Wisconsin Lore For Boys And Girls

Citation preview

LORE . FOR BOYS

~GIRLS

WISCONSIN LORE FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

WISCONSIN LORE FOR BOYS AND GIRLS BY

SUSAN BURDICK DAVIS Dean of Freshman Women, formerly I nstructor in Children' s Literature and the Art of Story-Telling, University of Wisconsin.

E . M . HAL E AND COMPANY I

93

I

COPYRIGHT, 1 931

BY

E. M.

H ALE AND COMPANY

Compo#(f, Printed 2nd Bound ~ ~llou.,,;...lJ-

Ccorrc Banu. Publishing Companp Mcn:uh2, \\'iicon'!n

To :\TY XEPHEWS, Wisconsin boys, RLJSSE LL D Avrs,

Journalist

and

Ton D

AVIS,

Naturalist

FOREWORD TnE WRITER 1s A BADGER. As a child, when not in school, she spent her time in the open, playing with her brother and their kindred spirits in southern Wisconsin. The year around they roamed the hills and woods, and in summer fished the small streams near their home. From that childhood came a deep love for Wisconsin and its glorious out-of-doors. As the years have added a knowledge of the traditions of the Indian, the explorer, the pioneer, the statesman, the inventor, the teacher- all those genuine folk who have built the state-a profound desire has been born to retell the story of Wisconsin for the younger sons and daughters. Because the writer believes in boys and girls as distinctive individualities with intellect, vision, and even a philosophy of life, she wishes to present the stories with vivid directness and an unswerving faithfulness to truth. The footnotes are added, first, " just for fun ," and, second, in the belief that curiosity may be directed into constructive channels and a semi-scientific inquiry may well follow. From the accounts of many ".first things" in Wisconsin- of the fascinating development of life and resources, of thrilling inventions, of courageous men and women who opened the trails of happiness and thrift within the Badger State-the stories will lead to Wisconsin as the "key-point of the Northwest," and the gateway to the mysterious "River of the Southern Sea." vii

Vlll

FOREWORD

There are two things that the writer wishes to make clear in regard to Part Two. First, it is impossible to include in this volume stories of all the jnteresting people who came to Wisconsin. The book would be too long, a nd more than that, it never would be finished. Other stories may appear later. Second, all of the things related are true. They did happen. But where accounts have been too much alike to bear repeating, for the sake of clearness and interest, it has seemed best to combine them into one story. This was done, lmwever, in two instances only. In the story of Grandma Brauns a few details that have to do with the journey from Buffalo to Milwaukee were taken from the account of another ·wisconsin pioneer woman; and a few of the incidents in the ocean voyage of Ansten Natesta were taken from the experiences of another group of Norwegian voyagers. Naturally all of the materi al has been subject to adaptation, but the personal accounts have been kept as true as possible to the originals. WrscoKsrn LORE FOR Boys Al\"D GIRLS will be Yaluable as a supplementary reader in schools, as a general interest book for libraries, homes, boy and girl scouts, and all the children, young and old, jnterested in the story of Wisconsin. Finally, except for purely local matter, the material of the book will be equally interesting to boys and girl s of 1Iinnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and 1lichigan , for the events related are as characteristic of these states as they are of Wisconsin. S.B.D. May 1, 1931 Madison , \Visconsin

ACKNOVVLE DG MENTS cufcKNOWLEDGMENT is hereby made as to the following sources of material: Various volumes of the Un ited States Ethnological Reports; Wisconsin Geological Survey, Vol. I; Thwaites, TVisconsin, and Stories of the Badger State; Copway, The Ojibwa Tndians; Schoolcraft, American Indians; Brown, India11 Tales of "Liflle I ndians," Windigos and }Tfitc!tes; Kellogg, The French R egime in Wisconsin and tlie LYortltwest; Wisconsin State Historical Collections and Proceedings, especially Volumes IV, VIII, and XIV; Schafer, The Yankee and the Teuton in Wisconsin; Anderson, The First Chapter of 1Vorwegianimmigratio11; Skavlem, Scandinavians 1:11 the Early Days of Rock Couuty. Grateful appreciation is given to the following p ersons for encouragement and assistance: :Mrs. Clara Kern Bayliss, Miss Zoe Bayliss, Miss Margaret Dunbar, the late fr. Oliver La. Mere, M iss Zona Gale, Mrs. Edith Spenseley, Mr. E . F. Bean; to t he following members of t he staff of the Stale Historical Library: ::VIr. J oseph Schafer, M iss Annie Tunns, ::\Ir. Charles E. Brown, Miss Mary S. Foster, and especially to Dr. Lou ise Phelps Kellogg for reading t he manuscr ipt and other invaluable assistance.

ix

CONTENTS PART ONE

IN

Tm:

BEGINNING

Chapter I.

Page

THE GIANTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

I sle Wisconsin Comes In to Being. . . . . . . .

5

II. Frsrr,

III.

BEAST, AND BIRD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

l0

Prehistoric and the Ancestors of Those Now Living...... .. ........... .. ......

10

THE GROWING THINGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21

Plants and Trees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22

Tm: RED MAN IV. His CREATION................

. ... . . . . . ....

29

The Thunderbird People .. . ... II" innebago

30

v.

THE BOYS AND GIRLS....... .... . . . . . . . . . ..

34

VI.

STORY-TELLERS AND STORIES..... . . . . . . . ....

41

Cradle Songs ................ . Chippewa Song to the Fire-fly . . .. . . .... . Chippewa The Kite and the Eagle ......... Ojibwa The Little Indian ... . ........ . Chippewa The Magic Dance ............ . Chippewa Six Little Indians in a Canoe .. . Chippewa The Windigo ... .............. Chippewa The Windigo's Brother ........ Chippewa

43 46 46 47 48 49 49 51

xi

CONTENT S

Xll

The Old Wi tch a nd the Owl .. . .. Cliippewa The Cat.fish .... ·. ............. Menomini The Coyote . .. . . ...... . ..... Winnebago The Great Mystery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Raccoon and the Blind Men M e110111ini The Rabbit and the Saw-Whet Owl ..... ...... ...... .. . Jlt{eno111i11i Manabush a nd the Birds ....... 11fe110111ini Bear Hunting . ... .. . . ........ Cliippewa. The Man and the Wigwam Polcs.Cliippewa Shingcbiss .......... ......... .Ckippewa The Thunder Nest. ..... ......... Ojibwa Mato-ti ....... . . ................ Sioux The White Stone Canoe ....... . Cliippewa The Loon Upon the L ake ..... . Cliippewa

VIL TnE SKY P

52 52 53 5-155

58 62 6+ 66 67 69 72 73 7i

EOPLE............... . . . . . . . . . . .

78

The Rainbow .. . ..... . ....... i\tl enomini The R ainbow .. Bon·owcd from the Jroq1tois The Seven Stars . . . ... . .. .... ... II11.ron The M oon ................ . .. 1lf enomini The Aurora Borealis .... .. . . .. ill enomini Meteors ....... .. ............ M enomini The Origin of the Kugebeengwak wa or D ormouse ........ Ojibwa The T wo Cousins ......... .... Chippe-L1Ja The Star and the Lily . .. ...... . Ojibwa The Sky Ladder ................ Ojibwa

79 81 81 82 83 83

OTHER F OOTSTEPS... . .... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .

99

83 86 90 93

AND THEN

VIII.

CONTENTS

PART

WE ARE FOUND

AND

X lll

Two

GRov.,c

I.

ON AND ON . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . :. . . ... .

105

II.

YANKEE BADGERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American

118

A Rock River Valley Yankee Boy. . . . . . . .

125

III.

FROM OTHER LANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

136

IV.

COUSIN JACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cornish

140

V.

GRANDMA BRAUNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . German

154

VI.

SKEES AND A SKREPPE ..... . . . . ... Norwegian

177

VII.

H APPILY EVER A FTER . . . . . . . . . . ... .. . . Swiss

197

VIII.

DooR COUNTY lcELANDERS . . . . .... . Icelandic

219

The Icelandic Story of Cinderella. . . . . . . . . . Through Death's Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

228 233

FINALLY

IX.

FrvE SuoRT STORIES

A Canoe Trip From Green Bay to

Prairie du Chien in 1830 ........ Baird " Baby, Baby, Where I s the Baby" .. . Baird A Ghost Hunt. . .. ..... ..... .. .. ... Baird "One S hoe Off and One Shoe On". . . . . . . . . . Wisconsiana Victoria Peck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Includes the Founding of Madison

241 251 253 255 259

LIST OF ILLUST RATIONS P ART ONE

Isle Wisconsin, The Beginning of Things For Us* ... . .. . Fossil of a Suppose Marine P lant. .. . .......... ... ... . A Beautiful Tri1obite Fossil. . . . ........ ............. . Coral Fossi1s ........... . . .. .......... ... ... . ...... . Shell Fossils ........ .. . . .. . . ..... . ............... .. . When "Backbones Became the Fashion" .... . ........ . Among Our F irst Fly Families ............... ..... .. . Prehistoric Reptiles ....... .. . ....... .... ...... ..... . A Cheerful Contender for a Non-Stop Flight. ... ...... . Restored Prehistoric Reptiles ................ . ....... . Trees of Our Forest Most P rimeval .................. . Restored Skeleton of "Elephas Primigcnius" .. . .. . .... . A Chippewa Chief .......... . .. . ..... . ..... ........ . Menomini Women Harvesting Wild Ri ce ... .......... . Menomini Woman and Children ............. . . ..... . . A Chippewa Dwarf ......... . .... .................. . A Menomini Indian Village ......... . ............... . Chris topher Col umbus ....... .. ..... ... ............ . PART

PAGE

6

8 11 12 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 39 42

43 50 80 100

Two

A Leif Ericson Model of a Sea-Going Vessel . . . . . . . . . . . Champlain's Drawing of the W iscons in Country..... ... N icolet Marker, Red Banks, W isconsin.. .. .... . ....... A "Close-Up" of the Nicolet Marker... . ......... ..... "Walk-in-the-water," The First Steamboat on the Great Lakes.. ....................... ................ .. Log House. .... . .... . ...................... ........ An 1860 Picture....... . .. . .. . ......... . .. . .... . ....

106 108 11 2 113 11 9 121 123

*The illustrations used in Par t I, Chapters I and II, are reproductions from the Wisconsin Geological Survey, Vol. I. xiv

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS An Artist's Drawing of the Coe Home. .. ... . . . . . . . . . . . Our Great Seal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drawing of an Old Lead Mine.... ...... . .... ... ... ... "Shake-Rag Street"........ ... .... . ............... .. Cornish Miner's H ome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grandma Brauns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Home of Grandma B rauns in Germany............. . .. Milwaukee About 1850 . . ...................... . . . . . . Hauling Grain to Market............................ Virgin Timber. .. ...... .. . . .... ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D rawing of Home of Carl De H aas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rules for the Pupils of the Public Schools of Milwaukee. . Ole and Ansten Natesta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Norwegian "Mayflower". .. ..................... A Comfortable Norwegian H ome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Norway Maple .. ..................... ............ A Norwegian Spring H ouse.... . ..................... A Rocky Glen in Soulhern Wisconsin..... ... .. ...... . Th e Second Swiss Church at New Glarus. .... ... . ..... Cattle on a Thousand Hills.. .. ...... .. ...... .. ...... "The Easy Slope of the Sheltered Valleys" of Green Coun ty .. ............................ ... . .... .... A Calm Sea at Death's D oor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Where Our Icelanders Come a nd Go. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gills Rock, Formerly Hedgehog Harbor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Three Generations of Icelanders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Port and Village of Mackinac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drawing of the Famous Shot Tower at Helena......... Back on t.he Trail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . An Artist's Sketch of the Peck Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A "Trail" Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mrs. Roseline Peck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Old Capitol Building a t Bel mont. .. ...... .. ........ .. King Street and t.he Capitol in Early Madison. . . . . . . . . Where Shine and Shadow Blend............. . ........

xv 131 138 147 151 153 155 156 165 167 170 172 17-l 178 181 187 192 193 195 214 216 218 226 232 234 237 242 250 257 263 263 268 269 272 273

.,

PART ONE

IN THE

BEGil~ING

I

THE GIANTS ToBEGINWITII, THE vVATERS covered the face of the earth-even this, ou r part of it. But deep within the earth under the waters, not one giant, but many giants, were moving, ·wriggling, crowding, pushing. They were the purple red-faced giants of heat and gas and steam. As they squeezed and t wisted, they seemed to get their backs bent and more bent; then, as they struggled to push themselves up, they heaved the rock and earth above them into gigantic piles. One of these piles, a great island, was the beginning of the st ate of Wisconsin. Geologists are men and women who study the earth and read her stories in the rocks as you read stories in books-as you read this story. Geologists have read in the stones of \i\Tisconsin a story of how it was pushed up out of the ancient waters, even before the rest of America had found a place for itself, and probably before much of t he land on the other side of the Atlant ic Ocean had been pushed into being. Draw a line across the state from a little below the place where the city of Hudson is now in the west , to a little below the city of Marinette now on the east. Look at the territory to the north of this line, and you will see, in a general way, the place of the beginning of this st ate. At least t his is wha t the geologists think tha t they read in th e 5

6

WISCOXSI)I" LORE

rock stories. Strangely enough when the :first land settled into form, it seemed as if the hearts of all the crowding, pushing giants had been molded into one enormous heart, and there it lay, the beginning of t hings for us

0

...

..

Fl

S

. L. ..

" THE BEGI NNI NG OF THINGS FOR

Us"

e:.

A

THE GIA NTS

i

Have you ever visited, or do you live, on the plains of the north-central part of Wisconsin ? If you have, or do, can you imagine climbing up the sides of lofty mountains there, or looking a t peaks of mountains so high that snow is always on them? It is believed that mountains as high as these were in the central part of Wisconsin in these early and forgotten days ; mountains piled one upon the other by the giants beneath the almost shoreless seas.1 Other giants now gathered their forces. They were the giants of wind, rain, storm, and water beating ceaselessly ; the hissing, swishing, S\virling giants. They pounded and broke off the tops of mountains and crumbled their bases. Writhing river giants ra n down the rocky sides, until by the time the rest of Wisconsin and America had been pushed above their watery beds, these first great mountains were ready to crumble. Centuries a nd centuries later away to the North, gathered the giants of cold a nd ice. Their color was steel blue. Their beards were frosty blue ice. Instead of raising their backs, these giants reached and pushed, forcing long arms of ice before them. Their shoulders crowded t his way and t hat with unbelievable strength. Pushed by the enormou s shoulders, the giant arms swung southward, crushing a nd grinding; leveling the mountain heights, filling up the valleys; evening off here, and piling up there, somewha t as you have seen the lumbering steam-shovels :filling in and grading along our highways. Where the :first folding of the earth's surface had left a deep depression, one monster arm hollowed out the place for Lake Michigan. Then it made 1

These mountains a rc estimated lo ha ve been as high as the Himalayas of Asia of l hc presen t li me.

8

WISCONSI N LORE

the beds for two rivers to run across the country between places that you now know as Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. Two other a rms finished gouging out the huge basin for Lake Superior , and extended southwestward into Wisconsin and Minnesota. Fingers from the hands of other arms stretched out between these basins, and, wherever they rested, they left great dents in the earth. These dents were filled with ice. In some places the bodies of the giants

FOSSIL 01' A SUPPOSED MARINE PLANT

bent and humped themselves over natural valleys and steep slopes, much as a flood of cold, thick tar might have moulded itself over a rough surface. At last after periods and p eriods of time, these ice-giants exh austed themselves and toward the southern part of the state left their heaps of rubbish-clay, sand, gravel, boulders. Buried beneath the rock and rubbish were the forms of curious living things, plants and animals, that had grown on I sle Wisconsin. Many of these have been found and a re known as fossils.

THE

G IA~ T S

9

H ere a nd there over our sta te today are " left overs"hints of wha t has been: shafts of rock, standing strangely by themselves; winding, twisting rivers; high hills with hazy purple tops; a nd in thousands of depressions, still bearing the steel blue color of the frozen old gia nts of the North- the lovely Wiscon sin lakes in which you swim a nd fish and canoe. But Wisconsin, to begin with, stood picturesque a nd interesting in the midst of swamps, marshes, and seas. Wisconsin , a new earth, untouched even by the foot of a n Indian warrior, waited for the eager steps of boys and girls. 1t had no name. It was unknown. But within it a nd on it, wonderful things were moving a nd having their being.

II

F ISH , BEAS'l, AND BIRD T11E STORY OF ANI MAL life on I sle Wisconsin is a difficu lt story to t ell. It is a story of one of the queerest, funniest, biggest zoological gardens of which you ever heard. I wish to go back ages before we left off in the story just fini shed, see what happened in the matter of animal life, and gradually get back to the time at the end of the last story. Just imagine that around Isle Wisconsin, when it first came out of the sea, there might have been a rocky edgeperhaps a hint of the present boundary of Wisconsin. Inside of this bow1dary was the Zoo, or place where it was going to be. Within the Zoo would have been found hills and mountains, valleys, rivers, plains, forests, marshes, and lakes. A trip to this immense "garden" to see all the "exhibits" would have t aken us first to the water placesthe big water places, and there we should have seen the first living t hings. Animals, like boys and girls, do not grow or do well unless they eat p lenty of their own kind of food. Mother Earth from the beginning had been as busy as any mother is who prepares food for her family with her own hands. As fast as she had been able with the help of the "elements" to get the food ready, the creatures had come. The first plants made ready for the first food for the first ani10

FISH, BEAST, AND BIRD

ll

mals belonged to the alga or sea-weed family. Both plants and arumals were of the simplest possible form . Both lived in the sea. In fact, some of the early animal forms were fastened to rocks, and, if the sea had not continually washed food up to them, their biographies would have been very short. The earliest of the animal life was the

A J3 EAU'l'If' UL

TRILODITE FOSSIL

amoeba. It was not much bigger than a good-sized malaria germ. The chief occupation of the amoeba was dividing itself up into two. These two made two of themselves and so on. You can figure up how many members of the amoeba family there would have been in the world by this time had they all continued to live. It is hard to tell whether they ever ate anything or not. They lived somehow. Prob-

12

WI SCO Sl N LORE

ably they ate and lived by folding themselves around a tiny morsel of food, a t iny bit of alga. Among other early arrivals in our Zoo were members of the Trilobite family. They were crab-like animals with

CORAL FOSSILS

three parts fastened side by side, hence their name-trilobite. It does not seem possible that remains of animals that lived so long ago could have been found in relatively

S H E LL FOSSILS

FISH, BEAST, AND BIRD

13

recent times. But such is actually the case. By relatively recent times, I mean within the last few hundreds of centuries. At least fifty different kinds of trilobites " have been

\VU EN "BACKBONES B ECA ME THE F AStUON "

found pressed and stamped in between the layers of stone" in our state. In the ma tter of trilobites this is a record, for in no other state have so many of these in teresting fossils been found.

14

WISCONSI N LORE

Sponges that we sometimes forget are a nimals were also early comers in our Zoo. Corals looking like asters, so bright and varied they were in color, also grew in large and interesting beds in the waters. Near neighbors of the sponges and corals were the mollusks. The mollusks were "of the clam type" and lived in shells like many with which

AMONG OU1~ FIRST FL\'.

f

AMILIES

you are familiar at the present time, and pick up as you walk along the beach of a big body of water. Some of them grew to giant size. Age after age passed. Strange to recount, up to this time animals had all been without backbones. But then, as always, fashions changed. Backbones became the fashion, and a higher order of animals lived. Fish swam t he seas-

FISH, DEA.ST, A

·n

BIRD

15

big fish and little fish; round fish and flat :fish; "the mackereel and the pickereel"; and without doubt the "truly twerlly-werlly" slippery eel. Before long, p lants spread over the marshes and the low lands, and patches of green appeared here and there. Insects like our common ~lay-flies swarmed above the plants. Food was becoming more plentiful.

REMEMllER- " REPTILIAN TEETH AND FEATHERS

Two AT

EACH

J OL.'\T OF TAU.. " :MANDIBLES AT BOTTOM OF SKETCH

Our zoological trip now would seem to be more like a visit to a menagerie- a menagerie that even giant circus posters would have been unable to picture big or strange enough. "Enormous! Stupendous! Defying the imagination!" Great reptiles that lived both on the land and in the sea appeared. They were unbelievable in shape and mon-

WISCONSIN LORE

16

strous in size. Great swi mming creatures they were, not only like fish and lizards, but they also added characteristics of whales and crocodiles. Just think h ow a train of enormous gilded circus wagons loaded with these a nimals would have entertained a coun tryside! H ere were great animals with backbones like fish, necks like snakes, bodies like turt les, and paddles or fi ns like whales. To look at them would make you think that someone must have been joking. But

A

CHEER1''UL CONTENDER FOR A NON- STOP FLIGHT ALMOST ANYWHERE

there they were on Isle Wisconsin long before the coming of the giants of the North. We could add still other jokes to our menagerie. Surely someone made t his creature just for fun! It was covered with feathers, but instead of a horny beak like a bird, it had a long bill fitted with sharp t eeth, and a long backbone tail with feathers along the sides two at each joint. Flopping and lopping along, too, like a freakish animal combination of la nd and hydropla ne, was a strange

WISCONSIN LORE

18

fellow with "the head, jaws, and teeth of a reptile, the keeled breastbone and the hollow bones of a bird, and the small extended membranes of a bat for wings." 1 The story is getting bigger. Near these " birds" we might have found frogs as large as oxen hopping along the margin of a marsh. There on an enormous log, we might have seen a turtle fifteen feet across, and, nearby, crocodiles two or three

TREES OF OUR F ORESTS MOST PRIMEVAL

times their present size lying with their noses sticking oul of the mud. The "lords of creation," you see, peopling and ruling the sea, earth, and air, were reptiles. All things changed continually as time moved forward, even the air. With these changes came more growing things; chiefly at :first enormous rushes in a nd around the marshes, ferns of great height, and trees- the conifers 1

Scien tists give this creature a long name, t ry it-pterodact yl.

FISH, BEAST, AND BIRD

19

of this time. The country combined the rich growth of the tropics and the glory of the " forest primeval." Sea life t hen gave way to land life. Our Zoo now sheltered the early ancestors of the rhinoceros, the hog, the horse, the tapir ; little rodents of the squirrel type; monkeys that favored lemurs; the far removed grandparents of the fox, the wolf, and the cat. Finally, came the

R ESTORED SKELETON OF " ELE PHAS PRlMIGENIUS"

It Has Been a Long Time Since This Mammoth Lived Con tentedly in Wisconsin

elephants probably "walking two by two;" the lions, the tigers rivaling those of the present jungles of Asia; the camels, the buffaloes, the deer; and all the rest of them. Sporting in the waters now were the whales, the seals, the walruses, the dolphins, and their kind. Among the trees flew the true birds with beaks as they should be, and the .l ong reptilian tails discarded and forgotten . What a pity that boys and girls could not have seen

20

WISCONSJ

LORE

this great menagerie and zoological garden, especially as it was free of charge. But there were no boys and girls. It was not their t urn. Their food was not ready. All through the ages creatures had died and the small substance of their bodies had been adaed to the crumbling soil or they had been safely preserved between the layers of rock constantly forming. Then had come the ice-giants. In their turn they buried all the other remaining plants and animals in the layers of stone and soil rubbish left behind them. After the cold and desolation had passed, however, :M other Earth, nothing daunted, began her work again. The story of her accomplishments in the next great age is better known to us. We are now ready to go on with the story of the \\'Onderful things that happened on I sle Wisconsin after the ice-giants had come and gon e.

III

THE GROWING THINGS 'BESIDES PUSHI1YG AIIEAD of them earthy rubbish of clay, sand,and larger matter, the ice-giants carried always in their grasp ground up particles of earth. \¥hen these giants "silently stole away," this earth was spread rather evenly over the country. The country, of course, was not flat and smooth like a platter. In some places it was still pushed up high; in others it was hollowed out in deep ravines and gorges through which water tumbled and sparkled; rivers ran peacefully or churned and foamed in their channels; in some places rocks and gravel furnished the :floor of the land, in others, clay. When, as I say, the ice-giants had taken themselves off, the hissing, swishing, swirling giants kept at work. With them were the sun and at certain times the frost mongers, kin of the ice-giants. For long periods all of these worked together. They ground sand and cracked pebbles;1 they played ninepins with boulders and chipped off their corners; they smoothed and patted rough places; they tore rock to pieces and scattered its dust; they scraped some 1 Like those that you often pick up and put into your pocket, or throw into water without thinking of their interesting history .

21

22

WISCO ISIN LORE

places clean, and buried other places deep in earth; they mixed the rock and clay left by the ice-giants with their own product, and, wherever they could, they sifted out fresh, clean earth. Thus our soil was made ready for the coming of our own "native" plants and animals. Seeds? Perhaps God Himself put them there. Perhaps they had been washed up by the seas or brought from other places where God had l eft them and caused their kind to grow. At any rate, in this soft, new soil marvelous things were happening. The warm rains had fallen, the rays of the sun had sent energy down to the hearts of the seeds, and life was stirring. Life in general takes centuries to develop. Season after season must come and go. But can you imagine what one of those first wonderful springs must have been like? The one, perhaps, that brought the beginning of things that have lived on our earth as ·we know it best. Can you imagine what it looked like, and how it felt and smelt? I sle Wisconsin was now connected with other land on the east, west, and south. Over the southern half of it, the first shoots of the mighty oaks, the slender rose-colored stems of the maples, and the full, bursting buds of the hickories pushed and wedged their way through the earth. In the northern half, on the hills and the plains, came the cedars, firs, and pines, their :first tender needles making the air sweet. In some places grew the swamp grasses and lilies, in others the trailing vines and creeping plants. All were reaching, crowding toward the light. Some of these new things were to make their full growth by the time this particular spring was over; others were to rest when the first summer ended, but would wake and grow with the

T HE GROWING THINGS

?' _,)

second coming of spring; and so on and on. The days grew warmer and warmer. L ife was gaining and gaining. The first season closed. It became cold. The second spring brought new things and more growth. The th ird spring followed, then more and more springs through hundreds and hundreds of years. Life was beautiful and rich. Nature, you see, was getting ready her food supplies and her shelter materials for us. She had caught the first faint echo of far distant footsteps. Where t he feet were first to tread, along the paths of the rivers, she planted her rice-beds, wild rice.2 Scattered along the streams and in the forests, now de~sely grown, she raised her plum and crabapple trees; her grapes and raspberries. H ere and there she caused a "fern-like" plant to grow and to bear a small fru it like a lime in looks, especially like the limes t hat grew in France. \/\Then ripe, the fruit was pleasant to the taste. (Our " May-apple" or mandrake.) On many rocks she grew a kind of moss or lichen which, mixed with water, in years to come would keep men from starving, as they:first of all men-eJ..'})lored the unknown tangled wilderness.~ Along t he western border where fl.owed the mighty water were hawthorne berries and other wild fruits. So dense were the trees that it would have been difficult to step from the water to the shore. Birch and lin den trees, elm a nd walnut, and t he tall honey-locust choked t he way~ t hat were to be. Zi-za ni-a a-quatica- wild rice which gro ws to a h eigh t of four feet a nd is much like the wild oat. I t is very nutri tious. 3 Used by Nicolet in his journ ey of 1634. 2

2..J.

wrsco~SlN

L ORE

Animals, too, had come again jn their turn and were flouri shing. The enterprises and model jndustries which they set up were original and practical. For instance, there was the first highway a nd road conunission. Perhaps the pioneers of the commission were the buffaloes. At least they tramped well-worn trails along the borders of the water-ways where the first roads centuries aftenvard were to be laid out.4 The rattlers and porcupines withou t doubt were among the first successful advertising agents. P aper was marvelously manufactured by the wasp family. The first bridge builders, the beavers, felled trees over streams and traffic crossed and recrossed. Tunnels were made by and furnished the underground routes for the gophers, mice, moles, hedgehogs, badgers, and other creatures that enjoyed the darker ways. The first tailors skill fully sewed their homes to slender boughs of trees and shrubs, and the first plasterers made their aerial homes snug and tight. Over marsh and bog lands :flashed and twinkled forerunners of the modern city lighting systems. Modest cold storage plants provided food for the long winter months. Homes were built and families successfully reared. Everywhere were industry and happiness. 4

The buffaloes were lhe pioneers in routing lhe way of travel. When life in our country first flowed westward, the trail of the bu lTalo led the way over lhe Alleghanies-then later over the Rocky Mountains . A specific instance of the work of the buffalo highway commission in Wisconsin is the road between Green Bay and Kaukauna.

THE GROWING T HINGS

Finally, it seemed as if God must have "called it good."The moccasined feet of the first boys and girls were treading the forest paths.

THE RED MAJ.'{

IV

HIS CREATION "ruf/l:D GOD BREATflED J_VTO his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a livi ng soul." These are the words from the Bible telling the H ebrew story of how man came into our world. Every race has had its own notion of the creation of man-and the earth itself. As far as anyone seems able to tell, the Red Man was the :first human creature to know Wisconsin as home.1 H e had his own st ories of his creation and the creation of his world. In Wisconsin the Winnebago Indians were among the " first settlers." They had come from the East when the Indians there had fought a mong themselves. The word Winnebago is thought generally to mean "the people speaking the original language." Among the Winnebago, as among all other Indian tribes, there were many clans or small groups of Indians who lived together. T he most im1 Many people think that the In- t'.' , ~:~ ~' ~ dian was called the Red Ma n on ac- ~. • ·~ · ' · count of the color of his skin, but Oliver . . . . La Mere, a well known India n, once told me that it really might have been because of the fact that the Indian used so much red paint or dye.

29

WISCONSir LORE

30

portant clan among the Winnebago Indians was the Thun derbird Clan. They were called the Thunderbird Clan because they believed that, like real thunderbirds, they caused a drizzling rain and fog \•vhenever they went about. They told a hero story, not of how they had come from the East, but how Earthmaker himself had created them. This is the Thunderbird Clan 's story of its own beginning, and the beginning of the Winnebago Indians in Wisconsin. THE

THUNDERBIRD P EOPLE

When Earthmaker first began to notice things, he was sitting in space. There was nothing else anywhere. Earthmaker began to think what he should do. Finally he began to cry, and the tears began to flow. After a while he looked down and saw something bright far below. The bright objects were his tears that had formed the presen t waters. Where the t ears had fallen they had become the seas as they are now. Earthmaker began to think again. Then he said to himself, "Thus it is. If I wish anything, it will become as I wish, just as my tears have become seas." T hen he wished for light, and it became light. " It is as I supposed ;" he thought again, "the thing that I wished for came into existence." Then he wished for the earth, and the earth appeared. Earthmaker looked on the earth and liked it, but it was not quiet. It was tossing about as the waves of the sea toss. Then he made the trees, sent them down to the earth, and saw that they were good. But the trees did not make the earth motionless. Earthmaker made the grass

HIS CREATION

31

to grow, but still the earth rolled and turn ed. After that he made the rocks and stones, but the earth continued to move. H owever, it was more nearly quiet. Then he made the four directions, North, East, South, and West, and the four winds. He placed the four directions a nd the four winds on the four corners of the earth to act as island weights. Yet the earth was not perfectly quiet. Earth maker decided that he would stop the tossing once and for all. Therefore he created four large beings and threw them down, and they pierced through the earth with their heads to the eastward. Then t he earth became motionless. Earthmaker looked upon it and saw that it was good. Earthmaker thought again of how things came into being just as he wished. Then he first began to talk aloud. He said, "As things are just as I wish them, I shall make one being just like myself. " And so Earthmaker took a piece of earth and made a being in his own likeness. Then he talked to what he had created, but it did not answer. H e looked upon it a nd saw that it had no mind. H e at once made a mind for it. Again he talked to it, but there was no answer. A second time he looked upon the creature and saw that it had no tongue. He made a tongue for it and talked to it again , but still there was no reply. Again he looked upon the creature and saw that it had no soul. He accordingly made it a soul. Once more he talked t o it and it very nearly said something. But it did not make itself understood. Earthmaker then breathed into its mouth a nd talked to it, and it answered. As the newly created being was in his own likeness, Eart hmaker felt quite p roud of it, and made three more

32

WISCONSIN LORE

just like jt. He made them powerful so that they might watch over the earth. These :first four he made chiefs of the Thunderbirds. Again Earthmaker thought to himself and said, " I will make some more creatures to live upon the earth with the chiefs that I have crea ted. " After that he made four more beings in his own likeness. Just like the others he made them. They were brothers. He talked to them and said, "Look down upon the earth." So saying, he opened the heavens in front of where they were sitting, and there they saw the earth spread out below them. Then he told the chiefs and the other fo ur creatures that they were to go down to live upon the earth. "And this I shall send with you," he added and gave them a plant. " I myself shall not have any power to take this from you, as I have given it to you ; but when of your own free will you make me an offering of some of it, I shall gladly accept it and give you what you ask. This shall you hold foremost in your lives." It was the tobacco plant that he had given them. He said also, " All the spirits that I shall create after this will not be able to take this from you unless you desire to give it to them. If you wish you may call upon them during your fasts and offer it to them. Thus only can the spirits get any of it." Then E arthmaker took something else from the sky and said to the four creatures, "This also I send with you that you may use it in living. When you offer anything to the spirits, it will always be your helper. It shall take care

HIS CREATIO::\

33

of you through life. It shall stand in the center of your dwellings and it shall be your grandfather. " Thus he spoke to them. What he gave to them was fire. Then he gave them the earth to live upon. So the four Thunder Spirits brought the four brothers down to the earth. When t hey got near the earth it began to get very dark. They came to a placed called " Within Lake" at R ed Banks northwest of the city of Green Bay. 2 On an oak tree south of the lake is the place where they alight~d. The branch on which they a lighted ben t down under their weight. Then the four brothers stepped down to the earth, but the Thunder Spirits did not touch it. They rema ined just above it. The :first thing that the brothers did on earth was to start their fire. It was the time of the year when the grass comes as far as the knee. 2

This lake was probably Green Bay itself. H ere theThunderbi rds were changed in to human form . Today, a lthough s torms still beat agains t the rocky shores, no Wi nnebago Indians live near Red H an ks, their first home.

v THE BOYS AND THE GIRLS u fFTER EARTFIMAKER HAD created the chiefs and the brothers to dwell upon the earth, he took a bit of flesh from his heart and created woman. To man he had given the tobacco plant and the fire, to woman he now gave a seed of every kind of grain, and to her he indicated the roots and herbs that were good for medicine. Then Earthmaker commanded man and woman to look down to the earth, and there near them, lo! stood a child. Bidding them to take care of all the children that they should obtain in the future, he made them the first parents of all the tribes upon the earth. And so came the boys and the girls, copper-colored, straight-haired, lithe and active-bodied. They grew fast and learned fascinating things. " Learned of every bird its language, Learned their names and all their secrets, How they built their nests in summer, Where they hid themselves in winter."

Then they learned the habits of all the beasts"Learned their names and a ll their secrets, How the beavers built their lodges, Where the squirrels hid th eir acorns, How the reindeer ran so swiftly, Why the rabbit was so timid. " J4

THE BOYS A)l"D THE GIRLS

As soon as the boys and girls were old enough, they were taught many things by the older men and women. First, they were t aught to fast- the boys in the forest, the girls in special lodges. In order that they might learn to fast, boys were taken with t heir faces blackened with charcoal, generally one at a time, by t he father or grandfather far out into the deep, silent forest. There the older man explained the facts of life, a nd gave the boy ma ny beautiful and helpful things to think about. After the father had finished his discussion, he left the boy to himself. H ere in the woods he stayed sometimes for several days keeping h is fire burning brightly, thinking, but most often listening for the voice of t he Great Spiri t to bless him. Seldom did th e boy return to his wigwam, until some message had been received or some lesson learned. The Winnebago father or grandfather taught the boy as follows: "My son, when you grow up, see to it that you are of some benefit to your fellow men. There is only one way in which you can aid them and that is by fasting. Our grandfather, the :fire, he who stands a t all times in the center of our dwelling, sends forth all kinds of blessings. (The name "grandfather" was given to objects for which the Indians had great reverence.) Be sure that you make an a ttempt to obtain these blessings. You will not unless you fast. 1 "My son, if you cast off your dress for many people, that is, if you give to t he needy, your people will be benefited by your deeds. " My son, when you have your home, see to it that 1 There is an o ld Winnebago say ing to the effect t hat it is impossible to catch th e inspiration of the spirit" on a fu ll s tom ach.

WISCONSIN LORE

36

whoever enters your lodge obtains something to eat, no matter how little you yourself may have. Such food will be a source of death to you if withheld. If you are stingy about giving food, someone may kill you in consequence. If you see an old man, aid him if you have anything at all. If you happen to have a home take him there and feed him or he may suddenly make uncomplimentary remarks about you.2 Or perhaps, when he comes, he may bring with him under his arm a medicine bundJe-something that he cherishes very much and which he will offer you. Your home, then, never will be molested by any evil and nothing evil will enter your house, neither bad spirits, ghosts, disease, nor unhappiness. Now such will be your life if you do as I tell you. Witches will keep away from you, and it will be unnecessary for you to be in constant fear. Be careful to follow the teaching of the older men. " My son, everyone must take care of himself and try to obtain that knowledge which will enable him to live in comfort and happiness. Try to learn about the things that you will need. If you know them, then as you travel along in life, you will not need to get them from others. The earth has many narrow passages scattered over it. If you have something with which to strengthen yourself, then when you get to these narrow turns you will be able to pass tluough them safely and your fellow-men will respect you. Be on friendly terms with everyone and everyone will regard you well. Now if you will do all that I have told you, you will lead a happy and prosperous life." (An old Winnegabo Indian once said, "We Winnebaf:O preach to a 2

I am afraid that some of the Indians' goodness came about because they g reatly fea red evil spirits.

THE BOYS AND THE GIRLS

Ji

child that we love so that he may never become acquainted with the things that are not right, a nd that he may never do anything wrong. If, then, in later life he does anything wrong, he will do it with a clear knowledge of the consequences of his act.") Among Indians, girls were not considered as important as boys, and not so much attention was paid to them. They were taught many things, however, and, on the whole, it would be difficult to find better advice regarding obedience and industry than that given to the young girls by the mother or grandmother. "My daughter, as you travel along the path of life, listen to your parents. Do not let your mother work. Attend to the wants of your father. All the work in the house belongs to you. Do not shirk it. Chop wood, pack it; look after the gardens; gather the vegetables and cook them. When you come to the village in the spring, plant your fields immediately. Never get lazy, for Earthmaker created you to do these things." In addition to the religious training given them, the boys were taught early to hunt with the bow and arrow. They followed the older men in the pursuit of game; they closely observed their steps and gestures in the search for the deer ; how they approached the deer, the manner of getting it upon their shoulders after it had been killed, and of carrying it home. They were taught to observe the appearance of the sky and the sound of the water-fall in the morning and again in the evening; to study the clouds and the winds most carefully; to keep their senses alert to every sound, movement, or odor. They were trained not to speak of the Great Spirit without reverence; not to

38

WISCONSI N LORE

laugh at any suffering creature, not to kill game needlessly. They learn ed the virtue of herbs, and the various kinds of minerals that could be used for medicines. On the other hand, little girls gathered lilies and other flowers, and talked with the birds-the red-breasted robins, the tiny hummingbirds, the :flashing orioles. They made dolls and ornamented their clothing with porcupine quills and bits of shells. They helped the mothers make the sugar, and plant the corn. They heard stories of children going to live in the stars, of imaginary beings in the air, and evil spirits roaring in the distant whirlwinds. Both boys and girls jumped and ran foot-races, played ball and tag out-of-doors; cup-and-ball and other games they enjoyed wit hin their wigwams. They must have been happy, although they were not always warm and comfortable, or well fed. They often suffered keenly in winter from both cold and hunger. They never complained. They heard spirits whisper in the gentle breeze, or howl in ~he tempest, and accepted good or ill fortune silently . Children were named by their parents supposedly unel.er the guidance of particular spirits. Boys were often given names chosen, p erhaps, from the beauty of the dawn; Yellow Thunder, Bright Sky, Breaking D ay, Big Cloud , Spirit Sky, or Spot in the Sky. Or the names were selected because of some special circumstance of their birth; Walking-in-mist, Makes-the-day-tremble, Walks-in-the-night, Hawk-face, Good-voice, Fighting-chief, He-who-walks-inthe-cloud, Long-wings, White-eagle, and Little-thunder. N runes for girls were chosen generally from the landscape, or from their own special characteristics, or the circumstances of their births; Woman-of-the-valley, Wo-

,.., . . ·- .. Prom llie Famous Lewis Porljulio of Original Drawi11&s-Co11rlesy Slate Historical S o .

"\~\~(~ ~ ~

" 11~ .

·, _._ \ ~

-.

/

THE FIRST DRAWING OF THE WI SCONSIN COU!'\TRV

Champlain's Map of 1632, Showing What He Thought Would Greet the E yes of N icolet Courtesy Stale Historical Society

ON AND ON

109

Stories had been brought in, also, of a lake called by the Indians, " \i\Tinnepegou," probably Green Bay itself. These stories, moreover , told of a river emptying into this lake or bay, our own Fox R iver, but generally unknown at that time. Besides these mysterious rumors there were hints, also, of still another Big Water, long and wide, in the same unknown West. Champlain greatly wished to have these secrets of the " new geography" solved for two reasons; first, that by making lasting friendship with the Indians, the fur trade might grow bigger; second, that the story of J esus might be carried even to the B ig Water. He thought tha t he could get through to this territory, or rather that his traders and explorers could get through, by following the known waterways far enough. H e, like all the others, believed that when his men should reach this great magic water, they then would have come to the other side, the eastern side of the world. How Champlain longed for a prince to send on this noble quest! There came to his mind a young man who for six years had been living with the Indians, learning their language, the mysteries and magic of their woodcraft, and the a rt of trading in furs. Champla in sent for the young man . Like a real prince, the youth was ready. And so, fourteen years after our Pilgrim forefathers st epped upon the "stern and rock-bound coast" of New England, the beauty of the country tha t is familiar to us now in Wisconsin was first vievved by a white man, the messenger of Champlain. This messenger, the Prince summoned to awaken the Sleeping Princess, Wisconsin , was J ean Nicolet. It would have been difficult to find a person better fitted by nature and train ing for this great adventure.

110

WISCONSI N LORE

Hundreds of centuries had passed since the old icegiants had helped to shape the land of our state into something of its present form. Now to bring its r esources under the control of the white man, other giants had to gi.ve their best help. The new giants needed were those of great will power and courage to do many things that seemed almost impossible. For instance, it is difficult for us to think of a few men in the days of Champlain setting out to paddle their uncertain way in canoes from the St. Lawrence River in eastern Canada to the Fox River in Wisconsin. There were but few land trails a nd no charted water paths to guide them. There were no food shops along the way, no airplanes to search for them should they become lost. Only at long intervals were there rough trading huts and mission posts in which they might rest. Before and around them was nothing but a wilderness of water and forest. Yet the youth, J ean Nicolet, readily accepted this mission and made the journey much of the way with red men only as companions. From the St. Lawrence river he journeyed up the Ottawa, and thence into Georgian Bay, Lake Ontario, and through the Straits of Mackinac into Lake Michigan. At last, after having been on the way for nearly ten weeks, he arrived at the lower end of Green Bay near the mouth of the Fox river, the :first white visitor in our part of the country. The journey was particularly hazardous for Nicolet, inasmuch as the larger part was made by water, and he was unable to swim even a little, or help himself in the water should his canoe upset. This "canoe trip" had brought the Prin ce hundreds of miles. Not once had he thought of turning back. Dan-

0

AND ON

111

gers from man and beast, fierce rapids and stormy waters had beset him, but h is strength and unconquerable spirit had kept him on his cou rse and brought him to the Sleeping Princess. · Like Columbus, Champlain, and all the others, ~icolet had little idea of the exten t of our big, magic continent and thought that after so great a journey, he must have gone entirely across the country and come to the distant East. He dressed himself, accordingly, in a gorgeous Chinese robe, all embroidered with birds and flowers. When he was ready, he stepped forth to greet, as he supposed, a group of Chinamen. But instead of Chinamen he found t he Indians whose stories you have read. In stead of the sandaled feet of the Chinese treading t he ways of an old country, N icolet found the silent moccasined feet of t he Algonquin and the Sioux Indians following the trails of the deer and the buffalo. (The Winnebago were a division of the Sioux tribe.) And when, :finally, to make his arrival more impressive, Nicolet fired a pistol from each hand , the Indians in their turn thought that their ancestors, the Thunderbirds, had come to life. (One of the interesting things to remember in connection with this story, furthermore, is that J ean N icolet arrived almost at the identical spot where the Thunderbird a ncestors of the Winnebago had alighted in the trees as they came from heaYen to earth. A stone marks the place today at Red Banks, Wisconsin .) News of the arrival of "the wonderful man," as they soon came to call him, spread rapidly . Four or :five thousand Indian men assembled. Each chief gave a feast in honor of N icolet. At one, probably the greatest banquet

11 2

WTSCO TSI N LORE

ever held in Wisconsin, it is said that a t least one hundred a nd twenty beavers were served. During this and the other feasts many speeches were made, many presents of wampum belts were given, and many p ipes of peace were smoked. The red men assured their white brother that they were happy to become friends of New France, and that they would willingly keep peace with their "great French father a t P aris."

N I CO l, ET ]\[ ARKE R, RED BA NKS, WISCONSI.N

Also Approxima tely the F irs t Hom e in Wisconsin of the \11lin nebago Indians

As you grow older you will read many more things about J ean N icolet and the men who followed him. You will know that N icolet's tiresome, dangerous journ ey blazed a lasting path to Wisconsin. You will learn that about t wenty years later t wo brothers-in-law, Radisson and Groseilliers-hard names while they are new to you-

ON AND ON

11 3

built on Chequamegon Bay, an arm of Lake Superior, the first hut for white people in Wisconsin. These men proved further that a successful fur trade was possible in the country west of Lake Michigan. Successful fur trade meant continued good living and happiness for many people in New France. When you are older, too, you will learn t o honor Father Allouez who established the mission of St. Francis

A

"CLOSE-UP" OF THE NICOI. ET lVlAUKER AT R ED BANKS

Xavier at D es Peres (old spelling), the first mission in central Wisconsin. Father Allouez and the other good missionaries who came to Wisconsin thus plan ted the seeds of a better religion in this strange, beautiful country, and following t heir beginning, the story of J esus was told throughout the length and breadth of the Northwest country. It cannot be said, however, that the Indians to any great extent listened to th is story. Large numbers of

] 1-1

WlSCO:\SlN LORE

them preferred their own myths and superstitions, and do even to this day. I know, a lso, as older boys and girls, you will rejoice in the daring work of Louis J oliet and Father Marquette who, once in Wisconsin, pushed on still farthe r than any of the other explorers had done and opened a h ighway by land and water from the F ox R iver t o the Mississippi. Joliet at this time was twenty-eight years of age. As N icolet had been chosen by Champlain for a most important mission, so J oliet was chosen by Count F rontenac, a later ruler of New France. This time the purpose of the journey was to seek definite information about the " broad waterway" that fl.owed, as they t hought, into the P acific Ocean, or "Southern Sea." As always, the second purpose of the expedition was to "com·ert the savages." Father Marquette, a J esuit missionary at M ackinac, was chosen for this work. H e was t hirty-six years old. On May 17, 1673, Joliet a nd Marquette set forth from Mackin ac in two canoes, accompan ied by five French boatmen. J\d:arquette wrote, "Our joy at bei ng chosen for this eA.-pedition roused our courage, and sweetened the labor of paddling from morning t o n ight." This canoe party journeyed, as many other people have done before and since their time, along the northern shores of Lake .Michigan and Green Bay to "D eath's Door. " "Death's D oo r" is a narrow, stormy watenvay where Lake Michigan and Green Bay join. Safely t hrough " The D oor" they glided down the cast shore of the Bay lo the mouth of the Fox River. The journey then led them up the Fox R iver to the ::\fascouten Indian Yillage, near the place where the town of Berlin is now situated. H ere

OX AND OX

11 5

Indian guides joined them and assisted them to reach and safely cross the swampy portage between the Fox and the Wisconsin Rivers, near the location of the present city of Portage. The valley of the new river presen ted a very different picture from the F ox with its swamps and lakes. Marquette himself described it in this way: "It is very broad, with a sandy bottom, forming many shallovvs which render navigation very difficult. It is full of vine-clad islets. On the banks appear fertile lands di versified with wood, prairie, a nd h ill. Here you .find oak, walnut, whitew.ood, and another kind of tree with branches a rmed with long thorns. We saw no small game or fish, but deer and moose in considerable numbers." On June 17, from the Wisconsin River, they paddled out upon the broad waters of the Mississippi. As far as we know they were the :first white men to discover the upper part of it. Surely they were the first to open the door of its great valley t o white settlers. J oliet and M arquette had reached the object of their search. We are told, however, that they continued south on the river for another month, until on July 17, they reached the mouth of the Arkansas. 3 H ere they were informed by Indians that the broad river on which t hey journeyed emptied into the Gulf of Mexico in t he southland, and that it did not open a way through the continent to the P acific Ocean. Wifo this information J oliet and Marquette turned back, the real puzzle of t he con tinent still unsolved; but the minds and hearts of the two explorers were full of the beauty and I t a lmost seems as if the canoes of t hese two famous men were run ning on a. time sc hedul e. 3

11 6

WISCONSI N LORE

wonder of their journey. " The great river ... passes between Florida and M exico to empty into the sea, crossing the most beau tiful country that has ever been seen. I have never, even in France, seen anything more beautiful than the p rairies ; nothing could be more pleasing than the variety of groves and forests, where one may gather plums, apples, p omegranates, lemons, mulberries, and other small fruits not known in Europe. There are quail in the fields and brilliant parrots in the woods; in t he river one catches wondrous fish, hitherto unknown. Iron mines and copper, slate, saltpeter, coal, marble, and sandstones are abundant. The buffalo go in herds ·some of them four hundred in number ; wild turkeys are so common that they are not valued. The Indians raise three crops of maize a year and refreshing watermelons.' ' 4 Why is it that when this difficult journey has been discussed in later years, Father :Marquette has received the greater share of the glory ? It is probably for this reason: When nearly home again, in trying t o pass the treacherou!5 Lachine Rapids near Montreal, J oliet was thrown violently into the water. After a hard struggle, his own life was saved, but his maps a nd written records, the story of his dangerous, carefully fulfi.lled mission , were lost forever. (J oliet Wer made an excellent map of the route followed by the t wo men; it is still considered one of the best maps of his time.) Father Marqu ette, on the other hand, unable to return with Joliet because of illness, during the following winter at D es P eres, wrote a simple account of their trials, dangers, and successes. H e also drew a fairly accu4 From Joliet's lelter on the bo rde r of the map he made for Cotmt Frontenac.

0 1 AND 01

117

rate map of the Mississippi portion of t he expedition. H e claimed nothing for himself; but because his story was the only one ever printed, the credit of it all goes in larger measure to him than to the sturdy chief of the expedition, Louis Joliet. Finally, through t he astonishing work and sacrifices of all the men who followed the trails throughout New France, you will see how the secrets of "the new geography" were solved; and how Champlain's dream of trade and religion carried into the "far west" was realized. Thus we know how well the Prince did his work. Wisconsin, like the princess who slept so long, awoke. It became a part of the French territory. Its general features were well known by the leaders at Quebec, long before the country in between was e>..-plored by the white men . ~ts story was added to the story of the mysterious, fascinating land that lay "somewhere between the East and the West,"-the land that had greeted the eyes of the Genoese sailor.

II

YANKEE BADGERS THE iV EXT LOiVC PERIOD of change and growth in our part of the new country, nearly two hundred years after N icolet stepped from his canoe, was rather tedious but, nevertheless, interesting. T he quiet life of the wilderness was broken from time t o time by disturbances among the Indians, and wars between the peoples who wished t o possess the new land. The English bargaining tradesman gradually slipped in and took the place of the picturesque French fur trader. Finally, in 1836, Wisconsin became an organized territory . During the next twelve years, especially, came the Yankees from New England, Pennsylvan ia, Ne''' York, and Ohio, the greatest numbers coming from western New York. Now the quiet days were over. Hints of enterprise and accomplishment spread throughout the territory. Our own family trees were taking root. The Yankees for the most part were farmers, wheat farmers. I n the East at first their- fields had borne amply, but soil, like other things, becomes worn out. Fewer and fewer bushels of wheat each year made the Yankees know that they must move westward. To the newer states of th e Middle West they journeyed. Some found homes on the prairie lands where breaking the turf was almost prepara118

120

WISCOXSI)r LORE

tion enough for their planting. Others moved into the more wooded districts. This mean t clearing the la nd and, to the Indian, as he thought, the loss of his hunting ground . Yankees were not popular. But they were genuine and interesting. Practical, unafraid, and resourceful, they came drifting into Wisconsin over most of the known routes. From the northeast they came by way of the Great Lakes and Green Bay; from New York and farther East, to Buffalo, D etroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee; from Pennsylvania and Ohio by way of the Ohio and Mississipp i Rivers; or from near and far with ox team and prairie schooner. Their h omes at first were chiefly in the extreme southeastern corner of the state where we now have Racine, Kenosha, 'Walworth, an d Rock Counties. One very early writer in Boston said, " Loading a wagon with a plow, a bed, a barrel of salt meat, the indispensable supply of tea and molasses, a Bible, and a wife, and with his ax on his shoulder, the Yankee sets out for the West, without a servant, without an assistant, often without another male companion, to build himself a log hut, six hundred miles from his father's roof, and clear away a spot for a farm in the midst of the boundless forest .. .. H e is incomparable as a pioneer, unequalled as a settler of the wilderness." Once settled, the Yankees were born "tinkerers." They loved to "tinker" around their farms. T heir cabins were real workshops, and in winter especially they would be found busily making ax handles, staves, hoops, and many other things that they could either use or sell. They were not always as thrifty as this, but their "resourcefulness in the face of untried situations was

122

\VISC01 SIK LORE

equal to the best." \¥hen the time came, moreover, to improve the land, stock, and ways of planting and barv esting, really other ways of "tinkering," the Yankees were the leaders. Our Yankees, furthermore, were always eager to try or to develop new things, far-reaching things. They became interested in planning roads and highways to connect the remote parts of the stale. They wished esp: anti •.tric tlr obqorvc the rule.< atlopkd 1-;,r· their gcu•r11n1c•111 . • :>. 'l'hI ho111». :-,. 'rlit•\ 111 •h1 1101 lea\" lhl.'il' ' :

(/)

0: ~

>-l

'"'

::> P=l ~-

"'

0

~ ~

(.)

"l

~

.~ ll

"' ~ -~

~

:::

!:l ~ f:: :,, ~

0

5·

u '-'"""' '"' -... ~

~

(/)

IJl IJl

f:!

~ ~