The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of settlement, growth, development and resources biographical sketches the whole preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 73

Author: Western historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 840

USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of settlement, growth, development and resources biographical sketches the whole preceded by a history of Wisconsin > Part 73

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FLORA AND FAUNA .*

On a bright July morning, of the year 1841, a keelboat, freighted with furs, floated down the Wisconsin River from Fort Winnebago.

Besides its crew, it harbored two passengers, Mr. J. Grapel, the brother-in-law of Mr. E. Rendturff, and my person, both intending to land on the western bank of the river, at a point

* Early observations of F. G. I. Lueders.

Philip Hoefer-

SAUK CITY.

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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

styled Sauk Prairie. About noon the same day, the craft cast anchor at the coast of Prairie du Sac, in shallow water. The obliging boatmen, being French Canadians, voluntarily carried our persons on their backs through the surf, and soon after we received the welcome of Messrs .. Rendturff and a few other persons, who had noticed the arrival of two new-comers.

My object at that time was not to settle in the Wisconsin Valley, but to study the flora and fauna and make general observations connected with natural sciences. Forty years ago, all the country west of the Wisconsin River up to the Rocky Mountains was left blank on the inaps, and styled Wisconsin Territorium. Therefore, on of the first proceedings I engaged in was to determine by astronomical observation the point of landing. This was near the present Sauk City bridge, in latitude 43 degrees and 15 minutes north, and about 89 degrees 38 minutes west longitude from Greenwich. After knowing where I was, the counting-up of the houses near the river bank in the village of Westfield, the present Sauk City, was easily performed. The foot- ings of all the streets added together amounted to one frame building occupied, one frame school and meeting house, one two-story frame building in progress of finishing, and a few log cabins. A mile north of Westfield, near the river bank also, the present village of Prairie du Sac, another settlement, was located, the buildings of which did not outnumber those of the lower town. The settlement west from the river had extended to a distance of three miles, and amounted to about four families. To the northwest, in the present town of Sumter, near the Baraboo Bluffs, a settlement of about six families had located. And last, further north, on the Baraboo, a saw-mill was in operation.

After having been introduced into almost every log cabin, and having shaken hands with the polite and obliging pioneers, we may be permitted to direct our attention for a short time to the scenery that surrounds us, near and distant, and strive to catch a slight impression of the contours of the landscape.

Nature had then entered the zenith of the summer season. To the north, about six miles distant, rising abruptly from the prairie, extending east and west, lay the Baraboo Bluffs, densely clothed by a luxurious growth of timber ; to the west, the outline was indented with outlyers of bluffs, which served in a great measure to relieve the monotony, while the southern margin of the prairie was girded by a belt of oak openings that divided in a marked line the prairie from the lowlands of the south. At a distance of about fourteen miles could be seen the Blue Mounds, the highest landmarks of the Northwestern plains, while on the east the Wisconsin River coursed, its banks garnished by a narrow belt of timber, and the stream itself being interspersed by a series of islands, which sustained a most luxuriant vegetation of mixed forest trees ; and now last, but not least, a beautiful green prairie carpet, dotted with innumerable flowers of great variety, lay beneath our feet, and stretched away beyond the verge of the hori- zon. Suffice it to say, the landscape of Sauk Prairie, in its uncultivated aspect, was appropriate to leave a very favorable impression on every mind susceptible to Nature's charms. Therefore, it is not surprising that a spot on the earth, where nature offered so many inducements for home- seeking men, was not passed over by the pioneer without accepting the invitation to stop and build up a home. The latter remarks apply to some extent to myself, for extensive journeys afterward over the Western Continent, and by sea and land in both hemispheres of the globe, did not expunge the impression left by the lovely spot above considered.

But there was much else to be considered that contributed to the rapid settlement and pros- perity of Sauk County, the productivity of the soil ranking foremost. The topography of the county sustains the suggestion that the soil of the area covered by the county is of very diverse composition and of variable chemical combinations, and is therefore adapted to furnish the various ingredients of life necessary for a great variety of agricultural plants. If we study the flora of the twin range of the Baraboo Bluffs somewhat close, and compare the result of our investigation with the variety of trees and shrubs that are indigenous to the whole State of Wis- consin, we gain the information that a relatively large percentage of the inhabitants of the forests and fields of the State are represented in Sauk County. The majority of vegetables for- eign to Sauk County favor either particular localities or else the border of the great lakes.

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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

The range of the Baraboo Bluffs is for a great extent covered by glacial drift, the progres- sive disintegration of which furnishes a soil that contains an abundance of food for plants in general. The dissolution of the magnesian limestone formation generates a productive soil for all cereals, but where the deposits of the Potsdam sandstone predominate, the soil is of inferior quality. Yet this, in its natural state, furnishes nourishment for some shrubs and herbaceous plants. Luckily the greater part of Sauk County is not desolated to any extent with the last- mentioned unproductive soil.

In connection with the cultural development of the county of Sauk, we return once more more to Sauk Prairie, as the principal treeless area of the county is termed, which is occupied by the town of Prairie du Sac and by the greater part of the towns of Sumter and Merrimack. Sauk Prairie is the cultivated starting-point of Sauk County. What the nursery is to the orchard, that has Sauk Prairie been to the county.

The people here, favored by an area of productive land where scarcely a single root obstructed the plow on sixty and more square miles, and where timber for log cabins and all farm purposes lies close at hand in every direction, were enabled in a few years to supply the new-comers with the necessities indispensable to starting new farms. The basin of Sauk Prairie, now closely dotted by neat farmhouses and barns, was in ancient times intersected by rambling water-courses, for in some sections the subsoil reveals a layer of clay of equal composition for many square miles overlying pebbles and gravel. Granitia and gneisoidic bowlders of three feet in diameter, lying near the surface, are sometimes met with from four to seven miles dis- tant from the bluffs and several miles west of the present river bed, and a sandy ridge, the back- bone of the prairie, strikes from east to west to the length of six miles. Not unfrequently we meet, by penetrating several feet deep, within the square of a few acres, the evidences of a stream bed covered by brick clay. All these prehistoric evidences prove that the ultimate condition of the prairie basin depended on the diminution of water flowing from north to south.

Now, having related a few facts concerning the variable condition of the subsoil of Sauk Prairie, it may be easier to account for the great variety of plants in some sections of the country ; whilst another tract of land, having the same surface soil, produces a relatively small variety of indigenous plants. The topography of a country largely influences the climate ; and this is in a limited degree the case in the area of 800 square miles, which is covered by Sauk County. On the northern slopes of the Baraboo Bluffs, crops may be grown to advantage that would not yield a remunerating harvest on the prairie, and yet the soil in both locations may be the same. Favored by the configuration of the ground occupied by the county, and also aided by a productive soil, the flora of Sauk County is exceptionably numerous in variety.

Of the prominent forest trees, we mention only the oak in six and more varieties, the maples (soft and sugar), the ash, elm, poplar, birch, linden, hickory, butternut, cherry, mountain ash, crab apple, tamarack, and a variety of trees secondary in value. Trees of the pine order present themselves occasionally, but in small groves only. Of indigenous plants, collected by my youngest son Herman (who inherited from his father the inclination to study natural objects) in the town of Prairie du Sac, the variety of species numbers nearly six hundred. Of these, ninety-five species belong to the grass and sedge tribe; seventeen species are ferns ; twelve species are orchids ; the remaining varieties of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants are shared by different species. But the above number falls far short of representing the variety growing forty years ago in this section, before the plow invaded the prairie and oak openings.

I herewith submit the result of my observations on the rain-fall in Sauk County, taken since 1859. I have in that time made observations on the weather and aurora borealis phe- nomena six times a day, and will soon publish a work of 500 pages on the subject : 1860, 32.09 inches ; 1861, 40.89 ; 1862, 45.52; 1863, 32.37; 1864, 28.36; 1865, 30.88; 1866, 24.50; 1867, 31.28 ; 1868, 19.36; 1869, 35.80; 1870, 25.21; 1871, 30.47; 1872, 19.05; 1873, 26.77; 1874, 21.67; 1875, 24.55; 1876, 27.63; 1877, 28.22; 1878, 38.56; 1879, 27.47.

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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

CHAPTER IX.

BARABOO.

FORTY-THREE YEARS AGO-ADVENT OF THE PIONEERS-THE FIRST VILLAGE SURVEYS-BARABOO IN 1847-THE BARABOO CLAIMANTS' ASSOCIATION-SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS-THE RAIL- ROAD AND ITS BENEFICENT RESULTS-THE BUSY BARABOO-THE POST OFFICE-GOVERNMENT -ORGANIZED AS A VILLAGE-THE BARABOO WIIISKY WAR-THE RIVER ON A RAMPAGE- ORIGIN OF THE NAME "BARABOO"-AN IMMORTAL BROTHERHOOD-DESTRUCTIVE FIRES IN BARABOO-BANKS-A PRESIDENT IN BARABOO-EDUCATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-HOTELS-THE TOM PAINE ANNIVERSARY-SECRET SOCIETIES-TEMPERANCE ÆSTHETIC AND SOCIAL LIFE-THE CARDIFF GIANT-THE HOME OF THE DEAD-OLLA-PODRIDA-LYONS-MANCHESTER.

FORTY-THREE YEARS AGO.

Wisconsin having been organized as a Territory in April, 1836, its first Governor, Henry Dodge, after perfecting the arrangements for its government, took the initial steps toward securing a cession to the United States of the remainder of the Winnebago territory. By treaties held with this Indian tribe, in 1829-1832, all their lands south and east of the Wisconsin River had been acquired by the General Government. A large area of territory west of that stream, including the whole of the present county of Sauk, still belonged to them. In the summer of 1837, Gov. Dodge, having consulted with the principal Winnebago chiefs and ascertained their views, proceeded to the national capital to perfect arrangements for a second treaty. In this he was successful. Even at that early date, a large number of adventurous individuals, anxious to lay claim to the fertile lands of the Winnebagoes when they could legally do so, impatiently awaited the result of Gov. Dodge's negotiations.

Henry Dodge, Jr., a son of the Governor, was then located at Mineral Point, at that time a scene of much activity in consequence of the recently discovered lead mines. Being in com- munication with his father in Washington, he occupied an important position as one naturally calculated to receive the first information relative to the success or failure of the negotia- tions then pending. Among the few individuals enjoying the confidence of young Dodge were two Milesian miners-Archibald Barker and Andrew Dunn-names not unfamiliar in the subsequent history of Sauk and Columbia Counties. When, in November, 1837, the last treaty with the Winnebago Indians had been signed, ceding to the United States Government all their lands east of the Mississippi River, Gov. Dodge at once conveyed the intelligence to his son in advance of its public announcement. Messrs. Barker and Dunn were not disappointed in their anticipated receipt of information upon the subject ; but the sequel illustrates the proverb that " haste makes waste."

Taking their departure from Mineral Point, they proceeded northward in the direction of the Baraboo Valley, of which they had already heard favorable reports from roving Indians. They reached the Wisconsin River at a point a few miles south of the present site of Sauk City, constructed a light raft and were soon across the stream. They passed over the sand plains of Lower Sauk Prairie, and pushed on through the more inviting region further north. A deep- worn Indian trail led them through the dark and lonesome ravines and over the grand old hills east of Devil's Lake, and, finally, to the banks of a considerable body of water, which, from its sluggish appearance, they supposed to be a bayou belonging to "the sand-island stream," the Wis- consin. Following the trail toward the West, in search of a convenient crossing (Mr. Barker says he then believed the end of the bayou could not be far away, and that they would soon pass around it) they discovered that the water moved, almost imperceptibly, in the opposite direction

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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

to that which they were traveling. Soon they came to a place where the water was more shal- low, and they saw that it was a living, moving stream, and, for the first time, discovered that they were on a river, of considerable width and volume. It was the Baraboo, the stream that threads the center of the valley of which they were in search. A low, rumbling sound, which become more and more distinct to their expectant ears as they pursued their journey, told of rushing waters, and sped them on in eager anticipation of new disclosures. The winding trail soon brought them again to the water's edge; and here they beheld the famous Baraboo Rapids, now so dextrously harnessed to turbine wheels. Near by, they found a rude log bridge, par- tially the work of man, but chiefly the result of floods, which had carried the drift-wood from above and lodged it upon the rocks, over which the translucent waters of the Baraboo leaped in apparent ecstasy. Crossing to the opposite shore of the stream, the adventurous explorers again struck the Indian trail and continued their westward course, passing over ground now included in the village limits of Baraboo. Rounding a heavily wooded hill and turning slightly to the north, the trail led them to a large open space almost surrounded by forest trees and under- growth. It proved to be an abandoned Indian corn-field, and, to the agricultural mind, was like an oasis in a desert; for here were several acres of land almost ready for the plowshare. The merits of the stream for water-power purposes having previously been discussed by the claim-hunters, they resolved to go no farther, and at once made preparations to camp for the night; for the shades of evening had overtaken them, and the chilly November atmosphere was a sufficient admonition that nature's shelter must be sought. Here, beneath the protecting branches of a stalwart oak, the weary men were soon Jost in sleep, dreaming, mayhap, of happy homes and plenty ; for, although they were in a new and strange region, far away from friends, their hopes were bright, their slumbers golden-visioned.

The next morning, the two hardy miners set about the task of building a cabin, having brought with them the necessary tools. During the following day, while Barker and Dunn were busily engaged at work, having reared the walls of their prospective shanty to a height of five or six feet, their progress was suddenly arrested by the appearance of a band of Indians, who, in angry tones and with threatening manners, interposed their objection to further proceedings, and demanded that the new-comers leave the premises immediately. The irate natives empha- cised their expressed disapprobation by tearing down the unfinished cabin. The two white men- and on that occasion they were unusually white-attempted to explain matters, telling the In- dians of the recently matured negotiations between their leading chiefs and the "Great Father," but all to no purpose. The information was not official. The great chiefs had not yet notified their people of the fact that a treaty had been made, and, until such notification came from the proper authorities, no pale-faced pre-emptor of Indian corn-fields would be permitted to live upon the west side of the Wisconsin River, unless at the peril of his life. Such was the import of the red man's wish, clearly expressed in his repeated ejaculation, puckachee, and the two white men knew too much of the Indian character to disobey.

Gathering their little stock of provisions, their blankets and axes, they quietly withdrew, leaving the Indians in possession. Following the Baraboo River along its north bank, they reached the Wisconsin and camped for the night. The next morning they pushed on up that stream until they came to a point opposite "the Portage." Crossing to the opposite shore, they visited Fort Winnebago, where they remained a few days, undetermined as to future movements. During their stay at the Fort, Hugh McFarlane, with whom they were acquainted, came up from Mineral Point. He, too, had been favored with special information concerning the treaty with the Winnebagoes, and was in search of a claim. McFarlane said he had good reason to believe a city would some day be built near the "carrying-place" (the Portage). Aside from the Fort buildings, there were then less than half a dozen houses within a radius of fifty miles, but there were indications that the interest then centering about Fort Winnebago would result in a large permanent settlement in that vicinity. Procuring a stock of provisions, Barker, Dunn and McFarlane crossed the Wisconsin River and made a joint claim of the land opposite the west end of the portage, in the belief that this would prove to be the most favorable point for the loca-

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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

tion of the prospective city. Here they constructed a cabin of logs, chinking the cracks between with a composition of mud and grass ; but, soon after its completion, the grass took fire in the middle of the night, and the entire structure was destroyed, together with the effects of the occu- pants, including their boots, hats and coats, the occupants themselves barely escaping with their lives. In this sad plight the three men crossed the river on the ice and reached the Fort early the next morning, their feet sore and bleeding, having walked nearly two miles over the frozen earth. As soon as convenient, they returned to Mineral Point, making the trip on foot, wrapped in blankets, their pedal extremities encased in Indian moccasins.

Barker returned to Baraboo Valley in 1841, and, with a party of loggers, proceeded to the head-waters of the Baraboo River, where he superintended the cutting of the first "run " of logs that ever passed down this stream. The logs were sawed at the mill of Wood & Rowan, and Mr. Barker floated the lumber down the Baraboo and Wisconsin Rivers to Dekorra, in Columbia County. In the winter of 1842-43, he again went up the river with a crew of six men and four teams, for the purpose of cutting and launching another "run " of logs. The snow was two feet deep on this occasion, and the party were nine days traveling thirty miles, being com- pelled to cut roads and bridge the streams along the entire route. Mr. Barker declares that to have been the coldest winter he has ever experienced in Wisconsin. Before reaching the pine- ries his feet were so badly frozen that it became necessary for him to have medical attendance. Being unable to walk, he proceeded to Fort Winnebago in a wagon and remained there under treatment until early in the spring, having suffered the loss of all the toes of his right foot. Re- turning to the pineries as soon as he was able to travel, he succeeded in getting together a large number of logs, and, when the river opened in March, ran them to Wood & Rowan's mill. Here they lay awaiting the sharp tooth of the saw until June, 1843, when, during the great freshet of that spring, they went over the dam, and, together with the saw-mill, were carried to the Gulf of Mexico. After this calamity, which also worked untold ruin to many others, Mr. Barker, in casting up accounts, found that he had but five toes and one horse-" a very sorry nag." The latter he soon traded off, for fear of accidents, obtaining therefor the land lie now lives upon, in Section 29, town of Baraboo. Since then his experience has been varied. The first wheat he raised he hauled to Hecock's mill, near Dodgeville, Iowa County, giving half of his crop to have the other half ground into flour, and paying cash for ferriage over the Wiscon- sin River. And yet he was more fortunate than most of his neighbors, who, having neither money nor teams, were compelled to grind their grain in coffee-mills.

ADVENT OF THE PIONEERS.

The first settlement at the Baraboo Rapids resulting in permanent location commenced in 1839, with the coming of Eben Peck, Wallace Rowan, Abram Wood and James Van Slyke. Mr. Peck was probably the first of these to make a claim to any portion of the territory in this region. Messrs. Rowan and Wood came about the same time, or very shortly after. The particulars of the settlement of these parties will be found in a subsequent article of this chapter, devoted to the different water-powers. Wallace Rowan is accredited with having been the first settler in Columbia County. He lived near the present site of Poynette, and kept a sort of half-way house between Mineral Point and Fort Winnebago, where lie numbered among his guests many persons whose names have since become eminently connected with the history of Wisconsin. He came to Sauk County in company with Abram Wood in 1839. The two made a claim of the land and water-site at the "Upper Ox-bow" of the Baraboo River, and built a saw-mill thereon, the first mill on this stream. Rowan had a large family ; he lived with them near the Upper Ox-bow. Wood was also a man of family, his wife being a squaw, the daughter of the Indian chief De-ko-ra. She is represented as having been a superior woman. considering this fact, while Wood is remembered as the terror of the country. He was a very large man, of dauntless energy, fearless and daring ; a hard drinker, rough and profane, and most terrible when angered, if under the influence of liquor. A few anecdotes may serve to illustrate the character of the man. He was peaceable enough when sober, but when tipsy he went prowling

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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

around the country in a lawless way, helping himself to anything he desired, and taking ven- geance on those whom he did not like. One night he entered the cabin of one of his neighbors and deliberately carried off a keg of beer. He was discovered in that act by the lady of the house, who grabbed him in the back by his shirt, he being coatless, and demanded that he should relinquish the beer. This he showed no disposition of doing, and, her grip being a firm one, he dragged her a considerable distance, bawling out the while at the top of his voice, " Keep fast hold, madam, and I'll take you straight to h-1!" His taking of a Mississippi River steamboat at an early day is quite amusing, and shows the fearlessness of the man's nature. He and three others who styled themselves the " Baraboo Rushers," took passage on a steamboat for Saint Louis. On the way, one of the boatmen took ill with the cholera, which was raging at the time. The idea of the cholera on board caused much consternation, and it was decided to leave the sick man on shore. But none of the crew would venture near him, so great was their fear of the disease. Then up spoke Abe : "Give us a blanket, and we, the Baraboo Rushers, will take him ashore. We ain't afered of man or devil, much less a gripe in the stomach." A blanket was furnished, and at the next landing the four men took the victim off, carrying him straight to the hotel. " We want a bed for a sick man," said Abe to the landlord. "Beds all full," was the reply. "Show me one, I'll empty it d-d quick," retorted Abe. But the land- lord was not disposed to do so. Meanwhile, the captain, considering that the " Baraboo Rush- ers " were exposed to the infection, concluded that then was his time to get rid of them ; and without a touch of the bell put the boat out from the landing and continued the journey. The " Rushers," seeing the state of affairs, dropped the sick man on the hotel porch, and started after the boat. They were all good swimmers, and in a very short time they " overhauled her." To say they were angry does not half express what their feelings were. As soon as he touched the deck, Abe began to swear, and such swearing even those boatmen had never heard. He cursed all of the crew from the highest to lowest, up and down and every other way. At last, the captain threatened to put him ashore. This was the signal for a row. The "Rushers" were armed after the manner of backwoodsmen, with tomahawks, knives and revolvers. Flour- ishing these, they sprang forward for a battle. The suddenness of the attack and the daring of the men, so surprised the captain and crew that they surrendered without a struggle. When he had them completely at his mercy, Abe flourished his tomahawk over the captain's head and cried : " We don't want your d-d old rickety boat, but we intend to teach you that the Bara- boo Rushers are not to be trifled with. This craft never lands again until we say so, nor starts till we get ready. If that don't suit you, we will run her to h-1 in spite of you." The cap- tain was very willing to agree to the terms, and for the remainder of the trip the " Rushers" had things their own way.

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The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of settlement, growth, development and resources biographical sketches the whole preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 73

Author: Western historical company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 840

Author: Western historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 840