoes, and killed my hogs; but I should have con- tinued there, had the title to the land been good. But an advantageous offer was made to me to go up into Menomonee pineries, and I left Bloody Run.

Within the last twelve months, Bloody Run has undergone a great change. The land titles have been investigated and adjusted ; the float-

ing population of the west has began to settle there; mills have been built; dwellings erected, and a railroad is surveyed through the valley, and partly built. A young eity is rearing itself in the valley; and will yet surpass its neighbor (McGregor) in population and trade, as it does now in its natural advantages.

It was in 1829, while in the Menomonee pineries, that desirous of returning to Prairie du Chien. I looked around for the means of doing so. I pitched upon a plan that few would think of in this age of progress, when a very few hours suffice to perform the journey, that then occupied as many days. But there were no conveniences of travel on the upper Mississippi then; a passage in a high pressure steam-boat, sneh as was the Science, could not be counted on with any certainty. I got a large Mackinaw boat, rigged an awning, and placed my family and what few worldly goods I possessed, in it and made the trip from the mills on Menomo- nee river to the prairie.

We had a pleasant trip, sailing and floating down the river ; and were I to give a minute sketch of it, you might think it interesting; but as I am anxious to give an account of things in general, rather than a personal history, I will merely notice one incident of our journey, which occurred before our safe arrival at Prai- rie du Chien.

Our boat was thirty feet in length, and the awning extended over a space of fifteen feet in the centre, beneath which was placed our goods, provisions and bedding, at the same time afford- ing shelter for my wife and children, from the rain and night damps. In the stern I had re- served a space to work the steering oar, while in the bow was a stove, where my wife cooked our food and such game as I shot. With all the exposure of that trip, I look back at the time thus spent as among the pleasantest of my life.

One day while the boat was floating lazily down with the current, opposite Trempealeau mountain, my attention was called to an animal,

465

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

pointed out by my wife. It was on a long, narrow bar or point of an island just below us, and appeared to be playing with some object, unconscious of our approach. I was not long in discovering that it was a large panther, and made up my mind to shoot it, for at that time I had never killed one. So, telling my wife to take the oar and direct the boat to a point nearest the beast, I stood in the bow ready to fire as soon as we had approached near enough. The panther kept dragging the object about, unmindful of the boat, until its keel grated on the sand within twenty feet of it. Just as the boat stopped I fired. The bullet pierced its vitals, and after satisfying myself that it was (lead, got ont to skin it, when I found that one of the panther's paws was firmly locked in the jaws of a large hard-shell turtle. It appeared to me that the panther had been in search of food, and spying the turtle, crept up to it with the intent to catch it, and he did catch it; "he caught a tartar." The turtle got a paw in his mouth, and kept hold so firmly that the pan- ther was unable to extricate it. I am of the opinion that the panther knew he had "put his foot in it," and out of respect to his unfortunate condition. I never boasted the exploit of killing him. The skin of the panther was not worth a sou-marker, but the turtle was a prize I knew how to manage, for I was something of an epi- cure. The turtle furnished us with many a de- licious feast, until we reached the Prairie.

I found on arriving at Prairie du Chien that the speenlating mania had come to a crisis, and "hard times" had put a damper on the spirits of the people, as well as put a stop to all enter- prises. Real estate was still held at high rates, but it did not change owners as frequently as in 1836. The state of affairs was similar to that of 1858.

came to me and offered to deed a piece of prop- erty to me to pay the debt. Low as such prop- erty was, taxes were very heavy, and so I would not accept the offer. B. W. Brisbois afterwards paid $800 for the lot and now it is not to be had at any price. From 1840 until the commencement of the war with Mex- ico, nothing to excite interest occurred; unless we remark that the country was rapidly filling up with new comers. In 1846 orders were re- ceived to raise a volunteer company of 100 men.

When I left Bloody Run to go up to Lock- wood's mill on the Menomonee in 1836 or 1837, great speculative excitement existed. Land companies Nos. 1 and 2 were formed, and great improvements and projects were commenced. At Prairie du Chien and Cassville, towns were laid out, hotels built, and real estate was held at enormous prices. It was designed to make Cassville the capital of the Michigan territory; but men's practice always falls short of their theory. The hard times came on, and the much talked of project was abandoned; land depreci- ated, and a general stagnation of business ensued. Among the organizations of the times was a wild-cat banking institution, entitled the "Prai- rie du Chien Ferry Company." This company issued its shin-plasters at Prairie du Chien; some of which I have, and they bear the signa- tures of G. Washington Pine, president; and H. W. Savage, cashier. This pioneer bank, however, had to succumb to the pressure, and adopted the "suspend payment" system, which suspension has lasted to the present day.

The Rev. Alfred Brunson and quite a number of persons, some now living in Curts' settle- ment, came here the year I went to the mills on Monomonee river. I went to Lake Pepin with my family in the steamboat Science. At the lake were two trading houses. Immediately upon our arrival at the lake, a fierce battle was fought on its shores, between the Sioux and Chippewas, which resulted in the defeat of the latter. I passed the scene of the fight, and saw the mu-

In the year 1824, one cow would buy a small farm. As an instance, showing how cheap land could be bought then, I will cite a fact that oc- curred to me. A certain person owed me a bill of $5 and not having the money, he | tilated bodies of the dead Indians. The Chip-

466

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

pewa Indians were better warriors than the Sioux, but being poor, their arms are almost valueless, which accounts for their defeat. From the Lake we went up to the Chippewa river in Mackinaw boats. The water of the Chippewa is as red as wine, and a crimson streak may be seen for some distance below its mouth. This color I attribute to depos- its of iron ore through which the channel of the river runs. On reaching the mills (there being three of them), I entered upon my duties as lumberman. The mills were situated on the Monomonee river, in a tract of neutral ground between the Chippewa and Sioux Indians. These two tribes were constantly warring against each each other, and I had frequent op- portunities to see war parties of both tribes. There were some Chippewas living near the mills, who sold game, maple sugar, wild fruits, and like articles to the mill hands.

On one occasion the hands had gone to work, and left their cabin locked up, when a number of Chippewas came in their absence, crept through a window, stole the blankets from the beds, pork from the barrel, filled their blankets with flour, and started away with all their phin- der. Fortunately the mill hands discovered their loss early. They pursued the Indians, overtook them, gave them a good whipping, and took away everything that had been stolen. It was with such incidents as these, that we re- lieved the monotony of life in the pinery.

One day my wife was alone in our cabin, when an old Chippewa, who had often visited us, came in with some maple sugar. My wife took the sugar, and in return gave him some pork and flour, at the same time telling him she thought there were Sioux Indians near, for that day she smelled kinnikinie smoke in the woods. The Chippewa soon left, and it seemed not more than a moment after that the house was filled with a war party of Sioux. The chief asked her if there was any Chippewas there, and she answered that she had - not seen any. The Sioux said they had tracked one to

the cabin, and taking some of the sugar the Indian had brought, called it "Chippewa's su- gar," and said they would eat the sugar and cut the Chippewa's throat when they canght him. The war party ate all the food they could get, and then filed out; but they didn't catch the old Indian, for he managed to escape, and afterwards brought game to our house.

'There is something mysterious in the appear- ance of a war party. I have seen several, and they glided along like a serpent, with noiseless, even motion ; and had I not been looking at them I should not have known that they were passing within thirty feet of me. Onee a raft broke to pieces, and I went with the men to recover the lumber. While engaged in colleet- ing it, we had to pass over a ridge frequently during the day, and at night when we were go- ing over on our way back to the mills, we heard a laugh close by our side. We looked around for the cause, but not finding it, we were about to move on, when the laugh was repeated, and we were surprised to see what we had taken for a pine stump assume the form of a Chippewa scout. It appears he had been hid there all day watching for Sioux, and we had passed within arms' reach several times without see- ing him.

I remained two years in the pineries, and could have made money, had I accepted the offer made me if I would remain longer, but I desired to return to Prairie du Chien.

The year after my coming down from Lock- wood's mills, in 1840, an election occurred, and I was solicited to accept the office of constable in and for the county of Crawford and territory of Wisconsin. On the 28th of September, 1810, I was duly elected, and on the 19th day of Oc- tober, was qualified before C. J. Learned, to perform the duties of the office. The business of constable here eighteen years ago was not very considerable, yet there was a kind of char- acter attached to the office in that day, which made its occupant a person of note and dread in the eyes of the then unsophisticated inhabitants

467

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

of this vicinity. Well do I remember the first writ I served; the trepidation that took hold of the person against whom it was issued, when I came into his presence. But he has got bravely over that, and is at this time one of the first citizens of Prairie du Chien, under obligation to no man.

Ezekiel Taintor was elected sheriff of Craw- ford county about 1840; at all events he occupied that office in 1841. This point was then the place for holding all criminal trials for the en- tire country northwest of it. Some very noted lawyers of those times were located here; among these was T. P. Burnett, a thorough read lawyer, and a gentleman of respectability. His public services will long be remembered by the citizens of Wisconsin. He died in 1846, leav- ing a vacant seat in the territorial Legislature, and a large circle of friends.

In the year 1841, J. Rolette, the first citizen of Prairie du Chien, died, and was buried in the Catholic grave yard. Four years previous, Michael Brisbois, an old fur trader and citizen, died, and was buried on the summit of a high bluff, in accordance with a request made pre- vious to his death. The bluff is back of the town, and is called Mt. Pleasant, and strangers whose curiosity prompts them with a desire to see all the sights of this beautiful valley, often climb up to the grave, where, reclining beneath the weather-beaten cross, they feast on the mag- nificent scene that can be had from the bluff, or listen to the story of the old pioneer's re- quest.

At a general election held on the 22d day of September, 1845, I was elected to the offices of coroner and constable for Crawford county. In the first office, the duties that devolved on me were neither few nor pleasant. The holding of inquests on the bodies of persons picked up in the river, and found murdered, were of more fre- quent occurrence than now. The country be- ing thinly settled, detection was easily avoided, and the penalties of the law hard to enforce; so evil disposed persons, not having the fear of

certain punishment before them, perpetrated deeds of violence with perfect impunity. I was once notified that a dead body was lying in the water opposite Pig's Eye slough, and imme- diately proceeded to the spot, and on taking it out, I recognized it as the body of a negro woman belonging to a certain captain then in Fort Crawford. The body was ernelly cut and bruised; but the person not appearing to recog- nize it, a verdict of "found dead" was ren- dered, and I had the corpse buried. Soon after, it came to light that the woman was whipped to death and thrown into the river during the night; but no investigation was made, and the affair blew over.

For a long term of years have I held positions that gave me every opportunity of observing and detecting crime; as a policeman, constable, sheriff and justice of the peace, I was an al- most daily witness of rascalities, and could fur- nish a calendar of crimes perpetrated in the northwest that would startle even those who have lived here a much longer time, but who are not as thoroughly posted in criminal affairs. There is an individual now (1858) living in the town known to be guilty of several murders. Others are aware of this fact.

The subject of education was not an unknown one in Prairie du Chien at that day. Taxes were levied and money appropriated to estab- lish and sustain district schools. In January, 1846, I was appointed collector for. district No. 2, of which C. W. Pelton was trustee.

BY S. M. PALMER.

Desirous of visiting Cassville, Prairie du Chien and that part of the territory bordering on the Mississippi, I accepted a cordial invita- tation from Col. Daniels, of Cassville, to take a seat in his carriage for that place. It was a delightful morning in September, when, with an agreeable party, consisting of the colonel, Mr. Latham, of Mineral Point, and a Mr. Payne, of Boston, we bade adieu to the noble, generous people of Mineral l'oint, and procceed over a rough, uncultivated, hilly, and tolerably

468

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

well timbered country, some six or ten miles to a pretty spot called Diamond Grove, near which was the residence of Col. John B. Terry. Here it was proposed to stop, but on approaching the house, it was evident that the family were not at home, and I proposed to pass on, but was overruled by Col. Daniels, who insisted that it was the seat of genuine hospitality, where the latch string was never drawn in; which proved to be the case on that occasion, at least, and the whole party entered the house. And although no member of the family was at home, Col. Daniels, presuming upon his friendship with the propeietor, opened the cupboard, and set ont an excellent cold collation, to which was added a bottle of something stronger than milk, on which the party regaled themselves most satisfactorily.

Proceeding across a fine rolling prairie, beau- tiful as a garden, though almost in a state of nature, with at rare intervals a small agricultu- ral improvement, of a hamlet of miners' huts, we struck the military road which traverses the dividing ridge extending across the territory, the western terminus being at Prairie du Chien, along which we continued through a succession of natural landscapes, the most rich and gor- geous that can be imagined, until we reached the intersection of the Cassville road; near which but a short distance along the last named road, we stopped for the night, at a small log hut, the only building of any description in the vicinity, excepting a small one on a recent im- provement, said to have been commenced by HIon. Thomas P. Burnett, near where we di- verged from the military road.

We were generously welcomed and as com- fortably entertained as the limited means of our kind host and hostess would admit. The ride from this point to Cassville was through a country of extraordinary beauty, with a soil of unrivaled richness and fertility, though with- the exception of a very few small buildings and- improvements, untouched by the hand of man. The people of Cassville, proverbially intelli-

gent, accomplished and enterprising, proud of what they considered the great beauty and im- mense natural advantages of the location of their town, were all bustle and excitement in view of many grand and important improve- ments already projected or in progress; first among which was a magnificent hotel, the foundation for which was already being laid. All classes appeared prosperous, happy and con- tented, looking forward with confidence to a brilliant future for themselves and their favorite town.

After remaining a short time here, I took passage (kindly accompanied by Capt. Estin and Mr. Latham) on board the steamboat Ad- venturer, a very small dilapidated and filthy boat, (for at that time there were comparatively few steamers of any description plying on the Mississippi, above Dubuque), for Prairie du Chien. This town, located on a beautiful prai- rie, some four miles above the mouth of the Wisconsin river, would have been fully equal in appearance to any other site on the Missis- sippi, but for a slough or bayou which ran through it nearly parallel with the river, thus dividing the town, and giving to that portion next to the river, or Old Town, as it was called, the ap- pearance of an island, which was exclusively occupied by the store and warehouse, a large and elegant stone structure, and other build- ings of the North American Fur Company, with a few mean huts tenanted by a miserable set of French and Indians. It was here that John Jacob Astor, the New York millionaire, as a member or chief of that mammoth fur company, made, it has been said, a considerable portion of his immense wealth.

On the opposite side of the bayou, or New Town, was Fort Crawford, in which were about 300 United States troops. It occupied a high, airy and commanding position on the prairie, and comprised four substantial stone buildings, each some 200 feet long, forming a hollow square, in the center of which was a spacious parade ground. The officers and ladies of the

469

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

garrison were exceedingly courteous and agree- able, exerting themselves to render our visit in every respect pleasant and satisfactory. The New Town contained but few dwelling houses, and those of a very ordinary character, the only one of any pretensions, which I recollect, being that occupied by Judge Lockwood.

Returning to Cassville I took passage on board the steamer, Missouri Fulton, and bidding adieu to that delightful territory, in the fond hope of being permitted to visit it again in after years, set out cheerily for my eastern homes at Rock Island, in which stood Fort Armstrong, a handsome and truly formidable fortress. The captain kindly landed to afford the passengers an opportunity of witnessing the formalities of concluding a treaty which was being held be- tween Gov. Dodge, acting for the United States, and the chiefs of the Sauk and Fox Indians, during which the latter ceded to the govern- ment their immensely valuable reservation situ- ation on the Iowa river, west of the Missis- sippi, and nearly opposite to Rock Island, the sum stipulated for the purchase being, as it was then understood, seventy-five cents per acre .*

The acquisition of this domain was consid- ered of great importance to the country; not so much on account of its intrinsic value, as to get rid of those mischievous tribes of Indians, who up to a period very recent, had kept up a con- tinual warfare with their white neighbors, at the instigation of Black Hawk, who strenuously maintained to the last, that they had been nn-

justly deprived of the lands and homes inherited from their fathers, and which ended only with the capture of that brave old chief, and the con- sequent termination of war in August, 1832.

Pending the treaty, some 400 of the Sauk and Fox tribes. old and young, male and female, were encamped on the western bank of the river, opposite the island, who, contrary to the supposed proverbial taciturn and stoical dispo- sition of that people, were engaged in all man- ner of sports, including horse racing and gamb- ling of every description. The men, many of them, were painted after a variety of grotesque fashions, their heads ornamented and decked out in scarlet cloth or flannel, with a profusion of feathers, beads and other finery. They ap- peared decidedly happy, and at times were boisterous in their mirth. After the passengers returned to the boat, they were visited, among others, by the co-chiefs, Black Hawk and Keo- kuk, who exhibited evident signs of pleasure and gratification at being introduced to them, particularly the ladies, toward whom they were decidedly gallant. This treaty was considered, and justly too, a highly important one, setling, as it did, forever, the difficulties and misunder- standings which had so long subsisted with those Indians, who were the original owners and occupiers of all that beautiful country on both sides of the river, for a considerable dis- tance above and below Rock Island, and Gov. Dodge was highly complimented for the skill- ful and successful manner in which he conduet- ed the negotiations for the final result.

Thus have I hastily and imperfectly jotted down the reminiscences of a brief residence in the territory, nearly a quarter of a century ago; and if, among them all, there shall be found a single fact worthy of preservation as connected with its early history, I shall feel amply recom- pensed for the little time and labor it has cost me in its preparation.

POTTSVILLE, PA., Nov. 1858.

*This is substantially correct. The Sanks and Foxes ceded at this treaty, 400 sections. or 256, 000 aeres, in consideration of which the sum of $30, 000 was to be paid them the follow- Ing year, ano $10, 000 a year for ten years thereafter, making altogether $130. 000. In addition, the government agreed to pay certain debts due to traders, and other claims, amount- Ing in the aggregate to $56, 294.67; and still farther provided to pay certain annuities for several half-breed children for their education, ete .. the total amount of which cannot be well estimated. This would show the cost of the ceded lands nt between seventy and seventy-live cents per acre. It is Interesting to notice that Black Hawk, who was present at the treaty, had no official connection with it, having been practically deposed by our government at the close of the Black Hawk War, by the recognition of Keokuk, as head chiof.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Crawford and Richland counties, Wisconsin, Part 67

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899. [from old catalog]; Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company Number of Pages: 1298

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899. [from old catalog]; Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1298