I Al t UNI\ I M',M > I IIU1AM 3 9002 05423 4316 flW^fj^^a #&« YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Purchased from the income of the bequest of WILLIAM ROBERTSON COE Honorary M.A. 1949, for material in the field of American Studies. LU GOZ) o X hor o o >z oo LU CO CO o rro HISTORY La Crosse County, WISCONSIN, CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF ITS SETTLEMENT, GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES; AN EXTENSIVE AND MINUTE SKETCH OF ITS CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES— THEIR IMPROVEMENTS, INDUSTRIES, MANUFACTORIES, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS AND SOCIETIES; ITS WAR RECORD, BIOGRAPH ICAL SKETCHES, PORTRAITS' OF PROMINENT MEN AND EARLY SETTLERS; THE WHOLE PRECEDED BY A HISTORY OF WISCONSIN, STATISTICS OF THE STATE, AND AN ABSTRACT OF ITS LAWS AND CON STITUTION AND OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. IIjIjTTSTS.A.TIEID. CHICAGO: WESTERN HISTORICAL COMPANY. MDCCCLXXXI. V LA CEOSSE AS SEEN" FEOM CLIFFWOOD. IS, .-i'ii! I i (r, I I ., i i ,P 1 iki 111 I III — ~ TOWNS. Page. Town of Farmington 683 First Settled 683 Official 687 Town of Hamilton 690 Early Settlement 690 Schools 692 First Post Office 694 MillB 694 Village of Neshonoc 694 Village of West Salem 695 Post Office 696 Page. Schools 696 Churches 697 Secret Societies 701 Official Record 702 Town of Holland 705 First Settler 706 Official 707 Town of Barre 709 Early Settlement 709 Schools 710 Churches andSocieties 710 Page. Mills 710 Post Office 7H Town of Burns 712 Early Settlement 712 Schools 713 Post Office 7]3 MillB 714 Cheese Factory 714 Official Record 714, Townof Onalaska 715 Societies ^\q CONTENTS. vn HISTORY OF VILLAGES AND TOWNS- Cotitinuea. Page, Churches *. 716 Official 717 Town of Bangor 719 Early Settlement 719 Schools 720 Post Office 720 Mills 720 Page. Village of Bangor 723 Bangor's Beginning 723 Secret Societies 725 Official Record 725 Town of Greenfield 727 Early Settlement 727 Schools 727 Page. Post Offices 727 Official Record , 728 Town of Washington 729 Early Settlement 729 Post Office 730 Official Record 730 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Page. La Crosse 7^4 Bangor , 832 Barre 856 Burns 842 Page. Campbell 854 Farmington 850 Greenfield 861 Page. Hamilton 819 Holland 838 Onalaska 809 Shelby 859 Page. Map of La Crosse Frontispiece. Birdseye View of La Crosse ii Cliffwood iii La Crosse County Court House 19 Residence of M. M. Manville 577 Residence of Mons Anderson 577 Residence of P. S. Davidson 595 Residence of C. L. Colman 595 C. L. Colman's Mill and Lumber Yard 606 Davidson's Boat Yard and Lumber Mill*... 608 John Paul's Saw-Mill 612 N. B. Holway's Saw-Mill 616 ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. Freeman & Co.'s Flou ring-Mills 619 William Listman's Victor Mills 621 W. W. Cargill & Bro's. Elevator 622 Giles' Block (Post Office Building) 627 Cameron House, W. D. Fox, proprietor 629 La Crosse Steam Boiler Works 634 Pioneer Foundry, John James & Co., props. 635 G. R. Montague's Steam Marble Works. ... 641 John Gund Brewing Company 643 C. & J. Michel's Brewery 645 Davis, Medary & Piatt's Tannery 646 Page. Residence of John Paul 649 Residence of A. H. Davis 649 La Crosse National Bank 667 Mons Anderson's Building 678 Charles B. Solberg's Store 679 Davis & Medary's Building 681 Lloyd & Supplee'g Store 682 Residence of N. H. Withee 685 Residence of A. McMillan 685 Residence of D. D. McMillan 703 Residence of CharleBB. Solberg 703 Maple Shade Stock Farm 693 Page. Milton Barlow 397 C. S. Benton 361 H.Cramer 433 W. W. Crosby 343 George Edwards 415 PORTRAITS. Page. George Farnam 469 George Howard 505 John M.Levy 451 C. K. Lord 307 Page R.S.McArthur 379 Monroe Palmer 523 Theodore Rodolf. 325 George Scharpf 559 John Wheldon 641 -\-4- \Tlfi.V HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. BY C. W. BUTTERFIELD. I.— WISCONSIN ANTIQUITIES. The first explorers of the valleys of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi and its tributaries, seem not to have noticed, to any considerable extent, the existence within these vast areas of monuments of an extinct race. Gradually, however, as the tide of emigration broke through the barriers of the Alleghanies and spread in a widely extended flow over what are now the States of the Northwest, these prehistoric vestiges attracted more and more the attention of the curious and the learned, until, at the present time, almost every person is presumed to have some general knowledge, not only of their existence, but of some of their striking peculiarities. Unfortunately, these signs of a long since departed people are fast disappearing by the never ceasing operations of the elements, and the constant encroachments of civilization. The earliest notices of the animal and vegetable kingdom of this region are to be found in its rocks; but Wisconsin's earli est records of men can only be traced in here and there a crumbling earth-work, in the fragment of a skeleton, or in a few stone and copper implements — dim and shadowy relics of their handicraft. The ancient dwellers in these valleys, whose history is lost in the lapse of ages, are desig nated, usually, as the Mound-Builders ; not that building mounds was probably their distinctive employment, but that such artificial elevations of the earth are, to a great extent, the only evi dences remaining of their actual occupation of the country. As to the origin of these people, all knowledge must, possibly, continue to rest upon conjecture alone. Nor were the habitations of this race confined to the territory of which Wisconsin now forms a part. At one time, they must have been located in many ulterior regions. The earth- works, tumuli, or," mounds," as they are generally designated, are usually symmetrically raised and often inclosed in mathematical figures, such as the square, the octagon, and the circle, with long lines of circumvallation. Besides these earth-works, there are pits dug in the solid rock ; rubbish heaps formed in the prosecution of mining operations ; and a variety of implements and utensils, wrought in copper or stone, or moulded in clay. Whence came the inhabitants who left these evidences to succeed ing generations ? In other words, who were the Mound-Builders ? Did they migrate from the Old World, or is their origin to be sought for elsewhere? And as to their manners and customs and civilization — what of these things ? Was the race finally swept from the New World to give place to Red men, or was it the one from which the latter descended ? These momentous ques tions are left for the ethnologist, the archaeologist, and the antiquarian of the future to answer — if they can. 20 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Inclosures and mounds of the prehistoric people, it is generally believed, constituted but parts of one system; the former being, in the main, intended for purposes of defense or religion; the latter, for sacrifice, for temple sites, for burial places, or for observatories. In selecting sites for many of these earth-works, the Mound-Builders appear to have been influenced by motives which prompt civilized men to choose localities for their great marts; hence, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee and other cities of the West are founded on ruins of pre-existing structures. River terraces and river bottoms seem to have been the favorite places for these earth-works. In such localities, the natural advantages of the country could be made available with much less trouble than in portions of the country lying at a distance from water-courses. In Wisconsin, therefore, as in other parts, the same general idea of selecting points contiguous to the principal natural thoroughfares is found to have prevailed with the Mound-Builders ; for their works are seen in the basin of the Fox river of the Illinois, in that of Rock river and its branches, in the valley of Fox river of Green bay, in that of the Wisconsin, as well as near the waters of the Mississippi. While a few circumvallations and immense mounds, such as are common to certain other portions of the United States, are discoverable in Wisconsin, yet by far the largest number of earthworks have one peculiarity not observable, except in a few instances, outside the State. This characteristic is a very striking one The fact is revealed that they are imitative in form — resembling beasts, reptiles, birds, fish, man. All these, for convenience, are usually classed under the general name of "animal mounds," although some are in the similitude of trees, some of war clubs, others of tobacco pipes. Generally, these figures are in groups, though sometimes they are seen alone. For what purpose these earth-works were heaped up — they rise above the surface two, four, and sometimes six feet — or what particular uses they were intended to subserve, is unknown. It is, however, safe to affirm that they had some significance. A number resemble the bear; a few, the buffalo; others, the raccoon. Lizards, turtles, and even tadpoles, are out lined in the forms of some. The war eagle, and the war club has each its representative. All this, of course, could not have been a mere happening — the work of chance. The sizes of these mounds are as various as their forms. One near Cassville, in Grant county, very complete in its representation of an animal, supposed to be of the elephant species, was found, upon measure ment, to have a total length of one hundred and thirty-five feet. Another in Sauk county, quite perfect in its resemblance to the form of a man, was of equal length — a veritable colossus ; prone, it is true, and soon to disappear, if it has not already been destroyed, by ravages of a superior civilization. In portions of Wisconsin, as well as in a few places outside the State, are found earth-works of another kind, but quite as remarkable as the "animal mounds," which, from their supposed use, have been styled "garden beds," They are ridges, or beds, about six inches in height and four feet in width; ranged, with much apparent method, in parallel rows, sometimes rectangular in shape, sometimes of various but regular and symmetrical curves, and occupying fields of from ten to a hundred acres. The Mound-Builders have left many relics, besides their earthworks, to attest their presence in Wisconsin in ages past. Scattered widely are found stone and copper axes, spear-heads, and arrow-heads, also various other implements — evidently their handiwork. As these articles are frequently discovered many feet beneath the surface, it argues a high antiquity for the artificers. Whether they had the skill to mould their copper implements is doubtful. Such as plainly show the work of hammering, indicate an art beyond that possessed by the Red men who peopled America upon its first discovery by Europeans. In a few instances, fragments of human skulls have been found so well preserved as to enable a comparison to be drawn between the crania of THE INDIAN TRIBES OF WISCONSIN. 21 this ancient race and those of modern ones ; the results, however, of these comparisons throw little, if any, light upon " the dark backward and abysm '' of mound-building times. The evidences of an extinct people of superior intelligence is very strikingly exhibited in the ancient copper mines of the Lake Superior region. Here are to be found excavations in the solid rock; heaps of rubble and dirt ; copper utensils fashioned into knives, chisels, and spear and arrow-heads; stone hammers; wooden bowls and shovels; props and levers for raising and supporting the mass copper; and ladders for ascending and descending the pits. These mines were probably worked by people not only inhabiting what is now the State of Wisconsin, but territory farther to the southward. The copper was here obtained, it is believed, which has been found in many places, even as far away as the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, wrought into various implements and utensils. But there are no traces in Wisconsin of a " copper age " succeeding a " stone age," discernible in any prehistoric relics. They all refer alike to one age — the indefinite past ; to one people — the Mound-Builders. II.— THE INDIAN TRIBES OF WISCONSIN. When, as early, it is believed, as 1634, civilized man first set foot upon the territory now included within the boundaries of Wisconsin, he discovered, to his surprise, that upon this wide area met and mingled clans of two distinct and wide-spread families — the Algonquins and Sioux. The tribes of the former, moving westward, checked the advance of the latter in their excursions eastward. As yet there had been no representatives of the Huron-Iroquois seen west of Lake Michigan — the members of this great family, at that date dwelling in safety in the extensive regions northward and southward of the Erie and Ontario lakes. Already had the French secured a foot-hold in the extensive valley of the St. Lawrence; and, naturally enough, the chain of the Great Lakes led their explorers to the mouth of Green bay, and up that water course and its principal tributary, Fox river, to the Wisconsin, an affluent of the Mississippi. On the right, in ascending this bay, was seen, for the first time, a nation of Indians, lighter in complexion than neighboring tribes, and remarkably well formed, now well known as the Menomonees. This nation is of Algonquin stock, but their dialect differed so much from the surrounding tribes of the same family, it having strange guttural sounds and accents, as well as peculiar inflec tions of verbs and other parts of speech, that, for a long time, they were supposed to have a distinct language. Their traditions point to an emigration from the East at some remote period. When first visited by the French missionaries, these Indians subsisted largely upon wild rice, from which they took their name. The harvest time of this grain was in the month of September. It grew spontaneously in little streams with slimy bottoms, and in marshy places. The harvesters went in their canoes across these watery fields, shaking the ears right and left as they advanced, the grain falling easily, if ripe, into the bark receptacle beneath. To clear it from chaff and strip it of a pellicle inclosing it, they put it to dry on a wooden lattice above a small fire, which was kept up for several days. When the rice was well dried, it was placed in a skin of the form of a bag, which was then forced into a hole, made on purpose, in the ground. They then tread it out so long and so well, that the grain being freed from the chaff, was easily winnowed. After this, it was pounded to meal, or left unpounded, and boiled in water seasoned with grease. It thus became a very palatable diet. It must not be inferred that this was the only food of the Menomonees ; they were adepts in fishing, and hunted with skill the game which abounded in the forests. For many years after their discovery, the Menomonees had their homes and hunting L • HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. grounds upon, or adjacent to, the Menomonee river. Finally, after the lapse of a century and a quarter, down to 1760, when the French yielded to the English all claims to the country, the territory of the Menomonees had shifted somewhat to the westward and southward, and their principal village was found at the head of Green bay, while a smaller one was still in existence at the mouth of their favorite stream. So slight, however, had been this change, that the country of no other of the surrounding tribes had been encroached upon by the movement. In 1634, the Menomonees probably took part in a treaty with a representative of. the French, who had thus early ventured so far into the wilds of the lake regions. More than a score of years elapsed before the tribe was again visited by white men, — that is to say, there are no authentic accounts of earlier visitations. In 1660, Father Rend Menard had penetrated the Lake Superior country as far, at least, as Kewenaw, in what is now the northern, part of Michigan, whence some of his French companions probably passed down the MenomoiLee river to the waters of Green bay the following year ; but no record of the Indians, through whose territory they passed, was made by these voyagers. Ten years more — 1670 — brought to the- Menomonees (who doubtless had already been visited by French fur-traders) Father Claudius Allouez, to win them to Christianity. He had previously founded a mission upon the bay of Chegoimegon, now Chaquamegon, or Ashland bay, an arm of Lake Superior, within the present State of Wisconsin, in charge of which, at that date, was Father James Marquette. Proceeding from the " Sault" on the third of November, Allouez, early in December, 1669, reached the mouth of Green bay, where, on the third, in an Indian village of Sacs, Pottawattamies, Foxes and Winnebagoes, containing about six hundred souls, he celebrated the holy mass for the first time upon this new field of his labors, — eight Frenchmen, traders with the Indians, whom the missionary found there upon his arrival, taking part in the devotions. His first Christian work with the Menomonees was performed in May of the next year. Allouez found this tribe a feeble one, almost exterminated by war. He spent but little time with them, embarking, on the twentieth of that month, after a visit to some Pottawattamies and Winnebagoes, " with a Frenchman and a savage to go to Sainte Mary of the Sault." His place was filled by Father Louis Andr6, who, not long after, erected a cabin upon the Menomonee river, which, with one at a village where his predecessor had already raised the standard of the cross, was soon burned by the savages; but the missionary, living almost con stantly in his canoe, continued for some time to labor with the Menomonees and surrounding tribes. The efforts of Andre were rewarded with some conversions among the former; for Mar quette, who visited them in 1673, found many good Christians among them. The record of ninety years of French domination in Wisconsin — beginning in June, 167 1, and ending in October, 1761 — brings to light but little of interest so far as the Menomonees are concerned. Gradually they extended their intercourse with the white fur traders. Gradually and with few interruptions (one in 1728, and one in 1747 of a serious character) they were drawn under the banner of France, joining with that government in its wars with the Iroquois ; in its contests, in 1712, 1729, 1730, and 1751, with the Foxes; and, subsequently, in its conflicts with the English. The French post, at what is now Green Bay, Brown county, Wisconsin, was, along with the residue of the western forts, surrendered to the British in 1760, although actual possession of the former was not taken until the Fall of the next year. The land on which the fort stood was claimed by the Menomonees. Here, at that date, was their upper and principal village, the lower one being at the mouth of the Menomonee river. These Indians soon became reconciled to the English occupation of their territory, notwithstanding the machinations of French traders who endeavored to prejudice them against the new comers. The Menomonees, at this time, were very much reduced, having, but a short time previous, lost three hundred of their warriors THE INDIAN TRIBES OF WISCONSIN. 23 'by the small pox, and most of their chiefs in the late war in which they had been engaged by the 'then French commander there, against the English. They were glad to substitute English for French traders ; as they could purchase supplies of them at one half the price they had previously paid. It was not long before the sincerity of the Menomonees was put to the test. Pontiac's War of 1763 broke out, and the post of Mackinaw was captured. The garrison, however, at Green hay was not only not attacked by the savages, but, escorted by the Menomonees and other tribes, •crossed Lake Michigan in safety to the village of L'Arbre Croche ; thence making their way to Montreal. The Menomonees continued their friendship to the English, joining with them against the Colonies during the Revolution, and fighting on the same side during the war of T812-15. When, in July, 1816, an American force arrived at Green bay to take possession of the country, the Menomonees were found in their village near by, very peaceably inclined. The ¦commander of the troops asked permission of their chief to build a fort. " My Brother!" was the response, " how can we oppose your locating a council-fire among us ? You are too strong for us. Even if we wanted to oppose you we have scarcely got powder and ball to make the attempt. One favor we ask is, that our French brothers shall not be disturbed. You can choose . any place you please for your fort, and we shall not object." No trouble had been anticipated from the Menomonees, and the expectations of the government of the United States in that regard were fully realized. What added much to the friendship now springing up between the Menomonees and the Americans was the fact that the next year — 1817 — the annual contribution, -which for many years had been made by the British, consisting of a shirt, leggins,. breech-clout, and blanket for each member or the tribe, and for each family a copper kettle, knives, axes, guns and ammunition, was withheld by them. It was found by the Americans, upon their occupation of the Menomonee territory, that isome of the women of that tribe were married to traders and boatmen who had settled at Ce head of the bay, there being no white women in that region. Many of these were Canadians of French extraction ; hence the anxiety that they should be well treated, which was expressed by the Menomonees upon the arrival of the American force. At this period there was a consider able trade carried on with these Indians at Prairie du Chien, as many of them frequently win tered on the Mississippi. The first regular treaty with this tribe was " made and concluded" on the thirtieth day of March, 1817, "by and between William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste Chouteau, commissioners on the part and behalf of the United States of America, of the one part," and the chiefs and warriors, deputed by the Menomonees, of the other part. By the terms of this compact all injuries were to be forgiven and forgotten ; perpetual peace established; lands, heretofore ceded to other governments, confirmed to the United States ; all prisoners to be delivered up ; and the tribe placed under the protection of the United States, " and of no other nation, power, or sovereign, whatsoever." The Menomonees were now fully and fairly, and for the first time, entitled to be known as " American Indians," in contradistinction to the term ¦which had been so long used as descriptive of their former allegiance — " British Indians." The territory of the Menomonees, when the tribe was taken fully under thewin& of the Gen- ¦eral Government, had become greatly extended. It was bounded on the north by the dividing ridge between the waters flowing into Lake Superior and those flowing south into Green bay and the Mississippi ; on the east, by Lake Michigan ; on the south, by the Milwaukee river, and on the west by the Mississippi and Black rivers. This was their territory; though they were prac tically restricted to the occupation of the western shore of Lake Michigan, lying between the mouth of Green bay on the north and the Milwaukee river on the south, and to a somewhat indefinite area west. Their general claim as late as 1825, was north to the Chippewa country: 24 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. east to Green bay and Lake Michigan ; south to the Milwaukee river, and west to Black river. And what is most surprising is that the feeble tribe of 1761 had now, in less than three quarters of a century, become a powerful nation, numbering between three and four thousand. The Menomonee territory, as late as 183T, still preserved its large proportions. Its eastern division was bounded by the Milwaukee river, the shore of Lake Michigan, Green bay, Fox river, and Winnebago lake ; its western division, by the Wisconsin and Chippewa rivers on the west ; Fox river on the south ; Green bay on the east, and the high lands whence flow the streams into Lake Superior, on the north. This year, however, it was shorn of a valuable and large part by the tribe ceding to the United States all the eastern division, estimated at two and one half million acres. The following year, the Menomonees aided the General Government in the Black Hawk war. That the Menomonees might, as much as possible, be weaned from their wandering habits, their permanent home was designated to be a large tract lying north of Fox river and east of Wolf river. Their territory farther west, was reserved for their hunting grounds until such time as the General Government should desire to purchase it. In 1836, another portion, amounting to four million acres, lying between Green bay on the east and Wolf river on the west, was dis posed of to the United States, besides a strip three miles in width from near the portage north, cm each side of the Wisconsin river and forty-eight miles long — • still leaving them in peace- ohle possession of a country about one hundred and twenty miles long, and about eighty broad. Finally, in 1848, the Menomonees sold all their lands in Wisconsin to the General Govern ment, preparatory to their movement to a reservation beyond the Mississippi cf six hundred. thousand acres ; but the latter tract was afterward re-ceded to the United States ; for, notwith standing there were treaty stipulations for the removal of the tribe to that tract, there were obstacles in the way of their speedy migration, resulting, finally, in their being permitted to remain in Wisconsin. Lands, to the amount of twelve townships, were granted them for their permanent homes, on the upper Wolf river, in what is now Shawano and Oconto counties — a portion, but a very small one, of what was once their extensive possessions. To this reservation they removed in October, 1852. Thus are the Menomonees, the only one of the original tribes of Wisconsin who, as a whole, have a local habitation within its limits. This tribe refused to join the Sioux in their outbreak in i86r, and several of their warriors served as volunteers in the United States army during the late civil war. It is now over two centuries since the civilized world began to gain knowledge of the exist ence, in the far West, of a tribe of Indians known as the Winnebagoes — that is, men of the sea; pointing, possibly, to their early migration from the shores of the Mexican gulf, or the Pacific. The territory now included within the limits of Wisconsin, and so much of the State of Michigan as lies north of Green bay, Lake Michigan, the Straits of Mackinaw and Lake Huron were, in early times, inhabited by several tribes of the Algonquin race, forming a barrier to the Dakotas, or Sioux, who had advanced eastward to the Mississippi. But the Winnebagoes, although one of the tribes belonging to the family of the latter, had passed the great river, at some unknown period, and settled upon the head waters of Green bay. Here, this " sea-tribe," as early it is believed, as 1634, was visited by an agent of France and a treaty concluded with them. The tribe afterward called themselves Hochungara, or Ochunkoraw, but were styled by the Sioux, Hotanke or Sturgeon. Nothing more is heard of the Ouenibigoutz, or Winnebegouk (as the Winnebagoes were early called by the Jesuit missionaries, and the Algonquin tribes, meaning men from the fetid or salt water, translated by the French, Puants) for the next thirty-five years, although '.here is no doubt that the tribe had been visited meanwhile by adventurous Frenchmen, when on the second of December, 1669, some of that nation were noted at a Sac (Sauk or Saukis) village. on Green bay, by Father Allouez. THE INDIAN TRIBES OF WISCONSIN. 25 As early at least as 1670, the French were actively engaged among the Winnebagoes trading. " We found affairs,'' says one of the Jesuit missionaries, who arrived among them in September of that year, "we found affairs there in a pretty bad posture, and the minds of the savages much soured against the French, who were there trading ; ill-treating them in deeds and words, pillag ing and carrying away their merchandise in spite of them, and conducting themselves toward them with insupportable insolences and indignities. The cause of this disorder," adds the mis sionary, " is that they had received some bad treatment from the French, to whom they had this year come to trade, and particularly from the soldiers, from whom they pretended to have received many wrongs and injuries." It is thus made certain that the arms of France were carried into the territory of the Winnebagoes over two hundred years ago. The Fox river of Green bay was found at that date a difficult stream to navigate. Two Jesuits who ascended the river in 1670, had "three or four leagues of rapids to contend with," when they had advanced " one day's journey " from the head of the bay, " more difficult than those which are common in other rivers, in this, that the flints, over which" they had to walk with naked feet to drag their canoes, were so " sharp and so cutting, that one has all the trouble in the world to hold one's self steady against the great rushing of the waters." At the falls they found an idol that the savages honored ; " never failing, in passing, to make him some sacrifice of tobacco, or arrows, or paintings, or other things, to thank him that, by his assistance, they had, in ascending, avoided the dangers of the waterfalls which are in this stream ; or else, if they had to ascend, to pray him to aid them in this perilous navigation." The devout missionaries caused the idol " to be lifted up by the strength of arm, and cast into the depths of the river, to appear no more " to the idolatrous savages. The mission of St. Francis Xavier, founded in December, 1669, by Allouez, was a roving one among the tribes inhabiting the shores of Green bay and the interior country watered by the Fox river and its tributaries, for about two years, when its first mission-house was erected at what is now Depere, Brown county. This chapel was soon after destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt in 1676. The Winnebagoes, by this time, had not only received considerable spiritual instruction from the Jesuit fathers, but had obtained quite an insight into the mysteries of trading and trafficking with white men; for, following the footsteps of the missionaries, and sometimes preceding them, were the ubiquitous French fur traders. It is impossible to determine precisely what territory was occupied by the Winnebagoes at this early date, farther than that they lived near the head of Green bay. A direct trade with the French upon the St. Lawrence was not carried on by the Winne bagoes to any great extent until the beginning of the eighteenth century. As early as 1679, an advance party of La Salle had collected a large store of furs at the mouth of Green bay, doubtless in a traffic with this tribe and others contiguous to them ; generally, however, the surrounding nations sold their peltries to the Ottawas, who disposed of them, in turn, to the French. The commencement of the eighteenth century found the Winnebagoes firmly in alliance with France, and in peace with the dreaded Iroquios. In 17 18, the nation numbered six hundred. They were afterward found to have moved up Fox river, locating upon Winne bago lake, which stream and lake were their ancient seat, and from which they had been driven either by fear or the prowess of more powerful tribes of the West or Southwest. Their inter course with the French was gradually extended and generally peaceful, though not always so, joining with fhem, as did the Menomonees, in their wars with the Iroquois, and subsequently in their conflicts with the English, which finally ended in 1760. When the British, in October, 1761, took possession of the French post, at the head of 26 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Green bay, the Winnebagoes were found to number one hundred and fifty warriors only ; their nearest village being at the lower end of Winnebago lake. They had in all not less than three towns. Their country, at this period, included not only that lake, but all the streams flowing into it, especially Fox river; afterward extended to the Wisconsin and Rock rivers. They readily changed their course of trade — asking now of the commandant at the fort for English traders to be sent among them. In the Indian outbreak under Pontiac in 1763, they joined with the Menomonees and other tribes to befriend the British garrison at the head of the bay, assisting in conducting them to a place of safety. They continued their friendship to the English during the Revolution, by joining with them against the colonies, and were active in the Indian war of 1790-4, taking part in the attack on Fort Recovery, upon the Maumee, in the present State of Ohio, in 1793. They fought also on the side of the British in the war of i8r2-i5, aiding, in 1814, to reduce Prairie du Chien. They were then estimated at 4,500. When, in 1816, the government of the United States sent troops to take possession of the Green bay country, by establishing a garrison there, some trouble was anticipated from these Indians, who, at that date, had the reputation of being a bold and warlike tribe. A deputation from the nation came down Fox river and remonstrated with the American commandant at what was thought to be an intrusion. They were desirous of knowing why a fort was to be established so near them. The reply was that, although the troops were armed for war if necessary, their purpose was peace. Their response was an old one : " If your object is peace, you have too many men ; if war, you have too few." However, the display of a number of cannon which had not yet been mounted, satisfied the Winnebagoes that the Americans were masters of thesituation, and the deputation gave the garrison no farther trouble. On the 3d of June, 1816, at St. Louis, the tribe made a treaty of peace and friendship with the General Government; but they continued to levy tribute on all white people who passed up Fox river. English annuities also kept up a bad feeling. At this time, a portion of the tribe was living upon the Wisconsin river, away from the rest of the nation, which was still seated upon the waters flowing into Green bay. In 1820 they had five villages on Winnebago lake and fourteen on Rock river. In 1825, the claim of the Winnebagoes was an extensive one, so far as territory was concerned. Its southeast boundary stretched away from the source of Rock river to within forty miles of its mouth, in Illinois, where they had a village. On the west it extended to the heads of the small streams flowing into the Mississippi. To the northward, it reached Black river and the upper Wis consin, in other words, to the Chippewa territory, but did not extend across Fox river, although they contended for the whole of Winnebago lake. In 1829, a large part of their territory in southwest Wisconsin, lying between Sugar river and the Mississippi, and extending to the Wis consin river, was sold to the General Government ; and, three years later all the residue lying south and east of the Wisconsin and the Fox river of Green bay ; the Winnebago prophet having before that date supported the Sacs in their hostility. Finally, in the brief language of the treaty between this tribe (which had become unsettled and wasteful) and the United States, of the first of November, 1837, "The Winnebago Nation of Indians " ceded to the General Government " all their lands east of the Mississippi." Not an acre was reserved. And the Indians agreed that, within eight months from that date, they would move west of " the great river." This arrangement, however, was not carried out fully. In 1842, there were only 756 at Turkey river, Iowa, their new home, with as many in Wisconsin, and smaller bands p'".e where. All had become lawless, and roving. Some removed in 1848; while a party to the number of over eight hun dred left the State as late as 1873. The present home of the tribe is in Nebraska, where they have a reservation north of and adjacent to the Omahas, containing over one hundred thousand acres. However, since their first removal beyond the Mississippi, they have several times THE INDIAN TRIBES OF WISCONSIN. 27 ¦changed their place of abode. Their number, all told, is less than twenty-five hundred. When the territory, now constituting the northern portion of Wisconsin, became very generally known to the civilized inhabitants of the eastern part of the United States, it was found to be occupied by Indians called the Chippewas. Their hunting-grounds extended south from Lake Superior to the heads of the Menomonee, the Wisconsin and Chippewa rivers ; also farther eastward and westward. At an early day they were engaged in a war with the Sioux — a war indeed, which was long continued. The Chippewas, however, persistently maintained their position — still occupying the same region when the General Government extended its jurisdiction over the whole country south of the Great Lakes and west to the Mississippi. By treaties with the Chippewas at different periods, down to the year 1827, the General Gov ernment had recognized them as the owners of about one quarter of what is now the entire State. The same policy was pursued toward this tribe as with neighboring ones, in the purchase of their lands by the United States. Gradually they parted with their extensive possessions, until, in 1842, the last acre within what is now Wisconsin was disposed of. It was the intention of the General Government to remove the several bands of the Chippewas who had thus ceded their lands to a tract reserved for them beyond the Mississippi; but this determination was afterward changed so as to allow them to remain upon certain reservations within the limits of their old- time hunting grounds. These reservations they continue to occupy. They are located in Bay field, Ashland, Chippewa and Lincoln counties. The clans are known, respectively, as the Red ¦Cliff band, the Bad River band, the Lac Courte Oreille band, and the Lac de Flambeau band. Of all the tribes inhabiting what is now Wisconsin when its territory was first visited by white men, the Sacs (Sauks or Saukies) and Foxes (Outagamies) are, in history, the most noted. They are of the Algonquin family, and are first mentioned in r665, by Father Allouez, but as •separate tribes. Afterward, however, because of the identity of their language, and their asso ciations, they were and still are considered as one nation. In December, 1669, Allouez found upon the shores of Green bay a village of Sacs, occupied also by members of other tribes; and early in 1670 he visited a village of the same Indians located upon the Fox river of Green bay, at a distance of four leagues from its mouth. Here a device of these Indians for catching fish arrested the attention of the missionary. "From one side of the river to the other," he writes, " they made a barricade, planting great stakes, two fathoms from the water, in such a manner that there is, as it were, a bridge above for the fishes, who by the aid of a little bow-net, easily take sturgeons and all other kinds of fish which this pier stops, although the water does not cease to flow between the stakes." When the Jesuit father first obtained, five years previous, a knowledge of this tribe, they were represented as savage above all others, great in numbers, and without any permanent dwelling place. The Foxes were of two stocks : one calling themselves Outagamies or Foxes, whence our English name ; the other, Musquakink, or men of red clay, the name now used by the tribe. They lived in early times with their kindred the Sacs east of Detroit, and as some say near the St. Lawrence. They were driven west, and settled at Saginaw, a name derived from the Sacs. Thence they were forced by the Iroquois to Green bay ; but were compelled to leave that place and settle on Fox river. Allouez, on the twenty-fourth of April, 1670, arrived at a village of the Foxes, situated on Wolf river, a northern tributary of the Fox. "The nation," he declares, "is renowned for being numerous ; they have more than four hundred men bearing arms ; the number of women and children is greater, on account of polygamy which exists among them— each man having commonly four wives, some of them six, and others as high as ten." The missionary found that the Foxes had retreated to those parts to escape the persecutions of the Iroquois. Allouez established among these Indians his mission of St. Mark, rejoicing in the fact that in less than 28 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. two years he had baptized "sixty children and some adults." The Foxes, at the summons of De la Barre, in 1684, sent warriors against the Five Nations. They also took part in Denonville's more serious campaign ; but soon after became hostile to the French. As early as 169.3, they had plundered several on their way to trade with the Sioux, alleging that they were carrying arms and ammunition to their ancient enemies — frequently causing them to make portages to the southward in crossing from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. Afterward they became recon ciled to the French; but the reconciliation was of short duration. In 1712, Fort Detroit, then defended by only a handful of men, was attacked by them in conjunction with the Mascou- tens and Kickapoos. However, in the end, by calling in friendly Indians, the garrison not only protected themselves but were enabled to act on the offensive, destroying the greater part of the besieging force. The nation continued their ill will to the French. The consequence was that their territory in 1 7 16 had been invaded and they were reduced to sue for peace. But their friendship was not of long continuance. In 17 18, the Foxes numbered five hundred men and " abounded in women and children." They are spoken of at that date as being very industrious, raising large quantities of Indian corn. In 1728, another expedition was sent against them by the French. Meanwhile the Menomonees had also become hostile; so, too, the Sacs, who were now the allies of the Foxes. The result of the enterprise was, an attack upon and the defeat of a number of Menomonees; the burning of the wigwams of the Winnebagos (after passing the deserted village of the Sacs upon the Fox river), that tribe, also, at this date being hostile ; and the destruction of the fields of the Foxes. They were again attacked in their own country by the French, in 1730, and defeated. In 1734, both the Sacs and Foxes came in conflict with the same foe; but this time the French were not as successful as on previous expeditions. In 1736, the Sacs and Foxes were " connected with the government of Canada ; " but it is certain they were far from being friendly to the French. The conflict between France and Great Britain commencing in 1754, found the Sacs and Foxes allied with the former power, against the English, although not long previous to this time they were the bitter enemies of the French. At the close of that contest so disastrous to the interests of France in North America, these tribes readily gave in their adhesion to the con querors, asking that English traders might be sent them. The two nations, then about equally divided, numbered, in 1761, about seven hundred warriors. Neither of the tribes took part in Pontiac 's war, but they befriended the English. The Sacs had migrated farther to the west ward ; but the Foxes — at least a portion of them — still remained upon the waters of the river of Green bay, which perpetuates their name. A few years later, however, and the former were occupants of the upper Wisconsin ; also, to a considerable distance below the portage, where their chief town was located. Further down the same stream was the upper village of the Foxes, while their lower one was situated near its mouth at the site of the present city of Prairie du Chien. At this date, 1766, the northern portion of what is now Wisconsin, including all that part watered by the streams flowing north into Lake Superior, was the home of the Chippewas. The country around nearly the whole of Green bay was the hunting ground of the Menomonees. The territory of Winnebago lake and Fox river was the seat of the Winnebagoes. The region of the Wisconsin river was the dwelling place of the Sacs and Foxes. During the war of the Revolution, the Sacs and Foxes continued the firm friends of the English. At the commencement of the nineteenth century, only a small part of their territory was included in what is now Wisconsin, and that was in the extreme southwest. In 1804, they ceded this to the United States ; so that they no longer were owners of any lands within this State. From that date, therefore, these allied tribes can not be considered as belonging to the PRE-TERRITORIAL ANNALS OF WISCONSIN. 29 Indian nations of Wisconsin. A striking episode in their subsequent history — the Black Hawk War — comes in, notwithstanding, as a part, incidentally, of the annals of the State. Deserving a place in a notice of the Indian tribes of Wisconsin is the nation known as the Pottawattamies. As early as T639, they were the neighbors of the Winnebagoes upon Green bay. They were still upon its southern shore, in two villages, in 1670 ; and ten years subsequent to that date they occupied, at least in one village the same region. At the expiration of the first quarter of the eighteenth century, a part only of the nation were in that vicinity — upon the islands at the mouth of the bay. These islands were then known as the Pottawattamie islands, and considered as the ancient abode of these Indians. Already had a large portion of this tribe emigrated southward, one band resting on the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, the other near Detroit. One peculiarity of this tribe — -at least of such as resided in what is now Wisconsin — was their intimate association with neighboring bands. When, in 1669, a village of the Pottawattamies, located upon the southeast shore of Green bay, was visited by Allouez, he found with them Sacs and Foxes and Winnebagoes. So, also, when, many years subsequent to that date, a band of these Indians were located at Milwaukee, with them were Ottawas and Chippewas. These " united tribes " claimed all the lands of their respective tribes and of other nations, giving the United States, when possession was taken of the western country by the General Government, no little trouble. Finally, by a treaty, held at Chicago in 1833, their claims, such as they were, to lands along the western 'shore of Lake Michigan, within the present State of Wisconsin, extending westward to Rock river, were purchased by the United States, with permission to retain possession three years longer of their ceded lands, after which time this " united nation of Chippewas, Ottawas and Pottawattamies " began to disappear, and soon were no longer seen in southeastern Wisconsin or in other portions of the State. Besides the five tribes — Menomonees, Winnebagoes, Chippewas, Sacs and Foxes, and Pottawattamies — many others, whole or in part, have, since the territory now constituting the State was first visited by white men, been occupants of its territory. Of these, some are only known as having once lived in what is now Wisconsin; others- — such as the Hurons, Illinois, Kickapoos, Mascoutens, Miamis, Noquets, Ottawas and Sioux, are recognized as Indians once dwelling in this region ; yet so transitory has been their occupation, or so little is known of their history, that they scarcely can be claimed as belonging to the State. Commencing in 1822, and continuing at intervals through some of the following years, was the migration to Wisconsin from the State of New York of the remains or portions of four tribes : the Oneidas, Stockbridges, Munsees and Brothertowns. The Oneidas finally located west of Green Bay, where they still reside. Their reservation contains over 60,000 acres, and lies wholly within the present counties of Brown and Outagamie. The Stockbridges and Munsees, who first located above Green Bay, on the east side of Fox river, afterward moved to the east side of Winnebago lake. They now occupy a reservation joining the southwest township of the Menomenee reservation, in Shawano county, and are fast becoming citizens. The Brothertowns first located on the east side of Fox river, but subsequently moved to the east side of Winnebago lake, where, in 1839, they broke up their tribal relations and became citizens of Wisconsin territory. III.— PRE-TERRITORIAL ANNALS OF WISCONSIN. When, in 1634, the first white man set foot upon any portion of the territory now consti tuting the State of Wisconsin, the whole country was, of course, a wilderness. Its inhabitants, the aboriginal Red men, were thinly but widely scattered over all the country. John Nicolet, a Frenchman, who had been in Canada since 1618, and had spent several years among the 30 HISTORY" OF WISCONSIN. Indians, was the first of civilized men to unlock the mystery of its situation and people. French authorities upon the St. Lawrence sent him as an ambassador to the Winnebagoes, of whom he had heard strange stories. On his outward voyage he visited the Hurons — allies of the French — a tribe seated upon the eastern side of the lake which bears their name, and Nicolet was empowered to negotiate a peace with them. " When he approached the Winnebago town, he sent some of his Indian attendants to announce his coming, put on a robe of damask, and advanced to meet the expectant crowd with a pistol in each hand. The squaws and children fled, scream ing that it was a manito, or spirit, armed with thunder and lightning ; but the chiefs and warriors regaled him with so bountiful a hospitality, that a hundred and twenty beavers were devoured at a single feast." Such was the advent of the daring Frenchman into what is now the State of Wisconsin. " Upon the borders of Green bay," wrote the Jesuit, Paul le Jeune, in 1640, " are the Meno monees; still farther on, the Winnebagoes, a sedentary people, and very numerous. Some Frenchmen," he continuas, " call them the ' Nation of the Stinkards,' because the Algonquin word Winipeg signifies ' stinking water.' Now they thus call the water of the sea ; therefore, these people call themselves ' Winnebagoes,' because they came from the shores of a sea of which we have no knowledge ; consequently we must not call them the ' Nation of Stinkards,' but the ' Nation of the Sea.' " From these Men of the Sea, Nicolet passed westward, ascended Fox river of Green Bay, until nigh the portage to the Wisconsin, down which stream he could have .floated easily to the Mississippi, the "great water" of his guides, which he mistook for the sea. This adventurous Frenchman, when so near re-discovering the river which has given immortality to De Soto, turned his face to the eastward ; retraced his steps to Green bay, and finally returned in safety to Quebec. This was the first exploration of what is now Wisconsin — only fourteen years after the landing of the Pilgrims upon the wild shores of New England. Wisconsin, for twenty-four years after its discovery, was left to its savage inhabitants. At length, in 1658, two daring fur traders penetrated to Lake Superior, and wintered there. They probably set foot upon what is now Wisconsin soil, as they made several trips among the sur rounding tribes. They saw, among other things, at six days' journey beyond the lake, toward the southwest, Indians that the Iroquois had driven from their homes upon the eastern shores of Lake Huron. These Frenchmen heard of the ferocious Sioux, and of a great river — not the sea, as Nicolet had supposed — on which they dwelt. This was the Mississippi ; and to these traders is the world indebted for a knowledge of its existence; as De Soto's discovery was never used, and soon became well-nigh, if not entirely, forgotten. From these upper countries, in the Sum mer of 1660, the two returned to Quebec, with three hundred Indians in sixty canoes, laden with peltry. This was, indeed, the dawn — though exceedingly faint — of what is now the commerce of the great Northwest. Nineteen years after flashed a more brilliant light; for, in 1679, the " Griffin," laden with furs, left one of the islands at the mouth of Green bay, on its return — spreading her sails for Niagara, but never more to be heard of. Following in the footsteps of the fur traders came the Jesuit missionaries to Lake Superior ; ¦one of them. Father Menard, as early as 1660, reaching its southern shore as far to the westward probably, as Kewenaw, in the present State of Michigan. There is no positive evidence, however that he or his French companions, visited any portion of what is now Wisconsin ; although the next year, 1661, some of his associates probably passed down the Menomonee river to Green bay. Following Menard came Father Claude Allouez, arriving on the first day of October, 1665 at "Chagowamigong," or " Chegoimegon," now Chequamegon, or Ashland Bay, " at the bottom of which," wrote the missionary, " is situated the great villages of the savages, who there plant their fields of Indian corn, and lead a stationary life." Near by he erected a small chapel of bark — the PRE-TERRITORIAL ANNALS OF WISCONSIN. 31 first structure erected by civilized man in Wisconsin. At La Pointe, in the present Ashland. county, he established the mission of the Holy Ghost. The next Catholic mission in what is now Wisconsin was that of St. Francis Xavier, founded also by Allouez. Upon the second of December, 1669, he first attended to his priestly devotions upon the waters of Green bay. This mission, for the first two years of its existence, was a migratory one. The surrounding tribes were all visited, including the Pottawattamies, Menom onees, Winnebagoes, and Sacs and Foxes. However, in 1671, one hundred and five years before the Declaration of Independence, there was erected, at what is now Depere, Brown county, a chapel for the mission of St. Francis Xavier. Thus early did the Jesuit Fathers, in their plain garbs and unarmed, carry the cross to many of the benighted heathen occupying the country circumscribed by Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior, and the " great river " — the Mississippi. French domination in Wisconsin dates from the year 167 1, the very year in which it seems the indomitable LaSalle, upon his first expedition, passed the mouth of Green bay, but did not enter it. France then took formal possession of the whole of the country of the upper lakes. By this time, the commerce with the western tribes had so attached them to her interests that she determined to extend her power to the utmost limits — vague and indeterminate as they were — of Canada. An agent — Daumont de St. Lusson — was dispatched to the distant tribes, proposing a congress of Indian nations at the Falls of Ste. Mary, between Lake Huron and Lake- Superior. The invitation was extended far and near. The principal chiefs of Wisconsin tribes, gathered by Nicolas Perrot in Green bay, were present at the meeting. Then and there, with due ceremony, it was announced that the great Northwest was placed under the protection or the French government. And why not? She had discovered it — had to a certain extent explored it — had to a limited extent established commerce with it — and her missionaries had proclaimed the faith to the wondering savages. But none of her agents — none of the fur- traders — none of the missionaries — had yet reached the Mississippi, the " great river," concerning which so many marvels had been heard, although it is claimed that, in 1669, it had been seen by the intrepid La Salle. But the time for its discovery, or properly re-discovery, was at hand, if, indeed, it can be called, with propriety, a re-discovery, since its existence to the westward was- already known to every white man particularly interested in matters appertaining to the North west. Now, however, for the first time, its upper half was to be, to a certain extent, explored. For the first time, a white man was to behold its vast tribute, above the Illinois river, rolling onward toward the Mexican gulf. Who was that man ? His name was Louis Joliet ; with him. was Father James Marquette. Born at Quebec, in 1645, educated by the Jesuits, and first resolving to be a priest, then turning fur-trader, Joliet had, finally, been sent with an associate to explore the copper mines of Lake Superior. He was a man of close and intelligent observation, and possessed considerable mathematical acquirements. At this time, 1673, he was a merchant, courageous, hardy, enter- , prising. He was appointed by French authorities at Quebec to " discover " the Mississippi. He passed up the lakes to Mackinaw, and found at Point St. Ignace, on the north side of the strait, Father James Marquette, who readily agreed to accompany him. Their outfit was very simple : two birch-bark canoes and a supply of smoked meat and Indian corn. They had a company of five men with them, beginning their voyage on the seventeenth of May, 1673. Passing the straits,. they coasted the northern shores of Lake Michigan, moved up Green bay and Fox river to the portage. They crossed to the Wisconsin, down which they paddled their frail canoes, until, on the seventeenth of June, they entered — "discovered" — the Mississippi. So the northern, the eastern and the western boundary of what is now Wisconsin had been reached at this date ; therefore, it may be said that its territory had been explored sufficiently far the forming of a 32 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. pretty correct idea of its general features as well as of its savage inhabitants. After dropping down the Mississippi many miles, Joliet and Marquette returned to Green bay, where the latter remained to recruit his exhausted strength, while Joliet descended to Quebec, to report his "discoveries" to his superiors. Then followed the expedition of LaSalle to the west, from the St. Lawrence, when, in 1679, he and Father Louis Hennepin coasted along the western shore of Lake Michigan, frequently landing ; then, the return of Henri de Tonty, one of LaSalle's party down the same coast to Green bay, in 1680, from the Illinois ; the return, also, the same year, of Hennepin, from up the Mis sissippi, whither he had made his way from the Illinois, across what is now Wisconsin, by the Wisconsin and Fox rivers to Green bay, in company with DuLhut, or DuLuth, who, on his way down the " great river " from Lake Superior, had met the friar ; and then, the voyage, in r683, from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river, by the same route, of LeSueur, and his subsequent establishment at La Pointe, in what is now Ashland county, Wisconsin, followed several years after by a trip up the Mississippi. The act of Daumont de St. Lusson, at the Sault Sainte Mary, in 167 1, in taking possession of the country beyond Lake Michigan, not being regarded as suffi ciently definite, Nicolas Perrot, in 1689, at Green bay, again took possession of that territory, as well as of the valleys of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and extending the dominion of New France over the country on the Upper Mississippi, and "to other places more remote." The voyage of St. Cosme, in 1699, when he and his companions frequently landed on the west coast of Lake Michigan, upon what is now territory of Wisconsin, completed the explorations in the west for the seventeenth century. Following in the footsteps of early explorations, of self sacrificing attempts of the Jesuits to carry the cross to the wild tribes of the West, of the first visits of the lawless coureurs de dot's, was the military occupation — if such it can be called — of what is now Wisconsin by the French. The ninety years of domination by France in this region were years of only nominal possession. The record of this occupation is made up of facts concerning the Indian policy of the French rulers; their contests with the Sacs and Foxes; their treaties, at various times, with different tribes ; their interest in, and protection of, the fur trade , and kindred subjects. The Indian tribes were, at most, only the allies of France. Posts — mere stockades without cannon, more for protection to fur-traders than for any other purpose — were erected upon the Mississippi at two points at least, upon what is now territory of Wisconsin. On the west side of Fox river of Green bay, "half a league from its mouth," was a French post, as early as 1721, where resided, besides the commandant and an uncouth squad of soldiers, a Jesuit missionary ; and near by were collected Indians of different tribes. Of course, the omnipresent fur-trader helped to augment the sum-total of its occupants. This post was, not long after, destroyed, but another was established there. When, however, France yielded her inchoate rights in the West to Great Britain — when, in 1761, the latter took possession of the country — there was not a French post within what is now Wisconsin. The " fort " near the head of Green bay, had been vacated for some years ; it was found " rotten, the stockade ready to fall, and the houses without cover ; " emblematic of the decay — the fast-crumbling and perishing state — of French supremacy, at that date, in America. Wisconsin, when England's control began, was little better than a howling wilderness. There was not within the broad limits of what is now the State, a single bona fide settler, at the time the French Government yielded up its possession to the English ; that is to say, there were none according to the present acceptation of the term "settler." The military occupation of Wisconsin by the British, after the Seven Years' War, was a brief one. La Bay — as the post at what is now the city of Fort Howard, Brown county, was called was, on the twelfth of October, 1761, taken possession of by English troops, under Captain Belfour, of the Eightieth regiment. Two days after, that officer departed, leaving Lieutenant PRE-TERRITORIAL ANNALS OF WISCONTSIX. 33 James Gorrell, in command, with one sergeant, one corporal and fifteen privates. There also remained at the post a French interpreter and two English traders. The name of the fortifica. tion was changed to Fort Edward Augustus. This post was abandoned by the commandant on the twenty-first of June, 1763, on account of the breaking out of Pontiac's War and the capture of the fort at Mackinaw by the savages. The cause of this war was this : The Indian tribes saw the danger which the downfall of the French interests in Canada was sure to bring to them. They banded together under Pontiac to avert their ruin. The struggle was short but fierce — full of " scenes of tragic interest, with marvels of suffering and vicissitude, of heroism and endur ance ; " but the white man conquered. The moving incidents in this bloody drama were enacted to the eastward of what is now Wisconsin, coming no nearer than Mackinaw, which, as just mentioned, the savages captured ; but it resulted in the evacuation of its territory by British troops, who never after took possession of it, though they continued until 1796 a nominal military rule over it, after Mackinaw was again occupied by them. An early French Canadian trading station at the head of Green bay assumed finally the form of a permanent settlement — the first one in Wisconsin. To claim, however that any French Canadian is entitled to the honor of being the first permanent white settler is assuming for him more than the facts seem to warrant. The title of " The Father and Founder of Wis consin" belongs to no man. After Pontiac's War, one of the noted events in this region was the journey of Jonathan Carver, who, in 1766, passed up Fox viver to the portage, and descended the Wisconsin to the Mississippi. He noticed the tumbling-down post at what is now Green Bay, Brown county. He saw a few families living in the fort, and some French settlers, who cultivated the land opposite, and appeared to live very comfortably. That was the whole extent of improvements in what is now Wisconsin. The organization of the Northwest Fur Company ; the passage of an act by the British Parliament by which the whole Northwest was included in the Province of Quebec ; the joining of the Indians in this region with the British, against the Americans, in the War of the Revolution; the exploration of the lead region of the Upper Mississippi by Julian Dubuque; the passage of the ordinance of 1787 ; the first settlement of the territory northwest of the River Ohio; and the Indian war which followed, are all incidents, during British occu pation, of more or less interest for the student of Wisconsin history. He will find that, by the treaty of 1783 and of 1795, with Great Britain, all the inhabitants residing in this region were to be protected by the United States in the full and peaceable possession of their property, with the right to remain in, or to withdraw from it, with their effects, within one year. All who did not leave were to be deemed American citizens, allowed to enjoy all the privileges of citizenship, and to be under the protection of the General Government. He will also find that less than two years was the whole time of actual military occupation of what is now Wisconsin by British soldiers, and that English domination, which should have ended at the close of the Revolu tion, was arbitrarily continued until the Summer of 1796, when the western posts, none of which were upon territory circumscribed by Lakes Michigan and Superior and the Mississippi river, were delivered into the keeping of the United States. Thus the supremacy of Great Britain over the Northwest was, after an actual continuance of thirty-five years, at an end. Although the General Government did not get possession of the region northwest of the Ohio, throughout its full extent, for thirteen years subsequent to its acquirement by the treaty of peace of r783 with Great Britain, nevertheless, steps were taken, very soon, to obtain concessions from such of the colonies as had declared an ownership in any portion of it. None of the claimants, seemingly, had better rights than Virginia, who, by virtue of conquests, largely her own, of the Illinois settlements and posts, extended her jurisdiction over that country, erecting into a county 34 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. so much of the region northwest of the Ohio, as had been settled by Virginians or might after ward be settled by them. But as, previous to her yielding all rights to territory beyond that river, she had not carried her arms into the region north of the Illinois or made settlements upon what is now the soil of Wisconsin, nor included any portion of it within the bounds of an organ ized county, it follows that her dominion was not actually extended over any part of the area included within the present boundaries of this State; nor did she then claim jurisdiction north of the Illinois river, but on the other hand expressly disclaimed it. Virginia and all the other claimants finally ceded to the United States their rights, such as they were, beyond the Ohio, except two reservations of limited extent ; and the General Govern ment became the undisputed owner of the "Great West," without any internal claims to posses sion save those of the Indians. Meanwhile, the United States took measures to extend its juris diction over the whole country by the passage of the famous ordinance of 1787, which established a government over "the territory of the United States, northwest of the River Ohio." But this organic law was, of course, nugatory over that portion of the region occupied by the British, until their yielding possession in ^96, when, for the first time, Anglo-American rule commenced, though nominally, in what is now Wisconsin. By the ordinance just mentioned, "the United States, in congress assembled," declared that the territory northwest of the Ohio should, for the purposes of temporary government, be one district , subject, however, to be divided into districts,, as future circumstances might, in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient. It was ordained that a governor, secretary and three judges should be appointed for the Territory; a general assembly was also provided for; and it was declared that religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education should forever be encouraged. It was also ordained that there should be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said Territory, " otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." Thus was established the first Magna Charta for the five great States since that time formed out of " the territory northwest of the River Ohio," and the first rules and regulations for their government. Under this act of Congress, Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor of the Northwestern Territory, as it was called, and Samuel H. Parsons, James M. Varnum, and John Armstrong,, judges, — the latter not accepting the office, John Cleves Symmes was appointed in his place. Winthrop Sargeant was appointed secretary. At different periods, counties were erected to include various portions of the Territory. By the governor's proclamation of the 15th of August, 1796, one was formed to include the whole of the present area of Northern Ohio, west of Cleveland ; also, all of what is now the State of Indiana, north of a line drawn from Fort Wayne " west-northerly to the southern part of Lake Michigan ; " the whole of the present State of Michigan, except its extreme northwest corner on Lake Superior ; a small corner in the north east, part of what is now Illinois, including Chicago; and so much of the present State of Wis consin as is watered by the streams flowing into Lake Michigan, which of course included an extensive portion, taking in many of its eastern and interior counties as now constituted. This vast county was named Wayne. So the few settlers then at the head of Green bay had their local habitations, constructively at least, in " Wayne county, Northwestern Territory." It was just at that date that Great Britain vacated the western posts, and the United States took quiet possession of them. But the western portion of what is now Wisconsin, including all its territory watered by streams flowing northward into Lake Superior, and westward and southwestward into the Mississippi, was as yet without any county organization ; as the county of St. Clair, including the Illinois country to the southward, reached no farther north than the mouth of Little Macki naw creek, where it empties into the River Illinois, in what is now the State of Illinois. The PRE-TERRITORIAL ANNALS OF WISCONSIN. 35 "law of Paris," which was in force under French domination in Canada, and which by the British Parliament in 1774, had been continued in force under English supremacy, was still " the law of the land " west of Lake Michigan, practically at least. From and after the fourth day of July, 1800, all that part of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio river, which lay to the westward of a line beginning upon that stream opposite to the mouth of Kentucky river and running thence to what is now Fort Recovery in Mercer county, Ohio ; thence north until it intersected the territorial line between the United States and Canada, was, for the purposes of temporary government, constituted a separate territory called Indiana. It included not only the whole of the present State of Illinois and nearly all of what is now Indiana, but more than half of the State of Michigan as now defined, also a considerable part of the present Minnesota, and the whole of what is now Wis consin. The seat of government was established at "Saint Vincennes on the Wabash," now the city of Vincennes, Indiana. To this extensive area was added "from and after" the admission of Ohio into the Union, all the territory west of that State, and east of the eastern boundary line of the Territory of Indiana as originally established ; so that now all " the territory of the United States, northwest of the River Ohio," was, excepting the State of Ohio, included in Indiana Ter ritory. On the thirtieth day of June, 1805, so much of Indiana Territory as lay to the north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan to Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the same bend through the middle of the first mentioned lake to its north ern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States, was, for the purpose of temporary government, constituted a separate Territory called Michigan. Of course no part of the present State of Wisconsin was included therein ; but the whole remained in the Territory of Indiana until the second day of March, 1809, when all that part of the last men tioned Territory which lay west of the Wabash river, and a direct line drawn from that stream and " Post Vincennes," due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, was, by an act approved on the third of February previous, constituted a separate Territory, called Illinois. Meanwhile jurisdiction had been extended by the authorities of Indiana Territory over the country lying west of Lake Michigan, to the extent, at least, of appointing a justice of the peace for each of the settlements of Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. All of what is now Wisconsin was transferred to the Territory of Illinois, upon the organization of the latter, except a small portion lying east of the meridian line drawn through Vincennes, which remained a part of Indiana Territory. This fraction included nearly the whole area between Green bay and Lake Michigan. When, in 1816, Indiana became a State, "the territory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio," contained, besides Ohio and Indiana, the Territories of Illinois and Michigan, only ; so the narrow strip, formerly a part of Indiana Territory, lying east of a line drawn due north from Vincennes, and west of the western boundary line of Michigan Territory, belonged to nei ther, and was left without any organization. However, upon the admission of Illinois into the Union, in 1818, all "the territory of the United States, northwest of the River Ohio," lying west of Michigan Territory and north of the States of Indiana and Illinois, was attached to and made a part of Michigan Territory ; by which act the whole of the present State of Wisconsin came under the jurisdiction of the latter. During the existence of the Territory of Illinois, a kind of jurisdiction was had over the two settlements in what is now Wisconsin — rather more ideal than real, however. In 1834, Congress greatly increased the limits of the Territory of Michigan, by adding to it, for judicial purposes, a large extent of country west of the Mississippi — reaching south as far as 36 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. the present boundary line between the present States of Iowa and Missouri ; north, to the terri torial line between the United States and Canada; and west, to the Missouri and White Earth rivers. It so continued down to the fourth of July, 1836. A retrospective glance at the history of this region for forty years previous to the last men tioned year, including the tim; which elapsed after the surrender of the western posts, in 1796, by the British, discloses many facts of interest and importance. The Anglo-Americans, not long after the region of country west of Lake Michigan became a part of Indiana Territory, began now and then to cast an eye, either through the opening of the Great Lakes or the Mississippi, upon its rolling rivers, its outspread prairies, and its dense forests, and to covet the goodly land ; but the settlers at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien were mostly French Canadians at this date, although a few were Americans. The General Govern ment, however, began to take measures preparatory to its occupation, by purchasing, in 1804, a tract in what is now the southwest portion of the State, of the Indians, and by holding the various tribes to a strict account for any murders committed by them on American citizens passing through their territories or trading with them. Comparative peace reigned in the incipient settle ments at the head of Green bay and at the mouth of the Wisconsin, which was changed by the breaking out of the war of 1812, with Great Britain. The English early succeeded in securing the Wisconsin Indian tribes as their allies in this war ; and the taking of Mackinaw by the British in July, 181 2, virtually put the latter in posses sion of what is now the eastern portion of the State. Early in r8i4, the government authorities of the United States caused to be fitted out at St. Louis a large boat, having on board all the men that could be mustered and spared from the lower country, and sent up the Mississippi to protect the upper region and the few settlers therein. The troops landed at Prairie du Chien, and immediately proceeded to fortify. Not long after, Colonel McKay, of the British army, crossing the country by course of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, with over five hundred British and Indians, received the surrender of the whole force. The officers and men were paroled and sent down the river. This was the only battle fought upon Wisconsin soil during the last war with England. The post at Prairie du Chien was left in command of a captain with two compa nies from Mackinaw. He remained there until after the peace of 1815, when the place was evacuated by the British. When it became generally known to the Indian tribes in what is now Wisconsin, that the contest between the United States and Great Britain was at an end, they generally expressed themselves as ready and willing to make treaties with the General Government — eager, in fact, to establish friendly relations with the power they had so recently been hostile to. This was, therefore, a favorable moment for taking actual possession of the country between the Missis-' sippi and Lake Michigan ; and United States troops were soon ordered to occupy the two prom inent points between Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. At the former place was erected Fort Howard ; at the latter Fort Crawford. At Green Bay, half a hundred (or less) French Cana dians cultivated the soil; at Prairie du Chien, there were not more than thirty houses, mostly occupied by traders, while on the prairie outside the village, a number of farms were cultivated. Such was Wisconsin when, at the close of the last war with Great Britain, it began in earnest to be occupied by Americans. The latter were few in number, but in 1818, they began to feel, now that the country was attached to Michigan Territory and the laws of the United States were extended over them, that they were not altogether beyond the protection of a government of their own, notwithstanding they were surrounded by savage tribes. Their happiness was increased upon the erection, by proclamation of Lewis Cass, governor of the Territory of Michigan, of three Territorial counties: Michilimackinac, Brown and Crawford. Their establishment dates PRE-TERRITORIAL ANNALS OF WISCONSIN. 37 the twenty-sixth of October, 1818. The county of Michilimackinac not only included all of the present State of Wisconsin lying north of a line drawn due west from near the head of the Little Noquet bay, but territory east and west of it, so as to reach from Lake Huron to the Missis sippi river. Its county seat was established "at the Borough of Michilimackinac." The whole area in Michigan Territory south of the county of Michilimackinac and west of Lake Michigan formed the two counties of Brown and Crawford: the former to include the area east of a line drawn due north and south through the middle of the portage between the Fox river of Green bay and the Wisconsin ; the latter to include the whole region west of that line. Prairie du Chien was designated as the county seat of Crawford; Green Bay, of Brown county. On the 22d of December, 1826, a county named Chippewa was formed from the northern portions of Michilimackinac, including the southern shores of Lake Superior throughout its entire length, and extending from the straits leading from that lake into Lake Huron, west to the western boundary line of Michigan Territory, with the county seat " at such point in the vicinity of the Sault de Ste. Marie, as a majority of the county commissioners to be appointed shall designate." Embraced within this county, — its southern boundary being the parallel 460 31' north latitude, — was all the territory of the present State of Wisconsin now bordering on Lake Superior. Immediately upon the erection of Brown and Crawford counties, they were organized, and their offices filled by appointment of the governor. County courts were established, consisting of one chief and two associate justices, either of whom formed a quorum. They were required to hold one term of court annually in their respective counties. These county courts had origi nal and exclusive jurisdiction in all civil cases, both in law and equity, where the matter in dis pute exceeded the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace, and did not exceed the value of one thousand dollars. They had, however, no jurisdiction in ejectment. They had exclusive cog nizance of all offenses the punishment whereof was not capital, and the same power to issue remedial and other process, writs of error and mandamus excepted, that the supreme court had at Detroit. Appeals from justices of the peace were made to the county courts. The establishing of Indian agencies by the General Government ; the holding of treaties with some of the Indian tribes; the adjustment of land claims at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien ; the appointment of postmasters at these two points, were all indications of a proper interest being taken by the United States in the affairs of the country. But a drawback to this region, was the fact that, in all civil cases of over a thousand dollars, and in criminal cases that were capital, as well as in actions of ejectment, and in the allowance of writs of error, and man damus, recourse must be had to the supreme court at Detroit ; the latter place being the seat of government of Michigan Territory. However, in January, 1823, an act of congress provided for a district court, and for the appointment of a judge, for the counties of Brown, Crawford, and Michilimackinac. This court had concurrent jurisdiction, civil and criminal, with the supreme court of the Territory, in most cases, subject, however, to have its decisions taken to the latter tribunal by a writ of error. The law provided for holding one term of court in each year, in each of the counties named in the act ; so, at last, there was to be an administration of justice at home, and the people were to be relieved from all military arbitrations, which frequently had been imposed upon them. James Duane Doty was appointed judge of this court at its organiza tion. A May term of the court was held in Prairie du Chien ; a June term in Green Bay ; a July term in " the Borough of Michilimackinac," in each year. In 1824, Henry S. Baird, of Brown county, was appointed district attorney. Doty held the office of judge until May, 1832, when he was succeeded by David Irvin. This court continued until r836, when it was abrogated by the organization of the Territory of Wisconsin. For a long time it had been known that there were lead mines in what is now the south- 38 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. western portion of the State; but it was not until the year 1825, and the two following years, that very general attention was attracted to them, which eventuated in the settlement of different places in that region, by Americans, who came to dig for lead ore. This rapid increase of settlers awakened the jealousy of the Winnebago Indians, at what they deemed an unauthorized intrusion upon their lands, which, with other causes operating unfavorably upon their minds,. aroused them in June, 1827, to open acts of hostility. Murders became frequent. Finally, the militia of Prairie du Chien were called out. On the twenty-ninth of August, Brigadier-General Henry Atkinson, of the United States army, with a strong force of regulars, ascended the Wis consin river to put an end to any further spread of Winnebago disturbances. He was joined on the first of September, by one hundred and thirty Galena volunteers, mounted, and under com mand of General Henry Dodge. The Winnebagoes were awed into submission. Thus ended the "Winnebago War.'' It was followed by the erection at the portage of Fort Winnebago, by the United States. After the restoration of tranquillity, the United States proceeded by treaty with the Indians,. to secure the right to occupy the lead regions. This was in 1828. The next year, the General Government purchased of the Winnebagoes, Southwestern Wisconsin, which put an end to all. trouble on account of mining operations. On the ninth of October, 1829, a county was formed, by the legislative council of the Territory of Michigan, comprising all that part of Crawford county lying south of the Wisconsin river. This new county was called Iowa. The county seat was temporarily established at Mineral Point. Following this was a treaty in 1831, with the Menomonees, for all their lands east of Green bay, Winnebago lake, and the Fox and Milwaukee. rivers. There was now a crisis at hand. The most prominent event to be recorded in the pre-Ter- ritorial annals of Wisconsin is known as the Black Hawk War. This conflict of arms between the Sacs and Foxes and the United States arose from a controversy in regard to lands. By a treaty made at Fort Harmar, just across the River Muskingum from Marietta, Ohio, in January,, 1789, the Pottawattamie and Sac tribes of Indians, among others, were received into the friend ship of the General Government, and a league of peace and unity established between the con tracting parties On the third of November, 1804, a treaty at St. Louis stipulated that the- united Sac and Fox tribes should be received into the friendship of the United States, and also- be placed under their protection. These tribes also agreed to consider themselves under the pro tection of the General Government and of no other power whatsoever. At this treaty lands were- ceded which were circumscribed by a boundary beginning at a point on the Missouri river opposite the mouth of the Gasconade, and running thence in a direct course so as to strike the River Jefferson at the distance of thirty miles from its mouth, and down that stream to the Missis- s;ppi. It then ran up the latter river to the mouth of the Wisconsin, and up that stream to a point thirty- six miles in a direct line from its mouth ; thence by a straight course to a point where the Fox river of the Illinois leaves the small lake then called Sakaegan, and from that. point down the Fox to the Illinois, and down the latter to the Mississippi. The consideration for this cession was the payment of goods to the value of two thousand two hundred and thirty-four dollars and fifty cents, and a yearly annuity of one thousand dollars — six hundred to be paid to- the Sacs and four hundred to the Foxes — to be liquidated in goods valued at first cost. After ward, Fort Madison was erected just above the Des Moines rapids in the Mississippi, on the ter ritory ceded at the last mentioned treaty. Then followed the war with Great Britain, and the Sacs and Foxes agreed to take no part therein. However, a portion afterward joined the English against the Americans along with other Western tribes. At the restoration of peace the Sacs and Foxes held treaties with the United States. There was a renewal of the treaty of 1804. PRE-TERRITORIAL ANNALS OF WISCONSIN. 39 'Such in brief is a general outline of affairs, so far as those two tribes were concerned, down to the ¦close of the last war with England. From this time, to the year 1830, several additional treaties were made with the Sacs and Foxes by the General Government : one in 1822, by which they relin quished their right to have the United States establish a trading house or factory at a convenient point at which the Indians could trade and save themselves from the imposition of traders, for which they were paid the sum of one thousand dollars in merchandise. Again, in 1824, they sold to the General Government all their lands in Missouri, north of Missouri river, for which they received one thousand dollars the same year, and an annuity of one thousand dollars for ten years. In 1830, they ceded to the United States a strip of land twenty miles wide from the Mis sissippi to the Des Moines, on the north side of their territory. The time had now come for the two tribes to leave the eastern shore of the Mississippi and retire across the " great water." Keokuk, the Watchful Fox, erected his wigwam on the west side of the river, and was followed by a large part of the two tribes. But a band headed by Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or the Rlack Sparrow Hawk, commonly called Black Hawk, refused to leave their village near Rock Island. They contended that they had not sold their town to the United States ; and, upon their return early in i83r, from a hunt across the Mississippi, finding their village and fields in possession of the whites, they determined to repossess their homes at all hazards. This was looked upon, or called, an encroachment by the settlers ; so the governor of Illinois took the 'responsibility of declaring the State invaded, and asked the United States to drive the refractory Indians beyond the Mississippi. The result was, the Indian village was destroyed by Illinois ¦volunteers. This and the threatened advance across the river by the United States commander, brought Black Hawk and his followers to terms. They sued for peace — agreeing to remain •'forever 'on the west side of the 'Mississippi. But this truce was of short duration'. Early in the Spring of 1832, Black Hawk having assembled his forces on the Mississippi, in the vicinity of the locality where Fort Madison had stood, crossed that stream and ascended Rock river. This was the signal for war. The governor of Illinois made a call for volunteers ; •and, in a brief space of time, eighteen hundred had assembled at Beardstown, Cass county. "They marched for the mouth of Rock river, where a council of war was held by their officers ¦and Brigadier-General Henry Atkinson, of the regular forces. The Indians were sent word by 'General Atkinson that they must return and recross the Mississippi, or they would be driven back by force. " If you wish to fight us, come on," was the laconic but defiant reply of the Sac •chief. When the attempt was made to compel these Indians to go back across the "great river,'' a collision occurred between the Illinois militia and Black Hawk's braves, resulting in the dis comfiture of the former with the loss of eleven men. Soon afterward the volunteers were dis charged, and the first campaign of Black Hawk's War was at an end. This was in May, T832. In June following, a new force had been raised and put under the command of General Atkinson, who commenced his march up Rock river. Before this, there had been a general ""forting" in the lead region, including the whole country in Southwest Wisconsin, notwithstand ing which, a number of settlers had been killed by the savages, mostly in Illinois. Squads of volunteers, in two or three instances, had encountered the Indians ; and in one with entire suc cess — upon the Pecatonica, in what is now Lafayette county, Wisconsin — every savage (and there were seventeen of them) being killed. The loss of the volunteers was three killed and wounded. Atkinson's march up Rock river was attended with some skirmishing; when, being informed that Black Hawk and his force were at Lake Koshkonong, in the southwest corner of what is now Jefferson county, Wisconsin, he immediately moved thither with a portion of his army, where the whole force was ordered to concentrate. But the Sac chief with his people had flown. Colonels Henry Dodge and James D. Henry, with the forces under them, discovered the 40 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. trail of the savages, leading in the direction of the Wisconsin river. It was evident that the retreating force was large, and that it had but recently passed. The pursuing troops hastened their march. On the twenty-first of July, 1832, they arrived at the hills which skirt the left bank of that stream, in what is now Roxbury town (township), Dane county. Here was Black Hawk's whole force, including women and children, the aged and infirm, hastening by every effort to escape across the river. But that this might now be effected, it became necessary for that chief to make a firm stand, to cover the retreat. The Indians were in the bottom lands when the pursuing whites made their appearance upon the heights in their rear. Colonel Dodge occupied the front and sustained the first attack of the Indians. He was soon joined by Henry with his force, when they obtained a complete victory. The action commenced about five o'clock in the afternoon and ended at sunset. The enemy, numbering not less than five hundred, sustained a loss of about sixty killed and a large number wounded. The loss of the Americans was one killed and eight wounded. This conflict has since been known as the battle of Wis consin Heights. During the night following the battle, Black Hawk made his escape with his remaining force and people down the Wisconsin river. The women and children made their way down stream in canoes, while the warriors marched on foot along the shore. The Indians were pursued in their flight, and were finally brought to a stand on the Mississippi river, near the mouth of the Bad Axe, on the west boundary of what is now Vernon county, Wisconsin. About two o'clock on the morning of the second of August, the line of march began to the scene of the last con flict in the Black Hawk War. Dodge's command formed the advance, supported by regular troops, under Colonel Zachary Taylor, afterward president of the United States. Meanwhile an armed steamboat had moved up the Mississippi and lay in front of the savages ; so they were attacked on all sides by the exasperated Americans. The battle lasted about two hours, and was a complete victory for the whites. Black Hawk fled, but was soon after captured. This ended the war. The survey of public lands by the General Government ; the locating and opening of land offices at Mineral Point and Green Bay; the erection of Milwaukee county from a part of Brown, to include all the territory bounded on the east and south by the east and south lines of the present State, on the north by what is now the north boundary of Washington and Ozaukee counties and farther westward on the north line of township numbered twelve, and on the west. by the dividing line between ranges eight and nine ; and the changing of the eastern boundary of Iowa county to correspond with the western one of Milwaukee county; — are some of the important events following the close of the Black Hawk war. There was an immediate and. rapid increase of immigration, not only in the mining region but in various other parts of what is now Wisconsin, more especially in that portion bordering on Lake Michigan. The interior was yet sparsely settled. By the act of June 28, 1834, congress having attached to the Territory of Michigan, for judicial purposes, all the country "west of the Mississippi river, and north of the State of Missouri," comprising the whole of what is now the State of Iowa, all of the present State of Minnesota west of the Mississippi river, and more than half of what is now the Terri tory of Dakota, the legislative council of Michigan Territory extended her laws over the whole area, dividing it on the 6th of September, 1834, by a line drawn due west from the lower end of Rock island to the Missouri river into two counties : the country south of that line constituting the county of Des Moines ; north of the line, to be known as the county of Dubuque. This whole region west of the Mississippi was known as the Iowa district. Immediately after the treaty of r 83 2 with the Sacs and Foxes, the United States having come into ownership of a large tract in this district, several families crossed the Mississippi, and settled on the purchase but as WISCONSIN TERRITORY. 41 the time provided for the Indians to give possession was the first of June, 1833, these settlers were dispossessed by order of the General Government. So soon, however, as the Indians yielded possession, settlements began, but, from the date just mentioned until September, 1834, after the district was attached, for judicial purposes, to Michigan Territory, it was without any municipal law whatever. The organization of the counties of Dubuque and Des Moines on the sixth of that month, secured, of course a regular administration of justice. Before this time to facili tate intercourse between the two remote military posts of Fort Howard at Green Bay, and Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien, a military road was commenced to connect the two points; so, one improvement followed another. On the 1st of January, 1836, a session (the first one) of the seventh legislative council of Michigan Territory — that is, of so much of it as lay to the westward of Lake Michigan — was held at Green Bay, and a memorial adopted, asking Congress for the formation of a new Territory west of that lake ; to include all of Michigan Territory not embraced in the proposed State of Michigan. Congress, as will now be shown, very soon com plied with the request of the memorialists. IV.— WISCONSIN TERRITORY. The establishing of a separate and distinct Territory west of Lake Michigan, was the result of the prospective admission of Michigan into the Union (an event which took place not until the twenty-sixth of January, ^837), . as the population, in all the region outside of the boundaries determined upon by the people for that State, would otherwise be left without a government, or, at least, it would be necessary to change the capital of the old Michigan Territory farther to the westward ; so it was thought best to erect a new territory, to be called Wisconsin (an Indian word signifying wild rushing water, or channel, so called from the principal eastern tributary of the Mississippi within its borders), which was done by an act of congress, approved April 20, 1836, to take effect from and after the third day of July following. The Territory was made to include all that is now embraced within the States of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and a part of the Territory of Dakota, more particularly described within boundaries commencing at the north east corner of the State of Illinois, running thence through the middle of Lake Michigan to a point opposite the main channel of Green bay ; thence through that channel and the bay to the mouth of the Menomonee river ; thence up that stream to its head, which is nearest the lake of the Desert ; thence to the middle of that lake ; thence down the Montreal river to its mouth ; thence with a direct line across Lake Superior to where the territorial line of the United States last touches the lake northwest ; thence on the north, with the territorial line, to the White Earth river ; on the west by a line drawn down the middle of the main channel of that stream to the Missouri river, and down the middle of the main channel of the last mentioned stream to the northwest corner of the State of Missouri ; and thence with the boundaries of the States of Missouri and Illinois, as already fixed by act of congress, to the place or point of beginning. Its counties were Brown, Milwaukee, Iowa, Crawford, Dubuque, and Des Moines, with a portion of Chippewa and Michili mackinac left unorganized. Although, at this time, the State of Michigan was only engaged, so to speak, to the Union, to include the two peninsulas (many of its citizens preferring in lieu thereof the lower one only, with a small slice off the northern boundary of the State of Ohio as now constituted), yet the marriage ceremony was performed, as has been stated, a few months afterward. The act of congress establishing the Territorial government of Wisconsin was very full and complete. It first determined its boundaries ; then it declared that all authority of the govern ment of Michigan over the new Territory should cease on the fourth day of July, 1836, with a 42 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. proper reservation of rights in favor of the Indians. It provided for subsequently dividing tne Territory into one or more, should congress deem it wise so to do. It also declared that the executive power and authority in and over the Territory should be vested in a governor, at the same time defining his powers. It provided for the appointment of a secretary, stating what his duties should be. The legislative power was vested in the governor and legislative assembly, the latter to consist of a council and house of representatives, answering respectively to the senate and assembly, as states are usually organized. There was a provision for taking the census of the several counties, and one giving the governor power to name the time, place, and manner of holding the first election, and to declare the number of members of the council and house of representatives to which each county should be entitled. He was also to determine where the first legislative assembly should meet, and a wise provision was that the latter should not be in session in any one year more than seventy-five days. One section of the act declared who should be entitled to vote and hold office ; another defined the extent of the powers of the legislature, and a third provided that all laws should be submitted to congress for their approval or rejection. There was a section designating what offices should be elective and what ones should be filled by the governor. There were others regulating the judiciary for the Territory and declaring what offices should be appointed by the United States, providing for their taking the proper oaths of office and regulating their salaries. One, perhaps the most important of all, declared that the Territory should be entitled to and enjoy all the rights, privileges, and advantages granted by the celebrated ordinance of ^87. There was also a provision for the election of a delegate to the house of representatives of the United States ; and a declaration that all suits and indictments pending in the old courts should be con tinued in the new ones. Five thousand dollars were appropriated for a library for the accommo dation of the legislative assembly of the Territory and of its supreme court. For the new Territory, Henry Dodge was, on the 30th of April, 1836, by Andrew Jackson, then President of the United States, commissioned governor. John S. Horner was commissioned secretary; Charles Dunn, chief justice; David Irvin and William C. Frazer, associate judges; W. W. Chapman, attorney, and Francis Gehon, marshal. The machinery of a territorial gov ernment was thus formed, which was set in motion by these officers taking the prescribed oath of office. The next important step to be taken was to organize the Territorial legislature. The provisions of the organic act relative to the enumeration of the population of the Territory were that previously to the first election, the governor should cause the ceusus of the inhabitants of the several counties to be taken by the several sheriffs, and that the latter should make returns of the same to the Executive. These figures gave to Des Moines county, 6,257 ; Iowa county, 5,234; Dubuque county, 4,274; Milwaukee county, 2,893; Brown county, 2,706; Crawford county, 850. The entire population, therefore, of Wisconsin Territory in the summer of ^36, as given by the first census was, in precise numbers, twenty-two thousand two hundred and four teen, of which the two counties west of the Mississippi furnished nearly one half. The apportion ment, after the census had been taken, made by the governor, gave to the different counties thir teen councilmen and twenty-six representatives. Brown county got two councilmen and three representatives ; Crawford, two representatives, but no councilmen ; Milwaukee, two councilmen and three representatives ; Iowa, Dubuque and Des Moines, each three councilmen ; but of repre sentatives, Iowa got six ; Dubuque, five, and Des Moines, seven. The election was held on the tenth of October, r836, exciting considerable interest, growing out, chiefly, of local considera tions. The permanent location of the capital, the division of counties, and the location of county seats, were the principal questions influencing the voters. There were elected from the county of Brown, Henry S. Baird and John P. Arndt, members of the council; Ebenezer Childs Albert WISCONSIN TERRITORY. 43 •G. Ellis and Alexander J. Irwin, members of the house of representatives ; from Milwaukee, the councilmen were Gilbert Knapp and Alanson Sweet ; representatives, William B. Sheldon^ Madison W. Cornwall and Charles Durkee : from Iowa, councilmen, EbenezerBrigham, JohnB. Terry and James R. Vineyard; representatives, William Boyles, G. F. Smith, D. M. Parkinson, Thomas McKnight, T. Shanley and J. P. Cox : from Dubuque, councilmen, John Foley, Thomas McCraney and Thomas McKnight ; representatives, Loring Wheeler, Hardin Nowlin, Hosea T. ¦Camp, P. H. Engle and Patrick Quigley : from Des Moines, councilmen, Jeremiah Smith, Jr., Joseph B. Teas and Arthur B. Inghram ; representatives, Isaac Lefner, Thomas Blair, Warren L. Jenkins, John Box, George W. Teas, Eli Reynolds and David R. Chance : from Crawford, repre sentatives, James H. Lockwood and James B. Dallam. Belmont, in the present county of LaFayette, then in Iowa county, was, by the governor, appointed the place for the meeting of the legislature ; he also fixed the time— the twenty-fifth ¦of October. A quorum was in attendance in both branches at the time decided upon for their assembling, and the two houses were speedily organized by the election of Peter Hill Fngle, of Dubuque, speaker of the house, and Henry S. Baird, of Brown, president of the council. Each of the separate divisions of the government — the executive, the judicial, and the legislative — was now in working order, except that it remained for the legislature to divide the Territory into judicial districts, and make an assignment of the judges; and for the governor to appoint a Ter ritorial treasurer, auditor and attorney general. The act of congress establishing the Terri tory required that it should be divided into three judicial districts. The counties of Crawford and Iowa were constitued by the legislature the first district, to which was assigned Chief Justice Dunn. The second district was composed of the counties of Des Moines and Dubuque ; to it was assigned Associate Judge Irvin. The third district was formed of the counties of Brown and Milwaukee, to which was assigned Associate Judge Frazer. Governor Dodge, in his first message to the Territorial legislature, directed attention to the necessity for defining the jurisdiction and powers of the several courts, and recommended that congress should be memorialized to extend the right of pre-emption to actual settlers upon the public lands and to miners on mineral lands; also, to remove the obstructions in the rapids of the Upper Mississippi, to construct harbors and light-houses on Lake Michigan, to improve the navigation of Fox river and to survey the same from its mouth to Fort Winnebago, to increase the amount of lands granted to the Territory for school purposes, and to organize and arm the militia for the protection of the frontier settlements. The first act passed by the legis lature was one privileging members from arrest in certain cases and conferring on themselves power to punish parties for contempt. The second one established the three judicial districts and assigned the judges thereto. One was passed to borrow money to defray the expenses of the session ; others protecting aU lands donated to the Territory by the United States in aid of schools, and creating a common school fund. A memorial to congress was adopted request ing authorization to sell the school-section in each township, and appropriate the money arising therefrom for increasing the fund for schools. During this session, five counties were " set off" west of the Mississippi river : Lee, Van Buren, Henry, Louisa, Muscatine, and Cook; and fifteen east of that stream: Walworth, Racine, Jefferson, Dane, Portage, Dodge, Washington, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Calumet, Manitowoc, Marquette, Rock, Grant and Green. The principal question agitating the legislature at its first session was the location of the •capital. Already the people west of the Mississippi were speculating upon the establishment of a Territory on that side the river, prospects for which would be enhanced evidently, by placing the seat of government somewhat in a central position east of that stream, for Wisconsin 44 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Territory. Now, as Madison was a point answering such requirements she triumphed over all competitors ; and the latter numbered a dozen or more — including, among others, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Racine, Belmont, Mineral Point, Green Bay, and Cassville. The struggle over this question was one of the most exciting ever witnessed in the Territorial legislature. Madison was fixed upon as the seat of government, but it was provided that sessions of the legislature should be held at Burlington, in Des Moines county, until the fourth of March, 1839, unless the public buildings in the new capital should be sooner completed. After an enactment that the legislature should thereafter meet on the first Monday of November of each year, both houses, on the ninth day of December, 1836, adjourned sine die. In the act of congress establishing the Territory of Wisconsin it was provided that a delegate to the house of representatives of the United States, to serve for the term of two years, should be elected by the voters qualified to elect members of the legislative assembly-, and that the first election should be held at such time and place or places, and be conducted in such manner as the governor of the Territory should appoint and direct. In pursuance of this enactment, Governor Dodge directed that the election for delegate should be at the time and places appointed for the election of members of the legislative assembly — the 10th of October, ^36. The successful candidate for that office was George W. Jones, of Sinsinawa Mound, Iowa county — in that portion which was afterward "set off" as Grant county. Jones, under the act of 1819, had been elected a delegate for Michigan Territory, in October, 1835, and took his seat at the ensuing session, in December of that year. By the act of June 15, 1836, the consti tution and State government which the people of Michigan had formed for themselves was accepted, ratified and confirmed, and she was declared to be one of the United States of America, so that the term of two years for which Jones had been elected was cut short, as, in the nature of the case, his term could not survive the existence of the Territory he represented. But, as he was a candidate for election to represent the new Territory of Wisconsin in congress as a delegate, and was successful, he took his seat at the commencement of the second session of the twenty-fourth congress — December 12, 1836, notwithstanding he had been elected only a little over two months. The first term of the supreme court of the Territory was held at Belmont on the 8th day of December. There were present, Charles Dunn, chief justice, and David Irvin, associate judge. John Catlin was appointed clerk, and Henry S. Baird having previously been commissioned attorney general for the Territory by Governor Dodge, appeared before the court and took the oath of office. Causes in which the United States was party or interested were looked after by the United States attorney, who received his appointment from the president; while all cases in which the Territory was interested was attended to" by the attorney general, whose commission was signed by the governor. The appointing of a crier and reporter and the admission of several attorneys to practice, completed the business for the term. The annual term appointed for the third Monday of July of the following year, at Madison, was not held; as no business for the action of the court had matured. At the time of the complete organization of the Territory of Wisconsin, when the whole machinery had been put fairly in motion; when its first legislature at its first session had, after passing forty-two laws and three joint resolutions, in forty-six days, adjourned; — at this time,. the entire portion west of the Mississippi had, in round numbers, a population of only eleven thousand; while the sparsely settled mineral region, the military establishments — Fort Craw ford, Fort Winnebago, and Fort Howard — and the settlements at or near them, with the village of Milwaukee, constituted about all there was of the Territory east of that river, aggregating about twelve thousand inhabitants. There was no land in market, except a narrow strip along WISCONSIN TERRITORY. 45 the shore of Lake Michigan, and in the vicinity of Green bay. The residue of the country south and east of the Wisconsin and Fox rivers was open only to preemption by actual settlers. The Indian tribes still claimed a large portion of the lands. On the north and as far west as the Red river of the north were located the Chippewas. The southern limits of their posses sions were defined by a line drawn from a point on that stream in about latitude 460 30' in a southeasterly direction to the head of Lake St. Croix ; thence in the same general direction to what is now Stevens Point, in the present Portage county, Wisconsin ; thence nearly east to Wolf river; and thence in a direction nearly northeast to the Menomonee river. The whole country bounded by the Red river and Mississippi on the east ; the parallel of about 43" of latitude on the south; the Missouri and White Earth river on the west; and the Territorial line on the north, was occupied by the Sioux. In the southwest part of the Territory, lying mostly south of latitude 430 — in the country reaching to the Missouri State boundary line south, and to the Missouri river west — were the homes of the Pottawattamies, the Iowas, and the Sacs and Foxes. Between the Wisconsin river and the Mississippi, and extending north to the south line of the Chippewas was the territory of the Winnebagoes. East of the Winnebagoes in the country north of the Fox river of Green bay were located the Menomonees, their lands extending to Wolf river. Such was the general outline of Indian occupancy in Wisconsin Territory at its organization. A portion of the country east of Wolf river and north of Green bay and the Fox river ; the whole of the area lying south of Green bay, Fox river and the Wisconsin ; and a strip of territory immediately west of the Mississippi, about fifty miles in width, and extending from the Missouri State line as far north as the northern boundary of the present State of Iowa, constituted the whole extent of country over which the Indians had no claim. The second session of the first legislative assembly of the Territory began at Burlington,. now the county seat of Des Moines county, Iowa, on the 6th of November, r837. The governor, in his message, recommended a codification of the laws, the organization of the militia, and other measures of interest to the people. An act was passed providing for taking another census, and one abolishing imprisonment for debt. By a joint resolution, congress was urged to make an appropriation of twenty thousand dollars in money, and two townships of land for a " University of the Territory of Wisconsin." The money was not appropriated, but the land was granted — forty-six thousand and eighty acres. This was the fundamental endowment of the present State university, at Madison. A bill was also passed to regulate the sale of school lands, and to prepare for organizing, regulating and perfecting schools. Another act, which passed the legislature at this session, proved an apple of discord to the people of the Territory. The measure was intended to provide ways and means whereby to connect, by canals and slack- water, the waters of Lake Michigan with those of the Mississippi, by way of Rock river, the Catfish, the four lakes and the Wisconsin, by the incorporation of the Milwaukee and Rock river canal company. This company was given authority to apply to congress for an appro priation in money or lands to aid in the construction of the work, which was to have its eastern outlet in the Milwaukee river, and to unite at its western terminus with Rock river, near the present village of Jefferson, in Jefferson county. The result was that a grant of land of odd- numbered sections in a strip of territory five miles on each side of the line of the proposed canal was secured, and in July, 1839, over forty thousand acres were sold at the minimum price of two dollars and fifty cents per acre. However, owing mainly to the fact that purchasers were compelled to pay double the government price for their lands — owing also to the circumstance of an antagonism growing up between the officers of the canal company and the Territorial officers intrusted with the disposition of the lands, and to conflicts between'the beneficiaries of 46 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. the grant and some of the leading politicians of the time — the whole scheme proved a curse and a blight rather than a blessing, and eventuating, of course, in the total failure of the project. There had been much Territorial and State legislation concerning the matter ; but very little work, meanwhile, was done on the canal. It is only within the year 1875 that an apparent •quietus has been given to the subject, and legislative enactments forever put at rest. Fourteen counties were set off during this session of the legislature at Burlington — all west of the Mississippi. They were Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Fayette, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Linn, Slaughter, Scott and Clayton. One hundred and five acts and twenty joint resolutions were passed. On the 20th of January, 1838, both houses adjourned until the second Monday of June following. The census of the Territory having been taken in May, the special session of the first legis lature commenced on the eleventh of June, 1838, at Burlington, pursuant to adjournment, mainly for the purpose of making a new apportionment of members of the house. This was effected by giving twelve members to the counties east of the Mississippi, and fourteen to those west of that stream, to be contingent, however, upon the division of the Territory, which measure was not only then before congress, but had been actually passed by that body, though unknown to the Territorial legislature. The law made it incumbent on the governor, in the event of the Terri tory being divided before the next general election, to make an apportionment for the part remaining, — enacting that the one made by the act of the legislature should, in that case, have no effect. Having provided that the next session should be held at Madison, the legislative body adjourned sine die on the twenty-fifth of June, 1838, the public buildings at the new capital having been put under contract in April, previous. Up to this time, the officers of the Territory at large, appointed by the president of the United States at its organization, had remained unchanged, except that the secretary, John S. Horner, had been removed and his place given to William B. Slaughter, by appointment, dated February 16, 1837. Now there were two other changes made. On the nineteenth of June, Edward James was commissioned marshal, and on the fifth of July, Moses M. Strong was commissioned attorney of the United States for the Ter ritory. By an act of congress, approved June 12, 1838, to divide the Territory of Wisconsin, and to establish a Territorial government west of the Mississippi, it was provided that from and after the third day of July following, all that part of Wisconsin Territory lying west of that river and west of a line drawn due north from its headwaters or sources to the Territorial line, for the purposes of a Territorial government should be set apart and known by the name of Iowa. It was further enacted that the Territory of Wisconsin should thereafter extend westward only to the Mississippi. It will be seen therefore that all that portion of the present State of Minnesota, extending eastward from the Mississippi to the St. Croix and northward to the United States boundary line, was then a part of Wisconsin Territory, even after the organization of the Terri tory of Iowa. The census taken in May, just previous to the passage of this act, gave a total population to the several counties of the Territory, east of the Mississippi, of ^,149. On the third Monday of July, ^38, the annual terms of the supreme court — the first one after the re-organization of the Territory of Wisconsin — was held at Madison. There were present Chief Justice Dunn and Associate Judge Frazer. After admitting five attorneys to practice, hearing several motions, and granting several rules, the court adjourned. All the terms of the Supreme Court thereafter were held at Madison. At an election held in the Territory on the tenth day of September, 1838, James Duane Doty received the highest number of votes for the office of delegate to congress, and was declared by Governor Dodge duly elected, by a certificate of election, issued on the twenty-seventh day of October following. Upon the commencement of the third session of the twenty-fifth congress WISCONSIN TERRITORY. 47" on Monday, December 10, 1838, Isaac E. Crary, member from Michigan, announced to the chair of the house of representatives that Doty was in attendance as delegate from Wisconsin Terri tory, and moved that he be qualified. Jones, the former delegate, then rose and protested against Doty's right to the seat, claiming that his (Jones') term had not expired. The basis for his claim was that under the act of 1817, a delegate must be elected only for one congress, andi not for parts of two congressional terms ; that his term as a delegate from Wisconsin did not: commence until the fourth of March, 1837, and consequently would not expire until the fourth. of March, 1839. The subject was finally referred to the committee of elections. This com mittee, on the fourteenth of January, 1839, reported in favor of Doty's right to his seat as dele gate, submitting a resolution to that effect which passed the house by a vote of one hundred and sixty-five to twenty-five. Whereupon Doty was qualified as delegate from Wisconsin Territory,. and took his seat at the date last mentioned. On the 8th of November, Andrew G. Miller was appointed by Martin Van Buren, then president of the United States, associate judge of the supreme court, to succeed Judge Frazer, who died at Milwaukee, on the 18th of October. During this year, Moses M. Strong succeeded W. W. Chapman as United States attorney for the Territory. On the 26th day of November, 1838, the legislature of the re-organized Territory of Wis consin — being the first session of the second legislative assembly — met at Madison. Governor Dodge, in his message, recommended an investigation of the banks then in operation, memorial izing congress for a grant of lands for the improvement of the Fox river of Green bay and the Wisconsin; the revision of the laws; the division of the Territory into judicial districts; the justice of granting to all miners who have obtained the ownership of mineral grounds under the regulations of the superintendent of the United States lead mines, either by discovery or pur chase, the right of pre-emption; and the improvement of the harbors on Lake Michigan. The attention of this Legislature was directed to the mode in which the commissioners of public buildings had discharged their duties There was an investigation of the three banks then in operation in the Territory — one at Green Bay, one at Mineral Point, and the other at Mlwaukee. A plan, also, for the revision of the laws of the Territory was considered. A new assignment was made for the holding of district courts. Chief Justice Dunn was assigned to the first district, composed of the counties of Iowa, Grant and Crawford; Judge Irvin to the second',. composed of the counties of Dane, Jefferson, Rock, Walworth and Green; while Judge Miller was assigned to the third district, composed of Milwaukee, Brown and Racine counties — includ ing therein the unorganized counties of Washington and Dodge, which, for judicial purposes,. were, when constituted by name and boundary, attached to Milwaukee county, and had so remained since that date. The legislature adjourned on the 22d of December, to meet again on the 21st of the following month. "Although," said the president of the council, upon the occasion of the adjournment, "but few acts of a general character have been passed, as the discussions and action of this body have been chiefly confined to bills of a local nature, and to the passage of! memorials to the parent government in behalf of the great interests of the Territory; yet it is believed that the concurrent resolutions of the two houses authorizing a revision of the laws, is a measure of infinite importance to the true interests of the people, and to the credit and charac ter of the Territory." Tbe census of the Territory having been taken during the year 1838, showed a populatioa of 18,130, an increase in two years of 6,447. The second session of the second legislative assembly commenced on the twenty-first day of January, 1839, agreeable to adjournment. The most important work was the revision of the laws which had been perfected during the recess, by the committee to whom the work was intrusted, 48 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. consisting of three members from each house : from the council, M. L. Martin, Marshall M. Strong, and James Collins ; from the house of representatives, Edward V. Whiton, Augustus Story, and Barlow Shackleford. The act legalizing the revision, took effect on the fourth day of July following. The laws as revised, composed the principal part of those forming the Revised Statutes of 1839, a valuable volume for all classes in the territory— and especially so for the courts and lawyers— during the next ten years. The sine die adjournment of this legislature took place on the nth of March, 1839. On the 8th of March of this year, Henry Dodge, whose term for three years as governor was about to expire, was again commissioned by the president of the United States, as governor of the Territory of Wisconsin. At the July term of the supreme court, all the judges were pre sent, and several cases were heard and decided. A seal for the court was also adopted. The attorney general of the Territory at this time was H. N. Wells, who had been commissioned by Governor Dodge, on the 30th of March previous, in place of H. S. Baird, resigned. Wells not being in attendance at this term of the court, Franklin J. Munger was appointed by the judge attorney general for that session. The clerk, John Catlin having resigned, Simeon Mills was selected by the court to fill his place. From this time, the supreme court met annually, as pro vided by law, until Wisconsin became a State. The next legislature assembled at Madison, on the second of December, 1839. This was the third session of the second legislative assembly of the Territory.1 The term for which mem bers of the house were elected, would soon expire ; it was therefore desirable that a new appor tionment should be made. As the census would be taken the ensuing June, by the United States, it would be unnecessary for the Territory to make an additional enumeration. A short session was resolved upon, and then an adjournment until after the completion of the census. One of the subjects occupying largely the attention of the members, was the condition of the capitol, and the conduct of the commissioners intrusted with the money appropriated by congress to defray the cost of its construction. The legislature adjourned on the thirteenth of January, 1840, to meet again on the third of the ensuing August. The completion of the census showed a population for the Territory of thirty thousand seven hundred and forty-four, against eighteen thousand one hundred and thirty, two years previous. Upon the re-assembling of the legisla ture — which is known as the extra session of the second legislative assembly — at the time agreed upon, some changes were made in the apportionment of members to the house of representa tives ; the session lasted but a few days, a final adjournment taking place on the fourteenth of August, 1840. At the July term of the supreme court, Simeon Mills resigned the office of clerk, and La Fayette Kellogg was appointed in his place. Kellogg continued to hold the posi tion until the state judiciary was organized. At the ensuing election, James Duane Doty was re-elected Territorial delegate, taking his seat for the first time under his second term, on the eighth day of December, 1840, at the commencement of the second session of the twenty-sixth congress. The first session of the third legislative assembly commence^ on the seventh of December, 1840, with all new members in the house except three. All had recently been elected under the new apportionment. Most of the session was devoted to the ordinary routine of legislation. There was, however, a departure, in the passage of two acts granting divorces, from the usual current of legislative proceedings in the Territory. There was, also, a very interesting contested election case between two members from Brown county. Such was the backwardness in regard to the building of the capitol, at this date, that a large majority of the members stood ready to remove the seat of government to some other place. However, as no particular point could be agreed upon, it remained at Madison. The legislature adjourned on the nineteenth of February, WISCONSIN TERRITORY. 49 1841, having continued a term of seventy-five days, the maximum time limited by the organic act. Francis J. Dunn, appointed by Martin Van Buren, was commissioned in place of William B. Slaughter, as secretary of the Territory, on the 25th of January, 1841, but was himself super ceded by the appointment of A. P. Field, on the 23d day of April following. On the 15th of March, Daniel Hugunin was commissioned as marshal in place of Edward James, and on the 27th of April, Thomas W. Sutherland succeeded Moses M. Strong as United States attorney for the Territory. On the 26th of June, Governor Dodge commissioned as attorney general of the Territory, M. M. Jackson. On the 13th of September following, Dodge was removed from office by John Tyler, then president of the United States, and James Duane Doty appointed in his place. The appointment of Doty, then the delegate of the Territory in congress, by the president of the United States as governor, and the consequent resignation of the latter of his seat in the house of representatives, caused a vacancy which was filled by the election of Henry Dodge to that office, on the 27th of September, 1841; so that Doty and Dodge changed places. Dodge took his seat for the first time, at the commencement of the second session of the twenty- fifth congress — Monday, December 7, 1841. About this time, the Milwaukee and Rock river canal imbroglio broke out afresh. The loan agent appointed by the governor to negotiate a loan of one hundred thousand dollars for the work, reported that he had negotiated fifty-six thousand dollars of bonds, which had been issued ; but he did not report what kind of money was to be received for them. Now, the canal commissioners claimed that it was their right and duty not to recognize any loan which was to be paid in such currency as they disapproved of. This dispute defeated the loan, and stopped all work on the canal. During the year 1841, Thomas W. Sutherland succeeded Moses M. Strong as United States attorney. The second session of the third legislative assembly began at Madison, on the sixth of December, r84r. Governor Doty, in his message to that body, boldly avowed the "doctrine that no law of the Territory was effective, until expressly approved by congress. "The act," said he, "establishing the government of Wisconsin, in the third sec tion, requires the secretary of the Territory to transmit annually, on or before the first Monday in December, 'two copies of the laws to the speaker of the house of representatives, for the use of congress.' The sixth section provides that 'all laws of [the governor and legislative assembly shall be submitted to, and, if disapproved by the congress of the United States, the same shall be null and of no effect.' " "These provisions," he added, "it seems to me, require the laws to be actually submitted to congress before they take effect. They change the law by which this country was governed while it was a part of Michigan. That law provided that the laws should be reported to congress, and that they should ' be in force in the [district until the organization of the general assembly therein, unless disapproved of by congress.' " The governor concluded in these words : " The opinion of my predecessor, which was expressed to the first legislature assembled after the organization of this government, in his message delivered at Belmont on the twenty-sixth day of October, 1836, fully sustains this view of the subject which I have presented. He said: 'We have convened under an act of congress of the United States establishing the Territorial government of Wisconsin, for the purpose of enacting such laws as may be required for the government of the people of this Territory, after their approval by con gress.'" This construction of the organic act resulted in a lengthy warfare between the gov ernor and the legislative assembly. At this session, the Milwaukee and Rock river canal again raised a tumult. " Congress had made a valuable grant of land to the Territory in trust. The Territory was the trustee ; the canal company the cestui que trust. The trust had been accepted, and a large portion of the lands had been sold, one tenth of the purchase money received, and ample securities held 50 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. for the balance." The Territory now, by its legislature, repealed all the laws authorizing a; loan, and all which contemplated the expenditure of any money on its part in constructing the canal. The legislature resolved that all connection ought to be dissolved, and the work on the canal by the Territory abandoned, and that the latter ought not further to execute the trust. They resolved also that the congress be requested to divert the grant to such other internal improvements as should be designated by the Territory, subject to the approval of congress; and that, if the latter should decline to make this diversion, it was requested to take back the grant, and dispose of the unsold lands. On the eleventh of February, 1842, a tragedy was enacted in the legislative council, causing great excitement over the whole Territory. On that day, Charles C. P. Arndt, a member from Brown county, was, while that body was in session, shot dead by James R. Vineyard, a member from Grant county. The difficulty grew out of a debate on motion to lay on the table the nomination of Enos S. Baker to the office of sheriff of Grant county. Immediately before adjournment of the council, the parties who had come together, after loud and angry words had been spoken, were separated by the by-standers. When an adjournment had been announced, they met again ; whereupon Arndt struck at Vine yard. The latter then drew a pistol and shot Arndt. He died in a few moments. Vineyard immediately surrendered himself to the sheriff of the county, waived an examination, and was committed to jail. After a short confinement, he was brought before the chief justice of the Territory, on a writ of habeas corpus, and admitted to bail. He was afterward indicted for man slaughter, was tried and acquitted. Three days after shooting Arndt, Vineyard sent in his resignation as member of the council. That body refused to receive it, or to have it read even; but at once expelled him. The second and last session of the third legislative assembly came to a close on the eighteenth of February, 1842. The first session of the fourth legislative assembly commenced on the fifth day of Decem ber, r842. The members had been elected under a new apportionment based upon a census taken in the previous June, which showed a total population for the Territory of forty-six thou sand six hundred and seventy-eight — an increase of nearly ten thousand in two years. A politi cal count showed a decided democratic majority in each house. Governor Doty's political proclivities were with the whig party. The contest between him and the legislature now assumed a serious character. He refused to " hold converse '' with it, for the reason that, in his opinion, no appropriation had been made by congress to defray the expenses of the session, and,, as a consequence, none could be held. The legislature made a representation to congress, then in session, of the objections of the governor, and adjourned on the tenth of December, to meet again on the thirteenth of January, 1843. It was not until the fourth of February following that a quorum in both houses had assembled, when the legislature, through a joint committee, waited on the governor, and informed him that they had again met according to adjournment, and were then ready to proceed to business. Previous to this time, congress had made an appropriation to cover the expenses of the legislature now in session, which it was supposed would remove all conflict about its legality. But the governor had, on the thirtieth day of January previous, issued a proclamation, convening a special session of the legislature on the sixth of March, and still refused to recognize the present one as legal. Both houses then adjourned to the day fixed by the executive. A final adjournment took place on the seventeenth of April following. The term of two years for which Henry Dodge was elected as delegate, having expired at the close of the third session of the twenty-seventh congress, he was, on the twenty-fifth of Sep tember, 1843, re-elected, taking his seat for the first time on his second term at the commence ment of the first session of the twenty-eighth congress, Monday, December 4, 1843. On the thirtieth of October of this year, George Floyd was commissioned by President Tyler as. WISCONSIN TERRITORY. ft secretary of the Territory, in place of A. P. Field. The second session of the fourth legislative assembly of the Territory, commencing on the fourth of December, 1843, and terminating on the thirty-first of January, 1844 — a period of fifty- nine days — accomplished but little worthy of especial mention, except the submission of the question of the formation of a State government to a vote of the people, to be taken at the gene ral election to be held in September following. The proposition did not succeed at the ballot- box. The third session of the fourth legislative assembly did not commence until the sixth of January, 1845, as the time had been changed to the first Monday in that month for annual meet ings. Governor Doty having persisted in spelling Wisconsin with a "k" and an "a" — Wis- £onsan — and some of the people having adopted his method, it was thought by this legislature a matter of sufficient importance to be checked. So, by a joint resolution, the orthography — Wis*ronszh — employed in the organic act, was adopted as the true one for the Territory, and has ever since been used. Before the commencement of this session Doty's term of office had expired. He was superseded as governor of the Territory by N. P. Tallmadge, the latter having been appointed on the twenty-first of June, 1844. On the thirl y-first of August, Charles M.. Prevost was appointed marshal of the Territory, in place of Daniel Hugunin. There was the utmost harmony between Governor Tallmadge and the legislature of the Territory at its session in 1845. His message, which was delivered to the two houses in person, on the seventeenth of January, was well received. Among other items of interest to which he called the attention of the legis lative assembly, was one concerning the construction of a railroad to connect Lake Michigan with the Mississippi. " The interests of the Territory," said he, " seem inperiously to demand the con struction of a railroad, or other communication, from some suitable point on Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river. Much difference of opinion seems to exist as to what it shall be, and how it is to be accomplished. There is a general impression," continued the governor, "that the con struction of the Milwaukee and Rock river canal, which was intended to connect those waters, is abandoned. It remains to be seen what shall be substituted for it." The session terminated on the twenty-fourth of February, 1845. James K. Polk having been inaugurated president of the United States on the fourth of March, 1845, Henry Dodge was again put into the gubernatorial chair of the Territory, receiving his appointment on the eighth of April, 1845. Other changes were made by the president during the same year, John B. Rockwell being, on the fourteenth of March, appointed marshal, and W. P. Lynde, on the fourteenth of July, United States attorney for the Territory, Governor Tall madge, on the twenty-second of January of this year, having commissioned the latter also as attorney general. On the twenty-second of September, Morgan L. Martin was elected delegate to the twenty-ninth congress, as the successor of Henry Dodge. The fourth and last session of the fourth legislative assembly was organized on the fifth of January, 1846. This session, although a short one, proved very important. Preliminary steps. were taken for the formation of a State government. The first Tuesday in April next succeeding was the day fixed upon for the people to vote for or against the proposition. When taken it resulted in a large majority voting in favor of the measure. An act was passed providing for taking the census of the Territory, and for the apportionment by the governor of delegates, to form a State constitution, based upon the new enumeration. The delegates were to be elected on the first. Monday in September, and the convention was to assemble on the first Monday in October, 1846. The constitution when formed was to be submitted to the vote of the people for adoption or rejection, as, at the close of the session, the terms of members of the council who had been elected for four years, and of the house, who had been elected for two years, all ended. The legislature 52 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. re-organized the election districts, and conferred on the governor the power and duty of making an apportionment, based on the census to be taken, for the next legislative assembly, when, on the third of February, 1846, both houses adjourned sine die. On the twenty-second of January, Governor Dodge appointed A. Hyatt Smith attorney general of the Territory. On the twenty- fourth of February, John Catlin was appointed Territorial secretary by the president. The census taken in the following June showed a population for the Territory of one hun dred and fifty-five thousand two hundred and seventy-seven. Delegates having been elected to form a constitution for the proposed new State, met at Madison on the fifth day of October. After completing their labors, they adjourned. This event took place on the sixteenth of December, r846. The constitution thus formed was submitted to a popular vote on the first Tuesday of April, 1847, and rejected. The first session of the fifth legislative assembly com menced on the fourth of January of that year. But little was done. Both houses finally adjourned on the eleventh of February, 1847. John H. Tweedy was elected as the successor of Morgan L. Martin, delegate to the thirtieth congress, on the sixth of September following. On the twenty-seventh of that month, Governor Dodge issued a proclamation for a special session of the legislature, to commence on the eighteenth of the ensuing month, to take action concern ing the admission of Wisconsin into the Union. The two houses assembled on the day named in the proclamation, and a law was passed for the holding of another convention to frame a constitution ; when, after nine days' labor, they adjourned. Delegates to the new convention were elected on the last Monday of November, and that body met at Madison on the fifteenth of December, 1847. A census of the Territory was taken this year, which showed a population of two hundred and ten thousand five hundred and forty-six. The result of the labors of the second constitutional convention was the formation of a constitution, which, being submitted to the people on the second Monday of March, 1848, was duly ratified. The second and last session of the fifth legislative assembly — the last legislative assembly of Wisconsin Territory — commenced on the seventh of February, 1848, and adjourned sine die on the thirteenth of March following. On the twentieth of the same month, J. H. Tweedy, delegate from Wisconsin, introduced a bill in congress for its admission into the Union. The bill was finally passed; and on the twenty-ninth of May, 1848, Wisconsin became a State. There had been seventeen sessions of the legislative assembly of the Territory, of an average duration of forty days each : the longest one lasted seventy-six days ; the shortest, ten days. So long as the Territory had an existence, the apportionment of thirteen members for the council, and twenty-six for the house of representatives, was continued, as provided in the organic act. There had been, besides those previously mentioned, nine additional counties " set off " by the legislative assembly of the Territory, so that they now numbered in all twenty-eight : Milwaukee, Waukesha, Jefferson, Racine, Walworth, Rock, Green, Washington, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Calu met, Brown, Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Marquette, Sauk, Portage, Columbia, Dodge, Dane, Iowa, La Fayette, Grant, Richland, Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix, and La Pointe. V.— WISCONSIN AS A STATE. First Administration. — Nelson Dewey, Governor — 1848, 1849. The boundaries prescribed in the act of congress, entitled " An Act to enable the people of Wisconsin Territory to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union," approved August 6, 1846, were accepted by the convention which formed the constitution of Wisconsin, and are described in that instrument as " beginning at the north east corner of the State of Illinois — that is to say, at a point in the center of Lake Michigan WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 53 where the line of forty-two degrees and thirty minutes of north latitude crosses the same ; thence running with the boundary line of the State of Michigan, through Lake Michigan [and] Green bay to the mouth of the Menomonee river ; thence up the channel of the said river to the Brule river ; thence up said last mentioned river to Lake Brule ; thence along the southern shore of Lake Brule, in a direct line to the center of the channel between Middle and South islands, in the Lake of the Desert ; thence in a direct line to the head waters of the Montreal river, as marked upon the survey made by Captain Cram ; thence down the main channel of the Mon treal river to the middle of Lake Superior ; thence through the center of Lake Superior to the mouth of the St. Louis river ; thence up the main channel of said river to the first rapids in the -satne, above the Indian village, according to Nicollett's map ; thence due south to the main branch of the River St. Croix ; thence down the main channel of said river to the Mississippi ; thence down the center of the main channel of that river to the northwest corner of the State of Illinois ; thence due east with the northern boundary of the State of Illinois to the place of beginning." The territory included within these lines constitutes the State of Wisconsin, familiarly known as the "Badger State." All that portion of Wisconsin Territory, as formerly constituted, lying west of so much of the above mentioned boundary as extends from the middle of Lake Superior to the mouth of the St. Croix river, not being included in Wisconsin, the limits of the State are, of course, not identical with those of the Territory as they previously existed. The State of Wisconsin, thus bounded, is situated between the parallel of forty-two degrees thirty minutes and that of forty-seven degrees, north latitude, and between the eighty-seventh and ninety-third degrees west longitude, nearly. For a portion of its northern border it has Lake Superior, the largest body of fresh water in the world ; for a part of its eastern boundary it has Lake Michigan, almost equal in size to Lake Superior ; while the Mississippi, the largest river in the world but one, forms a large portion of its western boundary. The State of Michi gan lies on the east ; Illinois on the south ; Iowa and Minnesota on the west. Wisconsin has an average length of about two hundred and sixty miles ; an average breadth of two hundred and fifteen miles. The constitution of Wisconsin, adopted by the people on the second Monday of March, 1848, provided for the election of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, members of the State legislature, and members of congress, on the second Monday of the ensuing May. On that day — the 8th of the month — the election was held, which resulted in the choice of Nelson Dewey, for governor ; John E. Holmes, for lieutenant governor ; Thomas McHugh, for secretary of state ; Jairus C. Fairchild, for state treasurer ; and James S. Brown, for attorney general. The State was divided into nineteen senatorial, and sixty-six assembly districts, in each of which one member was elected ; it was also divided into two congressional districts, in each of which one member of congress was elected — William Pitt Lynde in the first district, composed of the counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Jefferson, Racine, Walworth, Rock, and Green ; Mason C. Darling, in the second district, composed of the counties of Washington, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Calumet, Brown, Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Marquette, Sauk, Portage, Columbia, Dodge, Dane, Iowa, La Fayette, Grant, Richland, Craw ford, Chippewa, St. Croix, and La Pointe — the counties of Richland, Chippewa and La Pointe being unorganized. The first session of the legislature of Wisconsin commenced at Madison, the seat of govern ment for the State, on Monday, the 5th day of June, 1848. Ninean E. Whiteside was elected speaker of the assembly, and Henry Billings president of the senate, pro tempore. The democrats were largely in the majority in both houses. The legislature, in joint convention, on the 7th of June, canvassed, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, the votes given on the Sth of May previous, fur the State officers and the two representatives in congress. On the same 54 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. day, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and attorney general, were sworn into office in presence of both houses. All these officers, as well as the representatives in congress, were democrats. Dewey's majority over John H. Tweedy, whig, was five thousand and eighty-nine. William P. Lynde's majority in the first district, for congress, over Edward V. Whiton, whig, was two thousand four hundred and forty-seven. Mason C. Darling's majority in the second district, over Alexander L. Collins, whig, was two thousand eight hundred and forty- six. As the thirtieth congress, to which Lynde and Darling were elected would expire on the 4th of March, 1849, their terms of office would, of course, end on that day. The former took hi& seat on the 5th of June, the latter on the 9th of June, 1848. The constitution vested the judicial power of the State in a supreme court, circuit courts,, courts of probate, and in justices of the peace, giving the legislature power to vest such juris diction as should be deemed necessary in municipal courts ; also, conferring upon it the power to establish inferior courts in the several counties, with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. The State was divided into five judicial circuits; and judges were to be elected at a time to be provided for by the legislature at its first session. It was provided that there should be no- election for a judge or judges, at any general election for State or county officers, nor within thirty days either before or after such election. On the 8th of June, 1848, Governor Dewey delivered his first message to a joint convention of the two houses. It was clear, concise, and definite upon such subjects as, in his opinion demanded immediate attention. His views were generally regarded as sound and statesmanlike by the people of the State. " You have convened," said he, " under the provisions of the con stitution of the State of Wisconsin, to perform as representatives of the people, the important duties contemplated by that instrument." " The first session of the legislature of a free people," continued the governor, " after assuming the political identity of a sovereign State, is an event of no ordinary character in its history, and will be fraught with consequences of the highest. importance to its future welfare and prosperity. Wisconsin possesses the natural elements,. fostered by the judicious system of legislation," the governor added, " to become one of the most populous and prosperous States of the American Union. With a soil unequaled in fertility, and productive of all the necessary comforts of life, rich in mineral wealth, with commercial advantages unsurpassed by any inland State, possessing extensive manufacturing facilities, with a salubrious climate, and peopled with a population enterprising, industrious, and intelligent, the course of the State of Wisconsin must be onward, until she ranks among the first of the States of the Great West. It is," concluded the speaker, "under the most favorable auspices that the State of Wisconsin has taken her position among the families of States. With a population numbering nearly one quarter of a million, and rapidly increasing, free from the incubus of a State debt, and rich in the return yielded as the reward of labor in all the branches of industrial pursuits, our State occupies an enviable position abroad, that is highly gratifying to the pride of our people." Governor Dewey then recommended a number of measures necessary, in his judgment, to be made upon changing from a Territorial to a State government. The first important business of the legislature, was the election of two United States senators. The successful candidates were Henry Dodge and Isaac P. Walker, both democrats. Their election took place on the 8th of June, 1848, Dodge taking his seat in the senate on the 23d of June, and Walker on the 26th of June, 1848. The latter drew the short term; so that his office would expire on the 4th day of March, 1849, at the end of the thirtieth congress : Dodge drew the long term, his office to expire on the 4th day of March, 1851, at the end of the thirty-first congress. The residue of the session was taken up in passing such acts as were deemed necessary to put the machinery of the new State government, in all its branches in fair WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 55 running order. One was passed providing for the annual meeting of the legislature, on the second Wednesday of January of each year ; another prescribing the duties of State officers ; one dividing the State into three congressional districts. The first district was composed of the counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Walworth, and Racine ; the second, of the counties of Rock, Green, La Fayette, Grant, Dane, Iowa, Sauk, Richland, Crawford, Adams, Portage, Chippewa, La Pointe, and St. Croix ; the third, of the counties of Washington, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Brown, Winnebago, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Marquette, Dodge, Jefferson, and Columbia. Another act provided for the election of judges of the circuit courts, on the first Monday of August, 1848. By the same act, it was provided that the first term of the supreme court should be held in Madison on the second Monday of January, 1849, and thereafter at the same place on the same day, yearly ; afterward changed so as to hold a January and June term in each year. An act was also passed providing for the election, and defining the duties of State superintendent of public instruction. That officer was to be elected at the general election to be holden in each year, his term of office to commence on the first Monday of January succeeding his election. Another act established a State university ; another exempted a homestead from a forced sale ; another provided for a revision of the statutes. The legislature, after a session of eighty-five days, adjourned sine die on the twenty-first of August, 1848. The State, as previously stated, was divided into five judicial circuits : Edward V. Whiton being chosen judge at the election on the first Monday in August, 1848, of the first circuit, com posed of the counties of Racine, Walworth, Rock, and Green, as then constituted ; Levi Hubbell of the second, composed of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Jefferson, and Dane ; Charles H. Larrabee, of the third, composed of Washington, Dodge, Columbia, Marquette, Sauk, and Portage, as then formed; Alexander W. Stow, of the fourth, composed of Brown, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Winnebago, and Calumet ; and Mortimer M. Jackson, of the fifth circuit, composed of the counties of Iowa, LaFayette, Grant, Crawford and St. Croix, as then organized ; the county of Richland being attached to Iowa county ; the county of Chippewa to the county of Craw ford ; and the county of LaPointe to the county of St. Croix, for judicial purposes. In the ensuing Fall there was a presidential election. There were then three organized political parties in the State : whig, democratic, and free-soil — each of which had a ticket in the field. The democrats were in the majority, and their four electors cast their votes for Lewis Cass and William O. Butler. At this election, Eleazer Root was the successful candidate for State superintendent of public instruction. In his election party politics were not considered. There were also three members for the thirty-first congress chosen : Charles Durkee, to represent the first district; Orsamus Cole, the second; and James D. Dotv, the third district. Durkee was a free-soiler; Cole, a whig; Doty, a democrat — with somewhat decided Doty proclivities. The act of the legislature, exempting a homestead from forced sale of any debt or liability contracted after January t, 1849, approved the twenty-ninth of July previous, and another act for a like exemption of certain personal property, approved August 10, 1848, were laws the most liberal in their nature passed by any State of the Union previous to those dates. It was prophe sied that they would work wonderful changes in the business transactions of the new State — for the worse ; but time passed, and their utility were soon evident : it was soon very generally acknowledged that proper exemption laws were highly beneficial — a real 'good to the greatest number of the citizens of a State. So much of Wisconsin Territory as lay west of the St. Croix and the State boundary north of it, was, upon the admission of Wisconsin into the Union, left, for the time being, without a government — unless it was still "Wisconsin Territory." Henry Dodge, upon being elected to the United States senate from Wisconsin, vacated, of course, the office of governor of this fraction. John H. Tweedy, delegate in congress at the time Wisconsin became a State, made a formal 56 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. resignation of his office, thus leaving the fractional Territory unrepresented. Thereupon John Catlin, secretary of the Territory of Wisconsin as a whole, and now claiming, by virtue of that office, to be acting governor of the fractional part, issued a proclamation as such officer for an election on the thirtieth of October, 1848, of a delegate in congress. Nearly four hundred votes were polled in the district, showing "Wisconsin Territory" still to have a population of not less than two thousand. H. H. Sibley was elected to that office. On the fifteenth of January, 1849, he was admitted to a seat as "delegate from Wisconsin Territory." This hastened the formation of the Territory of Minnesota — a bill for that purpose having become a law on the third of March, when " Wisconsin Territory" ceased finally to exist, being included in the new Territory. The year 1848 — the first year of the existence of Wisconsin as a State — was one of general prosperity to its rapidly increasing population. The National Government effected a treaty with the Menomoneee Indians, by which their title was extinguished to the country north of the Fox river of Green bay, embracing all their lands in the State. This was an important acquisition, as it opened a large tract of country to civilization and settlement, which had been for a consid erable time greatly desired by the people. The State government at the close of the year hac been in existence long enough to demonstrate its successful operation. The electric telegraph had already reached the capital ; and Wisconsin entered its second year upon a flood tide of prosperity. Under the constitution, the circuit judges were also judges of the supreme court. An act of the legislature, approved June 29, 1848, providing for the election of judges, and for the classification and organization of the judiciary of the State, authorized the election, by the judges,, of one of their number as chief justice. Judge Alexander W. Stow was chosen to that office,' and, as chief justice, held, in conjunction with Associate Judges Whiton, Jackson, Larrabee, and Hubbell, the first session of the supreme court at Madison, commencing on the eighth day of January, r849. The second session of the State legislature commenced, according to law, on the tenth of January, 1849, Harrison C. Hobart being elected speaker of the assembly. Governor Dewey, in his message, sent to both houses on the nth, referred to the rapidly increasing population of the State, and the indomitable energy displayed in the development of its productive capacity. He recommended the sale of the university lands on a long credit, the erection of a State prison, and the modification of certain laws. On the seventeenth of January, the two houses met in joint convention to elect an United States senator in place of Isaac P Walker, who had drawn the short term. The democrats had a small majority on joint ballot. Walker was re-elected; this time, for a full term of six years, from the 4th of March, 1849. The legislature at this session passed many acts of public utility; some relating to the boundaries of counties; others, to the laying out of roads; eighteen, to the organization of towns. The courts were cared for; school districts were organized ; special taxc: were authorized , and an act passed relative to the sale and superintendence of the school and university lands, prescribing the powers and duties of the commissioners who were to have charge of the same. These commissioners, consisting of the secretary of state, treasurer of state, and attorney general, were not only put in charge of the school and university lands held by the State, but also of funds arising from the sale of them. This law has been many times amended and portions of it repealed. The lands at present subject to sale are classified as school lands, university lands, agricultural college lands, Marathon county lands, normal school lands, and drainage lands, and are subject to sale at private entry on terms fixed by law. Regulations concerning the apportionment and investment of trust funds are made by the commissioners in pursuance of law. All lands now the property of the State subject to sale, or that have been State lands and sold, were derived from the Gen- WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 57 eral Government. Lands owned by the State amount, at the present time, to about one and one half million acres. A joint resolution passed the legislature on the 31st of March, 1849, instructing Isaac P. Walker to resign his seat as United States senator, for "presenting and voting for an amend ment to the general appropriation bill, providing for a government in California and New Mexico, west of the Rio Grande, which did not contain a provision forever prohibiting the introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude " in those Territories. The senator refused to regard these instructions. The legislature adjourned on the second of April, 1849, after a session of eighty- three days. In July, 1848, the legislature of Wisconsin elected M. Frank, Charles C. Jordan, and A. W. Randall, commissioners to collate and revise all the public acts of the State, of a general and permanent nature in force at the close of the session. Randall declining to act, Charles M. Baker was appointed by the governor in his place. The commissioners commenced their labors in August, 1848, and were engaged in the revision the greater part of the time until the close of the session of the legislature of 1849. It was found impossible for the revisers to conclude their labors within the time contemplated by the act authorizing their appointment; so a joint select committee of the two houses at their second session was appointed to assist in die work. The laws revised by this committee and by the commissioners, were submitted to, and approved by, the legislature. These laws, with a f;w passed by that body, which were introduced by individual members, formed the Revised Statutes of Wisconsin of 1849 — a volume of over nine hundred pages. At the general election held in November of this year, Dewey was re-elected governor. S. W. Beall was elected lieutenant governor ; William A. Barstow, secretary of state ; Jairus C. Fairchild was re-elected treasurer ; S. Park Coon was elected attorney general ; and Eleazer Root, re-elected superintendent of public instruction. All these officers were chosen as dem ocrats, except Root, who ran as an independent candidate, the term of his office having been changed so as to continue two years from the first day of January next succeeding his election. By the revised statutes of 1849, all State officers elected for a full term went into office on the first of January next succeeding their election. The year 1849 developed in an increased ratio the productive capacity of the State in every department of labor. The agriculturist, the artisan, the miner, reaped the well-earned reward of his honest labor. The commercial and manufacturing interests were extended in a manner highly creditable to the enterprise of the people. The educational interest of the State began to assume a more systematic organization. The tide of immigration suffered no decrease during the year. Within the limits of Wisconsin, the oppressed of other climes continued to find welcome and happy homes. Second Administration. — Nelson Dewey, Governor (Second Term) — r85o, 1851. On the first day of January, 1850, Nelson Dewey took the oath of office, and quietly entered upon his duties as governor, for the second term. The third legislature convened on the ninth. Moses M. Strong was elected speaker of the assembly. Both houses had democratic majorities. Most of the business transacted was of a local character. By an act approved the fifth of Feb ruary, the " January term " of the supreme court was changed to December. The legislature adjourned after a session of only thirty-four days. An act was passed organizing a sixth judicial circuit, from and after the first Monday in July, 1850, consisting of the counties of Crawford, Chippewa, Bad Axe, St. Croix and La Pointe, an election for judge to be holden on the same day. Wiram Knowlton was elected judge of that circuit. 58 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. The first charitable institution in Wisconsin, incorporated by the State, was the " Wisconsin Institute for the Education of the Blind." A school for that unfortunate class had been opened in JanesviUe, in the latter part of 1859, receiving its support from the citizens of that place and vicinity. By an act of the legislature, approved February 9, 1850, this school was taken under the care of the Institute, to continue and maintain it, at JanesviUe, and to qualify, as far as might be, the blind of the State for the enjoyment of the blessings of a free government ; for obtaining the means of subsistence ; and for the discharge of those duties, social and political, devolving upon American citizens. It has since been supported from the treasury of the State. On the seventh of October, 1850, it was opened for the reception of pupils, under the direction of a board of trustees, appointed by the governor. The Institute, at the present time, has three departments: in one is given instruction such as is usually taught in common schools; in another, musical training is imparted ; in a third, broom-making is taught to the boys, — sewing, knitting and various kinds of fancy work to the girls, and seating cane-bottomed chairs to both boys and girls. On the thirteenth of April, 1874, the building of the Institute was destroyed by fire. A new building has since been erected. The taking of the census by the United States, this year, showed a population for Wisconsin of over three hundred and five thousand — the astonishing increase in two years of nearly ninety- five thousand! In 1840, the population of Wisconsin Territory was only thirty thousand. This addition, in ten years, of two hundred and seventy-five thousand transcended all previous experience in the settlement of any portion of the New World, of the same extent of territory. It was the result of a steady and persistent flow of men and their families, seeking permanent homes in the young and rising State. Many were German, Scandinavian and Irish ; but the larger proportion were, of course, from the Eastern and Middle States of the Union. The principal attractions of Wisconsin were the excellency and cheapness of its lands, its valuable mines of lead, its extensive forests of pine, and the unlimited water-power of its numerous streams. By the Revised Statutes of 1849, Wisconsin was divided into three congressional districts — the second congressional apportionment — each of which was entitled to elect one representative in the congress of the United States. The counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Walworth and Racine constituted the first district; the counties of Rock, Green, La Fayette, Grant, Iowa, Dane, Sauk, Adams, Portage, Richland, Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix and La Pointe, the second district ; the counties of Washington, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Brown, Winnebago, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Marquette, Columbia, Dodge and Jefferson, the third district. At the general election in the Autumn of this year, Charles Durkee, of the first district ; Benjamin C. Eastman, of the second ; and John B. Macy, of the third district, were elected to represent the State in the thirty-second congress of the United States. Durkee, it will be remembered, represented the same district in the previous congress : he ran the second time as an independent candidate. Eastman and Macy were elected upon democratic tickets. The General Government this year donated to the State all the swamp and overflowed lands within its boundaries. The year 1850 to the agriculturist of Wisconsin was not one of unbounded prosperity, owing to the partial failure of the wheat crop. In the other branches of agriculture there were fair returns. The State was visited during the year by cholera ; not, however, to a very alarming extent. The fourth session of the legislature of the State commenced on the 8th of January, 1851. Frederick W. Horn was elected speaker of the assembly. The majority in the legisla ture was democratic. Governor Dewey, in his message, referred to the death of the president of the United States, Zachary Taylor; said that the treasury and finances of the State were in a WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 59 sound condition ; and then adverted to many topics of interest and importance to the people of Wisconsin. It was an able document. One of the important measures of the session was the election of an United States senator, in the place of Henry Dodge, whose term of office would ¦expire on the 4th of March, next ensuing. In joint convention of the legislature held on the 20th of January, Dodge was re-elected for a full term of six years. On the 2 2d, the governor approved a joint resolution of the legislature, rescinding not only so much of the joint resolu tion of the legislative assembly of Wisconsin, passed March 31, 1849, as censured Isaac J. Walker, but also the instructions in those resolutions relative to his resigning his seat in the senate of the United States. Among the important bills passed at this session of the legislature was one providing for the location and erection of a State prison. Another one — the apportionment bill — was vetoed by the governor, and having been passed on the last day of the session, failed to become a law. The legislature adjourned on the eighteenth of March, 185 1, after a session of seventy days. On the 1st day of January, 1851, Timothy O. Howe took his seat as one of the associate judges of the supreme court, he having been elected judge of the fourth circuit in place of Alex ander W. Stow. The office of chief justice of the supreme court, which had been filled by Judge Stow, therefore became vacant, and so remained until the commencement of the next term — June 18, i85r — when Levi Hubbell, judge of the second circuit, was, by the judges present, pursuant to the statute, elected to that office. By an act of the legislature approved March 14, 1851, the location and erection of a State prison for Wisconsin was provided .for — the point afterward determined upon as a suitable place for its establishment being Waupun, Dodge county. By a subsequent act, the prison was •declared to be the general penitentiary and prison of the State for the reformation as well as for the punishment of offenders, in which were to be confined, employed at hard labor, and governed as provided for by the legislature, all offenders who might be committed and sentenced accord ing to law, to the punishment of solitary imprisonment, or imprisonment therein at hard labor. The organization and management of this the first reformatory and penal State institution in Wisconsin, commenced and has been continued in accordance with the demands of an advanced civilization and an enlightened humanity. On the 29th of September, r85i, Judge Hubbell was re-elected for the full term of six years as judge of the second judicial circuit, to commence January r, 1852. At the general election in November, 1851, Leonard J. Farwell was chosen governor; Timothy Burns, lieutenant governor; Charles D. Robinson, secretary of State ; E. H. Janssen, State treasurer; E. Estabrook, attorney general; and Azel P. Ladd, superintendent of public instruction. All these officers were elected as democrats except Farwell, who ran as a whig ; his majority over D. A. J. Upham, democrat, was a little rising of five hundred. Third Administration. — L. J. Farwell, Governor — 1852-^53. Governor Farwell's administration commenced on the fifth day of January, 1852. Previous to this — on the third day of the month — Edward V. Whiton was chosen by the judges of the supreme court, chief justice, to succeed Judge Hubbell. On the fourteenth of that month, the ¦legislature assembled at Madison. This was the beginning of the fifth annual session. James McM. Shafter was elected speaker of the assembly. In the senate, the democrats had a majority ; in the assembly, the whigs. The governor, in his message, recommended the memorial izing of congress to cause the agricultural lands within the State to be surveyed and brought into market; to cause, also, the mineral lands to be surveyed and geologically examined, and ¦offered for sale; and to make liberal appropriations for the improvement of rivers and harbors. The question of "bank or no bank " having been submitted to the people in November previous, 60 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. and decided in favor of banks, under the constitution, the power was thereby given to the legis lature then in session to grant bank charters, or to pass a general banking law. Farwell recom mended that necessary measures be taken to carry into effect this constitutional provision. A larger number of laws was passed at this session than at any previous one. By a provision of the constitution, the legislature was given power to provide by law, if they should think it expe dient and necessary, for the organization of a separate supreme court, to consist of one chief justice and two associate justices, to be elected by the qualified electors of the State, at such time and in such manner as the legislature might provide. Under this authority, an act was passed at this session providing for the election of a chief justice and two associates, on the last Monday of the September following, to form a supreme court of the State, to supplant the old one, provision for the change being inserted in the constitution. There was also an act passed to apportion and district anew the members of the senate and assembly, by which the number was increased from eighty-five to one hundred and seven : twenty-five for the senate ; eighty- two for the assembly. An act authorizing the business of banking passed the legislature and was approved by the governor, on the 19th of April. By this law, the office of bank-comptroller was created — the officer to be first appointed by the governor, and to hold his office until the first Monday in January, 1854. At the general election in the Fall of 1853, and every two years thereafter, the office was to be filled by vote of the people. Governor Farwell afterward, on the 20th of November, appointed James S. Baker to that office. The legislature adjourned on the nineteenth of April, 1852. The second charitable institution incorporated by the State was the " Wisconsin Institute for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb." It was originally a private school for deaf mutes,, near, and subsequently in, the village of Delavan, Walworth county. By. an act of the legislature approved April r9, r852, it was made the object and duty of the corporation to establish, con tinue and maintain this school for the education of the deaf and dumb, "at or near the village of Delavan, to qualify, as near as might be, that unfortunate class of persons for the enjoyment. of the blessings of a free government, obtaining the means of subsistence, and the discharge of those duties, social and political, devolving upon American citizens." It has since been sup ported by annual appropriations made by the legislature. A complete organization of the school was effected in June, 1852, under the direction of a board of trustees appointed by the governor of the State. The institute has for its design the eJucation of such children of the State as, on account of deafness, can not be instructed in common schools. Instruction is given by signs, by the manual alphabet, by written language, and to one class by articulation. Two- trades are taught : cabinet-making and shoe-making. During this year, considerable interest was manifested in the projecting of railroads. At the September election, E. V Whiton was elected chief justice of the new supreme court and Samuel Crawford and Abram D. Smith associate justices. Under the law, the chief justice was. to serve a term of four years from the first day of June next ensuing ; while the two associates were to cast lots — one to serve for six years, the other for two years, from June 1, 1853. Craw ford drew the short term — Smith the long term. At the subsequent general election for mem bers to the thirty-third congress, Daniel Wells, Jr., was chosen from the first district B. C. Eastman from the second: and J. B. Macy from the third district. All were democrats. A democratic electoral ticket was chosen at the same time. The electors cast their votes for Pierce and Butler. During 1852, the citizens of Wisconsin enjoyed unusual prosperity in the ample products and remuneration of their industry and enterprise. Abundant harvests and high markets ; afe increase in moneyed circulation, and the downward tendency of the rates of interest: a prevail ing confidence among business men -and in business enterprises; a continual accession to the- WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 61 population of the State by immigration ; the energetic prosecution of internal improvements. under the skillful management of companies; the extension of permanent agricultural improve ments ; and the rapid growth of the various cities and villages ; were among the encouraging. prospects of the year. The sixth session of the Wisconsin legislature commenced on the twelfth of January, 1853. On the twenty-sixth of the same month, William K. Wilson, of Milwaukee, preferred charges in the assembly against Levi Hubbell, judge of the second judicial circuit of the State, of divers acts of corruption and malfeasance in the discharge of the duties of -his office. A resolu tion followed appointing a committee to report articles of impeachment, directing the members thereof to go to the senate and impeach Hubbell. Upon the trial of the judge before the senate, he was acquitted. An act was passed to provide for the election of a State prison commis sioner by the legislature at that session — to hold his office until the first day of the ensuing. January. The office was then to be filled by popular vote at the general election in November, l853 — and afterwards biennially — the term of office to be two years from the first day of Jan uary next succeeding the election by the people. On the 28th of March, the legislature, in joint convention, elected John Taylor to that office. The legislature adjourned on the fourth day of April until the sixth of the following June, when it again met, and adjourned sine die on the thirteenth of July, both sessions aggregating one hundred and thirty-one days. By an act of the legislature approved February 9, 1853, the "Wisconsin State Agricultural- Society," which had been organized in March, 185 r, was incorporated, its object being to promote and improve the condition of agriculture, horticulture, and the mechanical, manufacturing and household arts. It was soon after taken under the fostering care of the State by an appropria tion made by the legislature, to be expended by the society in such manner as it might deem, best calculated to promote the objects of its incorporation; State aid was continued down to the commencement of the rebellion. No help was extended during the war nor until 1873 ; since which time there has been realized annually from the State a sum commensurate with its most pressing needs. The society has printed seventeen volumes of transactions and has held annually a State fair, except during the civil war. Besides these fairs, its most important work is the holding annually, at the capital of the State, a convention for the promotion of agriculture gen erally. The meetings are largely participated in by men representing the educational and industrial interests of Wisconsin. By an act of the legislature approved March 4, 1853, the "State Historical Society of Wisconsin " was incorporated — having been previously organized — the object being to collect, embody, arrange and preserve in authentic form, a library of books, pamphlets, maps, charts, manuscripts, papers, paintings, statuary and other materials illustrative of the history of the State; to rescue from oblivion the memory of its early pioneers.- and to obtain and preserve narratives of their exploits, perils, and hardy adventures ; to exhibit faithfully the antiquities, and the past and present condition, and resources of Wisconsin. The society was also author ized to take proper steps to promote the study of history by lectures, and to diffuse and publish information relating to the description and history of the State. The legislature soon after took the society under its fostering care by voting a respectable sum for its benefit. Liberal State aid has been continued to the present time. The society, besides collecting a library of historical books and pamphlets the largest in the West, has published eight volumes of collections and a catalogue of four volumes. Its rooms are in the capitol at Madison, and none of its property can be alienated without the consent of the State. It has a valuable collection of painted por traits and bound newspaper files; and in its cabinet are to be found many prehistoric relics. On the first day of June, 1853, the justices of the new supreme court went into office: Associate- 62 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Justice Crawford, for two years; Chief Justice Whiton, for four years, Associate Justice Smith for six years as previously mentioned. The first (June) term was held at Madison. La Fayette Kellogg was appointed and qualified as clerk. On the 21st of September, Timothy Burns, lieu tenant governor of Wisconsin, died at La Crosse. As a testimonial of respect for the deceased the several State departments, in accordance with a proclamation of the governor, were closed for one day— October 3, 1853. In the Fall of this year, democrats, whigs and free-soilers, each called a convention to nominate candidates for the various State offices to be supported by them at the ensuing election in November. The successful ticket was, for governor, William A. Bars- tow ; for lieutenant governor, James T. Lewis , for secretary of State, Alexander T. Gray, for State treasurer, Edward H. Janssen ; for attorney general, George B. Smith ; for superintendent of public instruction, Hiram A. Wright; for State prison commissioner, A. W. Starks; and for bank comptroller, William M. Dennis. They were all democrats. The year 1853 was, to the agriculturists of the State, one of prosperity. Every branch of industry prospered. The increase of commerce and manufactures more than realized the expec tations of the most sanguine. Fourth Administration. — William A. Barstow, Governor — 1854-1855. On Monday, the second of January, 1854, William A. Barstow took the oath of office as governor of Wisconsin. The legislature commenced its seventh regular session on the eleventh of January. Fred erick W. Horn was elected speaker of the assembly. Both houses were democratic. The legislature adjourned on the 3d of April following, after a session of eighty-three days. In the early part of March, a fugitive slave case greatly excited the people of Wisconsin. A slave named Joshua Glover, belonging to B. S. Garland of Missouri, had escaped from his master and made his way to the vicinity of Racine. Garland, learning the whereabouts of his personal chattel, came to the State, obtained, on the 9th of March, r854, from the judges of the district court of the United States for the district of Wisconsin, a warrant for the apprehension of Glover, which was put into the hands of the deputy marshal of the United States. Glover was secured and lodged in jail in Milwaukee. A number of persons afterward assembled and rescued the fugitive. Among those who took an active part in this proceeding was Sherman M. Booth, who was arrested therefor and committed by a United States commissioner, but was released from custody by Abram D. Smith, one of the associate justices of the supreme court of Wisconsin, upon a writ of habeas corpus. The record of the proceedings was thereupon taken to that court in full bench by a writ of certiorari to correct any error that might have been committed before the associate justice. At the June term, 1854, the justices held that Booth was entitled to be discharged, because the commitment set forth no cause for detention. Booth was afterward indicted in the United States district court and a warrant issued for his arrest. He was again imprisoned; and again he applied to the supreme court — then, in term time — for a writ of habeas corpus. This was in July, 1854. In his petition to the supreme court, Booth set forth that he was in confinement upon a warrant issued by the district court of the United States and that the object of the imprisonment was to compel him to answer an indictment then pending against him therein. The supreme court of the State held that these facts showed that the district court of the United States had obtained jurisdiction of the case and that it was apparent that the indictment was for an offense of which the federal courts had exclusive jurisdiction. They could not therefore interfere; and his application for a discharge was denied. Upon the indictment, Booth was tried and convicted, fined and imprisoned, for a violation of th- fugitive slave law. Again the prisoner applied to the supreme court of Wisconsin, — his WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 63 last application bearing date January 26, 1855. He claimed discharge on the ground of the unconstitutionality of the law under which he had been indicted. The supreme court held that the indictment upon which he had been tried and convicted contained three counts, the first of which was to be considered as properly charging an offense within the act of congress of Septem ber 18, 1850, known as the "fugitive slave law," while the second and third counts did not set forth or charge an offense punishable by any statute of the United States ; and as, upon these last- mentioned counts he was found guilty and not upon the first, he must be discharged. The action of the supreme court of Wisconsin in a second time discharging Booth, was afterward reversed by the supreme court of the United States ; and, its decision being respected by the State court, Booth was re-arrested in 1860, and the sentence of the district court of the United States executed in part upon him, when he was pardoned by the president. By an act of the legislature, approved March 30, 1854, a " State Lunatic Asylum '' was directed to be built at or in the vicinity of Madison, the capital of the State, upon land to be donated or purchased for that purpose. By a subsequent act, the name of the asylum was changed to the " Wisconsin State Hospital for the Insane."" This was the third charitable institution established by the State. The hospital was opened for patients in July, r86o, under the direction of a board of trustees appointed by the governor. All insane persons, residents of Wisconsin, who,. under the law providing for admission of patients into the hospital for treatment, become resi dents therein, are maintained at the expense of the State, provided the county in which such patient resided before being brought to the hospital pays the sum of one dollar and fifty cents a week for his or her support. Any patient can be supported by relatives, friends or guardians, if the latter desire to relieve the county and State from the burden, and can have special care and be provided with a special attendant, if the expense of the same be borne by parties interested. The hospital is beautifully located on the north shore of Lake Mendota, in Dane county, about four miles from Madison. At the general election in the Fall of 1854, for members from Wisconsin to the thirty-fourth congress, Daniel Wells, Jr. was chosen from the first district ; C. C. Washburn, from the second,. and Charles Billinghurst from the third district. Billinghurst and Washburn were elected as republicans — that party having been organized in the Summer previous. Wells was a democrat. The year 1854 was one of prosperity for^ Wisconsin, to all its industrial occupations. Abund ant crops and increased prices were generally realized by the agriculturist. It was a year also of general health. It was ascertained that the amount of exports during the year, including lumber and mineral, exceeded thirteen millions of dollars. The eighth regular session of the State legislature commenced on the 10th of January, 1855. C. C. Sholes was elected speaker of the assembly. The senate was democratic; the assembly, republican. On joint ballot, the republicans had but one majority. On the istof February, Charles Durkee, a republican, was elected United States senator for a full term of six years from the 4th of March next ensuing, to fill the place of Isaac P. Walker whose term would expire on that day. Among the bills passed of a general nature, was one relative to the rights of married women, providing that any married woman, whose husband, either from drunkenness or profligacy, should neglect or refuse to provide for her support, should have the right, in her own, name, to transact business, receive and collect her own earnings, and apply the same for her own support, and education of her children, free from the control and interference of her husband. The legislature adjourned sine die on the second of April, after a session of eighty-three days. Orsamus Cole having been elected in this month an associate justice of the supreme court in place of Judge Samuel Crawford, whose term of office would expire on the thirty-first of May of that year went into office on the first day of June following, for a term of six years. His office would therefore end on the thirty-first of May, r86r. 64 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. On the 27th of May, 1855, Hiram A. Wright, superintendent of public instruction, died at Prairie du Chien. On the 18th of June following, the governor appointed A. Constantine Barry to fill his place. On the 5th of July, Garland, the owner of the rescued fugitive slave Glover, having brought suit in the United States district court for the loss of his slave, against Booth, the trial came on at Madison, resulting in the jury bringing in a verdict under instructions from the judge, of one thousand dollars, the value of a negro slave as fixed by act of congress of 1850. The constitution of the State requiring the legislature to provide by law for an enumeration of the inhabitants in the year 1855, an act was passed by that body, approved March 31, of this year, for that purpose. The result showed a population for Wisconsin of over five hundred and fifty-two thousand. In November, at the general election, the democratic ticket for State offi cers was declared elected: William A. Barstow, for governor; Arthur Mc Arthur, for lieutenant governor ; David W. Jones, for secretary of State ; Charles Kuehn, for State treasurer ; Wil liam R. Smith, for attorney general; A. C. Barry, for superintendent of public instruction; William M. Dennis, for bank comptroller; and Edward McGarry for State prison commissioner. The vote for governor was very close ; but the State canvassers declared Barstow elected by a small majority. The opposing candidate for that office was Coles Bashford, who ran as a republican The year 1855 was a prosperous one to the farmers of Wisconsin as well as to all industrial occupations. There were abundant crops and unexampled prices were realized. Fifth Administration. — Coles Bashford, Governor — 1856-1857. On the seventh day of January, 1856, William A. Barstow took and subscribed an oath of office as governor of Wisconsin, while Coles Bashford, who had determined to contest the right of Barstow to the governorship, went, on the same day, to the supreme court room, in Madison, and had the oath of office administered to him by Chief Justice Whiton. Bashford afterward called at the executive office and made a formal demand of Barstow that he should vacate the gubernatorial chair; but the latter respectfully declined the invitation. These were the initiatory steps of " Bashford vs. Barstow," for the office of governor of Wisconsin. The fight now commenced in earnest. On the eleventh, the counsel for Bashford called upon the attorney general* and requested him to file an information in the nature of a quo warranto against Barstow. On the fifteenth that officer complied with the request. Thereupon a summons was issued to Barstow to appear and answer. On the twenty-second, Bashford, by his attorney, asked the court that the information filed by the attorney general be discontinued and that he be allowed to file one, which request was denied by the court. While the motion was being argued, Barstow, by his attorneys, entered his appearance in the case. On the second of February, Barstow moved to quash all proceedings for the reason that the court had no jurisdiction in the matter. This motion was denied by the court ; that tribunal at the same time deciding that the filing of the motion was an admission by Barstow that the alle gations contained in the information filed by the attorney general were true. On the twenty-first of Febiuary, the time appointed for pleading to the information, Bar stow, by his attorneys, presented to the court a stipulation signed by all the parties in the case, to the effect that the board of canvassers had determined Barstow elected governor; that the secre tary of State had certified to his election ; and that he had taken the oath of office. They submit ted to the court whether it had jurisdiction, beyond the certificates, of those facts and the canvass so made to inquire as to the number of votes actually given for Barstow, — Bashford offering to prove that the certificates were made and issued through mistake and fraud, and that he, instead of Barstow, received the greatest number of votes. This stipulation the court declined to enter tain or to pass upon the questions suggested ; as they were not presented in legal form. Barstow WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 65 was thereupon given until the twenty-fifth of February to answer the information that had been filed against him by the attorney general. On the day appointed, Barstow filed his plea to the effect that, by the laws of Wisconsin regulating the conducting of general election for State officers, it was the duty of the board of canvassers to determine who was elected to the office of governor ; and that the board had found that he was duly elected to that office. It was a plea to the jurisdiction of the court. A demurrer was interposed to this plea, setting forth that the matters therein contained were not sufficient in law to take the case out of court ; asking, also, for a judgment against Barstow, or that he answer further the information filed against him. The demurrer was sustained ; and Barstow was required to answer over within four days ; at the expiration of which time the counsel for Barstow withdrew from the case, on the ground, as they alleged, that they had appeared at the bar of the court to object to the jurisdiction of that tribunal in the matter, and the court had determined to proceed with the case, holding and exercising full and final jurisdiction over it; and that the) could take no further steps without conceding the right of that tribunal so to hold. Thereupon, on the eighth of March, Barstow entered a protest, by a communication to the supreme court, against any further interference with the department under his charge by that tribunal, " either by attempting to transfer its powers to another or direct the course of executive action." The counsel for Bashford then moved for judgment upon the default of Barstow. A further hearing of the case was postponed until March 18, when the attorney general filed a motion to dismiss the proceedings ; against which Bashford, by his counsel, protested as being prejudicial to his rights. It was the opinion of the court that the attorney general could not dismiss the case, that every thing which was well pleaded for Bashford in his information was confessed by the default of Barstow. By strict usage, a final judgment ought then to have fol lowed ; but the court came to the conclusion to call upon Bashford to bring forward proof, showing his right to the office. Testimony was then adduced at length, touching the character of the returns made to the State canvassers; after hearing of which it was the opinion of the court that Bashford had received a plurality of votes for governor and that there must be a judgment in his favor and one of ouster against Barstow; which were rendered accordingly. The ninth regular session of the legislature of Wisconsin commenced on the ninth of January, 1856. William Hull was elected speaker of the assembly. The senate had a repub lican majority, but the assembly was democratic. On the eleventh Barstow sent in a message to a joint convention of the two houses. On the twenty-first of March he tendered to the legisla ture his resignation as governor, giving for reasons the action of the supreme court in " Bashford vs. Barstow," which tribunal was then hearing testimony in the case. On the same day Arthur McArthur, lieutenant governor, took and subscribed an oath of office as governor of the State, afterwards sending a message to the legislature, announcing that the resignation of Barstow made it his duty to take the reins of government. On the twenty-fifth, Bashford called on McArthur, then occupying the executive office, and demanded possession — at the same time intimating that he preferred peaceable measures to force, but that the latter would be employed if necessary. The lieutenant governor thereupon vacated the chair, when the former took the gubernatorial seat, exercising thereafter the functions of the office until his successor was elected and qualified. His right to the seat was recognized by the senate on the twenty-fifth, and by the assembly on the twenty-seventh of March, r856. This ended the famous case of " Bashford vs. Barstow," the first and only " war of succession " ever indulged in by Wisconsin. The legislature, on the thirty-first of March, adjourned over to the third of September, to dispose of a congressional land grant to the State. Upon re-assembling, an important measure was taken up — that of a new apportionment for the legislature. It was determined to increase the 66 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. number of members from one hundred and seven to one hundred and twenty-seven. The session closed on the thirteenth of October. The general election for members to the thirty-fifth congress, held in November, resulted in the choice of John H. Potter, from the first district ; G. C. Washburn from the second ; and Charles Billinghurst, from the third district. They were all elected as republicans. The presidential canvass of this year was an exciting one in the State. The republicans were successful. Electors of that party cast their five votes for Fremont and Dayton. The year 1856 was not an unprosperous one, agriculturally speaking, although in some- respects decidedly unfavorable. In many districts the earlier part of the season was exceedingly dry, which materially diminished the wheat crop. Other industrial interests were every where in a flourishing condition. The legislature commenced its tenth regular session at Madison, on the fourteenth day of January, 1857, with a republican majority in both houses. Wyman Spooner was elected speaker of the assembly. For the first time since the admission of the State into the Union, a majority of the members of both houses, together with the governor, were opposed to the democratic party. On the twenty-third the senate and assembly met in joint convention, for the purpose of electing a United States senator in place of Henry Dodge, whose term of office would expire on the fourth of March next ensuing. James R. Doolittle, republican, was the successful candidate for that office, for a full term of six years, from the fourth of March, r857. The legislature adjourned on the ninth of March, 1857. At the Spring election, Judge Whiton was re-elected chief justice of the supreme court for a term of six years. The second reformatory State institution established in Wisconsin, was, by an act of the legislature, approved March 7, 1857, denominated a House of Refuge for Juvenile Delinquents, afterward called the State Reform School, now known as the Wisconsin Industrial School for Boys, and is located at Waukesha, the county seat of Waukesha county. The courts and seyeral magistrates in any county in Wisconsin may, in their discretion, sentence to this school any male child between the ages of ten and sixteen years, convicted of vagrancy, petit larceny,. or any misdemeanor; also of any offense which would otherwise be punishable by imprisonment in the State prison ; or, of incorrigible or vicious conduct in certain cases. The term of commit ment must be to the age of twenty-one years. At the State election held in November of this year, the republicans elected A. W. Randall governor; S. D. Hastings, State treasurer, and Edward M. McGraw, State prison commis sioner. The democrats elected E. D. Campbell, lieutenant governor ; D. W. Jones, secretary of State ; Gabriel Bouck, attorney general ; L. C. Draper, superintendent of public instruc tion, and J. C. Squires, bank comptroller. The year 1857 was a disastrous one to Wisconsin, as well as to the whole country, in a finan cial point of view. Early in the Fall a monetary panic swept over the land. A number of prominent operators in the leading industrial pursuits were obliged to succumb. Agriculturally the year was a fair one for the State. Sixth Administration. — Alexander W. Randall, Governor — 1858-1859. Randall's administration began on the fourth day of January, 1858, when for the first time he was inaugurated governor of the State. On the eleventh of January the legislature commenced its eleventh regular session, with a republican majority in both houses. Frederick S. Lovell was elected speaker of the assembly. The legislature adjourned sine die on the seventeenth of March, after an unusually long session of one hundred and twenty-five days. " That a large majority of the members were men of integrity, and disposed for the public weal, can not WISCONSIN AS A » STATE. 67 be doubted ; but they were nearly all new members, and without former legislative experience. They set out to accomplish a great good, by holding up to public scorn and execration the whole sale briberies and iniquities of the immediate past ; but they lacked concentration of effort and for want of union and preconcerted action, they failed to achieve the great triumph they sought by providing a 'sovereign remedy ' for the evils they exposed." At the regular session of the legislature of 1856, an act was passed for a general revisi'-n of the laws of the State. Under this, and a subsequent act of the adjourned session of that year three commissioners — David Taylor, Samuel J. Todd, and F. S. Lovell — were appointed "to collect, compile and digest the general laws " of Wisconsin. Their report was submitted to the legislature of 1858, and acted upon at a late day of the session. The laws revised, which received the sanction of the legislature, were published in one volume, and constitute what is know as the Revised Statutes of 1858. v At the Fall election, John F. Potter from the first district, and C. C. Washburn from the second district, both republicans, were elected to the thirty-sixth congress ; while C. H. Larrabee, democrat, was elected to represent the third district. The twelfth regular session of the Wisconsin legislature commenced on the twelfth of January, 1859, with a republican majority in both houses. William P. Lyon was elected speaker of the assembly. The legislature adjourned sine die on the twenty-first of March, 1859, after a session of sixty-nine days. At the regular spring election, Byron Paine was chosen associate justice of the supreme court, for a full term of six years, as the successor of Associate Justice Smith. As it was a question when the term of the latter ended — whether on the 31st day of May, r859, or on the first Monday in January, i860 — he went through with the formality of resigning his office, and the governor of appointing Paine as his successor, on the 20th of June, 1859. On the twelfth of April, 1859, Edward V. Whiton, chief justice of the supreme court, died at his residence in JanesviUe. The office was filled by executive appointment on the 19th of the same month — the successor of Judge Whiton being Luther S. Dixon. Late in the Sum mer both political parties put into the field a full state ticket. The republicans were successful — electing for governor, Alexander W. Randall ; for lieutenant governor, B. G. Noble ; for secretary of state, L. P. Harvey ; for state treasurer, S. D. Hastings, for attorney general, James H. Howe ; for bank comptroller, G. Van Steenwyck ; for superintendent of public instruction, J. L. Pickard ; for state prison commissioner, H. C. Heg. Seventh Administration. — Alexander W. Randall, Governor (second term), 1 860-1 861. Alexander W. Randall was inaugurated the second time as governor of Wisconsin, on Monday, January 2, i860. One week subsequent, the thirteenth regular session of the legis lature commenced at Madison. For the first time the republicans had control, not only of all the State offices, but also of both branches of the legislature. William P. Lyon was elected speaker of the assembly. A new assessment law was among the most important of the acts passed at this session. The legislature adjourned on the second of April. At the spring elec tion, Luther S. Dixon, as an independent candidate, was elected chief justice of the supreme court for the unexpired term of the late Chief Justice Whiton. In the presidential election which followed, republican electors were chosen — casting their five votes, in the electoral college, for Lincoln and Hamlin. At the same election, John F: Potter, from the first district ; Luther Hanchett, from the second, and A. Scott Sloan, from the third district, were elected members of the thirty-seventh congress. Hanchett died on the twenty-fourth of November, 1862, when, on the twentieth of December following, W. D. Mclndoe was elected to fill the vacancy. All these congressional representatives were republicans. Wisconsin, in i860, was a strong repub- 68 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. lican State. According to the census of this year, it had a population of over seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand. On the ninth of January, 1861, the fourteenth regular session of the State legislature com menced at Madison. Both branches were republican. Amasa Cobb was elected speaker of the assembly. On the tenth, both houses met in joint convention to hear the governor read his annual message. It was a remarkable document. Besides giving an excellent synopsis of the operations of the State government for i860, the governor entered largely into a discussion of the question of secession and disunion, as then proposed by some of the southern states of the Union. These are his closing words : " The right of a State to secede from the Union can never be admitted. The National Government can not treat with a State while it is in the Union, and particularly while it stands in an attitude hostile to the Union. So long as any State assumes a position foreign, inde pendent and hostile to the government, there can be no reconciliation. The government of the United States can not treat with one of its own States as a foreign power. The constitutional laws extend over every Stat? alike. They are to be enforced in every State alike. A State can not come into the Union as it pleases, and go out when it pleases. Once in, it must stay until the Union is destroyed. There is no coercion of a State. But where a faction of a people arrays itself, not against one act, but against all laws, and against all government, there is but one answer to be made : ' The Government must be sustained j the laws shall be enforced! ' '" On the twenty-third of January the legislature met in joint convention to elect a United States senator to fill the place of Charles Durkee, whose term of office would expire on the fourth of March next ensuing. The successful candidate was Timothy O. Howe, republican, who was elected for a full term of six years from the 4th of March, 1861. One of the important acts passed at this session of the legislature apportioned the State into senate and assembly districts, by which the whole number of members in both houses was increased from one hun dred and twenty-seven to one hundrpd and thirty-three. Another act apportioned the State into six congressional districts instead of three. By this — the third congressional apportionment — each district was to elect one representative. The first district was composed of the counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Walworth, Racine, and Kenosha ; the second, of the counties of Rock, Jefferson, Dane, and Columbia; the third, of Green, La Fayette, Iowa, Grant, Crawford, Rich land, and Sauk; the fourth, of Ozaukee, Washington, Dodge, Fond du Lac, and Sheboygan; the fifth, Manitowoc, Calumet, Winnebago, Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara, Waupaca, Outa gamie, Brown, Kewaunee, Door, Oconto, and Shawano ; and the sixth, of the counties of Bad Axe, La Crosse, Monroe, Juneau, Adams, Portage, Wood, Jackson, Trempealeau, Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, St. Croix, Dunn, Eau Claire, Clark, Marathon, Chippewa, Dallas, Polk, Burnett, Douglas, La Pointe, and Ashland. The legislature adjourned on the seventeenth of April, 1861. At the spring elections of this year, Orsamus Cole was re-elected as associate justice of the supreme court. On the ninth of May following, Governor Randall issued a proclamation convening the legislature in extra session on the fifteenth of the same month. " The extraordinary condition of the country," said he, "growing out of the rebellion against the government of the United States, makes it necessary that the legislature of this State be convened in special session, to provide more completely for making the power of the State useful to the government and to other loyal States." The fifteenth or extra session began on the fifteenth of May, as designated in the governor's proclamation. The message of the governor was devoted entirely to the war. " At the close of the last annual session of the legislature," said he, " to meet a sudden emer gency, an act was passed authorizing me to respond to the call of the president of the United States, ' for aid in maintaining the Union and the supremacy of the laws, or to suppress rebellion WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 69 or insurrection, or to repel invasion within the United States,' and I was authorized, and it was made my duty, to take such measures as, in my judgment, should provide in the speediest and most efficient manner for responding to such call : and to this end I was authorized to accept the services of volunteers for active service, to be enrolled in companies of not less than seventy-five men each, rank and file, and in regiments of ten companies each. I was also authorized to provide for uniforming and equipping such companies as were not provided with uniforms and equipments." " The first call of the president for immediate active service," con tinued the governor, " was for one regiment of men. My proclamation, issued immediately after the passage of the act of the legislature, was answered within less than ten days, by companies enough, ¦each containing the requisite number of men, to make up at least five regiments instead of one. I then issued another proclamation, announcing the offers that had been made, and advising that thereafter companies might be enrolled to stand as minute men, ready to answer further calls, as they might be made, but without expense to the State, except as they were mustered into service. In less than one month from the date of my first proclamation, at least five thou sand men, either as individuals or enrolled companies, have offered their services for the war, and all appear anxious for active service in the field." " The time for deliberation," concludes the governor, " must give way to the time for action. The constitution of the United States must be sustained in all its first intent and wholeness. The right of the people of every State to go into every other State and engage in any lawful pursuit, without unlawful interference or molestation; the freedom of speech and of the press; the right of trial by jury; security from unjustifiable seizure of persons or papers, and all constitutional privileges and immunities, must receive new guarantees of safety." The extra session of the legislature passed, wtih a single exception, no acts except such as appertained to the military exigencies of the times. Both houses adjourned sine die on the twenty-seventh of May, 1861. As the administration of Governor Randall would close with the year, and as he was not a candidate for re-election, there was much interest felt throughout the State as to who his successor should be. Three State tickets were put in nomination : union, republican, and democratic. The republican ticket was successful, electing Louis P. Harvey, governor; Edward Salomon, lieutenant governor; James T. Lewis, secretary of state; S. D. Hastings, state treasurer ; James H. Howe, attorney general ; W. H. Ramsey, bank comp troller; J. L. Pickard, superintendent of public instruction; and A. P. Hodges, state prison commissioner. The War of Secession — Last Year of Randall's Administration. When Wisconsin was first called upon to aid the General Government in its efforts to sustain itself against the designs of the secession conspirators, the commercial affairs of the State were embarrassed to a considerable degree by the depreciation of the currency. The designs of the secessionists were so far developed at the ending of the year i860 as to show that resistance to the national authority had been fully determined on. It is not a matter of wonder, then, that Governor Randall in his message to the legislature, early in January, 1861, should have set forth the dangers which threatened the Union, or should have denied the right of a State to secede from it. " Secession," said he, " is revolution ; revolution is war ; war against the government of the United States is treason." " It is time," he continued, "now, to know whether we have any government, and if so, whether it has any strength. Is our written constitution more than a sheet of parchment ? The nation must be lost or preserved by its own strength. Its strength is in the patriotism of the people. It is time now that politicians became patriots ; that men show their love of country by every sacrifice, but that of principle, and by 70 HISTORY -OF WISCONSIN. unwavering devotion to its interests and integrity." "The hopes," added the governor, most eloquently, " of civilization and Christianity are suspended now upon the answer to this question of dissolution. The capacity for, as well as the right of, self-government is to pass its ordeal, and speculation to become certainty. Other systems have been tried, and have failed ; and all along, the skeletons of nations have been strewn, as warnings and land-marks, upon the great highway of historic overnment. Wisconsin is true, and her people steadfast. She will not destroy the Union, -ior consent that it shall be done. Devised by great, and wise, and good men, in days of sore trial, it must stand. Like some bold mountain, at whose base the great seas break their angry floods, and around whose summit the thunders of a thousand hurricanes have rattled — strong, unmoved, immovable — so may our Union be, while treason surges at its base, and passions rage around it, unmoved, immovable — here let it stand forever." These are the words of an exalted and genuine patriotism. But the governor did not content himself with eloquence alone. He came down to matters of business as well. He urged the necessity of legislation that would give more efficient organization to the militia of the State. He warned the legislators to make preparations also for the coming time that should try the souls of men. "The signs of the times," said he, " indicate that there may arise a contingency in the condition of the government, when it will become necessary to respond to a call of the National Government for men and means to maintain the integrity of the Union, and to thwart the designs of men engaged in organized treason. While no unnecessary expense should be incurred, yet it is the part of wisdom, both for individuals and States, in revolutionary times, to be prepared to defend our institutions to the last extremity." It was thus the patriotic governor gave evidence to the members of both houses that he " scented the battle afar off." On the 1 6th of January, a joint resolution of the legislature was passed, declaring that the people of Wisconsin are ready to co-operate with the friends of the Union every where for its preservation, to yield a cheerful obedience to its requirements, and to demand a like obedience from all others ; that the legislature of Wisconsin, profoundly impressed with the value of the Union, and determined to preserve it unimpaired, hail with joy the recent firm, dignified and patriotic special message of the president of the United States ; that they tender to him, through the chief magistrate of their own State, whatever aid, in men and money, may be required to enable him to enforce the laws and uphold the authority of the Federal Government, and in defense of the more perfect Union, which has conferred prosperity and happiness on the American people. " Renewing," said they, " the pledge given and redeemed by our fathers, we are ready to devote our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honors in upholding the Union and the constitution." The legislature, in order to put the State upon a kind of " war footing," passed an act for its defense, and to aid in enforcing the laws and maintaining the authority of the General Government. It was under this act that Governor Randall was enabled to organize the earlier regiments of Wisconsin. By it, in case of a call from the president of the United States to aid in maintaining the Union and the supremacy of the laws to suppress rebellion or insurrection, or to repel invasion within the United States, the governor was authorized to provide, in the most efficient manner, for responding to such call — to accept the services of volunteers for service,. in companies of seventy-five men each, rank and file, and in regiments of ten companies each, and to commission officers for them. The governor was also authorized to contract for uniforms and equipments necessary for putting such companies into active service. One hundred thousand dollars were appropriated for war purposes ; and bonds were authorized to be issued for that amount, to be negotiated by the governor, for raising funds. It will be seen,. therefore, that the exigencies of the times — for Fort Sumter had not yet been surrendered — WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 71 were fully met by the people's representatives, they doing their whole duty, as they then under stood it, in aid of the perpetuity of the Union. Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty-four hours, until the quarters were entirely burned, the main gates destroyed, the gorge-wall seriously injured, the magazine surrounded by flames,' and its door closed from the effects of the heat, four barrels and three cartridges of powder only being available, and no provisions but pork remaining, Robert Anderson, major of the first artillery, United States army, accepted terms of evacuation offered by General Beauregard, marched out of the fort on Sunday afternoon, the fourteenth of April, 1861, with colors flying and drums beating, bringing away company and private property, and saluting his flag with fifty guns. This, in brief, is the story of the fall of Sumter and the opening act of the War of the Rebellion. " Whereas," said Abraham Lincoln, president, in his proclamation of the next day, " the laws of the United States have been for some time past, and now are, opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by law." Now, in view of that fact, he called forth the militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate number of seventy-five thousand, in order' to suppress those combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed. " A call is made on you by to-night's mail for one regiment of militia for immediate service," telegraphed the secretary of war to Randall, on the same day. In Wisconsin, as elsewhere, the public pulse quickened under the excitement of the fall of Sumter. "The dangers which surrounded the nation awakened the liveliest sentiments of patriotism and devotion. For the time, party fealty was forgotten in the general desire to save the nation. The minds of the people soon settled into the conviction that a bloody war was at hand, and that the glorious fabric of our National Government, and the principles upon which it is founded, were in jeopardy, and with a determination unparalleled in the history of any country, they rushed to its defense. On every hand the National flag could be seen displayed, and the public enthusiasm knew no bounds ; in city, town, and hamlet, the burden on every tongue was war." "We have never been accustomed," said Governor Randall, " to consider the military arm as essential to the maintenance of our government, but an exigency has arisen that demands its employment." "The time has come," he continued, " when parties and plat forms must be forgotten, and all good citizens and patriots unite together in putting down rebels and traitors." "What is money," he asked, " what is life, in the presence of such a crisis? " Such utterances and such enthusiasm could but have their effect upon the legislature, which, it will be remembered, was still in session ; so, although that body had already voted to adjourn, sine die, on the fifteenth of April, yet, when the moment arrived, and a message from the governor was received, announcing that, owing to the extraordinary exigencies which had arisen, an amend ment of the law of the thirteenth instant was necessary, the resolution to adjourn was at once rescinded. The two houses thereupon not only increased the amount of bonds to be issued to two hundred thousand dollars, but they also passed a law exempting from civil process, during the time of service, all persons enlisting and mustering into the United States army from Wis consin. When, on the seventeenth, the legislature did adjourn, the scene was a remarkable one. Nine cheers were given for the star spangled banner and three for the Governor's Guard, who had just then tendered their services — the first in the State — under the call for a regiment of men for three months' duty. " For the first time in the history of this federal government," are the words of the gover nor, in a proclamation issued on the sixteenth of April, " organized treason has manifested itself within several States of the Union, and armed rebels are making war against it." "The treasuries of the country," said he, "must no longer be plundered; the public property must be 72 HISTORY" OF WISCONSIN. protected from aggressive violence ; that already seized must be retaken, and the laws must be executed in every State of the Union alike." "A demand," he added, " made upon Wiscon sin by the president of the United States, for aid to sustain the federal arm, must meet with a prompt response." The patriotism of the State was abundantly exhibited in their filling up a regiment before some of the remote settlements had any knowledge of the call. On the twenty- second, Governor Randall reported to the secretary of war that the First regiment was ready to go into rendezvous. The place designated was "Camp Scott," at Milwaukee; the day, the twenty-seventh of April. Then and there the several companies assembled — the regiment after ward completing its organization. With a wise foresight, Governor Randall ordered, as a reserve force and in advance of another call for troops by the president, the formation of two more regiments — the Second and Third, and, eventually, the Fourth. Camps at Madison, Fond du Lac, and Racine, were formed for their reception, where suitable buildings were erected for their accommodation. Companies assigned to the Second regiment were ordered to commence moving into " Camp Randall," at Madison, on the first day of May. On the seventh, the secretary of war, under call of the presi dent of the United States for forty-two thousand additional volunteers — this time for three years, or during the war — telegraphed Governor Randall that no more three months' volunteers were wanted; that such companies as were recruited must re-enlist for the new term or be disbanded. At the extra session of the legislature of Wisconsin, which, as already mentioned, com menced on the fifteenth of May, called by Governor Randall immediately upon his being notified of the second call of the president for troops, on the third of May, the law hurriedly passed at the close of the regular session, and under which the governor had organized the First regi ment, was found inadequate to meet the second call for troops. " A bill was introduced, and became a law, authorizing the governor to raise six regiments of infantry, inclusive of those he had organ ized or placed at quarters. When the six regiments were mustered into the United States service he was authorized to raise two additional regiments, and thus to keep two regiments continually in reserve to meet any future call of the General Government. He was authorized to quarter and subsist volunteers at rendezvous— to transport, clothe, subsist and quarter them in camp at the expense of the State. Arms and munitions were to be furnished by the United States. Recruits were to be mustered into State service, and into United States service, for three years. Two assistant surgeons to each regiment were to be appointed, and paid by the State. The regi ments, as they came into camp, were to be instructed in drill and various camp duties, to secure efficiency in the field. The troops, so called in, were to be paid monthly by the State, the same pay and emoluments as the soldiers in the United States army, from the date of enlistment. The paymaster general was authorized to draw funds from the State treasury for the payment of the State troops, and the expense incurred in subsisting, transporting and clothing them. The governor was authorized to purchase military stores, subsistence, clothing, medicine, field and camp equipage, and the sum of one million dollars was appropriated to enable the governor to carry out the law." Other laws were passed relating to military matters. One authorized the governor to pur chase two thousand stand of arms; and fifty thousand dollars were appropriated to pay for the same. Another authorized counties, towns, cities and incorporated villages to levy taxes for the purpose of providing for the support of families of volunteers residing in their respective limits. The one passed at the previous session, exempting volunteers from civil process vhile in the service, was amended so as to include all who might thereafter enlist. One granted five dollars per month as extra pay to enlisted volunteers having families dependent upon&them for support payable to their families. Another authorized the governor to employ such aids clerks and WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 73 messengers, as he deemed necessary for the public interests. Still another authorized the pay ment of those who had enlisted for three months, but had declined to go in for three years. The expenses of the extra session were ordered to be paid out of the " war fund." One million dollars in bonds were authorized to be issued for war purposes to form that fund. The governor secretary of state and state treasurer were empowered to negotiate them. By a joint resolu tion approved the twenty-first of May, the consent of the legislature was given to the governor to be absent from the State during the war, for as long a time as in his discretion he might think proper or advisable, in connection with the military forces of the State. For liberality, zeal and genuine patriotism, the members of the Wisconsin legislature, for the year 1861, deserve a high commendation. All that was necessary upon their final adjournment at the close of the extra session to place the State upon a " war footing," was the organization by the governor of the various military departments. These he effected by appointing Brigadier General William L. Utley, adjutant general ; Brigadier General W. W. Tredway, quartermaster general ; Colonel Edwin R. Wadsworth, commissary general ; Brigadier General Simeon Mills, paymaster gen eral; Brigadier General E. B. Wolcott, surgeon general; Major E. L. Buttrick, judge advocate; and Colonel William H. Watson, military secretary. On the seventeenth of May, the First regiment, at "Camp Scott," was mustered into the United States service, and the war department informed that it awaited marching orders. The regimental officers were not all in accordance with the law and mode adopted afterwards. On the seventh of the month Governor Randall had appointed Rufus King a brigadier general, and assigned the First, Second, Third and Fourth regiments to his command as the Wisconsin brigade ; although at that date only the First and Second had been called into camp. This brigade organization was not recognized by the General Government. The secretary of war telegraphed the governor of Wisconsin that the quota of the State, under the second call of the president, was two regiments — so that the whole number under both calls was only three — one (the First) for three months, two (the Second and Third) for three years. Notwithstanding this, Governor Randall proceeded to organize the Fourth. As a number of the companies ordered into " Camp Randall " on the first day of May to form the Second regiment had only enlisted for three months, the order of the secretary of war of the seventh of that month making it imperative that all such companies must re-enlist for three years or during the war, or be disbanded, the question of extending their term of enlist ment was submitted to the companies of the regiment, when about five hundred consented to the change. The quota of the regiment was afterward made i:p, and the whole mustered into the service of the United States for three years or during the war, under the president's second call for troops. This was on the eleventh of June, 1861. The Third regiment having had its companies assigned early in May, they were ordered in June into "Camp Hamilton" at Fond du Lac, where the regiment was organized, and, on the twenty-ninth of June, mustered into the United States' service as a three years regiment. This filled Wisconsin's quota under the second call of President Lincoln. By this time war matters in the State began to assume a systematic course of procedure — thanks to the patriotism of the people, the wisdom of the legislature, and the untiring energy and exertions of the governor and his subordinates. The determination of the secretary of war to accept from Wisconsin only two three-years regiments under the second call for troops was soon changed, and three more were authorized, making it necessary to organize the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth. The Fourth was called into " Camp Utley " at Racine on the sixth of June, and was mustered into the service of the United States on the ninth of the following month. By the twenty-eighth of June, all the companies of the Fifth had assembled at " Camp Randall," and on the thirteenth of July were mustered in as 74 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. United States troops. By the first of July, at the same place, the complement for the Sixth regiment had been made up, and the companies were mustered for three years into the service of the General Government, on the sixteenth of the same month. Governor Randall did not stop the good work when six regiments had been accepted, but assigned the necessary companies to form two more regiments — the Seventh and Eighth ; however, he wisely concluded not to call them into camp until after harvest, unless specially required to do so. " If they are needed sooner," said the governor, in a letter to the president on the first of July, " a call will be imme diately responded to, and we shall have their uniforms and equipments ready for them." " By the authority of our legislature," added the writer, -'I shall, after the middle of August, keep two regiments equipped and in camp ready for a call to service, and will have them ready at an earlier day if needed." About the latter part of June, W. P. Alexander, of Beloit, a good marksman, was commis sioned captain to raise a company of sharpshooters for Berdan's regiment. He at once engaged in the work. The company was filled to one hundred and three privates and three officers. It left the State about the middle of September under Captain Alexander, and was mustered into the service at Wehawken on the twenty-third day of that month, as Company " G " of Berdan's regiment of sharpshooters. On the twenty-sixth of July, a commission was issued to G. Van Deutsch, of Milwaukee, to raise a company of cavalry. He succeeded in filling his company to eighty-four men. He left the State in September, joining Fremont. The company was after ward attached to the fifth cavalry regiment of Missouri. About the 20th of August, Governor Randall was authorized to organize and equip as rapidly as possible five regiments of infantry and five batteries of artillery, and procure for them necessary clothing and equipments according to United States regulations and prices, subject to the inspec tion of officers of the General Government. The five regiments were to be additional to the eight already raised. One regiment was to be German. During the last week of August the companies of the Seventh regiment were ordered into " Camp Randall," at Madison. They were mustered into the service soon after arrival. On the 28th of August orders were issued for the reorganization of the First regiment for three years, its term of three months having expired. The secretary of war having signified his acceptance of the regiment for the new term, its mus tering into the service was completed on the nineteenth of October. This made six infantry regi ments in addition to the eight already accepted, or fourteen in all. On the same day orders were issued assigning companies to the Eighth regiment, — the whole moving to " Camp Randall," at Madison, the first week in September, where their mustering in was finished on the thirteenth. The Ninth, a German reginent, was recruited in squads, and sent into camp, where they were formed into companies, and the whole mustered in on the 26th of October, 1 861, at " Camp Sigel," Milwaukee. Companies were assigned the Tenth regiment on the 18th of September, and ordered into camp at Milwaukee, where it was fully organized about the first of October, being mustered into the service on the fourteenth of that month. The Tenth infantry was enlisted in September, 1861, and mustered in on the fourteenth of October, 1861, at "Camp Holton," Mil waukee. The Eleventh regiment-was called by companies into " Camp Randall " the latter part of September and first of October, 1861, and mustered in on the eighteenth. The Twelfth was called in to the same camp and mustered in by companies between the twenty-eighth of October and the fifth of November, 1 86 1. The Thirteenth rendezvoused at "Camp Treadway," Janes viUe, being mustered into the United States service on the seventeenth of October, 1861. These thirteen regiments were all that had been accepted and mustered into the United States servW while Randall was governor. From the commencement of the rebellion a great desire had been manifested for the orpan- WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 75 ization of artillery companies in Wisconsin, and this desire was finally gratified. Each battery was to number one hundred and fifty men, and, as has been shown, five had been authorized by the General Government to be raised in Wisconsin. The First battery was recruited at La Crosse, under the superintendence of Captain Jacob T. Foster, and was known as the " La Crosse Artillery." It rendezvoused at Racine^early in October, 1861, where on the tenth of that month, it was mustered into the United States service. The Second battery, Captain Ernest Herzberg, assembled at " Camp Utley," Racine, and was mustered in with the 'First battery on the tenth. The Third, known as the " Badger Battery," was organized by Captain L. H. Drury, at Madison and Berlin, and was mustered into the service on the same day and at the same place as the First and Second. The Fourth battery, recruited and organized at Beloit, under the supervision of Captain John F. Vallee, was mustered in on the first of October, 1861, at Racine. The Fifth battery was recruited at Monroe, Green county, under the superintendence of Captain Oscar F- Pinney, moving afterward to " Camp Utley," Racine, where, on the first of October, it was mus tered in, along with the Fourth. So brisk had been the recruiting, it was ascertained by the governor that seven companies had been raised instead of five, when the secretary of war was telegraphed to, and the extra companies — the Sixth and Seventh accepted ; the Sixth, known as the " Buena Vista Artillery," being recruited at Lone Rock, Richland county, in September, Captain Henry Dillon, and mustered in on the second of October, 1861, at Racine; the Seventh, known as the "Badger State Flying Artillery," having organized at Milwaukee, Captain Richard R. Griffiths, and mustered in on the fourth of the same month, going into camp at Racine on the eighth. This completed the mustering in of the first seven batteries, during Governor Randall's administration ; the whole mustered force being thirteen regiments of infantry ; one company of cavalry ; one of sharpshooters ; and these seven artillery companies. " Wisconsin," said the gov ernor, in response to a request as to the number of regiments organized, " sent one regiment for three months, — officers and men eight hundred and ten. The other regiments 1 >r the war up to the Thirteenth (including the First, re-organized), will average one thousand men each; one company of sharpshooters for Berdan's regiment, one hundred and three men ; and seven companies of light artillery." Of cavalry from Wisconsin, only Deutsch's company had been mustered into the United States, although three regiments had been authorized by the General Government before the close of Randall's administration. The governor, before the expiration of his office, was empowered to organize more artillery companies — ten in all ; and five additional regiments of infantry— making the whole number eighteen. On the tenth of December, he wrote : " Our Fourteenth infantry is full and in camp. * * * Fifteenth has five companies in camp, and filling up. Sixteenth has eight companies in camp, and will be full by the 25th of December. Seventeenth has some four hundred men enlisted. Eighteenth will be in camp, full, by January 1. Seven maximum companies of artillery in camp. * * Three regiments of cavalry— two full above the maximum ; the third, ahout eight hundred men in camp." It will be seen, therefore, that a considerable number of men in the three branches of the service was then in camp that had not been mustered into the service ; and this number was considerably increased by the 6th of January, 1862, the day that Randall's official term expired; but no more men were mustered in, until his successor came into office, than those previously mentioned. The First regiment— three months'— left " Camp Scott," Milwaukee, on the ninth of June, 1861, for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania— eight hundred and ten in number; John C. Starkweather, -colonel. The regiment returned to Milwaukee on the seventeenth of August, 1861, and was jnustered out on the twenty-second. The First regiment re-organized at "Camp' Scott," Milwaukee. Its mustering into the service, as previously mentioned, was completed on the nineteenth of October. On the twenty- 76 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. eighth, it started for Louisville, Kentucky — nine hundred and forty-five strong — under command of its former colonel, John C. Starkweather. The Second regiment, with S. Park Coon as colonel, left " Camp Randall, Madison, for Washington city, on the eleventh of June, 1861 — numbering, in all, one thousand and fifty-one. The Third regiment started from " Camp- Hamilton," Fond du Lac, for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, under command of Charles S. Hamilton,, as colonel, on the twelfth of July, 1861, with a numerical strength of nine hundred and seventy- nine. The Fourth regiment — Colonel Halbert E. Payne — with a numerical strength of one- thousand and fifty-three, departed on the fifteenth of July, 1861, from "Camp Utley," Racine, for Baltimore, Maryland. The Fifth regiment left " Camp Randall," Madison, one thousand and fifty-eight strong, commanded by Colonel Amasa Cobb, on the twenty-fourth of July, 1861, for Washington city. On the twenty-eighth of July, 1861, the Sixth regiment, numbering one thousand and eighty-four, moved from Madison, having been ordered to Washington >city. It was commanded by Colonel Lysander Cutter. The Seventh regiment — Joseph Van Dor, Colonel — with a numerical strength of one thousand and sixteen men— officers and privates, received orders, as did the Fifth and Sixth, to move forward to Washington. They started from Madison on the morning of the twenty-first of September, 1861, for active service. The Eighth infantry,. nine hundred and seventy-three strong, commanded by Colonel Robert C. Murphy, left Madison,, en route for St. Louis, Missouri, on the morning of the twelfth of October, 1861. The Ninth, or German regiment, with Frederick Salomon in command as colonel, did not leave " Camp Sigel," for active service, while Randall was governor. The Tenth infantry moved from "Camp Holton," Milwaukee, commanded by Colonel Alfred R. Chapin, on the ninth of November, 1861, destined for Louisville, Kentucky, with a total number of nine hundred and sixteen officers and privates. On the twentieth of November, 1861, the Eleventh regiment "broke camp" at Madison, starting for St. Louis, under command of Charles L. Harris, as colonel. Its whole number of men was nine hundred and sixteen. The Twelfth regiment, at " Camp Randall,'" Madison — Colonel George E. Bryant, and the Thirteenth, at " Camp Tredway," JanesviUe— Colonel Maurice Maloney — were still in camp at the expiration of the administration of Governor Randall : these, with the Ninth, were all that had not moved out of the State for active service,. of those mustered in previous to January 6, 1861,— making a grand total of infantry sent from Wisconsin, up to that date, by the governor, to answer calls of the General Government, for three years' service or during the war, of nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-one men, in ten regiments, averaging very nearly one thousand to each regiment. Besides these ten regiments of infantry for three years' service, Wisconsin had also sent into the field the First regiment, for three months' service, numbering eight hundred and ten men ; Alexander's company of sharp shooters, one hundred and six; and Deutsch's company of cavalry, eighty-four: in all, one- thousand. Adding these to the three years' regiments, and the whole force, in round numbers,, was eleven thousand men, furnished by the State in 1861. Eighth Administration.— Louis P. Harvey and Edward Salomon, Governors— 1862-1863.. Louis P. Harvey was inaugurated governor of Wisconsin on the sixth of January, 1862.. The fifteenth regular session of the legislature of the State began on the eighth of the same- month. In the senate^, the republicans were in the majority ; but in the assembly they had only a plurality of members, there being a number of " Union " men in that branch — enough,, indeed, to elect, by outside aid, J. W. Beardsley, who ran for the assembly, upon the " Union " ticket, as speaker. Governor Harvey, on the tenth, read his message to the legislature in joint. convention. " No previous legislature," are his opening words, " has convened under equal incentives to a disinterested zeal in the public service The occasion," he adds, "pleads WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 77 with you in rebuke of all the meaner passions, admonishing to the exercise of a conscientious patriotism, becoming the representatives of a Christian people, called in God's providence to pass through the furnace of a great trial of their virtue, and of the strength of the Government." On the seventh of April following, the legislature adjourned until the third of June next ensuing. Before it again assembled, an event occurred, casting a gloom over the whole State. The occasion was the accidental drowning of Governor Harvey. Soon after the battle of Pittsburgh Landing, on the seventh of April, 1862, the certainty that some of the Wisconsin regiments had suffered severely, induced the governor to organize a relief party, to aid the wounded and suffering soldiers from the State. On the tenth, Harvey and others started on their tour of benevolence. Arriving at Chicago, they found a large num ber of boxes had been forwarded there from different points in the State, containing supplies of various kinds. At Mound City, Paducah, and Savannah, the governor and his party adminis tered to the wants of the sick and wounded Wisconsin soldiers. Having completed their mission of mercy, they repaired to a boat in the harbor of Savannah, to await the arrival of the Minne haha, which was to convey them to Cairo, on their homeward trip. It was late in the evening of the nineteenth of April, 1862, and very dark when the boat arrived which was to take the governor and his friends on board ; and as she rounded to, the bow touching the Dunleith, on which was congregated the party ready to depart, Governor Harvey, by a misstep, fell overboard between the two boats, into the Tennessee river. The current was strong, and the water more than thirty feet deep. Every thing was done that could be, to save his life, but all to no purpose. His body was subsequently found and brought to Madison for interment. Edward Salomon, lieutenant governor, by virtue of a provision of the constitution of the State, upon the death of Harvey, succeeded to the office of governor of Wisconsin. On the third day of June, the legislature re-assembled in accordance with adjournment on the seventh of April previous, Governor Salomon, in his message of that day, to the senate and assembly, after announcing the sad event of the death of the late governor, said : " The last among the governors elected by the people of this State, he is the first who has been removed by death from our midst. The circumstances leading to and surrounding the tragic end melancholy end of the honored and lamented deceased, are well known to the people, and are, with his memory, treasured up in their hearts." He died," added Salomon, " while in the exercise of the highest duties of philan thropy and humanity, that a noble impulse had imposed upon him." The legislature, on the thirteenth of June, by a joint resolution, declared that in the death of Governor Harvey, the State had " lost an honest, faithful, and efficient public officer, a high-toned gentleman, a warm hearted philanthropist, and a sincere friend." Both houses adjourned sine die, on the seventeuth of June, 1862. Business of great public importance, in the judgment of the governor, rendering a special session of the legislature necessary, he issued, on the twenty-ninth of August, 1862, his proc lamation to that effect, convening both houses on the tenth of September following. On that day he sent in his message, relating wholly to war matters. He referred to the fact that since the adjournment of the previous session, six hundred thousand more men had been called for by the president of the United States, to suppress the rebellion. " It is evident," said he, " that to meet further calls, it is necessary to rely upon'a system of drafting or conscription, in Wisconsin." The governor then proceeded to recommend such measures as he deemed necessary to meet the exigencies of the times. The legislature levied a tax to aid volunteering, and passed a law giving the right of suffrage to soldiers in the military service. They also authorized the raising of money for payment of bounties to volunteers. The legislature adjourned on the twenty- sixth of September, 1862, after a session of sixteen days, and the enacting of seventeen laws. 78 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. On the 7th of October, James H. Howe, attorney general, resigned his office to enter the army. On the 14th of that month, Winfield Smith was appointed by the governor to fill the vacancy. At the general election in the Fall of this year, six congressmen were elected to the thirty- eighth congress: James S. Brown from the first district; I. C. Sloan, from the second; Amasa Cobb, from the third ; Charles A. Eldredge, from the fourth ; Ezra Wheeler, from the fifth ; and W. D. Mclndoe, from the sixth district. Sloan, Cobb, and Mclndoe, were elected as republi cans ; Brown, Eldridge, and Wheeler, as democrats. The sixteenth regular session of the Wisconsin legislature, commenced on the fourteenth of January, 1863. J. Allen Barber was elected speaker of the assembly. The majority in both houses was republican. Governor Salomon read his message on the fifteenth, to the joint convention, referring, at length, to matters connected with the war of the rebellion. A large number of bills were passed by the legislature for the benefit of soldiers and their families. On the twenty-second, the legislature re-elected James R. Doolittle, to the United States senate for six years, from the fourth of March next ensuing. The legislature adjourned sine die on the second of April following. In the Spring of this year, Luther S. Dixon was re-elected chief justice of the supreme court, running as an independent candidate. By a provision of the Revised Statutes of 1858, as amended by an act passed in 1862, and interpreted by another act passed in 1875, the terms of the justices of the supreme court, elected for a full term, commence on the first Monday in January next succeeding their election. At the Fall election there were two tickets in the field : democratic and union republican. The latter was successful, electing James T. Lewis, governor ; Wyman Spooner, lieutenant governor; Lucius Fairchild, secretary of state; S. D. Hastings, state treasurer; Winfield Smith, attorney general ; J. L. Pickard, state superintendent ; W. H. Ramsay, bank comp troller ; and Henry Cordier, state prison commissioner. War of Secession — Harvey and Salomon's Administration. When Governor Randall turned over to his successor in the gubernatorial chair, the military matters of Wisconsin, he had remaining in the State, either already organized or in process of formation, the Ninth infantry, also the Twelfth up to the Nineteenth inclusive ; three regiments of cavalry ; and ten batteries — First to Tenth inclusive. Colonel Edward Daniels, in the Summer of 1 86 1, was authorized by the war department to recruit and organize one battalion of cavalry in Wisconsin. He was subsequently authorized to raise two more companies. Governor Ran dall, in October, was authorized to complete the regiment — the First cavalry — by the organiza tion of six additional companies. The organization of the Second cavalry regiment was author ized in the Fall of 1861, as an "independent acceptance," but was finally turned over to the State authorities. Early in November, 1861, the war department issued an order discontinuing, enlistments for the cavalry service, and circulars were sent to the different State executives to consolidate all incomplete regiments. Ex-Governor Barstow, by authority of General Fremont, which authority was confirmed by the General Government, had commenced the organization of a cavalry regiment — the Third Wisconsin — when Governor Randall received information that the authority of Barstow had been revoked. The latter, however, soon had his authority restored. In October, Governor Randall was authorized by the war department to raise three additional companies of artillery — Eighth to Tenth inclusive. These three batteries were all filled and went into camp by the close of 1861. Governor Randall, therefore, besides sending out of the State eleven thousand men, had in process of formation, or fully organized, nine regiments of infantry, three regiments of cavalry, and ten companies of artillery, left behind in WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 79 various camps in the State, to be turned over to his successor. The military officers of Wisconsin were the governor, Louis P. Harvey, commander-in- chief; Brigadier General Augustus Gaylord, adjutant general ; Brigadier General W. W. Tred- way, quartermaster general ; Colonel Edwin R. Wadsworth, commissary general ; Brigadier Gen eral Simeon Mills, paymaster general; Brigadier General E. B. Wolcott, surgeon general; Major M. H. Carpenter, judge advocate ; and Colonel William H. Watson, military secretary. As the General Government had taken the recruiting service out of the hands of the executives of the States, and appointed superintendents in their place, the offices of commissary general and paymaster general were no longer necessary ; and their time, after the commencement of the administration in Wisconsin of 1862, was employed, so long as they continued their respective offices, in settling up the business of each. The office of commissary general was closed about the first of June, 1862 ; that of paymaster general on the tenth of July following. On the last of August, 1862, Brigadier General Tredway resigned the position of quartermaster general, and Nathaniel F. Lund was appointed to fill his place. Upon the convening of the legislature of the State in its regular January session of this year — 1862, Governor Harvey gave, in his message to that body, a full statement of what had been done by Wisconsin in matters appertaining to the war, under the administration of his predecessor. He stated that the State furnished to the service of the General Government under the call for volunteers for three months, one regiment — First Wisconsin ; under the call for volunteers for three years, or the war, ten regiments, numbering from the First re-organized to the Eleventh, excluding the Ninth or German regiment. He gave as the whole number of officers, musicians and privates, in these ten three-year regiments, ten thousand one hundred and seventeen. He further stated that there were then organized and awaiting orders, the Ninth, in " Camp Sigel," Milwaukee, numbering nine hundred and forty men, under Colonel Frederick Salomon; the Twelfth, in " Camp Randall." one thousand and thirty-nine men, under Colonel George E. Bryant ; the Thirteenth, in " Camp Tredway," JanesviUe, having nine hundred and nineteen men, commanded by Colonel M. Maloney ; and the Fourteenth, at " Camp Wood," Fond du Lac, eight hundred and fifty men, under Colonel D. E. Wood. The Fifteenth or Scandinavian regiment, Colonel H. C. Heg, seven hundred men, and the Sixteenth, Colonel Benjamin Allen, nine hundred men, were at that time at "Camp Randall," in near readiness for marching orders. The Seventeenth (Irish) regiment, Colonel J. L. Doran, and the Eighteenth, Colonel James S. Alban, had their full number of companies in readiness, lacking one, and had been notified to go into camp — the former at Madison, the latter at Milwaukee. Seven companies of artillery, numbering together one thousand and fifty men, had remained for a considerable time in " Camp Utley," Racine, impatient of the delays of the General Govern ment in calling them to move forward. Three additional companies of artillery were about going into camp, numbering three hundred and thirty-four men. Besides these, the State had furnished, as already mentioned, an independent company of cavalry, then in Missouri,"jraised by Captain Von Deutsch, of eighty-one men ; a company of one hundred and four men for Ber dan's sharpshooters; and an additional company for the Second regiment, of about eighty men. Three regiments of cavalry — the First, Colonel E. Daniels; the Second, Colonel C. C. Washburn; and the Third, Colonel W. A. Barstow; were being organized. They numbered together, two thou sand four hundred and fifty men. The Nineteenth (independent) regiment was rapidly organ izing under the direction of the General Government, by Colonel H. T. Sanders, Racine. Not bringing this last regiment into view, the State had, at the commencement of Governor Harvey's administration, including the First, three-months' regiment, either in the service of the United States or organizing for it, a total of twenty-one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three men. 80 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. The legislature at its regular session of 1862, passed a law making it necessary to present all claims which were made payable out of the war fund, within twelve months from the time they accrued ; a law was also passed authorizing the investment of the principal of the school fund in the bonds of the state issued for war purposes ; another, amendatory of the act of the extra session of 1 86 1, granting exemption to persons enrolled in the military service, so as to except persons acting as fiduciary agents, either as executors or administrators, or guardians or trustees, or persons defrauding the State, or any school district of moneys belonging to the same; also author izing a stay of proceedings in foreclosures of mortgages, by advertisements. " The State Aid Law" was amended so as to apply to all regiments of infantry, cavalry, artillery and sharpshooters, defining the rights of families, fixing penalties for the issue of false papers, and imposing duties on military officers in the field to make certain reports. These amendments only included regi ments and companies organized up to and including the- Twentieth, which was in process of organization before the close of the session. A law was also passed suspending the sale of lands mortgaged to the State, or held by volunteers ; another defining the duties of the allotment com missioners appointed by the president of the United States, and fixing their compensation. One authorized the issuing of bonds for two hundred thousand dollars for war purposes ; one author ized a temporary loan from the general fund to pay State aid to volunteers ; and one, the appoint ment of a joint committee to investigate the sale of war bonds ; while another authorized the governor to appoint surgeons to batteries, and assistant surgeons to cavalry regiments. The legislature, it will be remembered, took a recess from the seventh of April to the third of June, 1862. Upon its re-assembling, ~- act was passed providing lor the discontinuance of the active services of the paymaster general, quartermaster general and commissary general. Another act appropriated twenty thousand dollars to enable the governor to care for the sick and wounded soldiers of the State. There was also another act passed authorizing the auditing, by the quartermaster general, of bills for subsistence and transportation of the Wisconsin cavalry regiments. At the extra session called by Governor Salomon, for the tenth of September, 1862, an amendment was made to the law granting aid to families of volunteers, by including all regi ments of cavalry, infantry, or batteries of artillery before that time raised in the State, or that might afterward be raised and mustered into the United States service. It also authorized the levying of a State tax of two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars to be placed to the credit of the war fund and used in the payment of warrants for " State Aid" to families of volunteers. Another law authorized commissioned officers out of the State to administer oaths and take acknowledgments of deeds and other papers. One act authorized soldiers in the field, although out of the State, to exercise the right of suffrage ; and another gave towns, cities, incorporated villages and counties the authority to raise money to pay bounties to volunteers. On the fifth of August, 1862, Governor Salomon received from the war department a dispatch stating that orders had been issued for a draft of three hundred thousand men to be immediately called into the service of the United States, to serve for nine months unless sooner discharged ; that if the State quota under a call made July 2, of that year, for three hundred thousand vol unteers, was not filled by the fifteenth of August, the deficiency would be made up by draft ; and that the secretary of war would assign the quotas to the States and establish regulations for the- draft. On the eighth of that month, the governor of the State was ordered to immediately cause an enrollment of all able-bodied citizens between eighteen and forty-five years of age, by counties. Governor Salomon was authorized to appoint proper officers, and the United States promised to pay all reasonable expenses. The quota for Wisconsin, under the call for nine months' men, was eleven thousand nine hundred and four. The draft was made by the governor in obedience to the order he had received from Washington ; but such had been the volunteering under the stim- WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 81 ulus caused by a fear of it, that only four thousand five hundred and thirty-seven men were drafted. This was the first and only draft made in Wisconsin by the State authorities. Subsequent ones were made under the direction of the provost marshal general at Wash ington. The enlisting, organization and mustering into the United States service during Randall's administration of thirteen regiments of infantry — the First to the Thirteenth inclusive, and the marching of ten of them out of the State before the close of 1861, also, of one company of cavalry under Captain Von Deutsch and one company of sharpshooters under Captain Alexander, con stituted the effective aid abroad of Wisconsin during that year to suppress the rebellion. But for the year 1862, this aid, as to number of organizations, was more than doubled, as will now be shown. The Ninth regiment left " Camp Sigel," Milwaukee, under command of Colonel Frederick Salomon, on the twenty-second of January, 1862, numbering thirty-nine officers and eight hun dred and eighty-four men, to report at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Twelfth infantry left Wisconsin under command of Colonel George E. Bryant, ten hundred and forty-five strong, the eleventh of January, 1862, with orders to report at Weston, Missouri. The Thirteenth regiment — Colonel Maurice Maloney — left " Camp Tredway," JanesviUe, on the eighteenth of January, 1862, nine hundred and seventy strong, under orders to report at Leavenworth, Kansas, where it arrived on the twenty-third. The Fourteenth regiment of infantry departed from " Camp Wood," Fond du Lac, under command of Colonel David E. Wood, for St. Louis, Missouri, on the eighth of March, 1862, it having been mustered into the United States service on the thirtieth of January previous. Its total strength was nine hundred and seventy officers and men. It arrived at its destination on the tenth of March, and went into quarters at " Benton Barracks." The Fifteenth regiment, mostly recruited from the Scandinavian population of Wisconsin, was organized at "Camp Randall," Madison — Hans C. Heg as colonel. Its muster into the United States service was completed on the fourteenth of February, 1862, it leaving the State for St. Louis, Missouri, on the second of March following, with a total strength of eight hundred and one officers and men. The Sixteenth regiment was organized at "Camp Randall," and was mustered into the service on the last day of January, 1862, leaving the State, with Benjamin Allen as colonel, for St. Louis on the thirteenth of March ensuing, having a total strength of one thousand and sixty-six. The regimental organization of the Seventeenth infantry (Irish), Colonel John L. Doran, was effected at " Camp Randall," and the mustering in of the men completed on the fifteenth of March, 1862, the regiment leaving the State on the twenty-third for St. Louis. The Eighteenth regiment organized at " Camp Trowbridge," Milwaukee — James S. Alban, colonel completed its muster into the United States service on the fifteenth of March, 1862, and left the State for St. Louis on the thirtieth, reaching their point of destination on the thirty- first. The Nineteenth infantry rendezvoused at Racine as an independent regiment, its colonel, Horace T. Sanders, being commissioned by the war department. The men were mustered into the service as fast as they were enlisted. Independent organizations being abolished, by an order from Washington, the Nineteenth was placed on the same footing as other regiments in the State. On the twentieth of April, 1862, the regiment was ordered to " Camp Randall " to guard rebel prisoners. Here the mustering in was completed, numbering in all nine hundred and seventy-three. They left the State for Washington on the second of June. 82 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. The muster into the United States service of the Twentieth regiment — Bertine Pinckney,. colonel — was completed on the twenty-third of August, 1862, at "Camp Randall," the original strength being nine hundred and ninety. On the thirtieth of August the regiment left the State for St. Louis. The Twenty-first infantry was organized at Oshkosh, being mustered in on the fifth of Sep tember, 1862, with a force of one thousand and two, all told — Benjamin J. Sweet, colonel — leaving the State for Cincinnati on the eleventh. The Twenty-second regiments-Colonel William L. Utley — was organized at " Camp Utley," Racine, and mustered in on the second of September, 1862. Its original strength was one thou sand and nine. It left the State for Cincinnati on the sixteenth. On the thirtieth of August, 1862, the Twenty-third regiment — Colonel Joshua J. Guppey — was mustered in at "Camp Randall," leaving Madison for Cincinnati on the fifteenth. The Twenty-fourth infantry rendezvoused at " Camp Sigel," Milwaukee. Its muster in was. completed on the twenty-first of August, 1862, the regiment leaving the State under Colonel Charles H. Larrabee, for Kentucky, on the fifth of September, one thousand strong. On the fourteenth of September, 1862, at " Camp Salomon," LaCrosse, the Twenty-fifth regiment was mustered into the service — Milton Montgomery, colonel. They left the State on the nineteenth with orders to report to General Pope, at St. Paul, Minnesota, to aid in suppress ing the Indian difficulties in that State. Their entire strength was one thousand and eighteen.. The regiment, after contributing to the preservation of tranquillity among the settlers, and deterring the Indians from hostilities, returned to Wisconsin, arriving at " Camp Randall " on the eighteenth of December, 1862. The Twenty-sixth — almost wholly a German regiment — was mustered into the service at "Camp Sigel," Milwaukee, on the seventeenth of September, 1862. The regiment, under com mand of Colonel William H. Jacobs, left the State for Washington city on the sixth of October,. one thousand strong. The Twenty-seventh infantry was ordered to rendezvous at "Camp Sigel," Milwaukee, on the seventeenth of September, 1862 ; but the discontinuance of recruiting for new regiments in August left the Twenty-seventh with only seven companies full. An order authorizing the recruiting of three more companies was received, and under the supervision of Colonel Conrad Krez the organization was completed, but the regiment at the close of the year had not been mustered into the service. On the twenty-fourth of October, 1862, the Twenty-eighth regiment— James M. Lewis, of Oconomowoc, colonel — was mustered into the United States service at "Camp Washburn," Mil waukee. Its strength was nine hundred and sixty-one. In November, the regiment was employed in arresting and guarding the draft rioters in Ozaukee county. It left the State for Columbus, Kentucky, on the twentieth of December, where they arrived on the twenty-second; remaining there until the fifth of January, 1863. The Twenty-ninth infantry — Colonel Charles R. Gill — was organized at " Camp Randall," where its muster into the United States service was completed on the twenty-seventh of Sep tember, 1862, the regiment leaving the State for Cairo, Illinois, on the second of November. The Thirtieth regiment, organized at "Camp Randall" under the supervision of Colonel Daniel J. Dill, completed its muster into the United States service on the twenty-first of October, 1862, with a strength of nine hundred and six. On the sixteenth of November, one company of the Thirtieth was sent to Green Bay to protect the draft commissioner, remaining several weeks. On the eighteenth, seven companies moved to Milwaukee to assist in enforcing the draft in Mil waukee county, while two companies remained in "Camp Randall" to guard Ozaukee rioters. WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 83 On the twenty-second, six companies from Milwaukee went to West Bend, Washington county, one company returning to "Camp Randall." After the completion of the draft in Washington county, four companies returned to camp, while two companies were engaged in gathering up the drafted men. The final and complete organization of the Thirty-first infantry — Colonel Isaac E. Mess- more — was not concluded during the year 1862. The Thirty-second regiment, organized at " Camp Bragg," Oshkosh, with James H. Howe as colonel, was mustered into the service on the twenty-fifth of September, 1862 ; and, on the thirtieth of October, leaving the State, it proceeded by way of Chicago and Cairo to Memphis, Tennessee, going into camp on the third of November. The original strength of the Thirty- second was nine hundred and ninety-three. The Thirty-third infantry — Colonel Jonathan B. Moore — mustered in on the eighteenth of October, 1862, at " Camp Utley," Racine, left the State, eight hundred and ninety-two strong,, moving by way of Chicago to Cairo. The Thirty-fourth regiment, drafted men, original strength nine hundred and sixty-one — Colonel Fritz Anneke — had its muster into service for nine months completed at " Camp Wash burn," Milwaukee, on the last day of the year 1862. Of the twenty-four infantry regiments, numbered from the Twelfth to the Thirty-fourth inclusive, and' including also the Ninth, three — the Ninth, Twelfth, and Thirteenth — were mus tered into the United States service in 1861. The whole of the residue were mustered in during, the year 1862, except the Twenty-seventh and the Thirty-first. All were sent out of the State during 1862, except the last two mentioned and the Twenty-fifth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-fourth. The First regiment of cavalry — Colonel Edward Daniels — perfected its organization at " Camp Harvey," Kenosha. Its muster into the United States service was completed on the eighth of March, 1862, the regiment leaving the State for St. Louis on the seventeenth, with a strength of eleven hundred and twenty-four. The muster of the Second Wisconsin cavalry was completed on the twelfth of March, 1862, at "Camp Washburn," Milwaukee, the regiment leaving the State for St. Louis on the twenty- fourth, eleven hundred and twenty-seven strong. It was under the command of Cadwallader C. Washburn as colonel. The Third Wisconsin cavalry — Colonel William A. Barstow — was mustered in at " Camp Barstow," JanesviUe. The muster was completed on the 31st of January, 1862, the regiment leaving the State on the 26th of March for St. Louis, with a strength of eleven hundred and eighty- six. The original project of forming a regiment of light artillery in Wisconsin was overruled by the war department, and the several batteries were sent from the State as independent organizations. The First battery — Captain Jacob T. Foster — perfected its organization at "Camp Utley," where the company was mustered in, it leaving the State with a strength of one hundred and fifty-five, on the 23d of January, 1862, for Louisville, where the battery went into "Camp Irvine," near that city. The Second battery— Captain Ernest F. Herzberg— was mustered into the service at "Camp Utley," October 10, 1S61, the company numbering one hundred and fifty- three. It left the State for Baltimore, on the 21st of January, 1862. The Third battery— Cap tain L. H. Drury — completed its organization of one hundred and seventy at " Camp Utley," and was mustered in October 10, 1861, leaving the State for Louisville, on the 23d of January, 1862. The Fourth battery — Captain John F. Vallee — rendezvoused at "Camp Utley." Its muster in was completed on the istof October, 1861, its whole force being one hundred andfify one. The company left the State for Baltimore on the 21st of January, 1S62. The Fifth bat- 84 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. tery, commanded by Captain Oscar F. Pinney, was mustered in on the ist of October, 1861, at " Camp Utley," leaving the State for St. Louis, on the 15th of March, 1862, one hundred and fifty-five strong. The Sixth battery — Captain Henry Dillon — was mustered in on the 2d of October, 1861, at " Camp Utley," leaving the State for St. Louis, March 15, 1862, with a numer ical strength of one hundred and fifty-seven. The Seventh battery — Captain Richard R. Grif fiths — was mustered in on the 4th of October, 1861, at " Camp Utley," and proceeded on the 15th of March, 1862, with the Fifth and Sixth batteries to St. Louis. The Eighth battery, com manded by Captain Stephen J. Carpenter, was mustered in on the 8th of January, 1862, at "Camp Utley," and left the State on the 18th of March following, for St. Louis, one hundred and sixty-one strong. The Ninth battery, under command of Captain Cyrus H. Johnson, was organ ized at Burlington, Racine county. It was mustered in on the 7th of January, 1862, leaving " Camp Utley " for St. Louis, on the 18th of March. At St. Louis, their complement of men- one hundred and fifty-five — was made up by the transfer of forty-five from another battery. The Tenth battery — Captain Yates V. Bebee— after being mustered in at Milwaukee, on the 10th of February, 1862, left " Camp Utley," Racine, on the 18th of March for St. Louis, one hundred and seventeen strong. The Eleventh battery — Captain John O'Rourke — was made up of the " Oconto Irish Guards " and a detachment of Illinois recruits. The company was organized at " Camp Douglas," Chicago, in the Spring of 1862. Early in 1862, William A. Pile succeeded in enlisting ninety-nine men as a company to be known as the Twelfth battery. The men were mustered in and sent forward in squads to St. Louis. Captain Pile's commission was revoked on the 18th of July. His place was filled by William Zickrick. These twelve batteries were all that left the State in 1862. To these are to be added the three regiments of cavalry and the nineteen regi ments of infantry, as the effective force sent out during the year by Wisconsin. The military officers of the State, at the commencement of 1863, were Edward Salomon, governor and commander-in-chief; Brigadier General Augustus Gaylord, adjutant general; Colonel S. Nye Gibbs, assistant adjutant general ; Brigadier General Nathaniel F. Lund, quartermaster general; Brigadier General E. B. Wolcott, surgeon general; and Colonel W. H. Watson, military secretary. The two incomplete regiments of 1862 — the Twenty-seventh and Thirty-first volunteers — were completed and in the field in March, 1863. The former was mustered in at " Camp Sigel " — Colonel Conrad Krez — on the 7th of March, and left the State, eight hundred and sixty-five strong, on the 16th for Columbus, Kentucky ; the latter, under command of Colonel Isaac E. Messmore, with a strength of eight hundred and seventy-eight, left Wisconsin on the ist of March, for Cairo, Illinois. The Thirty-fourth (drafted) regiment left "Camp Washburn," Milwaukee, on the 31st of January, 1863, for Columbus, Kentucky, numbering nine hundred and sixty-one, commanded by Colonel Fritz Anneke. On the 17th of February, 1863, the Twenty-fifth regiment left "Camp Randall" for Cairo, Illinois. The Thirtieth regiment remained in Wisconsin during the whole of 1863, performing various duties — the only one of the whole thirty -four that, at the end of that year, had not left the State. On the 14th of January, 1863, the legislature of Wisconsin, as before stated, convened at Madison. Governor Salomon, in his message to that body, gave a summary of the transac tions of the war fund during the calendar year; also of what was done in 1862, in the recruiting of military forces, and the manner in which the calls of the president were responded to. There were a number of military laws passed at this session. A multitude of special acts authorizing towns to raise bounties for volunteers, were also passed. No additional regiments of infantry besides those already mentioned were organized in 1863, although recruiting for old regiments continued. On the 3d of March, 1863, the congress of the United States passed the "Conscription Act." Under this act, Wisconsin was divided WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 85 into six districts. In the first district, I. M. Bean was appointed provost marshal; C. M. Baker, commissioner; and J. B. Dousman, examining surgeon. Headquarters of this district was at Milwaukee. In the second district, S. J. M. Putnam was appointed provost marshal; L. B. Caswell, commissioner; and Dr. C. R. Head, examining surgeon. Headquarters of this district was at JanesviUe. In the third district, J. G. Clark was appointed provost marshal; E. E. Byant, commissioner ; and John H. Vivian, examining surgeon. Headquarters at Prairie du Chien. In the fourth district, E. L. Phillips was appointed provost marshal ; Charles Burchard, commissioner ; and L. H. Cary, examining surgeon. Headquarters at Fond du Lac. In the fifth district, C. R. Merrill was appointed provost marshal ; William A. Bugh, ¦commissioner ; and H. O. Crane, examining surgeon. Headquarters at Green Bay. In the sixth district, B. F. Cooper was appointed provost marshal; L. S. Fisher, commissioner; and D. D. Cameron, examining surgeon. Headquarters at LaCrosse. The task of enrolling the State was commenced in the month of May, and was proceeded with to its completion. The nine months' term of service of the Thirty-fourth regiment, drafted militia, having expired, the regiment was mustered out of service on the 8th of September. The enrollment in Wisconsin of all persons liable to the "Conscription" amounted to 121,202. A draft was ordered to take place in November. Nearly fifteen thousand were drafted, only six hundred and twenty-eight of whom were mustered in ; the residue either furnished substitutes, were discharged, failed to report, or paid commutation. In the Summer of 1861, Company " K," Captain Langworthy, of the Second Wisconsin infantry, was detached and placed on duty as heavy artillery. His company was designated as "A," First Regiment Heavy Artillery. This was the only one organized until the Summer of 1863; but its organization was effected outside the State. Three companies were necessary to add to company "A" to complete the battalion. Batteries " B," " C " and " D " were, therefore, organized in Wisconsin, all leaving the State in October and November, 1863. Ninth Administration — James T. Lewis, Governor — 1864-1865. James T. Lewis, of Columbia county, was inaugurated governor of Wisconsin on the fourth of January, 1864. In an inaugural address, the incoming governor pledged himself to use no executive patronage for a re-election ; declared he would administer the government without prejudice or partiality ; and committed himself to an economical administration of affairs con nected with the State. On the thirteenth the legislature met in its seventeenth regular session. W. W. Field was elected speaker of the assembly. The republican and union men were in the majority in this legislature. A number of acts were passed relative to military matters. On the ist day of October, J. L. Pickard having resigned as superintendent of public instruction, J. G. McMynn was, by the governor, appointed to fill the vacancy. On the fif teenth of November, Governor Lewis appointed Jason Downer an associate justice of the supreme court, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Byron Paine, who had resigned his position to take effect on that day, in order to accept the position of lieutenant colonel of one of the regiments of Wisconsin, to which he had been commissioned on the tenth of August previous. The November elections of this year were entered into with great zeal by the two parties, owing to the fact that a president and vice president of the United States were to be chosen. The republicans were victorious. Electors of that party cast their eight votes for Lincoln and Johnson. The members elected to the thirty - ninth congress from Wisconsin at this election were : from the first district, H. E. Paine ; from the second, I. C. Sloan ; from the third, Amasa Cobb; from the fourth, C. A. Eldredge; from the fifth, Philetus Sawyer; and 86 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. from the sixth district, W. D. Mclndoe. All were republicans except Eldredge, who was elected as a democrat. The Eighteenth regular session of the Wisconsin legislature began in Madison on the elev enth of January, 1865. W. W. Field was elected speaker of the assembly. The legislature was, as to its political complexion, "Republican Union." On the tenth of April, the last day off the session, Governor Lewis informed the legislature that General Lee and his army had sur rendered. " Four years ago," said he, "on the day fixed for adjournment, the sad news of the fall of Fort Sumter was transmitted to the legislature. To-day, thank God! and next to Him the brave officers and soldiers of our army and navy, I am permitted to transmit to you the official intelligence, just received, of the surrender of General Lee and his army, the last prop of the rebellion. Let us rejoice, and thank the Ruler of the Universe for victory and the pros pects of an honorable peace." In February preceding, both houses ratified the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery in the United States. At the Spring election, Jason Downer was chosen associate justice of the supreme court for a full term of six years. The twentieth of April was set apart by the governor as a day of thanksgiving for the overthrow of the rebellion and restoration of peace. At the Fall election both parties, republican and democratic, had tickets in the field. The republicans were victorious, electing Lucius Fairchild, governor; Wyman Spooner, lieutenant governor ; Thomas S. Allen, secretary of state ; William E. Smith, state treasurer; Charles R. Gill, attorney general; John G. McMynn, superintendent of public instruction; J. M. Rusk, bank comptroller; and Henry Cordier, state prison commis sioner. War of Secession ¦ — Lewis' Administration. The military officers for 1864 were besides the governor (who was commander-in-chief,) Brigadier General Augustus Gaylord, adjutant general ; Colonel S. Nye Gibbs, assistant adju tant general; Brigadier General Nathaniel F. Lund, quartermaster and commissary general,. and chief of ordnance; Brigadier General E. B. Wolcott, surgeon general; and Colonel Frank H. Firmin, military secretary. The legislature met at Madison on the 13th of January, 1864, "In response to the call of the General Government," said the governor, in his message to that body, " Wisconsin had sent to the field on the first day of November last, exclusive of three months' men, thirty - four regiments of infantry, three regiments and one company of cavalry, twelve batteries of light artillery, three batteries of heavy artillery, and one company of sharp shooters, making an aggregate of forty-one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five men." Quite a number of laws were passed at this session of the legislature relative to military matters : three were acts to authorize towns, cities and villages to raise money by tax for the payment of bounties to volunteers; one revised, amended and consolidated all laws relative, to. extra pay to Wisconsin soldiers in the service of the United States ; one provided for the proper reception by the State, of Wisconsin volunteers returning from the field of service; another repealed the law relative to allotment commissioners. One was passed authorizing the gov ernor to purchase flags for regiments or batteries whose flags were lost or destroyed in the service : another was passed amending the law suspending the sale of lands mortgaged to the State or held by volunteers, so as to apply to drafted men ; another provided for levying a State tax of $200,000 for the support of families of volunteers. A law was passed authorizing the governor to take care of the sick and wounded soldiers of Wisconsin, and appropriated ten thousand dollars for that purpose. Two other acts authorized the borrowing of money for repel ling invasion, suppressing insurrection, and defending the State in time of war. One act pro hibited the taking of fees for procuring volunteers' extra bounty ; another one defined the resi dence of certain soldiers from this Sute in the service of the United States, who had received WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 87 local bounties from towns other than their proper places of residence. At the commencement of 1864, there were recruiting in the State the Thirty-fifth regiment •of infantry and the Thirteenth battery. The latter was mustered in on the 29th of December, 1863, and left the State for New Orleans on the 28th of January, 1864. In February, authority was given by the war department to organize the Thirty-sixth regiment of infantry. On the 37th of that month, the mustering .n of the Thirty-fifth was completed at " Camp Washburn " — Colonel Henry Orff— the regiment, one thousand and sixty-six strong, leaving the State on the 18th of April, 1864, for Alexandria, Louisiana. The other regiments, recruited and mustered into the service of the United States during the year 1864, were: the Thirty-sixth— Colonel Frank A. Haskell ; the Thirty-seventh— Colonel Sam Harriman ; the Thirty-eighth— Colonel James Bintliff ; the Thirty -ninth — Colonel Edwin L. Buttrick; the Fortieth — Colonel W. Augustus Ray; the Forty-first — Lieutenant Colonel George B. Goodwin; the Forty-second— Colonel Ezra T. Sprague ; the Forty-third — Colonel Amasa Cobb. The regiments mustered into the service of the United States during the year 1865 were: the Forty-fourth— Colonel George C. Symes ; the Forty-fifth— Colonel Henry F. Belitz; Forty- :sixth — Colonel Frederick S. Lovell ; Forty-seventh — Colonel George C. Ginty ; Forty-eighth — Colonel Uri B. Pearsall; Forty-ninth— Colonel Samuel Fallows; Fiftieth — Colonel John G. 'Clark; Fifty-first — Colonel Leonard Martin; Fifty-second — Lieutenant Colonel Hiram J. Lewis ; •and Fifty-third — Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Pugh. All of the fifty-three regiments of infantry raised in Wisconsin during the war, sooner or later moved to the South and were engaged there in one way or other, in aiding to suppress the rebellion. Twelve of these regiments were assigned to duty in the eastern division, which con stituted the territory on both sides of the Potomac and upon the seaboard from Baltimore to Savannah. These twelve regiments were: the First (three months), Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Nineteenth, Twenty-sixth, Thirty-sixth, Thirty-seventh, and Thirty-eighth. Ten regiments were assigned to the central division, including Kentucky, Tennessee, Northern Alabama, and Georgia. These ten were: the Tenth, Twenty-first, Twenty-second, Twenty- fourth, Thirtieth, Forty-third, Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth, and Forty-seventh. Added to these was the First (re-organized). Thirty-one regiments were ordered to the western division, •embracing the country west and northwest of the central division. These were : the Eighth, Ninth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-third, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-seventh, Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, Thirty-first, Thirty-second, Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty- second, Forty-eighth, Forty-ninth, Fiftieth, Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third. During the war several transfers were made from one district to another. There were taken from the eastern division, the Third and Twenty-sixth, and sent to the central division; also the Fourth, which was sent to the department of the gulf. The Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seven teenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-fifth, Thirtieth, Thirty-first and Thirty-second were transferred from the western to the central department. The four regiments of cavelry were assigned to the western division — the First regiment being afterward transferred to the central division. Of the thirteen batteries of light artillery, the Second, Fourth, and Eleventh, were assigned to the eastern division ; the First and Third, to the central division ; the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth, and Thirteenth, to the western division. During the war, the First was transferred to the western division ; while the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth, were transferred to the central division. Of the twelve batteries of the First regiment of heavy artillery — "A," "E," "F," "G," "H," "I," ¦"K," "L," and "M," were assigned to duty in the eastern division ; "B" and "C," to the central 88 HISTORY' OF WISCONSIN. division; and "D," to the western division. Company "G," First regiment Berdan's sharp shooters, was assigned to the eastern division. The military officers of the State for 1865 were the same as the previous year, except that Brigadier General Lund resigned his position as quartermaster general, James M. Lynch being. appointed in his place. The legislature of this year met in Madison on the nth of January. "To the calls of the Government for troops," said Governor Lewis, in his message, "no State has responded with greater alacrity than has Wisconsin. She has sent to the field, since the commencement of the war, forty-four regiments of infantry, four regiments and one company of cavalry, one regiment of heavy artillery, thirteen batteries of light artillery, and one company of sharpshooters, making an aggregate (exclusive of hundred day men) of seventy-five thousand one hundred and thirty-three men." Several military laws were passed at this session : one authorizing cities, towns, and villages to pay bounties to volunteers ; another, incorporating the Wisconsin Soldiers' Home ; two others, amending the act relative "to the commencement and prosecution of civil actions against persons in the military service of the country." One was passed authorizing the payment of salaries, clerk hire, and expenses, of the offices of the adjutant general and quartermaster general from the war fund ; another, amending the act authorizing commissioned officers to take acknowledg ment of deeds, affidavits and depositions; another, amending the act extending the right of suffrage to soldiers in the field. One act provides for correcting and completing the records of the adjutant general's office, relative to the military history of the individual members of the several military organizations of this State ; another fixes the salary of the adjutant general and the quartermaster general, and their clerks and assistants; another prohibits volunteer or sub stitute brokerage. One act was passed supplementary and explanatory of a previous one of the same session, authorizing towns, cities, or villages, to raise money to pay bounties to volunteers; another, amending a law of 1864, relating to the relief of soldiers' families; and another, pro viding for the establishment of State agencies for the relief and care of sick, wounded, and disabled Wisconsin soldiers. There was an act also passed, authorizing the borrowing of money for a period not exceeding seven months, to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, and defend the State in time of war, — the amount not to exceed $850,000. On the 13th of April, 1865, orders were received to discontinue recruiting in Wisconsin, and to discharge all drafted men who had not been mustered in. About the first of May, orders were issued for the muster out of all organizations whose term of service would expire on or before the first of the ensuing October. As a consequence, many Wisconsin soldiers were soon on their way home. State military officers devoted their time to the reception of returning. regiments, to their payment by the United States, and to settling with those who were entitled to extra pay from the State. Finally, their employment ceased — the last soldier was mustered out —the War of the Rebellion was at an end. Wisconsin had furnished to the federal army during the conflict over ninety thousand men, a considerable number more than the several requisitions of the General Government called for. Nearly eleven thousand of these were killed or died of wounds received in battle, or fell victims to diseases contracted in the military service, to say nothing of those who died after their discharge, and whose deaths do not appear upon the mili tary records. Nearly twelve million dollars were expended by the State authorities, and the people of the several counties and towns throughout the State, in their efforts to sustain the National Government. Wisconsin feels, as well she may, proud of her record made in defense of national existence. Shoulder to shoulder with the other loyal States of the Union, she stood— always ranking among ihe foremost. From her workshops, her farms, her extensive pineries, she poured forth stalwart WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 89 men, to fill up the organizations which she sent to the field. The blood of these brave men drenched almost every battle-field from Pennsylvania to the Rio Grande, from Missouri to Georgia. To chronicle the deeds and exploits — the heroic achievements — the noble enthusiasm — of the various regiments and military organizations sent by her to do battle against the hydra- headed monster secession — would be a lengthy but pleasant task ; but these stirring annals belong to the history of our whole country. Therein will be told the story which, to the latest time in the existence of this republic, will be read with wonder and astonishment. But an out line of the action of the State authorities and their labors, and of the origin of the various military organizations, in Wisconsin, to aid in the suppression of the rebellion, must needs contain a reference to other helps employed — mostly incidental, in many cases wholly charitable but none the less effective : the sanitary operations of the State during the rebellion. Foremost among the sanitary operations of Wisconsin during the war of the rebellion was the organization of the surgeon general's department — to the end that the troops sent to the field from the State should have a complete and adequate supply of medicine and instruments as well as an efficient medical staff. In 1861, Governor Randall introduced the practice of appoint ing agents to travel with the regiments to the field, who were to take charge of the sick. The practice was not continued by Governor Harvey. On the 17th of June, 1862, an act of the legislature became a law authorizing the governor to take care of the sick and wounded soldiers of Wisconsin, and appropriated twenty thousand dollars for that purpose. Under this law several expeditions were sent out of the State to look after the unfortunate sons who were suffering from disease or wounds. Soldiers' aid societies were formed throughout the State soon after the opening scenes of the rebellion. When temporary sanitary operations were no longer a necessity in Wisconsin, there followed two military benevolent institutions intended to be of a permanent character : the Soldiers' Home at Milwaukee, and the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Madison. The latter, however, has been discontinued. The former, started as a State institu tion, is now wholly under the direction and support of the General Government. Whether in the promptitude of her responses to the calls made on her by the General Govern ment, in the courage or constancy of her soldiery in the field, or in the wisdom and efficiency with which her civil administration was conducted during the trying period covered by the war of the rebellion, Wisconsin proved herself the peer of any loyal State. tabular statement. We publish on the following pages the report of the Adjutant General at the close of the war, but before all the Wisconsin organizations had been mustered out. It shows how many brave men courageously forsook homes, friends and the comforts of peaceful avocations, offering their lives in defense of their country's honor. Twenty-two out of every hundred either died, were killed or wounded. Thirteen out of every hundred found a soldier's grave, while only 60 per cent of them marched home at the end of the war. Monuments may crumble, cities fall into decay, the tooth of time leave its impress on all the works of man, but the memory of the gallant deeds of the army of the Union in the great war of the rebellion, in which the sons of Wisconsin bore so conspicuous a part, will live in the minds of men so long as time and civilized governments endure. Table showing total number of Volnnteers originally in the several organizations from the State, and numerical strength at the close of war. organization. a » ;a§*E is Oca GAIN BY RECRUITS. .2+-'3 "So 02 GAIN BY DRAFT. u IS o — , "S "a 3 o H 1863. 1864. 18G5. 1863. 1864. 1865. 810945 1051 979 10581108 1029 973870 916 10291045 970970801 1066 941962973 990 1002 1009 994 10031018 1002 865961961 906878993892 961 1066 990 708 913 780776578877867877859 810 1508 1266215622562143 19321643142210341965 2186 1931 2182 906 2200 1964 1637 14841129 1171 1505 1117 10771444 108911961137 1089121910781474 1066 961 10881014 11441032 780776 578 1008 913 1114 1001 75 57 70 210 58 74 52 109 20 72 84 169 60 20 7077 61 26 12 2 6680 284684 171 343 236 180 85 268314212 439 76 547298 103 156120 152 139118 70 282 84 236125114 220 188 370 164 407 15 78 237 204237 218301 219 13 363519 392 - 272 7 243 287 178 270 7 25 18 12 62 43 290 50 79 189 16 1 179 110 256167 3 411 2422 33 41 1 1210 34 56 15 4 4 4 10 2 68 1711 23 4 58 62 177 83 85 1 88 13R 28 54 1 147 1 72 115 24 200 155 213 200 19 2 71 130 223 1 20 6 1 3 32 11 95 13 24 22 69 86 100 2 14 9 25 8 8 1576 104 64 7 135 136 130 38 235 142 1 82 LOSSES DURING THE SERVICE. a t 3 a I § a p 3 5 67 51 935 261 6 247 6 51 285 4 105 321 7 79 391 6 44 255 3 60 175 25 91 q 2125 26 71 348 994 183 3 287 13 97 267 22 46 363 46 115 221 5 157 220 78 208 136 46414046 6 90J 988 ?9(i 289 1 173 7120 31 56 499 954 246 4 931 31 395252 99fi 69 114 2 97,1 5822 196 4 90 283 2921 2955 956 9<1fi 911 108 ST First Infantry, three months First Infantry, three years Second Infantry, three years Third Infantry, three years Fifth Infantry, three years Sixth Infantry, three years Seventh Infantry, three years Eighth Infantry, three years *Ninth Infantry, three years Tenth Infantry, three years Eleventh Infantry, three years Twelfth Infantry, three years ^Thirteenth Infantry, three years Fourteenth Infantry, three years Fifteenth Infantry, three years Sixteenth Infantry, three years Seventeenth Infantry, three years Eighteenth Infantry, three years Nineteenth Infantry, three years Twentieth Infantry, three years Twenty-first Infantry, three years.... Twenty-second Infantry, three years Twenty-third Infantry, three years. . . Twenty-fourth Infantry, three years... Twenty-fifth Infantry, three years. Twenty-sixth Infantry, three years.... Twenty-seventh Infantry, three years Twenty-eighth Infantry, three years Twenty-ninth Infantry, three years... Thirtieth Infantry, three years Thirty-first Infantry, three years Thirty-second Infantry, three years... Thirty-third Infantry, three years Thirty-fourth Infantry, nine months... *Thirty-fifth Infantry, three years Thirty-sixth Infantry, three years Thirty-seventh Inf., one, two & three, Thirty-eighth Inf., one, two & three... Thirty-ninth Inf., one hundred days... Fortieth Infantry, one hundred days.. Forty-first Inf., one hundred days Forty-second Infantry, one year Forty-third Infantry, one year Forty-fourth Infantry, one year Forty-fifth Infantry, one year. ' 13 6 5770 57 26 7 47 134 98 3375 106 41 7 23 9 64 6 23 4738 32 23 152 115 99 31 124 138 65 125 5781 103 463327 37 1138 29 21 No Report. 29846n 945405 513 473 320 191316319336321407204386 448265345222261 19C 281289 165 232248221 184340167189170186177214 195 208 2 18 40 48 8 149 1 121 85 138 399280 719871348810 1424 1148 912 964 739 455 12641466 797 1355 320 1252 1101 843 805 524 483 1006 416 406 772 447 585 573 467 712710925 637 472445 680640 780763 570646 763796 802 Forty-sixth Infantry, one year Forty-seventh Infantry, one year.... Forty-eighth Infantry, one year...... Forty-ninth Infantry, one year Fiftieth Infantry, one year Fifty-first Infantry, one year Fifty-second Infantry, one year Fifty-third Infantry, one year First Army Corps, Infantry First Cavalry, three years Second Cavalry, three years Third Cavalry, three years Fourth Cavalry, three years Milwaukee First Battery Light Artillery Second Battery Light Artillery Third Battery Light Artillery Fourth Battery Light Artillery Fifth Battery Light Artilley Sixth Battery Light Artillery Seventh Battery Light Artillery Eighth Battery Light Artillery Ninth Battery Light Artillery Tenth Battery Light Artillery Eleventh Battery Light Artillery.... Twelfth Battery Light Artillery Thirteenth Battery Light Artillery.. Heavy Artillery Battery A, Heavy Artillery Battery B, Heavy Artillery Battery C, Heavy Artillery Battery D, Heavy Artillery Battery E, Heavy Artillery Battery F, Heavy Artillery Battery G, Heavy Artillery Battery H, Heavy Artillery Battery I, Heavy Artillery Battery K, Heavy Arlillery Battery L, Heavy Artillery Battery M, Heavy Artillery Sharp Shooters Gibbons' Brigade Band Blunt's Brigade Band U. S. Colored Troops Army and Navy Out of State Unassigned 914927828986942841 486 380 1124 112711861047 83 155153 170 151155 157158 161165 478799 156 Total Remaining in service Nov. 1, 1865.. 129149146 140 151 151152151 150 148 152 152105 1 56792 295 137 324 32 1 17 5 35 1 5 1840 2 4 89 1 86 103 611 3361 597 630608810 53 3532GO64 6450 90 5330 1 121 22 8030 1112 37 32 171 546 1412 11245 58 4 1616 2 25 9 193 164212 30 140 1 1 1 1 10 626 2 10 2520 6 1171 224 3 13 93 2 46 168 5 97 2752 22 83 181816 38 21 537 2361 202 5217 5961 76 1798 394 61 385 357260 29 33 1325 15784 947 985832 1002 958 843511389 215 2602251025232305 93 303243270294304276 344 329 290 279134342188 25 361 185 171 230 153 153 156 154103157 155154194 1533 244 714 52 6868 22 12 2624 24292925 6 24 3 30 14 34 91379 10868 13 34 *•••••**• 3 28 67 6 141 87 42 14 3129 41 87 . 36 173127 344147 q * 48 •» 8 * 8 0 16 5 8 No Report. 366 91 103 67 33 271 5 215 9 126 64 350 23 74 2 No Report. 70 15 1 5 9 13 6 4 20 2 25 14 7 4 1 5 91 14 1 4 43 No Report. do do dodo 258 3362 2961 634557 418474 48 30608261366853 56 6017 105 39 22 403107 1 6 1010 10 10 10 6 58 854 812 775 15193 714406315 1444 15411691 f754 93 212188177171 213 197 237223227 91 92 123106 25 286 105124 110150 140144144152144145 145 47 1533 J6868 54052 4685 * November 1, 1865. t October 1, 1865. X Drafted men who paid commutation; volunteers, substituted and drafted men, mustered out before assignment; musters in the field reported by the War Department, without stating organization. § To the number of 615 remaining in the service, November 1, 1865, should be added 145 transferred from the Twentieth and Twenty-third Regiments. 92 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Tenth Administration. — Lucius Fairchild, Governor — 1866-1867. The inauguration of the newly elected State officers took place on Monday, January r, 1866. The legislature, in its nineteenth regular session, convened on the tenth. H. D. Barron was elected speaker of the assembly. The " Union " and " Republican " members were in a majority in both branches of the legislature. " Our first duty," said Governor Fairchild in his message, "is to give thanks to Almighty God for all His mercies during the year that is past." " The people of no nation on earth," he continued, " have greater cause to be thankful than have our people. The enemies of the country have been overthrown in battle. The war has settled finally great questions at issue between ourselves." Among the joint resolutions passed at this session was one submitting the question of a constitutional convention to frame a new constitution for the State, to the people. The legislature adjourned on the twelfth of April, having been in session ninety-three days. At the general election in November of this year, there were elected to the Fortieth congress : H. E. Paine, from the first district ; B. F. Hopkins, from the second ; Amasa Cobb, from the third ; C. A. Eldredge, from the fourth ; Philetus Sawyer, from the fifth, and C. C. Washburn, from the sixth district. All were republicans except Eldredge, who was elected as a democrat. The proposition for a constitutional conven tion was voted upon by the people at this election, but was defeated. The twentieth session of the legislature commenced on the ninth of January, 1867. Angus Cameron was elected speaker of the assembly. The legislature was strongly " Repub lican-Union." The message of Governor Fairchild was read by him in person, on the tenth. On the twenty-third, the two houses, in joint convention, elected Timothy O. Howe United States senator for the term of six years, commencing on the fourth of March next ensuing. This legislature p.issed an act submitting to the people at the next Fall election an amendment to section twenty-one of article four of the constitution of the State, providing for paying a salary of three hundred and fifty dollars to each member of the legislature, instead of a per diem allowance, as previously given. A sine die adjournment took place on the eleventh of Aprils after a service of ninety-three days. To provide for the more efficient collection of license fees due the State, an act, approved on the day of adjournment, authorized the governor to appoint an agent of the treasury, to superintend and enforce the collection of fees due for licenses fixed by law. This law is still in force, the agent holding his office at the pleasure of the executive of the State. On the 27th of March, Chief Justice Dixon resigned his office, but was immediately appointed by the governor to the same position. At the election in April following, associate Justice Cole was re-elected, without opposition, for six years from the first Monday in January- following. On the 1 6th of August, Associate Justice Downer having resigned, Byron Paine was appointed by the governor in his place. The republican State ticket, in the Fall, was elected over the democratic — resulting in the choice of Lucius Fairchild for governor ; Wyman Spooner, for lieutenant governor ; Thomas S. Allen, Jr., secretary of state; William E. Smith, for state treasurer; Charles R. Gill, for attorney general ; A. J. Craig, for superintendent of public instruction ; Jeremiah M. Rusk,. for bank comptroller, and Henry Cordier, for state prison commissioner. Except Craig, all these officers were the former incumbents. The amendment to section 21 of article 4 of 'the constitution of the State, giving the members a salary instead of a per diem allowance, was adopted at this election. As it now stands, each member of the legislature receives, for his services, three hundred and fifty dollars per annum, and ten cents for every mile he travels in going to and returning from the place of the meetings of the legislature, on the most WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 93 usual route. In case of any extra session of the legislature, no additional compensation shalL be allowed to any member thereof, either directly or indirectly. Eleventh Administration. — Lucius Fairchild, Governor (second term) — 1868-1869. The Eleventh Administration in Wisconsin commenced at noon on the 6th day of January, 1868. This was the commencement of Governor Fairchild's second term. On the eighth of January, 1868, began the twenty-first regular session of the legislature of Wisconsin. A. M. Thomson was elected speaker of the assembly. Of the laws of a general nature passed by this legislature, was one abolishing the office of bank comptroller, transferring his duties to the state treasurer, and another providing for the establishing of libraries in the various townships. of the State. A visible effect was produced by the constitutional amendment allowing members a salary, in abreviating this session, though not materially diminishing the amount of bnsiness transacted. A sine die adjournment took place on the sixth of March. At the election in April, 1868, Chief Justice Dixon was chosen for the unexpired balance of his own term, ending on the first Monday of January, 1870. At the same election, Byron Paine was chosen associate justice for the unexpired balance of Associate Justice Downer's term, ending the ist day of January, 1872. At the Fall election in this year, republican electors were chosen over those upon the democratic ticket, for president and vice president ; and, as a consequence, Grant and Colfax received the vote of Wisconsin. Of the members elected at the same time, to the forty-first congress, all but one were republicans — Eldredge being a democrat. The successful ticket was : H. E. Paine, from the first district ; B. F. Hopkins, from the second ; Amasa Cobb, from the third ; C. A. Eldredge, from the fourth ; Philetus Sawyer, from the fifth, and C. C. Washburn,. from the sixth district. These were all members, form their respective districts, in the previous congress — the only instance since Wisconsin became a State of a re-election of all the incum bents. On the thirteenth of January, 1869, began the twenty-second regular session of the State legislature. A. M. Thomson was elected speaker of the assembly. A very important duty imposed upon both houses was the election of a United States senator in the place of James R. Doolittle. The republicans having a majority in the legislature on joint ballot, the excitement among the members belonging to that party rose to a high pitch. The candidates for nomina tion were Matthew H. Carpenter and C. C. Washburn. The contest was, up to that time,. unparalleled in Wisconsin for the amount of personal interest manifested. Both gentlemen had a large lobby influence assembled at Madison. Carpenter was successful before the republican nominating convention, on the sixth ballot. On the twenty-seventh of January, the two houses proceeded to ratify the nomination by electing him United States senator for six years, from the fourth of March following. One of the most important transactions entered into by the legis lature of 1869 was the ratification of the suffrage amendment to the constitution of the United States. Both houses adjourned sine die on the eleventh of March — a very short session. At the spring election, on the 6th of April, Luther S. Dixon was re-elected without opposition, chief justice of the supreme court, for a term of six years, from the first Monday in January next ensuing. In the Fall, both democrats and republicans put a State ticket in the field for the ensuing election : the republicans were successful, electing Lucius Fairchild, governor ; Thad deus C. Pound, lieutenant governor; Llywelyn Breese, secretary of state ; Henry Baetz, state treasurer; S. S. Barlow, attorney general; george F. Wheeler, state prison commissioner; and A. L. Craig, superintendent of public instruction. The office of bank comptroller expired on the 31st day of December, 1869, the duties of the office being transferred to the state treasurer. "94 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. At this election, an amendment to sections 5 and 9 of article five of the constitution of the Slate was ratified and adopted by the people. Under this amendment, the governor "receives, during his continuance in office, an annual compensation of five thousand dollars, which is in full for all traveling or other expenses incident to his duties. The lieutenant governor :receives, during his continuance in office, an annual compensation of one thousand dollars. Twelfth Administration. — Lucius Fairchild, Governor (third term) — 1870-1871. On the third of January, 1870, commenced the twelfth administration in Wisconsin, Gov ernor Fairchild thus entering upon his third term as chief executive; of the State; the only instance since the admission of Wisconsin into the Union, of the same person being twice re-elected to that office. It was an emphatic recognition of the value of his services in the gubernatorial chair. On the twelfth of January, the twenty-third regular session of the legis lature of the State commenced at Madison. James M. Bingham was elected speaker of the assembly. Before the expiration of the month, Governor Fairchild received official information that over two hundred thousand dollars of the war claim of Wisconsin upon the General Govern ment had been audited, considerable more than one hundred thousand having the previous year "been allowed. In the month of March, an energetic effort was made in the legislature, by members from Milwaukee, to remove the seat of government from Madison to their city ; but the project was defeated by a considerable majority in the assembly voting to postpone the matter indefinitely. According to section eight of article one of the constitution, as originally adopted, no person could be held to answer for a criminal offense unless on the presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in certain cases therein specified. The legislature of 1869 proposed an amendment against the " grand jury system " of the constitution, and referred it to the legislature of 1870 for their approval or rejection. The latter took up the proposition and agreed to it by the proper majority, and submitted it to the people at the next election for their ratification. The sine die adjournment of both houses took place on the seventeenth of March, 1870. On the first day of January, previous, the member of congress from the second district of the State, B. F. Hopkins, died, and David Atwood, republican, was elected to fill the "vacancy on the fifteenth of February following. Early in 1870, was organized the " Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters." By -an act of the legislature approved March 16, of that year, it was incorporated, having among its specific objects, researches and investigations in the various departments of the material, meta physical, ethical, ethnological and social sciences; a progressive and thorough scientific survey •of the State, with a view of determining its mineral, agricultural and other resources; the advancement of the useful arts, through the application of science, and by the encouragement -of original invention; the encouragement of the fine arts, by means of honors and prizes awarded to artists for original works of superior merit; the formation of scientific, economical and art museums; the encouragement of philological and historical research; the collection and preservation of historic records, and the formation of a general library; and the diffusion of knowledge by the publication of original contributions to science,' literature and the arts. The -academy has already published four volumes of transactions, under authority of the State. The fourth charitable institution established by Wisconsin was the " Northern Hospital for the Insane," located at Oshkosh, Winnebago county. It was authorized by an act of the legis lature approved March 10, 1870. The law governing the admission of patients to this hospital ds the same as to the Wisconsin State Hospital. WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 95» On the third day of July, 1870, A. J. Craig, superintendent of public instruction, died of consumption, and Samuel Fallows was, on the 6th of that month, appointed by the governor to fill the place made vacant by his death. The census taken this year by the General Govern ment, showed the population of Wisconsin to be over one million sixty-four thousand. At the Fall election for members to the forty-second congress, Alexander Mitchell was chosen to represent the first district; G. W. Hazelton, the second; J. A. Barber, the third; C. A. Eldredge, the fourth; Philetus Sawyer, the fifth; and J M. Rusk, the sixth district. Mitchell and Eldredge were democrats; the residue were republicans. The amendment to section 8, of article 7 of the constitution of the State, abolishing the grand jury system was ratified by a large majority. Under it, no person shall be held to answer for a criminal offensp without due process of law, and no person, for the same offense, shall be put twice in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. All persons shall, hefore conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses when the proof is evident and the presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be. suspended unless, when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. Governor Fairchild, in his last annual message to the legislature, delivered to that body at its twenty-fourth regular session beginning on the eleventh of January, i87i,said that Wisconsin State polity was so wisely adapted to the needs of the people, and so favorable to the growth. and prosperity of the commonwealth, as to require but few changes at the hands of the legisla ture, and those rather of detail than of system. At the commencement of this session, William E. Smith was elected speaker of the assembly. A very carefully-perfected measure of this- legislature was one providing for the trial of criminal offenses on information, without the inter vention of a Grand Jury. A state commissioner of immigration, to be elected by the people, was, provided for. Both bodies adjourned sine die on the twenty-fifth of March. On the thirteenth of January preceding, Associate Justice Byro.i Paine, of the supreme court, died; whereupon the governor, on the 20th of the same month, appointed in his place, until the Spring election should be held, William Penn Lyon. The latter, at the election in April, was chosen by the people to serve the unexpired time of Associate Justice Paine, ending the first Monday of Jan uary, 1872, and for a full term of six years from the same date. On the 3d of April, Ole C. Johnson was appointed by the governor state commissioner of immigration, to serve until his successor at the next general election could be chosen by the people. To the end that the administration of public charity and correction should thereafter be conducted upon sound principles of economy, justice and humanity, and that the relations existing between the State and its dependent and criminal classes might be better understood, there was, by an act of the legislature, approved March 23, 1871, a "state board of charities and reform" created — to consist of five members to be appointed by the governor of the State, the duties of the members being to investigate and supervise the whole system of charitable and correctional institutions supported by the Stale or receiving aid from the State treasury, and on or before the first day of December in each year to report their proceedings to the executive of the State. This board w.u thereafter duly organized and its members have since reported annually to the governor their proceedings and the amount of their expenses, as required by law. The " Wisconsin State Horticultural Society," although previously organized, first under the name of the " Wisconsin Fruit Growers' Association," was not incorporated until the 24th of" March, 1871 — the object of the society being to improve the condition of horticulture, rural adornment and landscape gardening. By a law of 1868, provisio.i was made for the publication of the society's transactions in connec.ion with the State agricultural society; but by the act. ¦96 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. of 1 87 1, this law was repealed and an appropriation made for their yearly publication in separate form; resulting in the issuing, up to the present time, of nine volumes. The society holds annual meetings at Madison. At the November election both republicans and democrats had a full ticket for the suffrages of the people. The republicans were successful, electing for governor, C. C. Washburn; M. H. Pettitt, for lieutenant governor ; Llywelyn Breese, for secretary of state ; Henry Baetz, for state treasurer ; Samuel Fallows, for superintendent of public instruction ; S. S. Barlow, for attorney general ; G. F. Wheeler, for state prison commissioner ; and O. C. Johnson, for state commis sioner of immigration. At this election an amendment to' article four of the constitution of the State was ratified and adopted by the people. As it now stands, the legislature is prohibited from enacting any special or private laws in the following cases : ist. For changing the names of persons or constituting one person the heir-at-law of another. 2d. For laying out, opening, or altering highways, except in cases of State roads extending into more than one county, and mili tary roads to aid in the construction of which lands may be granted by congress. 3d. For authorizing persons to keep ferries across streams, at points wholly within this State. 4th. For authorizing the sale or mortgage of real or personal property of minors or others under disability. 5th. For locating or changing any county seat. 6th. For assessment or collection of taxes or for extending the time for the collection thereof. 7th. For granting corporate powers or privileges, except to cities. 8th. For authorizing the apportionment of any part of the school fund. 9th. For incorporating any town or village, or to amend the charter thereof. The legislature shall provide general laws for the transaction of any business that may be prohibited in the foregoing cases, and all such laws shall be uniform in their operation throughout the State. Industrially considered, the year 187 1 had but little to distinguish it from the average of previous years in the State, except that the late frosts of Spring and the drouth of Summer dimin ished somewhat the yield of certain crops. With the exception of slight showers of only an hour or two's duration, in the month of September, no rain fell in Wisconsin from the eighth of July to the ninth of October — a period of three months. The consequence was a most calamitous event which will render the year 187 1 memorable in the history of the State. The great drouth of the Summer and Fall dried up the streams and swamps in Northern Wisconsin. In the forests, the fallen leaves and underbrush which covered the ground became very ignitable. The ground itself, especially in cases of alluvial or bottom lands, was so dry and parched as to burn readily to the depth of a foot or more. For many days preceding the com mencement of the second week in October fires swept through the timbered country, and in some instances over prairies and " openings." Farmers, saw-mill owners, railroad men and all others interested in exposed property, labored day and night in contending against the advance of devouring fires, which were destroying, notwithstanding the ceaseless energies of the people, an occasional mill or house and sweeping off, here and there, fences, haystacks and barns. Over the counties lying upon Green bay and a portion of those contiguous thereto on the south, southwest and west, hung a general gloom. No rain came. All energies were exhausted from " fighting fire." The atmosphere was every where permeated with smoke. The waters of the bay and even Lake Michigan, in places, were so enveloped as to render navigation difficult and in some instances dangerous. It finally became very difficult to travel upon highways and on railroads. Time drew on— but there came no rain. The ground in very many places was burned over. Persons sought refuge — some in excavations in the earth, others in wells. The counties of Oconto, Brown, Kewaunee, Door, Manitowoc, Outagamie and Shawano were all more or less swept by this besom of destruction ; but in Oconto county, and for some distance into Menomonee county, Michigan, across the Menomonee river, on the west shore of WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 97 the bay and throughout the whole length and breadth of the peninsula, — that is, the territory lying between the bay and Lake Michigan, — the fires were the most devastating. The first week in October passed ; then came an actual whirlwind of fire — ten or more miles in width and of indefinite length. The manner of its progress was extraordinary. It destroyed a vast amount of property and many lives. It has been 'described as a tempestuous sea of flame, accompanied by a most violent hurricane, which multiplied the force of the destructive element. Forests, farm improvements and entire villages were consumed. Men, women and children perished — awfully perished. Even those who fled and sought refuge from the fire in cleared fields, in swamps, lakes and rivers, found, many of them, no safety there, but were burned to death or died of suf focation. This dreadful and consuming fire was heralded by a sound likened to that of a railroad train — to the roar of a waterfall — to the noise of a battle at a distance. Not human beings only, but horses, oxen, cows, dogs, swine — every thing that had life — ran to escape the impend ing destruction. The smoke was suffocating and blinding ; the roar of the tempest deafening ; the atmosphere scorching. Children were separated from their parents, and trampled upon by crazed beasts. Husbands and wives rushed in wild dismay, they knew not where. Death rode triumphantly upon that devastating, fiery flood. More than one thousand men, women and children perished. More than three thousand were rendered destitute — utterly beggared. Mothers were left with fatherless children ; fathers with motherless children. Every where were homeless orphans. All around lay suffering, helpless humanity, burned and maimed. Such was the sickening spectacle after the impetuous and irresistible wave of fire swept over that portion of the State. This appalling calamity happened on the 8th and 9th of October. The loss of property has been estimated at four million dollars. At the tidings of this fearful visitation, Governor Fairchild hastened to the burnt district, to assist, as much as was in his power, the distressed sufferers. He issued, on the 13th of the month, a stirring appeal to the citizens of Wisconsin, for aid. It was promptly responded to from all portions of the State outside the devastated region. Liberal contributions in money, clothing and provisions were sent — some from other States, and even from foreign countries. Northwestern Wisconsin also suffered severely, during these months of drouth, from large fires. A compilation of the public statutes of Wisconsin was prepared during the year i87i,by David Taylor, and published in two volumes, generally known as the Revised Statutes of 1871. It was wholly a private undertaking ; but the legislature authorized the secretary of state to purchase five hundred copies for the use of the State, at its regular session in 1872. Thirteenth Administration. — C. C. Washburn, Governor — 1872-1873. The thirteenth gubernatorial administration in Wisconsin commenced on Monday, January 1, 1872. The only changes made, in the present administration from uthe previous one, were in the offices of governor and lieutenant governor. The twenty-fifth regular session of the legislature began on the roth of January, with a republican majority in both houses. Daniel Hall was elected speaker of the assembly. The next day the governor delivered to a joint convention of the legislature his first annual message — a lengthy document, setting forth in detail the general condition of State affairs. The recent great conflagrations were referred to, and relief suggested. The work of this session of the Leg islature was peculiarly difficult, owing to the many general laws which the last constitutional amendment made necessary. The apportionment of the State into new congressional districts was another perplexing and onerous task. Eight districts were formed instead of six, as at the commencement of the last decade. By this, the fourth congressional apportionment, each district 98 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. elects one member. The first district consists of the counties of Rock, Racine, Kenosha, Wal worth, and Waukesha; the second, of Jefferson, Dane, Sauk, and Columbia; the third* of Grant, Iowa, LaFayette, Green, Richland, and Crawford ; the fourth, of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, and Wash ington ; the fifth, of Dodge, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan and Manitowoc ; the sixth, of Green Lake,, Waushara, Waupaca, Outagamie, Winnebago, Calumet, Brown, Kewaunee and Door ; the sev enth, of Vernon, La Crosse, Monroe, Jackson, Trempealeau, Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, St. Croix, Eau Claire, and Clark; the eighth, of Oconto, Shawano, Portage, Wood, Juneau, Adams, Marquette,, Marathon, Dunn, Chippewa, Barron, Polk, Burnett, Bayfield, Douglas, and Ashland. To this district have since been added the new counties of Lincoln, Taylor, Price, Marinette and New. After a session of seventy-seven days, the legislature finished its work, adjourning on the twenty-seventh of March. At the ensuing November election, the republican ticket for presi dent and vice president of the United States was successful. The ten electors chosen cast their votes in the electoral college for Grant and Wilson. In the eight congressional districts, six republicans and two democrats were elected to the forty-third congress ; the last mentioned from the fourth and fifth districts. C. G. Williams represented the first district ; G. W. Hazel- ton the second ; J. Allen Barber the third ; Alexander Mitchell the fourth ; C. A. Eldredge the fifth ; Philetus Sawyer the sixth ; J. M. Rusk the seventh ; and A. G. McDill the eighth district. Throughout Wisconsin, as in all portions of the Union outside the State, a singular pesti lence prevailed among horses in the months of November and December, 1872, very few escap ing. Horses kept in warm, well ventilated stables, avoiding currents of air, with little or no> medicine, and fed upon nutritious and laxative food, soon recovered. Although but few died, yet the loss to the State was considerable, especially in villages and cities, resulting from the diffi culty to substitute other animals in the place of the horse during the continuance of the disease. The twenty-sixth regular session of the State legislature commenced on the eighth day of January, 1873, with a republican majority in both houses. Henry D. Barron was elected speaker of the assembly. On the ninth, Governor Washburn's message — his second annual one — was delivered to the two houses. It opened with a brief reference to the abundant returns. from agricultural pursuits, to the developments of the industries of the state, to the advance in manufacturing, to the rapid extension in railways, and to the general and satisfactory progress in education, throughout Wisconsin. He followed with several recommendations — claiming that "many vast and overshadowing corporations in the United States are justly a source of alarm," and that "the legislature can not scan too closely every measure that should come before it which proposed to give additional rights and privileges to the railways of the state." He also- recommended that the " granting of passes to the class of state officials who, through their public office, have power to confer or withhold benefits to a railroad company, be prohibited." The message was favorably commented upon by the press of the state, of all parties. " If Governor Washburn," says one of the opposition papers of his administration, " is not a great statesman, he is certainly not a small politician." One of the first measures of this legislature was the elec tion of United States senator, to fill the place of Timothy O. Howe, whose term of office would expire on the fourth of March next ensuing On the twenty-second of January the two houses, met in joint convention, when it was announced that by the previous action of the senate and assembly, Timothy O. Howe was again elected to that office for the term of six years. On the twentieth of March, the legislature aujourned sine die, after a session of seventy-two days. Milton H. Pettitr, the lieutenant governor, died on the 23d day of March following the adjournment. By this sudden and unexpected death, the State lost an upright and conscientious. public officer. WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 99 Among the important acts passed by this legislature was one providing for a geological sur vey of the State, to be begun in Ashland and Douglas counties, and completed within four years, by a chief geologist and four assistants, to be appointed by the governor, appropriating for the work an annual payment of thirteen thousand dollars. An act providing for a geological survey, of the State, passed by the legislature, and approved March 25, 1853, authorized the governor to appoint a state geologist, who was to select a suitable person as assistant geologist. Their duties were to make a geological and mineralogical survey of the State. Under this law Edward Daniels, on the first day of April, 1853, was appointed state geologist, superseded on the 12th day of August, 1854, by James G. Percival, who died in office on the 2d of May, 1856, at Hazel Green. By an act approved March 3, 1S57, James Hall, Ezra Carr and Edward Daniels were appointed by the legislature geological commissioners. By an act approved April 2, r86o, Hall was made principal of the commission. The survey was interrupted by a repeal, March 21, 1862, of previous laws promoting it. However, to complete the survey, the matter was reinstated by the act of this legislature, approved March 29, the governor, under that act, appointing as chief geologist Increase A. Lapham, April 10, 1873. Another act changed the management of the state prison — providing for the appointment by the governor of three directors; one for two years, one for four years, and one for six years,, in place of a state prison commissioner, who had been elected by the people every two years,. along with other officers of the State. At the Spring election, Orsamus Cole, who had been eighteen years upon the bench, was re-elected, without opposition, an associate justice of the supreme court, for a term of six years. from the first Monday in January following. The two tickets in the field at the Fall election were the republican and the people's reform. The latter was successful ; the political scepter passing out of the hands of the republicans, after a supremacy in the State continuing unbroken since the beginning of the seventh administration, when A. W. Randall (governor for a second term) and the residue of the State officers were elected — all republicans. The general success among the cultivators of the soil throughout the state during the year,. notwithstanding "the crisis," was marked and satisfactory ; but the financial disturbances during the latter part of the Fall and the first part of the Winter, resulted in a general depreciation of prices. Fourteenth Administration. — William R. Taylor, Governor — 1874-75. The fourteenth administration of Wisconsin commenced at noon on Monday, the fifth day of January, 1874, by the inauguration of William R. Taylor as governor; Charles D. Parker, lieutenant governor; Peter Doyle, secretary of state; Ferdinand Kuehn, state treasurer; A. Scott Sloan, attorney general; Edward Searing, superintendent of public instruction; and Martin J. Argard, state commissioner of immigration. These officers were not elected by any distinctive political party as such, but as the representatives of a new political organization, including " all Democrats, Liberal Republicans, and other electors of Wisconsin, friendly to genuine reform through equal and impartial legislation, honesty in office, and rigid economy in the administration of affairs." Among the marked characteristics, of the platform agreed upon by the convention nominating the above-mentioned ticket was a declaration by the members that they would " vote for no candidate for office whose nomination is the fruit of his own importunity, or of a corrupt combination among partisan leaders ;" another, " that the sovereignty of the State over corporations of its own creation shall be sacredly respected, to the full extent of protecting the people against every form of monopoly or extor tion," not denying, however, an encouragement to wholesome enterprise on the part of aggre- 100 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. gated capital — this "plank" having special reference to a long series of alleged grievances assumed to have been endured by the people on account of discriminations in railroad charges and a consequent burdensome taxation upon labor — especially upon the agricultural industry of the State. The twenty-seventh regular session of the Wisconsin legislature commenced at Madison on the fourteenth of January. The two houses were politically antagonistic in their majorities; the senate was republican, while the assembly had a " reform " majority. In the latter branch, Gabriel Bouck was elected speaker. Governor Taylor, on the fifteenth, met the legislature in joint convention and delivered his message. " An era," said he, "of apparent prosperity without parallel in the previous history of the nation, has been succeeded by financial reverses affecting all classes of industry, and largely modifying the standard of values." "Accompanying these financial disturbances," added the governor, " has come an imperative demand from the people for a purer political morality, a more equitable apportionment of the burdens and blessings of government, and a more rigid economy in the administration of public affairs." Among the important acts passed by this legislature was one generally known as the " Potter Law,'' from the circumstance of the bill being introduced by Robert L. D. Potter, sen ator, representing the twenty-fifth senatorial district of the state. The railroad companies for a number of years had, as before intimated, been complained of by the people, who charged them with unjust discriminations and exorbitantly high rates for the transportation of passengers and merchandize. All the railroad charters were granted by acts at different times of the State leg islature, under the constitution which declares that " corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by a special act, exeept for municipal purposes and in cases where, in the judgment of the legislature, the objects of the corporations can not be attained under general laws. All general laws, or special acts, enacted under the provisions of this section, may be altered or repealed by the legislature at any time after their passage." The complaints of the people seem to have remained unheeded, resulting in the passage of the " Potter Law." This law limited the compensation for the transportation of passengers, classi fied freight, and regulated prices for its transportation within the State. It also required the governor on or before the first of May, 1874, by and with the consent of the senate, to appoint three railroad commissioners ; one for one year, one for two years, and one for three years, whose terms of office should commence on the fourteenth day of Ma)', and that the governor, thereafter, on the first day of May, of each year, should appoint one commissioner for three years. Under this law, the governor appointed J. H. Osborn, for three years ; George H. Paul, for two years ; and J. W. Hoyt, for one year. Under executive direction, this commission inau gurated its labors by compiling, classifying, and putting into convenient form for public use for the first time, all the railroad legislation of the State. At the outset the two chief railroad corporations of the State — the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, and the Chicago and Northwestern — served formal notice upon the governor of Wis consin that they would not respect the provisions of the new railroad law. Under his oath of office, to support the constitution of the State, it was the duty of Governor Taylor to expedite all such measures as should be resolved upon by the legislature, and to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. No alternative, therefore, was left the chief executive but to enforce the law by all the means placed in his hands for that purpose. He promptly responded to the noti fication of the railroad companies by a proclamation, dated May 1, 1874, in which he enjoined compliance with the statute, declaring that all the functions of his office would be exercised in faithfully executing the laws, and invoking the aid of all good citizens thereto. " The law of the land," said Governor Taylor, " must be respected and obeyed." " While none," continued he, WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 101 " are so weak as to be without its protection, none are so strong as to be above its restraints. If provisions of the law be deemed oppressive, resistance to its mandates will not abate, but rather multiply the anticipated evils." "It is the right," he added, "of all to test its validity through the constituted channels, but with that right is coupled the duty of yielding a general obedience to its requirements until it has been pronounced invalid by competent authority." The railroad companies claimed not merely the unconstitutionality of the law, but that its enforcement would bankrupt the companies, and suspend the operation of their lines. The governor, in reply, pleaded the inviolability of his oath of office and his pledged faith to the people. The result was an appeal to the courts, in which the State, under the direction of its governor, was compelled to confront an array of the most formidable legal talent of the country. Upon the result in Wisconsin depended the vitality of much similar legislation in neighboring States, and Governor Taylor and his associate representatives of State authority were thus compelled to bear the brunt of a controversy of national extent and consequence. The contention extended both to State and United States courts, the main question involved being the constitutional power of the State over corporations of its own creation. In all respects, the State was fully sustained in its position, and, ultimately, judgments were rendered against the corporations in all the State and federal courts, including the supreme court of the United States, and estab lishing finally the complete and absolute power of the people, through the legislature, to modify or altogether repeal the charters of corporations. Another act of the session of 1874 abolished the office of State commissioner of immigra tion, "on and after " the first Monday of January, 1876. The legislature adjourned on the twelfth of March, 1874, after a session of fifty-eight days. The office of state prison commissioner having, by operation of law, become vacant on the fifth day of January, 1874, the governor, on the twenty-third of that month, appointed for State prison directors, Joel Rich, for two years ; William E. Smith, for four years ; and Nelson Dewey, for six years : these to take the place of that officer. On the sixteenth of June, Chief Justice Dixon, whose term of office would have expired on the first Monday in January, 1876, resigned his seat upon the bench of the supreme court, Governor Taylor appointing Edward G. Ryan in his place until his successor should be elected and qualified. At the November election of this year, the members chosen to the forty-fourth congress were — Charles G. Williams, from the first district; Lucian B. Caswell, from the second; Henry S. Magoon, from the third; William Pitt Lynde, from the fourth; Samuel D. Burchard, from the fifth; A. M. Kimball, from the sixth; Jeremiah M. Rusk, from the seventh, and George W. Cate, from the eighth district. Lynde, Burchard and Cate were " reform ; " the residue were republican. At the same election, an amendment to section 3 of article 11 of the constitution of the State was duly ratified and adopted by the people. Under this section, as it now stands, it is the duty of the legislature, and they are by it empowered, to provide for the organization of cities and incorporated villages, and to restrict their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and taxation, and in contracting debts, by such municipal corporations. No county, city, town, village, school district, or other municipa. corporation, shall be allowed to become indebted in any manner, or for any purpose, to ar-/ ..ount, including existing indebtedness in the aggregate, exceeding five per centum on the vaiue of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment for State and county taxes previous to the incurring of such indebtedness. Any county, city, town, village, school district, or other municipal corporation, incurring any indebt edness as aforesaid, shall, before, or at the time of doing so, provide for the collection of a direct 102 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on such debt as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge- the principal thereof within twenty years from the time of contracting the same. In 1872, the first appropriation for fish culture in Wisconsin was made by the legislature, subject to the direction of the United States commissioner of fisheries. In 1874, a further sum was appropriated, and the governor of the State authorized to appoint three commissioners,, whose duties were, upon receiving any spawn or fish, by or through the United States commis sioner of fish and fisheries, to immediately place such spawn in the care of responsible pisci culturists of the State, to be hatched and distributed in the different waters in and surrounding, Wisconsin. Two more members have since been added by law to the commission; their labors have been much extended, and liberal appropriations made to further the object they have in view — with flattering prospects of their finally being able to stock the streams and lakes of the- State with the best varieties of food fish. The year 1874, in Wisconsin, was characterized as one of general prosperity among farmers,. excepting the growers of wheat. The crop of that cereal was light, and, in places, entirely- destroyed by the chinch-bug. As a consequence, considerable depression existed in business in the wheat-growing districts. Trade and commerce continued throughout the year at a low ebb,. the direct result of the monetary crisis of 1873. The legislature commenced its twenty-eighth regular session on the thirteenth of January, 1875, with a republican majority in both houses. F. W. Horn was elected speaker of the assembly. The governor delivered his message in person, on the fourteenth, to the two houses. "Thanking God for all His mercies," are his opening words, " I congratulate you that order and peace reign throughout the length and breadth of our State. Our material prosperity has not fulfilled our anticipations. But let us remember that we bear no burden of financial depression not common to all the States, and that the penalties of folly are the foundation of wisdom." In regard to the " Potter Law," the governor said, " It is not my opinion that this law expressed the best judgment of the legislature which enacted it. While the general principles upon which it is founded command our unqualified approbation, and can never be surrendered, it must be conceded that the law is defective in some of its details. . . The great object sought to be accomplished by our people," continued the speaker, "is not the management of railroad property by themselves, but to prevent its mismanagement by others." Concerning the charge that Wisconsin was warring upon railways within her limits, the governor added, " She has never proposed such a war. She proposes none now. She asks only honesty, justice and the peace of mutual good will. To all men concerned, her people say in sincerity and in truth that every dollar invested in our State shall be lawfully entitled to its just protection, whencesoever the danger comes. In demanding justice for all, the State will deny justice to none. In forbidding; mismanagement, the State will impose no restraints upon any management that is hjnest and just. In this, the moral and hereditary instincts of our people furnish a stronger bond of good faith than the judgments of courts or the obligations of paper constitutions. Honest capital may be timid and easily frightened; yet it is more certain to seek investment among a people- whose laws are at all times a shield for the weak and a reliance for the strong — where the- wholesome restraints of judicious legislation are felt alike by the exalted and the humble, the rich and the poor.'' The first important business to be transacted by this legislature was the election of a United States senator, as the term for which M. H. Carpenter had been elected would expire on the fourth of March ensuing. Much interest was manifested in the matter, not only in the two- houses, but throughout the State. There was an especial reason for this; for, although the then. WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 103 incumbent was a candidate for re-election, with a republican majority in the legislature, yet it was well known that enough members of that party were pledged, before the commencement of the session, to vote against him, to secure his defeat, should they stand firm to their pledges. The republicans met in caucus and nominated Carpenter for re-election; but the recalcitrant members held themselves aloof. Now, according to usual precedents, a nomination by the domi nant party was equivalent to an election ; not so, however, in this case, notwithstanding the friends of the nominee felt sanguine of his election in the end. The result of the first ballot, on the twenty-sixth of January, was, in the senate, thirteen for the republican candidate ; in the assembly, forty-six votes, an aggregate of only fifty-nine. He lacked four votes in the assembly and an equal number in the senate, of having a majority 1.1 each house. On the twenty-seventh, the two houses, in joint convention, having met to compare the record of the voting the day previous, and it appearing that no one person had received a majority of the votes in each house for United States senator, they proceeded to their first joint ballot. The result was, no election. The balloting was continued each day, until* the third of February, when, on the eleventh joint trial, Angus Cameron, of LaCrosse, having received sitxty-eight votes, to Carpenter's fifty-nine, -with five scattering, was declared elected. As in the previous session so in this, — one of the most absorbing subjects before the legisla ture was that of railroads ; the " Potter Law" receiving a due share of attention in both houses. The result was an amendment in some important particulars without changing the right of State ¦control : rates were modified. The law as amended was more favorable to the railroad compa nies and was regarded as a compromise. The legislature adjourned sine die on the 6th of March. This was the shortest session ever held in the State except one of twenty-five years previous. On the 16th of February, O. W. Wight was appointed by the governor chief geologist of Wisconsin, in place of I. A. Lapham, whose appointment had not been acted upon by the Senate. On the 24th of the same month, J. W. Hoyt was appointed railroad commissioner for three years from the first day of May following, on which day his one-year term in the same office would expire. At the regular Spring election on the 6th of April following, Edward G. Ryan was ¦elected, without opposition, chief justice of the supreme court for the unexpired term of Chief Justice Dixon, ending the first Monday in January, 1876, and for a full term of six years from the last mentioned date ; so that his present term of office will expire on the ist Monday in Jan uary, 1882. An act providing for taking the census of Wisconsin on or before the ist of July, 1875, was passed by the legislature and approved the 4th of March pievious. It required an •enumeration of all the inhabitants of the State except Indians, who were not entitled to the right •of suffrage. The result of this enumeration gave a total population to Wisconsin of one million two hundred and thirty-six thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine. At the November election, republican and " reform '' tickets were in the field for State •officers, resulting in the success of the latter, except as to governor. For this office Harrison Ludington was chosen by a majority, according to the State board of canvassers, over William R. Taylor, of eight hundred and forty-one. The rest of the candidates elected were : Charles D. Parker, lieutenant governor ; Peter Doyle, secretary of state ; Ferdinand Kuehn, treasurer of state, A. Scott Sloan, attorney general; and Edward Searing, superintendent of public instruction. The act abolishing the office of state commissionei of immigration was to take effect " on and after " the close of this administration ; so, 01 course, no person was voted for to fill that position at the Fall election of 1875. During this administration the principle involved in a long-pending controversy between the State and Minnesota relating to valuable harbor privileges at the head of Lake Superior, was suc cessfully and finally settled in favor of Wisconsin. The influence of the executive was largely 104 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. instrumental in initiating a movement which resulted in securing congressional appropriations amounting to $800,000 to the Fox and Wisconsin river improvement. A change was inaugu rated in the whole system of timber agencies over State and railroad lands, by which the duties of agents were localized, and efficiency was so well established that many important trespasses were brought to light from which over $60,000 in penalties was collected and paid into the Treasury, while as much more was subsequently realized from settlements agreed upon and proceedings instituted. By decisive action on the part of the governor an unsettled printing claim of nearly a hundred thousand dollars was met and defeated in the courts. During this period also appro priations were cut down, and the rate of taxation diminished. Governor Taylor bestowed unre mitting personal attention to details of business with a view of promoting the public interests with strict economy, while his countenance and support was extended to all legitimate enter prises. He required the Wisconsin Central railroad company to give substantial assurance that it would construct a branch line from Stevens Point to Portage City as contemplated by congress,. before issuing certificates for its land grants. The closing year of the century of our national existence — 1875, was one somewhat discour aging to certain branches of the agricultural interests of Wisconsin. The previous Winter had been an unusually severe one. A greater breadth of corn was planted than in any previous year in the State, but the unusually late season, followed by frosts in August and September, entirely ruined thousands of acres of that staple. Fifteenth Administration. — Harrison Ludington, Governor — 1876-1877. The fifteenth administration of Wisconsin commenced at noon on Monday, January 3, 1876, by the inauguration of State officers — Harrison Ludington, as previously stated, having been elected upon the republican ticket, to fill the chief executive office of the State ; the others, to the residue of the offices, upon the democratic reform ticket: the governor, like three of his predecessors — Farwell, Bashford, and Randall (first term) — having been chosen by a majority less than one thousand ; and, like two of his predecessors — Farwell and Bashford — when all the other State officers differed with him in politics. The twenty-ninth regular session of the legislature of Wisconsin began on the 12th of Janu ary, 1876, at Madison. The republicans were in the. majority in both houses. Samuel S. Fifield was elected speaker of the assembly. On the 13th, Governor Ludington delivered in person, to a joint convention of that body, his message, communicating the condition of affairs of the State, and recommending such matters for the consideration of-the legislators as were thought expedient : it was brief; its style condensed ; its striking peculiarity, a manly frankness. " It is not the part of wisdom," said he, in his concluding remarks, " to disguise the fact that the people of this State, in common with those of all sections of the Union, have suffered some abatement of the prosperity that they have enjoyed in the past. ' "We have entered," he continued, "upon the centennial of our existence as an independent nation. It is fit that we should renew the spirit in which the Republic had its birth, and our determination that it shall endure to fulfill the great purposes of its existence, and to justify the noble sacrifices of its founders." The legislature adjourned sine die on the 14th of March, 1876, after a session of sixty-three days. The chief measures of the session were : The amendment of the railroad laws, maintaining salutary restric tions while modifying those features which were crippling and crushing an important interest of the State ; and the apportionment of the State into senate and assembly districts. It is a pro vision of the constitution of the State that the number of the members of the assembly shall never be less than fifty-four, nor more than one hundred > and that the senate shall consist of a number not more than one-third nor less than one-fourth of the number of the members of the WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 105 assembly. Since the year 1862, the aggregate allotted to both houses had been one hundred and thirty-three, the maximum allowed by the constitution ; one hundred in the assembly and thirty- three in the senate. The number of this representation was not diminished by the apportion ment of 1876. One of the railroad laws abolished the board of railroad commissioners, confer ring its duties upon a railroad commissioner to be appointed by the governor every two years. Under this law. Dana C. Lamb was appointed to that office, on the 10th of March, 1876. On the 2d day of February, previous, George W. Burchard was by the governor appointed state prison director for six years, in place of Joel Rich, whose term of office had expired. On the same day T. C. Chamberlin was appointed chief geologist of Wisconsin in place of O. W. Wight. The application of Miss Lavinia Goodell, for admission to the bar of Wisconsin, was rejected by the supreme court of the State, at its January term, 1876. "We can not but think," iaid Chief Justice Ryan, in the decree of refusal, " we can not but think the common law wise in excluding women from the profession of the law." "The profession," he added, "enters largely into the well-being of society, and, to be honorably filled., and safely to society, exacts the devotion of life. The law of nature destines and qualifies the female sex for the bearing and nurture of the children of our race, and for the custody of the homes of the world, and their maintenance in love and honor. And all life-long callings of women inconsistent with these radical and social duties of their sex, as is the profession of the law, are departures from the order of Nature, and, when voluntary, are treason against it." By a law since passed, no person can be denied admission to any court in the State on account of sex ; and Miss Goodell has been admitted to practice in the Supreme Court. By an act of the legislature, approved March 13, 1876, a State board of health was estab lished, the appointment of a superintendent of vital statistics, was provided for, and certain duties were assigned to local boards of health. The State board was organized soon after; the governor having previously appointed seven persons as its members. The object of the organization, which is supported by the State, is, to educate the people of Wisconsin into a better knowledge of the nature and causes of disease, and a better knowledge and observance of hygienic laws. By a law passed in 1868, as amended in 1870 and 1873, the secretary of state, state treasurer, and attorney general, were constituted a State board of assessment, to meet in the city of Madison, on the third Wednesday in May, 1874, and biennally thereafter, to make an equalized valuation of the property in the State, as a guide to assessment for taxation. In the tables of equalized valuations compiled by this board in 1876, the whole amount of taxable property in Wisconsin, is set down at $423,596,290 ; of which sum $337,073,148, represents real estate and $86,523,142 personal property. This being the year for the election of president and vice president of the United States, the two political parties in Wisconsin — republican and democratic — had tickets in the field. At the election on Tuesday, November 7, the republican presidential electors received a majority of the votej cast in the State, securing Wisconsin for Hayes and Wheeler. The eight congressional districts elected the same day their members to the forty-fifth congress, whose terms of office would expire on the 4th of March, 1879. Charles G. Williams was elected in the first district; Lucien B. Caswell, in the second; George C. Hazelton, in the third; William P. Lynde, in the fourth; Edward S. Bragg, in the fifth; Gabriel Bouck, in the sixth; H. L. Humphrey, in the seventh; and Thad. C. Pound, in the eighth district. A majority of the delegation was republican, the representatives from the fourth, fifth and sixth districts only, being democrats. 106 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. There was a general and spontaneous exhibition of patriotic impulses throughout the length and breadth of Wisconsin, on the part of both native and foreign-born citizens, at the com mencement of the centennial year, and upon the fourth of July. The interest of the people of the State generally, in the Exposition at Philadelphia, was manifested in a somewhat remarkable manner from its inception to its close. By an act of congress, approved March 3, 1871, pro vision was made for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of American Independence, by holding in that city, in 1876, an exhibition of arts, manufactures, and the products of the soil and mines of the country. A centennial commission, consisting of one commissioner and one alternate commissioner, from each State and Territory, was authorized to be appointed, to carry out the provisions of the act. David Atwood, as commissioner, and E. D. Holton, as alternate, were commissioned by the president of the United States, from Wisconsin. This commission gradually made progress in preparing for an international exposition. " The commission has been organized," said Governor Washburn, in his message to the legislature in January, 1873, "and has made considerable progress in its work. The occasion will be one to which tlie American people can not fail to respond in the most enthusiastic manner." The president of the United States, by proclamation, in July, 1873, announced the exhibition and national celebra tion, and commended them to the people of the Union, and of all nations. " It seems fitting," said Governor Taylor, in his message to the Wisconsin legislature in 1874, " that such a cele bration of this important event, should be held, and it is hoped it will be carried out in a manner worthy of a great and enlightened nation." By the close of 1874, a large number of foreign governments had signified their intention to participate in the exhibition. The legislature of Wisconsin, at its session in 1875, deeming it essential that the State, with its vast resources in agricultural, mineral, lumbering, manufacturing, and other products and industries, should be fully represented at Philadelphia, passed an act which was approved March 3, 1875, to provide for a' " Board of State Centennial Managers." Two thousand dollars were appropriated to pay its necessary expenses. The board was to consist of five members to be appointed by the governor ; and there were added thereto, as ex-officio members, the United States centennial commissioner and his alternate. The duties of the members were to dis seminate information regarding the Exhibition; to secure the co-operation of industrial, scien tific, agricultural, and other associations in the State; to appoint co-operative local committees, representing the different industries of the State ; to stimulate local action on all measures intended to render the exhibition successful, and a worthy representation of the industries of the country; to encourage the production of articles suitable for the Exhibition ; to distribute documents issued by the centennial commission among manufacturers and others in the State; to render assistance in furthering the financial and other interests of the exhibition ; to furnish information to the commission on subjects that might be referred to the board ; to care for the interests of the State and of its citizens in matters relating to the exhibition ; to receive and pronounce upon applications for space ; to apportion the space placed at its disposal among the exhibitors from the State ; and to supervise such other details relating to the representation of citizens of Wisconsin in the Exhibition, as might from time to time be delegated by the United States centennial commission. The board was required to meet on the first Wednesday of April, 1875, at the capitol, in Madison, to organize and adopt such by-laws and regulations as might be deemed necessary for the successful prosecution of the work committed to their charge Governor Taylor appointed Eli Stilson, J. I. Case, J. B. Parkinson, T. C. Pound, and E. A. Calkins, members of the board. Its organization was perfected, at the appointed time, by the election of J. B. Parkinson as pre sident, and W. W. Field, secretary. The ex-officio members of the board, were David Atwood, WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 107 United States commissioner, and E. D. Holton, alternate From this time forward, the board was untiring in its efforts, to secure a full and proper representation of the varied interests of Wisconsin in the centennial exhibition of 1876. E. A. Calkins having resigned his position as member of the board, Adolph Meinecke took his place by appointment of the governor July 24, 1875. Governor Ludington, in his message to the legislature in January, 1876, spoke in commendation of the coming exhibition. "The occasion," said he, "will afford an excellent opportunity to display the resources and products of the State, and to attract hither capital and immigration." Soon after the organization of the United States centennial commission, a national organ ization of the women of the country was perfected. A lady of Philadelphia was placed at its head; and a presiding officer from each State was appointed. Mrs. A. C. Thorp assumed the duties of chairman for Wisconsin, in March, 1875, appointing assistants in various parts of the State, when active work was commenced. This organization was efficient in Wisconsin in arousing an interest in the general purposes and objects of the exhibition. By an act of the legislature, approved March 3, 1876, the sum of twenty thousand dollars was appropriated to the use of the board of centennial managers, for the purpose of arranging for, and making a proper exhibition of, the products, resources, and advantages of the State at the exposition. The treasurer of Wisconsin was, by this act, made an ex-officio member of the "board. By this and previous action of the legislature — by efforts put forth by the board of managers — by individual enterprise — by the untiring labors of the "Women's Centennial Execu tive Committee," to whom, by an act of the legislature, approved the 4th of March, 1875, one thousand dollars were appropriated — Wisconsin was enabled to take a proud and honorable position in the Centennial Exposition — a gratification not only to the thousands of her citizens who visited Philadelphia during its continuance, but to the people generally, throughout the •State. In Wisconsin, throughout the centennial year, those engaged in the various branches of agriculture and other useful avocations, were reasonably prosperous. The crop of wheat and oats was a light yield, and of poor quality ; but the corn crop was the largest ever before raised in the State, and of superior quality. The dairy and hog product was large, and commanded remunerative prices. Fruits were unusually plenty. Trade and business enterprises, however, generally remained depressed. By section five of article seven of the constitution of Wisconsin, the counties of the State were apportioned into five judicial circuits : the county of Richland being attached to Iowa, Chippewa to Crawford, and La Pointe to St. Croix. In 1850, the fifth circuit was divided, and a sixth circuit formed. In 1864, Crawford and Richland were made part of the fifth circuit. By an act which took effect in 1854, a seventh circuit was formed. On the first day of January, 1855, the sixth circuit was divided, and an eighth and ninth circuit formed, the county of Columbia being made a part of the last mentioned one. In the same year was also formed- a tenth circuit; and, in 1858, Winnebago county was attached to it; but, in 1870, that county was attached to the third circuit. In 1858, Kewaunee county was attached to the fourth circuit. An eleventh circuit was formed in 1864, from which, in 1865, Dallas county was detached, and made part of the eighth. By an act which took effect on the first day of January, 187 1, the twelfth circuit was formed. In 1876, a thirteenth circuit was " constituted and re-organized." At that time, the whole sixty counties of the State stood apportioned in the thirteen judicial circuits as follows: First circuit, Walworth, Racine, and Kenosha; second circuit, Milwaukee, and Waukesha, third circuit, Green Lake, Dodge, Washington, Ozaukee, and Winnebago; fourth circuit, Sheboygan, Calumet, Kewaunee, Fond du Lac, and Manitowoc; fifth circuit, 108 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Grant, Iowa, La Fayette, Richland, and Crawford; sixth circuit, Clark, Jackson, Monroe, La Crosse, and Vernon; seventh circuit, Portage, Marathon, Waupaca, Wood, Waushara, Lincoln, and Taylor; eighth circuit, Dunn, Pepin, Pierce, and St. Croix; ninth circuit, Adams, Columbia, Dane, Juneau, Sauk and Marquette ; tenth circuit, Outagamie, Oconto, Shawano, Door, and Brown : eleventh circuit, Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Chippewa, Douglas, and Polk ; twelfth circuit, Rock, Green, and Jefferson; and the thirteenth circuit, Buffalo, Eau Claire, and Trempeleau, Marinette and New are now in the tenth ; Price is in the seventh circuit. The thirtieth regular session of the legislature cf Wisconsin commenced, pursuant to law, on the ioth of January, 1877. The republicans had working majorities in both houses. J. B, Cassoday was elected Speaker of the Assembly. Governor Ludington delivered his^ message to the joint convention of the legislature the following day. " We should not seek," said he, in his concluding remarks, " to conceal from ourselves the fact that the prosperity which our people have enjoyed for a number of years past, has suffered some interruption. Agriculture has ren dered less return; labor in all departments has been less productive, and trade has consequently been less active, and has realized a reduced percentage of profit." " These adverse circum stances," continued the governor, " will not be wholly a misfortune if we heed the lesson that they convey. This lesson is the necessity of strict economy in public and private affairs. We have been living upon a false basis ; and the time has now come when we must return to a solid foundation." The legislature adjourned sine die on the 8th of March, after a session of fifty- eight days, passing three hundred and one acts— one hundred and thirteen less than at the session of 1876. The most important of these, as claimed by the dominant party which passed it, is one for the maintenance of the purity of the ballot box, known as the " Registry Law." On the 3d day of April, at the regular Spring election, William P. Lyon was re-elected, without. opposition, an associate justice of the supreme court for six years from the first Monday in January, 1878, his term of office expiring on the first Monday of January, 1884. Under a law of 1876, to provide for the revision of the statutes of the State, the justices of the supreme court were authorized to appoint three revisors. The persons receiving the appoint ment were David Taylor, William F. Vilas and J. P. C. Cottrill. By an amendatory law of 1877, for the purpose of having the revision completed for the session of 1878, the justices of the supreme court were authorized to appoint two additional revisors, and assign them special duties on the commission. H. S. Orton was appointed to revise the criminal law and proceedings, and J. H. Carpenter to revise the probate laws. Governor Ludington declined being a candidate for renomination. His administration was characterized as one of practical efficiency. As the chief executive officer of Wisconsin, he kept in view the best interests of the State. In matters coming under his control, a rigid system of economy prevailed. There were three tickets in the field presented to the electors of Wisconsin for their suffrages. at the general election held on the sixth of November, 1877 : republican, democratic, and the "greenback" ticket. The republicans were successful, electing William E. Smith, governor; James M. Bingham, lieutenant governor; Hans B. Warner, secretary of state; Richard Guenther,. treasurer; Alexander Wilson, attorney general; and William C. Whitford, state superintendent of public instruction. At the same election two amendments to the constitution of the State were voted upon and both adopted. The first one amends section four of article seven ; so that, hereafter, "the supreme court shall consist of one chief justice and four associate justices, to be elected by the qualified electors of the State. The legislature shall, at its first session after the adoption of this amendment, provide by law for the election of two associate justices of said court, to hold their offices respectively for terms ending two and four years, respectively after the WISCONSIN AS A STATE. 109 end of the term of the justice of the said court then last to expire. And thereafter the chief justices and associate justices of said court shall be elected and hold their offices respectively for the term of ten years." The second one amends section two of article eight ; so that, here after, " no money shall be paid out of the treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation by law. No appropriation shall be made for the payment of any claim against the State, except claims of the United States, and judgments, unless filed within six years after the claim accrued." The year 1877, in Wisconsin, was notable for excellent crops. A depression in monetary matters continued, it is true, but not without a reasonable prospect of a change for the better within the near future. Sixteenth Administration. — William E. Smith, Governor — 1878 — 1879. At noon, on Monday, January 7, 1878, began the sixteenth administration of Wisconsin, by the inauguration of the State officers elect. On the 9th of the same month, commenced the thirty-first regular session of the Legislature. A. R. Barrows was elected Speaker of the Assembly. On the day following, Governor Smith delivered his message — a calm, business-like document — to the Legislature. Both Houses adjourned sine die on the 21st of March following. On the ist day of April, Harlow S. Orton and David Taylor were elected Associate Justices of the Supreme Court; the term of the first named to expire on the first Monday of January, 1888 ; that of the last men tioned, on the first Monday of January, 1886. In obedience to a proclamation of the Governor, the Legislature convened on the 4th day of June, A. D. 1878, in extra session, to revise the statutes, A. R. Barrows was elected Speaker of the Assembly. The Legislature adjourned sine die on the 7th of the same month. In November following, the members chosen to the Forty-sixth Congress were C. G. Williams, in the First District ; L. B. Caswell, in the Second ; George C. Hazelton, in the Third ; P. V. Deuster, in the Fourth ; E. S. Bragg, in the Fifth ; Gabriel Bouck, in the Sixth ; H. L. Humphrey, in the Seventh ; and T. C. Pound, in the Eighth. The thirty-second regular session of the Legislature commenced on the 8th day of January, 1879. ¦"-*. M. Kelly was elected Speaker of the Assembly ; the next day, the message of the Governor — a brief, but able State paper — was delivered to both Houses. On the 21st, Matthew H. Carpenter was elected United States Senator for six years, from the 4th of March thereafter, in place of Timothy O. Howe. The Legislature adjourned sine die on the 5th of March, 1879. On the ist day of April following, Orsamus Cole was elected Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, for a term of ten years. Wisconsin has many attractive features. It is a healthy, fertile, well-watered and well-wooded State. Every where within its borders the lights of each citizen are held sacred. Intelligence and education are prominent characteristics of its people. All the necessaries and many of the comforts and luxuries of life are easily to be obtained. Agriculture, the chief source of wealth to so many nations, is here conducted with profit and success. Generally speaking, the farmer owns the land he cultivates. Here, the laboring man, if honest and industrious, is most certain to secure a competence for himself and family. Few States have made more ample provisions for the unfortunate — the deaf and dumb, the blind, and the insane — than has Wisconsin. Nor has she been less interested in her reformatory and penal institutions. In her educational facilities, she already rivals the most advanced of her sister States. Her markets are easily reached by rail ways and water-navigation, so that the products of the country find ready sale. Her commerce is extensive ; her manufactures remunerative ; her natural resources great and manifold. In morality and religion, her standard is high. Her laws are lenient, but not lax, securing the greatest good to those who are disposed to live up to their requirements. Wisconsin has, in fact, all the essential elements of prosperity and good government. Exalted and noble, there fore, must be her future career. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. By T. C. CHAMBERLIN, A. M., State Geologist. The surface features of Wisconsin are simple and symmetrical in character, and present a con figuration intermediate between the mountainous, on the one hand, and a monotonous level, on the other. The highest summits within the state rise a little more than 1,200 feet above its lowest sur faces. A few exceptional peaks rise from 400 to 600 feet above their bases, but abrupt elevations of more than 200 or 300 feet are not common. Viewed as a whole, the state may be regarded as oc cupying a swell of land lying between three notable depressions; Lake Michigan on the east, about 578 feet above the mean tide of the ocean, Lake Superior on the north, about 600 feet above the sea, and the valley of the Mississippi river, whose elevation at the Illinois state line is slightly below that of Lake Michigan. From these depressions the surface slopes upward to the summit altitudes of the state. But the rate of ascent is unequal. From Lake Michigan the surface rises by a long, gentle acclivity westward and northward. A similar slope ascends from the Mississippi valley to meet this, and their junction forms a north and south arch extending nearly the entire length of the state. From Lake Superior the surface ascends rapidly to the watershed, which it reaches within about thirty miles of the lake. If we include the contiguous portion of the upper peninsula of Michigan, the whole elevation may be looked upon as a very low, rude, three-sided pyramid, with rounded angles. The apex is near the Michigan line, between the headwaters of the Montreal and Brule rivers. The northern side is short and abrupt. The southeastward and southwestward sides are long, and decline gently. The base of this pyramid may be considered as, in round numbers, 600 feet above the sea, and -its extreme apex 1,800 feet. Under the waters of Lake Michigan the surface of the land passes below the sea level before the limits of the state are reached. Under Lake Superior the land-surface descends to even greater depths, but probably not within the boundaries of the state. The regularity of the southward slopes is interrupted in a very interesting way by a remarkable diagonal valley occupied by Green bay and the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. This is a great groove, traversing the state obliquely, and cutting down the central elevation half its height. A line passing across the surface, from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, at any other point, would arch upward from about 400 to 1,000 feet, according to the location, while along the trough of this valley it would reach an elevation barely exceeding 200 feet. On the northwest side of this trough, in general, the surface rises somewhat gradually, giving at most points much amplitude to the valley, but •on the opposite side, the slope ascends rapidly to a well marked watershed that stretches across the state parallel to the valley. At Lake Winnebago, this diagonal valley is connected with a scarcely less notable one, occupied by the Rock river. Geologically, this Green-bay-Rock- TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 11L river valley is even more noticeable, since it lies along the trend of the underlying strata, and' was in large measure plowed out of a soft stratum by glacial action. Where it crosses the water shed, near Horicon marsh, it presents the same general features that are seen at other points, and in an almost equally conspicuous degree. Except in the southern part of the state, this valley is confined on the east by an abrupt ascent, and, at many points, by a precipitous, rocky acclivity, known as "The Ledge " — which is the projecting edge of the strata of the Niagara limestone. On the watershed referred to — between the St. Lawrence and Mississippi basins — this ledge is as conspicuous and continuous as at other points, so that we have here again the phenomenon of a valley formed by excavation, running up over an elevation of 300 feet, and connecting two great systems of drainage. On the east side of this valley, as already indicated, there is a sharp ascent of 200 feet, on an average, from the crest of which the surface slopes gently down to Lake Michigan. The uniformity of this slope is broken by an extended line of drift hills, lying obliquely along it and extending from Kewaunee county southward to the Illinois line and known as the Kettle range. A less conspicuous range of similar character branches off from this in the northwest corner of Walworth county and passes across the Rock river valley, where it curves northward, passing west of Madison, cro'ssing the great bend in the Wisconsin river, and bearing northeastward into Oconto county, where it swings round to the westward and crosses the northern part of the state. As a general topographical feature it is not conspicuous and is rather to be conceived as a peculiar chain of drift hills winding over the surface of the state, merely interrupting in some degree the regularity of its slopes There will be occasion to return to this feature in our discussion of the drift. It will be observed that the southeastward slope is interrupted by valleys running across it, rudely parallel to Lake Michigan, and directing its drainage northward and southward, instead of directing it down the slope into the lake. The Mississippi slope presents several conspicuous ridges and valleys, but their trend is toward the great river, and they are all due, essentially, to the erosion of the streams that channel the slope. One of these ridges constitutes the divide south of the Wisconsin river, already referred to. Another of these, conspicuous by reason of its narrowness and sharpness, lies between the Kickapoo and the Mississippi, and extends through Crawford, Vernon and Monroe counties. Still another is formed by the quartzite ranges of Sauk county and others of less prominence give a highly diversified character to the slope. Scattered over the surface of the state are prominent hills, some swelling upward into rounded domes, some rising symmetrically into conical peaks, some ascending precipitously into castel lated towers, and some reaching prominence without regard to beauty of form or convenience of description. A part of these hills were formed by the removal by erosion of the surrounding strata, and a part by the heaping up of drift material by the glacial forces. In the former case, they are composed of rock ; in the latter, of clay, sand, gravel and bowlders. The two forms are often combined. The highest peak in the southwestern part of the state is the West Blue mound, which is 1,151 feet above Lake Michigan; in the eastern part, Lapham's peak, 824 feet, and in the central part, Rib hill, 1263 feet. The crest of Penokee range in the northern part of the state rises 1,000 feet, and upwards, above Lake Michigan. The drainage systems correspond in general to these topograpical features, though several minor eccentricities are to be observed. The streams of the Lake Superior system plunge rapidly down their steep slopes, forming numerous falls, some of them possessing great beauty, prominent among which are those of the Montreal river. On the southern slope, the rivers, in the upper portion of their courses, likewise descend rapidly, though less so, producing a succession of rapids and cascades, and an occasional cataract. In the lower part of their courses, the: 112 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. descent becomes much more gentle and many of them are navigable to a greater or less extent. The rivers west of the Wisconsin pursue an essentially direct course to the Mississippi, attended of course with minor flexures. The Wisconsin river lies, for the greater part of its course, upon the north and south arch of the state, but on encountering the diagonal valley above mentioned it turns southwestward to the " Father of Waters." The streams east of the Wisconsin flow southerly and southeasterly until they likewise encounter this valley when they turn in the opposite direction and discharge northeasterly into Lake Michigan, through Green bay. Between the Green-bay-Rock-river valley and Lake Michigan, the drainage is again in the normal southeasterly direction. In the southern part of the state, the rivers flow in a gen eral southerly direction, but, beyond the state, turn westward toward the Mississippi. If the courses of the streams be studied in detail, many exceedingly interesting and instruc tive features will be observed, due chiefly to peculiarities of geological structure, some of which will be apparent by inspecting the accompanying geological map. Our space, however, forbids our entering upon the subject here. The position of the watershed between the great basins of the Mississippi and the St. Law rence is somewhat peculiar. On the Illinois line, it lies only three and one half miles from Lake Michigan and about 160 feet above its surface. As traced northward from this point, it retires from the lake and ascends in elevation till it approaches the vicinity of Lake Winnebago, when it recurves upon itself and descends to the portage between the Fox and the Wisconsin rivers, whence it pursues a northerly course to the heights of Michigan, when it turns westward and passes in an undulating course across the northern part of the state. It will be observed that much the greater area of the state is drained by the Mississippi system. The relationship which the drainage channels have been observed to sustain to the topo graphical features is partly that of cause and partly that of effect. The general arching of the surface, giving rise to the main slopes, is due to deep-seated geological causes that produce an upward swelling of the center of the state. This determined the general drainage systems. On the other hand, the streams, acting upon strata of varying hardness, and presenting different atti tudes, wore away the surface unequally and cut for themselves anomalous channels, leaving corresponding divides between, which gave origin to the minor irregularities that diversify the surface. In addition to this, the glacier — that great ice stream, the father of the drift — planed and plowed the surface and heaped up its debris upon it, modifying both the surface and drainage features Looked at from a causal standpoint, we see the results of internal forces elevating, and external agencies cutting down, or, in a word, the face of the state is the growth of geologic ages furrowed by the teardrops of the skies. GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. In harmony with the historical character of this atlas, it may be most acceptable to weave our brief sketch of the geological structure of the state into the form of a narrative of its growth. THE ARCHAEAN AGE. LAURENTIAN PERIOD. The physical history of Wisconsin can be traced back with certainty to a state of complete submergence beneath the waters of the ancient ocean, by which the material of our oldest and deepest strata were deposited. Let an extensive but shallow sea, covering the whole of the present territory of the state, be pictured to the mind, and let it be imagined to be depositing TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 113 mud and sand, as at the present day, and we have before us the first authentic stage of the history under consideration. Back of that, the history is lost in the mists of geologic antiquity. The thickness of the sediments that accumulated in that early period was immense, being measured by thousands of feet. These sediments occupied of course an essentially horizontal position, and were, doubtless, in a large degree hardened into beds of impure sandstone, shale, and other sedi mentary rock. But in the progress of time an enormous pressure, attended by heat, was brought to bear upon them laterally, or edgewise, by which they were folded and crumpled, and forced up out of the water, giving rise to an island, the nucleus of Wisconsin. The force which pro duced this upheaval is believed to have arisen from the cooling and consequent contraction of the globe. The foldings may be imaged as the wrinkles of a shrinking earth. But the contor tion of the beds was a scarcely more wonderful result than the change in the character of the rock which seems to have taken place simultaneously with the folding, indeed, as the result of the heat and pressure attending it. The sediments, that seem to have previously taken the form of impure sandstone and shale for the most part, underwent a change, in which re-arrangement and crystalization of the ingredients played a conspicuous part. By this metamorphism, granite, gneiss, mica schist, syenite, hornblende rocks, chloritic schists and other crystalline rocks were formed. These constitute the Laufentian formation and belong to the most ancient period yet distinctly recognized in geology, although there were undoubtedly more ancient rocks. They are therefore very fittingly termed Archasan — ancient — rocks (formerly Azoic.) No remains of life have been found in this formation in Wisconsin, but from the nature of rocks elsewhere,, believed to be of the same age, it is probable that the lowest forms of life existed at this time. It is not strange that the great changes through which the rocks have passed should have so nearly obliterated all traces of them. The original extent of this Laurentian island can not now be accurately ascer tained, but it will be sufficiently near the truth for our present purposes to consider the formation as it is now exposed, and as it is represented on the maps of the geological survey, as showing approximately the original extent. This will make it include a large area in the north-central portion of the state and a portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. All the rest of the state was beneath the ocean, and the same may be said of the greater portion of the United States The height of this island was doubtless considerable, as it has since been very much cut down by denuding agencies. The strata, as now exposed, mostly stand in highly inclined attitudes and present their worn edges to view. The tops of the folds, of which they are the remnants, seem to have been cut away, and we have the nearly vertical sides remaining. HURON1AN PERIOD. As soon as the Laurentian island had been elevated, the waves of the almost shoreless ocean began to beat against it, the elements to disintegrate it, and the rains of the then tropical climate to wash it ; and the sand, clay and other debris, thus formed, were deposited beneath the waters around its base, giving rise to a new sedimentary formation-. There is no evidence that there was any vegetation on the island : the air and water were, doubtless, heavily charged with carbonic acid, an efficient agent of disintegration : the climate was warm and doubtless very moist — circumstances which combined to hasten the erosion of the island and increase the deposition in the surrounding sea. In addition to these agencies, we judge from the large amount of carbonaceous matter contained in some of the beds, that there must have been an abundance of marine vegetation, and, from the limestone beds that accumulated, it is probable that there was marine animal life also, since in later ages that was the chief source of limestone strata. The joint accumulations from these several sources gave rise to a series of shales, sandstones and limestones, whose combined thickness was several thousand feet. 114 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. At length the process of upheaval and metamorphism that closed the Laurentian period was repeated, and these sandstones became quartzites; the limestones were crystalized, the; shales were changed to slates or schists, and inte. mediate grades of sediments became diorites,, quartz- porphyries and other forms of crystalline rocks. The carbonaceous matter was changed. in part to graphite. There were also associated with these deposits extensive beds of iron ore,, which we now find chiefly in the form of magnetite, hematite and specular ore. These constitute the Huronian rocks. From the amount of iron ore they contain, they are also fittingly termed the iron-bearing series. As in the preceding case, the strata were contorted, flexed and folded,.. and the whole island was further elevated, carrying with it these circumjacent strata, by which its extent was much enlarged. The area of the island after receiving this increment was con siderably greater than the surface represented as Laurentian and Huronian on the accompanying map, since it was subsequently covered to a considerable extent by later formations. Penokee range, in Ashland county, is the most conspicuous development of the Huronian rocks in the state. The upturned edge of the formation forms a bold rampart, extending across the country for sixty miles, making the nearest approach to a mountain range to be found within the state.. A belt of magnetic schist may be traced nearly its entire length. In the northern part of Oconto county , there is also an important development of this formation, being an extension of the Menomonee iron-bearing series. A third area is found in Barron county, which includes deposits of pipestone. In the south central part of the state there are a considerable number of small areas and isolated outliers of quartzite and quartz-porphyry, that, without much doubt, belong to this series. The most conspicuous of these are the Baraboo quartzite ranges, in Sauk and Columbia counties, and from thence a chain of detached outliers extends northeasterly through several counties. The most southerly exposure of the formation is near Lake Mills, in Jefferson county. THE COPPER-BEARING SERIES. Previous to the upheaval of the Huronian strata, there occurred in the Lake Superior region events of peculiar and striking interest. If we may not speak with absolute assurance, we may at least say with reasonable probability, that the crust of the earth was fissured in that region,. and that there issued from beneath an immense mass of molten rock, that spread itself over an area of more than three hundred miles in length and one hundred miles in width. The action. was not confined to a single overflow, but eruption followed eruption, sometimes apparently in quick succession, sometimes evidently at long intervals. Each outpouring, when solidified, formed a stratum of trap rock, and' where these followed each other without any intervening deposit, a series of trappean beds were formed. In some cases, however, an interval occurred, during which the waves, acting upon the rock previously formed, produced a bed of sand, gravel and clay, which afterward solidified into sandstone, conglomerate and shale. The history of these beds is lithographed on their surface in beautiful ripple-marks and other evidences of wave- action. After the cessation of the igneous eruptions, there accumulated a vast thickness of sandstone, shale and conglomerate, so that the whole series is literally miles in thickness. The eruptive portions have been spoken of as traps, for convenience; but they do not now possess the usual characteristics of igneous rocks, and appear to have undergone a chemical metamorphism by which the mineral ingredients have been changed, the leading ones now being an iron chlorite and a feldspar, with which are associated, as accessory minerals, quartz, epidote, prenite, calcite, laumontite, analcite, darolite, magnetite, native copper and silver, and, more rarely, other minerals. The rock, as a whole, is now known as a melaphyr. The upper portion of each bed is usually characterized by almond-sized cells filled with the minerals above men tioned, giving to the rock an amygdaloidal nature. The native copper was not injected in a. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 115 molten state, as has very generally been supposed, but was deposited by chemical means after the beds were formed and after a portion of the chemical change of the minerals above mentioned had been accomplished. The same is true of the silver. The copper occurs in all the different forms of rock — the melaphyrs, amygdaloids, sandstones, shales and conglomerates, but most abundantly in the amygdaloids and certain conglomerates. This series extends across the northern portion of the state, occupying portions of Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, Burnett and Polk counties. When the Huronian rocks were elevated, they carried these up with them, and they partook of the folding in some measure. The copper- bearing range of Keweenaw Point, Michigan, extends southwestward through Ashland, Burnett and Polk counties, and throughout this whole extent the beds dip north-northwesterly toward Lake Superior, at a high angle; but in Douglas and Bayfield counties there is a parallel range in which the beds incline in the opposite direction, and undoubtedly form the opposite side of a trough formed by a downward flexure of the strata. PALEOZOIC TIME — SILURIAN AGE. Potsdam Sandstone. After the great Archaean upheaval, there followed a long period, concerning wnich very little is known — a " lost interval" in geological history. It is only certain that immense erosion of the Archa5an strata took place, and that in time the sea advanced upon the island, eroding its strata and redepositing the wash and wear beneath its surface. The more resisting beds with stood this advance, and formed reefs and rocky islands off the ancient shore, about whose bases the sands and sediments accumulated, as they did over the bottom of the surrounding ocean. The breakers, dashing against the rocky cliffs, threw down masses of rock, which imbedded them selves in the sands, or were rolled and rounded on the beach, and at length were buried, in either case, to tell their own history, when they should be again disclosed by the ceaseless gnaw- ings of the very elements that had buried them. In addition to the accumulations of wash and wear that have previously been the main agents of rock-formations, abundant life now swarms in the ocean, and the sands become the great cemetery of its dead. Though the contribution of each little being was small, the myriad millions that the waters brought forth, yielded by their remains, a large contribution to the accumulating sediments. Among plants, there were sea-weeds, and among animals, protozoans, radiates, mollusks and articulates, all the sub-kingdoms except the vertebrates. Among these, the most remarkable, both in nature and number, were the trilobites, who have left their casts in countless multitudes in certain localities. The result of the action of these several agencies was the formation of extensive beds of sandstone, with interstratified layers of limestone and shale. These surrounded the Archaean nucleus on all sides, and reposed on its flanks. On the Lake Superior margin, the sea acted mainly upon the copper and iron- bearing series, which are highly ferruginous, and the result wa; the red Lake Superior sandstone. On the opposite side of the island, the wave-action was mainly upon quartzites, porphyries and granites, and resulted in light-colored sandstones. The former is confined to the immediate vicinity of Lake Superior; the latter occupies a broad, irregular belt bordering the Archaean area on the south, and, being widest in the central part of the state, is often likened to a rude crescent. The form and position of the area will be best apprehended by referring to the accompanying map. It will be understood from the foregoing description, that the strata of this formation lie in a nearly horizontal position, and repose unconformably upon the worn surface of the crystalline rocks. The close of this period was not marked by any great upheaval ; there 116 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. was no crumpling or metamorphism of the strata, and they have remained to the present day very much as they were originally deposited, save a slight arching upward in the central portijn of the state. The beds have been somewhat compacted by the pressure of superin cumbent strata and solidified by the cementing action of calcareous and ferruginous waters, and by their own coherence, but the original character of the formation, as a great sand-bed, has not been obliterated. It still bears the ripple-marks, cross-lamination, worm-burrows, and similar markings that characterize a 'sandy beach. Its thickness is very irregular, owing to the uneven- ness of its Archaean bottom, and may be said to range from 1,000 feet downward. The strata slope gently away from the Archrean core of the state and underlie all the later formations, and may be reached at any point in southern Wisconsin by penetrating to a sufficient depth, which can be calculated with an approximate correctness. As it is a water-bearing formation, and the source of fine Artesian wells, this is a fact of much importance. The interbedded layers of lime stone and shale, by supplying impervious strata, very much enhance its value as a source of fountains. Lower Magnesian Limestone. During the previous period, the accumulation of sandstone gave place for a time to the formation of limestone, and afterward the deposit of sandstone was resumed. At its close, with out any very marked disturbance of existing conditions, the formation of limestone was resumed, and progressed with little interruption till a thickness ranging from 50 to 250 feet was attained. This variation is due mainly to irregularities of the upper surface of the formation, which is undulating, and in some localities, may appropriately be termed billowy, the surface rising and falling 100 feet, in some cases, within a short distance. This, and the preceding similar deposit, have been spoken of as limestones simply, but they are really dolomites, or magnesian limestones, since they contain a large proportion of carbonate of magnesia. This rock also contains a notable quantity of silica, which occurs disseminated through the mass of the rock; or, variously, as nodules or masses of chert ; as crystals of quartz, filling or lining drusy cavities, forming beautiful miniature grottos ; as the nucleus of oolitic concretions, or as sand. Some argillaceous matter also enters into its composition, and small quantities of the ores of iron, lead and copper, are sometimes found, but they give little promise of value. The evidences of life are very scanty. Some sea-weeds, a few mollusks, and an occasional indication of other forms of life embrace the known list, except at a few favored localities where a somewhat ampler fauna is found. But it is not, therefore, safe to assume the absence of life in the depositing seas, for it is certain that most limestone has orignated from the remains of animals and plants that secrete calcareous material, and it is most consistent to believe that such was the case in the present instance, and that the distinct traces of life were mostly obliterated. This formation occupies an irregular belt skirting the Potsdam area. It was, doubtless, originally a somewhat uniform band swinging around the nucleus of the state already formed, but it has since been eroded by streams to its present jagged outline. St. Peter's Sandstone. At the close of this limestone-making period, there appears to have been an interval of which we have no record, and the next chapter of the history introduces us to another era of sand accumulation. The work began by the leveling up of the inequalities of the surface of the Lower Magnesian limestone, and it ceased before that was entirely accomplished in all parts of the State, for a few prominences were left projecting through the sand deposits. The material laid down consisted of a silicious sand, of uniform, well-rounded— doubtless well-rolled— grains. This was evidently deposited horizontally upon the uneven limestone surface, and so rests in a sense TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 117 unconformably upon it. Where the sandstone abuts against the sides of the limestone promi nences, it is mingled with material derived by wave action from them, which tells the story of its formation. But aside from these and other exceptional impurities, the formation is a very pure sandstone, and is used for glass manufacture. At most points, the sandstone has never become firmly cemented and readily crumbles, so that it is used for mortar, the simple handling with pick and shovel being sufficient to reduce it to a sand. Owing to the unevenness of its bottom, it varies greatly in thickness, the greatest yet observed being 212 feet, but the average is less than 100 feet. Until recently, no organic remains had ever been found in it, and the traces now col lected are very meager indeed, but they are sufficient to show the existence of marine life, and •demonstrate that it is an oceanic deposit. The rarity of fossils is to be attributed to the porous nature of the rock, which is unfavorable to their preservation. This porosity, however, subserves a very useful purpose, as it renders this pre-eminently a water-bearing horizon, and supplies some ¦of the finest Artesian fountains in the state, and is competent to furnish many more. It occupies but a narrow area at the surface, fringing that of the Lower Magnesian limestone on the south. Trenton Limestone. A slight change in the oceanic conditions caused a return to limestone formation, accompa nied with the deposit of considerable clayey material, which formed shale. The origin of the limestone is made evident by a close examination of it, which shows it to be full of fragments of shells, corals, and other organic remains, or the impressions they have left. Countless numbers of the lower forms of life flourished in the seas, and left their remains to be comminuted and consolidated into limestone. A part of the time, the accumulation of clayey matter predominated, and so layers of shale alternate with the limestone beds, and shaly leaves and partings occur in the limestone layers. Unlike the calcareous strata above and below, a portion of these are true limestone, containing but a very small proportion of magnesia. A sufficient amount of carbon aceous matter is present in some layers to cause them to burn readily. This formation is quite highly metalliferous in certain portions of the lead region, containing zinc especially, and con siderable lead, with less quantities of other metals. The formation abounds in fossils, many of them well preserved, and, from their great antiquity, they possess uncommon interest. All the animal sub-kingdoms, except vertebrates, are represented. The surface area of this rock borders the St. Peter's sandstone, but, to avoid too great complexity on the map, it is not distinguished from the next formation to which it is closely allied. Its thickness reaches 120 feet. The Galena Limestone. With scarcely a change of oceanic conditions, limestone deposit continued, so that we find reposing upon the surface of the Trenton limestone, 250 feet, or less, of a light gray or buff colored highly magnesian limestone, occurring in heavy beds, and having a sub-crystalline struc ture. In the southern portion of the state, it contains but little shaly matter, but in the north eastern part, it is modified by the addition of argillaceous layers and leaves, and presents a bluish or greenish-gray aspect. It receives its name from the sulphide of lead,— galena, of which it contains large quantities, in the southwestern part of the state. Zinc ore is also abundant, and these minerals give to this and the underlying formation great importance in that region. Else where, although these ores are present in small quantities, they have not developed economic importance. This limestone, though changing its nature, as above stated, occupies a large area in the southwestern part of the state, and a broad north and south belt in east-central Wisconsin. It will be seen that our island is growing apace by concentric additions, and that, as the several formations sweep around the central nucleus of Archaean rocks, they swing off into adjoining states, whose formation was somewhat more tardy than that of Wisconsin 118 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. « Cincinnati Shales. A change ensued upon the formation of the Galena limestone, by virtue of which there fol lowed the deposition of large quantities of clay, accompanied by some calcareous material, the- whole reaching at some points a thickness of more than 200 feet. The sediment has never become more than partially indurated, and a portion of it is now only a bed of compact clay. Other portions hardened to shale or limestone according to the material. The shales are of" various gray, green, blue, purple and other hues, so that where vertical cliffs are exposed, as along. Green bay, a beautiful appearance is presented. As a whole, this is a very soft formation, and hence easily eroded. Owing to this fact, along the east side of the Green-bay-Rock-river val ley, it has been extensively carried away, leaving the hard overlying Niagara limestone projecting. in the bold cliffs known as " The Ledge." The prominence of the mounds in the southwestern part of the state are due to a like cause. Certain portions of this formation abound in astonish ing numbers of well preserved fossils, among which corals, bryozoans, and brachiopods, pre dominate, the first named being especially abundant. A little intelligent attention to these might have saved a considerable waste of time and means in an idle search for coal, to which a slight. resemblance to some of the shales of the coal measures has led. This formation underlies the- mounds of the lead region, and forms a narrow belt on the eastern margin of the Green-bay-Rock- river valley. This was the closing period of the Lower Silurian Age. Clinton Iron Ore. On the surface of the shales just described, there were accumulated, here and there, beds of pecu liar lenticular iron ore. It is probable that it was deposited in detached basins, but the evidence of this is not conclusive. In our own state, this is chiefly known as Iron Ridge ore, from the- remarkable development it attains at that point. It is made up of little concretions, which from, their size and color are fancied to resemble flax seed, and hence the name " seed ore," or the roe of fish, and hence oolitic ore. "Shot ore" is also a common term. This is a soft ore occur ring in regular horizontal beds which are quarried with more ease than ordinary limestone. This. deposit attains, at Iron Ridge, the unusual thickness of twenty-five feet, and affords a readily accessible supply of ore, adequate to all demands for a long time to come. Similar, but much. less extensive beds, occur at Hartford, and near Depere, besides some feeble deposits elsewhere.. Large quantities of ore from Iron Ridge have been shipped to various points in this and neigh boring States for reduction, in addition to that sme.ted in the vicinity of the mines. Niagara Limestone. Following the period of iron deposit, there ensued the greatest limestone-forming era in the history of Wisconsin. During its progress a series of beds, summing up, at their points of great est thickness, scarcely less than eight hundred feet, were laid down. The process of formation, was essentially that already described, the accumulation of the calcareous secretions of marine life. Toward the close of the period, reefs appeared, that closely resemble the coral reefs of the- present seas, and doubtless have a similar history. Corals form a very prominent element in the life of this period, and with them were associated great numbers of mollusks, one of which, {Pentamerus oblongus) sometimes occurs in beds not unlike certain bivalves of to-day, and may be said to have been the oyster of the Silurian seas. At certain points, those wonderful animals,, the stone lilies [Crinoids), grew in remarkable abundance, mounted on stems like a plant, yet true animals. Those unique crustaceans, the trilobites, were conspicuous in numbers and variety, while the gigantic cephalopods held sway over the life of the seas. In the vicinity of the reefs,'. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 119 there seem to have been extensive calcareous sand flats and areas over which fine calcareous mud ¦settled, the former resulting in a pure granular dolomite, the latter in a compact close-textured stone. The rock of the reefs is of very irregular structure. Of other portions of the formation, some are coarse heavy beds, some fine, even-bedded, close-grained layers, and some, again, irregu lar, impure and cherty. All are highly magnesian, and some are among the purest dolomites ;known. The Niagara limestone occupies a broad belt lying adjacent to Lake Michigan. Lower Helderberg Limestone. On Mud creek, near Milwaukee, there is found a thin-bedded slaty limestone, that is believed to represent this period. It has neglected, however, to leave us an unequivocal record of its history, as fossils are extremely rare, and its stratigraphical relations and lithographical •character are capable of more than one interpretation. Near the village of Waubeka in Ozaukee county, there is a similar formation, somewhat more fossiliferous, that seems to repre sent the same period. The area which these occupy is very small and they play a most insignifi cant part in the geology of the state. They close the record of the Silurian age in Wisconsin. During its progress the land had been gradually emerging from the ocean and increasing its amplitude by concentric belts of limestone, sandstone and shale. There had been no general •disturbance, only those slight oscillations which changed the nature of the forming rock and facilitated deposition. At its close the waters retired from the borders of the state, and an interval supervened, during which no additions are known to have been made to its substructure. DEVONIAN AGE. Hamilton Cement Rock. After a lapse of time, during which the uppermost Silurian and the lowest Devonian strata, as found elsewhere, were formed, the waters again advanced slightly upon the eastern margin of the state and deposited a magnesian limestone mingled with silicious and almuninous material, forming a combination of which a portion has recently been shown to possess hydraulic properties of a high degree of excellence. With this deposition there dawned a new era in the 'life-history of Wisconsin. While multitudes of protozoans, radiates, mollusks and articulates swarmed in the previous seas, no trace of a vertebrate has been found. The Hamilton period witnessed the introduction of the highest type of the animal kingdom into the Wisconsin series. But even then only the lowest class was represented — the fishes. The lower orders of life, as before, were present, but the species were of the less ancient Devonian type. Precisely how far the deposit originally extended is not now known, as it has undoubtedly been much reduced by the eroding agencies that have acted upon it. That portion which remains, occupies a limited area on the lake shore immediately north of Milwaukee, extending inland half a dozen miles. The cement rock proper is found on the Milwaukee river just above the city. At the close of the Hamilton period the oceanic waters retired, and, if they ever subsequently encroached upon ¦our territory, they have left us no permanent record of their intrusion. The history of the formation of the substructure of the state was, it will be observed, in an unusual degree, simple and progressive. Starting with a firm core of most ancient crystalline rocks, leaf upon leaf of stony strata were piled around it, adding belt after belt to the margin of the growing island until it extended itself far beyond the limits of our state, and coalesced with the forming continent. An ideal map of the state would show the Archaean nucleus surrounded by concentric bands of the later formations in the order of their deposition. But during all the 120 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. vast lapse of time consumed in their growth, the elements were gnawing, carving and channeling the surface, and the outcropping edges of the formations were becoming more and more jagged, and now, after the last stratum had been added, and the whole had been lifted from the waters that gave it birth, there ensued perhaps a still vaster era, during which the history was simply that of surface erosion. The face of the state became creased with the wrinkles of age. The edges of her rocky wrappings became ragged with the wear of time. The remaining Devonian periods, the great Carboniferous age, the Mesozoic era, and the earlier Tertiary periods passed, leaving no other record than that of denudation. THE GLACIAL PERIOD. With the approach of the great Ice Age, a new chapter was opened. An immense sheet of ice moved slowly, but irresistibly, down from the north, planing down the prominences, filling up the valleys, polishing and grooving the strata, and heaping up its rubbish of sand, gravel, clay and. bowlders over the face of the country. It engraved the lines of its progress on the rocks, and, by reading these, we learn that one prodigious tongue of ice plowed along the bed of Lake Michi gan, and a smaller one pushed through the valley of Green bay and Rock river, while another immense ice-stream flowed southwestward through the trough of Lake Superior and onward into Minnesota. The diversion of the glacier through these great channels seems to have left the southwestern portion of the state intact, and over it we find no drift accumulations. With the approach of a warmer climate, the ice-streams were melted backward, leaving their debris heaped promiscuously over the surface, giving it a new configuration. In the midst of this retreat, a series of halts and advances seem to have taken place in close succession, by which the drift was pushed up into ridges and hills along the foot of the ice, after which a more rapid retreat ensued. The effect of this action was to produce that remarkable chain of drift hills and ridges, known as the Kettle range, which we have already described as winding over the surface of the state in a very peculiar manner. It is a great historic rampart, recording the- position of the edge of the glacier at a certain stage of its retreat, and doubtless at the same time- noting a great climatic or dynamic change. The melting of the glacier gave rise to large quantities of water, and hence to numerous- torrents, as well as lakes. There occurred about this time a depression of the land to the north ward, which was perhaps the cause, in part or in whole, of the retreat of the ice. This gave- origin to the great lakes. The waters advanced somewhat upon the land and deposited the red clay that borders Lakes Michigan and Superior and occupies the Green bay valley as far up as- the vicinity of Fond du Lac. After several oscillations, the lakes settled down into their present positions. Wherever the glacier plowed over the land, it left an irregular sheet of commingled clay, sand, gravel and bowlders spread unevenly over the surface. The depressions formed by its irregularities soon filled with water and gave origin to numerous lakelets. Probably not one of the thousands of Wisconsin lakes had an existence before the glacial period. Wherever the great lakes advanced upon the land, they leveled its surface and left their record in lacustine clays and sandy beach lines. With the retreat of the glacier, vegetation covered the surface, and by its aid and the action of the elements our fertile drift soils, among the last and best of Wisconsin's formations, were- produced. And the work still goes on-. CLIMATOLOGY OF WISCONSIN. By Prof. H. H. OLDENHAGE. The climate of a country, or that peculiar state of the atmosphere in regard to heat and moisture which prevails in any given place, and which directly affects the growth of plants and animals, is determined by the following causes : ist. Distance from the equator. 2d. Distance from the sea. 3d. Height above the sea. 4th. Prevailing winds; and 5th. Local influences, such as soil, vegetation, and proximity to lakes and mountains. Of these causes, the first, distance from the equator, is by far the most important. The warmest climates are necessarily those of tropical regions where the sun's rays are vertical. But in proceeding from the equator toward the poles, less and less heat continues to be received by the same extent of surface, because the rays fall more and more obliquely, and the same amount of heat-rays therefore spread over an increasing breadth of surface ; while, however, with the increase of obliquity, more and more heat is absorbed by the atmosphere, as the amount of air to be penetrated is greater. If the earth's surface were either wholly land or water, and its atmosphere motionless, the gradations of climate would run parallel with the latitudes from the equator to the poles. But owing to the irregular distribution of land and water and the prevail ing winds, such an arrangement is impossible, and the determination of the real climate of a given region, and its causes, is one of the most difficult problems of science. On the second of these causes, distance from the sea, depends the difference between oce anic and continental climates. Water is more slowly heated and cooled than land ; the climates of the sea and the adjacent land are therefore much more equable and moist than those of the interior. A decrease of temperature is noticeable in ascending high mountains. The rate at which the temperature falls with the height above the sea is a very variable quantity, and is influenced by a variety of causes, such as latitude, situation, moisture, or dryness, hour of the day and season of the year. As a rough approximation, however, the fall of i° of the thermometer for every 300 feet is usually adopted. Air in contact with any part of the earth's surface, tends to acquire the temperature of that surface. Hence, winds from the north are cold ; those from the south are warm. Winds from the sea are moist, and winds from the land are usually dry. Prevailing winds are the result of the relative distribution of atmospheric pressure blowing from places where the pressure is high est, toward places where it is lowest. As climate practically depends on the temperature and moisture of the air, and as these again depend on the prevailing winds which come charged with the temperature and moisture of the regions they have traversed, it is evident that charts show ing the mean pressure of the atmosphere give us the key to the climates of the different regions of the world. The effect of prevailing winds is seen in the moist and equable climate of West ern Europe, especially Great Britain, owing to the warm and moist southwest winds; and in the extremes of the eastern part of North America, due to the warm and moist winds prevailing in summer and the Arctic blasts of winter. 122 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Among local influences which modify climate, the nature of the soil is one of the most important. As water absorbs much heat, wet, marshy ground usually lowers the mean tempera ture. A sandy waste presents the greatest extremes. The extremes of temperature are also modi fied by extensive forests, which prevent the soil from being as much warmed and cooled as it would be if bare. Evaporation goes on more slowly under the trees, since the soil is screened from the sun. And as the air among the trees is little agitated by the wind, the vapor is left to accumulate, and hence the humidity of the air is increased. Climate is modified in a similar man ner by lakes and other large surfaces of water. During summer the water cools the air and reduces the temperature of the locality. In winter, on the other hand, the opposite effect is pro duced. The surface water which is cooled sinks to lower levels ; the warmer water rising to the surface, radiates heat into the air and thus raises the temperature of the neighboring region. This influence is well illustrated, on a great scale, in our own state by Lake Michigan. It is, lastly, of importance whether a given tract of country is diversified by hills, valleys and mountains. Winds with their warm vapor strike the sides of mountains and are forced up into higher levels of the atmosphere, where the vapor is condensed into clouds. Air coming in con tact, during the night or in winter, with the cooled declivities of hills and rising grounds becomes cooled and consequently denser and sinks to the low-lying grounds, displacing the warmer and lighter air. Hence, frosts often occur at these places, when no trace of them can be found at higher levels. For the same reason the cold of winter is generally more intense in ravines and valleys than on hill tops and high grounds, the valleys being a receptacle for the cold-air currents which descend from all sides. These currents give rise to gusts and blasts of cold wind, which are simply the out-rush of cold air from such basins. This is a subject of great practical impor tance to fruit-growers. In order to understand the principal features of the climate of Wisconsin, and the conditions on which these depend, it is necessary to consider the general climatology of the eastern United States. The chief characteristic of this area as a whole is, that it is subject to great extremes — to all those variations of temperature which prevail from the tropical to the Arctic regions. This is principally due to the topographical conditions of our continent. The Rocky mountains con densing the moisture of the warm winds from the Pacific and preventing them from reaching far inland, separate the climate of the Mississippi valley widely from that of the Pacific slope. Between the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic sea there is no elevation to exceed 2,000 feet to arrest the flow of the hot southerly winds of summer, or the cold northerly winds of winter. From this results a variation of temperature hardly equaled in any part of 'the world. In determining the climates of the United States, western Europe is usually taken as the basis of comparison. The contrast between these regions is indeed very great. New York is in the same latitude with Madrid, Naples and Constantinople. Quebec is not so far north as Paris. London and Labrador are equi-distant from the equator ; but while England, with her mild, moist climate, produces an abundance of vegetation, in Labrador all cultivation ceases. In the latitude of Stockholm and St. Petersburg, at the 60th parallel, we find in eastern North America vast ice fields which seldom melt. The moist and equable climate of western Europe in high latitudes is due to the Gulf Stream and the southwest winds of the Atlantic, which spread their warmth and moisture over the western coast. Comparison, however, shows that the climate of the Pacific coast of North America is quite as mild as that of western Europe ; and this is due to the same kind of influences, namely, to the warm, moist winds and the currents of the Pacific. And to con tinue the comparison still further, in proceeding on both continents from west to east, or from ocean into the interior, we find a general resemblance of climatic conditions, modified greatly, it is true, by local influences. CLIMATOLOGY OF WISCONSIN. 123 The extreme summer climate of {he eastern United States is owing to the southerly and ¦southwesterly winds, which blow with great regularity during this season, and, after traversing great areas of tropical seas, bear the warmth and moisture of these seas far inland, and give this region the peculiar semi-tropical character of its summers. The average temperature of summer varies between 8o° for the Gulf states, and 60^ for the extreme north. While in the Gulf states the thermometer often rises to roo°,in the latitude of Wisconsin this occurs very seldom. During winter the prevailing winds are from the northwest. These cold blasts from the Arctic sea are deflected by the Rocky mountains, sweep down unopposed into lower latitudes, and produce all the rigors of an arctic winter. The mean temperature for this season varies between 6o° for the Gulf coast and 15 ° for the extreme northern part of Wisconsin. In the northern part of the valley the cold is sometimes so intense that the thermometer sinks to the freezing point of mercury. The extreme of heat and cold would give a continental climate if this extreme were not accom panied by a profusion of rain. The southerly winds, laden with moisture, distribute this moist ure with great regularity over the valley. The amount of rainfall, greater in summer than in winter, varies, from the Gulf of Mexico to Wisconsin, from 63 inches to 30 inches. On the At lantic coast, where the distribution is more equal throughout the year on account of its proximity to the ocean, the amount varies, from Florida to Maine, from 63 to 40 inches. The atmospheric movements on which, to a great extent, the climatic conditions of the eastern United States depend, may be summed up as follows : "1. That the northeast trades, deflected in their course to south and southeast winds in their passage through the Carribean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, are the warm and moist winds which communicate to the Mississippi valley and the Atlantic slope their fertility. " 2. That the prevalence of these winds from May to October communicates to this region a sub-tropical climate. " 3. That in the region bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, the atmospheric disturbances are propagated from south to north ; but in the northern and middle states, owing to a prevailing upper current, from west to east. " 4. That while this upper current is cool and dry, and we have the apparent anomaly of rain storms traveling from west to east, at the same time the moisture supplying them comes from the south. "5. That, in the winter, the south and southeast winds rise into the upper current, while the west and northwest winds descend and blow as surface winds, accompanied by an extraor dinary depression of temperature, creating, as it were, an almost arctic climate. " 6. That the propagation of the cold winds from west to east is due to the existence of a warmer and lighter air to the eastward. "7. That in summer the westerly currents seldom blow with violence, because, in passing •over the heated plains, they acquire nearly the same temperature as the southerly currents, but in winter the conditions are reversed." The line of conflict of these aerial currents, produced by unequal atmospheric pressure, shift so rapidly that the greatest changes of temperature, moisture, and wind, are experienced within a few hours, these changes usually affecting areas of great extent. In the old world, on the other hand, the mountain systems, generally running from east to west, offer an impediment, ¦especially to the polar currents, and the weather is therefore not so changeable. Wisconsin, situated in the upper and central part of the Mississippi valley, is subject to the same general climatic conditions which give this whole area its peculiar climate. The highest mean summer temperature is 720 Fahrenheit in the southwestern part of the 121 HISTORY" OF WISCONSIN. state, and the lowest 640 at Bayfield, Lake Superior. During the months of June, July and August, the thermometer often rises as higi as 90°, seldom to 1000. In 1874 the mercury reached this high point twice at LaCrosse, and three times at Dubuque, Iowa. There are usually two or three of these " heated terms " during the summer, terminated by abrupt changes of temperature. The isotherm of 70° (an isotherm being a line connecting places having the same mean tem perature) enters this state from the west, in the northern part of Grant county, touches Madison, takes a southerly direction through Walworth county, passes through southern Michigan, Cleveland, and Pittsburg, reaching the Atlantic ocean a little north of New York city. From this it is seen that southern Wisconsin, southern and central Michigan, northern Ohio, central Pennsylvania, and southern New York have nearly the same summer temperature. Northwestward this line runs through southern Minnesota and along the Missouri to the foot of the mountains. Eastern Ore gon, at 47" 30' north latitude, has the same average summer temperature ; the line then returns and touches the Pacific coast at San Diego. The remarkable manner in which so large a body of water as Lake Michigan modifies the temperature has been carefully determined, so far as it relates to Wisconsin, by the late Dr. Lap- ham, of Milwaukee. It is seen by the map that the average summer temperature of Racine is the same as that of St. Paul. The weather map for July, 1875, in the signal service report for 1876, shows that the mean temperature for July was the same in Rock county, in the southern part of the state, as that of Breckenridge, Minn., north of St. Paul. The moderating effect of the lake during hot weather is felt in the adjacent region during both day and night. Countries in the higher latitudes having an extreme summer temperature are usually charac terized by a small amount of rain-fall. The Mississippi valley, however, is directly exposed in spring and summer to the warm and moist winds from the south, and as these winds condense their moisture by coming in contact with colder upper currents from the north and west, it has a profusion of rain which deprives the climate largely of its continental features. As already stated, the average amount of rain-fall in Wisconsin is about 30 inches annually. Of this amount about one-eighth is precipitated in winter, three-eighths in summer, and the rest is equally dis tributed between spring and autumn — ¦ in other words, rain is abundant at the time of the year when it is most needed. In Wisconsin the rainfall is greatest in the southwestern part of the state ; the least on and along the shore of Lake Michigan. This shows that the humidity of the air of a given area can be greater, and the rainfall less, than that of some other. In comparison with western Europe, even where the mean temperature is higher than in the Mississippi valley, the most striking fact in the climatic conditions of the United States is the great range of plants of tropical or sub-tropical origin, such as Indian corn, tobacco, etc. The conditions on which the character of the vegetation depends are temperature and moisture, and the mechanical and chemical composition of the soil. " The basis of this great capacity (the great range of plants) is the high curve of heat and moisture for the summer, and the fact that the measure of heat and of rain are almost or quite- tropical for a period in duration from one to five months, in the range from Quebec to the coast of the Gulf." Indian corn attains its full perfection between the summer isotherms 72° and 770, in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas; but it may be grown up to the line of 65 °, which includes the whole of Wisconsin. The successful cultivation of this important staple is due to the intense- heat of summer and a virgin soil rich in nitrogen. While Milwaukee and central Wisconsin have a mean annual temperature of 45 °, that of southern Ireland and central England is 50° ; the line of 72^, the average temperature for July, runs from Walworth county to St. Paul, while during the same month Ireland and England have a mean temperature of only 6ou. In Wisconsin the thermometer rises as high as 90* and above,. CLIMATOLOGY OF WISCONSIN 125 while the range above the mean in England is very small. It is the tropical element of our sum mers, then, that causes the grape, the corn, etc., to ripen, while England, with a higher mean temperature, is unable to mature them successfully. Ireland, where southern plants may remain out-doors, unfrosted, the whole winter, can not mature those fruits and grasses which ripen in Wisconsin. In England a depression of 2° below the mean of 6oy will greatly reduce the quan tity, or prevent the ripening of wheat altogether, 6o° being essential to a good crop. Wheat, re quiring a lower temperature than corn, is better adapted to the climate of Wisconsin. This grain may be grown as far north as Hudson bay. Autumn, including September, October and November, is of short duration in Wisconsin. North of the 42d parallel, or the southern boundary line of the state, November belongs properly to the winter months, its mean temperature being about 32" The decrease of heat from August to September is generally from 8° to 90; n° from September *o October, and 140 from October to November. The average temperature for these three months is about 45" A beautiful season, commonly known as Indian summer, frequently occurs in the latter part of October and in No vember. This period is characterized by a mild temperature and a hazy, calm atmosphere. According to Loomis, this appears to be due to "an uncommonly tranquil condition of the atmos phere, during which the air becomes filled with dust and smoke arising from numerous fires, by which its transparency is greatly impaired." This phenomenon extends as far north as Lake Superior, but it is more conspicuous and protracted in Kansas and Missouri, and is not observed in the southern states. Destructive frosts generally occur in September, and sometimes in August. " A temperature of 360 to 40° at sunrise is usually attended with frosts destructive to vegetation, the position of the thermometer being usually such as to represent less than the actual refrigeration at the open surface." In 1875, during October, at Milwaukee, the mercury fell seven times below the freez ing point, and twice below zero in November, the lowest being 140. The winters are generally long and severe, but occasionally mild and almost without snow. The mean winter temperature varies between 230 in the southeastern part of the state, and 160 at Ashland, in the northern. For this season the extremes are great. The line of 200 is of im portance, as it marks the average temperature which is fatal to the growth of all the tender trees, such as the pear and the peach. In the winter of 1875 and 1876, the mean temperature for De cember, January and February, in the upper lake region, was about 40 above the average mean for many years, while during the previous winter the average temperature for January and Feb ruary was about 120 below the mean for many years, showing a great difference between cold and mild winters. In the same winter, 1875— '76, at Milwaukee, the thermometer fell only six times below zero, the lowest being 120, while during the preceding winter the mercury sank thirty-six times below zero, the lowest being 23". In the northern and northwestern part of the state the temperature sometimes falls to the freezing point of mercury. During the exceptionally cold Winter of 1872-3, at La Crosse, the thermometer sank nearly fifty times below zero; on Decem ber 24, it indicated 37" below, and on January 18, 43" below zero, averaging about 120 below the usual mean for those months. The moderating effect of Lake Michigan can be seen by observing how the lines indicating the mean winter temperature curve northward as they approach the lake. Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Two Rivers, and the Grand Traverse region of Michigan, have the same average wintei temperature. The same is true regarding Galena, 111., Beloit, and Kewaunee. A similar influence is noticed in all parts of the state. Dr. Lapham concludes that this is not wholly due to the presence of Lake Michigan, but that the mountain range which extends from a little west of Lake Superior to the coast of Labrador (from 1,100 to 2,240 feet high) protects the lake region in no inconsiderable degree from the excessive cold of winter. 126 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. According to the same authority, the time at which the Milwaukee river was closed wi h ice, for a period of nine years, varied between November 15 and December 1 ; the time at which it became free from ice, between March 3 and April 13. In the lake district, snow and rain are 'interspersed through all the winter months, rain being sometimes as profuse as at any other sea son. In the northwestern part the winter is more rigid and dry. Northern New York and the New England states usually have snow lying on the ground the whole winter, but in the southern ilake district it rarely remains so long. In i842-'43, however, sleighing commenced about the middle of November, and lasted till about the same time in April — five months. The average temperature for the three months of spring, March, April and May, from Wal worth county to St. Paul, is about 45". In central Wisconsin the mean for March is about 270, ¦which is an increase of nearly 7 Q from February. The lowest temperature of this month in 1876 was 400 above zero. April shows an average increase of about 9° over March. In 1876 the line of 45 Q for this month passed from LaCrosse to Evanston, 111., touching Lake Erie at Toledo, showing that the interior west of Lake Michigan is warmer than the lake region. The change from winter to spring is more sudden in the interior than in the vicinity of the lakes. "In the town of Lisbon, fifteen miles from Lake Michigan," says Dr. Lapham, " early spring flowers show themselves about ten days earlier than on the lake. In spring vegetation, in places remote from the lakes, shoots up in a very short time, and flowers show their petals, while on the lake shore the cool air retards them and brings them more gradually into existence." The in crease from April to May is about 150. In May, 1876, Pembina and Milwaukee had nearly the same mean temperature, about 55 °. The extremes of our climate and the sudden changes of temperature no doubt have a marked influence, both physically and mentally, on the American people. And though a more ¦equable climate may be more conducive to perfect health, the great range of our climate from arctic to tropical, and the consequent variety and abundance of vegetable products, combine to make the Mississippi valley perhaps one of the most favorable areas in the world for the develop ment of a strong and wealthy nation. During the months of summer, in the interior of the eastern United States, at least three- fourths of the rain-fall is in showers usually accompanied by electrical discharges and limited to ¦small areas. But in autumn, winter, and spring nearly the whole precipitation takes place in general storms extending over areas of 300, 500 and sometimes over 1,000 miles in diameter, and generally lasting two or three days. An area* of low atmospheric pressure causes the wind to blow toward that area from all sides, and when the depression is sudden and great, it is accompanied by much rain or snow. On account of the earth's rotation, the wind blowing toward this region of low pressure is deflected to the right, causing the air to circulate around the center with a motion spirally inward. In our latitude the storm commences with east winds. When the storm center, or area of lowest barometer, is to the south of us, the wind gradually veers, as the storm passes from west to east with the upper current, round to the northwest by the north point. On the south side of the storm center, the wind veers from southeast to southwest, by the south point. The phenomena attending such a storm when we are in or near the part of its center are usually as follows : After the sky has become overcast with clouds, the wind from the northeast generally begins to rise and blows in the opposing direction to the march of the storm. The , clouds which are now moving over us, discharge rain or snow according to circumstances. The barometer continues to fall, and the rain or snow is brought obliquely down from the northern ¦quarter by the prevailing wind. After a while the wind changes slightly in diiection and then •ceases. The thermometer rises and the barometer has reached its lowest point. This is the center •of the storm. After the calm the wind has changed its direction to northwest or west. The CLIMATOLOGY OF WISCONSIN. 127' w ind blows again, usually more violently than before, accompanied by rain or snow, which is now generally of short duration. The sky clears, and the storm is suddenly succeeded by a tempera ture ro or 20 degrees below the mean. Most of the rain and snow falls with the east winds, or before the center passes a given point. The path of these storms is from west to east, or nearlv so, and only seldom in other directions. These autumn, winter, and spring rains are generally first noticed on the western plains, but may originate at any point along their path, and move eastward with an average velocity of about 20 miles an hour in summer and 30 miles in winter, but sometimes attaining a velocity of over 50 miles, doing great damage on the lakes. In pre dicting these storms, the signal service of the army is of incalculable practical benefit, as well as in collecting data for scientific conclusions. A subject of the greatest importance to every inhabitant of Wisconsin is the influence of forests on climate and the effects of disrobing a county of its trees. The general influence of forests in modifying the extremes of temperature, retarding evaporation and the increased humidity of the air, has already been mentioned. That clearing the land of trees increases the temperature of the ground in summer, is so readily noticed that it is scarcely necessary to men tion it ; while in winter the sensible cold is never so extreme in woods as on an open surface exposed to the full force of the winds. " The lumbermen in Canada and the northern Unitedi States labor in the woods without inconvenience., when the mercury stands many degrees below zero, while in the open grounds, with only a moderate breeze, the same temperature is almost insupportable." " In the state of Michigan it has been found that the winters have greatly increased in severity within the last forty years, and that this increased severity seems to move along even-paced with the destruction of the forests. Thirty years ago the peach was one of the most abundant fruits of that State ; at that time frost, injurious to corn at any time from May to> October, was a thing unknown. Now the peach is an uncertain crop, and frost often injures the corn." The precise influence of forests on temperature may not at present admit of definite solu tion, yet the mechanical screen which they furnish to the soil often far to the leeward of them, is sufficiently established, and this alone is enough to encourage extensive planting wherever this protection is wanting. With regard to the quantity of rain-fall, " we can not positively affirm that the total annual quantity of rain is even locally diminished or increased by the destruction of the woods, though both theoretical considerations and the balance of testimony strongly favor the opinion that more rain falls in wooded than in open countries. One important conclusion, at least, upon the- meteorological influence of forests is certain and undisputed: the proposition, namely, that,. within their own limits, and near their own borders, they maintain a more uniform degree of humidity in the atmosphere than is observed in cleared grounds. Scarcely less can it be- questioned that they tend to promote the frequency of showers, and, if they do not augment the amount of precipitation, they probably equalize its distribution through the different seasons." There is abundant and undoubted evidence that the amount of water existing on the surface in lakes and rivers, in many parts of the world, is constantly diminishing. In Germany, observa tions of the Rhine, Oder, Danube, and the Elbe, in the latter case going back for a period of 142 years, demonstrate beyond doubt, that each of these rivers has much decreased in volume, and there is reason to fear that they will eventually disappear from the list of navigable rivers. " The ' Blue-Grass ' region of Kentucky, once the pride of the West, has now districts of such barren and arid nature that their stock farmers are moving toward the Cumberland mount ains, because the creeks and old springs dried up, and their wells became too low to furnish water for their cattle." In our own state " such has been the change in the flow of the Milwau- 128 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. kee river, even while the area from which it receives its supply is but partially cleared, that the proprietors of" most of the mills and factories have found it necessary to resort to the use of steam, at a largely increased yearly cost, to supply the deficiency of water-power in dry seasons of the year." "What has happened to the Milwaukee river, has happened to all the other water courses in the state from whose banks the forest has been removed ; and many farmers who selected land uqon which there was a living brook of clear, pure water, now find these brooks dried up during a considerable portion of the year.' Districts stripped of their forest are said to be more exposed than before to loss of harvests, to droughts and frost. " Hurricanes, before unknown, sweep unopposed over the regions thus denuded, carrying terror and devastation in their track." Parts of Asia Minor, North Africa, and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean, now almost deserts, were once densely populated and the granaries of the world. And there is good reason to believe " that it is the destruction of the forests which has produced this devastation." From such facts Wisconsin, already largely robbed of its forests, should take warning before it is too late. TREES, SHRUBS AND VINES. By P. R. HOY, M.D. It is not the purpose of this article to give a botanical description, but merely brief notes on the economical value of the woods, and the fitness of the various indigenous trees, shrubs and vines for the purpose of ornament, to be found in Wisconsin. White Oak — Quercus Alba. — This noble tree is the largest and most important of the American oaks. The excellent properties of the wood render it eminently valuable for a great variety of uses. Wherever strength and durability are required, the white oak stands in the first rank. It is employed in making wagons, coaches and sleds ; staves and hoops of the best quality for barrels and casks are obtained from this tree ; it is extensively used in architecture, ship building, etc.; vast quantities are used for fencing ; the bark is employed in tanning. The domes tic consumption of this tree is so great that it is of the first importance to preserve the young trees wherever it is practicable, and to make young plantations where the tree is not found. The white oak is a graceful, ornamental tree, and worthy of particular attention as such ; found abun dantly in most of the timbered districts. Burr Oak — Q. Macrocarpa. — This is perhaps the most ornamental of our oaks. Nothing can exceed the graceful beauty of these trees, when not crowded or cramped in their growth, but left free to follow the laws of their development. Who has not admired these trees in our exten sive burr oak openings ? The large leaves are a dark green above and a bright silvery white beneath, which gives the tree a singularly fine appearance when agitated by the wind. The wood is tough, close-grained, and more durable than the white oak, especially when exposed to frequent changes of moisture and drying; did the tree grow to the same size, it would be preferred for most uses. Abundant, and richly worthy of cultivation, both for utility and ornament. Swamp White Oak — Q. Bicotor. — Is a valuable and ornamental tree, not quite so large or as common as the burr oak. The wood is close-grained, durable, splits freely, and is well worthy of cultivation in wet, swampy grounds, where it will thrive. Post Oak — Q. Obtusiloba. — Is a scraggy, small tree, found sparingly in this state. The tim ber is durable, and makes good fuel. Not worthy of cultivation. TREES, SHRUBS AND VINES. 129 Swamp Chestnut Oak — Q. Prinus. — This species of chestnut oak is a large, graceful tree, wood rather open-grained, yet valuable for most purposes to which the oaks are applied ; makes the best fuel of any of this family. A rare tree, found at JanesviUe and Brown's lake, near Bur lington. Worthy of cultivation. Red Oak — Q. Rubra. — The red oak is a well-known, common, large tree. The wood is coarse-grained, and the least durable of the oaks, nearly worthless for fuel, and scarcely worthy of cultivation, even for ornament. Pin Oak — Q. Palustris. — This is one of the most common trees in many sections of the state. The wood is of little value except for fuel. The tree is quite ornamental, and should be sparingly cultivated for this purpose. Shingle Oak — Q. Imbricaria. — Is a tree of medium size, found sparingly as far north as Wisconsin. It is ornamental, and the wood is used for shingles and staves. Scarlet Oak — Q. Coccinea. — This is an ornamental tree, especially in autumn, when its leaves turn scarlet, hence the name. Wood of little value ; common. Sugar Maple — Acer Saccharium. — This well-known and noble tree is found growing abun dantly in many sections of the state. The wood is close-grained and susceptible of a beautiful polish, which renders it valuable for many kinds of furniture, more especially the varieties known as bird's-eye and curled maples. The wood lacks the durability of the oak; consequently is not valuable for purposes where it will be exposed to the weather. For fuel it ranks next to hickory. The sugar manufactured from this tree affords no inconsiderable resource for 1 he comfort and even wealth of many sections of the northern states, especially those newly settled, where it would be difficult and expensive to procure their supply from a distance. As an ornamental tree it stands almost at the head of the catalogue. The foliage is beautiful, compact, and free from the attacks of insects. It puts forth its yellow blossoms early, and in the autumn the leaves change in color and show the most beautiful tints of red and yellow long before they fall. Worthy of especial attention for fuel and ornament, and well adapted to street-planting. Red Maple — A. Rubrum. — Is another fine maple of more rapid growth than the foregoing species. With wood rather lighter, but quite as valuable for cabinet-work — for fuel not quite so good. The young trees bear transplanting even better than other maples. Though highly orna mental, this tree hardly equals the first-named species. It puts forth, in early spring, its scarlet blossoms before a leaf has yet appeared. Well adapted to street-planting. Mountain Maple — A. Spicatum. — Is a small branching tree, or rather shrub, found grow ing in clumps. Not worthy of much attention. Silver Maple — A. Dasycarpum. — This is a common tree growing on the banks of streams, especially in the western part of the state, grown largely for ornament, yet for the purpose it is the least valuable of the maples. The branches are long and straggling, and so brittle that they are liable to be injured by winds. Box Maple — Negundo Aceroides. — This tree is frequently called box elder. It is of a rapid growth and quite ornamental. The wood is not much used in the arts, but is good fuel. Should be cultivated. It grows on Sugar and Rock rivers. White Elm — Ulmus Americana. — This large and graceful tree stands confessedly at the head of the list of ornamental deciduous trees. Its wide-spreading branches and long, pendu lous branchlets form a beautiful and conspicuous head. It grows rapidly, is free from disease and the destructive attacks of insects, will thrive on most soils, and for planting along streets, in public grounds or lawns, is unsurpassed by any American tree. The wood is but little used in the arts ; makes good firewood ; should be planted along all the roads and streets, near every dwelling, and on all public grounds. 130 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Slippery Elm — V. Fulva. — This smaller and less ornamental species is also common. The wood, however, is much more valuable than the white elm, being durable and splitting readily. It makes excellent rails, and is much used for the framework of buildings ; valuable for fuel ; should be cultivated. Wild Black Cherry — Cerasus Serotina. — This large and beautiful species of cherry is one of the most valuable of American trees. The wood is compact, fine-grained, and of a brilliant reddish color, not liable to warp, or shrink and swell with atmospheric changes ; extensively em ployed by cabinet-makers for every species of furnishing. It is exceedingly durable, hence is valuable for fencing, building, etc. Richly deserves a place in the lawn or timber plantation. Bird Cherry — C. Pennsylvanica. — Is a small northern species, common in the state and worthy of cultivation for ornament. Choke Cherry — C. Virginiana. — This diminutive tree is of little value, not worth the trouble of cultivation. Wild Plum — Prunus Americana. — The common wild plum when in full bloom is one of the most ornamental of small flowering trees, and as such should not be neglected. The fruit is rather agreeable, but not to be compared to fine cultivated varieties, which may be engrafted on the wild stock to the very best advantage. It is best to select small trees, and work them on the roots. The grafts should be inserted about the middle of April. Hackberry — Celtis Occidentalis. — This is an ornamental tree of medium size ; wood hard,, close-grained and elastic ; makes the best of hoops, whip-stalks, and thills for carriages. The Indians formerly made great use of the hackbeiry wood for their bows. A tree worthy of a lim ited share of attention. American Linden or Basswood — Tilia Americana. — Is one of the finest ornamental trees for public grounds, parks, etc., but will not thrive where the roots are exposed to bruises ; for this reason it is not adapted to planting along the streets of populous towns. The wood is light and tough, susceptible of being bent to almost any curve ; durable if kept from the weather ; takes- paint well, and is considerably used in the arts ; for fuel it is of little value. This tree will flourish in almost any moderately rich, damp soil ; bears transplanting well ; can be propagated readily from layers. White Thorn — Crataegus Coccinea, and Dotted Thorn — C. Punctata. — These two species of thorn are found everywhere on the rich bottom lands. When in bloom they are beautiful, and should be cultivated for ornament. The wood is remarkably compact and hard, and were it not for the small size of the tree, would be valuable. Crab Apple — Pyrus Coronaria. — This common small tree is attractive when covered with its highly fragrant rose-colored blossoms. Wood hn'-d, fine, compact grain, but the tree is too small for the wood to be of much practical value. Well worthy of a place in extensive grounds. Mountain Ash — P. Americana. — This popular ornament to our yards is found growing in the northern part of the state and as far south as 430. The wood is useless. White Ash — Fraxinus Acuminata— -Is a large, interesting tree, which combines utility with beauty in an eminent degree. The wood possesses strength, suppleness and elasticity, which renders it valuable for a great variety of uses. It is extensively employed in carriage manufact uring; for various agricultural implements ; is esteemed superior to any other wood for oars; excellent for fuel. The white ash grows rapidly, and in open ground forms one of the most lovely trees that is to be found. The foliage is clean and handsome, and in autumn turns from its bright green to a violet purple hue, which adds materially to the beauty of our autumnal syl van scenery. It is richly deserving our especial care and protection, and will amply repay all labor and expense bestowed on its cultivation. TREES, SHRUBS AND VINES. 131 Black Ash — F Sambucifolia. — This is another tall, graceful and well-known species of ash. The wood is used for making baskets, hoops, etc. ; when thoroughly dry, affords a good article of fuel. Deserves to be cultivated in low, rich, swampy situations, where more useful trees will not thrive. Black Walnut — Juglans Nigra. — This giant of the rich alluvial bottom lands claims special attention for its valuable timber. It is among the most durable and beautiful of Ameri can woods ; susceptible of a fine polish ; not liable to shrink and swell by heat and moisture. It is extensively employed by the cabinet-makers for every variety of furniture. Walnut forks, are frequently found which rival in richness and beauty the far-famed mahogany. This tree, in favorable situations, grows rapidly ; is highly ornamental, and produces annually an abundant crop of nuts. Butternut — J. Cinerea. — This species of walnut is not as valuable as the above, yet for its beauty, and the durability of its wood, it should claim a small portion of attention. The wood is rather soft for most purposes to which it otherwise might be applied. When grown near streams, or on moist side-hills, it produces regularly an ample crop of excellent nuts. It grows rapidly. Shell-Bark Hickory — Carya Alba. — This, the largest and finest of American hickories, grows abundantly throughout the state. Hickory wood possesses probably the greatest strength and tenacity of any of our indigenous trees, and is used for a variety of purposes, but, unfortunately, it is liable to be eaten by worms, and lacks durability. For fuel, the shell-bark hickory stands unrivaled. The tree is ornamental and produces every alternate year an ample crop of the best of nuts. Shag-Bark Hickory — C. Inclata. — Is a magnificent tree, the wood of which is nearly as valuable as the above. The nuts are large, thick-shelled and coarse, not to be compared to the C alba. A rare tree in Wisconsin ; abundant further south. Pignut Hickory — C. Glabra. — This species possesses all the bad and but few of the good qualities of the shell-bark. The nuts are smaller and not so good. The tree should be pre served and cultivated in common with the shell-bark. Not abundant. Bitternut — C. Amara. — Is an abundant tree, valuable for fuel, but lacking the strength and elasticity of the preceding species. It is, however, quite as ornamental as any of the hickories. Red Beech — Fagus Ferruginea. — This is a common tree, with brilliant, shining light-green leaves, and long, flexible branches. It is highly ornamental, and should be cultivated for this purpose, as well as for its useful wood, which is tough, close-grained and compact. It is much used for plane-stocks, tool handles, etc., and as an article of fuel is nearly equal to maple. Water Beech — Carpinus Americana. — Is a small tree, called hornbeam by many. The wood is exceedingly hard and compact, but the small size of the tree renders it almost useless. Iron Wood — Ostrya Virginica. — This small tree is found disseminated throughout most of our woodlands. It is, to a considerable degree, ornamental, but of remarkably slow growth. The wood possesses valuable properties, being heavy and strong, as the name would indicate ; yet, from its small size, it is of but little use. Balsam Poplar — Populus Candicans. — This tree is of medium size, and is known by sev eral names : Wild balm of Gilead, cottonwood, etc. It grows in moist, sandy soil, on river bot toms. It has broad, heart-shaped leaves, which turn a fine yellow after the autumn frosts. It grows more rapidly than any other of our trees ; can be transplanted with entire success when eight or nine inches in diameter, and makes a beatiful shade tree— the most ornamental of pop lars. The wood is soft, spongy, and nearly useless. 132 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN- Quaking Aspen— P Tremuloides.— -Is a well-known, small tree. It is rather ornamental, but scarcely worth cultivating. Large Aspen— P. Grandidentata.— Is the largest of our poplars. It frequently grows to the height of sixty or seventy feet, with a diameter of two and one-half feet. The wood is soft, easily split, and used for frame buildings. It is the most durable of our poplars. Cotton Wood— P. Monolifera — This is the largest of all the poplars ; abundant on the Mississippi river. Used largely for fuel on the steamboats. The timber is of but little use in the arts. Sycamore or Button wood — Platanus Occidentalis. — This, the largest and most majestic of our trees, is found growing only on the rich alluvial river bottoms. The tree is readily known, even at a considerable distance, by its whitish smooth branches. The foliage is large and beautiful, and the tree one of the most ornamental known. The wood speedily decays, and when sawed into lumber warps badly ; on these accounts it is but little used, although susceptible of a fine finish. As an article of fuel it is of inferior merit. Canoe Bmcu—Betula Papyracea.—ls a rather elegant and interesting tree. It grows abund antly in nearly every part of the state. The wood is of a fine glossy grain, susceptible of a good finish, but lacks durability and strength, and, therefore, is but little used in the mechanical arts. For fuel it is justly prized. It bears transplanting without difficulty. The Indians manufacture their celebrated bark canoes from the bark of this tree. Cherry Birch — B. Lenta. — This is a rather large, handsome tree, growing along streams. Leaves and bark fragrant. Wood, fine-grained, rose-colored ; used largely by the cabinet makers. Yellow Birch — B. Lutea. — This beautiful tree occasionally attains a large size. It is highly ornamental, and is of value for fuel; but is less prized than the preceding species for cab inet work. Kentucky Coffee Tree — Gymnocladus Canadensis. — This singularly beautiful tree is only found sparingly, and on rich alluvial lands. I met with it growing near the Peccatonica, in Green county. The wood is fine-grained, and of a rosy hue ; is exceedingly durable, and well worth cultivating. June Berry — Amelanchier Canadensis. — Is a small tree which adds materially to the beauty of our woods in early spring, at which time it is in full bloom. The wood is of no particular value, and the tree interesting only when covered with its white blossoms. White Pine — Pinus Strolus. — This is the largest and most valuable of our indigenous pines. The wood is soft, free from resin, and works easily. It is extensively employed in the mechan ical arts. It is found in great profusion in the northern parts of the state. This species is readily known by the leaves being in fives. It is highly ornamental, but in common with all pines, will hardly bear transplanting. Only small plants should be moved. Norway or Red Pine — P. Resinosa, and Yellow Pine — P. Mitis. — These are two large trees, but little inferior in size to the white pine. The wood contains more resin, and is conse quently more durable. The leaves of both these species are in twos. Vast quantities of lumber are yearly manufactured from these two varieties and the white pine. The extensive pineries of the state are rapidly diminishing. Shrub Pine — P. Banksiana. — Is a small, low tree ; only worthy of notice here for the orna mental shade it produces. It is found in the northern sections of the state. Balsam Fir — Abies Balsamea. — This beautiful evergreen is multiplied to a great extent on the shores of Lake Superior, where it grows forty or fifty feet in height. The wood is of but TREES, SHRUBS AND VINES. 133 little value The balsam of fir, or Canadian balsam, is obtained from this tree. Double Spruce — A. Nigra. — This grows in the same localities with the balsam fir, and assumes the same pyramidal form, but is considerably larger. The wood is light and possesses considerable strength and elasticity, which renders it one of the best materials for yard's and top masts for shipping. It is extensively cultivated for ornament. Hemlock — A. Canadensis. — The hemlock is the largest of the genus. It is gracefully orna mental, but the wood is of little value. The baik is extensively employed in tanning. Tamarack — Larix Americana. — This beautiful tree grows abundantly in swampy situations throughout the state. It is not quite an evergreen It drops its leaves in winter, but quickly recovers them in early spring. The wood is remarkably durable and valuable for a variety of uses. The tree grows rapidly, and can be successfully cultivated in peaty situations, where other trees would not thrive. Arbor Vitj 398-) attributes the discovery to Nicolas Perrot, about 1692; and states that in r72i the deposits still bore Perrot's name. Perrot himself, however, in the only one of his writings that remains, makes no mention of the matter. The itinerary of Le Sueur's voyage up the Mississippi, 1700-1701, given in La Harpe's History of Louisiana, which was written early in , the 18th century, shows that the former found lead on the banks of the Mississippi, not far from MINERAL RESOURCES. 163 the present southern boundary of Wisconsin, August 25, 1700. Captain Johathan Carver, 1766, found lead in abundance at the Blue Mounds, and found the Indians in all the country around in possession of masses of galena, which they had obtained as " float mineral," and which they were incapable of putting to any use. There is no evidence of any one mining before Julien Dubuque, who, 1788 to 1809, mined in the vicinity of the flourishing city which nowbears his name. After his death in 1809 nothing more was done until 1821, when the attention of American citizens was first drawn to the rich lead deposits of this region. By 1827, the mining had become quite general and has continued to the present time, the maximum production having been reached, however, between the years 1845 and 1847. The following table, prepared by the late Moses Strong, shows the mineral production of southwestern Wisconsin for the years i860 to 1873 in pounds: YEARS. GALENA. SMITHSONITE. YEAR. GALENA. SMITHSONITE. BLENDE. i860 320,000 266,000 1,120,000 3,173,333 4,198,200 7,373.333 18671868 lS6g I8701871 18721873 13.820,78413,869,61913,426,721 13.754,159 13,484,210 11,622,668 9,9I9,734 '5.181,445 4,302,3834.547,971 4,429.585 16,618,160 27,021,383 18,528,906 841,310- 3,078,435. 6,252,420 7,414,022 9,303,625 16,256,970 15,074,664 l86l 18621863186418651866 17,037,91215,105,57713.014,21014.337,89514,029,192 Until within the last decade the lead mines of the Mississippi valley, including now both the " Upper " and the " Lower " regions — the latter one of which lies wholly within the limits of the state of Missouri — have far eclipsed the rest of the United States in the production of lead, the district being in fact one of the most important of the lead districts in the world. Of late years, however, these mines are far surpassed in production by the " silver-lead " mines of Utah and other Rocky Mountain regions, which, though worked especially for their silver, produce incidentally a very large amount of lead. Nevertheless, the mines of the Mississippi valley will long continue to be a very important source of this metal. The lead ore of the Wisconsin lead region is of one kind only, the sulphide known as galena, or galenite. This ore, when free from mechanically mingled impurities, contains 86.6 per cent, of lead, the balance being sulphur. Small quantities of other lead ores are occasionally found in the uppermost portions of the deposits, having been produced by the oxidizing influence of the atmosphere. The chief one of these oxidation products is the earthy carbonate known as cerussite. Galena almost always contains some silver, commonly enough to pay for its extraction. The Wisconsin galenas, however, are unusually free from silver, of which they contain only the merest trace. The zinc ores are of two kinds, the most abundant being the ferruginous sulphide, or the "black-jack '' of the miners. The pure sulphide, sphalerite, contains 67 per cent, of zinc, but the iron-bearing variety, known minerallogically as marmatite, generally contains 10 per cent, or more of iron. A ferruginous variety of the carbonate, smithsonite, also occurs in abundance, and is known to the miners as " dry-bone," the name being suggested by the peculiar structure of the ore. Both lead and zinc ores occur in limited deposits in a series of limestone beds belonging to the Lower Silurian series. The lead region is underlaid by a nearly horizontal series of strata, with an aggregate thickness of 2,000 feet, which lie upon an irregular surface of ancient crystal line rocks (gneiss, granite, etc.). The names and order of succession of the several strata are indicated in the following scheme, the last named being the lowest in the series : 164 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Formation, Thickness. Niagara dolomitic limestone 300 — 300 feet. Cincinnati shales 60 — 100 " ( Galena dolomitic limestone 250 — 275 " Lead Horizon < Blue limestone 5° — 75 " ( Buff dolomitic limestone --- 15 — 20 " Lower Magnesian (dolomitic) limestone 250 " Potsdam sandstone series _ 800 — 1000 " The first two of these layers, in the Wisconsin part of the lead region, are met with only in a few isolated peaks and ridges. The prevailing surface rock is the Galena limestone, through which, however, the numerous streams cut in deep and narrow valleys which not unfrequently are carved all the way into the Lower Magnesian. The lead and zinc ores are entirely confined to the Galena, Blue and Buff limestones, an aggregate vertical thickness of some 350 to 375 feet. The upper and lower strata of the series are entirely barren. Zinc and lead ores are found in the same kind of deposits, and often together; by far the larger part of the zinc ores, however, come from the Blue and Buff limestones, and the lowest layers of the Galena, whilst the lead ores, though obtained throughout the whole thickness of the mining ground, are especially abundant in the middle and upper layers of the Galena beds. The ore deposits are of two general kinds, which may be distinguished as vertical crevices and fiat crevices, the former being much the most common. The simplest form of the vertical crevice is a narrow crack in the rock, having a width of a few inches, an extension laterally from a few yards to several hundred feet, and a vertical height of 20 to 40 feet, thinning out to noth ing in all directions, and filled from side to side with highly crystalline, brilliant, large-surfaced galena, which has no accompanying metallic mineral, or gangue matter. Occasionally the vertical extension exceeds a hundred feet, and sometimes a number of these sheets are close together and can be mined as one. Much more commonly the vertical crevice shows irregular expan sions, which are sometimes large caves, or openings in certain layers, the crevice between retain ing its normal character, while in other cases the expansion affects the whole crevice, occasion ally widening it throughout into one large opening. These openings are rarely entirely filled, and commonly contain a loose, disintegrated rock, in which the galena lies loose in large masstes, though often adhering to the sides of the cavity in large stalactites, or in cubical crystals. The vertical crevices show a very distinct arrangement parallel with one another, there being two systems, which roughly trend east and west, and north and south. The east and west crevices are far the most abundant and most productive of ore. The vertical crevices are confined nearly altogether to the upper and middle portions of the Galena, and are not productive of zinc ores. They are evidently merely the parallel joint cracks which affect every great rock formation, filled by chemical action with the lead ore. The crevices with openings have evidently been enlarged by the solvent power of atmospheric water carrying carbonic acid, and from the way in which the ore occurs loose in the cavities, it is evident that this solving action has often been subsequent to the first deposition of lead ore in the crevice. The "flat crevices," " flat sheets," and "flat openings," are analogous to the deposits just described, but have, as indicated by the names, a horizontal position, being characteristic of certain layers, which have evidently been more susceptible to chemical action than others, the dissolving waters having, moreover, been directed along them by less pervious layers above and below. The flat openings differ from the vertical crevices also, in having associated with the MINERAL RESOURCES. 165 galena much of either the black-jack or dry-bone zinc ores, or both, the galena not unfrequently being entirely wanting. Cleavable calcite also accompanies the ores in these openings in large quantities, and the same is true of the sulphide of iron, which is the variety known as marcasite. These materials have sometimes a symmetrical arrangement on the bottom and top of the open ing, the central portion being empty. The flat openings characterize the Blue and Buff and lower Galena beds, and from them nearly all the zinc ore is obtained. It is not possible, in the limits of this short papei, even to mention the various mining districts. It may merely be said that the amount of galena raised from single crevices has often been several hundred thousand, or even over a million pounds, and that one of the principal mining districts is in the vicinity of Mineral Point, where there are two furnaces constantly engaged in smelting. Between the years 1862 and 1873, these two establishments have produced 23,903,260 pounds of metallic lead, or an average of 1,991,938 pounds, the maximum being, in 1869, 2,532,710 pounds, the minimum, in 1873, 1,518,888 pounds. The zinc ores were formerly rejected as useless, and have only been utilized since i860. An attempt to smelt them at Mineral Point was not successful, because the amount needed of fuel and clay, both of which have to come from a distance, exceeding even the amount of ore used, ¦caused a very heavy expense for transportation. The ores are therefore now taken altogether to LaSalle, Illinois, where they meet the fuel and clay, and the industry at that place has become a flourishing one. The amount of zinc ore in the Wisconsin lead region is, beyond doubt, very great, and will be a source of wealth for a long time to come. Since the ores of zinc and lead in this region are confined to such a small thickness of strata greatly eroded by the atmospheric waters, the entire thickness having frequently been removed, it becomes a matter of great importance to know how much of the mining ground remains at -every point throughout the district. The very excellent topographico-geological maps of the region, made by Mr. Moses Strong, and since published by the State in the Report of the Geological Survey, make this knowledge accessible to all. IRON. Iron mining in Wisconsin is yet in its infancy, although some important deposits are producing a considerable quantity of ore. A number of blast furnaces have sprung up in the •eastern part of the state, but these smelt Michigan ores almost entirely. Much remains yet to he done in the way of exploration, for the most promising iron fields are in the heavily timbered and unsettled regions of the north part of the state, and are as yet imperfectly known. It appears probable, however, that iron ores will, in the near future, be the most important mineral production of Wisconsin. The several ores will be noted in the order of their present im portance. Red Hematites. The iron in these ores exists as an anhydrous sesquioxide, which is, however, in an earthy condition, and entirely without the brilliant metallic luster that characterizes the specular hema tites. Pure hematite contains seventy per cent, of metallic iron, but the red hematites, as mined, are always so largely mingled with mechanical impurities that they rarely contain more than fifty per cent. The most important red hematite mined in Wisconsin is that known as the Clinton iron ore, the name coming from the formation in which the ore occurs. This formation is a member ¦of the Upper Silurian series, and is named from a locality in Oneida county, New York, where it was first recognized. Associated with its rocks, which are limestones and shales, is con stantly found a peculiar red hematite, which is so persistent in its characters, both physical and iGG HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. and chemical, that one familiar with it from any one locality can hardly fail to recognize it where coming from others. The iron produced from it is always "cold-short," on account of the large content of phosphorus ; but, mingled with siliceous ores free from phosphorus, it yields always a most excellent foundry iron. It is mined at numerous points from New York to Tennessee, and at some points reaches a very great total thickness. In Wisconsin the Clinton rocks merge into the great Niagara lim estone series of the eastern part of the state, but at the bottom of the series, in a few places, the Clinton ore is found immediately overlying the Cincinnati shales. The most important locality is that known as Iron Ridge, on sections twelve and thirteen in the town of Hubbard, in Dodge county. Here a north-and-south ledge of Niagara limestone overlooks lower land to the west. Underneath, at the foot of the ridge, is the ore bed, fifteen to eighteen feet in thickness, consisting of horizontally bedded ore, in layers three to fourteen inches thick. The ore has a concretionary structure, being composed of lenticular grains, one twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter, but the top layer is without this structure, having a dark purplish color, and in places a slight metallic appearance. Much of the lower ore is somewhat hydrated. Three quarters of a mile north of Iron Ridge, at Mayville, there is a total thickness of as much as forty feet. According to Mr. E. T. Sweet, the percentages of the several constituents of the Iron Ridge ore are as follows: iron peroxide, 66.38; carbonate of lime, 10.42; carbonate of magnesia, 2.79; silica, 4.72; alumina, 5.54; manganese oxide, 0.44; sulphur, 0.23 ; phosphoric acid, 0.73; water,. 8.75 = 100: metallic iron, 46.66. Two small charcoal furnaces at Mayville and Iron Ridge smelt a considerable quantity of these ores alone, producing an iron very rich in phosphorus. An analysis of the Mayville pig. iron, also by Mr. Sweet, shows the following composition: iron, 95.784 per cent; phosphorus, 1.675 : carbon, 0.849; silicon, 0.108 = 100.286. The average furnace yield of the ore is forty- five per cent. By far the larger part of the ore, however, is sent away to mingle with other ores. It goes to Chicago, Joliet and Springfield, 111., St. Louis, Mo., Wyandotte and Jackson, Mich., and Appleton, Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wis. In 1872, the Iron Ridge mines yielded 82,371 tons. The Clinton ore is found at other places farther north along the outcrop of the base of the Niagara formation in Wisconsin , but no one of these appears to promise any great quantity of good ore. Red hematite is found at numerous places in Wisconsin, highly charging certain layers of the Potsdam sandstone series, the lowest one of the horizontal Wisconsin formations. In the eastern part of the town of Westfield, Sauk county, the iron ore excludes the sandstone, forming an excellent ore. No developments have been made in this district, so that the size- of the deposit is not definitely known. Brown Hematites. These ores contain their iron as the hydrated, or brown, sesquioxide, which, when pure, has about sixty per cent, of the metal ; the ordinary brown hematites, however, seldom contain over forty per cent. Bog iron ore, a porous brown hematite that forms by deposi tion from the water of bogs, occurs somewhat widely scattered underneath the large marshes of Portage, Wood and Juneau counties. Very excellent bog ore, containing nearly 50 per cent, of iron, is found near Necedah, Juneau county, and near Grand Rapids, Wood county, but the amount obtainable is not definitely known. The Necedah ore contains: silica, 8.52 ; alumina, 377; iron peroxide, 71.40; manganese oxide, 0.27; lime, 0.58; magnesia, trace; phosphoric acid, 0.21; sulphur, 0.02; organic matter, 1.62; water, 13.46=99.85; metallic iron, 49.98— according to Mr. E. T. Sweet's analysis. An ore from section 34, twp. 23, range 6 east, Wood county, yielded, to Mr. Oliver Matthews, silica, 4.81 ; alumina, 1.00; iron peroxide, 73.23; lime, o.n, magnesia, 0.25; sulphuric acid, 0.07 ; phosphoric acid, o. 10; organic matter, 5.88; water,.. MINERAL RESOURCES. 167 14.24; =99.69: metallic iron, 51.26. Brown hematite, mingled with more or less red ore, occurs also in some quantity filling cracks and irregular cavities in certain portions of the Potsdam series in northwestern Sauk county and the adjoining portion of Richland. A small charcoal furnace has been in operation on this ore at Ironton, Sauk county, for a number of years, and recently another one has been erected at Cazenovia in the same district. Magnetic Ores and Specular Hematites. These are taken together here, because their geological occurrence is the same, the two ores occurring not only in the same group of rocks, but even intimately mingled with one another. These ores are not now produced in Wisconsin ; but it is quite probable that they may before many years become its principal mineral production. In magnetic iron ore, the iron is in the shape of the mineral magnetite, an oxide of iron containing 72 4 per cent of iron when pure, and this is the highest percentage of iron that any ore can ever have. Specular hematite is the same .as red hematite, but is crystalline, has a bright, metallic luster, and a considerable hardness. As mined the richest magnetic and specular ores rarely run over 65 per cent., while in most regions where they are mined they commonly do not reach 50 per cent. The amount of rich ores of this kind in the northern peninsula of Michigan is so great, however, that an ore with less than 50 per cent, finds no sale; and the same must be true in the adjoining states. So largely does this mat ter of richness affect the value of an ore, that an owner of a mine of 45 per cent. " hard " ore in Wis consin would find it cheaper to import and smelt Michigan 65 per cent, ore, than to smelt his own, even if his furnace and mine were side by side. The specular and magnetic ores of Wisconsin occur in two districts — the Penokee iron dis trict, ten to twenty miles south of Lake Superior, in Bayfield, Ashland and Lincoln counties, and the Menomonee iron district, near the head waters of the Menomonee river, in township 40, ranges 17 and 18 east, Oconto county. Specular iron in veins and nests is found in small quan tities with the quartz rocks-of the Baraboo valley, Sauk county, and Necedah, Juneau county; and very large quantities of a peculiar quartz-schist, charged with more or less of the magnetic and specular iron oxides, occur in the vicinity of Black River Falls, Jackson county; but in none •of these places is there any promise of the existence of valuable ore. In the Penokee and Menomonee regions, the iron ores occur in a series of slaty and quartzose rocks known to geologists as the Haronian series. The rocks of these districts are really the extensions westward of a great rock series, which in the northern Michigan peninsula contains the rich iron ores that have made that region so famous. In position, this rock series may be likened to. a great elongated parabola, the head of which is in the Marquette iron district and the two ends in the Penokee and Menomonee regions of Wisconsin. In all of its extent, this rock series holds great beds of lean magnetic and specular ores. These contain large quantities of quartz, which, from its great hardness, renders them very resistant to the action of atmospheric erosion. As a result, these lean ores are found forming high and bold ridges. Such ridges of lean ores have deceived many explorers, and not a few geologists. In the same rock series, for the most part occupying portions of a higher layer, are found, however, ores of extraordinary richness and purity, which, from their comparative softness, very rarely outcrop. The existence in quantity of these very rich ores in the Menomonee region has been definitely proven. One deposit, laid open during the Summer of 1877, shows a width of over 150 feet of first class specular ore; and exceeding in size the greatest of the famous deposits of Michigan. In the Penokee region, however, though the indications are favorable, the existence of the richer ores is as yet an inference only. The Penokee range itself is a wonderful development of 1(58 HISTORYOF WISCONSIN. lean ore, which forms a continuous belt several hundred feet in width and over thirty miles in length. Occasionally portions of this belt are richer than the rest, and become almost merchant able ores. The probability is, however, that the rich ores of this region will be found in the lower country immediately north of the Penokee range, where the rocks are buried beneath heavy accumulations of drift material. Copper. The only copper ore at present raised in Wisconsin is obtained near Mineral Point, in the lead region of the southwestern part of the state, where small quantities of chalcopyrite, the yellow sulphide of copper and iron, are obtained from pockets and limited crevices in the Galena lime stone. Copper pyrites is known to occur in this way throughout the lead region, but it does not appear that the quantity at any point is sufficient to warrant exploration. Copper occurs also in the northernmost portions of Wisconsin, where it is found under alto gether different circumstances. The great copper-bearing series of rocks of Keweenaw point and Isle Royale stretch southwestward into and entirely across the state of Wisconsin, in two parallel belts. One of these belts enters Wisconsin at the mouth of the Montreal river, and immediately leaving the shore of Lake Superior, crosses Ashland and Bayfield counties, and then widening greatly, occupies a large area in Douglas, St. Croix, Barron and Chippewa counties. The other belt forms the backbone of the Bayfield peninsula, and crosses the northern part of Douglas county, forming a bold ridge, to the Minnesota line. The rocks of this great series appear to be for the most part of igneous origin, but they are distinctly bedded, and even interstratified with sandstone, shales, and coarse boulder-conglomerate, the whole series having generally a tilted position. In veins crossing the rock-beds, and scattered also promiscuously through the layers of both conglomerates and igneous rocks, pure metallic copper in fine flakes is often found. Mining on a small scale has been attempted at numbers of points where the rivers flowing northward into Lake Superior make gorges across the rock series, but at none of them has sufficient work been done to prove or disprove the existence of copper in paying quantity. Gold and Silver. Small traces of gold have been detected by the writer in quartz from the crystalline rocks of Clark county, but there is no probability that any quantity of this metal will ever be found in the state. Traces of silver have also been found in certain layers of the copper series in Ash land county. Judging from the occurrence of silver in the same series not far to the east in Michigan, it seems not improbable that this metal may be found also in Wisconsin. Brick Clays. These constitute a very important resource in Wisconsin. Extending inland for many miles fiom the shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior are stratified beds of clay of lacustrine origin, having been deposited by the lakes when greatly expanded beyond their present sizes. All of these clays are characterized by the presence of a large amount of carbonate of lime. Along Lake Superior they have not yet been utilized, but all through the belt of country bordering Lake Michigan they are dug and burned, fully 50,000,000 bricks being made annually in this region. A large proportion of these bricks are white or cream-colored, and these are widely known under the name of "Milwaukee brick," though by no means altogether made at Mil waukee. Others are ordinary red brick. The difference between the light-colored and red bricks is ordinarily attributed to the greater amount of iron in the clay from which the latter are MINERAL RESOURCES. 169 burned, but it has been shown by Mr. E. T, Sweet that the white bricks are burned from clay which often contains more iron than that from which the red bricks are made, but which also contains a very large amont of carbonate of lime. The following analyses show (i) the compo sition of the clay from which cream-colored brick are burned at Milwaukee, (2) the composition of a red-brick clay from near Madison, and (3) the composition of the unutilized clay from Ashland, Lake Superior. Nos. 1 and 2 are by Mr. E. T. Sweet, No. 3 by Professor W. W. Daniells : (1) (2) (3) (1) (2) (3) 38.22 9-75 2.84 1. 16 16.23 7-54 18.50 75.80 11.07 3-53 0.31 / 1.84 S .08 ) 1.09 58.08 25.38 4-44 8.30 2.16 0.65 0.95 1.85 1.74 0.40 i-54 2.16 99.56 Iron peroxide Iron protoxide.-. Water [ 4-og Totals Magnesia 99-85 100.19 At Milwaukee 24,000,000 cream-colored brick are made annually ; at Racine, 3,500,000 ; at Appleton and Menasha, 1,800,000 each ; at Neenah, 1,600,000 ; at Clifton, 1,700,000 ; at Wat erloo, 1,600,000; and in smaller quantities at Jefferson, Ft. Atkinson, Edgerton, Whitewater, Geneva, Ozaukee, Sheboygan Falls, Manitowoc, Kewaunee, and other places. In most cases the cream-colored bricks are made from a bright-red clay, although occasionally the clay is light- colored. At Whitewater and other places tile and pottery are also made from this clay. Although these lacustrine clays are much the most important in Wisconsin, excellent brick clays are also found in the interior of the state. In numbers of places along the Yahara valley, in Dane county, an excellent stratified clay occurs. At Madison this is burned to a red brick ; at Stoughton and Oregon to a fine cream-colored brick. At Platteville, Lancaster, and other points in the southwestern part of the state, red bricks are made from clays found in the vicinity. Kaolin (Porcelain - Clay — Fire - Clay). The word "kaolin." is applied by geologists to a clay-like material which is used in making chinaware in this country and in Europe. The word is of Chinese origin, and is applied by the Chinese to the substance from which the famous porcelain of China is made. Its application to the European porcelain-Way was made under the mistaken idea— one which has prevailed among scientists until very recently— that the Chinese material is the same as the European. This we now know to be an error, the Chinese and Japanese wares being both made altogether from a solid rock. True kaolin, using the word in its European sense, is unlike other ordinary clays, in being the result of the disintegration of felspathic crystalline rocks "in place," that is without being removed from the place of its first formation. The base of kaolin is a mineral known as kaolinite, a compound of silica, alumina and water, which results from a change or decay of the felspar of felspar-bearing rocks. Felspar contains silica, alumina, and soda or potash, or both. By perco lation through the rocks of surface water carrying carbonic _acid, the potash and soda are removed and kaolinite results. Mingled with the kaolinite are, however, always the other ingre dients of the rock, quartz, mica, etc., and also always some undecomposed, or only partly decom posed felspar. These foreign ingredients can all, however, be more or less perfectly removed by a system of levigation, when a pure white clay results, composed almost wholly of the scales of 170 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. the mineral kaolinite. Prepared in this way the kaolin has a high value as a refractory material, and for forming the base of fine porcelain wares. The crystalline rocks, which, by decomposition, would produce a kaolin, are widely spread over the northern part of Wisconsin ; but over the most of the region occupied by them there is no sign of the existence of kaolin, the softened rock having apparently been removed by glacial action. In a belt of country, however, which extends from Grand Rapids on the Wisconsin, westward to Black river, in Jackson county, the drift is insignificant or entirely absent ; the glacial forces have not acted, and the crystalline rocks are, or once were, overlaid by sandstone, along whose line of junction with the underlying formation numerous water-courses have existed, the result being an unusual amount of disintegration. Here we find, in the beds of the Wisconsin, Yellow, and Black rivers, large exposures of crystalline rocks, which between the rivers are overlaid by sandstone. The crystalline rocks are in distinct layers, tilted at high angles, and in numerous places decomposed into a soft white kaolin. Inasmuch as these layers strike across the country in long, straight lines, patches of kaolin are found ranging themselves into similar lines. The kaolin patches are most abundant on the Wisconsin in the vicinity of the city of Grand Rapids, in Wood county. They vary greatly in size, one deposit even varying from a fraction of an inch to a number of feet in thickness. The kaolin varies, also, greatly in character, some .being quite impure and easily fusible from a large content of iron oxide or from partial decomposition only^while much of it is very pure and refractory. There is no doubt, however, that a large amount of kaolin exists in this region, and that by selection and levigation an excellent material may be obtained, which, by mingling with powdered quartz, may be made to yield a fire-brick of unusual refractoriness, and which may even be employed in making fine porcelain ware. The following table gives the composition of the raw clay, the fine clay obtained from it by levigation, and the coarse residue from the same operation, the sample having been taken from the opening on the land of Mr. C. B. Garrison, section 5, town 22, range 6 east, Wood county: RAW CLAY. LEVIGATION PRODUCTS. RAW CLAY. LEVIGATION PRODUCTS FINE CLAY. COARSE RESIDUE. FINE CLAY. COARSE RESIDUE. 78.83 13-43 0.74 0.640.070-37 49-94 36.80 0.72 trace 0.51 92.86 2 08 O.74O.96 O.IO O.28 Soda Carbonic Acid Water. 0.0,70.01 5-45 O.08 11.62 0.05 Iron peroxide 2-53 Totals Magnesia Potash 99.60 99.67 y9.6o Cement - Rock. Certain layers of the Lower Magnesian limestone, as at Ripon, and other points in the east ern part of the state, are known to produce a lime which has in some degree the hydraulic property, and the same is true of certain layers of the B'lue limestone of the Trenton group, in the southwestern part of the state ; the most valuable material of this kind, however, that is as yet known to exist in Wisconsin, is found near Milwaukee, and has become very recently somewhat widely known as the " Milwaukee" cement-rock. This rock belongs to the Hamilton formation, and is found near the Washington street bridge, at Brown Deer, on the lake shore at Whitefish MINERAL RESOURCES. 171 Day, and at other points in the immediate vicinity of Milwaukee. The quantity attainable is large, and a very elaborate series of tests by D. J. Whittemore, chief engineer of the Milwau kee and St. Paul railroad, shows that the cement made from it exceeds all native and foreign cements in strength, except the famous English " Portland " cement. The following are three analyses of the rock from different points, and they show that it has a very constant .composition : I. 2. 3- 45-54 32.46 17.56 1. 41 3-°3 100.00 48.29 29.19 17.36 1.40 2.24 41.34 34-88 16.99 5-oo1.79 Carbonate of Magnesia Silica Iron Sesquioxide Totals 98.68 Limestone for Making Quick -lime. Quick-lime is made from all of the great limestone formations of Wisconsin, but more is tmrnt from the Lower Magnesian and Niagara formations, than from the others. The Lower Magnesian yields a very strong mortar, but the lime burned from it is not very white. It is burned largely in the region about Madison, one of the largest quarries being on the south line of section 33 of that town, where some 20,000 bushels are produced annually, in two kilns. The lime from this place has a considerable local reputation under the name of " Madison lime." The Trenton limestone is burned at a few points, but yields an inferior lime. The Galena is not very generally burned, but yields a better lime than the Trenton. In the region about Watertown and White water, some 40,000 to 50,000 barrels are made annually from this formation. The Niagara, however, is the great lime furnisher of the northwest. From its purity it is adapted to the making of a most admirable lime. It is burned on a large scale at numbers of points in the eastern part of the state, among which may be mentioned, Pellon's kilns, Pewau- kee, where 12,000 barrels are made weekly and shipped to Chicago, Grand Haven, Des Moines, etc.; and Holick & Son's kilns, Racine, which yield 60,000 to 75,000 barrels annually. A total of about 400,000 barrels is annually made from the Niagara formation in eastern Wisconsin. Limestone for Flux in Iron Smelting. The limestones of Wisconsin are rarely used as a flux, because of their prevalent magnesian ¦character. The stone from Schoonmaker's quarry, near Milwaukee, is used at the Bay View iron works, and is one of the few cases. There are certain layers, however, in the Trenton lime stone, widely spread over the southern part of the state, which are non-magnesian, and frequently sufficiently free from earthy impurities to be used as a flux. These layers deserve the attention of the iron masters of the state. Glass Sand. Much of the St. Peter's sandstone is a purely siliceous, loose, white sand, well adapted to the making of glass. It is now being put to this use at points in the eastern part of the state. 172 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Peat. Peat exists in large quantities and of good quality underneath the numerous marshes of the eastern and central parts of the state. Whether it can be utilized in the future as a fuel, will depend altogether upon the cost of its preparation, which will have to be very low in order that it may compete with superior fuels. As a fertilizer, peat has always a great value, and requires no Preliminary treatment. Building Stones. All the rocky formations of Wisconsin are used in building, and even the briefest synopsis of the subject of the building stones of the state, would exceed the limits of this paper. A few of the more prominent kinds only are mentioned. Granite occurs in protruding masses, and also grading into gneiss, in the northern portions of the state, at numerous points. In many places on the Wisconsin, Yellow, and Black rivers, and especially at Big Bull Falls, Yellow river, red granites of extraordinary beauty and value occur. These are not yet utilized, but will in the future have a high value. The handsomest and most valuable sandstone found in Wisconsin, is that which extends along the shore of Lake Superior, from the Michigan to the Minnesota line, and which forms the basement rock of the Apostle islands. On one of these islands a very large quarry is opened, from which are taken masses of almost any size, of a very close-grained, uniform, dark brown stone, which has been shipped largely to Chicago and Milwaukee. At the latter place, the well known court house is built of this stone. An equally good stone can be obtained from the neigh boring islands, and from points on the mainland. A very good white to brown, indurated sand stone is obtained from the middle portions of the Potsdam series, at Stevens Point, Portage county; near,Grand Rapids, Wood county; at Black River Falls, Jackson county; at Packwau- kee, Marquette county ; near Wautoma, Waushara county ; and at several points in the Baraboo valley, Sauk county. A good buff-colored, calcareous sandstone is quarried and used largely in the vicinity of Madison, from the uppermost layers of the Potsdam series. All of the limestone formations of the state are quarried for building stone. A layer known locally as the " Mendota" limestone, included in the upper layers of the Potsdam series, yields a very evenly bedded, yellow, fine-grained rock, which is largely quarried along the valley of the lower Wisconsin, and also in the country about Madison. In the town of Westport, Dane county, a handsome, fine-grained, cream-colored limestone is obtained from the Lower Magne sian. The Trenton limestone yields an evenly bedded, thin stone, which is frequently used for laying in wall. The Galena and Niagara are also utilized, and the latter is capable, in much of the eastern part of the state, of furnishing a durable, easily dressed, compact, white stone. In preparing this paper, I have made use of Professor Whitney's " Metallic Wealth of the United States," and " Report on the Geology of the Lead Region;" of the advance sheets of Volume II of the Reports of the State Geological Survey, including Professor T. C. Chamberlin's Report on the Geology of Eastern Wisconsin, my own Report on the Geology of Central Wisconsin, and Mr. Strong's Report on the Geology of the Lead Region ; Mr. E. T. Sweet's account of the mineral exhibit of the state at the Centennial Exposition ; and of my unpublished reports on the geology of the counties bordering Lake Superior. WISCONSIN RAILROADS. By Hon. H. H. GILES. The territory of Wisconsin offered great advantages to emigrants. Explorers had published accounts of the wonderful fertility of its soil, the wealth of its broad prairies and forest openings, and the beauty of its lakes and rivers. Being reached from the older states by way of the lakes and easily accessible by a long line of lake coast, the hardships incident to weeks of land travel were avoided. Previous to 1836 but few settlements had been made in that part of the then territory of Michigan, that year organized into the territory of Wisconsin, except as mining camps in the southwestern part, and scattered settlers in the vicinity of the trading posts and military stations. From that time on, with the hope of improving their condi tion, thousands of the enterprising yeomanry of New England, New York and Ohio started for the land of promise. Germans, Scandinavians and other nationalities, attracted by the glowing accounts sent abroad, crossed the ocean on their way to the new world; steamers and sail-craft laden with families and their household goods left Buffalo and other lake ports, all bound for the new Eldorado. It may be doubted if in the history of the world any country was ever peo pled with the rapidity of southern and eastern Wisconsin. Its population in 1840 was 30,749; in 1850, 304,756; in i860, 773,693; in 1870, 1,051,351; in 1875, 1,236,729. With the develop ment of the agricultural resources of the new territory, grain raising became the most prominent interest, and as the settlements extended back from the lake shore the difficulties of transporta tion of the products of the soil were seriously felt. The expense incurred in moving a load of produce seventy or eighty miles to a market town on the lake shore frequently exceeded the gross sum obtained for the same. All goods, wares and merchandise, and most of the lumber used must also be hauled by teams from Lake Michigan. Many of our early settlers still retain vivid recollections of trying experiences in the Milwaukee woods and other sections bordering on the lake shore, from the south line of the state to Manitowoc and Sheboygan. To meet the great want — better facilities for transportation — a valuable land grant was obtained from congress, in 1838, to aid in building a canal from Milwaukee to Rock river The company which was organized to construct it, built a dam across Milwaukee river and a short section of the canal; then the work stopped and the plan was finally abandoned. It was early seen that to satisfy the requirements of the people, railroads, as the most feasable means of communication within their reach, were an indispensable necessity. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. Between the years 1838 and 1841, the territorial legislature of Wisconsin chartered several railroad companies, but with the exception of the " Milwaukee & Waukesha Railroad Company,'' incorporated in 1847, none of the corporations thus created took any particular shape. The commissioners named in its charter met November 23, 1847, and elected a president, Dr. L. W. Weeks, and a secretary, A. W. Randall (afterward governor of Wisconsin). On the first Monday of February, 1848, they opened books of subscription. The charter of the company provided 174 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. that $100,000 should be subscribed and five per cent, thereof paid in before the company should •fully organize as a corporation. The country was new. There were plenty of active, energetic* men, but money to build railroads was scarce, and not until April 5, 1849, was the necessary •subscription raised and percentage paid. A board of directors was elected on the 10th day of May, and Byron Kilbourn chosen president. The charter had been previously amended, in 1848, authorizing the company to build a road to the Mississippi river, in Grant county, and in 1850, its name was changed to the "Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company." After the company was fully organized, active measures were taken to push the enterprise forward to completion. The city of Milwaukee loaned its credit, and in 185 1 the pioneer Wisconsin railroad reached Waukesha, twenty miles out from Milwaukee. In the spring of 1852, Edward H. Broadhead, a prominent engineer, from from the state of New York, was put in charge of the work as chief •engineer and superintendent. Under his able and energetic administration the road was pushed forward in 1852 to Milton, in 1853 to Stoughton, in 1854 to Madison, and in 1856 to the Mis sissippi river, at Prairie du Chien. In 1851 John Catlin of Madison, was elected president in place of Kilbourn. The proposed length of this article will not admit of any detailed statement of the trials, struggles and triumphs of the men who projected, and finally carried across the state, from the lake to the river, this first Wisconsin railroad. Mitchell, Kilbourn, Holton, Tweedy, Catlin, Walker, Broadhead, Crocker and many others, deserve to be remembered by our people as bene factors of the state. In 1859 and i860, the company defaulted in the payment of the interest on its bonds. A foreclosure was made and a new company, called the " Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien," took its place, succeeding to all its rights and property. The " Southern Wisconsin Railway Company'' was chartered in 1852, and authorized to build a road from Milton to the Mississippi river. When the Milwaukee and Mississippi road reached Milton in 1852, it was not authorized by its charter to go to JanesviUe, but, under the charter of the Southern Wisconsin, a company was organized that built the eight miles to JanesviUe in 1853. Under a subsequent amendment to the charter, the Milwaukee and Mississippi company was authorized to build from Milton to the Mississippi river. The JanesviUe branch was then purchased and extended to Monroe, a distance of about thirty-four miles, or forty-two miles west of Milton. Surveys were made and a line located west of Monroe to the river. The people of La Fayette and Grant counties have often been encouraged to expect a direct railroad communi cation with the city of Milwaukee. Other and more important interests, at least so considered by the railroad company, have delayed the execution of the original plan, and the road through the counties mentioned still remains unbuilt. The " LaCrosse & Milwaukee Railroad Company" was chartered in 1852, to construct a road from LaCrosse to Milwaukee. During the year in which the charter was obtained, the company was organized, and the first meeting of the commissioners held at LaCrosse. Among its pro jectors were Byron Kilbourn and Moses M. Strong. Kilbourn was elected its first president. No work was done upon this line until after its consolidation with the " Milwaukee, Fond du Lac & Green Bay Raiiroad Company" in 1854. The latter company was chartered in 1853, to build a iroad from Milwaukee via West Bend to Fond du Lac and Green Bay. It organized in the spring of 1853, and at once commenced active operations under the supervision of James Kneeland, its first president. The city of Milwaukee loaned its credit for $200,000, and gave city bonds. The company secured depot grounds in Milwaukee, and did considerable grading for the first twenty- five miles out. Becoming embarrassed in January, 1854, the Milwaukee, Fond du Lac & Green Bay consolidated with the LaCrosse & Milwaukee company. Work was at once resumed on the partially graded line. In 1855 the road was completed to Horicon, fifty miles. WISCONSIN RAILROADS. 175 The Milwaukee & Watertown company was chartered in 1851, to build from Milwaukee to Watertown. It soon organized, and began the construction of its line from Brookfield, fourteen miles west of Milwaukee, and a point on the Milwaukee & Mississippi road leading through Oconomowoc to Watertown. The charter contained a provision that the company might extend its road by way of Portage to LaCrosse. It reached Watertown in 1856, and was consolidated with the LaCrosse & Milwaukee road in the autumn of the same year. In the spring of 1856 congress made a grant of land to the state of Wisconsin, to aid in the building of a railroad from Madison, or Columbus, via Portage City, to the St. Croix river or lake, between townships 25 and 31. and from thence to the west end of Lake Superior, and to Bayfield. An adjourned session of the Wisconsin legislature met on September 3 of that year, to dispose of the grant. The disposal of this grant had been generally discussed by the press, and the public sentiment of the state seemed to tend toward its bestowal upon a new company. There is little doubt but that this was also the sentiment of a large majority of the members of both houses when the session commenced. When a new company was proposed a joint com mittee of twenty from the senate and assembly was appointed to prepare a bill, conferring the grant upon a company to be created by the bill itself. The work of the committee proceeded harmoniously until the question of who should be corporators was to be acted upon, when a difference of opinion was found to exist, and one that proved difficult to harmonize. In the mean time the LaCrosse and Watertown companies had consolidated, and a sufficient number of the members of both houses were "propitiated" by " pecuniary compliments" to induce them to- pass the bill, conferring the so called St. Croix grant upon the LaCrosse & Milwaukee railroad company. The vote in the assembly in the passage of the bill was, ayes 62, noes 7. In the senate it stood, ayes 17, noes 7. At the session of the legislature of 1858 a committee was raised to investigate the matter, and their report demonstrated that bonds were set apart for all who voted for the LaCrosse bill ; to members of assembly $5,000 each, and members of senate $10,000 each. A few months. after the close of the legislative sesssion of 1856 the land grant bonds of the LaCrosse road became worthless. Neither the LaCrosse company nor its successors ever received any portion of the lands granted to the state. During the year 1857 the La Crosse company completed its line of road through Portage City to LaCrosse, and its Watertown line to Columbus. The "Milwaukee & Horicon Railroad Company" was chartered in 1852. Between the years 1855 and 1857 it built through Waupun and Ripon to Berlin, a distance of forty-two miles. It was, in effect, controlled by the LaCrosse & Milwaukee company, although built as a separate branch. This line was subsequently merged in the LaCrosse company, and is now a part of the northern division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway. The ': Madison, Fond du Lac & Lake Michigan Railroad Company" was chartered in 1855, to build a road from Madison via Fond du Lac to Lake Michigan. In 1857 it bought of the LaCrosse company that portion of its road acquired by consolidation with the Milwaukee &r Watertown company. Its name was then changed to " Milwaukee & Western Railroad Com pany." It owned a line of road from Brookfield to Watertown, and branches from the latter place to Columbus and Sun Prairie, in all about eighty miles in length. In 1858 and 1859 the La Crosse & Milwaukee and the Milwaukee & Horicon companies: defaulted in the payment of the interest on their bonded debts. In the same years the bond holders of the two companies instituted foreclosure proceedings on the different trust deeds given tO' secure their bonds. Other suits to enforce the payment of their floating debts were also com menced. Protracted litigation in both the state and federal courts resulted in a final settlement in 1868, by a decision of the supreme court of the United States. In the meantime, in 1862 andi 176 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. 1863, both roads were sold, and purchased by an association of the bondholders, who organized the " Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company." The new company succeeded to all the rights of both the La Crosse and Horicon companies, and soon afterward, in 1863, purchased the property of the Milwaukee & Western company, thus getting control of the roads from Mil waukee to La Crosse, from Horicon to Berlin, from Brookfield to Watertown, and the branches to Columbus and Sun Prairie. In 1864 it built from Columbus to Portage, from Brookfield to Milwaukee, and subsequently extended the Sun Prairie branch to Madison, in 1869. It also purchased the Ripon & Wolf River road, which had been built fifteen miles in length, from Ripon to Omro, on the Fox river, and extended it to Winneconne on the Wolf river, five miles farther, and twenty miles from Ripon. In 1867 the Milwaukee & St. Paul railway company obtained control of the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien railroad. The legislature of 1857 had passed an act, authorizing all stock-holders in all incorporated companies to vote on shares of stock owned by them. The directors of the Milwaukee & St. Paul company had secured a majority of the common stock, and, at the election of 1867, elected themselves a board of directors for the Prairie du Chien company. All the rights, property and interests of the latter company came under the ownership and control of the former. In 1865, Alexander Mitchell, of Milwaukee, was elected president, and S. S. Merrill general manager of the Milwaukee & St. Paul railway company. They were retained in their respective positions by the new organization, and still continue to hold these offices, a fact largely owing to the able and efficient manner that has characterized their management of the company's affairs. The company operates eight hundred and thirty-four miles of road in Wisconsin, and in all two thousand two hundred and seven miles. Its lines extend to St. Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota, and to Algona in Iowa, and over the Western Union to Savanna and Rock Island in the State of Illinois. The "Oshkosh & Mississippi Railroad Company" was chartered in 1866 to build a road from the city of Oshkosh to the Mississippi river. Its construction to Ripon in 1872 was a move on the part of citizens of Oshkosh to connect their town with the Milwaukee & St. Paul road. It is twenty miles in length and leased to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company. In 1871 and 1872 the "Wisconsin Union Railroad Company," of which John W. Cary was president, built a road from Milwaukee to the state line between Wisconsin and Illinois, to connect with a road built from Chicago to the state line of Illinois. This new line between Milwaukee and Chicago was built in the interest of, and in fact by, the Milwaukee & St. Paul company to afford a connection between its Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota system of roads, and the eastern trunk lines centering in Chicago. It runs parallel with the shore of Lake Michigan and from three to six miles from it, and is eighty-five miles in length. The Chicago & Northwestern Railway. The territorial legislature of 1848 chartered the " Madison & Beloit Railroad Company" with authority to build a railroad from Beloit to Madison only. In 1850, by an act of the legislature, the company was authorized to extend the road to the Wisconsin river and La Crosse, _ and to a point on the Mississippi river near St. Paul, and also from JanesviUe to Fond du Lac. ' Its name was changed, under legislative authority, to the " Rock River Valley Union Railroad Company." In 185 1, the line from JanesviUe north not being pushed as the people expected, the legislature of Illinois chartered the " Illinois & Wisconsin Railroad Company " with authority to consolidate with any road in Wisconsin. In 1855, an act of the Wisconsin legislature consoli dated the Illinois and Wisconsin companies with the " Rock River Valley Union Railroad Com pany," and the new organization took the name of the " Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Rail- WISCONSIN RAILROADS. 177 road Company." In 1854, and previous to the consolidation, the company had failed and passed into the hands of the bondholders, who foreclosed and took stock for their bonds. The old management of A. Hyatt Smith and John B. Macy was superseded, and Wm. B. Ogden was made president. Chicago was all along deeply interested in reaching the rich grain fields of the Rock river valley, as well as the inexhaustible timber and mineral wealth of the northern part of Wisconsin and that part of Michigan bordering on Lake Superior, called the Peninsula. It also sought a connection with the upper Mississippi region, then being rapidly peopled, by a line of railroad to run through Madison to St. Paul, in Minnesota. Its favorite road was started from Chicago on the wide (six feet) gauge, and so constructed seventy miles to Sharon on the Wis consin state line. This was changed to the usual (four feet, eight and one-half inches) width, and the work was vigorously pushed, reaching JanesviUe in 1855 and Fond du Lac in 1858. The Rock River Valley Union railroad company had, however, built about thirty miles from Fond du Lac south toward Minnesota Junction before the consolidation took place. The partially graded line on a direct route between JanesviUe and Madison was abandoned. In 1852 a new charter had been obtained, and the " Beloit & Madison Railroad Company " had been organized to build a road from Beloit via JanesviUe to Madison. A subsequent amendment to this charter had left out JanesviUe as a point, and the Beloit branch was pushed through to Madison, reach ing that city in 1864. The "Galena and Chicago Union Railroad Company" had built a branch of the Galena line from Belvedere to Beloit previous to 1854. In that year, it leased the Beloit & Madison road, and from 1856 operated it in connection with the Milwaukee & Mississippi, reaching Janes viUe by way of Hanover Junction, a station on its Southern Wisconsin branch, eight miles west of JanesviUe. The consolidation of the Galena & Chicago Union and the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac companies was effected and approved by legislative enactment in 1855, and a new organization called the " Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company " took their place. The "Green-Bay, Milwaukee & Chicago Railroad Company" was chartered in 1851 to build a road from Milwaukee to the state line of Illinois to connect with a road from Chicago, called the Chicago & Milwaukee railroad. Both roads were completed in 1855, and run in connection until 1863, when they were consolidated under the name of the "Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad Company." To prevent its falling into the hands of the Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Chicago & Northwestern secured it by perpetual lease, May 2, 1866, and it is now operated as its Chicago division. The " Kenosha & Beloit Railroad Company " was incorporated in 1853 to build a road from Kenosha to Beloit, and was organized soon after its chartenwas obtained. Its name was after ward changed to the "Kenosha, Rockford & Rock Island Railroad Company," and its route changed to run to Rockford instead of Beloit. The line starts at Kenosha, and runs through the county of Kenosha and crosses the state line near the village of Genoa in the county of Wal worth, a distance of thirty miles in the state of Wisconsin, and there connects with a road in Illinois running to Rockford, and with which it consolidated. Kenosha and its citizens were the principal subscribers to its capital stock. The company issued its bonds, secured by the usual mortgage on its franchises and property. Failing to pay its interest, the mortgage was foreclosed, and the road was sold to the Chicago & Northwestern company in 1863, and is now operated by it as the Kenosha division. The line was constructed from Kenosha to Genoa: in 1862. The "Northwestern Union Railway Company " was organized in 1872, under the general rail road law of the state, to build a line of road from Milwaukee to Fond du Lac, with a branch to Lodi.. The road was constructed during the years 1872 and 1873 from Milwaukee to Fond du Lac. The Chicago & Northwestern company were principally interested in its being built, to 178 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. shorten its line between Chicago and Green Bay, and now uses it as its main through line between the two points. The " Baraboo Air-Line Railroad Company" was incorporated in 1870, to build a road from Madison, Columbus, or Waterloo via Baraboo, to La Crosse, or any point on the Mississippi river. It organized in the interest of the Chicago & Northwestern, with which company it con solidated, and the work of building a connecting line between Madison and Winona Junction was vigorously pushed forward. Lodi was reached in 1870, Baraboo in 1871, and Winona Junc tion in 1874. The ridges between Elroy and Sparta were tunneled at great expense and with much difficulty. In 1874 the company reported an expenditure for its three tunnels of $476,743.32, and for the 129 1-10 miles between Madison and Winona Junction of $5,342,169.96, and a large expenditure yet required to be made on it. In 1867 the Chicago & Northwestern company bought of D. N. Barney & Co. their interest in the Winona & St. Peters railway, a line being built westerly from Winona in Minnesota, and of which one hundred and five miles had been built. It also bought of the same parties their interest in the La Crosse, Trempealeau & Prescott railway, a line being built from Winona Junction, three miles east of La Crosse, to Winona, Minn. The latter line was put in operation in 1870, and is twenty-nine miles long. With the completion of its Madison branch to Winona junction, in 1873, it had in operation a line from Chicago, via Madison and Winona, to Lake Kampeska, Minn., a distance of six hundred and twenty-three miles. In the year 1856 a valuable grant of land was made by congress to the state of Wisconsin to aid in the construction of railroads. The Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac company claimed that the grant was obtained through its efforts, and that of right it should have the northeastern grant, so-called. At the adjourned session of the legislature of 1856, a contest over the dispo sition of the grant resulted in conferring it upon the " Wisconsin & Superior Railroad Company," a corporation chartered for the express purpose of giving it this grant. It was generally believed at the time that the new company was organized in the interest of the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac company, and at the subsequent session, in the following year, it was authorized to consolidate with the new company, which it did in the spring of that year, and thus obtained the grant of 3,840 acres per mile along its entire line, from Fond du Lac northerly to the state line between Wisconsin and Michigan. It extended its road to Oshkosh in 1859, to Appleton in 1861, and in 1862 to Fort Howard, forming a line two hundred and forty-two miles long. The line from Foit Howard to Escanaba, one hundred and fourteen miles long, was opened in Decem ber, 1872, and made a connection with the peninsular railroad of Michigan. It now became a part of the Chicago & Northwestern, extending from Escanaba to the iron mines, and thence to Lake Superior at Marquette. Albert Keep, of Chicago, is president, and Marvin Hughitt, a gentleman of great railroad experience, is general superintendent. The company operates five hundred and sixty-seven miles of road in Wisconsin, and in all sixteen hundred and sixteen miles. Its lines extend into five different states. Over these lines its equipment is run in common, or transferred from place to place, as the changes in business may temporarily require. Wisconsin Central Railroad. The " Milwaukee & Northern Railway Company " was incorporated in 1870, to build a road from Milwaukee to some point on the Fox river below Winnebago lake, and thence to Lake Superior, with branches. It completed its road to Menasha, one hundred and two miles from Milwaukee, with a branch from Hilbert to Green Bay, twenty-seven miles, in 1873, and in that vear leased its line to the " Wisconsin Central Railroad Company," which is still operating it. In WISCONSIN RAILROADS. 179 1864 congress made a grant of land to the state of Wisconsin to aid in the construction of a rail road from Berlin, Doty's Island, Fond du Lac, or Portage, by way of Stevens Point, to Bayfield or Superior, granting the odd sections within ten miles on each side of the line, with an indem nity limit of twenty miles on each side. The legislature of 1865 failed to dispose of this grant, but that of 1866 provided for the organization of two companies, one to build from Portage City by way of Berlin to Stevens Point, and the other from Menasha to the same point, and then jointly to Bayfield and Lake Superior. The former was called the "Winnebago and Lake Superior Railroad Company," and the latter the " Portage & Superior Railroad Company." In 1869 an act was passed consolidating the two companies, which was done under the name of the " Portage, Winnebago & Superior Railroad Company." In 187 1 the name of the company was changed to the " Wisconsin Central Railroad Company." The Winnebago & Lake Superior company was organized under Hon. George Reed as president,' and at once commenced the construction of its line of road between Menasha and Stevens Point. In 187 1 the Wisconsin Central consolidated with the " Manitowoc & Mississippi Railroad Company." The articles of consolidation provided that Gardner Colby, a director of the latter company, should be president, and that George Reed, a director of the former, should be vice president of the new organization; with a further provision that Gardner Colby, George Reed, and Elijah B. Phillips should be and remain its executive committee. In 1-871, an act was passed incorporating the "Phillips and Colby Construction Company," which created E. B. Phillips, C. L. Colby, Henry Pratt, and such others as they might associate with them, a body corporate, with authority to build railroads and do all manner of things relat ing to railroad construction and operation. Under this act the construction company contracted with the Wisconsin Central railroad company, to build its line of road from Menasha to Lake' Superior. In November, 1873, the Wisconsin Central leased of the Milwaukee & Northern com pany its line of road extending from Schwartzburg to Menasha, and the branch to Green Bay, for the term of nine hundred and ninety-nine years, and also acquired the rights of the latter com pany to use the track of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company between Schwartzburg and Milwaukee, and to depot facilities in Milwaukee. The construction of the land grant portion of this important line of road was commenced in 1871, and it was completed to Stevens Point in November of that year. It was built from Stevens Point north one hundred miles to Worcester in 1872. During 1872 and 1873, it was built from Ashland south to the Penoka iron ridge, a dis tance of thirty miles. The straight line between Portage City and Stevens Point, authorized by an act of the legislature of 1875, was constructed between October 1, 1875, and October, 1876, seven ly-one miles in length. The gap of forty-two miles between Worcester and Penoka iron ridge was closed in June, 1877. E. B. Phillips, of Milwaukee, is president and general manager. This line of road passes through a section of our state hitherto unsettled. It has been pushed through with energy, and opened up for settlement an immense region of heavily timbered land, and thus contributed to the growth and prosperity of the state. The Western Union Railroad, The " Racine, JanesviUe & Mississippi Railroad Company " was chartered in 1852, to build a road from Racine to Beloit, and was organized the same year. The city of Racine issued its bonds for $300,000 in payment for that amount of stock. The towns of Racine, Elkhorn, Dele- van and Beloit gave $190,000, and issued their bonds, and farmers along the line made liberal subscriptions and secured the same by mortgages on their farms. The road was built to Burling ton in'1855, t0 Delavan early in 1856, and to Beloit, sixty-eight miles from Racine, during the same year. Failing to meet the interest on its bonds and its floating indebtedness, it was sur- 180 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. rendered by the company to the bond-holders in 1859, who completed it to Freeport during that year, and afterward built to the Mississippi river at Savannah, and thence to Rock Island. The bond-holders purchased and sold the road in 1866, and a new organization was had as the " West ern Union Railroad Company," and it has sinee been operated under that name. In 1869, it built a line from Elkhorn to Eagle, seventeen miles, and thus made a connection with Milwau kee over the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul line. The latter company owns a controlling interest it its line. Alexander Mitchell is the president of the company, and D. A. Olin, general superintendent. West Wisconsin Railroad. The lands granted by congress in 1856 to aid in the construction of a railroad in Wisconsin, from Tomah to Superior and Bayfield, were disposed of as mentioned under the history of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company. The La Crosse company, as we have seen, prevailed in the legislature of 1856, and secured legislation favorable to its interests ; but it failed to build the line of road provided for, and forfeited its right to lands granted. In 1863, the " Tomah & Lake St. Croix Railroad Company " was incorporated, with authority to construct a railroad from some point in the town of Tomah in Monroe county, to such point on Lake St. Croix, between town ships 25 and 31 as the directors might determine. To the company, by the act creating it, was granted all the interest and estate of this state, to so much of the lands granted by the United States to the state of Wisconsin, known as the St. Croix grant, as lay between Tomah and Lake St. Croix. A few months after its organization, the company passed substantially into the hands of D. A. Baldwin and Jacob Humbird, who afterward built a line of road from Tomah, via Black River Falls, and Eau Claire to Hudson, on Lake St. Croix, one hundred and seventy-eight miles. Its name was afterward changed to the "West Wisconsin Railroad Company." In 1873, it built its road from Warren's Mills via Camp Douglass, on the St. Paul road to Elroy, and took up its track from the first-named place, twelve miles, to Tomah. A law-suit resulted, which went against the railroad company, and the matter was finally compromised by the payment of a sum of money by the company to the town of Tomah. The road was built through a new and sparsely settled country, and its earnings have not been sufficient to enrich its stock-holders. It connects at Camp Douglass with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road; and at Elroy with the Chicago & Northwestern railway company's line, which gives the latter a through line to St. Paul. It is operated in connection with the Chicago & Northwestern railway, and managed in its interest. It is now in the hands of Wm. H. Ferry, of Chicago, as receiver ; H. H. Potter, of Chicago, as president"; and E. W. Winter, of Hudson, superintendent. The Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railway. In 1870, the "Milwaukee, Manitowoc & Green Bay Railroad Company " was chartered to build a road from Milwaukee to Green Bay by way of Manitowoc. It built its line from Mil waukee to Manitowoc in 1873, when its name was changed to " Milwaukee, Lake Shore & West ern Railroad Company." Under a decree of foreclosure, it was sold Dec. 10, 1875, and its name was changed to " Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railway Company," by which name it is still known. In 1866, the "Appleton & New London Railroad Company" was incorporated to build a road from Appleton to New London, and thence to Lake Superior. A subsequent amendment to its charter authorized it to extend its road to Manitowoc. It built most of the line from Appleton to that city, and then, under legislative authority, sold this extension to the Milwau- WISCONSIN RAILROADS. 181 kee, Lake Shore & Western railroad company. The last-named company extended it to New London, on the Wolf river, twenty-one miles, in 1876, where it connects with the Green Bay & Minnesota road. It now operates one hundred and forty-six miles of road, extending from Mil waukee to New London, passing through Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Appleton, which includes a branch line six miles in length from Manitowoc to Two Rivers. F. W. Rhinelander, of New York, is its president, and H. G. H. Reed, of Milwaukee, superintendent. The Green Bay & Minnesota Railroad. The line of road operated by this company extends from Fort Howard to the Mississippi river, opposite Winona, Minnesota. It is two hundred and sixteen miles in length, and was built through a sparsely settled and heavily timbered section of the state. It began under most discouraging circumstances, yet was pushed through by the energy of a few men at Green Bay and along its line. It was originally chartered in 1866 as the "Green Bay & Lake Pepin Rail road Company " to build a road from the mouth of the Fox river near Green Bay to the Missis sippi river opposite Winona. But little was done except the making of preliminary surveys in 1870. During 1870 and 187 1, forty miles were constructed and put in operation. In 1872, one hundred and fourteen miles were graded, the track laid, and the river reached, sixty-two miles farther, in 1873. In 1876, it acquired the right to use the " Winona cut-off " between Winona and Onalaska, and built a line from the latter point to La Crosse, seven miles, thus connecting its road with the chief city of Wisconsin on the Mississippi river. The city of LaCrosse aided this extension by subscribing $75,000 and giving its corporation bonds for that amount. Henry Ketchum, of New London, is president of the company, and D. M. Kelly, of Green Bay, gen eral manager. Wisconsin Valley Road. The "Wisconsin Valley Railroad Company " was incorporated in 1871 to build a road from a point on or near the line of the Milwaukee & La Crosse railroad, between Kilbourn City and the tunnel in said road to the village of Wausau, in the county of Marathon, and the road to pass not more than one mile west of the village of Grand Rapids, in the county of Wood. The road was commenced at Tomah, and graded to Centralia in 1872, and opened to that village in 1873, and during 1874 it was completed to Wausau, ninety miles in its whole length. Boston capitalists furnished the money, and it is controlled in the interest of the Dubuque & Minnesota railroad, through which the equipment was procured. The lumber regions of the Wisconsin river find an outlet over it, and its junction with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road at Tomah enables a connection with the railroads of Iowa and Minnesota. It gives the people of Marathon county an outlet long needed for a large lumber traffic, and also enables them to receive their goods and supplies of various kinds for the lumbering region tributary to Wausau. James F. Joy, of Detroit, is president, and F. 0. Wyatt, superintendent. Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railroad. The "Sheboygan & Mississippi Railroad Company " was incorporated in 1852, to build a road from Sheboygan to the Mississippi river. It was completed from Sheboygan to Plymouth in 1858, to Glenbeulah in i860, to Fond du Lac in 1868, and to Princeton in 1872. The extension from Fond du Lac to Princeton was built under authority of an act passed in 187 1. Under a foreclosure in 1861 the line from Sheboygan to Fonddu Lac was sold, and the name of the company changed to " Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railroad Company." The length of 182 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. the line is seventy-eight miles, and it passes through a fertile agricultural country. The city of Sheboygan, county, city and town of Fond du Lac, and the towns of Riverdale, Ripon, Brooklyn, Princeton, and St. Marie, aided in its building to an amount exceeding $250,000. D. L. Wells is president, and Geo. P. Lee, superindendent. The Mineral Point Railroad. The " Mineral Point Railroad Company " was chartered in 1852, to build a road from Mineral Point, in the county of Iowa, to the state line, in township number one, in either the county of Green or La Fayette. It was completed to Warren, in the state of Illinois, thirty-two miles, in 1855, making a connection at that point with the Illinois Central, running from Chicago to Galena. Iowa county loaned its credit and issued its bonds to aid in its construction. It was sold under foreclosure in 1856. Suits were brought against Iowa county to collect the amount of its bonds, and judgment obtained in the federal courts. Much litigation has been had, and ill feeling engendered, the supervisors of the county having been arrested for contempt of the decree of the court. Geo. W. Cobb, of Mineral Point, is the general manager. The Dubuque, Platteville & Milwaukee railroad was completed in July, 1870, and extends from Calamine, a point on the Mineral Point railroad, to the village of Platteville, eighteen miles, and is operated by the Mineral Point railroad company Madison & Portage Railroad. The legislature of 1855 chartered the " Sugar River Valley Railroad Company " to build a road from a point on the north side of the line of the Southern Wisconsin road, within the limits of Green county, to Dayton, on the Sugar river. In 1857 it was authorized to build south to the state line, and make its northern terminus at Madison. In 1861 it was authorized to build from Madi son to Portage City, and from Columbus to Portage City, and so much of the land grant act of 1856, as related to the building of the road from Madison, and from Columbus to Portage City, was annulled and repealed, and the rights and privileges that were conferred upon the LaCrosse company were given to the Sugar River Valley railroad company, and the portion of the land grant, applicable to the lines mentioned, was conferred upon the last named company. Under this legislation about twenty miles of the line between Madison and Portage were graded, and the right of way secured for about thirty of the thirty-nine miles. The La Crosse company had done considerable grading before its right was annulled. In 1866 the company was relieved from constructing the road from Columbus to Portage City. In 1870 the purchasers of that part of the Sugar River Valley railroad lying between Madison and Portage City were incorporated as the " Madison & Portage Railroad Company," and to share all the rights, grants, etc., that were conferred upon the Sugar River railroad company by its charter, and amendments thereto, so far as related to that portion of the line. Previous to this time, in 1864 and 1865, judgments had been obtained against the Sugar River Valley company ; and its right of way, grading and depot grounds sold for a small sum. James Campbell, who had been a contractor with the Sugar River Valley company, with others, became the purchasers, and organized under the act of 1870, and, during the year 1871, com pleted it between Madison and Portage City, and in March, 1871, leased it to the Milwaukee & St. Paul company, and it is still operated by that corporation. In 1871 the Madison & Portage company was authorized to extend its road south to the Illinois state line, and north from Portage City to Lake Winnebago. The same year it was consolidated with the " Rockford Central WISCONSIN RAILROADS. 183 Railroad Company," of Illinois, and its name changed to the "Chicago & Superior Railroad Company," but still retains its own organization. The Madison & Portage railroad company claims a share in the lands granted by acts of congress in 1856, and have commenced proceed ings to assert its claim, which case is still pending in the federal courts. North Wisconsin Railroad. The "North Wisconsin Railroad Company" was incorporated in 1869, to build a road from Lake St. Croix, or river, to Bayfield on Lake Superior. The grant of land by congress in 1856, to aid in building a road from Lake St. Croix to Bayfield on Lake Superior, under the decision of the federal court, was yet at the disposal of the state. This company, in 187 1, built a short section of its line of road, with the expectation of receiving the grant. In 1873, the grant was conferred upon the Milwaukee & St'. Paul company, but under the terms and restrictions con tained in the act, it declined to accept it. The legislature of 1874 gave it to the North Wiscon sin company, and it has built forty miles of its road, and received the lands pertaining thereto. Since 1876, it has not completed any part of its line, but is trying to construct twenty miles during the present year. The company is authorized to construct a road both to Superior and to Bayfield, but the act granting the lands confers that portion from Superior to the intersection of the line to Bayfield upon the Chicago & North Pacific air-line railroad. This last- named company have projected a line from Chicago to the west end of Lake Superior, and are the owners of an old grade made through Walworth and Jefferson counties, by a company chartered in 1853 as the " Wisconsin Central," to build a road from Portage City to Geneva, in the county of Walworth. The latter company had also graded its line between Geneva and the state line of Illinois. This grade was afterward appropriated by the Chicago & Northwestern, and over it they now operate their line from Chicago to Geneva. Prairie du Chien & McGregor Railroad. This is a line two miles in length, connecting Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin, with McGregor in Iowa. It is owned and operated by John Lawler, of the latter-named place. It extends across both channels of the Mississippi river, and an intervening island. The railroad bridge consists of substantial piling, except a pontoon draw across each navigable channel. Each pontoon is four hundred feet long and thirty feet wide, provided with suitable machinery and operated by steam power. Mr. Lawler has secured a patent on his invention of the pontoon draw for railroad bridges. His line was put in operation in April, 1874. The Chippewa Falls & Western Railroad. This road was built in 1874, by a company organized under the general law of the state. It is eleven miles in length, and connects the " Falls " with the West Wisconsin line at Eau Claire. It was constructed by the energetic business men and capitalists of Chippewa Falls, to afford an outlet for the great lumber and other interests of that thriving and prosperous city. The road is substantially built, and the track laid with steel rails. Narrow Gauge Railroads. , The " Galena & Southern Wisconsin Railroad Company " was incorporated in 1857. Under its charter, a number of capitalists of the city of Galena, in the state of Illinois, commenced. 184 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. the construction of a narrow (three feet) gauge road, running from that city to Platteville, thirty- one miles in length, twenty miles in Wisconsin. It runs through a part of La Fayette county to Platteville, in Grant county, and was completed to the latter point in 1875. Surveys are being made for an extension to Wingville, in Grant county. The " Fond du Lac, Amboy & Peoria Railway Company " was organized under the general law of the state, in 1874, to build a narrow gauge road from the city of Fond du Lac to the south line of the state in the county of Walworth or Rock, and it declared its intention to consolidate with a company in Illinois that had projected a line of railroad from Peoria, in Illinois, to the south line of the state of Wisconsin. The road is constructed and in operation from Fond du Lac to Iron Ridge, a point on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, twenty-nine miles from Fond du Lac. The "Pine River & Steven's Point Railroad Company" was crganized by the enterprising citizens of Richland Center, and has built a narrow gauge road from Lone Rock, a point on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road, in Richland county, to Richland Center, sixteen miles in length. Its track is laid with wooden rails, and it is operated successfully. The " Chicago & Tomah Railroad Company " organized under the general railroad law of the state, in 1872, to construct a narrow gauge road from Chicago, in Illinois, to the city of Tomah, in Wisconsin. Its president and active manager is D. R. Williams, of Clermont, Iowa, and its secretary is L. M. Culver, of Wauzeka. It has graded about forty-five miles, extending, from Wauzeka up the valley of the Kickapoo river, in Crawford county, Wisconsin. It expects to have fifty-four miles in operation, to Bloomingdale, in Vernon county, the present year (1877). The rolling stock is guaranteed, and the president is negotiating for the purchase of the iron. South of Wauzeka the line is located to Belmont, in Iowa county. At Wauzeka it will connect with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul line. The public-spirited citizens of Necedah, in Juneau county, have organized under the general law of the state, and graded a road-bed from their village to New Lisbon, on the Chicago, Mil waukee & St. Paul company's line. The latter company furnish and lay the iron, and will operate the road. It is thirteen miles in length. Conclusion. The railroads of Wisconsin have grown up under the requirements of the several localities that have planned and commenced their construction, and without regard to arfy general system. Frequently the work of construction was begun before adequate means were provided, and bankruptcy overtook the roads in their early stages. The consolidation of the various companies, as in the cases of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Chicago & Northwestern, and others, has been effected to give through lines and the public greater facilities, as well, as to introduce economy in management. At times the people have become apprehensive, and by legisla tive action prohibited railroads from consolidating, and have sought to control and break down the power of these corporations and to harmonize the interests of the companies and the public. The act of 1874, called the " Potter law," was the assertion, by the legislative power of the state, of its right to control corporations created by itself, and limit the rates at which freight and passengers should be carried. After a long and expensive contest, carried through the state and federal courts, this right has been established, being finally settled by the decision of the supreme court of the United States. Quite all the railroads of Wisconsin have been built with foreign capital. The plan pursued after an organization was effected, was to obtain stock subscriptions from those immediately -Jin LUMBER MANUFACTURE. 185 interested in the enterprise, procure the aid of counties and municipalities, and then allure the farmers, with the prospect of joint ownership in railroads, to subscribe for stock and mortgage their farms to secure the payment of their subscriptions. Then the whole line was bonded and a mortgage executed. The bonds and mortgages thus obtained, were taken to the money centers of New York, London, Amsterdam and other places, and sold, or hypothecated to obtain the money with which to prosecute the work. The bonds and mortgages were made to draw a high rate of interest, and the earnings of these new roads, through unsettled localities, were insufficient to pay more than running and incidental expenses, and frequently fell short of that. Default occurring in the payment of interest, the mortgages were foreclosed and the property passed into the hands and under the control of foreign capitalists. Such has been the history of most of the railroads of our state. The total number of farm mortgages given has been 3,785, amounting to $4,079,433 ; town, county and municipal bonds, amounting to $6,910,652. The total cost of all the railroads in the state, as given by the railroad commissioner in his report for 1876, has been $98,343,453.67. This vast sum is, no doubt, greatly in excess of what the cost should have been, but the roads have proved of immense benefit in the develop ment of the material resources of the state. Other lines are needed through sections not yet traversed by the iron steed, and present lines should be extended by branch roads. The questions upon which great issues were raised between the railway corporations and the people, are now happily settled by securing to the latter their rights ; and the former, under the wise and conciliatory policy pursued by their managers, are assured of the safety of their investments. An era of good feeling has succeeded one of distrust and antagonism. The people must use the railroads, and the railroads depend upon the people for sustenance and protection. This mutuality of interest, when fully recognized on both sides, will result in giving to capital a fair return and to labor its just reward. LUMBER MANUFACTURE. By. W. B. JUDSON. Foremost among the industries of Wisconsin is that of manufacturing lumber. Very much of the importance to which the state has attained is due to the development of its forest wealth. In America, agriculture always has been, and always will be, the primary and most important interest; but no nation can subsist upon agriculture alone. While the broad prairies of Illinois and Iowa are rich with a fertile and productive soil, the hills and valleys of northern Wisconsin are clothed with a wealth of timber that has given birth to a great manufacturing interest, which employs millions of capital and thousands of men, and has peopled the northern wilds with energetic, prosperous communities, built up enterprising cities, and crossed the state with a net work of railways which furnish outlets for its productions and inlets for the new populations which are ever seeking for homes and employment nearer to the setting sun. If a line be drawn upon the state map, from Green Bay westward through Stevens Point, to where it would naturally strike the Mississippi river, it will be below the southern boundary of the pine timber regions, with the single exception of the district drained by the Yellow river, a tributary of the Wisconsin, drawing its timber chiefly from Wood and Juneau counties. The territory north of this imaginary line covers an area a little greater than one half of the state. The pine timbered land is found in belts or ridges, interspersed with prairie openings, patches of hardwood and hemlock, and drained by numerous water-courses. No less than seven large 186' HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. rivers traverse this northern section, and, with their numerous tributaries, penetrate every county, affording facilities for floating the logs to the mills, and, in many instances, the power to cut them into lumber. This does not include the St. Croix, which forms the greater portion of the boundary line between Wisconsin and Minnesota, and, by means of its tributaries, draws the most and best of its pine from the former state. These streams divide the territory, as far as /umbering is concerned, into six separate and distinct districts : The Green bay shore, ,whic& includes the Wisconsin side of the Menomonee, the Peshtigo and Oconto rivers, with a number of creeks which flow into the bay between the mouths of the Oconto and Fox rivers ; the Wolf river district ', the Wisconsin river, including the Yellow, as before mentioned ; the Black river; the Chippewa and Red Cedar ; and the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix. Beginning with the oldest of these, the Green bay shore, a brief description of each will be attempted. The first saw-mill built in the state, of which there is now any knowledge, was put in operation in 1809, in Brown county, two or three miles east from Depere, on a little stream which was known as East river. It was built by Jacob Franks, but probably was a very small affair. Of its machinery or capacity for sawing, no history has been recorded, and it is not jrithin the memory of any inhabitant of to-day. In 1829, John P. Arndt, of Green Bay, built a water- power mill on the Pensaukee river at a point where the town of Big Suamico now stands. In 1834, a mill was built on the Wisconsin side of the Menomonee, and, two years later, one at Peshtigo. Lumber was first shipped to market from this district in 1834, which must, be termed the beginning of lumbering operations on the bay shore. The lands drained by the streams which flow into Green bay are located in Shawano and Oconto counties, the latter being the largest in the state. In 1847, Willard Lamb, of Green Bay, made the first sawed pine shingles in that district ; they were sold to the Galena railroad company for use on depot buildings, and were the first of the kind sold in Chicago. Subsequently Green Bay became one of the greatest points for the manufacture of such shingles in the world. The shores of the bay are low, and gradually change from marsh to swamp, then to level dry land, and finally become broken and mountainous to the northward. The pine is in dense groves that crowd closely upon the swamps skirting the bay, and reach far back among the hills of the interior. The Peshtigo flows into the bay about ten miles south of the Menomonee, and takes its rise far back in Oconto county, near to the latter's southern tributaries. It is counted a good logging stream, its annual product being from 40,000,000 to 60,000,000 feet. The timber is of a rather coarse quality, running but a small percentage to what the lumbermen term "uppers." About ten per cent, is what is known as Norway pine. Of the whole amount of timber tributary to the Peshtigo, probably about one third has been cut off to this date. The remainder will not average of as good quality, and only a limited portion of the land is of any value for agricultural purposes after being cleared of the pine. There are only two mills on this stream, both being owned by one company. The Oconto is one of the most .important streams in the district. The first saw-mill was built on its banks about the year 1840, though the first lumbering operations of any account were begun in 1845 *>y David Jones. The business was conducted quite moderately until 1856, in which year several mills were built, and from that date Oconto has been known as quite an extensive lumber manufacturing point. The timber tributary to this stream has been of the best quality found in the state. Lumber cut from it has been known to yield the extraordinarily high average of fifty and sixty per cent, uppers. The timber now being cut will not average more than half that. The proportion of Norway is about five per cent. It is estimated that from three fourths to four fifths of the timber tributary to the Oconto has been cut away, but it will require a much longer time to convert the balance into lumber than was necessary to cut its equivalent in amount, owing to its remote location. The annual production • LUMBER MANUFACTURE. 187 of pine lumber at Oconto is from 50,000,000 to 65,000,000 feet. The whole production of the district, exclusive of the timber which is put into the Menomonee from Wisconsin, is about 140,000,000 feet annually. The Wolf river and its tributaries constitute the next district, proceeding westward. The first saw logs cut on this stream for commercial purposes were floated to the government mill at Neenah in 1835.. In 1842, Samuel Farnsworth erected the first saw-mill on the upper Wolf near the location of the present village of Shawano, and in the following spring he sent the first raft of lumber down the Wolf to Oshkosh. This river also rises in Oconto county, but flows in a southerly direction, and enters Winnebago lake at Oshkosh. Its pineries have been very exten sive, but the drain upon them within the past decade has told with greater effect than upon any other district in the state. The quality of the timber is very fine, and the land is considered good for agricultural purposes, and is being occupied upon the lines of the different railways which cross it. The upper waters of the Wolf are rapid, and have a comparatively steady flow, which renders it a very good stream for driving logs. Upon the upper river, the land is quite rolling, and about the head-waters is almost mountainous. The pine timber that remains in this dis trict is high up on the main river and branches, and will last but a few years longer. A few years ago the annual product amounted to upward of 250,000,000 feet; in 1876 it was 138,000,000. The principal manufacturing points are Oshkosh and Fond du Lac ; the former has 21 mills, and the latter 10. Next comes the Wisconsin, the longest and most crooked river in the state. It rises in the extreme northern sections, and its general course is southerly until, at Portage City, it makes a grand sweep to the westward and unites with the Mississippi at Prairie du Chien. It has numer ous tributaries, and, together with these, drains a larger area of country than any other river in the state. Its waters flow swiftly and over numerous rapids and embryo falls, which renders log- driving and raft-running very difficult and even hazardous. The timber is generally near the banks of the main stream and its tributaries, gradually diminishing in extent as it recedes from them and giving place to the several varieties of hard-woods. The extent to which operations have been carried on necessitates going further up the stream for available timber, although there is yet what may be termed an abundant supply. The first cutting of lumber on this stream, of which there is any record, was by government soldiers, in 1828, at the building of Fort Winne bago. In 1831, a mill was built at Whitney's rapids, below Point Bass, in what was then Indian territory. By 1840, mills were in operation as high up as Big Bull falls, and Wausau had a population of 350 souls. Up to 1876, the product of the upper Wisconsin was all sent in rafts to markets on the Mississippi. The river above Point Bass is a series of rapids and eddies ; the current flows at the rate of from 10 to 20 miles an hour, and it can well be imagined that the task of piloting a raft from Wausau to the dells was no slight one. The cost of that kind of transportation in the early times was actually equal to the present market price of the lumber. With a good stage of water, the length of time required to run a raft to St. Louis was 24 days, though quite frequently, owing to inability to get out of the Wisconsin on one rise of water, sev eral weeks were consumed. The amount of lumber manufactured annually on this river is from 140,000,000 to 200,000,000 feet. Black river is much shorter and smaller than the Wisconsin, but has long been known as a very important lumbering stream. It is next to the oldest lumber district in the state. The first saw-mill west of Green Bay was built at Black River Falls in 1819 by Col. John Shaw. The Winnebago tribe of Indians, however, in whose territory he was, objected to the innovation of such a fine art, and unceremoniously offered up the mill upon the altar of their outraged 188 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. solitude. The owner abruptly quitted that portion of the country. In 1839 another attempt to establish a mill on Black river was more successfully made. One was erected at the same point by two brothers by the name of Wood, the millwright being Jacob Spaulding, who eventually became its possessor. His son, Mr. Dudley J. Spaulding, is now a very extensive operator upon Black river. La Crosse is the chief manufacturing point, there being ten saw-mills located there. The annual production of the stream ranges from 150,000,000 to 225,000,000 feet of logs, less than 100,000,000 feet being manufactured into lumber on its banks. The balance is sold in the log to mills on the Mississippi. It is a very capricious river to float logs in, which necessitates the carrying over from year to year of a very large amount, variously estimated at from 150,000,000 to 200,000,000 feet, about equal to an entire season's product. This makes the business more hazardous than on many other streams, as the loss from depreciation is very great after the first year. The quality of the timber is fine, and good prices are realized for it when sold within a year after being cut. The Chippewa district probably contains the largest and finest body of white pine timber now standing, tributary to any one stream, on the continent. It has been claimed, though with more extravagance than truth, that the Chippewa pineries hold one-half the timber supply of the state. The river itself is a large one, and has many tributaries, which penetrate the rich pine district in all directions. The character of the tributary country is not unlike that through which the Wisconsin flows. In 1828 the first mill was built in the Chippewa valley, on Wilson's creek, near its confluence with the Red Cedar. Its site is now occupied by the village of Meno monee. In 1837 another was built on what is the present site of the Union Lumbering Company's mill at Chippewa Falls. It was not until near 1865 that the Chippewa became very prominent as a lumber-making stream. Since that date it has been counted as one of the foremost in the north west. Upon the river proper there are twenty-two saw-mills, none having a capacity of less than 3,500,000 feet per season, and a number being capable of sawing from 20,000,000 to 25,000,000 The annual production of sawed lumber is from 250,000,00c to 300,000,000 feet; the production of logs from 400,000,000 to 500,000,000 feet. In 1867 the mill-owners upon the Mississippi, between Winona and Keokuk, organized a corporation known as the Beef Slough Manufactur ing, Log-Driving and Transportation Company. Its object was to facilitate the handling of logs cut upon the Chippewa and its tributaries, designed for the Mississippi mills. At the confluence of the two rivers various improvements were made, constituting the Beef Slough boom, which is capable of assorting 200,000,000 feet of logs per season. The Chippewa is the most difficult stream in the northwest upon which to operate. In the spring season it is turbulent and ungovernable, and in summer, almost destitute of water. About its head are numerous lakes which easily overflow under the influence of rain, and as their surplus water flows into the Chippewa, its rises are sudden and sometimes damaging in their extent. The river in many places flows between high bluffs, and, under the influence of a freshet, becomes a wild and unmanageable torrent. Logs have never been floated in rafts, as upon other streams, but are turned in loose, and are carried down with each successive rise, in a jumbled and confused mass, which entails much labor and loss in the work of assorting and delivering to the respective owners. Previous to the organization of the Eagle Rapids Flooding Dam and Boom Company, in 1872, the work of securing the stock after putting it into the river was more difficult than to cut and haul it. At the cities of Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, where most of the mills are located, the current, under the influence of high water, is very rapid, and for years the problem was, how to stop and retain the logs, as they would go by in great masses and with almost resist less velocity. In 1847 is recorded one of the most sudden and disastrous floods in the history of log-running streams. In the month of June the Chippewa rose twelve feet in a single night, LUMBER MANUFACTURE. 189 and, in the disastrous torrent that was created, piers, booms, or " pockets " for holding logs at the mills, together with a fine new mill, were swept away, and the country below where Eau Claire now stands was covered with drift-wood, saw-logs, and other debris. Such occurrences led to the invention of the since famous sheer boom, which is a device placed in the river opposite the mill boom into which it is desired to turn the logs. The sheer boom is thrown diagonally across the river, automatically, the action of the current upon a number of ingeniously arranged "fins "holding it in position. By this means the logs are sheered into the receptacle until it is filled, when the sheer boom, by closing up the " fins" with a windlass, falls back and allows the logs to go on for the next mill to stop and capture its pocket full in like manner. By this method each mill could obtain a stock, but a great difficulty was experienced from the fact that the supply was composed of logs cut and owned by everybody operating on the river, and the process of balancing accounts according to the " marks," at the close of the season, has been one prolific of trouble and legal entanglements. The building of improvements at Eagle Rapids by the company above mentioned remedied the difficulty to some extent, but the process of logging will always be a difficult and hazardous enterprise until adequate means for holding and assorting the entire log product are provided. Upon the Yellow and Eau Claire rivers, two important branches of the Chippewa, such difficulties are avoided by suitable improvements. The entire lumber product of the Chippewa, with the exception of that consumed locally, is floated in rafts to markets upon the Mississippi, between its mouth and St. Louis. The quality of the timber is good, and commands the best market price in the sections where it seeks market. West of the Chippewa district the streams and timber are tributary to the St. Croix, and in all statistical calculations the entire product of that river is credited to Minnesota, the same as that of the Menomonee is given to Michigan, when in fact about one half of each belongs to Wisconsin. The important branches of the St. Croix belonging in this state are the Apple Clam, Yellow, Namekogan, Totagatic and Eau Claire. The sections of country through which they flow contain large bodies of very fine pine timber. The St. Croix has long been noted for the excellence of its dimension timber. Of this stock a portion is cut into lumber at Stillwater, and marketed by rail, and the balance is sold in the log to mills on the Mississippi. Such is a brief and somewhat crude description of the main lumbering districts of the state. Aside from these, quite extensive operations are conducted upon various railway lines which penetrate the forests which are remote from log-running streams. In almost every county in the state, mills of greater or less capacity may be found cutting up pine or hard-woods into lumber, shingles, or cooperage stock. Most important, in a lumbering point of view, of all the railroads, is the Wisconsin Central. It extends from Milwaukee to Ashland, on Lake Superior, a distance of 351 miles, with a line to Green Bay, 113 miles, and one from Stevens Point to Portage, 71 miles, making a total length of road, of 449 miles. It has only been completed to Ashland within the last two years. From Milwaukee to Stevens Point it passes around to the east and north of Lake Winnebago, through an excellent hard-wood section. There are many stave mills in operation upon and tributary to its line, together with wooden-ware establishments and various manufactories requiring either hard or soft timber as raw material. From Stevens Point northward, this road passes through and has tributary to it one of the finest bodies of tim ber in the state. It crosses the upper waters of Black river and the Flambeau, one of the main tributaries of the Chippewa. From 30,000,000 to 50,000,000 feet of lumber is annually manu factured on its line, above Stevens Point. The Wisconsin Valley railroad extends from Tomah to Wausau, and was built to afford an outlet, by rail, for the lumber produced at the latter point. The extent of the timber supply in this state has been a matter of much speculation, and 190 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. is a subject upon which but little can be definitely said. Pine trees can not be counted or measured until reduced to saw-logs or lumber. It is certain that for twenty years the forests of Wisconsin have yielded large amounts of valuable timber, and no fears are entertained by holders of pine lands that the present generation of owners will witness an exhaustion of their supply. In some sections it is estimated that the destruction to the standing timber by fires, which periodically sweep over large sections, is greater than by the axes of the loggers. The necessity for a state system of forestry, for the protection of the forests from fires, has been urged by many, and with excellent reason ; for no natural resource of the state is of more value and importance than its wealth of timber. According to an esti mate recently made by a good authority, and which received the sanction of many interested parties, there was standing in the state in 1876, an amount of pine timber approximating 35,000,000,000 feet. The annual production of lumber in the districts herein described, and from logs floated out of the state to mills on the Mississippi, is about 1,200,000,000 feet. The following table gives the mill capacity per season, and the lumber and shingles manufactured in 1876 : Green Bay Shore Wolf River Wisconsin Central Railroad Green Bay & Minnesota Railroad Wisconsin River -- Black River _ -- Chippewa River. _ Mississippi River — using Wisconsin logs Total -- SEASON capacity. 206,000,000258,500,000 72,500.000 34,500,000 222,000,000 101,000,000 311,000,000 509,000,000 1,714,500,000 LUMBER MANUFACTURED IN 1876. 138,250,000138,645,077 31,530,000 17,700,000 139,700,000 70.852.747 255,866,999380,067,000 1,172,611,823 SHINGLES MANUFACTURED IN 1876. '85,400,000 123,192,000 132,700,000 10,700,000 106,250,000 37,675,00079,250.000 206,g77,000 782,144,000 If to the above is added the production of mills outside of the main districts and lines of rail way herein described, the amount of pine lumber annually produced from Wisconsin forests would reach 1,500,000,000 feet. Of the hard-wood production no authentic information is obtainable To cut the logs and place them upon the banks of the streams, ready for floating to the mills, requires the labor of about 18,000 men. Allowing that, upon an average, each man has a family of two persons besides himself, dependent upon his labor for support, it would be apparent that the first step in the work of manufacturing lumber gives employment and support to 54,000 persons. To convert 1,000,000 feet of logs into lumber, requires the consumption of 1,200 bushels of oats, 9 barrels of pork and beef, 10 tons of hay, 40 barrels of flour, and the use of 2 pairs of horses. Thus the fitting out of the logging companies each fall makes a market for 1,800,000 bushels of oats, 13,500 barrels of pork and beef, 15,000 tons of hay, and 60,000 barrels of flour. Before the lumber is sent to market, fully $6,000,000 is expended for the labor employed in producing it. This industry, aside from furnishing the farmer of the west with the cheapest and best of materials for constructing his buildings, also furnishes a very important market for the products of his farm. The question of the exhaustion of the pine timber supply has met with much discussion during the past few years, and, so far as the forests of Wisconsin are concerned, deserves a brief notice. The great source of supply of white pine timber in the country is that portion of the northwest between the shores of Lake Huron and the banks of the Mississippi, comprising the LUMBER MANUFACTURE. 191 uorthern portions of the states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. For a quarter of a century these fields have been worked by lumbermen, the amount of the yearly production having increased annually until it reached the enormous figure of 4,000,000,000 feet. With all of this tremendous drain upon the forests, there can be pointed out but one or two sections that are actually exhausted. There are, however, two or three where the end can be seen and the •date almost foretold. The pineries of Wisconsin have been drawn upon for a less period and less amount than those of Michigan, and, it is generally conceded, will outlast them at the present proportionate rate of cutting. There are many owners of pine timber lands who laugh at the prospect of exhausting their timber, within their lifetime. As time brings them nearer to the end, the labor of procuring the logs, by reason of •the distance of the timber from the water-courses, will increase, and the work will progress more slowly. In the future of this industry there is much promise. Wisconsin is the natural source of supply for a very large territory. The populous prairies of Illinois and Iowa are near-by and unfailing markets. The broad plains of Kansas and the rich valleys of Nebraska, which are still in the cradle of development, will make great drafts upon her forests for the material to construct cities in which the first corner-stone is yet unlaid. Minnesota, notwithstanding the fact that large forests exist within her own confines, is even now no mean customer for Wisconsin lumber, and the ambitious territory of Dakota will soon clamor for material to build up a great and wealthy state. In the inevitable progress of development and growth which must characterize the great west, the demand for pine lumber for building material will be a prominent feature. With the ¦growth of time, changes will occur in the methods of reducing the forests. With the increasing •demand and enhancing values will come improvements in manipulating the raw material, and a stricter economy will be preserved in the handling of a commodity which the passage of time only makes more valuable. Wisconsin will become the home of manufactories, which will convert her trees into finished articles of daily consumption, giving employment to thousands of artisans where it now requires hundreds, and bringing back millions of revenue where is now realized thousands. Like all other commodities, lumber becomes more valuable as skilled labor is employed in its manipulation, and the .greater the extent to which this is carried, the greater is the growth in prosperity, of the state and its people. BANKING IN WISCONSIN. by john p. McGregor. Wisconsin was organized as a territory in 1836, and the same year' several acts were passed by the territorial legislature, incorporating banks of issue. Of these, one at Green Bay and another at Mineral Point went into operation just in time to play their part in the great panic of 1837. The bank at Green Bay soon failed and left its bills unredeemed. The bank at .Mineral Point is said to have struggled a little longer, but both these concerns were short lived, and their issues were but a drop in the great flood of worthless wild-cat bank notes that spread over the whole western country in that disastrous time. The sufferings of the people of Wis consin, from this cause, left a vivid impression on their minds, which manifested its results in the legislation of the territory and in the constitution of the 'state adopted in 1848. So jealous were the legislatures of the territory, of banks and all their works, that, in every act of incorporation rfor any purpose, a clause was inserted to the effect that nothing in the act contained should be 192 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. taken to authorize the corporation to assume or exercise any banking powers ; and this proviso was even added to acts incorporating church societies. For some years there can hardly be said to have been any banking business done in the territory ; merchants and business men were left to their own devices to make their exchanges, and every man was his own banker. In the year 1839 an act was passed incorporating the " Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance Company," of Milwaukee. This charter conferred on the corporation, in addition to the usual powers of a fire and marine insurance company, the privilege of receiving deposits, issuing certifi cates of deposit and lending money, — and wound up with the usual prohibition from doing a banking business. This company commenced business at once under the management of George Smith as president and Alexander Mitchell as secretary. The receiving deposits, issuing certifi cates of deposit and lending money, soon outgrew and overshadowed the insurance branch of the institution, which accordingly gradually dried up. In fact, the certificates of deposit had all the appearance of ordinary bank notes, and served the purposes of an excellent currency, being always promptly redeemed in coin on demand. Gradually these issues attained a great circulation all through the west, as the people gained more and more confidence in the honesty and ability of the managers ; and though " runs " were several times made, yet being successfully met, the public finally settled down into the belief that these bills were good beyond question, so that the amount in circulation at one time, is said, on good authority, to have been over $2,000,000. As the general government required specie to be paid for all lands bought of it, the Wis consin Marine and Fire Insurance company, by redemption of its " certificates of deposit," furnished a large part of the coin needed for use at the Milwaukee land office, and more or less for purchases at land offices in other parts of the state, and its issues were of course much in request for this purpose. For many years this institution furnished the main banking facilities for the business men of the territory and young state, in the way of discounts and exchanges. Its right to carry on the operations it was engaged in, under its somewhat dubious and incon sistent charter, was often questioned, and, in 1852, under the administration of Governor Farwell, some steps were taken to test the matter ; but as the general banking law had then been passed by the legislature, and was about to be submitted to the people, and as it was understood that the company •» -onld organize as a bank under the law, if approved, the legal proceedings were not pressed. While this corporation played so important a part in the financial history and commer cial development of Wisconsin, the writer is not aware of any available statistics as to the amount of business transacted by it before it became merged in the "Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance Company's Bank." In 1847, the foundation of the present well-known firm of Marshall & Ilsley was laid by Samuel Marshall, who, in that year, opened a private banking office in Milwaukee, and was joined in 1849 by Charles F. Ilsley. This concern has always held a prominent position among the banking institutions of our state. About this time, at Mineral Point, Washburn & Woodman (C. C. Washburn and Cyrus Woodman) engaged in private banking, as a part of their business. After some years they were succeeded by Wm. T. Henry, who still continues the banking office. Among the early private bankers of the state were Mr. Kellogg, of Oshkosh ; Ulmann and Bell, of Racine ; and T. C. Shove, of Manitowoc. The latter still continues his business, while that of the other firms has \ een wound up or merged in organized banks. In 1848, Wisconsin adopted a state constitution. This constitution prohibited the legislature from incorporating banks and from conferring banking powers on any corporation; but provided the question of " banks or no banks " might be submitted to a vote of the electors, a«i, if the decision should be in favor of banks, then the legislature might charter banks or niigiiu enact a BANKING- IN WISCONSIN. 193 general banking law, but no such special charter or general banking law should have any force until submitted to the electors at a general election, and approved by a majority of votes cast on that subject. In 185 1, the legislature submitted this question to the people, and a majority of the votes were cast in favor of " banks." Accordingly the legislature, in 1852, made a general hanking law, which was submitted to the electors in November of that year, and was approved by them. This law was very similar to the free banking law of the state of New York, which had then been in force about fifteen years, and was generally approved in that state. Our law authorized any number of individuals to form a corporate association for banking purposes, and its main provisions were intended to provide security for the circulating notes, by deposit of state and United States stocks or bonds with the state treasurer, so that the bill holders should sustain no loss in case of the failure of the banks. Provision was made for a bank comptroller, whose main duty it was to see that countersigned circulating notes were issued to banks only in proper amounts for the securities* deposited, and upon compliance with the law, and that the banks kept these securities good. The first bank comptroller was James S. Baker, who was appointed by Governor Farwell. The first banks organized under the new law were the " State Bank," established at Madi son by Marshall & Ilsley, . and the "Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance Company's Bank," established at Milwaukee under the old management of that company. These banks both went into operation early in January, 1853, and, later in that year, the " State Bank of Wisconsin " (now Milwaukee National Bank of Wisconsin), and the " Farmers' and Millers' Bank " (now First National Bank of Milwaukee), were established, followed in January, 1854, by the "Bank of Mil waukee " (now National Exchange Bank of Milwaukee). From this time forward banks were rapidly established at different points through the state, until in July, 1857, they numbered sixty — with aggregate capital, $4,205,000; deposits, $3,920,238; and circulation, $2,231,829. In October, the great revulsion and panic of 1857 came on, and in its course and effects tried pretty severely the new banks in Wisconsin. Some of them succumbed to the pressure, but most of them stood the trial well. The great source of loss and weakness at that time was found in the rapid decline of the market value of the securities deposited to protect circulation, which were mostly state bonds, and largely those of the southern states ; so that this security, when it came to be tried, did not / prove entirely sufficient. Another fault of the system, or of the practice under it, was developed at this time. It was found that many of the banks had been set up without actual working capi tal, merely for the purpose of issuing circulating notes, and were located at distant and inaccessible points in what was then the great northern wilderness of the state ; so that it was expensive and in fact impracticable to present their issues for redemption. While these evils and their rem edies were a good deal discussed among bankers, the losses and inconveniences to the people were not yet great enough to lead to the adoption of thorough and complete measures of reform. The effect of these difficulties, however, was to bring the bankers of the state into the habit of consulting and acting together in cases of emergency, the first bankers' convention having been held in 1857. This was followed by others from time to time, and it would be difficult to over value the great good that has resulted, at several important crises from the harmonious and con- fcrvative action of the bankers of our state. Partly, at least, upon their recommendations the legislature, in 1858, adopted amendments to the banking law, providing that no bank should be located in a township containing less than two hundred inhabitants ; and that the comptroller should not issue circulating notes, except to banks doing a regular discount deposit and exchange business in some inhabited town, village, city, or where the ordinary business of inhabited towns, villages and cities was carried on. The-.e amendments were approved by the people at the fall 194 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. election of that year. Banking matters now ran along pretty smoothly until the election in i860, of the republican presidential ticket, and the consequent agitation in the southern states threatening civil war, the effects of which were speedily felt; first, in the great depreciation of the bonds of the southern states, and then in a less decline in those of the northern states. At this time (taking the state ment of July, i860,) the number of banks was 104, with aggregate capital, $6,547,000; circula tion, $4,075,918; deposits, $3,230,252. During the winter following, there was a great deal of uneasiness in regard to our state cur rency, and continuous demand upon our banks for the redemption of their circulating notes in coin. Many banks of the wild-cat sort failed to redeem their notes, which became depreciated and uncurrent; and, when the rebellion came to a head by the firing on Fort Sumter, thebanking interests of the state were threatened with destruction by compulsory winding up and enforced sale at the panic prices then prevailing, of the securities deposited to secure circulation. Under these circumstances, on the 17th of April, 1861, the legislature passed " an act to protect the holders of the circulating notes of the authorized banks of the state of Wisconsin." As the banking law could not be amended except by approval of the electors, by vote at a general election, a practical suspension of specie payment had to be effected by indirect methods. So. this act first directed the bank comptroller to suspend all action toward banks for failing to redeem their circulation. Secondly, it prohibited notaries public from protesting bills of banks until Dec 1, 1861. Thirdly, it gave banks until that date to answer complaints in any proceed ing to compel specie payment of circulating notes. This same legislature also amended the banking law, to cure defects that had been developed in it. These amendments were intended to facilitate the presentation and protest of circulating notes, and the winding up of banks failing to redeem them, and provided that the bank comptroller should not issue circulating notes except to banks having actual cash capital ; on which point he was to take evidence in all cases ; that after Dec. 1, 1861, all banks of the state should redeem their issues either at Madison or Milwaukee, and no bonds or stocks should be received as security for circulation except those of the United States and of the state of Wisconsin. Specie payment of bank bills was then practically suspended, in our state, from April 17 to December 1, 1861, and there was no longer any plain practical test for determining which were good, and which not. In this condition of things, bankers met in convention, and, after discus sion and inquiry as to the condition and resources of the different banks, put forth a list of those whose issues were to be considered current and bankable. But things grew worse, and it was evident that the list contained banks that would never be able to redeem their circulation, and the issues of such were from time to time thrown out and discredited without any concert of action, so that the uneasiness of people in regard to the financial situation was greatly increased. The bankers finally met, gave the banks another sifting, and put forth a list of seventy banks, whose circulating notes they pledged themselves to receive, and pay out as current, until Decem ber 1. There had been so many changes that this pledge was thought necessary to allay the apprehensions of the public. But matters still grew worse instead of better. Some of the banks in the " current " list closed their doors to their depositors, and others were evidently unsound, and their circulation so insufficiently secured as to make it certain that it would never be redeemed. There was more or less sorting of the currency, both by banks and business men, all over the state, in the endeavor to keep the best and pay out the poorest. In this state of things, some of the Milwaukee banks, without concert of action, and acting under the apprehen sion of being loaded up with the very worst of the currency, which, it was feared, the country banks and merchants were sorting out and sending to Milwaukee, revised the list again, and BANKING IN WISCONSIN. 195 threw out ten of the seventy banks whose issues it had been agreed should be received as current. Other banks and bankers were compelled to take the same course to protect them selves. The consequence was a great disturbance of the public mind, and violent charges of bad faith on the part of the banks, which culminated in the bank riots of June 24, 1861. On that day, a crowd of several hundred disorderly people, starting out most probably only with the idea of making some sort of demonstration of their dissatisfaction with the action of the banks and bankers and with the failure to keep faith with the public, marched through the streets with a band of music, and brought up at the corner of Michigan and East Water streets. The banks had just sufficient notice of these proceedings to enable them to lock up their money and valuables in their vaults, before the storm broke upon them. The mob halted at the place above mentioned, and for a time contented themselves with hooting, and showed no dispo sition to proceed to violence; but, after a little while, a stone was thrown through the windows of the Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance Company's Bank, situated at one corner of the above streets, and volleys of stones soon followed, not only against that bank, but also against the State Bank of Wisconsin, situated on the opposite corner. The windows of both these institutions and of the offices in the basements under them were effectually demolished. The mob then made a rush into these banks and offices, and completely gutted them, offering more or less violence to the inmates, though no person was seriously hurt. The broken furni ture of the offices under the State Bank of Wisconsin was piled up, and the torch was applied by some of the rioters, while others were busy in endeavoring to break into the safes of the offices and the vaults of the banks. The debris of the furniture in the office of the Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance Company's Bank, was also set on fire, and it was plain that if the mob was not immediately checked, the city would be given up to conflagration and pillage — the worst elements, as is always the case with mobs, having assumed the leadership. Just at that juncture, the Milwaukee zouaves, a small military company, appeared on the scene, and with the help of the firemen who had been called out, the mob was put to flight, and the incipient fire was extin guished. The damage so far done was not great in amount, and the danger for the moment was over; but the situation was still grave, as the city was full of threats, disturbance and apprehension. By the prompt action of the authorities, a number of companies of volunteers were brought from different places in the state, order was preserved, and, after muttering for three or four days, the storm died away. The effect of that disturbance and alarm was, however, to bring home to the bankers and business men the conviction that effectual measures must be taken to settle our state currency matters on a sound and permanent basis, and that the issues of all banks that could not be put in shape to meet specie payment in December, must be retired from circulation and be got out of the way. A meeting of the bankers was held ; also of the merchants' association of Milwaukee, and arrangements were made to raise $100,000, by these two bodies, to be used in assisting weak and crippled banks in securing or retiring their circulation. The bankers appointed a committee to take the matter in charge. It happened that just at this time Governor Randall and State Treasurer Hastings returned from New York City, where they had been making unsuccessful efforts to dispose of $800,000 of Wisconsin war bonds, which had been issued to raise funds to fit out Wisconsin volunteers. Our state had never had any bonds on the eastern market. For other reasons, our credit was not high in New York, and it had been found impossible to dispose of these bonds for over sixty cents on the dollar. The state officers conferred with the bankers to see what could be done at home ; and it was finally arranged that the bankers' committee should undertake to get the state banks to dispose of their southern and other depreciated state bonds on deposit to 196 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. secure circulation, for what they would bring in coin, in New York, and replace these bonds with those of our own state,. which were to be taken by our banks nominally at par — seventy percent. being paid in cash, and the different banks purchasing bonds, giving their individual obligation for the thirty per cent, balance, to be paid in semi-annual installments, with an agreement that the state should deduct these installments from the interest so long as these bonds should remain on deposit with the state. By the terms of the law, sixty per cent, of the proceeds of the bonds had to be paid in coin. The bankers' committee went to work, and with some labor and difficulty induced most of the banks to sell their southern securities at the existing low prices in New York, and thus produce the coin required to pay for our state bonds. From the funds provided by the merchants and bankers, they assisted many of the weaker banks to make good their securities with the banking department of the state. By the 19th of July, six of the ten rejected banks that had been the occasion of the riot, were made good, and restored to the list. The other four were wound up, and their issues redeemed at par, and, before the last of August, the value of the securities of all the banks on the current list were brought up to their circulation, as shown by the comptroller's report. Wisconsin currency at the time of the bank riot was at a discount of about 15 per cent., as compared with gold or New York exchange. At the middle of July the discount was 10 to 12 per cent., and early in August it fell to 5 per cent. The bankers' committee continued their work in preparation for the resumption of specie payment on December r. While the securities for the bank circulation had been made good, it was, nevertheless, evident that many of the banks on the current list would not be equal to the continued redemption of their bills in specie, and that they would have to be wound up and got out of the way in season. Authority was got from such institutions, as fast as possible, for the bankers' committee to retire their circulation and sell their securities. The Milwaukee banks and bankers took upon themselves the great burden of this business, having arranged among themselves to sort out and withhold from cir culation the bills of these banks, — distributing the load among themselves in certain defined proportions. Instead of paying out these doubted bills, the different banks brought to the bank ers' committee such amounts as they accumulated from time to time, and received from the committee certificates of deposit bearing seven per cent, interest, and these bills were locked up by the committee until the securities for these notes could be sold and the proceeds realized. Over $400,000 of this sort of paper was locked up by the committee at one time; but.it was all converted into cash, and, when the first of December came, the remaining banks of this state were ready to redeem their issues in gold or its equivalent, and so continued to redeem until the issue of the legal-tender notes and the general suspension of specie payment in the United States. In July, 1861, the number of our banks was 107, with capital, $4,607,000; circulation, $2>3!7>907; deposits, $3,265,069. By the contraction incident to the preparations for redemption in specie, the amount of cur rent Wisconsin bank notes outstanding December 1, 1861, was reduced to about $1,500,000. When that day came, there was quite a disposition manifested to convert Wisconsin currency into coin, and a sharp financial pinch was felt for a few days ; but as the public became satisfied that the banks were prepared to meet the demand, the call for redemption rapidly fell off, and the banks soon began to expand their circulation, which was now current and in good demand all through the northwestern states. The amount saved to all the interests of our state, by this successful effort to save our banking system from destruction, is beyond computation. From this time our banks ran along quietly until prohibitory taxation by act of congress drove the bills of state banks out of circulation. BANKING IN WISCONSIN. 197 The national banking law was passed in 1863, and a few banks were soon organized under it in different parts of the country. The first in Wisconsin was formed by the re-organization of the Farmers' and Millers' Bank, in August, 1863, as the First National Bank of Milwaukee, with Edward D. Holton as president, and H. H. Camp, cashier. The growth of the new system, however, was not very rapid ; the state banks were slow to avail themselves of the privileges of the national banking act, and the central authorities concluded to compel them to come in ; so facilities were offered for their re-organization as national banks, and then a tax of ten per cent. was laid upon the issues of the state banks. This tax was imposed by act of March, 1865, and at once caused a commotion in our state. In July, 1864, the number of Wisconsin state banks was sixty-six, with capital $3,147,000, circulation $2,461,728, deposits $5,483,205, and these figures were probably not very different in the spring of 1865. The securities for the circulating notes were in great part the bonds of our own state, which, while known by our own people to be good beyond question, had never been on the general markets of the country so as to be cur rently known there ; and it was feared that in the hurried retirement of our circulation these bonds would be sacrificed, the currency depreciated, and great loss brought upon our banks and people. There was some excitement, and a general call for the redemption of our state circula tion, but the banks mostly met the run well, and our people were disposed to stand by our own state bonds. In April, 1861, the legislature passed laws, calling in the mortgage loans of the school fund, and directing its investment in these securities. The state treasurer was required to receive Wisconsin bank notes, not only for taxes and debts due the state, but also on deposit, and to issue certificates for such deposits bearing seven per cent, interest. By these and like means the threatened panic was stopped ; and in the course of a few months Wisconsin state currency was nearly all withdrawn from circulation. In July, 1865, the number of state banks was twenty-six, with capital $1,087,000, circulation $192,323, deposits $2,284,210. Under the pressure put on by congress, the organization of national banks, and especially the re-organiza tion of state banks, under the national system, was proceeding rapidly, and in a short time nearly every town in our own state of much size or importance was provided with one or more of these institutions. In the great panic of 1873, all the Wisconsin banks, both state and national (in common with those of the whole country), were severely tried; but the failures were few and unimpor tant; and Wisconsin went through that ordeal with less loss and disturbance than almost any other state. We have seen that the history of banking in Wisconsin covers a stormy period, in which great disturbances and panics have occurred at intervals of a few years. It is to be hoped that a more peaceful epoch will succeed, but permanent quiet and prosperity can not rationally be expected in the present unsettled condition of our currency, nor until we have gone through the temporary stringency incidental to the resumption of specie payment. According to the last report of the comptroller of the currency, the number of national banks in Wisconsin in November, 1876, was forty, with capital $3,400,000, deposits $7,145,360, circulation $2,072,869. At this time (July, 1877) the number of state banks is twenty-six, with capital $1,288,231, deposits $6,662,973. Their circulation is, of course, merely nominal, though there is no legal obstacle to their issuing circulating notes, except the tax imposed by congress. COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES. By Hon. H. H. GILES. The material philosophy of a people has to do with the practical and useful. It sees in iron, coal, cotton, wool, grain and the trees of the forest, the elements of personal comfort and sources of material greatness, and is applied to their development, production and fabrication for purposes of exchange, interchange and sale. The early immigrants to Wisconsin territory found a land teeming with unsurpassed natural advantages ; prairies, timber, water and minerals, invit ing the farmer, miner and lumberman, to come and build houses, furnaces, mills and factories. The first settlers were a food-producing people. The prairies and openings were ready for the plow. The ease with which farms were brought under cultivation, readily enabled the pioneer to supply the food necessary for himself and family, while a surplus was often produced in a few months. The hardships so often encountered in the settlement of a new country, where forests must be felled and stumps removed to prepare the soil for tillage, were scarcely known, or greatly mitigated. During the decade from 1835 to 1845, so great were the demands for the products of the soil, created by the tide of emigration, that the settlers found a home market for all their surplus products, and so easily were crops grown that, within a very brief time after the first emigration, but little was required from abroad. The commerce of the country was carried on by the exchange of products. The settlers (they could scarcely be called farmers) would exchange their wheat, corn, oats and pork for the goods, wares and fabrics of the village merchant. It was an age of barter ; but they looked at the capabilities of the land they had come to possess, and, with firm faith, saw bright promises of better days in the building up of a great state. It is not designed to trace with minuteness the history of Wisconsin through the growth of its commercial and manufacturing interests. To do it justice would require a volume. The aim of this article will be to present a concise view of its present status. Allusion will only be incidentally made to stages of growth and progress by which it has been reached. Few states in the Union possess within their borders so many, and in such abundance, elements that contribute to the material prosperity of a people. Its soil of unsurpassed fertility; its inexhaustible mines of lead, copper, zinc and iron; its almost boundless forests; its water-powers, sufficient to drive the machinery of the world ; its long lines of lake shore on two sides, and the " Father of waters '' on another, — need but enterprise, energy and capital to utilize them in building an empire of wealth, where the hum of varied^industries shall be heard in the music of the sickle, the loom and the anvil. The growth of manufacturing industries was slow during the first twenty-five years of our history. The early settlers were poor. Frequently the land they tilled was pledged to obtain means to pay for it. Capitalists obtained from twenty to thirty per cent, per annum for the use of their money. Indeed, it was the rule, under the free-trade ideas of the money-lenders for them to play the Shylock. While investments in bonds and mortgages were so profitable, few were ready to improve the natural advantages the country presented for building factories and work- shops. COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES. 199 For many years, quite all the implements used in farming were brought from outside the state. While this is the case at present to some extent with the more cumbersome farm machinery, quite a proportion of that and most of the simpler and lighter implements are made at home, while much farm machinery is now manufactured for export to other states. Furs. The northwest was visited and explored by French voyageurs and missionaries from Canada at an early day. The object of the former was trading and gain. The Jesuits, ever zealous in the propagation of their religion, went forth into the unknown wilderness to convert the natives to their faith. As early as 1624, they were operating about Lake Huron and Mackinaw. Father Menard, it is related, was with the Indians on Lake Superior as early, as 1661. The early explorers were of two classes, and were stimulated by two widely different motives — the voyag eurs, by the love of gain, and the missionaries, by their zeal in the propagation of their faith. Previous to 1679, a considerable trade in furs had sprung up with Indian tribes in the vicinity of Mackinaw and the northern part of " Ouisconsin." In that year more than two hundred canoes, laden with furs, passed Mackinaw, bound for Montreal. The whole commerce of this vast region then traversed, was carried on with birch-bark canoes. The French used them in traversing wilds — otherwise inaccessible by reason of floods of water at one season, and ice and snow at another — also lakes and morasses which interrupted land journeys, and rapids and cataracts that cut off communication by water. This little vessel enabled them to overcome all difficulties. Being buoyant, it rode the waves, although heavily freighted, and, of light draft, it permitted the traversing of small streams. Its weight was so light that it could be easily carried from one stream to another, and around rapids and other obstructions. With this little vessel, the fur trade of the northwest was carried on, as well as the interior of a vast continent explored. Under the stimulus of commercial enterprise, the French traders penetrated the recesses of the immense forests whose streams were the home of the beaver, the otter and the mink, and in whose depths were found the martin, sable, ermine, and other fur-bearing animals. A vast trade in furs sprung up, and was carried on by different agents, under authority of the French government. When the military possession of the northwestern domain passed from the government of France to that of Great Britain in 1760, the relationship of the fur trade to the government changed. The government of France had controlled the traffic, and made it a means of strength ening its hold upon the country it possessed. The policy of Great Britain was, to charter companies, and grant them exclusive privileges. The Hudson bay company had grown rich and powerful between 1670 and 1760. Its success had excited the cupidity of capitalists, and rival organizations were formed. The business of the company had been done at their trading-stations —the natives bringing in their furs for exchange and barter. Other companies sent their voyageurs into every nook and corner to traffic with the trappers, and even to catch the fur-bear ing animals themselves. In the progress of time, private parties engaged in trapping and dealing in furs, and, under the competition created, the business became less profitable. In 1815, congress passed an act prohibiting foreigners from dealing in furs in the United States, or any of its territories. This action was obtained through the influence of John Jacob Astor. Mr. Astor organized the American fur company in 1809, and afterward, in connection with the North west company, bought out the Mackinaw company, and the two were merged in the Southwest company. The association was suspended by the war of 1812. The American re-entered the field in 1816. The fur trade is still an important branch of traffic in the northern part of the state, and, during eight months of the year, employs a large number of men. 200 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Lead and Zinc. In 1824, the lead ore in the southwestern part of Wisconsin began to attract attention. From 1826 to 1830, there was a great rush of miners to this region, somewhat like the Pike's Peak excitement at a later date. The lead-producing region of Wisconsin covers an area of •about 2,200 square miles, and embraces parts of Grant, Iowa and La Fayette counties. Between 1829 and 1839, the production of lead increased from 5,000 to 10,000 tons. After the latter year it rose rapidly, and attained its maximum in 1845, when it reached nearly 25,000 tons. Since that time the production has decreased, although still carried on to a considerable extent. The sulphate and carbonate of zinc abound in great quantities with the lead of southwest Wisconsin. Owing to the difficulty of working this class of ores, it was formerly allowed to accumulate about the mouths of the mines. Within a few years past, metallurgic processes have been so greatly improved, that the zinc ores have been largely utilized. At La Salle, in the state of Illinois, there are three establishments for smelting zinc ores. There is also one at Peru, 111. To smelt zinc ores economically, they are taken where cheap fuel is available. Hence, the location of these works in the vicinity of coal mines. The works mentioned made in 1875, from ores mostly taken from Wisconsin, 7,510 tons of zinc. These metals are, therefore, impor tant elements in the commerce of Wisconsin. Iron. The iron ores of Wisconsin occur in immense beds in several localities, and are destined to prove of great value. From their product in 1863, there were 3,735 tons of pig iron received at Milwaukee; in 1865, 4,785 tons ; in 1868, 10,890 tons. Of the latter amount, 4,648 tons were from the iron mines at Mayville. There were shipped from Milwaukee, in 1868, 6,361 tons of pig iron. There were also received 2,500 tons of ore from the Dodge county ore beds. During 1869, the ore beds at Iron Ridge were developed to a considerable extent, and two large blast furnaces constructed in Milwaukee, at which place there were 4,695 tons of ore received, and 2,059 tons were shipped to Chicago and Wyandotte. In 1870, 112,060 tons of iron ore were received at Milwaukee, 95,000 tons of which were from Iron Ridge, and 17,060 tons from Esca naba and Marquette, in Michigan. The total product of the mines at Iron Ridge in 1871 was 82,284 tons. The Milwaukee iron company received by lake, in the same year, 28,094 tons of Marquette iron ore to mix with the former in making railroad iron. In 1872, there were received from Iron Ridge 85,245 tons of ore, and 5,620 tons of pig iron. Much of the metal made by the Wisconsin iron company in 1872 was shipped to St. Louis, to mix with the iron made from Missouri ore. The following table shows the production of pig iron in Wisconsin, for 1872, 1873 and 1874, in tons: Furnaces. 1872. 1873. 1874. Milwaukee Iron Company, Milwaukee Minerva Furnace Company, Milwaukee 21,818 3.350 5.033 4,8886,9103,420 5,6001,780 29,326 5,822 4.1554.137 8,044 6,141 7.9996,832 1,528 33.00° Wisconsin Iron Company, Iron Ridge. 3.3o6 3,000 6,500 Northwestern Iron Company, Mayville... Appleton Iron Company, Appleton Green Bay Iron Company, Green Bay National Iron Company, Depere 6,500 7,000 1,300 Fox River Iron Company, W. Depere Ironton Furnace, Sauk county 52,797 73,98o 66,600 COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES. 201 The Milwaukee iron company, during the year 1872, entered into the manufacture of mer chant iron — it having been demonstrated that the raw material could be reduced there cheaper than elsewhere. The Minerva furnace company built also during the same year one of the most compact and complete iron furnaces to be found any where in the country. During the year 1873, the iron, with most other material interests, became seriously prostrated, so that the total receipts of ore in Milwaukee in 1874 amounted to only 31,993 tons, against 69,418 in 1873, and 85,245 tons in 1872. There were made in Milwaukee in 1874, 29,680 tons of railroad iron. In 1875, 58,868 tons of ore were received at Milwaukee, showing a revival of the trade in an increase of 19,786 tons over the previous year. The operation of the works at Bay View having suspended, the receipts of ore in 1876, at Milwaukee, were less than during any year since 1869, being only 31,119 tons, of which amount only 5,488 tons were from Iron Ridge, and the total shipments were only 498 tons. Lumber. The business of lumbering holds an important rank in the commerce of the state. For many years the ceaseless hum of the saw and the stroke of the ax have been heard in all our great forests. The northern portion of the state is characterized by evergreen trees, principally pine; the southern, by hard-woods. There are exceptional localities, but this is a correct state ment of the general distribution. I think that, geologically speaking, the evergreens belong to the primitive and sandstone regions, and the hard wood to the limestone and clay formations. Northern Wisconsin, so called, embraces that portion of the state north of forty-five degrees, and possesses nearly all the valuable pine forests. The most thoroughly developed portion of this region is that lying along the streams entering into Green bay and Lake Michigan, and border ing on the Wisconsin river and other streams entering into the Mississippi. Most of the pine in the immediate vicinity of these streams has been cut off well toward their sources ; still, there are vast tracts covered with dense forests, not accessible from streams suitable for log-driving purposes. The building of railroads into these forests will alone give a market value to a large portion of the pine timber there growing. It is well, perhaps, that this is so, for at the present rate of consumption, but a few years will elapse before these noble forests will be totally destroyed. Most of the lumber manufactured on the rivers was formerly taken to a market by being floated down the streams in rafts. Now, the railroads are transporting large quantities, taking it directly from the mills and unloading it at interior points in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, and some of it in eastern cities. From five to eight thousand men are employed in the pineries in felling the trees, sawing them into logs of suitable length, and hauling them to the mills and streams during every winter in times of fair prices and favorable seasons. The amount of lumber sawed in i860, as carefully estimated, was 355,055,155 feet. The amountof shingles made was 2,272,061, and no account was made of the immense number of logs floated out of the state, for manufac ture into lumber elsewhere. The amount of logs cut in the winter of 1873 and 1874 was 987,000,000 feet. In 1876 and 1877 the Black river furnished 188,344,464 feet. The Chippewa, 90,000,000; the Red Cedar, 57,000,000. There passed through Beef Slough 129,384,000 feet of logs. Hon. A. H. Eaton, for fourteen years receiver of the United States land office at Stevens Point, estimated the acreage of pine lands in his district at 2,000,000, and, taking his own district as the basis, he estimated the whole state at 8,000,000 acres. Reckoning this at 5,000 feet to the acre, the aggregate pine timber of the state would be 40,000,000,000 feet. The log product annually amounts to an immense sum. In 1876, 1,172,611,823 feet were cut. This is about the average annual draft that is made on the pine lands. There seems to be no remedy for the 202 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. wholesale destruction of our pine forests, except the one alluded to, the difficulty of transporta tion, and this will probably save a portion of them for a long time in the future. At the rate of consumption for twenty years past, we can estimate that fifty years would see northern Wiscon sin denuded of its pine forests ; but our lumber product has reached its maximum, and will probably decrease in the coming years as the distance to be hauled to navigable streams increases. In the mean time lumber, shingles and lath will form an important factor in our commerce, both state and inter-state, and will contribute millions to the wealth of our citizens. Grain. Up to 1841, no grain was exported from Wisconsin to be used as food; but, from the time of its first settlement in 1836 to 1840, the supply of bread stuffs from abroad, upon which the people depended, was gradually diminished by the substitution of home products. In the winter of 1840 and 1841, E. D. Holton, of Milwaukee, purchased a small cargo of wheat (about 4,000 bushels), and in the spring of 1841, shipped it to Buffalo. This was the beginning of a traffic that has grown to immense proportions, and, since that time, wheat has formed the basis of the commerce and prosperity of the state, until the city of Milwaukee has become the greatest primary wheat mart of the world. The following table gives the exports of flour and grain from Milwaukee for thirty-two years, commencing in 1845 : FLOUR, bbls. WHEAT, bus. CORN, bus. OATS, bus. BARLEY, bus. RYE, bus. 1845 1846184718481849 1850 18511852,1853185418551856 185718581859i8601861. 1862 1863. 1864 1865, 1866. '1867 1868, 18691870. 1871. 1872,1873 1874 1875 1876 7,550 15,756 34,840 92,732 136,657100,017 51,88992,995 104,055145,032 181,568 188,455 228.442 298,668 282,956 457,343 674,474 7n,405 603,525 414,833 567,576720,365 921,663 1,017,5981,220,058 1,225,941 1,211,4271,232,0361,805,200 2,217,579 2,163,346 2,654,028 95,5io 213,448598,4" 602,474 1,136,023 297,570317,285 564,404 956,703 1,809,452 2,641,746 2,761,976 2,581,311 3,994,213 4,732,957 7,568,608 13,300,495 14,915,680 12,837,620 8,992,479 10,479,777 11,634,749 9,598,4529,867,029 14,272,79916,127,83813,409,467 11,570,565 24,994,266 22,255,38022,681,020 16,804,394 2,500 4,000 5,000 2,100 13,828 7,892 2,220 363,841 270 131,716 164,908 404,999 112,132 13,833 218 5,433 472 2,775 43,958 562,067 41,364 299,002 37,204 64,682 1,485 1,200 9,489 79,094 88,989 831,600 140,786 811,634 71,203 326,472 480,408 1,636,595 266,249 622,469 342,717 536,539 93,806 351,768 103,173 210,187 419,133 772,929 1,557,953 1.323,234 197,920 990.525 556,563 726,035 226,895 1,160,450 96,908 i.377,56o # 15,000 15,270 103,840322,261 291,890 339,338 63,37910,398 800 63,178 53,216 28,056 5,220 44,80O 133,449 23,47929,597 18,988 30,82295,036 120,662 469,325576,45393L725 688.455 464,837 867,970 1,235.481 54,69280,365 113,443 20,030 5,378. n,577 9,735 29,810 126,301 84,04718,2105L444 255,329 106,795 91,443 78,03562,494 208,896209,751 255,928 79,879 98,923 220,964 COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES. 203 Up to 1856, the shipments were almost wholly of Wisconsin products ; but with the comple tion of lines of railroad from Milwaukee to the Mississippi river, the commerce of Wisconsin became so interwoven with that of Iowa and Minnesota, that the data furnished by the transpor tation companies, give us no definite figures relating to the products of our own state. Dairy Products. Wisconsin is becoming largely interested in the dairy business. Its numerous springs, streams, and natural adaptability to grass, make it a fine grazing country, and stock thrives remarkably well. Within a few years, cheese-factories have become numerous, and their owners are meeting with excellent success. Wisconsin cheese is bringing the highest price in the markets, and much of it is shipped to England. Butter is also made of a superior quality, and is exten sively exported. At the rate of progress made during the last few years, Wisconsin will soon take rank with the leading cheese and butter producing states. The counties most largely inter ested in dairying, are Kenosha, Walworth, Racine, Rock, Green, Waukesha, Winnebago, Sheboy gan, Jefferson and Dodge. According to estimates by experienced dairymen, the manufacture of butter was 22,473,000 pounds in 1870; 50,130,000 in 1876; of cheese, 1,591,000 pounds in 1870, as against 17,000,000 in 1876, which will convey a fair idea of the increase of dairy produc tion. The receipts of cheese in Chicago during 1876, were 23,7 80,000 pounds, against 12,000,000 in 1875 ; and the receipts of butter were 35,384,184, against 30,248,247 pounds in 1875. It is esti mated that fully one-half of these receipts were from Wisconsin. The receipts of butter in Milwaukee were, in 1870, 3,779,114 pounds; in 1875, 6,625,863; in 1876, 8,938,137 pounds; ot cheese, 5,721,279 pounds in 1875, and 7,055,573 in 1876. Cheese is not mentioned in the trade and commerce reports of Milwaukee until 1873, when it is spoken of as a new and rapidly increasing commodity in the productions of the state. Pork and Beef. Improved breeds, both of swine and cattle, have been introduced into the state during a few years past. The grade of stock has been rapidly bettered, and stock raisers generally are striving with commendable zeal to rival each other in raising the finest of animals for use and the market. The following table shows the receipts of live hogs and beef cattle at Milwaukee for thir teen years : YEARS. LIVE HOGS. BEEF CATTLE. YEARS. LIVE HOGS. BEEF CATTLE. I876 __. I875 I874 I873 I872 I87I I870 254,317144,961 242,326241,099 138,106 126,164 66,138 36,80246,717 22,748 17,262 14,172 9,220 12,972 1869 1868 1867 1866 1865 1864 1863 52,296 48,717 76,758 3I,88l 7,546 42,250 56,826 12,521 I3,20O 15,52712,955 14,230 18,345 14,655 'SL: . . ¦$! 204 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. The following table shows the movement of hog products and beef from Milwaukee since 1862- Shipments by Rail PORK, HAMS, MIDDLES AND SHOULDERS. LARD. BEEF. and Lake. Barrels. Tierces. Boxes. Bulk, lbs. Barrels. Tierces. Barrels. Tierces. Totals 1876 62,46156,77853,70280,010 90,03888,940 77,655 69,805 73,526 88,88874,726 34,oi3 67,93390,387 56,432 15,43915,29217,124 24,95420,11520,192 15,819 9,546 13,14611,614 7,805 2,7135,927 15,81112,685 42,678 " 28,37439,57262,211 3g,2og 14,938 5,875 5,298 3,239 4,522 34,i64 5,000 11,634 5,123,818 2,736,778 1,494,112 1,915,610 4,557,950 5,161,941 4,717,630 2,325,150 1,768,190 454,786 863,746 3,301 601 9,110 4,065 6,2763,9322,535 1,180 3,6372,5233,287 1,929 5,677 10,98713,538 21,356 18,95018,509 24,39927,765 19,746 10,950 8,568 5,055 ¦ 8,8206,2922,487 7,207 10,546 6,761 7,333 4,734 5,0155,365 4,757 3,892 4,427 7,538 10,15018,98411,852 10,427 36866 42,987 3,439 421 707 462 1,500- 1,606 " 1875 " 1874 " 1873 " 1872 " 1871 " 1870- 925 2,185 2,221 6,8044,584 5,5285,871 " 1869 " 186S " 1867 " 1866 " 1865 1864-.. " 1863 " 1862 33,174 3.211 Hops. The culture of hops, as an article af commerce, received but little attention prior to i860. In 1865, 2,864 bales only were shipped from Milwaukee. In addition, a large amount was used by the brewers throughout the state. In 1866, the amount exported was increased, and 5,774 bales were shipped to eastern markets. The price, from forty-five to fifty-five cents per pound, stimulated production, and the article became one of the staple products of the counties of Sauk, Columbia, Adams and Juneau, besides being largely cultivated in parts of some other counties. In 1867, 26,562 bales were received at Milwaukee, and the prices ranged from fifty to seventy cents per pound. The estimated crop of the state for 1867 was 35,000 bales, and brought over $4,200,000. In 1868, not less than 60,000 bales were grown in the state. The crop everywhere was a large one, and in Wisconsin so very large that an over-supply was anticipated. But few, however, were prepared for the decline in prices, that far exceeded the worst apprehensions of those interested. The first sales were made at twenty-five to thirty-five cents per pound, and the prices were reluctantly accepted by the growers. The price continued to decline until the article was unsalable and unavailable in the market. Probably the average price did not exceed ten cents per pound. Notwithstanding the severe check which hop-growing received in 1868, by the unprofitable result, growers were not discouraged, and the crop of 1869 was a large one. So much of the crop of 1868 remained in the hands of the growers, that it is impossible to estimate that of 1869. The new crop sold for from ten to fifteen cents, and the old for from three to five cents per pound. Hop-cultivation received a check from over-production in 1868, from which it did not soon recover. A large proportion of the yards were plowed under in 1870. The crop of 1869 was much of it marketed during 1870, at a price of about two and one-half to three and one- half cents per pound, while that of 1870 brought ten to twelve and a half cents. During the year 1871, a great advance in the price, caused by the partial failure of the crop in some of the eastern states, and the decrease in price causing a decrease in production, what was left over of the crop of 1870 more than doubled-in value before the new reached the market. The latter opened at thirty cents, and steadily rose to fifty and fifty-five for prime COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES. 205 qualities. The crop of 1872 was of good quality, and the market opened at forty to fifty-five cents as the selling price, and fell fifteen to twenty cents before the close of the year. A much larger "quantity was raised than the year previous. In 1873 and 1874, the crop was fair and prices ruled from thirty-three to forty-five cents, with increased production. About 18,000 bales were reported as being shipped from the different railway stations of the state. Prices were extremely irregular during 1875, and, after the new crop reached market, fell to a point that would not pay the cost of production. In 1876, prices ruled low at the opening of the year, and advanced from five to ten cents in January to twenty-eight to thirty in November. Over 17,000 bales were received at Milwaukee, over 10,000 bales being of the crop of the previous year. Over 13,000 bales were shipped out of the state. Tobacco. Tobacco raising is comparatively a new industry in Wisconsin, but is rapidly growing in importance and magnitude. It sells readily for from four to ten cents per pound, and the plant is easily raised. It is not regarded as of superior quality. It first appears as a commodity of transportation in the railway reports for the year 1871, when the Prairie du Chien division of the St. Paul road moved eastward 1,373,650 pounds. During the four years ending with 1876, there were shipped from Milwaukee an average of 5,118,530 pounds annually, the maxi mum being in 1874,6,982,175 pounds; the minimum in 1875, 2,743,854 pounds. The crop of 1876 escaped the early frosts, and netted the producer from five to seven cents per pound. The greatar part of it was shipped to Baltimore and Philadelphia. Comparatively little of the leaf raised in the state is used here or by western manufacturers. The crop of the present year, 1877, is a large one, and has been secured in good order. It is being contracted for at from four to six cents per pound. Cranberries. The cranberry trade is yet in its infancy. But little, comparatively, has been done in devel oping the capabilities of the extensive bodies of marsh and swamp lands interspersed throughout the northern part of the state. Increased attention is being paid to the culture of the fruit ; yet, the demand will probably keep ahead of the supply for many years to come. In 1851, less than 1,500 barrels were sent out of the state. In 1872, the year of greatest production, over 37,000 barrels were exported, and, in 1876, about 17,000 barrels. The price has varied in different years, and taken a range from eight to fifteen dollars a barrel. Spirituous and Malt Liquors. The production of liquors, both spirituous and malt, has kept pace with the growth of population and with the other industries of the state. There were in Wisconsin, in 1872, two hundred and ninety-two breweries and ten distilleries. In 1876, there were two hundred and ninety-three of the former and ten of the latter, and most of them were kept running to their full capacity. Milwaukee alone produced, in 1876, 321,611 barrels of lager beer and 43,175 barrels of high wines. In 1865, it furnished 65,666 barrels of beer, and in 1870, 108,845 barrels. In 1865, it furnished 3,046 barrels of high wines; in 1870, 22,867 barrels; and in 1875, 39,005. A large quantity of the beer made was shipped to eastern and southern cities. The beer made in 1876 sold at the rate of ten dollars per barrel, the wholesale price of the brewers bringing the sum of $3,216,110. The fame of Milwaukee lager beer is widely extended. This city has furnished since 1870, 1,520,308 barrels which, at the wholesale price, brought $15,203,170. The total production of beer by all the two hundred and ninety- three breweries of the state for 1876, was 450,508 barrels. 206 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. In 1876, Milwaukee produced 43,175 barrels of high wines, or distilled spirits, and the state of Wisconsin 51,959 barrels. In 1870, the former produced 108,845 barrels of beer and 22,867 barrels of distilled spirits, and in the same year the state of Wisconsin produced 189,664 barrels of beer and 36,145 barrels of distilled spirits. Miscellaneous. Porcelain clay, or kaolin, is found in numerous places in Wood and Marathon counties. The mineral is found in but few places in the United States in quantities sufficient to justify the investment of capital necessary to manufacture it. In the counties mentioned, the deposits are found in extensive beds, and only capital and enterprise are needed to make their development profitable. Clay of superior quality for making brick and of fair quality for pottery, is found in numerous localities. The famous " Milwaukee brick," remarkable for their beautiful cream color, is made from a fine clay which is abundant near Milwaukee, and is found in exten sive beds at Watertown, Whitewater, Edgerton, Stoughton, and several places on the lake shore north of Milwaukee. At Whitewater and some other places the clay is used with success for the making of pottery ware. Water-lime, or hydraulic cement, occurs in numerous places throughout the state. An extensive bed covering between one and two hundred acres, and of an indefinite depth, exists on the banks of the Milwaukee river, and not over one and a half miles from the city limits of Milwaukee. The cement made from the rock of this deposit is first-class in quality, and between twenty and thirty thousand barrels were made and sold last year. The capacity of the works for reducing the rock to cement has been increased to 500 barrels per day. Stones suita ble for building purposes are widely distributed throughout the state, and nearly every town has its available quarry. Many of these quarries furnish stone of fine quality for substantial and permanent edifices. The quarry at Prairie du Chien furnished the stone for the capital building at Madison, which equals in beauty that of any state in the Union. At Milwaukee, Waukesha, Madison, La Crosse, and many other places are found quarries of superior building stone. Granite is found in extensive beds in Marathon and Wood counties, and dressed specimens exhibited at the " Centennial " last year, attracted attention for their fine polish. Marbles of various kinds are likewise found in the state. Some of them are beginning to attract attention and are likely to prove valuable. The report of Messrs. Foster & Whitney, United States geol ogists, speaks of quarries on the Menomonee and Michigamig rivers as affording beautiful varie ties and susceptible of a high polish. Richland county contains marble, but its quality is gen erally considered inferior. Water Powers. Wisconsin is fast becoming a manufacturing state. Its forests of pine, oak, walnut, maple, ash, and other valuable woods used for lumber, are well-nigh inexhaustible. Its water-power for driving the wheels of machinery is not equaled by that of any state in the northwest. The Lower Fox river between Lake Winnebago and Green Bay, a distance of thirty-five miles, furnishes some of the best facilities for manufacturing enterprise in the whole country. Lake Winnebago as a reservoir gives it a great and special advantage, in freedom from liability to freshets and droughts. The stream never varies but a few feet from its highest to its lowest stage, yet gives a steady flow. The Green Bay and Mississippi canal company has, during the last twenty-five years, constructed numerous dams, canals and locks, constituting very valuable improvements. All the property of that company has been transferred to the United States government, which has entered upon a system to render the Fox and Wisconsin rivers navigable to the Mississippi. The fall between the lake and Depere is one hundred and fifty feet, and the water can be utilized COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES. 207 in propelling machinery at Neenah, Menasha, Appleton, Cedar, Little Chute, Kaukauna, Rapid Croche, Little Kaukauna and Depere. The water-power at Appleton in its natural advantages is pronounced by Hon. Hiram Barney, of New York, superior to those at Lowell, Paterson and Rochester, combined. The water-power of the Fox has been improved to a considerable extent, but its full capacity has hardly been touched. Attention has been drawn to it, how ever, and no doubt is entertained that in a few years the hum of machinery to be propelled by it, will be heard the entire length of the thirty-five miles. The facilities presented by its nearness to timber, iron, and a rich and productive agricultural region, give it an advantage over any of the eastern manufacturing points. The Wisconsin river rises in the extreme northern part of the state, and has its source in a great number of small lakes. The upper portion abounds in valuable water privileges, only a few of which are improved. There are a large number of saw-mills running upon the power of this river. Other machinery, to a limited extent, is in operation. The " Big Bull " falls, at Wausau, are improved, and a power of twenty- two feet fall is obtained. At Little Bull falls, below Wausau, there is a fall of eighteen feet, partially improved. There are many other water-powers in Marathon county, some of which are used in propelling flouring- mills and saw-mills. At Grand Rapids, there is a descent of thirty feet to the mile, and the water can be used many times. Each time, 5,000 horse-power is obtained. At Kilbourn City a large amount of power can be obtained for manufacturing purposes. Chippewa river has its origin in small streams in the north part of the state. Explorers tell us that there are a large number of water powers on all the upper branches, but as the country is yet unsettled, none of them have been improved, and very few even located on our maps. Brunette falls and Ameger falls, above Chippewa Falls city, must furnish considerable water- power, but its extent is not known. At Chippewa Falls is an excellent water-power, only partially improved. The river descends twenty-six feet in three-fourths of a mile. At Duncan creek at the same place, there is a good fall, improved to run a large flouring mill. At Eagle Rapids, five miles above Chippewa Falls, $120,000 has been expended in improving the fall of the Chippewa river. The city of Eau Claire is situated at the confluence of the Chippewa and Eau Claire rivers, and possesses in its immediate vicinity water-powers almost unrivaled. Some of them are improved. The citizens of Eau Claire have, for several years, striven to obtain legislative authority to dam the Chippewa river, so as to improve the water-power of the Dells, and a lively contest, known as the " Dells fight," has been carried on with the capitalists along the river above that town. There are immense water-powers in Dunn county, on the Red Cedar, Chippewa and Eau Galle rivers, on which there are many lumbering establishments. In Pepin county also there are good powers. The Black river and its branches, the La Crosse, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Beaver, and Tamaso, furnish many valuable powers. The St. Croix river is not excelled in the value of its water privileges by any stream in the state, except the Lower Fox river. At St. Croix Falls, the water of the river makes a descent of eighty-five feet in a distance of five miles, and the vol ume of water is sufficient to move the machinery for an immense manufacturing business, and the banks present good facilities for building dams, and the river is not subject to freshets. The Kinnekinnick has a large number of falls, some of them partially improved. Within twenty-five miles of its entrance into Lake St. Croix, it has a fall of two hundred feet, and the volume of water averages about three thousand cubic feet per minute. Rock river affords valuable water- privileges at Watertown (with twenty-four feet fall), and largely improved ; at Jefferson, Indian Ford and JanesviUe, all of which are improved. Beloit also has an excellent water-power, and it is largely improved. Scattered throughout the state are many other water-powers, not alluded 208 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. to in the foregoing. There are several in Manitowoc county ; in Marquette county, also. In Washington county, at West Bend, Berlin, and Cedar Creek, there are good water-powers, partly utilized. At Whitewater, in Walworth county, is a good power. In Dane county, there is a water-power at Madison, at the outlet of Lake Mendota; also, a good one at Stoughton, below the first, or Lake Kegonsa ; also at Paoli, Bellville, Albany and Brodhead, on the Sugar river. In Grant county there are not less than twenty good powers, most of them well-developed. In Racine county, three powers of fine capacity at Waterford, Rochester and Burlington, all of which are improved. The Oconto, Peshtigo and Menomonee rivers furnish a large number of splendid water- powers of large capacity. The Upper Wolf river has scores of water-powers on its main stream and numerous branches ; but most of the country is still a wilderness, though containing resources which, when developed, will make it rich and prosperous. There are numerous other streams of less consequence than those named, but of great importance to the localities they severally drain, that have had their powers improved, and their waterfalls are singing the songs of commerce. On the rivers emptying into Lake Superior, there are numerous and valuable water-powers. The Montreal river falls one thousand feet in a distance of thirty miles. Manufactures. The mechanical and manufacturing industries of Wisconsin demonstrate that the people do not rely wholly upon agricultural pursuits, or lumbering, for subsistence, but aim to diversify their labors as much as possible, and to give encouragement to the skill and ingenuity of their mechanics and artisans. All our cities, and most of our villages, support establishments that furnish wares and implements in common use among the people. We gather from the census report for 1870 a few facts that will give us an adequate idea of what was done in a single year, remembering that the data furnished is six years old, and that great advancement has been made since the statistics were gathered. In 1870, there were eighty-two establishments engaged in making agricultural implements, employing 1,387 hands, and turning out products valued at $2,393,400. There were one hundred and eighty-eight furniture establishments, employing 1,844 men, and making $1,542,300 worth of goods. For making carriages and wagons there were four hundred and eighty-five establishments, employing 2,184 men, and their product was valued at $2,596,534; for clothing, two hundred and sixty-three establishments, and value of product $2,340,400 ; sash, doors and blinds, eighty-one shops, and value of product $1,852,370; leather, eighty-five tanneries, employing 577 men, and value of products $2,013,000; malt liquors, one hundred and seventy-six breweries, 835 men, and their products valued at $1,790,273. At many points the business of manufacturing is carried on more or less extensively; indeed, there is hardly a village in the state where capital is not invested in some kind of mechanical industry or manufacturing enterprise, and making satisfactory returns ; but for details in this respect, the reader is referred to the department of local history. The principal commodities only, which Wisconsin contributes to trade and commerce, have been considered. There remains quite a number of minor articles from which the citizens of the state derive some revenue, such as flax and maple sugar, which can not be separately considered in this paper. Concluding Remarks. Statistics are usually dry reading, but, to one desiring to change his location and seeking information regarding a new country and its capabilities, they become intensely interesting and of great value. The farmer wishes to know about the lands, their value and the productiveness of the soil ; the mechanic about the workshops, the price of labor, and the demand for such wares COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES. 209 as he is accustomed to make ; the capitalist, concerning all matters that pertain to resources, advantages, and the opportunities for investing his money. Our own people want all the infor mation that can be gained by the collection of all obtainable facts. The sources of such infor mation are now various, and the knowledge they impart fragmentary in its character. Provision should be made by law, for the collection and publication of reliable statistics relating to our farming, manufacturing, mining, lumbering, commercial and educational interests. Several of the states of the Union have established a " Bureau of Statistics," and no more valua ble reports emanate from any of their state departments than those that exhibit a condensed view of the material results accomplished each year. Most of the European states foster these agencies with as much solicitude as any department of their government. Indeed, they have become a social as well as a material necessity, for social science extends its inquiries to the physical laws of man as a social being; to the resources of the country; its productions; the growth of society, and to all those facts or conditions which may increase or diminish the strength. growth or happiness of a people. Statistics are the foundation and corner-stone of social science, which is the highest and noblest of all the sciences. A writer has said that, " If God had designed Wisconsin to be chiefly a manufacturing state, instead of agricultural, which she claims to be, and is, it is difficult to see more than one partic ular in which He could have endowed her more richly for that purpose." She has all the mate rial for the construction of articles of use and luxury, the means of motive power to propel the machinery, to turn and fashion, weave, forge, and grind the natural elements that abound in such rich profusion. She has also the men whose enterprise and skill have accomplished most sur prising results, in not only building up a name for themselves, but in placing the state in a proud position of independence. It is impossible to predict what will be the future growth and development of Wisconsin. From its commercial and manufacturing advantages, we may reasonably anticipate that she will in a few years lead in the front rank of the states of the Union in all that constitutes real great ness. Her educational system is one of the best. With her richly endowed State University, her colleges and high schools, and the people's colleges, the common schools, she has laid a broad and deep foundation for a great and noble commonwealth. It was early seen what were the capabilities of this their newly explored domain. The northwestern explorer, Jonathan Carver, in 1 766, one hundred and thirteen years ago, after traversing Wisconsin and viewing its lakes of crystal purity, its rivers of matchless utility, its forests of exhaustless wealth, its prairies of won derful fertility, its mines of buried treasure, recorded this remarkable prediction of which we see the fulfillment: "To what power or authority this new world will become dependent after it has arisen from its present uncultivated state, time alone can discover. But as the seat of empire from time immemorial has been gradually progressive toward the west, there is no doubt but that at some future period mighty kingdoms will emerge from these wildernesses, and stately palaces and solemn temples with gilded spires reaching to the skies supplant the Indian huts, whose only decorations are the barbarous trophies of'their vanquished enemies." " Westward the course of empire takes its way ; The four first acts already passed, A fifth shall close the drama with the day [ Time's noblest offspring is the last." THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. By D. S. DURRIE. In the early part of the seventeenth century, all the territory north of the Ohio river, including the present state of Wisconsin, was an undiscovered region. As far as now known, it was never visited by white men until the year 1634, when Jean Nicolet came to the Green bay country as an ambassador from the French to the Winnebagoes. The Jesuit fathers in 1660 visited the south shore of Lake Superior ; and, soon after, missions were established at various points in the northwest. The French government appreciating the importance of possessing dominion over this sec tion, M. Talon, intendant of Canada, took steps to carry out this purpose, and availed himself of the good feelings entertained toward the French by a number of the Indian tribes, to establish the authority of the French crown over this remote quarter. A small party of men led by Daumont de St. Lusson, with Nicolas Perrot as interpreter, set out from Quebec on this mission, in 1670, and St. Lusson sent to the tribes occupying a circuit of a hundred leagues, inviting the nations, among them the Wisconsin tribes inhabiting the Green bay country, by their chiefs and ambassadors, to meet him at the Sault Sainte Marie the following spring. In the month of May, 167 1, fourteen tribes, by their representatives, including the Miamis, Sacs, Winnebagoes, Menomonees, and Pottawattamies, arrived at the place designated. On the morning of the fourteenth of June, " St. Lusson led his followers to the top of the hill, all fully equipped and under arms. Here, too, in the vestments of their priestly office were four Jesuits : Claude Dablon, superior of the mission on the lakes, Gabriel Druillettes, Claude Allouez, and Andre. All around, the great throng of Indians stood, or crouched, or reclined at length with eyes and ears intent. A large cross of wood had been made ready. Dablon, in solemn form, pronounced his blessing on it ; and then it was reared and planted in the ground, while the Frenchmen, uncovered, sang the Vexilla Regis. Then a post of cedar was planted beside it, with a metal plate attached, engraven with the royal arms ; while St. Lusson's followers sang the exaudial, and one of the priests uttered a prayer for the king. St. Lusson now advanced, and, holding his sword in one hand, and raising with the other a sod of earth, proclaimed in a loud voice " that he took possession of all the country occupied by the tribes, and placed them under the king's protection. This act, however, was not regarded as sufficiently definite, and on the eighth of May, 1689, Perrot, who was then commanding for the king at the post of Nadouesioux, near Lake Pepin on the west side of the Mississippi, commissioned by the Marquis de Denonville to manage the interests of commerce west of Green bay took possession, in the name of the king, with appropriate ceremonies, of the countries west of Lake Michigan as far as the river St. Peter. The papers were signed by Perrot and others. By these solemn acts, the present limits of Wisconsin with much contiguous territory, came under the dominion of the French government, the possession of which continued until October, 1761 — a period of ninety years from the gathering of the chiefs at the Sault Ste. Marie in 1671. From the commencement of French occupancy up to the time when the British took posses sion, the district of country embraced within the present limits of this state had but few white inhabitants besides the roaming Indian traders; and of these few, the locations were separated by a distance of more than two hundred miles in a direct line, and nearly double that distance by THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 211 the usual water courses. There was no settlement of agriculturists; there were no missionary establishments; no fortified posts at other points, except at Depere and Green bay on Fox river, and perhaps at Prairie du Chien, near the junction of the Wisconsin and the Mississippi. The French government made no grant of lands; gave no attention to settlers or agricu.- turists, and the occupation of the country was strictly military. There were, indeed, a few grants of lands made by the French governors and commanders, previous to 1750, to favored indi viduals, six of which were afterward confirmed by the king of France. There were also others which did not require confirmation, being made by Cardillac, commanding at Detroit, under special authority of the king; of this latter kind, one for a small piece of thirty acres bears with it, says a writer, '' so many conditions, reservations, prohibitions of sale, and a whole cavalcade of feudal duties to be performed by the grantee, that in itself, it would be a host in opposition to the agricultural settlement of any country." The grants just referred to, relate to that part of the French possessions outside the limits; of the present state of Wisconsin. Within its limits there was a grant of an extensive territory- including the fort at the head of Green bay, with the exclusive right to trade, and other valuable privileges, from the Marquis de Vaudreuil, in October, 1759, to M. Rigaud. It was sold by the latter to William Gould and Madame Vaudreuil, to whom it was confirmed by the king of France in January, 1760, at a very critical period, when Quebec had been taken by the British, and Montreal was only wanting to complete the conquest of Canada. This grant was evidently intended as a perquisite to entrap some unwary persons to give a valuable consideration for it, as it would be highly impolitic for the government to make such a grant, if they continued mas ters of the country, since it would surely alienate the affections of the Indians. The whole country had already been virtually conquered by Great Britain, and the grant of course was not confirmed by the English government. Of the war between the French and English governments in America, known as the French. and Indian war, it is not necessary to speak, except in general terms. The English made a determined effort to obtain the possessions claimed by the French. The capture of Quebec, in 1759, and the subsequent capitulation of Montreal in 1760, extinguished the domination of France in the basin of the St. Lawrence ; and by the terms of the treaty of Paris, concluded February 10, 1763, all the possessions in, and all the claims of the French nation to, the vast country watered by the Ohio and the Mississippi were ceded to Great Britain. Among the first acts of the new masters of the country was the protection of the eminent domain of the government, and the restriction of all attempts on the part of individuals to acquire Indian titles to lands. By the King of England's proclamation of 1763, no more grants of land within certain prescribed limits could be issued, and all private persons were interdicted the liberty of purchasing lands from the Indians, or of making settlements within those prescribed limits. The indulgence of such a privilege as that of making private purchases of the natives,, conduced to the most serious difficulties, and made way for the practice of the most reprehensible- frauds. The policy pursued by the English government has been adopted and acted upon by the government of the United States in the extinguishment of the Indian title to lands in every part of the country. In face of the proclamation of 1763, and within three years after its promulgation, under a pretended purchase from, or voluntary grant of the natives, a tract of country nearly one hundred miles square, including large portions of what is now northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, was claimed by Jonathan Carver, and a ratification of his title solicited from the king and council. This was not conceded ; and the representatives of Carver, after the change of government had 212 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. brought the lands under the jurisdiction of the United States, for a series of years presented the same claims before congress, and asked for their confirmation. Such a demand under all the circumstances, could not justify an expectation of success; and, of course, has often been refused. But notwithstanding the abundant means which the public have had of informing themselves of the true nature and condition of Carver's claim, bargains and sales of portions of this tract have been made among visionary speculators for more than half a century past. It is now only a short period since the maps of the United States ceased to be defaced by a delineation of me " Carver Grant." The mere transfer of the dominion over the country from the French to the English govern ment, and the consequent occupation of the English posts by the new masters, did not in any great degree affect the social condition of the inhabitants. By the terms of capitulation, the French subjects were permitted to remain in the country, in the full enjoyment of their civil and religious privileges. The English, however, did not hold peaceable possession of the territory acquired. The war inaugurated by Pontiac and his Indian allies on the military posts occupied by the English soon followed, and in the month of May, 1763, nine posts were captured with much loss of life. In the spring of 1764, twenty-two tribes who were more or less identified in the outbreak, concluded a treaty of peace with General Bradstreet at Niagara. The expedition of Colonel George Rogers Clark to the Illinois country, and the conquest of the British posts in 1778 and 1779, had the effect to open the way for the emigration of the Anglo-American population to the Mississippi valley ; and at the close of the revolutionary war, Great Britain renounced all claim to the whole territory lying east of the Mississippi river. The dominion of the English in the Illinois and Wabash countries, ceased with the loss of the military posts which commanded the Northwestern territory of the United States. As a result of the enterprise and success of Clark, Virginia obtained possession of the Illinois country ; his expedition having been undertaken and carried forward under the auspices of that state. Several of the eastern states under their colonial charters, laid claim to portions of the land comprised in the territory northwest of the Ohio river. The claim of Massachusetts was derived from a grant from King James of November 3, 1620 ; and included from lat. 42° 2' to about lat. 450, extending to the south sea; Connecticut claimed from lat. 41Q north to42Q 2''. The claims of Virginia were from grants from King James, bearing date, respectively, April ro, 1606, May 23, 1609, and March 12, 161 1, and an additional claim for the territory conquered by Clark in the Illinois country ; but they extended no farther north than the southern end of Lake Michigan. It is a popular impression that the territory of the present state of Wisconsin was compre hended in the lands northwest of the river Ohio, over which Virginia exercised jurisdiction, and, consequently, was included in her deed of cession of lands to the United States. This opinion so generally entertained by writers on American history, is a statement which does not appear to have any solid foundation in fact. Virginia never made any conquests or settlements in Wiscon sin, and at no time prior to the proffer of her claims to the general government had she ever exercised jurisdiction over it. In fact, there were no settlements in Wisconsin except at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien before that time, and these were made by French settlers who were in no wise interfered with while the revolution continued. In Illinois it was otherwise; and the possession of its territory by Virginia was an undisputed fact. During the revolution the title of the sovereignty in Wisconsin was actually in Great Britain, and so remained until the definite treaty of peace in 1783 ; at which date England yielding her right constructively to the United States, retaining possession, however, until 1796; at which time the western posts were transferred to the United States. THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 213 All the claiming states finally ceded their interests to the general government, giving the latter a perfect title, subject only to the rights of the Indians. The deed of cession from Virginia was dated March i, 1784. The other states ceded their claims, some before this date, others subsequent thereto. Virginia made a number of stipulations in her deed of cession; among others, that the French and Canadian inhabitants and the neighboring villages who had professed themselves citizens of Virginia, should have their possessions and title confirmed to them, and be protected in the enjoyment of their rights and liberties; that 150,000 acres of land near the rapids of the Ohio, should be reserved for that portion of her state troops which had. reduced the country; and about 3,500,000 acres between the rivers Scioto and Little Miami be reserved for bounties to her troops on the continental establishment. In consequence of certain objectionable stipulations made by Virginia as to the division of the territory into states, the deed of cession was referred back to that state with a recommenda tion from congress that these stipulations should be altered. On the 30th of December, 1788, Virginia assented to the wish of congress, and formally ratified and confirmed the fifth article of compact which related to that subject, and tacitly gave her consent to the whole ordinance of 1787. The provisions of this ordinance have since been applied to all the territories of the United States lying north of the 360 40'. After the adoption of the constitution of the United States the the new congress, among its earliest acts, passed one, recognizing the binding force of the ordi nance of 1787. Of this ordinance it has been said : " It was based on the principles of civil liberty, maintained in the magna charta of England, re-enacted in the bill of rights, and incorporated in our differ ent state constitutions. It was the fundamental law of the constitution, so to speak, of the great northwest, upon which were based, and with which harmonized all our territorial enactments, as well as our subsequent state legislation, and, moreover, it is to that wise, statesman-like document that we are indebted for much of our prosperity and greatness." After the close of the revolutionary war, enterprising individuals traversed the whole country which had been ceded to the government, and companies were formed to explore and settle the fertile and beautiful lands beyond the Ohio ; but the determination of the British cabinet not to evacuate the western posts, was well known, and had its effect on the people who were disposed to make settlements. The western tribes were also dissatisfied and threatened war, and efforts were made by the government to settle the difficulties. A grand council was held at the mouth of Detroit river in December, 1787, which did not result favorably, and two treaties were subsequently held, which were not respected by the savages who were parties to them. Soon an Indian war ensued, /hich resulted at first disastrously to the American troops under Generals Harmar and St. Clair, but finally with success to the American arms under General Wayne. The treaty of Greenville followed. It was concluded August 3, 1795. At this treaty there were present eleven hundred and thirty chiefs and warriors. It was signed by eighty-four chiefs and General Anthony Wayne, sole commissioner of the United States. One of the provisions of the treaty was that in consid eration of the peace then established, and the cessions and relinquishments of lands made by the tribes of Indians, and to manifest the liberality of the United States as the great means of render ing this peace strong and perpetual, the United States relinquished their claims to all other Indian lands northward of the river Ohio, eastward of the Mississippi, and westward and south ward of the great lakes and the waters united by them, except certain reservations and portions before purchased of the Indians, none of which were within the present limits of this state. The Indian title to the whole of what is now Wisconsin, subject only to certain restrictions, became 214 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN absolute in the various tribes inhabiting it. By this treaty it was stipulated that, of the lands relin quished by the United States, the Indian tribes who have a right to those lands, were quietly to enjoy them ; hunting, planting, and dwelling thereon so long as they pleased ; but, when those tribes or any of them should be disposed to sell them, or any part of them, they were to be sold only to the United States, and until such sale, the United States would protect all of the tribes in the quiet enjoyment of their lands against all citizens of the United States, and all other white persons who might intrude on the same. At the same time all the tribes acknowledged them selves to be under the protection of the United States, and no other person or power what soever. The treaty also prohibited any citizen of the United States, or any other white man, settling upon the lands relinquished by the general government ; and such person was to be considered as out of the protection of the United States; and the Indian tribe on whose land the settlement might be made, could drive off the settler, or punish him in such manner as it might see fit. It will be seen that the Indians were acknowledged to have an unquestionable title to the lands they occupied until that right should be extinguished by a voluntary cession to the general government; and the constitution of the United States, by declaring treaties already made, as well as those to be made, to be the supreme law of the land, adopted and sanctioned previous treaties with the Indian nations, and consequently admitted their rank among those powers who are capable of making treaties. The several treaties which had been made between commissioners on the part of the United States and various nations of Indians, previous to the treaty of Greenville, were generally restricted to declarations of amity and friendship, the establishment and confirming of bounda ries, and the protection of settlements on Indian lands ; those that followed were generally for a cession of lands and provisions made for their payment. It is proposed to notice the several treaties that took place after that held at Greenville, showing in what way the territory of the present state, came into possession of the government. As will be seen hereafter, it required trea ties with numerous tribes of Indians to obtain a clear, undisputed title, as well as many years before it was fully accomplished. i. A treaty was held at St. Louis, November 3, 1804, between the Sacs and Foxes and the United States. William Henry Harrison was acting commissioner on the part of the govern ment. By the provisions of the treaty, the chiefs and head men of the united tribes ceded to the United States a large tract on both sides of the Mississippi, extending on the east from the mouth of the Illinois to the head of that river, and thence to the Wisconsin ; and including on the west considerable portions of Iowa and Missouri, from the mouth of the Gasconade north ward. In what is now the state of Wisconsin, this grant embraced the whole of the present counties of Grant and La Fayette and a large portion of Iowa and Green counties. The lead region was included in this purchase. In consideration of this cession, the general government agreed to protect the tribes in the quiet enjoyment of their land, against its own citizens and all others who should intrude on them. The tribes permitted a fort to be built on the upper side of the Wisconsin river, near its mouth, and granted a tract of land two miles square, adjoin ing the same. The government agreed to give them an annuity of one thousand dollars per annum. The validity of this treaty was denied by one band of the Sac Indians, and this cession of land became, twenty-eight years after, the alleged cause of the Black Hawk war. 2. Another treaty was held at Portage des Sioux, now a village in St. Charles county, Mis souri, on. the Mississippi river, September 13, 1815, with certain chiefs of that portion of the Sac nation then residing in Missouri, who, they said, were compelled since the commencement of *Jt THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 215 the late war, to separate themselves from the rest of their nation. They gave their assent to the treaty made at St. Louis in 1804, and promised to remain separate from the Sacs of Rock river, and to give them no aid or assistance, until peace should be concluded between the United States and the Foxes of Rock river. 3. On the 14th of September, a treaty was made with the chiefs of the Fox tribe at the same place. They agreed that all prisoners in their hands should be delivered up to the govern ment. They assented to, recognized, re-established and confirmed the treaty of 1804, to the full extent of their interest in the same. 4. A treaty was held at St. Louis, May 13, 1816, with the Sacs of Rock river, who affirmed the treaty of 1804, and agreed to deliver up all the property stolen or plundered, and in failure to do so, to forfeit all title to their annuities. To this treaty, Black Hawk's name appears with others. That chief afterward affirmed that though he himself had " touched the quill " to this treaty, he knew not what he was signing, and that he was therein deceived by the agent and others, who did not correctly explain the nature of the grant; and in reference to the treaty of St. Louis in 1804, and at Portage des Sioux in 1815, he said that he did not consider the same valid or binding on him or his tribe, inasmuch as by the terms of those treaties, territory was described which the Indians never intended to sell, and the treaty of 1804, particularly, was made by parties who had neither authority in the nation, nor power to dispose of its lands. Whether this was a true statement of the case, or otherwise, it is quite certain that the grant of lands referred to was often confirmed by his nation, and was deemed conclusive and binding by the government. The latter acted in good faith to the tribes, as well as to the settlers, in the disposition of the lands. 5. A treaty of peace and friendship was made at St. Louis, June 3, 1816, between the chiefs and warriors of that part of the Winnebagoes residing on the Wisconsin river. In this treaty the tribe state that they have separated themselves from the rest of their nation ; that they, for themselves and those they represent, confirm to the United States all and every cession of land heretofore made by their nation, and every contract and agreement, as far as their interest extended. 6. On the 30th of March, 1817, the Menomonee tribe concluded a treaty of peace ana friendship at St. Louis with the United States, and confirmed all and every cession of land before made by them within the limits of the United States. 7. On the 19th of August, 1825, at Prairie du Chien, a treaty was made with the Sioux, Chippewas, Sacs and Foxes, Winnebagoes, Ottawas and Pottawattamies, by which the boundary between the two first nations was agreed upon ; also between the Chippewas, Winnebagoes and other tribes. 8. Another treaty was held August 5, 1826, at Fond du Lac of Lake Superior, a small settlement on' the St. Louis river, in Itaska county, Minn., with the same tribes, by which the previous treaty was confirmed in respect to boundaries, and those of the Chippewas were defined, as a portion of the same was not completed at the former treaty. 9. A treaty was made and concluded August 1, 1827, at Butte des Morts, between the United States and the Chippewa, Menomonee and Winnebago tribes, in which the boundaries of their tribes were defined ; no cession of lands was made. 10. A treaty was made at Green Bay, August 25, 1828, with the Winnebagoes, Pottawat tamies and other tribes. This treaty was made to remove the difficulties which had arisen in consequence of the occupation by white men of that portion of the mining country in the south western part of Wisconsin which had not been ceded to the United States. A provisional 216 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. boundary was provided, and privileges accorded the government to freely occupy their territory until a treaty should be made for the cession of the same. This treaty was simply to define the rights of the Indians, and to give the United States the right of occupation. n. Two treaties were made at Prairie du Chien, on the 29th of July, 1829, and August 1, 1829 : at the first date, with the Chippewas, Ottawas and Pottawattamies, by which these nations ceded all their lands which they claimed in the northwestern part of Illinois ; and at the latter date with the Winnebagoes, by which that nation ceded and relinquished all their right, title and claim to all their lands south of the Wisconsin river, thus confirming the purchase of the lead- mine region. Certain grants were made to individuals, which grants were not to be leased or sold by the grantees. By this important treaty, about eight millions of acres of land were added to the public domain. The three tracts ceded, and forming one whole, extended from the upper end of Rock river to the mouth of the Wisconsin, from latitude 41" 30' to latitude 430 15', on the Mississippi, Following the meanderings of the river, it was about two hundred and forty miles from west to east, extending along the Wisconsin and Fox rivers, affording a passage across the country from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan. The south part of the purchase extended from Rock Island to Lake Michigan. 12. Another important treaty was made at Green Bay, February 8, 1831, between the Meno monee Indians and the United States. That nation possessed an immense territory. Its eastern division was bounded by the Milwaukee river, the shore of Lake Michigan, Green bay, Fox river, and Lake Winnebago ; its western division, by the Wisconsin and Chippewa rivers on the west, Fox river on the south, Green bay on the east, and the high lands which flow the streams into Lake Superior on the north. By this treaty all the eastern division, estimated at two and a half millions of acres, was ceded to the government. By certain other provisions, the tribe was to occupy a large tract lying north of Fox river and east of Wolf river. Their territory farther west was reserved for their hunting-grounds until such time as the general government should desire to purchase it. Another portion, amounting to four millions of acres, lying between Green bay on the east and Wolf river on the west, was also ceded to the United States, besides a strip of country, three miles in width, from near the portage of the Wisconsin and Fox rivers north, on each side of the Wisconsin river, and forty-eight miles long— still leaving the tribe in peaceable possession of a country about one hundred and twenty miles long, and about eighty broad. By supplementary articles to the treaty, provision was made for the occupancy of certain lands by the New York Indians — two townships on the east side of Lake Winnebago. 13. At the conclusion of the Black Hawk war, in 1832, for the purpose of clearing up the Indian title of the Winnebago nation in the country, a treaty was made and concluded at Fort Armstrong, September 15, 1832. All the territory claimed by this nation lying south and east of the Wisconsin and Fox river of Green bay, was ceded to the United States, and no band or party of Winnebagoes was allowed to reside, plant, fish or hunt on these grounds, after June 1, 1833, or on any part of the country therein ceded. 14. On the 27th of October, 1832, articles of agreement were made and concluded at Green Bay between the United States and the Menomonee Indians, by the terms of which that nation ceded to the New York Indians certain lands 011 Fox river. 15. An important treaty was made at Chicago, September 26, 1833, between the United States and the Chippewas, Ottawas ana Pottawattamies. Those nations ceded to the government all their lands along the western shore of Lake Michigan, and between that lake and the land ceded to the United States by the Winnebago nation at the treaty at Fort Armstrong, September THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 217 j§, 1832, bounded on the north by the country lately ceded by the Menomonees, and on the south by the country ceded at the treaty at Prairie du Chien, July 19, 1829 — containing about five millions of acres. 16. On the 3d of September, 1836, a tieaty was made at Cedar Point with the Menomonees, by which lands lying west of Green bay, and a strip on the upper Wisconsin, were ceded to the United States — the quantity of land ceded being estimated at four millions of acres in the Green bay portion ; on the Wisconsin river, a strip three miles wide on each side of the river, running forty-eight miles north in a direct line, equivalent to 184,320 acres. 17. On the 29th of July, 1837, a treaty was made with the Chippewas of the Mississippi, at Fort Snelling, and the United States, the nation ceding to the government all their lands in Wisconsin lying south of the divide between the waters of Lake Superior and those of the Mississippi. 18. Certain chiefs and braves of the Sioux nation of the Mississippi, while visiting Washing ton, September 29, 1837, ceded to the United States all their lands east of the Mississippi, and all their islands in said river. 19. The Winnebago nation, by the chiefs and delegates, held a treaty with the government at Washington, November 1, 1837. That nation ceded all their lands east of the Mississippi, and obligated themselves to remove, within eight months after the ratification of the treaty, to certain lands west of the river Mississippi which were conveyed to them by the treaty of Sep tember 21, 1832. 20. The Oneida or New York Indians, residing near Green Bay, by their chief and repre sentative, on the 3d of February, 1838, at Washington City, ceded to the United States their title and interest in the land set apart by the treaty made with the Menomonees, May 8, 1831, and the treaty made with the same tribe, October 7, 1832, reserving about 62,000 acres. 21. Another treaty was made at Stockbridge on the 3d of September, 1839, by which the Stockbridge and Munsee tribes (New York Indians) ceded and relinquished to the United States the east half of the tract of 46,080 acres which was laid off for their use on the east side of Lake Winnebago by treaty of October 7, 1832 22. On the 4th of October, 1842, a treaty was made at La Pointe, on Lake Superior, with the Chippewas. All their lands in the northern and northwestern parts of Wisconsin were ceded to the United States. 23. The Menomonee nation, on the 18th of October, 1848, at Pow-aw-hay-kon-nay, ceded and relinquished to the United States all their lands in the state, wherever situated — the gov ernment to furnish the nation as a home, to be held as Indian lands are held, all the country ceded to the United States by the Chippewa nation August 2, 1847, the consideration being the sum of $350,000, to be paid according to the stipulations of the treaty. A supplementary treaty was made on the 24th of November, 1848, with the Stockbridges — the tribe to sell and relinquish to the United States the township of land on the east side of Lake Winnebago, secured to said tribe by treaty of February 8, 1831. 24. A treaty was made with the Menomonee nation, at the falls of Wolf river, May 12, 1854, being a supplementary treaty to one made October 18, 1848. All the lands ceded to that nation under the treaty last named was ceded to the United States — the Menomonees to receive from the United States a tract of country lying on Wolf river, being townships 28, 29 and 30, of ranges 13, 14, 15, 16. 25. A treaty was made with the Chippewas of Lake Superior, at La Pointe, on the 30th of September, 1854. That nation ceded to the United States all lands before owned by them in common with the Chippewas of the Mississippi —lying in the vicinity of Lake Superior in Wis- 218 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. consin and Minnesota. 26. On the 5th of February, 1856, a treaty was held with the Stockbridge and Munsee tribes, at Stockbridge. All the remaining right and title to lands in the town of Stockbridge, possessed by them, was ceded to the United States ; and the said tribes were to receive in exchange a tract of land near the southern boundary of the Menomonee reservation, and by treaty made at Keshena, February n, 1856, the Menomonees ceded two townships to locate the said tribes. With this last treaty, the Indian title to all the lands of the present state of Wisconsin was ceded to the United States government, except a few small reservations to certain tribes, and a perfect, indefeasible title obtained to all the territory within its borders. In the region of country which is now the state of Wisconsin, the settlements in early times were, as before stated, near Green Bay and at Prairie du Chien. Soon after the organization of the Northwest territory, the subject of claims to private property therein received much attention. By an act of congress approved March 3, 1805, lands lying in the districts of Vincennes, Kas- kaskia and Detroit, which were claimed by virtue of French or British grants, legally and fully executed, or by virtue of grants issued under the authority of any former act of congress by either of the governors of the Northwest or Indiana territory, which had already been surveyed, were, if necessary, to be re-surveyed; and persons claiming lands under these grants were to have until November 1, 1805, to give notice of the same. Commissioners were to be appointed to examine, and report at the next session of congress. An act was also passed, approved April 25, 1806, to authorize the granting of patents for lands, according to government surveys that had been made, and to grant donation rights to certain claimants of land in the district of Detroit, and for other purposes Another act was approved May 11, 1820, reviving the powers of the commissioners for ascertaining and deciding on claims in the district of Detroit, and for settling the claims to land at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien, in the territory of Michigan ; the commis sioners to have power to examine and decide on claims filed with the register of the land office, and not before acted on, in accordance with the laws respecting the same. The commissioners discharged the duties imposed on them, and in their report to congress in reference to the "claims at Green Bay, they said that the antiquity of this settlement being, in their view, sufficiently established, and that they, being also satisfied that the Indian title must be considered to have been extinguished, decide favorably on the claims presented. About seventy-five titles were con firmed, and patents for the same were sent to the proper parties by the government. In relation to the Prairie du Chien titles, they reported " that they had met few difficulties in their investi gations ; that, notwithstanding the high antiquity which may be claimed for the settlement of that place, no one perfect title founded on French or British grant, legally authenticated, had been successfully made out; and that but few deeds of any sort have been exhibited." This they attribute to the carelessness of the Canadians in respect to whatever concerned their land titles, and accords with whatever is known in this regard, of the French population throughout the country. They therefore came to the conclusion that whatever claim the people of the place possessed, and might have for a confirmation of their land titles, they must be founded upon proof of con tinued possession since the year 1796 The commissioners further say, that " since the ancestors of these settlers were cut off, by the treaty which gave the Canadas to the English, from all inter course with their parent country, the people both of Prairie du Chien and Green Bay have been eft, until within a few years, quite isolated, almost without any government but their own; and, although the present population of these settlements are natives of the countries which they inhabit, and, consequently, are by birth citizens of the northwest, yet, until a few years, they have had as little political connection with its government as their ancestors had with the British. Ignorant of their civil rights, careless of their land titles, docility, habitual hospitality, cheerful THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 219 submission to the requisitions of any government which may be set over them, are their universal characteristics." In reference to grants by the French and English governments, the commissioners say, they "have not had access to any public archives by which to ascertain with positive certainty, whether either the French or English ever effected a formal extinguishment of the Indian title at the mouth of the Wisconsin, which also may be said of the land now covered by the city of Detroit, that the French government was not accustomed to hold formal treaties for such purposes with the Indians, and when the lands have been actually procured from them, either by virtue of the assumed right of conquest, or by purchase, evidence of such acquisition is rather to be sought in the traditionary history of the country, or in the casual or scanty relations of travelers, than among collections of state papers. Tradition does recognize the fact of the extinguishment of the Indian title at Prairie du Chien by the old French government, before its surrender to the English; and by the same species of testimony, more positive because more recent, it is estab lished also, that, in the year 1781, Patrick Sinclair, lieutenant governor of the province of Upper Canada, while the English government had jurisdiction over this country, made a formal purchase from the Indians of the lands comprehending the settlement of Prairie du Chien." The territories and states formed from the section known as the Northwest territory, were : 1 The Northwest territory proper (1787-1800) having jurisdiction over all the lands referred to in the ordinance of 1787. In 1802, Ohio was organized as a state with its present boun daries. 2. Indiana terrritory was formed July 4, 1800, with the seat of government at Vincennes That territory was made to include all of the northwest, except what afterward became the state of Ohio. 3. Michigan territory was formed June 30, 1805. It was bounded on the south by aline drawn east from the south bend of Lake Michigan, on the west by the center of Lake Michigan. It did not include what is now Wisconsin. The upper peninsula was annexed in r836. The state of Michigan was formed January 26, 1837, with its present boundaries. 4. Illinois territory was formed March 2, 1S10. It included all of the Indiana territory west ¦of the Wabash river and Vincennes, and a line running due north to the territorial line. All of Wisconsin was included therein, except what lay east of the line drawn north from Vincennes. 5. Indiana was admitted as a state April 19, 1816, including all the territory of Indiana territory, except a narrow strip east of the line of Vincennes, and west of Michigan territory, her western boundary. 6. Illinois was admitted as a state April 11, 181S. It included all of Illinois territory south of latitude 420 30'. All of Wisconsin was added to Michigan territory. In the month of Octo ber of that year, the counties of Michilimackinac, Brown and Crawford were formed, comprising besides other territory, the whole of the present state of Wisconsin. 7. Iowa district was attached to Michigan for judicial purposes, June 30, 1834, out of which Des Moines and Dubuque counties were formed. 8. Wisconsin territory was formed April 20, 1836. The state was formed May 29, 1848. The territory of Wisconsin being a part of the Northwest territory claimed, and congress by direct action confirmed to her, all the rights and privileges secured by the ordinance of 1787, one of which was that congress should have authority to form one or two states in that part of the territory lying north of an east and west line, drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. Notwithstanding this plain provision of the ordinance, which is declared to 220 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. be articles of compact between the original states and the people and states in the said territory, and forever to remain unalterable unless by consent ; yet congress, in establishing the boundaries. of the state of Illinois, extended that state about sixty miles north of the line established by the ordinance. This action was claimed to be unjust and contrary to the spirit and letter of the compact with the original states. The legislative assembly of Wisconsin passed resolutions which were approved January 13, 1840, that it was inexpedient for the people of the territory to form a constitution and state government until the southern boundary to which they are so justly entitled by the ordinance of 1787 shall be fully recognized by the parties of the original com pact. Owing to various complications over which the territory had no control, her people never succeeded in obtaining from congress what they considered their just rights. It was also contended by many, that the portion of country set off to Michigan on Lake Superior given as a compensation in part for the strip of land awarded to Ohio from her south ern border, should also have constituted a portion of Wisconsin, especially as Michigan never made the least claim to it by her delegate in congress, who was decidedly opposed to the exten sion of Michigan beyond the limits of the lower peninsula. The first survey of the public lands northwest of the Ohio river, was made pursuant to an act of congress approved May 20, 1785 The geographer of the confederation was diected to commence the survey of the government lands on the north side of the river Ohio — the first line running north and south, to begin on said river at a point that should be found to be due north from the western termination of a line which had been run as the southern boundary of the state of Pennsylvania ; the first line running east and west, to begin at the same point, and to extend through the whole territory. The survey comprised seven ranges, composing ten counties of the present state of Ohio. Other surveys followed when the Indian title was extinguished. Thomas Hutchins, who held the office of geographer, is believed to be the inventor of the mode of laying out land which was then introduced by him, and is still in general use by the government. Soon after the government had acquired title to the Indian lands south of the Wisconsin river, the public authorities commenced a systematic survey of the lands, for the purpose of bringing the same into market at the earliest possible period. The public lands in Wisconsin are, as elsewhere in the west, surveyed in uniform rec tangular tracts, each six miles square, by lines running north and south, intersecting others- running east and west. These townships are numbered from two lines called the principal meridian and the base line. The principal meridian by which the Wisconsin surveys are gov erned is that known as the fourth, and extends from the Illinois boundary line to Lake Superior, at the mouth of Montreal river, about two hundred and eighty-two miles. It divides Grant from LaFayette county, and passes through the eastern parts of Vernon, Monroe, Jackson, Clark, Chippewa, and Ashland counties. The base line separates Wisconsin from Illinois in north latitude forty-two degrees, thirty minutes. There are nearly seventeen hundred townships in the state. Each township is subdivided into thirty-six sections by lines running parallel to the sides of the township, one mile apart. A section is, therefore, one mile square, and contains six hundred and forty acres. In fractional townships, each section is numbered the same as the corresponding section in whole townships. Each section is subdivided into half-mile squares, called quarter-sections, each containing one hundred and sixty acres, and the subdivision is carried still further into half-quarter or quarter-quarter sections. It is found necessary to estab lish at stated intervals standard parallels, commonly called correction lines, to obviate the effect of the curvature of the earth's surface. The convergence in a single township is small, though quite perceptible, the actual excess in length of its south over its north line being in the state- THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 221 about three rods. The townships north of the base line, therefore, become narrower toward the north, and if continued for too great a distance, this narrowing would cause serious inconvenience. In the state of Wisconsin there are four of these correction lines. The first is sixty miles north of the base line, and accordingly runs between townships ten and eleven. The second is between townships twenty and twenty-one, and so on. They are usually sixty miles apart. On these parallels, which form new base lines, fresh measurements are made from the principal meridian, and the corners of new townships are fixed six miles apart as on the original base line. This method of procedure not only takes up the error due to convergency of meridians, but arrests that caused by want of precision in the surveys already made. The northern or western sections of townships, which contain more or less than six hun dred and forty acres, are called fractional sections, for the reason that the surplusage or deficiency arising from errors in surveying, and from other causes, is by law added to or deducted from the western or northern ranges of sections according as the error may be in run ning the lines from east to west, or from north to south. As soon as the surveys were completed in southern Wisconsin and the Green Bay section, and a knowledge of the superior qualities of the land for agricultural purposes were known to the people, the emigration became large. In fact much land was taken possession of by settlers in advance of being surveyed and brought into market. As soon as the land offices at Green Bay, Mineral Point, and Milwaukee were located, public announcement was made by the govern ment, of the time of the sale, when the lands were put up to the highest bidder, and such as were unsold were afterward subject to private entry. The first sales were held at Green Bay and Mineral Point in the year 1835. The sale at Milwaukee was in 1839. From the reports of the general land office, it appears that from 1835 to 1845 inclusive, there were sold at the three land offices from public sale, 2,958,592T4q6j- acres, amounting to $3,768,106.51. Fort Howard military reservation was set apart by order of the president March 2, 1829, and comprised all the lands lying upon Fox river and Green bay, in township 24 north, range 20 east, 4th principal meridian, being about four thousand acres. The lands were abandoned for military purposes, by the war department, December 4, 1850. By an act of congress approved March 3, 1863, the commissioner of the general land office was authorized and directed to cause the reservation, including the site of the fort, containing three and four-hundredths acres, situated in the county of Brown, between Fox river and Beaver Dam run, and which is not included in the confirmations to T. C. Dousman and Daniel Whitney, nor in the grant to the state of Wis consin, under resolutions of congress approved April 25, 1862, granting lands to Wisconsin to aid in the construction of railroads, to be surveyed and subdivided into lots not less than one- fourth of an acre, and not more than forty acres, deducting such portions of the same as the public interest and convenience may require ; and when so surveyed and platted, to be sold sep arately at auction. On the 10th of November, 1864, under directions of the commissioner, the lands were offered for sale at auction at the fort. About one-half of the lands were sold, and purchased by actual settlers, and but few for speculation. The fort and the lands contiguous were sold for six thousand four hundred dollars. The other lands sold brought about the sum of nineteen thousand dollars. 1 That portion of the reservation unsold was to be subject to private entry at the appraised value, and that portion lying between Duck creek and Beaver Dam creek, was subject to entry as other public lands were offered. On the 20th of May, 1868, a joint resolution of congress was approved, by which the com missioner of the general land office was authorized and directed to cause a patent to be issued to the Chicago & Northwestern railroad company, in pursuance of a resolution passed by con- 222 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. gress, granting the same to the state of Wisconsin, approved April 25, 1862, and by act of the legislature approved June 16, 1862, granting the same to that company for eighty acres of land, .as was .surveyed and approved by said commissioner June 11, 1864. The lands thus donated are now used by the railroad company for their depot grounds The Fort Crawford military reservation was purchased from J. H. Lockwood and James D. Doty by the government in the year 1829, and covered the front and main portions of farm lots numbered thirty-three and thirty-four, of the private land claims at Prairie du Chien, and com prised about one hundred and sixty acres. Fort Crawford was built on this tract in 1829, 1830 and 1 83 1. There was also a reservation of section eighteen, township seven, north of range four west, known as the Cattle Yard. This land was at the mouth of the Kickapoo river, and is now known as the village of Wauzeka. In addition to these lands which were located in Wis consin, there was a reservation of lands lying on the west side of the Mississippi river, in Iowa. The lands in Wisconsin were relinquished by the secretary of wai, January 10, 1851, and were originally set apart by the president of the United States, February 17, 1843. In the month of April, 1857, the secretary of war authorized Hon. H. M. Rice, of Minne sota, to sell that part of the reservation not improved, in tracts not exceeding forty acres each; and, in the month of June of that year, he sold at auction five hundred and seven acres of the reserve opposite Fort Crawford, none of which was claimed by actual settlers ; and in the month of December, 1857, he sold the remainder to claimants of lands, also on the west side, and the section in Wisconsin known as the Cattle Yard, amounting to i77tVo acres. A portion of this reservation was subdivided into town lots, 80 by 140 feet, with streets 66 feet and alleys 20 feet wide November 17, 1864, the acting commissioner of the general -land office, by order of the war department, offered for sale at public auction at La Crosse the reservation at Fort Crawford, which had been surveyed and subdivided into town lots, eighty by one hundred and forty feet, with streets sixty-five feet and alleys twenty feet wide, conforming to the plat of the village of Prairie du Chien. The lands unsold were subsequently opened to private entry and disposed of. The lands of the Fort Winnebago reservation were set apart by order of the president, February 9, 1835, and consisted of the following territory : sections two, three, and that part of four lying east of Fox river, and fractional section nine, all in township twelve, north of range nine east , also fractional section thirty-three, in township thirteen, north of range nine east, lying west of Fox river, and the fraction of section four, township twelve north, of range nine east, lying west of claim numbered twenty-one of A. Grignon, and adjacent to Fort Winnebago, reserved by order of the president, July 29, 185 1. the whole amounting to about four thousand acres. September the first, 1853, these lands were by order of the president offered for sale at public auction at the fort, by F. H. Masten, assistant quartermaster United States army, having previously been surveyed into forty acre lots, and were purchased by J. B. Martin, G. C. Tallman, W. H. Wells, Wm. Wier, N. H. Wood, M. R. Keegan, and others. The first land offices in Wisconsin were established under an act of congress approved June 26, 1834, creating additional land districts in the states of Illinois and Missouri, and in the territory north of the state of Illinois. The first section provides " that all that tract lying north of the state of Illinois, west of Lake Michigan, south and southeast of the Wisconsin and Fox rivers, included in the present territory of Michigan, shall be divided by a north and south line, drawn from the northern boundary of Illinois along the range of township line west of Fort Winnebago to the Wisconsin river, and to be called — - the one on the west side, the Wisconsin land district, and that on the east side the Green Bay land district of the territory of Michigan, which two districts shall embrace the country north of said rivers when the Indian title shall be THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 223 extinguished, and the Green Bay district may be divided so as to form two districts, when the president shall deem it proper ;" and by section three of said act, the president was author ized to appoint a register and receiver for such office, as soon as a sufficient number of townships are surveyed. An act of congress, approved June 15, 1836, divided the Green Bay land district, as estab lished in 1834, " by a line commencing on the western boundary of said district, and running thence east between townships ten and eleven north, to the line between ranges seventeen and eighteen east, thence north between said ranges of townships to the line between townships. twelve and thirteen north, thence east between said townships twelve and thirteen to Lake Michigan ; and all the country bounded north by the division line here described, south by the base line, east by Lake Michigan, and west by the division line between ranges eight and nine east," to be constituted a separate district and known as the " Milwaukee land district." It included the present counties of Racine, Kenosha, Rock, Jefferson, Waukesha, Walworth and' Milwaukee, and parts of Green, Dane, Washington, Ozaukee, Dodge and Columbia. An act was approved March 3, 1847, creating an additional land district in the territory. All that portion of the pubjic lands lying north and west of the following boundaries, formed a district to be known as the Chippewa land district: commencing at the Mississippi river on the line between townships twenty-two and twenty-three north, running thence east along said line to the fourth principal meridian, thence north along said meridian line to the line dividing town ships twenty-nine and thirty, thence east along such township line to the Wisconsin river, thence up the main channel of said river to the boundary line between the state of Michigan and the territory of Wisconsin. The counties now included in this district are Pepin, Clark, Eau Claire, Dunn, Pierce, St. Croix, Polk, Barron, Burnett, Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Taylor, Chippewa, and parts of Buffalo, Trempeleau and Jackson ; also, the new county of Price. An act of congress, approved March 2, 1849, changed the location of the land office in the Chippewa district from the falls of St. Croix to Stillwater, in the county of St. Croix, in the- proposed territory of Minnesota; and, by section two of the act, an additional land office and district was created, comprising all the lands in Wisconsin not included in the districts of land subject to sale at Green Bay, Milwaukee, or Mineral Point, which was to be known as the Western land district, and the president was authorized to designate the site where the office should be- hcated. Willow River, now Hudson, was selected. The district was usually known as the St. Croix and Chippewa district, and included St. Croix, La Pointe, and parts of Chippewa and. Marathon counties. By an act of congress, approved July 30, 1852, so much of the public lands in Wisconsin as lay within a boundary line commencing at the southwest corner of township fifteen, north of range two east of the fourth principal meridian, thence running due east to the southeast corner of township fifteen, north of range eleven, east of the fourth principal meridian, thence north along such range line to the north line of the state of Wisconsin, thence westwardly along said north line to the line between ranges one and two east of fourth principal meridian,. thence south to the place of beginning, were formed into a new district, and known as the Stevens Point land district, and a land office located at that place. The boundaries enclosed the present counties of Juneau, Adams, Marquette, Green Lake, Waushara, Waupaca, Portage, Wood, Marathon, Lincoln, Shawano, New and Marinette. The La Crosse land district was formed of the following territory : " Commencing at a point where the line between townships ten and eleven north touches the Mississippi river, thence due east to the fourth principal meridian, thence north to the line between townships fourteen and fifteen north, thence east to the southeast corner of township fifteen nortli, of range one east of the 224 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN fourth principal meridian, thence north on the range line to the south line of township number thirty-one norih, thence west on the line between townships number thirty and thirty-one to the Chippewa river, thence down said river to its junction with the Mississippi river, thence down said river to the place of beginning." The present counties of Vernon, La Crosse, Monroe, Buf falo, Trempealeau, Eau Claire, Clark, and parts of Juneau and Chippewa were included in its limits. By act of congress, approved February 24, 1855, an additional district was formed of all that portion of the Willow river land district lying north of the line dividing townships forty and forty-one, to be called the Fond du Lac district — the office to be located by the president as he might from time to time direct. The present counties of Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, and part of Burnett were included within its boundaries. By an act of congress, approved March 3, 1857, so much of the districts of land subject to sale at La Crosse and Hudson, in the state of Wisconsin, contained in the following boundaries, were constituted a new district, to be known as the Chippewa land district : North of the line dividing townships twenty-four and twenty-five north ; south of the line dividing townships forty and forty-one north ; west of the line dividing ranges one and two east; and east of the line dividing ranges eleven and twelve west. The location of the office was to be designated by the president as the public interest might require. The present counties of Chippewa, Taylor, Eau Claire and Clark were in this district. There are at the present time six land offices in the state. They are located at Menasha, Falls of St. Croix, Wausau, La Crosse, Bayfield and Eau Claire. By the provisions of law, when the number of acres of land in any one district is reduced to one hundred thousand acres, sub ject to private entry, the secretary of the interior is required to discontinue the office, and the lands remaining unsold are transferred to the nearest land office, to be there subject to sale. The power of locating these offices rests with the president (unless otherwise directed by law), who is also authorized to change and re-establish the boundaries of land districts whenever, in his opinion, the public service will be subserved thereby. The pre-emption law of 1830 was intended for the benefit of actual settlers against compe tition in open market with non-resident purchasers. It gave every person who cultivated any part of a quarter section the previous year, and occupied the tract at the date mentioned, the privilege of securing it by payment of the minimum price at any time before the day fixed for the commencement of the public sale. To avail himself of this provision he was to file proof of cultivation and occupancy. As men frequently located claims in advance of the survey, it occasionally happened that two or more would find themselves upon the same quarter section, in which case the pre-emption law permitted two joint occupants to divide the quarter section equally between them, whereupon each party received a certificate from the land office, author izing him to locate an additional eighty acres, elsewhere in the same land district, not interfering with other settlers having the right of preference. This was called a floating right. This pro vision of the law was ingeniously perverted from its plain purpose in various ways. As fast as these evasions came to the notice of the department, all certificates given to occupants of the same quarter section in excess of the two first, or to more than one member of the same family, to employees, to any person who had not paid for eighty acres originally occupied, as well as those which were not located at the time of such payment, and the additional tract paid for before the public sale, were held to be worthless or fraudulent ; but a large number of these certificates had been issued, and passed into, the hands of speculators and designing men, and were a source of almost endless vexation and annoyance to settlers. The law of 1830 THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 225 expired by limitation in one year from its passage, but was revived by the law of 1834 for two vears. In the interim no settler could obtain his land by pre-emption. The law of 1834 extended only to those who had made cultivation in 1833, consequently the settlers of later date were excluded from its benefits. Meanwhile the fraudulent floats were freely used to dispossess actual settlers as late as 1835. The pre-emption law of congress, approved September 4, 1841, provided that every person who should make a settlement in person on public land, and erect a dwelling, should be author ized to enter a quarter section (one hundred and sixty acres), at the minimum price (one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre), and thus secure the same against competition ; and if any person should settle upon and improve land subject to private entry, he might within thirty days give notice to the register of the land office of his intention to claim the land settled upon, and might within one year upon making proof of his right, enter the land at the minimum price. At the public land sales at Mineral Point, held in 1835, all those tracts on which lead was found, or on which it was supposed to exist, were reserved to the United States, and were leased under certain regulations by the government for a rent of ten per centum of all the lead raised. The quantity of land thus reserved was estimated at one million acres. Considerable difficulty was found in collecting these rents, and subsequently it was abandoned, as the amount expended in collecting exceeded the value of the lead collected. In the period of four years the government suffered a loss of over nineteen thousand dollars. The act of congress, approved July n, 1846, authorized the sale of the reserved mineral lands in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, and provided that, after six months' public notice, the lands should not be subject to the rights of pre-emption until after the same had been offered at public sale, when they should be subject to private entry. The law also provided, that, upon satisfac tory proof being made to the register and receiver of the proper land office, any tract or tracts of land containing a mine or mines of lead ore actually discovered and being worked, would be sold in such legal subdivisions as would include lead mines, and no bid should be received therefor at less than the sum of two dollars and fifty cents per acre, and if such tract or tracts should not be sold at such public sale, at such price, nor should be entered at private sale within twelve months thereafter, the same should be subject to sale as other lands. This act was changed by an act approved March 3, 1847, providing that any one being in possession by actual occupancy of a mine discovered prior to the passage of this act, who should pay the same rents as those who held leases from the secretary of war, should -be entitled to purchase the lands prior to the day of sale at five dollars per acre. Mineral lands were to be offered for sale in forty acre pieces, and no bids were to be received less than five dollars per acre, and if not sold they were then to be subject to private entry at the same price. In 1847 or 1848 the reserved mineral lands were sold at public sale at Mineral Point at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, and they were all disposed of at that price. Soon after the formation of Wisconsin territory, an act was passed by its legislature, approved January 5, 1838, incorporating the Milwaukee and Rock river canal company, and by an act of congress approved June 18 of the same year, a grant of land was made to aid in the construction of the canal. The grant consisted of the odd-numbered sections on a belt often miles in width from Lake Michigan to Rock river, amounting to 139,190 acres. Of those lands 43,447 acres were sold at public sale in July, 1839, at the minimum price of two dollars and fifty cents per acre. Work was commenced on the canal at Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee river for a short distance from its outlet was improved by the construction of a dam across the river, which was made available for manufacturing and other purposes. A canal was also built about a mile in length and forty feet wide, leading from it down on the west bank of the river. Much 226 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. dissatisfaction subsequently arose ; the purchasers at this sale, and others occupying these canal* and reserved lands felt the injustice of being compelled to pay double price for their lands, and efforts were made to repeal all laws authorizing further sales, and to ask congress to repeal the- act making the grant. The legislation on the subject of this grant is voluminous. In 1862 the- legislature of the state passed an act to ascertain and settle the liabilities, if any, of Wisconsin and the company, and a board of commissioners was appointed for that purpose. At the session of the legislature in 1863, the committee made a report with a lengthy opinion of the attorney-gen eral of the state. The views of that officer were, that the company had no valid claims for damages. against the state. In this opinion the commissioners concurred. On the 23d of March, 1875, an act was approved by the governor, giving authority to the attorney-general to discharge and release of record any mortgage before executed to the late territory of Wisconsin, given to secure- the purchase money or any part thereof of any lands granted by congress to aid in the construc tion of this canal. The quantity of lands unsold was subsequently made a part of the 500,000 acre tract granted by congress for school purposes. It is believed the whole matter is now closed. against further legislative enactments. The next grant of lands made by congress ior internal improvements in Wisconsin, was one approved August 8, 1846, entitled " an act to grant a certain quantity of land to aid in the- improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and to connect the same by canal." By this act there was granted to Wisconsin on her becoming a state, for improving the navigation of the above-named streams, and constructing the canal to unite the same, a quantity of land equal to- one-half of three sections in width on each side of Fox river, and the lakes through which it passes from its mouth to the point where the portage canal should enter the same, and each side- of the canal from one stream to the other, reserving the alternate sections to the United States. with certain provisions in relation thereto. On the 3d of August, 1854, an act of congress was approved, authorizing the governor of Wisconsin to select the balance of lands to which the state was entitled to under the provisions of the act of 1846, out of any unsold government lands sub ject to private entry in the state, the quantity to be ascertained upon the principles which gov erned the final adjustment of the grant to the state of Indiana, for the Wabash and Erie canal, approved May 9, 1848. In the years 1S54 and 1855, acts of congress were passed, defining and enlarging the grant. Under the grants of 1846, 1854 and 1855, the number of acres donated for this purpose and certified to the state, was 674,100. After the admission of Wisconsin into the Union, by an act of its legislature, approved August 8, 1848, a board of public works was created, through which the work of improving the said rivers, by the application thereto of the proceeds of the sale of the lands granted by con gress, was undertaken by the state. It soon became apparent that the moneys realized from the sale of lands were insufficient to, meet the obligations of the state issued by its board of public works as they became due ; and in 1853 the work was turned over to the Fox and Wisconsin Improvement company, a corpora tion created under an act of the legislature of Wisconsin approved July 6, 1853. In 1856, by an act of the 'legislature of Wisconsin, approved October 3, 1856, the lands granted by congress then unsold were granted by the state, through the said company, to trustees, with power to sell, and to hold the proceeds in trust for the payment of state indebtedness, the completion of the work, thereafter for the payment of bonds issued by the said company, and the balance, if any, for the company itself. In February, 1866, the trustees, in execution of the powers contained in the deed of trust made to them, and pursuant to a judgment of the circuit court of Fond du Lac county, sold at public sale at Appleton, Wisconsin, the works of improvement and the balance of lands granted. THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 227 by congress then unsold, and applied the proceeds to the purposes expressed in the deed of trust. The proceeds were sufficient to pay in full the expenses of the trust, the then outstanding state indebtedness, and to provide a fund sufficient to complete the work according to the plan specified in the act approved October 3, 1856. Under an act of the legislature of Wisconsin ipproved April 13, 1861, and the acts amend atory thereof, the purchasers at said sale, on the 15th day of August, 1866, filed their certificate in the office of the secretary of state, and thereby became incorporated as the Green Bay and Mississippi canal company, holding, as. such company, the said works of improvement. At a subsequent date, under instructions from the engineer department of the United States, the surveys of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers were placed in the charge of General G. K. War ren, and by act of congress approved July 7, 1870, the secretary of war was authorized to appoint a board of arbitrators to ascertain how much the government should pay to the suc cessors of the Improvement company, the Green Bay and Mississippi canal company, for the transfer of all its property and rights; and by a subsequent act, approved June 10, 1872, an appropriation was made therefor. The legislation on matters connected with the Fox and Wisconsin river improvement would make a chapter of itself. The work is now in charge of the government, and will be prosecuted to completion in a satisfactory manner. On the 29th of May, 1848, an act was approved by the president "to enable the people of Wisconsin territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union," by which certain propositions were to be submitted to the convention which were to be acted upon, and subsequently submitted to the people for their approval. The first constitutional convention was held in October, 1846, and, having framed a constitution, it was submitted to a vote of the people at the election in 1847, and it was rejected. The second convention met December 15, 1847, and, having formed a constitution, it was adopted by the people at the election in 1848. The following are the propositions proposed by congress : 1. That section sixteen numbered in every township of the public lands of said state, and where such section has been sold or otherwise disposed of, other lands equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted to the said state for the use of schools. 2. That seventy-two sections, or two entire townships, of land set apart and reserved for the use and support of a university by act of congress approved June 12, 1838, are hereby granted and conveyed to the state, to be appropriated solely to the use and support of such university in such manner as the legislature may prescribe. 3. That ten entire sections of land to be selected and located under the direction of the legislature, in legal subdivisions of not less than one quarter of a section from any of the unap propriated lands belonging to the United States within the state are granted to the state for completing the public buildings, or for the erection of others at the seat of government, under the direction of the legislature. 4. That all salt-springs within the state, not exceeding twelve in number, shall be granted to the state, to be selected by the legislature, and when selected, to be used or disposed of on such terms, conditions, and regulations as the legislature shall direct. The title to all lands and other property which accrued to the territory of Wisconsin by grant, gift, purchase, forfeiture, escheat, or otherwise, were, by the provisions of the constitution of the state, vested in the state ; and the people of the state, in their right of sovereignty, were declared to possess the ultimate property in and to all lands within its jurisdiction ; and all lands, the title of which shall fail from a defect of heirs, shall revert or escheat to the people. The act of congress for the admission of the state into the Union gave formal assent to the 228 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. grant relative to the Fox and Wisconsin river improvement, and the lands reserved to the Unitecl States by said grant, and also the grant to the territory of Wisconsin, for the purpose of aiding in opening a canal to connect the waters of Lake Michigan with those of Rock river, were to be offered for sale at the same minimum price, and subject to the same rights of pre-emption as other public lands of the United States. By the provisions of the state constitution, the secretary of state, the state treasurer and attorney-general, were constituted a board of commissioners for the sale of the school and university lands, and for the investment of the funds arising therefrom. In the year 1850 the commissioners put into market, for the first time, the school lands which had been donated to the state. The total quantity of lands offered was 148,021, 44-100 acres, which sold for the sum of $444,265.19. By an act of congress, approved September 4, 1841, there were granted to the state 500,000 acres of land, which were, by act of the territorial legislature of 1849, appropriated to the school fund, and the unsold lands of the Milwaukee and Rock river canal company, amounting to about 140,000 acres, were to be included as a part of the above grant. These lands, and the sixteenth section of each township, make up the whole of the school lands of the state. The whole number of acres sold up to the year 1877 is 1,243,984 acres, and there remain unsold, subject to entry, 216,016 acres. The state university land grant was made in 1838, and seventy-two sections set apart and reserved. The lands were selected in 1845 and 1846. On the 15th of December, 1854, an act of congress was approved, relinquishing to the state the lands reserved for the salt-springs, and seventy-two sections were granted in lieu thereof, in aid of the university of the state The number of acres amounts to 92,160, all of which have been sold except 4,407 acres, which are subject to entry. Under the re-organization and enlargement of the university, under provisions of chapter 114, of general laws of 1866, section thirteen provides, among other things, that the income of a fund to be derived from the sales of the two hundred and forty thousand acres, granted by congress by act approved July 2, 1862, entitled : "An act donating lands to the several states and territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and mechanic arts," be devoted to the state university, and the funds arising therefrom to be known as the " agricultural college fund." All of the grant of lands have been sold except 51,635 acres. The quantity of lands donated by act of congress August 6, 1846, for the purpose of completing or erecting public buildings at the seat of government, known as " Capitol Lands," amounted to ten entire sections, or six thousand four hundred acres. A grant of lands was made to the state by act of congress, approved September 28, 1850, of all the swamp and overflowed lands within' its limits. The total number of acres of this grant, as certified to the state from the government, to the year 1877, is 1,869,677. A grant of land was made by congress, approved March 3, 1863, for the construction of a military road from Fort Wilkins, Michigan, to Fort Howard, Wisconsin, of every alternate section of public lands, designated by even numbers for three sections in width on each side of said road, and subject to the disposal of the legislature. In 1865 sales of land were made to the number .of 85,961.89 acres, which realized the sum of $114,856.54. An act of congress was approved June 25, 1864, granting lands to the state to build a military road from Wausau, Wisconsin, to Ontonagon, on Lake Superior, of every alternate section of land designated as odd sections, for three sections in width on each side of the road. The grant was accepted by the state by law, approved April 10, 1865. An act was also passed by congress, approved April 10, 1866, granting to the state of Wis consin a donation of public lands to aid in the construction of a breakwater and harbor and ship THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 229 canal at the head of Sturgeon bay, Wis., to connect the waters of Green bay with Lake Michigan. The grant was for 200,000 acres of land. The grant was accepted by the legislature of 1868. In 1874, the same body by resolution transferred to the Sturgeon bay and Lake Michigan ship canal and harbor company 32,342 acres, and the remaining portion was authorized to be sold for agri cultural purposes by said company. The first railroad grant in Wisconsin was by act of congress, approved June 3, 1856, by the first section of which there was granted to the state, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a railroad from Madison or Columbus, by the way of Portage City, to the St. Croix river or lake, between townships twenty-five and thirty-one, and from thence to the west end of Lake Superior and to Bayfield ; and from Fond du Lac, on Lake Winnebago, northerly to the state line, every alternate section of land designated by odd numbers, for six sections in width on each side of said roads, respectively; the land to be applied exclusively in the construction of said roads, and to no other purpose whatever, and subject to the disposal of the legislature, and the same shall remain public highways for the use of the government, free from toll and other charges upon the transportation of property or troops of the United States, with other conditions as to the disposal of said lands. The grant was accepted by the legislature by an act approved October 8, 1856, and on the nth of the same month an act was approved granting a portion of the lands to the La Crosse & Mississippi railroad company, who were to carry out all the requirements of the original grant. A supplementary act was approved the same session, Octoher 13, incorporating the Wisconsin & Superior railroad, which company was required to commence the construction of their road on or before January 1, 1857, and to complete the same to Oshkosh before August r, 1858. Of this land grant John W. Cary says : " That portion of the grant given to aid in the construction of a railroad northerly to the state line was conferred on the Wisconsin & Superior railroad company. This company was organized in the interest of the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac railroad company, and that part of the grant was transferred to it. The road was, in 1859, extended to ¦ Oshkosh, and thence to Menasha, and finally to Green Bay. In the panic of 1857, the company failed to meet its obligations, but was afterward enabled to go on, and continued in possession until June 2, 1859, when its road was sold on the foreclosures of the mortgages given thereon > and on the sixth of the same month the present Chicago & Northwestern railroad company was organized under the statute, by purchasers at said sale, and took possession." A large portion of the original grant was given for the construction of a road from Madison or Columbus to the St. Croix river, as before stated. The La Crosse company, during the years 1857 and 1858, completed its main line to La Crosse; the Watertown line, from Watertown to Columbus, and partially graded the line from Madison to Portage City. Neither it nor its suc cessors ever received any part of the lands of the land grant. In 1856 and 1857, the La Crosse & Milwaukee railroad graded most of the line from Madi son to Portage. After the failure of the company, this line was abandoned, and so remained until 1870, when a new company was organized, under the name of the Madison & Portage City railroad company. In 1873, an act was passed chartering the Tomah & Lake St. Croix railroad company, and repealing and annulling that portion of the land grant which bestowed the lands from Tomah to Lake St. Croix upon the La Crosse company, and bestowing the same upon the company chartered by this act. This road is known as the West Wisconsin railroad. An act of congress was approved May 5, 1864, granting lands to aid in the construction of certain roads in the state. This was a re-enactment of the law of 1856, and divided the grant in three sections, one of which was for a road from a point on the St. Croix river or lake, between 230 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. townships twenty-five and thirty-one, to the west end of Lake Superior, and from some point on the line of said road, to be selected by the state, to Bayfield — every alternate section designated by odd numbers, for ten sections in width on each side of said road, with an indemnity extending twenty miles on each side, was granted, under certain regulations ; another, for aiding in building a road from Tomah to the St. Croix river, between townships twenty-five and thirty-one — every alternate section by odd numbers, for ten sections in width on each side of the road ; another for aiding and constructing a railroad from Portage City, Berlin, Doty's Island, or Fond du Lac, as the legislature may determine, in a northwestern direction, to Bayfield, on Lake Superior, and a grant of every alternate section designated by odd numbers, for ten sections in width on each side of said road, was donated. The legislature of 1865 failed to agree upon a disposition of the grant. The succeeding legislature conferred the grant partly upon the " Winnebago & Lake Superior Railroad Company," and partly upon the " Portage & Superior Railroad Company," the former April 6, 1866, and the latter April 9, 1866. The two companies were consolidated, under the name of the "Portage, Winnebago & Superior Railroad," by act of the legislature, March 6, 1869, and by act of legis lature approved February 4, 1871, the name was changed to the "Wisconsin Central Railroad." HEALTH OF WISCONSIN. By JOSEPH HOBBINS, M.D. An article on state health, necessarily embracing the etiology, or causes of disease, involves the discussion of the geographical position of the state ; its area, physical features ; its elevations, depressions ; water supply ; drainage ; its mean level above the sea ; its geology ; climatology ; the nationality of its people ; their occupations, habits, food, education ; and, indeed, of all the physical, moral and mental influences which affect the public health. Geographical Position. The geographical position of Wisconsin, considered in relation to health, conveys an imme diate and favorable impression, which is at once confirmed by a reference to the statistical atlas of the United States. On its north it is bounded by Lake Superior, Minnesota, and the northern peninsula of Michigan; on the south by Illinois; on the east by Lake Michigan, and on the west by the Mississippi. It lies between 420 30' and 460 55' N. latitude, and between 870 and 920 50' W. long.; is 285 miles long from north to south, and 255 in breadth from east to west, giving it an area of some 53,924 square miles, or 34,511,360 acres. Its natural surface divisions, or proportions, are 16 per cent, of prairie, 50 of timber, 19 of openings, 15 of marsh, mineral undefined. North of 45 ° the surface is nearly covered with vast forests of pine. The proportion. of the state cultivated is nearly one-sixth. Physical Features. Among these, its lacustrine character is most conspicuous, so much so that it may not inaptly be called the state of a thousand lakes, its smaller ones being almost universal and innumerable. HEALTH OF WISCONSIN. 231 It has an almost artificially perfect arrangement of its larger rivers, both for supply and drainage, is rolling in its surface, having several dividing ridges or water sheds, and varies from 600 to 1,600 feet above the level of the sea, Blue Mounds being 1,729 feet above sea level. Its pine and thickly wooded lands are being rapidly denuded, and to some extent converted to agricultural purposes ; its marshes in the north are being reclaimed for cranberry cultivation, and in the more thickly settled parts of the state for hay purposes. The surface of the state is beautifully diver sified with stream, waterfall and rapids ; richly wooded bluffs several hundred feet in height, assuming the most romantic and pleasing forms, and composed of sandstone, magnesian limestone, granite, trap, etc. The health and summer resorts of Wisconsin are illustrative of its beauty, and its numerous mineral springs have long since formed an important feature of its character for salubrity. Geology. The geology of Wisconsin does not require from us but a very general notice, as it is only from its relation to disease that we have to consider it. This relation is in a measure apparent in the fact that everywhere the topographical features are governed by the strata below them. The relationship will be seen still further in the chemical or sanitary influence of the geological structures. Through the greater part of the south half of the state limestone is found, the cliff prevailing in the mineral region, and the blue in the other parts ; while in the north part of the state the primitive rocks, granite, slate, and sandstone prevail. South of the Wisconsin river sandstone in layers of limestone, forming the most picturesque bluffs, abounds. While west of Lake Michigan extends up to these rocks the limestone formation, being rich in timber or prairie land. Sandstone is found underneath the blue limestone. The general dip of the stratified rocks of the state is toward the south, about 8 feet to the mile. Medical geology treats of geology so far only as it affects health. Thus, some diluvial soils and sands are known to be productive of malarial fevers ; others, of a clayey character, retaining water, are productive of cold damp, and give rise to pulmonary and inflammatory diseases ; while others still, being very porous, are promotive of a dry and equable atmosphere. In the Potsdam rocks arise our purest waters and best supply, while our magnesian limestone rocks (a good quality of this kind of rock being composed of nearly equal parts of carbonate of lime and carbonate of magnesia) affect the water to the extent of producing simple diarrhoea in those unaccustomed to drinking it, as is observed in southern visitors, and was especially noticeable in the rebel prisoners at Camp Randall, though singularly enough do not seem to produce stone and gravel, as is alleged of the same kind of water in the north of England. Why this is so — if so — is a question of some interest. Goitre and cretinism are both attributed to the use of the same magnesian limestone water. Goitre is by no means an uncommon affection here, but not common enough, perhaps, to warrant us in thinking its special cause is in the water. Boiling the water is a preventive of all injurious effects. There is still another objection — partic ularly applicable to cities — to this kind of water, the carbonates of lime and magnesia which it contains, not simply making it hard, but giving it the power to promote the decomposition of organic matters, and thus where the soil is sandy or porous, endangering the purity of our well- water. Geology in general affects all our soils and their products ; all our drainage ; even our architecture, the material with which we build. Our building stone for half of the state is a magnesian limestone, a rather soft or poor quality of which will absorb one-third of its bulk of water, or two and a half gallons to the cubic foot, while most kinds of sandstone are nearly as porous as loose sand, and in some of them the penetrability for air and water is the same. (A single brick of poor quality will absorb a pint of water). Such materials used in the construction 232 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. of our dwellings, without precautionary measures, give rise to rheumatism, other grave diseases, and loss of strength. Besides, this character of stone absorbs readily all kinds of liquid and gaseous impurities, and though hardening in dry air, decays soon when exposed to underground moisture. The material of which our roads are made, as well as the kind of fuel we use in our homes, have the same unquestionable .relationship to geology and disease. Drainage. The natural drainage of the state, bearing in mind that the mean elevation of its hydro- graphical axis is about 1,000 feet above the sea level, is as excellent as it is obvious. (A line running from Lake Michigan across the state to the Mississippi, shows an elevation of about 500 feet). North its drainage is by a few rapid but insignificant streams into Lake Superior, while east it increases greatly and enters Lake Michigan by way of Green bay. The principal part of the supply and drainage, however, is from the extreme north to the southwest through the center of the state, by five large rivers, which empty themselves into the Mississippi at almost equal distances from each other. Climatology. The climatology of Wisconsin will be exhibited in the observations taken at different times, for longer or shorter periods, and at different points of the state. But it must be borne in mind that climate depends quite as much and very frequently more upon the physical surroundings, upon the presence of large bodies of water, like our lakes, upon large forests, like our pineries, like our heavy hard-woods, and of land elevations and depressions, upon isothermal lines, etc., as it does upon latitude. Our historic period is of a character too brief for us to assume to speak of our climate, or of all the changing causes which influence it — in a positive manner, our horticultural writers, to make the difficulty still greater, affirming that it has several climates within itself; still, sufficient data have been gathered from sufficiently reliable sources to enable us to form a tolerably accurate idea of the subject. The great modifiers of oiir climate are our lakes. These, bounding as they do, the one, Lake Superior (600 feet above the level of the sea. 420 miles long and 160 broad), on the north side of the state, and the other, Lake Michigan (578 feet above the sea level, 320 miles long and 84 broad), on the east side of the state, serve to govern the range of the thermometer and the mean temperature of the seasons, as much as they are governed in New England by the ocean. Our climate is consequently very much like that of the New England sea-board. They both exhibit the same extremes and great extremes, have the same broadly marked continental features at some seasons, and decided tropical features at others. It is of special interest in this con nection to know that the climate between the eastern coast and the lakes increases in rigor as one advances west until the lakes are reached, and again becomes still more rigorous as one advances into the interior west of the lakes, thus affording proof, if proof were wanting, of the modifying and agreeable influences of large bodies of water During the winter the mean temperature of the east on the New England coast is 8.38 higher than the west (beyond the lakes) ; during the spring 3.53 lower ; during the summer 6.99 lower; and during the'autumn 1.54 higher. In the mean temperature for the year there is buta fractional difference. That the winters are less rigorous and the summers more temperate oil the Great Lakes is demonstrated to be owing not to elevation, but, as on the ocean, to the equal izing agency of an expanse of water. On the lakes the annual ratio of fair days is 117, and on the New England coast 215; the HEALTH OF WISCONSIN. 233 cloudy days are as 127 to 73; the rainy as 63 to 46 , and the snowy as 45 to 29 In the former the prevailing weather is cloudy, and in the latter it is fair. The immense forests on the upper lake shores of course exercise a considerable influence in the modification of our temperature, as well as in the adding to our rain-fall and cloudy days. A climate of this character, with its attendant rains, gives us that with which we are so abundantly supplied, great variety of food, both for man and beast, the choicest kinds of fruits and vegetables in the greatest profusion, and of the best quality, streams alive with fish, woods and prairies with game, the noblest trees, the most exquisite flowers, and the best breeds of domestic animals the world can boast of. The semi-tropical character of our summer, and its resemblance to that of New England, is shown by the mean temperature — 700 — for three months at Salem, Massachusetts, at Albany, New York, at southern Wisconsin, Fort Snelling and Fort Benton on the Upper Missouri, being the same ; while at Baltimore, Cincinnati and St. Louis, it is 75", and around the gulf of Mexico it is 8o°. Another feature of our climate is worthy the notice of invalids and of those who make the thermometer their guide for r.omfo t. It is a well-ascertained fact that during the colder seasons the lake country is not only relatively, but positively, warmer than places far south of it. The thermometer, during the severe cold of January, 1856, did not fall so low at the coldest, by ioQ to 15° at Lake Superior as at Chicago at the same time. This remark holds true of the changes of all periods of duration, even if continued over a month. The mean temperature at Fort Howard, Green Bay, Wisconsin, 600 feet above the level of the Atlantic, latitude 440 40', longitude 87 °, observations for nine years, is 44.93 ; and at Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, 580 feet above the leyel of the Atlantic, latitude 430 3', longitude 90" 53', observa tions for four years, is 45.65, giving a just idea of our mean temperature for the state. Under the head of distribution of heat in winter, it is found that the maximum winter range at Fort Winnebago, Wisconsin, for sixteen years, is 9.4. Hyetal or Rain Character. Wisconsin is situated within what is termed the area of constant precipitation, neither affected by a rainy season, nor by a partial dry season. 'The annual quantity of rain on an average for three years at Fort Crawford, was 29.54 inches, and at Fort Howard the mean annual on an average of four years, was 38.83 inches. The annual quantity of rain, on an average of three years was 31.88 inches at Fort Winnebago, situate (opposite the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers) 80 miles west of Lake Michigan and 112 miles southwest of Green Bay. The rain-fall is less in the lake district than in the valley of the Mississippi in the same latitudes. One of the peculiarities of our winters is the almost periodical rain-fall of a few days in the middle of the winter (usually in the middle of January), which extends to the Atlantic coast, while north and northwest of us the dry cold continues without a break, winter being uniform and severe, characterized by aridity and steady low temperature. Another peculiarity of our climate is, the number of snowy and rainy days is increased disproportionately to the actual quantity — the large bodies of water on the boundaries of the state, contrary to the popular opinion, reduc ing the annual quantity of rain in their immediate vicinity instead of adding to it, the heavier precipitation being carried further away. One of the most pleasing features of our climate is its frequent succession of showers in summer, tempering as it does our semi-tropical heat, increasing the fertility of the soil, and carpeting our prairies with a green as grateful to the eye as that of England. The hygtofnetric condition of Wisconsin may be judged of with proximate accuracy by that given of Poultney, Iowa : 234 HISTORY -OF WISCONSIN Day. Temperature of Air. Temperature of Evaporat'n Humidity, per cent. Day. Temperature of Air. Temperature of Evaporat'n Humidity, ' per cent. IOth II 12 92°87 92 96 93 78°75 77 81 78 5155 48 50 44 ig'.h 20 _ . . 21. 29 30 - 94° 97968184 81° 818072 71 55 4847 6350 13 14 The average depth of snow for three years, at Beloit, Wisconsin, was twenty-five inches, while at Oxford county, Maine, the average for twelve years was ninety inches. The isohyetal lines of the mean precipitation of rain and melted snow, for the year 1872, show that of Wiscon sin to be thirty-two. Isotherms. The mean temperature of spring is represented by the isotherm of 450 F. which enters Wis consin from the west about forty miles south of Hudson, passing in a nearly southeast direction, and crosses the south line of the state near the west line of Walworth county. It then passes nearly around the head of Lake Michigan, then northeast until it reaches the latitude of Milwaukee, whence it passes in a somewhat irregular course east through Ontario, New York, and Massa chusetts, entering the ocean in the vicinity of Boston. The summer mean isotherm of 700 F. enters Wisconsin from the west but little farther north than the spring isotherm, and passes through the state nearly parallel with the course of that line, crossing the southern boundary near the east line of Walworth county ; passing through Chicago it goes in a direction a little south of east, and enters the Atlantic at New Haven. The mean isotherm of 470 F. for autumn, enters the state about twenty miles north of Prairie du Chien, passing in a direction a little north of east through Portage, and enters Lake Michigan near Manitowoc. The isotherm of 200 F. representing the mean temperature of winter, enters the state near Prairie du Chien, passes east and north and enters Lake Michigan at Sturgeon bay. The annual mean temperature is repre sented by the isotherm of 45" F. which enters the state near Prairie du Chien, passes across the. state in a direction a little south of east, and enters Lake Michigan a little south of Milwaukee: What influence these isotherms have upon our belts of disease there are no data to show. But from their influence upon vegetable life, one can not but infer a similar good influence on the animal economy. This is a question for the future. Barometrical. Yearly mean of barometer at 32" F. as observed at the University of Wisconsin, altitude 1,088 feet above the sea : 1869 28.932 inches. i870_ 28.867 " 1871 ..28.986 " 1872 _ 28.898 1873 28.892 inches. 1874 28.867 " 1875 28.750 " 1876 28.920 " Atmospheric pressure, as indicated by the barometer, is an important element in the causation of disease, far more so than is generally thought. The barometer indicates not only the coming of the storm, but that state of the atmosphere which gives rise to health at one time, and to disease at another. When the barometer is high, both the body and mind have a feeling of elasticity, of vigor and activity, and when the barometer ranges low, the feelings of both are just the reverse ; and both of these states, commonly attributed to temperature, are mostly the result of change in the barometric pressure. Many inflammations, as of the lungs, etc., commonly HEALTH OF WISCONSIN. 235 attributed to change in the temperature, have their origin in barometrical vicissitudes. Winds. Generally speaking, the atmospheric movement is from the west. It is of little purpose what the surface wind may be, as this does not affect the fact of the constancy of the westerly winds in the middle latitudes. The showers and cumulus clouds of the summer always have this movement. The belt of westerly winds is the belt of constant and equally distributed rains, the feature of our winds upon which so much of our health and comfort depends. Climatological Changes from Settling the State. There are many theories afloat concerning the effects of reclaiming the soil and the destruc tion of its forests. To us, a new people and a new state, the question is one of great moment, the more so that it is still in our power not only to watch the effects of such changes, but still more so to control them in a measure for our good. As to the effects upon animal and vegetable life, it would appear that so far as relates to the clearing away of forests, the whole change of conditions is limited to the surface, and dependent for the most part on the retention and slow evaporation in the forest, in contrast with the rapid drainage and evaporation in the open space. The springs, diminishing in number and volume in our more settled parts of the state, do not indicate a lessening rain-fall. It is a well ascertained fact that in other places so denuded, which have been allowed to cover themselves again with forests, the springs reappear, and the streams are as full as before such denudation. With us, happily, while the destruction of forests is going on in various parts of the state, their second growth is also going on, both in the pineries, where new varieties of hard-wood take the place of the pine, and in the more cultivated parts of the state, cultivation forbidding, as it does, the practice so much in vogue some years ago, of running fires through the undergrowth. Thus, though the renewal of forests may not be keeping pace with their destruction, it would seem clear that as time advances, the springs and streams in the more cultivated sections of the state will fill and flow again, increasing in proportion as the second growth increases and expands. The change, however, from denudation, though strictly limited to the surface, affects the surface in other ways than simply in the retention and evaporation of rain. When the winter winds are blowing, the want of the sheltering protection of belts of trees is bitterly felt, both by man and beast. And so, too, in the almost tropical heats of the summer ; both languish and suffel from the want of shade. Nor is the effect of denudation less sensibly felt by vegetable life. The growing of our more delicate fruits, like the peach, the plum, the pear, the better varieties of the cherry and gooseberry, with the beautiful half-hardy flowering shrubs, all of which flourished se well in a number of our older counties some twenty years ago, are as a rule no longer to be found in those localities, having died out, as is believed, from exposure to the cold winds, to the south west winds in particular, and for want of the protecting influence of the woods. In fruits, how ever, we have this compensation, that, while the more tender varieties have been disappearing, the hardier and equally good varieties, especially of apples, have been increasing, while the grape (than which nothing speaks better for climatology), of which we grow some 150 varieties, the strawberry, the raspberry, blackberry and currant, etc., hold their ground. Nor are the cattle suffering as much as formerly, or as much as is perhaps popularly believed, from this want of forests or tree shelter. With the better breeds which our farmers have been able of late years to purchase, with better blood and better food, and better care, our stock instead of dwindling in condition, or in number, from the effect of cold, has progressed in quality and quantity, and competes with the best in the Chicago and the New York markets. 236 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. There can, however, be no doubt that the planting of groves and belts of trees in exposed localities, would be serviceable in many ways ; in tempering the air and imparting to it an agreeable moisture in the summer; in modifying the severity of the cold in winter ; in moderating the extreme changes to which our climate is subject; and thus in a measure preventing those discomforts and diseases which occur from sudden changes of temperature. Besides, these plantings, when made between our homes or villages and malarial marshes southwest of us, serve (by the aid of our prevailing southwest winds) to break up, to send over and above and beyond us the malarial substratum of air to which w-e are otherwise injuriously exposed. The effects of reclaiming the soil, or "breaking " as it is called in the west, have, years ago, when the state first began to be settled, been disastrous to health and to life. The moist sod being turned over in hot weather, and left to undergo through the summer a putrifying fomen- tative process, gave rise to the worst kind of malarial, typhoid (bilious) and dysenteric disease. Not, however, that the virulence or mortality altogether depended upon the soil emanations. These were undoubtedly aggravated by the absolute poverty of the early settlers, who were wanting in everything, in proper homes, proper food and proper medical attendance, medicines and nursing. These fevers have swept the state years ago, particularly in the autumns of 1844 and 1845, but are now only observed from time to time in limited localities, following in the autumn the summer's " breaking." But it is pleasing to be able to add that through the advancing prosperity of the state, the greater abundance of the necessaries and comforts of life, and the facilities for obtaining medical care, the diseases incident to " settling " are much less common and much less fatal than formerly. Relations of Climatology to Sanitary Status. One of the principal reasons for gathering climatological observations, is to obtain sanitary information, which serves to show us where man may live with the greatest safety to his health. Every country, we might perhaps correctly say every state, has, if not its peculiar diseases, at least its peculiar type of diseases. And by nothing is either this type or variety of disease so much influenced as by climate. Hence the great importance of the study of climatology to health and disease, nay, even to the kind of medicine and to the regulating of the dose to be given. It is, however, best to caution the reader that these meteorological observations are not always made at points where they would most accurately show the salubrity of a geographical district, by reason of the fact that the positions were chosen not for this special purpose, but for purely military purposes. We allude to the forts of Wisconsin, from which our statistics for the most part come. Another caution it is also well to bear in mind in looking over the class of diseases reported at these stations in connection with their observations. The diseases are those of the military of the period, a class from which no very favorable health reports could be expected, considering their habits, exposure, and the influences incidental to frontier life. The geography of disease and climate is of special interest to the public, and a knowledge especially necessary to the state authorities, as it is only by such a knowledge that state legis lation can possibly restrain or root out the endemic diseases of the state. In connection with the gathering of vital statistics must go the collection of meteorological and topographical statistics, as without these two latter the former is comparatively useless for sanitary purposes. More particularly does this apply to the malarial diseases of the state. Acclimation is very rarely discussed or even alluded to by our people in relation to Wisconsin, for the reason that, come from whatever part of Europe men may, or from the eastern states, acclimation is acquired for the most part unconsciously, rarely attended by any malarial affection, unless by exposure in such low, moist localities, where even the natives of the state could not HEALTH OF WISCONSIN. 237 live with impunity. It seems to be well enough established that where malaria exists, whether in London, New York, or Wisconsin ; where the causes of malarial disease are permanent, the effects are permanent, and that there is no positive acclimation to malaria. Hence it should follow that since life and malaria are irreconcilable, we should root out the enemy, as we readily can by drainage and cultivation, or, where drainage is impossible, by the planting of those shrubs or trees which are found to thrive best, and thereby prove the best evaporators in such localities. Our climate, approximating as it does the 45th degree (being eq.ui-distant from the equator and pole), would a priori be a common ground of compromise and safety, and from this geographical position is not liable to objections existing either north or south of us. Influence of Nationalities. Our population is of such a confessedly heterogeneous character that naturally enough it suggests the question : Has this intermingling of different nationalities sensibly affected our health conditions ? Certainly not, so far as intermarriages between the nations of the Caucasian race are concerned. This opinion is given first upon the fact that our classes of diseases have neither changed nor increased in their intensity by reason of such admixture, so far as can be learned by the statistics or the history of disease in the northwest. Imported cases of disease are of course excepted. Second, because all that we can gather from statistics and history concern ing such intermingling of blood goes to prove that it is beneficial in every respect, physically, mentally and morally. England, of all nations, is said to be the best illustration of the good attending an intermingling of the blood of different nations, for the reason that the English character is supposed to be, comparatively speaking, good, and that of all countries she has been perhaps more frequently invaded, and to a greater or less part settled by foreign peoples than any other. From a residence of nearly a quarter of a century in the center of Wisconsin, and from an adequate knowledge of its people, whose nationalities are so various and whose intermarriages are so common, it is at least presumable that we should have heard of or noted any peculiar or injurious results, had any such occurred. None such, however, have been observed. , Some fears have been expressed concerning the influence of Celtic blood upon the American temperament, already too nervous, as is alleged. It is scarcely necessary to say that these fears are unsupported by figures or facts. Reasoning from analogy, it would seem safe to affirm that the general inter mingling by intermarriage now going on in our population, confined to the Caucasian nationali ties, will tend to preserve the good old Anglo-Saxon character, rather than to create any new char acter for our people. If this view needed support or confirmation, it is to be found in some Yery interesting truths in relation to it. Mr. Edwin Seguin, in his work on Idiocy, lays special stress on the influences of races in regard to idiocy and other infirmities, like deafness. He says that the crossing of races, which contributed to the elimination of tome vices of the blood (as maybe the case in the United States, where there are proportionally less deaf and dumb than in Europe), produces a favorable effect on the health of the population, and cites as an example, Belgium, which has fewer deaf and dumb than any country in Europe, owing to the influence of the crossing of races in past ages from the crowds of northern tribes passing, mingling and partly settling there on the way to England. We are aware that it has been predicted that our future will give us a new type, distinct from all other peoples, and that with this type must come not only new diseases but modifications or aggravations of the . present diseases, in particular, consumption and insanity. But so long as we are in a formative state as a nation, and that this state seems likely to continue so long as the country has lands to be occupied and there are people in Europe to occupy them, such spec ulations can be but of little value. 238 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Occupations, Food, Education, etc., as affecting Public Health. The two chief factors of the social and sanitary well-being of a people are a proper educa tion of the man and a proper cultivation of the soil. Our two principal occupations in Wisconsin are education and agriculture, the learners in the schools being in excess of the laborers on the soil. A happier combination could scarcely be desired, to form an intelligent and a healthy people. How this will affect our habits in the future it is easy to conceive, but for the present it may be said (of so many different nationalities are we composed), that we have no habits which serve to distinguish us from the people of other northwestern states. A well-fed and a well-taught people, no matter how mixed its origin, must sooner or later become homogeneous and a maker of customs. In the mean time we can only speak of our habits as those of a people in general having an abundance of food, though it is to be wished the workers ate more beef and mutton, and less salt-pork, and that whisky was less plentiful in the land. The clothing is sufficient, fuel is cheap, and the dwellings comfortable. Upon the whole, the habits of the people are conducive to health. It is thought unnecessary to refer to the influence upon health in general of other occupations, for the reason that manufacturers, traders and transporters are for the most part localized, and perhaps not sufficiently numerous to exercise any marked influence on the state health. History of Disease. In searching for historical data of disease in Wisconsin, we are able to go back to tne year 1766, commencing with the aborigines. The Indians, says Carver, in his chapter on their diseases, in general are healthy and subject to few diseases. Consumption from fatigue and exposure he notices, but adds that the disorder to which they are most subject is pleurisy. They are like wise afflicted with dropsy and paralytic complaints. It is to be presumed that while Carver is speaking generally, he means his remarks to apply, perhaps, more particularly to those Indians with whom he lived so long, the Sioux of this state. That they were subject to fevers is gathered from the use of their remedies for fever, the " fever bush " being an ancient Indian remedy, and equally valued by the inhabitants of the interior parts of the colonies. Besides this, they had their remedies for complaints of the bowels, and for all inflammatory complaints. These notices sufficiently indicate the class of diseases which have certainly followed in the wake of the Indi ans, and are still occurring to his white brother, making it plain enough that lung diseases, bowel complaints, and fevers are in fact native to the state. The fact must not be ignored that the Indian is subject to the same diseases as the human race in general. After Carver, we may quote Major Long's expedition in 1824. The principal disease of the Sacs appears to be a mortification of the intestinal canal, more common among men than women, the disease proving fatal in four days if not relieved. It is unaccompanied with pain, and is neither hernia, dysentery, nor hemorrhoids. Intermittents were prevalent, and the small-pox visited them at different periods. As the Chippewas have a common Algonquin origin with the Sacs, and as their home and customs were the same, it may be expected that their diseases were simi lar. The principal disease to which the Chippewas are liable is consumption of the lungs, generally affecting them between the ages of 30 and 40 ; they linger along for a year or two, but always fall victims to it. Many of them die of a bowel complaint which prevails every year. This disease does not partake, however, of the nature of dysentery. They are frequently affected with sore eyes. Blindness is not common. Many of them become deaf at an early age. Referring to the report of the commissioner of Indian affairs for 1854, we find that the decrease in the number of the Menomonees is accounted for by the ravages of small-pox, in 1838, HEALTH OF WISCONSIN. 239 -of the cholera, in 1847 (which latter was superinduced by misery and starvation), and by the fever, which from time to time, commonly in the winter, has been raging among them, being clearly the consequence of want of provisions and other necessaries. The report for 1850 says, there has been considerable sickness among the Winnebagoes for several months past ; dysentery has been the prevalent disease, confined mostly to children. For 1857 : the Winnebagoes have suffered considerably from chronic diseases, scrofula and consumption. For 1859: the chief malady among the Winnebagoes is phthisis pulmonalis and its analogous diseases, having its source in hereditary origin. Some of the malignant diseases are occasionally met with among •them, and intermittent and remittent fevers. In 1863 : of the Menomonees, there is a large mortality list of the tribes under my charge. Measles and some of the more common eruptive diseases are the causes. But the most common and most fatal disease which affects the Indians at this agency is pneumonia, generally of an acute character. There is but little tubercular •disease to be found in any of these tribes, Menomonees, Stockbridges, Oneidas, etc. In the -report for 1865, one can not but notice with some regret the absence of all allusion, except to •small-pox, to the diseases of the Indians. Regret, because reliable information of such diseases rserves a variety of valuable purposes, for comparison, confirmation, etc., of those of the white population. For these reasons, if for none other, it is to be hoped that the attention of the proper authorities will be called to this feature of such reports. The first reliable report on the diseases of the people (as distinguished from the Indians) of Wisconsin to which we have had access, is Lawson's Army Report of Registered Diseases, for 10 years, commencing 1829, and ending 1838 (ten years before the admission of Wisconsin into the Union as a state). FORT HOWARD, GREEN BAY. Intermittent fever. 30 Remittent do 11 Synochal do 4 Typhus do • Diseases of respiratory organs 101 Diseases of digestive organs 1S4 Diseases of brain and nervous system 9 Dropsies I Rheumatic affections 61 This abstract exhibits the second quar ters only, the mean strength being 1,702. All other diseases 114, excepting vene real diseases, abcesses, wounds, ul cers, injuries, and ebriety cases. Under the class of diseases of the respiratory organs, are comprised 384 catarrh, 6 pneu monia, 60 pleuritis, and 28 phthisis pulmonalis; under the class of digestive organs, 376 diar rhoea and dysentery, 184 colic and cholera, and 10 hepatitis; under the class of diseases of the brain and nervous system, 15 epilepsy, etc. The deaths from all causes, according to the post returns, are 25, being i1^ per cent, per annum. The annual rate of intermittent cases is 6, .and that of remittent is 3, per 100 of mean strength. Table of Ratio of Sickness at Fort Howard. Seasons. MEAN STRENGTH. NUMBER TREATED. RATE TER 1,000 OF MEAN STRENGTH TREATED QUARTERLY. 10 first quarters.. I,7&41,7021,526 1,594 715726 1.073 636 405425 9 third " 703 IO fourth " _ 399 Annual rate 1,647 3.150 1,913 240 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN Every man has consequently, on an average, been reported sick about once in every six months, showing this region to be extraordinarily salubrious. The annual ratio of mortality, according to the medical reports, is T\ per cent. ; and of the adjutant-general's returns, i^ per cent. FORT WINNEBAGO. Intermittent fever 21 Remittent fever 10 Synochal fever I Typhus fever — Diseases of the respiratory organs 141 Diseases of digestive organs, _ 90 Diseases of brain and nervous system. . 2 Rheumatic affections 26 This abstract exhibits the fourth quarters only, the mean strength being 1,571. All other diseases, 80, with the exceptions as above. Under the class of diseases of the respiratory organs are comprised 448 catarrh, n pneu monia, 29 pleuritis and 10 phthisis pulmonalis; under the head of digestive organs, 193 diarrhoea and dysentery, 149 colic and cholera, and 17 hepatitis; under the class of brain and nervous system, 1 epilepsy. The total number of deaths, according to the post returns, is 20. Of these, 3 are from phthisis pulmonalis, 1 pleuritis, 2 chronic hepatitis, 1 gastric enteritis, 1 splenitis, etc. TABLE OF RATIO OF SICKNESS AT FORT WINNEBAGO. Seasons. MEAN STRENGTH. NUMBER TREATED. RATE PER 1,000 OF MEAN STRENGTH TREATED QUARTERLY. 1,5351,505 1,527 i.57i 552 517581 495 360 343380315 10 fourth " i,534 2,145 1,398 Every man on an average is consequently reported sick once in eight months and a half. FORT CRAWFORD. Intermittent fever 262 Remittent fever 61 Synochal fever ' — Typhus fever — Diseases of respiratory organs 177 Diseases of digestive organs. 722 Diseases of brain and nervous system 16 Rheumatic affections 58 This abstract exhibits the third quarters only, the mean strength being 1,885. All other diseases, 309, with the same list of exceptions as above. Under the class of diseases of the respiratory organs are included 1,048 of catarrh, 28 pneu monia, 75 pleuritis and 13 phthisis pulmonalis; under the head of digestive organs, 933 diarrhoea and dysentery, and 195 colic and cholera; under the head of brain and nervous diseases, 7 epilepsy, etc. The total of deaths, according to the post returns, is 94, the annual ratio being 2tV Per cent- The causes of death are : 6 phthisis pulmonalis, 6 epidemic cholera, 1 common cholera, 4 remittent fever, 3 dysentery, etc. In the third quarter of 1830 there were 154 cases of fever, while the same quarter of 1836, with a greater strength, affords but one case, the difference seeming to depend upon the temperature. HEALTH OF WISCONSIN 241 The relative agency of the seasons in the production of disease in general is shown in the annexed table : TABLE EXHIBITING THE RATIO OF SICKNESS. Seasons. MEAN STRENGTH. NUMBER TREATED. RATIO PER 1,000 OF MEAN STRENGTH TREATED QUARTERLY. i,66o 1.749 1,885 1,878 987 1,2671,948 1,270 595724 1.033 676 10 third " 10 fourth " * i,793 5,472 3,052 Consequently every man on an average has been reported sick once in nearly every four months. But high as this ratio of sickness is, at this fort, and, indeed, at the others, it is low considering the topographical surroundings of the posts. But besides these injurious topograph ical and other influences already alluded to, there were still other elements of mischief among the men at these stations, such as " bad bread and bad whisky," and salt meat, a dietary table giving rise, if not to " land-scurvy," as was the case at the posts lower down in the Mississippi valley (more fatal than either small-pox or cholera), at least to its concomitant diseases. The reason for using these early data of the United States Army medical reports in pref erence to later ones is, that even though the later ones may be somewhat more correct in certain particulars, the former serve to establish, as it were, a connecting link (though a long one) between the historical sketch of the diseases of the Indian and those of the white settler ; and again — these posts being no longer occupied — no further data are obtainable. To continue this historical account of the diseases of Wisconsin, we must now nave recourse to the state institutions. The Institution for the Education of the Blind. The first charitable institution established by the state was formally opened in 1850, at JanesviUe. The census of 1875 showed that there were 493 blind persons in the state, those of school age — that is — under 20 years of age, probably amounting to 125. The number of pupils in the institution that year, 82 ; the average for the past ten years being 68. If the health report of the institution is any indication of the salubrity of its location, then, indeed, is Janes viUe in this respect an enviable city. Its report for 1876 gives one death from consumption, and a number of cases of whooping-cough, all recovered. In 1875, ten cases of mild scarlet fever, recovered. One severe and two mild cases of typhoid fever, recovered. For 1873, no sick list. For 1872, the mumps went through the school. For 187 1, health of the school reasonably good ; few cases of severe illness have occurred. The Institute for the Deaf and Dumb. This was organized in June, 1852, at Delavan. The whoie number of deaf and dumb per sons in the state, as shown by the census of 1875, was 720. The report for 1866 gives the number of pupils as 156. Little sickness, a few cases of sore throat, and slight bowel affections comprise nearly all the ailments ; and the physician's report adds : " The sanitary reports of the institution from its earliest history to the present date has been a guarantee of the healthiness of the location. Having gone carefully over the most reliable tabulated statements of deaf-mutism, its parent- 242 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. age, its home, its causes, and its origin, we would most earnestly call the attention of the public to the fact that the chief cause comes under the head of congenital, 75 of the 15a pupils in this. institution having this origin. Such a fearful proportion as this must of necessity have its origin in a cause or causes proportionately fearful. Nor, fortunately, is the causation a mystery, since most careful examination leaves not a shadow of doubt that consanguineous marriages are the sources of this great evil. Without occupying further space by illustrative tables and arguments, we would simply direct the attention of our legislators and thoughtful men to the law of this dis use — which is, that the number of deaf and dumb, imbeciles, and idiots is in direct keeping with the degree of consanguinity. With such. a law and exhibit before us, would not a legislative inquiry into the subject, with the view of adopting preventive means, be a wise step? The evil is fear ful ; the cause is plain; so, too, is the remedy." Industrial School for Boys. This institution is situated on the banks of the Fox river, at Waukesha, and was organized in i860. The whole number of the inmates since it was opened in July, i860, to October 10, 1876, was 1,291. The whole number of inmates for 1876 was 415. Of these, since the period of opening up to date, October, 1876, 25 have died: 8, of typhoid fever ; 1, of typhoid erysipelas ; 1, of gastric fever; 3, of brain fever; 1, nervous fever; 2, congestion of the lungs; 2, congestive chills; 5, of consumption; 1 of dropsy; and 1 of inflammatory rheumatism. The State Prison. This was located at Waupun in July, 1857. On September 30, 1876, there were 266 inmates. But one death from natural causes occurred during the year. The health of the prisoners has been unusually good, the prevalent affections attendant upon the seasons, of a mild and manageable character. State Hospital for the Insane. This institution, located near Madison, was opened for patients in July, i860. The total number of admissions down to the year 1877, was 1,227 males, 1,122 females, total 2,349. Over •one half of these have been improved ; nearly one third recovered ; while less than one quarter have been discharged unimproved. Total number of deaths, 288. At the commencement of the year, October 1, 1875, there were in the hospital 376 patients. In the report for the year ending September 30, 1876, we find the past year has been one of unusual health in the hospital. No serious epidemic has prevailed, although 20 deaths have been reported, 7 fatally ill before admis sion, 4 worn-out cases, etc. Insanity, coming as it does, under this head of an article on State Health, is of the highest interest from a state point of view, not only because so much may be ¦done to remedy it, but that still more can and ought to be done by the state to prevent it. Our insane amount to 1 in 700 of the whole population, the total number in hospitals, poor-houses and prisons being in round numbers 1,400. It is a striking fact, calling for our earnest consideration, that the Germans, Irish and Scandinavians import and transmit more insanity — three to one — than the American-born population produce. The causes assigned for this disparity, are, as affecting importation, ihat those in whom there is an hereditary tendency to disease constitute the migratory class, for the reason that those who are sound and in the full possession of their powers are most apt to contend successfully in the struggle to live and maintain their position at home; while those who are most unsound and unequal to life's contests are unable to migrate. In other words, the strongest will not leave, the weakest can not leave. By this, the character of the migratory is defined. As affects transmission, poverty is a most fruitful parent of insanity, so too is poor land. Says Dr. Boughton, superintendent of the Wisconsin State Hospital for the Insane; HEALTH OF WISCONSIN 24a Wisconsin is characterized by a large poor class, especially in the northern part of the state, where people without means have settled on new and poorly paying farms, where their life is made up of hard work, exposure to a severe climate, bad and insufficient diet, cheerless homes, etc., etc. These causes are prolific in the production of insanity. It is easy, therefore, to trace the causes that give us so large a per cent, of insane in many of the counties of the state. Nor is it of less interest to know, as Dr. B. adds : We draw our patients from those families where phthisis pulmonalis, rheumatism and insanity prevail. Insanity and rheumatism are interchange able in hereditary cases, so too are insanity and phithisis. What may be accomplished by intel ligent efforts to stem the increase of insanity in our state ? Much. Early treatment is one means, this is of course curative in its character. And its necessity and advantage are well illustrated in table No. 10 of the annual report of Dr. Boughton, for 1876, where it is seen that 45.33 of males, and 44.59 of the females who had been sent to the State Hospital having been insane but three months before admission, were cured, the proportion of cures becoming less in proportion to the longer duration of insanity before admission. As a preventive means, the dissemination of the kind of knowledge that shows indisputably that insanity is largely hereditary, and conse quently that intermarriage with families so tainted should on the one hand be avoided by the citizen, and on the other hand, perhaps, prevented by the state, (congress at the same time restraining or preventing as far as possible persons so tainted from settling irr this country.) By the state, inasmuch as the great burthen of caring for the insane falls upon the state. Still other preventive means are found in the improved cultivation of our lands and in our improved education ; in fact, in whatever lessens the trials of the poor and lifts them out of ignorance and pauperism. It is only by culture, says Hufeland, that man acquires perfection, morally, mentally and physically. His whole organization is so ordered that he may either become nothing or anything, hyperculture and the want of cultivation being alike destructive. The Northern Hospital for the Insane. This hospital was opened at Oshkosh, May, 1873. The total number under treatment September 30, 1876 was — males 246, females 257, total 503. No ailment of an epidemic charac ter has affected the health of the household, which has been generally good. The report of Dr. Kempster is full of suggestive matter for the legislator and sociologist. City of Milwaukee. Still adhering to the plan, in writing the sanitary history of the state, of gathering up all the health statistics which properly belong to us, we now take up those of Milwaukee, the only city in Wisconsin, so far as we know, that has kept up a system of statistics of its diseases. The city is built on each side of the mouth of Milwaukee river, on the west shore of-Lake Michi gan in lat. 430 3' 45" N., long. 87" 57' W., and is considered remarkable for its healthy climate. The board of health has furnished us with its report for 1870 and downward. The character of its mortality from June 19, 1869, to March 31, 1870, is thus summarized : In children under five years of age, 758 out of 1,249 deaths, consumption, 93; convulsions, 128; cholera infantum, 59! diarrhoea, 128; scarlet fever, 132; typhoid fever, 52; inflammation of the lungs, 41; still born, 79. This disproportionate number of still-born children is attributed in part to a laxity of morals. The deaths from consumption in Milwaukee are 7 ^ out of every 100, one third less out of a like number of deaths than in San Francisco, in which city, in 4,000 deaths, 441 died of con sumption, being n out of every 100 deaths for the year ending July, 1869. The deaths for 1870 numbered 1,655, the population being at the last census report, 71,636. 244 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Table of Principal Causes. Consumption 143 Inflammation of lungs 56 Convulsions --259 Diarrhoea 131 Diptheria 74 Scarlet fever. _ — 52 Typhoid fever 49 Old age _-- 28 Still-born ., 123 The Milwaukee population being about 72,000, the death rate per annum for every 1,000 inhabitants would be 21, after proper deductions of deaths from other causes than from disease, showing very favorably as compared with other cities. Glasgow has 39 to every 1,000; Liverpool, 36; London, 25 ; New Orleans, 54; New York, 32; San Francisco, 24; Milwaukee, 21. Among seventeen of the principal cities of the Union, Milwaukee ranks the ninth in rate of mortality. An impression has prevailed that Milwaukee is subject to a large and disproportionate amount of lung and allied diseases. Statistics disprove this, its deaths from consumption being only 6 percent., while those of Chicago are 7.75 ; of St. Louis, 9.68; of Cincinnati, 11.95; and of Boston, 19.31. But few cases of malarial disease occur in Milwaukee, and fewer cases of intestinal fever than in the interior of the state. The mortality among children is explained by its occurring chiefly among the poor foreign-born population, where all that can incite and aggravate disease is always to be found. This, (the historical part of the health article), will doubtless call forth from the profession much additional and desirable matter, but excepting what will further appear under the head of Madison it is proper to say that we have exhausted the sources of information on the subject within our reach. Health Resorts. Next in order would seem to come some notice of the summer and health resorts of Wiscon sin, which, significant of the salubrity of the state, are not only becoming more numerous, but ilso more frequented from year to year. Madison, the capital of the state, with a population of 11,000, is built on an isthmus between two considerable lakes, from 70 to 125 feet above their level; 80 miles west of Milwaukee, in latitude 43" 5' north, and longitude 890 20' west, in the northern temperate region. The lake basins, and also the neck of land between them, have a linear arrangement, trending northeast and southwest. The same linear topography characterises the whole adjacent country and the boun dary lines of its various geological formations, this striking feature being due to the former move ment of glacier ice over the face of the country. At two points, one mile apart, the Capitol and University hills, respectively 348 and 370 feet above the level of Lake Michigan, rise prominently above the rest of the isthmus. Both of these hills are heaps of drift material from 100 to 126 feet thickness, according to the record of the artesian well. The neck of land on which Madison stands is of the same material. The same boring discloses to us the underlying rock structure, pene trating 614 feet of friable quartzose sandstone belonging to the Potsdam series, ioJ^ feet of red shale belonging to the same series, and 2091^ feet of crystalline rocks belonging to the Archaean. In the country immediately around Madison, the altitude is generally considerably greater, and the"higher grounds are occupied by various strata, nearly horizontal, of sandstone and limestone. The Potsdam sandstone rises about 30 feet above the level of Lake Mendota, on its northern shore, where at McBride's Point it may be seen overlaid by the next and hitherto unrecognized layer, one of more or less impure, dark-colored, magnesian limestone, to which the name of Men dota is assigned, and which furnishes a good building stone. The descent of these strata is about HEALTH OF WISCONSIN. 245 9 feet to the mile in a due southerly direction. Overlying the Mendota beds are again sandstone layers, the uppermost portions of which are occasionally charged with 10 to 20 per cent, of calca reous and dolomitic matter, and then furnish a cream-colored building stone of considerable value. Most of this stratum which has been designated as the Madison sandstone, is, however, quite non-calcareous, being either a ferruginous brown stone, or a quite pure, white, nearly loose sand. In the latter phase it is of value for the manufacture of glass. In a number of quarries, cuttings and exposed places around the city, the Madison beds are seen to be overlaid by a gray ish, magnesian limestone, the lower magnesian, varying very considerably in its character, but largely composed of a flinty-textured, heavy-bedded, quite pure dolomite, which is burnt into a good quality of lime. Its thickness exceeds 80 feet. Madison, with the conveniences and com forts of a capital city, from its easy access by railroads, from not only in itself being beautiful, but from its beautiful surroundings, from its good society, charming climate, and artesian mineral water, is naturally a great summer resort. Though there are no vital statistics of the city to refer to, a residence of nearly a quarter of a century has made us sufficiently acquainted with its sanitary history, which is more or less the sanitary history of this part of the state, and in a measure of the state itself. In 1844 and 1845, it was visited by an epidemic malarial fever of a bilious type, and not unfrequently fatal, which passed very generally through the state, and was attributed to the turning up of the soil. It was most virulent in the autumns. Again in 1854 it was visited by a light choleraic epidemic, which also swept the state, assuming very generally a particularly mild type. Again in 1857 it suffered lightly from the epidemic dysentery, which passed through the state. In 1865, it suffered from a visitation of diptheria, the disease prevailing generally over the state at that time. It has also had two visitations of the epidemic grip (grippe), or influenza. The last invasion, some five years since, commencing in a manner perhaps worthy of noting, by first affecting the horses very generally, and again, by beginning on the east side of the city, while the other epidemics for the past twenty-five years (unless the choleraic visitation was an exception) came in on the south west side of the city, as has been the case, so far as we have been able to observe with the light epidemics to which children are subject. But little typhoid fever is found here, and the aguish fevers when they occur are light and easy of control. There is but little diarrhoea or dysen tery. Pneumonia and its allied affections are more common, so is rheumatism, and so neuralgia. Inflammatory croup, however, is very rare, sporadic diptheria seeming to be taking its place. All the ordinary eruptive fevers of children are and always have been of a peculiarly mild type. Prairie du Chien, situated immediately at the junction of the Wisconsin with the Mississippi, is built about 70 feet above low water, and 642 feet above the level of the sea. The cliffs on both sides of the river present on their summits the lower strata of the blue Silurian limestone of Cincinnati, beneath which are found sandstone and magnesian limestone down to the water's edge. We give this notice of Prairie du Chien for the purpose of bringing to the knowledge of the public that it possesses one of the most superb artesian wells in the state, which is attracting many persons by its remedial mineral properties. Green Bay sanitarily may be considered as sufficiently indicated under the head of Fort Howard. It is, however, proper to add that from its geographical position and beautiful situa tion at the head of the bay, its easy access both by railroad and steamboat, its pleasant days and cool summer nights, it has naturally become quite a popular summer resort, particularly for southern people. Racine, some 25 miles south by east by rail from Milwaukee and 62 by rail from Chicago, is built upon the banks and some 40 feet above the level of the lake. Its soil is a sandy loam and 246 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. gravel, consequently it has a dry, healthy surface, and is much frequented in the summer for its coolness and salubrity. Waukesha, 18 miles west of Milwaukee by railroad, is a healthy, pleasant place of resort at all times on account of its mineral water, so well known and so highly appreciated throughout the country. Oconomowoc, 32 miles by railroad west by north of Milwaukee, is a healthy and de lightfully located resort for the summer. Its many lakes and drives form its chief attractions, and though its accommodations were considered ample, during the past summer they were found totally inadequate to meet the demands of its numerous visitors. The Dalles, at Kilbourn City, by rail 16 miles from Portage, is unsurpassed in the northwest for the novelty, romantic character, and striking beauty of its rock and river scenery. It is high and dry ; has pure water and fine air, and every-day boat and drive views enough to fill up a month pleasantly. Lake Geneva, 70 miles by rail from Chicago, is built on the north side of the lake, is justly celebrated for its beauty, and its reputation as a summer resort is growing. Green Lake, six miles west of Ripon, and 89 northwest from Milwaukee," is some 15 miles long and three broad, surrounded by beautiful groves and prairies; and is claimed to be one of the healthiest little places on the continent. Devil's Lake is 36 miles by rail north of Madison. Of all the romantic little spots in Wis consin, and they are innumerable, there is none more romantic or worthy of a summer visitor's admiration than this. It is, though shut in from the rude world by bluffs 500 feet high, a very favorite resort, and should be especially so for those who seek quiet, and rest, and health. Sparta, 246 miles by rail from Chicago, is pleasantly and healthily situated, and its artesian mineral water strongly impregnated with carbonate of iron, having, it is said, over 14 grains in solution to the imperial gallon, an unusually large proportion, attracts its annual summer crowd. Sheboygan, 62 miles by rail north of Milwaukee, from its handsome position on a bluff over looking the lake, and from the beauty of its surroundings as well as from the character of its mineral waters, is an attractive summer resort. Elkhart Lake, 57 miles by rail north of Milwaukee, is rapidly acquiring a good name from those seeking health or pleasure. Change in Diseases. In order to ascertain whether the classes of diseases in the state at the date of Carver's travels are the same which prevail to-day, we have compared his description of them with those tabulated in the army medical reports of Forts Howard, Crawford and Winnebago, and again with those given in the U. S. Census for 1,870, and with the medical statistics of the city of Milwaukee. The three distinct and prominent classes prevailing from Carver's to the present time, are, in the order of prevalence, diseases of the respiratory organs, consumption, pneumonia, bronchitis, etc.; diseases of the digestive organs, enteritis, dysentery, diarrhoea, etc.; and the malarial fevers. At Fort Howard alone do the diseases of the digestive organs seem to have outnumbered those of the respiratory organs. So far as it is possible to gather from the reports of the commissioners of Indian affairs, these features of the relative prevalence of the three classes of disease are not disturbed. There are, however, some disturbing or qualifying agencies operating and affecting the amount or distribution of these classes in different areas or belts. For instance, there are two HEALTH OF WISCONSIN. 247 irregular areas in the state; the one extending from the Mississippi east and north, and the other starting almost as low down as Madison, and running up as far as Green Bay, which are more subject to malarial diseases than are the other parts of the state. While it is found that those parts of the state least subject to diseases of the digestive organs are, a belt along the western shore of Lake Michigan, and a belt running from near Prairie du Chien north into the pineries. Again, it is found that the part of the state most subjec" to enteric, cerebro-spinal and typhus fevers, is quite a narrow belt running north from the southern border line into the center of the state, or about two-thirds of the distance toward the pineries. All along the western shore of Lake Michigan, and stretching across the country by way of Fond du Lac to the Mississippi, is a belt much less subject to these disorders. It is equally beyond question that the western shore of Lake Michigan, and the southern shore of Lake Superior, as well as the western half of the southern boundary line of the pineries, are less affected with consumption than the interior parts of the state. The tendency of these diseases is certainly to amelioration. The sanitary history of Wiscon sin does not differ from that of any other state east of us, in this striking particular ; the farther you trace back the history of disease, the worse its type is found to be. It follows, then, that the improvement in public health must progress with the general improvement of the state, as has been the case with the eastern states, and that the consequent amelioration of our malarial diseases especially will tend to mitigate infectious diseases. The ameliorating influences, how ever, that sanitary science has brought to bear upon disease, of which England is so happy an illustration, has scarcely as yet begun to be known to us. But the time has come at last when this science is moving both the hearts and minds of thinking and humane men in the state, and its voice has been heard in our legislative halls, evoking a law by which we are, as a people, to be governed, as by any other enactment. The organization of a state board of health is a new era in our humanity. In this board is invested all legal power over the state health. To it is com mitted all the sanitary responsibility of the state, and the greatest good to the people at large must follow the efforts it is making. There are many other points of sanitary interest to which it is desirable to call the attention of those interested in Wisconsin. It is a popular truth that a dry climate, all other things being equal, is a healthy climate. Our hygrometrical records show Wisconsin to have one of the driest climates in the United States. Choleraic diseases rarely prevail unless in a comparatively stagnant state of the atmosphere, where they are most fatal. Where high winds prevail such diseases are rare. The winds in Wisconsin, while proverbially high and frequent (carrying away and dissipating malarial emanations), are not destructive to life or property, as is the case, by their violence, in some of the adjoining states. A moist, warm atmosphere is always provocative of disease. Such a state of atmosphere is rare with us, and still more rarely continuous beyond a day or two. Moist air is the medium of malarial poisoning, holding as it does in solution gases and poisonous exhalations. Its character is readily illustrated by the peculiar smell of some marsh lands on autumnal evenings. Such a state of moisture is seen only in our lowest shut-in marshes (where there is but little or no air-current), and then only for a very limited period, in very hot weather. But too much importance is attached by the public to a simply dry atmosphere for respira tory diseases. The same mistake is made with regard to the good effects in such disorders of simply high elevations. Dry air in itself or a high elevation in itself, or both combined, are not necessarily favorable to health, or curative of disease. In the light and rare atmosphere of Pike's Peak, an elevation of 6,000 feet, the pulse is accelerated, the amount of sleep is dimin ished, and the human machine is put under a high-pressure rate of living, conducive only to its 248 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. injury. The average rate of the pulse in healthy visitors is from 115 to 120 per minute (the normal rate, in moderate elevations, being about 75). And where there is any organic affection of the heart, or tendency to bleeding from the lungs, it is just this very dry atmosphere and high elevation that make these remedies (?) destructive. Hence it is that Wisconsin, for the generality of lung diseases, especially when accompanied with hemorrhage, or with heart disease, is prefer able to Colorado. It may be objected, that the diseases of the respiratory organs are in excess of other diseases in Wisconsin. This feature, however, is not confined to the cold belt of our temperate latitudes — our proportion of respiratory diseases, be it noted, comparing most favor ably with that of other states, as may be seen in the following table : Climatological Distribution of Pulmonary Diseases. Deaths by Phthisis. Per cent. of entire Mortality. Deaths by all diseases of Res piratory Organs. Massachusetts, 1850, U. S. Census Ohio, 1849-50, U. S. Census Michigan, 1850, U. S. Census Illinois, 1849-50, U. S. Census Wisconsin, 1849-50, U. S. Census 3.426 17.65 2,558 8.83 657 14-55 866 7-36 290 9.99 4,418 3,988 1,084 1.799 535 Per cent. of entire Mortality. 22.2713-77 24.00 15-00 18.43 Now, while the mortuary statistics of the United States census for 1850 are acknowledged to be imperfect, they are, nevertheless, undoubtedly correct as to the causes of mortality. But besides this statistical evidence of the climatological causes of disease, there are certain relative general, if not special, truths which serve to guide us in our estimate. Respiratory diseases of all kinds increase in proportion as the temperature decreases, the humidity of the air being the same. Another equally certain element in the production of this class of diseases is variableness of climate. Still, this feature of our climate is only an element in causation, and affects us, as we shall see in the table below, very little as compared with other states. Indeed, it is still disputed whether there is not more consumption in tropical climates than in temperate climates. This much is admitted, however, that consumption is rare in the arctic regions. Dr. Terry says the annual ratio of pulmonary diseases is lower in the northern than in the southern regions of the United States, and Dr. Drake, an equally eminent authority, recommends those suffering from or threatened with pulmonary affections, to retreat to the colder districts of the country, citing among others localities near Lake Superior — a recommendation which our experience of nearly half a century endorses. Proportion of Pneumonia to Consumption in the Different States. states. CONS. PNEUM. STATES. CONS. PNEUM. 1 Massachusetts . Ohio 3,4242,558 866 549 895 647 North Carolina Kentucky 562 1,288 290 664 429 194 Illinois When we compare the general death-rate of Wisconsin with that of the other states of the Union, we find that it compares most favorably with that of Vermont, the healthiest of the New England states. The United States census of 1850, i860 and 1870, gives Wisconsin 94 deaths to 10,000 of the population, while it gives Vermont 101 to every 10,000 of her inhabitants. The STATISTICS OF WISCONSIN. 249 census of 1870 shows that the death-rate from consumption in Minnesota, Iowa, California and Wis consin are alike. These four states show the lowest death-rate among the states from consumption, the mortality being 13 to 14 per cent, of the whole death-rate. Climatologically considered, then, there is not a more healthy state in the Union than the state of Wisconsin. But for health purposes something more is requisite than climate. Climate and soil must be equally good. Men should shun the soil, no matter how rich it be, if the climate is inimical to health, and rather choose the climate that is salubrious, even if the soil is not so rich. In Wisconsin, generally speaking, the soil and climate are equally conducive to health, and alike good for agricultural purposes. STATISTICS OF WISCONSIN. 1875. ADAMS COUNTY. POPULATION. Towns, Cities and White. Colored aj a;«Sa, 05 E Vusobo < 800 77 344 164 261 117 204240 163 444 74 126121199 189 501 127 198 71 221 153 200 100193 229 137 403 62 118 99 131 182 433 115 "2 2 "4" 4 398 Big Flats 154 Dell Prairie 465 317 461 217 397 469300 847 Preston 136 244 Richfield 220 830 371 934 White Creek 242 Total 3.451 3,045 6,502 ASHLAND COUNTY. Ashland 268 141 180141 — 448 La Pointe 282 Total 409 321 730 BAYFIELD COUNTY. Bayfleld.. 538 493 1 . BARRON COUNTY. POPULATION. Towns, Cities aid White. Colored Villages. A ¦1J g - ¦- c < 343459364326214 122 240 285 397319 216 182 84 106 628 856 683 542 396 206 426 2,068 1,669 3,737 BROWN COUNTY. Aswabanon Allouez Bellevue Depere Depere village Eaton Fort Howard city Glenmore Green Bay city Green Bay Holland Howard Humbolt Lawrence Morrison New Denmark Pittsfleld Preble *¦ Rockland Scott Suamico West Depere village — Wrightstown Total 18,376 210 143 371410 943 291 1,889 591 3,966 581 ?84 519499 765 Dill384838434 774477982 1,222 175136 .,:-.; 358 956 208 1,721 482 4,017 542 705579467408 633529 335 792 372 696 458941 1,058 16,899 29 25 385279 711768 1,911 499 3,610 1.0738.037 1,1231,4891,266 986909 1,398 1,145 719 1,642 806 1,470 929 1,9232,295 35,373 250 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. BURNETT COUNTY. population. Towns, Cities and Villages. White. Colored -co-8 o3a41 ft « H 0)s BOVf-COso 433231 87 379 191 82 n 5 12 47 14 827 434 195 751 652 28 25 1,456 BUFFALO COUNTY. 296 34 307 138 376369292277413 339 275215 402341717899 552465 500 254293279 137 336321 282 227 372809 340212 383306671664 501 421 494 2 3 550 637 586 275 712 690 574 504 785 648 515 427 785 647 1,388 1,563 1,053 886 994 7,517 6,702 2 3 14,219 CALUMET COUNTY. 864666 1.061 668 1.0081,016 837910 690 809507 1,000 592875949753865 639 1216 3 1 161 7 16 4 156 1,6921,173 2,093 1,267 1,884 1,965 1,590 2,092 Woodville 1,329 7,720 6,989 193 183 15,085 CLARK COUNTY. Beaver Colby Eaton..-. .. Fremont Grant Hewet Hixon Loyal Lyna Levis Mentor Mayville.... Pine Valley Perkins Sherman . . . Unity Warner .... Weston Washburn . York Total.. 106 303 91 310 • 197 513 183 143 325 67 47 104 353 310 663 58 43 101 205 123 328 262 237 499 84 71 155 151 113 264 347 307 654 187 133 260 789 736 1,535 36 37 73 132 120 252 132 107 239 186 131 307 226 153 379 70 68 138 171 135 306 3,988 3,294 7,282 CHIPPEWA COUNTY. POPULATION. Towns, cities amd White. Colored ajs a) ajs h •< 861488654 3,286 329 1,360 1,046 346442 269420 606 1,755 288 1,074 638252368 6 3 4 908 5,050 617 .2,434 1,688 598 Sigel 810 8,312 5,670 6 7 13,995 COLUMBIA COUNTY. Arlington Caledonia Columbus town Colum bus city Courtland. Dekorra Fort Winnebago Fountain Prairie Hampden Leeds Lewiston Lodi Low ville Marcellon Newport Otsego Pacific Portage city Randolph Scott Spring Vale West Point Wyocena Westw. Vil. of Randolph Total 512 497 639 584 481 400 912 991 662 647 662 618 376 351 749 712 515 497 596 506 1 541 505 705 743 449 437 444 409 4 1 853 862 3 3 759 737 130 119 2,164 2,161 7 5 630 556 409 374 423 347 486 443 580 540 33 34 14,710 14,069 15 9 DOUGLAS COUNTY. 1,009 1,233 881 1,903 1,309 1,280 727 1,4611,0121,1031.0461,448 886858 1,7211,496 249 4,337 1,186 783770 28,803 CRAWFORD COUNTY. 177851755 798313 498 894 411 439404 184 485 704773583 186765688766 358 404 336 352535424209 468 687697 511 4 2 12 3 3 'o" 368 1,616 1,443 1,564 571 902 Prairie du Chien city- 730763 964 828 Fourth ward . . 393 953 1,391 Utica 1,470 1,094 7,759 7,276 18 11 15,035 Superior . 386 346 8 6 741 STATISTICS OF WISCONSIN. 251 DOOR COUNTY. population. Towns, Cities and White. Colored Villages. ia, al 3ID tobo 210 359344244 420 208 377 166 394 226268 290 331 286 220 186 316 279310 382206325 107 278 192 211 259 301 214 181 396 675 623 454 802 414 703 273 673 418 479 549 632 630 401 4,343 3,677 8,020 DUNN COUNTY. 178 578577 261490239 1,959 180130 349 327 156379628 271400 128 212 170 458490231463 190 1,467 124115 313203 146 308548 229 263 117188 5 11 1 22 348 1,0361,067 492 954 429 3,433 254 245 662 531 302 687 1,176 503 663 245 400 7,394 6,021 7 5 13 427 DODGE COUNTY. 742794 1,656 567 593451694701724 471451985 1,143 591 907 156 833832 1,014 1,318 532 1,006 668956149 559 1,072 956 586 615 1,435 628 700 707 1,795 524519 403 636701 633381508911 1,097 599841154 804759929 1,245 537 951 653 912 168 506 1,026 806558 618 1,520 441 4 25 3 1 28 "3" 1,442 1,501 3,4551,0911,112 Beaver Dain town Chester Elba 1,4021,356 Emmet Fox Lake village 1,012 Herman Hubbard 2,240 1,1901,748 Horicon village Hustisford .luneau village Lebanon 1,6371,597 1,943 2,563 LeRoy Lomlra Lowell Mayville village 1 11 1 Oak Grove 1,9581,3211,868 318 1,065 Portland Rubicon Randolph village, E. ward Theresa . . . Trenton i,76a1,145 1,233 8,955 1.070 Westford.. .. Williamstown Watertown city, 5 & 6 w'ds Waupun village, 1st ward,. Total 24,785 23,541 35 33 DANE COUNTY. POPULATION. Towns, Cities and Villages. White. Colored a) a>£ a) aj to 4JUCObo < Albion 679592 451555559579575853 580 703 597 493677586576419 4,858 813 726 866540655 530 470569592553 522728585 515283547546 562 813 629518 582643 446474531658546740549727 571 413 575587575 861 5,174 818691 850538704 444448587 559504 495 664 622 457 306 479491 555808 558 484 111 4 41 3 2 111 3 1 4 20 12 1 1 1,2611,136 897 1,0301,0901,1371,1211,5931,130 1,430 1,168 906 1,2531,178 Bristol 788 10,093 1,6351,4171.7181,0791,359 974 919 1,057 1,151 1,057 1,018 1,3921,207 972589 1,026 1,039 1,118 1,621 1,191 1,003 26,894 25,814 60 30 52,798 FON DU LAC COUNTY. 1,064 877 725685723763 527'840 768793 582, 1,109 1,156 1,085 1,374 594739655726780 918 1,055 748 684 630611872777642783666498 938 799 686661649713 490 747 676 686 524 1,175 1,2481,2041.398 563727659 753 731919 891 673667581 534981862580717 644478 47 11 533 18 28 2:3 11 2 "4""3" 1 3 5 11 3 1 7 2721 1 "4" l"1 5 "l" 2,006 1,676 1,411 1,346 1,372 1,476 1,029 1,587 1,4451,479 1,107 Fond du Lac city— 3,300 2,409 2,295 2,774 1,157 1,481 1,369 1,523 1,513 1,838 1,952 1,431 1,351 1,211 1,200 Ripon city— 1,854 1,647 1,222 1,500 1,311 AVaupun village, N. ward. . 979 25,449 24,604 98 80 50,241 •252 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. EAU CLAIRE COUNTY. population. Towns, Cities and White. Colored a) ^ Cs 549 461 419 1,646 221 158 701 496260 93 327393 507 383387 3,777 179 163553 463243 78 290327 13 "4"' 1,056 844706 8,440 1,254 959503 617 8,724 7,250 13 4 15,991 GREEN COUNTY. 476 565585 669 695 759 348450 867540 462 1,525 550 530639 446477 520 437585554750 654 751 350 433 847486441 1,693 558 445 597530 393496 "l" 6 2 1 2"3 1 913 1,1501,138 1,349 1,510 701 1,7141,026 3,227 1,110 975 1,238 York...;. 1,016 11,103 10,900 14 11 22,027 GRANT COUNTY. 865 413974 607 487 709 425935 611 446 1,047 558636539 458 1,376 359 671369 109 400500 2,000 1,373 429716 486330536 380 293 805 413 99B 599512677 384835531 397 1,074 491 557 481423 1.358 349604 357 97 381440 2.054 1,268 401 613 469274481 354 269 37 52 2 20 31 1,717 8^6 1 978 Clifton 1,386 1,7701,144 843 1,0491.194 1.020 882 2,743 708 1,275 726 206 781940 4,0602,044 855 1.330 955604 1,017 734 562 16 "3" 2 10 1 2 ' 3" 1 9 40 Little Grant Millvllle Plattville T,,::>l 20.037 18,944 65 30,086 GREEN LAKE COUNTY. POPULATION. Towns, Cities and White. Colored aj S aja S? at utofcc 548 1,586 707729452630 737 537 1.076 390232 554 1,755 691 759442654682521 1,015 336225 1 6 1 1 "6" 1,102 3,341 1,399 1,500 895 1,2851,419 1,058 2,091 Kingston 458 7,632 7,642 9 6 15,274 IOWA COUNTY. 1,004 390 1,854 1,5651,078 818806 1,458 484785 1,299 480362 924367 1,8701,459 972705 715 1,581 443712 1,174 434388 2 1 53 4 11 3 "2" 4 1,930 757 Clyde 3,725 3,0242,059 1,536 1,527 3,054 927 1.497 2,473 914 720 Total 12,384 11,714 26 9 34,133 JACKSON COUNTY. Albion Alma Garden Valley, Hixton Irving Manchester...,Melrose ' — Millston Northfield .. . Springfield Total 1,428 1,334 ft 1 699 620 549 477 714 554 669 588 226 197 613 546 128 82 448 429 565 467 6,039 5,294 5 1 2,768 1,319 1,0261,2681,257 423 1,159 210877 1,032 "lT.339 JEFFERSON COUNTY. 669 770 375 1,215 665920 2,081 1,744 745 799 571798 757 248 526 418 1,115 3,286 635 747350 1,192 608857 1,9581,810 720 752 51577872b 255489397 1,0653,283 4263 2 1 21 "i 4 335 "i' 13 1,312 1,522 734 2,415 1,273 1,777 4,041 3,556 1.499 Milford 1,551 1,086 1.576 1,483 503 1,016 815 3,180 Watertown city, 1st, 2d, 3d, 6,569 Total 17,702 17,137 40 29 34,908 STATISTICS OF WISCONSIN. JUNEAU COUNTY. POPULATION. Towns, Cities and White. Colored Village-s. a aj ai co o UCO00 117 135 397 390 309 553556 274 259178548 1,001 558 267 748 419 510774 119 115 343322249 519510240224 160 569 864 573 248 690377460 719 1 2 "l" 1 1 236 740 712 558 1,0721,066 338 1,1181,865 1,133 1,438 1,495 7,993 7,301 3 3 KENOSHA COUNTY. 561 585 2.426 539734297 793697434 7,066 505552 2,533 479 723 252 657669433 6,803 2 755 19 2 75 5 7s 1,066 1,137 4,959 1,018 1,457 549 1,480 1,366 867 13,907 KEWAUNEE COUNTY. 687 532706742747 1,337 497 623917718 632506706 657726 1,233 440 534 780685 1,319 1,038 1,412 1,399 Franklin 1,473 Kewaunee town & village. 2,570 937 1,157 1,697 RedRiver 1,403 Total 7,506 6,899 14,405 LA CROSSE COUNTY. 366667 516 528919 426 863461 1.131 725 1,784 596 1,195 712393 482499 348604485375940380839 402 1,205 640 1,916 753982 666 287 355 • 423 22 1 33 65 83 1 1 23 2 6 22 714 Bangor Burns 1,271 991 Campbell... 1,862 806 Hamilton Holland La Crosse city- First ward 1,703 863 2,392 1,373 Third ward 3,711 1,354 Fifth ward 2,182 Onalaska town 1,378 Onalaska village Shelby b 680837 Washington 922 Total 12,263 11,590 55 37 23,945 LA FAYETTE COUNTY. Towns, Cities and Villages. Argyle Belmont Benton Blanchard Darlington Elk Grove Fayette Gratiot Kendall Monticello New Diggings... Seymour Shullsburg Wayne White Oak Sprin Willow Springs.. Wiota Total POPULATION. OJ : f£ ~ ~z a £ a) 1 " Vm 583 571 660 591 1 886 795 273 256 1,330 1,341 o 510 423 602 595 866 855 420 468 238 231 1 922 883 522 416 1,253 1,287 1 554 527 231 215 555 509 935 866 1 4 11,388 10,781 2 1,154 1,2511,681 529 2,671 933 1,1971,721 888 469 1,805 938 2,5401,081 446 1,0641,801 22,169 LINCOLN COUNTY. Jenny . 523 372 MARQUETTE COUNTY. 362384381260 459356219331277 274343 343163 338 370330338271 425 352179 338253 268 326 307146304 1 732 714 719 531 884 708 398 669 530 542 669 650 309 642 4,490 4,207 1 8,697 MARATHON COUNTY. Bergen Berlin Brighton — Hull Knowlton... Maine Marathon...Mosinee. ... Stettin Texas Wausau Wausau city Wein Weston Total. . , 109 50 585 539 359 223 373 298 135 129 414 351 333 235 307 238 479 430 159 119 439 385 1,560 1,260 110 114 263 215 1 5,524 4,586 1 159 1,124 582671264760467 545 909-r.s824 2,820 224 479 10,111 254 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. MANITOWOC COUNTY. POPULATION. Towns, (.'rni:s and White. Colored 3 aj aj po, a> £a; bo SoCD < 951 824881773935 934 1,176 728 3.2-.J6 606885901 1,060 779 1,057 594 1,005 1,019 858343 955780 883791887875 1,084 692 3,498 528 767853 1,014 644 1,016 549953 932857313 1,906 1,604 1,7141,5641,8221,809 2,260 1,420 5,724 1,2341,6521,754 2,074 1,428 2,073 1,143 1,958 1,951 1,715 1 Total 19,535 38,456 MILWAUKEE COUNTY. Milwaukee city — 4,4276,8743.693 5.025 4.3153.9293.2893.332 4,3303,5843.397 2,026 1,758 945 1.343 2,416 1,2321,155 2,876 1,812 5,1016,617 3,4835,491 3,9783,9953,774 3,3362,328 3,5773,250 1,988 1,694 878 1,2991,8151,1991,051 2,370 1,755 18 70 77 3 6 7(1 10 3 9,532 13,491 7,190 10.656 8,3107,9247,0726.668 8,6587,1616,647 4,0148,452 1,823 2.6464,2332,431 2,206 5,246 ' 3,567 NU'th ward Eleventh waul Twelfth ward...: Thirteenth ward "2" 1 3" 1 Greenfield Milwaukee town 61,758 60,979 96 94 122,927 MONROE COUNTY. Adrian Angelo Byron Clifton Glendale....Greenfield.. Jefferson. La Fayette.. La Grange. . . Leon... Little Falls.. Lincoln New Lyme.. Oak Dale.... Portland KMgevIlle.. Sheldon Sparta Tomah Wellington.. Wilton Wells 373 308 274 256 193 138 408 381 706 591 387 338 507 459 234 206 422 396 33 35 404 338 333 277 2 1 462 81 381 74 370 323 6 11 478 408 630 516 400 342 1,814 1,923 H 7 1,154 460575335 1,077 397512294 11,000 9,925 47 54 681.Mil 331789 1,297 715966 440 886742613 843 1557111 886 1,146 742 3,7502,231 857 1,087 629 21,026 OCONTO COUNTY. POPULATION. Towns, Cities and White. Colore! Villaoes. a! a! 6 a!5 COU L.to Gillett 196 551 152 1,446 563 2,371 1,495 744 268 179 361 108 1,086 453 2,086 1,022 537 185 375 912 260 2,537 1,017 4,457 2,520 1,281 453 3 1 2 6 21 ~3~ 7,786 6,017 13,812 OUTAGAMIE COUNTY. Appleton city Buchanan Bovina Black Creek Center Cicero Dale Deer Creek Ellington Freedom Grand Chute Greenville Hortonia Kaukauna Liberty Maple Creek Maine New London, 3d ward. Osborn Seymour Total OZAUKEE COUNTY. 3,307 3,403 11 9 6,730 489 492 981 638 429 4 3 974 546 463 1,009 836 718 4 1 1,559 238 179 417 536 516 1,052 170 140 .310 689 655 2 7 1.353 850 731 1,581 842 811 1,653 719 669 1,388 562 533 1,095 980 937 1.917 263 236 499 408 338 746 111 92 203 100 100 200 290 247 537 759 624 1 1,384 13,233 12,313 32 20 25,558 Cedarburg Belgium Fredonia Grafton Mequon Port Washington, Saukville Total 1,376 1,043 992 910 1,6171,4971,081 1,2681,009 924844 1.5221,481 979 1 1 8,516 8,029 1 1 PIERCE COUNTY. 2,052 1,9161,756 3,139 2,9782.060 16,545 Clifton 388 307645 287 380638 134 556544484535963430 167 403 513 397 326 324250554248343542 101 514 480 415544934369 141 337454252253 1 718 Diamond Uliilf 557 1,200 535 72.3 1,170 225 29 10 4 24 9 2 1.070 1,024 899 1,133 1,916 799 Trimbelle 308 730 973 549 579 Total 7,977 7,045 44 35 15,101 STATISTICS OF WISCONSIN. 255 POLK COUNTY. POPULATION Towns, Cities and "White. Colored 8 0)s01 a a^ ca 61 aj u 616X1 < 510376 366209 425399 209 61 160 105 486208 134 447318268 174 352832 141 45 157 85 428 198110 12 5610 9 47 ¦9 957 ::s.; 777 721 106 317 914406 244 Total 3.548 3,045 78 65 6,736 PORTAGE COUNTY. 650 376248394277 126522 309344 541 571 141 651783334719741315 575345230332 232 120 497295 199 496 514130616711134 612687289 1 1,225 721 509 Hull 1,019 604 1,037 1,085 271 1,267 1,494 368 Stevens Point city- 1 331 1,428 Total 7,842 7,0" 1 14,856 PEPIN COUNTY. 194 497271311 759 815693 120 181 478 233274 644 288635 117 2 375 975 1,406 606 1,128 237 Total 3,060 2,750 2 5,818 ROCK COUNTY. Avon Beloit town , Beloit city Bradford , Center Clinton Fulton Harmony 1 JanesviUe town. Jitnesviilecity..Johnstown La Prairie Lima Magnolia Milton Newark Plymouth... .... Porter Bock SpringValley....Turtle Union T 445 317 ,162 5111)5-1'! ,060 613463 ,040 611 434598662945 483 639 609522680 592009 433 344 '¦>. 2,371 39 33 473 2 498 1 952 2 V, 950 1 523 400 5,015 34 26 576 4 387 1 533 615 1 1 930 1 1 471 603 546 497 558 537 2 1,015 1 878 723 4,605 981 1.041 1,922 2,0111 136 853 10,115 1,191 822 1,131 1,079 ;,8/7 964 1,242 1,155 1,0191,1381,184 3:>2ti RACINE COUNTY. Towns. Cities and Villages. POPULATION. White. Colored 1> &> tc ^ 'j* ^ * 1,403 1,502 538 1,237 506 6,571 824 436 789 810 1,4241.345 455 1,104 457 6,590 710408725755 11 4 62 2 51 2,8272,847 993 2,341 963 13.274 L534 B44 1,814 1,565 1 14,616 13,973 69 53 28,702 RICHLAND COUNTY. 361685 560 573598490463 623 463358902749 588527537 435 381 614526525 587422 448 597440334965690544 483477403 5 1 10 23 742 1,299 1,098 1,185 912 911 1,219 903 687 1,874 1,440 1,132 1,010 1,004 851 8,896 8,436 16 5 17,353 ST. CROIX COUNTY. 160 855 184 335 636173 277648346979 394361 329604277372259358 164 620378 119 247 145 209 567128 250 572 297993331260316535 261 308 223 314 186 396304 4 11 1 279 60S 381 Cvl on 447 1,2U3 3^,3 63!» 1,220 643 1,977 725 621 645 1,140 538 680 483 672 330 916 683 8,009 6,941 6 1 14.966 SAUK COUNTY. 2,026 406416311567 382483 660 1,931 402413 281485342 449497 11 81 3.976 J08 J 29 724 932 1,057 256 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. SAUK COUNTY.-Cont'd. population. White. Towns, Citiks am> Villages. • a ¦s fcc ¦ ; 522 "ik',aii "lO. 734 11,531 " '3,702 489508 31,077 1,250 14,973 963 20,750 624 4,371 "'8,370 17.86219,48519,258 10,167 1855. 30,945 305,391 6,699 832 "'siijs'i 838 232 17.965 3,323 37,71434,540 739 385 1,796 ' 24! 78 i 23,170 14,827 lo,'205 1,098 26,869 "0>',39i 1.109 3,904 16,064 "is! 048'447 1,427 46.265 2,407 1.501 4,914 12,973 '"i',720 547 5,151 20,673 5,584 31,364 2.040 13,614 254 20,391 493 4,823 23,663 18.897 24,012 4.437 5,541 17,439 1860. 6,492 515 13 353 11,795 3,864 12 7,895 1,895 789 24,441 8,068 43,92242,818 2,948 812 2,704 3,162 34,15431,18919,808 12,663 18,967 4,170 30,438 8,770 13,900 5,530 12,186 18,134 "22,416 2,892 8,233 62,518 8,4103,592 9,587 15,682 2,3924,6721,4007,507 21,360 9,732 36,690 5,392 18,963 829 26,875 "2, 560 11.007 26, 406 23.62226,831 8,851 8,770 23,770 2,425 1865. 775,881 356 "269 15,282 6,776 171 8,638 3,278 1,011 26,112 11,011 50,19246,841 3,998 532 5,1705,281 42.02933.618 20,646 12,596 20,657 5,631 30,597 10,013 12,676 7,039 14,834 20,358 "2 6] 762 3.6787,327 72,32011,652 4,858 11,852 14,882 3,002 6,324 1,677 8,145 22,884 12,186 26,033 7,255 20,154 1,339 27,671 'Ki'99 13.64425,77324,019 27,029 11.208 9,002 29,767 2,965 1870. 868.325 6,601 221538 344 25,168 11,123 706 12,335 8,3113,450 28,80213,07553,096 47,035 4,9191,122 9,488 10,769 46,273 37,979 23,611 13,195 24,544 7,687 34,050 12.396 13.17710,281 20,295 22,667 "33,369 5,8858,057 89,93616,562 8,322 18,44015,579 4,659 10,003 3,422 10,640 26,742 15.736 39,030 11,039 23,868 3,165 31,773 "ioim 18,673 25,992 23.905 28,258 15,533 11,37937,825 3,911 1875. 1,054,670 6,502 750 3,7371.032 35,37314,219 1,456 15,065 13,995 7.382 38,803 15,035 52,798 48,394 8,020 741 13,42715,991 50,241 39,086 22,027 15,274 24,133 11,339 34,908 15,300 13,90714,405 23,94523,169 895 38,45610,111 8,597 122.927 21,026 13,812 35,558 16,545 5,816 15,101 6,736 14,856 38,702 17,353 39,039 14.956 26,933 6,635 34,021 849 14,992 21.62426.259 33,86229.425 19,646 11,52345.033 6,048 1.236,729 In a note to the territory of Indiana returns appears the following: sippl, had 65, and Green Bay 50 Inhabitants. 'On the 1st of August, 1800, Prairie du Chien, on the Missis- CTiVo^©COOOCob"-COrfi^OiCO-0^CO^-^t^Cna:^<^Q^ Born in TJ. S. h-i.C»>£.01COtO>-'-3C04*>S'-t-'tOCnOii->>&. C0hJQ00Dl0ffi^C0MWJ^a5^pipiC^_lCJ0>t'Ci5OO0S00 £-*©*OWN>i-,lOO" ^.J-1 ^s VwClWMVK»VM^VtsVcOCO«iVcSKb^HMWMwV(ibM !TIi^'rwOO^MOWWWiX)Ci^WMMH'Mh-a.»JfrSIXA«0^-4COi^iCa05M^CWW^^C»WO»^a ^.Z3^(^^^4^tOOCXWCOWCO^OW^CDtOi^©-^tOCOtOC*^CT<£>C»«X>^C^ Born in Wis. VoVw®b*^bwwwiVu'M^^H^M(ja^bM®^^^o)^ocwioMco^^w»^HMa w to -^^^ti©e^CJ'^«0(»0»^C*>--^«OtO^:0©waoCOMCOiOi*i»t3©aK>0^eCW^:0^^e0^tO^ ^O^CCOih-'©©COf^^aOWCD^^i--»COC»COO:eO©C»CoaDO:0:^tOO;"f-JCOCOlX OiCTltOUtCO W^tO00COh-'CO^wtO^>--'COtO^^aiCOa0^t0OTWUTi-ii-iCCCOtOC0WtCCO^^^l-'tOOT OiCJicT.OCOCD'XiCOd-'W'-'GOOiOl-'lOtO— ' Oh-'OJ^CPGOO' ^^COOOOiCOCOO«.4^*^aOO> C:COCO^O:GO:0>-*tOCO;X -5 CC t>j t«J >-; jOCDCc^oiOi^^oiGo<^oK)t-» toos>-'© h*)-1 w m ^WOCTiOT^WODOOCJtOtS^COtO^i^^OCO^^^i^-iCJT^tiCO^l^OICOWOI^COXiiWCO ¦fa^^GOCOCOOCt-QOlOai OT-3 m^ tOl-iCC©W©^^CJT©CO^O(WtOC»^a3tOK-iaO^M©COtiCC>WH-'0^©OT^^^^COH-h-itO^ *. mn j-'i-' j-> ^to tow ** ?¦» JJ^^^CSO»Cli-^W^Ca<»^©K*W.^e©wbi*»-l!0 tOCOCOCOCO rf*U» W** ¦— i CO i-1 i-1 i~»^. tO Cjti-i i- i-JCO lOitk OJ CO*"t'0}COCO>^00**UiCO 0<»^OOCD>-'OStOl-'OOCOOOOcOtOOl>-*0>-,OCOGO^>QOO:OlGO'-'CJ»0> tima:>C*tO>-1COi-' 1^OSlO©-'lO*GD^^^.OOCnW©Ol^«^4^©CCCnGO^tOCDO:tOi-'COO:©i--H£tOO)tO© tO tO OO tO W tO i-1 Oi -3 tO *¦ O ^ "-" >^ 00 tO t-1 *» CO j: ->t0aDCO England & Wales. Germany. i— «N> J"1 i~* .M J"1 i° m h J-1 pi »-* k-«-3t0M*' CJI" CRCC tO l-1 *-*0©-1*-0*- C00>0 rfiCOOJ C0CCCCO1 CCHCDM COCCC5-3UI #»¦ mOif" OOitO(iGDJ^-"tC003^CO J^^tOOiOOCDCDCnCOOCCtO^COlW^tO»J^^tC-5CO^^tC^^Crt^CetO>^QO©Cni--1--QCO enenm 03tO©OlOS©«COCO©^OSCOX^OOCJlCOt0.f»(»^^WCJ^CO©CO<^^»^>^^i-,coeo*cco- rf^.-5-ato- ^oisooco coo;: Oi©: CO-3CH tO rfi M >f»-Q0 ¦ -3t0- Sweden & Norway. Switzerland. *j 2 > HI— I H I— I ce HoCOo cr.o o CC -3C0CW W t-1 ¦ kj - cj,ioo:aj»-a tcco ^ u oi co*.©»-». ,-,u,cr ao : Co ajitfr-aw^. wcos^iKasi- GCCwaC)vco*.^aT.ao. CftOsOKOU,- COWtn*. — ^^. toCO 260 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. VALUATION OF PROPERTY IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. Assessed Valuation op Taxable Property por the year 1876. Adams Ashland Barron Bayfield Brown Buffalo Burnett Calumet Chippewa....Clark Columbia.... Crawford Dane Dodge Door Douglas Dunn Eau Claire. . . Fond du Lac. Grant Green Green Lake.. Iowa Jackson Jefferson... . Juneau Kenosha Kewaunee...La Crosse La Fayette... Lincoln Manitowoc .. Marathon Marquette ... Milwaukee..Monroe Oconto Outagamie... Ozaukee Pepin Pierce Polk Portage Racine Richland Rock St. Croix Sauk Shewano Sheboygan...Taylor TrempealeauVernon Walworth Washington. Waukesna Waupaca Waushara...Winnebago..Wood....?.... Total Value of per sonal property. $ 179,771 42,666 146,374 21,705 442,287438,501 32.419 373,946 965,624 281,813 1,875.049 527,043 4,610,7682,446.793 135,107 19,434 1,052,3001,354,142 2,489,759 2,502,7951,966,599 789,736 1,233,676 472,124 1,753,985 660,125 1.320,957 546,678 1,336,2711,196,502 13.654 1,141,320 335,078 326,668 15,345,281 658,191 455,741 623,744 381,784235,283 738,082 237,567564,079 2,418,248 612,171 4,462,048 816,768 1,364,772 121,267 1,903,861 53,812 840,378924,835 3.187,722 1,062,347 3,165,504 480,837343,509 3,081,308 251,669 Value of real estate. $ 624,168 889,523 1,043,964 533,167 2,195,053 890,028 442,765 2.107,2114,359,2452,355,972 7,083.892 1,457,586 14,882,179 11,014,318 659,650410,227 1,875,148 4,204,233 11,649,769 7,039,2016,290,8293,485,819 4,348.452 1,040,417 7,896,833 1,607,245 4,488,1862,560,6414,015.568 4,775,4171,532,542 5,290,5991,744,901 1,033.967 46,477,283 1,994,911 3,411,5573,348,267 2,803,688 595,316 2,435,319 1,121.5991,592,018 8,071,8111,908,386 13,931,410 3,110,445 4,036,813 685,917 7,096,170 816,421 1,904,988 2,288,420 10,559,519 4,927,634 11,892,119 1,826,9081,343,0299,810,290 598,920 Total. S 803.989932,189 1,190,338 554,872 2,637,340 1,328,529 475,184 2,481,157 5,324,869 2,637,785 8,958,9411,984,629 19,492,947 13,461,111 .794,757 429.661 2,927,448 5,558,375 14,139,528 9,541,9968,257,428 4,275,5555,582,128 1,512,541 9,650,818 2,267,3705,809,1433,107,3195,351,8395,971,919 1,546,196 6,431.9232,079,979 1,360,635 61,822,564 2,653,102 3,867,2983,972,0113,185,472 830,599 3,173,401 1,359,166 2,156,097 10,490,059 2,520,557 18,393,458 3,927,2135,401,585 807,184 9,000,031 870,233 2,745,3663,213,255 13,747,241 5.989,981 15,057,623 2,307,745 1,686.538 12,893,598 850,589 Valuation op Untaxed Property, prom Assessors' Returns for 1875 and 1876. S274,417,873 9351,780,354 STATISTICS OF WISCONSIN. 261 ACREAGE OF PRINCIPAL CROPS GROWN IN 1876. Counties. Adams Ashland Barron , Bayfield Brown Buffalo Burnett Calumet Chippewa Clark Columbia Crawford Bane Dodge Door Douglas Dunn Eau Claire Fonddu Lac. Grant Green Green Lake... Iowa Jackson .Jefferson , Juneau Kenosha Kewaunee LaCrosse La Fayette.... Lincoln Manitowoc Marathon Marquette Milwaukee Monroe Oconto ¦Outagamie Ozaukee Pepin Pierce Polk Portage Racine Richland Rock St. Croix Sauk 'Shawano Sheboygan Taylor Trempealeau . Vernon Walworth Washington... Waukesha Waupaca , Waushara Winnebago.... Wood..... NUMBER OF ACRES. Wheat. Corn. Oats. Barley. Kye. Hops. Tobacco. Flax-seed. 5,146 11,456 26 6393* 20 13,923 9,2133* 216<* 4,583 2,734 1,596 40,274 19,173 84,072 29, 401 % 352 5 9,671 11,765 18,2083* 98.70958,168 15,608 46,980 8,07134 28,379 11,8483*15,8' 5 1,1'uB 10,581 61,540 5,353 84 3,4773* 15 5,732 12,5733* 637 9,8589,032 2,408 24,071 10,58467,120 25,5923* 3,391 50 13,833 7,183 20,763 02,054 34.191 8,013 34,43312,1893*16,84514,2723* 14,17410.632 " 249 I .,,194 712 21,4373* 5,0204,873 10,2133* 12.864 3,412 2,4473* 9,473 4,4758,338 1,842 9.0863* 15,241)411,6063*60,103 17,541 24,4693* 4.4083* 16,704 54)* 15,034 23,05528.225 14,10418,980 7,448 8.847 13,813 1,029 83 8,488 660 53* 2 13* 5 4,0702* 7593* 2823* 27 16,384 5,012 2,751 58 4,048%- 1,258 208 7,6943,912 23,499 11,463 696 5,254 8702642313* 185 95 7,648 1,588 7,4102,1343* 788 173* 93* 48,5073* 1,179 32,8603* 10.442 39103* 5935s; 18 3173* 136 9 2,457 64,472 %% 19.054 89,253 128.708 4,771 15 . 2,4593* 8 45 1533* 13* 37.008 i,560 1,242 8 554 2,839 6663* 1,170 2,6093* 1,739 8,773 445 1,649 2,164 3,045 1,273 20 4,299 670 93 5,0631,769 3579403* 4,1163* 613X 2,851 440 1.284W 2,228% 5895T 19.424 2,0222,1973* 205 7,519 2 2,3813* 5,5428.9343*6.614 8,527 1,060 636J* 1,427 293* 1,156 933 7543* 3,2963,7935*3,455 1,892 613 7,611 3,137 611 3,5203,177 1,735 68 11 44 1133* 28 212 1793* 713* 840 1,169 8 2 2493* 13 13* ! .85 3* I ,012 2 29,843 4,409 37,064 2944 25,217 363 22 21,676 19,953 1 10,145 33,569 100 11,5983* 6 4,782 3,434 17,702 7 23* 38/ > 4,-^J 262 16,670 4,5383*4,548 8543*355 15,121 7,1043* 12,608 734 4 761 i.6843*6,924 8,904 4,104 11,0761 .9043* ' 4603* 13,0413* 5,390 33,816*1 1,904 8,244 32 12,106 22,499 45,45611,613 26,318 9,524 18,7263415,404 958 5,233 116 10,503 3,0745*- 1,277 724514 2,4303* 563 258 326 7,6653*2,212 1,7703* 15,0383* 173 6,1643*1.1603* 4,332 3 550633 4,8753* 6,0027,659 4,363 15,416 9823723* 3 1 12 9,517 139 65 390 3 113*15 2534 3 7 11,774 22 31,634 2,490 f "76 3* r 153* 113* 41,187 10 9,293 15,7013* 2 3 584*- 3134 4993* 413* X 7,8843* 13,2283*12.3843*77,810 27,701 6,485 45,959 60* 53,656 42,27720,588 53,691 34,140 13,516 43*23* 2,1053* 4,2853* 282 4 3,1183* X 49 H 42 187107^ 29 239 295 340 110 14 13 14113* 9 1,169 113 5 3 3 3 9 49^999 637 3 2 1,445,6503* 1,025,801^ 854,8613* 183.030& 175,3143* 11,1843* 4,842 62,0083* 262 HISTOEY OF WISCONSIN. ACREAGE OF PRINCIPAL CROPS GROWN IN 1876. COUNTIES. NUMBER OP ACRES. Clover Seed, Bushels. Cultivated Grasses. Potatoes. Roots. Apples. Cultivated Cranberries. Timher. 3,161 241 1,8433* 100 771 2663413* 30 150 9093*1203* 1,017 6 75 553* 58 43* 25,040 1,152,000 24,175 553 28% 5 5,7693* 39 13,361 253* 173* 37 219 3* 4,000 12,739 57,463 5523* 1,733 Clark 9.348 32,326 4,925 53,219 29,552 257 100 10,032 41.609 37,792 28,833 13,920 15,566 5,316 17,407 8,705 29.856 5,665 11.390 22,719 316 32,2563* 5,453 3,387 20,557 14,217 6,170 11,681 8,528 425 1,9183* 2,4933,585 3,7803* 20 100 989 78 1.5333* 2,4604,8303* 16,254 126.000 51,879 111,463 49,3693* 500,000 5,414 104618 8089 36 1,689 50 '30 3* 2.9693$ 2.489)*: 10 219 2 613* 8 2,7013*3,038 1,159 921 1,6503* 510 2,209 1,738 1,0601,487 781 1,633 106 2,251 667 926 3,0303* 1,520 836 51 1,5663* 613* 2,9353*2,766 5,9803* 1,467 1,9873* 100 2,233 339 2,170 44 239 994 44,986 126.116 20,3133*22,393 51.02653.880 33.774 i , 506 Oiant 3,848 16 5 46 41 94523* 183* 10 9926 1,037 45 566 1,515 520 2,7573* 107 5,269 781 19.896 37,573 29.76324,037 1,324 1,174 2 30 1,00? 108138 50 1373* 99 71 13 100 689 46 1,856 1,9343* 406 257,341 7743* 151 1 4,412 20 20.525 16,21133,75619,433 22,077 1,073 113 1,666 97 1,2663* 77 11 603* 16,004 479 3,676 457 1.054% 733* 1,730 2 2793* 749 4,056)* 50,095 4,952 2058363* 1,561 1 1,349 12,974 2,642 10,1423* 21,515)* 18,9243*57,132)<14,293 25,223% 4,111 40,123 173 18,738 20,19745.093 6.513 38.629 13,540 9,770 23,433 235 724591 2,0163* 1,548% 1,1533* 2,930 1,176 3,2093* 548 2,723 99 8783* 1.241 2,1833* 46,821 3.982 1,6951,342 1,630 169 41 178128% 463* 10% 1223* 10 104X 643* 133 34413* 140 553* 9,430 383 98 45 35 182,671 121 Polk 2 580 3* 52,150 28,7183* 65,394 57.5873* 3,606 88,0583*80.53368,05712.149 91,19450,22150 080 42,69082,98566,51025,73793,242 343 840 2,lti03* Roek 5,416 80 1,2483* 3,101 16 10,738 2 1% 270 1.134 137* 30 185 1,053 194 400 2.798 16,080 1,528 610 117 720 Wood.... Total 889,0183* 123,4203* 13,6243* 139,891% 17,6643* 4,0902263* ' 76,9453*. ABSTRACT OF LAWS WISCONSIN. ELECTORS AND GENERAL ELECTIONS. Sec. 12. Every male person of the age of twenty-one years or upward, belonging to -either of the following classes, who shall have resided in the State for one year next preceding .any election, shall be deemed a qualified elector at such election : 1. Citizens of the United States. 2. Persons of foreign birth who shall have declared their intention to become citizens con formably to the laws of the United States on the subject of naturalization. 3. Persons of Indian blood who have once been declared by law of Congress to be citizens of the United States, any subsequent law of Congress to the contrary notwithstanding. 4. Civilized ] (Tsons of Indian descent not members of any tribe. Every person convicted of bribery shall be excluded from the right of suffrage unless restored to civil rights ; and no person who shall have made or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of any election at which he shall offer to vote, shall be permitted to vote at such election. Sec. 13. No elector shall vote except in the town, ward, village or election district in which he actually resides. Sec. 14. The general election prescribed in the Constitution shall be held in the several towns, wards, villages and election districts on the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in ^November in each year, at which time there shall be chosen such Representatives in Congress, Electors of President and Vice President, State officers, and county officers as are by law to be ¦elected in such year. Sec. 15. All elections shall be held in each town at the place where the last town-meeting was held, or at such other place as shall have been ordered at such last meeting, or as shall have been ordered by the Supervisors when they establish more than one election poll, except that the first election after the organization of a new town shall be held at the place directed in the act or proceeding by which it was organized ; and all elections in villages constituting separate elec tion districts and in the wards of cities, shall be held at the place to be ordered by the Trustees of such village, or the Common Council of such city, at least ten days before such election, un less a different provision is made in the act incorporating such village or city. Sec. 16. Whenever it shall become impossible or inconvenient to hold an election at the place designated therefor, the Board of Inspectors, after having assembled at or as near as prac ticable to such place, and before receiving any votes may adjourn to the nearest convenient place for holding the election, and at such adjourned place shall forthwith proceed with the election. Upon adjourning any election as hereinbefore provided, the Board of Inspectors shall cause proc lamation thereof to be made, and shall station a Constable or some other proper person at the place where the adjournment was made, to notify all electors arriving at such place of adjourn ment, and the place to which it was made. I I l&K, 264 HISTOEY OF WISCONSIN. Sec. 20. A registry of electors shall annually be made : 1. In each ward or election district of every city which, at the last previous census, had a population of three thousand or more. 2. In each ward or election district of every incorporated village in which, by law, sep arate elections are held ; which village at the last preceding census, had a popula tion of fifteen hundred or more. 3. In every town containing a village which, at said census, had a population of fifteen hundred or more, in which village separate general elections are not by law required to be held. 4. In all towns any part of which shall have been embraced in any part of any city or village in which a registration by this chapter is required. Such registration shall be made in the manner provided by this chapter. The persons authorized by law to act as Inspectors of Election in each of such towns, wards or election dis tricts shall constitute the Board of Registry therefor. Sec. 21. The said Inspectors shall have their first meeting on Tuesday, four weeks pre ceding each general election, at the place where said election is to be held ; and in election districts at which there were polled at the previous general election three hundred votes or less, they shall sit for one day, and in districts at which there were more than three hundred votes polled, they shall have power to sit two days if necessary, for the purpose of making such list. They shall meet at 9 o'clock in the forenoon and hold their meetings open until 8 o'clock in the evening of each day during which they shall so sit. The Clerks appointed by law to act as Clerks of Election shall act as Clerks of the Board of Registry on the day of election only. The proceedings shall be open, and all electors of the district shall be entitled to be heard in relation to corrections or additions to said registry. They shall have the same powers- to preserve order which Inspectors of Election have on election days, and in towns vacancies in the Board shall be filled in the same manner that vacancies are filled at elections. Sec. 22. The said Inspectors at their first meeting, and before doing any business, shall severally take and subscribe the oath of Inspectors at a general election, and said Inspectors shall at their first meeting make a registry of all the electors of their respective districts, placing thereon the full names, alphabetically arranged according to surnames, in one column, and in another the residence by number and name of street or other location, if known. If any elector's residence is at any hotel or public boarding-house the name of the hotel or boarding-house shall be stated in the registry. They shall put thereon the names of all persons residing in their elec tion district appearing on the poll-list kept at the last preceding general election, and are author ized to take therefor such poll-list from the office where kept, omitting such as have died or removed from the district, and adding the names of all other persons known to them to be elect ors in such district. In case of the formation of a new election district since the last preceding general election, the said Board therein may make such registry from the best means at their command, and may, if necessary, procure therefor certified copies of the last poll-list. They shall complete said registry as far as practicable at their first meeting, and shall make four copies thereof, and certify the original and each copy to be a true list of the electors in their district so far as the same are known to them. One of said copies shall be immediately posted in a conspicuous place in the room in which their meeting was held, and be accessible to any elector for examina tion or making copies thereof, and one copy shall be retained by each Inspector for revision and correction at the second meeting. They shall within two days after said first meeting file the original registry made by them, and said poll-list in the office of the proper town, city or village clerk, and may, in their discretion, cause ten printed copies of said registry to be made and posted in ten of the most public places of said election district, or may publish the same in a newspaper at an expense not exceeding one cent for each name. Sec. 23. The Inspectors shall hold their second meeting at the same place designated for holding elections on the Tuesday two weeks preceding the election. They shall meet at 9 o'clock in the forenoon. In election districts having less than three hundred voters, as shown by the- ABSTEACT OF LAWS. 265 preliminary registry, the Board shall complete the registry on the same day ; but if there are more than that number of voters, they shall sit two days. They shall remain in session until 8 o'clock in the evening. They shall revise and correct the registry first by erasing the name of any person who shall be proved to their satisfaction by the oaths of two electors of the district to be not entitled to vote therein at the next ensuing election, unless such person shall appear and if chal lenged, shall answer the questions and take the oath hereinafter provided ; secondly, by entering thereon the names of every elector entitled to vote in the district at the next election who shall appear before the Board and require it, and state his place of residence, giving street and num ber, if numbered, or location, as hereinbefore provided, if challenged answer the questions, and take the oaths provided in case of challenge at an election ; but if any person shall refuse to answer all such questions or to take such oath, his name shall not be registered. Any person who is not twenty-one years of age before the date when the registry is required to be corrected, but will be if he lives until the day of election, shall have his name put on the registry if he be other wise qualified to be an elector. Any elector who did not vote at the previous general election shall be entitled to be registered either at the preliminary or the final registration of electors by appearing before the Board of Registration of his election district and establishing his right to be registered, or, instead of a personal appearance, he may make his application to be registered to the Board in writing. Such application shall state the name and period of continuous resi dence in the election district and place of residence therein, giving the number and street of the applicant, and, in case the person making the application is of foreign birth, he shall state when he came to the United States and to the State of Wisconsin, and the time and place of declaring his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States, and that he is entitled to vote at the election. Upon receiving such application, the Board of Registration shall register the name of such applicant, if it appears to the Board that the applicant is, by his statement, entitled to vote. Such statement shall be made under oath, and shall be preserved by the Board and be filed in the office of the village or city clerk, as the case may be. All city and village clerks shall keep blanks for making the application for registration, as provided by this section. The form shall be prescribed by the Secretary of State. Every person named in this section shall be subject to the same punishment for any false statement or other offense in respect thereto as is provided in case of such false statement or other offense by an elector offering to vote at an election. After such registry shall have been fully completed on the days above mentioned, no name shall be added thereto by any person or upon any pretext. Within three days after the second meeting the said Board shall cause four copies of the registry to be made, each of which shall be certified by them to be a correct registry of the electors of their district, one of which shall be kept by each Inspector for use on election day, and one shall forthwith be filed in the office of the proper town, city or village clerk. All registries shall at all times be open to pub lic inspection at the office where deposited without charge. Sec. 24. On election day the Inspectors shall designate two of their number at the opening of the polls, who shall check the names of every elector voting in such district whose name is on the registry. No vote shall be received at any general election in any ward or election district defined in Section 20, if the name of the person offering to vote be not on said registry made at the second meeting as aforesaid, except as hereinafter provided ; but in case any- one shall, after the last day for completing such registry, and before such election, become a qualified voter of the district, he shall have the same right to vote therein at such election as if his name had been duly registered, provided he shall, at the time he offers to vote, deliver to the Inspectors his affi davit, in which he shall state the facts, showing that he has, since the completion of such regis try, become a qualified elector of such district, and the facts showing that he was not such elector on the day such registry was completed, and shall also deliver to such Inspectors the affi davits of two freeholders, electors in such election district, corroborating all the material state ments in his affidavit. In case any person who was a voter at the last previous general election shall not be registered, such person shall be entitled to vote on making affidavit that he was enti tled to vote at the previous election, and that he has not become disqualified by reason of removal 266 HISTOEY OF WISCONSIN. from the election district or otherwise, since that election, which affidavit shall also be corrobo rated by the affidavits of two freeholders, as is provided for other non-registered voters. No one freeholder shall be competent to make at any one election corroborating affidavits for more than three voters. All of said affidavits shall be sworn to before some officer authorized by the laws of this State to take depositions. The Inspectors shall keep a list of the names and residence of the electors voting whose names are not on said completed registry, and attach said list to the registry and return it, together with all such affidavits, to the proper town, city or village clerk. No compensation shall be paid or received for taking or certifying any such affidavits. On the day following the election, one of said poll-lists and one copy of the registry so kept and checked shall be attached together and filed in the office of the proper town, city or village clerk, and the other of said poll-lists and copy of the registry so kept and checked shall be returned to the County Clerk with the returns of the election. Such Inspectors shall give notice by advertisement in a newspaper printed in the city, village or town where such registration was made, of the registry, and shall include in such notice all additions to and omissions from the preliminary list, and shall also state where the election is to be held. In case there be no newspaper printed in such city, village or town, such notice shall be given by posting copies thereof in three or more public places in each ward or election district in such city, village or town. For publication of such notice in any such newspaper the publisher thereof shall be entitled to the same compensation per folio as is prescribed for publishing other legal notices. COMMON SCHOOLS. Sec. 413. The formation of any school district shall be by written order of the Town Board, describing the territory embraced in the same, to be filed with the Town Clerk within twenty days after the making thereof. The Supervisors shall deliver to a taxable inhabitant of the district their notice thereof in writing, describing its boundaries, and appointing a time and place for the first district meeting, and shall therein direct such inhabitant to notify every quali fied voter of the district, either personally or by leaving a written notice at his place of resi dence, of the time and place of such meeting, at least five days before the time appointed therefor, and said inhabitant shall notify the voters of such district accordingly, and indorse thereon a return containing the names of all persons thus notified, and said notice and return shall be recorded as a part of the record of the first meeting in such district. Sec. 414. In case such notice shall not be given, or the inhabitants of a district shall neg lect or refuse to assemble and form a district meeting when so notified, or in case any school dis trict having been formed or organized shall afterward be disorganized, so that no competent authority shall exist therein to call a special district meeting, in the manner hereinafter pro vided, notice shall be given by the Town Board, and served in the manner prescribed in the pre ceding section. Whenever a district meeting shall be called as prescribed in this and the preceding section, it shall be the duty of the electors of the district to assemble at the time and place so directed. Sec. 415. Whenever it shall be necessary to form a district from two or more adjoining towns, the Town Boards of such towns shall meet together and form such districts by their writ ten order, describing the territory embraced in such district, signed by at least two of the Super visors of each town ; and shall file one such order with the Town Clerk of each town, and deliver the notice of formation to a taxable inhabitant of such district, and cause the same to be served and returned in the time and manner hereinbefore prescribed ; and any such district may be altered only by the joint action of the Town Boards of such towns in the same manner that other districts are altered. Sec. 416. Every school district shall be deemed duly organized when any two of the offi cers elected at the first legal meeting thereof shall have consented to serve in the offices to which they have been respectively elected, by a written acceptance thereof filed with the clerk of the first meeting, and recorded in the minutes thereof; and every school district shall be considered ABSTEACT OF LAWS. 267 4 as duly organized after it shall have exercised the franchises and privileges of a district for the term of two years. Sec. 425. The annual meeting of all school districts in which graded schools of two or more departments are taught, shall be held on the second Monday of July, and of all other school districts on the last Monday of September, in each year. The hour of such meeting shall be seven o'clock in the afternoon, unless otherwise provided by a vote of the district, duly recorded at the last previous annual meeting; but at any annual meeting a majority of the electors present may determine that the annual meeting of such district shall be held on the last Monday of August instead of the last Monday of September. Said determination to take effect when a copy of the proceedings of said annual meeting in reference to such change shall have been filed with the Town Clerk in which the schoolhouse of such district is situated, and to remain in force until rescinded by a like vote of the electors of such district. Sec. 426. The Clerk shall give at least six days' previous notice of every annual district meeting, by posting notices thereof in four or more public places in the district, one of which shall be affixed to the outer door of the schoolhouse, if there be one in the district, and he shall give like notices for every adjourned district meeting when such meeting shall have been adjourned for more than one month ; but no annual meeting shall be deemed illegal for want of due notice, unless it shall appear that the omission to give such notice was willful and fraudulent. Sec. 427. Special district meetings may be called by the Clerk, or, in his absence, by the Directors or Treasurer, on written request of five legal voters of the district, in the manner prescribed for calling an annual meeting ; and the electors, when lawfully assembled at a special meeting, shall have power to transact the same business as at the first and each annual meeting, •except the election of officers. The business to be transacted at any special meeting shall be particularly specified in the notices calling the same, and said notices shall be posted six full days prior to the meeting. No tax or loan or debt shall be voted at a special meeting, unless three-fourths of the legal voters shall have been notified, either personally or by a written notice left at their places of residence, stating the time and place and objects of the meeting, and specifying the amount proposed to be voted, at least six days before the time appointed therefor. Sec. 428. Every person shall be entitled to vote in any school district meeting who is qualified to vote at a general election for State and county officers, and who is a resident of such school district. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF DISTRICT TAXES. Sec. 469. All school district taxes, unless otherwise specially provided by law, shall be assessed on the same kinds of property as taxes for town and county purposes ; and all personal property which, on account of its location or the residence of its owner, is taxable in the town, shall, if such locality or residence be in the school district, be likewise taxable for school district purposes. BORROWING MONEY. Sec. 474. Whenever, upon any unusual exigency, any school district shall, before the annual ¦meeting, vote a special tax to be collected with the next levy, the district may, by vote, author ize the District Board to borrow for a period not exceeding one year a sum not exceeding the amount of such tax, and by such vote set apart such tax when collected to repay such loan, and thereupon the District Board may borrow such money of any person and on such terms and exc- ¦cute and deliver to the lender such obligation therefor, and such security for the repayment. including a mortgage or pledge of any real or personal property of the district, subject to the ¦directions contained in the vote of the district as may be agreed upon and not prohibited by law. Sec. 498. Every District Clerk who shall willfully neglect to make the annual report for his district as required by law shall be liable to pay the whole amount of money lost by such 268 HISTOEY OF WISCONSIN. district in consequence of his neglect, which shall be recovered in an action in the name of and for the use of the district. Sec. 499. Every Town Clerk who shall neglect or refuse to make and deliver to the County Superintendent his annual report, as required in this chapter within the time limited therefor, shall be liable on his official bond to pay the town the amount which such town or any school district therein, shall lose by such neglect or refusal, with interest thereon ; and every County Superintendent who shall neglect or refuse to make the report required of him by this chapter to the State Superintendent shall be liable to pay to each town the amount which such town or any school district therein shall lose by such neglect or refusal, with interest thereon, to be recovered in either case in an action prosecuted by the Town Treasurer in the name of the town. Sec. 503. Every member of a district board in any school district in this State in which a list of text-books has been adopted according to law, who shall, within three years from the date of such adoption, or thereafter, without the consent of the State Superintendent, order a change of text-books in such district, shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars. Sec. 513. Every woman of twenty-one years of age and upward may be elected or appointed as director, treasurer or clerk of a school district, director or secretary of a town board under the township system ; member of a board of education in cities, or county superintendent. Sec. 560. In reckoning school months, twenty days shall constitute a month and one hun dred days five months. ASSESSMENT OF TAXES. Sec. 1035. The terms "real property," "real estate" and "land," when used in this title, shall include not only the land itself, but all buildings, fixtures, improvements, rights and privileges appertaining thereto. Sec. 1036. The term " personal property," as used in this title, shall be construed to mean and include toll-bridges, saw-logs, timber and lumber, either upon land or afloat, steamboats, ships and other vessels, whether at home or abroad ; buildings upon leased lands, if such build ings have not been included in the assessment of the land on which they are erected ; ferry-boats, including the franchise for running the same ; all debts due from solvent debtors, whether on account, note, contract, bond, mortgage or other security, or whether such debts are due or to become due ; and all goods, wares, merchandise, chattels, moneys and effects of any nature or description having any real or marketable value and not included in the term " real property," as above defined. Sec. 1037. The improvements on all lands situated in this State, which shall have been entered under the provisions of the act of Congress entitled " An act to secure homesteads to act ual settlers on the public domain," approved May twentieth, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and which shall be actually occupied and improved by the person so entering the same, or his heirs, shall be subject to taxation, and such improvements shall be assessed as personal property. All taxes levied thereon shall be collected out of the personal property of the occu pant of such lands, and in no other manner. Sec. 1038. The property in this section described is exempt from taxation, to wit: 1. That owned exclusively by the United States or by this State, but no lands contracted to be sold by the State shall be exempt. 2. That owned exclusively by any county, city, village, town or school district ; but lands purchased by counties at tax sales shall be exempt only in the cases provided in Sec tion Eleven Hundred and Ninety-one. 3. Personal property owned by any religious, scientific, literary or benevolent association, used exclusively for the purposes of such association, and the real property, if not leased, or not otherwise used for pecuniary profit, necessary for the location and con venience of the buildings of such association, and embracing the same not exceeding ABSTRACT OF LAWS. 269 ten acres ; and the lands reserved for grounds of a chartered college or university, not exceeding forty acres ; and parsonages, whether of local churches or districts, and whether occupied by the pastor permanently or rented for his benefit. The occasional leasing of such buildings for schools, public lectures or concerts, or the leasing of such parsonages, shall not render them liable to taxation. 4. Personal property owned and used exclusively by the State or any county agricultural society, and the lands owned and used by any such society exclusively for fair grounds. 5. Fire engines and other implements used for extinguishing fires, owned or used by any organized fire company, and the buildings and necessary grounds connected therewith, owned by such company, and used exclusively for its proper purposes. 6. The property of Indians who are not citizens, except lands held by them by purchase. 7. Lands used exclusively as public burial-grounds, and tombs and monuments to the dead therein. 8. Pensions receivable from the United States. 9. Stock in any corporation in this State which is required to pay taxes upon its property in the same manner as individuals. 10. So much of the debts due or to become due to any person as shall equal the amount of bona-fide and unconditional debts by him owing. 11. Wearing apparel, family portraits and libraries, kitchen furniture and growing crops. 12. Provisions and fuel provided by the head of a family to sustain its members for six months ; but no person paying board shall be deemed a member of a family. 13. All the personal property of all insurance companies that now are or shall be organized or doing business in this State. 14. The track, right of way, depot grounds, buildings, machine-shops, rolling-stock and other property necessarily used in operating any railroad in this State belonging to any railroad company, including pontoon, pile and pontoon railroads, and shall henceforth remain exempt from taxation for any purpose, except that the same shall be subject to special assessments for local improvements in cities and villages and all lands owned or claimed by such railroad company not adjoining the track of such company, shall be subject to all taxes. The provision of this subdivision shall not apply to any railroad that now is or shall be operated by horse-power, whether now or hereafter constructed in any village or city. 15. The property, except real estate, of all companies which are or shall be engaged in the business of telegraphing in this State. 16. The real estate of the Home of the Friendless in the city of Milwaukee, not exceeding one lot in amount, is exempted, so long as the same shall continue to be used as such home. 17. All property of any corporation or association formed under the laws of this State for the encouragement of industry by agricultural and industrial fairs and exhibitions, which shall be necessary for fair grounds, while used exclusively for such fairs and exhibitions, provided the quantity of land so exempt shall not exceed forty acres. 18. Such tree-belts as are or may be" planted and maintained in compliance with chapter sixty-six of one of these statutes. Sec. 1191. Real property, upon which the county holds any certificates of tax sale, shall continue liable to taxation and to sale for unpaid taxes, and the county shall be the exclusive purchaser at the sale ; but when a tax deed shall be issued to the county, and it shall hold tax certificates of sale unredeemed on the same property for two successive years subsequent to the date of the sale on which such deed shall issue, including certificates of sale made prior to the passage of these statutes, such property shall thereafter be exempt from taxation until the same is sold by the county. The County Clerk shall annually, before the first day of June, furnish to the Assessors of each town a list of the lands in such town exempt under this section. Noth ing in this section shall be so construed as to apply to lands owned by minors, married women,, widowed women, idiots or insane persons. 270 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. COLLECTION OF TAXES. Sec. 1089. The Town Treasurer of each town, on the receipt of the tax-roll for the cur rent year, shall forthwith post notices in three or four public places in such towns, that the tax- roll for such town is in his hands for collection, and that the taxes charged therein are subject to payment at his office at any time prior to the first day of January in such year ; and after the said first day of January he shall proceed to collect the taxes charged in such roll and remaining unpaid, and for that purpose shall call at least once on the person taxed, or at any place of his usual residence, if within the town, and demand payment of the taxes charged to him on such roll. Sec. 1090. On all taxes paid or tendered at the office of such Treasurer prior to said first day of January, he shall remit all of the 5-per-cent collection fees, except so much thereof as he is authorized by law to have for his fees upon taxes so paid. Sec. 1091. Town orders shall be receivable for taxes in the town where issued, and shall be allowed the Town Treasurer on settlement of town taxes ; and county orders and jurors' cer tificates shall be receivable for taxes in the county where issued, and shall be allowed such Treas urer on settlement of county taxes with the County Treasurer, but no Town Treasurer shall receive town orders in payment for taxes to a larger amount than the town taxes included in his assessment-roll exclusive of all taxes for school purposes, nor county orders and jurors' certifi cates to a greater amount than the county tax included therein. Sec. 1097. In case any person shall refuse or neglect to pay the tax imposed upon him, the Town Treasurer shall levy the same by distress and sale of any goods and chattels belong ing to such person, wherever the same may be found within his town ; and if a sufficient amount of such property cannot be found in such town, the Town Treasurer may levy the same by dis tress and sale of the goods and chattels belonging to such person, wherever the same may be found in the county or in any adjoining counties. Sec. 1098. The Town Treasurer shall give public notice of the time and place of such sale, at least six days previous thereto, by advertisement, containing a description of the prop erty to be sold, to be posted up in three public places in the town where the sale is to be made. The sale shall be at public auction, in the daytime, and the property sold shall be present ; such property may be released by the payment of the taxes and charges for which the same is liable, to be sold ; if the purchase-money on such sale shall not be paid at such time as the Treasurer may require, he may again, in his discretion, expose such property for sale, or sue, in his name of office, the purchaser for the purchase-money, and recover the same with costs and 10-per-centum damages. Sec. 1099. If the property so levied upon shall be sold for more than the amount of tax and costs, the surplus shall be returned to the owner thereof; and if it cannot be sold for want of bidders, the Treasurer shall return a statement of the fact, and return the property to the person from whose possession he took the same ; and the tax, if unsatisfied, shall be collected in the same manner as if no levy had been made. HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES. Sec. 1223. The Supervisors of the several towns shall have the care and supervision of ±he highways and bridges therein, and it shall be their duty : 1. To give directions for repairing the highways and bridges within their respective towns, and cause to be removed all obstructions therefrom. 2. To cause such of the roads used as highways as have been laid out but not sufficiently described, and such as have been lawfully laid out and used as such up to the then present time, but not fully and sufficiently recorded, to be ascertained, described and entered of record in the Town Clerk's office. ABSTEACT OF LAWS. 271 3. To cause bridges which are or may be erected over streams intersecting highways to be kept in repair. 4. To divide their respective towns into so many road districts as they shall judge conven ient, and specify every such division in writing under their hands, to be recorded in the office of the Town Clerk ; but no such division shall be made within ten days next preceding the annual town meeting. 5. To assign to each of the said road districts such of the inhabitants liable to pay taxes on highways as they think proper, having regard to the nearness of residence as much, as practicable. 6. To require the Overseers of Highways from time to time, and as often as they shall deem necessary, to perform any of the duties required of them by law. 7. To assess the highway taxes in their respective towns in each year, as provided by law. 8. To lay out and establish upon actual surveys, as hereinafter provided, such new roads in their respective towns as they may deem necessary and proper ; to discontinue such roads as shall appear to them to have become unnecessary, and to widen or alter such roads when they shall deem necessary for public convenience, and perform all other duties respecting highways and bridges directed by this chapter. INTOXICATING LIQUORS. Sec. 1548. The Town Boards, Village Boards and Common Councils of the respective towns, villages and cities may grant license to such persons as they may deem proper, to keep groceries, saloons or other places, within their respective towns, villages or cities, for the sale in quantities less than one gallon of strong, spirituous, malt, ardent or" intoxicating liquors, to be drank on the premises ; and in like manner may grant licenses for the sale in any quantity of such liquors not to be drank on the premises. The sum to be paid for such license for the sale of such liquor to be drank on the premises shall not be less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred and fifty dollars ; and for the sale of such liquors not to be drank on the premises shall be not less than ten nor more than forty dollars. Sec. 1549. Every applicant for such license shall, before delivery thereof, file with such town, village or city clerk a bond to the State in the sum of five hundred dollars, with at- least two sureties, to be approved by the authorities granting the license, who shall each justify in double its amount over and above their debts and liabilities and exemptions, and be freehold ers and residents of the county, conditioned that the applicant, during the continuance of his license will keep and maintain an orderly and well-regulated house ; that he will permit no gambling with cards, dice or any device or implement for that purpose, within his premises or any out-house, yard or shed appertaining thereto ; that he will not sell or give away any intoxi cating liquor to any minor, having good reason to believe him to be such, unless upon the writ ten order of the parents or guardian of such minor, or to persons intoxicated or bordering upon intoxication, or to habitual drunkards ; and that he will pay all damages that may be recovered by any person, and that he will observe and obey all orders of such Supervisors, Trustees or Aldermen, or any of them, made pursuant to law. In case of the breach of the condition of any such bond, an action may be brought thereon in the name of the State of Wisconsin, and judgment shall be entered against the principals and sureties therein named for the full penalty thereof; and execution may issue thereupon by order of the court therefor, to satisfy any judgment that may have been recovered against the principal named in said bond, by reason of any breach in the conditions thereof, or for any penalties of forfeitures incurred under this chap ter. If more than one judgment shall have been recovered, the court, in its discretion, may apply the proceeds of said bond toward the satisfaction of said several judgments, in whole or in part, in such manner as it may see fit. Sec. 1550. If any person shall vend, sell, deal or traffic in or for the purpose of evading. this chapter, give away, any spirituous, malt, ardent or intoxicating liquors or drinks in any 272 HISTOEY OF WISCONSIN. quantity whatever without first having obtained license therefor, according to the provisions of this chapter, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof shall be punished by fine of not less than ten nor more than forty dollars, besides the costs of suit, or, in lieu of such fine, by imprisonment in the county jail of the proper county not to exceed sixty days nor less than twenty days ; and, in case of punishment by fine as above provided, such per son shall, unless the fine and costs be paid forthwith, be committed to the county jail of the proper county until such fine and costs are paid, or until discharged by due course of law ; and, in case of a second or any subsequent conviction of the same person during any one year, the punish ment may be by both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. Sec. 1551. Upon complaint made to any Justice of the Peace by any person that he knows or has good reason to believe that an offense against this chapter, or any violation thereof, has been committed, he shall examine the complainant on oath, and he shall reduce such com plaint to writing and cause the same to be subscribed by the person complaining. And if it shall appear to such Justice that there is reasonable cause to believe that such offense has been committed, he shall immediately issue his warrant, reciting therein the substance of such com plaint and requiring the officer to whom such warrant shall be directed forthwith to arrest the accused and bring him before such Justice, to be dealt with according to law ; and the same war rant may require the officer to summon such persons as shall be therein named to appear at the trial to give evidence. Sec. 1552. The District Attorney of the proper county shall, on notice given to him by the Justice of the Peace before whom any such complaint shall be made, attend the trial before such Justice and conduct the same on behalf of the State. Sec. 1553. Every supervisor, trustee, alderman and justice of the peace, police officer) marshal, deputy marshal and constable of any town, village or city who shall know or be credi bly informed that any offense has been committed against the provisions of this chapter shall make complaint against the person so offending within their respective towns, villages or cities to a proper Justice of the Peace therein, and for every neglect or refusal so to do every such officer shall forfeit twenty-five dollars, and the Treasurer of such town, village or city shall pros ecute therefor. Sec. 1557. Any keeper of any saloon, shop or place of any name whatsoever for the sale of strong, spirituous or malt liquors to be drank on the premises in any quantity less than one gallon, who shall sell, vend or in any way deal or traffic in or for the purpose of evading this chapter, give away any spirituous, ardent or malt liquors or drinks in any quantity whatsoever to or with a minor, having good reason to believe him to be such, or to a person intoxicated or bordering on a state of intoxication, or to any other prohibited person before mentioned, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor ; nor shall any person sell or in any way deal or traffic in, or, for the purpose of evading this chapter, give away, any spirituous, ardent, intoxicating or malt liquors or drinks in any quantity whatsoever within one mile of either of the hospitals for the insane ; and any person who shall so sell or give away any such liquors or drinks shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. BILLS OF EXCHANGE AND PROMISSORY NOTES. Sec. 1675. All notes in writing made and signed by any person or for any corporation, and all certificates of the deposit of money issued by any person or corporation, whereby he or it shall promise to pay to any person or order, or unto the bearer, any sum of money, as therein mentioned, shall be due and payable as therein expressed, and shall have the same effect and shall be negotiable in like manner as inland bills of exchange, according to the custom of mer chants. But no order drawn upon or accepted by the Treasurer of any county, town, city, village or school district, whether drawn by any officer thereof or any other person, and no obligation nor instrument made by such corporation or any officer thereof, unless expressly authorized by law ABSTEACT OF LAWS. 273 to be made negotiable, shall be, or shall be deemed to be, negotiable according to the customs of merchants, in whatever form they may be drawn or made. Sec. 1680. On all bills of" exchange payable at sight, or at future day certain, within this State, and all negotiable promissory notes, orders and drafts payable at a future day cer tain, within this State, in which there is not an express stipulation to the contrary, grace should be allowed in like manner as it is allowed by the custom of merchants on foreign bills of exchange payable at the expiration of a certain period after date or sight. The provisions of this section shall not extend to any bill of exchange, note or draft payable on demand. Sec. 1684. All notes, drafts, bills of exchange or other negotiable paper maturing on Sunday or upon any legal holiday shall be due and payable on the next preceding secular day. HOURS OF LABOR Sec. 1728. In all manufactories, work-shops and other places used for mechanical or manufacturing purposes, the time of labor of children under eighteen years of age and of women employed therein, shall not exceed eight hours in one day ; and any employer, stockholder, director, officer, overseer, clerk or foreman who shall compel any woman or any child to labor exceeding eight hours in any one day, or who shall permit any child under fourteen years of age to labor more than ten hours in any one day in any such place, if he shall have control over such child sufficient to prevent it, or who shall employ at manual labor any child under twelve years of age in any factory or work-shop where more than three persons are employed, or who shall employ any child of twelve and under fourteen years of age in any such factory or work shop for more than seven months in any one year, shall forfeit not less than five nor more than fifty dollars for each such offense. Sec. 1729. In all engagements to labor in any manufacturing or mechanical business, where there is no express contract to the contrary, a day's work shall consist of eight hours, and all engagements or contracts for labor in such cases shall be so construed ; but this shall nol apply to any contract for labor by the week, month or year. FORM OF CONVEYANCES. Sec. 2207. A deed of quitclaim and release of the form in common use or of the form hereinafter provided, shall be sufficient to pass all the estate which the grantor could lawfully convey by deed of bargain and sale. Sec. 2208. Conveyances of land may be in substantially the following form: WARRANTY DEED. A B, grantor of County, Wisconsin, hereby conveys and warrants to C D, grantee, of County, Wisconsin, for the sum of dollars, the following tract of land in ¦ — County. [Here describe the premises.} Witness the hand and seal of said grantor this day of , 18 — . In the presence of } 1 [SEAL.^ QUITCLAIM DEED. [SEAL._ A B, grantor, of County, Wisconsin, hereby quitclaims to C D, grantee, of County, Wisconsin, for the sum of dollars, the following tract of land in County, [Here describe the premises.) Witness the hand and seal of said grantor this day of , 18 — . In presence of ) I [SEAL.J j [SEAL.] 274 HISTOEY OF WISCONSIN. Such deeds, when executed and acknowledged as required by law, shall, when of the first of the above forms, have the effect of a conveyance in fee simple to the grantee, his heirs and assigns of the premises therein named, together with all the appurtenances, rights and privileges. thereto belonging, with a covenant from the grantor, his heirs and personal representatives, that he is lawfully seized of the premises ; has good right to convey the same ; that he guaran tees the grantee, his heirs and assigns in the quiet possession thereof; that the same are free from all incumbrances, and that the grantor, his heirs and personal representatives will forever war rant and defend the title and possession thereof in the grantee, his heirs and assigns against all lawful claims whatsoever. Any exceptions to such covenants may be briefly inserted in such deed, following the description of the land ; and when in the second of the above forms, shall have the effect of a conveyance in fee simple to the grantee, his heirs and assigns, of all the right, title, interest and estate of the grantor, either in possession or expectancy, in and to the prem ises therein described, and all rights, privileges and appurtenances thereto belonging. MORTGAGES. Sec. 2209. A mortgage may be substantially in the following form : A B, mortgagor, of County, Wisconsin, hereby mortgages to C D, mortgagee, of County, Wisconsin, for the sum of dollars, the following tract of land in County. [Here describe the premises.) This mortgage is given to secure the following indebtedness : 'Here state amount or amounts and form of indebtedness, whether on note, bond or otherwise, time or times when due, rate of interest, by and to whom payable, etc.) The mortgagor agrees to pay all taxes and assessments on said premises, and the sum of dollars attorney's fees in case of foreclosure thereof. Witness the hand and seal of said mortgagor this day of , 18 — . In presence of SEAL.] "seal.] when executed and acknowledged according to law shall have the effect of a conveyance of the land therein described, together with all the rights, privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging in pledge to the mortgagee, his heirs, assigns and legal representatives for the payment of the indebtedness therein set forth, with covenant from the mortgagor that all taxes and assess ments levied and assessed upon the land described during the continuance of the mortgage shall be paid previous to the day appointed by law for the sale of lands for taxes, as fully as the forms of mortgage now and heretofore in common use in this State, and may be foreclosed in the same manner and with the same effect, upon any default being made in any of the conditions thereof as to payment of either principal, interest or taxes. ASSIGNMENT OF MORTGAGE. Sec. 2210. An assignment of a mortgage substantially in the following form : For value received I, A B, of — — — , Wisconsin, hereby assign to C D, of , Wis consin, the within mortgage (or a certain mortgage executed to by E F and wife, of County, Wisconsin, the day of , 18 — , and recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of County, Wisconsin, in Vol. of mortgages, on page ), together with the and indebtedness therein mentioned. Witness my hand and seal this day of , 18 — . In presence of ) J A B. [SEAL.] ABSTRACT OF LAWS. 275 shall be sufficient to vest in the assignee for all purposes all the rights of the mortgagee under the mortgage, and the amount of the indebtedness due thereon at the date of assignment. Such assignment, when indorsed upon the original mortgage, shall not require an acknowledg ment in order to entitle the same to be recorded. TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY BY DESCENT. Sec. 2270. When any person shall die, seized of any lands, tenements or hereditaments, or any right thereto, or entitled to any interest therein in fee simple, or for the life of another, not having lawfully devised the same, they shall descend subject to his debts, except as provided in the next section, in the manner following : 1, In equal shares to his children, and to the lawful issue of any deceased child, by right of representation ; and if there be no child of the intestate living at his death, his estate shall descend to all his other lineal descendants ; and if all the said descendants are in the same degree of kindred to the intestate, they shall share the estate equally,, otherwise they shall take according to the right of representation. 2. If he shall leave no lawful issue, to his widow ; if he shall leave no such issue or widow,. to his parents, if living ; and if either shall not be living, the survivor shall inherit his said estate. If a woman shall die, leaving no issue, her estate shall descend to her husband, if she shall have one at the time of her decease, and if she shall leave,, surviving her, neither issue nor husband, to her parents, if living ; and if either shall not be living, the survivor shall inherit her said estate. 3. If he shall leave no lawful issue, nor widow, nor father, nor mother, his estate shall descend in equal shares to his brothers and sisters, and to the children of any deceased brother or sister, by right of representation. 4. If the intestate shall leave no lawful issue, widow, father, mother, brother nor sister, his estate shall descend to his next of kin in equal degree, except that when there are two or more collateral kindred in equal degree, but claiming through different ances tors, those who claim through the nearest ancestor shall be preferred to those claiming through an ancestor more remote ; provided, however, 5. If any person die leaving several children, or leaving one child, and the issue of one or more other children, and any such surviving child shall die under age, and not having been married, all the estate that came to the deceased child, by inheritance from such deceased parent, shall descend in equal shares to the other children of the same parent, and'to the issue of any such other children who shall have died, by right of representation. 6. If, at the death of such child, who shall die under age, and not having been married, all the other children of his said parent shall also be dead, and any of them shall have left issue, the estate that came to said child by inheritance from his said parent, shall descend to all the issue of the other children of the same parent ; and if all the said issue are in the same degree of kindred to said child, they shall share the said estate equally ; otherwise they shall take according to the right of representation. 7. If the intestate shall have no widow nor kindred, his estate shall escheat to the State, and be added to the capital of the school fund. Sec. 2271. When the owner of any homestead shall die, not having lawfully devised the same, such homestead shall descend free of all judgments and claims against such deceased owner or his estate, except mortgages lawfully executed thereon, and laborers' and mechanics' liens, in the manner following : 1. If he shall have no lawful issue, to his widow. 2. If he shall leave a widow and issue, to his widow during her widowhood, and, upon her marriage or death, to his heirs, according to the next preceding section. 3. If he shall leave issue and no widow, to such issue, according to the preceding section. 4. If he shall leave no issue or widow, such homestead shall descend under the next pre ceding section, subject to lawful liens thereon. 276 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. OF WILLS. Sec. 2277. Every person of full age, and any married woman of the age of eighteen years and upward, being of sound mind, seized in his or her own right of any lands, or of any right thereto, or entitled to any interest therein, descendible to his or her heirs, may devise and dis pose of the same by last will and testament in writing; and all such estate not disposed of by will, shall descend as the estate of an intestate, being chargeable, in both cases, with the pay ment of all his debts or her debts, except as provided in the next preceding chapter, and in sec tion twenty-two hundred and eighty. Sec. 2278. Every devise of land in any will shall be construed to convey all the estate ¦of the devisor therein, which he could lawfully devise, unless it shall clearly appear by the will that the devisor intended to convey a less estate. Sec. 2279. Any estate, right or interest in lands acquired by the testator, after the making of his will, shall pass thereby in like manner as if possessed at the time of making the will, if such shall manifestly appear, by the will, to have been the intention of the testator. Sec. 2280. When any homestead shall have been disposed of by the last will and testa ment of the owner thereof, the devisee shall take the same, free of all judgments and claims against the testator or his estate, except mortgages lawfully executed thereon, and laborers' and mechanics' liens. Sec. 2281. Every person of full age, and every married woman of the age of eighteen years and upward, being of sound mind, may, by last will and testament in writing, bequeath and dispose of all his or her personal estate remaining at his or her decease, and all his or her rights thereto and interest therein, subject to the payment of debts ; and all such estate not dis posed of by the will shall be administered as intestate estate. Sec. 2284. All beneficial devises, legacies and gifts whatsoever, made or given in any will to a subscribing witness thereto, shall be wholly void, unless there be two other competent sub scribing witnesses to the same ; but a mere charge on the lands of the devisor for the payment of debts, shall not prevent his creditors from being competent witnesses to his will. Sec. 2285. But if such witness, to whom any beneficial devise may have been made or given, would have been entitled to any share of the estate of the testator, in case the will was not established, then so much of the share that would have descended or been distributed to such witness as will not exceed the devise or bequest made to him in the will, shall be saved to him, and he may recover the same of the devisees or legatees named in the will, in proportion to and out of the parts devised or bequeathed to them. Sec. 2286. When any child shall be born, after the making of his parent's will, and no provision shall be made therein for him, such child shall have the same share in the estate of the testator as if he had died intestate ; and the share of such child shall be assigned to him, as pro vided by law, in case of intestate estates, unless it shall be apparent from the will that it waa the intention of the testator that no provision should be made for such child. Sec. 2290. No will, or any part thereof, shall be revoked, unless by burning, tearing, can celing or obliterating the same, with the intention of revoking it, by the testator, or by some person in his presence, and by his direction, or by some other will or codicil in writing, executed as prescribed in this chapter, or by some other writing, signed, attested and subscribed in the manner provided in this chapter, for the execution of a will ; excepting, only, that nothing con tained in this section shall prevent the revocation implied by law, from subsequent changes in the condition or circumstances of the testator. The power to make a will implies the power to revoke the same. OF THE ADOPTION OF CHILDREN. Sec. 4021. Any inhabitant of this State may petition the County Court, in the county of his residence, for leave to adopt a child not his own by birth ; but no such petition made by a married person shall be granted, unless the husband or wife of the petitioner shall join therein; ABSTRACT OF LAWS. 277 nor shall any such petition be granted, unless the child, if of the age of fourteen years, or more, shall consent thereto in writing, in the presence of the court. Sec. 4022. No such adoption shall be made, without the written consent of the living parents of such child, unless the court shall find that one of the parents has abandoned the child, or gone to parts unknown, when such consent may be given by the parent, if any, having the care of the child. In case where neither of the parents is living, or if living, have abandoned the child, such consent may be given by the guardian of such child, if any ; if such child has no guardian, such consent may be given by any of the next of kin of such child, residing in this State, or, in the discretion of the court, by some suitable person to be appointed by the court. 2. In case of a child not born in lawful wedlock, such consent may be given by the mother, if she is living, and has not abandoned such child. Sec. 4023. If upon such petition and consent, as herein provided, the County Court shall be satisfied of the identity and the relations of the persons, and that the petitioners are of suffi cient ability to bring up, and furnish suitable nurture and education for the child, having refer ence to the degree and condition of its parents, and that it is proper that such adoption shall take effect, such court shall make an order, reciting said facts that, from and after the date thereof, such child shall be deemed, to all legal intents and purposes, the child of the petitioners ; and by such order the name of such child may be changed to that of the parents by adoption. Sec. 4024. A child so adopted, shall be deemed for the purposes of inheritance and succes sion by such child, custody of the person and right of obedience by such parents by adoption, and all other legal consequences and incidents of the natural relation of parents and children, the same to all intents and purposes as if such child had been born in lawful wedlock of such parents by adoption, excepting that such child shall not be capable of taking property expressly limited to the heirs of the body of such parents. The natural parents of such child shall be deprived, by such order of adoption, of all legal rights whatsoever, respecting such child, and such child shall be freed from all legal obligations of maintenance and obedience to such natural parents. INTEREST. The legal rate of interest is 7 per cent. A higher rate of interest, not exceeding 10 per cent, may be contracted for, but the same must be clearly expressed in writing. If a higher rate than 10 per cent is collected or paid, the party so paying may, by himself or his legal rep resentative, recover treble the amount so paid above the 10 per cent, if the action is brought within one year, and all bills, notes, or other contracts whatsoever, whereby a higher rate than 10 per cent is secured, shall be liable for the principal sum, but no interest shall be recovered. JURISDICTION OF COURTS. The Circuit Courts have general jurisdiction over all civil and criminal actions within their respective circuits, subject to a re-examination by the Supreme Court. The County Courts shall have jurisdiction over the probate matters in their respective counties, and shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction in the counties of Brown, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee and Winnebago in all cases of appeals from Justices of the Peace in civil actions, and all cases commenced in Justices' Courts therein, there shall be an answer put in, showing that the title of lands will come in question. And such Courts shall have concurrent and equal jurisdiction in all civil actions and pro ceedings with the Circuit Courts of said counties to the following extent respectively : The County Court of Brown, when the value of the property in controversy, after deduct ing all payments and set-offs, shall not exceed five thousand dollars. The County Court of Dodge County, when such value shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars. 278 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. The County Court of Fond du Lac, when such value shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars. The County Court of Milwaukee, when such value does not exceed five million dollars. The County of Winnebago, when such value does not exceed twenty thousand dollars. They shall have jurisdiction of all actions for foreclosure where the value does not exceed the above amounts, and of all actions for divorce or for affirmation or annullment of marriage contract. Justices of the Peace have jurisdiction in civil matters where two hundred dollars or less are involved. The criminal jurisdiction of Justices extends to all cases where the fine is one hundred dol lars, or the imprisonment six months. JURORS. All persons who are citizens of the United States, and qualified electors of the State shall be liable to be drawn as jurors, except as provided as follows : The following persons shall be exempt from serving as jurors : All officers of the United States, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Superintendent and Treasurer ; all Judges, Clerks of Courts of Record ; all county officers, Constables, attorneys and counselors at law, ministers of the Gospel of any religious society, practicing physicians, surgeons, dentists, and the President, professors and instructors of the University and their assistants, and of the several colleges and incorporated , academies ; all teachers of the State Normal Schools, one teacher in each common school, the officers and employes of the several State institutions, one miller in each grist-mill, one ferry man at each licensed ferry, one dispensing druggist in each prescription drug-store, all telegraph operators and superintendents, conductors, engineers, firemen, collectors and station-agents of any railroad or canal, while in actual employment as such ; all officers of fire departments, and all active members of fire companies organized according to law ; all persons more than sixty years of age, and all persons of unsound mind or subject to any bodily infirmity amounting to disability ; all persons who have been convicted of any infamous crime, and all persons who have served at any regular term of the Circuit Court as a grand or petit juror within one year, except he shall be summoned on a special venire or as a talesman. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. Capital punishment has been abolished in this State. WOLF SCALPS. A bounty of five dollars is paid for each wolf scalp. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Whenever either of the articles, as commodities hereafter mentioned, shall be sold by the bushel, and no special agreement as to measure or weight thereof shall be made by the parties, the measure shall be ascertained by weight, and shall be computed as follows: Sixty pounds for a bushel of wheat, clover seed, potatoes or beans. Fifty pounds for a bushel of green apples ; fifty-six pounds for a bushel of rutabagas, flax seed, rye or Indian corn shelled, and seventy pounds of Indian corn unshelled; fifty pounds for a bushel of rape seed, buckwheat, beets, carrots or onions ; forty-eight pounds for a bushel of barley ; forty-five pounds for a bushel of timothy seed ; forty-four pounds for a bushel of pars nips ; forty-two pounds for a bushel of common flat turnips ; thirty-two pounds for a bushel of oats ; and twenty-eight pounds for a bushel of dried apples or dried peaches. ABSTRACT OF LAWS. 279 No person shall sell, buy or receive in store any grain at any weight or measure per bushel other than the standard weight or measure per bushel fixed by law ; and, for any violation, the offender shall forfeit not less than five nor more than fifty dollars. DAMAGES FOR TRESPASS. Any person who shall willfully, maliciously or wantonly destroy, remove, throw down or injure any fence, hedge or wall inclosing any orchard, pasture, meadow, garden, or any field whatever on land belonging to or lawfully occupied by another, or open and leave open, throw down, injure, remove or destroy any gate or bars in such fence, hedge or wall, or cut down, root up, sever, injure, destroy or carry away when severed, any fruit, shade, ornamental or other tree, or any shrub, root, plant, fruit, flower, grain or other vegetable production, or dig up, sever or carry away any mineral, earth or stone, or tear down, mutilate, deface or injure any building, signboard, fence or railing, or sever and carry away any part thereof, standing or being upon the land of another or held in trust, or who shall willfully, maliciously or wantonly cut down, root up, injure, destroy or remove or carry away any fruit, ornamental or other tree, or any shrub, fruit, flower, vase or statue, arbor, or any ornamental structure, standing or being in any street or public ground in any city or village, in any private inclosure or highway, or destroy, remove, mutilate or injure any milestone or board, or any guide-post or board erected in any highway or public way, or on any turnpike, plank-road or railroad, or deface or obliterate any device or inscrip tion thereon, or cut down, break down, remove, mutilate or injure any monument erected or tree marked for the purpose of designating the boundaries of any town or tract of land or subdivision thereof, or deface or obliterate any figures, letters, device or inscription thereon, made for such purpose, or break, remove, destroy or injure any post, guard, railing or lamp-post or lamp thereon, erected or being on any bridge, street, sidewalk, alley, court, passage, park, public ground, highway, turnpike, plank or rail road, or extinguish or break any lamp on any such lamp-post, or tear, deface, mutilate or injure any book, map, pamphlet, chart, picture or other property belonging to any public library, or take and carry away the same with intent to con vert to his own use, or shall injure or destroy any personal property of another, shall be pun ished by imprisonment in the county jail not more than six months, or by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars. Any person who shall willfully, maliciously or wantonly kill, maim, mutilate, disfigure or injure any horse, mule, cattle, sheep or other domestic animal of another, or administer poison to such animal, or expose any poison, with intent that the same may be taken or swallowed by such animal ; and any person who shall overdrive, overwork, overload, maim, wound, torture, torment, cruelly beat or kill any such animal belonging to himself or another, or being the owner or having the care or charge thereof, shall fail to provide necessary food, water or shelter for any such animal, or who shall turn out and abandon, without proper care and protection, or cruelly work any such animal when old, diseased, disabled or unfit for work, or shall carry or confine any live animal, fowl or bird, in a cruel or inhuman manner, or who shall cause, procure or abet any cruelty above mentioned, or the fighting or baiting of bulls, dogs or cocks, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not more than six months or by fine not exceeding one hun dred dollars. ESTRAYS. No stray, except horses and mules, shall be taken up by any person not a resident of the town in which it is found ; nor unless it is found upon land owned or occupied by him. Every finder for a stray must notify the owner, if he is known, within seven days, and request him to pay all reasonable charges and take the stray away. If the owner is not known, he must file a notice with the Town Clerk within ten days, who shall transmit a copy thereof to the County Clerk. If the stray is not worth five dollars, the finder shall post a copy of such notice in two pub lic places in such town ; if it exceed five dollars in value, he shall publish such notice four 280 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. successive weeks either in some newspaper published in the county or in an adjoining county, if one be published nearer his residence than any published in his county ; but if no newspaper is pub lished within twenty miles of his residence, then he must post such notice in three public places in his county. Such notice shall describe the stray by giving its marks, natural or artificial, as near as possible, the name and residence of the finder, specifying the section and town, and the time when such stray was taken up. For neglect to post up or publish as required, the finder shall be liable to double the amount of damages sustained by the owner. For neglect to post or publish for one year, the finder shall be liable for its full value, to be recovered in the name of the town, and the amount recovered to be added to the school fund of such town. The finder shall, within one month, cause the stray to be appraised by a Justice of the Peace and a certificate of such appraisal signed by such Justice filed in the Town Clerk's office. The finder shall pay the Justice fifty cents for such certificate, and ten cents per mile for each mile necessarily traveled to make the same. The owner may have the same restored to him any time within one year after such notice is filed in the town Clerk's office, by proving that the stray belongs to him, and paying all lawful charges incurred in relation to the same. If the owner and finder cannot agree as to the charges, either party, on notice to the other, may apply to a Justice of such town to settle the same, who, for that purpose, may examine witnesses upon oath, and the amount found due, with the costs, shall be a lien upon such stray. If no owner applies for the return of such stray, as pro vided, and the same is not worth more than ten dollars, it shall become the absolute property of such finder ; but if the appraisal shall exceed ten dollars, it shall be sold at public auction by the Sheriff or any Constable of the county, on the request of the finder, and he shall be entitled to one-half the proceeds, and the other half shall be paid to the Treasurer of the town within ten days. If the finder shall neglect or refuse to cause such sale, he shall pay to the town the value of such stray, to be recovered by the town. If any person, without the consent of the owner, shall take away such stray, without first paying the lawful charges, he shall be liable to the finder for the value of such stray. If the finder shall neglect to do any act prescribed above, he shall be precluded from acquiring any right in such stray, and from receiving any charges or expenses relative thereto. FENCES. The Overseers of Highways in their respective towns, the Aldermen of cities in their respective wards, and the Trustees of villages in their respective villages, shall be Fence Viewers, and in towns having less than three road districts, the Supervisors shall be Fence Viewers. All fences four and a half feet high, and in good repair, consisting of rails, timber, boards or stone walls, or any combination thereof, and all brooks, rivers, ponds, creeks, ditches and hedges or other things which shall be considered equivalent thereto, in the judgment of the Fence Viewers, within whose jurisdiction the same may be, shall be deemed legal and sufficient fences. Every partition of a fence, or line upon which a fence is to be built, made by the owners of the adjoining lands, in writing, sealed and witnessed by two witnesses, or by Fence Viewers in writing, under their hands, after being recorded in the Town Clerk's office, shall oblige such owners and their heirs, as long as they remain owners, and after parting with the ownership, until a new partition is made. A division of a partition fence, or line upon which a partition fence between adjoining lands shall be built, may be made by Fence Viewers in the following cases : 1. When any owner of uninclosed lands shall desire to inclose the same, he may have the line between his land and the adjoining land of any other person divided, and the portion upon which the respective owners shall erect their share of the partition fence assigned, whether such adjoining land be inclosed or not. 2. When any lands belonging to different persons in severalty, shall have been occupied in common, or without a partition fence between them, and one of the occupants shall be desirous ABSTRACT OF LAWS. 281 to occupy his part in severalty, and the others shall refuse or neglect, on demand, to divide with him the line where the fence ought to be built, or to build a sufficient fence on his part of the line, when divided, the occupant desiring it may have the same divided, and the share of each assigned. 3. When any controversy shall arise about the right of the respective occupants in parti tion fences, or their obligations to maintain the same, either party may have the line divided, and the share of each assigned. In either case, application may be made to two or more Fence Viewers of the town where the lands lie, who shall give reasonable notice in writing to each party, and they shall in writing under their hands, divide the partition fence or line, and assign to each owner or occupant his share thereof, and in the second and third cases direct within what time each party shall build or repair his share of the fence, having regard to the season of the year, and shall file such deci sion in the Town Clerk's office. If either party shall neglect or refuse to build or repair within the time so assigned, his part of the fence, the other may, after having completed his own part, build or repair such part, and recover doublo the expense thereof. Where the whole or a greater share than belongs to him has been built by one of the occu pants, before complaint to the Fence Viewers, the other shall be obliged to pay for his share of such fence. Where uninclosed land is afterward inclosed, the owner shall pay for one-half the partition fence upon the line between him and any other owner or occupant. If any person shall determine not to keep inclosed any part of his land adjoining any par tition fence, and shall give six months' notice of such determination to all adjoining occupants, he shall not be required to maintain any part of such fence during the time his lands shall lie open. LANDLORD AND TENANT. The common law right to destrain for rent is abolished. The atonement of a tenant to a stranger shall be absolutely void, and shall not in anywise effect the possession of his landlord, unless it be made 1. With the consent of the landlord ; or 2. Pursuant to, or in consequence of, a judgment or order of a court of competent juris diction; or 3. To a purchaser upon a judicial sale, who shall have acquired title to the lands by a conveyance thereof, after the period for redemption, if any, has expired. A tenancy, a will or sufferance may be determined by the landlord, giving one month's notice to quit, or the tenant giving one month's notice of his intention to quit, or if the terms of payment are for less than a month, notice equal to the time between payments, or for non-payment of rent, fourteen days' notice to quit.1 Such notice shall be served by delivering the same to such tenant, or to some person of proper age residing on the premises, or if no such person can be found, by affixing the same in a conspicuous part of the premises, where it may be conveniently read, and, at the expi ration of the time required after the service of such notice, the landlord may re-enter, or main tain an action for the recovery of the possession thereof, or proceed in the manner prescribed by law to remove such tenant without further or other notice to quit. If, after giving notice of deter mination to quit, the tenant neglects or refuses to deliver up the premises, he shall be liable to double the rent agreed upon, to be collected the same as single rent. MARKS AND BRANDS. Every Town Clerk shall, on application of any person residing in his town, record a description of the marks or brands with which such person may be desirous of marking his horses, cattle, sheep or hogs ; but the same description shall not be recorded or used by more than one resident of the same town. If any person shall mark any of his horses, cattle, sheep 282 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. f or hogs, with the same mark or brand previously recorded by any resident of the same town, and while the same mark or brand shall be used by such resident, he shall forfeit for every such offense $5 ; if any person shall willfully mark or brand any of the horses, cattle, sheep or hogs, of any other person with his mark or brand, he shall forfeit for every such offense $10 ; and, if any person shall willfully destroy or alter any mark or brand upon any of the horses, cattle, sheep or hogs of another, he shall forfeit $10, and pay to the party injured double damages. SURVEYORS AND SURVEYS. A County Surveyor is elected every two years. The surveyor may appoint and remove deputies at will, on filing a certificate thereof with the County Clerk. He shall be responsible on his bond for the faithful performance by every deputy of his duties. It shall be the duty of the County Surveyor : (1.) To execute, himself or by his deputy, any survey which may be required of him by order of court, or upon application of any individual or corporation. (2.) To make a record of the plat and field notes of each survey made by him or his deputies, in record books kept therefor, and to so arrange or index the same as to be easy of reference, and to file and preserve in his office the original field notes and calculations thereof. (3.) To safely keep all books, records, plats, files, papers and property belonging to his office ; afford opportunity to examine the same to any person desiring, and deliver the same to his successor in office. (4.) To furnish a copy of any record, plat or paper in his office, to any person on demand and payment of his legal fees therefor. (5.) To administer to every chainman and marker assisting in any survey, before com mencing their duties as such, an oath or affirmation faithfully and impartially to discharge the duties of chainman or marker, as the case may be ; and the surveyor and his deputies are empowered to administer the same. (6.) To perform such other duties as may be required by law. The surveyor and his deputies may demand and receive the following fees, except it be other wise agreed upon with the parties employing them, to wit : For each day's service, $3. For each mile traveled in going from his office to the place of rendering service and return ing, 10 cents. For plat and certificate, except town plats, 50 cents. For recording a survey, 50 cents. « For each chainman and marker necessarily employed, $1.50 per day, unless they be fur nished by the person for whom the survey is made. For making a copy, 10 cents a folio, and 25 cents for his certificate. SUPPORT OF THE POOR. Every town shall relieve and support all poor and indigent persons lawfully settled therein, whenever they shall stand in need thereof, excepting as follows: The father, mother and children, being of sufficient ability, of any poor person, who is blind, old, lame, impotent or decrepit, so as to be unable to maintain himself, shall, at their own charge, relieve and maintain such poor person in such manner as shall be approved by the Super visors of the town where such person may be, and, upon the failure of any such relative so to do, the Supervisors shall apply to the County Judge for an order to compel such relief. Legal settlement may be acquired by one year's residence in a town of this State. ABSTRACTOF LAWS. 283 MARRIED WOMEN. In Wisconsin, the marriage of a femme sole, executrix or administratrix, extinguishes her authority ; and of a female ward, terminates the guardianship as to custody of person, but not as to estate. The husband holds his deceased wife's lands for life, unless she left, by a former husband, issue to whom the estate might descend. Provisions exist by which powers may be given to married women, and regulating their execution of them. If husband and wife are impleaded, and the husband neglects to defend the rights of the wife, she applying before judg ment, may defend without him ; and, if he lose her land, by default, she may bring an action for ejectment after his death. The real estate of females married before, and the real and per sonal property of those after February 21, 1850, remain their separate property. And any married woman may receive, but not from her husband, and hold any property as if unmarried. She may insure the life of her husband, son, or any other person, for her own exclusive benefit. The property of the wife remains to her separate use, not liable for her husband's debts, and not subject to his disposal. She may convey her separate property. If her husband desert her, or neglect her, she may become a sole trader; and she may insure his life for her benefit. Her husband is not liable for her debts contracted before marriage ; the individual earnings of the wife are her separate property, and she may sue, and be sued alone, in regard to the same. She may make and hold deposits in savings-banks. She may, by a separate conveyance, release her dower in any lands which her husband has conveyed. If a woman has authority, she can transact all her husband's business for him ; and while they live together, the wife can buy all family things necessary for the support of the family, and for which he is liable. The husband is responsible for necessaries supplied to his wife, if he does not supply them himself; and he continues so liable, if he turns her out of his house, or otherwise separates him self from her without good cause. But he is not so liable, if she deserts him (unless on extreme provocation), or if he turns her away for good cause. If she leaves him, because he treats her so ill, that she has good right to go from him, this is the same thing as turning her away, and she carries with her his credit for all necessaries supplied to her ; but what the misconduct must be, to give this right, is uncertain. In America the law must be, and undoubtedly is, that the wife is not obliged to stay and endure cruelty and indecency. If a man lives with a woman as his wife, and represents her to be so, he is responsible, the same as if she were his wife, even if it is known that she is not his wife. ACTIONS. All distinctions have been abolished, and there is now but one form, which must be prose cuted in' the name of the real party in interest, except in case of executors, administrators and trustees, and which is begun by the service of a summons on the defendant, to be answered within twenty days. ARREST. Defendant may be arrested : 1. In an action to recover damages not on contract, where the defendant is a non-resident, or is about to remove from the State, or where the action is for injury to the person or character, or for injury to, or wrong taking, detaining or converting property, or in an action to recover damages for property taken under false pretenses. 2. In an action for a fine or penalty or for money received or property embezzled or fraudulently misapplied by a public officer or attorney, solicitor, or counsel or officer of a corpora tion as such, or factor agent or broker, or for misconduct or neglect in official or professional employment. 3. In an action to recover property unjustly detained where it is so concealed that the -Sheriff cannot find the same. 284 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. 4. Where the defendant was guilty of fraud in contracting the debt, or in concealing or disposing of the property for the taking, detaining or disposing of which the action is brought. An affidavit must be made on the part of the plaintiff, stating the cause of action and one of the above causes. ATTACHMENT is allowed on an affidavit that the defendant is indebted to plaintiff, and stating the amount and that it is due on contract ; and, 1. That defendant has absconded, or is about to abscond, or is concealed to the injury of his creditors. 2. That defendant has assigned, disposed or concealed his property or is about to do so with intent to defraud creditors. 3. That the defendant has removed, or is about to remove, his property from the State with intent to defraud creditors. 4. That the debt was fraudulently contracted. 5. That he is a non-resident. 6. Or a foreign corporation. 7. That he has fraudulently conveyed or disposed of his property with intent to defraud creditors. The amount sued for must exceed $50. GARNISHMENT is allowed on an affidavit on behalf of the creditor, that he believes that any third person (naming him) has property effects, or credits of defendant, or is indebted to him, also in execution, on a similar affidavit. JUDGMENT is a lien on real estate in the county where rendered from the date of docketing, and in other counties from the time of filing a transcript, and the lien continues for ten years. It bears interest at 7 per cent, or as high as 10 per cent if stipulated for in the contract. STAY LAWS. In Justices' Courts, on giving bond with surety within five days after judgment was ren dered, stay of execution is allowed, as follows : On sums not exceeding $10, exclusive of costs, one month ; between $10 and $30, two months ; between $30 and $50, three months ; over $50, four months. EXEMPTIONS. A homestead not exceeding forty acres, used for agriculture and a residence, and not included in a town plat or a city or village ; or, instead, one-quarter of an acre in a recorded town plat, city or village. Also, 1, Family Bible ; 2, Family pictures and school-books; 3, Private library ; 4, Seat or pew in church ; 5, Right of burial ; 6, Wearing-apparel, beds, bed steads and bedding, kept and used in the family, stoves and appurtenances, put up and used, cooking utensils and household furniture to the value of $200, one gun, rifle or fire-arm to the value of $50 ; 7, Two cows, ten swine, one yoke of oxen and one horse or mule, or, in lieu thereof, a span of horses or mules, ten sheep and the wool therefrom, necessary food for exempt stock for one year, provided or growing or both, one wagon, cart or dray, one sleigh, one plow, one drag and other farm utensils, including tackle for the teams to the value of $50 ; 8, Provis ions and fuel for the family for one year ; 9, Tools and implements or stock-in-trade of a. ABSTRACT OF LAWS. 285 mechanic or miner, used and kept, not exceeding $200 in value, library and implements of a professional man to the value of $200 ; 10, Money arising from insurance of exempt property destroyed by fire; 11, Inventions for debts against the inventor; 12, Sewing-machines; 13. Sword, plate, books or articles presented by Congress or Legislature of a State ; 14, Printing- material and presses to the value of $1,500 ; 15, Earnings of a married person necessary for family support for sixty days previous to issuing process. LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS. Real actions, twenty years ; persons under disabilities, five years after removal of the same. Judgments of Courts of Record of the State of Wisconsin and sealed instruments when the cause accrues within the State, twenty years. Judgments of other Courts of Record and sealed instruments accruing without the State, ten years. Other contracts, statute liabilities other than penalties and forfeitures, trespass on real property, trover detinue and replevin, six years. Actions against Sheriffs, Coroners and Constables, for acts done in their official capacity, except for escapes, three years. Statutory penalties and forfeitures, libel, slander, assault, battery and false imprisonment, two years. Actions against Sheriffs, etc., for escapes, one year. Persons under disabilities, except infants, may bring action after the disability ceases, provided the period is not extended more than five years, and infants one year after coming of age. Actions by representatives of deceased persons, one year from death ; against the same, one year from granting letters testamentary or of administration. New promise must be in writing. COMMERCIAL TERMS. $ — Means dollars, being a contraction of U. S., which was formerly placed before any denomination of money, and meant, as it means now, United States currency. £ — Means pounds, English money. @ — Stands for at or to ; ft) for pounds, and bbl. for barrels ; ^ for per, or by the. Thus : Butter sells at 20@30c ^ ft), and Flour at $8@12 ^ bbl. % for per cent., and # for numbers. May 1. Wheat sells at $1.20@$1.25, " seller June." Seller June means that the person who sells the wheat has the privilege of delivering it at any time during the month of June. Selling short is contracting to deliver a certain amount of grain or stock at a fixed price, within a certain length of time, when the seller has not the stock on hand. It is for the interest of the person selling short to depress the market as much as possible, in order that he may buy and fill his contract at a profit. Hence the " shorts " are termed " bears." Buying long is to contrive to purchase a certain amount of grain or shares of stock at a fixed price, deliverable within a stipulated time, expecting to make a profit by the rise in prices. The " longs " are termed " bulls," as it is for their interest to " operate " so as to " toss " the prices upward as much as possible. SUGGESTIONS TO THOSE PURCHASING BOOKS BY SUBSCRIPTION. The business of publishing books by subscription having so often been brought into disre pute by agents making representations and declarations not authorized by the publisher, in order to prevent that as much as possible, and that there may be more general knowledge of the relation such agents bear to their principal, and the law governing such cases, the following statement is made : A subscription is in the nature of a contract of mutual promises, by which the subscriber agrees to pay a certain sum for the work described ; the consideration is concurrent that the publisher shall publish the book named, and deliver the same, for which the subscriber is to pay the price named. The nature and character of the work is described by the prospectus and sample shown. These should be carefully examined before subscribing, as they are the 286 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. basis and consideration of the promise to pay, and not the too often exaggerated statements of the agent, who is merely employed to solicit subscriptions, for which he is usually paid a com mission for each subscriber, and has no authority to change or alter the conditions upon which the subscriptions are authorized to be made by the publisher. Should the agent assume to agree to make the subscription conditional or modify or change the agreement of the publisher, as set out by the prospectus and sample, in order to bind the principal, the subscriber should see that such condition or changes are stated over or in connection with his signature, so that the publisher may have notice of the same. All persons making contracts in reference to matters of this kind, or any other business, should remember that the law as written is, that they cannot be altered, varied or rescinded verbally, but, if done at all, must be done in writing. It is therefore important that all persons contemplating subscribing should distinctly understand that all talk before or after the sub scription is made, is not admissible as evidence, and is no part of the contract. Persons employed to solicit subscriptions are known to the trade as canvassers. They are agents appointed to do a particular business in a prescribed mode, and have no authority to do it in any other way to the prejudice of their principal, nor can they bind their principal in any •other matter. They cannot collect money, or agree that payment may be made in anything else but money. They cannot extend the time of payment beyond the time of delivery, nor bind their principal for the payment of expenses incurred in their business. It would save a great deal of trouble, and often serious loss, if persons, before signing their names to any subscription book, or any written instrument, would examine carefully what it is ; if they cannot read themselves call on some one disinterested who can. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. CONDENSED. PEEAMBLE. We, the People of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty G-od for our freedom; in order to secure its blessings, form a more perfect government, insure domestic tranquillity, and promote the general welfare, do establish this Constitution. Article I. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. Section 1. All men are born free and independent, and have, among other rights, those of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Governments are instituted to secure these rights. Sec. 2. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for the punish ment of crimes. Sec. 3. Liberty of speech and of the press shall not be abridged. Sec. 4. The right of the people to peaceably assemble to consult for the common good shall never be abridged. Sec. 5. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. Sec. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel pun ishments inflicted. Sec. 7. In criminal prosecutions, the rights of the accused shall be protected. Sec. 8. Criminal offenses shall be prosecuted on presentment of a grand jury. No one shall be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense, nor be compelled to be a witness against himself. Every one shall have the right of giving bail except in capital offenses ; and the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, except in case of rebellion or invasion. Sec. 9. Every person is entitled to a certain remedy for all injuries or wrongs. Sec. 10. Treason consists in levying war against the State, or giving aid and comfort to its enemies. Two witnesses are necessary to convict a person of the crime. Sec. 11. The people are to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. Sec. 12. Bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, or laws impairing obligation of contracts, shall never be passed. Sec. 13. No property shall be taken for public use without compensation. Sec. 14. All laws in the State are allodial. Feudal tenures are prohibited. Sec. 15. The rights of property are the same in resident aliens and citizens. Sec. 16. No person shall be imprisoned for debt. Sec. 17. Wholesome exemption laws shall be passed. Sec. 18. Liberty of conscience and rights of worship shall never be abridged. The' public money shall never be applied to sectarian uses. Sec. 19. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification for any office. 287 288 HISTOEY OF WISCONSIN. Sec. 20. The military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power. Sec. 21. Writs of error shall never be prohibited by law. Sec. 22. A free government can only be maintained by adhering to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue. Article II. boundaries. Section 1. The boundary of the State, beginning at the northeast corner of the State of Illinois, runs with the boundary line of Michigan, through Lake Michigan and Green Bay, to the mouth of the Menominie River ; up that stream and the Brule River to Lake Brule ; along the southern shore of that lake to the Lake of the Desert ; thence in a direct line to the head of Montreal River ; down the main channel of that stream to the middle of Lake Superior ; thence through the center of said lake to the mouth of St. Louis River ; up the channel of that stream to the first rapids ; thence due south to the main branch of the St. Croix ; down that river and the Mississippi to the northwest corner of Illinois ; thence due east with the northern boundary of that State to the place of beginning. Sec. 2. The propositions in the enabling act of Congress are accepted and confirmed. Article III. SUFFRAGE. Section 1. The qualified electors are all male persons twenty-one years of age or upward, who are (1.) white citizens of the United States ; (2.) who are white persons of foreign birth that have declared their intentions, according to law, to become citizens ; (3) who are persons of Indian blood and citizens of the United States ; and (4.) civilized Indians not members of any tribe. Sec. 2. Persons under guardianship, such as are non compus mentis or insane, and those convicted of treason and felony and not pardoned, are not qualified electors. Sec. 3. All votes shall be by ballot, except for township officers when otherwise directed by law. Sec. 4. No person shall be deemed to have lost his residence by reason of his absence on business for the State or United States. Sec. 5. No person in the army or navy shall become a resident of the State in conse quence of being stationed therein. Sec. 6. Persons convicted of bribery, larceny or any infamous crime, or those who bet on elections, may be excluded by law from the right of suffrage. Article IV. legislative. Section 1. The Legislative power is vested in a Senate and Assembly. Sec. 2. Members of the Assembly shall never number less than fifty-four, nor more than one hundred; of the Senate, not more than one-third, nor less than one-fourth of the mem bers of the Assembly. Sec. 3. Census shall be taken, every ten years, of the inhabitants of the State, beginning with 1855, when a new apportionment of members of the Senate and Assembly shall be made; also, after each United States census. Sec. 4. Members of the Assembly shall be chosen on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November of each year. Sec. 5. Members of the Senate shall be elected for two years, at the same time and in the same manner as members of the Assembly. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. 289 Sec. 6. No person shall be eligible to the Legislature, unless a resident of the State one year, and a qualified elector. Sec. 7. Each House shall be the judge of the qualifications of its members. A majority shall be necessary to form a quorum. Sec. 8. Each House shall make its own rules. Sec. 9. Each House shall choose its own officers. Sec. 10. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings. Sec. 11. The Legislature shall meet at the seat of government once a year. Sec. 12. No member shall be eligible to any other civil office in the State, during the term for which he was elected. Sec. 13. No member shall be eligible to any office of the United States, during the term for which he was elected. Sec. 14. Writs of election, to fill vacancies in either House, shall be issued by the Gov ernor. Sec. 15. Except treason, felony and breach of the peace, members are privileged from arrest in all cases; nor subject to any civil process during a session. Sec. 16. Members are not liable for words spoken in debate. Sec. 17. The style of all laws shall be, " The people of the State of Wisconsin rep resented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows : " Sec. 18. Private or local bills shall not embrace more than one subject. Sec. 19. Bills may originate in either House, and a bill passed by one House may be amended by the other. Sec. 20. Yeas and nays, at the request of one-sixth of the members present, shall be entered on the journal. Sec. 21. [Each member shall receive, as an annual compensation, three hundred and fifty dollars and ten cents for each mile traveled in going to and returning from the seat of gov ernment]. As amended in 1867. Sec. 22. Boards of Supervisors may be vested with powers of a local, legislative and administrative character, such as shall be conferred by the Legislature. Sec. 23. One system only, of town and county government, shall be established by the Legislature. Sec. 24. The Legislature shall never authorize any lottery, or grant any divorce. Sec. 25. Stationery, for State use and State printing, shall be let by contract to the low est bidder. Sec. 26. Extra compensation to any public officer shall not be granted after service is rendered, nor shall his compensation be increased or diminished during his term of office. Sec. 27. The Legislature shall direct, by law, in what manner and in what Courts suits against the State may be brought. Sec. 28. Public officers shall all take an oath of office. Sec. 29. The Legislature shall determine what persons shall constitute the militia, and may provide for organizing the same. Sec. 30. Members of the Legislature shall vote viva voce in all elections made by them. Sec. 31. [Special legislation is prohibited (1) for changing the names of persons, or con stituting one person the heir-at-law of another ; (2) for laying out, opening or altering high ways, except in certain cases ; (3) for authorizing persons to keep ferries ; (4) for authorizing the sale of the property of minors ; (5) for locating a county seat ; (6) for assessment of taxes ; (7) for granting corporate powers, except to cities ; (8) for apportioning any part of the school fund ; and (9) for incorporating any town or village, or to award the charter thereof]. Added by amendment, in 1871. Sec. 32. [General laws shall be passed for the transaction of any business prohibited by Section 21 of this Article.] Added by amendment, in 1871. 290 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Article V. Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Governor, who shall hold 5iis office two years. A Lieutenant Governor shall be elected at the same time and for the same term. Sec. 2. Governor and Lieutenant Governor must be citizens of the United States, and qualified electors of the State. Sec. 3. Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected at the times and places of choosing members of the Legislature. Sec. 4. The Governor shall be (1) commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the State ; (2) he has power to convene the Legislature in extra session ; (3) he shall communi cate to the Legislature all necessary information; (4) he shall transact all necessary business with the officers of the State ; and (5) shall expedite all legislative measures, and see that th laws are faithfully executed. Sec. 5. [The Governor's salary shall be five thousand dollars per annum.] As amended in 1869. Sec. 6. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons. Sec. 7. The executive duties shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor when, from any cause, the executive office is vacated by the Governor. Sec. 8. The Lieutenant Governor shall be President of the Senate. The Secretary of State shall act as Governor when both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are incapacitated from any causes to fill the executive office. Sec. 9. [The Lieutenant Governor shall receive a salary of one thousand dollars per annum.] As amended in 1869. Sec. 10. All legislative bills shall be presented to the Governor for his signature before they become laws. Bills returned by the Governor without his signature may become laws by agreement of two-thirds of the members present in each house. Article VI. administration. Section 1. A Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney General shall be elected at the times and places of choosing members of the Legislature, who shall severally hold their offices for two years. Sec. 2. The Secretary of State shall keep a record of the official acts of the Legislature and Executive Department. He shall be ex officio Auditor. Sec. 3. The powers, duties and compensation of the Treasurer and Attorney General shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 4. Sheriffs, Coroners, Registers of Deeds and District Attorneys shall be elected every two years. Article VII. judiciary. Section 1. The Senate shall form the Court of Impeachment. Judgment shall not extend further than removal from office ; but the person impeached shall be liable to indictment, trial and punishment, according to law. Sec. 2. The judicial power of the State is vested in a Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, Courts of Probate, and in Justices of the Peace. Municipal courts, also, may be authorized. Sec. 3. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction only. Trial by jury is not allowed in any case. The Court shall have a general superintending control over inferior courts, and power to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, injunction, quo warranto, certiorari, and other original and remedial writs. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. 293 Sec. 4. [The Supreme Court shall consist of one Chief Justice, and four Associate Justices, each for the term often years.] As amended in 1877. Sec. 5. The State shall be divided into five Judicial Circuits. Sec. 6. The Legislature may alter the limits or increase the number of the circuits. Sec. 7. There shall be a Judge chosen for each Circuit, who shall reside therein ; his term of office shall be six years. Sec. 8. The Circuit Courts shall have original jurisdiction in all matters civil and crim inal, not excepted in this Constitution, and not prohibited hereafter by law, and appellate juris diction from all inferior courts. They shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, man damus, injunction, quo warranto, certiorari, and all other writs necessary to carry their orders and judgments into effect. Sec. 9. Vacancies in the office of Supreme or Circuit Judge shall be filled by the Gover nor. Election for Judges shall not be at any general election, nor within thirty days before or after said election. Sec. 10. Judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts shall receive a salary of not less than one thousand five hundred dollars, and shall hold no other office, except a judicial one, during the term for which they are respectively elected. Each Judge shall be a citizen of the United States, and have attained the age of twenty-five years. He shall also be a qualified elector within the jurisdiction for which he may be chosen. Sec. 11. The Supreme Court shall hold at least one term annually. A Circuit Court shall be held at least twice in each year, in each county of this State organized for judicial pur poses. Sec. 12. There shall be a Clerk of, the Circuit Court chosen in each county, whose term of office shall be two years. The Supreme Court shall appoint its own Clerk. Sec. 13. Any Judge of the Supreme or Circuit Court may be removed from office by vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to both Senate and Assembly. Sec. 14. A Judge of Probate shall be elected in each county, who shall hold his office for two years. Sec. 15. Justices of the Peace shall be elected in the several towns, villages and cities of the State, in such manner as the Legislature may direct, whose term of office shall be two years. Their civil and criminal jurisdiction shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 16. Laws shall be passed for the regulation of tribunals of conciliation. These may be established in and for any township. Sec. 17. The style of all -writs and process shall be " The State of Wisconsin." Criminal prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by authority of the State ; and all indictments shall conclude against the peace and dignity of the same. Sec. 18. A tax shall be imposed by the Legislature on all civil suits, which shall consti tute a fund, to be applied toward the payment of the salary of Judges. Sec. 19. Testimony in equity causes shall be taken the same as in cases at law. The office of Master in Chancery is prohibited. Sec. 20. Any suitor may prosecute or defend his case in his own proper person, or by attorney or agent. Sec. 21. Statute laws and such judicial decisions as are deemed expedient, shall be pub lished. No general law shall be in force until published. Sec. 22. The Legislature at its first session shall provide for the appointment of three Commissioners to revise the rules of practice in the several Courts of Record in the State. Sec. 23. The Legislature may confer judicial powers on one or more persons in each organized county of the State. Powers granted to such Commissioners shall not exceed that of a Judge of a Circuit Court at chambers. 294 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Article VIII. finance. Section 1. Taxation shall be uniform, and taxes shall be levied upon such property as the Legislature may prescribe. Sec. 2. [No money shall be paid out of the treasury except in pursuance of an appro priation by law. Claims made against the State must be filed within six years after having accrued.] As amended in 1877. Sec. 3. The credit of the State shall never be given or loaned in aid of any individual, association or corporation. Sec. 4. The State shall never contract any public debt, except in the cases and manner provided in this Constitution. Sec. 5. A tax shall be levied each year sufficient to defray estimated expenses. Sec. 6. Debts not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars may be contracted by the State, which shall be paid within five years thereafter. Sec. 7. The Legislature may borrow money to repel invasion, suppress insurrection or defend the State in time of war. Sec. 8. All fiscal laws in the Legislature shall be voted on by yeas and nays. Sec. 9. State scrip shall not be issued except for such debts as are authorized by the sixth and seventh sections of this article. Sec. 10. No debt for internal improvements shall be contracted by the State. Article IX. eminent domain and property of the state. Section 1. The State shall have concurrent jurisdiction on all rivers and lakes border ing on Wisconsin. Sec. 2. The title to all property which has accrued to the Territory of Wisconsin shall vest in the State of Wisconsin. Sec. 3. The ultimate property in and to all lands of the State is possessed by the people. Article X. education. Section 1. The supervision of public instruction shall be vested in a State Superintend ent and such other officers as the Legislature shall direct. The annual compensation of the State Superintendent shall not exceed twelve hundred dollars. Sec. 2. The school fund to support and maintain common schools, academies and nor mal schools, and to purchase apparatus and libraries therefor, shall be created out of (1) the proceeds of lands from the United States; (2) out of forfeitures and escheats; (3) out of moneys paid as exemptions from military duty; (4) out of fines collected for breach of penal laws; (5) outof any grant to the State where the purposes of such grant are not specified; (6) out of the proceeds of the sale of five hundred thousand acres of land granted by Congress Sep tember 14, 1841 ; and (7) out of the five per centum of the net proceeds of the public lands to which the State shall become entitled on her admission into the Union (if Congress shall con sent to such appropriation of the two grants last mentioned.) Sec. 3. District schools shall be established by law which shall be free to all children be tween the ages of four and twenty years. No sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein. Sec. 4. Each town and city shall raise for common schools therein by taxation a sum equal to one-half the amount received from the school fund of the State. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. 295 Sec. 5. Provisions shall be made by law for the distribution of the income of the school fund among the several towns and cities for the support of common schools therein ; but no appropriation shall be made when there is a failure to raise the proper tax, or when a school shall not have been maintained at least three months of the year. Sec. 6. Provision shall be made by law for the establishment of a State University. The proceeds of all lands granted for the support of a university by the United States shall consti tute "the University fund," the interest of which shall be appropriated to the support of the State University. No sectarian instruction shall be allowed in such university. Sec. 7. The Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney General shall constitute a Board of Commissioners to sell school and university lands and for the investments of the proceeds thereof. Sec. 8. School and university lands shall be appraised and sold according to law. The Commissioners shall execute deeds to purchasers, and shall invest the proceeds of the sales of such lands in such manner as the Legislature shall provide. Article XL CORPORATIONS. Section 1. Corporations without banking powers may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by special act, except for municipal purposes, and in cases where, in the judgment of the Legislature, the objects of the corporation cannot be attained under general laws. Sec 2. No municipal corporation shall take private property for public use, against the consent of the owner, except by jury trial. Sec. 3. Cities and incorporated villages shall be organized, and their powers restricted by law so as to prevent abuses. [No county, city, town, village, school district, or other municipal corporation, shall become indebted to exceed five per centum on the value of the taxable property therein:] As amended in 1874. Sec. 4. Banks shall not be created except as provided in this article. Sec. 5. The question of " bank " or "no bank " may be submitted to the voters of the State; and if a majority of all the votes cast shall be in favor of banks, the Legislature shall have power to grant bank charters, or pass a general banking law. Article XII. Section 1. Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed in either house of the Legis lature, and referred to the next Legislature and published for three months previous. If agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each house, then the amendment or amendments shall submit them to the vote of the people ; and if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments, they shall become a part of the Constitution. Sec. 2. If a convention to revise or change the Constitution shall be deemed necessary by the Legislature, they shall recommend to the electors of the State to vote at the next general election for or against the same. If the vote shall be for the calling of such convention, then the Legislature, at its next session, shall provide for the same. Article XIII. miscellaneous provisions. Section 1. The political year for Wisconsin shall commence on the first Monday in Jan uary in each year. General elections shall be holden on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November. Sec. 2. A duelist shall not be qualified as an elector in this State. Sec. 3. United States officers (except Postmasters), public defaulters, or persons convicted of infamous crimes, shall not be eligible to office in this State. 296 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Sec. 4. A great seal for the State shall be provided, and all official acts of the Governor (except his approbation of the laws), shall be authenticated thereby. Sec. 5. Residents on Indian lands may vote, if duly qualified, at the polls nearest their residence. Sec. 6. Elective officers of the Legislature, other than the presiding officers, shall be a Chief Clerk, and a Sergeant-at-Arms, to be elected by each House. Sec. 7. No county with an area of nine hundred square miles or less, shall be divided, without submitting the question to the vote of the people of the county. Sec. 8. [The Legislature is prohibited from enacting any special or private laws, for locating or changing any county seat.] See amendment adopted in 1871, as Sec. 31 (Subdivision 5) of Art. IV. Sec. 9. Officers not provided for by this Constitution shall be elected as the Legislature shall direct. Sec. 10. The Legislature may declare the cases in which any office shall be deemed vacant, and also the manner of filling the vacancy, where no provision is made for that purpose in this Constitution. Article XIV. schedule. Section 1. All rights under the Territorial government are continued under the State government. Territorial processes are valid after the State is admitted into the Union. Sec 2. Existing laws of the Territory of Wisconsin not repugnant to this Constitution shall remain in force until they expire by limitation or are altered or repealed. Sec 3. All fines, penalties or forfeitures accruing to the Territory of Wisconsin shall inure to the use of the State. Sec 4. Territorial recognizances, bonds and public property shall pass to and be_ vested in the State. Criminal prosecutions, offenses committed against the laws, and all actions at law and suits in equity in the Territory of Wisconsin shall be contained in and prosecuted by the State. Sec. 5. Officers holding under authority of the United States or of the Territory of Wis consin shall continue in office until superseded by State authority. Sec. 6. The first session of the State Legislature shall commence on the first Monday in June next, and shall be held at the village of Madison, which shall be and remain the seat of government until otherwise provided by law. Sec 7. Existing county and town officers shall hold their offices until the Legislature of the State shall provide for the holding of elections to fill such offices. Sec 8. A copy of this Constitution shall be transmitted to the President of the United States to be laid before Congress at its present session. Sec 9. This Constitution shall be submitted to the vote of the people for ratification or rejection on the second Monday in March next. If ratified, an election shall be held for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Attorney General, members of the State Legisla ture and members of Congress, on the second Monday of May next. Sec 10. [Omitted. See Section 1, Chapter 3, Acts of Extra Session of 1878.] Sec 11. The several elections provided for in this Article shall be conducted according to the existing laws of the Territory of Wisconsin. Sec 12. [Omitted. See Section 1, Chapter 3, Acts of Extra Session of 1878.] Sec 13. The common law in force in the Territory of Wisconsin shall continue in force in the State until altered or suspended by the Legislature. Sec 14/ The Senators first elected in the even-numbered Senate districts, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and other State officers first elected under this Constitution, shall enter upon their duties on the first Monday of June next, and hold their offices for one year from the first Monday of January next. The Senators first elected in the odd-numbered districts and the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 297 members of the Assembly first elected shall enter upon their duties on the first Monday of June next, and continue in office until the first Monday in January next. Sec. 15. The oath of office may be administered by any Judge or Justice of the Peace, until the Legislature shall otherwise direct. We, the undersigned, members of the Convention to form a Constitution for the State of Wisconsin, to be submitted to the people thereof for their ratification or rejection, do hereby certify that the foregoing is the Constitution adopted by the Convention. ' In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, at Madison, the 1st day of Feb ruary, A. D. 1848. Morgan L. Martin, President of the Convention and Delegate from Brown County. Thomas McHugh, Secretary. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. CONDENSED. PREAMBLE. We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general zvelfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. ARTICLE I. Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Sec 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the States, and electors shall have qualifications for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature. Representatives must be twenty-five years of age, and must have been seven years citizens of the United States, and inhabitants of the State in which they shall be chosen. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States according to population, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including apprentices and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of Congress, and every ten years there after in such manner as Congress shall by law direct. States shall have one Representative only for each thirty thousand, but each State'shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, New Hampshire shall choose three ; Massachusetts, eight ; Rhode Island, one; Connecticut, five; New York, six ; New Jersey, four ; Pennsylvania, eight; Del aware, one ; Maryland, six ; Virginia, ten ; North Carolina, five ; South Carolina, five, and Georgia, three. Vacancies in the representation from any State shall be filled by elections, ordered by the executive authority of the State. 298 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. Sec 3. The Senate shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six years ; and each Senator shall have one vote. Senators shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes immediately after assem bling, in consequence of the first election. The first class shall vacate their seats at the expira tion of the second year; the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year, and the third :,lass, at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year; and vacancies happening by resignation or otherwise during the recess of the Legislature of any State may be filled by temporary appointments of the Executive until the next meeting of the Legislature. All Senators shall have attained the age of thirty years, and shall have been nine years citizens of the United States, and shall be inhabitants of the State for which they shall bo chosen. The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of President, The Senate shall have the sole power to try impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President is tried, the Chief Justice shall pre side, and concurrence of two-thirds of the members present shall be necessary to conviction. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall be limited to removal from office and disqualifica tion to hold any office under the United States ; but the party convicted shall be liable to trial and punishment according to law. Sec 4. The Legislature of each State shall prescribe the times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, but Congress may make or alter such regu lations, except as to the place of choosing Senators. Congress shall assemble annually, on the first Monday in December, unless a different day be appointed. Sec 5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel attendance of absent members, under penalties. Each House may determine its own rules of proceeding, punish its members, and, by a two- thirds vote, expel a member. Each House shall keep a journal, which shall be published at their discretion, and one-fiftli of those present may require the yeas and nays to be entered on the journal. Neither House shall adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other, nor to any other place than that in which they are sitting. Sec 6. The compensation of Senators and Representatives shall be fixed by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall be privileged from arrest during attendance at the session of their respective Houses, except for treason, felony and breach of the peace, and shall not be questioned in any other place for any speech or debate in either House. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the United States which shall have been created or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time ; and no person holding office under the United States shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office. Sec. 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but may be amended by the Senate. Every bill passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return A \ CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 299 it, with his objections, to that House in which it originated, who shall enter the objections on their journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after reconsideration, two-thirds shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other House, and, if approved by two- thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases, the yeas and nays shall be taken, and entered upon the journal of each House, respectively. Any bill not returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, shall be a law, as if he had signed it, unless Congress, by adjournment, shall prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. Every order, resolution or vote requiring the concurrence of the Senate and House of Rep resentatives (except a question of adjournment), shall be approved by the President before tak ing effect ; or, being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by a two-thirds vote of each House, as in the case of a bill. Sec. 8. Congress shall have power : To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States ; To borrow money on the public credit ; To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States and with the Indian tribes ; To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bank ruptcies ; To coin money, regulate the value thereof and foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures ; To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States ; To establish post offices and post roads ; To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries ; To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the laws of nations ; To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water ; To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years ; To provide and maintain a navy ; To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces ; To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insur rection and repel invasions ; To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and for governing such parts of them as may be employed in the service of the United States — the several States to appoint the officers and to train the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases, over the seat of Government, and over all forts, magazines, arsenals, dock -yards and other needful buildings ; and To make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution all powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. Sec 9. Foreign immigration or the importation of slaves into the States shall not be pro hibited by Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed not exceeding ten dollars for each person so imported. The writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless required by the public safety in cases of rebellion or invasion. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 300 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enu meration hereinbefore directed to be made. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. In regulating commerce or revenue, no preference shall be given to the ports of one State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury unless appropriated by law ; and accounts of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States ; and no person holding any office under them shall accept any present, emolument, office or title from any foreign State, without the consent of Congress. Sec 10. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance or confederation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; pass bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except for the execution of its inspection laws; and dl such duties shall be for the use of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of Congress. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State or with a foreign power, or engage in war unless actually invaded or in imminent and immediate danger. Article II. Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President. He shall hold office for four years, and, together with the Vice President chosen for the same term, shall be elected as follows : Each State shall appoint in the manner directed by the Legislature, a number of electors equal to the whole number of its Senators and Representatives in Congress ; but no Senator or Representative or person holding any office under the United States shall be appointed an elector. [ The third clause of this section has been superseded and amended by the 12th Amendment.'] Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which. they shall give their votes, which day shall be the same throughout the United States. A natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, only shall be eligible to the office of President; and he must have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States. If the President be removed from office, die, resign, or become unable to discharge the duties of his office, the same shall devolve upon the Vice President, and Congress may provide by low for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability of both the President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed or a President elected.* The President shall receive a compensation for his services, which shall be neither increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been electedf and within that period he shall not receive any other emolument from the United States or from any of them. Before entering upon office he shall take the following oath or affirmation : "I do solemnly, swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." * By act of March 1, 1792, Congress provided for this contingency, designating the President of the Senate fro tempore, or if there be none the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to succeed to the chief Executive office in the event of a vacancy in the offices of both President and Vice President. f The President's salary was fixed February 18, 1793, at 825,000, and was increased March 3, 1873, to $50,000. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 301 Sec 2. The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when in actual service of the United States; he may require the written opinion of the principal officers of the several executive departments upon subjects relating to the duties of their respective offices, and shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur, and shall nominate to the Senate ambassa dors, other public ministers and consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose appointment is not otherwise provided for ; but Congress may vest the appointment of inferior officers in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. The President may fill all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session. He shall, from time to time, give Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend measures to their consideration ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses or either of them, and, in case of disagreement between them as to the time of adjourn ment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall com mission all the officers of the United States. Sec 4. The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Article III. Section 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as Congress may establish. The Judges, both of the Supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall receive a compensa tion which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. Sec 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, treaties, cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party ; controversies between two or more States ; between a State and citizens of another State; between citizens of different States; between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State or the citizens thereof and foreign States, citizens or subjects. In all cases affecting Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State is a party, the, Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, subject to exceptions and regu lations made by Congress. All crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be tried by jury, and in the State where the crime was committed ; but Congress shall fix the place of trial for crimes not committed within any State. Sec. 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. Article IV. Section 1. Each State shall give full faith and credit to the public acts, records and judi cial proceedings of every other State, and Congress may prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 302 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Sec. 2. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. Fugitives from justice in any State found in another State, shall, on demand of the Execu tive, be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. No person held to service or labor in one State under the.laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. Sec 3. New States may be admitted to the Union, but no new State shall be formed within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of Congress. Congress shall have power to dispose of and to regulate and govern the territory or other property belonging to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to prejudice any claims of the United States, or any particular State. Every State shall be guaranteed a republican form of government, and shall be protected against invasion ; and on an application of the Legislature, or of the executive (when the Legis lature cannot be convened), against domestic violence. Article V. Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amend ments to this Constitution, or, on application of two-thirds of the Legislatures of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress ; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. Article VI. All existing debts and engagements shall be valid against the United States under this Constitution. This Constitution and the laws of the United States made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby ; anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. Senators and Representatives, 'members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. Article VII. The ratification of the Convention of nine States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names. GEORGE WASHINGTON, President and Deputy from Virginia, [Other signatures omitted.] CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 303 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America. Proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the Fifth Article of the original Constitution. Article I. Congress shall make no law respecting religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press ; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Article II. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Article III. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Article IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons and property against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. Article V. No person shall be held to answer for any infamous crime unless on an indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb for the same offense ; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for rjublic use without just compensation. Article VI. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Article VII. In suits at common law, when the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the common law. Article VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual pun ishments inflicted. 304 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. Article IX. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or dis parage others retained by the people. Article X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people. Article XL The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. Article XII. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; distinct ballots shall be made for President and Vice President, and distinct lists made of such ballots and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify and transmit sealed to the seat of government, addressed to the President of the Senate ; the President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted ; the person having the greatest number of votes for Presi dent shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; if no person have such majority, then from those having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose imme diately by ballot the President. But, in choosing the President, the vote shall be taken by States, each State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or mem bers from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. If, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, the House of Representatives shall not choose a President before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act as President, as in the case of death or disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice President shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, an'd a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States. Article XIII. Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Sec 3. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Article XIV. Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, or subject to the juris diction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property without CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 305 due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law. Sec. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the States according to population, counting the whole number of persons in each State, including Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote is denied to any of the male inhabitants of a State, being twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty- one years of age in such State. Sec 3. No person shall hold any office under the United States or under any State, who having previously, as an officer of the United States of any State, taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two- thirds of each House, remove such disability. Sec 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, including pensions and bounties, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. Sec 5. Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Article XV. Section 1. The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 306 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF COUNTIES AND CITIES WITH GUBERNATORIAL AND PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. Note. — The Republican or Democratic majority in each county is given as between Smith and Mallory. Green back majority is only given when the vote for Allis exceeds the others, and is taken from the highest vote. COUNTIES. GOVERNOR. 1877. PRESIDENT. 1876. Smith. Mallory. Allis. Maj. R. 347 D. 77 R. 256 R. 6 D. 353 R. 200 R. 312 D. 680 D. 18 G. 367 R 451 D. 202 D. 290 D. 1934 11. 351 D. 7 R. 767 R. 403 D. 328 R. 682 R. 974 D. 17 R. 286 R. 411 D. 201 R. 162 R. 31 D. 311 R. 853 It. 109 G. 142 D. 586 D. 454 D. 283 D. 545 R. 6 R. 295 D. 1228 D. 1142 R. 350 R. 978 R. 553 R. 163 R. 398 Hayes. Tilden. Maj. 580 86 459 40 1387 1075 336450685 449 2048 806 36132333 477 21 11741208 3086 2620 1823 879 1461 802 19171045 938 247 19681409 27 1365 301 447 5843 11021059 777 437 521 1523 916 1080 2304 233163 203 34 1740 810 24 1130 693 153 15971008 3903 4267 126 28 407805 3414 1938 849896 1175 391 2418 883907 558 1115 1300 15 1951 755730 63881096 764 2005 1579 171 545363 917 1906 116 981 109 644 86 2755 1186 285 1012 15961255 3532 1355 54353236 1095 42 2033 2266484547232601 1739 2651 1507 2874 17141610 561 26442424 71 2700 668697 99812558 18131859 583836 2135 10191855 3560 445 18S 257 74 36471162 28 2145 1774 660 2493 1604 57266361 596 67 894 1785 5660319817351514 2348 718 R. 539 D. 80 53 2 1015 76 R. 387 R. 12 D. 892 Buffalo R. 24 R. 257 389589816 118 146614 381 283 D. 1133 D. 178 Clark R. 595 K. 1039 D. 249 D. 291 D. 3125 R. 499 D. 25 412597 12491037 580215 1021 521 296 463 5120 524269 169 98 746 76 12281019 157 992 17 123 408 60 728 112 R. 1139 R. 481 D. 815 R. 1525 R. 866 R. 225 R. 303 R. 789 41341 D. 1260 1458 14321654 24812299 174 3908 17961112 12026 2030 1174 36085480 394985 362 17942880 R. 256 R. 178 D. 1093 R. 163 R. 125 D. 103 D. 1208 D. 1128 D. 415 D. 2046 R. 528 R. 639 D. 1749 D. 1897 R. 447 R. 1152 Polk R. 650 R. 61 R, 680 307 Gubernatorial and Presidential Votes— 1877-1876— Continued. COUNTIES— Continued. GOVERNOR. 1877. * PRESIDENT. 1870. Smith. Mallory. Allis. Maj. Hayes. Tilden. Maj. 1201 3375 15581826 269 1598 195 2483 1678 2904 994 2484 14731282 2068 247 231 320377 219 2516 31 229 210620862 150 50 432226 771 281 712740349140 4816 260 115 84 172 270 724 69 245 155 87 1052 270 55 248252 232210 76 729 16201489 922605 1737 254 731 416 1374 2187 2388 990257 2238 196522 361 109 197 17 5 128 294 123 459884 85 42 333207605314671 1057 284311 5027 249 146125 167311 954 127 405 267 61 921239 73 440 270 687 49 170 705781 93 574 92 750 53 176846 160 187 276 772377 1887 601201 6 240 36 R. 472 R. 1755 R. 70 R. 904 D. 336 D. 139 D. 59 R. 1452 11. 1262 R. 1530 D. 1993 R. 96 R. 483 R. 1025 D. 170 G 354 D. 291 D. 41 R. 268 R. 22 R. 8 G. 81 D. 97 D. 65 K. 87 R. 161 D. 22 G. 45 G. 60 R. 99 R. 19 R. 166 D. 33 If. 41 D. 317 K. 61 D. 105 D. 211 R. 11 G. 230 D. 41 R. 5 D. 41 D. 230 D. 58 D. 160 D. 112 R. 26 R. 131 R. 31 D 18 D. 192 D. 18 D. 445 R. 161 G. 130 2038 5755 1775 3395 582 3224 240 2360 27644212 13213129264220805092 658 549 357 745 456 14 64 15912814 17362201 873 3633 246 790 1117 1970 304733351592 548 4426 745911465 627312 3193 R. 447 R. 2893 R. 39 R. 1194 D. 291 D. 409 D. 6 R. 1570 R. 1647 R. 2242 D. 1726 D. 200 R. 1050 R. 1532 R. 666 D. 87 CITIES. D. 362 D. 108 R. 118 R. 144 D. 17 9733 143 3 250520 195 110 181 3 3142 351 13 17 67 1050 21 376118 24 6 375 28 7 o 108233 1368 145164 20 300 D. 29 475254 1205 1382 669 121 696250 1036 514 1085 834660291 8218 348511 206222 399 1496 572 212 10131545 288 191047 224848544 154C1255 515344 962E 324385 20823850b 1910 D. 97 R. 42 R. 189 D. 160 R. 81 D. 70 R. 49 R. 26 R. 188 D. 30 D. 464 D. 418 R. 148 D. 53 D. 1407 R. 24 R. 126 D. 2 D. 16 D. 107 D. 414 366215 143 1672 397 87 575423 372 280 210 532377 108 1324 333 83 873563 129C 55 595 D. Dili D. 162 lv. o-> R. 3)8 R. 64 R. 4 D. 298 D. 140 D 92:i R. 228 D. 385 POPULATION OF THE ENITED STATES. States ak» Territories. Staffs. Alabama Arkansas California Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana ; Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts. . . Michigan* Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire. New Jersey New York North Carolina. . Ohio Oregon * Last Censu •ea hi uare Miles. 1870 95, s of 722 198 9X1674 120 268 000410 Willi 045 318 600 346 7 76 184 800 •4 51 531 156 350955 090 2 80 ¦;,->n nun 7049114 244 Mich Population 996,992484,471560.247537,454 125,015187,748 184.109539.891680,637191.792 364,399 321,011726,915626,915780.894457,351 184,059 439.706827,922 ,721,295 123.993 42,491 318.300906,096 .382,759.071,361 ,665,260 90,923 igan tak Mi I us R. R. 1875. 1872. 1,350.544 528,349 857,039 1,651,912 1,334,031 598,429 246.280 52,540 1,026,502 4,705,208 1,671 25 1,013 820227466 2,108 5,9043.5293.160 1,760 1,123 539 871 820 1,606 2,235 1,612 990 2,580 828 593790 1,265 4.47U 1,190 3,74(1 lo9 en in 1874. States and Territories. States. Pennsylvania Rhode Island. . . South Carolina... Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin Total States Territories. Arizona Colorado Dakota Dist. of Columbia. Idaho — Montana New Mexico Utah Washington Wyoming Total Territories^ Area in square Miles. 46,000 1,306 29,38545,600 237.504 10,212 40,90423,000 53,924 1,950,171 113,916104,500 147,490 60 90,932 143.776121.201 80.05669,94493,107 965,032 Population. 1870. 3,521,791 217,353 705,606 1,258,520 818.579 330.551 1,225,163 442.014 1.054.670 58,113,253 9, 39. 14, 131, 11, 20, 91.8ii, 23, 9, 442,730 Miles R. R. 1875. 1872. 258,239925,145 1,236,729 5,113 136 1,2011,520 865675 1,490 485 1,725 59,587 1,265 Aggregate of U. S.. 2,915,203 38,555,983 60,85?. * Included in the Railroad Mileage of Marylard. PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD; Population and Area. Countries. China British Empire Russia United States witli Alaska France Austria and Hungary Japan Great Britain and Ireland... German Empire Italy Spain Brazil Turkey Mexico Sweden and Norway Persia Belgium Bavaria Portugal Holland > ew Grenada Chili Switzerland Peru Bolivia Argentine Republic Wurtemburg Dfmmark Venezuela Baden Greece Guatemala Ecuador Paraguay Hesse Liberia San Salvador Hayti N icaragua Uruguay Honduras San Domingo Costa Rica Hawaii Population. 4462211 81,38,36, 35,34,31,29,27 Hi 111 HI 95, 5, 5,43: 3 8,2. 2. 2. 2 1 1 1I 11 111. 500,000 817,108925,400925,600 469.800 904,400 785,300817,100906,092439,921642,000000.0(10 163,000 173,000 921.500 000,000021,300 861,400995,200 688.300 000,000000.000 669,100500,000000.000812,000 ,818,500,784.700 ,500,000 ,461,400,457,900,180,000,300,000 000,000 823,138718,000 600, ) 572,000350,000300,000 350,0(11) 136,000 165.000 62.950 Date of Census. 1871 1871 1871 1870186618691S7I1871187118711867 lHll'l1K70 1870 1X0918711868 1870 1870 1869 1870 1871 '1869 18711870 1871 1870 1871 18711871 '1871 1871 1871 Area in Square Miles. 3,741,846 677,432003,778 2,603.884 204,091240.348 149,399 121,315160,207 118,847 195 775 3,253.029 672.621761.526292,871635,964 11,373 29,292 34,49412,680 357,157 132,616 15.992 471,838 497,321871,848 7,533 14,753 368,238 5,912 19,35340,879 218,928 63,787 2,969 9,576 7.335 10,20558,17166,722 47.092 17,827 21,505 7.633 Inhabitants to Square Mile. 119.3 48.6 10.2 7.78 178.7 149.4 232.8262.3 187. 230.9 85. 3.07 24.4 20. 7.8 441.5165.9 115.8 290.9 8.4 15.1 166.9 5.34.2.1 241.4 120.9 4.8 247. 75.328.9 5.9 15.6 277. 74.981.856. 6. 6.57.47.6 7.7 HO. Capitals. Pekin London St. Petersburg. . Washington Paris Vienna Yeddo London Berlin Rome Madrid Rio Janeiro Constantinople . Mexico '. Stockholm Teheran Brussels Munich Lisbon Hague Bogota Santiago Berne Lima Chuquisaca Buenos Ayres.. Stuttgart Copenhagen Uaraccas Carlsruhe Athens Guatemala Quito Asuncion Darmstadt Monrovia Sal Salvador . .. Port au Prince Managua Monte Video... Comayagua San Domingo... San Jose Honolulu Population. ,648,800,251,800 667,000 109,199 ,825,300 833,900 ,554,900,251,800 825,400214,484 332,000420,000 ,075,000 210,300 136,900120,000314,100 169,500 224,063 90,10045,060 115,400 36,000 160,100 25,000 177.800 91,600 162,042 47,000 30,(1(1943,400.10,(l0:i70,000¦18,00030.00 3,000 15,00.)20,009 10.0C.) 4-1.500 12 COO 2.),0n:' 2 009 7,633 9 - I ii 1_/V CROSSE. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF THE REGION. By Dr. J. A. Rengglt. The geological formations of La Crosse County are substantially the same as in the adjoin ing counties of Vernon, Monroe and Trempealeau. Where the bluffs arise over four hundred and five hundred feet above the level of the Mississippi and Black Rivers, the upper layer of rock is limes ne, often of a thickness of fifty to sixty feet. Below the limestone and wherever it is absent account of the incisions in the bluffs, Potsdam sandstone1 makes its appearance, more or less Jipregnated with lime, of greater or less hardness, and consisting of horizontal layers of various hickness and of a volume of from four to live hundred feet, according to the elevation of the blufh. There is a total absence of other intermixtures to this and the limestone formation, except that the former is often of brownish color from oxide of iron or ochre. On many places, especially where the bluff incisions are low, as for instance, at the mouth of State Road Cooley, the lower base of the Potsdam sandstone is visible, and underneath a layer of caolin2 of greater or lesser thickness appears, often as loose sand, and often as an easy crumbling, soft rock, mostly of a glittering white, sometimes of a dirty yellowish-white color. Granite, which, by the geolog ical rules, should underlay this, is, according to our observations, not to be found in the county. It is not unlikely that in some places Niagara shale underlies the Potsdam sandstone, as may be observed in the corresponding bluff parts on the Minnesota side, for instance, at Dresbach ex tending out to the surface of the Mississippi. All the above formations appear in horizontal layers and belong to the old Silurian system. In many places of the county, especially in the towns of Hamilton, Barre, Bangor, Burns, etc., petrefactions are imbedded in the Potsdam sandstone, which, with the stone itself, are of the Silu rian period. In the lowest strata there are found the little shells " Lingula prima " and " an- tiqua," as remnants of the most ancient animal creation, whilst in the upper layers of Potsdam sandstone shells of the higher order and tribolites abound. Probably, remains of rhizopods, cor als, crinoids, fishes, etc., of the Silurian period are imbedded here, though we have thus far not succeeded in finding any. It is thus apparent that the geological formation of La Crosse County consists of sediment from the ocean that once covered the North American Continent, or the greater part of the same. Indications of the friction of moving ice-masses upon the rocks, which are so frequent in the State of Wisconsin, are scarcely visible in La Crosse County ; but we have found large and small loose stones that bear those marks, of which, however, it is difficult to say whether they belonged to the finding-place at the time of the ice period, or whether they were carried there by earlier or K '*% 310 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. later ice or water-floods. Petrified trunks and branches of trees, that are found on the tops of our bluffs and even in the valleys, were undoubtedly brought there by the Northern flood, the same as the many inflated, bubble-like but almost porphyry-hard stone formations that are numerously deposited in some places, whilst those of the shape of fungi, that are found in smaller and larger dimensions, have developed in the way of stalactites3 at their finding-places, and, like the former consist mainly of silicate of lime. Remarkable objects are the hollow balls4 of stone (quartz nodules) of from six to twelve inches diameter, that are found mostly in the upper layers of the Potsdam sandstone, are easily detached from the stone, and are closely covered on their inner walls with colorless crystals. Along some of the bluffs, especially along the bluff-line at the mouth of Mormon Cooley, in the town of Shelby, there have been found cubiform crystallized groups of pure lead, and it seemed to appear that they had rolled down from the adjacent hill. Recently an enterprising citizen, at the State Road Cooley, in the town of Shelby, has dug a sloping shaft, close to the road ascending to St. Joseph's Ridge, into the bluffs, expecting to find copper. Among different materials without value, he has struck a bed of sandy marl of greenish- blue color similar to malachite, but which did not stand the copper test of our chemist, Mr. L, Runckel. It is not impossible, yea, very probable, that at some places in La Crosse County, smaller or larger masses of less precious ore may be found ; but it is unlikely that, according to the geological formations, they would be remunerative. But the Potsdam sandstone, especially the upper beds that are more or less impregnated with lime, yield an excellent reddish-brown, bluish-gray or whitish-gray fine-kerneled building stone. The geological rock formations of La Crosse County and the adjacent counties on the Wis consin side, as well as in Minnesota, at the time of their being covered by the ocean, consisted of one horizontal, coherent plane that was torn up by the force of the departing waters. The im mense detrition consequent thereof has partly been carried south, and partly forms the valley bottoms. The extensive deposits of sand along the rivers, especially the Mississippi and Black Rivers, often of a thickness of one hundred feet and more, are the results of this flood and the crushing of the sandstone. Even to-day the washing and working of the southward flowing waves is easily perceptible at different elevations of the perpendicular precipices of the Potsdam sand stone and the limestone surfaces on the Wisconsin as well as on the Minnesota side, and, in some instances, the washings are particularly distinct, as, for instance, on the perpendicularly ascend ing bluff in the rear of Wyle's farm and further south in the town of Bergen, Vernon County. The violent power of the waters in the ancient Silurian period, in their grand process of demolishing rock and carrying off the detritus, has, in the course of time, formed the orographic relief of the earth's surface, and the hydrographic order of flowing waters and small lakes of our landscape. The presumption of a creation of our territorial picture by a momentary dictate, or even during a process of a few years' duration, must wane before the forum of geological science. It is more obvious and natural that, after the great flow of waters, a coarse impression of the present landscape was left behind, which, in the course of time, gradually molded itself in its present form. The original flow of the Silurian waters, with its effects, has, no doubt, concen trated itself in the direction of the present Mississippi Valley, and unfolded its mighty powers in the direction from north to south. The currents from the side valleys, and their smaller trib utaries, especially in the territories of the Chippewa, Eau Claire, Beef, Trempealeau, Black and La Crosse Rivers on the east, and of Pine Creek, Root River and Crooked Creek, on the west side of the main valley, no doubt followed the main stream and were auxiliary in its formations, whilst within their own provinces they achieved similar orographic objects in a smaller measure. The landscape must have appeared monotonous and melancholy after the drain. Bald, rocky bluffs, and barren, desolate, stony valleys, made their appearance, large and small channels were filled with water, and before they found their regular beds lakes must have formed, and the water must have moved on over cascades and falls. The marine animals and plants that were not de stroyed or carried off by the flood remained to enliven the lakes and rivers. But no plant and no animal vivified the air or land, no human eye could perceive the disconsolate desert, for man did not then exist. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 311 The rock of the Silurian system, which is that of our country, is the oldest rock formation that has been built up by sediments of the ocean upon the primitive rock. At that time, the temperature of the water and air was incomparably higher than at present, the same as that of our globe itself. The evaporations of the water from the barren earth must consequently have been very rapid and voluminous, and the rainfalls immense ; we will not call them deluges, be cause there were no sinners yet to drown. There were no grass plains, no brush, no forests yet to stop the colossal rain-streams rushing down hills and dales in their course. The rough, bare stone plateaus were at the mercy of the rapid streams ; the surfaces of the bluffs were gradually washed off; the intervening large and small valleys were washed out, their surfaces smoothened, their beds deepened and transformed into regular stream channels, until the landscape assumed the orographic form and system of the present time. There was undoubtedly a period when the waters on the North American continent, as well as on the whole globe, were a torpid mass of ice — it was the so-called Ice Period, and before the revolution above described. The movements of the ice masses upon the rocks and of the gla ciers left their distinct grinding marks in the direction of their movement, which are to-day plainly visible in many places of our county. As in our days, and in our region, snow and ice melt with the increase of warmth in spring, so must have melted the ice at this pre-historic time, only in a longer period. The ocean was restored by the waters of the dissolved ice ; ex tensive ice-fields of enormous thickness and ice mountains began to move ; rocks, that before had rolled from the projecting islands of the ice ocean upon the icy plain, or that were frozen to its lower strata, were carried away hundreds of miles to places where they had no relations what ever. Geologists call such blocks erratic "foundlings " (bowlders). Often they have the size of small houses, and lay strewn about on plains or at the foot of hills. This catastrophe must have preceded the Silurian period, and the commotion of the Silurian ocean. Let us now return to the barren, stony skeleton of our own province, which, after the ces sation of flow of waters, presented itself for a fair vegetation and vivification by animals. It would doubtless be very interesting to the reader to insert here a history of the origin and devel opment of the plants and animals that from beginning up to our day have enlivened our country, but that is not within our present object. But we cannot leave it unmentioned that the different genders and species of plants and animals were not produced at once or in the lapse of a few years, but that they gradually developed in a remarkably long period of time, and ascended to an in creasing higher perfection, and that those inhabitants, in conjunction with the detritus of stony material, in the end furnished the rich, humus soil that now forms the essential substance of the orographic surface of the earth. How long the Silurian Ocean covered the earth ; what time it took to form the Silurian rock system by the ocean's sediment; of how long a duration the ice period was, and how many years passed away until our country received its fundamental adaptibility to become enlivened by plants and animals of different kinds and species, up to the appearance of man in his different forms, races and colors, it is impossible even to approximately estimate. Certain it is, however, that to the geologist a period of six or seven thousand years for such develop ment cannot be sufficient ; nay, considering all the facts that appear to him in his scientific researches of the development of the earth, and its inhabitants, his mind must conjecture a period of a hundred thousand and more years. The geological formation of the area of our county presents a landscape of bluffy hills, interspersed with erosion-valleys. On the west side of the bluff-lands expands a wide level delta, extending northerly to the Black River and southerly to the Mississippi. A main chain of the bluffs, forming the western border of the bluff land, runs nearly parallel with the said two rivers, from the north in town of Farmington, through the towns of Holland, Onalaska, Campbell, La Crosse and Shelby, and extending far out in the town of Bergen in Vernon County; only in front of the northern section Black River makes a departure, forming a large curve in a northwestern direction, leaning on Trempealeau County, and returning to the bluffs near Onalaska. On many places, this chain of hills is intersected to the depth of the table- 312 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. land, as by mountain passes, leading to the valleys in the rear and affording free exit to the numerous brooks of the valleys. Along the west side of this chain of hills one may perceive vault-like indentures and picturesque rock sceneries in a thousandfold variations, and more or less deep, tray-like vales and dales affording mostly a beautiful view. Similar bluffs extend in the rear of these main pillars in an easterly and southeasterly direction, thus forming the main and side valleys between them. In comparison with the main hills, we would call them of the secondary order. These secondary elevations partly run parallel with each other, and partly depart in diverging or converging curves, thus forming the direction and shape of their valleys. They frequently send out projectures, mostly in a rectangular direction, which, as bluffs of the third order, shape corresponding smaller vales and hollows that descend to and connect with the secondary branches. A labyrinth is thus formed of hills and dales, which, however, is expressed in a regular system, and may easily be depicted in a geographical map. Considering the relation of these interior valleys to the main valleys of the Mississippi and the Black River, we must designate them as of the secondary order. On the southern ter minus of the county, but in the greater part situated in Vernon County, we find a large bluff- opening leading to the long and extended "Coon Valley," which sends out a few side valleys to the towns of Greenfield and Washington in our county. Another no less extensive pass in the bluffs leads us into the secondary valley of "Chipmunk Cooley," which, by means of intruding bluffs is cut up into three narrow, long valleys extending into the towns of Shelby, Bergen and Hamburg. A third well-marked opening in the bluffs leads to the long and expanded "Mormon Cooley," in the towns of Shelby and Greenfield, with its numerous larger or smaller side issues of the third order. A fourth gate to the interior, guarded on both sides by high bluffs, is the mouth of the comparatively short and narrow " State Road Cooley," in the town of Shelby. On the north side we have the fifth and most expanded opening to the greatest valley in the county, the " La Crosse Valley," which extends from the prairie through the whole county in an easterly direction to Monroe County. As side valleys, appear in town of Campbell the narrow "Smith's Cooley," in town of Barre the narrow "Roberts Cooley," then the very extensive "Bostwick Valley," of several miles' length and with a great number of long side-issues. A narrow but important side valley shoots out from La Crosse Valley in a southeasterly direction in the town of Bangor, known as "Dutch Valley." The balance of the passes in the bluffs further north lead to comparatively small, and at their termini, closed-up valleys, among which is "Sand Lake Cooley," in the town of Onalaska. and " Spring Cooley" and "Long Cooley," in the town of Holland. The bottoms of these valleys of all these different orders gradually slope in the direction of the above described gates toward the fronting delta, partly toward the Black River, and partly toward the Mississippi. All the water falling down upon La Crosse County and that coming from a distance east and south through the clefts and fissures of rock, feeding innumer able springs, must naturally move toward the streams of the main valley — the Coon Creek, Chipmunk Creek, Mormon Cooley Creek, State Road Creek, and the more voluminous La Crone River descend into the Mississippi ; the creek of the Sand Lake Cooley, Half-way Creek, Fleming Creek, and others, into Black River. La Crosse County, especially the bluffy part, is rich in springs and creeks, with the excep-' tion of the ridge-plateaus and the sandy prairie, and (excepting the steep slopes) is covered with a layer of humus more or less thick. These two factors, the abundance of water and the rich humus layer, impart to the county the greatest facilities for cultivation, of which the luxu riant growth of trees upon the slopes of the bluffs, the prolific growth on the farms in the val leys and upon the plateaus bear ample testimony. Notes.— (1.) The layer of limestone that, forms the transition to the Potsdam sandstone is known to the geol ogist as " Lower Magnesia limestone." (2.) In many instances free from clay; in this case it is vitreous sand. (3.) "Silicate." (4.) Of the form of very large fungi, like lymnoria, scyphia, siphonia, etc., which we can also find in the for mation of the Jurassian period. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 313 THE PICTURED CAVE. By Rev. Edward Brown. This curious cavern is situated on the farm of David Samuel, in the town of Barre, four miles from West Salem, and eight miles from La Crosse, on the northwest quarter of Section 20, of Township 16, Range 6. It was discovered in October, 1878, by Frank Samuel, a son of the owner of the land, eighteen years of age, who had set a trap for racoons at a hole of con siderable size in the hill. Finding that he could, with a little difficulty, crawl into the aper ture, which had been dug by wild animals through a land slide at the foot of a cliff of Potsdam sandstone, he entered, and rinding that it opened into a spacious cavern, he procured lights, and with his two older brothers and a friend explored it. They found the walls extensively covered with pictures and hieroglyphic characters, and charcoal paintings. It thus became known to a few neighbors, and a few boys, who, in the winter, resorted to it and built fires and carved their names and their own pictures. About the 1st of June, 1879, I heard of such a cave with such pictures and characters, and immediately visited it. I quickly saw that there was something of much value to the cause of archaeological science ; that the rude pictures were evidently quite old ; that the now close chamber had been an open cavern in the cliff, which had been closed not less than 150 years by a'land-slide from the hill above. A poplar tree, two feet in diameter, having 120 growths of circles, stood as a dead tree twenty-five years ago, when Mr. Samuel first came there, and had rotten and fallen ; and a birch tree stood upon the edge of the cliff where the land-slide had passed over, of from 150 to 1G0 annual growths. I visited Mr. Samuel and informed him of the value to science of the nscriptions and possible discoveries to be made by digging. He immediately took measures to stop the vandalism that was fast destroying them ; to enlarge the opening, and clear out the sand that had washed in from the land-slide and half filled the cave. In the meantime, I took fac similies of the pictures and characters by pressing tissue paper into the grooves, and with black crayons followed each line to its termination, preserving also its original width. In this way I got perfect outlines, and by placing other sheets over them, in the light of a window pane, took small copies that showed the pictures in their original form and size. I sent one set to Prof. Chamberlin, State Geologist, not intending to make anything public till an examination had been made by an archrelogical expert, and their value to science ascertained. In the meantime, it having become noised about that I was examining such a cave, I was called upon by the local editor of the Chronicle, of La Crosse, to whom I gave copies of some of the most prominent of the pictures, from which hasty and imperfect wood cuts were prepared, which appeared in the Chronicle. The article was seen by Mr. Lyman C. Draper, Secretary of the State Historical Society, who wrote to me for information in regard to it. I sent him copies of the pictures, so far as I had taken them, and designated a time, June 27, to dig into the bottom of the cave, requesting him to come, or send a competent archaeol ogist. He communicated with Dr. J. A. Rice, of Merton, Waukesha County, who came at the time appointed with Mr. Rockwell Sayer, of Chicago. A company of seventeen men repaired to the place with shovels, wheelbarrows and other necessary things for explorations. Several intelligent ladies also attended, and prepared a dinner. Commencing at the back end of the cave, the sand was carefully dug up and wheeled out, every load carefully inspected, and the work continued till the whole had been examined. We came upon four layers of ashes, each from four to six inches deep, and containing charcoal, and burned and nearly vitrified sand-rock. They were separated from each other throughout the whole length and breadth of the cave by layers of clean, white sand, of from ten to fourteen inches in depth. Below the whole was water, of the same level as a marsh that lies in front of the cliff. The lower stratum of sand and ashes contained nothing. In the second, were frag ments of pottery, made of clay and ground shells. These were smooth, and of the oldest kind found in mounds. In the third more elaborately wrought pottery, the newest found in mounds, with numerous fragments and whole sides of Mississippi River bivalve shelves, and a bodkin 314 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. of bone, seven inches long. This, according to the opinion of old hunters, was of the " hock bone" of an elk. It was in dry, white sand, and is quite sharp and smooth with use, and in a perfect state of preservation, even retaining the glassy polish of wear and handling, as if used but yesterday.* All the layers had become compact and well stratified, and all contained bits of charcoal, and charred and rotten wood. In the upper layer, we found two bones of birds, and two of small animals, and a " clue-clan " of a deer, and a cartilaginous maxillary inferior of a reptile. The four completely diffused strata of ashes, separated by a foot average of clear sand, showed that there had been four distinct periods of occupancy, separated by considerable intervals of time. This was also indicated by two orders of pottery, one always below the other ; but noth ing to measure the time. The only conclusion we could arrive at was, that the first occupation was very ancient, and the last before the land-slide, or not less than 150 or 160 years ago. The zone of the pictures agreed best, for convenience of engraving, with the third occupancy, the age of the figured pottery. Before the land-slide, it was an open shelter cavern, 15 feet wide at the opening, and 7 feet at the back end ; greatest width, 16 feet; average 13 feet ; length, 30 feet ; height, 13 feet, and depth of excavation, after clearing out the sand of the land-slide, 5 feet. The pictures are mostly of the rudest kind, but differing in degree of skill. Except several bisons, a lynx, rabbit, otter, badger, elk and heron, it is, perhaps, impossible to determine, with certainty, what were intended, or whether they represented large or small animals, no regard being had to their rel ative sizes. A bison, lynx and rabbit are pictured in one group, all of the same size. One picture perhaps suggests a mastodon ; another, the largest, a hippopotamus ; but whether they were really intended to represent those animals, is quite uncertain. Other seem to refer to animals yet in existence. Many pictures are fragmentary by the erosion of the soft sand-rock on which they are engraved. In one place is a crevice, 8 feet long, 2 feet high, and extending inward 2J feet, with fragments of pictures above and below. The appearance and connection of the pictures and characters indicate that they were his torical, rather than engraved for mere amusement, and suggest that thorough exploration of caves may shed much light on the history of the pre-historic aborigines of our country. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE PICTURED CAVE. By Hon. John A. Rice. I visited the Pictured Cave you so kindly requested me to do in behalf of the State Histor" ical Society, and avail myself of the earliest opportunity to examine my notes, and also the fac" simile sketches of the animal representations there found, courteously presented to me by Rev' Edward Brown, and from them have prepared the report, which I now submit for the use of the society. Great credit is due to Mr. Brown for bringing the discovery of the cave to the notice of archaeologists. This cave is situated on the farm of a Mr. Samuel, near West Salem, in the county of La Crosse, and was discovered by a son of Mr. Samuel when trapping coons in a hole some animal had dug into the cave. Mr. Rice then notices each picture as Mr. Brown has done, and adds : In regard to the antiquity of these drawings there can be no question, for some of them were covered with sand, and, besides, I found pieces of the rock buried in the sand, which had fallen from the sides with portions of the inscriptions upon them, which fact must be regarded as proof positive of a greater or lesser antiquity. These are all the facts in regard to the cave that I think worth noting. Now, as to the conclusions to be drawn from the representations here found, and which are the only objects of interest. The fact that we find four distinct and separate layers of ashes, with pottery in two of them of a different odor and make, would certainly indicate four separate and distinct occupations of the rock-shelter, each occupying a greater or less length of time, and when we recollect that the Indian always contents himself with the smallest possible amount HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 315 of fire, and take into consideration the thickness of the layers of ashes, it is fair to conclude that each occupation of the cave must have continued some considerable period of time. The layers of sand are easily accounted for, as resulting from the disintegration of the soft rock above the cave, as it fell down from the edge of the cliff, which would naturally drift into the cavern or shel ter, and, more or less rapidly, make the layers mentioned, and although the rock of the sides and roof of the cave are quite soft, the disintegration has been exceedingly slow, as there has been no percolation of water, and especially since the closure of the opening the forest has not acted upon the walls ; so that the change since that time, at least, has been very slight indeed, and accounts for the well-preserved condition of the pictures. It is, perhaps, impossible to say during which of these occupations of the shelter the draw ings were made ; but, taking into consideration the height of the zone of pictures above the first and second occupations, they could hardly be referred to either of these, and, therefore, must have been made during the third or fourth occupation, and from the proof positive of the closure of the cave for a period of at least one hundred and fifty years, a considerable antiquity must be allowed. I have an interesting fac simile of an attempt at history- writing by the Sioux, with its inter pretation. It is a rough representation of some one event in each year, occurring during the period from 1800 to 1870, and very much resembles some of the sketches in this cave. After a careful comparison of these and similar Indian drawings I have, I am forced to the conclusion that these representations in the La Crosse Valley Pictured Cave are also of Indian origin. Everything about them indicates this, especially the drawing of the human figure with eight plumes on his head can be regarded in no other light than as an Indian of some note, who dis played his eight feathers as indicating the taking of so many scalps, and would be so interpreted by any Sioux or other Northwestern Indian. If these conclusions are correct, the greatest an tiquity allowable would be from, perhaps, three to eight hundred years. POLITICAL BOUNDARIES. The territory which is now embraced in La Crosse County formed, prior to 1851, a part of Crawford County. In 1851, the same territory which is now embraced in La Crosse County, with the excep tion of that part of Township No. 19 north, of Range No. 7 west, which lies south of Black River, was set off by the Legislature of the State as La Crosse County. In 1856, by act of Legislature, Townships Nos. 19 north, of Range Nos. 5 and 6 west, in the county of Jackson, were attached to and made part of La Crosse County. Subsequently, by the Revised Statutes of 1858, these two townships were set back into Jackson County and that portion of Township No. 19 north, of Range No. 7 west, which lies south of Black River, was made a part of La Crosse County, leaving the present boundaries of the county as described in said revised statutes and in the Revised Statutes of 1878, as follows : " Beginning at a point in the western boundary line of this State in the Mississippi River, where the township line between Townships 17 and 18 intersects said boundary line, running thence east on said township line to the main channel of Black River ; thence up the main chan nel of Black River to the range line between Ranges 6 and 7, west; thence south on said range line to the township line between Townships 18 and 19 ; thence east on said township line to the range line between Ranges 4 and 5, west of the meridian aforesaid ; thence south on said range line to the township line between Townships 14 and 15 ; thence west on said township line, to the western boundary line of this State, in the Mississippi River ; thence northerly up the main channel of said river to the place of beginning." The extent of the county, according to these boundaries, is from Jackson and Trempealeau Counties on the north (Trempealeau County being partly on the west), to Vernon County on the south and from Monroe County on the east to the Mississippi and Black Rivers on the west, Houston and Winona Counties, in Minnesota being on the west side of the Mississippi River, 316 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. opposite to La Crosse County, and Tempealeau County being upon the north and west side of Black River, opposite La Crosse County. The county contains all of the full Townships 15, 16, 17 and 18, of Range 5 ; Townships 15, 16, 17 and 18, of Range 6, and Township 17, Range 7 ; all of the fractional Townships 15, and 16, Ranges 7 and 17, Range 8, and 17, Range 9, and all of those portions of Townships 18, Ranges 8, and 19, Range 7, which lie south and east of Black River. The area of these town ships or parts of townships within the county is as follows : Township 15, Range 5 23,125.97 Township 16, Range 5 23,158.14 Township 17, Range 5 22,881.01 Township 18, Range 5 22,830.99 Township 15, Range 6 22,970.67 Township 16, Range 6 22,740.05 Township 17, Range 6 22,669.61 Township 18, Range 6 22,710.55 Township 15, Range 7 18,817.88 Township 16, Range 7 21,423.96 Township 17, Range 7 22,869.63 Township 18, Range 7 22,629.59 Township 19, Range 7 1,502.82 Township 16, Range 8 4,250.89 Township 17, Range 8 18,136.25 TownBhip 18, Range 8 10,175.89 Township 17, Range 9 651,24 303,545.14 The towns, city and villages into which the county is divided for local government, and the number of acres in each, are as follows : City of La Crosse....' 3,995.60 Town of Washington 23,125.97 Town of Greenfield 19,871.40 Town of Shelby 19,950.04 Town of Campbell 22,457.86 Town of Barre 13,399.54 Town of Bangor 23,158.14 Town of Burns 3l|652.39 Town of Hamilton 35,183.10 Town of Onalaska 31,831.89 Village of Onalaska 1,220.74 Town of Holland 29^476.62 Town of Farmington 48,221.95 303,545.14 TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. The county is divided topographically into the land in the valleys of streams, the hillsides bounding these valleys, a large extent of bottom lands along the Mississippi and Black Rivers subject to annual overflow, a few sandy prairies, numerous dry valleys and ravines with the hill sides bounding them, and elevated table-lands upon the top of the ridges. Black River flows through a portion of the county, and forms the northern and western boundaries of another portion. It has itself no distinct valley in La Crosse County, but flows through the bottom and prairie lands which lie in the valley of the Mississippi River. The main mouth of Black River is in the northern part of the city of La Crosse, and is about seven miles north of the southern boundary of the county, about eleven miles south of the northern boundary of the county on the Mississippi River, and eighteen and a quarter miles south of the extreme northern boundary of the county on Black River. Besides this main mouth, it has two other mouths or channels, which run from the main channel to the Missis sippi River. The northerly one of these two channels is called Hammond Chute, and the south erly Gibbs' Chute. The mouth of Hammond Chute is about one and a half miles south from HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 317 the northern boundary of the county, on the Mississippi River, and about nine miles south of the extreme northern boundary of the county. The mouth of Gibbs' Chute is about four and a quarter miles south of the north line of the county, on the Mississippi River, and eleven and three-quarter miles from the extreme northern boundary of the county on Black River. Along the whole course of Black River, in La Crosse County, there are sloughs and bayous which encroach upon or intersect and ramify the adjacent bottom lands. For a distance of several miles, it has, besides its main channel, another separate and distinct channel, known as Black Snake. There is also, in another place, another distinct channel, known as Broken Gun. The bottom lands in the county which are subject to annual overflow, and which lie in the valley of the Mississippi River, through a large portion of which Black River flows, amount to about 33,000 acres. The principal, and in fact only value of these lands is for timber and hay. The timber is mostly soft maple, birch and elm, with some ash, hackberry and other varieties. A great part of the original timber has been cut off, but the rapid growth of the soft maple and birch fast replaces it. The prairie lands in the county amount to about 20,000 acres. The lands in the valleys of the streams amount to about 145,000 acres. This is all rich and fertile, and is the most valuable land of the county. The steep hillsides bounding these valleys with the dry ravines and hillsides bounding them amount to about 38,000 acres, and the elevated table-lands with the rolling lands and hillsides not too steep for cultivation, amount to about 62,000 acres. This has all of it a clay subsoil, and is the best kind of land for the production of wheat. WATER-COURSES AND THEIR IMPROVEMENTS. The rivers in La Crosse County or upon its boundaries, are the Mississippi, Black and La Crosse Rivers ; the two last named flow into the Mississippi River within the county. The Mississippi River as has been stated, forms the greater part of the western boundary of the county. The following statistics in regard to this river opposite La Crosse, are found in a " Report upon the Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi River," prepared by Capt. A. A. Humphrey and Lieut. Abbot, submitted in 1861, and published in 1867 : " The distance of La Crosse from the mouth of the river (that is the mouth of the Upper Mississippi being at its junction with the Missouri) is 514 miles ; the elevation above the sea is 638 feet. The fall per mile is 0.22 feet, the width between banks is 5,000 feet, the least low- water depth upon bars is 2 feet, the range between high and low water is 14 feet, the area at high water is 100,000 square feet." Since this report was made there has been a greater range between high and low water, that is between low water of 1863 and 1864, and the high water of 1880, this range being 16 feet, and owing to certain improvements made by the Government upon the river opposite and above La Crosse, the least low-water depth upon bars is said by those who run boats upon the river to have been increased. These improvements consist in the building of low-water dams with fascines and stones across the head of the east channel of the river above La Crosse, and above the mouth of the Black and La Crosse Rivers, and across the head of the west channel of the river opposite La Crosse, commonly known as Raft Channel. Black River forms the north boundary of that part of the county embraced in Townships 17 and 18 north, of Range 7 west, and Township 18 north, of Range 8 west, and the western boundary of that portion of the county embraced in Township 18 north, of Range 8 west, and from the south line of said township. Black River flows, as has been described, in several channels through bottom-lands, and empties through different mouths, as have been described, into the Mississippi River. Black River is a sluggish stream, and but for the improvements made by the Black River Improvement Company, would be so obstructed by sand-bars as to be unnavigable. This com pany, under a charter from the State, has improved the stream by wing dams and dredging for the purpose of running logs from the pineries at its source, and on its tributaries. These logs are sawn at the mills at La Crosse, and at points on the Mississippi River below La Crosse. Black River is kept open and navigable for the largest steamers on the Mississippi as far as the fc. 318 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. boat-yard of the packet company, in the Fifth Ward of La Crosse, about a mile above its mouth. La Crosse River enters the county near the middle of the eastern boundary, and runs in a southwesterly direction across the whole width of the county, east and west, emptying into the Mississippi at the city of La Crosse. The La Crosse River, although meandered by the United States Surveyors when the public lands were surveyed, is not navigable. There are two flouring-mills upon the river within La Crosse County, one at the village of Neshonoc, about the center of the county, one mile north of West Salem, a station on the Chicago, Mil waukee & St. Paul and Chicago & North-Western Railroads, and another about two miles below Neshonoc. The former of these two mills is owned by Alexander McMillan, and has six run of stone; one of these run is exclusively for grinding feed, and the other five, with rolls and modern machinery, for making patent flour. The capacity of this mill is one hundred barrels of flour and twenty-four tons of feed per day. The dam at this mill is ten feet high, and would furnish power for several more run of stone. The dam could be raised ten feet higher, which would give a power for a mill with a capacity of from six to eight hundred barrels of flour per day. The other mill upon La Crosse River has two run of stone, and is owned by H. Lovejoy. There is sufficient fall in the river below the Lovejoy Mill for two other water-powers of about eight feet head each. Upon the creeks tributary to La Crosse River, there are mills as follows : On Dutch Creek at Bangor, a flouring-mill owned by J. Bosshart and H. Legler, in which there are two run of stone. There is also a woolen-mill on the same stream, owned by Otto Bodman and the estate of J. Ruedy. On Bostwick Creek, there are two flouring-mills, one owned by 0. S. Barlow, and the other known as the Barre Mills, owned by William Rugs. These two creeks are upon the south side of the La Crosse River. On Big Creek, near the eastern boundery of the county upon the north side of the La Crosse River, there is a flouring-mill owned by Manuel Roberts. On Burns Creek, also on the north side of La Crosse River, there are two mills, one a saw-mill owned by D. Vaughn, and the other a flouring-mill owned by L. Bowen. Upon Fleming Creek, in the northern part of the county, which empties into Black River, there are two flouriug-mills, the Union Mill, owned by James Barclay, and another owned by J. A. Young. There are also a feed and saw mill on this creek owned by H. N. Sly. Upon Halway Creek, which empties into Black River about six miles above La Crosse City, there are two flouring-mills, one near Midway, owned by A. Gram's, and one about two miles above owned by C. Christianson. Upon Mormon Creek, in the south part of the county, there are three flouring-mills. This creek rises in the eastern part of the county upon the west side of the town of Washington, Township No. 15 north, of Range No. 5 west. It runs through the central part of the lower tier of townships in the county, about twelve miles, and empties into what is called Mormon Slough. This slough is really a part of the Mississippi River, flowing from it a short distance below the city of La Crosse, and running back into it in Vernon County, about fourteen miles below La Crosse. The lower mill upon Mormon Creek is owned by Valentine Oehler, and has three run of stone. The second mill, counting from the mouth of the stream, is owned by Matthias Blumer, and has three run of stone. The third, or upper mill, is owned by S. McKown, and has three run of stone. Upon Coon Creek, there is a flouring-mill owned by Joseph Nedwieiek. This creek rises in the northeastern part of the town of Washington, and flows through the central part of the town southward into Vernon County where it empties into Coon River. Chipmunk Creek (a small part of which is within the county along its southern boundary, the remainder being in Vernon County), furnishes no water-power in La Crosse County, although HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 319 there is a mill on this creek in Vernon County. This creek empties into Mormon Slough in Vernon County, a short distance below the southern boundary of La Crosse County. All of the remaining streams in La Crosse County not hereinbefore mentioned, are tributary to those named. The principal ones are Fish Creek, Thompson's Creek and Smith Creek flowing into the La Crosse River on the south side, and Adams' Creek and Thrasher's Creek flowing into the La Crosse River on the north side. The total number of mills run by water-power in La Crosse County as above described, are fifteen for flour and feed, one feed and saw mill, and one woolen-mill, eighteen in all. THE WINNEBAGO CONFEDERACY AND INDIAN OCCUPATION. By Judge Gale. For this article we are indebted to Judge George Gale's valuable work, " The Upper Mis sissippi," to whose compilation he gave years of labor and research, and which was the crowning •effort of a most noble and useful life : When Sieur Jean Nicolet visited the O-chunh-o-raws, or Winnebagoes, at Green Bay, in 1639,* he spoke of them as then " sedentary and very numerous," but this fact has since been doubted, as, the following year, they were nearly exterminated by the Illinois, and if so easily exterminated, it was thought they could not have been very numerous. Again, it was said by authors, that the Winnebagoes were only an insignificant band of the Sioux, speaking a dialect of the Sioux language. But later investigations into the language of the Ochunkoraws and several other Western tribes, seem to establish the fact that they are the parent nation to a confederacy of an independent language, reaching from Lake Superior south to the Red River, and composed of the Winnebagoes, Menomonees, Iowas, Missouris, Osages, Kansas, Quapaws, Otoes, Omahas, Poncas, Mardans, and perhaps others. On this subject Rev. William Hamilton, who had for fifteen years been a missionary among the Iowas, and had published a grammar of their language, in answer to questions from H. R. Schoolcraft, wrote as follows : " There is no more difference between the language of the Iowas, Otoes and Menomonees than between the language of a New Englander and a Southerner. A few words are common to one tribe and not to another. They say the Winnebago is the full language. This may be true ; if so, the Iowa, Otoe and Missouri languages would be one dialect ; the Omaha and Ponca another ; the Konza, Osage, Quapaw and Apaches (a band of the Osages), another; or, perhaps, the Omahas, Poncas, Konzas, etc., might all be called one dialect. * * * The Osage, Konza, Quapaw, etc., are the same language. The Omaha and Ponca are the same. Many words of the Winnebagoes are the same in Iowa." — (" Schoolcraft's History of the Indian Tribes," Part IV, pages 405, 406). In the same volume, page 227, J. E. Fletcher, Esq., Indian Agent to the Winnebagoes, writes: "The Winnebagoes claim that they are an original stock, and that the Missouris, Iowas, Otoes and Omahas sprang from them. These Indians call the Winnebagoes their elder brothers, and the similarity of their language renders it probable that they belong to the same stock. Even in 1670, the Winnebagoes told Rev. Father Allouez that ' there were only certain people of the Southwest who spoke as they did.'" To this testimony we may add that of Mr. Saterlee Clark, an old Winnebago trader, and one of the few who ever learned the language, that he could converse with and understand the Iowas, and that the Iowas called themselves O-chunk-o-raws. Also the statement of the Win nebagoes to Gen. Sully, that they spoke the same language as the Omahas ; and the further statement of James Reed, Esq., of Trempealeau County, Wis., to the writer, that he had not been able to learn the Winnebago language on account of its being so deeply gutteral, notwith standing he had many years spoken Sioux, been a farmer and trader amongst them, and had a * Jean Nicolet visited Green Bay in 1634. not in 1639, as has beeu stated by historians for many years. Kecent investigation has devel oped this fact. Vide " History Northern Wisconsin," Western Historical Co., Chicago: " Nicolet's Discovery of the Northwest," by C. W. Butterfield; Robert Clark & Co , Cincinnati. 320 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. cousin of the chief Wabasha as his wife. This we imagine, makes a strong case against the assertion that the Winnebago is only a dialect of the Sioux. When Sieur Nicolet assembled four or five thousand Winnebagoes, Sioux, Illinois and Pottawatomies at Green Bay, in 1639 [1634 — see foot note] for a general council, is it not prob able that there came also the Menomonees, Iowas, Osages and other kindred bands of the Win nebagoes, and from their numbers he correctly came to the conclusion that the Winnebagoes were "sedentary and very numerous?" They then evidently occupied the territory from near Mackinaw, southwest to the Red River, extending east as far as the Illinois River, the Missis sippi and the Lower Ohio Valley. For over thirty years later, and after the advent of the fugitive Algonquins, the eight Illinois bands were on Illinois Riveras their real homes, although Marquette, January 25, 1673, found the Peorias on the Mississippi when descending the river; but they had returned to the Illinois when he came back, some two months later. Rev. Father Allonez also found the Illinois on the Illinois River in 1677. Thus was evidently situated in the Winnebago Confederacy in 1634, " sedentary and very numerous." O-CHUNK-O-RAW. The tradition of the O-chunk-o-raw claims that the tribe was created at the Mok-kau-shoots- raw, on Red Earth Banks, on the south shore of Green Bay. They were known to the Algon quin tribe by the name of " Winnebagoec," or people of the salt water; and as the Algonquin word for salt water and stinking water was the same, the French gave them the name of La Puants, or stinkards. They, however, call themselves O-chunk-o-raw. The tribe was spoken of by Sieur Champlain, who visited Lake Huron in 1615, and the singularity of their names probably induced the French Governor of Canada to send Sieur Nicollet, his Indian interpreter, to ' visit them in 1634, in hopes of discovering the Western ocean.* They continued to occupy Green Bay, Fox River and Lake Winnebago until modern times, and were generally allies of the Sacs and Foxes in the old Indian wars. They were, after 1754, allies of the French while they held Canada, and afterward of the British, until the close of the war in 1812. In 1816, the United States concluded a treaty of peace with the Portage bands, under the chief CAoo-ke-kaw, or the Ladle, more commonly known by his French name, " De Cora." This band agreed to separate themselves from the balance of the tribe until they made a treaty of peace also, and delivered up their prisoners. The O-chunk-o-raws joined the tribes at the great council with the United States, held at Prairie du Chien August 19, 1825. This gave to the Winnebagoes the country bounded as follows : " Southeasterly by RockRiver, from its source near the Winnebago Lake to the Winnebago village, about forty miles above its mouth; westerly, by the east line of the tract lying upon the Mississippi, herein secured to the Ottawas, Chip pewas and Pottawatomies of the Illinois ; and also by the high bluff described in the Sioux boundary, and running north to Black River ; from this point the Winnebagoes claim up Black River to a point due west from the source of the Left Fork of the Ouisconsin to the Portage, and across the Portage to Fox River ; thence down Fox River to the Winnebago Lake, and to the grand Kau-kaulin, including in thin claim the whole of Winnebago Lake." In a second treaty, August 11, 1827, between the United States and the Chippewas, Me- nominees and Winnebagoes, our Government stipulated that " the sum of $1,000 shall be annually appropriated, for the term of three years ; and the sum of $1,500 shall be annnally thereafter appropriated as long as Congress thinks proper, for the education of the children of the tribes, parties thereto, and of the New York Indians near Green Bay, to be expended under the direc tion of the President of the United States." In 1827, some Winnebagoes attacked and killed eight Chippewas near Fort Snelling, where upon the Commandant of that fort took four of the offending Winnebagoes and delivered them *Nicolet's misBion was to confirm peace between the Hurons (allies of the French) and the Western tribes, for the purpose of increasing the trade in furs. His journey was not one of exploration, in a geographical sense, but was commercial in its character. He went weBtwara to within about three days' travel of the Wisconsin, not the Mississippi, as has been erroneously stated. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 321 to the Chippewas, who immediately put them to death. Red Bird's band soon after attacked two keel-boats at the mouth of Coon Slough, on the Mississippi, killing two and wounding six whites ; while Red Bird himself killed two whites at Prairie du Chien. The settlers at once organized for war, electing Gen. Dodge commander. Gen. Atkinson, with a small force of regular troops, marched up the Wisconsin, and, joined by the forces of Gen. Dodge, advanced to attack the Winnebagoes in force at the Portage ; but on their arrival received overtures from the Indians, who delivered up Red Bird and six others as the guilty parties, which ended the difficulty. The next year, 1828, the United States made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the Winnebago lands, including the lead mines, and failed. In 1829, by a treaty concluded at Prairie du Chien, concluded August 1 of that year, the tribe ceded their territory south of the Wisconsin River, and west of a line running south from Lake Puckawayt by Duck Creek, Fourth Lake, near Madison, Sugar River and Pee-ku-tal-a-ka, by which the Winnebago interest in the mines was secured to the United States. The considera tion for the territory purchased was $8,000, paid annually for thirty years ; $30,000 in goods paid down, and 30,000 pounds of tobacco, and fifty barrels of salt, delivered annually for thirty years. By a treaty, on September 15, 1832, the Winnebagoes ceded to the United States all the balance of their lands south of the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, for which the Govern ment gave them an interest in the " neutral grounds " west of the Mississippi, an annual annuity for twenty-seven successive years of $10,000, and further agreed to establish and main tain a school at Prairie du Chien for twenty-seven years, at an annual expense not exceeding $3,000 ; support six agriculturists for twenty-seven years ; pay not exceeding $2,500 for twelve yoke of oxen and agricultural implements ; pay the Rock River band 1,500 pounds of tobacco per annum ; and pay $200 per annum each for the services of two physicians, one stationed at Fort Winnebago, and the other at Prairie du Chien. The treaty contained some small grants of land to half-breeds, and required the surrender of eight Indians, charged with the murder of some whites in the Black Hawk war. By another treaty, November 1, 1837, the Winnebagoes ceded to the United States all the balance of their territory on the east side of the Mississippi River, and certain interests on the west side, for which the Government paid $1,500,000. Of this amount, $100,000 was to be expended in goods, horses, provisions, opening farms and expenses of the removal of the Indians west of the Mississippi, where the tribe engaged to go in eight months after the ratification of the treaty. However, they did not perform that agreement until 1840. A new treaty was entered into at Washington, D. C, October 13, 1846, by which the tribe surrendered all their interests in lands in the United States, for which the United States engaged to give the tribe 800,000 acres of land north of the St. Peters, or Minnesota River, for a residence, and pay in addition $190,000. The chiefs selected a tract north of the Watab, but the tribe was generally dissatisfied with the location, and the most of them remained scattered about the country. In 1853, a new treaty was made, by which they were allowed to change their location to the Crow River ; but the ratification of this treaty was refused on the remonstrance of the people of Minnesota. The matter was compromised by the United States, and in February, 1855, the chiefs were permitted to select their land on the Blue Earth River, south of the Min nesota. Here the tribe settled the same spring, highly satisfied with their land, and immedi ately commenced building houses and improving land. So well had they succeeded that the Government Agent at St. Paul, in 1860, reported as follows : " There have been raised by individual Indians as high as sixty acres of wheat on a single farm. The reservation presents the appearance of as much improvement as the surrounding country ; and, in fact, when viewing the comfortable log and frame houses that dot the reservation as far as the eye can reach, it presents a far different scene than is usual to be found upon Indian reservations, for wigwams are becoming as rare as houses were but two years since." 322 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The same year the teachers of the reported one hundred and eighteen pupils enrolled, of which sixty-two were males and fifty-six females ; that they were instructed in the ordinarv English branches, and had " as much educational capacity as can be found in any school of equal size." In the midst of their prosperity, when their civilization had become almost a certainty, the occurrence of the " Sioux massacre," in June, 1862, dashed their fond hopes to the ground. Notwithstanding the Winnebagoes took no part, but offered the services of their warriors to our Government to help punish that rebellious nation ; yet the exasperated inhabitants of Minne sota demanded their removal, and Congress, by a special act, directed the President to transport them to the Missouri River with the friendly Sioux. Accordingly, in May and June, 1863, without any treaty, they were loaded upon steamers and taken to the Missouri River, where, in the language of a missionary to the writer, " they were, like the Sioux, dumped in the desert one hundred miles from Fort Randall." When the purposes of the Government became known to the tribe, the old chiefs, De Cora, Winneshiek, Dandy and their families, and some others, fled to Wisconsin, where, near the tun nel, in the fall of 1864, the venerable old chief, DeCora, who captured Black Hawk in 1832, and sent him to the Government Agent at Prairie du Chien, died in poverty. Soon after the Winnebagoes were landed at Crow Creek, Dakota Territory, they pro nounced the country not fit for cultivation, and were generally dissatisfied. They soon com menced the manufacture of canoes to return down the river. Brig. Gen. Sully visited their reservation, and July 15, 1863, sent a dispatch to Gen. Pope, in which he remarked: "I find both tribes (Sioux and Winnebagoes) very discontented, and if troops are not constantly kept here, I think there will be trouble. "The Winnebagoes I find hard at work making canoes, with the intention of quitting the agency and going to join the Omahas, or some other tribes down the river. I had a council with them yesterday, in which they said they had been promised, when they left their last res ervation, to be settled on the Big Sioux River. How true that is, I cannot say. They also stated that nothing would grow here. They dare not go out to hunt, for fear of the other tribes, and they would all starve to death. This I believe to be true, without the Government intends to ration them all the time. The land is dry, sandy and parched up." In a letter to the Secretary of the Interior, dated the following day, Gen. Sully remarked: " I state this from my own knowledge of the country. The land is poor, a low, sandy soil. I don't think you can depend on a crop of corn even once in five years, as it seldom rains here in the summer. There is no hunting in the immediate vicinity, and the bands of Sioux near here are hostile to them. The Winnebagoes tell me they are friends of the Oma has, and speak nearly the same language. It is their wish to be united with them on the Omaha reservation, and, as they say, the Omahas are in favor of this also. Their last removal from Minnesota was hard for them, for they were not implicated in the late massacre." The Indian Agent for the Omahas, October 16, 1863, reported the continued arrival of small parties of Winnebagoes at that reservation in a destitute condition, and he was soon after instructed from Washington to provide for all that arrived. In September, 1864, over twelve hundred had arrived, and the agent, with the consent of the Omahas, had assigned them a tract of land for temporary cultivation, and they had harvested 100 acres of corn. Soon after this the Winnebagoes contracted with the Omahas for nearly one-third of their reservation at about 39 cents per acre, of which the Indian Agent said, September 13, 1865: "If this arrangement be ratified by the Senate the coming winter, they will become possessed of lands (240 sections) ample in extent for all the purposes of the tribe, abounding in wood and water, and for agricultural purposes equal to the best farming lands in Nebraska." This contract was finally ratified by the United States Government. Speaking generally of the Winnebagoes, the Indian Superintendent of the northern department, in September, 1865, said: "I cannot too strongly recommend this unfortunate and much-abused tribe to the fostering care and protection of the Department. Hurried from HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 323 their comfortable homes in Minnesota, in 1863, and located at the Crow Creek Agency, where it is impossible, one year in six, to raise a crop, either of corn, wheat or potatoes, they have suffered more than any other tribe in the country. They are now subsisted by the Government on the Omaha Reservation, in Nebraska, whither they have all sought refuge to escape starva tion, and, under the most favorable auspices, they must continue a charge upon the Govern ment to a greater or less extent for nearly two years to come." In the August report occur these remarks: "This tribe is characterized by frugality, thrift and industry to an extent unequaled by any other tribe of Indians in the Northwest. Loyal to the Government and peaceful toward their neighbors, they are entitled to the fostering care of the General Government." The removal and unsettled condition of the Winnebagoes broke up their schools and relig ious instruction, and in December, 1864, thirty-eight chiefs and head men, at their Omaha resi dence, petitioned their "Father," the President, among other things, as follows: "It is our sincere desire to have again established among us such schools as we see in operation among your Omaha children. Father, as soon as you find a permanent home for us, will you not do this for us ? And, Father, as we would like our children taught the Christian religion, as before, we would like our school placed under the care of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. And last, Father, to show you our sincerity, we desire to have set apart for its establishment, erection and support all of our school funds, and whatever more is necessary." The population of this tribe has been variously estimated at different periods. Thus we find in a French document that they had 230 warriors in 1736 ; according to Sir William John son, in 1763 they had increased to 360; Capt. Carver, in 1766, reduced the number to 200. By a census of the tribe in 1859, they were found to number 2,256 souls, of which 1,055 were males, and 1,201 females; but by the census of 1865 the whole number had diminished to 1,900. The latter census probably did not include the stragglers in Wisconsin, which were still there in 1866. They have been a vigorous, athletic race, and received from the Sioux a name — O-ton-ta-kah — said to mean "the large and strong people." In the spring of 1866, the Winnebagoes finally settled on their Omaha reservation and commenced building houses, of which they had been destitute these years; they also put on white men's clothing, and have cheerfully settled down, hoping to have a permanent home. The Agent, in his report of August 20, 1866, said: "There have returned to the tribe, within the past few weeks, about one hundred soldiers, who have served with credit to them selves and to their tribe, in the defense of their country. I consider the Winnebagoes one of the best tribes of Indians in the country, and with proper treatment they will soon become a self-sustaining, prosperous and happy people." By the treaty with the United States ratified and proclaimed March 28, 1866, the Winne bagoes released their Crow Creek Reservation and accepted their Omaha Reservation, paid for by the United States. They also were to receive 100 cows, 400 horses, 20 yoke of oxen, and wagons ; have a steam saw and grist mill, and necessary buildings for a complete agency erected, and are to be paid the expenses of removal and subsistence for one year. In the account of Rev. Alfred Barenson, of Prairie du Chien, he says : Some of Shea's authorities found them at Green Bay as early as 1639. Winnebago is the name given them by the Algon quins, which means "fetid." It was because they were said to have come from the salt water, which the Indians Btyle fetid water. This name, however, is corrupted. Weene, means filthy or fetid, be water, go gives its character. Weenebago is the name of the water in n marsh that is scented or filthy. Ouinnebago is the French of it. The Algonquins called the Winnebagoes a Dakota tribe, but as there is no analogy between their languages, there is no probability of such relationship. They called themselves Otchagras. but were nicknamed by the French voy ager Puants, fetid, probably translating the Algic into French, and no less than ten different names are given them by different writers. The various names, and the variations of the same name, are thus treated by an article relating thereto in the Wisconsin Historical Collection of 1856, page 137, which is taken in turn from the Jesuit Relations of 1659-60, 1669-70 : They are a Dakota tribe, and this name is that given by the Algonquins, and means " fetid." The French translated it by the word Puants, giving it as a name to the tribe and to Green Bay (Sagard). The early mission- 324 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. aries (Brussana, p. 64, and Marquette) state that they were so called by the Algonquins, as coming from the ocean or salt water, which the Indians style " fetid water." Nicolet called them more properly Oendes mer (men of the sea). The Hurons called the tribe Aweatsiwaent-rhorons, and the Sioux, Otonkah or Sturgeon (Schoolcraft), but they call themselves Olchagras (Charlevoix), Hochungara or Ochungarand, or Trout Nation, or Horogi (fish eaters), Schoolcraft. Guynon states in his Recolleciions, page 286, that the name was given by the Menomonees Win-ne- pa-go, or filthy. They were the original inhabitants of Wisconsin, and were often troublesome and hostile. They were allies of Pontiac in 1763, were defeated by Wayne in 1794, and adhered to England in the war of 1812. From Capt. Carver's North America, page 13, the following statement is given of his first meeting with these Indians : On the 25th of September, 1766, I arrived at the great town of the Winnebagoes, situated on a small island just as you enter the east end of Lake Winnebago. Here the Queen who presided over this tribe received me with great civility, and entertained me in a very distinguished manner during the four days I continued with her. The time I tarried here I employed in making the best observations possible on the country, and in collecting the most certain intelligence I could of the origin, language and customs of this people. From these inquiries, I have reason to conclude that the Winnebagoes originally resided in some of the provinces belonging to New Mexico, and being driven from their native country, either by intestine divisions, or by the extension of the Spanish conquests, they took refuge in these more northern parts about a century ago. My reasons for adopting this supposition are, first from their unalienable attachment to the Mandawessie Indians (Sioux), who, they say, gave them the earliest succor during their emigration, notwithstanding their pres ent residence is more than six hundred miles distant from that people. Secondly, that their dialect differs from every other nation yet discovered, it being very uncouth, guttral jargon, which none of their neighbors will attempt to learn. They converse with other nations in the Chippeway tongue, which is the prevailing language throughout all the tribes, from the Mohawks of Canada to those who inhabit the borders of the Mississippi, and from the Hurons and Illinois to such as dwell near Hudson's Bay. Thirdly, from their inveterate hatred to the Spaniards. Some of them informed me that they had made many excursions to the southwest, which took up several moons. An elderly chief, more particularly acquainted me that, about forty-six winters ago, he marched at the head of fifty war riors toward the southwest for three moons. That during this expedition, whilst they were crossing a plain, they discovered a body of men on horseback, who belonged to the black people, for so they call the Spaniards. As soon as they perceived them, they procreded with caution, and concealed themselves till night came on, when they drew so near as to be able to discern the number and situation of their enemies. Finding they were not able to cope with so great a superiority by daylight, they waited till they had retired to rest, when they rushed upon them, and after having killed the greatest part of the men, took eighty horses loaded with what they termed white stone. This I suppose to have been silver ; he told me the horses were shod with it, and that their bridles were ornamented with the same. When they had satiated their revenge, they carried off their spoil, and being got so far as to be out of reach of the Spaniards that had escaped their fury, they left the useless and ponderous burthen with which the horses were loaded in the woods, and mounting themselves in this manner returned to their friends. The party they had thus defeated I conclude to be the caravan than annually conveys to Mexico its silver which the Spaniards find in great quantities on the mountains lying near the head of the Colorado River. The Winnebagoes can raise about two hundred warriors. Their town contains about fifty houses, which are strongly built with palisades, and the island on which it is situated nearly fifty acres. It lies thirty-five miles, reckoning according to the course of the river, from Green Bay. PRELIMINARY. Wisconsin was very early known, having been first visited by a white man in 1634, less than a score of years from the date of the landing at Plymouth Rock, and the introduction of slavery into the colonies. Most fortunately for the welfare of the State, it has always been the home of freemen. In the year above mentioned, it is established that an adventurous Frenchman, Jean Nicolet, first set foot within the present State, and ascended Fox River to within three days' journey of the Wisconsin. It has previously been stated that he approached the Missis sippi ; but this is now known to be an error. It is painful to add that this venturesome explorer met his death in 1642, in the St. Lawrence River, while engaged in a benevolent mission to rescue a defenseless Aborigine from a relentless enemy. Nicolet visited Wisconsin but once, spending the winter of 1634-35 at Green Bay, and then returning to his home near Quebec. No State in the Union, whose annals commence at a date so remote from the present, has been subject to so numerous a change of rulers or a more peaceful career in her history than Wisconsin. From 1670 to 1760, the territory was tributary to France. In the latter year, Green Bay was wrested from France by the English giving that nation virtual control of all the French possessions west of Lake Michigan, confirmed by the treaty of Paris in 1763. During their occupation the laws of Canada were enforced over the Northwest ; Jonathan Carver made his exploration ; the Northwestern Fur Company was organized, civil government established by the Quebec act, and its possession retained by the aid of Indians until 1783. In LA CROSSE. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 327 that year, the territory came into the possession of the United States, and by Jay's treaty, con cluded in 1795, the donation was further vested, together with its forts, trading-posts and dependencies. Until 1800, Wisconsin Territory was attached to Virginia and Ohio, afterward transferred to Indiana, Illinois and Michigan ; its dependence upon these several commonwealths continu ing one hundred and sixty-six years. BEGINNING OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. All the territory now embraced within the State of Wisconsin was attached]to the Territory of Michigan as early as 1818. On the 16th of October of that year,, it was divided into twe counties, Brown and Crawford, by an act of the Legislative Council. Brown embraced all the lands lying north of Illinois, and east of a line running due north from the northern boundary of that State, through the middle of the Portage, between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. Crawford, all of the State lying west of that line to the Mississippi River. A reference to the map will show that the latter county was probably one-third greater in extent than Brown. Within its limits was included the " Carver Grant," which excited great interest in its day, the confirmation of which would doubtless have invalidated the titles of set tlers and dispossessed them of homes. This grant, it is claimed, was made to Capt. Carver May 1, 1867, for and in consideration of services rendered to the Dakota or Sioux Indians, by How-no-paw-ja-len (Turtle), and O-toh- ton-goom-lish-con (Snake), two chiefs of the tribe. It extended from the Falls of St. Anthony to the mouth of Lake Pepin, thence eastward about one hundred miles ; thence north one hun dred and twenty miles, and thence west on a direct line to the place of beginning, comprehend ing about ten thousand square miles and six millions of acres. Every effort was made by the heirs of Capt. Carver to secure from the United States and Great Britain a confirmation of this grant, but without success. Thus was the Territory defined by metes and bounds until October 9, 1829, when Craw ford County was divided and Iowa County created out of the land lying east of the Mississippi River. Four years later, Milwaukee County was established and set off from Brown County, being bounded by the south and east lines of the State, the north line of Township No. 12, and the eastern line of Iowa County. The District Court for these counties convened once a year in each of them, the first term being held in October, 1824, at Green Bay, Judge Doty presiding. Among the cases, there were twenty-eight for illicit cohabitation arising from the custom of traders and French settlers taking squaws to wife ; upon being arraigned, the accused pleaded guilty, but sentence was suspended till the close of the term, when all who were able to present a marriage certificate were released upon the payment of a nominal fine, while those who failed to procure the necessary certificate paid an assessment quoted at $50. The act of Congress establishing the Territorial Government of Wisconsin, approved April 20, 1836, provided that the territory included in the present States of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minne sota and a part of Dakota should constitute a separate Territory, and that all power and authority of the government of Michigan should cease from the 4th day of July of that year. Territorial officers were appointed and qualified, and a census gave a total of 11,683 residents, divided between Brown County, which contained 2,705 ; Crawford County, 850 ; Iowa County, 5,234, and Milwaukee County, 2,893. The apportionment made on this basis gave Brown and Milwaukee two Council and three Legislative members each ; Iowa County, three members of the Council, and six members of the Legislature, and Crawford County two members of the Legislature. At that time, from Chicago to the Pacific, there were but three newspapers published, viz., the Advertiser at Milwaukee, Green Bay Intelligencer, and Belmont Gazette, the locality of the two last mentioned being indicated by their names, all of them being born in 1836, and the Belmont Gazette, in the hope of obtaining the Territorial printing. There were scarcely any landings on the Mississippi north of St. Louis, and no roads save those established by the Gov- 328 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. ernment between military posts, communication being either on foot or by horse, over well-worn Indian trails. Settlers who were able to come hither either by keel boat or canoe were for tunate, but limited. Those who made their way by the slow and wearisome wagon from the last outpost of civilization at Milwaukee and Chicago, by no means numerous, left hope behind upon entrance to the gloomy forests or while crossing the low, lonely prairies. Yet it is to the glorious self-denial of these bands of pioneers that the present prosperity of the Great West is due. On the 12th of June, 1838, an act providing for the division of Wisconsin and the organi zation of Iowa Territory was approved by the President of the United States. The census of May, 1838, showed an increase in the population of over 6,000, and a new apportionment was ordered. In 1849, Crawford County embraced the territory included in its present limits in addition to that now contained in Vernon, La Salle, Monroe, Buffalo, Trempealeau and Jackson Counties, as also the southern tier of townships in Clark County. In February, 1851, the Legislature of Wisconsin adopted an act providing that the portion of Crawford County lying north of Town ship 14, north of Ranges 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, should be organized into a separate county to be known as La Crosse. It extended eastward to within twenty miles of the Wisconsin River, and north ninety miles for the entire width of Clark County. The election for town and county officers was decided to be holden on the first Tuesday in the following April. Chippewa County was attached to La Crosse for judicial purposes, and the county seat was located at the village of La Crosse, upon condition that the people of the township furnished suitable buildings for county purposes. On the 11th of February, 1853, La Crosse County was divided, and Jackson County created, and the condition of affairs was continued before that slice was taken off until 1854. By that time, the inhabitants of the original county had become numerous, not to say crowded, and it was decided to cut out a piece or parcel of land of sufficient dimensions for county purposes and become independent. With a view to that end, a bill was introduced into the Legislature in January, 1854, providing for the creation of Trempealeau County, and on the 24th of that month became a law. Three months later, Monroe County was apportioned from La Crosse, and on the 3d of March, 1857, the present boundaries of La Crosse County were defined and legalized by an act of the Legislature, approved on that day. So much for the in corporation of the county. ORIGIN OF THE NAME LA CROSSE. The origin of the name is a subject of interest, and there are several theories and statements in that behalf which will be referred to in the order of date as they occurred. The first is a tradition to the effect that Catholic missionaries at an early day erected a cedar cross near the banks of the Mississippi, on which a crucifix was placed at the intersection of the cross-bar or below it, protected by a pane of glass held in place by wax. The date of locating the cross or its location, of course is mere conjecture. As is known, the Spaniards introduced the custom of setting up a cross upon their first discovery or landing, thus signifying to all comers that the land was claimed by Spain, which derived its title direct from the Holy See. This custom also obtained with the adventurous, self-denying missionaries of the Catholio Church, who by this means indicated that the land was dedicated to the service of Christ. In a statement submitted by Henry B. Coons, of Potosi, published further along in this book, it would appear that the village whence the county obtained its name derived its nomen clature from French Catholic missionaries, who, en route to Prairie du Chien, which city they also settled and named, halted on their way down the Mississippi, and encamped upon the prairie, where they erected a cross, and called it Prairie la Crossette, by which it was known among the Indians and half-breeds. Mr. William Staats Tippetts, of Tippetts' Landing, confirms the statement regarding the cedar cross in a letter under date of May 28, 1881. He says : " In 1840. I went by steamboat to La Crosse, which I found to be covered with knolls and sand burs. The bank of the river HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 329 was about 40 feet high, and sloped back about 100 feet from the water. Where Lloyd & Clark's store stands were five or six Indian graves, made in the usual manner. At the head of one was a cross made of red cedar, hewn out about six feet high. At the crossing, a small niche had been cut or carved out, and a piece of window glass had been inserted, behind which was a wooden image of our Savior, finely colored, like I have seen in the residences of the Prairie du Chien people. This was a rough-hewn cross, very old to all appearances. * * * * ***** Now, Mr. Henry Coons, of Potosi, is right about the cross., as I have a most vivid recollection of it, and of its exact location." If set up as suggested by Mr. Coons, about the time Prairie du Chien was named, that would decide its erection to have been during the year 1728, when one Cardewell settled there. When the name was given, as already hinted, is a matter of conjecture, though it is believed to have been named from a chief, and was known as " Dog Prairie," the word chien being the Indian signification for dog. It is incredible a cross would have been left undisturbed so long, in view of the fact that steamers and hands on other craft betrayed no conscientious scruples in helping themselves to fuel of any description that could be found along the banks. The tradition may have originated among the friends, a son of Decora, who died in 1842, having placed a cross over his grave, which remained undisturbed for eight ok ten years. The similarity of the name to the French word for cross, i. e., croix, will not bear investi gation, especially in view of the fact that the name was used by the French in naming the river St. Croix, the junction of which, with the Mississippi, is said to bear a striking resemblance on a near view to that sacred emblem. Two other theories, one of the supposed but very imagina tive likeness of a cross made by the Root River on the south and La Crosse River on the north, and that this spot was the favorite crossing place of the Indians ; hence the place of the cross or crossing seems too puerile to be worthy of more than passing notice. Before quoting the final and most probable theory, it may not be improper to notice several of the Indian names applied during aboriginal days. None of them, with possibly one or two exceptions, are especially felicitous ; but derived from nature or their likeness thereto, are sug gestive of the scenery, for the beauty of which the vicinity of La Crosse is not altogether unknown. The first of these was that of enook-wagera, from enook, woman, and wagera, bosom, from the supposed resemblance of two bluffs near the mouth of the La Crosse River to a woman's breast. One of the Sioux names was Topaktaype, from Topa, four, and Ktaype, killed. The occasion for this is not known to the gentleman who communicates it, N. Myrick, Esq., but that it refers to the slaughter of four men or animals is evident. Another name given by the Sioux, according to Dr. Bunnel, was Wazuvleca, or strawberry prairie. All the above are expressive, commemorative, and the last musical in its softness, as also most expressive in its; meaning. It is to be deeply regretted that the great wealth and beanty of innumerable Indian names was not more largely drawn upon in the titling of towns, villages and hamlets. It would have been a just and fitting, albeit a small recompense, to have perpetuated the memory of the original inhabitants. Coming now to the facts in the case, it may be stated that La Crosse was the name hy which it was known as early as 1805, during which year Maj. Z. M. P. Pike arrived, at which he calls Prairie de la Crosse. In 1823, Lieut. Martin Scott and command, in a journey to the St. Peter's River, halted there, and spoke of the prairie as " being very level, is admirably well' calculated for the game of la crosse, which is very much in favor with the Indians." Maj. Pike speaks of having witnessed the game at Prairie du Chien nearly twenty years before. It was doubtless played here at as early and, in likelihood, at a much earlier date, as this was a noted and favorite resort for games from time immemorial. This is the uniform testi mony of all the earlier settlers, who also bear witness that it was also that of the Indians. The etymology and signification of the name is of itself quite sufficient to convince any one of the great probability of this derivation of the name. In a note on page 189, Volume 2, " His- 330 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. torical Collections of Wisconsin," it is expressly stated that the name originated from the French name of the game of ball played by the Indians at this point, viz., le jeu de crosse. A combi nation of the first and last syllables gives the modernized name. N. Myrick, who was made the first Postmaster in 1844, thus speaks of his connection with the name : " The name of Prairie de la Crosse was of course French, and was changed by myself to La Crosse, and the post office so called at my suggestion." What is said of the last name should be conclusive ; but, as some strenuously contend for the other theories, it is thought best to submit a presentation of the subject in full. THE GAME OF LA CROSSE. The earliest notice of this game as played by the Indians of Wisconsin, is probably that of Capt. Carver, who visited the State in 1766, and may be found on page 364 of his book entitled ''North America," and is as follows: They amuse themselves at several sorts of games, but the principal and most esteemed among them is that of the ball, which is not unlike the European game of tennis. The balls they use are rather larger than those made use of at tennis, and are formed of a piece of deerskin, which being moistened to render it supple, is stuffed hard with the hair of the same creature, and sewed with its sinews. The ball-sticks are about three feet long, at the end of which there is a kind of racket, resembling the palm of the hand, and fashioned of thongs cut from a deer skin. In these they catch the ball, and throw it to a great distance, if they are not prevented by some of the opposite party, who fly to intercept it. This game is generally played by large companies, that sometimes consist of more than three hundred, and it is not uncommon for different bands to play against each other. They begin by fixing two poles in the ground at about six hundred yards apart, and one of these goals belongs to each party of the combatants. The ball is thrown up high in the center of the ground, and in a directed line between the goals, toward which each party endeavors to strike it, and whichever side causes it to reach their own goal, reckons toward the game. They are so exceeding dextrous in this manly exercise, that the ball is usually kept flying in different directions by the force of the rackets, without touching the ground during the whole contention, for they are not allowed to catch it with their hands. They run with amazing velocity in pursuit of each other, and when one is on the point of hurling it a great distance, an antagonist overtakes him, and by a sudden stroke dashes down the ball. They play with so much vehemence that they frequently wound each other, and sometimes a bone is broken ; but notwithstanding these accidents, there never appears to be any spite or wanton exertions of strength to effect them, nor do any disputes ever happen between the parties. BEGINNING OF SETTLEMENT. The first settlements, perfected by permanent occupation in La Crosse County were not undertaken, it is believed, prior to 1840, though Mr. H. B. Coons, of Potosi, Grant County, avers his father was a resident of subsequent La Crosse as early as 1836. There may have been visitors into the present county before 1840, but if so, they were made up of transients and adventurers to whom no place was home, and the pressing experiences of the hour, the uncertain lines wherein their lives were cast. Settlements had grown up in the regions adjoining La Crosse at a date anterior to that mentioned herein, notably at Prairie du Chien, and other points which afterward became sources of supplies to pioneer husbandmen and miners, who in those early days ran the gauntlet of the mining district. Indeed it would seem strange, but is nevertheless true, that the settlement of La Crosse was procrastinated beyond that of other points possessing no more fruitful sources of wealth nor advantages for settlers. Roving traders and agents of fur companies who operated throughout the Northwest could hardly have overlooked the value of sites since fringed with flourishing cities and villages that have been built up and have become the residences of intelligence, enterprise and wealth. They may have come into the wilderness annually, and, remaining long enough to exchange their commodities for furs, return to their abiding-places without leaving any trace of their aboriginal existence to guide the historian in his pursuit of facts. But thus far, no records of such occupation have been discovered, and the only positive evidence of settle ments available after decades have elapsed is to be found in the statements of those to whom, with but one exception, the award is made by universal acclamation. In this connection the surprise is expressed that among those who came during the first years of the building up of La Crosse, some one of them has not put in permanent and enduring form, a reliable record of HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 331 events as they transpired here in those days. Possessing leisure which they have justly won, literary tastes and devoted attachments to the city to whose growth and prosperity they have so liberally contributed, familiar with its early history rapidly passing into tradition, it is truly strange that they have not perpetuated the material in historic form, which they can successfully command. At the date when the first settlement of La Crosse was ventured, the present county was almost an uninhabited wilderness, possessing as would seem from the presumed refusal of traders and strollers to remain within its limits, but few attractions and those few of the most limited character. The nearest towns were Prairie du Chien, Dubuque and Galena, at that time land ings of some importance, but struggling for existence, though comparatively of the importance as St. Louis subsequently assumed. The population of Chicago was then less than 5,000, while Milwaukee was yet in its infancy, and neither gave very promising indications from location or immigration tending thitherward of what was reserved for the future to disclose. There was little then as compared with the present between the flourishing cities of the East and the im promptu municipal weaklings in the great West which has since reflected back the star of em pire. The confines of civilization were then limited to the towns and settlements contiguous to the lakes on the west, and he who struck out for a home in the Territories was regarded as an adventurous soldier of fortune whose return was a question chance rather than probability. This, then, was the condition of affairs as they existed forty years ago, according to sources of information in that behalf, presumably correct. There was little to attract save the intrinsic merit of the location and surroundings, which combined with the hopes of a future, were suffi cient to direct the residents of Southern and Eastern States to Wisconsin Territory. To those at home who were independent, the country furnished inducements that would enable men of means to add to their accumulations. To the imprudent or impoverished, pulling with steady stroke against the current of an adversity, both pitiless and uncompromising, a hope for better days. To the speculator it afforded a field of operations incalculably valuable ; to the scientist an opportunity for discovery ; to the scholar, the Christian and the husbandman, the occasion for labors that have since returned to bless their inventors. As a consequent, the class of people who established themselves in La Crosse County, and have since been identified with its growth and the development of its wealth, were men of rare excellence. Earnest, frank and kind, they made all men friends by being the friends of all men. Illustrating by example rather than precept, they bridged the brief interval between purity and sin by the power of kindness, and looked with eyes of charity upon the mistakes and failings of their fellows. Brave but tender, they were, in short, the most generous of men who have ever left " the shore touched by a mysterious sea that has never yet borne on any man the image of a homeward sail," their deficiences made up by the Recording angel, from the love they bore humanity. And so, too, the pioneer women, those who braved the absence of home, friends and con genial associations to accompany their fathers, husbands and sons into the trackless waste of the Northwest, and contemplated the present as also the future, the horizon of which was darkened by discouragement and gloom. And yet they faltered not, but sustained their husbands by a trust in the outlook that was constant, and bore an abundant harvest. As wives, they were the most agreeable of companions ; as friends, the most faithful and affectionate ; as mothers, gentle as children ever had the misfortune to lose, who corrected the most pernicious of evils by the most tender of management. Prudent from affection, though most liberal of nature, they prac ticed economy from the love they bore their husbands, and at critical periods, preserved order in affairs from the care of which those husbands were relieved ; she reclaimed her choice from despair, urged his indolence to exertion, and constantly admonished him to industry, integrity and manhood. In the accounts furnished regarding the first settlement of the county, it is found that the principal events have ever kept pace with the rapid improvements of the age. The site of the city seems to have been a resort for the Indians from time immemorial, and this is said to have 332 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Induced French traders to meet them there at an early day for the purpose of trade. Who they were, where they obtained supplies, and other factors of importance regarding their occupation •of the present county, either permanently or as transients, are wanting, and the conclusion seems irresistible to an unpredjudiced juror of the facts, that the statements sprang from the fertile soil of romance. In the examinations made with a view to definitely determine the facts regarding the first settlement of La Crosse, the seeker after knowledge has been made the Trustee of information in that behalf both cumulative and persuasive. Mr. H. B. Coons claims the distinguished honor for his father, whom he alleges settled at La Crosse in 1836, while Col. N. Myrick is equally positive that Mr. Coons is in error, notwithstanding his statements are in part supported by public documents, and that he was the first white man to establish a permanent occupation of the county. The weight of authorities, it is but proper to observe, indicate Mr. Myrick as the gentleman to whom this dignity properly belongs ; Morrison McMillan, in his history of the «arly settlement of La Crosse and Monroe Counties, makes the award to Mr. Myrick. He states that no trading-post was established in the vicinity of La Crosse prior to 1840, at which time a man named La Batt or La Bathe opened a store one mile below the present city, but did not remain long. Mr. Coons insists that his father and Mr. Cubbage opened a trading-post in 1836, within the limits of the present city, which was destroyed by the Indians in 1837. It was rebuilt, but again burned, and, in 1838, Messrs. Coons & Cubbage made a claim for damages thus sustained, which was allowed and deducted from the annuities due the Indians. The Interior Department at Washington furnishes proof that the claim was made, but casts a doubt upon the allegation that the same was paid. From this, it would appear that the averment made by Mr. Coons, in behalf of his parent, is entitled to considerable weight. A prolonged correspondence resulted from this claim which is herewith furnished, that the reader may determine the question, as the evidence appears conclusive of tie facts or faults, but this is done with the statement that among the pioneers of the county still living, the opinion obtains that Mr. Myrick was the first settler to locate permanently on the present city site, and that Coons possibly located on the island opposite. MR. coon's plea. Western Historical Co. : Potosi, Wis., May 10. In reply to your letter of inquiry, I have the honor to submit the following : John R. Coons was born in Lexington, Ky., A. D. 1800 ; came to St. Louis 1808 ; educated in a French school ; •came to Gratiot Grove in the employ of Gratiot, Cheauteuse & Co., fur traders and smelters, as a clerk, in 1827; took part, to some extent, in the Black Hawk war of 1832 ; at the close of the war, got a smelter's grant from the •Government, and under it smelted lead at Dubuque up to the year 1835. In that year he engaged in farming and mercantile business at Belmont, La Fayette County. In 1836, he formed a partnership with Col. Cubbage (who then lived at Davenport, Iowa, I think), for the purpose of trading with the Indians, and, getting a permit from the Gov ernor, established a trading house at what is now known as La Crosse, upon the ground occupied by a hotel on the corner of Front and Pearl streets, Col. Cubbage doing most of the business. In the spring of 1837, during the absence •of the Colonel, the Indians, instigated by some members of (it was supposed) the American Fur Company, burned the traders' house and its contents. Coons & Cubbage rebuilt and it was burned again. The firm made out a claim against the Indians for their losses in 1838, and presented it to Col. Joe Street, Indian Agent, established at Prairie •du Chien. The Government, at their annual payment, had Commissioners appointed to adjust these claims, and they were allowed and the amount deducted from their annuities. Col. Cubbage named the place Guadalquiver, after a small river in Spain (I think), noted in an old song with a pretty air, that my mother sung and the Colonel admired, and all letters written to Maj. Coons were headed as stated, and sent by Indians and half breeds to Prairie du Chien for mailing. The financial crisis of 1837 and 1838 wrecked almost all engaged in business in the West, and among them the firm of Hooper, Peck, Scales & Co., of Galena, with which firm John R. Coons was connected under the firm name of Coons, Woolley & Co., of Potosi. All of the members of said firms are now dead, except William Hooper, of Salt Lake, a noted Mormon, who has several times represented Utah as a delegate in Congress. This crisis stopped pro ceedings for a time at Guadalquiver, and Col. Cubbage drew out altogether. Maj. Coons, knowing that there was a future for the Upper Mississippi, tried to keep his claim on the land, and to that end sent two men under wages- Scott and Lear — with teams and full outfit of provisions, tools, etc., with instructions to build a house upon the same ground, in fact upon the ashes of the houses burned in the fall of 1841 or 1842. This they did not do, but built a house on the island now known as " Barron's Island." They came down in the spring with a small raft of pine logs, cut on Black River, and reported all right, Coons not knowing anything to the contrary until the following fall ; and, while prepariog to send men back, he learned that, through a neglected trust on the part of his men, the clairu had HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 333 forfeited, a result that Myrick & Miller, then located, I think, at Bad Ax, had been waiting for. I was personally acquainted with Miller in 1856 and 1857, as I lived in La Crosse at that time, and by Miller was shown the exact spot that had been occupied by the trading-houses of Coons & Cubbage. In 1854, I visited La Crosse, and at that time the ground was occupied by a small frame house and known as a hotel or tavern, and, if 1 am not mistaken, kept by Miller. In 1856, the Augusta House was built by J. M. Levy and kept by Bicknell & Rice. In regard to the name of La Crosse, my understanding is that it was named about the same time that Prairie du Chien was named, and by the same French Catholic missionaries, who, in their voyage down the Mississippi, en camped upon the prairie, erected a cross, and called it Prairie La Crosse, and by that name it was called by the Indians and half-breeds (French and Indian). The name once mentioned as Koontz, is in all probability Coons, and the " Stoltz " an approximation. In making the foregoing statements, I don't wish to deprive any one of the honor of being the " first settler," but make them at your request, and upon the facts and information stamped on the early recollections of one who takes some interest in family history. Respectfully, Henry B. Coons. P. S. — In the foregoing hastily-written communication you may find some things that you can make a chapter of. You are at liberty to shape so as to make readable. Judge Lord, W. T. Price, William Hull, Orrin Smith, and others, are references, as I am well known to them. C. To the Editor of the Chronicle : La Crosse, May 14. I have read with pleasure the letter from Henry B. Coons to Mr. King, published in your issue of the 13th inst., in relation to the early settlement of La Crosse. As a general thing, the letter of Mr. Coons contains many truths, and is deserving of credit and respect. In May, 1838, I, with others, with two Mackinaw boats, descended the Mississippi River, and encamped for » night at a point where the Bellevue House now stands. At that time, there was no settlement or building, or any evidence of any having been on this prairie, in sight from the river. I went ashore, and if there were any such evidences I could have seen them. The country near the river was then a continuous range of sand-hills, some of them timbered, especially that near what is now the location of Zeisler's brewery and Dean, Smith & Co's foundry. On the top of the hill were some Indian graves. There were no other evidences that this prairie had ever had a hab itation upon it. In 1841, it was my pleasure to become acquainted, at Potosi, with Maj. John R. Coons and his estimable lady. I have heard from Maj. Coons the facts of his effort to make a claim at Prairie La crosse and his failure. In the same year (1841), I know that he sent Lear and Scott to reclaim their lost chance, which was unsuccessful. The name of La Crosse is not taken from any symbol of the cross, but is a name applied to a game of ball played by the Indians, and this prairie was the ground upon which they played, hence the name " Prairie La Crosse," the prai rie where the game was played. " Croix" is the French for cross. La Crosse means nothing of the kind. Yours, William Hull. col. myrick's answer. St. Paul, May 20. Western Historical Company: * * * I went to LaCrosse and settled there in the fall of 1841. I built my house on what is now called Barron's Island, because of the logs there, and the difficulty of getting them on the prairie, which is the site of the city. I remained on the island until February, 1842, when, having got out the re quisite timber, I moved from the island on to the prairie, where I remained. Neither at that time, nor at the time of my arrival, was there any settlement or building, or any remains of a building, or any evidence of any having beeu on the prairie in sight of the ri»er at the point mentioned by .Mr. Coons, or elsewhere. On this subject, I refer you to the accompanying letter of Hon. H. H. Sibley, who is, perhaps, more familiar with the history of the Northwest than any one now living. Gen. Sibley was at La Crosse in 1835 and 1836, and he says that "there was no vestige of claim or settlement when he conceived the idea of taking posses sion," and Gen. Sibley informed me, in addition to his letter, that he camped on the La Crosse prairie in 1837 on a trip from Mendota to Washington, having been frozen in at that point, and having to pack his baggage to Prairie du Chien, and that there was no house there at that time. Hon. Henry M. Rice informs us that in 1839 and 1840, he passed the La Crosse prairie, and that there were no buildings or any evidence of any buildings on the spot at that time. Hon. William Hull, of your city, in his letter in the Chronicle of May 15, 1881, says that in May, 1838, only one year after the alleged burning of the house of Coons & Cubbage, he encamped for the night on the present site of the city, and that at that time there was no settlement or building, or any evidence of any having been on this prairie in sight of the river. Now Mr. Henry B. Coons says that Coons & Cubbage built a trading house there in the spring of 1837, and that it was burned by the Indians, "instigated by some of the members of the American Fur Company, that Coons & Cubbage rebuilt, and that it was burned again." All this was done in 1837, he says, and yet according to Gen. Sibley, there was no settlement there in 1835, nor in 1837, and according to Hon. William Hall, there was no build ing there on any evidence of one in May, 1838, and according to Hon. Henry M. Rice, no building or evidence of one in 1839 or 1840. The gratuitous fling at the American Fur Company and at Myrick & Miller, by Mr. Coons is unworthy of that gentleman, and is not the material out of which to make history. It is well known to all the early settlers that the Indians opposed the settlement by any whites of that section, on the ground that they had not ceded the lands to the United States Government. This opposition extended to my self as well as others, but I knew that they were in error, and that the treaty of cession had been made and con firmed. In 1842, I think, in the early part of the season, Maj. Coons cime up and made a claim adjoining mine, which had, early in 1841, been staked off, and on which I had built and was living. 334 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. lilt a shanty on it, and soon after left. In the fall of 1842, Peter Cameron came up, and finding no ion of the claim, took it and kept it. Scott and Lear came up in 1843, I think, and finding the Coons Coons built i one in possession of the claim, took it and kept it. Scott and Lear came up in 1843, I think, and finding the Coons claim taken, went away without making any claim either on the main land or on the island or elsewhere. I never had an interest in the Coons claim, and the insinuation of Mr. Henry B. Coons was uncalled for, and does me great injustice. When I went to La Crosse in 1841, so far as I could see, there had never been any settlement there. I do not mean to say that in the mystic past, prior to that time, there might not have been temporary trading houses, but if such ever existed, they and all traces of them had disappeared. There were, however, on what is called now Barron's Island, when I built there in 1841, the remains of a stone fire-place or chimney, indicating former habitation, and about one mile and a half below the present city, on the timbered bottom near the river, there was a cabin half rotted down, and about two miles below this, opposite the mouth of Root River, on an island, was Labathe's cabin, where he traded up to 1848. With the exception of some puncheons set up on end in the ground, about 12x10 feet square, by the soldiers on the prairie who were camped there in 1840, for the purpose of keeping the Indians on the west side of the river, these were the only signs or evidences, of habitation at La Crosse, or in its vicinity, when I settled there in 1841. Thepresent site of the Inter- national Hotel, on the corner of Front and Pearl streets, was first built on in 1842, by Col. Mills, wtth my permis sion. There was then no trace of any building on that corner. Col. Mills built a house with hewed pine logs on the lot, and after occupying it for a time sold, I think, to Jacob Spaulding, and left for Dubuque. Mr. Spaulding afterward sold the house to J. M. Levy, Esq., according to jny best recollection, and in pursuance of my agreement with Mills in 1843, I deeded the property to Mr. Levy in 1842, the time when I obtained the title from the United States Government. The same house was occupied afterward by Dr. B. Bunnell, who came to La Crosse with his family in 1844. The Augusta Hotel was afterward built on the site which was burned down, and the present Inter national erected in its place. It has been my sole purpose in this protracted narrative, to gather the scattered threads of the early settle ment of La Crosse to be woven into a web of truthful history to be read by our children and countrymen long after the pioneer settlers who laid the foundations amid the adventures, sufferings and dangers of frontier life have passed away. Nathan Myrick. GEN. SIBLEY'S LETTER. St. Paul, May 18, 1881. Nathan Myrick, Esq., City : Dear Sir — In reply to your verbal inquiry as to the first claim made upon the land where the thriving city of La Crosse, in Wisconsin, now stands, you are respectfully informed that the initial movement in that direction was taken by the late H. L. Dousman, of Prairie du Chien, Francois La Bathe and myself in the year 1835. We went to the expense of having cut and hauled about 20,000 rails for the purpose of inclosing a considerable portion of the then unsurveyed prairie. The matter was left in the hands of La Bathe, who neglected to carry out the measures requisite to secure the claim, and the rails were subsequently appropriated by passing steamers for fuel. There was no vestige of claim or settlement when we conceived the idea of taking possession. The name of La Crosse, given at an early day to the prairie, was universally believed by the old-time French voyageurs to have originated in the fact that the plain was the favorite resort for the Indians to play the ball game called by that name, and I have no doubt that such is the true explanation. Very truly yours, H. H. Sibley. THE REJOINDER OP MR. COONS. Potosi, May 28, 1880. Western Historical Company : In making reply to your queries in regard to the early history of La Crosse, I stated that I didn't want to deprive any one of the honor of being first settler. I did not expect to open a controversy, nor am I anxious to continue it. Yet I have had a residence in what is now within the bounds of the State of Wis consin that is verging on fifty-three years, and having to some extent that love for the locality that gave me birth, that finds an eternal abiding-place in the hearts of men of all nationalities, I am as much interested as any one in "the scattered threads" of the "truthful history" of our State, whether "woven into a web" or not; yet I am not so desirous of placing my name or that of my family on the pages of that "truthful history," as to make statements that are without foundation of facts. Nor am ] one that gives way to a large amount of sickly sentimentalism over old pioneers or first settlers; yet they are a necessity; without them "the star of empire" would have moved slowly westward. They are meat and drink for historians, but a long residence among them has taught me that it was not philanthropy that made the first settlers, or the pure and generous motive of "paving the way for future genera tions," but to gratify a desire that nature planted in them, to lead a nomadic life, or like the emigration that is daily pouring in upon us from the countries of the Old World, to better their condition. 'Tis true that among the old pioneers of the great West, there was a large proportion of them God's noblemen, honest, warm-hearted and ener getic. 'Tis also true that there were among them some who came that their days might be lengthened, and that they might be permitted to breathe God's pure air awhile longer, former localities having become unhealthy. Yet they are pioneers, and in after years become heroes, and "we love them for the battles they have won" over hardships and privations. They " pave the way." But I am taking up time and space with ideas, not history, and will now try with all deference and respect due from a gentleman to age and ambition, to briefly answer the communication in the Chronicle of the 22d inst., in which Mr. Myrick states that he settled on Barron's Island in 1841, and on the mainland in February, 1842. This I am not prepared to deny. He further states that at that time there was no building, or any remains or evidence of a building at the point, mentioned by me or elsewhere, and by verbal statements and letters, endeavors to cover the HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 335 time from 1835. Now we are told that "there are none so blind as those that won't see." I shall not trouble myself in getting letters of proof and of verbal statement only such as correct dates, but I do propose to reiterate my first statement, that in 1836 Coons & Cubbage entered into a partnership for the purpose of trading with the Indians; that during that year they did build a trading-house on the La Crosse Prairie, that the same was burned by the Indians twice. As in my first, I again say that at the time it was supposed to have been instigated by mem bers of the American Fur Company. Mr. Myrick takes exceptions to the supposition, and calls it a fling at the American Fur Company. Now, as to the men who composed the American Fur Company I know nothing, but with permission would suppose that they were average men for honesty, etc., but this I do know, that all of their agents and employes were not angels, and that the same trading-houses and goods were paid for out of the annuities of the Indians. I also reiterate all my other statements, except so much as I shall hereinafter correct. In my first I said Maj. Coons sent Scott and Lear up in 1841 or 1842. Now some of our old citizens, who lived here at the time, among them Mr. George Kinney, well known as a lumberman, tells me that he remembers the circumstance, and says that it was in the fall of 1841, and that these men were sent for the purpose of holding the original claim, and when it was found that they had neglected their trust and they were charged with it, they offered as an excuse the statement that they could not get the timber for building over from the island on the ice. As to Mr. Myrick's statement that Maj. Coons came there in the early part of the season of 1842, I state posi tively that he did not locate a claim in 1842, on La Crosse Prairie, or anywhere else; that he was not up the river farther than Prairie du Chien that year, and also that Scott and Lear were not there in 1843, but were there at the times mentioned by me. In regard to the siie of the Coons & Cubbage trading-house, I have no knowledge except such as is based upon information given me by one whom I have always understood was not only cotemporary with Mr. Myrick but a partner, and as such would be as much entitled to the honor of " first settler" — although in the communication his name is entirely ignored except when quoting from mine. II. J. B. Miller, a Mowkawk Valley man, it was, who pointed out the locality, and who many times said to me, " Had your father had the grit to hang on and come and live as I did, you would be an owner in the town site." And it was he who gave strength to the foundations for my "gratuitous fling at Myrick & Miller." Nature made "Scoots" Miller honest, and his word was good in his lifetime, and no honorable man would mistake his words after he had passed beyond the ability to refute them. I don't wish to do Mr. Myrick or any one injustice. In my letter I gave you what information I could from the recollection of transactions and statements by my father and others. The Hon. William Hull says that he was there in 1838, and he did not see any settlement or any evidence of one. Well, Mr. Hul might have been up there in 1838; he might have encamped on the prairie one night, and might not have seen a house or the evidence of one, yet I hope Mr. Hull will be honorable enough to admit from au acquaintance that covers forty years, that I have some foundation for my statements if he didn't see any for a house. The La Crosse Prairie is wide and extends some distance up and down the river. A man might encamp on the plains of Egypt for one night and not see the pyramids. Gen. Sibley's letter recalls to my memory the fact that there were rails laid in piles at the time Coons & Cub bage went there, and that a portion of them were burned by passing steamboats, not all of them. And yet we are told there was no signs of settlements. In regard to the name, it is still my opinion that it originated from the establishment of a cross by Catholio missionaries, for the reason that, as I understand, the game of la crosse was introduced among the Indians of Can ada by the French, and is not a game that belongs to our western tribes. It was only introduced among them by the eastern Indians as they moved west. But I have made my letter longer than I intended, and have not added anything interesting to the "truthful history;" yet I have tried to avoid a complication of dates, denials and admissions. Respectfully, H. B. Coons. P. S. — Where are those brave Scots — the Douglasses — William, Thomas and Robert? If you"dinna hear their slogan" you might have heard the sound of their axes away back in 1840, hewing out the way to numberless fortunes made since that time in the lumber business. Can't they tell something of the early history of La Crosse ? . C Supplementary to the above are the following communications from the office of the Secre tary of the Interior, in reply to a letter addressed that department by Mr. King in his endeavor to get at the truth of the matter at issue between Messrs. Coons and Myrick: Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, "1 Washington, May 28, 1881. J Western Historical Company : Gentlemen : — Replying to your letter under date of the 20th inst., in which you state that you are employed in cath- ering material and writing a history of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, and ask for information in order to confirm a state ment made to you that one Col. Cubbage built a trading post at La Crosse (then Prairie du la Crosse) in 1 836, which was twice burned by the Winnebago Indians, and that the losses resulting therefrom were deducted and paid from the annuities of the Indians, I have to state that a careful search has been made of the records and files of this office, which show that a letter from George Cubbage, dated Burlington, Wis., May 24, 1838, addressed to Hon. George W. Jones, on the subject of his claim for losses for the destruction of said post, was by the latter referred to this office, and replied to under date of June 9, 1838 (copy herewith), from which you will perceive that payment was delayed for the reasons therein stated. I have further to remark that it does not appear that the required proof was subsequently fnrnished. Very respectfully, H. Price, Commissioner, 336 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. document enclosed. (Copy.) Office Indian Affairs, June 9, 1838. Hon G. W. Jones, House of Representatives: Sir — In answer to the letter of Gen. Cubbage, of the 24th May, referred by you to this departmeet, I have the honor to state that the admission of his claim must be delayed because there has been no evidence adduced to show the value of the property destroyed by the Indians, or proof to contradict the allegation of the Indians that Gen. Cubbage was trading among them without a license. When evidence of the above facts is furnished, the claim will immediately be attended to. Very respectfully, Carry A. Harris, Commissioner. col. myrick's final answer. St. Paul, June 11, 1881. Western Historical Company : Gentlemen: — I have read the second letter of Mr. H. B. Coons to you, touching the subject of your correspond ence. He devotes much the larger portion of his letter to his own ideas, not history ; and as the ideas of Mr H. B. Coons are not a part of the history of La Crosse, and of no possible interest to me, he can indulge them to his own satisfaction. His second letter is a fit companion for his first. It is altogether hearsay, and inadmissable under the rules of evidence. He tells what he has heard others say. He confessedly knows nothing of his own knowledge, therefore what weight is to be attached to his story ? While attempting to ridicule any sensibility on my part over reminis cences of friends, and trials and early experience, he is anxious that the public should know who H. B. Coons is, his ideas about matters generally, particularly that he has no sentiment, and in a vain attempt to write history, boldly announces that he " shall not trouble himself in getting letters of proof and of vital statements," and then demands that the public should believe his hearsay, reiterated statements. These statements personally reflect on myself and others, and have no foundation in fact and truth. I have written what I know, what I saw — of what I was a part. Mr. Coons does not deny that I settled on Barron's Island in 1841 and on the mainland in 1842. What earthly object could I now have in stating that there was no building or evidence of a building on the prairie of La Crosse at that time, if there had been? Coons reiter ates his statement that there was. Does he produce any proof? Why was not the proof produced before the Depart ment at Washington ? There is no doubt but that the claim for damages was made by George Cubbage in May, 1838, for nurning his post, but it was not allowed. It was not allowed because George Cubbage had no proof, and probably could produce no proof that there ever was any building there or any that had been burnt. What George Cubbage could not do then. Mr. H. B. Coons, after forty-three years, is trying to do now, and with a similar result. He has absolutely no proof — not a particle — for his statements ; on the contrary, the records at Washington, in their present condition, show that Coons & Cubbage were trading with the Indians without a license, in violation of the law of the United States, and that they preferred a claim for damages, and were. unable to furnish any or sufficient proof. It is respectfully submitted, whether any one representing such a transaction as this is in a situation to indulge any personal flings, or to ask that mere hearsay statements shall be believed. H. J. B. Miller was my partner, and a man of truth, and he never could have told Mr. Coons the story he relates. Mr. Coons does not give the time, nor place, nor any particulars of that conversation, so as to entitle it to credence. It is evidently a mistake. Mr. Miller could never have made such a mistake. Mr. Coons reiterates that " Major Coons sent Scott and Lear up in 1841 or 1842, for the purpose of holding the original claim, and that a Mr. George Kinney says it was in the fall of 1841." Scott and Lear might have been there that year before the 9th of November and went away without making any claim, in consequence of the scarcity of timber, as alleged by Mr. Coons, but I know that they were not there after the 9th day of November of that year, for I was there at that time. I do certainly know that Scott and Lear were there either in the fall of 1842 or spring of 1843, and went away with out building on the island, as Mr. Coons stated in his first letter, or anywhere else in the vicinity of Prairie La Crosse. Mr. Coons says : " A man might encamp on the plains of Egypt for one night and not see the Pyramids." Perhaps so, under some circumstances ; but Prairie La Crosse is not the plains of Egypt, nor Coons' imaginary house the Pyramids. Prairie La Crosse is only about three-fourths of a mile along the river, running back to the blufis, and some four or five miles long under the bluffs, and there was nothing to prevent any one camping on the river bank from seeing the house, had any such been there near the river. I have stated what 1 saw and know. I was there several months before my friend Miller came. I have given corroborative proof. I now refer you to the accompanying state ments of John H. Folsom and Ira H. Brunson, old settlers. I refer also to Thomas Savage, at Prairie du Chien, who says he came in 1836 and hunted on the Chippewa River, and was back and forth once or twice every year for several years, and never saw a house at La Crosse Prairie except on the islands, before the one I built there. I have now given you more proofs, and shall close with an apology for having written so much in reply to a claim which is no more susceptible of proof now than when it was first made before the Department at Washington in May, 1838, and even if there had been any foundation for the same then, it by no means follows that the house was on the mainland and not on the island ; and I reiterate and have proven that I built the first house on the prairie at La Crosse, and was the first settler on the town site. No one has denied or can successfully deny this history. Nathan Myrick. mr. folsom's testimony. I came to Prairie du Chien in the fall of 1836. I went to La Crosse in January, 1838, in the employ of Moore & Street, for the purpose of trade with the Indians at that place, and to make a claim on a quarter section on Prairie La Crosse. Their location was near the upper part of the island, opposite the city of La Crosse and on the east side, :-M HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 337 and in a house built by Col. Cubbage, which was then in charge of a Mr. St. John for him. The Fur Company had a trading house on the island west of the Cubbage house. There was no building on Prairie La Crosse at that time, but I think there was some hewed pine timber lying there. La Batte's trading house was about six miles below La Crosse, on the east side of the Mississippi River. Don't know as to the burning of the Cubbage house, but think I heard of it. John H. Folsom. brunson's recollection. I came to Prairie du Chien in 1836. In 1837, was in company with H. L. Dousman, B. W. Brisbois, Francois La Batte, and probably H. H. Sibley, in the purchase of hewn pine timber for building a house at La Crosse, which was left there, but no house was built. Ira B. Brunson. The following communications on the same subject are also submitted : " Who was the earliest settler in La Crosse?" J. Irwin Smith, in a letter to the La Crosse Republican Leader of July 15, 1876, asks this question, saying that the Hon. Charles Seymour, in his historical address, mentioned Nathan Myrick as the first settler on this prairie, and November 7, 1841, as the date of his arrival ; but adds : " I am inclined to believe, from satisfactory testimony, that this date is too late by several years, for the actual possession here by white men, and that several others preceded Nathan Myrick." A gentleman resides in the family of his daughter, who is the wife of Judge Mitchell, in Winona, and whose name I am unable to recall at this writing, but who will be recalled by some of the pioneer traders of our city. Deacon S. T. Smith sold him lots here at an early day, and a son of Capt. Smith, the pioneer steamboat man, married his daughter, and resided at Winona. The gentleman referred to has traversed the Northwest for fifty years, and so belongs to that class having vivid impressions of dates, events and personages. He is a gentlemin of the finest culture — of wonderful intelligence rela tive to all the conditions and changes transpiring throughout this territory. For a number of years, including those following 1832. I think, he was a merchant doing business at Galena, and furnishing supplies to up-river traders ; such a man, especially doing credit business, is not likely to be mistaken greatly respecting dates and names of his customers. Now his statement touching this question is very positive and distinct. He affirms that four or five years pre vious to Nathan Myrick's coming, whom he knows well, that is in 1836-37, two young men, as partners, had seized and occupied this prairie with their cabin, holding it in anticipation for pre-emption as town site. He says the name of one of them was John R. Stoltz, that of the other he was unable to recall at the time he gave me this recital in April last, that the names of both these men are on his books, with date of purchases, as they came twice a year to Galena for supplies, and bought of hin pork, beef, clothing and groceries. He had not at the time visited this place himself; but he often talked freely with these men about their location, agreeing with their representations that there must ultimately be a town on this site ; but these men were tired of waiting year after year lor its beginning. One winter they were so weary of the loneliness that one or both of them left, hiring a man to hold their claim till their return; and, that in the end, about 1840, he thinks these two gave up, and sold out their title to a second party, who also preceded Myrick. In face of such statements, which can readily be verified or successfully refuted, I judge our date for the settle ment, and the credit of priority should be revised. We owe it to the satisfaction of history to be correct. I suggest that reference to the records of Myrick's title would afford light. Who will furnish additional particulars, and tell coming generations unquestionably who settled La Crosse ? J. Irwin Smith. The following statement from a pioneer settler of La Crosse bearing directly on Mr. Smith's letter, was published in the Winona Republican of July 24, 1876. The gentleman referred to by the writer of the foregoing communication to the La Crosse Republican- Leader, is Col. J. D. Merritt, father-in-law of Judge Mitchell, of this city. Having called his attention to the subject at issue, we are informed by him that the statement of Mr. Smith is substantially correct, but subject to modification in one or two particulars. The date of the first settlement of La Crosse, by the two young men alluded to, was 1838. One of them was named John K. Koontz (not Stoltz), but the name of his partner Col. Merritt cannot now recall. Koontz had opened a store at Belmont, Iowa, in 1837, but was induced by a St. Louis firm to go to Prairie La Crosse for the purpose of making a claim in their interest, and accordingly, in 1838, accompanied by another man, he went thither and took possession of the site of the present city of La Crosse, where the two men remained that year and the next. Meantime, Koontz was a regular purchaser of provisions and supplies from Col. Merritt, who then kept a general supply store at Potosi, Wis., which at that time ranked with Galena as a center of mining trade. Koontz endeavored to interest Mr. Merritt in the land speculation but failed, and, in the fall of 1837, he and his companion, probably dreading the ordeal of spending another winter in that then bleak and uninteresting locality, and seeing hut little prospect of realizing any tangible results from the effort to establish a town, took their departure and aban doned the place forever. Col. Merritt, whose recollection of the events connected with the early settlement of the Upper Mississippi Valley is very distinct, also informs us that the first saw mill erected in the Black River Valley was in 1841, at Black River Falls, by two brothers named Douglas, who had formerly been employed in Merritt's smelting fur nace at Potosi. The same year, Col. Merritt sent a valuable cargo of lead down the Mississippi to St. Louis, which was by accident sunk at the rapids, and became a total loss. 338 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. It may be added, in this connection, that Col. Merritt took a prominent part, either as principal or assistant in the removal to their reservations west of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, of all the Indian tribes in Ohio and that his knowledge of Indian character and habits is scarcely excelled by that of any other person now living. In the conversation with him from which these facts were gleaned, Col. Merritt — who is now upward of seventy years of age, though looking much younger — incidentally stated that fifty-two years ago, he was informed by an intelligent Indian, who had recently come from the l'ellowstone region, that gold existed in large quantities at the Black Hills. Upon the question of responsibility for Indian outrages, Col. M. is (true to the instinct of his Quaker ancestry), em phatic in the opinion that they are almost entirely due to the bad faith and cupidity of the whites. He says that during a long period of close intimacy with them, he never knew of a single violation of an agreement on the part of the Indians. There seems to be no question but that overtures, as it were, had been made in the direc tion of La Crosse, with a view to settlement there or thereabouts prior to the act itself; why this was not accomplished is a mystery no one seems thus far to have ventured a solution of, but its truth is undeniable. MINING SETTLEMENTS AND MILITARY POSTS. The first settlements of Michigan Territory, as is known, were made at a comparatively early day by miners who radiated from more thickly settled sections, attracted by the reports of rich discoveries of mineral, and this, too, notwithstanding the enforcement of rules and regula tions formulated by mine Superintendents, and the danger to be apprehended from attacks by Indians. Neither of these embargoes delayed the settlement of La Crosse County at an earlier day, as the absence of mineral, a source of attraction elsewhere, failed to woo the coming of venturesome delvers in mother earth, for the springs of revenue, which in other portions of Wis consin had been tapped, and bounteous streams gushed forth. One reason quoted for the comparative delay in effecting a lodgment of settlers about La Crosse at an earlier day than during the forties, was the fact that the Eastern States, whence a large immigration subsequently proceeded, had not become over-crowded, and space by no means so contracted. Another cause of delay is attributed to the further fact that the countries of Europe which now furnish so large a proportion of the population of the more Western States and Territories, had not at that time become familiar with the advantages to be found here, and preferring to suffer the ills to which they had been subjected for generations, rather than to encounter others of which they were ignorant, their coming hither was delayed until a time when necessity or inclination prompted by the glowing accounts of life in the New World, led them to embark their hopes on a tide, which as the sequel in many instances has proved, led on to glory and to fortune. Military posts were for years the only habitations to be found on the frontiers, save the wigwams of the savage, and the only inhabitants the soldiers and officers who fraternized with the foe or aided in the efforts employed to accomplish their departure before the advance of a progressive civilization. Wars were carried on as is known from the pages of history ; settlers were slain or driven off, and the effects of the Indian occupation were not entirely obliterated for years it might be said after the dusky warrior resigned the contest, and ceded to the whites possession of the territory for which he had so valorously, yet fruitlessly contended. When Mr. Myrick came into the country forty years ago, the Indian was still in the field, equally as treacherous, equally as uncivilized, and fully as savage as during the days when he ran wild in the sunshine, unrestrained by law or the force of arms. The dignity of character which romancers and poets are wont to ascribe to the red man. was nowhere visible, and his capacity for evil was only measured by his opportunities. He absorbed the vices of the whites, without seeking to emulate any of the virtues recorded of the most unconscionable in the book of life, and taken all in all, was by no means a desirable quantity in the body politic, where law and order prevail, and where men are measured by their excellences and not by the absence of them. A fragment of these aboriginal occupants are yet to be seen at occasional intervals in the cities of the Far West, but bear no impress of the position Fiction, rather than Fact, has alloted them in the annals of the past. Indeed, it might be said without trespassing upon the domain of exaggeration or prejudice, that they are the most heterodox samples of departed HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 339 greatness to be seen without the pale of barbaric domination — living testimonials of moral and intellectual deformity, and a standing rebuke to the caste of citizens, rapidly becoming extinct, whose felicity in life is augmented in proportion as they can trace their pedigree to the daughter of Powhattan. Their shadow is assimilating with nonenity, so to speak, diminishing in a man ner that, in viewT of the facts in the case, must not be other than gratifying. Many an old set tler in the mellow evening of life lives to witness a fruition of hopes of earlier years in the rapid progress of the city and State, had not been spared if his lease of life forty years ago, was contingent upon the humanity of the Indian who greeted his advent here with threats and demands for fire-water. But he has survived the trials and dangers which attended his coming into the undiscovered land, that to-day teems with the fruit of labors he was instrumental in directing hither, con served and facilitated through the system of education, he was the medium of establishing. The visitor to the country comprehended within the present limits of La Crosse County as he bowls over the avenues that intersect one another in all directions, or gazes upon the fields of ripening grain ready for the sickle, or views the evidences of thrift, skill, enterprise and accret ing capital, which greets his vision whithersoever he may turn in city and county, must not be unmindful of the labors, and the industry which have been utilized to these results. Where once the savage dwelt secure in the fastnesses of the wilderness, churches and schools have been raised up, bringing the fullest fruition of their objects to the county and to the founders of these agencies for the amelioration and improvement of the race of which they were so prominent and disinterested constituents. To these leading spirits who revived discouraged hearts, and checked fading hopes born of disappointments and apprehensions that were by no means retired figures in the days that passed away a third of a century ago, is the present condition of affairs wholly due. Long may they survive and see the perfect realization of works, the foundations of which were laid when the heart of man was almost appalled by the unpromising outlook. A region inhabited by savages, jealous, revengeful and degraded. The nearest place at which supplies could be obtained, or social amenities cultivated, distant a journey of several days. In health it must have been cheerless, in sickness simply desolating. NATHAN MYRICK'S ARRIVAL. This was the condition of affairs when Nathan Myrick, the pioneer settler of La Crosse County, landed opposite the foot of Main street, in the present city, on the afternoon of Novem ber 9, 1841. The scene was by no means encouraging to the enterprising visitor, who had, before attaining his majority, settled in the West, and, after serving an apprenticeship to B. W. Brisbois, a fur trader at Prairie du Chien, extended his field of observation, and decided to locate at La Crosse. He was confident of the future ; no doubt entered his mind of what the harvest would be, yet in spite of his hopes and ambitions, and determinations to realize from substantial foundations, there was little to encourage in the appearance of affairs for the time being. The season of the year, with its solemn, gloomy, melancholy days, the landscape that but a brief period before had rejoiced in an exuberance of flowers and foliage, was now drooping, dying, epitomizing, as it were, the closing scenes in a year that was cycling into the irrevocable past. Mr. Myrick, without companionship, save the presence of Horatio Curtis, Eben Wells, and a man named Reed, who accompanied him, and, while there was much to inspire him to acts, there was much to persuade him to retire whence he came, and idendify his fortune with that of the friends and associates nearer the confines of civilization. The prompter's bell has rung down the curtain on forty years since that day, in the life of Nathan Myrick. He has lived to see the prairies and bluffs blossom as a rose ; to see the nar row Indian trails yield precedence to roads made by the hand of man, to lines of travel con necting with the East and West through the darkness of the night ; to see a city created over the ruins of the Indian wigwams, and the mighty river overcome and bridged from shore to shore. The places he knew in those days primeval, have passed into obscurity, and their trials become as a tale that is told. The lives of men to-day are as holidays compared with those of 340 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. men who were identified with its development and cultivation. Life in those days must have been attended with unlimited hardships and privations without the possession of a compensating number of blessings and privileges. The mighty achievements that have since been made are the result of small beginnings, supplemented by constant industry, daring enterprise and untir ing energy. The waste places have been made to yield abundant harvests, villages and cities have arisen as if by magic, and civilization and the arts "soar Phoenix-like to Jove." The marts of trade and traffic, and the work-shops of the artisan are thronged ; a common school system increasing in value and influence with each succeeding year, has been established and children of the rich and poor press forward eager to participate in the benefits thereby afforded. Churches have been built, and a Christian ministry ordained for a cultivation of a religious life the promotion of piety, the inculcation of morality and virtue. The press, the Archimedean lever which moves the world, sends forth floods of light to illuminate the land and benefit the sons of men. Railroads are completed to facilitate the acquisition of independence, and the electric telegraph shortens the intervals of space at the behest of mankind. As these pages are read, bright memories will blossom out of the shadowy past, glorifying and beautifying its dimness. Many herein mentioned have long since gone, like visions of the beautiful, to be seen no more. Many yet remain who have almost reached the Biblical limits of human life, and are waiting to say : " Now let thy servant depart in peace," leaving as a heritage to their descend ants in long years hence, the ripe and perfect glory of a domain of which they laid the founda tions, while a large number of those who participated in the foundation of the county, sleep after their labors, and their works do follow them, an equally large number remain who have survived the rush of matter and wreck of worlds, and contemplate the scene as a Rock of ages cleft for the good and faithful servant. At the time of Myrick's arrival, there was no one residing at La Crosse or on the islands contiguous thereto. The only resident in the vicinitv, immediate or remote, was LaBattorLa Bathe, a French trader, of whom mention is made above, but whose sojourn, as already hinted, was far from permanent. The voyageurs had come from Prairie du Chien with the object of establish ing a trading-post, bringing with them a stock for that purpose. It was the intention of Mr. Myrick to erect a store at La Crosse and begin operations at once ; but the scarcity of material prevented this consummation, and so he located temporarily on the island opposite the city, where limited and comfortless accommodations were secured. Here he opened his kit of goods, and hither tended the wanderings of the Winnebago Indians, who having received their annuities, sought the disposition of what was paid them without any unnecessary delay. In these roughly improvised and contracted quarters Mr. Myrick and his companions passed their time, eating, sleeping, making sales of goods in exchange for furs or their equivalents in money, and doubt less dreaming of days when after patient watch and prolonged vigil, they would be rewarded with returns that should more than compensate them for the trials they had endured and the deprivations to which they had been subjected. Thus were the long winter days and nights of that heroic period passed, and if the truth were known, they were doubtless the happiest days of lives that had not always been uncheckered or complacent. A DANGEROUS JOURNEY. One week before Christmas of the year of his arrival, Mr. Myrick began a journey to Prai rie du Chien, to renew old associations and drink a cup of gladness to days lang syne, as also to procure a fresh supply of materials he kept in stock. He started upon his trip in a canoe, and looked forward to an early arrival at his destination with feelings of pleasure and pardonable impatience. At the hour of his departure the weather was comparatively hospitable. Autumn had not yet doffed her garments, and Winter was seemingly loth to enter upon the contest for supremacy. But suddenly changing his determination in that behalf, old Winter introduced him self without being announced, and made a day of it to see what was going on, as it were. He found the hopeful voyager en route on his trip, but whistled about him dolefully as sighs in a churchyard, and urged his delay with such persuasive eloquence as proved irresistible, and de- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 341 layed Myrick beyond all comparison. After a brief season, the rain turned into sleet, finally resolving itself into snow, and causing the traveler in search of business and pleasure to regret that he had emerged from his hut on the island. Added to these aggravations the wind blew a gale, ranging over prairies, whistling down Coolies, and performing antics among the trees and brush, original as they were provoking to the Prairie du Chien-bound tourist. He had in the meantime abandoned his canoe, and sought to expedite his advance by the way of a trail which then skirted the western approaches to the bluffs. Here his progress was by no means more satisfactory. After the rain, the snow and wind resumed their presence, and kept him company on his cheerless way. When he reached Coon Creek he found that stream over its banks and impassable to pedestrians. This supplemental embargo was far from cheerful to the wearied wanderer, but by no means disheartened he canvassed the situation, and at last discovered a bridge formed of a tree which had fallen over the otherwise impassable stream. He mounted this connecting link, and had reached mid-stream when he lost his hold and was pre cipitated into the freezing waters beneath. After making one desperate effort and failing, he succeeded in crawling out of his bath, and nearly numbed with the cold, as also fatigued with the efforts necessary to procure his deliverance, lie made his way to Bad Ax, which he reached after dark. The only domicile that afforded him protection from the storm and an opportunity to dry his now frozen garments, was at an Indian camp near by, where the Indians were all drunk and engaged in the peculiar motions of the war dance to the unmusical tom-tom, beaten by a decrepit but fierce-looking and very inebriated Winnebago. The appearance of things didn't seem to mollify the feelings of the visitor, but an aged and sympathetic squaw took him in charge, and with signs admonishing him not to be afraid, tucked Mr. Myrick away in her wigwam. He slept little during the night, and arose in the morning considerably fatigued and sore. Nevertheless he pursued his journey, making seven miles by noon, his muscles yielding somewhat to the exercise necessary, when he bathed in the snow and emerged from his icy expe rience comparatively limber. He reached his objective point soon after, consuming four days in a trip that is now accomplished in as many hours. Upon concluding his business there he returned to the island and attended to the engagement which had attracted him thither, until February, 1842. Through the long months of this inhos pitable season of the year, as has already been observed, there was absolutely nothing to encour age the hope of immediate immigration in the direction of Prairie La Crosse. The inclemency of the weather, together with a well-defined apprehension of attack from marauding bands of Indians, had the effect of checking the enterprising disposition of Myrick and his subordinates, and no improvements beyond those indispensable to protection from the weather were proposed or inaugurated. His store was patronized by the Indians, and so long as the money received by them at the Turkey River Agency lasted, the times were lively indeed, so lively upon one occa sion as to cause serious fears of the consequences. MYRICK'S ADVENTURE WITH AN INDIAN. There were fifteen lodges on the island, and one Sunday morning two of the savages be came inspired with the determination to possess themselves fully of the gore of the traders. One of them visited Mr. Myrick's store with a loaded gun, which that gentleman secured and dis charged into the air. The intruder then began to manifest familiarity with the stock, and sought its ownership without the usual tender of value. These proceedings naturally disturbed the serenity of their legitimate owner. Upon being refused their transfer, the Indian again loaded his gun, but its discharge was prevented, owing to a squaw having knocked out the priming. After repeating his threatenings once more, Myrick, who was standing outside his cabin, hurried therein and barricaded the entrance, and from the window surveyed the preparations for assault making by the Indian. When the latter had completed his preliminaries, he advanced upon the cabin, and demanded admittance, which being refused, he opened fire. The attack was then commenced, which lasted for a brief period, when hostilities were suspended, without any 342 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. other damage having been sustained than that occasioned by the shot entering the logs of which the house was built. While the firing was in progress, Alexis Bailey, residing down the river, hearing the shots hurried on to the scene, and was instrumental in quieting the " perturbed spirits " of the sav ages. At Myrick's request, he interrogated them as to the cause of their assault, to which some of the Indians responded that it was because Myrick had fired off his gun at them, refer ring to the discharge above mentioned. A peace was finally concluded, when Mr. Bailey pur sued his trip homeward, followed by the Indian who had originated the disturbance. He had reached a point below the present city of La Crosse, when he was startled by the explosion of a gun, and noticed the leaden messenger therefrom ricochetting along the ice, in too close prox imity to himself to be comfortable. He demanded the cause of this unlooked-for divertisement, when the savage replied that he was shooting at a mark, and slunk off up one of the ravines that terminated on the river bank. The blood-thirsty aborigine subsequently returned to the island, and, escaping the penalty of his misbehavior, gave no further cause of alarm during Mr. Myrick's sojourn there. From these incidents, it will be readily appreciated that the lives of those who began the settlement of La Crosse were far from being as ripe with sunshine as a day in June. On the contrary, his conversion of the wilderness into fields that to-day blossom with the harvest, was surrounded by trials and labors. The embargoes to be encountered and disposed of in the effort inaugurated for the establishment of homes in regions remote from civilization, and unsought, therefore, save by wandering Indians and savage beasts, were not of a character that was cal culated to inspire an endless felicity. The years were replete with trials and hardships, against which no soul rebelled and no voice was raised. They also shone with promises in rainbow tints that have long since been more than realized. Out of the darkness there shone a light ; out of the sorrows and disappointments an exceeding joy came forth. THE SETTLEMENT ON THE MAINLAND. In February, 1842, Reed and Wells, who had accompanied Mr. Myrick from Prairie du Chien in November, removed with him to the mainland, where La Crosse now is. The same month, H. J. B. Miller came up the river and became an employe of Myrick. During the winter the latter passed on the island, he had prepared the necessary timbers for a house, with the aid of Reed and Wells, shoved it across the Mississippi on a hand-sled, and erected the first house in Prairie La Crosse, on the corner of State and Front streets of to-day, the site at present occupied by the Minnesota House of Alexander Whelan. At that time, Mr. Myrick is positive as to the appearance of the future city site, which, he asserts, furnished no indications of what was reserved in the future. There was no habita tion of any description between the river and the bluffs, nor a sign of one, except the puncheon protectors put up by the soldiers in 1840, as a means of safety against the anticipated raids. of Indians. The prairie stretched out to the east, south and north, without the slightest vestige of civilization to vary the monotony of the landscape, the log cabin of Myrick being the only evidence of the white man's handiwork visible, far or near. This conclusion is borne out by the testimony of many who came into the vicinity soon after, notwithstanding the doubt that is sought to be attached to his claim of precedence in effecting the settlement of La Crosse. That year an occasional transient passed this way and tarried long enough to recuperate, when he continued his journey West, the majority of these being bound for the Black River country. Jacob Spaulding went up there in 1839, and removed his family thither two years later. In 1842, Andrew Shepard, William K. Lewis, John Lewis, Col. Johnson, and a Mr. Valentine passed through La Crosse en route to that section of the country. The portion about La Crosse was the central point and rendezvous of the Indians, which may, doubtless, have worked some delay in its settlemet after Myrick & Miller (who, meantime, had become partners in trading with them) had made a start. They gathered about the store, and at other eligible points in the vicinity in large numbers and were occasionally disposed to be pugnacious, especially if the fete fr tytf^/y LA CROSSE. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 345 least affected by liquor or the want of it. Hand-to-hand contests were of frequent occurrence between travelers and Indians, as also among themselves, and, notwithstanding the paucity of numbers, the Caucasian was capable of maintaining his supremacy and become an interested spectator of the squabbles which the red men improvised in their own homes, when aggravated bv a continued period of peace. THE FIRST SURVEY. As the year advanced and spring was succeeded by summer, the tide of immigration began to set thitherward, and an occasional settler was left with its ebb. Myrick & Miller procured a survey of the town site by Ira Bronson, of Prairie du Chien, which remained unchanged until 1851, when it was re-surveyed. These preparations had a tendency to invite visitations from earnest, enterprising men, who were on the qui vive for opportunities, and largely contributed to the future growth and development of the city and county. Among those who came to La Crosse during 1842, was one known as Dr. Mills, who put up a house at the corner of Front and Pearl streets, where the International Hotel has since grown into prominence. He remained here but a short time, however, returning to Dubuque, whence he came, before the season closed. Another who came in was one who sailed under the impressive pseudonym of " Scotch Billy," the why or wherefore of this nom deplume, is not of record, nor are the events in this vicinity affecting his happiness and prosperity. These, with Mr. Miller, comprised the roster of inhabitants who came to identify themselves permanently with La Crosse, and aid in the building of the city. Throughout the fall nothing occurred beyond the routine of life on the confines of civiliza tion to startle the nation, or blast or elevate the hopes of those immediately interested; i. e., the limited number of inhabitants collected at La Crosse. The winter of 1842-43 was one of the severest ever experienced in this latitude. Its ice and snow rendered travel to distant points comparatively easy, and its chilling blasts left the impress of their cheerless presence on the memories of those who were subjected to their penetrating influence. The season was pro tracted far into spring, goods being transported on the ice from Prairie du Chien as late as April. DEATH OF DE CORA'S SON. During the continuance of this freezing period, a son of Blind De Cora met his death under circumstances, which at first blush, tended to implicate innocence in the crime of murder. This, upon examination, however, was dissipated, as it was proven that deceased froze to death under the following circumstances : He was engaged in a hunt for deer, and to disencumber himself and facilitate pursuit, threw off his blanket in the chase, which led over Root River ; while crossing that tributary, the ice yielded to his weight and he plunged into the chilling waters. He succeeded in extricating himself and gained terra firma, when it is supposed he became temporarily insane, and died before help could reach him and preserve his life. After his body was found, and while the question of murder was being mooted, a closer examination of the surroundings was made, when it was discovered that he hail endeavored to make his way out of the woods, but in place of proceeding in the direction of the camp, with which it was believed he was familiar, he marched around in a circle until overcome with exhaustion and the cold, when he laid down and yielded up the ghost. His remains were removed to Myrick & Miller's store, where they were prepared for the tomb, and encased in a pine box waiting burial. While thus inclosed, a squabble occurred among his kindred and friends, as to the form of cere mony appropriate to the occasion. The dispute ended in a fight, in which mourners, attendants and the multitude mingled pell-mell, during which the corpse was sacrilegiously and inhumanly cast out of the improvised coffin, and narrowly escaped being torn to pieces. Finally, after the anger this intrusion caused, had subsided, peace was declared, the body re-inclosed and buried on Front street between State and Main. A paling fence was built about the grave, and a cross erected at the head, which remained intact until 1851, when the relics of Winnebago mortality were removed to the cemetery, subsequently opened on the present site of Hirshheimer's shop- ¦They were again removed some years ago, but where, the informant is silent. 346 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. THE MORMON INVASION. Early in 1843, the Mormons ventured into this portion of Wisconsin under the charge of George Miller and Lyman Wight, who styled themselves the Trustees of the Nauvoo House Association and Elders of the church. They came direct from Nauvoo, and located at Black River Falls, where they rented the mill of J. Spaulding & Son for the manufacture of lumber to be used in the erection of their temple at Nauvoo. Myrick & Miller contracted with Miller & Wight to furnish them supplies during the winter of 1843-44, the same to be paid for in lumber at La Crosse in March of the latter year. They ran the lumber down, and liquidated their obligations ; and, in July succeeding, transported lumber to Nauvoo. In September of the same year, some twenty or thirty families returned to La Crosse, and camped near the river, on what is now Front street, until they could look around for a place to locate ; and, after some delay, selected the cooley at the lower end of the prairie, which has since been known as " Mormon Cooley." This party was under the charge of Wight, Bird & Co., Elders of the church, and indulged all the latitude of the sect publicly. The form of sealings or marriage, which has of late years been recognized as an indispensable precedent, was never thought of by the Wight & Bird offshoots. In place of this, a revelation that a brother and sister should be " sealed " without any formal ceremony was all that was necessary, and the only agency employed to attract the sisters and brothers into practically illustrating the true theory of Mormon theology. These and other features of their lives in La Crosse vicinity had the effect of making them generally dis liked, and this dislike found such frequent expression that they finally departed hence. Myrick & Miller hired quite a number of the men to chop wood on the island, also to get out rails, and another party of them to proceed to Black River to make shingles. During the latter part of the winter of 1843-44, or during the early spring of the latter year, they seized flat-boats on the slough rfear the mouth of Mormon Cooley. Thus being prepared, the choppers on the island and shingle shapers on Black River, rendezvoused at the Cooley, put their household goods and effects on the flat-boats, fired their houses and departed in the night for Nauvoo. Luckily they were discovered before they were out of reach, and after some trouble the claims held by settlers against them were liquidated, when they were permitted to depart, and never returned. The experiment of Joseph and Hyram Smith was sought to be established throughout the West during those early days, particularly in Illinois and portions of Wisconsin. These efforts, however, were unattended with results anticipated, and meeting with a very pronounced oppo sition from legitimate settlers, ceased to be more than the incident of a season. Some prose lyting was attempted with indifferent success. A very few converts were " led astray " as is known, and a still more limited number accompanied the successors of the Smiths to Utah; but the people in the West, at this time, were hardly prepared to embrace a creed the corner-stone of which was laid in superstition and immorality. ADVANCING CIVILIZATION. The influx of population this year was far from numerous, and the number of improve ments in due proportion. Among those who came during the year were Maj. E. A. C. Hatch, who arrived here in December, but whose advent was anticipated some months by Dr. Snow, who will be better remembered under the name he was more familiarly known by, "Dutch Doc." Philip Jacob, James Ismon and Asa White. This was the sum-total of additions to the population in 1842. By no means a forerunner, so far as numbers would influence a mathe matical deduction of those who would gather on the shores of the beautiful river, the father of waters, in after years, and gradually build up one of the most beautiful and flourishing cities which line its banks from Itaska to the Belize. The improvements made this year con sisted of a barn, warehouse and blacksmith-shop, put up by H. J. B. (Scoots) Miller, and located, the blacksmith-shop at the corner of Front and State streets, the warehouse on the present site of the Bellevue House, and the barn where the Cameron House now is. The " Dutch HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 347 Doc " and Philip Jacobs erected a house at the corner of Front and Vernon streets, while Asa White did likewise on Front street near Vernon. Such were the beginnings made in the days when ambition to improve was only limited by capacity ; and when the building of a house of the most circumscribed dimensions and conveniences was an event of the greatest importance and universal rejoicings. They long since became wrecks, and upon their ruins structures have been erected, the architectural proportions and elaborate furnishings of which have attracted admiration and a spirit of emulation at home, as well as of generous rivalries abroad. There is indeed no feature of excellence about La Crosse more commendable than its buildings and improvements, their style and decorations indicating a very pronounced enterprise, and giving evidence of taste and appreciation for the beautiful as patent as it is exceptional. MAJ. HATCH'S EXPLOITS. The events of this year would be radically incomplete, and an injustice done to the history of those early times, if mention is not made of the services and exploits of Maj. Hatch, a gallant gentleman, and a conspicuous actor in the first settlement of La Crosse, who is mentioned among the arrivals of this year. He left Westport, N. Y., in the summer of 1843, and made his way to Prairie du Chien in search of fortune and adventure, and peculiarly gifted by nature and education to wrestle with one and encounter the other. But his halting-place failed to furnish the quota of either he sought; and, in December of the same year, he continued his journey to Prairie La Crosse. Here he was pleased with the condition of affairs, and the promise held out to all who came prepared for any fate which the future reserved for their acceptance. He at once entered the service of Myrick & Miller, as clerk and trader, and ran the gamut of that apprenticeship until July, 1814, when he was placed in charge of a trust at Holmes' Landing, now Fountain City. He remained here until the summer of 1845, when he returned to La Crosse, and was, on Feb ruary 28, 1846, appointed Postmaster, which position he resigned a year later, in favor of "Scoots" Miller. While the subject hereof was engaged on a trading trip from Holmes' Landing to the Sioux camp, he placed his goods into one of their tents, and demanded payment of what they owed. The Indians refused, whereupon Hatch deliberately placed a keg of powder on the fire burning in the center of the tent. The savages observing his motions abruptly withdrew, after which Hatch kicked the keg from its dangerous proximity to the coals, and enjoyed undisputed pos session of the camp, with all its prerogatives and appurtenances for upward of an hour. At the expiration of this period, an Indian skirmisher appeared upon the scene, and, gazing cau tiously into the tent, was amused and surprised at beholding Hatch engaged in the pleasant and inspiring amusement of smoking his pipe. The communication of the intelligence worked a return of the band to camp, who, upon arriving, were annoyed at the sight which met their gaze. They expected that the courageous trader had been blown to pieces, and to witness him alive wasasight to them asincomprehcnsibleasit was aggravating. Hatch again demandedpayment, and the Indians obtained their furs and complied with their obligations, confident that their failure to do so would involve them in a general ruin or an unexpected voyage to the hunting grounds then frequented by their ancestors without an unnecessary delay or benefit of clergy. This was regarded by them as an original way in which to compel the payment of debts, but it made the Major popular ever after among the Sioux, and gave him almost boundless influence with them. In the fall of 1846, the Major was placed in charge of a post at the foot of Coon Slough, and traded there until the following spring, when he returned to La Crosse. It was about this time that an incident occurred which established his nerve and courage, and gave him an almost universal reputation among the class of citizens who esteem bravery as an evidence of genius. He was standing near the river, when an Indian with club in hand stealthily approached from behind and raised his weapon in a frightfully threatening manner. As he was about to strike, L. H. Bunnell, who was standing near, warned Maj. Hatch of the danger which was impending. 348 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Thus admonished, the prospective victim saw the danger in time to avoid the murderous blow aimed at his head, and seizing a club near by, dealt the cowardly savage a terrible "punishment, inflicting dangerous wounds and rendering him insensible for some hours. He was with a party of Indians, who assisted at his restoration to consciousness, and placing his inanimate body in a canoe conveyed the same to their camp on Black River Lake, where Onalaska is now situated. During the same day, some young bucks belonging to the tribe visited La Crosse, and hunting up Hatch told him that the Indian would die — that he was very popular and had many friends. These latter were much incensed at the treatment their companion had received, and proposed to take vengeance for his injuries upon the one who had been so active in their infliction, concluding by advising him to leave the country if he would save his life. Hatch not only refused to leave but defied their efforts, and told them to say that he intended to kill him ; further, that if the life of the Indian was spared and he attacked him again, he would make sure work of the assail ant. After a few weeks' confinement the Indian recovered, and, coming to La Crosse for that express purpose, made his peace with Hatch, and afterward became one of his stanchest friends. This incident made Hatch a brave among theWinnebagoes. In the spring and summer of 1848, the Indians were removed from Iowa and Wisconsin to Long Prairie, in Minnesota, and Maj. Hatch rendered valuable assistance to the Government, in aiding the departure of those who were hostile and opposed to removal. Hatch and Asa White afterward became partners, and established a trading post at Little Rock, above Sauk Rapids, and continued business about a year, when they dissolved, when, after other ventures, he settled in St. Paul. In the spring of 1855, the Interior Department wishing to engage the services of a brave and fearless agent to take charge of Fort Benton (for the Blackfeet there were very troublesome), on the recommendation of the Hon. H. M. Rice, Delegate in Congress from Minnesota, who gave Maj. Hatch the highest character for courage and ability, appointed the latter and transmitted a commission as Indian Agent, without his previous knowledge. He accepted the honor, and going from St. Paul to St. Louis, departed from that point to the Yellowstone, which he ascended on a keelboat laden with goods and supplies for the agency and American Fur Company. The motive power employed up that treacherous stream was "poling" and "dragging" the unwieldy craft, and it was not until sixty days from the day of departure that the hospitable walls of Fort Ben ton gladdened the gaze of the weary travelers. The Major on this trip kept a record of the soundings taken on the river, and was the first man to demonstrate the navigability of the Mis souri River above the Yellowstone. The following spring, the Government, guided by the report of these soundings, dispatched a steamer direct to Fort Benton over the route laid down by Maj. Hatch — the first steamer to cleave the waters of the Yellowstone in the history of navigation. At this far-off, inaccessible post, on the very frontier of savage lawlessness, Maj. Hatch re mained two years. During that period he was called upon to take part in undertakings of great moment and enterprises of critical surroundings. In the execution of these trusts he com mended his actions to the Government, and preserved that cordial relation between Indian and Agent, the absence of which during late years has been so terribly illustrated on the Little Rose bud, in the Lava Beds and at other points in the Great West, with which the universal human family are familiar. At the conclusion of his term of service, Maj. Hatch returned to St. Paul, and is now a citizen of that municipality, respected and esteemed among a large circle of friends for those sterling qualities of head and heart which made him so prominent a character in the early settlement of the imperial Northwest. Of such blood, indeed, are heroes fet. MYRICK'S FIRST HOUSE. At this point it should be observed that during the summer of this year (1843), Myrick utilized a quantity of hewn lumber obtained on Black River to the building of a comfortable dwelling, 20x30, finished on the inside with lath and plaster, and sheltered by a roof of shingles. This, with an addition 12x16, was the first residence making any pretensions to comfort, not to say rude elegance, erected in future La Crosse. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 349 THE PIONEER'S MARRIAGE. In June, Mr. Myrick left his adopted home and returned to the home of his nativity (West- port, N. Y.), and was married to Miss Rebecca E. Ismon, of that section, with whom he came back to La Crosse in September, accompanied by Miss Louisa Pierson. This was the first marriage wherein a resident of La Crosse was intimately associated, and Mrs. Myrick, with Miss Pierson, were the first ladies to visit this section of the country with a view to remaining either temporarily or permanently. Society in the days whereof mention is here made is not represented as being either numerous or critically select. There were no females in the country save squaws, and in spite of the poetic license which has colored the character of the sex, they were, if the statements made are founded on fact, the reverse of fascinating or attractive. Indeed, in some instances, if cleanliness is next to godliness, they were the furtherest removed from such a consummation. Miss Pierson, it is said, changed her coign of vantage as a looker-on in the west to Illinois, where she was married to " Scoots " Miller within a year, but Mrs. Myrick remained and as the wife of the first white settler in La Crosse, became part of the history of this section of the State. About this time, three small steamers made pilgrimages at very long intervals between Galena and Fort Snelling, landing at Prairie du Chien, Bad Ax, Winnesheik, Coons' Slough, La Crosse, etc., and were sources of convenient wonder and wonderful convenience to the traders, Indians and all who witnessed their maneuvers while making or returning from port. Their names were Argo, Otter and Little Beaver, to which was added the Lynx in 1845, when the number of annual trips was increased, and the wonder and convenience greatly augmented. Travel then was not what it has since grown to be with its palace cars and luxuriously furnished steamers. A trip hence to the East or from outer sections of the country hither was not one of pleasure, and only undertaken when every expedient designed to avoid it had failed. LATER LAND CLAIMS. During this period, Maj. Coons and a Mr. Scott visited La Crosse and made a claim which was absorbed by Peter Cameron, who had come in during the absence of these gentlemen, and in the fall of the same year, as has already been noted, Asa White came up from below and engaged in the service of Cameron during the winter, making a claim adjoining Cameron's, which has since been included in the additions of Levy and Stoddard. Dr. Bunnell came this year also, it is believed. The first two years of life and adventures in La Crosse are hardly exuberant with heroic history, hair-breadth escapes and other features incident to developing the hidden resources of a frontier settlement. The population was far more numerous, and the limited number present seemed to be inspired with feelings of mutual regard. There were few difficulties among them, if any, and less to exaggerate these difficulties into blood shedding. Among the Indians, how ever, a reign of terror was the rule, spreading its black wings and hovering above the peaceful surroundings. They are said to have been constantly quarreling, often fighting, and occasion ally invoking the aid of the tomahawk in their work of discord. Braves were killed by jealous husbands, and married squaws, who were charged with inconstancy, were exhibited with the tip of the 'nose bitten off, a mark of disgrace understood by all the tribes, and entailing the further punishment of ostracism. The settlers are said to have had frequent disputes with the Indians, who insisted upon their claim to the country being recognized. But the parties assailed would apparently, and, in fact, become terribly angry, and seizing an ax-helve or other weapon, frighten the complainants into silence. Supplies were obtained from Galena and Prairie du Chien, and steamboat arrivals were events of such importance that white and red men hurried to the landing, which then was con fined to what is now the foot of Pearl street, to welcome their arrival. There was no grist-mill nearer than Galena, nor was there one adapted to the convenience of La Crosse settlers until the, following year, when E. W. Pelton "supplied a want long felt," and erected a flour-mill at Prairie du Chien. Of saw-mills, there were a number on Black River, including that of Jacob 350 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Spalding, the Douglass mill, that of James O'Neill, Nichols mill, and the one operated by Shep- pard & Valentine. Of stores, the Indian trading post of Myrick & Miller represented the com mercial interests of the section. There were no amusements, no sources of entertainment, and schools and churches were agencies for the amelioration of " dull days " as yet unborn. In short, as has been aptly observed by one speaking of this period in the history of La Crosse, this vicinity was actually the jumping-off point of civilization. There were no ap proaches through the country, and such a thing as a railroad only sought refuge in the most lurid imaginings of the most visionary citizen. The few white settlers here possessed no neigh bors in Minnesota or at points more contiguous and accessible, and the present flourishing cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis were then never thought of. The Sioux and Winnebagoes wan dered at will through this portion of Wisconsin and Minnesota, with their encampments at Winona, Red Wing and in the valleys adjacent to La Crosse. As has been observed, they were a source of trouble to the settlers, between whom and the wolves and the catamounts life here was not rendered congenial if exciting. But the wavering hours of these unsettled days have crept away into the past, the clatter and clash of discord have long since ceased. The angel of peace years ago entered unseen into the midst of their contentious experience, and, spreading her white wings over the blasts, quenched dark thoughts with her visions of light, and brought hope to hearts that were sad and oppressed. The year drew to its close, and the happy realm of to-day, to whom indulgent heaven has given her richest bounties, began to nerve itself for the contest, and to gaze into the future with the consciousness that it held fortune out for its acceptance. The old year floated away into the past, and 1844 dawned gracefully, cheerfully upon the homes that were scattered like sen tinels upon the frontier posts of this little army of civilization that bivouacked on the banks of the Mississippi at the horizon of trade in the Northwest. * With the opening of spring communication, temporarily suspended during the winter sol stice, trade was resumed with the outside world, and a degree of prosperity proportioned to this accomplishment enjoyed. But it was not of the character which subsequently obtained so liber ally in La Crosse. The flow of immigration to that point had not yet begun, indeed its consider ation may be safely assumed was yet in the future. Indians, and the limited number of traders, with the still more limited number of those who had ventured into the country to canvass the prospects, occupied the lands, and dealt more generously with hope than the actualities of the times. As the cold retired before the genial warmth of the opening season of the year, trade began to grow brisk at the "posts" along the Mississippi, and was not entirely confined to localities distant from La Crosse. Here the traders carried on their business with a considerable degree of profit. Myrick & Miller, in addition to their commercial ventures, soW*ed ten acres to wheat near their store, and cultivated it with such industry and assiduity as to reap a liberal return for the investment of raw material and labor. This may be said to have been the first attempt at farming ever undertaken in the county. Since then the precedent established has been followed continuously and successfully throughout the county. Toil has been rewarded with plenteous harvests, and the foundations laid in this early day have since supported a super structure of agricultural excellence unsurpassed by that of any other county in the State. PIONEER HARDSHIPS. But this excellence has been attained after years of trial and trouble, only those who were thereto subjected being even measurably able to define. The lack of the comforts of life, the distance from bases of supplies, and mills and other hardships encountered were but few of the trials suggested. Among others that were calculated to annoy and distress these pioneers was the prevalence of wild beasts of prey, which up to comparatively late years have been accustomed to appear at the most inconvenient times and places. Upon one occasion since the dawn of the decade inaugurated with 1850, Harvey E. Hubbard, afterward Postmaster, and at present a Justice of the Peace, met with a narrow escape from wolves. In those early days, HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 351 it is said, he was a man of irresistible address and appearance, and the leader of social features in the village. About this time, a family named Gear became residents of the village, and occu pied a house on present Seventh street, then on the prairie. This family included a young lady upon its roster of members, and upon her Mr. Hubbard did himself the pleasure of calling. Her accomplishments and genial hospitality so fascinated the caller that he prolonged his stay far into the night, and it was not until quite late that he bade the young lady adieu, and began his return to La Crosse, at the time of which mention is now made, a thriving village. It was a lonely walk at best, but particularly so at this special time ; and striking the Indian trail, he hurried along briskly in the direction of his boarding-house. While thus proceeding, he was startled by the howling of a pack of wolves in close proximity, and saw, as he looked back in the direction whence he came, the white teeth, flaming eyes and dim outlines of two huge wolves on his track. In an instant he wheeled, continues the chronicle, and swinging his hat in raid- air rushed toward them yelling at the top of his voice. The animals, for the moment terrified as it were, fled precipitately into the tall grass, and Mr. Hubbard reached home in safety, felici tating himself upon a fleetness of foot that enabled him to outstep the speed of these terrors of early days. An incident similarly exciting is related of S. T. Smith, a pioneer of 1851. During that year, he was building a store on Front street, and while that was in progress it is related he was wont to visit the bluffs on prospecting tours. One day, while enjoying the beauty of the valleys east of the bluffs, which he was then engaged in exploring en route to State Road Cooley, his horse suddenly shifted to one side, and his surprise increased as he heard the sounds of twigs and brush cracking at the side of the road. Mr. Smith was curious to ascertain the cause of this strange behavior of his horse, and halted to ascertain the same. As he stood up in his stirrups to peer into tbe forest, a large black bear rose up out of the brush and grass not forty feet distant from where Mr. Smith had stopped, and growled forth notes of defiance. Bruin had been disturbed while taking his noon-day meal, and contemplated his visitor with a ferocity born of anger and natural antipathy. The latter thought it would be both discreet and conducive to his safety to forego any inclination to debate the question raised he may have indulged ; and, plunging his spurs into the horse with vigor and intention, rushed out of the valley and headed for the village, at a gait that would have rivaled that of Tarn O'Shanter when pursued by the witches. Arriving on Front street, he excitedly related his adventure to the interested citizens ; but never sought a repetition of the experience he was there committed to. Returning to the year 1844, it may be stated that while it required industry and activity to keep the wolf from the door, in a figurative sense, its absence in a practical sense was not altogether due to any disposition of the "beast" to be missed from the haunts of men. Far from it, especially if they were hungry. In certain seasons, their wild, plaintive yelp or bark could be heard in all directions during the night, creating intense excitement among the dogs, and apprehension among the settlers. Smaller animals, such as panthers, lynxes, catamounts, etc., were also sufficiently numer ous to occasionally be troublesome. In short, the struggles of pioneers, here as everywhere, were innumerable; the struggle was never for ease or luxury; it was a constant one for inde pendence, often for the means of sustaining life itself. THE FIRST MURDER. The first murder in present La Crosse County, of which any reliable date appears, occurred during this year, the victim being Robert D. Lester, Sheriff of Crawford County. It seems that Mr. Lester had official business to dispose of on the Chippewa River in the month of May. He had proceeded thither, and having concluded the object of his visit, set out upon the return trip. This was begun under auspices that imported a safe voyage homeward, and nothing occurred to disturb such conclusions until the 21st of May. On that day, he reached a point on the Mississippi River about six miles below Reed's Landing, and twenty miles from La Crosse, near the Minnesota shore, where he met an Indian in a canoe journeying in an opposite direc- 352 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. tion. After a brief colloquy, the Indian demanded that a lunch, which Mr. Lester had pre pared for himself, and was stored in the boat, should be given up to him. As this was all he had, Mr. Lester very naturally declined to be made to pay tribute to the savage's appetite, and refused. The latter thereupon became angered, and landing from his canoe, following down the bank the course of Mr. Lester, and keeping abreast of that gentleman as he continued his voyage. While thus engaged, unmindful of danger, Mr. Lester was shot by the Indian and fell into the river. The report of this murderous shot, before its echo was lost in the distance, was heard by Fran cis La Batt or La Bathe, who was ascending the river in a canoe, followed by his noticing the inanimate remains of the assassin's victim floating in the water, whence it was recovered some weeks subsequently. Information of the tragedy was at once communicated to Col. Davenport, in command at Fort Crawford (Prairie du Chien), who sent a company of soldiers up the river to search for the murderer. After exhausting every recourse without results, and being unable to secure the object of their visit, the soldiers seized one of the chiefs, and, bearing their prize off in triumph, conveyed him to Prairie du Chien, where he was imprisoned as a hostage for the delivery to the authorities of the guilty party. Various expedients were employed to obtain his release, and every effort was made to secure the reversion of the penalty to the accused. But these measures but determined the authorities in their action, and their decision was both final and unappealable. Finally, the tribe to which both criminal and prisoner belonged released the latter by a surrender of the former, who was, presumably, dealt with according to the law in such case made and provided. Quite a number of citizens went up the river to search for the body, but their efforts were vain, and they returned to Prairie du Chien in default of having accomplished their sorrowful mission. Just before this tragedy it is said the steamer "Lynx " had been partially wrecked near Wabashaw Prairie, and the crew, upon being discharged, made their way down the river by other conveyance. While en route, their attention was attracted to drift-wood in one of the eddies of the river, from which a peculiarly offensive odor floated, and, upon examining the cause, unexpectedly recovered the disfigured and bloated body of the murdered Lester. It was taken to La Crosse where it was temporarily interred, and the news sent to decedent's friends in Prairie du Chien. Upon its reception, Mr. Lockhart, of that city, official successor to deceased, visited La Crosse, and having reclaimed the body, caused it to be transported to Prairie du Chien, where it was buried. This was the commencement of "criminal annals" in La Crosse County, and the sum mary dealing with criminals which has since obtained dates from this precedent. NEW ARRIVALS. Early this year, Dr. Snow, who had previously resided at Prairie du Chien for a season, removed to La Crosse, and became an Indian trader. He prospered in his business, reaping rich rewards during his adventurous career, and also being the means of attracting to the pres- sent city some among those who proved among her most valued residents. Jacob Spaulding came also in 1844. He was a pioneer lumberman on Black River, reputed as being the first to cut timber in that vicinity. He came through La Crosse as early as 1836, en route to that locality, where he cut and floated down the river the logs with which the stockade at Prairie du Chien was built. Upon coming into the settlement, he procured the house built by Mills, the Dubuque settler, or erected a shanty on Pearl street, and divided its occupation with Snow, then engaged in the Indian trade. It does not appear, however, that he made this point a residence, nor is it at all probable, as the nature of his occupation would for bid his doing so. But he was here off and on at brief intervals, and generally recognized as a citizen of these parts. Dr. B. Bunnell came in this year, and found ternporary accommodations in the Mills House, the capacity of which it would seem depended only upon the demands made in that behalf. Dr. Bunnell was the first physician to settle in La Crosse, states Mr. Myrick. He came here from Detroit, accompanied by a wife and child, also a widowed daughter, named Van Rensselaer, who HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 353 stated to Myrick at the time that he would live to see a railroad from the lakes to the Missis sippi River. About that time, Mr. Myrick, while by no means very sanguine, was confident that this prediction would be realized in the near future ; yet its coming in 1858 must have anticipated the date fixed for its arrival by several years. To-day railroads connect the Gateway City with every point in the country, and to such men as those who came in about this time and wedded themselves to the work of building up La Crosse County, are these improvements in rail road communications due. It should be stated that Dr. Bunnell sold his claim, which covered that portion of the city oomprehendeil between Mount Vernon and Division streets, to Peter Cameron, in 1847, and returned to New York, but his son and daughter remained, and ultimately settled in Minnesota, • near Homer. The year altogether witnessed more generous arrivals than those which had preceded its advent, and was attended with more gratifying concomitants. Miss Pierson, who, it will be remembered, came to La Crosse during the previous winter with Mrs. Myrick, and went thence to Illinois, was brought hither again, this time coming as the happy and, to use an expression of the times, blushing bride of H. J. B. Miller, partner of Mr. Myrick. " Scoots," who was proof against the temptations of life on the frontier, proof against the charmings of a more congenial life at the East, proof against savages and settlers at La Crosse, was unable, as the sequel proved, to resist the fascinations of Miss Pierson, and yielding to arguments that proved irresistibly convincing, combined two souls, and consolidated two hearts, a proceeding which is said to have been entirely satisfactory to the parties interested, as also to others waiting for a. sign to determine their own action. THE CHARACTER OF THE SETTLERS. Among the items of interest which began to manifest their presence this year was the character of the few who came for industry and integrity. Those who proved the first farmers in the county came in 1844, but the season was too far gone, and so from the very necessities of the case they postponed active operations until the following spring, when they opened a farm under the bluffs, between State Road and Mormon Coolies, and in course of time became pros perous and successful. The names of these enterprising men to commence the tilling of the soil as a means of livelihood first in La Crosse were John and Charles Nagle, industrious, per severing and educationally, as also by experience, not only qualified to conduct farming opera tions, but peculiarly so in a new country. They soon had their acres under fence and highly cultivated, and the profits accruing to them as the fruits of their constant labor and watchful care are said to have been sufficient to render them independent in time. The precedent thus established was adopted almost immediately by new-comers, and, as a consequence, the present territory of La Crosse County was dotted with acres of cultured land, even before it was apportioned from Crawford County and became an independent constituency. As already stated, the first cereals grown in the county were produced by Myrick & Miller, but their example was rather for home products and to test the quality of the soil, yet this example has been so liberally emulated since that day, that farming throughout the county is now among the most remunerative and profitable undertakings engaged in. THE FIRST RAFT. In the fall of 1844, the limited number of settlers were somewhat surprised at the venture of Myrick k Miller in floating a raft of logs from La Crosse to St. Louis. These men were engaged in every variety of business, from trading with the Indians to entertaining a traveling colporteur. Their house became the home of all who visited La Crosse, and for the first years of the city in embryo was the only hotel between Prairie du Chien and Fort Snelling. When lumbering began to be prominent in this vicinity, they engaged in the business, and carried it on with such judgment and capacity as to secure them large returns. In time, they began to 354 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. consider the feasibility and prospective returns that would attend a raft voyage to the "future great city of the West," as prejudiced residents of St. Louis are wont to fondly term their city, and this was the inaugural test, besides being the first of its kind to be made from the upper river. The craft, in the absence of data indicating a contrary result, arrived at St. Louis on time, and, it is to be hoped, gave the venturesome consignors a liberal profit. THE FIRST POST OFFICE. Another incident of life here at this time was the location of a post office at La Crosse, and „the appointment of a Government agent to look after federal interests and deliver the mail. At that time, it was transported by courier when navigation was suspended, and, as the number of inhabitants of La Crosse began to appreciate in number, their wants and demands appreciated proportionately. Not the least convenience for which application was made was the establish ment of an office, and this was done in response to petitions submitted therefor. Mr. Myrick was appointed to its care in the first instance, and remained in charge for a brief time. But his business interests refused to permit any divorce from his immediate and constant attention, besides the cares of the office, while not onerous, were annoying and a hindrance, so he resigned, and was succeeded by Maj. E. A. C. Hatch, at that time in the employ of Myrick & Miller, but, after remaining in charge until about 1847 or 1848, H. J. B. Miller became the custodian of the Government confidence. The mail facilities were unimproved as time lapsed, going and coming, it is said, by original routes and conveniences, as also with delightful irregularity. The office was at the store of Miller, but the letters he carried about in his hat or bosom, when Mrs. Miller had not them in charge. When a settler wanted to ascertain if a letter awaited his de mand, he was obliged to first see " Scoots," who would canvass the contents of his hat and vest. If he failed to respond, the expectant recipient, as a final resort, appealed to Mrs. Miller, who went through the same trails followed by her husband, and not unfrequently gratified the appli cant with communications from those who were indebted therefor. When H. E. Hubbard was appointed in the place of Mr. Miller, the office was located in a small building on the east side of Front street, three doors south of State, and its interior is said to have been the fairest parallel to the old curiosity shop of Fleet street it is possible to con ceive of. It was a very small affair, and the boxes consisted of half a dozen rows of pigeon holes, set up on a common pine table, behind which was the business office, littered up with pro miscuous piles of papers, letters and mail bags. The " general delivery " was the strongest point about the office, and never vacant. Since those days, the number of boxes, the lack of which was then a source of infinite discord, has been increased to supply a universal demand, and the elegance of the appointments now enjoyed are sources of delight to the most fas tidious. MORMON NOTES. This was the year in which the Mormons returned and established themselves in Mormon Cooley, with a view of founding another Mecca. They were under the leadership of Elder Ly man Wight, and erected a number of cabins preparatory to permanent settlement in this vicinity. The females are said to have numbered among them some Welsh and English girls of rare beauty, good singers and quite entertaining, but whose exclusiveness was painfully disagreeable to admiring Gentiles. They enjoyed a closer communion than any other sect which had up to that time defined its principles, and when some of the most youthful, fascinating and irresist ible of the Gentile residents extended them harmless attentions, Elder Wight protested, and the damsels were terrified into obedience. Wight is said to have been a Mormon and a sinner of the most pronounced type ; the hardest swearer and freest drinker in the vicinity ; a man who combined a love for wine, women and wassail with professions of temperance as earnest as they were often ill-timed for the sake of his professions. In his cups he was not only affecting but confidential, and Dr. Bunnell recalls an incident of this peculiar characteristic which came under his observation. The Elder upon one Wf$ HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 355 occasion, after bringing tears to the eyes of his audience by an eloquent discourse upon the evils of intemperance, and drinking a half-pint of whisky left by his own son, told them that he was going to Texas because the climate about La Crosse was too cold for his constitution. He went as promised, followed by his neophytes and converts within a brief period, they going to Salt Lake while he went South. The land occupied by them was subsequently owned by John Con nelly and now by the Oehler brothers. Not many years ago, the buildings erected by them were still standing, among which a limekiln which had been used by them was discovered, and pieces of mill-stone which had been destroyed by them were found imbedded in a creek. THE ABSENCE OF SCHOOLS TRAVEL TO BLACK RIVER. As yet there were no schools to educate aspiring youth, or churches to gather in their folds the citizens, Indians and lost of Israel generally. Such dispensations were not of as frequent occurrence, so to speak, as to-day, and their absence scarcely commented upon. They did not exist, and as blessings they were all the more appreciated when, as conservers of intelligence and morality, they came into the midst of the village, and have since gathered strength and multi plied in influence. In those days, as one of them remarked to the writer, the citizens were re garded by the world at large as cast-off heathens, whose redemption from ignorance and sin was of less consequence than the comfort and spiritual welfare of the Timbuctoo aborigines and man- eaters. The travel to Black River during 1844 was quite equal to that of preceding years, and made up of a superior class of men. They passed through La Crosse, and, while never regarded as settlers, were mentioned as transients, and made purchases of the goods here in stock. Among these were 0. B. Chase, a Mr. Miller, T. Wood, Andrew Gruver, J. Chauncey and possibly some others. Soon after, that is to say from and after this year, rafts began to be made up for points down the river, and logs in the rough, as also lumber, came to be regarded as commodities for the shipment of which immense returns would be produced. That the regards entertained in this connection were the reverse of Utopian, the present logging and lumber trade carried on from La Crosse and points above, has fully justified. With the close of the year, the exhibit in all respects may be considered as by no means discouraging. Some accessions had been made to the inhabitants, some improvements com pleted in the future village. New lines of trade had been extemporized and upon trial found to be only waiting encouragement, which would come with the flight of time. The days were pros perous and held out the inducement of wealth to those who persevered unto the end. Commu nication was enjoyed with distant points that enabled the purchase and delivery of commodities at prices within the range of possibilities. If schools and churches were absent, there was then no demand : when that demand arose, they would spring up and bear fruit. Summing up, then, the facts and the evidence admitted of but one verdict, and this verdict was accepted with results that become more manifest as years drift into the past. NEW ACCESSIONS. The season of 1845 opened comparatively earlier than in years previous. The fame of the country surrounding La Crosse Village had been extended through reports from those who had come in meanwhile, and its desirableness as a place of settlement quoted commendably. The fertility of the cooleys, the salubrity of the climate, the favorable location for town sites and other advantages, conspired to render the county an objective point for immigration that was regarded with favor by distant residents. There were few to avail themselves of these attractions, however, at this time, and it was not until six years later that the tide of travel, which had run the gantlet of other portions of the State, their "prairie schooners" crowding the highways, and the track of their departing guiding the advance of those who came after them, that La Crosse County began to be generally inhabited and built up. One can hardly imagine that the present prosperous section of Wisconsin, identified as La Crosse County, was but thirty years 356 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. ago one absolute wilderness, varied here and there with approaches to improvements. Yet such was indeed the case, according to evidence adduced in that connection. Early in the spring of 1845, Lorenzo L. Lewis came into the country on a prospecting tour. He was an Eastern man, who, ten years previous, immigrated to the West, and less contracted opportunities for development, settling in Illinois. In time, he wearied even of the almost unlimited license for advancement there, and sought further West what he conceived was not afforded him in the more thickly settled territory comprehended within the limits of Illinois. Upon reaching La Crosse, he found H. J. B. Miller, Asa White, " Dutch Doc," with Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Nathan Myrick constituting the entire white population of this section of the country. He traveled the county over, and, having made his selection of land upon which to settle, returned to Illinois. Before the spring had yielded place to summer, others had visited La Crosse to prospect or settle, but generally the former, and gone elsewhere, in most instances to Black River, the rich lumber yields there being regarded as bonanzas, with the improved facilities for shipping to distant points then accessible, only to be equaled by the " lucky finds " which subsequent years identified as part of the history of California. The steamers which landed at La Crosse with gratifying regularity (that is to say once in two or three weeks), as the season advanced, bore pilgrims in squads and solus, and that their disembarkations at La Crosse were not more frequent and numerous was not due certainly to the absence of inducements offered. These were both substantial and almost unlimited, and continued until the rush of years and immigration exhausted their supply. It is said of J. M. Levy that to any one applying for information or aid in his undertakings about La Crosse, he never went away empty handed. That gentleman seemed willing to take almost any risk to secure worthy settlers, and extend them such assistance as they sought, con fident that his trust would never be violated. Nor was it entirely so, as he can to-day testify, and his liberality and enterprise in the days of uncertainties hereabouts can be vouched for by some who are to-day in positions of prominence and wealth, through the "helping hand" extended by this public-spirited citizen, who came hither and permanently settled in 1845. But of the many who came and saw, but few concluded to cast their several lots with La Crosse, and unite their destinies with the destiny of the future county and its " Gateway City." These few were of the type which create new dispensations in the history of civilization, and organize and conduct victories against barbaric supremacy. Notwithstanding the few arrivals. the country grew in strength and influence. In those earlier days, even when the lines of life were wrinkled and distorted by adversities and disappointments, Hope lingered like a fruit in reach, sweet before the eyes of those to whom it was offered by way of encouragement. This year John C. Davis came in and clerked for Myrick & Miller; William Gibbs became a citizen of the county, and located on what is now known as." Gibb's Chute;" Henry O'Neill landed here, but continued his journey to Black River, as also did the present Senator from the Thirty-second District, the Hon. W. T. Price, and a man named Mason. The citadels of success in that region were stormed indeed, and that, too, by men who never faltered, dazed with fear, but continued their advance until victory planted its banner on her battlements. If immigration was slow, improvements were equally tardy. Indeed, there was no demand for them. There were houses sufficient to furnish accommodations for the inhabitants, and if a stranger happened to become a temporary sojourner in this land of promise, he was entertained at the home of Nathan Myrick, which was conducted as a hotel whenever the exigencies of the case demanded. Rafts passed the city semi-occasionally, and1 the proverbial habits of the class of men who, in those days, were known as "raftsmen," found expression when the "boats" landed and the "mariners " were let loose. Otherwise, the happy-go lucky style of life indig enous as it were, to frontier experiences was the rule, with little to dissipate its continuance, or intervene as an exception. The Indians remained as neighbors, and one of the settlers had taken to wife an Indian maiden of reputed royal blood, which secured him very distinguished considerations from his savage relations. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 357 About the only improvement that can now be remembered as having been completed dur ing the summer of 1845, was an addition to the store of Myrick & Miller. It consisted of a house, which had been erected at Holmes' Landing above La Crosse some months previous. The proprietors loaded the movable on a raft and paddled it to La Crosse where, after some difficulty, it was safely removed to terra fir ma and set up as a storeroom, making the improve ments completed by the pioneers of the settlement quite roomy and pretentious. This was compelled by the increase in trade, which the current year witnessed, and the future imported. The steamboat Lynx was also completed during 1845, and began its regular trips to La Crosse. She was a side-wheeler built by H. L. Dousman, and is represented to have been a wonderful exposition of speed and elegance, for the times. The steamers which twenty years after breasted the waters of the Mississippi, are said to be palaces in comparison with the primi tive vessels of forty years ago, but the Lynx was incomparably the paragon of its day. But in spite of the absence of improvements, and the predominance of the Indians in point of numbers, by the way, a thriftloss representation of the noble red man, with no idea of the difference between meum and tuum, or appreciation of the rights of individuals when the victims were in the vocative, there was much to interest and entertain, if little to instruct happening meanwhile. A marriage was celebrated this year between a couple who came in during 1845, that is the lady, and who from their actions had been mistakenly supposed to be on their bridal tour. There was also a death this year in the home of Mr. Myrick, sorrow and joy went hand in hand down the aisle of life in La Crosse ; the residents were participants in scenes of the gay for a season to be recalled to the duties, the obligations and the afflictions of life, and gravity and frivolity were parts of their experience as pronounced and unavoidable as they are to-day ingredients of the solemn drama the human family are enacting throughout the world as a stage. Then, as now, only in a more limited sense, the settlers of La Crosse were actors. They had their exits and entrances as defined and unmistakable as are to be witnessed after nearly half a century of posings and rehearsals, and for the " points " they "made" have since been re warded or condemned as posterity profited or was displeased. The curtain since those days has been rung down frequently, the actors and actresses of the times herein quoted have many of them taken their last farewell and made their final bow — some to applause, others in silence — some of» them live in the memories of succeeding generations, some of them possibly rest in obscurity. Society was in an unsettled state. The population residing in this portion of Wis consin, in truth in the river towns between St. Louis and Fort Snelling, the extreme navigable points, was composed of all grades and conditions of men. The opposite sex was but sparsely represented, and there was an absence of womanly influence apparent in all of them. To these may have been added some emigrants, who sailed from their homes across the sea, but who are always important factors in the development of a new country. There was, however, in the sum of life, as figured up in La Crosse, a gratifying absence of middle men, outlaws, gamblers, thieves, etc., who invariably infest a new region with their presence, to improve or augment their failing fortunes, and who, by taking the tide at its flood, hope to attain glory and financial responsibility. There were no courts so to speak at this time in La Crosse to redress grievances or enforce contracts, and though that happy character, in all ages since jurisprudence became a study and a science, the Justice of the Peace existed, he was rarely called upon to solemnize between liti gants. Most every individual stood upon his personal merit, and if assailed in name or reputa tion, in estates or expectations, he became the expounder of the law in his own behalf, without having recourse to Justice H. J. B. Miller. Nevertheless, in default of the presence of what have since been regarded as invaluable, nay indispensable adjuncts to every well regulated com munity, courts, lawyers, schools, churches and their auxilaries, the moral atmosphere of the country was far from being malodorous with crime or misdemeanor. During the fall or winter of 1844-45, " Scoots " Miller had added to his dignities, emoluments and responsibilities by accepting the office of Justice, and from " Scoots" Miller he became "Judge" Miller, with all that the term implies. His official decision, though rarely invoked, 358 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. it is thought, was still kept in a condition for active service, and could be relied upon in any emergency where a knowledge of the law as also the portion of remedial justice appropriate to supply that in which the law by reason of its universality is deficient was needed. THE FIRST MARRIAGE. One of his first acts was to solemnize a marriage between Peter and Emma Cameron above referred to. This was done in the presence of all the villagers, and with a dignity and refresh ing simplicity, foreign to the present artificial days. The couple were ranged in order before His Honor, who first interrogated the prospective husband and then the bride, and ascertaining that both meant business, concluded the proceedings with the proclamation " By virtue of the power vested in me as Justice of the Peace for the village of La Crosse, I pronounce you hus band and wife, and let no man put you asunder." Dr. Bunnell, Sr., was present and shouted "Amen," as also affixed his name to the marriage certificate. Wine and cake was not passed around, it is said, nor were the festivities usual to similar occurrences either numerous or pro longed. The happy couple esteemed themselves mutually fortunate no doubt, and lived together for many years, when the husband died. His widow still survives, and is regarded as one with whom romance in its most brilliant colors has been so intimately associated that a brief history of her life may not be inappropriate. Emma Cameron was born somewhere east of the Alleghanies, but came at an early age to Ohio in company with her parents. When but scarcely sixteen years of age, she contracted marriage with a man named Kellogg, unknown to her guardians, and thereby presumably excited their anger. Whether she ever became reconciled to them or otherwise is not of record, but she sub sequently became a resident of Michigan Territory, when she was espoused by an admirer named Clayton, and to him was married. How long she tarried with Clayton has never been estab lished by any evidence that would be regarded as conclusive, or whether she tarried with him or not. Nor is it certain that she succeeded in securing that felicity by a conjunction of their fortunes such consolidations are said to afford. It is thought though, that she did not. At all events, she some time after this was married to a Mr. Van Sickles, without having obtained a divorce from Clayton, and while thus bound, she met Peter Cameron, who was en route from Utica, N. Y., to La Crosse and joined with his train. Mr. Cameron arrived at the journey's elid with Mrs. Van Sickles, by far his most attractive importation. She is said to have been a woman of surpassingly beautiful figure and features, remarkable nerve, great presence of mind and wonderful expedient, with the capacity to model one of the opposite sex to her wishes, as readily and gently as an artist molds a figure in plaster of Paris. Men under her manipulation became as clay in the hands of the potter. One who saw her in the full flush of health states that she was, all romance aside, very handsome. Her complexion was of a delicate olive tint, and the expression of her large, black, glittering eyes were height ened by the long, silky lashes that fringed their lids. Her eyebrows, penciled by nature with mathematical precision, arched symmetrically, and met above a nose classically accurate in shape and finely nostrilled. Her mouth was small and shapely, rosy tipped, and somewhat sensual in character, the lips thin, that exposed when she smiled teeth rivaling pearls. Her hair was dark, her hands and neck were white and plump, and kept company to a pair of small feet, arching like an Arab's, and put down upon the ground with an emphasis that indicated a decision of character seemingly at variance with her fickle admirations. Her physique lent itself well to graceful movements, which imparted a touch of defiant awkwardness born of an overflowing youth, so exquisite apiece of womanhood, it is said was seldom ever seen in those early days in the west. Such was the combination of faultless attractions which charmed so many, and conquered Peter Cameron into marriage during 1845. About this juncture, Clayton roused himself sufficiently to take cognizance of the eccen tricities of his whilom wife, and protested that it was not entirely legal. Longer reflection con vinced him of the truth of his conclusions, and with a view to ascertain to what extent her HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 359 offendings would be justified in a court of law, he instituted an action for divorce, supposititiously basing his claims upon her insensibility to the obligations she had self-imposed repeatedly, and as repeatedly violated. The chronicles do not state the extent of success which attended Clay ton's appeal to law, nor whether it was greeted by the appearance of opposing counsel. But judging by the prior life of the defendant, and by the fact that she was unable to either plead, answer or demur, the probabilities incline the casual but disinterested observer to the belief that he obtained his relief with costs, and that she being thereafter regarded in law as nfemme sole, was at liberty to dispose of her affections unto him by whom, in her opinion they would be guarded the most sacredly. This was the only case of legal separation obtained by the lady, either directly or indirectly, and she continued to be a wife to Cameron until his death, which occurred in 1855. She put on widows' weeds and mourned for a period of three years, when she once more ventured to sad dle herself with matrimonial bonds, the object of her affection being Ralph C. Bowles, who was sent up the Missouri River, where he killed a soldier in an affray, and was in turn killed, leav ing Mrs. Bowles to mourn the deep damnation of his taking off. and gather her forces for new conquests. According to the annals, this was not delayed many months, for, within a reason able period, as the law has it, she consented to become an old man's darling, and lived with him either at Prairie du Chien, or McGregor, Iowa, in the full enjoyment, it is believed, of the pleas ures and prerogatives which are considered and esteemed as belonging to the darlings of aged bridegrooms. How long this scene of domestic felicity was prolonged is once more a question involved in doubt, the solution of which is regarded as improbable, if not impossible. At all events, Mr. Sharp followed Bowles over the "beautiful river," and Mrs. Sharp, for the seventh time, matrimonially speaking, became a marketable commodity. About this time, strange as it may appear, a brother of Van Sickles, the widow's third hus band, heard she was once more accessible to proffers, and placed himself in communication with this remarkable, still well-preserved and much-courted woman. In time, the correspondence led to his becoming a suitor for her hand, his petitions were granted, and Mrs. Sharp was resolved into Mrs. Van Sickle by legal enactment. In 1860, she resided on Second street, south of Pearl, in a log house that has long since given way to the march of improvement, and was much respected for her humanity to the un fortunate, and her liberal donations for charitable and religious purposes. One day Dan Cam eron visited her, with a view to conclude some business growing out of the estate of her husband. While thus engaged, a dispute arose, which became exceedingly acrimonious, and culminated in her ordering him to leave the premises. He either refused, hesitated, or failed to move with an expedition she deemed consistent with the circumstances, and, seizing a loaded gun which stood in the corner of the room, brought it to a present with a quickness of movement and ap parent determination to "shoot," as to impel the guest to hasten and secure protection by flight, She fired as he crossed the sill, but lack of skill in the weapon's use, or a special interposition of Providence spared the target from serious consequences, and he still lives to congratulate himself on his narrow escape. It was the happiest day of his life. Although no complaint was ever made against the impetuous and warlike madame for this exhibition of her prowess and capacity to defend herself (of which it may be proper to state no one ever entertained a doubt), the subject was brought to the attention of the grand jury, but that grave body of legal inquisitors refused to return a true bill and she remained undisturbed. When last heard from she was still Mrs. Van Sickle, a resident of Iowa. The facts above quoted are matters of general rumor, and confirmed by the lady herself in 1869, when she appeared as a witness in the Circuit Court of Houston County, Minn., in a cause therein depending, wherein D. Cameron appeared as plaintiff against the Southern Min nesota Railroad Company. Truly, this life of ours is a romance rounded up with sighs and tears. The population, at this period in the life of La Crosse, did not exceed fifteen, all told, women and children, including the squaw wives of traders. 360 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Another event of importance in the new settlement, occurring this year, was the FIRST DEATH to take place among the settlers. The death of a raftsman has already been referred to. His was the first death, properly speaking. He was en route from St. Louis to Black River, but, •overcome with a consuming fever, halted at the Prairie, in hopes that rest and care would pro mote convalescence. But the blessing of returning health was denied him, and he paid the debt ¦of mortality. His remains were inclosed in a box, there being no such thing as a coffin, and upon the morning of his interment, some fellow raftsmen visited the blacksmith-shop where the body lay, and, rapping on the lid of the box, interrogated the corpse as to what he would have. •Silence was returned, when they departed with the commentary, " Well, he must be dead." He was buried in a cemetery on the knoll where Hirshheimer's plow works now are. The summer of 1845 witnessed the first decease among the residents. For the first time in the history of the settlement, death entered into its quiet, peaceful precincts, gathered ayoung life within its chilling embrace, and departing left behind it the mark of its visitation on the door-post of Nathan and Rebecca Myrick. The home was made desolate, and tears and grief took the place of happiness and contentment. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Myrick, the victim, was tenderly shrived for the tomb, its coffin covered with a piece of blue Indian cloth, and left to repose in the old cemetery where the dead raftsman had been laid. It was subsequently re moved to another churchyard, provided when the living city began to roar and swell around the one vacated, and its surf beat over and fell upon the sod. Full many a cherjshed memory to-day clings about that spot once sacred. Beauty was doubtless laid there, the tears of love mingled with the damps of death upon her brow. Age reposed there, too, until the mighty tread of life had need of the soil it occupied, and dust that was once rounded into life, warmed into love and folded in sheltering arms, was herein sep- ulchered. But the living must have room, and the graves and the dead were made to pay tribute to the exacting demands of the living. To the -stranger visitor of to day, there are no tokens by which its identity can be established. But to the pioneers who laid out the grounds and con secrated them to burial purposes, their location and that of their contents are as visible as they were forty years ago. Each resting-place is known to them, from the mound which rose above the friendless stranger to that which marked the resting-place of the most venerated citizen. Blessed be the memory of all. THE FIRST ROAD TO PRAIRIE DU CHIEN. In the fall of 1845, Samuel Snow visited Prairie du Chien, the then residence of J. M. Levy, to obtain a supply of goods and wares for his store, and while in that village called upon Mr. Levy. He at once sought to interest that gentleman, who was confined to his house with an attack of fever, by a description of the new place at which he had located, elaborating its advantages with an eloquence that defies description. Mr. Levy may have experienced a feel ing of discouragment with his present surroundings, superinduced, mayhap, by his illness, or he may have been convinced by the persuasive periods employed by the orator; at all events he seemed inclined to move thither, and finally, when Snow assured him that if he moved up there he would divide with Mr. Levy, and that he was confident that the blessings of health would ever attend him, all doubts were ignored, and Mr. Levy censented to become a pilgrim and journey to La Crosse as soon as his health permitted the trip to be undertaken. This did not come to pass until November, when the twain procured a yoke of oxen, and lading the wagon, to which they were hitched, with stores and supplies, made the trip to La Crosse from Prairie du Chien overland. The travel was the reverse of pleasant or free from constant and ever-recurring annoyance. No one had ever attempted the feat of traveling with team between the two places before. There was no path or trail in many places, and the course was taken at a venture. The oxen were comparatively young, and though well broke caused some delay, and a thousand and one other embargoes prevailed to hinder and vex. Yet, in spite of these LA CROSSE. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 363 vexations Messrs. Levy and Snow came through in eight days, having made the first trip by this route ever attempted, and blazed the road between La Crosse and Prairie du Chien, which was used in after years. These merchants set up in the Spaulding shanty as Indian traders, in addition to preparing to farm a claim that had been invoiced with the assets of the firm at the date of its organization, near the mouth of the State Road Cooley. In the spring of 1846, the tide of emigration may be said to have turned in the direction of Northern Wisconsin, the chief point of attraction still being the lumber region of Black River, with La Crosse a desirable field for agricultural uses. But those who came with a view to engage in the former as compared with the number who sought to engage in farming, was numerically greater. Large fortunes beckoned them to pursue the hazardous occupation of logging and lumbering in preference to the slow and laborious accumulation growing out of a tilling of the soil. But while lumbering was remunerative, the labors to accomplish success were of the most arduous character, involving health and even life itself. Yet no one seemed disinclined to follow the devious and critical ways it led in search for wealth, and the acquisi tion of means sufficient to render the toiler measurably independent was but a poor return for the dangers encountered. This spring Mr. Levy returned to Prairie du Chien for his family, and having concluded arrangements in that behalf, sailed from that city May 27, 1846, on board the steamer Berlin, accompanied by his wife and son, a young man named Isaac Marks, and his household, supple mented by an invoice of pigs, a coop of chickens, two cats and a coon. He set up his Lares and Penates in the log house at the northeast corner of Pearl and Front streets, and began life with his family amid comparatively new scenes, and surrounded by new associations. It was here, shortly after his arrival, that he nearly sickened unto death. It seems that his partner prided himself on his culinary skill, and affected superiority over all others in his preparation and seasoning of a very toothsome edible which he submitted as "fish soup." A mess of fish had been caught and cooked to a turn, were ladled out to Mr. Levy as his appetite or desire to testify a proper appreciation demanded. A short time elapsed after the feast had been discussed, before Mr. Levy began to manifest the most alarming symp toms accompanying an attack of cholera. Remedies were applied and administered without obtaining the slightest relief for the sufferer. His pains became intense, 'and the anguish of mind of those who were present superlative beyond description. In a consideration of the causes which might have produced so serious effect, the fish soup suggested itself, and the con diments which had been employed to render it so irresistible to the palate of those who had consumed the combination. " I only put salt in it," asserted the cook, and as a last resort sought to ascertain the quality of Syracuse or Turk Island that had been used. This was done, and resulted in the discovery that the soup had indeed been seasoned, but with salts of a medicinal character known to pharmaceutists as "Glauber." This put a new phase upon the complaint of Mr. Levy who soon began to mend, and before the sun sunk behind the Minnesota bluff's he was completely restored to health. To this day he remembers the fish soup and the seasoning of Glauber salts which at one time threatened his lease of life. Among those who visited La Crosse this year for purposes of observation, speculation and settlement, was D. F. Loveland. He was from the East, and accompanied Mr. Myrick on the return of that gentleman from one of his tours thither. His idea was to establish himself in La Crosse, and it was with a view to that end that he came. But after a brief sojourn under the patronage of Mr. Myrick, during which he doubtless canvassed the situation satisfactorily to himself at least, he retraced his steps and settled at Galena. But others who came in did so to stay and remained. Among these were James Connelly who opened a farm in the Mormon Cooley. Lloyd L. Lewis returned from the East with his family, which consisted of four sons and several daughters, and took possession of the farm eighteen miles north of La Crosse. He had selected the previous fall, and laid the foundation of what has since been known as the "Lewis Settlement." William Gettinger arrived and settled in the village, the first carpenter to offer his services to the public in La Crosse. George Fetherlein came in also and became a D 1 364 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. villager, taking up his residence in the house put up by Jacobs and Snow, corner of Front and Vernon streets. These were the prominent arrivals in La Crosse and the immediate vicinity, James Day, Henry Atchison, N. Garrett, H. Wedge, Brockway and Smith went to Black River. John Elder divided his time between La Crosse and Black River. J. and N. Chambers confined their residence to Black River and vicinity, while John Sommerville removed to Minnesota. The coming of those mentioned very naturally created some activity in trading and agri cultural circles. The village grew in proportion, and boasted of five houses, Myrick's, Levy's, Cameron's, White's and Fetherlein's. The farmers were James Connelly, Phillip Young, the Nagle Brothers and a Frenchwoman who subsequently married Charles Nagle. Everything was new, of course, and with all it was a struggle for existence, but with each addition to the number of the inhabitants, the struggle ceased in a measure, and the charms of life appreciated — not such as are now deemed indispensable to existence, but that fraternity of feeling which makes the whole world kin, which smoothes over rough places, which finds expansion in sympathies and rejoices at the success of a fellow-man. Such were the charms that were experienced during the more youthful days of La Crosse, intensified by the trials each settler was obliged to encounter and cementing a bond of brotherhood which the lapse of years has failed to dissipate. As typical of the kindly feelings that existed, and the generous charity that was exercised in those days, the following is related : The first week in June, a raft arrived from Black River, having on board a young man named Rankin, suffering from disease and the fracture of two ribs. He was brought on shore, and as the result of an effort to procure him accommoda tions, he was taken to the residence of Mr. Levy, and the attempt to nurse him back to health and strength commenced, Mr. Levy officiating in capacity of physician and hospital steward. He sank, however, and during the night succeeding the third day of his treatment, the invalid was heard to call out for a sup of water. Mr. Levy responded to his call, and raised him up to take the draught, when the unfortunate young man gasped spasmodically, threw back his head and yielded up the ghost. His body was rolled up in a sheet, placed in a coffin and buried. The poor wayfarer on life's highway was without money or friends, save those the occasion gave birth to, and wearied, doubtless, and worn with the endless strife, he turned as he placed his hand on death's gate and smiled upon these new-found friends before he wandered through. In the fall, a man claiming to be the uncle of the deceased came West, and, after rambling over the State, visited La Crosse in search of his effects. After identifying himself to Mr. Levy and the citizens generally, he began to inquire as to the estate of his nephew, and demanded an in ventory on the supposition that his inheritance would be large. But as already hinted, the young man was buried by those to whom he was indebted for care and attention, and, much to the chagrin of the covetous relative, he returned to the East as he had arrived in La Crosse, empty-handed. He remained among those who had ministered to the wants of deceased (and, if opinion could be based on the limited reports of his stay which are let fall occasionally, without securing their good will), during the winter, and went whence he came, without blessings or protest. THE FIRST FOURTH OF JULY. With the advent of 1846, it was believed prosperity had begun to dawn upon the infant settlement, which would grow in strength, influence and importance as the year progressed on its course. And this was in part realized before Old Father Time had run the race set before him. The spring was one of charming balminess, lending an air of beauty to the village and sur roundings, and making the settlers' hearts to rejoice at the prospects held out with each suc ceeding day. There was one embargo, however, to the perfect felicity their absence might have created, and that was the existence of mosquitoes in such numbers as to defy all attempts directed at their suppression or partial extinction. When citizens left the village" to transact business elsewhere, they were met on their return with such welcomes as mosquitoes only can extend. Often the vicious little pests would go out into the woods to meet the absent one, and before the HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 365 latter was able to escape they had so entirely invested his person with attack that retreat was impossible, and he was forced to submit to their aggressive demands. Occasionally they were sought to be smoked out, and this was found to be efficacious. But when the "smudge" became exhausted they returned in force, and the last stage of the afflic tion was not unfrequently worse than the first. Upon a trial made by Dr. Snow to relieve the log house occupied by Mr. Levy and family, himself and myriads of the pestiferous tykes, the family made a narrow escape from smothering to death, and avoided a repetition of the danger by avoiding its cause and endeavoring to avoid mosquitoes. Notwithstanding these incidents the people were happy, and when, on the 3d of July, 1846, Capt. Nichols, from Black River, moored his raft of lumber at the foot of Pearl street, and an nounced that he did so with a view to celebrate and recreate on the ensuing anniversary of American independence, every effort that would contribute to making the celebration a success was promised. Accordingly, the next day Mr. Nichols, accompanied by his help, came ashore, and rendezvousing at the trading-posts, expressed their appreciation of the self-sacrifice of Rev olutionary patriots, the courage they evinced, and the honor that was due them, in a manner appropriate to the occasion, concluding their morning festivities with a dinner to which all were invited to become guests. After the edibles and still more potent drinkables had been adjusted to the crowd, and while all were in that post-prandial condition of good humor peculiar to the day and the assemblage, it was decided that the ceremonies would be decidedly incomplete unless the observances were emphasized by a speech from some earnest, if the reverse of silvery - tongued, orator. This duty was assigned Nicholas by common consent, and in default of a rostrum per se, an inverted hogshead was improvised to thas service. Mounted upon this he expatiated at length upon the glories, the sciences, the institutions, and the laws of a republic that dated its birth seventy years before. He was proceeding quite happily, it is said, evoking encomiums without limit, and applause without stint, and promised an indefinite continuance. Unhappily for the subject and the day, he became thirsty at one of his most eloquently rounded periods, and being unable to resist the craving, halted in his address and called for water, or such other liquid remedial agent as was accessible. This was obtained, of course, and the uses to which it was adapted successfully employed in the instance under consideration, when the speaker resumed the thread of his discourse. He had not proceeded far, though, before the weight on the im promptu stage was unexpectedly augmented, and, yielding to the pressure, incontinently gave way. While the cheers which greeted the rhetorical thunderbolts Mr. Nichols was launching into the crowd were still ringing, that gentleman disappeared into the inner consciousness of the hogshead. Those who surrounded him on the rostrum were precipitated to the ground while the crowd fled in all directions, and the festivities were suspended. The orator recovered his equilibrium with assistance, and upon taking an inventory of his injuries found that none of them were serious, but concluding the day had been kept in a manner both genial and generous, inclined to abstain from further attempts. The next morning, before sun-up, himself and crew loosed their cables and went sailing down the river. This was the first celebration of the national anniversary of which any news can be ob tained, and was doubtless the one which anticipated all others which have been undertaken in La Crosse. There was a notable absence of ceremonials peculiar to later observances of the day, but it is remembered by those who were then present and still survive as an episode in the history of the place that can never be forgotten or belittled. During this year the Indians were numerous, and not unfrequently annoying. They con stantly haunted the trading posts, and, unless kept under careful espionage, did not hesitate to- appropriate to their own uses property to which purchasers alone were considered privileged. If discovered in an act of dishonesty, the discovery was a source of chagrin which at long inter vals culminated in attack, in which the white always came out best, simply because he was always on the alert and prepared to resent and resist. As an example, the experience of Mr. Levy may be cited : In September of this year he had sold an Indian some article which the 366 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. mental "aftermarth" of the savage constrained him to refuse to take. Whereupon he demanded the return of the purchase price, which was refused. Levy and Snow were at that time busily occupied in completing their dwelling, and little attention was paid to the maneu vers of the brooding and, as the sequel proved, resentful Winnebago. At an unexpected moment, and when he thought himself to be unobserved, the Indian whipped a knife out of his belt and sprang for Mr. Levy, who was standing some distance from his assailant. The latter fell short of his work, and Levy, seizing an adze-helve, met him as he approaehed with a powerful blow, inflicting a severe wound involving the fracture of an arm, and thereby saving his life. The wounded brave retired from active service without delay, and until his arm was restored to its pristine strength and health remained secluded. Upon another occasion, he acted in the capacity of a surgeon to a wounded squaw, under the following circumstances : The Indians were prone to quarrel among themselves, but as is not the case among Anglo-Saxons, squaws were rarely the occasion, though extremely jealous. When one of the gentler sex was "led astray," she was made to satisfy the vengeance of her husband or kindred. At the time referred to, a buck was noticed to leave one of the village stores hurriedly, and departing into tftie high grass became invisible. Soon after a squaw rushed into Levy's store holding up her hands to her face, which was bleeding profusely, the blood trickling down through her fingers. Upon inquiry being made, she refused to answer as to the cause, whereupon examination was made, and it was found that her husband, or some one in authority, had amputated the squaw's nose, and that she was enduring the pain with Spartan firmness, rather than expose the disgrace. But Levy refused to stand by without offering to relieve her affliction, and there being nothing else available, he clapped a quid of tobacco on the wound, which caused the flow of blood to cease, and acted in the nature of a soothing remedy, finally effecting a cure, which, however, was far from perfect, the unfortunate female being marked for life. This same buck, who had decapitated the proboscis of his wife, while in the village one day, became enraged at one of his companions and rushed upon him in a frenzy of madness with a drawn knife in his hand. The assault was irresistible, and, as he grasped his antagonist by the hair, he drove the deadly weapon down through his face and mouth, and, before the force of the blow was broken, the knife had become fast in the victim's lower jaw, from which its removal was apparently impossible. He was interrupted before being able to repeat the vicious attack, and, after some trouble, Levy succeeded in extricating the cause of the wound. Its withdrawal was followed by a current of bright-red arterial blood, and for a brief period it seemed as if his chances to chase the antelope over the plain or engage in pursuits so congenial to the savage soul, were of an extremely limited character. In this emergency, the tobacco quid was again made use of with results equally as gratifying and beneficial as upon the former occasion. These were some of the domestic dramas and embryo tragedies to which the early settlers were treated, neither class of which, it will be universally admitted, were calculated to inspire the intellectual or excite the mirthful. CONTINUED IMPROVEMENTS. The improvements during 1846 were neither more general nor expensive than had been those of the previous annual. But they were scarcely needed, it may be said, and those who were on the ground, being comfortable, felt no special desire to consult the comfort entirely of those who had not at that time united their fortunes to the rising village. When they came, it would be time to consummate arrangements looking to the completion of improvements that, until the happening of this event, could only be projected. When, in after years, the predictions made in behalf of La Crosse were verified, the city contained a large number of improvements projected at this time by the men who were then in the front ranks of enterprise, and erected as the demand for them materialized. Among those that were raised into prominence in 1846, was the bowling alley erected by Myrick & Miller, near the corner of Vine and Front streets. Gambling, as a rule, was never HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 367 to any extent cultivated in La Crosse, and this applies to its earlier as well as its later days. That indulged in was mostly among boatmen or Indians, both of the nomadic classes whose per manence of abode is never decided upon. The games of the former were those usual to the river and ten pins, of the latter " La Crosse," or ball, and, when an opportunity was presented, those in which the pale-face excelled. The frequent arrivals of flat-boats and rafts at La Crosse, where they stopped for supplies and other purposes, as also the semi-monthly arrivals of steamers, had made the village quite a landing-place, at which travelers, raftsmen, loggers, and the hoi polloi, were wont to resort for brief periods. This fact, and the further fact that there was no species of amusement to be had, governed in procuring the building of the bowling alley during the summer. To supply this demand, then, it was put up and opened previous to cold weather. Some difficulty was experienced in procuring the " tools " and equipments, which came from various points, and were by no means of the mathematical exactness in dimensions or of as elegant finish as those which were substituted in their place years afterward. The pins were made of soft wood and architectural extravagances, it is said, while the balls were constructed of almost any substance, the chief property of which was solidity and capacity to resist damage, pine knots entering largely into their composition. In this old ball-alley, doubtless, many an exciting game was played, in which reputation for skill and large sums of money were the stakes. Whites and Indians, while the latter remained in the vicinity, were the patrons, the victors and the de feated. The old building has long since been torn away, but could its walls recount the scenes which have been witnessed within their embrace, how much could be related that would amuse and instruct. In the summer, Levy & Snow determined to enlarge their storage and residence capacity, to do which it was decided to erect a new house, of which the log cabin then occupied should become an addition. This question being disposed of, a carpenter named Manahan, from Prai rie du Chien, was secured, and Mr. Levy proceeded to Black River, where he secured the neces sary lumber. With the preliminaries thus arranged, the erection of the house was begun and prosecuted so rapidly that its completion was reached in September, its occupation attained before frost. This was the first frame building erected up to that date between Prairie du Chien and Red Wing. The venture of Levy & Snow had been attended with success. The firm had prospered, and, with increasing resources, sought to improve the vicinity as a point of attraction for stran gers. In addition to other uses, the new house was utilized for hotel purposes, and there are residents of Wisconsin now who first accepted hospitality in that frame tavern standing at the corner of Pearl and Front streets, where to-day the International proffers shelter and enter tainment to the weary and hungry — for a consideration. The house answered the purposes for which it was designed, and survived the rush of mat ter and the wreck of things temporal until 1862, when it went up in flame and smoke during the extensive conflagration which swept over the city in that year. At this time (1846), the population of the present county did not exceed twenty. Besides those residing in the village, there were a very few white men between Fort Snelling and La Crosse, and scarcely any at the former place outside the garrison. Between La Crosse and Fort Winnebago or Portage, there were few, if any, whites. Between La Crosse and Prairie du Chien there was a Mr. Metzger on the ridge twenty miles east ; a Mr. Hazen between Viroqua and Prairie du Chien, and Mr. Sterling, Mr. Graham and two farmers whose names cannot be recalled, near Liberty Pole. From these statements the isolation of La Crosse can be regarded as other than an unsupported assertion. In the fall of 1846, Levy & Snow secured a contract for carrying the mail between Prairie du Chien and Fort Snelling, Levy managing the transfer from the former point to La Crosse, and Snow the remainder of the route. The pouch, which was by no means bulky, was borne on horseback behind the rider, and the trip was made. Upon one of these excursions, Mr. Levy, while mounted fell through the ice of Mormon Creek, narrowly escaping with his life. He wore a heavy marine hat with a protruding visor, 368 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. and, as he plunged into the water head-first, the hat was projected in such a manner as to pre vent the fluid entering his mouth and nostrils, and after a short delay, he " righted " and regained solid ground. The horse, however, was lost, and the mail received a gratuitous and thorough wetting. From 1845 to 1848, the population of the county remained about the same ; but as soon as Wisconsin passed from Territorial condition to State government, immigration began to flow in from all quarters, and La Crosse received considerable accessions. Those who came were of the enterprising, thrifty character, which has aided so materially in the development of the great undertaking that met them at the threshold on their arrival. They were spared many of the vicissitudes and privations to which the pioneers, who had ventured into the wilderness, where no white man was known to have lived, had been subjected, but they did the work that was set before them with fidelity, and upon the foundations laid by Myrick, Levy, Miller, Snow and others, erected the super-structure of a municipality that reflects honor upon its founders, and they experienced happier times too. Far happier than had been the portion of men who had settled in other parts of Wisconsin at an earlier day. True, the Indians yet remained a prominent factor in the sum of every-day life, but they were harmless, contented to enjoy the safer excitements of the chase, than decorating their belts with the scalps of settlers. As already observed, their covetous disposition occasionally manifested its vitality in poaching upon the settlers' stores. Still, their position as dependents was maintained, and their subordinate condition, at all events, until removed beyond the limits of La Crosse bailiwick, preserved one of the incidents of the history of those times. There was another affliction the later comers, as also the first settlers, were spared ; that was the panic of 1837. The effects of over-trading, excessive bank issues, etc., were not visited upon them, but they were aided in the solution of life's problem by the fact that these evils had expended their force. Under auspices created by the absence of these hindrances, the year 1847 began its race with Time. The prospects bright with promise, seemed to have found an abiding-place in La Crosse County of the future. The picture of that future exposed to the gaze of admirers and the world, was traced in brilliant colors, and in after years, this speculative elaboration of the country's resources was fully realized ; the dreams of wealth they begot took shape, and were resolved into substantial fruitions. The current of events which may be said to haye begun its flow in the direction of permanent success about this time, was not diverted from the channel by the events which happened in succeeding years. The scenes of to-day, natural results of a wise policy prompting action among these beginners, are changed indeed, from those of thirty years back. The arts of peace have been so indulgently nurtured, and so steadily sustained, as that they have borne fruits, some tenfold and some an hundred-fold to magnify the age and agencies in which they were born, and by which they were perfected. Blessed be the day when the human mind awoke to freedom, and when the human race were released from an enchant ment that, during a less happier age, enslaved them. THE FIRST BIRTH. One of the most prominent events of 1847 was the first birth. This is always an impor tant circumstance in every newly-settled community, and adds a cubit, as it were, to the reputa tion of the vicinity, as also to the stature of those more immediately interested. The case in point doubtless failed to prove the rule, by proving to be an exception. It was a daughter to the family of H. J. B. Miller, named Martha. George Fetherlein, an industrious German, who came in this year with a company of five of the same nationality, consisting of Fetherlein and wife, Valentine Dinninger and wife, and a young man named Phillip. The stranger who first announced her presence in La Crosse, in notes of infant melody, was warmly welcomed it is said, and made to feel as much at home as the oldest inhabitant. She was an object of interest to residents and strangers, and grew to womanhood under the name of Martha ; she lived at last accounts in Illinois. , HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 369 Dinninger was employed by Mr. Levy, and lived in the log cabin put up by Asa White, near Gund's old Front street brewery. He died in after years, and his widow became Mrs. Hogge, who resided after her second marriage on a farm near State Road Cooley. Phillip lived with Fetterlein and wife, passing his time during the winter in renovating and mending saddles, harness, etc., for settlers. In the summer, he was accustomed to supply customers and passing boats with fish, by which means he was enabled to make a comfortable living. In 1854, while he, in company with Tetherlein, were crossing the river in a skiff, the craft was swamped by the swell of a passing steamer and sank, carrying the occupants of the frail boat to the bottom before aid could be provided to save them from a watery grave. CAREER OF HON. TIMOTHY BURNS. Some time during this year (1847), it is believed Hon. Timothy Burns, afterward Lieutenant Governor of the State, and a gentleman who contributed, both individually and through others, to making La Crosse what it now is, was passing the present site of the city. It was then a collection of log houses, with Levy's hotel and Myrick & Miller's trading-post, the most elabo rately constructed establishments to attract attention. There were no trees or shrubbery of any kind from the river to the bluffs, and the appearance of " things " then bore little resemblance to that which grew up in after years. Yet Mr. Burns was captivated by the location of the town for business purposes, and halted and examined into the commercial prospects thereof. This occupied some time, and, after a careful investigation of the facts, he became thoroughly convinced that there were few sites on the river possessing the advantages of La Crosse, and decided to remove here so soon as he should be able to effect arrangements for that purpose. He was one of the remarkable men great enterprises produce, and to him, more than any one individual, it is said La Crosse is indebted for her present prosperity. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, May 31, 1820, and, while yet an infant, was brought by his parents to America, landing in New York. Here he remained until 1837- In the fall of that year, he immigrated to Wisconsin, and, settling in Iowa County, where he engaged in mining, so continuing until 1844, when he was elected Sheriff; a member of the General Assembly in 1846, re-elected in 1848, and chosen Speaker at that session. Upon the expiration of his term as member of the Legislature, Mr. Burns became one of the Commissioners of the Board of Public Works, and, in 1851, Lieutenant Governor of the State. In 1850, he removed to La Crosse, which he foresaw was destined to become one of the leading cities of the State, investing largely in land. At one time, he owned one-quarter of the original town site. His interest and efforts in advancing the prosperity of the city he had selected as a home, and his prominence in State affairs, made him a favored object by his fellow- citizens for the bestowal of such official and honorary confidences as was within their power. These included the chairmanship of the first Town Board, that of the first County Board, the first County Judge, and, as stated, Lieutenant Governor of the State. His career, however, after his elevation to the office of Deputy Executive of the State, was of brief duration. During the incumbency, he visited a brother-in-law, Warren Johnson, of La Fayette County, and while here was prostrated by an attack of bilious fever. Every attention was paid to the invalid medical skill could suggest, and his convalesence hastened by the loving devotion of friends and relatives, enabled him in the fall of 1853 to undertake the trip home ward. He reached La Crosse in an exhausted condition, and was borne from the boat to his residence, whence he never more departed until carried to the tomb, universally mourned by citizens and friends, whose admiration and confidence he had done so much to attract. The death of a man so enterprising, so public-spirited and of so commendable ambition as that expressed in the character of Gov. Bums, could be no less than a deplorable misfortune to the State, the constituency he represented, and the city whose prosperity and permanent good he so sincerely and earnestly sought to promote. He gave his support most cheerfully to any meritorious undertaking, and, his advocacy of a movement for the public benefit, invariably added an impetus, and caused its advance toward the wished-for consummation. In private 370 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. life, his character was above reproach, and refracted its rays of excellence upon his official career. The following from the La Crosse Democrat of Sept. 21, 1853, on the deceased, will com mend itself: By a most calamitous stroke of Divine Providence we are this morning called upon to chronicle the decease of the most prominent citizen of our village. Hon. Timothy Burns, Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, died at his residence this morning, at a little past 12 o'clock, of billious fever. His family had been visiting their relatives in the southern part of the State for several months past, where, some two weeks since the Governor joined them, on his way to the Democratic State Conven tion, as a delegate from this Assembly district. While visiting with his family at the residence of Warren Johnson, Esq., of La Fayette County, a brother-in-law, he was taken down with a violent attack of the disease with which he died, but in a few days so far recovered as to be able to start for home, where he arrived by the steamer Dr. Frank lin Sunday evening last, very much fatigued, and exhibiting evident symptoms of a relapse. Medical aid was immediately called, but the disease yielded not to medical treatment. It is doubtful whether he was fully sensible of his danger. During the forenoon of Tuesday he expressed a good deal of anxiety, and a desire to recover, but in the after part of the day became delirious, and later in the evening entirely insensible, in which state he remained until his death, surrounded by his family and friends. Everything within reach of human aid was done to save his life, "but he is gone." A wife loses an affectionate husband; a family of interesting children a noble protector; brothers and sisters lose their adviser, their staff; parents hive lost the child of their young attachment, the idol of their hearts, and such a son as may well be said to be the glory and honor of their gray hairs. But this is not all, The State has lost one of its most gifted citizens, its counsels one of the most sound, energetic minds of which it could boast. Few men in this or any other State have had a more brilliant political career. His influence has probably been more directly felt in all the great State interests generally, and the all-absorbing railroad interests especially, than that of any, if not all of the present State administration, although occupying a secondary posi tion. He was a man of superior native mind, and notwithstanding he was emphatically what is termed a " self- made" man, his political career had not thus ended if his life had been spared him. And yet, there is one more sufferer — one who will receive and feel the death of Gov. Burns to be a public calamity — we mean the young city of La Crosse. The pioneer and founder of La Crosse, he has from the first made it his idol, and with an untiring energy and zeal he has without a single waiver or halt, at great personal sacrifice given freely, the whole scope of his powerful and comprehensive mind — the whole force of his extensive political influence to the furtherance and accomplishment of her interests. La Crosse is clad in mourning. Pursuant to call, a large meeting of the citizens of La Crosse was held at the court house, for the purpose of expressing the public sentiment on the mournful occasion of the death of our lamented citizen, Hon. Timothy Burns. The meeting was called to order by Col. Childs, who appropriately stated the object of the meeting, and nom inated William Hood for Chairman, who was unanimously elected. R. Looney, Esq., was chosen Secretary. On motion, a committee of three, composed of T. Rodolph, E. Childs and C. A. Stevens were appointed to draft resolutions, who reported the following, which were adopted: Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God, in His inscrutable wisdom, to take from our midst our friend and fel low-citizen, the Hon. Timothy Burns, at the early age of thirty-three years, and in the midst of a brilliant and use ful career, therefore be it Resolved, That in the death of the Hon. Timothy Burns, the State of Wisconsin has lost an honest and faithful public servant, the Northwest one of the most upright and unassuming political men, and the town and county of La Crosse the founder of her prosperity, the constant, untiring and vigilant promoter of her welfare, and the zeal ous defender of her interests. Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with his afflicted family ; that we feel that while his parents have lost a dutiful son, his wife and children a tender husband and a loving father, his brothers and sisters a kind and affection ate brother; we have lost a true-hearted friend, ever ready to assist the needy, to give counsel to the inexperienced, and whilst seeking his own advancement never loosing sight of the public good and the advantage of his new home. Resolved, That we will ever cherish his memory as the pioneer of La Crosse, whose keen eye and calm and sagacious mind knew how to appreciate the natural and geographical advantages of La Crosse, and who had marked out as his task to build in this spot a city that would be second to none in our fair Wisconsin, who would doubtless have succeeded had life been spared him, and who has set us an example of perseverance, energy and enterprise worthy of imitation. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be presented to his family, and that they be published in the La Crosse Democrat. Resolved, That as a token of respect we wear the usual badge of mourning for ten days. F. M. Rublee, Esq., offered a resolution that the stores and offices be closed after 12 o'clock on the day of the funeral, which was adopted. On motion_ a committee of five, consisting of E. Childs, J. M. Levy, F. M. Rublee, C. A. Stevens and C. T. Jansen was appointed to assist in making suitable arrangements for the funeral. The subject of erecting a monument over the grave of Mr. Burns by the citizens of La Crosse, was called up by F. M. Rublee, Esq., and the meeting adjourned to Thursday evening next, for the purpose of taking action upon that subject. William Hood, Chairman. R. Looney, Secretary. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 371 A STIRRING EVENT. In the month of September of this year, 1847, a circumstance happened which created immense excitement among the residents of La Crosse, involving the character and reputation of one citizen temporarily by the fear that he was guilty of the crime of murder, and had his sus pected victim been found dead, as he was at one time likely to have been, the fate of a murderer would doubtless have been decreed him. At the time mentioned, J. M. Levy and H. J. B. Miller, " Scoots," were elected to repre sent this portion of the county to attend a convention to be held at Liberty Pole for the selection of delegates to the Constitutional Convention about to be reconvened at Madison, the labors of their convention held the previous year having been rejected by the people. Accordingly Levy and Miller proceeded thither, and having executed the trust confided to them, retired to woo " tired natures sweet restorer " with the understanding that whoever awoke first the following morning should call the one who remained asleep. It happened on the ensuing morning that Miller was the first to greet the dawn of day, but neglected to summon his companion, and departed with out him. When Mr. Levy resumed consciousness, it was to a realizing sense that he was alone, and hurrying preparations finally started off in pursuit of the departing colleague. En route Mr. Levy followed an entirely new trail by which he overtook Miller distant five miles from the point of departure. They journeyed together for a considerable distance, when Levy alighted from his horse to pick up something that he had accidentally dropped. At this juncture, Mil ler's horse becoming frightened and unmanageable, rushed wildly off, and before its rider could regain control had put quite a distance between himself and Levy. The latter jogged on for several hours without coming up with Miller, and at last awoke to the cheerful conviction that lost in the woods he might wander at will for an indefinite period without satisfactory results. He took courage with the thought however that his absence would cause the neighbors to insti tute a search, also he was proof against despair, and able to contend with misfortune for several days. Notwithstanding these encouraging incidents, the victim was far from enjoying that peace of mind which he enjoyed at home and among friends. That day he subsisted on wild plums and acorns, and when darkness fell from the wings of night, he tethered his horse, built a fire to protect him from the attacks of prowling wolves, and lay down to dreams that no one would presume to call pleasant. In the meantime, Miller reached home in safety, after dark, and little anxiety was felt for the safety of Levy. But when, on the following morning, it was ascertained that Miller had arrived solus, the question was naturally suggested as to what had become of his companion. This interro gatory became more emphatic when it was further known that Miller's condition and appearance were such as to create grave suspicions in the minds of the most equitable that he was personally responsible for the deep damnation of Levy's taking off. He had returned without blanket or saddle, scratched and wounded, with his arm in a sling, and altogether appearing as one who had sustained severe injuries in an encounter. That morning he was visited by Dr. Snow and inter rogated as to the whereabouts of Levy, to whom he stated "he didn't know ; he didn't start with me." To another he answered, "Levy had probably gone to Prairie du Chien ; " to still another, that he was en route to Black River, probably ; and to Mrs. Levy reports equally as improbable and unsatisfactory. These contradictory stories, the peculiar conduct of Miller, his suspicious actions and rambling remarks, combined to confirm the belief of those who augured him a mur derer and induce a conclusion among those who refused to be governed by appearances alone, that he would experience considerable difficulty in proving his innocence. While these opinions and beliefs were being mooted, Miller remained glum, eccentric, inaccessible. He seemed to take no thought of the consequences or to hurry out to meet trouble. While this was the condition of affairs in La Crosse, Levy was battling with hunger, deso lation and renewed difficulties in the woods. His position was critical, and his emotions must have been the reverse of pleasing. On the second day of his solitude, he woke from a troubled slumber, and having breakfasted on the only edible accessible to research, the same that fur- 372 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. nished him his food the day preceding, he resumed his wanderings, hoping before night to rest from his labors. The day passed, and no sign of encouragement lightened its gloom. Plums and acorns, a fire, a bed of leaves, darkness, desolation, despair — such were his surroundings, such his companions the second night in the forest. On the following morning, while listlessly dozing, his ears were gratified by the sound of a steamer near by. With shouts of thanksgiv ing he caught his horse, and mounting the faithful animal, started in the direction of the river, to which he was guided by the steady puff from the escape-pipe and regular working of the machinery. The same night, affairs at La Crosse had nearly culminated. If Mr. Levy failed to return by the next morning, it was decided to proceed at once to Prairie du Chien and procure Miller's apprehension. The condition of affairs at the home of the missing man was scarcely less de plorable than with himself. As Mrs. Levy would go out into the night in the vain hope that she might hear of or from her husband, the howl of the wolf drove her back with the conscious conviction that he would return no more. Upon her return to the house, she was obliged to pick her way through a mob of drunken raftsmen who occupied the rooms and hallway of her home, and, returning to the family room, pass the weary hours with memory and in tears. When the morning dawned, Mr. Levy failing to appear, preparations were made to execute the decision of the previous evening to cause the arrest of Miller. The raftsmen, who had been drinking the night before, were somewhat tardy in their departure, and it was not until nearly 10 o'clock that they were ready to loosen the hawsers and continue their trip to the Gulf. At this juncture, and before the raft upon which Snow had embarked, parted from the shore. Levy was noticed in the distance and drew rapidly into view of the surprised and delighted neighbors, for all had given him up for dead. When the river was reached on the morning of the third day, related Mr. Levy, he cast a drift into the water to ascertain the direction it was flowing, and this decided, he resumed his hunt for the abode of some one who would enlighten him as to where he was. After a brief hunt for this haven of deliverance, he reached Philip Young's cabin, half starved, naked and more nearly resembling the Sancho Panza of Spanish romance than the spirit of enterprise which he was, in fact, of more modern times. The result of his coming suspended operations looking to a judicial investigation, the fatted calf, metaphorically speaking, was killed, for he that was lost had returned. Both made nar row escapes from violent deaths, and one of them still survives to recount his experience on those eventful days. A FRESHET. This year was characterized by an immense freshet in Black River, and its tributaries. The rains had been frequent and heavy, and the currents of these streams swollen to their utmost tension poured forth their surplus waters into the Mississippi and about the surrounding country, carrying ruin and desolation wherever it tided, and leaving its marks for months following the decline. As one of the consequences of this unprecedented flood, sickness broke out in the lumber camps. Fever of a very malarious type spread among the loggers, raftsmen and mechanics, and, through some unexplained circumstance or combination of circumstances, before the disease could be checked it became epidemic. The care and attention which could be afforded at best in the lumber camps, was scarcely equal to that required for complete recovery, and when the epi demic set in, the agencies necessary to providing for the sick, not less than burying the dead, were not to be had. The result was that many of those who had been preserved from attack, fled to points on the river and elsewhere, as security against the disease — those afflicted to be nursed back to health, and those convalescing, for a change of scene to revive their almost para lyzed vitalities. A by no means limited per cent from all the classes cited came to La Crosse, and the pres ent city for a spell (relates Mr. Myrick) bore more the appearance of a hospital than an am bitious village. A large proportion of those who reached this point recovered, but some died HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 373 and were buried in the churchyard improvised on the knoll at an earlier day. With the close of the warm period the disease lapsed, but whether from lack of material to operate upon or because it had run its course, scientific research has failed to promulgate. The village, at the close of this year, was more a village in fact than in name. Houses had become rather more in esse than infuturo, and the prognostications began to be more confidently expressed as to what the ensuing year would develop. The country tributary was being settled by farmers, including, in addition to those mentioned, the farms of Miller on Upper Cooley, Myrick's farm in the same locality, Cameron's farm, that of White and the Bunnell property. As yet, there was no stage, probably because there were no roads. Excursions were made on horseback, and, when necessity required, on foot. The mail came once in two weeks in summer by canoe, steamer or horse as the case happened to be, and in the winter by a French or dog train. There were no amusement of any kind, .save cards and ten pins, no schools ; and, until the year 1849, whenever a sermon was heard or the word of God spoken, it was from the deck of a passing steamer, whereon a traveling missionary was entertained as a passenger. In the fall of 1849, however, this was changed. On the Sunday preceding St. John's Day (June 24), occurred the first preaching within the surveyed limits of La Crosse. The services were of the Episcopal faith, and conducted by the Revs. Dr. Breck, Wilcox Merrick and Deacon Holcomb. In the morning, an excursion was made, and a cross erected at the end of Main street, in the shadow of the bluffs, and in the afternoon at Mr. Levy's house, where a daughter of " Scoot's " Miller was baptized. They were attended by residents for miles around, and a fervent feeling was doubtless manifested upon so grave and suggestive an occasion — an occasion when a public acknowledgment of the goodness of God to the children of men was first made in His temples, on the shores of the Father of Waters, by the residents of La Crosse County. In addition to the names of those already quoted as having come in during 1847, the follow ing are to be added, as the claim is made of their arrival here in the fall of the same season : Peter Ebner and wife, Felix Kaiser and wife, Mr. Doerflinger and family and Joseph Ebner and sister. Joseph subsequently married his brother Peter's widow, while the sister became a Mrs. Baker. Beyond the unexpected mortality occasioned among the settlers from tBlack River and the wanderings of Mr. Levy, no events occurred during 1847 that have been heard of worthy of more than passing comment. During the prevalence of the epidemic, business and improve ments, as also the sources of labor and independence, came to a stand-still. The sick were aided so far as it could be done, and the dead buried by the Samaritan citizens, who, in times of dan ger and tribulation, rise up as unexpectedly as dispensations of Providence. So, too, when the continued absence of Mr. Levy caused fears as to his fate, the utmost sympathy was expressed, a willingness to probe the matter thoroughly manifested, and his return warmly greeted. By 1848, the population of the county had not measurably increased. The major portion of those who were credited on the census roll resided, of course, at the village and its immediate vicinity. The improvements were still of a nominal character. Main street, as now described, was an unimproved dirt road, rendered impassable nearly all the time, either by mud or sand. The present city site was a vast prairie, with the hills in the distance rich in their garniture of grasses and flowers, while off to the north and on the islands that divided the Mississippi opposite the city, were the resting-places of the Winnebago and other tribes of Indians. To day's visitor to La Crosse would hardly receive a description of the country as it was forty years ago. The landscape, now dotted with handsome residences, beautiful gardens, expensive im provements, and all that can contribute in the remotest degree to render life comfortable, was an almost endless waste of sand, with very little to attract even casual observation. Its location, however, had persuaded the pioneer settler who still resided here to break ground six years be fore, and his example had obtained, though slowly, until a population of nearly twenty souls had congregated here to grow up with the town and participate in such benefits as should there after accrue to them as a reward for their enterprise and patience. The embarrassments inci- 374 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. dent to establishing a settlement can only be appreciated by those who were subjected to their imposition. In some cases these embarrassments were augmented by trials growing out of de fective titles, it requiring the most uncompromising labor to preserve the claim in some instances. Happily, however, these cases were not numerous about La Crosse. The summer of 1848 was a prolongation of the spring, which had been beautiful beyond comparison. It dawned upon La Crosse rich in the promise of a season that had been prophetic. Much of what was hoped for during the previous year was realized. Emigration was still lim ited, but those who arrived increased the value of material interests in their new home. The Indians were removed to other points, and their huts gave place in some instances to more sub stantial and gratifying evidences of enterprise and thrift. More regular communication was established between points above and below ; farms were cultivated, and every resource available at that early day, tending to develop the country, was employed with moderate success. FIRST LAND SALES. In 1848, the land of La Crosse County came into market and entries were made at Mineral Point. This was ultimately the origin of land companies organized elsewhere to purchase lands in newly settled portions of the country, from whose rapacity, however, La Crosse was in a measure protected. They were, in most instances, of spontaneous growth and development, without any solidity or character, and in some cases were born, matured, and reached decrepi tude and forgetfulness the same day. In subsequent years, it may be, land speculators and operators were numerous about La Crosse, in the city and county, but at this period they had not made their wolfish visitation, their manner of dealing and the characteristics they manifested when they did come being reserved for the future to disclose. The first to put in an appearance at the land office in Mineral Point, upon its becoming accessible to settlers from this section, were N. Myrick, Samuel Snow, Asa White, J. M. Levy and Peter Cameron, who went thither to prove up the claims they had made at La Crosse and vicinity. The route taken by the travelers was hence to the Ridge, and thence direct by military road to Mineral Point. The trip then occupied some thirty-six hours, and the same time back, those going being obliged to remain at Mineral Point two days before they could obtain their turn and dispose of their business. This done, they returned to La Crosse secure in the title to their several claims, and more encouraged and prepared to offer inducements to settlers than ever before. But none came to either canvass, decline or accept these inducements. Con sidering the advantages of the site, it is somewhat remarkable that, for two years, no settlers expressed a desire to join issue with the situation, and the case thus being made up, submitted its decision to the logic of events that brawn and brain should in the future develop. REMOVAL OF THE INDIANS. In the spring of 1848, arrangements were inaugurated with a view to the removal of the Indians to some distant point where the aggressions of civilization had not yet manifested them selves, and to which it might be years before they would extend. And here may be related an incident of Indian character which will illustrate one of the reasons why their intimate associa tion was not desired by the whites. During the winter, their removal had been agitated, and a band laden with furs had en camped at the foot of the bluffs at some distance from the city, preparatory to negotiating the sale of their peltries. Having communicated their desires to Mr. Levy, and engaged with him to visit their camp the succeeding day, they departed. In accordance with this arrangement, Mr. Levy and an assistant started at daylight the next morning, and traveled all day in the direc tion of the camp. Late in the afternoon, he reached the objective point of his journey, and halted at a distance from the Indian wigwams. It being late, he suggested to them that they postpone trading until the next day. But they'd none of it, and acting upon the apparent desire of the savages, trading was commenced while yet the light remained. By using expedi tion and avoiding disputation, the trades were concluded by dusk, and each sought their camps HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 375 for the night — the one to plan to prey, and the other to plan an escape ; for while the sales were in progress, the companion of Levy heard them conspiring to steal back the skins while their purchasers slept, and secure them at any sacrifice. So as soon as the purchases could be securely packed on the sleigh, the traders hitched up their team, and by very careful man agement were enabled to elude the vigilance and cunning of the savages, and get out of their reach. They traveled all night, and reached home at daylight the next morning, happy in their good fortune, while the Indians, on discovering their escape, as was afterward ascertained, pranced about with fury and disappointment. , When the decision to remove the savages to Crow River Reservation was promulgated, as may be readily inferred, it was not accepted with a spirit of resignation or willing ness to accept the situation. The Indian character is notoriously deficient of those char acteristics which breed these excellent virtues. On the contrary, they swore they would not go, and employed every means available or to be availed of to give emphasis to this determination. Dandy and his band were particularly severe in their denunciation of the move, and specially determined not to go. In May, the excitement ran high, and fears of trouble were expressed. During that month, a number of the head men among the Indians sought Mr. Levy and asked permission to hold a council in his house, which was granted on condition that the participants remained sober and refrained from manifesting too much war spirit. They accepted those stip ulations and returned to their, camp, a short distance up the river. The next morning, the river was crowded with canoes, filled with Indians painted to represent them in the most unami- able mood, with feathers in their hair and other evidences of warlike intentions. The spectacle while aboriginal, and in some respects attractive, was not calculated to inspire the settlers with a peace of mind indescribable, but the boats were rowed to the village, where they unloaded, and the march to Levy's house began. Upon reaching that domicile, they were surprised to find it locked, as Mr. Levy had omitted to mention the matter to his wife, and she, fearful of an attack, had closed up the premises and retired to an inner room for safety. After some delay, admission was obtained and the pow wow carried on in the dining room, each Indian with a pipe betwixt his teeth smoking, reflect ing and expectorating with a solemnity that would have defied the profundity of a philosopher to imitate or emulate, and secured for each the lasting disgust of Mrs. Levy. Here they re mained for two hours perhaps, when, having concluded their business, they vacated the premises and returned whence they came, their canoes plowing the waves of the river, the surface of which appearing in the sunlight bright and sparkling as the burnished shield of Achilles. There was no trouble resulting from the council, neither was the decision to move them affected thereby. Communications were addressed the authorities at Washington by those kindly disposed toward them to which no attention was paid, and in June, they were sent further West to grow up with the country, accompanied by White, Marks and Horton, settlers in La Crosse. In 1849, those who escaped the first emigration followed in the footsteps of their brethren, and a dissolution of the partnership of Levy & Snow was decided and accomplished upon the following basis : Snow received the farm at the mouth of State Road Cooley, and Levy the Spaulding claim, while the goods in stock were divided between them. Subsequently Levy purchased the claim of Ann White, and came into possession of about one-fourth of the river front. The year 1849, was rather more eventful than 1848 had been. The country was then a paradise lost about the sources and tributaries of the Mississippi. It has since become a para dise regained, with enchanting, unlimited possibilities. Previous to the departure of the Indians, a gigantic struggle had been in progress between them and the whites, between races, between the picturesque and civilization for the possession of the rich uplands and fertile prairies of the Northwest. To-day drifting down the great water-way on a radiant morning, the voyager will recall nothing in his travels more varied and interesting than the city of La Crosse and its his tory. The home of the savages less than a half century ago, it is now the home of wealth, enterprise, education, refinement. 376 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. New Year's Day, 1849, was celebrated with considerable ceremony, and included among its attendant concomitants those usual to the season and occasion. Drinking, dancing and shooting were indulged until participants were incapacitated by reason of exhaustion or other and more persuasive influences. The winter commenced early, and the roads in every direction became per manently impeded at a comparatively early period. Communication was thenceforward during the remainder of the season by ice. The stores and empty rooms in and about La Crosse were packed with goods and wares, awaiting transportation, and unable, by reason of the absence of facilities to secure it. In this emergency, a party of French was obtained, and their services employed in conveying freight and passengers to points between Galena and St. Paul, by means of horses and sleighs. The result was that activity was apparent at La Crosse and the travel near the present city quite large. Indeed, during the snow blockade experienced this year, the visitors to the new settlement were unusually numerous, but scarcely any of those who came remained, and none of them were identified with the subsequent growth of the settlement, village or city. The embargo continued until late in the spring, when its causes departed as unexpectedly and expeditiously as they had come in. When the snow and ice were gone, which was in April, the river was opened and traffic resumed, with the arrival of the " Highland Mary," Capt. Atchinson, a profitable and elegant steamer for the days in which it was operated. Thereafter during the spring, the accidents and incidents of life on the prairie were similar to those previ ously encountered, save that they may have been rather more numerous, as the number of the inhabitants increased. On the 5th of April the first death by accident is recorded, being that of William, son of J. M. Levy, who met his death under the following circumstances : Along on the evening of the day in question, he guided his horse to the river to water him, preparatory to concluding the evening's chores. The spot selected was at a point opposite the foot of Pearl street, approached from an incline, and to the water's edge by a steep bank. The lad had reached the latter place,. which he was carefully descending, followed by the horse, when he slipped, and falling was thrown directly under the animal's feet. Before he could regain his equilibrium, the horse had stepped on the head of his victim, fracturing the skull, and inflicting wounds from the effects of which he died on the following morning, and was buried the same afternoon. The settlement at this time counted on its roster of inhabitants a shiftless fellow named Napoleon Frank, the height of whose ambition seemed to be to covet his neighbors' goods, become pugnaciously intoxicated, and after beating his wife into submission and helpless fear, lie down to sleep, undisturbed by any other agencies than those indigenous to bacchanalian revels. During this spring, " Scoots " Miller was robbed of flour which had been landed from a passing boat and left to await a purchaser, and the owner was in a quandary as to whom the guilty party would prove to be. Soon after, Napoleon procured sufficient money to purchase whisky enough to get him in that condition of muscular inebriety, when he hungered to thrash the madame, and thus accoutered he wasted no time in hunting up the object of his malevolence. She was found at home as usual, and having administered a thoroughly subduing course of disci pline to the defenseless victim, laid him down to contemplate other conquests in the dim land) of alcoholic romance. While he slept, Mrs. Napoleon, out of all patience at his brutality, and declining longer to act as a co-partner in his crimes, visited " Scoots," and after detailing the abuse to which she was subjected at brief intervals, concluded with the story of his peculative acts, including that by which he acquired title to the flour, the disappearance of which had proved to be a most in explicable conundrum to its legitimate owner. When these dark ways and not altogether van tricks of the sly Napoleon were brought to the knowledge of Justice Miller, there was not. as might be supposed, mounting in hot haste. On the contrary, " Scoots " and his confreres con ferred for some time before deciding upon a course of action. But when a policy was adopted, there were neither lacks nor want of means employed to procure its exercise. In the case under consideration, diplomacy and skill combined to release the wife, and relieve the settlement. To. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 377 make a long story short, she was sent to St. Paul, and he given a certain length of time to make his exit in an opposite direction, which, candor compels the admission, he was not slow to avail himself of. But, embarking in a canoe kept conveniently in order for emergencies, he turned its prow in the direction of the Gulf and sailed. This was the first citizen of La Crosse exiled from his adopted home, yet he was permitted to return after a brief absence, but the mysterious disappearance of portable property never afterward became fiequent. The foregoing suggests another case illustrating the presence of strong-minded women in La Crosse, as well as types of effeminacy requiring the arm of something stronger than law to urge their defense. When Levy & Snow dissolved, George Fetterlein was left a debtor to the former, with only an assurance to liquidate when able, to commend him to an unlimited indul gence. This was rather a discouraging outlook, but the creditor accepted the situation and agreed to wait Fetterlein's convenience. One day in the summer, the latter unexpectedly offered a cow in settlement, and, to close up the account, the offer was accepted. When the chattel was delivered, the delivery was accompanied by a proposal to transfer a calf thereto belonging for a consideration. This was accepted, and the purchaser (Mr. Levy) gathering up a rope on the following morning, walked over to the vendor's cabin to take possession of and guide the youthful bovine to his herd. He reached the Fetterlein homestead while yet the sun was in the East, and, announcing the object of his visitation, prepared to bind his property, to the end that its escape would be prevented. He had no sooner completed the preliminaries in that behalf before he was apprised of the presence of an opposing force, in the presence of Mrs. Fetterlein, who first protested, and, without waiting to ascertain the effect her eloquence would have, began an assault with such force and arms that retreat was the only defense which remained for the victim. Acting upon this conclusion, he hesitated not to lend the enchantment of distance to his oppressor, and fled precipitately across the prairie, followed by Mrs Fetterlein. Both ran furiously through the damp grass, and, for a time, the successful competitor was extremely difficult to name. Mr. Levy gained some little advantage at the outset, but was handicapped by the loss of his slipper, and once it looked as though the " swift-winged " madame would overhaul and vanquish her nimble-footed antagonist. But, at the critical moment for him, she abandoned the chase, and he reached home breathless and in his stocking feet. When the coast became clear, Mrs Levy ventured out and secured possession of the slippers, and both acknowledged that a cow without a calf was by no means the worst phase of existence in a new country. They had become resigned to the situation, when, on the following morning, the cause of the disturbance was carted over to Levy's mansion by Fetterlein and delivered to its legitimate owner. " That was many years ago," observes Mr. Levy, when referring to its occurrence, " but I never will forget it, nor Mrs. Cameron's attempt to cause the arrest and prosecution of certain parties for an alleged assault," while Mr. Levy was Justice of the Peace, for which that gentleman could not be charmed into issuing the papers. At this time, Mrs. Cameron occupied a position of prominence, assured, if not select or en viable. Scarcely any event occurred with which she was not identified, from a social gathering to a public meeting, from a picnic to a funeral. The Fourth of July was celebrated with pomp and circumstance this year, in a grove near the present cemetery, and largely attended. Citizens, Black River lumbermen and Mrs Cameron, were present, and the latter contributed materially to the entertainment and its conclusion. The speeches are represented to have been pointed and eloquent, the toasts appropriate, the edibles appetizing and the fluids inspiriting. Late in the afternoon, at a moment when satiety and surfeit were the prevailing features, Mrs. Cameron hurried to a safe distance and revived expiring energies by publicly challenging the males in attendance to catch her and exchange what, it was thought at the time, would be osculatory com pliments. The crowd accepted the guage thus proffered, and ran, pell-mell, in pursuit of the prize. There was racing and chasing over the prairie, into the forest, across gullies and cooleys, but, when the capture was effected, Mrs. Cameron rewarded her admirers with kisses manufact ured by candy-makers, whereupon the recipients became exercised, and, in the flush of disap pointment, refused to be comforted. The crowd dispersed soon after the orators and celebrants 378 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. of the male persuasion, as a rule returning to the village, where they became intoxicated while the ladies recovered from the fatigues of the day. THE CAMERON-ELLIS TRAGEDY. Scarcely had the excitements attending the celebration above referred to subsided, and the people resumed their daily avocations, when a shooting affray occurred, during which a man named Ellis met his death at the hands of Peter Cameron, the particulars of which, as near as can be ascertained, are substantially as follows : As is the case on every frontier, human life was protected by the individual, if necessary ; and any feud of consequence was occasionally settled by a resort to arms. Might in some instances made right, and consequently personal quarrels were not of unfrequent occurrence. Up to this time, however, 'no trouble had occurred resulting in death. At this date, and for some time previous, an organized gang of log stealers were accustomed to visit La Crosse and vicinity for the purpose of depredating upon the crops of legitimate loggers, both here and on the Black River. They would run away one's logs out of the river, capture any loose logs they could possess themselves of, and spirit them away to the markets on the lower river, and this, too, notwithstanding the stringent measures employed to lessen the opportunities for crime. On the morning of July 9, 1849, two men were observed on a raft descending the river opposite the city, which had become "broken " and separated. When the raft was secured, the men attempted to gather the loose logs which were floating on the river, and marked as is claimed, with the name of their owner " Ellis," who was one of the twain attempting to secure them. While thus occupied, Peter Cameron, in a skiff, overhauled them, and was passing the corner of Barron's Island, when he was recalled by his wife, who doubtless referred to the work of the loggers, who it seems had recovered a portion of their property from among a lot owned by Cameron. Soon after, as Ellis was proceeding in the direction of Mr. Levy's store, Cam eron hailed him, and upon halting, a controversy ensued as to the ownership of the reclaimed logs. The controversy widened into an excited altercation, in which Cameron challenged both Ellis and his hired man to fight, which, however, they declined. Thereupon Cameron loosed a fierce bull-dog which he owned, by which Ellis was attacked, and very seriously injured. He succeeded in making his escape from the fangs of the beast, and hurried in search of his partner to ascertain to what extent he had suffered. At this juncture, Mrs. Cameron emerged from her husband's cabin armed with two guns, and directed Peter to shoot the fleeing Ellis. The latter, appreciating the crisis of the moment, hastened his retreating footsteps in the direction of the raft, as rapidly as his wounded condition would permit. He had nearly gained a place of safety when Cameron " turned loose " upon him, and he fell mortally wounded. While prone on the ground in a condition rapidly approaching the final stage of dissolution, and before any one could hurry to prevent it, Cameron supplemented his shooting with blows from a club or the gun-stock, and hastened the result which previously could not have been long delayed. While the assault was in progress, Mr. Levy, who was Justice of the Peace at the time, reached the scene of the impending murder, and sought to rescue Ellis from instant death. But his attempt was greeted by Cameron and wife with threats against his own life, and he retreated. Fortunately a raft rounded the point above La Crosse at this moment, and landing in response to Mr. Levy's hail, Dr. Snow and John Elder, Sheriff of the County, were found on board. With the assistance of these gentlemen, Cameron was arrested and placed in custody, and committed to jail on a charge of murder. He was taken to Prairie du Chien, in the charge of Elder and Snow, as also was his wounded victim, in the hope that the latter might receive treatment that would prolong his life. But this was not to be ; he died while the raft was at some distance from Prairie du Chien, and was buried at Brownsville. INDIAN IMPUDENCE. The Indians again made trouble this year, or rather annoyed the settlers, as was their wont in former days. Some of them who had refused to submit to removal the year previous became C^vlvSW LA CROSSE. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 381 exceedingly active, and others who had been removed returned upon witnessing the indulgence that was accorded those pertinaceous to remain. Among the former, or those who repelled all overtures looking toward removal, was Dandy and his band of followers, which numbered less than a hundred They had been a disturbing element in the removal of 1848, and excited a stampede of the Winnebagoes collected that year in Myrick & Miller's warehouse, who fled in all directions, while arrangements for their transportation were in progress, and could only be re-collected together by the threat that their rations should be cut off. The moving spirit of this trouble was Dandy ; and repeatedly during the year 1849, he swore that he never would be removed alive. As a consequence, the settlers, more particularly the traders Myrick and Levy, were subjected to all degrees and qualities of annoyances and anxieties, requiring the exercise of patience and forbearance to avoid a collision. Early in the fall the condition of affairs was rendered the more critical by the return of some of those who had gone to their reservation, and the savages became more aggressive and obnoxious. Upon one occasion, William Bonnell heard a swaggering, whisky-drinking and liquor-mad dened savage muttering vengeance to himself as he wandered about the village, and kept careful watch of his movements lest he should execute his threats. After some delay, he proceeded in the direction of Levy's store, but halting on the way, Bonnell anticipated his arrival, and reach ing the store hid himself behind the door and awaited the progress of events. Some time elapsed before the Indian came up, but upon reaching the threshold, he announced his presence and objects without ceremony, and in language both unadorned and devoid of the least possible ambiguity. He wanted whisky or blood ; he was apparently indifferent which, but prejudiced in favor of the latter if the former was not dealt out to him liberally and immediately. By this time Mrs. Levy, who was in the rear of the house, heard the savage protestations, and hastened into the house to ascertain what was wanted. When she reached the door communicating with the room in possession of the aboriginal visitor, she was greeted with grunts, exclamations and the odor of whisky, accompanied by demands for more of the spirit which is said to steal away one's brains through the victim's mouth. But unappalled by the threatening gestures and language of her unavoidable guest, Mrs. L. declined to accede to his demands, suggesting at the same time that his individual comfort, the comfort of herself and that of the day, would be materially enhanced if he would retire to his tepee and convalesce from the effects of too liberal potations. Notwithstanding the peaceful means employed and the persuasive ingenuity of Mrs. Levy, he refused to retire — he wouldn't seek his tepee and become a man again. Whisky was what he came after, and unless it was produced without further ceremony, he'd scalp some one and cause mourning among the pale faces. Mrs. Lew still declined his commands, and defied his threats in a manner equally as earnest as that evinced by himself. At last, when parley would no longer bring forth the flowing bowl, and as the madame was about leaving him to rant to vacant walls, he suddenly drew a knife from his belt and prepared to spring upon his victim. , While crouching for the leap, Mr. Bonnell, who as stated, was hidden behind the door, emerged from his place of concealment, and seizing a pitchfork standing by, ordered the impet uous and blood-thirsty savage to flee if he valued his life. The Indian halted and contemplated the spectacle of an angered settler rushing upon him armed with a drawn pitchfork, for a sec ond, and turned to retreat as the tine of the fork prodded him in the rear. The sting of the wound accelerated his speed, and plunging from the doorway, he ran laboringly but rapidly to the river landing, where he sprang into a canoe and reached the rapid current in time to avoid his pursuer. At another time, Mr. Levy was absent in attendance upon the trial of Peter Cameron, which took place at Prairie du Chien in September, 1849, when his store was again visited by a party of Dandy's band, including among its numbers a vicious buck who had been released from the penitentiary but a short time previous. The conduct of the braves was scarcely such as would characterize gentlemen of the old school received as guests upon some festal occasion ; ..A-, r^ ! 382 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. on the contrary, its counterpart can hardly be imagined, certainly not described, outside the lowest walks of life. As the day advanced, the visitors grew more and more belligerent, partic ularly the brave who had been an occupant of a felon's cell. They had summoned Mrs. Levy, who was alone in the house, to wait upon them repeatedly, and at the last call, as she opened the door, the ex-convict sprang into the center of the room, and presenting a rifle, was in the act of drawing a bead upon the defenseless woman. There was an instant of solemn silence, when another Indian, more sober than the rest, grasped the gun-stock before the weapon could be discharged, and prevented the calamity that must have followed in a second. They finally left the house, and, during their temporary absence, Mr. Brisbois, of Prairie du Chien, came in, and upon comprehending the affairs as they existed, remained until the return of Mr. Levy. Late in the fall, these dangers and trials to which the settlers were committed, were sus pended by a peaceful solution of the troubles. Numbers of them were persuaded by quiet but potent influences to emigrate, and were carried to Fort Snelling. The next year, however, they returned once more to the scenes of their childhood, but were taken in charge and again re moved, since when they have remained absent, though to-day vagrant bands of Winnebagoes wander at will over the county, but are harmless and never interfered with. This year, William Bonnell and family returned to La Crosse, to remain permanently ; Peter Burns came in about December 4; Timothy Burns (who afterward became Lieutenant Governor, and who had visited the site of La Crosse in 1847), settled here. Some assert that this gentleman delayed his settlement in La Crosse until 1850, but Mrs. Levy (to whom the writer is largely indebted for facts regarding La Crosse) kept a journal of her experience during those times, and records his arrival here on the date above mentioned. One cold, wintry day, Mr. Levy was aroused from his reverie before the fire by a feeble rap at the door of his house, to which he responded, " Come in," and no one raising the latch, he went to the entrance to ascertain the cause. Upon throwing open the door, his sense of vision was startled by the appearance of three men and a pair of horses, evidently suffering the pangs of hunger, and reduced to a condition of emaciation that was absolutely horrible. They told him they had no money and were nearly famished. Could they remain two or three days to recuperate, when they would hunt work ? Certainly, as long as they wanted. They were housed and fed, the horses cared for, and when sufficiently rested, they crossed over to the island, and during the winter occupied the time in felling timber and cutting steamboat wood. They had left White Pigeon early in November, they stated, with a view of locating in the West, hoping to reach some available point before winter set in, where they would remain until spring and determine upon some selection. After journeying beyond recall, and without the hope of assistance, it began to storm, and for a season it was a question of possibility as to whether the unfortunate triumvirate would be able to effect its escape or not. They wandered along aimlessly for days, hoping for relief which never came, until their horses became too weak to drag the wagon further, when they were unhitched, and the hapless quintette floundered through snow and brush, until, happily for themselves, they reached La Crosse, and renewed their lease of life at the home of J. M. Levy. In the spring, Job Brown, his brother and a hired man (for those constituted the trinity described), closed up their work and went on a prospecting tour down the river, where they en tered claims, perfected the same by occupation, and laid the foundation of what has since grown to be the prosperous village of Brownsville. This same year, Commissioners came with surveyors and located the school, university and swamp lands. This year, also, was solemnized the first marriage to occur in La Crosse after Wisconsin became a State, the parties being Joseph Ebner and the widow of Peter Ebner, his brother, who had come into the country in 1847, but had died shortly afterward. There were doubtless other circumstances connected with the settlement, the people, the times, etc., worthy of special mention, but those who alone are capable of explaining them and elaborating the effect they produced, have gone hence or forgotten their existence, and their HISTORY OF LACROSSE COUNTY. 383 detail is consequently reserved for the historian of the future. Within the short space of seven years, the corner stone of a new empire had been laid, and the superstructure was in progress of building, and so advanced as to be beyond the power of recall. During that period the few settlers who had come in from time to time took up the burden of life as they found it here, and amid discouragements, disasters and oppositions, maintained their burden to the end. In spite of the crosses they were called upon to endure; in spite of the unsettled condition of affairs that existed here, as such conditions will always exist wherever the stakes of another dispensa tion are planted; in spite of these and numberless other occurrences, trivial in themselves, but oppressive as they increased in number, these pioneers in the cause of progress and improve ment bore their crosses unflinchingly to the end, and saw in that end a fruition of what they anticipated. LA CROSSE IN 1850. Thus came 1850 in the order of events. The winter was more than usually severe, and the season of spring proportionately late. When the Brown boys left for other parts it was far into April, and at that time very little had been accomplished in the future city or country tributary thereto. But as soon as the trees leaved out and the grass began to cover the hillsides, the arrivals began to be announced at briefer intervals, and indications of a "future" to become established facts, chroniclers of the times assert this to have been the year when the laggard advance of its younger days was substituted by more rapid progress in La Crosse. About this time it is said men of enterprise called the public attention to the favorable position of La Crosse in a commercial point of view, and suggested it as a rare place for the investment of capital. These included the recommendations of Lieut. Gov. Burns, T. B. Stoddard, F. M. Rublee, S. D. Hastings, C. A. Stevens, Robert Looney and some others, though very few of them came in for purposes of permanent settlement until afterward. Some land sales were negotiated and perfected by a transfer of title, the most important among which was that of N. Myrick to Timothy Burns. The land conveyed comprised a large portion of the village site, and was acquired by the vender through a patent issued by the United States to N. Myrick and wife, bearing date November 7, 1849. He subsequently deeded an undivided half of this grant to H. J. B. Miller, and, on May 10, 1850, the remainder to Timothy Burns, whereupon Miller and wife and Burns deeded Myrick one undivided fourth. Throughout the county settlements were also made, and have grown into populous and prosperous communities. In May, Martin Bostwick and family emigrated from Vermont, and made a settlement (Bostwick Valley) in what has since been incorporated as Barre Township. They were soon joined by Hugh Hogan, an enterprising Irishman, between whom the building up of this portion of the county was begun and carried to completion. Later in the season, emigrants from Maine, headed by a man named Gordon, who was accompanied by his family, and dropping down into La Crosse County, located on the banks of the Black River and began the settlement of Holland. He farmed some, logged some, and in the exuberance of an ambi tion that should have been cultivated and encouraged, laid out the village of "Orno," which, however, has never been improved. In the fall Emfin Emfinson, a Norwegian, came into the country, and locating a claim of 160 acres of land, erected a cabin in which he installed his family, and made preparations to begin farming early in the following spring. The same win ter Thomas Leonard and Julius Segur were added to the population of the county by erecting and occupying a log cabin in sight of Emfinson's home, whose neighbors he thus became. This was the beginning of the building up of Hamilton Town, which is now one of the most important in the county. THE FIRST ELOPEMENT. A somewhat noted character known as "Wild Cat Jack," the pseudonym of John Morri son, materialized about this time, or rather came more prominently before the public than ever before. He was the son of influential and wealthy parents at the East, but ran away from 384 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. home when but sixteen years old, and, making his home in the West, consorted with desparadoes and became one of the most dangerous of that class. He carried the mail between Prairie du Chien and points on the river above La Crosse, and his first exploit was made at Richmond, Minn., where he made love to a daughter of the Post master, after whom the town was named. His fascinations proved so persuasive, and his love- making so convincing, that the young lady slipped out of the house one dark, stormy night and eloped. She is represented to have been the very antipodes of Jack. Of rare beauty of per son, harmonizing with superior mental faculties, and an unusual mild disposition, the surprise was expressed that she could reconcile herself to recognize one of such reckless habits and inclinations as her choice was known to be. They reached La Crosse together, early one morn ing in the spring of 1850, and, proceeding to Justice Levy, demanded of him to marry them instanter. But Mr. Levy, knowing the prospective bridegroom, and apprehending that fear rather than inclination extorted an unwilling consent from the fair girl, at first peremptorily refused. After repeated solicitations, he privately interrogatedMiss Richmond as to whether she was under duress in thus consenting, to which she returned a negative, and added that if they were not married it would not affect their future course as to remaining together. This deter mined the Justice, and they were married. They lived as man and wife but a short time, as his course was summarily checked during the summer by a ball from his own revolver. A short time previous to the tragedy, in which he was the victim, Jack came to La Crosse, and, deporting himself in an exceedingly obstreperous and insulting manner, very soon encoun tered obstacles which proved immovable to his efforts and fearless of his threats of vindictive- ness. Being refused supper at Miller's, he went down to Levy's tavern and demanded to be served there. This could not be done, and Mr. Levy so told him, but the refusal excited Jack all the more, and, drawing a pistol, declared he would commit murder. Before he was able to accomplish anything in that connection, though, Mr. Levy, in defending his wife, administered so sound a thrashing that Jack cried peccavi, and, when released from the grasp of his antag onist, retired precipitately. It might here be said that Mrs. Levy was by no means obliged to rely upon the skill, strength and prowess of her muscular husband to defend her from the assaults or batteries of inebriated and ungallant frontiersmen. She was amply able to protect herself, and never hes itated to accept the issue when joined, as some who resided in the vicinity of La Crosse at that time can testify. Jack left after the discipline Mr. Levy inflicted, and went down the river. One day, while in Brownsville, he was engaged in a dispute with Job Brown, and, as usual, produced his re volver to enforce any demand he had submitted. Brown failed to intimidate as was expected of him, and Jack, with an emphatic assurance that he would shoot him, anyhow, swung the pistol around his own head, as if to make ready. Before he was able to bring his gun to position, however, the weapon was discharged and the bullet lodged in the brain of the would-be assassin. He fell in his tracks, and died within a short time. His body was buried at Brownsville, but reclaimed, it is believed, by his family, and removed to New York, where it was laid with his brothers. The young woman who had in a brief period passed from maid enhood to widowhood, returned home, and, subsequently marrying a horny-handed son of toil, a tiller of broad acres, passed the remainder of her days amid a peace that ever exists where plenty and contentment are the essential features. In April of this year, the eclipse of the sun was visible in La Crosse, and occasioned feel ings of alarm and solicitude that are now referred to as among the most ludicrous experiences of the times. One of the lady residents sat in her room, confident that the day of judgment impended, and occupied her time in prayer. Her petitions were so earnest that she fell asleep in the midst of them, and realized consciousness to discover the sun shining and the chickens crowing. Most every one in the settlement was badly frightened, and the ridiculous scenes that were presented are said to have been both numerous and overwhelming. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 385 As the year advanced, the arrivals were more than occasional, and some attempts at im proving the place made. These were more prospective than completed, however, and it was not until the year following that they took definite shape. The new comers were, of course, promiscuous in character and unsettled as to their movements, while not a few of them were by no means desirable acquisitions to the place. They were consumers exclusively, and levied for contributions upon the resources of producers. As soon as their object was discovered, they removed elsewhere. Among these objectionable classes, horse-thieves were by no means few, though they never to any extent trespassed upon the stock of settlers about La Crosse, confining their operations, as a rule, to the horses of the Indians, who, it will be remembered, returned hither from their reservations for the third time this year. These depredators were unblushingly bold in their conduct, and frequently made overtures to eitizens to join with them in their nefarious opera tions. "We'll accuse you if we're caught," they would say; "there's money in it, and you might just as well have the game a? the name." But they enlisted no crusaders under their black flag of theft and murder ; and as the settlement began to assume the proportions of a vil lage they were weeded out by public opinion and the enforcement of the law. While in exist ence, they fulfilled their threats and saddled the theft of missing horses upon parties who were guiltless. In one instance reprisals were made by those who suffered at the hands of the band, but upon ascertaining the facts, as was soon after done, those who had been imposed upon admitted the innocence of those accused, and, so far as they were able, returned the property seized by way of compensation. The question which will naturally suggest itself, Why was this state of things permitted ? is answered by reference to the time, place and circumstances under which the people lived. Society was not even in a transition state. There was no law, council or judiciary. Man was a law unto himself, and carried his life in his hand for any one to peck at who could get the drop. If a man was injured by his neighbor, traverse juries were not accessible, and no one ever thought of appealing to them. The disputed point was adjudicated by the parties immedi ately to be affected, and the arbitrator was a weapon or test of strength between the contest ants. Only those injured sought redress ; and as long as the thieves refrained from attaching the property of residents, they were not apprehended. As a result of this condition of things, fights and brawls, while not an every-day amuse ment, were of frequent occurrence. On clays when the village was more generally visited, on election days and days apportioned on the calendar for feasts or celebrations, the squabbles which in many cases are bred of liquor, were neither few nor bloodless ; on the contrary, fierce and constant. An instance will illustrate the case as it existed. On election day, in the fall of this year, a day so cheerless and chill that fires were indispensable, and warm drinks very acceptable, a party, including " Scoots " Miller, old man Reed, of Reed's Landing, Bill Bunnell, Napoleon Frank, the exile for a theft of flour some years previous, and one or two others, congregated at Levy's Tavern, and over a roaring fire and bowl of methiglin, recounted each his ideas and beliefs of the times. It seems that " Scoots " Miller had made himself obnoxious to one or more of the party, on a former occasion, and availed himself of this opportunity to not only intensify it with those previously offended, but antagonize the remainder of the company. This could not be endured, and after the exercise of a commendable patience, they told him if he didn't cease they would throw him in the fire. " Scoots " declined either to " simmer" or " sizzle," and defied their efforts. But the company were in earnest, and evinced the character of their intentions by picking him up bodily and thrusting him upon the coals. He struggled manfully, and releasing himself from the grasp of those who held him, attempted to escape. In this, also, he failed ; and, yielding to the force of superior numbers, was again launched upon the burning log. By this time it began to look serious, and " Scoots" fully comprehending that there was no trifling in the business, once more sought to escape, and failing, was once more subjected to the influences of flames that were penetratingly painful in their effects. 3S6 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The noise made by the crowd attracted the attention of others in the house, who hastened to know the cause and witness the spectacle recited. Mr. Levy, with the assistance of one known as " Old Mack," interposed before the salamander qualities of " Scoots " had been more than thoroughly tested, and interposing in his behalf, with entreaties and promises, secured the release of the victim and escorted him home. This incident is a fair type of those which occurred in La Crosse thirty years ago when disorder would have been preferred to the quiet and peace which has become more supremely regnant with each succeeding year since the settlement was begun, since the memorable phrase "go West, young man," has been changed almost from a malediction to a beneficent recommen dation. The arrivals of 1850, as already stated, though not numerous, were of the character and influence to teach the world outside the limits of La Crosse of the fair land here to be found. Of the land which for years was known only to the Indian tribes, adventurous Frenchmen, friars and priests, who wandered in at occasional intervals to locate trading posts and church sites, or to trade with and proselyte savages. Those who had come before 1850, accomplished much to recommend the country, and that their labors had not been without results was evident when Wisconsin was wedded to the Federal Government as a State, with La Crosse County as one of her choicest marriage gifts. But those who came after, were not slow in advertising the advan tages to be found in a commonwealth which has since shown its ability to nourish an almost unlimited population, whose climate is regular and seasonable, whose soil is fertile beyond estimate, and the monotony of whose landscape is broken by streams and rivers that have wan dered for miles in and out among the bluffs and coolies, until they are lost in the broad bosom of the Father of Waters which bears them to the sea. In earlier times, it may have been a by word and reproach ; in later days, it has become a glory and a boast. Among those not to be forgotten, who came in this year, was Joshua Ridgley, who settled in the town of Campbell on the north road between La Crosse and West Salem. A YEAR OF REAL PROGRESS. Taking 1851 as the first year of vigorous effort toward, and progress in building up La Crosse, the endeavor is ventured to preserve the list of persons who were identified with the county and city previous to and during that year. The list is not long, but embraces N. Myrick, J. M. Levy, H. J. B. Miller, Peter Cameron and John Garrett and families, also Peter Burns, D. D. Cameron, Timothy Burns and possibly one or two more, besides a few farmers, lumber men, mechanics, etc., whose names have already been mentioned, and who settled in the coun try then, as now tributary to the city. The list of residents known to have been here in 1851 compared with that of the beginning of 1854, showed conclusively that during the years 1851— 52 and 1853 all went lovely, as the number of families rose from about half a dozen to about half a hundred, besides about thirty-five single men and women. So far as can be ascertained, the names included on the first list were as follows : Lieut. Gov. Timothy Burns, Mr. Beards- ley, Frank Baker, Eliakim Barlow, George Carleton, Hugh B. Callahan, J. R. Cowdrey, the Rev. W. H. Card, Ebenezer Childs, Valentine Dinninger, Adam Doerflinger, Sr., A. Eldred, Joseph Ebner, Anson Ferris, Edwin Flint, George Gale, James Gallagher, William Hood, Ben jamin B. Healey, George W. Havens, Samuel D. Hastings, Nicholas Hintgen, John Halvorson, Simeon Kellogg, Robert Looney, Albert D. La Due, Abram Looney, William G. McSpadden, Jacob McCreary, William McConnell, Mr. McDowell, James W. Polleys, Benjamin W. Rey nolds, Francis W. Reynolds, Francis Manville, Francis Rublee, Ohio Simpkins, Norton R. Smith, Orrin L. Smith, the Rev. John C. Sherwin, Samuel T. Smith, Sylvester Smith, Cyrus B. Sin clair, Thomas B. Stoddard, Chase A. Stevens, Morgan M. Taylor, David Taylor, William Whelpley, Enos P. Williams, G. 11. Wilson and their families ; also Messrs. Anderson, Milton Barlow, Walter Brown, A. W. Barron, Henry B. Beardsley, Samuel Bauragardner, Howard Cramer, H. B. Crookston, William Fales, Michael Hart, Edmund Hart, S. C. Johnson, Justin Jacobs, John McMillen, M. M. Manville, F. A. Rublee, W. Sutcliffe, David Wright, H. N. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 387 Solberg, William Bennett, G. W. Haven, Samuel Weston, E. S. B. Vail, Lawyer Janson, Mr. Patterson, J. R. Crossette, Ole Knudson, D. S. Harris, and a very few others unmarried whose names could not be accurately ascertained. In April of this year, B. F. Colburn identified himself with the county, coming from Mas sachusetts for that purpose, and locating in the present township of Burns, where he entered 160 acres of land, and planted five acres to corn and potatoes. In the summer following, a party of Swiss, who had previously settled in Sauk County, changed their base by removing to La Crosse, and established themselves in the section of the county now comprehended within the limits of Bangor Township. Among those who came in first were Joseph Wolf, John Bosshard, Florian Reudy, Christian Reudy, Michael Darms and Joseph Summerson, a portion of whom settled on Dutch Creek, the remainder in nearer proximity to the village Beside the above, there were several persons out buying lands or engaged in business in the immediate vicinity of the present city, including John Clark and his sons, Thaddeus and P. L. Clark, H. J. Peck, Phillip Young, and John and Charles Nagley, already referred to ; Orange Smith, R. C. Van Rensselaer, Eustace L. Brockway, Abram Pruett and Mrs. Markle, Byron L. Viets and others, who visited La Crosse frequently, as also did Jacob Spaulding, Hugh Douglass, Thomas Douglass, Mark Douglass, William T. Price, W. J. Gibson, James O'Neill, Col. Chase and Mr. Decker, the latter coming from Black River, in the interests of the lumber business, in which they were engaged. Now indeed did it seem that the county was to be built up in earnest, and travel the highway to success it has since attained. During the month of April, Mr. Levy states the people came in very fast. The hotel and houses appropriated to hotel uses by the exigencies of the occasion, were crowded to repletion. People came in wagons, canoes, by river, prairie schooners and stages. The cargoes of settlers borne hither were " multitudinous " and miscellaneous, and often contained metal decidedly not adapted to the times or the country. In the stage which bore John Clark hither was a passenger of " quality," who despised the primitive ways of locomotion in use, and the arduous exercise the travelers were often subjected to, that distance might be put between the place of departure in the morning and terminal point at night. Several times daily the passengers were compelled to alight and pry the coach out of the mire, in which the horses, after vainly struggling to extricate the vehicle, cried quits and awaited the logic of events. The gilt-edged speculator, upon each succeeding " stalling " of the team, and, when his fellows combined to aid in making a fresh start, remained in the stage solemn as an undertaker and mulish as his quadrupedal prototype. This was borne during one day, and when Mr. Clark retired that night, he sank to rest with a well-defined determination that if the coach came to a halt and required his assistance to proceed, the fastidious fashionable would have to descend from his high estate and lend a hand. The following morning the conveyance had hardly begun its weary routine when one of the wheels lodged in a " chuck hole " and evidenced an inclination to remain. All were called upon to lighten the weight of the stage, to which all but the Jonah of the trip responded with alacrity. He remained at his post, and, upon its being hinted that the passengers were becom ing somewhat shorn of their patience at the selfishness displayed by him, he replied in a ver nacular peculiar to the times, " that he'd be if he would." "Well, you will," said Mr. Collins. " I'm if I do and no one can make me," was his replication. This was the final stroke which settled dispute, and dropping adjectives for force, Mr. Col lins reached into the stage and drawing forth the obnoxious prospector, dropped him into the mire with the ease and complacency of a Samson bearing the Gates of Gaza. When he emerged from his bath, he was not only a sight to behold, but as plastic to manipulation as clay in the hands of a potter. The character of men Was made manifest in these troublous times, and if it contained the element of selfishness or covetousness, these features were but once expressed and never repeated. 388 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. In the hotels observers are familiar with the situation ; there may have been preaching in one room, swearing and drinking in another, and excitement in all. The new-comers seemed to take no thought for the morrow, and lived only for the present. And here is as good an oppor tunity as will occur to speak of two of the prominent arrivals of this year, one of whom did much to mold public sentiment, conserve public morality and leave a reputation that will ever be associated with La Crosse County. Judge Gale and Chase Stevens are referred to. The former was the founder of Galesville University in Trempealeau County, which place became his residence during the memorable term of his Circuit Judgeship. He is represented to have been a tall and large-framed Vermonter of great natural endowments of intellect, with will-power and executive ability, which made him a formidable adversary or a useful friend. He aimed to achieve good, and his efficiency was everywhere acknowledged, but his blunt and harsh ways seemed, it is said, to extinguish the ordinary powers by which men accomplish their ends. No one ever doubted the correctness or purity of his motives, but many objected to his uncompromising disposition and savage logic. It would perhaps be proper to say that he was almost intolerant in his sense and administration of justice, either on or off the bench. Judi cious lawyers understood the consequence of incurring his serious displeasure, and usually avoided that calamity. He was a strong man, with strong purposes, strong attachments and strong aversions ; and when he decided war against a man he made the fur fly. He struck boldly, and caused his friends to join in what might be termed an " anvil chorus " when he gave the time for " music from the entire band." His devotion to the excellent educational institution at Gales ville, now flourishing under the presidency of Prof. J. W. McLaury (who was the first man to shake up the citizens of La Crosse to the necessity of greater efficiency in the public schools), did not permit any of his friends to lose an opportunity to contribute to the success of his favorite enterprise. The Judge never allowed the bar to " cram " him with spurious, irrelevant law and prece dents to influence his decisions, and sometimes unceremoniously disputed the authorities cited by counsel. It is related that upon one occasion, while Judge Gale was holding court at Viroqua, Bad Axe County, Attorney William H. Tucker (father of the famous American vocalist, " Blanche Roosavella," or Blanche Roosavelt Tucker), of La Crosse, tried to " cram " the court with irreg ular citations, and came to grief thus : Tucker — Your Honor is familiar with the laws and decisions quoted ? The Judge — The Court has no knowledge of them. Tucker — They are as related. The Judge — I disbelieve the statements. Tucker — What I stated is true. The Judge — It isn't. Tucker — It is. The Judge— Bet you $50. But Tucker was equal to the occasion, and, after realizing his discomfiture and defeat, ral lied himself and caused irrepressible explosions of laughter and applause among the crowd assem bled, by deliberately thrusting both hands in his pockets and remarking slowly, " I back down ; your Honor has oversized my pile." Col. Chase A. Stevens, who was in 1854 elected as a Representative of the counties of La Crosse, Buffalo and Chippewa in the Legislative Assembly of 1855, was also one of the pioneers who came in this year, and was far from being an easy man to baffle. His resources and strat egy are said to be manifold and unfathomable. But his faults shall not here be narrated, the purpose being merely to confirm and establish the premises above ventured, that in those early days of La Crosse pioneers there were men whom it was not safe for shallow-pated adventurers to trifle with ; and, in grouping the leaders of the conflicting forces, the wish is expressed to place the reader in possession of points that will convince him there were wide-awake men on guard. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 389 Col. Stevens, say those who knew him intimately, will never be duplicated in this world. He was the son of a clergyman and born in Maine. He was an uncommonly handsome man, of commanding appearance, fully six feet tall, of about two hundred pounds, with black and glossy hair and beard, a fascinating eye, and a laugh that could be heard for a long distance. He was as subtle as lightning, and when he seemed to be most frivolous, he was doubtless con cocting some of his severest plots. His putative or principal place of domicile was at the south end of Sixth street, being the property now owned and occupied by the family of the lamented ex-Mayor Colwell, who laid down his life for the Republic while leading the immortal Light Guard in the battle of South Mountain. His residence was here, but he was ubiquitous, and the stories that are told of him and his capacity to enlighten, edify and astonish, almost to par alysis, the populace, are wonderful, not to say incredible. He left La Crosse during late years, and, after an absence of some months returned here, but so perfectly disguised in the garb of a Quaker as to defy detection, and for a fortnight "theed" and "thoued" old-time acquaintances with a familiarity that bred surprise and curi osity. Finally, his laugh betrayed his identity and abandoning the comedy, he disappeared and has been in La Crosse but a limited number of times since. He died in May, 1881, in the city of Baton Rouge, La. ORGANIZATION OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. In February of this year, a bill was adopted by the Legislature of Wisconsin, provid ing for the division of Crawford County, and the organization of La Crosse and Bad Axe Coun ties, the former to be constituted out of that portion of Crawford County lying north or west of the limits of Bad Axe County, which was described as follows : Beginning at the northwest corner of the county of Richland, thence running south on the range line between Ranges 2 and 3 west, to the northeast corner of Section 24 of Township 11, north of Range 3 west, thence west on the section line to the boundary line of this State, in the main channel of the Mississippi River, thence northerly on the boundary line of this State in the said river to the point of intersection of said boundary line, and the township line between Townships 14 and 15 north, thence east in said township line to the northeast corner of Township 14, north of Range 1 east, thence south on the range line between Ranges 1 and 2 east, to the southeast corner of Township 13 of Range 1 east, thence west on the township line between 12 and 13 to the place of beginning. The act further provided for an election for town and county officers to be holden on the first Tuesday of April next ensuing, for the location of the county seat at La Crosse upon con dition that the people furnished suitable buildings, and for other purposes of minor importance. Accordingly, an election was held at the time designated, when there were thirty-six votes polled, with the result as follows: Timothy Burns was chosen Chairman; Lloyd L. Lewis, Supervisor; C. A. Stevens, Town Clerk; Robert Looney, J. Bean and James Reed, Justices of the Peace ; Lodowic Lewis, Treasurer, and Lorenzo L. Lewis, Town Superintendent. At this time, as has already been noted, La Crosse County embraced the present counties of Jack son and Trempealeau, and was of immense dimensions. Immediately upon the organization of the county, the town of La Crosse was surveyed by William Hood, a surveyor who had settled here late in 1850, or early in 1851. The original plat was made on land owned by Timothy Burns and H. J. B. Miller, and now constitutes the most valuable portion of the city, being comprehended within Fifth, River and Mount Vernon streets and the Mississippi River. There were originally 34 blocks and 266 large lots. While the survey was in progress, Levy, La Due, Stoddard and Cameron, foreseeing that La Crosse was at some time in the near future destined to become a large city, endeavored to procure an extension of the streets then being laid out down through their claims, and thus make, at the beginning, a village of straight streets, with some system, and suggesting the river front, he vacated for lease purposes. But Burns and Miller decided to plat their own land only, leaving petitioners to lay their claims out as additions to the original plat. This fact gives the reason for whatever lack of symmetry there may seem to be in the surveys of some of the streets. 390 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. In April occurred the first fire in the county; the first case of cholera following in June, and that succeeded by an election of county officers in the course of the summer. The fire was the result of a defective flue — of late years the inevitable cause cited by experts in their efforts to solve the mystery of a conflagration when no other explanation could be framed — located in Mr. Levy's domicile, and extinguished by the help of those attracted to the scene, with water-buckets and pails, before the loss was irreparable. As it was, the roof was charred and the interior defaced ; but these deficiencies were at once made up, and the hotel continued as attractive as it had been when alone in the wilderness. The first case of cholera occurred in June, Mr. John Collins being the victim. It was at the time of Mr. Levy's building his frame house adjoining the hotel he had put up in 1847, and where now stands the International. The weather was excessively warm and sickly, and no surprise was manifested when Mr. Collins was taken down, though it was not anticipated that his attack would result in cholera. Through the day Mr. and Mrs. Levy, who had seen some of the phases of the disease while it was epidemic in the United States four years pre vious, suspected the malady was gravitating in that direction, directed the treatment adminis tered so as to harmonize with that recommended when the cholera had been the result of medical diagnosis. Their patient, however, seemed not to rally, but rather to grow worse. "The medicine didn't seem to operate," remarked Mr. Levy, when detailing the symptoms and process employed to afford relief. " In other words, the attack was so violent as to be beyond the reach of medicaments appeared to us all." Nevertheless, stronger medicines were applied, and after a critical period, continuing until daylight of the morning after which he was taken, the patient perceptibly improved. About 2 o'clock in the morning, those having him in charge noticed that his shoulders and spinal column were very much discolored, and made up their minds that he was beyond the reach of mortal help. Notwithstanding which, he was cared for all the more solicitously with results both gratifying and permanent, as was evidenced when Mrs. Levy, who had retired late at night, resumed her watch. He ultimately recovered under careful nursing ; but the effects of this terrible experience were visible during his life time, and he attributed his recovery, as do the surviving members of his family, to the treatment admin istered by and the attention of Mr. and Mrs. Levy. The case created some excitement among the inhabitants of the town, yet no panic fol lowed as would be the case in thickly settled communities. But in those days men, and women, too, for that matter, were calloused to fear and insensible to circumstances that would to-day be regarded as critical. The type of men and women who flourished in the early history of the West were radically different from those who came after, in many instances ; more of bone and muscle, and less of superfluous matter than possess types of succeeding generations ; more of genuine gold and less of gilt ; more common sense and less of sugar candy. As communities are built up and their influence is extended, they become wealthier and thereby educate an effeminacy which is expressed in the deterioration of the energies, capacities and endurance of those who are directly benefitted by these pecuniary accretions. The case of cholera was soon forgotten in the rush of events, to be remembered only by the beneficiary and his relatives, and the election came on, resulting in the choice of Timothy Burns as Judge of the County Court, William T. Price as Register of Deeds, Clerk of the Court and County Treasurer, and Robert Looney Clerk of the Board. The officials had scarcely qualified before the regular election, provided for by the act organizing the county, to be held in November, took place, with the following result : George Gale, Judge ; A. Eldred, Sheriff; F. M. Rublee, Treasurer; C. A. Stevens, Register of Deeds, and Robert Looney, Clerk of the Court and Clerk of the Board. On the 11th of November, the first meeting of the Board of County Supervisors was con vened, the Town Supervisors having met during the summer in the frame building then in progress of building by John M. Levy. At the latter meeting Wyram Knowlton was the Chair- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 391 The meeting held in November was composed of Timothy Burns, of the town of La Crosse ; J. Spaulding, town of Albion ; Charles Whipple, town of Pine Valley. Robert Looney acted as Clerk, and the proceedings were as follows : On motion of T. Burns, Jacob Spaulding was nominated and appointed Chairman of the Board of Supervisors in and for said county of La Crosse. No. 1. — F. M. Rublee & Co.'s bill, for blank books allowed $2 50 No. 2. — Thomas McDowall's bill for boarding transient pauper, and taking care of him three weeks and one day, allowed 9 25 No. 3. — S. C. Johnson's bill, for medical attendance on transient pauper presented for $9, $5 allowed 5 00 Adjourned until 8 o'clock A. M. in the forenoon of November 12, 1851. Wet persuant to adjournment. By order of the board hereby orders that there be levied on the assessment rolls of the several towns of La ¦Crosse County, three mills on the dollar for a State tax on the dollar valuation, and two mills for school tax, and five mills for a county tax. Valuation of the assessment roll of the town of La Crosse $23,969 For State tax 71 90 07 For School tax 47 93 For County tax 117 84 Ordered by the Board of Supervisors that the Clerk of said board use one cent as stamp of said county. The board proceeded to select Grand Jurors. Names selected : E. W. Jenks, John Jones, A. M. Hill, C. R. Johnson, James Sikes, Joseph Clancy, Gilbert Congden, M. P.Bennett, E. Broadhead, B. F. Huston, Hugh Wedge, George Nichols, James O'Neal, Joseph Stiekney, John Lewis, Philander Chandler, David M. West, William Douglass, Chester Frost, Hugh Doug lass, Milton Barlow, William Gillinger, W. N. Hall, Thomas G. Patterson, A. D. La Due, John Adams, D. Reed, Cyrus Sharpless. Aaron Merrimion, William Humpstock, William E. McSpaddin, Charles V. Segar, John Dale, C. N. McKenzie, Robert Wilson, Wilson Bower, William Jones, Romeo Bostwick, R. A. Gridley, John C. Laird, James W. Pollic, J. T. •Chapman, James Rogers, John Johnson, George Chester, John M. Levy, George Batchelder, J. B. Bean, Peter Burns and H. C. Grover. The board proceeded to select Petit Jurors. Names selected : Charles Whipple, Job Miller, William K. Lewis, Joshua Gledden, Joseph R. French, B. W. Reynolds, William F. Petit, F. W. Curtiss, Daniel Gorden, O. S. Holbrook, John M. Garlick, Thomas Paddock, John McLane, H. W. Hickocks, Luther L. Lewis, William H. Bingham, W. H. Kellow, John Campbell, Michael Traffs, Thomas Leonard, Gustavus Nicoli, N. B. Fish, Thomas McDonell, Byron Viets, E. R. Case, Nelson B. Gilbert, William Nicholls, James Garrett, W. Gladden, B. F. Johnson, Russell Hill, Thomas More, William Hood, Luther Wilson, Z. L. Chapman, John Meek, W. W. Bennett, G. W. Warren, C. B. Sin clair, Albert Tuttle, W. M. Hewett, Luther A. Jones, Mathias Richmond, Benjamin P. Wright, A. M. Weeks, William Moor, Robert Holmes, James Rose, Benjamin McCallister, Charles F. Garner, John Lee, William Dee, J. M. Marcon, Thomas Sturges, Thomas Hart, Samuel Cauley, E. W. Dexter, William T. Price, C. B. Kimball, E. Gordon, Abram Looney, Henry F. Wood, R. H. Bowen, J. Jackson, Joshua Ridgeley and C. W. Blake. The first official order is as follows, in the minutes of proceedings of the Commissioners. OKDER BOOK. November the 11th, A. D. 1851. F. M. Rublee, Presented A Bill For Two Blank Books which was allowed, (Two Dollars & Fifty cents) $2 5° The credit is thus given : Order No. 1 canceled Nov. 25, 1852. Ishued to F. M. Rublee & Co., $2 50. Received Nov. 17, 1851 County Order No. 1. P. M. Rublee & Co. From the foregoing it will be apparent that condensation rather than style was preferred ; and with regard to the chirography, expedition rather than elegance was sought to be obtained. It is scarcely necessary to add that both desires were conserved to the wishes of those interested, and the record throughout bears evidence of the absence of superrogation and impromptu gush. The conception of La Crosse County, accomplished near a decade previous, was born in the early days of this year, and under the tutorship of men to whom the infant was intrusted, attained wonderful growth and strength before the falling leaves forced the pioneers from pur suits of enterprise, to seek comfort and arrange plans over the winter's log. In April of the year when the county was brought forth and introduced to an admiring constituency as an independent sovereignty, there was not to exceed five families, consisting of less than thirty persons. The mercantile interests, it is said, were' represented by two small shops, neither of which appeared to be burdened with customers. The surrounding country was an uninhabited wilderness, from which the Indians had just been exiled, and in which beasts of prey still predominated. Here and there perhaps was to be found a solitary settler, isolated, 392 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. but ambitious of trying new fields. It was then a point of transition from barbarism to civiliza tion, and in the village of La Crosse, the very foundation of all those moral, social, literary and religious institutions peculiar to Christian countries were yet to be laid. To new-comers, the situation appeared inversely as compared with its appearance to those who had conquered a success there after years of patient waiting ; and to one who had been sur rounded with social and educational advantages yet to be enjoyed in La Crosse, it was like making a home on islands of ice and amid polar snows. Yet to these agencies, acting in con junction with the earlier pioneers, came the immediate prosperity which followed the wonderful advance made this year, and the pleasing and encouraging outlook for succeeding years, be directly traced. Through their influence and exertions, a rapid change was manifested in the entire aspect of things. The population steadily increased, improvements were made, a code of morals established by the religious and scholastic element took the place of right as the result of might, and produced effects differing from those caused by fear, as the sunshine of a day in June differs from a killing frost. THE COUNTY SEAT. The conditions under which the county seat was located at La Crosse were that suitable buildings be erected without delay. But the truth is there was no other point which could be so designated. Settlements were limited to the village save, as already indicated, on farms which had not yet become productive. Yet there was necessity for buildings to accommodate the growing population, to accommodate public meetings, to provide ways and means for religious observances and educational privileges. To supply all these wants and to conform to the pro visions of the act of organization, it was decided this year to erect a court house, and a court house was erected that remained a monument to their ambitious and architectural ethics for nearly twenty years. It was constructed of lumber procured on Black River (all lumber was obtained from the lum ber regions which then bordered and still line that stream of peculiar color and eccentricities, creep ing its way at times sluggishly from the north, until it empties into the Mississippi at its confluence with the La Crosse), late in 1851. The design had been prepared though, and when the material was delivered, little delay was experienced in putting it into shape, raising the frame and having it safely covered before winter. Work was continued on it during the succeeding weeks with such advantageous results that a school was opened therein by Abner S. Goddard soon after the holi days. The court house was 26x36 in dimensions, two stories high, and became the scene of many an adventure and other experience that should have been preserved for posterity. It was proposed and completed by men who have not passed entirely beyond the memory of some who still survive, and who will be preserved in the history of that city on the banks of the inland sea, the waves of which glide onward to the ocean, as long as the city continues. Among the other improvements were houses and shanties put up by F. M. Rublee and Deacon Smith, on Front street ; a hotel (the Black River House), by William McSpaddin ; a shanty by Timothy Burns, on the present site of the Mills House ; shanties by Howard Cramer, C. A. Stevens, Mr. Manville, Mr. Fuhr, and Dr. White, all on the prairie; Elder Reynolds had a shanty near where the Third Ward School now is ; Robert Looney where Deacon Smith now lives ; D. C. Evans kept store on the present site of the Robinson House ; J. M. Levy in a new building on a portion of the lot now occupied by the International ; Deacon Smith and F. M. Rublee on Front street, which comprised the stores ; George Howard furnished medicines and filled prescriptions; the second story of Smith's store was sometimes used as a church ; Dr. White attended diseased humanity and carpenters fashioned the coffins of those beyond the reach of medical skill, after which they were interred in the churchyard where Hershheimer's foundry now is. The spring of 1851 witnessed the arrival of the first Norwegian colony who came to La Crosse. It was composed of H. N. Solberg, John Kios, B. Stern, Lars Olstad, Lors By, Hans Gunsderschwein, 0. Nelson, Paul Tallifson, Ole Tallifson, Lars Straus, Christian Hulburg, G. Ourood and one or two others. They came by the way of St. Joseph's Ridge, and reaching HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 393 here on the 10th of May settled, many of them in Bostwick's Valley, where they grew in prom inence. Their medium of travel was by ox-teams, and the only way they were able to descend the bluffs was to unyoke the steers and let the wagons down with ropes. This incident impressed many of them with the peculiarities of a situation, which, to say the least, was inconvenient. Not more so, however, than that of H. N. Solberg, who soon after went down the river, and upon his return boarded the Dr. Franklin, No. 2, Capt. George Loughton, subsequently a resi dent of Platteville, and was obliged to go without food until J. M. Levy, who was a passenger, ascertaining the fast to which Solberg had been subjected, insisted upon his being admitted to the cabin table, and obtaining what he wanted. Had it not been for this, Solberg to-day asserts, he would have starved, as he was a deck passenger, and unable to obtain any food or comforts. In this same year, Levy erected a house on Front street, south of Pearl, which has, meta phorically speaking, survived an experience in comparison with which that of Japhet in search of his father was tame. In this was held, it is claimed, the first Sabbath school ever assembled in La Crosse, and here the earnest but somewhat profane Deacon Johnson was wont to lead in prayer. " Hear us, 0 Lord, for the sake of the promises Thou hast made, hear us, we beseech Thee. Come right in upon us." He would continue, " Come straight down through the roof, and I will pay for the shingles ; " and so on. Upon one occasion, the workers in the vineyard gathered there were prone on their knees at the opposite end of the bench, and failed to connect when the conclusion was reached. As a result, the bench, yielding to an unexpected weight, tipped the prayerful occupants onto the floor very unceremoniously, causing unexpected hilarity and expression of pain from those who had been precipitated, mingled with expressions of what are represented to have been profanity both original and emphatic. Upon another occasion, Deacon Johnson was arrayed in faultless style, compatible with his Christian character on the Sabbath, prepared to attend divine service and lead in prayer to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. While putting the finishing touches on his irresistible toilet, he was suddenly interrupted by the announcement from his son that some coal pits he owned, and then being on the lot now occupied by the Commercial Hotel, were on fire, and could scarcely be saved. Thereupon, say those who are familiar with the facts, he abandoned preach ing and began to swear so elaborately and, at the same time in a manner so finished, as to leave a doubt in the minds of his hearers as to which he most excelled in, praying or profanity ? he would say this is the streak of luck I ever had. " Good Lord forgive me for my sins and wickedness in thus taking Thy Holy Name in vain . I'll be if I can heed it — but 0 Lord deliver me" and so on, to the amusement and curiosity of a generous sized audience. In this house was given the first theatrical representation ever advertised to take place in La Crosse. The play was a domestic drama, it is said, of the most original type, and assumed by a company of actors of which C. T. Langrishe, an actor of prominence in those days, and brother-in-law of John Dillon, was the manager. The audience is said to have been critically select, the performance fastidiously choice, and the equipments, mountings, etc., such as were never before, if ever since, displayed in the cause of Melpomene or Comus. The old house still stands ; once the resort of the elite, it has become the abiding place of depraved bacchanals, and where once the name of God was reverenced it is now taken in vain. This year a road was laid out from the river above the town running up the valley twenty- seven miles to William Pettits, the present site of the village of Sparta ; the mail was carried weekly from Prairie du Chien to St. Paul by Reed & Shanfur, and in December, a division of the Sons of Temperance is said to have been instituted, consisting of ten members with W. W. Ustick, W. P.; Corydon Boughton, W. A.; Joseph K. French, R. S.; J. G. McCatheron, the minor offices being filled by James Galligher, Samuel D. Hastings, W. Sutcliff, 0. Simpkins, B. S. Reppy and R. II. Powell, respectively. On Christmas Day, 1851, the inhabitants of La Crosse and vicinity engaged in a turkey shoot on the Mississippi River opposite the village, which was universally participated in and 394 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. the occasion of unlimited sport. Mr. Levy sustained the loss of all his turkeys, but who won the several prizes contested for, and what they consisted of, have been lost to memory. In the evening occurred the first grand ball that varied pioneer life in the present city. It too, was a state occasion and generally attended. Among those who were present to pirouett, chassez and dance the "monnaie musk," were Misses Emily Carlton, Julia Beardsley, Margaret and Mary Burns, Susan De France, Mary and Alvira Kellogg, Mary Smith ; Messrs. Robin son, Clark and Gear; Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Spaulding, on their bridal trip from Black River; Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Levy, Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, Mrs. Lieut. Gov. Burns, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. George Carlton, among the ladies; and Joshua La due, Peter Burns, H. Cra mer, Mark Kellogg, T. Clark, Dr. Cameron, Mr. Fales, Lewis Johnson, Hillarius Solberg, John C. Laird, John Crookston, H. E. Hubbard, Mr. Gear, a son of Judge Dunn and some others, among the gentlemen. The music consisted of a violin, which was played by Mr. Brisbois, of Prairie du Chien* and those who were in attendance upon' the "assembly," as similar gatherings were, in those days termed, recall it as one of the happiest experiences of their days of frontier life. The palm of beauty was awarded to Miss Emily Carlton, it is said, who was one of the rarest evi dences of female perfection seen in this portion of Wisconsin, a State noted for the number of its beautiful women. The dance was continued until midnight, when an intermission was indulged to afford the guests an opportunity to partake of refreshments furnished by the ladies of La Crosse, and served by Simeon Kellogg, at that time landlord of the Western Enterprise Hotel, which had been vacated a short time previously by Mr. Levy to move into his house adjoining, when the dance was resumed and kept up until daylight. By 1852, the population of the present county was quoted at not far from seven hundred, the major portion of which was, of course, in the immediate vicinity of the present city. Front street, from the point at which Nathan Myrick made the first settlement of the place ten years before, to the present vicinity of the immense flouring-mills, which lines its way south of Pearl street, was tolerably well built up. Back toward Fifth street, which was then prairie, the cabins of settlers who have since become citizens of prominence and wealth, were laid out and some of them built. The navigation of the Mississippi had became regular, and the arrival and depar ture of steamers of frequent occurrence. Mail facilities had improved, and communication with distant points comparatively easy. Even at that day, a railroad was incubating, and only six years elapsed before the whistle of a locomotive was heard over the plains, which stretch off to an almost limitless extent to the East. Schools were coming to the front, churches were in prog ress of construction, and all the elements of times not entirely free from deficiencies, were invoked and improvised to complete an advance in civilization that had been begun a decade previous amid surroundings not altogether encouraging. This year, as also 1853, was prolific of improvements in a physical, moral, social, religious and material sense. Many permanent buildings were erected, among them, the first saw-mill in the vicinity, near the mouth of the La Crosse River, where it was put up by Timothy Burns, F. M. Rublee, S. T. Smith, Willis Gregory and J. M. Simonton. It was two and a half stories high, containing a forty horse-power engine, operating two saws, a lathe and grist-mill, with capacity for cutting 16,000 feet of lumber per day. On the 22d of January of this year, in the upper room of a two-story building, then situated on the west side of Front street, on the bank of the river between Main and State street, were organized the first Congregational and first Baptist Churches of La Crosse, by the Revs. William H. Cord and John C. Sherwin. Union services were conducted by these congregations, and also by the Methodist, until the summer of this year, when the Baptists built a church at the northwest corner of Fourth and State streets, and withdrew. The union services, however, were continued by the Congregationalists and Methodists until 1854, when the latter built their first church, and the former held services in the old Third Ward Schoolhouse. All of these churches now have commodious edifices, and each sustains a large Sabbath school. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 395 But times were not as serene as these pages might indicate. In the midst of these peaceful and prosperous evidences of growth, the hand of the assassin was busy, and no less than three murders are reputed to have occurred between late in the fall of 1851 and midsummer of 1852. THE RICHARDSON HOMICIDE. The first was that of Samuel Richardson, by Andrew Grover, a Deputy Sheriff in the Black River country. Some assert that he was one of the log thieves who overran the country about that time, and, being caught in the act, was stabbed to death before he could defend him self. This at Onalaska. Another account is that deceased had shot the dog of his assassin, and one day meeting him at Oak Spring, on the Black River, in a house, visited by both, hustled Grover out and bade him decamp. But the latter, greatly enraged, at once resolved to inflict summary vengeance, and, lying in wait armed with a large butcher-knife, sprang upon Richardson as he made his exit from the house, and dealt him a back-handed blow on the front of the throat, the knife penetrating to the hilt. The victim staggered forward a few steps and fell lifeless. An inquest was held, and Grover arraigned, after which he was sent to Prairie du Chien for safe-keeping, being placed in the old fort for that purpose. But he kicked off the shackles and made his escape, leaving behind him the laconic statement, " I must go home to hoe corn, and I will be back when court sits!" The above is an account furnished by A. Eidred, the first Sheriff of La Crosse County; but an old settler asserts that Grover was arraigned, tried, and, in spite of the proverbial delays of the law, convicted and sentenced to Waupun. He was conveyed thither, and died in the shambles before his release or pardon could be accomplished. THE STAFFORD SHOOTING. Shortly after the Richardson homicide, a hostler employed at the New England Hotel, but who resided with his wife in a tent on Front street, near the present site of Colman's Mill, one night upon his return home from work, he is alleged to have discovered a man named Chance Stafford occupying a position in the tent to which no stranger should be admitted, and departing, procured a shot gun, with which he returned to the Front street tent. Matters had undergone no change while he was absent, and, firing the gun at the sleeping beauties, he lodged a charge of shot in the shoulder of Stafford. A second shot was fired at the wife, who escaped with the loss of her nightcap frill. Both leaped from the tent couch, the man seriously wounded, and fled in the direction of the river. But they were overhauled, and Stafford was conveyed to Williams' barber-shop, in Levy's block, where he was attended by Dr. McCrary and nursed back to convalesence and final recovery by the Senegambian tonsorial artist. The hus band was subsequently arraigned but escaped prosecution, the wounded man failing to identify him, THE MURDER OF DAVID DARST. A great many fights and fracases occurred about this time, but on June 3, 1852, one of the most deliberately-planned and cold-blooded murders ever chronicled was committed in Mor mon Cooley, which greatly excited the entire community, and came near ending in the lynching of the accused. David Darst, it seems, had at a comparatively early day removed from Galena, 111., and settled on a claim out in Mormon Cooley. He built him a log hut, and, with two yoke of oxen, was soon in a prosperous condition for a settler of the times. In the spring of the year in which the murder was committed, there came up the river from Galena a young man named William Watts, who had known Darst previous to his removal hither, and seeking him out, proposed making a visit to his friend of former days. After remaining here a short time, accepting the hospitality of his whilom friend, Watts deliberately murdered Darst, and, strip ping the body of clothing and valuables, hid it in a plum thicket that occupied a ravine near the house. The murderer dressed himself in the garb of the dead victim of his devilish covetous- ness, and yoking up the oxen, came into the village for the purpose of disposing of the plunder. 396 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The same day that Watts came out of the cooley, Mr. Merriman, an old bachelor, who had a cabin not far distant, was riding up the ravine on horseback, accompanied by a dog, his daily companion, the keen scent of which detected the dead and decaying remains of the murdered host of Watts. The dog ran into the thicket and thence back to his master, manifesting the utmost concern, and betraying an anxiety that indicated something out of the usual channel. Mr. Merriman finally dismounted, and following the dog into the thicket, was nearly paralyzed and stricken dumb by the horrible sight which met his gaze. There lay his neighbor, stiff and stark and dead, his skull crushed and his throat cut, in the last stages of decomposition, and ex uding an odor which was stifling. He at once gave the alarm, and hurrying to the village, startled the inhabitants with the story of what he had seen. While this condition of affairs was rendering the village a scene of pronounced commotion, Watts was engaged in drinking and carousing, and when he had reached a condition of helpless intoxication, he solved the mystery which had surrounded the crime, and was arrested, narrowly escaping lynching. An inquest was held over the remains of Darst, his murderer being obliged to confront the remains, and when moved to stand at the head of the coffin. During the funeral there were a number in attendance who had ropes concealed about their persons, and but for an eloquent appeal made by Elder Sherwin to let the law take its course, and not disgrace the village by mob violence, the prisoner would have been executed. At that time the court house was finished, but no jail had yet been provided, and the stone "basement on Pearl street, between Second and Third streets, was leased from Col. Childs for the confinement of Watts, who was guarded by a man named McSpadden, hired for that pur pose. The prisoner was heavily ironed and safely kept for awhile, but the expense was very •considerable, and a jail was built for the safe keeping of the prisoner and others who had been arrested for trifling offenses. In its construction the ceiling was made of joists spiked together, and the attic filled with pounded rock, to the end that a prisoner, if he attempted to bore through the ceiling would be deluged with stones. It was not long, however, before the prisoner dug out through the foundation walls, and when his escape was announced the public turned out to effect his re-capture. About midnight on the second day of the pursuit a party of boys engaged in the search heard the nojse of some one filing in the prairie grass near Deacon Smith's. The alarm was given, and Watts was re- taken and re-conveyed to jail, where he was heavily ironed. Notwithstanding this, and the further assurance endeavored to be secured by the Sheriff visiting him at all hours of the day and night, the prisoner eluded the vigilance, attempted and escaped once more. «? Search was again undertaken, but with poor success, for awhile at least. He could not be found anywhere, and the officers and citizens were about giving up the search, when a stage- driver, who twice a week made trips to Hazens, out on the ridge, discovered that Watts was dis guised and acting as a hostler at that place. Upon his return he detailed the whereabouts of the fugitive, who was arrested and brought back, and, obtaining a change of venue to Bad Axe County, was tried, convicted and sentenced to Waupun for life. The account of Sheriff Elder differs materially from the above ; and that no factor or phrase of the horrible crime may be wanting, the statement of that gentleman is submitted substantially as follows : In the spring of 1852, Watts and Darst came in from Peoria, 111., to Mormon Cooley, where the latter purchased a claim, on which former assisted him to build a cabin. Before its completion, according to an account of the crime furnished by Watts, he asked Darst for some money, which enraged the latter, who retorted that he (Watts) owed him $80 ; that he had kept him poor, and would not rest until he had ruined him. In the excitement of the moment, Darst made an assault upon his subordinate, who tried to escape, but, being headed off at the door and window, neither of which had been closed irf, whereupon Watts seized an unfinished ax-helve, and swinging it around in a threatening manner, struck Darst a fatal blow under the ear. Being " then tempted of the devil," as he protested, he rifled the murdered man of his money iSfa/WC7i- ftOsfCcr* Y24J- LA C?\OSSE HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 399 and carried the body part way up the bluffs, near to a point where the two had obtained stone to build a chimney. Upon returning to the house, he yoked up the oxen, and visiting the resi dence of the Kimball brothers, the three went fishing at the Chipmunk Creek. While driving the oxen, Watts met Mr. Merriman, the nearest neighbor of his victim, who enquired after Darst, with whom he had an engagement to join their teams in some work they had decided it was necessary should be done. Watts replied, " he has gone away for a few days, and says you are a d — d scoundrel, and wants nothing to do with you." This uncivil and uncalled-for speech on the part of Watts excited Merriman's suspicions, who sought assistance and discovered the body of Darst. An alarm was given, and Sheriff Ei dred arrested Watts and the two Kimballs, all three of them very much intoxicated. That night he locked himself, with the three accused, in Chase & Stevens' office, and in the morning the Kimballs were horrified upon being informed of what was alleged against them. They at once proposed to "churn out the brains of that critter," alluding to Watts, but were dissuaded from such an act by the Sheriff, and permitted to visit their families on parole, whence they re turned in a few hours to stand trial. Watts was confronted with the dead body of his victim, but gave no sign of guilt, and a cry was raised to lynch him. This, however, was not done, owing to cooler counsels, and the prisoner was turned over to a Mr. McSpadden, residing on Front street near the present ferry, who kept him in a room in his house, the outer door of which was made fast by rolling a pipe of liquor against it. The prisoner escaped soon after, and was not recaptured until the following February, not withstanding the offer of $200 reward for his apprehension, when he was retaken by Messrs. Kellogg and Wasson, and immured in the jail which had been constructed in the meanwhile, where he was manacled, shackled and chained to the wall for safe keeping until his trial, which took place in Crawford County, and resulted in his conviction. The jail to which allusion is here made was a small one-story stone structure, extending four feet beneath the surface of the ground and abutting upon the rear wall of the court house, into which entrance was afterward made. tIt was not safe, and in after years was succeeded by the present compact and secure building. The account preceding was obtained from Mr. Eidred, who made the arrest of Watts in the first instance. When the war broke out, Watts received a pardon, conditioned upon his enlisting in the service, which he did, and all subsequent trace of him was lost. Mr. Darst lies buried in Oakwood Cemetery, where a plain tombstone relates that " David Darst was murdered by William Watts June 3, 1852." A most singular occurrence • attended the end of Mr. Merriman. Just two years from the time in which his little dog was the means of enabling him to discover the dead body of Darst, he went wandering up the same ravine, and fell dead in the identical thicket whence he assisted in removing the murdered remains of his friend. The old man was missed by his neighbors, who instituted a thorough search for him, and, while passing through the little cooley back of the missing man's hut, they encountered his dog. The animal again acted strangely, and scam pered off to the thicket as he had done when Darst was missing, then returning and repeating this several times. The searchers finally followed the dog, and were led to the corpse of his master. It was thought that he met foul play, but an examination led to a verdict by a coro ner's jury that he had fallen down dead from an attack of heart disease, almost in the form hol lowed out by the body of Darst two years before. Thus ends the particulars of one of the pioneer murders committed in La Crosse after it became a county — certainly, one of the most cold-blooded and brutal the criminal annals any where record, and one whence escape from the usual penalties was comparatively easy. But the frontier settlements even then were too sparsely settled to admit of the expense of a cumber some system of jurisprudence employed in older settled communities, and the first settlers were always a law unto themselves. But as time passed and the majesty of the law was established, 400 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. the practice of holding one's self responsible for his conduct became obselete, and the redress of grievances was reserved to the courts, those agencies of civilization, and, so equitably have the scales of justice been adjusted, and so irresistibly right have questions arising there under been adjudicated, that if it is beyond the wisdom of man to avoid erring in all the affairs of this life, the practice of repetition in evils that have been decreed as such should have been abrogated years ago. GROWTH OF THE VILLAGE. In addition to the Baptist Church, court house and jail, built this year, there were other improvements made which carried the village onward beyond the race ran by it from the dawn of 1851. The village site then was about eighty-five acres, according to the observations of one who was then here, and possessed no attractions of a character that would be designated as decided without qualifications. It consisted of knolls of sand, deep hollows and an uneven sur face generally. The soil was ridged on Front and Third" streets, it is said, and depressed on Second street. An empty wagon could scarcely have been driven from the river to Fourth street ; a wagon laden it was impossible to move. Land could have been purchased for a con sideration, the less valuable the more readily accepted. In fact, many of the tracts that could then be had for almost any sum have since grown to be of priceless value. There was one feature, however, continues a comer of that year, that was irresistible in convincing prospectors that if they remained the lines of their lives would be cast in pleasant places ; and that was the spirit of rivalry manifested by old settlers to welcome the daily arri vals, to whom they rendered numberless kindnesses. If there was one thing that compensated for the inapt appearance of things to the observers in 1851, it was the genial bonhomme, which greeted their arrivals, the readiness of Levy, Rublee, Stoddard, Burns, and the thousand and one other distinguished citizens who offered their hospitalities, their aid, their advice and their protection to whomsoever made La Crosse his place of sojourn or establishment. As typifying the character of the pioneers, many of those who still survive will recall Samuel Watson, who was always ready to " accommodate a friend " without a scintilla of evi dence regarding the obligation ; many will remember .the encouragement and aid John M. Levy was ready to offer, and which being availed of, resulted in making the beginning of one of the wealthiest lumber men in the Northwest ; of the encouragement offered by Elder Sherwin, which laid the foundation for one of the ablest lawyers in the Northwest; of the encourage ment of the same gentleman to an ambitious young man who is now doing a business of say $2,000,000 a year. In the language of Mr. Losey : " The men and women of that period were of broad views, and laid the foundations of this city strong and solid. Their Christianity was governed by no sectarian lines, but was always broad enough to include the hungry, the thirsty and the weary wherever found." This year John Gund started in an unpretentious way what has since grown to be one of the largest, best-furnished and thoroughly responsible corporations in the West, " The Gund Brewing Company." It was started in a small log house on the site of the office of Colman's Mill, and quite unpretentious in claims or appearance. But as the town increased to a village and grew to be a city, the enterprise here evinced was rewarded by returns that have since increased an hundred and an hundred-fold. During the year great changes took place. Numerous buildings were erected, the popula tion increased rapidly, and the forces largely augmented by the arrivals of ministers, school teachers, lawyers, merchants, mechanics and steamboats had a tendency to cause an advance ment and growth that was readily seen before 1852, drew to a close. During the latter part of the summer and fall, the first brick house was put up in La Crosse County. It stood and stands in the present city on Front street south of Main, where it was located by Lake & Webster, then liquor dealers, who have since become bankers, was one story high, and in dimensions, 20x40. In October of this year, a lodge of Masons began working in La Crosse, under a dispensa tion, under the following officers : Morrison McMillan, W. M. ; Solomon Howe, S. W. ; J. R. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 401 Crossett, J. W. ; Col. E. Childs, Treasurer, and C. A. Stevens, Secretary. Its membership became large and its prosperity has never abated. The first newspaper — the Spirit of the Times — was launched on the journalistic tide this year ; the New England House was commenced ; the Clerk of the County Court absconded, and H. C. Hubbard was appointed to fill his place ; Simeon Kellogg was appointed Postmaster, and very many other incidents of minor importance contributed to the sum of life in the vicinity. During this year the number of deaths are stated to have been twenty-one, in addition to some seven or eight, who died within a short distance of the village. Of the former number, ten were adults, and eleven children, varying in age from three months to ten years, and of the whole number twelve died during the month of July. Notwithstanding this unusual mortality, and the fact that the summer was peculiarly unfavorable to health, the progress of settlement, and the general physical prosperity of the county was considered as highly satisfactory. A good beginning had been made in various parts of the county with regard to permanent settle ment, and the agricultural resources had been found to be rich in promise to the hand of indus try. In addition to these advantages, the pineries were then, it is claimed, even with the dis advantages of a new beginning, yielding a richer reward for an equal outlay of money and labor than did the gold mines of California. In short, the year had been productive of much good ; the value of its blessings were care fully estimated, and it was the knowledge of their existence here that attracted inhabitants hither of moral and intellectual character, giving a higher and more healthy tone to society, and fostering every scheme for the public good. Among the prominent citizens who came in during 1852, and have since been directly or indirectly identified with the growth and progressive advancement of the city and surrounding country, were George Howard, George Scharpf, Dr. Nicolai, Adam Ekle, Mr. Blohmer, P. Clark, T. Clark, Andrew Pfiffner, J. C. Fuhr, M. F. Hubbard, Alexander McMillan, Benja min Simonton, John Simonton, Benjamin Brower, a dentist from Ohio; Domonic Jehlen, Amos Elliott, Nicholas Weber, and some others whose names have escaped the memory of informants. Still, the people were dependent for supplies upon Galena, Dubuque, St. Louis and points generally down the river. The mill of Burns, Simonton & Co., furnished flour and commodi ties of kindred character, and when difficulty was experienced in their procuration there, con sumers had recourse to the mill at Prairie du Chien. The year closed without either accident or incident worthy of mention, and the advent of 1853 was welcomed with appropriate saluta tions. The spring of 1853 was early in its arrival. The roads through woods and plains were earlier available for travel, and navigation was resumed the latter part of March. The streets of La Crosse were filled with strangers attracted hither — some to engage in legitimate business, some to embark in speculations, and others to continue their explorations into the lumber regions of the Black River country. New stores and warehouses had been contracted for, or were in progress of building ; the saw-mill was in active operation, and others were promised. In short, it was stated that the business for the current year would be enormous, compared with annual statements previously submitted, and this, too, by men who reason from facts and not premises patently incorrect. In April of that year, La Crosse contained four stores for the sale of general merchandise, one drug, one hardware, one furniture, and one stove and tin store, three groceries, one bakery, one livery stable, one harness-maker, four tailors, three shoemakers, three masons, one watchmaker, four blacksmiths, three painters, one wagon-maker, one surveyor, four mill wrights, twenty carpenters, one butcher, one barber, one gunsmith, one turner, six physi cians, six lawyers, four clergymen, three religious societies, a Division of the Sons of Tem perance, a Freemason's Lodge, one church edifice, a court house, a steam saw and grist mill and five hotels. Of these latter, the Tallmadge House was finished that spring by Tallmadge & Gridley. It was 64 feet by 30, four stories high, and was capable of accommodating one hundred and fifty 402 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. guests. The hotel was a conspicuous object on the corner of State and Third streets, and one of the largest and finest of any west of the lakes. The enterprising proprietors had established a free 'bus for conveying passengers to and from the boats, the house being situated so far back from the landing that this was the only means by which strangers could be induced to become patrons. The Western Enterprise, an old favorite, kept by Simeon Kellogg, and the New En gland, opened the spring of 1853 by G. H. Wilson, both being on Front street near the steamboat landing. As above stated, travel was then brisk, every boat that arrived being crowded with Eastern and Southern people seeking homes in the West, and considerable rivalry was produced between the hotels. The Tallmadge was advertised extensively " as affording peculiar advantages to the man of leisure, seeking the retirement of a country residence in summer, from the turmoil and heat of a Southern city life," and many of its rooms at that time were occupied by Southern gentlemen and their families, who came up the river on pleasure trips seeking health and quiet. The present city is said to have presented a strange appearance at that early day, and con sisted principally of one business thoroughfare— Front street, which straggled along from La Crosse River nearly to Paul's Mill. From State to Pearl street the wooden buildings were quite thick, yet in these rude business structures, many of the leading merchants of to-day developed an ambition and an enterprise that has since made their fortunes. At that time, Nicholas Hintgen sold apples in a small fruit store near the corner of Front and Pearl streets with J. B. Jungen, who has since prospered in his employ as Clerk ; J. M. Levy kept store on Front near Pearl, and owned a wharf-boat anchored at the foot of Pearl street, which was made the storehouse for the discharge of freight hence by river. George Farnum was then a mem ber of the firm of Ledyard, Farnum & Co., and Alexander McMillan was running a blacksmith shop on State street near Front. But the times have changed since then, and the pioneer points, as also the pioneers themselves, have changed with them. Many still live, rich in the fruition of hopes that were inspired in the days whereof mention is here made ; others, less fortunate, wait for the summons to join the innumerable caravan, and are ready to go. The Tallmadge House after passing through a checkered experience, being kept by R. I. Johnson, C. P. Sykes, a Mr. Mercer, R. Harrington & Sons, and Mr. Bradley respectively, went up in smoke, the Western Enterprise was subsequently known as the Kellogg House, was razed to give place to the International, and the New England House was destroyed in the conflagration of 1857. The brick house put up this year, noted above, still stands, but the rude log and frame houses where commercial and marine La Crosse of a day that has gone, most did congregate, live only in the memories of those who knew them best. Early in 1853, Daniel Raymond, A. Prent, Mr. Simms and Samuel McGovern made claims in the present township of Greenfield, erected cabins and began the life of pioneers in La Crosse County. The country, within a radius of twenty-five miles of the county seat, though comparatively thickly settled, was far from being entirely taken up, and La Crosse was then, as it has since continued to be, the most important and flourishing point in this portion of the State. The trips overland to this county were then made by way of Milwaukee, Watertown, Wyocena, Mauston, Sparta and other points, in a " prairie schooner " drawn by oxen, and the towns mentioned, then small country hamlets, have since grown into thriving cities and towns. Near Portage, immigrants encountered sandy roads, and often became disheartened at the out look. At Mauston two or three houses and a saw-mill were the only objects of interest, and Sparta was equally unpretentious. Between Sparta and La Crosse the most prominent resident was Joshua Ridgley. The Pruett, Markle, Roach and Gable families were added to the inhab itants of Mormon Cooley, and with them came two bachelors, Messrs. Hosmer and Miller. They kept bachelors' hall for awhile, but Miller got married and raised a family, as also did his partner, J. F. Hosmer, who deserted one of the cabins erected by the Mor mons, to espouse a young lady named Goodrich, who came West with friends in 1854, and became a wife the same year. During this year, George Gale was County Judge ; F. M. Rublee, County Treasurer; A. Eidred, Sheriff; Robert Looney, Clerk of the Court; Ebenezer Childs, HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 403 and F. M. Hubbard, Clerk of the Board, while Chase A. Stevens was Register of Deeds, having succeeded W. T. Price. At the fall meeting, the name of the town of Pierce was changed to Barre, by which it has since been known, and the towns of Onalaska, Burns and Farmington organized. The county was being built up, and superior advantages were offered to purchasers of lands, both in La Crosse County as it was then surveyed, and as it is at present bounded. One of the most import ant events of the year, and one producing a visible effect upon the growth and development of the county, was the establishment of the La Crosse Democrat; another was the removal of the land office hither from Mineral Point. Chase A. Stevens was the editor of the paper, indulged political aspirations, and was a large land owner. The result was that he not only endeavored to secure political aggrandize ment, but bent every energy to the advertising of the town. In doing this, the paper attracted the attention of Eastern capitalists to the promising village of La Crosse, which the editor, and all citizens of even that early day, claimed was destined in the near future to become the " Gateway " leading to the rich, fertile country beyond the Mississippi. The prophetic wisdom of these gentlemen has indeed been vindicated ; the city founded by them has become what they claimed it would, and to-day occupies the proud position of being second in commercial importance to but one city in the State. The means thus ably employed, were not without their effect. They brought hither those whose attention had been attracted, and when the land office was opened, the business transacted not only amounted to thousands daily, but realized the fulfill ment of an inspired prophecy, that a nation may be born in a day. THE UNITED STATES LAND OFFICE. The land office was removed here in June, with Col. Theodore Rodolf, Receiver, and the Hon. Cyrus K. Lord, Register. This year, these gentlemen erected an office on Third street, adjoining the Tallmadge House, and began business with no help but that furnished by them selves. But this did not last long. The entries became so numerous that a force of from ten to fifteen clerks was necessary, and then, although laboring from daylight to dark, not nearly as much was disposed of as was hoped for or expected by those who were anxious to enter claims. The scenes that were witnessed about this office were exciting, and of a character that in these days even of push and mercurial uncertainty, seem calculated to excite the risibles of the least excitable persons. The motto was first come first served, and the applicant who could first make his claim or present his bid, was the chief, it might almost be said, among ten thousand. Men began their vigil at the dawn of the day, and tarried late in the ranks to accomplish their object, while those who came late, like the foolish virgins who had failed to trim their lamps, were, to appropriate the vernacular of a later day, "badly left." Sometimes men remained in line all night to secure an audience when the office opened, while some hired substitutes and con tained themselves in patience, biding their time. In 1853, the entries were comparatively nominal in number until the latter part of that year, but in 1854 they increased in a wonderful ratio— became epidemic, as it were, without benefit of clergy, metaphorically speaking. Then it diminished, and gradually dropped off until the rail roads came in about June, 1856, and made their selections of lands, after which the office was temporarily closed and the duties of its officers suspended. Early in 1853, the entries, it might be here observed, of lands in La Crosse County, as defined by the last survey, were made at Mineral Point, through Washburn & Woodman, Milton Barlow, Charles G. Hanscom and Kramer & Clinton — the latter, bankers, and, with those mentioned, residents of La Crosse. The entries of lands after the office was removed included those in the pineries, as also those for agricultural purposes. Among the heavy entries made, those of the following for them selves and the third parties for whom they acted as agents, were among the largest : Samuel Watson, J. T. Spaulding, Washburn & Woodman, W. T. Price, Kramer & Clinton, James O'Neill, Mr. Whitcomb, Milton Barlow, Charles G. Hanscom, W. J. Gibson and others. 404 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. From 1853 to June, 1866, the total warrant and other entries amounted to 2,500,614 acres, involving the outlay of $3,098,317, and these were the purchases of land by individuals, not including the entries of pre-emptioners. The vast sums of money thus received shows to what an extent men of capital and character came to La Crosse in response to the representations made by citizens who had come, and news papers which had been established, since the days when Myrick resented the attacks of savages, and traders supplied the Indian's craving for whisky with distillations of red pepper dashed with most execrable tobacco washings. Nor was the guarding of these amounts until they could be deposited at Dubuque attended with an ease of mind consequent upon success to safe depositories as can be had to-day. Mr. Rodolf was frequently annoyed with the care of these funds, and subjected to ceaseless vigil and sleepless care until they were safely assigned to the custodian to whom they were directed. Upon one occasion, sickness in his family made it almost impossible for him to venture away from home, even officially. While recounting this fact one day in his office, and regretting the affliction which had postponed his regular journey to Dubuque, a man present, with whom he was slightly acquainted, explained that he was about to depart for that point, and would be pleased to discharge any commission he might entrust to his discretion. Col. Rodolf interro gated him as to how he would go, and when, and retired with the remark that he would consider the subject. It seems that the conversation between Col. Rodolf and the would-be messenger had been overheard by a citizen, and during the afternoon he admonished the Colonel not to trust him with the amount to be deposited, $10,000, which confirmed suspicions that had arisen in the Receiver's mind, and decided his action in regard to the matter. The applicant was refused his proffer, and Col. Rodolf departed with the money for Dubuque. The same day the would-be messenger departed in an exceedingly suspicious manner, accompanied, as was afterward ascer tained, by the wife of one of the original pioneers and best-known citizens of this portion of the State. His anxiety to carry the money became apparent when his escapade was discovered, and the Register felicitated himself upon the exercise of a caution that spared him subsequent woe. The absconding couple were heard of in California in after years, whence she returned and died, her husband de facto remaining there, while her husband de jure, who was left in La Crosse, lived to a hale old age before he was touched by the Master of mortality. This incident is not related as evidence of the class who came to La Crosse in early times. In truth, but very few, if any, of a questionable character found an abiding-place here. The men who remained were of a different grade — fair types of a generation that is rapidly assimi lating with the past ; of a grenadier of the old regime who never in any sudden storm or rally, desperate melee or sorrowful encounter forgot to doff his plumed hat to an adversary, and cry out through his gray moustache, as he shortened his sword arm: " En garde." The improvements this year, in addition to those already mentioned, consisting of the hotels, Receiver's office, brick house on Front street, etc., also included a schoolhouse on or near the present site of the Third Ward Schoolhouse, numerous dwellings, which numbered on Jan uary 1, 1854, upward of one hundred in various parts of the village, as far out as Fifth street. EVIDENCES OF PROGRESS. The following table will furnish some idea of the progress made by the town between 1851, when there was not to exceed four frame houses on the village site, and the fall of 1853, when it is purported to have been taken. Number of inhabitants in the village, 573; number of buildings, 79; deaths, 18; births, 25; persons under 10 years of age, 140; between 10 and 20, 103 ; 20 and 30, 172 ; 30 and 40, 87 ; 40 and 50, 29 ; 50 and 60, 6 ; 60 and 70, 8 ; 70 and 80, 3; males over 21, 183; females ditto, 124; children under 21, 240. The oldest person living was Mr. Wirts, a German, whose age was 77 years, and the next Mrs. Stoddard, 76 years old. The oldest resident of La Crosse was H. J. B. Miller, who had been here eleven years. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 405 Of the settlers, 132 were natives of New York, 8 of Rhode Island, 37 of Massachusetts, 56 of Vermont, 14 of Ohio, 16 of Pennsylvania, 14 of Illinois, 9 of New Hampshire; 10 of Missouri, 29 of Maine, 9 of Virginia, 1 of Connecticut, 5 of Indiana, 8 of South Carolina, 2 of Tennessee, 3 of Canada, 25 of England, 13 of Ireland, 4 of Wales, 31 of Norway, 28 of Germany, 7 of Scotland, 1 of Switzerland, 1 of Prussia, 1 of Sweden, 1 of Belgium, 1 of Nova Scotia, 4 of France, and the remainder of Wisconsin. At this time, too, choice lands could be purchased within ten miles of La Crosse at $1.25 an acre. On the 31st of December of the same year a census of the population resulted in showing an increase of nearly two hundred, divided as follows : Heads of Families — A. W. Armstrong, Alvira E. Armstrong, Mons Anderson, Jane An derson, Joseph Abner, Mary Abner, Cordelia Burns, B. E. Brower, Mary A. Brower, John B. Behloner, Rebekah M. Behloner, Nancy Beardsley, John Brown, Catharine Brown, Walter Bates, Susan Bates, Russell H. Bowen, Lorinda Bowen, Jacob Bagley, Almira Bagley, George W. Bagley, Rebekah W. Bagley, Charles Blake, Augusta Blake, Charles E. Bowers, Sarah J. Bowers, Albert Blackington, Lydia B. Blackington. Squire J. Burnett, Eliza Burnett, Frank Baker, Frances Baker, Willard Bailey, Eliza Bailey, Daniel Bacon, Jane Victoria Bacon, George Carlton, Mary Carlton, Spencer Carr, Sarah Ann Carr, Michael Christian, Hugh B. Calahan, Elizabeth H. Calahan, J. R. Cowdrey, Susan T. Cowdrey, John Courser, Mary Courser, Peter Cameron, Emma Cameron, Ebenezer Childs, Tirzah Childs, Hiram Cole, W. J. Cole, James M. Cooper, Ann H. Cooper, Enoch H. Chambers, Nancy A. Chambers, Simon Doyle, Ann Doyle, Vaientine Dininger, Christiana Dininger, Richard Davis, Jane Davis, Burton Downing, Avis Ann Downing, Francis Damron, D. S. Dwight, A. T. Dwight, A. J. Ellis, Doraine L. Ellis, Amanzo Eidred, Catharine Eidred, Adam Egal, Mary Egal, George Farnam, A.nn Farnam, Joe Fifer, Abigail W. Ford, Joseph K. French, Ducia A. French, Theo dore Frederick, Elizabeth Frederick, Anson Ferris, Eliza 0. Ferris, William A. Fuller, Catha rine A. Fuller, Francis Gutgesell, Ellen Gutgesell, Russell A.. Gridley, Laura M. Gridley. George Gale, Gertrude Gale, James M. Goodrich, Sarah W. Goodrich, James Galligher, Mary Galligher, William Hood, Margaret Hood, Benjamin B. Healy, Lucy M. Healy, George W. Havens, Helen M. Havens, Nelson Haight, Harriet N. Haight, S. D. Hastings, Margaretta Hastings, Marvin Helms, Charles G. Hanscome, Annie J. Hanscome, Charles A. Hurd, Eliza Hurd, Thomas Hart, Norah J. Hart, John Hooper, Nancy Hooper, Nicholas Hintgen, Mary E. Hintgen, John Halverson, Cornelia Halverson, Asa Hedge, Permelia Hedge, John S. Harris, Melissa J. Harris, George Helt, Mary Ann Helt, Magdalene Isakson, Samuel S. Janes, Mary Janes, Julia M. Janson, William Johnson, Matilda Johnson, George W. Jones. Priscilla Jones, Jacob Johnson, Emaline Johnson, Henry Kimball, William H. Kimball, Charlotte M. Kimball, Simeon Kellogg, Lorinda Kellogg, Rohert Looney, Sarah Looney, Albert D. La Due, Ann Liza La Due, John M. Levy, Frederica Levy, Cyrus K. Lord, Abby C. Lord, Volrat Lundblad, Jane Lundblad, Samuel N. Light, Mary Ann Light, Abram Looney, Elizabeth Looney, John B. Loomis, Marthaette A. Loomis, Daniel Malbon, Abigail Malbon, J. B. Miller, James Mohr, Mary Mohr, J. G. McCathron, Melissa McCathron, Anton Mitchel, Lana Mitchel, Isaac Martin, Albertine Martin, Ira Myrick, Rosaline Myrick, William G. McSpadden, Julia McSpadden, Jacob McCreary, Joel Marsh, Abara H. Marsh, William Miller, Eliza Miller, Wilson Miner, Sophia Miner, William McConnell, Candace McConnell. Joseph F. Otis, Maria C. Otis, Catha rine Oleson, Joseph Pearse, Sarah Pearse, John S. Peirson, Senira Peirson, Hiram M. Phelps, Rebekah W. K. Phelps, Andrew Pfiffner, Catharine Pfiffner, Robert H. Powell, Lucinda Powell, James W. Polleys, Margaret Pollevs, Jacob Patterson, Mary Ann Patterson, Benjamin W. Rey nolds, Lucy W. Reynolds, Henry Ryents, Elizabeth Ryents, Cornelius Riley, Alice Riley, John Riley, Fanny Riley, Burrell S. Reppy, Rebekah Reppy, William C. Rogers, Harriet L. Rogers, Theodore Rodolf, Mary Rodolf, John Robinson, Sarah C. Robinson, F. M. Rublee, Sarah Rublee, George Reble, Ohio Simpkins, Sabina Simpkins, Edwin H. Smith, Philenia W. Smith, H. T. Stafford, Charlotte Stafford, Thomas Shimmin, Emma Shimmin, Norton R. Smith, Mary C. Smith, Alexander Shepherd, Ann E. Shepherd, John S. Simonton, Mary Simonton, Orrin 406 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. L. Smith, Mary E. Smith, Sestus Sheffield, Silva C. Sheffield, George Shary, Christiana Sharp, Berbera Sharp, John Stevens, Amos Sweet, Mary Ann Sweet, William Scully, Elizabeth Scully, John C. Sherwin, Virginia A. Sherwin, Samuel T. Smith, Sarah Smith, Sylvester Smith, Mary Smith, Cyrus B. Sinclair, Mary Sinclair, Sylvester S. Stebbins, Martha D. Steb- bins, James Scribner, John Shoemaker, Charlotte Shoemaker, Sebastian Shenk, Elizabeth Shenk, H. E. Seymour, Susan Seymour, Thomas B. Stoddard, Martha Stoddard, Chase A. Ste vens, Mary E. Stevens, Russell H. Thurbur, Margaret M. Thurbur, Morgan M. Taylor, Han nah Taylor, Charles W. Talmadge, Philomela Talmadge, Joel Talmadge, David Taylor, Chris tian Thili, Dora Thili, William W. Ustick, Mary S. Ustick, John J. Vets, Elizabeth Vets, Nathan Vance, Helen M. Vance, William Whelpley, Rebecca F. Whelpley, Enos P. Williams, Mary J. Williams, Henry Whitney, Abby Whitney, Reuben Woodworth, Loretta Woodworth, D. R. Wheeler, Frances W. Wheeler, George D. Winship, Abby B. Winship, Thomas B. West, Laura A. West, G. H. Wilson, Lydia S. B. Wilson, Martha Woodworth, David Williams, Rebekah Williams, Harriet Walker, Geo. Zinkman, Elizafrink Zinkman. Whole number, 301. Single gentlemen over twenty-one — Alexander Armstrong, Lysander Armstrong, Corydon Boughton, A. W. Barron, HenryB. Beardsley, James Brown, Walter Brown, Samuel Baum- gartner, G. W. Birdsel, Peter Burns, Dugald D. Cameron, John B. Crookston, Asa Crane, Henry Dresden, Gideon Downing, William Denison, Daniel Duck, Royal L. Dean, R. H. Elliott, James Edwards, Truman W. Fellows, John C. Fuhr, Edwin Flint, Anthony P. Fuller, William E. Fales, Henry Hoare, M. G. Hanscome, Myron F. Hubbard, Harvey E. Hubbard, William B. Hanscome, Warren Holverston, Michael Hart, George Hoare, Edmund Hart, S. C. Johnson, Justin Jacobs, Ole Johnson, Charles Kluckhol, Julius F. Kellogg, James I. Lyndes, Neils Larson, Andrew McAdams, Alexander McMillan, Mons Monson, Thomas Murphy, John McMillan, Marvin M. Manville, Charles H. Marsh, Charles Meacham, Jacob Nelson, Andrew Oleson, Otto Oehler, Ole Oleson, Allen Overbaugh, Charles Oleson, Thomas Parks, J. K. Parks, Abner Pol- leys, Francis A. Rublee, William Rogers, Isaac W. Simonds, Benton Simonton, Jacob Sharp, C. B. Solberg, Will. Sutcliffe, Enoch Tasker, Henry Tekenburg, David Wright, John Walker, William Williams, John Wood, Le Roy Wilcox, J. P. Whelpley, John H. Walrath, Charles F. Whitney, 0. B. Williams, William M. Young, Henry . Whole number, 78. Single ladies over eighteen — Ellen Alworth, Susan De France, Clementine M. Bowe, Eliz abeth B. Bailey, Rhoda Cartwright, Emelyn Carlton, Elizabeth Davis, Mary Davis, Margaret Darby, Chloe Green, Margaret Gunderson, Esther A. Grover, Charity Hockenstock, Grace Hart, Mary A. Hart, Lavina Hawley,"Celia Harrison, Christiana Johnson, Margaret C. James, Ann M. Johnson, Mary James, Ann Johnson, Mary E. Kellogg, Martha Kimball, Celina A. Kellogg, Miranda Knudsen, Antoinette Martin, Rosetta Nickeson, Ann Oleson, Ellen Oleson, Olive Ole, Eliza Patterson, Elizabeth Perry, Laura Roberts, Ellen Simpson, Mary Torgeson,. Abby Whitney, Margaret Young. Whole number, 38. Number of heads of families in La Crosse and vicinity, 301 ; number of single gentlemen, 78 ; number of single ladies, 38 ; number of male children, 159 ; number of female children, 169. Total, 745. Nearly every boat from below brought passengers either for town or country. Of the back- country farms then opened too much could not be said. The valleys of La Crosse were not claimed as equal to those of Genesee, but as the sequel has proved, equally as fertile. At that early day crops of vegetables and cereals had been raised, and no country in the Northwest afforded equal advantages to those seeking a home. It should be added that the mail facilities were this fall improved by the shortening of the time between Baraboo and La Crosse, by the way of the Lemonwier and La Crosse Rivers. Post offices were established at Dellon, Seven Mile Creek, Moss' Mill, Finlay's Mill, Clark's Hotel, Sparta and Neshonoc. The contract was undertaken by Parish & Heart, who conducted the business with a two-horse wagon, which afforded accommodations for passengers. The year 1854' found every man in town and country "up and dressed" for business. The contrast between this and the season of 1853 was both marked and wonderful. The arrivals HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 407 included among the more prominent, C. L. Colman, Joseph Pasche, W. B. Hanscom, S. Mar- tindale, Milo Pitkin, Samuel Campbell and others. In this connection, it might be here re marked that the rapid progress of La Crosse from and after 1853, both in town and county, forbids the attempt to mention the names of daily arrivals, as they came too thick and fast to be correctly recorded. The rapidity with which the county was settled up from this date excited the wonder of all who came here. This was to be accounted for, however, on the hypothesis that statements made in its behalf at a prior day, as to fertility of soil, beauty of landscape and salubrity of climate, tempted all to rest from their wanderings and become one of the producers of this portion of the State. The emigration and settlement of that day was composed of men that should be properly found among those who assumed the task of preparing a home for them selves and those who were to succeed them, of building upon the strong foundation, already laid, a county that should stand in its relations to other counties and the commonwealth as a constitu ency equal to the greatest of them. Availing themselves judiciously of the advantages which surrounded them, they have made a paradise of the wilderness, and have thus been compensated for the privations they encountered and dissipated. By 1854, these advantages had become prominent, and this was apparent in the apprecia tion in the value of property. Early in the spring, N. Myrick, who in 1847 removed to Min nesota, but still retained his title to property in La Crosse, sold a middle lot, fronting the river, on Front street, for $1,400 cash. This same lot, three years previous, was offered for $75. There were no improvements on it, but the price was considered cheap. Soon after this, a portion of the real property belonging to the estate of Charles P. Jans- sen was sold at auction, and eighty acres lying two miles east of the village limits, brought $22 per acre for the west half, and $15 for the balance. From this it will be seen that property, which had been a drug on the market in 1851, was three years later selling at prices ranging from $200 to $20 per acre. The present corner of Fourth and Main streets, occupied by Giles' building, could have been purchased in 1851 for $20 ; now it could not be had for $25,000. There was no place in. the Northwest at the time of which mention is here made, that could boast of such an increase in values, and none where the prospects of a continued increase were more gratifying. In the spring of 1854, the present town of Washington was first settled by John Johun, who built a log cabin, and was soon after joined by John P. Schafer and John Riley, both of whom made claims and passed the season in preparing the land for future cultivation. John Bradley, James Gillfillian, William Gillfillian, H. L. Van Wormer, Mr. Harrington, Ira Coleman, E. B. Richard son and James Richardson settled in Burns the same year ; T. H. Eynon, David Jones, Will iam Price, John Williams, Richard Wheldon, C. F. West, R. R. Morris, H. B. Johns and Peter Saxer in Bangor; Christopher Kerchmer, in Greenfield; Johnson Howe, Benjamin Howe, Thomas Irwin, John Miller, Henry Reutz, Frederick Betz, Carl Fucht and Mr. Lambert, in the town of Barre; and large accessions to Holland, Hamilton and other townships. The settlers were men who came to stay, possessing energy, some capital, and unlimited confidence in the results of their labors. The families of some accompanied them hither, and endured the priva tions, perplexities and trials incident to the building of a pioneer cabin and the arrangements of a pioneer home. Others came alone, and, when they had concluded such arrangements, were joined by their wives. Many of the huts that in those days were deemed commodious and com- fortable; would not, in these days of grandeur and fastidious aesthetics, be regarded with other than a critic's eye. But those times have passed. Those homes have seen much of joy and sorrow ; they served the purposes for which they were built, and may stand to-day as monu ments to the grit, pluck, enterprise and indefatigable perseverance of the race of men who are recognized as their founders. Improvements throughout the county were in proportion to the accessions and increase in the number of inhabitants. In the spring of 1854, the village of Bangor was laid out on land owned by John Wheldon, and has since grown to be a prosperous corporation and an important station on the Milwaukee & St. Paul road. Other towns and villages were proposed 408 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. during this year also, but the records are silent as to what progress, if any, was made in their behalK In the town, which has since grown into a city with all that the name implies, business was brisk in the spring, falling off as the hot weather came on, increasing with its disappearance, and "booming" with the fall and winter seasons. The improvements were substantial, and, in some cases, elegant, and included those of transportation, as also those of an established and permanent type. At that time, the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad was completed to Horicon, whence its completion to La Crosse, where it would receive the trade of the Upper Mississippi and add thousands to the population and wealth of the young city, was only a question of time. At this time, $125,000 had been subscribed in tbe county to the road, and its building was an established fact. The improvement in river navigation was likewise flattering. From irregular trips and comparatively inconvenient crafts the trade commanded six new steamers — all built during the winter of 1853-54, and touching at La Crosse daily, to which they also brought the mail three times per week. The mail receipts had increased beyond comparison, and the time between La Crosse and New York had been lessened to five days. In other respects, the prosperity daily to be witnessed was pronounced. The cutting and manufacture of lumber on Black River was this year quoted at twenty-five millions of feet. Two steam saw-mills were operated, the product of which was large, and the population of the city was increased by the arrival of twenty infant "badgers." In the midst of this delightful experience, the hand of death was reached forth unexpectedly and smote the family of one with its might, causing a feeling of gloom to pervade the community and a defect upon the landscape which until then had appeared so charming. In the fall of 1853, an enterprising Buckeye, hailing from Cincinnati, came to La Crosse to once more drag to the surface honors and wealth he had lost at the East, and opened a bakery, the first of its kind in La Crosse, in the old Black River House, which then stood on Front street, between Main and State. Here, aided by his wife, son and daughter, he toiled early and late, and, before the season was passed, had worked up a business that promised to increase as the months and years drifted downward on the tide of Time. At some undecided date of this year, a passing boat unloaded from its gang-way the dead body of a passenger who had died from that awful scourge the small-pox, and departing left behind it the swollen and corrupting seeds of disease and death. Through some unexplained negligence the action of the boat-officers could not be prevented, and in a few days thereafter Mr. Simpson became inoculated and was stricken down. As soon as possible, he was removed to an improvised pest-house on the prairie, but not until his entire family, having been exposed, evidenced the fact that they were not proof against the contagion. After a brief period of watching and waiting, the first to be seized died, and was laid to rest ; but scarcely had his mortal remains stiffened in death before his family, too, took on the pale seal and slept by his side 'neath the clods of the valley. Strange as it may seem, the cases in La Crosse were limited to these, the health of the town and county being other wise remarkably good. In La Crosse Village, building during the summer was not so extensive as might be sup posed. The great scarcity of seasoned lumber was attributed as the cause, but notwithstanding this disadvantage, several fine buildings were put up, which added materially to the appearance of the place. Among these was the building of N. R. Smith & Co., located on Front street, and com pleted in forty days. The ground floor was occupied by its builders, dealers in general merchan dise, while the upper floors were appropriated to the uses of the La Crosse Independent Republican. Brown & Fales, hardware merchants, erected a building opposite that of Smith & Co. Simeon Kellogg completed a three-story building to the rear of the Western Enterprise Hotel, corner of Second and Pearl streets. George Jeffrey built a tailor's shop, south of the Western Enterprise, N. Hintgen opened a saloon, Mr. Carpenter a shoe store, Mr. Marsh an exchange, and B. F. Stocking, a billiard room, all on the same thoroughfare. Added to these, but already referred to, were the business houses of J. M. Levy, Hastings & Hoar, F. M. Hisi'ORx u* LA CROSSE COUNTY. 409 Rublee & Co., Farnam, Ledyard & Co., William W. Uslic, George Sharpf, tailor; also Mr. Baumgardner, M. M. Manville, the bakery of F. Gutgesello, George Carlton & Co., etc., etc. Mrs. Marsh furnished millinery; Drs. Ferris, Cameron, Nocolai, Young, Johnson and McCrary, pills and purgatives; lawyers French, Cramer, Gale, Flint, Lord & Hanscom, Den- nison & Lyndes, and Stearns & Wheeler, briefs and authorities, in the prosecution of a claim or the redress of a wrong; Johnson & McMillan shod horses; Patterson, Calahan, Barron, Kim ball, Chambers and others officiated as joiners ; while the New England, Tallmadge and La Crosse Houses furnished accommodations for the weary traveler, enterprising speculator and interested "looker-on in Vienna." Among other items of interest which then materialized, and has since become a prominent factor, was the wholesale trade which this year was first inaugurated. It was noticeable that teams from distant parts of the country were to be seen on the streets daily, the vehicles to which they were attached loaded with all kinds of goods for merchants and iraders in the vil lages, which were then in progress of growth in the valleys of Black, La Crosse and Root Rivers and elsewhere in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The merchants, acting upon the suggestion of the weekly paper, that La Crosse was fully able to cope with Galena, Dubuque and other prominent marts for trade, determined to court the patronage of those who had purchased at more eastern depots, and the results confirmed impressions theretofore created. They began a policy then of offering inducements to small country traders, who were in want of small lots of goods, but wanted them often, which has since obtained with profit and enhanced the relations thereafter existing between La Crosse and the surrounding country. This year the elements seemed to combine to promote a realization of all things regarding the village and county of La Crosse unto all men. Never before had the crops been known to have yielded more abundantly or to have been more satisfactorily secured. There was a productiveness in the soil that even astonished Western men to witness, and there was labor for all who sought support or encouragement. New firms were organized, new mail routes were established, new enterprises undertaken. During this year, too, politics came more prominently before the people and were more generally canvassed than at any previous time, and the canvass was materially aided by the presence of organs representing opposing political parties. Thus was the seed sown at an early day for political divisions in this city and county, which have ever been maintained. Late in September, a steam ferry was added to the improvements of the year, and in the fall, as already noted, the business of the village was simply immense. In October, the steamer War Eagle landed sixty passengers at the wharf upon one trip, nearly all of whom were settlers. The village presented a lively appearance that fall, relates one who was here then, in its busi ness streets, and it was really wonderful to those who were unacquainted with the rise and progress of western towns how business had accumulated at this point. The hotels were filled with strangers, wondering that La Crosse was but three years old ! The stores were crowded from morning till night, and in many of them large forces of clerks were employed and kept contin ually busy in filling orders, packing goods, etc. The steamboat landings were storehouses for merchandise and produce, and Front street was almost impassable from the crush of teams which oongregated there from all directions. In that month, the value of real estate in La Crosse County was reported by the State Board at $525,000; the valuation of village lots at $50,000; of personal property at $60,000, and the amount of State tax assessed at $2,222.50. In the midst of this success the truth compels an admission that in spite of the existence of schools and churches, and the moral influence thereby exerted, the spirit of unrighteousness was abroad, and upon occasions evil ran wild in the sunshine. Referring to a stabbing affray that occurred in November, in which a young man named Eugene Ridgley narrowly escaped with his life, the papers condemned the condition of affairs as then permitted to exist. Street brawlers and night loafers, saturated with bad whisky, made darkness hideous with blasphemy and epithets, and respectable people remained at home rather than encounter insults. Black legs, pickpockets and maurauders, in their trips up and down the river, made La Crosse their 410 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. stopping place, and their rooms and resorts were the rendezvous for crime. Into these the unsophisticated were lured and robbed of their money as also of their character. This was due, in part, to the absence of sufficient peace power, and in part to the rapid and prosperous growth of the place. And yet this element was not so pronounced and prominent a factor as in other places, and with the complement of municipal protection which came with years, was gradually but effectually wiped out. The most important item of interest to happen during the closing season of the year was an attempt made in December to procure a removal of the county seat from La Crosse to Palmer's Mills in the town of Nesdonoc. Quite an excitement was caused among the citizens of the village by this rumor, which was only suppressed when it became known that the attempt had failed. The argument used in favor of the removal was, that it would build up another town in a desirable portion of the county, thus rendering property more valuable, and accomplishing other desirable ends. But the promoters of the scheme failed to convince the County Board of its expediency, and upon a submission of the question it was defeated five to one, to the infinite delight and peace of mind of the residents of the river " city." The year closed with a population claimed for the village of 1,500, brought hither by 543 steamers between March 23 and November 28, and during which period 3,485 guests registered at the Western Enterprise. The spring of 1855 brought to the people of county and village a realization of what nature and man's ingenuity combined had sought for. Emigration was not only large but continuous, and the men who came increased the value of material interest in their new home. Houses were erected, stores opened, business established, communication with distant points regular, farms opened and cultivated, and every resource available tending to develop the country and render it attractive employed with more than moderate success. There were privations, too, which the settlers were forced to accept, but they were met with courage and endured with patience. The population of the county appreciated in value as in number, and was generously dis tributed throughout the county, the preponderance of settlers, of course, locating in the village, where the opportunities for commercial or real estate speculation were more numerous and access to markets more liberal. However, large numbers located in the townships, and adding to the number there already, became effective factors in their building up and cultivation. Prominent among the objective points sought were the townships of Holland, into which a large number of Norwegians ventured, and have since been largely identified with its growth and prosperity. Hamilton Township about this time became the home of such enterprising men as Monroe Palmer, E. F. Edwards, C. C. Elwell, Oscar Elwell, J. W. Ranney, J. W. Coburn, James Mc- Eldowney, William McEldowney, Andrew McEldowney, L. Osborne, S. Brown, Christian Lar son, Nelson Larson, William Van Zandt, Gordon Lewis, William Loundsborrow, T. Kundeson, Ole Kundeson, Daniel Loomis, William Van Waters, M. L. Tourttellotte, William Gage, Henry Hodges, A. K. Verts, Jacob Meyers, John Andrews, James Tuttle, Daniel Bacon, Frank Smith and others ; in the township of Greenfield settled Joseph Weiker, William Nicoline, William Freeholt, Joseph Toushe, Joseph Janel, William Lingie, Gregory Bosshard, and some few others ; David D. Jones, Abner Darling and Chester Darling settled in Bangor ; Mendora Post Office, in the township of Farmington, was this year laid out by George Sisson, Leroy Stanford and John F. Arnold, under the name of Newton. The names of S. Hurlburt, S. Williams, John Green, J. Tritton, S. Carrington, Thomas Jones, R Toner, William Van Zandt, Henry Moore, L. Pratt, J. Grosse, 0. L. Britton, Edward Tritton, E. Dake, T. Dutcher, J. Gillfillian, A. Harrington, E. Adams, H. D. Adams, B. F. Colburn, L. Bowen, H. Boyington, M. Craik, M. M. Buttles, S. Parks, S. Coleman, Byron Viets, Lorenzo Hicks, Aaron Frost, E. B. Rich ardson, 0. H. P. Crane, M. Scafa, J. Scafa, J. C. Bean, L. A. Viets, A. Stone, V. R. Dunham, M. Herrick, George Williams and J. Coleman were added to the list of voters domiciled in the township of Burns ; McMertz established himself in Washington Township, as also did John Halverson, Mr. Nidvidek, Jacob Stein, Adolph Huett, Casper Newburg, A. Newburg, Mr. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 411 Rittburg, and John P. Koenen, while H. C. Heath, Isaac Tuteur, David Law, George Harring ton, John Moss, H. I. Bliss, L. Pammel, L. Drake, John Springer, I. L. Usher, W. S. Hans com and others became part and parcel of the growing village. With such agencies and powerful influences, it would be strange if the advancement of La Crosse and the region round about had been long delayed. Yet all was not sunshine and glad ness, and heaven at all times did not appear near by. Dark and sorrowful clouds shut out the day at times, and there were hours when the fire would not burn on the hearth of these toiling settlers. But rests were taken by the weary, and tones from an eloquent, but unseen source, woke up the querulous heart. There were sunny souls there also full of hope, whose trust in the future never failed, and, though the skies of promise were clouded over with the threaten- ings of disaster, they knew that other days would come again when the grass would be green and the flowers be bright. This class of men are the souls of enterprises of great pith and moment. The men who weave golden fillings into the web of life, who are swift and ready to do the work which is set before them, not to snap the delicate silver threads and blame heaven that they were made of tangled ends. But persevering unto the end, working, waiting, hoping, praying, until the dawning of more perfect days — or until the patient watch and long vigil is rewarded at the pearly gates of Paradise. New Year's was celebrated with due honors and festivities throughout the county, the fes tivities passing off without excesses or debaucheries of any kind. A cheerful item of profit and entertainment in the village, born during the spring, were the . lectures and debates of the La Crosse Lyceum. Before intelligent and interested audiences, F. A. Moore unbosomed himself of " His Views of the Times ; " D. W. Gillfillian discoursed on " Know-Nothingism ; " H. E. Hubbard and others on appropriate subjects, while "Women's Rights " and " Prohibitory Laws " were debated with a forensic skill and eloquence indescrib able. These, with sleighing parties and " bachelor soirees," constituted the quality of entertain ments offered during the season appropriate to festivities. With the return of warm weather which came at intervals with the first of the spring months, the energies of farmers and the business community were naturally awakened, and the people themselves brought to a full realization of their fair prospects for the ensuing season. As the snow disappeared and the signs of early opening of navigation became apparent, all rejoiced at the prospective resumption of connection with towns " down the river," the merchants became busy taking an account of stock in making preparations for an Eastern trip to replenish and get ready for the spring and summer trades. As early as March, carpenters were hard at work fitting up old buildings and providing new ones, as also in paving the way for the advent of fresh arrivals, who would join issue with those already in the county so soon as travel by river was opened. Indeed, the prospects for a general and unprecedented increase in mercantile and mechanical channels was quoted by those immedi ately interested as, to express it commercially, " Gilt Edged." The contemplated survey of rail roads and turnpikes in the spring, the progress in construction of those already under way, and other undertakings in esse, seemed to stimulate the enterprise of business men and urge them to new efforts in sustaining the well-deserved reputation of the county and village abroad, as also did its important location. The river remained closed by the ice until April 2, when it " passed out," and, three days later, the War Eagle landed at the La Crosse wharf crowded with passengers and making an addition of one hundred to the population of the county. In the country prospects were equally as cheerful. The weather was all that could be desired, warm, pleasant, peculiarly adapted to prepare the ground for the reception of spring seeds. The sternness of winter yielded to the gentle influence of a warmer season, the bird's sang, the flowers bloomed, and all nature seemed to smile and dance in the sunshine. _ As the season advanced, the prosperity of the city and country continued without interrup tion. It was a year of unparalleled suceess, say those conversant with the facts. Nearly everybody made money, and those who held title to tracts of land in the county, or lots in the 412 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. village, were regarded as men who were fortunate in their possession. The year was attended with no visionary fabrics, but plain, sober realities ; the growth of every interest had been sub stantial — merchants experienced no drought in their line of supplies, but a legitimate and steady increase of their business by the continued growth and prosperity of the surrounding country. Nor had this growth and easy times resulted from newspaper puffing, traveling agencies or laudatory pamphlets sent out into the world and scattered broadcast ; but it proceeded from the real, natural advantages of the country, the desirable location of its towns and the enterprising spirit of citizens residing within its limits. This being true, it was concluded that the prosperity and growth, admitted by rivals, would increase according to the efforts employed in that behalf, for an indefinite period, or so long as the country and liberality heretofore displayed was left and exercised. The projected enterprises, which at that time included the La Crosse & Mil waukee and Southern Minnesota Railroads, new packet companies, turnpikes and roadways into Minnesota, Iowa and elsewhere, would be completed in time, and wherever they extended, busi ness would be sure to go. To accomplish this, unity of action was necessary, and action by citizens. Real estate, during the summer, had advanced, though in the spring prices had been paid for propei ty that would to-day be esteemed more than a fair return. As for example, Mrs. Mary Smith sold eighteen acres of land in the country for the sum of $3,600, cash ; this was in June. Some weeks later, a Mr. Johnson sold his house and lot on Fifth street for $1,500, and Mr. Kim ball his house and lot on Fourth street, north of the court house, for $1,600. On the 19th of September, a sale of the real estate property of the Hon. Timothy Burns was made, at which the number of bidders is said to have been large, and the prices high, even for La Crosse and the times. One fact noticeable was that the property was sold at a large advance upon the ap praised value, citizens and strangers being surprised at the demand and avidity exhibited for desirable business lots by business men. This was also considered a truthful realization of the real solid advantages La Crosse possessed over towns between Dubuque and St. Paul. Five years previous, the best of these lots had been purchased for $1.25 per acre ; the property con sisted mostly of swamp and bluff lands, and brought a total of upward of $16,000. As property throughout the year increased in worth it advanced in price, and what had seemed high to strangers in January was purchased by them before fall, and considered a rich investment. All the country contiguous to the village made steady progress in this direction also, and that entered some time before at Government prices was more than trebled in value before the year closed. As the country filled up, this advance was maintained, and additional facilities were offered to market lots and lands. With regard to rents, the scarcity of tenements made them very high. The number who remained in the town was only limited by the capacity for accommodation. Had there been room for more families, more would have remained. Large numbers, it is said, went elsewhere for want of a proper place to shelter them. The continued arrival of settlers and persons seeking homes in the Northwest was another subject of remark. During the month of April it is estimated that 10,000 passed through Galena for points up the river. Many came to La Crosse, besides those who came hither by overland route, while the stages from Baraboo and Portage City came in each evening laden with passengers. To this may be added the numerous emigrants in their own wagons, work ing their way to the West. These settlers distributed themselves in the choice locations to be found in the Mississippi counties of Wisconsin and Minnesota, notably Bad Axe, La Crosse, Trempealeau, Buffalo and Pierce in the former, and Houston and Fillmore in the latter. Those who settled in these counties made them largely tributary to La Crosse, and added greatly to its progress. On the opposite side of the river numerous towns began to come into existence, among which may be mentioned Rome, Brooklyn, Hokah, .Houston, Chatfield, Caledonia, Fayetteville, etc., all prospering commencements of future villages. Surround ing them was as fine a country as could be found, which was rapidly being taken possession of by men who since that day have brought it under the hand of cultivation. La Crosse was the HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 413 outlet of these towns, and La Crosse County was thereby benefited. And that county was not behind the village in growth. Almost every look of the eye upon the prairie discovered some new-made preparation for building by settlers who erected shelters for themselves preliminary to putting up more substantial quarters. The arrivals were principally of a class which benefits a town, giving it a reputation abroad and enhancing its reputation at home. The business and lumber interests were not less advanced than the sale of lands and advent of settlers. Favored at occasional intervals with copious rains, and afforded every convenience possible for the times, the men of business were enabled through this year to prosecute their enter prises to a favorable termination. Likewise the farmers and lumbermen prospered for whom there was an abundance of work and fair returns. In the village, never since La Crosse was regarded worthy of rank among the Western towns had prospects for all kinds of business been more favorable. The wonderful increase in the amount of capital invested, and of persons employed in all branches of trade and agriculture in the immediate vicinity of the village and its depend encies, together with the accumulating wealth of all, added new energy to the hopeful, and renewed the confidence of those disposed to be encouraged. • The business on Black River this year had been measurably better than during the year pre vious, and would be more than double, it was contemplated, in the year to come. The operators would require twice the usual amount of supplies, the merchants would need larger stocks, and the mechanics more workmen to fulfill the engagements and meet the necessities of their customers. The feelings of business men, it might be stated at that time, more or less ebbed and flowed with the water in Black River, a fall there indicating a decrease in the busy marts of the village, while a "full bank" was a sure prospect of a full stock and a heavy trade. The crops for 1855 were considered good, and farmers, with the balance of those here resi dent, reaped rich returns and projected extensive improvements for the year to come. During the year, building, regulated by the law of necessity, was decidedly brisk. The market was well supplied with materials, and the prices were good. As a result, a great number availed themselves of the opportunity to build and otherwise improve their places of business. On State street, between the Mississippi House and the river no less than five new buildings designed and used for shop, store and hotel purposes were erected. Front street, between Levy's Landing and warehouse and what was known as the Upper Landing, was generally built up. On the prairie, new houses were to be observed in every direction, lots being broken and fenced, and trees, both fruit and ornamental, planted with a liberal hand. Educationally, the village was supplied with a substantial and well supported school and academy, while during the winter the exercises at the lyceum were attended with interest and profit. The religious element was prominent, and the congregations of large and growing dimensions. In all these and other respects, the outlook was gratifying. New houses were opening and to be opened, including a banking house, and all interests were properly conserved and balanced. The national anniversary of 1855 was generally observed in the county, the celebration, however, occurring in the village. The display consisted of a procession of Odd Fellows, Masons, citizens, etc., who marched to a grove, where, after prayer by the Rev. J. C. Sherwin, M. G. Hanscom followed with the reading of the Declaration, succeeded by an oration, intro ducing Dr. A. P. Blakeslee. The exercises were interspersed with vocal selections from a choir, under the direction of D. C. Osborn, the whole concluding with a banquet prepared by Mr. Wilson, of the New England House. Dr. Cameron, as Chairman, read toasts appropriate to the day, which were responded to by Col. Rodolf, S. Martindale, Mr. Pratt, Mr. Pettibone, M. G. Hanscom, S. D. Hastings, S. T. Smith, F. W. Moore, and others. In the evening there was a general display of fireworks. Christmas was also observed in a manner peculiar to the day, and the year departed, leaving behind it the memory of much that was gratifying to those who had taken part in its enjoyments. The future prosperity of the county had been secured since its birth four years before, and the settlers, in its fertile territory, confided in a continuance of prudence, industry, energy and 414 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. liberality to the more complete development of its resources, and the enrichment of themselves by mutual business transactions. Since 1855, the history of La Crosse County has been as the history of individuals. The panic of 1857 produced its effect, but she is less celebrated for having survived that effect than for having destroyed the causes which promoted its development. During the war for the per petuity of the Union her efforts were contributed to the successful consummation of that object. The county is absolutely free from debt, the agricultural and commercial resources to be found within her limits are inexhaustible, and fortune beckons to every age and race to identify them selves with her interests and become partakers of her bounty. Thus far has the historian sought to perpetuate the leading incidents in a history of La Crosse County. He may have succeeded imperfectly, but he has labored earnestly, enthusiasti cally. There are those still living who remember some of the incidents herein recorded, in whose breasts the old fire has not died out altogether. But many have gone hence to be heard of in other lines of life ; many to be heard of no more forever, for the green earth has opened its arms to weary lives who came into La Crosse with the dawn of its earliest days, and staid until summoned to that sleep He giveth his beloved. OFFICIAL ROSTER. At the date of the organization of the Territorial Legislature at Belmont in 1836, the present county of La Crosse was included in Crawford County, but had no representation in the Council, nor was she thus represented until the first session of the second legislative assembly convened at Madison Nov. 28, 1836. At this date, George Wilson was elected and served until 1840, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Joseph Brisbois. That gentleman, in turn, resigned, and Charles J. Learned was elected to fill the vacancy thus created. The succeeding members of the Council were Theodore La Chappelle, 1842; Hiram Knowlton, 1845; Benja min V. Manahan, 1847. In the Constitutional Convention which assembled at Madison October 5, 1846, Peter A. R. Brace was elected the delegate from Crawford County, yielding place to Daniel G. Fenton as delegate to the convention of 1848, which framed the constitution subsequently adopted by the popular vote. After the admission of the State, La Crosse was represented in the county of Crawford until regularly set apart as an independent county in 1851, as follows : In the Council— G. Wilson, 1838; 0. J. Learned, 1840-42; T. La Chappelle, 1844; Hiram Knowlton, 1848 ; D. G. Fenton, 1848 ; James Fisher, 1850. Senate— Hiram A. Wright, 1851; Benjamin Allen, 1851-53; William T. Gibson, 1855; W. T. Price, 1857 ; W. H. Tucker, 1859 ; B. E. Hutchinson, 1860-61 ; Edwin Flint, 1862 ; Angus Cameron, 1863-64; J. A. Chandler, 1865; Joel W. Ranney, 1867; Cyrus M. Butt, 1869 ; Angus Cameron, 1871 ; G. C. Hixon, 1873 ; S. L. Nevins, 1875 ; M. P. Wing, 1877 ; G. Van Steenwyk, 1879 ; M. P. Wing, 1881. Representatives — James H. Lockwood and J. H. Dallom, 1836 ; I. B. Brunson and Jean Brunet, 1837-38; Alexander McGregor and I. B. Brunson, 1839; Alfred Brunson and Joseph R. Brown, 1841 ; John H. Manahan, ,1843 ; James Fisher, 1845 ; Joseph W. Furber, 1847 ; W. T. Sterling, 1848 ; James O'Neill, 1849 ; W. T. Sterling, 1850 ; W. T. Price, 1851 ; An drew Briggs, 1852 ; A. D. La Due, 1853; W. J. Gibson, 1854; Chase A. Stevens, 1855; D. D. Cameron, 1856-57 ; James D. Condit, 1858 ; C. W. Marshall, 1869 ; J. J. McKay, 1860; I. E. Messmore, 1861 ; T. B. Stoddard, 1862; E. M. Phillips, 1863; S. S. Burton, 1864 ; T. N. Horton, 1865 ; Angus Cameron, 1865-66 ; Angus Cameron and D. A. Kennedy, 1867; Theodore Rodolf and Nathan P. Waller, 1868 ; N. P. Waller and C. C. Palmer, 1869; Theo. Rodolf and P. G. Moulton, 1870: P. G. Moulton and G. C. Hixon, 1871 ; G. C. Hixon, 1872 ; Alexander McMillan, 1873 ; D. A. McDonald, 1874 ; John Bradley, 1875-76 ; Will- Jam Van Waters, 1877 ; S. Briggs, 1878 ; John Bradley, 1879-80. LA CROSSE. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 417 Judges — Lieut. Gov. Timothy Burns was elected to serve as first County Judge in the spring of 1851. He was succeeded by Hon. George Gale, who was elevated to that position in the fall of the same year. In 1853, R. 0. Van Rensselaer was elected, holding the position till 1858. James I. Lyndes followed, but resigned in 1859. Samuel S. Burton was appointed to the vacancy, and, at the expiration of the term, was elected to serve an additional term, which he held till 1865. Hugh Cameron followed, holding till 1870. Capt. Daniel Webster came next, but soon resigned, his place being filled by B. F. Bryant, who was appointed by Gov. Fairchild to serve for the unexpired term. C. S. Benton came next, and was re-elected in 1877, resigning in March, 1881. Hugh Cameron was then appointed, and since then elected to serve till January, 1886. Sheriffs— 1851, A. Eidred; 1853, James W. Polleys; 1855, Moses Clark; 1857, Moses Clark ; 1859, George Staley ; 1861, Isaac L. Usher ; 1863, H. N. Solberg ; 1865, Joseph P. Scott; 1867, James W. Polleys ; 1869, H. N. Solberg; 1871, John S. Simonton; 1873, Peter Moe; 1875, H. S. Phillips ; 1877, Charles L. Halstead; 1879, Mark M. Buttles. Treasurers— 1851, Peter Burns, F. M. Rublee ; 1853, Ira Myrick ; 1854, William Hood ; 1855, William Hood ; 1857, William Hood ; 1859, T. N. Horton ; 1861, T.N. Horton ; 1863, J. B. Jungen ; 1865, C. C. Palmer; 1867, C. C. Palmer; 1869, N. P. Waller ; 1871, F. Flies- cher ; 1873, L. D. Robey ; 1875, John Lienlokken ; 1877, J. Lienlokken ; 1879, John Lien- lokken. Clerks of Court— 1851, R. Looney, H. E. Hubbard ; 1853, H. E. Hubbard ; 1855, H. E. Hubbard ; 1857, Leonard Lottridge ; 1859, Leonard Lottridge ; 1861, 0. H. Smith ; 1863, H. J. Peck ; 1865, H. J. Peck ; 1867, H. J. Peck ; 1869, Christian Koenig ; 1871, C. Koe- nig ; 1873, C. Koenig ; 1875, Charles Smith ; 1877, Charles Smith ; 1879, C. Smith. District Attorneys — 1851, Chase A. Stevens, Edwin Flint ; 1853, J. K. Furch ; 1855, C. R. Rogers ; 1857, M. G. Hanscom ; 1859, Alexander Cameron ; 1861, J. W. Losey ; 1863, E. H. McMillan ; 1865, G. M. Woodward ; 1867, G. M. Woodward ; 1869, G. M. Woodward ; 1871, G. M. Woodward ; 1873, B. F. Bryant ; 1875, H. M. Safford ; 1877, B. F. Bryant ; 1879, B. F. Bryant. Register of Deeds— 1851, William T. Price ; 1852, Chase A. Stevens ; 1854-55-56-57- 58-59, John A. Walker ; 1860,Victor M. Adams ; 1861, Christian Koenig ; 1863, V. M. Adams ; 1865, A. Steinlein; 1867, A. Steinlein ; 1869, Leopold Walchenheimer ; 1871, Leopold Wal- chenheimer; 1873, Leopold Walchenheimer; 1875, Leopold Walchenheimer ; 1877; Leopold Walchenheimer; 1879, Leopold Walchenheimer ; 1880, Esias Legler. County School Superintendents— 1861, P. S. Elwell ; 1863, F. A. Moore ; 1865, J. E. Atwater; 1867, G. S. Patton; 1869, G. S. Patton ; 1871, G. S. Patton; 1873, S. M. Leets ; 1875, S. M. Leets; 1877, S. M. Leets. Surveyors— 1851, WiUieun Hood; 1853,William Hood; 1855, T.N. Horton; 1857, J. F. Bryant; 1859, H. I. Bliss; 1861, H. I. Bliss; 1863, J. F. Bryant; 1865, H. I. Bliss; 1807, H. I. Bliss; 1869, H. I. Bliss; 1871, H. I. Bliss; 1873, J. M. Marti; 1875, S. Middle- brook ; 1877, S. Middlebrook ; 1879, S. Middlebrook. Coroners — 1851, John M. Levy. [No record to be found during these intervening years]. 1861, G. C. Neumister ; 1863, G. Simonton : 1865, John Fox ; 1867, John Fox ; 1869, J. Manchester; 1871, D. S. Eakins; 1873, James Kevin; 1875, George Hanson; 1877, D. D. Polleys ; 1879, C. S. Stockwell. Supervisors— Timothy Burns, Jacob Spaulding and Charles Whipple, 1851 ; Edwin Flint, W. T. Price and Joseph K. French, 1852; E. Childs, M. Palmer, M. C. Bostwick and M. Mc Millan, 1853 ; A. Crane, 0. Croak, J. Miller. L. A. Viets, T. C. Gilbert and John Mildvum, 1854 ; Moses Clark, C. C. Palmer, T. L. Smith, William Van Zandt, William Van Water and Jacob Bagley, 1855 ; James Mohr, E. D. Campbell, James Whalen, William Sims, B. E. Brower, T. L. Smith, W. Van Zandt, I. J. Matheson and V. M. Adams, 1856 ; E. D. Camp bell, W. H. Tucker, L. R. Bowen, John Wheldon, T. L. Smith, C. C. Palmer, William Sims, V. M. Adams, N. J. Tompkins and C. Redburg, 1857 ; Willis Gregory, George Scharpf, D. 418 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Taylor, N. J. Tompkins, William Moore, G. B. Richardson, C. C. Palmer, T. H. Erman, James Squires, T. L. Smith, S. Woodward, William McConnell, Jacob Steen and D. A. Kenedy, 1858; J. I. Lynds, G. Farnum, C. G. Hanscom, R. C. Van Renssellaer, L. Porter, A. S. Fuller, J. S. Metcalf, E. B. Richardson, V. W. Adams, T. L. Smith, E. Redbury and T. Whipple, 1859 ; H. E. Hubbard, J. Fay, C. L. Coleman, H.B. Calahan. Charles Hall, J. Falbey, William Finhoff, J. Halverson, J. R. Perry, I. Hurlburt, A. Andrews and R. Irwin, 1860 ; C. L. Coleman, W. W. Crosby, J. S. Simonton, N. Hudgen, M. Barlow, H. A. Winston, Charles Hall, I. Martin, A. P. Fuller, A. S. McCook, E. B. Richardson, Walter Brown, J. R. Perry, J. Halverson, R. Irvin and J. McNeil, 1861. During the ensuing ten years the Commissioners system obtained. Commissioners — Thomas Spiree, William Hood and L. A. Viets, 1862 ; C. L. Coleman, James Barclay, Kund Kundson and L. A. Viets, who was elected to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of K. Kundson, in 1864 ; C. L. Coleman, Orange Smith and John Wheldon, 1866 ; A. McMillan, Charles Hall and V. M. Adams, 1868; S. Briggs and William Van Zandt, 1870. In 1870, each Township elected its Supervisors, the Chairman of each Town B becoming ex officio a member of the County Board, which was thus made up and elected annuallv. A." L. Page, L. R. Bowen, William Hanley, J. L. Pettingill, M. Stadder, S. Briggs, C. C. Palmer, N. Pittinger, W. Nedwidek, Kund Kundson, John Ulrich and Alexander McMillan, 1870 ; W. Apsey, L. R. Bowen, S. Briggs, John Bell, M. Hess, J. Halverson, K. Kundson, A. Maguire, D. D. Polleys, N. Pittinger, J. L. Pettingill, A. L. Page, C. C. Smith, John Vogel and William Van Waters, 1871 ; S. Briggs, J. Bell, R. N. Burns, George Howard, J. W. Johnson, K. Kundson, A. Maguire, S. McKown, J. L. Pettingill, A. L. Page, N. Pittenger, T. Rodolf, D. Shane, H. Tasto and W. Van Zandt, 1872 ; S. Briggs, J. Bell, J. Gutman, C. Hall, J. W. Gutman, J. W. Johnson, A. Maguire, D. D. McMillan, S. McKown, N. Pittinger, A. L. Page, T. Rodolf, D. S. Shane, J. Luley, H. Tasto and W. Van Zandt, 1873 ; S. Briggs, J. Bell, J. Gutman, C. Hall, J. W. Johnson, J. Johnson, A. Maguire D. D. McMillan. S. S. McKown, A. L. Page, N. Pettinger, T. Rodolf, D. Shane, J. Luley, H. Tasto and W. Van Zandt, 1874 ; S. Briggs, L. R. Bowen; C. Hall, W. Hautry, J. Johnson, S. McKown, P. G. Moulton, D. D. McMillan, J. M. Marti, A, L. Page, T. Rodolf, J. P. Scott, N. Southard, H. Tasto and W. Van Zandt, 1875 ; S. Briggs, L. R. Bowen, G. W. Brice, J. Bosshard, W. Hawley, C. Hall, J. F. Hosmer, John Johnson, J. Halverson, A. McMillan, R. Morris, S. McKown, S. L. Nevins, R. T. Roberts. J. P. Scott and W. Van Zandt, 1876 ; S. Briggs, W. B. Gahen, J. F. Hosmer, D. D. McMillan, S. B. Oatman, Frank Pooler, J. A. Pettingill, E. R. Roberts, T. Richmond, R. T. Roberts, F. B. Smith, J. P. Scott, D. Shaw, T. Shimmins, H. Tasto, R. Tausche and D. A. Thayer, 1877 ; J. Bell, F. B. Bradish, W. W. Crosby, J. C. Hewitt, L. Hasvold, J. Johnson, J. Moran, S. B. Oatman, Frank Pooler, E. R. Roberts, A. Rannius, T. Richmond, D. Shane, D. Sandman, F. B. Smith, J. P. Scott and R. Tausche, 1878 ; J. Augustin, J. Damson, J. C. Hewitt, L. Hasvold, A. Hirshheimer, J. Johnson, C. Linse, G. R. Montague, Frank Pooler, E. R. Roberts, R. T. Roberts, D. Shane, D. Sandman, F. B. Smith, J. P. Scott, R. Tausche and W. W. Webb, 1879 ; L. Chesier, J. Dawson, J. C. Hewitt, James Gilfillian, L. Hasvold, C. Linse, Joy Pettingill, E. R. Roberts, R. T. Roberts, W. A. Roosevelt, T. Rodolf, L. Strugel, D. Sandman, F. B. Smith, R. Tausche and W. W. Webb, 1880 ; G. W. Buck, J. Dawson, L. Hasvold, C. Linse, Joy Pettingill, G. W. Robinson, W. A. Roosevelt, T. Rodolf, R. T. Roberts, F. B. Smith, William Smith, L. Strugal, D. Sand- man, R. Tausche, D. A. Thayer and W. W. Webb, 1881. COURT HOUSE. During the session of the Legislature held in the winter of 1850-51, an act was passed mak ing La Crosse the county seat only on condition of putting up the necessary public buildings within one year and free of expense to the county, in default of which a special election was to HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 419 be held upon sixty days' notice, and the site changed to the place having a majority of the votes cast. As the village had less than two hundred residents, and the time given was too short to admit of any extended public action, or any scheme of self-imposed taxation, which would have required a popular vote, there was no resource but to make personal appeals to the generosity of those interested. A most generous response was had, and a frame building of two stories was erected on the site of the present stone structure. It was 26x36, having rooms for all the county officers on the first floor, and a court-room above, which was made use of for almost every gather ing of a public nature, as church meetings, public meetings, debating clubs, a library association, etc. It continued to be used for all purposes of a general character till 1867, when it became too small for the increased business of the county. It was sold to a Mr. Pearson, by whom it was removed to Vine street near the corner of Third, and used as a boarding house. In 1866, it passed into the hands of its present proprietor, A. McDonald, and is now the well-known Washington Hotel. The first jail was a small one-story stone concern of about 1 5x15, built in rear of and com ing up flush against the old court house. The ceiling was filled with several tons of broken stones, with a view to prevent escape by raining down an avalanche upon the hapless head of the pris oner who should seek an escape in that direction. The walls extended down four feet below the surface and a floor was made of flagging. The prison was notorious for its insecurity, as, being built upon the sand, it was a comparatively easy matter to dig out beneath the walls. One of the first tenants was the murderer Watts, whose brutal murder of his old companion, Darst, is still recalled by all the older settlers. It was said to be a standing jest that when the jailer looked disconsolate, an inquiry revealed the fact that he had lost all his boarders. To the question, " How many escaped last night?" the reply would invariably correspond with the number con fined. The new jail was built in 1858, by A. W. Shepard, and is modeled after the ancient Egyptian, having heavy walls, sloping window casings, and a curved cornice extending around the building at the same level. It is 45x67, and is a rather low structure giv ing the appearance of great strength and solidity, which it possesses in an eminent degree. The prison proper is 39x45, and contains 16 cells, each 6x9, containing two hammocks. The cells are in two tiers, the floors being composed of a single stone, the ceiling of the lower tier forming the floor of the upper. An open corridor extends around them, inclosed by walls of two feet in thickness, giving the inmates ample room for exercise. In the living portion of the building are rooms ample for a large family, as also three rooms for female prisoners. All are models of neatness. For a number of years previous to the com pletion of the new court house, the county offices were in the jail in the division afterward fitted up for a residence for the Sheriff. About two hundred cords of stone were used in its construc tion. The walls are two feet in thickness with projecting courses at the corners and windows, adding much to the air of massive slrength with which it impresses the beholder. It seems im possible that one should ever escape from it, and the writer was told by the jailer that, so far as he knew, no such event had ever happened. The new court house was commenced in 1867, and completed the following year. Mr. Will iam Listman had the contract, and it can truthfully be said, that for every dollar received the county received an equivalent. This is a most unusual circumstance to record of a public work, and is worthy special mention. This building is on the site of an ancient sand hill, in the cen ter of the public square, fronting on Third street, between State and Vine. Like the new jail, immediately in its rear, it is built solidly of stone throughout. The basement is eight feet in the clear, the foundation course is four feet wide, and one foot below the floor, the wall two and one- half feet thick, in first story, two feet, and in second, twenty inches, all in eight inch courses of magnesian limestone and hammer dressed. The basement partition walls are of brick, eighteen inches in width, and in first story, t.f eight inches. The vaults for the public records and docu ments, which are absolutely fire-proof, are of brick, with outer walls sixteen inches in thickness, and inner ones of four inches, with an air flue of four inches between them. These all have 420 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. windows guarded by inside shutters of iron, and are as light, dry and airy as it is possible to make them. On the first floor there are nine rooms for the various county offices, which are fitted up with every convenience requisite for the dispatch of business. It would be hard to find officials more attentive to their respective duties or courteous to those seeking infor mation. The court room on the second floor is about 60x60, with seats rising from the front to the rear, so that a perfect view is had of all the proceedings, and the accoustic properties of the room are such that no difficulty is experienced in hearing all that may be said. Rooms for the grand and petit juries are provided on the same floor. The superstructure was built of magnesian limestone, while Joliet stone was used for facings, caps and cornice ; 325 cords of stone were used, all dressed on the face. A fine spire crowns the edifice, on which the blind goddess of justice stands, holding the impartial balance. The approach from Third street is by a terraced walk of twelve feet in width, and about seventy in length, surmounted at the edges with a beveled stone coping. The steps are twelve inches in width and eight inches in thickness; and are each com posed of a single stone. The landing is about 12x16. Upward of 40,000 brick were used in constructing the partitions and vaults. The wood work is as substantial, in its way, as the other materials employed. Everything from top to bottom is solid and enduring, and almost severe in its plainness. The cost of erection was $36,000 ; the additional expense of furniture, car pets, desks, etc., brought the grand total to a less amount than $40,000. The court house is very central in location, and has a most commanding position. POOR HOUSE. The only institution for the paupers of the county is the infirmary belonging to the city. It is situated three miles from the post office. It is in the township of Shelby, and is a frame building with a capacity of from fifteen to twenty inmates, and is seldom more than half-filled. A farm of 120 acres was bought a few years ago at an expense of $6,000. For a time it was rented at $100 per annum to the tenants of the infirmary, who were allowed $2.50 per week for boarding the adults, and one-half that sum for children. The present tenant, Frank Mitz, re ceives the farm rent free, and has the above-named sum for boarding the inmates. The man agement of this institution is most admirable, and would seem to justify the boast of the leading director of the disbursement of the county funds, that it was the best regulated of any of like purpose in the State. The number of inmates has been reduced, and the expenses reduced over fifty per cent. Formerly, from $5,000 to $6,000 had been paid annually for the care of the poor. During the past year, ending April 1, 1881, the total expenditure at the infirmary, and for outside help, was but $2,335.21. The total number of inmates, at present, is but seven ; of these, one is sick in the hospital, one partially insane, one idiotic, and the others are aged, re spectively, 71, 74, 83 and 87. COUNTY SCHOOLS. The system of County Superintendents was inaugurated in 1861 for the whole State. Although in a general way it is designed that each county shall have a Superintendent, the rule is departed from when a county becomes too populous to have its educational interests managed by a single one, when it is divided into two or more districts, over each of which a Superintendent is placed. This has been done in the counties of Dane and Milwaukee, which have two dis tricts in each and two Superintendents. The duty of these officials is to exercise a watchful supervision over all the schools of the county ; to visit every one at least once a year, and as much oftener as occasion may require ; to examine and grant certificates to all applicants for positions in schools ; to take charge of Teachers' Institutes, which are required to hold at least one, and, in many cases, two sessions each season. The salary is based on population. Where this is from 5,000 to 10,000, the salary is placed at $800. All counties having less than 5,000 have no fixed sum, the salary being made discretionary with the County Board of Supervisors. This is placed as low as $100 in the county of Chippewa, and in some of the most sparsely settled counties has been as low as $50. The highest salary paid is $1,200, in the county of Jefferson. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 421 C. S. Stockwell, of Onalaska, the Superintendent of La Crosse County, is a professional teacher, having been engaged in that occupation in Lapeer County, Mich., where he held the same position he now occupies. He engaged in teaching at Onalaska in 1876, and was so em ployed for two years, when he received the appointment of County Superintendent, to fill a vacancy that had occurred. In the fall of 1878 he was elected to serve the rest of the term, and re-elected in 1879 for a full term, which will expire January 1, 1882. No records were turned over to Mr. Stockwell, nor is it known that any are in existence previous to his official connec tion with the schools. The county has seventy-six school districts, of which four are graded, viz. : One at Onalaska, which has three departments and three teachers ; one at West Salem, including a high school, and having four departments and four teachers ; and two at Bangor, having two graded schools and four teachers. In two districts there are two schools in each. Aside from the public schools are a number of denominational schools, divided as follows : Five Lutheran schools ; one at Barre, one at Shelby — both German ; three at Farmington, Nor wegian and German, and two Catholic schools, one at Greenfield and one at Washington. An effort is now being made to establish a system of graded country schools. As it would be im possible to have a uniform course like an academy or high school, it is to be based on the attain ments of the pupil, who will thus have an incentive to attain to the highest standard his opportunities will admit, for which he will receive due credit. The whole number of children of school age in the county is 4,601 ; whole number enrolled, 3,042 ; amount expended for teachers' salaries, $15,232.90, or $3.31 per capita; total expenditures for school purposes, in cluding building, repairing, furniture, fuel, and incidentals, $20,636.72, being $4.48 per capita. During the year 1880, 171 school visits were made, a full half day being allotted to each visit. All districts have been visited each term. Mpnthly reports were required from all teachers. At the school examinations there were 201 applicants. Of these, 134 received certificates, viz. : 4 first grade, 17 second grade, and 113 third grade. About half the schools employ a female teacher during the summer, and a male in the winter. Two institutes were held — one at Ban gor in March, having an attendance of fifty-nine teachers, and one at West Salem in Septem ber, when there was an attendance of fifty-two. A teachers' association exists, which has a library of about fifty volumes of professional works. Ninety per cent of the teachers are read ers of educational journals. The schools are kept abreast of the legal requirements, and will challenge favorable comparison with any county in the State. The above facts and figures are exclusive of the city of La Crosse, whose schools are wholly outside the supervision of the County Superintendent. NORTHWESTERN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. This society was organized December 26, 1879, with twelve charter members. The first officers of the society elected were: J. W. Losey, President; J. S. Harris, First Vice President; John Van Loon, Second Vice President ; John Ulrich, Third Vice President ; L. W. Brigham, Secretary ; L. H. Pammel, Treasurer. The object of this society is : " To improve the condition of pomology, horticulture and gardening; to discuss and disseminate information upon all questions pertaining to horti culture." The society holds its annual meetings on the first Tuesday in December, and otherwise provides for quarterly meetings occurring in March, June and September. At their meetings thus far, since organizing, various topics have been discussed, and papers have been prepared, read and discussed also. The society now numbers fifty-two members, with the present officers: John S. Harris, La Crescent, President ; A. J. Phillips, West Salem, First Vice President; S. S. Luce, Galesville, Second Vice President; Mrs. W. P. Powers, La Crosse, Third Vice President; L. W. Brigham, La Crosse, Secretary; L. H. Pammel, La Crosse, Treasurer. Their first fair was held in June, 1881, in connection with the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. One dollar procures a year's membership for gentlemen, ladies being honorary. 1*1 422 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The following fruits, trees and shrubbery are recommended by this society for this locality and the Northwest in general : Fruits — Apples : Dutchess, Wealthy and Tetofski. For favorable localities, Fameuse, Utter, Price's Sweet, Walbridge, Plum Cider, Willow Twig and Tollman Sweet. For trial, Pewaukee, Ben Davis, Alexander, Red Queen and Haas. Crab apples, for general planting, Transcendent, Whitney No. 20, Atkin's Winter, Early Strawberry and Maiden's Blush. For trial, Conical and Quaker Beauty. Grapes, for general cultivation. Concord and Delaware. For trial, Beauty of Minnesota, Worden, Rogers No. 15, and Brighton. Strawberries, for market, Wilson ; for family use, Green Prolific and Downer's Prolific. For trial, Charles Downing. Raspberries, red; for general cultivation, Turner and Philadelphia; black, Seneca and Doolittle. Plums, De Sota. Blackberries, for trial, Snyder and Ancient Briton. Trees — For general planting, White Elm, Sugar Maple, Soft Maple, Blue Ash, European Larch, Box Elder, Basswood, Hickory, Mountain Ash and Butternut. Evergreens, Norway Spruce, Scotch Pine, Hemlock, Red Cedar, Austrian Pine, Balsam Fir, American Juniper, White Pine and American Pine. Hardy shrubbery — Snowball, Purple Lilac, White Lilac, Bush Honey-suckle, Tree Peony, Flouring Almond, Syringa grandiflora, Barberry, Wahoo, Waxberry and Hydrangea. Bedding plants — Verbena, Heliotrope, Lantana, Pansies, Caladinus, Petunias, Colons and Geraniums. LA CROSSE COUNTY BIBLE SOCIETY. On Sunday morning, July 4, 1852, at the usual hour for divine service at the court house, an address was delivered by Mr. A. Lord, agent of the American Bible Society, in advocacy of the claims of that society. At the close of the address, a meeting was called for the purpose of organizing a Bible society in the county of La Crosse. Rev. John C. Sherwin was called to the chair, and W. W. Ustick appointed Secretary of the meeting. It having been resolved in due form to organize a county society, a constitution was adopted, and the following officers were elected: George Gale, President; Rev. W. H. Card, Vice President; Rev. J. C. Sherwin, Secretary; Walter Brown, Treasurer; Samuel T. Smith, F. M. Rublee, and B. S. Reppy, Directors. The local agents were appointed as follows : Dr. H. Johnson and Mrs. J. C. Sherwin, La Crosse Village ; Rev. F. Walrath, Sparta and Little La Cro3se settlement; Dr. A. M. Hill, Fleming Creek Valley ; George Bachelder, Trempealeau ; Mr. Viets, Viets and Segar Settle ment; Mr. Valentine, Black River settlement; Mr. S. Smith, La Crosse Prairie and Mormon Cooley. The society being thus organized, an opportunity was given for persons to contribute funds, and $70.20 was raised. The society, since its organization, has continued to do the good work begun at that time. It keeps in its depository a great variety of the publications of the American Bible Society, not only in English, but in German, Welsh, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian languages. These Bibles and Testaments are sold at cost of production to all who wish, and are freely given to those who cannot afford to purchase. The county has been carefully canvassed several times, for the purpose of supplying all who were willing to receive copies of the sacred Scriptures. The Bible Depository is at the store of Mr. George Howard, No. 36 Main street, city of La Crosse. The officers of the society for the year 1881 are as follows : J. P. Toms, President; George McMillan, Vice President ; William W. Jones, Secretary ; George Howard, Treasurer. Directors, W. W. Ustick, John James, J. Spier Colman, and D. D. McMillan. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 423 WAR RECORD. At this period in the history of La Crosse, in the history of the aggregation of common wealths which composed the American Republic, formulated her laws, guided her destiny and contributed to her renown, the war for the preservation of the Union came upon the nation unexpectedly, overwhelmingly. The citizens of La Crosse County had, previous thereto, been identified with the several political organizations which had successively maintained a predominant prominence, but all were friends of freedom, and realized that the political supremacy of the seceding States meant centralization, anarchy, ruin. If mere precedent failed of establishing this conclusion, the indications were strongly in their favor. They knew that the history of the world was a history of despotism in lands when the government has been held in the hands of the few. They realized its necessity if nations were to remain stationary, rude and ignorant, and advancing time made no new demands upon the people who composed the nation. Again, a powerful minority had, in years past, been identified with the Whig party, and inheriting a strong anti- slavery sentiment from^ its teachings, had become the corner-stone of the Republican party, with the crystallization of that organization less than a decade before at the capitol of the State. Such were the influences that responded to the cry to arms during that epoch in American history when the life of the nation was trembling in the balance. The triumph of despotism would be celebrated, argued all, if the people from Maine to California failed of their duty ; liberty would perish with the disintegration of the States, and the golden age of the nation would give place to an age when the self-evident truths, for the perpetuation of which that nation was created, would be rejected. The history of civilization was the history of government, they knew; progress or improvement lessened or increased as the scroll of Time's great drama is unfolded, in proportion as freedom from despotism is enjoyed. They knew that each State in the constellation was woven therein to add beauty and strength to the whole, and that the somber threads of experience, with blasted prospects and without hopes, were interlaced with the gleaming threads of success and gratified desires, each the complement of each, needed to perfect the other. The question which then presented was as to whether the Union, with its associations, its prestige, its protecting care and hallowed memories, should be preserved or per mitted to expire and become as a tale that is told. The mass of the people, as the world knows, rendered their verdict in favor of an enforcement of the laws ; their response, like a ray of sun shine, drove away the mists of gloom and made a poem of their lives, whereof duty, patriotism and victory were the heroic stanzas. Sometimes old memories come to the survivors of the struggles that followed ; crowd thick upon them and cause their hearts to ache ; sad memories, bitter, bitter memories slip in, but after all the past has the bright side to look back upon and dream over — the preservation for the benefit of future generations, liberty founded upon duties as well as rights, and the irrevocable judgment of man as to the perpetuity of a Republican form of government. The influence of this preserved government is on the wing to-day, to morrow, forever. Like a veiled evangelist it has gone abroad throughout the nations of the earth, never showing its face, but making its mighty presence felt, and that influence will con tinue until vice becomes dumb and virtue waits in silence for the tramp of the archangel and the voice of God. As memory takes an inventory of the years of war and bloodshed, the scenes of which pass before mankind as a panorama, the results appear in all their magnitude, and Hope submits pro posals for the future which cannot be rejected. Since its close, the victories of peace have been grander than any the historic epoch gave birth to. The arts, sciences and every appliance °f civilization, have made rapid advances. During its existence, unnumbered heroes were laid to rest in mother earth, and American history was made luminous with the records of military valor and patriot devotion. But the years which followed the truce at Appomattox Court KB " 424 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. House, have been pregnant with great ideas and beneficent results, that will increase in value as the days that are gone, like evening shadows, grow long and dim. Until the firing upon Sumter announcing the ultimatum of the Southern people to be war or secession, Hope sprang eternal in the breast of patriots that the impending difficulties might be avoided through the agency of compromise. Hope begat a feeling that the Union would be preserved without recourse to arms, and that the angel of death would not be permitted to rustle his wings of darkness through the ranks of American soldiers who enrolled for the war. Through the delicious days of that spring of 1861, when, as if inspired with affection, the soft south wind bathed the temples and brows of men, and the golden sheen of the sun darted through it like an arrow shot from some invisible bow, no man dreamed of the days of death and danger the future reserved for his acceptance. But when the faint, low sighing, like distant choirs of melody, out of tune and harsh, came over the wires bringing the condition of affairs home to the convictions of Americans, the alternative presented by the foe, there was no hesitation made to accept it, and the citizens of La Crosse County armed themselves for the strife. Meetings were held, addresses made, money subscribed, and soldiers enlisted. Within a brief period from the time when earnest words of inspiring appeal had dropped from the lips of the eloquent orator ; from the time when liberality and humanity was made manifest in the highways ; from the time when soldiers parted from those they loved, from mother's arms and wife's embrace, many of them became palsied in death. Soldiers of the Republic — brave men they were — who died with their armor on, falling with their faces to the foe against whom they so unfalteringly fought. Whoever, throughout all the after history of the nation they so grandly honored and so indus triously served, has respect for patriotic valor and patriotic death, will drop a tear upon the grave and have a tribute of praise to offer to the memory of that immortal band. Heroic men ! Their homes were left desolate, poverty stalked through the doorway, perhaps, and with sorrow and affliction as handmaids, prevented the entrance of consolation or of sunshine. No pen can describe those old days, those near yet far-off days, paged with dear legends, when some went to the battle's front and some went gypsying to the camp. No limner's art can trace those days, so sad, so dear, so filled with tender thoughts of those who went and returned no more ; of those days when right was on the scaffold and wrong upon the throne ; when the sun of American liberty seemed near to the horizon. The struggle for natural life is still fresh to the memory of even those who, during its existence, were babes, when brief moments of bright hopes were succeeded by bitter disappointments, when clear skies and generous sunshine were followed by gloom and sorrows, and when generous ambitions gave place to humiliating defeats, filling the heart with sorrow and sorrowful memories. On the 15th of April, 1861, Lincoln issued his proclamation calling for 75,000 troops to suppress combinations in the seceded States, to cause the laws to be duly executed, and, on the following day, Alexander W. Randall, Governor of Wisconsin, supplemented the President's requisition by a call for one regiment of militia for immediate service. In the city, the news concerning the existence of actual hostilities was met with sorrow and a determination on the part of citizens to remove these effects by the destruction of their cause. Recruiting offices were opened, and overflowed with the excess in number of those who aspired to unite with the ranks and march to victory to the music of the Union, now and for ever. Wilson Colwell, Captain of the La Crosse Light Guard, and J. T. Foster, commanding the La Crosse Artillery Company, were among the first to call for volunteers under the proclama tion. Both of them went to the front, and one of them fell before the attacks of the enemy — fell in the morning of life, at the morning hour, before the sun's rays gave promise of the ad vent of the god of day, when the world was still, when the birds were singing, before the dew- drops had passed to heaven, before the stars had gone to rest with the the going of the dawn. The feelings of patriotism and love of country evinced in the city were duplicated throughout the county. Everywhere age forgot its crutch, labor its task, to engage in that preparation for unity and immortality, the clarion notes of which were then beginning to be heard in the noise HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 425 of the drum, the voice of the bugle, the clatter of musketry, the reverberations of the artillery and the whistle of the shells ricochetting over fields, through woods, on the hillside and in the val ley. Their effects, too, were manifested in the hurrying to the front, in the cheeks of her now pale and ready for the seal of the Master of mortality, that once warmed into love and were stained with the blush of the bridal. They were plainly to be seen in the new-made graves, hiding dust that was precious to those left behind — to the lad whose cheek was dimpled with joys of youth, to the wife who stood sobbing in the sunlight as he passed, and forever, to the old man whose silvered head was bowed in grief, to the loving mother, who tarried but a little way behind before she, too, sank to slumber in the " windowless palace of rest." There was but one sentiment found expression among the people of the North, who stood up shoulder to shoulder, unmindful of past political affiliations and predilections. They ignored dif ferences gone by, and waited for the word to march in unbroken phalanx to the field of battle, there to shed their last drop of blood in defense of the national honor. The divided North that was anticipated at the South failed to materialize for the reason that the right was lacking in their creed of government. The wilderness, inherited from former generations, had been made into gardens, and with this title was vested in the heirs a determination to realize that strength which exists in Union, and to respect their flag which is everlasting as the hills. On the evening of April 22, 1861, the loyal people of La Crosse convened at Leiderkranz Garden for the purpose of obtaining an expression of opinion in reference to the condition of the country. The Hon. C. C. Washburn presided, and M. M. Pomeroy acted as Secretary, with the fol lowing Vice Presidents : Gen. Crosby, ex-Mayor Levy, A. W. Pettibone and T. W. Edwards. A series of resolutions expressive of the views of the assembly were reported by the committee, consisting of Messrs. Seymour. Cordry, Barlow, Scharpf and Baxter ; speeches were made bv " Brick " Pomeroy, A. W. Bishop, Dr. Baxter, Hon. W. Hull, Gen. L. E. Webb, A. W. Petti bone, Dr. Blakeslee and others, and $3,451 were subscribed as follows : C. C. Washburn, T. B. Edwards, Artillery Company, N. Hintgen, Tenny, Oatman & Co., Company K, and S. and C. K. Martindale, $100 each ; Lloyd & Supplee, Lottridge & Seymour, and Moses Anderson, $75 each ; M. M. Pomeroy, Milton Barlow, T. N. Horton, John Servis, Walter Webb, L. E. Webb, T. 0. Wells, S. A. Gillette & Son, J. & J. Andrews, James Vincent, Colton & Whelpley, Dun- lap Brothers, Neuman & Cantrovits, W. R. Sill, G. A. Metzger, M. Henderson, Bishop & Cam eron, H. T. Rumsey and T. B. Stoddard, $50 ; J. A. Sumner and W. B. Hanscome & Co., $30 ; H. B. Calahan, J. W. Polleys, C. F. Parsons, Justus White, A. J. Stevens, V. M. Adams, S. C. Barton, T. P. Laverty, W. E. Potter, H. E. Hubbard, Barron & Kadish, R. I. Johnson, S. B. Sheldon, J. C. Coombs, W. C. Root, J. B. Jungen, Wehausin & Hunt, S. S. Burton, Lewis Pammel, C. B. Solberg, J. K. Lush, M. M. Cordry, W. C. Rogers, C. H. Eaton, George, Sta- ley, L. C. McKenney, W. W. Crosby, S. Kellogg, C. L. Colman, Shimmins & Helburg, Hogan & Bauman, I. Cantrovitz, F. P. Metcalf. G. H. Garrett, G. W. Morgan, J. T. Van Valkenburg, J. M. Loomis, Cone & Fay. W. W. Jones, W. H. Lemon, George Edwards, Leach & Paul, M. G. Bradbury, J. McCrary, J. I. Lyndes, J. Fay, A. A. Stevens, George Carlton, A. T. Clinton, Ira Cole, C. Michel, A. Overbaugh and G. R. Montague, $25 each ; Black & Bradish, John Halverson, E. K. Butrick, George Hoare, J. R. Coudry and George Scharpf, $20 each ; Joseph Gutman, T. Atkinson, L. Stauss, H. I. Bliss, O. Ewe and George Snelling, $15 each, in addition to a track of 160 acres of land from Edward McFadden. A feature of the times was the following call, which appeared at the head of the editorial columns in the La Crosse Democrat : Wanted.— Two hundred and fourteen men are wanted to enlist as volunteers for the war, to form a company of "horse zouaves," the dress to be gray pants, red shirts with low collar, gray mantle to come to the saddle when mounted. The arms of the company to be a minie rifle, two revolvers and a saber. Horses to be bay or brown. Those who will enlist for the entire war, be it short or long — who can live, if need be, on one meal and three tights a day — or more fight and less eat, will please send in their names to the undersigned. The company, when full, to elect its officers, and be in readiness to meet at La Crosse as soon as arms and horses can be furnished. The pro posed name, " Wisconsin Tigers," will indicate the amusements offered. M. M. Pomeroy. La Ckosse, April '26, 1861. 426 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The above was kept as a standing "ad " for several weeks, but does not appear to have charmed the necessary complement of men ambitious to become Tigers, and with the Tigers stand in gray pants and red shirts with low collars, armed with a deadly minie, two revolvers and a saber, and ready to live on one meal a day. "Brick's" overtures were not met with the re sponse he anticipated, according to all accounts, and the undertaking was abandoned long before " Old Bob " assumed command in the five-days' fight. As times changed, it is an historic fact that "Brick" changed with thein, and between the inception of war, in fact, and the surrender, was resolved from an ardent advocate of death in the last ditch, and a leader of men identified with the Union, to a "peace at any price" man, with all that the name implies. Why this radi cal change, or whence proceeded the cause, are conundrums as incapable of solution as an im probable .theorem in mathematics. The first company to enlist for the war in La Crosse County was the Light Guards. It responded to the first call for troops for three months, but before it could be mustered into serv ice the quota for that length of time was full, and hence it became part of the number under the call for three years or the war. On the evening of April 30, 1861, the ranks having been filled up to the requisite number, the organization assembled at Barron's Hall, preparatory to their departure for Madison. Many of the company being without blankets, the ladies of La Crosse supplied them with a liberality and irresistible em pressment characteristic of the women whom those troublous times brought prominently to the surface, in the performance of acts which have shrived their sex with a luster that time cannot diminish, or distance quite obscure. In all times of trial and affliction, the sympathies of a true woman are of priceless value, By the hearth, in the cloister, when disappointment and ingratitude, with corroding care, gather round one ; when the gaunt form of poverty menaces with his skeleton fingers, and in the cham ber of death, their sympathies gleam about the soul like an angel's smile. It would seem that God, compassionating woman's first great frailty, had planted these jewels in her breast, the heaven-like influence of which should cast into forgetfulness man's remembrance of the fall, by building up in his heart another Eden, where perennial flowers ever bloom and crystal fountains gush from exhaustless springs. At half past 10 o'clock, on the evening mentioned, the company was ordered to fall in, and Col. William Hull addressed them in feeling and appropriate terms. He was followed by Dr. Baxter, who concluded his remarks by asking the company if they would ever disgrace their banner, to which the united voices of eighty-five men responded, " Never ! " In marching to the depot, the Pioneer Engine Company led the van, followed by the departing soldiers, who boarded the train after having taken farewell of their friends, and at midnight began their journey to fame and Camp Randall. The Light Guard — Was organized in 1858, uniformed in 1859, and prominent in military circles in the West. It mustered into the Second Regiment of Wisconsin Infantry as Company B, and from that date, as a portion of the " Iron Brigade," it became the pride of the city, State and nation. In all the battles fought by that famous organization, Company B was conspicuous for bravery and endurance, and probably better known than any individual company in the Army of the Potomac. The long line of promotions from the rank and file of this company to prominent military positions during the war was conclusive evidence that its membership was composed of the very best citizens, who always make the most effective and successful soldiers. Of the original Commissioners who went to the front with the company, Capt. Colwell was killed at the battle of South Mountain September 14, 1862 ; Second Lieutenant Robert Hughes was killed in the Wilderness in September, 1864 ; while Frank Hatch, First Lieutenant, was wounded at Bull Run, and afterward promoted to command a battalion of cavalry in the West. •' How little do we know of what we are ; How less of what we may be !" Pass down the memorial column of those who went out to preparation on that mild spring night, thence to become part of the Army of Northern Virginia, and mark the names of those same who fell during the campaign of the Peninsula, at Gainesville, Antietam, Chancellorsville, HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 427 Gettysburg, South Mountain, whose bodies have been laid to rest on the banks of the Rapidan, in the swamps of the Chickahominy, by the side of Falling Waters, where their graves are their monuments and their burial places sacred to Americans as is Jerusalem to the Hebrews, a city about which cluster thoughts of the greatest history of the past ; or as was Athens of old to the Greeks, the city of memories, the shrine of the arts, the germ of ideas. If there is a spot in all this land of liberty where time and enduring marble should rear high its tablet of illustrious names, and of renowned events, it should be in that estate where the American flag was never lowered, and where the proudest columns that ever crossed the plains laid down their arms and dispersed to desolate homes with honor and a parole as a testimony of their prowess. And Company B, of La Crosse, bore a prominent part in the contest for national supremacy, from Bull Run to Appomattox. Beneath the fluttering folds of the Stars and Stripes her sons fought and died, even as that " star-flowery banner " was planted amid the whirlwind of shot and shell upon victorious battlements, but not before the portals of heaven had been opened to gather in and soothe to an eternal rest many a soul that was " drooping, mute and motionless." The composition of the company upon its muster in for three years was as follows : William Colwell, Captain ; Frank Hatch and Robert Hughes, Lieutenants ; C. C. Messervey, Milo Pit kin, James D. Wood, R. A. Scott, and W. M. Spear, Sergeants in the order named ; R. W. Burns, U. P. Olin, H. B. Jarvis, P. C. Dunn, W. H. Sherwood, C. C. Busher, F. H. Lee, and James Woodward, Corporals; Edward Cantwell Fifer, Ignatius Anders, Henry Agnew, L. M. Baker, L. H. Bunnell, George Brown, J. 0. Burroughs, H. B. Beardsley, Robert Barnes, William Brown, Jefferson Brackett, 0. M. Bradford, E. 0. Brewster, M. H. Burns, J. P. Blakeslee, D. F. Chapman, G. W. Currier, A. Coffin, H. Coffin, J. M. Clark, W. H. Collins, C. D. Clark, Newton F. Chapman, J. C. Cary, William Donald, S. R. Dow, John Donavan, George H. Estabrook, N. F. Eldridge, Richard Fabey, W. Frigger, C. W. Farrand, George W. Fisher, Joseph Frame, F. F. Forrest, George Fax, George W. Flemming, W. Franklin, George Gillis, W. L. Gordon, George Gross, F. Hildreth, J. Hawkins, A. E. Haven, G. Hollenbeck, Elijah Heath, E Huggins, C. C. Jenks, George Kuneson, Andrew Knoblanch, D. W. Knox, D. W. Kenney, L. Lockman, M. Lee, J. 0. Leach, William Johnston, J. P. Jackson, T. B. Laverty, C. W. Messer, J. S. Marsh, N. Molson, R. S. McClintock, E. Markle, E. E. Moore, J. McCoy, F. Mertens, J. Martin, D. B. Pieon, Edward Potter, P. Post, F. J. Phelps, E. Reardon, J. B. Rand, F. Riebe, Claus Reickeman, Thomas B. Rand, J. H. Smith, William Stace, H. C. Smith, G. G. Symes, C. R. Spafford, R. Swartz, J. W. Sloan, J. W. Seymour, P. G. Tomp kins, Cyrus Van Cott, John Van Cott, John B. Webb, E. K. Whiting, Reuben Wright, G. M. Woodward, C. Washburn, G. Wenzell, George Washburn, J. Warren, E. D. Weeks, and James Wylie, Privates. It need only to be added that the company, to use the language of a commander of the Potomac army, " was with the ' Iron Brigade,' and won the admiration of the highest officers in the army." On the 11th of May, 1864, the Second Regiment became so reduced that less than 100 men remained fit for service, when they were assigned to provost duty, remaining in that capacity until mustered out of service in June following, when with 133 men, all told, out of 1,000 mustered in three years before, the company and regiment returned to Wisconsin. The Eighth Regiment, known as the "Eagle Regiment," contained one company enlisted in La Crosse at a period in the history of the war when the outlook was far from encouraging. At that time, as will be remembered, the duration of the war was admittedly beyond the ken of prophets, and the decision of the arbitration one of doubt, to say the least. Self-appointed Cassandras were of frequent birth, and the predictions they ventured were of as distressful import as those which preceded the destruction of Troy. The shadows had begun to grow thicker and darker with the coming of the first winter of the war ; many homes had been shaded with sorrow and draped with mourning, and the clash of arms had disturbed the peaceful pur suits of life to supply the increasing demand for human material. The recruits mustered in for a period of three months no sooner became efficient than the expiration of their term of service incapacitated them for duty. The three years' recruits had scarcely attained sufficient profi- 428 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. ciency in the knowledge of war to render them effective against the drilled forces they were expected to put to flight. Under embarrassments thus suggested, the Eighth Regiment was organized, and as its subsequent history illustrates, became one of the most reliable, brave and successful organizations that was sent into the field from the Badger State. Company "I" was enlisted in La Crosse and vicinity late in August or early in the month of September succeeding, the defeat at Manassas. The officers were M. M. Baker, Cap tain ; A. D. Hickok and H. D. Lathrop, Lieutenants ; S. J. Sergant, Thomas J. McMahon, Duncan A. Kennedy, 0. 0. Sisson and George L. Govner, Sergeants ; H. S. Phillips, P. Plunges, A. Mahoney, John Sullivan, D. H. Hall, W. C. Brown, F. J. Painter, John Flynn and M. Schenck, Corporals ; Hiram Adams, J. P. Aney, S. Anderson, W. H. Andree, J. Allen, A. K. Allen, M. Bassett, B. P. Beardsley, W. Baker, C. Brown, Henry Baker, M. Bloom, David Cronon, Edmund Cronon, Thomas Cunningham, F. J. Case, R. W. Clark, F. D. Colver, S. B. Cox, I. Conboy, J. 0. Chilson, W. Cumamon, P. Donnelly, C. Downer, D. Davis, E. N. Evans, P. Errickson, J. C. Edgar, J. Ferguson, John Gladson, Andrew Gladson, M. Godert, G. Gronaveldt, G. Glover, J. Hammond, L. Holowok, 0. B. Houk, W. E. Hewitt, C. Hol- brook, D. Hare, J. Hall, L. K. Houk, J. Hittinger, M. Hare, A. J. Johnson, C. H. Joolsen, H. Jordan, C. Jansen, Z. Johnson, M. Johnson, J. Kendall, George Key, G. Kottinger, M. Liverman, C. La Vone, D. Langston, 0. Larson, J. Mellor, H. A. McNiell. J. Myers, John, Newton, A. I. Nash, J. W. Nash, M. Northrup, C. Olsen, I. Olsen, S. Olsen, J. Olsen, Paul Olsen, John Oberlee, W. A. Penfield, V. Perham, Eugene Perham, A. Pruett, N. Quiggle, John Richards, R. Rogers, N. N. Saunders, R. Sage, H. Swennik, James Sykes, John Shores, J. Sly, H. V. Sacia, G. W. Trude, B. Trainer, J. Thorp, E. J. Vernon, Van Loon, A. J. Vil- boom, J. Underwood, R. Van Loon, R. A. Walker, A. H. Wyman and A. Wood, privates. The company was mustered into service on the 4th of September, 1861, and, on the 12th of October following, left Camp Randall for service in the field. After a brief sojourn at Benton Barracks, near St. Louis, the company became attached to the Western army, serving at New Madrid, Island No. 10, Farmington, Tenn., Iuka, Memphis, Jackson, Miss., Young's Point, Canton, Miss., Red River, Nashville, Mobile, etc., and were mustered out at Demopolis, Ala.,. September 5, 1865, arriving at Madison one week later, where they were discharged, having, during their service, marched 4,004 miles, and traveled 10,810 miles by rail and river. It is, perhaps, not unworthy of note that the eagle which they took with them from the State survived the campaigns through which the Eighth passed, enjoying excellent health and undiminished appetite until the spring of 1881, when he died. Company D, Fourteenth Regiment of Infantry, was recruited in La Crosse in the winter of 1861, and rendezvoused at Camp Wood, Fond du Lac, where it was mustered into service January 30, 1862. On March 8, following, the regiment was removed to St. Louis, where it remained until receiving orders to move up the Tennessee River, where transports were taken and the regiment conveyed to Savannah, Tenn. The Company participated in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, Lieutenant Staley distinguishing himself by the capture of a gun from a Confederate battery. The regiment afterward proceeded to Hamburg, Corinth, Bethel, Iuka, Memphis, Vicksburg, Lake Providence. Milliken's Bend, Grand Gulf, being assigned to the po sition of honor at the surrender and occupation of Vicksburg, and evoking from Gen. Ransom the remark, " every officer and man in the Fourteenth is a hero ;" Natchez, the Red River expedi tion, Tupelo, Duvall's Bluff, Cape Girardeau, Warrenton and other points in Missouri, Nashville, New Orleans, Spanish Fort, Montgomery and Mobile, where the regiment arrived on the 27th of August, 1865, and where, on October 9 of the same year, it was mustered out of service, ar riving at Madison on the 22d, when it was discharged. The company, when it left La Crosse, was as follows : James Polleys, Captain ; G. W. Staley and David Law, Lieutenants ; David Kimball, Edward F. Doane, Charles R. Spafford, Henry C. Anderson, Timothy O'Brien, A. M. Watson (Orderlv Sergeant), R. E. Osborn, Oscar P. Allen, S. Annuson, W. F. Blackley, W. H. Brooks, C. M.'Butts, Alfred Collins, W. Chap man, Louis Amiolt, Willard Atkinson, John Cready, J. H. Chambers, B. M. Dunham, Daniel HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 429 Davis, William Dolan, Edwin Elkins, James Foster, Daniel F. Farr, Moses Frost, I. Gallagher, Samuel Gertin, J. M. B. Glenn, Cyrus H. Glenn, Patrick Gerr, James Harris, James Harri son, Joseph Hafner, Patrick Haloran, Samuel Hunstable, Edwin Howard, S. A. Harris, Charles W. Jenks, John Johnson, Harvey Kimball, Frederick Koch, William Logan, Alfred Lowell, James F. McCoy, John McCoy, Charles Millard, S. H. Moodie, WilliamMc Connell, Shadrach Mason, John Nevins, H. F. Newland, M. Owens, J. M. Owens, T. W. Owens, Herman Runge, William A. Strosander, Ezra Sherwin, Louis Sprain, David Seaton, Cyrus H. Shepard, J. Snodgras, William Tayler, Robert J. Thomas, Everton Tucker, 0. Vincent, H. Vincent and T. J. Woodcock, privates. Company F, Twenty-fifth Regiment, was raised in La Crosse and Jackson Counties, during the summer of 1862, by Capt. J. C. Farrand, of Onalaska. About the 1st of September, the company was organized under the name of the " Black River Tigers," and on the 14th of the same month mustered into service for three years or the war. Within a week thereafter, it pro ceeded to Minnesota River, and remained on the Northwestern frontier until January, 1863, thence proceeded to Columbus, Ky., Yazoo River, Vicksburg, Lake Providence, Eastern Arkan sas, Canton, Miss., Cairo, Decatur, Ala., Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw, Atlanta, through the Caro- linas, and took part in the review at Washington, after which they were mustered out. On the roster of members, as mustered into the service, the following were from La Crosse County: James C. Farrand, Captain; Parker C. Dunn, First Lieutenant; Oscar K. Hickok, First Sergeant; Alfred H. Lamb, Fourth Corporal; Leonard Alley, Joseph Aiken, Oleff Erick- son, Seth M. Gedney, Thomas W. Joy, Ezra Lockman, James H. Miller, William G. Papst, Joseph Shafer, George Smith, William J. Spencer, John White and Frederick Halinka, privates. In August, 1861, Capt. Jacob T. Foster, commanding an artillery company in La Crosse, received orders to fill up his organization to 150 men, as soon as possible, and proceed to camp in the vicinity of the city. The Captain had previously offered the services of the company, but not until this date were they accepted. It was commanded by J. T. Foster, who resigned his position of cashier of the Green Bay Bank for that purpose, supported by Alexander Cameron, District Attorney ; A. W. Bishop, a prominent lawyer; John Anderson, a leading teacher, and J. L. Usher, a wealthy farmer as Lieutenants. Recruiting progressed rapidly, and on September 16, an election of officers was held, fol lowed on the 19th by the presentation of a banner from the ladies of La Crosse. It was army regulation size, composed of heavy silk, bordered with gold fringe, embellished with two heavy gold cords and tassels, surmounted with a golden eagle, holding in his talons arrows and olive branches. Dr. Cameron made the presentation speech, which was responded to in an appropri ate manner by Capt. Foster ; addresses were also delivered by Charles Seymour of the Repub lican, Judge Gale, Mr. Montgomery, Lieut. Otis arid others, the exercises of the day concluding with a benefit ball at the Augusta House, which was largely attended by citizens of La Crosse and the surrounding country. The company remained in La Crosse until the evening of Wednesday, October 2, 1861, when it proceeded to Camp Utley, near Racine, and went into camp. Previous to their depart ure, a reception was held at Barron's Hall, which was crowded to its utmost capacity by friends of the "boys," who were there to bid them a kind farewell and God speed on their mission. Short speeches were made, and the ceremonies were impressive, as many an eye unused to tears testified. About 11 o'clock, a procession was formed, headed by the Bohemian band, thence follow ing the Missouri Sharpshooters and Fire Department, under the escort of which the company went to the cars. Although the hour was midnight, it was a demonstration of which the city was proud, and after a brief time passed in final leave takings, and, mid hearty cheers, the train bearing the company departed for other fields. Much was expected of this organization; its composition was of a superior quality, the officers having occupied prominent professional positions, which they resigned to enter, upon the duties of their rank, and with the non-commis- 430 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. sioned officers, pledged themselves not to taste a drop of intoxicating liquor while they were in the service. And these expectations were more than fulfilled to the friends of its members. They ran the gauntlet of battle and murder and sudden death, and while many survived and still live to rejoice in their country, purified and strengthened, many went down the road to glory and left no mark behind them, save the tears of widows and orphans. But they will never be forgotten, while the memory of those who might have made the days of war prosper ous and happy, but spread instead, broadcast, death, devastation and ruin, shall endure, they will be remembered. Their memory is as immortal as that of Bonaparte, who slumbers under the golden dome of the Invalids, in a stately cenataph, the walls of which are supported by the twelve victories of Pradier — as that of the hero who slumbers there, with the cloak of Marengo and the sword of Austerlitz on his coffin. The roster of the company upon its departure from La Crosse was as follows : J. T. Foster, Captain ; Alexander Cameron, A. W. Bishop, John D. Anderson and Daniel Webster, Lieuten ants ; Charles B. Kimball, Staff Sergeant ; L. A. Paddock, Quartermaster's Sergeant; William Summerfield, Myron Hill, Oscar F. Nutting, Samuel Hoyt, Ephriam L. Hackett and E. E. Stewart, Sergeants ; E. P. Aylmer, H. A. Rifenberg, J. S. Merrill, Norman Webster, James McConnell, Richard Kimbell, J. C. Wells, M. E. Powell, B. B. Webster, Samuel Blake, Augus tus Vaughn and Robert M. Maaer, Corporals ; Cuyler Armstrong, Gabriel Armstrong, George W. Armstrong, William Adams, John Arnot, James Burke, H. P. Busevell, Lafayette Briggs, Ira Butterfield, Z. Barnum, C. C. Buzzell, C. K. Baxter, Thomas Britt, J. E. Black, L. Bar tholomew, B. N. Bradfield, Thomas A. Bones, John Boyce, T. Brown, F. M. Bunn, S. D. Blake, James Cavanar, E. B. Clark, J. S. Clark, W. H. Cramer, Monroe Crawford, William Coe, E. Calkins, S. Cramer, C. V. Chapman, John Castles, Hiram Carter, P. N. Carson, D. W. Clark, J. M. Crocker, John Curtis, Don Carlos Cameron, Francis Down, George Daigler, James De- lane, J. B. Davidson, W. J. Davidson, Peter Derham. P. J. Donnelly, A. Devereaux, Carl Er- rickson, Jerome Fuller, William Foster, William Ferrill, A. Freeman, W. J. Grubb, F. M. Gar ner, F. L. Green, Robert Graham, J. H. Gillette, J. M. Garner, Joseph Gillam, G. W. Gale, Perter Harper, John F. Houser, Samuel Hoyt, C. C. Harrington, H. C. Hackett, G. L. Her- rick, M. Hargraves, R. Hodge, C. C. Hagerman, J. N. Hitchcock, M. D. Hill, B. E. Hall, E. P. Hewitt, E. J. Harris, J. H. Heckman, C. W. Kellogg, R. Kimball, J. A. Knapp, 0. H. Lindsay, N. D. Ledyard, G. W. Love, James Magill, William Matteson, H. E. Meigs, William Morrison, John Malbun, C. W. Morley, James McConnell, William McKerth, J. C. McCoy, John McCabe, Peter McNally, C. N. Merritt, C. E. Middaugh, J. G. Milligan, Joseph Miers, Levi Noble, M. E. Powell, S. H. Pound, J. P. Peck, W. H. Pink, W. C. Pidge, H. L. Pang- burn, W. C. Paddock, W. P. Potter, August Peterson, Poyfair Hervey, H. A. Rifenburg, H. Rathburn, John Reed, W. F. Richards, J. H. Randless, E. E. Stewart, John Sheridan, G. W. Snuer, W. S. Snuer, Eri Summey, G. W. Scott, Winfield Scott, J. T. Spaulding, J. W. Sawyer, H. Sterling, W. J. Summerfield, E. N. Trowbridge, M. Trafts, John F. Viets, N. Webster, P. Welch, M. J. Whitney, C. S. Waters, W. H. Walker, Charles Withee and Levi Withee, Privates. The battery remained in camp until January 23, 1862, when it left the State for field service, under orders to report at Louisville, Ky. They remained here and in Ken tucky until April, when they were sent into Tennessee ; thence proceeding to points indicated in general orders throughout the Southwest, including Memphis, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and elsewhere, leaving a most favorable impression upon all with whom they were associated in any capacity, and earning a reputation for reliance, order and character unsurpassed by any similar organization in the Federal army. The battery returned to Wisconsin in July, 1865, and were mustered out of service on the 18th of that month. Company B, Second Cavalry, hailed from La Crosse County, where its enlistment was secured during the winter of 1861. In December of the same year, the company proceeded to Camp Washburn, near Milwaukee, where it was mustered into service February 6, 1862, with a HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 431 roster of 100 members and the following officers : A. W. Bishop, Captain ; John W. Whylock and Thomas L. Flesh, Lieutenants. On the 24th of March following, the company, with the regiment, left the State and pro ceeded to St. Louis, thence to Jefferson City, Memphis, Helena, Vicksburg, with Grierson through Mississippi, Gaines' Landing, Ark., Grenada, finally being assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Cavalry Division, Military Division of the Gulf. Under this command the regiment was moved into Texas, where it remained until mustered out on the 15th of November, 1865, and set out for home two days later. Part of the journey was made on foot, the remain der by rail and steamer, reaching Madison on the 11th of December. In addition to the companies mentioned, La Crosse furnished one company of hundred-day men ; also, recruits to every branch of the service, whose names and connections have been but imperfectly kept. During the struggle, those who remained at home were equally active in their fields of duty, equally solicitous of the future, equally earnest and equally sincere as the brave boys who repre sented La Crosse County in the smoke of battle, at the bivouac, on the march, by the camp fire and burial trench. Whatsoever remained for citizens to do they did well, only fearful lest results might not be proportioned to the demands. And the women of La Crosse, the sisters, wives, and mothers of the heroes who entered the lists against which military genius, martial skill, and the prestige of names already famous as their allies, were arrayed — silently, cheer fully, lovingly they, too, performed their part in the national drama. Like rainbows of promise through the mist of the storm, they appeared to the soldier when defeat was impending, and, kissing the icy brow of despair, bade him keep on. Through many gloomy days, when the vistas of the future seemed gray and the horizon hung heavy and low, they came in their appointed way and wooed him to dreams of lingering hope, whence to awake was to realize. Meetings were arranged by men, at which money was subscribed and the sinews of war provided ; but the women performed their wonders in a less public manner, but accomplishing grand results, causing the shadowy veil of doubt to be lifted, the joyous paeans of thanksgiving to be sounded, and notes of gratitude to spring unbidden from a million souls. The early combined efforts made by the women of La Crosse County for the care and relief of the soldiers was inaugurated during the summer of 1861, after the battle of Bull Run gave intimation of the demand for such services. What was done, however, was informally, and without any concert of action. Gradually the importance of organization and system became apparent, and the Soldiers' Relief and Aid Society followed. This was the outgrowth of meet ings held at the Baptist Church in the fall, and on November 2 an election was held, with the following result: Mrs. C. K. Lord, President; Mrs. Walter Webb, Vice President; Mesdames L. E. Ober, L. Lottridge, and S. S. Burton, Secretaries ; Mrs. H. T. Rumsey, Treasurer. Mesdames Dr. McArthur, J. A. Sumner and L. C. McKenney, Managers ; Mesdames A. W. Shepard, A. Van Valkenburg, Alonzo Johnson, George Morgan, W. B. Hanscome, W. R. Sill, J. H. Rogers, I. E. Messmore, Alexander McMillan, Angus Cameron, John J. Cole and W. W. Jones, Soliciting Committee. The objects of the organization, as is well known, included the relief of the soldiers, the aiding of families, caring for sick, burying the dead, and in a thousand and one ways the magic fingers of woman may be employed in contributing as much of humanity and benevolence as was possible to smooth the wrinkled front of grim-visaged war. Their efforts lightened many a heart and became sunbeams to the stricken one, pure and unsullied as the hues of silver and pearl which ofttimes, in sorrow and desolation, come down from the blue tinted sky. The organization was continued until the news of peace brought with it the knowledge that the work of the Ladies' Aid Society was at an end. Those who had been active in its perform ance concluded their duties, and went back once more into the retirement of domestic life, and with a serene consciousness of what they had done, took up the burdens of wives and mothers again, to be only laid down when life dropped the distaff and death closed the volume forever. 432 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The year 1862 passed, and 1863 dawned upon the nation struggling for its life. The times were indeed grave, and the future doubtful. Soldiers were called for and responded, and yet the tide of battle seemed not to have turned. Such was the condition of affairs when the battle of Gettysburg was impending, and no man was able to predict what the result would be. With feelings of anxiety the citizens of La Crosse waited and watched for intelligence from that historic field, and when the smoke of battle, slowly lifting, revealed that victory had lighted upon the stars and stripes, a sense of relief was experienced no pen could describe or eloquence express. Later, the surrender of Vicksburg which had been rumored for some days, was con firmed, and the long-looked-for success which had been prayed for, was thought to have arrived. The effects of those sudden and it may be added unexpected successes, became apparent in the changed order of affairs in La Crosse City and County. Differences of opinion, both political and personal, were forgotten, and the people were elevated from the nadir of despair to the zenith of encouragement. The only regret expressed was that the good work had not been com menced before. The news was cheering, because it portended the breaking-down of the entire fabric of Confederate government, though the process might be long, and in their desperate energy the Confederates might for a season grow more furious. No matter ; the end could at least be seen ; the people had but to persevere in their determined effort ; to gird themselves to the task of winning, when the giant form of secession and anarchy would burst into fragments, and rush down into perdition in flames and blood. On the 16th of November, 1863, the draft for the Sixth Congressional District commenced in La Crosse, at Barron's Hall. George Stanley officiated as "drawer" of tickets, under the supervision of Mayor Pettibone and a committee consisting of John S. Simonton, C. G. Hixon and ¦and Theo. Rodolf. The number of tickets drawn for the city was 619, of which seventy were prizes ; in the remainder of the county 1,077 tickets and 136 prizes, making 206 citizens of the city and county candidates for good clothes and a musket free of expense. This preliminary, so to speak, had the effect of admonishing those subject to the provisions of an act " for enrolling and calling out the national forces and for other purposes," etc., to improvise means whereby a repetition might be avoided. With a view to this end, meetings were held and a plan adopted by which $7,515 were raised as a bounty fund in contemplation of the draft announced for January 5, 1861. This being accomplished, clergymen and those who were unable to go to the front, yet liable to be summoned, were relieved from anxiety and actual service. The new year opened auspiciously. It succeeded a year which came in shrouded with gloom ; departing, its lights and shadows no more to be experienced. During its race, many a loved one in the van of the conquerors had been stricken down while flushed with victory, bath ing those that were left in mourning and in tears. Many a hope had died since 1863 dawned ; many a castle crumbled while yet the summer was new ; but the season of golden leaves brought with it renewed promises that were crystallized into form after many days. Pittsburg Landing bad been fought for and won ; Vicksburg was taken ; Gettysburg the scene of a signal victory ; Port Hudson had fallen, and the Federal army achieved successes that at one time during that an nual were regarded as among the possibilities only. On the sea the history of the contest was dupli cated, and, all things considered, the citizens of La Crosse County, with those of other portions of the loyal North, had cause to rejoice. This felicitation was checked to some extent, how ever, by the call for 500,000 troops in addition to the quota already furnished, and meetings were again held to provide for the enlistment of soldiers from La Crosse and avoid the draft an nounced for and occurring on September 19, 1864. During the terrible fighting between Lee and Grant in the summer of 1864, the contest was watched by La Crosse patriots with feelings of anxiety and fear — anxiety as to the result, and fear lest the rush of shot and shell would engulf many representatives from this vicinity in their wake. But no time was wasted in listening to these forebodings ; the demands of humanity submitted more eloquent appeals than those of fear. The series of fearful battles which were fought had filled the hospital to the gates of death with the brave, the loved, the suffering. LA CROSSE, HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 435 Their calls were heeded, and by every means accessible to affection or sympathy, their wounds were sought to be healed, their wants to be supplied, their strength to be restored. Before the summer was gone, the relics of companies and regiments which had responded to the first call for troops, began to return to their homes. The first of these was what was left of the Second, a regiment that on June 20, 1861, left Camp Randall to commence its term of active service. Little did its members know what the future veiled. The jubilant spirits that characterized their departure, the blare of martial music, the waving of handkerchiefs, the emo tions of sadness and pride, the "hurrahs" of the multitude, and the enthusiastic responses of the departing soldiers — these were not all present. Gaps had been made in the ranks that would never be closed up, and it had been winnowed and sifted in the tempest through which it had passed. Not an officer of the line was left to come back. 0' Conner, Stephens, Colwell, Randolph, McKee, Hughes, Noble and Sanford died on the field of honor ; Col. Mansfield and Lieut. Col. Parsons were wounded and prisoners ; Capts. Rollins and Baldwin were in Libby Prison, and the regiment came home under the command of Maj. George H. Otis, who marched from Camp Randall to Virginia a private in the ranks. The veterans were accorded a handsome reception at Madison, and mustered out of service, after which they separated to their homes, and the duties of the soldier were lost in those of the citizen. On the evening of October 26, 1864, the La Crosse Battery returned to the city, whence it departed, after three years of active service in the Southwest, and were greeted with hearty welcomes from their fellow-citizens. Others from the regiments which had been recruited in La Crosse County returned at intervals during the fall, winter and spring following, and the reception extended was alike grateful and commendable. Finally, the surrender of Lee" and Johnston was a signal for the conclusion of hostilities and the disbandment of the armies. Up to this period, however, recruiting officers sought for material in the city and county. The Provost Marshal and his subordinates enlisted those who were subject to military duty, and preparations for enforcing a draft were continued uninterruptedly. But upon the announcement of the truce at Appamattox, measures designed to add to the forces in Virginia and the South west were abandoned. Nearly four years of riot, rapine and bloodshed had been folded away, and lay moldering in the sepulcher of the past. Nearly four years dotted with events, the im portance of which to the present and the future no pen can relate. The pilgrimage against anarchy had come to a halt, had achieved a victory. But its way was strewn with broken shrines, with hopes wasted into ashes, with green mounds over which the grass was fresh with the watering of tears, with shadows which could never be forgotten. But the end with its sun shine was nigh, and the nation had attained a position about which the storms of disunion would never rage, or the waves of internal discord beat. So ended the grandest, most momentous and most destructive struggle in modern history. The country was again at peace, and the duties of its citizens to bind up the wounds and re build the sentiment of national unity which nearly four years of war had served to, in a measure, sweep away. Presently the soldiers came home, such as were spared — soldiers who had followed the cannons to the gates of hell, and the glittering, flashing saber to the jaws of death. They had naught to regret in the retrospect of the four years through which they served. They had fought with a foe whose illustrious devotion and splendid courage brightened defeat, and chal lenged comparison with the most superb achievements of history or inventions of romance. That which the war accomplished they accepted as irreversible without casting lingering looks be hind. All they asked was to be permitted to aid in burying the past, healing the wounds of strife, and not to be dishonored by a union in which that party was the least disgraced who would thereby be the most degraded. For them the word " desolation " was legibly written whitherso ever they might turn. Their fields were dumb, the trees shadowed a home that was tenantless, and a rap at their doors returned hollow sounds like clods falling upon a coffin-lid. Though guilty of treason, perhaps, they were brothers, whose valor commands respect, whose motives 436 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. command charity, and whose sin deserves sympathy. They were Americans, descendants of the band who bore the travail of a republic's birth, who educated its development, who pro vided for its support, and who created the constitution by which its prosperity was promoted. The soldiers of both armies returned to their homes, and, having turned their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, began once more the building-up of that which had lapsed during their absence. The fields once more resounded with the music of the reaper's song, the shops with the noise of the forge. In the pulpit, at the bar, on the hustings and in the halls of learning were to be found once more those who had deserted these professional walks for the camp, the field, the hospital and immortality. But there were many who came not back, they were left to sleep the sleep of sanctified rest beneath the cypress shade, amid clouds of fragrance in the land of cocoa and palm. They stopped to rest on the road of life, and wakened to reality in the better land, where sunny souls enjoy the fruition of Hope ; where gems richer than the jeweled crown are a reward for the love that was manifested on earth ; for the charity that was expressed on earth ; for the cup of water which earned a beggar's grateful thanks. In the web of their lives, a bright and golden filling was woven ; and when the delicate silver threads were snapped asunder it was the darkest hour before the dawning. Then came a time when the anxious hearts of those at home, erstwhile joyous, became as dead to all save memories, as prisoners chained in their dungeons. Then came the time in life's seasons, when the golden summer ceased, and the autumn robe of Grief was provided with naught but rosy Hope to cheer the mourners until another dawn, which came with fairer light, and showed that the whisperings of watchers were false, that there was no death to mourn. And so it will ever be. There is nothing dead. Let " the lambs of the fold " go with no tears at their departing — it is but going from home to home. Let them go at any time out into the gloom no human soul can penetrate, as went the dove from Ararat ; a hand is ever open to take the wanderers in and shut them out from the darkness. Quell the sounds of mourning ; let there be songs of gladness, not sighs of sorrow ; flowers, not wreaths of mourning ; smiles, not tears. They are gone before, not dead. The rest shall follow, as a part of that great chain which from the first man reaches to eternity. Look heavenward, hopefully, joyfully, for they are waiting at the gates of the Land Immortal for thy coming. The following soldiers from Wisconsin and other States are believed to be residents of La Crosse County : W. A. Anderson, M. D. ; W. Atkinson, Fred Alter, S. Anderson, G. Allen, Fred Artus, J. Allen, B. F. Bryant, E. E. Bently, N. Bradfield, W. Blackley, E. Barlow, G. W. Brice, C. Brice, W. Brice, D. Bigby, M. M. Buttles, J. A. Ballard, G. Boardman, W. Batchel der, W. D. Bell, P. Buswell, A. Bradfield, A. Brooks, J. Breneman, J. G. Brown, J. Brown, B. Brower, E. Chamberlain, F. A. Copeland, E. Cronan, J. B. Canterbury, P. N. Carson, S. Childers, A C. Carter, E. F. Crane, C. D. Clark, E. B. Clarke, J. J. Cleveland, M. H. Cram, F. D. Clover, D. C. Cameron, W. C. Casey, A. G. Collins, T. Carrelton, A. Carrold, E. F. Doane, H. C. Dennison, G. Dalton, G. M. Dansbury, William Dolan, J. Davidson, G. Dol phin. W. Dolphin, A. Dunham, B. E. Edwards, J. Evans, E. W. Ford, W. Farnum, R. Fahey, C. W. Farrand, D. Farrand, J. Fall, S. C. Fauver, August Franz, J. Foster, D. Fern, J. Flush, M. Garner, W. H. Gaspard, M. Gintzner, A. Gunn, E. Glenn, E. F. Gowdey, John Getts, S. Guerten, C. Gardner, S. C. Harrison, J. M. Holley, Frank Hatch, Ed. Howard, E. Halloren, M. F. Hubbard, J. Hafner, J. Hatzenbuhter, S. T. Harrison, C. Hewitt, W. E. Hewitt, J. C. Hewitt, William H. Harris, C. L. Hood, J. E. Harkness, M. Hargraves, G. Hill, J. W. Has kell, J. Harris, D. Harrison, L. Harrison, Ole Hendrickson, J. Ingman, C. Jenks, G. Koethe, 0. F. Kilmer, I. Kirsh, A. J. Lamb, A. H. Lamb, T. A. Lewis, G. Langsdadt, E. Lockman, A. Lowery, P. Lehnen, D. Law, W. Lee, H. Lowell, E. D. Loomis, Phil Langdon, G. Lewis, S. Lambert, D. Marston, D. W. Marston, C. Miller, W. T. Morrison, E. Markle, J. Markle, S. H. Moody, M. T. Moore, C. T. Martin, A. McDonald, J. C. Moody, F. McAdams, P. Mc Laughlin, J. J. McDonald, J. F. McCoy, H. Milen, J. C. Morrison, A. G. Marsh, W. McCon nell, J. McConnel, G. Myers, R. J. Nimmocks, N. C. Nelson, C. Ottilie, T. O'Brien, R. E. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 43T Osborne, G. W. Orcutt. William O'Donald, G. Ortnaus, M. J. Pitkin, C. H. Palmer, J. E. Parker, P. Plunges, F. I. Phelps, H. S. Phillips, A. C. Parker, W. P. Powers, W. R. Putnam, John Pfaff, A. Pruett, W. H. Place, John Pinkerton, Joseph Pinkerton, E. G. Perkins, H. Parks, J. Peck, E. C. Peck, J. Palten, G. Palten, L. Rossiter, William Rossiter, J. B. Rand, T. B. Rand, E. M. Rogers, T. F. Rodolf, H. S. Roberts, Thomas Rooney, H. F. Smiley, G. W. Scott, J. P. Scott, R. A. Scott, C. Smith, S. A. Smith, James Smith, J. C. Smith, M. Schenck, W. H. Sherwood, W. J. Scott, William Skeels, Henry Schroder, Clark Strout, G. Servis, H. V. Sacia, A. W. Sowle, 0. S. Sission, E. Steward, C Shepard, J. Snodgrass, G. Strobridge, G. Slatcer, H. Schlong, J. Seeley, B. Swan, B. Shepard, William Taylor, D. R. Thompson, L. A. Towne, William Tucker, H. K. Vincent, A. Van Loon, H. C. Van Wie, G. M. Woodward, A. M. Watson, J. B. Webb, G. Wenzel, W. W. Weiman, C. Wolgeford, H. Wilsey, L. Wilson, E. F. Weeks, L. P. Wolcott, A. J. Winters, A. Warner, B. Webster, L. Wable, Charles Williams, J. E. Wilson, T. Woodcock, and I. H. Yarringtcm. ROSTER OF VOLUNTEERS. TOWN OF BANGOR. Second Infantry — Co. A — Godelph Wentzell. Third Infantry — Co. unknown — Baxter Newton. Ninth Infantry — Co unknown — John Spraker, John Reed, John Oberlie, Conrad Myers. Tenth Infantry — Co. unkown — (Brass Band) Frank Baxter, James A. Harrington. Fourteenth Infantry — Co. D — Robert I. Thomas, Alfred Lowell, Martin Lowell, Paul Davis. Co. unknown — Pe- leg Burdick, Peter Burns. Fifteenth Infantry — Andrew Johnson. Seventeenth Infantry — Co. unknown — David M. Will iams. Nineteenth Infantry — Co. unknown — Charles Smith, James McCormick, Peter Mangault, Peter Coltinger. Thirtiith Infantry — Co. A — F. Jacobs. Co. unknown — George Corkins, Zrui Calabar, John Frouk, Frank Ja cobs, Conrad Myers, James Wyant. Third Cavalry — Co. unknown — Addison Robertson, Nathaniel Page, John McCarty, Guy Brown. First Battery — Chauncy Baxter. TOWN Or BARRE. Second Infantry — Co. B — J. Truax, William Terrill, Henry Agnew. Eighth Infantry — Co. C — [Missouri Regulars) — Neils Erickson, Peter Fredrickson, Albert Knudson, Nels Ol sen, Gilbert Olsen, Ole Olesen, Ole Peterson, Eric Torson, Nels Torson, Ole Thompson, Ole Torson. Co. D — Ole Erickson. Fourteenth Infantry — Co. D — Samuel Guerton, S. D. Huestable, James Harris, Harvey Kimball, Sherman R. Kentner, William Place, Ezra Sherwin, Albert Sprague. Fifteenth Infantry — Co. B — Thomas Knudson, Jacob Jackson, Ole Christopherson. Second Cavalry — Co. B — I. S. Blake, David Burton, George Coons, Samuel Cole, James Edgar, Julius Gorder, Walter Green, Walter Gillespie, James Gillespie, Jacob Hanson, Hans Hanson, Benedict Johnson, George Knud son, Amos Kentner, John McKade, John Milroy, Fritz Mertius, James McCavenaugh, John Smith, Hans Such- Btoff, Abram Lowson, Ben Woodbridge. Co. D — E. Par- mentier, 0. Linsey, Samuel Gerton, I. Galligher, William Foster. Unknown — Co. unknown — William Andrews, William Andrews, James Galligher, John Hickman, Mortimer Howe, Albert Howe, James Miller, A. Mortibry, R_ Powell, Edward Roberts, W. G. Service, Isaac Spurling, Byron Dunham. TOWN OF BURNS. Third Infantry — Co. unknown — Baxter Newton. Fourth Infantry — Co. G — George P. Bagley. Co. I — James Smith, John Skinner, Lucien Bennett. Eighth Infantry — Co. I — George Gernnon. Fourteenth Infantry — Co. D — Byron Palmer. Eighteenth Infantry — Co. D — Benjamin C. Cadwell, George Hicks, Selodus Hill, John Lee, Ere P. Sweet, James Sweet, Stephen Teiton. Nineteenth Infantry — Co. C — James Commins. Twentieth Infantry — Co. F — Horace R. Washburn. Twenty-fifth Infantry — -Co. A — Oliver. Rathburn, Davidi H. Campbell. Co. unknown — Alexander Sutton. Thirtieth Infantry — Co. unknown — Hiram Britten. First Cavalry — Co. A — Marcus M. Buttles, William S. Foster, Charles A. Huson, William A. Phillips. Co. F — Samuel Hyde. Second Cavalry — Co. B — James Arnott, David A. Noggle. Third Cavalry — Co. A — Louis Harris, Charles A. Hatch, Frederic Hethman, James A. Mallony, Joseph P. Phillips.. Nathaniel Robinson, Casper Stone, Melvin J. Whitney. First Battery — Philip Welsh, William Murphy. TOWN OF CAMPBELL. Second Infantry — Co. B — Melvin Bemis, Silas CoBtar, Jerry Moor, John Wells. Eighth Infantry — Co. J — Frank Culver, John Furguson, John Flinn, George Keys, James Lay, William Penfield, Samuel Sargent. Co. unknown — George Branch (Mis souri.) Ninth Infantry — Co. unknown — Ludwic Saltvell. Fourteenth Infantry — Co. D — Alen Collins, Jas. Carlton, John Brady, Moses Frost, Steven Lambert, John Owens. Twentieth Infantry — Co. A— Robert Moor, William Mor rison. Co. G — Frank Cole. First Battery — E. P. Aimer, George Clark, Edward! Clark, Peter Durham, E. L. Hackett, Henry Hackett, John Marron, Henry Rafenburg, Charles ,Withee, Levi Withee, Myron Whitney, Allen Western. Unknown — Co. unknown — Benjamin Branch, Edward Cantwell, George Glover, Charles Higins, John C. Mor rison, Robert Morris, R. R. McGregor, S. M. Whitney. 438 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. TOWN OF FARMINQTON. > Second Infantry — Co. unknown — John W. Seymer. Fourth Infantry — Co. G— Wilmet Roberts. Eighth Infantry — Co I — Andrew P. Wyman, James W. Thorp, Oscar 0. Sesson, John Sullivan, John Rendenvord, Nelson Quiggle, David Hall, Oliver B. Houk, William Hewitt, Franklin Case. Ninth Infantry — Co. unknown — Eph. Adam, Ludwig Pfaff. Twenty-fifth Infantry-Co. unknown — William H. Thorp, Lewis F. Thorpj David Lush. First Cavalry — Co. H. John Frank, R. Kurtz. Second Cavalry — Co. A — James Martin. Co. B — Will iam Henry Covey, A. W. Gallap, John Hobbs, James Hewitt, Ira F. Kilmer, Alonzo Sisson. First Battery— Michael Traft, William Pink, David Mc Connell, James McConnell Jr., James Handy, Michael Hichcock, F. Downs, Hiram Carter. Unknown— Co. unknown — Harmon Houk, Squiring Heinick, Henry S. Roberts. TOWN OF GREENFIELD. Second Infantry — Co. B— Ed Moore, Emanuel Markle, George Grass. Fourth Infantry — Co. unknown — Peter Markle. Eighth Infantry — Co. I — Rob Rodger, A. Pruett, H. A. McNeill, Merrills Hare, Pat Donnelly. Twentieth Infantry — Co. unknown — George Smith. Second Cavalry — Co. A — Albert Bishop, Eliakin Bar- Barlow, Frederick Keinder, Perry Pruett. TOWN OF HOLLAND. Second Infantry — Co. B — Nicholas Reukma. Third Infantry — Co. F — Milton Chapman. Eighth Infantry — Co. — La Crosse County Rifles — Al- vinR. Allen, William C. Brown, Gerben Groenvelt, C. D. Jooston, Zebulon Johnson, Christian Johnson, Ever Olson, Peter Plunges, Martin Schenk, Henry Swiening, Rindert Van Loom, Elmore Vernon, Leonard Wilson and Charles Walker. Ninth Infantry — Co. F — Frederic Spring. Fifteenth Infantry — Co. unknown — Hanson Johnson. Twentieth Infantry — Co. unknown — Virgine Niver. Second Cavalry — Co. H — Ludwig Hartman, Louis Steinstra, Dirk Steinstra. La Crosse Battery — Charles Waters, John Castle. TOWN OF JACKSON. Second Infantry — Co. unknown — T. B. Rand. Eighth Infantry — Co. C — Johanes Larson, Anders Lar son (Missouri). Co. I — William Audrey, Summon An derson, — — Cook, Richard Clark, Mickel Johnson, D. A. Kannada, Allen Mahoney, Orloff Olson, James Sykes, Newton Sanders, H. V. Sasca, Christian Nelson, Hall, Christian Olson. Thirteenth Infantry — Co. I — Henry Lincoln. Fifteenth Infantry — Co. E — Johanes Johnson, Awarer Brodson. Twentieth Infantry — Co. unknown — 0. M. Johnson. Twenty-fifth Infantry — Co. unknown — I. Lapham. FIRST WARD — CITY OF LA CROSSE. Second Infantry — Co. B — John Brown, James P. Blake- slee, Abner Comstock, G. W. Connor, F. Chapman, Wal ter I. Carlton, Charles D. Clark, Felix Deguire, George Fox, Jeremiah Quscette, Firman Hildreth, Robert Hughes, Alfred Haven, William N. Harris, C. B. Lafrunere, h! S. Loomis, James Martin, Nathaniel Molson, Samuel Mc- Une, C. C. Messeroy, John Murray, James Maloy Edward McHardy, U. P. Olsen, Burrell S. Reppy,' W. B. Reppy, Peter Riley, M. C. Raymond, Wallace M. Spear, William Struthers, George G. Symes, William H. Sherwood, William Thomas, James W. Warren, James D. Wood. Co. D — James B. Bradford. Eighth Infantry — Co. I — Thomas Cunningham, Fred eric Lawrence, Simon Overson. Co. unknown — James C. Comrehan, Theodore H. Cornall, Harlon Hinkston, Peter McDowell, Ole Peterson, Stephen B. Sheldon. Fourteenth Infantry — Co. D— Joseph Crady, George S. Edner, Patrick Holloran, James Hoffner, Christopher D. Martin, Hawley W. Roper, William A. Storsnider, W. H. Lucker. Fifteenth Infantry — Co. A — Isaac Syerson, Ole Syerson. Co. E — Ole Halverson. Nineteenth Infantry — Co. B — Samuel G. Amidon, Sam uel Childers, George W. Chapman, Alexis Durkie, Alfred R. Donney, Aslack Gunderson, Andrew Gunderson, Frank Halsey, John Halverson, Ole G. Hogan, Ole M. Johnson, Frederick Minzer, Ames G. Nace, I. S. Patten, Stacy W. Stage, Martin F. Thompson, Nelson Thompson. Twentieth Infantry — Co. A — S. P. Jackson and Joseph Frame. Twenty-fourth Infantry — Co. unknown — John L. Jolley. Twenty-fifth Infantry — !o. unknown — Frank Fitts, Os car K. Hikok, Herman Kent. Sixtieth Infantry — Illtyd Dier (Illinois). Second Cavalry — Co. B — Porter I. Force, Claren I. Gop- elin, William Osgood. Co. D — George A. Truax, John Truax. Second Cavalry — Co. H — Henry Brower, Frederick Bush, Gustus Bodiker. First Battery — Zudock Barman, Benjamin N. Brad field, I. T. Foster, Anthony Goplin, Robert Gratam, Ed mund P. Hewitt, George L. Herrick, Henry C. Hackett, John F. Houser, James A. Knapp, John C. McCoy, VJharl- ton E. Middaugh, Porter W. Wheeler, William C. Pidge, William C. Paddock, Samuel Pound, Hellett Rathburn, George W. Scott, William I. Summerfield, Augustus Van Slyke, Bailey Webster, I. W. Young. Unknown — Will iam Brown, Joseph M. Dubea, Andrew Knobuloch, Jacob Markle, Ole Thorson, Robert M. Gordon, Francis Mo- rand, A. H. Pettibone, John Thrace. SECOND WARD — CrTY OF LA CROSSE. Second Infantry — Co. B — Hiram Adams, Thomas An derson, C. C. Bushee, Edward 0. Brewster, Robert Brice, Denio Burton, Robert Burns, G. A. Beck, Edward Cantwell, Thomas Comings, James Conwell, Fred Cush- man, William Clow, Samuel R. Dow, Martin Donaldson, Joseph M. Dike, James Faril, Frank Jawie, Frank M. Lee, James M. Leach, Ephriam Lavoye, John Lupie, 0. H. Stone, D. P. Trowbridge, B. Webb, Cornelius Wil bur, Calvin Young. Eighth Infantry— Co. I— William H. Andre, Martin Bassett, David Croner, Franklin Case, Richard M. Clark, John 0. Cule, David Davis, George T. Gardner, Eli M. Grans, Oliver B. Hink, Decatur 0. Hans, William 0. Hewett, David H. Hall, Gustavus Kalingee, John Kilin- ger, Joseph Lireerman, Ole Larson, John Myers, Nelson Quigley, John Sulivan, Barney Trainor, Bindeet Van Lorn, R. A. Walker, James C. Edgar, Ole Olson. Co. unknown — Thomas Delany, Mo. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 439 Ninth Infantry— Co F — Jacob Lamp, Martin Voegle. Fourteenth Infantry — Co. D — J. L. Chapman, John Chambers, Samuel Chleers, Joseph Dubey, Samuel H. Moody, James Outman, Timothy 0 Brien, R. E. Osborn, Patrick Sheridan, William Taylor, William H. Wood ward. Nineteenth Infantry — Co. B — N. B. Chamberlain, Peter Erickson, Seth C. Heil. Twentiith Infantry — Co. A — C. Hoffman. Second Cavalry — Co. D — Joseph H. Burnell, George F. Hartwell, George Habehenson, — Langsled. First Battery — Thomas Britt, Thomas A. Bones, Sam uel D. Blake, William Coe, James Casanor, Michael Darmes, Peter Derim, George Daegler, Almaran Free man, Frank Green, James M. Gasner, William J. Gaub, Myron Hill, Ephriam Hackett, Charles C. Harrington, Robert Hodge, Calvin E. Hageman, Mark Hargrave, James L. Knapp, Eri Leeming, John McKabe, James McGill, George W. McCann, Peter McNally, Charles M. Merrit, Chester W. Morley, David Manes, John Marrow, Oscar D. Nutting, Levi Noble, Hiram M. Pangburn, Franklin I. Painter, Miles E. Powell, H. Peterson, Win field Scott, William Snure, Jasper W. Sawyer, Augustus Vaughn, George Craft, William H. Cramer, Silas Cramer, George W. Snure. THIRD WARD — CITY OF LA CROSSE. Second Infantry — Co. B — Andrew Allen, L. H. Burnell, Peter Brown, C. E. Brewster, J. D. Burroughs, R. W. Burro, Capt. Nils Colwell, Newton F. Chapman, Henry Clark, Burton Downing, R. E. Dunn, Page Downing, Walter Glanford, George Gross, First Lieut. Robert Hughs, Norman M. Hardy, Daniel W. Kenny, Lee Mar vin, David McKenney, Edward E. Moore, Fred Martin, Jefferson Prickett, Henry Reynolds, Frederick Reil, Robert A. Scott, Annis Smith, James W. Sloan. Fifth Infantry — Co. unknown — Lee Dixon. Eighth Infantry — George H. Jones, Mo. Ninth Infantry— Oo. F— Jacob W. Steves, 111., Ludwig Salswedel. Co. I — William McCrea. Fourteenth Infantry— Co. D— William H. Brooks, B. E. Brower, Daniel Bundy, Alfred Collins, John Duncan, Dan F. Ferrand, Samuel Gordon, Samuel A. Harrison, H. A. Marvin, Herman Rungu, Daniel Sexton. Fifteenth Infantry — Co. A — Job Christianson, Charles H. Hanson. Nineteenth Infantry — Co. B — Gurlie Anderson, Francis Blanchard, Halver Ohrisson, Edwin Donny, W. W. Gor don, Ole Gievmanson, Jens Hanson, Gunder Holverson, Ira Monroe, Asa B. Scetige, Miles G. Stuart, Charles B. Siller, Samuel S. Sargent. Twentieth Infantry — Co. A — Homer Marvin. Twenty-fifth Infantry— Co. unknown— Leonhard Allen, Jacob McCreary. Second Cavalry— Co. B— Andrew Bates, Albert W. Bishop, G. H. Coons, John B. McCann, John McCrea, Franz Stapf, John Stefnns, Joseph P. Scott, Edmond- Stark, I. C. Thompson. Co. H — Julius Kaufman. First Battery — John D. Anderson, Edward P. Aqclmer, John Arnott, A. W. Bishop, James Burke, William Caw, S. T. Chatfield, Dennis W. Clark, Alvin W. Clark, Peter W. Carson, John Castler, James W. Crocker, August Deveraux, Patrick I. Durmally, Thomas Donald, James Delang, Jerome Fuller, James Gilman, James H. Handy, Josiah H. Hitchcock, Byron E. Hale, Charles W. Kel logg, John C. Malbon, James L. Malbon, Freidrich I. Miller, William Mattison, Joseph Meirrs, Joseph D. Mer rill, William B. Potter, Augustus Peterson, Henry Poy- for, William H. Pink, John Sheridan, Job Spaulding, David Petty, John Reed, Erasmus Rodman. Unknown —I. W. Thorp, I. G. Jones. FOURTH WARD — CITY OF LA CROSSE. Second Infantry — Co. B — Jefferson Brackett, Henry B. Beardsley, William H. Collins, John H. Chambers, Ed- mond I. Doans, William Friggor, Frank Hatch, Edwin Hoare, E. W. Harris, J. J. Jarvis, Thomas Laverty, Emanuel Markee, Milo Pitkin, George B. Symes, G. W. Woodward, James Woodward. Third Infantry — Co. unknown — J. B. G. Baxter. Sixth Infantry — Co. unknown — M. W. Dennison, Minn. Eighth Infantry — Co. I — Henry Lathrop. Co. un known — Lewis Larson, John T. Kellogg, Mo. Ninth Infantry— Oo. F — John Rendler. Co. K — Bar nard Hartfield. Tenth Infantry — M. F. Hubbard (band), Horace B. Loomis (band). Fourteenth Infantry — Co. D — D. D. Cameron, — Jones, David Law, William McConnell, 0. L. Metcalf, J. W. Polleys, C. R. Spafford, George Staley, A. M. Watson, Lieut. Col. I. E. Messmore. Nineteenth Infantry — Co. B — W. H. Tucker. Twentieth Infantry — Co. A — William Haynes. Second Cavalry — Co. B — -William Arnold, Lorenzo Brooks, George Glover, Langstead Godfried, Frederic M. Gralbone, Joseph Linn, L. H. Parker, Conrad Rettburg, JohnWhytock. Co. D— Charles T. Bently. First Battery —George Armstrong, Thomas Brown, Alexander Cameron, Don Carlos Cameron, John Curtis, Cyrus D. Chapman, James R. Davidson, William J. Da vidson, James H. Gillett, E. J. Harris, Peter Harper, Charles B. Kimball, Charles H. King, Richard Kimball, George W. Lose, Joseph G. Millegan, William F. Richards, John W. Randless, Henry Starling, Daniel Webster, James G, Wells, Carlos D. Ward. 'Unknown — -Theodore George. TOWN OF NESHONOC. Second Infantry— Co. B— George Flemings, R. L. Mc- Clintock, Charles W. Mess«, William Stace, Reuben Wright, William Williams. Eighth Infantry— Co. I— Cypron Downer, A. D.Hickok, William McMann, H. S. Philips. Ninth Infantry— Co. B— E. C. Woodey (Minnesota). Tenth Infantry— Co. H — William Wilcox. Thirteenth Infantry — Co. C— Florence Wilcox. Fifteenth Infantry— Co. E— Ole Bourke, John Engman- son, Simon Emerson, Nels Hansen, Gents Hansen, Lewis Olsen, Ole Olsen, Lars Olsen, Th. C. Thompson. Twenty-fifth Infantry— Co. unknown — Thomas W. Jay, Henry Lute, Walter R. Cheney. Second Cavalry— Co. B — Charles Allen, John Andrews, Henry Adams, Samuel Boice, John Brown, Davis In- galls, Ashbel Isham, Zenophen Loomis, Dennison D. Loomis, Loverman, Thomas McCrea, I. McDaniels, Herrick Parker, P. B. Miller. Third Cavalry — Roger Mortimer, Philip Osborn, George Darrow. First Battery— Gabriel Armstrong, William Adams, Lu cius Bartholomew, William Foster, 0. H. Lindsey, Henry Meigs, L. A. Paddock, John F. Viets. Unknown — George Bailey. 440 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. TOWN OF ONALASKA. Second Infantry — Co. B — Agnatus Anders, Robert Barnes, George Easterbrook, Richard Fahey, .Charles Farrand, Elijah Heath, Charles C. Jenks, Ludwick Lock- man, F. L Phelps, Benton Rand, Robert Swartz, P. G. Tompkins. Eighth Infantry — Co. I — Charles Brown, Paul Erick son, Christian Johnson, Paul Oleson. Ninth Infantry — Co. B — James Fahey, 111. Fourteenth Infantry — Co. D — -Henry Anderson, Willard Atkinson, William Blankley, David Davis, John Evans, -James Hansen, Charles W. Jenk, David Kimball, John Olesen, Charles Welsh. Fifteenth Infantry — Co. E — Yance Hansen, John John son. Co. H — Hans Gilbertson. Co. I — Anton Bondsen, Hely Olfsen. Nineteenth Infantry — Co. B — La Plunthe Cornwell* Joseph French. Twentieth Infantry — Co. A — E. W. Hasstlroth. Twenty-fifth Infantry — Co. unknown — J. C. Farrand, Ezra Lockman, Joseph Shaffer. First Battery — Gabriel Armstrong, Charles Erickson, Harrison Hayden, William Morrison, Joseph Peck, Rayn Rod, Joseph St.eltz, Jacob Boorman, "Douglass Brigade," Daniel Richardson, Regular Army. Unknown — Franklin Forest. TOWN OF WASHINGTON. Eighth Infantry — Co. unknown — Ole Oleson. Fifteenth Infantry — Co. A — Charles Oleson, Thor Paul son. Second Cavalry — Co. unknown — Michael Slauhosky. THE OLD SETTLERS ASSOCIATION was called into being by the survivors of those who began the building up of La Crosse in 1851, and fully organized at an adjourned meeting held on Friday evening, June 17, 1881, with the «lection of John M. Levy as permanent chairman ; C. K. Lord was elected Vice President ; Charles Volner, Secretary, and Theodore Rodolf, Treasurer. The Executive Committee was then chosen, as follows : Charles Seymour, John Ulrich, I. L. Usher, Howard Cramer and J. W. Losey. The constitution provides who may become members of the association upon the payment of $1 initiation fee, and monthly dues, which are appropriated toward defraying the expenses of the organization. Meetings are convened annually, and upon call. The following are the members of the Old Settlers' Association, with the date of their settlement in La Crosse : 1851 — Harvey E. Hubbard, H. N. Solberg, Howard Cramer, George Farnam, N. Hintzen, Harvey J. Peck. 1852 — George Scharpf, Pernue Clark, George Howard, Andrew Pfiffner. 1853— Theodore Rodolf, C. F. Scharpf. 1854 — Milo J. Pitkin, Stephen Martindale, Edwin Howard. 1855 — Henry I. Bliss, Lemuel Drake, Is%,ac L. Usher, Fred Mueller, James Vincent, H. C Heath, Charles Volner, W. A. Roosevelt. 1856 — J. W. Losey, Harrison Griswold, A. M. Watson, Albert Hirshheimer, David D. Polleys, E. G. Robbins, A. Steinlein, John Ulrich. 1857 — J. A. Spiar, J. W. Birney, S. S. Burton, Angus Cameron, W. S. Burroughs, Charles Seymour, 0. H. Smith. 1858 — L. Wachenheimer, Albert Pfiffner, M. M. Manville, Henry Esperson. 1860— John S. Medary. crrr poor farm. In the early part of 1857, the city of La Crosse purchased 120 acres of land for $6,000' between two and tjiree miles southeast of the city, and erected thereon the buildings necessary to a poor farm, which cost between $2,000 and $3,000. Within a few years past, great improve ments have been made, both in the management of the farm and in the building of additions to the poor house, showing the growth of humanity and the disposition to liberality. The farm is under the careful management of Frank Metz, a worthy German, who, with his practical wife, are here as lessees of the property, and contractors to feed and keep the poor who may be sent to them to receive their care and attention at $2.50 per week. There is no county poor house, the poor of the county being provided for here, the city receiving 50 cents per day each for their support. A few years ago, County Poor Commissioner A. Steinlein caused a number of shade trees to be set out about the premises. At present, there are but eight persons in the establishment, which is an ordinary farmhouse, but arranged with a view to the comfort HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 441 of this kind of guests. about $800 per year. The establishment is in excellent order. The cost of sustaining it is LA CROSSE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The people of La Crosse County, having long contemplated the formation of an agricultural society, met at the court house October 16, 1858, for the purpose of organizing such a body. This was accomplished by the adoption of a constitution and the election of the following offi cers: T. L. Smith, President; D. J. Jenkins, E. B. Richardson, John Hemstock, V. M. Adams, J. C. McGiven, D. A. Kennedy, Isaac Martin, John Clark, M. A. Gedney, Conrad Reedburg, Milton Barlow and Mr. Owen, Vice Presidents ; B. E. Brower, Secretary and Treas urer. The society held their first annual fair at the city of La Crosse on Thursday, October 28, 1858, at which time the amount received from all sources for memberships, etc., was $108 ; amount paid out for various purposes, $28.25 ; leaving a balance of $79.75 for the next year's distribution. The day was extremely unfavorable, and as this was their first regular meeting, but little could be expected. The number of entries were as follows : Horses and mules, 23 ; cattle, 8 ; swine, 1 ; miscellaneous, 67 ; total, 99. Of these entries, 69 received premiums of different grades. The society purchased a tract of land in the town of West Salem about 185'9, and have held fairs there annually with increasing success and prosperity. The present officers are William Van Waters, President ; one Vice President from each town in the county ; William Van Zandt, Secretary, and W. I. Dudley, Treasurer. The County Clerk furnishes a tabular statement of the acreage of La Crosse County, de voted to wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, potatoes, apples, hops, tobacco, grass and timber. The report also includes the number of milch cows, and their aggregate value. Wheat. Corn. Oats. Barley. 35053605 190015401925 2998 1758 2491 2031 1526 4073 668 1110 1943 809 2387 599 1842 2660 1489 646 408 911 1550 17781637 19881002 1087 23771426 807 2406 299 422 279 179 362 658 67 515 262 Shel y 505 809 Total 2735238827 1506111913 1536912815 4438 Total for 1880 1888 The report shows also that there are 4,980 acres of rye to harvest this year against 3,202 acres last year; 1,229 acres of potatoes against 891 of 1880. The number of acres of hops are the same, 138. Five acres of tobacco are reported, and 18,503 acres of grass, as compared with 15,435 of last year. The above figures indicate that a larger acreage has been sown to all kinds of grain, except wheat, which has given place to corn, oats and barley. The farming community have dropped off on tobacco raising, a branch of industry that was never largely prosecuted in this county. The number of bearing apple trees has not increased materially since 1881, being 14,536 against 14,160, as shown by the report of 1880. Very little timber has been cut in the county, the number of acres being 50,097, which is not less than that re ported last year. Taken on the whole, the report is above the average, and indicates a health ful diversity of grains. The fact that 10,000 acres less of wheat have been sowed, shows that a proper attention is being given to other crops mentioned, and that stock-raising is becoming a more profitable pursuit. 442 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. LITERATURE. Mrs. Helen A. Manville, nee Nellie A. Manmjjhas for some time been prominent in literary circles, her career as a contributor to the press dating from 1864. — a writer of both prose and poetry ; her poems are voluminous, numbering nearly two thousand. Of these, probably five hundred have never appeared in print. In 1868, the May number of the Phrenological Journal published her portrait, with an analytical sketch of her mental characteristics, and selections from her poems, from which article we quote the following : "Her intuitive apprehensions are quick accurate and lasting. Her whole cast of thought partakes chiefly of the intuitive and emotional. She has keen sensibility, feels deeply and acts promptly. She lives more in the realm of the emotional and imaginative than in that of the material." These characterizations are well borneout by her writings. In 1875, a volume of about one hundred and seventy selections from her poems was published by S. R. Wells & Co., of New York, bearing the title " Heart Echoes." In general terms it may be said that they are the poetic expression of moods of musing and meditation. The titles are indicative of the introspective cast of thought of the authoress, as " In the Dust," "In Faith," "Voices in my Heart," "World Weary," "As by Death," "Life's Discipline," etc. Their tone is subdued, quiet and feminine. No attempts are made to rouse the passions or depress the sensibilities ; though, in keeping with the music that lingers longest in memory, they are pitched in a minor key. Fallacious exaltation of the joys of life, or despair of the woes of death are happily avoided. They are essentially poems of the home and hearth, por traying experiences common to all, in that all have sinned and suffered. Each century produces its master minds who give it impress. They stand out in their brightness as suns in the firma ment, with a galaxy of stars revolving about them, reflecting their glory. Of such were Byron and Wordsworth, of the departed bards, the poet of passion and the delineator of nature. The lurid bale-fires of one and the calm radiance of the other may still be discerned. The bardic sisterhood, as if by common consent, revolve about Mrs. Hemans and the Cary Sisters, whose faultless rythm and exquisite sensibilities appeal irresistibly to the feminine heart. The " Sweet Song-Bird of England," is, if possible, surpassed by her American sisters, whose wood notes wild have enthralled the hearts of their country-women. They were the priestesses of its inner shrine ; they, more than all others, could unlock its recesses, and, as by an enchanter's word, woke from thence its sweetest, saddest strains. That Mrs. Manville has been deeply impressed by their wondrous power may be evidenced from the following : „ glowly now the clouds of amber O'er the blue hills roll away, As the feet of Night-time clamber Higher up the hills of day.' ' The following from "Love's Tryst," is in the same vein : " While the stars of night are peeping The dome of the blue vault through, Alone in their light I am keeping Love's vigil, my darling, for you." The above are in the happiest descriptive vein of Alice, while the more practical, sententious sentiment of Phoebe Cary, which often embodied a proverb in a verse, is paralleled by such a verse as this : ,. . ,, , ., . . , . - " As the day comes the dreary night after, As happiness walks close to care, So come'to us moments of laughter, To vanquish the ghost of despair." To the same effect is a like sentiment elsewhere, as, " The bright thread of hope often crosses the somber-hued one of despair." Quotations might be largely extended did space permit. We have only room to illustrate the striking traits and will next touch upon that of personification, of which the following, taken almost at random, is a fair sample : HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 443 " And the beautiful past, too fair to last, Comes back like a ghost to me, With a wierd-like tramp, thro' the day's white camp, It comes to my heart and knocks, And the key of thought, by remembrance wrought, Its wondrous door unlocks. ****** " With dusky robes Night climbs the stair To Heaven's ethereal arch, The moon is shining calmly there, The stars are on their maroh." Most of the poems are descriptive, and the writer never wearies of voicing her adoration of nature, whether clad in the light, airy robes of the joyous spring, the leafy luxuriance of the sunny summer, the russet robes of the sober autumn, or the snowy mantle of the winter. Space will only permit the culling of phrases from most felicitous descriptions that might easily be largely cited. We give a few in the order of the seasons named, as, " The careless fingers of the April wind have rent the grasses coverlet in twain ; " " These violets have filled my heart with trust." Of the summer are such phrases as, " The roses weave a perfumed hedge; " " Sweet is the air with violets' breath ; " " The tiniest wild flower as the rose enfolds itself in splendor ; " " The sun o'er mount and lea his jeweled robe is flinging." Her wealth of illustration may be inferred from the fact the six quotations above given are from one poem solely. Autumn and night are favorite topics with the authoress, whose intro spective cast of mind is in keeping with their stillness, solemnity, calmness and beauty. From many phrases we can give but few, as, " The pines all shiver with unrest ; " " The winds lull down to a sad refrain, and my heart stands still to hear;" "Afar upon the mountains walks the Spirit of the Dew;" "The mountains fold about their breasts the mantle of the fall;" "Golden crowns bedeck the brows of all the maple trees; " " The winds all chant a solemn dirge." Of the winter are such illusions as, "The snowy shoon ; " " The dark-eyed Night has donned her robes with gleaming gems ; " " The sovereign winter is recklessly throwing bright jewels of frost from his mantle of snow ; " " The winter wind singing its dirge of dire despair." We would like to enlarge upon the two poems, "The old, old story" and "Drowned," each portraying the fate of a Magdalen, who, after the manner of the victim in Hood's Bridge of Sighs, sought oblivion in the waters for sorrow, shame and sin, but it would open up a field too wide, and also foreign to the character of this work. Despite all efforts, our sketch is unduly long, yet not complete, as not illustrating the noblest phase of womanhood, on whose limitless, unfathomable sea her affections are launched, to be swayed at will by favoring or adverse tides, resistless as the decrees of Fate. From a number of poems in which the mother love is abound ing, we close with tributes to the living and the dead. From the poem entitled "Marion," who shares with her father the tribute of dedication, as " The one child of our love," we quote the following verse, beginning with apprehension and ending with invocation : " Mother-love not always may Pluck the thorn from out her way. Womanhood has cares and tears, Hopeless dreams and hopeless years, But my prayer is, night and day May she walk the sunniest way Life to mortal here can give. Teach her, Father, so to live That when earthly life is o'er. She shall be a child once more." From several poems, evidently inspired by memories of the "loved and lost," we extract two verses from " Baby is Dead " : " Blue as the violets down in the meadow, Friend, were her eyes. Now, 0 My God, what a wonderful shadow Over them lies. 444 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. " None but a mother can measure my sorrow, Soft be your tread. Cometh no bird song for me on the morrow, Baby is dead." In the poem headed, " The Shoes that Nellie wore," space will only permit a brief extract : " When Death with a ruthless hand, For pillage sought our bower, An angel from the better land, Gathered the beauteous flower. Oh ! Little empty shoes half worn, Just as they slipped her feet ; She will not need them night or morn, To walk the Golden street, For, sandeled with the purest pearl, And soled with chrysolite, By Jesus' side, our little girl That died is safe to-night." Marion Manville, a daughter of Helen A. Manville, is a poet by inheritance. She is em phatically her mother's child, having like traits, mentally and physically. She commenced writ ing for the press at an even earlier age, and probably with better assurances of success in" the field of authorship, than attended the first ventures of her mother. As yet, she has not given herself thoughtfully and seriously to literary work. Her contributions are rather the efferves cence of youthful feeling than the work of earnest effort. They are almost wholly of a fugitive character, called out largely by a fleeting fancy or some incident of temporary interest. She has not been passed unscathed by the rage for dialect poems which has received so great an impetus by the efforts of Bret Harte, Will Carleton and others. One of these, giving Sambo's opinion of salvation, is a gem in its way, and naively takes off the very common and popular taste to dispense with the orthodox abode of the wicked. In the words of Sambo — " De times hab got to such a pass De debble am to pay, Although de preachers say dar aint No debble any way. An' hell, instead of bein' a place To make poor sinners scratch, Am got so mild, a nigger dar Could raise a tater-patch." Yet another, entitled " Poor Little Joe," expresses the happiness yielded a cripple boy by the gift of a simple bouquet. To the question as to there being flowers in heaven, the little brother bootblack replies : " Flowers in heaven ! 'M, I 'spose so, Dunno much about it tho' ; Aint as fly as wot I might be On them topics, little Joe." It is a fine tribute to the beautiful, tender ministration of an individual flower mission, every way creditable to the head and heart of its authoress, whose own life has never lacked any of the refinements given by the association of flowers, music and art, in all of which she is an amateur. Although, as before stated, her articles are fugitive, yet, when her feelings are enlisted, she reveals traces of that introspective cast of mind that gives so much of character to the poems of her mother. Space will not admit of quotation, but it could easily be shown by reference to such themes as " The Weaver," who is represented as a Fate, after the manner of a mythologic tale, plying the shuttle of Time weaving the threads of life which are gathered up by the ever-present on-looker Death. In the brief poem " Life," a similar thought is prettily presented in the clos ing lines — " The drama of living — the space of a breath, Rings out with the bell of the prompter — Death." HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 445 The title of articles will show the cravings of Miss Manville to follow in her mother's foot steps in the choice of topics that are heart revelations, as " Shadows," " The Infinite," " Suppli cation," " Humanity," " When I die," etc. That will be her field to which she will tend more and more with better acquaintance with the realities of life, which, it may safely be predicted, will be of sterner character than any she has yet known, as the ways of life are rough, and as an only idolized child she has been shielded, as far as human power could compass it, from all its ills. With instinctive foresight was her mother prompted to say : " Mother-love not always may Pluck the thorns from out her way ; Womanhood has cares and fears, Hopeless dreams and hopeless tears.' Allusion has been made to the giving way of the authoress to the craze for the dialect poem. She has also been capitivated, with hundreds of susceptible maidens, by the smoothly flowing numbers of Hiawatha, that immortal tribute of America's most cultured and finished bard, who has effaced that masterpiece of poetic legend and story, as an aureole to reflect forever the nobilitv, heroism and endurance of the unfortunate races of the Northwest. The poem entitled " Indian Summer," treats of the poetic fancy of its origin, which is to the effect that the smoke of a great sacrifice once made to the Great Spirit, who, in turn, " Sends this token every autumn To His children of good will. ***** " Northward, Southward, Eastward, Westward, Sends the smoke from place to place. Says the red man : The Great Spirit Smokes the peace-pipe. It is well." This poem is the most descriptive of any, and is a very truthful one of that pensive, delight ful season. A graceful tribute to William Cullen Bryant, the most American of our bards, and the most accurate in the description of our scenery, may fitly close a notice of one whose early promise gives token that she only needs the sharp discipline the years will inevitably bring in their train, to justify that promise by performance, and with poems that will live when the brain that conceived and the hand that wrote them has moldered into its original dust. THE DEAD POET.— w. u. b. " Make room for the poet, my beautiful summer, Make room for the singer, whose singing is done ; Give place in your great throbbing heart for his ashes, Remembering few seasons such emblems have won. Behold, after labor, the sleep of the righteous, How calm and how peaceful, how placid his rest ; Close in the sanctified clasp of God's acre, White daisy-wrought coverlets cover his breast. " And then with your blessing, my beautiful summer, The blessing of bloom and of bird-song and flowers ; Akin to pale millions, who watch over his slumber, We leave in thy keeping this aged bard of ours. And coming and going forever around us, The quick for life's battle, the dead for its rest, Still passes the visible forms of all loved ones Into the invisible realms of the blest." THE INDIAN SCARE. BY ETHAN ROBERTS. In the fall of 1862, just after the New Ulm massacre, the people of Lewis Valley were aroused from their quiet slumbers one dark night by men on horseback, riding at the top of 446 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. their speed, shouting, "The Indians are coming!" When the frightened people asked these messengers how they got their news, they replied : " Why ! Dan McGivin heard them yell, And, fleeing from these hounds of hell, Came o'er the ridge the news to tell — Of course 'tis so " Tluy've burnt the schoolhouse to the ground, And they have murdered Ellen Brown, The finest teacher in the town. Get up and flee ! " Some fled to corn-fields, damp and cold ; Some fled to forests dark and old, And some, courageous, young, and bold, Went to fight them. " They found the schoolhouse standing there ; The teacher said, 'An Indian scare.' She told these warriors brave and fair, ' We cleaned schoolhouse.' " On the following morning the citizens of Farmington, to the number of 100 or 150, gathered together at the Union Mills, and, having found out positively that there were no Indians any where in the vicinity, they became very indignant, and determined to punish D. J. S. McGivin severely for the fright he had given them. Some proposed to hang him, and at one time it looked very dangerous for Dan. Some thought a ducking in the mill-pond would be as severe treatment as the case demanded. Thomas Wilson, Ashbel Wells, and some others thought Dan's intentions were good, and had the Indians really been burning dwellings and murdering the inhabitants, as in his fright he supposed they were, then Dan would have deserved our thanks for the timely warning. Dan was surrounded by the excited crowd, who were only waiting for some one to take the lead in carrying out their threats, when John De Colen proposed to let the McGivins off if they would promise to leave the country in ten days. They gladly promised to do so, but when the ten days were up the excitement had died away and the McGivins remained. Many rumors were afloat about the cause of Dan's fright. The one upon which the poem is founded is as follows : Ellen R. Brown (who is now Mrs. Ephraim Stevens) was teaching in McGivin's district, about two miles north of Union Mills, and it was said that she and some of her scholars remained one night after school to clean the schoolhouse. When they got through (just after dark) they left a fire burning, which they had made outside for the purpose of heat ing water, and the children, on their way home, made the hills resound with their merry laughter. Another, and probably the correct, account is this : Some young men were out coon-hunt ing in McGivin's neighborhood, and knowing that he had lots of good melons, they concluded. to help themselves. After eating all they wanted, they thought they would have a little fun at Dan's expense, and they left, whooping and yelling for all that was in them, which had a greater effect on Dan's nerves than even they expected, although they knew him well. If this was really the fact in the case (and I have no doubt of it), Was Dan McGivin all to blame For getting up this mighty flame, Or was it not the boys who came Stealing melons ? THE FOOTE FORGERIES. On Saturday evening, April 1, 1880, Alpheus S. Foote, junior partner in the firm of Pom eroy & Foote, proprietors of Pomeroy's Democrat, was arrested for an attempt to destroy, by fire, the building occupied by them as a printing office. At about half past 6 o'clock on that evening, C. F. Huntsman, managing editor of the Democrat, being in the office later than usual, had occasion to go from his apartment to the room formerly occupied by Mr. Pomeroy as HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 447 a private apartment. The usual entrance door he found himself unable to open, and conse quently went around by the bath-room and water-closet. In passing through this room, he discovered a cigar box in a corner concealed from view, filled with paper and other combustibles, in the middle of which stood a lighted candle. No person had access to this portion of the building, except himself and Mr. Foote. There were no outer windows, and when the candle, which was timed to reach the papers in three or four hours, had burned low, and the inevitable conflagration started, there was no possibility of discovery from outside, until the center of the building was in a blaze, which all the fire facilities would have failed to extinguish, until it had consumed the adjacent opera house with all its valuable and immovable contents, and perhaps other property near at hand. Mr. Huntsman comprehended all this as he gazed at the unique, but most effectual slow match which had been provided to do this destructive work. He, then, without removing or disturbing the position of anything, extinguished the candle and sought Charles Seymour, to whom the startling story was told. Mr. Seymour at once communicated with Chief of Police Hatch, who, upon consultation with these two gentlemen, deemed that evidence enough existed in Mr. Huntsman's statement to warrant the arrest of Mr. Foote, as above stated, on a charge of arson. The arrest was made at half past 9 o'clock at the house of a friend of Mr. Foote's, where he was spending the evening, when he was taken to the lock-up, where he spent the night. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, the prisoner was taken from his quarters in the |ail to the city building, where he was arraigned before Jus tice Hubbard. The complaint was read and by agreement of counsel was continued until 2 o'clock of the next day. Before being arraigned the second time, however, he was arrested on charge of forging the name of James Vincent, his father-in-law, on notes to the amount of $15,678, the announcement of which created more of a sensation than his arrest on charge of setting fire to the Democrat building. The fact of his forging had been known to a few for some time, but for various reasons the matter had been kept from publicity. The entire facts, which also give an insight into the partnership stipulations of the firm of Pomeroy and Foote, are substantially as follows : When it was agreed that Pomeroy's Democrat should move from Chicago to La Crosse, it was stipulated between the parties that Pomeroy was to furnish paper, while Foote was to fit up and furnish the office complete to the extent of $20,000. Of this amount Foote procured $2,000 in cash, and it is therefore presumed that he intended to raise the deficiency by forgery. The first notes forged were given to the Campbell Press Company to the amount of $5,200, in settlement of the firm's account with that company. The remain ing notes were not all forgeries, hut were forged or manipulated in a criminal way. The paper that was known to have been negotiated by Foote was placed as follows: I. H. Moulton, $3,000; Batavian Bank, 2,000; La Crosse National Bank, $2,500; Campbell Press Company, $5,200 ; John Gund, $2,250 ; Shniedewend & Lee, $728, making the total $15,678. The case instead of coming up again at 2 o'clock of April 3, as adjourned on the 2d, was called at half past 10 o'clock on Monday morning, April 5, when the preliminary examination on the charge of arson took place. The case was finally closed, and Foote was held for trial at the next term of the Circuit Court, and his bail fixed at $500. He was again arraigned before Justice Hubbard, on Thursday, April 15, at 10 o'clock A. M., when his examination was waived, and he pleaded not guilty, and was bound over to trial in the Circuit Court, and in default of $4,500 bail was again committed to jail. These cases came before the Circuit Court May 10, 1880, and, on application of the defend ant, were continued. At the next term of the Circuit Court, these cases came up on November 22, 1880, and after a trial, lasting for two days, he was found guilty and sentenced to the Peni tentiary for the term of five years. A CHAPTER OF FIRST THINGS. 1680 — First white person to view mouth of Black River, Father Hennepin. 1760 — First view of La Crosse River by Le Suer. 1787 — First resident of La Crosse, De Kauray (Decorra). 448 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 1805 — First white man to visit site of La Crosse, Maj. Z. M. Pike, Sept. 12 ; also visited by Maj. Stephen H. Long, July 9, 1817, and Lieut. Martin Scott in 1823. 1835 — First attempt at settlement made by Gen. Sibley, now of St. Paul, H. L. Dausman, of Prairie du Chien, and Francois La Bache. (See the letter of Gen. Sibley in the chron ological sketch. 1841 — First known permanent settler (N. Myrick) lands at La Crosse and builds a residence on Barron's Island, where he finds the ruins of an old fire-place, Nov. 9. 1842 — First house on city site erected by Myrick & Miller in February. First survey made by Ira Brunson, of Prairie du Chien, for Myrick & Miller. First shingle roof and cistern made by Myrick & Miller. 1843 — First white women to come to La Crosse, Mrs. Myrick and Miss Pierson. First barn, warehouse and blacksmith-shop erected by H. J. B. Miller in absence of Myrick. 1844 — First wheat raised by Myrick & Miller. First raft from Black River to St. Louis taken down by N. Myrick. First post office established at La Crosse ; N. Myrick, first Postmaster. He was also one of the first Board of County Commissioners. First marriage, by H. J. B. Miller, Justice of the Peace, of Peter Cameron to Emma Cameron. 1845 — The first team and wagon to come overland from Prairie du Chien was brought through by P. Cameron and Asa White, with goods for the Indian trade. First frame building erected by Levy, on the site of the International, in 1847. First death, that of a little boy of N. Myrick. First cemetery, on the site of Hirshheimer's works, northeast corner of Third and Badger streets. First baptism, a child of Miller's. 1857 — First religious services, by the Episcopalian ministers, Drs. Buck and Merrick, Rev. Wilcoxson and Deacon Holcombe. First fatal affray, that of Peter Cameron and Richardson. 1848 — First sale of claims by N. Myrick, Asa White, J. M. Levy and Peter Cameron, at land office at Mineral Point, at $1.25 per acre. 1850 — First death by accident, that of Willie Levy, who was trodden upon by a horse, killing him instantly. First wharf-boat built by J. M. Levy. First hardware and tin store opened by M. Manville. 1851 — First court house built. Erected by subscription, to secure the county seat. First lawyer to settle in La Crosse, Edwin Flint. Claim adjoined Myrick's on the east. First minister settled in La Crosse, Rev. George Chester, July 15. Methodist. First hotels opened by Simeon Kellogg and "Scoots" Miller, the former the Western Enterprise, corner of Pearl and Front streets, and the latter in a two-story log and frame house on the corner of Front and State streets called the La Crosse House. First survey of a town plat by William Hood, Myrick, Miller and Lieut. Gov. Timothy Burns, on the original Myrick plat, extending from La Crosse River to Mt. Vernon street. First town election in April. Thirty-six votes polled. Precinct embraced all of La Crosse and Monroe Counties. First town officials : Chairman, Timothy Burns ; Supervisor, C. A. Stevens ; Justices, Robert Looney, J. Bean; Treasurer, James Read; Town Superintendent, Lodowic Lewis; Clerk, Lorenzo L. Lewis. First county election : Judge, Timothy Burns ; Sheriff, William J. Gibson ; Treasurer, Peter Burns; Register of Deeds, William T. Price ; Clerk of Board, Robert Looney. First County Judge, who served in that capacity, Hon. George Gale. First court held in new court house by Judge Wyram Knowlton ; Wm. J. Gibson, Sheriff. Only business transacted, the drinking of a bottle of brandy, presented by J. M. Levy. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 449 First order of County Commissioners, one to pay F. M. Rublee $2.50 for two blank books. First meeting of County Board of Supervisors. Members : Timothy Burns, of La Crosse ; J. Spaulding, of Albion ; Charles Whipple, of Pine Valley ; Robert Looney, Clerk ; Judge Wyram Knowlton, presiding. 1852 — First meeting for La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad. First church built (Baptist), northwest corner of public square, on State and Fourth streets. First newspaper, the Spirit of the Times, A. D. La Due, editor. First saw-mill built in La Crosse city at mouth of the river of that name, by J. S. Simon ton, F. M. Rublee and S. T. Smith. First organization of the Baptist and Congregational Churches, January 22. RevB. W. H. Card and J. C. Sherwin, Pastors. First murder in the county, that of Darst, by a young man named Watts — a very cold blooded, brutal affair. First organization of the Bible Society of La Crosse, in the old court house. First road laid out from La Crosse to William Pettitt's, twenty-seven miles north, now the site of the town of Sparta. REMINISCENCES AND PERSONAL SKETCHES. In the succeeding pages are given those historical and biographical facts which can be told only in connection with the individual acts of the pioneers. The list contains some of the best known, oldest, and most respected residents of La Crosse, some of whom are still living to enjoy the fruits of honest work well done. Nathan Myrick. This gentleman, who is universally regarded as the pioneer settler of La Crosse, was born at Westport, Essex Co., N. Y., July 7, 1822. His ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were among the first settlers of Westport, being pioneers like himself. He was educated in the academy at Westport, and was engaged as an assistant in the va rious woolen, saw and grist-mills of which his father was proprietor, until the age of nineteen, when he concluded to strike out for himself and make a home in the great West. Leaving Westport in May, 1841, he reached Prairie du Chien in June, and was employed by Joseph Brisbois in the post office, giving his services for his board. That fall, acting on the advice of his employer and his own judgment, he decided to embark in trade with the Indians. Procuring a suitable outfit of goods, obtained largely upon credit, and the loan of a forty-ton keel-boat from Gen. Brooks, commandant of that pose, he left Prairie du Chien November 4, taking with him H. Cur- tiss, who was on his way with some goods to Black River. Sailing and poling the boat by turns, they reached La Crosse at sunset, November 9. Finding no fuel on the shore, they crossed over to the island, which was densely wooded. A similar reason induced him to build upon it, there being no timber upon the prairie. In a week he had built aird moved into a double log house. At this time, to use his own words, "there was no white man in the vicinity." The Indians were absent at Turkey River, in Iowa, about fifty miles west of Prairie du Chien, to receive their annuities — about $20 per head. Myrick thinks a total of $48,000 was paid them in these yearly payments. If so, the Winnebagoes must have numbered 2,400 souls. In a couple of weeks the Indians returned. Myrick drove a brisk trade, and by the middle of De cember was out of many articles. On the 18th of that month he crossed the river, partly on the ice and partly by canoe, and, taking an Indian trail under the bluffs, afoot and alone, wended his way to Prairie du Chien, which he reached Dec. 22, having laid by one day on the route. He returned in January on the ice, with several teams loaded with goods and provisions. He employed two men during the winter in getting out fuel for steamers, which Myrick banked, hauling it with a hand sled. 450 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Soon after his return, he was attacked by two Indians whom he had invited to take break fast with him, one of whom fired on him when but a rod distant, the gun fortunately missing fire. Myrick sprang into the house and fired back, the Indians still firing at the door and win dow. Myrick and a companion sallied out and fired upon the Indians, who were re-enforced by their red brethren, there being some twenty camps or wigwams on the island. The two white men re-entered the house, which was barricaded and defended vigorously for an hour or more. Soon after the firing ceased, a rap was heard at the door, which was not opened till it was known that a white man was seeking admission. This proved to be Alexis Bailey, on his return from a trip up the river, who had been attracted by the firing. "He asked the Indians the occasion of it, but could get no explanation. As the originators had been seen previously at Mr. La Batts', an Indian trader four miles below, it was supposed he had instigated the attack to get rid of a rival. The actual occasion for the outbreak was never definitely ascertained. La Batts only remained till 1842, being unable longer to obtain goods of the American Fur Com pany, who now sold to Myrick only. In February, 1842, timber was hewed for a house on the prairie, and hauled to its place .with a hand sled. H. J. B. Miller, who was then trading thirty miles below, near the mouth of Coon Slough, came up with a load of provisions for the Indians, who were then encamped on Black River where Onalaska now stands. On his return, Myrick got his help a few days to put up the new residence and store, and moved in. In the spring of 1842, Myrick put his furs on the keel-boat used on his first venture up the river, and started for Prairie du Chien. On the way he overtook H. J. B. Miller, who was in a canoe. Taking him on board, they completed the journey together. Before returning, Myrick offered Miller half his claim and profits to become a partner, an offer with which Miller readily complied, and they returned together in a large canoe. In June, Miller went down to Rock River, and bought five yoke of oxen. In his absence, Myrick spaded a patch of ground for a garden, and on his return with the oxen, the boundaries of their claim were marked out, and a piece of ground plowed, which was planted with potatoes, on Blocks 6, 7 and 19 of the original plat. In the summer of 1842-43, Dr. Snow and Philip Jacobs came and went into trade. At the same time Myrick had some hewed pine lumber got out on Black River, and put up a comfort able dwelling of 20x30, finished on the inside with lath and plaster, and outside with siding, and having a shingle roof. To this was added an ell, 12x16, and a cistern. This was the first good improvement on the prairie. In June, 1843, Myrick returned to New York, where he bought a stock of goods, and in August was married to Miss Rebecca E. Ismon, of Essex County. He returned in September, bringing with him Miss Louisa Pierson, who passed the winter in his family, and then made a visit to friends in Illinois. These two ladies were the first white women to favor La Crosse with their presence. Of his return, Myrick says he came via the Erie Canal from Troy to Buffalo, thence by steamer to Chicago, a trip of five or six days, then by stage for a week to Galena, waiting nine days at the latter place for a boat to La Crosse, the entire trip requiring nearly a month. The first draft sent home to pay for goods was six weeks on the way, and did not arrive till after payment was due. On a second return from the East in 1847, he made the trip via Baltimore to Cumberland by rail, thence by stage to Pittsburgh, then by boat to St. Louis, and the same to La Crosse. Myrick and Miller were the owners originally of the river front, their claim extending from La Crosse River to the section line on Mount Vernon street, and extending east to 5th street. This plat was surveyed in 1842 by Ira Brunson, of Prairie du Chien, the lots being made 60 feet front and 150 deep, with a 20-foot alley in the rear. Being laid out to correspond with the river, while the remainder of the city was made to corre spond with the points of the compass, produces the peculiar angle so noticable to strangers, which is confined wholly to the section included betweeen the river and Jay and Sixth •streets. In 1847, one of the heaviest freshets ever known occurred in Black River. Myrick & Miller had made a large investment on that 3tream in logs, lumber, booms, etc., which were all swept ...^ id- ,l f L/* CROSSE HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 453 away. This event made such a change in Myrick's affairs that he was induced to leave La Crosse and go to St. Paul. His losses in this flood footed up to a total of over $20,000. He left in 1848, giving Miller a half-interest in tho town site. In 1851, he sold his whole interest in La Crosse to Lieut. Gov. Burns, viz. : in the town site and the Bunnell claim. Afterward, Burns deeded Myrick one-fourth of the town site. At one time the whole site was held as follows : Myrick, one-fourth ; Burns, one-fourth ; Durand & Hill, one-fourth ; Miller, one- fourth. When Myrick & Miller held the original site of the first plat the adjoining land was held as follows : The Cameron claim extended from Mt. Vernon street south to Division street ; Asa White's claim from Division street to Mississippi street ; Dr. Bunnell's claim taking in seventy acres at the lower end of the prairie adjoining White. Myrick has never ceased to be a pioneer. Since going to St. Paul he has established trading-posts at Watab, Long Prairie, Traverse de Sioux, La Sieur, Pembina, etc. He has also made several ventures in the lumber business, and met with severe and repeated losses both in his investments in business and in faith in his fel low-man. His generous nature has repeatedly made him the victim of misplaced confidence, but all that he has lost, all that he has endured in a long and busy life, in the very outskirts of civilization, have not changed his inborn geniality, his generous disposition, or his confidence in humanity. In person, he is an Anakim, standing six feet four inches in his stockings, erect in form, and of most kindly address and presence. John Meyer Levy, One of the first settlers in La Crosse was born in London, Eng., in the year 1820, his parents, Meyer and Eve (Worms) Levy, being natives of Germany. His father was a reader in the synagogue, though not a regular rabbi. John spent his younger days largely at school, part of the time in Amsterdam, Holland. After living about six years with an older sister in Paris, he emigrated to America in 1837. A short time was spent in traveling before he settled in St. Louis, and was there engaged in a mercantile house about four years. Early in 1844, he went up the Mississippi River to Prairie du Chien. He remained there till the next year, when he was induced to come to La Crosse by Samuel Snow, who, finding him quite unwell during one of his visits, said : " If you will move up there with me I will divide with you, and am sure you will never get sick in such a place." Levy accepted, and, in the summer of 1845, they came through by team, the two being the first white men to make such a trip. On the way they passed through Mormon Cooley, of which Phillip Young and James Conley were occupants. They took a farm near the mouth of State Road Cooley. They paid Jacob Spaulding $100 for his claim and shanty on the site of the International Hotel, and at once commenced the erec tion of a store north of the shanty, which was situated on Front street. They sent to Prairie du Chien for a carpenter named Manahan, Levy, meanwhile, going to Black River for the lum ber. The building was completed in 1846, and was the first frame dwelling erected between Prairie du Chien and Red Wing, on the river, a distance of 180 miles. At the time of Levy's coming, the total population was but eighteen, of whom thirteen were males and five females. Among the former were N. Myrich, George Fetherline, H. J. B. Miller, Asa White, Samuel Snow and G. Houghton, the first three of whom had families. These are believed to have been all who lived within the present city limits. For the first three years after Levy's arrival the settlement remained almost stationary. At this time barely half a dozen steamers came up the river yearly, the trips being made in the spring and the fall to carry supplies to the Indians and to the garrison at Fort Snelling. In 1847, commissioners came with surveyors to locate the school lands (16th section) and swamp lands for the State. Peter Burns was one of those employed in this work. During this year, Levy and Miller, in their capacityas delegates, went to a Democratic Convention at Liberty Pole, in Crawford County, to nominate the first Repre sentative to the Legislature. On the way homeward they became separated on the ridge, about twenty miles from La Crosse, Miller going ahead, after a severe fall, having been helped on his horse by Levy, whose steed escaped while engaged in his Samaritan work. Levy lost the way, 454 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. and was absent for three days, subsisting on acorns till the third day, when he made his way to the house of a settler named Young, at Bad Ax, nearly a score of miles below, in an almost fam. ished condition and nearly naked, his clothing being torn to shreds by the underbrush and bushes through which he was compelled to make his way. Miller, in the meantime, was called on to account for Levy's absence, which, of course, he was unable to do. The inquiries became more pressing and importunate each day, and Miller more and more dazed and bewil dered. Had Levy never put in an appearance there is no question but that " Scoots " would have been held accountable for his disappearance. The first religious services were held this season in Levy's house by Revs. Buck, Merrill, Wilcoxson and Holcomb on the first Sunday preceding St. John's Day, an anniversary of the Episcopal Church, falling upon June 24, Levy's house was pressed into service by his own free will and assent, by all denominations, and also for meetings of a secular character. Levy and Snow engaged in trade with the Indians from their first coming until 1849, when the latter were removed to their reservation on Crow River, whither Snow, and White, the Indian trader, with a squaw wife, accompanied them. This step necessitated a dissolution of partnership, which was effected on this basis: Snow took the farm and Levy the land claim purchased of Spaulding, while the goods and Indian supplies were equally divided. At the same time, Levy purchased White's claim, and thus came into possession of about one-third of the river front. (As this was about the first transaction in real estate, it was deemed desirable to mark the boundaries of the various claims which was accom plished by running a furrow around the different tracts, which, it is needless to add, was soon obliterated by the shifting sand.) About this time, Levy built a frame hotel, containing ten rooms, on the corner of Front and Pearl, called the "Western Enterprise," of which Simeon Kellogg was the first landlord. During the year 1847, Levy had the contract for carrying the mail from Prairie du Chien to Ft. Snelling. He made the trips between the former place and La Crosse, while a, partner, Snow, took charge of the northern end of the route. The round trip took two weeks, and the pay was about $80. In 1851, Willie Levy, a most promising child of seven years, while engaged in watering his horse at the foot of Pearl street, was so unfortunate as to fall before the animal as it turned to leave the river, and was instantly killed, having his head stepped upon, the sharp calks of the shoe penetrating the brain. It was all done in a moment, in his father's presence, who was powerless to aid. This was the first acci dental death. About the year 1851, the first wharf-boat was built by Levy and kept at the foot of Pearl street. It did not fully answer the purpose for which it was intended, and, in the course of the next year, he took off the upper portion, and, commencing the erection of a dock, extending beyond the boat, he included the hull in the work. This was the first dock, and proved a great convenience for years. It was 185 feet in length on the river, and extended back probably 75 to 80 feet. In the winter of 1850-51, the charter of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad having been granted, the place at once became an object of interest, its future growth and prosperity now being regarded as a fixed fact. Hon. T. B. Stoddard, of New York, and A. D. La Due came that spring and bought a half interest in White's original claim of J. M. Levy, which comprised sixty-three acres. Myrick, Miller and Burns, who held the plat extending from La Crosse River to Mount Vernon street on the south, and nearly to Sixth street on the east, were then having the streets run out in their original plat. La Due, Stoddard, Cameron and Levy, tried to induce them to extend the streets through their claims also, thus insuring a uniform system of straight streets, and suggesting that all the river front be vacated for a levee. These were admirable suggestions and it is strange they were not carried into effect. This year La Crosse made a wonderful stride forward. From a dozen shanties in the spring, the number was doubled in the fall, and an even greater increase of inhabitants. Among these were the most talented and prominent citizens who have ever made this city their residence, as Hon. T. B. Stoddard, Lieut. Gov. Burns, F. M. Rublee, William Hood, Col. Carlton, Milton Barlow, O.F. and S.T. Smith, George Farnham, Moses Anderson, H. G. Hubbard, C. Looney, Hon. George Gale, Howard Cramer, Revs. Sherwin, Carr and Elder Reynolds, and George Howard. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 455 About 1853, Levy built a warehouse, and, becoming agent for the steamboat companies, conducted a large forwarding business. This he continued until 1857, when he opened a bank, and in a few months failed, with thousands of other business men, paying, however, every dollar which he owed depositors. In 1858, he engaged in the grocery trade, but afterward sold his interest to Charles B. Solberg. He then engaged in real estate operations, which he continued until the autumn of 1876, when he again became a forwarding and commission merchant. At sundry times during these years, Mr. Levy had many buildings erected, some for his own use and some to rent. He built the Augusta House in 1857, and was receiving the rent of it when, in March, 1862, it was swept away, together with a dozen other buildings owned by himself, and three times as many owned by other parties. Although he has met with frequent reverses, he has never become disheartened. No man in La Crosse is more plucky, or full of business. He saw the last wigwam disappear long since, and where, thirty-six years ago, he found but three families, he now sees a city of 16,000 inhabitants, who justly look upon him as one of the fathers of La Crosse, as he is at present the oldest living resident. He has been elected Mayor three times, has been an Alderman about eight years, and has always looked well to the interests of the city. Though not partisan in his politics, he has very pronounced views, and has been a firm upholder of the Democratic faith. He is prominent in his connection with the Masonic frater nity. He was Grand Treasurer of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons eleven years ; has been Treasurer of both the Lodge and Chapter in La Crosse, and is the oldest member, in point of time, in joining them. He is also one of the trustees of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, a Jewish secret society. Samuel T. Smith. Samuel T. Smith, the first man to run a temperance and anti-gambling steamboat on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, was born in Delaware County, N. Y., May 9, 1801. His maternal grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier. His father, Noah Smith, was a native of Long Island, and his mother of Lyme, Conn. His father lived in Delaware County until 1812, when, with six other families, he moved to Ohio. Reaching Wheeling, W. Va., they built a flat-boat and floated down to Cincinnati, reaching there in October. The next year, he moved to a tract of land three miles from the city, and opened a farm; Samuel, at the same time, becoming a clerk in a store, remaining in and near the city, merchan dizing and farming, until 1828. In April of that year, he visited the Galena lead mines, and, during the next month, went into Wisconsin — at that time part of the Northwest Territory- Stopping about half way between the present sites of Potosi and Platteville, he built a cabin and engaged in mining for one year. He afterward went to Galena and taught school two years, and there, in 1831, organized the first Sunday school in that part of the country. Returning to Cincinnati in 1832, he farmed a short time, and subsequently engaged in the mercantile trade in that city, and continued it until 1840. He then built his " Sunday-keeping" steamboat, and ran it and others for nine years on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and tributaries of the latter. In 1849, while his steamboat was at the St. Louis Landing it was burnt, with twenty-twe other steamboats and seven blocks of city buildings. Immediately after tbis calamity, he opened a dry-goods store in that city. In July, 1851, he removed to La Crosse, then a village of about fifty genuine settlers. Here he continued the mercantile trade between two and three years, and, in 1853, opened the land agency, which he has continued ever since, at the same time engaging more or less in farming. Mr. Smith was early taught that riches take to themselves wings, and he was impressed with the truthfulness of the Scriptural statements, when, in the crash of 1837, he lost a round $100,000, and half that sum in a similar visitation in 1857, to say nothing of the sudden reduction of his steamboat to ashes, just as he had painted it and was about to sell it, and minor losses in La Crosse by fires. Pecuniarily Mr. Smith is in comfortable circumstances. His wealth, however, is not all of this world — he is " rich toward God." Few Christian lives have been more consistent or more noteworthy. When he landed in what is now the State of Wisconsin in 1828, he knelt down alone, in the solitude of the forest, under a large oak tree, and 456 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. took possession of the land in the name of his Master. Shortly after reaching La Crosse on the 22d of January, 1852, he gathered the few Baptist people (fourteen in all), and a church was organized at his house. He brought with him to La Crosse three or four families, seven mem bers of which were Baptists. He was chosen the first Deacon, and has held that office for nearly thirty years. The Congregationalists met at his house on the same day and at the same hour, and the ministers present assisted each other in organizing the two churches. On the 22d of January, 1877, the two Christian bodies again met, and observed their quarter-centennial, upon which occasion Deacon Smith read an intensely interesting history of the Baptist Church. He has had two wives, the first being Miss Martha Ellen Longley, of Cheviot, Ohio, to whom he was married in 1827. She died in 1834, leaving two children, one of whom is now living. To his second wife, Miss Sarah Hildreth, of Cincinnati, he was married in 1835. They have had eleven children, of whom five are living. Orrin L., the only child by his first wife now living, is mar ried and residing in La Crosse. The eldest daughter, widow of the late Jacob P. Whelpley, with her three children, is living with her father ; another daughter is the wife of W. L. Card, of La Crosse, and a third is the wife of Spencer Way, of Rockford, 111. Of the many interesting anecdotes of Deacon Smith's nine years of steamboat life, we mention the following : As he was starting on his first trip from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, two fast young Southerners came on board, and before the boat was fairly under way began to inquire for the card table and the bar. Capt. Smith politely informed them that there was nothing of the kind on board; that neither drinking nor gambling was allowed on his boat ; that he had a good library, and he hoped they would make free use of it, and that when they reached Pittsburgh, if they were not satisfied with their accommodations, he would refund the money. They used his books very liberally, one of them reading through Knowles' Life of Ann H. Judson, and both becoming thoroughly absorbed in literary recreations. When near Pittsburgh, they went on the hurricane deck and reminded the Captain that they were near the end of the voyage, and he asked them if they wanted their fare refunded. They told him frankly that when they came on board and found no bar, they made up their minds to jump off at the first wood-pile landing; that on the whole, however, they had been greatly pleased, actually delighted with the trip, and that if they had occasion to make the same trip again, if necessary they would wait three days for the sake of getting his boat. Peter Cameron. Peter Cameron, born in Deerfield, Oneida Co., N. Y., about 1810; son of Donald Cam eron. When young, about seventeen years old, he clerked for Colin McVean, in Caledonia, Livingston Co., N. Y. ; at twenty-two he came West ; he peddled all the way from Utica, N. Y., to the Mississippi. In Michigan, he met Mrs. Emma Clayton, a woman with a career and a history, even then, at that time, having a third living husband. She joined Peter, and together they came to La Crosse. To this day, it is claimed by many residents that they were never married. The writer has assurance from the very best authority, that they were married by H. J. B. Miller, the event being brought about by prudential reasbns ; in other words, to avoid threatened criminal prosecution. In 1843, Maj. Coons and Mr. Scott made a claim adjoining that of Myrick and Miller. Leaving it for a time, it was jumped by Peter, who succeeded in holding it. The claim extended from Mount Vernon, Division street, to Fifth and Sixth street, and became very valuable. It is now occupied very largely by mills and manufacturing establishments. He also owned land across the river in Minnesota directly opposite ; as both fronted the river at a common crossing, the spot became known as Cameron's Crossing. After his arrival in La Crosse, he gave his time and attention to real estate. He died in 1855, at his residence below La Crosse, the old house still remaining. James M. Garrett. An emigrant to La Crosse in 1846, coming on the steamer Falcon, Capt Morehouse com manding. The nearest settlement was at Winneshiek, so called after an Indian chief, now HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 457 known as De Soto. The site of the city was most unpromising, consisting of barren land for half a mile from the river. The only residents here then were Miller & Myrick, E. A. Hatch, their employes, Dr. Bunnell, Dutch Charley, Husk Carrel, John Somerville, the two Nagles, and Henry Atchison, a refugee from the patriot war in Canada! The Indians were numerous, but the Winnebagoes were the only tribe in this vicinity, though an occasional Sioux came to trade or to fish and hunt. No trouble arose between the settlers and the Indians. There were four ladies, Mesdames Myrick, Miller and Cameron, and a daughter of Dr. Bunnell. The Falcon made three trips during the season, from St. Louis to St. Paul. Capt. Orrin L. Smith, now of Chicago, was then running the Nominee from Galena to St. Paul. He was a rigid observer of the Sabbath, tying up his boat at 12 P. M. of Saturday till the same time Sunday, regardless of his stopping place. Crops were raised with difficulty and consisted mostly of potatoes and Syrian corn. Garret and Carrel were hired by J. M. Levy, at a dollar a day and board, for two weeks, to shoot blackbirds and preserve the corn of a five-acre field. Charles Solberg, who was at work for Levy at $8 per month, was put to the work of gathering it. The first cemetery was on the spot now occupied by Powers' pump shop, corner of Third and Bad ger streets. It was in use ten years or more. In warm weather, mails came by steamer, and in the winter were usually taken to and from Prairie du Chien by some half-breed. Mrs. Berkenmeyer. Mrs. Berkenmeyer came to La Crosse in July, 1847, with five French families who took farms in this vicinity. There were eleven children among them. None of the original settlers of these families are now in La Crosse. At the time of her coming there were but three log houses here, viz. : Myrick & Miller's, near La Crosse River, Asa White's, an Indian trader with a squaw wife, on Front street, and Dr. Bunnell's, about where the International Hotel now stands. For a dozen squares back from the river the land was a waste of sand ridges and hollows. Mr. Ollivier, husband of Mrs. Berkenmeyer, died within three weeks after their arrival. There was no preacher here or religious services of any kind. The first Catholic priest was Father Tappert. Wheat was raised and sent to Galena to mill. It was almost im possible to raise corn, owing to the depredations of coons, blackbirds, etc. The Nagle Brothers lost a field of forty acres in this way, about 1850, not getting back from it the amount of seed planted. The meal obtained was so coarse they had to sift it through a mosquito bar. The first mill was built in Mormon Cooley by a Mr. Ehler. Col. Thomas B. Stoddard. To none of the early settlers is La Crosse so much indebted for making the advantages of this location known to the world as the subject of this sketch, with whom it was the great aim and object of his being. He was a son of Richard Stoddard, of Le Roy, Genesee Co.. N. Y., of which he was one of the original proprietors. He was the first Sheriff of Genesee County, when it embraced all of New York west of the Genesee River, viz., Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua. He won great personal popularity, and was a leading politician of the Federal party of that sec tion. Thomas B. Stoddard was born in 1800, December 11, at Canandaigua. His mother was a very superior woman, and had received a classical education. His only sister, Catharine, mar ried John B. Skinner, of Wyoming, Genesee County, in 1830, and died in 1833. In his youth, he passed some time in the lodge of the celebrated chief, Red Jacket, where he learned to speak the Seneca tongue most fluently. He was always held by them in great esteem, and was em ployed by them to settle their claims with the Government. He was very precocious, and at the age of seventeen wrote the play, " Fortune Favors the l>rave." This drama had a run of fifty nights at one of the leading theaters in New York City ; at nineteen, he was a graduate of Columbia College, and at twenty, of Yale. He studied law in the office of the noted Aaron Burr. He was on intimate terms with such distinguished men as Chancellor Kent and son, Judge Spencer, Silas Wright. DeWitt Clinton, and had the esteem and confidence of Presidents Jackson, Van Buren and Polk. 458 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. He practiced law for a short time in Buffalo, and lived for a brief time at Cattaraugus Creek. In casting about for a location in the West, he was impressed with the favorable loca tion of La Crosse as a point destined to become of great commercial value, and this fact he was never weary of trying to impress on all with whom he came in contact. He early gave it the name of the "Gateway City," and predicted the building of every railway that has since been extended to this place. He came here in 1851, and was instrumental in having the county or ganized and set off from Crawford. In company with A. D. La Due, he bought a half interest in White's original claim of sixty-three acres, of J. M. Levy. They sought to have the survey made by Myrick & Miller of their original plat extending through their land, thus making con tinuous and uniform straight streets. This was not done, and as the survey was made parallel with the river, while subsequent ones were made to run with the points of the compass, an angle has been formed at the intersection of all streets, outside of the Myrick and Miller plat, extend ing from La Crosse River to Mt. Vernon street on the south, and Fifth street on the east. He located a claim on what was known as the Steven's Addition, and left Peter Burns upon it to hold it while absent on a trip to Sheboygan for his family, consisting only of his mother and an adopted sister, Miss Susan de France. In this interval, his claim was jumped by F. M. Rublee and C. A. Stevens, who drove Burns away. A litigation of three years ensued before the Colonel secured his claim. He formed a partnership with H. E. Hubbard in the practice of the law, and on the organiza tion of the city was made its first Mayor, being elected thereto by one vote cast for him by his opponent, J. M. Levy. He had no political aspirations, his attention being given to the mate rial interests of the place. He was a candidate for the Assembly in 1862, and was defeated by Hanchett, who died shortly after his election. Previous to coming to La Crosse, he was interested in a mining scheme in Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, where the company of which he was a member had a claim of eight square miles. At one time, they had 100 men employed. The failure of a prominent capitalist brought matters to a standstill. Col. Stoddard was tall, spare and straight, fully six feet in height, with brown hair and eyes, and very nervous and quick in his movements. He was very athletic, a good shot, and a person of quick, high temper. He was a strenuous advocate of the code, known as the duello, and had three affairs of honor, if not more. One of these was occasioned by some parties who spirited his carriage away while he was attending a theater, with two ladies in charge. As was expected and designed, the Colonel promptly challenged the offending party, who, having choice of weapons, chose knives and a dark room, probably expecting a back-down. Stoddard accepted without hesitation and disabled his rival. In all these affairs it is not known that he received a greater injury than the disabling of a little finger. Susan E. De France. This lady was the adopted sister of Col. Thomas B. Stoddard, who might well be styled the benefactor of La Crosse. Her parents, Christopher and Elizabeth (Fevre), were both natives of France. They emigrated to Buffalo, N. Y., where the subject of this sketch was born. Her father died November, 1846, at the early age of thirty-eight, in Irving, N. Y., while in Government employ as Superintendent of Cattaraugus Harbor. She became a mem ber of the family of Col. Stoddard in the spring of 1847. The Colonel came to Wisconsin prior to 1850 ; his family, comprising only his mother and Miss De France, followed in 1851, going to Sheboygan from Buffalo by steamer, thence by team to Tychida on the Fox River, thence to Portage on the Wisconsin ; here they took passage on the steamer Onaota, having a very tedious trip, as, on account of low water and the many obstructions in the river, the boat was obliged to lay by at night The journey from Sheboygan to La Cro3se occupied eleven days. The first view of their future home was anything but inspiring ; a long reach of glisten ing, barren sand skirted the river front, behind which was a rank growth of coarse grass, and innumerable sand burrs ; closer inspection, however, was rewarded with the sight of prairie HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 459 flowers in great variety and profusion. The land now embraced between the river and Front, Second and Third streets was marked by sand hills and corresponding hollows. There were but live or six houses all told within the present city limits. The first residence occupied by Col. Stoddard was the cabin of Asa White, an old Indian trader, with a most uncouth sample of a Winnebago squaw for a wife. He and Asa Snow, another trader, followed the Indians a year or two previous to their going to their reservation on Crow River. The condition of the cabin he left was one calculated to appal the stoutest nerves. The walls were black and grimy with smoke, dirt and grease, so that it was necessary to scrape them down with a hoe to get at the original surface ; it possessed but one room and a loft. One corner was partitioned off for Mrs. Stoddard, the loft was given to Miss De France, and the remaining room was in turn a kitchen, sitting-room, parlor, office, bedroom, etc. The stairway was a steep ladder, and Miss De France was often made an unwilling prisoner in the loft by the protracted call or visit of persons who had business with the Colonel. A "lean-to" was soon added, which relieved the pressure upon the common sitting-room ; here they remained for two years and a half, when a new residence was built on the corner of Third and Ferry streets in 1854. It was built by A. D. La Due, and was one of the first erected out on the prairie. Hon. George Gale. This gentleman was a native of Burlington, Vt., the youngest son of Peter and Hannah Tottingham Gale, and was born November 30, 1816. He had the advantages of a good common- school education, and, while not a graduate of any college, acquired an excellent knowledge of the higher branches of mathematics and the sciences. Commencing the study of law in March, 1839, he was admitted to the bar in 1841, during the last two years discharging the duties of Postmaster of Waterbury Center, to which office he had been appointed in 1840. Removing shortly after to the Territory of Wisconsin, he settled at Elkhorn, Walworth Co., where he began the practice of his profession, though still pursuing his studies with great diligence. During his residence he was elected to various town offices, being at one time Chairman of the Town Board, and also of the County Board of Supervisors. In the fall of 1847, he was elected a member of the Convention to form a State Constitu tion, and served on the Judiciary Committee. The same fall, he was also elected District Attor ney of Walworth County, and, in the fall of 1849, a State Senator for two years. The first year in the Senate, he was Chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, and the second year, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. On the 4th of July, 1851, he received from the Governor of the State the appointment of Brigadier General in the militia. In the fall of that year, he removed to the Upper Mississippi and settled at La Crosse. That fall, he was elected County Judge for the term of four years for the counties of La Crosse and Chippewa, the two being combined for judicial purposes. Having jurisdiction in common law as well as probate, the office was an important one. This position he resigned January 1, 1854, and in April, 1856, was elected Judge of the Sixth Judicial Cir cuit, composed of the counties of Buffalo, Clark, Jackson, Monroe, La Crosse, Vernon and Craw ford, for the judicial term of six years, commencing January 1, 1857. The duties of this office he discharged with ability, and served the constitutional term. During Judge Gales's residence at La Crosse, he urged very strongly on the citizens of that place the importance of establishing there a college or institution of learning of a higher order, but the country being new, the project did not find favor with the people, and nothing was done to carry out this design. He shortly after determined to found a town and college on his own responsibility. In 1853, he purchased about 2,000 acres of land, including the present site of Galesville with the water-power on Beaver Creek, and in January. 1854, he procured from the State Legislature the organization of the new county of Trempealeau, with the location of the county seat at Galesville, and at the same time obtained a charter for a University, to be located at that place. A Board of Trustees was organized in 1855, and the edifice commenced in 1858. In June, 1854, the village plat of Galesville was laid out, and subsequently mills were erected. 460 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The building for the University was carried through a monetary crisis by his great energy and financial ability. After the graduation of the first class in July, 1865, he resigned the Presidency of the Board of Trustees and of the Faculty, which posts he had held for seven years. In 1857, he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Vermont University, and, in 1863, the institution which owed to him its existence, and to whom it was indebted for much of its success and prosperity, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. He was the pioneer of the press in Walworth County, where he started the Western Star, at Elk Horn, August 7, 1845, with which he was connected nearly a year. He made varied and successful ventures in authorship, in which he added much to the reputation he had acquired in other fields of labor. Of these, the first, the "Wisconsin Farm Book," was prepared and pub lished by him in 1846, was subsequently revised and republished in 1848, 1850 and 1856. It had a large circulation, and nearly 6,000 copies were sold. Taking great interest in the aboriginal history of the Northwest, and in the State His torical Society (of which he was an honorary member and subsequently a Vice President), he prepared an elaborate paper on the "History of the Chippewa Nation of Indians," which was read before the society. In 1866, he published at Galesville a " Genealogical History of the Gale Family in England and the United States, with an account of the Tottingham Family of New England, and of the Bogardus, Waldron and Young Families of New York," a volume of 254 pages, a work requiring a large amount of patient and persevering investigation. His last work, to the preparation of which he devoted many years, and to which the greatest general interest attaches, was published in 1867. It is entitled "The Upper Mississippi; or Historical Sketches of the Introduction of Civilization in the Northwest," a work covering the period from 1600 to 1866. It is a work of much research, and is a most valuable contribution to the history of the West. His health partially failed him in the summer of 1862, and the three following winters he passed in the South and the East — most of the time in the service of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions. During February and March, 1863, he had charge of the United States Sanitary Commission Depot on Morris Island, S. C, during the siege of Charleston. Rev. Benjamin W. Reynolds. Rev. Benjamin W. Reynolds was a native of South Carolina, having been born in that State in 1812. He graduated from Middlebury College at the age of twenty, in 1832. From this same college were graduated Judge Cameron, of La Crosse, and Rev. Sunderland, at one time Chaplain of the United States Senate. At the age of twenty-two, he graduated in theology from Lane Seminary, having Senator Foot for a preceptor. He went to Iowa to begin his ministerial labors as a missionary, and was called on to open the first Legislature of the Territory with prayer. From there he went in succession to Missouri, and thence to Illinois. He came to Wisconsin in 1849, and located at Sheboygan. He left that point in 1851, coming to La Crosse in August of that year. At that time there were but eleven nouses, all told, on the side of the future city which was most unpromising to the view, a large, deep hollow twenty feet or more in depth marking the spot now occupied by the store of Mons Anderson and George Howard, and large sand hills on the sites of the court house and the Esperson House. The latter of these was surmounted by the residences of Lieut. Gov. Burns. He located his claim on the marsh at the mouth of Black River, near the present elevator. What must have then seemed a most unprom ising location proved a most fortunate one. It was required by the C. & M. R. R. Co., who had it condemned for their use ; and for a strip of 250 by 600 feet, Mr. Reynolds was awarded the handsome sum of $7,300. It was developed in the evidence elicited at this time that it fronted the best landing on the Mississippi River in its whole length. River men and pilots were quite positive and unanimous on this point, claiming a depth of from fifty to sixty feet of water near to the water's edge. Messrs. Plankington and Rogers were appointed arbitrators in the case. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 461 For some time after his coming, his dwelling was claimed to be one of the only three log houses so occupied, the other two being those of Peter Cameron and Col. T. B. Stoddard. His ardent Republicanism led him to warmly espouse the cause of the Free State men in Kansas, and at his own expense, and with great inconvenience he went to the great Buffalo Convention in 1856 to throw his influence in the scale to aid in'making that contested region a free State With him religion and politics were so blended that the distinction was imperceptible. The struggle for freedom, wherever waged, commanded his earnest support and encouragement, and his influence, purse and person were all freely and enthusiastically given in its support. In 1861, on the accession of Lincoln to the Presidency, he received the appointment of Receiver of the Land Office at St. Croix Falls, a position he held during Lincoln's life. In 1865, he went to South Carolina, his native State, as a correspondent for the La Crosse Repub lican. His avowal of Republican sentiments, which he fearlessly proclaimed both from the stump and through the press, soon excited such fierce, malignant opposition, that he was com pelled to fly for his life and seek refuge in Georgia, and live in as obscure and secluded a man ner as possible, so much so, indeed, that for several months even his own family were ignorant of his whereabouts. They knew he had been in deadly peril, and, while torn with doubts and fears, had their worst anticipations realized by vague, but all too probable rumors of his death. Undeterred by his persecutions, he again made the State the scene of his labors, and, in 1871, published a Republican paper at Abbeville. He also wrote the biographies of the leading citi zens of the State. He was the choice of many Republicans for the position of United States Senator, and, it is claimed, was sure of an election, when he generously made way for Patterson, who was elected in his stead. Returning to La Crosse, he again put on the editorial harness, publishing the North Star in North La Crosse in 1876. This was sold out to A. S. Foote, the present convict, very greatly to the detriment of Mr. Reynolds. The material is now claimed to be in use in the office of the Sun at Milwaukee. Mr. Reynolds died in 1877. Orrin L. Smith. Orrin L. Smith, born in Galena, 111., in 1830; taken to Ohio at six months, and raised at Princeton till sixteen ; from there, to New Orleans ; stayed three years ; thence to St. Louis two years ; came to La Crosse.in 1851 ; pre-empted a school section on prairie where Winona Junction is located, four miles from the city ; lived there till the fall of 1853, then moved to the city ; clerked in the mill of Rublee, Smith & Simonton ; remained there till the spring of 1854 ; became steamboat clerk on the Dr. Franklin, next Lady F., next Royal Arch, Granite State, Falls City, Galena, Dubuque and Minnesota Packet Company, Capt. Orrin Smith, President. Remained in the line till 1859. For ten years, engaged in running teams and selling cordwood. In 1869, became City Clerk ; one year hotel clerk at International Hotel ; one year in Black River Implement Company, clerk ; since with Mr. Law in 'bus and freight line. On coming to La Crosse, there were only six shanties within the present limits of the city, and per haps a dozen in all in the vicinity. There were not to exceed seventy-five persons in the settle ment. On the site of David Law's bus office, on Front street, was a sand-hill and an old Indian burying-ground, numbers of skeletons having been subsequently exhumed. The place now occupied by Mons Anderson's block was a deep hollow, while from Mt. Vernon street to Badger street was a long, high ridge of sand, running parallel to the river. From Third street out, for a mile and a half, there were no buildings, and the wolves made nightly music where is now the most beautiful part of the city. Harvey E. Hubbard, Police Justice, was born March 17, 1830, at Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y. He attended district schools until thirteen years of age, when he entered Mandius Academy, remaining there until his sixteenth year, when he removed with his parents to Milwaukee. There he clerked for a year or more in a grocery store ; studied law two years with Hayden Powers, a nephew of Millard Fillmore. He next studied law in the office of Smith & Palmer, until admitted to the bar in May, 1851, at twenty-one years of age. Removed to La Crosse during the latter part of July of the 462 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. same year, the journey requiring three days' staging from Milwaukee to Galena, and thence to La Crosse by steamer. Here he went into company with Col. Thomas B. Stoddard. That winter, he was elected one of the Clerks of the State Senate. Returning to La Crosse in the spring of 1852, was appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court by Judge Knowlton, to supply the place of Mr. Hart, who had gone to California. At the expiration of this term, he was elected to the same position. In the spring of 1853, was appointed Postmaster, and also elected Justice of the Peace. He first held the post office in a building owned by Lieut. Gov. Burns, on Front street, in which he put three dozen post office boxes. At the expiration of a year or two, he moved into a building on Main street, near Front street. He remained here perhaps two years, and then moved into a room under Barron's Hall, west side of Front street, remaining here two years; thence to Levy's Block, on Pearl street, and lastly to the corner of Main and Third streets. In 1856, he was elected First Police Justice, and at the expiration of his present term has held the office for sixteen years. Mr. Hubbard has been and is very prominent in Masonry, having held the post of Worshipful Master in Frontier Lodge, High Priest of the Chapter, and Eminent Commander of the La Crosse Commandery. He has also held next to the highest position in the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin. Mr. Hubbard drew the first charter of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad, in 1852. Alexander McMillan was born in Finch, Starmont Co., Ont., on the 23d of October, 1825, and is the son of Duncan B. and Mary McMillan, both of whom were natives of Inverness-shire, Scotland, whence they emigrated to Canada in 1815. His father, who was a Ruling Elder of the Presbyterian Church at Finch, trained his children strictly in the doctrines of that faith. His boyhood and youth were passed in his native place, dividing his time between study in the common schools and work on the farm. When twenty-one years of age, he removed to the State of New York. Here he passed some time, and in the spring of 1850 settled in Madison, Wis. Here he spent one year clerking, and at the expiration of that time removed to Portage, at which place also he passed one year. In 1852, in partnership with his brother John, who died in 1865, he estab lished himself in the lumber trade at La Crosse, which place he has since made his home. The business is more properly what is known as logging, the timber and logs being cut on the Black Rivei" and sold to manufacturers on the Mississippi. The business is a very extensive one throughout Wisconsin, and especially in this section of the State, and Mr. McMillan is one of its most prominent representatives, being the oldest logger on the Black River. He is still ex tensively engaged in the business, although largely interested in other enterprises. He has always held decided views on the political and municipal affairs of his State and city, and been honored by his fellow-citizens with many positions of public trust. He was for three years a member of the City Council, for several years County Supervisor, and for two years Chairman of the County Board, a position to which he was re-elected in 1875. He was Mayor of La Crosse in 1871, and in 1876 Chairman of the Board of Trade. In 1873, he was elected to the State Legislature on the Republican ticket. During the same year, it being that of the great financial crisis, he became President of the First National Bank of La Crosse. Aside from his activity in political matters, he has always shown a public spiritedness and been deeply interested in the public enterprises of his city. In 1869, the McMillan Brothers became the chief owners of the La Crosse Gas Works, which were incorporated in 1863. Alexander McMillan was made President and Duncan D. McMillan Vice President. He has always been an earnest supporter of the temperance movement, and in 1873 was made President of the La Crosse Temperance League. He was married in 1858 to Miss Sarah L. Parker, daughter of Mr. Herrick Parker of La Crosse, formerly a prominent citizen of Elyria, Ohio. Mrs. McMillan is a lady of fine native endowments, highly accomplished, and has attained local celebrity for her skill in oil painting, many of her pieces having taking premiums at various county and city expositions. Mr. McMillan possesses excellent personal qualities, social and genial, and is a most agreeable companion. By promptness and industry he has gained the reputation of being a thorough business man, and as a reward of his honorable and fair dealing has the respect and esteem of all who know him, and lives in the enjoyment of an ample fortune. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 463 Duncan D. McMillan. Mr. McMillan, a native of Finch 'in the Province of Ontario, was born on the 20th of June, 1837. He is the son of Duncan B. and Mary McMillan. After receiving an ordinary English education in the common schools of his native place, he engaged for a time in lumber ing in Canada West. His natural tastes and inclinations inclined him toward mechanism, but his circumstances were not such as to admit of his gratifying his desires. In 1859, at the age of twenty-two, he removed to the West and joined his two elder brothers at La Crosse, where they had previously established themselves in the lumbering and logging trade. He at once went into their employment, in which he continued till 1861. The business not being congenial to his tastes, he abandoned it and entered the office of another brother, E. H. McMillan, and began the study of law. He applied himself to this new pursuit with such diligence that he was admitted to the bar in the following year. He did not, however, at once enter upon the practice of his profession, but within a few months accepted a clerkship in the Quartermaster's Depart ment at Memphis, Tenn., under Col. A. R. Eddy, a position he held during portions of 1863 and 1864. Returning home, he purchased an interest in the lumbering business of his brothers, and has continued in the same up to the present time. Upon the death of his brother John, in 1865, the firm name was changed to that of A. & D. D. McMillan. His attention, however, has not been wholly confined to the lumbering trade, but being a man of enterprise and thorough business qualifications, he has employed his capital in other enterprises, not only remunerative to himself, but also tending to and directly connected with the welfare of his city. He is one of the largest stockholders in the La Crosse Gas Light Company, and became its Vice Presi dent. Politically, he is a Republican. When he first became interested in political affairs slavery was the great issue between the two parties. He naturally arrayed himself with what he deemed the party of liberty and progress, and cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. He is not partisan and acts with great independence, always exalting man above party and support ing for office the one he deems most worthy and the best qualified. He has not, however, had any ambition to reap political honors, finding in his regular business ample scope for the exercise of his best talents. He accepted position as member of the Board of Supervisors dur ing 1873 and 1874. His parents were stanch Presbyterians, and the principles and doctrines which they instilled in his early life have been strengthened and confirmed as he has grown older, and he is now an active and worthy member of that body. He was married in 1866 to Miss Mary J. McCrea, daughter of Stephen McCrea, Esq., of Huntingdon County, in the Province of Quebec. John S. Simonton. Mr. Simonton was born in Clermont County, Ohio, about sixteen miles distant from Cincin nati, May 4, 1807 ; lived in that and the adjoining county till the spring of 1852. In Warren County, he was on the farm adjacent to that of Tom Corwin, the famous natural orator and stump speaker, a niece of whom married Joseph Simonton, a late resident of La Crosse, and who still resides in the city. Mr. Simonton emigrated to this place, from Ohio, in 1852, making the journey entirely by steamer ; from St. Louis, he came on the Nominee, Capt. Orrin Smith, a pioneer of western steamboating, being in command. He arrived at this point, April 10, 1852. The present site of the city was diversified by sand hills and corresponding hollows. The corner of Main and Third streets was marked by a sand hill fifteen feet high, on the spot where the Dunlap Brothers erected the building which has been removed to give place to the La Crosse National Bank ; it was built about 1853. They bought the two lots on which their building stood for $50. A high hill marked the place where the ¦city building was erected, part of which yet remains, and is occupied by the house of George Farnum. Another hill existed on the site of the present court house, The highest was one south of the livery stable of J. Emery. During the fall of 1852, he went into partnership with F M. Rublee and S. T. Smith, and built the first saw-mill erected in La Crosse, at the mouth of that stream, on the site of the present tannery. The old stack remained standing till within 464 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. a year or two. In a year he sold out his interest, and the firm then consisted of Messrs. Dyer, White & Rublee ; the latter also sold out shortly after. In 1854, a grist-mill was added, which was run by night. The mill was burned to the ground in 1855 or 1856. While in the mill, Mr. Simonton had a third interest in a store on Front street, the other parties being Messrs. Clinton and Smith (S. T.) It was on the site of the present Junean Block, and was destroyed by fire in 1856. He next went into the furniture business, on the spot now occupied by Giles & Good- land. This building was a two-story frame. His interest was soon sold out to W. Ustic. It had double store-rooms, and was for a time occupied by Mr. Robbins for a hotel. This build ing was burned in 1857 or 1858. Mr. Simonton next engaged in running the ferry. At first he had charge of the Gen. Pope, and was employed by Gen. Washburn. He was also in the em-" ploy of the S. M. R. R., and run the Alice and the McGregor. In 1864, the Alice was sold, and the McGregor soon afterward, while the Gen. Pope was taken to Hudson. The ferry was below Barron's Island. In 1870, Mayor Rodolf appointed Mr. Simonton, Chief of Police. In 1873, he was elected Sheriff, and served one term, which is all that is permitted, without a term intervening before a re-election. When the financial crisis of 1857 struck the country, it found him all unprepared, and in one month the earnings and savings of a life-time, amounting to $10,500, mostly money on loan, were swept away. By Ethan Roberts. When I was a young man, my business was teaching district schools in the winter seasons, and occasionally clerking in village stores in the summer time. These occupations becoming somewhat monotonous, I hired out to travel with an electrician, who was engaged in lecturing on Experimental Philosophy. My place was to go ahead, make arrangements for the "Exhibi tions," and when convenient, return to help the lecturer during the evening. I soon became quite expert in handling the instruments, and having quite a "gift of gab," was frequently put forward to do the talking. In a few weeks I bought out my employer, and started out on my own hook. My parents, who were steady-going Quakers, and my brothers and sisters, mani fested much "concern of mind " about this new venture, but occasionally returning to the parental roof in Livonia, Wayne Co., Mich., and counting before their astonished eyes the dol lars and dimes I had cleared in my absence, they soon became convinced that the business was legitimate. The fall of 1851 and the following winter was spent lecturing in the Northwestern part of Illinois, and the Southwestern part of Wisconsin, giving pleasure to my patrons and putting some coin in my own pockets. In the spring of 1852, just as the frost was coming out of the ground, I concluded to " quit all worldly business," and take a trip to La Crosse County, to visit my brother-in-law, Luther Downer, and his family, who had settled in Lewis Valley in 1848. Crossing the Wisconsin River at a place called the Packet, and leaving my apparatus at Hozen's Tavern, being assured there would be no further use for it, I followed the ridge, which separates tho waters flowing into the Kickapoo from those which flow into the Mississippi. After leaving the ridge road I followed the wagon trail, leading to Prairie La Crosse, until opposite Bostwick's Valley ; here leaving the main track, and following a still blinder one, after tying the two wheels on each side of the buggy together, I took old Jim by the bits and com menced the descent to the valley. At the steepest place of the hill my horse sat down on his haunches and quietly slid to the bottom. My intention was to ford the La Crosse River in the present town of Hamilton and, if possible, reach Lewis Valley before night set in, but a storm which had been gathering all the morning now threatened to burst with violence at any moment. So reining up to an humble cabin, I asked shelter for myself and horse. The man was living alone by the side of a small stream. His family was in the eastern part of the State, and he was preparing a home for them. With manly generosity, he welcomed me to the best the house afforded, and to one-half of his bed. His manner of cooking was new to me; he would take a cup of water from the brook, then turn it into the flour in the barrel and pro ceed to mix his cake ; this he baked in a frying-pan before an open fire. The same dish served to fry his meat in ; then making some strong tea in a tin cup, our frugal meal was ready. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 465 A sudden rise in the streams caused me to remain with him two nights, and each succeeding meal was an exact duplicate of the first. My friend informed me that it was impossible, at that stage of water, to ford the river, and my only chance to reach Lewis Valley was to go down the river to a ferry, which must have been near where the junction now is. So bidding my kind host good-bye, in a few hour's time the ferry was reached ; after getting a good dinner for myself, and a peck of oats for my horse, I continued my journey, not seeing a house or human being until arriving at Lewis' Corners, where, in a little wood-colored schoolhouse, I found A. T. Fuller teaching about one dozen scholars, three of whom called me Uncle. Taking them in my buggy, we drove to their home, two miles east, near the present village of Newton Center. Here was a niece which I had never seen before, and my sister proudly informed me that Hannah Lorette Downer was the first white child born in Lewis Valley. There were but few families in the valley, but all seemed happy and contented. During my stay, I visited the Douglas' settlement on Black River, made a trip to Prairie La Crosse, hunted in Black Walnut Grove, and fished in Fleming's Creek and its tributaries. The majestic hills and flowing rivers charmed me, and the good feelings among the inhabitants served to make my visit pleasant. In a few weeks the "good-byes" were spoken, and I returned to Michigan. In the spring of 1853, Sarah W. Dana, a Yankee schoolma'am from Amherst, Mass., made my acquaintance, and she just hinted that Mr. Roberts ought to stop "peddling lightning" and settle down. I frankly told her that if I could find a young woman who would do one-half the sparking, per haps I might be induced to marry. She as frankly replied that she would willingly do two- thirds. We commenced business on that basis, and nobly did she stand to her bargain. On the 27th of July, 1853, the Rev. Mr. Jackson, of Milford, received a marriage fee from my pocket. I told Mrs. Roberts of my travels in the West, of the deep rich soil in the valleys of La Crosse County, of the springs of pure gurgling water, of the nice timber on the hills, of the shiny speckled trout in the streamlets, of the deer that roamed over the mountains, of the bears among the bushes, of the large yellow rattlesnakes in the rocks and of the massa- saugers on the marshes; and she said: "Let us go to that beautiful land." In the fall of 1855 (having previously sent money to purchase land in Lewis Valley), we left Michigan in an emi grant wagon, and in about three weeks' time we arrived at Luther Downer's. Leaving wife and baby with my sister, and taking two men with me, we went up the valley to build a house on the quarter-section, which my brother-in-law had selected forme, about seven miles east of New ton Center. We stuck two crotches in the ground, then laid a pole across them, and placed boards, one end on the pole and the other end on the ground, and our temporary shelter was completed. A log fire in front of this made it quite pleasant. We soon had logs cut and hauled for a house, 20x18 feet, and a stable 14x12 feet, and hands invited to help put them up. On the morning of the raising, a snow-storm set in which lasted all day. Of course no one came to help us ; so we three rolled up the stable, muddied it outside and inside, put on a roof of boards, called it a house and moved in, and there, as snug as a "bug in a rug," we spent our first winter in Wisconsin, often repeating — "Tossed no more on life's rough billows, All the storms of sorrow o'er." The County of La Crosse had been settling up quite fast during my stay in Michigan. La Crosse Valley and La Crosse City had improved very rapidly, while nearer home the Ger mans were locating about Burr Oak, and the Norwegians were opening up some splendid farms in the lower part of Lewis Valley. A store, tavern, blacksmith-shop and schoolhouse had been built at Newton Center, and there were signs of thrift and energy all around. Luther Downer, who was a "mighty hunter," spent a part of the winter with us, and many were the deer that fell before his trusty rifle. Little did we think at that time that he was so soon to fall before the reaper, death. But in the spring of 1856, after a short sickness, sur rounded by his weeping family and a few friends, the hardy pioneer peacefully passed away to that better land. 466 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. In the fall of 1859, my hired man, Thomas Jones, taking a shotgun and dog with him started out for the cows. When about half a mile from home, he discovered a bear which the dog soon treed. With more of rashness than of prudence he went almost under the bear, and aiming at the fellow's heart, sent a charge of shot into him. The bear growled and loosening his hold of the limb with all but one paw, he hung suspended in midair for a short time and then dropped. As soon as he struck the ground " Peter" jumped upon him. With one stroke of his strong paw, the bear threw the dog to a respectable distance. The dog gave up the fight. Tom then stepped up to the bear, and with a powerful blow broke the bear's skull and ruined the gun. Tom was so elated that he took the bear on his shoulders, and brought him home in triumph. When his excitement was over he could not lift the animal from the ground. During the many years of the hard times, which commenced in 1857, poverty often stared us in the face and sometimes came very near looking us out of countenance ; yet, through all those long years of failures and successes, of sorrows and of joys, we never lost faith in the future, nor once regretted having made our home in Lewis Valley. As business or pleasure frequently calls us to different parts of the county, and we notice the great improvements everywhere made. the easy grades over the ridges, the substantial bridges over the rivers, the well-cultivated farms, the neat and comfortable farm houses, the well-built railroads, the thriving villages, and the city of La Crosse, the pride of the western part of Wisconsin, making a market for the farm products of all the surrounding country, whose business men are the peers of any in the State, we are con vinced that our early faith in the future of La Crosse County was well founded. And now, living on our third farm, having neither " poverty nor riches," surrounded by kind friends and good neighbors, our greatest ambition is — " To live contentedly between The little and the great ; Feel not the wants that pinch the poor, Nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door, Embittering all his state, until He Who notes the sparrow's fall Shall beckon us to that more ' beautiful land,' 'Just over the river.' " Mindoro, LaCrosse Co., Wis., July 15, 1881. Judge Cyrus K. Lord. Judge Lord was born at East Parsonsfield, York Co., Me., on the 10th of June, 1811. Lived at home working on the farm during the summers and attending the common school and the chores alike in the winter. In the spring of 1832, he went into the office of Dr. Moses Sweat and stuiied medicine till in the fall of that year, when he was called to take charge of the busi ness of an uncle in the town of Cornish, who had been elected to the Legislature. In the spring of 1833, he bought out a stock of merchandise and was at the head of a country store till 1834. He was in the business till 1836. In January of that year, he was married to Miss Abby Clark, tho daughter of Hon. Nathaniel Clark, of Leamington, Me., a prominent politician, who was in public service during half of his life, mostly in the Legislature, serving in both branches. In the spring of 1837, Mr. Lord came to the West, stopping for one season at Galena; then went to Platteville, where he engaged in smelting lead ore in 1838, and spent two years and a half. He then entered the law office of Benjamin C. Eastman, who afterward became a member of Con gress, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1842. He opened an office in Potosi and remained there till 1853. He was elected County Judge of Grant County in 1849, and served in that capacity till appointed Register of the land office at La Crosse in April, 1853, when he resigned the judgeship and came to this place May 16, at once making arrangements for the land office which was transferred to this locality and opened June 1 He served as Register till July, 1856, and then resumed the practice of law. He has since kept an office. In 1854, he joined Col. Rodolf, his associate in the land office as Receiver, in buying out the La Crosse Democrat with which he was associated for a year. He was also engaged in the lumber business from 1867 to HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 467 1871. Though the Judge has reached the allotted age of threescore and ten, he is to all appear ances as hale and robust as in the prime of life. Theodore Rodolf. The subject of this sketch, a native of Switzerland, was born in the canton of Argovia, October 17, 1815. He devoted his earlier years entirely to educational pursuits, and later graduated from a college of Aaran, the capital of his native canton, and from the University of Zurich. When he was about seventeen years of age, his father immigrated to the United States, with his family, and afterward died in New Orleans, of the yellow fever. In 1834, the mother and her children removed to Southern Wisconsin and settled on a farm near Wiota, La Fayette County. In 1840. we find Theodore Rodolf at Mineral Point, keeping store, employ ing miners, and trafficking in lead. Thirteen years later, he settled at La Crosse, and there assumed the duties of Receiver in the Land Office, under the appointment of President Pierce, a position which he held, by re-appointment of President Buchanan, until 1861. Since that time, he has been engaged largely in insurance and in real estate operations. Aside from this, Mr. Rodolf has held many other offices — has, in fact, been in some official position most of the time for thirty years. He was Captain of the Mineral Point Guards from 1848 to 1851, and of the La Crosse Rifles from 1856 to 1860. He was President of the village of Mineral Point two years, a member of the Board of Supervisors of La Crosse County about four years, and Chair man of the same one year. He was Mayor of the city in 1868 and 1870, and a member of the Assembly during the same years, and while in the Legislature did good service on the Committee on Railroads, Lumber, Manufactures, etc. He received the Democratic vote for Speaker the second time he was in the Legislature, but, the Republicans being in the majority, he was de feated. He was Democratic candidate for Presidential Elector at Large in 1864, and the same party's candidate for Elector in the Sixth District in 1868, the Republicans in both instances being in the ascendant. He was Democratic candidate for State Senator in 1876. He has always been a Democrat, and for a long time one of the leaders in Western Wisconsin, and is well known throughout the State. During the administration of Gov. Fairchild, he was appointed by him a member of the Visiting Committee to the State institutions. He has been for several years Secretary of the La Crosse Board of Trade. In many ways, he has made and is still making a very useful man, and is an esteemed and most worthy citizen. Mr. Rodolf is a promi nent member of the Odd Fellows' fraternity, and in 1875 was Grand Master of the State. He was Grand Representative and attended the meeting of the Grand Lodge of the United States held in Philadelphia in September, 1876. He was reared in the Reformed Church of Switzer land, but, having found no organized society of that people since coming to Wisconsin, although holding Christian people in high respect, has identified himself with no religious body. His mother, who .died at Mineral Point in 1856, was a member of the Episcopal Church, and his sisters belong to the same body in La Crosse. The wife of Mr. Rodolf was Miss Marie Thomas, of New Orleans. They have had twelve children, six of whom are now living. Four died within as many weeks, of diphtheria. The eldest son, Theodore F., who is a partner of his father in the insurance business, married a grand daughter of Henry Dodge, first Territorial Governor of Wisconsin, and daughter of Gov. Clark, of Iowa, when it was a Territory. She died in September, 1875, leaving two children, who live with their grandfather. Mr. Rodolf has two daughters married and living in La Crosse, the wives of William Servis and F. A. Copeland. William W. Crosby. Mr. Crosby was born July 26, 1818, and is the son of Logan Crosby and Sally ( Knox ) Crosby. The ancestors of the Crosby family, consisting of three brothers, came to this country from London, England, in the year 1660. One settled in the Massachusetts Colony on Cape Cod; one at what is now Portland, in Connecticut, and the other in the Province of Maine. Mr. Crosby's family sprang from .the Connecticut branch, and tradition says the head of this family's 468 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. name was David, and that he was a minister of the Gospel of the Baptist persuasion, and that he also took an active part in the Indian wars then being prosecuted along the banks of the Con necticut River. William's grandfather moved from Connecticut to Massachusetts, and settled in the town ofBlandford. He had a family of ten sons and two daughters, and himself with eight of his sons surrendered with Gen. Hull's army. They were imprisoned at Detroit, and the small-pox broke out among the prisoners and two of his sons died of the disease while yet in prison. He, with his remaining sons and some other persons, succeeded in making their escane from Detroit to Northern New York and Pennsylvania. His grandfather settled in Batavia, N. Y., at which place he died. Logan Crosby, the father of William, was born in Blandford, Mass., May 8, 1789, and made that town his home through life. He served in the war of 1812-14. March 2, 1815, he married Sally Knox. She was born in the town of Blanford, February 9, 1790, and belonged to the celebrated Knox family who claim to be descendants of the celebrated John Knox, the great reformer of Edinburgh, Scotland. On account of religious persecution they fled from Scotland and settled in the north of Ireland, from whence they immigrated to America, and settled in the town of Blandford, Mass., where a remnant of the Knox family still remains. The fruits of their marriage were two children, Alonzo K. and William W., the sub ject of this sketch. Their mother, Sally Crosby, died May 12, 1822, aged 32 years, and Alonzo died in La Crosse, Sept. 1, 1855. Logan Crosby married his second wife, and by her had two children, Sarah and Homer. Homer was killed in an accident, and Sarah married Mr. G. C. Hixon, now President of the La Crosse National Bank. She died in 1856. The subject of this sketch was married April 4, 1841, to Sarah M. Wright, of Chester, Mass. They settled in La Crosse in 1854. Mrs. Crosby was killed by lightning, August 15th, 1855. September 8, 1856, he married Mary Pennell of Honeoye, New York. The fruits of this union are William Logan, born October 27, 1857, Charles Pennell, born August 3, 1859, Homer, born February, 11, 1865, and Mary, born April 30, 1867. His father, Logan Crosby, died September 29, 1875, at the age of eighty-six years, but his widow is now living and draws a pension for his services of $96 per year. The following, in the words of the subject of this sketch, may prove interesting. " My father was a farmer in a small way and resided about four miles from the center of the town, which contained two stores, two taverns, a post office and a "meeting house." Nothing but sickness was an excuse for not going to meeting on Sunday. We, boys, were conducted to the gallery by the " Ty thing " man, armed with a hickory whip-stock about six feet long. Here we were seated and not allowed to look in any direction except at the preacher. If we made a move we were sure to get a " rap " over the head with the hickory. The older ones were seated in the square pews below, that were owned by them and deeded the same as their farms were. In those days we had to stand during prayer, which was from half to three-quarters of an hour long; then listen to the long sermon on the doctrine of election from firstly to fifteenthly. In imagination I can now see the old men and women, the young men and maidens, and children, after the forenoon services in winter, eating their frozen lunch, and trying to keep warm by whipping their hands and stamping their feet, so as to be able to endure the severe cold for the afternoon services. This was from fifty to sixty years ago, before stoves for heating houses and churches were invented. In winter they used to go to the meeting from the outskirts of the town with "ox-sleds." In summer the husband mounted his horse, with a pillion strapped to the saddle, rode to the horse block where he took up his wife and child behind him. The young man waited on his sweetheart in a similar manner. No carriages or wagons in those days. My school advantages were limited to the district school, where the town appropriations were small, and the qualifications of the teacher were reading, spelling writing and arithmetic, and the wages for male teachers in winter were from ten to twelve dollars per month, the teachers having to board around. I was called on to teach when I was but sixteen years old. I informed the committee that I was too young, and that I could not get a certificate, but no would not do, I must go forward and be examined. You can imagine how a green, bashful country boy "would feel to be brought in contact with the town committee, who were supposed to know every- L/\ CROSSE. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 471 thing, and have them ask questions that they did not know whether they were being answered right or wrong, then issuing certificates to country blockheads to teach. I among the rest got a certificate to teach and followed the business for seven winters with success." Mr. Crosby engaged in the mercantile business, and followed that until the spring of 1854, when he came to La Crosse, the then small village, claiming three hundred inhabitants. He immediately engaged in the lumber business, and hus continued the same with success. He has been identified with the interests of the city ever since his residence; was elected Alderman in 1856 upon the organization of the city, which office he held for twelve years : was also first United States Assessor; raised the second company of militia, called the Light Guards, that afterward enlisted in the late civil war. When Mr. Crosby was appointed by Gov. Randall Major General of Militia, Wilson Colwell was made Captain of the Light Guards. This com pany served out their first enlistment of ninety days, and again enlisted and served till the end of the war. Captain Colwell was killed at the battle of South Mountain. Mr. Crosby has seen the little village of La Crosse grow to be a city containing 16,000 inhabitants. Charles Green Hanscome. Mr. Hanscome, one of the early settlers and attorneys of La Crosse, first came to the vil lage of La Crosse in May, 1853, with the intention of making this his home, and commenced the practice of law, in which he was engaged until May, 1861, when he made a trip of observa tion and adventure to Colorado, from whence he returned, having made some investments in that Territory, his intention being to make La Crosse his permanent home, first securing an interest in the new Western Territories, on a trip to which he fell a victim to savage ferocity. The following extract from an Eastern (Maine) paper gives so full an account of the life his tory of Mr. Hanscome, that it is transcribed as just and reliable : " Of the Class of 1845, Charles Green Hanscome was killed on the Upper Platte River, fifty miles east of Fort Laramie, on July 14, 1864, aged forty years. He was the eldest of five children of Oliver and Ruth (Rich) Hanscome, and was born in the town of China, Kennebec Co., Me., on the 13th of May, 1824. He was fitted for college in his native place, and entered Waterville College in September, 1841. After he graduated he engaged in teaching for about a year, and then studied law with his uncle, J. C. Woodman, of Portland, Me., and was there admitted to the bar. "In June, 1847, he left his home and removed to Wisconsin, whence, after three years' residence in the practice of his profession, he returned to Maine. He next spent a year in Cen tral America, but returning again to the West, he took up and continued his residence in La Crosse, Wis., till the year 1863, which year he spent in Colorado, where he was chosen a mem ber of the Territorial Legislature. "In May, 1864, he left La Crosse with his brother, William B., and others, on an overland expedition to Idaho. The tragic end of his journey may be best narrated in the words of a no tice that has already appeared in the village newspaper of that time : "'On the evening of the 14th of July, the party, increased in the course of the march of over 300 miles to the number of eighteen men and from twenty to thirty women and children, with its attendant train of sixty wagons drawn by many horses, cattle and mules, had encamped for the night, when a party of well-mounted Sioux Indians, about twenty-five in number, made a dash upon them, giving them a flying attack, and suddenly disappeared. '"Mr. Hanscome had just gone over the hill a few rods to the river for the purpose of watering some mules. Some of the party heard the report of a gun, when, seizing their arms, they ran to the river just in time to see the retreating of six of the Indians, who had made a rush upon Mr. Hanscome for the purpose of securing the mules, as was seen by one of the com pany, who was some distance from the scene. Mr. Hanscome, unable to relinquish them, held on to the ropes, whereupon one of the Indians raised his gun and shot him through the head, killing him instantly.' " Mr. Hanscome possessed an unusully cheerful disposition and ready wit, was a warm friend and genial companion ; his energy, quickness of repartee, self-reliance, tact and love of 472 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. adventure qualified him admirably for the life of a pioneer, and gave him an easy ascendency over the class of men whom he met in such a life. Mr. Hanscome was married Oct. 19, 1853, to Miss Anna J., daughter of Abram and Anna Anderson. Mrs. Hanscome and her two daughters still reside in La Crosse. Harvey J. Peck Mr. Peck was born in South Bainbridge, Chenango Co., N. Y., June 18, 1818. Resided there and in Coventry, same county, until 1826, when he removed with his parents to Whites- town, Oneida Co., N. Y. Here he received a good common-school education, and, at the age of twenty-one, getting the Western fever, and having some relatives at Green Bay, Wis., he started on a canal boat for Buffalo; then he took passage on the old steamboat Columbus, which took him around the lakes to Chicago, Milwaukee and back to Green Bay, where he landed in September, 1838. He was married on his way West. Some time after, he, with five others, took a canoe and started up the Fox River to see the country, hauling their canoe around the rapids of the Fox River ; they entered Lake Winnebago and worked their way to Oshkosh. He remained at Green Bay during the fall of 1838, working at the carpenter and joiners' trade until winter, when he hired out to go down the Bay lumbering at a saw-mill, where they lived on bread, salt fish and potatoes, with no tea, coffee, sugar or meat. After staying there about two months, he left and went to Fond du Lac ; here he remained until 1851, generally engaged in farming, doing some carpenter work, and sometimes lumbering. During this period, his wife died. In October, 1851, he hired out to Rev. William Card, to go to La Crosse, to assist him, in company with George Carlton, in building a store on Third street. La Crosse was then in its infancy, but growing rapidly. About the 1st of December of this year, Mr. Peck, in company with two others, bought an ox team and supplies, and started up the Black River to get out hewed timber and lumber ; they succeeded in rafting down the river in the spring of 1852, four rafts of timber and two of lumber. They sold their timber to Rublee & Smith in La Crosse, and the lumber to R. C. Van Rensselaer at Onalaska. Mr. Peck did some work at La Crosse and helped finish a wharf boat for J. M. Levy ; then went to Onalaska to reside, and there got out the hard timber and worked on the first saw-mill built at that place, the owners being Nichols & Tompkins. That winter (1852), he hired out to George Farnam (who put a crew in the woods to get out logs for Nichols & Tompkins) to drive a tole team. During this winter he went to Madison twice for supplies ; from Neilsville to Yellow River, he followed a new road for fifty miles, along which there were no houses nor stopping-places, and being obliged to camp in the woods alone without supper, breakfast, or feed or water for his team. After logging was done in the spring, he took charge of driving Farnham's logs. This was the first time logs were driven out of the Black River, and the first year of Sam Western being on the river, i. e., 1853. Subsequent to this he took up his residence at Onalaska, work ing at the carpenter and joiners' trade, in company with H. D. Egerly. Here Mr. Peck held the offices of Justice of the Peace, Town Treasurer, and, for several years. Postmaster. In September, 1856, he married his second wife, Miss Carrie M. Lawrence. In 1864, having been elected Clerk of the Circuit Court, he removed to La Crosse and held the office six years ; then went into the insurance business, and, in August, 1870, was appointed by the Judges of the United States Circuit and District Courts (Judges Drummond & Hopkins) their Clerk, which position he now holds. ' A. Steinlein. Mr. Steinlein is a native of Prussia, having been born in the old city of Treves in 1823, a place made famous as having one of the most renowned of all religious relics — the reputed coat worn by the Savior, which is exhibited with much pomp and ceremony once in fifty years, and is confidently claimed to work miracles. Mr. Steinlein was favored with a sight of this holy vestment — a knit garment, which he thinks is renewed as often as occasion requires. He received his education at the Gymnasium of that city, of which he was a student for five years. This in stitution is equivalent to the academy in this country, being intermediate between the high school and the college. As his father was a professional teacher, he was a student from his earliest years. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 473 He graduated from the Gymnasium at fifteen, and then spent two years at the Normal school at Breuhl, from which he graduated at seventeen, and was a teacher at Treves for two years, then -emigrated just in time to escape service in the army. Mr. Steinlein came to New York City in 1843, and learned his trade (printing) in the pub lishing house of Ludwig. Came to La Crosse in 1856, buying a farm back of the bluffs in the town of Barre. That winter, he returned to La Crosse and helped found the Nord-Stern (North Star), with which paper he was connected for a year, when he went back to his farm where he lived for six years. Here he was very active in establishing roads and schools. By great per sonal efforts, he succeeded in having the first schoolhouse built of brick, thus insuring a substan tial, permanent structure on the start, and also the most economical, as the expense was almost wholly obviated in following his suggestion and example to build it by their own joint labors, the only outlay being for brick-laying. About 1862, he became connected with Mr. Ulrich in pub lishing the Nord-Stern, with which paper he was connected for two years, when he was elected Register of Deeds, an office he held for four years. He has since held the office of Justice of the Teace, Notary Public, Commissioner of the Poor, Commissioner of Schools, the latter continu- •ously since 1874 ; is also an agent for steamboats, land, etc.; has been Police Justice since about 1864. He still takes great interest in all movements of a public character, and is an active mem ber of the German Singing Society, which has for its object the culture of music, athletic exer cises, art, literature and education, all worthy objects that should enlist the commendation and support of all good citizens. The following is the official statement for the year 1879 : NUMBER OF BUSHELS. No. Aches Harvested fob Seed. No. of Pounds. NO. OF Tons. No. of Lbs. U AMES or TOWNS, Etc. as, Po o o ffl >> o p. o u o 0 M pas .P pasu U a. P.P. < -a asas f» u . as>o 5 >.vs ¦P op H >0 0 -p 0E S p.0 w aas at -O O H ss p £ 'as as '-. ¦i.° c O as 5 43905 442-26321154242922977S439003471058797 4303S3039!)52605 21*702007333850 14512 54255 1301028090 45170320432141012120 33240 29172 360952324055109319492532258170348832382934670 6609 3S782919212227647578 625 4783 778 5403 6411 695 16411655 65968471 968 7445112573872556 163 42.i73099 6332 92119673 8973 4102 16105 5529 13995 5752 60 150 975 1586 100 35 526120364 15 5 127 '"58 45 16 272 65 216 5 15 1 21 11400 900 3940 759 10641537 803 21501221 714 6713 14332289 662 15000175503373037225 49827 123551560750750 323323306515905 150 192 526233320340 154605 45 856133 200 15000 Farmington 12 15000 Greenfield 1225 693 850100870 1226 2844 940 Holland 4 780 84 2 433 508U0 6000 41 2 10 600 -Shelby 8 20 2080 88)0 150 Totals 438310 297003 386351 43830 28642 86878 7735 150 3404 2013 235 1052 102 1 71964 19345 319346 40090 The following are the official figures received at the County Clerk's office, showing the acre age of lands sown with cereals for the season of 1880, and other items bearing on the agricult ural and horticultural interests of the county : NUMRER OF ACRES. Milch Cows. NAMES of TOWNS, Etc. asas .P p p O "3' O pas P° as0asO P- p. 0u 0 00 as -3 aas Apple Orchard. as P.G pasasas & O H ¦siP O c P 0 0 The history of La Crosse for 1859, was the duplicate of its history during 1858. The pre vious experience of her citizens in periods of distress and uncertainties had taught them, and they came forth from their homes and their work-rooms, from their offices and shops, fully armed for contests with the future, like Pallas from the brow of Jove. Many of the old guard have retired to that low green tent whose curtain never outward swings, and, departing, left vacancies that have never since been entirely filled. Many still remain, and they yet remember the principal events of the period here referred to. Early in the year, the location of the county buildings was determined, and, in February, the county authorities contracted for the erection of a jail to cost $18,000. The decision regarding the location of these buildings was a source of relief to citizens, but of sorrow to editors. For nearly a year the latter had been engaged in a warfare of words as to the exact spot upon which these indispensables should be built. One alleged that the other was a member of a band of conspirators, whose designs were as deeply mysterious as the deliberations of a traverse jury, and wrapped up therein were plots to rob citizens of everything save their good name and reputation, etc., etc. Respondent retorted with sarcasm and reproofs against the withering effects of which postponement seemed infallible, and both agreed that the other should be treated to the fate of Guy Fawkes. When the decision was rendered, their ardor was tempo rarily chilled. The flank movement of the county officers proved a Waterloo to the fund of arguments each reserved for his opponent. While they were silenced, the people rejoiced, and preparations for the building were consummated. Work was commenced thereon during the spring, under the direction of A. W. Shepard, the contractor, and so assiduously were the labors prosecuted that its completion and occupation were reached on the 12th of the following November, the lower portion being used for jail purposes and the second story for county offices. Navigation opened this year on St. Patrick's Day, the 17th of March, and interest in this event was divided with that experienced in regard to the election of city officers. The campaign, though brief, was sharp and decided. The candidates of neither party equaled the require ments of the occasion, it is said, and, in this crisis of affairs, a third or independent candidate in the person of the Hon. James I. Lyndes, a prominent lawyer, and serving as County Judge at the time of his nomination to the Mayoralty. He resigned the latter and entered into the contest with such ardor that his election was conceded, and following, his induction into office was accomplished as provided by law. The Hon. S. S. Burton was appointed to the vacancy created on the bench by the retire ment of Judge Lyndes, and discharged the trust to which he was accredited with fidelity, judg ment and economy. In May, the German Lutheran Church at the northeast corner of Cass and Fifth streets was consecrated, and its construction was in keeping with the times. This year, the improve ments were general and of a superior order. Business being good, added an impetus to all de grees of enterprise in which the erection of blocks, residences and buildings for public uses was generally indulged. The season was unprecedentedly cold and unpleasant — so much so as to cause some sickness and delay agriculture. As an incident of the eccentric weather, it may be stated that on the Fourth of July picnickers were obliged to build fires in the woods where they gathered to keep themselves warm. In June of this year, occurred the death of Mr. Henry Whitney, and one who is to-day re membered as the finest representative and type of the "old school of gentlemen" who had ever resided in the city was removed from the social forces of La Crosse. He was a native of West- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 493 field, Mass., and after residing in Southeastern Wisconsin for several years, came with his family to La Crosse. Mr. Whitney regarded it a privilege for which he was grateful that he had lived at a time when such a man as the immortal Daniel Webster was on earth. On one occasion, some young friend respectfully addressed him as a venerable gentleman, and inquired at what stage of life he had experienced the most happiness. His answer was, "The present." His well-ordered life enabled him to so reply. Mrs. Whitney, a native of Derby, Conn., who was a lady of much refinement, survived her husband until March 9, 1870. Of the family, four sons and two daughters are living. Of the latter, the Rev. Mrs. Hayes (formerly Mrs. F. M. Rublee) resides at West Salem and Mrs. Walter Brown in La Crosse. On the 9th of August occurred the tragic death of Mr. William Denison, a prominent mem ber of the La Crosse bar, who was killed on the Kneifel farm in Mormon Cooley under the fol lowing circumstances : . It appears that Mr. Denison, who was extremely fond of the sports of field and turf, was also an ardent admirer of Izaak Walton and the pastime of that historic celebrity. Accompanied by J. R. West, who was visiting in La Crosse, Mr. Denison visited the Cooley and cast his line into a stream which passed through the farm of Jacob Kneifel. The latter was a recent importation, and was informed by his acquaintances — especially a German Justice of the Peace, residing in the neighborhood — that he was legally authorized to resent the intrusion of any stranger upon his lands, if need be, with force and arms. When Mr. Denison was discovered fishing upon the Kneifel territory, the old man, followed by his wife, three sons, Martin, Franz and Thomas, and two daughters, Agnes and Mary, armed themselves with guns and clubs, and approaching the alleged trespasser ordered him off. This Mr. Denison declined to consider, but crossing to where the family was gathered offered to pay them for the privilege he sought. During the colloquy, one of the girls raised a hop-pole to strike the victim, who witnessed her movements and caught the blow in its descent. At that moment, Martin Kneifel struck Mr. Denison across the side of the head, crushing in the skull, and severing the meingial artery. The unfortunate man was stricken to the earth, and his assassins witnessing the effect of their wicked assault, sought safety in flight. A crowd soon collected, and the dying man was removed to the house of a farmer named Capstack, where he was attended by Dr. McArthur; but, notwithstanding the application of every device known to the science of surgery, he survived the blow but thirty hours. , His remains were brought to the city where the excitement upon his tragic death was ex tended and violent, and buried, while the Kneifel family were arrested and lodged in jail. They were jointly indicted and arraigned before Judge Gale at the November term, 1859, of the Circuit Court, at which Messrs. Lyndes & Losey and A. Cameron appeared for the State, the defense being conducted by E. F. Cook and C. K. Lord. The defense moved for a separate trial and change of venue for Martin Kneifel to Juneau County, which was refused, but decided to send the prisoner to Juneau County for trial. Accordingly, when the case was reached on the docket of the Circuit Court of that county, the accused, except Martin Kneifel appeared and objected to the order of Judge Gale directing a change of venue. Counsel protested that they had sought no such order for any of the de fendants save Martin Kneifel, and were not bound by its issue. Judge Gale decided that he possessed no jurisdiction in the premises, except to the trial of Martin Kneifel, and ordering that to proceed, directed the return to La Crosse of his accomplices. The trial of the principal resulted in his conviction for manslaughter, and sentence to Wau pun for seven years. He served four years when he was pardoned out and returned to La Crosse. Some years after, meeting Mr. W. S. Burroughs, a lawyer of La Crosse, and a relative of the murdered man, Martin stated to him that he had no intention of committing murder, but that he acted from a misapprehension of the facts and his rights. He added that he was about to erect a stone on the spot where the crime was committed, and then leave the country. This he did, having placed a monument, so to speak, on the ground in sight of which the unfortu nate gentleman received his death blow, he left the vicinity, and has never since been heard from. 494 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. When the family were remitted to La Crosse County for trial, Judge Gale decided that he was without jurisdiction to adjudicate the facts, which he reported to the Supreme Court with an inquiry as to whether the Circuit Court had jurisdiction to try them. That tribunal held that it could take no cognizance of questions brought before it in that manner, and the prison ers were released from custody. Mr. Denison was, in many respects, a remarkable man. He was a native of Massachusetts, but settled in Neenah, where he engaged in the practice of law, remaining until the California fever of 1849, when he joined a party to journey thither. The adventurers encountered the most terrible experience, and all turned back at various stages of the route, but Denison, who sacrificed everything he had taken with him on the start, and landed in San Francisco shoeless and penniless. Here he remained until a fortune was acquired, when he returned to La Crosse, where he resided to the day of his death. He was a prominent lawyer, an able member of the firm of Denison & Lyndes, and extensively known throughout the State. His manner of conducting any business in hand was not of a conciliatory nature, it is said. In court, as elsewhere, he was aggressive and unyielding. He was slain without reason. It was a lamentable event from which time has scarcely succeeded in dispelling asperities. This year, though still exhibiting signs of depression in nearly all the departments of com mercial and financial progress, prosperity opened auspiciously, when the great strain experi enced by the people in the preceding two years is considered. Business revived; the Hon.. Daniel Wells, Jr., published a notice that he was principal owner of the La Crosse and La Crescent Banks, and would redeem its circulation, and, on November 10, occurred the celebra tion of the one hundredth anniversary of Schiller's birthday. Enterprises did not venture into existence with unlimited confidence in the results, and, to borrow from the syllabus of an orator of the times, it was "hard sledging." But in time, migration began to resume a shadow of its former importance, and the railroads, with extended facilities, to attract the trade of a greater extent of territory, roused business men, and infused new energies into corporations that had become almost lifeless from inactivity and embarrassments. The city, within a few short years, began to assume the appearance of a metropolis in the business blocks, halls, churches and other edifices that were slowly completed with the beginning of the succceeding decade. All things considered, the fate of La Crosse, previously held in the balance, possibly inclined in favor of a prosperity that has long since been realized. In the decade commencing with 1860, the whole country was convulsed by war betweeen the States. And, while this portion of the Union, being remote from the scene of active hos tilities, was not so sensibly effected as States in immediate proximity, or at a short distance there from, the withdrawal of a generous portion of the bone and sinew of the city and county was a sacrifice at the expense of the material prosperity. The population of the city was then upward of seven thousand, and but little reflection is necessary to an appreciation of the effect on trade, commerce, agriculture and manufactures entailed by requisitions made on its quota of troops made by the Government. As elsewhere, citizens of Southern politics and sympathies, resided in La Crosse, and while all urged the enforcement of the laws and maintenance of the Union, there were many who dif fered honestly as to the means to be employed in that behalf. While repudiating the practical application of the resolutions of 1798, they insisted that violations of the Constitution defeated the objects sought to be gained. One class labored for the Constitution and Union, another for the Union with or without the Constitution. This division of sentiment caused interminable dis putations, which were characterized by intense feeling on both sides, not altogether obliterated by the lapse of years. For nearly a year after the war, business is said to have been the reverse of brisk. It was the calm that succeeds the storm. At the expiration of that period, the city again grew rapidly. Trade was extended to remote settlements in. Minnesota and the Territories ; manufactures in creased ; public and private improvements began to become prominent in various portions of the city ; additional schools were provided for the education of youth ; new religious and secular HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 495 societies were organized; agricultural interests prospered and increased, and mercantile ventures were vastly benefited ; new railroads were incorporated, projected and built during this decade ; the bridge and internal improvements of immense value were mooted and provided for. As the years succeeded one another times became better and better, and, before the dawn of the centen nial decade steady progress, with every appearance of ultimate success, was made in the depart ments essential to municipal, public and private growth, notwithstanding the temporary paralysis of business caused by Black Friday. The year 1870 gave bright promise for the future, and the career to which this was the introductory annual has not entirely failed of a complete frui tion of such promise. Hard times have affected La Crosse as they did other points. The fail ure of Jay Cooke, followed by the panic of 1873, left its mark throughout the Northwest. During the past ten years, La Crosse has had little to discourage, less to prevent, a full and complete conviction as to her future. In that time, temporal, educational and religious influences, have increased in number, and are established beyond the possibility of failure. Rail road transit has been facilitated, the river trade has kept pace with manufactures, street extensions have been improved, the lumber interests increased, costly buildings have been erected, the fire department has been increased and perfected, and the press — the lever of public morals, public opinion and public prosperity — maintains its high position in promoting the public welfare. To appropriate from the address of the Board of Trade : Perhaps there are no more important elements conducing to the success of the manufacturer than cheap and easy access to the raw material, with a ready market for the manufactured article ; and for both of these advantages La Crosse is favorably located. In close proximity to the pineries and hardwood forests of the North, the products of which are, by the Missis sippi and proj ected railroads, brought to its door ; having continuous and easy access to the mineral regions of Superior ; being the center of an extensive and closely-settled agricultural district, intersected by railroads in every direction, and adding to these the fact that, during the season of navigation, the river to La Crosse is at all times navigable by the largest steamboats plying on the Upper Mississippi, thus increasing the facilities for transportation, and exercising an influence on all rail rates, the business men of the city can always rely on having favorable terms. As regards a market for its products, La Crosse is still more favorably circumstanced. By railroads and fast freight lines it is brought close to the East for such things as tend in that direction, while for others, such as building materials, plows, wagons, farm material, etc., there is a ready market on every side, and to the West has arisen a demand for such goods, which is growing daily. The opening up of Dakota, the completion of the proposed exten sion of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and the Chicago & Northwestern Railways to the Black Hills, and the recent and prospective immense emigration to that region, will create a necessity for all kinds of mining and farming implements and machinery, exceeding the present capacity for supply, and La Crosse, standing as she does in the highway to the West, must naturally obtain a large share of that business. Another feature which should not be overlooked, is the fact that La Crosse possesses a stable and industrious laboring population, mostly all of whom are small freeholders, having a Btake in the city, and a steady supply of labor can thus always be relied on. An enterprise which cannot fail to pay well in La Crosse is the manufacture of linseed oil and other products of flax ; already farmers are turning their attention to raising that crop, and the great success which has attended similar establishments, both in this State and Minnesota, demonstrate that it would be a paying investment. With the hard wheat raised in Minnesota close at hand, the millers of La Crosse can compete favorably with even the famed mills of that State, and La Crosse brands of flour stand as high in the markets of the world as those of any mill in the Northwest ; in this branch of the business there is room for indefinite extension. The direct access to the cotton-growing districts, afforded by the Mississippi, and the certainty of immediate disposal of the finished article, offer advantages for the manufacture of cotton goods which cannot be overestimated. Other branches of industry might be mentioned, such as boots and shoes, starch, paper, woolen goods, etc., the materials for which are all available. Added to these there is, within thirty miles of the city, a large tract abounding in iron, which only waits the touch of capital and skill to quicken into useful activity. The cost of fuel for motive power is another important item for consideration, and no better fuel can be desired than the pine slabs which the numerous saw-mills of the city produce. A series of tesis made by a scientific engineer at the instance of one of our large flour millers, showed that in the production of effective power from a given weight of fuel, slabs occupied a position between coal and hard wood, and in the cost necessary to produce that amount of power the slabs were cheaper than either. That conditions favorable to the successful prosecution of manufactures exist in La Crosse, is proved by the numerous enterprises already existing and prospering. Among these are three flour-mills, aggregating a capacity of 1,200 barrels per day ; ten saw-mills, with a combined annual production of 135,000,000 feet, the logs for which, the confluence of Black River with the Mississippi at La Crosse float to their booms. Manufactures of plows, separators and other farm machinery, boilers and heavy machinery, wagons, barrels, furniture, cigars, etc., are carried on extensively and with profit. There are also a large tannery, five breweries, three pork-packing establishments, and several of the largest wholesale and jobbing establishments in the Northwest. j 496 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The means of locomotion to and from La Crosse are numerous and convenient. It is the terminus of five divisions of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, viz.: The La Crosse Division to Milwaukee and Chicago' the Wisconsin Valley Division, affording an inexhaustible supply of hardwood and tan-bark ; the Dubuque Division running parallel to the river in Minnesota and Iowa, and tapped at various points by branches running westward into Iowa and Dakota ; the River Division, running north to St. Paul and Minneapolis, tapped by the Wabasha and Hast ings and Dakota branches; the Southern Minnesota Division, stretching through the entire length of Minnesota, and at present about fifty miles into Dakota, and intersected at various points by roads running north beyond the boundary line, and southwest to the Pacific roads at Omaha. La Crosse is also the terminus of the Chicago & North western Railway to Milwaukee and Chicago, and of its St. Paul and Minneapolis Division. /The Green Bay & Min nesota Railroad also commences in La Crosse, running 230 miles North and West to Green Bay. The facilities for river traffic are also first-class. A new levee has recently been built at a cost of $60,000 and no city, from the source of the Mississippi to its mouth, has better provision for its river business than La Crosse, the tonnage registered at its custom house being greater than at any point between St. Louis and St. Paul. La Crosse also possesses an excellent system of water-works and an efficient fire department, thus both lessen ing the risk of loss by fire and keeping down the rates of insurance. The social advantages offered by a residence in La Crosse, will compare favorably with those of any other city ; the schools have been quoted by educational authorities as models of discipline and thoroughness ; there is a public library, containing over 3,000 volumes, in which the citizens take just pride ; there are twenty churches, embracing all classes of religious belief, acting together in harmony. The natural drainage afforded by the nature of the soil, sup plemented by artificial means, and the summer breezes from the river, make the city a pleasant place of residence ; its general health is at all times good, and the rate of mortality extremely low. Having a comparatively small indebtedness, the rate of taxation is proportionately light, and the board would respectfully but earnestly urge upon any one who contemplates embarking in some manufacturing or mercantile enterprise, to pay the city a visit before deciding, with the assurance that they will be cordially welcomed, and every facility afforded for investigating the advantages or disadvantages which it possesses. The assessed valuation of property in La Crosse, both real and personal, for the year just closed was $3,188,133, and the tax levy 32 mills on the $100, with a city debt on January 1, 1881, of $131,000. BUSINESS IN 1861. We present below a carefully taken and prepared list of the business houses of the city of La Crosse, in the year 1861, arranged under the heading of the branch they represented. The list presents a long array of names ; and we can safely say that nowhere could a more sub stantial list of merchants more worthy of public confidence be found. It is certainly a matter of pride to those who have had the welfare of the city at heart to refer this list, as an example of the rapid growth of the city, which, according to the best recollec tions of one of the oldest and most respected pioneer citizens, Col. Ebenezer Childs, contained in 1852, only about one hundred and sixteen souls ; so that ten years previous to this time, the city was just struggling into infancy, and at this time, 1861, there were in La Crosse nearly three hundred houses representing every branch of industry, and all doing a good business. Groceries, wholesale and retail. — N. Hintzen, R. B. Sewell, Cone & Fay, Hogan & Bau- man, W. H. Leman, G. E. Peterson, Ewe & Hundt, W. H. Lathrop, Gillette & Son, A. Rohl, T. Morris, Bentley & Robinson, A. A. Stevens, M. McHughs, Joseph Fay, John B. Jungen, Hanscome & Farnam, J. Franckle, Dunlop Bros., George Carlton, S. B. Sheldon, James Mor rison, J. Q. May, Mons Anderson, Charles B. Solberg, William Blackley, Kevin & Tyne, S. H. Adams, J. Dougherty, J. Spier, Dennis Kelley. Dry Goods, wholesale and retail. — Dunlop Bros., Mons Anderson, R. B. Sewell, J. T. Van Valkenburg, Gillette & Son, R. I. Johnson, Newman & Cantrovitz, T. Morris, Henderson k Co. Commission. — James K. Lush, Eames & Goodrich, N. Hintzen, H. T. Rumsey, W. H. Lathrop, F. Burgenthall, V. A. Marsh, L. E. Webb, Bradbury, Vincent & Co., Kadish & Barron, Thomas Spence, J. T. Foster, W. H. Leman. Boots and Shoes. — J. & J. Andrews, J. C. Coomes, H. Heil, William Strauss, J. Clifford, Rodolf Gripp, G. Gorgensen, H, Gesel, Henry Grieve, Garrets, Warlock k Co., H. Erisck- son, W. S. Hanscome. Clothing. — Mons Anderson, John Servis, J. Cantrovitz, Henry Schelly, Gutman & Lennon, John Goephert, George Scharpf, John Shilling. Jewelry. — George E. Stanley, G. W. Morgan, A. Patz, D. C. Osborne, Rose & Brother, F. L. Imer, H. Esperson. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 497 Hardware and Tin. — Lloyd & Supplee, Walter Brown & Co., J. C. Fuhr, Tenny, Oat man & Co., George Edwards & Co. Meat Markets. — Black & Bradish, A. Glassman, X. Bectel, Fr. Brierbach, F. Miller, L. Pammel, J. Dougherty, P. Rehfus, Lilly & Schimmin. Crockery. — W. B. Hanscome & Co., John B. Jungen, R. B. Sewell, T. Morris, Joseph Fay, Charles B. Solberg. Hats and Caps. — W. S. Hanscome, Gutman & Lennon, Mons Anderson, John Servis. Furniture. — Tillman Bros., J. J. Wirtz, John Smith, A. Buckley. Lumber Yards. — J. M. Loomis, R. I. Johnson, W. H. Nichols, Charles Coleman, G. Farnam, Samuel Weston. Cigars and Tobacco. — Wehausen & Hunt, Levy & Son, A. Moeller, C. S. Hersberg. Furs. — A. H. Gardner, Gutman & Lennon, S. B. Sheldon, George Carlton. Druggists.— Wells & Perry, C. K. Martindale, William H. Wenzell, D. Loelberg. Distilleries. — Morse & Co., Charles Mitchell, George Chisler, John Gund. Barbers. — C. Kinn, Z. Moss, J. Williams, Alex. Cromwell, Birney & Carter. Flour and .?W.— Henderson & Co., M. Palmer, V. Marsh. Harness Makers. — Otto Oehler, J. R. Grant. Daguerreotypists. — A. C. Heath, Boycott. Land Agents.— J. H. Burnell, W. E. Fales. Auction Room. — J. M. Dixon. Livery and Sale Stables. — Thomas Davis, Lee & Cobb. Insurance Agents.— C. W. Marshall, Justus White, Theodore Rodolf, John J. Cole. Gunsmiths. — H. C. Bascom, H. M. Lickhard, Joseph Petty. Attorneys at Law. — Bishop & Cameron, Lynds & Losey, H. & A Cameron, Montgomery & Tyler, W. H. Tucker, C. S. Benton, William Hull, H. B. Loomis, McMillan & Woodward, Cobb, Messmore & McKenney Co., K. Lord, John J. Cole, S. S. Burton, H. E. Hubbard, Howard Cramer, C. W. Marshall, Carey Oaks, E. F. Cook, C. R. Rogers, T. B. Stoddard, E. D. Camp bell, Flint k Stogdill, C. A. Stevens, Seeley & Goodrich, J. M. Randall, J. Van Rensalaer. I. L. Usher, C. G. Hanscome, M. Henderson. Physicians. — J. B. G. Baxter, S. C. Johnson, W. L. Kennett, Dr. Winston, D. D. Cam eron, P. Brooks, C. Mueller, C. K. Martindale, A. Brummal, P. S. McArthur, Dr. Johannes, Dr. Nicholai, W. P. Wenzell, A. P. Blakeslee. Dentists.— B. E. Brower, R. S. Wells, Dr. Eakes. Hotels. — Augusta House, Harrington House, Gardner House, Dennison House, Columbian House, Therlock House, Crown and Eagle, American House, Kellogg House, La Crosse House, Globe Hotel, Germania Hotel, Union Hotel, Traveler's Home, City Hotel, State Street House, Loelberg House. Surveyors. — Bliss & Spear, J. F. Bryant. Books, Papers, etc. — Colton & Whelpley, A. F. Kennedy. Millinery. — Mrs. Osborne, Mrs. W. Moeller, Mrs. B. Simonton, Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. Merritt. Wagon and Carriage Shops. — R. C. Tift, Kneble & Sherer, Mr. Griffin, S. J. Waile. Liquors. — L. Wachenheimer, Morse & Co., Hart & Co. Engravers. — George E. Stanley, Charles H. Alter, J. M. Loomis. Painters. — Henry Hoare, John Bennett, Josh Jones, George Bell, C. R. Spafford, E. S. Bentley, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Luithlien. House Builders. — H. B. Calahan, Mr. Chase, Frank Heath, Dan Polleys, Mr. Kinear, L. Drake, E. Polleys, C. P. Dunn, Mr. Anderson, James Brackett, R. Hartley, William Thurston, D. Keller, R. Moffit, Mr. Blackington, Mr. Wright, H. Beardsley. Saloons. — New York Exchange, Dingman & Lake, H. Fisher, Joseph Ladd, James Egan, Fred Schoell, People's Saloon, Young America, W. H. Brockliss, A. Glassman, Becktle Saloon, J- Fox, Martin Vaegle, J. S. Becker, George Lang, 0. Neilson. 498 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Bakeries. — J. Emery, Union Bakery, City Bakery. Blacksmiths.— Mr. Robbins, Mr. Jackson, F. Betz, M. Uhler, J. Muier, H. McHillit. Sash, Blinds, etc. — Chamberlain & Co. Machinists. — Leech & Paul. Shingle Mills. — Charles Coleman. Book Bindery. — A. F. Kennedy. Omnibus Lines. — Davis & Law, R. Harrington & Sons. Ice Dealer. — David Law. Manufactories. — Barclay & Bantam, La Crosse Clipper plows ; Robinson, fanning mills ; Frank Blesking, woolen goods; R. Looney & Co., brooms; Mr. Shilling, soap ; Johnson & Arnold, candles. Job Printers. — M. M. Pomeroy, Lottridge & Seymour, J. Ulrich (German). Playing Cards Manufactory. — M. M. Pomeroy's printing house. Banks. — Green Bay — Daniel Wells, Jr., President; T. Foster, Cashier. La Crosse County — W. H. Lathrop, President ; W. W. Webb, Cashier. Katanyan Bank — W. Colwell, President ; Frank Hatch, Cashier. Banking house of Cole, Sumner & Co. Wisconsin Telegraph Co. — M. H. Kellogg, operator. Express Companies. — American, L. E. Webb, Agent; Dunleith, L. E. Webb, Agent; Northwestern, Charles H. Eaton, Agent. Newspapers. — Democrat, M. M. Pomeroy, editor and proprietor ; Republican, Lottridge. & Seymour, editors and proprietors ; Appeal, proprietors unknown ; Nordstern, J. Ulrich, editor and proprietor. Packet Companies. — Favorite Line, F. W. Davidson, manager ; La Crosse k St. Paul Line, H. T. Rumsey, manager; Eau Claire Line, F. W. Moore, manager; Northern Line, L. E. Webb, agent ; Minnesota Line, L. E. Webb, agent. Stage Lines. — La Crosse & St. Paul (daily), La Crosse & Viroqua (weekly), La Crosse & Fountain City (tri-weekly), La Crosse & Chatfield (daily), La Crosse & Blue Earth City (tri weekly), La Crosse & Prairie du Chien (semi-weekly), La Crosse and Winona (weekly), La Crosse & Black River Falls (weekly), La Crosse & Hokah (weekly). Military Companies. — La Crosse Artillery, J. T. Foster, Captain ; Light Guards, Wilson Colwell, Captain ; La Crosse Rifles, T. Rodolf, Captain. Fire Companies. — Pioneer Engine Company No. 1, George F. Stanley, Foreman ; Wash ington Engine Company No. 2, George Scharpf, Foreman ; Hook and Ladder Company No. 1. Societies. — Masonic — Frontier Lodge, No. 45 ; Smith Chapter, No. 13. Good Templars, — Twilight Lodge. Singers' — Turners', St. Joseph, St. Paul de Vincent. Churches. — Episcopal, Universalist, Methodist, Congregational, Baptist, Lutheran, Catho lic. Gas Company. — La Crosse Gas and Coke Company, W. A. Brewster, President. CITY OFFICERS. 1856— Mayor, Thomas B. Stoddard ; Clerk, A. Moore ; Treasurer, W. W. Eustick ; At torney, Charles R. Rogers ; Aldermen — First Ward, James Mohr, Moses Clark, W. W. Crosby ; Second Ward, George Scharf, James Whalen, E. D. Campbell ; Third Ward, C. A. Stevens, Robert Loonev, W. A. Tucker. 1857— Mayor, E. D. Campbell ; Treasurer, W. W. Eustick ; Clerk, C. W. Marshall ; Marshal, F. P. Bradish ; Assessor, William Hood ; Attorney, D. E. Shillock ; School Super intendent, Howard Cramer ; Aldermen — First Ward, George Farnum (three years), Willis Gregory (two years, vacancy) ; Second Ward, Robert Rogers ; Third Ward, C. G. Hanscom. 1858— Mayor, David Taylor; Clerk, Christian Koenig; Treasurer, W. W. Eustick; Po lice Justice, C. N. Marshall ; Marshal, E. H. Chambers ; Assessor, J. C. Edgar ; Attorney, J- W. Losey ; School Superintendent, II. Cramer ; Aldermen — First Ward, F. H. Crary ; Second Ward, Joseph Fay ; Third Ward, C. L. Coleman. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 499 1859 — Mayor, James I. Lyndes; Clerk, Chris. Koenig; Treasurer, M. M. Cordy ; Mar shal, Henry M. Solberg ; Assessor, W. H. J. Nichols ; Attorney, H. B. Loomis ; School Su perintendent, Howard Cramer ; Aldermen — First Ward, W. W. Crosby ; Second Ward, John S. Simonton ; Third Ward, N. Hintzen. 1860 — Mayor, John M. Levy; Clerk, Chris. Koenig; Treasurer, M. M. Coudrey ; Mar shal, John Turner ; School Superintendent, Howard Cramer ; Attorney, J. W. Losey ; Police Justice, C. W. Marshall; Assessor, William E. Potter; Aldermen — First Ward, Moses Clark; Second Ward, George M. Leach ; Third Ward, S. C. Burton ; Fourth Ward, J. B. G. Baxter (three years), M. Barlow (two years), H. B. Callahan (one year). 1861 — Mayor, Wilson Colwell, Clerk, 0. H. Smith; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Attor ney, J. W. Losey ; Marshal, John Turner ; Assessor, William E. Potter ; School Superintend ent, S. A. Moore ; Aldermen — First Ward, George Carlton ; Second Ward, Joseph Fay ; Third Ward, C. L. Coleman ; Fourth Ward, Robert Dunlap. 1862 — Mayor, A. W. Pettibone; Clerk, John A. Walker; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Marshal, John Cody ; Police Justice, William A. Fuller ; Attorney, James I. Lyndes ; Assessor, J. M. Levy ; Aldermen — First Ward, John M. McMillen ; Second Ward, John Fox ; Third Ward, John Michel ; Fourth Ward, Allen Overbaugh. 1863 — Mayor, A. W. Pettibone; Clerk, John A. Walker; Treasurer, George Scharpf; At torney, W. H. Stogdell ; Assessor, John C. Fisher ; Marshal, John Cody ; School Superintend ent (transferred to Board of Education, which see) ; Aldermen — First Ward, G. C. Hickson ; Second Ward, James Kevin ; Third Ward, J. M. Levy ; Fourth Ward, F. Neuman. 1864 — Mayor, A. W. Pettibone; Clerk, P. C. Dunn ; Attorney, James I. Lyndes; Police Justice, H. E. Hubbard ; Marshal, John Cody ; Assessor, Adam Jacobus ; Aldermen — First Ward, E. H. McMillan ; Second Ward, Adam Eckel ; Third Ward, George M. Leach ; Fourth Ward, T. B. Edwards. 1865 — Mayor, W. J. Lloyd; Clerk, P. C. Dunn; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Attorney, G. ~M. Woodward; Assessor, G. C. Hickson; Marshal, David Law; Aldermen — First Ward, N. T. Burk; Second Ward, J. B. Williams; Third Ward, Charles Michel; Fourth Ward, S. S. Burton. 1866 — Mayor, J. M. Levy ; Clerk, P. C. Dunn (absconded and H. Cramer appointed) ; Treasurer, August Brummell ; Assessor, Howard Cramer ; Attorney, James I. Lyndes ; Mar shal, John Cody ; Police Justice, H. E. Hubbard ; Aldermen — First Ward, George E. Stan ley, Gustavus Voight (to fill vacancy) ; Second Ward, S. Tillman ; Third Ward, Alexander Mc Millan ; Fourth Ward, S. B. Oatman. 1867 — Mayor, J. M. Levy ; Clerk, Howard Cramer ; Treasurer, August Brummell ; As sessor, C. N. Whitney; Attorney, James I. Lyndes; Marshal, John Cody; Aldermen — First Ward, William H. Smith ; Second Ward, James Kevin ; Third Ward, George M. Leach ; Fourth Ward, William T. Wenwell. 1868— Mayor, Theodore Rodolf; Clerk, N. E. Day; Treasurer, A. Brummell; Police Justice, H. E. Hubbard; Assessor, Howard Cramer; Attorney, James I. Lyndes; Marshal, John Cody ; Aldermen— First Ward, M. McHugh ; Second Ward, M. Voegle ; Third Ward, David Law ; Fourth Ward, G. M. Woodward. 1869— Mayor, Chas. L. Coleman; Clerk, 0. L. Smith; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Mar shal, Adam Jacobus ; Attorney, Jas. I. Lyndes ; Assessor, Howard Cramer ; Aldermen — First Ward, James Langdon ; Second Ward, Michael Funk ; Third Ward, John Ulrich. 1870— Mayor, Theodore Rodolf; Clerk, 0. L. Smith; Treasurer, George Scharf; Po lice Justice, H. E. Hubbard ; City Attorney, James I. Lyndes ; Assessor, George Cramer ; Supervisor, First Ward, Knud Knudeson ; Second Ward, John Fox ; Third Ward, John Ul rich; Fourth Ward, Alexander McMillan ; Aldermen— First Ward, Gustavus Voight; Second Ward, James Kivin; Third Ward, Charles Michel; Fourth Ward, William Listman. 1871— Mayor, Alexander McMillan; Clerk, O.T.Smith; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Attorney, Jas. I. Lyndes ; Assessor, Howard Cramer ; Supervisors, First Ward, Knude Knude- J 500 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. son ; Second Ward, John Voegle; Third Ward, David D. Polleys; Fourth Ward, C. C. Smith; Fifth Ward, Arthur McGuire ; Aldermen — First Ward, Jas. W. Pollis ; Second Ward, J. G. Rollin ; Third Ward, S. L. Nevins ; Fourth Ward, G. M. Woodward ; Fifih Ward, A. H. Han- kerson, three years, G. R. Shepardson, two years, D. A. Thayer, one year. 1872 — Mayor, Jas. I. Lyndes ; Clerk, J. C. Miller ; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Police Justice, H. E. Hubbard ; Attorney, M. P. Wing ; Assessor, Howard Cramer ; Supervisors- First Ward, Knud Knudeson ; Second Ward, George Howard ; Third Ward, R. W. Burns ; Fourth Ward, Theo. Rodolf ; Fifth Ward, Arthur Maguire ; Aldermen — First Ward, John Toeller, full term, J. M. Barclay, to fill vacancy ; Second Ward, John Rau; Third Ward, John Paul ; Fourth Ward, J. S. Lester ; Fifth Ward, William Grover. 1873 — Mayor, G. Van Steenwyk ; Clerk, John C. Miller ; Treasurer, George Scharpf; At torney, C. L. Hood; Assessor, Howard Cramer; Supervisors — First Ward, Josephus Seeley; Second Ward, Joseph Gutman ; Third Ward, D. D. McMillan ; Fourth Ward, Theodore Ro dolf; Fifth Ward, Arthur Maguire ; Aldermen — First Ward, W. W. Crosby; Second Ward, James Kevin ; Third Ward, Charles Michel ; Fourth Ward, J. W. Losey ; Fifth Ward, P. M. Plumb; to fill vacancy, M. L. Bates. 1874 — Mayor, G. M. Woodward ; Clerk, J. C. Miller ; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Attor ney, C. L. Hood; Assessor, Howard Cramer; Police Justice, C. K. Lord; Supervisors — First Ward, J. M. Marti ; Second Ward, J. P. Scott; Third Ward, B. D. McMillan ; Fourth Ward, Theodore Rodolf; Fifth Ward, N. Southard; Aldermen — First Ward, James Langdon; Sec ond Ward, John Wacker ; Third Ward, F. B. Bradish ; Fourth Ward, 0. H. Smith ; Fifth Ward, Arthur Maguire. 1875 — Mayor, James J. Hogan ; Clerk, J. C. Miller ; Treasurer, George Scharpf ; Attorney, C. L. Hood ; Assessor, Howard Cramer ; Supervisors — First Ward, J. M. Marti ; Second Ward, J. P. Scott ; Third Ward, S. L. Nevins ; Fourth Ward, Alexander McMillan ; Fifth Ward, Robert Morris ; Aldermen — First Ward, full term, Gustavus Voight ; to fill vacancy, C. H. Burroughs ; Second Ward, John Rau ; Third Ward, John Lamperin ; Fourth Ward, P. S. Elwell ; Fifth Ward, A. S. Swarthout. 1876 — Mayor, J. J. Hogan ; Clerk, John C. Miller ; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Assessor, Howard Cramer ; Police Justice, Cyrus K. Lord ; Supervisors — First Ward, Thomas Shimmin ; Second Ward, J. P. Scott ; Third Ward, D. D. McMillan ; Fourth Ward, S. B. Oatman ; Fifth Ward, D. A. Thaver ; Aldermen — First Ward, George Atkinson ; Second Ward, John Fox ; Third Ward, Chas" Michel ; Fourth Ward, W. S. Burroughs ; Fifth Ward, Robt. Morris. 1877 — Mayor. George Edwards ; Clerk, 0. H. Smith; Treasurer, Geo. Scharpf; Assessor, Howard Cramer ; Supervisors — First Ward, W. W. Crosby ; Second Ward, J. P. Scott ; Third Ward, F. B. Bradish ; Fourth Ward, F. B. Oatman ; Fifth Ward, Albert Raynam ; Aldermen- First Ward, C. H. Burroughs; Second Ward, John Wacker ; Third Ward, B. D. McMillan; Fourth Ward, George Wilson ; Fifth Ward, P. M. Plumb (full term), N. Southard to fill vacancy. 1878 — Mayor, David Law ; Clerk, 0. H. Smith; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Attorney, G. M. Woodward; Assessor, S. Sorrensen; Police Justice, H. G. Hubbard; Supervisors- First Ward, A. Hirshheimer; Second Ward, J. P. Scott; Third Ward, W. W. Webb; Fourth Ward, G. R. Montague ; Fifth Ward, John A. Augustine ; Aldermen — First Ward, full term, G. Voight; to fill vacancy, Alfred Shepard; Second Ward, John Rau; Third Ward, Peter Schintgen ; Fourth Ward, James McCord ; Fifth Ward, B. C. Byrne. 1879 — Mayor, David Law ; Clerk, 0. H. Smith; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Attorney, G- M. Woodward ; Assessor, S. Sorrenson ; Supervisors — First Ward, A. Roosevelt ; Second Ward,L. Stuegel; Third Ward, W. W. Webb ; Fourth Ward, Theodore Rodolf ; Fifth Ward, J. L. Cheshire ; Aldermen — First Ward, A. Hirshheimer ; Second Ward, C. F. Klein ; Third Ward, S. L. Nevins; Fourth Ward, W. S. Case; Fifth Ward, J. E. Wilson. 1880— Mayor, Joseph Clarke ; Clerk, 0. H. Smith; Treasurer, George Scharpf ; Assessor, S. Sorrenson; Attorney, G. M. Woodward; Police Justice, H. G. Hubbard; Supervisors— HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 501 First Ward, W. A. Roosevelt ; Second Ward, L. Stuegel ; Third Ward, W. W. Webb ; Fourth Ward, Theodore Rodolf; Fifth Ward, D. A. Thayer; Aldermen— First Ward, C. H. Bur roughs ; Second Ward, Matt Hosley ; Third Ward, John M. Levy ; Fourth Ward, J. W. Losey ; Fifth Ward, Charles F. Garner. 1881 — Mayor, H. F. Smiley ; Clerk, 0. H. Smith ; Treasurer, George Scharpf; Attorney, G.M.Woodward; Assessor, S. Sorrenson ; Supervisors — First Ward, George Edwards ; Second Ward, S. J. Burnett; -Third Ward, David Law ; Fourth Ward, Theodore Rodolf; Fifth Ward, D. A. Thayer; Sixth Ward, W. W. Webb; Aldermen— First Ward, John S. Medary ; Second Ward, John Fox ; Third Ward, C. N. McDonald, one year, George B. Robe, three years ; Fourth Ward, T. B. Holway ; Fifth Ward, D. C. Byrne ; Sixth Ward, E. Chamberlain, two years; George F. Gund, three years. CITY HALL. The Thomas B. Stoddard engine house on Main street, between Fourth and Fifth, is used as a city hall by the authorities ; the building containing, in addition to its fire service conven iences, the offices of City Clerk, Police Justice, Chief of Police and Council Chamber. The City Treasurer and Mayor have their offices at their respective places of business. POLICE DEPARTMENT. In 1870, the city charter was amended whereby a police force was provided for, consisting of a Chief of Police, detectives not to exceed three in number, and patrolmen in such number as the Common Council may from time to time determine, not exceeding, however, one for every 2,000 inhabitants. The Chief of Police is appointed by the Mayor, by and with the consent of the Common Council. Detectives and patrolmen are appointed by the Chief of Police with the approval of the Mayor ; the appointment in each case for the term of one year. Previous to the amending of the charter in 1870, the police force consisted of a City Mar shal and a Constable for each ward. At present the police force consists of a Chief of Police — Frank Hatch — with D. R. Littlejohn, P. L. Clark, Samuel Falsted, S. R. Campbell, George Fisher and William Duncan as patrol men. FIRE DEPARTMENT. As the merchants and other business men were returning to their avocations from dinner on the 7th of March, 1857, they were startled by a cry of " fire !" which proved to be the first conflagration of considerable extent that visited the pioneer city of La Crosse, and afterward resulted in the organization of the present efficient fire department. The forked tongue of the fire fiend shot up through the roof of the New England House, located on the site now occupied by F. C. Jones' hardware store on Front street. This was the principal, and, in fact, the only business street in that early day, except, perhaps, the blocks on either side of Third street, between Main and State, on which stood the old Mississippi House, a number of wooden build ings on the east, and three small wooden structures on the west side. Front street, from State to Mount Vernon, was closely packed on either side by wooden stores. From the New England House, standing in the center of the block, the fire spread north and south, and all efforts to check it were futile until it reached Main street on the one hand, and a wooden structure, occu pied as a saloon, on the State street corner. This latter building was cut loose from its founda tion for the purpose of tearing it down and preventing the fire from crossing State street. The proprietors of the saloon inspired their customers with a plentiful supply of liquor, and, arming them with buckets and pike-poles, they succeeded in saving it. The buildings on the west side of Front street were on fire on several occasions during the afternoon, and, by the almost superhuman exertions of the citizens, they were saved from the general ruin, but in a sadly demoralized condition, with their fronts charred beyond hope of redemption, and not a light of glass left. It is a remarkable fact, worthy of record, that, notwithstanding that the buildings in jeopardy and burning were wooden shells, almost as combustible as matches, the 502 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. citizens fought the fire inch by inch, and, although it started at noon, it was nightfall before it had eaten its way to the end of the train. The southern end of Front street and the prairie, which at the time embraced the territory from Front to Fourth streets, all east of that being considered the rural districts, was covered with all manner of merchandise and machinery, almost every business man in the city having turned his stock out of store. Amid this scene of confusion on the evening of the conflagration, the subject of organizing a fire department was thoroughly discussed, and the initiatory steps taken which soon after re sulted in its organization. The first company organized in this city was known as Pioneer Engine Company No. 1, with W. W. Crosby as foreman. Under his administration, the company was uniformed and thoroughly drilled in marching, running, etc., but very nearly a year elapsed before an engine was procured. After the arrival of the machine, the company did good service at a large num ber of fires, and the Pioneer Engine and Pioneer Engine Company No. 1 were the pride and glory of the Gateway City. Mr. Crosby was succeeded by George Stanley as foreman. The war soon breaking out, a large number of the company members enlisted, and the vacancies were filled with indifferent material. This, however, was in a certain measure overcome by Mr. Stan ley's thorough course of drilling, and the company became as proficient as formerly, but various reasons eventually led to their being disbanded by the Common Council. The uniform of Pioneer Engine Company No. 1 was black pants, red shirt, with a broad collar and a shield on the front of blue velvet, and a square- topped glazed cap, with a shovel- board peak. The company afterward purchased the hats of the Milwaukee Engine Company No. 1, of which the lamented Rufus King was foreman, and the uniform trimmings were changed from blue velvet to black braid. A few years after the organization of Pioneers, Washington Engine Company No. 2 was organized by the German citizens, and a spirited rivalry sprang up. On the 11th day of October, 1869, Rescue Hose Company with " On to the Rescue" as its motto, was organized with the following officers : President, Theodore F. Rodolf; Secretary, D. W. Marston ; Treasurer, F. A. Burton ; First Director, Frank Hatch ; Second Director, Henry Quinn ; Third Director, A. M. Watson ; First Pipeman, N. 0. Carle ; Second Pipeman, J. H. Clark ; Third Pipeman, W. P. Meach ; Fourth Pipeman, S. W. Sencerbox. The following are the original members of Rescue Hose Company : Frank Hatch, Joseph H. Clark, Theodore P. Healey, Spencer S. Carr, G. S. Phillips, R. A. Scott, J. K. Shepard, E. B. Stevens, W. H. Huntington, William J. Scott, F. A. Burton, S. J. Collins, H. B. Greg ory, W. B. Meach, W. J. Davidson, J. S. Elwell, A. M. Watson, H. E. Quinn, J. P. Scott, N. 0. Carle, S. W. Sencerbox, E. G. Rodolf, Theodore F. Rodolf, Thomas Hogan, F. H. Lloyd, W. W. Dudley, J. K. Weston, J. S. Medary, William Graham, 0. L. Smith, J. L. Carle. Ory Wariner, G. H. Riley, S. Manheirmer. May 15, 1871, a meeting was held in the Fifth Ward of the city for the organization of a fire company which was organized with the following members : President, Arthur McGuire ; Secretary, R. M. Redfield ; Assistant Secretary, R. H. French; Treasurer, William Winston; Captain, 0. J. C. Hammond; Foreman, J. M. Russell; Assistant Foreman, G. W. Sperbeck; Pipeman No. 1, John O'Neal ; Pipeman No. 2, Robert Gibson ; Pipeman No. 3, Joseph Pel- key ; Pipeman No. 4, John Wilson ; Pipeman No. 5, Joseph Stafford ; Pipeman No. 6, M. A. Hubbard ; Pipeman No. 7, H. Crisjohn ; Pipeman No. 8, G. F. Wrang. The name adopted for the company was Washington Engine Company No. 2. A hand engine was procured about the time of organization. At a subsequent meeting of Washington Company No. 2, the name was changed to Washington Hose Company No. 2. The first officers were J. H. Bristow, Cap tain ; M. W. Gear, Secretary ; J. L. Cheshire, Treasurer ; J. E. Wilson, First Foreman ; Samuel Miller, Second Foreman ; D. Knox, First Assistant ; 0. J. Lands, Second Assistant. AH the property belonging to the engine company was turned over to the hose company upon the changing of the name of the company. The present officers of that company are : E. P. Hammond, Captain ; G. E. Wilson, Fore man ; A. J. Sands, Assistant Foreman ; W. H. Tarbox, Treasurer ; M. A. Hubbard, Secretary. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 503 November 11, 1871, a hook and ladder company was organized in the Fifth Ward, with twenty-five men and the following officers : William Gohres, Foreman ; August Kowtz, Assist ant Foreman ; Joseph Moeller, Treasurer ; Mat Ebach, Secretary. The present officers of this company are John Wachter, Foreman; Fred Wiggert, Assistant Foreman; John Nagle, Treasurer ; John Nine, Secretary. In 1873, Hand Engine Company No. 3 organized in the Third Ward with fifty men, and John Fox as Foreman , In 1875, Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, which was organized in 1857 disbanded, and the truck which they had used was altered to a hose truck, and placed in care of the Rescue Hose Company. In 1879, the Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 was re-organized with twenty men. and John Thoeni as Foreman ; Charles Ahrens, Assistant Foreman ; Adam Jacobus, Secretary. In 1880, Hose Company No. 2 was organized with twelve men, and with Charles Miller as Foreman, and John Ulrich as Secretary. The following is a list of the Chief Engineers and their Assistants from 1869 to the present date. 1869 to 1870 — William Rawlinson, Chief Engineer ; John Wacker, Gustavus Voight and Benjamin Ott, Assistants. 1870 to 1871 — Frank Hatch, Chief Engineer ; F. Kunerth, John Wacker and Theodore Rodolf, Assistants. 1871 to 1872— Frank Hatch, Chief Engineer ; David Law, F. Kunerth and J. D. Hiscox, Assistants. 1872 to 1873— Frank Hatch, Chief Engineer ; J. Wacker, H. A.Winston and A. M. Watson, Assistants. 1873 to 1874— Frank Hatch, Chief Engineer ; A. M. Watson, John Wacker and 0. J. C. Hammond, Assistants. 1874 to 1875— A. M. Watson, Chief Engineer ; Charles Walter, John Thoeni and Will iam Gohres, Assistants. 1875 to 1876— David Law, Chief Engineer ; Frank Hatch, J. Fox and Daniel Knox, Assistants. 1876 to 1877— David Law, Chief Engineer ; J. B. McCain, Frank Hatch, Phil Weis- becker, Assistants. 1877 to 1878— David Law, Chief Engineer; Frank Hatch, J. B. McCain and Phil Weis- becker, Assistants. 1878 to 1879— W. B. Webb, Chief Engineer; D. W. Van Bergh, William Duncan and Phil Weisbecker, Assistants. 1879 to i880— W. B. Webb, Chief Engineer; William Duncan, D. W. Van Bergh and Phil Weisbecker, Assistants. 1880 to 1881— W. B. Webb, Chief Engineer; William Duncan, D. W. Van Bergh and Phil Weisbecker, Assistants. 1881— R. L. Spence, Chief Engineer ; William Duncan, John Thoeni and Phil Weis becker, Assistants. To sum up the department, there are one hundred and nine men, as follows : Chief Engineer, one ; assistant engineers, three ; Rescue Hose Company No. 1, twenty-five ; Hose Company No. 2, fifteen men ; Hose Company No. 3, twenty-five ; Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, twenty-five; Hook and Ladder Company No. 2, fifteen. The number of paid men in the com pany are four ; the Chief Engineer, engineer of steamer and driver of hose carriage No. 1 ; driver of hose cart No. 2, and the driver of hook and ladder truck No. 1. The apparatus of the department consists of two Silsby steam fire engines, combined value, $10,000 ; one two- horse hose carriage, value, $650 ; one one-horse hose cart, value, $650 ; one two-horse hook and ladder truck, fully equipped, value, $500 ; one hand hook and ladder truck, a bucket wagon, three hand hose carts, 10,000 feet of hose, value, $10,000, and five horses. 504 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. This apparatus is distributed as follows : At the Central Station on Main street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, Rescue Hose Company No. 1, in charge of Steamer No. 2. Hose carriage No. 1 and one hand hose cart, with three thousand five hundred feet of hose. Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, in charge of Hook and Ladder Truck No. 1 and all its equip ments. At the engine house on the corner of Sixth and Mississippi streets, Hose Company No. 2, in charge of Steamer No. 1, and hose cart No. 2, with one thousand five hundred feet of hose. At the engine house in the Fifth Ward, Hose Company No. 3, in charge of two hand hose carts and bucket wagon, and one thousand eight hundred feet of hose ; also Hook and Ladder Com pany No. 2, in charge of hook and ladder truck No 2. THE WATER SUPPLY. Until the year 1877, the water supply for the Fire Department consisted of fifteen cisterns, the water being obtained from the river. In 1877, the present system of water works was adopted, and the first pumping was done in November. The pumps in use are from the renowned George F. Blake & Co. Duplex Pump Company. The pump, pump-house and grounds cost about $30,000, and its guaranteed capacity is 2,500,000 gallons every twenty-four hours, but in case of necessity will pump nearly double that quantity. In the Fifth Ward is another duplex pump of the same make. The water supply consists of nine aud a quarter miles of pipe, as follows : 1,700 feet of sixteen-inch pipe, 623 feet of twelve-inch pipe, 13,080 feet of eight-inch pipe, 32,352 feet of six-inch pipe, 1,133 feet of four-inch pipe. In connection with this are ninety-six hydrants. The entire cost of the water supply, is $90,000. In 1876, the present fire-limits were made, as follows : Section 15 of an ordinance to estab lish regulations for protection against fire reads as follows : All that part of the city of La Crosse embraced within the following limits shall hereafter be known as the fire-limits, to wit : Com mencing on the east bank of La Crosse River at the south line of La Crosse street, and running thence along the south line of La Crosse street to Third street ; thence along the west line of Third street to the southwest corner of Third and Vine streets ; thence along the south line of Vine street to the southwest corner of Fourth and Vine streets ; thence along the west line of Fourth street to the southwest corner of Fourth and State streets ; thence along the south 'ine of State street to the southwest corner of State and Fifth streets; thence along the west' line of Fifth street to the northwest corner of Fifth and Ferry streets ; thence along the north line of Ferry street to the northwest corner of Ferry street and the alley between Second and Third streets ; thence north on the west line of said alley to the northwest corner of said alley and King street ; thence west on the north line of King street to the Mississippi River, and thence northerly along the banks of the Mississippi and La Crosse Rivers, to the place of beginning ; also all of that portion of Block No. 4 of Dunn, Douseman & Cameron's Addition, which lies north of the south lines of Lots 2 and 11 of said block produced. The following pertains to the erection of certain buildings within the foregoing fire-limits : Section 21, of the same ordinance, reads as follows : In that portion of the fire-limits which lies between Jay and Ferry streets, and between Fifth street and the alley running between Second and Third streets, it shall be lawful to erect and to remove into, or within the same, frame dwell ing houses, stables, barns, stoves or workshops, not more than one story in height, nor larger in length and breadth than twenty-five feet by thirty feet, provided, that not more than one such frame building shall be allowed on one inside-platted lot, nor more than two such buildings upon any one-platted corner lot, without the consent of the Common Council ; and provided further, that, within the limits in this section prescribed, no wooden barn or other wooden structure, except dwelling houses, shall be removed or erected and platted within ten feet of any alley. Section 22 also reads : In all that part of the fire-limits which lies west of Third and north of Vine streets, and south of Pearl and west of Second streets, it shall be lawful to erect any frame, mill or man ufactory, securely veneered with brick or covered with iron, and to pile slabs in any quantity for ftl^: .7 J:- '||lll|l§ tickets. The District embraced the Counties of La Crosse, Jackson, Monroe, Trempealeau, Buffalo, Clark, Chippewa and Dunn. November 21. " The steamers have about closed their trips for this season." Wisconsin census foots up 552,109, of which La Crosse County has 3,904 ; Bad Ax, 4,823 ; Buffalo, 832 ; Chip pewa, 838; Clark, 232; Jackson, 1,098; Monroe, 2,407; Pierce, 1,720; St. Croix, 2,040; Trempealeau, 492. La Crosse Village had over 2,000 ; claimed 2,600. 532 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. November 28. At a meeting of the Directors of the Root River Valley & Southern Minnesota Railroad Company, held at Rushford, Minn., on the 15th instant, Clark W. Thompson was elected President; C. A. Stewart, Vice Presi- dent; William B. Geer, Secretary, and T. B. Twiford, Treasurer. " River still open, and boats yet running. Weather is fine." Dr. A. P. Blakeslee has purchased Judge Lord's interest in the National Democrat. December 12. Meeting of citizens called at court house to censider about a city charter. La Crosse County Medical Society, organized by the election of Dr. S. C. Johnson, as Temporary Chairman ; Dr. Dugald D. Cameron, Assemblyman elect, as Temporary Secretary ; the appointment of a committee, consisting of Drs. McCreary, Blakeslee, Baxter, Cameron and Myre, on Constitution and By-laws ; the election of officers as follows: Dr. A. P. Blakeslee, President: J. B. G. Baxter, Vice President ; D. D. Cameron, Secretary; S. C. Johnson, Treasurer; Dr. D. D. Cameron, Delegate to the State Medical Society; Dr. S. C. Johnson, Delegate to the American Medical Association, and the appointment of a committee on a code of medical ethics and rate of prices, consisting of Drs. Baxter, McArthur and Cameron. December 19. " A bear, weighing 400 pounds, was lately killed a short distance west of here. One was killed a few weeks since near Black River Falls, weighing 500 pounds." A sensible article appeared under the heading of " Female Physicians," announcing that " Mrs. Finney, whose professional card appeared, appears like a lady of talent and mind, worthy the profession Bhe has chosen, and well- fitted for the discharge of her duties." This estimable lady is now Mrs. Leonard Lottridge, of West Salem, Wis. December 19. Winter piail arrangements announced: From La Crosse to Baraboo, Tuesdays and Thursdays; to La Crosse from Baraboo, Wednesdays and Saturdays ; from La Crosse to St. Paul, Sundays and Wednesdays ; to La Crosse from St. Paul, Saturdays and Tuesdays ; from La Crosse to Lansing, Mondays and Fridays ; to La Crosse from Lansing, Sundays ; from La Crosse to Black River Falls, Wednesdays ; to La Crosse from Black River Falls, Saturdays All of which was duly certified by H. E. Hubbard, Postmaster. The La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad Engineers had reached Newport, on the Wisconsin River, eighty miles from La Crosse. December 26. About 120 citizens participated in Christmas festivities at the Mississippi House, formerly Tal madge House, southeast corner Third and State streets. Marriage of Harvey E. Hubbard, of La Crosse, and Miss Helen Augusta Adams, of Sparta, at the residence of Horatio Adams, in Sparta, on Christmas. Carrier's Address, 1856. " Our carrier boy Milo [Milo T. Pitkin, pressman in the Republican and Leader office, and Lieutenant of La Crosse Light Guard, in 1881], will be around on New Year's Day with his annual address, and you, who have been faithfully served with the Republican the past year, will get your halves and quarters ready." Here is the same stirring, industrious, reliable and faithful Milo J. Pitkin, a respectable and respected citizen, an excellent mechanic, a valiant soldier and an honest man. 1856. January 9. " Thermometers indicate cold 30° below zero." "New Year's passed pleasantly in La Crosse. Everbody seemed happy. The ball at the Mississippi House in the evening was a pleasant gathering." January 16. " Health and Progress of the Northwest, and the Past and Present of La Crosse," were ably set forth by Rev. John C. Sherwin, the beloved Pastor of the Congregational Church, by a review of the previous years, in a sermon preached from the text in Acts xi, 4 : " But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them." His record of deaths in La Crosse for 1852 was 21, and about 8 others within ten miles of La Crosse. Of the 21 deaths in La Crosse during 1852, 12 occurred in July, when there were only about 500 inhabitants. The preva lent sickness in all river villages was attributed to low water. His record for 1853 showed 18 deaths, viz. : 10 adults and 8 children. His record for 1855 had 27 deaths, of which 3 were cases of small-pox, 1 drowning, 1 lightning, 1 apoplexy, 1 lockjaw, 1 by exposure while lost in a frightful storm, 2 by confirmed consumption induced previous to arrival here ; and thus leaving 17 as the number of deaths effected by ordinary causes in a year, with an average population of 2,000 during the year 1855, and from 2,200 to 2,500 at the end of that year. The weekly issue of the Independent Republican was stated at 528, and the National Democrat at 408. There were erected in 1855 in La Crosse 175 buildings. There were 904 steamboat arrivals in 1855. The Legislature had assembled in Madison. Hon. William Hall, then of Grant County (and now of La Crosse), was elected Speaker of the Assembly. February 4. Rev. J. C. Sherwin united in marriage Mr. William A. Roosevelt and Miss Phebe Ann Gillett, Served them right. March 5. " La Crosse incorporated as a city. Charter passed the Legislature." March 12. Citizens' meeting called to nominate a city ticket. March 19. Citizens' ticket is headed by T. B. Stoddard. Democratic ticket headed by J. M. Levy. Many complimentary notices of the popular Assemblyman from the La Crosse District, Dr. Cameron, are re published ; but the following extract, from the Madison Argus and Democrat's report of Legislative proceedings, in dicates the influence he had in the Legislature. "The bill for the relief of La Crosse County, to refund a portion of the tax money collected by the State by mistake, being under consideration for its third reading in the Assembly, a debate sprung up, in which Dr. Cameron made a most lucid explanation of the matter. Mr. Hnntlngton, of Dane, wanted the bill referred to the Committee on Claims. Mr. Falvey, of Racine, asked who introduced the bill. The answer informed the House that Dr. Cameron had introduced it, when Mr. Falvey said : ' Then I am satisfied the bill is all right, and am prepared to vote for it.' The motion to refer was lost, and the bill passed— 43 to 7." April 9. The election resulted in the election of Thomas B. Stoddard, by one majority, as the first Mayor of HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 533 La Crosse. Hon. George Gale was elected C'irouit Judge over Judge Knowlton. April 23. "Immigrant wagons begin to come in across the country this early." April 30. The rafts have commenced running from the upper rivers. May 14. The new steamer " Northern Belle," Capt. Lodwick, came up loaded with freight and passengers. June 4 — The papers have much to say about the assault upon Senator Charles Sumuer, of Massachusetts, in the United States Senate Chamber. June 25. The Presidential campaign of 1856 is open between Fremont and Buchanan. "North La Crosse," is the name given to a new addition to this city, just north of the Railroad addition to this city. July 2. Hon. Charles S. Benton, of Milwaukee, has been appointed Register of the United States land office at La Crosse. August 6. The Augusta House (on the present site of the International Hotel) is completed. September 17. Hon. C. C Washburn, having been re-nominated for Congressman of this District, spoke at a large meetingia Barron's Hall, foot of Main street, with Congressman John Allison, of Pennsylvania. Mayor Stod dard presided. September 24. Hon. Samuel Crawford addressed alarge Democratic meeting in Barron's Hall. Barron's Hall stood at the foot and on the north side of Main street. La Crosse has never had so pleasant a hall for public assem blies of all kinds as Barron's Hall. "Front street is nearly graded through the business part of the town. The teams are now at work on Second street." September 29. Marriage of Harvey J. Peck and Carrie M. Lawrence, in La Crosse, by Rev. W. H. Card. Here is a chance for another silver wedding in 1881. October 1. Here is William T. Price, deserting from the Democratic party, and running for the State Senate as the Republican candidate ; still a candidate. La Crosse and Monroe form one Assembly District, under a new apportionment, and the counties of La Crosse, Monroe, Crawford, Bad Axe, Jackson, Trempeauleau and Buffalo form one Senatorial District. October 16. Judge C. K. Lord and Mr. Pratt, of Waukesha, addressed a Democratic meeting. They were fol lowed by Judge Pettibone, of Vermont. October 22. The Legislature of Wisconsin held an adjourned session this year for new apportionment, etc. During the year 1856, between four and five hundred houses must have been erected in La Crosse, and now every carpenter and mason is busy in providing buildings for winter. The new stone store at the foot of Main street is being pushed to completion. The fleet of steamers, owned and operated by the Galena, Dunleith & Minnesota Packet Company, which brought many thousands of people into the Upper Mississippi Valley during the year 1856, which has been a year of great prosperity in the Northwest, was composed of the following steamers, which will be pleasantly remembered, with their popular officers, by a multitude of settlers of that memorable year : War Eagle, Capt. Harris ; Galena, Capt. K. Lod wick ; Northern Belle, Capt. P. Lodwick ; Golden Era, Capt. Parker ; Lady Franklin, Capt. Lucas ; Ocean Wave, Capt. Glein ; City Belle, Lapt. Chamblin; Granite State, Lapt. Hure; Alhambra, Capt. Gabbert; Royal Arch, Capt. J. J. Smith ; Greek Slave, Capt. Gall. October 29. " The surveyors have started to survey the routes for the La Crosse Railroad between La Crosse and the Wisconsin River." Charles G. Williams, of JanesviUe, and Dr. Cameron, of La Crosse, addressed a Republican meeting in Barron's Hall on Saturday evening, over which Milton Barlow presided. Mr. George Howard was married, in Platteville, Wis., 14th of October, 1856, to Miss Caroline Lord, of Par- aonsfield, Me. November 12. "The La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad is nearly completed from Milwaukee to Portage City." A very bitter and severe political campaign resulted in the election of President James Buchanan ; the re-elec tion of Congressman C. C. Washburn and Assemblyman D. D. Cameron, and the election of William T. Price as State Senator.The city of La Crosse cast 600 votes. December 3. Episcopal service in the court house. The steamer Envoy arrived on Saturday, 29th November, and stored her freight here for places further north. The captain did not deem it safe to go up the river, and returned. Navigation is virtually suspended. The steamer Resolute returned to La Crosse from the upper river with her immense load of freight, She was unable to collect her freight bill at Winona, and returned to La Crosse, where she stored her goods designed for the towns up river. Her freight bills amounted to over $8,000, which was advanced by our commission merchants. She left La Crosse Monday, 1st of December. A meeting of citizens called to consider means to secure better mail facilities. No Eastern mail has been received here for some time. Boscobel is the nearest railroad station. Stages via Viroqua. December 10. " The Nordstern is the title of the new German paper which made its appearence in La Crosse last week," Good sleighing — Mississippi froze over. December 31. La Crosse has prospered, and the spirit of enterprise and liberality, which formthe staple of mind among those who have found homes here, has had a new development in every department of business. January 7, 1857. " The service on the mail route between this place and Viroqua has been increased to a daily." " The Baptist society will occupy the stone basement of their new building on Sixth street." 534 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. "The Episcopal society will occupy the chapel vacated by the Baptist Church, on southeast corner of Court House Square." Large quantities of pork, merchandise, etc., passed through La Crosse daily, bound for St. Paul and other places on the Upper Mississippi. February 11. The contract for the construction of the railroad from Portage City to La Crosse was let to Selah Chamberlain, to be completed in October, 1858. March 11. Great fire in La CroBse. Sixteen buildings burned. The New England House, northeast corner Main and Front streets, was discovered on fire Saturday evening, and the entire block on the east side of Front street to State street was consumed. The buildings on the opposite side of Front street were badly scorched. A fire company having recently been organized, the Common Council authorized Samuel T. Smith and John S. Simonton to ascertain cost of a new fire engine and necessary appurtenances, and to purchase if cost does not exceed $1,500 for Pioneer Company No. 1. April 8. E. D. Campbell was elected Mayor over W. W. Crosby. April 15. Messrs. Simonton and Smith have returnel home from Ohio, where they have been perfecting ar rangements for the erection of a large brick building on the northeast corner of Main and Front streets in La Crosse. Another fire. Steam, saw and flouring mill between Second street and the river, north of Pine street, owned by White, Gregory & Dyer. Loss $30,000; insured, §17,000. The brick chimney stands in 1881 as a monument. April 2'J. Opening of the new stone store. Cars running from Milwaukee to Prairie du Chien. April 22. La Crosse hotels are full of strangers, and business about town good^nd growing better. Money tight, worth five per cent a month. April 29. The occasion of a visit to La Crosse by Hon. Byron Kilbourn, of Milwaukee, President of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad Company, was marked by an ovation to that able gentleman from the citizens who as sembled in Barron's Hall, where the assembly was called to order by Assemblyman Dr. Cameron, who nominated Col. Theodore Rodolf as chairman. " Upon taking the chair, Col. Rodolf made one of those off-hand and handsome speeches for which he is so noted." He introduced President Kilbourn, who addressed our citizens upon railroad matters, after which he was escorted to the Augusta House (now occupied by the International), where a complimen tary supper was given to the railroad magnate. May 6. Steamer Falls City, of La Crosse, sunk in Lake Pepin with about 400 tons of freight. Two other steamers, " New St. Croix " and " Rescue," were also sunk. All crushed by the ice. F. M. Rublee purchased the interest of H. S. Durand of Racine in La Crosse. May 18. Joseph Smith, aged thirteen years, son of S. T. Smith, was drowned in the slough below town while watering horses. June 3. Over 3,000 laborers are at work on the railroad between Portage City and La Crosse. The announcement is made of the marriage of Howard Cramer, of La Crosse, and Miss Susan D. B. Crary, in- Plainfield, Conn., May 17. June 17. Marriage of John C. Fuhr and Emil Guillenim, at Black River Falls, was published. Some fifty or sixty emigrants arrived at La Crosse last week on steamer Ocean Wave. They were mostly from Norway and Sweden. July 6. Saturday night three or four hundred cilizens assembled in the court house, and proceeded in a body to several houses of ill fame, which were broken up, and their inmates ordered out of town. Several of these estab lishments were demolished. Their vicious inmates left town in haste. July 15. The National Democrat and the Independent Republican had a prolonged and wicked controversy over the action of the citizens in breaking up houses of ill-fame, and the editorials and speeches that followed for a few weeks were about as hot as angry men could make them. A large number of citizens, defended by the Democrat, denounced the acts of the " vigilance committee," and one meeting censured the disturbers of brothels as a turbulent and lawless mob, and the raid against the houses of ill-fame as an outrage. Under the headings of " Law and Order" and " Mob Law," a vast amount of indignation was expressed on both sides. Several meetings were held pro and con. At one meeting, of which B. W. Reynolds was Chairman, and W. W. Webb was Secretary, one of the resolutions read as follows : " Resolved, That whether we approve or disapprove of the manner in which those foul nuisances were finally abated, the public interests cannot now be subserved by censuring those who perpetrated the deed." At another meeting, over which John M. Levy presided, with C. W. Marshall as Secretary, the committee, com posed of Messrs. T. Rodolf, C. S. Benton and F. M. Rublee, reported resolutions that were adopted, one of which reads as follows : " Resolved, That, in our opinion, the outbreak on the night of the 6th of July, was the result of a misapprehen sion on the part of our citizens of their legal rights, and the proper method by which they might be obtained ; and we, therefore, repudiate the burning and the destruction of the property on that occasion, believing that a more satis factory result could have been obtained by a legal course." The excitement was intense. The provocation was serious. The nuisance was obnoxious. The remedy applied was thorough and effectual. The result was that the city authorities were aroused to the necessity of greater vigi lance in dealing with such evils. July 22. Heated controversy continues over the stormy scenes of the night of the 6th. Incendiarism of a retaliatory nature followed. Fires were set in no less than four different places in the city during Sunday and the night of the 19th of July. The robbing of A. Patz's jewelry shop on State street occurred. July 21. Mob law, etc., continues at head of editorials. The pot continues to call the kettle "black." In Detroit and Indianapolis and other cities, the La Crosse plan to get rid of houses of ill-fame seems to have been adopted. The excitement is thus kept alive. La Crosse is red-hot on this question. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 535- The comments of the press, far and near, are re-published, in denunciation or in justification of the La Crosse- Vigilance Committee's proceedings. Dr. Blakeslee' s National Democrat, and Mr. Rogers' Independent Republican are as hot as glass-makers furnaces these days. August 12. The so-called " La Crosse Mob" is still on the carpet at home and abroad. About one hundred and fifty of the best citizens of La Crosse were associated in efforts to prevent a lawless gang of criminals from con tinuing atrocities which the authorities neglected to suppress. September 9. The work of improvement is steadily going forward in La Crosse. September 16. Another steam-packet is to be added to the Prairie du Chien & St. Paul Line. Failures and Depressions of 1857. — The dark days have come at last. " We are indebted to B. Brower, clerk of the steamer ' Falls City,' for late papers, and among them the New York Times of 11th September, which publishes a long list of failures up to the 10th inst. of heavy houses in that city, Philadelphia and other places. The times there seem to be sadly out of joint." Those who passed through and witnessed the gay and prosperous years of 1856-57 throughout the West and Northwest, and also saw the dark clouds of commercial depression shut down upon the business of the country in the autumn of 1857, will never again wish to see the sad scenes of extinguished hopes and blighted enterprises that fol lowed the announcement above quoted from the New York papers of September 11, 1857. Everywhere, men who imagined they were on the highway to fortune, found their best laid schemes brought to naught ; and stout hearts that had braved many business storms, were made to feel the impotence of man, when confidence is withdrawn from the circles of commerce, and distrust blights the most inviting enterprise. The writer witnessed the brilliant prog ress, and the sudden, but terrible reverses of those years in the Northwest. When the financial cyclone struck La Crosse, the plucky little " Gateway City," which had ru-hed to the front as one of the most promising cities in the Northwest, reeled under the blow, as if earthquake and whirlwind had combined in shattering its idols. The press items which had hitherto been expressive of buoyancy, cheerfulness and security, and indicative of progress and growth, then changed to expressions of solicitude and lamentation ; and from this date on through the succeeding years of 1868-59-60, and then again through the solemnities and disasters of the lamentable war, the records of the La Crosse press verified by the sad recollections of frustrated plans of happiness, and delayed realization of long cher ished plans for a prosperous career, are saddened by evidences of a prolonged struggle of our brave hearted people to overcome unavoidable disasters, and to ride out the storm as worthy heirs of a goodly heritage, which, thank God, is now again in peace and prosperity. The death of Mr. Joel Mar.-h on the 8th of September was announced. He was an enterprising pioneer and an estimable citizen. He died when forty-five years old. September 23. Reports come from all directions of business troubles. The Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company has gone to the wall. Numerous banks between the sea-board and the Mississippi Valley are discredited. Many business firms of wide reputation for supposed solvency and solidity throughout the country have suspended, and are reported in the growing list of " failures." La Crosse banks are strongly commended by the newspapers as "perfectly safe and reliable," notwithstanding "considerable anxiety and interest has been felt with regard to some of our banks and bankers." Compliments, however, could not and did not help them, as succeeding newspaper items demonstrated. October 4. Steamer Ben Coursin, a small stern wheel steamer, running between St. Louis and St. Paul, while coming down from St. Paul, was sunk in the Mississippi about eight miles above La Crosse, at 2 o'clock this morn ing, by collision with the steamer Key City. About sixteen lives were lost. The bodies of eight of the drowned passengers were recovered. Octobor 7. The Southern Minnesota Railroad survey under the direction of Don J. Whittemore, has been com pleted and found highly satisfactory. " Mr Metzgar, a talented German, from Detroit, has located in La Crosse, and is prepared to give lessons in. music, and to teach several languages." "Rev. J. C. Sherwin took final leave as Pastor of the Congregational Church and society in La Crosse, last Sabbath." Abetter friend to La Crosse and to his fellow-men never lived here or elsewhere. All of the old settlers cherish his memory. He was beloved by all. October 14. The marriage of Mr. Allen Overbaugh and Miss Emily F. Parker is announced. Mr. Overbaugh is now (1881) a citizen of California. The public square on Main street, in La Crosse, was donated by him to the city. Mrs. Overbaugh is a sister of Mrs. Lottridge. Alexander W. Randall, Republican candidate for Governor, and Carl Schurz, candidate on the same ticket for Lieutenant Governor, addressed a meeting last evening in Barron's Hall. October 21. Announcement is made of a new law firm in La Crosse, composed of Alonzo Johnson and Angus Cameron, under the firm of Johnson & Cameron. " Married, in this city on the 21st inst., by Rev. W. H. Card, Mr. Frank Hatch and Miss Beckie Braley, all of LaCrosse." Now, everybody should remember that the Captain's " silver wedding " should come off October 21, 1882, and it ought to be one that will send him on his way rejoicing until another quarter of a century shall bring around a "golden wedding. November 18. The election returns show that, after a very hot contest between candidates on opposing tickets, and after much sharp editorial work in both papers, the people elected and defeated candidates of various politics. Newspaper controversy took a three-cornered shape for awhile ; and was made exceedingly interesting by the Nord Stern's editorials and the racy communications of " The Fur Coat Man," in reply to the Democrat's pungent ar ticles criticising " the man who holds an important Government office in this city." " The Fur Coat Man" was none other than our respected townsman, Col. Theodore Rodolf, then the efficient and popular Receiver of the United States Land Office. 536 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The Colonel was a friend and favorite of the Pierce and Buchanan administrations, while Doctor Blakeslee's Democrat was not in full accord with their plans for advancing the interests of the pro-slavery Democracy. November 25. IThe obituary notices and editorials of November 18 and 25, and the proceedings of the La Crosse County bar and the Circuit Court, assembled in La Crosse November 24, to record the lamented death of Daniel Reed Wheeler, Esq., who died November 14, 1857, at the age of thirty-eight years, after a lingering fever. From the Republican's editorial announcement of Mr. Wheeler's death, we quote these words: " Since the death of Lieut. Gov. Timothy Burns, in 1853, no death has occurred in our midst that has so appalled the community as that of Mr. Wheeler. * * * But a few weeks ago, in large public meetings, with ability and earnestness, he advo cated the erection of proper edifices in which to educate the youth of our city. * * * As a careful and thoroughly read lawyer, Mr. Wheeler stood at the head of his profession in this region of country; and he was strongly urged by friends, satisfied of his legal ability and integrity as a man, to accept the position of Judge of this Judicial Cir cuit. * * * As a large concourse of friends turned away from his grave, all seemed to feel that this our world would be much happier and better if it contained more such men as Mr. Wheeler." Upon the assembling of the Circuit Court in La Crosse, the death of Mr. Wheeler was announced by Mr. W. H. Tucker, the Court appointed William Denison, Cyrus K. Lord, Edwin Flint, H. E. Hubbard, W. H. Tucker and Alonzo Johnson, a committee to prepare resolutions expressive of the estimate, by the bar, of their departed friend and brother. Three of the members of that committee, Messrs. Denison, Tucker and Johnson, have been dead for many years. The others still live in 1881 The editorial obituaries, and the eloquent eulogy of Mr. Tucker, and the resolutions of the bar, and those of the Masonic Frontier Lodge, No. 45, occupy several columns, all of which harmonize with the following (first and second) of the resolutions of the bar : Resolved, That we have received, with deepest sensibility and sorrow, the intelligence of the death of our friend and brother, Daniel Reed Wheeler. Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Wheeler the Bar of La Crosse has lost one of its best and ablest members, and the city of La Crosse one of its worthiest, most honored and most useful citizens. Several other resolutions of sympathy and condolence followed. After the reading and adoption of the resolu tions, which followed the eulogy so eloquently pronounced by Mr. Tucker, the court adjourned out of respect to the memory of the deceased. The widow and children of this lamented gentleman still reside (in 1881) at the family homestead, on Seventh street, between State and Vine streets ; and to this day all of the pioneers of La Crosse cher ish his memory, and honor his family, with marked respect. November 25. The discarded and doubtful currency forms the topic of many newspaper items and advertise ments. One publisher said, " If any of our readers have any bank notes or currency so poor that no one else will take them, we will take them from those who owe us, as we are glad to get almost anything with a picture on it, and, we think, those we owe will be glad to take it from us before spring." "The fire engine, so report says, is as far as Prairie du Chien. Not a foot of hose is with it, however, and the order to have hose procured at Chicago has been rescinded. Is the City Council fearful there will be some way to put out fire here this winter beside buckets with the owners' names chalked on them ? " December 2. Business firms had a convenient way of " squatting " when the wolf came too near the door. In stead of undergoing the process of closing shop by the assistance of a Sheriff, the surrender was made by announce ment of a sale of stock and effects to some new concern, which took the brunt of the storm. December 8. Prairie du Chien and Mauston are the nearest railroad stations, between which and La Crosse daily stages are running. The eastern mail arrives every evening from Prairie du Chien. The National Democrat office is in the second story of Lathrop's frame building, southeast corner Main and Front streets. The Independent Republican office is in the upper part of Juneau Block, opposite. December 23. The post office, as recently suggested, has been removed by Postmast.er Hubbard from Barron's Hall into the brick block on north side of Pearl street, between Front and Second streets. One of the La Crosse publishers, in his issue of December 23, 1857, gives the public the following insight into his slim chances for the observance of a " Merry Christmas : " " Oysters are selling at 65 cents by the quart can. We lack about 60 cents of enough to buy a can for Christmas, to go along with our turkey — that is, if we get the turkey. Prospects are poor for that, however, as yet." December 30. His issue .of this date had a grateful acknowledgment of a " Merry Christmas and good din ner." Some friends sent him turkey, oysters, pop-corn, etc., etc. " Trains on the La Crosse & Milwaukee are running between Milwaukee and New Lisbon. Through fare, $10.65." "The Christmas party at the Augusta House last Friday night, was a gay and splendid assemblage of the beautiful and brave of La Crosse society." The publishers of both La Crosse newspapers announce that from and after January 1, 1858, the "cash sys tem" will be adopted, with a schedule of prices for advertising, etc. First regular monthly meeting of Rescue Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, called to meet at the court house the 4th of January. Thus ends the year 1857, in which has been witnessed extraordinary transformation scenes, such as will never be duplicated cr repeated in this world of strange doings. Thousands upon thousands" of people who entered upon the year full of cheer, confidence and cash, had their " apple carts upset" and all of their plans " knocked into a cocked hat." Hoping that the storm would soon pass over, and that prosperity would return speedily, men tried to keep up their courage by words of mutual comfort and encouragement ; but the good times came not for many months. Looking at the new moons over right shoulders did not bring the desired aid and comfort. The times were awfully askew. Financial affairs on both continents were sadly out of joint. Money had uncertain value, or, rather, its pur chasing power was relatively oppressive to all other interests. Borrowers only strengthened their fetters, while lenders became purchasers. Amid clouds that darkened the business horizon and threatened continued wrath, the memorable HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 537 year 1857, as recorded and illustrated by the faithful press of La Crosse, closed with manifold perplexities and difficulties surrounding all men engaged in enterprises that were in any degree contingent upon the fickleness and fears of bor rowed capital. Thus ended the year 1857, which left its scars and bruises on the brows and hearts of many brave- hearted and enterprising pioneers, who staked and lost all when the world-wide panic drove confidence and faith from the center of commerce and disturbed the schemes of energetic and resolute men, who found themselves power less to shield themselves and their families from disasters that baffled the wisest and thwarted the most useful of Western pioneers. 1858. The population of La Crosse is estimated between 4,500 and 5,000, based on the autumn vote of 690 and the school attendance. When George Farnum took the census in May, 1853, there were about 700 inhabitants in LaCrosse. The census of Elder Carr, at the close of 1853, indicated the population was about 800. " Milo " expressed thanks for the liberality of citizens to the " Carrier Boy," and was the recipient f f a pair of boots from Mr. F. P. Bradish, whose advertisements were the most racy and attractive specimens of advertising of those days. The total deposits in the strongest bank in the city amounted to $8,144.02, which would scarcely be sufficient, to square up the monthly pay-roll or freight bills of any one of several business establishments in La Crosse in 1881. March 3. " Over forty buildings of different kinds are now in process of erection in our city. The founda tion of our prosperity has not been shattered, nor have the energies and enterprise of our citizens been strangled. They are the same to day they have always been, and will continue to be. Upon their hands securely rests the future of La Crosse. The confidence in its growth never was so strong among its citizens as it is now." So said the Repub lican, and all said " Amen." That is the kind of pluck on which the press and citizens of La Crosse stood shoulder to shoulder, and people abroad were compelled to take notice that, on this footstool of Jehovah, there was one place whose inhabitants had not been squelched by the adverse storms which had broken the spirit of many communities. La Crosse was favor ably kept before the public at large, also, through the publicity of matters connected with the progress of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad and Southern Minnesota Railroad, as published in the press of the larger cities and republished with commendatory and corroborative assurances in the La Crosse newspapers, which kept these opera tions constantly before its readers. Nothing did so much to brace up La Crosse as the vigorous and steadfast advo cacy and defense of its interests by its energetic, enterprising and plucky newspapers. March 3. "Cold weather has again restored the ice bridges over the Upper Mississippi and tributary streams " March 17. The Galena, Dunleith, Dubuque & Minnesota Packet Company announce the following fleet of steam packets, to run this season on the Upper Mississippi, viz.: Northern Light, Capt. P. Lodwick ; Northern Belle, Capt. J. Y. Hurd ; Galena, Capt W. H. Laughton ; War Eagle, Capt. W. H. Gabbon ; Grey Eagle, Capt. D. S. Harris ; Key City, Capt. J. Worden ; Milwaukee, Capt. S. Hewett ; Itasca, Capt. D. Whitten ; Oc, an Wave, Capt. John Scott. March 31. " The examination of the schools was concluded last Friday, at the Brick School House, in First Ward. All through the examination the schoolrooms were thronged with citizens who felt an interest in the exer cises. * * * * The prize declamations were awarded to Marshall Patten and John C. Card. Some persons in attendance afterward awarded a prize to Edwin E. Bentley, for declamation. The boys all spoke well. Their pieces were well committed, and were appropriately selected. * * * * In composition, the prize was awarded to Miss Henrietta Reppy, who read a very creditable production on ' Modern Improvements.' * * * * The whole exercises were finally concluded by an exhibition, last evening, at Birron's Kail, where the scholars went through with a number of dialogues, declamations, songs, glees, etc., to the satisfaction of the immense throng who crowded the hall." April 7. " The United States Land Office, which has been closed for several months, was re-opened in La Crosse, and was hailed with delight by many of the 'bone and sinew,' who wished to make their entries and pre emption. Some 40,000 acres were entered the first day. The office of Register Benton has been crowded since Monday." " The La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad is being built by Selah Chamberlain and Daniel Wells, between New Lisbon and La Crosse, and to be opened in October, 1858. They call for a thousand more laborers." At. a meeting of the Pioneer Engine Company, held at the Court House, Monday evening, April 5, officers were elected, of whom the only one now (1881) in La Crosse is ex-Mayor David Law. "Buildings are going up in every part of the city ; but money is a scarce article." April 14. In an editorial under the heading of " The Railroad is Coming," statements are published that, not withstanding some few croakers had predicted La Crosse would have no railroad connection east or west, " the early settlers had a strong faith in the importance of its position, and by their sagacity and enterprise, and with courage to overcome obstacles, they set about laying the foundations for a prosperous and populous city. With this view, the late Hon. Timothy Burns brought forward and advocated the LaCrosse Railroad Charter. He traversed the country. explored the different routes, found them practicable, and brought up to a living reality that which before had existed only in theory. By his practical knowledge he met opposition with facts, and brought to the aid of the entorprise such a fund of well digested business truths, that resistance was foolishness. Notwithstanding this, the La Crosse Railroad Company have always met with opposition from those who ought to have been its friends. How ever, the company was organized, and the work commenced, and to-day it is being prosecuted with almost unpar alleled energy and vigor, with a fair prospect of its completion to La Crosse within six months ; and in all probability the prophetic statement of Mr. Burns will be fulfilled, when, in 1852, he predicted that, in ten years from that time, La Crosse would contain a population of at least 15,000 ! " Col. John S. Simonton did good service to the farmers of La Crosse County, by introducing some fine blooded- cattle from improved herds in Ohio. -538 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. April 15. Obituary announcements of the death of Joshua H. Rogers, brother of Editor W. C. Rogers. He was highly esteemed as a citizen. The Democrat speaks of Mr. Joshua H. Rogers as " a citizen who did much for the cause of education and good order in our midst. In his business (books and stationery), he was active and honest, and in all his relations to society, as husband, father, brother and friend, his example was worthy of imitation." The Republican pays its tribute of respect in an appropriate article, in which it said, " We have lost our best ¦friend." * * * * " He lived a good life." * * * * " The school, the church and the active business men will mourn his departure." Mrs. Rogers and her daughter, Mrs. Pitkin, in 1881, reside at the family homestead of deceased, on Seventh street, between King and Cass streets. " During the first week of navigation, from April 13 to April 20, forty-four steam packets landed at La Crosse." May 5. The steamer, Key City, Capt. J. Warden, left Dunleith May 2, at 8 A. M., and reached McGregor in live hours and one minute; Lansing, in seven hours and forty-five minutes, and arrived at La Crosse 7:10 P. M., making the entire run from Dunleith to La Crosse in eleven hours and ten minutes, including landings at the prin cipal places, and against a strong head wind all of the way. This time did not equal the Grey Eagle, in 1858, or the Gem City, in 1881. May 5. " We understand the loggers have had a remarkably good ' drive' in Black River the present spring, making a clean sweep of nearly all the logs in the river." Married, in this city, on the 19th instant, by the Rev. N. C. Chapin, Pastor of the Congregational Church, Mr, Wilson Calwell and Miss Nannie Hammer ; also, Mr. Amasa C. Walker and Miss Omie K. Hammer, daughters of -Joseph Hammer, Esq., of La Crosse. May 26. Married, on the 24th instant, in this city, by the Rev. Fayette Durlin, Rector of Christ Church, Mr. William R. Sill and Miss Mary G., eldest daughter of J. C. Edgar, Esq., all of La Crosse. Married, in Brooklyn, N. Y., on the 28th of April, by the Rev. R. W. Clark, Mr. Henry I. Bliss, of La Crosse, and Miss Harriet H. Partridge, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Married, on the 23d of May, in the town of Farmington, by the Rev. William Howe, Mr. Jay Pettingill and Miss Adeline Sage, all of that place. May 26. Intense excitement prevails in La Crosse County, in regard to a mysterious robbery in Lewis Valley, town of Farmington, a statement of which is published, occupying two columns, over the names of about seventy-five citizens of that place, in a public meeting, over which C. C. Palmer presided. The mystery was never satisfactorily cleared up. Whether A. W. Leland, of Freeborn County, Minn., formerly of Farmington, Wis., was really assaulted and robbed, by two or three men with knives, or that he attempted suicide, or tried to make himself a hero and a mendicant; but he was found on the road, apparently in a damaged condition. Doctors Heath and Baxter, Sheriff Polleys, Deputy Sheriff Staley, District Attorney Losey and others, including Mr. Lottridge, investigated matters; but could not find any satisfactory solution of the mystery. June 2. Many columns of fine type in editorials, and statements of Messrs. C. C. Palmer, Leonard Lottridge, C. W. Marshal. J. W. Losey and others, left no doubt that Leland was an impostor, and feigned robbery to obtain sympathy and support. He soon vamosed in disgrace. " The Southern Minnesota Railroad Company, at a meeting held in Hokah, Minn., elec ed directors, who elected Hon. Daniel Wells, Jr., of Milwaukee, President, and Moses Kneeland, of Milwaukee, Acting Director and General Agent." " The Mississippi House, southeast corner of State and Third streets, having passed into the hands of C. P. Sykes, he changed its name to the " United States Hotel." " Austin J. Marsh rescued Charles Reppy from drowning during a high wind and a swift current." June 16. "Depression in business," is the heading of an article, which indorses the statements of a corre spondent over the signature " Americus," who describes the depression in business as intolerable. He says: "Busi ness is crippled in all its departments. Many tenements and business places are for sale or rent, and even our soundest men can hardly get credit at any of our stores for thirty days' time, and no money can be obtained at any price." " During the stagnation in business in the principal places below us on the river, they seem to take time to make pleasure excursions. About once a week parties of pleasure pass up the river in pursuit of enjoyment and to ¦do away with the 'blues,' probably." " L'he farmers report prospects of good crops." Charles B. Solberg returned last Erid-iy from a brief visit to Norway, his fatherland. Some 360 emigrants accompanied him across the sea to find a home in the West. About half of them came through to La Crosse to set tle on farming lands within this and the adjoining counties." July 7. "The celebration of Monday, the 5th of July, in La Crosse, was a grand affair. The procession was fine, including military companies, fire brigade, civic societies, etc. The English-speaking portion of our citizens -were addressed by Alonzo Johi.son, Esq., whose oration was generally considered as a very able one. The Germans went by themselves, and were addressed by Col. Theodore Rodolf and Mr. John Ulrich. About two hundred citi zens participated in a banquet at the Augusta House." August 4. "Only eleven miles to the cars on the railroad now, at West Salem, and the stages go out loaded. The workmen are night and day putting down the track. All the bridges are finished. Ten days more 'and look out for the whistle! " August 18. "Only four miles of staging from La Crosse to the railroad trains. Next week we can dispense with stages and take an omnibus to the trains at North La Crosse." August 25. "On Monday evening, August 23, 1858, the first day of through trains on the La Crosse & Mil waukee Railroad brought about fifty passengers. Passenger train for Milwaukee leaves North La Crosse at 2, A. M. Passenger and freight train leaves 7:30 A. M. Fare to Milwaukee, $6.00. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 539 "Daylight went through the tunnel yesterday." "The ferry boat yesterday took over a load of carts, barrows, etc., to be employed on the Root River Valley Railroad." September 8. "Proceedings of the Republican Congressional District Convention held at Prairie du Chien, include the following ballot: For C. 0 Washburn, 49; Luther Hanchett, 15; TV. T. Price, 2." "A good idea. The business men of Third, Main and Pearl streets have had coarse hay scattered profusely ithrough those streets, rendering them more easy of travel." September 15. "There is a change of time on the railroad. Cars leave for the East at 3 A. M. and 10:25 A. M. They arrive at North La Crosse at 12:50 A. M., and at 5 P. M. "On the night of the 8th instant, a gang of four coin counterfeiters, while at work manufacturing money, were arrested in a house on the edae of the prairie, in the lower part of the city." In speaking of the La Crosse Post Office, the Republican says: "All in all, Harvey E. Hubbard, our excellent Postmaster, backed by his assistants, have done well in more than answering the demands and requirements of the people in perfecting our mail arrangements." September 22. "Alexander Cameron, Townsend.N. Norton and Leonard Lottridge, Esqs., having received from Gov. Randall the appointment as Commissioners to appraise school lands in Burnett County, Wis., left La Crosse on Wednesday last to fulfill the duties of their appointment." September 29. "According to Assessor Edgar's valuation, La Crosse County real estate was appraised at $2,- (936,383.91, and personal property, $556,939." "City Clerk. — Our attentive and gentlemanly City Clerk, Charles Koenig, removed his office to the second door east of the Police Justice's office, on Main street, between Second and Third streets. May we always have incumbents in that office as well qualified to perform their duties as the present one." So say all who know Mr. Koenig. "Ground was broken and work commenced yesterday at La Cresent and near Hokah, on the Southern Minne sota Railroad." October 6. Charles W. Marshall (Republican), and James Whalen (Democrat), candidates for Assembly by the nominations of party conventions for this Assembly District (including La Crosse and Monroe Counties), a cam paign or contest of unusual and unprecedented bitterness and severity was inaugurated. " The saw mill, planing mill and lumber piles of Messrs. Buttrick & Brother were burned in North La Crosse on Monday afternoon October 4 Loss §32,000; no insurance." On Thursday, October 14, 1858, in excursion party of Milwaukeeans, escorted by the Milwaukee Light Guard and Band, visited La Crosse to celebrate the railroad opening, and were entertained at the Augusta House. The speeches, etc., occurred after supper in Barron's Hall. After the meeting, the excursionists proceeded on boats Northern Light and Northern Belle to St. Paul. The La Crosse Rifle Company, commanded by Col. Theodore Rodolf, performed escort service. On October 12, married in La Crosse, at the residence of the bride's father by the Rev. I. C. Sherwin, Mr. Alexander McMillan and Miss Sarah L. Parker, all of La Crosse. November 10. C. TV. Marshall elected Assemblyman after a memorable and deplorably bitter contest, in which too much truth and too much wickedness were displayed. Old settlers will never forget it. " Over eight hundred men are at work on the Southern Minnesota Railroad." The State Convention of Congregatioual ministers and delegates held in La Crosse in latter part of October was an interesting event for La Crosse, and the hospitality of its citizens did much to disseminate throughout the State favorable impressions of La Crosse. The election of Hon. C. C Washburne to a third term in Congress, with his brother Elihu B. Washburne, in Illinois, and his brother Israel Washburne, in Main, elicited many complimentary notices of these famous brothers. Of the year 1859, very few newspaper items can be gleaned until the latter part of the year, when three daily newspapers were ushered into existence. Before we go into particulars as to the circumstances under which they were established, we will refer to the closing year of the La Crosse Weekly National Democrat, under the management of Dr. Blakeslee and ownership of Messrs. Blakeslee & Moore, and the closing year of the La Crosse Weekly Independent Republican, under the management and ownership of Mr. W. C. Rogers. Both of these papers had been ably conducted, considering the means and patronage at command of publishers in a new and sparsely settled country. The characteristic features of the two papers were as distinct and un like as their publishers. The National Democrat was vigorous and stormy ; the Independent Republican was steady and gritty. Typographically, Mr. Rogers' paper kept the lead, while the local and general news as well as the literary miscellany of the Republican had been admir ably and evenly maintained throughout the six years of his editorial and business management. Its patrons stood by the Republican devotedly. It seems to have been judiciously and con scientiously conducted. In the meantime, politics had assumed an unprecedentedly intense form, and the Republican party did "carry the war into Africa" by its determined resistance to the encroachments of the Pro-slavery Democracy. The Democratic party became divided by the aggressive movements of the Republican party, which derived increased strength while 540 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. struggling for freedom in the Territories and aiming to establish limitations to slavery. By re calling the fact that 1859 was the John Brown year (when he was executed in Virginia for his invasion at Harper's Ferry with less than a score of followers), our readers will understand it was a year of intense political excitement, when hot-headed men of both political parties re sorted to extreme measures, which provoked retaliation and vengeance in many forms. It was during the administration of President Buchanan, whose election Dr. Blakeslee had favored, that many Democrats in the North found themselves at variance with the policy and action of the controlling forces of the Democratic party in and out of Congress, on account of the attempt to extend slavery into the Territories ; and among those who remonstrated against the policy of the Administration was the energetic editor of the La Crosse National Democrat, which consequently incurred the displeasure of the zealous supporters of President Buchanan's administration and the hostility of Democratic officials and leaders generally. The spring elec tion in the city of La Crosse had resulted in the election of James I. Lyndes, a moderate Dem ocrat, as Mayor, and it is worthy of record that Mayor Lyndes (who was subsequently Mayor in 1872, and was for many years a valuable member of the State Board of Normal School Regents, as well as a lawyer of considerable prominence and a citizen of great personal popularity), was an excellent Mayor. The Presidential campaign year of 1860 was approaching, when the people would decide the question whether slavery should be sectional or national. It was not then a question whether free dom should be sectional or national, for it was, by almost common consent, understood that freedom was only sectional and local, and had no existence south of the Ohio River, or " Mason and Dixon's line." Freedom, then, was only claimed for the Northern States and Western Ter ritories, and even in the North the Fugitive Slave Law made every citizen a slave-hunter. In this condition of political affairs, the Administration-supporting Democracy deemed it advisable and expedient, and perhaps necessary, to have in La Crosse a newspaper which would be an un qualified exponent and defender of President Buchanan's policy. This led to the establishment of the La Crosse Daily Union on the 15th of October, 1859, under the editorial management of Mr. A. P. Swineford, who had previously published a paper at Albert Lea, and, later, at La Crescent, Minn. The publishers of the Union were Messrs. A. P. Swineford, U. P. Olin and C. P. Sykes, Mr. Olin having charge of the printing office, and Mr. Sykes attending to its business affairs. It was a strong team. They were all energtic, industrious and plucky men. The business condition of the country at large, of the State, of the county or of the city, did not justify such bold enterprises as daily newspapers in so small a city as La Crosse, only one- half of whose population required newspapers published in the English language ; but political necessity demanded " a vigorous prosecution of the war " for the control of the field for future action. The year 1859 will be remembered in Wisconsin as a dark year in business. The crops of 1858 were so slim that warehouses along the lakes stood empty, and there was very little grain for shipment to market. But "pluck " in "hard times " is like heroism in battle. The Daily Independent Republican was commenced by Mr. Rogers October 25, 1859. Dr. Blakeslee commenced the publication of the La Crosse Daily Democrat on the 26th of October, 1859. Mr. C. P. Sykes, on November 10, 1859, purchased Dr. Blakeslee's interest in the Weekly National Democrat and Daily Democrat. Mr. Olin retired from the Union, and was succeeded by Mr. Moore, of the National Dem ocrat. Consolidation resulted in the Daily and Weekly Union and Democrat, published by Swineford, Sykes & Moore, and thus the close of the year 1859 found La Crosse with only two instead of three daily newspapers. The enterprise manifested by La Crosse newspapers at tracted attention throughout the country, in contrast with a prevalent diminution and curtail ment of business in all directions. La Crosse has ever and always maintained a bold and steady front, even in the days of deepest depression in the country, and its press has never flinched or faltered in any emergency. The continued and present prosperity of La Crosse is largely at tributable to the courage and steadfastness of those who have conducted its press. Whatever ^Sl8lP5w?P1* F3/\N &Of^. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 543 may be said of La Crosse editors and publishers, they have been conspicuously exempt from faintness and flunkeyism. In reviewing the memorable events of the year 1859, in La Crosse, we must not omit to mention the disastrous fire, which consumed the large double-frame dwellings of Messrs. Albert W. Pettibone and Stephen Martindale, on the present site of the Universalist Church, south west corner of Cass and Seventh streets, in November, 1859, on which occasion, by the fall of an inclined chimney in the center of the block, after its supports had been burned away, two well-known citizens of La Crosse, Mr. William B. Hanscome and Mr. Harry Bradish (brother of ex-Alderman F. P. Bradish), received almost fatal injuries. These gentlemen were inside the building, rescuing property, when the large chimney fell, carrying down burning floors and •timbers, and literally burying those two citizens in fire and fuel. Mr. Hanscome's recovery is a marvel of grace. He was " roasted alive." No description can convey a full idea of the na ture and extent of his sufferings. He came to La Crosse a fresh, hale, vigorous, handsome and enviable man. When he and his brilliant bride came to La Crosse, no one called in question the frequent remark, "There is the finest couple in this city." This terrible casualty, the marks of which Mr. Hanscome will carry to his grave, was a blight upon the happiness of a family, whose cares, anxieties and sufferings, growing out of an act of unselfish heroism, have never been accompanied by a word of murmur. Mr. Harry Bradish, who is now a resident of St. Louis, Mo., was not so seriously burned, but received a severe injury on the head by falling timbers. He narrowly escaped death. He was an athletic man ; and during the surgical and medical treatment, it required four able- bodied watchers. He finally recovered, and is, we trust, good for many years. In the absence of complete files, we cannot supply any variety of press items for the year 1859. At the fall election of 1859, John J. McKay, of Sparta, was elected Assemblyman ; and B. E. Hutchinson, of Prairie du Chien, was elected State Senator. The year 1860 was memorable as the great campaign year, which resulted in the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency, and a Republican Congress, pledged to prevent the ex tension of slavery, and in favor of maintaining free institutions, and free labor, and free soil in the Territories and new States of the Union. It was a red-hot year in politics. The country was thoroughly aroused to the importance of the conflict ; and the people were terribly in earn est. The press of La Crosse was bound to have its share in the campaign clatter; and the political forces were wide-awake, and in no mood for tame methods or dull work. Everything had to be dished up smoking hot ; as no one would tolerate mild words, or entertain propositions or suggestions for compromise, except the few Bell and Everett men, who thought it might be possible to harmonize political differences, and save the Union by a soothing-sirup policy, when the temper of the Nation was such as to baffle all ordinary treatment. The press of the entire country entered into the political contest with alacrity, and was stimulated to effort by the de mands of the people for distinct and positive presentation of the points at issue. The first third of the year 1860, was occupied by discussions and controversies as to the merits of candidates for nominations by the several political parties, for President and Vice President ; and after the National Conventions had made their nominations, until the elections in November, mass-meet ings, popular demonstrations, and political excitement, in sundry and divers forms, were kept up with terrible earnestness and intensity. La Crosse newspapers, which had been stirred up in October, 1859, when three dailies made their appearance, entered the year 1860 with two dailies ; but several changes occurred in their ownership and management early in 1860. The health of Mr. Rogers failed ; and with the necessity of retirement from labor and perplexity, he wisely dis posed of the Independent Republican on February 20, 1859, to Mr. Leonard Lottridge, who soon associated with him Mr. Charles Seymour, under the firm of Lottridge & Seymour, by whom the paper was edited and published to their mutual satisfaction and benefit ; so that when the firm was dissolved, neither had any account to present to the other, and they "jumped ac counts" over "refreshments," Mr. Lottridge succeeding Mr. Rogers as Postmaster, and Mr. 544 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Seymour continuing the newspaper. To this day, after over twenty years of personal and po litical fellowship, neither of them ever admitted that the other has a fault. What one says, the other swears to ; and both insist that this is a grand old world we are living in, and good enough for anybody. One thing is certain, there was no clash or conflict in the Republican during their proprietorship and management. All was serene and sacred. The consolidation of the Union and Democrat did not result in prolonged harmony ; for, with the strife between the Buchanan and Douglas wings of the Democracy for political supremacy, there came new ele ments of discord into that newspaper office, April 28, 1860, when Mr. Sykes sold out his interest in the concern to Mr. Mark M. Pomeroy, who had, as editor and publisher of the Horicon (Wis.) Argus, and as correspondent of and contributor to the Milwaukee Neivs, already obtained con siderable notoriety in Western journalism. Mr. Pomeroy was an avowed and uncompromising" supporter of Hon. Stephen A. Douglas for the Presidency. Mr. Swineford was opposed to Douglas, and favored Buchanan and Breckinridge for President and Vice President. Mr. Moore was rather favorable to Douglas. The Union and Democrat came out with Swineford's editorials and Pomeroy 's editorials in direct and bitter conflict. The irrepressible conflict in the Democratic party had actually appeared in the consolidated Union and Democrat with such intensity that the concern, which was staggering under pressing debts, was bursted wide open, by the principal creditors, Messrs. Noonan k McNab, of Milwaukee, who found it necessary to seize upon the property and close up the establishment, which suspended the publication of the paper from May 17 to May 25, 1860 ; when Mr. Swineford's withdrawal was announced, and Mr. Pomeroy, with Mr. Moore, resumed the publication daily, until, by a mutually satisfactory arrangement with the publishers of the, daily and weekly Independent Republican, each office commenced, June 6, 1860, publishing a tri-weekly, the Union and Democrat on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays ; and the Independent Republican on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sat urdays, in lieu of two dailies. This plan worked well. It gave the patrons of both papers a city daily without the expense of two dailies. It reduced the expenses of both newspaper offices, and enabled their publishers at less cost to give their readers better papers. The same prices were obtained for tri-weekly advertisements that had been received for daily publication. The telegraph reports cost each newspaper one half of daily reports for both papers. It enabled citizens, for the expense of one daily paper, to learn all that was going on in both political parties, and, generally, it was a satisfactory arrangement for the public and a profitable one for the publishers. It twas suggested by Mr. Seymour, be tween whom and Mr. Pomeroy there was no personal intercourse or acquaintance. When Mr. Lottridge proposed the plan to Mr. Pomeroy, the latter thought it impracticable, as both would want the same days of publication. This brought the answer from Lottridge & Seymour that Pomeroy & Moore could have first choice of days._ Instantly the Union and Democrat claimed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and left the best three days of the week for the Independent Republican. The price of subscription was $4 per year for each paper, $8 per vear for both papers. Everybody approved of the arrangement, and the tri-weekly plan worked satis factorily. In the spring of 1860, Mr. Harry Hayden commenced the publication of the La Crosse Mirror as the organ of the Union Conservative party, which favored the election of such dis tinguished and high-toned gentlemen to the Presidency and Vice Presidencv as Hon. John Bell, of Tennessee, and Hon. Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, respectively. The Bell and Everett electoral ticket, in Wisconsin, was headed by Hon. Hugh Cameron, of La Crosse, and the entire Bell and Everett party throughout the country was mainly composed of an exceedingly select, highly respectable, but numerically unimportant class of Whig gentlemen, known as the " Silver Grays," who never took part in turbulent scenes, and whose equanimity and complacency offered little resistance to the encroachments and cruelties of the aggressive pro-slavery elements in the Democratic party. Still there was, under the constitutional provisions of the General Govern ment of the United States, in 1860, with four or more Presidential tickets in the field, the important contingency, that, in the event of the election of President being thrown into the HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 545 House of Representatives, Mr. Bell's chances for the Presidency, in a House that was elected in 1858, were fully equal to, if not better than, those of any other man. This point was visible to the naked eye in all parts of the country, and, therefore, the incentives were great to organize Bell and Everett groups in each and all of the States, with an abundant supply of "lightning rods" hoisted high above the lofty turrets of their "castles in the air," to catch the Bell light ning, if perchance it might strike. But the Bell and Everett flash passed downward swiftly, ;and soon vanished like a transient meteorolite, and with it also went the mushroom-like La Crosse Mirror, which had been published as a daily for a few months previous to the election, but which went to its eternal rest with this inscription on its little " tum-stun " : Cito maturum, cito putridum, which, in common vernacular means " Soon ripe, soon rotten." In 1860, Mr. John Ulrich bought Mr. Fisher's interest in the German newspaper Nord .Stern, and thus became sole proprietor of that prosperous journal, which, having maintained an independent course throughout its entire career for over a quarter of a century, acts with or -against any political party, according to what seems best for the country. The Nord Stern had thus far generally acted with the Democratic organization, but, on the questions at issue before the nation, its course of action harmonized with that of the party which strove to keep the Territories and new States open to free labor and closed against slave labor. A loud and threat ening howl, accompanied by a sham funeral, and the burial of the Nord Stern in effigy in the sand between Front, Jay, Second and King streets, one beautiful evening in the summer of 1860, when Mr. A. Glassman officiated as chaplain, did not deter Mr. Ulrich from the line of duty, as '.he understood it, and, after the war, when he thought proper to cut loose from the Republican organization, he went with his former allies again, until they in turn pursued a policy that com pelled him to once more cut adrift, and co-operate with the party which sought to establish hon est money and sound currency throughout the country. That year, 1860, was eventful in many respects, but especially so in reference to La Crosse journalism. On the 28th of November, 1860, Mr Moore retired from the Union and Democrat leaving Mr. Pomeroy sole proprietor and editor, who " dropped out the Union" and sailed his craft •under the name of the La Crosse Democrat. The older citizens of La Crosse, who are now called " old settlers," after twenty years of residence, are accustomed to recall the peculiarities of journalistic controversy of those days, when candidates on either ticket, who could not show a clean record from the time they were weaned up to the date of their nominations, confessed long before election day, that " Jordon is .ahard road to travel." Mr. Pomeroy's mode of newspaper warfare was of theannihilation order. His uerision was relentless ; his abuse was refreshing to spectators ; his victims were made to experience the sensation derived from a passage through a forty-horse-power smut machine. His editorial •attacks or assaults were not so full of ribaldry as ordinary editorial abuse is, but he put stones inside of his snowballs and torpedoes under his jokes. He professed to be in fun, while he was really wicked. His deviltry was so amazingly irrepressible, that it oozed out of him at every pore, and yet the supply in all cases exceeded the demand. Experienced journalists kept saying that, in mature life, after Pomeroy's superabundance of " cussedness " shall have been worked off, he would become a forcible writer. He first came to La Crosse in 1860, and finally left it in 1880, having been absent several years in New York and Chicago. During the existence of the Green back organization, of which he was the acknowledged champion, he worked off considerable of his surplus vitality as a successful agitator, as he had previously out-jeffed Jeff Davis in treason able utterances, and out-deviled the Devil in deviltry. Mr. Pomeroy is now extensively and enthusiastically engaged in journalism and mining speculations in Colorado, where it is alleged he has achieved influence and affluence. In what role or capacity he may next conspicuously appear, God, in His infinite wisdom, can alone foresee ; but while he lives, and possesses ability to wield pen and type, he will never be found idle or passive. A more industrious, indefatigable and irrepressible journalist never lived. He •contrives to make his views known to a multitude of people, who regard him as an oracle, while 546 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. he is equally certain to elicit denunciation from the larger portion of the public, as a disorgan izing and turbulent element in the body politic. While aiming, generally, to promote the pub lic welfare and individual happiness, he keeps so prominently in view some favorite hobby of questionable soundness or unquestionable unsoundness, that his constituents have sometimes been so largely outside of the established political organizations as to be counted among agra rians, communists, destructionists and Jacobins. Whether he was so mentally and morally constructed as to render it impossible for him to act with any of the recognized political organizations of his times or not, he has always seen fit to strike out on his own line of policy, and be a leader among his followers, instead of being a follower of those who desired to be his leaders. He has always manifested a cheerful readi ness to aid and encourage the worthy in need, and at the same time has been quick and relent less in traducing good citizens against whom he has had no other grievance than their unwill- ness to co-operate in promulgating his principles, which did not accord with their ideas of a sound public policy. Nevertheless, it must be truthfully said that no editor or publisher in Wisconsin ever obtained so large a circulation for his newspaper or publication, as Mark M. Pomeroy obtained for the La Crosse Democrat in 1868, and Pomeroy's Democrat in 1879-80. So much at variance with the prevailing sentiment of the loyal masses of the North was Mr. Pomeroy during the war, that in 1864, the total circulation of the La Crosse weekly Dem ocrat was only fifteen quires of paper, or 360 copies, but after the war was over, its circulation steadilv and rapidly rose until, in 1868, before he established a daily and weekly newspaper office in the city of New York, the La Crosse weekly Democrat had a circulation of 190 reams of paper, or 91,200 copies. These facts and figures are verified by Mr. Milo J. Pitkins, who was then pressman in the Democrat office, and is now pressman in the Republican and Leader office, in La Crosse. Those who are accustomed to disparage and snear at Mr. Pomeroy's ability must concede that he has, by business energy, journalistic enterprise and editorial force, commanded and arrested public attention to an enviable and unequaled degree, and to deny or withhold this merited concession is unjust, unmanly and foolish. He made a black mistake when he left La Crosse and went to New York City, for while he remained at La Crosse, he sustained about the same relations to the South that were ac corded to Parson Brownlow, of the Knoxville (Tenn.) Whig, in the North; for both were enjoying the fruits of martyrdom, as exponents of rabid sectionalism in the camps of political opponents, and both prospered on the prejudices of their friends and enemies. When Mr. Pomeroy went to New York, he found strong competitors for Southern sympathy and support in publishers of the Ben Wood stamp, and was no longer the "Daniel in the lion's den," as he was in the hot-bed of politics that harmonized with the communities which supplied his sub scribers. But distinguished Democratic leaders, among whom was Mr. Vallandigham, of Ohio, had encouraged Mr. Pomeroy to believe that if he selected the metropolis as his base of operations,. he would be the controlling element in the Democratic party. At that time Tweed was Dicta tor in New York City, and, through the Tammany organization, was able to bestow or deny city favors and patronage of great value to the press. One of Mr. Pomeroy's first acts in New York — or it might more correctly be said that his arrival in New York — was the beginning of war against Tweed, and the Tammany ring of New York City thieves, which did Pomeroy more harm than it did Tweed, who prevented Pomeroy's newspaper from sharing in the benefits that were so generously bestowed upon many journals that treated the " Boss " more kindly, or with less severity. Truth demands the statement that the facts published by Pomeroy's Demo crat, which exposed the corruption that subsequently sent Tweed and several of his accomplices to prison, and drove many others into exile, to conceal or squander their ill-gotten gains, threw the first light upon the rascalities of the celebrated Tweed and Tammany ring in New York City, but the public generally regarded those attacks of Mr. Pomeroy as efforts to obtain noto riety, or as malicious attempts to take revenge upon Tweed for refusing newspaper patronage. It is indeed creditable to Mr. Pomeroy that he was the first to expose the villainous doings of HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 547 the Democratic leaders in the metropolis, which had lost many millions of dollars, without any one else having been able to detect the enormous leakages in the treasury, but it is not credit able to him that his statements commanded or received little or no confidence or serious atten tion among the public. However, the result was good, for the New York Times Company very quietly employed a competent detective and accountant to investigate the charges made by Pomeroy's Democrat. Months passed, and another year came around before the allegations were verified, and reduced to order and business-like statement. But the work had been carefully, thoroughly and power fully performed, and then the New York Times came to the front and scattered the Tweed and Tammany forces by shrapnel, shot and shell in the form of definite, authenticated and unde niable statements. The New York Times did not impair or weaken the force of its charges, by mentioning the action of Pomeroy's Democrat ; but appropriated to itself all the glory, and worked up the case entirely as fresh news. Coming from a reputable journal, which had staked character and ¦capital on the result, its charges received public attention ; and the accused, first arraigned at the bar of public opinion and next at the bar of justice, were brought to grief. Some of the culprits were convicted and imprisoned, and others fled. The New York Times increased its circulation and influence, and Pomeroy was ruined by the expenses incurred in the publication of his daily and weekly newspaper in New York City, while laboring under the displeasure of the controlling elements of his party in the metropolis, merely because the public would not believe the Demoorat, but believed the Times. Mr. Tweed felt secure, while he was denounced as a knave by a journal that had more vehemently traduced President Lincoln as a murderer, and Gen. Butler as a spoon-thief ; and profusely covered many good citizens with malicious and unjust accusation ; but when the power ful and wealthy combination of magnates, which controlled the affairs of a million of people, and sought control over the entire country, were compelled to face the charges of a journal of estab lished fairness and truthfulness, the day of reckoning had come, and the people took the business in hand and put an end to the iniquity. Those who attempt to arraign others before the public on accusation must be just and truthful, or the party assailed will be the gainer by the attack. It is a circumstance which is worthy of consideration, for it shows conclusively that the accusations and statements of a journal or of journalists, derive their chief value and force from the character and reputation of the author or source of accusation ; and that the harmlessness of a careless, or unjust or malicious persecutor or prosecutor, is the natural antidote for the bane of indiscriminate slander, disparage ment, denunciation and vituperation, which many wrong-headed journalists imagine is so wither ing and destructive as to annihilate their victims ; while, in fact and reality, the simple utterance ¦of doubt, based on a verified fact worthy of attention, by a truthful, just and reasonable journal, touching the integrity of an individual, or an organization, or even a political party, is sure to arrest the attention of a discriminating community and lead to explanation and correction. After an unsatisfactory experience in publishing newspapers in New York and Chicago, Mr. Pomeroy re-established his paper at La Crosse, in April, 1879, and continued its publication here until April, 1880, when, by the disasters that overtook his firm, the paper was suspended. During the last six months of its publication, Pomeroy's Democrat had a circulation of between twenty and thirty thousand copies, according to official records of postage paid, which was at the rate of about $3,000 per annum. These facts are sufficient to indicate that his ability to attract the attention of large numbers of readers is well established ; and if it is alleged that his writings are not of a useful or elevating character, no one can deny they were fully up to the requirements and demands of his constituents and patrons. From what we have stated, it may well be imagined that the advent of a man of Mr. Pomeroy's qualities, in the field of La Crosse journalism, in 1860, necessitated, on the part of his newspaper opponents, a task that was not altogether easy or monotonous, especially as Mr. Pomeroy brought to his work a practical knowledge of the printing business in all "of its branches; and was systematic, orderly, temper- 548 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. ate, industrious, vigilant and vigorous, and brimful of deviltry and cussedness, which flavored much of his editorial productions. The best proof of his good treatment of employes is that many of them have remained in his service from eight to fifteen years, and to this day regard him as a model newspaper man. His extravagance in office outfit and decorations is notorious and has often added to his business embarrassments ; but no man ever took greater pleasure in " keeping square with the world," when in funds to " face the music." He is, and ever was, a great worker, and a hard fighter in journalism ; and many of those who have had no word of kindness for Mark M. Pomeroy may well regret they could not equal him in the industry, devotion and ability with which he carried and carries on his warfare with avowed or supposed enemies and opponents. The La Crosse Independent Republican, edited and published until the end of 1861, by Leonard Lottridge and Charles Seymour, and subsequently for many years as the La Crosse Republican, by Charles Seymour, as a square and thoroughgoing Republican journal, did never succeed in eliciting many compliments at the hands of the Democrat, and although Mr. Pomeroy frankly conceded that Mr. Lottridge was an excellent man, the impression, in some way or an other, became prevalent that Mr. Pomeroy was slightly prejudiced against Mr. Seymour, and that this lack of friendly regard was partially reciprocated. Such was the general impression, and it was ultimately confirmed by certain expressions in both papers, which occasionally dropped remarks that might be construed into something short of fraternal affection. Well, the truth is, they never did finish their sketches of one another's peculiarities, and, finally, they postponed their " finishing touches " until the next edition of " Webster's Unabridged " might supply language adequate to do justice to all concerned. Mr. Lottridge was never a contentious man. It is his nature to adjust and harmonize or prevent difficulties, and this forte or trait has always been one of the strong points which con tributed so largely to his success in political complications. The writer of this has known him long and well, and never knew him to break faith or play double-shuffle. Often he has had oc casion to compel defeated political aspirants to feel aggrieved by his course, especially if he has had a well-formed plan to execute, and, in so doing, has deemed it necessary to keep his own counsel and let developments or results determine the wisdom of his action ; but no man could ever truthfully accuse him of treachery or duplicity. He will go down into defeat with his friends as gracefully as he rises to the exultation of victory ; but he is generally on the winning side of any contest in which he engages. Still, he is sometimes a practical joker, and then it is not safe to predict what he will do. Those who know his peculiarities always get ready to dodge lightning when "Leonard," in his efforts to smother laughter, "winks with his nose," as Capt. Joseph S. Elwell once remarked. On one occasion, in 1860, he inserted, to the hornet-like irri tation of Pomeroy and the Democrat, a venemous squib in the Republican, just as he was leav ing La Crosse on one of his simi-occasional visits to his farm in the town of Farmington, and, after a few days' absence, in which Pomeroy and Seymour had a " discussion " of considerable- pungency, Lottridge's return elicited a complimentary notice from the Democrat, which regretted that the "gentlemanly senior " of the Republican could not go out of town without his turbu lent partner getting up a nasty fight between that paper and the Democrat. By a similar proc ess, Lottridge k Taylor, a dozen years later, "for a lark," stirred up George W. Peck, then chief editor of the Democrat, to pitch into Seymour, who was temporarily left i'n charge of the Republican and Leader, for the fun of seeing a " first class row " between rival newspapers. " George Washington " surrendered handsomely when he ascertained " who frowed dat brickbat," for he likes to live peaceably with all men. In those times (1860 to 1863), the printing and newspaper offices (Democrat and Repub lican) occupied the third story of Juneau Block. The Republican office was in the southern room and the Democrat in the northern room. Between the two offices was a space for fuel, etc., which finally led to the announcement by the Republican of the dissolution of co-partnership that the Democrat seemed determined to maintain in the woodpile. Some strange proceedings oc curred through the proximity of the two offices. On one occasion (in 1862), during the cam- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 549 paign for the election of Congressman in the old Sixth District, which then embraced the whole of Western Wisconsin north of Crawford, Richland and Sauk Counties, Pomeroy secretly arranged with a Democratic pressman in the Republican office for an extra edition of 2,000 copies of the La Crosse Weekly Republican, in which they inserted a column of editorial disparagement of the Republican candidate for Congress, in the place of an article of the same length in support of the same candidate. The papers were circulated in remote counties in the district a fortnight before the election, but the trick having been discovered in time to be counteracted, it ultimately worked to the benefit of the Republican candidate. That was considered a fair offset for an acrostic that was contributed by one of the Repub lican force to the Democrat about gorgeous sunsets and rainbow hues, with an awfully bad opin ion about "Brick Pomeroy" in the first capital letters of the lines. It was good, steady work for a lively committee in each office to keep watch of torpedoes in various forms from the ene my's camp. Juneau Block at that time was, by common consent, the seat of political deviltry, and those who did not enjoy the fun either had vulnerable points or were thin skinned. But La Crosse had the benefit of wide publicity to its occurrences, and the press of this and surround ing States sometimes "mixed in " our fights, but generally helped along the fights between the La Crosse newspapers. Milwaukee usually favored the Democrat, and Chicago backed the Re publican. The La Crosse k Milwaukee Railroad Company and the Davidson-Rumsey Packet Company bestowed their patronage liberally upon the Democrat office, whose presses, type and printing materials for several years, it is alleged, were owned by an officer of both of those com panies. At this period in its existence, the Republican commanded widespread notice because of its opposition to certain methods which it avowed prevailed among the principal wheat-buyers of the region, to the detriment of minor purchasers. The fight was a bitter one, and proved a costly undertaking to the Republican, whose only profit appears to have been the acquirement of reputation for boldness and perseverance in the advocacy of what it esteemed the right. In the spring of 1864, the Republican was improved by the addition of steam presses, engine, etc., being the first of the kind in La Crosse. The office was removed into the double frame building on the west side of Front street, and entered upon what was hoped would prove an era of pecuniary and journalistic success. But in June, only a few weeks after the removal was effected, the building and contents were burned to the ground, involving a total loss, excepting in the matter of an insurance guarantee of $2,000 on press and engine, to secure a chattel mortgage placed thereon. The origin of this fire was regarded by many to be incendiary, the occasion being coincident with Mr. Seymour's approval of the policy of the City Council in disbanding a certain fire company, and there are those who went still further in their opinions. At all events the loss was a heavy one to the proprietor of the office, and the history of the destruction of this property forms one of the most interesting and suggestive pages in the varied, and by no means uneventful record of the press in La Crosse. Mr. Seymour was tendered pecuniary aid by several of the leading men of the city, but this he courteously declined, on the ground that so long as the privileges and blessings of chat tel mortgages remained available, he could not become obligated to any faction or individual. The causes which led to these serious and most lamentable complications in the relations of the cotemporaries of La Crosse at last succumbed to the resistless force of time, and a less personal condition of affairs prevailed. The La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad passed into new hands, and Mr. Seymour no longer felt called upon to urge the necessity of greater justice to whoever chose to enter the domain of trade, and the contest between the rival journals became apolitical one. The Republican recovered from its staggering misfortune, and, in 1871, was consolidated with the Leader, after the latter had been for two years in operation in La Crosse. War times are, ever and always, times of great intensity of feeling, with small tolerance. The employment of military forces in the settlement of differences is accompanied by exultation over victories or sadness under defeat and disaster. The war between the Government of the United States and the rebellious States of the South, from the spring of 1861 to the spring of mt 550 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 1865, at first found the people of the North generally united in efforts to maintain the authority of the General Government and the integrity of the republic, but, as the years passed away, with enormous losses of blood and treasure, without any clear prospect of squelching the rebell ion, the year 1864 found the people of the North divided, and, while their armies were strug gling to subdue those of the South, the latter were stimulated and encouraged by the active sympathy and co-operation derived from public assurances of a determined purpose on the part of a portion of the North to terminate the war by negotiating for peace on any terms. The existence of such dissensions and differences in the North, soon led to acts that were more or less characterized by the spirit of war in various portions of the North. Incendiarism, raids and robberies were committed in several of the Northern States, and such was the feeling engendered by years of familiarity with destruction of life and property, that some newspapers in the North advocated retaliation upon Union men for the destruction of lives and property in the South. The La Crosse Democrat was one of the prominent assailants against the policy of the Gen eral Government, and its editor and publisher became conspicuous for his malignant attacks upon President Lincoln, who was denounced as " the widow-maker." In order to take revenge upon the Republican for its utterances, it only required an editorial intimation that " the Union men were carrying the torch through the South and devastating the property of Southern people, and, as it was a game that two could play at, the sooner Northern men had a taste of their own physic, the quicker they would learn how such things worked " (or words to that effect), and the announcement in threatening or admonitory form by the local editor to the effect that Mr. Sey mour, of the Republican, would soon regret the course he had taken against the disbanded fire company. After the Democrat passed into the absolute control of Mr. Pomeroy, its political course was, for awhile, as unstable as when it had several editors of conflicting views. It was "mixed " on the question of secession. The La Crosse Democrat of December 24, 1860, edited and published by M. M. Pomeroy, in a lengthy editorial, under the heading of " The Present Crisis," upon receipt of news that South Carolina had seceded from the Union, said : We contend that no State has the right to secede — has no right to declare herself free from the laws which govern the Union ; and every sane man must insist upon this principle. The leading editorial of the Democrat of December 26, 1860, under the heading of " Our President," commenced thus : What a weak and imbecile old fool Jim Buchanan is. There he sits in his soft-bottomed chair day after day, permitting secession, treason and disunion to grow under his very eyes, and makes no move to quell it. He is asked to re-enforce Fort Moultrie ; and he orders the commandant to surrender soon as attack is made, so as not to imbroil the Union in a civil war. James Buchanan is a traitor to his country — a traitor to his party — a traitor to his word. * * * We would a hundred times rather spin hemp to stretch the stiffness out of his neck, and all prayers that ascend to heaven (on the day he has appointed for fasting and prayer) should have at the close of each sentence the words, " Save our country, but damn our President." "Brick's" hatred of Presidents seems to be a chronic disease. He wanted Buchanan hung, Lincoln assassinated, Grant declared ineligible, and Hayes pronounced an usurper. The Democrat of January 11, 1861, in its leading editorial, under the heading of " Coer cion," said: Coercion is a pretty thing to talk, but that same coercion will be a dangerous thing to put in practice at the present juncture. It is a dangerous tool to handle under any circumstances ; and with the present state of affairs it cannot be else than the opening scene of a harvest of blood. Even if South Carolina stood alone opposed to the North, coercion would be not only impracticable, but impossible. Let the first tocsin of war sound, and there would pour into the Palmetto State an army of men that could never be conquered ; and we believe that if a demand was made upon Wisconsin to-day for troops to augment the United States army for such a purpose, for every one that volunteered, ten would be found ready to take their muskets and stand side by side with the Carolinians in defense of their independence. South Carolina has not left the Union. She has been forced out, and once out it will be no child's play to force her back. She has been forced out for her own protection and her own safety, and the forcing process will not stop there, etc. * * * The time for coercion is passed, and we do not believe there can be found ten men in the North, of sound mind, who, if they spoke their honest convictions, would not prefer to see every Slave State with- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 551 draw, and the dividing line leave the mouth of the Ohio to cross the Rocky Mountains, and onward to the Pacific, with a Northern and a Southern Confederacy, than the slightest move toward an attempt to coerce South Carolina into the Union. The Democrat of January 14, 1861, published a leading editorial under the heading of " Has a State a Right to Secede 1" It said : We believe in the right of secession — peaceable secession. Call us a secessionist or what you please. We believe the constitution gives the right of secession. * * * * If secession was justifiable in 1776, why not in 1860-61 ? * * * * All our sires wanted was to be let alone, and, if the South is con tent with that, we have no right, if we value life, to interfere. * * * * We are opposed, in toto, to forcing a State to remain where she is determined not to. In the next column of the Democrat was a quotation from Horace Greeley's article in the New York Tribune, in favor of granting peaceable secession of States that desired to leave the Union. No one can estimate the amount of mischief that was done by Mr. Greeley in mislead ing the South as to the purpose of the North, which was in favor of maintaining the Union at any cost. His ill-advised course caused much confusion for awhile among Northern journals of both political parties. War came, and the citizens of La Crosse " assembled, on the evening of April 22, 1861, en masse in the Singers' Garden, to declare their devotion to the flag of their country, and their determination to guard and protect the families and property of the gallant men in the La Crosse Light Guard, who volunteered into the service of the Republic. This meeting resulted in raising about $4,000 for the families of volunteers thus withdrawn from vocations of peace and industry. Men of all parties combined in this patriotic demonstration, in which Mr. Pomeroy cordially participated. It will not do to overlook Mr. Pomeroy's military " aid and comfort " to the Government. His zeal in support of the Union was best displayed by the Democrat of April 26, 1861, in the following call : Wisconsin Tigers. — Two hundred and fourteen men are wanted to enlist as volunteers for the war, to form a company of " Horse Zouaves." The dress to be gray pants ; red shirts with low collar; gray mantle to come to the saddles when mounted. The arms of the company to be a minie rifle, two revolvers and a saber. Horses to be bay or brown. Those who will enlist for the entire war — be it short or long — who can follow the style of Marion's men — who can live, if need be, on one meal and three fights a day — or more fight and less eat, will please send in their names to the undersigned. The company, when full, to elect its officers, and to be in readiness to meet at La Crosse soon as arms and horses can be found. The proposed name, " Wisconsin Tigers," will indicate the amusements offered. (Signed), M. M. Pomeeot. La Crosse, April 26, 1861. This call for " Tigers " appeared in two issues of the Democrat, April 26 and 29, and the Light Guard left April 30. The Democrat of May 1, 1861, editorially remarked, " The unan imity with which the Democrats of the North support the Government, and the eagerness they exhibit to fly to arms, staggers the South. * * * * The South claims the support of Northern Democrats. She may claim and even beg. Her threats and entreaties are alike in vain." Under the heading of " Wisconsin Tigers," the Democrat of May 6, 1861, said : Every mail brings us the names of strong, hardy and intelligent men ready to start for the seat of war. One hundred and fourteen have responded, and we are now but waiting acceptance from the government, and to know if we can be furnished with arms, and be " admitted to practice." * * * * We will go through the city of Baltimore, or any other city, at just such rate of speed as we choose, or let the summer 3un convert us into A No. 1 Lard Oil ! * * * * If there is a battle, the Tigers can be tracked by a bloody path." It will not do to make fun of Mr. Pomeroy's patriotic zeal. His political idol, Stephen A. Douglas, had made a grand speech before the Legislature of Illinois on the evening of April 25, 1861, in support of the Government, and Mr.. Douglas' followers sincerely adopted his patriotic sentiments and declarations, when, in closing that eloquent plea for the Republic, Mr. Douglas said: "My friends, I can say no more. To discuss these topics is the most painful duty of my life. It is with sad heart, with a grief I have never before experienced, that I have to con template this fearful struggle, but I believe in my conscience that it is a duty we owe to our selves, and to our children, and to our God, to protect this Government and that flag from every 552 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. assailant, be he whom he may." The tremendous and prolonged applause which followed the closing and patriotic counsel of Mr. Douglas was caught up and prolonged by the masses throughout the North, and when, one month later, this gallant statesman went to his grave, millions of people lamented his death, and were confounded by the inscrutable Providence that did not permit Greeley to die and Douglas to live ; at a time when the former could have been so well spared by, and the latter could have been of such incalculable and inestimable value to, the Republic. However, it appeared by reference to old files of the Democrat, that the La Crosse Repub lican poked fun at the " Tigers," and predicted they would never be organized or called into service. The editor of the Republican was severely rebuked by the Democrat for so doing; but just exactly what became of the " Wisconsin Tigers " after the War Democrats lost their leader, Douglas, who was dead, it is impossible to say. A little item of a couple of lines in the Democrat ofMay 17, 1861, says : " To get a black eye, all you have to do is to preach seces sion in this vicinity." And that was about so. The next demonstration of patriotic zeal on the part of the Democrat and Mr. Pomeroy occurred in July, when news came from the first disaster to the Federal army at Bull Run, or Manassas. Col. Theodore Rodolf, who had been prominent in starting the daily and weekly Appeal, March 8, 1861, as a straight Democratic newspaper, under the direction of Dr. A. P. Blakeslee, incurred Pomeroy's displeasure ; and, although the Appeal only continued one month, the Democrat insisted it was an unsuccessful attempt to run " Brick " out of town. The Appeal rose from the ashes or ruins of the Daily Mirror, which expired March 4, 1861. The same type was used in both papers. The same printing materials that were used in 1860 by the Mirror, and in 1861 by the Appeal, were used in 1862-63 by Blakeslee & Walrath in publishing the Demo cratic Journal as the War Democrats' organ, the materials of which were bought by Mr. Pome roy in the autumn of 1863. But these three opposition papers had occasioned Pomeroy much annoyance. Although other leading Democrats, including Col. Benton, Judge Hubbard, Judge Lord, and numbering in all about a dozen, co-operated with Col. Rudolf in the Appeal enterprise, the latter was re garded by Pomeroy as the chief obstacle to the Democrat's prosperity. And when an opportu nity came to get even with the Colonel, " Brick" improved it as though he had always been a thorough-bred " John Brown " patriot. In some group of citizens who were hotly discussing the Bull Run disaster of July 21, 1861, Col. Rudolf was betrayed into some remark that was con strued as unfriendly to the Union cause. This discussion occurred in front of Joseph Noys' grocery store on Front street, one door south of the Stone Store. Pomeroy was soon notified of the Colonel's remarks. A vigilance committee was quietly organized, consisting of the same number of citizens as were in the Appeal enterprise. The files of the Democrat show that Charles Seymour promptly came to the rescue of Col. Rudolf with a letter addressed to the lat ter, who immediately defined his position in writing. The correspondence was published in both papers — the Democrat hurling wrath and vengeance upon the Colonel, and the Republican in sisting upon the right of every citizen to freedom of thought and speech, and that Col. Rudolf's avowal, as published, of sentiments which had been grossly perverted and maliciously exagger ated for unworthy ends, should exempt him from harm at the hands of Pomeroy's mob. Never theless, the Colonel had a narrow escape from having his domicile destroyed and himself injured, .as may be inferred from the following notice, which appeared in the La Crosse Democrat of July 26, 1861, a day or two after the storm had subsided : " The Vigilance Committee. — A committee of thirteen stout, armed, watchful, determined men, selected by our citizens, has been organized, who are pledged to hold to the strictest account those who have, as have Col. Rudolf, Mr. Bradbury and others, or who may hereafter openly avow their sympathy with traitors. If it is right for people to talk, it is right for the vigilance committee to act ; and whoever receives a notice from them may be assured they mean just what they say, and will do it,, even at the cost of life." The succeeding month found Mr. Pomeroy and his Democrat drifting in the direction of Rebeldom. The Democrat of August 19, 1861, editorially said: HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY^. 55S Popular sentiment is not yet anchored in America ; what is sweet to-day may be sour to-morrow. Things are changing. There is not to-day half the enthusiasm in the country for the prosecution of the war there was two months since. * * * A chill has already passed over the nation — look out that frost does not set in. * * * We are willing to fight till the death for the common good of a common people, but will not be forced into a fight to free slaves. The Democrat of August 20, 1861, said : The real traitors in the North are the Abolitionists, and they are the ones who will do more to put off the day of peace than all' the soldiers of the South. Thus the Democrat made strides toward the enemy's camp, until June 2, 1863, it said : The history of this war shows that we are not a match for the South. * * * When a government ceases to respect the prayer of the people, of the poor class, there is no help but in revolution, and that day, perhaps from necessity, is rapidly approaching in the North. In June, 1863, the Democrat urged the election of Vallandigham for Governor of Ohio. The Democrat of August 18, 1863, said : One year since, we were as earnest an advocate of a Union parfy in Wisconsin as there was in the State. * * * We went South. We went with our eyes and ears open, to learn the truth. * * * The conviction broke full and clear upon our mind that the Union party, as managed by those in power, is a union of demagogues and tyrants, etc. With the prevalence of incendiarism throughout the country, attributable, in numerous in stances, to a spirit of retaliation among the disloyal elements, for losses sustained by rebels in the South, at the hands of the Union forces, the Democrat advanced to the advocacy of "matches," as a cheap and effectual means of retaliation. On February 19, 1864, the Democrat advocated retaliation, and said to Democrats : Matches are cheap. If fanatics and fools seek mob-law and anarchy, by all means let them have it. Burn down and destroy theirs as they have or may yours. By dark or by daylight — by fire or by powder — feed those who injure you the dish they prepare. On no account inaugurate violence or excitement, but for every dime of your property destroyed by political opponents, destroy dollars' worth in return. Stores, houses, barns, offices and churches will burn, etc. The Democrat again, on April 2, 1864, said : When this office is destroyed, a hundred buildings in the city will keep it company, in ruins. Matches are cheap and retaliation sweet. On August 25, 1864, the Democrat said, under the heading of " The Widow-Maker of the Nineteenth Century :" The man who votes for Lincoln now is a traitor. Lincoln is a traitor and murderer. * * * And if he is elected to misgovern for another four years, we trust some bold hand will pierce his heart with dagger point for the public good. That was the culminating point in the polit:cal progress of Mr. Pomeroy and his La Crosse Democrat, from a call for " Wisconsin Tigers" to subdue rebellion to a call for some assassin to murder the President of the Republic. Whether the "Wisconsin Tigers " were not called into active service on account of their programme being characterized too strongly with the spirit of savagism for this age of civilization, or on account of general distrust of Mr. Pomeroy's patriotism, has never been determined. President Lincoln was assassinated, and the North lamented his death. Here are a few crocodile's tears, mingled with the lamentations of a bereaved people. The daily Democrat of April 15, and the weekly Democrat of April 17, 1865, turned their column rules, and went into newspaper mourning for the assassinated President, of whom that paper then said : We mourn with the Nation more than ever, for now came the hour when a kind heart like his was better than wealth untold for the Nation. * * * Lincoln was the President of a great Republic. He was acting as he be lieved to be right, and his wisdom was rapidly being substantiated and proven. His death is a loss to the Na tion, etc. In the next issue of the Democrat, there was an editorial headed, " Who Assassinated Lincoln ?" Its closing words were : We look upon the murderer and assassin as a reckless, daring, wicked man, hired by money or fired by hate. A villain who will hardly be taken alive— an athletic desperado, who probably for months has had this dreadful act 554 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. in his heart. When captured, let him be, pirate-like, hung in chains, to starve to death, and hang as a warning to others. The Democrat's sorrow over the death of President Lincoln had evaporated ; and here is its consolation for the country. The issue of June 19, 1865, editorially said : The death of President Lincoln has proved a blessing to the country. Hereafter we shall never question the wisdom and greatness of the Deity. God be praised for the new President, Andy Johnson. The Democrat of October 2, 1865, had an editorial in which occurred the following lan guage : Where is Lincoln, the joking patron-saint of niggerism, who owes so much to John Wilkes Booth, and who is well-nigh forgotten already, with hardly a dozen in the land to revere his memory ? * * * We deprecate assassination, yet we feel to thank God for calling Lincoln home, wherever that may be. * * * Not all the can non in the world ever sent an echo so far into the future as did the report of a pistol, that fatal night, in a Washing ton theater, " where great men were players and nations the spectators." It woke up the people of America. It broke the spell. It gave the country a statesman for President. It flashed its sic semper tyrannus from Maine to the golden strands of our Western boundaries, and halted the advance of usurpation most effectually. To show that the Democrat kept on its communistic course of agitation and turbulence, by advocating resistance against the authority of the Government, incendiarism, violence, assassin ation of President Lincoln, repudiation of the war debt and national bonds, and " pulling the cat by the tail " on general principles, including a vigorous remonstrance against Gen. Grant officiating as President, and similar phases of Jacobinism, it is only necessary to turn to the first column of editorial in the first issue of the Democrat in 1868, from its new office, corner of Main and Fourth streets, in La Crosse, declaring the principles it continued to support, and closing with the following significant sentence : But if the sword must again be taken up, we will help beat the long roll, from Lake Itasca to Mexico; and may God help the right. And turning, also, to its last full issue of 1868, in La Crosse, which announced that, com mencing January 1, 1869, daily and weekly newspapers would be published by Mr. Pomeroy in La Crosse and New York — the comforting assurance was given that "the Democrat will be hotter and more scorching than ever." Whatever may be said in regard to the Democrat' s extraordinary career, its circulation — above five hundred copies — was chiefly built up (from fifteen quires to 90,000 copies) after the assassination of President Lincoln, and the termination of the war, in April, 1865. It is also true that the Democrat prospered as publicity was given to utterances of hostility to the loya 1 elements of the Nation ; and the success of the paper from 1865 to 1870 followed close upon the expression of disloyal sentiments during the time of the great struggle of the rebellion, and his open advocacy of the repudiation of the war debt. During all of these years, in which the Democrat waged war upon the Government and its interests, and encouraged the turbulent elements of the country to continue public turmoil, La Crosse maintained a tolerant spirit, and kept down every attempt to correct the disloyal and per nicious teachings of the Democrat by violence of mobs. The La Crosse Republican of January 25, 1865, contained the following editorial announce ment, which its publisher and editor has always maintained, as he believes tolerance is the only rule of safety in a free country : The La Crosse Republican, it is well known, is open to citizens of every name, creed, party and condition, for free and untrammeled discussion, to a reasonable length, upon any and all questions of local, public or general interest. No one should imagine that the Democrat's course went unrebuked. On this point the Democrat should be allowed to testify, as it was the best judge of what was going on in the way of hostilities. The Democrat of January 18, 1865, positively declared that paper would never again con descend to notice the attacks of the Republican and its horrible editor ; but " Brick " did not keep his pledge. Everybody was pitching into Pomeroy, and Pomeroy was pitching into every body, while Seymour's Republican was constantly trying to " keep the boys quiet." Mr. Pom- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 555 eroy, in his Democrat of January 18, 1879, then published in Chicago, certified that " Charles Seymour is the ugliest editor we ever had to contend against ; and, is all in all, one of the most genial of gentlemen in Wisconsin." That is the nearest thing to a compliment that the editor of the Republican ever received from the editor of the Democrat. And here is the way the Republican tried to pacify the Democrat. The following are specimens of the Republican s editorials, which were extensively copied by the Republican press throughout the country ; and when it was suggested that Pomeroy .should be arrested for encouraging the assassination of President Lincoln, many approved of the decision of the Government to let,Pomeroy and Seymour fight it out. From the La Crosse Republican, August 17, 1864 : The Drift. — The patriotic man, whether under arms or sympathizing with and aiding those who are in the battle-field striving for the supremacy of the Republic, is known by his solicitude for the welfare of our soldiers and the pleasure he evinces upon learning of their successes. This is the general drift of his feelings and thoughts. * * * There is no need of making any mistake about this matter. The general drift of conversation tells the whole story. A stranger, upon coming itito the presence of one who is continually depreciating the President and all who are in authority, would suppose that the rebel army is engaged in the noble work of rescuing this Govern ment from the hands of Federal usurpers. The greater the clamor against our ruler, the more hopeful are foreign powers of witnessing the downfall of the Republic through violent discord. If it were a well-understood fact that the people of the Free States are united in efforts to re-establish the authority of the Government, it would have a better effect than an addition of two hundred thousand armed men in the field. Let foreign powers and rebellious armies feel that the people of the North are united, and the war will speedily terminate. Discord and dissension serve to prolong the war. From the La Crosse Republican January 4, 1865: Good News. — The news received to-day brings no cheer for rebels or their sympathizers at home or abroad. The Richmond papers are full of tidings that indicate great activity on the part of the Federal forces. Sherman has entered upon a new expedition, and the rebels scarcely know where his lightning will strike. The first attack of the Federals upon Fort Fisher, in front of Wilmington, shows that the work to be performed is a severe one. The success of Stoneman and Burbridge's raid is one of great brilliancy. Besides whipping Breck inridge and his associates in arms, over $20,000,000 worth of rebel property has been destroyed. The month of December will find the resources of the rebels diminished to the amount of over $50,000,000, besides 240 cannons, 40,000 soldiers and a large amount of army supplies and ammunition. With such a leakage or drainage upon their stock in trade, it is safe to say the bottom of the rebellion will soon fall out. From the La Crosse Republican, April 19, 1865 : A National Calamity. — President Lincoln is no more. He died this morning from shot wound received at the hands of an assassin last evening, at. half-past 9 o'clock. Secretary Seward is reported nearly dead this morning, from dagger wounds, received from the hands of an assassin about the same time. Assistant Secretary Frederick Seward was also severely wounded. Full particulars will be given in our telegraphic despatches. We have neither the heart nor opportunity to do justice to the occasion at present. Gen. Grant's valuable life has been spared by Providential interposition, in behalf of the Nation. , There is no doubt these assassinations are part and paicel of the conspiracy that was thwarted by the discovery of the New York and Chicago incendiaries. This is no time for harsh words or intemperate language. These assassins and their friends are here in our midst. Loyal citizens feed and warm them. Their organ in this city expressed the hope that in the event.of the re-election of President Lincoln, there might be one man left in the country with sufficient moral courage to drive a dagger to his heart. The La Crosse Daily Democrat, of October 24, 1864, a copy of whi'ch is now before us, uttered the following threat, among many that had appeared in that paper : "The crimes of the rebellion are fast overshadowed by the greater crimes of the Lincoln dynasty. If a portion of the people, disposed peacefully and legally to change^ the administration of the Government through the ballot-box, are disfranchised, and the strides of the usurper continue to crush the rights of the American citizen, a succeeding revolution may develop the instrumentality which may rid the country of its destroyer, equal in guilt, and unexpected to any one whose death ever became the cause of public rejoicing." And to-day a bulletin was issued from the Democrat office, saying, " A Nation Weeps." Yes, indeed, a nation may well weep over the clemency that has spared those who have lost no opportunity to influence the worst passions of deluded men, and to instigate assassins to destroy the life of a President whose patriotism and talents will be cherished with pride by the friends of good government throughout the world. From the La Crosse Republican May 3, 1865 : TO THE LOYAL MEN OF LA CROSSE : You are held responsible by your countrymen throughout the United States for the disgrace of tolerating and supporting a paper which has aided to the extent of its influence in the fiendish work of instigating assassins to destroy the life of President Lincoln. It is needless to shift the responsibility wholly upon the disloyal officers of 556 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. the railroad company, or the disloyal merchants of Milwaukee, so long as the advertisements and subscriptions •of professedly patriotic citizens of La Crosse are given to sustain the assassination organ. Read the following extract from the La Crosse Democrat of August 29, 1864: " The man who votes for Lincoln now is a traitor. He who pretending to war for, wars against the Constitution of our country, is a traitor, and Lincoln has done all this. He who calls and allures men to certain butchery is a murderer, and Lincoln has done all this. Had any former Democratio President warred upon the Constitution, or trifled with the Nation as Lincoln has, he would have been hurled to perdition long since. And if he is forcibly elected to misgovern for another four years, we trust some bold hand will pierce his heart with a dagger-point for the public good." Can any " patriotic citizen " sustain such a villainous, disloyal advocate of assassination ? Answer the question in an honest way. Every man who feeds or supports such a viper is justly entitled to share in th« odium that clings to the author of the atrocious sentiments above quoted. For the good name of the city of La Crosse let the disgrace of fostering such a malignant advocate of murder and assassination fall upon the copperheads of Milwaukee, and upon the company which has adopted and sustained that paper as its organ in La Crosse. In August, 1869, the La Crosse daily and weekly Leader, as a Republican newspaper, was established by Hon. Joseph S. Elwell, and the lamented Lute A. Taylor and others. It was a highly creditable and excellent journal, which acquired fine reputation for its literary feature, and the wit of its chief editor, Mr. Taylor, who was a man of exquisite taste in the selection of gems of literature, and had an inexhaustible fund of genial humor and fun that flavored all he said, or wrote or selected. Mr. Elwell soon withdrew from the paper, which suffered from bad management, or the lack of good management. The year 1871 was a dating point in La Crosse journalism. In that year, the La Crosse Democrat office passed into the hands of Messrs. Symes & Peck, both of whom had, for some years previously, been identified with Mr. Pomeroy's papers ; Mr. Symes as superintendent of the La* Crosse Democrat office for about eleven years, and Mr. Peck on the editorial staff of Pomeroy's Democrat in New York and La Crosse for about three years. Messrs. Peck & Symes continued together as editors and publishers of the Democrat until 1874, the name of the paper having been changed to the Liberal Democrat, partly in conformity with the title of the party which ran Mr. Greeley, in 1872, as the Liberal Democratic candidate for the Presidency. In 1871, also, Mr. Seymour, having been appointed Postmaster, sold the La Crosse Republican to his former partner, ex-Postmaster Lottridge, who, by an arrangement with Gen. C. C. Wash burn, organized a joint stock company, and consolidated the La Crosse Republican and La Crosse Leader, with Mr. Taylor as chief editor, and Mr. Lottridge as local editor and business manager. The consolidation was effected on the basis of $15,000 for the Republican and $8,000 for the Leader. In 1872, Mr. Taylor was succeeded by Hon. William Nelson, formerly editor and publisher of the Vernon County Censor, who became United States Marshal of Utah later ; and Mr. Lottridge was succeeded by Mr. W. R. Finch, who was superintendent of the Republican office from 1864 to 1871 ; and is, in 1881, as he has been for several years past, the chief editor and business manager of the Republican and Leader, which continues in favor and prosperity, and is steadfast and reliable as a Republican journal. It has many excellent quali ties and abundant resources. Mr. Finch excels as a safe, pnudent and judicious manager. In the meantime, we will trace the progress of the Liberal Democrat from 1874, when Mr. George W. Peck withdrew from the firm of Messrs. Symes & Peck, to establish his popular and successful weekly budget of fun and satire, widely known as Peck's Sun, and worthily repre senting an incorrigible wag, who is unquestionably one of the first-class wits of the century, who can immortalize or chromoize a base-burner coal stove, or transform his favorite mule, Samantha, into a rebellion-suppressing patriot. Mr. Symes published the Liberal Democrat in 1874-75 ; -and, in 1875, sold a half interest in the Liberal Democrat to Mr. Ellis B. Usher, when the pub lication continued under the firm of Messrs. Symes & Usher, until Mr. Symes sold his interest to Mr. Robert Howard in the following year. About August 1, 1878, Messrs. Usher & Howard deemed it advisable to cut entirely adrift from any complications that might grow out of the title Liberal Democrat, as Mr. Pomeroy still claimed the right to use the name of Democrat; and, accordingly, the name Liberal Democrat was dropped, and Morning Chronicle was adopted by Messrs. Usher k Howard for their daily paper, and La Crosse Chronicle for their weekly journal. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 557 The Chronicle has always been a respectable Democratic newspaper, and is a welcome visitor at the breakfast tables of citizens of all parties, as its political malignity and personal grievances seldom become so aggravated that they are not appeased by an occasional dig at the Postmaster, who is the favorite target, and rather enjoys the fun, and never (?) " sasses back." That paper has been and is generally understood to be chiefly under the editorial management ¦of Mr. W. L. Osborne, who is conceded to be a superior journalist. The La Crosse Daily News was established in July, 1880, by Mr. John Shuart, as pub lisher, and Mr. Alexander Nevins as editor. Mr. Shuart having withdrawn from the concern in the autumn of that year, Mr. Nevins has since been its publisher and editor. He is a lively news-gatherer and itemizer, and has adopted the sensational style of announcements. Other English papers, such as the La Crosse Star, published in North La Crosse, with Elder B. W. Reynolds as editor, in 1875, which was succeeded by the La Crosse Free Press, ¦edited, and published by Mr. William M. Doty, in 1876-77 ; and the Sunday Free Press, edited and published by Mr. A. S. Foote, in 1877, came into and went out of existence. Two or three German newspapers have tried to break through the strong lines of Mr. Ulrich's Nordstern ; but have been compelled to retire without achieving success. The latest newspaper enterprise in La Crosse is the Varden^ the first issue of which appeared August 10, 1881, edited and published by Maj. T. J. Widrey, in the Norwegian language. And this reminds us that in tracing the history of newspapers in La Crosse, we have omitted to make mention of the Faedrelandet og Emigranten (Norwegian Republican), which is one of the oldest newspapers in the West, and has a larger circulation than anv other paper in Western Wisconsin. The Emigranten was established at Inmansville, Rock Co., Wis., by the " Scandinavian Press Association," in 1852, and in the autumn of 1857 was removed to Madison, Dane Co., Wis., where it was published under the management of Mr. C. F. Solberg, for several years, and until its removal to La Crosse, and its consolidation with the Faedrelandet, which had been established in La Crosse by Messrs. Fleischer & Schroeder January 1, 1874 ; and, from 1865 until his death in November, 1878, was published by Mr. Frederick Fleischer, under whose vigorous, honorable and judicious management the Faedrelandet og Emigranten continued to grow in circulation and influence. During the winter of 1879, Mr. F. A. Husher, who had long been identified with that journal as its chief editor, became the owner and publisher as well as editor, and from the date of his acquisition of the Faedrelandet og Emigranten to the pres ent time its bona fide subscription list and advertising patronage have steadily increased. Its postage paid on actual circulation exceeds that of all other publications combined in La Crosse, and its influence throughout the State and Northwest is acknowledged to be equal to if not greater than any other journal published in a foreign language, and is surpassed by few, if any, published in the English language. This statement is made from actual knowledge of the facts. This closes my sketches of the press of La Crosse Co., Wis. It would be proper to speak of several gentlemen whose writings have contributed to make La Crosse newspapers interesting and influential. It is due to truth and honor that mention should be made of Charles Lobdell and Judge Flandreau, who assisted Mr. Pomeroy in editorial service on the Democrat. Their powerful editorials never failed to command public attention. Mr. Lobdell was burned to ashes in the memorable railway disaster near Angola, N. Y., December 19, 1867. Judge Flandreau is now a resident of the city of New York, and from a perusal of his address at the celebration of the last anniversary of Tammany, it is evident that he is yet recognized, even in the me tropolis, as a man of great intellectual vigor. Those who remember Hon. G. M. Woodward's editorials in the Liberal Democrat when it was under Mr. Symes' management will verify the statement that no articles have ever been published here which raised legitimate points of political discussion in a fairer, clearer and more perspicuous style. Our State press, which has always ranked high in the estimation of the entire country, generally conceded that La Crosse newspapers have displayed as much enterprise and vim as those of "any locality of similar population. In 1864, S. D. Carpenter, the veteran editor and 558 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. publisher of the Madison Patriot, who was one of the sharpest newspaper men in the Western country, in a letter addressed to the editorial convention at Madison, which elected the Hon. David Atwood, of the State Journal, to the presidency of the Association of Wisconsin Editors and Publishers, stated : The fraternity of our young State has already carved out for itself an enviable reputation, and ranks, for ex cellence in enterprise, tact and ability, among the best and foremost of the older States. Go where you will, and you will hear encomiums on the Wisconsin press. 1 often listen to the audible wonderments of Eastern men relative to the size, plethora of contents and vim of the Western press. A few comparisons will not only serve as samples, but constitute the basis of this proud pre-eminence. Of course, I exclude a few of the overgrown dailies of the prin cipal Eastern cities. Take the city of Middletown, Conn., with 8,000 inhabitants, and not a daily paper. The city of Hartford, Conn., has four dailies, which contain no more reading matter than either of the dailies in Racine, JanesviUe or Madison. The New York Sun, with an immense circulation and an age double that of any of our Western papers, contains less reading matter than the La Crosse dailies. Take the "country cities" of this and other States : many of those at the East with larger population than ours have no daily paper, and in many instances only weekly edi tions that would gain nothing in comparison with the smallest of our weeklies. Mr. William E. Cramer, the veteran editor and publisher of the Evening Wisconsin, and a native of the Empire State, in a communication to the Wisconsin Editors' and Publishers' Association, assembled in convention at Madison under the Presidency of Col. Charles D. Robinson, of the Green Bay Advocate, said : Permit me to take this occasion to say that the people of Wisconsin have reason to be proud of their Press. An experience of some years enables me to compare it with the Press of other States, and I do not. think that, in the elements of journalism, can any other State claim a superiority. I am also convinced that the neat, substantial and thrifty appearance of the newspapers of this State has drawn thousands of our best citizens, for the newspaper is regarded abroad as the visible and unerring evidence of the character and prosperity of the localities. The Press of Wisconsin, in early times, fell into the hands of intelligent, enterprising and vigorous men. Gen. Albert G. Ellis, the pioneer editor arid publisher west of Lake Michigan, who established the Green Bay Intelligencer, December 11, 1833, and the Stevens Point Pinery, in January, 1853, is, at the age of over four-score years, residing at the latter place. He learned the printing business in the Herkimer American office of Edward P. Seymour, among whose apprentices were William L. Stone, the builder of the New York Commercial, and Thurlow Weed, the eminent founder of the Albany Evening Journal. Those of our citizens who know such able and faithful veterans of the Wisconsin Press as Mr. William E. Cramer, Gen. David Atwood, Judge Sam Ryan, Hon. Horace Rublee, Col. Elias A. Calkins, Col. Charles D. Robinson, and others of their kind, and remember the jour nalistic services of the lamented George Hyer, J. C. Cover, Bernard Domschcke, Moritz Schoeffler, the Sholes Brothers, Rufus King, Jonathan A. Hadley, Thurlow W. Brown, Ichabod Codding, D. W. Ballou, Jr., Samuel Brannan, Charles Holt, Marshall M. Strong, W.W. Wyman, James Ross and others, and recall the list of those who have withdrawn from newspaperdom or Wis consin, including Louis A. Proctor, " Jack " Turner, A. M. Thomson, Alanson Halley, Charles W. Fitch, Jermain & Brighttnan, Charles Clement, H. D. Barron, Sherman M. Booth, Har rison Reed, Beriah Brown, Charles S. Benton, H. A. Tenney, S. D. Carpenter, James K. Proud- fit, J. A. Noonan, Hans Crocker, and many others who gave tone and character to the Wis consin Press, will bear testimony that the Badger State had, in those and other journalists, good, faithful and vigilant men on guard, to look after the public welfare ; and that any am bitious man who attempted to bamboozle the people had to run a gauntlet which would bring out all of the points applicable or appertaining to his case. My relations to the Wisconsin press were, during many years of journalistic service, of an intimate and pleasant character. For eight years, my official connection with the " Wisconsin Editors' and Publishers' Association" (one year as Secretary and seven years as President, by unanimous votes), brought me into personal intercourse with nearly all of the journalists in the State, and also with many of the prominent editors of the Northwest. Possibly the Press of this and neighboring States may not now maintain, relatively, the same standards or degrees of excellence that were formerly apparent, but the time has been when Wisconsin journalists, col lectively, impressed all discriminating observers with their superiority, when compared or contrasted LA CROSSE HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 561 with "Press gatherings" of any of the other States. Some of the honored veterans are yet actively participating in newspaper work, but many have passed away from life's activities or removed to other fields of labor. To have enjoyed the respect, confidence and friendship of the editors and publishers of Wisconsin to such a degree as to have been unanimously elected to the Presidency of their Association for many consecutive years, in violation of its established usage, before and since my official service, to re-elect no President, is a source of pardonable pride and solid gratification ; especially when venal and needy upstarts in journalism allow their papers to be subsidized channels for personal insolence and abuse against me, for the " aid and comfort " of graceless wretches and audacious villains, whose ambition for political honors received no public favor while there was at my command an outspoken and truthful journal to reveal their rascality and knavery. The general attendance of members during my Presidency of the Association ranged from 119 to 191, against an average attendance of less than forty for three previous and three subsequent anniversaries. At each and every anniversary of the Wisconsin Press Association during my official serv ice, resolutions were unanimously adopted by the editors and publishers of all parties and nationalities, expressive of their hearty approval of my course. As a specimen of these resolu tions, the following may be here presented. Resolved, That we have no fit and appropriate language to express that degree of social and fraternal gratitude which we feel in our hearts toward our efficient, zealous and untiring President, Charles Seymour. His services for past years have placed the editors of this State under deep and lasting obligations ; and while he refuses any pecuniary compensation for the time and money he has so generously contributed for the happiness and pleasure of the fraternity, we cannot more appropriately express our feelings than to wish he might live forever in the full vigor of his maturity, to make future generations happy. In closing this sketch of the rise and progress of the Press of La Crosse, and in rescuing many press items from total loss, which seemed inevitable with the disappearance and destruc tion of newspaper files, unless thus preserved for future reference, under various heads that have been ably treated and conveniently arranged by Mr. M. H. Tilden, of and for the Western Historical Company, it may be proper to state that, during the past quarter of a century, I have not been called in any court, either as plaintiff or defendant, except in one single instance, when the man who sued me for an old claim of $220 actually swore he was a partner in a bank rupt firm, whose uncanceled obligations for many thousands of dollars, duly attested by the sig nature of the plaintiff and the officers of the bank that discounted the paper for him were, by me exhibited in court, where both plaintiff and defendant were entitled to plead the statute of limitations. This explanation, verified by court records, should forever exonerate me from any unkind imputations on that score. Delinquent subscribers for and non-paying advertisers in my newspaper were never sued. People are scarce who will omit to pay for a valuable journal. My patrons always gave me cordial welcome when I came around upon collecting pilgrimages. They knew I had use for all the funds that belonged to me ; and if any surplus came, it would soon obtain "circulation." It was often said I "jumped accounts " on demand ; but," occasionally, a would-be rascal has found, to his sorrow, that my "tally-stick " was reliably accurate. The mission of the Press is one of honor and usefulness; and those intrusted with its management should be liberal and tolerant, but discriminating and just. If the writers and publishers of obituaries, the preachers of pan egyrics and eulogies, and the engravers of epitaphs would combine in judicious and honest treat ment of people, alive or dead, the great bulk of mankind would be afraid to die until they merited a favorable obituary, which terminated with the printer's "receipt in full to date;" a "Christian burial;" and a monument bearing the inscription, "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." Charles Seymour. RELIGIOUS. First Presbyterian Church. — There seems ample evidence that the Congregational Church of this city was originally founded upon the plan of union provided for the mutual accommoda tion of Presbyteiiano and Congregati^nalists, and generally prevailing between these bodies in 562 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. the early settlement of Wisconsin. It was reported as a Presbyterian Church to the Presbytery of St. Paul (new school) in 1853, having twenty members, and with its minister, Rev. John C. Sherwin, formed a part of that Presbytery. In the year 1858, Rev. D. C. Lyon, then a Presbyterian missionary for the State, visited La Crosse. Finding the Congregationalists and others happily at work, he bade them Godspeed, and withdrew without any effort for the formation of a church. March 14, 1866, Rev. J. Irwin Smith, then Synodical Missionary for the territory embraced in Minnesota and Upper Wisconsin, arrived in La Crosse to inquire and report upon its needs and prospects, in view of the Presbyterian Church. He spent a week in quiet survey of the field in acquaintance with its people, its situation, business and religious provisions. He was so well satisfied of the claims of the people of Presbyterian order, who were without attachment to any religious body, and of large masses of people unreached by any agency, that he reported strongly in favor of establishing a church in this city, and before leaving he made all the arrange ments for the undertaking, bought lot and dwelling for residence, on Division street, between Ninth and Tenth streets, secured sub-lease of a small church building for place of worship, and announced to its citizens that in a few weeks they might look for a minister on the ground and services begun. The difficulties and hindrances in the way of the enterprise were too great for man's ability but not too vast for God's power, and in His name and trust it was devoutly entered upon. Search had in vain been employed to find another minister who was willing to enter the forbid- ing task. So Mr. Smith resolved to take it as his own. He reached La Crosse with family and goods on the steamer War Eagle, on the evening of May 2, 1866, almost equally unknowing and unknown to the citizens of La Crosse, entered the dwelling he had purchased, and made announcement of services for the coming Sabbath. The place of worship was to be the German Methodist Episcopal Church. This small edifice stood then on the north side of Jay street, east of the alley above Fifth street. It had been erected and occupied by Rev. Mr. Richter and his people, but vacated by them and leased to the congregation of the Reformed Church. And from the Pastor of that congregation Mr. Smith had procured sub-lease, with privilege of holding Sabbath school at early hour, public worship in afternoon, and prayer meeting on Thursday evening. This structure has been removed to northeast corner of Seventh and Ferry streets, and forms the main body of the comely and ornamental church edifice now enjoyed by that people — the German Methodist Episcopal body in La Crosse. Neatly framed cards of invitation, printed in colors, were hung in the hotels and public places, packet cards announcing hour and place of Sabbath school were distributed, and the congregation increased steadily. But as a condition for utmost harmony afterward, the organi zation of the membership was deferred for more thorough, mutual acquaintance. This was conformed by authority of Chippewa Presbytery, August 23, 1866, and Mr. Smith was regularly installed Pastor of the church November following. Meanwhile, measures were progressing for the erection of a sanctuary for worship. June 14, a meeting of those favorable to it was held at the Pastor's residence to choose Trustees. P. S. Davidson, James McCrae, William Ferguson, S. F. Smith, Dr. D. D. Cameron and B. C. Prentiss were selected, and William J. Scott, the Secretary, certified this first board to the county officials. At the same time, J. Irwin Smith, and James McCrae and S. F. Smith were appointed to select and make terms for building lots. They made purchase of the fine location on the corner of King and Sixth streets, at $1,200, and began subscriptions toward building. W. S. J. Nichols furnished the plans, and the foundations were completed before winter. Early next year, the work was resumed. That subscription was the constant pocket com panion of the Pastor through a year and a half. Messrs. A. and D. D. McMillan rendered invaluable aid in money and counsels at every stage. The ladies, at a single festival, netted $265 for windows, carpeting, furniture and bell. December 29, the congregation entered it as a sanctuary for the first time. The veneering of the brick outside was added the following sum- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 563 mer, and the house was dedicated, without a collection, the property complete, at a cost of $7,500, without a penny to begin with, or a cent of debt at the close. Mr. Smith remained Pastor till the end of June, 1880, when he resigned, and, after a brief vacancy, was succeeded by Rev. William D. Thomas, the present incumbent. North Presbyterian Church. — Several years before this church had existence, the Congre gational and the Methodist Episcopal people had organizations, and worshiped side by side in the schoolhouse of the village at North La Crosse. The Congregational Church was weakened by removals and depleted by the war, so that Rev. Edward Brown, its last Pastor, left the field, and the organization was disbanded. In the spring of 1866, Rev. J. Irwin Smith, of St. Paul, visited the place, with the city adjoining, and, upon inquiry of a merchant in his store about the religious supplies of the people, was told that he himself was the only single Christian here, and there was no religious service on Sabbath. When Mr. Smith settled in La Crosse in May succeeding, he ascertained that a Methodist Episcopal minister, Rev. J. H. Bonham, continued to hold religious services on alternate Mon day evenings, the only meetings for public worship maintained then. Mr. Smith began to preach at first on alternate Sabbaths, and then each Sabbath morning, commencing June 10. The schoolhouse stood upon the site of the present Fifth Ward School. In the summer of 1867, this building was to be sold to give place to a better edifice, which has again been supplemented by the present structure. This sale would leave no place for worship. It was reported that it was to be converted into a saloon. Mr. Smith held $100 in his pocket for use of the building going forward in the city. More was needed. Meeting Rev. Stuart Mitchell, of Kilbourn City, he asked whether he knew any of the Lord's stewards with $200 to spare. Mr Mitchell replied, " He had $200 in Van Steenwyk's Bank (Batavian), to be used for a European tour. If Mr. Smith would guarantee its return by April 1, 1868, he should have it till then without interest." " Done," he said, and drew the cash, bought the schoolhouse in his own name ; engaged to move it off to its present location, and its refitting for church purposes went forward at the same time with the building in the city. In the year 1878, the building was enlarged, adding one-half to its capacity. The Congregation was at first but a part of the same organization with the First Church, Mr. Smith preaching for nine years at least, morning, and in evening to the First Church, and afterward to the North Church. The building was dedicated August 9, 1868, and a separate organization of the church formed May 1, 1870, A. H. Hankerson and J. E. Harkness being ordained Ruling Elders. Mr. Smith continued his ministry in both churches till the close of April, 1876, ten years. Finding his charge demanded more time for pastoral visitation, he relinquished this part of his field, promising to supply the church gratuitously until a successor could be found, and to aid them in finding a Pastor. In September, 1876, Rev. Walter R. France was secured, and the congregation at once took rank among the vigorous and influential churches of the city. Mr. France remained with this people three years, when he was succeeded by Rev. Ariel M. Master, who, however, at the end of a year retired, leaving the church again without a stated Pastor at present. The First Congregational Church of La Crosse. — Was organized at an early period in the settlement of La Crosse, when the whole population hardly exceeded one hundred. Rev. John C. Sherwin, who, a few months before, had commenced his labors in this field as a missionary of the American Home Society, called together on the 22d of January, 1852, the few members of Congregational and Presbyterian Churches residing here, and organized the First Congrega tional Church of La Crosse. This humble, but important organization, was effected at the resi dence of Deacon S. T. Smith in the second story of a small wooden structure on Front street, the lower story of which was occupied by Campbell k Smith as a store. The building has long since been torn down to give place to a larger and more substantial brick edifice. The follow ing ten names constituted the entire original membership : Stephen C. Johnson, James E. Brown, Mrs. Frances S. Barber, F. M. Rublee, Byron Viets, Walter Brown, Mrs. Virginia A. 564 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Sherwin, Mrs. Lucy W. Reynolds, Mrs. Sarah Rublee, Mrs. Millie Viets. Dr. S. C. Johnson was appointed Clerk of the Church. At a meeting two days later, January 24, 1852, the organization was completed by the election of two Deacons, F. M. Rublee and Walter Brown, and by calling by unanimous vote, Rev. J. C. Sherwin to the pastorate. In July, 1852, the church voted to apply for temporary connection with the Minnesota Pres bytery, according to the " Plan of Union " then in vogue ; but for some reason this connection was never effected. In February, 1860, the church was received into the Congregational Con vention of La Crosse District, with which it is still connected. The Congregational society was organized on the 20th of September, 1852, with the fol lowing Board of Trustees: Timothy Burns, Edwin Flint, George W. Havens, Howard Cramer, Walter Brown, F. M. Rublee, E. Childs, B. B. Healey, George Farnum. The society afterward lost its legal existence through a failure to elect officers. A re-or ganization was effected under its present Constitution December 6, 1855. Religious services were held in the old wooden court house until 1854, then in the old Third Ward brick school- house until their first church was built in 1855, which was dedicated on the 1st day of Novem ber, 1855, Rev. Dexter Clary, of Beloit, preaching the dedicatory sermon. The lot, located on Fourth street, then estimated at $500 was presented to the society by Peter Cameron. The original building cost $1,756.64, which, in 1856, was enlarged by the addition of twenty-five feet to its length. Of the ten original members, but one, Walter Brown, still remains a member of the organ ization, and only five are now living. The following, one-half of the original church, have died: Mrs. Frances Barber died in the town of Farmington, La Crosse Co., July 25, 1853; Deacon F. M. Rublee died at Central City, Cal., November 19, 1860 ; Mr. Byron Veits died at West Salem, La Crosse County, in 1871 ; Mrs. Virginia A. Sherwin died at Menomonee, November 15, 1874, and Mrs. Lucy W. Reynolds died in La Crosse, May 19, 1881. The other four persons took letters of dismission and recommendation to other churches. Dr. S. C. Johnson is a practicing physician in Albany, N. Y. ; Mrs. Millie Veits resides near Trempea leau; Sarah Rublee, now Mrs. J. M. Hayes, resides at West Salem; James E. Brown in Ona laska, La Crosse County, and Walter Brown in La Crosse. Rev. J. C. Sherwin retained the pastoral care of the church and society until October 1, 1857, when he resigned on account of ill health, at which time Rev. N. C. Chapin entered upon the duties of Pastor, which position he occupied for fourteen years, when he was succeeded by Rev. E. Y. Garrette, October 1, 1872. After his resignation, Rev. Robert Nourse assumed the pastoral care of the church October 10, 1880, which he continued to exercise with distinguished ability. Rev. J. C. Sherwin is still living, engaged in active and efficient missionary work in Texas. Rev. N. C. Chapin is preaching in St. Cloud, Minn. ; Rev. E.. Y. Garrette resides in Atlanta, Ga., whither he went on account of ill health. The old house of worship was occupied about fifteen years, when it was sold to the Nor wegian Lutheran Church, and, in 1870, the church and society built their present beautiful church edifice on the corner of Main and Seventh streets, at a cost of $34,000. This house has a seating capacity of 800, and contains a valuable organ, which was donated to the church by the late Gen. L. E. Webb. During the twenty-nine years of the history of this church, she has received into her com munion 403 members. Of this number some have died, many have removed to other places, taking letters of dismission, leaving the present membership 180. The present officers of the church are : Pastor, Rev. Robert Nourse ; Deacons, Renel Weston, W. W. Jones, H. I. Bliss, W. N. Fay and John James ; Clerk, R. C. Douglass. The present officers of the society are : President, S. Martindale ; Trustees, S. Martin dale, W. W. Jones, Renel Weston, M. Conant, W. N. Fay, James McCord, G. R. Montague, S. S. Burton, and H. I. Bliss ; Treasurer, S. S. Burton ; Clerk, J. M. Holley. Baptist Church. — On the 1st day of October, 1851. some seven members of the Third Baptist Church of St. Louis, Mo., emigrated to La Crosse with a view of permanent settlement HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 565 and the early organization of a Baptist Church. They brought a $40 Sunday school library with them to supply a school that had been previously organized by one of their members who preceded the small colony. On arrival, they found a resident population of about one hundred whites and as many or more Indians. Soon after their arrival, Elder William H. Card (then of Fond du Lac), visited the village. Upon learning the intention of a church organization, at an early day, he consented to move his family here and assist in accomplishing that object. Himself and family and four other Bap tist members arrived in La Crosse in the following month, November. On the 22d day of Jan uary, 1852, the church was organized in the house of S. T. Smith with fourteen members, the Congregational Church of twelve members being organized at the same time and place ; the two churches assisting each other in their organization, and the ministers of each church, William H. Card and J. C. Sherwin, giving the hand of fellowship and recognition to each other as rep resentatives of their respective churches. It is gratifying to reflect that for over a quarter of a century these two churches have lived side by side, often working together, always harmoniously. May each succeeding celebra tion of the two churches witness the same spirit of Christian fellowship and brotherly kindness. At the first regular meeting of the church, Elder William H. Card was called to the pastorate, and Silvester Smith and Samuel T. Smith elected Deacons. From this time until August, 1852, this church held union meetings with the Methodist and Congregational Churches, Pas tors preaching alternately, first in private houses until the court house was built, and then in that until the Baptist Church built its first meeting house. This house was commenced in May and finished in August following, just ninety days from its commencement. Elder Walker, Pastor of the Third Baptist Church of St. Louis, preached the dedication sermon from the words "In the name of our God we will set up our banners." Psalm xx, 5. The union meetings and Sunday school which had been taken up hitherto, were now, at the suggestion of the Pastors of the other churches, dissolved, they still holding union meetings and Sunday school in the court house, and the Baptists repairing to their new chapel and or ganizing their own school. This school lives to this day, and has never died out in winter. In March, 1853, Elder Card's health failing, he resigned his pastorate, and in the following month Elder Spencer Carr succeeded him to the pastorate. Subsequently, Elder Carr so far recovered his health as to be able to preach, and the church employed him as their missionary to labor in the surrounding country at a salary of $600 per annum. Several churches were organized by him, and others greatly strengthened. Elder Carr remained with the church from his settle ment in 1853 until July, 1857, when his health failing, he resigned. During his pastorate, the church commenced its second meeting house, the first being too small to hold the congregation. This new house commenced in 1856 was to be built of stone, 50x82 feet. The basement was put up, covered in, and seated and made ready for occupancy at a cost of some $4,000. It was the intention of the church to complete the building the next year, 1857. But in this year the great financial crisis came on, paralyzing business in every department, which made it necessary for the church to abandon the idea of an early completion of its house, and be content to wor ship in the basement and until the time should come when they should be able to carry out their cherished views in the completion of the house. In this place they worshiped during the entire pastorate of Rev. C. Willett, who succeeded Elder Carr in October, 1857, and remained there until January, 1863, when he resigned, soon after which Rev. W. W. Moore was obtained, who served the church first as a supply for three months, and then as Pastor until September, 1874, when he resigned. During his pastorate, the church nearly completed its second build ing at a cost of about $14,000. From this until time to the dedication which occurred in No vember, 1864, and until the call and settlement of Rev. A. A. Drown as Pastor, the church was supplied by Rev. E. B. Palmer and Rev. S. Carr. The dedicatory sermon of this, their second church was preached by Rev. Nathaniel Colver, D. D., long since deceased. His text was Romans, xii, 1. Rev. A. A. Drown settled in January, 1865, and remained with tjhe church as Pastor until January, 1871, when he resigned. 566 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY-. During the pastorate of Rev. A. A. Drown, the church was called to pass through a fiery ordeal. Its fine church building, which it had labored so hard to complete, and for which they were still a little in debt, was mysteriously laid in ashes at their feet. This occurred February 7, 1866. It was to the church a day of sadness, and, we believe, a day of humiliation — a day of chastisement. But, though chastened, they were not yet destroyed, nor yet discouraged ; for at a meeting held in the evening of the same day, it was resolved, by God's help, to enlarge the foundation and erect another building superior in every respect to the first. But in carrying out such a resolution, unusual sacrifices had to be met ; and the church might have failed in their worthy purpose, had they been led by one less willing to share in both the labors and the sacrifices which lay between the determination and the accomplishment. In all the emergencies of the five years' struggle, their Pastor, Rev. A. A. Drown, toiled earnestly at home and abroad to secure the necessary means, and in the most critical time, gave from his own purse $1,200 — more than one year's salary. Besides this, the ladies of the Indus trial Society, we would honorably mention, who worked night and day, and brought the proceeds of their labors, from time to time to the building committee to cheer them in their need. Nor do they in anywise forget their fellow-citizens outside of their organization, who nobly and re peatedly responded to their calls. The building cost about $38,000 ; all paid for at the time of the dedication except $3,000, borrowed from the Home Mission Board, and about $2,000 due the builder, the latter sum being soon afterward provided for. The pulpit was filled by Rev. G. A. Simonson, Rev. J. H. Wilderman, Rev. J. L. M. Young and others, as supplies, from the resignation of Rev. A. A. Drown, which occurred January 1, 1871, up to June 23, 1872, when Rev. L. A. Abbott was called, and settled as permanent Pastor. They enjoyed his faithful labors from his coming, in June, 1872, until the spring of 1878, when the Rev. L. W. Hay- hurst succeeded him, May 4, of that year, serving until January 1, 1879, as a supply, and since which time he had served as Pastor. Between him and the church naught but harmony and brotherly love prevails ; and we hope the relationship will long continue, and meet the appro bation of the Head of the church. The constituent members, numbering fourteen, were : Samuel T. Smith, Mrs. Sarah Smith, Miss Mary Smith, Sylvester Smith, Mrs. Mary Smith, Thomas Shimmin, Mrs. Emma Shimmin, Rev. William H. Card, Mrs. Cornelia Card, Joel Byrns, Enos P. Williams, Richard O. Richards, Simeon N. Taylor, Norman B. Fish. Since its organization, they have received, by baptisms, 217 ; by letter, 257 ; by experi ence, 47, which, together with the 14 original members, makes a total of 535. They have also dismissed by letter, 232 ; excluded, 34 ; erased, 41 ; and 48 have died, making a total of 355, so that at present it contains 180 members. The year in which the church had the greatest number of accessions was 1858, 56 being received, 38 of these by baptism. The year in which the smallest number was received was 1870, four only being added that year. The years in which there were no conversions were 1862, 1863 and 1870. The number of conversions for the whole twenty-three years of the existence of the church, is equal to 8 for each year. During the lifetime of this church, members have been dismissed, through whose influence, in whole or in part, nine churches have been organized, five in Minnesota and four in Wiscon sin. About $54,000 has been expended in buildings. Baptist Sabbath School. — The history of this school is so closely connected with that of the first Sabbath school ever held in this part of Wisconsin, that we cannot refrain from speak ing of that school, and showing how one was the outgrowth of the other, as is almost invari ably the case, that in all new countries, the Sabbath school preceded the church. In May, 1851, Deacon S. T. Smith organized the first Sabbath school, and gathered into it all the white children on this, then, prairie. There were no churches here, but there were some Christian men and Christian women, and where you find men and women whose hearts are filled with the love of God, you will soon see that love manifested in the gathering of the children and youth to teach them the way of life. All the Christian people came to his assistance, and some who were not Christians seemed to appreciate the importance of laying the foundations for, at least, a moral sentiment in the community, and gave the weight of their influence in that direction. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 567 Deacon Smith was elected Superintendent, and Mr. A. D. Ladue, Secretary. The school num bered less than twenty-five, all told. But these were days of rapid growth, and the population would sometimes double in a few months. The number of Christian people increased rapidly, and the school soon doubled its membership. October 1 of thi3 year, 1851, seven members of the Third Baptist Church of St. Louis, left their home to form a colony on this prairie. The Superintendent of this school secured a $40 library by paying half the price of it to the Amer ican Sunday School Union. This was soon increased by a donation from a Congregationalist Church, in Hartford, Conn., secured by Mr. Walter Brown, who was one of the earnest workers in the school. During the winter that followed, the number of Christian people had so increased that the two churches were organized, as before stated. The Baptist Church at once began preparation for the building of a church. Work was begun in May, and in just ninety days the house was dedicated. During the months that had elapsed since the completion of the court house, the Sabbath school, and in fact all religious services, had been held in the court house. But now that a better and more convenient place was provided, the question arose whether they should hold the Union Sabbath School in the church, or should divide and have two schools. The question being put to a vote, it was decided to continue the Union School, but to hold it in the church. But during the week that followed, the matter was talked over by some who were not entirely satisfied with the arrangement, and on the following Sabbath, the Congregationalist and Methodist brethren went back to the court house. From this time, August, 1852, dates the existence of the Baptist Sabbath School of La Crosse. It organized by electing Deacon W. W. Ustick, Superintendent, and had a member ship of not far from forty in all, officers, teachers and scholars. Deacon Ustick served two years, and was succeeded by Corydon Boughton, who served one year. He was followed by Elisha Whittlesey, who served two years. Some of the early records of the school being lost, we have no means of giving the exact membership of the school during these years, but we know that, at the expiration of the first five years, the membership had increased to about 150. Mr. S. V. Aldrich was elected Superintendent in 1857, and was succeeded by Rev. I. L. Batch- elder, in 1858, who resided here at the time, but was not Pastor of the church. He left the city in January, in 1859, and was followed by J. T. Van Valkenburg, who served six years. In 1866, M. F. Colton was elected Superintendent, and served also six years. In 1871, J. T. Van Valkenburg was again chosen, and served one year. In 1872, S. E. Olson was chosen, and served two years. In 1874, H. J. Peck was elected, and served three years. In 1877, Rev. L. A. Abbott was elected, and served one year. In 1878, J. T. Van Valkenburg was again chosen, and still serves in that position. The membership of the school during its exist ence of twenty-eight years, divided into periods of five years each, has been about as follows, beginning with about forty members: It had, at the close of the first period, in 1857, about 150 members. At the close of the second period, in 1862, about 175 members. At the close of the third period, in 1867, about 225 members. At the close of the fourth period, in 1872, about 225 members. At the close of the fifth period, in 1877, about 175 members, and, at the present writing, has about 175 in the school. Of the whole number of converts who have been received into the church during its existence, about 125 have been from the Sabbath school. The school has done some missionary work, and is still cultivating the missionary spirit. From 1860 to 1865, the school supported a native preacher among the Karens, in Burmah. When the church to which their missionary preached, became self-supporting, they turned their atten tion in other directions. They have since contributed to the support of schools among the Freedmen at the South, and a mission at Rome, right under the ears of the " Vatican," where the Pope can hear the songs of the children, and has not the power to suppress the school which is making its influence felt among his people. Who can estimate the good that has been ac complished through the instrumentality of this one school ? Who can calculate the results of the influences for good exerted here ? Eternity alone will reveal how many have received their first religious impressions, which in God's own time shall be the means of bringing them to 568 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Christ, and they in turn be instrumental in bringing others, until scores and hundreds shall be made heirs of glory. The First Methodist Episcopal Church. — In 1852, a class had gathered together, consisting of a few persons who had been previously connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church elsewhere, among them being Jacob Patterson and wife, E. A. Chambers and wife, David Powell and wife, and C. K. Lord and wife. In October, 1853, the First Methodist Church was organized in La Crosse, Rev. Enoch Tasker being sent here by the Conference and stationed here as preacher. At the first Quarterly Meeting of the Conference for La Crosse Station, held at La Crosse, October 24, 1853, were present, Alfred Bronson, Presiding Elder ; Enoch Tasker, Pastor in charge ; C. K. Lord, local preacher ; George Gale, E. H. Chambers R. H. Elliott, Stewards ; Jacob Patterson, Leader. R. H. Elliott was appointed Secretary. The station being a new charge and the above-named members having been such on the cir cuit before its division, were recognized under the new organization. December 25, 1852, pre vious to the organization of the church, notice was given that a meeting was to be held at the house of Jacob Paterson for the purpose of organizing a Sabbath school. It was resolved to commence the school January 1, 1853. According to the notice, they assembled on the two following Sabbaths, but there being only nine scholars in attendance, it was resolved to postpone the school till the 1st of April. In the fall of 1853, a church was built at a cost of about $500 on Fourth street, near the corner of Cass and Fourth, capable of seating about one hundred and fifty persons. The lot on which this was built, was donated by Peter Cameron. The funds for building it were procured among the members, and by liberal contributions from persons not in connection with the society. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Alfred Bronson. Enoch Tasker remained as Pastor until July 1, 1854, and was followed by Rev. R. R. Wood. On June 11, 1855, the Sabbath school contained eleven officers, forty scholars, and the library contained one hundred volumes. R. R. Wood was followed as Pastor by Rev. C. P. Hackney who came in 1855, and re mained until 1857, being followed by Rev. C. E. Wierick, who remained but one year. He, in turn, was followed by Rev. T. C. Golden. At this time, in 1858, the membership had so in creased that a larger church became necessary. Accordingly the old one was moved, and a new one built in the place of it. This church being the present one, is 40x60, with basement for Sabbath school and social meetings. The church is a frame one, capable of seating about three hundred and fifty persons. It was dedicated by Rev. T. M. Eddy, of Chicago, on the 26th of March, 1859. At the Fourth Quarterly Meeting of the Methodist Conference held March 27, 1859, C. W. Marshall offered the following resolution regarding the construction of the new church : Resolved, That the action of Rev. T. C. Golden from the commencement to the completion of the church build ing enterprise, be and hereby is cordially and cheerfully approved and indorsed, and the thanks of this board be tendered to him for the faithful performance of the duty which was devolved upon him by the official board of this church. During the years of 1858-59, additions were made to the church property, making its total value in 1860, $4,000. The Pastor's report for the year ending March 2, 1867, gives one death and 50 receivals. March 21, 1868, the Sunday school was found to contain 123 scholars, and the church on the whole was improving ; protracted meetings being held in La Crosse and at Mormon Coolie. In 1870, more additions having been made to the church, the total value of all the church property was $8,000. In this year the basement of the church was tendered to the Methodist Norwegian Mission to hold their services in, providing they were not held at a time conflicting with the regular meetings of the Methodist Episcopal Society. On November 29, 1880, the church was granted to the Norwegian Church, when not used by the Methodists. At the last quarterly conference it was found there had been received six new members, and only one deceased. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY; 569 The following is a list of the Pastors in charge, and the time of the stay of each since : Rev. T. C. Golden, T. C. Clendenning, from 1859 to 1860 ; H. T. Magill, from 1860 to 1862 ; William Howe, from 1862 to 1864; W. H. Brocksome, from 1864 to 1865; J. I. Anderson' from 1865 to 1866 ; W. S. Wright, from 1866 to 1867 ; Isaac Springer, from 1867 to 1870 : M. B. Balch, from 1870 to 1873; Phillips, from 1873 to 1874; Haigh, from 1874 to 1875; E. E. Clough, from 1875 to 1878; P. S. Mather, from 1878 to 1879; William R. Irish, from 1879 to 1880, and the present Pastor, Rev. M. B. Balch, in 1881. North La Crosse Methodist Episcopal Church. — The Onalaska and North La Crosse Cir cuit was established about twenty-six years ago, in 1855. Rev. A. Cooley was sent here by the conference to take charge of the circuit. He was followed by W. Osborne, J. Holt, W. Taylor, J. Mead, and he in turn by George Benham. During his pastorate, the church was built in 1866. Mr. Benham was followed by E. E. Clough, R. Fancher, E. Yolcum. In 1869, this was made a separate station, and Rev. A. D. Atwater was sent here by the conference to take charge of the station. Mr. Atwater was followed by S. S. Benedict and J. D. Tull. Charles Irish followed Mr. Tull, remaining only one year, and was followed by E. Yolcum, who also remained one year. Charles Irish came again after Mr. Yolcum, remaining a year also at this time, and was followed by the present Pastor, A Hazeltine. From 1865, only eight deaths are recorded in the church record. The membership of this church is very changeable, as a great number are taken into full membership into the church by letter, and are withdrawn by letter also. The present valuation of the church is $2,500. It is capable of seating about three hundred persons. In connection with the church is a Sabbath school containing about one hundred scholars. The first class organized in 1855 consisted of twelve members. The records of this church have never been kept completely, so it is impossible to obtain the history of it in as complete a form as it is entitled to. German Methodist Episcopal Church. — The beginning of the German Methodist Episco pal Society of La Crosse dates to the fall of 1856, when Carl Leipprant, a German missionary of admirable fitness was sent by Bishop Janes to locate a mission here. He was under the supervision of that talented pioneer, Presiding Elder Rev. Henry J. Figenbaum, whose territory then extended from Galena to St. Paul. Mr. Leipprant's untiring zeal and faithfulness won converts, and was the means which led to the organization of the society the year following, under the ministerial care of Rev. P. Schaefer. At the conference in the fall of 1859, Rev. William Schreiner was appointed for the La Crosse Mission. Hitherto the German Methodist Episcopal Society had no specified place of worship ; held their meetings in the houses of mem bers. It was left to Mr. Schreiner's energy and force to erect a place of worship With a determination that knew no failure, he set to work, made the plans, collected the money and built the church, locating it on a leased lot on Jay street, between Fifth and Sixth streets. Mr. Schreiner also built the church for the Mormon Cooley branch of this mission the fol lowing year, and, at the end of his two years' pastoral care, he reported to conference, " two churches built and paidfor, and society strengthened in numbers." Rev. John Brauer was his successor, under the Presiding Eldership of H. Roth. He was succeeded in the fall of 1864 by Herman Richter, who remained on the charge two years. During his term, the society lost heavily by removals. In the fall of 1866, John Salzer was appointed. He remained three years, and, undex his administration, the present church site was purchased, and the old church removed to where the new edifice now stands. Rev. E. Uhl, now Professor of History in the German-English College at Galena, suc ceeded him. Under his pastoral care the present parsonage was built. At the end of two years, in 1868, Rev. H. Roth succeeded him, remaining three years, and labored with much acceptability. Rev. F. Hermsmeyer was the next Pastor, and under him the church on the Chipmonk Coolie charge was built. William Hildebrant followed him, remaining but one year, owing to ill health, being succeeded by Rev. William Pagenhart, who labored here two years. In 570 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. the fall of 1878, the Conference appointed Rev. H. R. Fiegenbaum, who labored with much energy and built the present beautiful church. Owing to ill health, he felt unable to continue as Pastor, and was succeeded by the Rev. George Holger. The membership of the church is in good condition as also are the finances, and the church property is all free from any incumbrances. Christ's Episcopal Church. — On January 21, 1857, a meeting was held for the permanent organization of the church, which previous to this was merely a mission. At this meeting, held in the Baptist Church, Fayette Durlin, Charles S. Benton, John M. Levy, Charles J. Strat ford, Albert Ma,rsh, W. W. Crosby. Joel Marsh, A. A. Stevens, S. A. McKenzie and W. R. Sill were present. Fayette Durlin was elected Chairman and W. R. Sill Clerk of this meeting, and Charles S. Benton, W. W. Crosby, Joel Marsh, A. A. Stevens and James Camp bell were elected Vestrymen. The constitution was also adopted at this meeting, and Fayette Durlin was engaged as the first Pastor, at a salary of $500 per year. The Vestry was organized by the election of C. J. Stratford as Senior Warden ; W. R. Sill, Secretary ; and John M. Levy, Treasurer. It was then Resolved, That the Vestry lease the use of the old Baptist Church building in La Crosse, for the period of one year from the 10th of January, 1857, at the rent of $150 per annum. At a meeting of the Vestry held on the 2d day of February, a committee was appointed to select lots on which to erect a new church building. In the spring of 1860, Rev. Fayette Durlin tendered his resignation, and, subsequently, a call was extended to the Rev. James Young, which he accepted, but at a meeting of the Vestry held in August, 1861, he was re quested to resign in consequence of his ill health. His resignation, therefore, was tendered and ac cepted September 10, 1861. At the Vestry meeting in February, 1862, Rev. J. D. Barton acted as Chairman, and at another meeting April 28, it was resolved to call the Rev. Barton to the rectorship, which call he accepted. Messrs. Sill, Rumsey and Cameron were appointed as a committee to negotiate for lots on which to erect a church, and Sill and Rumsey were em powered to contract for the erection of the building. At a meeting of the Vestry on January 3, 1863, we find the Rev. C. P. Dorset in the chair. At this meeting Mr. Sill was authorized to negotiate for two lots on the corner of Main and Ninth streets, and also to negotiate for stone with which to lay the foundation for the new church edifice ; and at another meeting, March 21, Messrs. W. R. Sill, H. T. Rumsey and W. W. Supplee were appointed a building committee, with full power to make contracts and to superintend the building and completion of the church edifice. In 1864, the church building was completed and ready for occupancy. The Rector's salary from Easter, 1864, to Easter of 1865, was set at $1,000. The Rev. C. P. Dorset, on March 26, 1865, on account of failing health, tendered to the Vestry his resignation. This the Vestry unanimously refused to accept, but raised his salary to $1,200 a year, and granted him such leave of absence from the parish, from time to time, as he might deem beneficial to his health. This proposition was accepted by Mr. Dorset, and he continued his rectorship. At a meet ing of the Vestry, May 7, 1867, Rev. Dorset stated to them that he had accepted a call from the Cathedral at Chicago, and tendered his resignation of the rectorship of the parish, which was then accepted by the Vestry. In September of this year, it was resolved by the Wardens and Vestry men, that a call be extended to the Rev. Mr. Rafter to become the Rector of the parish, at a salary of $1,200, but at a subsequent meeting of the Vestry it was resolved that his salary be $1,500. Therefore the Rev. W. W. Rafter took charge of the parish, Sunday, September 29, 1867, and after remaining in the rectorship until May 23, 1868, he tendered his resignation to the Vestry, which was accepted. Subsequently, at a meeting of the Vestry in August, the Rev. John McNamara was invited to take charge of the parish, which invitation he accepted, and soon entered upon the duties of the rectorship. April 25, 1870, a communication from the Rector, relating to the enlarging of the church, was received and read to the Vestry, and W. R. Sill, S. L. Nevins and W. W. Crosby were appointed as a committee to consider the proposi- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 571 tion. This meeting adjourned to meet at the office of the Treasurer, and Mr. Nevins reported for the committee that the enlargement could be accomplished at an expense of $800. The whole matter was referred to the Building Committee, and May 9, 1870, it was voted to enlarge the church by an addition fifteen feet wide, extending the whole length of the building. August 5, 1870, the Rev. John McNamara tendered his resignation, to take effect September 1, and November 21 a call was extended to the Rev. W. P. Tenbroeck, who commenced his minis terial labors December 25. He presided over the parish until June 1, 1876, when he tendered his resignation to the Vestry, to take effect June 25, which they accepted. A call was extended to the Rev. Dr. A. H. Washburn, of Grace Church, Cleveland, Ohio, to become the Rector of the parish. It, however, is not known whether he had decided to accept the call or not, as he was killed in the appalling railroad accident at Ashtabula, Ohio, December 29, 1877. The following is a true copy of the letter received by the Vestry in relation to this : 607 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio, January 1, 1877. Dear Sirs — The questions raised by the call of your parish to the Rev. Dr. Washburn have been set at rest by the Providence of God. He was on the train wrecked at Ashtabula, and we have not succeeded as yet in finding him among either the living or the dead. As I know he intended to write to you, or else to start for La Crosse to-day, and as he was one whom I never knew to fail to fulfill his pledges, I feel as if I was best carrying out his own wishes in sending you these few lines written immediately after coming from the scene of disaster. Hoping that your parish may soon obtain its Rector, I remain Yours faithfully, Rev. George G. Carter. Rev. A. M. Lewis extended a proposition to the parish to become its Pastor for one year, commencing February 1, 1877, which was accepted, he to receive a salary of $1,500 per year. At a meeting of the Vestry, September 19, 1878, Rev. A. M. Lewis tendered his resignation, and was invited by the Vestry to continue until the following Easter, which invitation he accepted. Rev. Joseph De Forest, of Berlin, Wis., was called to the rectorship September 25, 1878, and entered upon his ministerial duties October 1, 1878, at a salary of $1,200 per year. April 16, 1881, Rev. De Forest tendered his resignation, and at this writing the parish is without a Rector. The following are the names of the officers of the church that have died during the time of their official duties : H. T. Rumsey was elected as a member of the Vestry in 1861, and served until his death in 1871. James Langdon was elected to the Vestry in 1867, and died a member of the Vestry in December, 1874. Seth Dean was elected a member of the Vestry Easter, 1868, and served until his death, September 16, 1875. Henry M. Hart was elected Vestryman in 1872, and died a member of the Vestry in February, 1877. St. Paul's Universalist Church — Was organized on the 21st day of June, 1865, at which time Leonard Lottridge, F. P. Metcalf, W. S. Hanscom, Edwin A. Tenney, G. C. Hixon, H. C. Heath, M. T. Burke and B. F. Montgomery being the incorporators of the First Universal ist Christian Society of La Crosse, met at the rooms of Henry C. Heath and elected the following officers: Edwin A. Tenney, President; Benjamin F. Montgomery, Vice President; M. T. Burke, Secretary ; G. Van Steenwyk, Treasurer. The society built a church in 1866, which was dedicated in the latter part of August of the same year. Rev. S. C. Bubcley was the first permanent Pastor, commencing his services on September 19, 1866, and remaining one year. He was followed by Rev. G. H. Deere, who was called by • the society October 22, 1867, and remained until September, 1871. Next came Rev. W. S. Ralph, being called by the society December 19, 1871, and commencing his labors in January, 1872, remaining until April, 1874. He was succeeded by Rev. L. W. Brigham, who was called April 12, 1874, and commenced his services in August of the same year, since which time he has been the presiding Pastor. The church is situated on the corner of Eighth and Cass streets, has a stone foundation and basement, while the upper part is constructed with brick. There are now between forty and fifty members in connection with the society. German Lutheran School.— At the time of the organization of the German Lutheran Church society, a school was instituted in connection with it, and was taught in the building 572 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. purchased by the society, on Fourth street, which besides being used as a place in which to keep their school, was also used as a church. The Pastors in their succession taught the school, until the arrival from Germany, in 1865, of Rev. Herman Kittel, who not wishing to take charge of it, Mr. Kertschmer was engaged as teacher. He, however, remained only a short time, and was followed by Mr. C. Pfnnd, who had charge of the school until the tendering of his resignation in the summer of 1874. He was succeeded by Henry Pieritz, who is the pres ent instructor. In 1880, the scholars having increased to so large a number, demanded more commodious quarters, so that a new schoolhouse was erected, and in the fall of the same year, an assistant teacher was engaged. There are now about one hundred scholars in attendance. The building is built of brick, in the same yard as the German Lutheran Church, facing Cass street. German Lutheran Society — Was organized in September, 1859. They purchased a small frame building on Fourth street which they used as a church. This building they afterward en larged and moved onto Fifth street, and after remaining there for some time it was again moved, this time onto' Cass street just east of Fifth. Their first Pastor was Rev. Fachtman, who remained until October, 1862, and was followed by Rev. C. F. Stark, who remained until September, 1865. Then came Rev. Herman Kittel direct from Germany. Under his pastoral care, the new church was erected on the corner of Fifth and Cass streets. In 1867, the foundation for their new church was laid. This was finished in 1869, and the dedicatory sermon was preached in it on the 21st of May of that year, by the Rev. Herman Kittel. In 1870, Rev. Kittel returned to Germany where he is now preach ing. He was followed by Rev. C. G. Reim, who is the present Pastor. The church structure is built of brick, at a cost of $16,000. In August, 1877, the build ing was struck by lightning, and damaged to the amount of $400. The society was organized with about forty members, and now contains 210. German Reformed. — A short time previous to 1865, the Rev. George Kurtzmann, a mis sionary resident of Sparta, came frequently to La Crosse and held services in an old schoolhouse. The German Lutheran and German Reformed as they exist at present, were once connected, and at this time formed one denomination, but in 1865 they were separated, and still remain so. The German Reformed Church was organized in April, 1865, with about twenty members. The church was built in the same year, and the dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. George Kurtzmann. Rev. Hanhart was the first permanent Pastor, and remaining here two years was succeeded by Rev. Ellyker, who was here one year. Rev. Romyers came next, remaining three years, and was followed by Rev. Huker, who also remained three years. Rev. Henry Roentyen the next, and is also the present Pastor ; has been here seven years. The church is built of stone, and situated on the southeast corner of Market and Fourth streets. The church now has about ninety members. Norwegian Lutheran Church. — The first step toward the establishing of a Norwegian Con gregation, was made by Rev. H. A. Stub, of Coon Prairie, who came here and preached in 1857. The church was, however, established in 1860, with only a few members, as follows : John Halverson, Charles B. Solberg, Halver Anderson (now in St. Peter), Rudolf Gripp, Tor- ger Torgenson and a few more. Rev. H. A. Stub was chosen Pastor, and remained until 1861. From 1861 until 1862, Prof. L. Larsen, of Half- Way Creek, La Crosse County, was Pastor of the church. Since 1862, J. B. Frich has been the Pastor, residing on Half- Way Creek until 1872, when he moved here, where he now resides. Until 1869, they held their services in old German Lutheran Church. In October of that year, they purchased the old Congregational Church on Fourth street, between Jay and King, together with a lot, for $2,500. The church is seventy feet long and about thirty feet wide, giving ample room for about 400 people. The first Norwegian services were held in November 7 of that year, J. B. Frich preaching the ser mon. In 1878 and 1879, Chaplain O. H. Lee assisted in conducting the services, and from 1879 to 1881, E. Borgen assisted as Chaplain. In January, 1871, the congregation started a Norwegian Lutheran Sabbath school, having now 120 children in regular attendance. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 573 In March, 1875, the congregation purchased a parsonage for their Pastor, on the southeast corner of Market and Seventh streets, now valued at $3,000. The congregation has now 300 members, and 175 communicants. In 1880, thev had 41 baptisms, 15 confirmations, 15 marriages and 14 deaths. Norwegian Lutheran Church, North La Crosse. — There was no regular congregation and services established there until 1875. J. B. Frich preached there occasionally since 1868, but the members belonged to the congregation in La Crosse. In 1873, they began the erection of a church, and on February 8, 1874, Rev. J. B. Frich preached the dedicatory sermon in it. The church is situated on the corner of Avon and St. James streets, and the church, together with the lot, is valued at $800. Has seats for 200 persons. J. B. Frich has always been the Pastor of this church. The first members were PL Dauchertsen, A. Fjelstad, C. O. Store, H. Simonson, J. Sol berg, F. H. Nordlien. The congregation includes now forty communicants. In 1880, there were 15 baptisms, 1 confirmation, 3 marriages, 3 deaths. A Sabbath school of 20 children. Anshe Chesed Congregation (Hebrew). — Organized in May, 1857, at the house of I. Cantrovitz. The first officers were L. Hirshheimer, President ; Isaac Tuteur, Vice President ; W. Scharpf, Secretary. Mr. Hirshheimer died about two years ago, while Mr. Tuteur is still an honored resident and member of that congregation. For a few years they prospered, but as their number of paying members, after a few 'years, was limited, they rather languished. For about five or six years the members thereof had what we would call a revival, and, under the present management, it is in a flourishing condition. The co-operation which some of the Jewish members have in those years accomplished, in any other denomination would be considered a great personal sacrifice. When we consider, even at this day, they have no more than about eighteen or twenty paying members, it is not sur prising that they have no regular paid minister, and are obliged to depend on the voluntary services of their members, generally I. Cantrovitz and A. Patz, to officiate at their religious cer emonies. The present officers are : G. Langstad, President ; H. Berger, Secretary ; Sigmund Gutt- man, Treasurer. The Roman Catholic Church. — The city of La Crosse had not yet been incorporated when Rev. W. Tappert, the first resident priest, arrived here ; he held divine service for the first time on the 24th of August, 1855. No church having yet been erected, the service was held in private buildings at first, and later on in the old court house. Rev. W. Tappert was not only the first resident priest of the city of La Crosse, but also of the entire county. Previously to his arrival, Rev. Father Gattier, the French Pastor at Prairie du Chien, Crawford County, had occasionally visited this place, and administered to the religious wants of the few Catholics then living on the "Prairie de La Crosse." Rev. W. Tappert commenced building a church at once, and in spite of poverty and other adverse circumstances, he finished it in 1856, precisely one year after his first service in La Crosse, on the 24th day of August. 1856, it was solemnly dedicated to divine service. The building was, of course, of frame ; of some 60x35, and situated on the northeast corner of Seventh street and Cameron avenue. It was named St. Mary's, and intended for all the Catholics in the entire county of La Crosse. What is now the city of La Crosse, had then about twenty-five Catholic families. Since the arrival of W. Tappert, the county of La Crosse has had always at least one resident priest, i. e., the Pastor of St. Mary's. By him also the Catholic families scattered all over the county were visited and attended. From 1855 to 1868, many a Pastor has been in charge of that church ; some of these staying here for several years, will still be known by many citizens ; the Rev. Father Etschmann, and the still better known Rev. M. M. Marco, who served as Pastor of St. Mary's from 1863 to 1868. It was he who, in the year 1867, was sent by the Governor of Wisconsin, Hon. Lucius Fairchild, as delegate of the State to the Exhibition in Paris, France. As early as 1856, a 574 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Sister's school was opened in the building contiguous to the church. This school, started then by a small number of men, has been kept up ever since. In 1863, the German-speaking Cath olics bought several lots on the southwest corner of Sixth and Main streets, and at once built the two-storied brick building, still extant there, for $8,000, on them. The Sisters' school was at once moved into this, which is still used for the same purpose. Meanwhile the number of Catholics has so much increased, that it was thought best to divide the one big congregation into two ; this was effected in 1863, and according to languages, viz., St. Mary!s congregation re tained all the English and French speaking and St. Joseph's all the German and Bohemian speaking families. The latter congregation resolved to build a church for their own use near their schoolhouse ; it was commenced in 1864, by laying the foundation, on the southwest cor ner of Sixth and Main streets ; owing to adverse circumstances, however, the work was discon tinued till 1869. In the meantime, another Reformed Catholic Church had been built in the east end of the county, in the town of Greenfield, known as "St. Joseph's on the Ridge." This church, a very simple log building, received its first stationary priest in 1867, by the name of Rev. Father Florentine, 0. M. Cp., and, excepting short intervals, has had one ever since. The old church was replaced by a new brick structure in 1870. It is a very substantial building, and, for a country church, also beautiful. In 1872, through the agency of Rev. P. Schmidt, then Pastor, the congregation built a schoolhonse, all of brick, worth about $4,500, and at once opened their parochial school. A new parsonage, of brick, worth about $2,500, was added the year follow ing. All these buildings were designed and erected by the architect, M. Joseph Limfelder, of La Crosse. Another Reformed Catholic Church was built in the town of Washington in 1871. It is a small structure, and of frame, and never has had a stationary priest, but is regularly visited by the priest from "St. Joseph's Ridge." The church is popularly known by the name of "St. Peter's on the Ridge." A new era opened for the Catholics of the city and county of La Crosse in 1868. Up to that year they had belonged to the Diocese of Milwaukee, then comprising the entire territory of the State of Wisconsin. In the above given year, the diocese was divided into three — Green Bay, La Crosse and Milwaukee — of which La Crosse embraced that part of the State which lies between the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers, with La Crosse as the resident place of its Bishop, and therefore named " Diocese of La Crosse." Its first Bishop was Rt. Rev. Michael Heiss, a most learned divine and universally highly-esteemed priest previously to his removal to La Crosse, President of the Milwaukee Priests' Seminary (see his biography in this work) ; was consecrated on the 6th day of September, 1868, in the Cathedral of Milwaukee. He came to La Crosse on his name's-day (September 29) of the same year, where he took up his residence in the old parsonage of St. Mary's. How wisely Pope Pius IX had acted by appointing him the first bishop of the new diocese was soon apparent. St. Mary's was still the only Catholic church in the city. He at once gave St. Joseph's congregation a priest of their own (Rev. H. Kampschroer), and encouraged them to build their intended new church, the foundation of which had been laid already, as we have seen above. The plans were revised, and the work re sumed as early in the spring of 1869 as the weather permitted. In 1870, on the first Sunday in October, the structure was finished as far as it is now, and solemnly dedicated by Very Rev. M. Kundig, of Milwaukee, Rt. Rev. Michal Heiss attending the Vatican Council at Rome. The church is a Gothic structure, and, when fully completed, will be a beauty among the churches of the Northwest. It is built of brick, and the size is 140x62. Hard times and other adverse circumstances have, up to date, prevented its entire completion. Aside from the cost of the lots on which it is built, more than $35,000 has been expended on the building — a sum of money altogether too big for the 200 families of the congregation to raise in two years. By means of the Bishop's most generous liberality and the incessant labor of Rev. H. Kampschroer, the Pastor, the debt was paid off in 1877. The same congregation put up a very spacious and solid parsonage in 1880. Headed and encouraged by their Pastor, Rev. P. Geyer, they commenced HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 575 work in July, and in November the house was already prepared for occupancy. The building is of brick, and situate a little west of the church. It has cost about $4,000. St. Mary's congrega tion had meanwhile not been idle either. Encouraged by their zealous Pastor, Rev. James Schwebach, who has been in charge of it ever since 1870, they built a spacious and substantial schoolhouse on the southwest corner of Seventh street and Cameron avenue, in 1872. Its size is 40x50, two stories high, built of brick, and has cost $5,000. Early in the spring of 1874, they commenced work on a new church, by which to replace the old frame building. It was completed as far as it is now in 1875, and solemnly dedicated to divine service by Bishop Heiss, on the 7th day of October. The church has retained the old familiar name, " St. Mary's." It is built of brick, in the Roman style, Mr. Joseph Leinfelder being the architect and builder. Its size is 44x115, and costs about $16,000, and, when fin ished, will be one of the neatest buildings for public worship in the city. The Bohemian Catholics being increased in numbers considerably (to about one humdred families), resolved to form a congregation of their own by the name of " St. Wencelaus," and, consequently, to build a church for themselves. Bishop Heiss favoring their plans, gave them a priest in the person of Rev. Leo Suchy. The church edifice was commenced in the summer of 1873, energetically pushed on, and the building fully completed in the next summer, when it was solemnly dedicated by Bishop Heiss. It was built of solid brick, 40x90, by Mr. Joseph Leinfelder, in the Roman style, and is sit uated on South Winnebago street, between Ninth and Tenth streets, and cost about $7,000. In the winter following, the congregation built also a schoolhouse, opened their parochial school at once, and by dint of great exertions have kept it up ever since. The schoolhouse is worth about $3,000. Right after, desiring to complete their necessary parish buildings, they put up a nice parsonage, at the cost of some $2,000. Both of these buildings are on the same lots on which the church is situated. In the summer of 1877, the Catholics of the Fifth Ward (North La Crosse), wishing to give their children an appropriate education,' bought the old public school building of that ward, moved it to lots previously bought for that purpose, fitted it up for use and at once opened a Sisters' School in it. Besides these buildings, put up for the different parishes of the city, and, therefore, for the immediate interests of the Catholics in and about the city, other buildings were erected more for the use of the entire diocese. The first and largest of this kind is St. Rosa de Viterbo's Convent, situated on east side of Ninth street, between Market and Winnebago streets. The corner-stone was laid early in October, 1870. The architect and builder, Mr. Joseph Leinfelder, pushed the work on so energetically that already in 1871, the Franciscan Sisters removed from Jefferson, Jefferson Co., Wis., into it, making this convent their mother house. The building was not put up at once as it is now, it was done by degrees ; first the main part, then the north wing and main chapel, and, finally, the south wing and adoration chapel. It is a magnificent, spacious and beautiful structure, and costs at least $75,000, furniture and ornamontal work not included. The Sisters are conducting the orphan houses of the diocese, the parochial schools in this city and diocese generally, and a number of such schools in other States. The convent was commenced and finished under the present Superioress, Mother Antonia. In 1875, Bishop Heiss, for the interest of his diocese, built an orphanage on South Win nebago street, west of the Bohemian Church. He finished it the same year at the cost of $6,000, and at once moved the orphans into it. Soon it was found too small to be convenient, and, therefore, another was built in Sparta, Monroe Co., Wis., where he housed the girls, the boys remaining in La Crosse. The next and last building put up by him in this city is the "Bishop's residence," on the corner of Eleventh and Ferry streets. Under great personal inconveniences, he had remained in the parsonage of St. Mary's until the buildings needed for the wants of his people in the city and diocese of La Crosse were supplied, and, financially, in a safe state. The residence he built for himself and successors is one of the best in the city, and admirably suits its purpose. It was built by Mr. Joseph Leinfelder, and costs $14,000, 576 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. lots, furniture, etc., exclusively. It was commenced in the summer and finished late in fall of 1877. The Catholics of the city and county of La Crosse suffered a great loss in 1880. Their dear Bishop, Rt. Rev. M. Heiss, who had been laboring for their interest so faithfully and suc cessfully, was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Milwaukee, by Pope Leo XIII, on the 14th day of March. It was done so at the special request of the Most Rev. Archbishop of Milwau kee, who desired to have his trusted friend around himself to share his arduous duties in his old age. Most Rev. M. Heiss retained, however, the administration of his former diocese until May 30, when the Holy Father appointed Rev. H. Kampschroer formerly Rector of St. Joseph's Cathedral its administrator. Up to the day of this writing (April 25), the vacant See of La Crosse has not, as yet, received another Bishop. Right Rev. Michael Heiss D. D., first Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse, was born in the Parish of Pfahldorf, Bavaria, on the 12th day of April, 1818. After frequent-. ing the parish school of his native place for five and a half years, he commenced the study* of Latin at the early age of nine and a half years. Having finished the classical course of studies with eminent success, he studied philosophy and theology for four years at Munich, Bavaria. The University of this city of learning- and art was then very famous, if not the most famous throughout Germany. Among his professors were the following well-known scientific men : Doctors Gorres, Dollinger, Mohler, Phillips, Schelling, Schubert, Neuman, Thiersch. For a part of these four years he lived in an Episcopal Seminary, where he was appointed Perfect of the students. On the 18th day of October, 1840, he was ordained Priest by the Right Rev. C. A. V. Reisach, then Bishop of Eichstadt, and afterward nominated Cardinal, in the church at Munchenburg, ; ten days afterward, on the 28th day of the same month, he said his first mass. For some time his Bishop kept him still in the seminary, to act as its Perfect ; he then sent him as assistant Pastor successively to Raitenbuch and Pleinfield. In September, 1842, Rev. M. Heiss made up his mind to emigrate to the New World, which resolution he carried out as soon as possible. On the 3d day of November, 1843, he embarked from Havre, France, and after a long and tedious voyage, he arrived in New Orleans, La., on the 18th day of December. Thence he proceeded at once to the Right Rev. Flaget, Bishop of Louisville, Ky., who ap pointed him Pastor of the " Mother of God " Church, in Covington, Ky. At that time appli? cation had been made to the Pope for the establishing of a Roman Catholic diocese in Wisconsin. Accordingly, the Diocese of Milwaukee, comprising the entire State of Wisconsin, was estab lished, with Milwaukee as the place of residence for the Bishop. The Rector of Holy Trinity's in Cincinnati, Ohio — the present venerable Archbishop of Milwaukee, Most Rev. M. Henni — was appointed its first Bishop. Rev. M. Heiss, whilst officiating in Covington, had made his acquaintance, which very soon grew into a friendship so true, that never afterward could be broken.. When the Breve, appointing Rev. M. Henni Bishop of Milwaukee, arrived from Rome, Rev. M. Heiss was easily prevailed upon to go along with him. In the spring of 1844, both started from Cincinnati, for the then far North, Wisconsin. It was a long and weary journey of precisely fourteen days; they arrived in Milwaukee on the 2d day of May, 1844. Here Rev. M. Heiss remained with Bishop Henni until 1850. He was appointed Rector of St. Mary's, the first German Catholic Church of that city, but he had also to attend to the religious wants of all the Catholics around Milwaukee. His district was very large ; it extended west as far as Jefferson County inclusively. When in the year 1849, the Bishops of the United States convened in a National Council, at Baltimore, Md., the Right Rev. M. Henni took Rev. M. Heiss along as his Theologian. There his liver complaint, from which he had been suffering already for some time, grew worse; he was advised to go to Europe for relief, which advice he acted upon in the next year. He stayed in Germany for two and a half years, meanwhile holding responsible positions. The liver complaint having left him entirely, he returned to the New World in 1852, in spite of the remonstrances of his many friends in Europe. We find him again in Milwaukee, as the Bish op's Secretary in 1852 and 1853. Just then Bishop Henni commenced building a Seminary, RESIDENCE of M. M. MANVILLE. No.22. S. EIGHTH— LA CROSSE.WIS. RESIDENCE of MONS ANDERSON. LA CROSSE.WIS. (JtJP! HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 579 in which to educate young men for the priesthood. Such an undertaking in those days was at once precarious and most difficult in every way to carry out. To make it successful, he ap pointed his trusted and able friend, Rev. M. Heiss its President. The years from 1853 to 1856, were spent in putting up the necessary buildings and perfecting other preparations. It was solemnly dedicated and opened on the 29th day of January, 1856. It became soon evi dent how wise a selection had been made in appinting Rev. M. Heiss, it President. His exten sive and deep knowledge in all the branches of learning, commonly taught in such an institute, his wonderful prudence and sagacity, his kind and tender heart, which invariably won the hearts of professors and students alike, fitted him extraordinarily well for that office. In this Seminary of St. Francis of Sales, some three miles south of Milwaukee, he spent a dozen of years. Very little of interest to the public can be said of his life there. It was a time of hard and contin uous work, of many a struggle against great difficulties, and even of many privations. Again, in the year 1866, the Bishops of the United States met in a National Council at Baltimore, and again Bishop Henni appointed Rev. M. Heiss his Theologian, but sent him there already before the opening of the Council, to perfect the necessary preliminaries. It was there and then, that this city of La Crosse was proposed as Episcopal Residence of a new diocese, named after it, and comprising all the territory of Wisconsin lying between the Wisconsin and Missis sippi Rivers. The Bishops knew of none better qualified to be its first Bishop than Rev. M. Heiss. They accordingly sent a petition to Rome, to appoint him. On the 3d day of March, 1868, Rome notified him, that the petition had been received favorably, and on July 10, the Breve creating him Bishop of La Crosse, arrived in the Seminary. He was consecrated Bishop in the Cathedral of Milwaukee, by Bishop Henni, September 6, 1868, and came to La Crosse on the 29th day of the same month, where he was enthusiastically received by his people. Since then his life has been linked to this city, and his history most closely connected with that of our Gateway City. On his arrival at La Crosse, he found but one frame chapel for all the Catholics of the uity and environs. It used to be well known by the name of St. Mary's. He at once pre pared the plans for a Cathedral, which he resolved to build on the southwest corner of Main and Sixth streets. The foundation for a church had been laid there already, two years pre viously by the German St. Joseph's congregation. Bishop Heiss changed it somewhat, com menced work at once in the spring of 1869, and laid the corner-stone on the 31st day of May of that year. The outside was finished as far as now in 1870, and heavy debts which had to be contracted to accomplish this, retarded the putting up of other buildings already contemplated by him. Meanwhile he had induced the Sisters of St. Francis, of Jefferson, Wis., to build a convent in this city, which was begun in 1870, and occupied by the Sisters in 1871. This stately building, on Ninth street, between Market and Winnebago streets, needs no description, it is too well known to our citizens. In 1875, he built an orphanage, situated on the south side of Winnebago street, between Ninth and Tenth streets, and gave it in charge to the motherly care of the Franciscan Sisters. During the next year another was built in Sparta, Monroe Co., Wis., into which he placed the orphan girls, keeping the boys in the one at La Crosse. Having thus secured a good home for the motherless and fatherless of his diocesans, he thought of building an appropriate one for himself. Up to that time he had been living in the old parsonage at St. Mary's. To this, it is true, a few rooms had been added ; neverthe less, it was not a proper residence for a Bishop ; it was both too small and too poor. For his new home he selected a place at some distance from the turmoil and noise of the business place, the block between Tenth and Eleventh streets, south side of Ferry street. He began work in spring, and with his usual energy pushing it on, it was completed and ready for occupancy late in the fall. It is a convenient, large and substantial building, perfectly fitted for its purpose. A small and neat chapel is added to it, mainly for the use of the Bishop, and partly for those living around. So well did Bishop Heiss manage his financial affairs, that on the buildings mentioned above there is no debt whatever, neither has he ever taxed his people for them. Those readers who know how the Catholics in this diocese are generally circumstanced pecuniarily, 580 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. will, no doubt, give him great credit for this. During his stay in La Crosse, we find him also in very honorable positions elsewhere. Early in October, 1869, he left for the Vatican Coun cil at Rome, where, though one of the youngest of Bishops, he was elected a member of the Board of Discipline (Congregatio Disciplina Ecclesiastica). In spite of his poor health, he remained at the council until it was discontinued in the summer of 1870. On the 30th day of May, 1875, he consecrated Rt. Rev. Rup. Seidenbusch, Bishop of Northern Minnesota. He was also selected to invest the Most Rev. Henni, who had been made Archbishop by the Holy Father, with the Pallium in the Cathedral of Milwaukee, on June 3, 1875. The present Bishop of Marquette, Mich., Rt. Rev. John Vertin, was consecrated by him September 14, 1879. Meanwhile, his friend Archbishop Henni had been growing old and feeble, his health failing slowly, but steadily, until he was no more able to attend alone to all his arduous duties. He therefore applied to the Pope for a coadjutor, and the one he desired most of all was Bishop Heiss, of La Crosse, his old trusted friend and co-worker. The Holy Father acceding to his wishes, appointed Bishop Heiss Archbishop of Hadrianople, i. p. i., and Coadjutor to the Most Rev. M. Henni, with the right of succeeding him (cum iure successions), on the 14th day of March, 1880. He retained, however the administration of the diocese. In his Grace, the Most Rev. M. Heiss, the city of La Crosse has lost one of its foremost and enterprising citizens even in a worldly point of view. During the twelve years he has lived here, he put up, or caused to be put up, buildings which are not only substantial and costly, but also an ornament to the city. Estimated at the lowest figures they are worth $175,000. Of the usefulness of each one of these buildings, no one that knows the religious and social conditions of his people, will entertain the least doubt. Few men, outside his people, became even slightly acquainted with him, and none intimately, his nature being not of a social tendency. This may be almost regretted, as his character, distinguished for kindness and amiability, profound learn ing and sound practical judgment, made his presence always charming. His private life was touchingly frugal and highly virtuous. Those who knew him best, admired his sterling virtues and unaffected simplicity and greatness of character ; they can only mourn over his loss. La Crosse County Bible Society. — On Sunday morning July 4, 1852, at the usual hour for divine service at the court house, an address was delivered by Mr. A. Lord, agent of the Ameri can Bible Society, in advocacy of the claims of that society. At the close of the address a meeting was called for the purpose of organizing a Bible Society in the county of La Crosse. Rev. John C. Sherwin was called to the chair, and W. W. Ustick appointed Secretary of the meeting. It having been resolved in due form to organize a County Society, a Constitution was adopted, and the following officers were elected : President, George Gale ; Vice President, Rev. W. H. Card; Secretary, Rev. J. C. Sherwin; Treasurer, Walter Brown; Directors, Samuel T. Smith, F. M. Rublee, B. S. Reppy ; Local Agents, as follows : Dr. H. Johnson, Mrs. J. C. Sherwin, La Crosse Village ; Rev. F. Walrath, Sparta and Little La Crosse settle ment; Dr. A. M. Hill, Fleming Creek Valley; George Bachelder, Trempealeau; Mr. Viets, Viets and Segar settlement; Mr. Valentine, Black River settlement; Mr. S. Smith, La Crosse Prairie and Mormon Cooley. The society being thus organized, an opportunity was given for persons to contribute funds, and $70.20 was raised. The society has continued the good work that began in the year 1852, as recorded above. It keeps in its depository a great variety of the publications of the Ameri can Bible Society, not only in English, but in German, Welsh, Norwegian, Swedish and Dutch languages. These Bibles and Testaments are sold at cost of production to all who wish to buy, and are freely given to those who cannot afford to purchase. The county has been carefully canvassed several times for the purpose of supplying all who were willing to receive copies of the Sacred Scriptures. The Bible Depository is at the store of Mr. Geo. Howard, No. 36 Main street, La Crosse. The officers of the society for the year 1881 are as follows : President, J. P. Toms ; Vice President, George McMillan ; Secretary, William W. Jones ; Treasurer, George Howard ; Directors, W. W. Ustick, John James, J. Spier Colman, D. D. McMillan. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 581 THE LA CROSSE BAR ASSOCIATION. The memoirs of the early days of the La Crosse bar are not altogether devoid of interest, though there is not much either excruciatingly ridiculous or movingly pathetic in connection therewith. Prior to 1850, lawyers and the judiciary were comparatively unknown commodities in the sum of human happiness or necessity in the settlement at that date beginning to assume promi nence and importance. During the earlier years of the building-up of La Crosse, there were few remedies to enforce that the parties interested would appeal to law ; the only remedy for •violations of trusts or assaults upon life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness enjoyed by a settler, was the pistol, and it often happened that their arbitrament was decided by the question of who could draw the quickest. This was the obtaining rule previous to the influx of population in 1850, and became the exception thereafter, such exception growing less frequent as year suc ceeded year. In 1850-51, Judge Wiram Knowlton, an able jurist and eccentric officer presided in the old court house in the public square. His terms were unfrequent, and the causes upon the calender exceedingly limited. In the latter year, Edwin Flint and Charles T. Jonsen 'became practitioners before the bar of a court established with the separation of La Crosse from Crawford County for judicial purposes. During 1852, it is not believed that no accessions were made to the La Crosse bar, but in the succeeding year, the arrivals were comparatively numerous. In this year came W. H. Tucker who had practiced in Milwaukee previously, also William Denison, who was murdered in the Mormon Cooley six years subsequently, accompanied by James I. Lyndes. When these gentlemen reached La Crosse, they were unable to decide whether to remain or continue to St. Paul. They were, during the day, at the New England Block, and after a canvass of the situa tion, resulted in their agreeing to determine the question by the flipping of a coin. This was done, and they established themselves in La Crosse. Carson Graham, who died at Viroqua in Vernon County within a year past, came also in 1853. Between this period and 1860, many were added to the La Crosse bar, who have since ^become prominent personally, professionally, and as officers of the State and nation. Among these were Angus Cameron, present United States Senator, who arrived here in September, 1859, in company with Alonzo Johnson, and organized the firm of Johnson k Cam eron ; Alexander Cameron ; Hugh Cameron, at present Judge of the Probate Court, and others. In 1858, the Hon. George Gale presided, with J. W. Losey as District Attorney ; James W. Polleys, Sheriff; Leonard Lottridge, Clerk of the Court, and John A. Walker, Recorder of Deeds. The bar then included the firms of Dennison & Lyndes, Johnson & Cameron, Hull & McMulIen, Tucker, Burton & Morse, Graham & Randall, Flint. & Stogdill, Stevens, Hubbard & Loomis. These were supplemented by D. G. Shillock, who was City Attorney ; C. R. Rogers, a cultivated gentleman and finished advocate, who came to La Crosse from the East, and remained until the breaking-out of the war. Daniel Reed Wheeler, Charles G. Hanscome, who was killed in 1866 by Indians, while en route to California, and possibly some others. Judge Gale was an eminent lawyer, an arbitrary and inflexible officer, whose idea of penalty for contempt is illustrated by the following incident : During the April term of court, 1859, on a cold day, the bar was gathered about the stove in the old court house, each waiting his turn to submit pleas and answers for adjudication to his lionor on the bench. Among these were Chase A. Stevens and E. S. B. Vail, the latter a land speculator from New York ; but a man of unquestioned pluck and quick to resent an insult. During a conversation then in progress, Vail dropped a remark which Stevens appropriated to himself, and retorted. The lie was passed, when Vail promptly knocked Stevens down, causing ¦considerable excitement and uproar. When this was at its height, Judge Gale was heard from, and, after a brief voluntary 582 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. commanding order, directed Sheriff Polleys to " remove the men to an open field, where they can have a free fight," resumed a consideration of the case on hearing. The lawyers, in those days, not only practiced in La Crosse and adjacent counties in Wis consin ; but extended their field of observations in a professional sense to the counties of Olm- stead, Fillmore, Houston, etc., in Minnesota. In I860. A. W. Bishop and B. F. Montgomery became identified with the La Crosse Bar. Maj. Johnson, of the firm of Johnson & Cameron, died, and the firm became Bishop & Johnson. In 1861, the number of practicing lawyers was reduced by those who enlisted for the war. These included A. W. Bishop, W. H. Tucker, Alexander Cameron, G. M. Woodward and others. During the winter, the Black River litigation, a causes celebre, involving the title to 120 acres of land upon which the city of Black River Falls has since been built, was compromised and settled. About this time, Judge Flint succeeded Judge Gale, and, from this date to 1870, M. P. Wing, at present a State Senator from La Crosse ; W. S. Burroughs, J. A. Kellogg, B. F. Bry ant, Charles L. Hood and H. M. Safford removed hither. D. H. Johnson, now of Milwaukee, and Lieut. Gov. Bingham came in 1861, but remained a brief period. Since 1870, the number of practitioners has been increased by the arrival of T. J. Whitby, G. C. Prentice, Mills Tour- telotte and W. E. Howe settled here, and, with many of those mentioned, and those who havo graduated from offices established in La Crosse, compose the present bar of the city and county. In 1868, Romanza Bunn was elected to succeed Judge Flint, and remained as Circuit Judge until appointed to the Federal Judiciary. He was followed by the Hon. A. W. Newman, of Trempealeau County, who is still presiding in the circuit composed of Clark, Jackson, Trem pealeau, La Crosse and Monroe Counties. The Bar Association was organized during the year 1866, at a meeting convened in the office of Montgomery & Wing, on Main street, corner of Second, at which Hon. Hugh Cameron presided, and M. P. Wing officiated as Chairman. The objects of the assembling were to promote the interests of the profession, and create a fraternity of feeling among its members. A constitution was adopted, also a code of by-laws, and an election of officers resulted in the choice of Hugh Cameron, President ; James I. Lyndes, Treasurer, with M. P. Wing, Secretary. The present membership is composed of the La Crosse bar generally ; the officers, Hugh Cameron, President; M. P. Wing, Secretary and Treasurer, and meetings are convened upon call. BANKS AND BANKING. The Batavian Bank — Is the oldest existing banking institution of the city. It was or ganized in November, 1861, now nearly twenty years ago, under the State banking law of Wis consin, by Mr. G. Van Steenwyk, then State Bank Comptroller, who became its President, and has ever since been continued in the same office. Mr. E. E. Bentley has been an employe of the bank for upward of fifteen years, during the last twelve years as its Cashier, and having served in every capacity, has great experience in the details as well as in the general management of the business of the-bank. The bank has, during all these eventful years of varying prosperity and disaster, weathered all financial storms unharmed, and invariably enjoyed a large share of the business patronage of the city and surrounding country. It justly attributes its success to careful administration, combining conservative management with as great liberality to its cus tomers as sound business principles do admit. Its large and prosperous business is doubtless the tribute which an appreciative community pays to its fidelity to sound principles. During the past years, it has more than once stood a bulwark between the safety of the community and commercial disaster, always recognizing that it owes a higher duty to its patrons and the com munity than to its stockholders. Its principal owners have from the organization been its man agers, giving their personal attention to its affairs. Trained for the business, with years of ex perience, the bank stands by their efforts to-day with unblemished record and in the enjoyment of extraordinary prosperity. It has a capital of $50,000 and a surplus of $10,000, which the HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 583 managers stand ready to increase, if at any time the business interests of the city, in their judg ment, demand it. Its deposits are ranging between $400,000 and $500,000. Prospering as it does, it hopes confidently, following its honorable and straightforward course, to continue in the enjoyment of the confidence experienced during so many years, as one of the leading financial institutions of the Northwest, having been recognized as such for many years, not only in this State and country, but also in Europe, where it has extensive and valuable connections. The La Crosse National Bank — Was established and began business January 3, 1877, with a paid-up capital of $100,000, and is regarded as one of the responsible monetary corpora tions in the State. The bank pays no interest on deposits, deeming this policy preferable to the declaration of much larger dividends resulting from an increase of deposits by the payment of interest thereon, as it renders the bank much stronger, and absolutely safe in case of panic. Less hazard and less profits is the motto of the directors ; security to depositors their aim. The bank has now about $20,000 in surplus and undivided profits, and is doing a prosperous and in creasing business. The present officers are : G. C. Hixon, President ; G. R. Montague, Vice President; S. S. Burton, Cashier; G. C. Hixon, B. B. Healy, G. R. Montague, George Ed wards, Charles Michel, John Pamferm and S. S. Burton, Directors — all being resident of La Crosse, not borrowers of money, and representing a capital estimated at $1,000,000. Holley Sf Borreson. — The banking house of Holley & Borreson, established July, 1879, is composed of John M. Holley and Emil N. Borreson. Beside transacting a general banking busi ness, the house effects first-class fire insurance, and sells passage tickets to and from all parts of Europe, in which latter department they have already built up one of the most flourishing and reliable agencies in the Northwest. Both members of the firm are in the prime and vigor of life, and by energy, prudence and sterling integrity, are establishing such a business and repu tation as entitle them to a prominent place among the sound financial houses of the city. RAILROADS. The Chicago, Milwaukee $¦ St. Paul Railroad. — The Legislature of Wisconsin, while the present flourishing State was yet a Territory, early took cognizance of the inestimable value of railroad facilities, and suggested measures which have since crystallized into corporations. They are such that for wide-spread influence, substantial resources, expensive and superior improve ments and other features indispensable to the excellence of any undertaking as a condition prec edent to success, cannot be surpassed by the internal improvements, completed or in process of construction, in any State in the Union. The present corporation was chartered April 2, 1852, for the construction of a road from Milwaukee to La Crosse. Timothy Burns, S. T. Smith and B. B. Healey, of La Crosse, and others, Commissioners. Direct communication between the lakes and the Mississippi was sought at an early period in the history of Western railway under takings, but the project existed in the fertile brains of men without capital, and it was not until "after many days " that its complete fruition was realized. During the year in which the corporation was chartered, a meeting of the stockholders was convened at La Crosse, at which the company was organized, and Byron Kilbourn elected Presi dent. Early in the ensuing spring, the work of surveying the line of road was commenced, starting at Chestnut street, in the city of Milwaukee. The road was generally regarded, both at home and abroad, as the most important venture in the State. Its direction from Milwaukee to La Crosse was esteemed by surveyors as peculiarly eligible, and as the future grand trunk line of the West, and, when its completion was reached with tracks diverging from the main road and traversing different parts of the best sections of the State, the conclusion seemed irresisti ble that the business would become immense. With this promise in view, little time was lost in completing preparations for work, but every influence was employed to insure the early comple tion of the road. During the year 1853, the survey to Kilbourn City was completed, and, late in 1854, the grading of the road to Germantown, its junction with the Fond du Lac Railway, was finished, during which year the Milwaukee & La Crosse was consolidated with the Milwaukee, Fond du 584 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Lac & Green Bay Road, an organization chartered in 1853. The work upon the road com pleted was of the heaviest character, costing an average of $20,000 per mile, with deep cuts, and grading in some places thirty-five feet to the mile. Another incident which rendered the work costly was the nature of the ground, the entire eighteen miles being through dense timber with a sub-soil of hard-pan, a composition of fine gravel blended with blue clay, which, in most cases, was proof against plowing and blasting, and had to be loosened by manual labor. In fact, in many of the sections its removal was attended with more labor than the removal of solid rock, as will be realized when the statement that a cubic foot of the solid pan weighed 130 pounds. Up to December, 1854, $600,000 had been expended upon the road, raised from cash sub scriptions, city bonds and farm mortgages. At this time, two-thirds of the grading from the junction to Horicon had also been completed, and four miles of track from the depot in the Second Ward, Milwaukee, laid. The winter of 1854-55 was passed in the labors available at that season of the year, and the work was pushed with all possible expedition. With the spring, the force of its various departments was increased as necessity demanded, and a most gratifying progress was made throughout the working season. By August 1, 1855, a section of track twenty -five miles in length had been laid, and a large number of men were employed to prepare the gradings for track to Hartford, thirty-four miles west of Milwaukee. At the same time, the grading between Noyes' Corners and Horicon was progressing rapidly, and proposals were advertised for the con struction of the road from the former point to Newport on the Wisconsin River, but eighty miles from La Crosse. The prospects of the company, as will be apparent from these citations, were most brilliant, and those to be benefited by the improvement took courage in the outlook. This feeling was further augmented when, early in September, 1855, the first train on the La Crosse & Milwaukee road started from the latter city and proceeded on an excursion to Schles- ingerville, a station twenty-six miles west of the Cream City. At this point, it would seem proper to recapitulate the work accomplished, as also what the corporation was destined to accomplish. Further west, beyond Schlesingerville is Hartford, and thence passing through a country rich in mineral and agricultural resources, Horicon is reached, where trains from Fond du Lac, from Stevens Point, Berlin and Waupun connect. Pushing westward again, the railroad reaches Beaver Dam and Fox Lake, and stretching over Portage Prairie, halts at Portage City, thence toward the great river of the West, debouching at La Crosse. During the remainder of the year, work was pushed with surprising energy, more indeed than at that period was usually manifested in the progress of similar enterprises. Its Board of Managers was composed of prominent, influential and energetic business men, who were determined that the road should stand second to none in the country, and in their efforts they were ably seconded by W. R. Sill, long a resident of La Crosse, a gentleman of practical expe rience and unlimited enterprise, to whom the corporation is greatly indebted for the manner in which his important line of duties was fulfilled. On September 12, 1855, the company ran an excursion train to Hartford, thirty-four miles from Milwaukee, bringing the road to a part of the route whence it subsequently drew large amounts of revenue from the well-developed farming country adjacent, as also from the iron regions contiguous thereto. The advent of the road into the villages mentioned was at once felt, both at those points and in Milwaukee. It afforded producers facilities for the ship ment of their grains and stock, of which but a comparatively brief period before they had scarcely ventured to dream, and their employment of these advantages was in no degree diminished by the knowledge that to their helping hands and the aid by them furnished in its incipiency the railroad was indebted for its success. The winter of 1855-56 witnessed its completion to Horicon, as also the survey of the road to La Crosse. The business had begun to increase after the first train left Milwaukee in Au gust, the earnings up to January 1, 1856, amounting to $32,134.18, and the estimated receipts for that year to $400,000. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 585 In December, 1856, the directors submitted a detailed report of the cost, condition and re sources of the road, which went very fully into the operations of the company for the year then closing. The road was then running to Fox Lake, but completed to Portage, a distance of ninety- five miles from Milwaukee, or nearly half way to the Mississippi River. Contracts for the build ing of the road from Portage to La Crosse, it was contemplated, would be executed in January next ensuing, and the line completed in eighteen months thereafter. The results arrived at by the circular, it may be stated briefly, that the company, when its divisions were completed en tire, would own upward of 400 miles of track, affording ample business to pay good dividends, even if built in the usual way by stock and debt, but which, by the sale of lands granted by the State, would eventually cost the stockholders nothing, or at worst 33^ per cent, and paying 20 per cent dividends on par. To the residents of La Crosse the intelligence of the early completion of the road was gratifying. They began to feel that the day was not far distant when they should be in daily communication with the rest of mankind ; when mails would be received and digested before the contents had become not less stale and flat than unprofitable ; when they would be able to pro cure articles of consumption at rates that were not absolutely ruinous, and when the city should assume that position among the cities of Wisconsin to which it was entitled by virtue of its po sition on the western boundary of the State and on the Father of Waters. Its com pletion would make the Root River or Southern Minnesota project one of vast importance; it would hasten the commencement and completion of the Mineral Point and La Crosse & Prairie du Chien roads, and resolve the city of La Crosse into the great distributing point, commer cially and otherwise, for the Upper Mississippi country, and for a large portion of the vast ter ritory of the West and Northwest for all coming time. It would invite the attention of Eastern capitalists seeking investments in business and manufacturing, to the position and advantages of La Crosse, and accomplish works in the history of the city then in the perspective, but which have since been realized. Early in 1857, the surveys of the western division of the road, extending from Portage to La Crosse, were sufficiently advanced to justify putting that line under contract upon favorable terms, with the understanding that the same should be completed by October 1, 1858. The same year, the cars began running from Milwaukee to New Lisbon, one day's .travel from La Crosse; the contract for work on the line to Tomah was executed and labors commenced, after the completion of which the route to the Mississippi was regarded as comparatively easy. But this was not accomplished until the undertaking had been subjected to difficulties and embarrass ments invariably the attendant concomitant of enterprises of value and importance. The affairs, it was claimed, had been mismanaged, much money sacrificed in usurious loans and sales of stocks as collaterals, etc., and other sins of commission and omission been endured, which had retarded the building of the road, affected the public confidence, and entailed incalculable though not permanent injury. In March, 1857, W. R. Sill, of La Crosse, was appointed Engineer of the Western Divi sion, and at once made a survey of the route between Tomah and the river, which was adopted, and the road located in harmony with his report. The reputation of the appointee as a prac tical business man had the effect of renewing the confidence of friends of the road west of Portage, and it was through his exertions and influence that the undertaking reached a period within the time promised by its managers. Work on the La Crosse end was commenced early in April, 1858, and little delay was experienced in the grading between the city and the tunnel, distant about forty miles. Then it was that "croakers" and the limited army which, upon all occasions, is forced to a conclusion diametrically the opposite of popular, were forced to acknowl.- edge that the road was a reality, and the city of La Crosse its western terminus, where the traffic and trade of a new country would concentrate in seeking an outlet to Eastern markets. As this irresistible fact became assured with succeeding days, its effect found expression in the rise of land values, influx of capital, increase in the number and value of improvements, and other features inseparable from its existence. Nor was this confined to La Crosse alone. The sur- 586 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. rounding country gave evidence of the healthy effects produced by the enterprise of man. Old towns were born again and rehabilitated in the garments of an advanced civilization ; settlements were improvised by the wayside, grew into villages and have since become beautiful spots, dot ting the landscape of Western Wisconsin with colors of never-ending fascination. The wisdom and labors of men in this work of improvement reached far forward into the future, and to-day's sun, as it dawns upon a city glorying in the sublime promise of a prophetic infancy, it also reflects upon the fruit of a loom the warp and woof of which was woven amid the events of a quarter century agone. Early on October, 1858, the road was completed to La Crosse, the formal opening occurring on the 14th of that month, and being attended by guests from all parts of the country, who were received and entertained by the military, fire and civic associations, after which the trip was continued to St. Paul by steamers. Selah Chamberlain, into whose hands the road passed as lessee September 27, 1857, con tinued to operate it as such until 1860, when he surrendered control to Bronson k Suiter, the Trustees of the second mortgage bondholders. At that time, an order had been made in the United States District Court, appointing Hans Crocker Receiver of the division from Portage to La Crosse ; he was subsequently appointed to a similar capacity on the Eastern Division, tak ing possession of the entire road June 11, 1860. He remained in charge for three years, when the Western Division was transferred to the Milwaukee & St. Paul, a corporation organized May 5, 1863, by Isaac Seymour, Horace Galpin, David H. Hughes, William P. Gould and George Smith, of New York, and Ashael Finch and William H. White, of Milwaukee. In 1865, the route from La Crosse to Winona was surveyed by H. I. Bliss, at the instance of citizens of the latter city. In 1867, the Winona cut-off was built by the Chicago & North- Western, and used by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Companies until 1872, when the latter built the line through Minnesota, hence to St. Paul, and has since utilized that branch in conjunction with their line to Portage, Milwaukee and Chicago. The Southern Minnesota Division. — Those conversant with the fa.cts aver that there is no enterprise or interest at present existent to which La Crosse owes so much of its prosperity, both past and present, as the Southern Minnesota Railroad. It is this which enables merchants to supply the rich country through which the road passes, making La Crosse its business town and capital. The road is essentially a La Crosse enterprise, the plan of its building having orig inated with Col. T. B. Stoddard, a pioneer citizen, and first Mayor of the city. He intended La Crosse should be the eastern terminus, the depot located in the southern part of the city, with a bridge crossing directly to the Minnesota shore from Isle La Plume, the western terminus to be at some point on the Missouri River, in Dakota. This route was deemed feasible and valuable, and the projectors of the enterprise secured not only the encouragement, but also the co-operation of all to whom the plans were submitted. As a result of the efforts thus briefly cited, the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Minnesota adopted an act providing for the incorporation of the Root River Valley & Minnesota Railroad Company, bearing date March 2, 1855. Edward Thompson, Samuel McPhail, James Smith, Edward Bell, Ole Knudson and others were named as corporators, and clothed with such privileges and immunities as belong to similar prerogatives. The same act provided for the election of officers when $50,000 should have been sub scribed to the stock of the corporation, and 2 per cent paid thereon ; for the purpose of comply ing with this provision, the incorporators convened on July 4 following, when the charter was accepted, and subscription books opened. At that comparatively early period *n the history of railroad building in the West, grants of land and other evidences of national and State liberality were sought for as eagerly as at subsequent periods, and employed by these struggling enterprises with results equally as bene ficial, on the whole, as accrued to those which have since obtained with the gigantic corporations that now control the routes from sea to sea. In 1857, Congress granted about 6,000,000 of acres of land in trust, to aid in the con- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 587 struction of certain roads, the Southern Minnesota among the number. This company, being without money or credit, received its proportion of the lands thus donated. But they only had a prospective value ; they would not build railroads, and bankers would not advance a dollar upon them even as security. On the 23d of May, 1857, the corporate name of the road was changed, and on the 17th of June thereafter, an election of officers was held, and the survey of part of the route was made. In the meantime, the panic of 1857 had set in, and thousands of men out of employ ment were congregated in the large cities, demanding bread or blood. This was the condition of affairs when the Legislature met that winter. A proposition was submitted to that body, suggesting that if the State would extend her aid, in the form of bonds, to these railroad companies, to the amount of $5,000,000, and take in return a loan or mort gage upon their lands, road-beds, charters, franchises, etc., as an indemnity against loss, that with these bonds the companies could go into the market and borrow money ; the roads would be built, the lands would become marketable, and the financial stress of the State generally re lieved. The matter looked plausible, and, to the end that it might be brought about, an act was passed, amending the Constitution, by which the Governor was authorized to issue and de liver to companies in which the land grant was vested, special bonds of the State, to an aggre gate amount not exceeding the amount suggested in the proposition above quoted. In the following spring, the amendment, after a full and complete hearing, was submitted to the people, and adopted almost unanimously. With this encouragement, the companies commenced work, and on June 30, 1858, contracts were concluded with Selah Chamberlain & Co. for the grading of fifty miles of the road west of La Crescent, the company having hypothecated its road-bed, franchise, equipments, in exchange for State bonds issued in accordance with the provisions of the act cited. When these auxiliaries had been procured for the road, the belief was indulged that the work of securing capital, and the identity of moneyed interests in the building would be attended with little difficulty. But the opposite of this was true. The effects of the panic had begun to manifest themselves more pronouncedly, paralyzing very many enterprises of a similar charac ter throughout the country, and discouraging ventures in every channel of traffic or improve ment. Besides this, Eastern capitalists claimed to have been deceived by corrupt Western corporations, and fought shy of overtures made them to aid in their building. As a consequence, it was found impossible, by brokers, to introduce the State bonds on the market, or secure any aid in Wall street, for the construction and operation of the Southern Minnesota or Root River Railroad. In this emergency, work was suspended, and the road passed into the control of the State, by which it was held inoperative, quiescent, for several years. Finally, with the coming of more prosperous times, the State decided to procure the build ing of the road, and, with a view to that end, " The Southern Minnesota Railroad Company " was chartered by an act of the Minnesota Legislature, the incorporators named in the charter being substantially the same as those acting in the first instance. The act was approved March 4, 1864, and conveyed to the persons named therein the road-bed, right of way and land grant, which had belonged to the old Root River Valley and Southern Minnesota Companies, valued in the aggregate at $558,000. The charter and grant of lands having been restored to the original movers, the work of securing capital and associating influential aid was sought and obtained, when the building of the road proper was re-commenced. The first link was constructed in 1865, and, in February of that year, the second land gran- from the State to this company was made, granting four sections per mile, commencing twentyt seven miles from the Mississippi River, and extending to the west boundary of the State. This became the base of a more extended work ; and, in 1866, another ten miles of the road was added, when the third and most important land grant was made by the State for the use of this company. It was dated July 4, 1866, and gave ten sections per mile from the town of Hokah, Houston County to the State line, entitling the company, with the grant of February 588 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 16, 1865, to fourteen sections for each mile constructed, a quantity far more than sufficient to build and equip the road. In 1867, the road reached Rushford, thirty miles from Grand Crossing ; and, in 1868, Lanesboro became the temporary terminus. During these years, the traffic of the road was, of course, confined to the country immediately tributary to Root River ; but, with every foot of rail, the expansive power of the road increased fourfold, and the efforts to secure capital to push the road further west were amply successful. In this connection, it should be stated that La Crosse contributed $50,000 toward building the road, at a time when it was creeping with the feeble tread of infancy up the narrow valley of Root River. During the winter of 1869-70, the gap between Lanesboro and Ramsay was in part graded and prepared for iron, which was immediately laid ; and, in the fall of the latter year, the track was in running order from Grand Crossing to Wells, a distance of 147J miles. The golden gate to the wealth of Southern Minnesota was thus swung open to La Crosse, settling her commercial and manufacturing importance for all time. The event was celebrated with becoming formality, and 600 excursionists were welcomed to the Gateway City, at the Opera House, in appropriate and eloquent remarks by Mayor Rodolf, Charles Seymour, Col. Thompson and others. Later, it was completed to Winnebago City ; but, as years advanced, financial and other troubles crowded upon the company with the usual results. The work of extending the road westward was suspended, and came to an abrupt termination ; the stock depreciated in value ; foreclosure suits were instituted and prosecuted ; a Receiver was appointed, and its outlook was anything but promising. Fortunately for La Crosse, however, it finally fell into the hands of careful and honest men, and they managed it with an ability rarely witnessed in like cases. Its revenues increased ; its stock appreciated in value, and its stability became undoubted. Under these circumstances, it is not singular that strenuous efforts should be put forth by several of the larger railroad corporations, notably the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, to secure possession ' of so important, vigorous and promising a line as the Southern Minnesota. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy sought to secure a controlling interest in it, so as to operate it in connection with the Clinton, Dubuque & Minnesota Railroad. This arrangement, if carried out, would necessarily work serious injury to the business of La Crosse. It would transfer the eastern terminus of the Southern Minnesota to the other side of the river, whence all its freight for Chicago and other points would be forwarded to destination by the roads indi cated above. In fact, if this arrangement had been perfected, it would scarcely have been nec essary for either the Southern Minnesota or the Clinton, Dubuque & Minnesota to run its trains into this city. When it became known, therefore, that so powerful a corporation as the Chicago, Burling ton & Quincy was seeking to gain control of the Southern Minnesota, all citizens who under stood the circumstances felt grave apprehensions in regard to the issue of the negotiation. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway was not idle, however, and its management, alive to the importance of the Southern Minnesota as a branch and feeder, entered with spirit into the contest for its possession. Its stock was purchased as it was offered for sale or could be bought, and now the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, a corporation that stands well forward among the most powerful in the country, and one that the whole State feels a pardon able sense of pride in, secured a majority of the stock about June 1, 1880, and with it the ulti mate control of the Southern Minnesota Railway. This arrangement was a source of genuine felicitation to La Crosse, insuring, as it did, an indefinite continuance of the increasing service of the Southern Minnesota Railway to the city. It makes that road another spoke in the iron radius which is rapidly securing for La Crosse the distinction of hub or center of a vast railroad system. It knits more closely to this side of the river the interests not alone of the Southern Minnesota Railway, but also of the Clinton, Du- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 589 buque & Minnesota. It is, in short, an arrangement which will contribute to the improvement of business in La Crosse, and which will not be without effect in adding to the reputation of the city as a distributing point, thus enhancing the general estimation of its eligibility as a location for manufacturing enterprises. This city remains the headquarters of the general offices of the company. The Dubuque Division — Was purchased from the Chicago, Clinton, Dubuque & Minnesota corporation in February, 1881, and has since been operated by the St. Paul Company. The road was commenced in October, 1870, and grew out of a desire on the part of Dubuque to con nect that section with points in Minnesota, as far north as St. Paul. The necessity of this me dium of communication was apparent to all, though it was not until discriminations made by the Illinois Central against Dubuque became apparent, that a decision was reached. It resulted in the creation of a company whose object was the building of a road along the west bank of the Mississippi to Minnesota, with a branch extending south, and to be known as the Dubuque, Bellevue k Mississippi road, having its terminus at Chicago. On October 9, 1870, ground for the former road was broken at Eagle Point near Dubuque, and in the following spring, operations or •lie Dubuque & Mississippi route begun. Some time after, arrangements were concluded with tne Chicago, Burlington & Quincy road, and the cor porate name of the Dubuque & Mississippi was changed to the Chicago, Clinton & Dubuque, with a capital of $1,500,000, and the Dubuque & Minnesota to the Clinton, Dubuque & Minne sota, with a nominal capital of $70,000,000. In the fall of 1871, the roads were consolidated; in 1873, it was purchased under fore closure proceedings by the bondholders, re-organized as the Chicago, Clinton, Dubuque & Minn esota Railroad, and completed the same year to Clinton and La Cresent with a branch up Tur key River to Elport. It was operated by this organization until February, 1881, when, as stated, it was disposed of to the Milwaukee & St. Paul. Chicago $ North- Western. — The Territorial Legislature of 1848 chartered the " Madison & Beloit Railroad Company," with authority to build a railroad from Beloit to Madison only. In 1850, by an act of the Legislature, the company was authorized to extend the road to the Wis consin River and to La Crosse, and to a point on the Mississippi River near St. Paul, as well as from JanesviUe to Fond du Lac. Its name was changed by legislative authority to the " Rock River Valley Union Railroad Company." In 1851, the line from JanesviUe not being pushed as the people expected, the Legislature of Illinois chartered the " Illinois & Wisconsin Railroad Company," with authority to consolidate with any railroad in Wisconsin. In 1855, an act of the Wisconsin Legislature consolidated the Illinois and Wisconsin Companies with the Rock River Valley Union Railroad Company, and the new organization took the name of the " Chi cago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad Company." In 1854, and previous to the consolida tion, the company had failed and passed into the hands of the bondholders, who foreclosed and took stock for their bonds. The old management by A. Hyatt Smith and John B. Macy was superseded, and William B. Ogden was made President. Chicago was deeply interested in reaching the Upper Mississippi region, then being peopled rapidly, by a line of railroad to run through Madison to St: Paul, in Minnesota. Its favorite road was started from Chicago on the wide (six feet) gauge. This was changed to the usual (four feet eight and one-half inches) width, and the work was vigorously pushed, reaching JanesviUe in 1855. The partially-graded line on a direct route from JanesviUe to Madison was abandoned. In 1852, a new charter was obtained, and the "Beloit & Madison Railroad Company" was organized, to build a road from Beloit via JanesviUe to Madison. A subsequent amendment to this charter left out JanesviUe, and the Beloit branch was pushed through to Madison, reaching that city in 1864. The "Galena &. Chicago Union Railroad Company" had built a branch of the Galena line from Belvidere to Beloit previous to 1854. In that year it leased the Beloit & Madison road, and from 1856 operated it in connection with other roads which they controlled. The consolida tion of the Galena & Chicago Union and the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Companies was 590 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. effected and approved by legislative enactment in 1855, and a new organization called the " Chicago & North-Western Railway Company " took their place. The "Baraboo Air-Line Railroad Company " was incorporated in 1870, to build a road Madison, Columbus or Waterloo via Baraboo to La Crosse, or any point on the Mississippi River. It organized in the interest of the Chicago & North-Western, with which company it consolidated, and the work of building a connecting line between Madison and Winona Junction was vigorously pushed forward. Lodi was reached in 1870, Baraboo in 1871, and Winona Junc tion in 1874. The ridges between Elroy and Sparta were tunneled at a great expense and with much difficulty. In 1874, the company reported an expenditure for its three tunnels of $476,- 743.32, and for the 129TV miles between Madison and Winona Junction of $5,342,169.96, and a a large expenditure yet to be made on it. In 1867, the Chicago & North-Western Company bought of D..N. Barney & Co. their interest in the Winona k St. Peter Railway, a line being built west erly from Winona, in Minnesota, and of which 105 miles had been built. It also bought of the same parties their interest in the La Crosse, Trempealeau & Prescott Railway, a line being built from Winona Junction, in La Crosse County, to Winona, Minn. The latter line was put in operation in 1870, and is twenty-nine miles long. With the completion of the Madison branch to Winona Junction in 1874, it had in operation a line from Chicago, via Madison and Winona, to Lake Kampeska, Minn., a distance of 623 miles. The " Green Bay k Minnesota Railroad " built a line from Onalaska, a station on the Chicago & North-Western road, seven miles north of La Crosse, to the city of La Crosse in 1876, and the Chicago & North-Western road acquired the right to use that track, thus connecting its road with the chief city of Wisconsin on the Mississippi River. The first train of the North-Western Railway ran into the city of La Crosse over this extension on the 1st day of April, 1876. Albert Keep, of Chicago, is President of the Chicago & North-Western Company, and Marvin Hughitt, a gentleman of great railroad experi ence, is General Manager. Green Bay 8f Minnesota Railroad. — The line of road operated by this company extends from Fort Howard to the Mississippi River, opposite Winona, Minn. This line is 216 miles in length, and was built through a sparsely settled and heavily timbered section of the State. It began under most discouraging circumstances, yet was pushed through by the energy of a few men at Green Bay and along its line. It was originally chartered, in 1866, as the " Green Bay & Lake Pepin Railroad Company," to build a road from the mouth of the Fox River, near Green Bay, to the Mississippi River, opposite Winona. But little was done except the making of preliminary surveys in 1870. During 1870-71, forty miles were constructed and put in operation ; in 1872, one hundred and fourteen miles were graded, the track laid, and the river, opposite Winona, was reached, sixty-two miles further, in 1873. In 1876. it acquired the right to use the track between Winona and Onalaska, in La Crosse County, known as the " Winona Cut-Off," and belonging to the Chicago k North-Western Railway Company, and built a track from Onalaska to La Crosse, a distance of seven miles, thereby connecting their road with the chief city of Wisconsin, on the Mississippi River. The city of La Crosse aided in this extension by subscribing $75,- 000, and giving its corporation bonds for that amount. A change in the name of the corporation is contemplated to take place at the next election of officers, on the 1st of September, 1881, when the corporation will become the " Green Bay, Winona & St. Paul Railroad Company." RAILROAD BRIDGE. Civil Engineer Dodge, of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, with maps and surveys for a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River, near La Crosse, by invitation, met several of the citizens of La Crosse, at the International Hotel, on Tuesday evening, April 30, 1872, to discuss the bridge matters. He gave very full information in regard to the surround ings, currents and distances on the proposed routes or sites for a railroad bridge. The discussion elicited the statement that the site selected by the engineer was, from the engine or round-house, in the Fifth Ward (formerly North La Crosse), across the lower end of French Island, to a point HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 591 on the Minnesota bank, a short distance above the old warehouse, near the La Crescent Ferry landing. This site he had selected with sole reference to the desire of the company to secure the shortest and most direct route between Chicago and St. Paul, and without any special regard for the interests of other existing or contemplated railways, on either or both sides of the Mississippi, centering at or near La Crosse. The interests of navigation demanded, however, that in order to have the least possible obstructions to commerce on navigable waters, these sev eral railroads should all use one and the same bridge. Subsequently, in August, information was received from the War Department, to the effect that the final deliberations of the Board of United States Engineers, consisting of Col. Ma comb, of Rock Island ; Col. Weitzel, of Louisville ; and Col. Merrill, of Cincinnati, in respect to the location of the railroad bridge at La Crosse, the result of which was announced in the following brief, but definite communication from Col. Macomb -to Gen. Rusk, member of Con gress from this district : Rook Island, III, August 1, 1872. Eon. J. M. Rusk, M. C, La Crosse, Wis.: Dear Sir : — Bridge site recommended is at the foot of Mount Vernon street, La Crosse. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, J. N. Macomb, Colonel Engineers United States Army. By authority of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army. It can readily be seen that this site was about two miles south of the one proposed by En gineer Dodge. The objectionable points raised by the citizens relative to the site proposed by Engineer Dodge were, " Chiefly, because the banks and islands of the Mississippi in that vi cinity were often overflowed to such an extent as to render it difficult for navigators to have any accurate information as to the channel ; and the bridge, if located there, would, besides increas ing the hazards of navigation, have required two draws over the Mississippi and Black Rivers, and prevented convenient access to it by other railways on both sides of the Mississippi." To the site proposed by the United States Engineers, the railway company finds objections : " Chiefly, because it would have increased the length of their road two miles ; the right of way through the city was very expensive and troublesome to get ; the road would be required to station flagmen at every street-crossing ; trains would be compelled to run slow, and it would be necessary to use an eight-degree curve to turn northward from the bridge — a thing to be avoided if possible, particularly in a city among densely crowded buildings where an engineer cannot see five rods ahead of his train." These certainly were grave objections on both sides. On Monday, December 9, 1872, Congressman Dunnell, of Minnesota, introduced a bill in Congress, to repeal the act of June 4, 1872, regulating the construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River, and also to au thorize the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company to build a bridge across the Mississippi at North La Crosse. The act of June 4 is the one under which the Government Engineers located the bridge at the foot of Mount Vernon street. This bill was, of course, introduced at the solicitation of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail way Company, on the grounds that if they were to build where the engineers had located it, it would cost the company $200,000 extra at first, and $16,000 annually in maintenance. At a meeting of the Common Council of the city of La Crosse, in February, 1873, the following ordinance was adopted : an ordinance granting certain privileges to the southern minnesota railroad company- bridge division. The Common Council of the City of La Crosse do Ordain : Section 1. The Southern Minnesota Railroad Company, Bridge Division, a corporation organized under the laws of Minnesota, its successors and assigns," are hereby authorized and empowered to use and occupy the east bank of the Mississippi River, at the foot of Mount Vernon street, for the erection and maintainance of all piers, abut ments, draws ana approaches required in the construction and operation of a railroad bridge from the foot of said Mount Vernon street to the Minnesota shore. 592 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. • Sec. 2. The said Southern Minnesota Railroad Company, Bridge Division, is hereby authorized and empowered, for the purpose of using and operating said railroad bridge, and connecting the track or tracks of any other road seeking transit over said bridge, to use and occupy the whole of Mount Vernon street, from the west line of Second street to the Mississippi River, with all necessary ties, timbers, rails, tracks, sidewalks, switches and buildings ; provided, that the crossing of Mount Vernon, Brown and Front streets shall not be thereby obstructed so as to pre vent the safe passage of teams and foot passengers. The remaining two sections of this ordinance are omitted, as they do not refer wholly to the construction of the bridge. Subsequently the La Crosse Transit Railroad Company was organized, and among other things of considerable importance to the city, agreed to procure, or eause to be built, a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River, from the foot of Mount Vernon street, in the city of La Crosse to the Minnesota shore, on the location made by the Engineers of the War Department, provided the city of La Crosse would issue bonds to them to the amount of $150,000. The bonds were issued in April, but were not to be delivered until the bridge was com pleted and the cars running over it. The Directors of this Transit Company were C. W. Thompson, J. W. Losey, B. G. Lennox, Abner Gile, S. L. Nevins, Angus Cameron, John Paul, Fred Tillman, of La Crosse, and H. A. Taylor, of New York. The bill that was before the Wisconsin Legislature relative to the construction of the bridge by the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company was vetoed by Gov. Washburn, when it was passed over the Governor's veto in the Assembly by a vote of 39 ayes to 29 noes. The veto, however, was sustained by the Senate by a vote of 12 to 15, upon the announcement of which the city of La Crosse was thrown into a whirl of excitement and joyous intoxication. Those who had flags gave them to the breeze as rapidly as they could be run out, and the city was soon handsomely decorated with national emblems, cannon boomed at regular intervals during the day, showing no limit to the expressions of gratitude by the people of the city. This veto left the only charter and the exclusive right of building this bridge to the Southern Minnesota Railroad Company. The Milwaukee & St. Paul Company then called for a new Board of Examiners in the question of the location, but Secretary Belknap, of the War Department, refused to appoint a new Board, and approved of the location of the bridge as determined by the Government Engineers. July 22, 1873, the Milwaukee & St. Paul Company commenced ¦driving piles in the western channel of the Mississippi, for the foundation of the railroad bridge piers, this being on the location first determined by Engineer Dodge. Application was immedi ately made by the United States to the Circuit Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, at Madison, for a preliminary injunction to prevent the Milwaukee & St. Paul Company from further obstructing the river by work on their bridge. It came up before Judge Hopkins, July 29, who adjourned the case until the September Term at La Crosse. An order was also entered enjoining the company from placing any more •obstructions in the river. The following is an exact copy of the order made by the Court, when in session in La Crosse, in September : " It is hereby ordered, adjudged and decreed that an injunction be issued pursuant to the prayer of the bill herein, strictly forbidding, enjoining and restraining the said defendant, the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, its agents, contractors, laborers, servants and officers, and each and every one of them, under the pains and penalties which may fall upon them, from placing any stone, piling or bridge materials, and from proceeding to construct any bridge in or across the Mississippi River in the vicinity of the city of La Crosse, in said Western District of Wisconsin, at or near the locality described in the bill of complaint in this suit, until further order of the Court." The following is a brief statement in full, relative to the trouble which arose regarding the •construction of the railroad bridge : A contest unprecedented in bridging navigable streams arose, and soon assumed national importance ; and yet, underlying it, was and always has been an apparent injustice, which time developed into a gross wrong on the travel and commerce of the West. La Crosse, a city ¦of about sixteen thousand inhabitants, is situated in the toe of a horse-shoe, the two heels of the HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 593 shoe being represented by bluffs on the Minnesota and Wisconsin shores of the Mississippi River, past which bluffs all vessels touching at La Crosse must move. The Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, with their then 1,395 miles of road, 500 •miles of which, with direct tributaries laid between Chicago and St. Paul, passed one of these bluffs on the Wisconsin shore near La Crosse, and went direct to the Mississippi, approaching its banks by a hill through a ward of the city of La Crosse, crosses the Black River (which debouches into the Mississippi at La Crosse), a stream navigable only for logs, by a substantial iron bridge, built under the authority of the State of Wisconsin. Directly across the river from that point, its road approached the shore in Minnesota. There were centering at or near that point three railroad interests : First. The Milwaukee & St. Paul, a through line from Chicago to St. Paul, and the main thoroughfare for travel on that route. Second. The Chicago, Dubuque & Minnesota, a short line on the west bank of the Mis sissippi River, between Dubuque, in Iowa, and La Crescent, in Minnesota, its track terminating and its depot built on the Mississippi, at the point for bridging selected by the Milwaukee & St. Paul company, and hence an ally of that company in its location, although the year pre vious opposed to it. Third. The Southern Minnesota Railroad, a road then 167 miles in length, had a bonded debt of $27,500 per mile ; a floating debt of $1,000,000 in the hands of a Receiver since No vember, 1872 ; proceedings in bankruptcy pending against it in the United States Court at St. Paul ; with no Eastern connection except via the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway ; stocked for $25,000 per mile, its stock worth less ; its bonds an unsalable drug ; its reputation and credit bankrupt, and, where known, freely denounced. In February, 1868, Congress authorized the Southern Minnesota Railroad to construct a bridge across the Mississippi River at La Crosse. That company had their road in operation for five years ; they had built no bridge ; their business neither required nor warranted it. In 1872, the Milwaukee & St. Paul Company, having connected their road at La Crosse with their road to St. Paul, asked and received from Congress a charter to bridge the Missis sippi, at such point as they might select, between the county of La Crosse, in Wisconsin, and the county of Houston, in Minnesota. The act authorized the construction of several bridges, and provided " That the structures herein authorized shall be built and located under, and subject to, such regulations for the secu rity of navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe." This, it seems to us, was all that public policy or necessity required. It was more than the safeguards usually provided for in like charters. Under it the Government could descend to the most minute details in protecting the river, and in so placing the bridge with the stream as to secure navigation against any unnecessary hindrances If the regulations were disobeyed, the Federal courts had jurisdiction to cause the structure to be abated if it were found unnecessarily to obstruct the traffic on the water. June 4, 1872, a new act slipped through Congress. It applied solely to all bridges thereafter constructed over and across the Mississippi River, under authority of any act of Congress, and provided " That in locating any such bridge, the Secre tary of War should have due regard to the security and convenience of access, and to the wants of all railways and highways crossing said river." Under this last act, the Secretarv of War first assumed to control the location of the bridge at La Crosse. The Milwauke & St. Paul Company located their bridge in June, 1872, prepara tory to building. They asked to have their location approved. It was referred to Gen. G. K. Warren, who reported on June 29, 1872, and the location was thus spoken of: " This location of the bridge and draw is not objectionable to navigation on the Mississippi River, provided the proper works are built to always maintain the channel through the draw." But that location, while it terminated in La Crosse, on the Wisconsin shore, was two miles above La Crosse on the opposite side, and the Mayor and Board of Trade of that city insisted that the St. Paul road .should be drawn two miles out of its direct line to inject a railroad in the center of their city, 594 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. rather than have it'in an upward ward where it would be comparatively inexpensive to locate, and not cut into the business heart of the city,, and where, in the language of Gen. Warren, it would " bring the railway into the main street, where its use is dangerous, where the right of way is expensive, and where the passage of trains endangers life." Gen. Warren also said: " The location of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad bridge, with the modifications indicated, will not interfere with navigation, and the question for him (the Secretary of War) to decide is whether a due regard to the request made by the citizens of La Crosse will authorize him to compel the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company to change their location without unduly disregarding the interests of that company and their rights under the law approved April 1, 1872. This question is not one of engineering nor of obstruction to navigation." Notwithstanding the report, a board of engineers was convened, composed of Col. J. M. Macomb, Maj. Weitzel and Mayor William E. Merrill, and on June 29, 1872, their report was made. They disapproved of the location of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad bridge. To use the language of the report: " One objection is the unsuitableness of the locality for high ways. Another objection is the necessity which the construction of the bridge would impose, of the protection of the shores of the main channel by revetting. This would have to be done by the railroad company, and is not, of itself, difficult. With revetting and obstructions, as indicat ed, the channel crossing will not be unfavorable, as there is a good straight stretch of river, with a good entrance to the draw, both above and below." They also say : " It would be very inconvenient to the Chicago, Dubuque k Minnesota Railroad." That inconvenience is adjusted, as is shown above. " The Southern Minnesota road, in making Eastern connections, would have to change its first three miles and make a new terminus at La Crescent, but it would not be materially lengthened." As the engineers con sidered projected wagon roads in their report, as well as various unbuilt, visionary railroads, the Attorney General gave his opinion that such projects did not come within the scope of the law. The board was reconvened on this account to reconsider. On September 26, they reaffirmed their former decision, by which they located the bridge at the foot of Mount Vernon street, in the heart of La Crosse, lengthening the line of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway one and one- half miles or thereabouts — as the board over said, two miles in fact. The Secretary of War ap proved of the report. The Attorney General again decided that the engineers had exceeded their authority in locating. The Attorney General held that the company could select its site, and the Secretary of War then disapproved of the location of the Milwaukee & St. Paul road. That company, to test the question, drove a few piles in the river. The Attorney General then caused suit to be brought against the company in the United States District Court at La Crosse, to enjoin them from building on the disapproved location. The court held that the St. Paul company could not build on their site unless the Secretary of War first approved. District Judge Hopkins, in his decision, said : " The Attorney General, in his opinion, read on the argu ment, holds that the Secretary had not authority to locate, 'Hut had the authority to disapprove of a location selected by the company, and that when he does so the bridge cannot be construct ed by the company at such point. That construction is in accordance with my interpretation of the law. The defendants have made a very strong case in their affidavits read on this motion, upon the merits of the case, and have shown by affidavits of men skilled in the navigation of the river and in the construction of railroad bridges over navigable streams, that this location is far less injurious to the navigation of the river than the one selected by the Secretary of War, and that it is equally as convenient and accessible to other railroads and highways. If we are at liberty to pass upon that branch of the case, we should feel compelled to hold so." In the same connection, Judge Drummond said : " It may be difficult for us to understand, as a matter of fact, looking upon this river, how it is that a bridge cannot be built anywhere else than at the foot of Mount Vernon street, between the counties of La Crosse and Houston ; but still that is not a question for our consideration." The winter previous, the Milwaukee & St. Paul Company asked Congress for relief. It was not given. They had 500 miles of road, broken in two parts, and waiting on the banks of gg£§£ ¦fc RESIDENCE of P. S. DAVIDSON. LA CROSSE.WIS, RESIDENCE of C L.COLMAN. COP. IF CAP? AND 11T-H ST. LA CROSSE, Wl S . \ HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 597 a great river, asking for no more than has always been accorded like enterprises. A bridge would have been a much lighter burden on trade and travel than was this break in a line of rail road communication, necessitating a ferry. The commerce of the company was subjected to delays, and their travel was diverted. The site selected by the army of engineers they could not take, because it was in possession of a lot of Wall street speculators, who had tacked it on as a plaster to the Southern Minnesota Railroad mortgages, and got a decree of the United States Circuit Court at St. Paul, authorizing them, if they build a bridge to charge $7 per car for crossing, with a reduction which could never get below $3 per car, a practical levy on com merce, which would ruin the most successful road ever operated. The line of distinction between that decree and robbery was so dim and shadowy that it was hardly conceivable. The engineers said that the Milwaukee & St. Paul Company's location was objectionable to naviga tion — that it would not as well accommodate other roads. The Judges said : " Had we to decide, we should say that their location is far less injurious to navigation than the one indi cated by the Secretary of War, and that it is equally as convenient and accessible to other rail roads and highways." On Friday evening, March 6, 1874, the Wisconsin State Senate concurred with the Assem bly in the passage of the bill giving authority to the Milwaukee k St. Paul Railway Company to bridge the Mississippi wherever they chose. Accordingly, work was commenced on the 10th day of June, 1876, and the whole structure was completed on the 26th day of November, together with over half a mile of trestle-work approaches. No bridge over the Mississippi has ever been finished in so short a time from its first conception, and no other will compare with it in beauty and strength, with the single exception of the Government bridge at Rock Island. The total length of the bridge from the eastern bank of Black River to the Minnesota shore is one and four-fifths miles, and that of the bridge proper, over the channels of the Mis sissippi, 1,688 feet, with 660 feet of trestle-work across Campbell's Island. The whole of the superstructure of the bridge is of iron, and was manufactured by the American Bridge Com pany — a large portion of the material being the product of Wisconsin — and consists of five spans of 150 feet each over the east channel of the river ; across the west channel are two spans, of 164 feet each, one span of 250 feet, and the draw span of 360 feet. There is nothing particularly showy about the entire fabric, but everything is constructed in a handsome and sub stantial manner, that does credit not only to the company, but to the contractors who so faith fully performed their work. The contract test of the bridge was made by a double-loaded freight train, and the strain was found to be remarkably sustained by every portion. The com pletion of this magnificent structure represents a total cost of over half a million of dollars LA CROSSE STREET RAILWAY. In 1865 or 1866, articles of association were adopted and a charter procured by David Law and others for the construction of a street railway, but no advancement was made toward its construction at this time. In 1872, another stock company was formed, consisting of Abner Gile, Ruel Weston, N. B. Holway, John H. Weston, C. C. Washburn, David Law, I. H. Moulton, G. C. Hixon and S. L. Nevins, also for the construction of a street railway, with a capital stock of $16,000, but, from various reasons, the construction of the road was not undertaken then. January 19, 1878, articles of association were again adopted and another charter procured, this time by David Law, G. C. Hixon and P. S. Davidson as incorporators, investing a capital stock of $12,000. In September of this same year, Horace Baker, William F. Sommerfield and Daniel A. McArthur applied for and obtained a charter from the State for the construction of the road, and for a time a heated discussion arose among the members of the Common Council as to which company should be granted the charter and right of construction from the city. It was finally granted to Law, Hixon and Davidson. In November following, they began the purchase of material, and commenced the construction of the road May 8, 1879, which they completed so the first cars passed over it on the 4th day of July of the same year. At this 598 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. time, the company purchased three cars, later in the fall two more, and in 1880 the sixth one was procured. Fourteen horses are used in drawing the cars over the road, from the north side of Main street to the south side of Windsor street — a total distance of 9,745 feet, or a little more than one and three-fourths miles. Eight men, including the superintendent and clerk, are regu larly employed at a weekly compensation of about $75. Three trips are made every fifty minutes, making in all about fifty trips per day. The present officers of the company are P. S. Davidson, President ; David Law, Secretary ; G. C. Hixon, Treasurer. It is currently rumored that the new company contemplates extend ing their road from its southern extremity on Main street southward to the depot of the Green Bay Railroad. A new company has recently been formed and its organization fully perfected by the signing of articles of incorporation and the election of officers and directors, as follows ; James Vincent, President ; Fred Tillman, Vice President ; Mills Tourtelotte, Secretary ; Joseph Tuteur, Treasurer ; Fred Tillman, Mons Anderson, George F. Gund, B. E. Edwards and James Vincent, Board of Directors. The capital stock of the company is $25,000. It is the intention of this company to con struct a road from the corner of State and Second streets, in front of the Cameron House, and will run south to Pearl, east on Pearl to Fourth, south on Fourth to Cass, east on Cass to Fifth, south on Fifth to Market, then east again on Market to Seventh, and on Seventh to the Green Bay Depot. By the provisions of the charter granted the La Crosse Street Railway Company, they have the right to build street railways in the city during twenty-five years succeeding 1878, with the exception that in case another company is desirous of building a railway in the city, the Common Council shall notify the old company that they must build the contemplated line of road within a limited time fixed by the Council, or they will forfeit the privilege of construction to the new company. The Common Council have allowed the old company until the 1st day of Septem ber to construct the line of street railway. It will thus be seen that La Crosse will have a line of street railway to the Green Bay Railroad Depot, no matter whether the old road builds it or not. In case the old company takes the matter in hand, it will be an extension from the corner of Main and Third streets to the Green Bay Depot. In case they refuse to do so, the new com pany will build it, so La Crosse will have it in either case. The City Street Railway Company broke ground for their track on Second street, in front of the Cameron House, on Monday, August 22, and pushed the road forward as fast as men and energy could accomplish the work. CLIFFWOOD. The views from the bluffs which bend down over the city of La Crosse from the east and the west have been the subjects of eloquent tribute and poetic rhapsody, but neither periods nor verses can convey an adequate idea of what is indeed indescribable. Many have been impressed with their beauties, and with the grandeur of scenery spread out before mankind as viewed from their summits, and the verdict was rendered that at an early day in the history of La Crosse they should be made available for purposes of pleasure and relaxation by those whom succeeding years attracted to the city. To the end that this view might be conserved, and that a desire for the beautiful in nature might be administered to, Mons Anderson has availed himself of every opportunity to secure the most favorable localities on the eastern bluffs, which, owing to the peculiarities of topography and other causes, has not been attained without extreme difficulty. This he has in part accomplished with the assistance of J. W. Losey, G. M. Woodward and others, and " Cliffwood " and its additions, most delightful retreats from the cares of business and the heat of a tropic day, are the results. At an early period in the growth of La Crosse, the late Gov. Campbell with others en tered a forty-acre tract of land upon a point most eligible for a project then contemplated, laid the same out in village lots and mortgaged it to the State as security for a loan. This practically took it out of the market. In time the property was sold under foreclosure proceedings and bid in by the State. Sub sequently it was purchased by Stodgill & Daniels, and the title became vested in Mons Ander- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 599 son for a valuable consideration. This was sometime in 1878, since which he has been sole owner of one of the most delightful plateaus the eye of man ever gazed upon. Previous to the acquisition of this property, Mr. Anderson owned a large tract south of that purchased by him, without which the enterprise could never have been realized, and the crown ing cap of the grand outlook from the bluffs would have been lost. With six additional pieces of land contiguous, since purchased, has furnished facilities for rural pleasures, drives, etc. These latter purchases were added, not alone to give greater scope to drives and kindred amuse ments, but as a means of securing a certain degree of privacy to those who visit the spot, and prevent the encroachments of intruders or trespassers. Thus much being accomplished, Mr. Anderson secured, by purchase, the right of way thence from the city, and began the work of rendering the approaches to this delightful spot, three in number, and, when worked, will be easy of access and ascent, and so landscaped as to furnish scenes of beauty and endless variety. In addition to the improvements cited, Mr. Anderson has completed others upon the prem ises, caused the grounds to be laid off, trimmed and planted, and planned drives which challenge the admiration of all who have been so fortunate as to view their attractions. One road leads to a prominent and abrupt declivity, whence a vast panorama is to be seen. To the west, far across the bosom of the Father of Waters, the bluffs of Minnesota tower up against the sky like grim sentinels guarding the gateway toward the declining sun, while the intermediate setting is filled with swelling hills, majestic slopes, levels, valleys, streams and rivulets, out of which rises the splendid city in the pride of its magnificence. Another road leads along the dividing ridge, of sufficient width to allow the easy roll of a carriage for a distance of one hundred rods flanked on either side by valleys five hundred feet in depth, the beauties of which compass all that is charming to the eye, grateful to the senses, and pleasing to the imagination, never growing tedious or tiresome to the artist, the tourist or the citizen. Mr. Anderson has spent his time and large sums of money for.the purposes above mentioned in connection with " Cliffwood," and the hope is indulged that, in the near future, the objects for which he has labored will be requited unto him as also, those who are sought to be benefited. RIVER INTERESTS. The progress of steam navigation on the Upper Mississippi was extremely slow at first. From 1823 to 1844, only one or two trips a year were made to Fort Snelling, to carry supplies to the troops, and for the Indian trade. In 1844, the number of arrivals at the fort were forty- one. From 1844 to 1847, the little steamers Otter, Rock River and Lynx were the principal boats in this trade. In 1847, on the 8th day of July, the Galena & Minnesota Packet Company was organized at Galena by the following persons, who became the company : Capt. Orrin Smith, Henry Cor- with, B. H. Campbell, Capt. N. W. Lodwick, Capt. R. Blakesly, of Galena; Col. H. L. Dousman and B. W. Busbois, Prairie du Chien; Hons. H. H. Sibley and H. M. Price, St. Paul. The first boat purchased by this company was the Argo, of only sixty tons burthen, which was run in the St. Paul trade until October of the same year, when it ran against a snag and sunk a little above Winona. The next boat was the Dr. Franklin, purchased in the winter of 1847-48 for $13,500, and put into the trade in the spring of 1848. In 1849, the Senator was added to the line, but in the fall was sold, and replaced by the Nominee, which was run by Capt. 0. Smith, the late President of the company. It was not run as a Sunday boat. At 12 o'clock Saturday night, Capt. Smith would tie up his boat to an island or whatever place he was near, and remain until 12 o'clock Sunday night. When the boat stopped at a little village, the Captain would invite any clergyman that might be found to preach on the Sabbath on the boat. Rev. Chester, of the Methodist Church, once enjoyed the Captain's hospitality at La Crosse, in the fall of 1851, and held morning service. The Nominee, however, suffered the fate of its more unchristian 600 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. brothers, and was snagged and sunk in the fall of 1854, forty miles below La Crosse, at Coon Slough. The Ben Campbell was built in the winter of 1851-52, and put in the trade in the spring, but drew too much water, and was sold in the fall of 1852. During that season, an opposition boat called the West Newton was put into the trade from Galena'^to St. Paul, by the Harrises, of Galena, and run against the Nominee. The West Newton was a gallant little boat, and about an equal match for the Nominee. During this opposition, on the 10th of May, 1852, the Nominee, Capt. Smith, prepared for a race to St. Paul, and although the West Newton did not run, yet Capt. Smith run on time, and made the trip to St. Paul and back to Galena in two days, seven hours and forty-nine minutes, a round trip of 682 miles. In the fall of the same year, the Harrises were permitted to join the Galena Company, and their boat afterward run in the line. In the spring of 1854, the War Eagle, Grande Malo, Galena and Royal Arch were added to the line, and in 1855, the Golden Era, Alhambra, Lady Franklin and City Bell were added. In June, 1856, the opening of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad gave a great impetus to the business, and the packet company added to their line of boats the Northern Bell, Ocean Wave, Granite State, Greek Slave and Black Hawk. Several boats besides the Nominee were sunk during this time, namely : West Newton in the fall of 1853, near Alma ; Dr. Franklin, No. 2, seven miles above Dubuque, by colliding with the Galena in June, 1854. Owing to some misunderstanding, the Galena became embroiled with the raftsmen, and a little war was inaug urated which continued during two seasons, that of 1858 and 1859. The steamer was provided with a piece of artillery for emergencies, and when it could do so without injury to herself, would break up a raft. In 1860, she came to her end by being burned. Trade fell off considerably in 1858, and subsequently, but, in 1861, the packet company increased its number of incorporators to about one hundred, and its capital to $400,000, and run the following boats in the upper trade : War Eagle, Alhambra, City Bell, Fanny Harris, Northern Light, Key City, Northern Bell, Golden Era, Ocean Wave, Flora, Grey Eagle, Milwaukee, Itasca. Some of these boats were of the first-class, and might well have been called "floating palaces." The Milwaukee cost the company $39,000; Grey Eagle, $43,000; and the Key City and the Northern Light about the same. The Key City was built at Cincinnati in 1857, was 250 feet long, 35 feet wide, 360 tons burthen, fifty-one state-rooms, and four high-pressure boilers 17 feet long, 38 inches in diameter, and have been subject to a pressure of 200 pounds to the square inch. The War Eagle and Galena were of a smaller class of boats, the former being but 296 tons burthen, with forty-six state-rooms and three high-pressure boilers 14 feet long each. It is 219 feet long, and 29 feet wide, and was built at Cincinnati in the winter of 1853-54. In the spring of 1857, the Northern Light, Grey Eagle, Milwaukee and Itasca were put into the trade of the Upper Mis sissippi. These were all side-wheelers, and the finest boats ever seen on the river, being gotten up in the most luxurious style and with special regard to speed. The Galena Packet Company finally reorganized in February, 1864, under the laws of the State of Iowa, with a cash capital of $400,000, under the name of " The Northwestern Packet Company," with general powers to run steamers, and do a passenger and freight business between Dubuque and St. Paul. The company was bound by contract with the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien Railroad Company to carry freight and passengers for that company between the latter place and St. Paul. In the fall of 1865, the Northwestern Company were running the following steamers in the trade: Milwaukee, Itaska, Northern Light, Key City, War Eagle, all 'first-class passenger steamers. They also run three light-draft boats for low water, and their additional steamers for freight and towing barges. The officers of the new company for 1865 were : John Lawler, President ; George A. Blanchard, Secretary and Treasurer, and William E. Wellington, Superintendent. The central office was located at Dubuque, where the two latter gentlemen resided. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 601 On the 1st day of October, 1858, the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad was completed and opened through to the Mississippi at La Crosse, and much of the business of the boats passed over this road. In 1860, an independent, or opposition line, called the White Collar Line, was run from La Crosse to St. Paul by Mr. Davidson and others, which the Galena Packet Com pany made a spirited but unsuccessful effort to run off ; failing in this, they compromised by forming, with Davidson and others, a combination, on the 17th of August, 1861. In 1863, the La Crosse & St. Paul Line ran, in connection with the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad, the following boats : McLillan, Keokuk, Northern Bell, Frank Steele, Clara Hine G. H. Wilson, iEolian. The combination of the steamboat interest proving unsatisfactory, the new Northwesten Packet Company and the La Crosse Line, generally called " Davidson's Line," on the 1st of May, 1866, consolidated into a new company, under the general laws of the State of Iowa, at Dubuque, and organized a company, which they called the " Northwestern Union Packet Company," and elected the following officers : William F. Davidson, of St. Paul, President ; John Lawler, of Prairie du Chien, General Manager ; George A. Blanchard, of Dubuque, Secretary ; William Rhodes, of St. Paul, Treasurer, and William E. Wellington, of Dubuque, and P. S. Davidson, of La Crosse, Superintendents. For the above accurate and very complete history of the Upper Mississippi steamboat inter ests, we are indebted to the able work of Judge Gale, entitled " Upper Mississippi." Additional particulars, added below, were given from memory by McDonald, of the firm of McDonald Bros. : The Northern Line Packet Company, of St. Louis, ran the following steamers from that point to St. Paul, between 1855 and 1870 : W. L. Ewing, Excelsior, Savannah, Hawkeye, Northerner, Burlington, Red Wing, Muscatine, Minneapolis, Rock Island and Clinton. These were mostly side-wheelers. In 1863, a new sphere of usefulness was opened for steamers by their employment as tow-boats. The first one so employed was in all probability the St. Anthony Falls, which was built expressly for that purpose. At first very small side-wheelers were used. The first large boat used was a stern-wheeler called the Gray Eagle, built in 1864, Capt. Robert Dodds, of St. ' Louis, commanding. She was overturned near St. Louis, in 1866, where her hull is yet to be seen. The business of towing rafts by steamers has increased immensely, not less than eighty boats now being employed. These are invariably stern-wheelers of from 150 to 400 horse-power, usually manned by a crew of twenty men. These boats make their trips from St. Paul from the St. Croix River at Stillwater ; Chippewa River, at Reed's Landing, and Beef Slough ; Green Bay Railroad Station at Eastman, Black River, at La Crosse and the mouth of the Wisconsin. From these points rafts are taken in tow to all places of destination below, seldom farther than St. Louis. Extra boats are sometimes brought into requisition to assist in taking rafts across the upper and lower rapids. The former of these extends from Le Clair to Rock Island, are eighteen miles long, and have a fall of twenty-seven feet. The lower rapids are twelve miles in length, and extend from Montrose to Keokuk, and have a fall of eighteen feet. The trip from St. Paul to St. Louis will vary all the way from twelve to thirty days, owing to the stage of water, fair or foul weather, etc. The rafts, of course, vary in size. It is not unusual to see one of 550 feet in length and 240 in width. In measurement, they will vary from 500,000 to 2,000,000 feet in the log, and of sawed lumber from 1,500,000 to 3,000,000 feet. TJhey are ordinarily made in two sections, for division when passing bridges or in making the passage over shallow water. In rounding a sharp bend, it is necessary to check the momentum of the raft by reversing the wheel of the steamer, which permits the water to swing the raft into the main current. The pilots attain to so great a degree of skill, that Mr. McDonald's statement of their being able to make a landing without crushing an egg-shell hardly seems an exaggeration. In round numbers, it is estimated that 1,000,000,000 feet are floated to market yearly over this great watery highway. 602 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The connection of Capt. Davidson with steamboat interests began in 1856, during which year he was mate on the stern-wheel steamer, Jacob Traber, which had his brother for a Captain a post to which he succeeded in the following year. During this season, the side-wheel steamer Frank Steele, was added, which was run as a packet on the Minnesota River. In 1858, the Favorite was added to that trade, and the iEolian for the Mississippi River. Three steamers were added in 1859, viz. : Mose McLillan, G. H. Weltzer and Winona. In the fall of 1861 or 1862, the La Crosse & Minnesota Steam Packet Company was formed. It was incorporated under the general laws of Wisconsin, and had a capital of $80,000. It employed four boats, the Northern Belle, Keokuk, McLillan and Frank Steele. It ran its steamers from La Crosse to St. Paul and Minneapolis, and had an existence of from three to four years. It was suc ceeded by the Northwestern Union Packet Company, which was incorporated under the laws of Iowa, and had a capital of $1,500,000. It had thirty steamers, and probably forty barges. It ran its boats from St. Louis to all points above. It began its career in 1868, and held together till 1873. This was an era in steamboat enterprises, when large wages were realized, and many ventures made. In 1873, the great depression in business was felt very seriously in all river interests, and many steamer lines were involved in the general wreck. In this year, a new com pany, the Keokuk and Northern Line, was built up on the ruins of three other companies, viz. : Northwestern Union, Keokuk and Northern Line Packet Company. The shrinkage in value was upward of $2,000,000. The new company was incorporated under the laws of Missouri, and had a capital of $700,000. It ran its steamers, of which it had from thirty to forty, from St. Louis to all points above. It existed till about the year 1880, and went to pieces through an expensive, long-continued litigation with individuals. Within the present year, a new company has been incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin with a capital of $250,000, known as the St. Louis & St. Paul Passenger and Freight Line. It employs about eighteen steamers and forty barges. It also does a towing business. This feature of river interests began in 1863, and was at first wholly, and to a large extent, an individual enterprise — raft-boats being entirely so. The St. Louis & St. Paul Passenger and Freight Line was established in 1881. Upon its organization P. S. Davidson was made President and Treasurer ; L. Holmes, Secretary ; W. F. Davidson, General Manager ; P. S. Davidson, L. Holmes and S. F. Clinton, Directors. Their office and headquarters were located at La Crosse. In May they purchased three boats, the Grand Pacific, White Eagle, and Maggie Reany, at a total cost of $50,000. The balance of the boats, constituting the line, six in number, representing a total valuation of $100,000, were put in by P. S. Davidson. Trips are made tri-weekly from St. Paul to St. Louis. On each boat about sixty hands are employed, making the total number employed on the nine boats about 550, at a weekly compensation of $42,000. The boats are all stern-wheel ers, and in excellent condition. The total valuation of the enterprise is $250,000. The Diamond Jo Line — Was established in 1867, by Joseph Reynolds, of McGregor, Iowa, and has become one of the wealthiest and correspondingly influential corporations for the trans portation of passengers and freight between St. Louis and St. Paul. From the first La Crosse has been a prominent point on its route, and the office located here has been of long standing and proportionate profit. The line at present is composed of Mary Morton, Libbie Conger, Josephine, Josie, Dia mond Jo and Imperial, representing a total valuation of about $120,000 ; together with between thirty or forty barges, valued at $20,000; wharf boats and paraphernalia, also a boat-yard and marine ways, located at Eagle Point, near Dubuque, and valued in the aggregate at $1,400,000. ' Three boats pass La Crosse each way weekly, and the interests of the corporation are looked after by McDonald, Brothers & Co. La Crosse and La Crescent Ferry. — The. first ferry between La Crosse and La Crescent was established by a Mr. Bates, in 1854. The name of the ferry boat was Wild Cate, and a mule furnished the motive power. In 1855, the steam ferry was established, when the small HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 603 steam ferry-boat Honey-eye took the place of the Wild Cate. This boat was also owned and ope rated by Mr. Bates. In the fall of 1855 or 1856, Thomas McRoberts purchased the ferrying inter est of Mr. Bates, and in 1856 purchased a ferry-boat at Pittsburgh, called the Honaeye, which ran until early in the spring of 1857, when it was cut down at the La Crosse landing by the ice, and sunk, and was never raised. The steam ferry-boat Geo. Gale was then chartered, and run a greater part of the season of 1857. In the meantime, Mr. McRoberts had the steam ferry boat Thomas McRoberts built, at New Albany, Ind., which relieved the Geo. Gale in the fall of 1857. The Thonjas McRoberts ran until 1878, when the present boat, the Warsaw, took her place. The machinery of the Thomas McRoberts is now lying on the bank of the river, near the La Crescent landing, and the boat herself is at the bottom of the river near the same place. The Warsaw was built at Madison, Ind., in 1871. As they were crossing in March 23, 1880, and when near the middle of the river, the boat was discovered to be on fire. She was run to the shore of an island as quickly as possible, and all on board were saved. The Silver Lake, with a barge, ran as a ferry while the Warsaw was being repaired at the boat-yard of P. S. Davidson, in La Crosse. In fifty days from the date of burning, the Warsaw again took her place and is still running under the management of Capt. Day, a much better boat than she was before burning. THE LUMBER INTERESTS. There is no city in the State that is more interested in the lumber business than La Crosse. The pine timber regions of Wisconsin and Minnesota lie north of it,and are in a measure trib utary, since all the logs and lumber rafted on the Upper Mississippi, St. Croix, Chippewa and Black Rivers must necessarily pass it while en route to down-river points. Many leading lum bermen have settled here, and given the city standing and reputation, as a lumber center, of unrivaled importance. The majority of the wealthy citizens of La Crosse are engaged in the lumber trade. Their residences are among the finest in the city, and they show a commendable disposition to give their time, useful labor and their capital to intelligent enterprise, unlike the majority of moneyed men in the East. They are, generally speaking, large-hearted and public- spirited men, and whatever conduces to their interest contributes also to the welfare of the city. They have settled here to stay, ; have become thoroughly identified with the growth and pros perity of the city, and are combining their operations and working to make this the distributing point of lumber for an area stretching off in different directions for hundreds of miles. Already La Crosse has made a name for itself, not only in Wisconsin and Minnesota, but also in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Arkansas. It is everywhere regarded as first-class, and the ready market it meets with proves that it has no superior in popular favor, and the demand for it is bound to grow. The sales of the past are scarcely a third of what the sales of the future may become, providing the supply can equal the demand. When we remember that there is scarcely any timber-land, and, consequently, no lumber, except such as is imported, in Southern and Western Minnesota, Western Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, etc., we can surmise what a vast area — what an inexhaustible market — will open up to the lum bering interests of this vicinity as railroads are built, population increases, and towns spring up throughout that region. Owing to the scarcity of timber in all parts of that vast area, no lumber can be had short of exorbitant and virtually prohibitory rates, in consequence of which the farms remain unfenced, little or no wood can be obtained for fuel, and coal, costing in that vicinity an enormous price, is generally substituted. So pleased would the people be to have even pine wood, that they would not hesitate to pay $4 or $5 per cord for such slabs as can be had here at from 50 cents up. These facts sufficiently demonstrate what a great market is opening up to the west of here, and how important it is to push forward to completion railroad enterprises that will give full control of it. In this behalf, too, the lumbermen are manifesting commendable zeal, and they deserve well of the community, and are heartily thanked in proportion as they make any sub stantial progress in the matter. These points show of what great importance the lumber business is to La Crosse. Comparatively it stands in the relation of mines to San Francisco ; commerce 604 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. to New York : manufactures to Boston ; iron to Pittsburgh ; cotton and sugar to New Orleans ; whisky to Louisville and Cincinnati ; agriculture and railroads to Chicago and beer to Milwaukee. The motives actuating us to define this industry are three-fold ; first, because it is by all means the largest and most important industry in this section of the country ; second, to show to the people of La Crosse the magnitude and importance to which these industries have grown ; third, to let the world abroad know how important is the city of La Crosse in a manufacturing point of view ; the great vitality it possesses, and the bright future its manifold advantages bespeak for it. We thus aim to give confidence to those who have such interests here ; pleasure to such as were here of old, and remember the men and things of the past, and a spirit of inquiry, with a disposition to settle here to those who contemplate removal from elsewhere, whether to engage in manufacturing, commercial, professional or any other business. As the center and pivot of the extensive timber and lumber operations, that transform trees into buildings and fences, La Crosse uses, manufactures, distributes and exports over two hundred and fifty million feet of pine annually ; for it must be remembered that besides the timber from the Black River and its tributaries, as well as that from the Chippewa and its tributaries, are received and shipped considerable quantities of lumber from the pine districts east of the Black and Chippewa Valleys, which reaches La Crosse for distribution as the most convenient distributing point on the Mississippi River. With two exceptions, more lumber is manufactured at La Crosse than at any other point on the Mississippi River and its tributaries ; and, in computing the value of this industry, account must be taken of several firms having headquarters here, but owning mills elsewhere ; of loggers, who do not manufacture ; of the firms engaged in rafting and towing, and of the remunerative employment furnished to a large number of men in booming, driving and various other ways. To show to the outside world the importance of La Crosse as a lumbering center, we will give some interesting facts relative to this industry and the noted saw-mills of the vicinity, deal ing with them in strict impartiality. The first lumbermen in this vicinity were the Mormons, who cut logs for their dwellings, etc., at Nauvoo, and persons from different localities, mostly Illinois, who were engaged in this industry here for a short time. In the summer of 1852, George Farnam established a lumber yard in La Crosse, obtaining most of his stock from the Chippewa River. His first raft, con taining about 200,000 feet, he purchased from one Gilbert, and was rafted down to La Crosse by a half-breed Indian. In the following winter, Mr. Farnam and Samuel Weston engaged in logging on the Black River. The 3,000,000 feet of logs cut by Mr. Weston were rafted to down-river points, while part of the 2,000,000 feet cut by Mr. Farnam supplied the saw-mill of Nichols & Tompkins, at Onalaska, which had that winter been erected, the remainder being also rafted to down-river points. Among the other early lumbermen may be mentioned Timothy Burns, F. M. Rublee, S. T. Smith, John S. Simonton, W. W. Crosby and Messrs. Gregory & Dyer. In 1853 or 1854, the Black River Booming & Log-Driving Company was organized, and the first boom built on Black River in La Crosse County, at Onalaska, was by W. W. Crosby in 1855. This booming and log-driving company finally, in 1864, were incorporated as the Black River Improvement Company, with a capital stock of $50,000. They now have improvements extending fifty miles up the Black River. The shipments from the Black River each year since 1867, in feet, are as follows : 1867, 88,632,300 feet ; 1868, 57,376,360 feet ; 1869, 160,573,890 feet; 1870, 170,920,870 feet; 1871, 127,055,590 feet; 1872, 125,766,190 feet; 1873, 195,- 378,830 feet; 1874, 188,907,320 feet: 1875, 188,344,640 feet; 1876, 197,103,820 feet; 1877, 86,434,260 feet; 1878, 112,232,880 feet; 1879, 151,848,290 feet ; 1880, 210,902,500 feet. For the decade including 1880, the total shipment foots up 1,583,974,420 feet. In this connection, it may not be inappropriate to give a short historical sketch of the struggles, reverses and successes of those who first engaged in the lumber business in La Crosse, before entering upon a description of the present vast lumbering establishments. The first saw-mill erected in La Crosse was called the La Crosse Lumber Company's Mill, and was HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 605 built by Timothy Burns, F. M. Rublee, John S. Simonton and S. T. Smith, in 1852. It was located where the lofty brick chimney stood as a landmark for so many years, and which was torn down, a few years ago, to give place to the tannery of Davis, Medary & Platz. The mill was started late in the fall of 1852, and ran only a short time, when the river closed. In 1853, the mill did a thriving business, cutting about 30,000 feet per day. With the exception of 100,000 feet, all the lumber cut this season was readily sold in La Crosse. In October, 1853, the firm lost one of its members by the death of Mr. Burns, and about the latter part of November of the same year Messrs. Simonton and Smith sold their interests to Messrs. Gregory and Dyer. The mill was enlarged by these gentlemen by the addition of ma chinery by which they manufactured bran, flour, corn-meal, etc. The number of employes was about thirty, and the average wages paid about $1 per day. From 1858, the mill continued to run without any noticeable change until 1856 or 1857, when it burned down and was not re built. The second saw-mill established in the city was erected in 1856 by Sherman & Griswold, and was located on the flat below the city, a little west of where the Northwestern k Green Bay Railroad depot now stands. The mill had a cutting capacity of from 20,000 to 25,000 feet per day. Shortly after the mill began operations, a Mr. Steele, of Waukegan, 111., was taken in as a partner in the business, and in 1857, a Mr. Marsh joined the firm. In the fall of 1857, partnership was dissolved, and the business discontinued. Another mill was erected by Messrs. Denton k Hurd in 1856, and began operations in the spring of 1857. It had a capacity of from 20,000 to 25,000 feet per day. During the season of 1857, Jacob Spaulding secured an interest in the mill. It was not until 1858 when business was discontinued, C. L. Colman purchasing the machinery. The first mill erected in the Fifth Ward (formerly North La Crosse) was built by R. E. Gillett in the spring of 1856. It had a cutting capacity of about 10,000 feet per day, and was operated about four years, but Mr- Gillett was not very fond of competition, and having decided hopes that the railroad would make Tomah a place of considerable importance, and that neigh boring towns springing up would afford him a greater market for his lumber, he moved there, taking his mill with him. The second mill was built by Crosby, Hanscome & Co., in which was also erected in the spring of 1856, and its capacity was 12,000 feet per day. It employed from fifteen to twenty hands, and all the lumber cut was rafted to down-river points. It ran with reasonable regu larity until September, 1863, when it accidentally took fire and was burned to the ground. Shepherd & Valentine built the third mill, in the spring of 1856 also. This mill had a capacity of 15,000 feet per day, and employed about twenty men, to whom the average wages paid were $1.25 per day. The fourth mill was erected by Sill, Loomis & Root, in the same stirring, enterprising period referred to in the preceding instances, the spring of 1856. It was started up in April, and ran seven months. Its capacity was 15,000 feet per day, and eighteen or twenty men were employed, receiving as wages an average of $1.50 per day. The lumber was all rafted down the Mississippi to Sabula. Buttrick Brothers built the fifth mill in 1857, near where the Washburn Mill now stands. It had a capacity from 12,000 to 15,000 feet per day. It ran until the fall of 1858, when it burned down. With this short notice of the mills erected here in the early days of La Crosse, we will endeavor to give an idea of the vastness and importance of the great mills now in operation which for size, capacity and general excellence can hardly be excelled. SAW-MILLS. C. L. Colman's Mill. — Peter Cameron erected a saw-mill where Mr. Colman's now stands, in 1854, but did not fit it up with machinery. In the spring following, the mill was purchased by Messrs. Goldthwait & Brown, who put in machinery and commenced operations with a ca- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 607 pacity of 5,000 to 7,000 feet of lumber per day, which was then retailed at $27 per thou sand. The mill was run by these gentlemen only a few years, when they discontinued business. Mr. Colman erected a shingle-mill, in 1854, about forty rods south of the present location of his saw-mill. For two years a horse furnished the motive power, and the capacity was from 12,000 to 14,000 shingles per day. In 1856, an engine was added to the mill, and its capacity in creased to 60,000 shingles per day, the price of which was then $5 per thousand. In 1862, Mr. Colman bought the machinery of the Denton & Hurd mill, which increased the capacity to 350,000 shingles per day. The mill ran from that time until 1868, when it burned down, and was never rebuilt. In 1866, he purchased his present site, together with the old Goldthwait k Brown mill, refitting this so that it had a cutting capacity of 30,000 feet per day. The lumber then sold for $23 per thousand. In 1869, the boilers of his old shingle-mill were added, increasing the capacity of the saw-mill to 50,000 feet per day. The number of hands employed at this time was about seventy, at an average daily compensation of $1.75. This mill burned down in August, 1875, but with characteristic energy and determination, Mr. Colman at once began the erection of his present colossal structure, in October, which was completed and put into operation in the following spring, and has run until the present time without any mishap worthy of notice. The capacity of the mill is 25,000,000 feet per year. Everything in and about it is arranged in the most complete and convenient manner. The main building is 60x227, two stories high ; the shingle-mill addition, 36x36 feet, also two stories high ; engine and boiler house, 44x80 feet. The machinery is driven by one 500-horse power engine, steam being furnished by six boilers twenty-four feet long. The machinery consists of two double rotaries, with Prescott's steam feed ; two gauges, one of fifty-four-inch, and the other thirty-six-inch gate ; three gang edgers ; three trimmers and a twelve-block shingle machine. The planing-mill is 53x110 feet, two-stories high, with a brick and iron engine and boiler house, 24x70 feet. The machinery in this building is driven by one forty-horse power engine, and consists of a surfacer, matcher, molding machine, re-sawing machine, table-saw, jig-saw, etc. The saw-mill was built at an original cost of $79,000, and the planing-mill at a cost of $16,000, regardless, in each instance, of the lots. The buildings and lots occupy now an area of thirty-one lots. In and about the mills are employed about 180 men, including a number of boys and girls, who are employed in packing shingles. Tho stock which supplies the mill comes from both the Black and Chippewa Rivers. and the average amount of lumber on hand amounts to 10,000,000 feet. The genial and enterprising proprietor of this mill, C. L. Colman, has been promi nently identified with the business interests of La Crosse since 1854, during which time he has done as much toward advancing its prosperity, as any other person in the city. He is assisted by his son, Luchus, in conducting his immense business, whose efficient services and good judg ment have contributed greatly to the welfare of the establishment. W. F. $ P. S. Davidson's Boat- Yard and Lumber Mills. — The combined interests car ried on by the Davidson Brothers, the largest individual interests in this portion of the State, if not in the Northwest, is the result of small beginnings, which, under careful management and by strict attention to business, have grown to almost unlimited demensions. The successful indus tries carried on by these gentlemen have redounded to their several and collective credits ; have contributed to enlarge the markets and increase the sale of commodities ; to inspire citizens as also those contemplating citizenship with confidence in the location of La Crosse and its impor tance as a trade center, and to attract capital hither for investment in the manufacturing, com mercial and speculative undertakings accessible to all. The first organization of the present boat-yard and lumber mills was made about the year I860. At that time the business was limited to" the building and repairing of river craft, and carried on under the name of the " Western Union Packet Company's Yards." In those days, notwithstanding the fact that marine interests were of a more extended and remunerative char- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 609 acter, comparatively speaking, than at present, and the yard was constantly occupied with "jobs," etc., the resources of the firm was limited to what they now are, and the number of hands employed less than one-fifth the present force. The improvements consisted of one mill edifice, supplied with machinery sufficient only for supplying materials for use in the yard, marine railways that since have given place to improved machinery in that behalf, and other conveniences of a minor, not to say unimportant, pattern. But forty men were employed, and the hours of labor were regulated according to the exigences of the occasion and the usage of the period. In less than twenty years the enterprise has under gone a complete clange in all its departments, mode of work, etc., etc. During the war, the yard was taxed to its full capacity, and when the surrender stopped further hostilities, it might be imagined work was diminished, as regards both quantity and quality. But the contrary of this supposition is correct. During 1866, George S. Weeks, a shipwright and a man of decided executive ability, was placed in charge by the Davidsons, the resources of the undertaking were increased, and day and night the yard resounded to the songs of 150 artificers, mechanics and laborers. During this period and succeeding years the yard was extensively patronized by steamboat companies, and some of the swiftest and most elegant floating palaces that ever plowed the Father of Waters were fashioned or received their finishing touches on the ways of W. F. & P. S. Davidson. Among these are the Alexander Mitchell, Belle of La Crosse, Mary Barnes, Annie, Grand Pacific, Alfred Toll, Flying Eagle and others, in addition to fleets of barges, tugs and river craft of less prominent a type. In about 1876,, the Messrs. Davidson became sole owners of the yard, and supplemented the repairing and building of boats with the manufacture of lumber. To do this successfully, required the erection of original improvements, as also the rebuilding of such as had previously existed, necessitating the outlay of large sums of money, and reducing the business to an absolute science. The consideration of the needs of the business resulted in machinery of the latest, most approved and expensive in pattern, which was substituted for the style which had become "stale" in comparison with that of a more modern day ; facilities for the rapid preparation and hand ling of lumber were introduced, and not until $25,000 had been expended in buildings, machin ery and equipments, were actual operations begun in the new field of enterprise. This dispen sation was conducted with the same system, skill, intelligence and industry that characterized Davidsons' prior engagements, and before the year had closed began to evidence the firm's fore sight in the increase of business that followed, requiring a force of between two and three hundred men occupied daily in conserving. In 1877, though work in that branch of the establishment, as already suggested, had meas urably diminished, the old marine railways were abandoned, removed, and their place supplied by an entirely new line complete to the slightest detail. As built, they are said to be the finest on the river, with a capacity for unlimited tonnage, and supplied with tackle, apparel and fur niture so completely, as to be able in less than six hours, to raise a boat 300 feet long, and of proportionate capacity, high and dry and ready for the ship-carpenter to test his skill upon. This re-construction of the wavs was made at a cost of $20,000. If the business of boat-building "slackened," that of the manufacture of lumber increased. So much so had this obtained, that in a few years after its commencement, it was found that the means of supplying the demand were inadequate, and measures were at once inaugurated to make up the deficiency existing in that behalf. In 1880, the erection of the new mill was begun, and its completion attained during the spring succeeding. The building is 170x50, two stories high, with the basement ; equipped with machinery, including rotaries and gang saws, also implements for the manufacture of lath and shingles, and the product placed upon the market, includes every variety of lumber from rough to finished. The cost of this improvement is stated at $30,000. The location of this vast establishment is on North Third street in North La Crosse. The property comprehends a river front of 1,200 feet and over, by an average depth of 550 feet to 610 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Third street, and is estimated to be worth, with the improvements, not less than $250,000. These consist of the mills, the marine ways, machine-shop, and other accessories. It requires seven engines of immense power, to operate the machinery employed, by which a log in the rough is subjected to a process, whence it is resolved into marketable lumber, lath and shingles, which are made up into rafts containing millions of feet, and are towed to markets on the river and other routes, principally Dubuque, Quincy, Clinton, St. Louis and elsewhere. The capacity of these mills are 300,000 feet of lumber; 200,000 shingles, and 100,000 laths, each twenty-four hours, in which fifty millions of logs are annually worked up, furnish ing employment to 300 men at a weekly cost of not less than $5,000, and doing a business of $5,000,000 per year. Polley's Saw-Mill. — This mill is situated on French Island, opposite the Fifth Ward, and at the western end of the Chicago, [Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Bridge that spans Black River. The site, although somewhat inconveniently situated, is considered one of the best on Black River for milling purposes, it having a river frontage of three quarters of a mile ; 115 acres are occupied by the mill, boarding-house, yards, etc. In 1870, the mil4 was erected by W. H. Polleys, Messrs. Nichols & Jefferson being the contractors. Its capacity, which has not been materially changed since its erection, is 5,000,000 feet per year. When completed in October, 1870, it began operations and continued till February of the following year, the pro prietor having piled a great number of logs on the bank before winter set in. In 1871, the mill ran about seven months, cutting in that time 3,600,000 feet of lumber, it all being rafted down the river. The number of men employed was about twenty-five, and the average wages paid was $1.30, the employes being boarded by the proprietors. In 1872, the mill ran only five months, sawing something over 2,200,000 feet. This year was also manufactured 60,000 pickets, and 340,000 laths. In 1873, about 2,200,000 feet of lumber were cut, the mill running about the same length of time as in the year previous ; about 300,000 laths were also turned out this year and the lumber was all rafted down river. The mill ran for a period of six months during the year of 1874, cutting nearly 3,000,000 feet, 500,000 feet of which were retailed and the remainder rafted. Nothing was done in the picket line, but about 1,200,000 lath were turned out. In 1875, the mill was started the 19th of April and did not shut down till the 19th of November. About 4,600,000 feet were sawed, together with 740,000 laths and 235,000 pickets. This year 1,800 cords of slats were also turned out. The number of employes was increased to thirty and the average wages paid about $1.25 per day. During the season of 1876, the mill ran nearly seven months' cutting, 4,500,000 feet being sawed with 1,000,000 laths and 40,000 pickets ; 1,000,000 feet of the lumber was piled and the rest rafted. About 1,800 cords of slabs were also sold. In 1877, the mill ran only three months and a half, and cut during that time 2,100,000 feet. Nothing was done this year in the picket line, but about 1,200,000 laths were turned 'out, together with 1,000 cords of slabs. In 1878, the mill ran only three months, and cut 1,900,000 feet, 500,000 of that amount being piled; no laths or pickets were made, but 1,500 cords of slabs were sold to different parties. In 1879, the mill commenced the 13th of May and cut between 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 feet of lumber, of which 1,500,000 was piled and sold at retail ; neither pickets or laths were manufactured that year, but about 2,500 cords of slabs were turned out. In 1877, W. H. Polley sold the mill to his two sons, W. E. and E. H. Polley, who have since run it in a very proper manner. The number of employes is about thirty, and the average wages paid is about $1 per day. Hiram Goddard's Mill. — This mill is located on French Island, about half a mile northwest of the city limits. Its erection dates from 1875, when it was built by C. B. Dawes, of Muske gon, Mich., under the direction of Mr. Goddard. The land appurtenant to the mill, and used for a yard, etc., comprises fifteen acres. The mill has excellent machinery, and has a sawing capac ity of 5,000,000 feet per year. The first summer it was operated the lumber cut reached 2,000,000 feet, of which amount 500,000 feet were retailed here and the remainder rafted to down-river points. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 611 In 1876, operations were begun in the second week in April, and kept up until September. The mill ran to half its capacity for a full season, cutting 2,500,000 feet of lumber, all being rafted, except 400,000 feet. In 1877, the third season, work was begun May 1, and continued until the middle of September. The business done amounted to about the same as the previous year, 2,500,000 feet being cut, which, with the exception of 300,000 feet, was rafted. Of shingles, 2,000,000 were manufactured together with 500,000 laths. In 1878, work was begun the second week in April and continued 120 days, during which time the timber cut aggregated 2,000,000 feet. Of this all but 300,000 feet was rafted. The lath cut amounted to 400,000, and 140,000 shingles were also turned out. In 1879, the mill started up on the 10th of May, and run about five months, turning out about 3,500,000 feet of lumber, which, with the exception of 500,000 feet was rafted down the river. Between 500,000 and 800,000 laths were turned out this year together with about 2,500,000 shingles. The hands in this mill receive from $1 to $3 per day. There are employed around and about the mill about fifty persons, including a few boys and girls. The mill is substantially built and conveniently arranged, and is well and economically managed, and in the enjoyment of a fair share of public confidence and patronage. Mr. Goddard is a thorough business man, and very farseeing in the management of his mill and all the details looking to its success. C. II. Nichols $ Co.'s Saw-Mill. — This mill is situated on the Black River, about two miles north of the city limits. Its construction was commenced in the spring of 1856 by Messrs. Royse, Boice, Melville & Co., and completed in June of that year, J. S. Nichols doing the work, and Peter Sardin was the first sawyer, and a man named Mitchell was the first engineer. J. S. Nichols performed the duties of superintendent and manager. The first year the mill was operated, it showed a capacity of 16,000 feet per day, and the amount of lumber cut was 2,500,000 feet, all of which was rafted except 900,000 feet, which was sold at retail in this market. In 1859, the mill was sold to C. M. Nichols, but it remained idle until 1860, under going repairs in the meantime. It was then operated steadily until 1864, when it was not run at all, as the water in the Black River was unusually low, causing a great scarcity in logs. The average price of lumber from 1857 to 1865 was between $13 and $15 per thousand. The price gradually increased from 1865 to 1868, which was the period of plentiful currency in good times, reaching, in the latter year, $22 per thousand. In 1873, the mill was purchased by C. H. Nichols & Co. The " Co." comprises two names, and the firm in full is Messrs. C. H. Nichols, F. E. Nichols and Frank Pooler. After these gentlemen purchased it, they materially Changed it and increased its capacity, enabling them to turn out 45,000 feet of lumber, 30,000 shingles and 10,000 laths per day. These were rafted South as quickly as manufactured, and sold in the down-river markets. But very little attention was bestowed upon local or retail trade. The property was valued at $25,000. A fifty-acre lot is owned and occupied by Messrs. Nichols k Co. in connection with the mill. They have a vested title of the riparian rights for a mile along the east shore of Black River in the matter of handling logs, tying up rafts, etc. Twelve men are employed in sorting and rafting, at a daily compensation of about $25. Nichols & Co. also own a planing-mill, which is run in connection with the saw-mill. It is one-eighth of a mile east of the latter. It affords employment to five men, and is fitted up with machinery of the latest and most improved patterns. This mill runs about three months in the year. Messrs. Nichols & Co.'s mill was entirely consumed by fire, October 5, 1880. About ten days after this, a corps of carpenters went at work, in laying the foundation for a new one, and their present large mill was completed and the first sawing done on the 9th day of May, 1881. After running one and a half days, they shut down for the purpose of arranging some little defects. On the 14th day of this month, however, a full force of men went at work, and they have been in constant operation since. This mill is in size 36x144, and has a capacity of 120,000 feet of lumber in twenty-four hours. They employ 102 hands in the mill — including a few boys and girls in the lath and shingle- rooms— at a daily compensation of $160. They have now in process of construction a number HE 1KBSi BMP 1 11 !^rfe'^.^(^lMaV.»«MrV. I/; ¦ af^J-li Missing Page Missing Page HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 615 of rafting sheds. A larger portion of the lumber cut is rafted ; however, in the fall, about 2,000,000 feet is piled in the yard at the mill. The entire cost of the mill amounts to $35,000. John Paul's Saw-Mill. — In 1860, John Paul purchased the ground upon which his saw mill is now built, from Nathan Myrick and Daniel Cameron, and erected thereon a saw-mill, with a capacity of from 10,000 to 12,000 feet per day. His whole investment amounted to about $2,000. The mill ran about five months the first season, cutting 800,000 feet of lumber, all of which was retailed here at about $8 per thousand. The capacity of the mill and its business gradually increased until 1868, when it was destroyed by bursting of the boilers. With laudable energy and enterprise, Mr. Paul at once set to work to rebuild the mill and in six weeks from the time of the calamity, another large mill was completed and put into oper ation. Since 1868, improvements were made each year, by the addition of machinery, and its capacity was increased from 130,000 to 150,000 feet per day. In 1878, about 14,000,000 feet of lumber was turned out, 9,000,000 feet of which was piled and the remainder shipped. In the winter of 1880 and 1881, new buildings throughout were erected, the dimensions of the main building being 64x190, with two additional wings, one 24x120 and the other 20x32. The engine and boiler house, constructed of stone and iron, is 42x50. The motive power con sists of two engines, each 22x24, with a capacity of 600 horse-power, and eight boilers, 44 inches by 24 feet, and also one steam double pump, which feeds the boilers. The machinery in the mill consists of two double log rotaries ; two gangs, one of forty-one saws and the other twenty-eight saws ; two, five-saw edgers ; two, four-saw automatic slat and edging cutters, with lumber trimmers of a capacity to correspond. The machinery for the manufacture of lath and shingles has a sufficient capacity to cut all the lath and shingles required in the manufacture of 150,000 feet of lumber per day. Connected with the mill is also one of Sumner's patent double dry -kilns; a log slide, which Mr. Paul patented in 1877, and on account of its worth is now in use in all the large saw-mills throughout this section of the country ; planing and match ing machines of a capacity to supply all the demands of his immense trade. The entire cost of this structure amounts to $85,000. Mr. Paul has two lumber-yards in La Crosse, one at the mill ; and the other on the Eastern outskirts of the city. Besides these, he has also yards throughout Southern Minnesota and Dakota at the following places : Rushford, Lanesboro, Fountain, Wykoff, Spring Valley, Dexter, Albert Lea, Alden, Wells, Mapleton, Good Thunder, Delavan, Huntley, Sherburne, Jackson, Lakefield, De Forest, Edgerton, Pipestone, Airlee, in Minnesota, and Flandreau, Egan, Dell Rapids, Madison and Wentworth, in Dakota Territory. Of the amount of lumber sawed yearly, two-thirds of it is piled in the La Crosse yards and shipped to these branch yards, while the remaining one-third is rafted in the Mississippi River to Southern markets. About 10,000,000 feet is constantly kept in the La Crosse yards, and about 5,000,000 feet at the branch yards. The logs supplying this mill come from the Chippewa, Black and St. Croix Rivers. In 1880, Mr. Paul sawed 30,000,000 feet of lumber, and manufactured 12,000,000 shingles and 6,000,000 laths, this being more than was ever before sawed by any individual mill on the Mississippi River. In the manufacture of such an enor mous amount of lumber, Mr. Paul employed three hundred hands, at a daily compensation of $550. This is one of the largest mills in the Northwest. It is everywhere regarded as first- class, and the ready market it meets with proves that it has no superior in popular favor. N. B. Holway's Saw-Mill— -This mill is situated on the Black River, in North La Crosse, near the railroad track of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and its premises include an area of four blocks. It was purchased from Robert Ross by N. B. Holway in 1876, and he worked it until June, 1877, when it was destroyed by fire. In no way disheartened by the calamity, he soon set to work to rebuild the mill, which was completed and ready to resume operations in the following spring. The size of the mill is 44x152, substantially built, and the machinery introduced is among the costliest and latest improved in this part of the country, and the arrangements throughout the mill are the most complete. The capacity of the engine that 616 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. drives the saw-mill and the shingle-mill is gauged at 100-horse power, and there are five boilers. The engine house is built of brick and iron, and large fire-proof iron doors lead from the engine- room to the mill. The saw-filing room is on the second floor, on the south side, and near the center of the building. There are two steam carriages, one on each side of the mill. The cut ting capacity of the mill is 100,000 feet per day. In the fall of 1880, water-pipe was laid through the mill premises, and runs through the two stories and all along the roof of the build ing, enabling persons to cover the entire roof with water in case of fire. In 1878, the mill ran three months, during which time it cut about 4,000,000 feet of lumber. It would have run longer had not a somewhat serious accident happened to the machinery. Early in June, one of the bolts of the engine gave way and was carried into the machinery, breaking it badly and caus ing incalculable damage. This necessitated the shutting down of the machinery for about two months. In 1879, work was begun in the middle of May, and the mill run steadily until N. B. HOLWAY'S SAW MILL, LA. CKOSSE. November 11, having cut about 8,000,000 feet of lumber, manufactured 5,000,000 shingles, and about 3 500 cords of slab-wood. The year 1880 excelled all previous years, and with a steady run night and day, from April 6 until November 14, with the exception of two weeks in June during high water, the mill turned out 18,500,000 feet of lumber, 7,250,000 shingles, 1,000,- UOU laths and 7,500 cords of slabs, and all of this with only two circular saws. Nearly all the lumber shingles and lath manufactured by Mr. Holway is rafted down the Mississippi River to all lumber markets between La Crosse and St. Louis, the principal markets being Keokuk, Iowa, and Hannibal Mo. Common lumber has sold for all the way from $7.50 to $12 per thousand ; first grade of shingles from $2.50 to $3 ; second grade from $1.75 to $2.25 ; lath, $1.50 to $1.75 per thousand Ihe cost of running the lumber down in rafts averages 75 cents per thousand. Slabs sell at the mill at $1.25 per cord ; $1.50 to $1.75 per cord delivered at houses or on steam boats. Ihe mill employs 150 hands, including the employes of the shingle and lath mills. The HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 617 » wages range from $1.25 to $5 per day, averaging about $1.50. Mr. Holway is the only lumberman in La Crosse that pays any attention to the sale of saw-dust. This article is being sifted and kept clear of bark and sticks, and sells at 50 cents per cord at the mill, and is shipped to customers by railroad at $8 per car. The sale of this article is increasing very rapidly. Withee 's Saw-Mill. — This was a large mill, having several buildings as necessary appurte nances, all of which occupied in the aggregate an area of six acres. It was located on French Island — a short distance north of the city and opposite Onalaska on the west, and is reached by a bridge which crosses Black River. It was built by William Listman, who commenced work in October, 1872, and finished it the following May. The property was valued at $35,000 when the mill was completed in 1873. Hixon k Withee, with their customary enterprise and energy, lost no time in supplying it with machinery and getting the mill in fine working order, and active ¦operations were begun without delay. They started out with sixty employes in all departments of the mill, who received an average of $1.75 per day. During the summer of 1873, the lum ber sawed amounted to 6,000,000 feet. All this was rafted down the Mississippi to Hannibal, where, in conjunction with Capt. Pettibone, a former resident and Mayor of La Crosse, Hixon & Withee owned another saw-mill. The average cost of rafting lumber to down-river points is .$1 per thousand, and men engaged in that work received from $2 to $3 per day in 1873. During the summer of 1874, about the same number of hands was employed, and the lum ber sawed amounted to about 5,000,000 feet; of this, 3,000,000 feet was rafted to Hannibal, the remainder being piled up at the mill. During this same season, William Listman assumed con trol and management of the mill, while his son, Charles Listman, entered upon the duties of Su perintendent and book-keeper. During the winter of 1874-75, from six to ten men were em ployed in repairing the mill and enlarging the capacity, and considerable new machinery was put in. In 1875, logs were plentiful, and the amount sawed amounted to 8,000,000 feet, of which all but 1,000,000 was rafted to Hannibal, the remainder being piled in the mill-yard, as were also 3,000 cords of slabs turned out that year. A like aggregate of lumber was cut during the summer of 1876. Of this amount, 800,000 feet was piled in the yard, and the remainder rafted to Hannibal. During the summer of 1877, on account of the lowness of the water, but few logs were available, and the mill was in operation only a little more than two months. The amount of lumber cut amounted to 3,000,000 feet, all of which was rafted. The summer of 1878, in all essential particulars, was a repetition of the preceding one, the mill running only ten weeks, cut ting 3,000,000 feet, all of which was likewise rafted. In 1880, 11,700,000 feet of lumber was cut. This was a magnificent mill in all its appointments. The engine, which was manufactured at the shop of Thornely & James, in the city of La Crosse, is as fine a one as can be found any where in the East. It was put in in the winter of 1875, had four boilers, and its capacity was rated at 100-horse power. The mill was two stories in height, and had a capacity of 60,000 feet of lumber per day. During the same period it could turn out 26,000 shingles, or 2,500,000 per year. The aggregate expenses were $100 per day. The boom belonging to the mill is a large and strong one, and can easily and safely hold 5,000,000 feet of logs. This mill, a model of perfection, was entirely consumed by fire on the 15th day of May, 1881. The loss amounted to $25,000, with an insurance of only $9,000. It is now being replaced by a new one of larger dimensions, being 48x192, and will, when finished, cost about $30,000, and will have a capacity of 60,000 feet per day. La Crosse Lumber Company's Mill— This fine mill was erected in 1871, the owners being C C. Washburn, Abner Gile, N. B. Holway, Ruel Weston, J. H. Weston and G. R. Shep- herdson. It was constructed under the direction of Samuel Moffitt, of Muskegon, Mich. On ¦June 17, 1872, it was started up for the first time. A large number of hands were employed, their average daily wages being $225. But very little work was done that season in the manu facture of shingles and laths. In 1873, work Was begun in April and continued to September. During that time the lumber cut reached 11,000,000 feet, while 5,000,000 shingles were manu- 618 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. * factured and 3,000,000 laths were turned out. The lumber was nearly all rafted. About 4,000 cords of edgings and slabs were sold during the season, the prices ranging from 75 cents to $1.50 per cord. The business of 1874 was almost a repetition of that of 1873, and it would be superfluous to enlarge upon it by giving the items. In 1875, C. C. Washburn bought up all the stock and the mill passed into his hands. No change worthy of mention was made in the administration of the mill with the excep tion of I. L. Nevins assuming the management, and under his supervision the mill has since been run, with the able assistance of F. A. Copeland. In April, 1875, it was put into opera tion and run about four months, cutting 9,000,000 feet of lumber. One-third of this was piled in the appurtenant yards and the remainder rafted to lumber markets down the Mississippi River. In 1876, the lumber cut reached the aggregate of 15,000,000 feet, the season lasting from the middle of April until the 1st of October. One-third of this was piled and the remaining 10,000,000 feet was rafted. The average daily wages that season was $2. In 1877, work was begun in the latter part of April, and continued until the middle of July, when, owing to scarcity of logs, it had to be discontinued. For this brief season, however, the cut aggregated 6,000,000 feet. On June 7, of that year, the mill had a very narrow escape from destruction by fire, which originated in the ventilator over the boiler, and consumed the entire roof of the engine house before it could be extinguished. In 1878, the lumber cut was about 7,500,000 feet, a little over half of this was piled and the remainder rafted down the Mississippi River. About 4,000,000 shingles, and 1,500,000 laths were also manufactured. In 1880 the mill cut a grand total of 22,000,000 feet including lath. This year, work was started in May. It is intended to cut 10,000,000 feet, 4,000,000 of which will be piled and the remainder rafted down the river. The prospects for a big business are very flattering. There are from 150 to 175 men employed in and about the mill with F. A. Copeland,| Assistant Manager and book-keeper ; A. G. Nevins, Manager of the yard ; G. L. Kingsley^ Superintendent of the mill ; M. Erickson, engineer. The dimensions of the main building are " 56x156, and it is two stories in height. The machinery consists of double and single rotaries, and it has two gang-saws, one of which has thirty and the other forty saws. The shingle mill is 24x48, and contains one double block machine, which cuts on the average, 75,000 shingles/ per day. Three engines impart the necessary motive power to this vast labyrinth of machinery. The largest of them is gauged at 600-horse power, the second in size, at 500 and the third at 20. A double pump supplies the necessary drinking water, and is also available in cases of emer gency, to extinguish fires. In addition to this, is a regular fire-pump, which, for safety, is kept in a fire-proof compartment. The planing mill, another of the auxiliary buildings, has notably fine machinery, consisting of one double surfacer, one flooring machine, a molding machine,;; etc. An area of twenty-seven lots is occupied by the mill, its auxiliary buildings, and for yard ' purposes. This property, as it now stands, has cost at least $200,000, and La Crosse is justly proud of it. Freeman Sf Co., Flouring-Mills. — The great flouring-mill of A. A. Freeman k Co., was first put into operation by E. V. White & Co., in 1875, and purchased by the present owners and operators, Messrs. A. A. Freeman and Ernst Zeidler, in 1878. Upon Mr. Zeidler devolves the entire superintendency of the establishment. The main building is 65x80 feet, built of stone, the walls being from five and one-half to seven and one-half feet thick at bottom, and running out to twenty inches' at the top of the fifth story, where an iron cornice is, in turn, sur mounted by an iron roof. Above this yet, is a large iron-clad cupola containing machinery. The additions to the main building are a stone engine-room with iron roof, in size 47x52 feet ; an office, also of stone, 20x26 feet ; an iron-clad elevator, 87x50, having a capacity of 80,000 bushels, built at an expense of $15,000. Beginning properly with the power which propels the machinery, to describe that portion of the establishment, we first visit the engine-room, and it is a visit that will amply repay the stroller, for he will here find one of the most powerful and HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 619 finely-finished pieces of machinery west of the great lakes. It is a low pressure Harris-Corliss engine of the latest pattern, having a cylinder twenty inches in diameter, with a stroke of five feet. The entire machinery is as finely-finished, and works as smoothly as a Waltham watch, and the room would be quite still, were it not for the continuous cracking noise produced by the strokes of the fly-wheel, as they pass downward through the opening in which this vast circle of iron, twenty feet in diameter, and weighing 40,000 pounds, swings. The face of the fly-wheel is three feet across, and from it runs the double leather belt thirty inches wide and 110 feet long, which, acting on a thirteen foot pulley on the main shaft, propels the entire machinery of the mill. The foundation of the engine is a marvel of solidity. It was obtained by excavatin the entire size of the room, down to the solid sand below the deposits of the river, and on this FBEEMAN & CO.'S FLOURING MILLS, LA CROSSE. surface grounding a two and one-half foot bed of cement concrete. Above this, and nearly up to the level of the machinery, is a solid brick wall laid in cement, 80,000 brick being required for this purpose alone. Capping the brick and supporting the engine, pumps and other machinery are sixteen pieces of cut granite from the Westerly, R. I., quarries, weighing in the aggregate, 60,000 pounds. The cost of the engine and its foundation was $13,000. The basement is filled with shafting, pulleys, etc., and the solid iron husks on which rest the fifteen pairs of French buhr stones, which are in the first story. These are all driven by belts from the main shaft with loose pulleys, so that any one of them may be stopped at once without interfering with its fellows. From a pulley on the main shaft also runs an eighteen- inch belt to the third story, where it drives the purifyers, elevators, rollers and smaller 620 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. machinery. The buhr stones and much of the original machinery was ordered by Mr. White, when the mill was building, from samples on exhibition from Hungary, France and other foreign nations at the American Centennial. The five runs added in 1879 are similar in size and manufacture to the ten runs originally put in. On this floor are also the packers and conveniences for taking in the empty barrels, and sending them out filled with the celebrated brand of flour for which the mill is noted, " A. A. Freeman & Co's. Superlative Patent Minnesota." Other grades and brands are of course made, though this is the principal one, and the one on which the mill has acquired a reputation sufficiently great to warrant the quotation of its products in the New York market among the highest. They manufacture a great number of 140 pound sacks of flour, which is shipped directly to the London Market. Sacks of this size have become popular for foreign shipments, being one-half of an English quarter. In the third story are nearly all of the purifiers, so arranged as to produce but little dust, being tightly boxed in, thus avoiding the danger from dust explosions, about which so much has been written and said of late. The fourth floor is devoted to the rollers, and to the bolting reels which begin on this floor and extend upward clear to the roof. In the upper story are the elevators and distributing machinery, a perfect labyrinth of spouts and conveyors, seemingly beyond the power of any one mind to remember or operate correctly. The establishment thus briefly described, represents a cost of nearly $300,000, gives employment to thirty-five men in the mill alone, aside from the coopers and wheat buyers, making in all about sixty-five men, whose weekly, pay amounts to more than $650. The capacity of the mill is 800 barrels of flour in twenty-four hours, consuming for this about 4,000 bushels of wheat per day, or about 30,000 bushels per week, in all more than a million bushels per year. The immense benefit to the city from such a manufacturing establishment, is beyond an ordinary estimate, affording as it does the steady employment to a large number of skilled workmen, making this an advantageous wheat market, and also attracting here other enterprises of a similar character. The new levee constructed by the St. Paul Railroad, saves them in the aggregate about $3,000 per year, as previous to its construction their cartage cost them that * amount. One of the side-tracks runs so close to the platform that barrels may be loaded directly into, and wheat elevated directly out of the cars. Besides this, the shipping facilities afforded by the river, makes the city of La Crosse unsurpassed as a location for flouring-mills and other manufacturing establishments. William Listman's Mill. — In April, 1879, C. A. White and William Listman associated with them G. Van Steenwyk, as a special partner, and they at once laid the foundation for a new flouring-mill, which was completed and ready for operation so that the first grinding was done December 1, 1879. This mill is a monument to the milling enterprise and exceptional business ability of its founders and present proprietor. The Victor has a capacity of from 500 to 600 barrels per day, and is unsurpassed by any mill of its size in the Northwest. It is largely constructed to work on the Hungarian gradual reduction system, modified, perhaps, for more perfect adaptation to the hard Minnesota wheat. The building, which is of red brick upon heavy stone basement walls, is six stories high, of exceptionally fine appearance, and is 85x61, with a boiler-room, 42x24, in the northern extremity, making the extreme length of the building 109 feet. It has an iron roof and cornice, with corrugated iron covering the walls of the upper portion. In the basement, a line of heavy shafting runs the entire length of the building, resting upon iron stands supported by heavy pins of masonry. Parallel to this shafting are ten sets of heavy iron hurst frames. The grinding-floor occupies a portion of the second story, where may be found ten run of four-foot mill-stones, including the ending-stones. The buhrs are of the best quality of French violet stock, selected especially and with great care for the mill, and are surpassed by none in this section. Connecting the line of buhrs with Behrn's patent exhaust, are several pipes. Thus all the flour dust is saved, and the danger of explosion reduced to a minimum scale, if not done away with utterly. In front of the buhrs are two double sets of corrugated HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 621 rollers for reducing wheat, with room for eight or ten sets more to be added as they may be needed. On the opposite side of this floor are four flour-packers, which have a capacity for packing from 600 to 800 barrels per day. A part of the extensive repairs of 1880 consists in eleven reduction machines for the reduction of wheat, which were added to this floor. The third floor contains the rollers, having at its construction ten double sets of roller- mills, six of them having porcelain and six chilled iron rollers. In 1880, four more sets of rollers were added to this number. Here also are the flour-bins, cleaned wheat and a part of the middlings bins. Nearly all of the elevators — upward of forty in number — stand in line on this floor, reaching to the top of the cupola story. On the fourth floor were eight standard purifiers, with now an additional five, making, in all, thirteen ; sixteen reels, four aspirators and seven bins for different kinds of material. On the fifth floor are fourteen reels, one aspirator, seven standard purifiers, three large exhaust fans and a large amount of shafting, gearing, etc. On the sixth floor, commonly known as the cupola floor, are two large rolls for dusting and grading middlings, an Empire bran duster, a large receiving separator, capable of handling 600 bushels of wheat per hour ; several WILLIAM LISTMAN'S VICTOR MILLS, LA CROSSE. bins for cleaning middlings, and the large dust room, in connection with the purifiers and having the Washburn exhaust, doing away with all danger of dust explosion, it being considered one of the most important and valuable milling inventions of the age. The wheat-cleaning machinery may be found in an addition to the main building, which was constructed especially for it. It embraces grading reels, seperators, cockle and dust machines, etc., all of the most improved modern construction. December 17, 1880, Mr. White retired and Mr. Listman purchased his entire interest. C. L. Colman and L. C. Colman at this time became, with G. Van Steenwyk, as special partners. Thirty-five men are constantly employed in the mill, at a daily compensation of about $75. Be sides this, thirty men are employed in the manufacture of the necessary barrels for the mill. The original cost of the mill at its construction in 1879, amounted to $70,000, and in 1880, the improvements made amounted to $15,000, making the present valuation of the enterprise $85,000. The motive power of this new and desirable addition to the industries of La Crosse is a Rey nolds-Corliss engine of 250-horse power. Thus, it will be seen at a glance that the " Victor " has but few rivals east of the Mississippi River, and its proprietor is to be congratulated upon the work so thoroughly wrought. 622 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. In September, 1879, Yeo & Clark commenced the building of a flouring-mill, which was completed, stocked with the necessary machinery and put into operation in January, 1880. The mill is situated on the corner of Pine and Second streets, and is built of brick, its dimensions being 40x50 feet, three stories in height. Its machinery is impelled by a 60 horse-power Harris- Corliss Engine. It has a capacity of 100 barrels in twenty-four hours ; five men are steadily em ployed at a weekly compensation of about $75. The wheat ground is purchased from the farmers in the vicinity, the highest market price always being paid, and the flour in general is sold to the dealers in the city, although during certain times of the year a large amount is shipped to the Eastern markets. The mill represents a total cost and valuation of $15,000. ELEVATORS. The purchase and shipment of grain forms one of the leading industries of La Crosse, and elevators of large capacity and innumerable conveniences furnish accommodation for storage of shipments in transit. In addition to those connected with the several mills, there are others which supply the demand of vendors in the city contiguous to railway outlets and constantly occupied. W. W. CARG1LL & BRO.'S ELEVATOR, LA CROSSE. W. W. Cargill - HISTORY OF LA CROSSE. COUNTY. 687 The first tavern was built in 1854 by L eroy Stanford, on land which he purchased from Luther Downer. This was a small one-story-and-a-half frame building. In 1854, Mons Anderson and Van Austin each gave an acre of land, on which a ceme tery was laid out. In 1855, George Sisson, Leroy Stanford and John F. Arnold laid out a town site on Sec tion 21, to which they gave the name of Newton. Upon the removal of the post office here from the dwelling of Lloyd L. Lewis, this became Mindoro Post OflSce, which name it still retains. The first church in the town of Hamilton was built by the Lutherans in 1857, near the Union Mills. The congregation was organized October 14, 1856, by Rev. H. A. Stub, from Coon Prairie. He remained Pastor until 1861, when he was succeeded by Rev. L. Larson, who was Pastor until 1862. Rev. J. B. Frich then assumed the pastoral care of the church, remaining until 1872, when the present Pastor, Rev. W. L. Frich, took charge of it. Among the first members organizing the congregation were Ole Anderson, Syvert Olson, Frederick 01- son, Syvert Anderson, John Anderson and Kristian Klemdson. During the year 1880, this church had sixty communicants, twelve baptisms, six confirmations, two marriages and one death. In 1869, the German Methodists erected a church building, and, in 1870, the Adventists built their church. Methodist Episcopal Church. — The early history of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Mindoro, in the town of Farmington, is very meager. We find that in 1855 Rev. Smith lived in the parsonage that had been put up the yeir previous but not entirely finished, preaching once in two weeks in the morning. In the afternoon of the same day, he preached at South Bend. The appointments were held at private houses, alternating between Dr. George W. Ha vens' and W. L. Raymond's. During the following summer, a schoolhouse was built, after which services were held in that. In 1857, Rev. John Holt preached in this circuit, having a large revival, the fruits of which are still manifest. In 1860, Rev. Dyer was sent by the Con ference, but after a few months he left the work. Rev. John Medd, in connection with a Mr. Perry, a local preacher, then supplied the work. In 1861. the Conference sent Rev. Cummings, but the year following he was returned. Rev. Olmsted was then sent by the Conference in 1863, and was followed by Rev. I. W. Cunningham in 1864-65. In 1866, Rev. Sweet had charge of the work ; in 1867, Rev. Aldrich ; in 1868-69, Rev. George Benham. In 1870, Rev. McCurdy was sent. He enlarged the work somewhat by including the Cas- teline neighborhood in his circuit. The work up to this time had been growing steadily, both by the arrival of emigrants and conversions. The subject of church building began to en gage the attention of the society. During the two following years (1871-72), Rev. Bunce, who had been sent there by the Conference, circulated a subscription. During his second year, he moved his family to Galesville, continuing to preach just the same, but did nothing more toward the building of a church. In 1873, Rev. T. J. Lewis came to the circuit, and during the two years of his stay, succeeded in erecting a very pretty and commodious church. A bell was do nated by an Eastern firm, and since that time has called the devout to worship. During the year 1873, Mindoro and West Salem were united, the appointments around Mindoro having been merged into that one. It is difficult to ascertain just at what time the several religious classes were formed. Father Atwater was Leader at South Bend as long as a class was held there. George Sisson, in connection with Rev. Chauncey Hobart, who was then Presiding Elder, formed the first class in Mindoro, he being appointed Leader. When the classes were consolidated, George G. Barber was appointed Leader. The first Mindoro class consisted of J. Parsons and wife, George Sisson and wife, Ben Congdon and wife, Alonzo Angel and wife, and Ed Broadbent. From this time the history was identified with West Salem, and will be found in connection with that. OFFICIAL. The first town election was held at the schoolhouse, near the dwelling of L. L. Lewis, April 4, 1854. The officers of this meeting consisted of John Hineman, George G. Barber, 688 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Milo Downer, Inspectors ; C. C. Palmer, D. L. Calkins, Clerks. The following were the officers elected at this meeting : Orlando Crook, Chairman ; H. V. Lacia, A. M. Hill, Supervisors ; George G. Barber, Superintendent of Schools ; William H. Kellow,' Clerk ; John Hineman, Treasurer; Allen Coman, Assessor; C. T. Snow, Simon Powers (seats vacated and John Hineman and Lorenzo L. Lewis elected to succeed them) ; W. B. Coman, R. H. Brown, Justices of the Peace ; C. Kimball, E. Broadbent, T. H. McPherson, A. Hobbs, Constables ; L. M. Stanford, Sealer. The following is a complete list of town officials to date : 1855 — C. C. Palmer, Chairman ; Simon Standish, A. S. Fuller, Supervisors ; George W. Havens, Superintendent of Schools ; Leonard Lottridge, Clerk ; W. B. Coman, Treasurer ; Allan Coman, Assessor ; John Hineman, James Ducker (did not qualify and Leonard Lottridge elected to fill his place), Justices of the Peace ; David Morse, George W. Huntley, Constables ; David McConnell, Sealer. 1856 — John I. Matthewson, Chairman ; J. H. Willard, A. Cram, Supervisors ; Jabez B. Coman, Superintendent of Schools; Leonard Lottridge, Clerk; Martin B. Ladd, Treasurer; A.M. Hill, Orlando Crook, V. Smith, Assessors; Solomon Farnam, A. W. Fuller, P. J. Mosier (did not qualify and A. Cram was elected in his place), Justices of the Peace ; J. McConnell, George Lincoln, B. I. Green, Constables. 1857 — C. C. Palmer, Chairman ; J. H. Willard, John Anderson, Supervisors ; Leonard Lottridge, Superintendent of Schools; George G. Barber, Clerk; H. H. Sly, Treasurer; D. Newcomb, Lorenzo, L. Lewis, C. Roberts, Assessors ; Leonard Lottridge, J. A. Young, Duncan A. Kennedy, Justices of the Peace ; G. W. Huntley, Jas. Mosier, T. McPherson, Constables. 1858 — C. C. Palmer, Chairman; J. T. Post, W. Miner, Supervisors; Jabez B. Coman, Superintendent of Schools; George G. Barber, Clerk; A. W. Gallup, Treasurer; W. B. Coman, J. Metcalf, Lorenzo L. Lewis, Assessors; George G. Barber, J. Metcalf, Justices of the Peace ; Lyman Underwood, D. J. Green, J. A. Gray, Constables. 1859 — J. S. Metcalf, Chairman ; A. S. W. Cook, J. G. Robbins, Supervisors ; Jabez B. Coman, Superintendent of Schools; A. J. Stevens, Clerk; J. A. Crandall, Treasurer; W. B. Coman, Barney Slifer, J. A. Young, Assessors ; Richard Halberg, W. B. Coman, Justices of the Peace; J. L. Wood, J. H. Willard, J. Paff, Jr., Constables. 1860 — J. S. Metcalf, Chairman ; J. G. Robbins, A. Pettingill, Supervisors ; Jabez B. Coman, Superintendent of Schools; A. S. W. Cook, Clerk; John Crandall, Treasurer; John I. Matthewson, S. Davis, Assessors; George G. Barber, J. S. Metcalf, Justices of the Peace; Martin Farwell, Peter Pipen, Jay Pettingill, Constables. 1861 — A. S. W. Cook, Chairman ; A. Pettingill, A. Marshall, Supervisors ; Jabez B. Coman, Superintendent of Schools ; Jabez B. Coman, Clerk ; John Crandall, Treasurer ; W. B. Coman, J. G. Robbins, Assessors ; Daniel A. Kennedy, J. H. Willard, Justices of the Peace ; F. Brown, Benjamin Reynolds, M. M. Farwell, Constables. 1862 — C. C. Palmer, Chairman ; S. Davis, W. L. Raymond, Supervisors ; Jabez B. Co- man, Clerk ; J. Crandall, Treasurer ; William Hood, J. I. Matthewson, Assessors ; George G. Barber, L. C. Jenkins, Justices of the Peace ; T. S. Brown, M. M. Farwell, Constables. 1863 — C. C. Palmer, Chairman ; S. Davis, A. Pettingill, Supervisors ; J. L. Pettingill, Clerk; E. Stevens, Treasurer; J. H. Willard, W. B. Coman, P. Quiggle, Assessors; J. H. Willard, P. McConnell, W. B. Atwater, Justices of the Peace ; Peter Pepin, J. S. Chandler, F. S. Brown, Constables. 1864 — C. C. Palmer, Chairman ; S. Davis, A. Pettingill, Supervisors ; J. L. Pettingill, Clerk; W. E. Hewitt, Treasurer; P. Quiggle, A. Marshall, Assessors; George G. Barber, R. Holberg, Justices of the Peace ; F. S. Brown, R. H. Brown, A. Craig, Constables. 1865 — A. S. W. Cook, Chairman ; John Kenrick, S. Davis, Supervisors ; J. L. Pettingill, Clerk ; W. E. Hewitt, Treasurer ; William Hood, Allan Coman, Assessors ; R. Holberg, J. E. Atwater, J. A. Young, Justices of the Peace ; George W. Huntley, John Paff, George Schliger, Constables. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 689 1866 — A. S. W. Cook, Chairman ; F. D. Arnold, John A. Young, Supervisors ; J. L. Pettingill, Clerk; W. E. Hewitt, Treasurer; Philipp Quiggle, Jacob Welda, M. B. Ladd, As sessors ; George G. Barber, W. B. Atwater, Justices of the Peace ; (Philip McConnell was also elected in place of J. E. Atwater, removed, and W. L. Matthewson in place of J. A. Young, who failed to qualify) ; David Downer, 0. A. Sisson, Lucas Young, Constables. 1867— A. S. W. Cook, Chairman; F. D. Arnold, George Schliger, Supervisors; J. L. Pettingill, Clerk ; W. E. Hewitt, Treasurer ; J. I. Matthewson, Duncan Mcintosh, W. B. Co- man, Assessors ; A. Angell, J. S. Metcalf, Joseph Amadon, Justices of the Peace ; M. M. Man ville, C. Craig, Eugene A. West, Constables. 1868 — J. B. Coman, Chairman; William F. Storandt,John Johnson, Supervisors; Silas Sherburne, Clerk; Robert Hodge, Treasurer; C. Roberts, J. Brownlow, A. Wells, Assessors; R. Tower, D. J. S. McGiven, Justices of the Peace ; F. S. Brown, Frank Young, D. Hall' Constables. 1869— Philip Quiggle, Chairman ; John Johnson, E. Ewert, Supervisors ; J. L. Pettin gill, Clerk ; Philip McConnell, Treasurer ; George Hodge, Assessor ; George G. Barber, J. S. Metcalf, Justices of the Peace ; L. F. Crandall, F. S. Brown, Alfred Jones, Constables. 1870 — J. L. Pettengill, Chairman ; John Johnson, John A. Young, Supervisors ; W. E. Hewitt, Clerk; Robert Hogg, Treasurer; George Hodge, Assessor; G. Congdon, D. A. Kennedy, S. Davis, Justices of the Peace ; F. S. Brown, William Gavin, D. H. Hall, Con- 1871 — J. L. Pettingill, Chairman; John Johnson, John A. Young, Supervisors; George G. Barber, Clerk ; E. Ewert, Treasurer ; P. McConnell, Assessor ; George G. Barber, L. F. Crandell, Chester Andrews, Syvert Anderson, Justices of the Peace; F. S. Brown, Allan McDonald, Ole Olson, Constables. 1872 — J. L. Pettingill, Chairman ; George Hodge, George Schliger, Supervisors ; 0. S. Sisson, Clerk; P. McConnell, Treasurer; D. A. Kennedy, Assessor; J. T. Fowler, John Amundson, Justices of the Peace ; F. S. Brown, William Fabian, Mike Stetzer, Constables. 1873 — John Johnson, Chairman ; Jay Pettingill, George Schliger, Supervisors ; George G. Barber, Clerk; J. A. Pettingill, Treasurer; George Hodge, Assessor; L. F. Crandall, George G. Barber, Justices of the Peace ; Charles Thorp, F. J. Arnold, T. Herrington, Con- 1874 — John Johnson, Chairman ; Philipp McConnell, John Paff, Supervisors ; George G. Barber, Clerk ; John Amundson, Treasurer ; S. Middlebrook, George Hodge, Assessors ; John Amundson, (). S. Sisson, Justices of the Peace; F. J. Arnold, William Kremer, Constables. 1875 — John Johnson, Chairman ; P. McConnell, John Paff, Supervisors ; L. F. Crandall, Clerk ; John Amundson, Treasurer ; George Hodge, Assessor ; George G. Barber, L. F. Cran dall, W. A. Woolhiser, Justices of the Peace ; 0. A. Sisson, C. R. Thorp, B. F. McClintock, Constables. 1876 — John A. Pettingill, Chairman ; D. Mcintosh, David Brown, Supervisors ; 0. R. Tower, Clerk ; John Amundson, Treasurer ; George Hodge, Assessor ; John Amundson, H. L. Roberts, Justices of the Peace; J. Willard, E. M. Henry, 0. A. Sisson, Constables. 1877 — John Johnson, Chairman ; Jay Pettingill, William F. Storandt, Supervisors ; S. Middlebrook, Clerk ; John Amundson, Treasurer ; George Hodge, Assessor : George G. Barber, F. J. Willard, Henry Tepach, Justices of the Peace ; 0. R. Thorp, 0. A. Sisson, W. Martin, Constables. 1878 — John Johnson, Chairman ; Jay Pettingill, William F. Storandt, Supervisors ; S. Middlebrook, Clerk ; M. M. Farwell, Treasurer ; W. B. Atwater, Assessor ; A. P. Fuller, John Johnson, Justices of the Peace ; Thomas Hodge, W. Martin, Charles Thorp, Constables. 1879 — Jay Pettingill, Chairman ; F. J. Willard, Even Erickson, Supervisors ; S. Middle brook, Clerk ; M. M. Farwell, Treasurer ; A. S. W. Cook, Assessor ; F. J. Willard, George G. Barber, A. P. Fuller, Justices of the Peace; James Mcintosh, H. D. Fuller, James Hodge, Constables. 690 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 1880 — Jay Pettingill, Chairman; F. J. Willard, Even Erickson, Supervisors; S. Middle brook, Clerk ; M. M. Farwell, Treasurer ; A. S. W. Cook, Assessor ; John Johnson, W. B. Atwater, Justices of the Peace ; James H. Mcintosh, W. Martin, James H. Hodge, Constables. 1881 — 0. S. Sisson, Chairman ; Even Erickson, F. J. Willard, Supervisors ; S. Middle brook, Clerk ; A. C. Hanson, Treasurer ; A. S. W. Cook, Assessor ; George G. Barber, W. F. Storandt, Justices of the Peace ; 0. A. Sisson, L. B. Cox, F. Vogle, Constables. TOWN OF HAMILTON. This town is located in the central part of the county, and is irregularly surveyed and laid out into fifty-five and a half sections of the best land in the La Crosse Valley. The general contour of the town is broken ; the northern portion is diversified by bluff's and ravines, which renders but two-thirds of the town susceptible of cultivation. The middle and southern parts of the town are of rolling prairie, and well adapted for grain or stock raising, the latter now being the leading industry. The La Crosse River, flowing through the town, renders it fertile, and furnishes abundant water-power, which is utilized for milling purposes. EARLY SETTLEMENT. The first settlement in the present limits of Hamilton was made by Emfin Emfinson, a Nor wegian, who left his native Norway in the summer of 1850, and, in the fall of the same year, located a claim of 160 acres on Sections 28 and 29. Here he erected a small log cabin, which, with his wife and family, he occupied one year, when he left for other and more promising fields. During the winter of 1850, Thomas Leonard and Julius Segar made their appearance in the town, and remained long enough to erect a small log cabin, which was taken possession of by their families in the following spring, May 17, 1851, being the date of their arrival. Thomas Leonard, whose death occurred in the village of West Salem, December 10, 1878, was born in Minerva, Essex Co., N. Y. October 29, 1806. He was married to Miss Belinda Mason, Sep tember 27, 1830. He and his family resided in New York until September, 1850, when they removed to Marquette Co., Wis. About this time, glowing reports of the fine location and promise of a large and flourishing city on the banks of the Mississippi River, called La Crosse, reached Marquette, and the subject of our sketch, with his family, decided to go farther West and visit the new field that was attracting so much attention. In May, 1851, he settled on land where a portion of the village of West Salem now stands. Having a large hope and unwaver ing faith in the future growth and prosperity of La Crosse County, he took a prominent and active part in any and every enterprise that tended to develop the resources of his new home. The project of building a railroad from Milwaukee to La Crosse, enlisted his best efforts, and found in him an untiring advocate in presenting the great benefits and advantages to the La Crosse Valley as well as the city of La Crosse. The railroad company required a bonus before locating and establishing a depot at West Salem, and Mr. Leonard gave the company a deed of ten acres of land lying east and northeast of the present depot. In 1857, he, in company with M. L. Tourtellotte and Oscar F. Elwell, laid out the village of Salem (now West Salem). Mr. Leonard was a generous supporter of education and religion. His donations in that direction were the site where the West Salem High School stands, and the lots on which the Baptist, Methodist and Congregational Churches are built, and the parsonage of the Methodist society. While he did not belong to any church, he did more for the cause of Christianity and sustaining the preaching of the Gospel, than many whose names are found among the leading members of orthodox denominations. Accompanying the families of Thomas Leonard and Julius Segar were a number of pioneers, who have since been noted for their steadfastness, strict integrity and pioneer perseverance. Among the number were Charles Segar, William Bingham and family, John Hemstock and family, John Campbell and William Hemstock. This party con sisted of thirty persons in all, and with six wagons and eleven yoke of oxen, were eleven days HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 691 making the distance from Marquette County, Wis., to La Crosse County, arriving here May 17, 1851. William Bingham located a claim on Section 35, farm since known as the " Jewell Farm;" John Campbell settled on Section 3, and Julius Segar on Section 4, and his son Charles located northwest Section 3 ; John Hemstock made a claim of Section 2, Township 17, Range 6 ; William Hemstock located on Section 34 ; farm now owned by M. L. Tourtellotte. Soon after, Byron Viets located on Section 26, and entered a large tract of land contiguous to his claim. Mr. Viets was a native of Hartford County, Conn., and was born in 1802. At an early day, 1820, he removed to Ohio, where he was engaged in the mercantile business until 1845, when he emigrated to Wisconsin, locating in Dodge County. In 1849, he returned to Ohio ; in 1851, came to La Crosse County, and settled near the subsequent village of Neshonoc in town of same name, now Hamilton. In 1855, he again returned to Ohio and remained one year, and, in 1856, came again to Wisconsin, locating at Trempealeau, and, in company with three others, owned the village site; returned to Ohio in 1857, and purchased a farm, which he managed until 1859, when he came back to La Crosse County, and purchased his original claim. Here he resided for years, when he removed to the village of West Salem, and retired from business. In 1869, he was attacked with a disease which precluded the use of food of any kind, and which finally caused his death in the same year from starvation, he having fasted fifty-five days. Mr. Viets was a man of noble impulses, a thorough gentleman, energetic, whole-souled, hospitable and generous to a fault. The cause of agriculture, though now in its incipiency, enlisted the best efforts of the hus bandmen, and the La Crosse Valley and the town of Neshonoc, now Hamilton, soon became the center of attraction for immigration to La Crosse County. To continue the list of those who came during 1851 : James McKinley, located on Section 28, Andrew McEldowney and four sons, located on Section 27. Here he kept a tavern, and entertained passengers traveling over the stage-route between Portage and La Crosse. The sons, James, William and Andrew, have since located claims in the immediate vicinity of the original settlement, and are now among the leading farmers of the town. Phineas Gilbert settled on Section 26 ; Thomas J. Paddock on Section 28. In the fall of 1851, Monroe Palmer made his appearance in the future Hamilton, and located land on Sections 27, 34 and 35; on Section 27, he built a small log cabin, and commenced the erection of a saw and grist mill, which was not in operation until 1853, though some sawing had been done in 1852. Among others who came during the sum mer and fall of 1851, were P. C. Gilbert, who located on Section 26 ; John H. Gill, George Loomis, Thomas J. Paddock, Stewart Brown, James Bartley, Jacob Meyer, Daniel Bacon, Robert Smith, James Tuttle, L. Osborne ; S. Simmenson, one of the pioneer representatives of Norway, settled in the present town of Hamilton in the fall of 1851. He was born in Norway, in 1800, came to America in 1850, and located in Dane County, Wis.; in the fall of 1851, he immigrated to La Crosse County, and settled in the town of Hamilton. His wife and two chil dren, Matt and Betsey (now Mrs. Mahlum), are still living in the village of West Salem. Of the early settlers of 1851, but few remain, though they are not forgotten by the succeeding generations, who will ever cherish the memory of those noble pioneers who left home and friends to venture into the almost undiscovered territory of the present La Crosse County, to make a new beginning, build a new home in the wilderness, and lay the foundation for a future, against which sorrow and bitterness should not prevail. It was not until the first rays of light' streaked the eastern horizon announcing the dawn of the year 1852, that immigration into the town of Hamilton was in other than small parties. This year was noted for the advent of a large number of hale, hearty, strong-muscled and stronger-hearted husbandmen, who subsequently rendered this Territory famous as an agricult ural town, and many of whom became leading citizens of the county, as well as representative men of their town. They first erected small log cabins for habitations, in which, with their families, they resided until more luxurious accommodations could be provided. Here they lived, toiled and triumphed, always with a thought of the morrow and the hereafter, the mystery of which has been solved by so many of them since. They came hither eloquent with hope and 692 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. happiness, and that their anticipations were fully realized, the numerous well-tilled farms, orna mented with elegant and commodious residences, furnish ample evidence. Prominent among the number who came this year, were E. F. Edwards, a native of New York, who located his pres ent farm on Section 26 ; C. C. Elwell, John Odell, Robert Brown, Thomas Morrill, Edward and Nicholas Feak. The claim is not indulged that this list is complete. There undoubtedly were others who were attracted to the fertile valleys of the future Hamilton during the period mentioned, and who remained but a short time, and soon left for other, and, apparently, more promising fields, and are now forgotten by their associates of nearly thirty years ago ; while others have become lost in the crowds of humanity that have fretted a brief existence on the stage of life, and long since crossed the mystic river of death. The year 1853 rolled away into the past, leaving the impress of but very few events worthy of reference, beyond the fact that emigration tended hitherward without interruption, and the future town, then Neshonoc, though populous with life and animation, bore no resemblance to the present Hamilton in that respect. During the years 1854 and 1855, large accessions were made to the population of the prosperous town ; indeed, as one of those who came about that time remarked to the writer, it was impossible to state who came into the town during that period. Of those who settled in the town before 1855, and still living here, may be mentioned Monroe Palmer, E. F. Edwards, C. C. Elwell, Oscar Elwell, J. W. Ranney,. J. W. Coburn,:> James, William and Andrew McEldowney, L. Osborne, S. Brown, Christian Larson, Nelson Larson, William Van Zandt, Gordon Servis, William Loundsborrow, John Togson, T. Knudeson,' Ole Knudeson, Daniel Loomis, William Van Waters, M. L. Tourtellotte, William Gage, Henry . Hodges, A. K. Viets, Jacob Meyers, James Edwards, Daniel Bacon, Frank Smith, James Tuttle, Matt Simmenson, John Andrews. During 1856, and succeeding years, the town continued to increase in population and wealth. Improvements and advancements have kept pace with the times in which men have lived — villages and hamlets dot the landscape of this prosperous town, schools are to be found at every cross-road, churches raise their domes to heaven, fields of waving grain are to be seen and the voice of the reapers to be heard, as they were when nature, aided by man in Hamilton Town, was educated and cared for until it became the patron in place of the dependent. In 1858, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad was built through the town, enter ing on Section 1, passing through Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 7 and 18. In 1873, the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad was built through the town, and passed over this same course as the Chi cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. The first marriage in the town of Hamilton was consummated in December, 1851, the con tracting parties being Jerome Bostwick and Miss Jane Bingham ; a wedding celebrating the event was held on the following New Year's. The second matrimonial event in the town occurred March 3, 1852, when Byron A. Viets and Miss Louisa M. Leonard were made one. The first child born in Hamilton was Nancy Segar, daughter of Julius Segar, who first saw the light of this world in August, 1851. The first male child born in the town was Emmerson Leonard, the date of his birth being February 22, 1852. The first death in the town was that of Betsey Leonard, which occurred August 14, 1851. The first religious services were held in the town in August of 1851, by a Methodist circuit rider, named Rev. Chester. His meetings were held rather irregularly, in the cabins of the scattered settlers. Meetings were held the following year, at the tavern of Byron Viets, at Neshonoc, by Rev. Benjamin Reynolds, of La Crosse. SCHOOLS. The first school was taught by William Van Zandt, in the fall of 1852, in a small building erected for the purpose. The term was for three months, and the number of scholars aggregated twenty. Mr Van Zandt was succeeded in turn by Miss Mary Gilbert, John Gordon and Miss Laura Butler. From this beginning schools were established in different parts of the town, 694 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. as the growing population demanded, and which being cherished and supported by the inhabit" ants, has culminated in the adoption of a school system surpassed by no other town in the county. There are now in the town eight schoolhouses, with accommodations for 567 children. The school property, including the High School of Salem, is valued at $6,360. The number of school children in the town, of school age, aggregates 569 — 301 male, 268 female — requir ing the services of 12 teachers, whose average wages is, for male, $32.23 ; female, $23.72. During the year ending August 31, 1880, there was received for school purposes, $3,927.04 ; paid out same period, $3,440.57. FIRST POST OFFICE. Previous to 1852, the mails for the few settlers in the town of Hamilton were received from La Crosse by private messenger. In the fall of 1852, a post office was established for Hamilton, and E. F. Edwards appointed Postmaster under Millard Fillmore. This was the only office be tween La Crosse and Sparta, and was kept at the residence of Mr. Edwards on Section 26. In the summer of 1852, mails were carried by the different settlers, each in his turn in alphabetical order. Subsequently a messenger was hired and paid $1 a trip. In 1853, a mail-route was es tablished between Baraboo and La Crosse ; and mails were then received at this post office, called Neshonoc, tri-weekly! Mr. Edwards was succeeded by Monroe Palmer in 1854 ; he was followed by Ethan Allen, who held the office until it was discontinued in 1867. In 1879, an office was established at McMillan's Mill, familiarly known as Neshonoc, and Hugh McMillan appointed Postmaster. In 1880, Alexander McMillan was appointed and still retains the office. MILLS. During the winter of 1851, Monroe Palmer commenced the erection of a saw and grist mill on the La Crosse River, Section 27. In 1852, it was so far completed as to enable him to do some sawing, though the grist-mill was not in running order until 1853. It was not until 1855 that both departments were in full operation. The grist-mill was fitted with the necessary ma chinery and three run of stone. Mr. Palmer manufactured three hundred barrels per week. His flour ranked No. 1, and trade was received from many miles around, including Sparta, Trem pealeau and surrounding towns. The saw-mill was discontinued in 1860. The grist-mill was run sixteen years by Mr. Palmer, when he sold out to Orrin Van Ness, who ran it but one year alone, then formed a partnership with Charles Adams, and they ran the mill another year. Mr. Adams then sold his share to Leonard Lottridge, who, in company with Van Ness, ¦ continued the mill two years. McMillan then bought out Van Ness, and, with Lottirdge, ran the mill two years, when he purchased the interest of Mr. Lottridge and has since conducted the mill alone. This mill has five run of stone, and a capacity of one hundred barrels a day. VILLAGE OF NESHONOC. During 1855, Monroe Palmer, inspired with a feeling of public spirit, and desiring a me tropolis for the fast-growing town, secured the services of Isaac Thompson, of La Crosse, then Deputy County Surveyor, and, on October 16, 1855, laid out the village of Neshonoc. The name is of Indian origin, and in that language indicates this particular spot on the La Crosse River. With the assistance of Gilbert Cram and James Sieverson as chainmen, Mr. Thomp son surveyed fifteen acres into blocks of twelve lots each, and each lot 50x100 feet. The streets received the appellations of Oak, Main, Center and Cypress, intersected by Mill, Second, Third and Fourth streets and Mentoria avenue. The first building erected in the village was a story-and-a-half frame structure, built in the fall of 1855, by William Kentner, and used by him for hotel purposes. Soon after Edward Walker started a small store here, with a general stock of merchandise, and was placed on record as the first person to offer proposals for public patronage in the village of Neshonoc. Other stores were established in the prosperous village by William Kenyon, Lyman Randall, James McKinely and William Taylor. O. Lindsey started the first blacksmith-shop in the fall of 1855, HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 695 and during the winter and spring of 1856, he was followed by five or six others. A carriage- shop was established by William Collins, and continued with flattering success until the dece- dence of the village. The post office, removed to this point in 1854, was continued here until 1863. The differ ent persons made recipients of Executive favor in this regard were Monroe Palmer, Ethan Allen and A. S. Isham. The large business of the saw and grist mill of Mr. Palmer, and the various attractions of the infant village, rendered its inhabitants sanguine of a brilliant and successful future, and during the year 1856, large accessions were made to its population, which in the spring of 1858 numbered 100. In the summer of this year, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail road was built through the town, and located the station of Salem (afterward changed to West Salem, there being another Salem in Kenosha County). Here a village was laid out, and induce ments offered for merchants to locate. The superior advantages of a railroad market bad the effect of sweeping the population of the village of Neshonoc like an avalanche to the embryo village of Salem. The merchants of Neshonoc removed their buildings from Neshonoc to Salem and transferred their merchandise. Other branches of trade followed, and the future of Neshonoc seemed gloomy indeed. It must not be inferred, however, that Neshonoc was en tirely abandoned, but for some time it proved itself a formidable rival to its successful competitor, Salem. But it could not long withstand the loss of its business men and the departure of its inhabitants, consequently soon fell to decay, and the pretentious streets and avenues of the once prosperous Neshonoc have long since been converted into more peaceful corn and potato fields VILLAGE OF WEST SALEM. Beautifully located in the center of the town of Hamilton, and also of La Crosse County; on a level strip of land on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and Chicago k Northwestern Railroads, is the pleasant village of West Salem. It is regularly and handsomely laid out into alleys, streets and avenues, and its citizens, who have always the beauty of their village upper most in their minds, have made this location " to blossom as the rose." They have displayed taste in adorning and beautifying their streets and highways with rich foliaged shade trees, which are not only a pride and benefit to her own citizens, but admired and enjoyed by visitors and others who have the pleasure of gazing upon them and resting in their luxuriant shade during the sultry summer weather. From a business point of view, West Salem stands at the head of shipping points in this portion of the territory. During the six months from October 1, 1880, to April 1, 1881, the number of cars of stock alone shipped from this station aggregated 125. In 1858, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad was built through the town of Ham ilton, and it was at this time that that public-spirited citizen, Thomas Leonard, gave to the rail road company the required bonus of ten acres of land lying east and northeast of the present depot, on condition that they locate a depot or station at this point. The donation was accepted and the depot built. Forthwith, Mr. Leonard, in company with M. L. Tourtellotte and Oscar F. Elwell, laid out the "original plat" of the village of West Salem. This plat consisted of twenty acres, and was surveyed by H. I. Bliss, of La Crosse, into alleys, streets, avenues and squares. Soon after, "Leonard's Addition" was made, and the village assumed regular and handsome proportions. The streets were termed Main, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, inter sected by Melville, Church, Leonard and Mills streets. The first frame building erected in the village was built by Frank Burgett in 1857, and occupied by him for a store, in which he con ducted a general mercantile business. He remained but one year, however, when he sold out and left for Chicago. The first hotel in the village was established by Thomas Dutcher, who, in the fall of 1857, built the frame building still standing on the corner of Main and Leonard streets. Here he catered to the taste of the public for one year, when he sold out to Mr. John son, who in turn disposed of the property to a Mr. Hickcox, and subsequently Ethan Allen became proprietor, and finally the present owner, A. Eidred, took possession of the hotel and now occupies it for a residence. The first saloon in the village was started by John Hommell, on the corner of Main and Leonard streets. This was a favorite place of resort in early days. 696 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The first drug store was started in 1863, by A. K. Viets, and continued by him to the present time. Dr. William Stanley was the first physician to locate in the village, the date of his arrival being June, 1858. In 1856, a Dr. Palmer located in the village of Neshonoc, and some years after, moved to West Salem. The first and only disciple of Blackstone to locate in the village, was a Mr. Harwood, who came to this vicinity in 1860. He remained a few years when he took his departure for a less peaceable locality. Prior to 1860, the growth of the vil lage was slow and uncertain, but during this year large accessions, to the population were made and before winter and his aged locks appeared, West Salem contained upward of three hundred inhabitants. The advent of the Chicago & North-Western Railway brought others to this locality,. and the business and improvements continued until now West Salem ranks among the leading villages in this portion of the State. POST OFFICE. The first post office in the village was established in 1860, and Edward Walker appointed Postmaster. Prior to this, the mails were received from the Neshonoc office. Mr. Walker was succeeded by Byron A. Viets in 1861. In 1863, William Van Zandt was appointed Post master, and continued until A. J. Phillips took the office. He held the position until 1878, when the present officer, Even Johnson, was appointed. In 1871, this office was made a money order office. The first order was issued August 8, 1871, Simeon Mahlum being the remitter, and Thompson & Co., of Beloit, the payee. The total number of orders issued since 1871, aggregate 10,444. SCHOOLS. From the settlement of the village to 1864, but little had been done in the way of schools. In the fall of 1864, a select school was taught by Miss Beech ; and in the fall of 1865, a select school was opened in Agricultural Hall under the patronage of the Presbyterian society, and conducted by Rev. I. Collins as Principal, and Miss Beech as Assistant. This continued until the summer of 1866, when a stock company was organized for the establishment of La Crosse Valley Seminary. The first board of officers consisted of William L. Dudley, President ; P. S. Elwell, Secretary, and six Trustees. The seminary building, a fine structure of white brick, was erected in the fall of 1866, at a cost of $5,000, and although not completed, it was occupied the following winter, the fall term having been held in Agricultural Hall. At this time, the board engaged as Principal, W. S. Lasher, of Chicago ; he remained two years, during which time the school made substantial progress. In 1870, the seminary building, together with the apparatus and grounds, was purchased by the school district, of which the village formed a part, and converted into a graded school of three departments, having been maintained by the district from 1867 to 1870, in a two-story frame building, since purchased for a grange hall. On the night of the 13th of January, 1875, the school building was entirely destroyed by fire. The old schoolhouse was immediately fitted up, and school continued to the end of the year. In the following summer, a substantial and much larger brick building was erected on the site of the one burned. It consists of four main rooms, one of which is occupied by the high school, organized the same year ; Mr. S. M. Leete, to whom much credit is due for its establishment, was its first Principal. He continued in charge till the close of the fall term, 1877, when, by reason of failing health, he was obliged to resign the position. Mr. A. A. Spencer was then engaged as Principal, and remained until the close of the year. He was succeeded by the present efficient Principal, Mr. E. D. Wood, who has since held the position agreeably to himself and most acceptably to his constituents. In June, 1880, this school graduated its first class, consisting of two ladies — Carrie Walker and Belle Spaulding. The class of 1881 numbered six. The commencement exercises were held in the Baptist Church, with the following programme : Music, Select Choir ; Essay, " Wasted Lives," Jessie Viets; Essay, " Light, More Light," Julia Smead ; Essay, " Power in Music," Mamie Clark; Music, Select Choir; Oration, " Voices of the Dead," John McConnell; Essay, " For Pearls We Must Dive," Ella Edwards; Essay, " Sunshine and Shadows" (with valedic tory), Bay Ladd. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 697 CHURCHES. Presbyterian Church of Neshonoc. — This church was organized as an Associate or Secular Church, and its origin was as follows : James McKinley was the first member of the Associate Presbyterian Church that visited this section of the country with a view to settlement. He came in 1851. The same spring, Andrew McEldowney and family, consisting of wife and nine children, came and settled in the neighborhood. Three of his four sons still remain. In the spring of 1856, Mrs. Nancy McKinley and family, consisting of six members, set tled on the farm now owned by her son, S. R. McKinley. The first religious service held by any minister of the Associate Church, was by Rev. Samuel Collins, in the fall of 1856. A hall owned by James McKinley was the place of meet ing. Mr. Collins preached three Sabbaths and left. The next preaching was by Rev. H. McHatton, who remained about a month. Some time during the same year, Rev. T. W. Winter came and took charge of the congregation ; in the same year also, the congregation was increased by the immigration of Messrs. James Wilson, John and Stewart Brown, from Scotland, and Mr. G. W. Collins, from Pennsylvania. On the 7th of January, 1858, an organization was affected, which was named the Associate Presbyterian Church of Neshonoc. The following persons constituted the organization, viz.: Andrew McEldowney and wife, Mrs. Nancy McKinley, Mrs. Elizabeth McEldowney, Mrs. Agnes Brown, Mrs. Elizabeth Brown, Mrs. Eliza McEldowney, James McEldowney, William H. Taylor, Matilda Morrill, Mrs. Jane Winter, W. G. Collins, Mrs. Lydia Collins. Mr. William H. Taylor and W. G. Collins were elected and ordained as Elders of the church. Rev. T. W. Winter was settled as Pastor of the church, and remained in this capacity for about two years, when he resigned his charge and returned East. In 1859, David Brown and family, from Sparta, 111., moved in the bounds and became members of the congregation. The Browns were soon followed by David McDill, his brother- in-law with his family. Mr. Brown was at once chosen Ruling Elder, and served in this capacity with great wisdom and zeal whilst he remained in the congregation. Mr. McDill was also made a Ruling Elder, and served faithfully in the office till laid aside by the infirmities of age. In 1856, the congregation resolved to build a house of worship; so, getting the material together, by spring they put up and inclosed the building which they now occupy. But in conse quence of the hard times, which set in in 1857, they were unable to complete the building till the year I860 ; and then there still remained a small debt, the amount being loaned them by a benevolent society in the East, they were freed from embarrassment. The country was new then, and the people just opening their farms; it was a struggle to build even a plain and not very costly house. In 1860, Rev. Isaac W. Collins supplied the pulpit of the church for about three months, and was followed for a short time by Rev. J. Coleman. In 1862, the church gave to Rev. Isaac W. Collins a call to become its Pastor. He ac cepted the call, and was installed Pastor the following summer, by the Rev. J. C. Jackson. Mr. Collins labored in the congregation and region round about to the great satisfaction of the people. He also taught in the West Salem Academy, the beautiful building of which afterward became the property of the Third District, of West Salem, and was eventually burnt by fire, but is replaced bv the present building of the district. Mr. Collins was a successful teacher, as well as minister, but in 1865, he was compelled to yield up his work on earth, by that insid ious disease, consumption ; and in the beautiful month of May, he passed away to the more beautiful eternity of rest. From May, 1865, until July, the church was supplied successively by Revs. Rhett *S. Collins, D. Morrow and J. W. McShurely. In the meantime, the congregation had been greatly strengthened by the accession of the following persons with their families : A. P. Gray, Robert Williamson, Quinto Brooks, Samuel McEldowney, James Weir and Mrs. Harbison and others. During the summer of 1866, Rev. J. W. Glenn received and accepted a call to become Pastor of the church. He labored accept- 698 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. ably and successfully until October, 1869, when he resigned the charge on account of the ill- health of his family, and removed to Illinois. He is kindly and affectionately remembered in the congregation and community. After this the church continued vacant until July, 1870, when it was supplied by Rev. Theodore Crowl, a student of the Theological Seminary of Alle gheny, Penn. fie continued his successful and energetic labors till November 1, of the same year, when he returned to the seminary. By the union of the Associate or Seceder and the Associate Reformed Presbyteran bodies, the United Presbyterian Church of America was formed. The church of Neshonoc naturally became connected with this body ; but in the month of Septem ber, 1870, having become discouraged, by reason of the great distance from other organizations of their body, they applied and were received into the Presbytery of Chippewa, in connection with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America ; and shortly after they made out a unanimous call for the pastoral services of Rev. J. C. Caldwell, late of Stillwater, Minn., but at that time of Black River Falls, Wis. On the 1st of December, 1870, he entered on his labors, and in the spring was installed Pastor of the church. He is now in the eleventh year of this work. During this time there have been added to the mem bership of the church fifty-one on profession of their faith and twenty-six by letter; whole number connected with the church, one hundred and thirty-two ; but the deaths, dismissals and absentees amount to sixty-six, leaving a resident membership of sixty-six. The contributions of the church to various objects at home and abroad, amount to $9,780. The session of the church of Neshonoc are as follows : Jonathan Green, Samuel McEldowney, Ramsey McEldowney. James McEldowney and William Gray. In connection with this pastorate there have been two Mission Churches ; First Lewis Val ley. This church was organized by Ruling Elder A. P. Gray and Rev. J. C. Caldwell, in May, The following persons constituted the organization, viz., Robert Hogg, Jane Hogg, Mar garet Hogg, Elizabeth Barcley, Mary McDonald, James Wilson, Janette Wilson, James Cooper, Elenor Henderson, Hattie Stevens, Mary Stevens, Cynthia Kilmer, Thomas Barling. A lot was presented to the society in Mindoro by M. Arnold, and a very neat and convenient church was built by the congregation with aid from abroad, at a cost of about $1,900. This church was dedicated, free of debt, in November, 1875. During the ten years ending December, 1880, the society contributed to the support of the Gospel about $1,400, since then it has been supplied by Rev. Robert Christenson, of North Bend. The church of Bangor was organized April 20, 1872. The following persons constituting the membership, viz.: William Sawyer, Susan Sawyer, David Fulton, Mary Fulton, Elizabeth Foster, Mrs. Lydia Davis, Miss L. J. Davis, Miss Sissie Barnes, Mrs. Sebastian Fletcher, and Mrs. Moody. The services of this society were held in the schoolhouse one mile north of Rock land until last December, when they removed to Grange Hall, Bangor, where they are maintained every Sabbath P. M. The society now numbers thirty members, and its contributions to the support of the Gospel at home and abroad have amounted to about $1,000. The session of the church at present consists of William Sawyer, David Fulton and Nathan Barber. Methodist Episcopal Church. — During the summer of 1852, the scattered settlers used to gather at the house of Thomas Hart near Winona Junction. Rev. Wood, preacher in charge at La Crosse, ministered unto them. In the coming few months the work at Onalaska included this in their work with Dr. Quigly as Pastor, gradually the work moved eastward, when, in the following year, Rev. Lake gathered those of Methodist sentiment and formed them into a church, holding serv ices in an empty house about four miles from Salem on the La Crosse road. There being no stated minister, Rev. Foster held services in connection with the church, holding the services in George Loomis's barn. A Sunday school was also formed, with Mr. Holmes as Superintendent. Dur ing the summer of 1854, services and Sunday school were held in Daniel Loomis's house. A schoolhouse was built in this district during this season, when the appointment was moved to it. In 1855, Rev. E. B. Russell was sent to this work ; he formed a class consisting of Nelson Sives and wife, Freeman Richardson and wife, Jasper Richardson, Mr. Holmes and wife, Milo HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 699 Abbott and Robert Brown and wife. Rev. Russell lived in a house formerly occupied by Nelson Sives, who built a house so as to make a place for the minister. These were the days of incon veniences. A donation was held this year that materially helped the preacher, besides affording a pleasant social time for the settlers. The winter was remarkable for the deep snow, during which time the minister found a pleasant home for his family at the home of Robert Brown while he was away at his work. In 1858, Rev. Mason was sent by the Conference, then followed in the next year John Medd. During this year a camp-meeting was held near Neshonoc, which resulted in a number of accessions and the church. Rev. Broxum was sent by the Conference in the year of 1860. In 1861, Rev. Cooly was appointed to this work. During the year, the appointment remained the same as before, except services in Salem were held for a time in the Congregational Church, which was then in an unfinished condition. In the following year, Rev. A. B. Smith was stationed here. Having engaged in a speculation, he gave up the work after about six months ; but not until he had involved in his undertaking many of the members. It worked beneficially to him, but disas trously to those interested and the church. The prejudice aroused there has not ceased its damaging .effect even now. Rev. Smith Aldrich supplied the work for the remainder of the year, and, at the next session, joined the Conference, from which he was sent back as preacher in charge. Thomas Crouch, a local preacher, assisted Mr. Aldrich the first year, and W. Wheaton, the second year. In the following year (1864), Rev. Olmsted was sent to this work. During this year, Burns was dropped from the circuit, and supplied occasionally by Rev. George Benham, and North La Crosse taken on ; but, at the beginning of the year following, Rev. Smith was sent by the Conference, when Burns was taken on again. He did not come, but left for Iowa, and Rev. Farnsworth supplied the work. During this year, the church in West Salem was built. Not being a member of the Conference, and desiring to immortalize his name, he went into Burnham Valley, and formed a Free Methodist Church, for which, up to this time, he had shown no tendency. The inroad he made upon the church rendered the year's work unsatis factory. In the following year, Rev. William Taylor was sent to this circuit. Burns was restored, and North La Crosse dropped. The year was not a very marked one, unless it be by ending the same as it began, with little improvement. At the next Conference (1867), W. S. Wright was sent. He took up the work with a determination to improve matters. Paying especial attention to Bostwick Valley, his efforts were crowned with success, in the formation of a class, with Father Howe as Class Leader. The class has since gone down, through its members moving away, when the residue were transferred to the Salem class. James T. Bryan was sent, in the fall of 1868, to this work. This year shows no marked increase, but gradual growth. The whole work suffered this year from the members moving away, which left the total membership less, notwithstanding several accessions, than of the year previous. It may be said that this has been one of the greatest hindrances to the work through all its history, that its members have been migratory, leaving vacancies in the ranks of those that remained, having a chilling, disheartening effect upon them. R. Fancher followed Bryan in the year of 1869. In the fall of 1872, Mr. Fancher was appointed again to this work. It was thought that another man was better calculated to advance the work, and the authorities were asked to remove Mr. Fancher, and that A. Foster be appointed in his place. This proved an unfortunate choice, as most such interferences with appointments are. Foster was a man of decided ability, which rendered the situation more dangerous, as he unsettled many by preaching Adventist doctrines. At the close of the year, he left the Metho dists, and went to preach for that people, leaving the work in an unsettled condition. Under the ministration of Rev. E. Bruce, who followed Foster in the year 1873, the circuit recovered somewhat from the shock it had received. At the beginning of the next year, Salem and Min doro were united, with T. J. Lewis as Pastor. He lived in the parsonage at Mindoro, where the large part of his work was done in the erection of the Mindoro Methodist Episcopal Church, a monument that remains as a testimony to his activity and fidelity in the cause of the church 700 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. and cause of Christ. Lewis was on the work two years (1873-74.) At the close of his pastor ate, Rev. A. L. Tull was appointed to the work, residing in West Salem. He undertook and carried on successfully the improving of the church in West Salem. At the end of the year, a debt remained on the church, and Rev. D. Clingman was sent, who took the church debt in hand, which, under his excellent financial management, was soon extinguished, leaving a church a " thing of beauty," and we hope a "joy forever," free from debt. Rev. Clingman was here two years, after whom Rev. J. E. Webster was sent. Mr. Web ster's labors were successful in making several additions to the church ; but not enough to counterbalance for the loss by removal. During the year 1879, the work enjoyed the fatherly care of Rev. E. Yocum. The long and hard rides necessary to fill the appointment proved more than Father Yocum could stand. While he would nearly always be present, it was with difficulty he was able to preach ; his very presence was a sermon in itself, and the holy love, Christian spirit that followed him has been greatly enjoyed by his successor, the present Pastor, Rev. T. L. Hart. Congregational Church. — A Congregational Church was organized in the town of Barre, April 10, 1858, of fourteen members, and a small house of worship was built in July of that year. On the building of the railroad and location of the station of West Salem, two miles dis tant, another Congregational Church was formed there May 15, 1860, with ten members. Rev. J. C. Sherwin assisted in the organization of the former, and also with Rev. Edward Brown, of the latter. A house of worship had been built previous to the organization of the society. In June, 1865, the society in Barre, having increased to twenty members, was consolidated with the organization at West Salem, which then numbered nineteen members. The church was administered to by Revs. Edward Brown, J. C. Sherwin and Elias Clark, the latter of whom having died in service. Since June, 1867, Rev. Anson Clark has guided the spiritual destinies of the West Salem congregation, and for most of the time as its Pastor. To the original membership of ten, there have been added, up to 1880, 139 members, making a total of 149. Of this number, there were dismissed by letter, 72 ; by death, 13'; total, 85 — leaving now a membership of 149. This church has contributed annually to Home Missions, Foreign Missions, for Freedmen, Church Building, Education, Bible and Sunday- school causes for more than ten years past, averaging nearly $200 a year. Besides its home Sabbath school, members of the church are engaged in work in four mission Sabbath schools. The society is now in a flourishing condition, though for the past few years emigration to the Western States has drawn largely upon its forces. Baptist Church. — The La Crosse Valley Baptist Church was organized in Barre, July 15, 1854, with Elder Card, Moderator ; W. W. Eustick, Secretary, and the following constituents : Joshua Howe, Deacon ; Ezra Odell, R. O. Richards, John Hueson, James Allen, Margaret Smith, Martha Richards, Susan Hueson. October 31, 1857, it was voted to disband and re organize in West Salem. The following persons organized the West Salem society : James Squires, Eliza Squires, Joshua Howe, R. A. Richards, James Allen, John N., George H., Mary, Matilda, Sarah and Hannah Jones, H. Hildreth, Sarah H. and John Williams, Mary Williams, E. Richards, Caroline Odell. During the first winter, the pulpit was supplied by Elder Squires and James Card-. April 11, 1858, Elder William H. Card accepted a call to the pastorate, and in 1859 he built the present church edifice, at a cost of $1,000. This society has since been administered to by Rev. James Squires, 1863 to 1865 ; Rev. R. F. Parshall, 1865 to 1870 ; Rev. J. D. Pulis, January 1, 1870, to December, 1872 ; Rev. William Bunker, January 1, 1872, to December 5, 1874: Rev. Mr. Hill, September, 1875, to March, 1877; one year supplied by Horace Kutchin ; Rev. John Smith, June, 1879, to September, 1880. The pulpit is now filled by R. C. Willett. The society now has a membership of seventy- seven. Norwegian Lutheran Congregational — This church is located in the La Crosse Valley, town of Hamilton, near West Salem. The congregation was organized October 14, 1856. H. A. Stub, from Coon Prairie, was Pastor until 1861 ; Prof. L. Larsen, in Half- Way Creek, 1861, HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 701 1862; T. B. Frich, 1862-72. W. T. L. Frich is now Pastor, and has been since 1872. Among the first members were Gunnerius Simonsen, Christian Larsen, Ouden Evensen, Tens Mikkelsen. A church was built in 1876, three miles northwest from West Salem, costing about $1,700. Seats for 200. In 1880, there were seventy communicants, ten baptisms, four marriages, five deaths. SECRET SOCIETIES. A., F. Sf A. M., Salem Lodge, No. 125 — Was established under dispensation, and first Communication held April 23, 1860. The first officers were E. B. Baxter, W. N. ; B. S. Bax ter, S. W. ; X. Palmer, J. W. ; M. Palmer, Treasurer ; A. K. Viets, Secretary ; Mr. Leroy, S. D. ; J. C. Bean, J. D. ; J. Segar, Tiler ; these, including John Green and W. H. Stanley, formed the total membership of the Lodge. June 13, 1860, the charter was received, and first meeting under it held July 2. First charter officers were E. B. Baxter, W. M. ; B. S. Baxter, S. W. ; X. Palmer, J. W. ; M. Palmer, Treasurer ; A. K. Viets, Secretary ; William Ferrell, S. D. ; F. Clark, J. D. ; E. Walker and H. Doty, Stewards ; William Van Waters, Tiler. Since the organization of the Lodge under the charter the following persons have been W. M. : E. B. Baxter, W. H. Stanley. 1862, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67 and '68 ; M. S. Gage, 1869 ; A. J. Phillips, 1870 and 1871; M. S. Gage, 1872; L. Osborne, 1873 and '74; Joseph Moran, 1875, '76, '77 and '78; M. M. Butties, 1879; M. C. Cronk, 1880; Joseph Moran, 1881. The present officers are Joseph Moran, W. M. ; M. B. Ladd, S. W. ; A. S. Isham, J. W. ; I. C. Heritage, Treasurer ; V. M. Adams, Secretary. The Lodge now numbers sixty members, and is in a flourishing condition. They own a two-story building, with hall, and lot on Main street and money at interest. /. O. O. F., Mystic Lodge, No. 264 — Was organized December 7, 1876, with the following charter members : Lewis Gillifillian, Frank Van Waters, A. K. Viets, N. D. Satterlee, Cyrus Hibbard, M. C. Cronk, J. W. Stanton, Simeon Mahlum. The first officers were A. K. Viets, N. G. ; M. C. Cronk, Secretary. In January, 1877, they were re-elected, with George C. Chase as Per. Secretary. Since then the following have held the office of N. G. : Cyrus Hib bard, A. K. Viets, Lewis Gillifillian, G. W. Huntley, J. M. Gillifillian. The present officers are J. M. Gillifillian, N. G. ; L. P. Gillifillian, V. G. ; Cyrus Hibbard, Secretary ; S. Mah lum, Treasurer. The Lodge meets weekly in Walker's Hall, and has a membership of twenty. A. O. U. W. — The Ancient Order of United Workmen is cosmopolitan in its character, embracing among its members all classes. It is a mutual life insurance. By paying an initia tion fee and stated amounts at regular intervals, the member is assured of a weekly sick benefit, with a positive guarantee of $2,000 to the heirs and assigns of the deceased member. It officiates at the bedside of a sick brother, and pledges itself to the mutual encouragement and assistance of a brother and his family in every earthly misfortune. West Salem Lodge, No. 60 — Was organized April 5, 1879, with the following for its motto, "Eternal Truth, Justice, Honesty and Mutual Aid." The charter members were R. Goodrich, A. J. Phillips, A. K. Viets, G. W. Huntley, Edward Ewert, R. A. Dore, F. A. Rublee, A. W. Ayers, D. Samuels, J. M. Gillifillian, B. O. Boe, M. C. Cronk, A. C. Vaughn, C. B. Thrall, M. W. Davis, S/ L. Van Etter, J. F. McElroy, Albert Miller, I. D. Howe, J. M. Jones, H. E. Taylor. The first officers were R. Goodrich, P. M. W.; A. J. Phillips, M. W.; A. K. Viets, G. F.; A. A. Ayers, O.; M. C. Cronk, Recorder; J. M. Gillfillian, Financier; F. A. Rublee, Receiver ; R. A. Dore, G.; G. W. Huntley, I. W.; Ed Ewert, O. W. Since the or ganization, the following have held the office of P. M. W.: R. Goodrich, A. K. Viets, J. M. Gillifillian, Edward Ewart. The present officers are J. M. Gillifillian, P. M. W.; E. Ewert, M. W.; F. A. Rublee, G. F.; A. K. Viets, O.; A. C. Vaughn, G.; A. J. Phillips, Recorder; R, Goodrich, F.; M. C. Cronk, Receiver; A. Townsend, I. W.; O. Anderson, O. W. This society now numbers twenty-seven members in good standing. The lodge meets Thursday evening of each week. . Sons of Temperance.— West Salem Division, No. 89— Was organized Feb. 6, 1875, with thefollowing charter members : R. H. Hanley, George C. Chase, S. L. Van Etter, W. R. Wells, 702 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. C. L. Elwell, S. L. Hall, E. B. Newton, H. McClintock, William Wood, William Benton, Dan Bacon, Mrs. C. D. Wood, Mrs. I. L. Standish, Miss J. Trilton, C. N. Hawley and F. K. Spar ling. The lodge has progressed successfully, and enjoys a large membership. OFFICIAL RECORD. Hamilton was brought under town government with the euphonious title of Neshonoc. This name is of Indian origin, and in that language indicates the territory bounded by the town lines. It was suggested by Monroe Palmer, who adapted it from the Indian description Nupe-Wausau- Neshonoc-Rau. The original town of Neshonoc embraced, besides thirty-six sections of the pres ent town, all of that territory subsequently set off and organized with the town of Burns. The first town meeting was held on the 5th day of April, 1853, at which time the town was organized by the appointment of E. F. Edwards, Chairman ; Lorenzo Hicks, James McEldowney, Inspec tors, and L. A. Viets and Liberty Coolidge, Clerks of Election. At this meeting it was voted to raise $100 for contingent expenses ; $100 for school purposes ; and " that the Supervisors raise 7 mills on the dollar of the taxable property for road purposes." At this meeting, the fol lowing officers were elected : Monroe Palmer, Chairman ; J. C. Bean, James McEldowney, P. C. Gilbert, Supervisors ; P. C. Gilbert, Clerk ; L. A. Viets, Assessor ; Andrew McEldowney, Treasurer ; William Van Zandt, School Superintendent ; George Loomis, John Odell, L. A. Viets, Monroe Palmer, Lucius Moody, Joseph Scafe, William H. Bingham, Constables. In the spring of 1854, the town of Burns was organized and set off from Neshonoc, leaving with the lat ter but thirty-six sections. In 1866, through the efforts of Hon. J. W. Raney, then member of the Legislature from this district, an act was passed consolidating the towns of Neshonoc and Barre. The consolidation was effected, and the new town, which contained then seventy-two sections, at the suggestion of Matt Simmenson, was called Hamilton. The first election of the town of Hamilton was held April 2, 1867. In 1874, twenty-one sections of the southern part of the town was set off by the County Board of Commissioners and organized into the present town of Barre. The following is a complete roster of the town officers since the first organization : 1853 — Monroe Palmer, Chairman ; J. C. Bean, James McEldowney, P. C. Gilbert, Super visors ; P. C. Gilbert, Clerk; Andrew McEldowney, Treasurer; L. A. Viets, Assessor. 1854 — P. C. Gilbert, Chairman ; G. E. Loomis, W. H. Bingham, Surpervisors ; L. Coolidge, Clerk ; L. A. Viets, Treasurer ; Thomas Morrill, Assessor. 1855 — Walter Brown, Chairman; William Van Waters, J. II. Odell, Supervisors; Clerk, Harvey Brown ; Treasurer, Thomas Morrill ; Assessor, J. A. Jones. 1856 — V. M. Adams, Chairman ; James McEldowney, C. C. Ellwell, Supervisors ; Clerk, H. Brown ; Treasurer, James Ullsaver ; Assessor, Hugh McClintock. 1857 — V. M. Adams, Chairman ; J. H. Odell^ William Gage, Supervisors ; Clerk, A. J. Bush; Treasurer, James Ullsaver; Assessor, Thomas Morrill. 1858 — James Squire, Chairman ; C. Larson, C. C. Elwell, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. W. Randall ; Treasurer, James McEldowney ; Assessor, J. H. Odell. 1859 — V. M. Adams, Chairman ; C. C. Elwell, G. Simmenson, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. W. Randall ; Treasurer, W. R. Young ; Assessor, Thomas Morrill. 1860 — A. Andrews, Chairman; G. Simmenson, Thomas Morrill, Supervisors; Clerk, S. R. McKinley ; Treasurer, L. W. Randall ; Assessor, Thomas Morrill. 1861 — Walter Brain, Chairman ; G. Simmenson, N. T. Holmes, Supervisors ; Clerk, M. L. Tourtelotte; Treasurer, William H. Taylor; Assessor, Samuel Dunlap. 1862 — Walter Brown, Chairman ; N. T. Holmes, G. Simmenson, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. W. Randall ; Treasurer, Monroe Palmer ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1863 — Walter Brown, Chairman ; N. T. Holmes, G. Simmenson, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. P. Jackson ; Treasurer, Monroe Palmer ; Assessor, Thomas Mprrill. 1864 — William Van Waters, Chairman; G. Simmenson, N. T. Holmes, Supervisors; Clerk, J. P. Jackson ; Treasurer, M. Palmer ; Assessors, William McClintock, S. Dunlap, Thomas Morrill. RESIDENCE of D.D. M? MILLAN. C0R.12T-H AND CASS ST. LA CROSSE WIS. RESIDENCE of CHAS. B. SOLBERG. IND 9T-M ST. LACROSSE WIS. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 705 1865 — William Van Waters, Chairman ; G. Simmenson, James McEldowney, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. V. Casting; Treasurer, Monroe Palmer; Assessors, A. D. Loomis, Thomas Morrill. 1866 — William Van Waters, Chairman; Thomas Morrill, Chris Larson, Supervisors; Clerk, F. V. Casting ; Treasurer, S. Dunlap ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1867 — W. Van Zandt, Chairman ; A. D. Loomis, E. R. Roberts, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. V. Casting ; Treasurer, W. H. Stanley ; Assessors, William L. Dudley, Samuel Dunlap. 1868 — William Van Zandt, Chairman ; N. D. Loomis, 0. Halvorson, Supervisors ; Clerk, H. B. Beardsley (resigned), T. W. Stiles (resigned), A. J. Phillips; Treasurer, Edward Hayes ; Assessors, Samuel Dunlap, W. P. Leete. 1869 — William Van Zandt, Chairman ; Even Roberts, Ole Knudeson, Supervisors ; Clerk, A. J. Philips ; Treasurer, Daniel Shell ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1870 — C. C. Palmer, Chairman ; G. Simenson, Fred Sprain, Supervisors ; Clerk, A. J. Philips ; Treasurer, C. E. Adams ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1871 — William Van Waters, Chairman ; G. Simenson, V. Weiman, Supervisors ; Clerk, A. J. Philips ; Treasurer, C. E. Adams ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1872 — William Van Zandt, Chairman ; Ole Knudeson, V. Weiman, Supervisors ; Clerk, A. J. Philips ; Treasurer, Evan Johnson ; Assessor, J. W. Raney. 1873 — William Van Zandt, Chairman ; Ole Knudeson, D. Sandman, Supervisors ; Clerk, George Leete ; Treasurer, Evan Johnson ; Assessor, Samuel Dunlap. 1874 — William Van Zandt, Chairman . William P. Leete, Ole Knudeson, Supervisors ; Clerk, G. H. Leete ; Treasurer, C. E. Adams ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1875 — William Van Zandt, Chairman ; Ole Knudeson, F. B. Smith, Supervisors ; Clerk, R. Goodrich ; Treasurer, F. W. Stiles ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1876 — F. B. Smith, Chairman ; Ole Knudeson, S. R. McKinley, Supervisors ; Clerk, R. Goodrich ; Treasurer, I. L. Green ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1877 — F. B. Smith, Chairman ; T. Dudley, John Torgerson, Supervisors ; Clerk, Reid Goodrich ; Treasurer, John L. Green ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1878 — F. B. Smith, Chairman ; John Torgerson, Timothy Dudley, Supervisors ; Clerk, R. Goodrich ; Treasurer, Simeon Mahlum ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1879 — F. B. Smith, Chairman ; John Torgerson, Timothy Dudley, Supervisors ; Clerk, R. Goodrich ; Treasurer, Simeon Mahlum ; Assessor, V. M. Adams. 1880 — F. B. Smith, Chairman ; John Torgerson, Timothy Dudley, Supervisors ; Clerk, Reid Goodrich ; Treasurer, Simeon Mahlum ; Assessor, S. Dunlap. 1881— F. B. Smith, Chairman; John Torgerson, T. Dudley, Supervisors; Clerk, R. Goodrich ; Treasurer, Simeon Mahlum ; Assessor, Samuel Dunlap. TOWN OF "HOLLAND. This town occupies the northwestern portion of La Crosse County, and is very irregularly surveyed. It originally constituted a portion of the towns of Onalaska and Hamilton, but the Board of Supervisors of La Crosse County, at their meeting of November 13, 1857, formed a new town, to which they gave the name of Holland, as follows : The whole of Fractional Town ship No. 18 north, Range No. 8 west, east and south of Black River, and the two north tiers of sections in Township No. 17 north, of Range No. 8 west, except the south half of Section No. 9 and Sections Nos. 6 and 7 of Township No. 17 north, of Range No. 7 west. In 1868, how ever, the town of Jackson, which had also been set off as a separate town on the 13th of Novem ber, 1857, was divided, and the three western tiers of sections, together with Sections 4, 5 and 6 from the town of Onalaska, were given to the town of Holland. The following is the descrip tion of the town of Holland, as made by the Board of Supervisors at this time, April 18, 1868 : The whole of Fractional Township No. 18 north, of Range No. 3 west, east and south of the Black River and the two north tiers of sections in Township No. 17 north, of Range No. 8 west, except the south half of Section No. 9 and Sections Nos. 6 and 7, Township No. 17 706 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. north, of Range No. 7 west, together with such portions of Sections 4, 5 and 6 as lie in the town heretofore known as the town of Jackson, and Sections Nos. 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 of Township No. 18 north, of Range No. 7 west. FIRST SETTLER. In 1850, one Gordon and family emigrated from the State of Maine into La Crosse County, and purchased about 100 acres of land in the northern part of what is now the town of Holland, on or near the banks of the Black River. Here he erected for himself a log cabin, and devoted a part of his time in tilling the soil, which he had purchased, and the remainder of his time was spent in "logging." He laid out a village site on this land, to which he gave the name of Orno, but the town itself has never been built up. He also established a ferry across the Black River, which he conducted for a number of years, and which was discontinued at the time of his death, which occurred in 1875. His widow, the first pioneer woman in the town of Holland, is still living, and has the total supervision of the little farm, the foundation of which was laid by the whole-souled pioneer, noted for his steadfastness, integrity of principle and pioneer per severance, who lived, wrought and triumphed, but has long since crossed the mystic river of death. Among those immediately following the arrival of Mr. Gordon, was Burr Johnson, who arrived and settled in the town of Holland the following year, 1851, and is still a highly re spected and prominent citizen. Among those of 1852 was Ole O. Black, who emigrated from Norway to Dane County in 1850. Here he worked in a mill for two years, when he and his family, in July, 1852, came to La Crosse County and settled in the town of Holland, on Sec tion 24, Township 18, Range 8 west, and is still conducting the same farm. The cosy little cottage and large barn, together with the waving fields of grain, give ample evidence of the suc cess with which he has met since his advent as a pioneer settler, thirty years ago. Ole Hoken- son also arrived during the year 1852, and settled on Section 31, Township 18, Range 7 west. February 26, 1853, Oepke Bonnema, together with a few other persons, emigrated from the old world, coming by way of New Orleans, and up the Mississippi to La Crosse, where they arrived in the following July. Two of these families went from here into Minnesota, and Mr. Bonnema, together with Sjoerd Tyalsma and John Stienstre, who had emigrated with him, went further up from La Crosse into the present town of Holland, where he purchased a section of land on Section 17 and 18, Township 17, Range 8 west. This was tilled for a number of years by Tyalsma and Stienstre, when Mr. Tyalsrna rented a piece of land and conducted farming for himself, and Mr. Stienstre purchased a farm on Section 35, Township 17, Range 8 west, and for a number of years successfully carried on the cultivation of the soil, until old age, incapaci tating him for labor, rendered it necessary for him to rent his farm, and he now lives in the village of New Amsterdam, which was laid out by Mr. Bonnema on the land which he had pur chased soon after his advent into the county. Subsequently, Mr. Bonnema built the first store in what is now the town of Holland; and, for a number of years, supplied the subsequent pioneers with their necessary groceries. In 1855, a post office was established, with Bonnema as Postmaster. He also, at this time, acted as mail carrier on the route which was established from here to La Crosse, making two trips a week. Soon afterward, a mail route was established to Galesville, and New Amsterdam obtained their mail from the carriers on this route, which existed until about five years ago, when a new route was made from Midway to Amsterdam, since which time the mail has been obtained in that manner. Mr. Bonnema was succeeded in the postmastership by David Neeham, who held the office for three years, and was followed by D. M. Deenstre, and he in turn by Mrs. Emma Miller, who held the office until her death, in 1880, when her nephew, Benjamin Miller, became the Postmaster, In 1856, Mr. Bonnema gave an acre of land, on which the first schoolhouse in the township was built, in 1857, and the first teacher was Mrs. David Needham, who taught in the summer of that year. In 1856, Stephen Woodward built a small frame building for Mr. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 707 Bonnema, which was intended for a tavern. This, when finished, was first kept by Henry de Boer for two or three years, when Robert Price ran it for two years, and was followed by Mr. Nettleton, since which time it was kept by different ones until 1868, when Mr. Bonnema moved it from near the bank of the slough, where it was built, about forty rods northward, where he kept it himself until 1879, since which time it has been used by him merely as a private dwelling. In 1857, Mr. Bonnema erected a saw-mill on the bank of a branch of the Black River, having a capacity of about ten thousand feet per day. This mill he run until 1868, when it was shut down, and the machinery and apparatus has been sold to different parties. Among the settlers of 1854, we find the names of Thomas Munson, who settled on Sectiore, 29, Township 18, Range 7 west ; and Andrew Olson, who emigrated from Norway, and settled*. August 7, 1854, on Section 24, Township 18, Range 8 west, in what was subsequently the town, of Jackson ; but now included within the limits of the town of Holland. The first death in the town was probably that of Henry Rienks, a German, who, having- died, was buried in a little grove at the foot of the hill, a few rods north of the town of New Amsterdam. The first white children born in the town were a pair of twins — Carl and Johanna — born in August, 1852, a son and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ole Black. Carl is still living ; but , Johanna is dead. The building of the first church was begun in 1873, and finished in 1879. Previous to. this, ministers had come from La Crosse, and held their services in the schoolhouse. The western portion of the town of Holland is somewhat cut up and broken by the Black and Mississippi Rivers. This consists principally of low marsh land, some parts of which are' well adapted to the raising of grass. As we recede from the river, we come upon an open, sandy prairie, some three miles in width, which, as a farming country, has proven unreliable. At the eastern side of this prairie extends a range of bluffs northward and southward, and al though they are not accessible in the matter of agriculture, afford excellent facilities for pastur age. Crossing over these bluffs at various places, and we find ourselves in beautiful and fertile- valleys (or " coolies," as they are called by their inhabitants), which bear evidence of the prog ress that has been made in the matter of settlement and agriculture within the last thirty years, since those energetic old pioneers, buoyant with the hope of success, demonstrated to the world. the adaptability of the soil in this section of the country, to the agricultural interests. OFFICIAL. The first town meeting for the town of Holland was held on the first Tuesday in April,. 1858, at the schoolhouse, near the village of New Amsterdam, but the writer was unable to find any records of the officers previous to 1866. The following is a list of the officers from 1866 to date : 1866 — Ole 0. Black, Chairman ; Henry de Boer, Leonard Groman, Supervisors ; Peter Plunges, Town Clerk (resigned and John Van Loon elected in his place) ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; Fred Gilbertson, Corn Ploeysina, Adam Gartner, Assessors ; John Shaukland* John Hoff, Neils Larson, Justices of the Peace; P. J. Mosher, Theodore Comean, David Notter, Constables ; H. Kass, Sealer. 1867 — Ole 0. Black, Chairman ; Henry de Boer, Ole Peterson, Supervisors ; John Van Loon, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; Adam Gartner, Isaac Martin, Peter Hardy, Assess ors; Suel Briggs, James 0. Russell, Daniel Clark, Justices of the Peace;. Peter Hanson, John McCammon, Constables ; Henry Kass, Sealer. 1868 — Ole 0. Black, Chairman; Henry de Boer, Christopher Bolstad, Supervisors; John Van Loon, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; Adam Gartner, Andrew Olson, Assessors ; Elijah Jackson, Bernard McCue, Daniel Smith, Justices of the Peace ; Daniel Clark, Ralph Mosher, Christopher Christopherson, Constables ; Henry Kass, Sealer. 1869— Suel Briggs, Chairman ; Andrew Olson, Nejer Kesterhouse, Supervisors ; John Van Loon, Clerk; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; Suel Briggs, James Mosher, David Needham, 708 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Chris C. Bolsted, Justices of the Peace ; Adam Gartner, Assessor ; William Brown. Orrin Johnson, Thomas Rand, Constables ; Martin Schenk, Sealer. 1870 — Suel Briggs, Chairman ; Andrew Olson, James A. Mosher, Supervisors ; John Van Loon, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; John Van Loon, David Needham, Justices of the Peace ; Adam Gartner, Assessor ; William Blase, Calvin Rand, Peter B. Herdy, Constables ; Daniel Clark, Sealer. 1871 — Suel Briggs, Chairman ; Andrew Olson, James A. Mosher, Supervisors ; John Van Loon, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; Suel Briggs, James A. Mosher, Peter B. Hardy, Chris C. Bolstad, Justices of the Peace ; Adam Gartner, Assessor ; Thomas B. Rand ; William Dougherty, Isaac Clark, Constables ; William Brown, Sealer. 1872 — Suel Briggs, Chairman ; James A. Mosher, Alfred Gaarder, Supervisors ; John Van Loon, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; Frederick Brown, Chris C. Bolstad, Justices of the Peace ; Adam Gartner, Assessor ; Adam Gartner, Peter Larson, Thomas B. Rand, Con stables ; Martin Schenk, Sealer. 1873 — Suel Briggs, Chairman ; Alfred Gaarder, Henry de Boer, Supervisors ; Ole 0. Black, Clerk ; Andrew Olson, Treasurer ; Suel Briggs, Joseph Woodward, Daniel Clark, Cleve land Custley, Justices of the Peace ; D. K. Gordon, Assessor ; Charles Olson, H. 0. Brown, William Dougherty, Constables ; Joseph Gaul, Sealer. 1874 — Suel Briggs, Chairman ; Alfred Gaarder, John Rand, Supervisors ; Thomas B. Rand, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; James A. Mosher, Chris C. Bolstad, Justices of the Peace ; D. K. Gordon, Assessor ; William Hilljard, Ole W. Johnson, Isaac Clark, Consta bles. 1875 — Suel Briggs, Chairman ; Ole Peterson, Albert A. Johnson, Supervisors ; Thomas B. Rand, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; Suel Briggs, Neils Larson, Justices of the Peace ; D. K. Gordon, Assessor ; Wallace Smith, Ed Poulson, George Travis, Constables. 1876 — Suel Briggs, Chairman ; Albert A. Johnson, Chris C. Bolstad, Supervisors ; Thomas B. Rand, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; C. A. Ljolander, Chris C. Bolstad, James A. Mosher, Justices of the Peace ; A. Van Loon, Assesser ; William Dale, Ed Poulson, Ralph Mosher, Constables. 1877 — D. Sandman, Chairman ; Henry Kass, Wallace Smith, Supervisors ; John Costly, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; Suel Briggs, Daniel H. Gordon, Justices of the Peace ; Albert Van Loon, Assessor ; Paul Van Loon, Louis Stienstra, William Dale, Constables. 1878 — D. Sandman, Chairman ; Henry Kass, Wallace Smith, Supervisors ; John Costly, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer ; Peter Ljolander, B. Meilder, John Ostrander, Justices of the Peace ; Albert Van Loan, Assessor ; Martin Schenk, P. Van Loon, L. Ltienstra, Consta bles. 1879 — D. Sandman, Chairman ; Frank Sacia, D. Weedham, Supervisors ; John Costly, Clerk ; Oepke Bonnema, Treasurer : John Costly, James Mosher, Suel Briggs, Chris 0. Bol stad, Justices of the Peace ; Adolph Spengler, Assessor ; P. Van Loon, William Hilliard, Ole Halter, Constables. 1880 — D. Sandman, Chairman ; Frank Sacia, John Ostrander, Supervisors ; A. 0. Rhea, Clerk ; C. Christianson, Treasurer ; Suel Briggs, Albert Van Loon, H. Miller, Justices of the Peace; Thomas Johnson, Assessor; Albert Johnson, Jr., William Dougherty, G. Travis, Peter Fiers, Louis Ltienstra, Constables. 1881 — D. Sandman, Chairman ; Frank Sacia, John Ostrander, Supervisors ; A. 0. Rhea, Clerk ; C. A. Ljolander, Treasurer; H. V. Sacia, A. 0. Rhea, James Mosher, Justices of the Peace ; Thomas Johnson, Assessor ; Daniel Morrow, S. Westerhouse, Peter Fiers, William Dougherty, Harry Mulder, Constables. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 709 THE TOWN OF BARRE. This town comprises twenty-one sections of rich agricultural land familiarly known as the "Bostwick Valley." The general surface of the town is broken, and in some parts so rough as to be impracticable for farming purposes. It is well watered by numerous springs and small trib utaries, some of which form power for milling purposes. EARLY SETTLEMENT. The first settlement in the present limits of the town of Barre was made May 7, 1850, by Martin Bostwick and two sons, Jerome and John, natives of Vermont. On their arrival they plowed a furrow around several miles of land, and laid claim to the whole valley, hence the name "Bostwick Valley." Their fond hopes to become the sole owners of this locality were soon dis solved, however, when other enterprising husbandmen followed and entered portions of the valley at the land office in Mineral Point. These latter claims stood the test, and permanent settlements were made. Mr. Bostwick and sons finally entered, and afterward improved and cultivated the farms now owned and occupied by Conrad Miller and Fred Sprain respectively. Early in the spring of 1850, about the time of the arrival of the Bostwicks, Hugh Hogan, a native of Ireland, made his appearance in the Bostwick Valley, and selecting a favorable site, soon after went to Mineral Point and entered 200 acres of his present farm on Section 26. In the following spring (1851), he returned to the valley with his family from Walworth County, Wis., where he had temporarily resided. Mr. Hogan built a small shanty with some lumber he brought from La Crosse, and, later in the season, he constructed a small log house which afforded comfortable shelter during the severe winter of 1851. During the summer of 1850, Nels Nel son and Peter Nelson located small farms on Section 26, made some improvements, remained a few years, then left for parts unknown. Others may have come this season to remain but a short time, when they took their departure for other fields, and leaving no marks to guide the historian in search of their names, and deeds accomplished. In June, 1852, Paul Tollefson and family settled on Section 33, where he built a small cabin and cultivated a small farm. He was followed in the same summer by John Halvorson, who settled near the mill, and Mr. Standish, who made the first steps toward the improvement of the " Rhode farm ; " Halstin Nelson also came this year, and Halvor Halvorson and sons, Ole and Halvor, located a farm on Section 29, Larson Kundeson settled on Section 28. In the spring of 1853, Fred Sprain, accompanied by Herman Sander and Deitrich Sand man, on a tour of prospecting, were fascinated with the beauty of the Bostwick Valley, and determined to make it their future home. April 14, 1853, was the date of their arrival in the valley. Messrs. Sanders and Sandman located claims on Sections 27 and 23 respectively, but Mr. Sprain returned to Milwaukee for his family, leaving Bostwick Valley April 20, and making the distance on foot in six days and a quarter. In the fall of 1853, he returned, arriv ing in the valley October 7. Among others, who came this year may be mentioned Messrs. Monroe and Patrick, who located the farm which two years after they sold to John Miller, the present owner ; Royal Rublee, Mr. Gitting and son Charles, William Purdy, L. Grigg, Isaac Carl, John Gallagher, Fred Nuttleman. The following year, Johnson and Benjamin Howe, Thomas Irwin, made their appearance in the town of Barre, and cultivated small farms and remained but a few years. John Miller also came about this time and purchased the improve ments made by Monroe and Patrick ; also Henry Reutz, Mr. Lambert, Frederick Betz and Carl Fucht located here and formed the nucleus to a prosperous German settlement. From 1855 to 1860, the population of the town was swelled by immigration to such an extent as to bar the possibility of recording their names and locations from the uncertain sources at command of the seeker after facts in this connection. True, fertile Bostwick Valley was not long destined to remain in an incipient state of cultivation ; as the population increased, farms were enlarged by the additions to the cultivated area, and its inhabitants were remunerated by 710 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. large and profitable crops. Improvements have kept pace with the times, elegant and commodi ous residences have taken the places of the rude and hastily-constructed log cabins of thirty years ago ; beautiful and artistic lawns ornamented with their wealth of verdure ; tastefully arranged walks and drives shaded with majestic trees, and a general air of prosperity and com fort which pervades the confines of this town, all speak to the rising generations of the heroism, steadfastness and pioneer perseverance of their ancestors of thirty years ago, who paved the way for these achievements and future prosperity, thus rendering the Bostwick Valley one of the leading towns in the country. SCHOOLS. The citizens of this town in an early day were not slow in providing for their children the means for a common-school education, which accomplishment was denied many of themselves. Consequently, schools were established soon after the early settlement of the valley, and these being increased in number as the increasing population demanded, have given to the town of Barre an educational precedence to be envied by many of the larger towns. There are now in the town four schoolhouses, with accommodations for 275 scholars. There are 283 children of school age in the town — 144 male, and 139 female — requiring the services of five teachers, who receive average salaries of $32 for male, and $22 for female. During the year ending August 31, 1880, there has been received for school purposes, $1,383.50, and paid out $1,037.98. The school property is now valued at $2,150. CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES. Among the first ministers of the Gospel to preach in the present town of Barre were Rev. Stub, a Norwegian from Coon Prairie, who visited here as early as 1852, and held meetings in the log cabins of the scattering settlers, preaching both in German and Norwegian. In 1853, a German Methodist preacher, named Rev. Keukhahn, made his appearance in the town, and for one year guided the spiritual destinies of his followers in this locality. The first Lutheran preacher was Rev. Fochtman, of La Crosse, who held meetings here occasionally. The German Lutheran Church. — Was organized in 1864, with but the families of Fred Sprain, Henry Rhodes, John Betz, Louis Miller, Fred Nuttleman and Conrad Miller. The first meetings were held in the schoolhouse on Section 26, until 1870, when the church edifice was erected. The first meeting in the new church was held on Christmas Day, 1870. The church property, including the Pastor's residence, cost $2,600. Rev. William Hasse organized the society and remained as Pastor seven years. He was succeeded by Rev. Henry Dagafaede, who remained four and a half years. He was followed by the present Pastor, Rev. Peter Lang. This society now has 100 members in good standing. The trustees of the church are August Miller, Fred Sprain, Conrad Miller, William Nuttleman, Henry Broket and William Wiers. Among the first births in the town was that of Mary Ann Tillifson, who was born in August, 1852. Among the first marriages in the town was Ole Halvorson, who was married in 1853 ; also, D. Sandman and Margaret Sprain, same year, and John Bostwick and Polly Carl. MILLS. In 1858, a Mr. Harker, from New York, built the first mill in the town. This was located on Section 29, on Bostwick Valley Creek. Here a dam was built with a ten-foot fall, and two run of stone placed in the mill. He was succeeded shortly after by a lawyer from La Crosse, named Handerson, who ran the mill two years. Brown & Van Ness then took charge of the mill and ran it three years, when John Craig took charge of the mill property and continued the business ten years. He was succeeded in the proprietorship by Valentine Weirner, who, at the expiration of four years, sold out to William Ruks, the present owner. This mill now has an extensive custom trade, and the quality of flour manufactured is No. 1. Wagon Shop. — In 1864, Charles Miller started a wagon-shop on Section 16, and con tinued the wagon manufacturing and repairing business two years, when S. Tierney rented it HISTORY OF LACROSSE COUNTY. 711 until 1876. At this date, Henry Huxshal became the owner. In 1876, also, Mr. Huxshal purchased the blacksmith-shop established in 1864 by Henry Lang, and since then Mr. Hux shal has continued this in connection with his wagon-shop. He employs three blacksmiths and two wagon-makers to carry on the manufacturing of wagons and repairing of all kinds of farm ing implements. POST OFFICE. The first post office in the town of Barre was established in 1853, and John Halvorson appointed first Postmaster. The office has been continued since, and the following persons have been recipients of Executive favor in this respect: Valentine Weirner, William Runger and Henry Huxhal, the present incumbent. This office is now located on Section 16, and known as the Bostwick Valley Post Office. The Barre Freidenker Society — Was organized in 1869, with sixteen charter members, and the following officers : D. Sandman, President ; H. Sander, Secretary ; Fred Ihlo, Treas urer. For three years, meetings were held in the schoolhouse, on Section 26, every two weeks. In 1872, the society built their present brick hall, at a cost of $800. This organization has now twenty-eight members, with the following officers : F. Hempker, President ; Louis Sander, Secretary ; Charles Brandt, Treasurer. Its motto is free religion. Official Record. — The original town of Barre, besides its present territory, embraced fifteen sections of the southern portion of the present town of Hamilton, and all of the original town of Bangor, which then included Washington. The first town meeting was held in 1853, in the log cabin of a Mr. Jones, who was located on Section 15, on the farm now owned and occupied by Hon. J. W. Raney. At this meeting, John Meldrum was elected Chairman, and Jerome Bost wick, Clerk. Unfortunately, the original town records have been destroyed, thus precluding the possibility of presenting as complete a town record as would be desirable. In 1856, the town of Bangor was set off, thereby leaving but thirty-six sections in the town of Barre. In 1867, the towns of Barre and Neshonoc were consolidated by act of Legislature, and called Hamilton. Early in 1874, the Board of County Commissioners set off twenty-one sections of the southern part of Hamilton, and the new town of Barre was organized. The first town meet ing was held April 7, 1874, and ninety -four votes cast. At this meeting, $350 was voted for expenses the ensuing year ; $150 for incidentals, and $200 for roads and bridges. The following is a list of the town officers for each year since the new organization : 1874 — Joseph Moran, Chairman ; D. Sandman, Ole Halvorson, Supervisors ; Clerk, O. S. Barlow ; Treasurer, William Runger ; Assessor, R. T. Roberts. 1875— R. T. Roberts, Chairman; D. Sandman, T. McElwritb, Supervisors; Clerk, O. S. Barlow ; Treasurer, William Runger ; Assessor, Peter S. Sparling. 1876— R. T. Roberts, Chairman; T. McElwrith, Fred Sprain, Supervisors; Clerk, O. S. Barlow ; Treasurer, William Runger ; Assessor, P. S. Sparling. 1877 — Joseph Moran, Chairman ; August Miller, Fred Sprain, Supervisors ; Clerk, Alex ander Moran ; Treasurer, William Runger ; Assessor, Ole Halvorson. 1878— R. T. Roberts, Chairman; Paul Tollefson, August Miller, Supervisors; Clerk, Theodore Tollefson ; Treasurer, W. Runger ; Assessor, Ole Halvorson. 1879— R. T. Roberts, Chairman ; H. E. Miller, Paul Tollefson, Supervisors ; Clerk, Fred Nuttleman ; Treasurer, William Runger ; Assessor, Ole Halvorson. 1880— R. T. Roberts, Chairman ; Fred Sprain, Ole Halvorson, Supervisors ; Clerk, Fred Nuttleman ; Treasurer, William Runger ; Assessor, August Miller. 1881 — James Moran, Chairman ; Henry Essmilleer, David Samuels, Supervisors ; Clerk, Fred Nuttleman ; Treasurer, William Runger ; Assessor, Ole Halvorson. 712 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. THE TOWN OF BURNS. This is one of the prominent towns in the county, and ranks among the leading localities for agricultural purposes. The town is irregularly surveyed, but naturally divided into three distinct valleys — Adams', Burnham and Big Creek. These valleys are fertile and productive, being well watered by numerous springs, creeks and small tributaries. Intervening between the valleys are high bluffs, which are, in many localities, not susceptible of cultivation. It is esti mated that at least one-third of the town is too rough for agricultural purposes. EARLY SETTLEMENT. The first settlement in the present town of Burns was made April 23, 1851, by B. F. Col burn, a native of Massachusetts, who made a claim of 160 acres on Section 20. This year he broke five acres of land, and put in a crop of corn and potatoes. The following spring he planted four acres of wheat, realizing therefrom twenty-five bushels, the threshing being done by oxen walk ing on the straw. In 1851, John Green also located a farm on Section 18, a portion of the original claim of Mr. Colburn. Later in the spring, a Mr. Burnham made his appearance in the present town of Burns, and located in the valley which has since borne his name. L. A. Viets and family came to Burns in the fall of 1851, locating on Section 32. Here Mr. Viets built a small cabin, and the same fall broke five acres of land. In the spring of 1852, he put in his first crop, corn, pota toes and beans. The following year Mr. Viets raised eight acres of small grain, which yielded twenty-five bushels to the acre. Falliman Farr and family accompanied Mr. Viets from Dodge County, Wis., to Burns, and settled on same section. Messrs. Viets and Farr had twenty-two head of cattle, but owing to a lack of shelter and food during the first winter, seven died. The following spring hay was purchased on the other side of the river, for $8 per ton, and trans ported by means of canoes, manufactured for the purpose, from huge pine logs, then found in the vicinity. In 1852, Abel Washburn located a claim on Section 34, and V. R. Dunham on Section 22, 0. H. P. Crane on Section 24, John C. Bean on Section 28, Mr. Stone on Section 16, Mr. Hicks, Jabez White and Andrew Sherbin, all settled in Burnham Valley. With the advent of 1853, land speculators swarmed the country and entered nearly all the vacant land in the La Crosse Valley, including that of the town of Burns, and as a consequence the settlers coming in the fol lowing years were obliged to purchase their claims at an increased price. During 1853, the Adams Valley received accessions to its population in the arrival within. its precincts of V. M. Adams and brother, H. D. Adams, in honor of whom the valley was named. They came from Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., Wis., arriving here in May ; they purchased a quar ter-section of land on Section 19, and that spring broke 20 acres. Moses Clark accompanied the Adamses and located on Section 30 ; Rodney Tower settled here in 1853, on Section 33. In 1854, Miles Scafe located on Section 15 ; John Bradley, present location ; James and William Gillifillian, on a farm located the year previous by V. M. Adams, who had removed to Neshonoc ; H. L. Van Wormer and Mr. Harrington, settled on Section 30 ; Ira Coleman, E. B. Richardson, James Robinson and a number of others, the date of whose arrival could not be de termined, settled in different parts of the now populous town. During the years 1854-55-56, large accessions were made to the population, and the fertile valleys of Burns were soon made " to blossom as the rose." The following is a correct list of the voters at the first town meeting held April 4, 1854 ; O. H. P. Crane, Byron A. Viets, Miles Scafe, Joseph Scafe, J. C. Bean, E. B. Richardson, Lorenzo Hicks, V. R. Dunham, Chester Frost, James Cook, Daniel Hicks, Leroy Bowen, Aaron Harrington, E. R. Adams, John Green, S. R. Wyant, Joseph Hull, L. A. Viets, Amaziah Stone,. Harrold Hanson, H. M. Hanson, W. H. Dunham, B. F. Colburn, Wesley Hunter, Nelson Gil bert, Andrew Bradley, Elijah Bowen, Warren Wilcox, Moses Herrick, Enoch Parks, H. D- HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 713 Adams, Philemon Farr, Rodney Tower, V. M. Adams, Aaron Frost and Abel Washburn, all of whom were then residents of the town. During the year 1855, immigration to the La Crosse Valley was large, and that the town of Burns was not slighted will be readily seen from the following official poll list of that year : S. Hurlbut, S. Williams, John Green, J. Tritton, S. Carrington, Thomas Jones, R. Tower, William Van Zandt, Henry Moore, L. Pratt, J. Grosse, 0. L. Britton, Edward Tritton, E. Dake, T. Dutcher, J. Gillifillian, C. Frost, D. B. Tull, W. Hunter, William Gillifillian, A. Harrington, E. Adams, H. D. Adams, B. F. Colburn, L. Bowen, H. Boyington, J. Cook, M. Cronk, M. M. Buttles, E. Parks, S. Coleman, Byron Viets, Lorenzo Hicks, Aaron Frost, E. B. Richardson, 0. H. P. Crane, M. Scafe, J. Scafe, J. C. Bean, L. A. Viets, A. Stone, V. R. Dunham, M. Herrick, George Williams, J. Coleman. On the official poll-list of 1856, is registered the following named residents of the town of Burns : 0. H. P. Crane, V. R. Dunham, E. M. Phillips, J. Robinson, G. H. Jones, M. P. Caldwell, H. M. Hanson, Harold Hanson, Joseph Scafa, H. D. Adams, E. Sorthout, Lorenzo Hicks, R. F. Miller, Horace Washburne, James Rathbone, G. W. Sorthout, J. H. Hatch, W. W. Hunter, D. Grosse, A. Bradley, J. Rathbone, J. T. Hanson, Jacob Lee, Lewis Pratt, Moses Herrick, M. M. Buttles, Enoch Parks, M. C. Cronk, Ira Coleman, William Streeton, M. Lam- pher, Thomas Jones, John F. Wilbur, Joshua Tritton, John Harr, Daniel Hicks, Jabez White, Amaziah Stone, L. R. Bowen, L. A. Viets, A. B. Parks, H. Fuller, Charles Armington, Ed ward Feak, Spencer Hurlbut, Newcome Gray, Samuel Williams, S. Hurlbut, George Parks, V. Flynn, Miles Scafa, William Gillifillian, A. Adams, Chester Frost, George W. Williams, A. Harrington, P. Farr, A. Washburne, D. B. Tull, John Lee, A. Andrews, Edward Tritton, B. F. Colburn, 0. L. Britton, F. E. Adams, James Cook, S. Redding, George Leavitt, John Brad ley, H. L. Van Wormer, F. Burgett, R. Tower, Thomas Dutcher, J. C. Lucas, James Seeley, J. M. Brooks, Alonzo Jones, E. B. Richardson, Anson Jones and James Gillifillian. In 1857, eighty-two votes were registered ; in 1858, ninety-one ; 1859, one hundred and thirty-three, and in 1860, one hundred and forty-three. SCHOOLS. The first school in the present town of Burns was taught in a deserted log cabin on Section 19, in 1853. The first teacher was Mary Viets, who had seventeen scholars, children of the few settlers in the town at that time. The following year, Jabez Coleman taught a school in Burnham Valley, and continued for three winters. From this time on schools were built and teachers provided, as the fast increasing population demanded, and which being cherished and cared for, has resulted in the adoption of a school system which places Burns in a position, ed ucationally, to be envied by other towns of less enterprise. There are now in the town nine schoolhouses and 420 children of school age — 218 male, and 202 female. These require the services of nine teachers, whose wages average, for males, $24 ; females, $18.20. During the year ending August 31, 1880, there was received for school purposes, $1,657.29, and paid $1,454.40. The first religious services in the town were held in the log schoolhouse, on Section 29, Rev. Mr. Reynolds, of La Crosse, in 1853. He visited this town subsequently at different in tervals, and was succeeded by Elder Angel, of Lewis Valley, who preached here for three years, during 1858, 1859 and 1860. In 1858, the Methodist Church was built, and a congregation organized by Rev. Mr. Wood, Presiding Elder of this district, then residing at Sparta. POST OFFICE. The first post office in this town was established in 1854, and L. A. Viets appointed first Postmaster. This office was located on Section 32, and known as Burns Post Office. In 1857, Mr. Viets was succeeded by Moses Dustan, which he held until 1865, when John Wilbur was appointed. He removed the office to Burnham Valley, and, two years thereafter, it was discon tinued. 714 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Rockland Post Office was established at the railroad station of Rockland, on Section 36, in 1875, with John Campbell, the present incumbent, as first Postmaster. MILLS. The first mill in the town was built on Big Creek, in 1855, by Enos Phillips. This was a saw-mill, and continued as such about ten years. The mill property eventually fell into the hands of Williams & Jones, who reconstructed the dam and built the present Big Creek Flour ing Mill. After the expiration of two years, Mr. Jones sold out to his partner, Mr. Williams, who operated the mill alone until 1876, when he was accidentally killed in the performance of his duties about the mill. Mrs. Williams then sold the property to William Davis, who ran it until 1878, when E. M. Roberts became a partner. In 1880, Mr. Roberts bought out Mr. Davis, and has since continued the mill alone. CHEESE FACTORY. In 1874, a Mr. Hanton established in Burnham Valley what has since been known as the Burnham Valley Cheese Factory. Here he continued the manufacture of cheese until 1878, when the property was sold to the " Burnham Valley Cheese Factory Association," organized and chartered January 21, 1878. The officers of this association are J. M. Sheldon, President; Theodore Schmitz, Secretary ; Daniel Shane, Business Manager. This institution has now a capacity of 3,500 pounds of milk per day. During the last season of six months, 21,000 pounds of cheese were manufactured, and commanded the highest market price. The business of this institution, under the management of Daniel Shane increases from year to year, and gives promise of a successful future. OFFICIAL RECORD. Burns was brought under town government as a part of Neshonoc in 1853. Neshonoc then embraced seventy-two sections the size of two Government townships. In 1854, thirty-six sec tions of the eastern part of Neshonoc were set off, organized into a town and named after La Crosse County's distinguished Lieutenant Governor, Timothy Burns. The following is the act of the County Commissioners : " Be it enacted that the portion of Neshonoc contained in Township 7, Range 5, of the original survey, be and is hereby set off into a separate town to be called Burns ; and the first town meeting to be held the first Tuesday in April, 1854, at the house of J. C. Bean in said town." Forthwith the first meeting was held April 4, 1854, and Rodney Tower chosen Chairman ; Lorenzo Hicks, Chester Frost, Inspectors ; and V. M. Adams, Clerk of Election. At this meeting thirty-six votes were registered, and $90 voted to defray the expenses of the en suing year. The following is a complete list of the town officers from the organization of the town to the present time : 1854 — L. A. Viets, Chairman ; O. H. P. Crane, J. C. Bean, Supervisors ; Clerk, Rodney Tower ; Treasurer, H. M. Hanson, ; Assessor, E. B. Richardson. 1855 — William Van Zandt, Chairman; 0. L. Britton, B. F. Colburn, Supervisors; Clerk, L. A. Viets, ; Treasurer, L. R. Bowen ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1856 — William Van Zandt, Chairman ; O. L. Britton, James Gillifillian, Supervisors ; Clerk, E. Tritton ; Treasurer, H. M. Hansom ; Assessor, L. R. Bowen. 1857 — L. R. Bowen, Chairman; O. L. Britton, James Gillifillian, Supervisors; Clerk, E. Tritton ; Treasurer, J. M. Brooks ; Assessor, L. R. Bowen. 1858 — E. B. Richardson, Chairman; H. D. Adams, O. L. Britton, Supervisors; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, J. M. Brooks ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1859 — E. B. Richardson, Chairman ; J. Gillifillian, J. Brandon, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. S. Norton ; Treasurer, J. M. Brooks ; Assessor, L. R. Bowen. 1860 — Ira Hurlbut, Chairman ; J. Gillifillian, Ira Coleman, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 715 1861 — E. B. Richardson, Chairman; John Bradley, Ira Coleman, Supervisors; Clerk, C. W. Fletcher ; Treasurer, J. M. Brooks ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1862 — William Van Zandt, Chairman ; E. D. Jones, William Gillifillian, Supervisors ; Clerk, M. J. Bump ; Treasurer, M. A. Dustin ; Assessor, Albert Cram. 1863 — L. R. Bowen, Chairman ; V. R. Dunham, Andrew Bradley, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. M. Hawas ; Treasurer, M. A. Dustin ; Assessor, E. B. Richardson. 1864 — William Van Zandt, Chairman ; William Gillifillian, B. F. Colburn, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, J. M. Brooks ; Assessor, James Gillifillian. 1865 — E. B. Richardson, Chairman ; A. J. Phillips, L. R. Bowen, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, J. M. Brooks ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1866 — E. B. Richardson, Chairman ; L. R. Bowen, Daniel Shane, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, J. Leavitt ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1867 — E. B. Richardson, Chairman ; L. R. Bowen, Daniel Shane, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, C. F. Armington ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1868 — W. D. Medbury, Chairman; Edward Tritton, B. L. Viets, Supervisors; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, C. F. Armington ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1869 — E. B. Richardson, Chairman ; W. D. Medbury, S. Gillifillian, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, J. M. Brooks : Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1870 — E. B. Richardson, Chairman ; Ira Hurlbut, James Sheldon, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets; Treasurer, J. M. Brooks; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1871 — L. R. Bowen, Chairman ; John Harr, John Fox, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, J. M. Brooks ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1872 — Daniel Shane, Chairman ; James Gillifillian, Ira Hubbard, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets; Treasurer. George Robinson; Assessor, W. D. Medbury. 1873 — Daniel Shane, Chairman ; Theodore Schmitz, John Bradley, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets; Treasurer, G. Robinson; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1874 — L. R. Bowen, Chairman ; W. Sawyer, J. H. Gillifillian, John Bradley, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, George Robinson ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1875 — L. R. Bowen, Chairman ; W. Sawyer, J. H. Gillifillian, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets; Treasurer, G. W. Robinson; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1876 — Daniel Shane, Chairman ; John Harr, Ira Hurlbut, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, Oscar Bowen ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1877 — Daniel Shane, Chairman ; A. R. Benzie, J. H. Gillifillian, Supervisors; Clerk, L. A. Viets; Treasurer, E. A. Viets; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1878— Daniel Shane, Chairman ; T. Schmitz, J. H. Gillifillian, Supervisors ; Clerk, L. A. Viets; Treasurer, W. E. Hewett ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1879— William E. Hewitt, Chairman; G. W. Robinson, Theodore Schmitz, Supervisors; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, Richard Altimus ; Assessor, L. A. Viets. 1880— G. W. Robinson, Chairman; Alvin Fulton, A. H. Casterline, Supervisors; Clerk, L. A. Viets ; Treasurer, R. Altimus ; Assessor, Daniel Shane. 1881— G. W. Robinson, Chairman; Alvin Fulton, Ira Hurlbut, Supervisors; Clerk, Daniel Shane ; Treasurer, Richard Altimus ; Assessor, Theodore Schmitz. TOWN OF ONALASKA. Previous to the first permanent settlement in this town, loggers and lumbermen frequently landed in this place, and built for themselves huts and small houses to live in during their short stay here, but no permanent settlement was made until 1851, when William G. Rowe purchased of John M. Levy, of La Crosse, a building already framed and ready for erection, moved it up Black River, landed it and erected it where the little village of Onalaska now is, and kept it as a tavern to accommodate Black River lumbermen. Soon afterward, a number of other persons settled at this place, but their names have been forgotten in the rush of events. This soon 716 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. became a town, containing a large number of inhabitants, who erected saw-mills, stores, churches, schoolhouses, etc., and in 1872 was incorporated as a village, but the charter has since been given up. In 1868, a very fine frame church was built by the Methodist denomination, costing not less than $4,000. The present schoolhouse was erected in 1870, to succeed a schoolhouse that was burned the year previous, on its site, to the rear of the present church. In the western part of the township of Onalaska is the small town of Midway Station, con taining a blacksmith-shop, small frame hotel, a store, and an elevator with a capacity of about 10,000 bushels, erected — and now owned by J. B. Canterbury, of La Crosse. The village of Onalaska now contains a population of about 300, supporting one church, a schoolhouse, post office, etc., and is a prosperous station on the North-Western road, five miles from the city of La Crosse, which was completed in 1870. SOCIETIES. Onalaska Lodge, A., F. $ A. M. — Was instituted January 11, 1881, by M. L. Young, under a dispensation granted December 12, 1880. The charter was granted by the Grand Lodge, in session at Milwaukee, June 14, 1881 . The chartered members were Alexander Moran, James C. Moore, Frank Pooler, C. H. Nichols, J. E. North, J. G. Moore, J. M. Pierce, F. I. Phelps, E. Gleason, George E. Hawkins, A. Beach and M. G. Moore. The first and present officers are as follows: Alexander Moran, W. M. ; James C. Moore, S. W. ; Frank Pooler, J. W. ; C. H. Nichols, Treasurer ; J. E. North, Secretary ; J. G. Moore, S. D. ; J. M. Pierce, J. D. ; F. I. Phelps, Tiler. The order now numbers twenty-two members. Their meetings have always been held in the hall of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but they are now preparing a hall of their own. Onalaska Lodge, No. 251, I. O. O. F. — Was instituted February 12, 1876, by District Deputy Grand Master Theodore Rodolf. The charter members were John E. Dalton, C. H- Nichols, Frank Pooler, J. E. North, Ole Jenson, Henry Luthe and Fred Hill. The first officers were John E. Dalton, N. G. ; Frank Pooler, V. G. ; J. E. North, Sec retary ; C. H. Nichols, Treasurer. The following is a list of its officers, from organization to date : July, 1876, to January, 1877— Frank Pooler, N. G.; J. E. North, V. G. ; George H. Dalton, Secretary; C. H. Nichols, Treasurer. January to July, 1877 — Frank Pooler, N. G. ; J. E. North, V. G. ; George H. Dalton, Secretary ; C. H. Nichols, Treasurer. July, 1877, to January, 1878 — J. E. North, N. G. ; George H. Dalton, V. G. ; J. S. Nichols, Secretary ; Frank Pooler, Treas urer. January to July, 1878 — George H. Dalton, N. G. ; J. S. Nichols, V. G. ; James G. Moore, Secretary; Frank Pooler, Treasurer. July, 1878, to January, 1879 — J. S. Nichols, N. G. ; James C. Moore, V. G. ; J. E. North, Secretary ; Frank Pooler, Treasurer. January to July, 1879— James G. Moore, N. G. ; C. S. Stockwell, V. G. ; J. E. North, Secretary ; Frank Pooler, Treasurer. July, 1879, to January, 1880— C. S. Stockwell, N. G. ; George Pooler, V. G. ; James G. Moore, Secretary ; Frank Pooler, Treasurer. January to July, 1880 — George Pooler, N. G. ; Walter Atkinson, V. G. ; J. S. 'Nichols, Secretary ; Frank Pooler, Treasurer. July, 1880, to January, 1881— Walter Atkinson, N. G. ; John Gould, V. G. ; C. S. Stock- well, Secretary ; James G. Moore, Treasurer. CHURCHES. Nortvegian Lutheran Church. — A Norwegian Lutheran congregation was organized at " Half Way Creek," town of Onalaska, October 14, 1856, by Rev. H. A. Stub, of Coon Prairie, Vernon Co., Wis. He remained as Pastor until 1861, when he was succeeded by Rev. L. Lar son, who had the pastoral care of the congregation during 1861-62, and was followed by Rev. J. B. Frich, who remained until 1872, when Rev. W. L. Frich assumed the pastoral duties. Among the first members of the congregation were Ole O. Black, Burr Johnson, Halvor Kittle- son, Frederik Gulbrandson, Ole Olstad, Andrew Johnson and Peter Hardy. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 717 In 1860, a parsonage was built on the one hundred and twenty acres of land owned by the congregation, at a cost of $1,500. This burned down in 1865, when the Pastor, Rev. J. B. Erich, lost his entire property. A church was built in 1864, near the parsonage, at a cost of $3,500. This will easily accommodate six hundred persons. The dedicatory sermon was delivered by Rev. J. B. Frich in December of that year. In 1866, a new parsonage was built, at a cost of $1,400. In 1880, the congregation numbered 280 communicants ; 22 baptisms ; 36 confirmations ; 9 marriages and 7 deaths. The first meeting that there is any record of, was held at the Onalaska House, April 4, 1854. John Clark was Chairman; R. C. Van Renesselar, Oscar Pier, Inspectors; R. T. Law- ton, Clerk pro tem. OFFICIAL. 1854 — Moses Clark, Chairman ; John Clark, R. T. Lawton, Supervisors ; Oscar Pier, Clerk ; J. B. Rand, Treasurer ; C. M. Nichols, Superintendent of Schools ; Orange Smith, N. J. Tompkins, R. T. Lawton, Joseph Peck, Justices of the Peace ; Charles Brice, E. W. Jenks, S. S. McReynolds, Assessors ; J. B. Rand, Henry Solberg, P. L. Clark, Constables ; Hiram Clark, Sealer. 1855 — Moses Clark, Chairman ; John Lytle, John Dale, Supervisors ; C. H. Nichols, Clerk; J. B. Rand, Treasurer; C.M.Nichols, Superintendent of Schools ; Oscar Pier, Harvey J. Peck, Orrin Smith, Robert Brice, Justices of the Peace ; N. J. Tompkins, Cyrus Sherples, Charles Brice, Assessors ; F. N. Welch, Henry Solberg, J. B. Rand, Constables ; Dominic Jehlen, Sealer. 1856 — B. E. Brower, Chairman ; N. J. Tompkins, Henry Solberg, Supervisors ; M. E. Donahue, Clerk; J. B. Rand, Treasurer; Orange Smith, W. J. Tompkins, Charles Brice, Peter McCloe, Justices of the Peace; R. C. Van Rensselar, Superintendent of Schools ; Gilbert John son, Assessor ; Robert Heath, M. Brice, Jerry Moore, T. A. Lewis, Constables. 1857 — N. J. Tompkins, Chairman ; Oscar Pier, S. Woodward, Supervisors ; H. A. Buck, Clerk; J. B. Rand, Treasurer; J. B. Longley, Superintendent of Schools; H. A. Buck, S. Briggs, Justices of the Peace ; J. B. Longley, C. H. Nichols, Daniel Clark, Assessors ; John S. Huntley, Nathaniel Roberts, Solomon M. Judge, Constables. 1858— N. J. Tompkins, Chairman ; N. B. Holway, W. G. M. Milne, Supervisors ; T. W. Boyce, Clerk ; Oscar Pier, Treasurer ; Miles Lamb, Superintendent of Schools ; Abram Pettin- ger, Harvey J. Peck, Justices of the Peace ; Orange Smith, Assessor ; George Brice, George Gallagher, Constables. 1859 — R. C. Van Rensselaer, Chairman ; Milton Brice, Charles Hall, Supervisors ; C. H. Nichols, Clerk ; Oscar Pier, Treasurer ; Miles Lamb, Superintendent of Schools ; H. A. Buck, Robert Brice, Justices of the Peace ; P. G. Moulton, Charles Brice, Andrew Johnson, Assessors ; E. Swarthout, Andrew Johnson, J. B. Rand, Constables. 1860 — Charles Hall, Chairman ; Milton Brice, David Schneider, Supervisors ; C. II. Nichols, Clerk ; Oscar Pier, Treasurer ; Miles Lamb, Superintendent of Schools ; Harvey J. Peck, Jeriah Chadwick, Justices of the Peace ; P. G. Moulton, Assessor ; J. B. Rand, T. A. Lewis, John Brantner, Constables. 1861 — Charles Hall, Chairman ; Abner Gile, M. J. Armstrong, Supervisors ; C. H. Nichols, Clerk ; J. C. Farrand, Treasurer ; W. M. Osborne. Superintendent of Schools ; Orange Smith, Abraham Pittenger, Justices of the Peace ; Orange Smith, Halver Kittleson, Assessors ; Charles Pettinger, M. J. Armstrong, John Vogle, Constables. 1862— N. J. Tompkins, Chairman ; Abner Gile, E. Swarthout, Supervisors ; C. H. Nichols, Clerk ; J. C. Farrand, Treasurer ; Harvey J. Peck, P. G. Moulton, Justices of the Peace ; A. S. Swarthout, Assessor ; S. G. Wright, William Collins, M. J. Armstrong, Constables. 1863— N. J. Tompkins, Chairman; J. B. Rand, Robert Brice, Supervisors; C. H. Nichols, Clerk; P. G. Moulton, Treasurer; Orange Smith, Milton Brice, Justices of the Peace ; Richard Garland, I. B. Gorton, Thomas Smith, Assessors ; Charles G. Hall, M. J. Armstrong, Milton Brice, Constables. 718 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 1864 — Charles G. Hall, Chairman ; C. A. Sauer, Thomas Smith, Supervisors ; C. H. Nichols, Clerk ; John E. Dalton, Treasurer ; John E. Dalton, P. G. Moulton, Justices of the Peace; John B. Gorton, Assessor; J. B. Rand, M. J. Armstrong, Charles Roddle, Constables. 1865 — Charles G. Hall, Chairman; A. S. Swarthout, Thomas Smith, Supervisors; C. H. Nichols, Clerk; John A. Dalton, Treasurer; A. Pittenger, F. M. McLellen, Justices of the Peace; E. A. Law, Assessor; John A. Moore, Stephen Roddle, J. B. Rand, Constables. 1866 — A. S. Swarthout, Chairman; George Willey, John Moore, Supervisors; W. Green, Clerk; F. M. McLellen, Treasurer; John Dalton, George Brice, Thomas Smith, F. M. Mc Lellen, Justices of the Peace; John Filler, Assessor; Hamilton Wilson, J. B. Rand, Nicholas Wall, Constables. 1867 — A. S. Swarthout, Chairman ; Abner Gile, Nathaniel Pittenger, Supervisors ; C. H. Nichols, Clerk ; John Dalton, Treasurer ; Whitcomb Phelps, A. Pittenger, Justices of the Peace; J. B. Rand, Assessor; J. B. Rand, J. W. Filler, Svene Thoresen, Constables. 1868 — M. G. Moore, Chairman; John Lytle, Nicholas Wall, Supervisors; IraS. Farrand, Clerk; John Dalton, Treasurer; Hiram F. Smiley, P. G. Moulton, Joel Smith, W. S. Taylor, Justices of the Peace; John F. Pittenger, Assessor; F. N. Welch, Frank I. Phelps, Nicholas Wall, Constables. 1869 — C. M. Nichols, Chairman; Henry Smith, Andrew Berg, Supervisors; IraS. Far rand, Clerk ; John Dalton, Treasurer ; Orange Smith, J. Dalton, A. S. Swarthout, Justices of the Peace ; Francis Brown, Assessor : G. L. Willey, T. M. Briggs, H. T. Wilhelm, Constables. 1870 — Nathaniel Pittenger, Chairman; Samuel Mowrey, John Lytle, Supervisors; F. R. Phelps, Clerk; John Dalton, Treasurer; W. A. Thair, Charles Hewitt, Justices of the Peace; George E. Brice, Assessor; Richard Faher, W. C. Roddle, Samuel Blankley, Constables. 1871 — Nathaniel Pittenger, Chairman; Richard Bailey, John Jackson, Supervisors; Frank I. Phelps, Clerk ; John Dalton, Treasurer ; P. G. Moulton, 0. Smith, Justices of the Peace (to fill vacancies) ; W. F. Taylor, Hiram F. Smiley, Justices for full term ; George W. Brice, As sessor ; G. Dalton, Carl Helgerson, W. C. Phelps, Constables. 1872 — Nathaniel Pittenger, Chairman ; Carl Halgerson, R. Keiser, Supervisors ; Hiram F. Smiley, Clerk ; R. M. Moore, Treasurer ; Orange Smith, W. S. Taylor, Justices of the Peace ; George Brice, Assessor ; James Bradbury, John Stevenson, Ezra Lockman, Con stables. 1873 — Nathaniel Pittenger, Chairman; Albert Randall, Halver Gunderson, Supervisors; T. B. Livingston, Clerk ; John Dalton, Treasurer ; I. D. Hayden, A. Pittenger, Justices of the Peace ; George W. Brice, Assessor ; J. B. Rand, James Brockholm, Constables. 1874 — P. G. Moulton, Chairman ; Joel Smith, Peter Hanson, Supervisors ; H. M. Swarthout, Clerk. No record of the remainder of this year's officials. 1875 — George W. Brice, Chairman; Samuel Mowrey, L. C. Johnson, Supervisors; John Dalton, Clerk ; Frank Pooler, Treasurer ; T. B. Livingston, Joel Smith, Nathaniel Pittenger, Justices of the Peace; J. B. Rand, Assessor; E. M. Lockman, Samuel Collins, J. B. Rand, Constables. 1876 — W. B. Gahan, Chairman ; R. J. Holway, Charles Glover, Supervisors ; John Dal ton, Clerk; Frank Pooler, Treasurer; G. H. Dalton, Thomas Smith, T. B. Livingston, Jus tices of the Peace ; George W. Brice, Assessor ; E. Lockman, J. G. Moore, H. Gunderson, Constables. 1877 — J. C. Hewitt, Chairman ; M. G. Moore, L. C. Johnson, Supervisors ; H. M. Swarthout, Clerk; Frank Pooler, Treasurer; A. L. Tull, C. C. Olmstead, Luke Hale, Justices of the Peace ; George W. Brice, Assessor ; W. N. Maxson, Theodore Hawser, J. G. Moore, Richard Horsfield, Constables. 1878 — M. G. Moore, Chairman; Charles Roddle, L. C. Johnson, Supervisors; H. M. Swarthout, Clerk; Frank Pooler, Treasurer; A. J. Lauder, H. T. Wilhelm, Justices of the Peace ; Henry Luthe, Assessor ; Richard Fahey, Frank Austin, Richard Horsfield, Con stables. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 719' 1879 — J. C. Hewitt, Chairman ; M. G. Moore, L. C. Johnson, Supervisors ; John Pierce,. Clerk; R. Bailey, Treasurer; Luke Hale, D. C. Jefferson, Justices of the Peace; C. G. Hall, Assessor; R, Fahey, W. H. Roberts, Frank Austin, Constables. 1880 — George W. Brice, Chairman ; J. M. Bradbury, Halver Gunderson, Supervisors ; J. M. Pierce, Clerk; R. Bailey, Treasurer; H. T. Wilhelm, A. J. Lauder, Justices of the Peace; C. G. Hall, Assessor; Richard Fahey, Richard Horsfield, Paul Van Loon, Constables. 1881 — George W. Brice, Chairman; J. M. Bradbury, Halver Gunderson, Supervisors; H. T. Wilhelm, Clerk; A. Beach, Treasurer; P. G. Moulton, Edward 0. Soly, Justices of the Peace; C. G. Hall, Assessor; Richard Fahey, (C. W. Nutting, J. B. Rand, failed to qualify > Constables. TOWN OF BANGOR. This town is located in the eastern portion of the county, and ranks among the leading localities in the county for agricultural and stock-raising purposes. The general contour of the town is diversified by hills and valleys, which, under the discriminating care of the enterprising husbandmen, have become rich farming lands. The town is well watered by creeks, springs and small tributaries, which render it fertile and furnishes abundant water-power for milling purposes. EARLY SETTLEMENT. The first settlement in the present Bangor was made in 1851. During the summer of this- year John Bosshard, Florin and Christian Ruedy, Michael Darms and Joseph Simmerson, natives of Switzerland, immigrated here from Sauk County, and paved the way for the settle ment and growth of the now prosperous town of Bangor. Messrs. Bosshard, Florin and Christ ian Ruedy, settled on Dutch Creek, one mile from the village, while Messrs. Darms and Sim merson located claims two and a half miles southeast of the village. Of this party of pioneers the only ones surviving are Michael Darms and Mrs. F. Ruedy. In 1852, Andrew Wolf set tled on Sections 6 and 7, Jonathan Darling and Elijah Hooker settled on Section 5, Ralph Thompson, Section 3 ; C. W. McKinzie took up land here in 1852, and in 1854 settled here with his family ; C. Buoel also located in Bangor in 1852. Among the settlers of 1852 still living here are Ralph Thompson, Mrs. Ruedy, Mrs. Wolf and Mrs. J. Darling. During 1853, Peter Lee took up land and located the farm owned by Mr. Darling; Mr. Sherwood on Section 6, Mr. Rockwood on Section 9. In June of this year Evan Jones located on Section 5, William Jones on Section 3, David Williams on Section 12, David J. Jones on Section 12, David J. Jenkins and William W. Williams on Section 2 ; John Wheldon and family of seven children immigrated into Bangor in October, 1853, and settled on Section 5. Since this time Mr. Wheldon has been prominently identified with all interests of the town of his adoption, lending his best efforts at all times to any measures calculated to benefit the town of Bangor. He has held various town offices since the organization of the town, being its first Chairman, and is now the honored Postmaster of the village of Bangor, of which he was the founder. It was not until the advent of the year 1854 that immigration into this territory was in other than small parties. During this year, among the large number to settle here were T. H. Eynon. who located on Section 12, on Fish Creek; David ("Prairie") Jones, Section-10; William Price bought out Michael Darms, John Williams bought out C. Buoel, and brought his family here in 1855; Richard Wheldon came from New York this year and settled on the present site of the village, on the west side of the creek. He worked as a carpenter in the first mill and was the first Postmaster. C. F. West bought out Sherwood on Section 6 ; R. R. Morris settled on Sec tion 2, and bought out William Williams ; H. B. Johns and Peter Saxon also came in 1854. There were others who came this year and settled in different parts of the town ; some remained while others left soon after for other localities, and leaving no footprints on the sands- of time, whereby their names or deeds accomplished might be determined. 720 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. Prominent among the settlers of 1855 and 1856, may be mentioned David D. Jones, located on Section 1, Fish Creek, Abner Darling, Section 5, and Chester Darling. The claim is not indulged that this list of settlers is complete, far from it. There were others who immigrated to the future Bangor during the years mentioned, lived, toiled and tri umphed, having paved the way for the future prosperity of their adopted town, and soon left for parts unknown, and are now forgotten by their associates of nearly thirty years ago, while others have fretted a brief existence on the stage of life, and long since crossed the river of death . During the years 1855-60, the town of Bangor was made the center of immigration into that vicinity, and its fertile valleys soon became populated with a thrifty and prosperous class of husbandmen, who have been rewarded by the success which their untiring efforts deserved. A drive over the well-kept roads, and a view of the waving fields of grain, the elegant and com modious residences and out-buildings of the farmers, would convince the most casual observer hat the town of Bangor is a valuable territory, and its energetic inhabitants are indeed at prosperous people. SCHOOLS. The first school in the town was taught in the winter of 1853-54 ; was taught in school building on the site of Thomas' store in the village. The first teacher here was William Carl. He had about twenty-five scholars, and taught three months. In the following summer, a school was taught by Samantha Viets, of the town of Burns. From this small beginning, the schools of the town have become the admiration of its citizens, and, being cherished and fostered, has culminated in the adoption of a school sys tem surpassed by no other town in the county. There are now in the town 399 children of school age — 199 male, 200 female ; seven schoolhouses, with accommodation for 497 children. The services of nine teachers are required; these receive average salaries of $36 for male and $19 for female teachers. The amount received for school purposes during the year ending August 31, 1880, was $2,972.84 ; paid out during the same period, $2,107.17— $1,809 of which was for teachers' wages. The school property is now valued at $6,129. POST OFFICE. The first post office in the town of Bangor was established in 1854, and Richard Wheldon appointed first Postmaster. The office was kept in his house, on the west side of the creek, until 1861, when Mr. Wheldon was succeeded by John S. Houser. Mr. Houser held the office until 1873, when he died, and was succeeded by John Wheldon, the present incumbent. In connection with this office, a money-order office was established in 1872, the first order being issued August 3, to John Tusheck, payable to the German Printing Company of Milwaukee, the amount being $9.50. Since 1872, 7,839 orders have been issued. Previous to the estab lishment of the post office at Bangor, mails were for a short time received from La Crosse, and, later, mails were received from Burns, on the Baraboo and La Crosse stage route, twice a week. Since the completion of the railroad through the town, two mails a day have been received at Bangor Post Office. MILLS. Bangor Woolen Mills. — Located near the village; was established in 1864 by George Sheydt and John Ruedy. In 1872, Mr. Sheydt sold out to Otto Bodmer, who, with Mr. Ruedy, has since continued the mill under the firm name of Ruedy & Bodmer. In 1879, Mr. Ruedy was killed, though the firm name remains the same. This mill is run by water-power of Dutch Creek. Twelve men are employed to operate the four looms, one spinning-jack and one set of cards of the mill. Raw wool is purchased in the vicinity and elsewhere, and manu factured into cassimeres, flannel blankets and stocking yarn. During 1880, this mill manu factured 25,000 yards of flannel, 10,000 yards of cassimeres, 150 pairs of blankets and 2,000 pounds of stocking-yarn. The capital invested in this mill aggregates $30,000. Missing Page Missing Page HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 723 Bangor Flouring -Mill. — Was built during 1853 and 1854, but not put in operation until 1855, the first proprietor being D. J. Jenkins, who ran it until 1870. At this time, Baxter k Jones became proprietors, and continued until 1872, when Mr. Jones sold out to E. R. Roberts, and the firm became Roberts & Baxter. Soon after, Mr. Baxter died, and Mr. Roberts sold to John Bosshard, who subsequently took in his son as proprietor. In 1877, Mr. Bosshard, Sr., died, and since then his son has run the mill. This mill has three run of stones, operated by water-power of Dutch Creek, and manufactures a standard quality of flour. Its trade extends for many miles around. VILLAGE OF BANGOR. In the spring of 1854, the original plat of the village of Bangor was surveyed and laid out by Isaac Thompson, then Deputy County Surveyor, on land owned by John Wheldon, the founder of the village, and its since enterprising citizen. Subsequently, additions were made to the original plat, and named in order, as follows : Wheldon's Addition, Wheldon's Second Addition, James' Addition and Bosshard's Addition. The streets are named Main, Jenkins and Mill streets, intersected by Wheldon and Oak streets ; Burns road, Johnson, Center and East streets, intersected by James, South, Bangor, Commercial, Pearl, Oak and North streets. In relation to the early settlement of the village, we herewith present the reminiscences of Mrs. Mary F. Jenkins, entitled bangor's beginnings. " History repeats itself, but circumstances vary so widely that the charm of novelty is preserved. " The ' good old times ' are worth recalling, for the lessons they teach of earnest endeavor, cheerful endurance of unavoidable hardships, neighborly kindness and the absence of invidious distinctions founded on wealth or ancestry. As Josh Billings says, ' What matters a pedigree if its too large for the one who wears it? ' " Mother earth from populous portions of her domain sent hither tributaries to form the nucleus of this young aspirant for fame. Of these pioneers some gravitated here from the Ger man Fatherland (that's where we got our ' Dutch Creek ' whereon to build a mill) ; some from the rugged slopes of Wales (whence comes the name Bangor, suggested by Mr. John Wheldon) and some from the Eastern and Middle States, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, etc. Its well for the broad West that Eastern home-nests become plethoric and push out enterprising broods to conquer domains elsewhere. " The first house (built of logs) within the limits of the village proper, was built by Mr. John Wheldon in the fall of 1853. He came with his wife and seven children from Oneida Co., N. Y. ; this house stood just a little south of the site of the present Eagle Hotel, and was occupied by him until 1857, when he completed his present residence. He has continuously held offices" of trust in the town ; was Town Superintendent of Schools in 1856, and is now our honored Postmaster, Notary Public, Justice of the Peace, and man of business for the inhabit ants generally. " The next house, also of logs, was built by David J. Jenkins, who left his native Wales in 1852 at the age of 23 ; paused in La Crosse for a season, during part of which he worked with Mons Anderson ; found his way to Bangor (then unnamed) in the fall of 1853, when just recov ering from a severe attack of fever ; stopped on the way at the house of Mr. Evan Roberts, of Bethel, and there drank liberally of buttermilk, to which he attributed his second attack of ill ness on reaching the cottage of Mr. Evan Jones just west of Bangor. There Mrs. Mary Darling, who had come from Vermont in 1852 and settled near by, found the sick stranger, and, being an excellent nurse, took pity on him, had him taken to her home and soon brought him back to health. He always claimed that she saved his life. The settlers needed a grist-mill, as it was quite an item to transport grain and flour to and from La Crosse over new roads, fording streams, etc., and, during the succeeding winter 1853-54, Mr. Jenkins, assisted by Mr. John Wheldon, each having become the possessor of an ox team (ox teams were popular then), began hauling 724 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. timber from some land near Leon, <,wned by their ' Uncle Sam.' By mistake two trees were cut just inside the line on another man's land, for which they had to pay. The construction of the dam was a tough undertaking, from the difficulty of making it sit down quietly and ' do the duty nearest it,' as a sensible dam should. It contracted a, fractious tendency, which matur ing years and a laborious and expensive training could scarcely overcome. " Owing to various causes, the mill was not ready to run until the spring of 1855. "In the spring of 1854, the next dwelling house, (also of logs) in the future village, was built by Mr. Jenkins, near the mill site, to serve as a boarding house for the workmen. This house was run during the summer by Richard Wheldon and family, who built, and in the fall, 1854, moved into the first frame house of the village, still standing, but showing marks of 'Time's gnawing tooth.' There he fitted up also a post office, having, with the aid of Harvey Hubbard, then Postmaster of La Crosse, persuaded the powers at Washington to establish a post office here. The mail had to be brought across the river from Burns, as the stage route was on the north side of the river. I may mention just here, that when the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad was to be put through in 1858, there was a strong effort by those interested to have it run through on that side, which, fortunately for Bangor, failed. " A grocery was an early requisite, and, unfortunately, proved to be more saloon than grocery. " In the fall of 1854, Mr. Henry Johns, who had stopped a while in Leon on his way from Pennsylvania with his family, moved into the log house of Mr. Jenkins, just vacated by Mr. Richard Wheldon. Mr. Johns has for years been proprietor of the Eagle Hotel. " The very first fall, 1853, a log building was put up, a trifle south of where the town pump is located, to answer the double purpose of ehurch and schoolhouse. A young man named William Carl was the first teacher. George Fellows taught one term, and was called Lazarus, for short, by some wit of the village. The summer term of 1855 was taught by Miss Mary F. Williams, a native of Massachusetts, whose father, Samuel Williams (or Yankee Williams, as he was often called, to distinguish him from several Welchmen of that name in the vicinity), had settled one and one-half miles east of the village in the spring of 1854. The number of pupils enrolled that summer was forty-three, and the next summer when she again taught the school the number enrolled was forty-nine, some of them coming a long distance to attend. Other teachers of this period were a Mr. William Murray, Miss Nancy Servis, who taught, I think in 1854, and a young man named Jackson Roberts. The young hamlet grew quite rapidly, and Mr. Jenkins being Justice of the Peace for successive years did a good amount of marrying, occasionally taking his pay in potatoes or other produce as best suited the circumstances of the happy candidates. " Either late in 1855 or early in 1856, a tavern was put in operation by a Mr. Hayworth, and a store by Mr. De Courcey, a blacksmith-shop by Mr. Williams, a Welchman, and a shoe- shop by a Mr. Price. " The village in those days kept to the west side of the creek, giving the school children plenty of play room on the east side, but when the course of the railroad was determined upon and the site of the depot settled, then the ' star of empire ' moved eastward, and many of the buildings followed bodily." The first practicing physician to locate in the village was Dr. A. B. Newton, who settled here in 1865. Dr. Williams came in 1876. In 1865, a Mr. Sebur, the first lawyer, settled in the village. E. B. Hughes commenced the practice of law here in 1879 ; and, in the spring of 1881, removed to La Crosse. The first drug store was started in 1865, by Jacob Waterman,, who had previously bought out Jones Brothers. D. J. Jenkins had a blacksmith- shop at the mill in 1854. In 1855, John J. Jenkins started a shop in a small frame building on the West Side. After the completion of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad to this point, large accessions were made to the population of the infant village, and improvements and HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 725 advancements having kept pace with the times. Bangor has become one of the leading busi ness points in the county. SECRET SOCIETIES. Bangor Lodge, No. 27, 1. 0. G. T. — Was organized November 19, 1869, with twenty-five charter members. The following were the first officers : R. P. Hall, W. C. T. ; Lina L. Waterman, W. V. T. ;' A. B. Green, W. C. ; R. Baxter, W. S. ; T. W. Thompson, W. F. S. ; IdaMcKinzie, W. T. ; Morgan Jones, W. M. ; Fannie Pugh, W. D. M. ; Libbie Pugh, W. I. G. ; R. C. Wells, W. 0. G. The society now numbers thirty, with the following officers : John Howes, W. C. T. ; Mr. Abbott, W. V. T. ; M. F. Jenkins, W. C. ; Mary Ellis, W. F. S. ; Mrs. J. C. Chase, W. R. S. ; Richard Jones, W. T. ; Maria Jones, W. M. ; Maggie Vaughn, W. I. G. ; John F. Hughes, W. 0. G. ; W. J. Hughes, P. W. C. T. Liberty Lodge, No. 26, I. 0. 0. F.— Was organized March 22, 1878, by Theodore Rodolf, D. D. G. M. The charter members are L. J. Newton, D. E. Moore, Alfred Meugel, William Smith and Abner Darling. The first officers were L. J. Newton, N. G. ; D. E. Moore, V. G. ; Alfred Meugel, Secretary ; William Smith, Treasurer. At the first meeting were admitted to membership John Bradley, R. E. Williams, John Bosshard, Jr., J. T. Price, J. II. Perry, E. R. Roberts, Henry Legler, J. C. Bosshard, J. C. Williams, H. W. Chase, J. M. Brooks, August Smith. The society now has a membership of fifty -five, and meet weekly in the A. 0. U. W. Hall. The following are the present officers : August Smith, N. G. ; J. M. Brooks, V. G. ; R. E. Williams, Secretary ; J. J. Jones, Permanent Secretary ; John Ott, Treasurer. Bangor Lodge, No. 5, A. 0. U. W. — Was organized January 30, 1877, with D. E. Moore, J. K. Hughes, E. J. Hughes, H. W. Chase, E. A. Devan, C. Tonaller, C. Gaerletti, G. Bariani, H. Chase, A. B. Newton, D. G. Morris. The first officers were D. E. Moore, M. A. ; E. A. Devan, G. F. ; H. W. Chase, 0. ; E. J. Hughes, Recorder; C. Tonolli, F. ; D. G. Morris, R. ; C. Gaerletti, I. W. ; H. Chase, 0. W. ; J. H. Hughes, P. M. W. The present officers are R. J. Bryan, M. W. ; A. Bosshard, G. F. ; H. Loupe, 0. ; H. Legler, Recorder; D. E. Moore, Financier ; W. Smith, R. ; H. Fritz, G. ; F. Wolf, 0. W. ; J. Stingi, I. W. ; J. B. Weber, P. M. W. OFFICIAL RECORD. Bangor was first brought under town government as a part of the town of Pierce, organized in 1852, and which included all of the present town of Barre, fifteen sections of Hamilton, and all of Burns and Washington. In 1853, the County Board of Commissioners changed the name of Pierce to Barre. In 1856, the seventy-two sections of the eastern portion of Barre were set off and organized into the town of Burns. In 1857, thirty-six sections of the southern part of Burns was set off and organized into the town of Washington, thus leaving Burns with thirty sections, its present territory. The following is a complete list of town officers for each year since its organization : 1856— John Wheldon, Chairman ; Charles McKinzie, D. J. Williams, Supervisors ; Clerk, D.J.Jenkins; Treasurer, John S. Houser; Assessors, C. F. West and L. D. Patterson; School Superintendent, William D. Murry ; Justices, Richard Wheldon, Thomas H. Eynon, Robert H. Cay, D. J. Jenkins; Constables, John Hey worth, William Roberts, Abner Darling. 1857— John Wheldon, Chairman; John L. Houser, Thomas H. Eynon, Supervisors; Clerk, Richard Wheldon ; Treasurer, Richard Wheldon ; Assessors, John W. Jones, William Hemstock. TT 1858— Thomas H. Eynon, Chairman : Ammon Darling, John S. Houser, Supervisors ; Clerk, R. Wheldon ; Treasurer, John Wheldon ; Assessors, John Wheldon, Ralph Thompson, 1859— R. Wheldon, Chairman; Ammon Darling, Felix Meyers, Supervisors ; Clerk. John S. Houser, Treasurer, C. W. McKinzie ; Assessors, John Wheldon, John Bosshard. I860— John R. Perry, Chairman ; John Bosshard, Daniel Darling, Supervisors ; Clerk, John S. Houser; Treasurer, John A. Jones; Assessors, William Hemstock, William D. Price. 726 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 1861 — J. R. Perry, Chairman ; Christian Ruedy, Abner Darling, Supervisors; Clerk, John Wheldon ; Treasurer, Felix Meyers ; Assessors, J. W. Jones, Chester Darling. 1862 — John Wheldon, Chairman ; Michael Darms, Chester Darling, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. S. Houser ; Treasurer, Daniel Darling ; Assessor, C. W. McKinzie. 1863 — Chester Darling, Chairman ; William Price, John Ruedy, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. Waterman; Treasurer, G. Bosshard; Assessors, J. Ruedy, E. D. Lowell. 1864 — John Wheldon, Chairman ; Abner Darling, John W. Jones, Supervisors ; Clerk, Jacob Waterman ; Treasurer, Gotleib Bosshard ; Assessors, John Bosshard, William G. Williams. 1865 — John W. Jones, Chairman; John Bosshard, D. M. Guertin, Supervisors; Clerk, John Wheldon ; Treasurer, John S. Houser ; Assessor, D. B. Johns. 1866 — Chester Darling, Chairman ; William J. Williams, John Ruedy, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Wheldon ; Treasurer, John S. Houser ; Assessors, William Hemstock, G. Boss- hard. 1867 — Chester Darling, Chairman ; John Ruedy, William G. Williams, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Wheldon; Treasurer, John S. Houser; Assessors, E. D. Lowell, T. L. Evans. 1868 — John Bosshard, Chairman ; T. H. Eynon, A. L. Page, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Wheldon ; Treasurer, John S. Houser ; Assessors, Paul Accola, John W. Jones. 1869 — John Bosshard, Chairman ; A. L. Page, D. P. Mallory, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Wheldon ; Treasurer, John S. Houser ; Assessor, Felix Meyers. 1870 — A. L. Page, Chairman ; Felix Meyers, Thomas H. Eynon, Surpervisors ; Clerk, William J. Wheldon ; Treasurer, John Wheldon ; Assessor, G. Bosshard. 1871 — A. L. Page, Chairman ; T. L. Evans, John Jones, Supervisors ; Clerk, Jacob Sternberger ; Treasurer, John Wheldon ; Assessor, D. B. Johns. 1872 — A. L. Page, Chairman; John Bosshard, Thomas H. Eynon, Supervisors; Clerk, Jacob Sternberger ; Treasurer, John Wheldon ; Assessor, D. B. Johns. 1873 — A. L. Page, Chairman ; Felix Meyer, E. B. Roberts, Supervisors ; Clerk, Jacob Sternberger ; Treasurer, John Wheldon ; Assessor, D. B. Johns. 1874 — A. L. Page, Chairman ; John Bosshard ; T. H. Eynon, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. H. Parry; Treasurer, Jacob Sternberger; Assessor, D. B. Johns. 1875 — John Bosshard, Chairman; Thomas L. Evans, H. E. Johnson, Supervisors; Clerk, Charles Smith ; Treasurer, Jacob Sternberger ; Assessor, A. L. Page. 1876 — E. R. Roberts, Chairman ; William Smith, Felix Meyer, Supervisors ; Clerk, I. A. Harrington ; Treasurer, J. Sternberger ; Assessor, D. B. Johns. 1877 — E. R. Roberts, Chairman ; William Smith, R. Darling, Supervisors ; Clerk, S. B. Wheldon ; Treasurer, Jacob Sternberger ; Assessor, D. B. Johns. 1878— E. R. Roberts, Chairman; W. Smith, F. Wolf, Supervisors; Clerk, S. B. Whel don ; Treasurer, John Ruedy ; Assessor, Jacob Sternberger, 1879— E. R. Roberts, Chairman ; William Smith, F. Wolf, Supervisors ; Clerk, S. B. Wheldon ; Treasurer, R. J. Bryan ; Assessor, Jacob Sternberger. 1880— William Smith, Chairman ; F. Wolf, W. G. Williams, Supervisors ; Clerk, S. B. Wheldon ; Treasurer, R. J. Bryan ; Assessor, D. B. Johns. 1881 — William Smith, Chairman ; Otto Bodmer, R. D. Williams, Supervisors ; Clerk, S. B. Wheldon ; Treasurer, M. C. Wheldon ; Assessor, Jacob Sternberger. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 727 TOWN OF GREENFIELD. This town is of the southern tier of towns, and is of recognized worth as an agricultural and stock-raising locality. Although its surface is badly broken by high bluffs, and diversified by deep valleys or cooleys, yet, by constant application, the soil is made very productive. The town is well watered by numerous natural springs, rivulets and creeks. EARLY SETTLEMENT. The first settlement in the present limits of the town of Greenfield, was made in 1853. Early in this year, a W. Symes, Daniel Raymond, Samuel McGowen and A. Preutt made their appearance here, and, becoming fascinated with the fertile valleys and weird scenery of the sur rounding bluffs, determined to make it their future home. Each of the above-named gentlemen selected a location, made his claim, and having erected a small log cabin on each, proceeded to pave the way for succeeding adventurers in search of a home in the West, and a locality wherein all might live contented and happy. They were soon after followed by Christopher Kerchmer, who located a claim on Section 27, in the fall of 1854. During the summer and fall of 1854, large numbers flocked to the '^cooleys" of Greenfield and took up claims, which were increased by additions from time to time, until their incipient farms, by constant care, have developed into beautiful and valuable homesteads. It was not until the first streaks of light kissed the Eastern horizon, announcing the dawn of the year 1855, that the success of Greenfield was assured. Early in this year, Joseph Weiker settled on the farm he still owns ; William Freehoff made a claim here this year ; William Nicoli came also in 1855, and located a farm on Section 28 ; Joseph Tousche located on Section 33 ; Joseph Janel, Section 34, and William Linzie. Gregory Bosshard located in Greenfield in 1855, and settled on Section 26, where, by careful management, strict integrity and perseverance, he has made himself a home that has well repaid him for his untiring efforts in that behalf. The years 1856, 1857, 1858 and 1859, are noted for large numbers of husbandmen who made this town their location, and by their steadfastness and pioneer perseverance have made the town of Greenfield an attractive and valuable locality. SCHOOLS. As in the early settlement of other towns in the county, the citizens of Greenfield have not been behind the times in providing the means for the rising generations for the acquirement of an education which was denied many of themselves. Soon after the first settlement of the town, a school was established and teachers employed and paid pro rata, and, as the increasing population demanded, schoolhouses were built in different parts of the town from year to year, until now this town compares favorably with other towns in the county in this regard. The annual report of the Town Clerk to the County Superintendent for the year ending August 31, 1880, -shows the number of children of school age in the town to be 342 — 189 male and 163 female. The schoolhouses number four, with accommodations for 230 pupils. Four teachers are employed at an average salary of $40 per month. The school property is valued at $3,800. The total amount received for school purposes during year ending August 31, 1880, was $1,353.21 ; paid out during same period, $938.48. POST OFFICES. Sigel Post Office was established on Section 29, in 1875, with Raymond Tousche, the present incumbent, as first Postmaster. St. Joseph Post Office was established on Section 12, in 1875, with John Hammes, the present incumbent, as first Postmaster. 728 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. The first store in the town was started April 1, 1874, by John Hammes, the present pro prietor. This store is located on Section 12, and attracts trade for many miles around. The wagon and blacksmith shop on Section 12 was started in March, 1881, by John Hammes and Chris. Halbach, under the firm name of Hammes & Halbach. At this shop is done all kinds of repairing, in a workmanlike manner. OFFICIAL RECORD. Greenfield was first brought under town government as a part of the town of La Crosse> which included the present Greenfield, Shelby and city of La Crosse. The first record of the town of Greenfield is dated November 11, 1856, to the minutes of which meeting the names of William Symes, George Gabel and William Nicoli are signed as " Supervisors of the Town of Greenfield." The first Town Clerk was J. F. Hosmer. * The following is a list of town officers from its organization to the present time: 1856 — William Symes, Chairman ; George Gabel, William Nicoli, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. F. Hosmer. 1857 — William Symes, Chairman; Charles Nagle, E. Houser, Supervisors; Clerk, James Schweizer ; Treasurer, George Gabel ; Assessors, James Chambres, Gregory Buschert, Samuel McGowan. 1858 — William Moore, Chairman ; G. Buschert, G. Gabel, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. Schweizer ; Treasurer, Fred Pfaefflin ; Assessors, Chas. Linzie, Chas. Nagle, Christian Oleson. 1859 — J. Whipple, Chairman ; Christian Miller, Charles Nagle, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. Schweizer ; Treasurer, Franz Broksh ; Assessor, Charles Linzie. 1860 — William Freehoff, Chairman; C. Nagle, Charles Miller, Supervisors; Clerk, J. Schweizer ; Treasurer, Fred Pfaefflin ; Assessor, Charles Linzie. 1861 — William McNeil, Chairman ; V. Weimer, Chris. Miller, Supervisors ; Clerk, Charles Linzie ; Treasurer, Fred Pfaefflin ; Assessor, A. Preutt. 1862 — H. W. McNeil, Chairman ; V. Weimer, Anton Engel, Supervisors ; Clerk, Charles Linzie ; Treasurer, Fred Pfaefflin ; Assessor, Frank Proksch. 1863 — H. W. McNeil, Chairman; P. Kienholz, P. Yung, Supervisors; Clerk, Charles Linzie ; Treasurer, F. Proksch ; Assessor, J . Springer. 1864 — J. F. Hosmer, Chairman ; G. Gabel, Nic Clements, Supervisors ; Clerk, Charles Linzie ; Treasurer, F. Pfaefflin ; Assessor, F. Proksch. 1865 — T. Whipple, Chairman; Anton Engel, G. Buschert, Supervisors; Clerk, P. Kien holz, Jr. ; Treasurer, Charles Linzie ; Assessor, W. Freehoff. 1866 — F. Hosmer, Chairman; F. Pfaefflin, E. Muenzenberger, Supervisors; Clerk, Peter Kienholz ; Treasurer, F. Proksch ; Assessor, William Freehoff. 1867 — F. Pfaefflin, Chairman ; Nicolas Andre, John Kloss, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. Proksch; Treasurer, Martin Hess ; Assessor, W. Meyer. 1868 — Nicholas Andre, Chairman ; John Smith, Simon Kaiser, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Becker ; Treasurer, M. Hess ; Assessor, F. Greenwold. 1869 — M. Stadtler, Chairman ; William Meyer, Joseph Jahnel, Supervisors ; Clerk, J. Becker; Treasurer, Martin Hess; Assessor, M. Hess. 1870 — M. Stadtler, Chairman ; Peter Olson, M. Hess, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Becker ; Treasurer, William Meyer ; Assessor, Nic Feyen. 1871 — M. Hess, Chairman ; P. Olson, R. Moore, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Becker ; Treas urer, William Meyer ; Assessor, Nic Andre. 1872 — Samuel McGowen, Chairman ; R. Tousche, Peter Olson, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. Greenwold ; Treasurer, William Meyer ; Assessor, Nic Andre. 1873 — S. McGowen, Chairman ; R. Moore, P. Olson, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. Greenwold ; Treasurer, William Meyer ; Assessor, Nic Andre. 1874 — S. McGowen, Chairman ; P. Olson, Frank Moeser, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. Green wold ; Treasurer, William Meyer ; Assessor, Nic Andre. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 729 1875 — S. McGowen, Chairman ; F. Moeser, P. Olson, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Becker ; Treasurer, William Meyer ; Assessor Nic Andre. 1876 — R. Tousche, Chairman; M. Hess, F. Moeser, Supervisors; Clerk, F. Greenwold; Treasurer, William Meyer ; Assessor, Nic Andre. 1877 — R. Tousche, Chairman ; P. Olson, F. Moeser, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. Greenwold ; Treasurer, William Meyer ; Assessor, Nic Andre. 1878 — R. Tousche, Chairman ; P. Olson, F. Moeser, Supervisors ; Clerk, Fred Greenwold ; Treasurer, William Meyer ; Assessor, Robert Moore. 1879 — R. Tousche, Chairman; Martin Hess, F. Moeser, Supervisors; Clerk, F. Green wold ; Treasurer, F. Kreibach ; Assessor, Robert Moore. 1880 — R. Tousche, Chairman ; F. Gerke, M. Hess, Supervisors ; Clerk, Joseph Boschert ; Treasurer, F. Kreibach ; Assessor, William Meyer. 1881 — R. Tousche, Chairman ; F. Gerke, M. Hess, Supervisors ; Clerk, Joseph Boschert ; Treasurer, F. Kreibach ; Assessor, Nic Andre. TOWN OF WASHINGTON. This town is located in the extreme southeastern corner of the county, and owing to its rough surface, which gave but little promise of future prosperity, was among the last settled towns in the county. The surface of this town is very uneven, being broken by ridges, valleys and low lands. The high and rocky bluffs render much of the land not susceptable of cultivation, though the valleys, being traversed by creeks and small tributaries, are fertile and productive. Nearly the entire population of the town are foreigners, including Germans, Bohemians, Polacks, Irish and Norwegians. EARLY SETTLEMENT. The first settlement in the present limits of the town of Washington was made in the spring of 1854, by John Johnn, who made a claim on Section 7, and there built a log cabin and made the primary attempts at farming in this locality. He was soon followed by John P. Schaffer, who located on Section 18, and John Riley, who made a claim on Section 4. The following year, 1855, Nic Wiertz located his present farm ; John Halvorson and Mr. Nidwidek also settled in the town; Jacob Stein and Adolph Huett located on Section 17 ; Cas per Newburg settled on Section 28. Among others who came to this town in 1855 may be mentioned Mr. Rittburg, Section 22; A. Newburg, Section 29; John P. Koenen, Section 21. In 1856, Andreas Cornell made his appearance in the present Washington and made a small farm. Among others who came this year appear the names of Joseph Schneider, who settled on Section 12 ; Theodore Blum, Section 8 ; Mr. Koblitz, Section 21 ; Michael Arentz. During the summer and fall of 1856, the immigration into this town was large, comparatively speaking, and in the spring of 1857 the town was well settled, as will appear from the following official poll list of an election held April 7, 1857: John Reily, John Blum, Nic Wiertz, Theobald Blinn, Joseph Danbenberger, Jacob Fisch, Andreas Bamberger, John P. Schaffer, Jacob Guehm, Anton Krai, James Halverson, T. Lugeson, Hans Hanson, Ole Oleson, Ole Hanson, Jacob Stein, John Oleson, William Krueger, Joseph Halbach, Anton Kripp, Michael Ahrents, Joseph Schneider, Joseph Nedwidek, Adolph Hutt, John Koblitz, and Conrad Rettburg. In 1858, the following names were registered as citizens of this town: A. Newburg, Joseph Nedwidek, John Rettburg, Joseph Halbach, Adam Botz, Charles Hilke, Ludwig Kutz, H. Bedesom, V. Brandt, John Johnson, Ole Johnson, Ole Oleson, F. Tigges, Sr., John Koblitz, L. Jacobus, Harman Woeker, Jacob Stein, Adolph Hutt, James Halvorson, Jacob Esser, E. Faust, J. P. Schaffer, John Kheyly, Hubert Elsen, William Elsen, Theobald Blinn, Joseph Danbenberger, William Krueger, M. Arentz, Joseph Schneider, Wenzel Schneider, Anton Habenicht and John Lutter. , The town of Washington continued to increase in wealth and prosperity, which had the effect to attract a numerous population to the once unpromising locality. The poll list for 1859 730 HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. contained the following: Anton Knipp, Joseph Nedwidek; John Lusher, J. Stein, Alex Thompson, T. Eckert, Jacob Walser, Jr., Paul Torgerson, Hans Hansen, T. Hansen, T. Han sen, Joseph Danbenberger, Phillip Danbenberger, Ole Peterson, Anton Habenicht, Hans Thor- son, George Grosse, Joseph Schneider, L. Taubman, Andreas Glaser, James Halvorson, Phillip Baker, M. Schandel, John Brazda, E. Faust, John Nedwidek, Joseph Halbach, Jacob Esler, Adam Kutz, Herman Wacker, S. Jacobus, Charles Hilke, F. Tigges, Jr., Peter Weherer, V. Brandt, Conrad Rettburg, F. Tigges, Sr., John Johnson, Louis Kutz, William Elsen, John Burbach, M. Ahrents, Matt Lusk, W. Schneider, Franz Schneider, G. Goss, Theodore Blinn, P. Kessell, John Koblitz, Peter Schaffer, A. Newburg, T. Schumacher, Hans Torgerson, T. Egel- sen, Ole Johnson, Jacob Walter, Sr., George Hornung, Jacob Newburg, H. Bamburger, A. Hutt, W. Nedwidek, John Elsen and John Blinn, all of whom were residents of the town. During the following years improvements and advancements kept pace with the times, and, in point of value of property, beauty of scenery and number of population, Washington com pares favorably with other towns in the county. POST OFFICES. The first post office was established in 1870, on Section 27, and is known as Bohemia Post Office. OFFICIAL RECORD. Washington was brought under town government as a part of the town of Pierce, after ward changed to Barre. In 1856, the town of Burns was set off from Barre and organized into a separate town of seventy-two sections. In 1857, thirty-six sections of the southern part of Burns was organized into a separate town and called Buchanan, and subsequently changed to Washington. The first, meeting was held April 7, 1857, and twenty-six votes cast. The fol lowing is a complete list of town officers, from the organization of the town to the present time : 1857 — Conrad Rettburg, Chairman ; James Halvorson, Jacob Stein, Supervisors ; Clerk, Adolph Hutt ; Treasurer, William Krueger ; Assessor, Nicolas Wiertz. 1858 — Jacob Stein, Chairman ; John Elsen, Peter Koenen, Supervisors ; Clerk, Adolph Hutt ; Treasurer, John Koblitz ; Assessor, A. Neuberg. 1859 — Conrad Rettburg, Chairman ; James Halvorson, Fred Tigges, Sr., Supervisors ; Clerk, Wenzel Nedvidek; Treasurer, Michael Ahrents; Assessor, Hans Torgerson. 1860 — James Halvorson, Chairman ; John Elsen, A. Eckert, Supervisors ; Clerk, A. Hutt ; Treasurer, Philip Becker ; Assessor, Wenzel Schneider. 1861 — James Halvorson, Chairman ; Joseph Danbenberger, B. Weber, Supervisors ; Clerk, A. Hutt, Treasurer, William Krueger ; Assessor, Peter Wehrer. 1862 — Peter Koenen, Chairman ; Jacob Stein, V. Brandt, Supervisors ; Clerk, Fred Berg man ; Treasurer, J. W. Krueger ; Assessor, Michael Ahrents. 1863 — Michael Ahrents, Chairman ; H. Beddessen, H. Newburg, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. Bergman ; Treasurer, Charles Hanz ; Assessor, L. Taubman. 1864 — Willliam Krueger, Chairman; H. Bedesson, Adam Rutz, Supervisors; Clerk, A. Newburg ; Treasurer, Henry Tasto ; Assessor, Theodore Schmitz. 1865 — James Halvorson, Chairman ; Nicolas Wiertz, Wenzel Schneider, Supervisors ; Clerk, W. Nedwidek ; Treasurer, L. Kutz ; Assessor, Anton Habenick. 1866 — John Ebhart, Chairman ; V. Brandt, Fred. Tigges, Jr., Supervisors ; Clerk, W. Nedwidek ; Treasurer, C. Koblitz ; Assessor, Henry Tasto. 1867 — James Halvorson, Chairman ; C. Schmitz, B. Nelson, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Lienlokken ; Treasurer, A. Newburg ; Assessors, Jacob Stein, A. Wright. 1868 — W. Nedwidek, Chairman ; H. Bedesson, II. Schapper, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Lienlokken; Treasurer, A. Wright; Assessor, H. Tasto. 1869 — W. Nedwidek, Chairman ; A. Wright, C. Schmitz, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Lien- klokken ; Treasurer, A. Wright ; Assessor, H. Tasto. HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY. 731 1870 — W. Nedwidek, Chairman ; C. Schmitz, A. Kornell, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Lienlokken. 1871 — James Halvorson, Chairman ; A. Rutz, C. Endras, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Lien lokken ; Treasurer, H. Laedeke ; Assessor, George Willing. 1872 — H. Tasto, Chairman ; Michael Ahrentz, J. P. Koenan, Supervisors ; Clerk, W. Nedwidek ; Treasurer, H. Laedeke ; Assessor, George Willing. 1873 — H. Tasto, Chairman ; J. P. Koenen, A. Buchda, Supervisors ; Clerk, W. Ned widek ; Treasurer, C. Schmitz ; Assessor, H. Bedesson. 1874 — H. Tasto, Chairman ; J. P. Koenen, M. Ahrents, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Lien lokken ; Treasurer, C. Schmitz ; Assessor, George Willing. 1875 — James Halvorson ; Chairman ; Joseph Nedwikek, John Eckert, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. Seadvie ; Treasurer, Hans Torgerson ; Assessor, Henry Bedesson. 1876 — H. Tasto, Chairman ; John Eckert, L. Hoswold, Supervisors ; Clerk, F. Seadvie ; Treasurer, Hans Torgerson ; Assessor, Joseph Nedwidek. 1877 — L. Hoswold, Chairman ; John Eckert, Hans Torgerson, Supervisors ; Clerk, Frank Seadvie ; Treasurer, H. Tasto ; Assessor, J. K. Nedwidek. 1878 — L. Hoswold, Chairman ; Hans Torgerson, J. Mashek, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Schomers ; Treasurer, H. Tasto ; Assessor, John Eckert. 1879 — L. Hoswold, Chairman ; H. S. Laedke, Henry Wettstein, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Schomers ; Treasurer, Henry Tasto ; Assessor, John Eckert. 1880 — L. Haswold, Chairman; H. Korn, Frank Ritter, Supervisors; Clerk, John Schomers ; Treasurer, H. Tasto ; Assessor, John Fischbach. 1881— F. H. Ritter, Chairman ; W. Korn, Henry Wettstein, Supervisors ; Clerk, John Schomers, Treasurer, H. Tasto ; Assessor, John Fischbach. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. a.bbre:~v"I-a.tio^s. Co Company or county W. V. A Wisconsin Volunteer Artillery W. V. C Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry W.V.I Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry P. 0 Post Office at street CITY OF LA CROSSE. R. W. ABBEY, lumbering; born in Pennsylvania, Dec. 24, 1856; son of Edwin Abbey, who emigrated to Houston Co., Minn., about 1857; came to La Crosse about 1871, where he died, August, 1878; he left a widow, who is now the wife of Mr. Benjamin Sly. R. W. married Lucy Rora; they have two children — Edwin and Emma. CARL AHKENS, merchant on Third street, between Vine and Pine, has been in his present business in La Crosse since 1870. He was born in Brunswick, Germany, in 1842, son of Ludwig Ahrens ; came to the United States in 1864, and has resided in La Crosse since that time. He is a wagon-maker by trade, and worked at that business in La Crosse till 1870. He was married in 1871, to Catharine Bey, and has four children — -Henry, Lizzie, Carl and Katrina. He has been President of the Concordia Society of La Crosse ever since its organization in 1870. L. W. ALGER, M. D., homosopathist, office in Frey's Block on Main street, between Third and Fourth ; was born in West Bridgewater, Mass., in 1837. His father, Ward Alger, was a farmer, and is now living on the old homestead in Plymouth Co., Mass. The Doctor spent his early life on his father's farm when not in school. He studied medicine at Harvard and graduated from Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1861 ; he immediately commenced practice in Canton, Mass., where he remained seven years; he came from there to La Crosse in 1868, and has been practicing in this city since that time. He is at present County Physician, and has held that office several years. MARCUS ANDERSON, dry goods merchant ; was born near Christiania, Norway, April 11, 1840. Here be received a common-school education, and at the age of 18 came to America and located at La Crosse ; he commenced business as a clerk for John Servis in a clothing store, and continued there two years ; was afterward employed by Joseph Gutman as salesman in dry goods and clothing store, which position he held for eight years. At the expiration of this time, in 1868, Mr. Anderson, in company with B. 0. Daley, opened a millinery and fancy-goods store at Decorah, Iowa ; here he remained but one year, when he returned and resumed his position with Gutman Bros. In the fall of 1870, he opened a dry goods store in the Esperson Block, under the firm name of Marcus Anderson & Co.; at that time, he em ployed but four clerks. In 1873 he rented his present location, corner of Main and Third streets where he has since carried on the retail dry goods business ; he now employs eleven hands in the different depart ments. Mr. Anderson's strict integrity and business ability have established for himself an enviable repu tation, and rendered his dry goods house one of the leading retail institutions in the Northwest. Mr. An derson was married April 11, 1863, to Emelie Hoffstron, of La Crosse. The fruits of this union have been two children— Douglas, who died in infancy, and Oscar F. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Lutheran Church and Norden Society. „„ ,ir . . . T „ MONS ANDERSON was born in Valders, Norway, June 8, 1830. Was married m La Crosse July 23, 1853, to Miss Jane Halverson ; the fruits of this union were four children— Mary (now Mrs. 734 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Bunn), Alfred H., Samuel W. and Emma. During his boyhood, Mr. Anderson was educated at the com mon schools of his native town, and at the early age of 16 came to America and located at Milwaukee. He soon found employment with Daniel Wells, Jr., then proprietor of the City Hotel ; remained with Mr. Wells three years, two of which were spent at Prof. Bach's private school, and one year in the grocery house of Herbert Reed, where he served in the capacity of salesman to the entire satisfaction and confidence of his employer. Observing the necessity of capital to Schieve success in the older cities of the East, he deter mined to make his future experiments farther West. Fascinated with the commercial advantages of La Crosse, then in its infancy, he located here in the summer of 1851 ; first engaged to S. T. Smith as clerk in his store then located on Front street, between Main and Pearl ; was subsequently taken in as partner, and, in 1852, became sole proprietor. Shortly after, he formed a partnership with Deacon W. W. Eustick, which lasted one year, since which time Mr. Anderson has conducted the business alone. In 1856, he built a one-story brick building, the second in town, on his present location, to which he removed his stock of merchandise from Front street ; in 1858, he built another one-story brick building adjoining, and in creased his stock and business. In 1861, his increased trade demanded more commodious quarters, and one-third of his present elegant block was then erected. In this building, now the clothing department, he continued his extensive retail dry goods business ; having goods of the best quality, selected with refined and educated taste ; with system and good order in the establishment, and never allowing the quality of his wares to be misrepresented, his patronage very soon exceeded bis expectations. The city grew and rival business rose, but he maintained his supremacy. In 1870, be built the main building and connected it with the structure erected in 1861, thus tripling the business area. Mr. Anderson is a man who does his own thinking, is original, a man of positive convictions, and shows bis character and ability more by what he does than by what he professes. In his pursuit of wealth, he has not been unmindful of the comfort and happiness of his employes, nor has he been wanting in public spirit. He contributes liberally to whatever measures are calculated to promote the public welfare, whether physical, moral or intellectual. System and good judgment characterize all his work, and his sterling integrity renders his credit " gilt-edged," not only at home but abroad ; bis life illustrates the success an ambitious man of high moral aims may achieve in a good field with self-reliance, sound judgment, persevering industry and strict integrity. He has accumu lated a handsome competency, is highly respected by his fellow-citizens, and if the moral and business sen timent of La Crosse is marked by a higher and purer practice than the average of cities, it is due as much to the example and influence of Mons Anderson as to any other man in their midst. WENDELL A. ANDERSON, M. D., son of Dr. A. W. Anderson, formerly of Cum berland Co., Me. ; was born in Gray, Me., Sept. 9, 1840. He prepared for college at Gorham Academy, Gorham, Me., from 1853 to 1857, entering the Freshmen Class, of Bowdoin College, in August, 1857, where he remained one year. In the summer of 1859, he commenced the study of medicine with his father, and attended lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City in the winter of 1860 and 1861 ; continued his studies at the Portland School for Medical Instruction until September, 1861, when he entered the regular army of the United States, as a medical cadet, and was assigned to duty at Annapolis, Md. In the fall of 1862, he again attended lectures at the College of Physicians and Sur geons, where he graduated in March, 1863. In April of the same year, he was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the 3d Md. V. I., with which regiment he served in the field at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and in all its subsequent engagements with the Army of the Potomac, from the Wilderness to Lee's sur render, having been commissioned as Surgeon in March, 1864. After the war, he again pursued his studies in New York, and in February, 1866, settled at La Crosse. From 1869 to 1873, he was Examin ing Surgeon for Pensions and City Physician of La Crosse from 1870 to 1875, and from 1877 to 1881 ; was elected a member of the Wisconsin State Medical Society in 1871 ; was President of the Board of Education from 1873 to 1877, and Chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee in 1875 and 1876. In March, 1864, he was married to Susie M., daughter of John G. Small, Esq., of Boston, Mass. A. D. APPLEBY, son of Dr. J. S. Appleby (deceased). Dr. Appleby was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., July 4, 1822. He studied medicine with Dr. Morrill, of that county, and attended the Med ical College at Buffalo. He removed to Buchanan Co., Mich., where he engaged in the practice of medi cine; he went to California in 1849, where he engaged in mining; also for a time practiced medicine; he returned to Michigan in 1853; afterward removed to Hampton, 111., where he engaged in merchandising; he came to La Crosse Co. in 1854, and settled in Lewis Valley, where he practiced medicine ten years. In 1864, with his wife and two children, one of the latter being A. D., he started for Bannock, Idaho Territory; he went as far as Kearney, when, on account of hostility of the Indians, he turned 'back, and went with his family to St. George, Kan., where he practiced medicine until ,1867, when, with others, he went to the south part of the State, to what was known as the Neutral Lands, and made a claim in La- LA CROSSE. 735 bette Co. ; while waiting for his family to join him here, be was murdered by a band of Indians belong ing to Little Bear's band of Osages, while he was making an effort to recover a horse stolen from him by this band of savages. The family remained at St. George till May, 1874, when they went to Belvidere, 111., where they remained till October of the following year, when they returned to Lewis Valley. The family came to La Crosse in 1877. The parents had three children — one son and two daughters. A. D. was born in Berrien Co., Mich., March. 1847. His principal occupation for some time has been teach ing; he began teaching in the fall of 1863 ; he attended school for some time at Salem, La Crosse Co. ; afterward at the State Agricultural College at Manhattan, Riley Co., Kan.; has taught about fifteen terms. Was married to Libbie M. Stoddard ; they have two girls — Milda and Ada May. Mrs. Appleby was also a teacher before her marriage; was educated at the University at Galesville. Her father, J. Stoddard, was one of the early settlers of La Crosse Co. Mr. Appleby kept the Central Hotel several years. DR. ISAAC ATWOOD, proprietor of the Turkish bath-rooms, was born in Berkshire Co., Mass., town of Eyremont, Sept. 24, 1813. He resided there until 1836, attending the public schools, when he emigrated to Wisconsin Territory, and located in Milwaukee, May 23. He erected several build ings there during the years 1836 and 1837, and removed to the town of Lake Mills, Jefferson Co., in October, 1838. He erected the first frame dwelling.-house in Jefferson Co. In 1840, he moved to the city of Madison, Dane Co., where he worked on the old Capitol building until completed, and was a resident of Madison during the first session of the Legislature, at that place. In 1842, he returned to Lake Mills, and was engaged in the general nursery business, and set out the first vineyard in the State of Wisconsin, demonstrating the practicability of the successful culture of grapes, and making, from this vineyard, over 10,000 gallons of grape wine ; and constructed a wine-vault, costing $6,000. This vineyard and vault is at present in good condition. He followed the nursery business, cultivating about 30 acres, until 1875, when he moved to Winona, Minn., and there devoted his whole attention to the hydropathy method of treating disease, and conducting a Turkish bath and health institute, both at Winona and Galesville, Wis. He located his institute in La Crosse, in 1880, and has it in successful operation at present. DAVID AUSTIN, of the logging and lumber firm of Sawyer & Austin, has been in busi ness in La Crosse since the spring of 1872 ; came to La Crosse at that time from Cleveland, Ohio, where he had been in the same business for about four years. His early life was spent in the lumber business on the Allegany River, in Western New York, residing in Cattaraugus Co. He now resides in Sparta, Wis., and has his office in the Lumberman's Exchange, in La Crosse. His partner, Mr. Sawyer, resides at Black River Falls. REV. M. B. BALCH, Pastor of the First M. E. Church, is a native of Bennington Co., Vt.; born in 1836. In his infancy, his parents removed to Saratoga Springs, N. Y., where he spent his early life. His father, W. S. Balch, was proprietor of the Columbian Hotel, at Saratoga Springs, from 1841 to 1866, and still resides in that place. Mr. Balch was educated at the Troy Conference Academy and Troy Uni versity, N. Y., and studied law with Judge Willard and Judge Crane, of Saratoga, but was never admitted to the bar. He also carried on the drug business for some time at Saratoga. He entered the regular army the day after Ft. Sumter was first fired upon ; enlisted for one year, and served as Hospital Steward, at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., till he was discharged, at the end of the year. After he left the army, he came to Wisconsin, and was engaged in farming in Green Co., about three years. He was then employed by the Grand Lodge of Good Templars, as State Lecturer, till 1867 ; then went to Boston, and continued in the same work two years in Massachusetts; returned to Monroe, Wis., in 1869, and in 1870, entered the ministry of the M. E. Church. He was first stationed at Madison, Wis., for a few months, to fill an un expired term, and came to La Crosse in the fall of 1870, where he remained three years ; was then one year at Black River Falls, two years at the Lake Street Church, in Eau Claire, then back to Black River Falls two years, and in Mineral Point two vears, coming to La Crosse, the second time, Oct. 1, 1880. He was married, in 1867, to Miss Hattie, daughter of Dr. William Monroe, of Monroe, Green Co., Wis., and has one son, Willie. JOHN A. BALLARD, M. D., was born in Fryeburg, Oxford Co., Me., Feb. 11, 1842, residing there and receiving an academic education previous to his entering the war in 1863. Enlisted in Co. E, of the 3d Maine, and served in all the battles of the Army of the Potomac, from the battle of the Wilderness to the battles around Petersburg, and was at Appomattox at the surrender of Gen. Lee. After the war, he spent a winter in Massachusetts ; then he came to River Falls, Wis., where he contin- tinued the study of medicine, which he had previously taken up with his brother, a practicing physician of that place. In September, 1866, he entered the Chicago Medical School, from which he graduated in March. 1868. Immediately following his graduation, he was for six months house physician and surgeon in Mercy Hospital, Chicago, after which he spent two years in Chicago, following the practice of medicine, 736 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: and also being the Superintendent of the Inebriate Asylum, after which he removed to La Crosse, since which date be has devoted his time and skill to the practice of medicine. Mr. Ballard was married in Chicago, Nov. 19, 1868, to Miss Henrietta E. Sutor, a sister of W. A. Sutor, a present resident of La Crosse. J. SI. BARCLAY, lumberman ; has been a resident of La Crosse since November, 1856. He was born in Lyons, Wayne Co., N. Y., in 1822 ; in the fall of 1853, he removed to La Porte, Ind., and came from there to La Crosse. He is a blacksmith by trade, and, in 1857, he bought a shop in La Crosse, and carried on the business till 1859, then sold out, and, in the summer of 1860, in company with Ban tam, built a plow-shop on Third street, opposite the court house, and carried on the business under the firm name of Barclay & Bantam for two years ; then sold out his interest and worked one year for the Packet Company, making repairs. He then went to St. Paul and started a shop for the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company, and worked there two seasons. In the spring of 1865, he again went into the plow business in company with A. Hirshheimer, who also owned with him a one-half interest in a saw-mill at Lansing, Iowa. In January, 1880, they dissolved partnership, he taking the lumber business and Mr. H. the plow business. Has only one child — John Clayton, now in the lumber business in Lansing, Iowa. Mrs. Barclay was Rhoda S. Congor, of Cortland, N. Y. W. H. BARRON, division freight agent of the Southern Minnesota Division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, has been in charge of the freight department of the Southern Minnesota Railroad since 1868, and a resident of La Crosse since March, 1857, and has been engaged on the river, and railroading most of the time since be came here. He is a native of Washington, Orange Co., Vt., and came from there to La Crosse. FRANK BARTL, foreman in the Empire Brewery ; was born in Bohemia in 1838 ; came to the United States in 1868, and settled in Wisconsin ; has been in La Crosse since 1874. He was mar ried in Germany, in 1867, to Mary Rank, and has four children — Anna, Frank, Joseph and Mary. His father was George Bartl, and he has been working at the brewing business since he was 14 years old. IF. A. BATES, fireman ; has been in the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail road Company since 1859. He was born Aug. 26, 1837, in Portland, Me., where his father, Nathaniel Bates, died in July, 1854, at the age of 45. Mrs. Bates, whose maiden name was Cynthia Barstow, is still living in La Crosse with her son, in the 84th year of her age. Mr. Bates came from Portland to Wisconsin in 1859 ; lived in Milwaukee one year, coming to La Crosse in 1860. He has worked in the roundhouse a portion of the time, but has been firing on the road the last seven years. He was married, June 29, 1871, in La Crosse, to Martha Ann Grover, daughter of William Grover, of La Crosse. She was born in London, Eng., in 1842, and came to the United with her parents in 1849. Have no children. H. K. Bates, brother of F. A., is now master mechanic on the Missouri River, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad. H. S. BEAN, foreman in the saw-mill of John Paul, has been in his present situation since 1876, and a resident of La Crosse since 1865 ; he was born in Franklin, Belknap Co., N. H., in 1845, son of Redmond Bean ; came to Wisconsin in January, 1864. Was married, April 9, 1870, in Brownsville, Minn., to Miss Mary Ryan of that place, and has two children — Ai and Mary. SYLVANUS BEAN, millwright, has resided in La Crosse since February, 1861 ; he was first here in the fall of 1855, for a few weeks; then went to St. Anthony's Falls, Minn., and returned in 1861. He was born in Merrimack, N. H., in 1827, son of Redmond Bean. Learned his trade in New Hamp shire and worked at it till he came to La Crosse ; has two children — Nina Gertrude and Olive A. Mrs. Bean's maiden name was Susan L. Austin. S. BECKER, grain and produce dealer, Front street, between Main and State, has been in the city of La Crosse since 1877 ; be is a native of Bavaria, born in 1834, and came to the United States in 1855. He lived in Tiffin, Ohio, one year ; then went to Milwaukee and remained there till 1860 ; he came from there to La Crosse and stayed one year ; then went to Trempealeau, Wis. Was married there in 1863, to Miss Emma Salomon, of St. Paul, and came from there back to La Crosse in 1877 ; has four children — Jacob, Albert, Cora and Ida. E. M. BECKWITH, commission merchant and dealer in second-hand goods in Borna's Block, Third street, was born in Wayne Co., N. Y., in 1828 ; son of Miner York Beckwith, who moved to Michigan in 1836, and died there in 1855, at the age of 54. E. M. Beckwith learned the ship-carpenter's trade in Milwaukee, Wis., and worked at the business till 1873; was in business for himself in Racine, Wis., from 1850 to 1860, and in Grand Haven, Mich., from 1860 to 1872. In 1873, he was in Duluth, Minn., build ing dredges for the N. P. R. R. Co. He lived in different places in Minnesota till January, 1881, and since then has been in business in La Crosse. His first wife was Helen Bowman, of Racine, Wis.; she died in 1872, leaving eight children. His second wife was Julia E. Selby, of Blue Earth Co., Minn. LACROSSE. 73 BENSON BROTHERS, merchants and proprietors of the Variety Store, No. 20 Main street, have been in business in La Crosse since May, 1880. The firm is composed of two brothers, Ivar and Bernt Benson, both born in Norway, sons of Bernt Benson, who died in Norway in 1860. They came to America in 1875, and have lived in Wisconsin ever since, and are both unmarried. They have one brother, B. M. Benson, in the mercantile business in Dorchester, Clark Co., Wis., and another, Emanuel Benson, engaged in farming near San Francisco, Cal. JOHN BENSON, contractor and stone-mason ; was born in 1826 in Norway, where he learned his trade, and came to the United States in 1861, since which time he has resided in La Crosse. He was married in 1866, to Sarah Ann Iverson, daughter of Iver Iverson ; she also was born in Norway, and came to the United States in 1860 ; they have two children— Ida Benson and Jacob Bernbart Benson. John's father, B. Benson, came to the United States in 1871, and now lives in Douglas Co., Minn. NIELS ELIAS BENSSON, cooper and stockholder in the La Crosse Co-operative Barrel Manufacturing Co.; was born in Norway in 1844; son of Bendit Andreas Nelson, who is still liv ing in Norway, Nortland Arnt ; came to the United States in 1870 ; settled in Lansing, Iowa, and resided there till September, 1880, and came from there to La Crosse. He was married in 1870, in Nor way, in his native town, to Eliane Olson, also a native of Norway. Learned his trade of his father, who was a carpenter and cooper. JUDGE C. S. BENTON, was born July 12, 1810, in Fryeburg, Oxford Co., Maine. In 1824, was moved by his mother and brother to Herkimer Co., N. Y., and commenced to learn the tan ner's trade. In 1830, be abandoned the business and commenced to study law, and, in 1835, was admitted to practice in the Court of Common Pleas, and, in 1836, was admitted to the Supreme Court. In 1837, was appointed Surrogate by Gov. Marcy. In 1842, was elected to the Twenty-eighth Congress from the Seventeenth Congressional District ; was re-elected in 1844 to the Twenty-ninth Congress. In 1847, was Clerk of the Court of Appeals, which place he held two terms. In 1855, he came to Mil waukee and bought a one-third interest in the News, and edited the paper one year. In 1856, was appointed Register of Land in La Crosse, by President Pierce, which office he held until Lincoln's admin istration. In 1865, he moved to Galesburg, 111., where he remained four years, and then returned to La Crosse. In 1873, he was elected County Judge in La Crosse County, and was re-elected in 1874, but did not serve out his term on account of ill health, but resigned in February, 1880. Judge Benton com menced editorial work in 1832, in New York State, where he was editor of the Mohawk Courier and Little Falls Gazette for two years ; was editor and correspondent for the Courier until he came West. Judge Benton was married in 1840 to Emeline Fuller, of Little Falls, by whom he had one son, who is now a member of the firm of Benton, Gove & Co., of Milwaukee. Judge Benton was married again in 1853, at Oswego, to Miss Elizabeth B. Reynolds, by whom he has had one son, who is a resident of La Crosse. H. BERGSETH, cooper and stockholder in the La Crosse Co-operative Barrel Manufacturing Co.; was born in Norway in 1845, son of II. Bergseth, Sr.; came to the United States in 1873 ; settled in Lanesboro, Minn., and resided there till February, 1881 ; bought into this company in December, 1880. He was married in Norway to Paulina Peterson ; has two children — Albert and Sigurd. FRANK BERKENMEYER, saloon-keeper ; is a native of Baden, Germany, born in 1834 ; came to the United States in 1857 ; lived one year in Cleveland, Ohio ; then went to Long Island, N. Y., and came from there to La Crosse in 1859 ; he lived on a farm three and a half miles from town till 1868, and since that has resided in the city. Oct. 10, 1863, he married Mrs. Virginia Nagle, who came to La Crosse from France with her first husband, Louis Oliver, in June, 1847. Mr. Oliver died soon after, and she married Charles Nagle, who had been some time in La Crosse ; he died in March, 1861, leaving three children. Mr. Berkenmeyer has two children — Frank and Virginia. He was Justice of the Peace in the town of Shelby in 1866-67. JOHN P. BIRD, Principal of the Third District School of La Crosse ; has been in his present position since 1876 ; for one year previous to that, he was Principal of the Fifth District School. He was born in Northampton, Mass., in 1845 ; his father, William Bird, removed to Martin Co., Minn., in 1865, and died there in 1879. Prof. Bird is a graduate of the Minnesota State Normal School at Mankato, Class of 1871, and has been teaching since that time. In 1880, he graduated from the National School of Elo cution and Oratory at Philadelphia. He was married in December, 1879, to Helen R. Hanscom, of La Crosse. R. R. BLACKMAN, proprietor of boarding-house on Windsor street, at the head of North Third street"; is a native of Monroe Co., N. Y. His parents moved to Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., when he Was 7 years of age. He came to Wisconsin in 1867, and was in La Crosse from August to Decemberj 738 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: then came again in the spring of 1868, and has resided here since, except five years, from 1870 to 1875, in Trempealeau Co. He was married in La Crosse, May 17, 1868, to Mrs. Jane Flynn, daughter of David Young, who removed from Pennsylvania to Iowa in 1840. She was born in Lawrence Co., Penn., in 1836. Her first husband, John Flynn, was a native of Vermont ; son of Thomas Flynn, and came to La Crosse in 1857. In August, 1861, he enlisted in the 8th W. V. I. (Eagle Regiment), Co. I; re-en listed in the Veteran Corps, and died Aug. 22, 1865, of chronic diarrhoea, while home on furlough, at the age of 27. He left two children — William Edward, now living in La Crosse, and Cora E., now Mrs. Edward Montgomery, of La Crosse. Mr. Blackman has one child — Mary E., at home. OLIVER P. BLANCHARD, engineer on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad ; has been a resident of La Crosse since 1875, and has been working on this road since 1859. Commenced firing in 1862, and has been running an engine since 1867. He was born in St. Johnsburg, Vt., in 1844. His father, Alfred R. Blanchard, came to Wisconsin in 1855 ; lived in Watertown one winter, then removed to Beaver Dam, where he still resides. Mr. Blanchard married in Pardeeville, Wis., Miss Sarah Connor, of Berlin, Wis., and has two children — Morris and Fred. L. D. BLANCHARD, engineer on Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad ; has worked on this road since 1856, except five months in 1859 ; has been running an engine since 1863 ; born in St. Johns burg Center, Caledonia Co., Vt., in 1838 ; came to Wisconsin in 1855 with his father, Alfred R. Blanch ard, who settled in Beaver Dam, where he still resides. In June, 1858, Mr. Blanchard married Miss Almira, daughter of William M. Johnson, a native of Columbia Co., Penn., who came to Wisconsin in March, 1856, and settled in Beaver Dam; now resides in La Crosse. Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard have two children — Stella and Bell (twins), born in Beaver Dam, Wis., July 21, 1859. Both successful teachers in the public schools of La Crosse, and graduates of the La Crosse High School, Class of 1877, Prof. B. M. Reynolds, Principal. ROBERT BLASHEK, proprietor of the La Crosse Woolen Mills, on Eighth street, between Market and Winnebago ; was born in Austria in April, 1853. His father, France Blashek, came to the United States in 1859, and settled in La Crosse April 25. He immediately commenced building the machinery for a woolen-mill, which he erected on the site of the present one, and where he carried on business till his death, June 19, 1875. Robert worked in the mill with his father from the time he was 8 years old, and has carried on the business since his father's death. He is doing custom work, and also buying wool and manufacturing. He is unmarried, and lives with his mother, who owns an interest in the mill. His brother Ernest, who is living with them, is a composer and also a teacher of violin music. X. BOM A, grocer and general merchant; was born in Baden, Germany, in 1844; son of Chris tian Boma ; came to America in 1868, and settled on a farm in the town of Shelby, La Crosse Co., where he resided seven years, since which time he has been in the city and in his present business. He was married in La Crosse, in 1875, to Miss M. Koller, daughter of Michael Koller, and has two children — Dora and Emil. EMIL N. BORRESON, was born in Lillehammer, Norway, emigrating in 1868. After following mercantile pursuits for two years, he entered the Batavian Bank as book-keeper, which place he filled with great acceptance, both to the bank and to the public for nine years, until the establishment of the present business of Holley & Borreson. SIMON RORRESON, shoemaker; is a native of Norway; born in 1853; came to the United States in June, 1873, and has resided in La Crosse since that time ; has been in business since 1874; learned bis trade in Norway of his father Barre Olson (Suthersven), who came to the United States in 1876, and now lives in La Crosse. Mr. Borreson was married in 1874, to Miss Johanna John son, also a native of Norway, who came to La Crosse in 1874. Owns bis shop on North Third street. P. A. BORRESEN, jeweler and watchmaker, No. 26 South Third street, has been in business in his present location since September, 1879. He was born in Norway in 1835, son of B. H. Borresen; learned his trade in the city of Christiania, and came to America in 1872, arriving in New York City on the 12th of July. He located at Red Wing, Minn., where he resided till he came to La Crosse in Septem ber, 1879. He was married in La Crosse in 1878, to Josephine Oslgaard, and has one son, Hans Borge Elias. REV. EDWARD RORGEN, Assistant Pastor of the Norwegian Church of La Crosse, was born in 1852, in Spydeberg, Smaalenene, Norway, son of Erik Borgen, who died in Norway in 1875. Mr. Borgen received only a common-school education in Norway, and came to the United States in 1868. He lived one and a half years in Rock Co., Wis., and from there went to Decorab, Iowa ; entered the Norwe gian Lutheran College at that place in the fall of 1871, and graduated in 1876. He then entered Con cordia Seminary, at St. Louis, Mo., and graduated from there in the spring of 1879. The same year he Missing Page Missing Page LA CROSSE. 741 was ordained to the ministry and accepted a call from the Norwegian Lutheran Church of La Crosse where he still continues. He was married, Sept. 8, 1880, in Decorah, Iowa, to Miss Ambjborg (Emma) To- biason, daughter of Roland Tobiason, who came to the United States in 1850, and is still living near De corah. He was from Slidre, Valders, Norway. JAMES BOYCOTT, proprietor of Boycott's job printing office, corner of Second and Main streets, has been a resident of La Crosse since Oct. 1, 1856. He was born in 1828, in Shropshire, Eng., parish of Condover, son of William Boycott ; came to the United States in 1849 ; commenced the printing business in Boston, Mass., and remained there till the spring of 1856 ; then went to Chicago and worked in different job offices till the 1st of the next October, and has been in La Crosse since. He was married in Boston, October, 1857, to Mary Ann Lintott, a native of Lewes, Eng., near London ; has two children, Walter J. and William E. He was in the photograph business from the time he came to La Crosse till 1877;_was connected with Pomeroy's Democrat till March, 1880, and started his present business the June following. JACOB BRABANDER, cooper, Second street, near King, has been a resident of La Crosse aince 1857, and has been in the same business during the whole time. He was born in Luxemburg, Ger many, in 1822, son of Peter Brabander, also a cooper. Jacob learned his trade of his father, and spent seven or eight years working at bis trade in different parts of Europe ; came to the United States in 1856, and lived one year in Port Washington, Wis., before coming to La Crosse. His first wife was Katie Bushard. She died in 1872, leaving three children — Bertha (now in Germany;, Minnie (now the wife of John M. Childres, of La Crosse) and Mary. His second wife was Anna Berkhaus. She died June 7, 1879, leaving four children — Jacob, Annie, Louisa and Katie. DAVID W. BRADLEY, painter, shop on Second street, between Main and State, was born in Kingston, Canada West, in 1848, son of William Bradley, who now lives in Greene Co., Iowa. Mr. Bradley came to La Crosse in the fall of 1869, and worked at bis trade till the spring of 1876 ; then went to Whitewater, Wis., and followed the same business till 1879. He then went on a farm in Vernon County, which he still owns; started his present shop in La Crosse, March 1, 1881. He was married in June, 1871, in La Crosse, to Mary Ann Flynn, and has two children, Margaret and John Melville; has lost six. He was in Government employ in Montana and Colorado in 1863-65, and was employed in smelting-works there in 1866 and 1867. A. RRAKKE, jeweler, was born in Norway in 1835; learned his trade in Norway and worked at it there till 1867 ; then came to America. He lived one year in Chicago; then came to La Crosse, where he has been in business ever since, except two years, in 1875 and 1876. He was married in La Crosse in 1869, to Mary Peterson, and has two children — Matilda and Ellen. His father's name was John Yohnson Brakke, the last name (Brakke) being the old Norwegian farm name. REV. L. W. BRIGHAM, Pastor of St. Paul's (Universalist) Church, is a native of Elmore, Lamoille Co., Vt., was born May 25, 1841, son of Elisha W. Brigham, who died Oct. 13, 1848, aged 34 years. His mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth L. Faunee. is still living at Northfield, Vt., at the age of 66. Mr. Brigham was educated at West Randolph, Royalton and West Brattleboro, Vt., and received his theological education under Rev. C. W. Emerson and Rev. 0. B. Allis, Congregational clergy men of that State. He commenced bis ministry in May, 1864, under a license from the Royalton Asso ciation of Congregational ministers, and later received a license from the Orleans Association (also Congre gational), and preached in North Troy and Dover, Vt., till 1868. He then entered the ministry of the Universalist Church, and was ordained July 1, 1868, by an ecclesiastical council composed of Unitarian and Universalist ministers, according to the usages of the Congregational Churches of Massachusetts. After that, he was located at West Cummington, Mass., Rutland, Vt., and Whately, Mass., coming to La Crosse Aug. 1, 1874. He has been actively engaged in temperance work for several years ; was at the head of the Encampment department of the order of Odd Fellows in Vermont and an elective officer in the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin. He is also President of the Wisconsin Universalist State Convention, and Chairman of the Committee on Missions. Mrs. Brigham was Miss Etta M. Hubbard, of Vermont. They have two children — L. Ward and Bret H.; lost one in October, 1874 — Guy died, aged 4 months. JOHN BRINDLEY, attorney and counselor at law, and member of the law firm of Fruit & Brindley, was born near Boscobel, Grant Co., Wis., April 18, 1850 ; graduated from the State University in 1874; was Principal of Lone Rock Graded School in 1870, Lancaster High School in 1874-76, Bos cobel High School in 1877 and 1878 ; elected to the Assembly from Grant County for 1879 and re elected for 1880. He studied law with Hon. George C. Hazleton, of Boscobel, Wis., and commenced practice there in 1878, where he continued till June 1, 1880, when the present business connection was formed. 742 . BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: J OHN H. BRISTO W, blacksmith, Rose street, North La Crosse, has worked at his trade in the city since May, 1859, and has been in INorth La Crosse since 1872. He was born in Upper Canada in 1833 ; son of Edward Bristow who is still living in Canada. Mr. Bristow went to Michigan in 1851, learned his trade there, went to St. Paul, Minn., in the fall of 1856, and came from there to La Crosse in 1859. He was married in 1866, in La Crosse, to Eliza Brackett and has seven children — Alice A., Jessie L., Hattie B., Fannie M., William H., John, and an infant not named. W. H. BROCKLISS, saloon-keeper, No. 10 Pearl street, came to La Crosse in the summer of 1855, started a saloon and restaurant the same year, and has been in the saloon business ever since. He first bought a frame building on bis present location, which burned in 1861. He rebuilt the same year a two-story brick, 20x52, which he still occupies. He was born in London, Eng., in 1814, son of William H. Brockliss, who came to America in 1845, and settled in Lee Co., Iowa. He died in Burlington, Iowa, in 1850. W. H. Brockliss came to the United States in 1848, landing in New Orleans on the 2d day of July ; went direct to Iowa and resided there till the summer of 1852, then went to California across the plains and remained till the spring of 1855, when he returned to the States, arriving in La Crosse in May, his family having removed here from Iowa in the summer of 1854. He has two children — Sarah Jane, now Mrs. Oscar Wissinger, of Urbana, Ohio, and Letitia, now Mrs. V. A. Bigelow, of La Crosse. Mr. Brockliss was married in St. George's Church, Hanover square, London, Aug. 22, 1835, to Maria Wind- wood, a native of Stowe Market, Suffolk, Eng. J. J. BROWN, cooper and stockholder in the "La Crosse Co-operative Barrel Manufacturing Co.," was born in the city of Chur, Switzerland, son of Christian Brown, who died in Switzerland in 1854. Mr. Brown came to the United States in 1873, lived three years in Mazomanie, Dane Co., Wis., then three years in Rushford, Minn., and came to La Crosse in 1879. He was married in 1878, in Mazomanie, to Miss Ada Coon, daughter of Myron Coon, of that place. Has one child — Seaman. BENJAMIN FRENCH BRVANT, District Attorney of La Crosse County, was bora at Rockland, Me., Sept. 3, 1837. He received his education at the common schools and at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary at Kente Hill, and Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Maine. In June, 1861, he went to Huron Co., Ohio, where his parents had moved a few years previous. He enlisted in Co. A, 101st Ohio V. I., August, 1862, and served in the army of the Cumberland until the close of the war, being mustered out the latter part of June, 1865. He was Sergeant, First Lieutenant and Captain. After going to Ohio before the war, and upon returning after the war, be studied law and was admitted to the bar, at the session of the Huron Co. District Court, in the spring of 1866. He moved to La Crosse in May, 1868, and has practiced law here since that time. He held the office of County Judge for four years, receiving his appointment by the Governor in 1870, to fill vacancy caused by a resignation. Was elected District Attorney in 1873. In April, 1875, he resigned this office and was appointed Pension Agent at this place. Held this position until July, 1877, when the office ceased to exist here by the consolidation of a number of pension agencies. In 1877, he was re-elected as District Attorney, which office he has since held. In 1872, he was appointed Aid-de-camp on the Governor's Staff, with the rank of Colonel, by Gov. C. C. Washburn, and in 1878 he was appointed to the same position by Gov. W. E. Smith. A. BUCKLE, furniture dealer and undertaker, was born in 1827 in Baden, Germany; came to America in 1848, and spent about a year and a half in different States, then settled down in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained till 1855, when he came to La Crosse and has resided in this city ever since. He worked for other parties at the furniture business three years, and since 1858, has carried on the busi ness himself. He was married in Cincinnati, April 25, 1850, to Theresa Rendler, and has no children. WILLIAS1 BUEL, carpenter and joiner, has been Constable and City Wood Measurer for the last ten years. He was born in Switzerland in 1828, and came to America in 1849. He lived one year at St. Louis, Mo., one year at Highland, 111., three years at Marine Hill, Minn., and two years at Stillwater, Minn. He was then on the N. P. R. R. till 1859, since which time he has resided in La Crosse, except one year in Bangor and three years in La Crescent, Minn. ; learned the carpenter's trade in the old country and has always followed that business. He was married in St. Louis in 1849, to Judith Stutz, and has had thirteen children, four living — George, Mary, Albert and Lizzie. WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS, attorney and counselor at law, was born in Shalerville, Portage Co.. Ohio, July 7, 1837. His father, Ira Burroughs, was by occupation a farmer. • In 1855, be, together with his parents, removed to Illinois, where'/arming was still pursued. In 1 857, Mr. Burroughs came to La Crosse and entered the law firm of Denison & Lyndes, as a student. He studied law with this firm until the spring of 1859, when he was admitted to the bar, after which he returned to his par ents in Illinois, and after remaining there a short time, he went to St. Louis, where he spent part of the years 1860 and 1861, returning again to La Crosse in the summer of 1861. In November of that year, he LA CROSSE. 743 entered into partnership with Mr. Lyndes, of the old firm of Denison & Lyndes, Mr. Denison having been killed through the arising of a dispute, while fishing at Mormon Coolley, in the summer of 1859. This partnership existed until the first of May, 1876, when it was dissolved, since which time he has continued practice alone. JOSEPH BURGERMEISTER, contractor and builder, has been a resident of La Crosse since the fall of 1863. He was born in Austria in 1843 ; came to the United States in July, 1863 ; spent a few months in Baltimore and Chicago and came to La Crosse in the fall. In February, 1864, he enlisted in the 14th W. V. I., Co. K, and was in the service till Oct. 9, 1865. He learned the mason's trade in Germany, commencing at the age of 14, and has worked at the business ever since. He was married, May 29, 1866, to Theresa Islet; has one child, Louis. He has been contracting since 1867. PROF. J. BURNHASI, Principal of the Second Ward School of La Crosse, is now on the third year in his present position. He was born March 7, 1839, in Caledonia Co., Vt. His father, D. B. Burnham, came to Wisconsin in 1841, and was among the first settlers in Kenosha County. He is now living at Waupaca, Wis., at the age of 77, having lost his wife in 1875. Mr. Burnham was educated at Waukegan Academy, 111., and Antioch College, and commenced teaching in Lake Co., 111., in 1855. He was Principal of the Richmond Public School, in McHenry Co., 111., from the fall of 1858 till the spring of 1859. He then went to the Pacific coast, and was in Nevada and California till 1864 ; he then returned to Wisconsin, and in December of that year, was married in Jefferson Co., Wis., to Miss Marilla Tousley and settled in Waupaca, Wis. He was Principal of the Weyauwega Public School in 1866 and 1867, and was then elected Superintendent of Schools for Waupaca County, which office he resigned in 1869 to accept the position of Principal of the Waupaca High School, which he retained till 1872. He then resigned and spent one year in the life insurance business. In October, 1874, he lost his wife, and the same fall Was again elected County Superintendent of Schools and served two years. In July, 1877v he again accepted the position of Principal of the Waupaca High School, where he remained two years and came from there to La Crosse. His second wife, to whom he was married in 1876, was Miss Jennie E. Snell, of New London, Wis. He has three children, all by his first wife — Allison, Ralston and Myrtle. EDWARD J. BUTT, engineer in the mill of A. A. Freeman & Co., is a native of Essex, Eng., born in April, 1829 ; son of Edward Butt ; learned his trade at Kent, Gravesend, Eng., twenty-two miles from London, and spent twenty-seven years on salt water, as an engineer, before coming to America, which he did in February, 1875, and has resided in La Crosse since that time; has been in his present position since the spring of 1876. He was married in October, 1853, at Gravesend, Eng., to Miss Harriet, daugh ter of Samuel Choat, Esq., of that place. They have two children — Edith H. E., now the wife of John Everard, of La Crosse, and Edward William, 22 years of age, and manager of the book and stationery house, at 255 Nicolet avenue, Minneapolis. MARK M. BUTTLES, Sheriff of La Crosse County, is a native of Chautauqua Co., N. Y., where he was born on the last day of April, 1844. The following year, his parents, flowing with the tide of emigration to the West, came to Wisconsin and settled in Walworth County, the present Sheriff being included in their list of household valuables. After a temporary sojourn at this point, they continued their pilgrimage to Rock County, and halting at JanesviUe, remained in that present flourishing city until 1854, when they come to La Crosse County and became permanent settlers of Burnham Valley, in the present Township of Burns. Here Mr. Buttles passed the earlier years of bis life, attending school and availing himself of such advantages as the limited educational resources of the place afforded, until the breaking-out of the war. In 1861, he enlisted in Company A, First Wisconsin Cavalry, in which he served two years, when he was disabled and discharged, and returned home. In 1864, he concluded to try his fortunes further west, and crossing the plains, became a miner in Montana. A year's experience persuaded Mr. Buttles to return to the homes of civilisation, and he descended the Missouri River to Omaha in a Mackinac boat, and entered the service of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. In 1867, he visited Fort Sully, thence to La Crosse on a visit. During the spring of 1868, he re-visited Omaha, and proceeded to California, where he became a ranchero, and followed that exciting and varied pursuit until 1873, with no inconsiderable success, when he disposed of his interests and once more journeyed to La Crosse County. He settled in West Salem, where he engaged in trading and speculating, and where he was married to Miss Anna Pierce. In 1879, he was elected to his present position and removed to the city of La Crosse. As a public officer he has given the fullest satisfaction to an admiring constituency. Socially, he is a courteous gentleman, and is a man, one whom misfortune can never dishearten or disaster appall. e 744 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: LIEUT. ALEXANDER CASIERON, of La Crosse, at the age of 32 years, died at the residence of his father, in Caledonia, N. Y., on Monday morning, April 11, 1864, at 11 o'clock A. M. The La Crosse Republican of the 13th said : " His death was this morning announced in the Circuit Court by the Hon. William Hull, after which the court adjourned until to-morrow, in token of the respect entertained for the memory of the deceased. A meeting of the La Crosse bar, of which Mr. Cameron was a member, will be holden this evening at the office of Messrs. Lyndes & Burroughs. This completes the record of one who, in all the relations of life, sustained a good reputation, and performed well his part. As a son, brother, friend, citizen, counsellor and soldier, he has ever been faithful to his trust. As a Christian, he enjoyed, to the hour of his departure from earthly scenes, the sweetest conso lation which a merciful Providence vouchsafes to bis chosen sons. Lieut. Cameron's life was sacrificed to his zeal, in returning to army duties before he had recovered strength, after illness contracted while serving his country as Lieutenant in the La Crosse Battery. Thus has the community lost another valu able citizen in consequence of this terrible rebellion against a good government." ANGUS CASIERON, of La Crosse, was born at Caledonia, Livingston Co., N. Y., July 4, 1826 ; received an academic education, studied law at Buffalo, N. Y., and graduated at the National Law School, Ballston Spa; removed to La Crosse, Wis., in 1857; was a member of the State Senate of Wis- sin in 1863-64 and 1871-72; was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Wisconsin in 1866 and 1867, and was Speaker in 1867; was a member of the National Republican Convention at Baltimore in 1864; was one of the Regents of the University of Wisconsin in 1866 and 1875 ; was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican, took his seat March 4, 1875, and was re-elected in 1881, to suc ceed Matthew H. Carpenter, deceased. His term of service will expire March 4, 1885. Senator Cam eron was married to Miss Mary Baker, of Urbana, Steuben Co., N. Y., on the 21st of February, 1856. HON. HUGH CAMERON. The subject of this sketch, a native of Livingston Co., N. Y., was born at Caledonia, June 29, 1815. His parents, Duncan A. Cameron and Sarah (McColl) Cameron, were from Scotland, the father coming to this country in 1802, and the mother a few years later. The Camerons are of the Lochiel branch, Lochiel, the chief, being, according to the custom, of the Queen's household. Hugh spent his youth on his father's farm ; he prepared for college in the institutions at Middlebury and Lima, in his native State, and entered the University of Vermont in 1834, and gradu ated with honor four years later, excelling particularly in German metaphysics, then taught by Prof. James Marsh. Returning to Western New York, Mr. Cameron taught in the Avon Academy in 1838 and 1839, reading law at the same time with Amos Dann. He finished his law studies with Hastings & Husbands, of Rochester, and was admitted to the bar in October, 1841, at the first term of the Supreme Court ever held in that city. After practicing a few years in Livingston County, he removed to Buffalo in the spring of 1847, and there built up an excellent law business, as a member of the firm of Wads- worth & Cameron, but seeing openings of great promise farther West, in the spring of 1858, he removed to La Crosse, Wis., bis present home, and has here become widely known as a skillful and successful attorney. During the first six years in Wisconsin, Mr. Cameron was in partnership with his brother, Alexander, who went into the army as First Lieutenant, 1st Wisconsin Battery in 1861, and died in 1864. He was District Attorney at the opening of the war, having been elected two years prior to that time, when only about 22 years old. Alexander Cameron was a young man of much promise. In 1856, Hugh Cameron was elected County Judge, and held that office four years, and declined a re-election. The law has been his life study, his life pursuit, and he has no higher ambition than that of excelling in his pro fession. A prominent journalist, and neighbor of his for the last twenty years, in a private note says of him: " Few men have such complete mastery of literature in all its departments as Judge Cameron. His mental grasp, acquisitions, acumen and discrimination invest his utterances in genial conversation or legal arguments with strength and richness of thought and language, which are best appreciated by those who have the greatest opportunity to test and verify his powers and counsel, in which capacity he is employed by many professional confreres in Western Wisconsin and Southern Minnesota, such persons considering their cases not only thoroughly prepared, but fairly tried, after having undergone his scrutiny and investi gation, as the court seldom ' overrules his decisions.' " Judge Cameron has not onlv a very fine literary taste, but what is not generally known, has written many able critiques and other articles for the period ical press ; but such intellectual labor he does simply for recreation after more severe studies connected with his profession. He is of Whig antecedents, and for the last twenty years he has usually voted the Republican ticket. So thoroughly has Judge Cameron been wedded to the law, that for many years it seemed doubtful if be would ever form a more tender alliance, but, on the 2d of December, 1875, lie was joined in marriage with Miss Caroline D. Starr, daughter of W. H. Starr, an early settler and prominent LA CROSSE. 745 citizen of Burlington, Iowa, and a graduate of Yale College. Mrs. Cameron is a well educated and highly accomplished lady. . J. B. CANTERBURY, was born in County Wieklow, Ireland, in 1837; came to America in 1859 ; came to Beaver Dam the same fall. Enlisted in the 5th W. V. I. in 1861 ; served three and a half years ; came to La Crosse after the war, in 1865, and commenced the grain business. Mr. Canter bury was married to Miss Katherine May Livingston in 1865; has no children. He is at present grain buyer on the Madison Division of the Chicago & North-Western Railway. P. H. CAPELLEN, merchant tailor ; has been in bis present business in La Crosse since 1868. He was born ia 1827, in Evinghoven, Grefenbroicb, Duseldorf, Rhenish, Prussia. Learned his trade while young, and has worked at it ever since, except ten years in the grocery trade, from 1856 to 1866. He was married in Prussia, in 1853, to Ceceilia Herbst, and came to America in 1868. Has five children — John (in business with his father), Eva (at home), Andrew and Peter (at St. John's College in Stearns Co., Minn.), and Catharine (at home). W. W. CARGILL, dealer in wheat; was born at Long Island, N. Y., Dec. 15, 1844. In 1856, he removed with his parents to JanesviUe, Wis., where they were engaged in farming, remaking there until 1863, when he went to Austin, and subsequently Albert Lea, Minn., where he was engaged in the wheat trade. In 1875, he removed to La Crosse, and continued the same business. He deals throughout all parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Dakota Territory. The name of the firm of which he is now a member is Cargill & Van. GEORGE T. CARLETON, merchant ; is one of the pioneers of Wisconsin. He was born in Newcastle, Lincoln Co., Me., Jan. 2, 1805 ; son of Thomas and Hannah (Hall) Carleton ; when about a year old his father removed to Kennebec Co., and be grew up to manhood on his father's farm in that county. At the age of 23, he engaged in the mercantile business, which he has continued up to the present time. While in Maine he was in business in Vassalboro and Waterville. In 1833, be married Eliza Drummond, who died in 1840, leaving two children (since deceased). In 1841, he married Miss Mary Dane, of Skowhegan, Me., and came to Wisconsin in 1843; was three days making the trip from Sheboygan to Fond du Lac with an ox team, with no road but an Indian trail. In the spring of 1844 he built the first sail-boat on Lake Winnebago, for the Indians on the lake and up Wolf River. He carried on business in Fond du Lac till 1851. About the 1st of July in that year he came to La Crosse, remained a few days, then returned to Fond du Lac, and came again in August. At that time he put up a building on Third street, where Giles's pork house now stands, for a store and dwelling. There was no lumber to be had in La Crosse at the time, and he purchased his at Robinson's Mill, and run it down the creek into Black River, thence into the Mississippi and to La Crosse. He burned his lime on a pile of logs for the plastering, and thinks this was the first plastered house in the county. After completing this building he returned to Fond du Lac, and, in November, 1851, removed with bis family and a stock of goods to La Crosse; came with horse teams, and was eleven days on the road. He continued in busi ness on Third street till 1869, then removed to Sauk Rapids, Minn., and came to North La Crosse in the spring of 1877. He was three years Alderman of the First Ward of La Crosse ; has two sons— George T., born in Waterville, Me., and Fred D., born in Fond du Lac, Wis. ; both married and engaged in mer cantile business in North La Crosse. GUSTAV CARL, manufacturer of mineral and seltzer water, ginger and lemon beer. 77 and 79 Third street; has been in his present business since 1868, and has the only establishment of the kind in the city. He was born in Saxony, Germany, Dec. 23, 1836. He learned the bookbinder's trade of his father, Adam Carl, who came to America with bis family in 1854, landing in New York City on the 5th of June. He located there, and Gustav worked at his trade in the city till 1856, then came West and worked in St. Louis, and Washington, Mo., Chicago and Milwaukee, returning to New York City in the fall of 1857. In the spring of 1858 the whole family came West, the senior Carl going to Chicago and Gustav to Milwaukee, where he remained till 1860, then came to La Crosse in March. In 1862, he went to Winona, Minn., and started business, but burned out a month after starting, and returned to La Crosse, and went into partnership with John Fox in the saloon business, which he continued till 1868, when he went into his present business. He was married in La Crosse to Miss Bertha, daughter of Ernst Herzberg, who came to La Crosse in 1856, and died there in 1879. Mr. Carl has four children— Gustavus, Bertha, Oscar and Albert. He was Alderman of the Third Ward in 1868. His father came to La Crosse from Chicago, and from there to Milwaukee, and died there in 1872. SASIUEL CHILDERS, shoemaker on Third street ; has resided in La Crosse since April, 1857, and been engaged in his present business during the whole time. He was born in Greenbrier Co., Va., April 22, 1824 "and raised in Harrison Co., same State. Learned his trade in Virginia, and, in 1846, 746 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: went to Letart Falls, Meigs Co., Ohio, having previously been married in Monroe Co., Ohio, to Miss Edith Bradfield. After residing at that place a few years, he removed to Mason Co., Va., and from there to La Crosse. Has six children — William, Martha, John M., Samuel, Alice and Charles. William is married to Olive Sterns, and has one child— Maude, and Martha is the wife of Simon T. Stain. John M. was married June 11, 1880, to Miss Minnie Brabander, and all reside in La Crosse. John M. is a stone cutter by trade, and has worked at it since 18 years old. SYLVESTER CLARK, foreman in the La Crosse Elevator of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Co. ; has been in his present position since 1872, and a resident of La Crosse since the fall of 1865. He is a native of Caledonia, Livingston Co., N. Y., where his father, Charles Clark, is still living at 80 years of age. Mr. Clark enlisted in 1862, in the 4th New York Heavy Artillery, and was in the service three years. He was taken prisoner Aug. 24, 1864, near Petersburg, Va. ; was at Belle Isle, Pemberton, Libby, and Salisbury, N. C. ; was released from the last-named place on the 22d of February, 1865. After he left the army, he returned to Caledonia, N. Y., and came from there to La Crosse in the fall of 1865. He was married in March, 1875, in St. Louis, Mo., to Miss Anna Simon, of that place, and has one child — Edna. JOSEPH CLARKE, of the firm of Lloyd & Clarke, was born in the city of Philadelphia Jan. 16, 1841. He began his career at La Crosse, in the house of Lloyd & Supplee, in the spring of 1862. In 1868, he married Miss Anna M. Custer, sister of Mrs. W. J. Lloyd. The house of Lloyd & Clarke has always been active in public matters, and especially enterprising in commercial affairs. The Board of Trade has received much valuable aid from the individuals of this firm, Mr. Clarke having served two years as Vice President and two years as President of the Board. While none of the gentlemen connected with the firm have been active politicians, yet twice has the house been called on to fill the office of Mayor, Mr. W. J. Lloyd, one of the original members, being elected to the office (over Col. Theodore Rodolf) in the spring of 1865 ; Mr. Lloyd, at that time, was only in the 30th year of his age. Mr. Clarke, after twice refusing a party nomination for Mayor, was, in the spring of 1880, induced to accept a non-partisan call to be a candidate for the office, and was duly elected thereto. The principal events of Mr. Clarke's administration were the erection and equipping of the City Pumping Works, which he Btrongly favored, and the attempt to secure legislation authorizing a special water-pipe tax against all lots abutting on streets where water-pipes had been laid, or might be laid in the future. This project was favored by Mr. Clarke and a majority of the Common Council, but, being left to a vote of the people, was defeated. (See sketch of W. J. Supplee.) PROF. J. J. CLEVELAND, Principal of the First Ward School of La Crosse ; has been in bis present position since the spring of 1877. He was born in Boston, Mass., in 1847; son of Henry C. Cleveland, who removed to New York City in 1854, and died there in 1860. Oct. 1, 1861, Mr. Cleveland enlisted in the 10th Conn. V. I., Co. K, and was in the service three years and four months. He was twice wounded during bis term of service. The first was only a flesh wound received at the battle of Roanoke Island, Feb. 8, 1863. This was the first battle in which he was engaged. The second was a gun-shot wound in the right shoulder, received Aug. 1, 1864, on the James River in Virginia, which. permanently disabled him, and in consequence of which he was discharged in January, 1865. In the fall of 1867, he came West and entered the State Normal School at Mankato, Minn., from which he gradua ted in June, 1873. He taught three years in Blue Earth City, Minn., and came from there to La Crosse in 1877. He was married in March, 1871, in Blue Earth Co., Minn., to Miss Maggie, daughter of John Shields, of that county. Mr. and Mrs. • Cleveland have four children — Lizzie, May, Bertha and Grace. J ABIES CLIFFORD, shoemaker; has resided in La Crosse since Aug. 27, 1853, and has been in his present business during the whole time, having been the longest here of any shoemaker in the city. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1822 ; son of Thomas Clifford ; lost his father when 14 years old, and his mother one year afterward ; came to America in the spring of 1843 ; lived in Montreal, Can ada, one year, which time he served at the shoemaker's trade, and came to the United States in the spring of 1844. He worked in Whitehall and Troy, N. Y., three years ; then a short time in Upper Canada, and afterward worked in Lexington, Cincinnati and Springfield, Ohio ; Galena, 111. ; St. Louis, Mo. ; Mem phis, Tenn. ; Natchez, Miss. ; Louisville, Ky. ; La Fayette, Ind., and Dubuque, Iowa, and came to La Crosse in 1853 on the 27th day of August. He was married in September, 1860, to Catharine McHugh, and has five children — Thomas, Henry, William, Rosa and James. GEORGE H. COGSWELL, blacksmith at the threshing machine works of Smith & Merrill ; was born in 1822 in Londonderry, N. H. ; son of Joseph Cogswell ; learned his trade in Ches ter, N. H., commencing in 1840 ; came to Wisconsin in 1846 ; lived in Geneva, Walworth Co., two years ; Oshkosh, two years, and afterward lived in Portage City and Marcellon, Columbia Co., and in LA CROSSE. 747 Rusbford and Hokah, Minn., and came to La Crosse in 1865. He was in the Quartermaster's Department at Nashville, Tenn., six months, during the war of the rebellion. He lived in Nashua, N. H., from 1872 till 1877, and since that in La Crosse. Has six children— Emaline M., John C, Joseph E., George H. H., Carrie and Lillie May. His wife, to whom he was married in 1845, was Sarah Jane Wells, of Green field, Huron Co., Ohio. C. A. COLBY is a native of Norway, born in 1846; son of Anders Colby. He was married in Norway in 1870, to Lise Tostensen, and has two children — Lottie and Carrie. Came to the United States in 1872, and has resided in La Crosse ever since. He was in the employ of C. B. Solberg till July, 1877, since which time he has been in the saloon business for himself, now located on Pearl street. JOHN J. COLE, attorney and counselor at law ; was born in Albany, N. Y., Aug. 29, 1824 ; received a classical and scientific education at the Albany Collegiate Academy ; graduated in 1840, and entered a law office as student at the age of 17 ; pursued the legal and classical course, which was then required for the bar, for four years, and at the age of 2 1 was admitted to the bar before Chief Justice Bronson, and to the Court of Chancery before Chancellor Walworth ; practiced in Albany till his removal to Wisconsin in 1856, and in 1859 became law partner of William A. Tucker, at La Crosse, where he has resided ever since ; has been candidate for the offices of City Attorney, District Attorney and member of Legislature, but, being always in the minority in politics, was not elected to those offices. He has been in no other business than that of the practice of the law, and incidentally dealing in real estate and loans ; has been a Court Commissioner under the successive Circuit Judges during nearly all his twenty-five years' residence in Wisconsin. Mr. Cole is widely known throughout this and adjoining counties as a lawyer of great prudence, sagacity and perseverance. Well and correctly posted in legal matters, his opinions as to the merits of a case are generally sustained by the Judges, both of the lower and higher courts. As a collector, he has always been very successful. Of strict integrity and correct business habits, he merits the success that has attended his efforts. CHARLES L. COLSIAN was born in 1826, in the State of New York. In 1840 he removed to Green Bay, Wis., with his parents, remaining there five years, when he removed to Fond du Lac, Wis. In 1854, he removed to La Crosse, Wis., and engaged in the lumber business, in which he has since been actively engaged. FRANKLIN D. COLVER, millwright and sawyer ; born in Vermont in 1830; removed with his parents to Pennsylvania when about 1 year old ; thence to Indiana when 3 years old, his parents being among the early settlers of that State. They afterward removed to Illinois, thence to the city of Oswego, N. Y. Mr. Colver went to Chicago in 1851, where he ran a planing-mill; also followed the lakes more or less for five years. He went to Iowa in 1856, where he was married to Matilda Collins. They came to La Crosse Co. in 1857. Mr. Colver enlisted in 1861, in the 8th W. V. I. ; served about thirteen months, and was discharged for disability. He has seven children — Arietta, Alfred, Alma, Alvin, Abbie, Austin and Arthur. MARSHALL CONANT, Land Commissioner of the S. M. R. R. Co., has been engaged in selling lands for this Company since December, 1866. He was bom in Malone, Franklin Co., N. Y., and educated to the legal profession, but practiced only a short time. He entered the general office of the 0. & L. C. R. R. Co. in 1851, and was Chief Clerk in that office previous to his engagement with the S. M. Co. A. SI. CONGDON, carpenter and millwright, was born in Marietta, Ohio, in 1852 ; learned his trade of G. W. Sherwood, of St. Paul, commencing in 1871. He has since worked in Chicago, 111., Muskegon, Mich., Kansas City, Mo., Mason City, Iowa, and came to La Crosse in 1874. He has been in the employ of P. S. Davidson since January, 1880. He was married in September, 1880, to Miss Edna Brown, of Dakota, Minn. L. COREN, merchant, No. 83 Rose Street, has been a resident of La Crosse since 1868. He was born in Christiana, Norway, in 1845, son of O. O. Coren, who is still living in Christiana. Mr. Coren was educated in his native city, and came to the United States in 1866. He lived in St. Louis, Mo., one year, then came to Wisconsin, and lived in Edgerton one year, coming from there to La Crosse, where he was engaged in clerking in the dry goods trade till the spring of 1881, then started business for himself in present location. He was married, in 1872, to Miss Theresa Kjos, and has two children, Laura E. and Alfred T. HOWARD CRASIER, insurance agent, was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., June 23, 1820 ; is of German parentage. He remained in Dutchess Co. until 20 years of age, in the meantime attending the public schools. In 1840 he removed to Ohio, prepared for and entered Oberlin College, graduating from this institution in 1848. He then spent two years in traveling throughout the United States, and 748 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: located in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1850, where he studied law in the office of Finch & Lynde. Was admitted to the bar to practice in Milwaukee Co., and subsequently admitted to practice in the Supreme Court. Removed to La Crosse July 17, 1851, where he practiced law about two years, and then located in Black River Falls, where he also practiced for two years. In the fall of 1854 he returned to La Crosse, and continued the practice of law. In 1855 he, together with A. T. Clinton, opened a banking house, carry ing on this business under the firm name of Cramer, Clinton & Co., until 1858, when the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Cramer then forming a partnership in the banking business with the late Wilson Colwell, Captain of the Light Guards. In 1861, Mr. Colwell enlisted in the war, and the banking house was dis continued. In 1863, Mr. Cramer visited the Territory of Nevada, where he spent two years, residing there, and helping to gain the admission of that Territory as a State. He returned to La Crosse in 1865, and in 1866, was elected as City Assessor, and since that time has held various municipal and governmental positions, holding the positions of City Assessor, City Clerk, Internal Revenue Inspector and Deputy United States Marshal for this part of the Western District. In the meantime he has been engaged in the insurance business, which he is conducting at present. EDWARD CRONON, of the Collection and Loan Agency of Scott & Cronon, is a native of Rensselaer Co., N. Y. ; born in 1836; came to La Crosse in May, 1855. He was in Arkansas when the war broke out, but succeeded in making his way back to La Crosse, and in September, 1861, enlisted in Co. I, 8th W. V. I., and received a gunshot wound in the wrist, Oct. 3, 1862, at Corinth, Miss., which made it necessary to amputate the left arm near the elbow, in consequence of which he was discharged Nov. 24, 1862. He then returned to La Crosse, taught school twelve years, and has been in his present business since 1878. He was married in La Crosse, in 1877, to Miss Anna A. Mellor, and has two chil dren — Alice H. and Grace. Mr. Cronon's brother, Daniel, enlisted at the same time as he did, in the same company and regiment, and served till the close of the war. He died in July, 1868, in La Crosse, leaving a widow and one son — James Edward. JOHN A. CULLMANN, contractor and builder, has been in La Crosse since 1865, and in business most of the time, except two years on a farm. He was born in Rhine Province, Germany, in 1828 ; son of Charles Christian Cullmann ; learned the cabinet-maker's and joiner's trade in the old country, and came to the United States in 1850. He resided in Rensselaer Co., N. Y., till 1854; then went to Louisville, Ky., and came from there to Wisconsin in 1856, lived in Dunn Co. till 1859, then in St. Clair Co., 111., till 1861, then back to Dunn Co., Wis., and came for there to La Crosse in 1865. He was married, in 1866, to Sophia Sander, of La Crosse, and has four children — Willie, John, Albert and Adolph. GEORGE W. CUTLER, Assistant Yardmaster of the C. M. & St. P. R. R. at North La Crosse, has been in his present position since June, 1880. He is a native of Cortland Co., N. Y., born in 1843. His father, Stephen Cutler, came to Wisconsin in 1845 ; lived nine years in Waukesha Co., and went from there to Fond du Lac, where he still resides. Mr. Cutler enlisted in 1861, in the 18th W. V. I., and was in the service three years and eleven months. He was wounded three times during his term of service, at Shiloh, Corinth and Kingston. He was married December, 1865, in Milwaukee, to Miss Libbie F. Darley, and has three children — Hattie, Willie and George. GEORGE DAGENDESH, contractor and builder, and member of the firm of Tanny & Dagendesh, was born in 1847, in Switzerland. His father, George Dagendesh, came to the United States with his family in 1855; settled in Milwaukee, Wis., and died there in 1875. Mr. D., Jr., learned the stone-cutter's trade in Milwaukee, and worked at it there till he came to La Crosse, in 1870. He was married, in 1867, to Emma, daughter of Martin Rybold, of Milwaukee ; has six children — George, Theresa; Emma, Rosa, Mary and Catharine. HANS DANCHERTSEN, Postmaster at North La Crosse, and dealer in tobacco, cigars stationery, etc, has held his office since November, 1875. He was born in Norway, in 1827 ; son of Denkert Danchertsen, a merchant of Bergen, Norway (where Hans was born); came to America in 1861, and located in La Crosse, where he has been engaged in the mercantile business up to the present time. He was engaged in farming in Norway for several years previous to coming to the United States. He was married, in 1864, to Emily, daughter of 0. N. Solberg, of Onalaska, and has three children — Denkert Johan, Amelia and Hannah. J. C. DANE, manufacturer of breech-loading fire arms, was born in Skowhegan, Me., in 1816 ; learned the machinists' trade in Bangor, Me., and came West in 1855. He lived at St. Anthony, Minn., till 1861, then came to LaCrosse, where he has since resided. He has been engaged in his present business since 1872. He was married in Bangor, Me., in 1842, to Miss Matilda E., daughter of Lewis Hancock of that place, and has no children . LA CROSSE. 749 JOHN A. DANIELS, attorney at law, of the firm of Stogdill & Daniels, of the city of La Crosse ; was bom in the town of Franklin, Delaware County in the State of New York, on the 10th day of December, 1832. He received an academic education at the Delaware Literary Institute, located in his native town. In 1853 and 1854, he published a newspaper at Milford, Pike Co., Penn., called the Milford Herald. Mr. Daniels came to Wisconsin in 1856, and located at the citv of Kenosha, in Kenosha Co., and completed the study of the law with Mr. H. F. Schoff, of that city. He left Kenosha in the fall of 1856, and located in Kewaunee Co.; and, in the fall of that year, he was admitted to the bar in Manitowoc Co., to which county Kewaunee Co. was attached for judicial purposes, and was admitted to practice in the Su preme Court of the State in 1858. He came to the Mississippi Valley in the latter part of August, 1858, and located at the village of Trempealeau, in Trempealeau Co., where be again entered upon the practice of his profession. He was elected District Attorney of Trempealeau Co., in the fall of the same year. In the fall of 1864, he came to the city of La Crosse, where he has lived and been in the active practice of his profession ever since. Mr. Daniels was admitted to practice in the Circuit and District Courts of the United States for the District of Wisconsin in 1868, and to the Circuit and District Courts of the United States for the Western District of Wisconsin in 1870, and to the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois in the same year. HOMER S. DANIELS, attorney and counsellor at law, member of the firm of Daniels & Toeller ; was born at Ahnepee, Wis., iu 1856 ; bis parents moved to La Crosse in 1864, from Trempealeau, Wis.; attended the public schools of La Crosse until 1873, when be entered the modern classical course at the State University ; graduated in the class of 1876, completing the four-year course in three years. Studied law with the firm of Stogdill & Daniels, and was admitted to the bar in November, 1877. Im mediately commenced practice in La Crosse. In 1878, entered into partnership with William H. Stogdill and John A. Daniels, under the firm name of Stogdill & Daniels ; continued in the firm of Stogdill & Dan iels until November, 1880, when he formed his present partnership with Frank J. Toeller. Was married Oct. 15, 1878, at Dubuque, Iowa, to Mary Frances, daughter of Jacob Christman. NELS DAVIDSON, river foreman for Robert M. Mover ; has been in bis present position since 1876 ; he was born in 1844, in Norway, where he learned the ship-carpenter's trade and followed that business till he came to America, in 1868 ; he settled in Onalaska, and has been in the employ of Mr. Mover ever since; he removed to La Crosse in 1879 ; has four children — Anna, Delia, Christina and Nellie. His wife was Lottie Abramson, of Onalaska, and a native of Sweden. CAPT. P. S. DAVIDSON; was born in Lawrence Co., Ohio, in 1827, and, at the age of 25, entered the steamboat business, first on the Ohio River, where he remained four years, and then on the Mississippi, where he continued bis business until 1862, when he came to La Crosse and settled. He at once came prominently before the public as an enterprising, go-ahead steamboat man, and has main tained his position at the head of the business ever since, and is at present President of the St. Louis & St. Paul Passenger and Freight Line, a company which was organized in the spring of 1881. Mr. David son is also the owner of two saw-mills in the Fifth Ward with a combined capacity of 200,000 feet per day. He was married in 1861 in Lawrence Co., Ohio, to Miss Johnson, daughter of Judge Johnson, of that county. Has had eight children, of whom five are living, namely — William F., P. S., Arthur, Frank and Louis. A. H. DAVIS, senior member of Davis & Medary, was born in Canada, near the Vermont line, in 1826, being a Vermonter in all respects, save the accidental circumstance of being born outside the limits of the State, of which his parents were residents. At the age of 20, he emigrated to Galena, where he engaged in the confectionery business till 1866, when he came to La Crosse, and engaged in his present vocation. ISAAC DIMON, foreman car department C, M. & St. P. R. R., at North La Cros=d ; is a native of New Jersey, born in 1832 ; came to Wisconsin in 1855 ; was at Horicon, Milwaukee and several other places, and settled in La Crosse in August, 1859 ; has followed railroading ever since he came to Wiscon sin, and has been in his present position ever since he came to La Crosse. Has been Trustee of Village Board of North La Crosse. His first wife was Maria Gilmore, who died in 1870, leaving two children- Arthur J. and Charles, the latter died at the age of 2J years. His second wife was Miss Priscilla Atkin son, of La Crosse ; has one child by second marriage — John F. LEO DOERFLINGER, merchant and saloon-keeper, Fourth street, between Jay and King; was born in Baden, Germany, in 1826 ; his father, Joseph Doerflinger, came to America in 1848, and set tled on a farm in what is now the town of Shelby, La Crosse Co., Wis., his being the second farm settled in the county ; he died in 1860, at the age of 60. Leo came to America in 1855 ; lived on the farm with his father two years ; has resided in the city since 1857. He was married in La Crosse, in 1857, to Mary 750 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Magdalena Bundru, also a native of Baden, and has three children — William, Mary Lucy and Mary Mag- dalena. William D. was born and brought up in La Crosse; has been clerking since 1872, first for Rau & Klein, and afterward for John C. Smith, and is also in company with his father in the store on Fourth street. FRANK DOERRE, hardware merchant ; is a native of Bohemia, Austria, born in 1836 ; came to America in 1855, landing in New York ; he went to Canada where he resided one year, and came to Wisconsin in 1856 ; he lived two months in Madison ; then went to Sauk City and worked six months, and came to La Crosse in August, 1856 ; he remained in La Crosse till October, 1859 ; then went South and worked in Memphis, Tenn., Jackson, Miss., and New Orleans, La. In 1862, he enlisted in New Or leans in the 14th Me. V. I., Co. H, and served nearly a year under Gen. Butler, and was then discharged on account of sickness. After his discharge, he returned to La Crosse and has resided here ever since July 6, 1864 ; he went into the hardware business at No. 54 Pearl street, and carried on business in the same building till 1878, when be removed to his present location, Pearl street, where he has a general stock of hardware, stoves and tinware. JOHN C. DONAGHOE, hotel and saloon keeper, is a native of County Tyrone, Ireland ; born in 1832 ; came to America in 1849, arriving in La Fayette Co., Wis., in July of that year. The following spring he removed to Galena, 111., and remained there till July, 1861, when he came to La Crosse. Has been in his present business since 1863. LESIUEL DRAKE, contractor and builder, has been in his present business in La Crosse since May, 1857, and a resident of the city since May, 1856. He was born in 1829, in Essex, England, Parish of Great Pullingbury ; son of James Drake, who was born and died in the same parish. When 13 years old, young Drake went to London, where he resided till he was 20, then came to America in April, 1849; lived one year in Appleton, Wis., then went to Ohio and lived five years in Cleveland, then one year in Chicago, and came from there to La Crosse in spring of 1856. He learned the carpenter's trade in Appleton and Cleveland. His first wife was Emily Drake, of Essex, Eng., who died in 1865, leaving four children, Isabella, William, George and Lemuel. His second wife was Ketura Viner, also a native of England, by whom he has six children, Eliza, Louisa, Lettie, Henry, Fannie and Katie. DAVID DRUSOIOND, dealer in diamonds, watches, clocks and jewelry, No. 35 Main street, has been in business for himself, in present location, since September, 1877. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, Sept. 25, 1849; son of D. D. Drummond, who came to America in 1853, settled in Clayton Co., Iowa, and now lives in Dubuque. David Drummond learned bis trade in McGregor, Iowa, working with R. Hubbard three and a half years, and six months with French & Richmond of same place. Came to La Crosse, Jan. 13, 1873, and has worked at the business since. Was married Feb. 3, 1873, in McGregor, to Miss Julia, daughter of John Shadbolt, now of Georgetown, Colo. Has two chil dren, Prentice and Harry. WILLIASI DUNCAN, policeman, has been on the police force in North La Crosse since the spring of 1876. He is a native of Canada, born at Kingsley Falls, Province of Quebec, in 1847 ; son of John and Margaret (Strutch) Duncan, natives of Scotland. Came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1867, and has resided in La Crosse since that time. He was engaged in lumbering, as foreman for L. R. Stafford, for several years, and afterward for Hogan & Chamberlain. He was married in 1872, in La Crosse, to Eliza A., daughter of Thomas Elliott, and has two children, Edna and Mabel. JOHN EDWARDS, house and sign painter, was born in Suffolk, Eng., in June, 1829. When 5 years old, his parents emigrated to America, and settled in Canada West. His father's name was Israel Edwards. John left home when 10 years of age and went to Rochester, N. Y., where he learned his trade of William H. Green, serving four years. He went from Rochester to Lockport, N. Y., where he remained three years, then three years at Niagara Falls. Came to La Crosse in April, 1855, and went soon after to Winona, Minn., and lived there and in Hastings, Minn., till the spring of 1857, then returned to La Crosse. In the spring of 1858, he went to Texas, but only stayed a few weeks. In the fall of 1876, he went to California and was gone two years, then returned to La Crosse. He has four children — John, William, Ida and Medora. He was married in La Crosse, in 1859, to Miss Maria Bradfield, a native of Ohio. GEORGE EDWARDS, lumberman, was born Dec. 1, 1818, at Windsor, Broome Co.,N. Y. Lived there three years, when his parents removed to Chenango Co., N. Y., he being numbered with their household valuables. Here be remained until he was 18 years of age, when he started for the West, stopping on the Lodi Plains, near Ann Arbor, Mich., where he worked for a short time on a farm. In the fall of that year, he traveled on foot all the way from Detroit, Mich., to East Troy, Wis., where he worked on a farm for Augustus Smith, at $12 per month. In 1839, he made a purchase of a farm of LA CROSSE. 751 200 acres, by borrowing money. He then worked out by the month, day or job, for two or three years, and finally succeeded in building himself a little shanty and purchasing a yoke of oxen, when he began the cultivation of his own land. In the spring, he was taken sick with inflammatory rheumatism, all alone in his shanty, but was soon discovered and sent to East Troy, where bis brother resided. He was sick all summer with the rheumatism, and in the fall had a severe siege of the bilious fever which came nearly proving fatal. His parents came from New York and took care of him. While sick, he sold his farm for $1,000. After again gaining his health he opened a grocery store in the town of East Troy, and while in this returned to his native home in New York, and married Electa S. Edwards. He then carried on the grocery business until his health again failed him, when he sold out his stock of groceries, and with his wife and one child went to Texas, where he remained through a winter, and in the spring returned to East Troy. In 1853, he came overland, with his brother, to La Crosse Co., and purchased 320 acres of land, near West Salem. He returned to East Troy in the fall, remaining there through the winter and in 1854, again came to La Crosse, purchased two city lots of C. K. Lord, where he now lives on Sixth street, together with property on Front street, which he purchased from F. M. Rublee, and in the spring of 1855, moved his wife and family to La Crosse, and during that year formed a partnership with B. P. Hart in the hardware business. In March, 1859, their store and stock of goods were entirely consumed by fire. Subsequently he entered the hardware business alone, following it for three years, and was afterward in the same business with Sylvester & Shepherd, and then with Chris F. Scharpf, and finally sold and went into the lumber and wheat business with James Vincent, remaining with him about six years, and has since been in the logging and lumber business, and is the owner of a considerable amount of pine JOHN SI. EGAN, Superintendent of the Southwest Division of the C, M. & St. P. R. R. ; has been in his present position since June, 1876. He is a native of Springfield, Mass. ; his father, M. Egan, removed to Amboy, 111., in 1855, with his family, and still resides there. He was there in 1852, engaged in the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad, and has been connected with that road ever since. Mr. Egan was connected with the Illinois Central Road from 1864 to 1871, and from that time, till 1876, was in St. Louis connected with the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern road. LOUIS EGGERS, saloon-keeper, corner Third and Pearl streets, was born in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1853; son of Henry Eggers, who died in Milwaukee in 1863. Louis came to La Crosse in the spring of 1871, and has been in business for himself since 1879. His wife, to whom he was married in La Crosse in 1873, was Pauline Meyer, and they have two children — Amelia and Melvin. CHARLES W. EHSIAN, saloon-keeper on South Third street, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1854. His father, August Ehman, was a locksmith, and came from Silesia, Prussia, to the United States in 1844 ; lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, till 1859 ; then in Detroit, Mich., till 1865, and since that has resided in La Crosse. Charles W. was educated in Detroit, and came to La Crosse with his parents ; was engaged in clerking till summer of 1879, and since that has been in his present business. Nov. 20, 1879, he married Annie L. Smith, of La Crosse, and has one child — Louisa. JOSEPHUS E3IERY, proprietor of livery stable ; was born at Corrinna, Maine, July 29, 1834. He left here when a boy of 10 or 11 years of age, going to Tedbury, Mass., remaining there about a year, and then going to Lowell, Mass. In February, 1852, he removed to Geneseo, Henry Co., 111., and was there engaged about six months in opening a farm, when he removed to La Crosse, where he went to work logging on Black River for his uncle, S. F. Weston. In the fall of 1854, he returned to Lowell, remaining there until 1860, when he again came to Wisconsin, and logged for his uncle on Eau Claire River; remained there until 1862, when he opened a livery stable in Geneseo, 111., conducting this until 1868, when he sold out and went to Baraboo, Wis., where he ran two stage lines, one from Baraboo to Portage, and the other from Baraboo to Kilbourn. In 1 869, he was engaged in selling lumber on the Mississippi River, soon afterward starting a lumber-yard at Fountain, Minn. He removed to La Crosse, Feb. 19, 1873, and purchased a livery stable, which he has since conducted. ENERSON & OLSON, saloon-keepers on Third street; have been in business in present location since March 13, 1880. Henry Enerson was born in Norway in 1843 ; son of Ener Hendrick- son, who died in Norway; came to America in 1867 ; was in Indiana a few months, and has resided in La Crosse since. He kept hotel on corner of Third and Jay streets from 1873 to 1875 ; then went into the Nora House, corner King and Third, till July, 1879, and has since been in the saloon business. His partner, Christ Olson, was born in Norway in 1844, son of Ole Hansen; came to America in 1870, lived in Clark Co., Wis., three years, then went to California and engaged in lumbering there till 1878, when he returned to Wisconsin and tended bar for his present partner till they went into business together ; both unmarried. 752 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: C. P. ERBST, proprietor of the " Peoples' Garden " and saloon, corner Fourth and Market streets; has been a resident of La Crosse since September, 1857. He was born in Schleswig, Holstein, in 1824; son of C. Peter Erbst; came to United States in 1850 ; settled in Moline, 111., and engaged in the mercantile trade, where he conducted his business successfully, till 1857, then lost all he had by fire, and came to La Crosse. He was engaged in merchandising in La Crosse for a few years, then went into his present business after farming about four years in the town of Washington. He was three and a half years in active service in the Prussian army before coming to America, and served under Gen. Franz Sigel in 1848. He was married in his native country to Miss Martha Busch, and has had twelve chil dren, only three of whom are now living — Sophia, Louisa and George. HENRY ERICKSON, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes on Main street, between Fifth and Sixth; has been in business in La Crosse since 1875. He was born in Kuamiken Sohn, Ert- mark Sokin, Dais Lan, Sweden, in 1840 ; son of Erick Olson ; learned his trade in Norway, and came to the United States in 1869, and has since resided in La Crosse. He was married in 1871, to Hilda Anderson, a native of Sweden ; has no children. P. O. EVENSEN, proprietor of the Central Hotel, corner Third and Vine streets; is a native of Norway ; born in the city of Christiana in 1842 ; son of Even Jargensen (Siggerude) ; came to America in 1879, arriving in New York City on the 2d day of August. He came to Minnesota, and lived in Red Wing two months ; then went on a large farm in Jackson Co. as a cook, till December, 1880, when he came to La Crosse. He was married, in Norway, in 1872, to Eliza, daughter of Neils Knudsen, and has two children — Annie and Mary. JOHN B. FAIRBANKS, M. D., is a native of Springfield, Vt. ; born April 29, 1847; son of Roswell and Brittainnia (Burnham) Fairbanks, who came to Wisconsin in 1849 ; lived four years at Oasis, Waushara Co., and then settled in Easton, Adams Co. The Doctor was educated at the State University at Madison, and studied medicine with Bowen & Sugman, of that city. He graduated in 1878, from the Homoeopathic Medical College of St. Louis, and also in the same year from the Missouri School of Mid wifery and Diseases of Women and Children ; practiced a short time in Juneau Co., Wis., coming from there to La Crosse. He was married at Linden, Juneau Co., Wis., in September, 1876, to Miss Olive A. Armstrong. ALBERT FEHLBERG, cabinet-maker; was born in Prussia in 1830; son of Ludwig Fehlberg ; learned his trade in Germany, and came to America in 1854. He lived five years in Canada; then came to Buffalo, N. Y., and came from there to La Crosse in June, 1860. He was married, in 1861, to Matilda Winkler; has seven children — -Herman, Matilda, Bertha, Paulina, Ida, David and Annie. Mr. Fehlberg has been in the hotel business for several years in La Crosse, having kept the Union House seven years, and the Central Ho1 el two years. He still owns the Central Hotel, on the corner of Third and Vine streets, but has it rented. W. R. FINCH, editor and publisher of the La Crosse Republican and Leader ; was born in Walworth Co., Wis., Dec. 14, 1847 ; was educated in part in Columbia Co., and entered the office of the Portage Register, upon the completion of his academic course. In June, 1875, he became identified with the journal the affairs of which he at present directs, rising from a nominal position by the sheer force of industry and worth. ANDREW F JELSTAD, of the firm of Dresen & Fjelstad, merchants of North La Crosse ; was born in Norway in 1846; son of Jens Anderson Fjelstad; came to the United States in 1869 ; lived one year in Iowa, one year in Lanesboro, Minn., and since that in La Crosse. He clerked for different parties till Sept. 4, 1880, when the present partnership was formed. He was married, in 1862. in Nor way, to Karen Augusta, daughter of Congressman Lars Blilie, of Norway, and has seven children, as fol lows : Jens, Nettie, Laura, Lars, Augusta, Alletta and Charlotte. He was seven years in the cavalry service in Norway under Oscar II and Charles XV. FRE D FLICK, painter, corner of Seventh and La Crosse streets ; has been a resident of La Crosse since 1868. He was born in Switzerland in 1842; son of Charles Flick. Learned his trade in Switzerland ; commenced when 16, and served three years ; came to the iTnited States in October, 1866, and lived in Menomonee, Dunn Co., Wis. ; worked for Knapp, Stout & Co., and came from there to La Crosse in 1868. Was married, in October, 1868, in La Crosse, to Mrs. Mary Michel ; has no children. JOHN FOX, saloon-keeper, formerly contractor and builder; was born in Bavaria, in 1828 ; came to America in the spring of 1853 ; learned the mason's trade in La Crosse, and followed the business of contractor and builder up to 1876, since which time he has been in his present business. Among the buildings he put up in La Crosse are Gund's Brewery, City Engine House, Heasley's Block, Scharf & Ring's Block, Funk's Foundry, Heillman's Malt House, Michel's Brewery and Rau's Block. He learned LA CROSSE. 753 the blacksmith's trade in Germany, and worked at it till he came to America. He is Secretary of the Wisconsin Odd Fellows Insurance Co. Has been Supervisor two years ; Alderman three terms, and Coroner and Constable one year each. W. D. FOX, landlord of the Cameron House ; is a native of New York, having been born near Honeoye Lake, Ontario Co., N. Y., Dec. 6, 1824. When 20 years of age, having completed his education, which was obtained in the common schools of his native place, Mr. Fox removed to Wooster, Wayne Co., Ohio, where he resided two years, engaged in milling. He then removed to Watertown, Wis., and was similarly occupied until 1848, when he became a citizen and miller of Kingston, Green Lake Co., remain ing here until the spring of 1858, when he went to Portage, and assumed charge of the Veeder House at that place. In February, 1 860, he controlled the Railroad Hotel of the same city, which was burned in 1863, and, during the winter of 1865-66, was also identified with the management of the Union Depot Restaurant of Milwaukee. He remained there three years, at the expiration of which period he resumed his residence in Portage. In March, 1880, he came to La Crosse to take charge of the Cameron House, and has since been a resident of the Gateway City. Mr. Fox was married, in December, 1856, to Miss Alvina Smith, and has one daughter. JOHN FRANCKLE, grocer; is a native of Italy; born in 1813, in Venice; son of John Franckle, who came to America in 1830. He was a sailor, and was engaged in that business and steam- boating till the spring of 1857, making his home in St. Louis, Mo., up to that time. Since that he has been in the grocery business in La Crosse, and has never had a partner, having been in that business without change the longest of any man in the city. He was married, in St. Louis, to Miss Eliza Hopkins, a native of Germany, and has two children ; George is living in Madison, Wis., and his daughter, Eliza beth, is the wife of J. Stirneman, of La Crosse. HENRY FRANKSEN, book-keeper for C. & J. Michel ; has been in his present situation since March, 1880. He was born in Oldenburg, Germany, in 1847; son of P. B. Franksen ; was educat ed in his native city, and came to the United States in June, 1871. He lived in Oshkosh, Wis., six months, Milwaukee one year, and came to La Crosse in 1874. He was married in 1877, to Amelia Emrich, of LaCrosse; she was a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, and daughter of Jacob Emrich, who came to the United States in 1870, and died here in 1878 ; his father, P. B. Franksen, died in Germany, in 1873 ; Mr. Franksen was four years in the Prussian Army, and held the office of Sergeant during the Franco- Prussian war. Has only one child — Henry. AUGUST FRANZ, saloon and restaurant keeper; was born ir. Prussia in 1840. He lost his father in childhood, and when 13 years of age, his mother started for America, with her family of seven children; she, with one son and one daughter, died on the passage, and August, with three brothers and one sister, made their way to Wisconsin, and settled at Black River Falls. In April, 1861, he enlisted in Co. K, 5th W. V. I., and went out as a private, and was in the service till June, 1865 ; he was wounded five times during his term of service, four times at Cold Harbor and once at Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865, by a ball passing through his body, striking his right breast and coming out near the spine ; he received a captain's commission, "dated April 2, 1865, for gallantry displayed at the charge on the works at Peters burg, Va., and at the battle of Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865, he being the first man to plant our colorson the rebel works ; when mustered out he belonged to Co. A, that company having been consolidated with Co. K and one or two others. Since the war, he has been running as pilot on the Mississippi River in summer, and spending his winters in the South, till the last three years, has been in his present business. A. A. FREEMAN, of the firm of A. A. Freeman & Co., proprietors of the flouring-mill, cor ner Front and Mt. Vernon streets ; is u, resident of the city of New York, and a member of the commission firm of Charles Haight & Co.; he also owns a flouring mill at River Falls, Wis., and spends a part of his time in the West. E ZEIDLER, the other member of the firm, has been a resident of L aCrosse since 1876, and a member of this firm since September, 1878. He is a native of Bremen, Germany, and came to the United States in 1867. He. rasided in New York City till he came to La Crosse, except one year in Minneapolis, Minn. . . T , LEONARD FREY butcher; was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1835. His lather, Jacob Frey, came to the United States in 1853, and located in Indianapolis, Ind. where he remained till Sep tember, 1856; then came to Wisconsin, and resided in La Crosse till his death, March 16, 1880. Leonard Frey left Indianapolis in 1855; lived one year in Chicago, and about a year in Madison, Wis., coming to La Crosse in the fall of 1857. He has been in his present business since March 1863 _ He was married in 1857, in Madison, Wis., to Catharine Haahe, of that city, and has had one child, which died in 186b, 3 months old. 754 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: REV. J. B. FRICH, Pastor of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of LaCrosse ; was born in Norway in 1835, the son of Rev. G. Frich, who died in the old country in 1863. Mr. Frich graduated from the University of Christiana in 1861, and was ordained to the ministry in 1862; the same year he accepted a call from the church of which he is now Pastor, and arrived in La Crosse on the 16th of July. He resided in the town of Onalaska till 1872, having charge of twelve congregations in La Crosse, Trem pealeau and Jackson Counties. He has resided in La Crosse since 1872, and is now President of the East ern District of the Norwegian Lutheran Synod, which includes all the States east of the Mississippi River, with 220 congregations. He was married in Norway, in 1862, to Caroline Nelson; his four children — Gerhard, Carl, Johannes and Lilla. CHARLES FRIEDERICH, dealer in groceries, provisions, liquor, etc., corner Eighth and Hood streets ; was born in Nassau, Germany, in 1806 ; son of Jacob Friederich, a teacher. He came to the United States in 1836, and lived in New York City till 1846: then came to Wisconsin and settled in Hustisford, Dodge Co., where he resided till 1864. and came from there to La Crosse. He is a cabinet maker by trade, and has worked at that and carpenter work since coming to La Crosse, till he went into his present business, in February, 1880, in company with his son-in-law, Vincent Mairich. His wife, to whom he was married in Germany, died in 1876; he has four children — Louis, living in St. Louis, Mo.; George, on a farm near Chippewa Falls, Wis.; Caroline, now the wife of Vincent Mairich, his partner; and Louisa, now Mrs. August Strobel, of La Crosse. JOHN J. FRUIT, attorney and counselor at law, and a member of the law firm of Fruit & Brindley; is a native of Grant Co., Wis.; was born in 1849. He is a graduate of the State Normal School at Platteville, Wis.; came to La Crosse, in August, 1871, and taught as Principal of one of the pub lic schools of this city for five years. He read law as opportunity afforded during the time be was teach ing, and in 1876, resigned his position as Principal of the Third Ward School, and began the study of law in the office of James I. Lyndes; in 1877, he graduated from the Law Department of the State University, and commenced the practice of law in July, 1877, at La Crosse. He was of the firm of Fruit & Pfund for about six months, and then continued alone till June 1, 1880, when he and Mr. Brindley formed a co-partnership. He was City Superintendent of the Public Schools of La Crosse during the year 1880, devoting only a portion of his time to this work. SI. FUNK was born in Germany in 1831. At the age of 21 years he emigrated to America; and in 1865 he came to La Crosse, where he established the La Crosse Steam Boiler Works. (See sketch of works under head of " Manufacturers.") JOSEPH GALE, carpenter and millwright, is a native of St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., born in May, 1836; son of Joseph Gale, Sr. ; came West in 1858 and settled in Dubuque, Iowa. He enlisted in 1862, in the 31st Wis. V. I., Company D, and was in the service three years, and Sergeant of his company the last two years of the time. They were in the 20th Army Corps till the battle of Atlanta, and were then transferred to the 14th Army Corps, and went with Sherman to the sea. He has resided in La Crosse most of the time since he left the army. He was married in 1862, in Prairie du Chien, Wis., to Mary Schoenberger, who was a native of Hesse, Germany, and came to the United States with her parents in 1856. In addition to his other business, he is keeping a restaurant and confectionery store, corner of North Third and St. Andrew streets. WILLIAM GALVIN, Assistant Division Freight Agent on the Southern Minnesota Division of the C, M. & St. P. R. R. at La Crosse, is a native of Galena, III., bora in 1847, son of D. Galvin, of that place. He was in the employ of the Southern Minnesota R. R. Co. from 1870 up to the time that road came into the possession of the C, M. & St. P. Co., and was Passenger and Freight Agent at La Crosse since 1876. He was in La Crosse in the employ of the C, M. & St. P. Co. about one and a half years previous to engaging with the S. M. Co. C. F. GARNER, foreman of the lumber-yard of P. S. Davidson, at North La Crosse ; has been in tho employ of Mr. Davidson since March, 1866, and in his present position since the spring of 1876. He was born in Perry Co., 111., in 1830, son of Charles Garner, a native of Virginia; came to Wisconsin in 1848, and lived in La Fayette County till the fall of 1851. He first came to La Crosse in April, 1851, but returned to La Fayette County and came here again the following October. He carried on a butcher-shop for a short time, and the following winter commenced logging. In 1854, he went on a farm in Houston Co., Minn., where he was married, the same year, to Harriet Looney. His oldest son, Walter H., was born there, June 17, 1855, and was the first white child born in that county. He returned to La Crosse in 1867, and has resided there since. Mrs. Garner died Nov. 12, 1879, leaving four children — Walter H., James M., Thomas M. and Minnie A. Mr. Garner is at present one of the Aldermen from the Fifth Ward. LA CROSSE. 755 W. H. GASPARD, dealer in and manufacturer of boots and shoes, No. 3 North Third street, was born in Waukesha, Wis., June 8, 1846. His father, John Gaspard, was one of the first settlers in Wisconsin. He was born in 1810, near Metz, in France, and came to America when about 25 years of age. He went into the furniture business in Waukesha, Jan. 1, 1841, and continued it till Jan. 1, 1881. W. H. Gaspard went to Chicago when about 16 years old, and clerked for H. J. and W. H. Wetherell a few months; then enlisted in the 134th 111. V. I., Company D, and was in the service about nine months. After he left the army, he was book-keeper for E. G L. Faxon & Co., of Chicago, one year. When 20 years of age, he returned to Waukesha and worked with his father till he was 21. He was married, Jan. 16, 1867, in Philadelphia, to Miss Lillie C. Eldridge, of that city. He went into partner ship with his father till 1869 ; then was in business one year in Manitowoc ; sold out in June, 1870, and traveled for seven years, most of the time dealing in musical instruments. His health failing, he gave up business for about a year. In March, 1879, he commenced clerking in the boot and shoe store of W. T. Summerfield, and the following August went into business for himself and continues it up to the present time. E. S. GATES, cooper, has been a resident of La Crosse since 1876. He was born in Chautau qua Co., N. Y., 1853, son of C. L. Gates, who died in New York in 1856. Mr. Gates went to Clinton, Iowa, where he learned his trade and remained three years; then traveled till 1876, when he settled in La Crosse. He was married in 1878, to Miss Maggie Walker, daughter of Peter Walker, who came to La Crosse in 1859, and was in a grocery store. They have one child — George. STEPHAN GAUTERT, manufacturer and dealer in furniture and carpets, has been a resi dent of La Crosse since June, 1858, and has been in his present business since the fall of 1863. The first ten years in partnership with R. Schwartz (firm of Gautert & Schwartz), he has since been alone. He was born at Baden, Germany, in 1833; came to the United States in 1854; lived in Buffalo, N. Y., till he came to La Crosse. He is now President of the Catholic Life Insurance Society of La Crosse Diocese. He married Miss Sophia Wagner, of La Crosse, in 1861 ; has six children — Mary T., Louisa M., Henry S., Sophia R., Mary Josephine and John George. JOHN GAUTSCH, proprietor of the Main Street Meat Market, has been in business in La Crosse since the fall of 1870, and in his present location since 1875. He was born in Germany, near Hamburg, in 1844; came to America when 16 years old and located in La Crosse. He enlisted there in 1862, in the 14th Wis. V. I., Company D, as a private, and was appointed Corporal Dec. 1, 1864, in which position he served till the close of the war (nearly three years). He was married in 1868, to Annie Dwarchuk, and has one child — Eddie ; has lost two girls — Lillie and Nellie. M. W. GEAR, farmer, residence North La Crosse, is a native of Somerset, Eng., born in 1843. His father, Jonathan Gear, came to the United States in 1844, settled in Waukesha Co., Wis., and died there in 1847. Mr. Gear came to La Crosse County with his mother in 1856 ; lived in Bangor five years ; then followed farming till 1874, when he came to the city. He was married in 1865, at Sparta, Monroe Co., Wis., to Lorilla Richardson. Her father, Freeman Richardson, was a native of New York ; came to Wisconsin in 1850, and died Feb. 13, 1868, 65 years old. Her mother, who was a native of Franklin Co., Mass., is still living in La Crosse, at the age of 73. Mr. and Mrs. Gear have three children — Elsie E., Ella M. and Edna L. Mr. Gear is now one of the Justices of the Fifth Ward. JOHN GEBHARDT, engineer at the La Crosse Elevator of the C, M. & St. P. R. R. Co., was born in Germany, in 1847. His father, Frank Gebhardt, emigrated to America in 1848; settled in Watertown, Wis., and resided there till his death, in 1877. Mr. Gebhardt has been railroading and in the employment of the C, M. & St. P. R. R. Co. since 1867, and been running; an engine since 1871. He was married in 1873, at Watertown, Wis., to Julia, daughter of Christian Hubbe, of that place, and has four children — John, Etta, Bertha and Ernest. ABNER GILE, of the firms of Gile & Goodland, pork-packers, and Gile & Holway, lumber men, was born in Gainesville, Wyoming Co., N. Y., Jan. 30, 1820. He remained here until October, 1843, farming during the latter part of this time, when he removed to Waukegan, Lake Co., 111., where he operated a saw-mill, built piers and docks in the lake, and purchased land, cultivating it until 1850, when he went to California, returning in 1851, and again cultivating his land, until the fall of 1854, when he disposed of it, and, in November, removed to La Crosse and engaged in logging on Black River, for C. C. Washburn, and subsequently for himself, and has logged it up to the present time. He owned an in terest in the La Crosse Lumber Company's Mill, but disposed of it to C. C. Washburn. RAYSIOND GINZKEY, cigar-maker, was born in Bohemia, Austria, in 1845; came to America in 1859 ; lived in St. Louis. Mo., one year, and came to La Crosse in 1860; has carried on the manufacture of cigars since 1872. He was married, in 1869, to Amelia Metz, daughter of Frank Metz, 756 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: one of the early settlers of La Crosse. He has three children — Edwin, Emma and Richard. His father, Franz Ginzkey came to La Crosse in 1868, and there died in 1872. REV. PAUL GEYER, Pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, La Crosse, was born Jan. 25, 1848, in Bavaria, Germany; here he was educated, and ordained to the Priesthood in July 11, 1872. In October of the same year, he came to America, and located at Sauk City, Wis., where he remained a year and a half. He was then sent to Fountain City, Buffalo Co., where he built a priest's house and schoolhouse. In 1875, he was sent to Eau Claire, to organize a German congregation, and remained six teen months. This congregation, though but 5 years old, is one of the most flourishing in the diocese. Being a young man full of life and energy, lie worked too hard, unstrung his nerves, and was obliged to retire from active labor. The following six months were spent at the Bishop's house, in La Crosse. Hav ing partially recovered, he returned to Sauk City, and remained eighteen months ; was afterward Pastor of St. Mary's, Monroe Co., and St. Joseph's Church, thirteen miles from La Crosse. July 1, 1880, he took charge of St. Joseph's Church, La Crosse, where he has since officiated, with the exception of a short period spent in the South for his health. WILLIASI GOBEL, of the firm of Hoff & Gobel, contractors and builders ; was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1831. His father, Jeremiah Gobel, was a native of Ohio, and his mother, whose maiden name was Hannah Moore, was born on a farm where the city of Cincinnati now stands. Mr. Gobel learned the carpenter's trade of his father ; came to La Crosse in 1857, and has resided here since, except three years in Cincinnati — -from 1858 to 1862 — settling up his father's estate. He was married in Cincinnati, in 1854, to Miss Mary Harrison, and has two children living — Mary and Elizabeth; lost one son, Jeremiah, who died in 1865, aged 6 years. Mr. Goble has worked at the carpenter's trade ever since he came to La Crosse, and has been contracting since 1873. The present partnership was formed in January, 1877. H. GODDARD, lumberman, has been a resident of La Crosse since August, 1857. He was born in Worcester Co., Mass., in 1836 ; came from there to Wisconsin in 1857. He has been engaged in logging since 1866. In 1874-75, he built his saw-mill, which he continues to operate. He has but one child, Myrtie ; lost one, Jessie Harlow, died in infancy in 1879. Mrs. Goddard, whose maiden name was Margette Harlow, was a native of Vermont. WILLIASI GOHRES, dealer in wines, liquors, cigars, tobacco, flour and feed, No. 99 and 101 North Third street; has been in his present business since 1874, except the flour and feed, which he added in 1878. He has resided in North La Crosse since April, 1857, and followed house-building and millwright work till he commenced merchandising in 1874. He was born in Germany, on the River Rhine, in 1837 ; came to America in 1850, with his father, Gebhard Gohres, who settled in Watertown, Wis., and died there in the summer of 1873. Mr. Gohres was married in June, 1863, to Anna Strat- man, of La Crosse, and has eight children — Annie, Willie, Freddie, Mary, Henry, Jacob and Joseph (twins) and Agnes. Mr. Gohres was Village Trustee one term before North La Crosse became a part of the city. JOSEPH S. GOODLAND, of the firm of Gile & Goodland; was born at Taunton, En gland, Nov. 20, 1853. Here he attended school, and also learned the trade of a butcher ; emigrated to America in July, 1853, and located at Milwaukee, Wis., where he worked for Layton & Plankington until the fall of 1866, when he removed to La Crosse and entered into partnership in pork-packing with John Langdon, on Second street, the firm name becoming Langdon & Goodland. In 1872, they associ ated with themselves Abner Gile, under the firm name of Gile, Goodland & Co., and moved their place of business to Third street. In 1878, Mr. Langdon withdrew, and Mr. Goodland has conducted the business with Mr. Gile since, the -firm being Gile & Goodland. ALEXANDER GORDON, the senior member of the firm of Gordon & Manville, whole sale liquors, is a Scotchman, and was born in London in 1815. For a period of fifteen years — from 1832 to 1857 — he was in the drug business in Aberdeen, Scotland, when he emigrated to America; came to La Crosse in the spring of 1858, going into the grocery business. In the fall he joined a Mr. Morse in open ing up a liquor business, which has grown from a beginning of $10,000 to $100,000 a year. W. GR ASIS & BROS., dealers in groceries, crockery, flour and feed ; have been in business since Sept. 10, 1875, corner Third and Division streets. The three brothers — Wenzel, John and August — comprise the firm, and were all born in Tetschen, Germany ; sons of August Grams, who came to America in 1857, with his family, and settled in the town of Greenfield, La Crosse Co., where he died in 1865, leaving five children — the three already mentioned and Annie, now Mrs. M. Funk, of La Crosse, and another son, Frank. After his death the family removed to Vernon Co., Wis., and from there to La Crosse in August, 1875. The oldest brother, Wenzel, carries on the store, and the other three are em ployed in the boiler-shop of their brother-in-law, M. Funk. Missing Page Missing Page in LA CROSSE. 759 FREDERICK GUENTHER, machinist; has been in La Crosse since May, 1864. He was in business for himself from 1871 to 1876, and since that in the employ of John James He was born in Weimar, Germany, in 1837 ; son of Johan Christof Guenther; learned his trade in the old country, and came to the United States in 1864. He was married in La Crosse February, 1869, to Teo- balt Phnn and has six children— Freddie, Ida, Katie, Lillie, Emma, and an infant not named. M. GUENIHER, caterer, confectioner and fruit-dealer, No. 71 Main street; was born ii Saxony, Germany, in 1846 ; came to America in 1863, and has since that time been a resident of La Crosse; has been in his present business since the fall of 1876, and was in the grocery business two years previous to that He was married in La Crosse in 1873, to Miss Mary Weix, and has three children- Bruno, if loin and Thekla. C. E. GUGGENBUEHL, baker, Main street, between Fourth and Fifth streets ¦ has been a resident of La Crosse since 1856. He was born in Switzerland in 1839 ; learned his trade in the old country, and came to America in 1856, with his parents. His father, Henry Guggenbuehl, was a baker and resided in La Crosse until his death, in 1860. Mr. Guggenbuehl was married in 1862, to Catharine Reichert, and has six children— Emma, Henrietta, Louisa, Elizabeth, Henry and Edward. JOHN GUND, of the John Gund Brewing Company, has been a resident of La Crosse since August, 1854. He was born in Baden, Germany, in 1830. His father, George M. Gund, came to the United States with his family in 1848, and settled in Freeport, 111. He died of cholera, July 29, 1850, and his wife died with the same disease three days after. Mr. Gund worked two years in Dubuque, Iowa,' then went to Galena, 111., and rented a brewery, which he managed till 1864, and then came to La Crosse! He first built a small brewery on corner of Front and Division streets, and resided on the same lot till 1873. _ In 1858, he, in company with G. Heilman, built the City Brewery, and continued in partnership with him till the fall of 1872, then sold out his interest to Mr. Heilman, and commenced the erection of the Empire Brewery, which he still owns. The John Gund Brewing Company was organized May 1, 1880, and consists of John Gund, and his two sons, George and Henry. Mr. Gund has five children- Louisa, now Mrs. Charles Michel, of La Crosse ; Emma, now Mrs. William Luening, of Milwaukee ; George ; Henry, and John, Jr. Mrs. Gund died May 18, 1880, at the age of 49 years and 6 months. J. A. HARRINGTON, proprietor of the Harrington House, in North La Crosse, is a native of Syracuse, N. Y., born in 1835 ; son of B. S. Harrington, who still lives in Onondaga Co., N. Y., eight miles from the city of Syracuse. Mr. Harrington came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1854, resided in Portage City till the fall of 1858, then came to La Crosse Co., and was engaged in hotel and dry goods business till 1861. In September of that year he enlisted in the regimental band of the 10th W. V. I., and was mustered out of service the next April. He then went to Baraboo, Sauk Co., Wis., and was engaged in the mercantile business till 1868, and from that time till 1870, was on the road, selling goods. He then spent two years in California, returning to Bangor, Wis., and came from there to La Crosse in February, 1877, where he has since been in the hotel business ; was Town Clerk in Bangor two years. He was married, in Columbus Co., Wis., in the fall of 1855, to Miss Charlotte J. Wells, a native of Oxford, Chenango Co., N. Y. Has three children — Lina, Alice and Frankie. S. T. HARRISON, painter, has resided in La Crosse since May, 1857. He was born in Cin cinnati, Ohio, 1844. His father, William Harrison, came to La Crosse, with his family, where he has since resided. Mr. Harrison enlisted at Cincinnati, in the U. S. Volunteer Navy, and was in service thirteen months on the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers, in the gun-boat Victory, No. 33, of the Upper Ohio River Fleet, under Com. Fitch. After he left the army he clerked in a jewelry store at Cincinnati a few months, and has since followed painting in La Crosse. He was married to Miss Mary (daughter of Daniel Malbon, a lumberman, who came to La Crosse in 1856, and died in 1865), of La Crosse, Sept. 10, 1867. They have three children— Hattie, Bertie and Jimmy. DANIEL B. HARRISON, paper dealer and paper-hanger, has resided in La Crosse since May, 1857. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1842. His father, William Harrison, came to La Crosse in 1857, with his family, and is still living in the city, at the age of 73. Mr. Harrison enlisted in April, 1864, in the 40th, W. V. I., Co. G, and was in the service five months. He had four brothers in the army, William L., Samuel A., James H. and S. T. Harrison. He was married in 1867, to Miss Flora King, daughter of Charles King, of Tomah, Wis.; has four children — Charles, Freddie, Bennie and Gertie; lost one son, Arthur, who died when 13 months old. J. E. HARKNESS, millwright, was bora June 24, 1842, in Cheshire Co., N. H ; son of Elisha and Ann (Burgess) Harkness. He enlisted, July 21, 1861, in the 3d N. H. V. I., Co. I, and re- enlisted in January, 1864, in same regiment and company, and served till July 25, 1865. He was wounded June 13, 1863, at Morris Island, S. C, in the right leg, by the explosion of a shell. May 13, 760 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 1864, at Drury's Bluff, Va., he received a gun-shot wound in his right thigh, which disabled him for active duty, and the balance of his term was spent in doing hospital duty, except the last three months, during which time he acted as Company Clerk. In the fall of 1865, he went to Iowa, and lived in Jones County till December, 1869, then came to La Crosse, and has been here since. He was married, March 22, 1864, in New Hampshire, to Miss Jane Howe of his native comity, while home on a furlough. Has no children. W. S. HANSCOM, dealer in boots and shoes, Healy's Block, Main street ; has been a resi dent of La Crosse since February, 1856, and in business since the May following. He is a native of Kennebec Co., Me., born in 1830, he came from there to La Crosse. He was married in Maine in 1855, to Miss Mary E., daughter of Freeman Shaw; has four children — Willard 0., Edward S., Jerome H. and Grace. J. G. HAGSI ANN, head engineer at the Victor Mill of William Listman ; is a native of Wurtemberg, Germany ; born in 1847 ; son of Michael Hagmann ; learned his trade in the old country, and came to the United States in 1867. He worked in Reading, Penn., one and a half years, then came to Wisconsin and was one year at Sparta, then went to Black River Falls, and came from there to La Crosse in 1873. His first wife was Mary Luffelman, who died in 1873, leaving no children. He was married again, the same year, to Mary Kleinheinz, of Putnam Co., Ohio, and has three children — Johanna, Addie and Josephine. JACOB II AHN, dealer in groceries and provisions, in Stone Block, North Third street, has been in business in North La Crosse since 1873, and a resident of the place since April 12, 1 857. He was born in Prussia in 1850. His father, John Hahn, came to the United States with his family in the spring of 1857 ; settled in North La Crosse and resided there till his death, Nov. 17, 1877, at the age of 62. His mother, whose maiden name was Anna Sophia Coppellen, is still living, at the age of 66. Mr. Hahn was married in October, 1876, to Theresa Schafermeyer, of La Crosse County. Has two children — Mary and Henry ; lost one, Anna, who died in infancy. O. C. HALS, druggist ; was born in 1849, in Norway, about twenty miles from Christiania ; son of Dr. Frederick E. Hals. He was educated at the University of Christiania, graduating in 1872; came to America in 1873, and has been in La Crosse ever since, except fifteen months in Albert Lea, Minn. He is now located on Pearl street, where he started business for himself, in January, 1881. PETER HANSON, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes in North La Crosse, was born in Norway in 1833 ; son of Hans Peterson (Skanhood). He learned his trade in Norway, and came to the United States in 1866. He worked in Vernon Co., Wis., till the summer of 1872, then came to La Crosse, and has been in business for himself since the spring of 1873. His First wife, Martha Johnson, died in Norway, leaving two children — Hannah (since deceased), and John, who is still living. His second wife, to whom he was married in La Crosse, was Mary, daughter of John Hoff (now of Dakota), by whom he has no children. She was the widow of Ole Evanson, by whom she had two children — Emma and Tilla. H. C. HEATH, photographer, is a native of New York City; born May 31, 1831. When about 8 years of age, his parents removed to Plattsburg, N. Y., and both died there. In April, 1855, he came to Wisconsin, from Randolph, Vt., where he had been living a couple of years, and has been a res ident of La Crosse since that time. He first went into business with his brother, W. F. Heath, as con tractors and builders, and at the end of three years, added carriage-making to their other business, and about six months after, took R. C. Tift as a partner. Soon after, H. C. Heath and Tift bought out the interest of W. F. Heath, and carried on carriage-making exclusively, under the firm name of Heath & Tift. Two years after, Mr. Heath sold out to his partner, and purchased the daguerrean rooms of J. S. Patten, and has been in that business ever since, except five years, from the fall of 1868 till the fall of 1873, in the grocery business. Mr. Heath, in company with his brother, built the first steam shingle-mill in the city of La Crosse, for C. L. Coleman, and, while in the daguerrean business, drew the plans and specifications, and superintended the building of Mr. Coleman's second mill, which was afterward burned. He is now Grand Recorder of the Ancient Order of United Workmen for the State of Wisconsin, and has held that office ever since the order was established in the State. G. HEILESIANN, deceased, was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany ; came to America in 1853, and resided in Milwaukee, Wis., till 1857; then came to La Crosse, and worked a few months in Michel's Brewery. He was married in June, 1858, in Milwaukee, to Miss Johanne Bandle, also a native of Wurtemberg, Germany. Immediately after marriage, he came back to La Crosse, and went into part nership with John Gund, in the brewing business (having learned the trade in Germany). They continued together in business till 1872 ; then dissolved partnership, and Mr. Heilemann continued business alone LA CROSSE. 761 in the old place, till his death, Feb. 19, 1878. He left a wife and eight children, seven daughters and one son. The property was left, by will, to Mrs. Heilemann, and she continues the business in her own name. JOHN H FILLER, cooper and stockholder in the La Crosse Co-Operative Barrel Manufactur ing Company, was bora in Clayton Co., Iowa, in 1851, son of William Eeiller, who died in 1869. Mr. Heiller learned his trade in his native place ; came to La Crosse in April, 1880, and purchased (stock in the present company the following fall. He was married in 1874, in Clayton, Iowa, to Miss Matilda Friend, and has two children — Fannie Sophia and Lottie Anna. F. R. HICKISCH, dealer in groceries, southwest corner of Ninth and Vine streets, was born in German Bohemia, in 1847 ; came to America in July, 1868, settled in La Crosse, and worked at the tailor's trade till the spring of 1880, since which he has been in his present business. He has been leader of the Germania Band since the spring of 1876. Was married in La Crosse, in 1869, to Theresa Pillat,. and has four children — Charles, Annie, Bertha and Willie. His father, Frank Hickisch. came to America in November, 1868, and lived in La Crosse till his death, in December, 1878, at the age of 57. WILLIASI W. HINKLEY ; born in Rutland Co., Vt., November, 1834. He came to , La Crosse in February, 1863. Married Mary J. Fowler, who died in 1871. Mr. Hinkley has one child. — Isabel. NICHOLAS HINTZEN, proprietor of the La Crosse vegetable and fruit garden, was born January 17, 1826, at Strassum, Luxemburg, Germany. He went to France in 1845, where he worked in a flouring-mill, and emigrated to America in 1849, and located in Pennsylvania, about twenty miles from Philadelphia, in March of that year, where he worked on a farm. He removed to Kenosha, Wis., in 1850, where he also worked on a farm. During that same year, he located in Prairie du Chien, where he peddled fanning-mills. August 5, 1851, he removed to La Crosse, and started a store, which he conducted up to 1863, when he kept a hotel until 1878, when he went into the gardening business. He now owns, a garden of 22J acres on Twelfth street, and supplies the city with vegetables and fruit. SI. HIRSHHEISIER, proprietor of the La Crosse Foundry, on Third street, came to La Crosse with his parents in 1855, and has resided here ever since. His father, Louis Hirschheimer, came* from Germany to the United States in 1850, on a sailing vessel ; started May 7, and arrived in New York City on the 4th of July following. He lived in Indiana Co., Penn., previous to coming to La Crosse. Mr. H has been engaged in the foundry business since April 1, 1865. He was married, Oct. 15, 1876, to Miss Bertha, daughter of Henry Abraham, of Milwaukee, and has two children — Hattie and Louis. A. HIRSHHEISIER, proprietor La Crosse plow works, Third street ; was born near Hulbron. Wurtemberg, Aug. 14, 1840 ; came to America at the age of 10, in 1850. He lived for six years in Blairs- ville, Indiana Co., Penn. ; moved to La Crosse April 17, 1856, where he was engaged in his father's store during the summers of 1856 and 1857. He next was employed in the mill built by his father, being the second saw and grist mill erected in La Crosse. This was burned in the spring of 1860, after which he engaged in steamboating, and built and run a small steamer called the Eclipse, on Root River, until 1863, when he began to work at his present business, as narrated above. He was married, June 27, 1869, to Miss Dora Fox, and has a family of four children. Mr. H. is still in the prime of life, and to all appear ances good for a score of years of active, valuable business life. J. J. HIRSHHEISIER, law and collection agent ; was born in January, 1839, in the village of Lehun Steinsfeld, Kingdom of Mullemberg, Germany. After having taken a course in the academy at Wemsberg, he emigrated with his father, Louis Hirshheimer, to the United States, locating at Blairsville, Indiana Co., Penn.; in the fall of 1856, came West with his father and located at La Crosse, where he engaged with his father in the mercantile business and afterward in the lumber trade. In October, 1859, he was married to Amelia Camile Kenworthy, at St. Louis, Mo.; after the burning of his father's saw-mill in March, 1860, he ran a small saw-mill in Brownsville, Minn., in the fall of 1860, left for St. Louis, Mo., but finding no opening there, removed to Napoleon, Ark., where he remained until the State' seceded ; finding his position as a Northern man untenable in that section of the country, he decided to go to the Pacific Coast; arriving in New Orleans, La., in the spring of 1861, he re mained there awaiting for a vessel to go to Panama, but finding the blockade of the United States Government too strict to allow vessels to depart for the Gulf, and the Mississippi River having been closed by the Federal Government, was obliged to remain in the city of New Orleans. During his forced residence there, he was an eye-witness of many of the thrilling events of the war in that sec tion of the South ; after the capture of the city by the United States forces under Commodore Farragut and Gen. Butler, in April, 1862, he received employment under Butler's military administration in September, 1862, entering the service of the United States Government, and was soon promoted to Quartermaster in the 92d U. S. C. I.; served in that capacity until January, 1866, and was mustered out of the 762 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: United States service at New Orleans. Continued to reside in the latter place until August, 1868 ; during that time, he was engaged in the grocery trade, but, owing to the bitter feeling then prevailing in the South against Northern men, found the undertaking unprofitable. Was present and participated in the convention called by Gov. Wells, which ended in bloody riot ; was in the Mechanics' Institute when the convention was assailed by the mob, escaping death only at the instance of a personal friend in the ranks of the rioters. Came to La Crosse in September, 1868 ; in October of the same year, located in Winona, Minn., and engaged in the dry goods business ; resided in Winona until June, 1878; then removed to La Crosse. J. D. HISCOX, proprietor of the North La Crosse Livery Stable, and also of the confectionery store on the corner of North Third and St. Andrew's streets ; has been a resident of La Crosse since No vember, 1854; he was born July 9, 1832, in Westerly, R. I., son of Joseph Hiscox, who is still living at Westerly, 82 years old; he was engaged in merchandising, and J. D. was brought up to the same business, and has followed it ever since, coming to Wisconsin in 1854. He was married in Norwich, Conn, (while living in Rhode Island), to Mary D., daughter of Lyman Back, of Windham, Conn.; he was on the South Side three years, and since that has resided in North La Crosse. Was Town Treasurer three years in suc cession, and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors two years. Has two children — George E., married and firing on the C, M. & St. P. R. R.; Charles Irving (single), clerking at the Round House in North La Crosse. JOHN HOFF, of the firm of Hoff & Goble, contractors and builders ; was bora in 1838 in Sandre Fron, Gudbransdalen, Norway; son of Tver Hoff, a carpenter; learned his trade of his father, and came to America in 1858 ; he settled in La Crosse and has been in the business here ever since, except two years, 1864 and 1865, when he was in Government employ in Tennessee and Alabama. He was married in 1867, to Agnet Brown, of La Crosse. JACOB HOHL, plasterer, residence No. 67 Fifth street ; has been a resident of La Crosse since June 2, 1866 ; he was bora in Baden, Germany, in 1834, son of Christian Hohl, who died in Baden in 1853. Mr. Hohl came to the United States in 1866, and settled in La Crosse ; his first wife died on the ocean on the way to America, and he was the second time married in August, 1874, to Miss Tina Winsky, of La Crosse ; be has three children — George, Annie and Mary ; the oldest by the first wife. He learned wagon-making and cigar-making in Germany, and since coming to the United States, learned plastering, barbering and gunsmithing. F. A. HOLBROOK, book-keeper in the mill of William Listman ; has been in his present position since October, 1879 ; he was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1854, son of Dwight Holbrook. He was educated in his native place ; lived in Chicago from 1870 to 1879, and came from there to La Crosse. He was married in October, 1879, in La Crosse, to Miss Abbie A. Shepard, daughter of Alfred Shepard, one of the early settlers of this city ; has one child — Carrie Cole Holbrook. JOHN SI. HOLLEY, of the firm of Holley & Borreson, bankers, is a native of New York, coming to Wisconsin in 1866, and has been engaged in the business of banking during all his residence in the State. He served as teller of the First National Bank of La Crosse for three years, and for the nine years preceding the present partnership, occupied the same responsible position in the Batavian Bank. WILLIASI S. HOLSIES, clerk in the boat store of P. S. Davidson ; was born in Holmes Co., Ohio, in 1842 ; son of William Holmes, who died in Galena, 111., in 1862. William S., enlisted in July, 1862, in the 96th I. V. I., Co. A, and was in the service till the close of the war, the last two years as Sergeant of his company. He participated in the battles of Nashville, Atlanta, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and several others ; was with Sherman in his famous " march to the sea," and was never in the hospital and never absent from his regiment during his term of service. After the war, he went to steamboating for P. S. Davidson, and has been in his employ up to the present time. He was married in 1867 to Frances H. Graham, of Galena, 111., and has two children — Mabel and Sadie. LAFAYETTE HOLSIES, agent for the Keokuk Northern Line Packet Company, and cashier for P. S. Davidson; has been a resident of La Crosse since 1867. He is a native of Jefferson Co., Ohio, bora in 1834. His father, William Holmes, went from Ohio to Pittsburgh, Penn., in 1843, and removed from there to Galena, 111., in 1846, where he resided till his death in 1862, in the 53d year of his age. Lafayette Holmes lived in Galena, 111., from 1846 to 1860 ; from that time till he came to La Crosse in 1867, he lived most of the time in St. Paul, Minn.; has been connected with the steamboat interests ever since the organization of the old " Minnesota Packet Co." in 1853 ; has been in his present position since he came to La Crosse ; has three children — William M., Jessie L. and Walter. He was married in Galena, 111., in 1860, to Sarah J. Lee. CHARLES HOLMGREN, proprietor of the Pearl Street House, was born in Sweden in 1847, son of Andrew Holmgren ; came to America in 1864 ; lived in Illinois till 1866, and since that has LA CROSSE. 763 resided in La Crosse and been engaged in saloon-keeping most of the time. He was married in La Crosse in 1871 to Mary Thompson, and has five children — Alfred, Charles Otto, Willie, Milburn E. and Knudt. Has hotel accommodations for fifty guests. N._ B. HOLWAY, manufacturer of and dealer in lumber, lath and shingles, has been a resident of the city of La Crosse since April, 1854, and has been in the lumber business during the whole time. He is a native of Somerset Co., Me., born in 1824, son of Zacheus and Azuba (Jones) Holway. He re sided in his native State till the spring of 1851 ; then went to California via the Panama route and returned to Maine in the fall of 1853. He came from there to La Crosse the spring following. His first wife was Sarah Jane Blackwell, of Maine. She died June 4, 1871, leaving four children— Orlando, Lilla, Eugene and Fred. His second wife was Miss Jessie M. Hogan, of La Crosse. He has three children by the second marriage — Harry, Charles and Bernard. MATHEUS HOSLY, proprietor of the European Billiard Hall, is a native of Glarus, Switzer land, bora July 7, 1833 ; came to America in 1852 and lived in Highland, 111., four months, Galena, 111., four years, and Dunleith, 111., one year, coming to La Crosse in the summer of 1858. He has been in his present business ever since he came to La Crosse, and all of the time in this city, except one year (1861) in St. Louis and Hannibal, Mo., and about five months he spent in Europe in 1864. He is one of the present Aldermen of the Second Ward of La Crosse. GEORGE HOWARD, druggist; was bora at Sheepscom, Gloucester, Eng., April 29, 1832, receiving there an education at the common schools, and also served a' druggist's apprenticeship of five years. He emigrated from England March 28, 1850, for Racine, Wis., where he arrived June 1. On his arrival at Racine, he commenced peddling, not finding an opening for a drug store. He soon dis covered, however, that he was not well adapted for this kind of business, and becoming somewhat discour aged, resolved to return to England, and, consequently, packed his goods for that purpose. On passing by a carpenter-shop he stepped in, and finding they were minus their requisite number of hands, hired out to them for 50 cents a day, and worked at this business from June until September, 1850, when he went to Walworth Co. and took charge of the drug store of C. N. McKee at Delavan, receiving as a compensa tion |8 per month. He left Delevan for Geneva Lake in 1851, where he remained until 1852. He then formed a partnership with Samuel D. Hastings, and moved to La Crosse, arriving here April 27, and opened what he believes to be the first drug store between Dubuque and St. Paul. He soon found the drug business alone did not pay very well, so he added a stock of dry goods, groceries, hardware and fur niture, and opened a broker's office. He dissolved partnership with Mr. Hastings in 1855, and formed another with R. H. Elliott, remaining with him until 1858, when Mr. Elliott disposed of his interest to C. K. Lord, and Mr. Lord, in 1860, sold his interest to C. K. Martindale. Mr. Martindale died in 1870, since which time Mr. Howard has conducted the business alone. WILLIASI E. HOWE, attorney and counselor at law, was born in Clayton Co., Iowa, Jan. 17, 1851 ; son of H. E. Howe of Wendell, Mass. In 1869, he came to Wisconsin, and entered the State University at Madison, his parents removing to that place in 1870. He was a member of the grad uating class of 1873, graduated with first honors of the class, and was also a graduate of the law depart ment class of 1874. He was with J. H. Carpenter, of Madison, from June, 1873, till the spring of 1874, then went to St. Louis, Mo., where he practiced till August, 1876, when he came to La Crosse, where he has since practiced his profession. FRED HOWLY, saloon-keeper, was born in Luxemburg, Germany, in 1851 ; son of Charles Howley, came to America in 1868, and lived in Dubuque, Iowa, two years, and came to La Crosse in 1872. He has been in his present business since 1878. Has two children, Fritz and Charlie. He was married in Vernon Co., Wis., in 1878, to Miss Lizzie Mehr. F. A. HUSHER, editor and proprietor of the Faedrelandet og Emigranten, was bora in Denmark in 1825, but received his education at the University in Norway. Mr. Husher came to the United States in 1869, and arrived in La Crosse in November the same year. He was assistant editor on the Faedrelandet og Emigranten till December, 1873, when he went to Minneapolis and edited the Bud- stikken, a Norwegian paper, for two years, when he returned to La Crosse and took the position of editor- in-chief on the paper, which he subsequently purchased in 1879, and still owns. He was appointed Reg ister in the United States Land Office at La Crosse in 1879, which position he now holds. HERRS1ANN HUSING, dealer in agricultural implements, has been a resident of La Crosse since July, 1868. He kept a saloon one year, then kept a millinery store till 1876. Has been in his present business since 1875. He was born in Prussia in 1841, son of William Husing, who died in Ger many, 1862. Herrman left Germany in July, 1866, went to England, and from there to Brazil, where he remained two months, then returned to England and came to the United States in 1867, arriving in 764 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: New York City on the 28th day of May. He first went on a farm, near the city, three months, to learn to speak English, then went to Syracuse and from there to La Crosse in July, 1868. He was married in La Crosse, in 1869, to Mrs. Annie Grinzner, daughter of Anton Hohlfeld, and widow of Wenzel Grinzner, by whom she had two children, Ernest and Bertha. Has three children by the second marriage — Oscar, Herrmann and Irnia. JOHN JASIES, proprietor of the Pioneer Foundry, was bora at Shrewsbury, England. Hera he attended the schools until 16 years of age, when he went to Liverpool and worked for George HeDry Lockdale & Co., West India merchants, working for this firm seventeen years. In 1871, he emigrated to America and located at La Crosse, entering into partnership with Frederic Thornely in the foundry busi ness. In 1878, he purchased the interest of Mr. Thornely, and has since conducted the business alone. VALENTINE JACOBUS, blacksmith and wagon-maker, shop on Third street, between State and Vine, was born in Washington Co., Wis., in 1851. His father, Adam Jacobus, came to La Crosse, in 1853, and has resided here ever since, and has held several official positions during that time. He was Marshal two years, Sheriff of the county two years, and is the present Street Commissioner of the city. V. Jacobus learned his trade in La Crosse, and was married there in July, 1876, to Christina Jacobson, and has two children — Peter, William and Lillie Catharine. DOMINIC JEHLEN, proprieter of the city meat market, No. 41 Third street, was born in Strasbourg, Frauce, in 1825, came to America in 1849, was six months in New Orleans, La., six months in Cincinnati, Ohio, then lived in Waukegan, 111., till 1852, since which time he has resided in La Crosse. He was married in Waukegan, 111., in 1852, to Anna Faas and has eight children, as follows: Charles, Louis, Mary, Emma, Josephine, Dominic, Lenhardt and Patti. BERNT JOHNSON, painter, of the firm of Marsh & Johnson, was born in Norway in 1856, son of John Hyelle, who came to America in 1875, and now lives in Vernon Co., Wis. Bernt Johnson learned his trade in Norway, came to Wisconsin with his parents, and has been painting in the city of La Crosse since 1876, except three months in Chicago. The present partnership was formed July 23, 1880. He was married Dec. 15, 1879, in La Crosse, to Laura, daughter of Ole Evenson. She was born in Norway and came to America in the fall of 1876. Have one child, John, born in October, 1880. E. JOHNSON, proprietor of the Norwegian Bakery, on Third street, between Pearl and Jay, was bora in Norway in 1843 ; son of G. Johnson; came to America in 1866, arriving in New York City on the 12th of October ; was about a year in Michigan, and came to La Crosse in December, 1867. He followed the business of confectioner and baker seven years in Norway, and has followed it most of the time since he came to La Crosse. April 1, 1871, he was married to Martha Andersou, and has four children — Josephine Mary, Adolph S., Olgar and Emma. Mr. Johnson owns his place of business. GEORGE J. JOHNSON, Yard Master of the C, M. & St. P. R. R. Co., at La"Crosse, has been in his present position since April 1, 1880. He was born on Staten Island, N. Y., Sept. 14, 1837. His father, Jacob Johnson, came West with his family in 1838, and settled in Kane Co., 111., on a farm of 500 acres, where he resided till his death, Dec. 16, 1877, aged 72 years 4 months and 9 days. Mrs. Johnson, whose maiden name was Jane Westbrook, a native of New York City, is still living on the farm, at the age of 69. Mr. Johnson was Commissary Sergeant of 3d Battalion 8th 111. V. C, Gen. John F. Farns- worth commanding; enlisted in September, 1861, and was discharged at the end of one year's service for disability on account of rheumatism. He had been railroading one year before he entered the army, and has been in the same business ever since he was discharged. His first wife was Amanda Rapalee, of Milo, Yates Co., N. Y. She died Aug. 2, 1862, leaving one child — -Miles R. His second wife, with whom he is now living, was Jennie, daughter of Ira Snover, of St. Paul, Minn., formerly of New York. JERRY JOHNSON, engineer, running a switch engine on C, M. & St. P. R. R., at La Crosse, is a native of Columbia Co., Penn.; born in October, 1840, at Esther Furnace, four miles south of Catawissa Village. His father, William M. Johnson, was also a native of the same county, came from there to Wisconsin in March, 1856, and settled on a farm in Dodge Co., near Beaver Dam, where he resided till the spring of 1878 ; then came to La Crosse, where he still is living. Jerry Johnson came to La Crosse in 1866, and commenced firing on the C, M. & St. P. R. R. ; has been in the employ of that company ever since, and has been running an engine since 1870. He was married, in Sparta, Wis., in 1875, to Miss Clara, daughter of Rev. E. Yocum, of the M. E. Church. She died May 22, 1878, leaving two children — Willie Ray and Clarence. The youngest one, Clarence, died soon after the mother, when only two months old. E. W. JOHNSON, millwright; was born in Norway in 1 840 ; learned bis trade in Norway, and came to the United States in the summer of 1864, since which time he has resided in La Crosse. He is in the employ of Polleys Bros., and runs their mill when it is in operation ; is unmarried, and resides LA CROSSE. 765 in North La Crosse. His father, Jens Halverson (Ronne) came to the United States in 1870, and now resides in North La Crosse. He has two sons and two daughters living in La Crosse — E. W. Johnson (the subject of the present sketch), Ole Johnson, Sena Johnson and Betsy, now the wife of John Hill, of La Crosse. CHARLES S. JOHNSON, proprietor of the "Morning-Call" Saloon; is a native of Montreal, Canada; born in 1846. His father, James Johnson, a native of County Antrim, Ireland, was a wholesale dry goods merchant of Montreal, and his mother was Margaret Friel, a native of Philadelphia, of Irish parentage. He was partly brought up in Ottawa City, Canada, to which place his parents removed from Montreal. He left Ottawa City Sept 14, 1866, and has been in La Crosse since that time. He worked on the river eleven years, and has been in his present business since 1872. He was married, Nov. 20, 1870, to Mary Ann McMann, of La Crescent, Minn. Her father, John Lawrence McMann, died at Ft. Snelling, Minn., in Government service, Feb. 12, 1865, aged 35 years; had been in the mil itary service about two and a half years at the time of his death. LOUIS JOHNSON, saloon-keeper; was born in Norway in 1844; son of Jans Anderson (Guldskjaggernd) ; came to the United States in the spring of 1867 ; lived in West Salem, La Crosse Co., about three years (except the summer of 1868, which he spent in Illinois), and has resided in the city since 1870. He was married, in 1873, to Mary B. Larson, daughter of Lars Borreson, of Salem, La Crosse Co. ; has two children — Laura Louisa and Albert ; and has lost three children — Jean, Clara and Sena. JOHN B. JUNGEN, wholesale liquor dealer, No. 43 Pearl street ; was bora in Luxemburg, Germany, in 1831. Came to America in the spring of 1853, and lived in Illinois one year; came to Wisconsin in 1854, and commenced life in La Crosse as a clerk in a grocery and liquor store, which he continued up to the fall of 1 857, then went into business for himself in the same line, on Pearl street, and the next spring bought out a store on Front street. In 1859, he built a store on Main street, corner of Second, where he carried on business nine years ; he was then three years in Kundleson's block, on Sec ond street. In 1870, he erected a three-story brick building, with stone front, on Front street, which he occupied till 1874, then rented his store, and took an interest in the liquor trade of Charles B. Solberg, which he conducted from 1876 till 1879, then went into business for himself in his present location, where he has remained since that time. He held the office of County Treasurer from Jan. 1, 1864, till January, 1866. His oldest son, Charles W., entered the U. S. Naval School at Annapolis, in 1874, and is now a midshipman in the U. S. Navy. JACOB K AS SI ANN, proprietor of the Canada House, Second street, opposite depot; has resided in La Crosse since December 4, 1858; was railroading most of the time; worked five years for the C, M. & St. P. R. R. Co., and thirteen years for the S. M. R. R. Co.; has been in the hotel since May 15, 1880. He was born in Bohemia, Austria, in 1843; son of Mattheus Kasmann, who came to America with his family in the fall of 1858, settled in Monroe Co., Wis., where he still lives. Jacob was married in December, 1865, to Caroline Pagel, and has five children— Annie, Mary, Therese, Joseph and John. He enlisted in February, 1865, in Co. A, 51st W. V. I., and was in the service till the close of the war. HERBERT E. KEELER, of the manufacturing firm of Norton & Keeler, successors of Hart, Norton & Co., is a native of JanesviUe, Onondaga Co., N. Y., born in 1845. His father, Elijah Keeler, removed to Connecticut in 1854. Mr. K. enlisted there in 1863, in the 27th Conn. V. I., Co. D ; was in the service nine months, and then discharged on account of sickness. He came to Chicago in 1865, and engaged in the mercantile business till the spring of 1871. He was then Assistant Superin tendent of the Pullman Palace Car Co., in Chicago five years, and left that position to come to La Crosse. Henry L. Norton, the senior member of the firm, is a resident of Chicago. He came to La Crosse m 1861, and started the present business and went to Chicago in 1865. WILLIASI LUSH KENNETT, M. D., S. P., R. S., 32°, office and residence No. 90 south side of State street, between Seventh and Eighth streets; was born at Newport, Campbell Co., Ky., Dec 19 1827 His paternal grandparents belong to the old Maryland stock. His maternal grandparents belong to the old Virginia stock of Daniels and Mayfields of North Carolina. His grandfather Kennett, was a fur trader with the Indians, of what was then known as the Northwestern Territory, or that por tion of it now known as the State of Ohio. His father, Dr. Press Grave Kennett was a native of Chilli- cothe, Ohio. His mother, Mary M. Daniels, was a native of Eatonton, N. C. She removed with her parents to what was then known as Campbell Co., Ky., now known as Boone Go Ky. Dr. P. far. Ken nett removed with his parents to Falmouth, Ky., and was a clerk in his father s dry goods and general supplies store, where he formed the acquaintance of Mary M. Daniels, to whom he was married at Fal- 766 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: mouth, Ky., 1819. William L., the subject of this sketch, was the third child in a family of eight chil dren, and the third son. He removed, during the first year of his life, with his parents to Portsmouth, Ohio, and thence to Louisville, Ky. His first remembrance of time, place or scenes, was here ; he remembers carrying a newspaper published by his father, but does not remember the name of the paper ; he also remembers to have witnessed the commencement of the Louisville Canal, around the falls of the Ohio River at Louisville. Here it was he was taught to read, but does not know who his teacher was. Here his father lost all of his property, twenty-seven houses and lots and his printing office, by signing papers for a friend in the mercantile business. His father studied medicine at the Transylvania Univer sity of Lexington, Ky., and after losing his property, attempted to remove with his family to St. Louis, Mo., on the steamer, Lake Superior. We mention the boat because of her peculiarity of build. She had three propelling wheels, one on either side and one at her stern. She was not destined to reach her destination that season. The river became so full of ice, that she laid up at the mouth of the Tennessee River, at the then thriving village of Paducah, Ky. Being unable to proceed further, his father deter mined to commence practice here. He formed a co-partnership with one Joseph Merrill, in the practice of medicine and the drug and dry goods and general assortment of goods. It was a part of their plan to fit out trading boats, in the spring, with what remained of the fall and winter stock, put them in charge of a clerk and start them on their way down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This was in the latter part of the summer or autumn of 1837. They failed to get any returns from one of their boats (they had started five). His father went in search of the boat, and while he was absent, his copartner, Merrill, sent his wife to her parents, loaded the entire stock of goods then on hand, on a large keel-boat, and started for New Orleans, then to Texas. As the telegraph was then unknown for the transmission of news, his mother had to wait the slow process of the mails, by the then slow steamers, to communicate to her husband the departure of Merrill, with another woman, not his wife, and the entire remaining stock of goods ; destination not certainly known, but supposed to be Texas, via. New Orleans. His father was on his return to Paducah, after having partially accomplished his object, when the news of Merrell's proced ure reached him ; he immediately started in pursuit of Merrill, by returning to New Orleans by steamer, expecting to head Merrill off there ; but Merrill took some other route, and after weary weeks of waiting, his father, being sick, started on his return home, a few days after notifying his wife of his intention ; but he was destined never to reach Paducah again, as he was taken sick on his return trip, and put ashore in an unconcious state at Helena, Ark. After two months had passed, his mother received intelligence of her husband's illness, and convalescence, and that he had news of Merrill in Texas, and would start on horseback, as soon as he was able to ride, in pursuit of Merrill. His mother, thinking she might possibly reach Helena before her husband started again in pursuit of his rascally co-partner, started on the first steamboat bound down the river with the family for Helena, where she and her family arrived, after two weeks had passed, to learn that her husband had started for Texas. She remained at Helena thirteen months, without receiving any direct news from her husband. William, the only boy at home (his two older brothers having been sent to Florence to school), went to learn the bakery business, and was at the wharf-boat with bread for the steamboat, when he discovered his father, who was then on his way to Paducah, not knowing that his family were then in Helena. His father left the boat, and was re-united to his family, at the hotel where thirteen months before he had left his trunks and effects to be shipped to Paducah. Having failed to secure any of his property from Merrill, who had disposed of it all on the route and in Texas, his father, with aid received from his elder brother at St. Louis, Mo., the Hon. Luther M. Kennett, decided to establish himself at Helena, Ark. He again started in the drug business and the practice of medicine. William was taken out of the bakery shop and placed under the care of a private tutor, under whose instruction he continued for fifteen months, when he was sent to a select school, where he remained until his father's death in 1840. The two older brothers were now called home. William, with his oldest brother, Peter David, purchased a farm and commenced raising cotton. Neither of them being familiar with farm work, depended on hired help, and such instructions and assistance as their neigh bor planters were willing to accord to them. William continued his studies at such moments as he could spare from the farm work. Being a sickly and feeble boy, farm work was uhsuited to him, and his mother decided to remove to Ohio with those left living of the family, three sisters having died at Helena before his father. His mother, the oldest and youngest brother, and the only living sister (next oldest brother deciding at the last moment to remain), removed to Hamilton Co., Ohio, and located on a farm, the prop erty of her brother-in-law, within the distance of eight miles of the city of Cincinnati. William worked on his uncle's farm during the summers of 1842-43, studying all of his leisure hours, and in winter attending a select school. He received for two years' farm work, from this uncle by marriage, one pair of boots and 50 cents in money, on the 4th of July, 1843. He now- determined to manage for himself. He LA CROSSE. 767 left his mother's home, before his 16th birthday, and was fortunate in securing a lucrative situation as a supercargo, to New Orleans, performing the service to the entire satisfaction of his employer. During this winter, he attended school at a private academy, at Florence, Boone Co., Ky., the following summer, going to Cincinnati and engaging with Hugh J. Brodie, a druggist, and continuing with him until the latter part of the summer of 1846, when he enlisted as a volunteer to fight the Mexicans (enlisted at Newtown, Hamilton Co., Ohio), and was elected Second Lieutenant of the company at Montgomery, Hamilton Co., and marched to Camp Washington. After drilling one month, at the earnest solicitation of Capt. Turpin, his mother and the Captain's mother, he resigned with his Captain, and returned to the drug store. Dur ing the autumn of this year, Brodie bought out a dispensing store and gave William full half interest to take charge and conduct the business. After six months' trial, he abandoned the store and commenced the study of medicine with Samuel Garwood Menzie, a former colleague and friend of his father's. To sustain himself, and acquire the necessary means to enable him to attend medical lectures, he taught school in Boone Co., Ky., and in Clermont Co., Ohio. He continued to teach and study until 1853, when he matriculated as a medical student in Miami Medical College, of Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended medical lectures in this college until the spring of 1855, and during this spring he formed a copartnership in the practice of medicine, with Dr. Elgin, at New Burlington, Clinton Co., Ohio. Becoming disatisfied with the practice in the country and village, he returned to Cincinnati in July of the same year. On his re turn, he received a proposition from his former preceptor, which he accepted and again entered Prof. Menzie's office, this time as an assistant. When not engaged in the practice of his profession, he attended lectures at the college and clinics at the hospitals, until June, 1856. Owing to the ill health of his wife, he left Cincinnati ; accompanied by her, he landed at La Crosse on the 26th of the same month, where he devoted the most of his time to his wife, hunting, fishing and seeing patients for other physicians, and prescribing occasionally for the sick, not under the care of any physician, all of which service was ren dered gratutiously. In the autumn of this year, to please his wife, he entered into a contract with Joshua Rogers, Clerk ; A. T. Clinton, Treasurer and Elijah Whitelsey, Director of the public schools in the city, as Superintendent of the Public Schools. The system of gradation into primary, intermediate and gram mar departments, was first introduced and adopted in the City Public Schools, under his superintendency. Having filled his contract with the School Board to their entire satisfaction, he resumed the active prac tice of his profession in the spring of 1857, in which he has continued up to the present time. In 1861, he was appointed Examining Surgeon with Drs. P. S. McArthur and Dugald D. Cameron, the latter as Surgeon in Chief. In the summer of 1864, he received from the Hon. James T. Lewis, Governor of Wisconsin, the appointment of Surgeon of the 25th W. V. I., with orders to report at once at Atlanta, Ga. This appointment found him prostrated, with an illness from which he did not recover for six weeks, in consequence of which, he, with many regrets, telegraphed the Governor of his inability to accept the appointment. His mother is still living, now near Newport, Ky.; she is in her 85th year, and in good health. He was married (within three blocks of the house in which he was born), at Newport, Ky., May 8, 1854, to Miss Martha Jane McKee. She was bora at Pleasant Ride, Hamilton Co., Ohio, Sept. 22, 1827 ; raised and educated in Cincinnati, Ohio, and at the time of her marriage was Principal of the Newport High School. They have been blessed with six children, four sons and two daughters. Only two children are living — William Warren and Albert McKee, who are attending college, in Cincinnati, Ohio. William Warren is also studying music at the Cincinnati College of Music. The Doctor is the oldest estab lished resident physician now practicing here, except P. S. McArthur, M. D., who came in April. Both came in the same year, 1856. Dr. Kennett has devoted himself assiduously to his profession, and is one of the most learned and skillful physicians in the State, and, but for his great modesty, would be widely known as one of the leading minds in his profession. He is a man of studious habits, of positive convic tion, and indomitable energy ; and, for what he believes to be right, will stand against the world. He, with Dr. McArthur, and Dr. Cameron, and other medical gentlemen, organized the La Crosse County Medical Society in 1859. He is also one of the original charter members of the La Crosse Medical College. JOHN KERN, blacksmith, on Fifth street, between Market and Winnebago, was born in Baden- Germany, in 1840, son of John Kern, Sr., who was also a blacksmith, and died in Baden in 1867. Mr. Kern learned his trade of his father ; came to the United States in 1865 and settled in La Crosse, where he has since resided. He was married in La Crosse in 1865, to Miss Koenigunda Groman, also a native of Baden. Mr. and Mrs. Kern have had two children, and both died in infancy. NICHOLAS KERPEN is a native of Prussia, and came to America in 1861. Sept. 21, 1861, he enlisted at Winona, Minn., in the first company of cavalry raised in that State, and acted as body-guard for Gen. Curtis for nearly a year. In 1862, they were assigned to the 5th Iowa V. I., and remained in 768 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: the service till the 16th day of May, 1866. He was taken prisoner at Fort Donelson in 1863, paroled on the battle-field, and exchanged about a month after. He came to La Crosse in 1873, and has been en gaged in buying wheat and keeping saloon since then. He was married in Bangor, La Crosse Co., Wis., in the fall of 1866, to Miss Louisa Walker, and has six children, as follows : Amelia, Adaline, Frank, Her man, Louis and Isabell. JAMES KEVIN, City Weighmaster, is a native of County Tipperary, Ireland, bora in 1823, son of James Kevin, who died in the old country. Mr. Kevin, Jr., came to America in 1851, lived in Milwaukee till 1858, and since then has resided in La Crosse. He was in the grocery and provision busi ness from tb.e time he came to La Crosse till he was appointed to his present position. He was Alderman of the Second Ward twelve years, and then resigned on removing from that ward. He was also County Coroner two years. He still owns two stores on the corner of Pearl and Third streets — one 20x40 and one 10x40 ; also, one store 20x24, on the rear of the same lot. HEINRICH KIENASS, florist, corner of Thirteenth and Division streets, has been a resi dent of La Crosse since 1866. He was born in Neustettin, Germany, in 1825; came to the United States in the spring of 1866, and settled in La Crosse. He was married in Germany to Frederika Ge- richow, and has five children — Mary, Theodore, Lina, Anna and Banno. Mr. Kienass followed garden ing in the old country, from his boyhood. He served three years, and paid $30 in addition to his services to learn the trade, following the business thirteen years in Stralitz and eight years in Berlin before coming to America. OTTO KIENE, pork-packer, was bora in Holstein, Germany, in 1834 ; came to America in 1862 ; lived in Minnesota one year, and came to La Crosse in 1863. In 1864, he bought his present location, 34 and 36 Pearl street, and engaged in butchering, which he continued till 1869. Then, in company with his brother, George Kiene, he built a packing-house near Gund's Brewery, at a cost of over $18,000, and continued business under the firm name of Kiene Brothers till 1877, when they dissolved partnership, and Otto Kiene returned to his old place on Pearl street, and continued business alone. When he bought his present place on Pearl street, there was only a small frame building, and in 1879 he put up a fire-proof brick building on the same lots, in the rear of the frame, 32x120, at a cost of about $4,000, and in 1880 purchased the house built by himself and brother near Gund's Brewery, and uses it for a slaughter-house. Packs about 4,000 hogs the present year, business amounting to upwards of $80,000, and employs eighteen to twenty men. GEORGE L. KINGSLEY^, Superintendent of the saw-mill of the La Crosse Lumber Co.; has been in his present position since February, 1873 ; he is a native of Northampton, Mass.; bom in 1829, son of Lyman and Caroline (Strong) Kingsley. Was married in Lebanon, N. Y., in 1853, to Elizabeth A. Jones, of Deerfield, Mass.; came West in 1844, was one year in Davenport, Iowa ; from there he went to Michigan and lived in Grand Rapids and Muskegon till he came to La Crosse in 1873 ; was in charge of some of the best mills in those places during his residence there ; was also in charge of a mill at Daven port. He has three children — Ida M., Wallace S. and George L., all at home. In 1862, he went into the United States Naval service on the Mississippi, under Commodore Porter, as Second Engineer, and was in the service nearly two years on the boat Chillicothe. C. F. KLEIN, merchant ; was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1844. In 1856, his parents emigrated to America and settled in Buffalo Co., Wis., where they still reside. Jan. 20, 1866, Mr. Klein engaged in general merchandising in Buffalo City, where he continued till September, 1869, when he came to La Crosse and went into partnership with Jacob Rau (now of Wykoff, Minn.), and carried on business under the firm name of Rau & Klein till May 20, 1878, since which time Mr. Klein has had no partner ; he is located on the corner of Third and Pearl streets, and carries a general assortment of dry goods, cloth ing, notions, etc. In the spring of 1879, he was elected Alderman of the Second Ward of La Crosse, which office he still holds. ADOLPH KNOTHE, molder at Smith & Merrill's foundry ; was bom in 1854 in Milwau kee ; his father, Frank Knothe, came to La Crosse in 1863, and died in 1871. Adolph was married in 1874, in St. Louis, Mo., to Miss Katie Behm. He has been working in his present place for the last four teen years ; has two children — Johanna and Willie ; his mother is still living in La Crosse. CHARLES KOENIG, Deputy Register of Deeds, Deputy Clerk of Court, and insurance agent ; was born in Prussia in 1830 ; came to America in 1852, and to La Crosse in 1855 ; he was employed as clerk in the United States Land Office in La Crosse from 1857 to 1860 ; was City Clerk from 1858 to 1861 ; Register of Deeds two years, 1862 and 1863; he then engaged in the real estate and insurance business, which he continued up to 1870, when he was elected Clerk of Court and held the office six years in suc cession, though a Democrat living in a Republican county ; since 1 876, has been employed as Deputy Register LA CROSSE. 769 and Deputy Clerk. Mrs. Koenig has a millinery store on Third street, where she has been doing business since 1876 ; they have six children— Joseph P., Charlotte (now Mrs. Frank Becker, of La Crosse), Jose phine, Phoebe, Ida and Charles Frederick. JACOB KOHLHAUS, of the firm of Segelke, Kohlhaus & Co.; was born in Saxe- Weimar, Germany, in 1829, son of John Kohlhaus, who died in the old country in 1868. Mr. K. came to America in 1853; worked two months in New Orleans, La., one year in Chicago, and has resided in La Crosse since September, 1855 ; has been in his present business since the fall of 1863. His first wife died in 1860, leaving one child, which died soon after ; he was married again in 1862, to Suline Gugenbuehl, a native of Switzerland, and a sister of his first wife ; has five children by second marriage— Bertha, Charlotte, Emma, Adolph and Suline. Mr. K. was Alderman of Third Ward of La Crosse one term. FRANK KREITZ, proprietor of the Bohemian dancing-hall and saloon on corner of Seventh and Tyler streets, is a native of Bohemia ; came to United States in 1867, and has lived in La Crosse ever ¦ since. He is a tailor by trade and has worked at that business most of the time since coming to La Crosse; he built the dancing-hall in the winter of 1881. Main building, 50x60, with dwelling adjoining 20x26. Has three children — Antony, Gregory and Mary. FRANK KREUTZ, tailor; was born in Bohemia in 1847 ; came to United States in 1867, and has lived in La Crosse since. He was married in 1873 to Paulina Zahrdnik, of La Crosse, also a native of Bohemia. Has four children— Mary, Rudolf, Joseph and Emanuel. His father, Joseph Kreutz, came to United States in 1868, and is now living in La Crosse. Mr. Kreutz owns an interest in the general store of F. Lopitz on Fifth street. FRED KRONER, hardware merchant; is a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, born in 1834; came to America in 1854, lived one year in Indiana and one year in JanesviUe, Wis., coming from there to La Crosse in 1856 ; has been in his present business since 186T. In that year he built a store on Pearl street and occupied it till 1875, when his business requiring more room, he built another store on Third street, No. 16, 23x100, three stories high, where he has since carried on his business and keeps a general stock of stoves, tinware, shelf-hardware, farming tools, etc. WALDEMAR KUEHN, butcher, Seventh street; was born in Prussia in 1856. He fol lowed butchering in Germany till 1873, then came to America and has since been a resident of La Crosse. He was married in spring of 1878 in La Crosse, to Miss Sophie Hermann, and has one child — Camilla. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. JOHN KUTZBORSKY, of the firm of " Segelke, Kohlhaus & Co.," and Superintendent of outside work; was bora in Prussia, April 23, 1826, son of Andrew Kutzborsky ; came to United States in 1853, lived in New Orleans, La., from Dec. 23, to March 15, 1854, then went to Chicago, and came from there to La Crosse in August, 1856. Has been a member of the present firm since 1869. He was married Oct. 1, 1860, to Wilhelmina Martin, in La Crosse, and has seven children — Bertha, Charles and Augusta (twins), Paulina, Willie, August and Clara. Have lost two, John died in his 16th year, Oct. 8, 1869, and Wilhelmina died the same year, 1J years old. LA BAR & JOHNSON, contractors and builders, Main street, between Sixth and Seventh. Have been in business together since April, 1879. H. W. La Bar is a native of Carbon Co., Penn., bora in 1836 ; came to Wisconsin in 1856 with his parents, who settled in Berlin, Green Lake Co. He learned the carpenter's trade in Berlin, and came from there to La Crosse in 1865, where he has worked at. the business since; he spent the summer of 1864 in Nashville, Tenn., in Government employ. His wife's maiden name was Rose Helmle, and he has one child — Anna May. His partner, Andrew Johnson, was bom in Norway in 1835, son of John Johnson. He learned the carpenter's and cabinet-makers' trade in Norway ; came to America in 1861, and has lived in La Crosse County ever since ; the first three years -on a farm in the town of Bangor, and since that in the city. He was married in Norway in 1861, to Gunner Andersdatter and has no children. His parents died in Norway before he came to America. H. B. LAFLIN, SI. D., is a native of Jamestown, Chautauqua. Co., N. Y.; born in 1834. His father, Eliakim Laflin, came West in 1844, and settled in Rock Island, 111., and from there to Houston Co., Minn., where he died in 1859 at the age of 59. Dr. Laflin first studied medicine in St. Louis, Mo., graduating from Pope's Medical College in 1861, and is also a graduate of Bennett's Medical College of Chicago. He commenced practice in Sterling, 111., but removed to Caledonia, Minn., in 1862, where he practiced till 1870, then returned to Illinois and practiced three years in Du Bois, coming from there to La Crosse in 1873, where he still remains. NIC LAHURE, dealer in groceries, provisions, flour, feed, etc., corner Ninth and Missis sippi streets; has been a resident of La Crosse since 1873, and in his present business since June 1, 4878. He was born in Luxemburg, Germany, in 1847 ; came to America in 1873 and came direct to La 770 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Crosse. He was married in 1877 to Miss Kate Klug, and has one child — Ida. His father, Philip Lahurer died in 1861 in Germany. WILLIASI M. LANG, foreman in the "Victor Mill," of William Listman ; has been in his present business since 1865, and in La Crosse since 1876. He was bora in Canada in 1851, learned his trade there, and came to Minneapolis, Minn., in 1871 ; he was there and in Red Wing, Minn., till he came to La Crosse in 1876. His father, John Lang, is living in La Crosse. JOHN LANGDON, pork-packer, Third street, between State and Vine, has been in business in La Crosse since 1866. The firm was first Langdon & Goodland, till 1872 ; then Langdon, Goodland & Co. till November, 1879. and since that has been doing business alone. Mr. Langdon was born in the city of Exeter, Devonshire, Eng., Jan. 8, 1830 ; son of John Langdon ; came to the United States in 1854, and was in the soap business in Milwaukee until 1866, when he came to La Crosse. Mr. Langdon* was married in 1850, at St. Mary Arches Church, Exeter, Eng., to Susan Sparks, who died March 5,. 1863. He was married again in Milwaukee to Ann Boyd, widow of Andrew Boyd and daughter of Frank Wills. She has three children by her first husband — Joseph, Andrew and Isabella ; has two by her second marriage — John Edwin and Maria Wills. Mr. Langdon has two children by his first wife — Florence Elizabeth and Amy Kate. ERNST LANGE, foreman and engineer in the factory of Segelke, Kohlhaus & Co., was born in Watertown, Wis., in 1850; son of A. W. Lange, who is still living in Watertown, at the age of 65. Mr. Lange came to La Crosse when 15 years of age, and has worked in the same factory ever since. He was married in October, 1873, to Louisa Guggenbuehl, a native of Switzerland ; has three children living — Louisa, Adolph and Bertha. One son, Ernst, died in infancy in 1878. O. LARSEN, of the firm of 0. Larsen & Co., contractors and builders and dealers in sash, doors, moldings, lumber, etc., No. 9 South Fourth street, was born in Norway in 1838 ; son of Lars Olesen.. He served five years at the joiner's trade in Norway, commencing when 15 years old, and followed the business in Norway till 1866 ; then came to America, and has been in business in La Crosse ever since. He was married in Norway in 1862, to Randine Andersen, and has seven children — Annie (or Ingeborg), Julia, Anthon, Louis, Clara, Emma and Tilla. His partner is Martin R. Hansan, of Centralia, Wood Co., Wis. Mr. Larsen was five years in the Norwegian army, and was a Sergeant in Hedemarske Corps, 1st Brigade. BERNT LARSEN, foreman in the factory of his brother, Ole Larsen, has been a resident of La Crosse since 1869. He was born in Norway in 1854; son of Lars Olesen, who came to the United States with his family in 1869, and settled in La Crosse, where he still resides. Mr. Larsen was married in October, 1880, to Miss Jennie Johnson, also a native of Norway, who came to La Crosse in 1873, with her parents. F. LAPITZ, merchant, on Fifth street, between Mississippi and Winnebago, has been a resident of La Crosse since December, 1860. He was born in Bohemia in 1841 ; son of Frank Lapitz, Sr., who died when young Frank was only 6 years old. He came to the United States in 1860, and settled in La Crosse; has been in his present business since March, 1880. He was married in 1863, to Rosalia Lisko- vez ) has five children — Mary, Christina, Caroline, Joseph and Charlie. Mr. Lapitz has a general store, and owns the building in which he is doing business, but F. R. Kreutz has an interest in the stock. DAVID LAW, proprietor of the freight and omnibus and transfer line ; was bora Sept. 17, 1833, at Jamestown, Chautauqua Co., N. Y.; he lived there until 23 years of age, receiving a common-school education. In the spring of 1856, he came West and located at LaCrosse, Wis., where, for two years, he worked for a number of different persons, when he commenced dealing in ice and general boat supplies, fol lowing this for four or five years, and then purchased the omnibus line of a Mr. Blossom ; he subsequently purchased an interest in the livery business from Thomas Davis ; soon after purchasing the omnibus line, he also purchased the transfer line of Mr. Metcalf; he disposed of the livery business to Mr. Davis in 1876, and now conducts the omnibus and freight line solely. He was married Dec. 24, 1865. Mr. Law is a thorough business man in every respect, and has held the position of Alderman in the municipality for a number of years ; he also owns an interest in the La Crosse Street Railway. ESAIAS LEGLER, was born on the 2d day of March, 1829, in Zurich, Switzerland. He attended the common and high schools until his 16th year, when he entered a wholesale business establish ment as an apprentice and served out his term of three vears. After traveling for a wholesale house sev eral years in Southern Germany, France and Switzerland, he returned home and engaged in business with his father. Receiving in 1854, after the death of his father, very good inducements from the Swiss Consul in Sicily, Italy, who had an extensive banking-house, and worked several sulphur mines, he accepted his offer of an administratorship of one of his mines, which position he occupied about nine years, until the- LA CROSSE. 771 contract with the proprietors of the mine expired, and then engaged in business on his own responsibility. In October, 1868, he left the old world, accompanied by two brothers, for the United States ; he lived sev eral years in Georgia, Tennessee and Minnesota, and came to La Crosse in June, 1874, when he became partner of John Ulrich in the book and stationery business, where he remained until elected Register of Deeds of La Crosse Co., in November, 1879, which position he now holds. JOHN LEGLER, foreman in the brewery of C. & J. Michel ; was born in 1835, in Bonstetten, Canton Zurich, Switzerland ; son of John Legler, who died in the old country in 1853. Mr. Legler came to America in 1869 ; lived in South Carolina one and a half years, and in Memphis, Tenn., eight months ; he came to La Crosse in May, 1871, and has been in his present situation ever since. He was married in 1861, in Locle, Canton Neufchatel, Switzerland, to Elise Courvoisier; has' four children — Elise, Emily, Hattie and Jennie. PETER LEHNEN, proprietor of the centennial summer garden, corner Sixth and Hood streets, is a native of Luxemburg, Germany, born in 1843 ; son of Nicholas Lehnen, who died in Luxemburg Jan. 5, 1869, in his 70th year. Peter came to America in 1862, and settled in La Crosse Dec. 27, 1863. He enlisted in the 2d W. V. O, Co. H, and served till the close of the war. After the war, he returned to La Crosse, and was in the saloon business till the spring of 1875 ; he then rented the old La Crosse summer garden on Sixth street, ran it fifteen months, and then built his present place ; he purchased the old garden in April, 1880. He made a trip to Europe in 1869, and again in 1874, remaining three months each time ; has a saloon on Second street, between Pearl and Main, and also one in connection with his garden. He was married in La Crosse in 1866, to Miss Mary Negle, and has had eight children — Charles, Eliza, Mary, Katie, Lena, Theresa, Frank and Annie (twins) ; all living but Charles and Frank. C. L. LIEN, druggist ; has been in business in his present location since September, 1877, and a resident of La Crosse since May, 1869 ; he is a native of Norway, born in 1849 ; son of Louis Lien, who is still living, in Norway. Mr. Lien came to America in the spring of 1869, located in La Crosse, and clerked in the drug business until he commenced for himself in 1877. He was married, in December, 1876, to Anna Hanson, daughter of Henry Hanson, and has one child — Agnes Josephine. JOSEPH A. LEINFELDER, carpenter, contractor and builder ; has been in his present business in La Crosse since 1870 ; he built the convent, Bishop's residence, St. Mary's Church and several other buildings, and drew his own plans. He was born in Bavaria Feb. 25, 1833. His father, John Michael Leinfelder, came to the United States in 1842, settled in Lorain Co., Ohio, and died there in 1862. Mr. Leinfelder learned his trade in Cleveland, Ohio, and followed the business in Lorain Co., Ohio, till 1865, then came to Wisconsin, lived five years in Jefferson, and came from there to La Crosse. He was married, in Lorain Co., to Catharine Baldanf, and has nine children, as follows : Mary, Michael, Ellen, Joseph, Frank, Stephen, Henry, Anna and Bernard. JOHN LIENLOKKEN, County Treasurer ; has held his present position since the fall of 1874. He was born in the Parish of Oir, in Gudbrandsdalen, Norway, in 1841. His father, Ingabret Lienlokken, came to America in 1860, anfl settled in the town of Washington, La Crosse Co., where he still resides. Mr. L., Jr., was Town Clerk in Washington seven years previous to 1874. He was mar ried, in 1866, to Miss Martha Stenerson, of Washington. He has three children — Edward, Adolph and Oscar. J. H. LIGHTBODY, manager of the La Crosse branch of the Singer Manufacturing Co. , has been in his present situation since May, 1879 ; he is a native of Oneida Co., N. Y.; came to Wis consin in 1871, and since that time has been in the employ of the Singer Co. He resided in Watertown and Madison previous to coming to La Crosse. W. LISTMAN, proprietor of the Victor Mill ; has been a resident of La Crosse since June, 1858 ; followed contracting and building till 1873; he built the court house, Congregational, Baptist, Pres byterian, and Episcopal churches, and many of the business blocks ; has beeu in his present business since 1879. He was bom in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, in 1830 ; came to the United States in 1848, and lived in Syracuse, N. Y., till he came to La Crosse, except one and a half years in Iowa. He has two chil dren — Charles F. and Jennie C. Mrs. L. was M. J. Edwards, of Syracuse. F. H. LLOYD, of the firm of Lloyd & Clarke, wholesale hardware dealers, was born in Phila delphia, in 1839, and came West to occupy a position in the store of Lloyd & Supplee, in the summer of 1860. He is brother to W. J. Lloyd. In 1872, Mr. Lloyd was married to Miss Ella Wyckoff, daughter of James Wyckoff, of Perry, N. Y. All the- gentlemen connected with this house have been wide-awake, go-ahead citizens, always ready to devote their time and give a helping hand to any enterprise calculated to promote the welfare of the city, their firm name always being found near the top of every subscription list for worthy objects. Both the old firm of Lloyd & Supplee and the new firm of Lloyd & Clarke 772 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: have been actively represented in Board of Trade matters. (See sketches of Joseph Clarke and W. J. Supplee). A. H. LOONEY, pilot and master; has been steamboating on the Mississippi River since 1861, and most of the time for the last fifteen years in the employ of P. S. Davidson. He came to La Crosse in April, 1851, and, in 1858, removed to Winona Co., Minn. In the spring of 1851, he went to the Rocky Mountains, and was engaged in prospecting and mining till April, 1861, when he returned to Min nesota and engaged in steamboating. In the fall of 1878, he returned to La Crosse to reside, but made no change in his business. He was married, in the fall of 1851, to Elizabeth Wright, a native of Wash ington Co., N. Y., and has four children — Frank H., Morrell M., Carrie B. and Lurk May. The two sons — -F. H. and M. M , aged respectively 27 and 25, were both born in La Crosse ; are both steamboat- men, and both have pilot's and master's papers. Mr. Looney was born in Randolph Co., 111., in 1830. His father, John S. Looney, a native of Tennessee, came to Wisconsin in 1836; lived in what is now La Fayette Co. till 1852, then came to La Crosse. In September, 1853, he removed to Minnesota; located land in the valley of the Root River, and was the first white settler in what is still known as " Looney's Valley." He remained there till the summer of 1857, then lived in Hastings and La Crescent till 1866. He then removed to Dubuque, Iowa, and now lives in Warren, 111., with his youngest daughter, in the 75th year of his age. J. W. LOSEY, of the law firm of Cameron, Losey & Bunn, was born in Honesdale, Penn., Dec. 30, 1834 ; the son of Dr. Ebenezer T. and Mrs. Lucy M. Losey. His youth was passed in Honesdale attending the academy and preparing for the active duties of life, and entered Amherst College in 1853. He remained there until November, 1855, and after a brief canvass of the advantages afforded at other points, located at La Crosse in May, 1856, where he studied law in the office of Denison & Lyndes. In October, 1857, he was admitted to the bar, and at, the election in November following was chosen to the office of District Attorney, being re-elected in 1859, and City Attorney in 1860. Upon the dissolution of the firm of Denison & Lyndes by the murder of Mr. Denison, Mr. Losey became the junior partner, and this partnership continued until 1861, when the firm of Cameron & Losey was established, and has been since maintained. As a lawyer, Mr. Losey is esteemed one of the ablest in Wisconsin, and as an advocate, one of surpassing power and persuasive eloquence. As a citizen, he has been identified with the growth of La Crosse from the date of his advent here, and no work of importance or otherwise, calculated to benefit the city or promote its growth, but enlists his attention, services and aid. He has served the city in its Board of Aldermen for twelve years, and endowing every meritorious enterprise sought to be accomplished with the energy and ability which are parts of his composition, he never fails to achieve for himself and his constituents the most desirable of successes. In September, 1859, he was married to Miss Florence T. Lehman, of La Crosse. P. S. SIcARTHUR, SI. D., was born at Wales, Erie Co., N. Y., Oct. 30, 1822. His parents. Moses and Mary (Salisbury) McArthur, farmers by occupation, were plain, industrious people. The son aided his father until about 18 years of age, and, during the next three years, attended the Aurora Academy in an adjoining town, teaching school meanwhile during two winters. He studied medi cine with Dr. Paul, of Honeoye Flats, Ontario Co., and, after attending lectures two terms at Geneva, and while there became afflicted with a desire to go West, he started, and reaching Buffalo met with an accident, which detained him until the cold weather and storms prevented him going by way of the lakes as he had desired, and, in consequence, he attended the Buffalo Medical College, he graduated in February, 1847. He practiced medicine at Holland, Erie Co., three years ; at Caledonia, Livingston Co., remaining six years, and, on Oct. 22, 1855, settled in La Crosse, Wis. Here, as in Western New York, Dr. McArthur has attended very closely to his profession, except during two seasons, when he was absent from home. In 1861, he went to New York City and attended a full four months' course of lec tures at the Long Island Hospital, and two months at the Eye and Ear Infirmary, and repeated exactly the same course in 1866. Few physicians in Western Wisconsin have had better opportunities for obtain ing a knowledge of medical science, or have been more entirely and successfully devoted to the application of that knowledge. Dr. McArthur is a thorough devotee of the science of medicine. He obtains all the new and most valuable works pertaining to his profession, and, being partially deaf, and in a measure shut out from the socialities of life, he devotes all the leisure time at his command to reading and hard study. Pathology and the news of the day essentially monopolize the odd moments and the half hours. Dr. Mc Arthur calls himself a '• hard-shell " Democrat. He always votes the Democratic ticket, but has no political aspirations, and makes everything subordinate to his medical pursuits ; hence, his eminent suc cess. He was married on the 1st of January. 1852, to Miss Mary Dean, of Caledonia, N. Y., and by her has two children. Dr. McArthur's life furnishes a brilliant example of what may be accomplished by LA CROSSE. 773 choosing a vocation suited to one's tastes, and following it faithfullv to the exclusion of all others He has clung to his profession, and by his persistence and peaseverance has reached an exalted position in La Crosse County. J. B. McCAIN, engineer, has been a resident of La Crosse since August, 1853. He is a native of Henderson Co., Ky., born Oct. 30, 1833. His father, John McCain, was a native of North Carolina and died in Kentucky in 1876. His mother was a native of South Carolina. Mr. McCain was running on the Ohio River as engineer for several years previous to coming to Wisconsin, and came to La Crosse as engineer of the steam ferry-boat Honeoye, owned by William McConnell, which was the first steam ferry-boat in La Crosse, He was in Government service during the war, three years as engineer • was on the police force from 1872 to 1878, and was five years Constable in La Crosse. He has five children- John H., railroad conductor; Jessie, now the wife of Thomas Devine, railroad engineer; Charles W., clerk in the round house at La Crosse ; Alcy, Ann and Minnie, at home. Mrs. McCain was Susan Keys' daughter of W. W. Keys, who came to La Crosse in 1856. ' WILLIASI SIcCONNELL ; born in Portage Co., Ohio, July 15, 1822, where he lived until 21 years of age. He took a course at the Veterinary College, Columbus, Ohio; removed to Elkhorn, Walworth Co., Wis., in 1843; three years of this time he was engaged in the cattle trade; he removed to Fulton, Rock Co., where he purchased a hotel, which he conducted one year. He was married in Rock Co. to Candace Cooley, born in Ohio, and removed to Dane Co. from Licking Co., Ohio. Mr. McConnell settled in the city of La Crosse, May, 1851, where he engaged in keeping hotel; kept what was known as the Miller House for two years ; was also engaged in the stage and livery business for about five years. In 1852, b.e established the first ferry between La Crosse and La Crescent; afterward engaged in general business, including stock buying and his profession as horse farrier; the latter business he still follows. Mr. and Mrs. McConnell have had five children, four of whom are living— George; Elizabeth, now Mrs. John K. Brabrant; Kate and James. J. H. McCULLOCH was born in 1835, at Brockport, N. Y. ; emigrated to Portage in 1855, and, after a stay of three years, went to Milwaukee, where he was employed in the drug business, as before stated. He married Miss Emma L. Williams in 1869, the daughter of John L. Williams, formerly of La Crosse, now residing in Almeda, Cal. JASIES McCORD is a native of New Bedford, Penn., where he was born in 1841, coming to Wisconsin in 1857. He spent five years in Milwaukee, and came to La Crosse in 1864, where he entered his present business. He was married in 1866, to Miss Cogswell, daughter of Horatio Cogswell, of Graf ton, Mass., and also in 1879, to Miss Roosevelt, daughter of W. A. Roosevelt, of La Crosse. DONALD A. SIcDONALD, steamboat and groceryman, was born in Picton, Nova Scotia, Jan. 1, 1833. In June, 1844, he removed with his parents to Dundas, Canada West. Here he attended the common schools until 1853, when he moved to Hamilton, remaining there until 1855, when he came to La Crosse and entered the lumbering business, which he still follows. He also deals to some extent in groceries, mostly to supply his boats, shanties, etc. ARTHUR MAGUIRE, of North La Crosse, was born in County Armagh, Ireland, Feb. 2, 1819. His father, Bernard Maguire, emigrated to Canada in 1821, bringing his family with him. At the age of 24, Arthur engaged in lumbering, which he followed in Canada until the fall of 1849, at which time he came to the United States. After engaging in various pursuits in different places, he started for New Orleans, in the spring of 1850 ; but he abandoned the idea of going South, and for six months taught school, near Louisville. He attended a seminary at Louisville, which was managed by William and Garret Barry; then taught school during the summer of 1851, at the same place as before ; perfected himself in certain branches, during the winter of 1851 and 1852, at Cleveland, Ohio, and again taught school from 1851 to 1855. In 1856, he revisited Canada, disposed of lands owned by him, came back to the United States ; came to Wisconsin via the lakes, and occupied several weeks in searching for government lands to enter; came to La Crosse, and spent his first night in the house of Joshua Ridgley. Next went to Trem pealeau Co., where he selected lands three miles below the site of Whitehall, in November, 1856. He built a small house of lumber which was hauled forty miles. In 1857 he rafted, and also clerked for Shep herd & Valentine, both in North La Crosse and Hannibal, Mo., until 1859. In 1860, he visited Louisiana, and was witness to many exciting scenes incident to the breaking out of the rebellion. He taught s chool until April, 1862, in Arkansas, to which State he had gone to escape danger from rebels. He passed a sea son of hardships, and finally reached Memphis, Tenn., then in possession of the Union forces. He en listed June 30, 1862, but subsequently learned that the enrollment was irregular, and re-enlisted in Co. H, 5th Tenn. V. C, August 22 ; was promoted to Sergeant-Major, was discharged Aug. 14, 1865. . He then returned to La Crosse, and has since been Town Clerk, Justice of the Peace, Member of the County 774 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Board, and Alderman in La Crosse City Council ; and is now, April 12, 1881, Notary Public. In religion he is Catholic; politics, Whig till the Know-Nothing days of 1854 and 1855 ; then Democrat till 1876, when it left the people and went to Mammon. He is now a Greenbacker. JAMES SIANCHESTER, Superintendent of the La Crosse Water Works, has been in his present position since the spring of 1878. He is a native of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., born in 1828 ; came to Wisconsin in 1855, and has resided in La Crosse since May of that year. He followed contracting and building from that time till 1857 ; has but one child— Nellie. Mrs. Manchester's maiden name was Sarah J. Hollaway ; residence, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. SI. SI. SIANVILLE, of the firm of Gordon & Manville, is a native of New York, having been bora in Watertown, Jefferson Co., in June, 1832. In 1856, he opened the first tin and hardware store seen in La Crosse. Thif, he sold out to George Raymond. He then dealt in real estate for a time, and was also engaged in farming. He then became a traveling salesman for Gordon & Morse, and continued it till the retiring of Mr. Langdon, when he purchased his interest. C. H. SIARSH, foreman in the boot and shoe shop of W. F. Somerfield ; has resided in La Crosse since April, 1853 ; he is a native of Claremont, N. H. His father, Albert Marsh, came to Wis consin in 1840, and lived in Waukesha Co. till he came to La Crosse in 1856, where be died in the spring of 1880, at the age of 73. Mr. Marsh learned his trade in Waukesha, and came to La Crosse from there in 1853 ; he was engaged in the sewing-machine business in La Crosse seven years, being agent for the Grover & Baker machine, and spent nine years in steamboating on the Mississippi River ; he also spent one and a half years in the Rocky Mountains, in 1860 and 1861. He has six children — Elmer A., Rolla R., Harry, Mildred, Lillian and Archie. Mrs. Marsh was Matilda Looney, daughter of John S. Looney, who came to La Crosse in June, 1852. [See biography of A. H. Looney]. S. SIARTINDALE, insurance, real estate and loan agent; was born in Rutland Co., Vt. in 1823; came to Wisconsin in the summer of 1849 and settled in Racine, where he was engaged in the lumber business with Durand & Hill, for five years. In April, 1854, he came to La Crosse and followed lumbering and merchandising in La Crosse and on Black River for about five years, in company with his brother-in-law, I. M. Hill, and A. W. Pettibone. In the fall of 1866, he went back to Vermont and stayed till the spring of 1869, when he returned to La Crosse and has been in his present business since that time. He was a graduate of Middlebury College, Vermont, class of 1847 ; studiedjaw with Daniel Roberts, of Manchester, Vt., and was also a graduate of the National Law School, of Ballston Spa, N. Y. C. D. MARTIN, steamboat captain ; has been a resident of La Crosse since May, 3, 1855. He was born in Washington Co., Ohio, in 1824 ; in 1841, he went to Pittsburgh, Penn., and engaged as cabin boy on board a steamboat running on the Ohio River, and has followed steamboating ever since, except when in the army. He was married, in Monroe Co., Ohio, in 1847, to Mary Bradfield, a native of Vir ginia, and came to La Crosse in 1855. In the fall of 1861, he enlisted in the 14th W. V. I., Co. D, and was in the service a year and a half; he was wounded at the battle of Sbiloh, which disabled him and he was discharged soon after ; he was captain and pilot on the transfer line of the S. M. R. R. Co. eleven years, and now owns the steamboat Silver Lake, running on the Mississippi River, and on which his only son, Melvin Martin, is first engineer. His father, Alexander Martin, a native of Ohio, and a soldier in the war of 1812, is still living in Gallipolis, Ohio, in the 92d year of his age. SIARVIN SIATHEWS, superintendent of the mill and lumber-yard of R. M. Moore; he has been in Mr. Moore's employ since 1870. He was bora in the State of Maine in 1841 ; son of John Mathews, who died in Maine in 1859. His mother died in 1854. In 1861, he went to California, and was engaged in mining there till 1870, and came from there to La Crosse. He was married, in October, 1878, to Miss Mattie Waller, who was born at Great Bend, Penn., daughter of Nathan P. Waller, who came to La Crosse in 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Mathews have one child — Robert M. PETER SIAYER, foreman in the cooper shop of Anton Stritt ; he has been a resident of La Crosse since May, 1854. He was born in Prussia in 1851. In 1852, his father, Peter Mayer, came to the United States and lived in Milwaukee, Wis., till May, 1854, then removed to La Crosse with his fam- ily,and died there April 19, 1870, at the ageof 52. Peter Jr. learned the cooper's trade of his father, and has worked at it ever since his boyhood. He was married, in 1873, in Winona, Minn., to Anna Becker, and has three children — Lizzie, Jacob and William. His mother, whose maiden name was Catharine Franz, is still living in La Crosse at the age of 56. VALENTINE MAYER, cooper; was born in Prussia in 1845; came to the United States in 1852 with his father, Peter Mayer, Sr., and has resided in La Crosse since May, 1854, except ten years in St. Louis, Mo., from 1870 to 1880. He was married, in 1876, in St. Louis, to Katie Tousend, a Missing Page Missing Page LA CROSSE. 777 native of that city, and daughter of Charles Tousend. Have had four children — Annie, Katie, Magie (deceased) and Charles Frederick William. L. J. ME ADER, in charge of the Black River draw bridge at North La Crosse ; has been in his present situation since the spring of 1878. He was born in Canada in March, 1833. His father, James Meader, was a native of New Hampshire ; went from Vermont to Canada, and from there came to Wisconsin in 1842. He settled in the town of Metomen, Fond du Lac Co., and died there in 1860. Mr. Meader spent his early life on his father's farm. Was married, in June, 1855, in Metomen, to Judith Ann Roberts, and was engaged in farming, one mile north of Brandon, till the spring of 1877, then came to Sparta, where he still owns property, and came from there to La Crosse in 1878. Has four children — Marcellus, James, Mary and Bell, all single and at home, except James, who was married, Feb. 1, 1881, to Miss Etta Hartwell, of La Crosse, and now lives in Winona, Minn. L. E. MEASON, artistic photographer, corner of Third and State streets ; was bora in Min eral Point, Wis., in 1848 ; son of Louis Meason, whose parents came to America from Prussia in 1834, and settled in Mineral Point in 1837. Mr. Meason has resided in La Crosse since July, 1871, and has been in his present business since 1873. He was married in Mineral Point, in 1872, to Miss Emma L. Kine, daughter of Edward Kine, one of the early settlers of Mineral Point. Mr. and Mrs. Meason have two children — Georgie and Eddie. J. S. MEDARY, was born in Clermont Co., Ohio, March 12, 1839. He remained in Ohio till the age of 20. In 1860, he came to La Crosse and entered into the employ of J. R. Grant, as above noted, and has been connected with the house continuously ever since. He was married, in 1871, to Miss Frances E. Burns, daughter of Lieut. Gov. Burns, and has a family of three children, all living. BARNARD MELLON, dealer in groceries, crockery, glassware, etc. ; is a native of New Jersey; born in 1824 ; son of Michael Mellon ; came to Wisconsin in 1851, and located in Milwaukee, where he worked at blacksmithing in the shop of the old Prairie du Chien Railroad Company till 1861. He then spent one winter in New York, returning to Milwaukee in the spring of 1862. In August, 1864, he went south in government employ, and worked till June 7, 1865, in the Memphis & Charleston Railroad shops in Memphis. While there, he belonged to a battalion composed of railroad employes who were sworn into the military service as a part of the army of West Tennessee, but never called into active service. He returned to Wisconsin and remained in Milwaukee till 1867, then lived one year in Water- town, Wis., and, in 1868, came to La Crosse Co. and purchased a farm on French Island, where he still owns 120 acres. He was on the farm three years, then went to Hokah, Minn. r and came from there to La Crosse in November, 1880. Has eight children — James, Frank, Oscar, Harry, George, Charlotte, Lizzie and Ida. Mrs. Mellon, whose maiden name was Phoebe Brower, was born on Ct. Farms, N. J., daughter of Abram Brower. CHARLES MICHEL, proprietor of the meat market on corner of Fifth and Winnebago streets ; was born in the city of Berlin, Prussia, in 1835 ; his father, Peter Michel, came to the United States in 1846 ; lived in Milwaukee till 1865, then came to La Crosse and died in August, 1873 ; his mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Conrad ; she died March 27, 1880, aged 81. Mr. Michel was married in Mil waukee in 1858, to Eva Kleber ; came to La Crosse same time as his father, and has been in his present business since 1871 ; he has had twelve children, ten of whom are living, to wit, Jacob, Peter, Mary, An ton, Frank, Charlie, Lizzie, John, Nick and Annie; his oldest daughter, Lena, died Nov. 11, 1880, in her 23d year, and his youngest child, Mena, died in September, 1879, at the age of 9 months. HENRY MILLER, proprietor of Miller's Sample Rooms on Main street ; was born in Phila delphia in 1844. His parents moved to Canada when he was but 3 months old, where he lived for twenty years ; in 1875, he went to St. Paul, and opened a billiard hall and saloon, which he continued two years ; in 1877, he came to La Crosse and opened a billiard room and saloon, which he still owns. He was mar ried in Canada in 1869, and has two children — Emma Caroline Louisa and Anna Maud Jane. H. G. MILLER, SI. D., was born in Virgil, Cortland Co., N. Y., March 30, 1826 ; he moved with his parents to Peoria, III, in 1836. Received his education at Shurtleff College, situated at Upper Alton, 111.; received his medical education at the Eclectic Medical College in Cincinnati, Ohio ; re moved to La Crosse in 1869, where he has since followed the practice of medicine. WILLIASI F. SIOESER was born in Austria, May 28, 1851 ; in 1855, he came to America with his parents and located in Greenfield, La Crosse Co., and worked on a farm until 1871 ; at that time, he came to La Crosse and learned the trade of a wood turner and cutting furniture, and worked eight years for his uncle, Stephen Moeser ; the last three years of this term, he was foreman of his uncle's business. He was one of the organizers of the La Crosse Furniture Association in 1878, and succeeded to the Presi dency in the sprin^ of 1879, which position he still holds. Mr. Moeser's practical ability as a workman 778 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: and his excellent executive qualifications well fit him for this responsible position, and is sure to achieve success for the enterprising firm he so ably represents. Mr. Moeser was married Jan. 19, 1874, to Annie Riese, of La Crosse ; the fruits of this union were four children — Jennie, Bertha, Willie and Emma. JASIES C. MOODY, lumbering, son of Hiram Moody, who settled in Vernon Co., in 1854, where he had purchased in 1852. His father still resides in Vernon Co. James C. enlisted in the fall of 1863, in Co. I, 6th W. V. I., served till the close of the war. He was wounded and captured at the bat tle of the Wilderness, was imprisoned near Gordonsville, at Lynchburg, and at Belle Isle, Richmond. He was a prisoner about four months, when he, with five others, succeeded in making his escape and reached the Union lines at Aqua Creek, after many hardships and narrow escapes from recapture. After the war, he settled in the town of Shelby, where he engaged in farming about three years, when he came to the city and engaged in his present business. He is now in the employ of the La Crosse Lumber Co. His wife was Ellen Carleton, daughter of Thomas V. Carleton, a pioneer of Sheboygan, but now a resident of Neilsville, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Moody have two children — Edwin L. and Clara. Mr. Moody was born in the town of Monroe, Perry Co., Ohio, November 7, 1837. SI. T. SIOORE, dentist, is a native of Milwaukee, Wis., born in 1874; he was educated at Way- land University, Beaver Dam, Wis.; came to La Crosse Jan. 1, 1869; studied dentistry one year with Dr. E. Palmer ; was then in partnership with him two years, since which he has been practicing alone in his present location, 49 Main street. G. R. SIONTAGUE was born in Granby, Mass., in December, 1830 ; he came to La Crosse in the spring of 1854, coming by team from Walworth Co., Wis., via Galena, 111. The party were eight days on the way, waiting two days at Galena for a steamer. The cholera was then raging, and four deaths occurred in that brief interval at the United States Hotel, at which they were stopping, which induced them to continue the journey at once by team ; on arriving they put up at the Franklin, a house then kept by B. S. Rippy, on the site of the Montague Block, on Main street, and probably the chief boarding- house in the city ; it still does duty as a tenement house, on the corner of Second and Cass streets. Mr. M. remained but a short time, when he returned to Walworth Co. on foot, with a friend from Racine, making forty miles the first day ; after a stay of a year, he went back to Massachusetts on a visit, passing the summer and winter, returning to La Crosse in the spring of 1856 ; during that season he was em ployed surveying, as deputy under T. M. Horton, the County Surveyor ; like many another deputy, he bore the chief burden of the work, laying out roads in Barre, Hamilton and Bangor, among them being the main traveled road from La Crosse to Sparta, which was laid out from Hamilton through Bangor to the line of Monroe Co.; during that winter and the next summer he taught school ; he next became en gaged in insurance and real estate business, which he disposed of to Martindale & Oatman, in 1869, when his whole attention was required in the marble business. He was one of the original incorporators of the La Crosse National Bank, and is one of its largest stockholders ; he has been a member of its board of directors from the first year and its Vice President from the second year. He was married, Octo ber, 1859, to Miss Jennie Warner, at Williamsburg, Mass., and has two children. ADOLF SIORITZ, book-keeper at the mill of A. A. Freeman & Co.; has been in his present position since September, 18v8; he is a native of Rhine, Germany, bom in 1851; son of Adolf Moritz, Sr. He was educated in Germany and France, and was a 2d Lieutenant in the Germany Army during the Franco-Prussian war ; came to the United States in 1877, and has since resided in La Crosse. He was married Jan. 1, 1880, to Miss Clara, daughter of Adelbert Moeller, Consul for Saxony at La Crosse, and one of the earliest settlers in the city ; he put up the first brick building in the city, and was in the drug business for several years. GEORGE MORRISON, engineer on C, M. & St. P. R. R.; has been on that road since August, 1864, and has been running an engine since April, 1870 ; he was bom in Newbury, Orange Co., Vt., Feb. 15, 1842 ; son of I. T. Morrison, who came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1862, and still lives in La Crosse. Mr. Morrison enlisted July, 1861, in the 8th Vt. V. I., Co. D, and was in the service three years; he was wounded during the siege of Port Hudson, but was only disabled for a few weeks; during his service, he participated in seventeen general engagements, to wit : Bull Run, Savage Station, Antietam, Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, Cold Harbor, Winchester, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Peters burg, Cedar Creek, Fisher's Hill, Vicksburg and several others. He was married Feb. 6, L865, in Beaver Dam, Wis., to Miss Sarah J. Blanchard, daughter of A. R. Blanchard ; has had but one child (deceased) — Gracie B., died July 7, 1865, at the age of 18 months. HIRAM J. MORRISON, engineer on the O, M. & St. P. R. R.; has been in the employ of this company since 1866, and has been running an engine since 1871 ; he was born in Woodsville, Graf ton Co., N. H., in 1844. Dec. 12, 1861, he enlisted in the 8th Vt. V. I., Co. D ; re-enlisted as a veteran LA CROSSE. 779 in the spring of 1864; he served under Gen. Butler till Gen. Banks took command in that department then remained with him till the summer of 1864, when he was transferred to the Army of the Potomac and 5S^ „ ndeJ She,rldan tiU the close of the ^ar. He was married in October, 1867, in Beaver Dam Wis to Miss Mary Swarthout, and has resided in La Crosse since 1870 ; has one child— Luella Isabella. His father Isaac T. Mormon, oame .to Wisconsin in 1863, and settled in Beaver Dam, and now lives in La Crosse. ' n. „A' **•- J'1~"*'™ *0]*' blacksmitl1 i 1S a native of Vermont, born at Coventry Falls in Julv, 1835 His father, John W Morrison, who was also a blacksmith, removed to New Hampshire, and from there to Wisconsin in the fall of 18a5, and now lives in Pierce Co. Mr. Morrison worked with his father till 17 years old; then went to Massachusetts and worked three vears in Taunton and Lawrence ; came West with his father in 1855, and went to Jasper Co., Ind, in 1858 ; lived there three years, and then came back to Wisconsin In August, 1862, he enlisted in the 30th W. V. 1, Co. D, and was in the service till October 1865. After the war, he settled at Red Wing, Minn.; in 1874, he went to Trenton, Pierce Co Wis and came from there to La Crosse the 29th of November, 1878. He was married Nov. 28, 1878, at River Falls, to Cordelia Harris ; has no children. JOHN C. SIORRISON, engineer on switch-engine at La Crosse ; is a native of Vermont, born in 1837. His father, John W. Morrison, came to Wisconsin in 1855, with his family, and now lives in Pierce Co. John C. has been railroading since that time, except when in the army. Be enlisted Aug 7 1862, in the 24th W. V. I, Co. F, and was in the service till June 22, 1865 ; he enlisted in Milwaukee,' but was credited to La Crosse ; was in thirteen engagements during his term of service. He has been in the employ of the C, M. & St. P. R. R. Co, since 1855, and has been running an engine since he returned from the army. He was married in Beaver Dam, Wis, Oct. 21, 1861, to Lucinda, daughter of William Johnson, now of La Crosse. RORERT SIORRIS, in charge of the railroad blacksmith-shop in North La Crosse; was bora in Anglesea, North Wales, in 1829; son of Griffith Morris, who died in Wales in 1880, at the age of 80 ; learned the blacksmith's trade of his father, and came to America in 1852 ; was in Rome, N. Y, three years, in Chicago one year, and Milwaukee till 1860, when he came to La Crosse, and has been in charge of these shops ever since ; has four children — William (book-keeper for Mons Anderson, of La Crosse), Robert, Jr. (is operator on the St. P, M. & M. R. R.), George and Eddie at home. His oldest child- Grace, died in 1864, when 7 J years of age. He was married in 1856, at Racine, Wis, to Miss Margaret Davis, formerly of Rome, N. Y. Mr. Morris was Supervisor in 1876, and was Alderman of the Fifth Ward three years, 1877-78-79 ; was also a member of the School Board in 1878-79. SETH MORSE, hardware merchant, was born in Washington, Orange Co, Vt, March 30, 1832, and lived in that State till he was 21 years old. Served an apprenticeship at the tinner's trade in Lowell, Mass, with W. T. and C. P. Whitton ; was there four years, then in Chelsea, Vt, one year; he went from there to Claremont, N. H, and was in business there till 1864, then came West, settled in Rush- ford, Minn., where he remained till 1870. In November of that year, he came to La Crosse and worked as a journeyman till 1876, since which time he has been in business for himself on Main street, between Fourth and Fifth, where he keeps on hand a general assortment of stoves, tin, sheet-iron and copper ware. I. H. MOULTON, freight agent of the C, M. & S. P. R'y, was born at Foxcroft, Piscataquis Co., Maine, Nov. 28, 1828. Here he attended the common schools and received an academic education at Foxcroft Academy. In 1849, he removed to Salmon Falls, N. H, where he was engaged as a clerk and book-keeper. In 1851, he went to New York City, where he was also engaged as a book-keeper. In 1855, he removed to Providence, R. I, and established a grocery business for himself, conducting it only about eight months, when he disposed of his business and removed to Nashua N. H. He removed to St. Anthony Falls (now Minneapolis) in the spring of 1857, and established a wholesale grocery and crockery business, but was disabled financially during the financial crash of 1857. In 1858, he became engaged in steamboating, following this until the 1st day of September, 1869, when he accepted the agency of the C, M. & S. P. R'y at La Crosse, resigning this position in 1873, becoming the agent again in May, 1880. Mr. Moulton has been United States Surveyor at this place since Dec. 24, 1873. CLARA SIUEHLBERG, Principal of the Kindergarten Frauen Verine at Germania Hall; has been in her present position since September, 1879 ; she is a native of Carver Co, Minn, born in 1859. Her father, Herman Muehlberg, was a native of Hanover, Germany ; came to United States in 1852, resided in Pittsburgh, Penn, a few years, then went to Carver Co, Minn, for a short time and came to Wisconsin. He settled in Sauk City, Sauk Co, where be was editor and proprietor of a news paper, called the Wisconsin Pioneer, for about fifteen years. In January, 1881, he returned to Carver Co, Minn, and is now publishing the Carver Free Press. Miss Muelhberg was educated in Milwaukee, and 780 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: graduated from the Kindergarten Seminary in 1877 ; she taught one year in Milwaukee and one year in Sauk City before she came to La Crosse. CASPER MUELLER, contractor and builder ; has been in his present business in La Crosse since April, 1856 ; he was born in Nassau, Germany, in 1829,' son of Jacob Mueller, who died in Ger many in 1847. Mr. Mueller came to United States in 1854, lived in St. Louis, Mo, one month, then in Dubuque, Iowa, till he came to La Crosse in April, 1856. He has five children — Charles, John, Joseph, Louisa and Albert. Charles was admitted to the bar in November, 1880, and is now practicing law in La Crosse. The other three sons are carpenters and joiners. Mr. Mueller helped to organize the St. Josephs Society, of La Crosse, in 1859, and has held all the offices in the society. He also helped to start the German Catholic Insurance Society, and was its first President. FRED MUELLER, wholesale liquor dealer, was born in 1822, near Ooblentz, Germany ; came to America in 1851, and lived in Newark, N. J, about two years and in New York City about six months; came to Milwaukee in 1853, and to La Crosse in 1854. In July of that year, he started the second butcher-shop in La Crosse County, with Louis Pammel (now a farmer living near the city). He continued in that business till 1862, then went into the brewing business in company with Jacob Franz (now of Sioux City, Iowa) ; was in that business about eight years in the old Eagle Brewery, which he helped build. In 1870, he sold out his interest in the brewery and spent two months traveling in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, then came back to La Crosse and bought out the liquor business of John Weber, which he has carried on till the present time on Third street. Mr. Mueller has built six or seven dwell ings in La Crosse, and still owns two of them. He also has an 80-acre farm near the city. OTTOCAR MUETZE, jeweler and watchmaker, was born in 1842, in Schlesien, Prussia. He was educated in Prussia, and learned his trade there ; also learned telegraphy and photography. He was married in Marklissa, Prussia, in 1868, to Emma Stuebner; came to America in 1878, arriving in La Crosse in August, and was joined by his wife in 1879; has three children — Meta, Asta and George; has been in business for himself in his present location on Pearl street since April, 1879. His father, Moritz Muetze, has been Superintendent of the extensive woolen factory of Waller Brothers, in Marklissa, for the last twenty-five years, and was Mayor of the city of Seidenberg, Prussia, for six and a half years previous to that. ALBERT NEKOLA, saloon-keeper, corner of Third and Mississippi streets, has been a resi dent of La Crosse since October, 1863. He was born in Austria in 1848; son of Matt Nekola, who came to the United States in 1863, and is now living in La Crosse. Albert learned the stone-mason's trade in La Crosse, and worked at it till 1879. He purchased his place of business in 1869, and has occu pied it himself since June, 1880. He was married in 1868, to Barbara Rucil, and has six children — Mary, Rosa, Wentzel, Thomas, Frank and Albert. L. SI. NELSON, proprietor of the tonsorial parlors and bath-rooms at No. 13 Main street, was born in Norway in 1837 ; son of Nels Larson ; came to America in 1859, and lived in Lansing, Iowa, till March, 1880 (except when in the army), and since that has resided in La Crosse. He enlisted, May 10, 1861, at Prairie du Chien, Wis, in the 6th Wis. V. I, Company C, and was in the service till July 18, 1865, and was in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged. He was married in 1863, in Lan sing, Iowa, to Miss Julia Iverson, and has six children — Sophie, Gustav, Bertha, Martha, Eilert and Grace. GEORGE NENZEL, proprietor of the Northwestern Hotel, corner of Ninth and Green Bay streets, has been a resident of La Crosse since the fall of 1871. He was born in the city of Fulda, Kur- hessen, Germany, in 1840 ; son of Valentine Nenzel. He came to the United States in 1866, and settled in New Lisbon, Wis, where he resided till 1871, and came from there to La Crosse. He built his present hotel in 1878, and has a summer-garden and saloon connected with it. He was married in Germany in 1862, to Juliana Ekart, and has seven children, as follows: Sabina, Valentine, Albert, Flora, George, Juliana and Joseph. S. NEUSIAN, merchant and member of the firm of H. Berger & Co., was born in Prussia in 1822 ; came to America in 1848 ; lived one year in New York City ; then went to Washington Co., N. Y, and engaged in merchandising till 1858, firm of Neuman & Cantrovitz. They came to La Crosse in that year, and continued in business together till 1877, when Mr. Cantrovitz went to Milwaukee and engaged in the wholesale cigar trade, and Mr. Neuman continued business alone till the present partnership was formed, in the fall of 1879. They are located in Healey's Block, corner of Second and Main streets (double store, 22x70 and 30x70, with basement), and keep a stock of dry goods, clothing and millinery goods. Mr. Neuman has been in the dry goods trade in La Crosse longer than any other man, except Mons Anderson. LA CROSSE. 781 ALEXANDER G. NEVINS, editor of the Daily News, was born, Nov. 16, 1858, at New Brighton, Staten Island, opposite New York. His parents removed to La Crosse in 1859, he being num bered among their household. He was educated at the La Crosse public schools, Shattuck School at Faribault, Minn, Hellmuth College at London, Ont, and at the State University at Madison, Wis, but did not graduate from the latter. He became engaged in the printing business through the medium of little press and amateur papers. In 1874, he started a job printing office in La Crosse, disposing of this business a year later to Putnam & Bloom. He then worked for the Republican and Leader as local reporter, remaining with them, with slight intermission, until the summer of 1880, when he started the Daily News. A. G. NEVINS, manager of the lumber-yard of the La Crosse Lumber Co, has been in his present position since 1874. He was born on Staten Island, N. Y, in 1852, and came to La Crosse with his father, S. L. Nevins, in 1859. He was married in Racine, Wis, in 1876, to Miss Clara Thornton, and has two children — Helen and Bessie. LEVI E. OBER, M. D., (deceased) ; a native of Vermont, was born at Rockingham, Wind ham Co, July 31, 1819, and was the son of William and Fanny (Fairbanks) Ober. In 1830, the family removed to Ohio and settled on a farm at Claridon, Geauga Co.; Levi remaining constantly at home until 18 years of age, assisting in tilling the soil, and attending school, a part of the time at an academy near by. Having an ingenious turn of mind, he was naturally led into mechanical pursuits ; for some years he worked more or less at different trades, in order to procure means for prosecuting his studies, and continued his literary studies, interspersed with manual labor, until about 1843. Mr. Ober began to study medicine with Dr. Storm Rhosa, of Painesville, about 1845. He continued the same with Dr. Richmond, of Chardon, and attended lectures at the Medical Department of Western Reserve College, Cleveland, and at the Eclectic Medical College, Cincinnati ; and in March, 1850, he took the first diploma issued by the last- named institution. Subsequently, he received a homooeopathic diploma from the same college. After ward he attended a course of lectures at the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. During the year 1850, Dr. Ober began the practice of homoeopathy at Moline, 111, and continued there for seven years. He removed to La Crosse, Wis, in 1857, and was there constantly engaged in practicing medicine, except when attending medical lectures or traveling to recruit his health, impaired by overwork. Twice he was obliged to retire for a season to recuperate. In 1872, he went to Europe, traveling through England, Bel gium, parts of Germany, Switzerland, and spending the winter of 1872 and 1873 in Italy. While abroad he visited hospitals, and in various ways largely extended his researches in medical science. Dr. Ober spared no pains in cultivating himself and in increasing his skill in the healing art, and spent some time in attending clinical lectures, and in the Eye and Ear Infirmary of New York. He was one of the origi nal members of the Illinois Homoeopathic Medical Association, and aided in forming the present Homoeo pathic Medical Society of Wisconsin, and was President of both organizations, and also presided over the National Medical Society. He had an honorary degree from the Hahnemann College, Chicago. Dr. Ober was a very active member of the Baptist Church, a Deacon of the same, and one of its most liberal sup porters. In all religious aad benevolent matters, he took a deep interest, and was in every respect a kind, sympathizing and true man. In politics, he was Republican, of Whig antecedents, but took little interest in political matters more than to perform his duties as a citizen. Dr. Ober had two wives ; the first was Abigail Carr, of Jefferson, Ohio, to whom he was married in November, 1843, and who died in August, 1875, leaving two children ; the second was Mrs. Helen M. Burbank Whitney, of St. Paul, Minn.; they were married in September, 1876. Dr. Ober died March 26, 1881. He was a good surgeon, a skillful aurist, and an eminent and successful general practitiouer. TIMOTHY O'BRIEN, proprietor of the Troy House ; has been a resident of La Crosse since 1855, and has been in the saloon and hotel business during the whole time, except when in the army. He was brought up in Troy, N. Y, and learned the cigar-maker's trade of Joseph B. Carr, the present Secre tary of State of New York, and came from there to La Crosse in 1855. Oct. 8, 1861, he enlisted in the 14th W. V. I, Co. D, and served till the close of the war as 1st Lieutenant of that company ; he was wounded in the hip July 16, 1864, at Tupelo, Miss. He was married in Milwaukee Jan. 1, 1866, to Mary Ann, daughter of Edward O'Kieffe, a merchant tailor, who located in La Crosse in 1857, and still resides there ; he was the first merchant tailor to locate in La Crosse. Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien have had fourteen chil dren, only three of whom are now living— Mary Ellen, Arthur and Edward. Rev. James P. O'Kieffe, Pastor of the Catholic Church at Mineral Point, Wis, and Arthur J. O'Kieffe of the law firm of Magoon & O'Kieffe, of Darlington, Wis, are brothers of Mrs. O'Brien. ISIDOR OESGHER, saloon-keeper; was bora in Baden, Germany, in 1833; son of Joseph Oesgher' came to America in 1852, and has resided in La Crosse Co. ever since; he followed farming in 782 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: the town of Greenfield till 1873, then sold out and came to the city ; has been in his present business about ten years. He was married in La Crosse in 1860, to Octavia Oliver, and has seven children — Jennie, Mary, John, Mattie, Louis, Louisa and Bruno. HANS N. OLSON, cooper and stockholder in the La Crosse Co-operative Barrel Manufactur ing Co.; was born in Denmark in 1851 ; came to the United States in 1870, and has resided in La Crosse ever since, except three years in Chicago working at the plasterer's trade in 1871-72-73. He was mar ried, June 12, 1875, to Abbie Johnson, and has two children — Eddie and Henry W. Mr. Olson has been in his present place of business since the spring of 1880 ; his father, Ole Nelson, died in La Crosse Aug. 1,1872. PETER N. OLSON, foreman and Treasurer of the La Crosse Co-operative Barrel Manufact uring Co.; was born in Denmark in 1847. His father, Ole Nelson, came to the United States in 1869; settled in La Crosse and died in 1872. Mr. Olson came in 1868, and has resided in La Crosse since that time. His first wife, Sophia Larson, died in 1870, two years after marriage, leaving no children ; he was married again in 1871, to Miss Mary D. Ondell, and by the second marriage has four children — Albert W, Ella Lovina, George William and Harry. SI. O'MALLEY, wheat inspector, and in charge of the elevator at the mill of A. A. Freeman & Co.; is a native of Canada, born in 1846 ; came to Minnesota with his parents in 1856, and lived in Austin, Mower Co., till the 1st of September, 1880, when he came to La Crosse. He was married in the fall of 1873, at Aus tin, to Miss Eliza Maney ; has two children— John H. and Mary Elizabeth. His father, Martin O'Malley, died in the spring of 1871, and his mother is still living in Minnesota. JOHN O'NEIL, proprietor of the saloon and billiard-room opposite the North La Crosse Depot, has been a resident of La Crosse since November, 1853. He worked on the river as pilot till 1873 ; was then in the grocery business four years, and purchased his present place of business in 1877, which he has since occupied. He was born in County Kildare, Ireland, March 28, 1833; came to the United States when 12 years of age, and lived in New York City and vicinity till he came to La Crosse in 1853. He was married in 1865, to Mary Monday, and has six children — Henry, Willie, flacob, Annie, Lizzie and John. His father, Michael O'Neil, died in the old country. F. OPITZ, saloon-keeper, on Pearl street, near the International Hotel, has resided in La Crosse since Aug. 15, 1853. He is a tailor by trade, and followed that business till 1866, since which time he has been in the saloon business. He was born in Saxon, Altonburg, Germany, in 1827 ; son of Christian Opitz, came to America in 1849, arriving in New York City on the 23d of June; came direct to Wiscon sin, and lived in JanesviUe six months; then went to Galena, 111, where he remained till the spring of 1853 ; then lived three months in St. Paul, Minn, and came from there to La Crosse in August of that year. He has eight children — Curl, Louisa, John, Peter, Eta, Mena, Emma and Alfred. His wife was Christina Hotmann, also a native of Germany. R. E. OSBORNE, of the firm of Edwards & Osborne, lumber dealers, has been a resident of La Crosse since November, 1858. He was born in , Madison Co, N. Y, in 1842 ; lived in Cortland Co, N. Y, for three years previous to coming to Wisconsin. In October, 1861, he enlisted in the 14th W. V. I, Company D, and was in the service eleven months, when he was discharged for disability. He was afterward in the hundred-day service as Orderly Sergeant of Company G, 40th W. V. I, in the summer of 1864. He has been paymaster and book-keeper for C. C. Smith, railroad contractor, most of the time since 1871. The firm of Edwards & Osborne has lumber-yards at Caledonia, Mabel and Canton, Minn, and Wadena, Volga City, Littleport and Strawberry Point, Iowa. CHARLES OTILLIE, SI. D., was born in Germany, and educated at the Universities of Berlin and Munich ; came to America in 1860, and practiced medicine at West Bend, Wis, and, after being commissioned as Assistant Surgeon of the 9th W. V. I, served three years and six months during the rebellion ; taken prisoner at the Sabine River, and remained seven months in the lines of the rebel army ; was mustered out of service in 1866, and went to Germany, from which he again came to America in 1869, and, after practicing medicine again at West Bend, settled at La Crosse. During this time, he served two years as City Physician of the city of La Crosse, and is at present United States Marine As sistant Surgeon, which office he has now held for three years. BENEDICT OTT was born in Bavaria June 3, 1836, and emigrated to America in 1843, with his parents, who located at Milwaukee. His father was there employed as a stone-cutter. Benedict learned the trade of a machinist, and worked there until the spring of 1856, when he came to La Crosse and found employment with George M. Leach, the proprietor of the pioneer machine-shop. His skill as a workman was soon recognized, and he was promoted to foreman of the Leech machine-shops. He served in this capacity through the different changes of the firm, from 1866 to 1875 with C. C. & E. G. Smith, LA CROSSE. 783 and from 1875 to 1879 with Thornely & James. In 1879, he formed a partnership with Frederick Thornely, and established the West Wisconsin Iron Works, under the firm name of Thornely & Ott. Mr. Ott has full control and management of the works in this city, his associate, Mr. Thornely, being engaged in business in Dubuque. Mr. Ott was married, Feb. 14, 1857, to Theresa Ulrich, of Milwaukee. They have nine children — Benedict, John, George, Theresa, Willie, Frederick, Gustave, Ida and Matilda. Mr. Ott is a member of the A, F. & A. M, I. 0. 0. F, Germania Singing Society and La Crosse Schutzen Society. EDGAR PALMER, dentist, Main street, over post office, is a native of Woodstock, Vt, bora May 7, 1840, son of Walter Palmer. Studied dentistry in his native place with Dr. Rice, and in Fitch- burg, Mass, with Dr. Palmer. He afterward attended lectures at the dental school, Philadelphia. Prac ticed in Newport, Vt, from 1860 to 1866, except when in the army, and has practiced in La Crosse since March, 1866. Dr. Palmer made the first move toward the organization of the " Wisconsin State Dental Society," as he drew up a petition and traveled through the State to obtain the signatures necessary for that purpose. He was the first temporary President, and afterward permanent President of the society, which was organized in September, 1870. He has also been a member of the l: American Dental Asso ciation " for several years, and, in 1880, was elected an honorary member of the " Iowa State Dental Society." He is also a member of the La Crosse Board of Trade. D. H. PALSIER, liveryman, corner of Pearl and Second street; was bom in Johnstown, N. Y, in 1847, and came to Sparta, Wis, with his parents in 1857 ; after trying various kinds of business, he went into the livery business with his brother in 1857, and has followed that business since. In the spring of 1880, he and his brother came to La Crosse and located in their present quarters, and are widely known as energetic, thorough business men. J™HN V. PALSIER, liveryman; bom in Johnstown, N. Y, in 1844, and came with his parents to Wisconsin and settled at Sparta in 1857 ; in 1862, he went to Pike's Peak, Colo, and from there to Idaho; returning to Sparta in 1865, he commenced the livery business in that place in 1867, which he continued until the spring ef 1880, when he came to La Crosse and opened his present business on the corner of Pearl and Second streets. Mr. Palmer was married in Sparta to Miss Fannie Kemp, and has four children — Nora, Harry, Fannie and Mamie. JOSEPH PARISEK, one of the firm of Parisek & Stortz, proprietors of the Third Ward Meat Market on Fifth street; was bora in Bohemia in 1845. He came to America in 1866, settled in La Crosse in 1867, and has been in his present business since that time. He was married in La Crosse to Kate Holy, and has five children — Frank, Willie, Joseph, Annie and Mary. A. PATZ, jeweler, has been in his present business in La Crosse since June, 1854, having the oldest establishment in that line in the city. He is a Hungarian by birth, and was born in 1823 ; came to America in 1848, and lived in Pennsylvania till he came to La Crosse, in 1854. He was married in La Crosse on Sunday, July 19, 1857, to Miss Sophia Neuman, and on the same day his store was robbed of |l0,000 in money and jewelery, only a small part of which was ever recovered. Mr. Patz has only two children, both daughters— Lillie and Rebecca— the latter being the wife of H. Berger, of the dry goods firm of H. Berger & Co. He has been successful in business, and owns considerable real estate in the city. Mrs. Patz died of apoplexy, March 9, 1881, aged 43. JOHN PAUL, lumberman, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, December, 1833. Here he attended school and commenced the learning of the machinist's trade, but the firm with whom he was learning soon afterward failed, so that he did not completely master his trade. In 1850, he removed to London, England, and there worked in machine-shops. In 1852, he emigrated to America, and located in Albany, working there and at Schenectady at the machinist's trade, until 1854, when he removed to Chicago, and there also worked in machine-shops. In 1855, he removed to Muskegon, Mich and there became engaged in the lumber trade, by putting in machinery and operating a saw-mill for a Chicago com pany. Moved from Muskegon to La Crosse in May, 1857, and here built a small saw-mill, but finding that the mill business alone did not pay sufficiently, he formed a partnership in the foundry and machine business with George M. Leach, which, together with his mill, he conducted up to 1861, when he built a mill on his present location, and has been actively and successfully engaged in the lumber business since J L PETTINGILL, County Clerk of La Crosse County, was bora in Ostego Co, JN. X., Nov 10 1840 His father, Alonzo Pettingill, was bora Dec. 27, 1802, and his mother, Lucy, nee Davis, was born Aprii 5, 1807, both in the same county of Ostego, and at this time are both residents of La Crosse County. In the spring of 1 854, his father moved with his family to Flint Genesee Co, Mich, where they resided two years, and on the 24th day of April, 1856, arrived in Lewis Valley in the town of Farming- ton La Crosse Co, Wis, where he resided with his father up to the time of bis election as County Clerk. 784 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Was married to E. Antoinette Kenrick Nov. 19, 1861. Was elected Town Clerk in the spring of 1863, of the town of Farmington, and was re-elected in the springs of 1864, 1865, 1866 and 1867, and in the spring of 1869. Was elected Chairman of the Town Board of Supervisors in the springs of 1870, 1871 and 1872. Was elected Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of La Crosse County, June 7, 1871, receiving all the votes cast but one. Was elected County Clerk of La Crosse County Nov. 4, 1873, which office be has held since, and is now on his fourth term. VALENTINE PFEIFFER, of the firm of Luntz & Pfeiffer, proprietors of the Court House Meat Market, was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, in 1842 ; son of Jacob Pfeiffer ; came to America in the spring of 1866, and has been in La Crosse most of the time since. He was married in 1874, to Mary Kriebs, and has two children — Rosa and Lizzie. A. PFIFFNER, manufacturer of and wholesale and retail dealer in harness and saddlery ; has been in his present business in La Crosse since May, 1853, his being the oldest establishment of the kind in the city. He was born in Switzerland, in 1828 ; learned his trade there, and came to the United States in 1849. He was aogaged in business in Galena, 111, till he came to La Crosse in 1853. He was married in Galena in 1853, and has three sons. The oldest one, Albert, being a member of the drug firm of E. Howard & Co, of La Crosse ; the other two, Forrest and Ulysses are at home. Mr. Pfiffner has built and still owns several business blocks in La Crosse. No. 39 Main street, a two-story brick, 20x60, he built in 1868 ; No. 40, 20x80, in same year ; No. 42, 24x80, in 1873, and No. 44, 25x80, in 1875, all two-story bricks. CHRISTIAN PFULTER, saloon-keeper, Third street, was born in Saxony, Germany, in 1831 ; came to America in 1870, and lived two years in Milwaukee, one year in Minnesota, three years in Cedarburg, Wis, and came to La Crosse in 1878. He was married in Milwaukee in 1871 to Mrs. Laura Winkler, widow of Fritz Winkler, who died in Milwaukee, leaving three children — Oscar, Bernhart and Laura. Has two children by the second marriage — Robert and Adolph (twins). JOHN PFLUGER, cooper, corner Third and Ferry streets ; has been a resident of La Crosse since July, 1858. He was bora in Baden, Germany, in 1829, son of George Pfluger ; came to United States in May, 1858, and settled in La Crosse. He was married in Baden in 1856 to Magdalena Simon, and has nine children — Johanna, Florian, Frank, Peter, John, Jacob, Mary, Gertie and Annie, all at home. A. PLATZ, of the firm of Davis, Medary & Platz, proprietors of the La Crosse tannery, was born in Prussia in 1840, son of F. Platz, a tanner, who came to America with his family in 1855 ; went into the tanning business in Racine, Wis, in 1 860, and still continues the business in that place. A. Platz learned the trade of his father in Germany, and was in partnership with him in Racine from 1860 till 1877, when he came to La Crosse and became a member of the present firm. He was married in Racine in 1867 to Miss Margaret Heck, and has three children — Minnie, Max and Albert. P. M. PLUMB, foreman of round-house, C, M. & St. P. R. R. Co, at North La Crosse; has been in his present position since Jan. 12, 1867. He is a native of Bridgeport, Conn, born Aug. 10, 1833, son of Joseph and Nancy (Peck) Plumb ; came to Wisconsin in February, 1861, from Aurora, 111., where he had resided seven years. Was in Portage City till June 12, 1867, when he came to La Crosse. He was married July 3, 1862, at Portage City to Miss Hattie M. Pixley, daughter of Bemus J. Pixley of that place. Has three children — Fannie, Jennie and Nellie. Has been Trustee of village two terms, Alderman, six years, and a member of the School Board, on second term. Has followed railroading ever since he was seventeen years old. W. P. POWERS, son of David J. and Eliza A. (Harris) Powers, was born in Whitewater, Wis, Nov. 8, 1842. His father, who is well known in Wisconsin as an early pioneer of the State, built the first frame building in Whitewater, in which he kept hotel ; he subsequently laid out the village of Palmyra, Wis, and there built the first saw and grist mill. Afterward he became a member of the State Legislature from Jefferson County; editor of the Wisconsin Farmer; Secretary of the State Agricultural Society, and President of the Madison Mutual Insurance Company, and is now President of the Union Wire Mattress Company, of Chicago, 111. W. P. Powers, the subject of this sketch, removed with his parents to Palmyra, Wis, in the fall of 1842, and remained there until 1850, when he went to Waukesha. In 1852, returned to Palmyra, and, during this year, his father was elected to the Legislature. In the spring of 1853, he removed to Madison where he received his education, having graduated from the State University as a member of the class of 1860. He served two years in the war of the rebellion. He enlisted at Madison and was mustered in as a member of Company A, 1st Wisconsin heavy artillery. In the fall of 1863, he was promoted to First Lieutenant of the 4th Wisconsin Light Battery, and served with them in the Army of the Potomac, and commanded the battery at the siege of Vicksburg during the summer of 1864. His health having failed him, he resigned in November, 1864, and returned home to- LA CROSSE. 785 Madison. He engaged in the agricultural machinery business at Madison, which he continued until 1867, when he came to La Crosse and established his present business. He was married November, 28, 1865 to Maggie F. Knight, of Summit, Waukesha Co, and daughter of B. W. Knight, a pioneer of that sec tion of the State. They have four children — Fred, Mary, Donald and Robert. Mr. Powers is a mem ber of the Knights of Honor, and Legion of Honor. ANDREW J. PRASTEQUARN, saloon-keeper, on North Third street, North La Crosse, was born in Norway in 1837; son of John Johnson (Prastequarn), a miller; came to America in 1861, and has since been a resident of La Crosse County ; has been in his present business since 1870, and owns the building in which he is located. He was married in 1870, to Mary Johnson, a native of Nor way, and has three children — John, Eddie and Thea. HERMAN PRUTZ, blacksmith in the C, M. & St. P. shop at North La Crosse, was born in Prussia in 1830 ; was married there in 1850, to Louise Manthi ; learned his trade in the old country, and came to America in 1865, since which time he has resided in La Crosse ; has but one child — Carl. Mr. Prtitz is Vice President of the Concordia Society of La Crosse. CHARLES PRUTZ, saloon-keeper, corner of Third and Grove streets, was bora in Prussia in 1850. His father, Herman Priitz, came to the United States, with his family, in 1866, and now lives in North La Crosse. Charles learned the machinist's trade of Smith & Merrill, in La Crosse, working there four years. From 1870 to 1875, he was employed in the Reliance Works of E. P. Allis, in Mil waukee ; came back to La Crosse in 1875, and has worked for Thornely & James and William H. Smith most of the time since. He was married in 1872, in Milwaukee, to Miss Elizabeth Werel, of that place ; has five children— Herman, Charles, Eddie, Annie and Clara. W. R. PUTNAM, dealer in hats, caps and gentlemen's furnishing goods, No. 47 Main street, was born in Clark Co., Ohio, in 1846. His father, Rufus Putnam, bora in Marietta, Ohio, in 1805, was a son of Judge Edwin Putnam and a grandson of Gen. Rufus Putnam, the first white man in Ohio. He was a brother of Gen. Israel Putnam, and, in company with Gen. Tupper, purchased 1,500,000 acres of land in what is now the State of Ohio, at 62J cents per acre, and in April, 1788, laid out the city of Marietta, this being the first settlement made in the Northwest. W. R. Putnam enlisted in the early part of 1863 in the 31st Ohio V. I, Company H, and was in the service about five months when he was acci dentally shot and discharged for disability. He was afterward in the service about four months, under the hundred-day call, in 1864. He resided in different parts of Ohio till 1867, the last four years in Cin cinnati ; came from there to Chicago, and from Chicago to La Crosse, in 1873, to accept a position in the dry goods house of Mons Anderson, where he remained four years, since which time he has been in his present business. JOHN RACKELMANN, butcher, place of business Pearl street, between Second and Third, was born in Bavaria in 1852; son of August Rackelmann ; came to America in 1871, and has resided in La Crosse ever since ; learned the butcher's trade in the old country, and has been in the business in La Crosse since 1874. He was married in January, 1881, to Mrs. Mina Bower, widow of John Bower. She has four children by the first husband — Maggie, John, Ott and Oscar. CARL RAU, book-keeper at the Empire Brewery, was born Nov. 3, 1858, in Wurtemberg, Germany. His father, Gottfried Rau, died in Germany in 1868. Carl was educated in his native place, and came to the United States in 1872. He lived in Dubuque, Iowa, till the fall of 1878, since which time he has resided in La Crosse, where his mother, who came to the United States with him, also resides. The first two years of his residence in La Crosse, he was connected with the mercantile agency of R. C. Dun & Co, and has been in his present position since May, 1880. JOHN RAU, son of Casper and Susan Rau, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, March 19, 1828. At the age of 24, he emigrated to America, landing in New York in the fall of 1852. He came West and located at Wooster, Wayne Co, Ohio, and there worked at his trade, that of a rope-maker. Four years later, he went to Galesburg, 111, and started in business for himself, having established a rope factory at that place. He remained in Galesburg until 1867, when he came to La Crosse, and engaged in general merchandising. With his quiet, unassuming manners, strict integrity, and fine business qualifica tions, Mr. Rau has succeeded in building up an extensive and lucrative trade. He was married Dec. 7, 1852, at Wooster, Ohio, to Sebelia Merz, a native of Germany. They have two children— Mary and John. Mr. Rau is a member of the I. O. O. F, being one of the originators of the La Crosse Valley Lodge, as also a member of the Deutcher Verein. He was an Alderman from the Second Ward for nine successive years. , , , , , , . , n T ^ JOSEPH E. RAWLINSON, contractor and builder, has been a resident ot La Crosse since the "spring of 1860. From that time till 1870, he was in partnership with his brother, William 786 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Rawlinson, firm of Rawlinson Brothers ; from 1870 to 1876, was in partnership with David Wallace, firm of Wallace & Rawlinson, and since that has been doing business alone ; was in company with his brother in building the La Crosse Opera House and several other prominent buildings. In company with Wallace, he built the schoolhouses of the Third and Fifth Wards, and since he was in business alone, built the gas works, the pump house for the City Water Works, and superintended the brick work of the new post office building. He was bora in Cheshire Co, England, in 1840; son of James Rawlinson ; came to America with his parents in 1849 ; learned the bricklayer's and plasterer's trade in Jersey City. He was married Dec. 14, 1868, in La Crosse, to Lottie Barnett, a native of Brighton, England, and daughter of William Dowling Barnett. They have three children — -Mamie, James and Mattie. WILLIASI H. RAWLINSON, contractor and builder, has been in his present business in La Crosse since June, 1857. He was born in Cheshire, England, in 1837 ; son of James Rawlinson, who came to America in 1849 ; lived in Jersey City till 1858, then came to La Crosse, and died there Oct. 22, 1880, at the age of 66. Mrs. Rawlinson died Dec. 24, 1879, at the age of 60. Mr. Rawlinson learned the bricklaying and plastering trade in Jersey City, before he came to Wisconsin. Among the buildings he has put up in La Crosse, are the Edwards Block, La Crosse Opera House, Levy's Block, and the flouring-mill of Listman & Co. He was married in 1870, in La Crosse, to Miss Mary E. Holmes and has one child— William Henry. CHARLES L. REED, SI. D., is a native of Rutland Co, Vt, born in 1821 ; studied med icine at Castleton, Vt, graduating in 1846. He immediately commenced practice in Wallingford, Vt, and afterward at Clarendon Springs ; went to California in the winter of 1851-52, and practiced in Auburn, Placer Co, till the spring of 1855, when he returned to Vermont and practiced in Wallingford till the spring of 1856, then came to Wisconsin, and settled in Horicon, Dodge Co., where he resided till the fall of 1866, since which time he has been practicing in La Crosse. Was examining surgeon during the war, and is still examining surgeon for pensions. His first wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Ives, died in February, 1855, in California, and soon after, returning to Vermont, he married Miss Mary H. Nichol son, of Wallingford, Vt. FREDERICK REHFUSS, butcher, has been a resident of La Crosse since June, 1856, and has been engaged in butchering during the whole time. He was bora in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1826 ; son of Adam Rehfuss, who died in Germany in 1844. Mr. Rehfuss came to the United States in 1852, and resided in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind, before coming to La Crosse. He was married in Indianapolis in 1853, to Miss Barbara Siggel ; has only one child, John, who is also in the butchering business in La Crosse. DAVID REICHERT, saloon-keeper, corner of Rose and St. James streets, North La Crosse, was born in 1842, in Prussia. His father, Jacob Reichert, came to the United States in 1847 ; settled in Washington Co., Wis. ; came from there to La Crosse in 1863, and died in 1866. David learned the tailor's trade in Schleisingerville, Wis. ; went to Fond du Lac in 1862, and worked there till he came to La Crosse, where he continued to work at his trade for several years, and was in the mercantile trade three years before coming to North La Crosse, where he came in 1870 ; has been keeping saloon since that, and purchased his present place of business in 1874. He has five children — Julia A, Mary S, Cora C, Frank C. and G. Bernard. His wife was Mary Goslin, of La Crosse, married in 1867. REV. CARL GOTTLIEB REISI was born in Oberturkheim, kingdom of Wurtemberg, March 14, 1836 ; attended the schools in Stuttgart from 1842 to 1854; was teacher for three years, and, intending to become a missionary, went to the missionary institution at Basel, Switzerland, remaining there from 1857 to 1862 ; was ordained Aug. 17, 1862, and in October allowed to go to America with Pastor Muhlhauser, of Milwaukee ; was ordered by the Lutheran Synod of Wisconsin to start a Lutheran Church at Green Bay ; went to Green Bay Dec. 4, 1862, remaining till May, 1879, when he was called to La Crosse. JOHN C. RESIICK, general insurance agent, is a native of the town of Cornish, York Co., Me, born in 1819. From 1842 till 1856. he was engaged in, the shipping business in Portland, Me.; was first a member of the firm of Simeon Pease & Co, importers, and afterward of the firm of Remick & Eaton, in the same business. In 1857, he came to Wisconsin, and was about four months in La Crosse; then returned to Portland, and remained there till 1862. He then came again to Wisconsin, and has been in his present business in La Crosse since that time ; is at present inspector of illuminating oils in La Crosse. BENJASIIN M. REYNOLDS, A. M., was born at Barnard, Vt, July 12, 1825,. his parents being Ezekiel and Lydia (Barnes) Reynolds. He lived on a farm, more or less, until 21 years of age. At the age of 19, he began preparing for college, attending, at first, the Royalton Academy, and LA CROSSE. 787 finishing his preparatory studies at the Thetford Academy, under Prof. Hiram Orcutt, then at its head. He entered Dartmouth College in 1848, and graduated in course, paying his entire expenses by teaching and different kinds of manual labor. Since graduating in 1852, Prof. Reynolds has been engaged steadily in educational work. He was Principal of the Windsor, Vt, High School, and of the Bradford, Vt, Academy two years ; of the High School at Barre, Mass, a still longer period ; of the Union School at Moline, 111, one year ; Superintendent of Schools in Rock Island, and Principal of its High School, nearly four years, being the first Superintendent in that city ; Principal of the Union School in Lockport, N. Y, more than five years; Superintendent of Schools at Madison, Wis, six years; Principal of the graded school at Monroe, Wis, one year, and in 1873, became Principal of the High School in La Crosse, having at the same time charge of the Second Ward School. He has raised the grade of these schools more than 100 per cent. One of the leading citizens of La Crosse thus speaks of Mr. Reynolds' work here: ''Prof Reynolds' efficiency as an educator is noticeable in the noble purpose and diligent efforts of his scholars in attainments of knowledge and in the completeness of preparation with which his advanced students have entered various colleges, whose acknowledgments of his success in this respect are highly complimentary to La Crosse schools, whose enviable excellence dates from and is largely attributable to his connection with them." Since he has been in Wisconsin, Prof. Reynolds has held a prominent position among its educators. He has been President of the State Teachers' Association ; has been on the committees ap pointed at different times to visit the Normal Schools ; also on the committee to visit the State University, and in meetings of the State Teachers' Association and in other convocations of teachers has been one of the leading men. The Professor is preeminently a self-made man, and may truly be called the " architect of his own fortune." In his early years, he had good teachers who gave him wholesome advice, which he has not failed to profit by. He has an exalted idea of the mission of a teacher, and strives to be a model in the profession. Prof. Reynolds is a Master Mason. In his religious sentiments, he is a Congregation alist. He was reared in the Webster school of Whigs, was strong in the faith, and voted with that party till its dissolution, since which time he has been identified with the Republican party. His wife was Mary Ann Morey, daughter of Mitchell C. Morey, a prominent citizen of Windsor, Vt, and for twenty-one years Deputy Warden of the State Prison. They have lost one child and have two sons and two daughters living. During the time Prof. Reynolds had charge of the La Crosse High School, he sent to the universities at Madison and Chicago, and also to Beloit College, some of the best students who have entered these institutions. Physically, Prof. Reynolds is about five feet seven inches in height, rather heavy set, and weighs 185 pounds. He has gray eyes and a full, round face. He possesses most excellent physical qualities, being generous, genial, vivacious. He is a man of thorough culture, and his influence over his pupils is in all respects healthful and refining. ¦ LOUIS REIMANN, M. D., was born in Germany, on the 30th of May, 1841. He attended the High School at Weimar, Saxony, until his 20th year, when he entered the University of Jena, and attended this and the University of Geisen for several years. In 1866, he graduated at Wirzburg, Bavaria. He served one year as assistant physician in the army. Afterward he accepted a position as House Physician in the German Hospital at .London, England. In 1871, he came to America and set tled at Bloomfield, N. J, and began the practice of medicine, remaining there for two years, when, on account of ill health, he went to Augusta, Ga. Here he remained for seven years, all the while engaged in practicing medicine. During these seven years, he was a member of the State Medical Association of Georgia, and a member of the Medical Society of Augusta. In August, 1880, he was induced to go to Leadville, Colo, but on account of the high altitude of the place, was obliged to leave, whence he came to La Crosse, in January, 1881, and has, considering the short time of his residence here, a very good practice, and a fair prospect of a much better one. Dr. Reimann was married in Germany in 1868, to Mrs. A. Rumpler, formerly Miss A. Ehrenburg. They have no children. FRED RING, Jr., ticket agent of the C, M. & St. P. R. R, was born April 24, 1834, at London, England ; received his education at the City of London College, and was engaged in the railroad business in England for seven years; emigrated to America in 1858, and located in Waukesha where he was for a short time on the swamp land survey, soon afterward entering the employ of the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien Railway. In 1861, he removed to Milwaukee, residing there until 1865, when he removed to Prairie du Chien, and for four years superintended the railroad elevator at that place. In the spring of 1869, he removed to La Crosse, and here also superintended the elevator until 1872, when he became freight and ticket agent. In September, 1880, this business had attained such immense propor tions, that two agents became a necessity and Mr. Ring became ticket agent only From 1875 to March 1881, he was associated with C. F. Scharpf in the hardware business, but disposed of his share to Joseph Tausche. 788 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: JULIUS ROSSBERG, dealer in groceries, provisions, liquors, etc, corner of Third and Mississippi streets, has been in his present business since 1875, and a resident of La Crosse since 1861. He was born in Saxony, Germany in 1841. His father, Gottleib Rossberg, came to the United States in 1866, and is still living in La Crosse, 76 years old in May, 1881. His mother will be 76 in December, 1881. Mr. Rossberg came to the United States in 1861, and settled in La Crosse. He enlisted there in September, 1862, in the 9th W. V. L, Co. F, and was in the service two years and nine months. After the war, was in the upholstering business twelve years in La Crosse, before commencing his present busi ness. He was married in the fall of 1865, to Charlotte Naw and has had five children, of whom three — Emma, Eddie and Charlie are still living, and two — Otto and Emil, deceased. L. ROSSITER, railroad contractor, residence, corner Main and Tenth streets, is a native of Prince Edward Island, British America; came to Wisconsin in 1852 with his parents; lived at Fort Howard till 1857, then went to Milwaukee. In June, 1861, he enlisted in the 5th W. V. I, Co. B, and served in that regiment three years and three months, the last eight months as First Lieutenant in com mand of his company. In December, 1864, he received a Second Lieutenant's commission in the 6th U. S. V. V.; was promoted to First Lieutenant in June, 1865; and Captain, December,- 1865, and was mus tered out of service in April, 1866. In a charge of the 6th Corps on the enemy's works at Spottsylvania Court House, Va, May 10, 1864, he was wounded by a cannister-shot in the right shoulder, which dis abled him about forty days. He participated in seventeen of the principal engagements of the Army of the Potomac ; fought under McClellan, Burnside, Hooker and Meade ; has been railroading since the war closed, and in La Crosse since 1871. LOUIS ROSE, of the firm of Rose & Bro, jewelers, No. 62 Main street, was born Jan. 1, 1820, in Halberstadt, Germany ; son of Carl Rose, who died in Germany in 1852. He was educated, and learned his trade in Magdeberg, Germany, serving an apprenticeship of five years. He was in busi ness for himself eleven years in Nordheusen and came to America in August, 1854. He resided in Chi cago till August, 1857, then came to La Crosse and joined his brother, George B. Rose, who had already established himself in the jewelry business, and the present firm has existed since that time without change. Mr. Rose was married in Germany, in 1845, to Amelia Benekenstein, and has three children — Clara, Emil and Anna. GEORGE B. ROSE, of the firm of Rose & Bro, jewelers; has been in his present business in La Crosse since June, 1856, and was joined by his brother, Louis Rose, in August, 1857. He was born in Nordheusen, Germany, in October, 1830 ; learned his trade in the old country, and came to the United States in August, 1852 ; he resided in Yates Co., N. Y, one year, then returned to New York City for one year; he then lived in Poughkeepsie, N. Y, Chicago, 111, and Madison, Wis, till June, 1856; then came to La Crosse and immediately engaged in business. He was married in La Crosse in 1856, to Miss Minnie Cursten, and has five children — Alletta B, Gustave B, Viarda B, Walter B. and George B. W. A. ROOSEVELT, plumber and gas-fitter; was born Sept. 17, 1833, in Oakland Co, Mich.; moved with his parents into Detroit in 1837, remaining there until 1840, when he removed to San dusky City, Ohio ; he learned the machinist's trade in Sandusky, and, in 1853, emigrated to La Crosse, where he arrived Jan. 17 ; upon his arrival at La Crosse, he chartered the steam ferry-boat Honeoye, which he ran during the first part of the season, when he purchased a third interest in the Delia, and was engineer on this for a short time, running between Dubuque and St. Paul ; he disposed of his interest in this boat in the fall of 1857, and, up to 1860, was engaged most of the time as engineer and captain on the Missis sippi River. From 1860 to 1869, he was constantly engaged as a steamboat engineer ; Jan 1, 1869, he established his present business in La Crosse, since which time he has successfully conducted it. A. RUHOFF, book-binder, piano tuner, and dealer in pianos and organs ; was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1837. Learned book-binding in Germany, and was three years in the piano factory of F. Helmholtz, of Hanover, where he learned piano tuning and repairing ; he came to America in 1868 ; waff nine months in Milwaukee, three months in Iowa, and came to La Crosse in 1869. He was married in 1877, to Adele, daughter of August Runge, and has two children — August and Ernest. In connection with his other business, he keeps on hand pianos and organs to rent. CONST ANTINE RUPP, saloon-keeper, on Third street corner of Vine ; was born in Baden, Germany, in 1811 ; son of Ignatz Rupp. He was married in Germany in 1841, to Frances Conert, and came to the United States immediately after marriage. He lived in Philadelphia, Penn, two years, and in Wilmington, Del, eleven years ; was in the butchering business in both places ; he then went to Newark, N. J, and was in the saloon business twelve years, and came to La Crosse in 1866, where he has followed the same business up to the present time. Mr. Rupp has had four children, three of them still living. His oldest son, George Martin, enlisted in June, 1861, in the 7th N. J. V. I, and was killed in battle LA CROSSE. 789 near Petersburg, Va, on the 7th day of May, 1864; his second son, John, was also in the army, three months in the 3d N. J. V. I, and one year in another regiment. He is now married and living in Newark, N. J.; Julius (12 years old) and George William (7), at home. JACOB RUPLIN, contractor and builder ; has been a resident of La Crosse since 1867 ; he was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, in 1843 ; son of Adam Ruplin, who died there in 1868. Mr. Ru- plin learned the cabinet-maker's trade in his native place, and came to the United States in 1866 ; he worked in Washington, D. C, till the spring of 1867, when he came to La Crosse. He was married in 1871, to Miss Mary Eckel, a native of La Crosse, and daughter of Adam Eckel, one of the early settlers of that place ; has two ohildren — Alfred and Carl. E. R. RYNNING, book-keeper for N. B. Holway ; has been in his present situation since April, 1879 ; he was bom in Norway in 1858 ; son of Frederick Rynning, who is still living in Norway. Mr. Rynning graduated from the high school of Christiania, Norway, in 1873, and from the Polytechnic School of Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1876. He came to America in June, 1877, and followed civil engineer ing in Faribault Co, Minn, till he came to La Crosse in October, 1878. JOHN A. SALZER, proprietor of the La Crosse Floral Gardens, on South Seventh street, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1823; son of John G. Salzer, a nurseryman and fruit-raiser; came to America in 1846; lived four years in Galena, 111, four years in Iowa; then lived six years in Wis consin — in Baraboo, West Bend and Manitowoc; then three years in Peru, 111, and came from there to La Crosse in 1863 ; has been in his present business since 1866. He has eight greenhouses and about 9,000 feet under glass. In connection with his garden, he has an apiary of about eighty stands of bees, and produces from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of honey per annum. GEORGE SCHARPF, merchant tailor and City Treasurer, was born in Wurtemberg, Ger many, in 1826 ; came to the United States in 1847 ; lived in Buffalo, N. Y, three years ; then went to Galena, 111, and came from there to La Crosse in 1852, since which time he has been engaged in his present business. He was elected Alderman of the Second Ward of La Crosse in 1856, and served three years; was also School District Treasurer six years, and has held the office of City Treasurer since 1861, except two years, in 1866 and 1867. IGNATZ SCHIERL was born in Germany in July, 1842. He immigrated to America in June, 1867, and came direct to La Crosse, where he worked for seven years in the Eagle Brewery. He then commenced a wholesale liquor business for himself on Third street; was married in August, 1874, to Miss Dorethe Runge, and has one child. PETER SCHINTGEN, dealer in ice, wood and hay, corner of Third and Cass streets, is a native of Luxemburg, Germany, bora in 1829; came to America in the fall of 1854, and settled in La Crosse. In 1855, he returned to Luxemburg and was married there to Miss Lucy Kiefer, and again came to America after spending about a year in Europe. He has since that resided in La Crosse : is one of the present Aldermen of the Third Ward, and was one year Alderman of the Second Ward. He has four children — Mary, Susan, Philopena and Bretta. CHRIS. F. SCHARPF, hardware dealer, was bora in 1836, July 19, at Aichschiess, Wur temberg, Garmany, where he attended the schools, emigrating to America in 1852, and locating at Ga lena, 111, remaining there one and a half years, learning the tailor's trade, and then removing to La Crosse. After having thoroughly learned the trade of a tinsmith, he opened a hardware store with George Edwards in 1862. He has since followed this business at this place, meeting with excellent success. After re moving to La Crosse, he was foreman a number of years for Tenney, Oatman & Co. MICHAEL SCHLASISIES, proprietor of the City Hotel, was born in the city of Luxem burg, Germany, in 1845 ; came to America in 1868, and has resided in La Crosse since that. He learned the stone-cutter's trade in the old country, and worked at that business three summers in La Crosse ; has been in the City Hotel four years, and" was in the saloon business three years previous to that ; has ac commodation for about twenty guests and stabling for eleven teams. He was married in 1874 to Margaret Suggun, and has two children — Nicholas and Susan. DR. FERDINAND SCHMIDT, proprietor of the European Hotel, corner Third and Jay streets; is a native of Prussia; born in 1831. He studied veterinary surgery in Europe, and practiced there twelve years, and has since practiced three years in La Crosse; came to America m 1868, and has resided in La Crosse. He purchased the European Hotel in September, 1876, and has kept it since Jan uary, 1877; can accommodate seventy-five to eighty guests, and has stable room for sixty-four horses. He is running a livery stable in connection with the hotel, and keeps from twelve to twenty horses. He kept the City Hotel three years previous to purchasing his present place. Has a wife and four children- Bertha, August, Konrad and Gorgine. He traveled over a good share of Europe before coming to Amer. 790 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: ica in 1868, and in 1878 returned and spent one summer there, and attended the Paris Exposition during that time. JACOB SCHOLL, saloon-keeper, 71 and 73 Main street; has been in his present location since 1869. He owns the building, a two-story brick, 21x55, with basement, which he erected in 1868. He also owns the adjoining building, a two-story brick, 22x65, with basement, erected in 1875. Mr. Scboll was born in Prussia, in 1839; son of Peter Scholl ; came to America alone, when only 15 years old; lived in Milwaukee two years, in Zanesville three years, and came from there to La Crosse. He was fore man of the Hook and Ladder Company fourteen years, and has been Treasurer of the Catholic Life Insur ance Association ever since its organization, in 1878. REV. JAMES SCHWEBACH, Pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church, La Crosse; was born in Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Germany, Aug. 15, 1847 ; born of pious German parents, he was early educated in the principles of the Catholic Church, to the advancement of which he afterward devoted his life. While yet in his teens, he finished a collegiate course of study in Luxemburg, where he mas tered and became proficient in both the German and French languages. He emigrated to America in 1864, just as the country was experiencing the most trying times of the civil war, and seeing the great necessity of Catholic priests, within two weeks after his arrival in New York, June 11, 1864, he entered the St. Francis Seminary at Milwaukee. Here he studied philosophy and theology five years. Being a young man of rare intelligence and fine natural qualifications, he graduated from this seat of learning at the early age of 21. Too young to be ordained, he was sent to La Crosse as sub-deacon, to perform such duties as this office would allow. One year previous to his ordination to the priesthood, he preached reg ularly in three different languages — English, German and French. He was ordained on the feast of Cor pus Christi, 1870, and was then appointed Pastor of St. Mary's Church, La Crosse. Besides possessing a fine library, he is well read, and is an accomplished French, German and English scholar. The kindly feelings of the Catholics of this city for the quiet, self-possessed student of fifteen years ago, has since ripened into feelings of love for the Pastor of to-day, and Father Schwebach is honored and respected by all classes of citizens, no matter of what religious belief. WILLIAM SCHWAB, proprietor of the Eagle Hotel, corner of Second and King streets; was born in Prussia in 1840. His father, John W. Schwab, came to the United States in 1853, and settled in Massachusetts, where he was joined by his family in 1858. William, Jr., came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1863, and settled on a farm in the town of Shelby, La Crosse Co. His father came on with the balance of the family in 1864; he died in October, 1879. William, Jr., remained on the farm till December, 1875, then came to the city, and kept hotel on Fifth street till July, 1880, then came to his present location, where he has accommodations for thirty-five boarders and stable room for six to eight teams. He has two children — Katie and Peter. His wife's maiden name was Barbara Dengel, also a native of Prussia. Mr. Schwab was Supervisor of Shelby one year. GEORGE W. SCOTT, house, sign and ornamental painter, decorator and paper-hanger; has been a resident of La Crosse since August, 1856. He was bora in Ashtabula Co., Ohio, 1840; son of Ellis Scott, a native of Massachusetts, who died in 1869. Mr. Scott came to La Crosse at tha age of 16 years, learned his trade here, and has followed it in La Crosse since, except when in the army. He enlisted, August, 1861, in the 1st Wis. Battery, and was in the service till November, 1864, and partici pated in every battle in which the battery was engaged during that time. He was married to Olive L. Crosby, daughter of Alonzo K. Crosby, in Blandford, Hampden Co, Mass., June, 1865; has had three children — Nellie E. (deceased), Emma L. and Gertie G. JACOB SEES, stone-mason ; has been a resident of La Crosse since June, 1858 ; he was born in Baden, Germany, in 1822. His father, John Sees, came to the United States with his family in 1847 ; settled in Philadelphia, and resided there till his death, in 1878, at the age of 80. Mr. Sees was married in Philadelphia in 1850, to Sophia Murtin, and has six children — Jacob, Fatima, Sophia, Emma, Helen and Lucy. He resided in Philadelphia till he came to La Crosse in 1858 ; in addition to his other busi ness, Mr. Sees is keeping a boarding-house on State street, between Second and Third. CHARLES SEGELKE, of the manufacturing firm of Segelke, Kohlhaus & Co.; was bora in Hanover, Germany, in 1830, and came to the United States in 1851 ; he lived in Wateriown, Wis, five years, and has resided in La Crosse since September, 1856 ; he worked one year for wages after coming to La Crosse ; then bought a small shop, and commenced business for himself, which he has continued with success up to the present time. He was married in 1862, in Jefferson, Wis, to Miss Augusta Schnasse, of Watertown, and has three children — Ernestine, Louisa and Dora. His father, I. E. D. Segelke, came to the United States in 1870 ; settled in La Crosse, and died in November, 1876, aged 84 years ; his mother is still living. LA CROSSE. 791 J. SEMSCH & BRO., dealers in crockery and glassware ; have been in business in La Crosse since January, 1871 ; in addition to their present business they dealt in groceries up to February, 1880, when they sold out that branch of their business. The firm consists of Joseph and Wenzel Semsch, both bom in Austria, and both are unmarried ; Joseph came to the United States in May, 1867, and was fol lowed the following June by his father, Joseph, Sr, and the balance of his family ; his father is still living in La Crosse. MARK L. SE YSIOUR, engineer at the City Mill ; was born in the city of Fond du Lac, Wis, in 1858. His father, Frank Seymour, a native of Oswego Co, N. Y, came to Fond du Lac in 1844 ; he remained there till 1868, then went to Green Bay, Wis, and ran on the lakes three years as an engineer ; then returned to Fond du Lac, and came from there to La Crosse in the spring of 1875 ; while in Fond du Lac, he ran the mill of Moore, Galloway & Baker, and after coming to La Crosse had charge of C. L. Cole man's mill one year, and after that worked at millwright work most of the time till his death, which oc curred in April, 1880, leaving three children — Ralph (now an engineer in Watertown, Minn.), Mark L. and May in La Crosse. Mrs. Seymour is still living in La Crosse with her son Mark, who is unmarried ; her maiden name was Orpha Tompkins, daughter of Col. Isaac Tompkins, one of the old settlers and promi nent business men of Fond du Lac, Wis. Horace Seymour, who built and owned the old Seymour Grist mill of Fond du Lac, was grandfather of Mark L. GILBERT SHEPARD, SI. D., is a native of Wyoming Co, N. Y.; born in 1838. His father, Truman Shepard, came to Wisconsin in 1845, and settled in Rock Co., where he is still living at the age of 80. Gilbert Shepard entered Beloit College in 1861, and in December, 1863, enlisted in the 1st W. V. C, Co. M ; he remained with his company about six months, and was then detailed as clerk in the office of the Inspector General, where he remained till July, 1865. He then returned to Beloit College and graduated in 1866 ; he came to La Crosse and studied medicine with Dr. Ober and graduated from Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago in 1870 ; he immediately commenced practice in the village of Trempealeau, Wis, and came from there to La Crosse in 1872, where he has practiced since that time. He was married in 1869 to Miss Ellen E. Cornan, of Trempealeau ; has three children — George Hugh, Kittie Louise and Carra Belle. THOMAS SHIMMIN, Jr., proprietor of the Oak Grove Steam Marble-Works ; has been a resident of .La Crosse since Sept. 9, 1854 ; he was born in the Isle of Man in 1830 ; son of John Shim min, who died in 1871. Mr. Shimmin came to the United States in August, 1854, and settled in La Crosse the next September ; he was in the butchering business about nine years ; then went to quarrying and dressing stone for building purposes, which he continued till 1878 ; in 1875, he started his present shop in company with R. T. Wilson and Ruel Weston ; in 1877, Mr. Wilson sold out to his partners ; in 1878, Mr. Shimmin sold to Mr. Weston his interest in the quarry, and in May, 1879, purchased Mr. Weston's interest in the shop, which he has since carried on alone. Mr. Shimmin was married Dec. 20, 1857, in La Crosse, to Miss Ann Lilly, daughter of John Lilly, of Birkenhead, England; have had three children, only one of them now living — John and Katie (deceased), and Elizabeth Lilly at home. JACOB SHOOK, proprietor of the Revere House; is a native of Germany, born near the Rhine in 1828 ; son of Jacob Shook, who came to America in 1831, and settled in Sandusky City, Ohio, and died there in April, 1880. Jacob Shook, Jr., was married, in 1848, in Sandusky City, to Miss Mary Lazer. He came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1864, lived one month in La Crosse then went to Houston Co, Minn, where he resided five years ; then in Fillmore Co. two years ; then came back to Houston Co. and lived in Hokah till May 24, 1880, since which time he has been in the Revere House, where he has accommodations for seventy-five guests and stabling for sixteen horses ; has been in the hotel and livery business since 1864. Has had seven children, five of whom are living — Lena, Elizabeth, Adam, Emma and Jacob ; Mary and Libbie deceased. CHARLES B. SOLBERG. In and near La Crosse are a very large number of Norwe gians, and they are among the most industrious and thrifty class of people. This is true whether they be farmers, mechanics, professional men or merchants. Among the last class of business men in the city of La Crosse, the two most successful are Norwegians, and one of them is the subject of this sketch. A native of Lillehammer, he was bora Aug. 20, 1835. His parents were Ole N. and Mary (Anderson) Sol berg. His father was a merchant in his younger days, but, on immigrating to this country with his fam ily in 1853, purchased land near La Crosse and opened a farm; which he still cultivates. Both he and his wife are living, and are hale, industrious, well-to-do people. On reaching La Crosse, Charles accepted a clerkship from °John M. Levy at a salary of $8 per month ; he was afterward employed by the follow ing firms, succeeding each other in the same house and business ; R. R. Smith & Co, Deming & Francis, John B. Crookston, F. M. Rublee & Co. and Dick Sewell. In 1861, Mr. Solberg rented a store, and 792 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: with about $2,000 capital, opened a grocery trade, a business which he has since followed with marked success. In 1864, he started a branch house in Decorah, Iowa, whieh he sold to his brothers in 1866. He who, twenty years ago, began business for himself in a two-story store, 20x60 feet, now has a store three stories above the basement, averaging 50x150, and usually containing from $40,000 to $60,000 worth of merchandise. This growth in business is purely the result of close attention and care, and pru dence and honesty in all its details. There is not a more thorough business man in La Crosse. In politics, Mr. Solberg is an ardent Republican. He discharges his duty faithfully as a citizen, but does not covet office. He has, however, held some useful positions in the municipality of La Crosse ; has been on the Republican State Central Committee and was a Presidential Elector in 1876. He, however, allows neither politics nor anything else to interfere with his business. On the 21st of December, 1861, he was mar ried to Miss Alice Johnson, of La Crosse ; they have had six children, five of whom are still living. H. F. SMILEY, Mayor ; is a native of Skowhegan, Me, born in 1840 ; when 4 years of age, his parents removed to Penobscot Co., Me, near Bangor, where he grew up to manhood ; in 1865, he returned to Skowhegan and came from there to Wisconsin in 1865 ; he resided in Onalaska till April, 1873, since which time he has been a resident of La Crosse. Most of the time since coming to this city he has been employed as book-keeper for his brother-in-law, R. M. Mooer, lumberman. In September, 1862, he enlisted in the 6th Mass. V. I, Co. K, and was in the service nine months. He was elected Mayor in 1880. H. B. SSIITH, insurance, real estate and loan agent, No. 37 Main street ; is a native of Mercer Co., Penn, born in 1838; came to La Crosse in 1871, and followed the business in which he is now engaged till 1874, then went into the milling business in company with John E. Davis, which he con tinued till 1876 ; he was then out of business one year, and, in 1877, bought out, the insurance business of Walter Brown, and added real estate and loaning ; has since that time conducted business alone. Mr. Smith spent ten years previous to his coming to La Crosse in the copper regions of Lake Superior. JOHN SMITH, proprietor of the Mississippi House, was born in Sweden in 1834, and was a son of Johannes Smith ; came to the United States in 1859. He was a sailor, and sailed from New York City one and a half years in the coast trade; then went to Mobile, Ala, and stayed till 1861. He was then in the army till the close of the war, and came to La Crosse in 1866. He commenced building the Mississippi House in the fall of 1 874 ; has accommodation for about forty boarders and stabling for eighteen to twenty horses. He was married in La Crosse, in 1872, to Mrs. Paulina Johnson, widow of Andrew Johnson. She had two children by the first husband — Oscar and Albert — and two by the present husband — Ida and Joseph Emil. FORREST J. SSIITH, lumber dealer, was born in La Crosse County, four miles east of the city of La Crosse, Jan. 22, 1853 ; is the son of O. H. Smith, general clerk and book-keeper in the office of David Law's freight and omnibus line. He lived with his parents, attending the common and public schools until 1870, when he became engaged in the lumber business, following it at the present time. CHARLES SMITH, Clerk of the Circuit Court of La Crosse County, was born in Soem- merda, kingdom of Prussia, May 20, 1840; received a common-school education in that country; came to America with his parents in the fall of 1852, and located in Sauk City, Sauk Co., where his father en gaged in farming. In 1857, he went to Island No. 52, in Mississippi, where he worked as a wood-chopper until the spring of 1858, when he went to Stillwater, Minn, from which place he ran on the river until the fall of that year, when he moved to Bangor, La Crosse Co, his parents having moved there in 1860. He worked on the farm with them until Feb. 7, 1861, when he enlisted for three years in the 19th W. V. I, and was appointed Corporal in August. After two years' service, he re-enlisted in the same regi ment for three years more ; was taken prisoner Oct. 27, 1864, at Fair Oaks, together with about sixty-five others, who were either captured, killed or wounded, leaving only about 170 in the regiment. He was kept in prison at Richmond about three weeks, and was then taken to Salisbury, N. C, where he was kept until Feb. 21, 1865, and then released ; was soon afterward taken sick and conveyed to the Navy School Hospital, at Annapolis, Md, and thence to Jarvis Hospital, at Baltimore, Md, and there discharged, Aug. 29, 1865, his regiment having been discharged about two months previous. He then came back to La Crosse, and his father in the meantime having died, he took charge of his farm ; was married Dec. 24, 1865. In the spring of 1866, he gave up farming on account of a swelling on his leg, which disabled him, and bought a hotel at Bangor, La Crosse Co. He subsequently sold this, and was unable to do any business of any kind for several years. In 1874, he went to Indianapolis with the intention of having his leg amputated, but this he found not necessary. Upon coming again to Bangor, he was appointed Deputy Postmaster. In the fall of 1875, he was elected to the office of Clerk of the Circuit Court, holding that office at the present time. LA CROSSE. 795 ORLANDO H. SMITH, City Clerk, was born in Voluntown, Windham Co, Conn, Jan. 31, 1821 ; was the second youngest of seven brothers. He attended a district school from the time he was 5 until he was 16 years of age, from three to four months each year, during the winter, and usually had to walk about one and a half miles to school. His father, John C. Smith, was a farmer, and also had a store, and with him he worked during the summers, part of the time on the farm and the remainder of the time in the store, until he was 22 years of age, when he learned the weaver's trade and worked in a cotton factory as head weaver for four or five years. He was married, Oct. 10, 1847, to Harriet T. Kin ney. After this, he kept a factory store and worked in the factory occasionally until March, 1857. In 1856, he was elected a member of the Connecticut State Legislature from his native town. Came to La Crosse in May, 1857, but soon returned again to his home in Connecticut. In December of the same year, he again came to La Crosse, this time bringing his family with him. From 1858 to 1861, he kept a boarding-house and hotel in La Crosse. In the spring of 1861, he was elected City Clerk, which office he retained until April, 1862. In November, 1861, he was elected as Clerk of the Circuit Court, and held that office until Jan. 1, 1864. In 1865, he was clerk in an auction store, and from January, 1866, to November, 1869, was head salesman and book-keeper for W. H. Leeman & Co., wholesale grocers. From this time until January, 1877, he was in the grocery business, part of the time with H. C. Heath and the remainder of the time alone. In April, 1874, he was elected Alderman of the Fourth Ward, and held that office until April, 1877, when he was elected as City Clerk, which office he still retains. REV. JAMES IRWIN SMITH, son of a farmer, merchant and mill-owner, located on the Cool Spring, in Mercer Co., in Pennsylvania ; was bora the 31st of March, 1827 ; the descendant of Pres byterian parentage, and as the church where they worshiped was built upon his father's farm, it is not strange that he early loved its doctrines and its ordinances ; his education was begun in his home and carried forward in the country schools, which he attended in winters ; at the age of 15, he determined to procure a liberal education wholly by his own efforts, and, Dec. 12, 1842, entered Mercer Academy, then managed by an enthusiastic educator, Samuel Griffiths, Esq.; his first term as a teacher was five months in West Green ville, Penn, during the winter of 1844-45, after which, he returned again to the academy. In the fall of L845, he left the academy and went to the South, at that period the inviting field for teachers ; there he spent three years and a half in Tennessee, the first in a school organized in Williamson Co.; the second as tutor in Jackson College, Columbia ; the last year and a half at the head of Central Academy, in Ruther ford Co.; in these engagements, he was successful, acquiring ample means for the completing of his course of education, and a balance for the purchase of a home after it was finished. Returning to Pennsylvania, he entered Jefferson College, and, in 1851, graduated with honors in a class of 54; he passed directly to the Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny, Penn, and was licensed to preach by the Erie Presbytery Sept. 8, 1853, and ordained by the same Presbytery in August, 1854. Losing health by prolonged studies and teaching, and through an attack of typhoid fever during college course, he went in the spring of 1852, to recuperate on the wild, health-reviving shores of Lake Superior ; the region was but sparsely settled then at any point, but the mines of copper were being pushed with great vigor ; busied with studies and with health-giving occupations, he resisted all solicitations to embark in the speculative enterprises so rife at that date, and resolved still on his original purpose of preaching the Gospel so soon as health should be re-estab lished ; with this view, however, he accepted an appointment as clerk of the Copper Falls and Summit Mines at a liberal salary, determined to maintain himself by the salary, and to preach to the surrounding villages and mines on the Sabbath, as he had ascertained, in a snow-shoe tour of exploration round the lake, there was at the time only a single ordained Protestant minister engaged among the whites for the whole region ; his project he laid before the Rev. W. H. Hazleton, a Baptist clergyman from New Hampshire, like him self in quest of health. " No ! " said this friend. " If you will preach, I will find the money for your sup port." Thus they were to set out upon the planting of churches together ; the position was resigned with its income ; and when returning to the lake after licensure, Mr. Smith found fields of far greater promise higher up the shore of the lake in the Ontonagon district, the arrangement for co-operative labors between the Baptist and Presbyterian were not carried out in that form ; located at Ontonagon, the entrepot forthe largest production and" imports on Lake Superior at the time, a house of worship was built in 1854, mainly by means collected by Mr. Smith, and a church organized in that town ; from the first, his labors were ex tended to all the settlements in the interior ; his habit was to walk long distances and preach thrice on each Sabbath ; in due time churches were constituted in his charge at Maple Grove and at Rockland, and his habit for years was to ride twenty-five miles every Sabbath and deliver three sermons to his people. This charge he resigned in June, 1865, to accept the appointment of his Synod of St. Paul to traverse the ter. ritory of the Synod, and gather and organize churches, and procure for them ministers ; passing the sum . 796 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: mer at this work, the heat and journeys proved excessive in absence of all railway facilities then, and he relinquished the work, preaching for the winter in the Andrew Church, St. Anthony ; in this capacity, how ever, he visited La Crosse, Wis, embraced in the territory of that Synod ; deciding that this city had claims upon the Presbyterians, and prospects to warrant the founding of a church, he removed hither with his family from St. Paul, arriving May 2, 1866 ; he at once began labors amongst a people entirely unknown to him and to each other as Presbyterians ; and, in August of that year, organized the first church of this city, of which he remained Pastor till June, 1880 ; from its membership was constituted also the church of North La Crosse, called the North Church of La Crosse since the consolidation of that village with the city ; of this, he retained the charge jointly with the first church till September, 1876. In April, 1881, he removed to Galesville, to have charge of the Presbyterian Church, and a share in the management of the University at that place. WILLIASI H. SMITH, proprietor of Smith & Merrill's foundry ; was bom in Stafford, Tolland Co., N. Y, Feb. 5, 1824 ; moved with his parents to Syracuse, N. Y, in 1830 ; here he spent his boyhood days attending the common schools and the academy at Onondaga. In 1843, he removed to Wis consin, locating at Kenosha, where he worked in the foundry business for Benedict & Francis; in 1845, he removed to Racine and worked in a foundry for Wilson & Burgess, making the first casting that was ever made in Racine ; he then removed to Milwaukee and worked there in a foundry for A. J. Langworthy. In 1848, he removed again ; this time to Waukesha, where he again worked in a foundry, remaining here about four years ; in 1852, he went to Portage and went into partnership with a Mr. Blair in the foundry business, under the firm name of Smith & Blair ; he remained here until 1861, when he removed to La Crosse and entered as a partner into his present business, of which he has since acquired the sole proprie torship. FRANK SPECHT, dealer in groceries and provisions, comer of Ninth and Market streets; has been a resident of La Crosse since Sept. 15, 1862 ; he was a harness-maker by trade and worked at that business in La Crosse till the winter of 1866, when he lost the use of his left hand, and went into the saloon business, in which he continued till 1880. In March, 1880, he commenced building his present store, and commenced business the next June. He was born in Baden, Germany, in 1843, and came to America with his father, Jacob Specht, in 1854; they lived in Madison Co., N. Y., till 1858 ; then came to Wisconsin, where the father died in Columbia Co., in 1870. Mr. Specht was married in La Crosse in 1870, to Theresa Hescheld, a native of Germany, and has three children — Frank, Willie and Louis. FRANK STAUGL, cooper, between Tenth and Eleventh on State street; was born in Aus tria, 1826; son of Adam Staugl. He was married in Germany, in 1854, to Miss Anna Vartar. Came to the United States in 1872, and has resided in La Crosse since, and has been in business since 1873. Has six children — George, John, Joseph, Frank, Charles and Henry — all at home except George, who is mar ried and lives in La Crosse. He carried on business in Germany from 1854 till he came to the United States. ARTHUR O. STEVENS, machinist, with C, M. & St. P. R. R.; was born in Connecticut, in January, 1845. Came to Wisconsin in 1856, with his parents; located at La Crosse. Learned his trade at the shops of Dean, Smith & Co, commencing in 1860 ; served with this company nearly three years. He enlisted, in February, 1864, in Co. D, 14th W. V. I, and served till the close of the war; participated in Sherman's march from Chattanooga to Atlanta. On his return from the war, he engaged with Durant, Van Arsdale & Co., of Kenosha; after a few months' service in these shops, he went to Rockford, 111, and entered the employ of the F. H. Manny Reaper Company ; spent three seasons in these works, then returned to La Crosse, and engaged with C. C. & E. G. Smith, bridge builders and gen eral contractors; continued with this firm nine years, and then went to Stillwater; Minn, and worked nearly a year in the threshing-machine works of Seymour & Co. ; came to Milwaukee in 1879, and engaged with E. P. Allis & Co., iron manufacturers; served in these shops till 1880. In September of that year, he entered the employ of the C, M. & St. P. R. R, at the West Milwaukee shops. Resides at No. 385 Greenbush street. JOHN STEPHENSON, proprietor of the Tremont House, corner Pearl and Second street; was born in Norway, in 1848; came to America in 1867, and has been in La Crosse Co. since. In the summer of 1868, he built the Scandinavian House in La Crosse, and kept it about a year, then sold out, and went into the commission business for a time. He then put up three dwelling houses in the city, and soon after exchanged them for a farm of 120 acres in Onalaska, La Crosse Co, and followed farming till March 18, 1880, and since that has been in his present business. He was married in St. Croix Falls, in 1868, to Anna Ulrikke, and has five children — Berntine, Henry T, Wilhelmina, Axel, Johan and Luise Charlotte. He has accommodations for 200 guests, and stabling for forty teams. Terms, $1.50 per day LA CROSSE. 797 CHARLES A. STEWART, engineer on the C, M. & St. P. R. R.; has been in the employ of the company since 1873, and has had an engine since 1878. He was born in Portland, Me, in December, 1850; son of William Stewart, who died in New Brunswick in 1860. Charles A. came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1865, and has resided in La Crosse ever since. He was married, in July. 1875, to Clara M. Parks, of Juneau Co, Wis.; has no children. J. STIRNESIAN, wholesale and retail grocer, has been in business in La Crosse since 1876. He was born in Rochester, N. Y, in 1854; son of Jacob Stirneman, now of Winona, Minn. Mr. Stir neman resided in Cleveland, Ohio, and Winona, Minn, a few months previous to coming to La Crosse in 1876. He was married, in 1878, to Miss Lizzie, daughter of John Frankle, one of the oldest business men in La Crosse. Mr. and Mrs. S. have two children — Georgiana and Earl. CHARLES L. STODDARD, SI. D., was born in Buffalo, N. Y, May 12, 1836, of Scotch parents. Studied medicine in Philadelphia under W. H. Hazzard, M. D, and B. H. Rand, M. D, Professor of Chemistry in Pennsylvania College. Commencing in 1856, he attended lectures in the medical department of Pennsylvania College to March, 1860, when he received his degree of M. D. Dur ing this time was an attendant in various hospitals, and resident for nearly two years in Philadelphia Hos pital. During the winter of 1859 and 1860, was Demonstrator of Anatomy. He studied with a view of entering the naval service as surgeon, but his health being injured by assiduous application would not war rant at the time his offering himself as candidate for admission, as vigorous physical health is considered of first importance in a candidate. He came to Wisconsin in November, 1860, and immediately engaged in an extensive practice in East Troy, Walworth Co. In 1872, he removed to Whitewater, Wis, where he also had an extensive and lucrative practice in a very short period. In 1877, seeing the prospects of growth and future prosperity of La Crosse, at the urgent solicitation of many friends was induced to engage in practice in this city, where he immediately became fully occupied in the practice of his profes sion. He is a very active member and writer for the State Medical Society, and has also been, since 1863, a member of the American Medical Association, representing the State Medical Society in that organiza tion on different occasions. WILLIASI H. STOGDILL, attorney and counsellor at law ; was born in Westchester Co, N. Y, in 1819, and resided there until in his 15th year, when he went with his parents to New York City to reside. He pursued his academic course of studies in the academy at Sing Sing under the super vision of Rev. Nathaniel Perine, and completed them under Prof. Russell at Elmwood Hill Academy, New York City. He entered the office of David Graham in 1836, and was admitted to the bar in 1840 in the Supreme Court. He continued to practice in New York City until 1857, when he came to La Crosse. Wis, where he has continued his practice. From 1849 to 1852, was attorney for Thomas Casserly, Sheriff of the city of New York, and, in 1852, was Whig candidate for Marine Court Judge, but was defeated. In 1863, Mr. S. was elected City Attorney of La Crosse on the Republican ticket vice Hon. James I. Lyndes, who was a very strong man before the people. Mr. S. subsequently ran twice for the same office, and was defeated. Of late years, has taken very little active part in politics, but has directed his time in the practice of his profession. . J. H. STOSIRS, mechanical engineer, has been connected with the steamboat interests on the Mississippi River since 1846, on the Upper Mississippi since 1 855, and a resident of La Crusse since 1861. He was bora in Salem Co, N. J, Nov. 5, 1830. His father, John Stombs, removed to Ohio with his family in 1834, settled in Clermont County, and died there in 1838. Mr. Stombs learned his trade in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he resided from 1840 to 1854. He then went to St. Louis, Mo, and in May, 1855, removed to Minnesota. He resided in St. Paul from 1857 to 1861, and came from there to La Crosse. He is the inventor of a balance steam puppet valve, patented in 1872 ; a balance slide steam valve, patented in 1873 ; also, of an improvement in self-adjusting telegraph relays, patented in 1873 ; also, of an improvement in steam governors. He is the present Vice President of the National Marine Engineers' Association of the United States. His first wife was Mary A. E Kinney, of Scott Co, Minn. She died in 1876, leaving one son, Joseph A, now in the First National Bank of Rock Island, 111. His present wife was Ella A. Dean, of Rock Island. R. L. STROUSE & CO., dealers in hides, wool, pelts, furs, rags, scrap-iron and metals, have been in business in La Crosse since 1863. Mr. Strouse is a native of Bavaria, born in 1839 ; came to the United States in April, 1856; lived in Philadelphia till 1859; then went to McGregor, Iowa, and came from there to La Crosse in 1862. He commenced business in 1863, and was joined by Mr. Ensel in 1868. G. W. Ensel, the other member of the firm, was born in Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Prussia, in 1838; came to the United States in August, 1854; lived in Philadelphia, Penn, Washington, D. C, Des Moines and McGregor, Iowa, till November, 1866; then caoie to La Crosse and joined Mr. Strouse 798 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: in business in 1868; unmarried. Mr. Strouse was married Oct. 27, 1872, in Philadelphia, to Miss Frederica Ensel ; has no children. In business, they operate throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Dakota and Montana. L. STRIEGEL, merchant grocery and liquor store, corner of Fourth and Pearl streets, was bora in Baiern, Europe, in 1835 ; son of George Striegel, who came to the United States in 1850, settled in Germantown, Washington Co., Wis.; came from there to' Vernon County in 1855, and died there. L. Striegel was married in Vernon County, in 1862, to Mary Schiitte, and came from there to La Crosse in 1864, where he has since resided, except one year in Hokah, Minn. He was two years Supervisor in La Crosse. Has no children. C. F. STRUCK, architect, was born in Christiania, Norway, in 1842 ; son of H. H. Struck, who came to the United States in 1864, settled in Chicago, and died there in 1878. Mr. Struck went to Marquette, Mich, in 1873, to superintend the erection of a bank building, and soon after opened an office and commenced business for himself. While there, he built the Episcopal Church of that place, which is of brown stone and cost $50,000. He also built a $30,000 schoolhouse and a $30,000 opera house, both of brown stone, and several dwelling-houses. He came to La Crosse in 1877 from Marquette, and since here has built Germania Hall, the cooling and ice-houses of the John Gund Brewing Company, S. Heile- mann and C. & J. Michel, and also remodeled the International Hotel. W. J. SUPPLEE, of late firm of Lloyd & Supplee, was born in the city of Norristown, Penn, in the year 1833. The acquaintance between these gentlemen began in early youth ; at school they attended the same academy, and completed their studies at the same time, after which they went to Philadelphia to gether, Mr. Lloyd entering the hardware house of Messrs. Dilworth, Branson & Co, to learn the business, and Mr. Supplee the store of Messrs. Conrad Baird, Son & Co., manufacturers of silverware. They both applied themselves with the greatest diligence to learn all that was to be learned in these different branches. A few months before Mr. Lloyd attained his majority, he decided to locate in the West. For ten years previous to this, he and Mr. Supplee had been almost inseparable ; they had roomed together as boys at school, had gone to Philadelphia together, and had occupied the same quarters during the five years they remained at Philadelphia. The very strongest and closest friendship had grown up between them ; indeed, they were more intimate than brothers usually are, and, as soon as Mr. Supplee ascertained Mr. Lloyd had decided to go West, he as quickly made up his mind to accompany him. They accordingly left the city of brotherly love, armed with a few letters of introduction to parties living at different points in the Missis sippi Valley. After traveling up and down the Mississippi for a week or ten days, they finally decided to locate at La Crosse. This was in the summer of 1856, the city of La Crosse at that time having a pop ulation of about 500 inhabitants. A small frame building was secured, on the west side of Front street, near State, and, while Mr. Lloyd was East selecting the stock of goods, Mr. Supplee remained at La Crosse making preparations to receive them. From the first their success was assured. They safely weathered the disastrous panic of 1857. They thoroughly understood their business and gave the same the very closest attention, and were soon firmly established. In a couple of years it became necessary to seek larger quarters, which they found in the brick block on the east side of Front, between Main and State. So fast did their business increase, that, in June, 1861, they removed to the stone building on the corner of Front and Main streets. At the time they did this, some of their friends thought them wild, and thought they could not possibly do sufficient business to warrant the maintaining of so large an establishment. But they had not made the change without due consideration. They were gentlemen of wonderful enterprise but of great caution, were ambitious to extend their business by all honorable means, and aimed to reach the top of the commercial ladder. The last move proved to be a good one, and was not made any too soon, and those of their friends who had predicted failure were forced to acknowledge they had reckoned without their host. During the war, the business done by this firm was simply enormous, and their profits in proportion. In 1866, having accumulated more means than they could use to advantage in their bus iness at La Crosse, they decided to remove to Philadelphia, which they did in the month of January, 1867. In the spring of 1859, Mr. Lloyd was married to Miss Lizzie, daughter of Nathan Custer, Esq., of Phil adelphia, and immediately began housekeeping in the dwelling northeast corner Seventh and Pine streets, which he occupied until bis removal from the city. In the fall of 1861, Mr. Supplee was married to Miss Mary Danforth, daughter of Mrs. H. T. Rumsey, of La Crosse. Of the social qualities of these gentle men and of their most estimable ladies, too much cannot be said in praise. They were noted for their kindheartedness, their open-handed and cordial hospitality, and, during all the time of their residence in La Crosse, took a leading part in society. The acquaintances made and friendships formed while in La Crosse have been renewed and kept alive by frequent visits and correspondence. They have always felt and cherished feelings of the very warmest regard for La Crosse and its people, and will remember them LA CROSSE. 799 with kindest feelings while life lasts, and so, too, will they be remembered by many of the people of La Crosse. On leaving La Crosse, the business of the firm of Lloyd & Supplee was turned over to Lloyd, Supplee & Co, the^ general partners being Frank H. Lloyd, Joseph Clark and Joseph M. Custer, Messrs. W. J. Lloyd and W. W. Supplee retaining an interest in the business as special partners. Jan. 1, 1870, the firm name was changed to Lloyd, Clark & Custer, and so continued until Jan. 1, 1872, when Mr. Custer's inter est was purchased by the remaining partners and the firm name changed to Lloyd & Clarke, under which firm name the business is now carried on. [See sketch of F. H. Lloyd]. W. A. SUTOR, book-keeper for McDonald Brothers ; has been in his present situation since May, 1876, and a resident of La Crosse since 1871. He was bom in Haldimand Co, Can, in 1842 ; son of Samuel Sutor, who removed to Galesburg, Til, in 1857, and died there in 1861. Mr. Sutor went to Chicago in 1862, and was for a time general book-keeper for A. D. Reed & Co, bankers, and afterward Cashier of the City National Bank, which position he left when he came to La Crosse. He was married in La Crosse, in 1873, to Mrs. G. M. McDonald, sister of McDonald Brothers, and has one child— Don ald McDonald Sutor. E. C. SWARTHOUT, M. D., was born in the town of Onalaska, La Crosse Co, Wis, in 1855, and has always resided in La Crosse Co, except when away at school. He attended Rush Medi cal College, of Chicago, two winters, and graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, of New York City, in the spring of 1879. He was married, May 24, 1879, to Miss Sarah, daughter of John H. Miller, of Midway, La Crosse Co, and has been practicing his profession in North La Crosse since that time ; has one child — Susie. His father, A. S. Swarthout, was a native of oteuben Co, N. Y, came to Wisconsin at an early day, and, after residing some time at Beaver Dam, settled on a farm in La Crosse Co. in June, 1855. He had a farm of about 600 acres in the town of Onalaska, on which he resided till 1872, then came to North La Crosse and remained till May, 1879, when he removed to Sparta, Wis, where he is still living. While in La Crosse he was a member of the School Board, and was also a member of the City Council from the Fifth Ward two terms. VINCENT TAUSCHE, member of the hardware firm of Scharpf & Tausche, successors of Scharpf & Ring; was born iu Germany in 1853. His father, Joseph Tausche, came to the United States in 1855 ; settled in the town of Greenfield, La Crosse Co, and resided there till his death in 1866. Mr. T. learned his trade in La Crosse with Weber Brothers, commencing at the age of 14, and has been in the business most of the time since, except when in school. He had charge of Weber's shop after being in the business about two years. He also had charge of the shop of Scharpf & Ring from 1877 to March 23, 1881, when he bought out Mr. Ring's interest. Mr. F. is unmarried. LUTE A. TAYLOR was for some years a resident of La Crosse. He was one of the founders and the editor-in-chief of the La Crosse Daily and Weekly Leader, afterward consolidated with the Republican, and issued as the Republican and Leader. Mr. Taylor was bom in the village of Nor folk, St. Lawrence Co, N. Y, on the 14th of September, 1834. His father, Adolphus Taylor, was a prominent Congregational minister, who died when Lute was but 8 years of age, leaving a wife and five children, entirely unprovided with means of support. Thus Lute, at a very early age, was thrown upon his own resources. At 12 years of age, he went to live on a farm with a brother-in-law in the adjoining town of Madrid. From this time until the fall of 1856, when he removed to the West, he was engaged at work on a farm or teaching school, when he became old enough, in the summers, and attending school during the winter months. He received a thorough common school education, and also attended the cademies at Potsdam, N. Y, and at North Bridgewater, Mass. He was always a prominent member of the lyceums and literary societies connected with the schools which he attended ; wrote occasional articles for the village newspapers, and early attained a marked local reputation for his fine literary tastes and acquirements. In the fall of 1856, he moved to River Falls, Pierce Co, Wis, and on thefollowing June, in company with his younger brother, Horace A. Taylor, he established and issued the first number of the River Falls Journal. Two years later, his brother retired from the paper, and in the spring of 1861, Lute removed his printing office to Prescott, Wis, where he published the Prescott Journal until 1869. In August, 1869, he removed to La Crosse, and became one of the publishers and the editor-in-chief of the La Crosse Leader, which position he filled until a short time prior to his death. He retired from journalism with a view of entering the lecture-field, and at the time of his death he had a new humorous lecture partially written, and had made several engagements to deliver it. When the bureau of Internal Revenue was organized, Mr. Taylor was appointed Assistant Assessor for several northwestern counties, and shortly after he was promoted to the assessorship of the Sixth Congressional District of Wisconsin. This office he held until its abolition in 1873. When La Crosse was designated as a port of entry, Mr. Taylor was appointed Surveyor of the port, which office he was filling at the time of his death. Mr. Tay- 800 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: lor died at his home in La Crosse, after a brief illness, of congestion of the lungs, on the 11th day of November, 1873. No citizen of La Crosse, and perhaps none in Wisconsin, was more widely known or universally beloved than Lute A. Taylor. His reputation as a brilliant essayist upon social topics, a genial humorist, and a vigorous and convincing political writer, was wide-spread, reaching far beyond the circulation of the influential journals with which he had been connected. All who knew him were his friends, and many had learned to love him who had never seen his kindly face. Once seen, he was never forgotten. Men and women in all ranks of life were proud to be counted as his friends. He was a wel come guest in every social circle. He carried sunshine and good cheer wherever he went. " His presence was a festival." He was a lover of his kind — a student of men. The demands of business nor the pressing responsibilities of public offiae could not check or divert his interest in the welfare and improve ment of those around him. He possessed the kindliest sentiment and the broadest charity. His humanity was unbounded and overflowing. No lines of party, sect or condition circumscribed his sympathies. His heart and his purse were open to every tale of distress. His hand was ready and his pen inspired to aid every promise of gentler policies, of purer morals, and of wider benevolence. He struggled, only those who enjoyed his intimate companionship knew how manfully, to live on the plane of his own noble ideal, and when he fell, as fall he sometimes did, below his aspiration, the bitter pangs and galling bitterness of the disappointment were bravely endured in his own uncomplaining breast. Though his feet went sometimes astray, his heart was right, and the constant desire of his life was to attain noble ends. Lute Taylor was a natural man. No conceit or affectation marred the charm of his presence. He was old-fashioned in his ways — frank, simple, sincere. He was social in a pre-eminent degree. He had a sympathetic soul — a personal magnetism that drew all to him. He was above bitterness toward his opponents, was never the slave of party, nor gave unquestioned sanction to meas ures, no matter how popular, until satisfied of their soundness. He was kind, charitable, " generous to a fault." His heart was as big as his brain. He had no unworthy ambitions nor shallow friendships. His buoyant spirits, good nature, charity and hopefulness pervaded the whole circle of his influence. In the social circle, and in the more intimate companionship of friends, his surpassing wit, kindly humor and cordial manners, gave him an easy pre-eminence. Lute Taylor was distinguished for his fine literary abilities, no less than for his charming social characteristics and generous qualities of mind and heart. He stood in the very front rank of journalists and writers. He was distinguished by keen wit. a bright and vigorous style, and great range of subjects. He was a poet by nature and sympathy, although be seldom wrote verses ; a philosopher who always looked upon the bright side of human nature ; a humorist whose sarcasm was cutting but not unkind ; a man of real genius without egotism. His say ings glowed with a freshness of novelty and originality. His pen was tipped with the living fire of an inspiration bora of true genius and humor. No one appreciated more fully the limitations of mirth — the keenness of ridicule — the sharp point of satire, or the more powerful weapon of truth presented in attractive forms. As a journalist, he lacked only the opportunity to have won for himself a name second to none in the land. He was a genuine literary artist, and many of his paragraphs were as perfect as pearls. The most exquisite imagery was his, the profoundest philosophy, the keenest wit, the noblest sentiment, the drollest humor, all were his. When in his richest moods, his sayings were like a benedic tion. He was quick of apprehension, ready at repartee, fertile in imagination. Many of his brightest gems became current coins in the best newspaper literature of the day. He was greater than his oppor tunities. It is not just to judge him simply by what he did, but rather by what he was able to do. He was never fully brought into action. He gave sure signs of great things. What he really accomplished was but a fragment and a prophecy of what he might have wrought out under more favorable surround ings. His day closed before noon. Much of the morning was spent in careless play, and the later hours in which sterner work was to be done never came to him. In his early death, La Crosse lost one of her most eminent and beloved citizens, his profession one of its brightest minds, and humanity everywhere a generous, loving and hopeful friend. WILLIAM TAYLOR, house painter ; residence Ninth street, corner of Cameron avenue ; he has been a resident of La Crosse since March, 1848 ; he was bora in Linlithgow, Scotland, in 1810 ; son of James Burns Taylor ; came to the United States in 1845 ; lived in Milwaukee one summer, then went into the pinery on the Wisconsin River; settled in La Crosse in 1848, and followed the river as pilot up to 1867, except when in the army. He followed house-painting in Scotland, from the age of 14 till he came to the United States, and has followed the same business since 1867. In 1861, he enlisted in the 14th W. V I, Co. D, and was in the service until the close of the war. He was married, in La Crosse, in 1866, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of James McCra, of Canada, and has four children — Elizabeth, Mary, Robert and Margaret. LA CROSSE. 801 WILLIAM TILLMAN, of the firm of Tillman Bros.', furniture dealers on Main and Sec ond streets; is a native of Prussia; born in 1835, and came to America in 1855, stopping at Milwaukee until 1859, then came on to La Crosse and started his present business. He was married in 1864, and has two children. FRED TILLMAN, furniture dealer on Main and Second streets ; was born in Prussia in 1837, and came to this country in 1856, stopping three years in Milwaukee. He came to La Crosse in 1859, and, in company with his brother William, opened the furniture house which they still continue. He was married in 1860, and has seven children. BARNEY TEGEDER, proprietor of bakery and confectionery store, corner Seventh and State streets. He was born in 1855, in Hanover, Germany ; son of John Tegeder, who came to America in 1873 with his family, and now lives in Franklin Co, Ind. Mr. Tegeder remained in Indiana with his father until 1878, then went to Effingham, 111, where he remained till September, 1880, when he came to La Crosse. He was manied, Jan. 6, 1881, in La Crosse, to Mary Nenaher. JOHN TORRANCE, son of Gaven Torrance; was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, Jan. 1, 1833 ; he received his education and learnld the trade of a molder in the city of Glasgow ; here he worked at his trade until 1852, when he emigrated to America and located in Troy, N. Y, where he remained but six months ; he then went to Delhi, Delaware Co. N. Y, and for six months was in the machine-shops at that place ; he returned to Troy, N. Y, and remained two years, then went to Paradise, Ky, where he worked at his trade until 1858, when he came West and located a farm in Houston Co., Minn.; he re mained on the farm but a short time, however, having located in La Crosse in the spring of 1859. His ability as a tradesman soon won for him the foremanship in the foundry of Leech & Paul, in which ca pacity he was employed until 1862 ; during this year he started a foundry at the foot of State street, hav ing associated with bim Archibald Gould, under the firm name of Torrance & Gould ; in 1865, the shop — a frame structure — was burned, and the business was abandoned. He again entered the employment of Leech & Paul, and subsequently worked with C. C. & E. G. Smith, and also Thornley & James. In 1876, in company with his son, he established his present business, which, guided by Mr. Torrance's experience and business qualifications, now ranks amoung the leading foundry and machine-shops in the city. Mr. Torrance was married, in Delhi, N. Y, Jan. 3, 1852, to Isabella Torrance, daughter of Will iam and Mary (Johnston) Torrance ; they had six children — Isabella, Mary, William, Nettie, John, Annie and May, who died in August, 1880. Mrs. Torrance died Nov. 14, 1866, in Evansville, Ind. In 1876, Mr. Torrance crossed the Atlantic Ocean for the third time, and, while in Edinburgh, was married to Mrs. Mary Gibson, nee Patterson, in May, 1876. Mr. Torrance belongs to the Universalist Church, and is a Knight Templar. D. A. THAYER, foreman of the mills of P. S. Davidson, at North La Crosse, has been in his present position since the spring of 1863. He was born in Kennebec Co., Me, in 1834; son of Daniel Thayer; came West in 1858, and located at Stillwater, Minn, where he resided till 1863, being engaged in steamboating on the Mississippi till he came to La Crosse. He was married in La Crosse in 1864, to Miss Mary Conley, and has three children — Niese, John and Burnett. Mr. Thayer learned the carpen ter's trade with his brother in Boston, Mass., where he lived several years previous to coming West. He was on the Village Board of North La Crosse two terms and Alderman one term, since it became the Fifth Ward of the city. JOHN THOENI, contractor and builder, member of the firm of Theoni & Degendish, has been a resident of La Crosse since April, 1867. He was bora in Graubrunden, Switzerland, in 1848 ; son of George Thoeni, who is still living in Switzerland; came to the United States in 1867, and has been in business in La Crosse since. He was married in La Crosse, in 1872, to Miss Mary Rau, daughter of John Rau, who is now in the mercantile business in La Crosse ; has two children — John George and Willie. Is Secretary of the Concordia Society of La Crosse. Learned the stone-cutter's trade in Switzer land. F. J. THOSIPSON, Superintendent of the boat-yard and mills of McDonald Brothers, has been in'his present position since the spring of 1878. He was born in Pittsburgh, Penn, in February, 1832 ; son of William Thompson, who is now living in Scott Co, Iowa, at the age of 82. His mother, whose maiden name was Frances Gibson, is also living, in her 81st year. Mr. Thompson learned the ship carpenter's trade at Freedom, Penn, thirty-two miles below Pittsburgh. In 1854, he came West and lived for several years in Le Claire, Iowa, and St. Louis, Mo. In September, 1862, he enlisted in St. Louis in the 7th Mo. V. I, Company F, and was in the service three months. He then enlisted in Fremont's Corps of " Sappers and Miners," but was mustered out six weeks afterward. He was in Government em ploy as a carpenter from that time till January, 1864. He then returned to Iowa, and came from there 802 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: to La Crosse in January, 1876 ; has five children — William A, Carrie M, Charles C, Guy M. and Gracie L. Mrs. Thompson was Catharine Runy, of Le Claire, Iowa. JASIES THOMASON, foreman of the machine-shop of P. S. Davidson, has been in the em ploy of Mr. Davidson since 1864, and in his present position since 1870. He is a native of Lancashire, Eng, born in Bolton in 1829 ; learned his trade in England, and served an apprenticeship of seven years. His father, John Thomason, came to the United States in 1849, settled in Milwaukee, and died the same year he came. Mr. Thomason, Jr., worked three years in Milwaukee; then went to Dubuque, Iowa, started a shop for D. S. Cummings and had charge of it till January, 1855, at which time he came to La Crosse. He was married in Bolton, Eng, in 1849, to Margaret, daughter of John Holden, of that place; has no children. FREDERICK THORNELY is a native of England, and was bora Dec. 30", 1841. He learned the trade of a machinist in Liverpool. In the spring of 1865, he emigrated to America and located at Hokah, Minn, where he was engaged in the railroad shops. He came to La Crosse the same year, and was employed by C. C. Smith & Co. as draftsman. Subsequently, he took the management of the ma chine business of C. C. & E. G. Smith. In 1879, he associated himself with Benedict Ott and established their present extensive business. He was married to Laura T. Ustriok, daughter of W. W. and Mary S. (Hunter) Ustrick, in La Crosse, Jan. 20, 1876 ; had two children — Charles, died April, 1878, and Laura B. Mr. Thornely is a Knight Templar of the A, F. & A. M, and member of the Legion of Honor. JOHN TOELLER, saloon-keeper, has been a resident of La Crosse since April, 1859. He was born in Prussia in 1827, in Rhine Province, Kreis (Co.) of Grevenbroich ; son of Joseph Toeller; came to the United States in 1859, and settled in La Crosse. He commenced working for the Milwaukee & La Crosse R. R. Co. in 1860, and continued on the same road till about 1875, since which time he has been in his present business. He was Alderman of the First Ward two years. He has six children — Eva, Sebila, Mary, Frank, Rosa and John. FRANK J. TOELLER, attorney at law and member of the firm of Daniels & Toeller, is a native of Cologne, Prussia, bora Oct. 20, 1856. His parents emigrated to America in 1858, settled in Sibley Co, Minn, and in 1861 came to La Crosse, where they still reside. He studied law with T. J. Widney two years, and was admitted to the bar Nov. 11, 1878, since which time he has been practicing in La Crosse. He is now holding the office of Justice of the Peace on his second term, having been first elected when only a few weeks over 21 years of age. He is also Captain of the Governor's Guards, a military company of La Crosse. In July, 1880, Mr. Toeller was married to Miss Augusta, daughter of A. Steinlein, Esq, of La Crosse. J. W. TOMS, born in West Bloomfield, N. Y, in 1828 ; his parents moved to Michigan in 1833. In 1847, he was a student in the Michigan University ; graduated at the National Law School of Balls- ton Spa, N. Y.; in 1853, became an assistant editor of the Detroit Advertiser, with which paper he was con nected for three years ; failing eyesight compelled him to give up all business of a professional character, and he moved to Pontiac, in the same State, where he became a State Commissioner of Roads, and located the very important one from Ionia to Mackinaw, as also a number of ditches in various sections ; in 1865, he came to La Crosse and went into his present business as detailed above. J. P. TOMS was born Sept. 12, 1816, at West Bloomfield, Ontario Co, N. Y.; here he remained until June, 1833, when he moved to Troy, Oakland Co, Mich. Sept. 29, 1841, he was married and re moved to Kentucky and engaged himself in teaching school, following this occupation until 1844, when he returned to Michigan and occupied himself during summers in farming, and teaching winters. In 1846, he removed to Oxford, Oakland Co., and there established himself in the general merchandise business, con ducting it until 1856, when he was elected Register of Deeds of Oakland Co, and moved to Pontiac; he held this office two years, and then spent two years in settling up his private affairs, and, in 1860, was ap pointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, holding this office until 1865, when he removed to La Crosse and engaged in the wholesale and retail crockery and glassware business, following the same up to the present time. MILLS TOURTELLOTTE, attorney at law and counselor at law ; was born in Holyoke, Hampden Co, Mass, Aug. 31, 1853 ; when about 2 years of age, his parents emigrated to Wisconsin and settled upon a farm just out of the village of West Salem, La Crosse Co. His father, M. L. Tourtellotte, was among the earliest settlers of La Crosse Co, and assisted in laying out -and platting the village of West Salem, where he and his family now reside. The subject of this sketch was educated at the State Univer sity at Madison, Wis, and is a graduate of the Law Department, Class of 1875 ; he was admitted to the bar in June, 1875, at Madison, Wis, and then moved to LaCrosse, and continued his studies in the office of B. F. Bryant until the spring of 1876, and in the office of Lyndes & Burroughs until Aug. 1, 1876, LA CROSSE. 803 when the present partnership was formed. Mr. Tourtellotte was married in August, 1878, to Miss Lillie C. Woodbury, daughter of Capt. W. W. Woodbury, of Somerville. PETER TOXEN, proprietor of the Christiania House on Front street ; is a native of Norway, bom Nov. 25, 1843. His father, Peter Toxen, Sr, came to America in 1867, and now lives in Jackson Co, Wis.; Peter, Jr., came one year previous to his father ; lived in Black River Falls three years; then worked one year in Eau Claire, and lived in Neilsville, Wis, from 1870 to 1880, when he came to La Crosse, and has been keeping hotel since that. He was married in Neilsville in 1873, to Ingabor Johnson, and has three children — Herman, Amanda Eliza and Ingamer. ISAAC TUTEUR, of the firm of Isaac Tuteur & Son, wholesale liquor dealers ; has been a resident of La Crosse since April, 1856 ; he was born in Winnweiler, Bavaria, Germany, Feb. 18, 1828 ; son of Moses Tuteur ; came to the United States in 1850 ; lived two years in Pittsburgh, Penn.; then two years in Blairsville, same State ; then back to Pittsburgh, and from there to La Crosse. He was married iu Pittsburgh, Nov. 13, 1854, to Miss Fannie Baerman, a native of Biersdorf, Bavaria, born in 1834. Mr. Tuteur first went into the liquor business in La Crosse for a short time ; then was in the lumber business about three years, and since 1860, in his present business ; has five children — Joseph, Morris E, Bertha, Eddie and Willie ; the oldest son, Joseph, is a member of tho firm of Isaac Tuteur & Son. MATTHEW UHL, M. D., residence and office corner of Sixth and Main streets ; has been practicing medicine in La Crosse since 1865. He was bom in Wurtemberg, Germany, Aug. 22, 1808 ; graduated in 1831 from the University of Tubingen, and practiced medicine in 'Rottweil from 1832 to 1851, when he came to America, and practiced in New York City fourteen years. In 1865, he came to Wisconsin, and practiced in La Crosse till 1868 ; then went to Indianapolis, Ind, where he remained till 1878 ; then returned to La Crosse, and has practiced here since. His first wife, to whom he was married in Germany, died in Indianapolis in 1870. He there married, in 1872, Miss Emma, daughter of Charles Beyslachag, ft rmerly editor and proprietor of the Vlmer Donan Zeitvng, of Ulm, Germany, and at that time editor of the Indianapolis Telegraph. JOHN ULRICH, editor of the Nordstern; was bom in Switzerland, Europe, 1828; came to this country in 1855, and to La Crosse in April, 1856. In March, 1857, he bought the Nordstern; be came its editor and publisher, and continued as such ever since ; that is, up to the present time, May, 1881 . He served the city as Alderman and School Commissioner, and is at present also Receiver of the United States Land Office, to which position he was appointed by President Grant in the year 1875. ELLIS B. USHER, proprietor of the Morning Chronicle; was bom in Buxton, York Co., Maine, June 21, 1852 ; came West with his parents when a child of 2J years; was a resident of Musca tine, Iowa, one year, when the family removed to Wisconsin. The first winter in this State was spent in Clark Co., where his father, Isaac L. Usher, was engaged in lumbering, and, in the spring of 1856, the family moved to Onalaska, La Crosse Co, and since that time the subject of this notice has been a resident of this county. In 1862-63, the family lived in the city, and the remaining time, with the exception of a few months prior to 1868, upon a farm about a mile east of the village of Onalaska. In 1867, the family moved to the city, and since that time have resided here. The subject of this notice has had only a limited common school education. In 1868, he began to earn his own living, and has since then been em ployed as book-keeper and clerk until 1873, when he was employed as a local reporter for about six months upon the Republican and Leader. A change in the management dropped him out, and he was otherwise employed until April 1, 1875, when he purchased a half-interest in the Evening Liberal Democrat with Mr. John Symes. It was made a morning paper a year later. Two years later, Mr. Robert F. Howard purchased Mr. Symes' interest, and the name of the paper was changed to the Chron icle by the new firm, and, a year later, Mr. Usher purchased the interest of Mr. Howard, and has since been its sole proprietor. MRS. CHLOE VALENTINE, widow of John Valentine, who was born in the State of New York Sept. 17, 1817 ; came to Wisconsin at an early day, and was engaged in the lumbering busi ness for many years. He was married to his present widow (then Miss Chloe Marr) in La Crosse, in 1856. Mrs. Valentine came to La Crosse the same year. She was the second wife of her husband. She was born in Canada West, in 1832, where she resided till she came to La Crosse, in 1856. Mr. Valentine was prominently identified with the early history of La Crosse. He was fatally injured in the Packet Company's lumber mill, North La Crosse, and died May 30, 1875. Mrs. Valentine has four children— Flavius, Ellis and Laura (twins) and Byron. D. W. VAN BERGH, dentist; was bom in New York City in 1848. When about 5 years old, his'parents removed to Rochester, N. Y, where they still reside. He commenced the study of dentistry with Dr. A. C. Wanzer, of Rochester, and was with him one year ; came to Wisconsin in 1863, 804 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: and settled in Madison, where he completed his studies and practiced till the spring of 1869, since which time he has been practicing in La Crosse — office on Main street, between Fourth and Fifth. GILBERT VAN STEENWYK, President of the Batavian Bank, was born in the City of Utrecht, Netherlands, Jan. 13, 1814 ; he received an academic education, at the University of Utrecht, graduating in philosophy and classical literature in 1836 ; immigrated to the United States in May, 1849, and located at Milwaukee, remaining there until 1854, when he moved to Newport, Sauk Co, where he resided until 1858. He then removed to Kilbourn City, Columbia Co., and in January, 1862 removed to La Crosse. He was a volunteer in the Army of the Netherlands in 1830 and 1831, and commissioned officer of the National Guards from 1838 to 1849 ; was Brigadier of the Wisconsin State Militia in 1857 ; Commissioner of Immigration 'for Wisconsin, in New York City, by appointment of Gov. L. J. Farwell, from 1852 to 1853, under the law of 1852. Was appointed Consul of the Nether lands for Wisconsin in 1849 and also for Michigan and Minnesota in 1850, resigning these consulships in 1859. Was elected a member of the Wisconsin State Legislature in 1859, and was appointed Bank Comptroller in 1860 and 1861. Was elected Mayor of La Crosse in 1873 and 1874, and was elected State Senator from this district for 1879 and 1880. Mr. Van Steenwyk is in every respect a thorough business man and enterprising citizen, and very far-seeing in the management of his business, and all the details looking to its success. The latest enterprise is the erection of a fine building corner of State and Seventh streets, designed for four residences. H. C. VAN WIE, contractor and builder, is a native of Albany, N. Y, born in 1840 ; son of Cornelius H. Van Wie, who belonged to one of the old Holland families, who first settled that part of New York. He was a carpenter and ship builder, and was for several years proprietor of the ship-yard at Greenbush, on the Hudson River. He removed to Iowa in 1853, and now lives in Texas. H. C. Van Wie learned the carpenter's trade of his father. He enlisted in the winter of 1862 in the 1st Iowa V. I, Co. C, and was in the service two and a half years. After he left the army he lived in Waterloo, Iowa, till 1870, since which time he has resided in La Crosse and worked most of the time for the C, M. & St. P. R. R. Co. T. S. VICKERE, surveyor of logs and lumber, has been a resident of La Crosse since the fall of 1863. He was born in Somerset Co., Me, in 1844; son of Joseph and Susan (Small) Vickere; came to Wisconsin in 1863; was several years in the employ of the General Lumber Inspector, and since 1876, has been with P. S. Davidson. He was married in La Crosse Oct. 6, 1873, to Miss Abbie H, daughter of Charles Weston, of Somerset Co., Me.; has two children — Elgin H. and Talmage. JAMES VINCENT, lumberman, was born Oct. 16, 1828, at Half Moon, Saratoga Co, N. Y. He remained here until about 20 years of age, attending the common schools, and during the last few years of this time, in working on a farm. He removed to^ansingburg, Rensselaer Co, N. Y., and learned the carpenter's trade and commenced work for himself in 1847. In 1848, he removed to California, re turning to Lansingburg in the latter part of 1850. In 1852, he again went to California, remaining there about eighteen months, engaged in contracting. In 1854, he returned to New York, and in the spring of 1855, removed to LaCrosse, where he entered the lumber business, following it for two years ; then worked at his trade for a short time, when he went into the wheat business, subsequently returning to the lumber business, which he has since successfully conducted. CHARLES VOLNER, Land Agent, Conveyancer, Notary Public, etc.; has been a resident of La Crosse County since August, 1855. He was in mercantile business in the city three years, then went into the town of Holland, village of New Amsterdam, and bought one-half interest in a saw-mill and remained there till 1862, then came back to the city and has been in his present business since. He was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1825; came to the United States in 1849, and lived in Oshkosh, Wis, till he came to La Crosse, in 1855. His father, William Volner, died in Germany, 1858. He has six children — Augustus, Ida, George, Theodore, Adelia and Charles. He married in Milwaukee, in 1850, Miss Henrietta Gulden, a native of Ohio. Has spent three winters in Madison ; one winter, Clerk of the Judiciary Committee ; second winter, Assistant Sergeant at Arms, and the last, Assistant P. M. of the Assembly. JOHN WACHTER, proprietor of livery barn, saloon and meat market on North Third street; was born in Baden, Germany, in 1843; son of Matheus Wachter; came to the United States in 1865, and has lived in La Crosse ever since ; has been in business for himself in North La Crosse since 1869 ; was married Feb 8, 1870, in La Crosse, to Miss Mary Osmeler, and has five children — John, Ada, Louis, Emma and Fred. His father died in Germany in 1845. Mr. Wachter is Foreman of Hook and Ladder Company No. 2, and has been either Foreman or Treasurer of the company ever since it was organized, in 1869, except two years. LA CROSSE. 805 L. WACHENHEISIER, real estate and insurance agent ; was bora in Baden, Germany, March 16, 1822 ; came to America in 1856, and lived in Milwaukee two years; was in the liquor busi ness, as manager for Mahler & Wend ; came to La Crosse in 1858, and has resided there since. He was in the liquor business in La Crosse for three years ; then clerk in the post office eight years. He was Reg ister of Deeds five terms in succession— from 1870 to 1880, and always elected by large majorities. He has been in the real estate business since January, 1880, and added insurance in January, 1881. LEWIS WADE, engineer at Polleys Brothers' mill ; has been in his present situation since 1876. He was born in Chemung Co , N. Y, in January, 1833; son of John Wade, who is still living in that county; learned his trade in Elmira, N. Y, and came to Wisconsin in 1870; lived two years in Trempealeau Co, and since that in La Crosse. He was married in 1864, in his native county, to Miss Bathia Monroe, of the same place ; has four children — Rolan, Bertie, Lizzie and Peter. His mother's maiden name was Mary Jones. REINHARD WAECKER, foreman of the Heilmann Brewery; has been a resident of La Crosse since October, 1865, except two years in Vernon Co, Wis. He was born in Unter Hallau, Kt. Sebaffhausen, Switzerland, in 1844; son of George Waecker. Both parents died there, and he came to the United States in September, 1865. He was married in La Crosse, in 1868, to Caroline Bantle ; has five children — Ida, Louisa, Emma, George and Hermina. E. P. WALCOTT, book-keeper; has been a resident of La Crosse since 1873. He is a native of Utica, N. Y. ; born in 1844. In June, 1862, he enlisted in the 2d Squadron R. I. V. C, and served three months; enlisted again in December, 1862, in the 26th N. Y. Battery, and was in the Department of the Gulf, at New Orleans, one year and nine months. He was then transferred to the 8th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, with a Second Lieutenant's commission. In August, 1864, he was promoted to First Lieutenant, and had command of his company till the close of the war. DAVID WALLACE, contractor and builder; has been a resident of La Crosse since Sep tember, 1856. He was born in Durham, England ; son of Robert Wallace, also a contractor. Mr. Wal lace, Jr., came to the United States in 1854; lived in Bloomington, 111, two years, and came from there to La Crosse. He learned the mason's trade in England ; was married, in Bloomington, 111, in 1855, to to Miss Ann Fletche, also a native of England. Mr. and Mrs. Wallace have five children— Thomas Will iam, James Edward, Robert, David and Ida. J. L. WALLACE, proprietor and Principal of the La Crosse Business College; was born in Westchester Co., N. Y, Oct. 18, 1842; was educated in New York City; came to Racine, Wis, with his parents, in 1856, and from there to Milwaukee, in 1858 ; commenced teaching in Milwaukee Co. Nov. 19, 1860, and, in the spring of 1861, accepted a situation as teacher in the Lincoln Business Col lege of Milwaukee. In 1869, he removed to La Crosse, and taught in the public schools till 1875, when he purchased the La Crosse Business College, which he has since conducted with success. N. P. WALLER was bora in Wilkesbarre, Luzerne Co, Penn, March 30, 1807, where he lived till 16 years of age, when he removed with his parents to the State of New York. 'He married Mahala Edwards. They came to La Crosse Co, Wis, in 1858, and settled in what was then the town of Neshonoc, now Hamilton. Mr. Waller was long a prominent citizen of that township. In politics, he was a prominent Republican ; was elected by that party to the Legislature in 1867, and re-elected in 1868 ; was elected County Treasurer of La Crosse Co. in 1861 ; served one term. His wife died in May, 1863. He went to Tennessee in the fall of 1874, where he lived till April, 1877, when he returned to La Crosse, and settled in the city. He has had five children, four of whom are living — Phineas B, Mary (now Mrs. John Parks), Mattie (wife of Marvin Mathews) and Fannie. His eldest daughter, Hannah, was the wife of James McKinley. Phineas B. was born in Broome Co, N. Y, in 1843. He enlisted Sept. 7, 1861, in Co. B, 2d W. V. C, and served till the close of the war. He was in active service most of this time, and participated in many important battles and campaigns, including the battles of Pea Ridge, Cot ton Plant, Ark, Memphis, both battles of Champion Hills, siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, Miss, etc. ; he took part altogether in twenty-three engagements; discharged Dec. 16, 1865. He was married to Helen M. Horton, daughter of Hiram Horton, born in the State of New York. Aug. 22, 1876, he and his wife accompanied an excursion given by the Order of Sons of Temperance of La Crosse, on the steamer Natronia. During the festivities attending this occasion, his wife fell overboard, and was drowned. They had two children — William and Charles. The former is deceased. JOHN WALTER, saloon keeper, Pearl street, between Third and Fourth ; was born in Prus sia, in 1841. His father, John Walter, came to America in 1859; settled in Buffalo Co, Wis, and died there in 1876. John Walter, Jr., went to St. Louis, Mo, in the spring of 1857, and was in the commis sion business there four years; then kept a provision store there till 1866, when he came to La Crosse, 806 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: and has been in his present business ever since. In 1861, he was in the military service three months, in Co. G, 4th Mo. V. I. He was married in La Crosse, in the spring of 1866, to Anna Wendler, and has four children — Henry, Oscar, Delia and Mary. A. M. WATSON, merchant; was born in Washington Co, N. Y, in 1836. His father, Will liam B. Watson, came to Wisconsin with his family, in June, 1856, and resided in La Crosse till his death, Sept. 24, 1861, in his 53d year, of paralysis. Mrs. Watson, whose maiden name was Lydia Mar tin, died Oct. 14, 1875, in her 71st year. The father of the present Mrs. Watson, James Webster, of Dodge Co, Wis, died Feb. 14, 1881, in his 67th year. A. M. Watson enhVed, in December, 1861, in Co. D, 14th W. V. I, as a private; was in the service three years, and came back as Captain of his com pany. He has resided in La Crosse since he left the army, and been in his present business since 1875. He was married, Jan. 17, 1877, to Miss Jennie, oldest daughter of James Webster, of Elba, Dodge Co, Wis, and has one child — James. JOHN B. WEBB, book-keeper for the Black River Improvement Company; has been a resi dent of La Crosse since August, 1857. He is a native of Meriden, Conn.; came to Chicago in 1853, and from there to La Crosse in 1857. He enlisted in 1861, in Co. B, 2d W. V. I, and was in the service three years. He returned to La Crosse in 1864, and has been in his present position since 1867. NICHOLAS WEBER, proprietor of the American House; was bom in the city of Luxem burg, Germany, in 1817; son of Peter Weber; came to America in 1854, and to La Crosse in the spring of 1855. He was on the river part of the time till 1860, since which he has resided in La Crosse con tinuously. Has been in the hotel business fifteen years; was three years in the City Hotel, and has been twelve years in the American House, which is a three-story brick building, 40x75, on Pearl street, between Second and Third. Mr. Weber was married in La Crosse, and has nine children living — -Michael, Marga ret, Bertha, Mary, Nicholas, Bernhardt, Joseph, John and Helena. GEORGE S. WEEKS, superintendent of the boat-yard of P. S. Davidson, at North La ' Crosse; has been in his present position since 1866. He was born in New York City in 1809; son of John Anthony Weeks, who died while George S. was in infancy. He left New York City in 1828, and engaged in ship-building in Jefferson Co, N. Y, about nine years; was also in the same business in Buf falo, N. Y, and Detroit, Mich, for several years, and went from there to Chicago, where he remained till 1862, then went to Savannah, Iowa, and had charge of the floating stock of the W. U. R. R. at that place till 1866, when he came to La Crosse. While in Chicago, he built the dry dock there, and since built the steamboat "George S. Weeks," of which he was part owner. JOSEPH WEHLE, stone cutter, contractor and builder; was bom in Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1846; son of Henry Wehle, who died in Switzerland in 1875. Mr. Wehle learned his trade in Swit zerland, serving four years: came to the United States in the fall of 1870; lived in Brooklyn, N. Y, one year, then three and a half years in Chicago. 111.; went from there to St. Paul, Minn, and came to La Crosse in April, 1876. He was married in Chicago, in 1872, to Miss Amelia Heherlein, and has five children — Edward, Bertha, Maggie, Mary and Victoria. He was three years in the army, in Europe, in 1867, 1868 and 1869. VALENTINE WEIMAR, (deceased); came to La Crosse in 1855. Two years after, he married Miss Caroline Splitter, whose father, William Splitter, settled on Root River, Minn, four miles from La Crescent, in 1855, and kept the first ferry at that place. Mr. Weimar started a brick-yard at La Crescent in 1856, which he carried on two years, then came back to La Crosse, and followed brick- making, in company with his brother Sebastian Weimar, till the spring of 1869 ; he then bought a mill in the town of Barre, which he sold in 1875, returning to La Crosse, and went into the brick business again. His health failing, he quit business, and in the fall of 1876 took a trip to Europe, accompanied by his oldest daughter, Elizabeth. He returned the next March, and died on the 18th of May following, at the age of 46. He left six children — Elizabeth, Rosa, Philopena, William, Herman and Augusta — all living at No. 88 Eighth street, with their mother, except Philopena, who died in September, 1878, at the age of 16. Mr. Weimar was born in Lauhersheim, Germany, near " Bingen on the Rhine," and Mrs. Weimar in Mecklenburg. SEBASTIAN WEISIAR (deceased) was born in Coblentz, Germany, Nov. 23, 1824 ; son of Frederick Weimar. Came to the United States in 1853; lived three years in Greenfield, Mass, then came West and lived three years in La Crescent, Minn, and came from there to La Crosse in 1859. He was engaged in brick-making in company with his brother Valentine Weimar, which he continued up to- the time of his death, which occurred Nov. 1, 1866. He left three children — William, Valentine, and Lizzie Rosina. Mrs. Weimar, who still survives him, was Rosina Schwab, also a native of Coblentz, and daughter of J. W. Schwab, who came to the United States in 1848, and died Nov. 12, 1879, in La Crosse. LA CROSSE. 807 RUEL WESTON, retired ; has been a permanent resident of LaCrosse since 1866. He resided here temporarily in the springs of 1856-57-58. He was bora in Skowhegan, Somerset Co, Me, March 7, 1802 ; son of Stephen Weston, and lived on the farm on which he was born till he was 60 years old. He was one of a family of ten children who were all alive when the youngest was 45 years of age. Mr. Weston and two sisters now living in Brooklyn, N. Y, are the only survivors at this writing. He was married in Maine, Sept. 1, 1830, to Eliza Woodman, who was bora in 1810, and is still living. Mr. Weston held several official positions in his native State, and represented his district in the State Legisla ture of 1860. He lived a short time in Bureau Co, 111, previous to locating permanently in La Crosse. In addition to his farming, he was in the lumber business in Maine for about twenty years, and has also been in that business fourteen years of the time he has resided in La Crosse. Mr. and Mrs. Weston have four children— Joshua W, Reuel F, Sarah, now Mrs. Rufus Douglass, and John H.— all residents of La Crosse except the youngest, J. H, who is General Manager and Secretary of the " Red Elephant Mining Co," of Colorado ; office 33 Broad st. New York City. ALEX A. WHALEN, proprietor of the Minnesota House ; has resided in La Crosse since the fall of 1854. He had a clothing store the first two years, then had a contract for grading streets which kept him occupied one year ; after that he dealt in horses and cattle for several years, spending con siderable time in Arkansas and the Indian Territory in that business. In 1867, he bought the Minnesota House and has kept it since. This house stands on the site of the old trading post kept by Nathan Myrick (now of St. Paul), who was the first settler in La Crosse. Mr. Whalen was bora in Queens Co, Ireland, and when about a year old his father, James Whalen, came to America and settled in St. Lawrence Co, N. Y. He was a canal contractor in New York and Ohio, and railroad contractor in Maryland and Pennsylvania ; was on the Baltimore & Ohio Road for some time, and also worked two years on the . Croton Dam in New York. He finally came to Milwaukee, and died in that city. Alex remained with his father till he came to Milwaukee in 1843, and came from there to La Crosse in 1854. Has four chil dren — Margaret, James, Alexander, and Katie. Margaret is now the widow of Gilbert Shaffer, Esq, of the State of New York. Mrs. Whalen was a native of New York City ; her maiden name was Catharine Lawler. JOHN WILLING,, merchant, was born in Saxe- Gotha, Germany, in 1836; came to America in 1853; lived in Canton, Ohio, a few months, and about a year and a half in Indianapolis, Ind. He came to La Crosse in 1855, and remained one year, and went to St. Louis, Mo, in 1856. He kept a hotel in St. Louis from 1858 till 1861, and came from there to La Crosse in 1864, and since that time has been in his present business. His present location is No. 18 Third street, where he keeps a general assortment of dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, hats, caps, etc, and is also agent for the Weed Sewing Machine. J. R. WILLIASIS, Constable, Collector, Notary Public and Special Treasury Agent, was born in Grand Isle Co, Vt, in 1826 ; when 2 years old, his parents removed to Georgia, Franklin Co., Vt, where he grew up to manhood. His father, Jesse Williams, died there Dec. 7, 1829, in his 55th year ; and his mother, whose maiden name was Aurelia Bingham, died April 12, 1863, aged 80. He learned the black smith's trade in Burlington, Vt. ; was married in Georgia, Franklin Co, in 1847, to Miss Lucia Kimpton ; her father, Josiah Kimpton, was bora in May, 1801, and her mother, whose maiden name was Jerusha Nay, was born Oct. 14, 1880; both now living in St. Lawrence Co, N. Y, in good health. Mr. Williams removed from Vermont to St. Lawrence Co, N. Y, in 1850, and came from there to Portage City, Wis, in 1857. He ran a bakery there about a year, and then went to railroading on what is now the C, M. & St. P. R. R. He was with the first gang of men in Minnesota on the road from Mendota to Shakopee in 1858, aDd in 1859 was on the Northern Pacific as a contractor; came from there to La Crosse in fall of 1859, and went from there on the Mobile and Mississippi road as contractor till the fall of 1860, when he returned to La Crosse. He first clerked in La Crosse two years, then went into the mercantile business, and burned out in 1865 ; then kept boarding-house till 1875, and has been in his present position since the spring of 1876. He was Alderman of the Second Ward three years, in 1864-65-66, and has been Constable eight years. ETHAN A. WILSON, dealer in groceries, provisions, etc, has been in La Crosse since May, 1857. He was born in Nashua, N. H, in September, 1833; son of Simeon Wilson; and came from there to La Crosse. He is a mason by trade, and followed that business till the fall of 1861 ; has been in the grocery trade since that time. He first bad a partner, G. W. Bagley — firm of Bagley & Wilson — till 1869, when they dissolved, and nine months after he took another partner, E. M. Rogers — firm of Wilson & Rogers — for sixteen months; then conducted business alone till September, 1877, when H. D. Bussel joined him, and the firm was Wilson & Bussel till Feb. 1, 1881, when they dissolved, and he is now run- 808 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: ning business alone. He was married in his native place, in 1855, to Maria E. Jewett, of Hollis, N. H, and has three children — Ethan A, Etta C. and Lillie B. HORACE A. WINSTON, proprietor of the Eagle Hotel, corner of Gould and North Third streets, North La Crosse; has been a resident of La Crosse since May, 1858. He was born in Broome Co., N. Y, at Chenango Forks, in 1828. His father, Dr. Reuben Winston, practiced medicine in Broome Co. over thirty years ; he came from there to Wisconsin in 1847 ; was in Madison till 1857, then came to La Crosse, where he resided till his death, in 1865. H. A. Winston came to Wisconsin in 1848; he had been engaged in the mercantile business at Chenango Forks, N. Y, two years previous to that, and carried on the same business at Pheasant Branch, Dane Co., Wis, from 1848 till he came to La Crosse, in 1858, and held the office of Postmaster the last six years of the time. He commenced the manufacture of mineral water when he first came to La Crosse, continued it three years, and then sold out. He also sold goods the first two years of the time. He was Chairman of the town of Campbell two years when he first settled in the place, and was Deputy Sheriff of the county from 1868 to 1872, and from that time to 1873 was Chief of Police in the city of La Crosse, and has been City Constable since that. He has owned the Eagle Hotel since 1860, and has kept it fifteen years of the time. He was married in his native place, in 1846, to Miss Isabel Roos, has two children — -William B, assistant yard-master at La Crosse, and Arabel, now the wife of Stephen F. Clinton, of La Crosse. SIERRICK PRENTICE WING, attorney and counselor at law, was born in Hinsdale, Berkshire County, Mass, September 10, 1833. His parents were Philander Wing and Almira A. Wing. He emigrated with his parents to the town of Webster, Washington Co, Michigan, in 1837, where he resided with his parents on a farm until 1853, when he returned to Hinsdale and attended the Hinsdale Academy for two years, and taught school for two terms. Removed to Portage City, Wis, in 1855, and was employed in the abstract office of A. B. Alden, most of the time for seven years. Read law with G. C. Prentiss and Emmons Taylor, of Portage. Attended the Law School of Michignn University in 1861 and 1862; was admitted to practice in Columbia County Circuit Court, in 1862, Harlow S. Orton, Presi ding Judge; removed to La Crosse, in 1863, and formed a partnership in the practice of law with B. F. Montgomery. Ou Mr. Montgomery's removal from the State, he formed a partnership with Charles C. Gage, in 1868, who died in 1869 ; was two years in company with C. L. Hood, and since 1872 has been in partnership with G. C. Prentiss ; was elected City Attorney of La Crosse in 1872, elected to the State Senate in 1876, for the term of two years, from the Thirty-first District, comprising the County of La Crosse, and elected again in 1880 ; was married in 1859 to Hannah Amanda Palmer, of Scio, Mich, who died Nov. 4, 1860, the issue of this marriage was Lizzie A. Wing, who was born Jan. 1, 1860. Mr. Wing was married again to Emeline E. Sherwood, of Fond du Lac, Wis, Aug. 29, 1865. The fruits of this marriage are Edwin M, born March 16, 1867 ; Frances M, born Oct. 3d, 1874 ; and Florence, born July 13, 1879. LEVI WITHEE; was born in Skowhegan, Maine, in 1834, and came to La Crosse in 1853, and immediately commenced the lumber business, which be has followed ever since, spending his winters in the pineries in the northern part of the State. Mr. Withee was married in La Crosse in 1868 to Miss Louisa Smith, by whom he has one son named Abner. N. H. WITHEE, lumberman, has been a resident of La Crosse since June, 1853, and has been in the lumber business during the whole time ; he is a native of Somerset Co, Me, born in 1827 ; was engaged in lumbering in his native State till he came to Wisconsin, in 1852, and was one year on Black River before coming to La Crosse ; now owns a saw-mill in Onalaska, and also one in Clark Co., Wis ; has three sons, N. Haskell, Willie W. and Theodore. Mrs. Withee was Louisa, daughter of Col. A. Wood, formerly of Chenango Co, N. Y, who came to La Crosse in 1856, and died in February, 1880, at the age of 67. GILRERT SIOTIER WOODWARD, attorney and councelor at law; was born in Washington, D. C, Dec. 25, 1835. Apprenticed to printing trade at Baltimore in the spring of 1850. Worked as printer and proof-reader in Baltimore, Upper Marlboro, Md, and in Washington, chiefly in the office of the National Intelligencer, until the beginning of 1860. Settled in La Crosse Feb. 25, 1860. Bead law with Messmore & McKenney. Admitted to the bar by George Gale, Circuit Judge, at Black River Falls. Had no practice before the outbreak of the war. Enlisted in La Crosse Light Guard, Co. B, 2d W. V I, May 22, 1861. Was mustered into the United States service for three years, June 11, 1861, at Madison, and thereafter served with the Second Wisconsin Infantry in all the cam paigns of the Army of the Potomac, in which that regiment participated until June 11, 1864 ; Orderly Ser geant of Company B, September, 1861 ; Second Lieutenant, Aug. 25, 1862 ; First Lieutenant, Sept. 15, 1862; Adjutant of 2nd W. V. I. June 2, 1863. Served at Gettysburg as Acting Aid de Camp of First TOWN OP ONALASKA. 809 Brigade, First Division, First Army corps (Gen. James S. Wadsworth's division) ; received a severe gun - shot wound in the right forearm in this battle. During campaign of the Wilderness and advance of army from Rapidan to Richmond, May 5 to June 11, 1864, served as Acting Aid de Camp on staff of same division, then part of the Fifth Army Corps. Mustered out of service with the regiment at Madison, June 30, 1864. Elected City Attorney of La Crosse, April, 1865. Elected District Attorney of La Crosse Co. in November, 1865, also in 1867, 1869, and 1871. He formed a partnership with S. S. Burton, January, 1866, which continued until January, 1877. Was Alderman of Fourth Ward of La Crosse City from 1868 to 1874 ; Mayor of La Crosse from 1874 to 1875 ; City Attorney of La Crosse City since April, 1876. Candidate for Mayor in April, 1872, and was defeated by James I. Lyndes ; was candidate for State Senator in the fall of 1872, defeated by G. C. Hixon. Delegate to National Liberal in Cincinnati, May, 1872. Delegate to National Democratic Convention at Cincinnati in June, 1880. His father, William Woodward, was born in Washington, of parents who had removed there from Philadelphia ; his mother Esther, nee Rittenhouse, Woodward was born in Philadelphia. GEORGE ZEISLER, proprietor of the Plank Road Brewery ; was bom in Bavaria, Germany, in 1825 ; came to America in 1853. and settled in Monroe Co., Penn Was there three years, and came from there to La Crosse in 1856. He first worked for C. L. Coleman five years, then started a copper still for making malt whisky, which he kept up six years. He was then one and a half years in the butcher business on Main street. In 1867, he commenced the brewing business in his present location ; was burned out in January, 1874, and soon after erected his present building, which has a capacity of of about 3,500 barrels, and cost $30,000. In the year 1880, he manufactured about 2,800 barrels. F. D. ZIMSIERMAN, head miller for A. A. Freeman & Co.; is a native of Baden, Ger many; born in 1851; son of Augustus Zimmerman; came to America in 1864; learned his trade in Rochester, N. Y, and remained there till 1874. He then went to Minneapolis, Minn, and was in the old Washburn A Mill, and Pittsburg Mill, and afterward had charge of the Union Mill three years. Came from there to La Crosse in March, 1880. He was married in February, 1879, to Miss Carrie L. Case. TOWN OF ONALASKA. FRANK H. AIKEN, lumberman; Onalaska; was bom in Tioga Co., Penn, April 8,1845; came to Wisconsin in 1858 with his parents. His father died in 1868 ; his mother died in 1863. He enlisted in Co. G, 40th W. V. I, in 1864 ; was mustered out in the falljof 1864. His wife, Isabella Warnes, was born in Norwich, England, Oct. 11, 1847. They married in 1868, and have three children— Lula P, bom April 19, 1870 ; Frederick C, Dec. 28, 1872 ; Eddie C, Dec. 22, 1880. In politics, Republican, and in religion Liberal. He is a member of the Sons of Temperance and A, F. & and A. M. JOHN A. ANDERSON, farmer, Sec. 12 ; P. O. Half- Way Creek ; born in Sweden June 29, 1845; came to Wisconsin in 1853; now owns 200 acres ot land; made the improvements, and made all since he came to this county. His wife, Augusta Abrahamson, was born in Sweeden in 1847 ; mar ried in 1869. They have four children —Jennie, Emily, Amanda and Charlie ; has been a Director ; is a Republican, and Lutheran. BULL ARD ATKINSON, riverman ; P. O. Onalaska ; was born in Canada East, Oct. 15, 1822. Came to Wisconsin in 1853. Engaged in farming; sold out and moved into this place. During the summer he is on the river. He enlisted in 1861, in Co. D, 14th W. V. I.; discharged 1861 ; re-enlisted in the same regiment, 1863 ; discharged 1865. His wife was Electa L. Lewis, born in Catta raugus Co, N. Y, Sept. 14, 1822. They were married in 1864 ; have two children, Emma, born Aug. 9, 1856 • Adda, now Mrs. Ross, at North La Crosse. In politics, Republican ; member of the Temple of Honor, and Sons of Temperance. His father, Moses Atkinson, a native of Vermont, came to Wisconsin in 1823 ; he died at the age of 87 ; his mother, a native of Vermont, died Feb. 8, 1881, at the age of 90. RICHARD BAILEY, Postmaster, and member of the firm of Bailey & Co, dealers in gen eral merchandize; was born in Androscoggin Co, Maine, Dec. 11, 1828. Came to Wisconsin in 1855 ; located in Burns, on a farm of 160 acres. He then returned to Maine, where, in 1861, he enlisted in Company K 5th Me. V. I.; mustered out July 27, 1864. He was engaged in most of the battles on the Potomac, first Bull Run, seven days' battle, second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville and the Wilderness. He then returned to Maine; then in the fall of 1864 to Faribault 810 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Co., Minn, and back to Wisconsin in 1865, and engaged in the lumber business on Black River until 1869, when he engaged in the mercantile business ; continued seven years, then sold out and spent one year in California, when he returned and bought a one-half interest in with Mr. Thompson. Mr. B. was appointed Postmaster in the year 1869, and has held the office since with the exception of the year 1876. Has been Town Treasurer three years. His wife, Susan M. Garland, a native of Oxford Co., Maine; born Aug. 24, 1836; married Sept. 9, 1866; they have no children. Mrs. B.'s father came to town of Burns, Wis, in 1856, and now resides in Mitchell Co.. Iowa. ANDREW RERG, farmer, Sec. 11; P. 6. Half- Way Creek; was born in Sweden, 1822; came to Wisconsin in 1854; bought 160 acres of land, made the improvements, went to California in 1873, and returned in 1879. His wife, Anna Anderson, was born in Sweden, 1821. They were married in 1838, and have had eleven children, four living— Gustavus W, who enlisted in Co. G, 44th W. V. I, in 1865, and was discharged September, 1865; Ida, Carrie, Emma, in California. In politics, Republican, and in religion, a Lutheran. J. SI. BRADBURY, farmer. Sees. 23 and 24; P. 0. Midway; was born in Somerset Co, Me, Nov. 27, 1847 ; came to Wisconsin in 1868 ; now owns 240 acres of land, on which he has made good improvements — barn, 32x42, twenty-four-foot corner posts; house, main part 16x24, wing 12x16; also a half interest in 240 acres in another section. His wife, Elizabeth La Fluer, was born in Holland; came to Wisconsin with her parents in 1856. They were married in 1874, and have two children — Emily Newell and Gertrude Mable ; has been School Director and Side Supervisor, and is a member of La Crosse Lodge, No. 45, A, F. & A. M. GEORGE W. RRICE, dealer in farm machinery, wind-mills, pumps, threshers, reapers, mowers, seeders, drills, plows, cultivators, Onalaska; was born at Berkshire, Franklin Co., Vt, Feb. 9, 1836; came to Wisconsin with his parents, in 1843; they settled on Sugar Creek, Walworth Co., Wis.; from there to La Crosse Co., in 1855, and entered the land that is now known as Brice Prairie; they had 240 acres of land ; his father died Nov. 11, 1874, and his mother July 26, 1865. They had a family of ten children — two deceased, four daughters, remaining in Vermont, and four sons, who came West. G. W. is the youngest of the sons; he enlisted in Co. I, 36th W. V. I, in 1863, and was mustered out 1865; was at the engagements of Petersburg and Richmond. After the war, he returned to La Crosse, and engaged in business in 1874. His wife was Anna E. Courtright, a native of Rockford, 111, born Aug. 25, 1836, and married in 1861 ; children are Harry C, bora Oct. 16, 1862 ; Robert E, bora Feb. 28, 1869 ; and Flor ence, born Nov. 10, 1874, and died Aug. 12, 1876. He is a member of A, F. & A. M. Lodge, of the I. O. O. F, I. O. G. T, T. of H. and S. of T. He is now District Clerk, and Treasurer of District No. 5, now Clerk of District No. 1 , and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors ; he has been Assessor seven years ; was Constable the first year he was a voter, and also Justice of the Peace. JAMES RROXHOLSI, farmer, Sec. 25; P.O.Midway; was bora in Lincolnshire, En gland, Nov. 3,1832; came to America, 1851 ; to La Crosse County, Wis, 1854; owns, in company with Mr. Tilden Moore, 160 acres of land; during the summer he is on the river; has been School Clerk and Director, also Constable and Pathmaster. Tilden Moore was born in Ohio, March 6, 1835 ; came to Wisconsin, 1855; owns one-half interest of 160 acres of land. His wife was Mary Ann Stiltz. They were married in 1856. They have five children — Ellen, Alice, George, Sarah J. and Burt. B. R. CONGDON, carpenter and farmer ; P. O. Midway; born in Vermont in 1811, where he lived until 16 years of age, when he removed with his parents to Northern New York. When 21 years of age, he went to Pennsylvania, where he lived ten years, thence to Steuben Co, N. Y. He removed to Illinois in 1845 ; came to La Crosse Co. in 1850, and settled in Lewis Valley, making him one of the earliest settlers of the town of Farmington. He built the first school house and established the first Sun day school in the town of Farmington. He resided in Lewis Valley but three years, when he removed to Jackson Co, thence to Eau Claire, thence to North Pepin, thence to Wabasha Co., Minn, thence to Dodge Co., in that State. In February, 1863, Mr. Congdon met with a sad misfortune, while attempting to cross a stream in Bear Valley, Wabasha Co., with a team and sleigh, the latter was capsized by the force of the water, and he and his wife were thrown into the stream, and were caught between the sleigh and a fence crossing the stream, in such a manner that they were unable to extricate themselves, and be fore they could be rescued, his wife had perished, and he had become entirely exhausted, but finally re-. vived. He married his second wife in Dodge Co, also his third wife. The latter is still living. He has eight children — five sons and three daughters. Mr. Congdon returned to La Crosse Co, and settled in the town of Onalaska, October, 1878. CHARLES H. CONROW, farmer, Sec. 32 and 33 ; P. O. Onalaska ; was bora in Burlington, N. Y, June 15, 1815. Came to Wisconsin, July, 1866, now owns 80 acres of land and has made all the Missing Page Missing Page TOWN OP ONALASKA. 813 improvements. His wife, Mary Salisbury, was born in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y, Feb. 12, 1831 ; removed to Wyoming Co. at the age of 1 year ; married Aug. 24, 1854. They have had six children— Lillia, born Nov. 22, 1856; Mary, bom Aug. 24, 1859; Lucy, bora Dec. 10, 1862; Charles, born Feb. 11, 1865; Clarence, born Sept. 30, 1870; George, born June 11, 1874. GEORGE N. DUNLAP, blacksmith, Onalaska; was born in Ohio Nov. 9, 1844; removed to Green Co, Wis, with his parents, then to Onalaska in 1868 ; began business, June, 1875; has just fin ished a new shop, 20x28, also a good house, 20x24 — two stories. His wife, Emma Atkinson, was born at Onalaska Aug. 9, 1856; they married, 1874, and have two children — Frederick, bora March 6, 1877; infant daughter, born Oct. 16, 1880. A Republican. ANTON ENGELST AD, proprietor of billiard saloon, Onalaska; was born in Norway Aug. 7, 1851 ; came to America, and direct to Wisconsin, in 1865 ; began business in 1880. His wife, Anna Engerbretson, was born in Norway ; came to America at the age of 4 years. They married, 1871 ; they have had four children — Amelia, born April 30, 1874; Gerhard, born July 12,1876; Hannah, bora Aug. 20, 1878; one unnamed, born Jan. 31, 1880. JOHN FA.AS, farmer, Sec. 27; P. O. Onalaska; bora in Lorraine, Germany, Sept. 15, 1829 ; came to Wisconsin in 1853; settled at Milwaukee; then to Onalaska; worked on the river and in the woods ; now owns 160 acres of land, on which he has made all the improvements. His wife was Maggie Salter ; born in Germany in 1844. They were married in 1858 ; they have eight children — Thresa, Eliza, Rosa, John, Henry, William, Maggie and Josephine ; is a Democrat and Catholic. He has a nice place and good barn. THOMAS P. GEAR, farmer, Sec. 3; P. O. Onalaska; bora in Somersetshire, England, June 3, 1841 ; came to America with his parents. His mother now resides in Lewis Valley. His father died in Waukesha Co., Wis, in 1845 ; came to La Crosse Co. in 1852 ; now owns 80 acres of land ; made the improvements. His first wife, Eliza J. Pratt, was bora in Ohio June 3, 1851 ; married in 1866. They had one child — Clara A, born in 1867 ; died, 1873. Second wife, Margaret Kerm, born in Boone Co, Ind, Feb. 26, 1850 ; married June 22, 1879. They had one child — May. A Republican, and a Patron of Husbandry. CHARLES A. GLOVER, farmer, Sec. 3; P. O. Onalaska; was born in England in 1848; emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1859, and came direct to La Crosse, where he lived with his parents until he was 14 years of age, when his mother died ; and, soon after, his father re turned to England, leaving him to take care of himself, and so he rented a farm and worked the same one year, after which he worked for other parties until he was 17 years old, when he enlisted in Co. B, 53d W. V. I, and served about six months, when, the war being over, he was discharged. After the war, Mr. G. returned to La Crosse Co. and worked on a farm one year, when he purchased a farm of 80 acres in Eau Claire Co, and lived on the same about eighteen months; then he sold out, and purchased 80 acres of his present farm, but has since added to it, so that he now owns 200 acres ; has been a member of the Town Board one year, and is a Republican in politics. In 1866, he was married to Martha French, daughter of Joseph and Charlotte French. They have two children — Martha E. and George. AUGUST GRAMS, proprietor of Morning Star Mills, Midway ; was born in Bohemia July 24, 1836; came to La Crosse in 1855 ; engaged in business; then removed to Buffalo Co, where he re mained nine years ; then returned to Onalaska and bought the mill, now valued at $9,000, in 1876. His wife was Clara Bendell, bora in Bohemia ; married in 1863. They have eight children — Lena, Lonie, Anna, Clara, August, Frank, Alois and Emma. His parents died in the old country. LUKE HALE, farmer, Sec. 21 ; P. O. Onalaska; was bora at Brandon, Vt, July 22| 1831 ; learned the trade of shoemaker at the age of 18 ; then removed to Ft. Wayne, Ind. ; then to Ohio, then to Pennsyl/ania, where he worked at his trade; then to Wisconsin in 1858 ; now owns 240 acres, and made all the improvements of a good house and barn ; enlisted in Co. D, 14th W. V. I, in 1864; mustered out at Madison,- in 1865 ; was at Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Nashville, and siege of Mobile. His wife, Rieka Simerling, bora in Germany March 22, 1849 ; married Oct. 25, 1868. They have five children- Frederick, born, 1869, died, 1869 ; Franklin, born April 1, 1871, died June, 1871 ; infant son, deceased ; Anna, born 1873; Clara, born June 29, 1880. CHARLES HALGESON, farmer, Sec. 1; P. O. Half- Way Creek; was born in Sweden Jan. 4, 1844; came to Wisconsin, in 1852; enlisted in the La Crosse Light Artillery, 1864; discharged, 1865 ¦' now owns 120 acres of land, on which he has made all the improvements— a fine barn, 42x38, 14- foot posts His wife, Isabell Erickson, was born in Norway March 16, 1846 ; married 1868, and they have five children— Joseph Oscar, Anna C , William H, Theodore Franklin and Allie E. In politics, Republican ; in religion, Lutheran ; was Clerk one year ; Supervisor, one year. 814 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: CHARLES HALL (deceased), was bora at Bristol, Vt, Aug. 16, 1807., removed to Lake County, 111, the winter of 1842, and to Wisconsin in 1857 ; lumbering, and in 1860 built the shingle mill ; continued the business for sixteen years ; sold out to C. H. Nicholas & Co. He died June 23,1877. His wife was Permelia A. Baldwin, bora in Vermont Nov. 22, 1807 ; they were married March 19, 1827; had three children — Guy, deceased ; Citana, now Mrs. Molton ; C. G, who was born July 30, 1835, in Vermont ; came to Wisconsin 1857, now farming on Sections 5, 6 and 9, also owns town property and interest in the mill. In politics, Republican ; a member of the I. 0. O. F, also a Mason ; has held the office of School Clerk, Assessor four years, Constable one year. PETER HANSON, farmer, Section 20 ; P. O. Midway ; bora in Norway June 25, 1845 ; came to La Crosse Co. 1865 ; now owns 160 acres, with good house, 32x24, two stories, wing one and a half stories, 16x24. His wife, Paulina Peterson, was bom in Norway 1850, married 1868; have three children — Josephina, Henretta, Carl. Has been on Town Board and Pathmaster. GEORGE E. HAWKINS, farmer, Sections 34 and 35 ; P. O. Onalaska ; was born in Waukesha Co, Wis, July 10, 1846. Learned the trade of carpenter at La Crosse; enlisted in Co. B, 53d W. V. I, in 1865, discharged in 18C5 ; came to La Crosse in 1855, now owns 320 acres, on which he made the improvements. His wife, Rachael Kight, was bom in Ohio, March, 1848 ; married, Aug. 4, 1873. They have two children— Clifford A, born Dec. 29, 1876; Homer, born Aug. 28, 1878. A member of the A, F. & A. M. Lodge at North La Crosse, also a Patron of Husbandry, and Repub lican. O. R. HEATH, farmer, Section 8 ; P. O. Midway ; was bora in Chautauqua Co, N. Y, Nov. 28, 1833 ; removed to McHenry Co, 111, in 1845, and to Wisconsin in 1856 ; now owns 200 acres of land, made the improvements, good house, two stories, 18x28. His wife, Anna Miller, was born in Chau tauqua Co., N. Y, in 1841 ; married, 1855. They have six children — May, Edwin, Herbert, Leroy, Ethelan and Eveline. Has been Treasurer and a Good Templar ; a Republican. J. C. HEWITT, farmer, Section 13 ; P. O. Midway; born in Canada, Aug. 19, 1832. His father and mother were natives of New York; his father died in Canada, in 1834; his mother died in Pennsylvania, in 1859. He enlisted in the 1st Wis. Light Artillery, 1862 ; discharged, June 29, 1865 ; now owns 480 acres of land, with large house, barn, and other fine improvements, all made by his own in dustry ; for when he came to La Crosse Co. he had not a cent, and sawed wood for a family to pay for his dinner. This was in 1857. His wife, Margaret Jane Shiltz, was born in Ohio, in 1841 ; married to Jacob Roe, who died Sept. 2, 1865, and left two children — John, deceased ; Fred, now at home; married to Mr. Hewitt Sept. 13, 1867 ; they have five children— Lottie, born June 11, 1868 ; Martha, born Jan. 13, 1870, died April 14, 1871 ; Emma, born Oct. 12, 1872 ; Charles F, bora Feb. 4, 1874; Harry B, born July 15, 1876 ; Mark Roy, bom June 14, 1878. RICHARD HOSSFELD, proprietor of Nutting House, situated on Sec. 4; was born in Saxony, Germany, Feb. 29, 1844, and came to Davenport, Iowa, in 1850; remained here two years, and then moved to Minnesota, near Winona, on a farm, for thirteen years ; he then left home, and worked in a brewery three years, when he came to Wisconsin, and engaged in the butcher business three years ; he then went to Chicago in the same business, and back to La Crosse City and to North La Crosse in the market there, until 1874, when he bought 95 acres of land, and then in 1880 took the hotel. His wife Anna, a daughter of Abel and Clarinda Nutting, was born in Maine, June 31, 1850 ; came to Wisconsin in 1855 ; her father died in November, 1875, and her mother on May 17, 1880. They were married in May, 1870, an^ have four children — Ida, bora Nov. 1, 1871 ; Lizzie, bom Jan. 2, 1874; Gustavus, born July 10, 1876; and Frank Adelbert, born Dec. 11, 1879. He is a Democrat and Lutheran; is a member of the North La Crosse lodge of the I. O. O. F, and is Vice Grand. THEODORE HOUSER, farmer, Sec. 27; P. O. Onalaska; bora in Switzerland Feb. 6, 1846 ; came to Wisconsin in 1851 ; owns 120 acres of land ; made all the improvements, and made all he has since he came to this country. He enlisted in Co. E, 3d W. V. I, in 1864, and was discharged in 1865 ; was with Sherman through to the sea. His wife, Sophia Moss, was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, Aug. 17, 1849; they were married in 1870, and have five children — Willie, George, Rudolph, Henry and Sidney. He is now, in 1881, Town Clerk. CHRISTIAN INACBENIT, farmer, Sec. 27; P. O. Onalaska; was born in Switzerland, Dec. 17, 1828; came to Wisconsin in 1866; owns 280 acres of land, with a good barn and house. His wife, Margarita Obecklen, was born in Germany, April 20, 1835. They were married in 1858, and have ten children — Christian, Iohn, Margarita, Michael, Ella, Berthund, Adolph, Lizzie, Frank and Henry. ENOCH KENNEDY, farmer, Sec. 30; P. O. Midway ; was born in Tompkins Co, N. Y, July 30, 1804. Learned the trade of a blacksmith at the age of 18; came to Wisconsin in 1840, and TOWN OP ONALASKA. 815 engaged in farming and blaoksmithing in Greenfield, Milwaukee Co, Wis. ; then came to La Crosse, and kept the hotel known as the Washington House; they still own the property, and also 500 acres of land, with fine improvements. His wife, Matilda Larcon, was born in Vermont, married in New York, and died in 1850; left eight children — James R, in the army, from Kansas ; John, now in Michigan ; Eliza A, now Mrs. Horn, in Waukesha Co.; Eunice, now Mrs. McPherson, in California; Lucinda, now Mrs. Shede, in California; Ezra, enlisted in Co. H, 17th W. V. I, in 1861, was discharged in 1865, and when he came home be was engaged as conductor on the S. M. R. R, and killed at Grand Meadow, in an acci dent; Charity, now Mrs. Bacon, in Nebraska; Caroline, now. Mrs. Hollistor, in Michigan. His second wife was Catharine Ferris, born in Germany, Jan. 7, 1824; came to America in 1846; married to Mr. Sebastine in 1847, who was born in Prussia in 1820, and died in 1850, leaving three children — Elizabeth, now deceased; Angeline, now Mrs. Ash, in La Crosse; Peter, drowned at Mound Prairie, Minn, while building a bridge on the S. M. R. R, July 14, 1876. Mrs. Sebastine was married to Mr. Kennedy in Milwaukee, in 1852, and they now have five children — Mary, Oliver, Katie, Alvinus and Emeline. O. P. KJOS, proprietor of Union House, Onalaska; was bora in Christiania, Norway, Feb. 6, 1830; came to America in 1860, and to Wisconsin in the fall of 1869, where he began business. His wife, Mary Markred, was born in Norway, in 1836. They were married in 1855; have had eight chil dren — Josephena Polly Antona, born in Norway, June 20, 1856, died at Monmouth, 111, Aug. 6, 1861 ; Petronelle Anna May, bom Dec. 20, 1857, now Mrs. Johnson; Hulda Marinna, born Aug. 14, 1859, died at Monmouth, 111, Aug. 6, 1861 ; Ida Hermana, bom June 8, 1862; Josephena Polly Antona, bom May 28, 1865, at Chicago; Hulda Mary Ann, born Feb. 12, 1867, died June 6, 1867; Martha Wash ington, born Feb. 22, 1869, died at Onalaska, Oct. 29, 1870; Olive Mary Ann, born Nov. 28, 1871. HENRY KRIEBS, farmer, Sec. 4 ; P. O. Onalaska; was born in Prussia Feb. 8, 1819; came to New York City in 1849 ; worked at shoe making twelve years, then removed to Wisconsin ; now owns 80 acres of land; made all the improvements. His wife, Ann M. Engle, was born in Germany, died in the old country, leaving one child, Gertrude, now in La Crosse. His second wife, Augusta Wies- ser, was born in Germany, in 1818, married in 1851 ; they have seven children — Mary, in La Crosse; Kate, in Onalaska; John, Jennie, Lena, Henry and Elizabeth. EZRA M. LOCKMAN, blacksmith; P. O. Midway; was born in Canada Oct. 13, 1844; came to Wisconsin in 1845, settled near Beaver Dam; came to La. Crosse Co, engaged in farming; now owns 40 acres, also town property. He engaged in business in town in 1866 ; he enlisted in Co. F, 25th W. V. I.; was discharged in 1865; was wounded at Atlanta, Ga, July 22, 1864. His wife was Eliza Larson, a native of Norway, bora June 16, 1854. They were married in 1874, have one child, W. A, born 1878. In politics, Republican. Has been Constable; a member of I. O. O. F. JOHN H. SIILLER, millwright and retired farmer, Sec. 18; P. O. Midway; was born in Nassau, July 8, 1823; came to America, April 30, 1848; landed at Philadelphia, then to Northampton Co., Penn, remained there until April, 1836, when he came to Onalaska, where he built a saw-mill which he sold to Hollaway. He then removed to Half- Way Creek, and in 1865 bought the mill property of Alfred Swarthout ; everything was wild and brush. He began to improve and built the mill in' 1866 and 1867 ; contains two run of stone, and has always done a good business. The mill is 30x56 ; was sold to Swarthout in 1871. His wife, Fredricka Heinill, was born in Baden, Sept. 2, 1834. They marri. d in 1853, have five children — Charlie, deceased; Sarah, John, Emma and Matilda. SI. G. SIOORE, proprietor of the Onalaska Brewery and Hotel,jvas born in Somerset Co, Me, Jan. 20, 1829 ; came to Wisconsin in 1853. He engaged in lumbering, tben to La Crosse, and for a num ber of years on Black River; in 1867, engaged at the present business. His wife, Amelia Knecbt *is a native of Germany. They married in 1867, and have one child, Frank, who was born in 1869. In poli tics, Democrat. Has been Chairman of the Board and on the Side Board; a member of the A, F. & A. M. Lodge, A. O. U. W. ALEX MORAN, Principal of High School, Onalaska ; born at Brooklyn, N. Y, Sept. 17, 1847 ¦ came to Wisconsin in 1856, with his parents; attended State Normal School, at River Falls, Wis, was there in 1875 and 1876, took charge of the school in this place in 1878. His wife was Tanzin Saunders, born at Green Bay, Wis, July 8, 1858. They were married in 1878. Has been Town Clerk, President and Secretary of the County Teachers' Association, member of A, F. & A. M, also A. & R. A. M, and member of the La Crosse Light Guards. CHARLES MOSS, farmer, Sec. 21 ; P. O. Onalaska ; born in Germany, Oct. 25, 1822 ; came to Wisconsin 1869, now owns 20 acres, on which he has a fine house, 20x16, wing 18x20 and two stories When he' came to La Crosse, he had only $28. His wife, May Side, born in Germany, town of Keits June 7 1828; married in the old country. They have seven children— Sophia, now Mrs. 816 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Houser; Louisa, now Mrs. Nister ; Whilhelm ; Lena, now Mrs. Shaller; Ferdore, Otto, Emma. A Luth eran and Democrat. J. S. NICHOLS, millwright, Onalaska ; was born in' Chenango Co, N. Y, July 7, 1821. He learned his trade in New York State; went to Ohio in 1844; to Wisconsin in 1856; engaged in build ing a mill for Roice, Boyce, Melville & Co, and was one of the company, which firm he was a member of about one year, when he sold out. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1864. After being dis charged, he returned to Wisconsin. His wife was Olive Chidester; was born in Chenango Co, N Y, June, 1831. They were married in 1852. They have three children — Charles W, Louie A, and Stella M. Member of the lodge of I. 0. 0. F. ; School Director; Clerk and Treasurer of Schools. When Onalaska was a village, he was one of the Trustees. His wife is a member of the Methodist Church. He is a Republican. C. W. NUTTING, proprietor of Charleston House and saloon ; P. 0. Midway ; was born in Som erset Co, Maine, Jan. 3, }839 ; came to Wisconsin in 1865 ; engaged in rafting and lumbering on Black River. He built the hotel in 1878. His wife was Alice May Welch ; born in Walworth Co, Wis, May 14, 1850. They were married July 3, 1870. They had three children— Adelbert, born Feb. 23, 1872, died Oct. 14, 1880; Wilber, born April 2, 1875; Jewett, born Nov. 5, 1878. In politics, Democratic; in religion, liberal believer; now holds the office of Constable ; member of the I. 0. O. F. Lodge. IVER OLSON, farmer, Sec. 11 ; P. 0. Half-Way Creek; bora in Norway March 18, 1832; came to Wisconsin, 1862 ; owns 205 acres, on which he has made the improvements, and made all since he came to this State. His wife was Caroline Johnson, bora Oct. 25, 1850 ; married Dec. 17, 1868. They have six children — Adolph, born Sept. 20, 1869; Oscar, born Sept. 8, 1871 ; Georgon, born Dec. 16, 1874 ; Amanda, bom April 4, 1877 ; Ellen, born Nov. 8, 1879 ; Ida, bom Feb. 12, 1881. In poli tics, Republican ; in religion, Lutheran. JOHN I. OLSON, farmer, Sec. 10 ; Postmaster of Half-Way Creek ; was born in Norway March 12, 1849 ; came to Wisconsin, 1872 ; now owns 200 acres, on which he has made all of the im provements, and made all since he came to this country. His wife, Julia Anderson, was bora in Wiscon sin Feb. 1, 1858. They married Nov. 17, 1879. They have one child — Clara Betre, born July 29, 1880. Appointed Postmaster April, 1880. ' NATHANIEL PITTENGER, farmer, Sec. 23 ; P. O. Midway ; was born in Richland Co., Ohio, Nov. 25, 1822 ; came to Wisconsin, 1865 ; now owns 213 acres of improved land ; has house 16x24, wing 14x24 — two stories; also good bam. At the age of 17, he went and learned the trade of blacksmith, which he continued to work at until he came to Wisconsin. His wife, Ann Stephenson, was bom in Richland Co, Ohio, March 7, 1821 ; married Nov. 6, 1845. They had six children — Alfred, born Oct. 10, 1846, died July 19, 1868 ; Levi, born Aug. 8, 1848, died Aug. 31, 1876 ; Abraham, born Aug. 20, 1851; Samuel, born Jan. 3, 1854, died July 15, 1873; Nathaniel, born May 31, 1857, died April 24, 1860 ; Mary E, born Nov. 2, 1864. Has held the office of School Clerk and Director; Super visor, one year; Chairman four years. A member of the lodge of A, F. & A. M. at La Crosse. Patron of Husbandry, and Good Templar. J. B. RAND, lumberman and Deputy Sheriff, Onalaska; born in Brown Co., Va, Oct. 2, 1822 ; emigrated to Dane Co, Wis, in the spring of 1848, and to La Crosse Co. in 1852 ; has kept hotel at Ona laska and ran an omnibus to La Crosse, which he continued until 1856 ; then in the livery business. He lost his arm in a threshing machine at Sun Prairie, Dane Co. He owns 340 acres oftland in La Crosse Co., .also town property of 6 acres. His wife was Elizabeth Latimer, of Scotch descent, was born in Washington Co., Penn, in 1825 ; married in Jackson Co., West Va, in the fall of 1847 ; they have six children — George, Isabel, Artemus, Martha, Anna (twins), and Willie (deceased). Has held the office of Treasurer and Town Assessor; has been Supervisor; member of I. O. O. F. In religion, liberal; politics, Republican. ALBERT RANDALL, farmer, Section 3 ; P. 0, Onalaska ; born in Cortland Co, N. Y, May 11, 1831 ; went to Pennsylvania, and to Wisconsin in 1836 ; worked in the mill at La Crosse for Coleman, two years; then to Onalaska, in the mill one year ; then to the farm; now owns 400 acres of land, on 200 acres of this he has good improvements. His house was struck by lightning and burned, July 9, 1880 ; he now has a fine new house, and things in good style. His wife, Ester M. White, was born in Tioga Co, Penn , Sept. 7, 1836 ; married, 1855 ; they have four children — Charles, born Jan. 31, 1856 ; Ida, born July 31, 1863, died Sept. 16, 1865 ; Winifred, born July 28, 1867 ; Albert E, born April 25, 1872. Has been Supervisor, W. H. RORERTS, farmer; Section 29, P. O. Midway; was born in Erie Co, N. Y, Nov. 2, 1850 ; came to Wisconsin in 1855 ; now owns 80 acres of land, on which he has made the improve- TOWN OF ONALASKA. 817 ments. His wife, Alice Wright, was born in Indiana, Dec. 28, 1853; married, Sept. 14, 1873; they have two children— Emily, born July 2, 1874 ; Helen Gertrude, born April 1, 1877. Has been Clerk four years, and Worthy Chief Templar and Secretary of the lodge at Midway. His father was a native of Vermont, and was killed Nov. 10, 1879, by a runaway team ; his mother, Emily, was born in Ohio, and died at the age of 45, in 1870, leaving a family of five children. His stepmother was Sarah Bemis ; by their marriage they had one child — Francis. WILLIASI SAGEAR, farmer, Section 15; P.O.Midway; born in Knox Co, Ohio, Jan. 8, 1838; came to Wisconsin, 1857 ; bought 76 acres, on which he made the improvements ; he now owns 24U acres. Enlisted in Co. D, 14th W. V. I. ; mustered out 1865; was in the battle of Nashville, Franklin, Stone River. His wife, Mattie Kennedy, was bora in Norway Jan. 28, 1835 ; came to America with her brother in 1857 ; married, 1853 ; have seven children — Thomas, born Oct. 7, 1858; Aletta, born March 22, 1862 ; William, born May, 17, 1863 ; George, born Aug. 12, 1866 ; Vinia and James, bora June 28, 1871 ; John, born Jan. 28, 1872. C. A. SAUER, dealer in groceries, Onalaska; was bora in Prussia Dec. 1, 1835; came to America Nov. 16, 1853 ; remained in New York City until September, 1854, when he went to Milwaukee ; worked at his trade, which was that of a cabinet-maker; then to La Crosse, March 22, 1855, in the saloon business, until be came to Onalaska in 1855, and started the hotel ; sold out and went into the grocery business. His wife, Theresa Kunzel, a native of Austria, married in 1859, died in 1870 ; they had two children — Mary, now Mrs. Tompson, and John, in Dakota. His second wife was Anna Schiller, a native of Bohemia; married July 13, 1874; they had four children — ¦ Joseph, Polly, Frank and Anton. In politics, Democrat ; in religion, Catholic ; on the Town Board two years, also Police Justice and Path- master; owns 160 acres of land in Dakota, 180 in Wisconsin and town property. PHILLIP SEE BURGER, farmer, Sec. 30 ; P. O. Midway ; was born in Baden, Germany, March 11, 1830 ; came to America in 1852, and to La Crosse County in 1858; now owns 260 acres of land, on which he has made improvements ; enlisted in Co. F, 17th W. V. I, in 1865 ; discharged, 1865. His wife, Agnes Felix, was born in Switzerland March 9, 1826 ; married, 1858. They have two chil dren — William and Regina. Has been Treasurer of Schools and Supervisor. Member of I. O. O. F. THOSIAS B. SHOVE, proprietor of livery, sale and feed stable, Onalaska ; was born at Oneonta, Otsego Co, N. Y, Aug. 3, 1837. He enlisted in Co. I, 121st N. Y. V. I, mustered out Jan. 13, 1863 ; was engaged at South Mountain, Antietani and Fredericksburg. He came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1868, worked by the day for about twelve years, then, in August, 1880, he bought out Mr. Mar tin in the livery business. His wife, H. A. Boardman, a native of Oneonta, Otsego Co., N. Y, was born May, 1837. They married February, 1856 ; they have six children — Clara, now Mrs. Rand ; Benjamin, Nellie, now Mrs. Merill ; Frederick, Mary and Florence. Has been Marshal and member Sons of Tem perance. A. W. SSIITH, farmer, Sec. 4; P. O. Half-Way Creek; was born in Somerset Co, Me, July 14, 1848. He came to Wisconsin in 1867 ; now owns 120 acres of land, and has made most of the im provements. His wife was bom in Saxony Nov. 30, 1855; came to America in 1856; married, 1875. THOSIAS SSIITH (deceased) was bom at Chateaugay, Franklin Co, N. Y, April 1, 1834. Emigrated when 1 year old to Illinois, near Chicago, then to Lake Co, 111, where he resided until man hood, when they came to Wisconsin in 1852, and located land and began farming; they also built a log tavern on Sec. 10, which his father continued to keep for a number of years ; they then built a new part, his father removed to Salem, and Thomas took charge of the hotei until Jan. 17, 1878. They now own 300 acres, nicely improved. He was Clerk of School, Assessor, and Justice of the Peace ; also Postmaster at Half-Way Creek a number of years. His wife. Mary Hodge, was born in Jefferson Co, N. Y, Oct. 1, 1836 ; married, 1857. They have had four children— Jennie, born Jan. 20, 1858 ; Casper, born April 1, 1860; AlVie, born Nov. 21, 1861; Ella, bora March 17, 1864. O. N. SOLBERG, farmer, Sec. 20 ; P. O. Midway ; born in Norway, June 12, 1799. First came to La Crosse and remained three years, then bought 160 acres of land, and has improved it with a fine house and barns. His wife, Mary Anderson, was born in Norway Aug. 20, 1803; they married in 1827, and have five children— Otillia Julia Ann, Henry, B. N. O, now residing in Norway; Charles B. in La Crosse Citv and Amelia Helena. Has been Supervisor. FAYETTE P. SPRAGUE, deceased ; was born in Hopkinton, St. Lawrence Co, N. Y, Jan. 1, 1822; studied medicine with his father, and graduated at the Medical College, Castleton, Vt, June 18, 1845 ; practiced in New York twenty-one years, then removed to Waukegan, 111, where he remained seven years ; then to Onalaska, Wis, in 1873. He died May 8, 1876, and was buried in Hopkinton, N. Y. His wife was Sarah A. Brown, who was born in St. Lawrence Co, N. Y, Oct. 18, 1828. They were married 818 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: March 26, 1857 ; had one child— Mariah Orretta, born in New York, Nov. 29, 1858, died March 2, 1875, at Onalaska, and buried in Hopkinton, N. Y. Mr. Sprague was a man that was interested in the welfare of the town ; a member of the Good Templars, a charitable Christian man, and beloved by all those with whom he was acquainted. Mrs. Sprague's father was a native of Vermont, born Sept. 25, 1800, died in New York, Aug. 12, 1851. His wife was bora in Vermont, Feb. 6, 1806; they were mar ried in 1826, and by the marriage there were four children. She now resides with her daughter in Ona laska. C. S. STOCKWELL, Principal of Schools of Onalaska, La Crosse Co. ; born at Kenockee, St. Clair Co, Mich, Feb. 11, 1845. Graduated at the High School in the city of Port Huron, Mich, in 1861 ; taught school winters, and worked as a sailor on the Great Lakes, summers, until he was married, in 1868, after which he gave his whole time to teaching. In the winter of 1875-76, while acting as Principal of the Union School, at Hadley, Mich, and Superintendent of Schools in that county, his health failed, and he was compelled to resign, and seek a change of climate. After spending the summer in Colorado, he came to Onalaska, and took charge of the school there, in September, 1876; he remained Principal of the Ona laska School until the spring of 1878, when he was appointed County Superintendent of Schools, to which position he has since been twice re-elected. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a R. A. M, is P. G. in the I. 0. 0. F, and belongs to the S. of T, I. 0. G. T. and T. of H.; was Census Enumera tor for the town and village of Onalaska; has held nearly all the town offices (all with the exception of Justice of the Peace and Treasurer), and was President of the village of Onalaska. His wife, Mary A., was born in Gloucestershire, England, March 25, 1844, and came to America in 1852. They were mar ried April 11, 1868; their children are Abel E, born July 25, 1869, died Feb. 3, 1870; Cyrus D, born Oct. 17, 1870; Charlotte I, born July 14, 1872; Israel M,bom Jan. 30, 1874 ; Mary Grace, born Oct. 18, 1875; Thomas C, born June 15, 1878; Martha E, born Jan. 31, 1880. DANIEL STRAUSS, proprietor of the Onalaska House; born at Wurtemberg, Germany, Feb. 8, 1830; came to America in 1851 ; worked in a saw-mill in Lawrence Co, Penn, which he rented until 1857, when he came to Wisconsin, and was in the mill at New Amsterdam, Wis, and then went to La Crosse. In 1871, he built the hotel, and has a fine place; also owns 40 acres of farm land in Sec. 4, and town property. His wife, Anna Bauch, was born at Banner, Austria. They married in 1864; she died in 1873, leaving five children — Charlie, Anna, Bertha, and Joseph and Mary, deceased. DR. J. E. SUTTIE, physician and surgeon, Onalaska; was born in Hillsdale Co., Mich, Sept. 17, 1850. He attended medical school at Detroit, Mich, in 1873-74-75 ; then went to Nebraska, and returned to Onalaska in 1877. He owns town property ; in politics is Republican. W. A. SWEET, wagon-maker and wheelwright, Midway; was born in Walworth Co., Wis, Dec. 18, 1842 ; his parents were natives of New York. When he was two years of age he went to live with an uncle; he learned his trade in Oshkosh ; enlisted in Co. B, 14th W. V. I, 1861 ; mustered out. Oct. 9, 1865. After coming out of the army, he remained in Mobile, Ala, one year, then returned to Oshkosh, Wis, then to La Crosse in 1869; worked for Smith & Mirrill, removed to Midway in 1880, now doing a fine business. His first wife, Mary Van Owen, was a native of Holland, who died April, 1872 ; they had one child — Charles. His second wife, Lottie Shafer, was a native of Wisconsin, born at Sparta, and married in 1876 ; no children. A member of the Sons of Temperance. W. S. TAYLOR, farmer, Section 23; P. O. Midway; was born in Columbiana Co, Ohio, Dec. 10, 1820 ; removed to Pittsburgh, Penn, where he remained ten years; then to Jefferson Co., Ohio, where he engaged in the manufactory of paper at what was known as the Clinton Mills ; was there twenty-five years ; then to Gallipolis, Ohio, as superintendent of the paper-mills, there eight years. He then engaged in preaching as a M. E. Methodist, and remained in that Conference ten years. He then enlisted in Co. I, 36th O. V. I, was Captain of the company; he then resigned, and was elected Chaplain of the regiment until 1862 ; he then came to La Crosse Co, engaged in farming, now owns 145 acres of good land, well improved. Has preached for the charge of Black River Falls, and other places in this vicinity ; has held the office of School Clerk several times, also Justice of the Peace two terms. His wife was Mary A. Hood, who was born in Jefferson Co, Ohio, April 10, 1820; married March 16, 1841 ; they have an adopted son — Berthal, born Aug. 26, 1867. After being mustered out of the army, Mr. Taylor again enlisted in the 52d W. V. I, as private, and by the wish of the boys he was chosen Chaplain, but did not fill the place; he was then made Sergeant Major of the regiment, and served until the close of the war. S. THARESON, farmer, Section 2; P. O. Half-Way Creek; born in Sweden August, 1833; came to Wisconsin in 1854 ; now owns 120 acres, well improved, with good house and barn. His wife^ Martha M. Oleson, was born in Norway, October, 1843; came to America, 1867; married, 1868; they have TOWN OF HAMILTON. 819 five children -Charles L, Joseph T, Alfred B, Hulda S, Selna P. Has been School Clerk ; a Repub lican and Lutheran ; he enlisted in the La Crosse Light Artillery in 1864, was discharged 1865. ?Ho?"A"* TOSIPSON, of the firm of Bailey & Co, Onalaska ; born at Telemarke, Norway, Jan. 7, 1852 ; came to America in 1867 ; settled at La Crosse, and clerked at Mons Anderson's, where he remained eight years ; then to Onalaska, clerked for Mr. Bailey two years ; then engaged in business with Mr. Bailey. His wife, Mary Sauer, was born in Onalaska, May, 1859. They married Jan. 26, 1879 • they have one child— Richard Bailey, born Dec. 5, 1880. A member of the I. 0. 0. F. PAUL VAN LOON, dealer in general stock, and Postmaster, Midway; born in Holland May 6, 1849 ; came to America ; settled in town of Holland, La Crosse Co. ; enlisted in Co. I, 8th W. V. I, 1864; discharged, 1865 ; engaged in business at new Amsterdam ; then to Midway, August, 1880 ; has a fine stock of goods, and doing a fine business. He was appointed Postmaster in 1880. His wife was Sarah Gillette, who was born in Wisconsin in 1860. They were married in 1875, and have three children— William, born, 1876; Albertus, 1878; Walter, 1880. In politics, Republican; in religion, Lutheran. A member of the A, F. & A. M. Lodge, and I. O. 0. F. Mt. Van" Loon attended school at JanesviUe, Wis, in 1875 at the Commercial College. NICHOLAS WALL, farmer, Sec. 1; P.O. Half-Way Creek ; was born in*Sweden March 13, 1827 ; came to Wisconsin, 1852 ; owns 360 acres of land, on which he has made all the improve ments ; enlisted in Co. I, 44th W. V. I, 1865, and discharged, 1865. His wife, Hattie Halgeson, was born in Sweden Dec. 8, 1834. They married in 1855, and have nine children— Emily A, Hilmea, Carl Phillip, Anna L, Agnetia I, Julia L, Edna C, Selma and Joseph E. ; has been School Clerk and Di rector, Supervisor and Justice of the Peace. TOWN OF HAMILTON. VICTOR SI. ADASIS, Salem; born in Hartford, Conn, in 1816. He removed, with his parents, Origen and Anna Adams, to the State of Ohio, in 1821. He traveled through Iowa in 1839: In June, 1843, he came to Wisconsin, and resided at Mt. Pleasant, near Racine, where he made him a home, and was married to Esther H. Carrington. In 1844, he removed to the town of Beaver Dam, Dodge Co, where he lived three years. His wife being in poor health, he went South, hoping she might be improved by a milder climate; thence to Ohio, where his wife died, Dec. 31, 1846. He returned to Beaver Dam, and engaged in the mercantile business, and was also County Surveyor for two years ; he removed from Dodge Co. to La Crosse Co., May, 1853, and settled in the town of Burns; he resided in the town of Burns, Sec. 19, about two years; he then located in the town of Neshonoc, now the town of Hamilton. Mr. Adams assisted in the organization of the town of Burns, and was Chairman of the Town Board of Neshonoc for three years. In the fall of 1859, having been elected Register of Deeds for La Crosse Co., he removed to the city of La Crosse; he served as Register of Deeds from January, 1860, to January, 1862, and again, from January, 1864, to January, 1866. During 1862 and 1863, he had charge of a ferry boat which plied between La Crosse and the Minnesota side of the river. His second wife was Eliza, sister of his former wife; she died at La Crosse, December, 1859. His present wife was Mattie F. Vincent, a sister of James Vincent, of La Crosse. In April, 1866, he removed to West Salem, and engaged in the hardware and grocery business with William Van Zandt ; afterward his partner was Mr. C. C. Palmer, the firm then being Adams & Palmer; he sold out to his partner in 1874. Mr. Adams was one of the Com missioners elected to build the court house at La Crosse. He has always been prominently identified with the interest and progress of La Crosse Co. He had seven children by his first wife, three sons and four daughters, two daughters still living — Anna Emogene, now Mrs. W. A. Houghton, resides in Mexico, Mo.; Kate E, who resides with her sister. Has one son by present wife — Victor 0. WALDO AND WILLIASI C. ALLEN, sons of James Allen; reside on See. 16, West Salem. Mr. James Allen was a native of Nova Scotia ; he came to the eastern part of the State of Wis consin, from Massachusetts, about 1850; he came to La Crosse Co. two or three years later. He was married to Maria Serviss, who came from Canada to La Crosse Co, in 1852 ; they had five children, only two of whom, Waldo and William, are living. , Waldo was bora on the homestead, where he now lives, in 1856 ¦ was married to Sylvia Hill ; they have one child — Mabel. William C. was also born on the home stead,' Feb. 21, 1862. The father died in the spring of 1872, the mother in 1878. Farm contains 178 acres. 820 BIOGRAPHICAL. SKETCHES: DANIEL BACON, farmer, Sec. 4; P. 0. West Salem ; born in Warren Co, N. Y, in 1818 ; he came to Wisconsin, June 1, 1850, and settled on his present farm July of that year, making him one of the very earliest settlers of La Crosse Co. He was married in New York, to Mary A. Stanton ; she died January, 1852 ; his present wife was Miss June B. Flood ; has four children by first marriage — Alice, now Mrs. Edward Elwell ; Edgar D, William G. and Ledrue R ; lost two children ; has had four children by present wife, three of whom are living — Julia, Florence and Lizzie. In the fall of 1852, Mr. Bacon went to the city of La Crosse, and engaged in the mercantile business ; was burned out in 1857 ; he returned to his farm in the spring of 1859. ROBERT BARKER, taxidermist, Sec. 23 ; P. 0. West Salem. Mr. Barker was born in Yorkshire, England, Jan. 1, 1816. He was married in England, to Emily Ramsey, also bora in York shire. They came to the United States in 1852, and settled in JanesviUe, Wis, where Mr. Barker engaged in the business of cabinet-making; removed from JanesviUe to Monroe Co., where he was engaged in farming. Mr. Barker is a skillful taxidermist, which business he learned in England ; this occupation he has followed, more or less, since he came to America ; his son, Frederick A, has also learned the business ; they have at their home a fine collection of rare and beautiful birds, prepared so skillfully that they closely resemble the life appearance of the birds. Mr. and Mrs. Barker have eight children — John R, Peter R., Robert, Louise ; Emily, now Mrs. A. J. Sturdevant ; Henry W, Fredericka and Francis C. The -two oldest sons, John R. and Peter R, were in the Union Army during the rebellion ; John R. enlisted in the 6th W. V. I, and served till the close of the war ; Peter was in Co. A, 3d W. V. C. ; he was wounded, but served till close of the war. HIRASI F. ROLLES, farmer, Sec. 25 ; P. 0. West Salem. Mr. Bolles was born in Coos Co., N. H, January, 1838; he came to Wisconsin with his parents, Ira and Abigail Bolles, in 1856, who settled in Sauk Co. ; parents returned to New Hampshire, where his father died. Mr. H. F. Bolles lived in Sauk Co. one year, when he went to Faribault Co, Minn, where he was engaged in farming two years ; he then returned to Wisconsin, and located in Juneau Co. ; he settled on his present farm, June, 1860, which he purchased of the heirs of William E. Bartholomew; Mr. Bartholomew was the original settler of this farm. Mr. Bolles was married to Mary Gilfillan, daughter of James and Maria Gilfillan ; she was born in Vermont ; her parents settled in Dodge Co, Wis, in 1848, and came to La Crosse Co. in 1855 ; they are now living in West Salem. Mr. and Mrs. Bolles have two sons — Frank I. and Fred R. Farm contains 247 acres. Mr Bolles was in the employ of the Government for some time, as carpenter, during the rebellion ; his location during this time was Nashville, Tenn. He and his wife are members of the Second Advent Church. JOHN BROOKS, of the firm of Brooks & Weingarten, proprietors of meat market, West Salem. Mr. Brooks is the son of William Henry Brooks,, who came to La Crosse Co. from the State of New York, at an early day. In 1867, he came to West Salem, where he now lives. John was born in town of Campbell, July, 1854. Parents had six children — two sons and four daughters, all born in La Crosse Co, except the oldest, Nellie. Mr. John Brooks engaged in his present business, September, 1880. REV. J. C. CALDWELL, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, West Salem; born in Kentucky, July 10, 1822. Graduated at Hanover College, near Madison, Indiana, 1848. Took his theological course at Princeton, N. J. Began the ministry at Shelbyville, in 1850 ; located at Still water, Minn, in 1856, and at Black River Falls, Wis, in 1869 ; came to West Salem in December, 1870. His wife was Miss Eliza A. Green, daughter of Jonathan Green. They have three children— Lizzie G, Sarah Louise and John A. REV. ANSON CLARK, Pastor of the Congregational Church, West Salem ; born in West Hampton, Hampshire Co, .Mass, in 1822. He was educated at Williams College, where he graduated in 1845. He took a theological course at Andover Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 1848. He came to Wisconsin in the fall of that year, and preached in the vicinity of Milwaukee, Wis, for seven years. For the next eleven and a half years, in Washington Co. He came to West Salem in 1867 ; he was married in 1852, in Connecticut, to Mary L. Hooker, born in Fairfield Co., daughter of Edward W. Hooker. Her father died at Fort Atkinson, in 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have four children. The eldest, Edward H, graduated at Williams College, in 1878, now engaged in teaching ; their second son, Cornelius E, graduated at the same college, in 1879 ; Calvin M. is now a student at that institution ; Anson H, their youngest son, is at home. They have lost three children. JOHN G. CLARK, merchant, dealer in dry goods, notions and fancy goods, West Salem ; born in the town of Rupert, Bennington Co., Vermont, in 1 831. He came to the City of La Crosse, in 1855, thence to Mantorville, Dodge Co., Minn, where he was engaged in the mercantile trade about two years. He then returned to La Crosse, where he engaged as clerk for B. W. Kimball, afterward for W. B. Hans_ TOWN OF HAMILTON. 821 come. Came to West Salem in 1861, and engaged in the mercantile business. His wife was Lamyra Leet, daughter of George Leet, The have one daughter, Mary J. JOHN M. COBURN, farmer, Sec. 8 ; P. 0. West Salem ; born in the town of Stockbridge, Madison Co, N. Y, Feb. 16, 1831. His father was a. native of Connecticut. Mr. Coburn came to Wis consin, April, 1854. He left New York with the intention of locating near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He went to Rock Island, from thence to Davenport, traveled some through the State of Iowa, but not being as well pleased with the country as he anticipated, he decided to go north into Minnesota. On reaching the city of La Crosse, he was induced to visit the La Crosse Valley, before settling elsewhere. Being pleased with the country, he decided to locate and settle where he now lives. His brother-in-law, Mr. Ran- ney, accompanied him on this trip. He was married, in the State of New York, to Nancy Quackenbush. She died April 22, 1880 ; has five children, four sons and one daughter— Charles M, Frank P, Fred M.. Horace G. and Hattie E. He first purchased, with Mr. Ranney, 100 acres ; has now about 400 acres with good improvements ; has a fine brick residence built in 1876. Is engaged in general farming. HARVEY DICKINSON, gardener, Sec. 3; P. O. Salem; born in Weathersfield, Conn, in 1825 ; came to La Crosse Co. in the spring of 1858 and settled in Sec. 17, where he purchased a farm and resided six years. Settled where he now lives in 1864. His wife was Miss Cordelia Adams, born in Weathersfield, Conn. WILLIASI L. DUDLEY, farmer, Sec. 9 ; P. O. West Salem ; born at Guilford, New Haven Co, Conn. He came to the city of La Crosse, November, 1856. He came into La Crosse Valley the follow ing spring ; returned to Connecticut in April, but came back in July, of that year, and bought where he now lives. He brought out his family in October following ; bought his first 200 acres of Mr. Lindley Murray, which he afterward increased to 500 acres. His wife was Miss Phebe Ives, born in New Haven Co. They have two sons and two daughters — Carrie (now Mrs. Aldrich), Walter W, Wilber I. and Jen nie L. (now Mrs. Henry D. Griswold). Mr. Dudley is one of the most prominent of the early settlers of the La Crosse Valley. He has always been prominently identified both with church and educational in terests. He is a leading member of the Congregational Church at West Salem. EDWARD F. EDWARDS, farmer, Sec. 27 ; P. O. West Salem; born in Chenango Co, N. Y, in 1822. He came to Walworth Co., Wis, in May, 1842, where he lived ten years. He came to La Crosse Co. in May, 1852, and purchased his present farm of Mr. Milton Barlow, of La Crosse. Mr. Edwards was the first Postmaster of this section of the couutry ; was appointed in tho fall of 1852. He has been a Justice of the Peace twenty-two years. He is a brother of Mr. George Edwards, of the city of La Crosse. His wife was Almira Carver, daughter of Austin Carver, of Walworth Co. They have one son — Joseph A, who married Maria Dickinson, daughter of William L. Dickinson, of La Crosse. A. ELDRED, farmer; P. O. Salem ; born in Otsego Co, N. Y, in 1818 ; came to Wisconsin in 1850, and settled in what is now the city of La Crosse, where he lived till 1854, when he came to Salem, being one of the very earliest settlers of the village now living. He lost his first wife in Michigan. His second wife was Catharine Veits, daughter of Byron Veits, one of the earliest settlers of the town of Hamilton. She died September, 1877 ; has three children by second marriage — William, who resides in Salem ; Millie (now Mrs. Howe) and Milton. Mr. Eidred was the first Sheriff of La Crosse Co. ; elect ed in 1851, and served two years ; also served as Deputy Sheriff for some time, and has held various town offices. CHAUNCY C. ELWELL, farmer, Sec. 34; P. O. West Salem; born in Bennington Co, Vt, in 1827. He came to West Salem, and settled on his present farm, in the fall of 1852. He is a brother of the late P. S. Elwell, of La Crosse, and one of the prominent and successful farmers of La Crosse Co. He purchased the claim to his present farm of Mr. Thomas Leonard. His wife was Miss Katharine Preston, bom in Brockport, N. Y. They have one daughter — Ida, widow of Mr. Edward Tilson. OUDEN EVENSON, farmer, Sec. 30; P. O. West Salem ; born in Norway in 1830. He came to the United States with his father, Even Oudenson, July 6, 1847 ; family consisted of father and three sons. They came to Dane Co, where his mother died soon after his arrival; father married again, and settled in the town of Hamilton in 1852, where he died March 24, 1869. Mr. Evenson came to La Crosse Co. in May, 1850, making him one of the very earliest settlers of the county. He worked several years in the pineries of Wisconsin, and made a claim of a farm in the town of Hamilton. This claim he lost, not having yet attained his majority. In about 1853, he made a claim in Sec. 32, where he lived three years, and then purchased his present farm. He was married in La Crosse Co. ; has 241J acres, and is engaged in general farming. Mr. Evenson is a successful farmer ; has a finely-improved farm, with good buildings. There were no improvements on his farm when he settled upon it. 322 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: • EDWARD EWART, dealer in farm machinery, West Salem; born in Prussia, Germany, 1840 ; came to the United States in November, 1856 ; he came with his father, Michael Ewart ; they came to Watertown, Wis, and to La Crosse Co., about 1859. His father now lives in the town of Farmington ; he is a minister of the Lutheran Church ; has preached at different points in Wisconsin ; at Golden Lake, Jefferson Co., at Cedar Creek, also preached at Burr Oak many years; he has now retired from the ministry. Mr. Ewart came to West Salem about 1874 ; he worked at blaoksmithing for a time ; engaged in his present business in 1876. Married Minnie Habermann ; they have four children — Adolph, Ottelia, Paul and Willie. EVAN FRANCIS, farmer; P. 0. Salem; born in Wales, Dec. 29, 1830; his parents emigrated to Ohio in 1833, thence to Upper Canada; his father, Daniel Francis, came to La Crosse Co. with Evan Jones, but returned to Canada soon after ; he came back to La Crosse several years later, and bought a quarter section in the town of Hamilton ; he is still a resident of that town. Parents had twelve children ; five sons and four daughters still living. Evan was married to Susan Raymond, daughter of Sylvester Raymond; she was bora in Madison, Wis. LEWIS P. GILFILLAN, farmer, Section 25 ; P. 0. West Salem ; son of William Gilfillan, a native of Vermont ; parents were early settlers of Dodge Co. ; parents have eight children, seven of whom are living ; the six oldest were born in Vermont. Lewis P. was born in that State, in July, 1845; he came to La Crosse Co. with his parents ; married Lovina Richardson, daughter of Eli B. Richardson ; she was born in the town of Chester, Dodge Co, in 1849 ; her parents came to La Grosse Co. in 1853. Mr. and Mrs. Gilfillan have one daughter — Mamie. Farm contains 160 acres. R. GOODRICH, Station Agent for C, M. & St. P. R. R, West Salem ; born in Otsego Co, N. Y, in 1850; his father, Franklin Goodrich, came to Wisconsin with his family in 1854, and located at Waupun. When 15 years of age, Mr. R. Goodrich became connected with the R. R. Co., with which he has since been connected — first at Waupun, where he learned telegraphy ; thence to Sparta, where he re mained about four years ; he was appointed Station Agent and operator at West Salem, March 21, 1868. He was married to Henrietta McElroy, born at Portage, Columbia Co.; they have two boys — William F. and Egbert. WILLIASI A. GRAY, farmer and stock-raiser, Section 28; P. O. West Salem; son of Alexander Gray, who was born in Pennsylvania; married to Martha Reed. Mr. Gray, Sr , was a car-, penter by trade, which business he followed for many years ; he removed with his family from Allegheny City, Penn, June 1865, and settled on the farm now occupied by his heirs ; he died in 1875; his wife died in 1855. Mr. Gray left a widow, formerly Miss Isabel Reed, and two children — William A, born in Allegheny City, in 1849; he married Jennie McEldowny, daughter of Samuel McEldowny ; has one daughter — Florence M. ; the second child is Lillie J, now Mrs. William McKiney, resides in Kansas. William A. has charge of the homestead farm, which contains about 250 acres, with fine improvements; he is engaged principally in dairying and stock-raising, makes a specialty of raising Holstein cattle ; he has several fine specimens of this valuable breed. His original stock consists of a splendid pair of this excel lent breed of cattle, which he and Mr. William Van Waters purchased, at a cost of $800. JOHN HANDS GILL, retired farmer, P. O. West Salem. Mr. Gill was bora in the city of Coventry, Warwickshire, England, May 5, 1823. He was a soldier in the British army, 70th Regiment of Infantry, from July, 18, 1843, to Nov. 27, 1844. He was afterward connected with the London & North-Western R. R. for several years, at first in the capacity of switchman, and afterward as station agent and operator. He was married May 5, 1840, to Miss Lydia French, born in Leicestershire, Janu ary, 1821. They left Liverpool for New York, May 5, 1851, and reached New York on June 1, follow ing. Came to Milwaukee from New York, thence to Galena and up the river to La Crosse ; Mr. Gill came immediately to the La Crosse Valley and made a location on Sec. 30. This farm Mr. Gill still owns, which is now occupied by his son William. He removed to the village in the spring of 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Gill have had eight children — four sons and four daughters. Two sons and two daughters died in infancy. The surviving children are: Lizzie, now Mrs. Charles Coburn ; William married Miss Anna McCarthur ; Ada Jane, now Mrs. E. B. Newton ; and Thomas. Mr. Gill has been quite fond of hunting, and still, occasionally, follows the track of the deer and fox. SIARY L. HARRISON, Sec. 28; P. 0. Salem. Mrs. Harbison is a native of South Caro lina, as was also her husband. They removed when children, with their parents, to Indiana; afterward removed to Iowa. Mr. Harbison, though a native of South Carolina, was loyal to his country when his native State seceded from the Union. He enlisted in 1862 in the 34th Iowa V. I. He died at Memphis, Tenn, in 1863. Mrs. Harbison, with her family, settled where she now lives. She has three sons born in Iowa — Luther, now in California; Samuel, in Dakota; and Robert, born in 1861, resides at home. TOWN OP HAMILTON. 82 o REV. FRANK L. HART, present Pastor of M. E. Church, West Salem. Born in Mad ison Co, N. Y, Oct. 20, 1852. where he lived till 18 years of age. In 1870, he removed with his parents, William B. and Clarissa J. Hart, to Red Wing, Minn, where he attended school for a time, and engaged in teaching several terms. In 1873, he entered the Northwestern University, at Evanston, where he re mained one year, when on account of failing health, induced by close application to study, he was obliged to discontinue his studies, which he again resumed in 1875. Began preaching as a local minister in 1873. He joined the West Wisconsin Conference, September, 1876 ; though he had preached as a supply at Ells worth, Pierce Co. for six months previous to that time. He removed from Ellsworth to Clear Lake, where he remained two years. Here he built a church and parsonage ; thence to Osceola Mills, the county seat of Polk Co., where he remained one year; came to West Salem in the fall of 1880. His wife was Miss Carrie A. Sargent, daughter of Col. Edwin A. Sargent, of Red Wiug, Minn. She was born in Massachu setts in 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Hart have three children — Carrie L, F. May and Louise May. I. C. HERITAGE, harness-maker, West Salem; born in. New Jersey Jan. 28, 1838. He learned his trade at New London, Conn. He came to Wisconsin in May, 1857, and located at Edgerton, Rock Co, where he carried on the business of harness-making. He came to West Salem, December, 1865, where he has since been engaged in business. His wife was Miss Amelia Dare, born in New Jersey. They have one son, Ellsworth, born in 1861. A. S. ISHASI, wagon manufacturer, West Salem; born in St. Albans, Vt, in 1825. He learned the business of cabinet-making at St. Albans; removed to Ogdensburg, N. Y, in April, 1846, where he engaged at work in a piano shop. He came to the city of La Crosse August, 1855 ; has resided at West Salem most of the time since. Engaged in his present business September, 1877- His first wife was Adelaide Woodward, born at Ogdensburg, N. Y. Present wife was Mrs. Hattie Betts. Has three chil dren by first marriage — George resides in Clark Co. ; Cady, also in Clark Co., and Charles. Mrs. Isham has one child, Clara, by former marriage. TISIOTHY J. JENKINS, farmer, Sec. 31 ; P. 0. West Salem; born in South Wales, in 1836. He came to the United States in July, 1856. In 1857, he came to the town of Hamilton, and, with his brother, David, located near what is known as Waterloo Bridge, where they contemplated building a mill ; but finally abandoned the enterprise and returned to Bangor, where he resided till 1859, when he settled on his present farm. His parents had eleven children. He and his brother David are the only members of his father's family who came to this country. David died in the town of Bangor. Mr. Jenkins was married to Mary Jones, daughter of John Jones. They have four children — Eleanor, Anna M, Timothy Lloyd and Harriet B. Lost three children, all of whom died in infancy. Farm con tains 80 acres. E. JOHNSON, merchant, West Salem ; of the firm of E. Johnson & Co. ; bom in Norway, in 1846 ; came to the United States in 1866 ; located in West Salem in August of that year, and engaged as clerk for T. N. Horton for about two years; afterward for Lottridge & Ladd, till 1873; was then in business in Sparta for a time, returning to West Salem in 1875, and engaged in the dry goods business. Mr. Johnson is a successful merchant, and does quite an extensive business. In February. 1879, Mr. J. K. Johnson then joined him in business, under the present firm name. Mr. E. Johnson is also proprietor of a drug store. . He was married to Jennie, daughter of John Mikkelson, who came to La Crosse Co. from Norway, about 1858. They have one daughter — Amanda Mabel, born Sept. 9, 1871. JOHN N. JONES, farmer, Sec. 17; P. O. West Salem; was born in Hamilton Co, near Cincinnati Ohio, in 1831. He came from Cincinnati to La Crosse all the way by steamboat, September, 1855. He worked for Deacon Smith, of La Crosse, one year. In 1856, he purchased a farm in the southwest quarter of Sec. 17, town of Hamilton. He returned to Cincinnati March, 1858, and was mar ried to Elizabeth J. McFarlan, born in Hamilton Co, Ohio. They have eight children, four sons and four daughters— Anna, Lydia, Martha, George H, Abbie, John N, Eldridge and Joseph. Mr. Jones settled on his present farm of 235 acres in 1871. He is engaged principally in stock-raising. ELI KINNEY, farmer, Sec. 31 ; P. 0. West Salem ; son of -Elijah and Mary (Horton) Kin ney ; father born in May, 1797 ; mother about 1798. They were married in Connecticut, and emigrated to Madison Co. N. Y. Mr. Elijah Kinney went to Milwaukee from the State of New York, and thence to the town of Fort Atkinson, Jefferson Co, Wis, in 1836, where he made a location, and where he re mained about two years. He then returned to the State of New York, and brought out his family in the fall of 1839 The family then consisted of the parents, two sons and two daughters ; children are all living but one daughter ; mother died in Jefferson Co. March 7, 1840; father came to La Crosse Co. in the fall of 1856, and died in the town of Hamilton May 20, 1879. Eli came to La Crosse Co. in 1854, and purchased his present farm, where he settled in 1856. He was married to Olive, daughter of Hiram 824 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Folts. She was born in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y, in 1838; removed with her parents to Sparta, Monroe Co, Wis, in 1855. Her parents still live in Monroe Co. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney have six children — Mary, Caroline, Herman, Elbert. Berton and Lily Bell. Mr. Kinney's farm contains 300 acres. HARRISON O. KINNEY, farmer, Sec. 36 ; P. 0. West Salem; brother of Eli Kinney, and son of Elijah and Mary (Horton) Kinney; born in Connecticut in 1825. Mr. Kinney was in what is now the city of La Crosse in 1849, but came permanently to the county in 1856 from Jefferson Co., Wis, and located on his present farm, which he purchased of Mr. John Robinson, but the land was en tered by Benjamin Healey. Mr. Kinney was married to Betsey J. Muzzy, bora in Stockbridge, Madison Co., N. Y. She is the daughter of M. W. and Eunice (Durkee) Muzzy, who came to Fort Atkinson, Jef ferson Co, in 1842. Her mother died in Jefferson Co. in 1842 ; father came to La Crosse Co. about 1850, and settled in the town of Hamilton. He now resides at West Salem. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney have two sons — Clarence M, born at Fort Atkinson in 1853 ; Earnest M, born in the town of Hamilton in 1858. Farm contains 260 acres. The parents of Eli and Harrison O. Kinney had seven children — Elisha, Olive M, Harrison 0, Eli, Carlon D, Fidelia and Elijah. The first five were born in Connecti cut ; the sixth in Madison Co., N. Y. ; the seventh in Jefferson Co., Wis. ; Elisha and Carlon died in Connecticut ; Elijah and Olive in Jefferson Co. Fidelia (now Mrs. Shepard), widow of Joseph Shepard, resides in California. TORE KNUDSON, Sec. 28; P. 0. West Salem; born in Norway in 1830; came to this country in 1852 ; lived in JanesviUe from June of that year until May, 1853, when he came to LaCrosse Co, and settled in the town of Hamilton ; settled on his present farm September, 1878. Mr. Knudson married Joanna Larson, born in Norway Feb. 3, 1831. They have one daughter — Anna, who married Oliver Ustadt. She died Oct. 4, 1880, and left husband and two children — -'Mary and Anton. Mrs. Ustadt was born February, 1858. Mr. Knudson's farm contains 240 acres. He is engaged in general farming. SI. B. LADD, merchant, West Salem; firm of Ladd & Smead ; born in Vermont, in 1829; came to La Crosse April 9, 1854 ; he settled that year in Lewis Valley, and engaged in farming, where he lived till 1868. In June of that year he came to West Salem, and, with Mr. Leonard Lottridge, pur chased the stock of T. N. Horton, who was killed in the Port Jarvis railroad disaster in the spring of that year. In the spring of 1872, Mr. Lottridge sold his interest to Mr. Smead, who has since been engaged with him in business. His wife was Cleora A. Dean, born in Vermont; they have three children — Thalia E, Robert A. and Helen K. CHRISTIAN LARSON, farmer, Section 20 ; P. O. West Salem ; born in Norway in 1821 ; came to the United States in 1850 ; lived in Dane Co. one year ; came to La Crosse Co. in the fall of 1851 ; worked the following winter in the pinery; bought his present farm of C. C. Washburn in the spring of 1852. Mr. Larson's farm is well improved; has a fine residence, built in 1875. He was married to Cornelia Burreson ; they have ten children, five sons and five daughters. Farm contains 290 acres. Mr. Larson, and family are members of the Lutheran Church. WILLIAM P. LEETE, farmer, Section 16; P. O. West Salem; born in Guilford, New Haven Co., Conn. ; married Zaida Goodrich, from same county ; they emigrated to Wisconsin in the spring of 1858, and settled where he now lives; they have had eight children — six sons and two daughters, five sons and one daughter living — Sherman M, a prominent teacher of La Crosse Co., for several years Principal of the High School at Salem, and for some time County Superintendant of La Crosse Co.; died in the fall of 1878; he left a widow, formerly Miss Chloe Sherwin, and two children ; Joseph G, lives in Winnebago City, Minn.; George H.; Mary E, deceased; William W, also of Winnebago City; Zaida L.; Frank E.; Charles W. Mr. Leete's farm contains 220 acres. DAVID R. LEWIS, farmer, Section 14 ; P. 0. West Salem ; born in Indiana, December, 1841 ; bis father died in Indiana; he came to Green Co, Wis, with his mother, when he was a child. He first came to La Crosse Co. when a lad, and worked for a time for Mr. McClintock, an early settler of La Crosse Co, also for Mr. Charles Cross, another early settler; he afterward returned to Green Co. He enlisted in 1861 in the 8th W. V. I, and served three years. Mr. Lewis was a brave and faithful soldier, and, with his regiment, participated in many of the most important campaigns and battles of the war, among which was the second day at Shiloh, battle of Corinth and Iuka, the siege of Vicksburg ; was in Banks' disastrous Louisiana campaign, etc. He came to La Crosse Co. after the expiration of his term of service; he settled on the farm where he now lives ; in 1868, he was married to Prudence Dunlap, a daughter of Samuel Dunlap ; has two children — Arthur A. and George S. The father of Mrs. Lewis, Mr. Samuel Dunlap, was born in Virginia, removed with his parents to Ohio when he was a child, where he was married to Elizabeth A. Barrett ; they came to Green Co, Wis, at an early day, and were early TOWN OF HAMILTON. 825 settlers of La Crosse Co. Mrs. Dunlap died June 9, 1880 ; Mr. Dunlap resides at his homestead on Section 26 ; have ten children — six sons and four daughters ; two sons and one daughter live in Kansas, the others reside in La Crosse Co. N. D. LOOMIS, West Salem; born in the town of Roxbury, Washington Co, Vt, in 1827; he came to Fond du Lac, Wis, March, 1850, and to La Crosse Co, March, 1851, and located a farm in Section 30, town of Hamilton ; he then returned to Vermont, thence to Massachusetts, and engaged in railroading ; thence to Chicago, where he was engaged in the construction of the N.-W. R. R. In the spring of 1852, he engaged in bridge-building for Stone, Boomer & Co, in Illinois; in September, 1854, he settled on his farm in Hamilton, where he lived till 1874, when he came to the village of Salem ; he still owns his farm. His wife was Miss Elsie A. Thacker, of Cook Co, 111.; they have two children — Hattie and Elsie M. His farm contains 240 acres. HIRASI LOVEJOY, farmer, Section 33; P. 0. West Salem; bom at Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., in 1833. He came to Wisconsin in August, 1855 ; he lived in the city of La Crosse about two years, where he worked at his trade, that of a carpenter' and builder. To about 1870, Mr. Lovejoy was principally engaged in carpentry ; in 1868, he, with Mr. Orrin Vanness, built what is known as the Lovejoy Mills ; he has been sole proprietor of this mill since about 1870 ; it is located in the town of Hamilton, on the La Crosse River, and has three run of stone; he operated the mill himself until 1878, but now leases it; he purchased his present farm of 278 acres in 1867. He was maaried to Sarah J. Tripp, daughter of H. A. Tripp ; she was born in Trumbull Co, Ohio*; her parents (now deceased) settled in the town of Hamilton in 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Lovejoy have three children— William Ellis, Hiram D. and Mary Gertrude. WILLIASI SIcCLINTOCK, farmer, Section 32; P. O. West Salem; son of Hugh Mc Clintock, who was born in Pennsylvania about 1796, and removed with his parents to the Territory of Ohio when 10 years of age. He married Edith W. Smith ; they came to Green Co., Wis, about 1846, and to La Crosse Co. in October, 1855, and settled on Section 32, town of Hamilton ; he is still living, and makes his home with his son William. The latter was born in Ohio in 1830 ; came to Wisconsin with his parents ; was married to Maria Roby. She was born in Ohio, came to Green Co. with her parents — Elijah and Eliza Roby — about 1846. Mr. William McClintock came to La Crosse Co. in 1856, and settled on his present farm. They have three children — George F, now resides at Edgerton, Pipestone Co, Minn,; Ervin, and Grant W. Farm contains 80 acres. Mrs. McClintock's father still resides in Green Co.; her mother is deceased. ANDREW MCELDOWNEY (deceased). Mr. McEldowney was one of the early settlers of the town of Hamilton ; he was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1800. He emigrated to Pennsyl vania when a young man, and located in Crawford Co, where he lived till 1851, when he came to La Fayette Co. with his family ; he settled in the town of Hamilton, La Crosse Co, the following year— 1852, where he resided till his death, which occurred Jan. 7, 1879. He was married in Pennsylvania to Mary Cunningham, a native of that State ; she died September, 1867. Mr. McEldowney had nine child ren — four SOns and five daughters ; three sons and two daughters are still living. The sons, James, Will iam and Samuel A, are prominent farmers of this town. James resides in Section 27; was born in Penn sylvania in 1827 ; his wife was Elizabeth Feak ; she died in 1876 ; has four children— Martin, Mary, Cora and Lizzie; has 210 acres of land, with fine improvements. William F, bora in Pennsylvania May 23, 1831 ; resides in Section 22 ; farm contains 350 acres ; his wife was Elizabeth B. McKinley, daughter of William McKinley; they have one daughter, Nannie J, bora in 1859. Samuel A, youngest son, owns the homestead; his wife was Miss Rachel Francis, native of Canada; they have two boys— William and James ; this farm his father purchased in 1851 ; he has now 210 acres, with excellent improvements. John, brother of the above, died June 12, 1871. SAMUEL R. SIcKINLEY, farmer, Section 13 ; P. O. West Salem ; bora in Crawford Co Penn in 1830 ; his parents were William and Nancy McKinley ; his father died in Pennsylvania ; his 'mother came to La Crosse in 1855 ; his parents have four children, one of whom died on the journey to Wisconsin ; the others are James, Elizabeth, now Mrs. William McEldowny, and S. D. ; the latter came to La Crosse Co in April, 1851, and entered a quarter-section of land in Section 14, Hamilton; he re turned to Pennsylvania the same year ; in 1853 he returned to La Crosse Co. His present farm was bought in 1855 where his mother resided till her death, which occurred Jan. 1, 1880. His wife was Emily J. McDill, born in Illinois ; they have four children— James, Mary N, Nellie and Albert. His farm now contains 120 acres, it formerly contained 240 acres. SIMON MAHLUM, proprietor of Hamilton House, West Salem, was born in JNorway in 1847 ; came to this country with his brother, William, in 1866. He was engaged in clerking for several years ; 826 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: lived, the first summer after he came to this country, in Vernon County ; was clerk for Veits & Clark, West Salem, from the spring of 1868 till the fall of 1870. He then, with Mr. John Grun, purchased the stock of this firm ; continued in business for two and a half years ; then went to La Crosse and engaged in clerking, first for Knutson, afterward for the firm of Steinam & Elson, Marcus Anderson, and also for Mons Anderson about four years ; afterward for Gutman Brothers ; returned to Salem in the spring of 1876 ; engaged in the hotel business in March, 1880. His wife was Mrs. Cram. GEORGE J. SIORGAN, miller at Hamilton Mills, West Salem, was born in Baden, Ger many, in 1834. He learned his trade — that of a miller and millwright — in Germany. He emigrated to Lancaster Co., Penn, in 1854; came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1868, and settled at Bangor; after ward worked for a time in the mills in Lewis Valley ; then bought a farm and engaged in farming for five years; sold his farm and came to Salem, and assumed his present position, May, 1878. He was married in Pennsylvania, to Mary E. Schriner, born in Pennsylvania ; has six children — four sons and two daugh ters. The oldest son, George, bom in Pennsylvania in 1859, has learned his father's trade, and is engaged with him at Hamilton Mills. NATHANIEL A. NYE, farmer, Section 26 ; P. 0. West Salem ; son of Oliver Nye, who was born in the town of Winslow, Kennebec Co, Me, in 1808. His parents removed to Massachusetts when he was a child, and thence to the State of New Hampshire. Mr. Nye, Sr, lived in the States of New Hampshire and Massachusetts till he came to Wisconsin, in 1871. He settled on his present farm in the spring of that year. His wife was Miss Priscilla Arey, born on Cape Cod, Mass. ; had eleven chil dren, eight of whom are living — six sons and two daughters. Four of the children are living in Wiscon sin, viz. : Nathaniel, bom in New Hampshire, Jan. 31, 1836 ; came to La Crosse County from Manches ter, N. H, in July, 1865, and bought his present farm, in Section 26, of Mr. Byron Viets, who pur chased of Milton Barlow ; was married to Mary A. Coleman, born in Reding, Mass. ; they have one daughter — Alice M. ; his farm contains about 160 acres. George E. lives at West Salem; born at Man chester, N. H, in 1847. James B.. born at Manchester in 1852. Frank H. A, bora at Holyoke, Mass. in 1855. J. H. ODELL, farmer, Section 33; P. O. Salem. Mr. Odell came to Waupun, Wis, from St. Lawrence Co., N. Y, in 1848; purchased his present farm from Mr. Thomas Leonard in the fall of 1850 where he settled in the spring of 1851. Mr. Odell is a native of Addison Co, Vt, where he was born May, 1816; removed with his parents to St. Lawrence Co., N. Y, when a child. His wife was Miss Caroline Higbel, born in Chittenden Co., Vt, in 1818. They have had three children — William Sher man, deceased; Helen M, now Mrs. James Edwards, and Ellen S, now Mrs. J. P. Jackson, of Steele Co, Minn. SIONROE PALSIER, farmer, Sec. 34 ; P. O. West Salem. Mr. Palmer was born in Ver mont, Sept. 14, 1819. He learned the trade of a millwright, which business he followed for a number of years. He went from Vermont to Maine, where he worked at his trade ; thence to Massachusetts. He came to Oshkosh, Wis, in October, 1850 ; returned to Massachusetts ; was married in Boston, June, 1851, to Miss Martha B. Cooledge, in Maine, born in August, 1826; returned to La Crosse County, and located his present farm, which formerly contained about 700 acres. In March, 1852, he built a cabin near his present residence, on the bank of the La Crosse River. Mr. Palmer is one of the earliest set tlers, and one of the prominent men of the town of Hamilton. He laid out and named the village of Neshonoc, at one time quite a thriving little town. He built the Neshonoc Mill in 1852. This mill he owned and operated till 1872, when he sold it to Mr. Orrin Vanness. The mill is now owned by Alexan der McMillan, of La Crosse. He was Chairman of the first Town Board of the town, elected in 1852 ; has been Town Clerk, and was Treasurer for five successive years. He was Postmaster of Neshonoc Post Office from 1853 to 1861 ; was also a^Justice of the Peace for many years. Mr. Palmer possesses an excellent memory, and having kept a diary of current events, from the time he first settled in this valley, to the present time, he is a valuable source of information. He was a brother of Dr. H. Palmer, a well- known physician, who came to La Crosse County from Massachusetts, in May, 1857. He practiced med icine at Salem till 1875, when he removed to Sparta, where he died, Dec. 23, 1880, leaving a wife and three children. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have two sons and two daughters — Hannah R, now Mas. A. F. Smith ; Minnie B, now Mrs. E. W. Congran ; George A. and Monroe H. JASIES PITKIN, farmer, Sec. 34 ; P. O. Salem ; bora in Connecticut in 1815. He removed to the town of Hudson, Summit Co, Ohio, when 23 years of age. He afterward removed to Southern Iowa ; returned to Ohio ; thence to Illinois, in 1846 ; came to La Crosse in June, 1854 ; settled in the town of Hamilton and engaged in farming. Has resided in this town since that time. His first wife was Lucy A. Gillett, born in Fredonia, N. Y.; she died at Fort Madison, Iowa. His present wife was Jane E. Coe, TOWN OF HAMILTON. 827 born in Portage Co, Ohio, in 1827. He has one child by his first marriage — Milo J. Pitkin, now of La Crosse. Has four children by present marriage — Lucy A, now Mrs. John Veits; Francis N, resides in Hancock Co., Iowa ; Ellen J, now Mrs. John Leet, and Eva M. R. J. POWELL, West Salem. Mr. Powell was born in Oneida Co, N. Y, in 1831 ; he came to Racine Co, Wis, in 1858 ; thence to McGregor, and to La Crosse in May of that year. He moved to Bangor, where he lived about five years. Since that time has resided in Salem. Mr. Powell is a carpenter and builder by trade, but has been engaged in other branches of business. His wife was Laura Richards, of La Crosse. They have three children — Delia, John and Horace. SOLOSION QUACKENBUS, gardener, Sec. 17 ; P. 0. West Salem ; born in Madison Co, N. Y, in 1828. In 1856, Mr. Q. and three brothers, named respectively, Joseph Hiram, Solomon and Ezra, came to La Crosse County together from the State of New York, and settled on Sec. 16, town of Hamilton. Joseph is now near Lincoln, Neb. Hiram still resides on Sec. 16. Ezra lives in the town of Bristol. Dane Co., Wis. Solomon settled where he now lives in 1861, purchasing his farm of Samuel Brese. His wife was Mary Fox, daughter of David Fox. Mr. Q.'s farm contains 70 acres, about 25 of which he devotes exclusively to gardening. He makes a specialty of tomatoes, celery and onions. His market is La Crosse. J. W. RANNEY^ farmer, Sec. 8; P. 0. West Salem; born in Madison Co, N. Y, in 1821 ; he came with bis brother-in-law, Mr. Coburn, to Wisconsin in 1854. Mr. Ranney is one of the substan tial and successful farmers of the La Crosse Valley. His wife was Miss Elizabeth Quackenbush. They have three children — Cassius, Mary and Jay W. ; lost three children — Edwin (was killed by the cars near Salem while attempting to board a train while in motion Feb. 25, 1876), Clara (aged 26 years), Minnie (aged 6 months, a twin of Mary). Mr. Ranney has 450 acres of land ; is engaged in general farming. GIL MAN REDDING, teacher and farmer ; P. 0. West Salem ; born in Vermont in 1843 ; parents were Stephen and Caroline Johnson Redding; they were also natives of Vermont; mother died in Connecticut in March, 1861 ; his father came to La Crosse Co. with his children— Moses and Gilraan, the following May, and settled in the town of Burns ; father now resides in Monroe Co. Moses died in. Burns in 1864; a sister of Gilman's remained in Vermont, but afterward came to La Crosse Co. Mr. Redding was married to Hannah Francis, who died Feb. 14, 1881 ; has two children — Carrie and Maggie. Mr. Redding has lived in the town of Hamilton since 1869 ; he has taught seventeen terms in La Crosse Co.; thirteen terms in the town of Hamilton, and is now (March, 1881,) teaching his seventh term in District No. 5. WILLIASI G. SERVISS, farmer, Sec. 4 ; P. 0. West Salem ; born in Upper Canada, in what is now the town of Iroquois, in 1823: he went to Ohio when a young man, where he lived about three years, but returned to Canada and came to Wisconsin, reaching La Crosse July 14, 1852; his father, John S. Serviss, came to La Crosse Co. the year previous, and located in the town of Hamilton. He died in 1859. His mother died in the spring of 1865. Mr. W. G. Serviss'' first location in La Crosse Co. was on Sec. 16, in the town of Hamilton. He enlisted in 1862 in the 30th W. V. I.; served till the close of the war, a period of three years and three months ; his position was Wagoner of his regiment. He was married in Canada to Catherine Keck ; they have three children— Wilda (now Mrs. A. W. Ayers), Delia (now Mrs. A. C. Vaughan), and Nora (now Mrs. L. R. Dudley). Mr. Serviss is a clothier by trade. This business he followed for many years. J. R. SHERWOOD, proprietor of Sherwood House, West Salem; born in Otsego Co, N. Y in 1811* where he lived till about 1850, when he came to Wisconsin; he lived in Milwaukee one year thence' to East Troy, Walworth Co, where he lived nine years ; from thence to Waupun, where he lived about three years ; he afterward removed to Fox Lake. Mr. Sherwood worked for many years at the business of carpentry. He came to the city of Fa Crosse in 1858, where he kept a hotel, known as the Stevens House, for one year. Came to Salem in 1859. His wife was Miss Delia Wilcox ; have had two children, one of whom is living— Anna (now Mrs. Frazier). G SISIONSON farmer, Sec. 29 ; P. 0. West Salem; is one of the earliest and most promi nent Norwegian settlers 'of the town of Hamilton; he was born in Norway in 1826 ; he came to Dane Co Wis October 1850- settled on his present farm in June, 1851. He was married m Norway to Marv Brown • has 'two children— Simon, born 1853, and Mattie; the latter is the wife of Mr. John Tor- gersou who resides on Sec. 31; he was born in Norway in 1836; came to the United States in 1854; settled' in the town of Hamilton, where his father resided, till his death; his mother is still living; has one child- farm contains 160 acres. Mr. Simonson's farm is well improved, good buildings, etc. His son-in-law,' Mr. Torgerson, has also a well-improved farm ; house recently built cost about $1 ,800. His- mother resides with him. 828 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: FRANKLIN B. SMITH, farmer, Sec. 9 ; P., 0. West Salem ; son of Robert Smith, who was born in the State of New York. Married to Margaret Greene and came to Wisconsin about 1845, and settled in the town of Summit, Waukesha Co. They came to La Crosse County and settled on the farm now owned by F. B. Smith, in 1851. Parents had four children, two sons and two daughters. Franklin B. and his father are the only survivors of the family. F. B. was the oldest of the children ; the second son, Francis L, was assassinated near Placerville, Cal, in 1862. He was waylaid and shot for the purpose of robbery. His murderer was arrested, convicted and hanged. The daughters were Ann Eliza and Margaret Janet. F. B. went to California in 1857, and returned soon after the death of his brother. He was married to Celeste Best, daughter of William Best ; she was born in Pennsylvania ; came to Wisconsin with her parents about 1853, and to La Crosse County the following year. Her parents had nine children, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have five children — Merva, Warner L, Wilburt I, Stella Bell and Margaret. Mr. Smith owns the homestead farm, which contains 370 acres ; also owns a farm of 320 acres in Kansas. He has been for several years extensively engaged in the culture of hops. ORANGE SMITH, retired farmer; P. 0. West Salem; born in Chateaugay, Franklin Co, N. Y, in 1801. Was married to Harriet Ketchum, bora in Orvilie, Brooklyn Co., Vt. Mr. Smith resided in Franklin County till 34 years of age, when he emigrated to Cook Co., Ill, thence to Lake County. His wife died in Illinois February, 1851 ; his present wife was Lavina Holden, born in Ver mont in 1814. Mr. Smith came to La Crosse County in 1851, and entered a farm in the town of Ona laska, which he sold in 1875, and removed to West Salem in 1876, He had nine children by first wife, first seven of whom were bom in Franklin Co, N. Y. ; the others in Lake Co, 111. ; six of the children are living — Henry resides in Oregon; Franklin in California; Julia, now Mrs. William Armstrong in Clark County; Anna E, now Mrs. Alden Putnam in Monroe County; Mrs. Sarah Smith and Mrs. Lovica Withey. His oldest daughter, Mary E, was the wife of Mr. Abner Gile, of La Crosse; she died Aug. 31, 1877. Mr. Smith was County Commissioner three years; was Justice of the Peace in the town of Onalaska for several years. C. R. THRALL, M. D., West Salem; bora in Pittsfield, Mass, in 1836; he came to Mil waukee in 1853, where he remained till the breaking-out of the war. He enlisted May, 1861, in 2d W. V. I. ; was engaged with his regiment in the battle of Bull Run. Soon after this event, Company K, of which he was a member, was converted into a company of heavy artillery, and placed in Fort Corcoran. He was discharged by reason of disability, in 1863. Recovering his health, he re-enlisted, in the fall of that year, in the 4tb W. V. I, and went to Baton Rouge, where he was engaged as Ward Master-in-Chief in charge of the hospital till the close of the war. when he returned to Wisconsin and engaged in the study of medicine with Dr. Moses Barrett, of Waukesha; graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1868; located in Leon Valley, Monroe Co. In April, 1874, he went to Leroy, Minn. ; came to West Salem in February, 1877. He makes a specialty of the electro-vapor bath treatment. His first wife was Mary T. Carlton, of Waukesha ; present wife was Miss E. M. Birdsall ; has two children by present wife — Vena Dell and Grace E. MONROE L. TOURTELLOTTE, farmer, Sec. 34; West Salem; born in Thompson, Windom Co, Conn, in 1823. When a young man he learned the trade of a millwright. He went to Holyoke, Mass, in 1850, where he was engaged in work at his trade. He came to La Crosse Co. in 1854, and purchased the farm where he now resides, the following year, of Mr. Daniel Bird. Mr. Tour telotte is a successful farmer and an extensive land owner; has about 1,200 acres of land. His wife was Miss Louisa C. Mills, also a native of Windom County. They have four children, three sons and one daughter — Mills, an attorney of La Crosse; M L C; John F, a student of the State University at Madison, and Lincoln H. JAMES TUTTLE, farmer, P. O. West Salem; bora in Courtland Co, N. Y, in 1825. When 13 years of age, he removed with his parents to Ontario County; when 25 years of age, he re moved to Waukesha County. His father came to Wisconsin the same year. Mr. Tuttle bought a farm, in Sec. 9, town of Hamilton, where he settled the following year and lived about ten years. He then removed to the village of Salem, where he was engaged in the livery business about three years. His first wife was Eunice Preston, by whom he has two children. His present wife was Elizabeth Mischell. WILLIASI L. UPTON, farmer, Sec. 3; P. O. West Salem. Born in Vermont in 1827 J removed to Massachusetts, and came to La Crosse, April 1, 1857, where he worked at the business of carpentry. He came to West Salem in August, 1858. He worked at the business of wagon-making for several years ; settled on his present farm, October, 1870, which he purchased of Mr. J. D. Lawton. Missing Page Missing Page TOWN OF HAMILTON. 831 His first wife was Anna Horton, daughter of Milton Horton ; present wife was Mrs. Mary Williams Motte, born in Oneida Co, N. Y.; has one son by first marriage — Wellington, and one by present wife — Morris Ray. Farm contains about 100 acres. JOHN VARNESS, retired; West Salem; bora in Saratoga Co, N. Y, March, 1809. His parents died when he was a child. He was brought up in the family of his mother's brother. He lived in the State of New York until a young man, when he went to Ashtabula Co, Ohio, where he lived about five years; thence to Canada, where he lived about four years. He removed to Waukesha Co, Wis, in August, 1847, and to La Crosse Co, in 1854. Mr. Varness has been generally engaged in agricultural pursuits ; has also been intimately connected with the flouring-mill interests of this part of the county. He built what is known as the Badger Mills, in Lewis Valley, and with Mr. Lovejoy, built the Salem Mill. He removed to the village of West Salem in 1872 ; still owns a farm in the town of Hamilton. His wife was Miss Lucy Moulton, a native of Massachusetts, but at the time of their marriage, a resident of Greene Co., N. Y. They have four children — John, Margaret, Orrin and Rosa; have lost two chil dren — Achsah, the oldest child, and two boys in infancy. WILLIASI VAN WATERS, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 27 ; P. 0. West Salem ; born in Jefferson Co, N. Y, in 1817. His parents removed to St. Lawrence County when he was a boy, where they resided until their decease. He came from St. Lawrence County to Madison Wis, in the fall of 1853 ; spent the following winter in East Troy, Walworth Co, and soon after, purchased his present farm of Dr. Jacob McCrary, who entered the farm and was a resident of La Crosse City at the time. Mr. Van Water's brother, George, came with him to La Crosse Valley. He now lives in Jackson County. Mr. Van Water's first wife was Mary Campbell ; born in St. Lawrence County. His present wife was Mrs Mary Adams; has four children by first marriage — Mary, now Mrs. Edwin D. Wood; William U, Louise and Cora. Lost two children. Mr. Van Waters is one of the prominent and intelligent farmers of the town of Hamilton. Has served a term in the Legislature ; elected in the fall of 1876. Has been Chairman of the Town Board several times. He raised the first field of clover produced in the town and owned the first steam thresher. WILLIASI VAN ZANDT, farmer, Sec. 26 ; P. 0. West Salem ; born in Columbia Co, Penn, Sept. 29, 1826. His parents removed to Lake Co, Ohio, when he was 10 years of age, and to the town of East Troy, Walworth Co, Wis, in 1842. They still reside in East Troy. His father was born in 1793, his mother in 1796. Mr. Van Zandt came to La Crosse with Mr. E. F. Edwards, in May, 1852. He taught a school the following winter in the town of Neshonoc, in what is now the town of Hamilton. This was the first school taught in the La Crosse Valley, between the city of La Crosse and Sparta. The following season, he rented a farm in the town of Burns. This is the farm now owned by Mr. John Bradley. In the fall of 1853, he returned to Walworth County, where he passed the winter, and came back in May, 1854, and entered a farm in Section 2, town of Burns. This farm he owned for teu years. He removed to the village of West Salem in 1864, and engaged in the hardware business. In 1866, he took in a partner — Mr. V. M. Adams. This firm engaged in the hardware and grocery trade till 1868, when Mr. Van Zandt sold his interest to Mr. Adams and purchased his present farm of Mr. A. Eidred, where he has since lived. He was married in 1851, to Lucretia Jewett, daughter of Marcus L. Jewett, who settled in Sauk County in 1854, and came to La Crosse County in 1862 ; her father, now de ceased, was a soldier in the war for the Union ; her mother is still living in La Crosse County. Mr. Van Zandt has two children — W. Isaiah and Edith E. He was the first School Superintendent of the town of Neshonoc ; has held various town offices ; was Chairman of the Town Board of Bums for five or six years ; held the same office in the town of Hamilton for seven years ; was Census Marshal in 1870 ; was County Commissioner in 1867. j±, K. VEITS, druggist, son of Byron Veits, who was born in Connecticut in 1802, and re moved to Ohio at an early day. The family removed to Dodge Co, Wis, in 1845, but returned to Ohio in 1850 ; came back to Wisconsin and settled in the town of Hamilton in 1851. Mr. Veits' parents had eight children— five sons and three daughters — all born in Ohio, except the youngest. The two eldest children are now deceased ; one son and one daughter reside in Colorado ; one brother in Kansas, another in Iowa; a sister in Trempealeau County. Their father died in 1869. A. K. was born in Ohio in 1833 ; came to La Crosse County with his parents; went to California in 1852 and returned in 1856 ; resided in Ohio till 1859 ; since that time has been a resident of La Crosse County. His wife was Aurelia Leet, daughter of George Leet. They have four children — Carrie, Jessie, Frank and George. Mr. Veits en gaged in the dry goods business, and also in grain -buying, in 1860; disposed of his business in 1863; engaged in the drug business in 1864, which he still continues. He is the pioneer druggist of West Salem. 832 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: EDWIN WASIBEY, farmer, Sec. 32 ; P. 0. West Salem ; born in Wales in February, 1825; married to Jane Griffith ; came to the United States in the spring of 1851 ; lived in Oneida Co., N. Y. for several years ; came to La Crosse County and settled in the town of Hamilton in the fall of 1854. He entered 120 acres, forty of which is a part of his present farm of 282 acres. E. D. WOOD, Principal of the High School and Superintendent of Graded Schools of West Salem, was born in Massachusetts in 1845 ; went to Illinois in 1854, thence to Minnesota; came to Wis consin in 1868 ; taught a school in the town of Roxbury, Dane Co, the following winter ; taught the following winter in the town of Dane ; went thence to Paoli, where be taught three terms ; also taught one term in Belleville. In the meantime, Mr. Wood had attended several terms at the State University at Madison, where he graduated in 1874. After his graduation, he went to Baldwin, St. Croix Co., and engaged in teaching ; also established a book-store at that place, which he still owns ; assumed his present position in the fall of 1878. Mr. Wood was married at Paoli, Dane Co., in 1872, to Miss Mary C. Matts; she died in November, 1878, at Paoli. His present wife was Miss Mary C. Van Waters, daugh ter of William C. Van Waters ; she was formerly a teacher in the school at West Salem. They have one daughter — Cora Blanche. TOWN OF BANCOR. ZACHARIAS BAEBLER, Jr., harness-maker, Bangor; son of Z. Baebler, Sr, who was born in Switzerland ; came to the United States in 1870 ; came directly to La Crosse, thence to Bangor the same year. Mr. Baebler, Jr., was bora in Switzerland, June, 1857 ; learned his trade in Bangor, and established his business here in 1874. B. F. BAXTER, teacher, Bangor; also, by trade, carpenter and joiner. Born in Vermont, in 1839 ; he removed to the State of New York with his parents, when about 6 years of age, and to the State of Illinois, with his parents, in the fall of 1854 ; came^to La Crosse Co. in 1859, and settled in Bangor. His father, Rev. B. S. Baxter, a Congregational clergyman, died at Manston in June, 1879 ; his mother is also deceased. Mr. Baxter enlisted, as a musician, Sept. 18, 1861, in the 10th W. V. I. ; he served in this regiment about ten months, re-enlisted in 1864, in the 46th W. V. I, and served till the close of the war; he participated in several important campaigns and battles. He was married to Jennie Wood, daughter of S. C. Wood ; they have two children — Susie and Effie ; lost two boys — Willie and Floy. Mr. Baxter has taught, seventeen terms in La Crosse Co. ADOLPH ROSSHARD ; P. 0. Bangor; son of John Bosshard (deceased). Born on the homestead where he now resides, and which he now owns, in 1853. Married to Tolina Tollefson, daughter of T. Tollefson ; they have one daughter — Amelia. The homestead farm contains 290 acres, a quarter section of which his father entered as Government land in 1851. JOHN BOSSHARD, pioprietor of Bangor Mills; son of John Bosshard (deceased), who was born in Zurich, Switzerland, December, 1820. He came to the United States when a young man, and settled in the town of Honey Creek, Sauk Co., Wis.; he came to La Crosse Co. in 1851, and settled on a farm in the town of Bangor, where he resided till his death, Sept. 20, 1877 ; he bought the Bangor Mills in 1875. John has owned the mill since the death of bis father; his mother died in 1862. His father's present widow lives in the city of La Crosse. Parents had six children — John, bora Dec. 26, 1851 ; was married to Martha S. Johns, born in Pennsylvania ; they have one child — Robert. The other children are Adolph, Anna, Elizabeth, Lina and Otto, last two by second marriage. JOHN BRADLEY, present member of the Assembly, Bangor ; was born in Litchfield, Conn, ' in 1819. In 1839, he removed to the State of New York ; he came to Wisconsin, and settled in Dodge Co., in the spring of 1844, and engaged in farming; he removed to the town of Burns, La Crosse Co, in 1855, and settled on Sec. 20, on a farm which he still owns; he came to the village of Bangor in May, 1875. He was elected to the Legislature in the fall of 1874 ; is now serving his fifth term in that capacity. He was married to Elizabeth Stevens, bom in the State of New York ; they have six children — John, who resides on the homestead in the town of Burns ; Cora L, now Mrs. Wood ; Dick W. and Frank, reside at Watertown, Dak. ; William and Millie B, at home. ARNER DARLING, proprietor of Bangor House; born in Vermont, May 26, 1826 ; came to Dane Co., Wis, in 1847 ; removed to Adams County in 1850, being one of the earliest settlers of that county ; came to La Crosse County and settled in the town of Bangor, in May, 1854. He settled in Sec. 5, where he built the first house in that part of the valley. In the fall of 1855, he settled on a farm in Sec. 17 ; this farm he still owns. He removed to the village of Bangor, September, 1876. His wife TOWN OF BANGOR. 833 was Miss Rhoda Ann Heath ; born in Lower Canada, at the time of their marriage, living in the State of Connecticut. They have nine children, eight sons and one daughter— George, Wallace, Fremont, Aaron, Charhs, Grant, William, Freddie. Their daughter, Mary, is now Mrs. Sturdevant. Lost two children, a son and a daughter. CHESTER DARLING, farmer, Sec. 5 ; P. 0. Bangor ; is one of the early and prominent settlers of La Crosse County. He was born in Groten, Caledonia Co, Vt, Jan. 29, 1821. He was mar ried when 18 years of age, to Miss Sallie Emery. He removed to Licking Co, Ohio, in 1840, where his wife died ; was there engaged in work at his trade, that of a carpenter, and he there married his second wife ; came to Dane Co, Wis, in the summer of 1846, and settled in the town of Dunkirk, near Stougbton. In the fall of 1853, he settled in what is now the town of Hamilton, near Salem, though he was tempo rarily in La Crosse County several years previous to that time. He purchased his present farm, July, 1855, of Charles C. Chase. This farm is one of the first, perhaps the first, entered in La Crosse County. It was entered by Abial Morrison. Mr. Darling lost his second wife on Christmas, 1873. His present wife was Miss Hester Cooley. He has six children by his second wife. His father came to La Crosse County in 1852, and settled in Bangor, where he died about 1860. Like many of the other pioneers of Wisconsin, who, by industry and economy, have secured a competency, he began life poor, and endured all the hardships and privations, incident to the life of a pioneer. REUBEN DARLING, farmer, Sec. 16 ; P. 0. Bangor; is a native of Vermont. He was born in Caledonia County, in 1824. In the fall of 1849, he removed to Dane Co, Wis. He was mar ried in Milwaukee, Oct. 21, 1850, to Elizabeth Darling, daughter of Aaron Darling. She was also born in Vermont, in 1829, and came to Milwaukee in 1850. They resided in Dane County till October, 1855, and then removed to La Crosse County, and settled on present farm, which Mr. Darling purchased of Mr. Chase. They have four children — William E, Luella, now Mrs. Wallace Darling; Flora, now Mrs. George W. Shermandine, and Phoebe. Have lost two children — -Morris and Emmaretta. Farm contains 200 acres. MICHAEL D ARSIS, farmer, Sec. 19; P. O. Bangor; is one of the original settlers of the town of Bangor. He was bora in Switzerland, in 1 830. His parents, with their family, consisting of three sons and two daughters, emigrated to the United States in 1847, and settled in Sauk Co,, this State. Two sons and the two daughters are still living. They came to La Crosse County in 1851, and settled in the town of Bangor. Michael settled on his present farm of 307 acres, in 1878. His first wife was Dorthy Thelar ; present wife was Janet Wakemao, daughter of Samuel Wakeman ; had nine children by first wife, six of whom are living ; three by second wife, two of whom are living. DANIEL DAVIS, carpenter; Bangor; bora in Oneida Co, N. Y., in 1843. He came to La Crosse in 1856 ; learned the trade of carpentry in the city of La Crosse, where he worked three or lour years, when he removed to the village of Bangor. He enlisted in 1861, in the 14th W. V. I. He served four years ; was actively engaged the whole of this time ; participated in not less than fifteen bat tles. After the war, he returned to Bangor, where he has since lived. DAVID R. DAVIS, carriage-maker, Bangor; was bom in Oneida Co. N. Y, September, 1821. His parents were Roland and Margaret Davis. His father was born in Wales, and came to the United States a short time previous to the war of 1S12. He was a soldier in that war. He settled in Oneida Co, N. Y, where he resided till his death. David R. went to New York City when he was 19 years of age, where he learned the trade of carriage-maker, where he lived twenty years. He was married in Oneida Co, to Hannah Morris ; she died at Deerfield, N. Y. Present wife '"was Ellen Griffeth, born in Wales ; came to this country when a child. Mr. Davis has five children by his second wife — George R, lives in Minneapolis; Arthur, telegraph operator, at Wesley, Iowa; Jane Ann ; Robert G. and Alfred. Mr. Davis came to Bangor in 1859. Mr. Parry haviag removed from the village, Mr. Davis is the earliest business man of the village. WILLIASI DAVIS, farmer, Sec. 13; P.O. Bangor; born in North Wales, May, 1827; came to the United States in the summer of 1849. Lived in Waukesha Co. for a time, where he was married to Margaret Williams, daughter of John Williams, who came to Waukesha Co. the summer of 1849 ; removed to La Crosse Co. in the summer of 1854, where he worked for a time in the Bangor Mills as mil'ler. He settled on his present farm in 1856, which he had purchased in 1854; has owned this farm since that time. In the spring of 1872, he bought what is known as the Big Creek Mill, which he operated till the fall of 1880, when he sold it. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have seven children— Sarah J, John W. William Mary, Thomas, Richard and Nellie. His farm contains 250 acres. ' REV.' J. P. EVANS, Pastor of Congregational Cnurch, Bangor; born in South Wales in 1842. He graduated at Bala College in 1866 ; came to the United States in 1867; was engaged in 834 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: preaching at Plymouth, Penn, for about two years, organizing several churches in Luzerne Co. He entered the Theological Department of Yale College in 1869, graduating in the class of 1873. His first charge after graduating, was at Portland, Me, where he remained four years. (Dame to Wisconsin in 1877. Took charge of a church at Cambria, Columbia Co. Became Pastor of the Congregational Church at Bangor, September, 1879. His wife was Miss Jennie Jones, daughter of Lewis Jones, who emigrated from Wales to Pennsylvania. THOSIAS H. EYNON, farmer. Sec. 12; P. 0. Rockland; born in South Wales in 1813. His parents emigrated to Canada in 1832. He came to La Crosse Co. in June, 1854, and settled on his present farm, only 40 acres of which is in La Crosse Co., the balance being in Monroe. He was married to Catherine Watkins, bom in South Wales in 1829. Her parents emigrated to Pennsylvania from Wales, in the fall of 1831. Mr. and Mrs. Eynon have four children — Elizabeth, Hannah, Emyr and Harriet. Lost first four children, also the youngest. Farm contains 320 acres. Mr. Eynon was the original settler on his farm, and has made all the improvements which the farm contains. His buildings are fine substantial structures, and compare favorably with the many fine residences and out-buildings to be found in this valley. R. GILLBOE, proprietor of saloon, Bangor. Mr. Gillboe was born in Norway, Nov. 22, 1845. Emigrated to this country July, 1868. He lived in the city of La Crosse for several years ; went to Sparta in 1874, and engaged in the bakery and confectionery business. Located in Bangor in 1878. His wife was born in Norway. They have had six boys, four of whom are living — Ole B, Emil H., Milen and John One of the deceased was named Alfred, the other died in early infancy. JOHN H. HUGHES, furniture dealer, Bangor; son of John H. Hughes, who was born in Wales about 1820. Came to this country when a young man ; afterward returned to Wales, where he was married. Returned to New York and settled in Oneida Co. He came to Wisconsin about 1856, and settled in the town of Bangor, where he resided till his death, which occurred the following autumn. Father was twice married ; first wife died in Wales. Had twelve children ; six by first wife, and six by second. John H. was bora in Oneida Co, N. Y, May, 1852 ; came to La Crosse Co. with his parents, where he has since resided. He engaged in his present business in the fall of 1876. DAVID J. JASIES, farmer, Sec. 12; P. 0. Rockland; born in Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1813 ; married to Mary Jenkins; came to the United States in 1851, and settled in Waukesha Co., Wis.; came to La Crosse Co. in 1852, and bought 80 acres of his present farm of Mr. Cook; has now 360 acres. His improvements are among the very best in the town. Has had twelve children, six of whom are living; children were all born in Wales but the youngest; children living are Mary, born 1833 (now Mrs. Thomas Davis); John, born 1835, resides in the town of Burns; David D, born in Wales March 19, 1837, married Margaret Price, daughter of William Price ; Elizabeth, born Dec. 28, 1839 (now Mrs. Thomas L. Evans); Evan D. and Maggie, born Nov. 15, 1856. Mrs. James died Feb. 15, 1880. Mr. James is a member of the Welsh Presbyterian Church. EVAN D. JAMES, P. O. Rockland ; son of David J. James ; born in Wales March 13, 1849 ; married Deborah Jones, daughter of John E. Jones. They have two children — Mary and John E. SIRS. SIARY F. JENKINS, Bangor; widow of David J. Jenkins, who was born in Cardiganshire, South Wales, March, 1829 ; came to America in 1852. He lived in La Crosse City one year, and removed to Bangor in the fall of 1853. He was married to his present widow, Mary F. Will iams, daughter of Samuel Williams, who emigrated to Ohio from Massachusetts March, 1838, and to Dodge Co., Wis, in July, 1846 ; thence to Sauk Co. in 1849, and to Bangor in 1854. Mr. Jenkins was a prominent citizen of the village of Bangor. He built the mill in this village now owned by Mr. John Boshard. He was Justice of the Peace many years. He died Oct. 17, 1871. Mrs. Jenkins, previous to her marriage, was a prominent teacher of La Crosse Co. HENRY B. JOHNS, proprietor of the Eagle House, Bangor ; bom in Wales in 1813. He came to this country about 1815 ; he is a pattern-maker by trade ; worked about two years in the Novelty Works of New York City ; thence to Clifford Co, Penn. ; came to Wisconsin in 1854 ; lived in Leon two years, when he came to Bangor, where he has since resided. His wife was Mary Ann Hughes. They have four daughters — Sarah, Sabioa, Josephine and Maria. D. B. JOHNS, farmer, Sec. 12 ; P. O. Rockland ; was born in Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1827. He emigrated to New York City in 1850 ; thence to Milwaukee, and thence to Columbia Co. in June, 1850 ; returned to New York in the fall of 1851 ; thence to Pennsylvania in December of that year. He remained in Pennsylvania till the spring of 1853, when he came to the city of La Crosse May 6, 1853. He remained in La Crosse and vicinity for a time, and then went to Leon, Monroe Co, where he remained about four years ; then, with his brother, L. W, he came to the town of Bangor, and bought TOWN OF BANGOR. 835 present farm in 1859, where they settled in the spring of 1860. D. B. Johns was married to Catharine Evans, daughter of Morgan Evans, an early settler of Dodge Co, but now a resident of the town of Bangor. His present wife was Martha Fulton, daughter of David Fulton. She was born in Pennsyl vania. Mr. Johns has four children by first wife — Anna, Richard, Gathorne and Llewelyn. He and his brother, L. W., have about 323 acres, with good improvements. Mr. Johns is one of the prominent and intelligent farmers of Bangor ; has been Assessor of the town for ten years. WILLIASI JOHNSON, farmer, Sec. 25; P. 0. Bangor; born in Norway in 1843. His father, John Hanson, died in Norway; mother and three sons, Andrew, Gilbert and William, came to the United States in 1856. They lived in Dane County for a time, and removed thence to Vernon County. William came to La Crosse County in 1859, and settled in the town of Bangor. He was married to Anna Paulson; she died in 1869; has one daughter — Julia. His farm contains 220 acres. Two brothers of Mr. Johnson, Evan and Mathias, came to the United States several years before the rest of the family came. Evan now lives in Dakota. Mathias resides on Section 25, where he settled in 1863 ; was mar ried to Dora Kundson, born in Norway. They have nine children — three sons and six daughters. His farm contains 180 acres. DAVID JONES (deceased), born in Wales about 1824; came to the United States when a young man ; lived in Waukesha County, this State, for a time, where he was married to Mary Howells, bom in Wales. They came to La Crosse County about 1854, and purchased the farm now occupied by his two sons, Edward H. and Watkin. A part of this farm was Government land at the time he pur chased it. He resided here till his death, which occurred Aug. 18, 1875. The mother died Aug. 20, 1879. They had eight children, four of whom are living, viz. : Edward H. ; Margaret, now Mrs. John O. Thomas, resides at Youngstown, Ohio ; Watkin, bom on the homestead in 1857, and Mary Ann, now Mrs. Richard Evans. The homestead farm contains 230 acres, which is occupied by Edward H. and Watkin. DAVID D. JONES, dealer in real estate, etc, Bangor; born in New York Cityinl829. His par ents were i atives of Wales, and died when he was a child. He was brought up by relatives in Steuben, Oneida Co, N. Y.; went to Utica when a young man; came to La Crosse County in 1856, and located in the town of Bangor; has been variously engaged, since he came to Bangor, in real estate, selling goods as a commercial man, etc. In 1825, his father purchased a lot on Fifth avenue, New York City, dying soon after, and the name Jones being a common one, doubts arose in after years as to who were the legal heirs of this property. After an extended and expensive litigation, Mr. Jones succeeded in establishing the fact that he was heir to this property. His wife was Miss Elizabeth Vaughan. They have five children — Mrs. James Roberts, Amaretta, Vivian and Frank (of Eau Claire), and Victor. EVAN JONES, retired farmer ; P.O.Bangor; he and family are among the earliest settlers of the town of Bangor. He was bora in Wales in 1804 ; went to Canada about 1842, leaving his t'amily in Wales. About 1845, he returned to his native land and brought over his children, four sons, his wife having died during his absence. In August, 1853, he emigrated to La Crosse County and settled on Section 5 in the town of Bangor, where he still resides, hale and hearty, at the ripe age of 77 years. His four sons by his first marriage were all born in Wales, and are all prominent farmers of La Crosse County; has one daugh ter by his present wife. JOHN J. JONES, teacher, Bangor ; son of Evan G. Jones, win was born in Wales and came to the United States about 1840 ; settled in the city of Utica, Oneida (Do, N. Y. ; came to Wisconsin with his family in the spring of 1865, and located in the town of Bangor, where he now lives. His son, John J. Jones, was born in Utica, N. Y, in 1854; is at present teacher of the school in the village .of Bangor; has been engaged in teaching in La Crosse County about four years. JOHN X. JONES, P. O. Bangor ; son of Evans Jones ; owns part of homestead oh Section 5, where he resides! He was born in Wales in 1838 ; he was married to Laura Wheldon, daughter of John Wheldon; they hive six children — Matte, Herbert, Willie, Newton, Jesse and Nellie. Farm contains 310 acres! Morgan E. Jones, fourth son of Evan Jones, born in Wales in 1841, he also owns part of the homestead ; married Elizabeth Trotheroe, daughter of John Trotheroe ; they have four children— Abbie, Evan F, John and Morgan. ,.„,•, DANIEL SIORRIS, farmer, Section 6 ; P. 0. Bangor; bora in Cardiganshire, Wales, May, 1828 He came to the United States in 1852 ; lived for a time in Pennsylvania ; came to La Crosse Co. in the fall of 1854; married Sarah Harwood, born in Wales; have five children— William, David, Mary, Harbert and Kitiie. . . . HENRY SIORF, resides at Adolph Bosshard's, Section 8 ; P. 0. Bangor ; born in Switzerland in 1841. He came to the United States in 1857; lived in New York City till 1861 ; in May of that year 836 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: he enlisted in the 1st N. J. V. C, served about a year and a half, when he was discharged for disability. He first came to La Crosse Co. in the summer of 1863, but soon after went to Sauk Co., where he remained till 1870 ; since that time has been a resident of Bangor, La Crosse Co. A. B. NEWTON, SI. D., Bangor ; born in Whitehall, Oneida Co, N. Y, in 1842 ; he removed with his parents to Illinois in 1849, and to the city of La Crosse in 1859. He began the study of medi cine with Dr. Baxter, who was then associated with Dr. McArthur, in 1860 ; he had, previous to this time, attended the First Ward School in La Crosse. He enlisted, in the spring of 1861, in the Light Guards, but left the State with the 3d W. V. I, in August, 1862; he received an appointment as Hospital Stew ard iu the Regular army, and served in this capacity till the close of the war. He continued his studies during his hospital service ; entered Rush Medical College, Chicago, October, 1865, where he graduated in 1867 ; has been located in Bangor since that time. Married Miss Ida McKensie, daughter of C. W. Mc- Kensie; have two children — Charles and Cordelia. JOHN H. PARRY, merchant; Bangor; born in Wales, May, 1829; came to the United States in the Spring of 1849, located in Waukesha Co, where he lived two years ; thence to Rome, Oneida Co., N. Y. ; he came to Bangor in November, 1864, and engaged in the mercantile business; has also been engaged considerably in grain buying. Of the business men now of Bangor, Mr. Parry has been the longest established in the budness; his wife was also a native of Wales; they have three children — Laura, now Mrs. A. Mengel ; John II, Jr., now in La Crosse, and Robert G. WILLIASI PRICE, farmer, Section 3 ; P. 0. Bangor ; was born in South Wales about 1820. He came to the United States when 21 years of age; fiist to Schuylkill Co., Penn, thence to Meigs Co., Ohio, where he lived till April, 1852, when he went to California, where he engaged in mining ; he returned to Meigs Co. in the fall of 1853 ; came to La Crosse Co. in the spring of 1854, and purchased his present farm of Michael Darms ; was married in Ohio to Ann Jones, bora in Wales; they have had eight children, seven of whom are living — one son and six daughters. They lost their oldest son, John T, who died Jan. 12, 1880. Mr. Price has 200 acres ; only about 30 acres were improved when he purchased it ; he first bought 120 acres. CALER H. RICHARDSON, farmer, Section 17 ; P. O. Bangor ; born in the town of Warren, Grafton Co, N. H, June 25, 1816. He resided in his native State till about 1846, when he removed to Dodge Co, Wis, where he lived seven years ; he came to La Crosse Co., June, 1854, and settled on his present farm, a part of which he entered as government land. His first wife was Miss Raw lins, born in Haverhill, N. H. ; she died in Dodge Co. His present wife was Miss Aurilla Hunt, born in the State of New York. Has two children by his first wife — Daniel H. and Emily A, now Mrs. Jones ; both are residents of Laramar, W. T.; has six children by present wife — Ellen, William, Herbert, Matilda, Fred and Arthur. ANNA RUEDY, P. O. Bangor; widow of Florian Ruedy, who was born in Switzerland in 1797 ; married in Switzerland to his present widow, Anna Ruedy, who was born in 1795. They emigra ted to Highland, 111, in 1840, where they lived about four years ; thence to the town of Honey Creek, Sauk Co, Wis. They were one of the few German families of Sauk Co. who were the first settlers of the town of Bangor, where they settled in 1851. They first settled on the farm where Mrs. Ruedy now lives, Sec. 8. They brought five children to this country, only one of whom — Mrs. Christina Wolf — is now living. The names of the four children deceased were Christian, born in 1823, died 1879 ; Margaret, Lucy, and John, who died in 1878. The wife of the latter, Ursula, daughter of Peter Saxon, resides at the homestead ; her parents emigrated to this country from Switzerland in 1854, and came to La Crosse Co. in 1853; her father died in 1874; her mother still resides in Bangor. Mrs. Ursula Ruedy has four children — Anna, Ursula, Christina and Peter. DR. JOHN SHANKLAND, druggist, Bangor; born in Washington Co, N. Y, in 1812; graduated at Carlton College, Vermont, in 1844. He removed to Michigan, thence to Illinois ; came to La Crosse Co. in 1861. The doctor practiced medicine for twenty-five years; engaged in the drug business in 1866, in Bangor, with Jacob Waterman ; on the death of his partner, in 1869, he retired from the practice of his profession, as his business required his entire attention. His wife was Miss Ellen A. Cummings. JOHN M. THOMAS, farmer, Sec. 10; P. O. Bangor; born in South Wales about 1826; He emigrated to Oneida Co, N. Y, when 26 years of age; he resided for a time in Rome and other parts of Oneida Co.; he came to Waukesha Co, Wis, and thence to La Crosse Co. in the fall of 1854, and purchased his present farm. Was married to Ellen Jones ; they have six children — Margaret, Hugh, John Henry, William and Richard ; lost second child — William. Farm contains 200 acres ; his farm is well improved, has brick residence, good barns, etc. TOWN OF BANGOR. 837 RALPH THOMPSON, farmer, Sec. 3 ; P. 0. Bangor : was born in Ireland in 1819. His parents emigrated to Canada when he was 10 years of age ; came to Wisconsin in May, 1850, and settled at Hyde's Grove, Racine Co, where he lived till 1852, when he came to La Crosse Co, Wis, and pre-emp ted 120 acres of the farm which he now owns, and which he entered in July, 1853; he afterwards increased his farm to its present dimensions ; has now 360 acres. He is a successful farmer, has good buildings, fine brick house, which was built in 1872. He was married in Canada, in 1844, to Hannah Hemstock, bom in Nottinghamshire, England ; they had four children, three of whom are living — Thomas, John Benjamin and Lucy I ; the last two are twins. They lost their first child, Harriet. REV. JOHN J. V AUGHAN, Pastor of the Baptist Church of Bangor, was born in Llanun- chllyn, Merionethshire, North Wales, April 19, 1826 ; he emigrated with his parents to the United States in the spring of 1831, and settled at Remsen, Oneida Co, N. Y. ; he received a common-school education in Remsen, and afterwards took a partial course in the Whitestown Seminary, near Utica, N. Y. He remained at home with his father, working on a farm, till he was 17 years old ; then he spent several years in learning the carpenter's trade ; he took a course of instruction in the science of architecture and in the art of drawing, under Prof. A. B. Stone and the late A. J. Lathrop, of Utica, N. Y. At the close of his -studies, he passed an examination, and received a diploma from the above-named gentlemen ; he was engaged in manufacturing lumber for several years ; he has followed the business of house-building for a large portion of time during a period of thirty-five years. His parents were members of the Congrega tional Church at Steuben, N. Y. His mother died April 13, 1841, and his father died Feb. 5, 1854. He commenced preaching with the M. E. Church at Remsen, in the winter of 1863. After the lapse of a few years, he left that church, not from any ill feeling toward any of the brethren, but for the following reason : Early in the summer of 1863, he was drawn into the baptismal controversy, which led him to a careful study, and a patient investigation of the doctrine of Christian baptism. The result was, his for mer views and belief upon that subj ect were changed ; he became a Baptist in sentimen t. On the 1 1 th of October, 1874, he was baptized by Rev. Wm. T. Bunker, and became a member of the Baptist Church at Bangor. The church employed him to preach, and on the 22d of March, 1877, he was ordained, and set tled as a Pastor of the Baptist Church of Bangor, and continues to serve in that office to the present time. In September, 1877, Ke entered the Baptist Union Theological Seminary, Chicago, 111, where he pursued a special course in theology, which he intends to complete during the next ensuing year. He came to Wis consin in the fall of 1865, and settled at Bangor, where he has since resided, variously employed as a preacher, house builder and school teacher. On the 25th day of December, 1867, he was married to Miss May A. Thomas, of Steuben, Oneida Co., N. Y.; she was born in Boonville, Oneida Co., N. Y, Dec. 25, 1841 ; they have had three children ; two are now living — one daughter, named Jennie, born Sept. 24, 1868, and one son, named Richard Miner, bora Aug. 28, 1870 ; the youngest child was born Sept. 18, 1873, and died Oct. 5, 1873. After a few years of happy union, his beloved wife died, at Bangor, Sept. 27, 1873, and was taken to Oneida Co., N. Y, for burial. In 1860, he was elected Supervisor of the town of Remsen, Oneida Co., N. Y, and in 1861 was re-elected to the same office ; he performed the duties of that office in a satisfactory manner. In 1871, he was elected Justice of the Peace at Bangor, Wis, and served but one term. Perhaps one of the most noted things in the history of the subject of this sketch, is the fact that he has been a common-school teacher for a long period of years, both in New York State and in Wisconsin. He has taught twenty-three winters ; eight of the above number he has taught in District No. 2, Bangor. He received, August 12, 1865, a State certificate from the late Hon. V. M. Rice, who was then State Superintendent of Public Instruction in New York State. Among the thrilling reminiscences of his past life, there is none, perhaps, which will touch his feelings any more than some of those incidents that occurred in connection with his experience as a school teacher. At several different times during his past life, he has experienced severe reverses and sore disappointments in business matters which blasted his most cherished plans and hopes. But amid all trials and troubles he has endeav ored to exemplify those good principles which he has taught and inculcated in the school-room and from the pulpit, regarding the building up and preserving good character, as one of the dearest, highest and noblest objects to be attained in the present life. RICHARD D. WILLIAMS, farmer, Sec. 11 ; P. O. Bangor ; born in Wales. He came to the United States with his parents, David J. and Sarah Williams, in 1850, and settled in Waukesha Co. The family came to La Crosse Co. in 1851, and settled in the town of Bangor, in Fish Creek Valley, and was the first family that settled in this valley. The family removed to California in 1868, where the father died in May, 1875. Richard D. returned from California in 1869, and settled where he now lives, on Sec. 11. His mother returned in 1878, and now resides in the town of Bangor. The others are still on the Pacific coast. The parents of Richard D. had ten children. His wife is Catharine, daughter of BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Edward R. Jones. They have two children — Elias and Hannah ; lost three children. Farm contains 230 acres. JOHN WILLIASIS, retired farmer ; P. 0. Bangor; bora in Wales August, 1827. His parents emigrated to Oneida Co, N. Y, when be was 13 years of age. Mr. Williams came to La Crosse Co. in 1853, and settled in the town of Bangor, Sec. 9. He still owns this farm, which contains 280 acres. This is a fine farm, and well improved ; has been a very successful farmer ; has a fine residence in the village of Bangor, where he resides. His wife was Miss Mary Morris, born in the State of New York. They have four children — Richard, Thomas, Morris and Hannah. JOHN WILLIAMS, SI. D., Bangor; was bom in Wales Dec. 15, 1855. He attended the Medical College at Birmingham, England, for three years. He came to the United States in August, 1877 ; remained in Brooklyn, N. Y, for a short time, and came to Bangor the following winter; has been practicing his profession since that time. His wife was Sarah J. Hughes, daughter of John H. Hughes. JOHN WHELDON, Postmaster, Bangor; born in Wale3 in 1815. His parents emigrated to this country in 1817. They lived about two years in Philadelphia, and then removed to Steuben, Oneida Co, N. Y, where his parents resided till their death. Mr. Wheldon came to La Crosse Co., and settled in what is now the village of Bangor in October, 1853. Mr. Wheldon may be regarded as the first settler in the village of Bangor. He purchased a farm which includes part of the village, purchasing of R. A. Richards. This farm was entered by Ebenezer Buckingham, which was the second farm entered in the town of Bangor. The date of this entry is July 1, 1850. Mr. Wheldon still owns his original farm, except that portion on which a part of the village stands. He built the first dwelling — a log house — in 1853, on the present site of the village. He has always been prominently identified wiih the interest of this town, and enjoys the respect and confidence of all ; has held nearly all town offices ; was Town Clerk and Treasurer for a number of years ; also Supervisor and Chairman of the Board ; is at present Justice of the Peace, which office he has held for the past twelve years ; has been Postmaster since 1873. His wife was Elizabeth Roberts, born in Wales. Have eleven children — nine sons and two daughters ; all, except two, residents of La Crosse Co., one son residing in Colorado and another in Minnesota. S. B, Robert and Griffith reside at home. S. B. is Assistant Postmaster and Town Clerk. SIRS. CHRISTINA WOLF, Sees. 5 and 6 ; P. 0. Bangor ; the widow ol Andrew Wolf, who was bora in Switzerland in 1819. He came to the United States in 1840 ; he lived in Highland, 111, for some time ; thence to Galena, afterward to Sauk Co., Wis, where he was married to his present widow, Christina Ruedy, also born in Switzerland. They came co La Crosse Co. in 1852, and settled on the farm where Mrs. Wolf now resides. Mr. Wolf died May 9, 1867. Mrs. Wolf has five children — Florin, born, 1848; Anna, 1850; Caspar, 1856; Andrew, 1858; Christina, 1861. Florin Ruedy, father of Mrs. Wolf, emigrated to Highland, 111, in 1840, and to Sauk Co, Wis, in 1844 ; to La CroBse Co. in 1851, and settled in the town of Bangor, where he died in 1858. Her mother still resides at the homestead, in her 86th year. TOWN OF HOLLAND. C. C. RALSTAD, farmer, Sec. 30 ; P. O. Holmen. Bom in Norway, Feb. 18, 1840. Came to Wisconsin in 1861 ; worked by the day; now owns 160 acres of land, with a good orchard, barn and improvements. His wife, Ella Gilbert, a native of Norway, bora in 1838. They married in 1863. They have seven children — Henry, Bennie, Betsy, Tena, Emma, Oscar and Clarence. Has been Clerk, Justice of the Peace, and Supervisor. G1LRERT O. BLACK, farmer, Sec. 24 ; P. 0. Holmen ; was born in Dane Co, Wis, Feb. 10, 1851 ; now owns 205 acres of fine land, with a large barn and good house. His wife, Carrie Karn, bora in Norway in the year 1850. They married in the year 1874, and have four children — Olaf, Alfred, Isaac and Ida Ann. In religion, Lutherian ; in politics, Republican. Has been Pathmaster, Director of District No. 2. OLE O. BLACK, farmer, Sec. 27 ; P. 0. Holmen ; was born in Norway, Oct. 10, 1819. Came to America in 1850 ; settled in Dane Co, Wis, where he worked in a saw-mill for two years ; this was at the village of Christiana. He then came to La Crosse, where he was in a mill. He then bought 40 acres, on which he built the old cabin and improved the place. He now owns 200 acres, with a fine house, 24x16, with wing 24x24, wind-mill, etc. His wife, Johanna Gilbrenson, was born in Norway, April 22, 1821. They were married in 1847. They have had twelve children— Ole, Gil- TOWN OF HOLLAND. 839 len, Carl, Anna, Bertinia, Anton, Fredricka, Johanna, (now Mrs. Martin. In politics, Republican ; in religion, Lutheran. Treasur Olseth), Martha, Mariah, Bertha and Treasurer of District No. 2 twelve years; on the Board of Supervisors ; Assessor and Treasurer. HON. SUEL BRIGGS, farmer and lawyer, P. 0. New Amsterdam ; was born in Concord, Erie Co, N. Y, April 7, 1821 ; received a common-school education. He came to Wisconsin in 1856, settled in Holland, La Crosse Co, Wis. Has served as Justice of the Peace, Town Clerk, Superintendent of Schools, and Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors. In the year 1840, he came to JanesviUe, Wis, when the town contained oae blacksmith-shop and hotel. He remained one year, then he returned to New York and taught school. In the year 1846, he married, and moved onto the reservation near Buf falo ; sold out, returned to Concord, engaged in business for three years. His wife was taken sick, when he gave up his business and devoted his entire time to her care. As she was better he attended school, in the year 1854. In 1856, he came to Wisconsin the second time, and engaged in business in Dodge Co.; then to La Crosse Co.; bought 80 acres and entered 40 acres of land, made the improve ments. He owns 200 acres now nicely improved. He has taught school a good deal of the time since coming to this place. In the year 1859, he went to La Crosse and studied law with Cobb & Mes- more until the spring of 1860 ; he was admitted to the bar. He then returned to the farm. In the year 1857, elected Justice of the Peace, and has held the office since, with the exception of 1869. Elected to the Assembly in the fall of 1877, receiving 1,656 votes against 1,132 for I. W. Losey, Demo crat, and 927 for R. A. Moore, Greenbacker. His wife, Phoebe Ballou, a descendant of Hosa Ballou, who was born in Spafford, Onondaga Co., N. Y.; when quite small removed to Erie Co. with her parents, where they died. She was born Jan. 11, 1826. They married in 1846. ANDREW OLSON RYE, farmer, Sec. 31 ; P. O. Holmen ; born in Norway, Dec. 3, 1827; came to Wisconsin in 1854; now owns 160 acres of fine land, on which he has made all of the improvements. His wife was Sarah Hanson, born in Norway, Dec. 26, 1822 ; they married in 1856 ; now have five children — Ole, Helen, Julia, Minna and Mathias (deceased). In religion, Lutheran. Has been Town Treasurer, one of the Board of Supervisors, also Assessor. E. C. CASRERG, dealer in general stock, Holmen; was born in Norway, April 18, 1853. Came to America, 1862; began business Feb. 24, 1880; owns town property in Onalaska. His wife, Carrie C. Michelson, was born in Norway, Dec. 29, 1851. They married in 1873; they have one child, Ina, born Feb. 22, 1879. In politics, Republican ; in religion, Lutheran. KL A AS CHELSIERS, farmer, Section 2 ; P. O. New Amsterdam ; was born in the Nether lands, Holland, Oct. 17, 1843; came to Wisconsin in the year 1853. His wife was Miss Von der Pann ; she was born in the Netherlands, Holland ; they married in 1872, and have four children — Seward C, Mahala, Susan C. and John Miller. He is a Republican and a Presbyterian. CHRISTIAN CHRISTENNONSON, proprietor of Holmen Mills; was born in Norway, July 27, 1839 ; came to Wisconsin in 1860, settled in La Crosse Co; bought 100 acres of land, made the improvements, and sold out and bought 120 acres; in 1876 bought the mill, which was built in 1875, now valued at $12,000. His wife, Mattie Knall, was born in Norway, Oct. 14, 1836 ; was married in 1862; the have seven children — Christian M, born Jan. 31, 1865; Augusta, born Aug. 4, 1866 ; Cora L, born Oct. 15, 1868; Ald-n, bom April 13, 1871 ; Colvin, born Dec. 13, 1872, died Aug. 30, 1873; Morris, born April 3, 1874, and Alexander, born Jan.' 22, 1876. He is a Lutheran in religion ; in politics, Republican ; Director of District No. 3 ; has been Treasurer and Pathmaster. WILLIASI DOUGHERTY, farmer, Section 6; P. O. Holmen ; bora in County Donegal, Ireland, May 8, 1820. He came to America in 1839 to Pittsburgh, Penn, in the mines; then farming until 1866, when he came to Wisconsin, bought 120 acres of land, now' owns 540 acres, with a large square house, fine barn, 40x80, 16-foot corners. His wife, Mary Breen, was born in County Farmanaugh, Ireland; they were married in 1847, and have seven children — John, William, Barnard, Catharine, James, Mary Jane, Anna and Margaret (deceased). He is a Democrat and a Catholic ; William has been Clerk. ALFERD GAARDER, farmer, Section 31; P. O. Holmen; was born in Norway in January, 1841 ; came to La Crosse Co. with his parents; his father died in 1858, his mother died in 1862 ; he went to Colorado in the spring of 1860, then to Montana in 1863 ; returned to La Crosse Co. 1868.' He now owns 160 acres of fine land, with good house, a barn 30x56 feet, basement stable, 16-foot posts, wagon-shed and other buildings in fine shape. His wife, Mary Hanson, was born in Dane Co, in 1849 ; they married in 1869, and have three children— Lillie May, born Oct. 27, 1875 ; Kilmer O, born June 28, 1877 ; John Garfield, born May 12, 1880. Has been Clerk and Director of Schools, and mem ber of Town Board two years. 840 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: H. K. HANSEN, farmer, Section 12 ; P. O. Holmen ; born in Norway, June 23, 1827 ; came to Wisconsin in 1841, settled in Milwaukee, then to Walworth Co, then in the woods to work ; then in 1855 he came to La Crosse Co, Wis, bought 80 acres of land, and made the improvements. His wife was Caroline Anderson, born in Norway, April, 1820, and came to America in the year 1851 ; they were married in 1857 ; they have four children — Carl L, Daniel A, Marlian A. and Peter T. Marshall. He has been Treasurer and the Director of District No. 5. IVER HANSON, farmer, Section 25 ; P. 0. Holmen; was born in Norway, Sept. 24, 1826 ; came to Wisconsin in 1856, and bought 60 acres of land, now owns 460 acres, with splendid improvements. He was a poor man when he came to America, and has made it all by his own industry. His wife was Sarah Fridricks, and was born in Norway in 1836 ; they married in 1858, and have seven children — Hans, Oluf, Rendena, Mary, Oscar, Malin and Friderick. He is a Republican and a Lutheran, and is Treasurer of School District No. 2. PETER HANSON, farmer, Sec. 25; P. O. Holmen; was born in Norway Jan. 11, 1831 ; came to Wisconsin in 1855, and now owns 240 acres of land, on which he has made all of the improve ments — a good house, barn and out-buildings. His wife is Elizabeth Johnson, who was bora in Norway in 1828; they married March 29, 1857; they had five children — Anton L. (deceased), Mary, Hanton, Elizabeth and Edward. In religion, Lutheran ; in politics, Republican. JACOB HOFSIA, farmer, Sec. 1; P. O. Holmen; was born in Netherlands, Holland, Aug. 8, 1815 ; came to Wisconsin in 1855 ; worked by the day for a bond three years ; then rented land ; be then bought, in 1863, 80 acres; now owns 120 acres, finely improved— good house, barn 32x42, 16-foot posts. His wife, Katharine Dijkstra, was born in the Netherlands, Holland, Jan. 17, 1821 ; married in 1847 ; have seven children — S. I, S. (now Mrs. Van der Pan, in Eau Claire), Agnes, R. I, John, C. F. and Isabell. In politics, Republican ; in religion, Presbyterian ; has been Director ten years. ANDREW A. JOHNSON, farmer, Sec. 13; P. O. Holmen; was bora in Norway Jan. 31, 1826; came to Wisconsin in 1850 ; bought 80 acres of land; made the improvements; owns now 240, with good house, and barn 42x32, 16-foot posts, and wagon-shed 16x20. His wife, Mattie Hanson, was born in Norway Dec. 26, 1826. They married in the year 1840, and have eight children — John, Betsey (now Mrs. Daly), Hans, Louie, Mund, Eddie, Mattie and Hannah. In politics, Republican; religion, Lutheran ; Clerk of Disirict No. 2 ; has been Pathmaster three times. A. C. JOHNSON, farmer, Sec. 6; P. O. Holmen; was born in La Crosse Co., town of Hol land, Oct. 18, 1854. He owns 120 acres of land; made the improvements ; has made all he has by his own industry. His wife is Lena Olsen, born in Norway Dec. 15, 1857; married Oct. 18, 1876; one child — Tillia, born Dec. 30, 1878. In religion, Lutheran ; politics, Republican. SIONS JOHNSON, farmer, Sec. 21; P. O. Stephenstown ; born in Norway December, 1819; came to Wisconsin in 1859 ; owns 160 acres of land ; has made all by his own industry. His wife, Mar tha Christeinonson, was born in Norway in the year 1820 ; they married in the year 1843, and have seven children — Caroline, Nettie, John, Martha, Mons, Matt and Severt. In religion, Lutheran ; in politics, Republican. O. W. JOHNSON, farmer, Sec. 20 ; P. O. Holmen ; was born in Norway, March 18, 1846 ; came to Wisconsin in 1840 ; owns 200 acres of land, on which he has made fine improvements, and by his own industry has made all he has. His wife) Julia Johnson, born in Dane Co., Wis, June 13, 1850. They married-March 12, 1868, and have four children — Oscar, bora June 25, 1869 ; Mary, April; 1874 ; Gilbert Julian, Feb. 22, 1867 ; Emma Louisa, Feb. 13, 1879. His father is now 72 years of age. His mother is now 68 years of age. He has been Clerk of Schools. R. R. LA THIER, retired farmer ; P. O. New Amderstam ; was born in Holland, June 17, 1820; came to Wisconsin June 30, 1855; bought 400 acres of land, and improved it; now owns 1,380 acres, and town property. He has been Town Treasurer four years, and School Director. His wife was a native of Holland ; she died there before he came to this country, in the year 1845 ; is a Presbyterian. BARNARD Sic HUGH, farmer, Sec. 7; P. O. Holmen ; was born in Tyrone Co, Ire land, in February, 1826 ; he came to America in 1848 ; worked in New York about three months, then went to Ohio ; worked on the railroad, and while at Springfield was in the blacksmith-shops five years, and then went on to the road. He then came to Wisconsin, in the year 1856, and worked two and a half years in the mills at Onalaska, then went to Hollend town, and bought 80 acres, built the old cabin ; now owns 430 acres in Hollend and 300 in Onalaska; has a fine house, 18x24, with wing, 16x20, all two- stories ; barn, 60x40, 16-foot posts ; wind-mill and fine improvements, and has made all he has by his own industry. His wife, Isabell Mallon, born in Tyrone Co, Ireland, April, 1828 ; came to America in 1848 ; settled in Ohio. They were married Dec. 27, 1851 ; they have eleven children —William, Paul, James, TOWN OF HOLLAND. 841 John, Thomas, Cornelias, Mary, Margaret, Michael, Ellen , Ann (deceased). In politics, Democrat ; re ligion, Catholic ; has been Treasurer of District No. 3, and Clerk. SIRS. H. SIILLER, deceased; was bom in Holland, May 30, 1832; came to America, April, 1852. She worked out until 1855, when she was married and had a family of four children— Martin, bom Dec. 14, 1855; Catharine, Aug. 8, 1857; Harry, Sept. 18, 1858; William, Dec. 1, 1861. Mr. Millar was engaged in business at Holland; also appointed Postmistress of Holland, October, 1874, which office she continued to hold until the time of her death, Sept. 7, 1880. ANDREW J. SIOE, farmer, Sec. 29; P. 0. Holland; born in Dane Co, Wis, Aug. 8, 1856 ; now owns 160 acres of land, and made the improvements. His wife, Sophia Anderson, was born in Sweden, in 1859; came to America with her parents; married, in 1879; they have two children- Julia, bom Oct. 21, 1879 ; infant, April 30, 1880. His father and mother came to America, 1850. They have a family of seven children. The old people live on the place with Andrew. His father is 60 years of age, and mother now 57 years of age. BYRON SIULDER, dealer in general stock, New Amsterdam ; was born in Netherlands, Holland, April 8, 1853; came to Wisconsin, 1858. His father was a wagon-maker. He worked with his father in the shop, and June 1, 1880, engaged in the present business. Elected Justice of the Peace in 1877 ; owns town property; appointed Postmaster, 1881. His father. John, was born Nov. 20, 1822; came to Wisconsin, 1856 ; owns 80 acres of land. His wife, Miss Kattie Brown, bora Sept. 10, 1824 ; they married, 1852 ; they had seven children, five living. HENRY SIULDER, miller, Holmen; was born in the Netherlands, Holland, Aug. 29, 1822 ; came to America, July 29, 1849 ; stopped at Buffalo; then to Chicago; then into the woods in Wisconsin in 1854. He enlisted in Co. I, 44th W. V. I, in 1862 ; discharged, 1865 ; returned to New Amsterdam, engaged in hotel business; then to Holmen, in store; now owns town property, also the blacksmith-shop. His wife, Miss Emma Heimstre, was born in Holland, 1832 : married, 1855 ; died, October, 1880. They had four children. A Republican and Lutheran. LARS ©. OLSTAD, farmer, Sec. 31; P. O. Holmen; born in Norway, July 22, 1835; came to Wisconsin in 1853; now owns 120 acres of land, and made the improvements. His wife, Mar garet Sunders, was born in Norway, March 25 1841 ; married, 1861. They have had five children — Columbus, Albertson, Amelia, George (deceased), and George. A Lutheran and Renublican. DIETRICH SANDMAN, farmer, Sec. 29 ; P. O. Holmen ; was born in Hanover, Nov. 23, 1823 ; came to America in 1846, and went to Milwaukee ; then, in 1853, came to La Crosse Co, Wis, and bought 80 acres, and now owns 360 acres of land, with a beautiful creek of water passing through the place, and other improvements of the very best kind. His wife, Margaret Sprain, was bom in Han over, Sept. 28, 1832; came to America in the year 1846, and came to Milwaukee; then to La Crosse Oct. 19, 1853 : married Oct. 14, 1853 ; they have nine children — Anna, Dora, Sophia, Mary, Amelia, Adelia, Rachel, William and Robert. In religion, Free Thinker. Has been Treasurer most of' the time since he came here ; Chairman of the Town Board of Supervisors four years ; held the office of Supervisor in Hamilton Town ; assessed in the town of Barre. HARSION V. SASIL, farmer, Sec. 9 ; P. O. Stevenstown ; was bora in Schenectady, N. Y, Sept. 10, 1815. When he was 10 years old, his father died, and he went to live with his uncle; in 1838, he came to Milwaukee, and chopped wood at $1.25 per cord; he then went to Watertown, and built a shanty fifty miles from any white men but his two brothers, who then came to the State ; then he built a hotel at the junction of the Madison and Watertown wagon roads; this was in 1848, which he kept four years, then sold out for $1,000, and bought a farm at the harbor at Milwaukee, of 70 acres, which he improved, and remained three years; then, in 1850, went to California, and worked in the mines ; then on the sea as Second Steward on a bark plying between San Francisco and Realejo, Central America, and then to the Panama Line ; then to Sharuse, on the Isthmus of Darien, and went to work for the line of ships owned by Barkley & Co, of New York ; then for the New Orleans Line, on the schooner Americus. Then he went to Quincy, 111, from there back to Milwaukee, Wis, by the old stage line of Fink & W^alker ; then in 1852, he came to Salina, where he remained one summer, then to La Crosse Co, where he bought a farm of 80 acres, on which he built a hotel in 1856, at Stevenstown, a prosperous village in that day. He now owns 400 acres of land. In 1861, he enlisted in Co. I, 8th W. V. I, the regiment known as the Eagle Regiment; he was taken prisoner at Corinth, taken to Jackson, Miss, and exchanged at Vicksburo1 ; out of 500 men, there were 300 who died from exposure and starvation ; of the 300 left, who were brought to Cairo, there were only nine men able to walk to the hospital, they were so weak ; he was discharged February, 1863. His wife, Cordelia S. Packard, was bora in Vermont in 1808 ; came with her parents, who settled near Oak Creek, Milwaukee Co, Wis, in 1837. They married in 1847 ; 842 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: they have had ten children, six living — Sylvia (deceased), Charles, Franklin, Lincoln, Lilly (deceased), Marion, in the U. S. Army, in the Black Hills; Clarence, now at Galesville; Harmon, and Minnie and Elizabeth (deceased). Has been Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, and was Postmaster ten years in Jefferson County. SIARTIN SCHENKE, painter and carpenter; was born in the Netherlands, Feb. 5, 1822 ; came to Milwaukee in 1855, and in the year 1856 to New Amsterdam, where he worked around there in the hotel and saloon business. He enlisted in Co. I, 8th W. V. I, in the year 1861, as private; promoted to Corporal ; was Color- Bearer of the 8th, and has had the honor of carrying the noble old "Abe," the historical old eagle; was in thirty-two battles; was wounded at Corinth, Miss; receives a pen sion. Owns town property. His first wife was a native of Holland, where they were married; she died there. His second wife was Josephine Christn, born in Switzerland ; they married in January, 1876. Was Constable and Town Sealer. SIICHAL SEERY, farmer, Sec. 7 ; P. 0. Holmen; bom in Roscommon Co, Ireland, Feb. 28, 1826 ; came to America in 1849 ; settled in New York ; then to Ohio ; worked on.the railroad ; came to Wisconsin in 1856. Now owns 190 acres of land, on which he has made all the improvements. His wife, Gracie Yarow, was born in Tryone Co, Ireland, 1831 ; married 1851. They have an adopted daugh ter — Gracie. C. A. SJOLANDER, Postmaster and dealer in general stock, Holmen; born in Norway, May 26, 1851 ; came to America in 1865, was engaged as clerk in La Crosse for Moeller two years; then went to Albion, Dane Co, to school, then to Marshall; removed to Holmen in the fall of 1870 ; clerked for his father in the year 1873 ; he took the store for himself, was appointed Postmaster in November, 1875, and Town Clerk one term. In politics, he is a Republican ; in religion, a Lutheran. His wife was Carrie Quatt, born in Norway, July, 1851 ; married in 1874 ; they have four children — Olitie, born Nov. 7, 1875; Carl Beannard, born March 8, 1877 ; Peter Albert, born Sept. 7, 1878; Clara Oktavia, born June 13, 1880. He attended the La Crosse Commercial College in the year 1869. His father, Peter E. Sjolander, a native of Sweden, born Aug. 24, 1822; came to America in 1853; worked in the pineries, resided at Kilborn City ; returned to Norway in 1863, and back to Wisconsin in 1865, to La Crosse ; kept saloon and hotel until 1870 ; came to Holmen and began business. His wife, Anna Olsen, was born in Norway, June 30, 1824 ; married, 1850 ; one child — C. A. JOHN TOSIPSON, farmer, Section 25 ; P. O. Holmen ; was born in Norway, Oct. 3, 1823 ; came to America in 1857 ; owns 580 acres of land, on which he has made the improvements, and all by his own industry. His wife, Johanna Olsen, was born in Norway on Feb. 1, 1825 ; they were married in 1851, and had three children — Christina (deceased), Oluf T, Christina. WILLIASI H. TRAVIS (deceased) ; born in Brown Co, N. Y, April 2, 1813 ; came to Wisconsin in 1851 ; he died May 16, 1858. When they first came to the State they settled in Dane Co. His wife was Miss M. A. Ounsbury, bora in Brown Co, N. Y, Oct. 17, 1820 ; was married in 1847 ; they have had six children — Philetus (deceased), James, was in the army ; Raechal (deceased), George, Henry and Henrietta. They own 120 acres of land, nicely improved, on Section 36, P.- O. Holmen. TOWN OF BURNS. ALEXANDER R. BENZIE, Sec. 21 ; P. 0. Bangor ; son of William and Sarah Benzie. His father was bora in Aberdeen, Scotland, about 1804. His mother was born in London, March 17, 1808. His father went to London when 11 years of age, where he learned the trade of a baker, and where he was married. Parents returned to Scotland several years after their marriage, but afterward went back to London, where his father engaged in the bakery business, till 1845, when he emigrated to Wis consin, landing in Milwaukee, January of that year; he settled in the town of Genesee, Waukesha Co., where he lived till 1866, when he came to La Crosse Co, and settled in the town of Bums. Parents of Mr. R. A. Benzie now live in Monroe Co. They had nine children, all of whom are living ; six of whom were born in London. Alexander was born in London in 1839 ; he came to the United States with his parents; was married to Dottie Ellis, daughter of Pitts and Lucia Ellis, who was born in Waukesha Co, October, 1844. She was married in the house in which she was bora, in 1866. Mr. Benzie went to New Mexico in 1858. He enlisted, Aug. 12, 1861, at Denver, in the 1st Colo. V. C; served till No vember, 1864. He was in New Mexico during the most of his time of service. Returned to Wisconsin TOWN OF BURNS. 843 in the fall of 1864. Settled on present farm soon after he was married, in the fall of 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Benzie have four children — Minerva, George W, Ida May and Dottie L. Lost fourth child, Charles E. LE ROY RO WEN, farmer and miller, Sec. 10 ; P. 0. Bangor ; was bora in the town of Mar- cellus, Onondaga Co, N. Y, in 1814, where he lived till 35 years of age. He was married to Miss Jane Wheadon, born in the same town, in 1820. They came to Whitewater, Walworth Co, Wis, in 1849, where they lived about three years. Mr. Bowen's father, Elijah B. Bowen, removed to Whitewater about 1844. Mr. Bowen came to La Crosse Valley in the spring of 1852, and purchased of the Government his present farm, where he has since lived. His parents died at his residence. His father died, January, 1861; his mother in 1863. His father was a soldier of the war of 1812. In 1858 Mr. Bowen built what is known as the Burnham Mills, which he has since owned and operated. Mr. and Mrs. Bowen have bad thirteen children, seven of whom are living— Ruth Etta, now Mrs. H. E. Dunham; Sarah E, wife of E. P. Sweet ; Oscar, married to Mary J. Hanton ; Mrs. Mary E. Wright, Leonora, wife of Joseph E. Benjamin; Arthur and Celestia. Lost five boys in infancy; lost one daughter, Lora E, who died March, 1872, in her 19th year. Mr. Bowen was chairman of the Town Board for several years ; has also been member of County Board for several years. SIILO E. BRADLEY, farmer, Sec. 35 ; P. 0. Bangor; bora in Delaware Co, N. Y, June 22, 1833. His parents, Milo E. and Nancy Bradley, removed to Walworth Co, Wis, in 1837, and settled in the town of Elkhorn. Afterward removed to the town of Geneva. His parents had seven children, all of whom are living — Julia Ann, wife of Leander Osborne; Andrew, Milo E, Albert, Mary Etta, wife of Sylvester Doty, who lives in Minnesota; Daniel E. and Rose. Mr. Bradley was married to Mary N. Rogers, born in the State of New York. She came to Wisconsin with her parents when about ten years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley have three children ; Emma J, wife of Alva Casterline, son of A. H. Casterline; Irwin M. and Mary Edna. Entered his farm as Government land; he has 175 acres, about eighty acres of which are improved. JOHN N. CASIPBELL, Rockland ; was born in Chenango Co, N. Y, in 1813. His parents removed to Courtland Co, when he was 3 years of age, where he lived till he reached manhood, where he was married to Sophrona Marey. Went to Mineral Point, Wis, in 1845, but returned to the State of New York in the fall of that year ; then lived in Cattaraugus Co. two years, and then removed to the town of Fayette, La Fayette Co, Wis, where he lived till the fall of 1864. He then removed to the town of Sparta, Monroe Co, and settled at Rockland, where he now lives, in the spring of 1870. He is present Postmaster at the village of Rockland. Has held that position since the office was first estab lished there. His parents, John and Lucina Campbell, removed to Fayette, La Fayette Co. from the State of New York, in 1853. Father was bora in 1774, and died in the town of Fayette in 1862. Mother was born in 1784, and died at the house of her son in 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have had two children — Le Roy W, died in his 21st year, and Fred, died in Fayette in his 4th year. ALVAH H. CASTERLINE, farmer, Section 6 ; P. 0. Bangor ; born in New Jersey in 1822, where he lived till about 12 years of age, when he removed with his parents to Steuben Co, N. Y.; -he then went to McHenry Co, III, in the fall of 1849, and to La Crosse Co. in the fall of 1856 ; he settled where he now lives in January, 1860. He was married in the State of New York to Julia A. Stone; she was born in Steuben Co. ; her parents lived and died on the farm where they settled inime diately after their marriage. From the time they settled there to the time of the death of both parents, was a period of sixty-one years. Mr. and Mrs. Casterline have six children— Charles, Eliza, Martha, Betsey, Alvah and William. . AUGUSTUS CRAIG, farmer, Section; 11 P. 0. Burr Oak; bora in Germany on Jan. 13, 1835 • he came to the United States in 1850, and lived two years in Geneva, Walworth Co, Wis, where he worked at his trade— that of a miller— for R. W. Warren ; he went to La Crosse in the fairof 1854, thence to Black River Falls, where he worked for Mr. A. Shepard in a mill for three years ; thence again to La Crosse Co, where he worked for Mr. J. Vanness, in Union Mills; thence to Melrose, where he worked at his trade for two and a half years ; and settled on his present farm in 1865. He married Louisa Young, daughter of Sebastian Young ; they have nine children— four sons and five daughters. Mr Craig learned his trade of his father, in Germany, who was also a miller. R D. EDWARDS, Station Agent for the C. & N.-W. R. R. Co, at Rockland ; bora in North Wale's in 1822 ; his parents died in Wales ; he came to the United States in 1850 ; came to Mil waukee and thence to Waukesha Co, where he was engaged as teacher in the Nashotah Espiscopal Col lege for three years; thence to Cambria, Columbia Co, where he engaged in teaching; afterward engaged in^farming He removed to Monroe Co. in 1861, where he engaged m teaching and farming ; settled in the town of Burns in the spring of 1875 ; has been Station Agent since July, 1878. He married Jane 844 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Hughes, and has three children — Samuel D, B. F., an operator at Summit, and Jane. Mr. Edwards was educated in London, where he taught many years previous to his coming to the United States. JOHN ERICKSON, "merchant and Station Agent for M. & St. P. R. R. Co, at Rockland; was born in Norway in 1845, and came to the United States with his parents in 1861 ; they settled in Vernon Co, Wis, where they now live. He was in Sparta about five years, engaged in clerking ; came to Rockland in the summer of 1873, and engaged in his present business ; he also holds the office of Justice of the Peace. He was married to Mary Thompson, born in Norway ; they have two daughters — Jose phine and Ella. CHARLES W. FLETCHER, Section 28 ; P. 0. Bangor ; born in Crawford Co , Penn, in 1827 ; he is the son of Charles and Mary Fletcher; his parents removed to Illinois in 1838; they lived in Chicago the following winter, and settled in Kane Co, 111. ; his parents had twelve children, eight of whom — five sons and three daughters — are living. Charles came to La Crosse Co., and entered land in the northern part of the town of Burns. But this he soon sold, and, with his brother Sebastian, made a location near Burns' Corners. He returned to Illinois, where he remained till 1856, when he returned, and has since been a resident of the town of Burns ; he bought his present farm of Jefferson Gifford, and has 360 acres of land. He was married to Ruth Ann Field, daughter of Norman Field; she was born in Cornwall, Vt, in 1835; she went to Kane Co., Ill, in 1851, and engaged in teaching; she was engaged in this occupation for a number of years in Northern Illinois. She came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher have five children— Cephas' J, Kittie M, Ella F, Charles W. and Orion S. EDWIN FOSTER, farmer, Sec. 25; P. 0. Rockland; was bora in Sullivan Co., N. H, April 5, 1816, where he was married to Louisa Moody. She was born in Unity, N. H, but at the time of their marriage, was a resident of the State of New York. After his marriage, he removed to Musca tine Co., Iowa, and engaged in farming. He lived in that county about thirteen years. In 1854, he went to Winona, Minn, and purchased a claim, which included the present site of that city. His wife died at Winona. His present wife was Elizabeth Sawyer, born in Orange Co., N. Y. Mr. Foster had four children by first wife, three of whom are living — William Seward, bora Nov. 2, 1842, was a soldier in the war of the rebellion ; was a member of Co. A, 1st W. V. C; was in the service three and a half years, but was a prisoner of war during a part of his term of enlistment ; was a prisoner at Andersonville six months, and afterward at Florence, N. C. His second child, Clara Louise, now Mrs. Edwin C. Knee- land, and Marion H. Have four children by second marriage — Ella, now Mrs. Ellis Fulton ; Flora, Edwin W. and Mary T. Several members of the family of Mr. Foster, were well-known and influential men. The family are relatives of Bancroft, the eminent American historian. A brother, Mr. Amos Bancroft Foster, was a graduate at West Point. He was killed at Green Bay, Wis, while in command at Fort Howard, by an insubordinate private soldier, named Doyle. This event occurred Feb. 7, 1832. Another brother, Dr. John H. Foster, settled in Chicago in 1832, where he died in 1874. He was a prominent and wealthy citizen of that city. Another brother, the Rev. Aaron J. Foster, was a graduate at Dartmouth College ; was quite an eminent^Congregational clergyman. He traveled quite extensively in Europe and elsewhere. Another brother, Suel, is an eminent horticulturist of Muscatine, Iowa. The father of Mr. Foster had ten children, five of whom are living, viz.: Mehitable, born in 1798, resides at Malone, N. Y.; Sarah T, born in 1809 ; Suel, 1811, and Edwin in 1816. A tenth child lives in Henry Co, 111. E. R. GILBERT, farmer, Sec. 28 ; P. 0. Bangor ; son of Agur Gilbert, who was born in Madison Co, N. Y. His parents were from Connecticut. He was married to Emily J. Brown. He learned the business of shoemaking when a young man, which business he followed till he came West. He came to La Crosse Co, Wis, from the State of New York, in 1866, and settled on his present farm, which he purchased from E. P. Mallory. He has been a Justice of the Peace of the town of Burns for four years. This office he held many years previous to his coming West. He has been Justice of the Peace thirty-three years of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Agur Gilbert have two children — Sarah A, now Mrs. S. L. Greeg, and E. B. The latter was bora in the State of New York in 1842. He came to Wisconsin in January, 1864, and lived in the town of Neshonoc till his father came. He was married to Miss M. C. Lowry, whose father was an early settler of Monroe County. J AMES H. GILFILLAN, P. 0. Bangor ; son of James Gilfillan, who was born in Ver mont in 1809. His parents were natives of Scotland. He was brought up in Vermont, married to Maria Redding. He came to Dodge Co, Wis, with his family, June, 1847, where he settled; thence to La Crosse County, and settled on the farm where his son James now lives in 1854. Parents removed to Salem in 1873. James H. married Carrie Redding, daughter of Stephen Redding. He was born in Vermont in 1846. TOWN OP BURNS. 845- • WIL,IjIA-]*1 E. HEWITT, Sec. 31 ; P. 0. Bangor ; born in Canada in 1844 ; came to the United States with his parents in 1857, and settled in L3wis Valley, town of Farmington, where his father, James Hewitt, still resides. Mr. Hewitt was married to Achsah Leavitt, daughter of George Leavitt. They have two children — Elk and Arthur. DAVID H. HUGHES, son of David D. Hughes, a carpenter and wagon-maker, in the vil lage of Rockland. He was born in South Wales, about 1820 ; came to the United States, about 1837, and settled at Utica, N. Y, where he lived about fifteen years. He then removed to Dubuque, Iowa ; thence to the village of Bangor, and to Rockland in 1871 . He learned his trade, that of a carpenter and wagon-maker, in Wales. He has one son— David H, who was born in Utica, in 1843. Was married to Mary Jones, daughter of Evan Jones. They have one child— David M. Mr. David H. Hughes is a carpenter and blacksmith by trade. CEPHAS HULRERT, farmer, Sec. 16 ; P. 0. Bangor ; bom in Hurou Co, Ohio, in 1835. Removed with his parents to Racine County, the same year. His parents resided in Racine County till their death. Mr. Hulbert came to La Crosse County, March, 1863, and settled on present farm. Mar ried Sarah Jennings, born in Ohio. Parents were early settlers of Walworth County.. They have three children— Adda, Ida and Chester C. Lost two children— Marshall, died Jan. 17, 1881. Lost a daughter Mary. IRA HULBERT, farmer, Sec. 15; P. 0. Bangor; is a representative of one of the earliest settlers of the State of Wisconsin. He was born in the town of Suffield, Ohio, Oct. 17, 1828. His parents were Ira and Elizabeth Hulbert. His father was born in Connecticut; his mother was a native of Vermont. His father went to Ohio in 1812 ; his mother, with her parents emigrated to that State the same year.^ They were married in Ohio, and emigrated to Wisconsin, April 18, 1835, landing at Root River Rapids, near the present city of Racine. His parents resided in Racine County till their death. Father died Nov. 26, 1846 ; mother died Aug. 3, 1856. Parents had seven children, five sons and two daughters ; five children still living, two of whom, Hiram and Velura F, reside in California ; Spencer, Ira and Cephas in La Crosse County. Spencer came to La Crosse County, in 1854; Ira, in 1855, and Cephas, in 1863. Ira went to California, in 1850 ; Spencer, in 1852, and Cephas, in 1853. While in California, were engaged in farming, mining, etc. Ira returned to Racine County with Cephas, in 1855, and to La Crosse County, Nov. 6, of the same year, and settled where he now lives. He was married to E. Jane Cram, bora in Vermont. She came to La Crosse County with her parents, in 1856. They have four children — Clara, now Mrs. John T. Bradley; Frank A, Azro I. and Lilly E. Farm contains 190 acres. GEORGE LEAVITT, farmer, Section 30 ; P. 0. Bangor ; born in Canada in 1816 ; he is a son of Jonathan Leavitt, a native of Vermont. He came to Wisconsin from Canada on Oct. 11, 1853 ; settled in Racine Co., came to La Crosse Co. in 1854. He married Miss S. Whitcomb, born in Canada ; her parents were also from Vermont. They have six children — Dr. J. J. Leavitt, of Salem ; Rev. Isaac S, graduate of the State University at Madison, minister of the M. E. Church ; Edson, George W., Achsah and Hattie. Fidelia, wife of James Hewitt, died Feb. 18, 1881. Mr. Leavitt is a very successful farmer ; his improvements are among the best in the town of Burns. AARON SIOSHER, farmer, Section 10 ; P. 0. Bangor ; was bora in Gradville Co, Canada West, Dec. 16, 1820, where he resided till 28 years of age. He came to Wisconsin May 28, 1857, and located where he now lives ; he purchased his farm of Miles Scafe, and it now contains 160 acres. Mr. Mosher's parents were natives of the State of New York; his father, Benjamin, and his mother, Elizabeth Mosher, were born in St. Lawrence Co, in that State. Mr. Mosher was married in Canada to Maria Dimond, a native of Ireland, but removed when a child to Canada with her parents. They have six children — Alfred, David, Thomas, Elizabeth, wife of Charles Casterline, Orla and Viola. JOHN NICHOLSON, farmer, Section 36; P. 0. Rockland; birn in Cumberland Co, England, in 1827. He came to the United States in 1850 ; he lived in the State of New York four years ; thence to Michigan, where he lived two years; he then came to Wisconsin, and settled at Portage; he settled on his present farm in the spring of 1859. He was married in Syracuse," N. Y, to Nancy Douglas, born in England; she died December, 1880. Mr. Nicholson has had eight children, six of whom are living — John, George W, Nancy I, Mary Jane, Thomas and Charles D.; he has lost two boys. Mr. Nicholson's farm contains about 230 acres. SIARTIN ONDELL, P. 0. Rockland ; son of Peter Ondell, who was born in Norway Dec. 25 1814; he came to this country when a young man ; first came to Milwaukee, Wis. ; thence to Whitewater ; now resides in the town of Leon ; he built the warehouse and a store in Rockland, the latter beino- occupied by his son, Lewis Ondell. Has four children, three sons and one daughter — Charlie, 846 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: born July 28, 1851; Lewis, born in Milwaukee, Dec. 15, 1852 ; Mary, born Nov. 5, 1854, and Martin, born in Whitewater Dec. 9, 1857. Lewis engaged in the mercantile business in Rockland March, 1879 ; married Anna Barber ; has two children — Alton William and Elsie. Martin is engaged in the grain busi ness at Rockland. E. R. RICHARDSON (deceased), was bora in Washington Co, Vermont, Feb. 13, 1813. He came to Wisconsin about 1840, and to La Crosse Co. from Dodge Co. about 1853, and settled on Sec. 29, town of Burns. Hig wife was Sylvia Swett. Mr. Richardson was well known as a prominent and successful business man, and as an upright and worthy citizen. He began life in limited circumstances, but, by energy and industry and judicious management, he acquired a competency, including a beautiful home and valuable farm of about 500 acres. He was a prominent member of the agricultural society, and was Chairman of Town Board for several terms. He died Feb. 16, 1872 ; his wife died in November, 1871 ; they left nine children — five sons and four daughters. His son, Ira, who now resides at the homestead on Sec. 29, was born in Dodge Co. March, 1851 ; was married to Mary J, daughter of Ammon Darling. E. SI. RORERTS, Bangor; proprietor of Big Creek Mill; he was bom in Schuylkill Co., Penn, Dec. 25, 1840. His father, Edward Roberts, was born in Wales ; emigrated to the United States when quite young. Mr. E. M. Roberts has been an extensive traveler ; he began traveling when quite young ; he went to Cuba with his father's brother, Robert Roberts, when only 11 years of age. His uncle was an engineer of the steamer, and he accompanied him on a trip to that island. This uncle was an engineer on the steamer Star of the West when that vessel attempted to relieve Major Anderson at Fort Sumpter at the beginning of the rebellion. E. M. went to California with his father when only 14 years of age. He was in California about three years, when he returned to Penn sylvania. His father died in New York on his return trip from California. E. M. came to Bangor in the winter of 1877-78; was absent nine years of that time, from 1862 to 1871, in Colorado, Montana, Idaho, etc. On his return, he settled in Fish Creek Valley ; bought a half interest in his present mill in 1877 ; purchased the remaining interest in the fall of 1880. SIRS. ADELINE E. ROBINSON, Sec. 30, P. O. Bangor; widow of George W. Rob inson, who was born in Vermont in 1808. He removed to the town of Troy, Walworth Co, Wis, in the spring of 1837. He was married in 1839 to Miss Adeline Caldwell, bora in Rutland Co, Vt. Her parents, Joseph and Sarah (Kellogg) Caldwell, removed to Kenosha, Wis, July 18, 1835, and settled on what was afterward known as Caldwell Prairie, in the town of Waterford, Racine Co., where they lived till 1855, when they came to La Crosse Co, and settled in the town of Hamilton, where her father died. Her mother died in the city of La Crosse ; Mr. Robinson came to La Crosse Co, November, 1854, and settled in Burnham Valley, town of Bums, where he remained one year. He then removed to Jefferson Co., where he died, in October, 1856. The family returned to the town of Burns in 1862. Mrs. Robinson has two children — George W, born in Walworth Co, Wis, in 1844, married to Imogene Colman, in 1869 ; she died February, 1880. He has three children — Flora A, Ira C. and Lelah. The second child is Adelia N, now Mrs. Cooper, of Bangor. She has one son — George H. Mr. Ira Colman, of the town of Burns, was born in Vermont, in 1809 ; removed to Wisconsin in 1837, and settled on Caldwell Prairie, in the town of Waterford, where he was married, in 1847, to Elvira S. Caldwell, a sister of Mrs. Robinson. She was born in Vermont in 1824; came to La Crosse Co. in 1854. They have lost two children. Mr. Caldwell, the father of Mrs. Robinson and Mrs. Colman, died September, 1861, in the town of Hamilton. Mother died in 1876. The parents had thirteen children— three sons and ten daughters All of the daughters were married in Wisconsin. The three sons and eight of the daughters are still living. THEODORE SCHMITZ, farmer, Sec. 2; P. O. Bangor; born in Prussia, Germany, in 1827. Emigrated to this country in June, 1851. Resided in Northern Illinois for about six months ; thence to St. Louis, Mo, where he lived till the spring of 1854 ; then went to St. Joseph, Mo, where he engaged to assist in driving cattle across the plains to California. This trip occupied about three months. He stayed in California till the spring of 1859 ; he then went to Frazier's River, in the British Posses sions. Returned to California, where he remained two years; thence to Dane Co, Wis, in 1861. Came to La Crosse Co. the same year, and settled in the town of Washington, where he lived till October, 1864. In the fall of 1861, returned to Germany, and was married to Clara Urmes. He came back in the spring of 1862. They have six children— Lucy, Katrina, John B, John M, Theodore and Gasper. Mr. Schmitz enlisted in the spring of 1864, and served till the close of the war. His farm contains 160 acres. DANIEL SHANE, farmer, Sec, 15 ; P. O. Bangor; was born in Columbia Co, Penn, in 1829. His father, George Shane, died in Pennsylvania. His mother and four children came to La Missing Page Missing Page TOWN OF BURNS. 849 Crosse Co. in 1856. He came the previous fall and purchased his present farm. He was the first settler of this farm, which was entered as Government land by Lewis Lewis. He has 280 acres. Mr. Shane returned to Pennsylvania in 1857, and was married to Anna M. Melick, bora in Pennsylvania. They have nine children — Forrest D, Rebecca K, now Mrs. William H. Bradley; Orpha I, Ulysses Grant, Mary M, George P., Bertha B, Robert R. and Clyde M. Mr. Shane has been Chairman of Town Boar*7 "several terms, also Justice of the Peace for several years. WILLIAM STREETON, farmer, Sec. 21 ; P. 0. Bangor ; was born in Northamptonshire, England, in 1816. Emigrated to Wisconsin from England in 1845. He lived in the town of Franklin, Milwaukee Co., about nine years; came to the La Crosse Valley, and settled on the farm where he now lives, in 1854. He was married in England, to Sarah Jones, born 1820. They have had seven children, five of whom are living — Sarah, now Mrs. Bunn, lives in Trempeleau Co.; Jabez, Jacob, Anna (Mack) and Enos. They lost their first child in England. Annie, a twin of Sarah, died in Milwaukee. Mr. Streeton's parents, Joseph and Mary Streeton, died in England. Mrs. Streeton's parents were Thomas and Alice Jones ; they came to America with Mr. Streeton, with whom they resided till their death. Mr. Jones died March, 1879, in his 90th year. Mrs. Jones died July, 1875, in her 80th year. HIRASI SWEET, farmer, Sec. 3 ; P. O. Bangor ; son of Levi and Tucy Sweet. He was born in Alleghany Co., N. Y, in September, 1839, where his father died. Mrs. Sweet and family came to the La Crosse Valley from the State of New York, in March, 1856, and settled on the farm which Hiram now owns, where his mother died, Jan. 26, 1872. Parents had six sons and one daughter, five sons and the daughter still living. Hiram was married to Melissa Wright, daughter of Samuel Wright, who came to La Crosse Co. from Vermont in 1866. They have two boys — Marshall E. and Alvah B. Farm contains 160 acres. Mr. Sweet enlisted Feb. 18, 1865, in 49th W. V. I.; was discharged August 31 of the same year. MRS. CHARLOTTE A. VAN WORMER, Sec. 19 ; P. O. Bangor ; widow of Harry L. Van Wormer, who was born in Massachusetts in 1818. He removed to Ohio with his parents when he was 5 years of age. He was married to his present widow, formerly Miss Charlotte Adams, Jan. 5, 1842. She was born in Ohio in 1823. They came to Wisconsin the following February, and settled near Racine, where they lived a few months, and then returned to the State of Ohio ; returned to Wisconsin, and set tled in Oak Grove, Dodge Co.,- where they lived ten years ; they came to La Crosse Co. in 1855, and set tled on the farm which Mrs. Van Wormer now owns, which was purchased of Mr. Alfred S. Swartout ; farm formerly owned by Victor Adams, a brother of Mrs. Van Wormer. Mr. Van Wormer died Sept. 18, 1871 ; had four children, three of whom are living — Clarence A, Clement H. and Jennie ; lost one daughter — Florence E. Farm contains about 500 acres. ]j. A. VIETS, farmer, Sec. 29 ; P. 0. Bangor ; was born in the town of Granby, Hartford Co, Conn, December, 1816. His father died when he was about 8 years of age. He removed with his mother to Trumbull Co, Ohio, where he lived till 26 years of age, and where he was married to his first wife Lavina Kellogg. In Trumbull Co., he was engaged for a while as clerk in the store of his brother, Byron Viets ; afterward engaged in the mercantile business for himself. In 1842, he removed to Lake Co, 111, near Waukegan, where he lived two years. In 1844, with his brother Byron, he came to Dodge Co, Wis, and settled on a farm near Waupun, where he lived about seven years. He first came to the La Crosse Valley in July, 1851, and located a farm on Sec. 32, town of Burns. He took up one-half of that section, where he settled in November of that year, and where he resided till November, 1863. During a part of this time, he was engaged in the mercantile business at Burns Corners. Mr. Viets is not only of the very earliest settlers, but has been one of the most prominent citizens of the town of Burns. No man has been more prominently identified with the the earlier and later history of this town. Has been Town Clerk twenty-five years, and Assessor for twenty years ; was also a member of the County Board several terms. Settled where he now lives in 1863. His first wife died April, 1861. His present wife was Mrs. Julia Avery, formerly Miss Little, bora in Vermont. Mr. Viets had four children by first wife only one of whom is living— Henry L, who resides at Parker's Prairie, Minn. One daughter, Annis, afterwards Mrs. A. B. Cronk, died in Burns, Jan. 18,. 1873 ; left three children. Mrs. Viets has two children by first marriage — Frances and Estella R. WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, carpenter, Sec. 32 ; P. 0. Bangor ; where he owns a farm of 175 acres- bora in North Wales, June, 1835. He came to the United States in the summer of 1858; came to Bangor in the. fall of 1859; married in Milwaukee, in 1860, to Alice Oweles, born in Wales. They have seven children— Jane, Ellen, Griffith, Alice, Maggie and Nellie (twins), and Kittie. Mr. Williams follows the business of carpentry, which he learned in Wales. He and wife are members of the Methodist Church. 850 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: SIRS. HANNAH WRIGHT, Bangor; widow of Samuel Wright, who was born in Vermont, April, 1807, where he was married to his present widow, Miss Hannah Cram. They came to Wisconsin in 1866, and settled on present farm, which they purchased of Daniel Cram. Mr. Wright died September, 1878. Mrs. Wright has four children — Elvira, now Mrs. Eli D. Wisbell, lives in Ver mont ; Melissa, wife of Hiram Sweet, and Robert. The latter was born in Vermont, in 1843 ; married Mary E. Bowen, daughter of L. R. Bowen. Farm contains 180 acres. TOWN OF FARMINCTON. ALONZO ANGEL, farmer and carpenter ; P. 0. Mindoro ; born in the town of Camilus, State of New York, February, 1816. He removed thence to Genesee County with his parents; thence to Chautauqua County. Married Miss Clarissa Loomis. They removed to Racine Co., Wis, in the fall of 1846; thence to Elkhorn, Walworth Co, where they lived about seven years. Mr. Angel was there engaged in carpentry. Came to what is now the city of La Crosse, June, 1851, where he worked during the summer, and where he removed his family in the fall of that year. He went to Trempealeau, Febru ary, 1852, where he built a warehouse. This was the first warehouse built between Galena and St. Paul. In November of that year, he came to Lewis Valley, which has since been his home, but has been engaged at various points in this and adjoining counties, in building. He put up some of the earliest principle buildings in the city of La Crosse. His wife died January, 1862. His present wife was Mrs. Laura E. Farwell. He has three sons and two daughters by first marriage, and a son and daughter by second wife. SIILTON ATWATER, farmer, Sec. 20; P. O. Mindoro; son of Ward Atwater, who was born in Nova Scotia ; came to Wisconsin, about 1840, and settled in the town of Farmington with his family, about 1857. He died, June 17, 1878. Milton was born in Waukesha County, in 1850. Settled on his present farm, 1870. GEORGE G. RARBER, farmer, Sec. 22; P. O. Mindoro. Mr. Barber was born in Cayuga Co, N. Y, in 1826. He removed with his parents to what is now Erie Co., Ohio, when a child. He was married in the spring of 1851, to Francis S. Cowels, of Rome, Oneida Co., N. Y. They came to La Crosse County from Erie Co, Ohio, in September of that year. He worked for a while at the business of carpentry; came to Lewis Valley in the spring of 1853. His wife died July 16, 1853, on the farm which he now owns. He, with his wife, was boarding at the time with Mr. Charles Jackson, owner of the farm at that time. Mr. Jackson died, December, 1854. Mr. Barber and Mrs. Jackson were married, Dec. 23, 1855. Mr. Jackson came to La Crosse County in the spring of 1853. He was born in Dela ware Co, N. Y.; married to the present Mrs. Barber, whose maiden name was Rachel Ward. She was born in Otsego Co., N. Y. Mr. Barber had one child by first wife, Mrs. Francis A, wife of Wellington Martin. She died Sept. 15, 1880, and left two children — Mary E. and George W. Has three children by present marriage — Charles, Willis E. and Mary A. Mrs. Barber had two Jchildren by former mar riage, hoth deceased. Mr. B. has been Justice of the Peace and Notary Public since 1858, except one year. WILLIS E. BARRER, farmer, P. O. Mindoro ; son of George G. Barber. He was bora in the town of Farmington, on the homestead where he now lives, September, 1858 : married Aurilla Gilfillan, daughter of William Gilfillan. GILRERT CONGDON, farmer, Sec. 13; P. 0. Stevenstown; born in Vermont, April, 1822; removed to the State of New York when he was a child; thence, with his parents, to Canada West; thence to the State of Illinois; came with his father's family to La Crosse Co. about 1850 ; was married to Jane Alexander; have three children — Maggie M, Maud and Grace. His farm contains 115 acres. Mr. Congdon enlisted in the 2d V. W. C. in September, 1864, and served till the close of the war. A. S. W. COOK, farmer, Sec. 21; P. 0. Mindoro; born in Cambridge, Mass, January, 1824. He was brought up in that State ; came to Wisconsin in 1856, and settled in La Crosse Co, where he has since lived, except two years which he spent in the State of Illinois. Married Eliza S. Stevens, born in Needham, Mass. They have four children — Frank W, Clara W, J. W. and Arthur S. J AMES C. CROOK, farmer, Sec. 13; P. 0. Mindoro; son of Orlando Crook; who came to La Crosse Co. in 1852, and settled where his son now lives. James C. was bom in Vermont in 1833. He came to Wisconsin with his parents. TOWN OF FARMINGTON. 851 J. H. DAHL, merchant, Mindoro ; firm of Hanson & Dahl. Mr. Dahl was born in Norway in 1853. He came to Wisconsin from his native country in 1870. He was engaged in clerking for a time ; went into the mercantile business at Rockland in 1877 ; came here and established business in 1879. His partner, Mr. Hanson, is also a native of Norway; came from Norway to Wisconsin about 1867. The firm of Hanson & Dahl keep a general stock of goods, and are doing a good business. MRS. CLARISSA DOWNER, formerly Clarissa Roberts; Mindoro. Mrs. Downer was bora in the town of Collins, Erie Co, N. Y, in 1819. She removed with her parents to Wayne Co, Mich, in the fall of 1831. Married in 1837, to Mr. Luther Downer, who was born in Vermont in 1812, and removed to Michigan with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Downer came to La Crosse Co. in November, 1846. Mr. Downer had made a claim in L?wis Valley the spring before. They were the first of the permanent settlers who came into Lewis Valley, and doubtless the first land broken in the valley was on the claim of Mr. Downer; as there were no settlers in the valley at that time, Mr. Downer and wife went to North Bend, Jackson Co, till such time as others should bo roady to settle near them. Jan. 1, 1848, they settled permanently in the valley. The three Lewis brothers, after whom the valley was named, had then been about three weeks in the valley. The breaking above referred to was in the summer of 1847. The claim of Mr. Downer was adjacent to — in fact, included the present village of Mindoro. Tn the spring of 1855, Mr. Downer settled on Sec. 33, and on this homestead Mrs. Downer still resides. Her husband died April 2, 1856. They had four children — Joanna, born in Michigan, March 8, 1839 ; Cyprian, bora May 13, 1840 ; Anthony, born April 25, 1842 ; and Lorette, born Oct. 14, 1848. Lorette is the only one living, and was the first child born in the town of Farmington. She married Benjamin F. McClintock, son of Hugh McClintock, who settled in Greene Co. from the State of Ohio, and came to La Crosse Co. in 1853. He now lives in the town of Hamilton. B. F. McClintock was bora in Ohio in 1844. He served about one year during the rebellion, as a member of Foster's Battery. Has two children — Perry and Clifton. Mrs. Downer's two sons, Cyprian and Anthony, were members of Co. I, 8th W. V. I, dur ing the rebellion. The former enlisted in the fall of 1861, and served three years; he died in 1872. The latter enlisted in the same company, August, 1862, and died in the hospital at Memphis, September, 1863. Her daughter, Joanna, married Daniel L. Calkins, and died at her residence, near Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 29, 1863. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Downer and her children spent about three years with her friends in Michigan, but Lewis Valley has been her home since she came with her husband to the Territory of Wisconsin, in 1846. JOHN T. FOWLER, wagon-maker, Mindoro; born in Duchess Co, N. Y, in 1815; set tled in Lewis Valley in 1855, where he has since lived. He is a wagon-maker by trade, but had charge of a saw-mill ten or twelve years after he came to the valley; he came to the village of Mindoro Decem ber, 1865 ; has worked at his trade here since that time ; he came from Ohio to Lewis Valley. Mr. Fow ler was married in La Crosse Co.; has one daughter— Mary V. Has been Notary Public about six years, and Justice of the Peace two years. LAWRENCE FRANK, farmer, Sec. 19 ; P. 0. Mindoro; born in the town of Herkimer, Herkimer Co, N. Y, June 27, 1831. He removed with his parents to Jefferson Co, Wis, in 1842. He lived in Jefferson Co. till 21 years of age ; came to Lewis Valley in 1852, where he has since lived. Married Margaret 0. Lewis, daughter of Lorenzo Lewis, who was one of the original settlers of Lewis Valley, and who at present resides with Mr. Frank. Mr. F. has seven children — Corina, Stella, Ina, Lan- ata, Eber, Elvin and Ellis. Farm contains 80 acres. A. P. FLLLER, farmer, Sec. 24; P. 0. Mindoro; born in Alleghany Co, N. Y, in 1827. When 9 years of age he removed with his parents to Crawford Co, Penn. He came to La Crosse Co. in October, 1853, and settled where he now lives. He purchased his farm of his brother, H. F. Fuller, which the latter bought of Mr. Het in 1852. Mr. Fuller married Laura D. Tower, daughter of Rodney Tower. They have three children— Vivian M, Edgar P. and Earl R. Mr. Fuller's farm contains 100 acres; has also 100 acres of timber-land. J. D. HAVENS, farmer, Sec. 20 ; P. 0. Mindoro; born in St. Lawrence Co, N. Y, in 1816; was married to Mary Terry, born in the State of New York; she died in 1845. Mr. Havens came to Lewis Valley in the spring of 1867 ; married Mrs. Elinor A. Raymond, daughter of Hugh Kennedy, who came to La Crosse Co. in July, 1856. Mrs. Havens, then Mrs. William L. Raymond, came here in 1856. Mr. R. died in the spring of 1861. Mr. Havens had four children by first wife and three by present marriage. Mrs. Havens has two sons by first marriage. JOHN HORBS, farmer, Sec. 17 ; P. 0. Mindoro ; bora in England in 1832. His parents emi grated to New York when he was a child. The family resided for a time in Albany, removed thence to Ohio ; thence to Fort Maiden, Canada; thence to Fond du Lac Co, where theylived nine years. Mr. Hobbscameto 852 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: La Crosse Co. in the fall of 1851, and settled on the farm where he now lives. He enlisted Sept. 18, 1861, in the 2d W. V. C; served till the close of the war; married Mary Newcomb, bora in Pennsyl vania. They have eleven children — four sons and seven daughters. Mr. Hobbs' farm contains 240 acres. JOHN B. JONES, farmer, Sec. 24 ; P. 0. Stevenstown. Mr. Jones was bora in Wales, in 1817. He came to the United States from Canada, when about 19 years of age, and settled in Walworth Co., Wis. He was married in Walworth Co. ; came to La Crosse Co. about 1852, and settled upon his present farm. They have six children — Alfred Albert, bora in Walworth Co, Wis, November, 1843 ; George W, John M, -Maria, Jackson E. and Lemuel V. Mrs. Jones is a native of Boston, Mass. Mjr. J.'s farm contains 218 acres. JASIES McCONNELL, farmer, Sec. 30 ; P. 0. Mindoro ; son of David McConnell, a na tive of Crawford Co, Penn.; removed to Portage Co, Ohio, thence to Walworth Co, in 1842, where he removed his family the following year. He came to La Crosse Co. in 1852, and settled on the farm which his son James now owns. He died August 16, 1860 ; mother died in 1873. James was born in Portage Co, Ohio, March, 1836; came to La Crosse Co. with his father; he enlisted, in August, 1861, in the 1st Wisconsin Battery ; served three years ; was in active service the whole of that time ; was engaged in many of the most important battles aud campaigns of the Southwest, including Sherman's attack on Vicks burg, Grant's siege of that city ; was at the battle of Arkansas Post, Port Gibson, where he was wounded ; Baker's Creek, Champion Hills, Banks' Red River expedition, etc.; was discharged Oct. 18, 1864. Mar ried Mary L. Horn ; have four children — William B, Roy Angus, Nellie and Gertrude. Parents had nine children, all of whom are living. JAY PETTINGILL, farmer ; P. 0. Mindoro ; son of Alonzo Pettingill ; born in Otsego Co., N. Y, in 1837 ; came to La Crosse Co. with his father. Married Adeline Sage, bora in Otsego Co. They have one daughter — Stella M. Mr. Pettingill owns the homestead where his father settled in 1856. JOHN A. PETTINGILL, farmer, Sec. 28; P. 0. Mindoro; son of Alonzo Pettingill, who was born in Otsego Co, N. Y, December, 1802, where he was married to Lucy Davis ; removed to Michigan in the spring of 1854. and to La Crosse Co. May, 1856, and settled in Lewis Valley, where his father still lives. Parents had seven children, four of whom are living — Mrs. Martha I. Mathewson, Jay, J. L. and John A. The latter was born in Otsego Co., N. Y, Dec. 1, 1842. Married Ann E. Quiggle, daughter of James Quiggle; have two children— George L. and Eva. Farm contains 110 acres. H. S. PHILLIPS, farmer, Sec. 23 ; P. 0. Mindoro. Mr. Phillips was bora in Chautauqua Co, N. Y, in 1849. He came to Kenosha Co., Wis, in 1851 ; thence to Dubuque, Iowa, for one year, and to La Crosse Co. in the spring of 1855. He enlisted, September, 1861, in the 8th W. V. I. He -was in the service foul- years and six days, and was in active service nearly all of that time. He entered the army as a private, and was promoted, by successive steps, to a first lieutenantcy. He participated in nearly all the campaigns and engagements in which the noted " Eighth," the Eagle Regiment, were engaged. Among them may be mentioned the siege of New Madrid, Island No. 10, Corinth, Miss.; was at the siege and surrender of Vicksburg, etc. He had command of his company (Co. I), from December, 1864, to Sept. 16, 1865. After the war, he settled in Salem ; removed to the city of La Crosse, January, 1875 ; was elected Sheriff of the county the following autumn and served two years. He purchased his present farm of Hugh McDonald, in 1876. Married Marion Gage, daughter of W. W. Gage, of West Salem, who came to La Crosse Co. from the eastern part of the State in 1854. He was formerly from the State of New York. Mrs. Phillips was born in Dodge Co., in 1848. Their children are William S, Hollis- ter M, Lydia A, Marion G. and Ida M. Mr. Phillips is engaged quite extensively in the raising of sorghum, and in the manufacture of syrup. He has this" year (1881) 15 acres of sorghum. PHILLIP QUIGGLE, farmer, Sec. 22 ; P. 0. Mindoro ; born in Geauga Co, Ohio, September, 1827. His parents, James and Hannah M. Quiggle, removed to Walworth Co, July, 1843. Mr. Phillip Quiggle came to La Crosse Co, and purchased his present farm in 1852, where he settled in 1855. His father came here in 1854; died July, 1870. His mother lives with her son. Mr. Quiggle went to Cali fornia from Sauk Co., in 1854. His first wife was Cornelia A. Ashley, of Columbia Co, Wis.; present wife was Eliza Peek ; has four children by first marriage. ETHAN ROBERTS, farmer, Sec. 24; P. 0. Mindoro. Mr. Roberts was bom in Erie Co, N. Y, in 1824; he removed to Michigan with his parents when a child ; he first came to Lewis Valley in the spring of 1852 ; he returned to Michigan, was married to Sarah W. Dana, born in Amherst, Mass, in 1828 ; she went to Michigan in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts came to La Crosse County from Michi gan, in the fall of 1855, and settled in the east part of Lewis Valley, Sec. 22, Range 5 west, which he bought of the Government. In 1862, he located on Sec. 22, Range 6 west; settled where he now lives, in TOWN OF FARMINGTON. 853 1S65. Mr. Roberts has three sons— E. Dana, born 1854; George C, born 1857, and Fred L, born October, 1862. Mr. Roberts is a brother of Mrs. Clarissa Downer, who, with her husband, was the earliest settler of Lewis Valley. GEORGE S. SISSON, farmer, Sec. 21; P. 0. Mindoro. Born in Massachusetts in 1804, where he lived till 18 years of age, when he rumoved with his father's family to Geauga Co, Ohio. Married in Ohio to Lucia E. Bartholomew; removed to Walworth Co, Wis, May, 1846; came to La Crosse County in 1852, and settled in Lewis Valley, where he has since lived; wife died Aug. 4, 1871 ; has seven children— Oscar 0, Margaret N, Selena S, Olen G, Oree A, Alonzo S, and Francis M. Four of the sons of Mr. Sisson were soldiers in the Union army during the rebellion. Oscar 0. enlisted in 1861, in the 8th W. V. I, where he served two years; was then transferred to Company A, 2d United States heavy artillery, where he served five years; serving altogether seven years as a soldier. Alonzo S. was bom in Ohio, 1845; enlisted in the 2d W. V. C. ; served four years; married Mary Chisholm, daughter of James Chisholm; she was born in Beaver Dam, 1850. They have two boys — Frank W. and Charles E. Olen G. enlisted in same regiment and company, and served during the last year of the war. OREE A. SISSON, proprietor of hotel, Mindoro; bora in Ohio in 1844, enlisted in 1864 in 2d W. V. C. ; served till the close of the war. Married Sarah A. Arnold, daughter of John F. Arnold ; she was bom in Otsego Co, N. Y. They have three sons and one daughter. RICHARD SOLES, farmer, Sec. 31 ; P. 0. Mindoro. Bora in Chenango Co, N. Y, July 1833; married Maria Skeels; came to Wisconsin June, 1859, lived in Cambria, Columbia Co, for a short time; came to La Crosse County that year; lived in Bangor about four years, and settled on present farm. Mr. Soles enlisted in 2d W. V. C, September, 1864, and served till the close of the war. Has one daughter — Estella, wife of Alonzo Phelps. Farm contains 333 acres. EPHRAISI STEVENS, farmer, Sec. 21; P. 0. Mindoro. He was born in Needham, near Boston; resided in his native town and in Boston till 1855; came to La Crosse County in July of that year and settled in Lewis Valley. In August of that year, with his brother, A. J. Stevens, opened a store in the present village of Mindoro ; this was the first store established in Lewis Valley. Mr. A. J. Stevens died at Winona in 1880. Epbraim Stevens was married to Ellen R. Brown, daughter of S. C. Brown; has two children — Nellie and Carrie. Mr. Stevens bought his present farm about 1857. RODNEY TOWER, farmer, Sec. 25 ; P. 0. Mindoro; born in Chenango Co, Ohio, in 1810, where he was married to Fidelia Robinson, born in Chenango County. They came to Wisconsin July, 1843, and settled in the town of Lynn, Walworth Co, where they lived six years; thence to Mc Henry Co., Ill, where they remained five years; returned to Walworth County; came to La Crosse County in 1855 and settled in the town of Burns; settled where he now lives, in the fall of 1867, pur chasing his farm of Mr. Broadbent; has five children — Laura D. Fuller, Helen S. Gilfillan, Adaline F. Adams, 0. R. and Edgar A. Farm contains 304 acres. Mr. Tower learned his trade, also engaged in teaching. Of late years, has given considerable attention to the study of geology ; has a cabinet of very fine and rare geological specimens. JOHN ADAM YOUNG, proprietor of Badger Mill, in Lewis Valley ; born in Saxony, Germany, in 1824; came to the State of Wisconsin, in 1845. He lived in Burlington, Racine Co. for some time, where he learned his trade ; thence to Geneva, Walworth Co. In 1856, he came to Burr Oak, where he settled and where he still owns a farm. He has been engaged in milling most of the time since. he came to Wisconsin. Bought the Badger Mill Nov. 18, 1878. His wife was Lucy F. Congdon. They have two sons. 854 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: TOWN OF CAMPBELL. WILLIASI APSEY, farmer, See. 16; P. O. Onalaska; was born in England in 1823. In 1846, he was married to Ellen Flowers, born in England in 1825, and in 1850 they emigrated to the United States, landing at New Orleans, where they stopped one winter. In the following spring, 1851, they came to Wisconsin, and lived six years in Waukesha County, after which they came to La Crosse and engaged in the grocery business, keeping the first grocery store in what is now North La Crosse, for about four years, when he purchased 80 acres of his present farm and lived on the same for about four years. Then he returned to North La Crosse and carried on the grocery business for a short time, after which he returned to his farm and has made farming his business, and he now owns 240 acres. Has held several town offices ; politics, Republican. They have no children. JOHN ASSELIN, farmer, Sec. 7 ; P. 0. Onalaska ; was born in Canada Jan. 6, 1836 ; came to Wisconsin in 1856. Now owns 360 acres of finely improved land, on which he has made all of the im provements. His wife Clara Sears, was born in Indiana ; married Dec. 17, 1861. They have nine children — Charles, Joseph (deceased), Elvick, Maggie, William (deceased), Anna, Zenna (deceased), Josephine, Millie. A. SI. RAKER (deceased), was born in 1836, at Athens, Ohio. In 1857, he, with his parents, went to Vernon Co., Wis, and the following year be entered the Western College of Linn Co., Iowa, where he remained until 1861, when he enlisted in Co. F, 14th Iowa V. I, and served three years, during which time he was a prisoner for about eight months, and while in prison contracted disease, which led to~his death in 1876. His wife, Mary E, daughter of David and Margaret Denton, is living near North La Crosse. JOHN A. CASSEL, farmer, Sec. 26; P. O. La Crosse; was bora in France, in 1821; emigrated to the United States in 1839, and landed at Savanna, Ga, where he stopped about nine months, when he went to Florida and worked for the Government for about fifteen months. He then returned to Savanna, and soon after sailed for New York, where he stopped about three months. Then he went to Pottsville, Penn, and engaged in mining until 1844; he then went to Maryland, and followed the same business near Cumberland. In 1845, he was married to Mary Stark, born in Germany, in 1827, and in 1851 he removed with his family to Shelby Co., Ohio, where he purchased 80 acres of land and com menced farming, and followed the same for three years, when he tired of farming and again returned to Maryland, where he worked in the mines for about two years ; but as his health would not permit him to follow mining, he concluded to go West. And so, in the fall of 1856, he came to Wisconsin and settled iu La Crosse County. In 1863, he purchased part of his present farm, which contains 340 acres, much of which is well improved and has good buildings. Mr. Cassel has held various town and school offices, and is a Democrat in politics. The children are Jacob, Mary, John A., William H, Gustave H, and Walter G. JOHN DAWSON, farmer, Sec. 23 ; P. O. La Crosse ; the subject of this sketch, one of the oldest settlers of La Crosse Co., was bora in England in 1832 ; at the age of 8 years, he, with his parents, emigrated to the United States, and came direct to Wisconsin, settling in Racine Co. in 1840. At that time the country was new, and there were only a very few settlers. But his father, Joseph Dawson, imme diately purchased 160 acres of Government land, which has since proved to be some of the best land in the county, and was soon making money. John Dawson lived with his parents until 1853, when, being of age, he concluded to go farther West and try his fortune ; so, in the fall of 1853, he came to La Crosse Co, purchased part of his present farm, and has made farming his main business up to the present time ; he now owns 350 acres, much of which is well improved, and has good buildings. In 1863, he was mar ried to Christina Stumphf, born in Maryland in 1844. They have four children — Wesley G, born Feb. 8, 1869; Lydia C, Oct. 31, 1870 ; Sydna J, Dec. 7, 1878, and an infant, born March 2, 1881. Mr. Dawson has been in public office over twenty years, holding all the various town and school offices ; he is at present Chairman of the Town Board, and a Democrat in politics. JOSEPH FRENCH, farmer, Sec. 2 ; P. O. La Crosse ; he was born in England in 1821 ; in 1851, he came to the United States and to La Crosse; June 16, 1851, purchased land and commenced farming, which business he has followed to the present time. In 1843, he was married to Charlotte Rogers, daughter of Thomas and Martha Rogers, bora in England in 1823 ; they have had ten children, TOWN OF CAMPBELL. 855 six of whom are living— Martha, born Dec 7, 1844; George G, May 4. 1849; Charlotte E.. July 1, 1853 ; Josepi 0, Nov. 21, 1855; Emily L, April 11, 1858; Robert R, Dec. 28, 1865. Mr. F. now owns 380 acres of land. Has been Treasurer of School District two years ; is a Liberal in politics. Although 45 years of age, in 1865 he enlisted in Co. B, 53d W. V. I, and remained in service until discharged in August. DAVID FULLER, farmer ; P. 0. North La Crosse ; was bom in England in 1824 ; in 1826, he, with his parents, came to the United States and made his home at Albany, N. Y, for about twenty-two years ; in 1848, he came to Wisconsin and stopped in Waukesha Co. about three years, after which he went to Michigan and remained about two years ; he then returned to Wisconsin and stopped about two years in Waukesha Co.; he then came, in 1856, to La Crosse Co, and lived in tbe city about fourteen years, after which he bought his present farm of 40 acres in Sec. 17. In 1849, Mr. F. was mar ried to Naomi Watson, daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth Watson ; they have four children — Mary Ann, George D, Alonzo W. and William H. He is a Republican. E. FRED HAUSER, farmer, Sec 16 ; P. 0. La Crosse ; was born in Switzerland in 1834 ; in .1851, he emigrated to the United States and stopped one summer in Ohio, after which he came to La Crosse Co. and settled on his present farm. In 1858, was married to Charlotte Wiese, born in Prussia in 1838 ; they have had ten children, nine of whom are still living — Charles E, bora June 23, 1859 ; John William, Feb. 10, 1863; Emma C, Feb. 23, 1865; John R, Feb. 9, 1867 ; Louisa W. C, May 16, 1869 ; Sophia E. C, Nov. 16, 1871 ; John Frederick, Sept. 14, 1874; Theodore R, Aug. 13, 1876 ; George August, Aug. 20. 1879. Mr. H. now owns 165 acres of land. HENRY GLE ASON, station agent at Winona Junction ; P. 0. La Crosse ; was born in Tioga Co, N. Y, in 1840 ; in 1854, he went to Lake Co, 111, and in August, 1862, he enlisted in Co. G, 96th 111. V. I. where he served until the close of the war. In January, 1866, Mr. G. came to La Crosse Co., and lived at Onalaska until 1875, when he removed to where he now lives. He has been station agent at Winona Junction for about three years, but has been in the employ of the C, M. & St. P. and the C. & N. W. R. R. Cos. as baggage master, etc., for about ten years. In 1866, Mr. Gleason was mar ried to Hellen A. Pierce, daughter of Norris and Ellen Pierce, born in Potsdam, N. Y, Dec. 25, 1849. They have one child— Emogene. JESSE J. JOHNSON, farmer; P. 0. La Crosse ; was bora in Vermont in 1830 ; in 1849, he went to Boston, where he served as clerk in a hotel and store until 1853, when he removed to Galena, 111, where he again clerked in a store until 1857 ; he then went to Lake City where he engaged in mercantile business until 1858, when he went to Iowa City and took charge of a store until 1861 ; he.then returned to Galena, 111, and commenced steamboating, which business he followed for eight years; in 1868, he quit river life and commenced farming, which business he has since followed. In 1857, was married to Martha E. Hardon, who was born July 9, 1829 ; they have had three children, two of whom are living — Elsa Ana, bom March 19, 1861 ; Abba Louisa, Feb. 14, 1873. Owns 117 acres of land in Sees. 10 and 15. Is a Republican and Granger. JOHN W.JOHNSON, farmer; P. 0. La Crosse; was born in Vermont, 1835; in 1853, he removed to Galena, 111, where he engaged in gardening for about six years, when he removed to La Crosse and followed the same business, and also dealt in produce for about six years, after which he gave his attention to farming and dairying, selling milk at La Crosse for three years ; he is now engaged in farming and stock-raising; now owns 120 acres of land in Sees. 10 and 15. In 1864, he was married to Addie Tripp, daughter of H. A. and Mary Tripp, born in Trimbull Co, Ohio, 1844. Their children are Elsworth E. bora Dec. 2, 1866 ; Grace M, Sept. 29, 1871, and one infant, Dec. 30, 1880. GEORGE PHILLIPS, farmer; P. 0. Onalaska ; was born in Trumbull Co, Ohio, May 16, 1850 ; now owns 120 acres of finely-improved land. His wife, Mary Lee was born in Vermont July 21, 1865, and married April 6, 1872 ; they have had four children — George W, born Jan. 3, 1873, died Jan. 8, 1873; George D, born July 15, 1874; Charles E, Oct. 15, 1875; Rose Lulla, April 9, 1877. JOSEPH RICHSIOND, farmer, Sec. 18; P. 0. Onalaska; was bom in Canada Oct. 22, 1836 ; came to Wisconsin in 1855 ; worked on the river, then to farming; now owns 500 acres of land. on which he has made most of the improvements, and has a fine place. His wife, Delemas Morin, was born in Canada Oct. 15, 1840 ; married in 1862 ; children are Emma, Matilda, Ollivin, Leo (deceased), George (deceased), John, David. Has been Director and Treasurer; also Supervisor. THOMAS RICHMOND, farmer, Sec. 12; P. 0. North La Crosse; was bora in Scotland in 1832 ; in 1850, he was married to Jane Gray, bom in Scotland Jan. 12, 1829, and, in 1853, emigrated to the United States, and stopped at New Albany, Ind, about twenty months ; he then went to Louis ville, Ky, and worked at his trade as machinist for eleven years, after which he came to La Crosse Co. and 856 BIOGRAPHICAL SKr^rCHES: rented a farm for three years. He then, in 1868, purchased his present farm of 160 acres, the same being land that had never been broke, and has since followed farming. Mr. R. has been Chairman of the town of Campbell two terms, and is a Republican in politics. The children living are James, Henry T, Lizzie, Willie, Thomas and Mary. C. H. SCHAFERSIEYER, proprietor of "Four-Mile House," La Crosse; was born in Prussia in 1823 ; emigrated to the United States and landed at New Orleans in December, 1851 r and at once went to St. Louis, where he was employed in a wholesale drug store for ten years ; he then went to Shackopee, Minn, where he lived about eighteen months, then to Red Wing, and stayed six months, after which he came to La Crosse Co, and immediately purchased the hotel he now keeps ; he also owns 372 acres of land. In 1854, Mr. S. was married to Ana Seaman; born in Prussia in 1829 ; they have had eight children, two of whom are living — Theresa and Anna. FRANK SCHALLER, farmer; P. 0. La Crosse; was born near Milwaukee, Wis, Aug. 16, 1853 ; at the age of 4 years, he came with his parents to La Crosse, where they lived two years, after, which they removed into the town of Campbell, Sec. 15, where he lived with his parents until April 24, 1878, when he was married to Lydia Young, born in La Crosse Co. in 1855 ; they have two children — Lizzie, born March 4, 1879, and an infant, born Jan. 28, 1881. Mr. S. is now serving his third term as Town Treasurer. Is a Liberal in politics, and owns 100 acres of land in Sec. 12. WILLIAM SKELLS, farmer, Sec. 18; P. 0. Onalaska; was born in Cambridgeshire, England, April 1, 1827. Came to America in 1854; worked by the month until he came to Wisconsin in 1857 ; now owns 140 acres of land, on which ho has made all of the improvements. Enlisted in Co. F, 25th W. V. I, in 1864; discharged 1865. His wife, Emma S. Rust, was bora in Norfolk, England, in 1830, and married in 1856 ; they have four children — William E, born March 28, 1858 ; Emma A., bora Nov. 6, 1859 ; Eliza B, bora Sept. 29, 1863 ; Thomas H, born Sept. 4, 1866. Has been Clerk, Assessor and Justice of the Peace. JACOB WEISIAR, farmer, Sec. 24 ; P. O. La Crosse; was born in Prussia in 1833. Em igrated to the Uhited States in 1852, and stopped one year in Brooklyn, N. Y. He then went to Green field, Mass, and stayed three years, after which he came to Wisconsin, living at JanesviUe six months, after which, in 1856, he came to La Crojse, and worked at brick-making, during which time, in 1860, he was married to Philapena King, born in Germany in 1841 ; in 1865, Mr. Weimer quit the brick business, and rented 160 acres of his present farm for three years, after which he purchased the same, and now owns 240 acres. The children are Caroline, John and Valentine (twins), Barbara, Louisa and Jacob. Mr. Weimer' is a member of the German Reformed Church, and a Democrat. TOWN OF BARRE. HUGH HOGAN, farmer, Sec. 26 ; P. O. Barre Mills ; was bora in Ireland in 1818 ; emigrated to the United States in 1843, and stopped in the State of New York two years, after which he went to Walworth Co, Wis., at which place, in 1849, he was married to Jane, daughter of James and Mary Murphy, born in Ireland March 29, 1830. In 1851, Mr. Hogan entered 240 acres of land in what .is now known as Bostwick Valley, the same being the first land entered in the town of Barre, and the follow ing year he moved his family on said land, on which they have lived to the present time. Mr. Hogan now owns 200 acres, which is one of the best farms in the valley, being well improved and having good buildings. Mr. H. has been a member of the School Board of his district, and is a Liberal in politics. The children now living are William, James, Mary Jane, Sarah E, John M, Ellen M. and Robert H. ERASTUS HOWE was born June 22, 1829, in the town of Cobleskill, Schoharie Co, N. Y. When 4 years old, his mother died, and when he was 8 years old, his father married again. He lived with his father until he was 22 years old, then started in the world for himself. Was married to Mary Jane Burton Oct. 12, 1851 ; then worked for her father the first winter, and in the spring of 1852 bought 25 acres of timber land, and cut away the brush. His wife, then his only helper, burnt the brush, and in a few days they had a spot ready to build a big shanty in the hemlock timber ; cleared 2 acres the first year. In the fall built a comfortable house, with four rooms, and battled on with the old hemlocks. On Feb. 27, 1854, welcomed their first addition to the family. When hearing so much of the Western prairies, they concluded to sell their land, and, with $230, started, April 17, 1855, and landed in La Crosse TOWN OF BARRE. 857 on the 27th of April, and had $140 left : lost their trunk, and was obliged to use some of the money to buy some goods before they left town. Then started for La Crosse Valley; in the town of Barre, found a piece of land and bought it. It had a shanty, 10x12, and it was covered with basswood bark, and when it ¦ rained, the streams were larger indoors than out. In this they lived till fall ; their furniture was a couple of benches made ol slabs, and their first table was a stable door, and many a day it was surrounded with new friends to eat the wild game, for they had a plenty of that, and they all seemed to enjoy their new home. They had only a few neighbors, and they were of the best. Bull snakes were the only visitors they did not like. bept. 13, 1855, the oldest daughter was born, and a terrible rain set in, and day after day there was not a dry place in the shanty to lay down, and all that could be done was to sit up and catch the water in dishes. Mr. Howe says : " This is what I called hard times. I had not one dime to fix the shanty ; I could not get more than one day's work in a week, and then go four or five miles to get that." That same fall, he cut timber of his own, and built a good log shanty, and made shakes, and covered it, and then added more furniture, and, as Mr. Howe says: " After we had settled in our new shanty, we felt richer than to day in a brick house, and plenty of furniture and all the comforts of life. We could see now and then three or four deer at a time cross from one piece of timber to the other; wolves were plenty; if we had fresh meat they knew it, and would get up a great howl, but a couple of rifle-shots would give us peace for awhile." At this time he had no team, but he used his neighbor, Martin Allen's. After struggling along with no team no tools, and paying 12 per cent on borrowed money, he obtained a loan of Robert Smith, and bought an ox team. He then took 30 acres of land about four miles from his home to work on shares ; than paid Mr. Smith, and commenced work on his own land. He hewed out timber, built a barn, hog pen and corn crib, and then built a good house. Lived six years on this farm, then I bought 38 acres in Bostwick Valley, and moved there. Rented his old farm two years, sold it, and bought 80 acres of land and 40 acres of timber, adjoining the 38. Here they lived eleven years, then moved to West Salem ; went in partnership with Robert Rand for one year, making bricks; then went to Sparta, and bought 20 acres, and a brick-yard on it; carried on the brick business for seven years, and in this time purchased a good brick house and lot in the city of Sparta ; then purchased 30 acres in the limits of the city, also another 78 acres, and has 2 acres in the city of La Crosse, bought in the fall of 1880 ; moved back on the farm in Bostwick Valley, where he now lives. LARS KNUDSEN, farmer, Sec. 28 ; P. O. Barre Mills ; bora in Norway in 1821 ; in 1852, he came to the United States with his wife and one child, stopping one year with his relatives in Dane Co, Wis, after which he came to La Crosse County and settled on his present farm of 150 acres. He was married in 1850 to Isabel Anderson ; they have had ten children, six of whom are still living — Carolina, Knud, John, Lena, Emma and Isabel. His son John is a promising young man, born in 1 857, and is helping carry on the farm. Mr. K. and son are members of the Lutheran Church, and are Democrats in politics. AUGUST MILLER, farmer, Sec. 28; P. O. Barre Mills; was bora in Germany in 1846; when 1 year old, his parents, John and Juliana Miller, came to the United States and settled near Mil waukee, where they lived about six years, after which they came to La Crosse County and settled in Barre. Mr. Miller lived with his parents until 1871, when he was married to Helen Hambacher, born in Ger many, 1849, and removed on his present farm of 100 acres. The children are — Johnnie, born Sept. 18, 1874 ; Louisa, born Nov. 20, 1876 ; Ida, born Oct. 13, 1878. Mr. Miller has held various public offices ; is at present Assessor of the town of Barre, and Treasurer of the " Shelby Farmer Mutual Insurance Company." Is a member of the Lutheran Church, and is Deacon of the same. CONRAD MILLER, farmer, Sec. 27 ; P. O. Barre Mills; was born in Germany in 1830. In 1854, he was married to Dora Seadenbauch, and, in 1864, he, with his wife and three children, emigrated to the United States, and came direct to La Crosse County, where he purchased land and commenced farming. In 1870, Mr. Miller purchased his present farm of 160 acres, but he owns land in different parts of the town, making his total real estate 451 acres. The children are Mary, born Feb. 5, 1855; Deitrich, born Nov. 28, 1857; Sophia, born Sept. 14, 1859; Willie, born May 20, 1872. Mr. Miller is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Lutheran Church. D. F. MILLER, farmer, Sec. 21 ; P. O. Barre Mills; was born in Germany in 1853. When 11 years of age, he came to the United States with his parents, and came direct to La Crosse County and settled in Bostwick Valley. In 1878, Mr. Miller purchased his present farm of 116 acres, and worked the same to the present time. In 1880, April 17, he was married to Sophia R. Nuttleman, bora Sept. 20, 1854; they have one child — Luella, born Feb. 16, 1881. Mr. Miller is a Liberal in politics, and a Free Thinker. JOHN MILLER; P. O. Barre Mills ; was born in Germany in 1816. In 1842, he was mar ried to Juliana Snyder; born in Germany Jan. 15, 1824. In 1842, Mr. M. and family, consisting of wife 858 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: and one child, emigrated to the United States and settled near Milwaukee, where he was engaged in farming for about six years ; he then came to La Crosse Co., and purchased 160 acres of land in the town of Barre, on which place he is still living, but ha* since purehased 40 acres more. Mrs. Miller died Feb. 12, 1876. Their children are Agust, born June 6, 1846 ; Mary, July 1, 1849 ; Louis A, April 19, 1852 ; Minnie, Nov. 27, 1854 ; John, Dec. 1, 1856; Louisa, Sept. 3, 1859. Is a member of the Lutheran Church, and a Democrat. Louis A. Miller was born near Milwaukee, has always lived with his parents. In 1876, he pur chased his father's farm, and, in 1878, was married to Margaret Sprain, daughter of Fred and Dorotha Sprain, born Jan. 7, 1857 ; they have one child — Juliana, born Feb. 18, 1879. Mr. M. is a member of the Lutheran Church, and a Democrat. FRITZ NUTTLESIANN, farmer ; P. 0. Barre Mills ; was born in Germany, March 2, 1820. On May 18, 1851, he was married to Mary Sandman, born in Germany Nov. 26, 1828; emigrated to the United States the same year, and landed at Milwaukee June 20, 1851 ; having $300 in gold, he pur chased 50 head of sheep, 1 yoke of cattle, and 4 cows ; he then worked a farm of 120 acres on shares for two years ; after which, on the 20th of September, 1853, he started " out West," as it was then called, and arrived in La Crosse Co., Oct. 7, and purchased 80 acres in Bjstwick Valley, and was soon making money. He now owns 280 acres, of which 200 are under cultivation, the remainder is in timber and pasture. The children are Sophia, born Sept. 20, 1854 ; Dora, Sept. 30, 1856 ; Mary, Aug. 19, 1858 ; Rachael, April 6, 1860, and Fred, who was bora near Milwaukee Sept. 22, 1852, and was married Sept. 3, 1873, to Sophia Miller, daughter of Fred and Mary Miller ; their children are Fred, born Feb. 7, 1874 ; Adolf, May 30, 1875 ; Arther, Dec. 16, 1876 ; Luella, bora Aug. 17, 1878. and died Dec. 15, 1880. MAURICE RORERTS, farmer, Sec. 19 ; P. 6. Barre Mills ; was born in La Crosse Co, in 1861 ; at the age of 14, his father died, after which, he went to live with his grandfather, Ever Roberts. In 1880, Ever Roberts died, leaving the estate, containing 120 acres, to his grandson, Maurice. In 1880, Mr. R. was married to Sophia Bremer, bora in Germany in 1862. Politics, Republican ; religion, Meth odist. R. T. RORERTS, farmer, Sec. 19 ; P. O. Barre Mills ; was bora in Wales in 1836 ; emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1851, and lived near Portage City, Wis, one year after which he came to La Crosse Co., and settled in the town of Barre. At the age of 2i, Mr. R. went to Minnesota and lived near Mankato, where, in 1858, he was married to Margaret Edwards, daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth Edwards, born in the State of New York in 1842. In 1863, he removed to Barre, La Crosse Co.; purchased his present farm of 120 acres, but has since purchased more land so that his total real estate now amounts to 360 acres. Mr. Roberts has been Chairman of the Town Board for 5 years. Is a member of the Presbyterian Church, of which church he was elected Deacon at the age of 27 ; he was also one of the founders of the church in Barre. In politics, Mr. R. is a Republican. The children living are Elizabeth, bora May 3, 1859 ; Margaret, Nov. 12, 1863 ; Anna, Aug. 4, 1865 ; Hugh, March 24, 1870 ; Emma, June 5, 1874; Edward, March 4, 1879. WILLIAM RUNGE, merchant, Barre Mills; was bom in Germany in 1840; in December, 1863 ; he emigrated to the United States and came direct to La Crosse Co., and worked on a farm for four years, when he went into the grocery business with his brother at La Crosse, which business they carried on for four years ; they then dissolved partnership, and Mr. R. removed to Barre Mills built the store and house he now occupies, and has since carried on a grocery business. In 1868, he was married to Catha rine Batz bom in Germany in 1844; they have had eight children, three of whom are living — Ida, born May 31, 1875 ; Arthur, Dec. 18, 1878 ; Amanda, Nov. 22, 1880. CHARLES E. SHAFT, farmer and stock buyer ; born in Rochester, N. Y, Oct. 31, 1832; son of William R. Shaft, a native -of Madison Co, N. Y. Charles E. came to Sheboygan in 1847 ; thence to Walworth Co, and with bis father engaged in the milling business ; afterward followed the lakes for several years. He was married to Elizabeth Owens; she was born in Wales in 1843; they have four children — Alice, William, Emery and Myrta; lost two children. He has been variously engaged in farm ing, milling, etc. ; came to La Crosse in 1861 ; his father came to La Crosse at the same time, where his mother died ; his father returned to Walworth Co, where he died. Mr. Shaft has about 120 acres of land ; has been engaged for many years in stock buying. FREDRICK SPRAIN, farmer, Sec. 22 ; P. O. Barre Mills ; one of the most prominent men of the town of Barre ; was born in Germany in 1825 ; in 1845, he, in company with his brother Henry, came to the United States, and settled at Milwaukee, where he worked on the farm about eight years. In 1851, he married Dorothea Miller, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Miller; bom in Germany in 1832 ; in 1853, he moved his family with an ox team to La Crosse Co:, where he purchased 80 acres of land on Sec. 23, on which place he lived about seventeen years, during which time he purchased more TOWN OF SHELBY. 859 land ; in 1870, he moved on his present farm, which is in Sees. 22 and 27, where he has built a fine brick house and good bams. Mr. S. now owns 600 acres of land. He has been' Supervisor several terms. Is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Lutheran Church ; their children are Margaret, Sue. George and Dora. WILLIE STANLEY, farmer ; P. 0. Barre Mills ; was bora in Broome Co, N. Y, in 1853 ; at the age of 12, he came with his parents to Onalaska, La Crosse Co, where he lived about seven years; the remainder of his life was spent in different parts of La Crosse Co.; in July, 1880, he married Rosa bel Mcllwrith, daughter of Thomas Mcllwrith, who was born in Ayrshire, Scotland ; when 19 years of age, he emigrated to the United States, landing at McGregor, Iowa, July 2, 1856, where he stayed until winter, when he went to Memphis, Tenn. ; in the following spring, Mr. Mcllwrith came north and rafted logs on the Mississippi River during the summer ; the remainder of his life, up to the present, with few exceptions, has been spent in La Crosse Co. ; in the spring of 1861, he purchased his present farm, con sisting of 80 acres located in Sees. 20 and 29 ; also 40 acres in Sec. 10, town of Greenfield, but he has since sold 20 acre* of th; latter. Mr. Mcllwrith is a Republican in politics. He has served two years as Supervisors of the town of Barre, three years as School Clerk, and is at present serving his fifth year as Justice of the Peace. He was married, in 1861, to Mary Adaline Carl, daughter of Isaac and Tina Carl ; their children are Annie, Rosabel, Martha, Jessie, Daisy and Mary. JOHN SI. WHITE (deceased), was born in the State of New York in 1810; when 2 years of age, his parents died, and he was then adopted into the family of his uncle where he learned the wagon- maker's trade ; at the age of 21, he went to Montreal, where he engaged in the manufacture of wagons for a term of years, when his shop was burned ; he then removed to Matilda, now Iroquois, Canada, and fol lowed the same business, at which place in 1848, he was married to Sarah A. Service, daughter of John and Hannah Service, bora in Canada in 1828 ; in 1853, they came to La Crosse Co., and were among the early settlers of Bostwick Valley, where Mr. White was highly esteemed as a good neighbor and an honest man ; a painful illness of the heart of three years' duration, culminated in his death Jan. 3, 1880. He left a wife and five children— Jennie (nee Micham), born March 3, 1851 ; Alice A, June 24, 1853; Emma, Sept. 6, 1855 ; Elgin G, March 3, 1858, and Charles F, July 15, 1862. Mr. White was a member of the Baptist Church, and a Republican in politics. Mrs. White now lives on the estate of 80 acres, Sees. 20 and 21 ; P. O. Barre Mills. TOWN OF SHELBY. ELIAKIL RARLOW, farmer, Sec. 16; P. O. La Crosse; was born in Clinton Co, N. Y, in 1813 ; came to La Crosse in 1851, where he engaged in teaming for one year, after which he settled on his present farm of 80 acres, he also owns 40 acres on Sec. 21. In 1836, Mr. Barlow was married to Mary Baker, born in Clinton Co, N. Y, in 1813; they have had eight children, only two of whom are living— Lydia A. and Milton E. Mr. Barlow is one of the old Henry Clay Whigs, and helped to organ ize the Republican party in Wisconsin, to which party be strictly adheres. In 1861, he enlisted in Co. B, 2d W. V. C, and served one year as wagon-master of the regiment, after which he was honorably dis charged on account of sickness. JACOB RECKEL, proprietor of Greenfield House, Shelby; was bora in Germany in 1819 ; emigrated to the United States in 1840, and stopped five years in Ohio, he then came to La Crosse and remained about six years, after which he returned to Ohio and stayed until 1856, when he came back to La Crosse and settled where he now lives ; he has been engaged in the hotel business the entire time ; he also owns 120 acres of land. In 1863, was appointed Postmaster at Shelby, and still retains the position, being one of the oldest Postmasters in the United States. He has also held various town and school offices, and is a Democrat in politics. In 1846, he was married to Elizabeth Frank ; they have had twelve children, those living are Mary, Christena, Elizabeth, Louisa, Louis, Emma, Ana and Lena. PETER KIENHOLZ, Jr., farmer, Sees. 18 and 19 ; P. O. La Crosse ; was bora in •Switzerland, in 1840, emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1856, and came direct to La Crosse County, where his father purchased a fine farm. He lived with his parents until 1864, when he was married to Mary Haas, born in Prussia in 1843, and soon took charge of his father's farm, and is still workin" the same. Has held various town and school offices, and is at present Town Clerk, which office he has held since 1865. He is also one of the men who organized the "Shelby Farmers' Mutual 860 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: Insurance Co.. and is at present Director of tho town of Shelby and Secretary of the company. The children are John P., M. Louisa M, Willie. Liberal in politics. CHARLES LINSE, farmer, Sec. 19; P. 0. La Crosse; the subject of this sketch, one of the most prominent men of Shelby, was bora in Prussia in 1836 ; emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1848, and came direct to Wisconsin, living in Jefferson Co. one year, then at Ft. Win nebago (now Portage City) five years, after which, in 1853, when they purchased Government land and commenced farming. Mr. Linse lived with his parents until 1864, when he was married to Julia Tausche, born in Austria in 1842; they have six children — Charles, William, Valentine, Joseph, Julia and Ida. Mrs. Linse died in June, 1879. In 1868, Mr. Linse purchased his present farm of 200 acres, but he also owns other land, making his real estate 280 acres, about 150 of which is well improved, and has fine buildings ; he is considered the best farmer in the county, and is at present turning his attention to dairy ing, having thirty fine cows. He has been in public office since 21 years of age, and is at present Chair man of the Town Board ; he is also one of the organizers of the " Shelby Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company," of which he has been President during the entire time since its organization in 1875. FRANK SIADER, farmer, Sec. 22 ; P. O. La Crosse ; was born in Germany in 1842 ; em igrated to America in 1853, and came direct to La Crosse, where, in 1876, he was married to Rosa Gauttert, bora in Germany in 1842. In 1878, purchased his present farm of 160 acres. The children are Frank H. and Joseph. His father, David Mader (deceased), was born in Germany in 1798. Was married to Mary Schalk in 1837. Emigrated to the United States in 1853; purchased land and settled in La Crosse Co, where be worked at farming until his death, March 1, 1880 ; he lefta wife and five chil dren — Martin, Frank, Theodore, Domonick and Caroline. Mrs. Mader is living with her son Theodore. JOHN SIARKLE, farmer, Sec. 19 ; P. O. La Crosse ; was born in Indiana in 1851 ; while yet an infant his parents came to La Crosse ; at the age of 17 he left home and learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for about six years, when he was married to Sarah Latimer bora in Canada in 1852, and soon after turned his attention to farming, taking the charge of his father's farm of 160 acres, and is still working the same. Mr. Markle has held some town offices, and is at present Constable ; in politics he is a Liberal. ALBERT SIARSHALL, farmer, Sees. 21 and 22; P. O. La Crosse; was born in Oneida Co, N. Y, in 1823. In 1846, he was married to Jane Shuttleton, born in the State of New York April 2, 1823 ; in 1854, he moved with his family to Illinois and stayed one year, after which he came to La Crosse and dealt in real estate three years, when he purchased a farm in Lewis Valley, town of Hamilton, and lived on the same six years ; he then returned to La Crosse where he lived two years when he purchased his present farm of 160 acres. Mr. M. has been Supervisor of the town of Hamilton, but never was anxious to hold public office ; in politics he is a Republican. The children living are Addie D. (nee Field), bora Oct. 3, 1849 ; George A, Oct. 31, 1850 ; Emma J, Aug. 4, 1852 ; Mary E, Oct. 18, 1859 ; Asa D, June 20, 1861. FRANK METZ, keeper of City Poor House, La Crosse ; was born in Germauy in 1823; em igrated to the United States in 1847, and stopped two years in Schenectady, N. Y, after which he came to Wisconsin, living three years in Milwaukee, then one year at Racine, then eighteen months at Janes viUe, after which, in 1854, he came to La Crosse, where he worked at his trade, a tailor, most of the time for eighteen years. In 1 873, he took charge of the City Poor House, which is located on Sec. 15, town of Shelby. Mr. M, in 1850, was married to Christena Betz, bora in Germany in 1830 ; they have had eight children, four of whom are living — Aurelia, Frank, John and Louis. Mr. Metz is a Democrat. LOUIS PASIMEL, farmer, Sec. 10; P. O. Lj. Crosse; was bora in Prussia, in 1829; em igrated to the United States in 1854, and came direct to Wisconsin, stopping one year at Milwaukee, after wtfich he came to La Crosse and engaged in keeping meat market until 1865, when he moved on his present farm, 200 acres of which he had previously purchased. His farm now contains 480 acres. In 1856, he was married to Sophia Freise, born in Hanover, Germany, in 1835.' They have six children — Louis, Matilda, Gustave, Herman, Dora and Emma. JOHN SCHILD, Jr., farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. La Crosse; was bora in Switzerland in 1845; emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1856, and came direct to La Crosse County, where he lived with his parents until 1867, when be was married to Elizabeth Schwab, born in Prussia in 1844. The children are Rosena, Henry, Minnie, Louisa, Albert and Emma. Mr. Schild is now living in a fine brick house, which he built in 1870. . In politics he is a Republican ; a member of the German Reformed Church ; and has held nearly all of the various town offices during the past ten years. His father, John Schild, Sr, was born in Switzerland June 12, 1814, and was married to Barbara Eggler May 22, 1838 ; emigrated to America in 1856, and purchased his present farm of 200 acres, on Sec. 13, TOWN OF GREENFIELD. 861 town of Shelby, and is a member of the German Reformed Church ; a Republican in politics. The children are Barbara and John. JOHN ZOPFI, farmer, Sec. 23; P. 0. La Crosse; was born in Switzerland in 1828. In 1855, he was married to Elizabeth Lauthold, born in Switzerland in 1828, and soon after emigrated to the United States, arriving at Jeffersonville, Sullivan Co, N. Y, in April, 1852, where he was em ployed in the Sole Leather Manufactory of E. A. Clark & Co. for sixteen years, working nights eleven years of the time. In 1867, he concluded he would try the Western country, and accordingly came to La Crosse Co, purchasing 90 acres of his present farm, which contains 221 acres, about 140 of which is well improved, having a fine two-story house and good barn. Mr. Z. is a Democrat in politics, and has been Town Treasurer two terms, but is not a man who is fond of public office. The children are Peter, bom Dec. 9, 1856; John A, Dec. 6, 1857; William J, July 21, 1859; Albert H, April 7, 1866 ; George E, May 23, 1873 : Elizabeth, Aug, 12, 1852 ; Emma, Aug. 25, 1861 ; Minnie, March 17, 1864 ; Ida M, May 7, 1868. TOWN OF GREENFIELD. REV. TH. REAN, Pastor of St. Joseph Church, St. Joseph; was born in Switzerland in 1840, and, in 1853, with his parents emigrated to the United States and settled at Sheboygan, Wis. In 1857, he entered the seminary of St. Francis at Milwaukee, and was ordained as priest on the 2d day of February, 1865, and soon went to Richland County, and resided at what is now Keysville, having charge of fifteen different missions, seven of which were in Richland County, five in Sauk County, one in Crawford, and one in Juneau, for six years, when the missions were divided so that he had charge of seven missions for about seven years, after which, in 1878, he removed to Buffalo County, and resided at Wau- mandee, where he took charge of St. Bonifice for two years, when he came to La Crosse County and took charge of St. Joseph Church, and one mission in the town of Washington. GREGORY BOSCHERT, farmer, Sec. 22; P. 0. Sigel; was bora in Baden, Germany, in 1827. In 1832, with his parents, emigrated to the United States, living at Tonawanda, N. Y, ten years, after which, in 1842, they came to Wisconsin, living in Racine County until 1855, when he came to La Crosse County, and immediately commenced farming on land he had previously purchased on which he lived until 1861, when he sold the same and purchased his present farm of 240 acres, about 125 of which he has improved, built a fine barn, and one of the best farm-houses in the county. In 1857, he was married to Ana Tausche, born in Austria in 1838. They have three children — Joseph, born Jan. 9, 1858; Helen, born Sept. 16, 1859; Andrew, born April 15,1861. Mr. Boschert is a member of the Catholic Church, and a Democrat in politics. MARTIN HESS, farmer, Sec. 13; P. O. St. Joseph; was born in Germany in 1833; emi grated to the United States in 1854, stopping six months in New York, after which, he went to Detroit, Mich, where he engaged in farming for three years, when he came to La Crosse and worked at brick- making for three years, during which time he located part of his present farm, which contains 240 acres. In 1859, he was married to Margaret Menzenburger, born in Germany in 1839, and soon moved on his farm. They have had eleven children, eight of whom are living — Christina, Earnest, Mary, Emma, Louisa, George, Philip and Margaret. Mr. Hess is a Democrat, and has been Town Treasurer three terms, Assessor, one term, and Chairman one term. Religion, Catholic. F. KREIBICH, farmer, Sees. 24 and 25 ; P. O. St. Joseph ; was born in Bohemia, Austria, in 1824. In 1846, he was married to Francis Plumentritt, born in Bohemia, Austria, in 1824, and, in 1861, emigrated to the United States and came direct to La Crosse County, purchasing his present farm of 180 acres, on which he has built a fine two-story house. His politics are Republican, and his religion Catholic. The children are Frank, born Feb. 6, 1847; Pauline, born June 22, 1853; Joseph, born March 25,1855; Theresa, bora March 22,1857; Vincent, born Nov. 29, 1859; Edward, bora Nov. 14, 1860. SI. H. SIcKOWN, miller, Section 20 ; P. O. La Crosse ; was born in Greenfield, La Crosse Co, and lived with his parents until the fall of 1878, when he was married to Carrie Benham, born in 1860 ; they have one child— Merton, born in December, 1879. In January, 1880, Mr. M. and his brother Charles leased the Center Valley Mill, and are now running the same under the firm name of M. H. & C. S. McKown. The mill has four run of stone, which enables them to do much more than custom work. In politics he is a Republican. 862 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES : WILLIASI NICOLAI, farmer, Section 20; P. 0. Sigel; was born in Germany, in 1823; emigrated to the United States in 1849, and stopped in New York about two" years, when he went to New Jersey one year, after which he returned to New York, and stayed one year. He thed went to Illinois, and stayed about two years, after which, in August, 1852, he came to La Crosse, and is therefore one of the oldest settlers in the county. In the spring of 1853, he moved on his present farm, 40 acres of which he had previously purchased ; but he now owns 280 acres. In 1853, he was married to Louisa Horst- chaffer, born in Germany in 1833 ; they have had eight children, four of whom are living — Otto, bora May 3, 1856; Louis, born Feb. 3, 1858; George W, born June 15, 1861 ; Adolf, born Dec. 6, 1867. Mr. N. has held town offices several terms, and is at present Justice of the Peace. He is a member of the Evangelical Church, and a Democrat. PETER OLSON (Saghogun), farmer. Section 25 ; P. 0. Coon Valley, Vernon Co. ; was bora in Norway, in 1840 ; emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1849, and came direct to Wisconsin, living in Dane Co. one year ; then in Jefferson Co. five years ; after which, in 1855, they came to La Crosse Co, purchased land, and commenced farming. Mr. Olson lived with his parents, helping till the soil, etc. In 1865, he was married to Ingebur Stenersen, born in Norway in 1842. In 1863, he purchased his father's farm of 160 acres, but he now owns 300 acres, and has good buildings. He has been Super visor seven terms ; is a Republican, and a member of the Lutheran Church. The children are Christina, bora July 9, 1866 ; John, born Dec. 22, 1867 ; Emma, born Feb. 10, 1870 ; Henry, born Dec. 8, 1873. RAYSIOND TAUSCHE, farmer, Section 29; P. O. Sigel ; was born in Austria, in 1846 ; emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1856, and came direct to La Crosse Co, where be lived with his parents until 1869, when he was married to Christina Beckel, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Beckel, born in Ohio, in 1848 ; and soon after he was married he purchased his present farm of 160 acres. Mr. T. has held various public offices, and is at present serving his fifth term as Chairman of the town of Greenfield ; is Postmaster at Sigel, and a Republican. The children are Louisa, Ana, Lillie, Edward and Julia. PASSENGERS BOUND FOR CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, NEBRASKA, ZD-A-iCOT^-, l^IZCsTIsriKiSOT-A., -wiscoisrsinsr, nvcoisrTA.i A DC Are now running regularly between CHICAGO and COUNCIL KtM brVlbtK ! rULLIVIAIN rtUICL UftnO BLUFFS ontheCalifornia Express Trains of the CHICAGO & IfOTtTB-WESTEKN KA1ZWA.Y. 4®" BEAR IN MIND, no other road runs Pullman Hotel Cars, or any form of Hotel Cars, THROUGH between Chicago and the Missouri River. This is the only Line that has THROUGH EATING CARS of any sort. NO TRANSFER at ST. PAUL via the CHICAGO & NORTH-WESTERN RY. Passengers procuring tickets to points beyond ST. PAUL shonld use GREAT CARE to see that they read over the Chicago Sc North-Western Railway, — OE THE — Chicago, St. Paixl &, Minneapolis Line. And not over a route having a SIMILAR NAME, as this is 8^=THE ONLY ROUTE YOU CAN TAKE TO AVOID A CHANGE OF DEPOT AT ST. PAUL"^a NEW TORE OFFICE— No. 415 Broadway. BOSTON OFFICE— No. 5 State Street. MILWAUKEE CITY TICKET OFFICE— 102 Wisconsin Street. ST PAUL TICKET OFFICE— Cor. Third and Jackson Streets. MINNEAPOLIS TICKET OFFICES— 13 Nicollet HouBe, and St. Paul & Pacific Depot. CHICAGO TICKET OFFICES— 62 Clark Street, under Sherman House- 75 CanalStreet; Kinzie Street Depot, corner West Kinzie and Canal Streets ; Wells Street Depot, corner Wells and Kin- zie Streets. COUNCIL BLUFFS TICKET OFFICES— Corner Broadway and Pearl Street, Union Pacific Depot; and - Chicago & North- Western Railway Depot. OMAHA TICKET OFFICES— Union Pacific Depot, and 1324 Far nam Street, corner 14th. SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE— 2 New Montgomery Street. LONDON, ENGLAND, OFFICES— 449 Strand, and 3 Adelaide, Street. mm m »lfV SSft