The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin, containing a history of Dodge County, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc, Part 50

Author: Western Historical Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 774

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In the pioneer days, it was not always the case that the best men were selected to fill posts of honor. In truth, it was not always that good material was at hand with which to fill all offices of trust. Men were frequently elected Justices of the Peace, whose aptness to judge of the qualities of whisky far exceeded their ability to judge of law or to determine questions of right and wrong. One instance of this kind I now remember having recorded in my manuscript history of Dodge County. In the town of Neosho, near where the village of that name now stands, was a certain Justice of the Peace by the name of Bickford. In the trial of his first case, His Honor became

sadly " mixed up." Between his frequent potations of raw whisky and the fearful wrangling of two pettifoggers who slaughtered the law with relentless tongues, and whose knowledge of Blackstone was confined to hearsay, the said Bickford became so muddled before the close of the trial that he determined to dispose of the case in a new and unheard-of fashion. First, he ordered the Constable to pay all the costs. Then in a solemn and impressive manner he burned his docket and closed the performance by deliberately swallowing the contents of his ink-horn.

In 1844-45, the Winnebago Indians were somewhat troublesome, though not in open hostility. The settle- ments then in infancy, scattered over an extensive area, the men poorly supplied with arms and in no condition for defensive warfare, rendered the red men bold and aggressive. In the early part of 1845, Hon. Hiram Barber, who had entered a large tract of land on Rock River, about two miles east of the present county seat, had commenced making improvements upon his lands. The body of a log-house had been put up, and Mr. Barber was then keeping " bach," as many of the early settlers were obliged to do. One day a large party of "reds" of both sexes, but with a preponderance of "bucks," came to Mr. Barber's cabin. After asking for and receiving a considerable quan- tity of "cocushigan " (commonly pronounced by the whites, " quashkin," meaning bread), they began a system of appropriations quite inconsistent with the legal ideas of the proprietor of the goods. When the Judge remonstrated against their unlawful proceedings, two of the old " bucks" attacked him with the manifest intent to " lay him out," and take whatever they pleased. One of the " bucks " had got possession of a new pitchfork that had been left standing outside the building, and with that instrument he made an attempt to slaughter his intended victim. The Judge, then nearly forty years younger than now, instantly comprehending the situation, seized the pitchfork, and,

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wrenching it from the hands of his foe, dealt the red devil a blow on the head that felled him to the ground, broke the fork-handle in twain, and, for the moment, so far intimidated his assailants as to give him time to jump into his cabin and bar the door before any of the party came to the relief of their fallen champion. Once inside the cabin, he seized his trusty rifle, and when the whole crowd, male and female, resumed the attack, they soon ascertained that the tables were fairly turned on them, and that it was "puckachee" or die. None of them being just then anxious for a peep into the "happy hunting-grounds," very wisely and suddenly concluded to puckachee. Thus ended what might have proved to be a bloody tragedy but for the pluck displayed by Judge Barber. I might relate other inci- dents of a like character, in which myself and young wife were conspicuous actors, but fearing that it might be deemed egotistical, prefer to drop the subject.

Social gatherings, where they "tripped the light fantastic toe" from early candle-light till next day's dawn, became quite common as soon as the population was sufficient to admit of such gatherings, by taking in the whole county for fifteen or twenty miles around. For several years, there were no violinists nearer than Watertown, except the writer and Lathrop Horton. These two gentlemen did all the " cat-gut scraping" for the country round about for several years, and until better players came to take their places. Yet it is a notable fact, and we often hear it alluded to by those who took part in the associations of those days, that the dance was much more enjoyable than the new-fangled dances and stiff manners of what is commonly termed the "refined etiquette" of the ballroom of the present day. Then there was a union of purpose for mutual protection and enjoyment. All occupied one common level, and no such thing as caste was known among us. Every man and woman stood on his or her good behavior.

As has been the case in the opening-up of all this Western country for settlement, designing speculators- " land-sharks "-made a business of informing themselves as to the choicest tracts of land pre-empted by honest and industrious, but poor men, and then quietly stepping up to the land office, enter the claim. This system had been carried on to such an extent, in the early settlement of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and the southern part of Wis- consin, that it came to be looked upon as little better than " piracy on the high seas." Some of the early settlers in Dodge having already experienced some of the ruinous results of such proceedings, determined to bar the doors, if possible, against a recurrence of the evil. Accordingly, in some towns, particularly in Hubbard and Herman, the people formed themselves into "Protection Societies" for mutual aid in cases such as are above alluded to. The Con- stitution, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations of these societies, constituting the written portion of the work, were all carefully drawn, so that if they should, by any chance, fall into the hands of our enemies, there would be nothing that could be construed to mean intended violence, or any attempt to resist the peaceful operations of the law. But it was the unwritten portion of our work where the " fun came in." Each regular member was provided with a hideous- looking mask made of unbleached cotton cloth, and trimmed with red around the mouth and black around the eyes. Each member was likewise provided with a " frock" of the same material. The idea of this kind of uniform was borrowed from the " Anti-Renters," some of whom were members of our order, and had but recently come from the exciting scenes in the anti-rent district of Eastern New York. One of these men once told the writer that he wit- nessed the " taking-off" of " Bub" Steele, a Sheriff who was shot and killed by the Anti-Renters. When attired in full uniform, the " Protectionists " were a terror to evil-doers ; hence it is not surprising that one fellow in Herman, who had been guilty of a little crookedness in the matter of a neighbor's pre-emption, when visited by a dozen or more of these vigilantes, ran as for dear life, and afterward, in trying to describe the affair, denominated them as " white devils." The existence of these societies had a wholesome effect in Dodge County, and the class of land- sharks before alluded to very soon came to know that the east side of Rock River, in Dodge County, was a very unhealthy locality for fellows of that ilk.

During the summers of 1845 and 1846, vast quantities of rich prairie lands were broken up. In the fall of 1846, ague prevailed throughout the county to such an alarming extent that there were not well people enough to take care of the sick. No apparent cause for the prevalence of ague in 1846, more than in any other season, seemed to exist, unless it was attributable to the decomposition of such vast quantities of vegetable matter, the result of much new breaking. Taking into account the population at that date, as compared with any subsequent year, 1846 was the most unhealthy season ever known in Dodge County.

But, Mr. Editor, I fear I am " boring" you. I was not aware that I could remember so much of forty years ago, without the assistance of a single scrap of any kind of record to refresh my memory. Yet I find, on sitting down to this work, I am compelled to sift fine, lest I string out too much. Could I have had three months' notice, I could have made a much more readable article. Now if you should conclude to insert this simply as a letter containing some reminiscences of early times, you are at liberty so to use it ; or if you think it too long or too scattering in its make-up, you are equally at liberty to cull out such passages as will best answer the design of your work, and throw the remainder into your waste-basket. I will now endeavor to comply with your request for a sketch of my life up to this date.

I was born in Eden, Erie Co., N. Y., September 4, 1820, and am now past 59 years of age; my father, Obed Warren, was never overburdened with an excess of worldly goods, and, indeed, I do not think he ever cared much about wealth. He was devoutly religious, and cared more for the society of a family and friends than for riches of a worldly nature. From the age of five to eleven, I went to the " district school as it was," where I learned to read, a little of geography, a little of writing, and so much of mathematics as I could pick up by hearing higher classes recite. This was the sum total of my school education-the remainder, if any, has been gained from reading and observation. At the age of fourteen, my father, with his family, removed to Cherry Valley, in Ashtabula County, Ohio, where my four elder brothers had gone the year previous, to open up a new farm in the heavy timber-lands of that portion of Ohio. Here I labored hard in clearing away the heavy timber until about the 1st of April, 1845, when, with my widowed mother, two brothers and two sisters, I emigrated to the then Territory of Wisconsin, selecting my home in Dodge County, one and a half miles east of the present village of Horicon. Being one of the first settlers in Hubbard Township, and having taken a lively interest in the settlement and development of the county, I was chosen Town Clerk at the first town meeting held. From that time until the spring of 1859, I was chosen to some

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office nearly every year. On the 16th of September, 1846, I was married to Miss Augusta B. Horton (then only fifteen years of age), with whom I have lived happily to the present time. Our union has been blessed with three children, a daughter and two sons. The daughter is married, and lives near us. The two sons are both printers, the eldest being foreman in the Upper Des Moines office at Algona, the other, foreman in the Northern Vindicator office at Estherville. From 1849 to 1866, I worked principally at carpenter or millwright work. In June, 1859, I removed with my family to Arcadia, Trempeleau Co., Wis., where I remained about four years. It was at this place, in March, 1860, that my house and all its contents, including my " History of Dodge County," then in manuscript, was destroyed by fire. This was a very serious loss of several thousand dollars' worth of property, including a choice and carefully selected library of over four hundred volumes. This library I had been thirty-five years in collecting, and it con- tained a number of volumes then out of print, and which I have never been able to replace. In March, 1862, I removed to Eau Claire City, Wis., where I was employed most of the time through the summer seasons in the capacity of millwright in the extensive mills of Daniel Shaw & Co. My winters were passed in the pineries, hewing square timber and scaling logs. In May, 1866, I sold all my possessions in Eau Claire, built a flatboat of capacity sufficient to carry my family and goods, and in it made my way down the Chippewa to the Mississippi, and thence to Dubuque, Iowa. There I sold my boat, and, by rail, came to Iowa Falls, and thence by wagons to Algona. My eldest son, then about fourteen years of age, had commenced learning the " art preservative of all arts," and on his account I bought the Upper Des Moines office, for $600, paying but a small installment down. Previous to this date, November, 1866, I had never written more than two or three newspaper articles. But throwing my whole energy into the enter- prise, together with the faithful labor of my son, who took the entire charge of the mechanical department, we suc- ceeded in making it one of the largest and (though modesty should forbid me from saying it) best newspapers in Northern Iowa. We enlarged the paper from 24 to 28 columns, and again from 28 to 32, and finally from 32 to 36 columns, all the time increasing the patronage and circulation of the paper in proportion to its size. In 1872, I sold the old Washington press, the same being the first press ever put upon Iowa soil, and replaced it with a $2,000 Potter power-press, together with all other necessary furniture, job-presses, etc. On the 10th of September, 1875, I sold the office with fixtures and good will, after having been editor and sole proprietor for nearly nine years.

The newspaper business was the beginning of my prosperity, though I was somewhat advanced in years when I began. During the nine years of my editorial life I also served as Postmaster of Algona three years, and Assessor of Internal Revenue nearly two years. After selling the Upper Des Moines, I embarked in a new enterprise in the adjoining county of Emmet. The venture was nothing less than the founding of a new town, called Swan Lake City, located at the geographical center of Emmet County, with a view to getting the county seat re-located at the new town. It was a bold venture, the county seat having been located for sixteen years at the village of Estherville in the northwest corner of the county. But pluck and untiring perseverance will win. At the October election, 1879, the Board of Supervisors, of which body I have been a member for the past three years, ordered the question of re-location to be submitted to a vote, and the result was a large majority for Swan Lake City. We had a suitable building which we tendered to the county for Court House and county offices, and, on the 29th of October, 1879, the first term of the District Court was held at the new county seat. I have a large circle of friends in Kossuth County, and, in future, will divide my time between Swan Lake City and Algona, at which place I still have a good residence,

Addenda .- After reviewing my manuscript (something I very seldom do), I find some important matters that I have entirely failed to notice. The vast bed of iron ore, the brown hematite, or flax-seed ore, was known to exist in Dodge County as early as 1845, but no one knew much of its character or value. We called it the "red lands," but had no thought of the vast mine of wealth contained in it. Early in 1845, I procured from the Land Office at Green Bay, Government plats of Towns 11 and 12, Range 16, and Town 11, Range 17, for the purpose of showing land to new-comers. These I sent to the land office about once in each month for correction, thus keeping myself pretty well posted on entries in those towns. By the aid of these plats I assisted many of the first settlers in mak- ing choice of their future homes, and at the same time became so very familiar with the principal sections and quarter posts that I could tell the witness trees at a great number of points without reference to the field notes. It was in this business of land-looking that I first saw the ore beds. I took a number of people to see the lands beneath which the ore is located, none of whom were suited with it until I showed it to Rufus Allen. The eighty acres cov- ering the richest, and, probably, the deepest portion of the mine, was entered by Reuben Allen, a son of Rufus Allen. In the summer following, young Allen was killed by lightning, and the property reverted, in law, to his father, who soon afterward sold it to the Wisconsin Iron Company for $9,000. In February, 1848, myself and Oscar F. Horton were employed by the Wisconsin Iron Company to sink the first shaft, in order, if possible, to find out the depth of the mineral. After sinking to the depth of twenty-one feet, the ore becoming richer and more com- pact, so much so that we could no longer dig with shovels, Mr. White became well satisfied that there was an inex- haustible supply of mineral, and directed us to quit digging, remarking at the same time that there was enough ore to supply a hundred blast furnaces for one hundred years, and then have plenty remaining. His estimate of the supply was not so wild a guess as might at first seem probable. The man who first discovered and determined the character of the "red lands" was Edward Cowen, a native of the Isle of Man. Mr. Cowen was brought up in the iron mines of his native island, and at first sight declared the "red " substance to be rich iron ore.

Game and fish were very abundant for some years after settlers began to come into the county. It was no difficult task for a " good shot " to hang up three or four deer in a day. Occasionally a hunter would bring in a huge black bear. I remember one having been killed by John Newsam and Hiram Ward, as late as 1848, that weighed over four hundred pounds.

The winter of 1845-46 set in very severe about the 20th of November. In the latter part of December, 1845, or early in January, 1846, a pack of very large timber wolves attacked our cattle in the night and killed a valuable cow within thirty feet of our door. All the male members of the family were at Mayville, getting in logs to the mill. Not one of the female members knew how to use a rifle, though there were two good ones in the house. They, how- ever, let out a valuable bulldog, and he lasted about thirty seconds. A few nights after this, the same pack killed

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two fine yearlings for Collins Bishop. The pack was finally broken up by Hiram Ward, who succeeded in slaying one and Oscar F. Horton soon after killed another.

I desire to say a few words in relation to the antiquity of the country of which I have been writing. You may, perhaps, dcem it of sufficient importance to place the substance in your history. The ancient Mound-Builders, whom I denominate " Aztecs," were at some period spread over the whole of the State and were evidently very numerous. But at what period they came or went away, it is now impossible to determine with any degree of certainty. Suffi- cient evidence still exists to prove that these people were acquainted with the arts and sciences to a very great extent, understood making bricks, pottery and fine edged-tools, and were in many other respects a civilized and enlightened people. In proof of this theory, I might cite the written opinions of Josiah Priest and many other eminent anti- quarians. But instead of quoting other authorities I will state " what I know " about the matter, and leave you to hunt up other authorities. The great number of mounds scattered along the Rock River, from Mayville to the Missis- sippi, are proofs that have remained for ages since their authors passed away. Some of these appear to have been built for defense, as witness those at Aztalan, and others to mark the final resting-place of some chief, hetman or ruler. Myself and Garry Taylor once opened one of these curious looking mounds. It was located a little way southwest from Mr. Taylor's house, and was built in the shape of an immense alligator, the whole length of the mound being about sixteen rods. In the center, about where the heart of the reptile might be supposed to lie, we dug down to the depth of four or five feet, where we found the decayed bones of a human being. From the position of the bones, it appeared that the body was placed in a sitting posture, the skull being the first reached ; then pieces of the vertebra and small bits of ribs, and all resting upon the pelvic bones, with the leg bones extending out to the eastward. Under the whole mass was a considerable quantity of well-preserved charcoal. On the mound, and · within a few feet of where lay this skeleton, was then growing a white-oak tree, fully two feet in diameter.

In the winter of 1849-50, I had occasion to cut down a very large white-oak tree, standing on the town line between Hubbard and Williamstown, on Sections 5 and 32, the same being a " sight" tree. If my memory is cor- rect, the tree was between three and four feet in diameter, and had made a very slow growth. In cutting in on the east side, at a distance of sixteen inches or more from the outer bark, I found a peculiar looking scar. On examining this scar closely, it was found to be the plain mark of some sharp instrument not unlike the ax in common use at this time. Carefully cutting in, above and below the scar, I took out a block or chip six inches square and two inches thick. This chip bore several distinct cuts to the depth of an inch or more, the cuts being very smoothly made with a keen ax or hatchet. In 1859, I sent the chip to the State Historical Society at Madison, with a full statement of the finding, giving the number of consecutive rings outside of the scar (which I think was something over eight hun- dred), as well as the full age of the tree as shown by said rings. My recollection is that the tree was over one thou- sand years old. I visited Madison on the 4th of July, 1872, and took a careful look through all the multitude of relics of by-gone years, but saw no trace of my chip. I am of opinion that it was either mislaid or never reached its destination.

In 1848, while engaged in breaking up a piece of land on his farm, Garry Taylor discovered many piece of ancient pottery of curious make. He also found in the same field numerous pieces of well-burnt brick, some of which were nearly whole. I think Mr. Taylor still preserves specimens of both. His house is situated on a beauti- ful piece of high ground, on what was once a deep bay, forming a part of Lake Horicon.

My theory is that the Great Winnebago Marsh was once a lake, covering an area of nearly 100,000 square miles ; that the barrier formerly .existed at the outlet where Horicon now stands, that made it a large, deep lake : that the Aztecs knew something of commerce and navigation, and that there once stood a large town or city on the spot where Mr. Taylor's house now stands ; that the bay spoken of was a beautiful harbor for sail vessels and that vessels were built at that place. In support of my theory I will state, that in 1848, while assisting Garry Taylor in excavating his cellar, we found many evidences of an ancient city having existed there. Parts of well-burnt bricks, fragments of pottery, and at a depth of four feet below the surface, we found five iron spikes, uniform in size and form, five and a half inches in length, with " chisel " points and heads very much like the spikes used in ship- building at the present day. These spikes were so completely oxidized that they were easily broken in pieces. Whether Mr. Taylor preserved those relics of a long past and forgotten civilization or not, I am unable to state.

I might relate many other facts of a similar charactor, but with one more I will close this chapter. In the spring of 1847, while plowing on my land on, Section 5, I was trying the experiment of deep plowing. With two yoke of oxen on a stirring plow, running "beam deep," I discovered a large quantity (nearly a half-bushel) of flint arrow-heads of all sizes from one to three inches long. They appeared to have been deposited all at one time and in an excavation made for that purpose. I had previously noticed large quantities of chips from flint stones used in the manufacture of arrow-heads, not far from where the deposit of arrow-heads was found.

And now, Mr. Editor, I trust you will deem yourself sufficiently bored by my "long yarns," and it will be a relief to me to learn that it does not compel the necessity for some kind friend to pen your obituary before your work is finished. What I have written has been written in great haste. You will, doubtless, discover many grammat- ical errors as well as errors in spelling, but while correcting these mistakes you will bear in mind that I never read a page in any work on grammar in my whole life. I fully appreciate the importance of preserving a correct record of events connected with the first settlement of Dodge County. Hoping that your efforts may be successful and your reward full and ample, I subscribe myself, Fraternally yours,

J. H. WARREN.

COUNTY JUDGES.

The first County Judge elected in Dodge County was James Giddings. He was chosen at the fall election of 1846, and served four years, being succeeded by George W. Green. Judge Green's successor was Samuel L. Rose, at present residing in Beaver Dam, who resigned

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in June, 1855, Leonard Mertz being appointed for the unexpired term. Judge Mertz was elected to the office in 1858, and held it by re-election until his death, June 8, 1868. A. Scott Sloan, of Beaver Dam, was appointed to fill the vacancy thus created, and was in turn elected to the office in 1870, holding about six years and a half altogether, and being succeeded by Edward Elwell in 1874. Silas W. Lamoreux is the present incumbent. He was elected in 1878 and his term will expire in 1882.

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The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin, containing a history of Dodge County, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc, Part 50

Author: Western Historical Co Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 774

Author: Western Historical Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 774