History of Dane County, Wisconsin, Part 106

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1304

USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Wisconsin > Part 106

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V .- BY JULIUS T. CLARK.

In the year 1840, I had completed my legal studies, and was attracted to Madison by re- ports of the natural beauty and salubrity of its location, as well as by its prospective advantages as the future capital of the State. I arrived in Madison in the month of August in the year above named. On my way from Ottawa, Ill., where I had been residing, I passed through Beloit and Janesville, the former containing some half a dozen houses ; the latter, but one, made of upright boards, and which was built for the accommodation of the stage, which was running somewhat regularly on that route. There were then a number of buildings in Madison, the principal ones being the American Hotel, on the northwest corner of Pinckney street and Washing ton avenue, and the Madison Hotel, on the south side of King street, east of the capitol grounds, (both since burned), one frame store building belonging to James Morrison, just above the Madi- son Hotel, a small printing office, and several dwellings-some of logs and some of boards. The walls of the old Territorial capitol were up and the building inclosed, but the inside was almost entirely in an unfinished state. On my first visit, as above stated, I found the District Court in session, Judge Irvin presiding, and S. Mills, Clerk, with quite a number of cases on the docket, mostly marked with the names of John Catlin, William N. Seymour and David Brigham, a8 attorneys, Seymour having rather the largest number of cases. This fact may account for my forming a partnership with him in the law practice, which lasted a year or more. The improve- ments at Madison were at that time confined almost entirely to that part of King street lying between the east corner of the capitol grounds and Lake Monona, and that part of Pinckney street fronting the northeast line of the capitol grounds. W. W. Wyman and J. A. Noonan were each publishing a paper, the former an administration paper, and of which I had the editorial charge for some time, and the latter an opposition paper, as parties then existed. The

*From Durrie's "History of Madison," pp. 106-124.

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steam saw-mill, where most of the lumber was manufactured for the construction of the capitol and other buildings, stood on the bank of Lake Mendota, at the foot of the hill, just below the residence of the late B. F. Hopkins. With the exception of the small portions I have named above, almost the entire area of what is, at this day, the beautiful city of Madison, was in its wild and native condition ; and what is now the most attractive portion of the city, was then, and for some years later, almost an impassable forest, with a dense undergrowth of young trees and briars, through which I used to make my way hunting for partridges and other game, with great difficulty. I refer to the ridge or high lands on the southeastern border of Lake Mendota. But the greatest change has taken place in the character of the level stretch of land lying between the two lakes on the east side of the city. In the early settlement of the place, most of that part of the city was covered with water, especially in the spring of the year, when the lakes were full. At such times, fishermen in their boats would spear abundance of fish in its shallow waters.

One reason, perhaps, why the growth of Madison was slow, at first, may lie in the fact that for several years, at almost or quite every session of the Legislature, an effort was made to remove the capital to some other place, generally to Milwaukee, and this effort upon the part of the members from that place, as well as the general hostility which its citizens entertained, or at least were thought by the people of Madison to entertain toward Madison, tended to create an aggrieved and embittered feeling toward the former city, which I doubt not still exists to a greater or less degree, in the minds, at least, of the early settlers of Madison. Another fruitful source of trouble and perplexity at that time was the uncertainty regarding the title to the village lots. There were three plats of the place on record, each of them differing from the others and made by two different parties. Time and the adjudication of the courts have long since settled these questions, which were once a prolific source of litigation and strife. If any one is curious to know the nature of these contests, an examination of the records of the courts of that time will give him all desired information.

The place, for some time, had but little business to sustain it, except what it received as the capital of the Territory through the Legislature, the courts and the residence of the Territorial offi- cials; and the affairs of government were then managed with more economy than now. The Territory was in all parts sparsely settled, and during the sessions of the Legislature such of the more prominent settlers as were not actual members of that body were very sure to be present, either looking after some public or private interest, or to pass the time in social enjoyment, for it is one of the pleasantest recollections of that period, that there was a heartiness and warmth of attachment and good fellowship felt and manifested without stint among those early pioneers which has not existed since their time. It was not uncommon to have social entertainments given, at which there would be present invited guests from Green Bay, Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Mineral Point, Platteville, Prairie du Chien, and all the then settled parts of the Territory ; and this, notwithstanding the almost entire want of any public conveniences for travel- ing, either in the matter of roads or vehicles. ,Such a one had just been held and very largely attended only the day before the cruel fate of the lamented Arndt -- a very sad termination to one of the most successful and pleasant festive gatherings that the village has seen, either in its earlier or later history. Among the guests was the father of Arndt. He was one of the old residents of Green Bay, and was quite advanced in years-a gentleman of great respectability and unblemished character. He had made that long and tedious winter journey for the purpose of meeting his son, around whom the hopes and affections of his declining years centered with a very strong paternal fondness-and not without reason, for the younger Arndt possessed in a high degree, in addition to his mental endowments, those amiable and social qualities which attached to him very warmly those who shared his friendship. The Territorial Council, of which Arndt was a member, occupied the room on the east side, or rather in the east corner, and the House of Representatives the room at the north corner of the old capitol. It was at the close of the morning session, which had been somewhat stormy-and the debates, which had been elicited on certain nominations made to the Council by Gov. Doty, had been considerably per-

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sonal, and acrimonious and irritating in their character, especially on the part of him who was soon to leave the room a homicide. The President had experienced some difficulty in maintain- ing order during a portion of the debate just before the adjournment; and fearing a personal collision, as soon as he declared the session adjourned, he stepped rapidly from the desk to place himself between the irritated parties, but failed to reach them in time to avert the catastrophe- the fatal shot had been given, penetrating the heart of the unfortunate Arndt, who fell back into the arms of those who were standing near, and expired immediately without a struggle. His father was in the opposite hall at the time, and hearing the commotion came, with others, into the Council Chamber, little imagining the deep interest he had in what had transpired. I was present during the whole of the morning session, and near the parties at the time of the occur- rence, and thus a witness of the whole tragedy ; and of all the sad recollections of that event, that which is the most vivid is the unutterable anguish and desolation of the elder Arndt when he saw his son, so lately full of life and hope, lying on the floor still in death. As to the char- acter of the deed, I never had a doubt. The slayer had been the aggressor from the beginning, and had employed irritating and insulting language in the course of the debate, and when called upon for explanation, met it on the moment against an unarmed man with the deadly shot.

The Pastor of the Episcopal Church was the Rev. Mr. Philo, a very kind, earnest and simple-hearted man, a characteristic anecdote of whom I cannot resist the impulse to repeat : During the sessions of the Legislature, there was (a common thing in the West in those days) a good deal of gambling practiced ; and, although severe laws had been enacted against it, yet so little attention was paid to enforcing them, that there were several places in the town where gambling was carried on in as public a manner as though it had been an ordinary, innocent amusement, several members of the Legislature being among the most ardent of its devotees. In the winter of 1841, the ladies of the town took the matter in hand, and made an earnest and energetic effort for the suppression of both gambling and drinking. Through their influence, a mass-meeting was held in one of the halls of the capitol to consider the best means of accomplishing the desired object. Everybody attended, citizens, strangers, members of the Legislature ; all were there, men, women and children. . All sides of the question being represented, the discussions which followed were considerably animated, some of the speakers finding their speech and their poise a little too difficult from the present effect of having imbibed a little too freely before going. It was said, among other things, that the laws already passed were amply sufficient to meet the case, if honestly and faithfully administered, and that the fault, if anywhere, was with the officers, whose duty it was to see to the proper execution of the laws. W. N. Seymour, who was then, and for years afterward, Justice of the Peace, was present, and taking the remark as a personal reflection upon his official integrity, arose and defended himself from the charge. After he had taken his seat, Mr. Philo, or " Dominie " Philo, as he was more commonly called, arose, and addressed the Chair as follows : "Mr. Chairman: I arise to to make a motion. The motion which I wish to make, I hold in my hand. I will read the motion. ' Motion : That William N. Seymour is a good and sufficient Justice of the Peace;' and I hope the motion will prevail." The character of the motion, together with the earnestness and naivete of manner in which it was delivered, was too much for the gravity of the house to stand, and the meeting was forced to adjourn amidst a perfect tumult of cheering, without being able again to address itself to the consideration of the subjects for which it had been held; and Mr. Seymour's right to be considered " a good and sufficient Justice of the Peace," was not regarded as an open question from that time .*

VI .- BY ALFRED BRUNSON.

At that time [1841] there was a wagon stage running from the capital east and west three times a week in summer, and on runners in the winter. The one going west went by Mineral Point and Platteville to Galena, and of course did not reach Prairie du Chien, the place of my

* From Durrie's " History of Madison," pp. 181-188.

Af hans

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residence. Our only means of reaching Madison was by private or hired conveyance. In my first visit, myself and several others hired a sleigh and driver. Lodging places were few and far between, and we had to fix our stages of day's travel accordingly, requiring two nights out to make the one hundred miles. The only houses on the road were log cabins, not very large, and, if the company was large, lodgings were in heaps, and mostly on the floor.

The road we traveled, till within sixteen miles of Madison, was the military road leading from Fort Crawford [Prairie du Chien] to Fort. Winnebago [now the city of Portage], on the dividing ridge between the waters flowing into the Wisconsin River on the north, and those flow- ing south into the Grant, Platte, Pecatonica and Sugar Rivers. This road was one of the best natural roads I ever saw. After crossing the Wisconsin, we had no water to cross ten feet wide in the whole distance ; nor was there a bridge or a foot of dugway, except between the Wisconsin and the ridge. The road of course had to wind in a serpentine course to keep the ridge, and up and down the ravines to reach and descend from the ridge. Wild deer and other game were plenty along the road.

The old and first sapitol was then in use, and for the time was considerable of a building. It served not only for legislation, but for courts, plays, shows, and for Divine worship, there be- ing no other place in Madison where such assemblages could be accommodated. The dwellings, stores and shops were in " magnificent distances "-so much so that pigs and poultry were in little danger of getting so mixed as to lose their identity.

I think there were but two hotels-the old American and the Madison. The American stood on the site of the present "Park Savings Bank." It was of wood, two stories above the basement, with a spacious attic; and, such was the crowd when the Legislature was in session, that the attic (all in one room) was filled with beds on the floor to accommodate lodgers, and it got the cognomen of the "School Section." The Madison Hotel was not so large, but equally crowded, and besides these, every private house that possibly could accommodate boarders, was filled to overflowing. The Territory was generally well represented on such occasions, and every one had an ax to grind. I boarded at a private house near Lake Monona.

The streets and sidewalks were not in their present state of repair, and in soft weather loco- motion was not a desirable exercise. We had some thaws that winter that would do credit to a more southern and eastern climate, a thing seldom seen in Wisconsin, and the mud and slush were such as to call for boats and canoes almost, to get from one place to another. A jocose member of the Assembly offered an amendment to a bill to prevent obstructions in the street leading from the park to Lake Monona, that would prevent the fish from coming up the street to the park. -

At that time, being a Territory, Congress paid the expenses of the Government, and the spirit of the majority of the Legislature was to create as many offices as possible, so as to give a place to partisan favorites and friends, to pay them for electioneering, and to secure their votes at future elections ; also, to get as much money as possible out of " Uncle Sam," to circulate in the country. I objected to this course on the ground of needless expense, and that it was con- stituting a precedent for our future State that would be a burden when we had to foot the bills ourselves. But when the vote was taken, I found myself in a slim minority.

At the close of the session, it was found that considerable stationery that had been bought for the use of the Legislature at the public expense was remaining, affording an opportunity for another "steal," and a motion was made to distribute it among the members. This I also opposed, as being improper, unjust and dishonest, but I, with a few others, was voted down. It was alleged that preceding Legislatures had done so, and that the present one had the same right; and when my share was laid upon my desk, I objected to receiving it, but was told that it could not be returned to the Secretary's office and be retained for another year, and if it was 80 returned it would be stolen before the year rolled round, and that if I did not take it others would. This policy was the beginning of that system which was afterward known as the "Forty Thieves," who ruled the Territory and the State for years, on the principle "to the victor belong the spoils."

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Bad as this Legislature was in this and some other respects, the citizens of the place said it was a great improvement upon its predecessors. Whether this was a fact or a mere compli- mentary flattery, I had no means of knowing. The next session, composed chiefly of the same men, was like unto the other.

Political hobbies were mounted and rode at John Gilpin speed. Log-rolling was the order of the day. You help me and I will help you, was the ruling spirit of that body. Personal or party interests were the motive power with a majority, and but few seemed to inquire whether a proposed measure was in itself right or wrong, but whether it would be for the interest of the party, himself or his constituents ; and the history of legislation in both the Territory and State has not exhibited as much improvement in these respects as is desirable.

In those times, when the Legislature assembled, it seemed to call together the worst elements of society. Faro banks, a thing called "the Tiger," and other gambling institutions, were said to exist, and to be run with great boldness and in defiance of both moral and civil law, and many poor wights were said to be stripped of all the money they had. Bad whisky, in large quantities, was said to be consumed, much to the damage of the consumer. Lager beer had not then been inaugurated, but other vile drinks equally detrimental were said to be in com- mon use. There were, however, some redeeming spirits in the place, both among citizens and, visitors, and divine service was kept up in the capitol on Sundays, morning and evening, during the whole session, with large attendance, the moral effects of which were quite visible .*

VII .- BY ROBERT W. LANSING.

In the summer of 1843, having received the appointment of Receiver of Public Moneys at Mineral Point, Wisconsin Territory, I proceeded thither, and, in the first discharge of my ofi- cial duties, held a public land sale in the month of October. I took a steamer at Buffalo, N. Y., and after a safe and pleasant trip, landed at the nice little village of Milwaukee. . Thence, I took early stages via Watertown, to the embryo village of the lakes (Madison), where we spent the Sabbath in calling upon the most notable men, among whom was the late James D. Doty, one of nature's truest noblemen, Alexander L. Collins, George B. Smith, Thomas J. Sutherland, J. G. Knapp, Simeon Mills, A. A. Bird, and many others of the early settlers, some of them men of merit and hecoming modesty, with a smart sprinkling of would-be limbs of the law, who were then resident here, and all striving, with the small means they then possessed, to make Madison the grand point for settlement to men of enterprise and capital.

Madison, at this time, was the veriest representation of a wilderness, which required but the hand of industry to cause her to bud and blossom as the rose in the valley. Arriving at Mineral Point, I settled down to business, and in the society of a people, although much feared and but little loved at a distance, whom I soon learned to admire for their native frankness and good feeling, if not for their morality and good breeding. The character of the miners-being prin- cipally Cornish-was not that of a strictly mild and moral people, still they possessed and exer- cised some redeeming qualities, among which, to their praise be it spoken, was their uniform at- tendance, with their families, at the churches on Sabbath mornings ; although, in the afternoons, they employed themselves in various recreations, but mainly in card-playing and drinking. While I was living here, Dr. Pulford and others had occasion to send East for a Rector to take charge of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and for this purpose we sent an invitation to a young clergyman in Western New York, who lost no time in answering, desiring to know which was . best-to come by steamboat, or to drive his horse and buggy up the lakes. After every possi- ble assurance that the good character of the people would afford ample protection to all new- comers, the reverend gentleman came with a friend, and, when near the village proper, on being informed that they must pass through a rather low and dangerous place in the suburbs, called "Shake-rag," they became seriously alarmed, which alarm was greatly enhanced by the dark- ness of the night ; and so they put themselves in an attitude of defense, and having primed and

*Dur:ie's " History of Madison," pp. 134-127.

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cocked their pistols, the one drove the team, with a pistol pointed ahead in one hand, while the other reversed his position and kept a sharp lookout for any invasion in the rear, and in this condition they at last tremulously, but safely, arrived at the domicile of the writer, more scared than hurt, and as free from danger or harm as could be.

Having received intelligence of the death of one of my children, I left Mineral Point for the home of my family, in Ontario County, Western New York, and arrived at Detroit, via Galena and Chicago, by stages, just in time, in November, for the last steamer to Buffalo that fall, where we landed safely after a very boisterous and dangerous voyage on Lake Erie. Chicago, at this time, was a mere sea of mud and water, and, from the only respectable hotel there, passengers for the East had to wade ankle deep through the street to reach the steamer, then plying to St. Joe, in Michigan, from whence we staged it, over logways and through sloughs, slush and rain. to Marshall, where we reached the first railway, and went on our way rejoicing to Detroit. I entered my name on the hotel register at Chicago, adding my official position, not dreaming that from this simple circumstance I was to derive so great a notoriety as preceded my arrival home. But when I arrived at Canandaigua, where I had many excellent and good friends, I was not a little surprised when they congratulated me upon the fact of my not being an absconding public defaulter, as had been published by and in a newspaper of Chicago. Quite a number of the Eastern papers republished the libel, and for which they made haste to make ample amends by the payment of money and recantations. The United States Senate afterward unani- mously confirmed my nomination. I returned, in the spring of 1844, to Mineral Point with my family of nine children .*

WHAT VARIOUS WRITERS SAID.

In 18381 .- " Madison is the seat of government of Wisconsin. It was selected as such less than two years since, then an uninhabited wilderness, although the groves of forest and patches of smooth, rich prairie around it gave it the appearance of an old, settled country. Travelers invariably described it as surpassingly beautiful. It was once the happy home and the legisla- tive ground of the sons of ' the free-born forest.' The red orator's eloquence was hardly hushed and his council fires had scarcely done smoking there when the pale-faces marked it out for their own. The town of Madison is situated between the third and fourth of the 'Four Lakes,' abont midway between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, and about fifteen miles south from steamboat navigation upon the Wisconsin River. The construction of a canal over that fifteen miles has already been recommended by Gov. Dodge. Congress, last week, granted each alter- nate section of land to aid a company, already chartered, in constructing a canal from Milwan- kee to Rock River, which the company, upon the same terms, are desirous of extending to Mad- ison, and permission to that effect will undoubtedly be granted them. The recent division of the Territory will require the Legislature of Wisconsin to meet this fall, for the first time, upon the east side of the Mississippi River. For that purpose, by the contract for building the State House above the basement, which was let in April last, ' the outside of the said edifice and the rooms on the first floor [are] to be completed by the 15th day of October next.' The whole is to be completed in every particular by the 20th day of September, 1839.

" The capital is to be built of cut stone, one hundred and four feet long, fifty-four feet wide, and walls thirty feet high above the basement story, with a dome in the center roof twenty feet ` in diameter, covered with tin, except at the top, which is to be lighted with glass. There is to be a piazza on each front of said edifice, twelve feet projection and thirty feet long, the roof of which is to break in with the roof and cornice of the main building. The cornice is to be exe- cuted in the Grecian Doric order, and the roof to be supported on four columns to each piazza, of the same order as the cornice.

"In the selection of Madison, it was intended, from its central position, that it should be the capital of the State of Wisconsin, and the State House has been designed with especial refer- ence to that object; consequently, it must very soon become a place of importance, adding

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History of Dane County, Wisconsin, Part 106

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 1304

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1304