Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Volume 1 E-Book

Jerome A. Watrous

• Herausgeber: Jazzybee Verlag
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Seitenzahl: 1303

Beschreibung

Jerome A. Watrous, the author of the first volume, and Josiah Seymour Currey, the compiler of the biographical volumes two through five, present a thrilling narrative and in-depth-biographies of an eventful past of a county, the rapid growing of a fantastic city on the lakeshore, and the lives of hundreds of people that were so important for the history of Milwaukee town and country. The whole five books contain thousands of pages of valuable information and are essential for everyone interested in the history the most populous and densely populated county in Wisconsin. This is volume one out of five, covering the history of the county from the early years to the last years of the 19th century.

Leseprobe

Memoirs of Milwaukee County

Volume 1

JEROME A. WATROUS

Memoirs of Milwaukee County 1, J. A. Watrous

Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck

86450 Altenmünster, Loschberg 9

Deutschland

Printed by Bookwire, Voltastrasse 1, 60486 Frankfurt/M.

ISBN: 9783849661052

www.jazzybee-verlag.de

[email protected]

CONTENTS:

PREFACE.. 1

CHAPTER 1. NATURAL FEATURES.4

CHAPTER II. INDIANS.14

CHAPTER III. PRE-TERRITORIAL ERA.24

CHAPTER IV. ORGANIZATION.34

CHAPTER V. TERRITORIAL ERA.44

CHAPTER VI. TERRITORIAL ERA— (Continued.)68

CHAPTER VII. COUNTY ROADS,  BUILDINGS, FINANCES, ETC.80

CHAPTER VIII. POLITICS AND OFFICIAL HONORS.94

CHAPTER IX. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND STATE SENATORS.117

CHAPTER X. ASSEMBLYMEN AND COUNTY OFFICIALS.131

CHAPTER XI. TOWNSHIP HISTORY.158

CHAPTER XII. MILWAUKEE CITY.202

CHAPTER XIII. CHURCH HISTORY.290

CHAPTER XIV. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.336

CHAPTER XV. LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.383

CHAPTER XVI. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.422

CHAPTER XVII. BENCH AND BAR.450

CHAPTER XVIII. FINANCE AND INDUSTRIES.500

CHAPTER XIX. MILITARY HISTORY.526

CHAPTER XX. THE POLES IN MILWAUKEE.550

PREFACE

In issuing the "Memoirs of Milwaukee County," the publishers take the preface as a means of acknowledging obligation to many who have so cordially co-operated in their preparation. Whatever of excellence is attained by these volumes may be attributed primarily to Lieut. Col. Jerome A. Watrous, whose intelligent direction and courteous suggestions have been unfailing. Colonel Watrous, editor-in-chief of the historical volume, has had a long and eminent career familiar to the people of Milwaukee county. A native of the Empire State, he became a resident of Wisconsin at an early age, and throughout the greater part of his life has been identified with the literature and journalism of the state. In the Civil war he saw much active service, enlisting as a private in 1861, and finishing as adjutant-general of the "Iron Brigade" on the staff of Brig.-Gen. John A. Kellogg. After the close of hostilities he served a term in the state legislature, at the end of which he resumed journalistic work and in 1879 became one of the editors and proprietors of the Milwaukee Telegraph. For fifteen years he acted as editor of that paper, and a part of the time was also collector of customs for the Milwaukee district. At the opening of the Spanish-American war, Colonel Watrous tendered his services to both the governor and the president, and June 15, 1898, was commissioned major in the regular army. He served on the Atlantic coast until June, 1899, then made chief paymaster of the Department of the Columbia, and the following year he was assigned to duty at Manila. Six months later he was ordered to the Department of the Visayas, and in December, 1901, when the four departments were consolidated into two, he became chief paymaster. Department of the South Philippines, on the staff of Maj.-Gen. J. T. Wade. In September, 1904. he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel. United States Army, and retired for age. Since then he has followed his calling as a writer and now resides at Whitewater, Wis.

Hon. George W. Peck, who has edited the chapter on "Literature and Journalism," is also a New Yorker by birth, but came to Wisconsin with his parents in 1841, when about one year old. He learned the printer's trade and worked on papers in Ripon, La Crosse, and Madison. He served in the Civil war with a Wisconsin cavalry regiment. In 1879 he began in La Crosse the publication of "Peck's Sun," a weekly paper devoted to humor. In 1880 he moved to Milwaukee, where his serial, "Peck's Bad Boy," brought him and his paper into prominence and prosperity. In 1890 he was elected mayor of Milwaukee on the Democratic ticket, and in the fall of the same year was elected governor of the state, the Democrats carrying both the legislature and the state ticket. He was renominated and re-elected in 1892 and was again renominated in 1894, but was defeated in the election of that fall, being engulfed by the Republican tidal wave of that year. Ten years later he was again nominated for governor, but went down in defeat with his ticket, although he led it by thousands of votes. He has the distinction of being the only man nominated for governor four times in Wisconsin. Governor Peck is one of the most highly esteemed residents of Milwaukee, where he still devotes his time to literary work.

Dr. Solon Marks, of gallant record as an army surgeon during the Civil war, and as an eminent physician and surgeon in the days of peace, has edited for this work the chapter upon "The Medical Profession." Dr. Marks came to Wisconsin from Vermont in 1848, before he had commenced the study of medicine. In 1853 he graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, practiced at Jefferson, Wis., until 1856,. and then located in Milwaukee. During the war he served as an army surgeon, and upon resuming private practice he won for himself a wide reputation in his professional work. He has served as president of the State Board of Health, the State Medical Society, and the Board of Pension examiners, and he has held the chair of military surgery in the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Marks is also an author of note upon subjects pertaining to the medical profession.

William G. Bruce, the secretary of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association of Milwaukee, has revised and edited the chapter upon "Finance and Industries." Mr. Bruce is also a native-born Milwaukeean, and the city of his birth has been the scene of his exceedingly active career. He early turned his attention to journalism and was for many years connected with the Milwaukee Sentinel, both in the business department and as a general contributor. In 1890 he established the American School Board Journal, of which he is still proprietor. He has also published text-books on school administration and school architecture, and has become well-known in educational circles as a writer and lecturer on the former topic. He has filled the position of secretary of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association since October, 1906, having been elected to that important position on account of his activity in public affairs and his unusual ability as an organizer.

The chapter entitled "Poles in Milwaukee," has been written by the Rev. Boleslaus E, Goral, than whom there is none more competent to speak upon the history and traits of the people of his nationality. Rev. Goral was born in German Poland and there received his elementary education. In 1889 he came to America, and during the ensuing ten years devoted his time to classical, philosophical, and theological studies. As priest, teacher, literateur, and a practical man of affairs, he has gained distinction, and is widely known and recognized as an able and patriotic Polish-American citizen.

Acknowledgments are also due to George R. Gove, assistant secretary of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association, to Messrs. Burdick & Allen, Frank Gotschalk, and others for courtesies extended.

That the "Memoirs of Milwaukee County" may prove satisfactory to our patrons, is the hope of The Publishers.

CHAPTER 1. NATURAL FEATURES.

GEOLOGY — TOPOGRAPHY — SOIL — CLIMATE — FAUNA — FLORA.

In writing a chapter on the natural features of Milwaukee county we shall necessarily be confined to a brief outline of such general principles of geology as may be of interest or profit to the general reader, and avoid the use of such technical terms and details as may be omitted without sacrificing the subject too greatly. For a work at once elaborate and instructive we shall refer the reader to "Geology of Wisconsin — Survey of 1873-79," published under the direction of the Chief Geologist, and under authority from the state government.

Geology treats of the earth's formation and structure, its rocks, strata, minerals, organic remains, the changes it has undergone from inundation, also from volcanic and other influences. Geology is a history of the earth built upon circumstantial evidence, such as is read from the rocks, minerals and organic remains, together with stratigraphical construction, and the later disarrangement of that by volcanic action, and the slow process of erosion, which has been going on for countless ages. It is a well-established fact, the result of scientific research, that the whole country about this region has at some time, ages ago, been covered with water of unknown depth, and that these waters were constantly changing as if in motion, or by undercurrents, tides and waves. In the course of ages these waters receded, having found some outlet into the vast bodies of water that now so largely cover the earth's surface. Again, the labors of those who, during the last two hundred years, have devoted themselves to the study of the structure of the globe, have resulted in the creation of the science of geology, and the claim which this department of human knowledge has to science depends upon the symmetry which has been found to prevail in the arrangement of the materials forming the earth's crust. By the slow process of adding fact to fact and by comparing the observations of the devotees of the science in different lands it has been found that the rocky strata of the earth hold definite relation to each other in position, and hence in age; that many of them are distinguished by constant or general features and contain characteristic or peculiar remains of plants or animals by which they may be recognized wherever found. This sequence of deposit forms what has been aptly termed the geological column.

The indurated rocks, being everywhere covered with a heavy bed of drift, have been reached in this county only by boring, and this only at a few places. A well drilled in the city of Milwaukee, after traversing 170 feet of drift, met the Niagara limestone, with a thickness of 267 feet, and underlaid by the Cincinnati shale with a thickness of 165 feet. Beneath the Cincinnati shale were the Trenton and Galena limestones with a thickness of 253 feet, and these rested upon St. Peters sandstone, into which the well was drilled to a depth of 193 feet. The surface of the well is about ten feet above Lake Michigan, which shows that at that point the Niagara limestone lies 160 feet below the surface of the lake. Comparing this again with wells in other localities it appears that the strata of limestone dip to the eastward.

The geology of the soil is independent of the underlying rocks, and is referable exclusively to the drift; for, as before stated, the bedded rocks of Milwaukee county are covered with a heavy sheet of drift to a depth averaging more than 150 feet. Long after Milwaukee county was raised above the sea as a sort of plain, topped by the ocean-rippled shales of Niagara limestone; long after the depressions and uprisings that accompanied the deposit of the carboniferous or coal-bearing rocks to the eastward; and long after the streams of that ancient time had cut away the rocks to form the valleys nearly as they are today; throughout a period of erosion, when the Alleghany Mountains were reduced from a height of five miles to something near their present modest altitude — after all this the ice age came and covered the greater part of Wisconsin with a glacier sheet which completely enveloped what is now Milwaukee county. This county, therefore, has the same glacial history as has all the eastern and southern parts of the state. Not a summit is there that stood above the glaciers, and the clay and boulders that mark the drift overlie all the ordinary high land of the county. The areas covered by the drift furnish far more varied and fruitful soils than the native rocks, and hence the lands in Milwaukee county take their place among the best lands in the state of Wisconsin.

In the vicinity of Mud Creek there is a small area of rock referred, somewhat doubtfully, to what is known as the Lower Helderbergperiod. The rock is a hard, brittle, light-gray, magnesian limestone, distinguished by numerous minute, angular cavities, that give it a very peculiar porous structure. It is thin-bedded and laminated, by virtue of which it splits readily into flags and thin plates. Some layers exhibit an alteration of gray and dark-colored liminae peculiarly characteristic of this formation. The rock is closely associated with the Niagara limestone, in a depression of which it appears to lie, and it is overlain by rock of the Middle Devonian age.

This last mentioned rock is the uppermost and newest of the indurated formations of Wisconsin; it is the only representative of the Devonian age, and it is known as the Hamilton cement rock. It is found near the city of Milwaukee and occupies a limited area, lying adjacent to the lake, immediately north of the city, and rests in part upon the shaly limestone above described, and apparently upon the Niagara limestone in other portions. In general lithological characteristics it consists of a bluish gray or ash-colored, impure dolomite, which weathers upon exposure to a yellowish or buff color, owing to the oxidation of the iron which constitutes one of its ingredients. The impurities consist chiefly of silica and alumina. The rock is characterized in certain portions by the occasional presence of cavities, in which occur crystals of iron pyrites and calcite, and, very rarely, zinc blende. Crystals of the two former minerals are disseminated more or less through certain portions of the rock. In texture it is somewhat varying, being quite homogeneous in some layers and quite irregular and lumpy in others, while the chemical composition changes much less markedly though sufficiently to affect the hydraulic properties of the rock. In degree of induration it ranges from rather soft to moderately hard. The beds are usually thick, with the exception of some portions, which are somewhat shaly.

In relation to organic remains the Hamilton period marked a new era in the history of the life of the Wisconsin formations. While multitudes of Protozoans, Radiates, Mollusks and Articulates lived in the seas of the Silurian age and left their remains embedded and embalmed in the accumulating sediments, whether of sandstone, shale or limestone, no fragment or trace of a Vertebrate has been found. The Hamilton period witnessed the introduction of this highest type of the animal kingdom into the Wisconsin series. The vertebrate remains of this formation are confined to the relics of fishes, but unfortunately these are fragmentary and imperfect. They have been submitted to the inspection of eminent authority in such matters and have been found to be a new and unknown species.

The most extensive and important outcrop of this formation, known as the Hamilton Cement Rock, is found along the Milwaukee river in the vicinity of the Washington street bridge, extending above and below in sections 4 and 5, town 7, range 22 east. The rock nowhere rises to any considerable height above the river-bed, so that no extensive vertical section can be seen, and the frequent interruptions of the exposure, as traced along the river, prevent any trustworthy correlation of the strata. The lithological characters of the rock at this point are essentially those before given as general characteristics, and this locality may be regarded as the typical one of the formation. A portion of the layers found west of the bridge are more shaly than the average rock of the formation, and upon exposure tend to disintegrate somewhat more readily. A stratum found below the bridge possesses a more granular character than the rest of the formation, but the chemical analyses that have been made of the several portions indicate that these variations are largely of a physical nature, and that the chemical composition is less varying. In the drift lying upon this rock an abundance of black shale is present in thin, fragile, more or less rounded chips, indicating the near presence of the formation from which they are derived, and which may be conjectured to be the overlying black slate so abundant in other regions. The fishes mentioned in a foregoing paragraph have been found in this locality, together with a long list of invertebrates, which indicates a rich and abundant fauna. For the names and description of the fossils found in this region we would refer those interested to Volume IV of the "Geology of Wisconsin — Survey of 1873-1877," to which the writer is indebted for a great deal of the information contained in this chapter.

In section 11, town of Granville, a railroad cut just south of the station known as Brown Deer exhibits a few feet of this formation. The original lithological characters are essentially those already referred to, but the rock of this locality has been more extensively weathered than that near Washington Street bridge, and presents a buff color, except in the interior of some of the heavier layers, and it is also somewhat decomposed in certain portions. In sections 9 and 10 of the same township occurs another exposure of this formation, occupying the brow of a hill, and underlaid by limestone belonging to the Niagara formation. The rock here is a rather soft, granular, buff, impure, dolomite, much stained with iron, which is doubtless due to the decomposition and oxidation of pyrites, originally disseminated through it. Along the lake shore on Whitefish bay the formation rises slightly above the water level in a very limited exposure. The strata at this point have a firmer texture, but more uneven structure than at the previously named localities. The lines of deposition and bedding are irregular, and angular cavities of moderate size are not infrequent, some of which are filled with a semi-fluid, tar-like bitumen. An analysis of this rock shows it to' have much less silica and alumina than the beds on the Milwaukee river. The extent of this deposit in Milwaukee county is abundantly sufficient for all anticipated wants and its location is convenient and accessible, so that it forms one of the important resources of this vicinity.

By far the most important resource springing from the drift in this region has already received consideration — the fertile and enduring soils. The powdering and commingling of such a vast variety of minerals by the glacial forces was a process than which none could be better suited to produce a secure and permanent foundation for agricultural industries — a resource that is the basis of all wealth and prosperity. But second only to this in importance are the building materials furnished by the drift formation, prominent among which are the deposits of brick clay. These belong to two classes, the light colored and red clays. The former, found extensively in Milwaukee county, are lacustrine or fluviatile deposits, derived from the wash and redeposit of the bowlder clay, and occur within the area covered by that formation. A portion of these clays burn to a beautiful cream color, and their superiority in texture as well as color makes them a general favorite in the market. It is thought to be entirely safe to say that in quantity, quality, convenience of situation and facilities for shipment the Milwaukee clays are unsurpassed on this continent. The superiority of the brick is universally acknowledged, and their beauty is a matter of general commendation. The product has the light cream dolor, so long known in the market as the characteristic of "Milwaukee brick." and they are made from a light colored clay, a modified form of the glacial deposit.

When Eastern Wisconsin first emerged from the ocean it doubtless presented an essentially plane surface, having a slight inclination to the east and southeast. The irregularities which it now presents are due, in a large measure, to three different agents, acting at different times and under different conditions. These are:

1st. During that long cycle of time that existed between the emergence of the land from its bed in the vasty deep, and what is known as the drift period, the numerous streams and rivers were ploughing their beds deeper and -deeper into the primeval rocks, and rendering the former level surface more and more irregular. The softer rocks being more readily eroded than the harder ones, increased. their unevenness, there being a constant tendency of the streams to follow the softer strata wherever the slope of the land favored, and as these run in a northerly and southerly direction generally throughout this region, the main streams had, that general course. The little streams gathered into the larger ones in a manner not unlike the branches of the forest tree as they gather into the parent stem. The erosion of this nature produced in the unevenness of the surface a symmetry and a certain system easily recognizable. As this action upon the rocks occupied the period preceding the glaciers, we, for convenience, call it the pre-glacial. In Milwaukee county, however, these pre-glacial features have become wholly obscured, except in their grander outlines, by the glacial deposits, which cover this section of the state.

2nd. The modifications of the surface constituting the first class of topographical features were produced by running water; those of the second class, which follow next in order of time, were formed by ice in the form of glaciers and by the various agencies brought into action by their melting. The work of the ice was twofold; first, in the partial leveling of the surface by planing off the hills and strewing the finely pulverized rock upon the surface of the valleys; second, in the creation of a new, uneven surface by the promiscuous heaping up of the clay, sand, boulders and gravel, thus giving the land a new aspect. Among the features produced by this movement of gigantic mountains of ice are parallel ridges, sometimes many miles in length, having the same general direction as the ice movement; hills of a rounded, flowing contour, like many found along the shores of the Milwaukee river; half-embosomed rocky ledges cropping out of the hillsides, like giant battlements on titanic castles; all of which combine to form a peculiar and distinctive contour of surface easily recognizable. As all of these apparent freaks of nature are due to the action of the ice, they are denominated glacial features.

3rd. Subsequent to the subsidence of the glacial periods the streams resumed their wearing action, but under different conditions, and carved out a new surface contour, the features of which may be termed post-glacial or drift. In addition to this there occurred a depression of the land, attended by an increased volume of water in the lakes, by which doubtless all of Milwaukee county was submerged. The advancing waters leveled down many of the surface irregularities, and while the land was submerged the "red clay" was deposited, thus still further leveling the surface. After the land again rose from the water the streams resumed their cutting, and as the clay was soft, they rapidly eroded the gorges which are now extant.

To the three agencies, lake action, ice and running water, assisted slightly by winds, the topographical features of Milwaukee county are chiefly due. There is no evidence of violent eruptions, upheavals or outbursts. There was the gradual elevation and depression of the surface and probably some little flexure of the crust, but in general the region has been free from violent agitation, and owes none of its salient topographical features to such causes. Properly speaking, the county cannot be said to be hilly, nor does it sink to a dead level over any considerable area. It presents the golden mean in a gently undulating, diversified surface, readily traversable in all directions by the various highways of communication.

The features of topography of Milwaukee county are the rivers and smaller streams that traverse it, making it a well-watered district, and a gentle undulating surface, a number of eminences rising above the general level. The largest stream is the Milwaukee river, while second only in size is the Menominee river, which unites its waters with the Milwaukee, and then uniting with the Kinnickinnick, the three streams flow together into Lake Michigan at the city of Milwaukee. The southern portion of the county is well drained by Duck and Root rivers and Oak creek. The course of the Milwaukee river is decidedly interesting. It originates chiefly in Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties from a number of nearly parallel southward-flowing streams, which gradually unite to form the main river. At West Bend, Washington county, it turns abruptly eastward. After passing Newburg it makes a rude sigmoid flexure to the north and resumes its eastward course. When within about nine miles of the lake it bends suddenly to the right and flows almost directly south parallel to the lake shore for more than thirty miles, being distant from it at some points in its course less than two miles. Near the great bend in the town of Fredonia, Ozaukee county, the stream reaches an ancient beach line, which marks the shore of the lake at the time of the deposit of the lower red clay, heretofore mentioned. The river follows along this beach line to its mouth at Milwaukee.

The Menominee river rises in the southern part of Washington county and running in a southeasterly direction through the towns of Granville and Wauwatosa, enters the Milwaukee river within the city limits of Milwaukee. It is a fine little stream and afforded many valuable pioneer mill privileges, several of which were improved. Several limestone quarries were opened along its banks, which are usually high. It receives a branch in the town of Granville, called the "East Branch," and above that point the valley is much contracted in width, there being no bottom lands on either side. Below the East Branch the level or bottom lands are usually about a half-mile in width.

The general slope of the surface of the county is to the east and south and is quite moderate. The lowest land is in the town of Lake, at the west line of section 8, near the Kinnickinnick river, where the surface lies but ten feet above the level of Lake Michigan, or 588 feet above the level of the sea; while in the northwest corner of section 30, in Greenfield township, the altitude reached is 843 feet above sea level. The remainder of the surface of the county varies in altitude between these two extremes. It should be mentioned in this connection that a considerable portion of the shore of Lake Michigan is formed by high, steep banks of clay, sand and gravel, and that these are being continually undermined, thrown down and borne away by the restless activity of the waves. The rate at which the land is thus being swept into the lake becomes a question of importance, but it should be understood that the lake is not advancing at all points, and that the rate of its advance at different points is not uniform. The encroachment seems to be most rapid in the neighborhood of Racine, and by measurements it was ascertained that in the forty years that elapsed between the surveys of 1835 and 1875 the abrasion of the shore in Milwaukee county ranged at different points from two to five and one-half feet. The material washed out from the shore is borne southward and accumulates rapidly on the north side of all the solid piers that extend out from the shore.

The soil of Milwaukee county, generally speaking, is abundantly rich and adapted to the growth of the usual crops in this climate and latitude. The greater portion of the county was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, among which were the following species or kinds: Hard and soft maple, white birch, hickory, white and red cedar, white and red beach, black and white walnut, white and yellow pine, tamarack, sycamore, hackberry, poplar, balm of Gilead, aspen, white, red, burr and pin oak, basswood and common and slippery elm. Several of these, as the red cedar, pine and sycamore, were very scarce, however, and were found but rarely, but the bass-wood, that true indicator of a moist and rich soil, was more plentiful, as were also the other trees mentioned. Where these dense forests existed a marked effect was noticed upon the climate in several particulars. They protected the houses and cattle from the rigors of the north winds of winter and from the fierceness of the burning sun in summer. They preserved the moisture of the ground, and of the air, and rendered permanent and uniform the flow of water in springs, brooks and rivers. By the fall of their leaves, branches and trunks they restored to the soil those elements of vegetable life and growth that would, without this natural process, become less rich and productive. The leaves of the trees absorb the carbonic acid from the atmosphere and restore it to the oxygen, thus rendering it more pure and better suited for respiration by man and animals.

As regards climate, Milwaukee county is about the same as that of other sections of the state in the same latitude, except that it has the benefit of proximity to Lake Michigan, the influence of which prevents the extremes of heat and cold from which the inhabitants of the inland localities sometimes suffer. The winters, usually long and severe, are occasionally mild and almost entirely without snow. The ground generally becomes frozen to a considerable depth, and the rivers and ponds are bridged over with ice. The snow usually falls in December and continues until March, but the "January thraw" often carries off the snow and occasionally dissolves the ice in the rivers. The Milwaukee river generally becomes closed with ice in the latter part of November and becomes open sometime in March. Lake Michigan has a very sensible effect upon the climate by equalizing the temperature making the summers less hot and the winters less cold than they would otherwise be. Hence the difference between the mean temperature of winter and summer is several degrees less at Milwaukee than at a point in the same latitude in the western part of the state About the same difference is observed when we compare the mean temperature of winter and spring at the same places; the change from winter to spring being more sudden in the interior than on the lakes. This fact is also inferred from the vegetation of spring, for it has been ascertained by direct observation that in Waukesha county the early spring flowers show themselves about ten days earlier than on the lake. In the spring vegetation, in places remote from the lake, shoots up in a very short time and flowers begin to show their petals, while on the lake shore the cool air retards them and brings them more gradually into existence. Another effect of the lake is, as perhaps might be expected, to create a greater degree of humidity in the atmosphere, and hence a greater quantity of, rain. It is worthy of remark, however, that fogs do not occur with any great frequency, and Milwaukee is comparatively free from that inconvenience. Fogs are often seen lying on the surface of the lake itself, and vessels often experience trouble in making their way through them, but the mists appear to be dissipated upon approaching land.

In speaking of the flora of Milwaukee county it should be noted that it belongs to the heavily timbered land district. In its primitive state it abounded in plants of an interesting and useful character, embracing all varieties, from the stately oak which towered its head above the other trees of the forest to the humblest "wild wood flower." The openings in the forests were covered with a profusion of flowers of every form and hue, which changed with every change of season. In the wet natural meadows was found the different kinds of the plant family known by the scientific name of Carices, and this grew in great abundance, being annually cut by the pioneer farmers for hay. It was a highly important aid in the settlement of the new country, for it enabled the early inhabitants to support their teams and stock until artificial meadows could be prepared. Many of these natural meadows were occasioned by the dams of the beaver. A list of the different plants native to the county, with their scientific botanical names, is, of course, not within the province of this work, but suffice to say that numerous prepared specimens have been distributed among botanists of note and by them properly arranged and classified. The specimens were found to embrace about 150 of the natural orders or families, 450 genera, and at least 1,000 species — all found within thirty miles of the city of Milwaukee. A soil so adapted to the growth of wild flowers and plants was found to yield readily to the demands of the agriculturist, and in the production of the staple products of the farm the agricultural districts of Milwaukee county rank with those of any other section of the state.

The natural fauna of this portion of Wisconsin, with the exception of some of the smaller animals, has, of course, largely disappeared with the destruction of the forests. Of the large game none are now to be found within the domain of Milwaukee county, but the black bear, badger, otter, common wolf, red fox, lynx and wildcat, together with deer in large numbers, are among the species mentioned by the earlier records. But there are probably no specimens of these animals now remaining in the county. These animals had a range of the entire forests of the county. The coulees and ravines running down to the streams were the natural haunts of wolves and wolverines, and these lingered upon the outskirts of settlements after many others of the wild denizens of the forest had disappeared. The native fauna of the county is not yet extinct, however, as the grey, fox, black, red and striped squirrels are still found in considerable numbers, and the muskrat and rabbit have their habitat in the localities suited to their abode.

But the demands of civilization and the gigantic strides of progress in Milwaukee county during the past seventy-five years have changed the old order of things for the new, and where were once the hunting grounds of the red man are now to be found the marts of trade of the pale-face. In the succeeding pages an attempt has been made to give the story of this metamorphosis somewhat in detail.

CHAPTER II. INDIANS.

TRIBES, HISTORICAL INCIDENTS, ETC.

The Indians who inhabited the northern region east of the Mississippi at the beginning of historic times were, in language, of two great families, which are given the French names Algonquin and Iroquois. These are not the Indian names. In fact, from the word Indian itself, which is a misnomer — arising from the slowness of the early voyagers to admit that they had found an unknown continent — down to the names of the tribes, there is a confusion of nomenclature and often a deplorable misfit in the titles now fixed in history by long usage. The Algonquin family may more properly be termed the Lenape, and the Iroquois the Mengwe, which the English frontiersmen closely approached in the word, Mingo. The Lenape themselves, while using that name, also employed the more generic title of Wapanacki. The Iroquois, on their part, had the ancient name of Onque Honwe, and this in their tongue, as Lenape in that of the other family, signified men with a sense of importance — ''the people," to use a convenient English expression. The Lenape became a very widespread people, and different divisions of them were known in later years by various names, among which were the Sauks or Sacs, and their friends and allies, the Ottagamies or Foxes, these two divisions being practically one, and according to Dr. Morse, in his report of his Indian tour in 1820, were the first to establish a village upon the present site of Milwaukee.

When, as early, it is believed, as 1634, civilized man first set foot upon the territory now included within the boundaries of Wisconsin, no representatives of the Iroquois had yet been seen west of Lake Michigan — the members of that great family at that date dwelling in safety in the extensive regions northward and southward of the Erie and Ontario lakes. But the Algonquins were here in large numbers, and moving westward had checked the advance of the Sioux in the excursions of the latter eastward. Already had the French secured a foothold in the extensive valley oi the St. Lawrence, and, naturally enough, the chain of the Great Lakes led their explorers to the mouth of Green bay, and up that water-course and its principal tributary, Fox river, to the Wisconsin, an affluent of the Mississippi. On the right, in ascending this bay, was seen, for the first time, a nation of Indians, lighter in complexion than neighboring tribes, and remarkably well formed, afterward well known as the Menomonees.

This nation was of the Algonquin stock, but their dialect differed so much from the surrounding tribes of the same family, it having strange guttural sounds and accents, as well as peculiar inflections of verbs and other parts of speech, that for a long time they were supposed to have a distinct language. Their traditions pointed to an immigration from the east at some remote period. When first visited by the French missionaries, these Indians subsisted largely upon wild rice, from which they took their name. The harvest time of this grain was in the month of September, and it grew spontaneously in little streams with slimy bottoms, and in marshy places. This grain was found to be quite plentiful along the shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee county. When the time for gathering came the harvesters went in their canoes across the watery fields, shaking the ears right and left as they advanced, the grain falling easily, if ripe, into the bark receptacle beneath. To clear it from the chaff and strip it of a pellicle inclosing it, they put it to dry on a wooden lattice above a small fire, which was kept up for several days. When the rice was well dried it was placed in a skin of the form of a bag, which was then forced into a hole made on purpose in the ground. They then tread it out so long and so well that the grain being freed from the chaff was easily winnowed. After this it was pounded to meal, or left unpounded, and boiled in water seasoned with grease, and it thus became a very palatable diet, something of the nature of oat meal. But it must not be inferred that this was the only food of the Menomonees, as' they were adepts in fishing, and hunted with skill the game that abounded in the forests.

For many years after their discovery the Menomonees had their homes and hunting grounds upon or adjacent to the Menomonee river, which flows into Green bay. Finally, after the lapse of a century and a quarter, down to 1760, when the French yielded to the English all claims to the country, the territory of the Menomonees had shifted somewhat to the westward and southward, and their principal village was found at the head of Green bay, while a smaller one was still in existence at the mouth of their favorite stream. So slight, however, had been this change, that the country of no other of the surrounding tribes had been encroached upon by the movement.

In 1634 the Menomonees probably took part in a treaty with a representative of the French, who had thus early ventured so far into the wilds of the lake region. More than a score of years elapsed before the tribe was again visited by white men, or at least there are no authentic accounts of earlier visits. In 1660 Father Rene Menard had penetrated the Lake Superior country as far at least as Kewenaw, in what is now the northern part of Michigan, whence some of his French companions probably passed down the Menomonee river to the waters of Green bay the following year, but no record of the Indians, through whose territory they passed, was made by these voyagers. Ten years more — 1670 — brought to the Menomonees Father Claudius Allouez, to win them to Christianity. Proceeding from the "Sault" on Nov. 3, Allouez, early in December, 1669, reached the mouth of Green bay, where, in an Indian village of Sacs, Pottawattamies, Foxes and Winnebagoes, containing about 600 souls, he celebrated the holy mass for the first time upon this new field of his labors — eight Frenchmen traders with the Indians, whom the missionary found there upon his arrival, taking part in the devotions. His first Christian work with the Menomonees was performed in May of the next year. Allouez found this tribe a feeble one, almost exterminated by war. He spent but little time with them, embarking on the 20th of that month, after a visit of some Pottawattamies and Winnebagoes, "with a Frenchman and a savage to go to Sainte Mary of the Sault." His place was filled by Father Louis Andre, who erected a cabin not long afterward upon the Menomonee river, but the building, with one at a village where his predecessor had already raised the standard of the cross, was soon burned by the savages. The missionary, however, living almost constantly in his canoe, continued for some time to labor with the Menomonees and surrounding tribes. His efforts were rewarded with some conversions among the former, for Marquette, who visited them in 1673, found many good Christians among them.

The record of ninety years of French domination in Wisconsin — beginning in June, 1671, and ending in October, 1761 — brings to light but little of interest so far as the Indians in Eastern Wisconsin are concerned. Gradually the Menomonees and Pottawattamies extended their intercourse with the white fur traders. Gradually and with few interruptions they were drawn under the banner. of France, joining with that government in its wars with the Iroquois, in its contest with the Foxes and subsequently in its conflicts with the English.

The French post at what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin, was surrendered to the British in 1760, along with the residue of the Western forts, but actual possession of the former was not taken until the Fall of the next year. The land on which the fort stood was claimed by the Menomonees. Here, at that date, was their upper and principal village, the lower one being at the mouth of the Menomonee river. These Indians soon became reconciled to the English occupation of their territory, notwithstanding the machinations of French traders who endeavored to prejudice them against the new comers. The tribe was at this time very much reduced, having, but a short time previous, lost 300 of their warriors by the small-pox, and most of their chiefs had been slain in the war in which they had been engaged as allies of the French against the English. It was not long before the sincerity of the Menomonees was put to the test, however, as Pontiac's war of 1763 broke out and the post of Mackinaw was captured. But they continued their friendship to the English, joining with the latter against the colonies during the Revolution, and fighting on the same side during the war of 1812-15, When, in July, 1816, an American force arrived at Green Bay to take possession of the country, the Menomonees were found in their village nearby, very peaceably inclined. The commander of the troops asked permission of their chief to build a fort. "My Brother!" was the response, "how can we oppose your locating a council fire among us? You are too strong for us. Even if we wanted to oppose you we have scarcely got powder and ball to make the attempt. One favor we ask is, that our French brothers shall not be disturbed. You can choose any place you please for your fort, and we shall not object." No trouble had been anticipated from the Menomonees, and the expectations of the government of the United States in that regard were fully realized. What added much to the friendship now springing up between the Menomonees and the Americans was the fact that the next year — 1817 — the annual contribution, which for many years had been made by the British, consisting of a shirt, leggings, breech-clout and blanket for each member of the tribe, and for each family a copper kettle, knives, axes, guns and ammunition, was withheld by them.

Upon their occupation of the Menomonee territory it was found by the Americans that some of the women of that tribe were married to traders and boatmen who had settled at the head of the bay, there being no white women in that region. Many of these were Canadians of French extraction, hence the anxiety that they should be well treated, which was expressed by the Menomonees upon the arrival of the American force. The first regular treaty with this tribe was "made and concluded" on March 30, 1817, "by and between William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste Chouteau, commissioners on the part and behalf of the United States of America, of the one part," and the chiefs and warriors, deputed by the Menomonees, of the other part. By the terms of this compact all injuries were to be forgiven and forgotten, perpetual peace established, lands, heretofore ceded to other governments, confirmed to the United States, all prisoners to be delivered up and the tribe placed under the protection of the United States, "and of no other nation, power, or sovereign, whatsoever."

The territory of the Menomonees, when the tribe was taken fully under the wing of the general government, had become greatly extended. It was bounded on the north by the dividing ridge between the waters flowing into Lake Superior and those flowing south into Green bay and the Mississippi; on the east, by Lake Michigan; on the south, by the Milwaukee river, and on the west by the Mississippi and Black rivers. This was their territory, though they were practically restricted to the occupation of the western shore of Lake Michigan, lying between the mouth of Green bay on the north and the Milwaukee river on the south, and to a somewhat indefinite area west. Their general claim as late as 1825 was north to the Chippewa country, east to Green bay and Lake Michigan, south to the Milwaukee river, and west to Black river. Henry R. Schoolcraft, mineralogist, whose "Narrative Journal," published in 1821, is replete with valuable information relative to this portion of the country, and gives the account of a trip made in 1819 by a party of which he was a member, says that on Aug. 26 of that year the party encamped at the mouth of the Milwaukee river, where they found "two American families and a village of Pottawattomies; it is the division line between the lands of the Menomonees and the Pottawattomies; the latter claim all south of it."

The Menomonee territory, as late as 1831, still preserved its large proportions. Its eastern division was bounded by the Milwaukee river, the shore of Lake Michigan, Green bay. Fox river, and Winnebago lake; its western division by the Wisconsin and Chippewa rivers on the west. Fox river on the south. Green bay on the east, and the high lands whence flow the streams into Lake Superior, on the north. This year, however, it was shorn of a valuable and large part by the tribe ceding to the United States all of the eastern division, estimated at 2,500,000 acres. This tract included all of Milwaukee, city and county, lying between the Milwaukee river and the shore of Lake Michigan. The following year the Menomonees aided the general government in the Black Hawk war.

Deserving a place in a notice of the Indian tribes of this part of Wisconsin is the nation known as the Pottawattomies, who in historic times laid claim to the major portion of what is now the county of Milwaukee. As early as 1639 they were the neighbors of the Winnebagoes upon Green bay. They were still upon its southern shore, in two villages, in 1670, and ten years subsequent to that date they occupied, at least in one village, the same region. At the expiration of the first quarter of the eighteenth century only a part of the nation was in that vicinity — upon the islands at the mouth of the bay. These islands were then known as the Pottawattomie islands, and were considered as the ancient abode of these Indians. Already had a large portion of this tribe emigrated southward, one band resting on the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, the other near Detroit. One peculiarity of this tribe— at least of such as resided in what is now Wisconsin — was their intimate association with neighboring bands. When, in 1669, a village of the Pottawattomies, located upon the southeast shore of Green bay, was visited by Allouez, he found with them Sacs and Foxes and Winnebagoes. So, also, many years subsequent to that date, when a band of these Indians were located at Milwaukee, with them were Ottawas and Chippewas. These ''united tribes" claimed all the lands of their respective tribes and of other nations, giving the United States no little trouble when possession was taken of the western country by the general government. Finally, by a treaty entered into at Chicago in 1833, their claims, such as they were, to lands along the western shore of Lake Michigan, within the present state of Wisconsin, extending westward to Rock river, were purchased by the United States, with permission for the Indians to retain possession of their ceded lands three years longer, after which time this ''united nation of Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawattomies" began to disappear, and soon were no longer seen in southeastern Wisconsin or in other portions of the state. By this treaty of 1833 the territory comprised in the present limits of Milwaukee county came into legal possession of the pale-face, and the Indians who remained after 1836 did so by sufferance of their white brethren.

The Chippewas, who are mentioned here as close friends or allies of the Pottawattomies, when the territory now constituting the northern portion of Wisconsin became very generally known to the civilized inhabitants of the eastern part of the United States, were found in possession of that vast scope of country. Their hunting grounds extended south from Lake Superior to the heads of the Menomonee, the Wisconsin and Chippewa rivers, also farther eastward and westward. At an early day they were engaged in a war with the Sioux — a war indeed, which was long continued. The Chippewas persistently maintained their position, however — still occupying the same region when the general government extended its jurisdiction over the whole country south of the great lakes and west to the Mississippi. By treaties with them at different periods, down to the year 1827, the government had recognized them as the owners of about one quarter of what is now the entire state of Wisconsin. The same policy was pursued toward this tribe as with neighboring ones in the purchase of their lands by the United States. Gradually they parted with their extensive possessions until, in 1842, the last acre within what is now Wisconsin was disposed of. It was the intention of the government to remove the several bands of the Chippewas who had thus ceded their lands to a tract reserved for them beyond the Mississippi, but this determination was afterward changed so as to allow them to remain upon certain reservations within the limits of their old-time hunting grounds. These reservations they continue to occupy, located in Bayfield, Ashland, Chippewa and Lincoln counties. The clans are known, respectively, as the Red Cliff band, the Bad River band, the Lac Courte Oreille band, and the Lac de Flambeau band.

As will have been inferred from the foregoing, when the white men first visited what is now Milwaukee county it was with the Pottawattomie Indians that they had chiefly to deal. Hence the following description of that tribe, their habits, customs, etc., will be of interest in this connection. It is an extract from Bacqueville de la Potherie's History of America, published at Paris in 1722 and again in 1753. The author was a French historian of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and in 1697 he visited Hudson Bay as a royal commissioner:

"The Pouteouatemis [Pottawattomies] are their [the Illinois] neighbors; the behavior of these people is very affable and cordial, and they make great efforts to gain the good opinion of persons who come among them. They are very intelligent; they have an inclination for raillery; their physical appearance is good, and they are great talkers. When they set their minds on anything, it is not easy to turn them from it. The old men are prudent, sensible, and deliberate; it is seldom that they undertake any unseasonable enterprise. As they receive strangers very kindly, they are delighted when reciprocal attentions are paid to them. They have so good an opinion of themselves that they regard other Nations as inferior to them. They have made themselves Arbiters for the tribes about the Bay, and for all their neighbors; and they strive to preserve for themselves that reputation in every direction. Their ambition to please everybody has of course caused among them jealousy and divorce, for their Families are scattered to the right and to the left along the Mecheygan [Lake Michigan]. With a view of gaining for themselves special esteem, they make presents of all their possessions, stripping themselves of even necessary articles, in their eager desire to be accounted liberal. Most of the merchandise for which the Outaouas [Ottawas] trade with the French is carried among these people.

"The Sakis [Sacs] have always been neighbors of the Pouteoutemis, and have even built a Village with them. They separated from each other some years ago, as neither tribe could endure to be subordinate; this feeling is general among all the Savages, and each man is master of his own actions, no one daring to contradict him. These Peoples [the Sacs] are not intelligent, and are of brutal nature and unruly disposition; but they have a good physique, and are quite good-looking for savages; they are thieves and liars, great chatterers, good Hunters, and very poor Canoemen."

La Potherie also gives an account of Perrot's visit to the Wisconsin tribes, and of his success in inducing them to become allies of the French. Of Perrot's relations with the Pottawattomies we quote:

"On one occasion, among the Pouteouatemis, he was regarded as a God. Curiosity induced him to form the acquaintance of this Nation, who dwelt at the foot of the Bay of Puans [Green Bay]. They had heard of the French, and; their desire to become acquainted with them in order to secure the trade with them had induced these savages to so down to Montreal, under the guidance of a wandering Outaouak who was glad to conduct them thither. The French had been described to them as covered with hair (the Savages have no beards), and they believed that we were of a different species from other men. They were astonished to see that we were, made like themselves, and regarded it as a present that the Sky and the Spirits had made them in permitting one of the celestial beings to enter their land. The Old Men solemnly smoked a Calumet and came into his presence, offering it as a homage that they rendered to him. After he had smoked the Calumet, it was presented by the Chief to his tribesmen, who all offered it in turn to one another, blowing from their mouths the tobacco-smoke over him as if it were incense. They said to him: 'Thou art one of the chief spirits, since thou usest iron; it is for thee to rule and protect all men. Praised be the Sun, which has instructed thee and sent thee to our country.' They adored him as a God, they took his knives and hatches and incensed them with the tobacco-smoke from their mouths; and they presented to him so many kinds of food that he could not taste them all. 'It is a spirit,' they said, 'these provisions that he has not tasted are not worthy of his lips.' When he left the room, they insisted on carrying him upon their shoulders; the way over which he passed was made clear; they did not dare look in his face, and the women and children watched him from a distance. 'He is a Spirit,' they said; 'let us show our affection for him, and he will have pity on us.' The Savage who had introduced him to this tribe was, in acknowledgement thereof, treated as a Captain. Perot was careful not to receive all these acts of adoration, although he accepted these honors so far as the interests of religion were not concerned. He told them that he was not what they thought, but only a Frenchman; that the real Spirit who had made all had given to the French the knowledge of iron, and the Ability to handle it as if it were paste. He said that that Spirit, desiring to show his pity for his Creatures, had permitted the French Nation to settle in their country in order to remove them from the blindness in which they had dwelt, as they had not known the true God, the author of Nature, whom the French adored; that, when they had established a friendship with the French, they would receive from the latter all possible assistance; and that he had come to facilitate acquaintance between them by the discoveries of the various tribes which he was making. And, as the Beaver was valued by his people, he wished to ascertain whether there were not a good opportunity for them to carry on Trade therein.

"At that time, there was war between that Tribe and their neighbors, the Malhominis. The latter, while hunting with the Outagamis, had by mistake slain a Pouteouatemi, who was on his way to the Outagamis. The Pouteouatemis, incensed at this affront, deliberately broke the head of a Malhomini who was among the Puans. In the Pouteouatemi Village there were only women and old men, as the Young Men had gone for the first time to trade at Montreal, and there was reason to fear that the Malhominis would profit by that mischance. Perot, who was desirous of making their acquaintance, offered to mediate a Peace between them. When he had arrived within half a league of the Village, he sent a man to tell them that a Frenchman was coming to visit them; this news caused universal joy. All the youths came at once to meet him, bearing their weapons and their warlike adornments, all marching in file, with frightful contortions and yells; this was the most honorable reception that they thought it was possible to give him. He was not uneasy, but fired a gun in the air as far away as he could see them; this noise, which seemed to them so extraordinary, caused them to halt suddenly, gazing at the Sun in most ludicrous attitudes. After he had made them understand that he had come not to disturb their repose, but to form an alliance with them, they approached him with many gesticulations. The Calumet was presented to him; and, when he was ready to proceed to the Village, one of the savages stooped down in order to carry Perot upon his shoulders; but his Interpreter assured them that he had refused such honors among many other Nations. He was escorted with assiduous attentions; they vied with one another in clearing the path, and in breaking off the branches of trees which hung in the way. The women and children, who had heard 'the Spirit' (for thus they called a gun), had fled into the woods. The men assembled in the cabin of the leading war Chief, where they danced the Calumet to the sound of the drum. He had them all assemble next day, and made them a speech in nearly these words: * * *

The Father of the Malhomini who had been murdered by the Pouteouatemis arose and took the collar that Perot had given him; he lighted his Calumet, and presented it to him, and then gave it to the Chief and all who were present, who smoked it in turn; then he began to sing, holding the Calumet in one hand, and the collar in the other. He went out of the cabin while he sang, and, presenting the Calumet and collar toward the Sun, he walked sometimes backwards, sometimes forwards; he made a circuit of his own cabin, went past a great number of those in the Village, and finally returned to that of the Chief. There he declared that he attached himself wholly to the French; that he believed the living Spirit, who had, in behalf of all the Spirits, domination over all other men, who were inferior to him; that all his Nation had the same sentiments; and that they asked only the protection of the French, from whom they hoped for life and for obtaining all that is necessary to man."

Perrot, accompanied by some Pottawattomies, made a voyage along the west shore of Lake Michigan in 1670, passing from Green Bay to Chicago. Two years later a similar voyage was undertaken by Allouez and Dublon, and as a result of these voyages an extensive fur-trade was established with the Indians. There is no data from which to estimate the quantities of furs purchased by the French at this early period, and sent to Europe, but this constituted almost the sole motive for "locating" in this wild, and till then unknown region. The French possessed the peculiar faculty of making themselves ''at home" with the Indians, and lived without that dread of their tomahawks which was so keenly felt by the pioneers of English settlements. Wisconsin remained in possession of the French, and constituted a portion of "New France," until 1763, when it was surrendered to Great Britain and became subject to her government. British authority was then exercised until the northwestern country was transferred to the American government in 1794. But during this period and until a number of years later little change took place in the region of which the city of Milwaukee is the metropolis. The Indian continued to hunt the deer and to trap the beaver unmolested, and bartered his furs at Green Bay or other convenient trading points, for the trifles or the "fire-water" of the trader.

CHAPTER III. PRE-TERRITORIAL ERA.

FIRST VOYAGES ALONG THE LAKE SHORE — NICHOLAS PERROT FATHER — JOHN B. DE ST. COSME — MARQUETTE AND JOLIET — LA SALLE — EARLY JURISDICTION — COMPACT OF 1787 — INDIAN TREATIES COUNTY FORMATIONS — THE PUBLIC DOMAIN — PROVISIONS FOR FREE SCHOOLS.