USA > Wisconsin > Winnebago County > History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and early history of the Northwest > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
" My husband, who was just prepaaing to spring into the canoe when the dogs thus unceremoniously took precedence of him, was at my side in a moment, and, seizing me by the collar of my cloak, begged me not to he frightened. I was not, in the least, and only laughed as he raised and placed me again upon the bank.
" There my husband insisted on my putting on dry shoes and stockings, and (must I confess it) drinking a little brandy to obviate the effects of my icy bath. He would fain have made a halt to kindle a fire and dry my apparel and wardrobe properly, but this I would not listen to. I endeavored to prove to him that the delay would expose me to more cold than rid- ing in my wet habit and cloak, and so, indeed, it might have been; but along with my convictions upon the subject, there was mingled a spice of reluctance that our friends at the fort should have an opportunity, as they certainly would have done, of laughing at our inauspicious commencement.
"Soon our horses were put in order, and our march com . menced. The day was fine for the season. I felt no incon- venience from my wet garments, the exercise of riding taking away all feeling of chilliness. It was to me a new mode of traveling, and I enjoyed it the more from having been secluded for more than five months within the walls of the fort, scarcely varying the tenor of our lives by an occasional walk of half a mile into the surrounding woods.
" We alighted at an open space, just within the verge of the wood, or, as it is called by western travelers, 'the timber.' My husband recommended to me to walk about until a fire should be made, which was soon accomplished by our active and experienced woodsmen, to whom the felling of a large tree was the work of a very few minutes. The dry grass around furnished an excellent tinder, which soon ignited by the sparks from the flint-there were no loco-focos in those days -- and, aided by the broken branches and bits of light wood, soon produced a cheering flame. "The bourgeois," in the meantime, busied himself in setting up the tent, taking care to place it opposite the fire, but in such a direction that the
80
EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
[1831.
wind would carry the smoke or flame away from the opening or door. Within upon the ground were spread, first a bear skin, then two or three blankets, of which each equestrian had carried two, one under the saddle and one above it, after which, the remainder of the luggage being brought in, I was able to divest myself of all my wet clothing and replace it with dry. Some idea of the state of the weather may be formed from the fact that my riding hahit, being placed over the end of the huge log against which our fire was made, was, in a very few minutes, frozen so stiff as to stand upright, giving the appearance of a dress out of which a lady had vanished in some unaccountable manner.
" It would be but a repetition of our experience upon the Fox River to describe the ham broiled upon the 'broches,'the toasted bread, the steaming coffee, the primitive table furniture. There is, however, this difference, that of the latter we carry with us in our journeys on horseback only a coffee pot, a tea kettle, and each rider his tin cup and hunting knife. The deportment at table is marked by an absence of ceremony. The knife is drawn from the scabbard; those who remember to do so, vouchsafe it a wipe upon thé napkin. . Its first office is to stir the cup of coffee, next to divide the piece of ham which is placed on the half of a traveling biscuit, which is held in the left hand, and fulfills the office of a plate. It is an art only to be acquired by long practice, to cut the meat so skillfully as not at the same to destroy the dish.
"March ninth. Our journey this day led us past the first of the Four Lakes. Scattered along its banks was an encampment of Winnebagoes. They greeted their 'father' with vociferous joy. 'Bon-jour, bon-jour, Shawnee-aw-kee. Hee-nee-karray- kay-noo?" ( How do you do ?) To this succeeded the usual announcement, 'Wys-kap-rak tshooush-koo-nee-no!" (I have no bread.)
" This is their form of begging, but we could not afford to be generous, for the uncertainty of obtaining a supply, should our own be exhausted, obliged us to observe the strictest econ- omy.
" How beautiful the encampment looked in the morning sun ! The matted lodges, with the blue smoke curling from their tops, the trees and bushes powdered with a light snow which had fallen through the night, the lake shining and sparkling atmost at our feet-even the Indians, in their peculiar costume, adding to the picturesque.
" When we reached Morrison's, 1 was so much exhausted that, as my husband attempted to lift me from the saddle, I fell into his arms.
" 'This will never do,' said he. 'To-morrow we must turn our faces towards Fort Winnebago again.'
"The door opened hospitably to receive us. We were wel- comed by a lady with a most sweet, benignant countenance,and by her companion, some years younger. The first was Mrs. Morrison; the other Miss Elizabeth Dodge, daughter of Gen- cral Dodge.
" My husband laid me upon a small bed, in a room where the ladies had been sitting at work. They took off my bonnet and riding dress, chafed my hands, and prepared mc some warm wine and water, by which I was soon revived. A half hour's repose so refreshed me that I was able to converse with the ladies, and to relieve my husband's mind of all anxiety on my account. Tea was announced soon after, and we repaired to an adjoining building, for Morrison's, like the establishment of all settlers of that period, consisted of a group
of detached log houses, or cabins, each containing one, or, at most, two apartments.
" The table groaned with good cheer, and brought to mind some that I have seen among the old-fashioned Dutch residents on the banks of the Hudson.
" I had recovered my spirits; and we were quite a cheerful party. Mrs. Morrison told us that during the first eighteen months she passed in this country, she did not speak with a white woman, the only society she had being that of her hus- band and two black servant women.
"'The next morning, after a cheerful breakfast, at which we were joined by the Rev. Mr. Kent, of Galena, we prepared for our journey. I had reconciled my husband to continuing our route towards Chicago, by assuring him that I felt as fresh and bright as when I first set out from home.
""'Whose cabins are these,' asked Mr. Kinzie of a man who was cutting wood at the door of one.
" 'Hamilton's,' was the reply ; and he stepped forward at once to assist us to alight, hospitality being a matter of course in these wild regions.
"1 soon contrived, with my husband's aid, to disembarrass myself of my wrappings ; and, having seen me comfortably dis- posed of, and in a fair way to be thawed after my freezing ride, he left me, to see after his men and horses.
" He was a long time absent, and I expected he would return, accompanied by our host ; but when he reappeared it was to tell me, laughing, that Mr. Hamilton hesitated to pre- sent himself before me, being unwilling that one who had been acquainted with some of his family at the east, should see him in his present mode of life. However, this feeling appar- ently wore off, for before dinner he came in, and was intro- cluced to me, and was as agreeable and polite as the son of Alexander Hamilton would naturally be.
"The housekeeper, who was the wife of one of the miners, prepared us a plain, comfortable dinner, and a table as long as the dimensions of the cabin would admit, was set out, the end nearest the fire being covered with somewhat nicer furniture, and more delicate fare than the remaining portion.
"Mr. Hamilton passed most of the afternoon with us, for the storm raged so without that to proceed on our journey was out of the question. He gave us many pleasant anecdotes and reminiscences of his early life in New York, and of his adven- tures since he had come to the western wilderness. When obliged to leave us for a while, he furnished us with some books to entertain us, the most interesting of which was the biography of his father.
" Could this illustrious man have forseen in what a scene- the dwelling of his son, this book was to be one day perused, what would have been his sensations ?
" The next day's sun rose clear and bright. Refreshed and invigorated we looked forward with pleasure to a recom- mencement of our journey, confident of meeting no more mis- haps by the way.
" At length, just at sunset, we reached the dark, rapid waters of the Rock River. The 'ferry,' which we had traveled so far out of our way to take advantage of, proved to he merely a small boat or skiff, the larger one having been swept off into the stream, and carried down in the breaking up of the ice the week previous.
"My husband's first care was to get me across. He placedl me with the saddles, packs, etc., in the boat, and, as at that late hour, no time was to be lost, he ventured, at the same
81
EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
1731.]
time to hold the bridles of the most docile horses, to guide them in swimming the river.
"All being safely landed, a short walk brought us to the house of Mr. Dixon. Although so recently come into the country, he had contrived to make everything comfortable around him, and when he ushered us into Mrs. Dixon's sitting room, and seated us by a glowing wood fire, while Mrs. Dixon husied herself in preparing us a nice supper, I felt that the comfort overbalanced the inconvenience of such a journey.
"A most savory supper of ducks and venison, with their accompaniments, soon smoked upon the board, and we did ample justice to it. Traveling is a great sharpener of the appetite, and so is cheerfulness, and the latter was increased by the encouraging account Mr. Dixon gave us of the remainder of the route yet before us.
"'There is no difficulty,' said he 'if you keep a little to the north, and strike the Sauk trail. If you get too far to the south you will come upon the Winnebago Swamp, and once in that there is no telling when you will ever get out again. As for the distance, it is nothing at all to speak of. Two young men came out here from Chicago, on foot, last fall. They got here the evening of the second day; and, even with a lady in your party, you could go on horseback in less time than that. The only thing is to be sure and get on the right track that the Sauks have made in going every year from the Mississippi to Canada to receive their presents from the British Indian Agent.'
"'The following morning, which was a bright and lovely one for that season of the year, we took leave of Mr. and Mrs. Dixon in high spirits. We traveled for the first few miles along the beautiful, undulating banks of the Rock River, always in an easterly direction, keeping the beaten path, or rather road, which led to Fort Clark, or Peria. The Sank trail, we had been told, would cross this road at the distance of about six miles.
"After having traveled, as we judged, fully that distance, we came upon a trail bearing northeast, and a consultation was held as to the probability of its being the one we were in search of,
" Mr. Kinzie was of opinion that it tended too much to the north, and was, moreover, too faint and obscure for a trail so much used, and by so large a body of Indians in their annual journeys.
" Plante was positive as to its being the very spot where he and 'Piche,' in their journey to Fort Winnebago the year before, struck into the great road. 'On that very rising ground at the point of woods, he remembered perfectly stopping to shoot ducks, which they ate for their supper.'
" But Monsieur Plante was convinced of his mistake, when the trail brought us to the great bend of the river, with its bold, rocky bluffs.
" 'Are you satisfied now, Plante?' asked Mr. Kinzie. " By your leave, I will now play pilot myself,' and he struck off from the trail, in a direction as nearly east as possible.
" The weather had changed and become intensely cold, and we felt that the detention we had met with, even should we now be in the right road, was no trifling matter. We had not added to our stock of provisions at Dixon's, wishing to carry as much forage as we were able for our horses, for whom the scanty picking around our encamping grounds afforded an insufficient meal. But we were buoyed up by the hope that we were in the right path at last, and we journeyed on until
night, when we reached a comfortable 'encampment,' in the edge of a grove near a small stream.
"Oh, how bitterly cold that night was! The salted provis- ions, to which I was unaccustomed, occasioned me an intoler- erable thirst, and my husband was in the habit of placing the little tin coffee-pot, filled with water at my bed's head, when we went to rest, but this night it was frozen solid long before midnight. We were so well wrapped up in blankets that we did not suffer from cold while within the tent. but the open air was severe in the extreme.
" March fifteenth. We were aroused by the 'bourgeois' at peep of day, for starting. We must find the Sauk trail this day at all hazards. What would become of us should we fail to do so ? It was a question no one liked to ask, and certainly one that no one could have answered.
" We pursued our way, however, and a devious one it must have been. After traveling in this way many miles, we came upon an Indian trail, deeply indented. running at right angles with the course we were pursuing. The snow had ceased, and, the clouds becoming thinner, we were able to observe the direction of the sun, and to perceive that the trail ran north and south. What should we do? Was it safest to pursue our easterly course, or was it probable that by following this new path, we shoul fall into the direct one we had been so long seeking ? If we decided to take the trail, should we go north or south ? He was of opinion we were still too far north- somewhere about the Grand Marias or Kish-wau-kee. Mr. Kellogg and Plante were for taking the northerly direction. The latter was positive his bourgeois had already gone too far south-in fact, that we must now be in the neighborhood of the Illinois River. Finding bimself in the minority, my husband yielded, and we turned our horses' heads north, much against his will. After proceeding a few miles, however, he took a sud- den determination. 'You may go north, if you please,' said he, " but I am convinced that the other course is right, and I shall face about-follow who will.'
"So we wheeled around and rode south again, and many a long and weary mile did we travel.
" The road, which had continued many miles through the prairie, at length, in winding around a point of woods, brought us suddenly upon an Indian village. A shout of joy broke from the whole party, but no answering shout was returned- not even a bark of friendly welcome-as we galloped up to the wigwams. All was silent as the grave. We rode round and round, then dismounted, and looked into several of the spacious huts. They had evidently been long deserted. Nothing remained but the bare walls of bark, from which everything in the shape of furniture had been stripped by the owners, and carried with them to to their wintering-grounds; to be brought back in the spring, when they returned to make their corn- fields and occupy their summer cabins.
"Our disappointment may be better imagined than described. With heavy hearts we mounted and once more pursued our way, the snow again falling and adding to the discomforts of our position. At length we halted for the night. We had long been aware that our stock of provisions was insufficient for another day, and here we were, nobody knew where, in the midst of woods and prairies-certainly far from any human habitation, with barely enough food for a slender evening's meal.
"The poor dogs came whining around ns to beg their usual portion, but they were obliged to content themselves with a
11
82
EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
[1831.
bare bone, and we retired to rest with the feeling that if not actually hungry then, we should certainly be so to-morrow.
"The morrow came. Plante and Roy had a bright fire and a nice pot of coffee for us. It was our only breakfast, for on shaking the bag and turning it inside out, we could make no more of our stock of bread than three crackers, which the rest of the family insisted I should put in my pocket for my dinner. I was much touched by the kindness of Mr. Kellogg, who drew from his wallet a piece of tongue and a slice of fruit-cake, which he said he had been saving for the lady since the day before, for he saw how matters were a-going.
"Poor man! it would have been well if he had listened to Mr. Kinzie, and provided himself at the outset with a larger store of provisions. As it was, those he brought with him were exhausted early the second day, and he had been boarding with us for the last two meals.
" We still had the trail to guide us, and we continued to follow it until about nine o'clock, when, in emerging from a wood, we came upon a broad and rapid river. A collection of Indian wigwams stood upon the opposite bank, and, as the trail led directly to the water, it was fair to infer that the stream was fordable. We had no opportunity of testing it, however, for the banks were so lined with ice, which, was piled up tier upon tier by the breaking up of the previous week, that we tried in vain to find a path by which we could descend the bank to the water.
"The men shouted again and again, in hopes some strag. gling inhabitant of the village might be at hand with his canoe. No answer was returned, save the echoes. What was to be clone ? I looked at my husband and saw that care was on his brow, although he still continued to speak cheerfully. 'We will follow this cross-trail down the bank of the river,' said he. There must be Indians wintering near in some of these points of wood.'
"I must confess that I felt somewhat dismayed at our pros- pects, but I kept up a show of courage, and did not allow my despondency to be seen. All the party were dull and gloomy enough.
"We kept along the bank, which was considerably elevated above the water, and bordered at a little distance with a thick wood. All at once my horse, who was mortally afraid of Indi- ans, began to jump and prance, snorting and pricking up his ears as if an enemy were at hand. I screamed with delight to my husband, who was at the head of the file, "Oh John ! John ! there are Indians near-look at Jerry.'
At this instant a little Indian dog ran out from under the bushes by the roadside, and hegan barking at us. Never were sounds more welcome. We rode directly into the thicket, and descending into a little hollow, found two squaws crouching behind the bushes, trying to conceal themselves from our sight.
"They appeared greatly relieved when Mr. Kinzie addressed them in the Pottawattamie language :
" 'What are you doing here ?'
" 'Digging Indian potatoes'-(a species of artichoke.)
" 'Where is your lodge ?'
" 'On the other side of the river.'
" 'Good-then you have a canoe here. Can you take us across ?'
" "Ves-the canoe is very small.'
They conducted us down the bank to the water's edge, where the canoe was, It was, indeed, very small. My hus-
band explained to them that they must take me across first, and then return for the others of the party.
" 'Will yon trust yourself alone over the river ?' inquired he, 'You see that but one can cross at a time '
"'Oh ! yes'-and I was soon placed in the bottom of the canoe, lying flat and looking up at the sky, while the older squaw took the paddle in her hand, and placed herself on her knees at my head, and the younger, a girl of fourteen or fifteen, stationed herself at my feet. There was just room enough for me to lie in this position, each of the others kneeling in the opposite ends of the canoe.
" While these preparations were making, Mr. Kinzie questioned the woman as to our whereabouts. They knew no name for the river but Saumanong. This was not definite, it being the generic term for any large stream. But he gathered that the village we had passed, higher up, on the opposite side of the stream, was Wau-ban-see's, and then he knew that we were on the Fox River, and probably about fifty miles from Chicago.
"The squaw, in answer to his inquiries, assured him that Chicago was 'close by.'
" 'That means,' said he, 'that it is not so far off as Canada We must not be too sanguine.'
" 'The men sat about unpacking the horses, and 1, in the meantime, was paddled across the river. The old woman immediately returned, leaving the younger one with me for company. I seated myself on the fallen trunk of a tree, in the midst of the snow, and looked across the dark waters.
" We followed the old squaw to her lodge, which was at no great distance in the woods. I had never before been in an Indian lodge, although I had occasionally peeped into one of the many clustered around the house of the interpreter at the Portage on my visits to his wife.
" This one was very nicely arranged. Four sticks of wood placed to form a sqare in the center, answered the purpose of a hearth, within which the fire was built, the smoke escaping through an opening in the top. The mats of which the lodge was constructed were very neat and new, and against the sides depending from the poles or frame work, hung various bags of Indian manufacture, containing their dried food and other household treasures. Sundry ladles, small kettles, and wooden bowls also hung from the cross poles, and, dangling from the center by an iron chain, was a large kettle, in which some dark suspicious looking substance was seething over the scanty fire. On the floor of the lodge, between the fire and the outer wall, were spread mats, upon which my husband invited me to be seated and make myself comfortable.
" Two little girls, inmates of the lodge, sat gazing at me with evident admiration and astonishment, which was increased when I took my little prayer book from my pocket and began to read. They had, undoubtedly, never seen a book before, and I was amused at the care with which they looked away from me, while they questioncd their mother about my strange employment and listened to her replies.
" While thus occupied, I was startled by a sudden sound of 'hogh "' and the mat which hung over the entrance of the lodge was raised, and an Indian entered with that graceful bound which is peculiar to themselves. It was the master of the lodge who had been out to shoot ducks, and was just returned. He was a tall, finely-formed man, with a cheerful open counte- nance, and he listened to what his wife, in a quiet tone, related to him, while he divested himself of his accoutrements in the most unembarrassed, well-bred manner imaginable.
83
EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
1831.]
"Soon my husband joined us. He had been engaged in attending to the comfort of his horses, and assisting his men in making their fire, and pitching their tent, which the rising storm made a matter of some difficulty.
"From the Indian he learned we were in what was called the 'Big Woods,' or 'Piche's Grove,' from a Frenchman of that name living not far from that spot-that the river we had crossed was the Fox River-that he could guide us to Piche's, from which the road was perfectly plain, or even into Chicago if we pre- ferred, but that we had better remain encamped for that day, as there was a storm coming on, and in the meantime he would go and shoot some ducks for our dinner and sup- per. He was accordingly furnished with some powder and shot, and set off again for game without delay.
"I had put into my pocket on leaving home a roll of scarlet ribbon in case a stout string should be wanted, and I now drew it forth, and with the knife which hung around my neck, I cut off a couple of yards for each of the little girls. They received it with great delight, and their mother, dividing each portion into two, tied a piece to each of the little clubs into which their hair was knotted on the temples. They laughed and exclaimed, .Saum!' as they gazed at each other, and their mother joined in their mirth, although, as I thought, a little unwilling to display her maternal exultation before a stranger.
"The tent being all in order my husband came for me, and we took leave of our friends in the wigwam with grateful hearts.
"The storm was raging without. The trees were bending and cracking around us, and the air was completely filled with the wild fowl screaming and quacking as they made their way southward before the blast. Our tent was among the trees, not far from the river. My husband took me to the bank to look for a moment at what we had escaped. The wind was sweeping down from the north in a per- fect hurricane. The water was filled with masses of snow and ice, dancing along upon the torrent over which were hurrying thousands of wild fowl, making the woods resound to their deafening clamor.
"Had we been one hour later, we could not possibly have crossed the stream, and there seems to have been nothing for us but to have remained and starved in the wilderness. Could ve be sufficiently grateful to that kind Provi- dence that had brought us safely through such dangers ?
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.