History of northern Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development, and resources; an extensive sketch of its counties, cities, towns and villages, their improvements, industries, manufactories; biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers; views of county seats, etc., Part 135

Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1052

USA > Wisconsin > History of northern Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development, and resources; an extensive sketch of its counties, cities, towns and villages, their improvements, industries, manufactories; biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers; views of county seats, etc. > Part 135

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At the time of Myrick's arrival, there was no one residing at La Crosse or on the islands contiguous thereto. The only resident in the vicinity, immediate or remote, was La Batt or La Bathe, a French trader, of whom mention is made above, but whose sojourn, as already hinted, was far from permanent. The voy- ageurs had come from Prairie du Chien with the ob- ject of establishing a trading-post, bringing with them a stock for that purpose. It was the intention of Mr. Myrick to erect a store at La Crosse and begin opera- tions at once; but the scarcity of material prevented this consummation, and so he located temporarily on the island opposite the city, where limited and com- fortless accommodations were secured. Here he opened his kit of goods, and hither tended the wanderings of the Winnebago Indians, who having received their annuities, sought the disposition of what was paid them without any unnecessary delay. In these roughly improvised and contracted quarters Mr. Myrick and his companions passed their time, eating, sleeping, making sales of goods in exchange for furs or their equivalents in money, and doubtless dreaming of days when, after patient watch and prolonged vigil, they would be rewarded with returns that should more than compensate them for the trials they had endured and the deprivations to which they had been subjected. Thus were the long Winter days and nights of that heroic period passed, and if the truth were known, they were doubtless the happiest days of lives that had not always been uncheckered or complacent.

THE SETTLEMENT ON THE MAINLAND.

In February, 1842, Reed and Wells, who had ac- companied Mr. Myrick from Prairie du Chien in No- vember, removed with him to the mainland, where La Crosse now is. The same month, H. J. B. Miller came

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HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

up the river and became an employe of Myrick. Dur- ing the Winter the latter passed on the island, he had prepared the necessary timbers for a house, with the aid of Reed and Wells, shoved it across the Missis- sippi on a hand-sled, and erected the first house in Prairie La Crosse, on the corner of State and Front streets of to-day, the site at present occupied by the Minnesota House of Alexander Whelan.

At that time, Mr. Myrick is positive as to the ap- pearance of the future city site, which, he asserts, furnished no indications of what was reserved in the future. There was no habitation of any description between the river and the bluffs, nor a sign of one, ex- cept the puncheon protectors put up by the soldiers in 1840, as a means of safety against the anticipated raids of Indians. The prairie stretched out to the east, south and north, without the slightest vestige of civili- zation to vary the monotony of the landscape, the log cabin of Myrick being the only evidence of the white man's handiwork visible, far or near. This conclusion is borne out by the testimony of many who came into the vicinity soon after, notwithstanding the doubt that is sought to be attached to his claim of precedence in effecting the settlement of La Crosse.

That year an occasional transient passed this way and tarried long enough to recuperate, when he con- tinued his journey West, the majority of these being bound for the Black River country. Jacob Spaulding went up there in 1839, and removed his family thither two years later. In 1842, Andrew Shepard, William K. Lewis, John Lewis, Col. Johnson, and a Mr. Valen- tine passed through La Crosse en route to that section of the country. The portion about La Crosse was the central point and rendezvous of the Indians, which may, doubtless, have worked some delay in its settle- ment after Myrick & Miller (who, meantime, had be- come partners in trading with them) had made a start. They gathered about the store, and at other eligible points in the vicinity in large numbers and were occa- sionally disposed to be pugnacious, especially if the least affected by liquor or the want of it. Hand-to- hand contests were of frequent occurrence between travelers and Indians, as also among themselves, and, notwithstanding the paucity of numbers, the Caucasian was capable of maintaining his supremacy and become an interested spectator of the squabbles which the red men improvised in their own homes, when aggravated by a continued period of peace.

THE FIRST SURVEY.

As the year advanced and Spring was succeeded by Summer, the tide of immigration began to set thither- ward, and an occasional settler was left with its ebb. Myrick & Miller procured a survey of the town site by Ira Bronson, of Prairie du Chien, which remained unchanged until 1851, when it was re-surveyed. These preparations had a tendency to invite visitations from earnest, enterprising men, who were on the qui vive for opportunities, and largely contributed to the future growth and development of the city and country.

Among those who came to La Crosse during 1842, was one known as Dr. Mills, who put up a house at the corner of Front and Pearl streets, where the Inter-

national Hotel has since grown into prominence. He remained here but a short time, however, returning to Dubuque, whence he came, before the season closed. Another who came in was one who sailed under the impressive pseudonym of "Scotch Billy," the why or wherefore of this nom de plume, is not of record, nor are the events in this vicinity affecting his happiness and prosperity. These, with Mr. Miller, comprised the roster of inhabitants who came to identify them- selves permanently with La Crosse, and aid in the building of the city.

Throughout the Fall nothing occurred beyond the routine of life on the confines of civilization to startle the nation, or blast or elevate the hopes of those immediately interested ; i. e., the limited number of inhabitants collected at La Crosse. The Winter of 1842-43 was one of the severest ever experienced in this latitude. Its ice and snow rendered travel to distant points comparatively easy, and its chilling blasts left the impress of their cheerless presence on the memories of those who were subjected to their penetrating influence. The season was protracted far into Spring, goods being transported on the ice from Prairie du Chien as late as April.

THE MORMON INVASION.

Early in 1843 the Mormons ventured into this por- tion of Wisconsin under the charge of George Miller and Lyman Wight, who styled themselves the Trustees of the Nauvoo House Association and Elders of the church. They came direct from Nauvoo and located at Black River Falls, where they rented the mill of J Spaulding & Son for the manufacture of lumber to be used in the erection of their temple at Nauvoo. Myrick & Miller contracted with Miller & Wight to furnish them supplies during the Winter of 1843-44, the same to be paid for in lumber at La Crosse in March of the latter year. They ran the lumber down, and liqui- dated their obligations; and, in July succeeding, transported lumber to Nauvoo.

In September of the same year, some twenty or thirty families returned to La Crosse, and encamped near the river, on what is now Front street, until they could look around for a place to locate ; and after some delay, selected the cooley at the lower end of the prai- rie, which has since been known as " Mormon Cooley."

This party was under the charge of Wight, Bird & Co., Elders of the church, and indulged all the latitude of the sect publicly. The form of sealings or marriage, which has of late years been recognized as an indispens- able precedent, was never thought of by the Wight & Bird offshoots. In place of this, a revelation that a brother and sister should be " sealed" without any formal ceremony was all that was necessary, and the only agency employed to attract the brothers and sis- ters into practically illustrating the true theory of Mormon theology. These and other features of their lives in La Crosse vicinity had the effect of making them generally disliked, and this dislike found such frequent expression that they finally departed hence.

Myrick & Miller hired quite a number of the men to chop wood on the island, also to get out rails, and another party of them to proceed to Black River to make shingles. During the latter part of the Winter

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HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY.

of 1843-41, or during the early Spring of the latter rear, they seized flat-boats on the slough near the mouth of Mormon Cooley. Thus being prepared, the choppers on the island and shingle shapers on Black River, rendez- vonsed at the Cooley, put their household goods and ef- fects on the flat-boats, fired their houses and departed in the night for Nauvoo. Luckily they were discovered before they were out of reach, and after some trouble the claims held by settlers against them were liquidated, when they were permitted to depart, and never re- turned.

The experiment of Joseph and Hyram Smith was sought to be established throughout the West during those early days particularly in Illinois and portions of Wisconsin. These efforts, however, were unattended with results anticipated, and meeting with a very pro- nounced opposition from legitimate settlers, ceased to be more than the incident of a season. Some prose- lyting was attempted with indifferent success. A very few converts were "led astray," as is known, and a still more limited number accompanied the successors of the Smiths to Utah ; but the people in the West at this time were hardly prepared to embrace a creed, the corner-stone of which was laid in superstition and im- morality.

MYRICK'S FIRST HOUSE.

At this point it should be observed that during the Summer of this year (1843), Myrick utilized a quanti- ty of hewn lumber obtained on Black River to the building of a comfortable dwelling, 20 x 30, finished on the inside with lath and plaster, and sheltered by a roof of shingles. This, with an addition 12 x 16, was the first residence making any pretensions to comfort, not to say rude elegance, erected in future La Crosse.

THE PIONEER'S MARRIAGE.

In June, Mr. Myrick left his adopted home and re- turned to the home of his nativity (Westport, N. Y), and was married to Miss Rebecca E. Ismon, of that section, with whom he came back to La Crosse in Sep- tember, accompanied by Miss Louisa Pierson. This was the first marriage wherein a resident of La Crosse was intimately associated, and Mrs. Myrick, with Miss Pierson, were the first ladies to visit this section of the country with a view to remaining either temporarily or permanently. Society in the days whereof mention is here made is not represented as being either numerous or critically select. There were no females in the coun- try save squaws, and in spite of the poetic license which has colored the character of the sex, they were, if the statements made are founded on fact, the reverse of fascinating or attractive. Indeed, in some instances, if cleanliness is next to godliness, they were the fur- thest removed from such a consummation. Miss Pier- son, it is said, changed her coign of vantage as a look- er-on in the west to Illinois, where she was married to "Scoots" Miller within a year, but Mrs. Myrick re- mained and as the wife of the first white settler in La Crosse, became part of the history of this section of the State.

About this time, three small steamers made pilgrim- ages at very long intervals, between Galena and Fort Snelling, landing at Prairie du Chien, Bad Axe, Win-

nesheik, Coon's Slough, La Crosse, etc., and were sources of convenient wonder and wonderful conven- ience to the traders, Indians, and all who witnessed their maneuvers while making or returning from port. Their names were "Argo," "Otter" and "Little Beaver," to which was added the "Lynx" in 1845, when the nun- ber of annual trips was increased, and the wonder and convenience greatly augmented. Travel then was not what it has since grown to be with its palace cars and luxuriously furnished steamers. A trip hence to the East or from outer sections of the country hither was not one of pleasure, and only undertaken when every expedient designed to avoid it had failed.

THE FIRST RAFT.

In the Fall of 1844, the limited number of settlers were somewhat surprised at the venture of Myrick & Miller in floating a raft of logs from La Crosse to St. Louis. These men were engaged in every variety of business, from trading with the Indians to entertaining a traveling colporteur. Their house became the home of all who visited La Crosse, and for the first years of the city in embryo, was the only hotel between Prairie du Chien and Fort Snelling. When lumbering began to be prominent in this vicinity, they engaged in the business, and carried it on with such judgment and capacity as to secure them large returns. In time, they began to consider the feasibility and prospective returns that would attend a raft voyage to the "future great city of the West," as prejudiced residents of St. Louis are wont to fondly term their city, and this was the inaugural test, besides being the first of its kind to be made from the upper river. The craft, in the ab- sence of data indicating a contrary result, arrived at St. Louis on time, and, it is to be hoped, gave the ven- turesome consignors a liberal profit.

MORMON NOTES.

This was the year in which the Mormons returned and established themselves in Mormon Cooley, with a view of founding another Mecca. They were under the leadership of Elder Lyman Wight, and erected a number of cabins preparatory to permanent settlement in this vicinity. The females are said to have num- bered among them some Welsh and 'English girls of rare beauty, good singers and quite entertaining, but whose exclusiveness was painfully disagreeable to ad- miring Gentiles. They enjoyed a closer communion than any other sect which had up to that time defined its principles, and when some of the most youthful, fascinating and irresistible of the Gentile residents ex- tended them harmless attentions, Elder Wight pro- tested, and the damsels were terrified into obedience.

Wight is said to have been a Mormon and a sinner of the most pronounced type ; the hardest swearer and freest drinker in the vicinity ; a man who combined a love for wine, women and wassail with professions of temperance as earnest as they were often ill-timed for the sake of his professions. In his cups he was not only affecting but confidential, and Dr. Bunnell recalls an incident of this peculiar characteristic which came under his observation. The Elder upon one occasion, after bringing tears to the eyes of his audience by an eloquent discourse upon the evils of intemperance, and

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HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

drinking a half-pint of whisky left by his own son, told them that he was going to Texas because the climate about La Crosse was too - cold for his constitution. He went as promised, followed by his neophytes and converts within a brief period, they going to Salt Lake while he went South. The land occupied by them was subsequently owned by John Connelly, and now by the Ochler brothers. Not many years ago, the build- ings erected by them were still standing, among which a limekiln which had been used by them was dis- covered, and pieces of mill-stone which had been de- stroyed by them were found imbedded in a creek.

THE ABSENCE OF SCHOOLS-TRAVEL TO BLACK RIVER.

As yet there were no schools to educate aspiring youth, or churches to gather in their folds the citizens, Indians and lost of Israel generally. Such dispensa- tions were not of as frequent occurrence, so to speak, as to-day, and their absence scarcely commented upon. They did not exist, and as blessings they were all the more appreciated when, as conservers of intelligence and morality, they came into the midst of the village, and have since gathered strength and multiplied in in- fluence. In those days, as one of them remarked to the writer, the citizens were regarded by the world at large as cast-off heathens, whose redemption from ignorance and sin was of less consequence than the comfort and spiritual welfare of the Timbuctoo abo- rigines and man-eaters.

The travel to Black River, during 1844, was quite equal to that of preceding years, and made up of a superior class of men. They passed through La Crosse, and while never regarded as settlers, were mentioned as transients, and made purchases of the goods here in stock. Among these were O. B. Chase, a Mr. Miller, T. Wood, Andrew Gruver, J. Chauncey and possibly some others. Soon after, that is to say, from and after this year, rafts began to be made up for points down the river, and logs in the rough, as also lumber, came to be regarded as commodities for the shipment of which immense returns would be produced. That the regards entertained in this connection were the re- verse of Utopian, the present logging and lumber trade carried on from La Crosse and points above, has fully justified.

With the close of the year, the exhibit in all respects may be considered as by no means discouraging. Some accessions had been made to the inhabitants, some im- provements completed in the future village. New lines of trade had been extemporized, and upon trial found to be only waiting encouragement, which would come with the flight of time. The days were prosperous and held out the inducement of wealth to those who perse- vered unto the end. Communication was enjoyed with distant points that enabled the purchase and delivery of commodities at prices within the range of possibili- ties. If schools and churches were absent, there was then no demand ; when that demand arose, they would spring up and bear fruit. Summing up, then, the facts and the evidence admitted of but one verdict, and this verdict was accepted with results that become more manifest as years drift into the past.

FIRST DEATH

to take place among the settlers. The death of a rafts- man has already been referred to. His was the first death, properly speaking. He was en route from St. Louis to Black River, but, overcone with a consuming fever, halted at the Prairie, in hopes that rest and care would promote convalescence. But the blessing of re- turning health was denied him, and he paid the debt of mortality. His remains were enclosed in a box, there being no such thing as a coffin, and upon the morning of his interment, some fellow raftsmen visited the blacksmith shop where the body lay, and rapping on the lid of the box, interrogated the corpse as to what he would have. Silence was returned, when they de- parted with the commentary, " Well, he must be dead." He was buried in the cemetery on the knoll where Hirsheimer's plow works now are.

The Summer of 1845 witnessed the first decease among the residents. For the first time in the history of the settlement, death entered into its quiet, peace- ful precincts, gathered a young life within its chilling embrace, and departing left behind it the mark of its visitation on the door-post of Nathan and Rebecca Myrick. The home was made desolate, and tears and grief took the place of happiness and contentment. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Myrick, the victim, was ten- derly shrived for the tomb, its coffin covered with a piece of blue Indian cloth, and left to repose in the old cemetery where the dead raftsman had been laid. It was subsequently removed to another churchyard, pro- vided when the living city began to roar and swell around the one vacated, and its surf beat over and fell upon the sod.

Full many a cherished memory to-day clings about that spot once sacred. Beauty was doubtless laid there, the tears of love mingled with the damps of death upon her brow. Age reposed there, too, until the mighty tread of life had need of the soil it occupied, and dust that was once rounded into life, warmed into love and folded in sheltering arms, was herein sepul- chered. But the living must have room, and the graves and the dead were made to pay tribute to the exacting demands of the living. To the stranger visitor of to- day, there are no tokens by which its identity can be established. But to the pioneers who laid out the grounds and consecrated them to burial purposes, their location and that of their contents are as visible as they were forty years ago. Each resting-place is known to them, from the mound which rose above the friendless stranger to that which marked the resting-place of the most venerated citizen. Blessed be the memory of all.

THE FIRST BIRTH.

One of the most prominent events of 1847 was the first birth. This is always an important circumstance in every newly-settled community, and adds a cubit, as it were, to the reputation of the vicinity, and also to the stature of those more immediately interested. The case in point doubtless failed to prove the rule, by proving to be an exception. It was a daughter to the family of H. J. B. Miller, named Martha.

The stranger who first announced her presence in

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HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY.

La Crosse, in notes of infant melody, was warmly wel- comed, it is said, and made to feel as much at home as the oldest inhabitant. She was an object of interest to residents and strangers, and grew to womanliood under the name of Martha ; she lived, at last accounts, in Illinois.

George Fetherlein, an industrious German, who came in this year with a company of five of the same nation- ality, consisting of Fetherlein and wife, Valentine Dinn- inger and wife, and a young man named Phillip. Dinninger was employed by Mr. Levy, and lived in the log cabin put up by Asa White, near Gund's old Front Street brewery. He died in after years, and his widow became Mrs. Hogge, who residled after her second marriage on a farm near State Road Cooley. Phillip lived with Fetterlein and wife, passing his time during the Winter in renovating and mending saddles, harness, etc., for settlers. In the Summer, he was ac- customed to supply customers and passing boats with fish, by which means he was enabled to make a com- fortable living. In 1854, while he, in company with Fetherlein, were crossing the river in a skiff, the craft was swamped by the swell of a passing steamer, and sank, carrying the occupants of the frail boat to the bottom before aid could be provided to save them from a watery grave.

FIRST LAND SALES.

In 1848, the land of La Crosse County came into market, and entries were made at Mineral Point. This was ultimately the origin of land companies organized elsewhere to purchase lands in newly-settled portions of the country, from whose rapacity, however, La Crosse was in a measure protected. They were, in most instances, of spontaneous growth and develop- ment, without any solidity or character, and in some cases were born, matured, and reached decrepitude and forgetfulness the same day. In subsequent years, it may be, land speculators and operators were numerous about La Crosse, in the city and county, but at this period they had not made their wolfish visitation, their manner of dealing and the characteristics they mani- fested when they did come being reserved for the fu- ture to disclose.

The first to put in an appearance at the land office in Mineral Point, upon its becoming accessible to set- tlers from this section, were N. Myrick, Samuel Snow, Asa White, J. M. Levy and Peter Cameron, who went thither to prove up the claims they had made at La Crosse and vicinity. The route taken by the travelers was hence to the Ridge, and thence direct by military road to Mineral Point. The trip then occupied some thirty-six hours, and the same time back, those going being obliged to remain at Mineral Point two days be- fore they could obtain their turn and dispose of their business. This done, they returned to La Crosse se- cnre in the title to their several claims, and more en- couraged and prepared to offer inducements to settlers than ever before. But none came to either canvass, decline or accept these inducements. Considering the advantages of the site, it is somewhat remarkable that, for two years, no settlers expressed a desire to join issue with the situation, and the case thus being made

up, submitted its decision to the logic of events that brawn and brain should in the future develop.

REMOVAL OF THE INDIANS.

In the Spring of 1848, arrangements were inaugur- ated with a view to the removal of the Indians to some distant point where the aggressions of civilization had not yet manifested themselves, and to which it might be years before they would extend. And here may be related an incident of Indian character which will illus- trate one of the reasons why their intimate association was not desired by the whites.

During the Winter, their removal had been agitated, and a band laden with furs had encamped at the foot of the bluffs at some distance from the city, preparatory to negotiating the sale of their peltries. Having com- municated their desires to Mr. Levy, and engaged with him to visit their camp the succeeding day, they departed. In accordance with this arrangement, Mr. Levy and an assistant started at daylight the next morning, and traveled all day in the direction of the camp. Late in the afternoon, he reached the objective point of his journey, and halted at a distance from the Indian wigwams. It being late, he suggested to them that they postpone trading until the next day. But they'd none of it, and acting upon the apparent desire of the savages, trading was commenced while yet the light remained. By using expedition and avoiding dis- putation, the trades were concluded by dusk, and each sought their camps for the night-the one to plan to prey, and the other to plan an escape ; for while the sales were in progress, the companion of Levy heard them conspiring to steal back the skins while their pur- chasers slept, and secure them at any sacrifice. So as soon as the purchases could be securely packed on the sleigh, the traders hitched up their team, and by very careful management were enabled to elude the vigilance and cunning of the savages, and get out of their reach. They traveled all night, and reached home at daylight the next morning, happy in their good fortune, while the Indians, on discovering their escape, as was after- ward ascertained, pranced about with fury and disap- pointment.

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Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 1052

Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1052