USA > Wisconsin > Lafayette County > History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin > Part 61
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Returning to the year 1823, it is seen that Dr. Meeker built a cabin on what was called Meeker's Branch, now on the east side of Main street, Galena. Hunt built a cabin a little north. Directly across the road from Meeker's cabin a well was sunk. This well still remains, although unused, to prove the identity of these pioneer cabins. Fifteen or twenty feet north of the well, Benson Hunt built a blacksmith-shop, and there did the first regular work of the kind done in the district. Harris and his son also put up cabins not far from Meeker's.
During the early years of settlement, Fever River was really an arm of the Mississippi, and the first settlers attempted to make a harbor there, with considerable success, as is shown by the early legislative proceedings.
When Dr. Meeker arrived, in June, 1823, he found less than one hundred white men in the entire region. Prominent among them were Dr. Samuel C. Muir, who was practicing medicine and was highly esteemed by all ; Thomas H. January, Amos Farrar, Jesse W. Shull, François Bouthillier, A. P. Vanmatre, D. G. Bates, John Conley, John Ray, James Johnson, Nehemiah
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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
Bates, James Connor, B. Symmes, E. Rutter, John Burrell, Joseph Hardy, Robert Burton (not the smelter), Montgomery Wilson, Stephen P. Howard, Martin Smith, Israel Mitchell (a sur- veyor), John Armstrong, Cuyler Armstrong, William Thorn and others.
The War Department's Report for 1823 shows that the only persons engaged legitimately in mining and smelting in this district under Government lease were James Johnson, James Connor, B. Symmes and E. Rutter. This was in September. Dr. Meeker put up a furnace that year, but his name was not returned in the reports until 1824. During the latter year he culti- vated land, and planted the first orchard in the district.
THE FIRST MARRIAGE.
In the fall of 1823, Israel Garretson and Maria Bunce were married in the Meeker cabin, by an army officer whose name is not preserved. Probably it was Maj. John Anderson, then stationed at Fever River as Government Agent. There was neither minister nor magistrate in the district at that date. Miss Rutherford and William Hines were married at the same time. These, so far as is known, were the first marriages of white people solemnized in the district.
THE FIRST DEATH.
About this time, a General Schimerman, whose name does not appear in other records obtainable now at this point, was taken sick and died at the village, which was the first death after the arrival of the Ohio colony.
John S. Miller and family came to the mines in 1823, and opened the first public house, in a double log-cabin, on the present northwest corner of Branch and Dodge streets. Galena.
In 1824, James Harris began the cultivation of land at Anderson's Slough, which was the second farm-Meeker's being the first-in the district. It was believed until as late as 1830, that crops could not be successfully grown so far north.
Dr. Meeker's keel-boat returned in 1824, with another load of immigrants.
August 18, 1824, Lieut. Martin Thomas was appointed superintendent of the lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, and authorized to grant leases and permits to smelters and miners, and to farmers, provided they did not interfere with the mining interests.
THE FIRST BIRTHS.
In October, 1824, a son was born to Benson Hunt and wife. The old family Bible con- tains the following entry, which is almost illegible: "James Smith Hunt, born at fifteen minutes past 1 o'clock P. M. on the 9th day of October, 1824." Soon after this event, Mary S. Miller, daughter of John S. Miller, was born. These were the first white children born in the district. Both were born within the present city limits of Galena.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
Following the history of settlement, and reserving the narrative of the mining operations until later, it is recorded that 1825 witnessed a large arrival of white settlers. John Foley, who became the first Sheriff of Jo Daviess County, came that year. Among the more prominent men were Capt. William Henry; Capt. James Craig, whose wife was a grand-daughter of Daniel Boone ; Col. Henry Gratiot and his brother, John P. B. Gratiot, and others. The Gratiots came in a light wagon, accompanied by three hired men, with a complete outfit. They struck mineral and made their first settlement in the valley between Hinckley's and Waddell's Mounds. Subsequently, the Indians made large discoveries fifteen miles from Fever River, in what is now La Fayette County, and the Gratiots located there, as is fully shown in the history of La Fayette County.
In 1826, Charles Gear came to the district, with his family and many other persons. He was an enthusiastic Freemason, and his influence can be seen in the organization of Strangers' Union Lodge. No. 14, the first Masonic society instituted in the mining district. It was char- tered by the Grand Lodge of the State of Missouri.
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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
Sophia Gear, sister of Charles, taught the first school presided over by a woman in the district, in 1827. She afterward married Amos Farrar.
Capt. Allenwrath, the discover of the Allenwrath lead, came to the mines in 1826, and soon after made his fortunate discovery.
Lemon Parker, William P. Tilton, D. B. Morehouse and Robert P. Guyard organized the Galena Mining Company at an early date, and are remembered as having made Ottawa, now Barton's, a place of considerable importance, where boats landed. The company smelted on an extensive scale. They had several "log-furnaces," and dealt largely in miner's supplies.
THE FIRST POST OFFICE.
June 4, 1826, the first post office was established in the mining region. It was called " Fever River," and designated as in Crawford County, Ill. As the tract south of the Michi- gan Territorial line (Wisconsin State line), was in Peoria County, the Post Office Department evidently labored under the impression that Crawford County, Michigan Territory, was in Illi- nois. Ezekiel Lockwood was appointed Postmaster. The service prior to 1828 was semi- monthly, and irregular at that.
The name Galena first appeared December 27, 1826, in official papers.
In 1826, a large number of Swiss arrived and settled at Fever River. These people emi- grated to the Red River of the North in 1821, under the patronage of Lord Selkirk. They became dissatisfied with their location, and went back to St. Louis in 1823. Three years later, Louis Chetlain and several of his friends came to the mining district, and, during the summer, nearly all the original colony made their homes here.
Better than any history compiled from the fragmentary statements of after years-better even than unaided memory, striving often in vain to recall the events of fifty years ago, are the letters and memoranda written at that time by intelligent men, who lived here, and knew whereof they wrote. Dr. E. G. Newhall has permitted the following copy of a letter, written by his honored father, Dr. Horatio Newhall, to his brother Isaac Newhall, Esq., of Salem, Mass., to be taken expressly for this work. It will be valuable to the people of this section, both on account of the information it conveys, and because the writer, now passed away, is tenderly enshrined in their memories.
GALENA, FEVER RIVER LEAD MINES, UPPER MISSISSIPPI, SUPPOSED IN ILLINOIS, November 20, 1827.
Dear Brother:
I received, by the last mail brought here by steamboat " Josephine," a newspaper from you, on the margin of which were endorsed the following words: " Write a full account." I was rejoiced to see once more a Massachusetts paper, and presume you meant by the endorsement, a full account of " Fever River." This would puzzle me or any other person on the river. It is a nondescript. It is such a place as no one could conceive of without seeing it. Strangers hate it, and residents like it. The appearance of the country would convince any one it must be healthy ; yet, last season, it was more sickly than Havana or New Orleans. There is no civil law here, nor has the Gospel been yet introduced ; or, to make use of a common phrase here, " Neither law nor Gospel can pass the rapids of the Mis- sissippi." The country is one immense prairie, from the Rock River on the south to the Ouisconsin on the north, and from the Mississippi on the west, to Lake Michigan on the east. It is a hilly country, and abounding with lead ore of that species called by mineralogists " galena," whence is derived the name of our town. The lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, as well as those of Missouri, are under the control of the Secretary of War. Lieut. Thomas is Superin- tendent. He resides at Saint Louis ; a sub-agent resides at this place. Any person wishing to dig, gets a permit of the agent to do so, by signing certain regulations, the principal of which is that he will sell his mineral to no one but a regularly licensed smelter. He has all the mineral he can raise, and sells it at $17.50 per thousand (pounds), deliv- ered at the furnaces. Any person who gets a permit, stakes off two hundred yards square. This is his lot so long as he works it, and no one can interfere with his discoveries. Any person who will give bond to Government for $5,000, can have half a mile square, on condition that he employs twenty laborers, and pays Government 10 per cent of lead made from mineral raised on his survey, or sells his mineral to a public smelter. The public smelters, of which I am one, give bond for $20,000, to pay Government one-tenth of all lead manufactured. They buy mineral of any person who has a permit to dig, manufacture it into lead, pay Government one-tenth, monthly, and are the great men of the country. The mineral, lead, and cash all go into their hands. H. Newhall & Co. got their furnace in oper- ation 1st of September, 1827. I made, by the 15th, twenty tons of lead. My men became sick, and I made but 14,000 pounds until 1st of November, since which time I have manufactured about 17,000 pounds every week. I have a store of goods, in Galena, for the supply of those with whom I have dealings, and never sell anything for less than 50 per cent advance. My furnace is on the Sinsinawa River, three miles from Galena, a stream navigable for boats to
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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
my furnace. * * The privilege of working these mines, you know, was first given by the Government to Col. Johnson, of Kentucky, five years ago (in 1822). He did but little and sunk money. Not much lead was made here till last year. There were then four log buildings in Galena. Now there are 115 houses and stores in the place. It is the place of deposit for lead and provisions, etc., for all the mining country. There is no spot in America, of the same size, where there is one-fourth of the capital, or where so much business is done. There was manufactured here, in the year ending September last, 5,000,740 pounds of lead. The population consists mainly of Americans, Irish and French (that is, in the diggings). There are but comparatively few females. Hence, every female, unmarried, who lands on these shores, is immediately married. Little girls, fourteen and thirteen years old, are often married here. Three young ladies, who came, fellow passengers with me, in June, and the only ones on board, are all married months since. Du' Buque's Mines, on the opposite side of the Mississippi, are worked by the Fox Indians. They, however, merely skim the surface. The windlass and bucket are not known among them. Du'Buque's Mines is a delightful spot, particularly the Fox Village, on the bank of the Mississippi. But, of all the places in the United States, which I have seen, Rock Island, at the lower rapids of the Mississippi, called the Rapids of the Des Moines, is by far the most beautiful. Fort Armstrong is on this island. At the mouth of Fever River is a trading-house of the American Fur Company. Their trading-houses are scattered up and down the Mississippi, on the river Des Moines, St. Peters, etc. Their capital is so large, and they gave such extensive credit to the Indians, that no private estab- lishment can compete with them. An Indian debt is outlawed, by their own custom, in one year. The fur company credits each Indian hunter a certain amount, from $100 to $500, according to his industry and skill in hunting and trapping. If, when they return in the spring, they have not furs and peltry enough to pay the debt, the trader loses it. But, on the goods sold to the Indians, there is a profit of 200 or 300 per cent made, and a profit on the furs received in payment.
December 7, 1827.
Fever River was closed with ice on the 21st of November, and, of course, navigation is ended, and I have not sent my letter. I now have an opportunity to forward it by private conveyance to Vandalia. We are now shut out from all intercourse with the world until the river opens again in the spring. We have no mail as yet, but shall have a mail once in two weeks, to commence the 1st of January next. I have not received a letter from one of my friends since I have been in Fever River. I hope you will write me before 1st of January, or as soon as you receive this letter.
Sincerely yours,
H. NEWHALL.
This letter was mailed at Vandalia December 25, and by it is established the fact, that, although Fever River Post Office was established in 1826, it was not regularly supplied, even once a fortnight, until the spring of 1828. Mails were brought by steamboat in the summer, and in the winter the people had none.
In the fall of 1827, Strader & Thompson brought a keel-boat load of general merchandise, including a quantity of flour and pork, from St. Louis. Mr. Bouthillier, whose trading-house was on the east side of the river, near the present site of the railroad station, purchased the entire cargo to secure the flour, as that was scarce, even then. Winter set in without a sufficient supply of provisions to supply the wants of the miners. Nearly all the flour obtainable was held by Bouthillier. It was sour and hard. He chopped it out of the barrels with hatchets, pounded it, sifted it loosely into other barrels, filling two with the original contents of one, and then sold it for $30 per barrel. Even then, the settlers saw with alarm, that there was not enough to last until spring. The winter of 1827-28 was mild and open until January 6 ; the streets had been muddy, and "not freezing in the least, even at night "-but the river froze over then. Word had reached St. Louis that the people in the mines were destitute of provisions. The steamboat "Josephine," Capt. Clark, was loaded with flour and started off to take her chances of getting as near as possible to the mines. Slowly she made her way up the Mississippi, and when she reached the mouth of Fever River, the warm weather had weakened the ice, and she made her way, unheralded, to Galena. The date of her arrival is fixed by the following entry in a mem- orandum book, kept by Dr. H. Newhall : "February 25, 1828, arrived steamboat "Josephine ;" broke the ice to get up Fever River." Farther corroborated by a letter from Dr. Newhall to his brother, dated March 1, 1828, in which he says : "To our astonishment, on Monday last, a steamboat arrived from St. Louis." The people rushed to the bank, rejoiced and amazed to see a steamboat loaded with flour, except Bouthillier. The day before, Mr. Gratiot had offered him $25 a barrel for all the flour he had, and the offer was refused. Mr. Gratiot now asked him what he would take for his flour, and Bouthillier, with a shrug, replied : "Dam ! hell ! sup- pose, by gar ! what man tinks one steamboat come up Fever River in mid de wint ? " February 27, the river froze over, and March 5 the boat was still detained by ice, but arrived at St. Louis about March 14.
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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
The following extracts from a letter from Dr. H. Newhall to his brother, dated March 1, 1828, will give some idea of social life in the mines fifty years ago :
We have had but two mails this winter. It has been pleasantly warm here during winter, and the heavy rains caused the ice in the river to break. *
* It has been extremely cold for four days ; the river is closed with ice, and the boat (the "Josephine," which arrived on the 25th ) consequently detained. We have been almost completely isolated from the rest of the world this winter. We have received the President's Message and proceedings of Con- gress up to the 26th of December, since that time we have had nothing. We, in Galena, enjoyed ourselves well dur- ing the winter. There have been ten or twelve balls, the last on the 22d of February. At noon a salute was fired from the cannon received during the Winnebago war. In the evening a ball was given at the Cottage Hotel (the name applied by Dr. N. to the log tavern on the west side of Main street, corner of Green), in a hall (building) sixty feet
in length, ornamented with evergreens. * * There were sixty ladies and ninety gentlemen present. The ladies were elegantly dressed, and many of them were handsome. The ball was managed with a degree of propriety and decorum scarcely to be expected in this wild country. Had I been suddenly transported into the ball-room, I should have imagined myself in some Eastern city, rather than in the wilds of the Upper Mississippi. Little should I have dreamed that within five miles was the home of the savage, and that only twelve miles off is a large Fox village, where I have witnessed the Indian dance around a fresh-taken scalp. March 5 .- The steamboat (" Josephine ") is still detained by ice. * * The Miners' Journal, a newspaper, will be commenced at Galena by Ist of May next. The proprietor, in his prospectus, calls it the Northern Herald. He altered the name at my suggestion. * " Old * Buck," the Fox chief, who discovered (?) the famous " Buck Lead," has been encamped all winter within a mile of my furnace (on the Sinsinawa, three miles from town). Himself and sons often visit me in town.
In 1829, David G. Bates built a small steamboat at Cincinnati, and called her the "Galena," to run between St. Louis and Galena. Robert S. Harris ran her up the river that summer, but the little boat was short lived.
October 10, 1829, the cholera carried off James Harris, the second victim of that terrible scourge in the mines. Mr. Harris was one of the leaders in the little colony, and his death pro- duced a profound impression.
In the winter of 1832-33, Captain D. S. Harris and his brother R. S. Harris built the first steamboat constructed in this region. It was named "Jo Daviess," and was built at Portage. Subsequently these men became known on the Mississippi as masters of their trade in practical steamboating.
Negro slavery existed in the mines for several years. It was not abolished altogether until 1840, In 1823, Capt. Harris says there were nearly one hundred and fifty negro slaves in the mines. Under the ordinance of 1787 slavery was prohibited in this Territory, but Illinois sought to evade this organic law by the enactment of statutes by which these slaves could be held as " indentured," or "registered servants," and these statutes are known as the " Black Laws." As late as March 10, 1829, the Commissioners of Jo Daviess County ordered a tax of one-half of one per cent to be levied and collected on "town lots, slaves, indentured or registered serv- ants," etc.
GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF THE MINES.
It is necessary to take a retrospective view of the history of the mines, at this point, to take up the threads of the narrative of settlement.
Prior to the appointment of Lieut. Martin Thomas as Superintendent of United States Lead Mines, in August, 1824, there does not appear to have been an agent of the Government here authorized to grant leases and permits to operate on United States lands. Leases of large tracts were obtained from the Government, and on these lands small miners were permitted to enter and dig under the lessees. But their numbers were few.
In 1823, the principal leads worked were all old Indian and French mines struck anew. There were diggings on January's Point, about six hundred yards above January's warehouse. On the school section just above were two leads. Next, north, was the " Hog" lead, beyond which were the " Doe" and ""Buck " leads, the latter of which had been worked by French miners under Dubuque. Then, there were the " Old Cave Diggings," on Cave Branch, in what is now Vinegar Hill Township, that had also been worked by Dubuque, and the old "Indian Lead," west of the Buck lead. On the east side of the river was the " Backbone Lead," about half a mile east of January's Point, and " Van Matre's lead, on the east side of Apple River, near the present village of Elizabeth. On the west, near Anderson's (now Harris') Slough, were two
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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
old French leads, one of which was worked by - McLanahan, and the old " Indian Diggings," two miles west of Galena.
In 1824, John and Cuyler Armstrong struck a lead on the Middle Fork of Miller's Branch (now Meeker's), above the old Indian leads. North of this, another lead was struck, near where the Comstock lead was afterward discovered. Mr. Vanderslice had made a discovery about two miles northwest of the settlement, and two new leads east of Vinegar Hill were worked by J. Bruner, Michael Byrne and John Furlong. On Cave Branch, one and one quarter miles south- east of " Cave Diggings," John Armstrong had found a good lead, and "the only one," says Capt. Harris, " where I ever saw native lead sticking to mineral." These were all the princi- pal diggings known in what is now Jo Daviess County when Lieut. Thomas arrived, and they had all, or nearly all, been previously worked by the Indians and French.
Up to that time it is probable that the local agent, Maj. Anderson, had not been author- ized to grant leases and permits. Johnson and others had obtained their leases at Washington, but the Fever River lead deposits were found to be richer than those of Missouri, and the greater facility with which the mines or "leads" were worked, attracted a large number of miners from Missouri. The Government of the United States had, by advertisements in the leading papers of the Union, called the attention of the people to these lead mines, and invited miners and set- tlers to the region. They were flocking hither, and it became indispensable to station a resident superintendent here, clothed with authority to grant permits and leases, issue regulations, settle disputes, etc. There was no other law at that time, and, as a rule, the inhabitants were quite as orderly and quite as mindful of each other's rights as they have been in later days. Property was safe and doors needed no locks.
Lieut. Thomas arrived at Fever River in October (probably), 1824, and established his headquarters in a double log cabin which then stood on the bank of the river, in the middle of what is now Main street, about sixty feet south of Gear street. On the north side of Gear street, close by the agency, was a little pond fed by a large spring, and a little creek connected the pond with the river. Immediately after his arrival, Lieut. Thomas issued an order to all miners to suspend operations the next day (the absence of records renders it impossible now to fix the precise date). William Adney, D. G. Bates, John Burrell and John Furlong were work- ing the " Old Cave Diggings," and had just uncovered a sheet of mineral when the order came to stop next day. They worked all night, and the next morning had raised 100,000 pounds. All mining operations stopped, but only for a short time. Within a week they were at work again under direction to sell the mineral only to licensed smelters, so that the Government could collect the rent-lead. In explanation of this, it may be observed that miners could sell mineral only to licensed smelters, for which the Government collected one-tenth for rent, and paid them for smelting it. Miners were paid for only nine-tenths of the mineral they delivered. It is said that in later years the smelters have received from the Government the value of the lead thus paid, but it belonged to the miners, not to the smelters, and the money should have been expended in public improvements in the Territory, in the absence of the rightful claimants.
No records can be found of Maj. Anderson's transactions, and two old volumes marked "A" and "B," containing some of the transactions of Lieut. Thomas' agency during 1825- 27, which are preserved in the archives of the county, are all of these records available for this work. Mr. Charles Smith was the sub-agent residing here, and came with Lieut. Thomas, who lived at St. Louis and visited Fever River occasionally.
The first established regulations of which record remains, and probably the first code pro- mulgated by Superintendent Thomas, bears date "1825," but were undoubtedly issued very carly in the spring, and are as follows :
REGULATIONS FOR MINERS AT THE UNITED STATES MINES ON THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI.
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