USA > Wisconsin > Vernon County > History of Vernon County, Wisconsin, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 31
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Company Officer-Second lieutenant, J. W. Allen, Brodhead, Green county.
Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant-Siles E.
Phillips, De Soto, Vernon county.
First Sergeant-L. Morley, Viroqna.
Sergeants-E. S. Tuttle, Glen Haven, Grant county; H. J. Phelps, Ontario; J. Harris, New- ville; L. S. Daniels, Ontario.
Corporals-P. C. Hoverton, Soldiers' Grove, Crawford county; F. M. Haskell, Viroqua; C. C. Haskell, Ontario; J. S. Gibbs, De Soto; S. Turner, Newville; E. Tilton, Viroqua; E. G. Miller, De Soto.
Drummer-F. Southwick, Franklin.
Privates-George H. Burlin, Sparta, Monroe county; Henry Bacon, Pole Grove, Jackson county; R. Z. Ball, De Soto; L. Christianson,
16 00
Stubbs, Thirza E
dn
2 00
Rogers, Earl M.
do
dis. of eyes do
widow
loss pt. r. middle finger ...
inj. to abd. and digestive organs, fever & torpid liver.
ch. diarr. result. dis. abd. vis.
6 00
w. of l. shoulder, inj. to abdomen.
Virogna do
mother. do
Oet., 1880.
6 00
185, 102 151,821
Aug., 1881.
Mar., 1881
April, 1880.
IN-
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
Springville; Michael Eckhardt, De Soto; Wil- liam Getter, Franklin; M. D. Holcomb, Ontario; Jonathan Hay, Viroqua; J. F. Huntington, De Soto; Torger Johnson, Coon Prairie; Albert Johnson, Rising Sun, Crawford county; Hans Jesperson, North Cape, Racine county; James Konlner, Viroqua; David D. Kyes, Ontario; Ole A. Knudson, Mt. Pisgah, Monroe county; James Bright, La Crosse, La Crosse county; R. J. Moore, La Crosse, La Crosse county; D. M. Moor, Ontario; J. R. Miller, De Soto; Ole H. Notwick, Coon Prairie; John Slaytor, Goole; H. Smith, Viroqua; William Shult, Viroqua; Jonathan H. Swain, Viroqua; E. S. Stretsbery, Ontario; Charles Schied, De Soto; William L. Tallman, PoleGrove, Jackson county; J .B. Tall- man, Perry Walker, Ontario.
Commissioned Officers Resigned-Captain, C. E. Rogers, Jan. 4, 1866; 1st Lieutenant, J. E. Newell, Feb. 3, 1866.
Discharged-First Sergeant, C. C. Brown, May 3, 1865.
Privates-II. M. Bean, May 3, 1865; J. Cum- mins, May 3, 1865; S. A. Hicock, May 3, 1865; L. D. Prentice, May 3, 1865; O. L. Severson May 3, 1865; B. F. Schriever, May 3, 1865; T. E. Taylor, May 3, 1865; C. A, Vandusen, May 3, 1865; J. R. Lake, May 3, 1865; J. S. Rogers, May 27, 1865.
Sergeants-L. H. Walker, June 15, 1865.
Privates-W. B. Williams, June 15, 1865; John Knight, June 6, 1865; E. W. Threve, May 6, 1865; E. A. Webber, May 6, 1865; S. Wait, July 27, 1865; A. Smith, Oct, 21, 1865; C. A. Green, Nov. 27, 1865; David Miller, May 27, 1865; G. S. Sperry, May 27, 1865; J. S. Groves, Feb. 13, 1866; E. H. Ames, Feb. 22, 1866; P. Martinson, Feb. 22, 1866; A. A. Summer, Feb. 28, 1866; H. K. Miller, Feb. 28, 1866.
Died-11. F. Downing, May 10, 1865, Benton Barracks, Mo .; J O. Fox, June 9, 1865, Boone- ville, Mo .; P. Kyser, Aug. 2, 1865, St. Louis Mo.
Absent sick-J. P. Davenport, Calvin Boyer, Seth Edson, H. J. Smith.
VERNON COUNTY CAPTAINS AND FIELD OFFICERS.
Nine of the citizens of Vernon county were honored with commissions as captains during the war as follows: James Berry, C. M. Butt, W. N. Carter, John A. Carson, Newton M. Layne, Alexander Lowrie, William McMichael, C. E. Rogers and E. N. Rogers, the last men- tioned having been breveted major.
Two Vernon county men received commis- sions as field officers: C. M. Butt, major, after- ward promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and Jeremiah M. Rusk, major, also promoted to lientenant-colonel; but subsequently brevetted colonel and brigadier-general.
Gen. Jeremiah M. Rusk was born in Morgan Co., Ohio, June 17, 1830; removed to Wisconsin and settled in Bad Ax (now Vernon) county in 1853; held several county offices; was a member of the Assembly in 1862; was commissioned major of the 25th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry in July, 1862; was soon after promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy. Served with Gen. Sher- man from the siege of Vicksburg until mustered ont at the close of the war, and was breveted colonel and brigadier-general for bravery at the battle of Salkehatchie; was elected bank comptroller of Wisconsin for 1866 and 1867, and re-elected for 1868-9; represented the sixth congressional district in the 42d Congress, and the seventh district in the 43d and 44th Con- gress; was chairman of the committee on invalid pensions in the 43d Congress ; was a member of the congressional republican com- mittee for several years; was a delegate to the National Republican Convention at Chicago, in 1880; was appointed by President Garfield and confirmed by the Senate, as Minister to Paraguay and Uruguay, which appointment he declined; was also tendered by President Garfield the mission to Denmark and the position of chief of the bureau of engraving and printing, both of which he declined; was elected governor at the
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
annual election in 1881,as a republican, receiving 81,754 votes against 69,797 for N. D. Fratt, demo- crat,and 13,225 votes for T. D. Kanouse, prohibi- tionist, and 7,002 for E. P. Allis, greenbacker.
EARLY MENTION OF THE WAR.
[From Vernon county papers.]
1861, May 15. At a meeting of enrolled volunteers at De Soto, T. C. Ankeny was called to the chair, when the following resolu- tions were adopted:
"Resolved, That we unite with the enrolled volunteers of Bad Ax county to form a com- pany for active service.
"Resolved, That, for the purpose of organiz- ing said company a meeting be called at the residence of C. G. Allen, in the town of Ster- ling, at 12 o'clock M., on Saturday, the 18th inst., and invite all volunteers of this county to meet us on that day to elect officers "
May 18. A meeting was held at Debello for the purpose of enrolling volunteers for active service to join a company started at Hillsbor- ough a short time since; about 300 were present. The United States flag was raised amidst the greatest enthusiasm.
The meeting was called to order by Rev. E. Smith. On motion, T. B. Brown was chosen chairman and U Gregory secretary. Speeches were made by Messrs. Smith, Johnson, of llillsborough: Daniels, of Wonewoc; O'Rourke, of Glendale, and Baker of Plymouth. After the speaking, a call was made for volunteers, and seven enrolled their names. The company now numbers seventy, ten of whom are from the town of Greenwood.
June 26. The Anderson Guards who paid Viroqua a visit on Friday and Saturday last, are a fine body of energetic, wide-awake men. Capt. L. Johnson is a man who is full of mili- tary zeal; has done good service in Mexico, and wore, while here, a Mexican military jacket, with pure silver buttons, which he took from a Mexican whom he shot while in the aet of robbing him (the Captain), while he lay on the field of battle wounded.
They (the Anderson Guards), added twenty- six recruits to their number from Viroqna and vicinity. They had a fine band, consisting of three brass instruments and a drum and fife with them. The Guard will be mustered into the service of Uncle Samuel at this place (Viro- qua), on Monday next.
July 3. The Bad Ax county volunteers, "The Anderson Rifles," arrived here (Viroqua), on Sunday evening, having been brought in from Hazen's by teams from Viroqua, with the assist- ance of teams that came from the eastern part of the county, where most of the company reside. D. HI. Johnson, Esq., and Dr. Mckinney were here (Viroqua) before them for the purposes of swearing them in and making the necessary physical examination.
Some were too old, some too young, or could not get consent of parents; some were unsound, but ninety-three or four were put on the roll. We believe that before they leave the county their ranks will be full. Leonard Johnson is captain, and Messrs. Baker and Johnson first and second lieutenants. Among the non-com- missioned officers we noticed J. E Newell, Jr., and IIenry Osgood.
The people from Viroqua and vicinity fur- nished teams to carry them to the Mississippi river, at Bad Ax City, and they were to take a steamer to Prairie du Chien and thence by rail to Camp Randall at Madison. Two out of three of our (the Northwestern Times') type set- ters are members of the company -- John L. Somerby and William E. Minshall; also a former apprentice, J. W. Longmire, and a dozen or two of our subscribers.
September 11. The volunteers from this (Bad Ax) county, headed by Capt. James Berry of the Home Guards, arrived safely at Prairie du Chien, where Capt. Berry was elected second lieutenant of the Crawford county company that our boys have united with, and the company has gone on to Madison.
September 25. Lient. Berry was in town (Vi- roqua) Sunday one week ago, and on Monday
P
Carson Graham
2
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
the following sons of Bad Ax county went with him to join Capt. Green's Crawford county vol- unteers-they are all good and true men : Wil- liam Burns, William Stevenson, Wilson Pitcher, Michael Sallander, William Sallander, Henry W. Allen, George M. Drum, James S. Groves, S. M. Cummings, and MeDowell Groves. George Nichols, one of the first squad that joined Capt. Greene, left here (Viroqua) on Sunday, after a short stay with his family, full of devotion to the cause of liberty.
November 13. A most energetic movement is now on foot to raise a new company of volun- teers. Men of indomitable perseverance are active at the work. A liberal fund has been already donated by the citizens of this place (Viroqua). The members of the county board now in session here, have formed themselves into a committee to give assistance in their re- spective towns. Any one who wishes to volun- teer, can go into quarters in this place immedi- ately.
November 20. Now is the time to enlist. The Bax Ax county board, who have just adjourned, have passed an order to pay to all children of volunteers under twelve years of age $1 a month. This added to the $100 bounty and $13 a month from the United States, and $5 a month from the State to the wife of each volun- teer, makes the pay of the Union soldier ample whether he has a family or not.
December 18. Poetry :
THE BRAVE AT HOME.
The maid who binds her warrior's sash, With smile that well her pain dissembles, The while beneath her drooping lash, One starry tear-drop hangs and trembles ; Tho' heaven alone records the tear, And fame shall never know her story -- Her heart has shed a drop as dear, As ever dewed the field of glory.
The wife who girds her husband's sword, 'Mid little ones who weep and wonder, And bravely speaks the cheering word What though her heart be rent asunder- Doomed nightlv in her dreams, to hear The bolts of war around him rattle, Has shed as sacred blood as e'er Was poured upon the plain of battle !
The mother who conceals her grief,
While to her breast her son she presses, Then breathes a few brave words and brief,
Kisses the patriot brow she blesses ; With no one but her secret God
To know the pain that weighs upon her- Sheds holy blood as ere the sod Received on Freedom's field of honor.
December 25. We (The Northwestern Times) publish this day the muster roll of the Bad Ax Tigers as it now stands. Some who enlisted have backed out, and a number of new ones have been added. It is to be hoped that no member whose name is now on the revised list will show the white feather. The company now numbers 116 hardy men, whose average weight runs up to 167 pounds. This we believe is the heaviest company yet raised in this part of the country.
1862-January 15. Last Friday morning the company of Capt. Layne (the "Bad Ax Tigers"), took its departure for Milwaukee (from Viroqua). The morning was very severe, but, notwithstanding that, the boys seemed anxious to test the breeze and face the stormi. Quite early in the morning some fifty women- wives, sweethearts and children-thronged the North Star, to bid farewell to those they loved; and with some of them, a farewell forever.
We were here and there among the assembled crowd and frequently witnessed scenes-sad scenes, but endearing-that portrayed the gen- erous and noble feelings of mature manhood, in parting with the partners with whom they had traveled through the sunshine and shade of life's rough road. We witnessed the meet- ing and the parting of loving hearts, throbbing with youthful vigor and ardent attachments; young men, impetuous in their desire to wipe ont the accursed stain put upon our National banner by the hand of treason, and young female hearts swell with patriotic pride to see those whom they love so dearly and so well, eager to
"Strike for their altars and their fires, God and their native land."
14
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
COUNTY TREASURER'S OFFICE, - VIROQUA, BAD AX COUNTY, WISCONSIN, S January 23, 1862.
I, James Lowrie, county treasurer, hereby certify that I will discharge all costs that may accrue on the tax of 1861, on all lands belong- ing to any person who may enlist in the service of the United States, in the Ist regiment of Wisconsin Cavalry, until such times as they receive their first payment for such service per- formed, if it is not longer than three months from this date ; and provided further, that the person enlisting shall furnish me a list of lands.
JAMES LOWRIE, County Treasurer.
February 19. Lieut. T. C. Ankeny started on Monday morning for camp at Kenosha, with the following recruits for Col. Daniel's Ist Wisconsin Cavalry. They went off in good spirits : Orin Wisel, D. A. Davis, Charles K. Chaney, A. W. Partridge, Samnel Hutchins, Henry Turner, Wallace Winn, John Seward, John L. Adams, Benjamin H. Rogers, William Davenport, James W. Curtis, Aaron Cooley, Purley Newton, Jonathan Willard, Napoleon B. Sterling, George Davenport, Thomas Turner, Thomas C. Rutter, Daniel Lawrence, Everett Van Vlack, Leland Brown, George W. Hancock, Jr., and Daniel Frohawk.
CAMP TROWBRIDGE, MILWAUKEE, February 18, 1862.
* * It is reported by some of the boys recently returned from Bad Ax, that Caleb Ellis, Esq., offers 120 acres of good prairie land to the person from Bad Ax county who kills Jeff Davis; I wish to say to him that the boys appreciate the patriotism that prompted the offer, and while kindly thanking him for its ex- pression, would say that no reward of a pecun- iary nature can increase their desire to do their whole duty. He may rest assured that the boys will endeavor to merit the approval of their friends at home, C.
July 2. Mr. Aaron Cooley, of the town of Freeman, Crawford Co., Wis., died June 9, aged sixty years. Mr. Cooley was a member of the 18th Wisconsin, company C, ("Bad Ax Tigers") and was in the battle of Shiloh. ITis exposure in connection with that dreadful engagement brought on the disease of which he died.
August 27. Gone to La Crosse. The com- pany lately recruited in this county (afterward known as company A, 25th Wisconsin), went to La Crosse on Monday, 130 strong. The com- pany consists of as noble a set of men as ever went to war.
September 17. Twenty-fifth Regiment. This regiment is expected to leave La Crosse to- morrow. They are as fine, muscular and good- looking a body of men as has left for the war. This county has furnished about 130 men for the regiment, 101 of whom are in Capt. Berry's company, (A). The Vernon county patriots are not surpassed by any company in the regi- ment.
We find the following interesting statement in the La Crosse Democrat:
"Maj. J. M. Rusk was born in Deerfield, Morgan Co., Ohio, in 1830. In 1853 he came to Wisconsin, located at Viroqua, Bad Ax county, since which time he has mostly been engaged in hotel keeping. In 1854 he was elected sher- iff, and has filled that office or been under sheriff ever since till the fall of 1861, when he was elected to the State Assembly by a large majority. In July, 1862, he was appointed major of the 25th regiment, and at once entered upon the duties of his new position. He leaves a wife and children at Viroqna. Maj. Rusk is large enough for any office within the gift of the administration, weighing 230 pounds with great ease. He is social and true to a friend, and bids fair to make as popular an officer as is in the service."
September 24. One week ago yesterday Capt. Berry, of Company A, Vernon county patriots, (25th Wisconsin), committed matrimony, by
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
taking to himself the daughter of our respected citizen, William Spencer, for life. May happi- ness be their portion.
Ist Licut. C. A. Hunt and twenty-two men of the Adams county company, (a part of the 25th Wisconsin), were recruited in this (Ver- non) county, mostly among the Norwegians.
Oct. 29. Immediately after the departure of Capt. Berry's company, the ladies of New Brooksville and vicinity called a meeting for the purpose of organizing a Soldiers' Aid Society. and Mrs. S. Minerva Layne was chosen presi- dent; Mrs. Eleanor Williams, secretary; and other officers were elected. The following con- tributions have been made at the various meet- ings: 14 sheets, 33 pillow cases, 15 pillow ticks, I bed tick, 12 new shirts, 5 new pair drawers, 25 towels, 45 handkerchiefs, 20 splint bandages, 2 pounds lint, 32 pads, 175 bandages, 2 cans of honey, 2 cans pie plant, 2 cans tomato butter, 1 can plum preserves, 10 pounds dried fruit, 1
pound sage, and 2 boxes grated horseradish, besides numerous books and illustrated papers.
March 4, 1863. J. L. Somerby, Co. I, of the 6th Wisconsin, has returned to Viroqua in good health, although he was twice wounded at the battle of Gainesville. He is still hoarse from the effects of a secret bullet sent through his neck from a Texan rifle.
August 5. Capt. N. M. Layne, Co. C, of the 18th Wisconsin, arrived home very much reduced by protracted illness. The seats were removed in the stage, and a bed prepared by James Morton, and he came through from Sparta in a day, withont injury. Deputy Pro- vost Marshal Poland and Mr. Thomas Decker, who is a member of the captain's company, and who arrived at home three or four days before him, made him a call a few days since, and found him in good spirits and improving. What a world of murder, wounds, sickness and sorrow the villainous leaders of this causeless rebellion will have to answer for.
CHAPTER XVIII.
PIONEER REMINISCENCES.
I. BY ROYAL C. BIERCE.
When I landed at Prairie du Chien on the 17th day of June, 1845, I looked up north over the country that now contains the counties of Crawford, Vernon, Monroe, La Crosse, Jackson, Clark, Dunn, Pepin, Eau Claire, Buffalo, Bar- ron, St. Croix, Polk, Price, Burnett, Wash- burn, Ashland, Bayfield and Chippewa, only two of which, Crawford and Chippewa, had existence. The cities of La Crosse, Eau Claire, Hudson, Chippewa Falls, St. Paul and Minne- apolis, were not. The years in which their ex- istence was to commence had not come around. The spring before, 1844, as I stood on the deck
of a steamer at St. Louis, that was taking on passengers and cargo for a trip up the Missis- sippi river, I noticed, fixed around on the bow of the boat, painted signs bearing the names of Nauvoo, Keokuk, Dubuque, Prairie La Crosse, Reeds' Landing and St. Peters, denoting that the boat was to touch at those points. These were about all the cities there were at that time between St. Louis and St. Peters, the head of navigation, or supposed to be then, on the Father of Waters. While the name of St. Peters has been lost sight of as a "local habitation," and Prairie La Crosse has been changed to poetic La Crosse, we have at the head of navigation on the
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
Mississippi, the two magnificent cities, St. Paul and Minneapolis, containing together, a popula- tion of 150,000 souls, and each having a reputa- tion that is as wide as the commercial world.
In 1845, when the wintry winds came whist- ling down from the shores of Lake Superior, the great inland sea whose wide stretch of waters were there hardly looked on by the eye of the white man, they swept over immense and unex- plored forests of pine and hard wood timber, unvex'd by the woodman's ax, and the table- lands, the valleys and the patches of prairie that are now full of human habitations and of life, lay in silence awaiting the coming of the hardy pioneer. True, on the Chippewa, the Black, the Red Cedar and the St. Croix, there were a few small saw mills running single saws, and a few woodmen engaged in cutting logs for the mills, and this is all there was to break the si- lence from the mouth. of the Wisconsin river to the shores of Lake Superior.
In 1855, two years after my settlement in Bad Ax county, when the census was taken, Craw- ford county had a population of 3,323; Bad Ax county, 4,823; La Crosse county, 3,904; Monroe county, 2,407; St. Croix county, 2,040; Trem- pealeau county, 493; Buffalo county, 832; Chip- pewa county, 838. The other counties of north- western Wisconsin were not then in existence. The whole population that was scattered from the Wisconsin river to Lake Superior, even so late as in 1855, was but 18,660. Probably ten years before, in 1845, when I landed at Prairie du Chien, the population did not exceed 1,000 souls in all northwestern Wisconsin.
In 1851 the counties of Bad Ax and La Crosse were organized from portions of the territory of Crawford. In what manner Bad Ax county got its name, no one seemed to know. The oldest settlers did not know. Even the late Judge Wiram Knowlton, of Prairie du Chien, who was quite an archaeologist did not know. There were various theories on the matter. Some con- tended that the name was a corruption of the French word bateaux; that some French trader
loaded bateaux with goods to trade to the In- dians for furs, and that he anchored his boats at the mouth of the Bad Ax river, and estab- lished a trading post there; that the Indians could not say bateaux; that the nearest they could come to the pronunciation of the word, was budux, and that thus the name of Bad Ax got fastened on the river, and the river gave the name to the county. I do not know how cor- rect this theory may be, one thing is certain, the waters of that river have ever been cool, clear and sparkling, and bright, and the trout that darted through its crystal waters, very large, lively fellows, and of superior flavor. That stream deserves a better name. Another theory of the older settlers was, that in the long, long ago, when Prairie du Chien was nothing but a French trading post, a trader loaded his bateaux with goods of various kinds to trade to the In- dians for furs; that he, too, moored his boats near the mouth of the Bad Ax, and that he had, among other articles, a large quantity of axes which he traded off to the Indians; that the axes all proved to be bad, worthless, and that the trader and the river near whose mouth he traded, got the name of Bad Ax, and the latter gave the name to the county. These traditions will probably soon be lost, and the origin of the name will be concealed in eternal mystery.
But whatever may have been the origin of the name, it was from the first a blight to the county, although the old pioneers seemed to be a long while in learning the fact. What has even been a source of wonder to me, is, that the Legislature of the State ever gave such a name to the county, but after it was done, successive Legislatures seemed to take delight in making fun of it, and of its inhabitants. For many years the Legislature held annually, what was called a "Session of the Sovereigns," the whole thing being a huge burlesque, and in those sessions, in one form or another, Bad Ax would be wrung in. On such occasions, the "Gentle- man from Bad Acts," would figure conspicu- ously.
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
It is a fact that letters came to the postoffice in Viroqua with the figures of broken, bruised, bat- tered, bent and twisted axes preceding the word county, thus by caricature indicating the county in which Viroqua was located. Soon after I settled in Viroqua, I saw enough to convince me that the name was retarding the settlement of the county. Still, many of the old pioneers seemed to like the name, and were satisfied with it. There were those who thought the very oddity of the name would attract settlers. In . 1859 1 made a move towards getting the name changed. I drew up a petition to the Legisla- ture, leaving a blank for the new name, as I had no particular choice, but would have been satisfied with any good name that would be ac- ceptable to the people of the county. I pre- sented the petition to many of the old settlers, not so much for the purpose of getting their names to it, as for the purpose of getting an expression of opinion on the expediency of hay- ing the name changed. I saw from the manner in which my petition was received, that the time for getting the name changed had not then come. There were those who said they would ride through the county to get signatures to remonstrances against changing the name if I pressed my petition. I did not press my peti- tion, for I felt assured the changing of the name was only a question of time. There were young people growing up all around to whose ears the name Bad Ax sounded uncouth, and I knew the sturdy pioneer would have to bend to "young America." The change came, however, a little sooner than I expected, for in 1861 Judge Terhune came into my office one day with a pe- tition to the Legislature, asking that the name be changed to Vernon, and with a bill that he had drawn making the change. The bill was well and carefully drawn, and bill and petition were sent to Gov. Rusk, who then represented one of the Assembly districts in Bad Ax county, in the Legislature. He at once introduced the bill, it was soon passed, approved and became a law, and the name Bad Ax went into-not oblivion,
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