History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 70

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?]
Number of Pages: 1050

USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin > Part 70

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" The enemy here had a strong position. They had taken shelter in some very high grass where they could lie down and load and be entirely out of sight. After fighting them in this manner for at least thirty minutes, during which time Col. Jones had his horse shot from under him, and one of his men killed and several wounded, Cols. Dodge, Jones and Ewing all re- quested Gen. Henry to let them charge upon them at the point of the bayonet, which Gen. Henry very readily assented to and gave the order to charge ! which was obeyed by both men and officers in a most fearless manner. All were intent upon the charge. We had to charge up a rising piece of ground. When we got on the top, we then fired perfectly abreast. They could not stand this. They had to quit their hiding-place and make good their retreat. When they commenced retreating, we killed a great number.

" Their commander, who, it was said, was Napope, was on a white pony on the top of a mountain in the rear of his Indians ; he certainly had one of the best voices for command I ever heard. He kept up a constant yell until his men began to retreat, when he was heard no more. Col. Collins was kept, during this engagement in the rear, as a reserve, and to keep the enemy from flanking and coming in upon us in the rear, which was a very good arrangement of Gen. Henry.

" It was now near sundown and still raining, as it had been all the evening, but so slow that we made shift to keep our guns dry. The enemy retreated toward the river with consider- able speed. The ground they were retreating to appeared to be low and swampy, and on the bank of the river there appeared to be a heavy body of timber, which the enemy could reach before we could bring him to another stand. So Gen. Henry concluded not to pursue them any further that night, but remain on the battle-ground until next morning, and then he would not be in danger of losing so many of his men, knowing that, in the dark, he would have to lose a number, for the Indians would have the timber to fight from, while we would have to stand in the open prairie.

" Next morning, July 22, the troops were paraded and put in battle order on foot, except Col. Fry's regiment, and took up the line of march to the river, leaving Col. Collins' regiment to guard the horses and baggage and take care of the wounded. We marched down to the river, which was about one mile and a half off, but, before we reached the bank, we had a very bad swamp to go through, fifty or sixty yards on this side of the timber, which stood very high on the bank of the river. We now saw that Gen. Henry had acted very prudently. If he had attempted to follow them the night before, he would have lost a great many of his men.

" When we got to the bank, we found they had made their retreat across the river during the night, leaving a great many articles of their trumpery behind. We also saw a good deal of blood, where their wounded had bled. We now returned to camp, seeing there was no chance to follow them this day across the river.

" We, in this battle, were very fortunate, indeed. We had only one man killed and eight wounded, and we have learned, since the battle, that we killed sixty-eight of the enemy, and wounded a considerable number, twenty-five of whom they report died soon after the battle .*

* Black Hawk afterward stated his loss to have been only six men, which is doubtless trne .- ED.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

"We were now nearly out of provisions, and to take up our line of march against them in the condition our horses were in, told us plainly we would suffer for something to eat before we could get it. We buried the brave young man who was killed, with the honors of war. It was stated that he had just shot down an Indian when he received the mortal wound himself. His name was John Short, and he belonged to Capt. Bragg's Company, from Randolph County. He had a brother and a brother-in-law in the same company, who witnessed his consignment to mother earth. The wounded were all well examined, and none pronounced mortal. We continued this day on the battle-ground, and prepared litters for the wounded to be carried on. We spent this day in a more cheerful manner than we had done any other day since we had been on the campaign. We felt a little satisfaction for our toils, and thought that we had, no doubt, destroyed a number of the very same monsters that had so lately been imbruing their hands with the blood of our fair sex-the helpless mother and unoffending infant.

" We dried our clothes, which had then been wet for several days. The day was spent in social chat between men and officers. There were no complaints made, all had fought bravely ; each man praised his officers, and all praised our General. Late in the evening, some of our men, who had been out to see if there were any signs of the enemy still remaining near us, re- turned and stated that they saw smoke across the river.

"Gen. Henry had been of opinion throughout the day that if the Indians ever did intend fighting any more they would attack us that night, and this report went to confirm him in his belief more fully. That night he had a larger guard than usual. He made use of another ex- cellent precaution. Orders were given for every man to sleep upon his arms, so that he could be ready for action upon the shortest notice, should an alarm be given. He had fires made in advance of our lines, at least forty yards, and had them kept burning all night. We had scarcely got to sleep, before we were alarmed by the running of our horses ; we had to parade as usual to keep them from killing us. Men and officers now fully expected it was the enemy who had frightened them. Orders were now given for no man to sleep that night, but for every man to stand to his arms and be ready to receive the enemy. We now all expected to have hard fight- ing, and prepared for the worst. There was not a man who shrunk from his duty. All punc- tually obeyed the orders of their officers, and made every preparation to receive the enemy, should he come.

" At about one hour and a half before day, on the same mountain from which the Indian chief had been giving his orders on the evening of the battle, we heard an Indian voice, in loud, shrill tones, as though he was talking to his men and giving them orders. Gen. Henry had his men all paraded in order of battle in front of the tents, and the fires roused up.

"In this order we stood until daylight. Just before day, the Indian quit talking. When it was just light enough to discover a man a short distance, the brave and fearless Ewing took his battalion of spies and mounted on horseback. We were soon at the top of the mountain, to see who it was that had serenaded us so long at that hour of the night. We found only the sign of a few horse tracks, that appeared as though they had been made that night. We marched in quick time around the mountain, and found no one. We took a circuitous route back to camp, but found no one on the way. [This mysterious visitant proved afterward to have been a Sac talking in the Winnebago dialect, as it was known that there had been some of that tribe with the troops, and it was hoped that they would act as mediators for the Sacs, who wished to surrender-vide narrative of Lieut. Bracken .- ED.]

" We were now out of provisions, and were obliged to abandon further pursuit, and go to the Blue Mounds to procure a supply. Accordingly, on the 23d, we got in motion again, not in pursuit of the enemy, but for bread and meat to satisfy our appetites, as we were now out of everything to eat. Our wounded this day suffered very much, on account of having rough ground to pass over, and some very muddy creeks. When they got to the Blue Mounds, they were very hospitably treated.

"We here drew three days' rations, and, on the 25th, took up the line of march for Helena, on the Wisconsin River, where we intended to cross, again to take up the pursuit of the enemy."

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

Gen. Atkinson had, on hearing the news of Black Hawk's whereabouts, broken camp, and marched by way of Blue Mounds to Helena. Here a participator in the closing scenes informs us : " The volunteers, under Col. Dodge, were again assembled, and the whole army crossed the river and followed the trail of the retreating Sacs and Foxes, which was discovered under the bluff north of the river, until they arrived at the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Bad Ax. On the route, a number of dead bodies of Indians were found, many in a state of putrefaction ; these had doubtless died of wounds received at the battle of Wisconsin Heights, and from debil- ity produced by sickness and starvation, which, from all accounts, prevailed among the Indians who accompanied Black Hawk. The march was, therefore, rendered distressingly offensive, both to the senses of seeing and smelling.

"On the evening of the 1st of August, signs of the enemy were discovered, and some stragglers killed. At 2 o'clock on the morning of the 2d, the line of march was taken up, Col. Dodge's command forming the advance, supported by the regular troops, under Col. Zachary Taylor. About sunrise, Capt. Dickson (of Platteville), who commanded the spy company, reported, by one of his men, that he was up with the enemy, and asked for orders. Col. Dodge sent orders to attack them instantly, and at the same time moved up rapidly with his command. He was immediately supported by Col. Taylor, with the regulars, and the line was then formed, and advanced about a mile to the banks of the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Bad Ax River. In the meantime, Capt. Dickson, who was in front with his spies, seemed, from the firing, to be actively engaged with the enemy. Our troops rushed with ardor to the scene of action ; the battle was soon over, and the fate of Black Hawk and his band determined."

A correspondent of the Galena Gazette, in his account of the battle written at the time, says : " The battle lasted upward of three hours. About fifty of the enemy's women and children were taken prisoners, and many, by accident in the battle, were killed. When the Indians were driven to the bank of the Mississippi, some hundreds of men, women and children, plunged into the river, and hoped, by diving, etc., to escape the bullets of our guns; very few, however, escaped the bullets of our sharpshooters. The loss on the side of the enemy can never be exactly ascertained, but according to the best computation, they must have lost in killed, upward of one hundred and fifty ; our loss in killed and wounded was twenty-seven."

The same writer says : " On the 4th of August, a party of fifteen men, from Cassville, under command of Capt. Price, were reconnoitering the country between that place and the Wiscon- sin, and fell upon a fresh Sac trail, making toward the Mississippi ; they rushed forward with full speed of horses, and soon came upon them, killed and took prisoners to the number of twelve." This was the closing encounter of the war.

Black Hawk ever claimed that he was forced into the conflicts described in the foregoing pages, and, as will be seen by his account of the incidents preceding the Stillman defeat, this claim seems to be well grounded in fact, but, in order that the reader may himself judge of Black Hawk's sincerity, his own account, as given in his life, of the closing scenes of the war, is appended :

"During our encampment at the Four Lakes." says the chieftain in his narrative, "we were hard put to to obtain enough to eat to support nature. Situated in a swampy, marshy country (which had been selected in consequence of the great difficulty required to gain access thereto), there was but little game of any sort to be found, and fish were equally scarce. The great distance to any settlement, and the impossibility of bringing supplies therefrom, if any could have been obtained, deterred our young men from making further attempts. We were forced to dig roots and bark trees to obtain something to satisfy hunger and keep us alive. Several of our old people became so reduced as actually to die with hunger. Finding that the army had commenced moving, and fearing that they might come upon and surround our encamp- ment, I concluded to remove my women and children across the Mississippi that we might return to the Sac nation again. Accordingly, on the next day we commenced moving, with five Win- nebagoes acting as our guides, intending to descend the Ouisconsin [Wisconsin ]:

Seth Co Mc Donald

MUSCODA.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

"Napope, with a party of twenty, remained in our rear, to watch for the enemy, while we were proceeding to the Ouisconsin with our women and children. We arrived and had com- menced crossing them to an island, when we discovered a large body of the enemy coming toward us. [Gen. Henry's command .- Ed.] We were now compelled to fight or sacrifice our wives and children to the fury of the whites. I met them with fifty warriors (having left the balance to assist our women and children in crossing) about a mile from the river, when an attack immediately commenced. I was mounted on a fine horse, and was pleased to see my warriors so brave. I addressed them in a loud voice, telling them to stand their ground, and never yield it to the enemy. At this time, I was on the rise of a hill, where I wished to form my warriors, that we might have some advantage over the whites. But the enemy succeeded in gaining this point, which compelled us to fall back into a deep ravine, from which we continued firing at them, and they at us, until it began to grow dark. My horse had been wounded twice during this engagement, and fearing, from his loss of blood that he would soon give out-and finding that the enemy would not come near enough to receive our fire in the dusk of the evening-and knowing that our women and children had had sufficient time to reach the island in the Ouis- consin, I ordered my warriors to return, in different routes, and meet me at the Ouisconsin, and was astonished to find that the enemy were not disposed to pursue us.

" In this skirmish, with fifty braves I defended and accomplished my passage over the Ouisconsin, with a loss of only six men, though opposed by a host of mounted militia. I would not have fought there but to gain time for my women and children to cross to an island. A warrior will duly appreciate the embarrassments I labored under ; and, whatever may be the sentiments of the white people in relation to this battle, my nation, though fallen, will award to me the reputation of a great brave in conducting it.

"The loss of the enemy could not be ascertained by our party, but I am of the opinion that it was much greater in proportion than mine. [It was much less, as has been shown in pre- vious pages .- ED.] We returned to the Ouisconsin and crossed over to our people. Here some of my people left me and descended the Ouisconsin, hoping to escape to the west side of the Mississippi that they might return home. I had no objection to their leaving me, as my people were all in a desperate condition, being worn out with traveling and starving from hunger. Our only hope to save ourselves was to get across the Mississippi. But few of this party escaped. Unfortunately for them, a party of soldiers from Prairie du Chien were stationed on the Ouisconsin a short distance from its mouth, who fired upon our distressed peo- ple ; some were killed, others drowned, several taken prisoners, and the balance escaped to the woods and perished with hunger. Among the party were a great many women and children.

" Myself and band having no means to descend the Ouisconsin, I started over a rugged country to go to the Mississippi, intending to cross it and go to my nation. Many of our peo- ple were compelled to go on foot for want of horses, which, in consequence of their having had nothing to eat for a long time, caused our march to be very slow. At length we arrived at the Mississippi, having lost some of our old men and little children, who perished on the way with hunger.

" We had been here but a little while before we saw a steamboat (the Warrior) coming. I told my braves not to shoot, as I intended going on board so that we might save our women and children. I knew the captain (Throckmorton), and was determined to give myself up to him. I then sent for my white flag. While the messenger was gone, I took a small piece of white cotton and put it on a pole, and called to the captain of the boat and told him to send his little canoe on shore and let me come on board. The people on the boat. asked whether we were Sacs or Winnebagoes. I told a Winnebago to tell them we were Sacs, and wanted to give our- selves up. A Winnebago on the boat called to us "to run and hide, that the whites were going to shoot." About this time, one of my braves had jumped into the river, bearing a white flag to the boat, when another sprang in after him and brought him to shore. The firing then commenced from the boat, which was returned by my braves, and continued for

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

some time. Very few of my people were hurt, after the first fire, having succeeded in getting behind old logs and trees, which shielded them from the enemy's fire.

" The Winnebagoes on the steamboat must have either misunderstood what was told or did not tell it to the captain correctly, because I am confident he would not have fired upon us if he had known my wishes. I have always considered him a good man and too great a brave to. fire upon an enemy when suing for quarter.

" After the boat had left us, I told my people to cross if they could and wished; that I intended going into the Chippewa country. Some commenced crossing, and such as had deter- mined to follow them remained, only three lodges going with me. Next morning (August 2) at daybreak, a young man overtook me, and said that all my party had determined to cross the Mississippi ; that a number had already got over safe, and that he had heard the white army last night within a few miles of them. I now began to fear that the whites would come up. with my people and kill them before they could get across. I had determined to go and join the Chippewas, but reflecting that by this I could only save myself, I concluded to return and die with my people if the Great Spirit would not give us another victory. During our stay in the thicket, a party of whites came close by us, but passed on without discovering us.

" Early in the morning, a party of the whites, being in advance of the army. came upon our people who were attempting to cross the Mississippi. They tried to give themselves up. The whites paid no attention to their entreaties, but commenced slaughtering them. In a little- while the whole army arrived. Our braves, but few in number, finding that the enemy paid no. respect to age or sex, and seeing that they were murdering helpless women and little children, determined to fight until they were killed. As many women as could commenced swimming the Mississippi with children on their backs. A number of them were drowned and some shot before reaching the opposite shore.

" One of my braves, who gave me this information, piled some saddles up before him when the fight commenced to shield him from the enemy's fire, and killed three white men ; but, seeing that the whites were coming too close to him, he crawled to the bank of the river and hid himself until the enemy retired. He then came to me and told me what had been done. After hearing this sorrowful news, I started with my little party for the Winnebago. village at Prairie La Crosse."

The finale of this romantic melo-drama is given in an earlier part of this work.

Of the justness of the quarrel the reader can judge for himself ; but, whatever the decision, the so-called battle of Bad Ax can only be characterized, according to testimony on both sides, as an indiscriminate massacre. Whatever may have been the provocation, and Black Hawk and his band were by no means blameless, this indiscriminate slaughter of women and children, and refusal of quarter to the starving savages, is one scene in the chapter of early history to which none will look back with any great degree of pride.

HEIGHTS IN GRANT COUNTY.

The following list will show the elevation of different points in the county. All heights are computed from the level of Lake Michigan, and are just that number of feet above the lake's. surface : Wyalusing, 33 feet ; Glen Haven, 28 feet ; Cassville, 30 feet ; North Andover, 260 feet ; Bloomington, 327 feet ; Patch Grove, 498 feet ; Mount Hope, 498 feet; Little Grant, 250 feet ; Beetown, 184 feet; Potosi, 204 feet ; British Hollow, 287 feet ; Rockville, 348 feet ; Hurricane Grove, 363 feet ; Lancaster Court House, 502 feet ; Mount Ida, 590 feet ; Homer P. O., 400 feet ; Fennimore, 590 feet; Liberty Ridge, 566 feet ; Annaton, 271 feet ; Ellenboro, 111 feet ; Dickeyville, 356 feet ; Jamestown P. O., 334 feet; Fair Play P. O., 220 feet ; Sinsin- awa Academy, 348 feet; Hazel Green, 360 feet; St. Rose, 416 feet ; Big Patch, 239 feet ; Platteville, 257 feet; Washburn, 263 feet; New California, 411 feet ; Montfort, 515 feet ; Castle Rock, 269 feet; West Platte Mound, 694 feet ; Muscoda, 109 feet ; Boscobel, 89 feet. The Mississippi Bottom, at the southern extremity of Grant County, is 600 feet above the sea. The highest point within Grant County being the top of Sinsinawa Mound.

473

HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

WEATHER REPORT.

Among other incidents connected with the history of the county, which live with vivid dis- tinctness in the memory of old settlers, are several winters noted for their unexceptional severity. Among the first spoken of was that of 1836, when the frost king's reign lasted long into April, teams heavily loaded crossing the Mississippi River as late as the 20th of that month. This was followed by another in 1843, which, if not quite as severe as its predecessor, was about as long continued. But all these paled before the terrible rigor that marked the ending of 1855, and the commencement of 1856. This season was unexceptional in its severity. A heavy fall of snow marked the commencement of king winter's reign, over which formed, in time, a hard crust. This was followed by another storm that in turn melted enough under the limpid rays of the sun to form a second crust. Everything outside was buried and frozen up. In many in- stances, corn and fodder that had been left out in the fields, owing to the sudden downward swoop of the icy temperature, was obliged to be left standing in the "stook " until the warm rays of a late spring sun released it from its icy fetters. Especially hard did this winter bear upon the game in the forests, deer were reduced to such extremities that they would enter the outskirts of the villages in droves in order to obtain a morsel of hay from out the farmers' sleighs and were killed by the score, many being massacred with clubs, so intent were they upon obtaining food. Corn that had been left in the fields was found in the spring half-eaten where these famine- stricken creatures had sought to secure enough to keep them alive. This point marks the deca- dence of this species of game in the county. They never recovered from the great losses suf- fered by starvation and slaughter made by their four-footed enemies. Of feathered game, quails were nearly entirely killed out, and it was many years before they were found again in much abundance. The past winter of 1880 and 1881 will long be remembered as one ranking among the most severe and long-continued of its noted predecessors. Travel was almost entirely im- peded, mails blocked, and not until late in the spring was the country released from the embargo of ice and snow.

room

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

CHAPTER III.

THIE FIRST OCCUPANT-THE SECOND TRADER-SHAW'S TRIP TO THE MINES-INDIAN MINING- THE ADVANCE OF WHITE MEN-THE FIRST WHITE WOMAN-EARLY MINING EXPERIENCES- FIRST MILLS-GRAHAM'S WOLF FIGHT-PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE-THE FIRST THRESIIING MACHINE-THE CALIFORNIA GOLD FEVER-MINING TROUBLES.

THE FIRST OCCUPANT.

There remains but little doubt that the pressure of a white man's foot upon Grant County soil was coeval with the presence of the earliest explorers, who, taking their lives in their hands, boldly plunged forward into the unknown wilderness and rescued from the realms of obscurity that mighty river which was afterward to become the diamond among diamonds in the crown of the conqueror and possessor.

But of the presence of these early explorers, we have only a traditionary and untangible knowledge, and up to the beginning of the eighteenth century, and, in fact, a few years later. there is no evidence which would show that this section' had been used as a tarrying place by the white man. But later on, evidence tangible and authentic proves beyond question that one Capt. Morand, a French trader, not only visited the present county of Grant, but had estab- lished a place for the deposit of his stock upon the east bank of the Mississippi, at a point some eight or nine miles below the mouth of the Wisconsin, in what is now Bloomington Township. Of the early history of this trader but little can be gleaned, or how long he had occupied this site, which was known as Fort Morand. Besides this depot, he had still another some seven miles west of Mackinaw, known by the same name. And it is only by events which happened later in the century that we can, with any degree of reliability, fix the probable date of this occu- patio1.

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History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 70

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?] Number of Pages: 1050

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?]
Number of Pages: 1050