History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 73

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

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PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE.

Notwithstanding the fact that the thoughts of many were being turned at this date to agri- culture, the mining furor showed but little if any signs of abating. According to Mr. Ralph Carver, who died some years ago at Muscoda, the year 1833 witnessed a slight improvement in the mining imp'ements in the shape of cast-steel drills, which introduction is thus noticed by him in a letter read before the Old Settlers' Club : "Previous to the Black Hawk war, we miners used iron drills and gads with steel points, but in that year some Cornish miners came to Gratiot's Grove and introduced the inestimable poll-pick and cast-steel gad, but used iron drills with steel points. In the succeeding winter, James Gilmore, myself and others, were mining at Snake Hollow (Potosi). Our blacksmith, whose anvil was on a stump of a tree with no covering but the sky and clouds, was absent on a spree. Mr. Gilmore and myself wanted new steel on our drills. He said he could sharpen and temper tools, but could not weld cast-steel. He pro- posed we should get a bar of cast-steel and cut it in two, for each of us a drill, and he could sharpen and temper the ends. We got a square bar, as octagon bars were then unknown, beat down the corners, and had each of us an excellent drill, which I have every reason to believe were the first cast-steel drills ever used. They soon came into general use in the lead mines, and, a few years afterward, were in use wherever drills were needed. Whether this universal use of them was the result of Mr. Gilmore's invention I cannot say, but I know that up to that time the Cornish miners were unacquainted with cast-steel drills."

Numerous villages had now dotted the face of Grant County. Platteville, Hazel Green, Paris-soon to wither and die under the blight of a brooding presence-Fair Play, Potosi, Bee- town, Lancaster-just honored by being selected as the county seat-Cassville, Wingville and Muscoda, each had obtained a foothold on Mother Earth, and were boldly struggling for exist- ence. The towns Hazel Green, Potosi, Beetown and Fair Play, had included in their limits some of the most productive mines in the lead region. The lead mines were also so prolific in the production of zinc that Prof. Owen, in his report to the War Department, made in 1842, stated it as his opinion that the supply in the mines was sufficient to furnish all that was needed of this mineral in the United States, and to furnish a surplus for export. The flood- tide of the mining interests was the decade from 1839 to 1849; the estimated annual production during that time being 40,000,000 pounds, employing 3,000 men.

In the years 1844-45, a second wave of immigration swept in upon the county. Both residents and outsiders had begun to awake to the fact that Grant County afforded unequaled facilities for the agriculturist as well as the miner. The Herald, speaking in 1843 on this sub- ject, said: "Few are aware of the extent of arable land within the mining district, particularly that portion lying within the confines of Wisconsin. Abroad, this region is looked upon as adapted to mining only ; and the fact that it is positively unsurpassed in agricultural suscepti- bility by any State or any portion of any State in the Union, would be news to at least three- fourths of our own Territory." In 1845, the country between Lancaster and Fennimore received an addition of fifty families, who settled there during the spring of that year, and thirty- three emigrants arrived at Lancaster direct from Scotland. These were mostly mill operatives, and located at what was afterward known as the " Welsh Settlement." The settlement took its name from the leading spirit of the enterprise. Nor were other portions of the county allowed

MIISCODA.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

to suffer ; immigrants came streaming in from every quarter, though even this large emigra- tion was soon swallowed up by the vastness of the county, and, like Oliver Twist of romantic memory, the cry of those most alive to the interests of the county was still for " more." It was in 1842 that the town of Sinipee, which had been started on the Mississippi, a few miles above Dunlieth, was abandoned, owing to the unhealthfulness of its location, and the houses moved during the winter, upon sleds, here, there and everywhere, while the spot that once knew it now was to remain forever desolate. But the demolition of this weaker brother only added the more to the strength of its near neighbors, again illustrating the ancient doctrine that "To him that hath shall be given." The estimation of the different pursuits of the inhabitants of Grant County in the year 1844, showed : Farmers, 600; miners, 600; mechanics, 150; smelters, 100; mer- chants, 60; millers, 32; tavern-keepers, 16; grocers, 15; lawyers, 17; physicians, 16. There were at that time in the county, 21 common schools, 9 churches, 30 stores, 16 public houses, 20 furnaces, 12 saw-mills, 4 grist-mills, 12 groceries; and 1 academy.

THE FIRST THRESHING MACHINE.

In this year, Mr. Vedder built for Mr. Thomas Shanley, upon his place near Lancaster, a stationary threshing machine-so far as can be learned, the first machine of this kind in use in the county. The old-fashioned mode of laying the grain in a large circle on the barn floor, and then tramping it out with horses or cattle, had, previous to this time, been the only method, together with that ancient instrument, the flail, for releasing the kernel from its protecting husk. The first reaper in the county was used on the farm of Mr. William Wright, in 1845. It was a strange and unknown instrument, even to those who were operating it; the man charged with the duty of "raking off," working like a Trojan to keep the machine entirely clear from grain, for fear "the d-d thing would get clogged." This fear, it may be inferred, was entirely done away with by a closer acquaintance.

In February, 1846, the last " Indian war " known to Grant County broke out at Muscoda, It was but a flickering flame and was extinguished almost as soon as ignited. Many of the Winnebagoes had continued to roam about the country instead of going upon their reservation. Some of the band at the above date were lingering in the neighbourhood of Muscoda. A quarrel was commenced between the whites in that vicinity and the savages, when one of the Indians fired, wounding one of the whites. This was a signal for donning the war-paint on both sides, ending in a tally of three dead Indians for the whites. The knowledge of the affray spread like wild-fire, and volunteers assembled from over the northern portion of the county to drive the savages beyond its precincts. The latter were amply satisfied to be allowed to with- draw in peace, and the war-cloud disappeared in thin vapor.

For a few years everything appeared favorable to a rapid and extended increase in the wealth and population of the county. Judge Colter, years later, referred to this early period as a time when " there was more ' honesty than now. People were not required to lock their doors ; when they met at each other's cabins for social recreation, or to attend to business, they never met to quarrel ; but the whisky was better than now."

THE CALIFORNIA GOLD FEVER.

In 1849, the discovery of gold in California made the first break in the chain of fortuitous circumstances which was fast advancing the county to the front rank ; and for the succeeding three years this section had to wrestle with the alluring attractions of the distant gold-fields, as well as the demon cholera which made its appearance in 1850. This dread scourge broke out sud- denly in Beetown, in September, 1850, and in forty-eight hours ten or twelve deaths had occurred. In less than a week's time twenty corpses attested the measure of the affliction. The in- habitants fled in every direction. Forty-one deaths occurred in two weeks. The towns of Fenni- more and Wingville also suffered heavily, the latter town being evacuated by the inhabitants. A few cases had been noticed in the southern portion of the county, but it seemed not to rage with such virulence as in the other portions.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

Speaking of the settlements in the county, the Herald, of cotemporaneous date, notices that " in the region west of Patch Grove, known as 'the timber,' no improvements worth the name were made previous to 1850; and in that year only thirty bushels of wheat were raised." This section, however took on a new life in after years. The problem that now arose before the minds of the people was the depopulation of the country by the California gold fever. The god, mammon, seemed to have laid his beguiling fingers on the bravest and best, and the good results which were just making their appearance as the consequence of the fostering care of years were blighted almost at a breath by this terrible excitement.

It was estimated that at least two-thirds of the miners had left for the gold-fields, while of other classes the proportion was frightful to contemplate. The Herald of April 17, 1851, ex- pressed the opinion that the craze had run its course, but in the issue of the same paper of February 5, 1852, it says editorially : " By May next, Grant County will have disgorged more than a fourth of her adult population, and California, like the whale that swallowed Jonah, will have swallowed this entire animal export; we have lost none to migration to other parts ; all have gone to golden California. They were the bone and sinew of the country, and we parted with them as reluctantly as did King Pharaoh with the Children of Israel. In 1848 and 1849, the California fever commenced, and the end is in the misty future; we dare not venture an opinion as to when the disease will abate. Grant County has invested $1,000,000 in the gold mines." Again : "It is difficult to fix the amount of depreciation in the value of real property as the result of this migration. To say that land has fallen one hundred per cent may be true or false ; that depends upon circumstances. We set down the average depreciation at one hun- dred per cent. In many cases two hundred per cent would be a closer estimate. Village property has slid lower than farm property." And a careful scrutiny of the events then tran- spiring and their effects show this to be no fancy sketch, but almost literally true. The rush in the spring of 1852 was so great that Chapman's ferry at Potosi was unable to accommodate the crowds that came, and the impatient emigrants had to wait four and five days before they could cross ; yet other ferries were equally blocked. In the exodus of this year were fifty persons with trains from Lancaster, a moderate number from Fennimore and Patch Grove, a few from Harri- son, and a large throng from Jamestown; while Beetown, sorely afflicted with every plague, suffered more than any other place. This enormous rush is certainly in a great measure ac- counted for by the fact that the population of the county was at the time largely composed of miners, who were at first attracted by a prospect of "striking it rich ; " but even this does not account for this extraordinary depletion in population which the county experienced in these ever-to-be-remembered years. The greed for gold seemed to have seized every one old enough to endure the privations and weariness of the six months' journey, and not until the disappointed victims began to return with their tale of wretched hopes and terrible sufferings did the fever abate its devastating work. The following are the rules and regulations adopted for the guidance of one of the many trains and will serve as an illustration of the times :

BY-LAWS AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE CASSVILLE AND BEETOWN EMIGRATING COMPANY TO CALIFORNIA. Adopted at Council Bluffs May 10, 1852.

SECTION 1. This Company shall be called the Cassville and Beetown Emigrating Company.

SEC. 2. The general organization shall be composed of divisions of not less than ten nor more than fifteen teams ; each division choosing its own officers, which shall consist of a Captain, a Committee of Two, and a Secretary, which said Committee shall only act in concert with the Captain when so required by a majority of the Company ; and the said officers to be elected every Saturday night, at the call of the then existing Secretary, a majority of votes electing. It shall be the duty of each Captain to take a general supervision of his own company, and to act in concert with each other in inspecting the outfits before starting, and in selecting the most practicable routes, cross- ings of streams and camp grounds, and to give the orders for starting and stopping.

SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of each Secretary to keep a record of all the names of the individuals in his com- pany, also a list of every able-bodied male member liable to stand on guard, and to call the guard to duty each night according to their turn on the roll.

SEC. 4. Every male member of the company, over sixteen years of age, shall be liable to perform duty on guard, at night, when not disqualified by sickness.

Resolved, 1st. That we will not receive into our organization any company or person without a suitable outfit. for the journey.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

Resolved, 2d. That we will observe the Christian Sabbath, and attend religious service whenever practicable. Resolved, 3d. That we will avoid open immorality of all kind, such as profane swearing, gambling and the use . of intoxicating drinks as a beverage.

Resolved, 4th. That we will render mutual assistance to each member of the organization, in case of sickness or other misfortune ; and that we will respect the feelings and property of all, and on all occasions avoid giving offense by word or deed, and in any way acting contrary to the spirit and meaning of the foregoing by-laws and resolutions, for the faithful performance of all which we pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

Signed by Thirty-six Names.

Three years later, in 1855, the population of the county, according to the State census, was 23,170, against 16,169 for 1850, showing not only that the tide of outflowing gold-seekers had been stopped and even returned upon itself, but had been counteracted by a much larger wave of immigration flowing into the county which now advanced with steady strides for the next five years. Then came the war of the great rebellion which again depleted old Grant of its brawny sons, who responded so nobly to the call for living breastworks to oppose the slimy wave of secession. Of this great and patriotic. outpouring, extended mention is made in its proper place. With the return of peace, Grant County once more resumed its onward march. Manufactories began to spring up in different parts of the county, while agriculture, which at first, as we have seen, was hardly noticed or thought of, had now become the principal occupa- tion of the inhabitants. The census reports of 1870 showed that about one-half of the land of the county was under cultivation. Of the remaining half, the greater portion was woodland ; leaving but about one-fifth of the land of the county unimproved; which, when the bad and broken lands among the bluffs are taken into consideration, is an extremely creditable showing. The number of farms in the county at that time was 4,301, of which the great majority, three- fourths in fact, were from twenty to one hundred acres in extent. The value of these farms was $11,662,855, their products amounting to $2,629,805. The capital invested in manufact- uring at the same date was $627,130, with an annual production of $1,122,000. The principal industries, stating them as they came on the relative scale of value were: Flouring-mills, with an annual production of $261,345; lumber, $117,150; woolen goods, $65,568, and carriages and wagons, $64,670. The productions of the lead mines within the county was at the same time $196,957.

Thus Grant County took rank not only as an agricultural and mining county, but as one whose manufacturing interests would make a respectable and goodly showing alongside those of any other county of the State. This rank it has since maintained. It will be found that the census returns when published for 1880, will show about the same amount of production in the manufacturing industries, although in some branches there may be a slight falling off, especially in the matter of carriages and wagons, which industry has in a great measure been driven from the county by the competition from the eastern part of Wisconsin and other States. The flouring interests havealso suffered somewhat, but that which is lost in one branch will be offset in a measure in the increased production in another. Possessed of a fine country, water-power in abundance, with its mines still unexhausted, Grant County may well view with a hopeful countenance the great future which stretches away before it .· All it needs to develop the latent wealth, is better transpor- tation facilities, and these are already promised with a goodly prospect of the promises being fulfilled with proper transportation by means of which goods manufactured in the county can be brought into direct competition with the productions of other sections, the advancement in manufactured pro- ductions will be steady and unbroken. The vista is constantly brightening. Although lovingly referred to by its children as " old Grant," the county is yet young in possibilities, and the development of its latent riches with its three sources of wealth, agriculture, manufacturing and its mines from which to draw, the county has yet to enter upon its most felicitous period of existence.

MINING TROUBLES.

Immediately upon the earliest discovery of mineral in that section afterward known as the "lead region," the Government withheld these lands from sale, and established a system of rental, stationing a Government agent in the different mining districts to collect the same, onc-

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

tenth of the product of the mines being the general rule of tribute. This tax was not very well received by the miners, even at the establishment of the new regulations, and as the region became more thickly occupied by delvers after the hidden treasure, many miners refused to pay " tribute to Cæsar." This course became gradually more and more popular, owing, first, to self-interest, and second, to a growing suspicion that the Government agents were given to lin- ing their own pockets, rather than transferring to Uncle Sam the rents received. Among the later agents was one of the Floyds, a name afterward rendered odious by secession proclivities, and one Flanagen. The general rule was for these gentlemen to remain as long as it was deemed healthy to do so and then decamp, leaving the Government to appoint a new agent who was sure to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. At the period mentioned, agents wielded an additional authority in having the power to grant new trials where contests in regard to claims had been tried before the usual board of arbitrators. These arbitrators were six in num- ber, and their verdict was decisive unless the Government agent saw fit to grant a new trial in the premises.

Having discovered at last that it was playing a losing game, the Government determined, in 1846. to throw the lands upon the market for sale to the highest bidder. This decision created a whirlwind of opposition from every miner's camp in "the diggings." The danger of having their claims bought up by some speculator, who could at his will, run the price up to a figure where the unfortunate occupant could not touch it, was more appalling than the former Govern- mental policy. Indignation meetings were held in all the camps, and resolutions adopted pro- testing against this action on the part of the Government, and calling for the appointment of committees who should proceed to adjust all disputed claims, and then provide for the appoint- ment of a bidder whose duty it should be to attend the land sales and bid off the different lands, after which he was to re-convey them to the original owners. A claim was about two hundred yards square, but as the mineral was sometimes found running east and west, sometimes angling from that line, the different claims assumed an oddly jumbled appearance when viewed upon the surface and upon maps. As an example of the text and tone of the resolutions passed at these miners' meetings, below is given the preamble and resolutions adopted at a meeting held at British Hollow, December 19, 1846;

WHEREAS, The President of the United States has ordered the sale of the reserved mineral lands in this land district, which sale takes place on the 24th of May next, to the highest bidder without respect to claims or to settlers, leaving it for speculators to bid off our claims and property which have cost us the labor of years. Therefore,

Rosolved, 1st. That we are willing to pay the price fixed by the Government, $2.50 per acre, for our homes and claims, and will repel by force any attempt to make us pay more.

Resolved, 2d. That we will all be at Mineral Point on the first day of the land sales, and there remain until all the reserved lands on the west side of the Big Platte have been offered for sale.

Resolved, 3d. That there will be a committee of five appointed by this meeting, three of whom shall form a quorum, whose duty it shall be in all cases where there are conflicting claims, to hear the evidence in the case and decide according to justice and equity, and their decision shall be final.

Resolved, 4th. That the jurisdiction of this committee shall extend over Town 3 north, of Range 3 west, and the whole of Section 12 in Town 2 north, and Range 3 west. Said committee shall give a certificate of decision to the rightful owner, with the appropriate value affixed thereto.

Resolved, 5th. That the owners of claims on each section shall appoint one or more of their number, who shall receive the certificate of each forty-acre lot as it is bid off at the land sale, and who shall give bond in double the appraised value of said claims to redeed it to the rightful owners.

Resolved, 6th. That the claimants shall employ the County Surveyor to survey their claims and give a certificate to the owners thereof, specifying the number of acres in the claim surveyed, and also a plat of the whole survey, for the settlers on the reserved lands.

Resolved, 7th. That no committeeman shall sit to investigate the right of any claim in which he is interested.

Resolved, 8th. That a committee of five be appointed by this meeting, wbo are claimants of recerved lands, whose duty it shall be to correspond with all meetings held in this and Iowa Counties, for the purpose of carrying into effect the objects of this meeting, offering them our and soliciting their co-operation.

This feeling of injustice was shared by all classes. The Wisconsin (now Grant County) Herald, commenting on the action of the Government, and the meetings of the miners for pro- tection, says:

"The only fault we have to find with the bill providing for the sale of these lands is, that the claimants are not allowed to enter them at $1.25 per acre. The law makes the minimum

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

price $2.50. By reference to our first page it will be seen that the claimants in the west part of the county, have formed an association for mutual protection against the rapacity of specu- lators. This is the only plan by which their best rights can be secured. In union there is strength. Fill up the ranks, present yourselves in solid, serried phalanx at the land office on the day of sale. Submit all disputes unconditionally to the arbitrament of your committee, heal all dissensions, sacrifice even what you deem your individual rights if need be, and substantial jus-

tice will be done to all. * Congress walks into us to the extent of ten bits per acre; that is we have to pay just twice as much for land as others who buy of the public domain. There let the robbery of Government forever cease.

Early in the succeeding year, the following memorial was presented to Congress by the Territorial Legislature.

TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED :

The memorial of the Council and House of Representatives of the Legislative Assembly of Wisconsin respect- fully represents,

That by the late proclamation issued by the President of the United States for the sale of lands in the Mineral Point Land District, in the Territory of Wisconsin, to be held at Mineral Point, on the 24th day of May next, a large number of tracts of land are proclaimed for sale, which were entered at the Mineral Point Land Office several years ago, some of them as early as 1832, in accordance with the laws of the United States regulating the sale of the public lands. Some of the said lands were entered by pre-emption, and some were purchased at public sale, at prices ranging from $1.25 to $1.60 per acre. The principal value of these lands at present has been given to them, in many cases, by the labor and improvements of the pioneer settlers of the country, who came to the country at an early day and were exposed to all the hardships and privations peculiar to the settlement of a new and wild country. Those privations and hardships can be appreciated by those, and those only, who are acquainted with the nature and character of savage and uncivilized Indian tribes, with which Wisconsin, in the days of the early settlement of this portion of the country, was filled. These settlers have by their own hands subdued the forest, cultivated the prairies, opened the mines, constructed the roads, etc., and have thus done much and everything toward develop- ing the rich resources of the country, and paving the way for the unparalleled growth and settlement of the richest portion of the hitherto public domain of the United States.

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History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 73

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