USA > Wisconsin > Jefferson County > The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing biographical sketches > Part 52
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The first steamer to ripple the placid waters of the cheerful Crawfish and jump the rapids of Rock River, was that constructed by Capt. N. P. Hawks at Aztalan in 1839. During that season, the eraft was launched and completed, and, under the pilotage of James L. Thayer, who, with his " gallant crew," proceeded in the direction of Jefferson, where, npon the boat's arrival. it was intended that the " merry maidens and the tar " would dream the happy hours away in worshiping at the shrine of Terpsichore. Thither sped the gallant craft until she had reached a place on the river a short distance above the objective point and nearly opposite the present Harvey Foster farm, when " rocks" in the river summarily checked her further advance, and there it remained until the cattle from adjoining " openings " were yoked up and these obsta- cles removed. The boat then continued to Jefferson, where a previously arranged programme was concluded, when she proceeded to the Mississippi, and for many years, according to report. breasted the angry waves of this inland sea.
351
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
The first ground broken for agricultural purposes in Jefferson is generally accredited to James Paine and Squire Brayton. Robert Masters, about the year 1837, procured a set of irons made for a breaking plow, at Milwaukee. Not knowing any one near that settlement who knew how to " wood " the plow, he procured the services of a man near Prairieville to do the job, for which he paid him a bagatelle of $14; or rather he paid $7 and got trusted for $7, for which the laborer trusts him yet. While Capt. Masters was gone to the lakes, Mr. Paine and Squire Brayton borrowed the " tool," and thus was lost to the gentleman to whom the honor was exclusively due, the privilege he so dearly coveted.
HISTORICAL FACTS.
The first road constructed in the county is said to have been that from Watertown to Jeffer- son, Timothy Johnson, Philander Baldwin, Reeve Griswold and Charles Seaton being the builders, in the summer of 1836.
Judge Irvin is stated to have been the first Presiding Judge in the County ; Dr. Lucins I. Barber the first Clerk, and E. N. Foster the first Sheriff.
Squire Brayton is the first Justice the County Records note as having taken the oath of office as Justice of the Peace ; though it is a well-known fact that Alvin Foster officiated in that capacity previous to 1839.
The first suit mentioned in the files is an action of replevin, instituted in June, and tried at the November term of the Circuit Court, 1839.
Public worship is reported to have been inaugurated in the county at Aztalan, in 1837.
COUNTY ROSTER.
Sheriff .- E. N. Foster, from 1843 to 1845; L. A. Cole, to 1847 ; Royal Tyler, to 1849; Enieas D. Masters, to 1851 ; James Manville, to 1853; Austin Kellogg, to 1855; Joseph Giles, to 1857; Edward Rankin, to 1859; Joseph Giles, to 1861; H. Smith, to 1863; George Trucks, to 1865; C. K. Zimmerman, to 1867 ; Joseph Giles, to 1869; Austin Kellogg, to 1871; Ernest Schwellenbach, to 1873; Ernest Off, elected in 1872, served one year, when the office was vacated by his death, when Joseph Giles was appointed his successor, and at the ensuing election was chosen Sheriff, remaining in office two years, being succeeded by the election of Earl Newton, who remained in office until 1879, when Alonzo Brown, the present officer, was awarded the certificate.
Clerk of the Circuit Court .- J. A. Hadley, from 1849 to 1851, the first election for this office of which there is any record ; H. F. Pelton, to 1853; W. H. Besley, to 1855; H. F. Pelton, to 1857; S. T. Clothier, to 1861, having served two terms ; D. Ostrander, to 1863; John C. Kelley, to 1865, re-elected and remaining in office until 1867, when he was succeeded by P. N. Waterbury, who served four terms, ending in 1875; D. E. Baker, to 1877, re-elected, but died on July 1, 1877, and P. N. Waterbury appointed to the vacancy thereby created, remaining in office until the election and qualification of C. F. Krebs, the present incumbent.
County Clerk .- Lucius I. Barber, elected in 1842, the first Clerk of which there is any record, re-elected in 1843-44; F. A. Potter, in 1845; S. S. Keyes, 1846; Harvey Foster, 1847 ; H. F. Pelton, 1848, re-elected, in 1849, in place of D. C. Pinkham, removed : D. A. Colton, elected in November, 1850, and served during 1851-52; Charles Rogers, 1853-54; C. L. Smith, 1855-56; O. C. Merriman, 1857-58; I. W. Bird, 1859-60; W. P. Forsyth, 1861-62; G. D. Mead, 1863-64; W. H. Porter, 1865-66; D. W. Ballou, 1867-68; Jack- son Jones, 1869-70; P. E. Kelley, 1871-72, re-elected and served in 1873-74; W. H. Hake, present officer, inducted into office in 1875, re-elected in November, 1876, and in November, 1878.
Register of Deeds .- Robert Masters, the first Register of Deeds who qualified in Jeffer- son County, was elected in September, 1839, and served until 1842, when he was succeeded by
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
G. F. Markley. who remained in office until 1845; G. HI. Morrison, 1845; John E. Holmes, 1846; Jonas Folts, 1847; Willard Grant, 1848; thereafter. the election held biennially, A. H. Waldo being the first officer elected under the new law. and holding office for two years; W. H. Besley, chosen at a special election held June 15. 1851. to fill vacancy caused by J. W. Ostrander's failure to qualify ; R. Tyler, 1852 ; Charles Stoppenbach, 1854, re-elected in 1856 ; G. Schnasse, 1858; F. G. L. Struve, 1860; Joseph Stoppenbach. 1862; A. J. Rankin, 1864; Joseph Berger, 1866: A. Scheuber, 1868: Henry Colonius, 1870, re-elected in 1872; Robert Hass, 1874; Daniel Rutledge, 1876, re-elected in 1878.
County Treasurer .- E. C. Montague, elected in September, 1839, took his office in Janu- ary, 1840, re-elected the two succeeding terms. serving until January 1, 1843, and was followed by E. G. Darling, who served until January 1, 1845; R. J. Currier, 1845; G. F. Markley, 1846; Andrew Lansing, 1847 ; William Lanphear, 1848; George Dow, elected under the State law for two years, but was removed, and J. W. Ostrander elected in 1849, holding office until January, 1851, when Myron Smith qualified as his successor ; Daniel Howell, 1853 ; Nel- son Fryer, 1855; William Sanborn, 1857; D. F. Jones. 1859; W. Grant, 1861; S. Burns, 1863; W. S. Greene, 1865; Edmund Sweeney, 1867; John Malloy, 1869; W. A. Greene, 1871; George Foster, 1873; Frederick Buchholtz, 1875; Gideon Ives, 1877; W. C. Waldo, 1879.
District Attorney .- No officer serving during the Territorial government of the county. The first officer clected after the admission of the State was Daniel Dodge, who took his office January 1, 1849, and served two years, when he was succeeded by William Dutcher, January 1. 1851, who was re-elected and continued in office until January 1, 1855 ; L. B. Caswell, 1855 to 1857 : Daniel Hall, to 1859 : Harlow Pease, to 1861; Hiram Barber, to 1863; Myron B. Williams, to 1867 ; D. F. Weymouth. to 1869: Myron B. Williams, to 1873; N. Steinaker, to 1875 : W. II. Rogers, to 1877. re-elected ; A. G. Steiner, present incumbent.
Surveyor .- The first Surveyor under territorial law was Milo Jones, clected in September, 1839, and continuing in office until January 1. 1845; L. P. Drake, 1845-46; Harvey San- born, 1847 ; J. W. Ostrander, 1848 : Levi P. Drake, elected under State Law, serving from January 1, 1849, until January 1, 1851 ; Alonzo Wing, to 1853, re-elected : A. H. Waldo. to 1857 ; L. P. Gilbert, to 1859, re-elected; C. P. Goodrich, 1861-63; H. Steger, to 1865, re- elected : C. P. Goodrich, to 1869; K. P. Clark, to 1871, re-elected, and serving until 1877 ; J. D. Waterbury, elected, but failing to qualify, C. P. Goodrich was elected by the County Board to fill the unexpired term ending January 1, 1879, when he was succeeded by K. P. Clark, present Surveyor.
Coroner .- J. D. Waterbury, elected in September, 1839, and served until January 1, 1842; R. M. Nevins, 1842 to 1843; C. May, to 1844, re-elected; E. G. Darling, to 1846; Robert Masters, to 1847 ; E. G. Darling, to 1848; C. May, to 1849; L. O. Jones, elected for two years under the State law, but was removed, and Alonzo Wing qualified, remaining in office until January 1, 1851; C. B. King, to 1853; S. S. Keyes, to 1855; C. J. Bell, to 1857; John Jung. to 1859 : George Foster. to 1861; R. A. Tubbs, to 1863 : Earl Newton, to 1865, re-elected : Charles Stoppenbach, to 1869; C. W. Bieber, to 1871; James Manville, to 1873; William Higbie, to 1875 ; James Rogan, to 1877, re-elected ; Nelson Fryer, present incumbent.
Members of the General Assembly .- Lucius I. Barber and James Sutherland. from 1840 to 1842; Robert Masters, 1843-44: Noah Phelps. 1845: Mark Clapp, William M. Dennis and Noah Phelps, 1846 ; James Giddings, 1847 ; Levi P. Drake and Horace D. Patch. elected to the special session, convened October 27, 1847, re-elected to the term of 1848. Members of the Assembly after the admission of Wisconsin into the Union-Wales Emmons, Peter H. Turner and Davenport Rood, 1848; Benjamin Nute, Jarvis K. Pike and William H. Johnson, 1849 ; Abraham Vanderpool. Austin Kellogg and Alva Stewart, 1850; Alonzo Wing, Patrick Rogan and S. F. Clothier, 1851 ; Thomas R. Mott, A. H. Van Norstrand and Jacob Skinner, 1852 ; P. Rogan, James H. Ostrander, D. J. Powers, W. W. Woodman and J. E. IIolmes, 1853; C. J. Bell, D. L. Morrison, D. Reed, W. Eustis and Theodore Barnhardt, 1854; P.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Rogan, John Gibb, A. II. Van Norstrand, J. G. Merriam and Willard Grant, 1855; D. L. Morri- son, W. Chappell, W. W. Woodman, H. C. Drake and D. Reed, 1856 : Elatus M. Aspinwall, J. F. Ostrander, W. Chappell, W. M. Morse and K. P. Clark, 1857; Miles Holmes, G. C. Smith, P. Rogan, John Gibb and Harlow Pease, 1858; K. J. Craig, G. C. Smith, L. A. Cole, F. Wagner and S. J. Conklin, 1859; N. Horton, C. H. G. Hammerquist, H. Smith, H. H. Winter and J. Sutton, 1860; J. D. Petrie, H. B. Willard, T. Prentiss, S. Hoyes and S. M. Cone, 1861; P. Rogan, W. S. Greene, W. W. Reed and J. B. Crosby, 1862; Emil Rothe, N. S. Greene, L. B. Caswell and J. M. Bingham, 1863; Robert Hass, A. B. Smith, Joseph Powers and James M. Bingham, 1864; Jonathan Piper, Gardner Spoor, Alanson Pike and W. P. Forsyth, 1865 ; P. Rogan, John Mosher, W. W. Reed and Henry Harnden, 1866; Thomas Shinnick, G. H. Bryant, W. W. Reed and J. D. Petrie, 1867 ; Henry S. Howell, C. P. Good- rich, Jonas Folts and F. G. L. Struve. 1868; John Rutledge, S. J. Conklin, J. Winslow and J. M. Bingham, 1869; Daniel Hall, C. H. Phillips, R. H. Tousley and J. M. Bingham, 1870; Daniel Hall, W. L. Hoskins, N. Fryer and H. J. Ball, 1871 : Daniel Hall, W. L. Hoskins and L. B. Caswell, 1872; Patrick Devy, C. H. Steinfort and J. W. Ostrander, 1873; Charles Becknal, Austin Kellogg and L. B. Caswell, 1874; Christian Mayer, Austin Kellogg and J. W. Ostrander, 1875; Thomas Shinnick, Charles H. Phillips and David W. Curtis, 1876; Hezekiah Flinn, Charles H. Phillips and Adolf Scheuber, 1877 ; Hiram J. Ball, John D. Bul- lock and Hezekiah Flinn, 1878; J. W. Ostrander, John D. Bullock and Hezekiah Flinn, 1879. Senators .- Ebenezer Brigham, 1838; Daniel S. Sutherland, 1839-40 ; Ebenezer Brigham, 1841-42; Lueius I. Barber, 1843-44 : John Catlin, 1845-46 ; John E. Holines, 1847-48. The first session of the State Legislature was convened on Monday, June 5, 1848, at which and thereafter the county of Jefferson was represented by the following Senators and Members of the General Assembly : William M. Dennis, 1848; James Giddings, 1850; Alva Stewart, 1852; Daniel Howell, 1854; S. W. Barnes, 1856; William Chappell and Samuel C. Bean, in 1858, when the county formed a part of two Senatorial districts and so continued until 1862; William Chappell and E. D. Masters, 1859 ; Charles R. Gill and E. D. Masters, 1860; Charles R. Gill and E. Montgomery, 1861; E. Montgomery, 1862; J. D. Clapp, 1863-64: S. W. Budlong, 1865-66 ; G. T. Thorn, 1867-68; W. W. Woodman, 1869-72; W. S. Greene, 1873-74; W. W. Reed, 1875-78; November, 1878, Charles H. Phillips elected, died January following before the Legislature convened. At a special election held January 20, 1879, J. B. Bennett, the present incumbent, elected.
County Judges .- Thomas Brayton served during 1843-46; George Dow, 1847-49; Will- iam T. Butler, 1850-58 ; Samuel Baird, 1859-61; I. W. Bird, 1862-74; Aaron Rankin, 1875-78 ; Henry Colonius. the present incumbent, whose term expires in January, 1882.
School Superintendents .- J. K. Purdy, 1859-61; Alonzo Wing, 1861-63, re-elected and served until 1866; G. W. Bird, to 1868, also re- elected ; Amos Squire, to 1871; S. A. Craig, to 1873, re-elected ; C. J. Collier. to 1877-re-elected, present incumbent.
Commissioners under the Territorial Government .- John A. Chadwick, D. Little and John Richards, 1839; John C. Gilman, John Richards and William Sacia, 1840; Robert Masters, John Richards and M. R. Clapp, 1841, when the office was changed to Supervisor.
Assessors .- D. W. Kellogg. J. Crane and Benjamin Nute, 1839 ; D. W. Kellogg, G. P. Marston and S. D. Stiles, 1840 ; George Hebard, Milo Jones and D. W. Kellogg, 1841. Collectors-George Hebard, 1839; David Temple 1840.
Members of the First Constitutional Convention .- Patrick Rogan, Theodore Prentiss, Aaron Rankin, Elihu Atwood, Samuel T. Clothier, Peter H. Turner and George Hyer.
Members of the Second Constitutional Convention .- Theodore Prentiss, Milo Jones, Abram Vanderpool and Jonas Folts.
COUNTY BUILDINGS.
Court House .- During the days when Wisconsin was under Territorial government, court was held in the Jefferson House, also in the second story of Sanhorn's building on Main street,
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
where the Sawyer House is now located. The last session was convened in this building in the spring of 1842, and the building itself was partially destroyed by fire on St. Patrick's Day, 1876, but has since been rebuilt and reconstructed and is now known as the Sawyer House.
On January 6, 1842, William Sanborn closed a contract with Robert Masters, John Rich- ards and M. R. Clapp, Commissioners of Jefferson County, for the erection of a Court House. Jail and Sheriff's residence, on the public square. Mr. Sanborn employed George Crist and Daniel N. Miller to get out the timber and construct the building. These parties occupied the fall and winter of 1842 in preparing the material, and, early in that year, began to put it in place. This was completed during the spring of the same year, and. in June following, the frame of the Court House, which has since been occupied for judicial purposes, was raised, the same put under cover and sided up ready for the carpenters. the contractors receiving pay for their services in town lots. Immediately upon the completion of this preliminary work, the interior was put in order and made ready for occupation by Davenport Rood. The dimensions of the builling were 30x46 feet, containing a court room on the second floor, the first floor being used for county offices and jury rooms, and cost $3,000, which was paid in full on January 4, 1844, by the transfer on that day of eighty acres of ground in the northeast fractional quarter of Sec- tion 11 to William Sanborn by Asa F. Snell, Benjamin Piper, M. Jones, John Richards, W. H. Lanphear, John Fuller and A. E. Horton, members of the Board of Supervisors.
The building was increased in size by the addition of a building to the cast front of twenty- five feet in 1861, since when no further improvements or additions have been made.
The Jail was built during the year the construction of the Court House was commenced. It was composed of logs, and occupied a lot in the southeast corner of the public square. It was small for the purpose, containing two cells, and adjoined the Sheriff's house, which faced to the north, both of which improvements were put up and placed in order for occupancy by Crist & Miller. This served the purpose for which it was erected until 1850. when the building was pulled down and a brick edifice erected in its place by Waldo & Vanderpool, contractors, which was destroyed by fire in June, 1874. In July, the Board of Supervisors closed a contract with Charles Stoppenbach for the building and equipment of the present jail and Sheriff's residence, for the sum of $12,000. But changes were made in the original plans, and improvements were added until, when the work was accepted by the County Board on the 4th of January, 1875. the cost thereof footed up a total of $18,000. It is a massive brick, two and one-half stories high, containing ample accommodations for the Sheriff's office and residence, as also for jail purposes, and is a source of pride to the city of which it is an attractive ornament.
The Register's Office, together with the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court. is con- tained in a one-story, fire-proof brick building on the public square, north of the Court House The Register's Office was first located in a frame building on Main street, erected by George Crist for Alonzo Wing (the same building at present adjoining the Post Office on the south), in 1842. This was partially destroyed by fire on the 18th of February, 1845, and the Register of Deeds ran the gantlet of various unoccupied buildings until the completion of that now in usc, which was accomplished in 1851, by Waldo & Vanderpool, when it was taken possession of by the county, whose representatives still claim title by occupation.
The Poor House .- In the early days of Jefferson, poverty was attended with industry and municipal aid in providing for the care of the distressed and afflicted was rarely invoked. As the settlement increased in size and importance, and the protection of the unfortunate poor became a necessity, means had to be provided in their behalf. At first they were taken care of at public expense ; then the system of caring for the poor by town organization obtained. and continued until the county was charged with their support by legislative enactment. This latter system has been in force, with one exception, since 1854, or thereabouts. the exception being during the year 1877, when the town system was revived, lasting, however, but six months. The present County Poor House property was provided for at a meeting of the Board of Super- visors, convened in the latter part of 1854, or carly in 1855, at which a committee, of which the late Capt. E. D. Masters was chairman. was appointed and empowered to purchase land and
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
erect suitable buildings for the poor of Jefferson County. Aeting upon these instructions, the committee purchased eighty acres of the present farm, located a mile west of the city from Capt. Masters, for $4,000. In 1855, they commenced the crection of buildings, which were completed the same year and occupied in 1856. At that time the premises were 30x50, and ample for the accommodation of the county's wards. In 1863, the North Addition was completed by George Crist at a cost of $1,000, and, in 1868, the accommodations were still further increased. and the buildings raised another story. In the same year, twenty acres of ground were added to the farm, from the Copeland property adjoining, at a cost of $1,000. In 1872, the South Addition was built by George Crist. Jr., for which $2,500 was paid, since which date the premises have not been enlarged. There are at the present writing (1879), a total of fifty-seven inmates deriving their sustenance from the county, twenty-eight of whom are insane, for the protec- tion of which class of dependents ample facilities were provided for in the addition built in 1872.
The institution is supported partly from appropriations made by the county authorities, and partly by the productions of the farm, which. for the year 1879, aggregated 1,500 bushels of grain. 400 of potatoes, and the usual complement of vegetables. The annual expense
involved in the care of the county poor is stated at about $3,000. The buildings, grounds and immediate supervision of the inmates is under the control of a Superintendent, appointed by the Board of Supervisors, and the following named gentlemen have thus far been honored with public confidence : James Barr, E. D. Masters, George Trucks, Christopher Grimm, John Whelan, David Baker and George Trucks, the present official.
The property, with improvements, is valued at about $10.000.
CRIMINAL CAUSES.
The criminal records of Jefferson County have been comparatively free from the commis- sion of felonies; especially is this true of murder. Though the crime has shocked the commu - nity at long intervals, and though the Schneeff, Borchardt and Murman murders are remembered with horror, there has been a singular absence of crime in Jefferson County, which argues well, not only for the peaec, property and industry of the inhabitants, but also for the adminis- tration of justice and the enforcement of the law.
The first murder which occurred in the county, according to information derived from sources that should be reliable, took place during the fall of 1848, in the immediate vicinity of Fort Atkinson, an Indian being the aggressor, upon whom the penalty of death was inflicted at once, and who, with his victim, became subjects for the scalpel of surgeons, who have since attained to eminence in the practice of the profession.
At the time indicated, a number of savages, as the sequel showed, the opposite of gentle, belonging either to the Winnebagoes or Pottawatomies, en route from the timber to Black Hawk Island, halted at Fort Atkinson. At that season of the year, they were engaged in the collec- tion of winter stores, a portion of which they levied tribute for at the island, and they tarried at Fort Atkinson for the procuration of ammunition and cdibles. While thus engaged, two of the tribe became intoxicated, and in that condition proceeded to the lake. The savages dined at Fort Atkinson, and their festivities being prolonged to an unreasonable hour, it was not until 2 o'clock that they got once more under way. Everything remained harmonious. as is reported. until the murderers reached a point on Milo Jones' farm, about two miles below the city, oppo- site the farm of Aaron Rankin, where, to adopt the graphically expressive descriptive language employed by the narrator, "the fun began." consisting of tantalizing annoyances directed by a young buck toward one of the inebriated warriors. This procured an altercation, which resulted in blows and struggles, during which one of the aborigines drew a knife and plunged the keen blade into the neck of his antagonist, severed the spinal column, producing paralysis and caus- ing almost instant death.
The victim fell in his tracks and while suffering the pangs of dissolution, his assassin, realizing the extent of the crime committed, sought safety in flight.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
A brother of the dead buck, who had watched the battle from afar, when he compre- hended the fatal issue, took up the gage of death which had been thrown down, and pursued the fugitive, knife in hand, to avenge the calamity which had been put upon his wigwam. The fleeing murderer increased his speed and, succeeding in reaching the river bank first, essayed to increase his chances of escape by crossing the stream in a canoe which lay moored in a lagoon that abutted into the shore.
But he had counted without results, for a canoe adjoined that he had seized. into which the avenging Nemesis sprang, when began a race between life and death in which the grim visitor. as the future realized to those who witnessed it, bad the call against the field, for the pursuer struck shallow water as the boat of the fleeing assassin imbedded its prow in the opposite bank. The race was again resumed when both had gained terra firma, and, after a brief spurt, the murderer was run to cover on the farm of Aaron Rankin, and the brother's death avenged by the brother who had survived to pursue and thus adjudicate the law.
No sooner had the rigor of death affixed its seal upon the inanimate forms of those who but a moment before had rejoiced in a plenitude of life and health and strength, than the cause of science asserted its supremacy and claimed the bodies for anatomical demonstrations. The physicians above referred to secured their possession, and, hiding them in the loft of a barn, kept them from view until the excitement attendant upon the tragedy and the subsequent events connected therewith had been to some extent dissipated.
When the excitement had in a measure subsided. and the tribe to which the defunct Indians belonged sought the whereabouts of the bodies and found them not, the mourning over their mysterious disappearance was more vociferous, if less pronounced, than could have been the rejoicing over ninety and nine Indians who crossed not the pathway of the destroyer. The mourners would not be comforted with the assurance that they had not been disturbed by the pale-faces, nor with the suggestion that an enemy had done this, but, constituting themselves advocates, jury and Conrt, instituted the strictest examination into all facts bearing upon their disappearance, as also the secret places wherein it might be possible for them to be kept from view. But all to no purpose ; hidden beneath the hay, they eluded the closest scrutiny and escaped detection. The Indians, after exhausting every remedy cunning could devise or demand suggest, continued their trip to the happy hunting-grounds, supposititiously on Black Hawk Island, accompanied by the fraternal avenger, while the Indians dead became subjects for med- ical colleges, and, with the memory of their deeds, have long been consigned to the tomb of the Capulets-forgetfulness.
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