The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources; an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages etc, Part 57

Author: Western Historical Co., pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1050

USA > Wisconsin > Waukesha County > The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources; an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages etc > Part 57

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In 1835, George W. Featherstonhaugh, in his reports to the Government, mentioned that a large village of peaceable Pottawatomies was located where Waukesha now is. Mr. Childs mentioned (1827) that the Winnebagoes had been attempting to incite this village of Pottawat- omies to join them on the war path ; and that, although this was not accomplished, the warriors were somewhat ngly and threatened to make him trouble. They let him go in peace, however, and did not aid the Winnebagoes in their assaults on the whites, nor aid them in their attempt to resist the arrest of the Winnebago murderers in 1828. Afterward, they became very friendly to the whites. In fact, this tribe was always remarkable for its peaceable relations with other tribes as well as with the whites. This is the testimony of all old settlers. In 1639, they occupied more or less of a strip of country from Green Bay extending below Milwaukee River, in company with Sauks and Winnebagoes.

Tradition has it that the Winnebagoes occupied the Waukesha and adjoining country over two centuries ago, having fled before the Spaniards from Mexico. This has some show of truth, as the tribe was named Weene-be-go by the Algonquins, a term signifying fetid, stinking or salt water. The French rendered it Ouinnebago, which finally degenerated into Winnebago. The truth of this tradition is more strongly fortified by the indisputable fact that the Winnebagoes knew and described the Spaniards, always manifesting the most intense hatred of them, when first discovered by the whites. But whether or not this is true, or whether they did actually reside in Waukesha, is of little importance to this work, and of still less interest to the county's present inhabitants. Of the Pottawatomies, with whom the whites became well acquainted, and who frequently furnished the early settlers with shelter, food, guides and warning information as to the movements of hostile tribes, something more should be sad. Their graves, corn-hills and camp-fire remains have not all disappeared from the county even yet, and many families have numerous interesting relics obtained from them safely stored away. The men, or "bucks," were expert hunters, athletic and lazy. No such embonpoint was ever discovered among them

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

as is common everywhere with the whites, extreme laziness being universal. The women, or " squaws," did all the work while in camp, and generally carried their smaller children and bore all the other burdens when on the march. No matter how long and tedious the journey, they were not relieved by the warriors. A local writer, speaking of these Indians and the first settlers, said :

"It is well known that they continued to spend a portion of every year among the lakes and rivers of Waukesha County for years after the first settlements were begun, and conse- quently our oldest settlers became familiarly acquainted with hundreds of them. The disposi- tion of the aborigines is uniformly described by those who knew them best, as having been extremely good. Malicious criminals were almost unknown among them, and the settlers suf- fered very little from petty depredations on the part of their copper-colored friends. The women are said to have been as virtuous generally as are those of an equal population of white people, at least in their relations with their own race.

"The manner of burial practiced by the Pottawatomies was similar to that of many of the wandering tribes to-day. The body of the deceased was clothed in the blanket worn dur- ing life, a pipe, tobacco and food were placed in its hands for solace during the journey to the happy hunting-grounds, and it was then set upon the ground with an enclosure of branches to keep it from the birds and beasts of prey, and was left to molder into dust. The variations from this manner of burial were few and of no importance. M. D. Cutler, who settled in Waukesha in 1834, states that he has seen a dead infant bound to the limb of a tree, and on one occasion discovered the body of a man tied in a standing position by the forehead, neck and waist, to the trunk of an old oak ; but in the latter case, also, there was the fence of broken limbs to protect the corpse from wild animals. The method first described was almost invariably prac- ticed.

" None of these Indians were permanently located. During the season of corn-planting, their women and children occupied the higher lands among the lakes and rivers throughout the country, and pursued their primitive methods of agriculture, while the adult males spent the time in hunting, fishing and lounging about the camp. As winter approached, they removed to some rendezvous farther south, returning with the ensuing spring. It was with such people that our three young Hoosiers [Morris D. and A. R. Cutler and Henry Luther] foregathered during their explorations in the neighborhood of Waukesha. With the assistance of their dusky friends, they were enabled to proceed with promptness and thoroughness. They went to Prospect Hill on the east, and from that delightful eminence looked down the Muskego Valley, with its chain of silvery lakes stretching for miles to the south, and in every other direction saw the undulating country covered with oaks and maples. To the west they journeyed among the hills and the lakes of Genesee and Delafield, and were shown the fishing-grounds of Pewau- kee on the north by these friendly Indians."

After the Black Hawk war of 1832, and the subsequent treaty of 1833, the Indians mostly disappeared from this vicinity, and, in 1836, had no right here whatever, though wandering bands would return every spring, to fish and beg, for a period of twenty-five years. From first to last, they never did anything worse, the whites living near them in perfect friendliness and security. The large village, which was located where Carroll College now stands, and south of it, was a brigade of huts about twelve feet in height, and from twelve to twenty feet in diameter. They were made of poles, covered with bark or skins. This village was a permanent one until 1837, except during the winters. Some of the " bucks" were constantly making expeditions, north as well as south, but the huts were put up year by year, as the first settlers found them, until late in 1837; they were then transported by the Government,' with their occupants, to a new reservation. Near this village, called Prairie Village, whence Waukesha took its first name of Prairieville, were some noted cornfields, the hills in which the maize was planted being plainly and unmistakably discernible yet. The reason for this is that the Indian method of corn-planting was far different from that in vogue among the palefaces. They made large heaps, from three to five feet across, and as near together as convenient, and in them planted

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

their corn year after year. The heaps or hills thus became as hard and permanent as any other elevation or depression of the soil, and those at Waukesha Village, if left undisturbed, will be plainly seen a thousand years hence. The present owners are determined to preserve them as they now are, fortunately, for the benefit of future generations.

The Indian trails in some portions of the county had been worn very deep by long years of use. The one leading to what is now known as Bethesda and Mineral Rock Springs was twenty inches in depth, and some leading to Pewaukee, across the prairie from the Fox River, were about two feet below the surface when the first settlers discovered them. They have been obliterated by the plow after serving thousands of years, perhaps, as the best highways the country afforded.

The leader of this band was, according to M. D. Cutler and others who knew them several years, a man, not a chief, called "Wauk-tsha," whose name will be forever perpetuated in the corporate title of the town, city and county in which he once lived. He is described as tall, athletic, proud in his bearing, dignified and friendly, and as going about after the manner of a peafowl, anxious to show his richly-decorated skins, strings of beads and shells, and tufts of feathers. He had no trophies in the way of scalps or human bones; nor did any members of his band, according to the testimony of the early settlers who lived near him.

Mukwonago was a very prominent point with the Pottawatomies, more so than any other in the county. How long this was the case of course cannot now be stated. By some, it has been designated as the "Pottawatomie capital." Whether it was or not is of little conse- quence; it certainly was their leading village in the county as far back as Vieu's and Juneau's times. It was called Mukwonago also by the Indians, because, having returned from a fruitless hunting expedition up north and found here bears enough for their meat, they desired to mark the event and the place. Muk-woh, accent on the last syllable, in which "o" sounds like "o" in oats, is the Pottawatomie for bear ; and Mukwonago is the " place of the bear." Here they raised corn in very large quantities-Solomon Juneau says as much as 5,000 bushels per year. Here they also had permanent lodges, to which they returned every spring for planting, hunt- ing and fishing. It was a fine place-beautiful as nature could make it, and in the midst of a rich-soiled country. Their large fields of corn-hills were plainly visible several years after the whites settled at Mukwonago. Near by, on land then owned by H. H. Camp, now deceased, the Indians had a smooth and level race-course, on which, at stated times, they gathered in immense numbers and indulged in the most novel and exciting horse-races imaginable ; and even after the whites had settled in the county in considerable numbers, these races with wild ponies were continued, at which the pioneers for miles around were always present, and apparently delighted spectators.

At Mukwonago also lived the last chief of the Pottawatomies, or leader of the bands at that point. His name was Wau-be-kee-tschuk, and was the only leader known by the whites. He was blind, hence his name, " Kee-tschuk," meaning eyes. The next man to him in tribal importance was Top-o-wihs (more properly Tauh-pauh-wihs), a very kind man. These impor- tant men had larger houses or wigwams than the others, and were blessed with the privilege of having more wives. To illustrate that Top-o-wihs was a kind man: Once, while riding on the road from Milwaukee, he found a trunk which had been lost from a traveler's wagon. Top-o- wibs hid the trunk, without disturbing its contents, in the brush, returned to Mukwonago and told the whites of it. In a few days, a man returned, inquiring for a trunk. Top-o-wihs was found and kindly took his pony and rode fifteen miles to the place. The man was the rightful owner of the trunk, but paid the Indian nothing, not even a dinner, for his journey of thirty miles to make known its whereabouts. This made him angry, and he declared, on his return to Mukwonago, that if he ever found another white man's trunk he would break it with his tomahawk and take whatever of value it contained.

During several years after 1837, the year the Pottawatomies went farther west, they returned to the vicinity of Mukwonago, sometimes in parcels of 100, for the season, and occa- sionally staying in the neighboring woods through the winter. They have not been back in

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

any considerable numbers since about 1860; and all those who returned in later years were gray and decrepit. They spoke fondly of Waukesha County, however, and remarked that they would like to return to it if the whites had not plowed so much of the land, felled so many of the trees and killed so much of the game. But they never will return, and more of the local history of a once powerful and happy nation will never be known than is here recorded.

After Andrew E. Elmore opened a store at Mukwonago, he learned the Pottawatomie lan- guage, and, on this account, got the custom of all the Indians in the vicinity as long as they returned, which was during nearly twenty years after they ceased to revisit any other portion of Waukesha County. Some of them came from the bead-waters of the Des Moines River, their new reservation, for the express purpose of trading their furs to a merchant who under- stood their language.

The manner in which these Indians dressed was very simple. The hair was allowed to grow at will by both male and female, and the " bucks " had no more beard than the "squaws." The former wore, in summer, when the early settlers arrived, only breech clouts ; but in winter they added leggings of skin and square blankets furnished by the Government. The latter were far less elaborate in their toilette than their white sisters of to-day, generally wearing about the same style and quantity of clothing as the males. After 1834, calico shirts became more common, and were considered a great luxury ; also, an occasional pair of pantaloons would be discovered on either a " buck " or a " squaw "-whichever first obtained possession of the garments generally got into them.

When the first white women came to Waukesha, the Indian women were deeply interested in their appearance and dress, and spent hours in watching and jabbering about them, in the most earnest manner imaginable. The youngsters-both boys and girls-ran about naked in summer, their greasy skins shining like polished mahogany.

The principal articles of food were fish, wild rice, muskrats, rabbits, prairie fowls, roots, Indian corn and wild fruits. The corn was raised in greater or less abundance, according to the industry of the squaws. Fish and game were furnished by the bucks; but they never dis- graced themselves by hoeing corn, gathering wild rice, plucking berries or crushing corn. . They also brought game home, to be skinned, drawn and prepared for the spit, or the smoking- crotches, by the squaws. It was considered enough for them to do the mere shooting and trapping.

A dish which was said to be very palatable was made by boiling fish, wild rice and Indian corn together, with a seasoning of spicy berries or herbs. This mixture was called tassim- anomin.

Their ceremonies at marriage, death and burial were as difficult to describe as they seemed ridiculous to the early white settlers. They had several burial places-one near Muskego Lake; one where the Park Hotel is, in Waukesha ; several on the lakes at Oconomowoc ; one at Mukwonago; one near Pewaukee, and perhaps others. Sometimes the graves were covered with "shakes," stuck up crosswise (see plate "B"); sometimes with logs (see Fig. 6, plate "D"); sometimes with brush or stones, and frequently bodies were fastened upright to trees, guarded from the depredations of beasts and birds for a certain number of days, and then left to decay.

The Indians found in this vicinity lived to a great age, carried an erect figure till death and were hardly ever ill. Venereal and all contagious diseases were said to be entirely unknown among them, thus showing that their simple habits of life had many redeeming features. Small- pox, and various other contagious diseases introduced by the whites, almost always resulted fatally with the Indians.

As they left no recorded history, the memory of old settlers has been depended on for any information concerning those from whom the soil now occupied by the whites was wrested by. the sheer power of superior force, and that is more or less imperfect. However, everything should be preserved that contains the remotest reference to their appearance, habits and cus- toms ; for the day is not distant when history will record the utter extinction of a race that

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

owned and occupied a whole continent, and gave it up, with the graves of their fathers, without the return of any value.

HUNTING AND TRAPPING.

But very few persons have any idea that hunting and trapping are carried on by profes- sionals in Waukesha County for profit, and that a single trapper may clear several hundreds of dollars per month in the business. In early times, Waukesha County was a rich field for trappers, owing to the large number of lakes within her borders. This was known to the early traders, who sent agents, usually Indians or half- breeds, from Green Bay, or across from Prairie du Chien, for furs ; and finally Mr. Vieu sent his son to remain in the county during portions of the year, to collect the furs of the Pottawatomies. There are still two professional trappers residing quietly in the county, the most successful being A. Vieu, living near Little Muskego Lake. Every season an agent of the leading fur dealers of Chicago, and agents from the Mil- waukee fur dealers, visit Waukesha for the purpose of contracting for furs. The last season was not a favorable one, but Mr. Vieu took between 300 and 400 muskrats, fifty minks and about a dozen otter in a month.

The muskrat skins are valued at about $20 per hundred; mink at from 75 cents to $2 each, and otter at from $9 to $20 each. Several Indians who formerly lived in the county return annually to set their traps, and then, after going to Milwaukee to sell their skins, return to the reservation to purchase supplies with the money thus earned. The casual observer would naturally suppose such persistent trapping would soon exterminate the fur-bearing animals in this county ; but the trappers say they see no material decrease, that breeding goes on just about as rapidly as destruction.

The value of furs taken in Waukesha County will probably average $2,000 per year.

AN EARLY EXPERIMENT.

In the year 1842, there came over, under the leadership of Thomas Hunt, a party of Englishmen and women, thirty-one in number, calling themselves the "Owenite Socialists," and united, according to that system, one of the best in theory, but a failure in practice, as the sequel proves. They had among them all, those who came and those who remained in England, a capital of several thousand dollars. They first purchased 160 acres of land, and elected a butcher by the name of Johnson farmer-in-chief, then went to work. Although they added to their first purchase of land, and labored hard for several years, yet the enterprise would not succeed. Being nearly all trained mechanics, they were unfitted for their chosen vocation, and as petty differences and jealousies constantly arose, adding to the unpleasantness of their situa- tion, they at last decided to disband. As everything, except the women, had been held in common, so was everything equally divided, those at home receiving their share with the rest. They lost about 333 per cent of their investment. The plan was to make Waukesha County the headquarters for a grand system of Oweniteism, but it failed.

RESIDENTS OF 1838.

The first census taken in the territory now known as the county of Waukesha is consid- ered of sufficient importance to be made the subject of a separate chapter in this work. What follows is an exact copy of the census report made by the United States Government in 1838. The census-takers, whoever they were, committed some errors, perhaps unavoidably, as several unmarried men are credited to more than one town, and several prominent men, who had been residents of the county at least two years, and who reside within its borders still, were not men- tioned. As to the correctness of names, the historian discovers everywhere that many persons change the spelling of their names as years go on, sometimes from a mere whim, and sometimes for good reasons, and it will thus be seen that, while one form of spelling was correct in 1838, another form has been adopted by the parties since that time. In the following list, the number

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

in each family, with the name of "master, mistress, steward, overseer or other principal person " is given :

Muskego .- Stephen D. Jane, 8; Henry Houck, 4; Conrad Martin, 1; Michael Myers, 9; Homer Hawkins, 1; H. V. French, 3; Edward Hart, 3; Thomas P. Sixton, 8; John M. Ives, 1; Levi G. Guile, 8 ; Henry H. Dana, 4; Calvin Douglas, 4; Ebenezer Harris, 7; James Fields, 6; George Green, 1; H. Cone, 4.

New Berlin .- Sidney Evans, 3 ; William Parsons, 2 ; Daniel P. Johns, 2; Alvah Harring- ton, 4; John S. Palmer, 5 ; Ira Carter, 2; S. R. Hawkins, 6; Timothy Burnam, 1; Joey Stewart, 5 ; George McQuarter (McWhorter), 6; Waterman Fields, 3; Nelson Smith, 1; H. Hollister, 1 ; A. R. Whipple, 1; Ransom Ruse, 3; John McWhorter, 6; Curtis Davis, 4; Joseph D. Jane, 2; Hugh Wedge, 1; Hugh McIntyre, 2 ; William Wedge, 3; John H. White, 2 ; David Elliston, 2; Luther Parker, 6 ; S. E. Hall, 2; Isaac De Witt, 1.

Brookfield .- William P. Clark, 3; Augustus Story, 7; H. H. Brannon, 4; E. Griffin, 2; John Sears, 1 ; Robert Curran, 8; Gerrey Putney, 5 ; Volney Moore, 3.

Menomonee .- Robert Stoddard, 1; Harvey Hawkins, 1; Thomas Staunton, 3; William R. Hesk, 6 ; Charles Raymond, 7; William Pettys, 1; M. Cowen, 4; Mathias Burgot, 1.

Lisbon .- James H. Thomas, 5; David Bonham, 4; John Gaitly, 1; M. Stanley, 3; Samuel Dougherty. 8; Thomas Ralph, 4; William Elliby, 1; Edward Smith, 6; James Wea- ver, 12; George Elliot. 9; John Weaver, 5; Jacob Norris, 3; Lucius Bottsford, 3; Arthur A. Redford, 8; Patrick O'Raffeda, 5; Fred B. Otis, 2; M. Conley, 4; P. N. Reay, 1.

Merton .- Elias Palmer, 8; Luther Powers, 2; Ralph Allen, 1; Thomas B. Cole, 1; J. Short, 1.

Oconomowoc .- Russell Frisby, 8; M. Morris, 7; Thomas Salters, 2; Charles Wilson, 4.

Summit .- Horace Putman, 2; Samuel C. Leavit, 7 ; Barker Hildreth, 3; Jesse Hildreth, 4; Richard Hardell, 9; Charles B. Sheldon, 1; J. D. McDonald, 1; B. Harper, 1; William Flusky, 9; M. H. Fairservice, 5 ; Curtis B. Brown, 8; Andrew Baxter, 6; Seth Reed, 5; Major Pratt, 6; Onslow Brown, 7; Jonas Folts, 2.

Ottawa .- John Vallin, 8 ; George S. Hosmer, 3.

Delafield .- Philip S. Schuyler, 5; George Paddock, 3; Joseph Ward, 4; A. N. Foster, 3; Daniel Plumley, 1; Solomon White, 1; H. Campbell, 3; N. Thomas, 1; Homer S. Finlay, 4 ; H. C. Skinner, 6; Addison Ross, 2.

Pewaukee .- Daniel W. Kellogg, 6 ; S. Barnett (probably Morris S. Barnett), 1; Henry Clarke, 1; James O. Harry, 2; Andrew McCormick, 5; Francis McCormick, 4; Asa Clark, 10 ; Charles Bell, 3; Alfred Morgan, 5; Truman Wheeler, 10; I. Porter (probably Israel W. Porter), 10; Ethan Owen, 8 ; Harry F. Bigelow, 4 ; B. Rawson, 2; Zebulon Bidwell, 4; Isaac Judson, 4; R. Fuller, 10; L. Bidwell, 5; Hamilton Nelson, 3; Joseph Remington, 4; Waldo Rosebrook, 9; Thomas H. Olin, 4; Nelson Olin, 4; Richard Griffin, 2; J. W. Woodworth, 3; E. N. Maynard, 2.

Waukesha .- David Jackson, 11; Henry Brown, 3; George P. Goulding, 15; Allen Clin- ton, 11; Morris D. Cutler, 1; A. R. Cutler, 1; Robert Love, 9; Nathaniel Walton, 9; Rich- ard Smart, 1; Isaac Smart, 4; Sabina Barney, 7; P. N. Cushman, 8; B. S. McMillan, 3; Madison Cornwall, 6; E. D. Clinton, 8 ; Ezra Mendall, 12; James Rossman, 1; Moses Ord- way, 1; A. Foster Pratt, 3; G. A. Thompson, 1; John Y. Watson, 8; J. Sayles, 3; I. Whitcher, 4; Isaac Carpenter, 2; Daniel Thompson, 4; Roswell Hill, 1; Edward Kavanaugh, 2 ; J. M. Bidwell, 1; Edward W. Goodnow, 1; T. C. Jones, 1; Ira Potter, 2.

Genesee .- Joseph Marsh, 3; Orrin Brown, 3; Anson Denny, 8; Abram Bolser, 2, George Bolser, 7; William C. Garton, 4; William Cobb, 1; Charles Reynons, 6.

Eagle .- A. R. Hinkley, 3; Eb Thomas, 5; Thomas Woolley, 1; John Hearre, 5; Joseph Bias, 4; Thomas Coates, 1; John Taylor, 1; Josiah De Wolf, 6; A. Harris, 5; Thomas Orchard, 3; Andrew Scholfield, 7; Charles Cox, 5; William Sherman, 5; Daniel Bigelow, 5; Samos Parsons, 5; B. Whitehouse, 1; B. Severance, 5; N. Sherman, 3.

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Mukwonago .- William Ellis, 1; John Burnell, 6; Robert Wilkinson, 1; James Ewell, 5 ; James Smart, 8; William Long, 1; Thomas Sugden, 3; William Cross, 5; Lyman Jones (should be Simon), 9; George P. Thompson, 2; William Sugden, 5; Joseph Smart, 5; Will- iam Moody, 3; David Orendorff, 6; Webber Andrews, 5; James K. Orendorff, 5; John Stock- man, 8 ; Whiting Hudson, 4; Henry H. Camp, 2; Wilder Chapin, 3.

Vernon .- Gains Morgan (should be Gains Munger), 6; Sherman Morse, 5; Isaac Blood, 5; Jesse Smith, 6; P. Putman, 3 ; Curtis W. Hezilton (Haseltine), 2; John Dodge, 2; John Thomas, 7; Orrin B. Hesilton ( Haseltine), 2; Aaron Putnam, 3; Lazarus Whipple, 1; Nelson K. Smith, 5; Asa A. Flint, 3; Orrin Haseltine, 10 ; Almon Welch, 2; Joseph P. Osborn, 1; M. Barnett, 4; Amos Putnam, 1.

Just how far the above statement is faulty, the historian is not able to determine; Lyman Good- now, Deisner, John Gale, Jr., C. C. Olin, William T. Bidwell, Sewall Andrews, A. C. Nickell, Martin Field, Samuel Winch, C. B. Stockman, Lyman Hill, and, doubtless, several others were here when the census was taken. Some of them do not appear in name in this report, because they were merely boarders with those whose names are given. The document, however, is accu- rate enough to be of considerable value and great interest.

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The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources; an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages etc, Part 57

Author: Western Historical Co., pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 1050

Author: Western Historical Co., pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1050