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Title: The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Volume 1, 1917-1918
Author: Various
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Volume 1, 1917-1918" ***
VOL. I 1917-1918
THE
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE
OF HISTORY
[Illustration: Printer’s Logo]
PUBLICATIONS OF THE
STATE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN.
Edited by MILO M.
QUAIFE, Superintendent
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I
LEADING ARTICLES: PAGE
MILO M. QUAIFE--Increase Allen Lapham, First Scholar of
Wisconsin 3
JOHN L. BRACKLIN--A Forest Fire in Northern Wisconsin 16
LOUISE P. KELLOGG--Bankers’ Aid in 1861-62 25
CARL RUSSELL FISH--The Frontier a World Problem 121
GEORGE MANIERRE--Early Recollections of Lake Geneva 142
OLE. K. NATTESTAD and RASMUS B. ANDERSON--Description of a
Journey to North America 149
CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY--A Wisconsin Woman’s Picture of
President Lincoln 233
SIPKO F. REDERUS--The Dutch Settlements of Sheboygan County 256
LUCIUS G. FISHER--Pioneer Recollections of Beloit and Southern
Wisconsin 266
CHARLES A. INGRAHAM--Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth: First Hero of
the Civil War 349
CHARLES GIESSING--Where Is the German Fatherland? 375
LOUISE P. KELLOGG--The Paul Revere Print of the Boston
Massacre 377
DOCUMENTS:
The Dairy of Harvey Reid: Kept at Madison in the Spring
of 1861 35
The Chicago Treaty of 1833: Charges Preferred Against
George B. Porter: Letter from George B. Porter to President
Andrew Jackson 287
Some Letters of Paul O. Husting Concerning the Present
Crisis 388
HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS:
Wisconsin’s First Versifiers; Memorandum on the Spelling of
“Jolliet”; The First Edition of the Zenger Trial, 1736;
A Novel Transportation Device 64
The Disputed Michigan-Wisconsin Boundary; An Early Wisconsin
Play 304
The Beginnings of Milwaukee; The Senatorial Election of 1869;
“Koshkonong” and “Man Eater”; The Alien Suffrage
Provision in the Constitution of Wisconsin 417
EDITORIAL:
Introducing Ourselves; Our State Flag; The Society and the
Legislature; Nelson Dewey Park and the First Wisconsin
Capitol; Perrot State Park and John A. Latsch; Forest
Fires, Generally and in Particular; Consolation for the
Present Crisis 75
History Repeats Itself; Our Military Record; What of the
Future; An Appreciation and a Suggestion; Cannon Fodder 187
The Professor and the Finger Bowl; The Printing of Historical
Publications; Is War Becoming More Horrible; Some
Leaves from the Past; The Development of Humanitarianism;
Other Agencies; Some Facts and Figures; Bravery
Then and Now; Schrecklichkeit 309
Increase A. Lapham and the German Air Raids; Save the
Relics; The Newspapers; Removing the Papacy to Chicago 426
THE QUESTION BOX:
The Oldest Church in Wisconsin; The First Mills in the Fox
River Valley; Colonel Ellsworth’s Madison Career; The
Story of “Glory of the Morning”; The Odanah Indian Reservation;
First Exploration of Eastern Wisconsin; A Community
Changes Its Name; How the Apostle Islands Were
Named; The Services of the Menominee in the Black
Hawk War 87
Daniel Webster’s Wisconsin Investments; Names Proposed
for a New Town; Origin of the Word “Winnequah”; The
Discovery of Lake Superior; The Potawatomi During the
Revolution; Father Allouez Among the Kickapoo; The
Indian Tribes of Iowa 193
The First Settler of Baraboo; The Chippewa River During the
French and British Régimes; The Career of Colonel G. W.
Manypenny; Treaty Hall and Old La Pointe 319
COMMUNICATIONS:
Old Copperheads and New; A Presbyterian Objects 202
More Light on the Originator of “Winnequah”; A History of
Our State Flag 327
“Camouflage” and “Eatless Days” Two Hundred Years Ago;
Daniel Webster’s Wisconsin Investments 432
SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES:
The Society and the State 101, 206, 330, 435
Some Publications 111, 221, 340, 445
Some Wisconsin Public Documents 210, 337
The Wider Field 449
[Frontispiece: INCREASE A. LAPHAM]
VOL. I, NO. 1 SEPTEMBER, 1917
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE
OF HISTORY
[Illustration: Printer’s Logo]
PUBLICATIONS OF THE
STATE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN.
Edited by MILO M.
QUAIFE, Superintendent
CONTENTS
PAGE
INCREASE ALLEN LAPHAM, FIRST SCHOLAR OF WISCONSIN
_Milo M. Quaife_ 3
A FOREST FIRE IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN _John L. Bracklin_ 16
BANKERS’ AID IN 1861-62 _Louise P. Kellogg_ 25
DOCUMENTS:
The Diary of Harvey Reid: Kept at Madison in the
Spring of 1861 35
HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS:
Wisconsin’s First Versifiers; Memorandum on the
Spelling of “Jolliet”; The First Edition of the
Zenger Trial, 1736; A Novel Transportation Device 64
EDITORIALS:
Introducing Ourselves; Our State Flag; The
Society and the Legislature; Nelson Dewey Park
and the First Wisconsin Capitol; Perrot State Park
and John A. Latsch; Forest Fires, Generally and in
Particular; Consolation for the Present Crisis 75
QUESTION BOX:
The Oldest Church in Wisconsin; The First Mills in
the Fox River Valley; Colonel Ellsworth’s Madison
Career; The Story of “Glory of the Morning”; The
Odanah Indian Reservation; First Exploration of
Eastern Wisconsin; A Community Changes Its
Name; How the Apostle Islands Were Named; The
Services of the Menominee in the Black Hawk War 87
SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES:
The Society and the State; Some Publications 101
Copyright, 1917, by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin
INCREASE ALLEN LAPHAM, FIRST SCHOLAR OF WISCONSIN
BY MILO M. QUAIFE
The most characteristic and comprehensive theme in all American
history is that of the westward movement. From the time of the first
feeble landings at Quebec, at Plymouth, and at Jamestown, the history
of our country has been characterized by a steady westward surge of
the population, reaching out eagerly for new lands to conquer, and in
the process carrying the banner of civilization ever westward and
establishing successive new communities and states. The present
generation of students of American history has not been unmindful of
the importance and interest which attaches to this westward movement,
and has not failed to accord it, in the main, all due recognition.
With the doings and deserts of our pioneer farm, canal, railroad, and
city builders, our hewers of wood and drawers of water, in a word,
historians have long made us familiar. Unfortunately, however, too
little attention has been given, and too little recognition accorded,
the equally important service of those among our western pioneers who
laid the foundations of our spiritual and intellectual civilization.
That man may not live by bread alone was stated long ago on excellent
authority. The hewing down of the forests and breaking of the
prairies, the building of houses, highways, and cities were all
essential steps in the process of transforming the wilderness into an
abode of enlightened civilization. Equally essential was the
establishment of institutions of learning and religion, and the
development of a taste for literature and art. The blossoming of these
finer fruits of civilization inevitably tended to sweeten and refine
the society of the pioneers, which otherwise, engrossed in a stern
physical struggle with the wilderness, must have become hard and gross
in character.
Fortunate indeed is the pioneer community which numbers among its
settlers intellectual and spiritual leaders fired with enthusiasm and
endowed with ability. Fortunate it was for Wisconsin when in the very
year of her birth as a territory, Increase Allen Lapham cast his lot
for the remainder of his life with her. The service rendered by the
intellectual aristocracy of pioneer Massachusetts and the other New
England colonies has long been accorded ample recognition. The valiant
labors of Increase Lapham in the service of the state of his adoption
have largely gone unheeded and unrewarded to the present moment. Yet
it is safe to predict that when the future historian shall come to
scan the record of the first half century of Wisconsin’s history as a
territory and state, he will affirm that no man brought greater honor
to her or performed more valuable services in her behalf than did the
modest scholar, Increase Allen Lapham.
The frontier has ever been proud of its self-made men, esteeming
chiefly, not who a man might be but rather what he was able to do.
Lapham was a true frontiersman in this respect at least, that he was a
wholly self-made scholar. He was born in March, 1811, at Palmyra, New
York, “two miles west of the Macedon locks on the Erie Canal.” His
father, Seneca Lapham, was an engineering contractor, the pursuit of
whose profession necessitated frequent family removals. Thus, in 1818
the family was located at Pottsville, Pennsylvania, where the father
was employed on the Schuylkill Canal; two years later he was back on
the Erie Canal and the family was residing for a second time at Galen,
New York; the next few years witnessed further removals to Rochester
and Lockport in New York, and to several points in Ohio.
The boy, Increase Lapham, was evidently a precocious youth. At
thirteen years of age he “found frequent sale” for his drawings of the
plan of the locks his father had assisted in constructing at Lockport.
About this time he gained employment, first at cutting stone for the
locks and then as rodman on the canal. While engaged in stonecutting,
he wrote in later years, “I found my first fossils and began my
collection. The beautiful specimens I found in the deep rock cut at
this place gave me my first ideas of mineralogy and initiated a habit
of observation which has continued through all my life. I found
amusement and pastime in the study of nature, leading to long walks in
the country, and as I found no others of similar tastes these rambles
were usually without companions.”
When fifteen years of age the youth followed his father to Ohio where
he worked for a short time on the Miami Canal, removing at the close
of the year, 1826, to undertake similar employment at Louisville. At
this time, apparently, he first attracted the attention of members of
the world of scholarship, for we find the renowned scientist,
Professor Silliman of Yale, writing to thank him “for the liberal
spirit which you manifest in encouraging a work designed to promote
the public good”--the work in question being the _American Journal of
Science_, of which Silliman was the founder and editor. Within a few
months the boy made his first contribution to scholarship by sending
to Silliman, for publication in the _American Journal of Science_, a
comprehensive description of the canal around the Ohio Rapids.
At this time he was only sixteen, and his opportunities for schooling
had been exceedingly scant. Yet his habits of observation and his
powers of reasoning and of expressing himself in clear and convincing
English might well be coveted by the average college undergraduate of
today. A convenient illustration of these powers is afforded by
Lapham’s journal entry for October 24. 1827:
A smoky day. Mr. Henry, the engineer [of the canal], is of
the opinion that the smoke occasioning our Indian summer, as
the smoky weather is called, does not originate in the
burning prairies in the West, or in other extensive fires;
but that it is from the decay of vegetation. (If it is
possible for vegetables to be converted into smoke without
combustion this will appear very probable!!!!)
He relates an instance of a very smoky day at New Madrid
being followed by an earthquake; this he supposed to be the
smoke that had arisen through the ground. I told him that I
supposed it was owing to a peculiar state of the atmosphere
which was unfavorable to the decomposition of smoke; to this
he made no reply.
The years of Lapham’s youth and early manhood from 1827-36 must be
passed in rapid review. Two years in all were spent on canal work at
Louisville; over three more followed at Portsmouth, Ohio; in April,
1833, the Ohio State Board of Canal Commissioners installed the young
engineer (now twenty-two years of age) as its secretary at an annual
salary of $400. Thereafter for three years his headquarters were in
the state capitol at Columbus, his work being that of secretary of the
canal commission. Meanwhile the elder Lapham, advised and financially
assisted by his sons, Darius and Increase, had abandoned the calling
of canal contractor and settled upon a farm near Mount Tabor. This
became the permanent family home, and here Seneca Lapham acquired a
well-deserved repute among his fellows both for his sobriety of
character and for his progressive ideas and practices with respect to
farming operations. In the years under review Increase Lapham
continued to pursue with enthusiasm his scientific studies and
investigations, the range of his interests and observations widening
with every passing year. Relations of acquaintance and friendship were
established with a large number of scientific investigators, all of
them, doubtless, much older than was Lapham himself. The study of
botany and zoölogy, and investigations with respect to more scientific
methods of farming were begun. In a communication on “Agriculture in
Ohio,” contributed to the _Genesee Farmer_ in 1833, the modern
doctrine with respect to rotation of crops and scientific renovation
of the soil through the use of fertilizers was laid down. A third of a
century later, but still over a third of a century in advance of the
recent movement for the conservation of the natural resources of the
country, Lapham followed up this general line of thought by writing
and publishing as a Wisconsin legislative document a comprehensive
argument in favor of the conservation of the state’s forest resources.
Happy had it been for both state and nation if heed had been given in
time to the vital problem to which he thus early called attention.
To a practical application of the Jacksonian theory of spoils politics
was due the migration of Lapham from the capital of Ohio to the
new-born town of Milwaukee in the spring of 1836. In later years he
humorously explained that he was “reformed” out of office and
employment in Ohio; at the time, there is reason to believe, the blow
was not considered in a humorous light. Early in his canal career
Lapham had worked under Byron Kilbourn, who now had thrown in his
fortunes with the rising young village of Milwaukee. As a leading
promoter of the coming metropolis Kilbourn had extensive business
projects in view, among them that of procuring the construction of the
Milwaukee and Rock River Canal, which would, it was fondly believed,
go far toward realizing for the nascent city her dreams of
metropolitan greatness. There was much demand for men possessed of
engineering ability, and Kilbourn, who had conceived a friendship for
Lapham which was to prove lifelong, now brought him to Wisconsin on a
salary of $1,000 a year. Thus Wisconsin became his permanent home, for
he left Milwaukee only to remove in old age to a farm near Oconomowoc.
At the mouth of the Milwaukee River Lapham found, on his arrival on
July 3, 1836, fifty houses where a few months before had been but two
or three. In coming from the older settled portion of Ohio to
Milwaukee he had entered a new world. Chicago was still in the height
of its first mad speculative boom and conditions at Milwaukee differed
only in detail from those which prevailed at Chicago. Indeed, on
reaching Detroit on his westward journey, Lapham wrote to his brother:
“I am now, and have been since I arrived at Sandusky, in what might
very properly be called the world of speculators: everybody you meet
is engaged in some speculation; everything you hear has some
speculation at the bottom. The hotel where I am now writing has
suspended on the walls of the barroom plats of new towns; I have added
the ninth.” No wonder the impecunious young man, engulfed in such an
atmosphere, proceeded, immediately upon his arrival at Milwaukee, to
purchase three town lots for $5,000, payable “one-half in one one-half
in two years.” How did he expect to provide the money to meet this
obligation? He did not expect to provide it; he “bought them for the
purpose of selling them again at a higher price.”
Lapham, however, was never designed for a business man, and he never
acquired more than a very modest competence in life. I have spoken of
the speculative mania which then pervaded all the newer West merely to
illustrate the sincerity of the young immigrant’s devotion to
scholarship, from the pursuit of which even the thrill and
intoxication of perhaps the greatest boom the country has ever
witnessed could detain him only momentarily. Within two weeks of his
arrival at Milwaukee he records that he has made a map of the county
(possibly a professional matter) and “done a little botanizing.” Even
earlier, while at Detroit en route to the West, he had taken time to
write Professor Asa Gray an offer to collect for him specimens from
the new region to which the writer was going. “Let me entreat you to
pay particular attention to my _pets_, the grasses,” wrote the noted
botanist in reply; “I will see that you have due credit for every
interesting discovery.” Six weeks after his arrival at Milwaukee
Lapham wrote to another botanical friend that he found many new plants
at Milwaukee; and that “in order to inform my friends of what plants
are found here and to enable them to indicate such as they want I
think of publishing a catalogue of such as I find.”
Thus was conceived the idea responsible for the first publication of a
scientific character within the bounds of the present state of
Wisconsin, for before the close of the year there issued from the
office of Milwaukee’s newly founded newspaper a _Catalogue of Plants
and Shells, Found in the Vicinity of Milwaukee, on the West Side of
Lake Michigan_, by I. A. Lapham. It would probably be safe to affirm
that this was the first scientific work to be published west of the
Great Lakes, at least to the north of St. Louis. For in literary
matters Chicago, whose commercial progress Milwaukee never succeeded
in equalling, must yield the palm of leadership to her early North
Shore rival. Leaving out of consideration one or two lyceum lectures
which were printed after delivery, the earliest Chicago imprint of a
scholarly character of which I have any knowledge is Mrs. Kinzie’s
well-known story of the Chicago massacre, published as a pamphlet in
1844; and this, a reminiscent family narrative, does not deserve to be
regarded as scholarly in the true sense of the term.
In 1838, two years after his arrival, Lapham began the collection of
material for a gazeteer of Wisconsin. Published at Milwaukee in 1844,
it constitutes both Wisconsin’s first book of history and the state’s
first home-made book of any character to be published in more durable
binding than paper. So attractive were its merits that an unscrupulous
rival author, Donald McLeod, more adept at wielding the scissors than
the pen, promptly and brazenly plagiarized a large portion of its
contents for his _History of Wiskonsan_, published, appropriately
enough, by “Steele’s Press” at Buffalo, in 1846: and a copy of this
fraudulent publication was recently offered for sale by a dealer, with
due encomiums upon its rarity and worth, for the modest sum of thirty
dollars.
Thus far we have followed Lapham’s career in due chronological order.
Some thirty years were yet to elapse before his death in 1875, years
crowded with earnest, self-effacing labors in the cause of
scholarship. In what follows I shall treat of his various scholarly
interests and achievements in topical order, without regard to
chronology.
Although himself self-taught Lapham’s active interest in educational
institutions persisted throughout his life. In 1843 he secured the
adoption by the territorial legislature of a resolution to Congress
petitioning a grant of land for the purpose of establishing in
Wisconsin an institution for the instruction of the deaf and dumb, and
blind, and an asylum for the insane. He is the real father of the
Milwaukee public high school system. In 1846 he donated thirteen acres
of land lying within the city limits for the purpose of establishing
the first high school. In the spring of 1848 he was commissioned by
the city as its agent to secure a loan of $16,000 in the East for the
building of schoolhouses, and he made the long trip to New York and
Boston on this public mission. In the same year he proffered the newly
authorized University of Wisconsin the gift of “a pretty extensive
herbarium” of 1,000 or 1,500 species of plants. In March, 1848, by a
meeting of citizens held at the council house “it was deemed expedient
to establish a college in this city” and an executive committee of
five townsmen was appointed with full power to consummate the desired
object. Lapham was one of the five men charged with this weighty
responsibility, and out of this movement proceeded the “Milwaukee
Female Seminary,” which today is represented by the Milwaukee-Downer
College, one of the state’s noble institutions of higher learning. In
August, 1850, as president of the executive board of the college,
Lapham had the satisfaction of delivering to its first two graduates
their diplomas. When, in later years, he was offered a professorship
in the school he declined the position, modestly explaining that his
lack of education and of teaching experience rendered him unfit to
discharge the trust.
With our own State Historical Society his connection was long and
honorable. Before coming to Wisconsin he had actively engaged in the
work of the Ohio Historical and Philosophical Society. He hailed with
joy the formation of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in 1849
and was one of the committee of three which drafted its first
constitution. The society being formally organized, he at once began
to labor to promote its collections. He served as its vice-president
for twelve years, and as president for ten additional years. With the
Smithsonian Institution he established relations of mutual helpfulness
almost immediately upon its organization. Of his relations with this
and other learned institutions more will be said in connection with
certain lines of investigation which he carried on.
In 1849 Dr. Lapham proposed to the American Antiquarian Society of
Worcester, Massachusetts, to make an extensive survey of the mounds
and other ancient remains in Wisconsin provided the society would
defray the actual outlay of money involved. The enterprise thus
proposed was adopted by the Antiquarian Society, as a result of which
the survey was made, the fruits of it being given to the scientific
world a few years later in Lapham’s _Antiquities of Wisconsin_. This
work, published under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, is
filled with the author’s drawings, beautifully executed, of the
numerous earthworks and mounds he had located. Students of American
archeology will always owe the patient author a heavy debt of
gratitude for having carefully plotted and described these evidences
of aboriginal habitation in Wisconsin before the work of destruction
which inevitably attended the advance of white settlement had gained
much headway.
Thus in many departments of learning--in geology, botany, conchology,
in meteorology, history, and archeology--Lapham busied himself,
acquiring repute among the scholars of Europe as in America, all the
while earning his simple living by such professional work as he
permitted himself the time to do. Perhaps no single achievement of his
possesses more of interest to the world in general or has directly
added more to the well-being and comfort of every one of us than his
work in securing the establishment of a weather-service bureau by the
national government. It cannot be claimed that he fathered the idea of
such a service and its attendant possibility of foretelling weather
conditions far enough in advance to make the information of real
commercial value. Neither can Robert Fulton be credited with having
fathered the idea of the steamboat. Yet we rightly regard Fulton as
its real inventor, since he was the first to demonstrate the
practicability of the idea. So with Lapham and the weather bureau. For
twenty years he urged upon the Smithsonian Institution, the Wisconsin
legislature, and other agencies of society the practicability and the
immense advantage of such a government service. For twenty years, as a
private individual he made records and observations, seeking to
demonstrate his claims. But in the nature of the case (as Lapham
repeatedly pointed out) only some powerful agency like the national
government could take the many observations at different points
necessary to the success of the work, assemble their results, and make
them known throughout the nation in time to be of practical use to the
public. Finally, the persistent seeker after the public good succeeded
in attracting the notice of men powerful enough to compel the
attention of Congress. As a result the law for the incorporation of
the signal service was passed. How the result was achieved by Lapham
may best be told in the words of a man to whom he had appealed for
assistance. At the meeting of the National Board of Fire Underwriters,
held in New York in April, 1875, a resolution to appoint a special
committee to correspond with the United States Signal Service
Department in relation to wind as an element in fire risks was under
consideration when Hon. E. D. Holton rose and said:
There is a little man who lives in my town about so high
(holding his hand a little lower than his shoulders) who
lives in an obscure part of the town, and is known to
comparatively few people in the town. You go to his house
and find it filled with all the evidences of science,
specimens from the vegetable world and the mineral world.
Going to London a few years ago I was given by this little
man a letter of introduction to Sir William Hooker,
custodian of the Kew Gardens, which secured for me eminent
entertainment and influence. Five years ago as I was about
to leave my house to go to Richmond, Virginia, to attend a
meeting of the National Board of Trade, he came to my house
and had a resolution drawn to be submitted to the National
Board of Trade, declaring that the national government
should organize a service to _look after the winds of the
continent of America_.
When I came to Richmond I presented that resolution. It
received a most eloquent second from the late General
Wolbridge, an eminent citizen of New York. The National
Board of Trade immediately passed the resolution. As soon as
it was passed I sent it to my friend, General Paine, then
member of Congress from my district in Wisconsin, and in an
incredibly short space of time for that august body--which
is supposed to have at least as much red tape as the
National Insurance Company--it was passed. I did not expect
that the wind question would meet me at this angle of the
insurance trade, but it seems it has.
That gentleman I will name. I rise to make these remarks and
I wish to speak his name in this connection, because out of
his labors so persistent, in his humble house, so unknown to
his countrymen--for he is better known in foreign circles of
science than in his own country--and through his labors and
instrumentality, this thing has been brought into its
present shape. His name is Dr. Increase Allen Lapham of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
And how, it may be asked, did Lapham’s fellow-men requite his lifelong
labors devoted to the public good? The answer which must be made
affords much support to the proverbial belief in the ungratefulness of
republics. When in 1870 Congress passed the bill providing for the
weather-signal service, its execution was entrusted to the chief
signal officer of the army. By him Lapham was employed for a short
time as special assistant in the War Department at a yearly salary of
$2,000. When he sent home (he was stationed at Chicago) to his
daughter the proceeds of his first month’s wages, she wrote to her
brother as follows:
Last Friday father sent home $128.03 to be deposited as the
first money of any amount he ever received for any
scientific occupation (regular salary at least) and Thursday
afternoon I was down town and met B. He said he had been
around among some of father’s friends and collected $100 to
make father a life member of the Chicago Astronomical
Society--(You know this society owns the “big telescope” at
Dearborn Observatory).
I forbear to quote the daughter’s delighted remarks which follow; more
profitable will it be for us to consider for a moment the bitter irony
of this situation. After more than forty years of zealous public
service to receive so pitiful a salary, his first tangible reward, and
to have this discontinued within a few months time! To be fitted both
by inherent tastes and lifelong training to enjoy and profit by
membership in such an association, and yet unable, because our
countrymen estimate the services of scholars so low, to pay the paltry
membership fee! Here, indeed, is the cross on which in the United
States today we crucify scholarship.
One other matter and I shall conclude. Before he left Ohio Dr. Lapham
had labored to induce the legislature to make provision for a
geological survey of that state. From the time of his arrival in
Wisconsin he strove as an individual to carry out such a survey here.
Necessarily in order to do it thoroughly and to publish its results
the power of the state must be brought into play. At length in 1873
provision was made by statute for a geological survey of Wisconsin and
Governor Washburn appointed Dr. Lapham chief geologist to have the
direction of the enterprise. The work was pushed vigorously and
efficiently throughout the seasons of 1873 and 1874. Suddenly, in
January, 1875, Governor Taylor removed Dr. Lapham in order to make a
place for one of his spoils-seeking supporters. According to the
_American Journal of Science_ the new geologist’s “sole recommendation
for the position was political services, no one having ever heard of
him before as acquainted with geology or any other science.” Thus
finally did our state requite its first scholar--first certainly from
the viewpoint of chronology, and probably first from every other
viewpoint. “Knowing that time, which cures all things,” wrote the
three assistant geologists he had chosen two years before, “will do
you ample justice, and feeling most strongly the irreparable loss that
the state has sustained in the disseverment of your connection with
the survey, we remain with the most sincere respect, Your obedient
servants.” As an indication of the quality of the assistants selected
by Dr. Lapham it may be noted that one of the men who thus testified
this appreciation of their deposed chief was Thomas Chrowder
Chamberlin, who has been for many years chief geologist of the
University of Chicago.
Time indeed cures all things, notwithstanding that the mills of the
gods grind slowly. Of Dr. Lapham’s spoilsman successor as chief
geologist of Wisconsin, it may still be said, as at the time of his
appointment, that his reputation as a scientist yet remains to be
made. Governor Taylor, who made the removal, sleeps in silent Forest
Hill within sight of the capitol where formerly he ruled a state;
while in the holy of holies of the beautiful new state capitol, the
governor’s reception chamber, in the midst of famous soldiers,
explorers, and legislators, an eminent artist has chosen to depict the
application of scientific knowledge to the benefit of mankind in the
person of Doctor Lapham seated at his desk, before him an open
manuscript, and on the wall nearby, supported by two children
typifying the winds, his map of the United States, showing the first
storm traced across the country. More recently still, prompted by the
urging of citizens of the locality, the federal government has given
to the highest eminence in Waukesha County, overlooking the beautiful
lake region which Dr. Lapham so loved in life, the name of Lapham
Peak. Time is slowly proving his worth. More fitting memorials than
these he could not have asked.
A FOREST FIRE IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN
BY JOHN L. BRACKLIN[1]
I had been running a steamboat on Lake Chetak and Birch Lake in Sawyer
County, Wisconsin, during the summer of 1898 and had finished my work
September 25. I arrived in Rice Lake with the expectation of having a
couple of weeks’ rest before again taking up my duties as foreman of
one of Knapp, Stout, and Company’s logging camps for the winter. I had
been in town one day, about long enough to get cleaned up, when I went
down to the company’s office to draw some money. While I was in the
general office some one said: “Your father wants to see you in his
office.” I walked into his office and sat down. He had a map showing
camp locations and other data spread out on the desk before him, which
he studied for a few moments and then turned to me, saying: “John, how
soon can you get ready to go to the woods?” This, as you know, could
have but one answer, and that was, “Now!” “All right,” he said, “I am
somewhat alarmed about this long-continued dry spell and fires might
spring up at any moment, and none of the camps or dams in your
locality have any fire protection, such as back-firing and
water-barrels at hand. Therefore I wish you would pick up a few men
and whatever you might need and get up to your camp, make your
headquarters there, and look after the camps in that vicinity, namely:
Mulvaney’s, Aronson’s, Knutson’s, Max Down’s, Thompson’s, and the old
Ahern Camp on Sucker Creek.”
I swallowed the disappointment of a contemplated trip to Minneapolis
to see the only girl I ever thought very much of, whom I had not seen
for about eight months, and stepping over to the shipping clerk’s
desk, I wrote up a list of food supplies and a requisition for a team
to move the same, expecting to start the following morning. I went out
on the street to pick up some men and came across Lee Miller and Frank
Wirth, inseparable pals, who had worked for me the previous winter. I
asked them how soon they would be ready to go to the woods, and they
said, “Right now.” “All right,” said I, “pack your sacks and be here
at six in the morning, and we will load the team and go.” While we
were talking, another man came along, Julius Peterson by name, a
hunchback, who, notwithstanding his deformity, was considered one of
the best sawyers that ever felled a tree. He also was willing to start
immediately, so I went over to the hotel and wrote the only girl--who,
by the way, has been my wife for the past seventeen years--that I
would have to defer that visit for another seven or eight months. I
got my clothes packed again, and at six-thirty the following morning
we were on our way to my camp at the head of Birch Lake, a distance of
about thirty miles.
We arrived at Cedar Lake Dam for dinner and at camp about eight
o’clock the night of September 27, 1898. We opened the door of the
cook-shanty very cautiously, so as not to disturb a family of skunks
who yearly took up their abode under the floors of the camps during
the summer months. They did not approve of being disturbed, and from
past experiences we decided not to make any unnecessary noise, such as
moving tables and heavy boxes along the floors, until such time as
they might be more accustomed to our presence. We built a fire in the
stove and made some coffee, and after what we called a “store-feed,”
consisting of cheese, crackers, and sardines, we spread our blankets
upon the floor to sleep as only men of that day could. We arose about
five-thirty on the morning of the twenty-eighth, had another
store-breakfast, unloaded the wagon, and started the team back to
town. Then the great question confronted us as to who was to do the
cooking. The regular cook for the winter, Herman Gottschalk, could not
be had for at least two weeks, as he was cooking for the rafting-crews
at Reed’s Landing. Frank Wirth finally agreed to a compromise: he was
to do the cooking until such time as the first man should kick and
then said man was to cook until someone else should kick, to which we
all agreed.
Leaving Wirth at the camp to cook up a regular dinner, Miller,
Peterson, and I left for Mulvaney’s Camp to see what condition it
would be in, if we had the unexpected fire. We arrived there about ten
o’clock and opened up the blacksmith shop, got out empty barrels,
cooking utensils, and everything that would hold water, and started
Miller out to round up a couple of yokes of cattle. He returned in an
hour or so with about ten head. We selected two yokes out of the bunch
and, hooking them up to a breaking-plow, plowed about a dozen furrows
around the camp, after which we turned them loose. They immediately
started off in a westernly direction, which you may call animal
instinct if you will, for we afterward found that to be the only
possible direction they could have taken and evaded the fire, which
unbeknown to us was so soon to follow. We sat down and smoked our
pipes and joked about the unnecessary precaution of filling the
barrels, as at that time it was one of the prettiest autumn days I
have ever seen, not a cloud in the sky, not a breeze stirring, no sign
of smoke anywhere, and no possible chance, apparently, of there ever
being a fire. Nevertheless, we were carrying out instructions and we
set to work to fill up the barrels, which took about an hour.
We had just filled the barrels on the roof of the long barns, when
Miller, who was on top of one of the barns, called my attention to a
cloud of smoke that had suddenly sprung up on the horizon about five
or six miles to the south and west of us. I climbed up on the roof of
the barn, where I could get a better view. The wind suddenly arose and
within ten minutes it had attained the velocity of a cyclone; what
followed happened so quickly it has never as yet been quite clear to
me. I can remember the black cloud settling down and in less time than
it takes to write this, the fire was upon us--not on the ground as you
might imagine, but in the air. The heat became terrific and the first
sign of a blaze sprang up in the top of a broken stump about twenty
feet in height and a hundred feet from the sleeping-shanty.
I jumped off the roof of the barn, grabbed up a water bucket, Peterson
doing the same, and ran for the sleeping-shanty, a distance of about
150 feet. Before we could reach it, it was afire. We threw several
buckets of water upon it, but the water might have been kerosene for
all the good it did. Seeing it was useless to try to save the
sleeping-shanty or the cook-shanty, which were only a few feet apart,
we ran back to the barns, thinking to save them. This may sound
dubious, but it all happened within twenty minutes of the time we
first saw smoke four or five miles away. As quickly as we reached the
barn I motioned to Miller to dump the barrels of water which we had
placed there; those buildings, if you remember them, were each about
sixty feet in length, standing parallel, with a hay shed between,
which contained about ten tons of baled hay left over from the
previous winter. While Miller ran to the far end of the barn,
upsetting the six or seven barrels as he ran, Peterson and I were
throwing water on the hay shed. I don’t suppose we had thrown more
than ten or twelve buckets when the roof of the barn took fire. As I
said before, the fire seemed to be in the very air, for strange as it
may seem, the dry grass and leaves around the buildings were not yet
burned. In less than a minute the roof was afire from one end to the
other. I motioned to Miller to jump off. He did so and ran towards me.
When he got near enough so that I could hear, he yelled: “What in hell
will we do now, and which way will we go?”
Then for the first time I realized the danger we were in. A glance
around showed only one way open and that was due north towards a wall
of virgin green timber, a distance of about 500 yards. The ground
between us and the edge of the timber had been logged the previous
winter, leaving treetops and brush piled up here and there in great
heaps--you know how it would look after being logged. How we got to
the edge of the timber I can hardly remember, but in the excitement I
still had the empty water-bucket in my hand. We reached the timber to
find that the fire had beaten us. Perhaps a burning brand from one of
the buildings had dropped just at the edge of the timber among the dry
leaves and had burned a strip of ground about 200 feet in width,
leaving the ground perfectly bare. Luckily for us the timber was
green, with no underbrush to hold the fire, for when we reached there,
there was nothing left on the ground but the smouldering ashes of the
leaves. We stopped to get our breath, and then it dawned upon us how
useless it was to run. I said to Miller, “If we ever get out of this,
it will be by staying right here.” He gave me one look, which I shall
never forget, as much as to say, “Man, you are crazy,” and again
started to run, Peterson following. I then turned and looked back
whence we had come. There was a solid wall of fire similar to a great
wave, extending as far to each side as one could see and mounting
fifty feet in height. It is hard to express just what my feelings
were, but I remember that I ceased to be afraid, knowing that our time
had come, there being not a possible chance to come out alive. The
main body of the fire by that time had reached a point about where the
camps had stood. I was almost tempted to start to run, when I turned
to find Miller and Peterson again at my side. They had run only a
short distance into the tail end of the advance fire and had come
back. I remember Miller lying on his face on the ground with his head
stuck into a hole that he had dug out with his hands. The ground at
the roots of the trees was damp, and the only way we could breathe was
by lying on the ground, for when we stood up the heat and smoke were
so thick we could not breathe.
It is interesting to hear people relate their experiences and close
encounters with death. After hearing them, I can judge just how close
they really have been to real death. For as I see it, it has four
stages--first, the excitement; then fear; then resolution; then death
itself. At about this time we had reached the point of resolve; Miller
and Peterson were on their knees praying, while as for myself,
nothwithstanding I have lived a somewhat better life since, I
concluded that as I had never asked God for anything prior to that, it
was a very poor time to start in now that I was about to die. So I
concluded to go just as I was, believing, as I still do, that a
death-bed confession would avail me nothing. You can best realize our
position when I tell you that we were never over four feet apart for
at least four hours and during that period there was not one word
exchanged among us. At the end of that time I was standing leaning up
against a tree. Other trees were falling all around us, and as I stood
there wishing one might fall on me and end it all, it started to rain.
It must have poured, for before I realized what had happened I was wet
to the skin. That brought me back to my senses and I realized that I
was alive and that I still wanted to live. I ran a short distance and
it came to me like a flash that I was going the wrong way to get out.
I turned and ran back, and as I ran, stumbled over Peterson, who was
still on his knees. The first word to break the dull silence of those
hours was spoken then, when he said, “What in hell are you trying to
do?” We made our way out to the old tote road, and after walking about
a mile west, got out of the range of the fire.
We made our way back to camp to find Wirth all excited. His greeting
was, “Gee, you ought to have been here this afternoon, for everything
at the dam”--meaning Birch Lake dam--“has burned, camps and all, for
I could see the hay stacks as they would catch fire and the flames
shoot up in the air hundreds of feet.” Then the thought flashed upon
me: The dam, suppose it should burn out. With an eleven-foot head of
water on Birch Lake and Big Chetak, what would happen to the country
below? Miller and Peterson being all in, I asked Wirth if he would go
with me and try to make the dam. The rain had lasted only about half
an hour and the fire, which had again got under way, but with no wind,
was fortunately not burning as furiously as earlier in the day. The
road to the dam took us back into the edge of the fire, but on making
several detours we reached the dam to find both wings afire. Pete
Null, and four or five men who had been stationed there at the Birch
Lake Camp, were making a desperate fight to save the dam, but they
were almost played out, having fought in vain all afternoon to save
the camps.
One glance and I saw what to do. Wirth and I picked up a couple of
peavies, and climbing down to the apron, ripped up four or five planks
and stuck them on end down under the bed plates, or stringers, leaving
them standing pointing up stream at an angle of forty-five degrees. We
then climbed back upon the dam and raised the gate four or five
inches. When the current struck those planks it threw a spray of water
all over both wings of the dam and inside of ten minutes we had the
fire completely out.
[Illustration: MAP PREPARED BY MR. BRACKLIN TO ILLUSTRATE HIS
NARRATIVE]
We all sat down and rested for about half an hour; then Wirth and I
took a boat and rowed back to camp, a distance of about two miles.
When we reached there, about midnight, the rain set in and it rained
until noon the following day. Miller and Peterson were still unable to
move around much, as their faces and hands were badly blistered and
their eyes pained them terribly. As for myself, aside from being
unable to speak above a whisper, I was in pretty good shape, and
knowing it would only be a couple of days until father, as soon as he
could reach us, would be there to look the situation over--plans for
the coming winter of logging would have to be changed to include all
the timber that had been burned, for in that country a tree though
slightly burned would be worm-eaten inside of a year unless cut--I
started out with Wirth the next morning to find, if we could, just how
far the fire had extended east and west and to look up a site for a
camp to replace the Mulvaney Camp which had burned. We found that the
fire had taken a course similar to that of a cyclone, about three
miles in width and about twenty miles in length, extending from a
point four miles south and west of Cedar Lake Dam, crossing the
narrows between Cedar Lake and Hemlock up the east shore of Cedar Lake
to a point about opposite Stout’s Island, and then north to the shores
of Big Chetak just west of the Aronson Camp in Section 4--in all an
area of about seventeen miles in length and two to four miles in
width.
Father and L. S. Tainter arrived the next day and after looking over
the site for the new camp we came back to the scene of our experience
of a few days before. We had about reached the point when father
turned to me saying, “John, did I understand you to say you were here
during this fire?” I answered “Yes.” He looked at me for a moment
with, you will remember, that peculiar squint of his and then he said,
“John, you lie, for no man could have been here when this fire passed
and lived to tell the tale.” Nevertheless we were there, and are still
living.
[1] The author of this narrative is a native of Rice Lake,
Wisconsin. His father, James Bracklin, was for over thirty
years superintendent of logging and log-driving for the
Knapp, Stout, and Company lumbering corporation. Under his
tutelage the son received his training for his life-calling
of woodsman and lumberman. The present narrative was
prepared in the form of a letter to Mr. Henry E. Knapp of
Menomonie, to whom we are indebted for the opportunity to
put it into print.
BANKERS’ AID IN 1861-62[2]
BY LOUISE P. KELLOGG
When the news of the firing upon Fort Sumter aroused the North, all
eyes were turned upon New York, not only as the monetary center of the
country, but as a city most closely allied in financial interests with
the South. The moneyed men of that city responded to the country’s
danger. Upon the stock exchange cheers were given for Major Anderson,
and April 17, 1861, resolutions were passed pledging the loyalty of
the institution to the government. Anderson and his command from Fort
Sumter reached New York on April 18, and on Saturday, April 20, a
monster mass-meeting was held in Union Square, where five speaker’s
stands had been erected. The resolutions adopted at this meeting not
only pledged the loyalty of the city, but provided for a Union Defense
Committee, comprising thirty of the most prominent financiers and
bankers headed by General John A. Dix, recently secretary of the
treasury under President Buchanan. The mayor and the comptroller of
the city were ex-officio members of this committee. The city council
appropriated $1,000,000 for the immediate needs of the New York
troops, and raised the funds by the sale of Union Defense bonds. The
Committee of Union Defense acted ex-officio as a federal agent,
attending to the equipment and dispatching of regiments, purchasing
steamers for transportation, feeding and sheltering the troops,
without waiting for the action of the federal authorities. At one time
three members of the committee were entrusted with $2,000,000 federal
money without security or compensation. By these means the Seventh New
York
Regiment was dispatched for the protection of Washington, and other
troops were moved toward the front. The Union Defense Committee was
maintained for about one year. Its later duties were concerned with
the care of funds raised for the benefit of the volunteers and their
families. It collected and disbursed for this purpose about
$1,000,000.
Meanwhile the city banks were loyally endeavoring to prevent a
financial crisis. April 25, 1861 they determined to hold all their
specie as a common fund, this being a precautionary measure to sustain
public confidence. There were in New York City fifty-four banks with a
capital of $69,907,000. Much of their paper was held in the southern
states, where debts to northern holders were quickly repudiated.
Nevertheless, in the entire state of New York only five banks
suspended during 1861, and none of these in New York City.
Following the example of New York, the banks of Boston and
Philadelphia pooled all their cash reserves. The Boston banks, of
which there were forty-two, with a capital of $38,231,000, and which
had a clearing-house system, aided in preventing an immediate panic.
Western banks were less well prepared to meet the emergency. Most of
them held southern state bonds as the basis of their currency system.
During 1861 bank after bank went to the wall, and the notes of others
depreciated with startling rapidity.
All the banks of that period were either state banks or private
banking concerns. The national banking-system did not come into being
until 1863. The first (though indirect) aid furnished by the banks in
the national crisis of 1861 was the preservation of their own
integrity, and therewith the entire credit system of the North, from
collapse. This was accomplished through the instrumentality of the
banks of the three chief cities of the East--New York, Boston, and
Philadelphia. In the West, a few banks in Cincinnati, Chicago, and
Milwaukee were strong enough to support the situation, even while the
larger part of the western banks went to the wall.
The direct aid furnished by the banks and bankers of the country to
the state and federal governments during the early years of the Civil
War may be classified under the three heads of contributions, loans,
and agencies.
CONTRIBUTIONS
The call for troops awoke a patriotic fervor in many hearts, which led
to an offering of money as well as of men. In this outpouring of gifts
the bankers took their part, some giving as individuals, many in the
name of their institutions. No complete record of these patriotic
contributions is available. _Harper’s Weekly_ of May 25, 1861,
estimated that the individual gifts of more than $1,000 from counties,
cities, societies, corporations, and other organizations totaled
$27,000,000.
LOANS
The first necessity was that of temporary loans for both the state and
federal governments.
_Temporary loans to states._ Patriotic impulse prompted the immediate
offering of loans by the banks. In Massachusetts the bankers of Boston
tendered the state government a loan up to ten per cent of their
combined capital. In Illinois the banks of Springfield offered the
state $100,000 on the day Lincoln called for troops. This was
supplemented by the Chicago banks’ tender of $500,000. Throughout the
early days of the war the banks in all localities were called upon for
loans on the credit of the state. These were funded at seven per cent,
then the usual interest for such transactions.
_Temporary loans to the federal government._ The treasury of the
United States was in a desperate condition at the outbreak of the
Civil War. Lacking resources even for its daily needs, it was totally
unprepared for the great strain immediately placed upon it. Secretary
Chase did not have recourse to the bankers, however, until after the
battle of Bull Run in July had proved that the war was not to be an
affair of “three months.”
On the day that the news of the defeat at Bull Run reached
Philadelphia, a young banker recently removed to that city from Ohio,
an ardent partisan of Secretary Chase, drew up a paper offering to
advance to the Secretary of the Treasury specified sums for sixty days
at six per cent interest, returnable in specie or interest-bearing
treasury notes. With this proposal he visited the principal banks and
financial houses in his city, and raised for immediate government
needs nearly $2,000,000 in one day. Chase was interested and grateful,
and the fortunes of Jay Cooke, the young banker, were made from that
day.
Early in 1862, when the government’s daily needs were increasing
enormously, John J. Cisco, assistant treasurer of the sub-treasury at
New York, made arrangements for a loan from the city banks of their
temporarily idle funds. These were received on deposit for thirty
days, subject to withdrawal thereafter on ten days’ notice. At first
Cisco by this means secured much specie at four per cent; later, five
and six per cent were paid for these advances. This money was largely
used for the payment of the interest on the public debt. One banker in
New York, it is said, became uneasy after lending the sub-treasury
$1,000,000, and demanded its return. Cisco told him to send his carts
for it immediately. The next day his faith in the government was
restored and he concluded to leave his reserve with the sub-treasurer.
An instance of immediate aid to the government’s foreign diplomats is
related in the biography of the late J. Pierpont Morgan. Morgan was in
London on business for his house at a time when Charles Francis Adams
was endeavoring to prove to the English government that certain
vessels fitting in British ports were intended for Confederate
privateers. The officials were slow to accept Adams’ proofs, and he
was much alarmed lest the commerce-destroyers should get to sea before
he had succeeded in having an embargo placed on their departure. The
British authorities finally agreed to detain the ships on condition
that Adams should deposit £1,000,000 guarantee to indemnify the
government should the owners not prove to be Confederates. Adams was
in a dilemma: he could not well refuse such a proposition, but long
before he could receive the money from America the cruisers would be
at sea. He tried to borrow on his personal credit from London bankers,
only to be rebuffed. Young Morgan heard of the situation, sought the
ambassador, and promised to deliver $5,000,000 in gold into his hands
in two days, asking only his personal receipt in return, while
stipulating absolute secrecy concerning his patriotic action. In this
wise two of the commerce-destroyers were detained in port, and the
integrity of the American ambassador was vindicated.
_Secured, or long-time, loans to states._ Upon the news of the firing
on Fort Sumter and the subsequent call for troops every northern
legislature then in session appropriated a fund for war purposes.
Indiana, for example, voted $500,000 for arms and equipment, and
$100,000 for a contingent fund. Connecticut made an issue of $800,000
of war bonds. These funds were raised in various ways. In
Massachusetts and Connecticut they were offered for popular
subscription and sold at par. The western states placed their bonds on
the New York stock market, where in many cases they sold at a
considerable discount. Where the state’s credit was poor, and its
banking-system insecure, the bonds could not be placed, and were
recalled after being offered. Such was the case with Iowa and
Wisconsin. Ohio recalled its bonds, after they had been advertised in
New York, when it was learned that the federal government assumed all
war expenses, and would refund these to the states.
Wisconsin adopted an ingenious plan, suggested to the State Bankers’
Association by Alexander Mitchell. The state banks had deposited with
the state comptroller securities for their currency issues. The larger
proportion of these securities was made up of the bonds of the
southern or border states. Those of the secession states were
considered worthless, while those of Missouri, large holdings of which
were in Wisconsin, declined rapidly. The comptroller, as required by
law, made assessments upon the state banks, which they found it
difficult to meet. Mitchell proposed that the banks should purchase
the bonds of the state war fund at par, and that the comptroller
should accept them for the assessments. In this wise the credit of the
state was improved and the currency secured. The details of the
arrangement were that the banks took $800,000 of the war-fund bonds,
seventy per cent of which was paid at once, three-fifths in specie and
two-fifths in sound currency. The remaining thirty per cent was to be
met in fifteen annual installments. The adoption of this expedient
furnished the state with ready money, placed the banking currency on a
sound foundation, and restored confidence to the community.
Wisconsin’s banks resumed specie payments at the date fixed by law,
December 1, 1861, and maintained them for some time after the New York
banks had suspended such payments.
On the basis of these war-fund appropriations state agents flocked to
New York to arrange for the purchase of war material. Arms and
ammunition had to be largely secured from Europe. The New York banks
arranged these transactions, and furnished exchange and information.
The competition between the several state agents and those of the
federal government raised prices inordinately. This was remedied when
the federal government assumed full responsibility for all equipment.
_The federal loans._ The most important function of the banks was the
aid they furnished the Secretary of the Treasury in floating the great
federal loans that were required by the war necessities. The special
session of Congress which met in July, 1861, appropriated $250,000,000
for the immediate needs of the government, leaving large latitude with
the Secretary of the Treasury as to the method by which this amount
was to be raised.
The defeat at Bull Run put a very serious strain on the credit of the
United States, and the forced sale of securities in a foreign market
would have been disastrous to the future conduct of the war. In the
dilemma in which he was placed, Secretary Chase paid a visit to New
York, where Cisco, the assistant treasurer, invited the prominent
financial authorities to meet him for consultation. Chase frankly
stated the serious nature of the situation, and requested assistance
and advice. From the standpoint of policy this was a wise measure,
since previous to this time the New York bankers had held somewhat
aloof from the operations of the federal treasury. Their prompt
support at this crisis is to their perpetual credit, for although they
largely profited in the end by this government connection, at the time
of the operation the transactions were of daring boldness. The banks
realized that without a firm government their own operations were
imperiled, and thus they risked their all to support the government in
its crisis.
At the first conference George E. Coe, president of the Exchange Bank,
proposed an association to subscribe for the government loan. A
committee appointed to develop a plan reported on August 15 for
thirty-nine New York banks. Representatives from Boston and
Philadelphia were likewise present, and the loan was apportioned among
the three cities in accordance with the bank capital of each; that is,
seventy per cent was to come from New York, twenty per cent from
Boston, and ten per cent from Philadelphia. The association thus
formed agreed to take immediately $50,000,000 of treasury bonds
payable in three years with interest at seven and three-tenths per
cent. This rate, representing a payment of two cents a day on each one
hundred dollars loaned, had been adopted by Secretary Chase in the
hope of popularizing the bonds with the people. The banks composing
the association were to pay over to the sub-treasuries of the three
cities in specie ten per cent of the amount subscribed; the remainder
was to be placed to the credit of the United States upon the books of
the subscribing institutions. Meanwhile the bonds were to be offered
to the people, both by the banks and the sub-treasurers, and no other
United States securities were to be sold, except in Europe, while
these subscriptions were being solicited. The associated banks also
agreed to float a similar loan of $50,000,000 in October--if it had
not by that time been taken by popular subscription--and another
$50,000,000 in December.
This was the largest financial operation that had ever been attempted
in the United States. Its successful accomplishment at that time was
of the greatest possible value in maintaining public confidence, and
in uniting the fortunes of the financiers with those of the federal
government. It was a tribute to the organizing ability as well as to
the patriotism of the founders of the bank association. The capital of
the united banks was but $120,000,000, and their coin assets only
$63,000,000. Their subscription to $150,000,000 of government
securities was thus an act of faith.
In practice this agreement did not work out as the bankers had hoped.
Chase refused to suspend the sub-treasury act, though authorized to do
so by Congress, in order that the banks might pay the government’s
creditors in clearing-house certificates; thus the specie began
draining away from the banks into the sub-treasuries. The Secretary
also began the issue of demand notes on the treasury in considerable
amounts. Moreover, the public sales were less than had been
anticipated. The bankers were accused of attempting to dictate to the
government concerning the conduct of the war. The inevitable result of
all this friction was the suspension of specie payments by the New
York banks December 30, 1861.
With the immense strain upon the government’s resources, the
catastrophe of suspension would no doubt have occurred sooner or
later; but financial historians believe that had Secretary Chase been
more willing to accept the bankers’ propositions, had he coöperated
with them more fully, the financing of the Civil War might have
wrought less damage in the business world than it did.
AGENCIES
During the sale of the $150,000,000 bond issue Secretary Chase
appointed a large number of agents in every part of the United States
to secure the popular subscriptions. Most of these were presidents of
local banks. The agents were allowed a commission of one-fifth of one
per cent on the first $100,000, and one-eighth on later amounts. One
hundred and fifty dollars was allowed for advertising purposes. A
traveling agent went through the West, arranging for local agencies
and assisting in advertising. It was proposed to allow the country
bankers a larger commission with a view to stimulating wide sales, but
this proposal the Secretary of the Treasury declined to adopt.
The western agents were not very successful in promoting this loan.
Jay Cooke, of Philadelphia, sold more than one-fourth of all the bonds
issued to the agents; but, in order to do so, spent more than the
amount of his commission in advertising.
Secretary Chase became much interested in the measures adopted by this
Philadelphia banker. As more and more pressure was put upon him for
funds, he often consulted with Cooke, and frequently permitted the
latter to buy United States securities to buoy up a falling market. On
October 23, 1862 Chase appointed Jay Cooke sole agent for the
conversion of legal tender treasury notes into the $500,000,000 six
per cent five-twenty bonds authorized by Act of Congress February 25,
1862. By advertising on a larger scale than had hitherto been known,
and by employment of 2,500 sub-agents, mostly bank presidents, in
every part of the North, Jay Cooke accomplished his enormous task, the
loan being finally over-subscribed by $11,000,000. His commission was
three-eighths of one per cent on the first $100,000,000, of which
one-eighth went to the sub-agent, and one-eighth to advertising and to
placating the public press. The loan was sold in small denominations
to every class of the population. Cooke patriotically resisted all
proposals to sell large blocks of the bonds to European holders. He
believed a bond issue held by the people was the safest means of
financing and of prosecuting the war. He made the loan a great
democratic institution. It is not too much to say that his success in
selling this $500,000,000 bond issue “dispirited the South, gave
Europe … useful evidence of the determined courage and material wealth
of the northern people, and was a factor of vast importance in
deciding the fate of the Union.”
[2] This article was originally prepared as a memorandum for
the information of the Wisconsin State Council of Defense,
in response to the request of Charles McCarthy, secretary of
the Council.
[Illustration: HARVEY REID
[From a photograph taken in 1910]]
DOCUMENTS
THE DIARY OF HARVEY REID: KEPT AT MADISON IN THE SPRING OF 1861
WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY MILO M. QUAIFE
The war time diary of Harvey Reid possesses elements of permanent
interest and value. Aside from this, however, it should have a special
interest now, when we are still passing through the initial stage of
another great war in behalf of human liberty and human rights. With
the events and emotions of the past few months still fresh in mind, it
is well to relive with our eager diarist the opening scenes of the
Civil War at the capital of Wisconsin. Madison is an interesting city,
with a rich and interesting history; yet it would be impossible to
select, from all its eighty years of life, a period more crowded with
exciting events than were the three months of April, May, and June,
1861. Fortunately a bright and eager observer was at hand making his
daily record of the thrilling life of this exciting time.
Harvey Reid, the diarist, typifies the choicest product of our
American civilization. It was not given to him to play a prominent
rôle in the drama of his time. Instead, he belonged to the great mass
of Americans, of whom, as individuals, posterity will retain no
memory. But he was honest, industrious, and loyal, faithful to his
country alike in military and in civil life. Although his education
was limited to the district school, and to the ten-weeks’ preparatory
course at the University of Wisconsin covered by the diary, he
retained a lifelong interest in educational affairs, laboring
effectively for many years as school director and library trustee. His
intellectual vigor is attested by the fact that after reaching his
sixtieth year he began and diligently pursued the study of geology. In
the historical field two substantial volumes stand to his credit--a
biography of Enoch Long, published by the Chicago Historical Society,
and one of Thomas Cox, published by the State Historical Society of
Iowa.
Reid was born in Washington County, New York, March 30, 1842, of
Scotch-Irish ancestry. When two years of age he was taken by his
parents to Wisconsin, the journey being made by way of the Erie Canal
and then around the Lakes to Racine, which was reached in June, 1844.
The elder Reid shortly removed to Yorkville, and several years later
to Union Corners (now Union Grove) in Racine County. Thus Reid grew to
manhood in pioneer Wisconsin, and became in the fullest sense a
product of the Badger State. In 1859, at the age of seventeen, he
began teaching school in an adjoining district at a salary of twenty
dollars a month. A second winter was passed in the same way (the
summers being devoted to helping his father), and then, in the spring
of 1861, came the prized opportunity of ten weeks’ schooling at the
state university. How fully the young man improved it the pages of the
diary reveal.
Of the three room-mates in old North Hall from Union Grove, in the
spring of 1861, Goldsworthy, Fuller, and Reid, only the first-named
resumed his studies in the autumn. Reid again taught a winter term of
district school in Racine County, and then followed his parents, who
had removed to the new town of Shannon, Illinois. But in the summer of
1862, in response to Lincoln’s call for “six hundred thousand more,”
he returned to Union Grove to enlist with a squad of boys from the old
home neighborhood. Characteristic of the conduct of the Civil War is
the fact that of the twenty-four boys of the “Union Grove Squad,” four
died of disease, while but one was killed in battle. Reid enlisted at
Racine, August 7, 1862, in the Twenty-second Wisconsin Infantry. The
close of the war terminated his service in June, 1865. During the war
his father had removed to Sabula, Iowa. Following him thither, on
being released from the army, Reid made his home in Jackson County,
Iowa, until his death in 1910. He played a worthy, albeit quiet, rôle
in life, and died sincerely mourned by the circle of his
acquaintances.
The Civil War papers of Mr. Reid were presented to the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin a year ago by his daughter, Mary A.
Reid of Des Moines. They comprise, in addition to the diary here
printed, a voluminous correspondence during the term of military
service, with parents and sisters at home. At the beginning of his
service Mr. Reid formed the design of writing his home letters in the
form of a journal, instead of keeping, as so many Civil War soldiers
did, a formal diary. Because of this fact, and of the high order of
intelligence and ability possessed by the writer, the letters
constitute a valuable record, well worthy of publication when the
occasion shall offer.
UNIVERSITY DIARY
MAR. 22D. TO JUNE 26TH. 1862 [1861]
FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1861. Started on the 11½ o’clock train for Madison.
Arrived in Clinton at 4 P. M. Waited 20 minutes for the cars on the C
& N. W. R. This road passes through the village of Shopiere and the
city of Janesville. Arrived at Milton Junction about ½ past 4--then
took the train on the M & P du C R. R. & arrived at Madison about 7½
O’Clk Went with J. G.[3] to Mr. Whites where he boards. Met Mr.
Bradford[4] there.
SATURDAY 23. In the forenoon went to the Capitol where the Legislature
was in session. Both the Senate and Assembly were in Committee of the
whole on private and local bills. Was introduced by John to Mr
Curtis,[5] one of the students in the University. In the P. M. went
with Mr. Bradford to the State Historical Society’s rooms, where there
is a large library and many portraits, pictures, and curiosities. Also
went to Prof. Sterling’s[6] room, paid our tuition and room
fees--$12.50 received tickets for our keys and for the library, and
visited our rooms.
MONDAY, MARCH 25, 1861. On Sunday went to the Episcopal Church in the
A. M. the rector Mr. Britton[7] preached from Col. III. 2. In the
evening went to the Baptist Rev. Dr. Brisbane.[8]
On Monday attended the University--Mr. J B. Parkinson[9] is the tutor
in the Prep. Dept. Commenced Algebra, Geometry & Latin. Our goods not
having arrived on Saturday eve, we must wait till this evening. We
board with Mr. White in the meantime. In the Assembly at noon they
were discussing the bill appropriating money to the Lady Elgin
sufferers.[10] The bill was lost--Heard Bradford, D. H. Johnson &
Capt. Knapp[11] speak.
TUESDAY 26. Our goods arrived last night, but we could not get them
then. They will send them to us today. It is raining and freezing all
forenoon. settled with Mr. White--paid him $1.75 each--our freight &
cartage cost 2.87. occupied our room in the P. M. In the Assembly at
noon, the Personal Liberty repeal bill was under consideration but
they were only voting on amend. &c. so we heard no speaking. It was
passed in the Assembly.
WEDNESDAY 27. Went to the Capitol at noon the Assembly were taking the
final votes on the amendment to the Banking Law. It finally passed
with only five dissenting voices. Several of the students visited us
today, and invited us to attend their Societies, of which there are
two--the Hesperian and the Atheneum. There appears to be considerable
rivalry between them. The meetings are on Friday evening. John will
stay with us tonight and probably always after this.
THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1861. Bought 28 tickets for bread between us.
Wrote a letter home describing our rooms &c. Went down town to the P.
O. after 4. Nothing especial going on, but heard that the Legislature
will hold an evening session.
Went to the Capitol in the evening. Assembly in Committee of the
Whole, but soon had to rise on account of the noise and confusion, a
number of private and local bills passed to a third reading and
several of the same kind passed Bradford is going home tomorrow on a
visit
FRIDAY 29. Saw the 2 wonderful clocks & the thermometer[12] this
morning. Attended both Societies this evening--went first into the
Atheneum--they were discussing the question, “that the mentality of
the sexes are equal.” a spirited debate sprang up on a proposition to
amend the question by inserting “mental power,” instead of,
“mentality.” but it was lost. Heard Messrs. Norcross, Green &
Salisbury[13] & another whose name I do not remember speak.
In the Hesperian they were discussing whether “the war of 1812 was
justifiable on the part of the U. S.” it was decided in the aff.
John’s name & mine were presented for admission.
SATURDAY 30. After breakfast, about 8½ O’Clock, Will[14] & I went
across the lake to the Asylum. Had considerable trouble in getting
across a large crack in the ice in the middle of the lake. On arriving
on the shore found that the Asylum folks were making sugar. An
Irishman whom we found there took us immediately to the engine rooms,
and showed us the gas works,--(retort & meter), the engines, a large
wheel with fans for driving air into the principal buildings, the
large force pump worked by steam, the laundry rooms, took us through
the underground passage which leads between the two buildings. Found
Uncle T. in the billiard rooms where a crazy half breed & two others
were playing. Uncle T. looks quite healthy & appears somewhat better
in mind than when he left home. He took [us] all over the
building--let [?] into the ward in which he is--there we saw about a
dozen insane some sitting, some walking back & forth the length of the
hall, one lying down full length upon the floor, & 2 curled up in the
window; one was a man named Jones, who came from Racine Co. and had
often been at U. G. He had sometime been injured by a thrashing
machine & showed us a scar where one of his ribs had been taken out.
One was a preacher’s son, named Hall, he would speak to no one. One
had a violin which he commenced playing shortly after we came in, and
kept it up all the while we were there.
Uncle T. showed us in this ward, the water closet, where opening the
door caused water to run through the seats: the bathing room, the
reading room where they keep the daily & other papers for patients to
read. We were invited to take dinner with the help. Mr. Griswold the
keeper, told me that Uncle T. has improved much; when he came there he
was a great bore. After dinner we went into the cooking room where
most things are cooked by steam.
We went out and visited the Indian mounds between the Asylum & the
beach. several are in the shape of men, and one is a very accurate
representation of a rabbit. We went around the lake going home and had
a pretty hard time of it.
MONDAY, APRIL 1, 1861. Yesterday all 3 of us attended the Cong. Heard
Prof. Butler[15] preach from John XVIII. 38. Joined Prof.
Conover’s[16] Bible class in this church. In the eve. went with about
20 of the other students to hear Mr. Mason of the Universalist. His
theme was the “mercy of the Lord,” and his discourse was strongly
Universalist.
To-day, after the regular routine of school duties, John & I went down
town about 5 o’clock so as to be at the depot when the cars arrived, &
see if C. White came he did not arrive however, & we got home at 9
somewhat disappointed and very tired John & I hired a P. O. box
between us No. 693.
TUESDAY 2. Went to the depot in the evening to meet Mr. Bradford if he
came, but were disappointed. Received two letters from the Grove--one
from C. & Billy White[17] & one from Libbie. It is the first I have
heard from the Grove since I have been here. Will also recd a letter.
No news of importance. It has been quite warm & thawing all day.
WEDNESDAY 3. The sun rose clear and warm after a frosty night, & as we
were sitting by our open window, we were startled by loud & frequent
reports, which resembled the discharge of cannon, but Will says it is
the ice cracking on the lake.
Went to the depot again to meet Bradford, but were again disappointed.
Made arrangements to have bread baked by a woman near the Univ.
THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 1861. The forenoon passed without incident worthy
of remark, except that when I rose in the morning I had a very sore
throat which I am afraid will trouble me.
In the evening John & I again started for the depot to meet Bradford,
but the cars having arrived before we could get there, we went to the
Capitol to wait for him. He brought John’s things and also some summer
clothes & a letter for me from Sarah. I sent several of the Univ.
catalogues to our Eastern friends
FRIDAY 5. By advice of Mr. Bradford I slept last night with a wet
towel bound round my throat & this morning it is much better. Went
down town after school, to the depot after the things which Mr. B.
bro’t & then to Mr. White’s with John to get some of his things. Did
not get back in time to be initiated into the Society tonight--attended
both--the Hesperian the most of the evening--The Hesp’s discussed,
“Res. that a man should resist a law which his conscience tells him is
morally law [wrong].” decided in aff. The Ath’s. discussed “Res. That
the character of Queen Elizabeth was worthy of emulation.” I dont know
how it was decided.
Rained _nearly_ all _day_ & _all_ of the evening
SATURDAY 6. Commenced with a rain storm, continued with a rain storm,
and ended with a rain storm, i. e. it rained all day incessantly,
which kept us in the house all of the time until about 4 o’clock when
John & I went down town to make some purchases & there learned that 19
Wis. banks had been “thrown out” & every bill I had ($8) was on
them.[18] Wrote a long letter home,--or rather, wrote one & commenced
another--
Discredited money is worth 80 cts.
MONDAY, APRIL 8, 1861. Yesterday was a pleasant day again--Went with a
large company of students to hear Prof. Butler preach, it being the
last time he is going to preach for the present. His text was 1 Cor.
XI, 22, and a capital discourse. Mr. Bradford was with us in Prof.
Conover’s Bible Class. To-day is another rainy day The morning duties
passed as usual, at 3 o’clock, we were invited by some of the boys to
go to the City Hall & hear Geo. B. Smith[19] speak on a lawsuit
between Bird & Morrison The suit involves $180,000. Mr. Morrison
committed suicide last winter, it is said because he had perjured
himself in the suit. He was the def’t. Mr. Smith made a very able
speech.
TUESDAY 9. The day passed as usual, i. e. a continual rain storm.
About 5 o’clock, went down town, and learned by hand bills that Moses
M. Strong would review a speech of Jno. Y. Smith,[20] in the Assembly
Chamber to-night. Went to hear him--His speech was on the secession
question, arguing against war and a very sound effort.
A meeting was called after the speech & a resolution introduced
favoring Pres. Lincoln & the war policy, which, after some talk pro &
con, was laid on the table[21]
WEDNESDAY 10. A pleasant day at last & the first one really I have
seen since I have been in Madison. Was out with many others of the
students playing on the green after school. Rec’d a letter from Couse
& the Adv. from home.
THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1861. Went to the P. O. about 5 O’Clock and
received a letter from Libbie. The “discredited Wis. money” is down to
75 cents in many of the stores.
Rec’d a letter from Libbie
FRIDAY 12. is the day for the Prep. Rhetorical Exercises but our
division does not come on this time. The declamations & compositions
were very good. At 4 o’clock went down town. In the Assembly they were
talking on the Normal School Fund bill--which was passed. Several
bills were ordered to third reading. Went into the City Hall tower &
saw the clock, which struck while we were there. The view of the city
from this tower is the finest I have yet seen.
In the Hesp. Soc. the question, “Res. that the U. S. ought to coërce
the seceding states,” was decided in the neg. Hostilities in the South
comc’d at 4 this morning.
SATURDAY 13. Visited this P. M. the Mendota Foundry, but there was
nothing interesting going on. Went to the Capitol & found the Assembly
taking an informal recess waiting for absentees. Mr. Bradford said he
could go to the University now. We first went into the State
Treasurer’s room saw Mr. Hastings--went also into the Secretary of
State’s office, & into the State Journal office where they were
printing by steam machinery.
Mr. Bradford visited our rooms & also saw Mr. Muir’s clocks & other
curiosities.
MONDAY, APRIL 15, 1861. Went to hear Mr. Taylor[22] the new Cong.
minister, yesterday. He is a good preacher but preached a doctrinal
sermon from Heb. II. 12. Learned in Prof. C’s Bible class that Spirit
in the original means wind. Wrote a letter home for Mr. Bradford to
carry.
In the Geometry recitation to-day the door of the recitation room
opened and an old man entered whom I immediately recognized as Uncle
Thompson. He said they had brought him over from the asylum to go home
with Mr. B. but the Legislature had been reconvened by the Governor on
acct. of the war news & Mr. B. could not go & he wished to go to
Clinton to see Mr. Tinker, before he went home & would like to go
right along I obtained permission to leave the class & accompanied him
down town--sold my $5 bill for .65 cts. (but afterwards saw Mr. B. &
bowd $3). carried his trunk to the depot and saw him safely off. Went
with John into the country & got his straw bed filled & helped him
carry it home, as we expected Charlie W. to-night. Went to the depot
at 10½ P. M. but he did not come.
TUESDAY 16TH. Charlie came on the 3:45 train to-day. He brot packages
from home for each of us--my linen coat & shaving tools & a letter. We
took him into the Hist. Soc., then into the Assembly, & saw Mr.
Bradford, who came to the University & took supper with us The
Legislature held a session this evening which we all attended. A
Banking law was passed a part of the debate on which we heard in the
Senate.
WEDNESDAY 17. Charlie heard the Algebra & Geometry classes & we also
went to Prof. Carr’s[23] room & heard part of his lecture on Coral. At
noon John & I were excused from further recitations & went with C.
down town. the Legislature had adjourned & gone home. We found that
books had been opened in the Gov. Guards Armory in the City Hall for
receiving enlistments for the Southern army & that about ½ a dozen of
the Univ. boys had enlisted.
The city is in a great military excitement
THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1861. Found that there were seven of the boys
enlisted yesterday--Curtis, Frost, Wyse, High, Norcross, A. G. Miller
& Reed & Bull[24]--but High was not accepted being under 17.
A meeting of citizens being called for tonight to provide for the
maintenance of the families of those enlisting, we attended it at the
Assembly Chamber, the chamber was crowded as full as they could stand,
& the most enthusiastic meeting I ever attended. They commenced the
meeting with singing the Star Spangled Banner, & then received
subscriptions. Men would get up & offer various sums as they were
able--$500, 400, 200, 100 50 25 & 10 $7,490 were subscribed
altogether. The citizens then escorted the Gov. Guards to their
Armory, under the marshalship of Gen. Atwood.[25]
FRIDAY 19. In the Prep. Rhetorical Exercises this P. M. I read a
composition--“America & Italy”--John--“The Discovery of the
Mississippi”--& Will a declamation--“The true vigor in government.” In
the Hesperian Soc. tonight the question was, “Res. that expatriation
is a natural right.” decided in the aff. While the Debate was going
on, Curtis, Bull & Wyse, of the University Volunteers entered the room
& were greeted with tremendous applause--After the Soc. had adjourned
it was organized into a meeting, to express the feelings of the
members on the war question,--Norcross having just entered was loudly
called for & rec’d with uproarious cheering. The other volunteers,
Bull, Curtis & Wyse also expressed their feelings in regard to the
cause in which they had engaged, after which the principal members of
the Society were called upon--Clawson, Allen, Ball, H. Vilas, M.
Leahy, Parkinson Jr.,[26] two from town--Brush & Lockwood,
Wallace,[27] and another volunteer belonging to the Atheneans--E. G.
Miller--spoke, & the enthusiasm was roused to the highest pitch. Then
went into the Athenean where the same kind of exercises were being
held, & heard Bull, Leahy, Ball, Church & Silverthorne[28] speak after
which the meeting adjourned at 12½ o’clock with three rousing cheers
for the University Volunteers.
SAT. 20TH. The boys held a meeting at 4 P. M. for the purpose of
organizing a military company here, but as we went fishing, we could
not attend. Curtis has left the Gov. Guards, having rec’d a letter
from home forbidding him to go. Wrote a letter home.
MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1861. Got ready to go to the Presbyterian Church
yesterday A. M. but it was so late when we got ready that we concluded
not to go. Wrote a letter to Uncle Edward. In the evening went to the
Baptist Church & heard Wm. Henry Brisbane, Jr., preach. Mr. B. is one
of the volunteers in the war, & as he is going with his company this
was his farewell sermon--His text was--St. Luke 22:36. & his subject
our duty towards our government. He is a mere boy and his sermon was
not remarkably sound. He wore his military dress in the pulpit Attack
on Ft. Pickens--news came 21st.
22d. Meeting of Univ. Guards this P. M. at 4 o’clock, when we U. G.
boys joined it. They are about giving it up however, as it is not
likely that they can get drill master from town. Drilled a while on
the grounds by Campbell, a volunteer & Marsh,[29] a student.
TUESDAY 23. The Univ. Guards again met this P. M. & the committee
appointed at the first meeting, having reported yesterday that they
had been unable to procure the services of a drill-master or arms, but
that there was a company of young men organizing down town in which
the students would have the first chance in joining &c.; they were
instructed at yesterdays meeting to ascertain the terms of enlisting
&c. & report today. They reported that the Co. would be organized
there, and the boys could join without expense. & the boys having
nearly all previously joined it, the Univ. Guards were disbanded. The
Volunteers will start tomorrow & it was voted that we go to the depot
in a body and see them off.
WEDNESDAY 24. On going to the Geometry recitation at 11 O’Clock, John
& I found that we were the only ones there the rest of the boys having
gone down town to see the soldiers off. We also got excused then. &
went to the Capitol Park, where we found the Artillery Co. with their
guns, & both the Fire Co’s preparing to accompany the soldiers to the
depot. At ½ past 12 the procession started. The Madison Guards were
accompanied by the German Turner Society, the Gov’s Guards by a
procession of citizens & the sidewalks were crowded with a dense
throng the whole length of the procession. Arriving at the depot the
soldiers were addressed by Judge Vilas,[30] & Gov. Randall[31] & the
Star Spangled Banner was sung by Miss Susan Denin,[32] actress. Three
cars were standing on the track which the soldiers filled about 10
minutes before the time of starting & then bid goodby to their
friends, Norcross & Bull of the Univ. boys stood it well, but Miller,
Wyse & Smith were much affected. The boys drilled down town this
evening, but as we could not get our supper on time to go with them,
we did not get there till they had got through.
THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 1861. All Wis. bills are refused today. I do not
know yet how many will actually be thrown out It is said that a
meeting of bankers will be held tomorrow to determine on their future
course. I do not lose anything. Received a letter from Couse yesterday
with $1.25 enclosed, being what I lent Rose. The boys had a drill
again tonight but _John & I did not attend_
FRIDAY 26. In the Rhetorical Exercises of Division A this P. M. I was
appointed Gen. Critic, not belonging to that division--The exercises
consisting mostly of Compositions & were generally very good. The best
was by Black--“The Wrongs of the Indians.”--The Athenean Soc.
discussed--“Res. That the U. S. ought to coerce the seceding
states”--Heard on the aff. Green, Heathcock, Wallace (called up) &
Hall (sen.) on the neg. Holt, Black, High (called up) & Waterman[33]
decided in aff. The Hesp. discussed “Res. that party spirit is
beneficial to a country.” Did not hear much of it.
SATURDAY 27. Will, Muir & I. got a boat & went out on the lake this P.
M. Lake quite rough. Rowed over to Picnic Point & washed out our
towels &c. then rowed around the shore to the west & got back at
sundown. Received a letter from Libbie.
MONDAY, APRIL 29, 1861. Went yesterday to the Presbyterian Church. Mr
Green[34] is a very entertaining preacher--His text was from Ps.
104:34 Wrote a letter home in the P. M. From the Presbyterian went to
the Cong. Church to engage in Prof. Conover’s Bible class exercises.
Went down town this morning with John to deposit letters in the P. O.
& also went down town again in the evening.
TUESDAY 30. Bought some potatoes this morning & had them roasted for
dinner--a rare treat--Received a letter from Sarah.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1. Went to the depot at 5 o’clock & saw two companies
of soldiers who have arrived to rendevous with the 2d Regiment at Camp
Randall (the Fair Grounds) They were the La Crosse Light Guard & the
Portage Light Guard. They were both partially uniformed & armed, &
seemed pretty well drilled. They marched to camp, selected their
quarters, then marched to the general mess room & partook of a warm
supper.
Purchased a copy of the Wkly Journal & sent [it] home.
THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1861. The Beloit Guards arrived today They are
without uniform or arms but a very fine looking company. Followed them
to the camp but there was nothing going on there.
Before they came, Will & I went to the depot, expecting them but as
they would not come for some time we walked on south from the depot &
visited the ridge between Lakes Monona & Wingra This is a very high
ridge & the top is covered with Indian mounds of all kinds & sizes.
The Roman Catholic Cemet[e]ry is on the side hill, & we also visited
it. Saw an Indian canoe in a dooryard on the way. Was told it belongs
to Dr. Hunt.
FRIDAY 3. On awakening this morning found that it was raining smartly,
& it continued to do so until about noon when it turned into snow &
did not clear off until nearly evening. In the Rhet. Exercise today I
declaimed the extract from Judge Story’s oration, “Our duties to the
Republic,” Will read “Letter from Jef. Davis.” John spoke “Men always
fit for freedom”--Macauley--Going down town after school we learned
that the “Belle City Rifles”[35] arrived this morning at 4. but
we could not go to the camp after the late hour at which we
returned--Athenean--Universal Suffrage question--Hesperian--Polygamy,
laws against--
SATURDAY 4. We all visited the camp this A. M. Saw the Belle City
Rifles & was very much surprised at seeing _Geo. Lincoln_[36] in the
ranks. He is the only acquaintance with them. Fat Sheldon,[37] whom I
have often seen before, was with them however.
The Oshkosh Guards and the Citizens Guards of Fox Lake having arrived
this P. M. went to the camp to see them. Staid till 8 O’Clock & had
considerable difficulty in passing the guard.
SUNDAY, MAY 5, 1861. Attended church at the Methodists to day. Did not
hear the name of the preacher. Text--Romans 14:7. Rained during the
whole of the service & we had a fine run through the rain to the Cong.
Church to attend Bible class. Visited the camp in the P. M. George had
been on guard most of the day. Were kept there by the rain until
nearly dark. & thereby were again made prisoners of war.
MAY 6TH. Went down to camp again this P. M. Nothing of consequence
occurred only that we were stopped by the guard again and had to be
passed out by the corporal. They are very strict after 6 o’clock.
TUESDAY 7. John and I went down town after school, & Will went to Camp
Randall. When we came back we went down there too, but were refused
admittance as they had made a rule that no one should be allowed in
after 6 o’clock. While we were standing there, Will & George came to
the gate and we shook hands with G. over the soldier’s bayonet.
WEDNESDAY 8. The Trigonometry Class in which Will is, procured the
instruments to day and were practicing surveying.
At 3 o’clock I went out with them and saw them take angles for
measuring the height of University Hall. It proved to be 115.838 feet,
if their work is correct.
Visited the camp again, Mr. Durand was there, and after the soldiers
supper the Bible [Belle] City Rifles were marched to the Fine Arts
Hall hill and drawn up in a line to hear a speech from him. He
endeavored to persuade them all to remain with the Co. as an order has
been recd that they must now enlist for 3 years or during the war,
which many refuse to do.
THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1861. Will & I procured a boat after school and went
out on the lake to try & get some fish. After being out two hours we
speared one little _bull head_ which we gave to the owner of the boat
and agreed to go out with him to night and furnish light for him to
fish. Started at 8, was out till 10 & caught two fish both of which we
gave the boat owner.
Received a letter announcing the death of P. P. Taber.
FRIDAY 10. Our fishing excursion caused us to oversleep ourselves, and
when there was a loud rapping at our door about 15 minutes before 6,
it did not wake me enough to comprehend what it was: but in about ½ an
hour afterwards Mr. Wildish[38] again came to our room and brot a box
which he said a gentleman had left for me. I saw by the name on the
box it was Seth Rice who had brot it from home. Thus by my sleepiness
I missed seeing an acquaintance from U. G. John & I took a walk in the
N. E. part of the town, past Gov. Farwell’s Octagon house, & visited
the Cemetery. Attended Society’s meetings.
SATURDAY 11. Nothing particular going on until evening when the
Hesperian celebrated the anniversary of the Dedication of their new
Hall. Ball read a humorous poem, Baker declaimed “The Gray Forest
Eagle,” and Allen[39] delivered an oration. After these exercises,
speeches were made by Profs. Butler, Sterling, Reed[40] & Parkinson,
by a graduate, Hale, Hesperian, Ball, Vilas, Leahy, Tredway, Clawson,
Stewart, & Athenean Hall.[41]
George Lincoln was present until about 9 O’Clock.
MONDAY, MAY 13, 1861. Attended Methodist Church yesterday. Was too
late to hear the text. Mr Yokem preached. attended Bible Class. Wrote
letter home--took it to P. O. in the evening & attended Baptist
Church. Was again too late to hear the text but Mr. Brisbane preached
a very fine sermon. His subject was the natural depravity of man.
Nothing happened on Monday worthy of note.
TUESDAY 14. This is Library day. Took out Vols. 1st & 2nd of
Smithsonian Cont. to Knowledge, treating of Indian Mounds & other
American Antiquities. Had one of the same books last week which
contained I. A. Lapham’s[42] account of the mounds in Wisconsin which
was very interesting. Went to the P. O. but received nothing. Went
into the Assembly Chamber to try & find out if Mr. Bradford had come
but he had not. The Chamber is all ready to receive its occupants
tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY 15. Went to the Capitol at 3 O’Clk Assembly was in session,
but almost immediately adjourned. Mr. Bradford has not arrived yet. As
Will & I were Coming home again we were hailed from the opposite side
of the street and looking up saw H. Foster, T. Graham & Alex.
Adams[43] who have joined the B. C. Rifles in place of those who
refused to enlist for three years. they told us that W. White was also
with them & had [been] to the Univ. with G. L. to look for us. Went
home & found them there. They left the Grove Sunday.
Had a fish for supper tonight & borrowed Holt & Black’s cooker.
Wrote a composition for Friday.
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1861. Mr Bradford arrived on the 4 O’Clk train this
morning. He came to the Univ. at 7 & brot letters for all of us & told
[us] there were pkges at the depot for us. Went & got them at noon &
found there were cakes, pies, butter & a chicken, & a dressing gown
for me, which, however, proved too large. Went to camp after school,
and found that I Martyne & H. Ginty[44] were with the new recruits. 2
Zouaves were on the grounds (one, dressed in full uniform) who
entertained the regiment with specimens of their drill. Went down town
about 5. & met Mr. Bradford there.
FRIDAY 17. In the Rhetorical Exercises I read a composition--“Political
Parties”--Will a composition--“A Great Discovery” John obtained an
excuse, as he expected his mother on the cars. After school we washed
out the floor of our rooms, which took so long that, as we had to go
down town for victuals, I did not attend the Society’s meeting at all.
SATURDAY 18. Mrs. Goldsworthy arrived at 4 O’Clk this morning. Went to
the Capitol at 11. Assembly had adjourned & most of the members were
drilling on the park under command of Capt. Emery[45] of Portage City.
Went into the Senate they were debating a Banking bill & one to
provide for volunteer’s families. Heard Messrs Virgin, Hazleton,
Quentin, Maxon, A. I. Bennett, Gill, Hutchinson, and Worthington[46]
speak. Sen. Worthington was Chn. of Com of the Whole when I first went
in. At 7½ attended their evening session, with G. L., T. G., & H. F.,
from camp Sen Cox Ch’n. of Com. Bill providing for Volunteer’s
families & the 6 Rgt bill were up. Heard Gill, Hazelton, Joiner,
Quentin,[47] & another one speak
MONDAY, MAY 20, 1861. Yesterday commenced with a heavy [rain] which
continued till about 9 O’Clock when Billy White & Wm. Sheldon of
Burlington came from Camp Randall. On account of the very wet weather
and also because our visitors did not wish to go I did not go to
church in the A. M. & as it rained all P. M. I could not go then. The
boys staid till nearly evening. John was at Mr. White’s nearly all day
with his mother. Wrote a letter home last night & sent it with Mrs.
Goldsworthy today. Visited the Capitol in the P. M. but Legislature
had adjourned
TUESDAY 21. Visited the Assembly Chamber this P. M. Assembly were in
session, discussing the Military Bill; more especially the provision
for paying the soldiers, and requiring the war loan to be taken, in
coin. Heard Judge Spooner, Messrs. Bradford, Warner Atwood, &
Ramsey[48] speak.
After the adjournment went to the camp, & returning to the Univ. took
a bathe in the lake.
WEDNESDAY 22. The Sophs & Freshs got a rich joke on the Seniors this
morning. They had bills printed last night composed in Artemus Ward
style, purporting to be an advertisement for their lost cushions, and
this morning they posted [them] in the most conspicuous places around
the University & down town. Went to the Capitol immediately after
school. The Assembly were engaged in a very animated discussion on a
proposition that the enlistments should be divided proportionally
among the Cong. dists. It was lost. I went with Mr. B. to Camp &
witnessed the dress parade of the Regt. John & I subscribed for the
State Journal for 3 mos.
THURSDAY, MAY 23, 1861. The Assembly this P. M. were discussing a
banking law, but it not being interesting I did not stay long. Went to
the Post Office & from there to the Journal to read the news. They
keep there a file of all the City dailies free to the public.
FRIDAY 24. Mr. Bradford visited us in our rooms at noon today. He said
the Milwaukee Zouaves, having arrived at 7 O’Clock this morning would
drill at 2½. and the Legislature had adjourned to witness it. He
attended our Latin recitation & then we all went down to camp with
him. The Zouave maneuvers proved very interesting & we staid till the
troops went to supper at 5½ O’Clock, then went to the P. O. George was
on guard at the gate. Judge Larrabee,[49] being on the grounds was
pointed out to us by Mr. B.
SATURDAY 25. Went to the Capitol at 11 O’Clock. The Senate had under
consideration the war loan bill, which originated in the Ass. 15
amendments adopted by Sen. 3 of them non-concurred by Assem. 2 receded
from by Sen. & the 3d. was that the loan should be taken & soldiers
paid in coin. Sen. Gill moved that the Senate _adhere_ to this
amendment. A. I. Bennett said this was unusual & would be very
discourteous to the Assem. as no Com. of Conference could be appointed
if it were adopted. Sen. Hutchinson moved to amend that they _insist_
instead of _adhere_. After warm discussion by Gill, Maxon, & Joiner, &
Virgin, Hutchinson, A. I. Bennett & Hazelton it was carried that they
adhere. On coming up in the Assem. this action of the Sen. was
denounced by Frisby, Webb, Atwood, Spooner, D. H. Johnson & Hicks[50]
& the Assem. _insisted_ on their non-concurrence & asked a Com. of
Conference, which was granted by the Senate & they proposed a bill
which passed.
MONDAY, MAY 27, 1861. Attended the Cong. Church yesterday. Mr.
Taylor’s Text was John III. 7 & I. 13., Also attended Prof. C’s Bible
Class, Mr. Bradford was also there. In the P. M. the wind blew from
the South a perfect gale. Wrote home & sent the letter with Mr.
Bradford.
To-day went to the depot at noon to see Mr. Bradford off. After school
went to the camp. The exercises on evening parade are changed today.
Saw the maneuvers gone through with by Capts. Strong’s & Randolph’s
Cos.[51] united but could not wait until the regular parade
TUESDAY 28. Nothing worthy of note transpired to-day.
WEDNESDAY 29. Seth Rice visited us today on his return from Richland
Co. where he has been about three weeks. The train on which he came
does not stop at the station (Stoughton) where he wishes to stop & he
therefore lays over at Madison till the 4 o’clock train tomorrow
morning.
He arrived about 4 o’clock & soon I went to the camp with him & we
staid till after the evening parade. The exercise at this time now
is--the companies form in line with their arms, come to parade rest.
The band plays a tune & marches in front of the regiment the whole
length of the line & back again--the gun is fired and the flag comes
down--The Adj. announces to the Col. “the Parade is formed” The Col
put them through the Manual. The Sergeants report they are dismissed.
THURSDAY, MAY 30, 1861. Got up before 4 o’clock this morning to see
Mr. Rice off. As we were sitting in our room at noon, the door opened
and Charlie White entered without any previous announcement even the
ceremony of knocking. After attending our Latin recitation we went
with him to the camp. He had not previously heard that Billie was
here. We staid till after parade & then John & I went down town
purchased some meat, & when we got home borrowed a cooker & had a warm
supper.
FRIDAY 31. As we could not prevail on Charlie to stay here until
Monday we obtained excuse from recitations today, hired a boat and
went over to the Asylum with him. Visited all the places we had seen
when there before and also were shown into the lower ward, and women’s
ward. The wind having risen & blowing from the S. W.--almost directly
ahead--we concluded it would be impossible to row 4 back in the small
boat which we had, so John & Charlie went round the lake afoot and
Will & I rowed across. We went first to Sugar Bush point, where
sheltered by the point, from the wind we tried to catch some fish but
did not succeed. After starting for home the wind blew so hard that we
could not make an inch headway but a rain coming up the wind ceased.
SATURDAY, JUNE 1. Charlie went home at 10 o’clock last night, via
Milwaukee.
John & I took our hooks & went on the R. R. bridge to fish but could
catch nothing. But Will & I went out with a Dutchman in the evening
and speared 7 in all--1 pickerel, 1 sucker, 2 bass & 3 bull heads. We
took the sucker and pickerel & had them for dinner the next day.
SUNDAY, JUNE 2d Attended the Presbyterian Church today & Prof C’s
Bible Class. Mr. Green had one of the most interesting sermons I ever
listened to. He had four texts--Lev. X. 1. 2 & 3. The other three I
have forgotten. Wrote a letter home in the P. M.
MONDAY, JUNE 3, 1861. Going down town at noon today we learned by the
dispatch on the Patriot bulletin board & by the crape hung around some
of the stores, the sad intelligence of the death of Judge Douglas.[52]
All of the flags in the city are at half mast and cannon are being
fired every half hour till sundown at the Capitol & at Camp Randall. A
meeting of the citizens was called for tonight, which we attended.
Gov. Randall was appointed Ch’n & made a very affecting & pertinent
speech. A committee was appointed to draft resolutions & speeches were
made by E. A. Calkins, G. B. Smith, L. P. Harvey, M. H.
Orton,--Gregory, & Col. Fairchild, & Chauncey Abbott.[53]
TUESDAY 4. Went to the camp after school, to witness the parade. The
boys say that a telegram was rec’d by Gov. Randall today from the
Sec’y of War ordering the 2d & 3d Regt’s. to Wash. as soon as they can
be got ready, and they will probably go Monday. They have commenced
having battalion drills today but, as they occur at three o’clock we
can never see them. The flags are still flying at half mast and the
com officers all wear crape on their left arms for 10 days.
WEDNESDAY 5. An accident occurred on the R. R. last night. An axle of
a freight car broke in crossing the bridge over the lake, threw the
train off the track, and tore up the track and ties for some distance.
It was a very dangerous accident as it occurred on the open bridge
over quite deep water; but, fortunately, no one was injured. We
finished the review of Geometry today, and now take propositions
promi[s]cuously anywhere in the book so as to be more thoroughly
prepared for examination. We also commence today to review Latin. Went
to the P. O. after school.
THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 1861. Visited the camp this evening during parade.
Heard that they nearly had a mutiny last night. The sentry at the gun
challenged the “grand rounds” when the officer not giving the
countersign right he pricked him with his bayonet when his gun was
snatched away from him and he “pitched in” to the officer with his
fists for which he was put into the guard house, which the Capt. of
his comp’y (La Crosse) having heard, he ordered him to be taken out;
that not being done he ordered his company to charge bayonets & the
whole reg’t being roused they broke into the g. house & released the
man & also all other prisoners who were there.
FRIDAY 7. There were no Rhetorical Exercises today, as in the two
weeks before examination students are supposed to be preparing for
that event and cannot perform this extra duty. “Got stuck” on a sum in
Algebra today, but mean to stick to it till I get it out.
Went down to the P. O. after school
SATURDAY 8. The ladies of Madison gave the soldiers a picnic today.
The tables in the “Operative Machinery” room were spread with bread,
butter pies, cakes & sweatmeats, to which the boys did ample justice
after which came speeches, music by the brass band, singing of Star
Sp. Banner, and dispersion. The parade was formed almost immediately
after the supper and all present witnessed it. Rec’d letter from home
enclosing a “Programme of Commencement of Ind. Univ.” from Willie
Reid.
SUNDAY, 9TH--Rev. Mr. Britton (Epis.) held a service on the camp at 9½
A. M. He preached a patriotic sermon from the 12th chap of Kings.
Attended Bible Class & Mason’s in evening.
MONDAY, JUNE 10, 1861. Went to camp in the evening & there learned
that Mrs. Graham & Mrs. St. George had been there today to see their
sons; also while we were there Cap. Strong told his men that 50 of
them could go home that night to see their friends before starting for
“the wars.” T. G., T. St G.,[54] and W. White were among the no. who
obtained permission to go. Geo. L. got out of the camp, & Will & I
went with [him] to Father Norris’ to get the women to go home with
their boys, but when we arrived at the depot we learned that an order
had come from the Adj’t Gen. forbidding their going at this time.
TUESDAY 11. Obtained excuse from Geom. recitation and went to the camp
to see if the boys are going today. They cannot go as they are being
mustered in to the U. S. service. Mrs. G. & St G. were there when we
arrived at the camp & went home at 1 O’Clock. Staid at the camp till 5
o’clock to see the ceremony of mustering in the troops by Capt.
McIntyre of the U. S. Infantry. 7 companies took the oath today.
WEDNESDAY 12. We were all excused from Latin recitation, and visited
Madison High School. The teacher, Miss Cowes,[55] seemed unprepared
for visitors, and the afternoon session being a short one we heard but
two recitations, (reading & Philos[o]phy) of which the Philosophy (not
being a regular recitation at that hour) was rather poorly recited.
There were but three boys in the room, the school consisting
principally of girls.
Received a letter from Libbie
THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1861. Visited the camp in the P. M. Two squads (14
& 18) have gone home from the B. C. Co. but the U. G. boys were in
neither of them. The parade tonight was drill & uninteresting, so many
of them having gone home.
Finished review of Geometry today and take original propositions for
remainder of the recitations.
Got the key from Dr. Carr & visited the Mineralogical, Geological &
Natural History Cabinet, with Will & Holt.
Was much interested in some of the curiosities to be seen there.
FRIDAY 14. By invitation of the boys we took supper at the camp this
evening and were well pleased with the fare. There is some prospect of
the boys going home to-morrow. The regiment will probably start for
the east Tuesday.
Finished the review of Latin today, and now the class is going to try
and get through Liber Tertius by Tuesday.
Attended the Society’s meetings. The Hesperian discussed the property
qualification question, and the Ath’s “That the legal profession
presents greater inducement than the others” The A’s elected officers
for the ensuing term--Griswold, Presd. Silverthorne, V. P.
Fallows,[56] Secy. Holt, Censor.
SATURDAY 15. On visiting the camp at 9 O’Clk found that another squad
had been made up to go home, and Geo. L. & T. St G. were among them.
Went back to our rooms and wrote letters to send by them.
At 4 O’Clk, Billy W. came to our rooms & said that he, T. Graham &
Alec. Adams had also got furloughs and were going home on the 10 o’clk
train, expecting to hire livery from Milwaukee. Went with Billy down
town where he got his picture taken and the boys ate supper with us.
SUNDAY 16TH.--Heard Mr. Green preach & attended Bible Class--Prof. C.
was not there & Mr Dudley took charge, which made it very dull.
MONDAY, JUNE 17, 1861. Went to G. B. Smith’s law office to see if he
would deliver the address at U. G. on the 4th. He was not in; but his
student (Mr. Bird) told me tha[t] his engagements would prevent his
accepting the invitation. Then wrote a letter to “Pump Carpenter”[57]
for the same purpose, as he is now living on his farm 6 miles from the
city. Attended the panorama of Dr. Kane’s Arctic Expedition & was much
pleased with it.
TUESDAY 18. After school Will and I went with Frost across Lake Monona
to his home, where we were treated to a warm supper, strawberry
shortcake and strawberries & cream.
There is an encampment of Indians near by which we visited. There were
two wigwams, in which or near by were 5 men, 4 squaws, & 7 children.
We also saw a young man & 2 boys in a canoe when coming down. There
were two canoes in the river close by and Frost & Will got into one
which came very [near] upsetting as it requires much practice to get
used to them.
Picked up some clams in the lake & cooked them when we got home. The
soup was very good but the clams were tough.
WEDNESDAY 19. Examination commences today. At 9 O’clock & until 11,
the Senior Class was examined by Prof. Read on International &
Constitutional Law. This was by means of lectures by members of the
class on different subjects connected with this study and proved very
interesting From 11 to 12 Prof. Sterling’s class in Analytical
Geometry was examined. This was “all Greek” to me, but the students
seemed to understand the subject well especially as it was one of last
term’s studies. Between 3 & 4 o’clock attended Prof. Butler’s class in
Homer’s Iliad. McMynn[58] was present at this examination. From there
we went into Prof. Read’s room where the Seniors were examined on
Political Economy. Rec’d a letter from home.
THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1861. Went down to camp at 8 o’clock to see the
boys off. The Belle City Co. (Co. F.) was in the “Operative Machinery”
room, having just got there haversacks filled with provision. The
regiment soon after formed on parade & were ordered by the Col. to
repair to the pumps & fill their canteens; which being accomplished
they formed in front of the speakers stand and were addressed by Gov.
Randall. They then marched to the cars, which had been run down to the
camp ground and filled two trains one of 11 & the other of 13 cars. We
stood near the car which the Racine Co. entered and shook hands with
all the boys as they passed.[59] Attended Prof. Carr’s examination of
the Chemistry class from 2 to 5 P. M.
FRIDAY 21. Went strawberrying nearly all forenoon, and in the
afternoon attended Dr. Carr’s examination. This exercise like his
recitation consists of lectures by the students on subjects which the
Dr. himself has previously discussed before the class. This P. M. was
devoted principally to Geology, and, although the boys had only since
last night to prepare their subjects, they were well handled both as
orations and as recitations Visited Camp in the evening. 1 Co. of the
5th. Regt. has arrived (from Waukesha). The men are rather small but
the Co. is well officered and present a pretty good appearance. In the
Ath. discussed whether the time devoted to the Classics in College
could not be better employed--Decided affirmative
SATURDAY 22. Went to the depot at 1 o’clock to learn the arrangement
of trains &c. preparatory to going home. From thence up town--we
visited the Jail. There are only about a dozen prisoners there now,
much less, they told us, than usual. One had his feet in irons having
been attempting to break jail lately. Three of them were crazy.
SUNDAY 23d--Went to the Catholic Church this morning at 9, but the
first mass was nearly over when we got there & as we did not know they
would have another, we saw but little of their proceedings. Attended
the Episcopal Church & Prof. C’s Bible Class. The Baccalaureate Sermon
was preached by Prof. Butler in the Univ. Chapel at 4 P. M. His text
was Sol. Song 4:4 & his sermon, or rather lecture, the finest I ever
heard.
[3] John E. Goldsworthy, a student from Union Grove, who
accompanied Reid to Madison and shared his room in North
Hall, then used as a dormitory.
[4] Simeon S. Bradford, a member of the Wisconsin Assembly
from Racine County. In his reminiscences Reid characterizes
Bradford, who was for a time his teacher, as “a gentleman of
excellent education, and a fluent, ready public speaker.”
Reid further states that he was descended in direct line
from Governor William Bradford of Plymouth. Before coming to
Wisconsin he had been principal of an academy at Homer,
Cortland County, New York, and had also published a paper
there for several years.
[5] Joseph W. Curtis of Madison.
[6] John W. Sterling, dean of the faculty and professor of
mathematics and natural philosophy. His connection with the
university lasted from 1848 until his death in 1885. He was
in turn acting chancellor, vice-chancellor, and
vice-president of the university.
[7] Rev. James B. Britton, pastor of Grace Episcopal Church
at Madison from 1855 until his resignation to become a
chaplain in the Eleventh Wisconsin Infantry.
[8] Rev. W. H. Brisbane. He became pastor of this church in
1860, resigning at the outbreak of the war to become
chaplain of the Second Wisconsin Cavalry.
[9] Prof. John B. Parkinson, now (1917) vice-president and
_emeritus_ professor of constitutional law of the
university.
[10] The _Lady Elgin_ was a steamer running between
Milwaukee and Chicago. On September 8, 1860, the vessel was
wrecked near Waukegan, as the result of a collision in the
night-time with another vessel. The _Lady Elgin_ had on
board several hundred excursionists from Milwaukee,
returning from a visit to Chicago. Of them all, only about
100 were saved. Among the victims were the editor of the New
Orleans _Picayune_ and his family, and the proprietor of the
London _Illustrated News_.
[11] David H. Johnson was a member of the assembly from Bad
Ax and Crawford Counties; Gilbert Knapp, from Racine County,
was the founder and first white settler of the city of
Racine. His title of “captain” was won by long connection
with the United States internal revenue marine service and
by his naval rank during the Civil War.
[12] The allusion is to the inventions of John Muir, who was
then a student at the university. For the story of his
inventions, and of his life at the University of Wisconsin,
see his _The Story of My Boyhood and Youth_ (Boston and New
York, 1913), chaps. vii and viii.
[13] Pliny Norcross of La Grange, George G. Green of
Milford, and Augustus H. Salisbury of Oregon. Norcross was
the first University of Wisconsin student to enlist for
military service, and his example, says Professor Butler,
“was followed by so many sons of Mars that the largest and
best Greek class I ever had was sadly thinned out.” Norcross
returned to the university after his three months’
enlistment had expired, but within a short time he again
left school and raised a company (Company K, Thirteenth
Wisconsin Infantry), of which he was elected captain. In
after life he became a prominent lawyer and business man of
Janesville. Salisbury was graduated from the university in
1867. He became a physician and made his home in
Minneapolis, where he died in 1893.
[14] William Fuller, from Union Grove, who boarded and
roomed with Reid and Goldsworthy in North Hall.
[15] James D. Butler, professor of ancient languages and
literature, and librarian. He was a scholar of note in his
day, who brought much distinction to the University of
Wisconsin and, after his retirement to private life in 1868,
to Madison.
[16] Obadiah M. Conover, professor of ancient languages and
literature in the university 1852-58. After his withdrawal
from this position he studied law, and spent the rest of his
career as Wisconsin Supreme Court reporter.
[17] Charles J. White had been Reid’s teacher in the Union
Grove school. Writing forty years later the pupil speaks of
him as “one who, to a marked degree, left the impress of his
fine character and careful scholarship upon all of the young
people who were so fortunate as to come under his
instruction.”
[18] At the outbreak of the Civil War the currency of
Wisconsin was secured in very large measure by the bonds of
southern states. Never considered wholly safe in the
financial world, these securities, as soon as hostilities
between the North and the South began, fell to a third of
their face value. Wisconsin bankers were unable to make good
the depreciation, and the value of their currency reflected
their embarrassment. On April 4, 1861, the bankers of
Chicago resolved not to accept the notes of 40 of the 109
Wisconsin banks. On the following day the Milwaukee bankers
rejected the notes of 19 of the institutions proscribed at
Chicago. This affected the value of about $1,000,000 of the
$4,500,000 of Wisconsin currency. Brokers in the state
during the succeeding weeks purchased the discredited money
at prices which rapidly sank to fifty cents on the dollar.
[19] George B. Smith was born in New York in 1823 and came
with his father to Racine, Wisconsin, in 1843. From 1844
until his death in 1877 his residence was at Madison. He was
the youngest member of the first constitutional convention
of the state, served as mayor of Madison several terms and
several as state legislator, was attorney-general of
Wisconsin for two years, and engaged in many other
activities of a public nature.
[20] Moses M. Strong, author of a _History of Wisconsin_,
had been since 1838 one of the leading public men of the
territory and of the state. John Y. Smith had settled at
Green Bay in 1828, and later at Milwaukee and at Madison. He
served in the first constitutional convention and was for
many years an influential editor and publicist. Smith had
made a speech denouncing secession and upholding the Union
and the administration at Washington. Strong also denounced
secession but argued that a union held together by force was
worthless and that compulsion should not be resorted to keep
the South in the Union.
[21] By the chair, according to the _State Journal’s_ report
of the meeting, which asserts that two-thirds of the
audience voted against tabling the motion.
[22] Rev. Lathrop Taylor, pastor of this church from April,
1860, till January, 1864. Except for these three years his
forty-seven years of service in the pastorate were passed in
Massachusetts and in Illinois.
[23] Ezra S. Carr, professor of chemistry and natural
history in the University of Wisconsin from 1856 to 1868. He
later served as professor in the University of California
for six years and as superintendent of public instruction of
the same state.
[24] Joseph W. Curtis of Madison, Lewis Frost of Madison,
William A. Wyse of Sauk City, James L. High of Black Earth,
Pliny Norcross of La Grange, Edward G. Miller of Sweet Home,
Henry Reed of Union Grove, and James M. Bull of Middleton.
Frost became a first lieutenant in the Twenty-third
Infantry. High was graduated from the university in 1864. He
enlisted in the Forty-ninth Wisconsin Infantry and attained
the rank of adjutant. In later years he became a leading
lawyer of the Chicago bar, being granted the degree of LL.D.
both by his Alma Mater and by the University of Michigan.
James Bull became lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Wisconsin
Infantry. Of him Professor Butler has said: “When this
stampede [of the students to enlist] took place we were
engaged in Xenophon’s _Memorab lia_. My own pocket copy,
Trübner’s edition, I gave to James M. Bull, one of my most
zealous pupils. It was his _vade mecum_ throughout the war,
and kept alive in him classical instincts…. The American
soldier found the notes of the Greek soldier a congenial
manual.” Bull returned to the university after the war and
was graduated in 1869.
[25] David Atwood, a native of New Hampshire, came to
Wisconsin in 1847 and became one of the leading newspaper
publishers of the state. His military title was gained from
his connection with the state militia. He served in the
state legislature and for a short time in Congress. He died
at Madison, December 11, 1889.
[26] Phineas J. Clawson of Waukesha, Gideon W. Allen of
Trempealeau, Farlin Q. Ball of Monroe, Henry Vilas of
Madison, Michael Leahy of Portland, and J. D. Parkinson of
Georgetown. Clawson entered the army, where he rose to the
rank of first lieutenant. In 1867 he was graduated from the
university and thereafter followed the profession of law,
making his home in Green County. He was at different times
clerk of the circuit court, district attorney, and state
senator. Allen was graduated from the University of
Wisconsin in 1862 and, later, from the law school of the
University of Michigan. The greater portion of his career
thereafter was spent in Sturgeon Bay. Ball served in the
army where he became a captain and a major by brevet. In
1865 he was admitted to the bar and later became a prominent
lawyer and judge of Chicago. Vilas obtained his degree from
the university in 1865, adopted the profession of law, and
died in 1872 while still a young man. Leahy entered the army
and rose to the rank of captain. In after life he served in
the general assembly of Iowa and as Indian agent at La
Pointe. Parkinson was graduated from the university in 1861;
he became a lawyer in Kansas City and served nine years as
judge of the twenty-fifth Missouri circuit.
[27] Washington I. Wallace of Baraboo. He was graduated from
the University of Wisconsin in 1864 and later became a
lawyer. At different times he served as member of the
Missouri state senate, prosecuting attorney, and judge of
the fourteenth Missouri circuit.
[28] William W. Church of Madison and William W. Silverthorn
of Oakland. Church was graduated from the university in
1865; he adopted the profession of law, and spent his later
life in Missouri and Utah.
[29] Cary M. Campbell of Madison and George S. Marsh of
Whitewater.
[30] Levi B. Vilas, at this time mayor of Madison. Already a
man of prominence in Vermont, his native state, he came west
in 1851, settling at Madison. Here he served at different
times as member of the state legislature, mayor of the city,
and regent of the university. One of his sons was William F.
Vilas, United States senator and cabinet member.
[31] Alexander W. Randall, circuit judge and governor of
Wisconsin, United States minister to Rome, and
postmaster-general.
[32] The singing was done by Mrs. Kate and Miss Susan Denin,
members of a theatrical company which was giving the play
_Joseph and His Brethren_ in Madison.
[33] Oscar F. Black of Sextonville, George G. Green of
Milford, J. Heathcock of Linden, Washington I. Wallace of
Baraboo, Shadrach Azariah Hall of Eau Claire, C. Frank Holt
of Kenosha, James L. High of Black Earth, and Frank Waterman
of Madison. Waterman was graduated from the university in
1863, after which he is lost to sight. Hall was graduated in
1861, and for the next three years was principal of the Eau
Claire Seminary. During 1861-65 he served in the army, with
the rank of captain. He later taught school in Wisconsin and
Minnesota, and finally became a farmer in the latter state.
[34] Rev. William L. Green who came to this church from
Kentucky in September, 1856.
[35] The Belle City Rifles, from Racine, became Company F,
Second Wisconsin infantry.
[36] George B. Lincoln of Racine, killed in action at
Gainesville, Virginia, August 28, 1862.
[37] William C. Sheldon of Burlington.
[38] Charles H. Wildish of Waukesha.
[39] Farlin Q. Ball of Monroe, J. Stannard Baker of Hudson,
and Gideon W. Allen of Trempealeau.
[40] Daniel Read, professor of mental, ethical, and moral
science. He had served for many years as professor in the
universities of Ohio and Indiana before coming to Wisconsin.
From 1868-76 he was president of the University of Missouri.
[41] Thomas J. Hale of Madison, Isaac N. Stewart of
Waukesha, J. Dwight Tredway of Madison, and J. G. Hall of
Monroe. Hale was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin,
having received his degree in 1860. Stewart was graduated
from the university in 1862. He entered the army and at the
close of the war engaged in teaching, being for thirty years
a prominent educator of the state. Tredway was graduated
from the University in 1863.
[42] See _ante_, p. 11.
[43] Henry B. Foster, Thomas Graham, and Alexander B. Adams.
[44] Isaac Martine and Henry B. Ginty.
[45] Harvey W. Emery, member of the assembly from Columbia
County, later lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Wisconsin
Infantry. He died of disease at Lisbon, Ohio, October 13,
1862.
[46] Noah H. Virgin, George W. Hazelton, Charles Quentin,
Densmore W. Maxon, Alden I. Bennett, Charles R. Gill, Buell
E. Hutchinson, and Dennison Worthington. Of these men Virgin
came to Wisconsin in 1835. He served at different times in
the territorial legislature and in the state senate and
assembly. Maxon came to Wisconsin in 1843, made his home in
Washington County (from 1846), and served numerous terms in
the senate and the assembly of the state; in 1865 he was the
democratic candidate for lieutenant-governor. He died in
California in 1887. Gill came to Wisconsin in 1856 and
opened a law office in Watertown. In 1860 and 1861 he was
the youngest member of the state senate. He enlisted as a
private in the army and rose to the colonelcy of the
Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Infantry. From 1866 to 1870 he was
attorney-general of the state. Hutchinson came to Wisconsin
in 1848 and settled at Prairie du Chien. He was admitted to
the bar and in 1856 was elected to membership in the state
assembly. In later years he lived successively in South
Dakota and in Chicago. Worthington settled in Waukesha
County in 1847. He served in the assembly and from 1855 to
1861 in the senate. The remainder of his active career was
devoted to the life insurance business at Madison.
[47] Charles B. Cox, Lemuel W. Joiner, and Charles Quentin.
Joiner came to Wisconsin in 1845. He served several terms in
the state assembly and senate. He died at Wyoming,
Wisconsin, October 22, 1886.
[48] Wyman Spooner of Walworth County, Jared Warner of
Grant, David Atwood of Dane, and William H. Ramsey of
Ozaukee. Spooner, a native of Massachusetts, came to
Wisconsin in 1842, settling first at Racine and then at
Elkhorn. He served for many years as probate and as circuit
judge, and a number of terms in the senate and the assembly.
He was at one time speaker of the assembly and at another
time president of the senate, and beginning in 1863 was
three times elected lieutenant-governor of the state. He
died November 18, 1877, in his eighty-third year.
[49] Charles Hathaway Larrabee. He came to Wisconsin in 1846
and the following year served in the second constitutional
convention of the state. He served as circuit judge for a
number of years and from 1858-60 was in the national House
of Representatives. He entered the army shortly after Fort
Sumter was fired on, and before ill health compelled him to
retire rose to the rank of colonel. Upon leaving the army he
removed to the Pacific Coast, where he met death in a
railway accident in January, 1883.
[50] Leander F. Frisby of Washington County, Henry G. Webb
of Waushara, and Franklin Z. Hicks of Iowa. Frisby came to
Wisconsin from Ohio in 1846. In 1850 he opened a law office
at West Bend, where he continued to practice for thirty-one
years. He served as attorney-general of Wisconsin from 1882
to 1887. Hicks, a native of New York, came to Grant County,
Wisconsin, in early life and engaged in lead mining. He
served several terms in the territorial legislature and in
1846 as a member of the first constitutional convention of
the state.
[51] Company F, Second Infantry, Capt. William E. Strong of
Racine, and Company H, Second Infantry, Capt. Julius F.
Randolph of Madison. Strong rose to the rank of
brigadier-general during the war; Randolph was killed in
action at Gainesville, Virginia, August 28, 1862.
[52] Stephen A. Douglas, famous Illinois senator and
statesman.
[53] Elias A. Calkins was editor of the Madison _Argus and
Democrat_, and one of the leading newspaper publishers of
the state. In 1861 he entered the army as major of the Third
Wisconsin Cavalry, having declined a commission as colonel.
After the war he resumed the newspaper business and at the
time of his death in 1904 was an editorial writer on the
Chicago _Chronicle_. L. P. Harvey was governor of the state
from January 6 to April 19, 1862, his career being
tragically cut short by drowning while engaged in a mission
of succor to Wisconsin’s soldiers wounded in the battle of
Pittsburg Landing. Myron H. Orton was born in New York in
1810 and came to Wisconsin in 1849, settling first at
Milwaukee and a few years later at Madison. He was a lawyer
by profession. He died at Madison in 1860. Jared C. Gregory
was born in New York in 1823 and died at Madison in 1892. He
served for twelve years as a regent of the University of
Wisconsin and from 1880 until his death as a curator of the
State Historical Society. Jairus C. Fairchild came to
Madison from Ohio in 1846. Two years later he became the
first treasurer of the state of Wisconsin, and in 1853
failed of election to the governorship by only two votes.
From the time of his first coming to Madison until his death
in 1862 he occupied positions of prominence in the city and
the state.
[54] Thomas Graham and Thomas St. George of Racine.
[55] Miss L. L. Coues. Because of lack of funds the board of
directors early in 1861 suspended indefinitely the public
high school. Miss Coues thereupon proposed, if the board
would grant her the free use of the building and equipment,
to maintain a high school free of expense to the board, on a
tuition basis. Afterward the arrangement was modified so as
to make the school one for girls only. Such, for two years,
were the high school facilities afforded the young people of
Madison.
[56] Milton S. Griswold of Waukesha and William Fallows of
Hanchettville. Griswold was graduated from the university in
1863, became a lawyer, and practiced first at Madison and
later at Waukesha, where he served at different times as
county judge. For an interesting account of his pedagogical
proclivities while at the university, see John Muir’s _Story
of My Boyhood and Youth_, 280-82.
[57] Stephen D. Carpenter, locally prominent as editor,
publisher, and inventor. He located in Madison in 1850 and
thereafter for many years was intermittently engaged in the
printing and publishing business. In 1853 he invented a pump
which is said by one authority to have brought him $35,000.
Among other inventions of his were a power-press, a
voting-machine, and a type-setting machine. He claimed to
have invented the first mechanical knotter for binding
grain. In later life his prosperity departed. He died at
Carthage, Missouri, in October, 1906.
[58] John G. McMynn, noted Wisconsin teacher and educator.
He came to the state about the year 1848, settling first at
Kenosha and then at Racine. He served as manager of the J.
I. Case Threshing Machine Company, regent of the University
of Wisconsin, superintendent of the Racine public schools,
and state superintendent of public instruction. During the
war he rose to the colonelcy of the Tenth Wisconsin
Infantry. He died at Madison in June, 1900.
[59] Thus the first of the seventy thousand soldiers who
were to pass through Camp Randall during the next few years
departed for the war. Of this farewell, and the further
record of the regiment Reid wrote in old age as follows:
“On the twentieth day of June, the entire student force of
the university formed part of the throng which assembled at
the railroad depot to witness the departure of that gallant
regiment, which was destined, before the return of its
remnant to the state, to earn the proud but sad record of
losing in battle more men in proportion to its numbers than
any other regiment which fought on either side among the
great hosts engaged in the tremendous struggle. That twenty
per cent of its entire enlistment fell dead on battlefields
during three years’ service cannot, indeed, be said of any
other regiment of any nation in modern times.”
HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS
WISCONSIN’S FIRST VERSIFIERS
The first volume of verse printed in Wisconsin and written by a
resident of that state, was long supposed to be a volume by Elizabeth
Farnsworth Mears entitled, _Voyage of Pere Marquette and the Romance
of Charles de Langlade, or the Magic Queen_. This book was published
at Fond du Lac in 1860.[60] Recently, however, three different books
of early Wisconsin verse have been discovered antedating Mrs. Mears’s
work, and since they are without doubt the earliest attempts at
versification made in the Badger State, it seems worth while to
describe them.
The earliest is a hitherto unknown edition of a book which is
humorously described by “Nym Krinkle” in his _Chronicles of
Milwaukee_. Two editions of this book were published in New York in
1848 and 1849, but the edition recently discovered was issued in
Milwaukee in 1846 and, though bearing no imprint, is without doubt the
production of a western press.[61] Its title is as follows: “The
History/ of/ Black Hawk,/ with which is interwoven/ a Description/ of
the/ Black Hawk War/ and other/ Scenes in the West/ by E. H. Smith/
Milwaukee/ 1848./ 12mo. pp. 6† 120.” This title is somewhat
shorter than those of the later editions and the text varies
considerably from that of the later issues. This edition has no
illustrations, but the New York editions have several. The only copy
that can be traced of this firstling of the “Wisconsin Muse” is in the
Harris Collection of American Poetry in the library of Brown
University, Providence, Rhode Island.
The next in point of time is a curious book, or pamphlet, with title
as follows: “The/ Poetical/ Geography, [cut of lyre]/ with the Rules
of Arithmetic in Verse, &c. &C./ By George Van Waters/ Published for
the Author by Sidney L. Rood,/ Bookseller,/ Milwaukee:/ Wilson &
King,/ 1848,”/ This is a duodecimo of ninety-six pages, with green
paper covers. The cover title is somewhat longer: “The/ Poetical
Geography,/ made to accompany any of the/ Common School Atlases;/ to
which is added/ The Rules of Arithmetic,/ and a sketch of English
History,/ in Verse./ by George Van Waters./ This work is sold by
subscription and cannot be obtained/ at any bookstore in the United
States./ Milwaukee:/ Wilson & King./ 1848./ Price 25 cents.”/
The end cover contains an advertisement of a line of stage coaches:
“To the Travelling Public/ Stage Routes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”/
Signed, “John Frink & Co., Proprietors,” The routes are to Galena,
Green Bay, Janesville, Madison, Fort Winnebago, Dixon, Chicago,
Sheboygan, and other places.
Mr. Legler informs me that he has another edition, which was published
at Cincinnati. Several of the poems contain local allusions to
Wisconsin.
The book begins with “Geographical Definitions,” and the first lines
describe geography:
The surface of the Earth, with all its tribes
Of sea and land Geography describes.
The divisions of water are next described, beginning with the
following couplet:
An ocean is a vast extent of brine,
Or salt sea water boundless and sublime.
Lakes are described as--
Fresh water seas, by land surrounded;
As Lake Champlain, whose waves by land are bounded.
Couplets similar to these follow on straits, channels, sounds, rivers,
and other divisions of water. After explanation necessary to the use
of maps, there follows a poetical chapter on North America. Its capes
and rivers are poetically described and then, in turn, its towns, each
state being separately mentioned. The author begins with Maine and
ends with his own state, Wisconsin. A chapter on British America is
next in order and this in turn is followed by chapters on Mexico,
Guatamala, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The book ends with
rhymed delineations of islands, volcanoes, and “The Rules of
Arithmetic” and a sketch of English history. A number of notes are
interspersed throughout the work, and a prose preface follows the
title. A rhymed introduction is also introduced.
This book and also the following are in the fine collection of
Wisconsin poetry formed by Mr. Henry E. Legler, now in the possession
of Mr. Henry C. Sturges of New York.[62]
Probably the earliest specimen of German verse written in Wisconsin,
is that from the pen of one of the German immigrants of 1848. Its
title is: “Lieder/ aus/ Wisconsin/ von/ Adolf Schults./ Elberfeld und
Iserlohn./ Verlag von Julius Bädeker./ 1848.”/ This is a 16mo.
pamphlet of forty-one pages followed by an unnumbered page.
The copy I have seen has blue paper covers, with the title on the
cover the same as the foregoing. On the back cover are advertisements.
The pamphlet begins with a dedication to “Carl de Haas, Ph.D. The
friend of my youth, later schoolmaster in Wupperthal [the author’s
birthplace] and now farmer in Fond du Lac (Wis.).”
The first poem is entitled “Europa, alternde Königin.” The opening
verse follows:
Europa, alternde Königin,
Dein abend ist gekommen!
Der fröhliche Morgen ist dahin,
Der Mittagstrahl verglommen.
The fifth and last stanza runs:
Europa, sterbende Königin,
Er wird die Herrschaft erben!
Die Krone, die dunkt ihm kein Gewinn,
Die lasst er Dir im Sterben.
Another poem is on the “Thal der Wupper, Mein Heimathland.” The eighth
poem in the book is a stirring one on the Missouri River, “Missouri,
Missouri, der mächtiger Strom,” while another is addressed to the
author’s fatherland. In this he cries to the land of his birth, the
land from which he has been exiled. The book contains altogether
thirty-six different poems.
On the back cover is an advertisement of another book of verses by the
same writer, “Märzlieder,” which is advertised “to appear shortly.”
The publisher also advertises another book of interest to the
Wisconsin collector,--“Nordamerika Wisconsin. Winke für auswanderer
von Dr. Carl de Haas. Farmer in Wisconsin.” This is described as the
second edition, with three views and a map of Wisconsin. The statement
is made that the first edition of one thousand copies was sold within
four weeks. “Gedichte von Henriette Davidis, second edition,” is also
advertised. This book was printed by the Groteschen Buchdruckerei in
Arnsberg.
These three books are probably the earliest volumes of verse written
and published by Wisconsin poets. They are of interest not only
because of this fact but because each one relates in some way to
Wisconsin.
OSCAR WEGELIN
MEMORANDUM ON THE SPELLING OF “JOLLIET”[63]
Usage in spelling names was very irregular in the seventeenth century.
People spelled a name (or a word) just as it came into their minds to
do so, without fixed rules or custom. Thus the spelling of the name of
the discoverer of the Mississippi was varied--all the following forms
being used: Joliet, Jolliet, Jolyet, Jollyet. Sometimes all forms were
employed in the same document. Marquette in writing an account of his
explorations speaks of his companion as “Jolyet,” “Jollyet,” and
“Jolliet” indifferently.[64]
Under such circumstances it remains to be decided what the present
usage is, and on what facts it is based. Many, indeed most English
writers, follow Parkman, the greatest of our historians who have
written on this subject, and use the form with one “l”--“Joliet.” This
has become a part of geographical usage, and we have, for instance,
Joliet, Illinois and Indiana, and Mount Joliet. And Dr. R. G.
Thwaites, in his _Jesuit Relations_,[65] uses the one “l” in his
spelling of the name. Later, however, Doctor Thwaites became convinced
that the double “l” was the better form and often so remarked to his
assistants.
The change from “Joliet” to “Jolliet” is based first on the constant
custom of French writers, both in the Old World and the New. Pierre
Margry, the great French archivist, the most learned man of his time
concerning New France documents, always speaks of Jolliet. Félix
Martin of the Jesuit order, who wrote in 1861, uses Jolliet. Father
Tailhan, the learned editor of Perrot’s _Memoire_, uses Jolliet. The
same is true of John G. Shea, Henri Harrisse, Abbé Ferland, and
Jolliet’s latest biographer, Ernest Gagnon, who in 1902 published a
life of Jolliet derived from many newly discovered and hitherto
unpublished manuscripts. All these authors were familiar with the
seventeenth-century documents in the original form. They decided that
“Jolliet” was used more often and more consistently than any other
form, though all of them would admit that in many documents the
spelling “Joliet” may be found. For example, the baptismal
register[66] spells the name by which Jolliet was christened,
“Joliet.” While still a boy in the convent at Quebec he was known as
young Joliet.[67]
After Jolliet entered active life the name was usually spelled with
two “l’s.” His earliest voyage is reported by the Sulpician, Galinée,
who met him in 1669 at the head of Lake Erie and calls him “le sieur
Jolliet.”[68] In 1671 he took part in the pageant of Sault Ste. Marie,
when he was again spoken of as “le sieur Jolliet.”[69] Father Claude
Dablon, who first reported the voyage of 1673, says, August 1, 1674,
“le sieur Jolliet” has come back from the West.[70] Count de
Frontenac, the governor-general of New France, in his first mention of
the voyager, speaks of him as “Joliet”;[71] but thereafter in
reporting his voyage and mentioning his maps he always writes the name
“Jolliet.”[72] Several unsigned documents of the same period refer to
him as “Jolliet.”[73] In 1677 a concession in Illinois was refused to
“le sieur Jolliet.”[74] In 1680 a concession of the island of
Anticosti was made to “Jolliet.”[75] Many more similar documents could
be cited showing that the prevalent use in the seventeenth century was
the form “Jolliet.”
Lastly, how did the man himself write his name? A map published in Dr.
R. G. Thwaites’s _Jesuit Relations_,[76] gives in the cartouche a
letter signed “Joliet.” This has usually been supposed to be the
explorer’s writing. A glance, however, at two authentic signatures
will convince that he never wrote the name on the map. The first
signature is from a tracing secured by Henry Legler for an article in
the Wisconsin Historical Society _Proceedings_, 1905, page 169. The
second is the signature to the marriage contract of which a facsimile
is given in Gagnon, page 122. A glance will show that these two names
were written by the same hand, and both are spelled “Jolliet.”
In view, therefore, of first, the usage of the best French authors;
second, the usage of the latter part of the seventeenth century, or
contemporary usage; and third, the signature of the explorer himself,
the spelling “Jolliet” is believed to be the proper one.
LOUISE P. KELLOGG
THE FIRST EDITION OF THE ZENGER _TRIAL_, 1736[77]
The Wisconsin Historical Society recently purchased an important file
of the _New York Weekly Journal_, consisting of 136 numbers, ranging
from December 17, 1733 to July 11, 1737. Bound in the same volume with
these issues of the second newspaper printed in New York is an imprint
of excessive rarity--namely, the first edition of _A Brief Narrative
of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger_, 1736. Probably only one
other copy--that in the New York Public Library--is extant. It is a
folio of forty pages, printed by Zenger himself, without a separate
title-page. At the head of the first page is this title: “A Brief
Narrative of the Case and Try/al of _John Peter Zenger_, Printer of
the/ _New York weekly Journal_.”/ The caption set between rows of
printer’s ornaments, and the colophon reads: “_New York_, Printed and
sold by _John Peter Zenger_. MDCCXXXVI.” There are two lines of errata
above the colophon. The most striking peculiarity of the edition is to
be found in the pagination, pages 15 to 40 being numbered 17 to 42.
James Alexander prepared the narrative for publication.
There are numerous editions of the _Trial_, including four published
in London in 1738. The present copy is in unusually fine condition and
the Wisconsin Historical Society is to be congratulated upon the
possession (acquired with little effort, it is whispered) of this
superlatively rare colonial imprint. It was picked up, so to speak, in
the East, almost at the threshold of several institutions that would
give much to place it upon their shelves. If put upon the market, it
is not unlikely that the pamphlet would realize several thousand
dollars. But, of course, no library ever parts with such a treasure.
Of the life of John Peter Zenger little is known. He was born in
Germany in 1697, but the name of his native place is not recorded. He
is said to have been one of a large company of Palatines who were sent
to America by Queen Anne in 1710. After serving an apprenticeship of
eight years to William Bradford, the printer, dating from October 26,
1711, Zenger went to Maryland. Returning to New York, he there married
Anna Catharina Maulin on September 11, 1722. This was his second
marriage, the date of the first being unknown. For a short time he was
Bradford’s partner. One book only is known to bear their joint
imprint. In 1726 he started business on his own account, and it is
interesting to note that he printed the first arithmetic issued in the
colony--_Vanema’s Arithmetica_, 1730.
The administration of William Cosby as governor of New York,
1732-1736, was marked by many arbitrary acts, which aroused deep
public indignation. “The oppressions,” writes Mr. Livingston
Rutherfurd in his useful book,[78] “culminated in the trial of John
Peter Zenger which was one of the most stirring incidents of colonial
days. Its results were of greater magnitude than any of the
participants could have imagined. It established the freedom of the
press in North America, it wrought an important change in the law of
libel, and marked the beginning of a new era in popular government.”
Nor is this an overstatement of the case; for the trial of this humble
printer constitutes an important episode in our colonial history.
The establishment of the _New York Weekly Journal_ came as the result
of a determination on the part of the popular leaders to show Governor
Cosby to the people of the colony in his true colors. Zenger, its
printer, was probably aided financially in the venture. The first
number was issued November 5, 1733--a folio of four pages. The chief
contributors were Lewis Morris, James Alexander, William Smith,
Cadwallader Colden, and Lewis Morris Jr. Apparently, Alexander was the
editor, for among his papers are many articles intended for
publication in the _Journal_. Zenger had been indifferently educated,
and his skill as a printer was not great. Moreover, he was very poor.
He appears to have entered upon the project for commercial
considerations only, and without any clear understanding of its
political significance or of where it might lead him.
The _Journal_ was the sensation of the hour; in fact, it was so
popular that of some numbers three editions were required to satisfy
the demand. Although it abounds in errors due to Zenger’s imperfect
knowledge of English, it is in every way superior to its competitor,
Bradford’s _Gazette_, the organ of the Governor. “The paper was sold
for three shillings per quarter, and advertisements cost three
shillings for the first insertion and one shilling for each insertion
thereafter.” It contained many articles of merit--and was extremely
outspoken!
With such an administration in power it is not surprising that all
this resulted in the arrest of Zenger on November 17, 1734, “for
printing and publishing several Seditious Libels dispersed throughout
his Journals or News Papers, entitled, _The New York Weekly Journal,
containing the freshest Advices, foreign and domestick_.” After many
vicissitudes, including nine months of imprisonment, Zenger was
defended by Andrew Hamilton, of Philadelphia, an eminent advocate
nearly eighty years old, and acquitted. There was much rejoicing among
the people, for the victory was indeed a notable one, full of meaning
for future generations. Gouverneur Morris declared that “the trial of
Zenger in 1735 was the germ of American freedom, the morning star of
that liberty which subsequently revolutionized America.”
JOHM THOMAS LEE
A NOVEL TRANSPORTATION DEVICE
A recent request for information on the subject first brought to our
attention the novel project of Norman Wiard for establishing a
rapid-transit route between Prairie du Chien and St. Paul in 1859. A
somewhat cursory examination of contemporary newspaper files revealed
the notices of the project which follow. It seems probable that a more
thorough search would disclose additional information concerning
Wiard’s ingenious project.
THE ICE BOAT[79]
Prairie du Chien, Dec. 1, 1859.
EDITOR COURIER. Dear Sir: As there have been many
conjectures in regard to the Ice Boat published in the
various newspapers of the Northwest, I thought that some
definite and reliable information in regard to the invention
would be of interest to the public.
Norman Wiard Esq., the inventor of the Ice Boat, is now
constructing in New York City, an ice boat with a capacity
for carrying twenty passengers, and will be here with it
about the twentieth of December. He has proved to the
satisfaction of some of the most scientific men of New York
that his invention is a success.
It is intended by the parties having the route from here to
Saint Paul to stock the line this winter, and to be prepared
to do all business that may present itself.
The immense advantages arising to the Northwest from this
invention must be apparent to all.
Yours truly, JOHN JAY CHASE
ICE BOATS, CHARIOTS, CUTTER--LETTER FROM MR. WIARD[80]
New York, Nov. 22, 1859.
_169 Broadway, Room 35._
J. H. GREEN, _Editor of Leader_:
Please say to all, or as much of what I have written as you
please, in your own words, for I assure you I believe it all
myself, and I believe that many of your readers will be glad
to have the information.
Yours truly, NORMAN WIARD.
Accordingly, we say as requested, that Norman Wiard, inventor of the
Ice Boat, will be in Prairie du Chien before long with a
twenty-passenger steam ice boat, which he has now in process of
construction at New York, and hopes by such means to keep open
communication with St. Paul and Prairie du Chien, connecting, always
up to time, with the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad.
He will also be prepared with a pioneer machine to level a track, when
it is necessary, where the ice is rough. His twenty-passenger boat can
be raised or lowered, while in motion or at rest, to enable it to pass
through a uniform depth of snow of three feet. It has devices that are
ample and practical, by which it can pass over or through snow banks
and drifts; even if it should be run into a bank of snow twenty feet
in depth and there stopped, it can immediately be passed through it or
over it, or be backed out with the greatest facility. It is an
amphibious machine, is this Ice Boat, as it can be run off the ice at
a speed of twenty miles an hour into the water with safety; and it can
propel itself across the water to contact with the ice on the other
side, and get out upon the ice and be put again in operation without
any material delay. It is, also, almost dangerproof; for, if it should
be thrown into the water by accident, on its side, or even bottom up,
it would right itself instantly; and about thirty holes would have to
be broken in the hull before it could be sunk, even if it were full of
water.
Mr. Wiard exhibited a model of his Ice Boat at the fair of the
American Institute, N. Y., and received therefor the highest award;
the operations of his model corroborate the statements made above;
and the minutes of the Polytechnic Club, before whom he exhibited his
plans at their request, says [_sic_] that the working of the model
“proved his statements.” The practicability of the boat itself will
soon be tested on the ice of the Mississippi, and the judgment which
will then be pronounced [will be] a final one.
[Corner torn off] driver only, and can go up and down hill and into
the water, safely! “Please to say all this,” says Mr. Wiard, “for I
assure you, I believe it all!” So will we all, when we see it, and the
sight is promised us.
Mr. John Cleveland, 35 Wall Street, N. Y., is now the trustee of the
patent, and by the liberal subscription of a few intelligent and
responsible gentlemen of that city Mr. Wiard is enabled to fully
develop and test his plans. The machine he is now building is said to
be beautiful as well as useful; and it seems likely to attract a
number of New Yorkers to visit Prairie du Chien when Mr. Wiard brings
it here.
Should this invention prove to be a practical one, Norman Wiard’s name
will be ranked along with that of Fulton, Stephenson, and Morse. If
his machine should prove valueless, the worst that can or will be
said, will be that he _deserved_ success.
THE ICE BOAT[81]
The Prairie du Chien _Leader_ says it is not, and never has been, the
intention of Mr. Wiard to test the practicability of his invention
with the boat half built last winter, and which remains in _statue_
[sic] _quo_ yet, being too large, heavy, and unwieldy for the
experiment.
[60] See article by Henry E. Legler, _Early Wisconsin
Imprints: A Preliminary Essay_, in Wisconsin Historical
Society, _Proceedings_, 1905, 121.
[61] The Racine _Advocate_ of March 3, 1846, contains a
half-column notice of Smith’s book, then newly published at
Milwaukee.
[62] Copies of two later editions of the _Poetical
Geography_ are owned by the Wisconsin Historical Library.
One was published at Cincinnati in 1852, the other at New
York in 1853.
[63] This memorandum was prepared for submission to the
Committee on State Affairs of the Wisconsin Assembly in
April, 1917. A bill had been introduced in the assembly by
the committee which provided that the name “Joliet” should
be given to the state park at the mouth of the Wisconsin
River. As a result of the memorandum, the bill was amended
by substituting the spelling “Jolliet” in the name of the
park.
[64] Missing in the original--Transcriber’s Note]
[65] R. G. Thwaites, _The Jesuit Relations and Allied
Documents_ (Cleveland, 1896-1901), LIX, 86, 121, 123, 159.
[66] Cited by Ernest Gagnon, _Louis Jolliet, decouvreur du
Mississippi et du pays des Illinois_ … (Quebec, 1902), 2.
[67] R. G. Thwaites, _Jesuit Relations_, XXX, 181; L, 191.
[68] L. P. Kellogg, _Early Narratives of the Northwest_ (New
York, 1917), 191-92.
[69] P. Margry, _Découvertes et Etablissements des Français_
(Paris, 1876-86), I, 96.
[70] R. G. Thwaites, _Jesuit Relations_, LVIII, 92, 102.
[71] Margry, I, 255.
[72] _Ibid._, 257; Henri Harrisse, _Notes pour Servir a la
histoire … de la nouvelle France et des pays adjacents
1545-1700_ (Paris, 1872, 131, 133).
[73] Margry, I, 259-62.
[74] _Ibid._, 329.
[75] Gagnon (see _ante_), 157.
[76] LXVIII, 86.
[77] Reprinted by permission from the New York _Nation_,
February 22, 1917.
[78] Livingston Rutherfurd, _John Peter Zenger: His Press,
His Trial, and a Bibliography of Zenger Imprints_ (New York,
1904).
[79] From the Prairie du Chien _Courier_, December 1, 1859.
[80] From the Prairie du Chien _Leader_, December 8, 1859.
[81] From the Milwaukee _Sentinel_, December 9, 1859.
EDITORIALS
INTRODUCING OURSELVES
The State Historical Society of Wisconsin is now in the sixty-eighth
year of its existence. Quiescent during its first few years, with the
coming of Lyman C. Draper to the secretaryship of the Society in 1854
it immediately entered upon a period of aggressive activity which has
continued without interruption to the present moment. During the sixty
years of the remarkable leadership of Dr. Draper and Dr. Thwaites the
Society deservedly acquired the reputation of being one of the leading
historical organizations of the country. Our library, if not the
largest, is one of the best of its kind and in many respects its
collections are unique. In other fields of activity, too, the
Society’s achievements have been no less creditable to it and to the
state it represents.
No sadder disaster could befall the Society, however, than the
development on the part of its members of a feeling of serene
satisfaction with the record of its achievements. As with all living
organisms, we must go forward or retrograde. Only dead ones are
static. The manifold life of our state and country is constantly
changing. If our Society is to fulfil its proper function, it must
constantly strive to adjust itself to the current developments of the
world to which it belongs. With the passage of time the ancient good
becomes uncouth and it behooves us to assume the new duties which new
occasions teach.
In this spirit, after much thought and planning, we launch the
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY. The problem of our historical society
differs materially from that of many others, particularly those in the
older-settled sections of the country. It must justify the support
which the taxpayers so liberally accord by rendering to the public the
fullest possible measure of service, and to this ideal it has long
subscribed. Equally important is it, however, that the public should
be aware of the facilities for service which the Society possesses in
order that these may be utilized. It is believed that the publication
of a quarterly magazine, devoted to the historical interests of the
state will afford a better avenue of communication with the Society’s
members and the general public than has been possessed heretofore.
Without sacrificing in any way the scholarly ideals of the Society, it
is hoped to make the magazine as interesting as may be to the ordinary
reader. As our immediate constituency we have in mind the seven
hundred members of the Society, whose tastes and interests, we have
faith to believe, are shared by thousands of other citizens of
Wisconsin. The historical interests of the professional scholars among
our membership are catered to by numerous historical reviews, but no
publication meets the needs of the far greater proportion of our
members who are not included in this group. To this constituency,
primarily, it is hoped the magazine will appeal. If this hope shall be
realized we will account the magazine a success. If it shall be
disappointed, on the contrary, the energies of the Society’s working
force will be directed to more fruitful ends as soon as this fact
shall have been established.
OUR STATE FLAG
How many, we wonder, of those into whose hands this magazine may come
are aware that the beautiful banner represented on its cover is the
official state flag of Wisconsin? That the number is much smaller than
it should be is certain. When we set out in quest of an example of our
state flag, our first application was at the nearby armory, but the
officer in charge confidently assured us that Wisconsin has no state
flag, and appealed to Webster’s _New International_ to support his
assertion. Notwithstanding the evidence of both soldier and
dictionary, for over fifty years Wisconsin regiments have carried the
state flag, although its legal definition and precise present design
date back only to 1913. That our beautiful banner, hallowed on many a
bloody battlefield, is so little known to our citizens is not at all
to our credit. Nor is it creditable that the service flags in the
hands of the custodian of public property at the capitol fail in
almost every respect to conform to the official specifications for the
state flag as set forth in the statutes.
THE SOCIETY AND THE LEGISLATURE
Members and friends of the Society may congratulate themselves, on the
whole, on the treatment accorded it by the state legislature of 1917.
In view of economic and political conditions generally, and of the
local political situation in particular, it was to have been expected
that the legislators would scrutinize our budget estimates with care,
and that enthusiasm for new advances, whether in work or in
appropriations, would be conspicuous by its absence. It is gratifying
to record that the members of the joint finance committee of the two
houses accorded the representatives of the Society an appreciative
hearing and manifested a desire to provide for its activities during
the coming biennium with enlightened, albeit prudent, liberality.
Since the task of presenting the Society’s needs to the legislature
devolves chiefly upon the writer of these lines, the occasion is
gladly improved to acknowledge in particular the broad-minded attitude
of Senator Platt Whitman of Highland, and Assemblyman E. A. Everett of
Eagle River, chairmen of the joint finance committee.
From one point of view, however, the present financial situation of
the Society is far from gratifying. It is running on substantially the
same budget as was first laid down in 1912, and this will, of course,
continue to be the case at least until July 1, 1919. No one who is
mature enough to be reading these lines, need be told that the
purchasing power of a given sum of money has shrunk alarmingly since
1912. In effect, therefore, the Society’s income has decreased in
recent years in proportion as the cost of living generally has
steadily increased. To take a single illustration, the cost of heating
the library building in the year ending June 30, 1916, was (in round
numbers) $5,500; for the succeeding fiscal year it was $7,400; while
the estimates for the year just entered upon call for an expenditure
of $11,000 for this purpose. Obviously the library building must
continue to be heated. It follows, therefore, with the total income of
the Society stationary from year to year, that the additional sum
required for coal must be gained by curtailing other activities of the
Society, which constitute its real excuse for existence. The
importance of this subject is such that a suitable occasion will be
sought later to lay it before our readers in fuller detail.
[Illustration: THE FIRST WISCONSIN CAPITOL AT BELMONT]
NELSON DEWEY PARK AND THE FIRST WISCONSIN CAPITOL
Several other matters of peculiar interest to the historically-minded
citizens of Wisconsin were acted upon by the recent legislature. We
record with chief pleasure in this connection the provision made for
the preservation of our first territorial capitol at Belmont (now
Leslie). Eleven years ago the superintendent of the Society, Dr.
Thwaites, made an effort to secure the restoration of this quondam
statehouse for a region imperial in extent, and the story of his
effort is told in the _Proceedings_ of the Society for 1906. At that
time the legislature failed to act upon his sensible advice, however,
and the matter was allowed to drop. At the recent legislative session,
Mr. M. P. Rindlaub of Platteville, veteran editor of southern
Wisconsin, took up anew the agitation for the preservation of the
capitol building. This time the advice was heeded and the sum of
$3,000 was appropriated for the purpose in view. Mr. Rindlaub’s plan
contemplated the removal and renovation of the capitol and the making
of provision for a permanent caretaker who, under the control of the
state conservation commission, should look after it. For these objects
the sum of $10,000 was asked. The amount granted will suffice but
partially to execute the entire project, but it will at least insure
the permanent preservation of the building.
The action of the legislature in naming the state park at the mouth of
the Wisconsin was, in our opinion, distinctly unwise. Citizens of
Wisconsin do not need to be reminded that the historical association
which provided the driving motive for securing this splendid tract for
a state park preserve several years ago was the discovery of the
Mississippi River at this point by the famous expedition of Jolliet
and Marquette in 1673. Because of this fact, and of the additional one
that the park was bought by and belongs to the entire state, the name
either of Jolliet or Marquette should unquestionably have been given
to the park. As between these two there would perhaps be little reason
for preference were it not for the fact that Marquette has twice been
signally honored by the state (by naming a county for him and by
choosing him as one of the two Wisconsin characters whose statue is
placed in the national capitol) while to Jolliet no recognition,
official or otherwise, has ever been accorded in Wisconsin.
Curiously enough, the park has been allowed to exist for several years
without a legal name. During this time residents of the vicinity
developed the habit of calling it Glenn Park, after former Senator
Glenn who sold the land to the state, while the conservation
commission, as a matter of convenience, referred to it as Marquette
Park. When a bill was introduced at the recent legislative session
providing that the park be officially named after Senator Glenn, a
number of officers and members of the Society bestirred themselves
to defeat the measure through the process of enlightening the
legislature with respect to the historical and other considerations
involved. It is proper to record in this connection that Assembly
Kurtenacker of La Crosse, on being apprised of the situation,
cheerfully joined with the representatives of the Society in the
effort to have the bill which he had himself introduced by request,
killed in committee. This effort met with success, and the assembly
committee on state affairs reported a bill to the lower chamber
providing that the park be named in honor of Jolliet. The assembly
passed the bill, but in the senate it was amended by substituting for
Jolliet the name of Nelson Dewey, first governor of the state, and in
this form it became a law.
We believe that the motive which prompted the senate amendment was
laudable, but that the judgment displayed was weak. Apparently the
impression that the park should be considered in some peculiar sense
as a perquisite of the people of southwestern Wisconsin, as opposed to
the state as a whole, could not be surmounted. With no remote desire
to detract from the fame or merit of Governor Dewey, we do not think
the mere circumstance of his residence having been at Cassville
constitutes a pertinent reason for giving his name to this park, the
very existence of which is due to the famous discovery of June 17,
1673. Incidentally, however, the entire discussion was productive of
good, since it called the attention of the public anew to the value
and significance of the factor of historical associations in the
selection of place names.
PERROT STATE PARK AND JOHN A. LATSCH
Another park development of the past year which is peculiarly
gratifying to the State Historical Society pertains to the new state
park at Trempealeau. For many years the Society has been actively
interested in this locality because of the richness of its historical
associations. In particular, in recent years a series of historical
articles pertaining to the locality written by Dr. Eben D. Pierce,
member and curator of the Society, has been published in the volumes
of _Proceedings_. Largely through these activities the interest of Mr.
Latsch, a leading business man of Winona, was awakened to the
desirability of securing historic Trempealeau Mountain and the
adjoining river frontage as a permanent park preserve. To this end he
purchased some 800 acres of land including the mountain and the
adjoining river bluffs, and offered the whole as a gift to the State
Historical Society. Because the Society lacks the facilities for
administering such a trust, on the Superintendent’s recommendation the
gift was diverted to the conservation commission, which is admirably
qualified to administer it. At the time of writing these lines (July,
1917) it only remains to complete certain legal details when the
formal transfer of the property to the state will be made. Thus the
famous peak, noted by Pike and Schoolcraft and many another early
explorer, together with the site of ancient Fort Perrot, one of the
earliest establishments of civilized man in the upper Mississippi
Valley, is added to our already splendid system of state parks. Aside
from the historical associations of the place, the river scenery at
this point is rarely impressive and beautiful; while Trempealeau
Mountain itself is said to be peculiarly rich in botanical specimens.
But by what authority, it may be asked, have we headed this editorial
“Perrot State Park.” Pressed for an answer, we must admit that the
title expresses a hope merely, rather than a consummation already
realized. One of the motives, we understand, responsible for the
interest Mr. Latsch has shown in the matter was a feeling of
veneration for his boyhood home and for his Swiss father who settled
in Latsch Valley some two generations ago. Under the circumstances it
would not be strange if the donor, following the example long since
set by a notable giver of libraries to the American public, should
impose as a condition of his gift to the state the requirement that
the park be named in honor of his father. We understand, instead, that
Mr. Latsch himself desires the park to be named in honor of Nicolas
Perrot, the famous French explorer, who passed the winter of 1685-86 a
short distance down the river from Trempealeau Mountain and within the
confines of the new state park. The fine modesty and sense of
historical appreciation displayed by Mr. Latsch in thus desiring to
honor the intrepid explorer require no words of commendation at our
hands. We may express the hope, however, that when a future state
legislature shall come to the task of bestowing a legal name on the
park, it will possess a like degree of judgment concerning the
historical fitness of things. Perhaps Mr. Latsch might insure this in
advance by making the gift of the land to the state dependent upon its
acceptance of the name of Perrot for the park.
FOREST FIRES, GENERALLY AND IN PARTICULAR
From the beginning of Wisconsin’s development until the close of the
nineteenth century, lumbering constituted one of the chief sources of
the state’s wealth and business activity. In 1860 the lumber industry,
still in its infancy in Wisconsin, ranked second only to agriculture
in importance. The story of its rise and decline constitutes one of
the most important and thrilling chapters in our history as a state.
In this respect our history conforms to the general rule that in every
new country the natural resources closest at hand are the first to be
exploited. Well had it been for state and nation had our lumbermen, in
their mad rush to transmute our magnificent forests into gold, paid
more regard to the welfare of future generations and squandered less
recklessly this splendid “gift of the ages.”
This statement of these reflections brings us to the point of
suggesting the broader historical significance of Mr. Bracklin’s
article in the present number of the WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY.
One of the prolific factors making for the waste of our lumbering
resources was fire. In the words of a recent writer this was “the
dread scourge of the lumber industry.” The sawmills and sawmill towns,
flimsily constructed of inflammable pine, were periodically swept by
the flames. Although the mills and mill towns were commonly rebuilt
with characteristic American vigor, the forest fires were the source
of appalling loss to the state. Yet the public mind was for many years
indifferent to these losses, and the fires were commonly left to burn
themselves out, with no human effort to impede or check the course of
the flames. In 1864 one of the greatest conflagrations which had ever
visited the state swept for weeks through the northern pinery regions,
yet so indifferent were the people of southern Wisconsin to the matter
that it received scarcely any notice in the newspapers of this
section.
Our numerous forest fires, then, have possessed not only thrilling
human interest but vast economic significance. Mr. Bracklin’s
narrative describes a single personal experience with one small forest
fire. What he experienced and here describes, however, applies with
suitable variation of details to hundreds of similar events in
Wisconsin. In this fact consists its broader significance.
CONSOLATION FOR THE PRESENT CRISIS
It seems evident, from the sources of information at our command, that
the Imperial German Government counted largely on its ability to
neutralize the national will of America by fostering among Americans
of German descent a spirit of disloyalty to their country. That the
citizens of the Badger State in particular could thus be cajoled into
playing a traitor’s rôle was not only believed in Germany, but widely
feared in our own country as well. That our citizens of German descent
should be enthusiastic about going into the war was not reasonably to
have been expected; that, faced with a hard duty, they should prefer
to play the rôle of traitor is quite another matter. We do not
believe, and from the beginning have not feared, that any considerable
number will make such a choice.
In such a time of trial and stress as the present we are fairly
entitled to gain what comfort we may from an examination of our past.
The simple truth is that, with the possible exception of the Spanish
War, we enter upon the present struggle with more of unanimity and
resolution than has been the case with any other great war in our
history. Of our unfortunate divisions and discords during the
Revolution and the War of 1812 every schoolboy is informed. The North
had little enthusiasm for the Mexican War and largely abstained from
participation in it. The Civil War was a fratricidal contest, but the
South eliminated from consideration, the people of the North were
sadly divided in counsels and desires. That this was true of Wisconsin
has been largely forgotten by our citizens. The present generation has
forgotten, if indeed it was ever aware of, the fact that Wisconsin was
the seat of a formidable copperhead sentiment during the war; that
there was widespread opposition to the enforcement of the draft by the
federal government; and that a largely attended mass meeting at the
state capital in April, 1861, after the firing on Fort Sumter, laid on
the table a resolution pledging support to President Lincoln. It is
true the local paper declared, in the latter instance, that a majority
of those present favored the resolution but were circumvented in their
desire by the chairman of the meeting; but even so it is evident that
there must have been a large element of opposition to have enabled him
to carry through the maneuver. Notwithstanding the deliberation with
which the recent legislature went about expressing its support of the
national government, it requires no hardihood to affirm that no
chairman of a public gathering, however traitorous his desire, could
have prevented a Madison audience of 1917 from expressing its
intention of standing behind the national government.
To touch for a moment upon another matter, the political ideals of the
period preceding the Civil War were shockingly low in comparison with
those of the present time. If there has been any graft in connection
with the construction of our new $7,000,000 capitol, the public is as
yet totally unconscious of the fact. Three-quarters of a century ago,
on the contrary, we could not build even a forty-thousand-dollar
capitol without a riot of mismanagement and dishonesty. The period of
“Barstow and the balance,” and of the “forty thieves” signifies more
than the addition of a picturesque phrase to our political annals.
Instead of constituting a rare exception, the political morality which
these phrases suggest was painfully commonplace in Wisconsin prior to
the Civil War. It was only a few years before we entered upon that
great struggle that a powerful corporation brazenly established a
pay-counter at the capital and bought with paltry silver the entire
state legislature, and even the governor himself. Idealists are by no
means satisfied with the political standards and practices of our
public men of the present day, but they are lily-white in comparison
with the similar standards of the fifties in Wisconsin.
Or again, let us glance by way of comparison at the financial
situation. The diary of Harvey Reid, published elsewhere in this
magazine, affords an inkling, at least, of our deplorable financial
condition in 1861. The national banking-system still lay in the womb
of the future, while the treacherous “wild cats” flourished at the
expense alike of private fortunes and public credit. With the first
breath of war these institutions toppled in headlong ruin,
notwithstanding that the state legislature, heedless of constitutional
prohibitions, essayed vainly to prevent the crash. Within four days
after the news of the firing on Fort Sumter, specie payments were
suspended in Wisconsin; and the efforts of the government to float a
war loan of $1,200,000 on the credit of the state of Wisconsin in the
summer of 1861 met with dismal and inglorious failure.
We do not remind the present generation of these things in any
pharisaical attitude, but for the encouragement they afford to us at
this time. The outstanding fact is that in the very face of such
conditions as we have adverted to, Wisconsin girded herself for the
task and played a noble part in the Civil War. We enter the present
struggle immeasurably better prepared from almost every viewpoint than
we did the one of old. If, as we believe, our people still retain a
fair measure of pluck and ability, the record we are about to make
should be correspondingly better than that of fifty years ago.
THE QUESTION BOX
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| _The Wisconsin Historical Library has long maintained a |
| bureau of historical information for the benefit of those who |
| care to avail themselves of the service it offers. In “The |
| Question Box” will be printed from time to time such queries, |
| with the answers made to them, as possess sufficient general |
| interest to render their publication worth while._ |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
THE OLDEST CHURCH IN WISCONSIN
You will recall the little church in Ephraim where you gave
us your historical address a few years ago. This church was
built in 1857, dedicated in 1859, and has been in continuous
use ever since.
I have wondered if there is any older church still in use in
Wisconsin. I have gone through the records of two-thirds of
the counties of the state and, while I have found that many
churches were erected prior to this, these have all been
superseded by later structures. I wonder if your staff can
give me any assistance in ascertaining the existence of any
older house of worship?
H. R. HOLAND,
_Ephraim, Wisconsin_.
One of the oldest church buildings in Wisconsin is undoubtedly that
known as The Old Mission on Madelaine Island. This was built in 1839
and dedicated in 1840 for the American Board of Home Missions, now
part of the Presbyterian denomination. This building is now used for
worship at least during the summer season, but has not been so
employed consecutively, as it was closed in the fifties and not
reopened until 1892. In 1901 is was removed to its present location,
and restored and redecorated in 1915.
The oldest frame church in Wisconsin was built in 1839 at Kellogg’s
Corners, now Sylvania, in Racine County, for the use of the Methodist
denomination. So far as we can ascertain, the old church is still
standing, but whether or not it is now used for service we are not
informed.
There is a country church near Waterford in Racine County which was
built in 1846 and is still in excellent condition and in active use.
Only last year it was thoroughly renovated at a cost of some
$3,500--several times as much as the original cost of the building.
This church stands in what is known as the English Settlement by
reason of the fact that the community was largely settled by
immigrants from England in the early forties. The church is unique
both in its organization and in its history.
It is evident, therefore, that while your church at Ephraim may be
among the older structures of the state still used for religious
services, it cannot claim the honor of priority in this respect.
THE FIRST MILLS IN THE FOX RIVER VALLEY
I am preparing recollections of early days in the Fox River
Valley and will be pleased to supply you with results of my
efforts in this direction. I am somewhat confused on some of
the items, especially the establishment of the first saw and
grist mill on the south or east side (my old home), of the
river and across from Kaukauna. My friend, Mr. John D. Lawe,
son of the late George W. Lawe, writes me that James M. Boyd
and Paul Hudon _dit_ Beaulieu, my grandfather, “built a saw
mill along the rapid,” etc. The date given by Mr. Lawe for
the building of the saw mill is 1832. A few years later my
father, Bazil H. Beaulieu, came in possession of both mills.
I was told when I was a boy that the mills were originally
built by the federal government for the use and purposes of
the Menominee, as also of the Brothertown Indians, the
latter being now scattered on farms on the east shore of
Lake Winnebago, across from Oshkosh. Furthermore, I was told
that the said mills were the second of the kind built in
Wisconsin, then the territory of Michigan. Have you any
facts or data at hand which might serve to verify or throw
more light on the subject?
T. H. BEAULIEU,
_White Earth, Minnesota_.
With regard to the Fox River Valley mills, the earliest, both saw and
grist, were built by Jacob Franks on Devil’s River some time shortly
after 1800. They afterwards came into the possession of John Lawe, and
were operated by him for many years. Pierre A. Grignon built a grist
mill on Reaume or Glaize Creek in 1810. This was used to provide food
for the war parties of Robert Dickson in the War of 1812. The miller
was Grignon’s brother-in-law, Dominique Brunette usually called Masca.
Augustin Grignon built a grist mill at Kaukauna on the north side of
the stream, about 1818. Two years later the United States government
had a sawmill erected at Little Rapids to prepare material for Fort
Howard and its outlying buildings.
In 1821-22 the Menominee, who had a village at South Kaukauna, sold a
large tract to the New York Indians. In the latter year the
Stockbridge began to move to their tract, which began just above the
Menominee village. The government had built for the Stockbridge
Indians a sawmill, which was finished some time before 1830. At that
date a grist mill was proposed by the Stockbridge. Probably that was
when your father took over the mills and repaired them, and perhaps
enlarged them. The Brothertown Indians were settled with the
Stockbridge, and removed with them to the east side of Lake Winnebago.
The Menominee Indians had mills built for them by the government, but
that was after the Treaty of 1846, and they were built much higher up
the river, at or near Menasha.
COLONEL ELLSWORTH’S MADISON CAREER
I am collecting materials for a life of Col. E. E. Ellsworth
and would ask if you have in your library anything
concerning his drilling of the Governor’s Guard in your city
in the space between 1858 and 1860. I understand that his
stay was not very long, a few weeks probably, but I cannot
state definitely the year. It would be a great help to me if
you would look up this matter, and if you could send me full
information and copies of important phases relating in any
manner to his sojourn in your town, I would be greatly
obliged. I am in this work simply to resurrect and save from
oblivion the history of a great and martyred name of our
country, one which has been strangely neglected. The more I
study into his life and collect the materials from scattered
and almost forgotten sources, the more I am convinced that
he was a young man of remarkable genius, worthy of
perpetuation in the annals of the nation.
From the success that has so far rewarded my search, I am
encouraged to believe that ere long I will be in possession
of everything of real importance that belonged to his
career. I was well acquainted with his father and my home is
within easy reach of his birthplace. and of Mechanicsville,
New York, where he was buried and where a fine monument
stands to his memory.
C. A. INGRAHAM,
_Cambridge, New York_.
We find in our collections a few memorials of E. E. Ellsworth that we
think would interest you. In an old book of autographs there is a tiny
photograph that has been identified as that of Ellsworth. It is only
about an inch long and yet it is perfectly clear and well-defined; the
uniform shows to great advantage, and there are three medals on the
breast of the coat. Among the other relics is a drawing about sixteen
inches by twelve, the head of a fine-looking man with lifted eyes.
This is signed “Ellsworth” and “EEE.” It was presented to the Society
by N. B. Van Slyke, who gave the information that it was a “Sketch
drawn by Col. E. E. Ellsworth in 1858 at Madison, Wisconsin, and
presented to N. B. Van Slyke while the young man was at Madison.”
Pasted upon this drawing are several newspaper slips giving
Ellsworth’s biography, the last letter which he wrote to his parents
from Washington, May 23, 1861, accounts of his death and funeral, and
a poem in his honor.
Upon consulting the Madison newspapers for 1858 we secured the
following items: The Governor’s Guard was organized February 18, 1858,
with Julius P. Atwood as captain. April 20, the Guard appeared upon
the street for the first time trained by Lieutenant C. W. Harris. The
Guard was very prominent socially, and gave many balls and soirées. It
took part in public celebrations on the Fourth of July, at the
university commencement, and at the state fair. June 25, the Guard
first appeared in uniform. No mention appears of Ellsworth until Oct.
15, 1858, when a Cadet Corps formed. Twenty-five Madison boys met at
the Governor’s Guard Armory, and Maj. E. E. Ellsworth, who was
unanimously elected commandant, immediately put the cadets to drill.
October 18, the Governor’s Guard was summoned to drill three evenings
in the week, no spectators allowed. October 20 the papers contain
notices of the drilling of the cadets by their commandant, Maj. E. E.
Ellsworth, who “Is an accomplished and thorough drill master.” Another
paper says the cadets “are ambitious to become the best drilled
company in the State and their aptness has called forth a high
compliment from Major Ellsworth.”
An exhaustive search does not reveal his name again. On December 26,
1858, the Governor’s Guard “were out in full uniform for the first
time since the State Fair and to us appear much improved in a military
point.”
We have not been able to determine what brought Ellsworth to Madison.
W. J. Ellsworth lived in the city at the time. Possibly they were
kinsmen.
One other relic of Ellsworth’s activities among us is in the Keyes
Papers. In 1910, Col. Elisha W. Keyes wrote an article for the Madison
_Democrat_ on the organization of the Governor’s Guard. In it he says
“Soon after the organization of the guard he [Ellsworth] appeared in
Madison and spent much time, without Compensation, in drilling the
men. He was then a young man, not much over 30 years of age. He had
been an apt student of military science and discipline. His heart and
soul were in the work. His enthusiasm was boundless, although at the
time of his work here no one hardly dreamed that the rebellion was
possible. Before he left he contemplated the full organization of the
eighteenth regiment State militia [of which Keyes was then Colonel]. I
have in my possession now a roll of maps and instructions for
regimental drill, which involved much labor, that he prepared for me,
as colonel, without reward.” These drafts came to the Society with
Judge Keyes’s other papers. They are large map-like drafts, colored,
of the positions of the regiment, and fully written out directions in
Ellsworth’s own hand for the various orders for military positions and
movements.
Probably you know that Ellsworth’s diary was given to Frank Brownell,
his avenger. We have two pamphlets giving liberal excerpts from the
diary, but we find therein no mention of Madison. Probably the full
text of this diary would show when and why he came to Madison.
Your letter of the nineteenth instant concerning Ellsworth
is before me and I wish to thank you earnestly for the time
and care which you have devoted to this subject; it
illuminates a portion of his career with which I was
entirely unacquainted and which to have searched out myself
would have involved much expense and inconvenience. Your
communication will be excellent to appear verbatim in the
book.
I am unable to say as to the identity of W. J. Ellsworth,
but I have written to an uncle of Colonel Ellsworth who may
be able to shed light on the matter. Colonel Keyes, when he
estimated Ellsworth’s age as “not over 30 years” when he was
in Madison, was evidently deceived by his remarkable degree
of development, which was in advance of his age: at that
time he was but twenty-one, having been born April 11, 1837.
Ellsworth’s diary I have not yet unearthed. John Hay’s
article published in _McClure’s Magazine_, VI, 354, has many
citations from it, but nothing concerning Madison. Mr. Hay
also contributed to the _Atlantic_, very soon after
Ellsworth’s death, a fine article on him (VIII, 119), and
the two comprise the best literature so far published on
Ellsworth. These two young men were students in Lincoln’s
law office, and Mr. Hay all his life down to his last years
mourned for him, whom he estimated as a most wonderfully
brilliant and patriotically devoted man whose future would
have been exceedingly prominent and useful. My own
investigations lead me to the same conclusion. Yet he had
very few early advantages; practically none, except a
limited district school education. His parents, whom I knew,
were plain people, and others of the relations whom I have
met or corresponded with exhibit nothing out of the common.
C. A. INGRAHAM,
_Cambridge, New York_.
THE STORY OF “GLORY OF THE MORNING”
We are about to give the play _Glory of the Morning_. I am
under the impression that there was such a character in
Wisconsin as “Glory of the Morning,” and that she was
married to a Frenchman, and deserted by him, as in the play.
Can you give me any information concerning her?
(MRS.) F. H. ANDERSON,
_Brooklyn, Wisconsin_.
“Glory of the Morning” was an historical character, and one of the
staff on the Wisconsin Historical Society related to Professor Leonard
the incident on which he founded the play. He has taken poet’s license
with certain parts--with the names, for instance, of the son and
daughter; but in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, VII, 345, you can
read the story as told by a French-Canadian trader. “Glory of the
Morning” was a Winnebago chieftess, and Jonathan Carver, when very
old, saw her at her village near Menasha, Wisconsin. The French
officer whose name was Sabrevoir Decorah (also spelled DeCarrie,
DesCarie, DeKaury, and other ways), came to Wisconsin probably during
the Fox wars of the early eighteenth century. He married the daughter
(“Glory of the Morning”) of the head chief of the tribe; resigned from
the army, and became a trader. They had two sons and a daughter. When
the French and Indian War began Decorah was summoned to become a
soldier, and he took his daughter with him to be educated in Canada.
The father was killed at the battle of Ste. Foye in 1760. The girl
married a Montreal merchant and her son or grandson, Laurent Fily,
came to Wisconsin as a trader and lived for many years with Augustin
Grignon at Kaukauna. Many of his letters are in the Wisconsin
Historical Library.
The two sons of the chieftess became chiefs of the tribe, and had many
descendants. The Decorah family in the nineteenth century was the most
powerful of the Winnebago families. Several of its members still live
in Nebraska. Two years ago an educated Indian girl, teacher of art at
Carlisle Indian School, visited Madison. Her maiden name was Angel
Decorah, and she traced her lineage directly to “Glory of the
Morning.” The Winnebago name of the chieftess was Hopokoékaw.
THE ODANAH INDIAN RESERVATION
Will you please give me some information concerning the
reservation near Odanah, Wisconsin? I desire to learn the
names of the chiefs who ceded the reservation and also the
terms of the cession; what each member of the tribe is
entitled to receive, and the address of the agent. I am
entitled to the same per-capita allotment as other members
of the tribe and this fact accounts for my interest in the
matter. Please give me, therefore, a history of the
reservation.
GEORGE ALLEN,
_Bay Shore, Michigan_.
The Chippewa of Lake Superior made a final cession of all their lands
at a treaty held at La Pointe, September 30, 1844. In return for the
cession, the government provided several reservations for the
tribesmen. That at Bad River, of which the chief town is Odanah,
comprises 124,333 acres of land. This land, at the time the
reservation was set aside, was heavily timbered. The Indians were
entitled to annuities for twenty years, and each head of a family or
single person over twenty-one years of age had the right to eighty
acres of land. The chiefs who signed the treaty were members of the La
Pointe band.
In 1875 the annuities were paid for the last time, according to the
treaty stipulations. Congress, however, in consideration of the
Indians’ need, made appropriations to continue the payments for
several years. After 1882 the Indian Department permitted the sale of
timber from the reservation; logging operations furnished wages for
the working Indians, and the sale of the timber placed a considerable
sum to their credit. The Chippewa claimed additional sums on treaty
stipulations. Whether these claims have ever been settled or not can
be ascertained from the Indian Department at Washington. As for the
land, by 1913, 83,871 acres had been allotted in eighty-acre tracts to
genuine claimants. Enough of the reservation remains for more
eighty-acre tracts to be assigned to those who can prove their rights
to claims. Timber is still being taken from the reservation.
For further information write to R. S. Buckland, special agent for the
Chippewa Indians, Baraga, Michigan; or to Philip S. Everest,
superintendent, Ashland, Wisconsin.
FIRST EXPLORATION OF EASTERN WISCONSIN
I should be pleased to ascertain who was the first white man
to pass or voyage past the shores of Sheboygan County,
Jolliet and Marquette or Father Claude Allouez? Allouez is
said to have been the first to explore the west shore of
Lake Michigan, but I have not been able to find out whether
he reached Sheboygan County.
ALFONSE GEREND,
_Cato, Wisconsin_.
We dislike very much to say dogmatically who was the first Frenchman
to skirt the coast of Lake Michigan south of Sturgeon Bay portage. The
more we study the subject the more we are inclined to believe that the
records we possess reveal but a fragment of the activities of the
French explorers, traders, and missionaries around Green Bay during
the seventeenth century. We do not know but that Jean Nicolet may have
coasted south in 1634; on the other hand, we do not know that he did.
No one has yet been wise enough to lay out the course of the
wanderings of Radisson and Groseilliers. For my own part, it seems
probable that one of the first, if not the first, white Frenchman who
visited all the villages between Green Bay and Chicago was Nicolas
Perrot, who between 1665-70 spent five years in the country, much of
the time with the Potawatomi tribesmen. Benjamin Sulte, a very careful
Canadian investigator, asserts categorically that Perrot was the first
white man at Chicago. (Sulte’s articles in French in the Canada Royal
Society _Proceedings_, 1903-13, throw much light on early seventeenth
century conditions. They have never been translated, and are known
only to a few scholars.) So far as I am able to judge, however,
Sulte’s statement is based purely upon inference and is not backed by
a written account. Therefore, it is certainly fair to say that the
first definite written record of white men skirting the coast of the
western shore of Lake Michigan is found in the journal of Father
Jacques Marquette, who in September, 1673 came back to Green Bay via
the Chicago and Sturgeon Bay portages.
With regard to Father Claude Allouez, I think we can speak with more
certainty. He did not go to the Illinois mission until after the death
of Marquette. He set out in the autumn of 1676 and wintered among the
Potawatomi near Sturgeon Bay. You will find a synopsis of his voyage
in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, XVI, 96.
You may be interested in seeing a copy of _Early Narratives of the
Northwest_ just published by Scribner & Co. This volume contains most
of the journals of these early explorers.
A COMMUNITY CHANGES ITS NAME
Some twenty-five years ago there was a place in Wisconsin
called North Greenfield. Evidently the name has been changed
for the reason that letters addressed to individuals at that
place are returned, with the information that there is no
such place in the state.
What is the present name of the locality formerly known as
North Greenfield?
SEYMOUR MORRIS,
_Chicago, Illinois_.
The post office, situated in Milwaukee County, and known as North
Greenfield, changed its name about 1903, when it became West Allis.
HOW THE APOSTLE ISLANDS WERE NAMED
If such record exists, I should like to obtain from it a
statement of how the individual islands of the Apostle group
received their names, and how the group came to be named
Apostle Islands.
H. E. HALE,
_Minneapolis, Minnesota_.
The collective name of Apostle Islands for the group off the coast of
Chequamegon Bay is nearly two centuries old. The first map on which it
appears is that of Bellin in 1744. This was founded on the information
given by Father Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, a noted Jesuit
missionary, who in 1721 visited the western country as an agent for
the French government. Charlevoix did not go into Lake Superior in
person, but at Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac he made extensive
inquiries of competent observers, and noted down the information given
him by traders and officers from that region. Thus he, no doubt,
learned that the islands were known to the French who frequented that
place as “The Twelve Apostles,” and as such they appear on the map of
Bellin that was issued in Charlevoix’s book published in Paris in
1744.
The first English traveler to note these islands was Jonathan Carver,
who coasted the shore of Lake Superior in 1767 and on the map
published in his volume of _Travels_ (London, 1778) repeats the name
“Twelve Apostle Is.”
The first American travelers in that region were those who accompanied
Lewis Cass, who in 1820 made an official voyage along the southern
shore of Lake Superior. One of the members of this party was James D.
Doty, who was afterwards territorial governor of Wisconsin. In Doty’s
journal, published in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, XIII, 201,
he says: “The Islands, called by Charlevoix ‘the 12 Apostles,’ extend
about 20 miles from point Chegoiamegon.” Another member of the same
party was Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, who later became Indian agent at
Sault Ste. Marie, and married a half-breed Indian girl descended from
the Chequamegon chiefs. Schoolcraft proposed to change the name of the
Twelve Apostle Islands to Federation Islands. He assigned to the
several islands the names of states of the Union, giving that of
Virginia to Madelaine, the largest of the group. Schoolcraft’s
proposal was not followed, but the present names of York and Michigan
Islands seem to remain as part of Schoolcraft’s proposal. Apparently
the early traders, counting the islands loosely, thought there were
twelve in all, and since the mission was named Mission du Saint Esprit
(or Holy Ghost Mission) the name of Twelve Apostles Islands seemed
appropriate. There are (we believe) in reality nineteen, nevertheless
the name, Apostle Islands, has persisted.
With regard to the several names of the separate islands: We have
above accounted for York and Michigan. Outer Island explains itself,
as do Ironwood, Oak, Basswood, Sand, Rocky, North and South Twin,
Bear, Cat (Wild Cat, no doubt), and Otter. Raspberry Island takes its
name from Raspberry River. This name was used in its French form
_Rivière à la Framboise_ as early as 1804 (probably earlier). See
_Wisconsin Historical Collections_, XIX, 174. Devil Island and Manitou
Island are both the same name. That is, the Indians called all
supernatural beings “manitous.” Hermit Island and Stockton Island have
probably some local significance from dwellers upon their area. We are
not informed concerning them. Madelaine Island has been known by many
names. Its present name is that of the wife of an early trader, Michel
Cadotte. She was an Indian woman whose father was a local chief.
Madelaine was the name she received when baptized. The island was
frequently known as St. Michel, or St. Michael’s, from the given name
of Cadotte, who was the principal trader on the island for many years.
Its Indian name was Moningwanekaning, supposed to mean the Place of
the Golden-breasted Woodpecker (hence, sometimes, Woodpecker Island).
However, Father Chrysostom Verwyst, a Catholic missionary, now our
best authority on Chippewa place names, defines it recently in _Acta
et Dicta_ (July, 1916), published by the Catholic Historical Society
of St. Paul, as “the place where there are many lapwings.” This island
has also been called La Ronde, for a French commandant of the
eighteenth century; La Pointe Island, from the name of the region La
Pointe du Chequamegon; and Saint Esprit Island from the early Mission
du St. Esprit mentioned above. It was also sometimes called Middle
Island as lying midway between Sault Ste. Marie and Fort William, the
fur-trade post on the northwest of Lake Superior. Sometimes it appears
on maps as Montreal Island; the reason for this we do not know;
perhaps it was the terminus of the trip from Montreal, Canada, or was
so named because some of its inhabitants had been educated at
Montreal.
To recapitulate: the largest island of the Apostle Group was first
known as Moningwanekaning or Woodpecker or Lapwing; in the eighteenth
century as La Ronde, La Pointe, and St. Esprit; was known to the fur
traders as Middle and Montreal; was christened by Schoolcraft,
Virginia; has been known since about 1800 as Cadotte’s, St. Michael’s,
or Madelaine from its early inhabitants, and the baptismal name of the
Indian woman has persisted.
THE SERVICES OF THE MENOMINEE IN THE BLACK HAWK WAR
I wish to thank you very much for the information you gave
me in your letter of October 30, 1916. I would have answered
sooner than this but as you requested me to give you a list
of my grandfather’s descendants I wanted first to find some
one who knew how many children and grandchildren my
grandfather, Osh-ka-he-nah-niew, had. I have not been able
to get this information from the old members of the tribe,
but as soon as I get it I will write you again and let you
know.
The name Osh-ka-he-nah-niew in the Menominee Indian language
means “young man.”
I received a letter from Mr. J. L. Baity, auditor of the
Treasury Department, Washington, D. C., dated November 25,
1916, in which he says:
“With return of the letter from the Superintendent of the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin, dated October 30,
1916, addressed to Mr. Mitchell Oshkenaniew, you are advised
that the information set forth in said letter is too meager
for the War Department to establish the service of
‘Oshkenaniew’ Menominee Indian Warrior Black Hawk War 1832,
and until sufficient information can be furnished setting
forth the organization in which service was rendered
together with the period of service and the names of some
commanding officer, no further action will be taken on the
claim.”
MITCHELL OSHKENANIEW,
_Neopit, Wisconsin_.
Col. George Boyd was Indian agent at Green Bay in the summer of 1832;
he replaced Col. Samuel C. Stambaugh early in June. Stambaugh,
although superseded, did not immediately leave Green Bay and was very
popular with the Menominee tribe. During the course of the war, when
all trace of the whereabouts of the Sauk band had been lost, Gen.
Henry Atkinson, encamped on Whitewater River in Wisconsin, sent Col.
William S. Hamilton (son of Alexander Hamilton) to Colonel Boyd at
Green Bay. Atkinson feared that Black Hawk and the Sauk hostiles would
attempt to escape to the British at Malden, and he therefore ordered
Boyd to enlist and equip as large a body of Menominee Indians as
possible to try to intercept them. Boyd at once called the Menominee
together. They were willing to go to war against the Sauk if they
might have officers of their own choosing. Col. S. C. Stambaugh was
thereupon made commander-in-chief. The second place was offered to
Col. W. S. Hamilton, but he declined the honor. The Menominee turned
out about three hundred warriors, who were organized into two
companies commanded by the following officers: 1st Company; Augustin
Grignon, captain, Charles A. Grignon Jr., first lieutenant; 2d
Company; George Johnston, captain, James M. Boyd, first lieutenant,
William Powell, second lieutenant and interpreter. Alexander J. Irwin
was charged with the commissariat with rank of first lieutenant.
There is every reason to suppose that Osh-ka-he-nah-niew was a member
of the first company. Augustin Grignon told Doctor Draper that this
Indian was in the war, and in all probability he named members of his
own command. Robert Grignon of this company received a wound in
action, and was in receipt of a pension until his death.
The documentary material in the Wisconsin Historical Library includes
the official papers of Col. George Boyd, Indian agent. Those relating
to the Menominee contingent under Stambaugh in the Black Hawk War are
published in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, XII, 270-98. It will
be noticed that August 12, 1832, Boyd wrote that Stambaugh had
informed him that he had arrived at Fort Winnebago with his command,
three hundred Menominees, and was on his way to report to General
Scott. September 2, 1832, Boyd wrote to G. B. Porter, governor of
Michigan territory, enclosing Stambaugh’s report of the expedition and
the Muster Rolls of the Menominee. These should be in the War
Department at Washington.
The well-known fact that Osh-ka-he-nah-niew took part in the Black
Hawk War, that he was part of Stambaugh’s band, probably under Capt.
Augustin Grignon, seems to us established by the historical evidence.
His name on a muster roll must be sought in the documentary material
at Washington.
SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES
THE SOCIETY AND THE STATE
Since the sixty-fourth meeting in October, 1916, four life and
twenty-four annual members have been enrolled in the State Historical
Society. The new life members are: R. C. Ballard-Thruston of
Louisville, Kentucky, John Strange of Neenah, Chester Lloyd Jones of
Madison, and Harry W. Bolens of Port Washington. The annual members
are Dr. James S. Reeve and Henry L. Tinker of Appleton; John T.
Durward of Baraboo; John J. Wood of Berlin; Leland S. Kemnitz of
Detroit, Michigan; Amasa J. Edminster and R. C. Rodecker of Holcombe;
Oscar G. Boisseau of Holden, Missouri; Walter M. Atwood, William H.
Faust, Clarence B. Lester, Edwin C. Mason, Mary Oakley, Frederic A.
Ogg, and Mrs. Jessie Russell Skinner of Madison; Clarence R. Falk and
Arthur G. Santer of Milwaukee; Ruth Thompson of Minneapolis,
Minnesota; Mrs. L. T. Hill of Sparta; Katherine A. Rood of Stevens
Point; John S. Roeseler of Superior; Arthur T. Leith of Washington, D.
C.; E. P. Winkelman of Waterloo; and Philip B. Gordon of White Earth,
Minnesota.
In the same period the Society has lost by death five of its members:
David J. Ryan of Appleton; William N. Merriam of Duluth, Minnesota;
Hon. John A. Aylward, Gen. Benjamin F. Cram, and Justice William H.
Timlin of Madison. Probably the list should include names of other
members, of whose deaths the administration of the Society has not yet
been apprised.
By the will of Hon. George B. Burrows of Madison, who died in 1909,
his entire estate was bequeathed, subject to certain contingencies, to
the State Historical Society. Through the death in October, 1916, of
the testator’s only son and heir the estate at length comes to the
Society. At the time of Mr. Burrows’ death in 1909 its appraised value
was fixed at $219,000. It is the belief of those best informed in the
premises that its present value is considerably in excess of that sum.
The property will be available for the Society’s use when the usual
court procedure shall have been gone through with.
By the death of Miss Genevieve Mills of Madison at the close of 1916
another important bequest to the Society became public knowledge. Miss
Mills made a will by the terms of which the Society is ultimately to
receive her half-interest in the old Mills homestead at the corner of
Monona Avenue and Wilson Street, Madison. The will states that the
property is given “as a tribute to the loyalty of my mother Maria L.
Mills and my father Simeon Mills toward the State and the State
Historical Society they loved and helped to found.” The sum realized
from the property is to constitute a perpetual fund, named in honor of
the giver’s parents the “Maria L. and Simeon Mills Editorial Fund”;
the proceeds of the fund thus established are to be devoted to the
editing of materials for middle-western history, preferably that of
Wisconsin itself. The present value of this wise gift is supposed to
be in the neighborhood of $25,000. How soon it will become available
to the Society is still uncertain.
The last few months have witnessed an unusually large number of
changes in the staff of the Wisconsin Historical Library. In
September, 1916, Mr. Frederick Merk, for five years research assistant
on the Society’s staff, began an indefinite leave of absence, with a
view to prosecuting his graduate studies at Harvard University, where
he had received a teaching-fellowship appointment. In January Miss
Lydia Brauer of the editorial staff was compelled by illness to
relinquish her position. In February Miss Alice Whitney, assistant in
the museum, withdrew to accept a much better position in the Emporia
Normal School. The close of the fiscal year in June witnessed several
resignations of long-time members of the staff. Miss Eleanore Lothrop,
for several years the superintendent’s secretary, withdrew in order to
accept a position in the East. Mr. Lyell Deaner of the newspaper
division answered the call of his country by enlisting in the army.
Others whose resignations went into effect in June were Miss Pauline
Buell of the reference division, and Miss Ora Smith of the order
department.
To fill these and other gaps in the ranks of the Library staff the
following appointments have been made: In September, 1916, Miss Ruth
Hayward, for several years cataloguer in the Cincinnati Public
Library, became a member of our cataloguing staff. In February, Miss
Genevieve Deming and Miss Ruth Roberts, recent graduates of the
University of Wisconsin, began work as assistants in the order
department and museum, respectively. Mr. Gaige Roberts of Madison
filled the vacant position in the newspaper division. In July Miss
Marguerite Jenison of Fond du Lac, a recent graduate of the state
university, began work as assistant to the superintendent and
calendarer of the Draper manuscripts. Mr. Theodore Blegen, teacher of
history in the Riverside High School, Milwaukee, spent the summer
months as research worker on the Society’s staff. Finally, Dr. John W.
Oliver, of the Indiana State Library, began work in September on an
appointment as research assistant.
The current year of the Society (October, 1916-October, 1917) has been
one of unusual activity in the field of research and publication. In
the nine months ending July 1, 1917 three substantial volumes and two
bulletins were issued, in addition to certain minor items. The volumes
were: _Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio_ (_Collections_ of the
Society, Vol. XXIII), edited by Louise P. Kellogg; _An Economic
History of Wisconsin During the Civil War Decade_ (_Studies_ of the
Society, Vol. I), by Frederick Merk, and the _Proceedings_ of the
Society for 1916. Each of these volumes will receive fuller notice
elsewhere. The two bulletins were a _List of Portraits and Paintings
in the Wisconsin Historical Museum_ and a checklist of _Periodicals
and Newspapers_ currently received by the library.
A new publication feature, begun in February, 1917, is a monthly
_Checklist of Wisconsin Public Documents_. Each issue, appearing about
the tenth of the month, lists the documents of the state issued during
the preceding month. Of this publication the _Mississippi Valley
Historical Review_ for June, 1917 says: “This is a unique undertaking
for a state historical agency. The value to historians, librarians,
and state officials, of such a series of bulletins makes it a welcome
bibliographical addition.” It may be added that, so far as the
Society’s administration is aware, the undertaking is unique not
simply for a “state historical agency,” but for any agency whatever.
The Library of Congress attempts to do for the entire country what the
Wisconsin _Checklist_ does for our state alone. Useful as the Library
of Congress list is, however, it cannot possibly cover the various
states with the promptness and comprehensiveness which attaches to our
own list for Wisconsin. The credit for the conception of this
publication enterprise of the Society and for its execution belongs to
Mrs. Anna W. Evans, chief of the public-documents division of the
library.
Of research enterprises under way but not yet completed, or if
completed not yet issued from the press, the following may be noted. A
valuable account, as it is believed, of the public-documents division
of the library, prepared by Mrs. Evans, has been long in the hands of
the state printer. Material for a succeeding volume of the Draper
Series (to be published as Vol. XXIV of the Society’s _Collections_,
with the title _Frontier Retreat on the Upper Ohio, 1779-1781_)
should, with reasonable promptness on the state printer’s part, be
distributed to our members about the time they receive this magazine.
Copy for Volume XXV of the _Collections_ was given to the printer in
the spring, and in the usual order of things it may be expected to be
ready for distribution near the close of 1917. It consists of the
letters of Edwin Bottomley, a pioneer Racine County farmer, written to
his father in England in the years 1842-50. At the time of writing
(July) the preparation for the printer of a second volume of the
Draper Calendar Series, is approaching completion, and its publication
may be expected to follow the usual interval of time required by the
state printer. Dr. Edward Kremers of the University of Wisconsin has
been engaged for many months in the editing of what will become the
initial volume of the Society’s Hollister Pharmaceutical Series. More
definite announcement concerning it may well be postponed for the
present. It is believed, however, that the Society’s constituency may
anticipate with pleasure the appearance of this initial volume of what
will constitute a new and unique undertaking among American historical
societies. Another, but minor, research enterprise under way is the
preparation by Mr. Blegen of a comprehensive report on the Wisconsin
archives situation--a subject, it may be noted, concerning which there
is crying need of public enlightenment. To conclude this summary
catalogue, in the _Wisconsin Magazine of History_ the reader has
before him the initial installment of the Society’s most recent
publication enterprise.
A sum of money has been placed at the disposal of the National Board
for Historical Service whereby it is enabled to announce a prize essay
contest open to public school teachers in each of the several states
of the Union on the subject “Why the United States is at War.” To
teachers in the public high schools of Wisconsin five prizes ranging
from $75 down to $10 are offered; for elementary public school
teachers, three prizes ($75, $25, and $10) will be awarded. Essays
must not exceed 3,000 words and must be in the hands of Waldo G.
Leland, 1133 Woodward Building, Washington, D. C., not later than six
o’clock p. m., November 15, 1917. The awards will be made by boards of
Wisconsin judges appointed by the State Historical Society. The essays
will not be signed and the committees of award will not be informed
concerning the author’s names until after their decision shall have
been rendered. In announcing the contest the National Board states
that it is intended to lay stress, in making the awards, on
intelligent use made of such materials as may be accessible to the
competitor living in small communities with no large library at hand.
It is to be hoped that a large number of Wisconsin teachers will enter
this contest. Every participant in it will be a winner; this
regardless of whether he gains one of the prizes awarded, since the
intellectual and patriotic stimulus he will experience will in
themselves more than repay the labor involved. For full particulars
concerning the contest apply at your nearest normal school or college,
or directly to the National Board for Historical Service, 1133
Woodward Bldg., Washington, D. C.
Dr. E. D. Pierce of Trempealeau, one of the Society’s curators, has
been engaged the past year in editing a history of Trempealeau County,
to be published shortly by the Cooper Company of Chicago and Winona.
In this connection, the editor has been given the use of a short
history of Wisconsin to 1848, prepared by Miss Kellogg for publication
by the State Historical Society. Probably this narrative will appear
shortly in this magazine. It was prepared with a view to placing it
freely at the disposal of county historians and any others who may
find it useful; this in the belief that since the subscription county
history is often the only book of a historical character which comes
into the homes of our citizens, the Society is acting in line with its
ideal of serving the public as fully as possible by doing what it may
to improve the quality of these volumes.
Another Wisconsin local history approaching completion at the hands of
a curator of the Society is the history of Door County by Mr. Hjalmar
R. Holand of Ephraim. It is understood that this is to be published by
the Lewis Company of Chicago.
The eleventh annual meeting of the Waukesha County Historical Society
was held at the Congregational Church in Waukesha on May 5, 1917.
Aside from business reports and luncheon and other social features,
the principal part of the program was devoted to two addresses: one by
Judge C. E. Armin on “The Early Bar of Waukesha County”; the other by
M. M. Quaife on Increase Allen Lapham. The Society voted at this
meeting to send its secretary, Miss Julia A. Lapham of Oconomowoc, as
a delegate to the annual meeting of the State Historical Society in
October. This is an act which it is hoped will be widely imitated by
the other local societies of the state, since mutual encouragement and
profit will undoubtedly result from a greater participation by them in
the affairs of the parent organization.
On June 16, 1917 under the auspices of the Waukesha County Historical
Society, a bronze tablet in memory of Increase A. Lapham was unveiled
on Lapham Peak. Lapham Peak, until recently known as Government Hill,
is the highest point in Waukesha County. From an observation tower
which formerly stood within a few feet of the tablet it is said that
one could see, on a clear day, Lake Michigan on the east and as far as
Madison on the west. No more appropriate spot for a memorial to
Wisconsin’s first great naturalist could have been chosen than this,
with its far-sweeping view of the beautiful lakes and valleys and
hills of southern Wisconsin. The tablet was unveiled by Julia A.
Lapham, daughter of Dr. Lapham. Present also were two sons and a
granddaughter of the scholar in whose honor the assemblage had
convened. Addresses were given by M. M. Quaife of the State Historical
Society and John G. Gregory, editor of the Milwaukee _Evening
Wisconsin_. The tablet, affixed to a large gray boulder, bears this
inscription:
LAPHAM PEAK
Elevation 1233 Feet
Named by the U. S. Geographic Board
In Honor of
INCREASE A. LAPHAM
_Eminent Scientist and Useful Citizen_
MDCCCXI--MDCCCLXXV
Tribute of
The Waukesha County Historical
Society
1916
Mr. W. W. Bartlett of Eau Claire, an enthusiastic cultivator of the
local historical field, has been running for many months a series of
lumbering articles and reminiscences dealing particularly with the
Chippewa Valley. He has recently given a lecture, illustrated with
lantern slides, on the subject of logging in the Chippewa to an
audience of Norwegian-Americans, most of whom were familiar with the
industry before coming to America. Mr. Bartlett is chairman of the
history section of the Eau Claire County Defense Council.
The Agricultural College of the University of Wisconsin has prepared a
moving-picture film depicting the historical stages in the invention
of the Babcock test. Fortunately it was possible to have as principal
actors in the scenario the two men who played the principal rôles in
the original discovery, Professor Babcock and Professor Henry.
The Wisconsin Archeological Society, which holds monthly meetings
during the year in the Milwaukee Library-Museum, has been giving
during the past year a series of lectures on American anthropology and
archeology, the subjects ranging from descriptions of the Eskimo to
the antiquities of Brazil. For the coming year President Barrett
proposes a series of lectures which will constitute a course of study
in American anthropology, with its relations to geology, zoölogy,
ethnobotany, folk lore, and the fur trade.
The Milwaukee Museum is planning to install a replica of Solomon
Juneau’s fur-trade post, in anticipation of next year’s centenary of
Juneau’s first appearance on the site of Milwaukee.
On February 22 the Milwaukee Old Settlers’ Club, organized in 1869,
held its annual banquet at the Pfister Hotel. During the year
thirty-two of its members had been claimed by death. On May 17 many
members of the club joined in celebrating the ninetieth birthday of
Frederick Layton, the Milwaukee philanthropist.
The old settlers of Pierce and St. Croix counties held a “homecoming”
at Ellsworth on June 20. The qualification for membership in the
organization is forty years’ residence in the St. Croix Valley.
On January 17 the old settlers of De Pere met at the Presbyterian
Church. Speeches relating to the early history of the Fox River Valley
were delivered.
In connection with the summer session of the University of Wisconsin
an archeological and local historical excursion was given July 7. This
is the fourth time that Curator Charles E. Brown, assisted by local
historians, has coöperated with the university in arranging such a
field day. The number of excursionists is limited to one hundred, and
admission to the privilege is eagerly sought by students from distant
parts of the United States, who desire to learn of the first things in
Madison’s environment.
Pageantry is proving one of the most attractive means of popularizing
and visualizing history. At Milton College’s semi-centennial its
history was vivified by a pageant written by the faculty and produced
by the literary societies. West Allis, under the joint auspices of the
schools and the library, enjoyed a pageant in the early summer,
written by W. E. Jillson, city librarian.
At Monroe on June 7 the commencement exercises of the high school took
the form of a historical pageant. The Mitchell Park Sane Fourth
Committee provided a pageant for Milwaukee southsiders on our national
holiday. A number of other pageants that had been planned have been
postponed because of war conditions.
St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church at Prairie du Chien celebrated its
one-hundredth anniversary June 10-12. Bishop Schweback was the guest
of honor. To this church undoubtedly belongs the honor of being the
oldest parish in the state, since the records preserved show that
baptisms and marriages were performed, and a cemetery consecrated in
the spring of 1817 by Father Joseph Dunand, a Trappist monk from the
Illinois monastery opposite St. Louis.
The eightieth birthday of the Milwaukee _Sentinel_ was celebrated June
27. This famous paper, whose editors have enjoyed national
reputations, was first issued in the second year of Wisconsin’s
territorial career, having been founded by Solomon Juneau to herald
the fame of the east-side town whose interests he was promoting. The
present publishers issued a memorial edition of the paper on June 24,
giving a historical résumé of the _Sentinel’s_ past.
Nashotah House, the mother seminary of the Episcopal Church in the
Northwest, celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary at the
commencement in May. The historical address was delivered by Rev. T.
M. McLean of Duluth. This seminary was the outgrowth of the efforts of
Bishop Jackson Kemper, whose extensive private papers, fully
illustrating his missionary career, are included in the State
Historical Society’s manuscript collections.
The seventy-first anniversary of the inauguration of Solomon Juneau as
first mayor of Milwaukee was noticed by the city press, which
published an illustration of the First Spring Street Methodist
Episcopal Church, within whose walls the ceremony occurred.
The fiftieth anniversary of Milton College was celebrated June 16-20.
Six college presidents of the state and the dean of the University of
Wisconsin participated in the exercises.
The Dania Society of Racine, one of the largest Danish-American
organizations in the United States, commemorated its fiftieth
anniversary on May 19.
The Seattle _Post-Intelligencer_ of February 25 printed an interview
with Edwin U. Judd, now living in his ninety-first year at Anacortes,
Washington. Mr. Judd was a resident of Waupun during the fifties of
the last century and was the chairman of the Free Soil party for his
district when the Republican party was born in 1854 at Ripon. He is
probably the last survivor of those who signed the call for a mass
convention at Madison in July of that year. His recollections of Alvin
A. Bovay and the motives for the caucus at Ripon, February 12, 1854,
are interesting material for the historian of political parties.
Mrs. Louisa Sawin Brayton, first school teacher of Madison, died at
her home in that city May 30, aged one hundred and one years. Mrs.
Brayton came to Madison in 1838. She was a prophet not without honor
in her home city; for many years her neighbors had delighted to
celebrate her birthday and the Brayton public school is named for her.
Prof. Frederick J. Turner, in recent years of Harvard University, but
Wisconsin born and bred, is a member of the National Board for
Historical Service, recently organized at Washington to mobilize the
historical scholarship of the country to serve it in its time of need.
Prof. Carl R. Fish of the history department of the University of
Wisconsin is also a member of this board.
Mrs. Lois Kimball Mathews, associate professor of history and dean of
women at the University of Wisconsin, was elected in April president
of the Association of Collegiate Alumnæ, the largest organization of
college women in the United States.
Louis Sky, or Ossawah, of the Chippewa Bad River Reservation, was
recently granted a pension for his services during the Civil War. This
recalls the fact that numbers of Chippewa, Menominee, and Winnebago
braves went from our state to serve their country in 1861-65. Their
descendants are now offering themselves in considerable numbers to
fight for Uncle Sam on the plains of France.
Through the generosity of Mrs. John H. Davidson, the Oshkosh chapter
of the Daughters of the American Revolution has erected tablets on the
Indian mounds at Oakwood, on the southern shore of Lake Butte des
Morts.
Milwaukee’s _Eintracht Gesellschaft_ was founded June 19, 1867. In
honor of the fiftieth anniversary a banquet was given on June 19 of
the present year.
On May 20, St. John’s Lutheran Church at Boscobel held a commemorative
service in honor of its founding fifty years ago.
Rev. T. S. Johnson of the Presbyterian Church of Beaver Dam had the
rare distinction of celebrating this spring a pastorate of fifty
years’ duration.
A large number of interesting and valuable objects were given to the
Historical Society for the museum during the first half of 1917. A few
of the more important are noted below:
The four survivors of the volunteer fire company known as the Madison
Engine Company No. 2, organized in 1856, have donated to the Society
all their equipment and records, including a silk flag, silver
trumpets, brass lanterns, helmets, and belts. The patriotic work of
the pioneer volunteer fire-fighters constitutes an interesting chapter
in the history of the state.
With the coöperation of various individuals and governmental agencies
hundreds of war posters and other material pertaining to the great
struggle on which the nation is embarked are coming to the museum. A
number of special exhibits of this material were held during the
summer in the museum halls. It is expected that in a future issue of
this magazine will be presented an article by Mr. Brown on the
collecting and the character of this contemporary historical material.
From Mr. Thomas Wilson of Black Earth, Civil War soldier in the
Twelfth Wisconsin Regiment, a collection of sixty or more tintypes of
members of his company taken at Memphis, has been received. Mr. Wilson
also gave to the Society an army overcoat worn by himself and an
officer’s sword and sash worn by his brother, Captain Francis Wilson.
Two Spanish War mementos have been deposited in the museum by Miss A.
C. Anderson of Madison. One is a Spanish flag taken from the custom
house at Santiago by members of Company A, Second U. S. Cavalry, when
the city was captured in 1898. The other is a Moro flag captured in
the Philippines by the same company.
The class of 1897, University of Wisconsin, has given a three-inch
shrapnel shell, properly cross-sectioned, of the type now in use by
the Allies in the European War.
By the will of the late W. W. Warner of Madison the Society has
received a collection of Indian stone and other implements, and an
elaborate Swiss music box. The latter is reputed to be the finest
instrument of its kind in the Northwest.
During the current year especial efforts have been devoted to
developing the Society’s collection of newspapers. As a result the
list of papers currently received at the library covers in a general
way every section of the United States and more intensively the
middle-western section more immediately tributary to the library. If
this policy can be adhered to permanently, future generations of
students who come to consult the library will find a much more
comprehensive and logically ordered collection of newspapers than do
those of the present time.
Along with this reaching out for current issues, the library
continues, slowly but persistently, to add to its files of old
newspapers. The more important non-current newspaper accessions in the
nine months ending July 1, 1917, are as follows:
Boston _News Letter_ (photostat copies), 1719-25.
Cherokee (Kans.) _Sentinel of Liberty_, 1879-80.
Fishkill (N. Y.) _Journal_, 1865-89.
Freeport (Ill.) _Monitor_, 1874-75.
Freeport (Ill.) _Bulletin_, 1868-69.
Freeport (Ill.) _Journal_, 1856-57, 1859-60, 1866-80, 1882-1913.
La Crosse _Tribune_, 1904-06, 1908.
Lexington (Ky.) _Western Luminary_, 1826-29.
London (Eng.) _Examiner_, 1808-29.
Milwaukee _Freidenker_, 1914-16.
New York _Citizen_, 1854-55.
New York _Herald_, 1849.
New York _Man_, 1834-35.
New York _Nautical Gazette_, 1874-75.
New York _Sentinel_, 1830-32.
New York _Times_, 1898.
New York _Workingman’s Advocate_, 1834-35.
Oconomowoc _Free Press_, 1858-60.
Philadelphia _Gazette of the United States_, 1791-93.
Portsmouth (N. H.) _Journal_, 1824, 1828, 1830, 1835-55, 1864.
Richmond (Va.) _State Journal_, 1871.
Racine _Advocate_ (incomplete), 1842-48.
Rising Sun (Ind.) _Indiana Blade_, 1843-48.
Seneca Falls (N. Y.) _Millenial Harbinger and Bible Expositor_, 1860-62.
Shanghai _North China Herald_, 1910, 1912-14.
Skaneateles (N. Y.) _Democrat_, 1844-49.
St. Paul (Minn.) _Northwestern Chronicle_, 1866-72.
The annual meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association
was held at Chicago, April 26-28, 1917. Prof. R. B. Way of Beloit was
chairman of the program committee, while Prof. Frederic Logan Paxson
of the University of Wisconsin, as president of the association,
delivered the annual address. His subject was “The Rise of Sports,
1876-93.” Other Wisconsin men who delivered addresses during the
sessions of the association were Prof. James A. James, now of
Northwestern University, Theodore C. Blegen of Milwaukee, and Prof.
Sherwood of La Crosse. M. M. Quaife of Madison was elected to the
board of editors of the _Mississippi Valley Historical Review_ for a
three-year term, while all the newly-elected members of the executive
committee of the association were educated at Wisconsin. These were
Prof. O. G. Libby of the University of North Dakota, Homer C. Hockett
of Ohio State University, and Albert H. Sanford of La Crosse.
The important Bancroft Manuscript Collection at Berkeley, California
has been placed in charge of Prof. Herbert E. Bolton. Mr. Bolton is a
native of Wisconsin and was graduated at the university in 1895.
The annual address before the State Historical Society at the coming
October meeting will be given by Prof. Frederic Logan Paxson of the
University of Wisconsin. Plans are being made for a more active
participation on the part of local societies in the program of the
annual meeting than has been the case in the past. With a reasonable
degree of interest on the part of the members of the state and local
societies it is believed that a better and more profitable annual
meeting can be held than any in recent years.
SOME PUBLICATIONS
Volume XXII of the Society’s _Collections_, _The Journals of Captain
Meriwether Lewis and John Ordway_, distributed in the summer of 1916,
has attracted much attention at the hands of historical editors and
others. Of it the _Iowa Journal of History and Politics_ says: “It is
perhaps not too much to say that, no publication of the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin possesses a wider interest than this
book.” The review in the _Washington Historical Quarterly_ concludes:
“Those who have collected the works of Lewis and Clark should
certainly secure this book. It makes a rich supplement to any of the
other editions.” In similar fashion the review of the book published
in the _American Historical Review_ closes with the statement, “The
Historical Society of Wisconsin is to be congratulated on the
publication of this volume.”
Volume XXIII of the Society’s _Collections_ (_Frontier Advance on the
Upper Ohio, 1778-79_) and Mr. Merk’s _Economic History of Wisconsin
During the Civil War Decade_ have been distributed too recently to
have attracted much attention at the hands of the reviewers at the
time of our going to press. On the part of the newspapers of
Wisconsin, however, Mr. Merk’s volume has already evoked much notice
and comment. The Milwaukee _Sentinel_ and other papers of the state
have republished numerous extracts from the book, while the Chippewa
Falls _Independent_ devoted special attention to the chapters on the
history of the lumbering industry in Wisconsin. The expected comment
of our historical neighbors on these two volumes will be noted in a
future number of the _Magazine_.
The annual volume of _Proceedings_ of the Society for the year 1916
came from the press and was distributed to our members and exchanges
in July. The volume is longer than any of its predecessors, and the
workmanship of the printer is probably the best of any in the long
series of annual volumes put out by the Society. Aside from the
business report and other routine proceedings, the book contains eight
historical papers. The most interesting and valuable of these is
Captain Arthur L. Conger’s study of “President Lincoln as War
Statesman,” delivered as the annual address before the Society in
1916. Unless we mistake greatly, this paper will quickly gain
recognition as one of the most trenchant studies yet made of Lincoln’s
career. Four studies of a biographical character are the reminiscences
of Father Chrysostom Verwyst of Bayfield and of Mary Elizabeth Mears,
early Wisconsin authoress; “New Light on the Career of Nathaniel
Pryor,” sergeant on the exploring expedition of Lewis and Clark; and
an account of the military career of Major Earl, noted Wisconsin Civil
War scout. A study of “The Beginnings of the Norwegian Press in
America” reveals the fact, interesting to citizens of Wisconsin, that
this state, rather than its western neighbor, was originally and for
long the chief seat of Norwegian development in America. Hence the
story of the beginnings of the Norwegian press in the United States is
almost wholly a Wisconsin story. Another local study is that of the
long-drawn-out “Watertown Railway Bond Fight,” one of the notable
legal contests in American history. Finally, and of more general
import, is “The Dream of a Northwestern Confederacy,” which recites
the story of the rise and decline of the hopes of the Southern people
to draw off the Northwest from the remainder of the Union and in so
doing to win the struggle for its disruption.
By the will of Joseph Pulitzer, the noted New York journalist,
provision is made for the establishment of an annual prize of $2,000
by the authorities of Columbia University for the best book of the
year in American history. It is interesting to note that the first
award, announced at the 1917 commencement of Columbia, was made, not
to a professional historian but to a busy man of affairs, the French
ambassador to the United States, Monsieur J. J. Jusserand, for his
volume _With Americans of Past and Present Days_. The book includes
four important and charming historical studies. The longest,
“Rochambeau and the French in America,” presents a narrative, based
largely on hitherto unused sources, of this able but neglected soldier
in the war for our national independence. The other studies deal with
“Washington and the French,” “Major L’Enfant in the Federal City,” and
“Abraham Lincoln.” The latter paper is particularly interesting as
showing the contemporary French estimate of President Lincoln and the
popular sentiment in France in favor of the Union. Thoroughly
scholarly and charmingly written, the volume is commended as an
agreeable companion for a leisure evening.
A second annual prize established by Mr. Pulitzer is one of $1,000
awarded for the best American biography teaching patriotism and
service. It was first awarded to Mrs. Laura E. Richards and Mrs. Maud
Howe Elliott for their biography of their mother, Julia Ward Howe. The
noble career of this talented woman should ever serve as an
inspiration to her countrymen. Especially at this time of stress are
we grateful for her immortal “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Like M.
Jusserand’s book, the work is unreservedly commended to our readers.
One of the most important and scholarly studies in the field of
western history to appear in many years is Clarence W. Alvord’s _The
Mississippi Valley in British Politics: A Study of the Trade
Speculation, and Experiments in Imperialism Culminating in the
American Revolution_. The book is beautifully printed in two volumes
by Arthur H. Clark of Cleveland. It is Professor Alvord’s contention
that the seeker after the causes leading to the American Revolution
will find them chiefly in connection with the policies and efforts of
the British ministers to organize the imperial American domain which
came to it from France in the Seven Years’ War, rather than in the
incidents and events along the Atlantic seaboard to which historians
have paid chief attention hitherto.
Of particular interest to Wisconsin readers is the volume, _Early
Narratives of the Northwest, 1634-1699_, edited by Louise P. Kellogg
of the Society’s staff for the _Original Narratives of American
History_ series. In this volume have been gathered, with appropriate
editing, the principal classics of northwestern exploration in the
seventeenth century. Included are the narratives of (or concerning)
Nicolet, Radisson, Perrot, Allouez, Dollier and Galinée, Jolliet and
Marquette, La Salle, Duluth, and St. Cosme. Thus at length we have
assembled in convenient form the more important sources for the
earliest history of this region, so that anyone who will, may easily
avail himself of them. With this volume the important series of
_Original Narratives of Early American History_, sponsored by the
American Historical Association and under the general editorship of
Dr. J. Franklin Jameson of Washington, concludes. It is interesting to
note that the series was begun and finished by Madison scholars, Prof.
Julius Olson having edited (jointly with Professor Bourne) the first
volume and Miss Kellogg the final one.
Mr. Lucius C. Colman of La Crosse has had reprinted by photomechanical
process from the copy in the Wisconsin Historical Library the rare
_Brief Sketch of La Crosse Wisc’n_ published in 1854 by Rev. Spencer
Carr. The work, a pamphlet of twenty-eight pages, may be regarded as a
city history, directory, census, and promoting tract all in one. From
it we learn that in January, 1854, La Crosse had a total population of
745. Indicative of the character of the place at this time is the
further information that, among this population were 78 “single
Gentlemen” and but 38 “single Ladies.” In view of the fact that less
than three years earlier there were but five families in La Crosse,
the author’s generally optimistic view of the town’s advantages and
future prospects seems fairly justified. A further indication of the
roseate future which the townsmen saw in prospect is afforded by the
enumeration among the 745 persons in the community of 9 physicians and
12 lawyers.
Of Ulysses S. Grant, conqueror of the Confederacy, many biographies
have been written. The recently published biography by Louis A.
Coolidge is one of the best in the series, although it still remains
to write an entirely satisfactory account of Grant’s career. Mr.
Coolidge’s biography devotes a relatively large amount of space to
Grant’s later civilian career (over three-fifths of the volume). The
author believes and seeks to show that Grant was a greater statesman
and more successful president than he is commonly believed to have
been.
The Historical Department of Iowa has issued _Downing’s Civil War
Diary_, edited by Prof. O. B. Clark of Des Moines. Alexander G.
Downing was a sergeant in the Eleventh Iowa Infantry. He served from
1861 to 1865, a period during which he succeeded in participating in
nearly forty battles and skirmishes. Like the _Artilleryman’s Diary_
of Jenkin Lloyd Jones, published by the Wisconsin History Commission
three years ago, Downing’s diary gives a valuable first-hand picture
of the war as seen from the standpoint of the soldier in the ranks.
Unlike the _Artilleryman’s Diary_, however, Downing’s diary, as
printed, does not reproduce the original record. Instead, it is a
composite made up by the editor from the original diary plus a revised
version written out by Mr. Downing in old age, together with such
alterations as the editor deemed desirable. The editor’s work seems to
have been done skillfully on the whole, and author, editor, and
historical department are to be congratulated on the publication of
the book. As with the _Artilleryman’s Diary_, not much of commendation
can be accorded the physical makeup of the book. So worthy a record
was deserving of a better dress.
For several years the Lakeside Press of Chicago has published an
annual Christmas volume of a historical character for complimentary
distribution to patrons and friends. The volume published in 1916 was
a reprint of the autobiography of Black Hawk, the famous Sauk chief,
and was edited by M. M. Quaife of the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin. So great was the demand for the book that although 3,500
copies were printed the edition was exhausted within a brief period.
For the year 1917 the Indian-captivity narrative of Rev. O. M. Spencer
is being edited by Mr. Quaife. The work was originally written for the
_Western Christian Advocate_ of Cincinnati, from whose files the
numerous reprint editions in volume form of seventy years ago were
taken. For the new edition under preparation, recourse has been had to
the rare file of the _Advocate_ preserved in the newspaper division of
the Wisconsin Historical Library.
An elaborate report of _Perry’s Victory Centennial_ has been issued by
the Perry’s Victory Centennial Commission, State of New York. As usual
with politico-historical publications of this character, the
physiognomies of the several members of the commission are adequately
presented to public gaze in a series of full-page half-tones. The
numerous historical addresses delivered in connection with the
celebration constitute the more interesting portion of the contents of
the volume. Included is the address of Hon. John M. Whitehead of our
Society at the laying of the cornerstone of the Perry Memorial at
Put-in-Bay, Ohio, July 4, 1913.
One of the most laborious, and at the same time useful, pieces of
historical workmanship of recent years is being prosecuted towards its
conclusion by Mr. Clarence Brigham, secretary of the American
Antiquarian Society of Worcester, Massachusetts. This is the
compilation of a calendar of all American newspapers published down to
(and including) the year 1820. Newspapers are as the breath of life to
the serious student of American history, but with no comprehensive
guide to enlighten him as to what papers were published and where
files of these have been preserved, the individual student has been
sadly handicapped heretofore in his efforts to avail himself of this
source of historical information. Aside from its value to students of
American history generally, there are at least two reasons why the
progress of Mr. Brigham’s enterprise should afford peculiar interest
to members of this Society; first, because our Society was a pioneer
in the field of publishing newspaper catalogues, the last edition of
our _Annotated Catalogue_ got out by Doctor Thwaites a few years ago
still standing as one of the two chief American publications of this
character in print; and second, because of the creditable showing made
by our Society’s collection of early American newspapers in Mr.
Brigham’s calendar; this notwithstanding the fact that the major
strength of our newspaper collection lies in a period more recent than
that covered by Mr. Brigham.
Publication of _The Louisiana Historical Quarterly_ was begun by the
Louisiana Historical Society in January, 1917. The initial number
contains 119 pages of material, bearing chiefly upon the history of
the state. The Georgia Historical Society issued in March the first
number of the _Georgia Historical Quarterly_. These two new
publications afford gratifying evidence of renewed vigor on the part
of their sponsors, each of which is upwards of eighty years of age.
To the October, 1916, number of the _Missouri Historical Review_ Duane
Mowry of Milwaukee contributes an interesting collection of letters of
Carl Schurz, B. Gratz Brown, and other prominent Missourians,
contained in the collection of papers of Senator James R. Doolittle of
Wisconsin, now in Mr. Mowry’s custody. The January, 1917, number of
the _Review_ contains a further instalment of Senator Doolittle’s
correspondence with leading citizens of Missouri.
The June number of the _Mississippi Valley Historical Review_ contains
as a leading article a valuable account of the Doukhobors in Canada.
Other articles worthy of note are Professor Robertson’s “Sectionalism
in Kentucky from 1855 to 1865,” and the annual survey of historical
activities in the Old Northwest for the preceding year. Our Wisconsin
readers will be gratified by the opening sentence of the survey: “The
State Historical Society of Wisconsin continues to maintain its
leading position among historical agencies of this region.” To those
of our readers who are as yet unacquainted with the _Review_ we are
glad to commend it as the livest and best historical periodical in
America, saving only the _American Historical Review_. Because it
belongs to our own section of the country its contents are probably of
greater interest and value to most middle-western readers than are
those even of the _American Historical Review_. Membership in the
association is open to all; members receive the quarterly _Review_
together with the annual volume of _Proceedings_ of the association.
The leading articles in the July number of the _American Historical
Review_ possess an unusual degree of timeliness. Prof. S. B. Fay
writes on “The Beginnings of the Standing Army in Prussia.” Two Civil
War articles are “The Northern Railroads, April, 1861,” and “The
Confederate Government and the Railroads.” The former of these is by
Prof. Carl R. Fish of the University of Wisconsin. Finally, James A.
Robertson, who went from Wisconsin to the librarianship of the Manila
Public Library, gives an account of “The Philippines since the
Inauguration of the Philippine Assembly.” Included in the book reviews
are full-page notices of the two recently issued volumes of this
Society’s _Collections_, No. XXII and No. XXIII.
Of military history and principles most Americans are woefully
ignorant. Those who would improve their knowledge of these things can
hardly do better than to become readers of _The Military Historian and
Economist_ edited jointly by Capt. Arthur L. Conger, U. S. A., and
Prof. R. M. Johnston of Harvard. Timely and stimulating articles in
the July number of the magazine are Émile Laloy’s discussion of
“French Military Theory” and an anonymous contributor’s “Estimate of
the Situation.” The writer believes that the most effective military
course for the United States to take is to keep at home the larger
part of the army now in process of creation, and by so doing enable
our navy to be sent into the Pacific to establish there a secure
Anglo-American predominance. The considerations which lead to these
conclusions cannot, of course, be set forth in this brief note.
[Illustration: CARL RUSSELL FISH]
VOL. I, NO. 2 DECEMBER, 1917
THE
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE
OF HISTORY
[Illustration: Printer’s Logo]
PUBLICATIONS OF THE
STATE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN.
Edited by MILO M.
QUAIFE, Superintendent
CONTENTS
Page
THE FRONTIER A WORLD PROBLEM _Carl Russell Fish_ 121
EARLY RECOLLECTIONS OF LAKE GENEVA (BIG FOOT LAKE),
WISCONSIN _George Manierre_ 142
DESCRIPTION OF A JOURNEY TO NORTH AMERICA
Foreword _Rasmus B. Anderson_ 149
Description of a Journey to North America
_Ole Knudsen Nattestad_ 167
EDITORIALS:
History Repeats Itself; Our Military Record; What of
the Future?; An Appreciation and a Suggestion;
Cannon Fodder 187
QUESTION BOX:
Daniel Webster’s Wisconsin Investments; Names Proposed
for a New Town; Origin of the Word “Winnequah”; The
Discovery of Lake Superior; The Potawatomi during the
Revolution; Father Allouez among the Kickapoo; The
Indian Tribes of Iowa 193
COMMUNICATIONS:
Old Copperheads and New; A Presbyterian Objects 202
SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES:
The Society and the State; Some Wisconsin Public
Documents; Some Publications 206
Copyright, 1917, by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin
THE FRONTIER A WORLD PROBLEM[82]
BY CARL RUSSELL FISH
Only by a study of local history can we hope really to understand the
development of human society. The historian like the scientist must
base his knowledge on what can be seen through a microscope.
Wisconsin, from the time of its formation as a state, has realized
this, and has steadily confirmed itself in the opinion. This
institution, which it founded in the days of its youth and scant
resources, it has supported with a liberality, public and private,
growing as its wealth has grown. Of late years, a corps of local
societies, city and county, have been forming about the central
institution. The University has directed its students to the study of
the localities from which they have come, and stores in its stacks the
facts which they glean. No one of the newer states of the country
knows itself so well as Wisconsin, and if, as is so often the case,
acquired knowledge seems merely to reveal the knowledge still
necessary for real understanding, we have carefully developed plans to
extend it still more widely and intensively.
Yet how insignificant any locality seems today, when practically all
are plunged into the same calamity, when the resources of all are
concentrated in one struggle. Races and breeds, nationalities and
castes are merged together on the same battle-field. Their
similarities of plight and object dominate their differences, the
protective barriers each erected to preserve that distinctiveness so
dear to human nature seem leveled, and history has become world
history. Men thrown thus physically into the maelstrom find themselves
intellectually also torn from their safe anchorages and adrift they
know not where. What does the individual count for, what the locality,
what the past? What counts it to study the development of Rock County
cheese-making, when its cheeses and cheese makers are tumbled
promiscuously with those of all counties and nations, simply as units
in a staggering sum total?
The world has changed, but that is not startling. The world is always
changing. This change is greater, and for us in America more sudden
and dramatic, than any which preceded, but everything has not changed.
The relation of the past to the present and the future is permanent.
The relations of the individual, the locality, and the whole, shift,
but they are the permanent factors of which life consists. The world
war has not changed these factors, but it should bring us up sharply
to a realization of what they really mean. Socrates’ dictum “know
thyself” was not given in any selfish spirit. He did not mean that we
were to devote ourselves to ourselves, but that we could know
ourselves more thoroughly than we could know others, that
self-knowledge was the completest knowledge, and therefore the
Archimedian lever to open up knowledge of others. Self-examination has
often become an obsession excluding all else, the study of local
history has often become antiquarianism. The real reason for the
cultivating of both is the formation of known bases from which to
calculate. The German historian, Lamprecht, became so familiar with
the little city of Trêves that he could have conversed intimately with
its inhabitants of any year during the Middle Ages if he might have
been dropped into it, but this devotion was not for the sake of
Trêves, it gave the understanding knowledge necessary for his great
work on German civilization as a whole. We can know no generation
unless we have delved deep into the souls of its greatest men, but
such biographical studies are not for themselves alone, but to
contribute to a sympathetic comprehension of their contemporaries.
Local history to justify itself must be as exact and absolute as
studies dealing with human nature may be, but if no effort is made to
utilize it for an understanding of national and world history, it has
missed its mission. Local history is not an end in itself. Moreover,
if it is written without a wide knowledge of outside conditions,
conditions in other localities, and other times, it will be but a
warped product, as useless to the community for which it is written as
for the outside world. Such selfishness and egoism have never been
profitable. The only difference today is that for the moment at least
they have become impossible.
The most striking feature in the history of Wisconsin has been the
transformation within a lifetime of a virgin forest into a civilized
area, the drawing together of the sons and daughters of many widely
differing localities and their welding into a commonwealth. This
conquest of the frontier has been but a portion of that vast movement
which in a period historically short has created the United States,
and more particularly it has been an important and typical battle in
the campaign for the Mississippi Valley, which has resulted in our
sister states of the Middle West.
Different as has been the history of each, the history of the frontier
movement is a whole; the study of any state contributes to an
understanding of all. As the occupation of Wisconsin has been but a
part of the American frontier movement, so that has not been unique,
even in the nineteenth century. We have liked to think of ourselves as
carrying on a special and distinct task; to its difficulties and
inspiration we have attributed many of our virtues, and on them we
have laid the burden of our defects. The task, however, has not been
unique. The results have, indeed, had their distinctive differences,
but these have come rather from the way the task has been performed
than because we have had a different thing to do. We know our own
frontier with scientific thoroughness, but we cannot understand it
unless we contrast it with such other frontiers as Australia, Siberia,
South America, and Africa.
One of the essential features of a frontier is that both labor and
capital come from without, and much of the capital is contributed by
people who do not come to the frontier. Exception must, indeed, be
made to this statement. The Spaniards found labor in Peru and Mexico,
and they found also capital, as did the miners of Australia and
California, the lumber barons of Wisconsin, and the fur traders of
Canada. In none of these instances, however, did either the local
labor or local capital suffice, and in all the instances to be cited
later the bulk of the labor came from away, and the owners of an
important portion of the capital remained away; the frontier
community, therefore, was a debtor community, and the debt was due to
an outside community.
This common condition has in all cases had an important bearing not
only on economic development, but on the whole texture of the social
fabric which was created; it affected not only the frontier itself,
but its reflex influence on the sections from which the labor and
capital were drawn set at work influences which at times became
leading factors in their existence. So important have their influences
been, that where the study is confined to any one frontier, they seem
to dominate development, and make history their creature. When we
extend our study, however, we find that in spite of the fundamental
resemblance, each has followed its separate course; that the different
balance of other factors, and even such secondary considerations as
laws and constitutions, have radically altered the actual operation of
these powerful natural resemblances. The control of the frontier’s
natural resources, the distribution of proceeds, the very content of
politics have varied with every frontier. The problem has been one,
the methods and results have been as varied as the fields in which it
occurred.
In the United States the larger part of the capital came from or
through another section of the same country. That is, the East
furnished nearly all that was supplied, although to do so it had to
borrow somewhat from Europe. The direct loans from Europe to the West
were comparatively unimportant. Consequently the interests of the
debtor and creditor sections conflicted in the arena of national
politics. Two unique features made the working out of the problem
different in this country from any other. The first was the division
of the country into a large number of states, sovereign within a
restricted range of powers, some controlled by the debtor element,
some by the creditor. The other was that at one time, and that the
most critical, the frontier was strong enough at least to veto the
action of the national government.
The result of these conditions was a struggle unusually complex. The
control of banking, of the currency, of natural resources, such as
lands, minerals, and oil, and of transportation or, as it is phrased
in our politics, internal improvements, were the bone of contention.
The desire to have these controlled by national or state governments
varied with the political situation. The frontier wished banks that
would not be too particular, a currency that would be easy to get; it
wished, and wishes, control of its own systems of transportation and
its natural resources.
The sections furnishing the supplies were more interested in the
capital to which strings were tied, than in the labor which cut its
apron strings on leaving home. The struggle antedated the Revolution;
the high points in its later history were the Shays Rebellion, the
Jackson régime, the greenback movement, the Bryan campaign, and it
finds present expression in the opposition in the Far West to the
national conservation policy.
When the frontier secured the reins of power in the sinewy hands of
Andrew Jackson, it was not in a position to impose its policy upon the
nation, but it was powerful enough to wrest banking, the currency, and
internal improvements from the control of the national government, and
turn them over to the states. The frontier states, elate, started on a
mad career of making their own internal improvements, by means of
borrowed capital diluted by paper issues, till money ran like fairy
gold into the pockets of the needy. For one golden moment the problem
of the frontier seemed solved to the satisfaction of the frontier.
Jackson himself caused the first crash. Unable to tell good paper from
bad, he could at any rate tell paper from gold, and in the Specie
Circular of 1836 he brought credit to the touchstone of real value and
sent the house of cards toppling. Feverishly rebuilt within the next
few years, it fell again in 1841, carrying with it the whole dream of
its builders. So severe was the blow that numbers of the states took
advantage of their sovereign rights, and repudiated a portion of their
debts. Securely entrenched behind their sovereign inviolability to
legal attack, they still enjoyed the inviolability to force which
their position as part of a larger nation afforded. They snapped their
fingers at their creditors; but they could borrow no more. The nation
had left the task of national development to the states; the states,
by impairing their credit, had rendered themselves incapable of
handling it.
This situation left the field free for, in fact rendered necessary,
the intervention of individuals or of individuals organized as
corporations. The legal position of the latter had already been
prepared. The decisions of Justice Marshall had given corporation
charters an unusual degree of legal sanctity, which the state
constitutions modified rather than reversed. The fears of the
Jeffersonian democracy had incorporated into the national constitution
itself special restrictions upon the government in dealing with the
individual, which the decisions of the Supreme Court under Justice
Taney went far in applying to the corporations. Corporations became so
firmly entrenched in their position as the chief agency in national
development, that even when, after the Civil War, the national
government became more active and once more assumed control of banking
and the currency, and the credit of the states was reëstablished, both
agencies used their powers chiefly to assist corporations. When, in
the present generation, the necessity of public control became
obvious, it took the form, for the most part, of regulation of
corporations, rather than that of absorbing or supplanting them.
The direction of the development of transportation and the
exploitation of natural resources, therefore, was, for the most part,
in the hands of individuals, and, in the case of large projects, of
individuals organized as corporations, and, with the exception of farm
land, of individuals and corporations representing nonresident
capital. Many influences, of course, modified their activities, but
these affected rather the security of their capital than the
initiative of their plans. Many lost the capital which they poured
into the new region, and the result was that the prospect of large
returns was demanded by others before venturing; speculation, lost
investments, and abnormally productive investments characterized the
process as a whole. Politicians concerned themselves rather with the
means, the questions of banking and currency, than with the end, the
character of the development which should take place.
The other independent portions of the American continents, for the
most part, resembled the United States in organization, but the
distribution of the economic factors differed and produced different
results. Except in the United States, the capital which has been
necessary for the occupation of the wilderness has come, for the most
part, not from other portions of the same country, but from foreign
countries.
The most important of these frontiers during the nineteenth century
has been that of Argentina. Here the established section was until
recently comparatively unimportant, both labor and capital came in
large measure from abroad; the greater portion of the labor from
Italy, of the capital from Great Britain. The conflict between the
debtor and creditor sections, therefore, was not one of politics, but
of diplomacy. Argentina might have what system of banking and currency
it wished, but most creditors had to be paid in an international
standard of value. In a world state, doubtless, all the frontiers
would unite to further their interests, as the frontier states have in
the United States; in the world as at present unorganized the ultimate
appeal is to force. A debtor country, and one relatively weak as
compared with its creditor, Argentina has not been without its plans,
conceived like those of the American frontiersman without moral
dishonesty but with incapacity or unwillingness to think the thing
through, for easing its burden. In the efforts of Calvo and Drago to
incorporate into international law the principle that debts between
nations and their citizens may not be collected by force, we see as
surely the reflection of frontier views, as in the programs of
Greenbacker and of Populist. In the greater interest in international
affairs in Argentina than in the United States, we see a new
illustration of the aphorism “For where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also.”
In the long run, Argentina has had to pay up, and has had to pay also
in high interest rates, for the lack of a feeling of absolute security
on the part of the investor. Probably few countries have had more
expensive statesmen than Drago and Calvo.
To attract capital, moreover, it has been necessary to offer it
abundantly the undeveloped natural resources of the country. On the
other hand, the logic of the situation has kept development in the
hands of the nation to a greater degree than in the United States, for
the nation has been able to borrow money more cheaply than individuals
or domestic corporations, and public ownership has played an important
part in her upbuilding.
Argentina has paid, and so we have a situation which has never
culminated in a crisis. The republics of the Caribbean have not been
so fortunate. Much of the money has been borrowed, not for the
purposes of improvement, but to finance revolution and for personal
expenditure. Frittered away instead of put at productive work, it has
become an increasing burden, in many cases an unbearable burden, and
countries like Hayti, San Domingo, Honduras, and at times Mexico, have
become internationally bankrupt. Protected against legal action by
their sovereignty, the creditor and the debtor stood in a situation
where force alone could determine their relationship. What the result
would normally have been, is clearly enough indicated by the
intervention of France in Mexico in 1861, and of Germany in Venezuela
in 1902. The subjugation of the weak debtor by the strong creditor has
been prevented not by sovereignty, but by the interposition of a third
force, the United States inspired by the Monroe Doctrine.
While, however, the Monroe Doctrine served to maintain the appearance
of independence for the nations concerned, it produced an _impasse_ in
the development of the frontier. Capital did not have to go to
countries which could not be relied upon to pay up and which were
protected from foreclosure by an outside force. The United States
served the republics in somewhat the same manner that it did its own
repudiating states. It was, however, unable to do as much for them as
it did for its own. The wayward republics found themselves debarred
from directing their own development as did our states in the critical
forties, and there was no domestic capital to undertake the task. The
capital willing to engage in work under such circumstances was that of
the most speculative sort. Some gamblers staked their money on
presidential contenders, seeking to gain control of the government.
Others, more powerful and trusting in their power, offered to embark
huge sums on condition of receiving stupendous grants of the natural
resources and practical control of the whole development to be made in
certain regions. Such was the much-discussed Morgan syndicate proposal
to Honduras, and that of the English Pearson syndicate to Columbia. In
the latter instance, the United States again intervened, fearing the
influence of such aggregations of foreign capital, and expressed its
opinion that such special concessions violated the spirit of the
Monroe Doctrine and could not be allowed.
From the tightening deadlock thus produced, Diaz extricated Mexico for
a time, but it lapsed, and the others showed no signs of the power to
emerge. Such European capital as had been loaned felt not unjustly
angry, such as was for hire sought other avenues and frontiers less
peculiarly hedged in. The situation shouted for action, and action
could come only from the United States, which would not permit simple
logic to work its own conclusion. It was under such circumstances that
President Roosevelt assumed the financial administration of San
Domingo and inaugurated a policy which has been followed and extended
by his successors. Justice, or approximate justice, has been done
between debtor and creditor, but the active development of these
frontiers is still halted for lack of a machinery for the future.
In striking contrast with these American frontiers has been that of
Siberia. Here has taken place one of the greatest frontier advances of
history, here the same localization of creditor and debtor has
existed, yet the conflict of classes and sections has led neither to
politics as in the United States, nor to diplomacy as in Latin
America. Much of the capital has been provided by France, but the
money has, for the most part, been borrowed by the national Russian
government, representing a strong nation and an essential ally. The
security of the creditor has rested in the good faith, not of the
frontier but of an established society, which has wished constantly
more and more money and has realized that an atmosphere of credit must
be preserved.
As the frontier has had nothing to say concerning its credit
relationships, so it has been equally powerless in controlling the
expenditures of the money borrowed and the disposition of its natural
resources. The sole check upon the absolute will of the central
government has been the desire to attract labor to the frontier. Few
laborers, as few capitalists, seek the wild for the mere adventure of
subduing it. The bids and rival bids for settlers by those controlling
various sections of the world-frontier for the last three centuries
have been to a large extent the basis for those more liberal
institutions which have developed on the fringe of society. Their bids
have been determined by the character of the settlers they desired or
found available, and have in considerable measure determined the
character of the communities built up. Force has played its part as
well as lure, and has given incurious Africa a share in the
development of the Americas that the most psychological advertiser
would never have secured for it. In the nineteenth century, Russia has
had more command of force to populate her waste spaces than any other
country. Consequently the actual frontiersmen have had less to say
about the development of their own region than elsewhere. Yet it is
easily possible to exaggerate the coercive power of the central
government, in popular estimation it is probably exaggerated; and the
plans for the settlement of Siberia have been to no small degree
influenced by consideration for the ideals of the typical Russian and
the incentives which would coerce him to move his hearthstone. Yet on
the whole, simplicity and the carrying out of preconceived plans have
worked the opening of this great frontier. That the great release
which has just occurred in Russia will reveal where these plans have
bound, and that the politics of the new republic will be colored by
frontier problems, is inevitable.
Australia and New Zealand have, to an even greater extent than the
American frontier, secured their labor and capital from another
section of the same empire. The relations between the sections,
however, are quite different. The local organization of the debtor
communities resembles that of the American states; in fact, the scope
of their power is much broader, but they do not possess that
inviolability to legal attack which sovereignty gives, and have not
been represented in the central government. Credit, therefore, has
been a matter of neither politics nor diplomacy, but has been as
firmly controlled by the lending section, England, as that of Siberia
has been by Russia. Judicial unity, which has been the only organic
bond of empire, makes the sovereign, like the Crown, identical in
Brisbane and in London. There is no chance of reducing debts save by a
separation, which other considerations have rendered furthest from the
wishes of the debtors.
General diplomacy also has been largely excluded from local
consideration. The creditor-debtor relationship was almost exclusively
one within the empire, and the handling of other diplomatic questions
was in the hands of the British government in which the frontier
sections were represented only by influence. The attempts to arouse an
imperial, not to say international, mind found hard sledging during
the real development period, and only partially succeeded just before
the Great War.
On the other hand, the locality has been absolute master of the
expenditure of its borrowings. No subordinate communities in the
world, most decidedly not the states of our Union, have been left so
entirely free to control their development, not only to plan their
transportation and allot their natural resources, but even to regulate
their tariffs. It is not surprising that these governments, with
credit carefully maintained by outside and unquestionable forces,
found their politics in the working out of such development, and that,
in large measure, borrowing has been done by the local governments,
which have themselves spent the money borrowed. There can be no better
security than that of a government incapacitated from repudiation.
Creditors have lost comparatively little money to these frontiers, and
so Australia and New Zealand have received their needed capital upon
better terms, perhaps, than any of the other regions treated. How
wisely they have spent it, is a matter of the most violent dispute.
Politics in communities barred from the great questions of credit and
diplomacy yet organized on the basis of the broadest democracy and
local autonomy, have naturally had their strikingly significant
characteristics. Everyone knows how rich their statute books have been
in laws relating to the distribution of natural resources and of all
kinds of wealth, and to conditions of living. Everyone knows the sharp
antagonism between labor, in the narrower sense of wage earner, and
employers. That these frontiers have been experiment grounds in social
legislation has not been due to their being frontier communities but
because they have been frontier communities freed from some of the
most characteristic frontier problems.
Rhodesia resembles Australia and New Zealand in local autonomy and
lack of representation in the national government. In other respects,
however, it is widely different. Here capital came first, and labor
afterward. The capital, moreover, was not of the timid sort seeking
small return and security, such as invested in the securities of New
Zealand, Victoria, and New South Wales, nor did it entirely resemble
that of the United States during the development period, which sought
returns both large and immediate. The capitalists of Rhodesia could
wait, in fact, are still waiting. Alone among the frontiers, Rhodesia
has not been under the strain of seeking to make returns on its
invested capital before development has reached the stage where
returns can properly be expected. It may well hope to be freed from
those complications of individual indebtedness, which have filled our
courts with business, and strewn our advance with such tragedies as
are even today occurring in northern Wisconsin.
Upon the capitalists thus far-sighted and enduring rested the full
burden of development. The region was autonomous in its relation to
the British Empire, but its non-resident creditors mapped out its
future, not its settlers as in Australia. Capital under such
circumstances looks for large rewards, and in this case expects to
secure them by control of the natural resources, when these have been
made available by the incoming of settlers. Youngest of the frontiers,
the working of the old factors in this new relationship remains a
question. One would expect economy and efficiency in planning, but
possible conflicts between the resident community and its creditors
over the division of the proceeds. The settlers that it seeks are of
the most independent type, men not with energy alone, but with some
small capital of their own. It offers them not only economic
opportunity but also political privileges. How such a population will
react under a system which restricts politics one degree more than
they are restricted in Australia, by excluding the larger lines of
local development such as transportation, is one of the interesting
questions of tomorrow. One might look for some clue in the history of
the American colonial proprietorships, but how far the intelligent
study of those experiments will have enabled the proprietors of
Rhodesia to avoid their mistakes, and how far the changed conditions
created by two centuries of the most rapid change the world has seen,
will modify the interworking of similar forces, no one can tell.
In organization, Canada is today, of course, like Australia, but
whereas the commonwealth of Australia is but recent and was formed
only after the scaffolding of development had been created, the
Dominion of Canada was created in season to direct the most active
period of frontiering. During the most significant period, therefore,
Canada has had an organization that resembled our federal states. The
resemblance, however, is partly superficial; in Canada the specified
powers belong to the provinces, the undefined powers to the Dominion.
Neither provinces nor Dominion, moreover, have possessed the legal
inviolability of absolute sovereignty. The credit of all has been
protected by the judicial unity of the empire, and the stability of
the currency has not been a subject for politics. Diplomacy, also, has
belonged to the mother country, although the proximity of the United
States has not allowed it to be the blank it was so long in its
Australian sister-colonies.
Economically the development of the Canadian frontier has more
resembled that of the United States, for the capital required has come
most largely from or through other sections of the same colony. As
compared with the United States, however, development has been, until
quite lately, slow. Consequently those regions which have passed
beyond the frontier stage have continuously controlled the central
government. There has been no parallel to the Jackson régime. Credit,
therefore, has been doubly guarded, by the majority in Canada, and by
Canada’s position within the British Empire. With the credit of the
Dominion and of the provinces intact, there have been no intrinsic
obstacles to the development of transportation and the control of
resources by the public, and public works have played an important
part. At the same time the period of greatest need coincided with the
high tide of the individualistic movement in the Anglo-Saxon world.
The principles of John Stuart Mill, of Cobbett and Bright, of
Gladstone, Carlyle, and Emerson, dominated a generation devoted to the
task of breaking down time-worn systems of social control and
releasing the individual. The period of new regulations dictated by
rising democracy had not swung in. Therefore, a very considerable
portion of the task was left to private corporations, to whom were
granted very considerable proportions of the natural resources.
Corporation control and public enterprise, therefore, combined with
unusual harmony in developing and exploiting a frontier which was,
indeed, represented, but which could control in neither a positive nor
a negative sense.
The recent and sudden expansion of the Canadian frontier in the west
and northwest has created a new balance. The situation in Canada today
resembles that in the United States when the advance of population
from the Alleghanies to beyond the Mississippi gave the frontier an
unusual political weight, and elected Andrew Jackson. This region is
just now in the position where it is so eager to get capital that it
is ready to agree to almost any terms to secure its railroads and farm
machinery. When pay time comes, its sentiments will change. It is
difficult to see how it can upset credit, but that, in combination
with the democracy of the older portions of Canada, it will make its
voice felt and play a part in Canadian politics that the frontier has
never played in the long course of Canadian history, no student of
frontiers can doubt.
On the whole, Canada has secured its capital at low interest rates,
lower probably than any other frontier except Australia and New
Zealand. It has, however, sacrificed the control of its natural
resources to a considerable degree. The direction of its development
has attracted both public attention and the labor of its strongest men
controlling private capital. In none of the frontiers have the two
systems been so equally blended.
Most hapless of the frontiers is that of Manchuria. It is at present a
represented province of an imperial republic, which furnishes most of
the labor required, but can furnish neither capital nor protection.
Its capital comes, for the most part, from two rival foreign powers,
who are not really creditor nations, but who are so eager to invest in
Manchuria that they borrow from still other countries for the purpose.
The local community has no more to say in regard to its development or
the partition of its resources than Siberia. It does not, indeed, rest
under any such obligation of paying as does Australia, for power
rather than money return is sought by Russia and Japan, who furnish it
with money on their own security and, therefore, at reasonably low
rates. Undoubtedly, however, the successful grasp of power will mean
such a hold on natural resources as will give those countries, in
return for their guarantee, rewards which will be more satisfactory to
them than to the actual conquerors of the Manchurian wilds. It will be
interesting to see whether sectional interests will unite the Russian
and Japanese settlers with the Chinese majority against the foreign
capitalists, or whether racial antagonism will prove stronger than
economic. Countless cross currents already chop the surface, and
conditions point rather to a problem than a state.
Wide as is the field covered by the frontiers discussed, the
Mississippi Valley, Argentina, the wilds encircling the Caribbean,
Siberia, Australia, Canada, and Manchuria, it covers barely half the
area where since the year 1800 European civilization has been
struggling to establish itself by the occupation of regions wholly or
partly vacant. Different as have been the conditions classified under
which the simple underlying factors universally involved have
operated, more have been left undescribed. Algiers has had a frontier
incorporated as an integral part of France, a centralized republic. In
fact, practically every region of Africa has presented a frontier, and
the handling of frontier conditions by English, French, and Belgians,
Boers, Germans, Portuguese, Italians, Spaniards, and American negroes.
The greatest frontier area today is Brazil, and every country of Latin
America has a frontier and its own slightly varying organization and
balance of forces, while the British, French, and Dutch are all
severally trying their hand on the particular problem of a tropical
American frontier. Some portions of India, Persia, Arabia, Indo-China,
China, Korea, the Philippines, Formosa, and many South Sea Islands,
present the problem under special guises. Sweden, Norway, Russia,
Canada, and the United States are all dealing with the possibility of
pressing civilization into the fastnesses of the Arctic.
When one considers the extent of the world frontier in process of
occupation during the last century, the persuasive effect of its call
upon the older world for labor and capital, the coloring of the whole
world by the natural resources it has unearthed and the institutions
it has developed, its conquest can hardly be considered as second in
influence to any factor of the time. Naturally it is not intended to
present here even a basis for its study. The fundamental factors and
the different systems can be accurately enough described in general
terms, but the differences in their operation are less precise than
has been indicated; private corporations exist in Siberia, state
public improvements in the United States. Many of the similarities
produced everywhere by frontier conditions have been neglected. The
attempt has been merely to indicate some of the tendencies fostered by
different types of control. The differences between the various
frontiers, resulting from race and geography, which in many cases
explain the different types of organization or modify their working,
have been left untouched. The problem is immense, its study is one for
generations. Yet some things he who runs may read. Even a partial
acquaintance with the main features of all cannot but render the work
of each statesman and historian more effective in his own particular
task.
Some things will be understood only when no frontier, as we know it,
exists. Yet even while we are in the current, we have accumulated some
material, and it would seem to be contributory negligence not to use
it. It must be patent that one must be honest or must pay for it. Can
we not secure some rough idea of which system of approach has resulted
in the greater justice between the creditor and debtor section, and
what is justice? Has community control of its development or creditor
control been most economical and most effective? Has exploitation to
produce local capital any justification? What system has called to the
task the greater proportion of ability? Would the United States have
fared better under a system by which Webster, Clay, and Calhoun would
have devoted to moulding the transportation system the genius they
spent in bolstering up public credit? Which system has been the most
responsive to the needs of the situation, and which has stimulated the
greatest amount of public virtue, and which has been most easily
manipulated for selfish advantage?
I haven’t the slightest intention of answering these questions here; I
freely admit that many of them leave me perplexed, but I dogmatically
maintain that it is by pondering such questions, by studying the
comparisons they suggest, that the frontier problem is to be
understood by the historian and comprehended by the statesman. Without
such comparisons the student of the problem in any one field is less
apt to judge a particular episode rightly than a man with no knowledge
and good intentions. The path to wisdom and sure-footed action must be
founded on the rock of exact knowledge, but it must be platted on a
wide-spread survey.
All life reveals the irony of wisdom attained only by the experience
to deal with which it was needed. It is but today we have this rich
storehouse of experimental frontier building, and tomorrow we will
have no frontier. It might seem that we could let a dead past bury its
dead, that the study of frontier episodes, however successful, has
become sheer antiquarianism. Such a view, however, minimizes the world
frontier that remains and the time and effort that will be required in
its conquest. As in science, so with the material world, the
nineteenth century made easy sweeping advances; it left much that was
difficult for the slower and more laborious labors of the twentieth.
It overlooks the facts that great masses of the world’s inhabitants
today count the experience of meeting the wild first-hand among the
most important of their nearby inheritances, that the frontier set its
mark upon them or their parents, or grandparents, and that the present
generation cannot be understood unless the frontier is understood.
Still more important is the consideration that in many instances the
frontier merely localizes problems that are general. The factors with
which this paper has dealt are peculiar to the frontier only in that
the creditors are assembled in one section, the debtors in another.
This is an important peculiarity in large part because it isolates the
characteristics of each, and makes them easier of study. When the
world has been fully occupied, new frontiers will appear, are already
appearing. Natural resources now undreamed of will need capital and
labor for their exploitation, will be susceptible of development in
more than one way, and will raise problems of control. Our experiences
with the rude and simple problem of the first occupation of a waste
area will seem as geometry to calculus compared with those raised by
these new frontiers, but will be as essential to a wise handling of
them as geometry is to calculus.
But the instances that we have reviewed seem to carry a simpler and
more immediate moral. When we see in the United States people of all
nations laboring for the conquest of the Mississippi Valley, and
employing money saved by New England and the Middle States or borrowed
by them from Europe, when we see Russia borrowing French money to make
Siberia habitable for Russian peasants, when Japan borrows in England,
and Russia in France to pay Chinese to develop transportation in
Manchuria, when Argentina borrows English money to employ Italians in
the pampas, and Transvaal gold passes through English banks to build
Rhodesian railways, we get glimpses of a new world. Not that these
things are absolutely novel, but that in variety and extent they are
unparalleled, and these experiences on the frontiers but bring into
clearer view general tendencies of the time. The German invasion of
Belgium uncovered for most of us the tens of thousands of Russians
working in the Liege factories, the hundreds of thousands of Russians
working on German farms, of Italians on the Rhine, of Spaniards in
France; the war itself has hastened the movement with its vast
importations of Indo-Chinese and Arabs into France, with its
tight-woven mesh of international credit. The frontier still reveals
most clearly how in the nineteenth century the business of life became
international and how poorly devised was the world organization for
coping with it.
Again, the experience of the frontier in the nineteenth century
exhibits one step in the process of readjustment. Can one review the
instances which have been noted, without feeling the theory of
absolute sovereignty crumbling beneath his feet? The United States has
in practice divided the sovereignty, and as a result surrendered the
actual control to corporations they themselves created. The British
Empire preserved unity in theory, but actually divided it still more
effectually. What can a practical man make of the sovereignty of
Honduras, where the native government cannot control its own
development, the British Empire cannot protect its citizens’ money,
and the United States can veto the actions of both but cannot take
positive action; or of Manchuria, which is an integral portion of a
sovereign republic, but which is actually as to one-half controlled by
Russia and the other by Japan, both of whom are somewhat curtailed in
their actions by promises to the United States. However one may cling
to the legal theory of the absolute and indivisible character of
sovereignty in independent localities, a study of the world frontier
brings out the fact that no localities are independent in fact, or
absolutely sovereign. The inter-growth of the world, which the
development of the world frontier has so much facilitated, has already
weakened the bulwarks of local independence; let us hope that with its
international character the frontier may facilitate the integration of
a world organization better adapted to the conditions of today, such
an organization as tomorrow will be a necessity.
[82] Delivered as the annual address before the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin October 25, 1917.
EARLY RECOLLECTIONS OF LAKE GENEVA (BIG FOOT LAKE), WISCONSIN
BY GEORGE MANIERRE[83]
My grandfather, William Reid, came to Chicago in 1840. At that time,
although a mere village of 4,479 inhabitants, it was in the midst of a
speculative fever and was even then speaking of its certain future
greatness and of Lake Geneva (Big Foot Lake) as a probable summer
resort for its citizens. My grandfather came of a well-known family
whose ancestor with his tenants fought at the battle of Bothwell
Bridge, June 22, 1679, under the flag “For God, King, and Covenant,”
and who inherited through him the estate of Kilbryd, situated near
Glasgow, Scotland. William Reid inherited wealth which he, as a
barrister, increased, so that at about middle life he made up his mind
to retire. Unfortunately for his family his investments proved
unsuccessful, and after the loss of the greater part of his fortune he
came to America and started anew. When he came to Chicago he had a
relatively large sum of money, which, if invested in Chicago, might
eventually have increased to great wealth; but he was stricken by the
Lake Geneva fever and went there with his family, locating at the head
of the lake. He invested largely in land by the lake and on Big Foot
Prairie, buying a large tract of land on the higher ground and about
seventy acres along the lake.
[Illustration: HOUSE OF WILLIAM REID AT THE HEAD OF LAKE GENEVA
From a water color in the Wisconsin Historical Library painted in
1842 by Mrs. James Drew]
My grandmother, Mary Drew, came of a cultivated family which was
distantly related to the family of the Duke of Hamilton. Her niece was
the first wife of William Gladstone, the English statesman. Mention is
made of these things to show the change from the ease of their former
mode of living to the vicissitudes which locating on the frontier
entailed.
My grandparents had nine children, five boys and four girls, part of
whom were born in the log house at the head of the lake. This house
stood about two hundred feet from shore at the bottom of a rise of
ground known as the Potawatomi Indian burial ground, upon which site
the electric railway depot now stands. I remember as a boy digging
Indian relics out of this hill. The house was neatly built of logs and
had two large wings; in the center of one room was a fireplace
suitable for burning large logs. Among the early settlers in the
neighborhood at this time who had land and houses at the head of the
lake were the Van Slykes,[84] the Mohrs,[85] the Russells,[86] and the
Douglasses.[87]
Here the children grew up with the ordinary opportunities of farmers’
children and had no better advantages; and years later my cousin,
Jessie (Reid) Donaldson, my brother, Will, and I used to come here to
enjoy the beautiful surroundings of grandfather’s place. Will and I
had a little pony called Jenny and a wagon which we used to drive to
The Corners for mail. Whenever Jenny wanted to go into the barn or
whenever we took her to the blacksmith’s to be shod, she had a funny
trick of rapping on the door with her feet.
I remember the Baptist people used frequently to come down to the lake
in front of my grandfather’s house, and that the minister would there
duck the women under the water, according to their custom. My aunt,
with great sympathy, would lead the women into the house, where they
could change their clothes.
South of the house, where a stream ran through the inlet into the
lake, was a marsh, in the center of which was an island. Here in those
early days deer were often to be seen. Prairie chickens were plentiful
on Big Foot Prairie, and in the spring wild pigeons, now extinct, flew
over it in countless numbers. Woodcock, ruffed grouse, and squirrels
were also numerous. In the lake there was a large quantity of game
fish, among which were the cisco. These were seen only during the last
days of May or the early days of June when they came from the depths
of the lake to the shallow water to feed on the May flies and to
spawn. Of the wild life existing at that time, only a fraction now
remains.
Matthias Mohr owned the old sawmill on the rising ground at the south
end of the marsh. The race was fed by a large brook that emptied into
the marsh. This beautiful spot, surrounded by bushes and trees, was
often visited by me. The old wheel was still, but it was pleasant to
listen to the sound of the clear, cold water of the brook as it rushed
over the dismantled wheel to its outlet in the marsh. This brook was
afterward dammed up and used for raising brook trout.
Numerous beautiful springs were to be found running from the higher
ground to the lake. About half a mile north of the house was a small
schoolhouse where I remember being spelled down by a little girl. The
house was afterward occupied by an English laborer by the name of
Blackwell, and I have his son Bill in pleasant remembrance. The road
past the schoolhouse at the foot of a high bluff ran south by
Douglass’ Mill and north to the farm belonging to my grandfather. From
Douglass’ Mill,[88] which was built by C. L. Douglass and first used
as a sawmill and then as a gristmill, we used to go on up a very steep
hill to the road going west to The Corners, about three miles from my
grandfather’s house, where at that early day the mail was obtained.
The village located where the mill once stood has since been called
Fontana.[89]
Later we went to Walworth for the mail, taking the road running south.
The town of Walworth was founded in 1836 by James Van Slyke who made
his residence at the head of the lake. The only residents there about
1840 were Christopher Douglass and sons, Marcus Russell, James Van
Slyke, Matthias Mohr, and William Reid. Matthias Mohr purchased 50
acres in the town of Walworth in 1840, and in 1843 he purchased 38
acres more. In 1840 William Reid purchased 960¼ acres, in 1840 Marcus
Russell purchased 80 acres, and in 1841, Christopher Douglass
purchased 480 acres, all in the town of Walworth.
The village of Walworth had a store, a blacksmith shop, the Red Lion
Hotel, and the Brick Church. In the Brick Church cemetery are buried
today the remains of my grandfather and my grandmother and a number of
their children. The Red Lion Hotel was used by many people passing on
the main road from town to town in Wisconsin.
A short distance to the north of grandfather’s house was the sugar
bush. This was at the bottom of the high hills going north up to
Russell’s. Near the place stood the old Potawatomi village and
cornfields which Mrs. Kinzie in her book _Wau Bun_ speaks of visiting
in 1831.[90] I well remember seeing the Indian trail back of the house
leading up to the higher land in the sugar bush.
The country at the head of the lake was filled with large butternut,
walnut, hickory, basswood, ash, sugar maple, white-, black-, and
burr-oak trees. The sugar bush, through which a clear, cold brook ran
murmuring to its outlet in the lake, was notable for its many
butternut trees and was one of the most beautiful spots that could be
seen anywhere about the lake. I remember well the large oak tree near
my grandfather’s house in which a canoe had been placed holding the
remains of a relative[91] of Big Foot,[92] an Indian chief after whom
Big Foot Prairie was named. The wood of the softer trees near the farm
was used by the Reid family for the rails from which snake fences were
made. I remember my father and driver taking stakes from a snake fence
and putting them in the mud for my mother to stand on.
In the early days my father and mother in going to Lake Geneva had to
go by wagon. When the railroads were built, they took a train to
Turner Junction (now West Chicago) located thirty miles west of
Chicago, and from there took a wagon to Lake Geneva. Later they went
by the same railroad (the Northwestern) to Harvard Junction and from
there by wagon to the head of the lake.
At Harvard was located a hotel owned by Elbridge G. Ayer,[93] the
father of Edward E. Ayer of this city. This hotel was a few feet from
the track and its dining-room furnished meals to the people traveling
on that road. This dining-room was known all over the West, for at
that time there was no other that could compete with it. All the
vegetables, meat, poultry, and pastry were cooked in the most
appetizing manner and the products furnished for the table came fresh
from Mr. Ayer’s farm. My father and mother, my brother Will, and I
have often taken meals at this hotel on our way from the Junction to
the lake. The village of Harvard was afterward beautified by Mr.
Ayer’s son, Edward E. Ayer, who planted fourteen hundred trees about
it. Most of these are standing today and are an evidence of the public
spirit of the donor, which is seen in Chicago in his activities in
behalf of the Newberry Library, Field Museum, and other
institutions.[94]
My grandmother’s brother, James Drew, a wealthy barrister from London,
England, and his wife visited his sister at the head of the lake in
1842. At this time Mrs. Drew made a small water-color drawing of the
house and its vicinity which has recently been placed in the Wisconsin
Historical Library.
My recollections of Geneva go back to the early fifties. I can
remember going with my uncle in a rowboat from the head to the foot of
the lake, some eight miles. At that time there were no steamboats on
the lake and an unbroken forest covered its shores. The high ground
bordering the lake was about 175 feet above the beach line. The depth
of the lake has since been found to be from 80 to 181 feet. The lake
is eight miles long and from one to two miles wide. It empties into
the Fox River by a deep creek at the east end.
My mother, Ann Hamilton Reid, daughter of William Reid, was born in
Glasgow, Scotland, October 23, 1823. She was married to my father,
George Manierre, after whom I was named, in Detroit in 1842.
[83] The author’s reminiscences of the Manierre family have
been printed in Volume 8 Number 3 of the Illinois State
Historical Society _Publications_.
[84] James Van Slyke made the first settlement near the
Potawatomi Indian village in that place which later became
the town of Walworth. He built a cabin and moved his family
there from Geneva in the fall of 1836. Mrs. Van Slyke is
supposed to have been the only white woman who spent that
winter there. Many stories are told of the courage she
displayed in this frontier community.
[85] Matthias Mohr was one of the earliest residents of
Walworth County, settling on part of the Van Slyke claim at
the head of Lake Geneva in 1837. He later went to Kansas
where he died in 1887. Glenwood Springs Park now stands on
the site of his farm.
[86] Marcus and Robert Russell settled at the west end of
Lake Geneva in 1837. Robert Russell later moved to Iowa.
Marcus Russell died in 1875.
[87] Christopher Douglass was born in Connecticut in 1797
and moved to Wisconsin in 1837, settling on Big Foot
Prairie. In 1842 he moved to the town of Walworth, where he
kept a hotel for several years. In 1857 he took up his
residence at the head of Lake Geneva where he died in 1866.
[88] C. L. Douglass, son of Christopher Douglass, was born
in New York November 4, 1827, and came to Wisconsin with his
father in 1837. In 1857 he built and equipped Big Foot Mills
which he continued to operate for thirty years. He died
January 6, 1898.
[89] Fontana, a summer resort at the head of Lake Geneva,
covers the site of the old Potawatomi village and is part of
the old Van Slyke claim. It was purchased of Van Slyke in
1838 by Matthias Mohr, Amos Bailey, and Dr. Henry Clark, who
platted and named the village.
[90] Mrs. John H. Kinzie, _Wau Bun, the early day in the
North-west_ (New York, 1856), 318-22. Mrs. Kinzie in company
with her husband, U. S. sub-Indian agent at Fort Winnebago,
was making the trip from Chicago to Fort Winnebago (Portage)
in 1831 when she visited Big Foot’s village. She describes
the chief as a “large, rawboned, ugly Indian with a
countenance bloated by intemperance, and with a sinister,
unpleasant expression.”
[91] This was Big Foot’s son, who died about 1830. The body
was encased in a rude coffin and fastened to the limbs of a
tree overlooking the lake. Big Foot is said to have given as
his reason for this mode of burial that his son had been
unusually fond of lake scenery, and he would thus enjoy a
fine view of it from the land to which he had gone.
[92] Big Foot was the last chief of his band to rule his
people in their own land. In 1827, when the Winnebago were
on the war path, Big Foot, a sturdy hater of the whites,
tried to incite the Potawatomi to join the northern Indians.
He was prevented by measures taken by Gov. Lewis Cass which
culminated in the treaty of September 15, 1827. Being bound
by former treaties, Big Foot remained neutral during the
Black Hawk War. By the treaty of 1832 the territory of the
Potawatomi and their allies, the Chippewa and the Ottawa,
comprising southeastern Wisconsin, passed to the United
States government. Big Foot refused to sign the treaty until
the other chiefs had done so.
[93] Elbridge Gerry Ayer, born in Haverhill, Mass., July 25,
1813, came to Wisconsin in 1836. In 1847 he moved to
Walworth, going from there to McHenry County, Ill. in 1857,
where he founded the town of Harvard. There for eighteen
years he and his wife conducted one of the best hotels in
the state. During the Civil War they gave without pay food,
lodging, and other assistance to the wounded Union soldiers
detained in that vicinity. On the occasion of their golden
wedding in 1885 Gov. James Lewis of Wisconsin, on behalf of
the Wisconsin soldiers, presented to Mr. and Mrs. Ayer a
gold cup, now in the museum of the Wisconsin Historical
Society. The inscription is as follows: “Presented to Mr.
and Mrs. E. G. Ayer by the Wisconsin soldiers as a token of
remembrance and appreciation of the many acts of kindness
toward them during the dark days of the Rebellion, from 1861
to 1865, Oct. 29, 1885.”
[94] Edward Everett Ayer, of Chicago, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Elbridge G. Ayer, has long been connected with enterprises
relating to arts and letters. He is a director of the
Newberry Library, of the Field Museum, and of the Art
Institute. He himself has one of the finest private
libraries in the United States which contains manuscripts
relating to the early history of North America, the Indians,
Mexico, the West Indies, and the Philippines.
DESCRIPTION OF A JOURNEY TO NORTH AMERICA
FOREWORD
BY RASMUS B. ANDERSON
I have been asked to prepare a brief introduction for Ole Nattestad’s
description of his journey from Norway to America in 1837. In
complying with this request I shall make free use of facts and
statements published by me in various other works and particularly in
my _First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration_ (1906).
The Norsemen have an honorable place in the annals of America. We may,
indeed, say that the civilized history of this country begins with the
Norsemen. If you look at a map you will at once find that Greenland
and even a part of Iceland belong to the western hemisphere, and
Iceland became the hinge upon which the door swings that opens America
to Europe. It was the occupation of Iceland by the Norsemen in the
year 874 and the frequent voyages between this island and Norway that
led to the discovery and settlement first of Greenland and then of
America, and it is due to the culture and fine historical taste of the
Icelanders that carefully prepared records of these Norse voyages were
kept, first to teach pelagic navigation to Columbus and afterwards to
solve for us the mysteries concerning the first discovery of this
continent.
The old republican Vikings well understood the importance of studying
the art of ship-building and of navigation. They knew how to measure
time by the stars and how to calculate the course of the sun and moon.
They were themselves pioneers in venturing out upon the high seas and
taught the rest of the world to navigate the ocean. Every scrap of
written history sustains me when I say that the other peoples of the
world were limited in their nautical knowledge to coast navigation.
The Norse Vikings who crossed the stormy North Sea, finding their way
to Great Britain, to the Orkneys, the Faröes, and to Iceland, all
those heroes who found their way to Greenland and Vinland, taught the
world pelagic navigation. They demonstrated the possibility of
venturing out of sight of land, and in this sense, if in no other, we
may with perfect propriety assert that the Norsemen taught Columbus
how to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
That the Norsemen held an honorable place in the annals of America is
shown by a fact of the greatest importance in the world’s history,
namely, that the Norsemen anticipated by five centuries Christopher
Columbus and Amerigo Vespucius and the new world was discovered by
Leif Erikson in the year 1000. About the year 860 the Norsemen
discovered Iceland and soon afterwards (in 874) they established upon
this island a republic which flourished for 400 years. Greenland was
seen for the first time in 876 by Gunnbjorn Ulfson from Norway. About
a century later, in the year 984, Erik the Red resolved to go in
search of the lands in the west which Gunnbjorn as well as others
later had seen. He sailed from Iceland, and found a land as he had
expected, and remained there exploring the country for two years. At
the end of this period he returned to Iceland, giving the
newly-discovered country the name of Greenland in order, as he said,
to attract settlers who would be favorably impressed with so pleasing
a name. Thus, as Greenland belongs geographically wholly to America,
it will be seen that Erik the Red was the first white man to boom
American real estate. And he was successful. Many Norsemen emigrated,
particularly from Iceland, and a flourishing colony with Gardar as its
capital and Erik the Red as its first governor was established and
became the first settlement of Europeans in the new world. In the year
1261 it became subject to the crown of Norway. We have a list of
seventeen bishops who served in Greenland. Erik the Red and his
followers were not Christian when they settled in Greenland, but
worshippers of Odin and Thor, though they relied chiefly on their own
might and strength. Christianity was introduced among them about the
year 1000, though Erik the Red continued to adhere to the religion of
his fathers to his dying day.
The first white man whose eyes beheld any part of the American
continent was the Norseman, Bjarne Herjulfson, who saw this land in
the year 986. The first white man who, to our knowledge, planted his
feet on the soil of the American continent was Leif Erikson, the son
of Erik the Red, in the year 1000; and Leif’s brother Thorvald, who
died in 1002, was the first white man and the first Christian who was
buried beneath American sod. Thorfin Karlsefne, who landed in 1007,
was the first white man to found a settlement within the limits of the
present United States, and his wife, Gudrid, was the first white woman
who came to Vinland. In the year 1008 she gave birth to a son in
Vinland. The boy, who received in baptism the name Snorre, was the
first person of European descent born in the new world. In 1112 Erik
Upsi settled as bishop in Greenland and in 1121 this same bishop went
on a missionary journey from Greenland to Vinland, the first visit of
a Christian minister to the American continent. The last of these
interesting voyages before the rediscovery of America by Columbus was
in the year 1347 when a Greenland ship with a crew of eighteen men
came from Nova Scotia (Markland) to Straumfjord in Iceland. Thus it
appears that the Vinland voyages extended over a period of about 350
years and to within 145 years of the rediscovery of America by
Columbus in 1492. From the accounts of these voyages and settlements
we get our first knowledge and descriptions of the aborigines of
America.
While Leif Erikson was the first white man to plant his feet on the
eastern shores of the American continent, it was left to another
plucky Scandinavian to become the discoverer of the narrow body of
water which separates America from Asia. Vitus Bering was a Dane born
in Jutland, in Denmark, in 1680. He entered the service of Russia and
in 1725 was made commander-in-chief of one of the greatest
geographical expeditions ever undertaken. He explored the Sea of
Kamchatka and during this voyage in 1728 he discovered Bering Strait
and ascertained that Asia was not joined to America, thus becoming the
discoverer of the extreme western boundary line of the continent.
The first visit of Scandinavians to America proper in post-Columbian
times occurred in the year 1619, just a year before the landing of the
Pilgrims at Plymouth. In the spring of that year King Christian IV
fitted out two ships, the _Eenhjorningen_ and the _Lamprenen_, for the
purpose of finding a northwest passage to Asia. The commander of this
expedition was the Norwegian, Jens Munk, born at Barby in southern
Norway in 1579. Sailing from Copenhagen with his two ships and
sixty-six men May 9, 1619, he explored Hudson Bay and took possession
of the surrounding country in the name of his sovereign and gave it
the name of Nova Dania. All the members of this expedition perished
except Jens Munk and two of his crew, who returned to Norway September
25, 1620, the undertaking having proved a complete failure. The ship
chaplain on this expedition was a Danish Lutheran minister, Rasmus
Jensen Aarhus, the first minister to preach Lutheranism in the new
world. He died February 20, 1620, on the southwestern shore of Hudson
Bay at the mouth of the Churchill River. His last sermon was a funeral
sermon preached from his own death bed.
Norwegians and Danes came to New Amsterdam (New York) at a very early
period. Traces of Scandinavians in New York can be found as early as
1617. In 1704 these Norwegians and Danes built a stone church on the
corner of Broadway and Rector streets, where regular services were
held in the Danish language until the property was sold to Trinity
Church, the present churchyard occupying the site of the early
building. The first directory published in New York shows many names
of unquestionable Norwegian or Danish origin.
It is well known that the Swedes founded a settlement on the Delaware
in 1638, and the Swedish language was used in a Philadelphia church as
late as 1823. John Morton, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence, and an active member of the Continental Congress, was a
descendant of the Swedes of Delaware. Robert Anderson, the gallant
defender of Fort Sumter, against which the first gun of the Civil War
was fired, was also a scion of the Swedes on the Delaware, and so it
appears that love of freedom and patriotism and statecraft and valor
came to America not only in the _Mayflower_ but also in the
_Kalmarnyckel_ and _Vogelgrip_, which brought the first Swedish
settlers to America in 1638.
How many Norwegians landed in America between the years 1492 and 1821
it is impossible to determine. There are no government statistics to
guide us and we know there was no regular or systematic emigration
from any of the Scandinavian countries. It is certain that no
Norwegians came in collective bodies to form settlements, and we can
trace them only through their descendants who have kept family records
or through public documents or published works where they happen to be
mentioned. In this way some of the Scandinavians who settled in New
Amsterdam have been found.
In a similar manner we find the names of Norwegians and Swedes who
took part in the war of the Revolution. There is the case of Thomas
Johnson. In Volume 28 (1874) of the _New England Historical and
Genealogical Register_ we find a full account of Thomas Johnson who
served under Paul Jones, first in the crew of the _Ranger_ and
afterwards in the crew of the _Bonhomme Richard_. Johnson was the son
of a pilot at Mandal, a seaport on the southwest coast of Norway,
where he was born in 1758. In the absence of his father, he towed the
first American vessel, the _Ranger_, commanded by Paul Jones, into the
harbor of Mandal. After their arrival Jones sent for the young pilot
and, presenting him with a piece of gold, expressed his pleasure at
his expert seamanship, which he had minutely watched during the towing
of the ship into the harbor. Jones had made the port of Mandal for the
purpose of recruiting the crew of the _Ranger_; and, satisfactory
arrangements having been made with his father, Johnson was received on
board as a seaman. Thomas Johnson died at the age of ninety-three at
the United States Naval Asylum in Philadelphia on July 12, 1851; he
had been there for many years a pensioner, and was known by the
soubriquet “Paul Jones.” The account of Thomas Johnson led me to
investigate further into the history of John Paul Jones, and in his
biography, written by John Henry Sherburne, register of the navy of
the United States, published at Washington in 1825, I found a roll of
officers, seamen, marines, and volunteers who served on board the
_Bonhomme Richard_ in her cruise made in 1779. In this roll the native
country of every man is given and in it I found two seamen born in
Norway and seven born in Sweden.
Here I may also mention the brilliant Swede, Colonel Axel Fersen, who,
in 1779, went to France where he was appointed colonel of the Royal
Regiment of Swedes. He served with distinction at the head of his
regiment in the later campaigns of the American War, distinguishing
himself on various occasions, particularly in 1781, during the siege
of Yorktown, where he was aide-de-camp to General Rochambeau. He also
took part in the negotiations between General Washington and General
Rochambeau. He afterwards became Marshal of the kingdom of Sweden.
It is fair to presume that a considerable number of enterprising
Scandinavians found their way to their old Vinland during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and particularly during the
first quarter of the nineteenth century.
In the early days of the American republic diplomatic and consular
relations were established with the Scandinavian countries, and there
was more or less commerce between Norway, Sweden, and Denmark and the
United States. This financial and commercial intercourse would
naturally induce some Scandinavians to visit the United States and
others to settle within our gates. The many Scandinavian names found
in the old directories of New York, Philadelphia, and other eastern
cities are largely to be accounted for in this manner.
From the year 1820 the United States government supplies us with
immigration statistics, but in these Sweden and Norway are grouped
together down to the year 1868, and hence it is impossible to
determine until then how many immigrants came from each country. From
the year 1836 we are helped out by Norway, where the government then
began to collect and prepare statistics of emigration.
The father of Norwegian emigration to the United States in the
nineteenth century was Kleng Peerson from near Stavanger, Norway. In
the year 1821 he with a comrade, Knud Olson Eide, was sent from Norway
to New York by the Society of Quakers in and near Stavanger for the
purpose of making an investigation of conditions and opportunities in
the United States. After a sojourn of three years in America, all that
time being spent in and around New York City, they returned to Norway.
Here their reports of social, political, and religious conditions in
America and their description of opportunities in the new world
awakened great interest, inducing a resolution on the part of many to
emigrate. Lars Larsen, the man at whose house the first Quaker meeting
had been held in Stavanger in 1816, at once undertook to organize a
party of emigrants. Being successful in finding the number of people
who were ready and willing to join him, the heads of families
furnished their scanty possessions in money and purchased a sloop
which had been built in the Hardanger Fjord between Stavanger and
Bergen and which they loaded with a cargo of iron. For this sloop and
cargo they paid the sum of $1,800.
This little Norwegian _Mayflower_ of the nineteenth century received
the name _Restaurationen_ (the “Restoration”) and on the day of
American Independence, July 4, 1825, the brave little company of
emigrants sailed out of the harbor of the ancient and grotesque city
of Stavanger. The company consisted of fifty-two persons, including
the two officers, chiefly from Stavanger City and Tysver Parish, north
of Stavanger. They were fifty-two when they left Stavanger, but when
they reached New York on the second Sunday of October (October 9) they
numbered fifty-three, the wife of the leader, Larsen, having given
birth to a beautiful girl baby on the second of September.
From 1825 to 1836 there was but little emigration from Norway. Before
1836 there were no vessels carrying emigrants from Norway to America.
Those who did emigrate came either by way of Gothenborg, Sweden, or
Havre, in which cities passengers to America could be accommodated.
Gothenborg vessels carried Swedish iron to America but emigrants
frequently had to wait for weeks before they found a ship bound for
New York. From Hamburg regular packet ships carried German emigrants,
but these were so numerous that there was frequently a delay of from
two to three weeks before they could be accommodated. In Havre the
emigrant packets were also regular but there were not so many
emigrants and the Norwegians could count on going on the first ship
leaving port. This made Havre the most popular point of departure from
Europe for the Norwegians.
Of course, a great number of letters were written by the Norwegians in
America to relatives and friends in Norway and these were read by
hundreds who were anxious to better their fortunes. Finally, one of
the sloop passengers, Knud Anderson Slogvig, returned to Norway in
1835 and the news that he had arrived at his old home in the Skjold
district spread far and wide and created the greatest excitement. He
was the hero of the day. People traveled hundreds of miles to see and
talk with him. Letters from emigrants had been read with the deepest
interest but here was a man who had spent ten years in the new world!
Through Knud Slogvig the American fever spread beyond the limits of
Stavanger Amt and Christiansand Stift. This led to the great exodus of
1836, when the two Koehler brigs, _Norden_ and _Den Norske Klippe_,
were fitted out for emigrants in Stavanger and left that summer loaded
with about two hundred passengers for New York. On board the _Norden_
my father and mother and my two oldest brothers were passengers. The
American fever continued, calling for two ships in 1837, the _Aegir_
from Bergen and the _Enighedon_ from Egershund. Then there was a
partial lull, until after 1840, when the American fever set in for
good. It has continued to rage ever since, culminating in the year
1882, when over 29,000 Norwegians landed in the United States.
Those who came in the sloop _Restaurationen_ settled in Kendall,
Orleans County, New York, on the shores of Lake Ontario. In 1833 we
find Kleng Peerson in company with a Quaker, Ingebret Larsen Narvig,
who had come from Norway to Boston in 1831 and footed it from there to
Kendall, on their way to the far west. Larsen parted company with
Kleng and went to work for a farmer in Michigan. Kleng continued his
journey westward until he reached La Salle County, Illinois, and there
selected the location of the second Norwegian settlement in this
country. Kendall and Fox River settlement in Illinois was his undying
glory. Most of the settlers in Orleans County, New York, on the advice
of Kleng, moved to the Fox River settlement. In 1836 these were joined
by the 200 immigrants who came in the _Norden_ and the _Den Norske
Klippe_, and in 1837 by many of those who came in the _Aegir_ and the
_Enighedon_.
One of the Norwegians who came in the _Aegir_ was Ole Rynning, a name
well known in the annals of Norwegian immigration. On reaching Chicago
he was persuaded by a couple of Americans to go with some of his
friends to inspect lands some eighty miles south of Chicago along
Beaver Creek with the view of founding a Norwegian settlement there.
Ole Rynning chose as his companions on this journey of inspection
Niels Veste from Etne in Norway, Ingebrigt Brudvig, and Ole Nattestad
from Numedal, Norway, the latter the author of the book herewith
published. Ole Nattestad and his brother, Ansten, had just arrived by
way of Gothenborg, Sweden, and Fall River, Massachusetts, and joining
a group of other immigrants in Detroit, Michigan, had accompanied them
to Chicago. The rest of the company remained in Chicago to await the
result. Ole Nattestad stated that he did not like the land, it being
sandy and swampy, but as the others were pleased with it, it was
agreed that Nattestad and Veste should remain and put up a log house
for the reception of the immigrants while Rynning and Brudvig returned
to Chicago to fetch their friends.
Some of those who were left in Chicago in the meantime had gone to the
Fox River settlement but the most of them went with Rynning and
Brudvig to Beaver Creek. There were no settlers in the immediate
vicinity and it was difficult to procure the common necessities of
life, although the most of these people were well supplied with money.
Many of the new settlers grumbled and were inclined to find fault with
Ole Rynning and the others who were responsible for the selection of
this settlement. All chose land for farms, and before winter set in a
sufficient number of log houses had been built. The number of settlers
here was about fifty. These people were well and happy in America
during the first winter, but the next spring the whole settlement was
flooded and the swamp was turned into a veritable lake. In the summer
the settlers were attacked by malarial fever. In a short time no less
than fourteen or fifteen deaths occurred and among those who here
found his last resting place was Ole Rynning. The survivors fled,
leaving farms and houses, as there was nobody to buy land where a
malarial atmosphere threatened the inhabitants with almost certain
destruction. The most of those who fled found their way to the Fox
River settlement, reaching there late in the summer of 1838. Only a
few remained two or three years, defying the dangers to health and
life, the last one to leave the colony being Mons Aadland, a brother
of the well-known journalist and author, Knud Langland. He finally
exchanged his farm for a small number of cows at auction and went to
Racine County, Wisconsin, where he lived to a ripe old age.
Ole Rynning became particularly conspicuous and influential on account
of a book which he published in Christiania, Norway, in 1838, the
title of which is “Sandfaerdig Beretning on Amerika til Oplysning og
Nytte for Bonde og Menigmand forfattet af en norsk, som kom derover i
Juni Maaned 1837,” that is, “A Truthful Account of America for the
Instruction and Help of the Peasant and Commoner Written by a
Norwegian Who Came there in the Month of June, 1837.” The author’s
name is given at the end of the preface where we read: “Illinois,
February 13, 1838, Ole Rynning.”
This little book of only thirty-nine pages is now exceedingly scarce.
I obtained a copy of it from Rev. B. J. Muus of Goodhue County,
Minnesota. In the nineties I reprinted it in _Amerika_ and struck off
about two hundred copies which I had bound and placed in various
libraries. A copy of it may be found in the library of the Wisconsin
State Historical Society.
We began with Erik the Red and Leif Erikson and have now come to the
brothers, Ole and Ansten Nattestad. Ole K. Nattestad was born December
24, 1807; died May 28, 1886. His wife died September 15, 1888. Ansten
K. Nattestad was born August 20, 1813; died April 8, 1889.
The fourth Norwegian settlement in America and the first in Wisconsin
was founded by Ole Knudsen Nattestad (changed in America to Natesta)
who was accordingly the first Norwegian to set foot on Wisconsin soil.
He came to Clinton, Rock County, Wisconsin, July 1, 1838, and this was
the beginning of the so-called Jefferson Prairie settlement, which
occupies the southeast corner of Rock County and extends into Boone
County, Illinois. They came from Vegli, Rolloug Parish in Numedal,
Norway, by way of Gothenborg and Fall River, Massachusetts.
When the Beaver Creek settlement was abandoned, Ansten Nattestad, in
the spring of 1838, returned to Norway, taking with him the Ole
Rynning manuscript and also the manuscript of a journal kept by his
brother, Ole Nattestad. Ansten stated that this manuscript of his
brother was published in Drammen, Norway, that same year but in spite
of the most diligent search I have never been able to secure a copy of
that edition. In Norway copies of all publications are placed in the
University Library. I had this library searched for a copy of
Nattestad’s book but none could be found. In an interview published in
_Billed Magazin_ in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1869, Ansten Nattestad made
the following statement:
In the spring of 1838 I went from Beaver Creek, Illinois, by
way of New Orleans to Liverpool in England and thence to
Norway to visit friends and acquaintances in my native land.
I brought with me letters from nearly all the earlier
Norwegian emigrants whom I had met and in this way
information was scattered far and wide in Norway. My
brother’s journal was published in Drammen and Ole Rynning’s
work on matters of the new world appeared at the same time
in Christiania. Of Rynning’s book I brought the manuscript
with me from America. The Rev. Mr. Kragh in Eidsvold read
the proofs and left out the chapter about the Norwegian
clergymen who therein were accused of intolerance in
religious matters and inactivity in questions concerning the
betterment of the people in temporal affairs and in
questions concerning the advancement of education.
In 1869 Ole Nattestad gave the following account of himself in the
_Billed Magazin_ referred to above:
As the next oldest of three brothers, I did not have the
right of primogeniture to my father’s farm which, according
to law, and custom, would go to the oldest son. My ambition
was to become a farmer, and I hoped some day to be able to
buy a farm in my own neighborhood. Then my brother entered
the military school in Christiania and I was to manage the
farm during his absence. I entered upon my task cheerfully,
worked with all my might and kept a careful account of
income and disbursements. To my great surprise, I soon found
that in spite of all my toil and prudence, I did not make
much headway. When the year was ended, I had little or
nothing left as a reward for my labor and it was clear to me
that it would not do to buy an expensive farm and run in
debt for it. Farming did not pay in the locality where I was
born. I then tried the occupation of an itinerant merchant.
I could earn a living in this way, but the laws were against
me and I did not like to carry on a business of such a
nature that it was necessary to keep my affairs secret from
the _lensmand_ [undersheriff]. Then I worked awhile as a
blacksmith. This furnished me enough to do, but it was
difficult to collect the money I earned. The law did not
permit me to work at my trade in the city. Then [in 1836] my
younger brother, Ansten, and I went across the mountains to
the western part of Norway to buy sheep which we intended to
sell again. While we were stopping in the vicinity of
Stavanger, we heard much talk about a country which was
called America. This was the first time we heard this word.
We saw letters written by Norwegians who were living in
America and we were told that Knud Slogvig, who, many years
before that had emigrated in a sloop [_Restaurationen_] from
Stavanger, had lately visited his native land and had given
so favorable a report about America that about 150 [should
be 200] emigrants from Stavanger Amt and from Hardanger had
gone back with him and had sailed that very summer [1836] in
two brigs from Stavanger across the ocean. They had gone in
spite of all sorts of threats and warnings about slavery,
death, and disease. This was the first large exodus after
the emigration of the sloop party in 1825. All that we here
saw was so new and came to us so unexpectedly that we were
not at once able to arrange all the reports into a
systematic whole and thus get a correct idea of conditions
in the new world. But when I spent the following Christmas
with Even Nubbru who was a member of the Storthing from
Sigdal we discussed the hard times in my native valley and I
suggested that I might have better luck in some other part
of the country. In replying Even Nubbru remarked that
wherever I went in the world, I would nowhere find a people
who had as good laws as the Americans. He had accidentally
just had the opportunity of reading something about America
in a German newspaper and he described the free institutions
of America. This information had a magic effect on me as I
looked upon it as an injustice that the laws of Norway
should forbid me to trade and not allow me to get my living
by honest work as a mechanic wherever I desired to locate. I
had confidence in the judgment of the member of the
Storthing and I compared his remarks with what I had heard
about America in the vicinity of Stavanger. Gradually I got
to thinking of emigration and while considering the matter
on my way home, the idea matured into a resolution. My
brother Ansten did not have to be asked a second time. He
was willing at once; he approved of my plans and in April,
1837, we were ready for our journey. When we left home, we
had together about eight hundred dollars, Norwegian money,
but this sum gradually grew less on account of our expenses
on the way and besides we lost considerable in changing our
money into American coin. Ansten also paid the passage for
Halsten Halvorsen Braekke-Eiet who now [1869] resides in
Dodgeville [Wisconsin], and is looked upon as an excellent
blacksmith.
Our equipment consisted of the clothes we wore, a pair of
skis, and a knapsack. People looked at us with wonder and
intimated that we must have lost our senses. They suggested
that we had better hang ourselves in the first tree in order
to avoid a worse fate. We went on skis across the mountains
from Rolloug to Tin and thence in a direct line over hills
and through forests to Stavanger, where we expected to get
passage across the sea. We did not worry about the roads for
all three of us were experts on skis and our baggage caused
us no inconvenience. In Stavanger we told everybody that we
were going to America and wanted to secure passage across
the sea. This open-heartedness came near spoiling our plans.
The report of three mountaineers soon spread over the whole
city and high government officials came to see our
passports. We were now told that the bailiff’s passport only
permitted us to go to Stavanger while the certificate from
the pastor correctly stated that we intended to leave the
country and emigrate to America. We were not versed in such
things and thought our papers were in order, especially as
the documents we carried gave testimony that we were men of
good habits and Christian conduct. No suspicious remarks
were made but in the evening there came a man who was angry
on account of the wrong the officials were going to do us
and related that it had been resolved that we were to be
arrested the following day and then to be sent from
_lensmand_ to _lensmand_ to our native valley as we intended
to leave the country without permission being given in the
passport from the bailiff. The government here, he said, was
in a bitter rage against all emigrants and we could not
count on any mercy. On this man’s advice we departed
secretly from Stavanger under cover of night in order to
avoid the danger that threatened us and without attracting
any attention we got to Tananger. Here we met a skipper who,
with his yacht loaded with herring, was ready to sail to
Gothenborg. He promised to take us on board, but when we
told him what had happened to us in Stavanger, he became
doubtful. He praised our honesty, and on further assurance
that we would assume all responsibility if we got in
trouble, he decided to accept us as passengers. We acted
discreetly while we were ashore and we felt greatly relieved
when we finally got to sea. In Gothenborg we had no mishaps,
and we secured passage in a vessel loaded with Swedish iron
and bound for Fall River, Massachusetts. The journey lasted
thirty-two days and we paid fifty dollars each for
transportation and board. From Fall River we went to New
York where we met a few Norwegians who helped us to get to
Rochester. Here we talked with some of our countrymen who,
twelve years ago, had come in the sloop from Stavanger that
brought the first Norwegian immigrants to America. Rochester
and vicinity did not meet our expectations in regard to the
new world. Many of the first immigrants had left the first
settlement in Kendall and had gone west to find new lands,
particularly to La Salle County, Illinois, near Ottawa on
the Fox River. The Fox River colony received a very
considerable increment by the great exodus from Stavanger in
1836, that is, the year before I came to America. The most
of these immigrants had located in that settlement. This we
learned in Rochester, and there we heard for the first time
the name Chicago. We determined to go west and see what we
could find. When we had reached Detroit, I was walking in
the streets to look at the town. There I accidentally met a
man by whose clothes I could see that he was from the
western coast of Norway. I greeted the man and he returned
my greeting, and the meeting was like that of two brothers
who had not seen each other for years. He informed me that
he had left Bergen some months before, together with about
seventy [should be eighty-four] passengers and that the
whole company of which the University secretary, Ole
Rynning, was the leader, had been waiting a week for
transportation to Chicago. We were glad to meet our
countrymen and we joined the party, in which there was at
least one [Rynning] who could speak English. On landing in
Chicago we met Bjorn Anderson Kvelve [the father of the
present editor] from the Stavanger company. He had come to
America the year before [1836] and had travelled through
various parts of Illinois but all that he had heard and seen
had only served to make him dissatisfied with this side of
the ocean. Broken down in soul and body, he stood before us
as a victim of misery and produced a scene so terrible that
it never will be blotted from my memory. “God bless and
comfort you!” said he. “There is neither work nor land nor
food to be had and by all means do not go to Fox River;
there you will all die from malarial fever.” These words had
a terrible effect on our little flock, many of whom had
already lost all courage. Like demons from the lower world,
all the evil warnings about the terrors that awaited the
emigrants to America were now called to mind and even the
bravest were as by magic stricken by a panic which bordered
on insanity. The women wrung their hands in despair and
uttered terrible shrieks of woe. Some of the men stood
immovable like statues with all the marks of frightful
despair on their faces, while others made threats against
those whom they regarded as the promoters of emigration and
the leaders of the party. But in this critical situation Ole
Rynning’s greatness appeared. He stood in the midst of the
people who were ready for mutiny; he comforted those in
despair and gave advice to those who doubted and hesitated
and reproved those who were obstinate. He was not in doubt
for a moment and his equanimity, courage, and noble
self-sacrifice for the weal of others had acquired him
influence in the minds of all. The storm abated and the
dissatisfaction gave place to a unanimous confidence. A
couple of Americans with whom Rynning talked advised him to
take the immigrants to Beaver Creek, directly south of
Chicago in Iroquois County.
It seems to me that the story told about my father must, to say the
least, be overdrawn. The facts as I have them from my mother, from
Mons Aadland, and even from Ole Nattestad himself, do not warrant the
painting of so weird a picture. All the prose there is in the romance
is that my father met these people in Chicago and was unwilling to
recommend the Fox River settlement with which he was not pleased, and
as he had never seen Iroquois County, he had no share in recommending
the immigrants to go to Beaver Creek. His dissatisfaction with the Fox
River settlement is further confirmed by the fact that in 1840 he
found a new home in Albion, Dane County, Wisconsin. In support of my
view, I may here quote the words of Prof. Svein Nilsson in _Billed
Magazin_ (1869) where, in alluding to the Beaver Creek settlement he
states:
Ole Rynning’s company met Bjorn Anderson Kvelve in Chicago.
The unfavorable description he gave of the land both west
and north frightened the immigrants from locating in any of
the existing Norwegian colonies and this resulted in the
founding of the Beaver Creek Settlement whose sad story is
well known to the Scandinavian population in the northwest.
In this connection bitter reproaches have been directed
against Bjorn Anderson Kvelve as being in a great measure to
blame for the fatalities of Beaver Creek. But it is usually
the case that people like to seek in others the cause of
their misfortune. This is true of the individual as well as
of corporations and societies and perhaps a little more so
in the case of the immigrants visited by adversity. At all
events, it is our opinion that we do a justice to the man
when we say that the criticism of Bjorn Anderson Kvelve has
been too severe, if not utterly unfounded.
Ole Nattestad continues:
In the spring of 1838 my brother, Ansten, went to Norway and
I worked by the day in the northern part of Illinois.
The first of July, 1838, I came to my present home in about
the middle of the town of Clinton, Rock County, Wisconsin,
where I bought land and I am consequently the first
Norwegian to settle in this state. So far as known, no other
Norwegian had planted his feet on Wisconsin soil before me.
For a whole year I saw no countryman but lived alone without
friend, family, or companion. Eight Americans had settled in
the town before me but they lived about as isolated as I
did. I found the soil very fertile and the monotony of the
prairie was relieved by small bunches of trees. Deer and
other game were abundant. The horrid howl of the prairie
wolf disturbed my sleep until habit armed my ears against
annoyances of this sort. The following summer [1839] I built
a little log hut and in this residence I received in
September a number of people from my own parish in Norway.
They had come as immigrants with my brother, Ansten. The
most of these settled on Jefferson Prairie and in this way
the settlement got a large population in a comparatively
short time.
In 1840 Ole Nattestad married Lena Hiser who died September 15, 1888.
She left seven children, all well educated and in good circumstances.
Henry, the youngest son, now occupies the old homestead.
We now pass to Ansten Nattestad, the brother of Ole, and will let him
tell the story as published in the _Billed Magazin_:
In the spring of 1838 I went by way of New Orleans to
Liverpool and thence to Norway to visit friends and
acquaintances in my native land…. [What he tells about
Rynning’s and his brother Ole’s manuscripts has already been
stated.] I spent the winter in Numedal. The report of my
return spread like wildfire through the land and an
incredible number of people came to see me and to get news
from America. Many came as far as twenty Norwegian [140
English] miles to have a talk with me. It was impossible to
answer all the letters I received asking questions about the
condition of things on the other side of the ocean. In the
spring of 1839 about 100 persons from Numedal stood ready to
go with me across the sea. Among these were many farmers and
heads of families, all, excepting the children, able-bodied
persons in their best years. Besides these there were a
number from Thelemarken and from Numedal who were unable to
join me as our ship was full. We went from Drammen direct to
New York. It was the first time the inhabitants of Drammen
saw an emigrant ship. [The name of the ship was _Emelia_ and
the Captain’s name was Ankerson]. Each person paid $33.50
for his passage. We were nine weeks on the sea; the passage
was a successful one and there was no death on board. From
New York we took the common route up the country. In
Milwaukee we met those from Tin and Thelemarken and the
others who were unable to come in our ship across the sea.
[They had come by way of Gothenborg, Sweden, to Boston.]
They came on board to us and wanted us to go with them to
Muskego, Wisconsin. Men had been out there to inspect the
country and they reported that the grass was so high that it
reached up to their shoulders and told of many other
glorious things. The Americans, too, used every argument to
persuade us to stop in Milwaukee. I objected and we
continued our journey. In Chicago I learned that my brother,
Ole, had settled in Wisconsin during my absence in Norway.
Some of the party went to the Fox River settlement where
they had acquaintances, while some unmarried persons found
employment in Chicago and vicinity. The rest of them, that
is to say, the majority, accompanied me to Jefferson
Prairie. Among these were a few who settled in the town of
Rock Run, Stevenson County, in the northern part of Illinois
about fifty miles southwest from Jefferson Prairie, and
there they formed the nucelus of the Norwegian settlement.
Others of my company went to Rock Prairie, a few miles west
of Jefferson Prairie. I and the rest came at once to
Jefferson Prairie where we bought land and began to
cultivate it.
In 1840 a few came here from Numedal and from that time the
number of settlers steadily increased, chiefly by new
arrivals from Norway. The most of those from Numedal settled
in the northern part of the colony, for we who came after my
brother, who was here before any of us, bought land in the
place where he had built his cabin and those from the same
part of Norway who came later as immigrants and who sought
us out in the far west settled as our neighbors. I and the
first Numedalians chose this tract as our home and our
choice was made immediately after our arrival. The same
autumn, 1839, a company from Voss in Norway came to the
settlement. These Vossings went farther south and as “birds
of a feather flock together” so their friends from Voss
gradually settled with them. Hence the Jefferson Prairie
settlement, as to population, may be divided into two
districts, of which the northern consists chiefly of
Numedalians while the Vossings predominate in the southern
part.
In searching for the Nattestad book I learned that Ole Nattestad had
preserved a manuscript copy of it and that sometime in the eighties he
had handed this to Prof. Peter Hendrickson, then editor-in-chief of
_Skandinaven_ in Chicago, with the view of having the manuscript
revised and reprinted; but before Professor Hendrickson found time to
do this work, his home in Evanston, Illinois, was burned to the ground
and in this fire the Nattestad manuscript was lost. Not long since,
however, it was shown that the Nattestad book was not a myth. Mr. H.
L. Skavlem of Janesville, Wisconsin, is a most patient and thorough
student of Norwegian pioneer life in America, and especially of
everything pertaining to the people who have emigrated from Numedal.
In 1915 he published an account of the “Skavlem and Odegaarden
Families in this Country” which is a masterpiece of genealogical
records and pioneer history. Mr. Skavlem, beside being an authority on
Indian relics and on Wisconsin bird life, has done much to preserve
the history of the Norwegians in America. It was he who secured a
printed copy of the Nattestad book for preservation in the library of
the State Historical Society, so far as known the only copy in
existence.
[Illustration: TITLE PAGE OF OLE NATTESTAD’S “JOURNEY TO NORTH
AMERICA”
Photographed from the copy in the Wisconsin Historical Library]
Of this copy, which is now being printed in an English translation,
Mr. Skavlem gives the following account:
In the summer of the year 1900 James and Henry Natesta, the
sons of Ole K. Nattestad, the author of the pamphlet, took a
short trip to Norway to visit the home of their forefathers,
located in Vegli, Numedal. They made diligent inquiries for
a pamphlet said to have been published from a manuscript
sent to Norway in 1838 by their father. An old gentleman
living close by the old homestead told them he had a copy,
which they secured and brought back with them to this
country. This copy has been in the possession of the Natesta
brothers until last January (1916) when it was turned over
to me and I handed it over to the State Historical Society.
In regard to the book, or pamphlet, it is to be stated that while Ole
Nattestad had learned to write, he was entirely ignorant of Norwegian
grammar. Both his orthography and his syntax are very faulty. There
are many subordinate clauses with the principal clause left out. The
surprising thing is that the printers in Drammen did not make the
necessary corrections. I was requested to follow the original as
closely as possible, so as to convey to the reader of the translation
as complete a presentation of the original as possible. The mistakes
in orthography could only be reproduced in the translation where they
concerned proper names. The faults in syntax I have generally
reproduced. The reader will have to be the judge of how well I have
succeeded. The book is of more than ordinary interest from the fact
that it contains a description of an emigrant’s journey from Norway to
Chicago in 1837, the only description we have of that kind, and also
from the fact that it is written by the first immigrant from Norway
who set foot on Wisconsin soil.
DESCRIPTION OF A JOURNEY TO NORTH AMERICA
BY OLE KNUDSEN NATTESTAD
In the year 1837, the 8th of April, we started from our homestead, the
farm Nattestad, in Weglie-Parish, Rolloug Parson’s District, in
Nummedal in Norway, for the purpose of trying our fortune in another
part of the world, namely in the free states in North America. We
journeyed with an agreeable weather till in the evening of the 11th of
the same month. That day we came to the farm Flotyl, at the foot of
Storfjeldet (Big Mountain). In the morning the weather was tolerably
clear. We began to climb the mountain. When we had gone some distance
there began a strong storm with snow and wind and it became so dark
that we could not see the least from us. As luck would have it, we
found a path which had been used with marsh shoes on the horses’ feet
over the mountain, and this path we stuck to for the most part, so
that we, thanks be to God, made our way safely. We rested a while at
Jordbraek, then we went to Roarquam, where we expected to stop over
night. As soon as we entered the house there came a man with a boat
whose home was 1¾ miles [the Norwegian mile is about seven English
miles] farther out on a farm by name Quildal. We were allowed to
follow him home without pay. There we stayed one day because Ansteen
became so weak in his eyes that he could not see to walk, but after we
left this place we, for the most part got transportation to Stavanger.
There we got trace of a man by name Elias Tastad, with whom all who
wanted to go to America inscribed their names. To the above named E.
Tastad we arrived the 17th of April. The man named said that “they who
desire to sail to America from Stavanger will not get a ship before
after St. Johnstide, and still it was not certain what time it would
be. But go to Tenager which lies one mile west from here. There lie
herring boats which go to Gothenborg and see that you get passage with
one of them,--that is the best.” As we were informed we went to the
place mentioned and at once met a man from Kobbervigen, by name
Engebret Rise, from whom we got terms and whom we were to go with. It
was said that the above named person, E. Tastad, was a Quaker, and he
was a particularly kind-hearted man and he gave us advice in many
things. The 18th of the same month we went on board and sailed to the
harbor Rekfjord; there we lay for 8 days, weather-bound. It is 8 miles
north of Lindesnaes. From there we sailed the 28th of the same month.
When we came some distance out they had neglected to take water on
board. They, therefore, sailed in to Kirkehavn to get water. In the
evening when we came out upon the sea again it was perfectly calm and
the fog lay so thick that we could not see a single thing. The calm
continued until in the afternoon, then we got a little breeze which
increased and came from the southeast until it grew into a perfect
storm so the waves washed entirely over the ship. That night the storm
drove us back to Kirkehavn again. There we lay till the 3rd of May,
then we sailed from there with a pleasant wind and clear weather. That
day all ships that were there left the harbor, that before had to lie
still. Then there were swarms of ships as far as we could see out upon
the ocean. Oh, how delightful it was to look into this beautiful
weather. The same day we called in Mandal, 3 miles southeast from
Lindesnaes; after a few hours we sailed out from there with the same
wind and the next morning we got sight of land at Skagen in Jylland
(Scaw in Jutland) which is 30 miles from Mandal. The 5th of May we
came to Gothenborg. From New Elfsborg’s Fort ½ mile outside of the
city came first an officer on board who countersigned our passports
and when we came to the custom house wharf the captain went ashore to
exhibit our passports there. Afterwards there came officials on board
who sealed the cargo of the ship and who also talked with us about our
proposed long journey. The next day the captain went about in the city
with us and went to the office of Consul Vestberg, who procured
passage for passengers and who has information as to whither all ships
sail from there. Now, there lay a large ship ready to sail which was
loaded with iron which should go to America, and one by name Vigen was
the owner of it and one by name Captain Ronneberg was to take it
across. Vestberg went at the same time with us to Vigen and talked
with him for us. He demanded 200 dollars Rigsgjelds [Swedish money].
That made about 54 speciedaler [Norwegian money]. Now, we were in
distress because it was so awfully dear, but our former carrier, named
Engebret Rise, persuaded us that we should not refuse it. “Consider,”
said he, “that you might lie here a whole month and still perhaps have
to pay almost the same.”--We went to Vestberg again and asked if he
could not do it cheaper. “I will go with you up there,” said he, “so
you get to talk with him.” He went up and said that we asked if he
could do it cheaper. He stood a little while. “For 50 speciedaler I
will do it and that is the very cheapest. Then you will get on board
what you need for sustenance.” We accepted this and Engebret Rise said
that we should accept. Now, we had gotten transportation. We then went
on board after our baggage and E. Rise accompanied us ashore again to
a shoemaker of whom we bought a pair of boots and shoes for each of
us, and to one by name Fru Bokkom who had all kinds of clothes for
sale. There we bought clothes. She asked if we had gotten lodgings. We
answered, “No.” “From me you can get a room alone without pay when you
provide yourselves with food and wood and fuel you shall have what you
want to cook it with,” said she. We accepted this offer with gratitude
and there were very comfortable. On Sunday we went into town and into
the Cathedral and heard sermons or mass and there were to be seen many
strange things besides the other things which we saw in the city.--On
Monday we went on the market to buy us something of this and that.
There stood one and beckoned to us. He asked if we were from Norway.
“Perhaps you are going over to America,” said he, (and asked) whether
we had gotten transportation. We said, “Yes! We have gotten and we are
to go with the ship belonging to Vigen”; “how much are you then to
pay?” When he got to know this he became violently angry and denounced
us as big fools who had paid so much. Had we come to him he would have
saved us 20 speciedaler for each of us--this was a Jew who stood and
changed money and an awfully ugly person to look at with black hair
and beard and indescribably thick and fat. Then he asked us if we had
more money to change than what we paid in transportation. Then we must
come to him. “You cannot get your money changed anywhere else than
with me,” said he, and told us how high the rate was; we would come to
him the next day, we said. He said we should go to Vigen and offer him
20 spd each if we could get our money back; “but you will still not
get it back for he well knows what he has done.”
We went to Vigen and said that we might have gotten transportation
almost 20 spd cheaper if we had waited a little while. “Yes!” said he,
“if it is so that you regret what you have done you shall get your
money back again, that is the kind of man I am and will not cheat you
if you would rather have the money back again”; and then we thought
the matter over and let it be just as it had been done. We noticed
something, that the Jew wanted to talk to his own advantage. Tuesday
morning we were to come to Vestberg to get some money changed. We came
at the time appointed, he counted the money and kept it. When he had
done this he said we should come back in the afternoon, he did not yet
have the kind of money, he first wanted to go out; we were very much
astonished at this, I went in again and told what I thought of this,
that we had delivered the money and gotten nothing in return. “You
must not believe that we are that kind of people,” and then he went
away again--we went on the market and there we discovered Vestberg
talking with the Jew. We stood looking at this and wondering if it was
about our money they were talking, which it also was. When Vestberg
went the Jew discovered us and came to us but it was the brother of
the one heretofore named. He then told us that Vestberg asked him
after the rate of exchange. “Vestberg would get you a note from Vigen
that you are to get your money in America, but this you must not do.
Go with me and you shall get your money changed.” We answered that we
did not have the money in our pockets, but we could come back in a
little while. At the time appointed we came into Vestberg again and
then the Jew stood inside and argued with the clerk about the changing
of our money and that amused us. Then we plainly heard who was our
friend, the Jew or Vestberg. The Jew wanted us to exchange our money
and Vestberg did not want to give as high a rate as demanded; he said,
“if it is no more than a skilling [a penny] they are to have it and
now they will make 10½ skillings on every spd when they get their
money in America, for on the ocean you need no money,” said Vestberg.
The Jew in his way with a well-nigh matchless eloquence and who
thereon was thundering mad at Vestberg because he did not get his way,
but it was of no help to him when we learned of the Jew’s speculation
for which he fought with us. When the Jew did not succeed he had to go
but he stood in the door and scolded them as he also had done before.
We got a note each which was printed in the English language which
stated how much money we had and how high the exchange rate was and
how many piasters we were to have in return; this note was from Vigen,
the owner of the ship to the Swedish Consul in America, from whom we
were to get the money and we got one (note) which was written and
which we were to retain when we delivered the others.
Wednesday morning we went aboard and after that we lived there;
Thursday, the 11th we sailed out of the harbor; then there was on
board the owner of the ship together with many distinguished men who
accompanied it a short distance; when these had gone into the boat and
gotten a little distance from the ship there were fired 4 salvos with
the big cannons. Afterwards there was shouting of hurrahs, first by
those in the boats, afterwards by the ship’s crew. Off New Elfsborg’s
Fort, a half mile from the city 4 salvos were also fired and 2 in
response by the fort; then we took our leave from the city.
A little story about the ship by name _Hilda_, on which we were
passengers, the most beautiful ship in all Gothenborg, and almost in
all Sweden, it was said; it had made a single journey to America
before, otherwise it was new and with copper bottom and it was upon
the whole as if it were cast (in a mold), it was furnished with 2
decks, a lower deck 3 ells high to the ceiling which (the deck) was
painted blue on the sides and up under the upper deck yellow and
likewise above the deck and quarter deck 2½ ells high and very tight
and strongly made and blue painted; the upper part was upon the whole
constructed like a door of glass and painted with yellow brass and the
panels blue. Astern stood a cabin on the deck which was polished both
externally and internally and also on the lower deck and in both of
them as beautiful furniture as can be made. In the front was placed
works of sculpture all gilt, likewise in the stern and a maiden carved
in wood in the most beautiful draperies and fineries that could be
found and as if she were a living being. From Elfsborg, as heretofore
mentioned, we sailed with a fair wind to the day of Pentecost, then it
became calm and we had reached the Faröe Islands, which lie north of
Scotland. The second day of Pentecost there came one from Jutland and
wanted to go to the Faröes with 12 men and these came on board and got
some water; then we first heard English talked. From there we sailed
mostly with good wind but awhile before we came to the New Foundland
banks; we saw 5 icebergs (it was pieces or lumps which drift south
from the polar ocean), the one was like a large building to look at.
Sunday morning, the 4th of June, came we to the banks, this morning
there were caught 62 pounds and 10 mkr of codfish. The above named
banks are a shallow 80 fathoms deep and a few hundred miles in
circumference, which lie about 300 miles from America. There always
lie ships which only fish. From there we sailed with a favorable wind;
the 11th of June in the morning, 9 o’clock, we first saw land in
America and were therefore not more than 32 days from leaving until we
came to land. In the evening there came a pilot on board and at 12
o’clock we came into the city Nyport, where we lay at anchor a little
while. In the morning when I arose and came upon the deck I saw
something new; for the city and also the country around about was
delightful for me to see. At 12 o’clock we sailed from there up to
Falreva [Fall River] which lies 18 miles northeast from here. Here the
ship stopped and the cargo was here sold. On the journey from Nyport
to there was many agreeable things to see; the land on both sides was
so splendid and particularly the beautiful trees which there here
grows a multitude of. As soon as we came to the above named Falreva
there came a Norwegian watchmaker apprentice on board who had gotten
knowledge of the fact that a Swedish boat had entered and he was from
Christiania; it was agreeable to get to talk with our fellow
countryman. He informed us concerning many things which were useful to
us.--Here in the city we have now gone about and looked at many
beautiful curiosities; especially in machine shops and factories of
which there here are a great number; among other things we first
inspected an iron factory, very strange. What here was used as
material was nothing but burnt and rusty iron such as machine scraps,
boilers, stove pipes, and other scraps. This was first cut up by a
large iron knife which cut it into threads even if it was 2 inches
thick. Afterwards it was smelted and cut into strings. These strings
were heated one time and with this it went through some rollers 10 to
11 times and became hoop-iron between 1 and 2 inches wide and 15 to 16
ells long and over. These stringers were delivered to another building
in which there were 50 work benches. There was made nails of these
stringers. The nail was cut from the end of the stringer and this went
so fast almost as corn running from a mill and was done by one man.
These machines were very strange and many things which I here on
account of time and space cannot describe.--The first mate on board
told us that he had never seen the equal although he had been in many
lands in Europe and in many cities in America.
He said we ought to go there and see, it would be interesting for us;
we did not dare to go because we did not know the language and none of
the ship’s crew had time to go with us; but the first mate said we
might go. “I think you will be allowed to anyway,” and he told us what
we should say when we came there.--We went there and asked in English
if we could look over the factory; it was permitted. One went with us
from one room to another; it lasted fully 2 hours and we did not see
anything but new things wherever we came so that for want of space am
not able to describe how it was. From the weaving factory the goods
came there and the first work there was to bleach it and that went
fast, afterwards it was made ready with flowers and colors as it was
to be. Yes, here were some ship-loads of cotton cloths with many other
things which were here which I cannot describe.--The 17th of May we
went from Falreva on a steamboat to Provedens, which is 30 miles. The
captain went with us to Provedens and got transportation to New York
for us. The steamboat we went from Provedens to New York on was very
large. It was certainly 100 ells long, with 2 engines and so many
strange appliances which I had never been able to imagine before.
There were 10 to 12 black negroes which prepared the food and some
carried it to and from the tables. Ah! here was much to see for us.
The room which we were best able to examine was certainly of 30 ells
length and two dining tables which were loaded with dishes and
drinking cups as close together as possible and all of porcelain
stoneware and the glasses looked like crystal; but all who ate there I
have not the number of; on both sides in this room was bed after bed
[sofas]; curtains and sheets which we saw there were of the choicest
calico and some looked like silk. The carpets looked like the finest
camel’s hair cloth and many other things which I cannot here
describe.--This journey from Provedens to New York was 230 miles and
we were 12 hours on the way; now we were among foreign nations and did
not understand their language the least. When we came to New York it
became worse as we had to go ashore; there came many who talked to us
but we didn’t understand them and no more they us; but I suppose they
asked us where we were going; at last there came one on board who
talked to us; when he heard that we did not understand he said that we
should go with him. I went with him, he went into a little store;
there was a French man who was to talk to me and asked if I was from
France; I said I was Norwegian. He went away from me. Then there came
one that so far as I could understand was from the region near France.
He asked me where I was from, I answered from Norwegian, this he
understood and said, “that is far away”; then I was to stop there
while one went out on the street; he soon came back again and had with
him a person who could talk a little Norwegian and would come with me
on board; when we got on the way he told me that he was Swedish and
Norwegian Consul. From the boat we took our baggage and went with this
man to a basement which was a boarding house and there this consul had
his home and there we should stay and he should advise us and get
transportation to Rochester. When we came into the city we saw a
Norwegian flag on a ship and some Swedish (flags); now my comrades
went to see if they could find these ships; they met first a Swede and
afterwards a Norwegian who was from Arendal and had come from England
with 140 passengers; when they had talked with these they came to me
again who was sitting inside and keeping watch over the baggage, now
went I and my brother out for I had letters from our first mate which
were addressed to a Swedish ship which lay in the harbor there and was
the same one which they had been aboard and so I got the letters
properly presented. When we came to the Norwegian ship again there
came on board a shoemaker from Bergen who had come to America a year
before and had come with one from Christiansand by name Jansen who was
married and who was a merchant; when we came to talk with them the
merchant said we should get lodgings at his home. We first went with
him to his house. He immediately went to the place where we had our
baggage; when we got there the house was so full of people that we
hardly could get in.
Jansen who was with us asked the host whether our baggage might remain
there until in the morning for it was so near the river and this was
permitted. In the morning, namely Monday, Jansen went with us to
secure transportation to Rochester. A lieutenant from Gothenborg told
me that the year before he had talked with many Norwegians nor did
Jansen know where the Norwegians had located up through the country,
but he knew they had gone that way. Now we went to the office and
Jansen secured transportation for us to the above Rochester, he then
went with us to the house where the baggage was and got it brought to
the office about 5 o’clock in the afternoon, when the steamer was to
leave; afterwards he went with us to some money changers to get our
money changed into silver for the Swedish Consul from whom we were to
have our money in Falreva as above stated, he cheated us a little; we
should have had silver and got nothing else than paper money and these
we had to have changed again for they would not be accepted up in the
country. I will state that there are many difficulties with money
here; there is an innumerable number of banks and the money isn’t
passed more than in the bank’s district; some of these (banks) are
weak so that it is difficult to receive money with which one is not
acquainted; all paper passes for the same as silver but people very
much prefer silver. Jansen and the other Norwegians we met frightened
us very much and said we must not go farther before we changed our
money to silver and so said Jansen went with us to get our money
changed. We came in to one and Jansen asked him how much he took in
percentage. He wanted 18 per cent and Jansen said we should take
silver. He changed 40 spd in silver and the rest in pamper which I had
to give 2 per cent for and when we considered the matter all this was
to no use for there would be banks and exchange houses wherever we
happened to stop; but this I could not think of until it was too late
but Ansteen didn’t change his money but it was Jansen’s fault that I
gave this money in exchange. We went to another broker and asked him
how much he wanted in exchange. He said 12 per cent; then I found out
how I had exchanged my money, and for paper money he didn’t take any
per cent. Ansteen exchanged his money for paper but didn’t take any
silver.
Now I must write something about New York City, but which is almost
indescribable. Jansen went with us in many streets to show us some of
the splendid things in the city. All the streets in which we walked
were nothing but stores right through the buildings, yes, so large
that we could not see the end of them and was packed as closely as
possible with all kinds of goods. Yes, likewise on the streets and
buildings were all kinds of clothing, besides drawings and pictures of
men, horses, and all kinds of animals in their full shape so we did
not know but that they were alive; and the buildings were 5 and 6
stories high. But navigation was still more to be looked at with all
the ships that lay here which I guarantee were in the thousands and an
immense number so large that the largest I have seen in Norway were
almost like yachts in comparison with these and they looked as if they
were cast in a mold. Likewise were steamboats of which there surely
were hundreds here and many which went only across the river with
passengers so that one could go to the wharf whenever he pleased and
there stood passage ready. In the city was also a street which stood
full the whole day with horses and wagons only to be hired by anybody
that wanted them. I will also tell how it was with passage on the
steamboat. Here there is no question about getting passage but who
ever wants to can get his baggage and go on board and not speak to
anybody. This one can do no matter what country he is from; for there
is never a question about passports and the pay is collected on board
and tickets given until one goes ashore which are then to be returned.
Monday, the 19th of June, 5 o’clock in the afternoon, we went on board
the steamboat in New York for Albany which is 161 miles and arrived
there in the morning; there we did not understand a single person nor
did we meet anybody that we could talk with. When we were to go ashore
there we did not know where we were to go; but we had a ticket from
the office in New York that we were to have free passage to Rochester,
this we exhibited and were instructed accordingly. There came a man
with horse and cart on which we were to place our baggage; he drove us
to an office and said we should stop until the office was opened and
then we should show our tickets, that we understood. Soon the office
was open and we went in with our tickets which they took and kept and
wrote one for us instead. I asked the office man what time the boat
would go again; but although each one of us spoke his own tongue, I
could understand that it was not to go before in the afternoon. Now we
walked about in the city to see the sights and there we saw many
strange things; among other things we saw a great tower which looked
as if it were made of pure gold and we saw the glitter of this tower
out on the river before we came to the city. We went to this tower to
look at it; when we came near to it we could see that it was plated
with brass but this must have been gilt otherwise it would fade. A
somewhat smaller tower glittered like silver plated with tin; likewise
I have in America in several cities seen many houses with roofs of
tin. Here we also were permitted to examine the house where the steam
cars are kept. From there we saw that they drove the cars with horses
and 2 cars for each horse until they came some distance from the city
where the engine itself received them and which hauled 20 cars at a
time, even if all were filled with freight. This railroad went over
the Philadelphia but the length of it I do not know.--Now I am going
to report something that I have neglected, namely: when we had come on
board the steamboat in Provedens, and just as we left the shore we saw
an engine go from the carhouse and draw 10 cars with it and all were
filled with people; this we stood on the deck and saw; it went to the
city of Boston.
In the afternoon we went on board on the canal boat here in Albany.
These boats are all the same size. They are about 30 ells long and 5
ells wide with room for freight in the center and a cabin in each end
with costly curtains in the windows and painted floor with carpets on;
the other furniture in the rooms were for the most part polished.
At the first start of the canal boat they pushed this forward with
poles a little ways up the locks, that is, a dam which the boat went
up; above the lock there was built a large dam in which the boat was
turned around and under a house. Now one of the locks was closed and
the water tapped off so that the boat stood dry on some beams; there
was an arrangement whereby the boat was weighed with the cargo in,
excepting the people that went ashore; when this was done the lock was
opened and the boat floated and went back. From there it was taken
with 2 horses and hauled all the way to Buffalo. With wonderment we
looked at the works on this canal especially the locks which were 85
in number and between 5 and 6 ells high and all of cut marble, and a
large part of the finest white marble. Along the canal there is an
immense number of cities which are lately founded; but I do not know
the name of them because I did not understand English. With wonderment
we saw near a little town a large steep hill which was covered with
railroads for steam cars. Yes, there went one railroad which could not
escape this hill and there for the first time we saw many cars hooked
together which came down the hill without both horses and engines,
that we could see; when they came down they were taken with horses;
likewise when the horses came to the hill from below with the car many
were hooked together and went up the hill of their own accord.
Erik Hougen, from Thiin, stated that he took a ride on a steam car
from Albany, a distance upward which hauled 18 cars full of people;
but when they came to such a hill he said, the engine let go of them
and the other cars went down the hill by themselves; in the middle of
the hill they met a car with an awfully large load of stones which
went up on the other track. I did not see any engine that pulled but
by the side of the load was a big iron beam which went on cushions.
This was probably the machine. Perhaps this was in the same hill on
which we saw the cars go.
In Rochester we had heard it said that there were Norwegians there;
thither we came one morning early and went ashore and looked about in
the city. Ansteen now met a man that had arrived a year before; this
man was going to work so he did not get to talk much with him; he
directed us to where we might meet one who had been there a few years
but him we did not meet. While we went there and waited we met a man
by a bridge who was from Faaloino in Stavanger County and had come
over the year before. He told us where the Norwegians had located in
the west, namely, in the State of Illinois, which was over 1000 miles
from Buffalo. He told us that the Norwegians who had come to Illinois
had written to them how it was there, that a plain laborer could get
from 1 to 1½ dollars per day and afterwards about the tradesmen, how
much they could get according to their kind; he said, “if you have so
much money that you can get there, you should not stop before you get
there; if I had so much money I would go tomorrow,” said he. He went
with us into a merchant he was acquainted with and asked if our money
was good enough; but he said that it did not pass in Illinois and if
they desired would exchange it without any per cent. That was very
good for there we got Illinois money; yes, we got some silver too in
place of paper.--The above mentioned man told us that the canal was
damaged and that we must not make contract with the captain farther
than there for the time being. Now, we parted with pleasure from this
man and betook us on the journey to Buffalo, which is 100 miles from
Rochester.
When we came to the break in the canal referred to above we got on to
another boat; a lot of people came on board which were from Bavaria in
Germany, and some French; there was certainly 100 of them and all were
peasants; and all their male persons had blue linen shirts outside of
their clothes with large pockets on them which hung outside and many
wore caps which fitted close to the head.--These people all had to be
in the freight room; but we were allowed to be in the front room with
some Scotchmen with whom we were in company from Albany; these were
mostly young people of both sexes but very good-natured and jolly with
singing and other entertainment; we got so acquainted with these as if
we were the best friends at home, but we did not understand each
others’ talk. When we came to Buffalo, which is the end of the canal,
we had to go from there on steamboat to Detroit; from Buffalo the
Scotchmen secured passage for us just as for themselves but some of
them parted with us there.--In Buffalo we first saw Indians; that is,
the original Americans who live about like the Lapps in Norway and
subsist on hunting and without houses; but have tents which they move
from one place to another. Those we saw there we could notice were
women; we came first into a merchant where one stood and talked with
him; when she went out we asked him what kind of a person that was; he
answered it was an Indian; but we did not yet understand what that
meant.--Their clothes consist of trousers on each hip which extend
from the upper part of the hip with a belt around the waist and a
strap from the trouser hips up to it besides a shirt above which
extends down to the hip, that is the underwear; outside they have a
sort of blanket which consists of white, blue, and colored stripes
which they hang over the head and which reaches down on the legs and
this they hold around themselves with their hands; on their feet they
have shoes of skin which are fitted tight to the feet and no socks but
the women have the most beautiful etchings outside of their trousers
and some of them wear much of gold and silver ornaments.
Now we went on the steamboat in company with these Scotchmen in
Buffalo which went to Detroit over the Erie Lake which is a fresh
water and which is so large that we could not see land only on one
side; but when we came to Detroit we did not know where to go; but 2
carpenters of these Scotchmen said that they were going to Schicago,
the same place as we were going to. We went with them to the boarding
house; I at once went out and down on the wharf to look around; on the
street I met one of the Norwegians who had gone out from Bergen the
7th of April this year. When I came to talk with him he related that
there were about 80 persons in the company who were bound for Schicago
and they had been staying here for 5 days and had not got passage but
after 2 days they were to get passage. Now we took leave of these
Scotchmen and went to our fellow countrymen with whom we have kept
company from that time on. In Detroit we had to pay 10 dollars apiece
to Schicago, which is 700 miles, which also was fresh water. On this
steamboat were such a great number of passengers that we could hardly
sit down. The sailors and others were so thievish that we could
scarcely keep our baggage; yes, a part of it they took from us.
They went into a city to take wood (fuel), the name of it I do not
remember but there was a fort. Here we got to see plenty of Indians;
when we got ashore there was on the pier a whole lot of Indians. Among
them was one who was said to be captain who was very grand in clothes
and a big silver ring in the nose, which was fastened to the middle
wing of the nose. In the ears there was a sheaf of silver blocks and
they had silk bands in the ears in which these ornaments were hung;
yes, many more had such things. One had 3 tassels in the ear and 30 of
the above blocks in each tassel but there was only one with a ring in
the nose. At the knees they had wound pretty bands that were
embroidered with small beads and were very pretty and a whole tassel
that hung down to the foot which was embroidered with beads; that is
the costume of the menfolks. Some of the women had gold rings on the
fingers almost as many as they had room for. On one we counted them
and she had 44 gold rings on her hands. Another had covered the
breasts and over the shoulder with smooth silver brooches as closely
as possible. Their complexion is for the most part soot-brown or
brown-black with broad faces, without beard and long black hair. Some
of them had painted themselves with red, blue, and black stripes
across the faces, which was to mean that they would be manly in strife
if anybody attacked them. These people are very curious to look at,
still they look fierce; but they are said to be very good-natured and
a separate language they have. After we entered the city called
Gronbay (Green Bay), there were also some Indians. There lay a
garrison of warriors, which they said was to be for the Indians if
they should break in and make an attack. In this garrison they wanted
more men which they enlisted for 3 years and would give 50 dollars in
enlistment money and then 6 dollars a month and free board and
clothing and not much drill but good learning do they get there. On a
Sunday we came to Schicago; when we came ashore there came Norwegians
to talk with us but the most of them talked unfavorably of the
condition there. Some of the Norwegians, especially the women, let
themselves be frightened; but when we had made some investigation it
was not true. Many got into great distress when they heard that there
was not free land to be had. Yes, a Norwegian from Stavanger County
had lately been up in the country but could not hear of any, he said
and insisted that it was much worse than in Norway, but he was a big
talker and probably also a big liar.
When we had remained here in the city a couple of days we learned that
50 miles south from here there was free land. Now, it was resolved
that some men should go there and examine and the others should remain
in the city and that everyone that wanted land should help pay for
this journey, whereupon one was hired to take them with team. Those
that were chosen to go was Candidate Rynning, from Sneaasen, near
Tronhjem, 2 men from Bergen’s Stift and I. When we came there we found
that the land was poor but it was resolved that we should remain
there. Now, 2 men were to stay to build a shanty to live in when the
people got there and the lot fell to me and one from Etne Sogn.--When
the people got there we got much abuse because the land was not good
but when we had hunted a few days all were satisfied except those who
never can be satisfied. The most of us located near a creek which is
called Baeverkrek (Beaver Creek) and there we took a piece of land
each and are now very well contented therewith if we are able to keep
it and pay for it. Here the land is so free that whatever nation that
comes can locate without asking anybody’s leave until the land becomes
sold and that is determined by the government; but here there is much
trading among people with free land. Here we have now been 2 months
and built a fine house with rooms in and now we are going away to
learn the language and to get some work whereby we can earn money.
Halsteen Flose separated from us in Schicago and went in company with
several westward in Illinois to get work; we soon got the report from
them that they all got work and earned 1½ dollars a day besides free
keep.--On our journey we have been in intercourse with people almost
from all European lands, yes, original Americans and negroes. I have
heard that these people have many different religious sects but one
cannot see any great difference in their manner of living for they are
polite and friendly toward each other. But among the people which I
have seen that from the first I saw them seemed to be so horrible;
they are the black negroes with wool-curly hair and I had no desire to
look at them. But when I now for some time had been in intercourse
with them I thought they were the most lovable and jolly people I ever
have seen; wherever I see them they are all equally jolly,
good-natured and polite, so that I do not think anybody equal to them
in manners. The Indians on the other hand are the most horrible people
I have seen.
Among other stories I will also report that first mate Malgren from
Gothenborg told me of some curious things which he had seen in
Philadelphia. There was namely a fountain which was built and taken
out 6 English miles above the city and there it was pumped 600 feet
high from the river which was done with an engine so light that one
man could operate it up to 2 large dams which contained an immense
quantity of water. From there it went in iron pipes down to the city
where it was distributed in all streets so that they had spring water
nearly in every house; yes, it went up in the 4th and 5th stories in
the houses. At all corners and single streets there were large
fountains and hydrants where they put on the water hose when fire
breaks out in the city. There are certainly 60 of that kind of hose
which were of bright brass as well polished that one could hardly look
at them on account of the brilliancy. He said they were indescribably
good and that they never could burn more than one house, no matter how
fierce the fire had broke out for these hose struck nearly through the
houses, such force had they.
The above mentioned canal, namely from Albany to Buffalo, I have now
gotten knowledge of that it was first planned and begun to be worked
on in the year 1817 and in 1827 it was ready to be traveled on in a
distance of 60 Norwegian miles and cost 9 millions.
In the year 1836 work was begun on a canal which is to go from
Schicago to the Mississippi River and which will be 150 miles, that is
26 Norwegian miles. When this is finished one will be able to go by
water from New York to New Orleans which is 3500 English miles,
whereby one passes, rivers, canals, and fresh water. Likewise there
are built tracks for steam cars from Philadelphia nearly to Schicago.
Next summer there is to be built a railroad which is to go from the
one that comes from Philadelphia to Vaabais [Wabash], a river which
empties into the Mississippi and of this railway it is said that it
shall go across the Mississippi and clear across America even to the
Pacific Ocean. Here we may see there are good institutions and as land
becomes settled it becomes supplied with canals and railroads
everywhere, so that like a bird one can travel both by land and by
water.
In regard to religious sects there are great diversity and I have as
yet but little understanding of their teachings; but so far as I
understand they nearly all believe in one single, true God, and it
looks as if the government took much interest in a good religion. I
have examined many school books and so far as I understand, the
principles are the same as in Norway. There have been inserted in the
newspapers many examples as warnings for the people that they ought to
live righteously and pleasing to God. Yes, also in the almanac these
things are inserted, yes, and everywhere are many warnings in regard
to drunkenness and it is the greatest foolishness that a man does to
drink liquor, which it certainly also is. In Norway people are urged
and forced to drink liquor but so it is not here, for here the people
are induced by warnings to moderation; and when a man accepts these
warnings and reports it to his friends who also will be the same,
namely never either drink or treat liquor, and thereby can many and
large societies be freed from this vice.
A short story of the formation of the country.
When one goes from New York up through the country, it is a perfectly
dry, stony field, but quite well wooded and the soil becomes better
and better and everywhere fruitful. In the State of New York it is
quite mountainous in some places but in the State of Michigan it is
flat and level, besides wooded everywhere until one reaches the State
of Illinois. Here the land looks like the ocean after a storm when the
huge billows are rolling. Here there is timber enough some places, as
along rivers and other places; other places timber stands in thick
groves where people have settled. For the rest there are only rolling
plains which are called prairies and these are everywhere overgrown
with grass and are for the most part as the best cultivated farms in
Norway. These prairies one can plow and seed with what you please
which there grows abundantly without being fertilized. Here the best
timber land has been taken, but it pays well to till the soil here,
that I can see. The man that I now have been with and worked for, has
160 acres land fenced in and from this piece certainly has a crop for
over 3000 dollars, although certainly 40 acres are not seeded; they
have little work with planting. 160 acres costs 200 dollars to buy but
it costs more to get it fenced in. The size of one acre is 208 feet on
each side.
Mr. Bekvald, the man I have been with this winter, told me that if one
goes from east to west one always has the best land before him.
Hitherto the people have moved east, namely to here; but now they are
moving from here more and more to the west where it is also said to be
better, although here it looks like being the best land that anyone
can desire; but I also have in my mind to go more to the west to look
for land.
I will also relate that I have been with a man and worked this winter
from the 14th of October to the present day and I have earned 50
dollars in a period of 4 months, in spite of the fact that I did not
know the language the least when I came there. Some said to me that I
did work for 20 dollars a month. I have done heavy work and the same
man has offered me 190 dollars for a year and the best keep that any
official can get in Norway. It is my opinion that everyone who has his
youth and is unmarried certainly can make up his mind in regard to the
journey; but one must consider that he is leaving his home and his
relatives and friends. I have heard many, especially among the women,
say that if they have ever so good days, they are homesick for Norway.
Everyone that starts on the journey must consider that one must first
taste sour before he can drink sweet. It is difficult here when one
does not understand the language and it is worse when he is unable to
work.
I will also report how big day’s wages the workingman gets here. A
laborer can get from 12 to 16 dollars a month in the winter and in the
summer nearly the double. The price is some places more and some
places less. A girl can get from 1 to 2 dollars a week as soon as they
have some knowledge of the language.
Baeverkrek in Illinois, the 21st of February, 1838.
Ole Knudsen Nattestad.
Postscript: More have I not time to write this time; but this
description of travel I send home to you, my relatives and friends! if
you have desire to read herein about what I on my long journey have
experienced and seen since I was at home with you.
EDITORIALS
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
Every twenty-five years, on the average, the American nation has waged
war with an important civilized power. Again, as on previous occasions
we find ourselves involved in a great struggle, on the outcome of
which our existence as an independent nation probably depends, with
practically no preparation having been made in advance to meet the
issue. Not to go further back than 1914, for three years the nation
gamboled on the brink of war, making practically no effort to prepare
for the struggle the imminence of which was apparent to every
reasoning person. As we write these lines the daily paper brings to
our desk a story from the Secretary of War, intended to be thrilling,
of how, after war was declared, an airplane engine was devised for
adoption by our government. America was the original home of the
aeroplane, yet we began the present war as little equipped, to all
practical purposes, to wage it in the air as were our forefathers of
1776.
This is but typical of our situation as a whole. When war was declared
we had ample potential resources in men, material, and initiative, but
we had no army and only an inadequate navy; and while these are being
evolved at a prodigious expenditure of labor and money, the enemy is
kept from our gates by virtue of no foresight of ours, but rather by
the good fortune which has given us powerful allies whose armies and
navies are fighting in our behalf.
OUR MILITARY RECORD
Thus has it ever been when America went to war. The pages of our
history teem with disasters for which our happy-go-lucky attitude
toward all things military is responsible. Curiously enough, in the
very face of such a record, flourishes a popular conviction that the
history of our warfare is one of triumph succeeding triumph with
monotonous regularity; and that with respect to our armies, if in no
other thing, America has far excelled the other peoples of the earth.
That this is all a ghastly illusion any one who has access to a
respectable library can quickly satisfy himself. The simple truth is
that our past military record has been far from extraordinary; that
Americans considered as individuals are no braver than other people;
and that when these individuals are associated in armies they require
much the same degree of organization, equipment, and leadership as
other armies do, if the record they make is to constitute pleasant
reading for the nation that sends them forth to war.
It behooves us to note in this connection that no other type of human
activity calls for so high a degree of organization and discipline as
does the waging of civilized war; and further, that as a consequence
of the industrial development of the last century the handicap of a
nation which is unprepared to defend itself, in a contest with one
which has thus prepared, is vastly greater than ever before. The
ancient Gauls and Germans were able to wage a respectable fight
against so mighty a military machine as the legions of Julius Caesar,
and on one notable occasion, a few years later, a great imperial army
was utterly destroyed by the forest barbarians. In modern times the
small armies of England have marched at will over Africa, and the
fanatic bravery of the tribesmen has led to no other result than their
more certain and speedy slaughter at the hands of their civilized
foemen. Returning to our own history, the American militiaman of
Revolutionary days was no match for the British regular; and, popular
belief to the contrary, the naval War of 1812 was not won by America.
Even were the contrary the case, however, it would avail us nothing at
the present time, for the art of warfare and the circumstances of
human life have alike undergone a complete revolution during the last
hundred years. Mr. Bryan’s fanciful vision of a million men springing
to arms at the first note of danger is but an empty myth, but
unfortunately it is by no means a harmless one. The nation which
neglects to set its defenses in order in advance of the emergency is,
under modern conditions, doomed to defeat before war shall have been
declared.
WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
But what avail, it may be asked, is it to dwell upon our past military
mistakes? None, certainly, unless we are capable as a people of
profiting by the school of experience. Thus far, in the matter under
discussion, our national good luck, inducing, as it has done, a quite
unwarranted feeling of security, has prevented us from doing so. That
we are permanently incapacitated from guiding our feet by the lamp of
experience, however, the writer at least does not believe. To a
limited extent, indeed, in the conduct of the present war, we have
already evinced a willingness to avoid repeating our past mistakes.
The question of preparation in advance of the conflict aside, the
preliminary stage of the current war has been waged in materially
better fashion than has that of any of our previous wars. In
particular the principle of universal liability to service has been
adopted and an earnest effort has been made to provide as officers,
men who combine with a high degree of natural capacity at least a
modicum of training for the work intrusted to their charge.
These things are well enough in their way, and encouraging as
indicative of the development of a more intelligent attitude on the
part of our people toward the conduct of the military arm of the
government. No longer, apparently, can a runaway boy of sixteen
convince a secretary of war, as in the old days, that his desire for a
commission in the army entitles him to precedence over graduates of
West Point; nor will we again witness the spectacle of our president
appointing all the officers of a newly-created military unit direct
from civil life on the ground that the country “generally expected”
our trained soldiers should thus be ignored. However gratifying this
may be, the nub of the present situation lies in the fact that
whatever has been done thus far has been with a view solely to meeting
a present emergency. The country has not determined upon, and the
government has not adopted any permanent or general policy. Sooner or
later the present war will end. Shall we then, as in 1815 and 1865,
disband our military force and have recourse once more to the old
policy of trusting to Providence for the protection of our liberty and
our existence as a nation? Or shall we now highly resolve that the
destinies of the American people are too precious, that the success of
our great experiment in democracy is charged with too much importance,
not alone to ourselves but to the remainder of mankind as well, to
justify us in leaving it absolutely unprotected in a world of
potential enemies? What would be thought today of a city which should
maintain no police department, and for protection against fire should
depend upon the unorganized efforts of volunteers? Scarcely two
centuries ago, however, even the chief city of the world had no police
department, while within the memory of men now living our cities
depended upon volunteers for protection against fire.
In these matters the obvious lesson of experience has been thoroughly
learned. Professional police and fire departments are the standing
armies of our cities, highly organized and constantly alert to protect
them from the perils of disorder and fire. The American people will
not permanently be content to display a lower order of intelligence in
national affairs than it does in those of merely municipal concern.
Too long, however, have we confided the protection of our national
existence to Providence. We believe it to be the duty of every citizen
to exert the full measure of his influence upon his governmental
representatives to the end that now, before national disaster shall
have overtaken us, a permanent military policy adequate to our
protection be adopted.
AN APPRECIATION AND A SUGGESTION
The September number of the MAGAZINE contained news of the bequest to
the Society by Miss Genevieve Mills of Madison of her interest in the
parental homestead. We return to the subject now for a twofold reason.
In the first place it is proper to render adequate formal
acknowledgment of the fine gift made by Miss Mills to the Society. Of
vain or ill-advised memorials to the departed, America affords
numerous examples; the wisdom and appropriateness of Miss Mills’s
memorial to her parents appears, by contrast with some of these, all
the more obvious. Money which might have gone to the building of a
useless pile of granite has been devoted to the perpetual enrichment
of the commonwealth, to the upbuilding of which Simeon and Maria Mills
dedicated their lives. To illustrate concretely the work which the
Mills bequest will perform, the annual income from the estimated value
of the estate will suffice to pay the entire cost of publication of
this magazine; or it will print annually such a volume as those
included in the _Collections_ of the Society. If the cost of
authorship as well as printing be charged against the fund, it will
suffice to produce a volume of our _Collections_ every two or three
years. And this work, without exhausting the principal of the fund, is
to go on perpetually.
If the present world war has taught any lesson, it is that of the
value to a nation of its civic and patriotic ideals. But these cannot
be cultivated unless due regard be paid to the preservation and study
of the country’s historical records. Thus Miss Mills’s bequest
constitutes a permanent factor making for the development of
patriotism in our commonwealth. Well would it be if all givers of
funds for a public purpose should display equal wisdom. At the present
time, we understand, the Norwegians of Wisconsin are contemplating the
erection of an expensive memorial to Colonel Heg of the Fifteenth
Wisconsin Infantry, the famed Norwegian regiment. That Colonel Heg
richly deserves a suitable memorial no one will be disposed to
dispute. The establishment of a perpetual fund, the income of which
should be devoted to the study of the Norwegian contribution to
Wisconsin and American history, would constitute, we respectfully
suggest, a more useful and suitable memorial to Colonel Heg than any
bronze or granite pile, however costly it may be.
CANNON FODDER
He slipped into the office with a quiet apology for the intrusion, to
say that he had enlisted in the naval reserve. Not expecting to be
called for a month or more, the call to service had come immediately.
His only concern over this was due to the fact that he must leave the
Library on such short notice, and he was distressed to think that his
leaving thus might inconvenience those who remained behind. Two years
ago he had entered our employ, in the hope that proximity to the
University would render it possible, while earning his living, to take
part-time work on the hill. So thorough was his industry that before
long, aside from his full-time employment (with service faithfully
rendered), he was carrying two-thirds of normal undergraduate work.
How he carried it is indicated by the fact that, though preparing
himself for an engineer, he was prevented from winning the annual
prize for excellence in English composition only by virtue of the
limitation of the award to students doing full-time work.
Thus the Library lost a faithful worker; thus the nation gained an
excellent soldier. Of such stuff are the men of our new army made.
Unless we mistake greatly, the German nation will live to rue the
course by which its government goaded the American people to the point
of taking active part in settling the great question whether autocracy
or democracy shall perish. Quietly and without heroics our splendid
youth have appraised the situation, and having appraised it, with a
smile have offered themselves and their hopeful futures upon the altar
of human freedom, only regretting as did our particular hero, the
inconvenience to others which their sacrifice may involve. We will not
offend his modesty by placing his name in type. To him and all his
kind we offer a reverent Godspeed. The nobility of their offering is
inspiring enough; that it should have been necessary in the full light
of the twentieth century is one of the ghastliest facts in human
history.
THE QUESTION BOX
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| _The Wisconsin Historical Library has long maintained a |
| bureau of historical information for the benefit of those who |
| care to avail themselves of the service it offers. In “The |
| Question Box” will be printed from time to time such queries, |
| with the answers made to them, as possess sufficient general |
| interest to render their publication worth while._ |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
DANIEL WEBSTER’S WISCONSIN INVESTMENTS
I have received the _Wisconsin History Bulletin_[95] for
August. It would be interesting to know just how much money
Daniel Webster gave for lots in Madison, for lands
throughout this state and Iowa, for capital stock in the
railway company from LaFontaine and what the evidence of
such payment is. Not that I am disposed to charge the
godlike Daniel with graft, at least no more than his
associates and compeers were chargeable with at that period.
W. A. P. MORRIS,
_Madison, Wisconsin_.
So far as we can ascertain, Webster’s investments, or speculations, in
Wisconsin property were perfectly legitimate and not influenced by
political considerations. In his own account thereof, after saying
that he wished to resign, and was not permitted to do so, he says:
“So, seei’g, then, that I must do something with a view to future
means of liv’g I entered on _Western investments_, partly in company
with Col. Perkins, partly in a company of which Gov. Cass was Chief,
and partly on my own account. These investments were made by faithful
& careful agents, principally in agricultural lands of excellent
quality, in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, & Wisconsin. Prospects of profit
seemed fair, at the time, & I purchased as far as means & credit would
go.”
George Wallace Jones, in his _Autobiography_, tells of walking along a
street in Washington soon lafter the erection of Wisconsin Territory,
of which he was congressional delegate. Webster overtook him, invited
him to his house, and entered into conversation with him on the
subject of investments. Jones became one of Webster’s agents. In
cooperation with Webster he made about $20,000 and Webster sold his
holdings to the United States bank of Philadelphia for $50,000. Jones
states that Webster owed him $15,000 when he died, but as he had made
a good thing by him, he never pressed the debt.
With regard to the Madison investment, the amount should be $3,000 and
not $5,000 (this was a typographical error). In the biography of Jones
is a reference to a letter dated December 24, 1836 from Judge Doty
speaking of the association of proprietors for Madison and stating
that these were twenty-four in number, each of whom paid in $100. By
February, 1837, the dividends on the sales were $170 a share. On the
strength of this showing, Jones sold his share to Webster for “about
$3,000.”
The only thing that looks like political influence is in connection
with the entries of mineral lands in southwestern Wisconsin. Moses M.
Strong, whose papers are in the Society’s possession, came to
Wisconsin in 1836 as the agent of Hon. Henry Hubbard, United States
senator from New Hampshire, and made large investments for him and
some of his friends. Part of the entries made by Strong for Hubbard
were upon reserved mineral lands, which were not open to general
entry, but were leased by the government. Hubbard tried to get some
decision, the precise nature of which is not evident, from the United
States land commissioner, concerning these mineral lands, and in the
course of his correspondence with Strong he mentions Webster’s name,
and says he will see the commissioner. There is no evidence that this
was in any way an improper proceeding or influence.
As George W. Jones was Webster’s agent in southwestern Wisconsin,
Morgan L. Martin seems to have been his agent in the eastern part of
the state. In the early part of 1837 Martin went east to be married
and incidentally arranged what business he could. In New York he met
Webster and interested him in the lands along Fox River and upon Lake
Winnebago, describing the projected railroad from La Fontaine, a
“paper” city on Fox River, to Winnebago City, another of like
importance on the northeastern shore of Lake Winnebago. This railroad,
if built, would have been thirteen miles in length, and was planned to
transport freight around the Winnebago Rapids at what is now Neenah.
This La Fontaine Railroad Company was the first in the Territory to
secure a charter, which was granted by the legislature at Belmont,
December 3, 1836. Martin succeeded in firing the imagination of
Webster by his description of the importance of the Fox-Wisconsin
waterway, and March 24, 1837, Webster wrote him from New York to
invest $5,000 in the stock of the railroad (Wisconsin Mss. 5C83). June
28, 1837 Martin replied (_Ibid_, 110) saying that the capital stock
was $50,000 “of which we do not think it necessary to call in over
one-half. Doty took 20. I put you down for 10 & took the balance
myself. I conceived you would prefer that amount since it would only
require to be paid the sum for which you authorize me to draw on you.”
Martin goes on to discuss the liberal terms of the charter, which they
were planning to have amended by still more liberal provisions at the
next legislature. He discusses land grants along the right of way. The
engineer they expect has not yet arrived. He closes with a cordial
invitation to Webster to visit Green Bay and be his guest.
The negotiation seems to have ended at this point. The panic of 1837
came on and Martin was badly hampered by his connections with the bank
of Green Bay and by his large speculative enterprises. No action was
ever taken on the railway charter, and in all probability Webster was
never called upon for his subscription to the company’s stock.
[95] This contained a short article on “Daniel Webster a
Wisconsin Investor.”
NAMES PROPOSED FOR A NEW TOWN
We would appreciate it if you would let us know where we can
get some information relative to the early history of
Wisconsin, especially that part of the state through which
the Chippewa River flows. We would like to get the names of
some early explorers and Indian chiefs that make a part of
the history of Sawyer County. Or, could you give us a number
of names that you think would be typical of the region
referred to that would make a good name for a small village?
WISCONSIN COLONIZATION COMPANY,
_Eau Claire, Wisconsin_.
We have looked somewhat into the matter suggested in your letter of
May 17 and have the following suggestions to make in connection with
it.
First, since Sawyer County is drained by the Chippewa River, and since
the first person of the English race who is known to have visited that
region was the famous traveler, Jonathan Carver, the name Carver would
seem to be an appropriate one for the village you have in mind.
Second, the first resident fur traders of Sawyer County were the
Warren brothers and John Baptiste Corbin. Either Warren or Corbin
would seem to us to make a good name for the town. Either name would
also be easy to spell and sufficiently euphonious.
Third, if an Indian name is desired, the first important Chippewa
chief of this region was Sha-da-wish. Among his descendants were
Ka-ka-ke, Labudee, Mon-so-ne, and Ke-dug-a-be-shew. The last two names
mentioned mean respectively moose tail and spotted lynx.
ORIGIN OF THE WORD “WINNEQUAH”
Can you give me any information concerning the origin and
historical significance of the name “Winnequah,” applied to
the point projecting into Lake Monona?
FREDERICK BRANDENBURG,
_Madison, Wisconsin_.
The site of Winnequah was originally known as Strawberry Point, Squaw
Point, Old Indian Garden, and Wood’s Point. It was the village home
for the Lake Monona Winnebago, and when Madison was first built it was
occupied by Abraham Wood, who had a Winnebago chief’s daughter for his
squaw. She was one of the illustrious family of Decorah, and her
father was chief of the band in the vicinity of Portage. In 1835
William B. Long and Abraham Wood entered the fifty-two acres of the
point in the Mineral Point land office, and three years later, March
24, 1838, transferred their interest to Col. William B. Slaughter.
After this transaction Wood moved to Poynette. Slaughter kept the land
as an investment. Thomas B. Sutherland, one of the founders of the
State Historical Society, was wont to relate his experiences as
surveyor in 1835 when he spent some time at the Indian village at
Strawberry Point. The name “Winnequah” was bestowed upon the point
some time in the late sixties by Capt. Francis (Frank) Barnes who ran
a steamboat line on Lake Monona. Barnes had a fancy for odd names; one
of his boats was named the “Scutanaubequon.” He built a dancing hall
on the point and fitted it up for picnic parties and seems to have
invented the word “Winnequah.” At least, its meaning is not to be
found among the Winnebago vocabularies, nor is it susceptible of any
interpretation except that it is made up of Winnebago Squaw Point.
Barnes carried on his steamboat line from 1866 to 1873 or 1874,
perhaps later. The Madison directory for 1877-78 lists him as “captain
of tug.” The owner of Strawberry Point--to revert to its first
name--from 1868 or earlier was N. W. Dean. He seems to have rented or
leased the land to Barnes for his picnic grounds.
THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE SUPERIOR
In Volume Seven of the _American Nation_ Mr. Thwaites states
(page 52) that Lake Superior was discovered in 1616. All
other secondary accounts give 1629. Can you tell me whether
or not the date 1616 is a misprint? If not where can I get
the information about its discovery?
E. G. DOUDNA,
_Eau Claire, Wisconsin_.
The dates of the discoveries of the several great lakes are not
definitely known, and there is no uniformity of statement concerning
their first exploration. Dr. Thwaites’s works reflect this
uncertainty. In the _American Nation_ volume to which you refer he was
inclined to accept the theory of Etienne Brulé’s exploration of Lake
Superior, and thought it might have occurred after his journey to the
Susquehanna in 1615, and before his return in 1618 to Quebec.
Therefore he gives the date as 1616. In his _Wisconsin_, published in
1908, he appears to have rejected the theory of Brulé’s explorations,
and states that Jean Nicolet in 1634 was probably the discoverer of
Lake Superior. In his school _History of the United States_ (Boston,
1912) he shows his doubt by giving “about 1629” as the date of the
discovery. Not all secondary accounts give the date as 1629. Our own
opinion is that there is no authority for this date, and that it
arises from a misinterpretation of Edward J. Neill’s statement in
Justin Winsor’s _Narrative and Critical History of America_, IV, 165.
One of the latest histories of the Great Lakes (Channing and Lansing’s
_The Story of the Great Lakes_, New York, 1909) gives no date for the
discovery of Lake Superior, but assigns 1610 to the first white man’s
voyage on Lake Huron, five years earlier than the traditional one of
1615 for Champlain’s first voyage. The whole matter turns on the
career of Etienne Brulé, one of the youths selected by Champlain to
reside among the Indians and learn their language. His adventures were
first discussed in detail in C. W. Butterfield’s, _Brulé’s
Explorations and Discoveries_ (Cleveland, 1898). A more recent
discussion in French, by the eminent Canadian authority Benjamin
Sulte, appeared in the Canadian Royal Society _Proceedings and
Transactions_, 3d series, vol. 1, section 1, 97-125. Butterfield and
Sulte substantially agree, and both consider that Etienne Brulé with a
companion named Grenolle probably visited Lake Superior and explored
it in 1622-23. The evidence is somewhat circumstantial, and the point
may never be determined; but Champlain must have had some information,
aside from that furnished by the Indians, for upon his map of 1632
appears the outline of Lake Superior entering Lake Huron by the “Sault
de Gaston,” as he calls the present Sault Ste. Marie. If one rejects
the evidence of Brulé’s voyage, which rests upon inference chiefly,
the date 1629 is the last one in which Champlain could have obtained
his information for his map published in 1632, since he was deported
by English conquerors from his colony in the former year, and did not
return until 1633.
Next to Brulé must be placed Jean Nicolet, who visited the Sault in
1634; whether he ascended the strait to the lake itself is
conjectural. Then in 1641 came the great gathering of Indians attended
by the Jesuit fathers, Jogues and Raymbault. (See L. P. Kellogg’s
_Early Narratives of the Northwest_, New York, 1917, 19-25). The first
description of Lake Superior is given by Pierre Esprit Radisson in his
_Journal_. The probable date of his voyage thereon is 1661, but Father
René Ménard arrived at Keweenaw Bay in the autumn of 1660.
It appears probable that the date of the discovery of Lake Superior
cannot be determined with accuracy, and must remain uncertain unless
scholars accept the conclusions of Butterfield and Sulte concerning
Brulé. The same is true of the discovery of the upper Mississippi; it
has been claimed for Nicolet in 1634, for Radisson in 1659, for La
Salle in 1669, all antedating the voyage of Jolliet and Marquette in
1673. The truth is that from the beginning of French settlement on the
St. Lawrence there was much roving to the sources of the great river.
Many of these coureurs des bois were brave and courageous explorers,
but they kept no records. It is thus dogmatic to say that the visit of
the first white man to any given point occurred on such or such a
date. We can only say when the first records were made describing such
an event. The records for the voyage of Brulé and Grenolle in 1622
have not yet been universally accepted.
THE POTAWATOMI DURING THE REVOLUTION: FATHER ALLOUEZ AMONG THE
KICKAPOO
I am sending you some more letters from Quitos. In one of
these letters he refers to War Chief Thunder fighting with
George Washington against the Canadians. I would like to
find out what fight that was. Can you tell me?
I would also like to find out whether Fathers Dablon and
Claude Allouez visited the Kickapoo Indians on Milwaukee
River in 1670 a few years before Jolliet and Marquette
discovered the Mississippi. I have seen something to this
effect somewhere.
A. GEREND,
_Cato, Wisconsin_.
It is an interesting fact that the Potawatomi of the west shore of
Lake Michigan, notably those of Milwaukee, and probably those farther
north, under the influence of Siggenauk or the Blackbird made a treaty
at Cahokia, Illinois, with George Rogers Clark in September, 1778, and
were thereafter for a time American allies. There was no actual
service under Gen. George Washington, but the chiefs probably received
medals or certificates in his name, and thus considered themselves
fighting under his care. The Potawatomi returned to the British
allegiance later, and opposed the Americans during all of the Indian
wars. If our surmise of what Quitos means about Old Thunder is
correct, it is a remarkable instance of the persistence of tradition
concerning an American alliance, and a corroboration of Col. George
Rogers Clark’s testimony about the attitude of the Milwaukee
Potawatomi. Clark calls the two chiefs Saguina or “Mr. Black Bird and
Nakiowin, two chiefs of the Bands of the sotairs [Chippewa] and
Outaway Nation bordering on Lake Michigan and the River St. Joseph.”
De Peyster, the British commandant at Mackinac, speaks in his poem or
rhymed chronicle of 1779 of “Those runagates at Milwakie” and calls
them in a footnote “A horrid set of refractory Indians.” Thus in the
Revolution, while most of the Wisconsin Indians were strong British
supporters, the mixed band of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi west of
Lake Michigan were American sympathizers.
With regard to your second question: There is no record in the _Jesuit
Relations_ of any visit of Allouez and Dablon to Milwaukee in 1670.
Such a statement was made before Dr. Thwaites’s edition of the _Jesuit
Relations_ appeared. Upon the publication in English of the exact text
of the _Relations_ it was seen that Allouez visited the Kickapoo in
1670 (not accompanied by Dablon) at their village four leagues (about
fifteen miles) from the Mascouten village which was near the site of
the modern Berlin, on the upper Fox River. Thus it was impossible for
the Kickapoo village to have been at Milwaukee. It is quite probable
that Perrot and other traders may have been at Milwaukee and along the
shore of Lake Michigan before Jolliet and Marquette, but there is no
recorded voyage before theirs.
THE INDIAN TRIBES OF IOWA
Please send me the name and history of any or all the Indian
tribes that at first occupied the state of Iowa. Also give
me the name and history of any Indian tribe that once lived
for a time, either long or short, in Iowa.
DANIEL MCKENNA,
_Charles City, Iowa_.
The Indian tribes who are known to have dwelt in Iowa since historic
times are the following:
The Illinois were found there by Marquette and Jolliet in 1673, but
returned to the east side of the Mississippi in a few years.
The Iowa (name spelled in a great variety of ways, as Aiouais, Aoyest,
Ayoes, Ayouez) were a Siouan or a Dakotan tribe found on the Des
Moines River about the close of the seventeenth century.
The Sioux, whose eastern and southern branches extended into northern
Iowa, where they were known to the whites in the late seventeenth
century. The Kickapoo and Mascouten, allied tribes, driven from
Wisconsin into Iowa about 1728. The Kickapoo soon removed; a few of
the Mascouten lingered and gave their name to Muscatine.
The Sauk and Foxes, who after their defeat in Wisconsin in 1733 became
allied tribes, and made their home thereafter chiefly in Iowa. Their
villages in 1805 were along the Mississippi from Des Moines Rapids to
Turkey River. By a treaty of 1842 they were to remove from Iowa; many
came back and wandered on the Iowa and Des Moines rivers until they
purchased lands in Tama County where they still dwell, now called the
Musquakie or Meskwaki Indians.
The Winnebago who removed from Wisconsin after the treaty of 1837 to
northeastern Iowa where they had a school and agency on Yellow River.
In 1848 they were removed to Minnesota. The Omaha or Maha Indians
lived in northwestern Iowa when Lewis and Clark ascended the Missouri
in 1804. In 1830 they ceded their lands to the United States which in
1833 ceded a portion to the allied Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi
tribes. Most of those who lived on this reservation from about 1835 to
1846 were Potawatomi.
For further history of these tribes apply to the Iowa Department of
History at Des Moines, Edgar R. Harlan, curator.
COMMUNICATIONS
OLD COPPERHEADS AND NEW
The editorial in the September number of the _Wisconsin Magazine of
History_ entitled “Consolation for the Present Crisis,” has prompted
me to enlarge upon one of its themes. Those of our citizens who feel
disturbed by the presence among us of an anti-war element may find
encouragement in a further recital of the doings of the anti-war
advocates in Wisconsin half a century ago.
Shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter, when the North was roused to
the utmost pitch of excitement, the democratic members of the
legislature together with certain citizens of Madison, arranged for a
peace mass meeting in the assembly chamber for the purpose of devising
some compromise which should suffice to avert the impending war. At
the appointed time the chamber was thronged with citizens, and a
number of speeches were made by legislators and townsmen conveying
various proposals of compromise which should be tendered the southern
people. These addresses were vigorously applauded by a large
proportion of the audience. Before the close of the meeting, however,
there were calls for Senator Dean, a republican whose loyalty to the
government was unquestioned. Greeted with tumultuous applause, he
proceeded, after a few stirring sentences about the duties of
citizenship, to say: “Compromise? Yes, we will compromise with them!
We will send a million free men down through the southern states and
drive the whole confederate army into the Gulf of Mexico!” The
applause which greeted this sentiment shook the building, and lasted
ten minutes or more. The meeting immediately adjourned, leaving the
peace advocates without a program.
As the war progressed, and the future seemed dark indeed, another
peace meeting was called at Madison, to be held in Capital Park. Noted
speakers were engaged, and it was expected that a great demonstration
in favor of ending the war would be staged. By this time Camp Randall
had come into being as the principal military encampment for
Wisconsin’s soldiers. Naturally the men did not look with enthusiasm
upon the impending peace meeting. On the appointed day two or three
hundred soldiers, having secured leave of absence from camp, dragged a
six-pound cannon to capitol square; loading it with canister, they
planted it in front of the speaker’s stand, with the quiet assurance
to those in charge of the meeting that as soon as a treasonable word
should be uttered the orator and all on the platform would be blown to
hell. Under these circumstances the meeting proved very tame, the
speeches being confined to deprecating the necessity for the war and
hoping it would soon be over.
The Copperheads, as they had come to be called, did not omit any
opportunity to flaunt their sentiments before the supporters of the
government. In Madison alone probably hundreds of old-fashioned copper
cents (a coin nearly an inch and a quarter in diameter) were filed
down so as to leave only the Indian head in profile. To this a pin was
affixed for attachment to the coat lapel, and the coins were worn to
afford evidence that the wearer was a Copperhead in sentiment. Loyal
citizens responded to this challenge by filing the eagle out of the
silver quarter and wearing it as a badge. One prominent citizen, who
wore the copperhead for over a year, lived to say that it was the one
action of his life of which he was heartily ashamed.
There is today no such villification and abuse of President Wilson as
was heaped upon Lincoln during the Civil War. After every Union defeat
the Copperheads would say: “What did we tell you? You can never whip
the South!” Some of the newspapers were so disloyal in sentiment that
they were suppressed by military authority. In fact, the situation was
very grave. In comparison with it the current pacifist machinations
appear tame and insignificant. The great mass of the people, however,
were determined to stand by the government till victory should be
achieved. They persevered in this determination and the Union was
preserved. So will it be today, whether the end comes in one year or
five, whether the cost be five billions of dollars or fifty. There
must be no compromise. Let the fight be to the finish.
Sincerely yours,
E. C. MASON.
Madison, October 1, 1917.
A PRESBYTERIAN OBJECTS
I have been reading the report of the sixty-fourth annual meeting of
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin which I received yesterday.
I was interested in the article by the pioneer missionary, especially
as much of his work was done in a part of Wisconsin where I labored
years ago. On page 184, in a note about Rev. Isaac Baird, it is said
that he was appointed to Odanah, which is correct. Such positions must
be filled by appointment. I may say that, unless my memory deceives
me, the work at Odanah was of more consequence than Father Verwyst’s
remarks would indicate. But it is said that Mr. Baird was removed to
Crystal Falls, Michigan. I think it should rather be that Mr. Baird
accepted a call to the pastorate of the church at Crystal Falls or to
be its stated supply. If the writer of the word had written “Mr. Baird
removed,” there would be no objection to the statement from a
Presbyterian standpoint. But “was removed,” that is another matter.
In a speech delivered in the British House of Commons, July 9, 1845,
Macaulay said, “All staunch Presbyterians think that the flock is
entitled, _jure divino_, to a voice in the appointment of a pastor,
and that to force a pastor on a parish to which he is unacceptable is
a sin forbidden by the Word of God as idolatry or perjury. I am quite
sure that I do not exaggerate when I say that the highest of our high
churchmen at Oxford cannot attach more importance to episcopal
government and episcopal ordination than many thousands of Scotchmen,
shrewd men, respectable men, who fear God and honor the Queen, attach
to this right of the people.” And to go to the fountain head, in “The
Buke of Discipline” by John Knox, are these words. “It apperteneth to
the Pepill and to every severall Congregation, to Elect thair
Minister.” I quote _verbatim et literatim_. There is much more to the
same effect. Excuse me for this screed, but I spent a good many years
in Wisconsin as a Presbyterian minister and was used to having this
question “speired at me” as the Scotch would say, when I returned from
a meeting of presbytery, “Have you been sent back for another year?”
When I explained to those people the Presbyterian way of doing, no one
but said, “I believe that is the best way.” Yet many Presbyterians in
Wisconsin wish to deny to the people that right. The note I refer to
was written by a man who did not know the Presbyterian way of doing or
else was one of the Presbyterians I referred to just above.[96] But
those Presbyterians did not know the history of their own church. A
great fight for democracy is on and we must fight for democracy in the
church as well as in the state if we are to make the democracy of the
state a success. See Fiske’s _Beginnings of New England_. Hence I do
not wish the Wisconsin Historical Society to help even by a note the
autocratic tendencies of some Wisconsin Presbyterians. Let us advance
in democracy by going back to the time when people chose their
bishop--you know the story of the election of Ambrose of Milan.
I remain
Yours faithfully and gratefully,
ANGUS SILLARS.
Fairmount, Ill., July 24, 1917.
[96] The editor of the Society, rather than Father Verwyst,
author of the article is responsible for the footnote
statement which Mr. Sillars calls in question. It is freely
admitted that he “did not know the Presbyterian way of
doing.”
SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES
THE SOCIETY AND THE STATE
Seven new members have joined the State Historical Society during the
quarter ending September 30; Charles D. Rosa, of Beloit; Edward P.
Farley, of Chicago; Earl Murray, of Green Bay; William T. Evjue, of
Madison; Frank M. Crowley, of Madison; Charles H. Crownhart, of
Madison; and Dr. L.A. Quaife, of Rosalia, Washington. In the same
period the Society lost through death two of its valued members, Otto
B. Joerns, of Stevens Point, and Henry E. Legler, of Chicago.
In the death of Henry E. Legler on September 13 this Society sustained
the loss of a valued friend and member. Many and divers as were the
public positions he occupied--newspaper editor, legislator, secretary
of the Milwaukee School Board, secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library
Commission, librarian of the Chicago Public Library--it is not to the
man as a public official that our thoughts involuntarily turn, but to
the man as a friend. With unusual business capability, which involved
securing the utmost of service and loyalty from his employees, Mr.
Legler was possessed of personal characteristics that endeared him as
well to the office messenger as to the members of the governing boards
under whom he worked. His associations with this Society and the
members of the library staff were long and close, and it seems fitting
that we should express both sorrow for his loss, and gratification
that it had been our privilege to have known him intimately.
Miss Mabel Swerig, for two years a faithful and efficient worker in
the reference division of the Historical Library, severed her
connection with the Society in September in order to enter upon a
course of library training at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. Miss Mary
Farley, for three years a member of the library staff, on October 1,
assumed direction of the library maintained by Marshall Field and
Company for its employees. The new position will afford Miss Farley an
excellent opportunity for development in the line of her chosen
profession. At the beginning of September Theron Brown, for the past
two years assistant in the public documents division of the Library,
enlisted for technical service in the United States Navy.
Carl Russell Fish and Frederic Logan Paxson, curators of the Society
and professors of American history in the University of Wisconsin,
spent the summer in Washington engaged in service for the government.
Professor Fish’s time was given to the National Board for Historical
Service, of which he is a member. Professor Paxson gave his services
to the committee on public information.
Prof. Winfred T. Root, member of the State Historical Society and of
the faculty of the State University, conducted history courses at the
summer session of the University of Chicago.
Rev. Eugene Updike recently terminated a twenty-seven year pastorate
of the First Congregational Church of Madison. In the last fifty-two
years this church has had but two pastors, Mr. Updike’s predecessor
having served a quarter of a century.
Capt. Arthur L. Conger, who delivered the annual address at the
meeting of the State Historical Society in 1916, is now serving on
General Pershing’s staff in France. Mrs. Conger has recently gone to
France to be near her husband.
At the time of going to press, plans are practically complete for the
annual meeting of the State Historical Society to take place October
25. Two events new to the annual program are a luncheon to be tendered
by the Society to its members and invited friends and a conference of
local historical societies. Because of Prof. Frederic L. Paxson’s work
for the government, he was unable to prepare the annual address
announced in the September number of the _Magazine_. In his stead
Prof. Carl R. Fish will speak on “The Frontier a World Problem.” A
full report of the meeting will appear in a later number of the
_Magazine_.
The use of pageantry in depicting the historical development of a
community is rapidly gaining headway in Wisconsin. Among those that
attracted state-wide attention was the one given at Portage during the
week of the Columbia County Fair, August 22-25, 1917. “America and the
Nations” was the title of the pageant, and it was given in three
episodes. In the first there was a symbolical scene representing the
spirit of the Fox and the Wisconsin rivers. Then followed the Jesuit
fathers, French traders, trappers, and pioneers. In the second episode
the coming of miners, lumbermen, fishermen, and farmers was witnessed.
The closing scene was a grand review of all the leading nations of the
world, symbolizing an international unity. Over 700 people took part
in the pageant.
The citizens of Chippewa County staged an interesting pageant at
Holcombe during the week of their Community Fair, September 13 and 14.
The pageant, given under the direction of H. A. Edminster, portrayed
the coming of the fur traders in the Chippewa Valley, a bit of Indian
life, the coming of the priests, lumbermen, and the first permanent
settlers. The closing scene depicted the modern economic and
industrial development of that region. One very interesting part of
the performance was the appearance of an ox team hitched to an old
“jumper,” driven by Mr. and Mrs. Edminister, representing their coming
into that region.
Among those working for the cause of history in Wisconsin, none are
doing more effective or practical work than some of the history
committees of the county councils of defense. Among those that are
rendering a real service is the committee of Eau Claire County, headed
by William W. Bartlett. Their object is to gather, preserve, index,
and make available for public use the proceedings of every event that
takes place in Eau Claire County pertaining to the war. A complete
file of newspaper clippings that deal with the war will be preserved.
Also an effort is being made to secure a photograph and brief sketch
of every young man entering the service from Eau Claire County. Such
practical work as this commends itself to every patriotic citizen in
Wisconsin, and the committees in other counties might do well to
follow Eau Claire’s lead.
Mr. Charles E. Brown, chief of the Wisconsin Historical Museum,
entertained in September a group of friends who are interested in the
study of local Indian history at his attractive home in Nakoma, a
suburb of Madison. A picnic supper was served, after which Mr. Brown
gave an instructive talk upon Nakoma and its environment. Brief talks
relating chiefly to Indian history were made by others present.
The surviving members of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry held a joint
meeting with the Scandinavian Veterans’ Association at Madison in
September and plans were inaugurated for erecting a monument to the
memory of Colonel Heg. Wisconsin had the distinction during the war of
sending a regiment to the front composed almost exclusively of
Scandinavians. Col. Hans Heg, their famous commander, was born in
Norway, and came to America when eleven years old. At the opening of
the Civil War he was holding the position of state prison
commissioner, which he resigned in order to raise a regiment of
troops. The Fifteenth Wisconsin brought credit to itself and to its
state, and the name of Colonel Heg deserves a permanent place among
the Wisconsin heroes of the Civil War.
At the meeting of the Wisconsin Federation of Women’s Clubs, held in
Madison during October, the history section met in the museum of the
State Historical Society. The visitors were taken for an automobile
ride and sightseeing trip about the city.
The annual meeting of the Sauk County Historical Society was held at
Baraboo, October 5, 1917. All the officers of the Society were
reëlected for the ensuing year. The report of the treasurer revealed
an especially gratifying condition, a considerable sum of money in the
treasury and practically all membership dues paid in. A bequest of
$200 from the estate of the late W. W. Warner of Madison, was received
during the year. The Society voted to send two delegates to the annual
meeting of the State Historical Society at Madison, October 25. The
address of the evening was given by Mr. M. M. Quaife, Superintendent
of the State Historical Society, on the subject, “The Angel of
Wisconsin.”
The Old Rivermen’s Association of Minneapolis and St. Paul held their
meeting in the latter city on September 4, 1917, and the chief address
of the meeting was given by George B. Merrick, of Madison. No group of
men in the upper Mississippi Valley has played a more romantic part in
the opening up of this region than the old steamboat men. Their
membership now numbers about 150, and the experiences which they
relate form an interesting chapter in early Wisconsin history.
Wisconsin’s Indian drama entitled “Glory of the Morning,” written by
Prof. W. E. Leonard, is being produced by Mrs. Emma Garrett Boyd of
the Casino Studio, New York. The proceeds are being devoted to the war
fund. This drama was first produced in Madison in 1912 by the
Wisconsin Dramatic Society under the direction of Prof. T. H.
Dickinson. As a summer festival play it has become one of the most
popular in the country.
An interesting old account book kept by Jean Brunet of Brunet Falls
(now Cornell), Wisconsin, was recently given to the Society by Mrs.
Gustave Robart of Holcombe. The old Brunet tavern was the most widely
known of any in the Chippewa Valley, and every traveler who went up
and down the valley stopped with Jean Brunet. During its palmy days as
many as 150 men were fed there at one time. The entries in the book
cover the period from 1862 to 1876. Mrs. Robart, its donor, is a child
of the first white settler in that part of the valley.
Recent accessions to the Society’s historical museum include fine
examples of early English chinaware, an early American clock, lamp,
children’s clothing, laces and embroideries, a steelyard, kitchen fire
shovel, boat-builders’ rule, a railroad stock certificate, and other
articles of interest. The most valuable single specimen is a large
silver trophy cup given by the _Army and Navy News_ and won by the
First Wisconsin Infantry in the Second Brigade football contest among
the troops stationed on the Mexican border in 1916.
An interesting collection of war relics has been placed on exhibit in
one of the rooms of the museum just off the auditorium. The exhibit
represents the current history of the present war, as illustrated by
relics, war implements, and posters. The contents of the exhibit are
changed every few days.
A valuable collection of papers was recently presented to the Society
by Dr. Herbert B. Tanner. The collection contains many of the letters
of John Lawe, the well-known merchant and fur trader of Green Bay, and
some letters of George Boyd, an early Wisconsin Indian agent. Lawe
through an inheritance left him by his uncle, Jacob Franks of
Montreal, became a very wealthy trader, and following the War of 1812
settled in Green Bay. Here he acted as agent for the American Fur
Company and his operations extended from Milwaukee as far west and
north as the upper Mississippi. As adviser and counselor for the
Indians and fur traders he became the leading citizen in what is now
Wisconsin. Dr. Tanner’s donation contains fifty-three letters written
by Lawe himself, ranging in time from 1824 until his death in 1846.
Their chief interest lies in the additional light that they throw upon
the early fur-trading interests of Wisconsin and the Northwest. The
collection contains eighteen letters written by Jacob Franks covering
the period from 1818 to 1830. Those written during the latter years
express a feeling of regret over the gradual disappearance of the fur
trade, and the coming in of new settlers. There are several letters of
a personal nature that add interest to the collection. The Society is
indebted to Doctor Tanner for this contribution of fur-trading
documents.
SOME WISCONSIN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, JANUARY-JULY, 1917
The sixty-fourth annual session of the Wisconsin Teachers’ Association
was held at Milwaukee, November 2 to 4, 1916. The chief value of its
published _Proceedings_ is in the fifty-nine papers and abstracts
which it contains. Four of the principal addresses form a symposium on
the subject of progress during the last decade in rural schools,
secondary schools, normal schools, and the University of Wisconsin,
the fourth topic being discussed by Dr. Charles R. Van Hise in his
presidential address. Three important papers deal with recent
achievements in elementary, rural, and secondary education. Notable
addresses by persons from outside the state are those of William Wirt,
John Finley, L. D. Coffman, and Dr. Maria Montessori. In addition to
the papers, the volume contains minutes of business sessions,
committee reports, the constitution and by-laws of the organization,
and a list of members.
The twenty-second report of the commissioner of banking deals with the
year closing on November 17, 1916. During this period state banks and
trust companies gained $774,100 in capital invested, representing in
all an investment of $23,672,350. The total resources of
$298,617,175.61 show a gain for the year of $44,675,247.15. The
increase in deposits amounted to $43,424,626.33. Attention is called
to the increase from 21% to 22.7% in the average reserve held by state
banks. The conclusion of the commissioner, based upon an analysis of
the statistics of which the report largely consists, is that “the
financial outlook for Wisconsin is most encouraging.” In a section on
legislation the passage of a law to create a uniform system of school
savings banks, under state supervision and subject to state control,
is recommended. Most of the report is given over to statements of
state banks, mutual savings banks, trust companies, land mortgage
associations, and national banks.
The Department of English of the University of Wisconsin has issued a
small pamphlet with the title _A List of Books on the War_. Out of the
great mass of books on the subject a rigorous selection of some 270
titles has been made. These aim to include the most important works
published prior to June 1, 1917. Short pamphlets and tracts have been
excluded, and the titles are chiefly English and French. They are
grouped into six divisions: “Background and Origins,” “Course and
Conduct,” “Personal Narratives,” “Thought concerning the War,” “Peace
and Readjustment,” “Miscellaneous.” The selections are discriminating,
and the bulletin should prove of great value to students of the war.
An admirable innovation has been made in issuing the Governor’s
Memorial Day proclamation as a small pamphlet, very neatly put up,
rather than as a broadside of large, awkward size, and difficult to
preserve in a series.
The importance of the dairy industry in Wisconsin is clearly brought
out in a report of the dairy and food commissioner on _Butter
Factories and Cheese Factories Operated in 1916; Dairy Statistics for
1915_. The gross profits in all branches of the industry for 1915 are
estimated at more than $110,000,000. Approximately 235,000,000 pounds
of cheese were produced. More than 124,000,000 pounds of butter were
made in the state, about 20,000,000 pounds in excess of the production
of 1909. The report contains an interesting statistical comparison of
cheese and butter production for the years 1909 and 1915. Lists of
operators of butter and cheese factories, and of cheese factories
operated in 1916 by counties, are included. There is also a list of
condenseries in Wisconsin.
_Agriculture in the High School, A Manual for the High Schools of
Wisconsin_ has been brought out by the Department of Public
Instruction. The authors are Henry N. Goddard and John A. James.
Issued as a guide for high schools giving agricultural work,
particularly for those maintaining four-year departments, the manual
illustrates admirably the new movement in secondary education. A
historical sketch contains an account of the various laws which have
shaped the agricultural movement in Wisconsin. The proper
interpretation and method of applying these laws is made clear. The
practical problems of the needs in the organization and management of
high school agricultural departments are considered in detail, and a
great amount of material helpful to the administration of such a
department--particularly as to the scope and character of the work--is
included. The manual has been prepared with great care, and appears to
be a model of its kind.
The last report of the attorney-general continues the opinions,
January 1, 1916, to December 31, 1916, and the eighth biennial report,
July 1, 1914 to June 30, 1916. The first 65 pages contain a summary of
the work of the attorney-general. An examination of these pages shows
that during the period indicated 68 civil, 59 industrial commission, 2
bankruptcy, and 8 forfeiture cases were disposed of. Thirty-six
criminal cases were disposed of, 23 in lower courts, 12 in the Supreme
Court, and 1 in the United States Supreme Court. The official opinions
of the attorney-general, filling 917 pages, embrace in their scope a
great amount of state activity. In the printing of these opinions
there is no classification or grouping of the material, such as in the
reports of the attorney-general of Indiana, for example. A strictly
chronological order is followed.
The report of the dairy and food commissioner for the year ending June
30, 1916, illustrates the vital need of protecting the public against
the sale of adulterated and misbranded foods. It contains the reports
of the state chemist, dealing with the inspection of beverages, canned
vegetables, dairy products, dried fruit, and drugs; of the assistant
dairy and food commissioner, and of the inspector of weights and
measures. Special attention is called to the new dairy and food laws,
and the new era in the dairy industry of Wisconsin which these laws
introduce. As a result of unsanitary conditions in cheese factories
and meat markets, and misrepresentations of foods, 79 convictions were
secured. Druggists to the number of 226 were selling spirits of
camphor not standard. Between April 17 and June 30, 2,221 factories
were inspected. It was found that 35% of the butter factory operators
and 24% of the cheese factory operators were complying with the
license law and the new regulations. Much has been done in the
economic interests of the public by the inspector of weights and
measures, for the number of inaccurate computing scales decreased from
17% in 1914 to 8% in 1916.
_The Country Church an Economic and Social Force_ is an interesting
bulletin edited by the Agricultural Experiment Station of the
University of Wisconsin. It points out that the thriving church in a
rural community tends to unify agriculture, which in turn serves to
nurture the church. The country or hamlet church thrives best where
population is constant, and successful farming is advanced through the
influence of the church upon daily habits. It is suggested that
principles for the re-parishing of rural districts might be
established through a joint commission of the national religious
bodies, with a view toward creating stronger churches for the farmers.
Several descriptions are given of Wisconsin country churches in which
the religious leaders are fostering a progressive agriculture through
coöperative social development. The remarkable story of a great
country pastor, John Frederick Oberlin, who for sixty years labored
for the social, industrial, and religious uplift of a poverty-stricken
community, is given in illustration of the theories advanced in the
bulletin.
The seventeenth biennial report of the Wisconsin state prison is
largely statistical. The average number of convicts for the year
ending June 30, 1915, was 807; for the year ending June 30, 1916, it
was 906. During the latter period 140 to 180 convicts were employed
and housed outside of the walls of the institution. Under the
chaplain’s direction, school was held from one to two o’clock, three
days a week, during six months of the year. There were fourteen
classes and an average attendance of 110 men. Instruction was given
the illiterate in four grades in reading, arithmetic, writing, and
spelling. Earnings of inmates for the year were $35,696.50. New
prisoners admitted numbered 511; of these 483 were male; 23 were under
twenty years of age, and 117 over fifty years; 495 were white, 12
black, 3 Indian, and 1 mulatto; 230 were Catholic, 148 Protestants,
108 Lutherans, 3 Hebrews, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Seventh Day Adventist;
17 had no religion; 27 were illiterate, 41 had high school education,
and 7 were college men; 174 were native to Wisconsin, 28 to Illinois,
29 to Michigan, 19 to Minnesota, 20 to New York, and 11 to
Pennsylvania; 26 were born in Austro-Hungary, 20 in Finland, 34 in
Germany, 10 in Norway, and 27 in Russia. The others came from various
states and countries throughout the world. Statistics are given
concerning occupations, residence by counties, crimes, terms of
sentences, discharges, pardons, population since the organization of
the prison in 1852, the binder twine plant, farm and gardening
operations, and many other matters.
The merit system for the public service of Wisconsin was established
in 1905, and the sixth biennial report of the Civil Service Commission
has now been issued, covering the work done from July, 1914, to July,
1916. The classified service of the state comprises the exempt,
competitive, noncompetitive, legislative employee, and labor classes.
In these classes there are about 3,200 employees. From July 1, 1914 to
July 1, 1916, 4,995 persons took competitive examinations. Of these,
2,903 passed, 2,079 failed; 376 permanent and 147 temporary
appointments were made. That is, 58% passed, and 10½% were appointed
to positions. The number of applicants for positions at state
institutions has decreased, for various reasons. The report contains a
map showing the number and distribution of employees in the state
classified service. It also presents the results of certain studies
aiming to increase the efficiency of the service. Half of the report
consists of financial tables and rules.
The chief functions of the state fire marshal, as indicated in his
ninth annual report, are two: combatting incendiarism, and doing fire
prevention work. Coöperating with the local departments, the fire
marshal has investigated 389 fires during the period covered by the
report, from July 1, 1915 to December 31, 1916. Forty-six arrests were
made, 12 persons were convicted and sentenced, 5 pleaded guilty and
were sentenced, 6 were paroled, and 5 were sent to the hospital for
the insane. In the year ending December 31, 1915, 3,066 fires in the
state damaged buildings and contents to the extent of $5,932,980.
These figures show the importance of the educational campaign for fire
prevention conducted by the fire marshal. Thirteen newspaper articles
were issued. These are printed in full in the report. Some of the
titles are: _Some Fires and Their Lessons_, _Safe Homes_, _Gasoline_,
_Kerosene_, _Spring Clean Up_, _Safe Schoolhouses_, and _Holiday
Fires_. The report contains tables dealing with values, losses,
classification of property, fire causes, number of fires according to
classification of risk and cause, and other matters.
The biennial report of the adjutant-general deals with the two fiscal
years ending June 30, 1916. It is a survey of the military activities
of the state of Wisconsin during a period of trial and service. From
July 1, 1914 to June 30, 1916, the Wisconsin National Guard increased
from 201 officers and 2,990 enlisted men to a total of 208 officers
and 4,224 enlisted men. Of these the report states that “4,168
officers and men are temporarily in the service of the United States
in response to the call of the President issued June 18, 1916.” Since
the date of this report, the war has placed a new responsibility upon
the guard. The adjutant-general’s report gives information in regard
to organization and strength, legislation, equipment, instruction,
small arms firing, naval militia, medical department, expenses,
military reservation, and pensions. The National Defense Act oath,
making obligatory a three-year term of reserve service by national
guard organizations, was taken by officers and enlisted men of the
guard “with fine zeal and loyalty to their country, their state, and
their organization.”
The first biennial report of the State Conservation Commission is one
of unusual interest. Through a law of 1915 this commission (consisting
of three commissioners and a secretary) succeeded to the powers and
duties of the Forestry Board, State Park Board, Conservation
Commission, Commissioners of Fisheries, and the State Fish and Game
Warden Department. The purpose was to consolidate “all the closely
related duties and problems of administration over forest and stream,
fish and game, and to give powerful impetus to the conservation of the
natural resources of the Badger State.” The result has been a notable
increase in efficiency and economy. The change, it may be noted,
dispensed with the services of twenty-two members of boards and
commissions. A strict civil service régime has been inaugurated. The
report contains a considerable number of papers and division reports
dealing with the conditions, problems, constructive plans and
achievements which are shaping the conservation movement in the state.
A large number of admirably chosen illustrations show the richness,
variety, and beauty of the resources of nature in Wisconsin. These
pictures enhance the value of a report which contains information of
peculiar interest and significance to the people of the state.
The biennial report of the secretary of state is largely a collection
of financial statistics covering the fiscal years ending June 30, 1915
and June 30, 1916. The condition of all state funds, receipts and
disbursements, the net disbursements of the state, the valuation of
taxable property in the counties, and the apportionment of tax and
special charges for 1914 and 1915, collected in 1915, are shown in
detailed statements, and various tabular statements.
Part four of the ninth annual report of the Railroad Commission is an
elaborate collection of financial and operating statistics of railroad
companies for the period from June 30, 1914 to June 30, 1915. The
report is divided into three parts: steam railroads, electric
railways, and express companies. There are 234 closely printed pages
of statistical tables and figures, which lay bare with utmost
exactness and detail all phases of the finances and operations of the
three classes of public carriers mentioned. The statistics are not
confined merely to Wisconsin; for example, the tables exhibiting the
income account of steam railroads for the year ending December 31,
1914, show first the accounts of interstate roads in Wisconsin, and
thereafter the records of the entire systems of interstate roads which
operate in Wisconsin.
The Railroad Commission of Wisconsin has published a digest covering
the decisions contained in volumes I to XV of the official reports of
the commission. The digest therefore covers all the decisions from
July 20, 1905 to February 4, 1915. The compilation has been made by
Harold L. Geisse. Its purpose is “to state briefly and yet clearly the
principles and facts set forth in the decisions of the Commission….”
The subject titles are alphabetically arranged, and carefully
supplemented by cross-references. Precise references to sources are
given for each decision. The value of such a compilation for lawyers
is obvious. It should be noted that the separate volumes of the
reports are each provided with an “index-digest.” For example, in
volume XVI, recently published, this index covers pages 869 to 936.
Volume XVI contains the opinions and decisions of the Railroad
Commission from February 10, 1915 to November 15, 1915. Reports are
given on hundreds of important cases dealing with railway, telegraph,
telephone, express, and public utility problems.
Though the task of administering the income tax law is not at all
times pleasant or easy, yet, in the opinion of the Wisconsin Tax
Commission, “five years of experience have proved the law workable;
taxpayers generally comply with its mandates without objection; and
the resulting revenue has exceeded all expectations.” A chapter
dealing especially with problems in the administration of the income
tax law, and a series of tables showing the results of the income
assessments of 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916, form an interesting part of
the eighth biennial report of the Wisconsin Tax Commission. This
report is a detailed statement of the work of the commission for the
years ending June 30, 1915 and June 30, 1916. In addition to the
section on the income tax, the chief features of the report are its
chapters on “Duties of Tax Commission,” “General Revision of Tax Laws
Recommended,” “Assessment and Taxation of Public Service Companies,”
“Inheritance Tax,” “Report of Engineers,” “Municipal Statistics,” and
“Statistics of Assessments and Taxes.” A thoughtful address by Thomas
E. Lyons on the subject “Our Increasing Public Expenditures” is
included. Mr. Lyons finds the remedy for the situation in a closer
limitation of the taxing and borrowing powers.
The Wisconsin state budget for 1917 was compiled for the use of the
legislature of 1917 by the State Board of Public Affairs. In
scientific completeness it represents a considerable advance upon
former publications of the kind. To aid the legislature in
“determining policies, and in working out a definite fiscal program
and in the drafting of appropriate measures,” complete information is
furnished along six lines. These are as follows: a report of actual
receipts and disbursements for the three fiscal years prior to July 1,
1916; departmental estimates of receipts and disbursements for the
current year 1916-1917; estimated treasury balances as of July 1,
1917; departmental receipts and disbursements for the biennial period
beginning July 1, 1917; appropriations available beginning July 1,
1913; appropriations requested by the state departments, boards,
commissions, and institutions for the biennium, beginning July 1,
1917. On January 5, 1917, after hearings and investigations, the Board
of Public Affairs issued a typewritten bulletin with its
recommendations on the budget. The 344 pages of the budget are
mimeographed and bound.
The third biennial report of the Wisconsin Highway Commission deals
with the state aid highway operations in the years from January 1,
1914, to January 1, 1916, together with preliminary estimates of
operations to December 31, 1916. In the first five years of work under
the state aid law, 4,846 miles of all types of roadway have been
constructed in Wisconsin; of this mileage, 2,771 miles have been
surfaced with various materials; in grading, approximately 10,300,000
cubic yards of earth have been excavated and placed in fills; 8,662
concrete culverts have been built on these roads, containing 100,000
cubic yards of concrete; since July 1, 1911, 2,819 county and state
bridges have been constructed in accordance with the plans of the
commission; at the height of the working season in 1916 the daily
employment in the work included 175 engineers, county highway
commissioners, and inspectors, 600 foremen, 6,000 laborers, and 2,500
teams. The daily pay roll for state, counties, and towns was in the
vicinity of $22,000. In state aid roads and bridge construction in
1915, there was expended $4,134,830; in 1916, $4,215,183; the report
estimates an expenditure of at least $4,600,000 in 1917. The report
contains many discussions of phases of the road problem that are of
timely importance. Many interesting illustrations of the types of
construction built under the state aid law are given.
The address on John Muir delivered by President Van Hise upon the
occasion of the unveiling of a bronze bust of the famous naturalist at
the University of Wisconsin has been published as a small eighteen
page pamphlet. At the age of eleven Muir came to America from Scotland
with his father, and settled on a farm a few miles from Portage. He
spent four years at the University of Wisconsin, maintaining himself
by “doing odd jobs during the term and working in the harvest, fields
in the summer.” In speaking of his departure from Madison, Muir writes
in his book _My Boyhood and Youth_, “But I was only leaving one
university for another, the Wisconsin University for the University of
Wilderness.” President Van Hise gives an eloquent account and
interpretation of the life of this noted son of Wisconsin. “The great
public service of John Muir,” writes President Van Hise, “was leading
the nation through his writings to appreciate the grandeur of our
mountains and the beauty and variety of their plant and animal life,
and the consequent necessity for holding forever as a heritage for all
the people the most precious of these great scenic areas. Probably to
his leadership more than to that of any other man is due the adoption
of the policy of national parks.”
_History of the Civil War Military Pensions, 1861-1885_ is the title
of a bulletin recently issued by the University of Wisconsin in its
_History Series_ (vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-120). It is the doctor’s thesis
of John William Oliver. As the title indicates it is a survey
beginning with the reorganization of the pension system as a
consequence of the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, and it carries
the study through a period of twenty-four years. Beginning with a
description of the situation before the Civil War, the author examines
the succession of acts passed between 1861 and 1870, and the various
administrative problems occasioned by the war. “By 1871,” writes Mr.
Oliver, “it appears as if Congress had extended the benefits of the
pension laws so as to include all possible claimants. Within ten
years, over 261,000 Civil War pensioners had been added to the rolls,
and the Government had already paid out more than $152,000,000 for
their benefit.” The enactment of many contradictory laws led to the
codification act of 1873. This act is described in the second chapter
of the book, together with attempts at reforming the pension system. A
third chapter discusses the act passed January 25, 1879, providing for
the payment of arrears----“the most significant and far-reaching piece
of pension legislation enacted during the period covered” in the
study. The effects of this act may be seen in the increase, during the
first six years after its passage, of the number of pensioners from
223,998 to 345,125, and in the amount expended annually from
$27,000,000 to $68,000,000. The last chapter of the bulletin deals
with the relation of pensions and politics, which assumed considerable
importance in the years following the Arrears Act. At the conclusion
of the thesis, development to 1885 is summarized. A later monograph is
promised, to treat of the new epoch which the pension system then
entered.
The biennial report of the Board of Regents of the University of
Wisconsin for the years 1914-15 and 1915-16 consists largely of the
report of the President, followed by reports of deans, directors,
business manager, and other officers. The President’s report contains
two main divisions: “The Progress of the University,” and “The Needs
of the University.” The faculty numbered 389 in 1913-14. The number
increased to 437 in 1915-16. In the year preceding the biennium the
total number of students, including the short course and summer
sessions, was 6,765. The number increased to 7,596 in 1914-15, and to
7,624 in 1915-16. Though the survey conducted by the Board of Public
Affairs resulted in controversy, and led to no direct results, yet in
consequence of a spirit of self-inquiry at the University a large
committee was appointed by the faculty in the autumn of 1915, which
was divided into a number of special committees to consider means of
improving the University in undergraduate instruction, research,
graduate, and field work, foreign language requirements, faculty
organization, faculty records, and University physical plant. As a
result of this inquiry, new legislation to be put in effect during the
next biennium is expected materially to improve the efficiency of the
University. These subjects are considered in some detail in the
report. The needs of the University are discussed under the heads of
salaries, and constructional needs. The varied activities of the
University may be comprehended by a study of the many departmental and
other statements included in the report.
The first annual report of the state chief engineer of Wisconsin
issued in March, 1917, reveals the enormous work that has been taken
over by that department. Five separate divisions known respectively as
the railroad and utility, the highway, the architectural, the power
plant, and the sanitary divisions have been established, and special
experts placed in charge of each. The railroad and utility division
was faced with duties greater than those of any other department. In
making a physical valuation of all the steam railroads in Wisconsin it
was found that there are over 11,000 miles of track in the state. The
cost of the rolling stock, terminals, stores, and other equipment
exceeds $385,000,000. The twenty-eight electric railways of the state
have over 400 miles of track, with properties valued at $57,000,000.
The state highway division reported that over $3,600,000 had been
expended for state aid construction of roads in 1916. Over a half
million dollars was spent in state aid bridge construction and 352
bridges of all types were built. The architectural division has
formulated a standard for contracts, plans and specifications for
labor and material to be used by the different institutions of the
state. The power plant division supervises the operation of the
various state plants, the purchase of fuel, specifies the plans for
construction work and examines all bids. The sanitary division, aside
from conducting the investigation of different water supplies,
drainage, and sewage systems, is also vitally interested in
enlightening the public upon the importance of sanitation.
According to the _Twentieth Annual Report_ of the Building and Loan
Association there are seventy-seven such organizations in Wisconsin.
The past two years have been unusually profitable for them. Their
total assets amount to $16,873,000 which was an increase of $2,500,000
over the previous year. Their membership now numbers 45,891, showing a
21 per cent increase over the preceding year. Although their business
showed a considerable increase, yet the report states in some cases
money was so plentiful that it could not always be loaned with profit.
That there exists among the farmers of this state an unusually strong
system of coöperation is proved by a bulletin issued by the
Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin in
July, 1917. The industries that are managed on a coöperative basis in
this state do an annual business amounting to more than $62,000,000.
The creamery industry leads all the others, and in 1916 those plants
that were run on a coöperative plan did business amounting to over
$19,000,000. The two organizations that are most instrumental in
promoting this spirit of coöperation are the American Society of
Equity and the Grange. The former has a membership in Wisconsin now in
excess of 12,000, while the Grange societies have over 2,200 names on
their rolls. In addition to these two organizations there are sixteen
others listed that tend to promote unity among the farmers of the
state. The most important ones mentioned are the National Agricultural
Organization, the farmers’ mutual insurance companies, the community
breeders’ associations, feed and elevator companies, coöperative
creameries, packing plants and others. The coöperative organizations
are so numerous throughout the state that but few farmers can be found
who are not identified with one or more of the agencies. The day of
individualism among Wisconsin farmers is fast disappearing.
The sixteenth edition of the _Manual for Elementary Course of Study_
in the schools of Wisconsin was issued in July, 1917. The state
superintendent of public instruction has rendered a valuable service
by discussing many pedagogical questions and in making concrete
suggestions to the teachers. The object of the department was to place
in the hands of each teacher a brief pedagogical treatise in
connection with the subject matter to be taught. This report combines
what may rightly be called a textbook on pedagogy with a state manual.
More than ever the department of education is emphasizing the
importance of bringing about a closer relationship between teacher and
pupil, and some very practical and simple suggestions are laid down
for promoting this relationship. The method for teaching children how
to study properly, the importance of careful assignments of lessons,
and the manner in which recitations can be made interesting and spicy
are all discussed in a practical way. The policy of reducing the
number of daily recitations is suggested, and the combining of classes
most closely related is advised, especially in rooms where the work is
crowded.
In a leaflet issued by the State Council of Defense, July, 1917,
announcement is made of a course of instruction to be given for health
aides in several of the larger hospitals of the state. The plan is to
offer six months of intensive training to young women in order to
prepare them to care for the civilian sick when the regular registered
nurses are drawn into military hospitals. The cost of training, board,
lodging, and laundry bills will all be paid by the State Council of
Defense. In return for this instruction each of the successful
candidates is required to sign an agreement to attend the sick in the
state of Wisconsin for a period of two years after completing the six
months’ course. The first training school was opened at the Milwaukee
County Hospital, Wauwatosa, July 1, 1917.
SOME PUBLICATIONS
MERK, FREDERICK. _Economic History of Wisconsin During the Civil
War Decade._ Publications of the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin _Studies, Vol. I._ Published by the Society, Madison,
1916. Pp. 414.
The Wisconsin Historical Society has inaugurated its series of
_Studies_ by the most elaborate work of constructive history it has
published, which is also the most comprehensive treatment of the
economic history of any state during the constitutional period, taking
rank with Bruce’s _Virginia_ and Weeden’s _New England_. The author
has produced a book which is of interest not only to the state with
which it deals, but to every student of American history.
The American state, at least today and in the West, is an artificial
unit, whose political separateness barely justifies that exclusive
devotion of the historical student which the vastness of the United
States seems to render necessary if the roots of our life are to be
discovered. To recognize the influence of national conditions, without
making the treatment national, to individualize the community without
making it appear a detached entity, requires a variety of skill which
can not be produced by scientific study alone, but demands also real
literary ability. This skill Merk clearly possesses, and he has
created an impression of an economic life, distinctly confined to the
area of the state, yet part of that of the Union, and in touch with
that outside the national limits. He is fully conscious of the
importance of Wisconsin wheat in our relations with Great Britain, and
of the interstate functions of a medium of exchange, but he is not
betrayed into a discussion of diplomacy or of national banking.
A similar difficulty is always presented when one attempts a
cross-section of any history, for periods are even more artificial
than state lines. Economically the “Decade” of the Civil War does not
have those distinguishing features which are generally used to mark
off, for convenience of study, one set of years from another.
Doubtless the consideration which determined the selection was again
artificial, the United States system of decennial censuses. Mr. Merk,
however, allows himself more latitude in this case, and his work
actually covers the real economic period, 1857 to 1873.
The chronological difficulty is intensified by the rapid changes of a
new community. Wheat growing reaches its apex and declines, lumbering
waxes, but neither begins nor culminates, movements feebly originate
that are later of absorbing interest. The adjustment of proportions
between these conflicting interests is delicately handled. The picture
is that of the time, but the stage in the development of each industry
is clearly indicated, and the origins of later movements given in some
detail. The volume will afford a base for histories of the earlier and
later periods, but has not skimmed their cream.
The technical character of the work is high. Newspapers and statistics
were not only used, but are analyzed. The great resources of the State
Historical Society were supplemented by personal interviews. The
volume contains ample footnotes, illustrations, a map, index, but no
bibliography. Its make-up is in the new, and more satisfactory, form
recently adopted by the Society.
The title indicates that the center of interest is the effect of war
on the Wisconsin community. This problem runs throughout, and is of
especial interest today. Mr. Merk emphasizes the relative facility of
adjustment in an agricultural community. Another general feature is
the tendency toward coöperation in industry, particularly agriculture,
for the purposes of education and general improvement, which later
became so characteristic of Wisconsin.
Agriculture properly opens the volume with its vital but somewhat
monotonous progress enlivened by the lively episode of hops. Lumbering
receives fewer pages, but two chapters; the first, on the industry,
the second, on the lumber wars. Railroads receive five chapters and
almost as many pages as both, including two picturesque fights, which
formed, in large measure, the basis of state politics during the
period. Banking and trade about equal agriculture, and reveal a state
youthful but less reckless than many others. A chapter on labor is
chiefly concerned with the beginnings of the labor movement, labor in
industry being largely discussed in connection with the various
fields. There are other chapters on mining, manufacturing, the
commerce of the Upper Mississippi, and the commerce of the Great
Lakes. No one reading of the lumber wars or the Anti-Monopoly Revolt
can complain that economic history is dry.
The most unique contribution is doubtless that on the history of
lumbering. Nevertheless the study of railroading reveals the
advantages in taking up so vast a subject by localities.
Generalizations become vivid by the detail that is given them. One
sees how the railroads were unscrupulous, how the voters were
unreasonable. The handling of such questions on a scale that involves
personalities is a searching test of historical poise, and Mr. Merk
shows a candor and a fair-mindedness that are impeccable; he sometimes
criticizes action, but never impugns the motive.
The reviewer hesitates to close without adverse criticism, for fear
that the review may be considered perfunctory. He could not, with
honesty, do otherwise than express his conviction that the work is
unusual in the degree and the well-rounded proportion of its
excellence. If anything more could be desired, it seems to be a
concluding chapter, not to add new facts, but to give a greater sense
of development. Each chapter moves, but the topical method brings its
inevitable result; one cannot entirely escape the impression of a
street corner rather than a river bank.
CARL RUSSELL FISH.
Two of the four leading articles in the October number of the
_American Historical Review_ are by Wisconsin men. Prof. Herbert E.
Bolton, now of California, discusses “The Mission as a Frontier
Institution in the Spanish-American Colonies.” Prof. W. T. Root, of
the University of Wisconsin, writes of “The Lords of Trade and
Plantations.” Other leading articles in the magazine are “A Case of
Witchcraft” by George L. Kittredge, and “The History of German
Socialism Reconsidered” by Prof. C. J. H. Hayes.
The September number of the _Mississippi Valley Historical Review_
contains three articles of special interest to Wisconsin readers. The
first, “The Rise of Sports,” by Prof. Frederic Logan Paxson, curator
of the Society, was delivered as the recent annual presidential
address before the Mississippi Valley Historical Association. It
traces in interesting fashion the development in America between 1876
and 1893 of a widespread interest in out-of-door exercise. B. H.
Schockel writes on the “Settlement and Development of the Lead and
Zinc Mining Region with Special Emphasis on Jo Daviess County,
Illinois.” The district treated of consisted of Grant, Iowa, and
Lafayette Counties in Wisconsin, and of Jo Daviess County, Illinois.
Although the latter county affords the particular locus for the study,
it applies with almost equal force to the three counties of
southwestern Wisconsin included in the lead mining district. Finally,
Prof. James A. James, of Northwestern University, writes on “Spanish
Influence in the West during the American Revolution.”
The Wisconsin Archeological Society has recently issued two reports,
one describing the antiquities of Green Lake, the other describing the
early Indian remains of Shawano County. The latter report is based
upon the recent surveys made of the Shawano Lake and Wolf River Region
by George R. Fox, a former resident of Wisconsin, but now a curator of
the Chamberlain Museum in Three Oaks, Michigan. The Society is now
making an earnest effort to preserve a fine Indian mound on the shore
of Lake Anderson, in Forest County. This mound, 10 feet high and 45
feet in diameter, stands at the edge of an old Indian village site and
is the only one in that part of the country. Relic hunters have
already begun to dig into it, and the state Archeological Society,
realizing its historic value, is urging the owner to preserve it
permanently and mark it with a descriptive tablet.
The first issue of the _Michigan History Magazine_ published by the
Michigan Historical Commission appeared in July, 1917. Like similar
magazines, its chief purpose is that of serving as an historical news
bulletin, and as a medium of publication for papers of historical
interest. The first number contains five contributed articles, with
sections devoted to historical news, notes, and comments. One of the
features to be mentioned is that of securing reports from all the
county and local historical societies regarding their activities.
Since the local societies cannot support a joint publication, this
method offers a good substitute. By this exchange of news, each
society is kept in touch with the proceedings of the other. A
contributed article of more than ordinary merit appears in the first
issue by Rev. F. X. Barth on “The Field for the Historian in the Upper
Peninsula.” Aside from indicating the numerous points of historical
interest found in the Upper Peninsula, many of which are shared
jointly by Wisconsin, the paper presents one of the strongest appeals
for the value of local history study that can be found anywhere. It is
recommended to every reader of our Society.
Dr. George N. Fuller, Secretary of the Michigan Historical Commission,
is the author of a new book entitled the _Economic and Social
Beginnings of Michigan_. The study deals with the settlement of the
Lower Peninsula during the territorial period from 1805 to 1837.
Doctor Fuller has given special attention to the purely economic
conditions that existed in the Michigan Territory until her admission
into the Union. It is by far the most interesting and authentic volume
on the early history of Michigan that has appeared. The work is richly
illustrated and is printed in large, readable type.
The Michigan Historical Commission proposes to reproduce by
photostatic process the rare files of the _Kentucky Gazette_,
1787-1800, and the Detroit _Gazette_, 1817-1830. Of the former, but
one file is known to exist, that in the Lexington Public Library. Of
the latter file, the Wisconsin Historical Library possesses six bound
volumes, covering over one-half of the total period. It is proposed to
issue ten sets of each paper for as many subscribing libraries.
The Filson Club of Louisville has issued as number twenty-eight of its
publications _The Kentucky River_ by Mary Verhoeff. In this and other
similar studies supported by the Filson Club, Kentucky is accumulating
a valuable history of her state development. River navigation played a
larger part in the early history of Kentucky than in almost any other
of the western states. Miss Verhoeff’s chapter on the “Beginnings of
River Commerce” contains one of the most interesting discussions of
trade in the early Ohio Valley that has recently appeared. The study
is profusely illustrated, consisting of six chapters and 257 pages. In
marked contrast with the expensive volumes that thus far have been
issued by the Filson Club, the present one appears in a most simple
dress with covers of heavy paper.
Mr. A. C. Quisenberry has an interesting article in the September
number of the _Register_ of the Kentucky State Historical Society on
the “History of Morgan’s Men.” There are few chapters in the military
history of the Confederacy that compare in interest with the swift,
dashing raids of Generals Morgan and Forrest. There are many
historical readers who do not know that the southern forces ever came
north of the Ohio during the conflict between the states. But during
the summer of 1863 the citizens of Indiana and Ohio were given the
greatest scare they ever experienced when General Morgan led 2,000 men
in a mad dash across these two states and reached Columbia County,
Ohio, where surrounded by over 80,000 regulars, volunteers, and home
guards, he surrendered. Mr. Quisenberry’s article gives us a
praiseworthy review of this brilliant raid.
One of the most important publications of original documents that has
recently appeared relating to the southwestern portion of the United
States and Louisiana Territory is the collection of the official
letter books of Gov. William C. C. Claiborne, edited by Dr. Dunbar
Rowland of the Mississippi Historical Society. Governor Claiborne was
perhaps the most important man in the entire Southwest from 1803 to
1817. He touched American life at many vital points, and his
correspondence during the years in which he served as Governor of that
vast territory is filled with observations and suggestions that relate
to every important activity of the Southwest. The letters now made
available for the first time comprise the chief source material from
which the history of that significant section of American history must
be written. The letters fill six octavo volumes, personally edited by
Dr. Dunbar Rowland.
With the passing of the American frontier and the rapid settlement of
every habitable portion of the western states, the present generation
of readers welcomes with interest the personal reminiscences of those
who figured in such epoch-making events. The death of Col. William F.
Cody, more widely known as Buffalo Bill, marks the passing of the most
famous and picturesque character of his time. In his autobiography
entitled _Buffalo Bill’s Own Story_ published by John R. Stanton,
1917, we have a vivid and in many respects an historical work of no
slight importance. Mr. William Lightfoot Visscher who for two score
years was a boon companion of Colonel Cody adds a chapter dealing with
the incidents attending the last days of the noted pioneer, and an
account of his death and burial. No man in all America could approach
Colonel Cody in popularizing the events that played so prominent a
part in the passing of the Indian and the westward migration of the
whites. As scout, Pony express rider, Indian fighter, law maker, and
showman he became an international character, and the dramatic events
that marked such a career have passed from the active stage of western
history.
The September, 1917 issue of the _Georgia Historical Quarterly_ has as
its leading article a biographical sketch of Mrs. Eleanor Kinzie
Gordon, of Savannah, recently deceased, granddaughter of John Kinzie,
the well-known Indian trader of early Chicago. Mrs. Gordon’s father,
John Harris Kinzie, was sub-Indian agent for the Winnebago, stationed
at Fort Winnebago for several years prior to 1834. To this frontier
fort her mother, a cultivated New England girl, was brought as a bride
in the year 1830. She is best known to later times by her charming
book _Wau Bun_, a semi-historical narrative of family traditions and
personal experiences in the early northwest. Its contents deal for the
most part with the author’s life at Fort Winnebago and the book may
fairly be regarded as a classic of early Wisconsin literature. Mrs.
Gordon, the daughter, was born in Chicago in 1835. In early womanhood
she married a citizen of Georgia and so for upwards of sixty years her
home has been in that state.
Within the last few years Henry Ford has won for himself a place in
the heart of the American public fairly comparable to that achieved
long since by Thomas A. Edison, who, like Ford, was a Michigan boy. A
good biography of Ford would be welcomed, we believe by thousands of
Americans, not including those who own Ford cars. “Henry Ford’s Own
Story” as told to Rose Wilder Lane (New York, 1917) is a hastily
constructed narrative put together in characteristic reportorial
fashion and frankly laudatory in character. Nevertheless it presents
the essential facts about the noted manufacturer’s career, reads
interestingly, and should at least serve to whet the appetite of the
reading public for a biography which should be really worthy of its
unique subject.
Bulletin of Information No. 87 of the Society, which has recently come
from the press, is an account of “The Public Document Division of the
Wisconsin Historical Library.” The immediate purpose of the bulletin
is to serve as a guide to our own public document division. The full
treatment which the author (Mrs. Anna W. Evans, chief of the document
division of the library) has given the subject of the bulletin,
however, should render it a valuable bibliographic aid to any library
or student who has occasion to deal with American or British public
documents. Members and friends of the Society will be pleased to know
that our collection of public documents is believed to be the best
west of the Alleghanies and to take high rank among the leading
collections of the entire country. In the treatise under discussion
the author has especially sought to emphasize the friendly, human
qualities of the contents of the documents entrusted to her care. She
has fully succeeded in realizing her aim.
A history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, it is understood, is shortly to
be issued by the Lewis Publishing Company of Chicago.
_A Son of the Middle Border_, by Hamlin Garland, published by the
Macmillan Company of New York, is a narrative of unusual interest to
Wisconsin readers. In it the author tells the story of his early life,
first on a “coulee” farm in western Wisconsin, later as an emigrant
(with his parents) successively to northern Iowa and the Dakotas. Many
of those of maturer years who read the book will find depicted in it
with extraordinary clearness scenes and conditions of a life, now
largely vanished, which they themselves have shared in earlier years.
A survey made by the United States Department of Agriculture in
December, 1916, on the number of silos in this country shows that
Wisconsin leads all other states in the Union. Out of a grand total of
333,160, Wisconsin had 55,992. New York was second with 42,846. The
past year saw several thousand more silos constructed in Wisconsin,
and the Agricultural Department of the State Council of Defense
estimates the number will now reach 60,000. The average capacity of
Wisconsin silos is 120 tons, while those of New York average but 62
tons.
The State Historical Society of Iowa has begun the publication of a
series of pamphlets issued under the general caption _Iowa and War_.
The object of the Society is “to present in attractive form a series
of small pamphlets dealing with a variety of subjects relating to
interesting matters connected with the history of Iowa.” Volume I,
number 1, published in July is devoted to an account of “Old Fort
Snelling” by Marcus L. Hansen. Old Fort Snelling belongs to the Upper
Mississippi Valley in general and Mr. Hansen’s account of it should
possess as much interest for citizens of Wisconsin as for those of
Iowa. “Enlistments from Iowa during the Civil War,” by John E. Biggs
is published in No. 2 for August. No. 3, for September, contains an
account of “The Iowa Civil War Loan,” written by Ivan L. Pollock.
Since the declaration of war by the United States upon Germany, the
study of military history in this country has practically monopolized
the attention of historical investigators. The leading article in the
_Iowa Journal of History and Politics_ for July, 1917, deals with
“Enlistments during the Civil War.” Like Wisconsin and other northern
states, Iowa found herself utterly unprepared for a war. The writer
states that at the beginning of the conflict in 1861, there was not a
single unit of the regular army in Iowa, nor were there any forts or
garrisons. There was not a military post in the state and the nearest
arsenal was in St. Louis. A discussion of the draft and its
administration in Iowa forms a valuable part of the study.
C. W. Johnston, a Des Moines lawyer of thirty years standing,
“concluded to discontinue and enter upon a period of travel.” _Along
the Pacific by Land and Sea_ (Chicago, 1916) contains a series of
breezy letters which he wrote back to the Des Moines _Register and
Leader_. They contain the reactions of this son of the Middle West
toward the new environment afforded by a visit, apparently his first,
to various cities on the Pacific coast. Through dint of reiterated
remarks on the subject the reader leaves the book with the not
entirely valid conviction that one of the “certainties” for which Des
Moines bears the palm among her sister cities is that of being the
dirtiest place in the United States.
The importance of religious denominations in the growth of our State
and national history is being recognized more and more by historical
students. In the _Indiana Magazine of History_, June, 1917, appears an
interesting article by Rev. Elmo A. Robinson entitled “Universalism in
Indiana.” While the writer deals primarily with the growth of that
denomination in Indiana, yet mention is also made of the influences of
Universalism in the other states of the Old Northwest. A review of the
proceedings of the Northwest Conference of Universalists shows that
the Wisconsin delegates figured prominently in the activities of this
denomination.
[Illustration: CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY
From a photograph in the Wisconsin Historical Library]
VOL. I, NO. 3 MARCH, 1918
THE
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE
OF HISTORY
[Illustration: Printer’s Logo]
PUBLICATIONS OF THE
STATE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN.
Edited by MILO M.
QUAIFE, Superintendent
CONTENTS
Page
A WISCONSIN WOMAN’S PICTURE OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN
_Cordelia A. P. Harvey_ 233
THE DUTCH SETTLEMENTS OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY
_Sipko F. Rederus_ 256
PIONEER RECOLLECTIONS OF BELOIT AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN
_Lucius G. Fisher_ 266
DOCUMENTS:
Chicago Treaty of 1833: Charges preferred against George
B. Porter; Letter from George B. Porter to President
Andrew Jackson 287
HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS:
The Disputed Michigan-Wisconsin Boundary; An Early
Wisconsin Play 304
EDITORIAL:
The Professor and the Finger Bowl; The Printing of
Historical Publications; Is War Becoming More Horrible?;
Some Leaves from the Past; The Development of
Humanitarianism; Other Agencies; Some Facts and Figures;
Bravery Then and Now; Schrecklichkeit 309
QUESTION BOX:
The First Settler of Baraboo; The Chippewa River during
the French and British Régimes; The Career of Colonel G.
W. Manypenny; Treaty Hall and Old La Pointe 319
COMMUNICATIONS:
More Light on the Originator of “Winnequah”; A History
of Our State Flag 327
SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES:
The Society and the State; Some Wisconsin Public
Documents; Some Publications 330
The Society as a body is not responsible for statements or opinions
advanced in the following pages by contributors.
COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN
A WISCONSIN WOMAN’S PICTURE OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN
CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY
Hundreds of loyal women labored devotedly during the Civil War
ministering to the needs of the northern soldiers. Of them all, none
worked more effectively or earned a larger measure of appreciation and
devotion on the part of those she served than Mrs. Cordelia A. P.
Harvey, wife of Governor Lewis Harvey of Wisconsin. After his tragic
death by drowning at Savannah, Tennessee, while engaged in a mission
of mercy to Wisconsin’s wounded soldiers, Mrs. Harvey conceived the
idea that it was her duty to carry forward the work that her husband
had left unfinished. In September, 1862, Governor Salomon appointed
her sanitary agent at St. Louis, and until the end of the war she
continued in this service. Some idea of her methods and of their
effectiveness may be gained from the narrative which follows. What the
soldiers thought of her is sufficiently indicated by the title “The
Angel of Wisconsin,” which they bestowed upon her.
The narrative we print is from Mrs. Harvey’s typewritten copy of a
lecture which she delivered following the close of the war. This
manuscript the owner, Mrs. James Selkirk of Clinton, Wisconsin,
permitted the Wisconsin History Commission to copy a few years since,
and it was made the basis, in large part, of chapters VIII and IX of
Hurn’s _Wisconsin Women in the War between the States_, published by
the commission in 1911. Prior to this the portion of the paper
pertaining to President Lincoln was drawn upon by J. G. Holland in
preparing his life of Lincoln. Thus the paper has twice been drawn
upon freely for publication. Notwithstanding this, the complete story
in Mrs. Harvey’s own words is sufficiently interesting and important
to justify its publication at this time. In the preparation of the
narrative for publication a few changes in punctuation and typography
have been made, and one paragraph, clearly interpolated for the
benefit of the lecturer’s younger hearers, has been deleted. These
things aside, the story is now printed for the first time just as Mrs.
Harvey composed it.
* * * * *
Perhaps it is not well to open too frequently the deep wells of past
sorrow that we may drink the bitter draughts which memory offers.
Still, we would not forget the past--our glorious past--with all its
terrible trials, its untold sufferings, its unwritten history. The
Christian never forgets the dying groans on Calvary that gave to him
his soul’s salvation; neither can an American citizen forget the great
price paid for the life and liberty of this nation. Next to love of
God is love of country.
It is not my object to awaken any morbid feelings of sentimental
sorrow, or to open again the deep wounds which time has healed.
Neither do I wish to serve up to an unhealthy imagination a dish of
fearful horrors from which a healthy organization must turn away. I
would only ask you to look at the shadows a little while, that the
life and light of peace and plenty which now fill our land may by
contrast impress upon your hearts a picture more beautiful than any
artist could place on canvas. Shadows always make the light more
beautiful.
In the fall of 1862 I found myself in Cape Girardeau, where hospitals
were being improvised for the immediate use of the sick and dying then
being brought in from the swamps by the returning regiments and up the
rivers in closely crowded hospital boats. These hospitals were mere
sheds filled with cots as thick as they could stand, with scarcely
room for one person to pass between them. Pneumonia, typhoid, and camp
fevers, and that fearful scourge of the southern swamps and rivers,
chronic diarrhea, occupied every bed. A surgeon once said to me,
“There is nothing else there: here I see pneumonia, and there fever,
and on that cot another disease, and I see nothing else! You had
better stay away; the air is full of contagion, and contagion and
sympathy do not go well together.”
One day a woman passed through these uncomfortable, illy-ventilated,
hot, unclean, infected, wretched rooms, and she saw something else
there. A hand reached out and clutched her dress. One caught her shawl
and kissed it, another her hand, and pressed it to his fevered cheek;
another in wild delirium, cried, “I want to go home! I want to go
home! Lady! Lady! Take me in your chariot, take me away!” This was a
fair-haired, blue-eyed boy of the South, who had left family and
friends forever; obeying his country’s call, he enlisted under the
stars and stripes because he could not be a traitor. He was therefore
disowned, and was now dying among strangers with his mother and
sisters not twenty miles away; and they knew that he was dying and
would not come to him. Father, forgive them, they knew not what they
did.
As this woman passed, these “diseases,” as the surgeon called them,
whispered and smiled at each other, and even reached out and took hold
of each others’ hands, saying, “She will take us home, I know her; she
will not leave us here to die,” not dreaming that hovering just above
them was a white robed one, who in a short time would take them to
their heavenly home.
This woman failed to see on these cots aught but the human [beings]
they were to her, the sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers of anxious
weeping ones at home; and as such she cared for and thought of them.
Arm in arm with health, she visited day by day every sufferer’s cot,
doing, it is true, very little, but always taking with her from the
outside world fresh air, fresh flowers, and all the hope and comfort
she could find in her heart to give them. Now and then one would
totter forth into the open air, his good constitution having overcome
disease, and the longings for life so strong within him that he
grasped at straws, determined to live. If perchance he could get a
furlough, in a few weeks a strong man would return and greet you with,
“How do you do, I am on my way to my regiment!” Who this stranger
might be, you could never imagine until reminded by him of the
skeleton form and trembling steps you had so recently watched going to
the landing, homeward bound. But if, as was too frequently the case,
he was sent to convalescent camps, in a few weeks he was returned to
hospital, and again to camp, and thus continued to vibrate between
camp and hospital until hope and life were gone. This was the fate of
thousands.
On a steamer from Cape Girardeau to Helena at table one day when the
passengers were dining, among whom were several military officers, I
heard a young major of the regular army very coolly remark that it was
much cheaper for the government to keep her sick soldiers in hospitals
on the river than to furlough them. A lady present quietly replied,
“That is true, Major, if all were faithful to the government, but
unfortunately a majority of the surgeons in the army have
conscientious scruples, and verily believe it to be their duty to keep
these sick men alive as long as possible. To be sure, their uneaten
rations increased the hospital fund and so enabled your surgeons
generously to provide all needed delicacies for the sick, but the pay
was drawn by the soldiers from the government all the same. Don’t you
think, Sir, it would be a trifle more economical,” continued the lady,
“to send these poor fellows north for a few weeks, to regain their
strength, that they might return at once to active service?” The
laughter of his brother officers prevented my hearing his reply.
This young officer was the medical director at Helena, where I found
over two thousand graves of Northeners. Two-thirds of these men might
have been saved, could they have been sent north. The surgeon in
charge of the general hospital, when asked why he did not furlough
some of the men from his over-crowded hospitals, replied that he had
at one time and another made out certificates of disability for
furlough for nearly every man in his hospital and for hundreds who
rested on the nearby hill, but when sent for the signature and
approval of the medical director, they had invariably been returned,
disapproved; that he had also permitted the men themselves to go with
their papers, only to have them severely reproved and ordered back to
hospital, and, said he, with tears in his eyes, “many of them never
returned, for, broken-hearted, they have lain down by the roadside and
died.”
I once heard a person who had been instrumental in giving a dying boy
back to his mother, that she might nurse him back to life, relate how
it was done. The mother had succeeded in getting her son as far as St.
Louis where his papers were to be sent. They came in the usual way to
the medical director, were all wrong, of course--not made out
according to army regulations and must therefore be returned to his
regiment, which was somewhere with Sherman and could not be reached.
The mother received the papers with that fearful word “disapproved”
written upon them. There was nothing to do but to place her sick son
in a St. Louis hospital, and leave him there to die; she must return
to her family. She told her story with streaming eyes and a broken
heart. The woman impulsively said, “Give me the papers,” and off she
went to the medical director’s office. He was a man full six feet
high, over fifty years of age, a head like Oliver Cromwell’s, a face
stern as fate, and of the regular army. She entered his presence,
seated herself, and waited to be spoken to.
Soon it came with, “What do you want?”
“To talk with you a moment, General,” she replied.
“No time for talking.”
“I will wait,” she said.
He wrote a few moments, then said, “May as well hear it now as
ever--what is it?”
“I would like to ask you if you had a son in this volunteer service,
sent up from the South as far as St. Louis, sick and like to die, and
some ignorant, careless officer had made out his furlough papers
wrong--”
“What do you want!”
“--would you not be glad, if you were away, if your poor boy could
find a friend?”
“What do you want, I say? This is nothing to the purpose.”
“Do you not think that friend ought to do all she could to save your
boy?”
“What is all this nonsense?”
“Only this: a poor mother is at the Soldiers’ Home with her dying son.
The physicians say he may live if he is sent north, but will surely
die if left here. His furlough papers have been sent on, and I have
seen them, and know they are wrong. His regiment is with Sherman on
the march. Cannot something be done for the boy--for his mother?”
“We have the army regulations, we cannot go behind them. You know if I
do, they will rap me over the knuckles at Washington.”
“Oh, that your knuckles were mine. I would be willing to have them
skinned; the skin would grow again, you know.”
“Where are these papers?” he said sharply.
“I have them here in my pocket.”
“Let me see them.”
The woman took them slowly out, blank side upwards, and gave them to
him. He turned them and his face flushed as he said, “Why I have had
these papers and disapproved them. This is my signature.”
She replied tremblingly, “I knew it, but forgive me. I thought maybe
when you knew about it, General--and the mother was weeping with the
skeleton arms of her boy around her neck--I thought maybe you would do
something or tell me something to do.”
“Suppose I do approve these papers, it will do no good. The general in
command will stop them and censure me.”
“But you will have done all you could and have obeyed the higher law.”
In the meantime this truly noble man had firmly crossed out his own
words and signature, and rewritten under it words of approval, and in
a quick, husky tone, said, “Take it and don’t you come here again
today.” As the woman raised her eyes to thank him, she saw a scowl on
his brow, but a smile on his lips, and a tear in his eye.
“The general in command,” said she in relating the story, “never went
behind the medical director’s signature. The boy started for home that
night with his mother, full of hope.”
Not long after this an incident occurred showing how easily man yields
to the higher law when once he makes humanity his standpoint. An
erring boy of nineteen, who had deserted from a Minnesota regiment,
changed his name, enlisted in the gunboat service from which he again
deserted, again changed his name, and enlisted in a Wisconsin
regiment, a little unsteady to be sure, but still a soldier. He was
wounded in a battle, honorably discharged from the service, and paid
off. On Saturday night he reached St. Louis and found his way to one
of her lowest dens, was drugged and robbed of everything he possessed.
On Monday he was found tossing from side to side stricken by disease.
His surroundings were terrible, and he was lying on an old, filthy
mattress which had been thrown into the open hall by the frightened
inmates. He was screaming with pain and was at times delirious. As
soon, however, as he heard the soothing tones of a human voice, and
recognized the hand of kindness on his burning brow, he cried,
“Mother! Oh, Mother, forgive me, God forgive me! I have sinned. What
shall I do! What shall I do!” Conscience and disease were doing their
work.
Softly speaking to him words of comfort and hope, our friend released
herself from his grasp, promising to return in half an hour to take
him away. This was easier said than done. This soldier was now a
citizen, and could not, therefore, be admitted into a military
hospital. His disease was of such a nature that in all probability he
must die--but his widowed mother, far away, must she know that her
darling soldier had died in such a place? God forbid! An order must be
had to place him in a military hospital.
The woman goes to her old friend, the medical director, and tells her
story in as few words as possible, saying, “General, write an order
quick to the surgeon in charge of the Fifth Street hospital, that the
boy may be received. I also want an ambulance, mattress, and bedding,
and some men to help me move him.”
“Yes, yes, but listen, I have no right, I can’t do it.”
“I know--I know, but please do hurry--I promised to be back in half an
hour, and the boy will expect me.”
The general, calling a boy and imitating her voice, said, “Hurry,
hurry, boy! Get the best ambulance we have, a good mattress and
bedding, and some men and go with Madame and do whatever she bids you
to do. Here is the order, what else do you want? Henceforth we do what
you wish and no questions asked. It is the easiest way and I guess the
only way to get along with you.” The mother mourned her son’s death,
but not his disgrace. In after months, this worthy officer by daring
to take responsibility performed many acts which will gladden his
dying hours.
In this way, one could be snatched from suffering and death now and
then, but Oh! the thousands that were beyond the reach of human aid,
and the numbers that no private individual power could help--only the
great military power! This conviction first led to the thought of
providing, if possible, some place where invalids could be sent north,
without the trouble of furloughs. The idea of northern military
hospitals seemed practicable and so natural that we never once thought
the authorities would oppose the movement. For nearly a year this
question was agitated and urged with all the force that logic,
position, and influence could bring to bear; but all in vain. Hope was
well nigh dead within us.
This depression in the South because of the utter failure of the
government to provide a way by which the enfeebled soldiers might be
restored to strength at last suggested the thought of going directly
to the head, to the President. By sending it up by one authority and
another, by this officer and that one, we began to feel that the
message lost the flavor of truth, and got cold before it reached the
deciding power; and because it was so lukewarm he spued it out of his
mouth. It is always best if you wish to secure an object, if you have
a certain purpose to accomplish, to go at once to the highest power,
be your own petitioner, in temporal as in spiritual matters, officiate
at your own altar, be your own priest.
I am going to give you another chapter in my own experience, as it
was, if I can do so, without the least coloring. There is not a more
difficult task than that of relating simple facts in such a manner as
to convey an entirely correct impression. The difficulty is increased
when the relator is an interested party. I trust I shall not be
accused of egotism if I give the exact conversations between Mr.
Lincoln and myself, as taken down at the time, for in no other way can
I so well picture to you our much loved and martyred president as he
then appeared at the White House. As I said before, the necessity for
establishing military hospitals in the North had long been a subject
of much thought among our people, but it was steadily opposed by the
authorities.
By the advice of friends and with an intense feeling that something
must be done, I went to Washington. I entered the White House, not
with fear and trembling, but strong and self-possessed, fully
conscious of the righteousness of my mission. I was received without
delay. I had never seen Mr. Lincoln before. He was alone, in a medium
sized office-like room, no elegance about him, no elegance in him. He
was plainly clad in a suit of black that illy fitted him. No fault of
his tailor, however; such a figure could not be fitted. He was tall
and lean, and as he sat in a folded up sort of way in a deep arm
chair, one would almost have thought him deformed. At his side stood a
high writing desk and table combined; plain straw matting covered the
floor; a few stuffed chairs and sofa covered with green worsted
completed the furniture of the presence chamber of the president of
this great republic. When I first saw him his head was bent forward,
his chin resting on his breast, and in his hand a letter which I had
just sent in to him.
He raised his eyes, saying, “Mrs. Harvey?”
I hastened forward, and replied, “Yes, and I am glad to see you, Mr.
Lincoln.” So much for republican presentations and ceremony. The
President took my hand, hoped I was well, but there was no smile of
welcome on his face. It was rather the stern look of the judge who had
decided against me. His face was peculiar; bone, nerve, vein, and
muscle were all so plainly seen; deep lines of thought and care were
around his mouth and eyes. The word “justice” came into my mind, as
though I could read it upon his face--I mean that extended sense of
the word that comprehends the practice of every virtue which reason
prescribes and society should expect. The debt we owe to God, to man,
to ourselves, when paid, is but a simple act of justice, a duty
performed. This attribute seemed the source of Mr. Lincoln’s strength.
He motioned me to a chair. I sat, and silently read his face while he
was reading a paper written by one of our senators, introducing me and
my mission. When he had finished reading this he looked up, ran his
fingers through his hair, well silvered, though the brown then
predominated; his beard was more whitened.
In a moment he looked at me with a good deal of sad severity and said,
“Madam, this matter of northern hospitals has been talked of a great
deal, and I thought it was settled, but it seems not. What have you
got to say about it?”
“Only this, Mr. Lincoln, that many soldiers in our western army on the
Mississippi River must have northern air or die. There are thousands
of graves all along our southern rivers and in the swamps for which
the government is responsible, ignorantly, undoubtedly, but this
ignorance must not continue. If you will permit these men to come
north you will have ten men where you have one now.”
The president could not see the force or logic in this last argument.
He shrugged his shoulders and said, “If your reasoning were correct,
it would be a good argument.” I saw that I had misspoken. “I don’t see
how,” he continued, “sending one sick man north is going to give us in
a year ten well ones.”
A quizzical smile played over his face at my slight embarrassment.
“Mr. Lincoln, you understand me, I think. I intended to say, if you
will let the sick come north, you will have ten well men in the army
one year from today, where you have one well one now; whereas, if you
do not let them come north, you will not have one from the ten, for
they will all be dead.”
“Yes, yes, I understand you; but if they are sent north, they will
desert; where is the difference?”
“Dead men cannot fight,” I answered, “and they may not desert.”
Mr. Lincoln’s eye flashed as he replied, “A fine way, a fine way to
decimate the army, we should never get a man of them back, not one,
not one.”
“Indeed, but you must pardon me when I say you are mistaken; you do
not understand our people. You do not trust them sufficiently. They
are as true and as loyal to the government as you say. The loyalty is
among the common soldiers and they have ever been the chief
sufferers.”
“This is your opinion,” he said with a sort of a sneer. “Mrs. Harvey,
how many men do you suppose the government was paying in the Army of
the Potomac at the battle of Antietam, and how many men do you suppose
could be got for active service at that time? I wish you would give a
guess.”
“I know nothing of the Army of the Potomac, only there were some noble
sacrifices there. When I spoke of loyalty, I referred to our western
army.”
“Well, now, give a guess. How many?”
“I cannot, Mr. President.”
He threw himself around in the chair, one leg over the arm, and again
spoke slowly: “This war might have been finished at that time if every
man had been in his place that was able to be there, but they were
scattered hither and thither over the North, some on furloughs, and in
one way or another, gone; so that out of 170,000 men which the
government was paying at that time, only 83,000 could be got for
action. The consequences, you know, proved nearly disastrous.”
“It was very sad but the delinquents were certainly not in northern
hospitals, neither were they deserters therefrom, for there are none.
This is, therefore, no argument against them.”
“Well, well, Mrs. Harvey, you go and see the Secretary of War and talk
with him and hear what he has to say.” This he said thoughtfully, and
took up the letter I had given him, and after writing something on the
back of it gave it to me.
“May I return to you, Mr. Lincoln?” I asked.
“Certainly,” he replied, and his voice was gentler than it had been
before.
I left him for the war department. I found written on the back of the
letter these words, “Admit Mrs. Harvey at once; listen to what she
says; she is a lady of intelligence and talks sense. A. Lincoln.” Not,
of course, displeased with the introduction, I went on my way to Mr.
Stanton, our secretary of war, about whose severity I had heard so
much that I must confess I dreaded the interview; but I was kindly
received, listened to respectfully, and answered politely. And let me
say here, as a passing tribute to this great and good man, that I
never knew a clearer brain, a truer heart, a nobler spirit than Edwin
M. Stanton. I have watched him by the hour, listening to and deciding
questions of minor moment as well as those of greater importance--those
upon which the fate of the nation depended, and yet he never wavered.
Quick to see the right, he never hesitated to act. His foresight and
his strength seemed at times more than human. His place as a statesman
will not be filled in this century.
But to return to my interview with him. After understanding the object
for which I came, he told me he had sent the Surgeon-General to New
Orleans with directions to come up the river and examine all
hospitals. In short, I understood he had started on a tour of
inspection, which meant nothing at all so far as the suffering was
concerned. I told Mr. Stanton, “Our western hospitals have never
received any benefit from these inspections, and we have very little
confidence that any good would result from them. Any person with
discernment, with a medium allowance of common sense and humanity, who
is loyal, and has been through our southern river hospitals, knows and
feels the necessity for what I ask, and yet you say you have never
received a report to this effect. The truth is, the medical
authorities know the heads of departments do not wish hospitals
established so far away from army lines, and report accordingly. I
wish this could be overruled; can nothing be done?”
“Nothing, until the Surgeon-General returns,” Mr. Stanton replied.
“Good morning,” I said, and left him, not at all disappointed.
Returning to Mr. Lincoln, I found it was past the usual hour for
receiving and no one was in the waiting-room. The messenger said I had
better go directly into the President’s room. It would be more
comfortable waiting there, and there was only one gentleman with him
and he would soon be through. I found my way to the back part of the
room, and seated myself on a sofa in such a position that the desk was
between Mr. Lincoln and me. I do not think that he knew I was there.
The gentleman with him had given him a paper. The President looked at
it carefully and said, “Yes, this is sufficient endorsement for
anybody; what do you want?”
I could not hear the reply distinctly, but the promotion of somebody
in the army, either a son or a brother, was strongly urged. I heard
the words, “I see there are no vacancies among brigadiers, from the
fact that so many colonels are commanding brigades.”
At this the President threw himself forward in his chair in such a
manner as to show me the most curious, comical face in the world. He
was looking the man straight in the eye, with the left hand raised to
a horizontal position, and his right hand patting it coaxingly, and
said, “My friend, let me tell you something; you are a farmer, I
believe; if not, you will understand me. Suppose you had a large
cattle yard, full of all sorts of cattle, cows, oxen, and bulls, and
you kept selling your cows and oxen, taking good care of your bulls;
bye and bye, you would find that you had nothing but a yard full of
old bulls, good for nothing under heaven, and it will be just so with
my army if I don’t stop making brigadier generals.” The man was
answered; he could scarcely laugh, though he tried to do so, but you
should have seen Mr. Lincoln laugh--he laughed all over, and fully
enjoyed the point if no one else did. The story, if not elegant, was
certainly apropos.
As I commenced to tell you everything I remember of this singular man,
this must fill its place. The gentleman soon departed, fully
satisfied, I doubt not, for it was a saying at Washington when one met
a petitioner, “Has Mr. Lincoln told you a story? If he has, it is all
day with you. He never says ‘yes’ after a story.”
I stepped forward as soon as the door closed. The President motioned
to a chair near him. “Well, what did the Secretary of War say?”
I gave a full account of the interview, and then said, “I have nowhere
else to go but to you.”
He replied earnestly, “Mr. Stanton knows very well that there is an
acting surgeon-general here, and that Hammond will not be back these
two months. I will see the Secretary of War myself, and you come in
the morning.”
I arose to take leave, when he bade me not to hasten, spoke kindly of
my work, said he fully appreciated the spirit in which I came. He
smiled pleasantly and bade me good evening.
As I left the White House, I met Owen Lovejoy who greeted me cordially
and asked, “How long are you going to stay here?”
“Until I get what I came after,” I replied.
“That’s right, that’s right; go on, I believe in the final
perseverance of the saints.”
I have never forgotten these words, perhaps it is because they were
the last I ever heard him utter.
I returned in the morning, full of hope, thinking of the pleasant face
I had left the evening before, but no smile greeted me. The President
was evidently annoyed by something, and waited for me to speak, which
I did not do. I afterward learned his annoyance was caused by a woman
pleading for the life of a son who was sentenced to be shot for
desertion under very aggravating circumstances.
After a moment he said, “Well,” with a peculiar contortion of face I
never saw in anybody else.
I replied, “Well,” and he looked at me a little astonished, I fancied,
and said, “Have you nothing to say?”
“Nothing, Mr. President, until I hear your decision. You bade me come
this morning; have you decided?”
“No, but I believe this idea of northern hospitals is a great humbug,
and I am tired of hearing about it.” He spoke impatiently.
I replied, “I regret to add a feather’s weight to your already
overwhelming care and responsibility. I would rather have stayed at
home.”
With a kind of half smile, he said, “I wish you had.”
I answered him as though he had not smiled. “Nothing would have given
me greater pleasure; but a keen sense of duty to this government,
justice and mercy to its most loyal supporters, and regard for your
honor and position made me come. The people cannot understand why
their friends are left to die when with proper care they might live
and do good service for their country. Mr. Lincoln, I believe you will
be grateful for my coming.” He looked at me intently; I could not tell
if he were annoyed or not, and as he did not speak, I continued: “I do
not come to plead for the lives of criminals, not for the lives of
deserters, not for those who have been in the least disloyal. I come
to plead for the lives of those who were the first to hasten to the
support of this government, who helped to place you where you are,
because they trusted you. Men who have done all they could, and now
when flesh, and nerve, and muscle are gone, still pray for your life
and the life of this republic. They scarcely ask for that for which I
plead--they expect to sacrifice their lives for their country. Many on
their cots, faint, sick, and dying, say, ‘We would gladly do more, but
I suppose that is all right.’ I know that a majority of them would
live and be strong men again if they could be sent north. I say I
know, because when I was sick among them last spring, surrounded by
every comfort, with the best of care, and determined to get well, I
grew weaker day by day, until, not being under military law, my
friends brought me north. I recovered entirely, simply by breathing
northern air.”
While I was speaking the expression of Mr. Lincoln’s face had changed
many times. He had never taken his eye from me. Now every muscle in
his face seemed to contract, and then suddenly expand. As he opened
his mouth you could almost hear them snap as he said, “You assume to
know more than I do,” and closed his mouth as though he never expected
to open it again, sort of slammed it to.
I could scarcely reply. I was hurt, and thought the tears would come,
but rallied in a moment and said, “You must pardon me, Mr. President,
I intend no disrespect, but it is because of this knowledge, because I
do know what you do not know, that I come to you. If you knew what I
do and had not ordered what I ask for, I should know that an appeal to
you would be vain; but I believe the people have not trusted you for
naught. The question only is whether you believe me or not. If you
believe me you will give me hospitals, if not, well--”
With the same snapping of muscle he again said, “You assume to know
more than surgeons do.”
“Oh, no! Mr. Lincoln, I could not perform an amputation nearly as well
as some of them do; indeed, I do not think I could do it at all. But
this is true--I do not come here for your favor, I am not an aspirant
for military honor. While it would be the pride of my life to be able
to win your respect and confidence, still, this I can waive for the
time being. Now the medical authorities know as well as I do that you
are opposed to establishing northern military hospitals, and they
report to please you; they desire your favor. I come to you from no
casual tour of inspection, passing rapidly through the general
hospitals, in the principal cities on the river, with a cigar in my
mouth and a rattan in my hand, talking to the surgeon in charge of the
price of cotton and abusing the generals in our army for not knowing
and performing their duty better, and finally coming into the open
air, with a long-drawn breath as though just having escaped
suffocation, and complacently saying, ‘You have a very fine hospital
here; the boys seem to be doing very well, a little more attention to
ventilation is perhaps desirable.’
“It is not thus; I have visited the hospitals, but from early morning
until late at night sometimes. I have visited the regimental and
general hospitals on the Mississippi River from Quincy to Vicksburg,
and I come to you from the cots of men who have died, who might have
lived had you permitted. This is hard to say, but it is none the less
true.”
During the time that I had been speaking Mr. Lincoln’s brow had become
very much contracted, and a severe scowl had settled over his whole
face. He sharply asked how many men Wisconsin had in the field, that
is, how many did she send? I replied, “About 50,000, I think, I do not
know exactly.”
“That means she has about 20,000 now.” He looked at me, and said, “You
need not look so sober, they are not all dead.”
I did not reply. I had noticed the veins in his face filling full
within a few moments, and one vein across his forehead was as large as
my little finger, and it gave him a frightful look.
Soon, with a quick, impatient movement of his whole frame, he said, “I
have a good mind to dismiss every man of them from the service and
have no more trouble with them!”
I was surprised at his lack of self-control, and I knew he did not
mean one word of what he said, but what would come next? As I looked
at him, I was troubled, fearing I had said something wrong. He was
very pale.
The silence was painful, and I said as quietly as I could, “They have
been faithful to the government; they have been faithful to you; they
will still be loyal to the government, do what you will with them; but
if you will grant my petition you will be glad as long as you live.
The prayer of grateful hearts will give you strength in the hour of
trial, and strong and willing arms will return to fight your battles.”
The President bowed his head, and with a look of sadness I can never
forget, said, “I never shall be glad any more.” All severity had
passed from his face. He seemed looking backward and heartward, and
for a moment he seemed to forget he was not alone; a more than mortal
anguish rested on his face.
The spell must be broken, so I said, “Do not speak so, Mr. President.
Who will have so much reason to rejoice when the government is
restored, as it will be?”
“I know, I know,” he said, placing a hand on each side and bowing
forward, “but the springs of life are wearing away.”
I asked if he felt his great cares were injuring his health.
“No,” he replied, “not directly, perhaps.”
I asked if he slept well, and he said he never was a good sleeper,
and, of course, slept less now than ever before. He said the people
did not yet appreciate the magnitude of this rebellion, and that it
would be a long time before the end.
I began to feel I was occupying time valuable to him and belonging to
him. As I arose to take leave, I said, “Have you decided upon your
answer to the object of my visit?”
He replied, “No. Come tomorrow morning. No, it is [cabinet] meeting
tomorrow--yes, come tomorrow at twelve o’clock, there is not much for
the cabinet to do tomorrow.” He arose and bade me a cordial
goodmorning.
The next morning I arose with a terribly depressed feeling that
perhaps I was to fail in the object for which I came. I found myself
constantly looking at my watch and wondering if twelve o’clock would
ever come. At last I ascended the steps of the White House as all
visitors were being dismissed, because the President would receive no
one on that day. I asked the messenger if that meant me, and he said,
“No. The President desires you to wait for the cabinet will soon
adjourn.” I waited, and waited, and waited, three long hours and more,
during which time the President sent out twice, saying the cabinet
would soon adjourn, that I was to wait. I was fully prepared for
defeat, and every word of my reply was chosen and carefully placed. I
walked the rooms and studied an immense map that covered one side of
the reception room. I listened, and at last heard many footsteps--the
cabinet had adjourned. Mr. Lincoln did not wait to send for me but
came directly into the room where I was. It was the first time I had
noticed him standing. He was very tall and moved with a shuffling,
awkward motion.
He came forward, rubbing his hands, and saying, “My dear Madam, I am
very sorry to have kept you waiting. We have but this moment
adjourned.”
I replied, “My waiting is no matter, but you must be very tired, and
we will not talk tonight.”
He said, “No. Sit down,” and placed himself in a chair beside me, and
said, “Mrs. Harvey, I only wish to tell you that an order equivalent
to granting a hospital in your state has been issued nearly
twenty-four hours.”
I could not speak, I was so entirely unprepared for it. I wept for
joy, I could not help it. When I could speak I said, “God bless you. I
thank you in the name of thousands who will bless you for the act.”
Then, remembering how many orders had been issued and countermanded, I
said, “Do you mean, really and truly, that we are going to have a
hospital now?”
With a look full of humanity and benevolence, he said, “I do most
certainly hope so.” He spoke very emphatically, and no reference was
made to any previous opposition. He said he wished me to come and see
him in the morning and he would give me a copy of the order.
I was so much agitated I could not talk with him. He noticed it and
commenced talking upon other subjects. He asked me to look at the map
before referred to, which, he said, gave a very correct idea of the
locality of the principal battle grounds of Europe. “It is a fine
map,” he said, pointing out Waterloo and the different battle fields
of the Crimea, then, smiling, said, “I am afraid you will not like it
as well when I tell you whose work it is.”
I replied, “It is well done, whosever it may be. Who did it, Mr.
Lincoln?”
“McClellan, and he certainly did do this well. He did it while he was
at West Point.” There was nothing said for awhile. Perhaps he was
balancing in his own mind the two words which were then agitating the
heart of the American people, words which have ever throbbed the great
heart of nations, words whose power every individual has
recognized--“success,” and “failure.”
I left shortly after with the promise to call next morning, as he
desired me to do, at nine o’clock. I suppose the excitement caused the
intense suffering of that night. I was very ill and it was ten o’clock
the next morning before I was able to send for a carriage to keep my
appointment with the President. It was past the hour; more than fifty
persons were in the waiting room. I did not expect an audience, but
sent in my name and said I would call again. The messenger said, “Do
not go, I think the President will see you now.”
I had been but a moment among anxious, expectant, waiting faces, when
the door opened and the voice said, “Mrs. Harvey, the President will
see you now.” I arose, not a little embarrassed to be gazed at so
curiously by so many with a look that said as plainly as words could,
“Who are you?” As I passed the crowd, one person said, “She has been
here every day, and what is more, she is going to win.”
I entered the presence of Mr. Lincoln for the last time. He smiled
very graciously and drew a chair near him, and said, “Come here and
sit down.” He had a paper in his hand which he said was for me to
keep. It was a copy of the order just issued. I thanked him, not only
for the order but for the manner and spirit in which it had been
given, then said I must apologize for not having been there at nine
o’clock as he desired me to be, but that I had been sick all night.
He looked up with, “Did joy make you sick?”
I said, “I don’t know, very likely it was the relaxation of nerve
after intense excitement.”
Still looking at me he said, “I suppose you would have been mad if I
had said no?”
I replied, “No, Mr. Lincoln, I should have been neither angry nor
sick.”
“What would you have done?” he asked curiously. “I should have been
here at nine o’clock, Mr. President.”
“Well,” he laughingly said, “I think I acted wisely, then,” and
suddenly looking up, “Don’t you ever get angry?” he asked, “I know a
little woman not very unlike you who gets mad sometimes.”
I replied, “I never get angry when I have an object to gain of the
importance of the one under consideration; to get angry, you know,
would only weaken my cause, and destroy my influence.”
“That is true, that is true,” he said, decidedly. “This hospital I
shall name for you.”
I said, “No, but if you would not consider the request indelicate, I
would like to have it named for Mr. Harvey.”
“Yes, just as well, it shall be so understood if you prefer it. I
honored your husband, and felt his loss, and now let us have this
matter settled at once.”
He took a card and wrote a few words upon it, requesting the Secretary
of War to name the hospital “Harvey Hospital,” in memory of my
husband, and to gratify me he gave me the card, saying, “Now do you
take that directly to the Secretary of War and have it understood.” I
thanked him, but did not take it to Mr. Stanton. The hospital was
already named. I expressed a wish that he might never regret his
present action, and said I was sorry to have taken so much of his
time.
“Oh, no, you need not be,” he said kindly.
“You will not wish to see me again, Mr. President.”
“I didn’t say that and shall not.”
I said, “You have been very kind to me and I am grateful for it.”
He looked at me from under his eyebrows and said, “You almost think me
handsome, don’t you?”
His face then beamed with such kind benevolence and was lighted by
such a pleasant smile that I looked at him, and with my usual impulse,
said, clasping my hands together, “You are perfectly lovely to me,
now, Mr. Lincoln.” He colored a little and laughed most heartily.
As I arose to go, he reached out his hand, that hand in which there
was so much power and so little beauty, and held mine clasped and
covered in his own. I bowed my head and pressed my lips most
reverently upon the sacred shield, even as I would upon my country’s
shrine. A silent prayer went up from my heart, “God bless you, Abraham
Lincoln.” I heard him say goodbye, and I was gone. Thus ended the most
interesting interview of my life with one of the most remarkable men
of the age.
My impressions of him had been so varied, his character had assumed so
many different phases, his very looks had changed so frequently and so
entirely, that it almost seemed to me I had been conversing with half
a dozen different men. He blended in his character the most yielding
flexibility with the most unflinching firmness, child-like simplicity
and weakness with statesmanlike wisdom and masterly strength, but over
and around all was thrown the mantle of an unquestioned integrity.
THE DUTCH SETTLEMENTS OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY
BY SIPKO F. REDERUS
Dutch settlements have never been numerous in America or in any other
country not flying the Dutch flag. The Hollanders, unlike their German
and British neighbors, have no natural inclination to roaming and
adventure; and being strongly attached to their native soil they have
preferred attempting to improve conditions at home to hazarding their
fortune in a foreign country. This love of country has changed the
Netherlands from a boggy land to a beautiful, productive country with
an intelligent, industrious, and artistic people now numbering about
six millions.
Unusual conditions, political, economic, and religious, have, however,
from time to time caused Hollanders to emigrate to foreign lands, and
during the decade 1840-50 many set sail for the United States. After
the fall of Napoleon the Netherlands had changed from a republican to
a limited monarchical form of government. Belgium reunited with
Holland under the name of Kingdom of Netherlands, with William I, son
of the former Dutch stadtholder, as king. The union was not
successful, and the rebellion of 1830, which resulted in the
separation of Holland and Belgium, necessitated large armies which
William I kept up for years in the hope of reconquering Belgium. Then
in 1825 an inundation of the ocean swept away the dikes, devastated
the land, and left thousands homeless and without resources. With the
abdication of William I and the accession of his son, William II,
conditions did not improve. War and flood turned the thoughts of the
suffering lower and middle classes to emigration, and the period from
1840 to 1850 saw the great exodus of Dutch to America.
[Illustration: PETER DAAN
Pioneer Dutch Settler in Oostburg, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin]
Religious difficulties arising at this time also caused the emigration
of several distinct groups. With the separation of Holland from Spain
came separation from the civil and religious rule of the Catholic
Church and the adoption of the Reformed Church by the State. The Dutch
Reformed Church was Calvinistic in doctrine and Presbyterian in
government. German philosophy and French liberalism gradually
influenced the lives of members of the State Church; and the monarch
and other governmental officers being friendly toward the new thought,
the church synods permitted certain changes in the service and
doctrine. Again and again the orthodox party tried to overthrow the
new order, and after many failures in such attempts left the
established church to form a separate ecclesiastical body called the
Free Separate Reformed Church.
The civil government, fearing that civil revolution would follow this
religious upheaval, opposed the new church, forbade meetings, and
fined ministers. With the accession of William II the organization was
recognized as a corporate body, but many restrictions were imposed
upon it and financial aid, granted other denominations, was refused
it. A large number of the Separatists gladly accepted the terms
imposed, but others, smarting under the restrictions and foreseeing no
relief in the near future, resolved to emigrate to America.
Three separate parties, each under a prominent minister, were formed
for the purpose of founding settlements in the United States. Rev. R.
C. Van Raalte led his people to the eastern shore of Lake Michigan,
where they founded settlements which later came to be among the
prosperous communities of Michigan. Among them are Holland, where Hope
College was founded, Grand Haven, Muskegon, and Grand Rapids.
Under Rev. H. P. Scholte a party of Dutch immigrants went to southern
Iowa and settled a large tract of land purchased from the government.
The city of Pella, where Central College is located, is the center of
a number of communities, all of which have prosperous industries and
beautiful churches of the Reformed faith.
The party led by Rev. P. Zonne secured by purchase from the government
a section of country bordering on Lake Michigan, some twenty miles
south of the present city of Sheboygan. The settlers arrived in the
spring of 1847 after a stormy voyage across the Atlantic, making the
journey inland by way of the Hudson River, Erie Canal, and Great
Lakes. In settling this region the Zonne party had been preceded by
other Dutch families. In 1844 Lawrence Zuvelt and his family settled
in a locality four and one-half miles northwest of what later became
the Zonne settlement, and in 1846 they were joined by G. H. Koltsée
and John Boland and their families.
A tragic event marked the growth of this settlement. In 1848 the
_Mayflower_, filled with immigrants to Wisconsin, including many
Hollanders, had proceeded as far as Sheboygan when fire was
discovered. When, in spite of the crew’s efforts, the flames seemed to
be gaining headway, a panic ensued, and many lost their lives in the
fire or in the water. Others were landed in pitiful condition on the
shores of Wisconsin. Three Hollanders, Wilterdenk, Oonk, and Rensink
by name, were among those rescued. Wilterdenk had lost his wife and
six children in the catastrophe.
The Zonne community rapidly overtook the earlier settlement in size
and development. Cedar Grove was the name given it by Reverend Zonne,
because cedar formed the greatest part of the forest near by, in
portions of which the Indians still lived. The land was ideal for the
painter, poet, and hunter, but the matter-of-fact Hollanders, though
belonging to a race which had produced great artists, writers, and
explorers, had not come to dream, paint pictures, or follow the chase.
The land was valued by the settlers as a means of material
improvement; the forest was an obstacle and had to be removed. The
work of destruction went on systematically from season to season, and
in a short time large clearings could be seen on which were planted
maize, wheat, and barley. All of these grains gave rich return, for
the soil was fertile and not easily exhausted.
Clearing the ground for the first crop, however, was a difficult
process. How to remove the trees after they had been felled with such
difficulty was a problem. The settlers could not use all the wood for
fuel nor could they convert the tree trunks into lumber. To dispose of
the superabundance of wood, these pioneer farmers had to set it on
fire, being careful to remove the immense pile to a safe distance from
the forest and from the buildings already erected. The hardwood tree
stumps remaining in the fields after the trees had been cut were a
great obstacle to cultivation of the ground. Digging the stumps out of
the field was a long process, and explosives or machinery for doing
this work were not then available.
The forest, however, was a help as well as a hindrance. From the logs
were made houses and barns, agricultural implements, wagons, and, to
some extent, furniture. The forest possessed an abundance of game,
wild blackberries, strawberries, wild grapes, and maple trees from
which the settlers secured their sugar. Autumn brought a harvest of
hickorynuts and walnuts. Cattle thrived in the woodland, and in
certain parts flocks of sheep could be kept. From the wool the
housewife knitted stockings and wove the homespun for the family
clothing.
Communication with other settlements was extremely difficult. For many
years the Indian trails and the pathways blazed by the settlers were
the only roads, tortuous at all times but almost impassable in winter.
The principal trading posts, such as Port Washington and Milwaukee,
were far distant from the Zonne settlement--Milwaukee being forty-five
miles away--and under the best circumstances the slow-moving oxen made
a long journey of it. Often the wagons broke down in the middle of the
forest and the men would have to leave their loads in the road and go
back home or to the trading post ahead for assistance. The lack of
communication was felt most during sickness and especially epidemics,
for many a time the physician, after a long, hard journey, would
arrive to find his patient dead or beyond help.
Such were the difficulties with which these Dutch pioneers contended
during the first years of their colonization. Their energy and
perseverance, however, defeated one after another. Gradually the farms
were cleared, the newly established sawmills turned out lumber for
better houses and barns; water power was utilized for the running of
flour mills; and stores were established within easy distance.
Artisans joined the settlements, although blacksmiths had been found
among the original settlers. As the forest gradually disappeared, old
trails were widened, roads were laid out, villages sprang up, and post
offices were established.
But in the midst of their growing prosperity the black war cloud
gathered on the southern horizon and cast its shadows over this
peaceful community. Many of the men, whose fathers had obtained
liberty after eighty years of conflict, were aroused, and leaving
their plows took up the musket. Sad times now followed, for now and
then the news reached the settlement that some son or father had died
in battle; but after the years of sorrow the laureled heroes returned
to their firesides and a greater prosperity dawned.
One of the men who was conspicuous in the conflict and even more so in
the days of peace that followed was Peter Daan. He was born in the
Netherlands, in the town of Westkapelle, Province of Zeeland, March
26, 1835. When he was seven years of age his parents emigrated to
America and settled in the town of Pultneyville, New York. Later the
family moved to Wisconsin and bought a farm in Sheboygan County, near
the present village of Oostburg. Peter Daan was one of the first to
volunteer on the outbreak of the war, and through his influence and
effort caused many to follow his example. In 1867 he commenced his
mercantile business on the Sauk Trail, two and one-half miles east of
Oostburg. As that town developed, he moved his business there, built a
large store, an elevator, a steam flour mill, and later founded the
bank of which he became president. He held that office until his
death. The people, having confidence in his ability and good judgment,
several times elected him president of the town. For years he held the
office of justice of the peace, and because of his amicable manner of
settling disputes he won the title among the people of “the
peacemaker.”
As a young man he became a member of the Presbyterian Church, and
later was made an elder, an office which he held until he died.
Several times his presbytery elected him delegate to the higher
ecclesiastical councils. In 1873 he was chosen a member of the
Wisconsin legislative assembly. His death occurred June 14, 1914.
After the Civil War the settlements entered a period of prosperity
greater than any experienced before; in fact many of the farmers,
receiving high prices for their products during the war, laid the
foundation of their wealth in this period. The villages of Oostburg
and Cedar Grove expanded, and the new town of Gibbsville was founded
three miles west of Oostburg. There a large flour mill, driven by
water power, was built, and remains in operation to this day. East of
Cedar Grove, on the lake shore, was built a pier where the great
vessels could land. The settlement of Amsterdam, which developed here,
became an important trading place for a time but was abandoned when
the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad entered the territory. Oostburg
and Cedar Grove, in both of which stations were erected, received the
benefit of the improved communication. Grain elevators and business
houses of all kinds were erected, and residences increased and
improved. In the country better farmhouses and more spacious barns
rapidly replaced the primitive log buildings. The acreage of land
cleared, fenced in, and cultivated, increased, and the herds of cattle
and flocks of sheep became more numerous. Along the lake shore a
profitable fishing industry was developed. Everywhere the result of
hard work and thrift was seen. _Luctor et emergo_ (I struggle and rise
higher), the motto of the Province of Zeeland from which these Dutch
settlers had come, represented the achievements of these people as
well as those of their sturdy ancestors.
In the midst of their hard struggle for material improvement these
people had not been neglectful of religious matters. Upon their
arrival, under the leadership of Reverend Zonne they had organized
themselves into a church and united with the Presbyterian
organization. In the following year, 1848, Reverend Zonne built a
house of worship on his own estate and gave it to his congregation.
This church, built about a mile north of the present site of Cedar
Grove, was the first of the Presbyterian denomination in that region.
In the course of time another house of worship was built in the
settlement later known as Cedar Grove by those who were not in harmony
with Reverend Zonne. This congregation united with the old Dutch
Reformed Church of America, founded in New Amsterdam (now New York) in
the eighteenth century. This is the oldest and wealthiest (in
proportion to size) of all ecclesiastical bodies in America.
In 1853 another Presbyterian church was built four and one-half miles
north of Cedar Grove on the Sauk Trail. Reverend Van de Schurn was the
first pastor and Peter Daan the first elder. This church with its
large membership is flourishing today under the pastorate of Rev. C.
Van Griethuizen. A Dutch Reformed church was later established at the
same place, and others of the same denomination were erected in the
settlement later becoming the village of Oostburg, and in Gibbsville.
All these churches were in the beginning unpretentious log structures;
but as the people began to amass wealth, the old churches were
replaced by substantial, attractive buildings surmounted by spires or
towers for the church bells. Comfortable residences for the pastors
have been erected on the church premises. All the congregations are
flourishing today; and although they profess far more liberal views
than their ancestors, the descendants of the early pioneers are
equally devoted to these institutions.
Of all these churches, the one founded by Reverend Zonne has always
been the most prominent, not only because it has the largest
membership but because it possesses greater historic associations. The
second edifice of this organization, a plain frame building without a
tower, was replaced in 1882 by a much larger and more attractive
building, the gift of a pioneer member, J. Lammers. The church is a
picturesque landmark whose spire can be seen for miles. The interior
has been considerably improved of late, and a pipe organ has recently
been installed. An old churchyard is at one side of the church, and
here lie the remains of the Reverend Zonne and many other early
worthies of the church.
The organization has always had a prosperous record, but its greatest
growth began in 1882 when Rev. J. J. W. Roth began his pastorate of
more than thirty-two years. Reverend Roth was born in Capetown, South
Africa. There he received his collegiate training; and, later coming
to America with his father, he studied theology at the McCormick
Institute at Chicago, where he was graduated and ordained in 1878.
After serving two small churches in Minnesota and Wisconsin, he became
pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Cedar Grove. During the first
year of his ministry the present church was built, and under his
pastorate the congregation became strong and prosperous. Since the
young people had become deficient in the language of their fathers,
the introduction of English into the services had become a necessity.
Dr. Roth, educated to both languages, preached to his people in both
tongues. On May 1, 1914, Dr. Roth was stricken by apoplexy and
remained unconscious for some days. Although he recovered
consciousness, he lost the power of speech and the use of his limbs,
and was compelled to end his active services. Since his illness he has
lived in retirement in Cedar Grove.
Dr. Roth is a man of scholarly attainment, being proficient in Hebrew,
Latin, and Greek, and an artist of some ability. The church societies,
all of which he founded, are in a flourishing condition. He was for
years the leading man in the Milwaukee presbytery, and was several
times elected its moderator and delegate to higher ecclesiastical
councils. He has been succeeded by Rev. P. Van Straten.
During the past twenty years the growth of the Dutch settlements has
been remarkable. The village of Cedar Grove has grown into a thriving
town with many prosperous business houses, grain elevators, and
factories. It has a large public school, and a classical academy which
is conducted by the Dutch Reformed Church of America. The bank of
Cedar Grove is a flourishing institution founded some ten years ago.
The deposits are over $300,000.
The village of Oostburg has likewise prospered. Peter Daan’s flour
mill has been enlarged; implement, canning, cheese, and condensed milk
factories have been built. Oostburg and Cedar Grove are connected with
each other, Sheboygan, and Milwaukee by the hourly service of the
Milwaukee Northern Electric Railway. Returns from the planting of
wheat, to which the farmers had devoted their principal attention had
gradually decreased, and barley and rye are being substituted, also
peas and beans which are sold to the canning factories. Many of the
farmers, however, have turned to cattle raising, dairying, and cheese
making as principal agricultural enterprises. In the making of cheese
the Hollanders of Sheboygan County are recognized as experts and their
brands are among the best in the state.
Always interested in intellectual progress, the Dutch settlers have
built and supported excellent schools, and many are sending their sons
and daughters to colleges. Materially these people have prospered
since the first band of settlers began to hew down the forest in 1847.
The thoroughness with which they did cut down all timber is being
regretted at present by those who possess land bare of all but a few
trees. This generation, however, is planting trees which, it is hoped,
will soon remedy that great defect.
In customs and manner of thinking the new generation differs greatly
from the pioneers who started to develop the country. Their language
is fast disappearing in public and in the homes, for only in the
church is Dutch even partly used. This may be due to the similarity
between the Dutch and the Anglo-Saxon languages which have a common
factor in the Fresian tongue.
The similarity of tongues and, in addition, of the political,
religious, and economic struggles of the Dutch and the English
settlers in America has caused the Dutch to be readily absorbed into
the earlier population. The special characteristics, in addition to
those common to both English and Dutch, make the Dutch element one of
the most valuable in the state of Wisconsin.
PIONEER RECOLLECTIONS OF BELOIT AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN[97]
BY LUCIUS G. FISHER
EDITED BY MILO M. QUAIFE
The first of January, 1837, I arranged with the Fairbanks to leave
them and locate in either Louisville or St. Louis, and sell their
scales and other goods manufactured by them at Pittsburgh, on
commission. I returned to Derby and remained there until May, visiting
my sister Emeline then teaching in Montreal. I left Derby the
fifteenth of May for the South, leaving a few hundred dollars with the
Fairbanks and taking some thousands in notes belonging to them to
collect between Burlington, Vermont, and Buffalo, New York, and from
which collections when made I was to take the money due me and remit
to them the balance. I left with my father a fine span of horses,
harness, and wagon with which to follow me with my sisters when I
should get a home for them. My sister Rosetta had been lame for a year
and was under the care of a physician and surgeon. I left home and
friends with a sad heart, taking the stage for Burlington, my two most
intimate friends riding the first mile with me. One was Stoddart B.
Colby, who was afterwards the leading lawyer of Vermont and who died
Register of the United States currency and whose wife was burned on
the _Swallow_ in the Hudson River; the other, Timothy P. Redfield, now
one of the judges of the supreme court of Vermont and brother of my
other very dear and most intimate friend, Fletcher Redfield, for many
years Chief Justice of Vermont. I have never met either of them since.
I had to get out of the stage the first day to steady it over snow
drifts.
I reached Troy, New York, the third day and that evening the news came
there that the banks had suspended specie payment in consequence of
General Jackson’s order to the United States treasurer to remove the
United States deposits from the United States Bank to the
Sub-Treasury. All banks suspended specie redemption and for the time
no paper money was current or debts paid. All confidence was destroyed
between business men, and such a financial panic was never seen before
or since in our country. When I reached Buffalo I had not collected a
cent from $27,000 in notes against the best business men on the line
of the Erie Canal. In Buffalo I collected in bank bills $70. Here I
was with but little money and all business prostrated. I could not see
in prospect a time when I could hope to engage in the commission
business with success. I had nothing in Vermont to return to. I was
lonely and desolate. Young men were being discharged from stores and
factories in great numbers, and business men were failing everywhere.
I met at Buffalo a discharged clerk from a house in New York who was a
native of Vermont, and was seeking employment. Neither of us knew what
to do or where to go. We had been living at the Mansion House several
days and on one Sunday morning we walked down to the wharf and saw a
schooner there with her captain on her deck. I asked him if he was the
captain and where he was bound. He said he was the captain, that he
was bound to Chicago, that his schooner was a new one, etc. I asked
the price of fare in cabin with board to Chicago. He replied $20. I
turned to my friend Whitcombe and said, “Let us go to Chicago; we may
as well go to one place as another.” He replied, “I will go with you.”
I asked the captain when he sailed. He said, “At nine o’clock tomorrow
A. M. if the wind is fair.” I said, “Book us as passengers and we will
be on board in season.” We sailed June second. No steamboats had
sailed for the upper lakes then, nor until some days later. There was
no railroad west of Syracuse. The harbor was full of ice. Before
leaving Buffalo, I arranged with a merchant who knew me and who was
from Vermont (the father of Frank Fenton of Beloit) to furnish me with
provisions if on my arrival at Chicago I should find any sale for
them. We were four weeks and two days on the lakes, with head winds
and rough weather most of the time. Captain Clement was a very
agreeable gentleman, young like his passengers, and very social. Our
voyage was so much enjoyed by me as to have left the most pleasant
memories of it, although it was an aimless one. We were drifting into
the dark future without any plans, yet we were happy, full of life,
had that self-reliance on our own strength and mental endowments that
took away all anxiety for the future, and enabled us to enjoy the
present. The feeling was a desperate, devil-may-care one. As I look
back upon the first year of my western life, I wonder that I did not
become a reckless and ruined man. Captain Clement was, after this
trip, a large owner of steamboats on the lakes, some of which he
commanded; and for several years he has been the treasurer of the
North Chicago Rolling Mills and a large stockholder. He landed us in
Chicago the night of the third of July, 1837, and we celebrated the
Fourth there. Daniel Webster was in Chicago for the first and last
time in his life.
A delegation from Milwaukee came to Chicago to invite Webster to visit
their city. He had left for the East, and I, finding no encouragement
to go into business in Chicago, took passage in an old steamer with
this delegation to Milwaukee.
WHAT I FOUND IN CHICAGO
In May, 1837, about a month before my arrival, Chicago had elected its
first mayor, William B. Ogden. Its population was about 3,000 and was
mostly north of the river. There was a Presbyterian church where the
Board of Trade stands, in which Rev. Jeremiah Porter preached. The
Russell House on the North Side was the grand hotel, built of brick.
The Couch brothers had a small hotel on the present site of the
Tremont House of the same name, and the City Hotel was built on the
corner of State and Lake Streets. There were few buildings south of
Lake Street. There was a cornfield running south from Washington
Street and east of State Street. Lots were worth from $100 to $500
then, but had been worth as many thousands before the panic of 1837.
John Wentworth had just started his paper, the Chicago _Democrat_, in
a little 7 × 9 wooden building on La Salle Street north of
Randolph.[98] I had a letter of introduction to him and there made his
acquaintance. The first settler, Gurdon S. Hubbard,[99] was here,
William H. Brown, and many other persons with whom I became
acquainted, but most of whom have passed away. Some are here yet, and
among them G. S. Hubbard & Son, S. B. Cobb, Jerome Beecher, and Mr.
Carpenter. Chicago has now a population of 600,000.
I landed in Milwaukee the sixth of July, 1837. The boat could not land
and we were sent ashore in the small boat, at the mouth of the river,
then at Chase’s Point,[100] one mile below the present mouth. My
friend, Ed Whitcombe, was yet with me and on the boat I made the
acquaintance of John H. Tweedy[101] and formed a friendship which has
endured the changes of the last forty-five years. He afterwards
married a Fisher from Boston, who descended from the same ancestor
that I did. I found Milwaukee with a population of about 1,000, the
west side of the river mostly under water, many of the houses built on
stilts, abandoned, and doors open, most of the population of 1836
having left the place by reason of the panic. I remember the Frenchman
and first settler with a squaw wife was there.[102] I stopped at first
at the Milwaukee Hotel, but soon crossed the river to the Leland House
where I found my cousin, Dr. L. J. Barber, and remained with him at
that house. We had not met since we were lads. We soon became warm
friends. I had but little money and several young men boarding at the
Leland House had often to borrow of me to pay for their week’s
washing. All had been speculating in lots and were broke. None of us
knew what to do or where to go.
I remained about a week and decided to cross the country to Galena and
go to mining for lead. I started in company with two men, one by the
name of Frink and the other Blood. We traveled the first day to
Waukesha where was the first house, occupied by a Mr. Pratt.[103] It
was small, built of logs, and two berths on one side. The under one
was occupied by Pratt and wife, the upper one by Frink and me, and
Blood slept on the floor. The next day we lunched at the second house
from Milwaukee, at Pewaukee Lake, kept by Harrison Reed,[104]
afterwards governor of Florida. We reached Oconomowoc that night,
where we found two bachelors in a log shanty with a floor of bark and
nothing to eat but dry beans, which they stewed for us and which we
ate with a relish from a bark plate with a chip for a knife. The
mosquitoes were very large and hungry and feasted upon us that night.
We slept but little and left early in the morning on our Indian trail
for Rock River, having learned that there was a camp there where we
could get food. My feet had become very sore, and the morning’s walk
of twelve miles in the rain without food, and almost gored to death by
the mosquitoes, had so exhausted me that I was sick and could go no
farther. Fortunately, at the river I found Charles Goodhue, Esq., and
two of his sons from Sherbrooke, Lower Canada, an old acquaintance in
the East, who had a fine camp and ten or twelve men and three women in
camp. They bade me welcome and gave me to eat and to drink--the best
they had and I was never happier than that day. I was soon refreshed
and ready to travel again. Mr. Goodhue and sons had commenced building
a dam across Rock River, and afterwards a saw mill was built to cut
basswood lumber to raft down the river where new settlements were
being made.
I remained with Mr. Goodhue and sons a few days and was persuaded by
them to visit what was then called New Albany (now Beloit) before
going to Galena, they representing it as a very desirable point for a
town and offering me an interest in claims which they had recently
purchased there. I accepted the proposition to visit Beloit. There was
a large encampment of Indians on the opposite side of Rock River from
our camp, of whom we purchased a large canoe, giving them $5 and a
gallon of whisky. In it Mr. Goodhue and son George, Mr. Blood, Mr.
Frink, and myself embarked for Beloit. Goodhue and I owned the canoe
and Frink and Blood worked their passage. The river was very high and
we went to Fort Atkinson the first half day and lodged that night with
Alvin Foster in a log house, the only house there.[105] It had but one
room of moderate size in which were domiciled that night Foster and
his wife, mother, and niece, and seven travelers. The next day we
reached Koshkonong Lake before 10 A. M., and the wind being high we
divided, Messrs. Goodhue, Frink, and Blood going by land around the
lake, while George Goodhue and I kept the boat, preferring our chances
to drown to the tramp by land of six miles on a hot day over a marsh
of some miles. We were to meet at the outlet of the lake. We in the
boat had a rough voyage, bailing water part of the way to prevent
foundering, and on our arrival at the outlet found none of our party
and after waiting some hours we went on and just after dark we met
them on the river bank about ten miles below the lake, muddy and
tired. We took them [in] and soon reached Janesville, a village of
three families, viz., Messrs. Bailey, Stevens, and Janes.[106] We
remained there over night and next morning by 10 A. M. reached Beloit,
where there was one family.
It was Sunday morning, the fifteenth of July, 1837. I found Caleb
Blodgett[107] and family there in a log house and we slept upon the
floor two nights while there, in the only house except a log hut which
had just been vacated by an Indian trader, by name Thibault, whose
wife was a squaw. The first day, Sunday, I took a walk up where the
College now stands and on to the banks of Turtle Creek where I saw
many Indian mounds, some of them still preserved and where I had an
uninterrupted view of prairie such as I had never had before. I said
to my friend with me that it was the most beautiful landscape view
that I had ever seen. Quite a number of Indian wigwams were standing
upon the prairie near the creek and hurdles for drying their corn,
which had been raised for years upon the Turtle bottoms.
Beloit had been named by Blodgett “New Albany.” He with a large family
of sons had located there in 1836 and built their house that fall and
had claimed some three miles square by ploughing a furrow around and
putting up several shanties. The Government was surveying the land;
and as it was not in the market, no title could be obtained except a
so-called squatter’s title, which was obtained by a settlement upon
the land and which gave the settler the right to preëmpt 160 acres
when it came into market. In February, 1837, Dr. Horace White visited
Beloit as the agent of a New England company from Colebrook, New
Hampshire, that had sent him out to select a home for them in the new
West. He left Colebrook in January in company with R. P. Crane and O.
P. Bicknell, who stopped in Michigan while White continued west
exploring the Rock River valley and the valley of the Des Moines
River, all then in the territory of Wisconsin. At Beloit he found
Blodgett and sons (six of them) and John Hackett, a son-in-law, and
being pleased with the place, he purchased one-third of all the
interest or claims of Blodgett and sons, the interests being
undivided. Blodgett had before bought Thibault’s interest for $500,
who with his squaw removed to Koshkonong Lake, where I saw them both
on my first voyage down the river and on a subsequent one in
September. The following winter he was murdered by his squaw and her
family.
The following are the names of the colony for whom White acted: Horace
White, Otis Bicknell, George W. and Charles Bicknell, their father,
Captain Bicknell, R. P. Crane, Messrs. Beach, Eames, and Alfred Field,
and Israel Cheney, and one other whose name I forget, but who never
came west.[108] In March, White returned east and O. P. Bicknell and
Crane came to Beloit and built a shanty and occupied it. That spring a
Major Johnson from Newburg, Vermont, and John Doolittle from Holley,
Lower Canada, had reached Beloit and purchased 2/12ths of Blodgett’s
claims and lived in the Thibault shanty. Charles Goodhue from
Sherbrooke, Lower Canada, and his brother-in-law, Tyler H. Moore, had
purchased 3/12ths before and had begun the race and a saw mill on
Turtle Creek when I reached the place. The interests were as follows
then: Blodgett and sons 3/12ths, New England Company (so-called)
4/12ths, Goodhue and Moore 3/12ths, Johnson & Doolittle 2/12ths. I
found there Blodgett and sons, Johnson & Doolittle, Cyrus Eames,
Bicknell & Crane. The lower bench of Beloit or between the bluff and
river was still covered by heavy timber and underbrush, but little
having been removed. The owners had broken some acres on the bottoms
and were breaking 160 acres where Slaymaker now resides and 100 acres
on the high ground south of him. On Monday after my arrival I
purchased of Goodhue and Moore one-fourth of their interest for $400
and I paid for my share of the ploughing which was to be cultivated in
common until a division of claims was made. I did not expect to locate
there but bought on speculation.
On Tuesday, the seventeenth, I embarked in our canoe with Mr. Goodhue
and son George, Mr. Frink, and Mr. Eames for Rockford, leaving Mr.
Blood there. We remained at Rockford over night at the log hotel of
Mr. Miller. There were several families there. Mr. Goodhue’s son
Charles met us there with his team and took us to Belvedere where he
had a little store and where half a dozen families had settled. It was
called Squaw Prairie and a Mr. Doty kept a hotel or tavern. We left
our canoe to the citizens of Rockford. After a night’s rest at
Belvidere, Frink, Eames, and I started on foot for Chicago, stopping
the first night at Spencer’s Grove. The next day I was quite sick and
reached Tyler & Raustead’s house, four miles west of Elgin, about six
P. M., and was so sick that I felt that I could go no farther and
proposed to stay over night, but they would not keep me, fearing that
I should be too sick to leave in the morning. They reluctantly gave me
a cup of tea and I moved on, being virtually dragged by the arms the
four miles by Messrs. Frink and Doolittle.
Here let me correct a mistake in dates and facts. Cyrus Eames was not
at Beloit at this time, and it was not Eames who left Beloit in the
boat with us, but John Doolittle, who returned to Canada with Mr.
Goodhue at this time. We reached Elgin after dark, where I learned
that I had an aunt and her husband and three children living four
miles above Elgin on Fox River, and in the morning I parted with
Frink, who started for Ottawa, and I hired Mr. Kimball, the landlord,
to take me in a wagon to my Aunt Tyler’s, I being yet a sick man.
Elgin had about ten families. I found my aunt and husband with three
sons on a farm of 400 acres which George Tyler had squatted upon in
1835 and before the government survey. Aunt Tyler was the youngest
sister of my mother, and married Noah Tyler of Claremont, New
Hampshire, about 1803 and by him had eight children, four sons and
four daughters. The family became Catholics and the four daughters
became abbesses or superiors. The oldest son, George, went in early
life to Georgia and emigrated from the South to this state and sent
for his father, mother, and two brothers, who came to him. He married
here at the age of fifty and is now a resident of Texas. The second
son, William, died Catholic bishop of Rhode Island and Connecticut, in
1854, I think. The third son died at Dundee and the youngest is living
at Elgin and has a large family of nine children. His name is Calvin.
He was educated for the Catholic priesthood. One daughter, Sallie, is
living in Detroit at the head of a Catholic nunnery.
[Illustration: LUCIUS GEORGE FISHER
From a daguerreotype in the possession of the Fisher family]
My good aunt nursed me well and in three days I was quite well and was
sent for by Mr. Goodhue to meet him at Elgin, which I did and he took
me to Chicago with his team. For miles before we reached Chicago the
prairie was on an average one foot under water. I remained but a day
or two in Chicago, stopping at the Tremont House. I took an old
steamer back to Milwaukee. I boarded at the Leland House on the west
side until September, when I started again for Beloit by way of
Watertown and was accompanied by a young man by the name of Sanborn,
who was or had been a medical student but had come west to seek his
fortune. (He afterwards returned to New England and finished his
studies and became very eminent in his profession in Keene, New
Hampshire.) We borrowed a horse or pony of Colonel Parks, receiver of
the land office, and rode and tied to Watertown, and there we
spanseled the pony and turned him out to grass. The next day the
Indians had stolen him and he was found some weeks after at Green Bay.
We stopped with a Mr. Johnson, the first settler there and then the
only family there except one in Goodhue’s camp.[109] They gave us a
bed separated from the bed of Mrs. Johnson and her daughter by a
blanket hung between us. Mr. Johnson slept on the floor. The house was
about 12 × 12 feet, in one room. We had for food salt pork, potatoes,
and blackberries, and good appetites.
We remained one week and labored diligently with adz and axe in
cutting down a basswood tree and fashioning a canoe from it, and at
the end of a week we hired Mr. Johnson’s yoke of oxen and drew the
canoe about a mile to the river. Neither of us were acquainted with
the use of tools, and the canoe was not artistic. We launched it, and
on entering it the first time it shot from under me and left me in the
river. But we soon got the hang of it and we set sail. On entering
Lake Koshkonong we found the wild rice so high and thick that we could
not find a way out of it, and we returned to an Indian encampment on
the river and hired two Indian boys to go before us and pilot us
through the rice (about half a mile) to clear water. We reached the
outlet about dark and it was then by the river about twenty miles to
Janesville, and we knew there was a log hut with a man and wife in it
somewhere before reaching Janesville.
We pulled on in a bright moonlight and reached the shanty about
midnight, very tired and hungry. On landing we went to the house and
found an opening with a quilt for a door, which I pushed aside and
spoke to a woman whom I discovered in a bed with her head within a
foot of the door. She answered with a scream and the husband enquired,
“Who is there?” I replied, “A friend,” and made known our wants. He
arose and struck a light and I found we were in a log room about 12 ×
8 feet with no windows, door, or fireplace, the fire for cooking being
made against the logs at one end and a hole in the roof for the escape
of the smoke. The bedstead was made of two upright sticks with sticks,
one end entering holes bored in the logs, the other entering holes in
the standing pieces and slats on these supports. There were two berths
of this kind, one over the other. We were given the upper one and
slept until the party under us had breakfast ready. The man had been
to the river and caught a fine catfish for breakfast and we had
appetites that gave our food a fine relish. From there we went to
Beloit in one day without accident. This was in September. Mr. Sanborn
remained with me several days. He boarded with Mr. Blodgett in his log
house, sleeping on the floor. Mr. Johnson, Alfred Field, and some
others lived in the Thibault hut and the Bicknell family in a log hut
near the paper mill or present dam, on the east side of the river. I
remained about four weeks.
While there, a meeting of the settlers was called at the Beloit House,
which was at that time enclosed and partly finished, to give a better
name to the place. Major Johnson, Deacon Hobart, and myself were
appointed a committee to report one and we proposed several and
finally agreed to place the alphabet in a hat and see if we could not
get a combination of letters that would give us a name that would be a
new one. While proposing this, Mr. Johnson undertook to sound a French
word for handsome ground and in trying he spoke “Bollotte,” and I said
after him “Beloit,” like Detroit in sound and pretty and original I
think. All sounded it and liked it and we reported it to the twenty or
thirty who had sent us out and it was unanimously adopted; and it has
ever since been Beloit and not New Albany.
While at Beloit Major Johnson and Cyrus Eames took the canoe that
Sanborn and I made and floated down to Burlington where the first
territorial legislature for the Wisconsin Territory was in session.
The present states of Iowa and Wisconsin were called Wisconsin
Territory then. At that session they obtained a charter for a female
seminary in Beloit, it being the first charter for an institution of
learning that was granted in the Territory.[110] While at Beloit in
September, a Professor Whitney of Belvidere preached the first sermon
in the Beloit House that was preached in the county of Rock. I
remained into October and then returned to Milwaukee by the way of
Watertown on horseback, riding one of George Goodhue’s horses in
company with him and remaining over night in his shanty at Watertown.
I remained in Milwaukee until February, 1838, having sprained my ankle
in January, which confined me to crutches for three months.
My father and sisters, Jane and Amanda, reached Fox River in December,
where my sisters remained with my Aunt Tyler until March. They left
Vermont in October and came by land with a three-horse team. My father
came on to Beloit, and learning there that I was confined in Milwaukee
by lameness, he started for me with his team, expecting to find his
goods shipped by water from Burlington, Vermont, but found that the
vessel and goods had been sent near Mackinaw and that a friend of mine
had started with me in a jumper for Beloit, where we met after three
days. We rented one-half of the log house which Blodgett had just left
to occupy a new frame house. We went to Dundee for my sisters in March
and settled in our home with but little furniture. My father had
brought with him two beds and bedding and clothing. Dr. White, father
of Horace White of New York, occupied the other half of the house with
his family. I met him in April and we soon became fast friends. He was
a good physician and a man of great business capacity, one who had
great command of language and would say more in the fewest words than
any man that I have ever known. He was a man of sound judgment. He was
a very [word illegible] and reserved man, making but few confidants.
We were more intimate than brothers usually are. We had no secrets
that were withheld by either from the other. He died in December,
1843, and I was left very sad.
In the summer of 1838 I bought four yoke of oxen and broke prairie for
the crop of 1839 after seeding the 20 acres which was my share of the
320 acres, which was ploughed in two fields and paid for and owned in
common by the colonists. My father and I harrowed in wheat and oats in
March. Bread and meat were very scarce and dear, and some days we had
nothing but suckers caught out of Turtle Creek. But most of the time
we had meat and as soon as the vegetables grew we lived very well
having plenty of hog product and bread. Our fall crop of wheat was
good.
In the fall of 1838 I went to Milwaukee and arranged with a merchant
for stoves, boots, and shoes to sell on commission, and with one team
I drove them to Beloit and sold them at a good profit to the settlers
who were coming in almost every day. In the winter of 1838-9 we lived
in a part of Mr. Blodgett’s new frame house. In the summer of 1838 I
made a claim of 160 acres on Rock River, two miles above Fort
Atkinson, which was covered with timber, much of it basswood. In the
winter of 1838-9 I hired four men to cut logs and rafted them in the
spring to Beloit and had them cut on shares by Messrs. Goodhue and
Moore. From the sales of this lumber I paid my men and from a part of
it I built a comfortable house for my family. My sisters, Emeline and
Rosetta, had been left behind, one in Montreal and Rosetta with an
uncle in Burke, Vermont, under the care of a physician, having a
sprained foot that she did not step upon for three years and which is
not well yet. They came west in the fall of 1838, so in the new house
we all gathered and were very happy.
In March, 1839, the first land sale took place in Milwaukee, and I was
chosen bidder for all claimants in the south half of Rock County east
of Rock River, the lands on the west side having been brought into
market before at a land sale in Milwaukee. The claimants all secured
their lands, they standing by me and permitting no one to bid but me
on their lands, and I got all for them at the upset price of $1.25 per
acre. Here I met the cousin and agent of Gen. Philip Kearney, and
arranged with him to buy lands for the general and take the agency of
the lands purchased. I made entries for him at Milwaukee and
afterwards at Dixon land sale and subsequently entered some thousands
of acres with Mexican soldiers’ land warrants on shares and managed
his estate in the west for some years, and in 1856 I bought his
remaining lands at $60,000 and closed my account with him. He visited
me once in Beloit.
The first session of the territorial legislature was held at Belmont,
Lafayette County, the second at Burlington, Iowa, and the third in
Madison in November, 1838, after Iowa was organized as a separate
territory. I attended that and succeeding sessions for several years
as a lobby member. In 1839 I was appointed sheriff of Rock County by
Governor Dodge and held the office six years, in one of which I took
the census of the county and as sheriff collected the taxes of the
county. I had my appointment from Governor Dodge two years, from
Governor Doty three years, and the last year from the people, the
office having been made elective. The statutes would not permit me to
hold it again until after two years. My business was such that I could
not afford to hold it longer, and I accepted the last election because
the county was democratic and I was the only Whig that could defeat
the nominee of that party. On the night of the election I went to
Janesville to get the returns and found all but four towns reported
and a tie. The next town came in a tie, also the next, and one more to
be heard from and that a democratic one I knew. When I got the returns
from that I had seven majority, and a great shout went up from my
friends.
At the legislative session of 1840 I was appointed a commissioner to
lay out three territorial roads--one from Beloit to Southport (now
Kenosha), one from Beloit to Madison, the other to Milwaukee. Two
others were appointed with me on each road. I spent much time on them
and they are the roads of today with some slight changes. At the next
session I was commissioned to lay a road from Beloit to Watertown.
In 1839 I met for the first time Miss Caroline Field, the daughter of
Deacon Peter Field, who was at Beloit to visit her parents. We soon
became engaged to marry and after a courtship of three years we
married in June, 1842. I had built a house, into which we moved on the
day of our marriage, where I lived until 1866 and where all my
children were born.
In 1842 Horace White, Harvey Bundy, and myself formed a partnership in
a general goods business and commenced building the stone flour mill
on the Turtle Creek. We bought a stock of goods for another store,
called the Mill Store. In December, 1843, Doctor White died and I was
left with all the business and also his family to care for and his
estate to settle, and my partner, Harvey Bundy, a worthless business
man. All the wise ones prophesied that we should fail and White’s
estate was or would be used up. We owed a large amount and the mill
was about half finished. I felt that I might lose all--for I had not
much to lose really beyond the land that I first purchased and a few
hundred dollars earned. I settled the estate and saved it without
loss, and kept the family together until Mrs. White married Deacon
Samuel Hinman. Horace White of the _Tribune_ once, and now the
treasurer of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, was the son of
Doctor White.[111]
In 1852 a railroad charter had been obtained for building a road from
Racine to Beloit. Also, one from Southport to Beloit. The
incorporators of each road came to me to assist them to build, and I
chose the road to Racine and made enemies of the incorporators of the
Southport road for the time being. It was through my influence that it
was built. Fisher, Keep & Tolcott contracted to build it from Fox
River to Freeport, and built it from Fox River or Burlington to
Durand, when the financial crisis of 1867 failed the company and the
work was suspended one year. I was appointed a receiver by the court
and ran it a short time when it was restored to the directors and I
became a director and the company built it to the Mississippi and sold
it out to the bondholders.
Before this, in 1848 the Chicago and Galena Railroad had been built to
Elgin and the funds of the company were exhausted, and William B.
Ogden and other directors came to Beloit and offered to build a branch
of their road from Rockford to Beloit, when their road reached
Rockford, if the people of Beloit would subscribe $75,000 to the main
line. I was selected by our citizens to take the subscription and in
one week I got it--part of it without conditions, and part with my
guarantee that if they would subscribe and pay five per cent, that I
would guarantee the stock to be par when the second installment was
called for. The installments were to be five per cent each month. Mr.
Keep, Mr. Cheney, and myself took $30,000 and I took $15,000 for
General Kearney. When the second installment was called for I had to
take several thousand more that was given me on my agreement to take
it if not at par. Before the third installment was due the stock was
at five per cent premium and I sold most of it. The company built the
road from Belvidere instead of Rockford, which gave us a shorter line.
The next year the Beloit and Madison Railroad was begun, and I was
elected a director in that and remained on the board until it was sold
to the Chicago & Galena Company, which company soon after sold out to
the Northwestern Railroad Company. I was a contractor on the Chicago &
Northwestern Air Line between the Rock and Mississippi rivers. In 1856
I was one of the contractors for building the railroad from Clinton,
Iowa, to Council Bluffs. The contract was for grading, ironing, and
ballasting the road and amounted to about $13,000,000. The pay was a
land grant of every other section ten miles in width, some cash, and
some bonds and some stock. When we had expended about $400,000 in
grading, the company failed in 1857. We got the first 100 sections of
land and the franchise of the road, which we sold to Mr. Blair of New
Jersey and got even with the company. We took the land grant and built
the road some years after; Morris K. Jessup, Dean Richmond, Charles
Reed of Erie, and Messrs. Morris & Courtright of New York were
partners, also H. S. Durand and Wm. Allen of Racine. I also had a
partnership with the last two and Judge Green of Providence, Rhode
Island, by which the latter gentleman was to furnish $100,000 cash to
be used by Durand, Allan, and myself in the purchase of lands and town
sites in Iowa on the line of the road, the profits to be divided
equally between Durand, Allan, and myself, party of the first part,
and Greene and his associates, party of the second part. The crisis of
1857 ended that project. In 1852 I prevailed upon a party in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to open a bank in Beloit. In 1854 John M.
Keep, A. L. Field, and myself bought the bank stock and elected Keep
president and Field cashier. In 1856 I was elected president and Mr.
Keep sold his stock. In the crisis of 1857 the bank failed and was
closed and its charter sold to Davis & Martin. In 1856 I was elected
to the legislature and served in 1856-7 and declined a reëlection, as
at the time of election the next year, I had more business irons in
the fire than I could attend to.
When the charter of the city of Beloit was obtained, I was elected an
alderman from the second ward and served six years, and was two years
county supervisor. I was a director in a gas company, also in a car
company that went no further than organizing.
I was a partner of W. T. Goodhue in the purchase and ownership of
considerable real estate. With Goodhue and R. H. Mills in the purchase
and sale of real estate; also, with R. H. Mills in the purchase and
sale of a large amount of real estate. In the settlement with Mr.
Mills, he owed me over $15,000 which he could not pay, so I gave it to
him. Mr. H. Cheney owed me as much more when he left for Colorado,
where he died. Messrs. Mills, Brooks, and I purchased and sold much
real estate. I was elected a trustee of Beloit College at its
organization and have been to date, also one of the Executive
Committee while I lived in Beloit, and gave much of the site or
grounds. I have been a deacon in the Congregational church about
thirty years. In 1861 I was appointed by President Lincoln postmaster
at Beloit. He had been my attorney in defending the title to Beloit,
which I did at my own expense mostly and won the suit, and saved the
citizens from a heavy blackmail.
The president offered me any office that I thought myself competent to
fill, through my friend, David Davis. I took the Beloit post office,
as I could not leave my business interests in Beloit. At the end of
four years I was commissioned again by Lincoln and was afterwards
removed by Johnson for refusing to support his measures. In 1862 I was
appointed by Secretary Chase to take subscriptions to the first or
gold bonds issued to carry on the war, and was one of two appointed
for Wisconsin and received subscriptions.
[97] Lucius G. Fisher, a native of Vermont, was born at
Derby, August 17, 1808. His father was a substantial farmer
of Derby, but due to business reverses the son failed to
obtain the anticipated college education, a fact which he
never ceased to lament. While still a youth he formed the
design of migrating to the West, but the execution of this
project was delayed for several years, first by reason of
his disinclination to separate from his mother, and after
her death by the necessity of assisting in the support of
his father and sisters. After several years of school
teaching and two years of service as sheriff’s deputy,
Fisher in 1834 entered the employ of the Messrs. Fairbanks,
of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, to travel for them and introduce
their “recently invented” platform scales. The immediate
inducement to this employment was the proffered salary of
$500 yearly and all expenses; but the work was accepted by
Fisher, as he reports in later life, in order to find, in
his travels, “that better country” he had determined, when
but sixteen years of age, to seek.
The employment with the Fairbanks company continued
profitably for Fisher for three years. Then the panic of
1837 brought it to a disastrous termination, under the
circumstances set forth in the narrative which follows. The
manuscript from which these facts are drawn, and the greater
portion of which we print, tells the story of the writer’s
life from birth until the time of writing, at Chicago, in
the spring of 1883. To summarize its concluding portion,
Fisher left Beloit for Chicago in 1866, where with Ralph
Emerson he built a block at the southeast corner of State
and Washington streets on the site of the present Columbus
Memorial Building. Although burned out in the great fire of
October 9, 1871, Fisher prospered in Chicago and became
comparatively wealthy.
The manuscript narrative of his career was presented to the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin in January, 1917 by a
grandson, William Scott Bond, of Chicago. Because of the
valuable picture it presents of pioneer days in Wisconsin,
and particularly of the early development of Beloit, in
which Mr. Fisher played a prominent and creditable part, the
narrative seems eminently worthy of the wider publicity and
service which its publication in the Wisconsin Magazine of
History involves. In preparing the manuscript for
publication a uniform typographical style has been imposed,
and certain minor lapses in composition have been
eliminated; but these editorial changes affect in no degree
the character of the narrative as it left Mr. Fisher’s hand.
[98] The _Democrat_, the first newspaper published in
Chicago, was founded by John Calhoun in November, 1833. In
1836 Calhoun sold the paper to John Wentworth, who continued
as its proprietor and editor until the _Democrat_ was merged
with the _Tribune_ in 1861.
[99] Gurdon S. Hubbard, a native of Vermont, came west in
1818 as a youth in the employ of the American Fur Company,
and was assigned to the Illinois Brigade. A number of years
later he made Chicago his permanent residence and became one
of the most prominent of the first generation of Chicago
business men. He does not, however, deserve in any sense the
title of “first settler” of Chicago.
[100] Chase’s Point was named after Horace Chase, a
prominent citizen of early Milwaukee. Like the Chicago
River, the Milwaukee has been subjected to a civilizing
process which has resulted in the acquisition of a new mouth
some distance to the north of the natural one.
[101] John H. Tweedy, a native of Connecticut and graduate
of Yale, came to Milwaukee in 1836 as a youthful lawyer of
twenty-two. He soon became prominent both in legal and in
political circles, and throughout the territorial period was
one of the leaders of the Whig faction in Wisconsin. In 1847
he was elected as territorial delegate to Congress. Upon the
admission of Wisconsin to statehood Tweedy was put forward
by the Whigs as their candidate for the governorship, but
was defeated by Nelson Dewey. During the fifties Tweedy was
active in the development of the railroad system of
Wisconsin.
[102] Apparently the reference is to Solomon Juneau, one of
the founders of Milwaukee, who settled there as an Indian
trader in 1818.
[103] Alexander Pratt had removed from Milwaukee to Waukesha
earlier in the year 1837. Although one of the very early
settlers of Waukesha, he was not the first one, nor was his
house the only one at the place at the time of Fisher’s
visit. Pratt was unmarried at this time. He was a man of
some means, however, and had in his employ a man and wife.
Probably this couple is the one alluded to by Fisher.
[104] Harrison Reed had come west to Milwaukee in 1836, and
in 1837 became virtually the first editor of the _Sentinel_.
By an unfortunate quarrel a few years later he lost control
of the paper and was ruined financially. After residences at
Madison and Menasha, Reed in 1862 was appointed tax
commissioner of Florida. He later (1868-72) served as
governor of the state.
[105] The settlement of Fort Atkinson was begun in the
autumn of 1836 under the auspices of the Rock River Claim
Company. This company, organized earlier in the same year,
had sent out an exploring party and made claims at several
points, including Fort Atkinson. In order to make good the
latter claim it was decided to locate a family on it, and
accordingly a house was built and occupied by Dwight Foster
and family, late in 1836. During the ensuing winter, Edward
and Alvin Foster also came to Fort Atkinson, their houses
being built about a mile up the river from Dwight Foster’s
cabin. Instead of being the first house at this point,
therefore, Alvin Foster’s was the second or third one built.
[106] The settlement of Janesville was begun by the erection
of a log house by John Inman and others near the close of
the year 1835. Two or three months later Henry Janes, for
whom the town is named, staked out a claim here, and in the
spring of 1836 brought his family to a cabin which workmen
had already built for him. Several other families came
during the following months, and Fisher is probably
incorrect in saying there were but three at the time of his
first visit in the autumn of 1837. The Bailey family,
mentioned by Fisher, arrived in the autumn of 1836, and the
Stevens family in the spring of 1837.
[107] Blodgett, a native of Vermont, had come west in search
of a fortune, and in the spring of 1836 had bought
Thibault’s squatter-right claim to all the land within
“three looks” of his cabin for $200. Blodgett thereupon set
up a claim to some ten sections of land, and fortified it,
according to local histories, by building a log house and
ploughing a furrow around it. Before becoming possessed of
any legal title whatever, Blodgett began disposing of his
extensive domain by selling to Goodhue his claim to
one-third of it (one-fourth, according to Fisher) for the
sum of $2,000. Goodhue in turn disposed of one-fourth of his
interest to Fisher for $400. Meanwhile, in March, 1837, Dr.
Horace White of Colebrook, N. H., had visited the place, and
on behalf of the New England Emigrating Company had
purchased one-third of Blodgett’s claim for $2,500. This
coming of the New England Emigrating Company to Beloit may
be regarded as the most important event in connection with
its early development. At the same time Doctor White was
instrumental in giving to Beloit her most famous citizen in
the person of his three-year old son, Horace.
[108] The list of members according to Horace White included
the following persons: Cyrus Eames, O. P. Bicknell, John W.
Bicknell, Asahel B. Howe, Leonard Hatch, David J. Bundy, Ira
Young, L. C. Beech, S. G. Colley, G. W. Bicknell, R. P.
Crane, Horace Hobart, Horace White, and Alfred Field.
William F. Brown, _History of Rock County_ (Chicago, 1908),
I, 133.
[109] This was Timothy Johnson, a native of Middletown,
Conn., who came to Wisconsin in 1835. He stopped at Racine
for a few months, going from there to Wisconsin City (now
Janesville) at the beginning of 1836. Not satisfied here,
however, he soon went up Rock River to a point about two
miles below the site of Jefferson, where he built a log
house and cleared a garden plot. Further prospecting soon
led to the discovery of “Johnson’s Rapids” (modern
Watertown), where he staked out a claim of 1,000 acres in
the spring of 1836, bringing his family to the place in
December following. He had thus been settled here about a
year at the time of Fisher’s first visit.
[110] The charter was granted in 1837 for the establishment
of a seminary “for young persons of either sex.” The school
was not started, according to Horace White, until 1843 or
1844, when classes were held in the basement of the new
Congregational church. Classes for girls were maintained
separately in the “Female Seminary.”
[111] Horace White, widely known as a publicist, and writer
on financial themes, was brought to Beloit by his parents as
a child of three years in 1837. He was graduated at Beloit
College in 1853, and in 1854 became city editor of the
Chicago _Evening Journal_. From 1864 to 1874 he was editor
and part owner of the Chicago _Tribune_. In 1883 he bought a
part interest in the New York _Evening Post_ and thereafter
for twenty years was one of its managers, and for the last
few years of the period its editor-in-chief.
DOCUMENTS
THE CHICAGO TREATY OF 1833
WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY MILO M. QUAIFE
The Chicago Treaty of 1833, with the negotiating of which the
following documents deal, was an event of considerable importance,
particularly in the history of Illinois and Wisconsin. From the first
advent of the white man in this region the Potawatomi tribe of Indians
had made its home in some portion of the territory adjacent to Lake
Michigan. By the Chicago Treaty of 1833 the Potawatomi and allied
tribes, the Chippewa and Ottawa, at length agreed definitely to leave
this region and find a new home beyond the Mississippi. To the whites
was surrendered their title to some 5,000,000 acres of fertile land in
northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, embracing the tract between
Lake Michigan and Rock River and extending northward from an east and
west line drawn through the southernmost point of Lake Michigan.
The circumstances attending the negotiation of the treaty were
typical, probably, of those of Indian treaties generally in the first
half of the nineteenth century. Yet two or three facts give to this
treaty a somewhat special degree of interest. One is that we have left
to us fuller and better descriptions of the negotiation of the treaty
than is commonly the case. Another and more important one is that a
larger sum of money was distributed in the form of gratuities more or
less disguised, to facilitate the conduct of the negotiations. It is
with this phase of the subject that the documents here presented deal.
So far as known, no student of American history has ever seriously set
himself the task of illuminating the subject of the process whereby
the American government secured from the red man, in successive
treaties, title to the greater portion of the land of continental
United States.[112] A comprehensive study of this subject would reveal
much of interest and value; it would be certain, too, to disclose much
of a nature far from flattering to the American government and nation.
That the Chicago Treaty of 1833 would afford some material of this
sort for the construction of the narrative, it requires no hardihood
to affirm. Charges of improper influences and conduct in connection
with the framing of the treaty began to be made as soon as it was
negotiated. Some of them, doubtless, were irresponsible and unfounded,
but there is reason for supposing that this was far from being true
with respect to all of them. The letter of Governor Porter is
preserved in the Burton Library at Detroit, and acknowledgment is due
to Mr. Burton for the copy we present. The charges against Porter are
copied from a contemporary broadside preserved among the Martin
manuscripts in the Wisconsin Historical Library. The two documents go
hand in hand, for it is evident that the charges which Porter sought
in his letter to Jackson to refute are identical with those stated in
the broadside, although the latter seems not to contain all the
material which had been submitted to Jackson and which was referred by
him to Porter to answer. Readers who may be interested in pursuing the
subject further may find a discussion of the Chicago Treaty of 1833 in
the present editor’s _Chicago and the Old Northwest 1673-1835_, 353-66.
CHARGES PREFERRED AGAINST GEORGE B. PORTER
Detroit, December 12, 1833.
To Hon. the Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs in the U. S.
Senate
The following are the charges and specifications preferred against
George B. Porter, Governor of Michigan Territory, and Superintendent
of Indian Affairs:
GOV. PORTER, } _Commissioners Chicago Indian
COL. OWEN, } Treaty, 1833._
MR. WEATHERFORD, }
* Robert A. Forsyth, $3000 } out of the $100,000 appropriated
† James Kinzie, 5000 } in lieu of the reservations--Forsyth,
of the U. S. Army, receiving his
as Indian Chief.
* Robert A. Forsyth, $3000 } To be allowed out of $175,000
* Marcia Kercheval, 3000 } appropriated for claims
* Alice Hunt, 3000 } against the Indians. The
* Jane Forsyth, 3000 } names marked *, are the Children
† Jno. H. Kinzie, 5000 } of Old Mr. Forsyth; those
† Ellen Woolcott, 5000 } marked †, are the Children of
† Maria Hunter, 5000 } Old Mr. Kinzie. The annexed
† Robert A. Kinzie, 5000 } claims are allowed to the heirs
† do. do. do 1216 } of Forsyth and Kinzie, for the
* Robert A. Forsyth, 1300 } destruction of property by the
____ } Indians during the late War.
$42,516 } Mr. Forsyth died in 1814, and
his claims against the Indians
were never heard of till now.
Old Mr. Kinzie, whose claims are placed on the same ground, died a
subject of the King of Great Britain--he fought against this country
in the late war--his own family only escaping at the massacre of
Chicago. The heirs of Forsyth and Kinzie, are cousins, consequently
the above claims are all in one family. Major Robert A. Forsyth, a
Paymaster in the U. S. Army, and the individual above named, was one
of the committee on claims who allowed the above sum of $42,516 to
himself, his sisters and cousins--one individual only being associated
with him. The Major, and all of his sisters, were born in the province
of Upper Canada, and he to this day has never been naturalized. He is,
however, the especial protege of the Secretary of War, and Governor
Porter. A large amount of just claims were rejected by the Committee,
to make room for the claims allowed above.
* Robert A. Forsyth, $ 300 }
* do. do. do. 200 }
* do. do. do 1000 } Said to be held in trust for
* do. do. do. 800 } certain Indians, and allowed by
* do. do. do. 200 } the Committee on Claims.
* do. do. do. 400 }
Roberson and Caldwell, the principal Chiefs of the Potawatamie Nation,
half whites, and persons whom Robert A. Forsyth can control as he
pleases, received $10,000 each, as a bribe to induce them to influence
the other Chiefs of the Nation. It is allowed out of the $100,000
appropriated in lieu of reservations. Caldwell was the principal Chief
at the massacre of the River Raisin. A Frenchman called Loranger, an
Indian trader, was allowed by the committee on claims $5000, by
assigning his claim to Robert A. Forsyth, to whom he was indebted
$3000. The goods _furnished by John H. Kinzie, Aid-de-Camp to Governor
Porter, (and the individual named in the list of claims,) and Mr.
Kercheval, (the husband of Maria Kercheval, named in the list of
claims,)_ under former treaties, amounted to $100,000. The practice of
Gov. Cass has always been to give the furnishing of goods to be
distributed among the Indians, under a regulation of a former treaty,
to the Indian Agent at the Agency where the goods were to be
distributed, as a perquisite of his office. Had the precedent been
followed in the present case, the Indian Agents at Green Bay, Chicago
and Logansport, would have had the distribution of the goods. But Gov.
Porter assigned, _over and over again_, as a reason for taking this
perquisite from the Agents, that he was desirous of saving the per
centage usually allowed them, and that in lieu of this per centage, he
had engaged Kinzie and Kercheval only as agents to purchase the goods
in New-York, and was to give them a per diem allowance for this
trouble. Yet, in express contradiction of this declaration, Governor
Porter, _as can be positively proved_, has allowed to Kinzie and
Kercheval, 50 per cent. on the whole amount of goods furnished, making
to them a profit of $50,000.
Claims $42,516
Trust Fund 3,200
Profit on Goods 50,000
------
$95,716
This amount of public money is put into the pockets of one family in
the short space of six weeks. Is it not reasonable to suppose, that
Governor Porter finds a strong reason for confining the patronage of
the Government to one family, in the _fact that he comes in for a
share of the “plunder?”_
In addition to this, Kinzie and Kercheval have received from Governor
Porter, the contract to furnish the Indians with horses, from which
they will undoubtedly realize $10,000.
Kinzie also obtained the exclusive furnishing of the goods at the
forks of the Wabash, amounting to $40,000, and Kercheval at
Nottawassippie, to the amount of $20,000.
It is a fact notorious among all who attended the Chicago Treaty, that
the goods furnished at that treaty, were afterwards taken from the
Indians in large amounts, and furnished at other places. Kinzie
himself, used the goods which he furnished the Indians as a _gag_ to
those who complained of his conduct, by making them presents of cloth,
&c.
Lucius Lyon, our Delegate in Congress, is in possession of all the
foregoing facts, and will vouch for their correctness; and for their
further confirmation, I refer you to Geo. W. Ewing, Logansport, Ind.;
Alexis Coquillard, South Bend, Ind.; Thos. J. V. Owen, Indian Agent,
Chicago; Peter Godfroy, Teunis S. Wendell, Wm. Brewster, Edward
Brooks, and S. T. Mason, of Detroit; and Robert Stewart, Mackinac; and
Col. Ewing, Secretary of the Commissioners. Most respectfully
submitted for your consideration.
Your Obedient Servt.
LETTER FROM GEORGE B. PORTER TO PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON
Detroit, December 15th, 1833.
Gen’l Andrew Jackson,
President of the United States,
Sir,
After a fatiguing tour of more than three months, in performance of
the several public duties assigned to me, I arrived here last evening,
and have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, this morning, of your
letter of the 2nd inst. with its inclosure.
Personal respect for you, Sir, restrains the expression of feelings,
outraged and indignant at having been made the object of calumnies, so
wantonly malicious and grossly untrue, as those contained in the paper
laid before you, a copy of which you have transmitted.
I appreciate, with a proper sense of the obligation, the considerate
justice which has offered me the means of confronting my accusers,
whenever they shall declare themselves; and I thank you for the
renewed mark of confidence in my integrity, thus indicated.
The statements contained in this tissue of fabrications, shall be met
fully and fairly, by my own distinct declarations, which, if deemed
insufficient, shall be sustained by ample testimony, incapable of
refutation. And if in vindicating my honor from unmerited aspersion,
the detail should prove tedious, I ask, not doubting it will be
granted, your forbearance for a temper, smarting under a sense of
undeserved injury.
I may be permitted to premise, that like other public men, I too, have
my enemies. But for this peculiar and vindictive rancour that assails
me, I cannot otherwise account, than by attributing it to that
fruitful source of evil passions--disappointed expectations. If, in
the endeavor faithfully to discharge my duties, it has not been in my
power to accomplish _all_ the wishes of _all_, it is but the common
lesson which experience has taught, to others as well as to myself.
The invidious feeling which these causes produce, seeks to gratify
itself, by wresting from me the credit of having effected an important
Treaty, and would willingly sacrifice to its object the best interests
of the country.
To proceed then to the matters alleged against me.
The first proposition contains both an indirect and a direct
falsehood. First, in stating, for the purpose of disparagement, that
but three million acres of land are purchased, when in point of fact,
there are nearly six millions; And Secondly, that the title not being
in the Indians, “_there was no necessity for a Treaty at all_.” The
declaration itself is utterly without foundation; but waiving this, I
remark, that the province of determining this “_necessity_,” rested
not with the Commissioners but with the President. In the present
instance, it is well known that a cession of country along the Western
shore of Lake Michigan was deemed of so much importance, that an
appropriation for holding the Treaty was made at the last Session of
Congress--Who could be ignorant of this fact? And yet, those who
profess to understand this matter better than the President and
Congress, and the Secretary of War, whose knowledge of these Indians
and this region of country is minutely particular, assert that the
land did not belong to the Indians ceding it, and that “_a little
investigation will satisfy any reasonable man that there was no
necessity for a Treaty at all_.”
It is stated also that to indulge my favoritism its objects always
found it an easy matter to “persuade his Excellency to get up a
Treaty.” The mendacity of the writer is equalled only by his
ignorance. The power which assumes the ordering of Treaties does not
lie with me. But without this, the charge is unfortunate in its
application, for I appeal to my letters on file in the Department to
show whether this appointment was eagerly coveted, or reluctantly
accepted, by me. And the instructions of the Department under which
the Commissioners acted, (an extract from which for your convenience I
enclose), will show, that the Secretary was not only aware of the
importance of the duty but directed us “_not to abandon it till all
hopes of success were exhausted_.” That we succeeded in effecting all
that was required of us and, in the opinion of every good and
intelligent citizen with whom I have conversed, made a valuable
Treaty, advantageous alike to the Government and the Indians, of
importance to the surrounding country, and this in the most public and
honorable manner, I had never heard doubted, until my return to this
place. Since then, I have heard of boasts that I should be destroyed.
And accordingly, during my _absence_, falsehood and aspersion were
busy with my character and conduct. To destroy the confidence you
repose in me, no means have been scruppled at.--First, it is boldly
proclaimed that I cannot effect a Treaty--then it is denied that any
credit is due to _me_, for having accomplished it:--and now, I am held
exclusively answerable for the whole Treaty, and every circumstance
attending it.
To my Co-Commissioners, and the gentleman selected _by them_ as the
Secretary of the Commission, who are all highly respectable Citizens
of Illinois:--to the full Journal of all our proceedings:--to the many
distinguished citizens of Illinois, Indiana and the surrounding
country:--to every honourable man who was present during the Council,
among whom are Mr. Daniel Jackson of New York--and Mr. Robert Stewart,
the Agent of the American Fur Company at Michilimackinac, both of whom
I understand to be now in Washington, and whose characters are known
to you, I appeal with confidence, for a refutation of these
slanders.[113]
The suggestion that extra allowances have been made to me for extra
services is not disputed, being an usage of the Government from its
first institution. The labors I have performed and the fatigues I have
undergone, in this tour, over roads almost impassable, and during a
continuation of the most unfavorable weather, teach me to believe that
I have honestly earned all that the Rule of Department will allow: But
the vile and mean insinuation appended, and which none but an utterly
corrupt heart could generate, that I have _sold_ my patronage, does
not require an answer.
In reference to the claims or accounts contained in the Schedules
annexed to the Treaty, to some of which particular exception has been
taken, I proceed, in explanation, to state: That in furtherance of the
policy of the Government to remove these Indians West of the
Mississippi, the Commissioners refused to grant Reservations of land,
although these were greatly preferred, but agreed, in lieu thereof,
that a part of the _consideration money_ should be apportioned among
such individuals as the Indians chose to designate. In like manner
another part of the consideration money, the _amount_ of which was
fixed, was to be applied in satisfaction of claims, which, on
examination, should be admitted by the Indians to be justly divided.
Who, so well as they, could tell whether they were indebted to an
individual or not? But to protect themselves against unfounded claims,
many of which were presented, the Chiefs and head men employed a
gentleman of high standing and respectability, as their assistant, and
asked permission that he might be present at the investigation of the
claims. This gentleman was Richard E. Hamilton, Esq.,[114] of
Chicago--in whom these Indians reposed unbounded confidence--They
farther requested that Major Forsyth, for whom they professed a like
regard, and who was familiarly known to them, should aid their friend
Col. Hamilton in the duty confided to him. Impressed, as all were,
with the character of the two gentlemen for integrity and honor, so
reasonable a request was not denied.--In the presence of the Chiefs
and those Assistants, the commissioners proceeded in the examination
of the numerous claims, the _decision_ on each claim being made by the
commissioners; by all of them; and by them _alone_; and the amount
allowed on each claim was then and there written down by the
Secretary. So far as relates to the allowances, (so principal an
object of animadversion), granted to the heirs of Forsyth & Kinzie, I
aver, without fear of contradiction, that neither Major Forsyth nor
any of the persons interested, had anything to do with the decision
upon them; nor, to the best of my knowledge and recollection, were any
of them present, when they were acted on--The Chiefs and Head men
insisted upon these allowances, and the Commissioners, on hearing the
representation of the Indians unanimously acquiesced in their justice.
These with the several other claims allowed form, as I have stated, a
part of the consideration money of the Treaty, and if it were
possible, which it certainly is not, to preserve the Treaty, striking
these out, the Individuals named would, I have not a doubt, suffer
neither detriment nor loss--The whole Potawatamie Nation would, I am
persuaded, restore the allowances at the Annuity table.
The name of Robert A. Forsyth, which occurs three times in the first
statement of allowances, belongs to two different individuals, one of
whom is a Merchant in Ohio,[115] and the other, the Paymaster. The
extensive trade in which the Merchant of this name in Ohio is engaged
will appear on reference to several Treaties lately made in Ohio and
Indiana. Nor is this confusion of names mentioned in defence or
extenuation--I am ignorant of any just ground of exception to my
conduct, in the whole history of this transaction, but I note it,
merely, as one of a series of deceptive statements. The jeering
comment follows that “Major Forsyth of the United States Army,
received his $3000 as an Indian Chief.” These falsehoods are almost
too gross for refutation. The Treaty states the allowance. Does it say
he received it as an Indian Chief? The Indians stated, themselves, and
without any prompting on the part of the Commissioners, that there was
due to Robert A. Forsyth a reservation, which had long since been
promised by their nation, and which they had desired Governor Cass and
Judge Sibley, Commissioners at the Treaty of Chicago in 1821, to grant
him. This request has been reiterated at the Treaty of St. Joseph, in
1828, as can be attested by Gov. Cass and Mr. Menard, the
Commissioners;--the land being then, and ever since, set apart for him
by the Indians. It was not secured to him in either of these Treaties,
because not included within the bounds of the lands then ceded. The
Commissioners, in this, as in every other instance when it could be
done compatibly with the policy of the Government, and with justice to
Individuals and the Indians, conceived it their duty to obey their
wishes.[116] The selection of persons to examine and adjust claims, as
well for reservations as on account of losses, was made, not by the
Commissioners, but by the Indians themselves. The claims were all
subjected to the supervision of the Indians, or persons they
themselves appointed to represent them;--It is notorious that they
expressed at all times the most unhesitating confidence in their
Indian Agent, Col. Owen, who was one of the Commissioners:--in Col.
Hamilton, whom they specially deputed to act for them, and in the two
persons scoffed at as “_half whites_,” Caldwell and Robinson.[117]
With these was associated also Joseph, an influential Chief, who was
present in every business transaction--Caldwell and Robinson have been
nurtured with, and raised by, these Indians, one from childhood, and
the other from his birth; they are identified with this tribe, and are
Indians in character, in manners, in mode of life, in sentiments and
conduct, and as such are regarded by them. By reference to the Treaty
of 1829, it will be seen that they were then acknowledged as the
principal men, and the Treaty was made with them. Whom could they
trust if not these? After the assent to sell had been obtained, and
the general preliminaries had been agreed upon, the Indians in open
council, as will appear by the Journal, advised the Commissioners that
they had confided the care of their interests, and all the details of
the Treaty, to these, their principal chiefs; and the Commissioners,
as I considered then and now, properly acquiesced. When these details
were completed, and the Treaty reduced to form, it was read by Col.
Hamilton in private Council to the Indians, and was again read before
them in public Council, by myself, and unanimously approved. It is
represented that old Mr. Forsyth never had $500 in property in his
life. This can be disproved by a hundred witnesses, conversant with
the fact, that he was extensively engaged in the Indian trade. So,
too, the assertion that “old Mr. Kinzie died a subject of the King of
Great Britain”, can be falsified by the records of the War Department,
showing him to have been for many years after the war a _Sub Agent of
the Government_. Equally and unqualifiedly false also is the
declaration that “he fought against his country in the late war,” or
“led the Indians in the Massacre of Chicago.” On the contrary he was a
zealous and efficient partizan of the American party, and as the books
of the American Fur Company will show, was their agent at his death.
Nor is the declaration that Major Robert A. Forsyth, a Paymaster in
the United States Army, has never been “naturalized,” by which it is
intended to be conveyed that he is an alien, less destitute of truth.
The Father of Major Forsyth was an American Citizen, (born in
Detroit), and has always resided in this country, and the accidental
circumstance that Major F’s mother was, at his birth, among her
friends across the narrow line which divided the Territory from
Canada, did not, nor could, divest him of his national character. The
law of nations recognize no such principle: Accordingly, the vote of
Major Forsyth has never been challenged at an election; he bore a
Commission, as a Cadet of the Military Academy, and subsequently as an
officer in the Army of the United States. He has been elected to the
Legislature of the Territory, and executed the trust; where the
objection stated, if valid, would have been fatal. Finally, he has
received from the President of United States, a Commission as Pay
Master in the United States Army. Equally deceptive with every other
feature of this malignant attempt to destroy me, is the perverse
meaning significantly assigned to the trusts, confided to Major
Forsyth and Mr. Kinzie. They are real, substantial trusts, created
under circumstances of perfect notoreity at Chicago, and challenge
scrutiny. In these, as in every other case, the appointment was made
without consulting the individual, and in some instances against his
inclination.
Major Forsyth is charged also with having bribed Caldwell and Robinson
with $10,000 each, to influence the Chiefs of their Nation. This
varies in nothing from the complexion of the other statements. It is a
pure fiction. Major Forsyth had nothing to do with the matter. The
Individuals cited, received, by the express direction of their people,
the sum of $10,000 each, _as the two head men of the nation_, to whom
the entire direction of their affairs had long before been
committed,--on whom they not infrequently lived, and to whom they
looked for relief in their necessities. A reference to the Journal
will establish the fact of their appointment, because it is so
declared in the speeches of the Indians, delivered in public Council.
If the Indians, in open Council, declare what shall be done with a
part of the consideration money of their land and, according to their
custom, insist that their principal Chiefs shall be provided for out
of it, why should it be objected to? As well might it be objected that
$5000, a part of this consideration money, is appropriated at the
request of the Chiefs to the students of the Choctaw Academy, of which
sum the Honorable Richard M. Johnson is constituted Trustee.[118]
It is said also among other representations that a Frenchman called
Loranger,[119] who never had goods in the Indian country, was allowed
by the Commissioners on Claims $5000 by assigning his claim to Robt.
A. Forsyth to whom he was indebted $3,000.
It is with difficulty Sir, that I can sufficiently command my
feelings, or control the disgust with which I am affected, at these
monstrous falsehoods, for while I would speak of them in the manner
they merit, I would not forget the respect due to you. But in the
above proposition of three lines, are stated three direct, unqualified
untruths:--First--That he had had no goods in the Indian Country which
could be refuted by a common clamor. Second--That he assigned his
claim to Major Forsyth; and Third--That he was indebted to him for
$3000.--I have already named Mr. Daniel Jackson, of the firm of
Suydam, Jackson & Co., of N. Y. who are so extensively engaged in the
sale of Indian Goods--Of him I would ask how long he has known Mr.
Loranger to be in the Indian trade, and what has been the amount of
goods sold yearly to Mr. Loranger--The claim of Mr. Loranger was much
greater than the allowance--The balance is lost to him, because not
presented at the Treaty in Indiana in October 1832, being due by that
Band or Party of Potawatamie Indians--He has been in the Indian trade
since 1804, and lives within sight of this town.
I had intended to close this communication here; but I cannot remain
silent, while slanders are heaped upon the gallant dead. The
characters and memories of John Kinzie and Robert A. Forsyth deceased
have been wickedly assailed--and by whom? Their descendants would like
to know--For the part each one of these individuals took, and the
important services rendered by them to the American Government in the
late war, reference is made to many of the first men in the country;
Among those immediately around you is the Secretary of War, Major
General Macomb, General Gratiot and Colonel Croghan.--Having
considered it my duty to make inquiry I have obtained the following
information and believing it to be strictly correct, I give it to you
as such.--
Memoir of the late John Kinzie of Michigan.[120]
John Kinzie died at Chicago in 1828, aged 64 years; he came to this
part of the Country when a boy and was in the Indian trade during the
greater part of his life. He went to Chicago, Illinois, in 1803--was
Sutler for the United States troops for several years, and was the
first to take from Detroit the news of the declaration of War, to
Captain Heald then commanding the Fort at that place.[121] On the eve
of the massacre at Chicago, Mr. Kinzie with two friendly Indian
Chiefs, called at Captain Heald’s quarters, and advised him not to
abandon the Fort as was contemplated the next morning, but to remain
as long as possible; for if he left it he would certainly be attacked
by the Indians, who had collected to the number of five hundred
warriors.--Captain Heald persisted in going--said he had orders from
Genl. Hull to evacuate the post, and to proceed with his command to
Fort Wayne. Captain Heald then requested Mr. Kinzie to accompany him,
which he did, leaving his family with but three men to protect them on
their way to St. Joseph (distant by water 100 miles). Mr. Kinzie’s
family were taken prisoners a few hours previous to the massacre. Mr.
Kinzie was in the battle, as well as one daughter, the wife of
Lieutenant Helm, whose horse was shot from under her. She received a
wound in the foot from the ball which killed her horse. Mr. Kinzie was
taken prisoner with the surviving command of Captain Heald. Having
been long a principal trader among these Indians, and much esteemed by
them, he was next day by a Council held by the Chiefs, liberated, and
his family restored to him.
He then prevailed upon the Indians to surrender to him Captain Heald
and family, whom he furnished with conveyance to Mackinac.[122] Mrs.
Heald now residing at St. Louis can prove all these facts.--Having
lost all his property to a very considerable amount (it being a
wholesale establishment) consisting of merchandise, furs and peltries
and horses, etc., taken by the Indians, he went to Detroit. His
influence while there was directed toward affecting a change in the
views and feelings of the Indians at that time unfriendly to the
American Government. This influence with the different tribes of
Indians was very considerable and as a proof of it General Proctor
commanding the British force in Detroit and its vicinity sent for Mr.
Kinzie, and when he went to see him General Proctor immediately
confined him as he said “for daring to prejudice the Indians against
his Majesty’s subjects or forces, and would send him where he would
not see an Indian in a hurry.”--Mr. Kinzie was twice rescued by
several Indian Chiefs, and once in the presence of General Proctor
himself. Mr. Kinzie was again taken by General Proctor and _closely
confined in irons_ at Fort Malden (as also a Mr. Jean Bte Chandonnois
who subsequently made his escape and is now living in the St. Joseph
country) and kept there for months. He was finally, to conceal him
from the Indians, sent off in the night in irons--was treated in the
most brutal manner by his guard, and was shipped for England for
trial--Fortunately for him, the Ship lost her rudder, and she was
obliged to put into Halifax, having on board a great number of
American prisoners.--He thence made his escape in a crowd of paroled
prisoners, and returned to his family in Detroit, after it had been
taken possession of by General Harrison’s Army. Mr. Kinzie had not
been long at home before he was called upon by Colonel Croghan, and
accompaned the expedition under him to Mackinac, and was Captain of a
party of Militia at the battle fought on the Island of Dousman’s Farm.
Mr. Kinzie, after the close of the War, held the appointment of Sub
Indian Agent for many years at Chicago.--He was well known to Generals
Harrison, Macomb, Gratiot, and Col. Croghan.--During the time of
hostilities, his energies were always devoted to the American cause.
Robert A. Forsyth was long and extensively engaged in the Indian
trade.--His residence was at Detroit and his trading establishments in
different places in the Indian Country. He not only enjoyed the
confidence of the Indians but that of his fellow citizens. Every
honest man then resident of Detroit can attest to his bravery during
the late War. Such had been his conduct that, on the surrender of
Detroit, he was marked as a fit subject for British vengeance.--He was
torn from his family and with his only son, the present Major Forsyth,
then a boy of about fourteen years, put on board the British vessels
and carried off; his several infant daughters being left without a
protector; their father’s house occupied by the British troops; and
all his valuable property pillaged and carried away. Being landed on
parol at Erie, Penn., the father and son soon afterwards found their
way to General Harrison’s Army. This gentleman can attest to the many
valuable services which they rendered. The father died in the year
1813, in the service of his country, without having been permitted to
return to his family:--Being early enured to the hardships of trading
among the Indians and being naturally active and brave the son
frequently performed duties, from undertaking which others were
deterred by their severity and danger. For the history of the son, the
hardships he encountered, his important services before, and his
gallant conduct during the war, I refer you to the Honourable Lewis
Cass, who is familiar with its details.
I have now, Sir, I believe, with one exception, gone over the whole
ground. That exception relates to the furnishing of goods by Mr.
Kercheval and Mr. Kinzie, and as it has no connection with the Treaty
of Chicago, being in fulfilment of the stipulations of previous
treaties, and in the making of which I had no agency, and concerns
myself exclusively, I shall make it the subject of a communication to
accompany this.
The question so insidiously put, of whether “the Governor does not
secretly reap a share of the plunder” I cannot, consistently with the
respect due myself, answer.--Whether I have forgotten principle and
character, and everything dear to an honourable mind, to defile my
hands with the contamination of a bribe, is a question others must
settle for me.--
In conclusion, I have only to add that, to the issue I have here made
up, I commit without shadow of fear of the result, what is dearer to
me than all else--my reputation and good name.
[G. B. PORTER.]
[112] The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has under
preparation a volume devoted to those Indian treaties which
are of more direct interest to Wisconsin.
[113] Daniel Jackson belonged to the firm of Suydam, Jackson
and Company of New York, large importers of goods for the
fur trade. Robert Stuart was manager at Mackinac for the
American Fur Company. Porter’s appeal to these men is not
entirely convincing, since they were important
representatives of the fur trade merchants who, as a class,
profited most largely by the gratuities and allowances
concerning which complaint was being made.
[114] Richard J. Hamilton came to Chicago in 1831 as first
clerk of the circuit court of Cook County. During the next
few years he held a large number of local offices of a legal
or fiscal nature, much of the time holding several at the
same time. He had much to do with the establishment and
early administration of the public school system of Chicago.
[115] Robert A. Forsythe of Ohio was an early trader at
Maumee City in Lucas County. He was probably the son of
James Forsythe, an early merchant and tavern keeper of
Detroit. He was one of the founders of the lower Maumee
Valley.
[116] The pronouncement of Meriwether Lewis to President
Jefferson on this point, given in a case which involved the
same principle as the one here involved, is not without
interest in this connection: “I am confident that, if the
United States should never confirm the lands to the present
claimants, it will not prove a source of disquiet on the
part of the Osages; and should they be ever countenanced or
receive confirmation, on the ground of their being Indian
donations, it would introduce a policy of the most ruinous
tendency to the interests of the United States; in effect it
would be, the Government corrupting its own agents; for, I
will venture to assert, that, if the Indians are permitted
to bestow lands on such individuals as they may think
proper, the meanest interpreter in our employment will soon
acquire a princely fortune at the expense of the United
States.” _American State Papers, Indian Affairs_, I, 767.
[117] Billy Caldwell and Alexander Robinson, halfbreeds, who
were influential with the Potawatomi and the Ottawa.
[118] Unfortunately for Porter’s justification in this
particular instance, the investigations of students have
revealed much that is of questionable propriety in
connection with Johnson’s conduct of his Indian school.
[119] Joseph Loranger was a fur trader in the River Raisin
and before the War of 1812 had a store in partnership with
Lafontaine. In 1817 he platted the town of Monroe, Michigan,
of which place his descendants were prominent citizens.
[120] The correctness of this narrative is not above
question in all respects. In general it may be noted that
Porter was bent on presenting a favorable account of
Kinzie’s career, and that he evidently drew his information
from friendly sources. Nevertheless, it constitutes an
interesting addition to our sources of information
concerning Kinzie, the reputed “father of Chicago.”
[121] Kinzie removed to Chicago in 1804, the year following
the establishment of Fort Dearborn. The statement that he
brought the news of war to Fort Dearborn is incorrect.
[122] This statement is in contradiction with our other
sources of information on the subject.
HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS
THE DISPUTED MICHIGAN-WISCONSIN BOUNDARY
Boundary disputes have ever constituted a fruitful source of
contention between men and nations. Probably no people has more
frequently engaged in them than our own, although, contrary to
Old-World precedent, we commonly wage our boundary contentions
verbally rather than with arms. Wisconsin, like others of the
sisterhood of states, was early in its history a party to a number of
boundary disputes, the fruits of victory commonly going, at least in
local contemporary judgment, to her opponents. Since Wisconsin has
become a state, boundary disputes have until recent years ceased. Two
such have, however, arisen within the twentieth century and are still
pending, one with the state of Minnesota, the other with that of
Michigan. The former is in process of settlement by due governmental
procedure, and accordingly no discussion of it would now be useful.
The latter is at present in a state of quiescence; yet the boundary
paragraphs of the constitutions of Michigan and of Wisconsin contain
mutually contradictory clauses with respect to a strip of territory
over which Michigan claims and Wisconsin exercises jurisdiction.
Moreover, the overtures of our northern neighbor a few years since
looking to a determination of the question met on our part with
rebuff. Sooner or later, the issue will have to be determined; pending
this, an historical résumé of the points at issue may be of some
interest, especially to Wisconsin readers.
The boundary between Michigan and Wisconsin was first determined in
the act that in 1836 created Wisconsin Territory. In ignorance of the
real geography of the region this act described a supposititious line,
under the belief that the Montreal River had its source in Lake Vieux
Desert. Two years later Congress appropriated $3,000 for the survey of
the Michigan-Wisconsin boundary. The appropriation was considered
insufficient and no attempt was made to run the line until 1841. Then,
the matter having been transferred to the War Department, an army
engineer, Lieutenant Thomas J. Cram, was detailed to undertake the
survey. Cram spent the summer of 1841 in Wisconsin’s northern forests,
ascertained many facts about the lakes and streams therein, and
reported them to the department. Two years later Cram was again
detailed to search for the true Wisconsin-Michigan boundary. He spent
four months under conditions involving much hardship, in the attempt
to determine the line as nearly as possible in accordance with
official description. In the report which he made to the head of his
department he recommended the abandonment of Lake Vieux Desert as a
determinating factor in the interstate boundary line.[123]
The determination of the line rested until 1846, when, in the enabling
act providing for the admission of Wisconsin, Congress established the
line “to the mouth of the Menominee river; thence up the channel of
the said river to the Brulé river; thence up said last mentioned river
to Lake Brulé; thence along the southern shore of Lake Brulé in a
direct line to the center of the channel between Middle and South
Islands, in the Lake of the Desert [Vieux Desert]; thence in a direct
line to the head waters of the Montreal river, as marked upon the
survey made by Captain Cramm; thence down the main channel of the
Montreal river to the middle of Lake Superior.” The constitution of
Michigan, adopted in 1850, repeated the boundary article of
Wisconsin’s enabling act with only slight verbal changes, including
the omission of Captain Cram’s name. The fundamental laws of the two
states were thus in accord concerning the line separating these
states.
In the meanwhile, in 1847 a portion of the boundary was surveyed by
William A. Burt, under the direction of Lucius Lyon.[124] Burt took
the contract on April 27 and performed his work during the succeeding
summer months. The field notes of his survey do not accompany his
printed report, but Lyon stated that Burt’s notes would be forwarded
later, and no doubt they are yet preserved in the General Land Office
at Washington. From these field notes it might be ascertained why
Surveyor Burt chose the eastern branch as the “main channel of the
said Montreal river.” In so doing he assigned to Wisconsin 360 square
miles of land that now include the towns of Hurley and Van Buskirk.
Had he chosen the western branch, rising in the Island Lake as the
Montreal’s headwaters, the jurisdiction of this strip would have
rested in Michigan.
No one undertook to investigate the matter until quite recent years.
Then Hon. Peter White of Marquette, Michigan, believing that his state
was illegally deprived of the land between the two branches of the
Montreal River, had a survey thereof made at his private expense.
White’s surveyors ascertained, to their own and his satisfaction, that
the western branch was the “main” channel of the Montreal River.
Meanwhile Mr. White had interested in Michigan’s claims Clarence W.
Burton of Detroit, the president of the State Historical Commission.
Burton discovered that one of Burt’s surveyors, George H. Cannon, was
still living, and arranged for the publication of an article from his
pen supporting White’s contention that Michigan had been wrongfully
deprived of a portion of her upper peninsula.[125]
Shortly after this, in 1907, Michigan held a convention to prepare a
new constitution for the state. Burton was chosen a member of this
body, and became chairman of the committee on boundaries. That
committee, without discussion upon the floor of the convention, had
the boundary article of the new constitution drawn to read: “thence in
a direct line through Lake Superior to the mouth of the Montreal
river; thence through the middle of the main channel of the westerly
branch of the Montreal river to Island Lake, the head waters thereof,
thence in a direct line to the center,” etc. This became part of
Michigan’s fundamental law on February 21, 1908.
Meanwhile in 1907 two resolutions passed the Michigan legislature. The
first, after reciting the mistakes in Captain “Cramm’s” surveys,
authorized the governor to appoint a commissioner to visit Wisconsin
in order to secure a joint commission for the adjudication of the
boundary. In pursuance of this resolution the governor appointed Hon.
Peter White to this office. He came to Madison twice, but could not
interest the state’s officials in his enterprise, and was unable to
secure any promise of participation in a joint commission. In June,
1908, Mr. White died, and so far as known no successor to him as
boundary commissioner has ever been appointed.
The second Michigan resolution of 1907 authorized the attorney-general
to direct a survey of the state’s northwest boundary, and also to
institute proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to secure a
rectification of the boundary line. Acting on this authorization the
attorney-general employed Professor J. B. Davis, of the University of
Michigan, to investigate the survey and prepare a brief of Michigan’s
claims. The result of Professor Davis’ investigation has not yet been
given to the world. A chronicler of Michigan wrote in 1908 that “in
view of the political excitement of the presidential year no active
measures [concerning the disputed territory] are likely to be taken
this season.” On another page the author expresses a doubt “whether
the state of Michigan can ever occupy the territory justly hers.” He
concludes with the observation that it “is believed to be the only
instance in this nation where two sovereign states are occupying a
dividing line of doubtful legality, merely by common consent.”[126]
LOUISE P. KELLOGG.
AN EARLY WISCONSIN PLAY
In the collection of Mr. Henry Cady Sturges, of New York, there is a
copy (the only one the writer has seen) of a play which, while it may
not be the earliest, is certainly one of the first printed in
Milwaukee. While the plot of the production is laid in New York and is
largely local in interest, yet the fact that it was printed in
Wisconsin, and the further fact that no other edition seems to be
known, makes it fairly certain that it is the offspring of a writer
who lived in Wisconsin.
The piece bears title as follows: “_The Drummer, / or / New York
Clerks / and / Country Merchants. / A Local Play, / in two acts._ / (2
lines of verse.). / Edited by Mrs. Partington. / Milwaukee:/ Job Press
of Cary & Rounds. / Commercial Advertiser Office./ 1851./” It has 73 +
1 pages and paper covers, the front cover bearing the same title as
above.
A curious coincidence regarding the characters in the play is that the
father of the present owner, Jonathan Sturges, is among them, his part
being that of “Mr. Sturges, a New York Merchant,” that really being
his occupation. “Mrs. Partington” is also among the characters.
This curious production was written at the time of the Jenny Lind
excitement, and that great singer is mentioned in a number of places
throughout the play. Her manager, P. T. Barnum, is there also, while
some of the localities noted are Coney Island, Niblo’s, The Bowery,
and Castle Garden. The first act takes place, first in a saloon on
Broadway, and afterwards in the office of a first class hotel, also on
that well-known thoroughfare. The second act is staged in Mrs.
Partington’s parlor in the same hotel.
Some of the popular books of the period are mentioned, among them _New
York in Slices_, while among the names of well-known New Yorkers are
Horace Greeley and James Gordon Bennett, editor of the _Herald_.
Milwaukee is hinted at, and Mr. Sturges is made to say by the
playwright as he addresses his clerks, “Fourteen hundred dollars from
Wisconsin. Extremely good. Wisconsin crops are nearly all destroyed,
still the money is sure to come from that state. More goods are
ordered, they shall have them.”
The play is interspersed with songs that are saturated with the
alleged humor of the period, and sad to relate, one of these songs has
been torn from the copy before me, probably because of its facetious
nature.
It is doubtful if the writer ever intended to have his production
staged, although the copy now described has several corrections such
as are found in prompt copies.
I am inclined to believe that the statement on the title that its
editor was Mrs. Partington (Benj. P. Shillaber) was simply put on to
add to the humor of the occasion, as I doubt if Shillaber had a hand
in its composition.
On page 73 is the statement that copyright has been secured.
From a perusal of the piece it seems evident that its author knew the
metropolis very well, but the misspelling of proper names and other
evidence makes it seem almost certain that it was the work of some
one, who, while well acquainted with New York, was not a permanent
resident of that city. Was he a writer from Wisconsin? If so, who was
he, and why was he writing a play of this character, a piece whose
plot was taken from a place so far from home?
OSCAR WEGELIN.
[123] Lieutenant Cram’s maps are reproduced in _Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections_, XXXVIII, 386-87. His
reports are found in _Senate Documents_, 151, Twenty-sixth
Congress, 2nd sess., Vol. IV; _ibid_, 170, Twenty-seventh
Congress, 2nd sess., Vol. III.
[124] Burt’s report, with accompanying map, may be found in
_Senate Executive Documents_, 2, Thirtieth Congress, 1st
sess.
[125] For the article see _Michigan Pioneer and Historical
Collections_, XXXVIII, 163-68.
[126] _Ibid._ 167-68.
EDITORIAL
THE PROFESSOR AND THE FINGER BOWL
To tell a new Lincoln story is something of an achievement. Colonel
Tom Brown, a former citizen of Badgerdom, who now resides in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, has achieved this distinction, we believe, in
relating the following incident. In view of the nature of our leading
article, and of the local interest which attaches to Mr. Brown’s tale,
we gladly give it such additional currency as lies within our power.
In some sections of southwestern Wisconsin during the Civil War, so
the story runs, certain copperhead organizations, particularly the
Knights of the Golden Circle, became decidedly outspoken in the
expression of their sentiments--so much so that a group of loyal
citizens decided to send a spokesman to Washington to acquaint the
President with the threatening proceedings. The delegate chosen for
this mission was a certain Professor Kilgore of Evansville Seminary.
On his arrival at Washington he was invited to take lunch at the White
House, where he was seated next to President Lincoln himself. At this
time finger bowls were coming into fashion, but their advent had not
as yet come within the ken of the simple western professor.
Accordingly he was greatly perplexed by the little dish, containing a
slice of lemon and some liquid, apparently lemonade, which appeared
near the close of the meal. Observing his embarrassment, President
Lincoln, leaning toward him, whispered, “Professor, don’t sip out of
that bowl, watch me.”
Following this kindly instruction the pedagogue concluded the meal
without disgracing himself. When, later, they found themselves alone
together, President Lincoln confided to the visitor that he himself
needed a servant to keep him informed about “those little things.”
We cannot vouch for the truth of the story, although it rests on
better authority than most of the tales that are told about Lincoln.
However authentic its details, it presents a trait of homely kindness,
the possession of which constitutes one of the most attractive aspects
of Lincoln’s personality.
THE PRINTING OF HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS
The last day of the year brings to hand the January, 1917, number of
the quarterly _Journal_ of a neighboring state historical society.
What the local conditions may be which render it necessary to be a
year behind with the publication of this periodical, we are unaware.
Reference is made to it by way of calling attention to a practice
which is all too common with respect to the issuance of historical
periodicals and other publications. If a quarterly must appear six
months or a year late it would seem to be a fair question whether its
appearance at all is worth while. If such delays are due to the
slackness or incompetency of the editor, the proper authorities should
apply a much needed stimulant. If they are due to conditions beyond
the editor’s control, reform (in the quarter responsible for the
delay) is still desirable. We suspect that commonly such delays are
caused by the state printers, by whom, at least in the Middle West,
historical publications are generally issued. We speak the more
feelingly on the subject because our own Society is not immune from
the criticism under discussion. The printer dallied for a year over
our most recently issued volume, while it required six months to get a
forty-page bulletin printed. It avails little for editors to be
punctual and businesslike in turning out their work, if it may then be
hung up indefinitely by the printer, with the editor deprived of any
means of amending the situation. Quite possibly state printers are
themselves the victims of a system the amendment of which is beyond
their control. Of this we have no particular knowledge. Wherever the
responsibility may justly be placed, the manner in which most public
printing is done in this country offers a severe commentary upon our
boasted American efficiency.
IS WAR BECOMING MORE HORRIBLE?
There is an ancient story concerning a grave debate indulged in by a
group of English philosophers during the Stuart period over the
question why a fish does not weigh anything when in the water. At
length it occurred to one of them to weigh a vessel of water with a
fish in it, and again with the fish removed. As a result of this
simple test the philosophers were forced to seek a new subject upon
which to exercise their wits. At the present time it seems to be
generally assumed that with the invention of new implements of warfare
and of improvements upon old ones the horrors of war have steadily
increased; in particular, that the present war is far more horrible to
those who participate in it than any of its predecessors in the
history of the human race have been. Such a belief as this entails
obvious consequences affecting not only the peace of mind of our
people but, in the last analysis, the success of the cause to which
our nation is committed. For if it is indeed true that our young
manhood is going to certain death under circumstances more awful than
the pages of military history have hitherto ever recorded, our
willingness as individuals to send our loved ones to meet such a fate
must be seriously shaken by the prospect; while, collectively, the
will of the nation to persist in the war upon which we have embarked
will be similarly affected. In a word, such an impression gravely
threatens the morale of the nation, including both those who go to war
and those who send them forth. That our Teutonic foemen have not been
unmindful of this is amply evidenced by the new and hellish
connotation which in recent years they have succeeded in attaching to
the word _shrecklichkeit_. To German _shrecklichkeit_ we will pay our
respects presently. Meanwhile we desire to deal with the question
whether under the influence of modern science and invention the
conduct of warfare has in fact become increasingly horrible.
SOME LEAVES FROM THE PAST
We believe it can be shown, on the contrary, that the direct opposite
is true; that the warfare waged by primitive peoples and in ancient
times was a far more horrible procedure than is that waged by
civilized nations today. It may be taken as axiomatic that the horrors
of battle, like the transports of love, increase as the distance
between the parties concerned diminishes. All savage warfare, and all
civilized warfare as well, until a very recent date, was waged at
close range. In ancient and in medieval times men battled hand to hand
with spear and sword and ax. The vanquished found slight opportunity
to escape and the hand of the conqueror was stayed by no
considerations of twentieth century humanity. The chronicles of the
Hebrews, the Lord’s anointed, and the narratives of Alexander the
Great and Julius Cæsar tell alike the same general tale of slaughter
of the opposing warriors and the slaughter, rapine, or enslavement, as
the case might be, of their dependents. In medieval times, it is true,
under the influence of the institution of knighthood, certain rules
foreshadowing the modern rules of war were developed. But these more
humane rules applied only to the aristocracy, the commoner being
excluded from their operation and benefits.
With the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries came two developments of
much importance for their bearing upon our subject. The one was the
application of gunpowder to the art of war, as the result of which war
was democratized; the business of knighthood soon became as dead as
Cæsar’s ghost, and as firearms improved, the distances at which
opposing armies fought slowly widened. The other was an indirect
result of the Dutch war for independence. Meditating upon the terrible
brutalities to which his people were subjected by it, Hugo Grotius
evolved the treatise on the laws of war and peace which by common
consent has ever since been regarded as the foundation of modern
international law. Grotius sought, in a word, to humanize warfare by
securing the establishment by common agreement of rules calculated to
prohibit its more debasing and awful manifestations. In the three
hundred years ending with August, 1914, much progress was made, both
along the lines laid down by Grotius and in other ways, looking to the
minimizing of the horrors of war. At the same time, ever more
ingenious and powerful death-dealing appliances were being devised for
the waging of such combat as the rules of international law still
rendered permissible.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANITARIANISM
Notable progress, too, was being made along another line.
Humanitarianism in its modern connotation is the child of the
nineteenth century. To feel distress over the knowledge that famine or
other ill afflicts a distant people is a purely modern accomplishment
of which our forefathers of two or three centuries ago were wholly
innocent. As applied to armies, the humanitarian impulse has worked a
startling revolution. Organizations designed to care for the sick and
the wounded have developed on an elaborate scale. The Red Cross was
called into being only half a century ago as an indirect result of the
horrors of the battlefield of Solferino. It was born too late to have
any share in alleviating the miseries of our own Civil War but since
that time it has constituted an ever increasing agency for the relief
of human suffering, whether in peace or in war. Even the “unspeakable
Turk” has been infected by the virus of humanitarianism and the Red
Crescent plays for the Mohammedan world the rôle fulfilled by the Red
Cross among the nations of Christendom.
OTHER AGENCIES
The progress made in recent years in the fields of medicine and
surgery has been no less striking than in that of humanitarianism;
while the development of a new social consciousness (a concomitant, of
course, of the humanitarian movement) has resulted in throwing about
the soldier who wars for America in 1918 a set of safeguards, and in
providing him with a degree of comfort such as no other warriors in
the history of the world ever enjoyed. Against drunkenness and vice,
twin plagues of army life since the beginning of the world, he is at
least as well protected as is the civilian at home. Libraries and
clubhouses and games and lectures are provided with unstinted
generosity for his recreation and instruction. That his mind may be
free from incidental worry, a system of life insurance on a scale
hitherto undreamed of has been evolved; while the wife or other
dependents at home are insured by the largess of a parental government
against coming to actual want during his absence.
SOME FACTS AND FIGURES
All these things will avail little to comfort the soldier or his loved
ones if it is in fact true that he is being sent to a certain and
awful death--if his span of life, after reaching France, is limited to
a few weeks, and after reaching the front line trenches to a few hours
or minutes. Let us proceed, then, to weigh this particular fish. We
can do it only approximately, for it is inherent in the nature of
warfare that accurate, dependable statistics are commonly lacking, or
extremely difficult to obtain. The testimony of such as we have,
however, is all in support of the view that never before in civilized
warfare has the individual soldier had so good a prospect of surviving
the term of his enlistment and returning once more to the homeland as
now. It is not contended, of course, that modern war is simply a
pleasant pastime from which all will return unscathed, but merely that
the current impression concerning its having become more awful and
more fatal than in times past is incorrect. According to respectable
authority the casualties in the entire French army in proportion to
mobilized strength amounted, for the first six months of 1915, to 2.39
per cent. Since then the ratio has steadily decreased, the figure for
the last six months of 1916 being 1.28 per cent. At the beginning of
the war, for the battles of Charleroi and the Marne, when the French
suffered more heavily than at any time since, the casualties were 5.41
per cent of the mobilized strength of the army. In other words during
the period of greatest danger in the entire war but five men in every
hundred received wounds, while, of these five, it is a safe
generalization to say that only one died as a result thereof.
In view of the enormous numbers of men in the present war, the
absolute figures of losses are appalling enough. Relatively, however,
the losses are lower than in many previous wars. In no great battle of
the war, probably, has the individual soldier stood so good a chance
of being wounded or killed as did those--to mention a few cases
only--who fought at Fredericksburg or Gettysburg, at Stone River or
Chickamauga, at Waterloo, at Aspern, at Borodino, or Leipsic. At
Fredericksburg, Burnside lost, in a few hours, one-tenth of his army,
the loss in that portion actively engaged amounting to 16 per cent; at
Gettysburg, in three days, one-fifth of the Union army and almost
one-third of the Confederate army were killed or wounded; at
Chickamauga and at Stone River over one-fourth of the Confederate
forces engaged were lost, while the casualties sustained by Grant’s
army in the seven-days’ wilderness battles amounted to the same
appalling proportion. As to the Napoleonic wars, at Waterloo 40 per
cent of the French army--30,000 out of 74,000--were lost in a few
hours’ time; at Austerlitz, the French, although overwhelmingly
victorious, lost almost one-ninth of the army in one day’s fighting,
while the allies lost nearly half of theirs; at Borodino, in a single
day, the victorious French suffered casualties of 22½ per cent, the
defeated Russians casualties of 50 per cent of the armies engaged; at
Aspern, a drawn battle, both French and Austrians lost, in killed and
wounded, over one-fourth of the total armies engaged; at Albuera over
one-fourth of the French and one-fifth of the allied armies were lost,
but the British force, which bore the brunt of the allied fighting,
lost 4,100 men out of a total of 8,000 engaged. In the present war,
because of an unrescinded order, we are told, a Canadian detachment of
800 left 600 men on the field. But this is more than matched on both
sides at Gettysburg, where with no mistake in orders one Confederate
regiment lost 720 men out of 800, while a Union regiment lost 82 per
cent of the men engaged. Sixty-two Union regiments in this war
sustained losses in some single battle in excess of 50 per cent, a
record equalled on the southern side by forty-three regiments. Those
killed in action today are as irrevocably dead as those killed in any
former war; but of those merely wounded (about four-fifths of all
battle casualties) the prospect of recovering is incomparably better
than in any previous war, while the prospect of death from disease
incurred in service is likewise vastly diminished.
BRAVERY THEN AND NOW
It is a foible of most peoples in all generations fondly to picture
themselves as braver and hardier than those of other races and times.
So, in the present war, it is commonly assumed that greater demands
upon the soldier’s fortitude and courage are made than in times gone
by. In fact, however, bravery has been throughout the ages probably
the commonest attribute of mankind. Soldiers are as brave today as in
former times, but no more so. To contemplate a modern bayonet charge
or a fight at close grips with gun-butt and knife is far from
pleasant. But whereas such fighting is the occasional or exceptional
thing today, of old it was the normal mode of fighting. The idea that
combat should be waged at a distance was born only with the
development of smokeless powder and high-power rifles. As late as
Cromwell’s time the pike was the main reliance of infantry in battle.
The favorite tactics of Napoleon were based on the idea of
overwhelming the opposing army by the shock of mass formations. At
Waterloo, for hours his splendid cavalry broke against the British
squares, riding round and round at bayonet’s length, seeking to break
their outer line. From fighting in the open in mass formation, armies
have now largely taken to cover, even as the American Indian did;
partly because of this, partly for the other reasons noted, the
dangers and the horrors of war today have greatly diminished as
compared with former times. Our people should be made acquainted with
this fact, and both those who go to war and those who send them forth
are entitled to such comfort as may legitimately be derived from it.
SCHRECKLICHKEIT
One general exception, however, must be taken to the comforting
conclusions which have been reached. Broadly speaking, warfare among
savages knows no rules and recognizes no limitations of action or
honor. Prisoners of war may be slaughtered at once or reserved for the
refinements of torture. No distinction of treatment is made between
warriors and noncombatants. The lives, the liberty, and the
possessions of the conquered social group are subjected to such
disposition as the caprice or self-interest of the conquerors may
dictate. Following in the path marked out by Grotius, slowly and
painfully yet none the less surely, civilized nations have humanized
warfare to a marked degree. The rules of civilized war distinguish
between soldiers and noncombatants. The rights of the latter, both of
person and of property, have been clearly established; even as between
contending armies numerous rules have been established, all based on
the general idea of regulating and refining war in ways calculated to
eliminate its most horrible and debasing manifestations. In this work
our own nation has played a leading part and the rules for the
guidance of the Union armies adopted by President Lincoln half a
century ago, still largely guide the conduct of nations in the waging
of war.
With one awful exception, however. Moved by what atavistic influence
we know not, in striking contrast to the trend of world development
during the last three hundred years, the German government and people
in the last half century have evolved the doctrine and subscribed to
the principles of _shrecklichkeit_. As briefly characterized by
Bismarck, this policy, or principle of conduct, aims to leave to the
enemy nothing except their eyes with which to weep. It lays the ax to
the very foundation of the structure of international law, slowly
reared through three hundred years of effort. For the rule of right
and justice it substitutes the jungle law of tooth and fang. Under its
malign influence the whole circuit of the earth is filled with spying
and treason, with fraud and strife. On the foul results of this
policy, as applied to the conduct of armies, it is superfluous to
dwell when addressing readers of the present generation. No sharper
commentary upon the sad reversion of modern Germany to the customs and
practices of savagery can be afforded than the fact that the rules
promulgated by Lincoln for the guidance of the Union armies were
drafted by Francis Lieber, one of the most notable men ever driven
from reactionary Prussia to seek refuge in the United States.
_Shrecklichkeit_, like revolutionary France in 1792, throws down the
gage of battle to the remainder of the civilized world. In 1792,
however, revolutionary France voiced the aspirations of the future
against the dead weight of the past. Today imperial Germany challenges
the civilization of the present and the hopes of the future in the
interest of resurgent savagery. The world is too small to contain two
such antagonistic sets of ideals and of conduct. Either Prussian
_shrecklichkeit_ or the American ideal of order based on reason and
justice must prevail.
May we acquit ourselves like men and carry the fight to the finish.
THE QUESTION BOX
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| _The Wisconsin Historical Library has long maintained a |
| bureau of historical information for the benefit of those who |
| care to avail themselves of the service it offers. In “The |
| Question Box” will be printed from time to time such queries, |
| with the answers made to them, as possess sufficient general |
| interest to render their publication worth while._ |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
THE FIRST SETTLER OF BARABOO
I am not able to fix the exact date when Abraham Wood came
to Baraboo. What is the opinion of the staff as to the time?
He was supposed to be the first permanent settler. A line
will be appreciated.
H. E. COLE,
_Baraboo, Wisconsin_.
We appreciate your difficulty in determining the time of the advent of
Abraham Wood on your river, because of the conflict in the
authorities. So far as we can determine, the account in the _Wisconsin
Historical Atlas_ seems to be the most authoritative. The sketches in
this volume were carefully written, and were obtained from survivors
then alive. According to that statement the first man who attempted
settlement at the Baraboo Rapids in 1837 was Archibald Barker, who
then lived at Portage. He was driven off by the Indians. Meanwhile the
treaty at Washington had been negotiated, and there seemed more hope
that a settlement might be made. In the spring or early summer of 1839
a man named James Alban discovered Devil’s Lake, and he went back to
Portage and told Eben Peck, first settler at Madison. Peck had just
sold out at the latter place to Robert Ream, and he and Alban set out
up the Baraboo and marked out a site at the Rapids, including the
water power. As Peck was going back (after a stay of some weeks),
apparently he met Wallace Rowan and Abraham Wood, whom he had known
well at Madison, coming up from Portage. They staked out their claim
at Lyons, where Wood spent the winter.
In the meanwhile James Van Slyke came up from Walworth County in the
fall of 1839 and determined to jump Peck’s claim. Van Slyke had had
his claim at Lake Geneva jumped by other parties, and was in a bitter
and retaliatory frame of mind. After staking out his claim to the
rapids of the Baraboo he went back to Walworth and interested James
Maxwell in a plan for a mill and persuaded him to furnish the irons
and equipment. Van Slyke went up in the spring of 1840 and built a dam
which was carried out by the freshet of June. Meanwhile, Peck had
brought his claim before the court at Madison and obtained judgment
against Van Slyke. The latter had already abandoned the enterprise.
Van Slyke sold his irons to Wood and Rowan, who during the summer
started a sawmill at the upper rapids.
There seems to be every evidence that the source of this account was
the Peck family, who were in a position to know the facts. If this
account is true, we suppose Wood might be called the first settler,
since he remained in the vicinity during the winter of 1839-40; but no
doubt he lived as the Indians did, if not with them, since his wife
was a squaw. He was thus not much more of a first settler than Barker,
Alban, Rowan, Peck, or Van Slyke.
To return to Wood. We are unable to discover when or how he came to
Wisconsin. He was probably a free trapper or trader, one of the rough
frontiersmen of Scotch descent from the backwoods of Canada. In the
course of trade he came in contact with the Decorah chiefs and took to
wife one of the daughters of the tribe. He had probably been on the
Baraboo often before 1839, since his squaw’s native village was near
its mouth, and there her father died in 1836. Wood was not then at the
Baraboo, since he was wintering near Madison. He was not at this site
in 1832, so sometime between that date and 1836 he set up his wigwam
at Squaw Point on Third Lake opposite the modern city of Madison.
His neighbor at this place was Wallace Rowan, a rough, good-hearted
frontiersman from Indiana with a white wife. There is a good account
of Rowan in _History of Dane County_ (Chicago, 1880), 382-83. Rowan
seems to have permitted Wood to place his wigwam, or whatever kind of
dwelling he had, on his claim, which he entered with William B. Long
in 1835.
Wood was on Third Lake during the winter of 1836-37, and during the
summer of 1837 he aided in building Madison, being employed as a
mechanic on Peck’s log house. It seems probable that Wood spent the
winter of 1837-38 at the same place, as there is no record of him at
Portage before the spring of 1838. Probably he moved away from Squaw
Point because Rowan that spring sold his claim and improvements to
William B. Slaughter. Rowan moved to Poynette and opened his noted
tavern. Wood went to Portage, where, no doubt, he had often been
before with the relatives of his squaw.
In 1838 work was begun on the Portage canal, and Wood opened a house
of liquid refreshment just below Carpenter’s on the Wisconsin River.
There, probably in the spring of 1839, Wood killed Pawnee Blanc, a
noted Winnebago chief. Wood’s brother-in-law, John T. La Ronde, tells
the sordid story in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, VII, 360. He
does not give the date of the murder; Moses Paquette says (_idem_,
XII, 431) that it was in 1837. Paquette probably remembered that it
was after his father’s death in 1836; but it could hardly have been in
1837 since Wood was then at Madison. Our inference is that the death
of Pawnee Blanc occurred in 1838 or 1839. Wood was probably anxious to
leave Portage at this time; moreover in 1839 Winfield Scott went to
Portage and held a council with the Winnebago concerning their removal
from Wisconsin. Wood knew the Baraboo Valley would soon be open for
settlement. He persuaded his old friend, Rowan, to go prospecting with
him. But on their way out they found Peck and Alban had been there
before them. Wood, not wanting to go back to Portage, spent the winter
in the Baraboo woods; and the next autumn (1840) with Wallace Rowan
began a sawmill, as La Ronde states (_Wis. Hist. Colls._, VII, 360).
The foregoing hypothesis appears to reconcile all the accounts except
Moses Paquette’s date of the killing of Pawnee Blanc. The record of
Wood’s trial may sometime come to light. Possibly it may be preserved
in the records of the court of Brown County, still kept at the
courthouse at Green Bay.
THE CHIPPEWA RIVER DURING THE FRENCH AND BRITISH RÉGIMES
Within a short time we expect to issue a special edition of
our local paper that will cover the development of the
Chippewa Valley. It struck me that possibly you could
furnish me considerable data covering the early history of
this section of the valley.
AL J. HARTLEY,
_Cornell, Wisconsin_.
Probably the first white person to pass the mouth of the Chippewa was
Father Louis Hennepin, who ascended the Mississippi in 1630. He
describes the Chippewa under the name of Rivière des Boeufs (Buffalo).
It is probable that in his time the Beef Slough was part of the
Chippewa channel, and the present Buffalo River an affluent of the
Chippewa proper. In 1682 La Salle wrote a description of the rivers of
Wisconsin in a letter, the translation of which is found in volume
sixteen of the _Collections_ of the Wisconsin Historical Society. He
says “About thirty leagues, ascending always in the same direction
[above Black River], one comes to the Rivière des Boeufs which is as
wide at its mouth as that of the Islinois. It is called by that name
owing to the great number of those animals found there; it is followed
from ten to twelve leagues, the water being smooth and without rapids,
bordered by mountains which widen out from time to time, forming
meadows. There are several islands at its mouth, which is bordered by
woods on both sides.” La Salle’s description was without doubt taken
from the account of Hennepin.
The next visitor to this region was Duluth, who in 1680 rescued Father
Hennepin from his captors, the Sioux Indians, and brought him down the
Mississippi and by the Wisconsin-Fox route to Green Bay. Duluth has
not left any description of the Chippewa.
In 1685 Nicolas Perrot was governor of all of this region. In the
_Proceedings_ of this Society for 1915 you will find an account of
Perrot’s experiences and of the Fort Antoine that he built at the
mouth of the Chippewa. Perrot called the stream River of the Sauteurs,
which was the French name for the Chippewa tribe, whom they first met
at the Sault, hence Saulteurs or Sauters. Perrot seems to have been
the first person to use the name Sauteur or Chippewa for the river. It
so appears on a very remarkable map drawn in 1688, and now in Paris. A
facsimile of this is in the Wisconsin Historical Library, at Madison,
and a photograph appears in L. P. Kellogg’s, _Early Narratives of the
Northwest_ (New York, 1917), 342. At Fort St. Antoine, Perrot in 1689
held a great ceremony, taking possession of all the Sioux country for
the King of France. A translation of this document is found in volume
eleven of the _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, 35-36.
The name of the river indicates that the Chippewa was the home of some
portion of the Chippewa tribe. In the early eighteenth century this
valley became the battle ground of the great feud between the Sioux
and Chippewa Indians, which lasted nearly one hundred and fifty years.
Much interesting material on this subject may be found in _Minnesota
Historical Collections_, volume five, which is a history of the
Chippewa tribe by a half-breed, W. W. Warren.
In the year 1766, three years after the French had ceded all this
territory to the British crown, the noted explorer, Jonathan Carver,
ascended the Mississippi and attempted to bring about a peace between
the warring Sioux and Chippewa. The next year he returned from
Mackinac, and with a stock of goods ascended the Chippewa River, at
whose headwaters he found a Chippewa village of one hundred fine stout
warriors. Their customs, however, were very filthy. This is, so far as
we know, the first recorded voyage through the Chippewa valley. No
doubt, however, many fur traders had preceded Carver, for he speaks of
engaging a pilot to accompany him.
In the last years of the French régime there was reported a copper
mine on this river, which was then called for a time “Bon Secours” or
Good Help River. Carver calls it the Chippewa River. About six years
after Carver’s visit a British trader named Hugh Boyle was killed at
this river. See _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, XVIII, 312-13.
According to the court of inquiry ordered by the British officials,
the affair was his own fault.
The British traders continued to trade on this river, notwithstanding
the danger caused by the fierce intertribal wars. In 1805 the United
States government sent Zebulon M. Pike, a young army lieutenant, to
ascend the Mississippi and warn British traders that this was then
American territory. It became so by the treaty of 1783, but the
British kept the forts on the Great Lakes until 1796, and all had
continued to act until Pike’s visit as if the upper Mississippi region
belonged to the British. Pike found that the traders avoided the
Chippewa River because of the danger of falling in with war parties of
contesting Indians. He passed the river’s mouth about dusk.
In 1820 an American expedition headed by Lewis Cass descended the
Mississippi, and from that time on there were numerous boats going up
and down. The first steamboat ascended to the Falls of St. Anthony in
1823. Some very early logging expeditions in 1822 and 1829 are
described in the _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, II, 132-41, and
V, 244-54.
The earliest permanent settlers were the Cadottes. See _Wisconsin
Historical Collections_, XIX, 171, and _Minnesota Historical
Collections_, volume five.
THE CAREER OF COLONEL G. W. MANYPENNY
Can you give me any reference to any publication or record
in your library relating to G. W. Manypenny, who was Indian
commissioner in 1855 and in that year made a treaty with the
Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin?
E. S. GAYLORD,
_Minneapolis, Minnesota_.
Colonel George W. Manypenny, who was Indian commissioner in President
Pierce’s administration, was not a Wisconsin man. He was born in
Pennsylvania, and appointed from Ohio. His home was in Columbus, Ohio,
and as early as 1835 he was editor of a prominent Democratic paper at
that place. His appointment was no doubt a reward for journalistic
services during the campaign; but he seems to have taken his duties
seriously and to have undertaken the rôle of a defender of the red men
against the extortions of unscrupulous speculators. In doing this he
incurred the enmity of a powerful political clique among whom was
Senator Benton.
Manypenny went west in August, 1853, and made the series of treaties
that opened up the territories of Kansas and Nebraska for settlement.
It is claimed that he acted in the interests of the South with regard
to the Pacific railroad. See Wisconsin Historical Society
_Proceedings_, 1912, 80. In 1855 Manypenny made the treaty with the
Mississippi bands of Chippewa at Washington, whither their chiefs had
been conducted by Henry M. Rice.
Manypenny retired from office in March, 1857, and returned to Columbus
where, in 1859, he purchased a half interest in the _Ohio Statesman_
and was its editor for three years. In 1862 he retired to become
manager of the state public works, of which he was one of the lessees.
His interest in the Indians continued, and in 1876 he was appointed a
chairman of the commission to investigate the troubles that had led to
the Sioux outbreak of that year. In 1880 he published a book entitled
_Our Indian Wards_ (Cincinnati, Robert Clark & Co.), which is a plea
for more fairness in the management of Indian affairs, and a recital
of many of their wrongs.
The date of his death we have not ascertained, nor whether he left
descendants. An inquiry of E. W. Randall, secretary of the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society, at Columbus, would doubtless
put you in possession of these facts.
TREATY HALL AND OLD LA POINTE
Will you kindly advise me what “Treaty Hall,” La Pointe,
Madeline Island, stands for historically? When and by whom
was it built? Some say it was erected in 1836 and others say
1857 or 1858. The treaties were signed before the latter
date, so why call it “Treaty Hall”? Any information you can
give on the subject will be greatly appreciated.
MRS. FRANK H. JERRARD,
Representative St. Paul Chapter, D. A. R.,
_St. Paul, Minnesota_.
The information we have obtained concerning the building on Madeline
Island now called “Treaty Hall” does not give conclusive proof of the
origin of the building. One fact seems clear--the name “Treaty Hall”
was not applied to it until the eighties of the last century, and the
building was not put up to accommodate the negotiating of a treaty.
Whether a treaty was negotiated in this building or not is another
question. As a rule Indian treaty proceedings were held in the open
air; if any covering was desired, a kind of shade was built of boughs,
or a circle was temporarily enclosed with poles, boughs, and mats.
Nevertheless it is not improbable that in the northern region of
Madeline Island, with the cold winds from the lake blowing in, a
treaty might have been held under shelter, and that some appropriate
building might have been thus used.
There were only two treaties held on Madeline Island, that of 1842 and
that of 1854. The former was concluded October 4, 1842, and the
commissioner was Robert Stuart, who had been for many years the
representative of the American Fur Company at Mackinac. He was at the
time of this treaty Indian superintendent at Detroit. The inference is
strong that Stuart was on terms of friendship, even intimacy, with the
American Fur Company’s agents at La Pointe. These were at the time of
the treaty of 1842 Charles H. Oakes and Dr. Charles W. Borup, both of
whom were present at the treaty. Moreover, Rev. Alfred Brunson of
Prairie du Chien, a prominent Methodist missionary in early-day
Wisconsin, was appointed Indian agent at La Pointe in the autumn of
1842. He reached his post of duty very late in the year and says both
in his printed reminiscences and in unpublished manuscripts in our
Society’s possession that there were no agency buildings, but that Dr.
Borup had a large storehouse prepared for a council.
With regard to the Treaty of 1854, it was signed September 30 of that
year. The commissioners were Henry C. Gilbert and Daniel B. Herriman.
Among the witnesses was L. H. Wheeler, whose sons are among our
correspondents. H. M. Rice was likewise present. We believe the
Minnesota Historical Society is in possession of the latter’s papers.
If so, something might be gleaned from them.
COMMUNICATIONS
MORE LIGHT ON THE ORIGINATOR OF “WINNEQUAH”
As a medieval Madisonian, I protest against your summary termination
of the activities of “Cap” Barnes at “1873 or 1874, perhaps
later.”[127] He was positively an institution in and of Madison, and I
positively remember him and his steamboat line at least as late as
1889. His steamboats, the _Scutenaubequon_ and the _Waubishnepawau_,
lent new terrors to the aboriginal tongues. His later divergence to
_Silenzioso_ bore witness to the liveliness, if not the expertness, of
his linguistic imagination. No Madisonian of the Victorian age, so to
speak, will recall “Angleworm Station” without a warming of the heart
to the memory of “Cap” Barnes. His midwinter straw hat and his
irrepressible gaiety are intimately associated with our tenderest
Madison memories. Picnics? Madison was the home of them, and “Cap”
Barnes and his steamboat, in combination, were preëssential to them.
It was “Cap” Barnes who hit upon the first discovered practical use of
the abortive capitol park driven well: “Pull it up, saw it into
lengths, and sell it to the farmers for post holes.”
Statesmen, prophets, and nabobs, Mr. Editor, may pass into
oblivion--but touch reverently on the memory of “Cap” Barnes. Madison
would never have been the Madison of its golden age without him.
CHARLES M. MORRIS.
Milwaukee, January 7, 1918.
A HISTORY OF OUR STATE FLAG
I have just received the first copy of the new WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF
HISTORY, and think it a splendid idea. Of course, I have not had time
to examine it carefully, but I did run across the short article with
reference to the state flag, which seems rather to carry the idea that
Wisconsin had no state flag at any time prior to 1913.
I call your attention to a letter written by me to H. W. Rood,
Custodian of Memorial Hall, under date of January 5, 1911, in which I
said:
In response to your verbal request of a few days since, I
have investigated the matter of the state flag of Wisconsin.
Chapter 215 of the Laws of 1863, published April 10th 1863,
provided in part as follows:
“Whenever the state flags of the regiments in the service of
the United States, from this state, shall have become so far
worn and damaged by service that it is deemed necessary to
replace them, and the officers commanding any of the said
regiments shall inform the governor of such fact, and make
requisition for new flags, the governor is hereby authorized
to cause to be furnished to such regiments new flags; the
state flag to be of the design, plan and material as adopted
by this legislature, by joint resolution No. 44, Senate; and
one of the said flags shall be inscribed with the names of
the battles in which such regiments shall have taken an
honorable part.”
I do not find that there was a joint resolution No. 44 of
that year. Resolution No. 4, however, is evidently the one
referred to and that provides as follows:
“Resolved, by the senate, the assembly concurring, that the
following be and is hereby adopted as the design for a state
flag for the state of Wisconsin:
“State Flag.--To be of dark blue silk, with the arms of the
State of Wisconsin painted or embroidered in silk on the
obverse side, and the arms of the United States, as
prescribed in paragraph 1435 of ‘new army regulations,’
painted or embroidered in silk on the reverse side; the name
of the regiment, when used as a regimental flag, to be in a
scroll beneath the state arms.
“The size of the regiment colors to be six feet, six inches
fly, and six feet deep on the pike; the length of pike for
said colors, including spear and ferrule, to be nine feet,
ten inches; the fringe yellow, cords and tassels blue and
white silk intermixed.”
This resolution was approved March 25, 1863.
Chapter 248 of the laws of 1864, published April 15, 1864,
repealed chapter 215 of the laws of 1863, but provided in
part as follows:
“The state flag to be of the design, plan and material as
adopted by the legislature of this state by joint resolution
No. 44, senate, at the session of 1863, and one of said
flags shall be inscribed with the names of the battles in
which such regiment or battery shall have taken an honorable
part.”
Joint Resolution No. 6, approved March 3, 1863, read as
follows:
“Resolved, that the superintendent of public property be and
he is hereby authorized to purchase two national flags and
two state flags, one each of which he shall place over the
president’s chair in the senate chamber, and one each over
the speaker’s chair in the assembly chamber, where they
shall remain during each session of the legislature.”
I do not find any other laws or resolutions relating to this
flag until the adoption of the revised statutes of 1878,
section 4978 of which provides in part that
“The following acts of the legislature, passed in the
several years hereinafter enumerated, shall be repealed,
that is to say:”
Then follows a table of the laws thus repealed and among
them I find chapter 248 of the laws of 1864. I believe that
this ends the legislation in relation to a state flag and
that the State of Wisconsin no longer has such a flag.
In the pamphlet published by Doctor Thwaites entitled
_Wisconsin’s Emblems and Sobriquet_ he refers to chapter 167
of the laws of Wisconsin of 1907 (section 633m of the
Wisconsin statutes), which provides:
“The organization, armament and discipline of the Wisconsin
national guard shall be the same as that which is now, or
may hereafter be prescribed for the regular and volunteer
armies of the United States.”
He seems to think that the state flag is now as provided in paragraph
222 of the United States army regulations for 1904--the colors to be
of silk, five feet, six inches fly, and four feet, four inches on the
pike, which shall be nine feet long, including spear head and ferrule.
From this article I should assume that he considers that chapter 167
of the laws of 1907 is the law that repealed the prior law providing
for a state flag. As will be seen from the references herein given,
this law was repealed upon the adoption of the revised statutes of
1878.
This may not be of any particular importance, except that as a matter
of historical accuracy, it should be noted that Wisconsin, in fact,
did for several years have a State Flag.
Very truly yours,
WINFIELD W. GILMAN.
Madison, October 24, 1917.
[127] See WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY for December, 1917,
196.
SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES
THE SOCIETY AND THE STATE
During the quarter ending December 31, 1917, five new life and
twenty-four annual members were added to the State Historical Society.
The new life members are: Henry F. De Puy, of New York City; Walter S.
Lacher, of La Grange, Illinois; Thomas E. Lyons, of Madison; Chester
H. Thordarson, of Chicago; and J. Russell Wheeler, of Columbus,
Wisconsin. The list of new annual members is as follows: Rev. A. S.
Badger, Waukesha; George Banta, Menasha; George Banta, Jr., Menasha;
Dr. Robert C. Brown, Milwaukee; Arthur J. Dopp, Waukesha; Emerson Ela,
Madison; Judge Oscar M. Fritz, Milwaukee; Professor J. L. Gillen,
Madison; L. H. Gingles, Waukesha; George Bird Grinnell, New York City;
William G. Hanson, Milwaukee; George C. Holmes, Madison; John T.
Kenney, Madison; Professor A. C. Kingsford, Baraboo; Gilbert L.
Lacher, Chicago; Judge David W. Maloney, Ladysmith; Dean Lois K.
Mathews, Madison; Carl E. Nord, Sioux City; Cyril A. Peerenboom,
Appleton; A. L. Saltzstein, Milwaukee; Judge James E. Thomas,
Waukesha; Frank J. Wilder, Boston; Edwin E. Witte, Madison; and Henry
M. Youmans, Waukesha.
Dr. James W. Vance of Madison died October 31, 1917. Dr. Vance had
been a member of the State Historical Society for thirty years. Mr.
Walter P. Bishop, vice president of the E. P. Bacon Company of
Milwaukee and since 1909 a member of the State Historical Society,
died October 10, 1917. Mr. Michael A. Hurley of Wausau, a member of
the Society since 1906, died September 25, 1917. Mr. Archie E. Wood,
of Whitehall, died October 8, 1917.
Rev. Eugene G. Updike, of Madison, whose completion of a
twenty-seven-year pastorate of the First Congregational Church was
noted in a recent number of this magazine, died at the Madison General
Hospital December 24, 1917. Dr. Updike was a life member of the State
Historical Society, and throughout his long pastorate at Madison had
taken an active part in civic and educational affairs generally.
Hon. Thomas E. Nash, of Grand Rapids, for sixteen years a life member
of the State Historical Society, died at his home December 13, 1917.
Mr. Nash was brought to Wisconsin in infancy by his parents. He had
been engaged in railroad work for many years when in 1882 he was
appointed by Postmaster General Vilas chief clerk of the post office
department and the following year general superintendent of the
railway mail service. In 1888 Mr. Nash organized the Nekoosa Pulp and
Paper Company with which he continued to be prominently associated
until ill health forced his retirement from active work a few years
ago.
Volume XXIV of the Society’s _Collections_, entitled _Frontier Retreat
on the Upper Ohio, 1779-1781_, copy for which was sent to the state
printer in December, 1916, at length came from the press in December,
1917, and was distributed the first of the year to the Society’s
members and exchanges. The reading of galley proof on Volume XXV of
the _Collections_ was completed early in December. The contents of
this volume, entitled _An English Settler in Pioneer Wisconsin: the
Letters of Edwin Bottomley, 1842-1850_, differ markedly from those of
any preceding volume of the _Collections_. The papers printed present
a rarely intimate picture of the life and problems of the pioneer
Wisconsin farmer and constitute, it is believed, a valuable
contribution of source material to the history of the territorial
period of Wisconsin’s development.
With the establishment of the WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY it is no
longer necessary, as it has been for upwards of a generation, to print
historical contributions and discussions in the annual volume known as
the _Proceedings_ of the Society. Shorn of this supplementary
historical matter, the official report of the activities of the
Society and its auxiliaries for 1917 shrinks to a document of less
than 100 pages. Copy for this was sent to the state printer in
January. Should the MAGAZINE prove, on sufficient trial, to justify
the continuance of its existence, the scope and character of the
contents of the _Proceedings_ for 1917 will set the standard,
presumably, for the issues of succeeding years.
A brief statement concerning four important editorial enterprises now
being prosecuted may be in order. Work on the series of volumes
designed to constitute a documentary history of Wisconsin’s
constitution, which has been prosecuted intermittently by the
Superintendent for the past two years, has now reached a stage where
it seems likely that copy for one volume can be sent to the printer
before the close of the Society’s present fiscal year. Probably four
volumes will be requisite to complete the series. After the editing of
the first one shall have been completed, the remaining ones may be
expected to follow in fairly rapid order. Work on the second volume of
the Draper Calendar series, mention of which was made in the MAGAZINE
for September, 1917, has progressed haltingly, due to the war-time
disruption of the office staff. It now seems safe to predict that the
copy will be ready for the printer by the end of the month. The other
enterprises alluded to were both initiated in the autumn of 1917. Dr.
Kellogg began work at that time on the preparation of a volume of
source material pertaining to the Indian treaties and land cessions
which are of more particular interest to Wisconsin. This project has
long been in mind, but its execution was necessarily deferred until
the search for documents in the Indian Office Files, begun three years
ago, should be completed. Dr. Oliver began in September the editing of
a volume of source material in the Society’s manuscript collection
pertaining to Wisconsin’s activities in the Civil War. With this
volume will be initiated a Civil War series of the _Collections_ which
will in time, it is hoped, run to many volumes.
A note may be inserted here concerning three items of lesser scope and
importance than the foregoing, all of them bibliographical in
character. A trenchant and thoroughgoing report on the state archives
situation in Wisconsin, prepared for the Society by Mr. Theodore
Blegen in the summer of 1917, was sent to the printer early in the
winter. Copy for a supplementary checklist of the collection of
newspapers in the Historical Library to list the accessions from the
time of publication in 1911 of the Society’s monumental _Annotated
Catalogue of Newspaper Files_ down to January 1, 1918, has been under
preparation for more than a year. It has at length been sent to the
printer, and will appear in due time as one of the Society’s
_Bulletins of Information_. Taken in conjunction with the _Annotated
Catalogue_, this bulletin will afford a complete index to the
Society’s splendid collection of newspapers, the second largest, it is
believed, in America. It is hoped that in the future, annual
supplements of the previous year’s accumulations may be issued in
connection with the annual checklist of _Periodicals and Newspapers
Currently Received_ by the Library. In February, 1917, the Society
began the publication of a monthly _Checklist of Wisconsin Public
Documents_ the contents of each number pertaining to the state
documents issued during the preceding month. This publication has
proved of much usefulness, apparently, and is in widespread demand by
librarians, students of the social sciences, and governmental
departments. A cumulative checklist of all state documents issued
during the year 1917 has been prepared and will be issued as soon as
practicable.
The project for the initial volume of the Society’s Hollister
Pharmaceutical Series, made possible by the bequest of the late
Colonel and Mrs. Hollister of Madison, has at length assumed definite
and, it is believed, interesting form. According to the original plan,
Dr. Edward Kremers of the University Pharmacy Department undertook to
translate and edit for the Society Pierre Jartu’s notable treatise on
the ginseng plant. In the course of the work this project has
gradually enlarged until now, with the coöperation of Dr. Richtmann,
it is proposed to prepare a comprehensive treatise of the several
aspects, pharmaceutical, commercial, and otherwise, of the history of
ginseng. Such a volume should worthily initiate this unique scientific
series for which the Society has long been planning.
Colonel John Hicks of Oshkosh, publisher of the _Daily Northwestern_
and one of the best known newspaper men in Wisconsin, died suddenly at
San Antonio, Texas, December 20, 1917. Colonel Hicks was much
interested in Wisconsin history, in the making of which he had been
for fifty years an active participant. At the time of his death, he
was engaged in writing his reminiscences for publication in the
_Northwestern_, and within a few days of his demise had taken up with
the State Historical Society the question of possible publication by
it of his reminiscences in book form. As a result of Colonel Hick’s
public beneficence, statues of Chief Oshkosh and of Carl Schurz adorn
his home city, while in several of the public schools are bronze busts
of prominent Americans for whom the buildings are severally named.
Mr. William H. Ellsworth of Milwaukee, one of Wisconsin’s best known
archeological collectors, died November 6, 1917. At the time of his
death Mr. Ellsworth was vice president of the Wisconsin Archeological
Society. To the work of that institution he had devoted a large part
of his time and means. Valuable archeological collections made by him
are found in the museums of Beloit College, in the Minnesota
Historical Society, and in the Milwaukee Public Museum.
John F. Appleby, inventor of the Appleby twine binder, died at his
home in Chicago, November 8, 1917. Mr. Appleby was one of the notable
Wisconsin inventors who have contributed materially to the scientific
and economic development of the country. During the decade of the
fifties, when the great West was unfolding its agricultural riches,
the farmers suddenly realized that the only limitation upon the amount
of their wheat acreage was their ability to harvest the crop. The
McCormick reaper had already made its appearance, but it served only
to cut the grain, leaving it lying loose upon the ground to be bound
by hand. Some device for holding the grain and binding it into sheaves
was essential before the wheat acreage of the West could be materially
increased. After years of experimentation in a little shop in Beloit,
Appleby announced the construction of a mechanical twine binder. The
original model of his invention, which is substantially identical with
the device now in use on scores of thousands of farms in America and
abroad, may be seen in the museum of the State Historical Society at
Madison.
Mr. Christian Abrahamson, of Chicago, has recently painted a portrait
of former Supreme Court Judge J. E. Dodge, of Milwaukee, for
presentation to the State Historical Society. A replica of the
portrait has also been prepared for the Supreme Court room in the
Capitol.
Mr. C. E. Freeman, of Menomonie, Wisconsin, has presented to the
Society an interesting document pertaining to the railroad
farm-mortgage projects of the fifties in Wisconsin. Readers of Mr.
Merk’s _Economic History of Wisconsin During the Civil War Decade_,
published by the Society last year, need not be told how important was
the rôle played by the railroad farm mortgage in the economic and
political annals of early Wisconsin. The document presented by Mr.
Freeman is a contract between the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad and
a farmer, whereby the railroad company agrees to cancel the interest
on the individual’s farm mortgage in return for the relinquishment by
the latter of his prospective dividends on his railroad stock. This
was a central feature of the farm mortgage scheme, yet at the time of
writing his _Economic History_, Mr. Merk was unable to uncover any
direct documentary evidence concerning it. This hiatus in the
Society’s collection of historical material pertaining to the subject
of railroad farm mortgages is now filled by the gift of Mr. Freeman.
A fine bronze bas relief of Mary Elizabeth Mears, better known,
perhaps, by her pen name, Nellie Wildwood, has been received by the
Society from her daughter in New York. The bas relief is the work of
another daughter of Mrs. Mears, Helen Farnsworth Mears, who was for
many years prior to her death in 1916 one of Wisconsin’s most notable
artists. The “Recollections” of Mrs. Mears were published in the
_Proceedings_ of the Society for 1916. The Madison Art Association has
secured for hanging in the State Historical Museum a copy of Miss
Mears’s Augustus St. Gaudens.
Colonel Michael Frank, “father of the free public school system of
Wisconsin,” was born in New York in 1804 and died in Kenosha in 1895.
He came to Southport (now Kenosha) to reside in October, 1839. Three
months later, on January 1, 1840, he began keeping a diary. Upon its
conclusion, December 31, 1890, this work had continued half a century
and filled thirty-nine bound manuscript volumes. Throughout this
half-century Colonel Frank figured as one of the prominently useful
citizens of the territory and state. His voluminous diary has now come
to the State Historical Society from its possessor, Mr. F. H. Lyman,
of Kenosha, an old neighbor and friend of Colonel Frank. The diary is
well preserved and written in an excellent hand. Although only a
cursory examination has as yet been made of its contents, it seems
evident that the work will prove a valuable aid to students interested
in this period of Wisconsin’s history.
[Illustration: MARY ELIZABETH MEARS
From a bas relief owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society]
A collection of papers of Governor Nelson Dewey, consisting
principally of a business account book and several annual volumes of
his diary, has been presented to the Society by Mr. R. A. Watkins of
Lancaster. The diary of Governor Dewey seems to have been widely
scattered. Some volumes of it have long been in the Historical
Library, and several more are in the possession of a resident of
Cassville.
Several interesting additions of noncurrent newspaper files were made
to the Library during the quarter ending December 31, 1917. Most
interesting locally, perhaps, is a file of _Lucifer_, 1884-98, in
fifteen bound volumes. Publication of _Lucifer_ was begun at Madison
in 1882; later it was continued at Milwaukee until the demise of the
paper in 1898. Published in German, it was the organ of the Turner
societies, and manifested a liberal and anti-Catholic viewpoint. To
the Society’s slowly-growing file of photostatic copies of the _Boston
News Letter_ all known existing issues for the years 1726-29,
inclusive, were acquired during the quarter. Other files of
Massachusetts papers acquired are the Newburyport _Evening Union_
(daily), January 1-September 18, 1851, and _Russell’s Gazette_
(Boston, semi-weekly), January-July, 1800. Finally, two Ohio papers
were added: the Cleveland _Recorder_, 1896-97, and July-December,
1899, in four volumes, and the Cincinnati _Graphic_, August,
1885-November, 1886, in two volumes.
From Captain George Jackson of Chicago the Society has received a rare
volume possessed of much sentimental interest. It is “Dr. Mort.
Luther’s _Lesser Catechism_,” published in New York in 1842. But one
other copy of the book is known to be in existence and this is in
private hands. The _Lesser Catechism_ was the first book in the
Norwegian language to be printed in America.
A scrapbook filled with clippings concerning the Kansas troubles and
the Civil War has been presented to the State Historical Society by
Louis W. Bridgman, son of Edward Bridgman, who died in Madison in
August, 1915. Mr. Bridgman migrated to “Bleeding Kansas” from
Massachusetts in the spring of 1856. Staking out a claim near
Osawatomie, he soon took up living quarters with the brother of Susan
B. Anthony, who was also a Massachusetts crusader in the cause of
freedom. To their cabin one evening late in August, 1856, came John
Brown with his band of tired followers. Here they spent the night and
were having breakfast the next morning, when news arrived of the
impending attack upon Osawatomie by a large band of proslavery
Missourians. Leaving the unfinished meal, Brown and his men started to
meet the invaders. Bridgman and Anthony followed as soon as they could
pull their cooking utensils from the open fire. Thus Bridgman
participated in Osawatomie, John Brown’s most notable battle, and
lived to become probably the last survivor of Brown’s band of
followers on that day.
A few years later, having returned to Massachusetts, he enlisted in
the Thirty-seventh Infantry in which he served during the Civil War. A
school teacher by profession, he wrote frequent letters to the press,
both during his Civil War career and in later years, describing his
experiences, and retailing his recollections. The scrapbook now
presented by his son, and largely made up of such clippings,
constitutes a valuable contribution to the Society’s collection of
Civil War material.
The September number of the MAGAZINE contained an account of the gift
to the state of Perrot State Park, including in its limits Trempealeau
Mountain and the site of Perrot’s “fort” or wintering place of 1689.
It is gratifying to be able to record the gift at Christmas time of
another splendid park site to the state. Mr. Martin Pattison of
Superior is the donor whose enlightened generosity makes possible the
preservation for public use and enjoyment of the Manitou Falls of
Black River, some fifteen miles out of Superior. Mr. Pattison has been
quietly at work for several years securing the title to some 600 acres
of woodland around the falls, “Douglas County’s most cherished beauty
spot,” in order to make this public disposition of it. Thus another
bit of historic Wisconsin scenery gives promise of being permanently
preserved in its virgin state for the enjoyment of future generations
of Wisconsin citizens.
During the holiday season the State Historical Museum had on exhibit a
small Christmas tree, decorated with patriotic emblems of all the
allied countries. Diminutive flags representing the national colors,
Red Cross flags, food conservation buttons, a miniature Red Cross
service flag, tiny bundles of liberty bonds, diminutive airplanes, and
machine guns were all displayed. Small gilt discs, representing each
of the camps in which Wisconsin boys are training, were also
displayed. All of the decorations were arranged so as to embody the
red, white, and blue color scheme.
Mr. Charles E. Graves, formerly exchange librarian of the University
of Illinois, became librarian of the Minnesota Historical Society at
St. Paul, November 1, 1917.
During the closing months of 1917 the Minnesota Historical Society
moved into its splendid new home which has been in the process of
erection during the last two years. As the historical development of
Wisconsin and of Minnesota has much in common, it is but natural that
the relations between the historical societies of the two states
should be cordial and intimate. That the further career of the
Minnesota Historical Society shall be such that before many years the
new home will prove to be as inadequate as the old one has long been,
is the best wish we, in behalf of the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, can extend to it at this season of congratulation.
The Michigan Historical Commission is actively engaged in a campaign
to save the important state documents and archives of the
commonwealth. Recently the original copy of the first Michigan
constitution (1835) was found in the state capitol hidden away in an
old tin can, where it had been placed many years ago. The ends of the
document were so badly mutilated that the names of some of the signers
could no longer be read. Appropriate treatment to insure against
further deterioration of this priceless manuscript was applied, and it
is now suitably housed in the capitol building. The preliminary step
looking to the establishment of an archival department for Michigan
has already been taken by the historical commission. Messrs. F. B.
Streeter and J. H. Russell have been engaged to collect, arrange, and
classify the archives of the state, and have already entered upon this
important work.
SOME WISCONSIN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS AUGUST-DECEMBER, 1917
In a bulletin published by the Wisconsin Highway Commission in
September, 1917, on the state trunk highway law, the announcement is
made that there is available from the federal government $128,361.07.
During the next four years it is estimated there will be a total of
$1,925,416.05 available for road construction in Wisconsin. The
federal law provides that a state, in order to receive this
appropriation, must set aside each year an amount at least equal to
that provided by the national government. The money thus derived may
be expended upon any public road over which the United States mails
are now or may hereafter be transported. The State Highway Commission
predicts that by the close of the year 1918 Wisconsin will have a
system of travelable roads connecting all county seats and all the
principal centers of population in the state. Wisconsin is already one
of the leading good-roads states in the country; under the operation
of the new law this position of leadership should easily be retained.
The _Biennial Report_ of the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, issued in September, 1917, indicates that the two years
just closed have been the most fruitful and active in the entire
history of public education in Wisconsin. The state educational staff
has been increased by the addition of a supervisor of manual training,
a supervisor of tests and measurements, an editorial and statistical
secretary, and an additional supervisor of city and village grades.
The report is particularly valuable in that it includes not only a
compilation of all the data dealing with the public schools, but also
a system of graphs, diagrams, and charts which set forth in striking
manner the educational facts of the state. By these illustrations the
reader is able to see on a single page all the facts relating to any
one phase of education.
A most suggestive pamphlet entitled _Illiteracy and Americanization_,
prepared by Amy Bronsky, was issued from the office of the state
superintendent of public instruction in October, 1917. The vital
importance of educating and Americanizing every person within our
borders is well set forth. According to the census of 1910, Wisconsin
had 57,769 illiterates over ten years of age, and 120,665 non-English
speaking residents over ten years of age. Miss Bronsky adds that,
notwithstanding the efforts made to reduce this number, it is probable
that it has been growing larger rather than smaller since the year
1910. Wisconsin’s percentage of illiteracy (3.2) is lower than that of
the country at large, but not so low as in two of our neighboring
states, Minnesota (3) and Iowa (1.7). By the establishment of the
continuation schools, night sessions, reading circles, and other
allied agencies, it is believed that the next decade will show a
considerable decrease in the percentage of illiteracy.
The _Proceedings_ of the Wisconsin State Conference of Charities and
Corrections for 1916 deal almost exclusively with the one problem of
feeble-mindedness. Never before has the importance of this subject
been brought so strikingly to the attention of the social workers of
Wisconsin. The first report ever submitted dealing with these
unfortunates in our midst was made at this conference. It reveals the
fact, surprising to most people, that there are over 13,000 of them in
the state. Of this number only 5,000 can be accommodated in the
institutions that are now provided. The imperative need of securing
additional facilities for their care and instruction was the chief
problem dealt with by the conference.
The 1917 _Annual Report_ of the State Horticultural Society shows that
field work is now being conducted at eleven different points
throughout the state. At Polar, Maple, Whitehall, Manitowoc, Sparta,
Baraboo, Holcombe, Pewaukee, Gays Mills, Lake Geneva, and Weston
experiments are under way. The supervision of trial orchards at the
stations constitutes the major part of the society’s activities, and
absorbs the larger portion of its funds. The trial orchard at Gays
Mills is regarded as the best of its age in the state.
That the reading-circle movement has made great progress in Wisconsin
during the last two years is shown by the report issued for 1917-1918,
which reveals an increase of over 175 per cent in the number of
persons who are doing work under the auspices of this organization. An
increase of more than 300 per cent in the number of boys and girls
reading under the direction of the Young People’s Circles is reported.
Upwards of 2,500 teachers and more than 24,000 pupils did the required
reading in their respective circles during the last school year.
Fifty-four counties took part in the Young People’s Reading Circle,
and fifty in the Teachers’ Circle. Of the cities that have taken the
lead in the number of members enrolled in the Young People’s Circle,
Janesville heads the list with 507. Marinette County leads in the
number of seals and diplomas granted to teachers with a total of 158.
That the town mutual fire insurance companies in Wisconsin experienced
their usual increase in business during the last year is seen from
their _Forty-eighth Annual Report_ issued in 1917. The insurance in
force at the close of the business year in December, 1916, was
$28,943,362 more than at the close of the preceding year. Practically
the entire agricultural interests of the state are protected by some
one of these mutual companies. The prediction is made that the
territory will remain about the same in the future as at the present.
The only change in business to be looked for will be the gradual
increase in the value of rural property and improved conditions making
for increased insurance. Only one new company has entered the
field--the North Wisconsin Finnish Farmers of Marengo.
The December (1917) number of the _Wisconsin Library Bulletin_
presents what is practically a first report of the work done in this
state in raising funds for camp libraries. Wisconsin’s contribution to
the million dollar fund was approximately $41,000. Since our quota,
according to the basis of population, was slightly over $25,000, it
will be seen that the state not only did her share but greatly
exceeded it.
The _Wisconsin State Board of Health Bulletin_ for September, 1917,
reports that during the preceding three months 6,230 deaths occurred
in the state. This corresponds to an annual death rate of 9.9 a
thousand of the population. This record shows a decline of 422 in the
total number of deaths when compared to the report for the same three
months in 1916. It is interesting to note that during the three months
covered by this report--July, August, and September--the death rate in
the northern part of the state was only 8.6 a thousand, in the central
counties, 10 a thousand, and in the southern counties, 10.4 a
thousand.
The _Proceedings_ of the Fifty-first Annual Encampment of the
Department of Wisconsin Grand Army of the Republic, 1917, shows that
at the beginning of the year there were only 4,247 surviving members
left. The highest membership ever reached by the Wisconsin
organization was in 1899 when there were 13,944 enrolled. Death
claimed 420 of the veterans during the year from December 31, 1915, to
December 31, 1916.
The _Opinions of the Attorney-General of Wisconsin_ issued for
October, 1917, shows that his advice was sought upon thirty-seven
different questions. The uncertainties attending the statutes relating
to the construction of bridges and highways brought forth the largest
number of inquiries. The duties of public officers, particularly
county officials, and the interpretation of the fish and game laws
also required a large number of opinions to be handed down at that
time of the year.
The _Consolidated Annual Reports_ of the Wisconsin Dairyman’s
Association for the annual meetings of 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916 was
issued in July, 1917. The report shows that since the organization of
the association in 1872, the dairy products of the state have
increased from $1,000,000 to over $120,000,000. Wisconsin now stands
first among the states both in the value of dairy products and in the
number of dairy cows. In July, 1917, there were 81 cow-testing
associations. The total membership was 2,417, while the number of cows
under test exceeded 38,000. The average cow in Wisconsin produces 175
pounds of fat a year, although there was one herd reported where the
average reached 564 pounds of fat.
_Fuel Conservation by the Economical Combustion of Soft Coal_ by
Gustus Ludwig Larson is the title of Bulletin No. 888 of the
University of Wisconsin issued in December, 1917. The author declares
that many plants waste through unscientific firing and inadequate
equipment as much as fifty per cent of the coal they buy. The criminal
waste in the burning of coal in which many firemen engage is regarded
as the most serious problem facing our people during the winter
season. The question of proper combustion, both in the firing power
plants and in domestic heating, and a discussion of the different
devices for burning soft coal without smoke are set forth in a
practical manner by Professor Larson. A table showing the
characteristic analyses of soft coal available to Wisconsin buyers is
included in the bulletin.
SOME PUBLICATIONS
Professor F. A. Ogg of the University of Wisconsin, and a member of
the State Historical Society, is the author of a new volume entitled
_National Progress, 1907 to 1917_. All students of American history
are familiar with the monumental coöperative history of our country
edited by Professor Hart of Harvard, entitled _The American Nation_.
This work in twenty-seven volumes was completed in 1907. Professor
Ogg’s new book is designed to bring the work down to date by covering
the history of the nation for the decade ending with 1917.
The recent volume by Dr. Kellogg, Research Associate in the State
Historical Society, entitled _Early Narratives of the Northwest
1634-1699_, is reviewed in the _American Historical Review_ in part as
follows:
“If the early history of Wisconsin and neighboring regions
is not adequately accessible to future generations, it will
be through no fault of a group of zealous and competent
students who, perhaps inspired by the examples of Draper,
the collector, and Thwaites, editor and collector, continue
the work in true historical spirit and scientific method. If
Wisconsin is fortunate in her students, she is also
abundantly rich in material for study. * * * For all of the
journals Miss Kellogg’s abundant annotation is helpful. We
wish she had added one more note, explaining Raddison’s
wonderful word _auxotacicae_ (p. 65). The clearly-penned
introduction to each narrative not merely summarizes it, but
informs the student of what printing it has already had,
either in French or English, and makes plain the editor’s
choice of text. Not the least interesting feature of the
work is a facsimile of a contemporary map drawn to
illustrate Marquette’s discoveries, here reproduced from the
original in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. A portion of
Franquelin’s map of 1688 is also given. Few typographical
slips are noted; even La Salle (Cavelier), recorded in more
than one work as ‘Chevalier,’ gets through safely here, with
but one transformation into ‘Cavalier’ (p. 164).
“The volume as a whole bespeaks scholarly care and regard
for the needs of a large class of students to whom rare
volumes or obscure texts may not be available; and admirably
presents the essential original material of the first
half-century and more, from the first known advent of the
white man in the _pays d’en haut_.”
_Wisconsin’s Social Democracy_ is a forty-six page pamphlet by Hon.
Frederick W. von Cotzhausen, of Milwaukee, printed in advance from a
projected volume containing the author’s “Historic Reminiscences and
Reflections.” The pamphlet now issued consists of three parts written
respectively in 1906, 1914, and 1917, and aims at “Sketching a few
Episodes” in the history of Socialism in Wisconsin “which may be of
future historical interest and of which I may speak from personal
observation.” The tone and sentiments of the author are strongly
antisocialistic in character.
_Henry Baird Favill, A.B., M.D., LL.D., 1860-1916_, is the title of a
memorial volume, privately printed, to this noted son of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin has produced many great physicians but of them all none has
achieved worthier fame than did Doctor Favill. Born in Madison in
1860, the capital city continued to be his home until 1894. He then
removed to Chicago where in a few years he gained recognition not only
as one of the city’s leading physicians but also as one of the most
industrious civic workers and useful citizens. The memorial volume,
compiled by his son, contains two parts: one devoted to tributes and
resolutions, the other to addresses and papers by Doctor Favill. The
wide range of topics covered by the latter and the charm of style and
breadth of vision manifested in their treatment afford a glimpse, at
least, of the intellectual and human greatness of their author.
To the La Crosse _Tribune_ for November 4, 1917, E. S. Hebberd
contributes a proposal that the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth
of Cadwalader C. Washburn, which occurs in 1918, be observed in
fitting manner. The Washburn family is remarkable for the ability and
the public careers of its members. All of the seven brothers achieved
distinction. Four were members of Congress, each representing a
different state. Two were governors of their respective states, and
two, including one of the congressmen, were ministers of the United
States to foreign countries. Wisconsin owes a debt of gratitude to C.
C. Washburn, and it would seem fitting that appropriate recognition
should be made of the centennial of his birth.
_The Wisconsin Archeologist_ for July, 1917, has as its leading
article a survey of Lake Shawano and the Wolf River, by George R. Fox
and H. O. Younger. As a water route the Wolf River was long used by
the American Trading Company in reaching its trading stations in
northern Wisconsin. The survey here presented constitutes a valuable
historical and archeological discussion of this region. The October
number is chiefly devoted to a survey of Chetek and Rice lakes written
by Charles E. Brown and Robert Becker.
Charles A. Eastman’s _From the Deep Woods to Civilization_, published
by Little, Brown and Company, is a fascinating volume. The author, a
full-blooded Sioux, began life as a barbarian of the plains, his
family having fled to Canada after the Sioux outbreak of 1862 in
Minnesota. The present volume tells the story of his life from the
time when his father determined to dedicate him to a civilized career.
It is interesting to note that from an enthusiastic believer in the
superiority of civilized life as compared with savagery, the author
has come gradually to doubt the correctness of his earlier view.
Apparently the present world cataclysm, which has swept many another
thinker from his accustomed moorings, has had some influence upon Mr.
Eastman’s views concerning the respective merits of the civilized and
the savage states. Wisconsin readers of the book will take special
interest in the chapter “College Life in the West,” describing the
author’s experiences at Beloit College, to which place the young
neophyte in the arts of the paleface turned on leaving the Santee
Agency Mission School.
_Methodist Heroes of Other Days_ by Samuel Gardiner Ayer has been
issued by the Methodist Book Concern. It is a slight volume containing
some thirty-six short appreciative sketches of as many “heroes” of the
Methodist Episcopal denomination. Wisconsin readers will be
particularly interested in the short account of “Alfred Brunson, the
Soldier Preacher,” one of the founders of the Methodist Episcopal
church in Wisconsin. Readers of the MAGAZINE will be interested still
further, perhaps, to learn that a daughter of Reverend Brunson is at
the present time engaged in writing a biography of her father for the
State Historical Society.
The December, 1917, number of the _Mississippi Valley Historical
Review_ maintains the high standard of excellence which readers have
been led, by the character of previous numbers, to expect in this
periodical. The three leading articles are: “Howell Cobb and the
Crisis of 1850,” by R. P. Brooks; “A Larger View of the Yellowstone
Expedition, 1819-1820,” by Cardinal Goodwin; and “The Beginnings of
British West Florida,” by C. E. Carter. Dan E. Clark contributes the
annual review of historical activities in the trans-Mississippi
Northwest, and to complete the number are departments devoted to
“Notes and Documents,” “Book Reviews,” and “Notes and Comments.”
Announcement has recently been made of the resignation of Clarence W.
Alvord as managing editor of the _Mississippi Valley Historical
Review_, in which capacity he has acted since the founding of the
magazine in 1914. The _Review_, largely because of the efforts of Mr.
Alvord, now ranks among the best of American historical publications.
Its readers will greatly regret Mr. Alvord’s resignation.
The leading article in the October, 1917, issue of the _Iowa Journal
of History and Politics_, describes the Iowa war loan of 1861. By
reason in part of a doubtful provision in the state constitution, in
part of the concerted efforts of the southern sympathizers living in
Iowa, the state administration encountered greater difficulty in
floating a war loan than was the case in any other northern state.
Through the columns of the distant _New York Herald_ the enemies of
the loan conducted their campaign to defeat it. The manner in which
Governor Kirkwood and his assistants overbore the opposition and saved
the reputation of the state is vividly described.
The life of Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa’s war governor, by D. E. Clark,
has been issued as one of the Biographical Series of the Iowa
Historical Society. The study of Governor Kirkwood’s life takes the
reader into the history of three commonwealths, but it is with the
development of Iowa that his name is inseparably associated. As Civil
War governor, United States senator, and secretary of the interior
under Garfield, his name is perhaps more widely known than that of any
other person in Iowa history. In preparing the biography, Mr. Clark
had access to seven _Civil War Letter Books_ and three letter books
for the period when Kirkwood was secretary of the interior. Use was
also made of a large collection of letters, covering the period from
1850-1890. From these sources the author has given us a sketch of
Iowa’s noted war governor which is both timely and valuable.
In a two-volume work on _Burrows of Michigan and the Republican Party_
published by Longman, Green and Company, 1917, William Dana Orcott has
presented a detailed career of one of Michigan’s most famous men. As
lawyer, college professor, military hero, and United States senator,
Burrows gained an acquaintance that was nation wide. In ability he
ranked with Blaine, Garfield, Reed, and McKinley; and had he not been
so blindly devoted to the partisan principles which he represented, in
all probability he would have occupied a higher office.
The _Michigan Historical Magazine_ for October, 1917, contains an
interesting group of Civil War letters written by Hon. Washington
Gardiner while serving as a volunteer in 1863-64. The letters were all
written from the front, and depict the conditions observed by this
youthful soldier of sixteen years.
Those who enjoy reading a frontier narrative will welcome a little
volume recently published, entitled _A Soldier Doctor of our Army:
James P. Kimball_. The book was written by Maria B. Kimball, wife of
Dr. Kimball, and is published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. Dr.
Kimball served in the Civil War and later for a number of years at
Fort Buford and other places on the western frontier. He was an
intimate friend of General Custer, by whom he was chosen to act as the
chief medical officer on the campaign which ended in Custer’s death in
1876. But for his inability to meet the appointment, his career would
doubtless have terminated at the same time as Custer’s in the disaster
which overwhelmed his army.
_The Myth Wawataw_ is the subject of a brief dissertation, beautifully
printed, by H. Bedford Jones of Santa Barbara, on the unreliability of
Alexander Henry’s account of the events in the Northwest connected
with Pontiac’s war. A brief discussion is also included in the booklet
on the historical remains at old Michilimackinac.
The October, 1917, number of the _Ohio Archeological Historical
Quarterly_ has an article on Muskingum River pilots by Irven Travis
which many of our members would take pleasure in reading. The palmy
days of small river transportation have long since become a part of
history, and any information bearing upon the part they played in our
social and economic development is treasured by all students of
pioneer days.
Two articles comprise the contents of the _Indiana Magazine of
History_ for September, 1917. The first, “Lincoln in Indiana,” is the
first installment of an interesting and suggestive account of the
obscure period in the great Emancipator’s life of which it treats. The
second article is the concluding section of a history of the origin
and rise of the Republican Party in Indiana from 1854 to 1860.
A history of _Western Influences on Political Parties to 1825_, by
Homer C. Hockett, formerly of the University of Wisconsin, is the
title of Ohio State University _Bulletin_, vol. 22, number 3, issued
in 1917. Dr. Hockett sketches the growth of political parties in this
country from about the middle of the eighteenth century down to the
close of the first quarter of the nineteenth. Chief emphasis is placed
upon the new political issues that arose out of western conditions
during this period, and the manner in which they affected national
policies.
Among the important historical periodicals of the country is the
_Catholic Historical Review_ of Washington, now in its third year of
publication. Its sponsors are valiantly sounding a clarion call to
their fellow religionists to awake to the importance of their
priceless historical heritage, and to put the preservation and study
of its records on a thoroughly scholarly basis. That these matters
have been all too little attended to heretofore can hardly be
gainsaid. If the campaign waged by the _Catholic Historical Review_
shall meet with a reasonable measure of success, however, we may
expect to witness in the not distant future a radical change in the
attitude and actions of the adherents of Catholicism in America with
respect to the cultivation of their historical domain. For the most
part the writing of sectarian religious histories in the United States
has been (and now is) conducted on a regretably low plane of
scholarship. Historians of all the denominations (and, indeed, of
whatever other social groups) would do well to take to heart the
principles of scholarly procedure which the _Review_ advocates.
The broadly objective viewpoint of this church organ may be concretely
illustrated by citing two or three items from a single issue (that for
October, 1917). It is argued that the records of the several dioceses
be administered on a scientific basis, and be “easily accessible to
all qualified students whether Catholic or non-Catholic.” A generous
tribute is paid to the work of the several state historical societies
in conserving the Catholic history of the land, notwithstanding the
membership rolls of these societies contain “very few Catholic names,
and very little Catholic generosity finds its way into their
treasury.” In passing it may be observed that our own Society may
appropriate to itself a fair portion of this tribute, for much has
been done, from its earliest days, to conserve the history of the
oldest of Christian denominations in Wisconsin. Again, a recently
published meretricious life of George Washington, written by a certain
priest, meets with castigation as thorough at the hands of the
reviewer as any historical periodical free from church connections
could have administered. The example of the _Review_ may well be
emulated by the historians of all religious denominations.
The preliminary report of the California Historical Survey Commission,
issued in February, 1917, sets forth one of the most ambitious
undertakings in the field of local history that has ever been launched
in this country. An act passed by the legislature of that state in
June, 1915, provided for the appointment of a commission of three
members to make a survey of all local historical material in
California. An appropriation of ten thousand dollars was made to cover
the expense of the work. The work mapped out by the commission in its
preliminary report includes a careful survey of the several county
archives in the state, of the state archives, and of those of the
local federal offices. Reports are also being gathered from all the
public libraries, from the collections of historical societies and
other similar institutions. Manuscripts in the possession of private
individuals are being listed and the files of early newspapers,
records of the religious and social organizations and large business
concerns of the state are all being examined. Already archival records
antedating the organization of the state government have been found,
the existence of which had been hitherto unsuspected, while records
pertaining to land claims under the Spanish and Mexican governments
have been brought to light.
[Illustration: COLONEL ELLSWORTH AND MISS CARRIE SPAFFORD
The picture of Colonel Ellsworth is reproduced from an
original photograph in the Wisconsin Historical Library; that
of Miss Spafford from a photograph supplied by Mrs. Charles H.
Godfrey, Rockford, Illinois]
VOL. I, NO. 4 JUNE, 1918
THE
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE
OF HISTORY
[Illustration: Printer’s Logo]
PUBLICATIONS OF THE
STATE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN.
Edited by MILO M.
QUAIFE, Superintendent
CONTENTS
Page
COLONEL ELMER E. ELLSWORTH: FIRST HERO OF THE CIVIL WAR
_Charles A. Ingraham_ 349
WHERE IS THE GERMAN FATHERLAND? 375
THE PAUL REVERE PRINT OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE
_Louise P. Kellogg_ 377
DOCUMENTS:
SOME LETTERS OF PAUL O. HUSTING CONCERNING THE PRESENT
CRISIS 388
HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS:
THE BEGINNINGS OF MILWAUKEE; THE SENATORIAL ELECTION OF
1869; “KOSHKONONG” AND “MAN EATER”; THE ALIEN SUFFRAGE
PROVISION IN THE CONSTITUTION OF WISCONSIN 417
EDITORIAL:
INCREASE A. LAPHAM AND THE GERMAN AIR RAIDS; SAVE THE
RELICS; THE NEWSPAPERS; REMOVING THE PAPACY TO CHICAGO 426
COMMUNICATIONS:
“CAMOUFLAGE” AND “EATLESS DAYS” TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO;
DANIEL WEBSTER’S WISCONSIN INVESTMENTS 432
SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES:
THE SOCIETY AND THE STATE; SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS;
THE WIDER FIELD 435
The Society as a body is not responsible for statements or opinions
advanced in the following pages by contributors.
COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN
COLONEL ELMER E. ELLSWORTH: FIRST HERO OF THE CIVIL WAR[128]
CHARLES A. INGRAHAM
On Monday, the twenty-ninth of April, 1861, fourteen days after
President Lincoln’s call for 75,000 troops, a regiment composed of
1,100 men, uniformed and equipped, marched the streets of New York en
route to the national capital. Riding at the head of the column was
the Colonel, a young man of twenty-four, small of stature, with
flashing dark eyes and with a look of authority and power upon his
handsome features. The crowds along the line of march cheered
enthusiastically as the regiment passed--a magnificent body of men who
at his call had rushed in the space of four days to the colors. It was
Ellsworth’s regiment of Zouaves, recruited from the firemen of New
York City, and afterwards mustered into the service as the Eleventh
New York Volunteer Infantry.
But whence came this wonderful youth who, as if by magic, had called
into being this stalwart array--bold and fearless men, resenting
restraint, but submitting cheerfully now to his iron discipline? Not
many years before, he had been but an obscure country boy of northern
New York, remote from the places of advancement and culture, a son of
worthy parents, unable, however, to contribute of their limited means
to the furtherance of the ambitious desires of their offspring. In the
brief space of a year he had achieved national prominence; having had
up to the summer of 1860 but a local reputation, confined to Chicago
and its vicinity, he became the popular idol of the entire northern
country. At the head of his United States Zouave Cadets he had toured
the leading eastern cities and won distinction for the extraordinary
perfection of drill exhibited by his command. Shining through all this
historic expedition appears preëminent the attractive personality of
the young captain--knightly, magnetic, winning, lofty of character,
able to control every one of his cadets under the imperious rule of
his native authority and undeviating rectitude.
On the morning of the twenty-fourth of May, less than a month from the
departure of the Fire Zouaves from New York, Ellsworth was killed at
Alexandria. Not in vain was his fall, for it caused the hesitating
northern people to reach firmly at last for the rifle. “Ellsworth’s
Avengers,” the Forty-fourth New York Volunteer Infantry, recruited
from every county of the Empire State, with unusual physical
requirements and moral standards, marched from their encampment at
Albany for the front on October 21, 1861. Well did they fulfill the
name they bore, for on many a battle field this somewhat Puritanical
regiment, remarkable for the scholarship and worth of its rank and
file, never forgot the assassination of Ellsworth as they carried
their rent colors against the foe. Still another regiment of New York
City firemen, the Second Fire Zouaves, or the Seventy-third New York
Volunteer Infantry, was recruited under the inspiration of Ellsworth’s
name and was mustered into the service on July 10, 1861. Reënlisting
in 1864, it had a continuous service to the close of the war and
enjoys a magnificent history.
Thus Ellsworth had, to his immediate, demonstrable credit, the
mustering in of three regiments, which constituted, however, but a
small proportion of the multitude whose patriotic devotion was evoked
by his death and who followed the flag into the service. Yet many
believe him to have been but a rash and adventurous person, vain and
superficial. My study of his life, however, convinces me of the error
of such opinion and that he was a young man of extraordinary gifts,
prudent thought, gentle, loving instincts, and one who had been
baptized with a fervent spirit of patriotism. Abraham Lincoln
recognized his wonderful abilities and admirable traits of character
and loved him for them, had his stricken, cold body brought to the
White House, and wept over his remains as he would have grieved over
those of his own son. And John Hay, in two notable magazine articles,
one written soon after Ellsworth’s fall, the other towards the close
of Mr. Hay’s career, has nothing but eulogy for the noble youth whom
he had intimately known and loved as a brother. Surely, young
Ellsworth had in him the elements of greatness! Schooled in poverty,
disciplined by hardship and disappointment, his life is yet a shining
path of pure living, high purpose, devoted patriotism, and worthy
fame.
The motorist who seeks the birthplace of Ellsworth leaves the city of
Troy, crosses to the west side of the Hudson at the northern limits of
the town, and follows the macadam road along the river northward
fourteen miles to the city of Mechanicsville. Here he will leave the
river and proceeding in a northwesterly direction over a fine state
road will reach at a distance of nine miles the little village of
Malta, Saratoga County, seven miles this side of the city of Saratoga
Springs. At Malta, Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth was born on April 11, 1837.
The hamlet is much like thousands of others scattered over our eastern
states; it claims its four corners, church, schoolhouse, and general
store, but, with its spacious square, shade trees, and pleasant
dwellings, it is more attractive than the average small village. The
house in which Ellsworth first saw the light is yet standing, a well
preserved, small, story-and-a-half structure, looking cheerfully out
on the great road where thousands pass, ignorant of the honor which it
possesses. It has been called “the low-browed cottage,” a
characterization which is appropriate, for two small, oblong windows
are suggestive of eyes peering out from under the eaves. Ephraim D.
Ellsworth, Elmer’s father, a worthy citizen and a tailor by trade, in
1836 married Phoebe Denton who resided here, and employed himself at
this place in the business of his calling. He was of English
extraction, born in the town of Halfmoon, Saratoga County, New York,
and a man of bright intellect. His grandfather, George Ellsworth, as a
boy of fifteen joined the American army operating against Burgoyne,
fought in the battle of Saratoga, and was present at the subsequent
surrender of the British army. George Ellsworth was thus a yet-living
influence to develop the patriotic and martial spirit of his
great-grandson, and, added to the special interest he took in the
exciting story of the boy-soldier’s adventures, was the realizing
assistance afforded by the proximity of the battle field, nine miles
away. Phoebe Denton could no more trace a distinguished ancestry than
could her husband, and all that is available concerning her is that on
her father’s side she had an English lineage, and on her mother’s, a
“Scotch Presbyterian.”
[Illustration: BIRTHPLACE OF ELMER E. ELLSWORTH, MALTA, NEW YORK]
The boyhood life of Elmer in Malta was isolated enough but was
relieved somewhat by the nearness of Saratoga Springs, which in those
times was a leading watering-place of the country, where the wealth
and fashion of the land disported itself. Many costly equipages every
season would pass through the village, bound to and from Saratoga, not
a few of them belonging to the southern aristocracy and having ebony
coachmen on the box. Only two miles east is the beautiful Saratoga
Lake, with the charms of which he was familiar. He was a good student
in the district school, but not at all precocious or remarkable as a
scholar. He was cheerful, fond of and a leader in all games and
sports, but his greatest enjoyment was in reading; he would become
lost for hours in a book, heedless of the lapse of time. His mother
was a pious woman and from her and the services of the Presbyterian
church he derived deep religious convictions which he maintained
throughout his life. He became, also, at an early age, a pronounced
temperance disciple and, having heard a lecturer say that the devil
dwelt in a cider barrel, wanted to take a “gun and cussion cap” and
shoot him. His mother has left on record many interesting instances of
his philosophical character and original sayings, but there is not
room here to give them place. I may, however, be permitted to mention
his purchase of his brother Charlie, the one other child in the
family. Charlie was three years younger than Elmer, and the older
brother conceiving a great fondness for him while he was yet a babe,
and desiring him for his own, bought him of his parents for six
shillings. From that time forward Elmer assumed a sort of guardianship
over him and maintained that sense of obligation up to the day of
Charlie’s death. At an early age he began to evidence a proclivity for
military studies and employments by exhibiting a preference for books
dealing with war and battles; when but nine years of age he drew with
wagon-paints on one side of a window shade a picture of General
Washington and staff, and on the reverse side one of General Jackson
and staff. A natural aptitude for sketching was further developed as
he grew older and was of practical help to him in his military
occupations. Many of his sketches are still preserved and cherished.
After he had spent a year as a clerk in the employ of a Mr. DeGroff,
who kept a general store at Malta, the family moved to Mechanicsville.
The ambition which Elmer had cherished of entering West Point Military
Academy might have been realized had there been at Mechanicsville
educational advantages whereby he could have gained the proper
preparation, but the village, then a place of about 800 inhabitants,
had nothing higher than district schools, and his father had not the
means to send him to an academy. He attended the school located on
North Main Street, a brick building still standing and converted into
an attractive residence. Mr. Ellsworth’s trade seems not to have
afforded him a sufficient income, for he adopted various makeshifts in
order to provide for his family, such as peddling oysters, netting
pigeons, and other like employments. Elmer was sometimes sneered at by
his companions on account of his father’s poverty and one day he
whipped a boy soundly who had called him, “oyster-keg.”
All this made a deep wound in the proud and sensitive heart of the
boy, and throughout his career, in his letters and diary, may still be
read the ever-recurring refrain of his desire to remove his parents
from lives of grinding toil and carking care. This absorbing thought
had been observed by President Lincoln and was mentioned in his letter
to Colonel Ellsworth’s bereaved parents as “conclusive of his good
heart.” But Elmer had the great privilege while living in
Mechanicsville of organizing and having under him a military company:
the Black Plumed Riflemen, of Stillwater, an historic village three
miles above Mechanicsville. At this time, although but fifteen, short
and slight of build, he would go through the manual of arms with the
heavy muskets of those days with wonderful ease and rapidity.
Throughout his life he was ever of a strong, virile constitution;
quick, active, alert, he became in after years an accurate shot and a
fine swordsman. Illustrative of his strength and agility and as
exhibiting his qualification to lead others in performing startling
feats, it is still told in Mechanicsville that one day a clerk in
Hatfield’s store (now the Mead Building) having heard a commotion in
the second story, upon investigation, found that Ellsworth and the
Black Plumed Riflemen had ascended there on a “human ladder”; the last
ones were pulled up through the doorway from the sidewalk. Though
Mechanicsville has grown to be a place of more than 8,000 population,
the older parts of the town remain very much as when Ellsworth paraded
the streets with his riflemen. The old home, a pleasant dwelling on
Ellsworth Street in the southern part of the place, still stands amid
surroundings practically unchanged. The premises front on the
embankment of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad; in the rear flows the
now abandoned section of the Champlain Canal. Just south of the home
and on the rise of ground is the residence of Robert Sears, deceased,
who was an intimate friend of the family and who accompanied the
stricken parents to New York to meet the remains of their son. Elmer
was a welcome visitor here, where he and his companion, Charles Sears,
had many a happy romp in the fields about the homestead. It is
needless to say that the remembrance of Colonel Ellsworth is still a
sacred one in the Sears family and that his memorials are cherished in
the white mansion on the hill where he was gladly entertained and duly
appreciated; for even at this early age it was evident that he was a
lad of superior parts. Certain of the citizens have suggested changing
the name of the place to “Ellsworth” and erecting a fitting monument
in the midst of the city, a commendable proposal, though there are
already nine villages named Ellsworth in as many states of the
country, and notwithstanding that a noble granite memorial to his
memory, unveiled with elaborate and impressive ceremonies on May 27,
1874, stands in the Mechanicsville cemetery.
Elmer’s stay in Mechanicsville did not embrace above a year or more,
and after having had considerable success in selling papers on the
railway trains, he secured the consent of his father to leave home and
try to make his own way in the world. He, therefore, in 1852, secured
employment as a clerk in the store of Corliss & House, Troy, dealers
in linen goods, where he remained about a year. The career of
Ellsworth from now on to 1858 is difficult to follow in detail on
account of the as yet scarcity of data from which to construct a
satisfactory narrative. It is known, however, that from the time he
left Mechanicsville to the hour of his death, his life, though in its
last two years astonishingly prominent and in point of honorable fame
highly successful, was throughout an experience of almost unremitting
hardship and poverty; a beating about from one employment to another;
a weary history of uncongenial labor and foiled ambition. It is
probable that he was, to use his own words, endeavoring to “make a
bold push for fortune,” that he might quickly relieve his parents of
that toil and privation, the remembrance of which seems to have burned
into his soul to remain smarting there through the long years. Perhaps
it would be charity to allow the mantle of forgetfulness to remain
upon this period of unrequited effort, though from the glimpses we
have in it of Ellsworth he is smiling and cheerful through it all,
ever maintaining the most scrupulous honor and unblemished character.
But the American people will desire the uncovering of every detail of
the life of this remarkable young genius and martyr, whose very gifts
of mind and heart, like those of many another, made him the prey of
fortune.
On August 2, 1917, there appeared in the _Telegraph-Courier_ of
Kenosha, Wisconsin, a letter from Charles H. Goffe, a former resident
of the city, and among his reminiscences of Kenosha is the following
concerning Ellsworth in the summer of 1853, Elmer being then sixteen
years old. I have nothing with which to corroborate Mr. Goffe’s
statement, but as it has the impress of truth and corresponds, though
in an exaggerated manner, with what I have learned of Ellsworth’s
traits of character, I am disposed to give it acceptance. It is my
opinion that, having saved a sum of money from his salary as a clerk
in Troy, he resolved to “plod along” no further but to “make a bold
push for fortune” in the West, and endeavor to find by prospecting a
more promising field. Mr. Goffe writes:
“There was also boarding at Mrs. Bell’s at this time, a young man of
handsome features and fastidious ways, accentuated by a repelling
hauteur and exclusiveness, so often found peculiar to genius. His
associates were few and his disposition was not calculated to make
intimates of those he came in contact with. No one seemed able to
penetrate the mystery of his personality and yet there was something
about the youth which arrested the attention of all. But he was
obsessed with a penchant or habit born perhaps of idle vanity of
writing (or scribbling) his name in a bold, flowing, and not
ungraceful hand, upon every scrap of paper, on the weatherboards of
the house, and on gate and fence posts, a name which a few years later
was on every tongue, flashed in the headlines of the daily press, and
stamped in deathless lines upon the history of his country--the name
of Elmer E. Ellsworth…. In the fall of 1853, when the Kenosha High
School opened for the winter term under Professor DeWolff, Mr.
Ellsworth attended for a while, but was not satisfied with school
life, and suddenly dropped out of view and was for a time forgotten.”
Mr. Goffe says that when, two years later, he went to Muskegon, across
the lake in Michigan, he learned that Ellsworth had associated with
and been adopted by the Ottawa Indians who dwelt in those parts. After
describing how he had been created a chief among them, made the
recipient of high honors, and adorned with unique and gaudy apparel.
Mr. Goffe continues:
“But, alas, when the novelty of barbaric glory and display had become
stale, and the craving for other conquests and other scenes, and
perhaps dreams of awaiting glories had disturbed his vision, this
eccentric child of genius suddenly disappeared from his tribe and had
gone no one could tell where. His people waited long, but he returned
no more, and the red-skinned maidens of the tamarack swamps waited and
sighed in vain for the handsome young chief on whom they had doted,
and for whom they had hoped and dreamed. And the seasons came and
passed, and the moons had filled their horns many times only to wane
and the white chief came no more.”
As stated before, it is probable that Ellsworth visited Kenosha and it
is likely, too, that on his way home he stopped at Muskegon and was
with the Indians for a brief period, but that he remained there a year
or more, as Mr. Goffe was told, or that he made any extended stay
among the Redskins is highly improbable, though I realize that in
expressing this opinion I am throwing ashes on what purports to be a
romantic episode.
Returning to Mechanicsville and casting about for employment,
Ellsworth recalled that in one of his trips between Troy and his home
he had met on the train a gentleman from New York who, evidently
attracted by his intelligent and prepossessing appearance, drew him
into conversation and impressed himself favorably on the youth’s mind
and memory. Thinking that this transient friend might help him, he
inserted a “personal” in the New York _Herald_ which in due time
brought a letter from the gentleman, who proved to be a drygoods
merchant, and after a preparatory correspondence Ellsworth was made a
clerk in his store. This was in 1853, the year of his visit to the
West and Kenosha.
[Illustration: DRAWING MADE BY COLONEL ELLSWORTH
Reproduced from the original in the Wisconsin Historical Library]
Concerning the two years that he spent in New York I have been able to
secure but fragmentary and disconnected data. He remained but half of
this period in the employ of the merchant referred to and when, in
1855, he went to Chicago, he did so in company with a party of
engineers by whom he had been employed in improving the channel at
Hellgate, not far from New York. This work was carried on by the aid
of divers who deposited the explosive on the surface of the rock and
this being fired by electricity and confined somewhat by the weight of
water effected considerable execution. Just what part Ellsworth played
in this work or how long he was engaged in it is not known. While in
New York he was afforded an opportunity of acquiring a better
knowledge of military tactics through the drills of the Seventh
Regiment, which he attended on every available occasion.
He was eighteen years of age when, with his brother, he went to
Chicago, hoping to make better progress in providing means for the
ease, security, and happiness of their parents. For, while yet a
little boy in Malta, having been pained by the cruel words of a
companion who had sneeringly remarked that his mother wore “patched
shoes,” he had told her that he would some day earn a lot of money so
that she would be a lady as well as the best and “ride in a carriage.”
This ambition for his mother, that she might “ride in a carriage,” was
referred to hopefully in a letter dated Madison, Wisconsin, November
15, 1858. Though his brother, after remaining but a brief season in
Chicago, seems to have given up the battle and returned home, Elmer
held on and through the most discouraging experiences persevered and
at last achieved a success which repaid him for all his suffering and
humiliation.
Not long after his arrival in Chicago he engaged himself as a clerk to
Arthur F. Devereux, of Salem, Massachusetts, who was in the patent
soliciting business and who later became an officer in the Eighth
Massachusetts Regiment. Ellsworth after a time became a partner with
Mr. Devereux and the firm enjoyed prosperity when, through the
defalcation of one whom they trusted, everything was lost and Elmer
found himself without a dollar struggling again for the bare
necessities of life. Three years had been passed in this business, as
appears from Ellsworth’s own words. He writes: “In an evil hour I
placed confidence in an infernal scoundrel, was robbed of everything
in a moment, saw the reward of three years’ toil fade from my eyes
when about to grasp it.”
The occurrence of this catastrophe brings Ellsworth’s career down to
1858, he then being of the age of twenty-one. Connected with the
business of a patent solicitor are certain legal aspects that require
attention, and having in this way in a manner been introduced to the
law, he determined to prepare himself for the full practice of that
profession. He therefore entered the law office of Mr. J. E. Cone as a
student. The remuneration he received for copying legal papers was
wholly inadequate; for a time he slept on the floor of the office, and
suffered, not infrequently, the pangs of hunger. During these months
of hard study, drudgery of copying, and abject poverty, he retained
his interest in military affairs, though he had no active part in them
for the reason that he could not afford the expense of belonging to a
company. However, he joined a gymnasium and made the acquaintance of
Dr. Charles A. DeVilliers, who was an instructor in fencing, evidently
in that institution. Dr. DeVilliers was destined to play an important
part in the military education and career of Ellsworth, for he revived
in him his ardent martial spirit and encouraged him in his desire to
acquire an intimate knowledge of the French Zouave system of tactics
and uniform with a view to introducing them into this country.
DeVilliers was competent for this purpose, having served with a French
Zouave regiment in the Crimean War and was familiar with all the
details of their drill and equipment. The name and system were derived
by the French in 1830 from the members of a mountain tribe of Algeria,
(Arab., Zwawá) who, arrayed in oriental costume, wide trousers, fez,
and loose jacket, were in their rapidity of movement and ferocity of
courage famed as fighters. Ellsworth, of a romantic nature and a lover
of the novel and dramatic, was attracted by this now famous and
spectacular system, and sent to France for books fully explaining it
and set himself to acquire the language that he might read them. In
the meantime, with Scott’s and Hardee’s books of tactics open before
him, he perfected himself in the manual of arms, not hesitating to
introduce improvements of his own where they seemed desirable, his
endeavor being to bring ease, grace, and celerity into every movement.
Under DeVillier’s instruction he became the best fencer in Chicago,
while his “lightning drill” attracted attention as he exhibited it in
the gymnasium.
His reputation having reached as far as Rockford, Illinois, he was
engaged in the summer of 1858 to drill the Rockford City Grays, a
company that had been organized two years earlier. The corps made good
progress and in September went into camp on the fairgrounds, remaining
four days, during which time military companies from Elgin, Freeport,
and Chicago visited the encampment. During his stay at Rockford
Ellsworth made the acquaintance of Miss Carrie Spafford, to whom he
became engaged, and for whom to the day of his death he cherished the
highest regard and the deepest affection. Her father, Mr. Charles H.
Spafford, was one of the pioneers and a leading citizen of the place
and with his family was attached to Ellsworth and befriended him more,
perhaps, than any others outside of his immediate relatives. In his
last letter to Miss Spafford he refers to her parents as “father and
mother.” Mrs. Charles H. Godfrey, a sister of Miss Spafford, still
resides at Rockford and occupies the dwelling where Colonel Ellsworth
visited the family in 1858, and though she has no remembrance of him
she cherishes the honor that her Christian name, Eugenia, was by him
proposed for her to the family when he fondled her on his knee. Miss
Carrie Spafford married Charles S. Brett, both of whom with their only
son are deceased, Mrs. Brett having died in 1911 at the old home where
the Colonel visited her. Not only did Ellsworth win the friendship and
regard of the Spafford family, but his cordial manners and magnetic
personality made him a marked individuality and a popular hero
throughout the town.
In the following month of October Ellsworth went to Madison,
Wisconsin, and was employed there in drilling the Governor’s Guard, a
military company organized in February of that year and made up of the
leading young men of the place. It is on record that on October 15,
1858, he was elected commandant of the Guard and began drilling the
company, which at the beginning numbered twenty-five men, three
evenings in each week. There is nothing to indicate how long he
remained at Madison, though a letter to his mother, already referred
to, bears date, “Capitol House, Madison, Wis., Nov. 15th, 1858,” and
it is probable that he was with the Governor’s Guard in its parade of
December 26 following, concerning which a Madison newspaper says,
“They appear much improved in a military point.” The State Historical
Society of Wisconsin has in its archives several interesting memorials
of Ellsworth’s sojourn in Madison. There is some evidence that he
drilled a company in Springfield, Illinois, at about this period, but
the statements are so indefinite and inconclusive that I have
refrained from giving them as facts. In a study of this kind it is
necessary carefully to compare, weigh, and sift all the materials of
information.
A definite landmark in the life of Ellsworth is his diary, commenced
on his twenty-second birthday, April 11, 1859, and continued for a
brief period.[129] This was in the spring following his agreeable and
successful military employment at Rockford and Madison, but from which
he seems to have derived no considerable emolument, for the entries in
his diary relate experiences of his struggle with poverty. Concerning
the purpose of the journal, he says: “I do this because it seems
pleasant to be able to look back upon our past lives and note the
gradual change in our sentiments and views of life; and because my
life has been and bids fair to be such a jumble of strange incidents
that, should I become anybody or anything, this will be useful as a
means of showing how much suffering and temptation a man may undergo
and still keep clear of despair and vice.” These pages afford an
intimate view of his character and one which can be obtained from no
other source; for they are even more personal and confidential than
his letters to the members of his own family. They tell in easy,
fluent style of his poverty, temptations, dawning success,
meditations, and laborious study of the law in the office of Mr. Cone,
to which he had returned after his engagement had expired in Madison.
Among the earlier entries in the diary is the account of his election
on April 29, 1859, as commandant of the United States Zouave Cadets,
of Chicago, a company superseding the National Guard Cadets,
instituted three years previous, which company had become practically
defunct. On abandoning the old name and armory the Zouaves made their
quarters in the Garrett Block on ground now occupied by Central Music
Hall. The drill and discipline of the corps grew to be more exacting
and severe probably, than that to which any military company was ever
subjected, for Ellsworth’s aim was to improve the men “morally as well
as physically” and “to place the company in a position second to none
in the United States.” The rules adopted and rigidly enforced
proscribed drinking or even entering, without a valid excuse, a
barroom, forbade visiting houses of vulgar resort, and gambling rooms,
and prohibited the playing of billiards in public places. Ellsworth,
himself, all his life was very abstemious; in a letter to his brother
in 1858, he writes: “I don’t use tobacco in any shape whatever; I
drink neither tea or coffee.” Running all through his career is the
unmistakable evidence, especially visible in his private papers, that
he was above all a moral champion: that his ethical principles
overshadowed and governed his military ambitions. The proficiency of a
cadet was no recommendation to his leniency: if he transgressed the
rules, he must go: twelve of his best drilled men were expelled at one
time for drinking; but such was his influence over his command that as
they dwindled away there was never a stampede, even under the
laborious drills and the prohibitory discipline.
On the Fourth of July Ellsworth, having had the cadets in training but
little more than two months, gave a public drill in front of the
Tremont House and at once won the admiration of hostile critics, who
pronounced the exhibition unrivaled outside West Point. This success
was all the more remarkable when it is considered that Ellsworth had
acquired his military knowledge entirely from self-instruction, never
having been a member of a company when he began the occupation of
drillmaster. Moreover, he was still very poor, subsisting part of the
time on nothing better than crackers; but he could write proudly in
his diary on the night of the Fourth: “Victory, and thank God!”
At Chicago on September 15 of the same year, at the seventh annual
fair of the National Agricultural Society, Ellsworth with his Zouaves
won a stand of colors valued at $500, which had been offered as a
prize in a competitive drill. Owing to the fact that only one other
company drilled for the award, though the contest had been open to any
militia company in the country, great dissatisfaction prevailed
throughout the East and South that the Zouaves should under the
circumstances be accorded such a distinction. The old military
companies of the eastern cities scorned the pretentions of the
“prairie boys,” and ridiculed the idea of their being able to compete
successfully with themselves. For Ellsworth had added fuel to the fire
by challenging any company in the United States or Canada to drill for
the champion colors, offering to pay their expenses to and from
Chicago and stating that, starting on the following twentieth of June,
the Zouaves would visit the leading cities of the country for the
purpose of meeting those companies which had not found it convenient
to come to Chicago.
[Illustration: COLONEL ELLSWORTH AND FRANCIS E. BROWNELL
(IN LOWER RIGHT-HAND CORNER)
From original photographs in the collection of Frederick H.
Meserve, New York]
The discipline and drill, beginning early in February, became more
exacting than ever, as it was felt by the company that in order to
retain the colors the orders of the commandant must be scrupulously
observed. Ellsworth told them that “everything except business and the
company must be sacrificed” and that till the date set for the
departure, drills must be held every evening, except Sunday, from
seven to eleven o’clock. Associated with the drill, which was
practiced with knapsacks weighing twenty-three pounds, were strenuous
athletic exercises, while through the month of June the men slept on
the floor of the armory wrapped in their blankets. The start was
postponed from June 20 to July 2, owing to the death from smallpox of
Ellsworth’s brother, who was a member of the company. This bereavement
was a hard stroke for the commandant, who was already burdened with
the care and discipline of the company and anxiety for the results. It
was estimated that five weeks would be consumed in the tour and that
the expenditures would approximate $7,000, but the funds were far from
being raised when the day of departure arrived. Moreover, the
company’s goods and chattels were attached by certain ex-members who
had loaned it money and who were now smarting from the effects of
Ellsworth’s severe discipline; but this difficulty was quickly
relieved by the generosity of Chicago citizens.
The last reunion of Ellsworth’s Chicago Zouaves was held at the
Wellington Hotel, Chicago, in November, 1910, at which eight members
were present; five absentees were known to be living at that time. I
have recently corresponded with Mr. J. M. DeWitt of New York, who is
actively engaged in practical affairs, with Mr. Frank E. Yates of
Chicago, and, through his family, with Mr. J. A. Clybourn, of the same
city, who is in very poor health. This band of men, sifted out by
Ellsworth and tried by the fire of his rigorous discipline and
training, not only achieved the reputation of being perhaps the most
perfectly drilled military company in history, but held important
places in the army during the Civil War and multiplied the
instructions and principles which they had derived from their
commandant.
The Chicago Historical Society has in its Ellsworth collection a
crayon sketch drawn by him and evidently designed to serve as copy for
the printer in preparing memorials of the tour, to be presented to the
members of the company. Upon it are inscribed in consecutive order the
names of the cities visited and the military organizations by whom the
Zouaves were escorted and entertained, though the dates do not appear
in all cases. The itinerary follows:
Chicago, July 2, 1860; Adrian, Mich., July 3 and 4; Detroit, July 5;
Cleveland, July 6 and 7; Niagara Falls, Sunday; Rochester, July --;
Syracuse, July --; Utica, July --; Troy, July 12; Albany, July 13; New
York, July 14, 15, 16, --, 18, 19, 20; Boston, July 21, 22, 23, 25;
Charlestown, Mass., July 24; Salem, July --; West Point, July 26, 27;
Philadelphia, July 28; Baltimore, Aug. --; Washington, D. C., Mount
Vernon, Aug. --; Pittsburgh, Aug. --; Cincinnati, Aug. --; St. Louis,
Aug. --; Springfield, Aug. --; Chicago, Aug. 15.
The Zouaves were accompanied throughout their tour by a band of
eighteen pieces, the Light Guard Band of Chicago; but though the
company went forth with fine melody and unique and brilliant uniforms,
they were hardy soldiers with bronzed faces and wiry, agile frames,
who lived abstemiously and slept each night on the floor of their
quarters. Temptations to indulge in wines and liquors were before them
daily, but they resolutely turned away to take up the arduous work of
their program. They were very young and somewhat undersized; by no
means a stalwart array, as might be expected; but the wonderful
precision, celerity, and grace of their drill and evolutions
astonished and thrilled every town they visited, and the accounts of
their marvelous proficiency, telegraphed ahead, aroused widespread
curiosity and brought great crowds to observe them wherever they went.
Though the tour was made for the purpose of inviting competition, not
a company ventured to face them, all cheerfully according them the
palm of superiority.
The period in which the tour was made could not have been more
opportune; a critical presidential election was on, with Abraham
Lincoln heading the Republican party which stood for the nonextension
of slavery, and with the avowal rife in the South that, should he be
elected, war would ensue. Thus, the people were disposed to look with
interest and enthusiasm upon military demonstrations. Ellsworth’s
experience was not, however, entirely without anxiety, owing to the
lack of funds, which, until New York City was reached, was a source of
worry; but at this point and in Boston large amounts were derived from
exhibition drills given before immense audiences, and henceforward no
difficulty was experienced on this score. The company reached Chicago
on Tuesday, August 15, was accorded an ovation irrespective of party
affiliations, and escorted to the accompaniment of pyrotechnics and a
torch-light procession, to the “Wigwam” where Lincoln had been
nominated, which was filled with more than 10,000 people. Mayor
Wentworth gave a congratulatory address which was briefly responded to
by Captain Ellsworth, after which, it now being midnight, the company
was banqueted at the Briggs House.
Not long after this triumphant return Ellsworth resigned his
commission and the company disbanded. Its career having been
brilliant, though brief, it was better, it seemed to him, that the
organization should dissolve rather than deteriorate under less
rigorous discipline. Ellsworth, without delay, seeming to realize that
armed strife was at hand, organized a regiment of Zouaves in northern
Illinois, officered it with men from his old company, and presented
the force to Governor Yates to direct as he might deem expedient.
Having become acquainted with Mr. Lincoln, he now entered his law
office, not so much to pursue his somewhat neglected law studies as to
promote a scheme which he was evolving of reorganizing the militia of
Illinois and eventually of the whole country: to unify and bring the
entire system more completely under the control of a central
authority. Here begins to be manifest a wide grasp and a broad vision
for which Ellsworth has never been given credit. To enjoy a reputation
as a successful drillmaster and to control efficiently a company of
fifty men was but the rudiment of his ambition and capacity; his mind
went out firmly and sanely to broad fields, and he impressed his ideas
upon Mr. Lincoln, who sought to give him an opportunity at the
national capital to work out and put in operation these desirable
measures. A start was attempted in a bill dictated by Ellsworth and
introduced in the Illinois legislature while he was in Springfield,
but though it was successful in the House, it failed in the Senate
through causes other than a lack of merit.
During the autumn, Ellsworth employed himself on the stump, speaking
for the Republican candidates, and exhibited decided gifts as an
orator; a fine voice and presence, abundant humor and fluent
expression gained him a ready hearing. In the meantime he had resumed
his legal studies and later, passing a satisfactory examination, was
admitted to the bar a few weeks before Mr. Lincoln started on his
journey to Washington. The president-elect had invited Ellsworth to
accompany him on the trip in the capacity of an officer to safeguard
him by superintending the disposition of the crowds that everywhere
met him. Arriving at the capital he was incapacitated with the
measles, but when, on his twenty-fourth birthday, April 11, 1861, Fort
Sumter was summoned to surrender, he soon shook off the lethargy of
his convalescence, resigned his lieutenant’s commission, borrowed what
money John Hay had at his disposal, and started for New York, resolved
to raise a regiment for the service. In this he was promptly
successful among the firemen of the city and in a remarkably brief
space, at the head of the Eleventh New York Volunteer Infantry, was on
May 7 mustered into the service in front of the Capitol at Washington
and in the presence of President Lincoln. For a few days the regiment
was quartered in the Capitol building, but as the command was
acquiring a tendency to disregard the proprieties of the service,
Colonel Ellsworth secured for it a camp on the south side of the east
branch of the Potomac, on the high ground in the vicinity of the
Insane Asylum, believing that here he would have the men under better
control. An interesting, and to the Fire Zouaves a complimentary,
event occurred while the regiment was in Washington. Willard’s Hotel
having taken fire, Ellsworth and his men after vigorous efforts
quenched the flames and saved the building, much to the gratification
of Mr. Willard, who entertained them at breakfast and gave Colonel
Ellsworth a purse of $500 to employ for the benefit of the regiment.
This money the Colonel turned over to the committee that organized and
equipped the Fire Zouaves, and it was eventually divided equally and
applied toward the erection of monuments for Ellsworth and his
successor, Colonel Farnham, who died of wounds sustained at the first
battle of Bull Run.
On the evening of Thursday, May 23, the regiment was ordered to be
ready to move at a moment’s notice, and at 2 o’clock A. M. of the
twenty-fourth marched from its camp and boarded the steamers _James
Guy_ and _Mount Vernon_. In the bustle and stress incident to the
departure, the busy Colonel found time to write two remarkable
letters: one to his parents, the other to Miss Spafford, his fiancée.
They breathe a presentiment of death and were found (at least the
former, and I think the latter) upon his body. The letter addressed to
Miss Spafford has not appeared before in print and has been read by
but a limited number of persons. Colonel Ellsworth’s last act before
leaving his tent was to look at her portrait and place it in his
bosom.[130]
My dear Father and Mother: The Regiment is ordered to move
across the river tonight. We have no means of knowing what
reception we are to meet with. I am inclined to the opinion
that our entrance to the City of Alexandria will be hotly
contested, as I am just informed that a large force have
arrived there today. Should this happen, my dear parents, it
may be my lot to be injured in some manner. Whatever may
happen, cherish the consolation that I was engaged in the
performance of a sacred duty; and tonight, thinking over the
probabilities of tomorrow, and the occurrences of the past,
I am perfectly content to accept whatever my fortune may be,
confident that He who noteth even the fall of a sparrow will
have some purpose even in the fate of one like me.
My darling and ever-loved parents, good-bye. God bless,
protect and care for you. ELMER.
* * * * *
My own darling Kitty. My Regiment is ordered to cross the
river & move on Alexandria within six hours. We may meet
with a warm reception & my darling among so many careless
fellows one is somewhat likely to be hit.
If anything _should_ happen--Darling just accept this
assurance, the only thing I can leave you--The highest
happiness I looked for on earth was a union with you--You
have more than realised the hopes I formed regarding your
advancement--And I believe I love you with all the ardor I
am capable of--You know my darling any attempt of mine to
convey an adequate expression of my feelings must be simply
futile--God bless you, as you deserve and grant you a happy
& usefull life & us a union hereafter. Truly your own,
ELMER.
P. S.
Give my love to mother & father (such they truly were to me)
and thank them again for all their kindness to me--I regret
I can make no better return for it--Again Good bye. God
bless you my own darling.
ELMER.
[Illustration: COLONEL ELLSWORTH’S LAST LETTER
Reproduced by courtesy of Mrs. Charles H. Godfrey, Rockford,
Illinois]
It was a beautiful moonlight night and the bayonets of the troops
could be seen glittering as they crossed the Long and Georgetown
bridges for the invasion of Virginia. The regiment arrived at
Alexandria, seven miles below, at sunrise, disembarked unopposed,
formed near the wharf, and Colonel Ellsworth with a squad of men from
Company “A” started at “double quick” into the city, intending to
seize the telegraph office and dispatches. Observing the Confederate
flag flying from the roof of the Marshall House, he sent a sergeant
with an order for Company “A” to come up at once. It was evidently his
purpose to detail the company to remove the flag, for he then passed
on; but, as if reconsidering, turned and entered the hotel. It should
be stated here that the regiment had come to Alexandria under
embarrassing circumstances; for not only had certain of the citizens
expressed a desire that they should not be sent to the town, but
General Mansfield, commanding at Washington, had threatened to muster
them out of the service should they not conduct themselves in an
orderly manner. This partially explains Colonel Ellsworth’s desire to
obtain the flag without delay, fearing that it might enrage the men
and lead to acts of vandalism. On the other hand, it is affirmed that
before he left New York with his regiment, he remarked that “he would
bring to the city the first secession flag he might encounter,” and
that “he would not order any of his men to go where he would not go
himself.” Just what was in the young colonel’s mind will never be
known; probably a variety of motives impelled him to the act. He knew
that the city of Washington would be looking for the lowering of the
“bastard flag,” which for days had been flaunted as an insult and
challenge to the capital city. President Lincoln at that very moment
might be looking anxiously from the windows of the White House for its
disappearance!
The Marshall House is an old landmark of Alexandria, constructed of
brick and three stories high; it was famous as having entertained
Washington. The flag was flying from a staff about twenty-five feet in
length, attached to the frame of a rear dormer window, and was reached
by ascending to the attic by a stairway which had a landing and turn
at the middle. Colonel Ellsworth and his party, having left guards at
proper intervals, secured the flag, and were coming down from the
attic, when Corporal Francis E. Brownell, who was ahead, observed a
man with a gun, who proved to be James W. Jackson, proprietor of the
house, standing at the foot of the stairs. He immediately sprang
below, and struck down the weapon but before he could prevent him
Jackson raised his gun, a double-barrel shotgun, and fired at Colonel
Ellsworth, who had come onto the middle landing and taken a step or
two down, the charge entering his left breast. The Colonel cried “My
God!” and plunged headlong to the floor below, uttering soon after but
a low moan. He fell near the room that had been occupied by
Washington, and the medal he wore, inscribed, “Non nobis, sed pro
patria,” was wet with his blood. Brownell with great coolness and
rapidity of action took aim and firing struck Jackson in the middle of
the face and as he reeled to fall plunged his sword bayonet through
him, the assassin’s second shot flying harmlessly over Brownell’s
head. A scene of confusion followed the double tragedy, heart-rending
cries of agony, as Jackson’s wife bewailed her loss, resounded through
the hotel, while the Zouaves, fearing that they were trapped in a nest
of secessionists, posted themselves so as to command the corridors and
ordered all guests into their rooms on peril of being shot down.
Company “A” soon arrived on the ground, however, and on a litter
improvised out of muskets, the body of Ellsworth was borne to the
river, placed on the _James Guy_, and conveyed immediately to
Washington.
Among the many tributes that were published in honor of Ellsworth,
none were comparable to the beautiful words sent by President Lincoln
to his parents. He wrote:[131]
“In the untimely loss of your noble son, our affliction here
is scarcely less than your own. So much of promised
usefulness to one’s country, and of bright hopes for one’s
self and friends, have rarely been so suddenly darkened as
in his fall. In size, in years, and in youthful appearance,
a boy only, his power to command men, was surpassingly
great. This power, combined with a fine intellect, and
indomitable energy, and a taste altogether military,
constituted in him, as seemed to me, the best natural
talent, in that department, I ever knew. And yet he was
singularly modest and deferential in social intercourse. My
acquaintance with him began less than two years ago; yet
through the latter half of the intervening period, it was as
intimate as the disparity of our ages, and my engrossing
engagements, would permit. To me, he appeared to have no
indulgences or pastimes; and I never heard him utter a
profane or an intemperate word. What was conclusive of his
good heart, he never forgot his parents. The honors he
labored for so laudably, and, in the sad end, so gallantly
gave his life, he meant for them, no less than for himself.
“In the hope that it may be no intrusion upon the sacredness
of your sorrow, I have ventured to address you this tribute
to the memory of my young friend, and your brave and early
fallen child.
“May God give you the consolation which is beyond all
earthly power.
“Sincerely your friend in common affliction.
A. LINCOLN.”
Importunate words throng me for expression, but they cannot be
accommodated further; the rage and grief of the Fire Zouaves and their
hardly-prevented purpose of burning the city of Alexandria; the
universal sorrow and demonstrations of grief all along the funeral
route from Washington to Mechanicsville. I would like to tell of my
acquaintance with and reminiscences of Ellsworth’s parents, of how the
government provided liberally for them, of how their son Elmer
fulfilled in death the desire that he had been unable to accomplish in
life: that his mother might “ride in a carriage.”
The fame of Ellsworth is destined to live on and to increase, for he
individualized those elements of character which are loved and admired
by the race universally. There was a deep well of patriotism in his
romantic, generous nature, informed and directed by a keen and
comprehensive intellect. Though his life is almost like a fairy tale,
it is steadied and rationalized by deep thoughtfulness, filial
affection, and unaffected piety. The far generations will linger
reverently over that final word of love to his parents and will shed a
tear as they read of his last look at the portrait of the bride of his
heart and of his going out to die. Ellsworth will yet come to his own
and be appreciated and valued and loved for what he was: one of the
noblest, purest, and ablest patriots who ever died for his country.
[128] This article, which is intended to serve as an
introduction to a biography of Colonel Ellsworth which I
hope to bring out, comprises but a fraction of the data
bearing upon his life and times which I have in my
possession. To those who have afforded me assistance in the
collection of this material I am deeply grateful; in
particular I desire to express my indebtedness to the
following persons: Milo M. Quaife, superintendent, State
Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison; Caroline M.
McIlvaine, librarian, Chicago Historical Society; Eugenia S.
Godfrey, Rockford, Illinois; Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber,
librarian, Illinois State Historical Society, Springfield;
Isabella K. Rhodes, acting reference librarian, New York
State Library, Albany; Jessie F. Wheeler, Reference
Department, Troy Public Library; William A. Saxton, chief,
Bureau of War Records, Albany, New York.
[129] Ellsworth’s diary has disappeared from view and there
is a report which bears considerable evidence of being
accurate that it was destroyed in later years by Ellsworth’s
parents. However this may be, it was given, upon his death,
to Corporal Brownell, who had killed Jackson, his assassin.
John Hay seems to have had access to it at one time, for in
an article by him in _McClure’s Magazine_, VI, 354, many
citations from the diary are given. Prior to this, an
unidentified writer in the Chicago _Times_ of October 28,
1883, and in the _National Tribune_ of October 15, 1885
cites so extensively from Ellsworth’s diary as to render it
probable that he had possession of it either at that or at
some prior time.
[130] The letter to Miss Spafford is owned by her sister,
Mrs. Charles H. Godfrey, of Rockford. The letter to
Ellsworth’s parents has been published in photographic
reproduction in the _Photographic History of the Civil War_,
edited by Francis T. Miller (New York, 1911, 10 vols.), I,
351.
[131] This letter is in the collection of Judd Stewart. It
was privately printed in facsimile, with appropriate editing
by Frederick H. Meserve, by the Quill Club of New York in
1916.
WHERE IS THE GERMAN FATHERLAND?
Seventy years ago the people of Wisconsin were deeply stirred over the
issues connected with the framing of a constitution and admission to
statehood. In the _Wisconsin Banner_, the first German newspaper in
the state, was printed on March 20, 1847, a metrical argument of 168
lines in favor of “Die Constitution.” The recent posture of public
affairs seems to render apposite the reprinting of a portion of this
poem, which affords a fair idea of the attitude of Wisconsin Germans
of the forties toward certain questions which the whirligig of time
has again brought to the fore. We print the selection in the original
German and in English translation. For making the latter,
acknowledgement is due Dr. Charles Giessing, of Princeton, formerly of
the University of Wisconsin.
“Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland?
Wo Eide schwört ein Druck der Hand!
Wo Treue hell vom Auge blitzt,
Und Liebe warm im Herzen sitzt!”
So sang ein Mann im Hochgefühl der Kraft,
Der hat kein Herz, den dieses Lügen straft.
Was treibt den Deutschen über Land und Meere?
Sagt, warum kämpft er für die Union?
Stirbt auf dem Feld des Ruhmes und der Ehre,
Für Freiheit und für diese Nation?
Braust nicht der Rhein, der freie deutsche Rhein?
Was treibt ihn fort vom heimathlichen Herde?
Stösst man ihn aus dem Vaterlande?--Nein!
Dort, dort geht er einher mit krummem Rücken.
Der Deutsche ist zur Langmuth so geneigt:
Wer leben will, so heisst es, muss sich bücken.
Halt’s Maul, ich will Ihn lehren, dass er [Er] schweigt!
In Fesseln wird der freie Geist gebunden,
Er darf nicht reden, was er ausgedacht,
Die Seele wird ihm aus dem Leib geschunden,
Wenn sein beleidigtes Gefühl erwacht.
Man betet in Egypten heut’ger Tage
Die Kühe und die Zwiebeln an,
Allein, bei Gott! den deutschen Mann,
Den sehr Betrognen, treffe unsre Klage,
Der sich so weit, so weit vergehen kann,
Und stösst das Recht zurück, das ihm gegeben
Zu einem freien, selbstbewussten Leben.
“Where is the German Fatherland?
Where oaths are sworn by grasp of hand!
Where loyalty gleams from the eye,
And warm love makes the heart beat high.”
Thus sang a man sure of his pow’r and youth,
He has no heart who contradicts its truth.
What drives the German over sea and land,
What force is it that makes the Union dear,
That on the battle-field he takes his stand
To die for liberty, and for this nation here?
Does not the Rhine, free German Rhine still roar,
What drives him forth from hearth and home?
Perchance he’s banished?--Nevermore!
In yonder land stooped o’er a crutch they walk
(The Germans are too supple in their will),
“Who wants to live,” they’re told, “bend to the yoke!
Shut up! We’ll teach you to be still!”
Freedom of thought in chains is pent,
One may not utter what he thinks,--
His soul perforce is from his body rent,
If pride, awakened, from oppression shrinks.
In Egypt there are men so odd
Who worship cows and onions--their belief.
The German man, howe’er, stirs us to grief,
(Deluded and deceived so oft, good God!)
If he so far be blinded to relief
As to reject this opportunity
Of self-assertive life and free.
THE PAUL REVERE PRINT OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE
LOUISE PHELPS KELLOGG
The colony of Massachusetts had successfully resisted the enforcement
of the Stamp Act, and had forced its repeal by the British Parliament.
None the less its rebellious attitude brought a measure of
punishment--the ministry decreed that four regiments should be
quartered in Boston, which had hitherto been free from the obnoxious
presence of a garrison. The coming of the troops was awaited with
apprehension; the majority of the townspeople considered their
presence as a personal affront. However, the soldiers were disembarked
at the long wharf and marched to the Common without any hostile
demonstration on the part of the populace. The soldiers soon settled
in barracks and entered upon a period of dull inactivity, broken only
by occasional clashes with the rougher elements of the town’s
population. After a year had passed away two of the four regiments
were withdrawn, leaving the Fourteenth and the Twenty-ninth, which,
after the events of the massacre, were nicknamed the “Sam Adams
regiments.”
In the strained relations between the colonial authorities and the
home government, the presence of the troops in Boston acted as a
constant irritant. The ruder class of the town’s population, sailors,
ropemakers, and apprentice lads, were imbued with the sentiments of
the patriotic party, but lacked the restraint and self-control that
marked its leaders. The soldiers became a constant butt for the rough
witticisms of the lower town element; they were taunted with the
epithets of “bloody-backs” and “lobsters” in derision of their
uniform. They were constantly dared to fight, and continually reminded
of the restriction that forbade a movement of aggression without the
orders of a civil magistrate. Several times individual soldiers were
provoked into fisticuff contests, and frequently came off second best
in such encounters with the town roughs. Upon the whole, the troops
showed commendable restraint, and, in spite of the bad blood between
them and the populace, for nearly two years no open clash took place.
On the night of March 5, 1770, an incident occurred which, trivial in
itself, led to momentous consequences. A guard stationed at the Custom
House in King’s Square was set upon by a crowd of roughs, and
assaulted with a volley of snowballs. Summoning assistance, the single
soldier was reënforced by a squad of six under command of Captain
Thomas Preston. The town crowd, instead of dispersing, continued its
insults, while its number was constantly swelled by fresh recruits.
During the excitement someone rang the town fire bell, and the
surrounding populace poured into the square to witness the nonexistent
conflagration. The restraint of the troops reached the breaking point.
In the mêlée an order to fire was believed to have been heard. The
soldiers leveled their fusees and fired into the crowd, the first
volley killing four bystanders and wounding several more. Aghast at
the consequences of their act, the offending squad withdrew to the
near-by barracks, leaving the “town-born” to bear away their dead and
wounded.
The excitement in the city grew apace throughout the hours of the
night. The townspeople gathered in the streets, while as the news
spread abroad hundreds flocked in from the countryside. The town
committee met at once, and demanded of the governor that the troops be
removed to the castle in the harbor. After much hesitation and
parleying on the part of the authorities, the request was granted, and
orders were reluctantly given to evacuate the city barracks. Preston
and his firing squad were arrested and placed in the town gaol. The
exasperation and resentment of the populace threatened dire
consequences.
On March 8 occurred the public funeral of the victims, and the
passions of the townspeople were fanned to a still hotter flame; it
was said that fifteen thousand people followed the four coffins to
their last resting place, and that threats of vengeance were openly
expressed. The trial for murder of Preston and the soldiers in the
colony’s civil courts soon followed. Excitement against the accused
ran high. Nevertheless, to the honor of Massachusetts the indicted
were given a fair trial, while two of the colony’s ablest advocates,
John Adams and Josiah Quincy, Jr., offered at the risk of their
reputations and popularity to defend the accused. Under these
circumstances Preston and all but two of the soldiers were acquitted.
The latter received a light sentence for manslaughter.
In the meantime the town committee, fearing the adverse effect of this
incident upon the British authorities, and dreading the probable
misrepresentation of the facts before the British public, prepared a
defense of the colony’s position which they published in a pamphlet
entitled: _A Short Narrative of the horrid Massacre in Boston,
Perpetrated in the Evening of the Fifth Day of March, 1770. By
Soldiers of the XXIXth Regiment; which with the XIVth Regiment Were
then Quartered there: with some Observations on the state of things
prior to that Catastrophe._ Printed by Order of the Town of BOSTON,
and Sold by EDES and GILL in Queen-Street And T. & J. FLEET in
Cornhill, 1770.
Attached to this pamphlet was a folded plate, which, according to an
inscription in the lower right-hand corner was “Engraved Printed &
Sold by PAUL REVERE BOSTON.” Recently Mr. Frank J. Wilder, of Boston,
a member of the State Historical Society, presented to its Library one
of the early reproductions, now become rare, of this celebrated
engraving. The receipt of this interesting gift, which now hangs in
the military history room of the Museum, has directed attention to the
history of the print, which proves to be of no less interest than is
the print itself.
Paul Revere, later so prominently associated with the first struggle
of the Revolutionary War, was of Huguenot descent, a native of Boston,
and had for some time served the colony as a gold- and silversmith.
His first efforts at engraving were confined to silver plate; later he
began to produce engravings drawn on copper plates and printed on
paper. One of the earliest of these productions was a view of Boston
showing the disembarkation of the troops. Revere was an ardent
patriot, and in all probability formed one of the crowd of spectators
in King Street Square when the soldiers fired upon the populace. In
the Boston Public Library is still preserved a sketch by his hand of
the site of the massacre, with indications on the diagram showing
where the victims fell. This drawing was no doubt used during the
trial of Captain Preston and his soldiers.
Revere was likewise in close personal relations with Edes and Gill,
the publishers of the exculpatory pamphlet, and he often prepared wood
cuts for the paper they issued, the Boston _Gazette and Country
Journal_. An interesting illustration of his work appears in the issue
of this journal for March 12, 1770, where above the column devoted to
an account of the public funeral of the victims appear four miniature
black coffins. That these were the work of Revere we learn from an old
account book, found among his papers, wherein, under the entry for
March 9, is a charge to Edes and Gill of six shillings for “Engraving
5 Coffings for Massacre,” while pinned to the page is a paper pattern
the size and shape of the tiny coffins appearing in the newspaper. The
State Historical Society of Wisconsin possesses a copy of this old
journal, and there may be seen the heavily black-leaded page, on which
mourning is displayed for the Boston dead, and the prints of the
“coffings” engraved by Revere, on each of which is cut a skull and
crossbones over the initials of the victim. On that of the youngest of
the four appear the words: “Ae. 17,” with a scythe and hourglass
indicative of his having been cut off in the flower of youth. On the
same page with the account of the tragedy and the funeral occurs the
following interesting letter from Captain Preston:
BOSTON-GAOL, Monday, 12th March, 1770.
Messieurs EDES & GILL,
Permit me thro’ the Channel of your Paper, to return my
Thanks in the most Publick Manner to the Inhabitants of this
Town--who throwing aside all Party and Prejudice, have with
the utmost Humanity and Freedom stept forth Advocates for
Truth, in Defence of my injured Innocence, in the late
unhappy Affair that happened on Monday Night last: And to
assure them, that I shall ever have the highest Sense of the
Justice they have done me, which will be ever gratefully
remembered, by
Their much obliged and most obedient humble Servant,
THOMAS PRESTON.
Let us now examine the picture which Paul Revere prepared to be
presented, with the official pamphlet, to the view of the British
public in order to affect its opinion of the action of the troops. The
engraving is 8½ by 9¾ inches in size, and is colored by hand in red,
blue, green, and brown. In the background is the Boston town hall, now
known as the “Old State House,” with its graceful clock-tower rising
into a pale blue sky. At the upper left hand is a chubby,
cheerful-looking crescent moon. The public square is framed on both
sides by its enclosing buildings, over the portal of one of which, at
the right, is the inscription “G R (for Georgius Rex) Custom House.”
Higher still, along the entire façade of the building stretches the
imaginary and ironical designation “Butcher’s Hall.”
In the foreground of the picture, and in front of the Custom House
stands in a menacing attitude the file of soldiers, very red of coats
and black of boots. Each has his gun outstretched with its bayonet
pointing to the crowd, while the clouds of smoke that roll around and
behind the figures testify that the guns have just been discharged
among the unhappy bystanders. At the extreme right of the line of
soldiers stands Captain Preston with uplifted, menacing sword.
Opposite the firing squad is the crowd of citizens, some of whom have
fallen to the ground, or are being supported in the arms of their
comrades. From the breasts and temples of the wounded streams of blood
pour forth and dye the pavement roundabout. The crowd is in great
agitation. One venturesome townsman lifts his hand as though he would
push back an advancing bayonet. Another clasps his hands in horror to
his breast. Some of the bystanders have turned as if to flee, but most
of them are engaged in succoring their wounded comrades. One man in
brown coat and green vest is being tenderly lifted by two friends; his
head falls helplessly to one side while a bright red jet of blood
pours from his breast over the green waistcoat. One of the victims
lies on his back, his head drawn up as if he were in agony, one hand
clasps his breast, from a wound in which a crimson stream flows forth.
The boy victim lies motionless on the ground, a pool of blood from his
forehead dyeing the pavement near his head. In front of this whole
group stands a composed, indifferent-looking dog, quite unmoved by the
tragic scene behind him. The quaint costumes and stiff attitudes of
the actors in the picture, the shapeless, ill-drawn legs of the
soldiers, and the stolid, expressionless faces of the participants
indicate that the engraver was a tyro in his art. To the observer,
however, these defects in some measure enhance the interest of the
picture and give it the charm peculiar to primitive productions.
[Illustration: PAUL REVERE PRINT OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE]
The inscriptions above and below the print add to its intrinsic
interest. The passionate appeal for sympathy for the slain made by
these inscriptions indicates the depths of feeling aroused by the
massacre. Across the top is printed, “The BLOODY MASSACRE perpetrated
in King Street BOSTON on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29{th}
REGT.” Underneath the picture is the following remarkable effusion,
probably from the pen of Paul Revere himself, who frequently indulged
in such attempts at literary effort:
Unhappy BOSTON! See thy Sons deplore.
Thy hallow’d Walks besmear’d with guiltless Gore.
While faithless P----n [Preston] and his savage Bands,
With murd’rous Rancour stretch their bloody Hands;
Like fierce Barbarians grinning o’er their Prey,
Approve the Carnage, and enjoy the Day.
If scalding drops from Rage from Anguish Wrung
If speechless Sorrows lab’ring for a Tongue,
Or if a weeping World can aught appease
The plaintive Ghosts of Victims such as these;
The Patriot’s copious Tears for each are shed,
A glorious Tribute which embalms the Dead.
But know FATE summons to that awful Goal
Where JUSTICE strips the Murd’rer of his Soul;
Should venal C----ts the scandal of the Land,
Snatch the relentless Villain from her Hand,
Keen Execrations on this Plate inscrib’d,
Shall reach a JUDGE who never can be brib’d.
_The unhappy Sufferers were Messs_ SAML GRAY, SAML MAVERICK, JAMS
CALDWELL, CRISPUS ATTUCKS & PATK CARR _killed. Six wounded_; two of
them (CHRISTR MONK & JOHN CLARK) _Mortally_.
Two hundred copies of the pamphlet were issued in the first
edition, and for his work upon the plate the Revere papers tell
us that the engraver received five pounds. A number of variants
of the original plate appeared within a few months of its
production. One was reduced in size to accompany an octavo
edition of the pamphlet. This latter engraving was 4½ by 6⅝
inches. It had no inscription at the top but underneath bore the
following words: “The Massacre perpetrated in King Street on
March 5{th} 1770, in which Mess{rs} Saml Gray, Saml Maverick,
James Caldwell, Crispus Attucks Patrick Carr were Killed, six
others Wounded two of them Mortally.” The different proportions
of this plate give to the picture more sky and foreground than
the one we have described above. The second edition of the
pamphlet with the smaller engraving was reprinted without change
in London by E. & C. Dilly and J. Almon in the same year that the
_Short Narrative_ appeared in Boston.
Two other London editions of the pamphlet were issued the same
year by the publishing firm of W. Bingley in Newgate Street. One
of these has for its frontispiece an engraving 8½ by 12 inches in
size, with the following inscription across the top: “The Fruits
of Arbitrary Power; or the Bloody Massacre, Perpetrated in King
Street, Boston by a Party of the XXIX Regt.” Underneath is
printed Revere’s original poem, without the accompanying names of
the victims. On the left of the poem the following verse is
surmounted by a skull and crossbones within a wreath: “How long
shall they utter and speak hard things? And all the workers of
iniquity boast themselves? They break in pieces thy people, O
Lord, and afflict thine heritage. Ps. XCIV, 4, 5.” On the right
of the poem appears the design of a liberty cap in clouds from
which issue forks of lightning and two broken swords. Underneath
is printed, “They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the
fatherless. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall
the God of Jacob regard it. Ps. XCIV, 6, 7.” Some of these prints
have been found with only the two devices and without the
scriptural quotations.
Still one more print appeared in London in 1770 which shows
marked variations from all those previously described. These were
all variants of Revere’s original plate, and differ only in size,
proportions, and inscriptions. The print which we now describe is
so different in composition and so much better in execution that
it would seem to be the work of another artist than Revere. Not
only are the proportions of the picture changed, but the handling
of the perspective is much better, the drawing of the figures,
and the expression of the faces show the handiwork of a genuine
artist. The arrangement of the figures is the same, but the
soldiers’ legs become quite possible members of their bodies,
able to bear a man’s weight. The fallen figures lie in better and
easier attitudes. The grouping of the crowd is less confused, and
in the background appear the heads of two women wearing bonnets,
that are not seen in the original Revere prints. Moreover, there
is no dog in the foreground and no moon in the sky of this latter
print. The question arises whether some other artist adapted
Revere’s composition, materially improving it in so doing, or
whether Revere himself secured his suggestions for his work from
the author of this latter print. This is answered by a letter
found some years since among the Pelham-Copley papers in the
British Public Record Office and printed by the Massachusetts
Historical Society in one of its recent volumes of _Collections_.
Henry Pelham was a young half brother of the famous colonial
artist Copley, and the original of the latter’s lovely picture,
“The Boy with a Squirrel.” Young Pelham lived in a family of
artists and himself early displayed considerable talent. He
learned engraving from his father Peter Pelham, one of Boston’s
earliest engravers. The following letter was written by the
younger Pelham to Paul Revere:
Thursday Morng. Boston, March 29, 1770.
Sir,
When I heard that you was cutting a plate of the late
Murder. I thought it impossible, as I knew you was not
capable of doing it unless you coppied it from mine and as I
thought I had entrusted it in the hands of a person who had
more regard to the dictates of Honour and Justice than to
take the undue advantage you have done of the confidence and
Trust I reposed in you. But I find I was mistaken, and after
being at the great Trouble and Expence of making a design
paying for paper, printing &c, find myself in the most
ungenerous Manner deprived, not only of any proposed
Advantage, but even of the expence I have been at, as truly
as if you had plundered me on the highway. It you are
insensible of the Dishonour you have brought on yourself by
this Act, the World will not be so. However, I leave you to
reflect upon and consider of one of the most dishonorable
Actions you could well be guilty of.
H. PELHAM.
In the absence of any defense by Paul Revere, and in the presence of
the better engraving made along the lines and with the same general
arrangement as that claimed by Revere, it would seem that we must
convict the latter of the plagiarism with which Pelham charged him.
Some of the latter’s prints were issued, since among his papers is the
charge in March, 1770, of three pounds nine shillings by one Daniel
Rea “To printing 575 of your Prints @ 12| Pr. Hund.” Pelham was a much
abler artist than Revere; moreover, it should be noted that the latter
prints upon his engraving only the words, “engraved, printed, and sold
by Paul Revere,” all of which might have been the literal truth, had
he utilized the design of the younger artist. None the less his
appropriation without compensation of his young neighbor’s design is
much to his discredit, and detracts from the interest and enjoyment
with which we examine this most famous and interesting of Paul
Revere’s engravings.
The vogue for this picture of the massacre has been very great from
the time of its first printing until the present. We have seen how
many editions appeared in 1770. These spread rapidly throughout all
the English colonies in America. So popular did the prints become that
as early as 1785 a new edition became necessary, while the original
prints were much in demand, and formed part of early collections of
Americana. Originals of 1770 are now so highly prized that single
copies sell for anywhere from $750 to $1,000. In 1832 an excellent
reproduction was issued, which has in its turn become rare enough to
command $50 upon the market.
How much the publication of the original prints had to do with the
profound sensation that the “Boston Massacre” awakened everywhere
among the American colonies we have no means of judging. Certainly the
representation was calculated to arouse intense resentment against the
British soldiery, and this feeling may have contributed to the
alacrity with which the colonists took up arms in defense of their
liberty. From a trivial encounter between imperial troops and the
Boston mob, the incident arose to a position of international
importance. Its pictorial presentation, therefore, has become a part
of our national history.
DOCUMENTS
SOME LETTERS OF PAUL O. HUSTING CONCERNING THE PRESENT CRISIS
The advent of the world struggle which still rages between the forces
of autocracy and democracy found our nation as a whole, and many of us
as individuals, unprepared to meet the new conditions and to withstand
the test of the new issues with which we were confronted. But it did
not find the mind of Paul Husting wanting in the needful qualities of
intellect, or his soul in those of courage.
In the brief period of service as senator from Wisconsin he revealed
himself as one of Wisconsin’s greatest sons, and his untimely death in
October, 1917, was a genuine calamity both to state and to nation in
their hour of trial and danger. Not often does the opportunity occur
to a historical journal to publish documents fraught at the same time
with a high degree of historical value and of interest for their
bearing on issues still current. Such an opportunity, we think, is
afforded the WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY in connection with the
documents which follow. The letters speak for themselves and aside
from certain minor typographical corrections we present them unedited.
However, we cannot refrain, in concluding this introductory note, from
calling the reader’s attention to the significance of the dates of the
several letters: the first, following the sinking of the _Lusitania_;
the second, at the time the embargo-on-munitions discussion was rife;
the third, following our entrance into the world war.
Mayville, Wis., May 14, 1915.
---- ----,
----, Wis.
Dear Sir:
Your letter of May 10th, enclosing clipping from a Chilton newspaper,
was duly received and read. The clipping which you have enclosed
entitled “The United States, an Ally of England against Germany and
Austria-Hungary” is a very coarse and vituperative and un-American
attack on President Wilson and his administration. In this article,
the President in substance and effect is portrayed as a weakling, a
tool of England, a hypocrite, who pretends to be what he is not, and
with sanctimonious phrase is trying to mislead the people. The
administration is charged with being in a secret pact with England
against Germany and winds up with asking the people of this country
how long they are going to stand the disgrace of having such a
government.
I do not believe that I have the honor of your acquaintance but,
nevertheless, I feel that the article sent me and your letter should
be replied to because there are other papers and other men engaged in
carrying out this sort of propaganda.
There are, I know, a number of good and patriotic citizens of this
country, who, because of lack of information, and because of their
intense sympathy for relatives and friends now fighting in the old
country, have permitted themselves to be misled in the belief that
this country has unjustly, and, contrary to the laws of nations,
permitted the shipment of munitions of war to European countries.
There are, however, also, a number of men and newspapers who are
merely repeating and spreading a propaganda originating in the old
country with a design and purpose to weaken their own government and
aid and strengthen one of the belligerent nations. I hope that I am
addressing you as one who may be put in the first class mentioned.
Your criticism of President Wilson must be the result either of blind
partisanship, of a lack of familiarity with the facts relating to our
present foreign relations, of a failure to fully comprehend the exact
meaning and difficulties of neutrality, or of a desire to plunge this
country into [the] European embroglio without considering whether we
have any cause or excuse for entering that awful conflict.
Considerations of partisanship are so loathsome in times of great
national crises that I believe you incapable of entertaining such and
I freely acquit you of such base motives. The high-minded attitude of
former President Taft ought to be sufficient to deter everyone from
seeking to make political or partisan capital out of the present
delicate situation. I cannot conceive that you feel yourself in closer
allegiance to Germany than you do to this nation, for then your words
would not be those of an American citizen but of one who is an alien,
at least in thought, and not entitled to the protection or blessings
of our free government. I assume that you are laboring under a
misconception of the facts and upon the assumption that you have been
misguided, I am writing you fully in reply to your letter.
I find no fault with American citizens or American newspapers (in
this, of course, I include those printed in the German language) that
sympathize with Germany as against England nor do I find any fault
with the criticism directed against England’s war policy or methods.
Our government has repeatedly remonstrated and protested to England
against the interference with our commerce with neutral countries, in
the shipment of non-contraband of war to belligerent countries, in the
unlawful seizure of our vessels, and in the general interference with
our rights as a neutral nation. I wish to add my objections and
express my resentment against England for her studied and persistent
violations of many provisions of the international law. We have
protested and have done everything that we lawfully and justly could
do to support and maintain our rights, short of going to war. Withal,
however, no American ships or lives have been lost as a result of
England’s operations upon the sea and no passenger boat carrying
citizens of the United States has been sunk.
In the obstruction of our commerce and our dealings with foreign
nations, Germany has gone as far as its ability permitted and is
certainly subject, in this respect, to the same criticism and
resentment that we have directed against England. It seems that
England and Germany in the operation of the war in retaliation and in
reprisal have set aside the international code and are justifying
anything and everything upon the ground or plea of necessity. So long
as this mode of warfare is directed against one another of the
belligerent countries or their citizens, while we stand horrified and
appalled, we may still have no just cause for interference. We have
suffered these inconveniences and losses to our business because not
only our government, but our people desire peace, and, furthermore,
because we have no desire to interfere between the belligerent
countries. Now, while at most, Germany can only claim that, in respect
to the hindrance to our commerce, she has done no worse than England,
yet, in addition to this, ships flying the American flag have been
assailed and sunk by her and American lives taken without
justification and now the world is appalled by the destruction of over
1,200 lives ruthlessly taken and men, women, and children have gone
down to their death defenseless and undefended.
It is no defense or justification of this act as against our country
that some other nation by its unlawful acts compelled the country at
fault also to commit unlawful acts by way of reprisal.
It is no defense to say that American citizens who lost their lives
were warned and that they lost their lives through their own
contributory negligence. No warning to commit an unlawful act is a
defense or justification of such unlawful act. Such warning, in fact,
negatives the idea of accident and evidences premeditation and design
to commit the unlawful act.
We know that the _Lusitania_ was sunk, that more than 100 American
lives were lost, and we must hold the country directly responsible for
a deed which has shocked the civilized world and which appears to have
been in violation of the law governing, and practices obtaining in,
civilized warfare. Notwithstanding the horror and resentment aroused
in the public mind, our President is still striving to avert war!
What would you now say if a German liner with Americans aboard had
been sunk by an English torpedo under like circumstances and our
President would not have counseled war against the offending country
but would still have stood for peace? Would you not have said then
that this country was favoring England and would you not have
reiterated and repeated your slander that this country is an ally of
England’s?
In the slanderous clipping sent me, it is charged that this country is
pretending neutrality when in fact, by not forbidding the shipment of
arms and munitions of war, we are violating the law of nations
governing neutrals.
This slander against our country has been repeated over and over again
by thoughtless men and by partisan newspapers. It originated across
the sea with those who well know the falsity and hypocrisy of the
charge and who have passed it on to a well-meaning and sympathetic,
but over-zealous and mistaken, people and press for the purpose of
accomplishing a selfish end. This slander has been fostered and given
currency also by some designing men and by some designing newspapers
who appear to have forgotten their duty to their country and who
appear to be concerned more with the effect that the present war has
upon some foreign country than with its effect upon our own country.
The laws of nations are the rules which determine the conduct of the
general body of civilized states in their dealings with one another.
Its doctrines are founded on legal, not simply on ethical ideas; since
they purport to be rules of justice, not counsels of perfection, the
foreign policies of a country are not founded upon feelings of moral
rightness but upon precedents, treaties, and opinions of those
recognized as authority.
International law is a part of the law of the land and, since the
interest of the United States with foreign nations and the policies in
regard to them are placed by the Constitution in the hands of the
federal government, its decisions upon these subjects are _obligatory
upon every citizen_.
The above are some of the elementary principles of international law.
These nations which are protected by these provisions also are subject
to corresponding duties and obligations. Those which invoke the law
must obey the law. International law, being the joint product of
civilized nations, adopted and made by the common and joint consent of
nations, of course, can not be repealed or amended by any one nation
but only by the mutual consent of all countries. If it were otherwise,
each country would make its own international law to be amended or
repealed at the will of such country and thus would have no effect
either upon itself or any other nation.
Now we have an international law and its provisions are well defined
and recognized. Now is there any provision in this law which forbids
or makes unlawful the shipment of arms by citizens of a neutral
country to a belligerent country or which gives a neutral country the
privilege to forbid such shipment? No. Then why not? Because it has
been the law since civilization began for citizens of neutral
countries to engage in commerce as they chose and at their risk,
subject only to the right of belligerents to intercept and seize
contraband of war in transit to a belligerent enemy. In all the wars
in which this country has been engaged, the citizens of the countries
now warring in Europe have recognized and countenanced this practice
of selling arms to our enemy while we were at war and we have neither
protested nor complained against it, fully recognizing that the
citizens of such countries were entirely within their rights, that we
had no just cause for complaint. We recognized that it would have been
a violation of international law if at that time the said countries
had prohibited the shipment of munitions of war with a purpose clearly
manifested to aid or benefit either ourselves or our enemy.
For scores of years those countries now engaged in the European war
have been arming themselves and fortifying their country with the
positive knowledge that sooner or later a conflict of the kind now
raging would occur. England, France, and Russia did and so did Germany
and Austria. They also well knew that, under the provisions of
international law, the shipment of arms and munitions of war was
permissible subject to the interception and seizure of them by
belligerent enemies. Long before this war, which they knew was
inevitable, started Germany and Austria had the opportunity and the
influence to have changed the international law and there is no doubt
that the United States would have joined them in this amendment.
Far-seeing as its statesmen are and having well in mind the provisions
of international law, yet, notwithstanding, Germany entered this war
with the law as it now stands.
If international law had, at the beginning of the present war,
prohibited the shipment of munitions of war from this country and the
United States nevertheless had violated the rule and permitted the
shipment of munitions of war, _then_ it could be charged and convicted
of a violation of the law and a breach of neutrality by the country
adversely affected by such violation. Why? Because we would then have
been guilty of an affirmative act unlawfully changing the established
law to the injury and prejudice of a country with whom we are at peace
without its consent. Such act would have been a breach of neutrality
because, international law having been established by mutual consent,
we would have no right to repeal and amend that law without the
consent of those adversely affected by the change.
Now to prohibit and prevent the shipment of munitions of war by an
affirmative act on our part, at the behest and for the exclusive
benefit of one of the countries now at war, without the consent of the
nations adversely affected thereby, would be a violation of
international law and would constitute a breach of neutrality on our
part which would be indefensible from the standpoint of good faith and
good friendship to all on our part. Now it must be remembered that the
United States government is not engaged in the shipment of munitions
of war to other countries. A good many misguided and uninformed people
have been led to believe that this country as a nation is thus
engaged. It is true, that citizens of this country as a matter of
business are engaged in manufacturing and selling to individuals, from
whatever country they may come, munitions of war, as citizens of
Germany, Austria, and other belligerent countries have done since time
immemorial. President Wilson has not approved such shipments. It is
entirely probable that, from a moral standpoint, he abhors the
manufacture and sale of instruments and commodities to be used in the
slaughter of human beings. He is a man of peace, and, if he had his
way, wars in the future would be an impossibility.
But, as President of the United States,--a country which is in no
sense responsible for this war--a country whose sole and passionate
desire is to keep out of this conflict--Woodrow Wilson must execute
the laws as he finds them and must maintain the neutrality of this
country in accordance with the law of nations. This he has done
patiently, persistently, and consistently, notwithstanding that blind
and bitter partisanship, now on one side, now on the other, has done
its best to shove him off his balance.
Permit me to say that you, and men like you, and newspapers publishing
like articles commit a base and cruel slander on the President and on
your country when you state otherwise. This country, of all the
countries of the world, has kept its obligations and its poise.
In war-maddened Europe both England and Germany have attempted to
annul the law to suit the exigencies of the moment. Our country,
however, has contended, and, clearly within its rights, has demanded
the observance of the law of nations and has refused to recognize the
right of the warring nations to annul or to amend the same to our
damage or in derogation of our rights.
How, then, in view of these facts, could we hold belligerents to their
lawful duties if we were at the same time to violate the law and put
ourselves in the same class with them. But this is what you and other
critics ask this country to do. It is clear that you do not want this
country to be neutral; you want it to take an affirmative and active
part by governmental action to help one country and hurt another. Your
and my government is endeavoring to maintain the status quo of a real
neutrality. Those who are responsible for this movement which you
approve of are endeavoring to shake and disturb it. Those who complain
of our want of neutrality are complaining only because we have not
become an ally of the country they favor.
If we listened to the insidious demands made by these countries that
would have us violate our lawful obligation to respect the law of
nations by affirmatively aiding and assisting their side, would we not
be stopped from demanding reparation for the misconduct of the other
countries who have been prejudiced by our unlawful and unneutral act?
And would not such a flagrant breach of international obligation on
our part justify reprisals against us, or worse than that, probably
eventuate in a war with those countries who would thus be unlawfully
and unfairly prejudiced by our act?
These countries who would have us place an embargo on arms and
munitions with an eye solely to their advantage might well favor an
act on our part which would plunge us into war with their enemies and
thus make us their own ally. From the standpoint of _their_ own
material advantage, and owing this country no duty whatever, it is
easy to understand the motive back of their wishes.
But what motive, I ask, prompts you or any other American citizen who,
owing a duty only to this country, should have in mind at all times
primarily the welfare of his own country, to aid and promote a foreign
propaganda, which has for its object and end the plunging of this
country into war with one side or the other.
I say I acquit you of any base motive and can only believe that your
utterances and your actions are the result of a want of information
and understanding and not a willful desire on your part to injure the
country which you are bound to support.
You could not be either misguided or mistaken, however, if you had not
blindly accepted as true the statement of facts and the statement of
international law as promulgated by a foreign government and its
emissaries rather than the statements of fact and the statements of
law promulgated by your own government. What right have you to doubt
the utterances of our President, who is serving this country with that
singleness of purpose which has always distinguished the acts of our
presidents?
What right have you to believe the utterances of emissaries, who have
been sent from abroad with a singleness of purpose to serve their own
government at whatever cost to ours by sowing discord and falsehood
among our people and who are trespassing upon our forbearance and are
violating obligations which we believe a visitor to our shores owes to
our people?
To put it in another way, may I not ask you, as a citizen, what reason
or right you have to believe or expect that a foreign country and its
emissaries are safe advisers for the citizens of the United States to
consult or follow? And may I not also ask you, what there is in the
life of President Wilson as a man and his record as a president that
warrants you or any American citizen or newspaper in believing or
asserting that he is not a man to believe or a safe president and
counselor to follow? These questions answer themselves.
This country is now confronted with a crisis. Notwithstanding the wave
of popular indignation that has been aroused in this country, the
President is straining every nerve to preserve peace and still
maintain the honor and dignity of this country. You, and others that
have been uttering the same charges that you have, have made the task
more difficult than it otherwise would be. There appears to be a
feeling in some foreign countries that our country is divided.
A short while ago, a prominent citizen of a foreign country, whose
utterances are recognized as semi-official, stated in substance that,
while his country was a unit, that that was more than could be said of
the United States in all cases.
In the Milwaukee _Journal_ of Wednesday, May 12th, a translated
article from the Frankfurter _Zeitung_ was quoted as stating “that
because of the fact that we have naturalized German citizens and a
number of natural-born Americans of German descent that a war between
this country and Germany would be impossible because of the necessity
of placing these citizens in the detention camp and that it would
require our entire army to watch over them.”
These statements can only mean that the belief is entertained in that
country that, in case of certain eventualities, this country would be
divided and that certain of our citizens would side with Germany
against our government. Such a belief if indeed prevalent in that
country is a serious obstacle to a peaceful termination of our
negotiations in the present crisis.
But to those of us who have read the history of the Revolutionary War,
of the rebellion, and of every other war in which we have been engaged
as a nation--those of us who love and admire our German friends and
neighbors, who are familiar with their spirit of American citizenship
and patriotism, who have lived amongst them and have felt and feel one
with them, know that these statements are unfounded and we resent them
as a base calumny upon some of our most respected citizens. It is an
insult to American citizenship. It in effect amounts to a charge of
disloyalty and treason against some of our best citizens. Such a
statement should be publicly resented, however, first of all by those
against whom this slander is directed, not because their loyalty and
patriotism is doubted here, but because it is doubted elsewhere. It is
necessary for the world to understand and know that America is united
as one man. This will do more to keep us out of war than all the
clamor and all the pressure that can be brought to bear upon our
President to abandon our neutrality and to violate our international
obligations.
Permit me to say that in a time like this it is your duty and the duty
of every citizen of the United States to stand loyally and
patriotically back of our government. Not only as a matter of law is
it your duty but from a natural sense of obligation as a citizen of a
great nation, whose benefits and blessings you enjoy, and whose
existence you are at all hazards bound to preserve. We are fortunate
indeed that we have a president like Woodrow Wilson at the head of our
affairs at this time. A man less capable, less patriotic, less
intelligent, less courageous might have precipitated us in the war
before this. He is now standing four square to all the winds that
blow, in an endeavor to preserve peace with honor, dignity, and safety
to ourselves. Let all of us unite to do all we can to keep firm and
[word illegible] any extreme and ill-considered speech.
In times like these, permit me to say that we should not only feel but
act together. This is no time for petty partisanship or petty
politics. This is a time for deliberation and moderation in thought,
word, and deed. It is a time for the submersion of all our
differences, sympathies, and feelings in a unity of purpose and desire
for our country’s good.
In conclusion, permit me to say that all of us who may trace our
ancestry across the sea no matter to what particular country, should
be the first to speak out loudly and clearly that our undivided
loyalty and allegiance is with America, always, no matter what may be
our tie.
Yours very truly,
PAUL O. HUSTING.
Washington, D. C., Apr. 1, 1916.
Rev. ---- ----,
----, Wis.
Dear Sir:
Your letter of some time ago, expressing the disapproval of the
pastors of the Lutheran Conference of the Iowa Synod held in Beaver
Dam, in January, of my attitude on the embargo on munitions question
was duly received. The letter appeared in the Milwaukee papers on the
Saturday before and therefore its contents were familiar to me before
receiving the same by mail. The reason that this letter was not
answered was because it seemed to me that it called for no reply but
that it was merely intended to give public expression to your
disapproval by your Conference of my attitude and vote on these
questions.
Now in reply to yours of the 20th inst. and also to that above
referred to let me first say that I regret very much that any act or
attitude of mine as Senator from Wisconsin should meet with the
disapproval of any number of my fellow citizens. I am not insensible
of the support that I received from many citizens of German extraction
in the last campaign nor do I think that there is anybody representing
the state of Wisconsin who is more anxious to please and to retain the
confidence, respect, and good will of his fellow citizens of German
extraction or ancestry, for that matter, than I am, provided that I
can do so without acting inconsistently with my oath of office or my
sense of duty.
In justification of my attitude let me say then that my vote and my
attitude on our foreign relations are the result of deep-seated
convictions based upon study and a great deal of thought upon this
subject and I am maintaining such attitude and convictions upon the
subject (notwithstanding that some of my fellow citizens disagree with
me) because I am convinced that if I did otherwise I would be
committing my country to a wrong and dangerous policy--a policy which
not only might, but which probably would, force us into war and this
is a result which I understand neither you nor any other citizen
desires, if it can honorably be avoided. Holding such convictions (at
least honestly formed) I feel that would be violating my oath of
office and my duty as a Senator if I voted contrary to my convictions
in order to please you or others. This I manifestly cannot and of
course will not do. I consider it my first duty as a Senator and as a
citizen to support and sustain my government in a crisis like this.
The criticism expressed in your letter is confined to two matters
only, namely: First--My attitude on the embargo question. Second--My
vote on the Gore Resolution. And you tell me that my attitude on the
one and my vote on the other is not in accordance with the wishes or
sentiments of the people of Wisconsin.
The substance of your criticism is contained in the sentence which I
quote from your letter: “We therefore have a perfect right to expect
that those men, whom we sent to represent _our_ interests, whom we
sent to represent us before the President we have elected, should vote
as we would vote, if we had an opportunity to cast our vote. We know
full well that you are not an instructed delegate, this being
impossible, and yet you ought to vote as you know that your
constituents _require_ you to vote.”
Now let me ask you upon what you base your assertion that I am not
voting the way the majority of my constituents “require” me to vote?
The people of the state of Wisconsin have never yet recorded or had an
opportunity to record their sentiment or opinions on these questions,
and consequently I have no means at my command that will enable me to
inform myself as to how my constituents would “require” me to vote. I
believe that you will admit that you have no means of ascertaining or
knowing how the people of Wisconsin would “require” me to vote and
that you are merely assuming that all the people of Wisconsin feel as
you and your associates do upon these matters. I believe furthermore
that you will admit that sympathizing with Germany as you do that you
are not an impartial and unbiased judge of the facts involved in the
issue. I am sure that there are thousands of others in this state who
believe and claim that the people of Wisconsin are overwhelmingly
supporting President Wilson’s attitude on both of these questions. Of
course these expressions of opinion come from many who also are not
impartial and unprejudiced or unbiased in the premises although I may
add that I have received scores and scores of letters from men of
German ancestry who hold a like opinion to mine. With such conflicting
opinions as is perfectly natural to be the case in a state of mixed
population like Wisconsin even you must admit that the sentiment of
the people of our state is by no means unanimous on the subject
matter. At the beginning of and so long as our country was not in
danger of being drawn into this terrible war, I also indulged myself
in sympathizing with a certain side in this world’s struggle. But for
over a year this country has stood and now stands on the very verge of
a volcano and no one could, nor now can, know when we will be drawn
into its crater. Consequently, ever since this danger has arisen, I
have tried to dismiss from mind all interest in connection with the
war except in so far as it affects or might affect the interests or
rights of our people and our country and I harbor no motive in my
consciousness in connection with my office other than to protect and
promote our own country’s rights and interests. With such motive and
such thought, I feel that I ought to be able to vote upon this
European situation fairly and impartially as between the belligerents.
I am at least conscious of this: That whatever attitude I take and
whatever vote I cast is cast with reference solely to its effect on
this country and regardless of its effect upon the welfare of any
other country in the world.
Now under such circumstances do you think that I should allow your
sympathies or the sympathies of your associates or my sympathies to
outweigh and overcome my settled convictions, and that I should
violate my oath of office as United States Senator and act and vote in
direct contradiction to what I conceive to be my duty as a Senator and
as a citizen of the United States? I cannot think that you would have
me do so. I cannot in a letter repeat my reasons, which I have so
often stated in public speeches and interviews, why I am opposed to
our government placing an embargo on munitions of war and,
consequently, I must refer you to such speeches and interviews for
such information. I can only state that such action on the part of our
country would in my judgment be a gross breach of neutrality which not
only might, but probably would, involve us in a war with those foreign
countries adversely affected by such action on our part. I voted
against the Gore Resolution because I am opposed, _by governmental
action_, to curtailing or abandoning the rights of our citizens upon
the high seas or wherever they have a right to be, as an act unworthy
of a great nation and of a great people, and, furthermore, because I
am sure that with the passage of such a resolution our troubles in
that respect would not have been ended but would have only just begun.
With the abandonment of one right, we would soon have been called upon
to abandon another and still another, and, having said “A,” we would
not only have had to say “B” but we would have had to continue clear
down the alphabet to “Z,” and we would finally find ourselves bereft
of all rights cravenly and uselessly abandoned by us to wrong-doing
countries. Personally, I would not now travel on the high seas unless
I was obliged thus to travel and I would not ask or in fact advise any
friend of mine to travel upon the high seas under present conditions,
but what I am opposed to is that our government by affirmative action
should warn our citizens not to travel upon the high seas and in
effect then to license the world to kill and slaughter our citizens in
the act of exercising their God-given and lawful rights so to do. Such
authoritative action would be a puerile abandonment of the rights of
our citizens and of our country and a cowardly withdrawal of the
protection which our flag owes to our people and would not only invite
the contempt and aggression of the belligerent nations but would bring
us into contempt in the eyes of our own citizens themselves.
Now, in the sentence quoted, you characterized me as one of those “* *
* whom we sent to represent _our_ interests * * * .” Now let me ask
you whether you or your associates have any interest which I am
representing other or different in any degree from that of any other
citizen of Wisconsin? You surely can have no interest, which I
represent, in the success of any foreign nation in this war. You may
have _wishes_ or _hopes_ in regard to the outcome of the war in Europe
but as an _American_ citizen you certainly have no _interest_ in the
result. The interests of our country, your interests, my interests,
are identical and are limited to this: That we keep our hands off and
let the warring nations fight it out according to the rules of
international law and, if we can, protect the lives of our people and
maintain their rights and the rights of our country and preserve our
national honor. While it is not my _duty_ to _represent_ your _wishes_
(which may stand in direct contravention to the dictates of our own
national welfare), it is my duty to represent (and it is my conviction
that I am performing that duty and am properly representing) the
interests of the country, _your_ interests, _my_ interests, and the
interests of all the people of the United States, when I take the
attitude I am taking and vote as I have voted.
Now while I have grown up among people of German ancestry and have
grown to love and respect my German-American neighbors, among whom I
count you and many others of your cloth, I cannot and will not forget
that as Senator I represent all of the people of Wisconsin regardless
of ancestry or accident of birth and as such Senator I represent not
only the people of Wisconsin but the people of the United States as a
whole, and I want to say further that as long as I remain in the
Senate I shall count the interests of my country first, wholly without
regard to its effect upon my political fortunes or upon the fortunes
of any foreign country.
While I have no authority to talk for anyone but myself, I believe
that President Wilson is actuated by the same motives as I am. Can any
man doubt that the President of the United States is doing what he
does and acting as he acts with any thought in his mind other than the
welfare of his country and of our people? Now you say in your letter,
“I admit that we have not the insight into the inner affairs and for
that reason leave it to the discretion of our representatives to cast
their vote to the best welfare of the State”; and further you say in
substance that you have taken a vital interest in this matter and that
the consensus of opinion of your associates, the majority of whom are
university men, is that an embargo should be placed upon munitions of
war. Now you admit that your opinion is based upon imperfect,
incomplete, unreliable, and (what at times must be) false information.
You also inferentially admit, as you must admit (indeed as everybody
knows is the fact) that the President and his Cabinet are in
possession of the most perfect, the most complete, most reliable and
most trustworthy information obtainable. Moreover, the President is
also a university man (if that has anything to do with it) and is he
not also a citizen of the United States who loves his country? Is he
not a man of intellect, of integrity, of patriotism, of ability, of
courage, a man possessing all those attributes that go to make up our
idea of a good American citizen? As President, in the handling of
domestic affairs, has he not shown himself mindful of the welfare of
the masses of the people? In this world’s crisis has he not kept us
out of war during the most trying times--under the gravest
difficulties--when there was not a Congress in session and when there
were no warning resolutions; when newspapers, politicians, partisans,
and sympathizers were trying to provoke him into the most drastic
action against one or the other side of this controversy? And this at
a time when scores of incidents have occurred, each one alone of
sufficient importance to have provoked us into war against one side or
the other side of the belligerents, had the President been so minded.
When you and I and all of us during the summer of 1915 were pursuing
our peaceful occupations in Wisconsin, the President was left alone to
carry a load that would have staggered and borne down any ordinary
man! During all this time, in waking or in sleeping, has he had
anything in his mind but the peaceful solution of his monumental task
without dishonor to our country?
And now let me ask whether you ought not to admit that it is a little
presumptuous on your part to think or claim that you are more
patriotic, more desirous of doing, and better able to do justice
between the belligerents of Europe--more desirous and better able to
safeguard and protect the national honor and the welfare and rights of
our people than our president, Woodrow Wilson? In other words, are you
not willing to concede that, under all the facts and circumstances
surrounding this vital matter, Woodrow Wilson ought to be better
qualified in all respects to properly pass upon these questions and to
protect our rights than anyone else who neither has the responsibility
or the opportunity nor has devoted the thought and time to this
matter, that he has?
Now would you and your associates, with all due respect to your
learning and information, which at best (as you admit is, and which
necessarily can be, based only on imperfect and uncertain premises)
have me accept your judgment in this matter in preference to that of
the President of the United States? Not only that, but would you have
me under _such circumstances_ disregard the judgment of the President
and his Cabinet who are lawfully invested with the authority and
business of determining these questions which as a matter of law is
and as a matter of common sense ought to be final and binding upon the
people of the United States and with this also abandon my own judgment
and accept yours in lieu thereof? If each citizen of the United States
would set _his_ judgment and opinion above that of the President of
the United States in our foreign affairs and refuse to abide by his
conclusions in time of acute crises such as these, could anything but
national chaos be the result? In domestic affairs that do not concern
the life of the country we all have a right to insist upon our
opinions and, even then, we must bow when overruled by the majority.
Then how much more in foreign affairs must we lodge somewhere
authority for determining matters affecting our national life itself.
And where else shall we lodge them than in the hands of our President
and Secretary of State, at least until all diplomatic means shall have
been exhausted? Now I do not say that citizens have no right to
express their opinions even on foreign affairs; but what I do say is
that they ought not to so exercise that right and so conduct
themselves as to embarrass and hinder our government in its diplomatic
negotiations with foreign countries _at times like these_, and thus
imperil, if not absolutely prevent, a peaceful solution of our
difficulties, great enough in themselves, but made still greater by
the utterances of some papers and persons which give color and basis
for the claim and impression abroad that we are a disunited and
demoralized people, a people who have lost their faith and confidence
in their own government, and who will not give it their loyal and
undivided support in all eventualities. We can maintain peace best by
presenting a solid front to all nations to the end that they may know
and understand that we are one and indivisible no matter what may
come!
Now you further say: “As to the notion that under all circumstances
the opinions of the President must be upheld, in order to be loyal
Americans, that is pure and simple ‘rot.’” Let me say to you that
supporting the President under present circumstances is not “rot”
unless loyalty to one’s country is also “rot”! Upholding the President
under present circumstances does not mean the upholding of an
individual in his opinion or judgment. For a Senator or a citizen of
the United States to back the President and to accept his conclusions
based upon known facts in foreign matters of gravest importance at a
time of the nation’s peril like this is not a servile following of an
individual and is not “rot.” On the contrary such backing and such
acceptance is only supporting and maintaining one’s government. It is
evidence of loyalty to one’s country. Such action and such acceptance
is not merely supporting President Wilson as a man, it is supporting
the United States--our government--our country, which the President
for the time being represents and for which he is authorized to act
and must act.
I quote further from your letter: “Our slogan is ‘America first, last,
and all the time, regardless of party lines, President, or
representatives.’” Our President for the time being within certain
limitations is America and he acts for America. And in my judgment it
is the first duty not only of Senators but of citizens who are for
_America_ first, last, and all the time, to be for our _government_
first, last, and all the time that for the time being is our
government. _No citizen can be against_ our government and still at
the same time justly claim that he is _for America_. One cannot be for
and against the same thing at the same time.
Now there is another matter in relation to the Beaver Dam letter of
Jan. 27 which was a communication entitled from the “pastors of the
German Lutheran Church in Conference at Beaver Dam, Wis., Assembled.”
It appears from this letter that you have assumed to put your church
on record as opposed to the foreign policy of this government at a
time when it was essential that the government should have the united
support of its citizens and to make public your disapproval in your
pastoral capacity, evidently for the purpose of bringing the President
and the representative of your state into political disfavor with your
church.
Now what I have to say in this connection is said in all friendliness
to the members of the Conference, many of whom I personally know and
respect. I acknowledge the right of any man, no matter what his
profession or calling may be, to speak his mind freely on political
matters and to vote as he pleases at elections and consequently every
pastor has a right to express his own personal opinions on any subject
that he may desire to speak upon and, furthermore, he has a right to
express his own opinion without in any way injecting religion into
politics so long as he merely expresses his own personal opinion and
does not attempt to talk for his church or for the purpose, as pastor,
of influencing the people of his church. I wish, however, to express
my opinion that no matter what the merit or excellence of their
motives or principles that may underlie such organizations or their
actions, it will be an unhappy and unfortunate thing for the country
and for the church when churches will be used as political
organizations or utilities and when its pastors will become the heads
of such organizations.
This country is and has been the refuge and the shield of all men who
desire to worship God as they please. This is a country of freedom of
religion as well as freedom of thought. We have been endeavoring for
more than a century to keep our government and our politics divorced
from religion. We have been endeavoring to permit these to run along
parallel lines but at the same time to keep them separated and prevent
them from impinging one upon the other. The separation of Church and
State has been one of the keynotes in our arch and has thus far done
much to strengthen and sustain our national structure. But in the last
few years there has been a growing tendency to inject religion into
politics. I have always steadfastly and consistently discouraged and
criticized such tendency wherever I could. I consider it a most
dangerous tendency--a tendency which bodes no good either to the
nation or to the church. It is bad indeed to inject the _Church into
Politics_. It is as bad or worse to inject _Politics into the Church_.
If you inject the _Church into Politics_ you will brush aside the
traditions of our country since its existence and you will be laying
the axe to the very roots of our government. And if you inject
_Politics into the Church_ you will also be laying the axe to the very
roots of your religion. You cannot have politics in your church
without having _factions_ in your _church_ and when you have
_factions_ in your _church_ you will _divide_ your _church_, which
history shows has ever been the case when governments and churches
mixed. Our Revolutionary fathers wisely profited by the experience of
other nations and by the teachings of history when they provided that
the State and Church should be forever kept separate. All good
citizens will deplore anything that endangers our country; and all
good people, regardless of religion, will deplore anything that will
injure the Church--an institution [which] when properly separated from
the government exercises an infinite influence for good in this
country. For these reasons I hereby respectfully record my deep regret
at the action of the Beaver Dam Conference because I fear that you may
be setting an unwise precedent fraught with consequences of a
dangerous character both to the Church and to the State in thus, as
pastors, using the influence of your church in the manner attempted.
One thing to me seems certain; if we desire to continue the freedom of
religion in our country, it can only be done by keeping it free from
politics and if we are going to have freedom of politics it can only
be done by keeping it free from religious interference. The one
proposition is interdependent upon the other and the rule cannot be
violated without lasting injury and damage to both Church and State. I
trust that the great Lutheran Church and all of the other great
churches of the country will never put themselves into the attitude of
attempting to control the politics of the country. I most fervently
hope that religious and racial influence and prejudices may never be
permitted by any church or body of men to promote or prevent the
election of any man to public office or to dictate to or to influence
our government in its relations or negotiations with foreign nations.
Let me conclude by saying that in all of these troublous times we
should remember that we are at peace--that we have been kept out of
this war thus far by a president and an administration which have
dedicated their efforts to promote the public welfare--that they are
doing the very best they can to continue to keep us out of war if this
can be done without loss of national honor or without surrendering or
abandoning our national rights or the rights of our citizens. In this
effort, the government should be sustained by all good citizens,
regardless of race or religion. It is the duty of every citizen to
sustain it! This is _the_ country in which all our interests are
centered--the only country to which we owe any loyalty or
allegiance--the country which safeguards and protects us--the country
which we in return are bound to protect and defend always. It is easy,
of course, to be a good citizen in fair weather but it is in foul
weather that the best citizenship is needed. It is in the storm and
stress of national peril that loyalty and devotion to the public
welfare is put to the acid test. Let us lay aside all of our
differences, all of our sympathies, all of our prejudices, so far as
they relate to other countries, and let us think and speak and act
solely with regard to the good of our own country.
Very respectfully,
PAUL O. HUSTING.
May 19, 1917.
Mr. ---- ----,
----, Wisconsin.
My dear Sir:
Yours of May 16th was duly received and contents noted. In reply I
want to say that your letter bears evidence of conscientious thought
and your conclusions are, no doubt, honest. I assume you have written
me not only for the purpose of giving your own views but also are
inviting mine in return. And inasmuch as you have volunteered a doubt
as to whether or not your German ancestry has colored or biased your
judgment in the premises, I take the liberty of giving you my judgment
on that point as I gather it from the context of this and your
previous letter.
I believe your reasonings and your conclusions are from the German,
not the American, standpoint. In other words, you are holding a brief
for Germany and not for the United States. “How important a part” your
“German ancestry plays” in this, it may be difficult for you to
apprehend but your bias will readily be apparent to anyone who reads
your letter. Now, you are an American-born citizen, I take it. You are
an attorney-at-law and a member of the bar of Wisconsin. You owe a
duty to your country which sympathy for Germany, no matter how genuine
it may be, cannot diminish, much less nullify. Now the premises from
which you as an American must reason are these: This country is at war
with Germany. Your President, my President, our President, backed by a
declaration of your Congress, my Congress, our Congress, has
proclaimed that war exists. This was done for reasons which appeared
sufficient to the President and the Congress to make this declaration
imperative. The loyalty and the fidelity of the President and of
Congress to the people of the nation has never been questioned or
challenged and I do not understand you to challenge or question them
now. You are merely attempting in your letter to set your judgment
against theirs. Germany is now an enemy of the United States which
means that she is your enemy, my enemy, our enemy. Now, it is plain,
as the Vice President remarked in a speech some time ago, that we
cannot have a hundred million presidents or secretaries of state,
meaning, of course, that we can only have one of each at a time and
that when these officers, to whom this power has been delegated, have,
with the aid of Congress, committed this government to a war, that
question to all intents and purposes of the war is settled for all men
who are citizens of the United States. And when the status of our
relations with a foreign country is once fixed as that of war, then
the time for argument has ceased and there is no longer any room for
controversy between citizens upon that question. The question then,
for the time being, that is to say, during the pendency of the war, is
a closed and not an open one. And for the sake of your peace of mind
as well as in justice to yourself as an American citizen who does not
desire his loyalty questioned or to have his honorable reputation
permanently impaired, you should respect, obey, and support the
mandate of your country in the spirit of true and devoted American
citizenship.
Now, I assume you love this country and that you love it because it is
a free country and that you are here practicing your profession
because of your desire to live in and to practice law in a country
where fullest and freest opportunity is afforded you to work out your
own destiny in your own way. In short, I assume that you favor a
republican form of government and that you are devoted to America and
its free institutions. I am sure that you would not have anyone
believe otherwise of you because that would impute to you disloyalty
and moreover it would impute to you a lack of intelligent enterprise
by your remaining in a country that according to your ideas is
improperly governed instead of removing yourself to the jurisdiction
of another country which more nearly squares with your ideas of good
government. So, I repeat that I assume that you are here because you
like to be here under a government that suits you and which you love
better than any other government on earth. Now, it is evident in your
letter that you love and sympathize with Germany but the question
arises in my mind whether your love is for the German people or for
the German government. You can easily put yourself to the test. If you
love the German people then you must desire them to have as good a
government as you enjoy here and it ought to make you happy that your
country, if it prevails in this war, will make the German people as
free and as happy as you are. If, on the other hand, you are mostly
concerned in the success of the German government, that is to say, if
you are mostly concerned in having the present Hohenzollern dynasty
remain in power, then it would seem to be quite clear that your love
is not for the German people but for the Hohenzollern dynasty and the
German autocracy. In other words, your love would then be of the form
and not of the substance. You cannot love this country and its
institutions and at the same time love the German autocracy. These are
incompatible and repugnant one to the other. They cannot both exist in
the same heart at the same time. Your love for the German people, as
is your love of mankind generally, is entirely compatible with your
love of this country but it must be clear to you, as it must be
perfectly clear to every American, that you cannot love your country
and the German people and mankind generally and at the same time love
the fearful German autocracy which is trying to impose or impress its
system, its frightfulness, and its wish and will upon the world and
which in its mad lust for power silences the promptings of conscience,
scoffs at the weakness of love for human-kind, deafens its ears to the
dictates of humanity, and which in pursuit of its fell purpose sets at
naught all law human and divine. Now let me ask you to search your
heart and see whether your love for the German fatherland is a love
compatible with your duties as an American citizen--whether it is
compatible with your love of liberty and humanity--whether it is
compatible with the principles enunciated in the Declaration of
Independence that all men are entitled to the right of “life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness”! If such love is compatible with all
these then your love for the German fatherland is a virtue and not a
vice. But, if searching deeply into your heart you find that your love
of the fatherland means that you love the relentless, ruthless, and
despotic Hohenzollern dynasty and its system, pluck it out as you
would a cancer, for it is a thing of evil and you cannot love it and
be a good and true American.
You write “The President’s statement to the effect that the War is not
directed against the German people never appealed to me.” For the
reasons I have just given it should appeal to you as an American and
as a lover of liberty and it should appeal to the German people
themselves and their sympathizers in this country. It should appeal to
lovers of liberty the world over--this statement that we are warring
on a Power and not a People. We are warring on the Power because it
has set its hand and might against the world and setting aside all
laws of God and man it has outlawed itself and has no right to live.
But in destroying this Power there is no intent, or disposition, or
wish to destroy the People. The President’s statement means, as I
interpret it, that the one thing that stands between peace and war
with Germany is the Hohenzollern dynasty. Once let that obstacle be
removed either by the German people themselves or by the arbitrament
of arms and our troubles and differences with Germany are over. Now
can an American citizen of German extraction who puts the welfare and
happiness of the people of Germany ahead of that of the Kaiser or, in
other words, ahead of the Hohenzollern dynasty and the autocratic
system which that dynasty embodies and typifies, enlist himself, his
sympathies, his resources, his life, in a higher and holier cause than
to join in emancipating the German people from the thrall of the
Hohenzollern dynasty and to save the German people whom he professes
to love from a doom which an outraged world has pronounced and sealed
against the ruthless and frightful Hohenzollern system? Now and here
is the opportunity for all who love the German people to give proof of
it. Let them all get back of the President and of their government and
to the extent of their influence, ability, might, and power help to
bring to their brothers in blood across the sea that priceless boon of
liberty and independence which they or their ancestors sailed the
perilous seas to find here in America. Let them make sacrifice and
help and fight to give to their friends and kinsmen across the ocean
that which was given to most of them here without cost or sacrifice on
their part.
It is quite apparent to almost everyone that there can be no peace--no
permanent peace--in the world so long as one power seeks to impose its
autocratic straight jacket upon the world. Since the birth of the
American Republic, the world has been marching away from autocracy and
toward universal democracy, gathering irresistible momentum with the
advance of time. All rulers, all statesmen, all men recognize this
fact.
Even in countries autocratically ruled greater liberties and rights
have been accorded the common people and it is only a question of time
when the doctrine of the divinity of kings will become a tradition and
the world will become one vast democracy. I repeat that the world is
turning with irresistible momentum to a world democracy and the rulers
of the world recognize that the logic of events is bound to substitute
governments “of, by and for the people” in place of “of, by and for”
kaisers, czars, and kings. There is practically one autocracy in the
world which still has the power and efficiency to make that power felt
in its attempt, its will and purpose upon the world; but one power on
earth that today constitutes a menace and obstruction to the onward
tread of democracy and that power is Germany! It is the Hohenzollern
dynasty which is illogically, in indifference and contempt of the
world’s sentiment, ignoring the teachings of history, unheeding the
warnings of history with that fatuousness which always blinds the eyes
of those who look only for their self-aggrandizement, that is trying
to turn the world backward. It is the Hohenzollern dynasty that has
thrown itself in the path of the onward march of liberty and progress,
trying not only to stem the irresistible physical and spiritual forces
of the world but actually trying to rout and drive them back into the
dark ages of despotism. It must be obvious to every thinking man that
this attempt will fail. No man or set of men in this day or age will
be permitted to rule the world. Every ruler, every dynasty which
unyieldingly places itself in the pathway of liberty and progress will
be overthrown; every people, no matter how powerful or great, which
blindly and absolutely places itself behind, follows, and clings to
such ruler and dynasty, will inevitably sooner or later be crushed and
utterly destroyed with it. And so the German autocracy which today
menaces the world and obstructs its progress will be overthrown and
the German people if they continue blindly and absolutely to cling to
their dynasty will inevitably share the same fate. Whether Germany
prevails in this war or not, there will be and can be no lasting peace
until the inevitable end is reached. So that in the end, be it sooner
or later, democracy will be established and autocracy will perish. The
destruction of the autocratic Hohenzollern dynasty would be a blessing
to the world. The destruction of the German people would be a calamity
to the world. I do not believe that the German people are going to
commit national suicide. I do not believe that they are long going to
continue to sacrifice the substance for the form. I do not believe
that they will deem it wise to suffer a national death in order to
uphold the life of a government that is based on error, not on truth,
which the world tried and found wanting, and which is responsible for
the catastrophe which has befallen themselves and the world at large.
It is unthinkable--it is unbelievable--that the German people are
unaffected by the onward movement of democracy and that they alone
will continue to hug the despotism and the system that is unsuited to
the requirements and unworthy of a modern civilization. Wherefore, it
would seem clear to me that all citizens of German extraction would be
quick to realize and appreciate the force of the President’s
declaration that we are not warring against the German people but
against the German autocracy and would enthusiastically support their
own government in a purpose which means freedom to the German people,
and in thus giving their whole hearted support to their own government
they would be discharging their duty, they would be true to their
allegiance as American citizens, and at the same time they would be
furthering the best interests of the German people and aiding them in
the only way in which they properly can.
I have received a number of letters of the same purport as yours and I
am going to publish my letter to you so that it may serve as an answer
likewise to others who are minded as you are. I know that there are in
our midst a number of serious, well-meaning men who hold the ideas and
sentiments which you have expressed--sentiments which, it is perfectly
clear, are incompatible with the duties and responsibilities of
American citizenship in a crisis like this as well as incompatible
with the intelligence and the character of the men entertaining them.
In the various public speeches I have made and communications I have
published during this crisis, I have sought to speak only in the
furtherance of what I understand and conceive to be the truth of the
matter and the welfare of our country. I have been animated solely by
a purpose to dispel error and to promote the interests of our country
and not by the slightest ill-feeling or malice toward any man. I have
sought to express myself frankly and without reserve but, at the same
time, I hope fairly, courteously, and without malice or feeling.
Having lived amongst Americans of German extraction all my life and
counting amongst them many of my best and dearest friends, I believe
that I know their processes of thought, their sentiments, their
prejudices, and their intelligence. I know that they would not prefer
to remain in error if once convinced that they are in error. They do
not want to be deceived. They do not want to be flattered into silence
or apparent conviction. They like to hear straight, plain, blunt talk.
Loving law and order and respecting authority, as I know they do, I
have always believed that the great mass of our citizens of German
extraction would never permit themselves to be placed in an attitude
of hostility to the orderly and just administration of the law or
permit their loyalty or fidelity to be suspected or challenged. I know
that when once convinced they are quick to abandon a position once
they see that it is untenable.
And so I have written this letter in the hope that I might be
instrumental in showing you that your position is untenable and in the
hope that you will abandon it for one which will reflect credit on
your patriotism, your judgment, and your citizenship and which at the
same time will afford you the best opportunity for advancing the
interests and welfare of your kinsmen across the sea.
Very truly yours,
PAUL O. HUSTING.
HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS
THE BEGINNINGS OF MILWAUKEE
Mr. B. F. Williams, of the firm of Williams and Stern, lawyers, of
Milwaukee, visited the Historical Library in January in search of
material concerning the building of the first courthouse in Milwaukee,
to be used in an injunction suit to prevent the removal of the
Milwaukee County Courthouse from its present site. A member of the
Library staff assisted him in his work, and found among the Society’s
manuscripts and pamphlets much material concerning the first days of
American occupation in Milwaukee. The village of Milwaukee (east side)
was organized in September, 1835, with Solomon Juneau as president;
the village of Kilbourntown (Milwaukee west side) was organized about
the same time with Byron Kilbourn as president. In January, 1838, the
two villages were united by an act of the Wisconsin territorial
legislature.
Morgan L. Martin, of Green Bay, was the real founder of Milwaukee. In
1833 he noted the advantages of the site for a harbor, and secured
from Lewis Cass, secretary of war, an order for its survey. Meantime
Martin made a proposition to Juneau, the only settler on the site, to
take an undivided half of his claim, Juneau promising not to sell any
of his share without Martin’s consent. Martin in this transaction
evinced both wisdom and generosity--generosity in giving Juneau a
chance to share the profits of the enterprise (for many men would have
bought his claim outright for a small sum); wisdom in binding Juneau
not to dispose of his share without advice. The result proved the
value of Martin’s foresight. In 1834 the preëmption act made Juneau’s
claim substantial. About this time Martin bought the preëmption right
of Peter Juneau, which lay south of Solomon’s claim. The Michigan
legislature, of which Martin was a member, erected Milwaukee County in
1834, and in 1835 organized the same, with the county seat at the
village of Milwaukee.
In the meanwhile during 1834 many Americans visited the site of the
future city and saw its possibilities for growth. Among these was
Byron Kilbourn who secured a claim to the west side of Milwaukee
River. Martin and Juneau, early in 1835, proposed to Kilbourn to unite
their interests. Kilbourn ignored this offer, and proceeded to develop
his town alone. Meanwhile both town sites were surveyed and their
plats put on record. Martin and Juneau began to develop their
property, by opening and grading streets. One block in the heart of
the town was set aside for the courthouse, and nearly $12,000 (a large
sum for that time) was spent in erecting a suitable building. The
ground around the new public building was given to the village in
perpetuity, for the use of the county courts.
A large number of letters from Juneau to Martin are in the possession
of the State Historical Society, and are interesting as revealing the
growth of the village, and the personality of its proprietors.
Although Martin and Juneau had transactions involving many thousands
of dollars, there never was any disagreement between them. Neither did
they have a written contract, each one relying upon the honor of the
other. And when hard times fell upon the little settlement in 1837 and
later, each partner bore his share of misfortune cheerfully and
without a word of accusation or disagreement. Even after the union of
Milwaukee village and Kilbourntown in 1838, a considerable rivalry was
maintained between the two parts of the town, which in some measure
has persisted to the present day.
LOUISE P. KELLOGG.
THE SENATORIAL ELECTION OF 1869
In 1869 Wisconsin elected a new senator to represent her in
Congress. It was conceded on every hand that James R. Doolittle, whose
term expired March 4, 1869, had misrepresented the state’s sentiment
in his support of President Johnson during the impeachment trial, and
that he had no chance of reëlection. This situation brought out a
number of candidates, most of whom were “new” men. Among the tried and
true candidates the most prominent were Cadwallader C. Washburn, then
congressman for the southwestern section of the state, and Horace
Rublee, vigorous editor of the chief Republican newspaper at Madison.
Ex-Governor Salomon was also in the field, but his candidacy was not
taken very seriously. The new men who were most prominently talked of
were Otis H. Waldo and Matt H. Carpenter, both of them Milwaukee
lawyers. Waldo was the elder of the two, a man of ability and power,
and a Republican from the foundation of the party. Carpenter was of
Democratic antecedents, a recent adherent of the reigning party. His
strength lay in his brilliant oratory, keen wit, and deep knowledge of
men. Erratic in his methods, but meteoric in his cleverness, he
persuaded and enthralled his hearers when opportunity was afforded him
for speech. Carpenter had made a national reputation by his arguments
in the Supreme Court on the Reconstruction issue. The president-elect,
General Grant, and his advisers were favorable to Carpenter’s
candidacy, which gave the Milwaukee lawyer a strong endorsement with
Wisconsin Republicans.
The senatorial campaign opened in June, and largely governed the
elections for the ensuing Wisconsin legislature. By December the
situation had become acute, and all parties were lined up for the
contest. The preferences of every legislator-elect were canvassed and
recanvassed; and each candidate presented his claims and
qualifications to the prominent members of the coming legislature in
personal letters. The State Historical Society has recently received a
gift of a few letters relating to this campaign addressed to the
Honorable Andrew Jackson Turner, of Portage, then an influential
figure in Wisconsin politics. Three of these letters, written in the
early winter of 1868-69, are from Carpenter, who bespeaks Turner’s
support at the coming legislative session. Turner, however, had given
his pledge to Horace Rublee, and had been by him chosen manager of his
campaign. December 9, 1868, Carpenter wrote to Turner from Washington:
“I recd your favor just as I was leaving home, postponing me in your
affections to Mr. Rublee. But I think this will make no difference. I
am sure the conflict will be between Mr. Washburn and myself & that he
will be elected, if I am not. You say that you shall support me next
to Rublee, and I desire to thank you for this.”
The most interesting letter of the lot is that of Rublee himself,
written November 23, 1868. In it he canvasses the entire legislative
personnel, telling of the predilections of each member and concluding:
“In my judgement Carpenter cannot be elected, & I certainly think he
ought not to be elected.”
As all the world knows, Rublee was wrong. During the legislative
session, Carpenter’s manager arranged a public meeting in which all
the candidates were to set forth their views on the questions of the
day. This meeting was contemptuously dubbed by Rublee “A
Spelling-down”; none the less, neither he nor any other of the
candidates dared refuse the invitation to speak. Carpenter’s great
powers as an orator stood him in good stead, and at the Republican
caucus held soon after the speech-making contest, he was triumphantly
nominated, and elected, in due course, by the Republican majority in
the state legislature.
The intimate picture these old letters afford of the log-rolling days
before the direct election of the senators by the people, gives them
historical value for students of political methods, and lays bare the
reasons that induced the modern revolt against “machine-made”
representatives in the upper house of Congress.
LOUISE P. KELLOGG.
“KOSHKONONG” AND “MAN EATER”
Lake Koshkonong is one of the most beautiful sheets of water in
Wisconsin. In primitive times the region adjacent to it must have
constituted a perfect paradise for the red man. Even yet,
notwithstanding its settlement by whites for nearly three generations,
this is one of the favorite resorts of Wisconsin sportsmen. The Indian
name “Koshkonong” has usually been explained as meaning “the lake we
live on.”[132] The letter which follows, recently presented to the
State Historical Society by H. L. Skavlem, of Janesville, offers both
a new rendering of the Indian name and a new interpretation of it. No
less interesting to those who care for Wisconsin’s primitive history
is the new rendition offered of the name of Man Eater, the Rock River
chief who dwelt on the shore of Lake Koshkonong a century ago. Mrs.
Kinzie, the author of _Wau Bun_, saw Man Eater or “Mee-chee-tai” on at
least two occasions. Over against the sad picture which Peter Vieau
paints should be set her description of him as “a most noble Indian in
appearance and character.”
Portage, Sept. 2, 1900.
Mr. Buckley, Attorney,
Beloit, Wis.
Dear Sir:
Having forgotten your initials I am compelled to address you as above.
Some months ago you wrote me concerning “Man Eater’s” village and why
he was called “Man Eater.” I had no knowledge of the origin of his
name, but the location of his village was easily ascertainable. Your
inquiry aroused a desire to know more of the famous old Indian and I
have made many inquiries myself, but without results, until the
thought occurred to me to address a note to the venerable Peter J.
Vieau, of Muskego, which I did through Mr. D. M. Fowler, of Milwaukee.
I copy from Mr. V.’s reply, through an amanuensis:
“I never knew a lake of that name ‘Kosh-ko-nong’ but I know
‘Kosh-kau-no-nong,’ meaning termination of a lake or river,
a dam or any obstruction making an ending, a stop, an
absolute end.
“Well, then, I never knew a chief of that _name_, but I knew
one of the name of ‘Mee-chee-tai.’ He was not a full-blooded
chief, but was considered as one among the Indian tribe. He
was half Winnebago and Pottowatomie. He was a powerful man
and a terror among the tribe. He was looked upon as a
sorcerer, and lived at that time as I recollect in the
neighborhood of Kosh-kau-no-nong. He used to do his trading
with Jacques Vieau, my father, when my father opened his
trading post in Milwaukee as early as 1795. It must be the
same man Mr. Turner refers to ‘Mee-chee-tai’; it means
‘Heart-Eater.’ Now then the above statement can be
substantiated by my sister, Mrs. May Vieau Lavigne, visiting
with me at present. She knew him well, too.
“‘Mee-chee-tai’ was killed by his son in a drunken frolic
about the time of the speculation in Milwaukee in ’35 or
’36. He killed his wife and his son ‘Shaw-gun-osh’ tried to
save his mother, and killed the old man his father, and that
ended his fearful career. He was considered a good Indian
when sober. Father used to think much of him. He was honest
in his dealings. He was a great juggler, performed great
tricks, &c.
Yours P. J. V.”
Did you ever see any reference to this Indian in any place other than
“Wau-Bun”?
Very respectfully,
A. J. TURNER.
THE ALIEN SUFFRAGE PROVISION IN THE CONSTITUTION OF WISCONSIN[133]
According to the organic law of Wisconsin Territory, enacted by
Congress in erecting the territory in 1836, only citizens of the
United States were eligible to the franchise (section V, proviso).
About the year 1840, immigrants from Germany, the British Isles, and
Norway became an appreciable factor in the population of the
territory; but the naturalization law requiring a five years’
residence disfranchised this large group of settlers. The situation
grew tense by 1843, especially since the question of statehood was
being discussed, and seemed likely to come to a head in 1844.
Moreover, the matter was complicated by the Native-American agitation
throughout the country. Many openly advocated a twenty-one year
provision for naturalization, and Wisconsin’s foreigners grew restive
under this possibility.
It seemed quite certain that the Wisconsin legislature of 1844 would
pass a law providing for a referendum on the subject of statehood. In
December, 1843, a large public meeting of German citizens was called
at Milwaukee who drew up a petition for the right to participate in
this referendum. This was signed by 1,200 persons, and was probably
the largest petition ever presented to the territorial legislature. It
became impossible to ignore the demand of the foreign settlers. The
Whig and Democratic parties were struggling for the control of the
territorial offices. Wisconsin was normally Democratic by an
overwhelming majority, but the Tyler administration had appointed a
Whig governor, and patronage went with the administration. The Whigs
were accused of alliance with nativism; it therefore became them to
prove the falsity of the charge. The Democrats felt certain of the
foreign vote. The legislature, therefore, on January 22, 1844, passed
“An Act in relation to the qualification of voters for state
government and for the election of delegates to form a state
constitution,” which provided that “all free white male inhabitants
above the age of 21 years, who have resided in said territory three
months shall be deemed qualified, and shall be permitted to vote on
said question” and for delegates to a convention to frame a
constitution.
The referendum vote which was taken in September, 1844, proved adverse
to the question of a state government. There is no means of
ascertaining how many foreigners voted upon the question, but the
entire vote was very light, and the alien voters seem not to have
influenced the decision, which was anticipated by all parties in the
territory.
About the same time the territorial legislature passed the act above
referred to, General Henry Dodge, Wisconsin’s territorial delegate in
Congress, presented to that body a petition signed by 300 citizens in
the western part of the territory praying for a repeal of the proviso
in the fifth section of the organic law of Wisconsin, and for the
passage of a law granting suffrage to every free white male inhabitant
of the age of twenty-one years within the territory, foreigners
included. This is the petition referred to by G. F. Franklin in his
_Legislative History of Naturalization_. The names of the signers of
the petition are not available. We conjecture that they were those of
the Cornish miners of that region, rather than of the American
settlers, because in after debates, the southwest section of the state
opposed the law allowing aliens to vote.
The law of 1844 was at once attacked, and was made the basis of an
attempt to defeat several prominent members of the legislature who had
voted for it. This was especially true in the northeast section where
the reëlection of Dr. Mason C. Darling, a prominent Democrat, was
opposed because of his advocacy of the alien voting law. It was
claimed that the law was unconstitutional, violating both the
Constitution of the United States and the organic law of the
territory. Dr. Darling came out with several long addresses on the
subject, basing the right of aliens to vote on the twelfth article of
the Ordinance of 1787, and on the inherent right of a sovereign state
to form its constitution as it thought best.
Dr. Darling was reëlected, but the legislature of 1845 had hardly
begun its session when a determined effort was made to repeal the law
of the previous session. In the course of the debates Dr. Darling
offered a clause on the declaration of intention as an amendment, and
another member amended the three months to six months. Both of these
changes were accepted by the friends of the bill as compromise
measures to mitigate the opposition. Dr. Darling said in his argument
that he considered the intention declaration as of no consequence,
except as an evidence of actual settlement. This compromise saved the
bill, and the amended act, approved February 8, 1845, reads: “No
person shall hereafter vote upon the subject of state government, or
for delegates to form a state constitution, who shall not have resided
six months within the Territory, and as an additional qualification
shall be a citizen of the United States, or shall have declared his
intention to become such; as the law requires.”
Thus the matter rested until the legislature of 1846 arranged again to
submit the question of a state government to the people. An attempt
was made by the Whig party to amend the law of 1845 and allow only
citizens to vote. The suffrage provision was complicated by
differences concerning negro, half-breed, and Indian suffrage. On the
test vote the law of 1845 was maintained by the strong majority of 19
to 7, nearly all the Democrats voting in its favor.
The constitutional convention met in October, 1846, and the question
of alien suffrage was much debated. Upon the ground that the acts of
1844 and 1845 were both unconstitutional, petitions poured in,
especially from the Southwest, to limit the franchise to citizens of
the United States. The foreigners also availed themselves of the right
of petition, and the able German delegates in the convention created a
favorable impression for alien suffrage. As finally adopted, the
article granted suffrage to one-year residents, and “all white persons
not citizens of the United States, who shall have declared their
intention to become such, in conformity with the laws of Congress for
the naturalization of aliens, and shall have taken before any officer
of this state * * * an oath to support the constitution of the United
States and of this state.”
The constitution of 1846 was rejected by the people. In the
discussion, then, of the provision for alien voters it played but a
small part. The friends of the constitution set forth its liberality
to foreigners and the fact that it acknowledged the equal rights
nature bestowed upon foreign and native-born citizens alike. Opponents
of the constitution set forth on the one hand the over-liberality to
the alien element, and on the other hand the requirement of an
additional oath as an illiberal burden to foreign residents.
In the constitutional convention of 1847-48 the subject of the foreign
franchise occupied a large share of the time of the delegates. The
delegates from the western counties came with a deliberate
determination to limit the franchise to citizens of the United States.
The admission of foreigners to suffrage placed the West in a permanent
minority, as the lake-board and middle sections of the territory had
the bulk of the immigrant population.
The original proposition as brought in by the committee restored the
residence requirement to six months, retained the intention of
citizenship clause, and omitted the special oath. The examples of New
York, Ohio, and Illinois were cited. One member urged that the
one-year requirement was necessary in New York to ascertain the
permanent character of the residence, while all who came to Wisconsin
came for permanent homes and six months was long enough to prove
residence. The effect of the shorter period would be to encourage
foreigners to file their intentions sooner. It was admitted that the
six-months provision was carried in committee by a very narrow
majority.
The attack on the article on alien suffrage was begun by an amendment
to limit suffrage to citizens. It was alleged that the article as
reported by the committee was unconstitutional and would cause
Congress to reject the constitution. In reply the similar provisions
in the constitutions of Ohio and Illinois were cited. The new
constitution of Illinois was cited by both parties to the controversy;
one claiming the change had occurred because of dissatisfaction with
the more liberal provision; the other that Illinois’ new constitution
had not yet been acted upon. Charges were freely made of
demagoguery--that the Democrats were toadying to the foreign vote. In
reply, the Democrats appealed to the liberality and progressiveness of
their party policies, and declared that the aliens, being taxed, were
entitled to vote. The citizen amendment was defeated by a vote of 53
to 16; and the suffrage article as originally reported by the
committee was incorporated into the constitution. With the amendments
required by the amendments to the Constitution of the United States,
the provision was part of the organic law of Wisconsin until 1912.
LOUISE P. KELLOGG.
[132] So given by Mrs. John Kinzie in _Wau Bun, The Early
Day in the Northwest_, (Caxton Club ed. Chicago, 1901) 252.
Isaac T. Smith in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, VI,
424, explains that the Winnebago name “Koshkonong” meant
“the place where we shave.” He adds, however, that the
Potawatomi name for the lake meant “the lake we live on.”
This interpretation is also given by Rev. Alfred Brunson in
_Wis. Hist. Colls._, I, 118.
[133] This résumé was prepared in response to a recent
request received by the Historical Library for information
on the subject.
EDITORIAL
INCREASE A. LAPHAM AND THE GERMAN AIR RAIDS
The reader may well be excused if at first sight he is puzzled over
our title. What possible connection can there be between the simple
Wisconsin scholar, whose life of busy service for the betterment of
humanity terminated almost half a century ago, and the baby-killing
air raids upon London and other English cities with which the soldiers
of Emperor William are accustomed to divert themselves?
Gentle reader, we propose to show you. Increase A. Lapham delved in
many fields of learning, but chiefly he was a scientist and perhaps
his greatest single achievement was his practical conquest of the
secret of foretelling the weather. Now we learn, on the authority of
the London _Illustrated News_, that the imperial German government has
utilized Lapham’s discovery to insure the success (or at least to
minimize the danger) of its air raids on London. “When the east wind
blows beware of air raids.” Thus might a modernized English edition of
_Poor Richard’s Almanac_ read. Also, “When the night is moonlight,
beware of air raids,” but frequently moonlight nights are enjoyed sans
the nocturnal visitants. The twofold explanation is that the air
raiders must have clear weather and it is desirable if not essential
that they have the wind behind them on the outward raid and in their
faces on the return journey, rather than vice versa. The Germans have
control of Europe from the North Sea far into Russia and so it is
possible for their meteorological observation posts to give warning
for something like twelve hours in advance of any change in weather
conditions coming down behind an east wind. As long, therefore, as
there is a steady wind across Europe anywhere between northeast and
southeast those in charge of the raiding squadrons in Belgium have
full warning of what the weather is going to be like. Accordingly the
fiendish flying brood can be sent forth in confident assurance that
neither its arrival at its destination nor its return to the home
station will be frustrated by stormy weather.
Increase Lapham labored for years to promote his great discovery
because he had a vision of the service it would be to mankind. One of
his most striking arguments for enlisting community action in the
promotion of his work was a calculation of the number of lives and of
vessels which annually would be saved from destruction on Lake
Michigan alone. Happily for him he did not live to witness the
spectacle of the world’s most efficient government perverting his
great achievement to the promotion of the indiscriminate slaughter of
the men and women, the mothers and babies of the world’s greatest
metropolis.
SAVE THE RELICS[134]
The original of the letter written by Horace Greeley, sometime near
the middle of the sixties, in reply to the application for advice of a
discharged soldier boy, and in which occurred the famous phrase, “Go
west, young man, and grow up with the country,” is supposed to have
been destroyed, with other valuable historic papers, in a recent fire
in Youngstown, Ohio.
It was superb advice profitably followed by thousands of young men,
sires and grandsires of millions of the finest of western citizens of
today.
But--Why was that historic document in private possession? That was
not at all fit wit for our Youngstown friend to exhibit. In the safe
custody of the Ohio Historical Society that precious letter justly
belonged, and there it would repose securely now if prudence had but
guided its owner.
Which raises the pertinent question--Have _you_ an historical souvenir
that is being endangered while you neglect to transfer it to the
Wisconsin State Historical Society? Wisconsin homes contain many
mementoes that rightly belong in the historical society’s fireproof
building.
Are _you_ playing safe? Let us not expose the lack of circumspection
shown by the Youngstown antiquarian. Besides--Ten thousand persons can
enjoy relics in the historical rooms where one does in a private home.
Therefore--Be warned!
THE NEWSPAPERS[135]
It is the glory of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin that
Draper gathered into its collections the papers of the Ohio Valley
migrations, that Thwaites added the records of the fur trade, and that
neither forgot while pursuing these remote and unique sources to
assemble day after day the current accumulations of the people among
whom they lived. As the latter collector and editor loved to say: The
history for tomorrow is preserved in the waste paper baskets of today.
The society that lays aside the policy of accumulating accessions to
devote itself to the conscious pursuit of particular treasures can
never become more useful than its curators or wiser than its
superintendent. The greatest libraries are those whose growth has been
chiefly in the routine addition, from year to year of all that has
been regarded as worth saving, and of much more whose immediate value
has been doubtful.
The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has for so many years
followed the practice of saving its daily newspapers, and adding to
them as opportunity occurs, that it now owns one of the notable
American collections. From the middle of the last century, when the
state came into being, the development of its people can be traced in
the detail which only the inquisitive county daily can follow. Its
relations to the Northwest and to the rest of the nation can be
checked in the selected files which have ever been cherished. Through
the wise foresight of its founders it owns the great sources for all
of modern history--for in our day the course of the historian is more
and more fundamentally laid among the newspapers.
It has not been altogether easy to build up this collection. A
metropolitan daily of today means twelve large volumes to be bound,
shelved, and housed each year. The cubic contents of the sources know
no limit. There is some room for fear that after they have been stored
away they may rot in their bindings before any scholar uses them.
But no society which understands the course of modern history can fail
to run the risk of dry-rot or to preserve such records as exist. For
no period before the present is there such a factual reconstruction
possible as we possess. No newspaper can lie and live--very long. The
user must correct for bias, and careless error, and malicious
misstatement, all of which occur in nearly every issue of any paper.
But no student can read a continuous series of files for twenty years
without knowing that he has before him the truth, and more of the
truth than society has known in any earlier period.
In our judgment one of the great functions of any historical society
today is to collect ephemeral literature, beginning with the
newspapers of its immediate region and extending as far as its money
and its shelves permit. No Society should be too poor for the town
dailies and one New York file. Larger societies may take in the
county, or the region, as the area for their collections, and may
increase the selected list of remote journals to be preserved. All
will be judged in the future by the intelligence and patience in this
direction which their shelves may finally reveal. None can be
permanently of greatest use with a policy such as is exposed in the
journal of a sister society:
“The State of * * * has thousands of them [newspapers] in the
Libraries of the State House. Many of them are bound, others are
unbound, tied in bundles and carefully stowed away. Their day is done;
rarely has any one in our knowledge asked to examine any of these
newspapers for any date or facts. History has culled from them such
truths as could point a moral, or hold out a danger signal to the
world of the present time, and they are closed, perhaps never more to
be consulted.”
REMOVING THE PAPACY TO CHICAGO
Possession of the faith by which mountains are removed is, we are
inclined to think, the fundamental characteristic of the American
spirit. To the American all things are possible because the true
American takes it for granted that to him nothing is impossible. The
manifestation of this spirit has its unpleasant--oftentimes its
ridiculous--side, of course; yet the possession of it has made
possible the performance here in the New World of miracles as
astonishing as any set forth in holy writ.
By popular consent the metropolis of our inland seas has long since
come to be regarded as perhaps the most striking exponent, among
cities, of the characteristic American spirit. Throughout her history
the supreme confidence of her citizens in the city’s present greatness
and future development, together with the will to transmute the
prolific visions of her leaders into present realities, has
constituted her most valuable civic asset. We have seen no better
illustration of this characteristic Chicago (and American) spirit than
the one contained in a story which William J. Onahan, a Chicago
Irishman of sixty-four years’ standing relates. Meeting Mr. Armour on
a street corner at a time when, because of political turmoil in Italy
there was talk of the Pope’s seeking an asylum outside the peninsula,
the two stopped to talk for a moment, whereupon the captain of
industry calmly proposed that the papacy be brought to Chicago. Onahan
undertook to explain something of the magnitude of the Pope’s
responsibilities, and the impossibility of the proposed removal from
the Eternal to the Windy City, with the following result:
“Mr. Armour listened patiently to my harangue on the necessities of
the Pope, and then proposed another conundrum to me: ‘How much would
it take to provide all these buildings?’
“I did not know; could not guess. Would it take ten millions--twenty
millions?
“‘Look here,’ he added, ‘you undertake this affair. You know how to
manage these things. You get the Pope to agree to come to Chicago. We
can arrange and provide everything suitable for his needs.’
“‘Why, how on earth could you do these things?’ I asked in
bewilderment.
“‘I’ll tell you my idea,’ he said. ‘We will get a big tract of land
outside Chicago, ten or twenty thousand acres. We will build necessary
offices, a palace, a great Cathedral, whatever may be necessary. Half
that land set apart and turned over to the Pope, don’t you see that we
will make enough out of the other half to pay for the whole business?’
“I was dumfounded at the audacity of the idea, the ingenuity and
method of carrying it out, and the characteristic Chicago
aim--‘there’s money in it.’ When, many years afterwards I saw the
wonderful ‘White City’--the World’s Fair--its marvelous architectural
beauty, the vastness and symmetry of its buildings, the beauty of all
the arrangements, I said to myself, Chicago could indeed, if put to
it, build a new Eternal City.”
[134] Reprinted from the editorial column of the Madison
_Democrat_, January 22, 1918.
[135] Contributed by Prof. Frederic L. Paxson.
COMMUNICATIONS
“CAMOUFLAGE” AND “EATLESS DAYS” TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
The war in Europe has revived, and brought into common use, in all
languages, the term “camouflage,” denoting any contrivance to hide or
disguise by one side to deceive and confuse the enemy. This term, if
derived from the French _camouflet_, pronounced cam-u-flay, appears in
the _International Encyclopedia_ and is defined as: “A stinking
compound in paper cases used in siege attacks to blow into the faces
of sappers and miners to confuse them.” The word must have been
buried, for I find no mention of it in any other encyclopædia. The use
of the term in a wider sense appears in _The Letters to Authors_, of
Voltaire, dated 1730, where he savagely characterizes a rival writer
of that period thus in rhyme:
Rousseau sujet au Camouflet,
Fut autrefois chasse dit-on.
Du theatre à coups de sifflet,
Du Paris à coups de baton.
Chez les Germains chacun fait comme,
Il c’est garanti du fagot.
Il a fait enfin le devot,
Ne pouvant faire l’honnette homme.
There is no set of Voltaire in English in Monroe, hence I translate
without rhyme the French copy:
“Rousseau because of _camouflet_,
Was sometimes chased they say
From the theaters with storms of hisses,
From Paris with blows of clubs.
By Germans, each one well knows,
He is guaranteed the fagot.
He could not be an honest man,
Therefore became religious.”
I find by the same author, under the title, _Misfortunes of Charles I_:
“Parliament ordered the public burning by the hangman of the
tract written by James the First wherein he states that it
is proper for people to have sport and amusements after
divine service on Sundays. The same parliament names one day
each week as a day of fasting and ordered that the value of
the food thus saved be paid to help defray the expense of
the civil war then raging.”
Yours truly,
JOHN LUCHSINGER.
Monroe, Wisconsin.
DANIEL WEBSTER’S WISCONSIN INVESTMENTS
At the time of the appearance of the communications relating to
Webster’s western investments in the first and second numbers of this
magazine I chanced to see in the _Personal Recollections_ of Robert S.
Rantoul (Cambridge, Mass., Privately Printed, 1916) a reference to the
same subject which seems worth calling to the attention of those
interested in western history.
The author of the _Recollections_ says that the early death of his
father, Robert Rantoul, was in part due to the financial disaster
which overtook him--he died at forty-seven--and proceeds to explain
the circumstances. He had known that his father spent much time in the
Middle West between 1845 and 1850 and that he had a high estimate of
the economic and political possibilities of the upper Mississippi
Valley; but it was not until long after his father’s death that he
learned something of the speculations and reverses in that region
which hastened it.
The facts were as follows: Rantoul, Rufus Choate, and Caleb Cushing
were trustees in a scheme, in which Webster, Cass, and a few others
were also concerned, to get control of the headwaters of the
Mississippi, saw the lumber, and float it down to markets in the
rapidly growing cities and towns of the Middle West. Cass had shown
that such a plan was practicable; but the associates knew, also, that
there was mineral wealth in the region of Fort Snelling. Indian
implements of that vicinity were inlaid with lead and copper. They had
ill-timed, if not over-sanguine, hopes of great gain therefrom. The
trustees managed everything and issued stock certificates in December,
1845. They had received a charter the preceding August as the St.
Croix and Lake Superior Mineral Company. Nothing but trouble followed.
After a dam had been built at St. Anthony’s Falls their land titles
were attacked and their logs were carried away by a spring flood.
Cushing, who was to have been governor of the new territory, went to
the Mexican War. Choate was too absorbed in his profession and too
indifferent to business matters to pay attention to the management of
the undertaking. The whole burden fell upon Rantoul and was too great
for him to bear. After his death in 1852 Cushing gave some attention
to the business but Rantoul’s executors would not coöperate and his
interest in the project lapsed with loss of the money and labor which
he had devoted to the enterprise.
The son also remarks on the fact that his father was one of the
incorporators of the Illinois Central Railroad, wrote its charter, and
passed it through the legislature, where--as is well known--Abraham
Lincoln was the opposing counsel.
Yours truly,
ASA CURRIER TILTON.
Madison, Wisconsin.
SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES
THE SOCIETY AND THE STATE
Twenty-one new members were added to the State Historical Society
during the quarter ending March 31, 1918, eight to the life and
thirteen to the annual membership class. In addition, two annual
members of the Society, Col. Marshall Cousins, of Eau Claire, and
Oscar G. Boisseau, of Holden, Mo., transferred to the life membership
group. The new life members are: John S. Allen, John N. Cadby,
Williard O. Hotchkiss, Edward J. B. Schubring, Halsten J. Thorkelson,
Madison; Adam A. Beck, Rev. James M. McManus, William A. Roblier, of
Coloma; John H. Tweedy, Jr., of Milwaukee. The new annual members are:
Prof. John G. Callan, Peter J. Connor, Prof. Charles A. Smith, Miss K.
Bernice Stewart, Mrs. Magnus Swensen, of Madison; W. I. Goodland, E.
W. Leach, of Racine; Azel C. Hough, of Janesville; Andrew J. Hutton,
of Waukesha; John B. MacHarg, of Appleton; Charles D. Stewart, of
Hartford; R. E. Van Matre, of Darlington; John P. DeMeritt, of White
Plains, New York.
* * * * *
Many interesting additions to the Library’s collection of non-current
newspaper files were made during the first quarter of 1918. By far the
most important is the _Illinois Intelligencer_, published at Kaskaskia
and (later) Vandalia, for the years 1817-31. This paper was the first
to be published in Illinois, its name in the beginning being the
_Illinois Herald_. Through the courtesy of the University of Illinois
Library our Society has been afforded the opportunity to make a
photostatic reproduction of the file for the fourteen years included
in the period noted. From the widow of the founder and publisher, Rev.
I. L. Hauser, has been received the file for the first five years,
1869-74, of the Milwaukee _Index_, later and better known as the
_Christian Statesman_. Other Wisconsin files acquired include the
Algoma _Record_, 1910-18, and six issues (out of a total of ten
published) of the _Bugle Blast_, Lake Mills’ first newspaper. From
Minnesota has come a complete file of the short-lived Winona _Daily
News_, published from September 14 to October 7, 1916. Other files
from without the state include: Lawrenceburg _Indiana Palladium_,
April-December, 1825; Indianapolis _Locomotive_, 1850-52; Logansport
_Journal_, April-December, 1864; Cincinnati _Brauerei Arbeiter
Zeitung_, 1910-17; Baltimore _Manufacturers Record_, 1916-18; New York
_Army and Navy Journal_, 1902-10; New York _Fatherland_, 1914-17;
Tokyo _Japan Mail_, 1915-17.
* * * * *
Through the agency of the historical committee of the Congregational
Church in Wisconsin an important collection of yearbooks, church
periodicals, pamphlets, books, and other material on Congregationalism,
which had been gathered at the business headquarters of the church in
Madison, has been turned over to the State Historical Society. Much of
the collection thus received duplicates material already owned by the
Library; it will go in due time to swell the resources of some sister
institution which lacks and needs it. The remainder constitutes a
welcome addition to our own important collection of material in the
field of Congregational church history. Thus another step is taken in
the process of making the State Historical Library the repository of
all available material pertaining to the history of the several
religious denominations of Wisconsin. For the latest acquisition
particular obligation is acknowledged to Rev. John N. Davidson, Rev.
S. T. Kidder, and Rev. Henry A. Miner, Congregational ministers, all
of Madison. Their active and intelligent interest in making the
sources of their denominational history accessible to scholars is
worthy of emulation. Who will be next to “come across” on behalf of
his own denomination?
* * * * *
Mrs. Anna Roberts Beagle, of Menomonie, has presented the Society with
three interesting family heirlooms. One is a Welsh Bible brought to
America in 1817 by her father, Richard Roberts, who in later life was
for many years a resident and justice of the peace at Menomonie.
Another is a sword carried by her father’s brother, Daniel Roberts, in
the War of 1812. The third is an English hunting knife brought from
England in 1817, which according to the tradition of the family has
been in its possession for many generations.
* * * * *
From Fred M. Griswold of Lake Mills have been received six issues of
the Lake Mills _Bugle Blast_, publication of which as a monthly was
begun in December, 1863. Mr. Griswold states that the _Bugle Blast_
was Lake Mills’ first paper, and that only ten issues were published
in all. It was a modest sheet, put out, apparently, in spare time by
the proprietor, who also played the rôles of editor and devil as well.
The annual subscription price was twenty-five cents at first, but
before long the cost of materials compelled an increase to thirty
cents. The file which Mr. Griswold has presented constitutes an
interesting addition to the Society’s collection of Wisconsin
newspapers.
* * * * *
During the month of March, a special exhibit of Dutch war cartoons,
lent for the purpose by Prof. Arnold Dresden, was made in the State
Historical Museum. They accompanied the issues of the newspaper _De
Nieuwe Amsterdamer_, and are the work of the famous Dutch cartoonists,
P. Vanderham, Willy Sluiter, and Jan Sluyters. The cartoons measure
12½ by 19 inches in size and nearly all of them are printed in colors.
They deal with such subjects as the German war horrors, war conditions
in Holland, the neutrals, and peace. The most striking of the latter
class is one in which the Angel of Peace is seen stooping over the
world, which, porcupine-like, is completely covered with protruding
bayonets. The translated inscription reads: “I do not find a spot
where I can take hold of him.”
* * * * *
The State Historical Museum, in order to complete certain of its
collections, is especially anxious to secure samples of the following
implements and utensils formerly in use in Wisconsin and other states:
A pomace knife, mead stick, hearth brush, wooden-toothed rake, corn
sheller, cheese tester, farrier’s shave, sheep yoke, goose yoke,
milking stool, wool comb, tape loom or heddle frame, rundlets, wooden
tankard, wooden dishes, stirring stick, butter molds, milk skimmer,
earthenware foot-warmer, magnifier of the kind formerly placed in
front of candles or sconces, fleam, wooden pitch pipe, and a wooden
prism.
Samples of early American china are also desired, pewter ware, a hand
lamp, miner’s lamp, tea canister, wooden sugar-box, butter bowl, mush
paddle, hickory hay fork, old hand-made keys, and old-style door
knocker. Gifts of such specimens will be greatly appreciated and will
assist the museum in its work with university students and the public
schools of the state.
* * * * *
In March, 1918, Magnus Swenson, chairman of the State Council of
Defense, appointed a War History Commission for Wisconsin, and
delegated to it the work of collecting for permanent preservation all
the material that can be obtained relating to our state’s share in the
Great War. The plan is the outgrowth of steps taken early in the war
by the National Board for Historical Service in Washington to make a
complete and monumental collection of the material pertaining to
America’s part in this great struggle.
The commission consists of M. M. Quaife, Madison, chairman; W. W.
Bartlett, Eau Claire, C. R. Fish, Madison, J. H. A. Lacher, Waukesha,
W. N. Parker, Madison, A. H. Sanford, La Crosse, and Captain H. A.
Whipple, Waterloo. John W. Oliver, Madison, was named director of the
commission. At a meeting held in the office of the Superintendent of
the State Historical Society on March 8, the commission decided to
begin at once the work that had been assigned. The State Historical
Library in Madison was selected as the headquarters for the
commission, and from there the work is being directed. Local war
history committees have been appointed in every county of the state,
charged with the specific function of collecting and preserving all
the records relating to that particular county’s activity in the war.
By coöperating with the county councils of defense, the public
libraries, the local historical societies, and the schools, it is
hoped that every record and news item possessing historical value will
be saved for the use of future workers in compiling a final history of
Wisconsin’s part in the war.
* * * * *
In line with the foregoing activity, a movement has been undertaken by
the University of Wisconsin and the State Historical Society, working
in conjunction, to develop at Madison a comprehensive war collection,
which shall adequately serve the needs of future investigators. A
special fund has been provided, deemed adequate to the purpose in
view, and Dr. Asa C. Tilton, a trained bibliographer and historian,
has been secured to serve as curator of the War Collection and direct
the work of collecting. The special drive for historical materials
thus put under way will be conducted in close coördination with the
ordinary work of the Historical Library and the library and other
departments of the University. As a result of it, there should be
developed at Madison such a comprehensive war collection for the use
of students and research workers as the New York Public Library and
one or two others are developing in the East. As far as known, nowhere
in the West, outside of Madison, is such a collection being developed.
* * * * *
The forty-sixth annual meeting of the Outagamie County Pioneers’
Association was held at Appleton the latter part of February. A
business program was held in the forenoon, a dinner at noon, and a
literary and musical program in the afternoon. Addresses were given by
Mayor Faville, Postmaster Keller, Judge Spencer, and others.
Throughout the addresses the patriotic note was dominant.
* * * * *
The forty-third annual meeting of the Reedsburg Old Settlers’
Association was held February 15, 1918, under unfavorable weather
conditions. A picnic dinner was eaten, and a miscellaneous program of
songs, addresses, and instrumental music was given. The treasurer’s
report showed a balance on hand of $191. Officers elected for the
ensuing year were John P. Stone, president; C. M. Kester, vice
president; Elsie Root, secretary; F. M. Baker, treasurer.
* * * * *
On March 26, in the Kellogg Public Library, the Green Bay Historical
Society held a scheduled meeting. On the program were papers by W. M.
Conway of the State Highway Commission on “Roads of Wisconsin and How
They Can Be Made More Interesting”; by Mrs. W. D. Cooke on “Shantytown
in 1820”; and by J. P. Schumacher on “The Site of the First Church
Built in Shantytown by Father Mazzuchelli.”
* * * * *
An attractively printed program of the Sauk County Historical Society
records a noteworthy list of activities for 1917-18, the
organization’s thirteenth year. The annual meeting occurred October 5,
1917, the principal address being given by M. M. Quaife on “The Angel
of Wisconsin.” On March 1, 1918 a second meeting was held, at which
papers or addresses were given on the following subjects: “The Coming
of the Circuit Rider in Wisconsin,” by Rev. W. R. Irish; “The First
Murder Trial in Baraboo,” by R. T. Warner, of Everett, Washington;
“The First Permanent Settler at Baraboo,” by Louise P. Kellogg;
“Pioneer Occupations,” by N. G. Abbott, of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
The program for the meeting appointed for April 5 consisted of the
following papers: “When I ‘Broke Into’ Sauk County Politics,” by John
M. True; “Wisconsin Map by I. A. Lapham,” by H. E. French; “Additional
Reminiscences of Ableman--A Sequel,” by Eva Alexander; and “Indians at
Baraboo in Pioneer Times,” by M. H. Mould.
* * * * *
A pamphlet describing Wisconsin’s participation in the exposition held
in Chicago in the summer of 1915 to commemorate the semicentennial of
the emancipation of the Negro has recently been issued. Hon. S. A.
Cook, Neenah, president, Hon. George P. Hambrecht, Madison, treasurer,
and Samuel R. Banks, Madison, secretary, formed the personnel of the
commission appointed by the Governor to represent Wisconsin. The
creditable progress made by the black man along lines of industry and
art was illustrated in convincing fashion by the exhibits. The report
of the progress made along educational lines is no less worthy of
note. A message from Governor Phillip on Wisconsin Day said:
“Certainly they have done enough to merit our heartiest praise and
coöperation and to inspire the hope that the problem which confronted
the white man when this vast population was given freedom will be
solved by the help of the leaders of the race itself.”
* * * * *
At the time of going to press tentative arrangements have been made
for a joint meeting of the State Historical Society and the Sauk
County Historical Society to be held at the site of old Fort Winnebago
near Portage on Labor Day, 1918. There will be a picnic dinner, but as
the place is in the outskirts of Portage any who prefer to eat at the
hotel may easily arrange to do so. A short historical address will be
given, followed by visits to the site of the fort and the “Agency
house,” the latter made famous by Mrs. Kinzie in her book, _Wau Bun_.
Near by, also, may be seen the place of the famous Fox-Wisconsin
portage, first crossed by white men, so far as our knowledge goes, by
Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673, and the old United States
military cemetery. Such a gathering should attract a large number of
visitors from all the surrounding communities.
* * * * *
Dr. A. Gerend, of Cato, addressed the Manitowoc County Historical
Society on the evening of March 8, on the subject, “The Indians of
Manitowoc County.” Dr. Gerend is an industrious investigator in the
local field of Indian history and archeology, and has supplied some
interesting material to the State Historical Library.
* * * * *
On February 10, 1918, the First Baptist Church of Sheboygan Falls
celebrated its eightieth anniversary. Organized February 11, 1838,
this church is ten years older than the Commonwealth itself. The
present church building was dedicated December 18, 1850, and like the
organization which it houses, is one of the oldest in Wisconsin. In
the eighty years of its existence the church has had twenty pastors,
ten clerks, and six treasurers.
* * * * *
The Catholic diocese of Green Bay was created by a breve of Pope Pius
IX, March 3, 1868. The semicentennial of its birth was celebrated
throughout the parishes of the diocese during the first week of March,
1918. Upon organization fifty years ago the diocese had 26 priests, 27
parishes and 41 missions, 12 schools, and a population of 40,000.
Today it contains 164 parishes and 75 missions with churches; 106
parish schools with over 24,000 pupils enrolled; besides 3 colleges
for men, an academy for women, 2 Indian schools, 9 hospitals, and a
population of 149,000.
* * * * *
The Mexican War ended seventy years ago, and but few active
participants in it now remain alive. One Mexican War veteran was James
Law, of Madison, who died January 30, 1918. Had he lived until
February 21, he would have been ninety years of age. Mr. Law was one
of Madison’s early stonemasons, and is said to have worked on the old
Capitol building.
* * * * *
George B. Ferry, of Milwaukee, probably Wisconsin’s most eminent
architect, died January 29, 1917. Among the notable buildings designed
by Mr. Ferry are the Milwaukee Public Library, and the splendid home
of the State Historical Society at Madison.
* * * * *
A joint meeting of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters
with the Wisconsin Archeological Society was held in the assembly room
of the State Historical Society, April 11 and 12, 1918. Of the two
dozen or more papers read, the following were devoted particularly to
Wisconsin history: “Additional Wisconsin Peace Medals,” by Charles E.
Brown; “The State Collection of War Posters,” by Ruth O. Roberts; “The
Work of the Wisconsin War History Commission,” by John W. Oliver. The
other papers were devoted chiefly to archeological and scientific
subjects.
* * * * *
The Wisconsin Archeological Society held its annual meeting in the
lecture room of the Milwaukee Public Museum on Monday evening, March
18, 1918. The meeting was well attended by members from Milwaukee and
various other points in the state. At the business meeting the
following officers were elected: Dr. Samuel A. Barrett, Milwaukee,
president; Dr. E. J. W. Notz, Milwaukee, John P. Schumacher, Green
Bay, A. T. Newman, Bloomer, Dr. F. E. Dayton, New London, and Charles
G. Schoewe, Milwaukee, vice presidents. W. H. Vogel and William A.
Phillips were elected members of the executive board, and Lee R.
Whitney, treasurer. The secretary’s annual report, read by Charles E.
Brown, shows that the society has been active in the field of
exploration and publication.
* * * * *
De Have Norton of the Fourth Wisconsin Infantry (later the Fourth
Wisconsin Cavalry) died at his home in Hingham, Wisconsin, February
20, 1918. From Mrs. Norton the Society has received about twenty-five
Civil War letters written by her late husband to his parents from 1861
to 1865. Mr. Norton served from June, 1861, until the close of the
war. He was an intelligent and entertaining correspondent and it is a
matter for regret that so few of his letters have been preserved. The
following citations from two of his letters written, the one at Camp
Utley, Racine, on the eve of departure for the front in July, 1861,
the other from Montgomery, Alabama, in May, 1865, afford a pleasing
picture of the spirit which animated our Civil War soldiers. “I shall
not see you again so good by Father & Mother. God be with you till I
see you again. I think the cause which I go to defend is worth the
sacrifice which I make, for I do make a great sacrifice. I leave home
and all I love to stake my life for my Country. I go willingly, as for
you, don’t fear for me I shall do well enough. If I never return you
will know that I died in the cause of Liberty & truth”
* * * * *
And four years later: “I am safe and sound as ever. We have had a long
and tedious march. * * * There was not a shot exchanged with the
enemy. The rebels are all at home. the towns are full of them. we mix
all together the best of friends. it looks nice to see the gray
uniform and blue uniform together. Well father after four long years
of blood and terror the war is over. You can imagine the feelings of
the soldiers on the subject.”
THE DINSDALE PAPERS
Rev. Matthew Dinsdale was born at Askrigg, Yorkshire, England, July
14, 1815, and received his education at a boy’s school in his native
valley Wensleydale. This school was on a foundation existing from the
time of Queen Elizabeth, and one of its first trustees was Ivor
Dinsdale, an ancestor of Matthew. The latter came to the United States
in 1844 on the packet _St. George_, 1200 tons, one of the finest
transatlantic steamers of its time. After a three months’ journey he
arrived at Kenosha (then Southport), Wisconsin, on the eighth of
October, and was soon among friends who had preceded him and settled
at English Prairie just across the Wisconsin line in McHenry County,
Illinois. A month later Mr. Dinsdale was received into the quarterly
conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, having brought
credentials from the Wesleyan Conference in England. The next year he
joined the Rock River Conference and was assigned to Potosi circuit in
the lead-mining district of southwestern Wisconsin. The succeeding
year Mr. Dinsdale was appointed to the Lake Winnebago circuit, then a
mission district including preaching stations among the Brothertown
Indians, at Oshkosh, and other new settlements along the lake shore.
He virtually lived in the saddle, going from cabin to cabin, and
gathering the settlers together for a Sunday service. Often he slept
by the roadside or in the woods. His health was impaired by the severe
strain of his circuit-riding days, and in 1849 he joined a group of
friends who visited the gold regions of California. After over two
years in this pioneer work, Mr. Dinsdale returned to England, and
there in April, 1853 he married Mary Anne Mann, of York. Returning to
America with his young English bride, he applied once more for
admission to the Methodist Church, and in 1858 entered the West
Wisconsin Conference. Thereafter for nineteen years he served in many
pastorates in the southwestern part of the state. In 1872 and 1873 he
was preacher in charge at Madison. Four years later he retired from
the active ministry, and spent his declining years at Linden, Iowa
County, where, on April 15, 1898, he passed away.
His only surviving daughter, Mrs. Magnus Swenson, of Madison, has
recently presented to the Historical Society many of her father’s
papers. Among them are three diaries of considerable historical value.
The first describes the voyage from England to America, the early days
in this country, the work and events of pioneer life, “hewing bees,”
house-raisings, rail-splittings, hog-killings, and the like,
interspersed with descriptions of the weather, the climate, and the
land.
The second, or California diary, is perhaps the most interesting of
the number. Leaving Linden, Wisconsin, November 3, 1849, the traveler
went via Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Albany to New York City whence he
sailed December 1 for Panama. Thereafter we have a daily account until
the landing, January 21, 1850, at the new city of San Francisco, which
he thus characterizes: “San Francisco I think will become a great
place. Its location is good convenient and pleasant and more still is
healthy.” Thence the young minister sought the mining camps, digging
during the week and preaching on Sunday. Here for example is a typical
entry: “Sunday 19 Jany 1851. A Captn (Sea) told me _how_ he came to be
in the mines. Lost his vessel and came to San Francisco to purchase
another. There he took the _fever_ and came to dig: Has made but
little, Spoke of the misery caused to familes by the gold discovery.
His case that of thousands. Leave all to mine and then make nothing.”
Mr. Dinsdale’s case was not of this character. The fifth of June,
1853, the assay of his gold at the Philadelphia mint amounted to
$4,094.13.
The third journal was written when in service as agent of the
Christian Commission in the spring of 1865 in the vicinity of
Nashville. The writer visited the camps and hospitals, distributed
papers and Bibles, read and prayed with the soldiers, and in some
cases took their dying messages.
In addition to the diaries, the papers include many letters of
historical interest. All those written home to England from the time
the young emigrant arrived at New York until he left there five years
later for California have fortunately been preserved. The writer had a
good command of language and a gift for clear and lucid expression,
and he portrays his first experiences in the New World with delightful
vigor and freshness. He relates his first days in America, the prices
of commodities and the modes and discomforts of traveling. He had an
especial fondness for natural scenery, and his descriptions even of so
hackneyed a subject as Niagara Falls, do not pall upon the reader.
More important are the accounts he gives of conditions in our
Territory during its formative years--at first in the southeast, then
in the more settled southwestern portion he pictures the life of the
frontier with truth and vigor. Most valuable of all, perhaps, is the
description he gives of the Lake Winnebago region when the rapid
ingress of new settlers was at its height, and the Indians were
retreating before the American advance. Among the experiences he
details were those of a visit to a Menominee Indian payment on the
shores of Lake Poygan, where his clear observation of conditions among
the retiring race are of peculiar value to the historian of the
tribesmen. In the letters of advice which he gave to relatives who
intended to emigrate, nothing was forgotten, and their detailed
narration presents a full picture of the difficulties and necessities
of the early immigrants from Great Britain, and the courage required
to undertake the long and oft-times dangerous voyage.
A series of later letters describes the writer’s experience in the
work of the Christian Commission during the Civil War.
Taken as a whole the Dinsdale Papers are a valuable addition to the
collections of our Society, illustrating as they so well do the
experiences of an intelligent, educated immigrant during the formative
period of territorial days. It is to be hoped that many more such
groups of papers, now preserved in private hands, will ultimately find
their way into our custody where they will be of value to the history
of this state.
THE LADD PAPERS
Dr. Otto L. Schmidt, of Chicago, a life member of the Society, has
presented an important collection of letters and documents received by
Dr. Azel Ladd while serving in 1851 and 1852 as state superintendent
of public instruction. For the most part they consist of appeals to
the state officer to interpret the school law for local communities,
and the resolving of disputes and difficulties between the teachers
and the officials. Many of the letters are requests for information
with regard to the allotments of school money, and a few have to do
with the lease or sale of school lands. A considerable number carry
the endorsement “Library returns.” These contain reports of the number
of books in the school libraries under the law requiring one-tenth of
the state allotments to be expended for books. Incidentally from these
letters much may be learned of the early educational history of our
state--the short terms of the schools, the qualifications and salaries
of the teachers, the number and conduct of the pupils. From some of
these letters may be seen the educational conditions among our foreign
immigrants. Complaints are frequent of teachers that cannot write or
speak English. One letter asks the question, later so pertinent in our
educational politics, whether the reading of the Bible constitutes a
breach of Section 3, Article 10 of the Wisconsin Constitution. Another
writer, defending the character of his daughter, a school teacher at
Moundville, sends the Superintendent a specimen of her efforts in
verse, which have been much admired. There are nearly a thousand
papers in the collection, which constitute an important guide to the
early history of education in Wisconsin. Practically all of the
letters belong to the years 1851 and 1852.
SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS
HOLAND, HJALMAR R., _History of Door County, Wisconsin. The
County Beautiful._ (Two volumes, 459, 480, $21, Chicago,
1917.)
This is a good example of the type of county subscription history
which flourishes in the Middle West. The author had at his disposal an
unusually attractive storehouse of material from which to construct
his narrative; the field was a virgin one, no history of Door County
having ever been written before; the writer is a man of university
education, a long-time resident of the county, and an enthusiast on
the subject of local history. With such conditions prevailing it is
not surprising that the work which has resulted should constitute a
good example of the type to which it belongs.
The second volume of the two is filled with the usual collection of
commercial biographies, for which the promoters of the work are
responsible rather than the author of the history. Volume one, in
which alone his name appears on the title-page, contains the history
of the county which gives title to the work. It comprises fifty
chapters and an appendix. The first nine chapters deal with the usual
preliminary topics pertaining to geography, discovery and exploration,
the Indians, and the French period. It is impracticable to classify
the remaining forty-one chapters further than to note that they cover,
along with many other subjects, sketches of the several towns of the
county, and of the more important types of social and industrial
activity of its people. Thus there are chapters on schools, banking,
political organizations, churches, highways, newspapers, and
industries. More unusual than these are those on lighthouses,
Peninsula State Park, Rock, Chambers, and Washington islands, and the
Sturgeon Bay Canal. Interspersed are several chapters (such as “A Man
of Iron: a Tale of Death’s Door,” “David Kennison,” “The Sage of
Shivering Sands”) which seem either to have no logical place in the
book or to be given a prominence disproportionate to their importance.
There is little perceptible logic about the order of arrangement of
these many chapters, and one does not gain, from a reading of the
book, any clear impression of the progressive unfolding of the
county’s history and development.
The author possesses an unusual command of the English language,
notwithstanding his birth on foreign soil, and the volume is
entertainingly written. Both the history itself, and the style of the
narrative would have been improved, however, if greater restraint had
been imposed by the author. Journalistic throughout, at its best the
style of the narrative is fascinating; at the opposite extreme it is
oftentimes exuberant as to style and of questionable taste as to
content.
* * * * *
The January, 1918, number of the _Wisconsin Archeologist_ contains a
survey of the Indian remains in Door County, made by J. P. Schumacher
of Green Bay. The survey shows that these consist chiefly of village
and camp sites and burial places, comparatively few mounds having been
found in the county. The author states that several alleged mounds
have proved upon investigation to be either grass-grown windfalls or
sand dunes. One of the most valuable parts of the bulletin is the
section devoted to place names in Door County. In preparing this, the
author was assisted by Dr. Alphonse Gerend, of Cato.
* * * * *
Two timely military articles appear in the January, 1918, number of
the _Iowa Journal of History and Politics_. Ivan L. Pollock concludes
his paper on “State Finances During the Civil War,” and Cyril B. Upham
has an especially interesting article on “Arms and Equipment for the
Iowa Troops in the Civil War.” A reprint of the early reports by
Captain W. Bowling Guion and Lieutenant John C. Fremont in 1841
concerning the Des Moines River is included in this issue.
* * * * *
The State Historical Society of Iowa has published a volume entitled
_Marches of the Dragoons in the Mississippi Valley_, by Louis Pelzer.
It describes the marches, campaigns, and military activities of the
First Regiment of the United States Dragoons between the years 1833
and 1850. The services of this military unit during the period
mentioned consisted of frontier defense work, garrison duty, marches,
exploring expeditions, and enforcement of federal laws. For those who
are interested in the army life and activities on our extensive
frontier during the second quarter of the nineteenth century, the book
has more than a local value.
* * * * *
Mr. Charles Freeman, of Menomonie, a member of the State Historical
Society, is the author of an extended article on “Early Menomonie, Its
Physical Appearance, Its Enterprises and Its Aims,” published in the
_Dunn County News_, January 10, 1918.
* * * * *
During the early winter John Hicks of Oshkosh was publishing in his
paper, the Oshkosh _Northwestern_, a narrative of his life under the
caption “Fifty Years of Oshkosh--A Retrospect.” The last installment
told interestingly of his diplomatic career in South America. At this
point death suddenly interrupted the narration; the story will forever
remain unfinished.
* * * * *
In the Phillips _Bee_ of March 7, 1918, appeared a long article by
John E. Herron entitled, “The Early Days of Phillips.”
* * * * *
Dr. Bernard J. Cigrand of Batavia, Illinois, is the author of a
lengthy series of articles in the Port Washington _Star_ under the
general title “Parental Stories of Pioneer Times.”
* * * * *
A valuable series of articles on the “Development of Farming in Sauk
County” was begun by William Toole, the “pansy king,” with the issue
for February, 1917, of the _Sauk County Farmer_. In all a dozen or
more monthly installments appeared, running from February, 1917, into
the current year.
* * * * *
John S. Roeseler, of Superior, a life member of the State Historical
Society, is the author of “Early Days in the Town of Lomira,”
currently published in a large number of installments in the Lomira
_Review_. Aside from its present interest to the community itself, the
general historian of Wisconsin cannot fail to find such a detailed
narrative as this of great value to him in his larger task of writing
the history of the state as a whole.
* * * * *
Those of our readers who are interested in the publications of our
Society dealing with the Lewis and Clark expedition will find in the
January number of the _Missouri Historical Review_ an article
describing the great system of transportation that developed in later
years along the route followed by these early explorers. The article
is by Professor H. A. Trexler, of the University of Montana, and is
entitled, “Missouri-Montana Highways.” A second article, dealing with
the travel and commerce on the Overland Trail, is promised for a later
number.
* * * * *
The January, 1918, number of the _Michigan History Magazine_ contains
a paper by Edward G. Holden on “Carl Schurz in Michigan,” the author
having been associated with Schurz on the Detroit _Post_ during the
sixties. Other articles in this issue are: “Indian Legends of Northern
Michigan,” by John C. Wright; “History of the Equal Suffrage Movement
in Michigan,” by Karolena M. Fox; “Coming of the Italians to Detroit,”
by Rev. John C. Visman; “Father Marquette at Michilimackinac,” by
Edwin O. Wood; “Congregationalism as a Factor in the Making of
Michigan,” by Rev. John P. Sanderson; “Historical Sketch of the
University of Detroit,” by Pres. William T. Doran; and “The Factional
Character of Early Michigan Politics,” by Floyd B. Streeter.
* * * * *
A worthy example of collecting and compiling history while it is in
the making is the work that is now being done by Floyd C. Shoemaker,
editor of the _Missouri Historical Review_. Two stimulating articles
have recently appeared in the _Review_, one in September, 1917, the
other in January, 1918, entitled “Missouri and the War.” The part
played by the citizens of that commonwealth, the contributions made by
the state both in men and in resources, the recognition for
distinguished services won by Missouri men in the service, are being
carefully collected up to the very latest report. Before filing these
records away in the archives for the use of students of a later
generation, the editor is utilizing them to give the readers of the
_Review_ a survey of the current activities of their state in the war.
* * * * *
The Nebraska State Historical Society began publication in February of
a monthly news sheet entitled _Nebraska History and Record of Pioneer
Days_. The editor states his aim to be to make the new publication “a
piece of popular literature--as distinguished from academic.” A
practical newspaper worker of long years’ experience, he should easily
succeed in this endeavor. Judging from the indications afforded by the
first issue, a thing really new under the sun has at last been
produced--a history journal which is similar both in typography and in
content to the ordinary newspaper. From another point of view the new
journal may be described as a somewhat glorified press bulletin,
belonging to a type with which, in humbler guise, the world has long
been familiar.
* * * * *
The second number of the _Louisiana Historical Quarterly_, bearing the
date September 14, 1917, was distributed in March. Since the first
number was issued January 8, 1917, the _Quarterly_ is hardly living up
to the promise implied in its title. This is a matter for genuine
regret, since Louisiana constitutes one of the richest fields of
historical exploitation in America, one well worthy of vigorous
cultivation at the hands of the local historical society. Aside from a
brief paper on Lafayette’s visit to New Orleans, the issue of the
_Quarterly_ now at hand is devoted to two interesting items: the first
is a valuable bibliography of the principal works published on
Louisiana and Florida from their discovery until 1855, prepared by A.
L. Boimare, and hitherto unpublished; the second, is a filial and
somewhat passionate attempt at rehabilitating the reputation of
General James Wilkinson, made by his great-grandson, of the same name.
* * * * *
The Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania has launched a new
quarterly publication entitled The _Western Pennsylvania Historical
Magazine_, volume I, number 1, appearing in January, 1918. The initial
number contains the following articles: “Rev. John Taylor, The First
Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church of Pittsburgh and His Commonplace
Book,” by Charles W. Dahlinger; “The Boatman’s Horn” (a poem), by
General William O. Butler; “The Trial of Mamachteaga, a Delaware
Indian, The First Person Convicted of Murder West of the Alleghany
Mountains, and Hanged for His Crime,” by Judge Hugh Henry
Brackenridge; “Diary of a Young Oil Speculator”; and an account of the
eleventh annual meeting of the Ohio Valley Historical Association. One
section of the magazine is devoted to notes and queries.
THE WIDER FIELD
The annual meeting of the Minnesota Historical Society was held in the
new Historical building at St. Paul, January 14, 1918. The address was
delivered by Lester B. Shippee of the University of Minnesota on the
subject, “Social and Economic Effects of the Civil War with Special
Reference to Minnesota.”
* * * * *
The annual spring meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical
Association is scheduled to be held at St. Paul this year; the formal
dedication of the Minnesota Historical Society’s building taking place
at this time.
* * * * *
On April 9, in the Jefferson Memorial Library, St. Louis, was unveiled
a bronze Roll of Fame tablet in honor of the pioneers of Missouri from
1793 to 1826. There are 112 names on the tablet, among them those of
Major Nathan Heald and Rebekah Heald, his wife. Major Heald was
commander at Fort Dearborn from 1810 until its destruction by the
savages in 1812. Most of Major Heald’s existing papers are preserved
in the Wisconsin Historical Library.
* * * * *
Mr. R. C. Ballard Thruston of Louisville has secured possession of the
manuscript report of the Illinois country made by George Rogers Clark
to Governor Mason of Virginia in 1779. The document contains
seventy-four pages 6½ by 8¼ inches, amounting to some 18,000 words.
Mr. Thruston intends that it shall eventually go either to the Filson
Club or to some other Kentucky historical organization. Although
already twice put in print, it is a source of gratification to the
historical fraternity of the Middle West to know that this interesting
manuscript is to be permanently preserved and made accessible to the
public.
* * * * *
A laudable undertaking having for its ultimate object the improvement
of our relations with Mexico has been instituted through the
generosity of Edward Doheny, of Los Angeles. He has given a fund for
the study of social and industrial conditions in Mexico, in order that
the American public may be given impartial and authoritative
information about these matters instead of having to depend, as has
been largely the case hitherto, on partisan or ill-informed reports.
Twelve students have been at work on the study since October, 1917,
having been engaged for the period of one year. The results of this
work will be published in a series of reports. Members of the State
Historical Society and Wisconsin people, generally, will be interested
to know that Chester Lloyd Jones of Madison, a life member of the
Society, is one of the scholars engaged in this important task of
constructive research. Headquarters for the work have been established
at the Bancroft Library, University of California, where Mr. Jones is
spending the year in the capacity of research associate of the
University.
* * * * *
The Illinois Catholic Historical Society has recently been organized,
with headquarters in the Ashland Block, Chicago. William J. Onahan is
president of the Society and Joseph J. Thompson editor-in-chief. From
the preliminary announcement, which comes to us just as we go to
press, the new society appears to have the backing of the more
important churchmen of Chicago and Illinois. A magazine, the _Illinois
Catholic Historical Review_, is to be issued.
* * * * *
As we go to press the program is received for a centennial meeting of
the Illinois State Historical Society at Springfield, April 17 and 18.
Addresses by Prof. Allen Johnson, of Yale, Elbert J. Benton, of
Western Reserve, C. W. Alvord, of the University of Illinois, Charles
W. Moores, of Indianapolis, Hon. Louis Aubert, member of the French
High Commission, and Pres. John H. Finley, of the University of New
York, are scheduled.
* * * * *
Francis A. Sampson, secretary of the Missouri Historical Society from
1901 to 1915 and bibliographer from 1915 on, died at Columbia,
Missouri, February 4, 1918. From 1906 until 1915 Mr. Sampson was
editor of the _Missouri Historical Review_. He was an inveterate
collector of materials pertaining to Missouri history, and was largely
responsible for the upbuilding of the society’s library of 60,000
titles.
* * * * *
The death of Father Arthur E. Jones, archivist of the Jesuit College
of St. Mary, took place at Montreal, on January 19. Father Jones was
one of the foremost authorities in America on the work of the early
Jesuit missionaries and explorers. To the unrivaled opportunities
afforded him for utilizing all the source material in the possession
of his order he united a great energy and zeal in carrying his
researches to the very scene of Jesuit labors, one of his many
activities being the location around the Georgian Bay of the mission
stations which were destroyed in the Iroquois onslaughts, so well
described by Parkman. The researches that were carried on in this
regard were fully described in the fifth annual report of the Bureau
of Archives of Ontario, published in 1909.
The archives of St. Mary’s College, Montreal, of which Father Jones
was custodian, comprise one of the most valuable collections of
material on early Canadian and mid-west material in the Dominion.
Marquette’s journal is there; so are the wonderfully minute linguistic
writings of Father Potier, five large volumes dealing with the Huron
language, now completely dead. When it is remembered that the Jesuits
have been in America three centuries and that they are noted for the
care they take of their records, some idea can be gained of the
importance of the collection in St. Mary’s College.
In his later years Father Jones had given special attention to making
his record of Jesuit service at the various missions as complete as
possible. He had also done considerable work on the Potier writings
which, but for the outbreak of the Great War, would probably have been
reproduced in photo-facsimile ere now by the Ontario Archives
Department. The project is only held up until such time as world
affairs are less disturbed.
Though a portion of his life was spent in parochial work, the chief
work of Father Jones was along educational lines. He is the author or
editor of a number of valuable publications in his chosen field of
investigation. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a
corresponding member of several of the leading historical societies of
the United States, including our own State Historical Society. He was
a fine type of that mentality which the training of his order so often
produces; a delightful friend and acquaintance and a thorough
investigator.
* * * * *
The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society of Pennsylvania
celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of its founding on April 12, 1918,
commemorating at the same time the one hundred tenth anniversary of
the burning of anthracite coal successfully in an open grate of
Wilkes-Barre. Christopher Wren was elected corresponding secretary of
the society, succeeding the late Rev. Horace E. Hayden.
* * * * *
The leading article in the March number of the _Mississippi Valley
Historical Review_ is on “President Lincoln and the Illinois Radical
Republicans,” by Arthur C. Cole. It sets forth in interesting fashion
the dissatisfaction felt by the radical wing of the Republican party
in the early part of Lincoln’s administration with his conservative
and temporizing policy. L. H. Gipson gives a clear account of the
internal dissensions and other factors responsible for “The Collapse
of the Confederacy”; Homer Hockett, formerly of Wisconsin, discusses
“The Influence of the West on the Rise and Fall of Political Parties”;
and Theodore Blegen, of Milwaukee, a member of the State Historical
Society of Wisconsin, tells of “A Plan for the Union of British North
America and the United States, 1866.” Professor Alvord, whose
resignation as managing editor of the _Review_ was announced in our
March number, has consented to continue in charge until the close of
the war.
STATEMENT
of THE WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY published quarterly at
Menasha, Wis., required by the Act of August 24, 1912.
NAME OF-- POSTOFFICE ADDRESS
Editor, Milo M. Quaife Madison, Wis.
Managing Editor, none.
Business Manager, none.
Publisher, Geo. Banta Menasha, Wis.
Owners, The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
President, Wm. K. Coffin Eau Claire, Wis.
Superintendent, M. M. Quaife Madison, Wis.
No Stockholders.
Known bondholders, mortgagers, and other security holders, holding 1
per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other
securities:
None.
M. M. Quaife, Editor.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this sixth day of April,
1918.
[SEAL] Iva A. Welsh,
Notary Public.
(My commission expires Jan. 11, 1920.)
INDEX
Aarhus, Rev. Rasmus Jensen, death, 152.
Adams, Alexander B., Civil War recruit, 53.
Adams, Charles, Francis, efforts of, to detain commerce destroyers,
29.
“Air Raids, Increase A. Lapham and the German,” editorial, 426-27.
Alban, James, discovers Devil’s Lake, 319.
Alexandria, occupation of, by Colonel Ellsworth, 369-72.
“Alien Suffrage Provision in the Constitution of Wisconsin, The,”
by Louise P. Kellogg, 422-25.
territorial suffrage law of 1844, 422-23.
suffrage law of 1845, 423-24.
petition in Congress, 423.
provisions of constitution of 1846, 424.
of convention of 1847, 425.
Allen, Gideon W., sketch, 46;
student at University of Wisconsin, 52.
Allen, George, letter, 93.
Allouez, Father Claude, among the Kickapoo, 199-200.
America, pre-Columbian voyagers to, 151-52.
_American Journal of Science_, contributions of I. A. Lapham to, 5.
Amsterdam (Wis.), founded, 261.
Anderson, Mrs. F. H., letter, 92.
Anderson, Rasmus B., (ed.), Ole Nattestad’s “Description of a Journey
to North America,” 149-86.
Anderson, Robert, lineage, 153.
Apostle Islands, naming of, 96-98.
“Appreciation and A Suggestion, An,” editorial, 190-91.
Argentina, frontier problem in, 127-28.
Armour, Philip, anecdote concerning, 430-31.
Army, social welfare measures for, 314;
Zouave system of tactics introduced into, 360.
Atwood, David, sketch, 46.
Wisconsin assemblyman, 54.
Australia, frontier problem in, 132-33.
Ayer, Edward Everett, sketch, 147.
Ayer, Elbridge G., sketch, 146-47.
Bailey, Amos, helps plat Fontana, 145.
Baker, J. Stannard, student at University of Wisconsin, 52.
Ball, Farlin Q., sketch, 46.
Bank notes, depreciation of Wisconsin, in 1861, 42, 44;
specie payment of, in 1837, 176-77, 267.
“Bankers’ Aid in 1861-62,” by Louise P. Kellogg, 25-34.
Union DefenseCommittee, 25-26.
situation ofnorthern banks, 26.
popular contributions, 27.
loans, 27-33.
bankers’association founded, 31-32.
agencies, 33-34.
Banks, New York City, suspension of specie payment by, in 1861, 33.
of North, situation of, 1861-62, 26.
“Baraboo, The First Settler of,” 319-21.
Barber, Dr. L. J., Milwaukee pioneer, 270.
Barker, Archibald, attempts to settle at Baraboo, 319.
Barnes, Captain Francis, characterized, 327.
names Winnequah, 196.
sketch, 197.
Beach, L. C., buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
Beaulieu, T. H., letter, 88.
Beaver Creek, settlement of, 158-59.
Beecher, Jerome, Chicago pioneer, 270.
Belmont, Wisconsin capitol at, 78-79.
“Beloit and Southern Wisconsin, Pioneer Recollections of,” by Lucius
G. Fisher, 266-86.
Belvedere, formerly Squaw Prairie, 275.
Bennett, Alden I., state senator, 54.
Bering Strait, discovery of, 152.
Bering, Vitus, sketch, 52.
Bicknell, Charles, buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
Bicknell, George W., buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
Bicknell, Otis, buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
Bicknell, O. P., buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
Big Foot, sketch, 145-46.
“Big Foot Lake (Lake Geneva), Wisconsin, Early Recollections of,”
142-48.
Big Foot Prairie, naming of, 146.
Black, Oscar F., student at University of Wisconsin, 49.
Blanc, Pawnee, killing of, 321.
Blodgett, Caleb, sketch, 273.
Books, first, made in Wisconsin, 9.
Boston, bank situation in, 1861-62, 26.
“Boston Massacre, The Paul Revere Print of,” by Louise P. Kellogg,
377-87.
Boundary, “Disputed Michigan-Wisconsin, The,” 304-307.
disputed Minnesota-Wisconsin, 304.
Boyd, Col. George, enlists Menominee Indians in Black Hawk War,
98-99.
Bracklin, John L., “A Forest Fire in Northern Wisconsin,” 16-24.
Bradford, Simeon S., sketch, 37.
Brandenburg, Frederick, letter, 196.
“Bravery Then and Now,” editorial, 316-17.
Brewster, William, interest of, in Chicago Treaty of 1833, 291.
Brisbane, Rev. W. H., preaches, 47.
sketch, 38.
Britton, Rev. James B., sketch, 38.
Brooks, Edward, interest of, in Chicago Treaty of 1833, 291.
Brown, William H., Chicago pioneer, 269.
Brunette, Dominique, Fox River Valley miller, 89.
Bull, James M., sketch, 45.
Bull Run, financial effect of battle of, 31.
Bundy, David J., buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
Bundy, Harvey, Beloit pioneer, 283.
Butler, James D., sketch, 41.
Caldwell, Billy, charges against, 290.
sketch, 297.
Calkins, Elias A., sketch, 58.
Camouflage, derivation of, 432.
“And ‘Eatless Days’ Two Hundred Years Ago,” by John Luchsinger,
432-33.
Camp Randall (Madison), first regiment leaves, 63.
Campbell, Cary M., Civil War recruit, 47.
Canada, frontier problem in, 134-36.
“Cannon Fodder,” editorial, 192.
Capitol, preservation of first Wisconsin, 78-79.
“Career of Colonel G. W. Manypenny, The,” 324-25.
Caribbean republics, frontier problem in, 129.
Carpenter, Stephen D., inventions, 61.
Carr, Ezra S., sketch, 45.
Cass, Governor Lewis, interested in St. Croix and Lake Superior
Mineral Company, 433-34.
Casualties, relative warfare, 315-16.
Cedar Grove, founding and naming of, 258.
growth of, 264.
Chase, John Jay, letter, 72.
Chase’s Point, naming of, 270.
Cheney, Israel, buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
Chicago, Daniel Webster visits, 269.
L. G. Fisher’s recollections of, 269.
“Removing the Papacy to,” editorial, 430-31.
“Treaty of 1833, The,” edited by Milo M. Quaife, 287-303.
circumstances attending, 287-88.
G. B. Porter, charges preferred against, 288-91.
charges denied, 291-303.
John Kinzie, memoir of, 300-302.
Robert A. Forsyth, memoir of, 302-303.
residence of Elmer E. Ellsworth, 359-67.
Chicago _Democrat_, history of, 269.
Chicago _Tribune_, _Democrat_ merged with, 269.
“Chippewa River during the French and British Régimes, The,” 322-24.
Chippewa Valley, history of, 322-24.
proposed names for towns in, 195-96.
Choate, Rufus, trustee, St. Croix and Lake Superior Mineral Company,
433-34.
Church, William W., sketch, 47.
Churches, oldest in Wisconsin, 87-88.
Cisco, John J., financial activities of, in 1861-62, 28, 31.
Civil War, Bankers’ Aid in, by Louise P. Kellogg, 25-34.
“Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, First Hero of the,” by Charles A.
Ingraham, 349-74.
copperheads in Wisconsin during, 84.
condition of hospitals in, 234-40.
depreciation of currency in Wisconsin during, 42, 85-86.
losses of Second Wisconsin Infantry in, 63.
political ideals in Wisconsin during, 85.
Sheboygan Dutch settlers in, 260-61.
Clark, Dr. Henry, helps plat Fontana, 145.
Clawson, Phineas J., sketch, 46.
Clinton, Ole Nattestad, pioneer of, 164.
Cobb, S. B., Chicago pioneer, 270.
Cone, J. H., E. E. Ellsworth studies law with, 360.
Colby, Stoddart B., lawyer, 267.
Cole, H. E., letter, 319.
Colley, S. G., buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
“Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth: First Hero of the Civil War,” by Charles
A. Ingraham, 349-74.
characterized, 351, 363-64.
birthplace, 351.
parentage and youth, 352-59.
moves to Mechanicsville, 353-55.
experiences in the West, 356-58.
in New York, 358.
removal to Chicago, 359-67.
studies law, 359-60, 368.
military activities, 360-67; at Rockford, 361.
at Madison, 361-62; engagement, 361, 369-70.
diary, 362-64.
commandant of United States Zouave Cadets, 363-65.
tour of, 366-67; larger military projects, 368.
reorganizes Eleventh New York Infantry, 369.
occupation of Alexandria, 369-72.
death, 372.
“Colonel Ellsworth’s Madison Career,” 89-92.
Communications, 202-205, 327-29, 432-34.
“Community Changes Its Name, A,” 95.
Conover, Obadiah M., sketch, 41.
Coquillard, Alexis, interest of in Chicago Treaty of 1833, 291.
“Consolation for the Present Crisis,” editorial, 83-86.
“Constitution of Wisconsin, The Alien Suffrage Provision in the,” by
Louise P. Kellogg, 422-25.
Cooke, Jay, financial work for government, 28, 33-34.
Copperheads, in Wisconsin, 84, 202-203.
Coues, L. L., sketch, 60.
Cox, Charles B., state senator, 54.
Crane, R. P., Beloit pioneer, 274-75.
Curtis, Joseph W., Civil War recruit, 45.
student at University of Wisconsin, 38.
Cushing, Caleb, trustee, St. Croix and Lake Superior Mineral Company,
433-34.
Daan, Peter, portrait, facing 256.
career, 260-61.
Dairying, among Sheboygan Dutch, 265.
“Daniel Webster’s Wisconsin Investments,” 193-95, 433-34.
Darling, Mason C., Wisconsin legislator, 423-24.
Davis, Prof. J. B., investigates Michigan-Wisconsin boundary survey,
307.
Decorah, Angel, descendant of “Glory of the Morning,” 93.
Decorah, Sabrevoir, sketch, 93.
Denin, Kate, actress, 48.
Denin, Susan, actress, 48.
“Description of a Journey to North America,” by Ole Knudsen Nattestad,
edited by Rasmus B. Anderson, 149-86.
historical introduction, 149-67.
Nattestad’s Journal, 167-86.
embarkation from Gothenborg, 167-72.
arrival in America, 173-74.
at New York, 174-77.
Journey to Chicago, 177-82.
settlement at Beaver Creek, 183.
general impressions of America, 184-86.
Devereux, Arthur F., relations of, with Colonel Ellsworth, 359.
De Villiers, Dr. Charles A., influenced military career of Colonel
Ellsworth, 360-61.
Devil’s Lake, discovered, 319.
Dewey, Governor Nelson, park named for, 78-80.
“Diary of Harvey Reid: Kept at Madison in the Spring of 1861,” 35-63.
sketch of the author, 35-37.
university diary, 37-63.
Dinsdale, Rev. Matthew, sketch, 442-43.
papers, 443-44.
“Disputed Michigan-Wisconsin Boundary, The,” 304-307.
Documents: “Chicago Treaty of 1833, The,” edited by Milo M. Quaife,
287-303.
“Diary of Harvey Reid: Kept at Madison in the Spring of 1861, The,”
edited by Milo M. Quaife, 35-63.
“Some Letters of Paul O. Husting Concerning the Present Crisis,”
388-416.
Wisconsin Public, issued, 210-21, 337-40.
Doolittle, John, buys land in Beloit, 275.
_Door County, Wisconsin, History of_, by Hjalmar R. Holand, reviewed,
445-46.
Doudna, E. G., letter, 197.
Douglas, Stephen A., death, 58.
Douglass, Christopher, sketch, 143.
Lake Geneva pioneer, 145.
Douglass, C. L., sketch, 144.
Drew, Mrs. James, drawing of Lake Geneva by, 142, 147.
_Drummer, or New York Clerks and Country Merchants, The. A Local Play,
in two acts._ Edited by Mrs. Partington, 307-308.
“Dutch Settlements of Sheboygan County, The,” by Sipko F. Rederus,
256-65.
emigration from Netherlands, 1840-50, 256-60.
religious difficulties among Dutch, 257.
Sheboygan Dutch in Civil War, 260-61.
Peter Daan, career of, 260-61.
general prosperity of settlements, 261-64.
“Early Recollections of Lake Geneva (Big Foot Lake), Wisconsin,” by
George Manierre, 142-48.
pioneers, 142, 143-45.
wild life, 144.
Fontana platted, 145.
Walworth founded, 145.
Potawatomi neighbors, 145-46.
transportation facilities, 146.
E. G. Ayer, hotel of, 146-47.
Reid house, sketch of, 147.
Lake Geneva, physical properties of, 148.
“‘Eatless Days,’ ‘Camouflage,’ and, Two Hundred Years Ago,” by John
Luchsinger, 432-33.
_Economic History of Wisconsin During the Civil War Decade_, by
Frederick Merk, reviewed, 221-23.
Editorial, 75-86; 187-92; 309-18; 426-31.
Education, interests of Sheboygan Dutch in, 265.
papers on early Wisconsin, 440-41.
“Election, The Senatorial, of 1869,” 418-20.
candidates, 418-19.
campaign, 419.
the ‘spelling-down,’ 420.
Eleventh New York Volunteer Infantry, organized, 369.
experiences of, at Alexandria, 369-71.
Ellsworth, Colonel Elmer E., “First Hero of the Civil War,” by
Charles A. Ingraham, 349-74.
birthplace, facing 352.
diary of, 91-92; 362-64.
drawing made by, facing 358.
facsimile of letter to Miss Carrie Spafford, facing 370.
portraits, facing 347 and 364.
Madison career of, 89-92.
Emery, Harvey W., sketch, 53.
England, Senator Husting on war policy of, 390.
Erik the Red, explorations of, 150.
Erikson, Leif, New World discovered by, 150.
Erikson, Thorvald, first white man buried in America, 151.
Europe, frontier problems of, 137-38.
Ewing, George W., interest of, in Chicago Treaty of 1833, 291.
Exploration, of eastern Wisconsin, 94.
Fairchild, Jairus C., sketch, 58.
Fallows, William, student at University of Wisconsin, 61.
“Fatherland, Where Is the German?” tr. by Dr. Charles P. Giessing,
375-76.
Fersen, Colonel Axel, sketch, 154.
Field, Alfred, buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
“Fire, A Forest, in Northern Wisconsin,” by John L. Bracklin, 16-24.
“Fires, Forest, Generally and in Particular,” editorial, 82-83.
First, books made in Wisconsin, 9.
“Edition of the Zenger Trial, The,” by John T. Lee, 69-72.
“Exploration of Eastern Wisconsin,” 94-95.
“Mills in the Fox River Valley, The,” 88-89.
poets of Wisconsin, 64.
white child born in America, 151.
white man to found settlement in, 151.
white woman to settle in, 151.
Fish, Carl Russell, “The Frontier a World Problem,” 121-41.
Merk’s _Economic History of Wisconsin During the Civil War
Decade_, reviewed by, 221-23.
portrait, facing 119.
Fisher, Amanda, Beloit pioneer, 280.
Fisher, Emeline, Beloit pioneer, 281.
Fisher, Jane, Beloit pioneer, 280.
Fisher, Lucius G., “Pioneer Recollections of Beloit and Southern
Wisconsin,” 266-86.
sketch, 266, 282-86.
speculation of, in Beloit land, 275.
voyage of, from Buffalo to Chicago, 267-69.
Fisher, Rosetta, Beloit pioneer, 281.
Flag, “A History of Our State,” 327-29.
Wisconsin state, 76-77.
statute for, 328.
“Forest Fire in Northern Wisconsin, A” by John L. Bracklin, 16-24.
“Forest Fires, Generally and in Particular,” editorial, 82-83.
Forests, I. A. Lapham’s work on conservation of, 6-7.
Forsyth (Forsythe), James, Merchant and tavern keeper, 295.
Forsyth, Jane, indemnity claim, 289.
Forsyth, Major Robert A., birth, 297-98.
claims, 289.
death, 289.
Governor Porter disputes charges against, 298-99.
memoir of, 302-303.
Forsyth (Forsythe), Robert A., sketch, 295.
Fort Atkinson, founding of, 272.
Fort Perrot, state acquires site of, 81.
Foster, Alvin, Ft. Atkinson pioneer, 272.
Foster, Dwight, Ft. Atkinson pioneer, 272.
Foster, Edwin, Ft. Atkinson pioneer, 272.
Foster, Henry B., Civil War recruit, 53.
Fox River Valley, first mills in, 88-89.
Franks, Jacob, builds mills, 88.
Free Separate Reformed Church, establishment of, 257.
Frisby, Leander F., sketch, 56.
“Frontier a World Problem, The,” by Carl Russell Fish, 121-41.
fundamental resemblance of historical movements, 123-24.
effect of outside capital and labor, 124.
unique features in United States, 125-27.
part played by corporations, 126-27.
Argentina, 127-28.
Caribbean republics, 129-30.
Mexico, 130.
Siberia, 130-31.
Australia and New Zealand, 132-33.
Rhodesia, 133-34.
Canada, 134-36.
Manchuria, 136-37.
European activities since 1800, 137-38.
significance of problem of frontier, 138-39.
frontier activities a factor in world organization, 140-41.
Frost, Lewis, sketch, 45.
Fuller, William, student at University of Wisconsin, 40.
Gaylord, E. S., letter, 324.
Gerend, Alfonse, letters, 94, 199.
Germans in Wisconsin, in 1847, attitude of, 375-76.
Germany, fosters discord among allies, 396-97.
Senator Husting on war policy of, 390-91.
utilizes meteorological discovery of I. A. Lapham, 426-27.
Gibbsville, founded, 261.
Giessing, Dr. Charles P. (tr.) “Where Is the German Fatherland?”
375-76.
Gill, Charles R., sketch, 54.
Gilman, Winfield, letter, 327-29.
Ginty, Henry B., Civil War recruit, 53.
“‘Glory of the Morning,’ The story of,” 92-93.
Godfrey, Mrs. Charles H., sister of Miss Carrie Spafford, 361.
Godfroy, Peter, interest of, in Chicago Treaty of 1833, 291.
Goldsworthy, John E., student at University of Wisconsin, 37.
Goodhue, George, Watertown settler, 279.
Gore Resolution, Senator Husting’s attitude toward, 401-402.
Governor’s Guard, Madison organization of, 90.
Colonel Ellsworth drills, 361-62.
Graham, Thomas, Civil War recruit, 53, 60.
Gregory, Jared C., sketch, 58.
Green, George G., student at University of Wisconsin, 39, 49.
Green, Rev. William L., Presbyterian clergyman, 49.
Greenland, discovery and settlement of, 150.
subjection of, to Norway, 150.
Grignon, Augustin, mill of, 89.
Grignon, Pierre A., mill of, 88.
Griswold, Milton S., sketch, 61.
Hale, H. E., letter, 96.
Hale, Thomas J., student at University of Wisconsin, 52.
Hall, Shadrach Azariah, sketch, 49.
Hamilton, Richard J., sketch, 295.
Harvey, Cordelia A. P., “A Wisconsin Woman’s Picture of President
Lincoln,” 233-55.
portrait, facing 230.
Harvey Hospital named, 254.
Harvey, Louis P., sketch, 58.
Hartley, Al J., letter, 322.
Hatch, Leonard, buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
Hay, John, relations of, with Colonel Ellsworth, 92, 351.
Hazelton, George W., state senator, 54.
Heald, Captain, experiences of, in Chicago Massacre, 300-301.
Heathcock, J., student at University of Wisconsin, 49.
Heg, Colonel Hans, suggestion for memorial to, 191.
Herjulfson, Bjarne, first white man to see America, 151.
Hicks, Franklin Z., sketch, 56.
High, James L., sketch, 45.
High schools, I. A. Lapham, father of Milwaukee, 10.
“Historical Publications, The Printing of,” editorial, 310-11.
_History of Door County, Wisconsin_, by Hjalmar R. Holand, reviewed,
445-46.
“of Our State Flag, A,” 327-29.
local, mission of, 123.
“Repeats Itself,” editorial, 187.
Hobart, Horace, buys land in Beloit, 74-75.
Holand, Hjalmar R., _History of Door County, Wisconsin_, reviewed,
445-46.
letter, 87.
Holt, C. Frank, student at the University of Wisconsin, 49.
Hopokoékaw, “Glory of the Morning,” Winnebago chieftess, 93.
Hospitals, sanitation of, in Civil War, 234-40.
“How the Apostle Islands Were Named,” 96-98.
Howe, Asahel B., buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
Hubbard, Gurdon S., sketch, 269.
Hudson Bay, exploration of, 152.
“Humanitarianism, The Development of,” editorial, 313.
Hunt, Alice, indemnity claim of, 289.
Husting, Paul O., “Some Letters of, Concerning the Present Crisis,”
388-416.
Hutchinson, Buell E., sketch, 54.
Iceboat project of Norman Wiard, 72-74.
Iceland, discovery of, 150.
Illustrations: Increase A. Lapham, facing 1.
Map--A Forest Fire in Northern Wisconsin, facing 22.
Harvey Reid, facing 35.
The First Wisconsin Capitol at Belmont, facing 78.
Carl Russell Fish, facing 119.
House of William Reid at the Head of Lake Geneva, facing 142.
Title-page of Ole Nattestad’s “Journey to North America,” facing
167.
Cordelia A. P. Harvey, facing 231.
Peter Daan, facing 256.
Lucius George Fisher, facing 276.
Mary Elizabeth Mears, facing 334.
Colonel Ellsworth, facing 347.
Carrie Spafford, facing 347.
Birthplace of Elmer E. Ellsworth, facing 352.
Drawing made by Colonel Ellsworth, facing 358.
Colonel Ellsworth, facing 364.
Francis E. Brownell, facing 364.
Colonel Ellsworth’s Last Letter, facing 370.
Paul Revere Print of the Boston Massacre, facing 382.
“Increase A. Lapham and the German Air Raids,” editorial, 426-27.
Indians, Brothertown, 88-89.
Iowa tribes, 200-201.
Menominee, mills for, 88-89.
services of Menominee in Black Hawk War, 98-100.
Odanah reservation of, 93-94.
Stockbridge, mills for, 89.
Ingraham, Charles A., “Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth: First Hero of the
Civil War,” 349-74.
letters, 89-92.
Inman, John, Janesville pioneer, 273.
“Introducing Ourselves,” editorial, 75.
Iowa, Dutch settle in, 257-58.
“Indian Tribes of, The,” 200-201.
“Is War Becoming More Horrible?” editorial, 311-12.
Islands, Apostle, naming of, 96-98.
Jackson, Daniel, fur company agent, 294, 299.
Jackson, James W., slays Ellsworth, 372.
Jackson régime, frontier problem under, 125-26.
Janes, Henry, founder of Janesville, 273.
Janesville, settlement of, 273.
Jefferson Prairie, Norwegian settlement of, 160, 165-66.
Jerrard, Mrs. Frank H., letter, 325.
Johnson, David H., sketch, 38.
Johnson, Richard M., trustee, Choctaw Academy, 299.
Johnson, Thomas, sketch, 153-54.
Johnson, Timothy, sketch, 277.
Joiner, Lemuel W., sketch, 54.
“‘Jolliet,’ Memorandum on the Spelling of,” 67-69.
Jones, George Wallace, business transactions of, with Daniel
Webster, 193-94.
Juneau, Solomon, Indian trader, 270.
Milwaukee pioneer, 417.
relations of Morgan L. Martin with, 417-18.
Karlsefne, Gudrid, first white woman to settle in America, 151.
Karlsefne, Snorre, first white child born in America, 151.
Karlsefne, Thorfin, first white man to found settlement in America,
151.
Kearney, Gen. Philip, Beloit land investments of, 281.
Kenosha, stay of Elmer E. Ellsworth at, 356-57.
Kercheval, Marcia, indemnity claim of, 289.
Kellogg, Louise P., “Alien Suffrage Provision in the Constitution of
Wisconsin, The,” 422-25.
“Bankers’ Aid in 1861-62,” 25-34.
“Beginnings of Milwaukee, The,” 417-18.
“Disputed Michigan-Wisconsin Boundary, The,” 304-307.
“Memorandum on the Spelling of ‘Jolliet,’” 67.
“Paul Revere Print of the Boston Massacre, The,” 377-87.
“Senatorial Election of 1869, The,” 418-20.
Kellogg’s Corners, old church at, 87.
Kickapoo Indians, Father Allouez among, 199-200.
Kilbourn, Byron, Milwaukee pioneer, 417.
Kilbourntown, unites with Milwaukee, 417.
Kinzie, James, claim, 289.
Kinzie, John, Colonel Croghan’s relations with, 301.
experiences of, in Chicago massacre, 301.
Governor Porter’s defense of, 297.
memoir of, 300-302.
relations of General Proctor with, 301.
sketch, 289.
Kinzie, John H., indemnity claim, 289.
visited Potawatomi, 145.
Kinzie, Mrs. John H., acquainted with Man Eater, 420-21.
visited Potawatomi, 145.
Kinzie, Robert A., indemnity claims of, 289.
Knapp, Gilbert, founder of Racine, 38.
“‘Koshkonong’ and ‘Man Eater,’” 420-21.
Ladd, Dr. Azel, papers, 440-41.
_Lady Elgin_, sinking of, 38.
“Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (Big Foot Lake), Early Recollections of,”
142-48.
Lake Koshkonong, naming of, 420-21.
“Lake Superior, The Discovery of,” 197-99.
Lake Vieux Desert, boundary line, 305.
Lammers, J., donor of church building, 263.
Lapham, Increase Allen, “and the German Air Raids,” editorial, 426-27.
“First Scholar of Wisconsin,” by Milo M. Quaife, 3-15.
parentage and youth, 4-6.
early scientific work, 5-6.
removal to Milwaukee, 7-8.
_Catalogue of Plants and Shells_, 9.
_Gazeteer of Wisconsin_, 9.
educational activities, 10-11.
_Antiquities of Wisconsin_, 11.
meteorological work, 12-14.
geological survey, 14-15.
attitude of public toward, 13-15.
portrait, facing 1.
Lapham, Seneca, father of Increase A., 4-6.
Larrabee, Charles Hathaway, sketch, 55.
Larsen, Lars, immigration under, 155-56.
Latsch, John A., donor of park, 80-82.
Lawe, John, sawmills of, 88.
Leahy, Michael, sketch, 46.
Lee, John T., “The First Edition of the Zenger Trial, 1736,” 69-72.
“Legislature, The Society and the,” editorial, 77-78.
“Letters, of Paul O. Husting Concerning the Present Crisis, Some,”
388-416.
Lincoln, Abraham, “A Wisconsin Woman’s Picture of,” 233-55.
opposition to, in Wisconsin, 84.
relations of, with Elmer E. Ellsworth, 351, 368, 372-73.
Lincoln, George B., death, 50.
Loans, of banks, in 1861-62, 27-34.
Loranger, Joseph, Governor Porter defends, 299.
sketch, 299.
Luchsinger, John, “‘Camouflage’ and ‘Eatless Days’ Two Hundred Years
Ago,” 432-33.
_Lusitania_, Senator Husting on sinking of, 391.
Lyon, Lucius, interest of, in Chicago Treaty of 1833, 291.
Madeline Island, Old Mission on, 87.
treaties signed at, 326.
Madison, “The Diary of Harvey Reid Kept at, in the Spring of 1861,”
35-63.
stay of Elmer E. Ellsworth at, 361-62.
Malta, N. Y., birthplace of Elmer E. Ellsworth, 351-54.
Manchuria, frontier problem in, 136-37.
“‘Man Eater,’ ‘Koshkonong and,’” 420-21.
Manierre, George, “Early Recollections of Lake Geneva (Big Foot Lake),
Wisconsin,” 142-48.
Map, forest fire, in Northern Wisconsin, 23.
Marsh, George S., Civil War recruit, 47.
Martin, Morgan L., Daniel Webster’s relations with, 194-95.
founds Milwaukee, 417-18.
Solomon Juneau’s relations with, 417-18.
Martine, Isaac, Civil War recruit, 53.
Mason, E. C., letter, 202-203.
Mason, S. T., interest of in Chicago Treaty of 1833, 291.
Maxon, Densmore W., sketch, 54.
_Mayflower_, burning of, 258.
McKenna, Daniel, letter, 200.
McMynn, John G., sketch, 62.
Mears, Elizabeth Farnsworth, poet, 64.
bas relief of, facing 334.
Mechanicsville, N. Y., residence of Elmer E. Ellsworth, 354-55, 358.
Mee-chee-tai, sketch, 420-21.
Mendota asylum, visited, 40.
Menominee Indians, mills for, 89.
services of, in Black Hawk War, 99.
“Memorandum on the Spelling of ‘Jolliet,’” by Louise P. Kellogg,
67-69.
Merk, Frederick, _Economic History of Wisconsin During the Civil War
Decade_, reviewed, 221-23.
Mexico, frontier problem in, 124, 129-30.
Michigan, Dutch settlements in, 257.
--Wisconsin boundary dispute, 304-307.
Miller, Edw. G., Civil War recruit, 45.
Mills, first in Fox River Valley, 88-89.
Mills, Genevieve, appreciation of bequest of, 190-91.
Milwaukee, “The Beginnings of,” 417-18.
first land sale in, 281.
founded by Morgan L. Martin, 417-18.
I. A. Lapham, father of high schools of, 10.
L. G. Fisher’s recollections of, 270.
unites with Kilbourntown, 417.
Milwaukee County, erected and organized, 417.
Milwaukee-Downer College, founding of, 10.
Milwaukee Female Seminary, founding of, 10.
Minnesota-Wisconsin boundary dispute, 304.
Mitchell, Alexander, banking measures of, 1861-62, 30.
Mohr, Matthias, helps plat Fontana, 145.
pioneer of Lake Geneva, 145.
sketch, 143.
Monroe Doctrine, influence of, upon frontier problem, 129-30.
Montreal River, “main branch” controversy, 305-306.
“More Light on the Originator of ‘Winnequah,’” 327.
Morgan, J. Pierpont, financial aid of, in Civil War, 28-29.
Moore, Tyler H., buys land in Beloit, 275.
Morris, Charles M., letter, 327.
Morris, Seymour, letter, 95.
Morris, W. A. P., letter, 193.
Morton, John, lineage of, 153.
Mountain, Trempealeau, state acquires, 80, 81.
Muir, John, inventions of, 39.
Munitions, Senator Husting on embargo on, 393-95, 401-402.
Muskegon, stay of Elmer E. Ellsworth at, 357-58.
Munk, Jens, sketch, 152.
“Names Proposed for a New Town,” 195-96.
Nattestad, Ansten, sketch, 160.
visit of, to Norway, 160, 164-65.
Nattestad, Lena Hiser, death, 165.
Nattestad, Ole Knudsen, children of, 165-67.
“Description of a Journey to North America,” 167-86.
newspaper account of immigration of, 161-65.
sketch, 159-60, 165.
Netherlands, emigration from, 1840-50, 256-60.
New Albany, changed to Beloit, 272.
naming of, 274.
New England Emigrating Company, activities of, in Beloit, 273.
“Nelson Dewey Park and the First Wisconsin Capitol,” editorial, 78-80.
New York City, bank situation in, 1861-62, 26.
bankers of, aid government, 31.
New York, early Scandinavians in, 152.
stay of Elmer E. Ellsworth at, 358-59.
New Zealand, frontier problem in, 132-33.
“Newspapers, The,” editorial, 428-30.
Norcross, Pliny, sketch, 39.
_Nordamerika Wisconsin. Winke für answanderer von Dr. Carl de Haas.
Farmer in Wisconsin_, date, 60-67.
Norsemen, precede Columbus to America, 150-51.
“North America, Description of a Journey to,” by Ole K. Nattestad,
edited by Rasmus B. Anderson, 149-86.
North Greenfield, changes name, 95.
Norwegians, settle in Wisconsin, 160.
Nova Dania, naming of, 152.
“Novel Transportation Device, A,” 72-74.
“Nym Krinkle,” _Chronicles of Milwaukee_, first Wisconsin book of
poetry, 64.
Oconomowoc, L. G. Fisher’s recollections of, 271.
“Odanah Indian Reservation, The,” 93-94.
Ogden, William B., Chicago mayor, 269.
“Old Copperheads and New,” 202-203.
Old Thunder, relations of, with George Washington, 199.
“Oldest Church in Wisconsin, The,” 87-88.
Onahan, William J., anecdote concerning, 430-31.
Oostburg, founding of, 261.
growth of, 264.
“Origin of the Word ‘Winnequah,’” 196-97.
Orton, Myron H., sketch, 58.
Osh-ka-he-nah-niew, in Black Hawk War, 98-100.
Oshkenaniew, Mitchell, letter, 98.
“Other Agencies,” editorial, 314.
“Our Military Record,” editorial, 187-88.
“Our State Flag,” editorial, 76-77.
Owen, Thomas J. V., Indian agent, 291.
Panic, financial, of 1837, effect of on specie payments, 267.
“Papacy, Removing the, to Chicago,” editorial, 430-31.
Parkinson, John B., professor at University of Wisconsin, 38.
Parkinson, J. D., sketch, 46.
Parks, Nelson Dewey, 78-79.
Perrot State, 80-82.
“Paul Revere Print of the Boston Massacre, The,” by Louise Phelps
Kellogg, 377-87.
circumstances and printed account of the massacre, 377-79.
sketch of engraver, 380.
general criticism of print, 380-83.
illustration, 382.
variants, 383-85.
charges of Henry Pelham, 385-86.
writer’s conclusion, 386.
Peck, Eben, Madison pioneer, 319.
Peerson, Kleng, emigrant leader, 155.
founds Fox River and Kendall settlements, 157.
Pelham, Henry, charges of, against Paul Revere, 385-86.
“Perrot State Park and John A. Latsch,” editorial, 80-82.
Peru, frontier problem in, 124.
“Pioneer Recollections of Beloit and Southern Wisconsin,” by Lucius
G. Fisher, 266-86.
journey to Beloit, 266-78.
Beloit named, 279.
Female Seminary charter granted, 279.
early economic conditions, 280.
territorial roads laid out, 282.
early railroad enterprises, 283-85.
“Play, An Early Wisconsin,” 307-308.
Politics, Senator Husting on separation of religion and, 406-408.
Porter, Governor George B., charges against, 288-91.
letter of, to President Jackson, 291-303.
“Potawatomi During the Revolution, The: Father Allouez Among the
Kickapoo,” 199-200.
Prairie du Chien, project for iceboat line between, and St. Paul,
72-74.
Pratt, Alexander, sketch, 271.
Preparedness, a future necessity, 190.
“Presbyterian Objects, A,” 204-205.
Presbyterianism, churches founded by Sheboygan Dutch, 262-63.
Press, freedom of, as affected by Zenger trial, 70.
Preston, Thomas, trial, 379.
letter of, 381.
“Print, The Paul Revere, of the Boston Massacre,” by Louise P.
Kellogg, 377-87.
Proctor, General, relations of, with John Kinzie, 301.
“Professor and the Finger Bowl, The,” editorial, 309-310.
Quaife, Milo M. (ed.), “The Chicago Treaty of 1833,” 287-303.
(ed.), “Diary of Harvey Reid: Kept at Madison in the Spring of
1861, The,” 35-63.
“Increase Allen Lapham, First Scholar of Wisconsin,” 3-15.
Quentin, Charles, state senator, 54.
Question Box, 87-100; 193-201; 319-326.
Racine, founded by Gilbert Knapp, 38.
Ramsey, William H., Wisconsin assemblyman, 54.
Randall, Alexander W., sketch, 48.
Randolph, Julius F., sketch, 56.
Rantoul, Robert, trustee, St. Croix and Lake Superior Mineral
Company, 433-34.
Read, Daniel, sketch, 52.
Ream, Robert, Madison settler, 319.
Rederus, Sipko F., “The Dutch Settlements of Sheboygan County,”
256-65.
Redfield, Fletcher, chief justice, 267.
Redfield, Timothy P., judge, 267.
Reed, Harrison, sketch, 271.
Reed, Henry, Civil War recruit, 45.
Reid, Ann Hamilton, sketch, 148.
“Reid, Harvey, The Diary of: Kept at Madison in the Spring of 1861,”
35-63.
portrait, facing 35.
Reid, Mary Drew, sketch, 142.
Reid, William, sketch, 142.
“Relics, Save the,” editorial, 427-28.
Religion, Senator Husting on separating politics and, 406-408.
“Removing the Papacy to Chicago,” editorial, 430-31.
“Revere, Paul, Print of the Boston Massacre, The,” by Louise P.
Kellogg, 377-87.
Revolutionary War, attitude of Potawatomi in, 199-200.
record of Scandinavians in, 153-54.
Rhodesia, frontier problem in, 133-34.
Robinson (Roberson), Alexander, charges against, 290.
sketch, 297.
Rock County, early impressions of, 164.
Rock Prairie, Norwegian settlement at, 166.
Rock Run, Norwegian settlement at, 165.
Rockford, stay of Elmer E. Ellsworth at, 361.
Roth, J. J. W., pastoral career of, 263-64.
Rowan, Wallace, Baraboo settler, 319-21.
Rublee, Horace, candidate for senatorial nomination, 418.
relations of, with C. C. Washburn, 419-20.
Russell, Marcus, Lake Geneva pioneer, 143.
Russell, Hubert, Lake Geneva pioneer, 143, 145.
Rynning, Ole, death, 159.
_Sandfaerdig Beretning om Amerika til Oplysning og Nytte for
Bonde, og Menigmand forfattet af en norsk, som kom derover i
Juni Maaned, 1837_, 159.
St. George, Thomas, Civil War recruit, 60.
St. Paul, iceboat line between, and Prairie du Chien, 72-74.
Salisbury, Augustus H., sketch, 39-40.
_Sandfaerdig Beretning on Amerika til Oplysning og Nytte for Bonde,
og Menigmand forfattet af en norsk, som kom derover i Juni Maaned
1837_, by Ole Rynning, 159.
“Save the Relics,” editorial, 427-28.
Scandinavians, record of, in Revolutionary War, 153-54.
traces of early, in New York, 152.
Scholte, H. P., leads Dutch settlers to Iowa, 257-58.
“Schrecklichkeit,” editorial, 317-18.
Schults, Adolf, _Lieder aus Wisconsin_, date of, 66.
_Scutenaubequon_, steamboat, naming of, 327.
Second Wisconsin Infantry, losses of, in Civil war, 63.
“Senatorial Election of 1869, The,” 418-20.
“Services of the Menominee in the Black Hawk War, The,” 98-100.
“Settlements of Sheboygan County, The Dutch,” 256-65.
Shay’s Rebellion, a factor in frontier problem, 125.
Sheboygan County, dairying among Dutch of, 265.
The Dutch Settlements of, 256-65.
Siberia, frontier problem in, 130-31.
_Silenzioso_, steamboat, naming of, 327.
Sillars, Angus, letter, 204-205.
Silliman, Benjamin, relations of, with I. A. Lapham, 5.
Silverthorne, William, Civil War recruit, 47.
Skavlem, H. L., sketch, 166.
Slovig, Knud Anderson, leads emigrants to America, 156-57.
Smith, Elbert H., _The History of Black Hawk, with which is
interwoven a Description of the Black Hawk War and other Scenes
in the West_, 64.
Smith, George B., sketch, 43.
Smith, John Y., sketch, 43.
“Society and the Legislature, The,” editorial, 76-77.
“Some Facts and Figures,” editorial, 314.
“Some Leaves from the Past,” editorial, 312-13.
“Some Letters of Paul O. Husting Concerning the Present Crisis,”
388-416.
neutrality misinterpreted, 389, 391-96.
war policies of Germany and England criticised, 390-91.
International law determines commercial relations, 392-94.
shipment of munitions an individual enterprise, 394.
discord among allies an aid to the enemy, 396-98.
factors which influence writer’s vote, 398-403.
attitude on embargo-on-munitions question and Gore Resolution,
401-402.
acts and motives of President Wilson, 403-406.
advises keeping church and state separate, 406-408.
German-American loyalty tested, 411.
Hohenzollern dynasty an obstruction to peace, 412-13.
loyalty of German-Americans fosters welfare of German people,
414-15.
Spafford, Carrie, facsimile of letter from Colonel Ellsworth to,
facing 370.
portrait, facing 347.
fiancée of Colonel Ellsworth, 361, 369-70.
Spooner, Wyman, sketch, 54.
Squaw Prairie, changed to Belvedere, 275.
Stambaugh, Col. Samuel C., services of, in Black Hawk War, 98-99.
Stanton, Edw. M., tribute to, 245.
State Historical Society of Wisconsin, houses newspaper collection of
note, 428-29.
I. A. Lapham’s connection with, 11.
new members, 101, 206, 330, 435.
survey of historical activities of, 101-17; 206-29; 330-46;
435-51.
Sterling, John W., sketch, 38.
Stewart, Isaac N., sketch, 52.
Stewart, Robert, interest of, in Chicago Treaty of 1833, 291.
“Story of ‘Glory of the Morning,’ The,” 92-93.
Strong, Moses M., sketch, 43.
Strong, William E., sketch, 53.
“Suffrage Provision in the Constitution of Wisconsin, The Alien,” by
Louise P. Kellogg, 422-25.
Survey of Historical Activities, 101-17; 206-29; 330-46; 435-51.
Swedes, early settlement of, on the Delaware, 153.
Sylvania, old church at, 87.
Taylor, Rev. Lathrop, sketch, 44.
Tilton, Asa Currier, “Daniel Webster’s Wisconsin Investments,” 433-34.
Transportation, project for iceboat line between Prairie du Chien and
St. Paul, 72-74.
Treaty, “Hall and Old La Pointe,” 325-26.
of 1833, The Chicago, 287-303.
commissioners, 289.
of St. Joseph, 1828, commissioners, 296.
Tredway, J. Dwight, student at University of Wisconsin, 52.
Trempealeau, Perrot State park at, 80-82.
Trempealeau Mountain, state acquires, 80-81.
Turner, Hon. Andrew Jackson, activities of, in senatorial campaign of
1869, 419.
C. C. Washburn’s letters to, 419.
Tweedy, John H., sketch, 270.
Tyler, Calvin, Elgin pioneer, 276.
Tyler, Noah, Elgin squatter, 276.
Tyler, Sallie, nun, 276.
Tyler, William, Catholic bishop, 276.
Ulfson, Gunnbjorn, Greenland discovered by, 150.
United States, frontier problem in, 125-27.
Germany fosters discord in, 396-97.
military record of, 187-88.
United States Zouave Cadets, disbandment, 367.
reunion, 365.
tour, 363-67.
University of Wisconsin, diary of student attending in 1861, 35-63.
I. A. Lapham presents herbarium to, 10.
Unpreparedness in the United States, 186-87.
Upsi, Erik, visits New World, 151.
Van Griethuizen, C., Presbyterian clergyman, 262.
Van Raalte, R. C., leads Dutch settlers to Michigan, 257.
Van Slyke, James, experiences of, at Baraboo, 320.
sketch, 143.
Van Slyke, Mrs. James, Lake Geneva pioneer, 143.
Van Straten, P., Presbyterian clergyman, 264.
Van Waters, George, _The Poetical Geography, with the Rules of
Arithmetic in Verse_, etc., etc., date of, 64.
Vieau, Peter J., letter, 421.
Vilas, Henry, sketch, 46.
Vilas, Levi B., sketch, 48.
Virgin, Noah H., sketch, 54.
Waldo, Otis H., candidate for senatorial nomination, 418-19.
Wallace, Washington I., sketch, 46.
Warfare, relative casualties of, 315-16.
Warner, Jared, Wisconsin assemblyman, 54.
Washburn, Cadwallader C., characterization, 419.
senatorial campaign of, 419-20.
letters of, to A. J. Turner, 419.
relations of, with Horace Rublee, 419-20.
Waterford, old church at, 88.
Waterman, Frank, sketch, 49.
_Waubishnepawau_, steamboat, naming of, 327.
Waukesha, first house at, 271.
Weather Bureau Service, establishment of, 12-14.
Webb, Henry G., Wisconsin assemblyman, 56.
Webster, Daniel, interested in St. Croix and Lake Superior Mineral
Company, 433-34.
Madison investments of, 194.
relations of, with George Wallace Jones, 193-94.
with Morgan L. Martin, 194-95.
visits Chicago, 269.
Wisconsin investments of, 193-95, 433-34.
Wegelin, Oscar, “Wisconsin’s First Versifiers,” 64-67.
Wendell, Teunis S., interest of, in Chicago Treaty of 1833, 291.
Wentworth, John, editor, 269.
West Allis, formerly North Greenfield, 95
“What of the Future?” editorial, 189-90.
“Where Is the German Fatherland?” tr. by Charles Giessing, 375-76.
White, Charles J., sketch, 41.
White, Dr. Horace, Beloit pioneer, 273.
Beloit land purchases of, 274.
death, 280.
father of editor, 283.
White, Horace, sketch, 283.
Wiard, Norman, iceboat project of, 72-74.
letter, 73.
Wilder, Frank J., gift of, 379.
Wilson, Woodrow, Senator Husting on acts and motives of, 403-406.
Winnebago Indians, at Winnequah, 196-97.
“‘Winnequah,’ More Light on the Originator of,” 327.
former names of, 196.
origin of name of, 196-97.
Winnebago at, 196-97.
Wisconsin, “Alien Suffrage Provision in the Constitution of, The,”
by Louise P. Kellogg, 422-25.
attitude of Germans of, in 1847, 375-70.
banking measures of, in 1861-62, 30.
banknote depreciation in, in 1861, 42, 44.
copperheads in, 84, 202-203.
Dutch settle in, 258-05.
earliest German poetry in, 66.
early education in, 440-41.
exploration of eastern, 94-95.
first books made in, 9.
first history of, 9.
first Norwegian settlement in, 160.
“I. A. Lapham, First Scholar of,” 3-15.
“Daniel Webster’s Investments,” 193-95, 433-34.
flag, statute for, 328.
“A Forest Fire in Northern,” 16-24.
frontier problem in, 123-24.
Michigan boundary dispute, 304-307.
oldest church in, 87-88.
opposition of, to Lincoln, 84.
political ideals of, during Civil War, 85.
preservation of first capitol of, 78-79.
Public Documents Issued, 210-21, 337-40.
state flag of, 76-77.
territorial legislature, first session of, 279.
“Woman’s Picture of President Lincoln, A,” by Cordelia A. P.
Harvey, 233-55.
sketch of author, 233-34.
hospital sanitation in Civil War, defects of, and relief for,
233-55.
author’s interview with Lincoln, 242-55.
Harvey Hospital named, 254.
Wisconsin Colonization Company, letter, 195.
“Wisconsin’s First Versifiers,” by Oscar Wegelin, 64-67.
Wood, Abraham, sketch, 320-21.
Woolcott, Ellen, indemnity claim, 289.
Worthington, Dennison, sketch, 54.
Wyse, William A., Civil War recruit, 45.
Young, Ira, buys land in Beloit, 274-75.
“Zenger Trial, First Edition of, 1736,” by John T. Lee, 69-72.
Zonne, Peter, builds church, 262-63.
burial place, 263.
leads Dutch settlers to Wisconsin, 258.
Zouave, military system, introduced into United States, 360.
Transcriber’s Note:
Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like
this_. Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and were moved to the
end of the section in which the related anchors occur. Misspelled
words were not corrected. Dialect, obsolete and alternative spellings
were left unchanged. Obvious printing errors, such as duplicate words
and backwards, upside down, or partially printed letters, were
corrected. In the index, the entries for Kellog are not in
alphabetical order.
Punctuation, lack of final stops, and use of capital letters is
haphazard in the diary and elsewhere; the text and punctuation was not
changed, except as noted below.
Changes:
Added em dash: dam--“has burned,
Added close quote: full of hope.”
Moved close quote to end of sentence: named for Mr. Harvey.”
Changed waterpower to two words: water power was utilized
Added space between word and number: Northwest 1673
Added close quote: _Lesser Catechism_,” published
Punctuation in the index was adjusted to be consistent among entries.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Volume 1, 1917-1918" ***
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