History of Green County, Wisconsin. Together with sketches of its towns and villages, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 31

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1168

USA > Wisconsin > Green County > History of Green County, Wisconsin. Together with sketches of its towns and villages, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 31

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these are said to be more dangerous than their larger yellow brethren, as they are not so mag- nanimous as to give the preparatory warning before they strike; the same remarks, as to dis- appearance, before the improvements of the set- tler, applies to the black rattle-snake.

Can the belief be sustained by argument founded on the general appearance of the coun- try, the burial mounds, so numerous and so ex- tensive in size, found in all parts of the Terri- tory, and the vestiges of art, rude as they are, found in them and in many other places, that this highly favored region was once inhabited by a powerful Nation, and even partially cul- tivated? It is not my inclination, neither is it in my power, in the brief space of these re- marks, to enter into any discussion on the sub- ject; the question is merely made, and it is well worthy the most enlightened mind to make deep researches in respect to this interesting subject. One matter I state as worthy of ob- servation: In a ride which I made exploring the country on one of the head waters of the Sugar river, in company with my son, Dr. Wil- liam A. Smith, and our friend, John Messer- smith, we found two long parallel mounds, which measured about 250 paces in length. Mr. Messersmith, who resides about thirty miles from the place in question, and who had often been over the ground, informed me that a short distance from these mounds there was a piece of ground which had every appearance of hav- ing once been cultivated. We drove in his car- riage to this place, and as we passed over the soil through high grass which reached above the carriage wheels, the motion of the vehicle was similar to that of passing over the ridges of a corn field which had been for years out of cultivation, and on which sod had grown. We got out of the carriage and examined the ground; the ridges were parallel, as if they had been ploughed, or in some manner cultivated; they were very numerous, and constituted evi- dently an extensive range, in length and breadth; we rode several hundred yards over them, and

the impression was irresistible that we were driving through an abandoned corn field; and this field, if such it was, a very large one. The land was bottom prairie, and a ledge of high land nearly encompassed it. Can these ridges have been caused by the action of water? Or where will the conjecture rest when such evi- dence of cultivation is apparent? I have re- lated the fact, and I leave the matter for future investigation, which I hope one day shortly to make.

That the denuded state of the country has been caused by fire, originally, and the growth of timber kept down by the annual conflagration of the prairies, may be the truth; and yet it is also true, that in no part of the country, on the prairies, as far as I can learn, has any, even the slightest, appearance of charred wood been found. Surely, if this country had at any former period been well wooded, and the action of the fire had destroyed whole forests, where at this time are to be found immense districts of fertile prairie and meadow, why is it that no vestige or remains of a material so indestructi- ble as charred wood have been discovered? Not in the the very numerous diggings throughout the mineral region: not in the various cultiva- tions of the farmer, can any evidence be found of the roots of trees; not even the fibre of a root throughout the vast prairies! How is this? The fact deserves not only to be borne in mind by all writers, in investigating the early history of Wisconsin, but it appears to me a conelusive proof that the prairies were never covered with forest. It is true that the annual conflagrations of the high and dry grass, sweeping over whole districts of prairie and natural meadow, will, of course, prevent the spontaneous growth of young timber; it is also equally true from present ex- perience, that wherever the fire is kept out of the prairies, a young growth of hazel and ash commences immediately, and oak and cherry soon make their appearance. But this circum- stance only establishes the fact that the burning of the prairies keeps down the growth of timber;

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it does not prove that the prairies were once covered with wood. I repeat, that the total ab- sence in the prairies of roots of trees, and of any pieces of charred wood, must lead to the conclusion which I have thus drawn.

A remarkable feature in this district is that no swamp, or accumulation of stagnant water in low places, is to be found, of any extent; indeed, I know of none which can be called swamp. The prairie is always undulating, not level; the springs rise on the high grounds, as well as at the points of hills, and in the meadows; the character of the country for throwing the water off is not only of the first importance with re- gard to health, but also of the highest recom- mendation to the agriculturist. In such a coun- try miasma must be almost unknown, and in consequence, a host of disorders to which the inhabitants of the less favored eastern and southern States are subject, are here only known by name. Dr. Smith in his inquiries does not find that the professional services of a physi- cian are often required in this part of the Ter- ritory. This fact, of itself, even if it were not coupled with the generally acknowledged truth that the inhabitants of cold and dry northern regions are of longer life than other people, would speak volumes of recommendations for the settlement of Wisconsin; health is of the greatest value to the settler in a new country, and here, indeed, health is to be found.

This country is well deserving of an immedi- ate influx of emigrants, and it is fast filling up. Nine years since, the foot of the white man had scarcely penetrated beyond the State line of Il- linois; five years since, the Indian depredations aroused the brave and hardy pioneers of the Lead Region of Wisconsin, and a band of vol- unteers, under the command of Col. Henry Dodge, took the field in defense of their new homes, their families and their hearths!

The Black Hawk War was prosecuted, and finished after the victory of Bad Ax. No body of men in any country ever behaved with more bravery than did the mounted volunteers of

Wisconsin, the miners, as they may with truth be called. They were commanded by a brave spirit, by o e whose experience in Indian war- fare and in Indian character deservedly gave him claim to the distinguished station of their leader. His conduct gained him the applause of his country, and his services in the regular army for some years afterwards, during which time he executed some arduous and important expeditions amongst the Indian bands at the foot of the Rocky mountains, were highly beni- ficial to the interests of the general govern- ment. It would have been contrary to the feel- ings of brave and generous citizens if they did not give their full approbation to the act of President Jackson which made Henry Dodge governor of Wisconsin Territory; his civil life has justified the appointment.

I have said all this happened within nine years, and now towns are springing up every- where; cultivation is advancing with a sure progressive step: the mineral wealth of the country is being brought effectually into opera- tion; railroads and canals are in projection, and companies to form them have been incorpo- rated; banks have been established, but these may do more harm than good, in encouraging a speculation; colleges and schools are in their infancy as yet, but the citizens of such a coun- try as this cannot be long without the best in- struction for their children. A university has been by law established at Belmont, and the publie spirit of the citizens of the Territory in all their acts is highly praise-worthy. To close my remarks on the rapid progress of settlement of this, so late, Indian country, I saw in the month of September, 1837, at Mineral Point, to my utter surprise, one morning, huge bills posted on the tavern houses, announcing the ar- rival of a troop of circus riders and a traveling menagerie! The caravans arrived, and during a three days' carnival the eyes of the good citi- zens of the neighboring country were feasted with the goodly exhibitions of the enterprising eastern travelers, and I asked myself in aston- ishment, "Am I in Wisconsin ?"

Thus much in general with regard to the Wisconsin lan I district.

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HISTORY OF GREEN COUNTY.

CHAPTER VII.

PIONEER LIFE.

Records of pioneer times are interesting, and they are not without their lessons of instruc- tion. By the light of the past, we follow in the foot-prints of the adventurous and enterprising pioneer. We see him, as it were, amid the labors and struggles necessary to convert the wilderness into a fruitful field. We sit by his cabin fire, partaking of his homely and cheerfully- granted fare, and listen to the accounts which he is pleased to give us of frontier life, and of the dangers, trials, hardships and sufferings of him- self and others, in their efforts to make for themselves homes in regions remote from civili- zation. Through these pioneer records, we make our way along to the present. From small beginnings we come to the mighty achievements of industry, the complex results of daring enterprise, subduing and creative energy and untiring perseverance.

Following on in the path of progress and im- provement, we see once waste places rejoicing under the kindly care of the husbandman; beautiful farms, with all the fixtures and ap- purtenanees necessary to make the tillers of the soil and their families contented and happy, are spread out before us; villages are built up as if by magic, and by hundreds human souls are congregated within their precinets; the marts of trade and traffic and the workshops of the artisans, are thronged; common schools, union schools and high schools have sprung up; young and ardent minds-children of the rich and the poor-may press forward together in the acqui- sition of science, literature and art; churches are built and a Christian ministry is sustained

for the inculcation of religious sentiments and the promotion of piety, virtue and moral good- ness; the press is established, whence floods of light may emanate for the instruction and bene- fit of all; railroads are built to bring the pro- ducts of every clime, and the people from afar, to our doors, and the telegraph "upon the lightning's wing" carries messages far and near. Let the records of the pioneers be pre- served; in after years our children and our children's children will look over them with pleasure and profit.

THE LOG CABIN.

The first important business of the pioneer settler, upon his arrival in Green county, was to build a house. Until this was done, some had to camp on the ground or live in their wagons - perhaps the only shelter they had known for weeks. So the prospects for a house, which was also to be a home, was one that gave courage to the rough toil, and added a zest to the heavy labors. The style of the home entered very little into their thoughts-it was shelter they wanted, and protection from stress of weather and wearing exposures. The poor settler had neither the money nor the mechan- ical appliances for building himself a house. He was content, in most instances, to have a mere cabin or hut. This was made of round logs light enough for two or three men to lay up. The house would generally be about fourteen feet square-perhaps a little larger or smaller-roofed with bark or clapboard, and floored with puncheons (logs split once in two and the flat side laid up). For a fire-place, a

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wall of stones and earth was made in the best practicable shape for the purpose, in an opening in one end of the building, extending outward, and planked on the outside by bolts of wood notched together to stay it. Sometimes a fire- place of this kind was made so large as to occupy nearly the whole width of the house. In cold weather when a great deal of wood was needed to keep the proper warmth inside, large logs were piled in the fire-place. To protect the crumbling back wall against the heat, two back-logs, one on top of the other, were placed against it.

For a chimney, any contrivance that would carry up the smoke would do. They were usually constructed of clay and sticks. Imagine a cold winter's night when the storm of wind and snow was raging without, the huge fire blazing within, and the family sitting around! It might be cozy enough if the cold was not too intense; and, in reality, before those fi e-places there was often something of cheer, as the farmer sat smoking-if he had any tobacco; and the wife knitting-if she had any yarn and needles.

For a door to his log cabin the most simple contrivance that would serve the purpose was brought into requisition. Before a door could be made, a blanket often did duty in guarding the entrance. But, as soon as convenient, some boards were split out and put together, hung upon wooden hinges, and held shut by a wooden pin inserted in an auger-hole.

PIONEER FURNITURE.

In regard to the furniture of the pioneer's cabin, it may be said that it varied in propor- tion to the ingenuity of the occupants, unless it was where settlers brought with them their old household supply, which, owing to the distance most of them had to come, was very seldom. It was easy enough to improvise tables and chairs; the former could be made of split logs; the latter were designed after the three-legged stool pattern, or benches served their purpose. A

bedstead was a very important item in the domestic comfort of the family; and the fashion of improvising them was as follows:

A forked stake was driven into the ground diagonally from the corner of the room, and at a proper distance, upon which poles reaching from each side of the cabin were laid. The wall ends of the poles were either driven into . auger-holes or rested in the openings between the logs. Bark or boards were used as a sub- stitute for cords. Upon this, the wife spread her straw tick; and if she had a home-made feather bed, she piled it up into a luxurious mound and covered it with her sheets and bed- quilts. Sometimes sheets were hung against the wall at the head and side of the bed, which added much to the coziness of this resting-place -this pioneer bed-room. The sleeping arrange- ment was generally called a "prairie bedstead." PRIMITIVE COOKERY.

If the settler arrived in the early part of the season and had not time to plant, or had no fields prepared for that purpose, he could, at least, have a truck-patch, where a little corn was planted, also a few potatoes and turnips, and some other vegetables were put in the ground. Of course this was only to make his small supply, which he had brought with him, reach as far as possible. His meager stores consisted of flour, bacon, tea and coffee. But these supplies would frequently be exhausted before a regular crop of wheat or corn could be raised, and as game was plentiful, it helped to eke them out. But when the corn was raised, it was not easily prepared for the table. The mills for grinding were at such distances away, that every other device was resorted to for making meal.

Some grated it on an implement made by punching small holes through a piece of tin or sheet-iron, and fastening it upon a board in concave shape, with the rough side out. Upon this the ear was rubbed to produce the meal. But grating could not be done when the corn became so dry as to shell off when rubbed.

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Some used a coffee-mill for grinding it; and a very common substitute for bread was hominy, a palatable and wholesome diet, made by boil- ing corn in a weak lye till the hull or bran peeled off, after which it was well washed to cleanse it of the lye. It was then boiled again to soften it, when it was ready for use, as occasion required, by frying and seasoning it to the taste. Another mode of preparing hominy was by pestling. A mortar was made by burning a bowl-shaped cavity in the end of an upright block of wood. After thoroughly cleaning it of the charcoal, the corn could be put in, hot water turned upon it, when it was subjected to a severe pestling by a elub of suffi- cient length and thickness, in the large end of which was inserted an iron wedge, banded to keep it there. The hot water would soften the corn and loosen the hull, while the pestle would crush it.

PRIMITIVE THRESHING.

When breadstuffs were needed, they had to be obtained from long distances. Owing to the lack of proper means for threshing and cleaning wheat, it was more or less mixed with foreign substances, such as smut, dirt and oats. And as the time when the settlers' methods of threshing and cleaning may be forgotten, it may be well to preserve a brief account of them here. The plan was to elean off a space of ground of sufficient size, and, if the earth was dry, to dampen it, and beat it to render it somewhat compact. Then the sheaves were unbound and spread in a circle, so that the heads would be uppermost, leaving room in the center for the person whose business it was to turn and stir the straw in the process of thresh- ing. Then, as many horses or oxen were brought as could conveniently swing around the circle, and these were kept moving until the wheat was well trodden out. After several "floorings" or layers were threshed, the straw was carefully raked off and the wheat shoveled into a heap to be cleaned. This cleaning was sometimes done by waving a sheet up and

down to fan out the chaff as the grain was dropped before it; but this trouble was fre- quently obviated when the strong winds of autumn were all that was needed to blow out the chaff from the grain. This mode of preparing the grain for flouring was so imperfect that it is not to be wondered at that a considerable amount of black soil got mixed with it, and un- avoidably got into the bread. This, with an addition of smut, often rendered it so dark as to have less the appearance of bread than mud; yet upon such diet the people were compelled to subsist for want of a better.

GOING TO MILL.

Not the least among the pioneers tribulations, during the first few years of the settlement, was the going to mill. The slow mode of travel by ox teams was made still slower by the almost total absence of roads and bridges, while such a thing as a ferry was hardly even dreamed of. The distance to be traversed was often as far as sixty or ninety miles. In dry weather, common sloughs and creeks offered little impediment to the teamsters; but during floods and the break- ing up of winter, they proved exceedingly troublesome and dangerous. To get stuck in a slough, and thus be delayed for many hours, was no uncommon occurrence, and that, too, when time was an item of grave import to the comfort and sometimes even to the lives of the settlers' families. Often a swollen stream would blockade the way, seeming to threaten destruc- tion to whoever would attempt to ford it. With regard to roads, there was nothing of the kind worthy of the name.

When the early settlers were compelled to make these long and difficult trips to mi l, if the country was prairie over which they passed, they found it comparatively easy to do in sum- mer when grass was plentiful. By traveling until night, and then camping out to feed the teams, they got along without much difficulty. But in winter such a journey was attended with no little danger. The utmost economy of time was, of course, necessary. When the goal was

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reached, after a week or more of toilsome travel, with many exposures and risks, and the poor man was impatient to immediately return with the desired staff of life, he was often shocked and disheartened with the information that his turn would come in a week. Then he inust look about for some means to pay ex- penses, and he was lucky who could find em- ployment by the day or job. Then, when his turn came, he had to be on hand to bolt his own flour, as, in those days, the bolting ma- chine was not an attached part of the other mill machinery. This done, the anxious soul was ready to endure the trials of a return trip, his heart more or less concerned about the affairs of home.

Those milling trips often occupied from three weeks to more than a month each, and were at- tended with an expense, in one way or another, that rendered the cost of breadstuffs extremely high. If made in the winter, when more or less grain feed was required for the team, the load would be found to be so considerably re- duced on reaching home that the cost of what was left, adding other expenses, would make their grain reach the high cash figure of from $3 to $5 per bushel. And these trips could not always be made at the most favorable season for traveling. In spring and summer, so much time could hardly be spared from other essen- tial labor ; yet, for a large family, it was almost impossible to avoid making three or four trips during the year.

WILD ANIMALS.

Among other things calculated to annoy and distress the pioneer was the prevalence of wild beasts of prey, the most numerous and trouble- some of which was the wolf. While it was true in a figurative sense, that it required the utmost care and exertion to "keep the wolf from the door," it was almost as true in a literal sense. There were two species of these ani- mals, the black, timber wolf, and the smaller gray wolf that usually inhabited the prairie. At first, it was next to impossible for a settler

to keep small stock of any kind that would serve as a prey to these ravenous beasts. Sheep were not deemed safe property until years after, when their enemies were supposed to be nearly exterminated. Large numbers of wolves were destroyed during the early years of settlement. When they were hungry, which was not uncom- mon, particularly during the winter, they were too indiscreet for their own safety, and would often approach within easy shot of the settlers' dwellings. At certain seasons their wild, plain tive yelp or bark could be heard in all direc- tions at all hours of the night, creating intense excitement among the dogs, whose howling would add to the dismal melody.

It has been found by experiment that but one of the canine species, the hound, has both the fleetness and courage to cope with his savage cousin, the wolf. Attempts were often made to capture him with the common cur, but this animal, as a rule, proved himself wholly unreli- able for such a service. So long as the wolf would run the cur would ollow ; but the wolf, being apparently acquainted with the character of his pursuer, would either turn and place him- self in a combatative attitude, or else act upon the principle that "discretion is the better part of valor," and throw himself upon his back in token of surrender. This strategic performance would make instant peace between these two scions of the same house ; and not infrequently dogs and wolves have been seen playing to- gether like puppies. But the hound was never known to recognize a flag of truce; his bay- ing seemed to signify "no quarters;" or, at least, so the terrified wolf understood it.

Smaller animals, such as panthers, lynxes, wildcats, catamounts and polecats, were also sufficiently numerous to be troublesome. And an exceeding source of annoyance were the swarms of mosquitoes which aggravated the trials of the settler in the most exasperating degree. Persons have been driven from the labors of the field by their unmerciful assaults.

The tria's of the pioneer were innumerable, and the cases of actual suffering might fill a volume of no ordinary size. Timid women became brave through combats with real dan- gers, and patient mothers grew sick at heart with the sight of beloved children failing in health from lack of the commonest necessaries of life. The struggle was not for ease or luxury, but was a constant one for the sustaining means of life itself.

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CHAPTER VIII.

PIONEER REMINISCENCES.

I .- BY HENRY F. JANES, 1855.

I was born on the 12th of February, 1804, in Pendleton Co., Va., on Straight creek, one of the extreme head branches of the south branch of the Potomac. In 1819 my father moved to Ohio, and settled on the Scioto shore, at Chillicothe, where I remained till the 15th day of April, 1825, when I left the parental roof, on an old one-eyed horse, with two shirts and $4 in my pocket, all told.

At about the end of a week, I reached the vicinity where Lafayette, Ind., now stands. At that time Lafayette had no existence, except in name. There I married my wife, on the 15th day of March, 1827. I remained in that county till September, 1832, when I moved with my wife and two children, to Laporte Co., Ind. I remained in that county till April, 1835, when I moved to Wisconsin with my family, and set- tled in Racine county, six miles due west from the city of Racine. The February previous, I went to Wisconsin to select a location, and found but one white family in Racine county, being that of a Mr. Beardsley .* There was not a house, nor any sign of civilization between Grove Point, twelve miles north of Chicago, and Skunk Grove, now Mount Pleasant, in Ra- cine county. We were at home wherever night overtook us; our fare was rather hard, but the bills were not high at that time.

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History of Green County, Wisconsin. Together with sketches of its towns and villages, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 31

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1168