VOLUME 35

NUMBER 1

.-•.« * \x-'-' • ',•<• A

 The forerunner of the many sleek Diesel
locomotives used to pilot the Chicago and
l\orth Western Railway Company's trains was
the little "Pioneer." This third-hand
ON THE COVER: engine made its first trip out of the Chicago
station in 1848. A tiny wood-burning but
exciting spectacle in its day, it has been a
major attraction at several expositions,
beginning with the Chicago World's Fair of 1893.

The WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY is published by the State Historical Society of

Wisconsin, 816 State Street, Madison 6, Wisconsin. Distributed to members as part of their
dues (Annual Membership, $3.50; Contributing, $10; Business and Professional, $25:
Life, $100; Sustaining, $100 or more annually). Yearly subscription, $3.50; single numbers,
90 cents. Communications should be addressed to the editor. The Society does not assume
responsibility for statements made by contributors. Entered as second-class matter at the
post office at Madison, Wisconsin, under act of August 24, 1912. Copyright 1951 by the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Paid for in part by the Maria L. and Simeon Mills
Editorial Fund and by the George B. Burrows Fund.
PERMISSION—Wisconsin newspapers may reprint any article appearing in the Wisconsin
Magazine of History provided the story carries the following credit line: Reprinted from the
State Historical Society's Wisconsin Magazine oj History for [insert the season and year
which appears on the Magazine],
PHOTO CREDITS—"Pioneer" engine, cover, supplied by the Public Relations Department,
C. & N.W. Ry. Co., Chicago; J. I. Case, catalogue page facsimile, engine demonstration, and
early engine by Advertising Department, J. I. Case Co., Racine; first locomotive and
streamlined steam locomotive by Public Relations officer, C.M.St.P. & Pac. R.R. Co.,
Chicago; Curtin house and four milk-strike scenes, Milwaukee Journal photos; kitchen
range by A. J. Lindemann, & Hoverson Co., Milwaukee; and miniature kitchen scene and
"Magic Chef" by American Stove Co., St. Louis.
 VOLUME 35
NUMBER 1

ftUtftip#ee

PUBLISHED B YT H E STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY O FW I S C O N S I N • AUTUMN. 1 9 5 1

Editor: CLIFFORD L. LORD

Managing Editor: LILLIAN KRUECER

CONTENTS

J. I. Case: Some Experiences of an Early Wisconsin Industrialist

REYNOLD M. WIK 3

Early Rivalry among Wisconsin Cities for Railroads. .HERBERT W. RICE 10

Jeremiah Curtin, Traveler, Linguist, Ethnologist FREDERIC HEATH 17

La Follette and the Election of 1900: A Half-Century Reappraisal. . . .
ROBERT S. MAXWELL 23

The Wisconsin Milk Strikes HERBERT JACOBS 30

British Conquest of the Old Northwest JOHN H. KRENKEL 49

FEATURES:
Meet the Authors 2 Women's Auxiliary. 39
Smoke Rings 7 Sincerely Y o u r s . . . . 43
Pandora's Box 21 Readers' Choice 45
The Collector 36 Accessions 62
 REYNOLD M. WIK, born at Norbeck, South Dakota, received the B.A.
degree at Sioux Falls College in 1936; the M.A. in 1940 and the Ph.D.
in 1949 at the University of Minnesota. His doctoral dissertation, "Steam
Power on the American Farm," was awarded the $1,500 Albert j . Bever-
idge Memorial Prize by the American Historical Association for 1950.
The manuscript will be published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Dr. Wik has taught in secondary schools and colleges, and at the
University of Minnesota. In 1951 he accepted the May Treat Morrison
chair in American history, Mills College, Oakland, California.
His J. I. Case paper, printed in this issue, was read at the Society's
June, 1951, meeting, held at Green Lake.

meet the authors

A native of Iowa, HERBERT RICE earned
the B.A. degree at Loras College, Du-
buque, in 1925 and the Ph.D. degree at
Iowa State University in 1938. "The Early
History of the Chicago, Milwaukee and
St. Paul Railway Company" was the sub-
ject of his doctoral dissertation. He has
been a member of the history department
staff of Marquette University since 1928.
The history of Wisconsin industries and
railways appeals especially to Professor
Rice, which had its origin in research
work at Chicago University. Currently he
is preparing biographical sketches for the
Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography, a proj-
ect of the State Historical Society.

FREDERIC HEATH is a staunch Milwaukee
citizen. His connections with civic affairs
are legion: he has been a Milwaukee alder-
man, a school director, and for more than
forty years a member of the Milwaukee
County Board of Supervisors. The journal-
istic field claimed him for many years. He
was Milwaukee's first newspaper artist and
was associated with the Milwaukee Sen-
tinel, Journal and Leader. More than an
avocation is Mr. Heath's devotion to State
and local history. After long years of
service, he is now emeritus president of
the Milwaukee County Historical Society;
he has also served as a curator of the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

A native Kentuckian, ROUERT S. MAXWELL
received his undergraduate training at
Kentucky Wesleyan College, his M.A. de-
gree from the University of Cincinnati, and
his Ph.D. from the University of Wiscon-
sin. He is assistant professor of history at
the University of Kentucky. Mr. Maxwell
participated in three campaigns in the
European Theater during World War II.
He was completing a comprehensive study
of the development of the Progressive
Movement in Wisconsin during the sum-
mer, made possible through a grant from
the Committee on the Study of American
Civilization of the University of Wisconsin.

Milwaukee-born HERBERT JACOBS, author
of the story on Wisconsin milk strikes of
1933, has lived in Wisconsin all of his life
with the exception of four years spent at
Harvard and two in Europe. He observed
the first two milk strikes while acting as
Waukesha bureau man for the Milwaukee
Journal in 1933. Since 1936 he has been
with the Capital Times at Madison. Jacobs
is the author of We Chose the Country
(1948), a half-humorous, half-serious ac-
count of a city man and his family moving
to a farm. His latest book is A Practical
Guide for the Beginning Farmer (1951).

JOHN H. KRENKEL is an associate professor American History and American Biog-

of history at Arizona State College, Tempe.
He was born in Atlanta, Illinois, and did
his undergraduate work at the University
of Illinois, where he obtained the B.S. de-
gree in 1933. His Ph.D. came from the
same institution in 1937. His special fields
of research and teaching are the West in
raphy. The Pacific Historical Review,
Mid-America, and the Chicago Schools
Journal have published his contributions.
Before joining the faculty of Arizona State
College, Dr. Krenkel was on the staffs of
several Mid-Western universities.
Few men have been more significant in
the annals of Wisconsin industry and
agriculture than J. I. Case. Here are
some of the fascinating details of his
rise to business success. The cost of
that rise in energy and thought are made
clear by the author, who also offers
some interesting estimates of the man.
J. I. Case: Some Experiences of an Early Wisconsin Industrialist
by Reynold M. Wik
Dr. Joseph Schafer, former superintendent of
the Wisconsin Historical Society, in 1937
selected the names of several men who, in his
opinion, had made the most outstanding con-
tributions to the State in their respective
fields of work. The list included such well-
known persons as Frederick Jackson Turner,
the historian; Robert M. La Follette, Pro-
gressive political leader; and Hamlin Garland
of literary renown. The name of Jerome I.
Case of Racine was placed in this Wisconsin
Hall of Fame to represent manufacturing and
industry.1 Although the choice of such a
panel of great leaders appears strictly arbi-
trary and is probably subject to argument,
yet such a selection creates interest in these
'The author is indebted to Roy I. Case, a grandson
of Jerome Case, living at Racine, Wisconsin, for the
privilege of reading the personal letters of J. I. Case
and for permission to use them in publications.
Similar gratitude is expressed to officials of the
J. I. Case Company, Racine, for access to the early
business correspondence of the company.
The Milwaukee Journal, July 29, 1937. Dr. Scha-
fer's list of famous men also included Chief Justice
Edward G. Ryan; Stephen M. Babcock, agricultural
chemist; Governor William Dempster Hoard, pro-
moter of dairy farming; Alexander Mitchell, banker
and promoter of the Milwaukee and St. Paul Rail-
road; in the field of religion are listed John Martin
Henni, Catholic bishop; Jackson Kemper, Episcopal
bishop; and Stephen Peet, Presbyterian-Congrega-
tion alist leader.
men and encourages a more careful evalu-
ation of their achievements.
The life of J. I. Case, rich with his experi-
ences as a builder of farm machinery, contains
little that may be considered unique or spec-
tacular. His work reveals limited originality
as an inventor, his technical designing reflects
conservative tendencies, and as a manufac-
turer he chose to build machines of proved
performance rather than to initiate radical in-
novations. However, he possessed an extraor-
dinary amount of business sagacity and com-
mon sense. His practical knowledge of the
operation of farm machines gave him a back-
ground of experience which enabled him to
act with foresight and sound judgment. Per-
haps one of his strongest claims to special
recognition lies in the fact that he was a
success, and to be successful is an admirable
quality. The early life of Case is interesting
because it reiterates the meritorious "rags to
riches" theme: ambition and hard work ulti-
mately brings reward, local farm boy makes
good—in all, a sequence of events befitting
the best in Horatio Alger.
In 1800, Caleb and Deborah Case lived
on a farm in Rensselaer County, New York.
Apparently impressed with new opportunities
which lay to the West, they, like thousands of
others, migrated up the Hudson and Mohawk
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 WIK: J . I. CASE
River valleys, pushing the frontier back into
the land of the Five Nations, back to the
shores of Lake Ontario. They settled near
Williamstown, thirty miles above Oswego,
New York, in 1811. There they cleared the
land, built a cabin, tilled the soil, and lived
what was undoubtedly a typical frontier life.2
Here a fourth son, Jerome Increase Case, was
born in 1819.3
Much of the farm work in western New
York in the 1830's required manual labor.
Harvesting with a scythe meant drudgery,
and threshing with the flail necessitated a
back-breaking job lasting most of the winter.
To facilitate threshing, Caleb Case bought
one of the early "groundhog" threshers. This
machine consisted of a wooden cylinder with
spike teeth set in a wooden frame and driven
by a horse in a treadmill. Since the ground-
hog threshed as much grain in an hour as
could be flailed in a day, the Case family
handled their crops in proper season and did
custom threshing for their neighbors as well.4
By the time Jerome Case was twenty-four
years old, he had received some education at
a local elementary school and at a nearby
academy. Experienced as a thresherman, he
now felt ready to make his own way in
the world.
Meanwhile, the agricultural frontier con-
tinued to move westward. The military vic-
tories over the Indians, the building of new
roads and canals, the enactment of more
liberal land laws, all gave momentum to the
waves of settlers who crossed the Appa-
lachians and spread out like a huge fan to
the Mississippi River. The fertility of the
soil encouraged farmers to secure larger acre-
ages. To pay for the land, they sowed wheat,
which was the best cash crop of the frontier,
often its chief medium of exchange.0 In this
expanding agricultural economy more horse-
3
Lydia Wallis Pettit, The Man America Made,
manuscript, Racine, Wisconsin, 1940, pp. 1-12.
Lydia Pettit was a granddaughter of .1. I. Case.
'Ibid., 4.
4
A farmer could flail about ten bushels of wheat
in a day. See Lillian M. Church, "Partial History of
the Development of Grain Threshing Implements
and Machines," United States Department of Agri-
culture, Bureau of Agricultural Engineering, No. 73
(Washington,
E
D.C., 1939), 10.
John G. Thompson, The Rise and Decline of the
Wheat Growing Industry in Wisconsin (Madison,
1909L 24.
drawn reapers, tillage implements, and horse-
powered threshers became imperative.
Cognizant of this need and hearing of the
wonders of the regions beyond the Great
Lakes, J. I. Case moved to Rochester, Wis-
consin, in 1842, taking six threshing machines
with him, all bought on credit. He sold five
of them and did custom threshing with the
sixth machine.0 During the winter of 1842-43
he repaired the thresher and improved it by
adding a fan to aid in the separation of the
grain from the chaff. Since this machine
proved popular with grain farmers, Case be-
gan building them to meet this demand. To
secure the more adequate transportation facili-
ties of Lake Michigan, Case moved to Racine
in 1844 and rented a small shop. Four years
later he put up his own factory, a three-story
building 30 by 80 feet in size.7 Eager to im-
prove his threshing machines, he purchased
various patent rights from other prominent
thresher builders and added sweep and tread
powers to his line of manufactured goods.
The Wisconsin Farmer in 1850 reported that
Case was building 100 threshing machines an-
nually in what was believed to be the "largest
establishment of its kind in the West."8
Jerome Case was a frontier entrepreneur.
In 1840 there were approximately 30,000 peo-
ple living in what now constitutes the State of
Wisconsin, 3,475 of them in Racine County.9
De Bow's Review in 1847 stated that there
were only six men gainfully employed in
factory work in Wisconsin in 1840.10 There
were no railroads in the area, and highways
were wagon trails with few bridges to span
the streams. Chicago, with a population of
4,470, was scarcely more than a frontier town
on a mud flat on the shores of Lake Michi-
gan.11 But during the fabulous forties, Wis-
consin experienced a boom in agriculture,
industry, and commerce. The population
jumped from 30,747 in 1840 to 305,391 in
1850, an increase of 900 percent.12 The Mil-
waukee Sentinel in 1845 announced that an
observer in one day had counted 178 emi-
The Threshermen's Review, 12 (November, 1897).
'Racine Journal, Dec. 31, 1931.
"Wisconsin Farmer, 46 (Feb. 1, 1850).
9
De Bow's Review, 19:61 (July, 1855).
w
Ibid., 4:68 (June, 1847).
"Bessie L. Pierce, A History of Chicago (New
York, 1937): 1:440.
'-De Bow's Review, 14:230-38 (March, 1853).
 beside them. Visitors frequently were unable
to differentiate between the factory owner
and the men on the payroll.16 Many of the
threshers were custom-built. Farmers with
crude pencil drawings often would sketch the
alterations they desired, and Case would super-
vise the construction to suit the customer.17
Apparently this work kept Case busy, for
in writing to his wife on July 17, 1849, he
explained that on the previous day he had
arisen, eaten breakfast, and gotten to the shop
before six o'clock. He added that business

Case Engine Used for Demonstration Purposes

grant wagons on the twenty-mile stretch of

road between Vernon and Milwaukee.13
With an expanding market and a growing
demand for factory goods, manufacturers
were in a good position to capitalize on these
opportunities. Although business conditions
might appear ideal, yeL ihe life of a pioneer
factory owner was not an easy one. Manu-
facturers faced innumerable difficulties in
matters of production, advertising, sale, dis-
tribution, and collection. Those who succeeded
owed much to their hard work, ingenuity, and
business acumen. The experiences of J. I.
Case reflect some of the problems and un-
certainties which plagued an early manu-
facturer of farm machinery in Wisconsin. Type of Case Engines Manufactured in the
In building threshing machines, production Early 1870''s
required that raw materials, such as lumber
was good, and there were plenty of customers,
and cast iron, be converted into the finished
who hurried him "almost to death."18
product. Much of the shopwork was done by
Although Case may have preferred the
blacksmiths, millwrights, and carpenters who
smoky atmosphere of his machine shops, his
relied on hand tools for most of the drilling,
duties often called him out of town. When
planing, patternmaking, and woodworking. business declined, he traveled throughout the
When jobbers supplied inferior castings, Case Midwest by horse and buggy, stagecoach,
built his own foundry in 1855.14 This self- river boat, and afoot looking for orders, often
sufficient trend continued until by 1857 he remaining away for weeks at a time. In his
could advertise "every article connected with letters to his wife, still preserved by his grand-
the threshing machine is made on the prem- children in Racine, are revealed some of the
ises."15 To supervise the seventy men work- vexations experienced by the founder of one
ing in the Racine shops, Case often worked of America's most successful threshing ma-
chine companies.19
"Niles' Register, 101 (Oct. 18, 1845).
M
J. I. Case wallhanger advertisement, Racine, "Racine News, March 31, 1858.
Wisconsin, 1855. "Pettit,
1S
manuscript, 31.
15 J. I. Case, Racine, to his wife Lydia, July 17, 1849.
J. I. Case handbill advertisement, Racine, April
25, 1857. See also Hans J. Anderson, "A Brief Bit "The J. I. Case grandchildren living in Racine
of Case Engine and Thresher History," manuscript, are: Roy I. Case, Mrs. Malcolm Erskine, and Lydia
1951, p. 2, Minnesota State Historical Society, Percival Fuller.
St. Paul. (Continued on page 64)
 The McCormick Collections are now in
Madison and soon will again be available to
the scholarly public. They constitute the most
important single collection ever to come to
the Society. The manuscripts, totaling well
over a million pieces, consist of the Cyrus
Hall McCormick family papers, 1790-1940;
the records of companies absorbed by The
International Harvester Company in the con-
solidation of 1902 (the McCormick Reaper
Companies, 1848-1902; the Deering Harvester
Company, 1877-1902; the Piano Manufactur-
ing Company, 1881-1902; the Milwaukee
Harvester Company, 1899-1902; D. M. Os-
borne and Company, 1896—1904) ; papers of
collateral McCormick families, 1824-1905;
the Col. James McDowell Papers, 1739-1838;
the James D. Davidson Papers, 1826-1906;
a substantial group of Virginia and other
papers. Printed items, totaling some 20,000,
include agricultural periodicals, agricultural
society publications, mechanical periodicals,
catalogs, religious periodicals, and other
items, many of them rare, complementing and
supplementing the main fields of interest
represented in the manuscript records. Note-
worthy among them are agricultural periodi-
cals predating to 1860, foreign agricultural
society publications, British works on general
agriculture, rare bibliographical publications,
early travels, almanacs, scarce items on me-
chanics, publications of foreign expositions,
an extensive group of mechanical catalogs,
reaper patents, records of McCormick law-
suits, Presbyterian publications, Virginia and
other newspapers, and special bibliographies.
The collections also contain a considerable
number of facsimiles, typewritten manuscripts,
films, photographs, lithographs, engravings,
drawings, maps, paintings, and phonographic
recordings. Museum items include models of
McCormick and other reapers and mowers,
and a number of full and reduced scale
models of other farm implements.
The total represents one of the most im-
portant collections of manuscripts and related
materials heretofore in private hands in the
country. The McCormick Collections have
been bid for spiritedly by institutions all
over the country. They come to Wisconsin,
where by happy coincidence the presence of
the Society's American History Research
Center, the State University's College of
Letters and Science and the College of Agri-
culture on the same campus insure maximum
utilization of the riches of the collections.
Together with this much-sought collection,
the Society "acquires" Dr. and Mrs. Herbert
Kellar. Dr. Kellar is already known to many
of our members. He has spoken a number of
times in Wisconsin, has attended our last
two Founders' Days, presenting the awards of
the American Association for State and Local
History at the 1950 meeting. His name is
known to many more. A native of Nebraska,
he took his doctorate in history at the
University of Wisconsin. After teaching
at the Universities of Texas and Minne-
sota, he became in 1915 curator (later
director) of the McCormick Historical As-
sociation in Chicago, a post he has since
occupied with distinction. He has also
been director of the experimental division
of library cooperation, Library of Con-
gress, 1941-42; chairman of the national
advisory committee of the Historical Records
Survey, 1940-42; member of the committee
of the American Council of Learned Societies
on microcopying materials for research,
1940-46; chairman of the committee on
historical source materials, American Histori-
cal Association, 1939^16; chairman of the
committee on manuscripts for the same Asso-
ciation, 1947-48. He has been a member of
the board of editors and president of the
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Mississippi Valley Historical Association;
secretary-treasurer, vice-president, and presi-
dent of the Agricultural History Society,
member of the council and vice-president of
the Society of American Archivists, member
of the council and vice-president of the
American Association for State and Local
History. Among his writings are a two-
volume biography of Solon Robinson and
contributions to the Dictionary of American
Biography. He received an honorary LL.D.
from Augustana (Rock Island) in 1947.
Your editor has known Herbert Kellar for
over fifteen years, and welcomes him whole-
heartedly to the Society and to its councils.
He is the kind of fellow we all like—a man
who is not afraid of new ideas. He should
not be, because he is full of them. With his
experience with the restoration of the
McCormick Mill in Rockbridge County, Vir-
ginia; his knowledge of and interest in farm
implements and the history of the mechaniza-
tion of agriculture; and his interest in the
collection and dissemination of knowledge,
he brings new ideas and new approaches to
many of the projects we now have under
way. He will be in charge of the McCormick
Collections for the Society and for some time
will be busy chiefly in completing, with
Mrs. Kellar, a biography of Cyrus Hall
McCormick. Thereafter he will be free to
help us full time. In the meantime we expect
a new stimulus from his presence.
Mrs. Kellar, who has long helped carry on
the work of the McCormick Historical Asso-
ciation at her husband's side, is a native of
La Crosse (Lucile O'Connor). So both the
Kellars have strong Wisconsin ties. We wel-
come them home.
The Society is grateful that after long and
careful consideration it has been chosen as
the logical depository for these enormously
rich collections. We acknowledge, too, the in-
valuable and unstinting help we have received
from the University in making the arrange-
ments, particularly through President Fred
and Professor McNall. Mr. Sensenbrenner,
Dean Ingraham, members of the history de-
partment, and others have given invaluable
aid. ''Cooperation," as Mr. Sensenbrenner
remarked at the close of a dinner meeting
between the members of the Board of Regents
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
and a group of our curators last fall, "is the
watchword." It has paid off magnificently in
this instance, to the permanent benefit of
both the Society and the University.
Plans for the Draper Centennial in 1954
are rapidly shaping up under the guidance
of a special committee headed by Dr. David
H. Stevens of Ephraim. Plans for publica-
tion of a biography of Draper by Professor
William B. Hesseltine and a history of the
Society by the director have been approved
and other publication possibilities are being
considered. Four major public events are
tentatively planned for the year. In January
the Society will again observe Founders'
Day, the actual anniversary of Draper's be-
coming the first paid corresponding secretary
of the Society. In April the Society is invit-
ing the Mississippi Valley Historical Associa-
tion and the American Association for State
and Local History to hold a joint convention
in Madison as its guests. In June the annual
convention of the Society will be held in
Madison. To this affair, delegates from our
sister historical societies and educational in-
stitutions all over the country will be invited.
In the fall the Society of American Archivists
and the National Society of Autograph Col-
lectors will be urged to hold their conventions
in Madison in honor of Dr. Draper, to whom
both professions are deeply indebted.
Special programs are envisaged for these
occasions. Public forums, round table dis-
cussions, and symposia are planned. Leading
figures in the professions represented in these
learned societies will be invited not only to be
present but to participate. The committee
expects that at least several of the sessions
will have a distinctive international flavor.
Topics such as a reassessment of the import-
ance of regional and local history, the role
of the state, the theory and practice of archi-
val preservation, new viewpoints in American
history, and similarly challenging and signi-
ficant subjects promise to advance the hori-
zons of knowledge and to furnish papers
worthy of publication in book form. Other
aspects of the celebration are still in the dis-
cussion stage, but it is the clear intention of
the committee to stage a centennial obser-
vance worthy of the subject.
 SMOKE RINGS
Perhaps to some of our readers the place
of Lyman Copeland Draper in American his-
toriography has become obscured with the
passage of the years. At Green Lake, Profes-
sor Hesseltine credited Draper with setting
the intellectual climate of interest in frontier
history which produced the famous Turner
thesis. Draper's collecting prowess has won
continuing national recognition as each gen-
eration of American historians consults anew
the magnificent collection of manuscripts on
the old frontier and the great library which
he built literally from almost nothing to what
by his death was recognized as the finest in
the field of American history west of the Al-
leghenies. Less well known but nonetheless
important are his contributions to the field of
autograph collecting, archival practice, and
the free public library. In addition he was a
generation or two ahead of his time in collect-
ing for the historical museum. In library,
manuscript, and museum work he made a
deep impact on American practice. In the
materials he collected, he rescued from ob-
livion the records of a pioneer generation and
made possible much of our present knowledge
of the early development of the trans-
Appalachian West.
More impressive than anything we can
write of Draper is what professional leaders
in the library and historical callings through-
out the nation say of him. Here is a sampling
of recent letters received since the initial an-
nouncement some months ago of the plans
for an observance of the centennial of Drap-
er's advent to the post with our Society in
which he won his lasting fame.
"I wish . . . to point out what extraordinary
importance in American historical and schol-
arly life attached to Draper's career. Draper
was one of the first, as he remains one of the
greatest figures who laid the foundation of
American histories through the comprehensive
and systematic collecting of historical re-
sources. He was one of the first to be aware
of the peculiar historical significance of the
western frontier and built up the first import-
ant center for the study of the history of the
trans-Appalachian region. He remains one of
the towering figures in the American histori-
cal profession."
—LUTHER H. EVANS, Librarian of Congress
"Probably no American citizen of his gen-
eration appreciated more the necessity and
desirability of collecting the manuscript rec-
ord of the pioneers who built America and
created the way of life which we today
cherish so much. . . . His name is known to
every American historian, and every research
worker in American history sooner or later
turns to the records which he left for the his-
tory of the Mississippi Valley in the nine-
teenth century."
—A. T. VOLWILER, Ohio University
"In a sense, Dr. Draper stands out as one
of the great intellectual heroes of American
and midwestern achievement."
—THEODORE C. BLEGEN, University
of Minnesota
The American Association for State and
Local History is about to circularize our
membership, with the approval of our Board,
with an invitation to subscribe to the remark-
able new quarterly American Heritage. This
is one of those rare magazines that sells itself.
With a four-color cover and with a good pro-
portion of its many illustrations also in four
colors, it is by all odds the handsomest his-
torical magazine available. It is written delib-
erately for the general reader, for the count-
less thousands to whom history is fascinating
when not cloaked and concealed in wordage
which quickly summons Morpheus to their
relief. To members of the Association also
comes a regular printed newsletter containing
many items certain to be provocative and in-
spirational to members of local historical
societies, together with the irregularly issued
Bulletin, each number dealing with some
phase of work again of interest to the active
historical society member. It is a bargain
that we strongly endorse. Five dollars seldom
buys an equal value. Subscriptions should
be sent to S. K. Stevens, business manager,
Box 969, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Much bickering between early communi-
ties, with cooperation at a minimum,
leads one to wonder that a spike was
ever driven to secure a rail. Many rail-
road charters were issued, but few lines
were completed. Over the years the
development of railroad transportation
from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi
became an increasingly feasible project
to a considerable number of citizens.
Petty jealousies were ironed out, and
between 1836 and 1859 two companies,
out of some 125 that were chartered,
built such east-west lines.
Early Rivalry among Wisconsin Cities for Railroads
by Herbert XV. Rice
The element of rivalry was one of the dis-
tinctive features of the early development of
Wisconsin's railways. It manifested itself in
various ways. There was the rivalry between
cities and villages, between groups of cities
and villages, or between different sections of
the State. Finally this rivalry was but a phase
of the larger contest between the promoters
of the Mississippi and Gulf route and those
of the Great Lakes and Erie Canal route for
the trade of the Upper Mississippi Valley.
Evidence of rivalry among the communities
of Wisconsin can be gleaned from the pro-
ceedings of railroad meetings, from the nu-
merous petitions presented to the Legislature,
from the votes recorded on railroad charter
bills, from the efforts of politicians, promoters,
and editors, and lastly from the overwhelming
majorities by which aid was voted for local
railroad enterprises.
Although the railroad was a new idea, the
residents of early Wisconsin took up the im-
provement with enthusiasm and a great deal
of optimism. In January, 1836, while Wis-
consin was still a part of the Territory of
Michigan, Benjamin H. Edgerton, a member
of the Committee on Internal Improvements
in the legislative council of the territory, then
in session at Green Bay, reported in favor of
10
The First Locomotive of the Milwaukee Road, Built
in 1848, Was the First Engine To Be Used in Wis-
consin. It Was Known, at Different Times, as the
"Bob Ellis" and the "Iowa."
a memorial to Congress. It asked for a survey
of a route for a railroad from Milwaukee to
the Mississippi and cited statistics to show
the "immense saving" a railroad would bring
in transporting lead by way of the Erie Canal
to New York.1
On September 17, 1836, a number of citi-
zens of Milwaukee met at a local hotel "to
exchange views and adopt measures in rela-
tion to the construction of a railroad from
Milwaukee to the Mississippi River." It de-
cided to petition the territorial Legislature at
its next session to charter a company "for the
purpose of constructing a railroad, by the
nearest and best route," from Milwaukee to
the Mississippi River by way of Mineral Point,
"if practicable, and if not, then so near that
place as a feasible route can be obtained."2
In response to a petition from citizens of
Milwaukee County in November, 1836, a bill
was introduced in the Legislature to incor-
porate a railroad from Lake Michigan to the
Mississippi River. The bill failed to pass.3
Its defeat was largely the result of the opposi-
tion of the promoters and supporters of the
'Moses M. Strong, History of the Territory of Wis-
consin from 1636 to 1848 (Madison, 1885), 202-3.
"Milwaukee Advertiser, Sept. 22, 1836.
'Wisconsin Territorial House Journal. 1836, pp. 73,
82, 100.

This is America's First Newly Built, Scientifically
Streamlined Steam Locomotive. Nos. 1 and 2 Hauled
the Milwaukee Road Hiawatha through Wisconsin
on Its Initial Trip—One in Either Direction between
Chicago and Minneapolis. These Trains Clipped Off
Belmont and Dubuque railroad project. They
had succeeded in obtaining a charter which
authorized the construction of a railroad in
the lead mining region between Belmont and
"the nearest and most eligible point on the
Mississippi," with a branch to Mineral Point
and Dodgeville.4 During the ten years, 1836
to 1846, the territorial Legislature chartered
six railroad companies. None of the charters,
however, provided for a railroad from Lake
Michigan to the Mississippi. Several bills
were introduced for that purpose, but they
were defeated.
Among the various factors which con-
tributed to the defeat of proposals for a rail-
road from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi
was the rivalry which prevailed among the
Wisconsin villages that made it difficult, if
not impossible, to decide on a route or to
fix specific termini. Milwaukee, Racine,
Kenosha, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, and Green
Bay each desired to be the terminus on Lake
Michigan, while Prairie du Chien, Cassville,
Potosi. and La Crosse competed for the
terminus on the Mississippi River. Interior
villages, such as Fond du Lac, Janesville,
Mineral Point, Belmont, Beloit, and Dodge-
ville, either wished to see the road pass
through their respective communities or had
their own pet projects. The customary outlet
for the lead trade of northwestern Illinois
*Wisconsin Territorial Laws, 1836, p. 84.
11
*
410 Miles in 375 Minutes with Time Out for Seven
Station Stops on the Way. Instead of Oil-Burners
the Hiawathas Are Now Propelled by Powerful
Diesel-Electric Locomotives; No. 2 Is Hauling a
Train between Milwaukee and Chicago.
and southwestern Wisconsin had been the
Mississippi-Gulf route to New York, but Mil-
waukee and Chicago promoters hoped to
attract a considerable portion of it to the
cheaper and faster Great Lakes-Erie Canal
route.
In the southwestern part of the territory,
sentiment was divided. Because of the in-
fluence of the St. Louis interests, some favored
the Mississippi route; others favored a rail-
road to Milwaukee which would provide a
shorter route to the Great Lakes. There were
still others who favored Chicago, largely be-
cause of the influence of the Galena interests
which were urging the immediate construction
of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad
which had been chartered by the Illinois
Legisture in 1836 to build a line from Chicago
toward the Mississippi "near the lead mines
of Galena, Illinois, and Dubuque, Iowa."
Kenosha wanted to build a railroad to
Beloit and southward to connect with the
Galena and Chicago Union and for this pur-
pose a charter was obtained in 1840 incorpo-
rating the Michigan and Rock River Rail
Road Company and authorizing it to construct
a railroad from Rock River at the Illinois
State line to some point on, Lake Michigan
in the township of Southport (Kenosha) .5
Desirous of tapping the resources of the Rock
'Ibid., 1839-40, pp. 12-18. This company built no
railroad.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
River valley, the railroad interests of Racine
succeeded in getting from the Legislature a
charter for the Racine and Rock River Rail
Road Company to build a road between
Racine and Janesville. 6 The railroad pro-
moters of Milwaukee failed to obtain a charter
because of the enthusiasm attached to the
Milwaukee and Rock River Canal Company
which had been chartered in 1838. 7
The improvement of the Fox and Wiscon-
sin rivers would have been the realization of
the highest hopes of Green Bay. Fond du Lac
and Sheboygan divided their support between
the Fox and Wisconsin improvement and their
own Fond du Lac and Sheboygan railroad
project. Southwestern Wisconsin was some-
what inclined to support the Fox and Wis-
consin improvement. The editor of the Grant
County Herald (Lancaster) wrote that he
favored the plan because it would secure the
Galena and Potosi lead trade even if there
were "forty railroads to Lake Michigan." 8
But Cassville, in Grant County, preferred a
railroad from that place across the territory
to Lake Michigan.
Agitation for a railroad across the territory
received added impetus in 1845 when Asa
Whitney journeyed across the territory from
Milwaukee with a party in search of a suitable
route for a transcontinental railroad from
Lake Michigan to the mouth of the Columbia
River. His journey across Wisconsin and his
publicity campaign in behalf of the Pacific
railroad plan attracted wide attention. 9 To
the people of Wisconsin the Lake Michigan
and Mississippi railroad project was now
described by its friends as an important link
in the chain of communications that was to
extend from New York to the Pacific coast
and the Orient. The editor of the Grant
County Herald noted with pride the fact that
Whitney, in coming West, had not traveled
by way of Galena. 10 In 1846 a supporter of
the Fond du Lac and Sheboygan project wrote
that when the Fond du Lac road was "ex-
tended farther on, it would only be an exten-
'Ibid., 1837-38, pp. 197. This company built no
railroad.
'Ibid., 50-58.
Teb. 6, 1847.
"Margaret L. Brown, "Asa Whitney and His Pacific "Fond du Lac Whig, Dec. 31, 1846.
Railroad Publicity Campaign," Mississippi Valley
Historical Review. XX:209-24.
"Grant County Herald, June 28 and July 5, 1845. "Ibid., Aug. 23, 1850.
AUTUMN, 1951
sion of Whitney's project to the Pacific across
the Rocky Mountains, and before the Fox and
Wisconsin rivers are connected we will see
cars coming into Fond du Lac freighted with
teas fresh and direct from the East Indies."11
In 1849, the editor of the Potosi Republican
voiced his opinion that the proposed rail-
road from Milwaukee to the Mississippi will
serve as a continuation, or rather connect-
ing link between the Milwaukee and Mis-
sissippi, and the chain of the Great Pacific
Railway. And thus connected it needs no
great foresight to see the immense travel
of the Upper Lakes, diverted from its
present channel, passing over our Northern
road, from Milwaukee via Madison, Potosi
and Dubuque, through all the delightful
and varied scenery of Wisconsin and Iowa,
to the Great Metropolis of the West, St.
Louis, and thence onward to the far west-
ern States of Oregon and California.12
In 1850, a Milwaukee editor assured his
readers that Wisconsin "must and will be the
greater thoroughfare from east, to an almost
boundless and productive west, beyond the
Mississippi."13
Beginning with 1845, the territorial Legis-
lature was "literally flooded" with petitions
from counties, towns, and villages for a rail-
road to the Mississippi. The petitioners gen-
erally agreed that the railroad should extend
from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, but
sharply disagreed as to the route and the
termini. They proposed routes from Mil-
waukee to the Mississippi by way of Madison
or Janesville; from Sheboygan to the Missis-
sippi by way of Fond du Lac; from Kenosha
to the Mississippi; from Racine to the Mis-
sissippi; and from Manitowoc to the Missis-
sippi. The terminus on the Mississippi was
usually described as "such eligible point as
shall be determined."
Bills were introduced in response to these
petitions, but no bill was able to obtain a
majority in the Legislature until January,
1847, when a bill incorporating the Sheboy-
gan and Fond du Lac Rail Road Company
was passed. A few days prior to its passage,
the editor of the Fond du Lac Whig informed
his readers that the names Fond du Lac and
"Quoted in Milwaukee Sentinel and Gazette
Dec. 31, 1849.
12
 RICE: RIVALRY FOR RAILROADS
Sheboygan "seem to blend together with a
perfection not common to places so far apart,"
that "the interests of these places are one"
and that there is a close alliance "of the in-
terests of that place and Fond du Lac."14 A
writer in the same journal opined that with a
railroad from Fond du Lac to Sheboygan "we
could go puffing into Sheboygan and be in
the cabin of some of those splendid steamers
on our way to Buffalo which would never go
or think of going to Green Bay." He was
certain that "if the people at home do not
take stock, there are capitalists east that
would jump at the chance."15
In February, 1847, a bill was passed in-
corporating the Lake Michigan and Missis-
sippi Railroad Company and authorizing it to
construct a railroad from "some point on
Lake Michigan to a point on the Mississippi
River in Grant County."16 No mention was
made of termini or points on the route. The
council had amended the title by striking out
"Milwaukee" and inserting "Lake Michigan."
A motion in the council to restore "Milwau-
kee" to the bill was defeated. The vote on
final passage was 13 to 11. Eight northern
counties—Brown, Manitowoc, Fond du Lac,
Calumet, Winnebago, Portage, Washington,
and Sheboygan—voted against the measure
because of their support of the Fox and Wis-
consin improvement or of the Fond du Lac
and Sheboygan railroad enterprise. Six south-
ern counties voted for it, and Racine, which
had its own railroad ambitions, voted against
it. Five counties divided their votes.17 Neither
the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac nor the
Lake Michigan constructed any railroad.
A week later, the Legislature passed an act
incorporating the Milwaukee and Waukesha
Railroad Company by a close vote of 13
to 12.18 Probably because it was a short line,
the northern counties voted generally in favor
of the bill, while the southern counties having
obtained the Lake Michigan and Mississippi
charter, voted against it.
During the decade of the fifties, the fever
of speculation ran high. The Legislature
chartered more than 100 railroad companies
15
"Jan. 7, 1847. Dec. 31, 1846.
ls
Laws of Wisconsin Territory, 1847, 72.
"Wisconsin Territorial Council Journal, 1847,
p. 163; House Journal, 1847, p. 121.
w
Ibid., 240.
13
during the decade. In March, 1853, a report
of a committee of the Milwaukee Board of
Trade commented: "The past year has been
fruitful of Railroad enterprises. Charters
have been granted by the Legislature, which
if rendered efficient, would, when laid upon
the map, make Wisconsin look like a spider's
web. Some of them will, doubtless, be built."19
By 1853 each of the rival cities and villages
on or near the Lake had succeeded in obtain-
ing a charter for a railroad to the Mississippi.
The Manitowoc and Mississippi was chartered
in 1851; the La Crosse and Milwaukee, the
Sheboygan and Mississippi, and the Racine,
Janesville and Mississippi in 1852, and in
1853 the Green Bay and Minnesota, the
Fond du Lac and Mississippi, and the Kenosha
and Beloit by which Kenosha aimed to reach
the Mississippi. Only two of the charters
mentioned specific terminal points on the
Mississippi: the Manitowoc and Mississippi
and the La Crosse and Milwaukee named
La Crosse.
Three of the companies, the Manitowoc
and Mississippi, the Fond du Lac and Mis-
sissippi, and the Green Bay and Minnesota,
constructed no railroad. The Sheboygan and
Mississippi built about twenty miles of road
from Sheboygan to Glenbeulah and, after a
number of corporate changes, became a part
of the Chicago and North Western Railway
Company. The Kenosha and Beloit underwent
a number of corporate changes, built a road
between Kenosha and Rockford in 1862, and
eventually was acquired by the Chicago and
North Western. The Racine, Janesville and
Mississippi also experienced several corporate
changes and built a road from Racine to
Beloit by way of Elkhorn and Delavan, to
which the route was changed when Janesville
refused to vote aid to the company. The
company was absorbed eventually by the
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway
Company. The other two companies—the
Milwaukee and Waukesha and the La Crosse
and Milwaukee—succeeded in reaching the
Mississippi.
The Milwaukee and Waukesha was granted
authority in 1848 to extend its line from
Waukesha to Madison "and thence west to
such point on the Mississippi River, in Grant
"Milwaukee Sentinel, March 28, 1853.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
County, as the company may determine."20
This move buoyed the hopes of Potosi
and Cassville by removing Prairie du Chien
in Crawford County as a competitor for the
terminus on the Mississippi. The name of
the company was changed in 1850 to the
Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad Com-
pany21 which was further indicative of the
enlarged ambitions of its officers and directors.
When the Milwaukee and Mississippi
reached Madison in 1854, the question arose,
in what direction and to what terminus on the
Mississippi shall it be extended? On April
24, 1854, the editor of the Potosi Republican
noted that "it appears to us that the managers
of the M & M Railroad are at a great loss
to know the exact point for the most profitable
terminus of a Railroad from Milwaukee to
the Mississippi." Potosi hoped to have the
road extended to Dodgeville where it would
connect with the Potosi and Dodgeville, for
which, he said, "the citizens of Potosi had a
charter granted by the legislature, for the
purpose of building a road from Potosi to
Dodgeville where it was to connect with the
Milwaukee and Mississippi coming from Mil-
waukee." He further stated that "the citizens
of Green, Lafayette and Grant counties were
determined upon having a railroad pass
through or near their principal towns, enroute
from Janesville to the Mississippi." He con-
tinued: "A railroad near the heart of the
lead mines, will pay, and speculators are
beginning to find it out." He further empha-
sized the point that Potosi is bound to have
a railroad and it does not "care a fig which
way it comes from." He consoled his readers,
however, with the thought that should the
terminus of the Wisconsin road not "suit us
of the lead mines, we can easily accommodate
ourselves by building a Branch to the Illinois
Central, which will reach the Mississippi op-
posite to Dubuque." Thereafter, the editor
extolled the trade advantages and future
prospects of Dunleith (East Dubuque) and
predicted the decline of Galena.22
As early as May, 1852, Buel Hutchinson,
editor of the Crawford County Courier,
Prairie du Chien, warned that the Milwaukee
''"Wisconsin, Territorial Laws, 1848, pp. 239-40.
^Wisconsin
2!
Session Laws, 1850, pp. 32-33.
Potosi Republican, Feb. 3, 1855.
14
AUTUMN. 1 9 5 1
and Mississippi "ought to and will terminate
at Prairie du Chien" because it is the nearest
point on the Mississippi that can be reached
by railroad from Milwaukee and because
the route along the Wisconsin valley is
the "best, cheapest and most practical and
of less grade, than any that can be found.'
He further argued that Prairie du Chien
presents the finest location for a city, such
as must spring up at the terminus; it is
the natural nucleus for a large scope of
country, the business of which will center
at Prairie du Chien; it has a good landing,
sufficient, at high or low tide, for all the
boats of St. Louis, and it will gather in all
the trade of Upper Wisconsin, Iowa, and
Minnesota.23
The Grant County Herald and the La Crosse
Spirit of the Times strongly disagreed with
Hutchinson. The editor of the latter journal
favored the extension of the Milwaukee and
Mississippi to La Crosse by way of the
Baraboo valley and labored industriously to
show that La Crosse, and none other, is the
proper point on the Mississippi for the
western terminus of the road. The Times
editor insisted that the arguments used by
Hutchinson to justify Prairie du Chien as
the terminus applied "with double force
to La Crosse." But Hutchinson doubted
"whether the proprietors of that journal are
correctly informed of the region which
lies between them and the Wisconsin; it
would scarcely seem possible that any one
acquainted with it would think of travers-
ing it with a railroad." He continued:
But yet, gentlemen, we will differ with you
in good humor; for we, of course, look
upon it rather as your misfortune than your
fault that you have located a "leetle" too
high up the river for your own interests.
And further, this road is destined at no
very distant day to cross the mighty river
which forms the connecting link and thor-
oughfare of the tropics and the poles; the
vast prairies of Nebraska will catch a
glimpse of the iron horse, as it speeds its
way to the shores of the Pacific, and, re-
versing the tide of emigration and trade,
will whirl the wealth of the Celestial Empire
to the cities of the Atlantic.24
23
May 26, 1852.
2l
Crawford County Courier, June 2, 1852. See also
the issues of June 9, 16, 23; July 21, 28: Aug. 18,
1852; and July 27, 1853.
 RICE: RIVALRY FOR RAILROADS
Prairie du Chien's opponents, however, had
been waging a losing battle. Before the Mil-
waukee and Mississippi reached Madison, the
Prairie du Chien promoters had obtained
from the Legislature in 1852 a charter for
the Madison and Prairie du Chien Rail Road
Company to build a line from Madison to
Prairie du Chien.25 In May, 1853, the two
companies were consolidated, and the road
was completed to Prairie du Chien in 1857.
While La Crosse supported a Milwaukee
and Mississippi extension from Madison to
La Crosse by way of the Baraboo valley,
it supported another project with more
enthusiasm, the La Crosse and Milwaukee.
This project originated in 1852 with Byron
Kilbourn after his removal from the presi-
dency of the Milwaukee and Mississippi
Company. To take the lead in promoting the
enterprise, he selected Moses M. Strong of
Mineral Point. To this end he called at
Strong's office and told him that he had a
measure "worth a dozen of the Milwaukee
and Mississippi railroad. It was not less than
to build a railroad from Milwaukee to the
west that would forever control the trade of
the Upper Mississippi." La Crosse was de-
cided upon as the logical point for a river
connection. Other roads, he thought, might
be built above, but "none clear through" and
they would serve as feeders to his proposed
road. Strong favored the plan, and it was
agreed that he should go to Madison where
the Legislature was in session. The bill for
the charter "was to be handled cautiously,
and such was the prejudice of members, that
nothing was to be said about Kilbourn or
Milwaukee, or the bill would be knocked
skyward." It was to be presented, therefore,
as a measure beneficial to La Crosse—"a
little, distant, out of the way hamlet, that a
few hardly heard of." The bill excited no
suspicion and was passed without opposi-
tion.26 The act named Moses M. Strong as a
^Wisconsin Session Laws, 1852, pp. 272-79.
20
"Early History of the LaC. & M.R.R. for La
Crosse Leader, first Draft, June 15, 1870," Moses M.
Strong Papers, Wisconsin Historical Society Library.
See also the Waukesha Republican, May 19, 1857, for
a slightly different version.
15
commissioner but not Byron Kilbourn.27
When the company was organized Strong and
Kilbourn were elected to the board of direc-
tors. Strong was elected president and Byron
Kilbourn was named chief engineer. Although
the charter authorized the company to build
a railroad from La Crosse to Milwaukee, con-
struction was begun at Milwaukee and was
completed to La Crosse by way of Horicon
and Portage in 1858.
Thus by 1858, two of the four early com-
petitors on the Mississippi—Prairie du Chien
and La Crosse—had obtained railroads. There-
after, Potosi and Cassville supported the
Dunleith, Prairie du Chien and La Crosse
and other projects but without success. To
1860 no fewer than twenty-six railroad com-
panies had been chartered to construct rail-
roads across Grant County, but Potosi and
Cassville had to wait until 1886 when the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Company extended its line along the Missis-
sippi River from East Dubuque, Illinois, to
Prescott, Wisconsin.
From 1836 to 1859, some 125 railroad
companies were chartered. Of these com-
panies only 14 ever constructed any railroad
to the end of 1859 and of these only 2—the
Milwaukee and Mississippi and the La Crosse
and Milwaukee—succeeded in reaching the
Mississippi River.
During the decade of the fifties, Wisconsin
cities and villages also vied with one another
to reach Lake Superior. There were chartered
the Green Bay and Lake Superior, Oshkosh
and Lake Superior, Fond du Lac and Lake
Superior, Milwaukee and Lake Superior, and
the Portage City and Lake Superior. Here
again the charters indicated no specific
termini on Lake Superior except the charter
of the Milwaukee and Lake Superior which
fixed the terminus at the village of Superior.
None of these projects ever materialized.
Though all of the rivals mentioned in this
paper succeeded in obtaining one or more
railroad charters during the period, 1836 to
1859, not all succeeded in obtaining railroads.
Eventually they did.
"Wisconsin Session Laws, 1852, pp. 325-33.

Lincoln-Tallman Museum Dedication
". . . We may ask ourselves, and in
part answer our own question: 'Why
do we take joy and pride in the dedica-
tion of these premises this afternoon
. . . ?'
"It would be easy to give an answer,
and not an incorrect one either, in
terms employed by the Wisconsin State
Historical Society in denning its own
mission in existence: the 'advancement
and dissemination of knowledge of the
history of Wisconsin and of the Middle
West.' Especially would this be true in
respect of what is coming to be styled
'Folk Culture'—as, for example, in the
instances of the representative 'Rogers
Group,' the high-Victorian period furni-
ture, the hot-air heating system, and
other conveniences, or lack of conven-
iences.
"On the whole, however, and in the
case of a museum of this size and scope,
so rationalistic and noetic an approach
seems not quite to meet the case. The
basic reason for what we do this after-
noon is, it seems to me, our wish that
our children and our children's children
shall come to love what we have come
to love. The State Society in language
studiously correct styles this the Ameri-
can Heritage. But these words are quite
political and legalistic in their current
16
Robert K. Richardson
associations—too little psychological
and affectional. We may have these
same political, constitutional, and social
aims in view, but we work for them in-
directly.
"We cherish the antiques in our own
homes often (not always) for their in-
herent beauties, but more often because
of their associations with our parents
or grandparents, with old homesteads
and with our own childhoods—or if, as
the phrase goes, we have 'picked them
up,' because of their resemblance to
such old pieces. We will pay until it
hurts to keep an old bedstead or Shera-
ton table in the line of inheritance.
And we feel that if we can arouse in the
thoughtless and still unshapen minds of
children a love for these heirlooms akin
to the love within ourselves, they will
unconsciously come to love the habits
of life which these same relics of the
past do symbolize. In short, if you
please, they will come to look with
critical eye on whatever threatens 'the
American heritage.' Love shared be-
tween generations works for the stabil-
ity of society—not for lack of progress
and old fogyism, but stability joined
with progress—and the memorials of
the past are catalysts working for love
shared between the generations."
—From the address delivered by Dr.
Robert K. Richardson, a former
president of the State Historical
Society of Wisconsin, at the Dedi-
cation of the Lincoln-Tallman Mu-
seum, Janesville, June 23, 1951.
It is too bad that Jeremiah Curtin missed
the "air age." He was Paul Bunyanish
in his mode of travel; he covered vast
stretches of territory almost overnight.
His excursions into Russia, Ireland,
Mexico, Central America, Egypt, the
Holy Land, with intervals in his home-
land, make a first-rate travelogue.
Jeremiah Curtin, Traveler, Linguist, Ethnologist
by Frederic Heath
The move to restore the aged Jeremiah Curtin
"Stone House" on the southwestern outskirts
of Milwaukee, by the Milwaukee County
Historical Society, is attracting increasing in-
terest. The matter is being sponsored in
Congress by Congressman Zablocki of Mil-
waukee. Greendale, where the house is lo-
cated, is the name of the Federal Housing
Authority tract that was formerly part of
Greenfield.
The name of Jeremiah Curtin1 naturally
brings to mind the famous Sienkiewicz novel,
Quo Vadis, which in its original Polish edition
hardly sold enough copies to pay for its
paper and ink, whereas the Curtin transla-
tion—appearing toward the end of his life,
1896—became a sensation and sold more
'The Memoirs of Jeremiah Curtin, a volume of
more than 900 pages, was published in 1940 by the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin; it was edited
by its superintendent, the late Dr. Joseph Schafer,
who supplied a thirty-page Introduction. A few years
before his death the Memoirs were dictated by Mr.
Curtin to his wife. They had been in the safekeeping
of Mrs. Walter Seifert of Evanston, Illinois, the
daughter of Jeremiah Curtin's younger brother, who
presented the manuscript to the Society in 1939. This
volume was the writer's principal source of informa-
tion when preparing his sketch for publication.
17
than a million copies. Curtin became famed as
a world traveler, linguist, and ethnologist and
was striving for a science of mythology at
the time of his death in 1906.
Jeremiah Curtin, born at Detroit on
September 6, 1835, was of Irish parentage.2
His father, David Curtin, came from Ireland,
where the family in the olden time was
known by the name McCurtin. There was an
Andrew McCurtin, a noted historian; a Hugh
McCurtin, a lexicographer, poet, and the com-
piler of a Gaelic dictionary; and others, men
of whom no one would need be ashamed.
David Curtin landed in Quebec after a
six-week crossing of the Atlantic. Later he
went to Detroit and it was there that he wed
charming Ellen Furlong, also from Ireland,
although her forebears were originally Eng-
lish. After the marriage, they moved on
farther to the West, to the southwestern out-
skirts of Milwaukee, then or later known as
Greenfield Township, where land was easily
2
Since sources disagree, both as to the place and
date of birth of Jeremiah Curtin, the late Dr. Joseph
Schafer did some intensive research on the matter.
His conclusions were published in an account entitled,
"The Place and Date of Jeremiah Curtin's Birth,"
in the Wisconsin Magazine of History, 22:344-59
(March, 1939).
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
acquired. As a newly settled country, how-
ever, more or less of a wilderness, it was not
secure from wolves and panthers.
Jeremiah Curtin begins his Memoirs by
relating how, when less than three years old,
while held in his mother's arms, he saw stars
for the first time through the uncompleted
roof overhead; and how, when he was a mere
toddler, standing in the doorway, a wolf ran
by and snapped at his face. The nearness of
his mother, he was afterward convinced,
saved him from being "carried off and eaten."
Young children had to be constantly
guarded. When David Curtin was at work in
the field, the boy's mother took him out and
placed him in a large basket. There, amusing
himself with toys, he was watched by his
father, making sure that he would not wander
away or be bitten by the deadly rattlesnakes.
When the boy was nearing his sixth year,
the family moved into a two-story log and
frame house, called the "best house in Green-
field, except Cobb's tavern." It has been
suggested that this early house may have
become the inner structure of the famous
"Stone House," of uncertain age, but it was
there in Jeremiah's earlier school days.
The boy's unusual traits of mind were
plainly noted in his youth; the father decided
that he should in time have a college educa-
tion and mentioned Harvard. In his earlier
school days Jeremiah was puzzling over the
question as to why there should be various
languages instead of one, yet he found him-
self memorizing bits of the speech of his
playmates, who were of different nationalities.
He even interested himself in the speech of
the Potawatomi Indians, whose camp was not
far away. Out of all this came his linguistic
studies, for while he dreamed about visiting
the many peoples of the world, he knew his
pleasure would be limited if he could not con-
verse with them in their native language.
In 1854-55 he attended a school in Mil-
waukee, which he referred to as the "most
noted school in the West at that time." He
especially studied arithmetic and algebra. It
was the former study he found that would
give him entrance to Waukesha's Carroll
College.
One day while in a Milwaukee bookstore,
he chanced upon a circular announcing that
18
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
the noted Professor Agassiz would publish a
work entitled, Contributions to the Natural
History of the United States, for which 800
subscribers were required, each to pay $120
a set. He busied himself and was able to send
in thirteen names of "rich Milwaukeeans," and
at the same time to make valued acquaint-
ances.
Young Curtin put in several months of
intensive study after leaving Carroll College
in June, 1859, almost going without sleep in
preparing for a Harvard entrance exami-
nation. Though difficult to gain admittance,
he was bound to win. He realized his prep-
aration time was finally up. During the last
night he went without sleep in order to study
through the very last minute. His sister re-
mained up and prepared hot tea for him
after daylight was at hand. A few hours
later he was en route to Milwaukee and the
lake dock, boarding a large wheat boat in the
evening which was on its way to Buffalo.
Harvard was reached in time, and he sought
out Professor Agassiz, as he would need his
proffered help. Too late for the regular
examinations, he was eventually examined,
however, and passed with flying colors. Soon
after he studied Italian with Lowell.
He was now the master of nine languages
and was hardly settled before he began study-
ing Spanish, Hebrew, Icelandic, and Sanskrit.
Sometime after classwork began, he was to
read a competitive essay on "The Germanic
Element in Civilization," and wrote his sister
there were very strong competitors. It was
the English prize essay that would "win the
highest honor in college." But he won easily.
He was highly complimented upon his literary
endeavor of sixty-eight closely written pages.
Among his friends in Cambridge were
such notables as Longfellow, Emerson, Lowell,
and Dana.
After studying Polish in college he finally
turned to Russian. When the Russian good-
will fleet came to New York, the Russian
consul, with whom he was on friendly terms,
introduced him to the admiral in command,
and he was privileged to spend time with the
fleet to improve his Russian pronunciation.
This was at the time of our Civil War.
In the fall of 1864 Henry Bergh of New-
York resigned the secretaryship of the Ameri-
 HEATH: JEREMIAH CURTIN
can Legation at St. Petersburg, Russia, and
later President Lincoln named Jeremiah to
fill the vacant post. He left many friends in
America, for he made friends readily. When
he reached Russia, the czar spoke to him in
French and was quite taken aback when
Curtin answered him, saying, "Your Majesty,
I speak Russian." He was popular among the
Russians, but at times the relationships at the
legation became strained. He received com-
pensation until 1869.
After leaving his post Curtin became a
veritable globe-trotter—a globe-trotter, how-
ever, who never entered a new country without
first learning its language. Among the coun-
tries he visited were the Balkans, Poland,
Austria, Prussia, Japan, China, France,
Ireland, Great Britain, Wales, Egypt, the Holy
Land, Scotland, the Hebrides, British Colum-
bia, Canada, Siberia, Guatemala, Mexico,
South America, and others.
On retiring from the legation Curtin yielded
to a desire to see the old "Stone House" and
his acquaintances in Wisconsin. Milwaukee
in turn gave him a public reception arranged
by the Chamber of Commerce and the citi-
zens: the chairman, E. D. Holton, delivered
a fine address of welcome. John Plankinton
was among those who spoke.
The late Dr. Joseph Schafer characterized
Curtin as a man of "tremendous motive
power." Throughout his life he was con-
stantly in action. He was married July
17, 1871, to Alma Cardell of Bristol, Vermont,
who accompanied him on all his travels. Con-
stantly busy, he still found time for his
literary work, which included writing as well
as translating various books that he thought
the public should know. His linguistic powers
also made him welcome wherever he went.
One writer has aptly said that Curtin was
always "building up his friendship chain."
In 1883 he engaged with the American
Bureau of Ethnology to make a systematic
study of the American Indian languages and
myths. In 1887 Curtin made a visit to Ireland,
where he expected to get myths and folklore
in plenty. He passed by the English-speaking
Irish and sought out the Gaelic-speaking folks
along the Western seacoast, a remoter district
of considerable poverty. The old crones readily
helped him out, and he found men who still
19
This Is the Early Home, Not the Birthplace, of
Jeremiah Curtin, Located on the Southwestern
Outskirts of Milwaukee
believed in fairies, although more reticent
about it than in earlier times. As one Irish-
man said; "When I was a boy nine men out
of ten believed in fairies and said so. Now
not more than one out of ten will talk about
it." He again visited Ireland in 1891.
A few years later the Curtins went to
Mexico and Central America to study the
Maya hieroglyphics and Aztec monuments.
It was there that Curtin was induced to witness
a bullfight, which he called a "ghastly sight.'
It was while they were on this trip that
Curtin's translation of Quo Vadis came from
the publishers. It was an attractive volume,
and its tremendous sales brought prosperity
to both the author and the translator.
The Curtins next visited Egypt and the
Nile. Curtin pointed out that 6,000 years
before, "when central Europe and America,
if inhabited at all, were inhabited by cave
dwellers," Egypt had reached a high civiliza-
tion almost beyond belief. They visited the
"desert cemetery," that is, the pyramids,
structures so faultless that after more than
6,000 years no repairs were needed. And
what, he asked, was in the sculptor's mind
in producing the Sphinx already of unknown
antiquity when Moses led the Israelites out
of Egypt?
Interesting as well was the visit to the
Holy Land. They visited the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher, claimed to stand where the
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
crucifixion took place. There were swarms
of vendors of rosaries. The visitors made their
purchases and then saw the cave "where the
cross was found after being lost to sight for
three centuries." They visited Bethlehem,
Jericho, and the Mount of Olives.
On returning to America in 1901 Curtin
found himself again attracted in memory to
the old "Stone House" and its surroundings,
thai recalled so many events of his boyhood.
He saw the early classroom that reminded
him of the "spelling down," where he tri-
umphed over older spellers and where the
meetings were dependent for light on lanterns
and tallow candles.
A few years later President Theodore
Roosevelt called Curtin to attend the Peace
Conference in Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
for the settlement of the Russian-Japanese
War. The President said he "must come" as
he was familiar with both countries. That
same year Curtin was in Canada and dined
with Sir William Van Home, the great
Canadian railway official, "the most versatile
man I have ever met, a scholar, an artist and
a railway man," he said. Van H o m e was
years before a product of the "Milwaukee
Virginia Cavalcade
A new, profusely illustrated and hand-
somely executed magazine was recently
issued by the Virginia State Library
"designed to stimulate interest in Vir-
ginia history, reveal some of the wealth
of material in the collections of the Vir-
ginia State Library, and make the Li-
brary more useful in its public service."
Though Virginia Cavalcade is not as
ambitious an undertaking as American
Heritage, it bears not a little similarity
to the revamped Wisconsin Magazine of
History. This type of historical "pack-
age" may be trending in the right direc-
tion, and the loneliness of the present
small vanguard—which forsook tradi-
tion—may soon become a joyous caval-
cade.
20
AUTUMN. 1951
Road," along with Sir Thomas Shaughnessy.
Curtin finally built himself a home, near
that of his wife's people, in Bristol. Vermont,
the most striking portion of which was his
personal library, a most extensive affair, with
books from every corner of the earth. The
home of his wife's parents was nearby. He
was busy with his translations in the fall of
1906 when he was seen to be failing in health
although he was naturally reluctant to admit
it. Finally, however, following the advice of
his physician, he gave up work. Doctors were
summoned from different parts of the State
and a specialist from Philadelphia, but he
died on December 14, 1906. Mrs. Curtin
caused a large granite mausoleum with marble
columns to be erected in the Bristol. Vermont,
cemetery which holds the remains of her
husband.
The following striking epitaph was pro-
vided, written by none other than the Presi-
dent of the United States, Theodore Roose-
velt: "He traveled over the whole, wide world
calling all men his brothers, and learning to
speak to them in seventy languages."
Charles A. Dana had characterized him as
"a scholar of extraordinary learning."
Awareness of the Particular
"Mid-twentieth century historical writ-
ing has disclosed a growing awareness
on the part of the historian of the im-
portance of the study of the particular
as the essential foundation for broad
generalizations. The biography of the
significant individual, the narrative of
the rise and course of a business enter-
prise, the story of a prairie town, and
the history of a section all at various
levels of complexity deal with the par-
ticular. The variety within the civili-
zation of a nation of continental pro-
portions reinforces that need for the
study of the individual and the local
that inheres in the study of any culture."
—Ralph H. Gabriel, of Yale Uni-
versity, in American Historical Re-
view, July, 1951, page 915.

Wisconsin Maps
Collecting and Preserving
In the latter part of the sixteenth century
the Great Lakes region began to appear on
maps of North America, but the Wisconsin
area frequently was delineated not only
inaccurately but also incompletely by early
European and American cartographers and
explorers. As exploration increased, some
misconceptions were corrected, but it was not
until Wisconsin became attractive to settlers
in the nineteenth century that the area began
to be surveyed and mapped in greater detail
and accuracy, a process still being continued
by present State and Federal agencies. Some-
times hand-colored and fancifully decorated,
the early French, English, and Italian maps
may be attractive as well as curious indica-
tions of the meager knowledge of the Western
region during the first years of American
settlement. On some of them were shown
Indian villages, fortifications, mines, forests,
and hills—the latter sometimes exaggerated
into impressive mountains!
Although maps by Samuel de Champlain,
Nicholas Sanson, Nicholas Bellin, Louis
Jolliet, Jonathan Carver, or other seventeenth
and eighteenth century cartographers are not
likely to be found outside of libraries or of
shops dealing in old maps and books, the
publication of later maps of Wisconsin in-
creased rapidly after 1830. These must have
been owned by many immigrants and settlers
in the Territory and State, and without doubt
some copies still lie hidden and forgotten in
21
attics and basements. The first map of Wis-
consin drawn by a Wisconsin citizen and pub-
lished in Wisconsin was a sectional map of
the territory drawn by the young scientist,
Increase A. Lapham, and copyrighted and
issued in 1846 by P. C. Hale, bookdealer in
Milwaukee. During the 1850"s and 1860's nu-
merous Lapham maps of Wisconsin and Mil-
waukee appeared in the Legislative Manuals.
and as separate sheets under the imprints of
various publishers. Another well-known Wis-
consin publisher of State maps was Silas
Chapman of Milwaukee. Among the out-of-
state publishers who printed maps of Wiscon-
sin during the territorial period and years
of early statehood were Thomas G. Bradford,
Thomas R. Tanner, Samuel A. Mitchell, John
Farmer, George W. and J. H. Colton. It
would be almost impossible to calculate the
exact number of editions and printings of
Wisconsin maps issued between 1835 and
1850, for it was then a common practice to
transfer from one publisher to another the
rights to the copper or zinc plate from which
a map was printed. Sometimes the plate was
reproduced with only a change in date and
name of publisher, sometimes corrections or
additions were made on the map itself. Newly
discovered examples of these variant printings
and editions occasionally still come to the
Society's attention.
Surveyors and scientists frequently made
drawings which were never published. In the
Society's manuscript map collection may be
seen maps showing the shape and location of
Indian mounds now destroyed, the distribu-
tion of lead mines in 1829, waterways and
trails used in 1830. Lapham left unpublished
surveys of Milwaukee and other portions of
the State; Henry I. Bliss's surveys of La Crosse
and vicinity, and Moses M. Strong's surveys
in southwestern Wisconsin were not pub-
lished. Unless a manuscript map was care-
fully labeled at the time of its making, how-
ever, its identification and use may be difficult,
if not impossible, for present researchers.
It is often assumed lhaL the latest model
of an article is bound to be the best and that
which is old or outdated is of little or no
value and should be discarded. Such an
assumption is apt to be fallacious in the case
of maps. Although a map of 1851 will not
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
show the counties, towns, or highways of
1951, it may still have research value, for it
may give information not available in other
types of records: the location of roads, the
routes of which have been altered or have
disappeared; the location of post offices and
towns now extinct and almost forgotten; the
sites of early mills and dams; the former
appellation of lakes and streams now re-
named; early data on geology, topography,
and population. By the late 1850's and early
1860's large-sized plat maps showing land
ownership began to be issued for the more
populated portions of the State; although the
land statistics may be found in county ar-
chives, these plat maps are often of aid in
visualizing the location and extent of an
individual's property and its relation to then
existing roads, railroads, and towns.
When found, how should early Wisconsin
maps be cared for and preserved? Whenever
possible, they should be opened and stored
flat, for the process of folding and unfolding
will soon wear a map at the folds, eventually
tears will occur, and the map will be in
pieces. To protect flattened maps against dust
and friction, each one should be placed in a
folder of heavy wrapping paper, cut to fold
at least an inch wider and longer than the
contents. Damaged or fragile paper maps
Each Shares the Prestige
"As everyone is aware, the University
has used part of the State Historical So-
ciety building to house its Library. It
is perhaps not as clearly understood
how extensively the collections of the
Society are used by the University and
how closely the scholars on the staffs
of the two organizations work together.
This use and this collaboration will in-
crease as the facilities of the Society im- recognizes that its own welfare is
prove with the release of space by the
University.
"The University relies on the Society
to collect and make available to it ma-
terial in the field of United States and
Canadian History, to service these col-
lections, and to join the University in
studies of American History, and es-
pecially of the history of this region and
this State.
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
may sometimes be repaired and strengthened,
A large map may be backed by cementing
the sheet with paste to heavy muslin. This
treatment is best undertaken by someone
trained and experienced in it, for maps are
usually drawn to scale, and careless or un-
skilled mounting may result in stretching or
shrinking the paper with consequent distor-
tion of the drawing. Small maps which are
sufficiently valuable to warrant the cost may
be protected by lamination, with or without
a backing of gauze, muslin, or heavy paper.
This treatment causes no measurable distor-
tion whatever. For the repair of cracks at
the folds or for strengthening very small maps,
manufacturers of library supplies produce
mending tapes and sheets of cloth backing
which are adhesive and may be applied with-
out paste and without a press. Cellulose or
Scotch tape should NEVER be used, however!
Repaired maps must always be stored flat,
for folding or rolling is apt to cause the sheet
to separate from its backing or its mending
tape or to crack and tear again.
To the historian of state, county, town, or
village, maps are friends and allies. Let not
the finder of one scorn it if his casual glance
reveals it to be old or damaged, for closer
inspection may reveal its interest and its
potential contribution to scholarship.
"Without the Society, the Social
Studies in the University would be
crippled. Each institution gains from
the work of the other and shares the
prestige that comes from the distinction
of its sister institution. Both because
of the fine work of the Society in its
own field and because the University
closely associated with the welfare of
the Society, the University is glad to
support the request of the Society for
an adequate budget."
—Statement by Dean Mark Ingraham
for Dr. E. B. Fred, President, Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, at the So-
ciety's budget hearing before the
State Finance Committee, March
20, 1951.
22
 /hat were the forces that put La Follette
lto the governor's chair in 1900? The
riter has combed through a mass of
letters written by and to politicians, both
State and National, as well as numerous
newspaper stories and other sources to
arrive at his reappraisal. If you enjoy
political maneuvers, here is good fare
for you.

Robert M. La Follette When He Was Governor

La Follette and the Election of 1900

A HALF-CENTURY REAPPRAISAL
by Robert S. Maxwell

The election of 1900, which inadvertently
paved the way for the elevation of Theodore
Roosevelt to the presidency of the United
States, has been widely accepted as a con-
venient date for marking the beginnings of
the national progressive movement. It also
has represented a milestone in the "Quest for
Social Justice" on the state and local levels.
In the state of Wisconsin the election of 1900
marked the advent of Robert M. La Follette
as governor and the inception of the pro-
gram of reform which since has become syn-
onymous with "Wisconsin Progressivism."
This campaign long has been described by
La Follette and his followers as a bitter
chapter in his "struggle with the bosses"
which was won over the unending opposition
of the State Republican machine.1 In the in-
tervening half century a mass of historical
materials has become available which war-
rant a re-evaluation of the forces which con-
tributed to La Follette's successful campaign
for the governorship.
As the election year of 1900 approached,
there was little evidence to the casual ob-
server of an impending political revolution.
The State was staunchly Republican and ap-
parently devoted to the principles of McKin-
*See Robert M. La Follette, Autobiography of
Robert M. La Follette (Madison, 1913) ; also Edward unprogressive. Among the accomplishments
N. Doan, The La Follettes and the Wisconsin Idea
(New York, 1947); and Albert O. Barton, La Fol-
lette's Winning of Wisconsin (Madison, 1922).
ley, gold, and the full dinner pail. Four years
before, in spite of the most vigorous efforts
of Bryan, the Democrats and the Populists,
McKinley had carried all but three of the
State's seventy-one counties and had rolled up
a plurality of over 100,000 votes.2
The State's political leaders were all known
as careful, conservative, and safe men. Wis-
consin's senior senator, John C. Spooner, had
attracted nationwide attention because of his
speeches on foreign policy, the new colonies,
and the tariff. Henry C. Payne, soon to be-
come Postmaster General, was chairman of
the State Central Committee and was a prom-
inent figure at National Republican conven-
tions. Junior Senator Joseph V. Quarles had
the reputation of being a capable lawyer, con-
servative, reserved, and amiable. The recent
governors had followed the same pattern. Ed-
ward Scofield was to be the last of the Civil
War veterans to become chief executive of the
State. Having gained wealth in the lumber
industry, Scofield had scant patience with
those who sought to curb the dominant inter-
ests of the State or place restrictions upon
their operations. He was a devoted believer
in free and unrestricted enterprise and a bit-
ter opponent of Populism in all of its forms.
Yet Scofield's administration had not been
listed during his governorship were the crea-
2
Wisconsin Blue Book, 1899, pp. 354-55.

23
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
tion of a State Tax Commission, the passage
of an inheritance tax law and the organiza-
tion of a civil service system for the em-
ployees of the State Board of Control.3 In
addition, an "anti-pass" law was enacted
which prohibited State officials from using
complimentary passes and franks which the
railway and express companies were in the
habit of distributing to their friends. A cor-
rupt practices act and an anti-lobby law were
also passed during Scofield's term of office.
In addition to the reforms which became
law, the Republican platform upon which
Scofield had secured re-election had demand-
ed a reorganization of the tax system to com-
pel all corporations to "contribute their just
and equal share towards the burden of taxa-
tion" and a reform of the caucus and conven-
tion system for nominating elections.4 This
scattering of reform legislation and sentiment
seems in retrospect to have indicated a sub-
merged but strong demand for a reorienta-
tion of the purpose and functions of the
State government. In contrast to the surface
calm, the undercurrent of opinion indicated
that a major realignment of interests might
soon take place.
In the political field the time was especially
ripe for a reorganization of the Republican
machine. Former Senator Philetus Sawyer
had retired from active political life and
would soon pass from the scene. "Boss" Eli-
sha W. Keyes had not been a major power in
State politics for twenty years. By the turn
of the century Keyes had been reduced to
the Madison postmastership where he also
served as an informant for the Wisconsin
group in Washington and as a lobbyist for
the major railroads.5 Spooner, in spite of his
reputation, proved to be a poor politician and
an indifferent organizer. Among the insiders
it was whispered that Henry C. Payne was
losing his grip and that Charles Pfister, the
heir apparent, was not equal to the task."
3 been profoundly influenced by the Granger
The inheritance tax law was declared unconstitu-
tional in 1902. See Black v. State, 113 Wis. 205.
4
"Republican State Platform, 1898," Wisconsin
Blue Book, 1899, p. 711.
"Roswell Miller to E. W. Keyes, Nov. 11, 1891,
Keyes Papers, in the Wisconsin Historical Society
Library.
"Ellis B. Usher to John J. Esch, March 13, 1900,
Esch Papers, in the Wisconsin Historical Society
Library.
24
AUTUMN. 1951
A Strenuous
Campaigner
Roth Congressmen John J. Esch of La Crosse
and Joseph W. Babcock of Necedah were
alert for an opportunity to reorganize the
State machine in their own interests. Isaac
Stephenson, millionaire lumberman from Mar-
inette, sought recognition and reward for
party service in the form of a United States
senatorship. Among the many that were
keenly aware of the opportunities that 1900
offered for political leadership was a young
Madison attorney, Robert M. La Follette.7
When 1900 arrived, La Follette's public
career had attained considerable dimensions.
After serving as district attorney of Dane
County, he had been a member of Congress
for three terms ending in 1890. As a con-
gressman, La Follette had taken his duties
very seriously and had gained the reputation
of being studious, attentive, and industrious.
In fact he was so industrious that he worked
himself periodically to the verge of collapse
which perhaps permanently impaired his
health. La Follette was a member of the Con-
gresses which created the Interstate Com-
merce Commission for the control of rail-
roads and passed the Sherman Antitrust Act.
He had been active in the drafting of the Me
Kinley Tariff Act of 1890.
In his political philosophy La Follette had
and agrarian uprisings which took place dur-
'The general outlines of La Follette's career are,
of course, well known to most regular readers of the
Wisconsin Magazine of History. Unfortunately there
is, as yet, no adequate biography of this important
figure. His Autobiography, written as a campaign
piece for the election of 1912, presents what is per-
haps the fullest account available of his early career.
 MAXWELL: LA FOLLETTE

ing his youth. In later life he admitted that
the initial shock of Henry George's Progress
and Poverty had left a permanent effect. An
even stronger and more lasting impression was
made upon the young La Follette by President
John Bascom of the University of Wisconsin.
From Bascom, La Follette' developed a moral
and ethical view of political questions. Most
problems of government became to him
largely a matter of right or wrong. In eco-
nomic and social outlook La Follette was
greatly influenced by the Jeffersonian tradi-
tion. He thought of the sturdy independent
farmers and small shopkeepers as the bul-
wark of our government.8 The doctrines of
the Social Contract, the rights and dignity of
man, the sovereignty of the people, and the
benefits of free competition are implicit
throughout his early speeches and writings.
To him they were self-evident. His slogan
that the "real cure for the ills of democracy
is more democracy" was characteristic of his
approach to the problems of government and
reform.9
When the Democratic landslide of 1890
suddenly terminated his tenure in Congress,
La Follette turned his interests and enthusi-
asms to the state government. For ten years
he tried, unsuccessfully, to gain control of
the State Republican machinery. His violent
reaction to an offer by Philetus Sawyer to
bring him into the organization and put him
s Sawyer to E. W. Keyes, Nov. 1, 1891, Keyes Papers;
"Speech in the House of Representatives," Con- and Nils P. Haugen, Pioneer and Political Reminis-
gressional Record, 49 Congress, 1 session (1886), cences (Evansville, Wis., 1930), 118.
2780.
" ''Speech upon being re-elected to the United States J. A. Watrous to Keyes, Aug. 14, 1896; Ira B. Brad-
Senate," Wisconsin Assembly Journal, 1911, p. 118.
on the payroll gained for him the personal
hatred and ill-will of Sawyer and his
friends.10 After the Sawyer incident, he was
faced with the choice of making war on the
party machine or making peace with it. It is
doubtful if La Follette seriously debated the
alternatives. Yet his vigorous campaigns
brought only defeats, and he was denounced
as a Socialist, an Anarchist, and a Populist.11
In 1894 La Follette unsuccessfully backed
Nils P. Haugen for governor. In both 1896
and 1898 he sought the office himself, but
was beaten in the convention each time by
the superior organization, tactics, and check-
books of the party regulars. In spite of these
successive failures, La Follette had gained and
kept a strong personal following composed
largely of farmers, small businessmen, Uni-
versity alumni, and Scandinavian groups in
the State. He also had important and loyal
friends such as former Congressman Nils P.
Haugen, ex-Governor William D. Hoard, and
Assemblyman Albert R. Hall. But after the
campaign of 1898, it was obvious that these
personal supporters were not enough. He
needed powerful new political friends and at
""The Sawyer-La Follette incident of 1891 is fa-
mous in Wisconsin's political history. La Follette
denounced the offer as a bribe in his Autobiography,
143-50. For other accounts of the controversy see
the Milwaukee Sentinel, Oct. 28, 1891; Horace Rub-
lee to Gen. J. M. Rusk, Nov. 3, 1891, Rusk Papers,
in the Wisconsin Historical Society Library; Philetus
"Henry C. Payne to E. W. Keyes, July 10, 1896;
ford to Keyes, July 8, 1897, Keyes Papers.

25
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
least a truce with the old enemies, the sup-
port of a fair share of the State press, and
most of all, if any future campaign was to be
successful, more ample campaign funds.
The issues put forward by La Follette were
timely and appealing to the great mass of
voters of the State. He urged a primary elec-
tion law to replace the convention system,
more just and equitable taxation of the rail-
roads and other public service corporations,
and a general antitrust and antimonopoly
program. In his own mind he was developing
ideas of commissions to control and regulate
corporations without the defects and weak-
nesses shown by the Interstate Commerce
Commission. During these years he matured
rapidly in both philosophy and political tech-
niques. For the moment he had been forced
to the political sidelines. But he, also, was
awaiting a favorable opportunity to re-enter
the arena.
Early in 1900 several candidates were al-
ready in the race for the Republican nomina-
tion for governor. Behind the scenes party
manipulators conferred on prospects and
sought alliances to bolster their own interests.
In La Crosse, newspaper editor Ellis B. Usher
kept a wary eye on the local scene in behalf
of his patron, Congressman John J. Esch. In
successive letters he repeated his conviction
that this was the year for someone to take
over the leadership of the party. If a new
political regime was about to be born, Usher
would like to be in on it. He had heard ru-
mors that Congressman Babcock was busy
and he urged Esch to join forces in a sort of
congressional bloc.12
In the meantime the avowed candidates for
the governor's chair were active, trying to
secure support wherever they could. Ira B.
Bradford of Eau Claire County was satisfac-
tory to the party leaders and had the nominal
support of Esch and his congressional organi-
zation. Although he was favorably known in
his own locality, Bradford was almost an un-
known quantity in the remainder of the State
and would add little or no strength to the
ticket. John M. Whitehead, while probably
more able, was perhaps less "available" as
I!
E. W. Keyes to John C. Spooner, Jan. 25, 1900,
Keyes Papers; Ellis B. Usher to John J. Esch,
March 24, 1900, Esch Papers.
26
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
a candidate than Bradford. Whitehead, a
State senator from Janesville, was a capable
speaker and lawyer but he was somber, ultra-
conservative, and had incurred the opposi-
tion of the Germans of Milwaukee by his pro-
hibitionist tendencies. The other candidates,
De Wayne Stebbins of Marinette, Alfred M.
"Long" Jones of Waukesha, and General Earl
M. Rogers of Viroqua, were men of local
reputation only. As it became more certain
that Governor Scofield did not intend to seek
a third term, the field was obviously still
open for a candidate with state-wide popu-
lar appeal.
So far, La follette had given no indication
that he was considering another campaign.
His very silence caused much speculation in
the press and among the politicians. When
interviewed on the State campaign, Philetus
Sawyer assured the reporter that he planned
to keep out of politics and the governor's
race ". . . unless they bring in someone who's
an enemy and not a friend, and I don't
have to say who it is, young man,—then I'll
fight; yes sir, I'll get out and fight."13 The old
lumber baron still would go to any length to
keep La Follette in retirement. But Sawyer
was an aged and very ill man. Less than a
month after this interview he was dead.11
His successors proved more amenable to
peace and compromise.
But behind the scenes the La Follette forces
were far from inactive. Friends and support-
erg were testing sentiment and writing letters
in every county of the State.15 La Follette had
also received powerful support from quarters
previously in opposition. Emanuel L. Phil-
ipp, Milwaukee manufacturer and rising
young political leader, joined forces with La
Follette and promoted a much needed truce
with the old Republican machine.16 Isaac
Stephenson, the seventy-one-year-old multi-
millionaire lumberman, agreed to back La Fol-
lette and opened his checkbook to support the
"Milwaukee
u
Sentinel. March 9, 1900.
15
lbid., March 30, 1900.
T. M. Purtell to Nils P. Haugen, March 23, 1900;
G. V. Borchsenius to Haugen, April 9, 1900; George
F. Cooper to R. M. La Follette, May 19, 1900, Hau-
gen Papers, in the Wisconsin Historical Society
Library.
10
La Follette, Autobiography, 229; Emanuel L.
Philipp, Political Reform in Wisconsin (Milwaukee,
1910), 28.
 MAXWELL: LA FOLLETTE
ensuing campaign. According to Stephenson,
there had been an obvious and growing dis-
satisfaction with the trend of affairs in Wis-
consin during 1898 and 1899. He felt that
the railroads and allied interests had come to
exert a dominant influence over the legisla-
tive activities of both parties. The infusion
of new blood and a moderate reform program
would be a good thing for the State.17
La Follette also received valuable assistance
from the leader of the congressional delega-
tion, Joseph W. Babcock. This politically am-
bitious ex-lumberman already had served four
terms in Congress and was seeking a larger
field for his activities. Babcock was quite
aware of the undercover disintegration of the
Republican organization and, like Usher and
Esch, sought means to reorganize the machine
to advance his own interests. Babcock was
sure that, with his support, a La Follette ticket
would be both popular and successful. It is
probable that Babcock thought that he would
be able to control the young governor and use
the State organization to elevate himself to
the senatorship and succeed Sawyer as the
real head of the party in Wisconsin. The fact
that he misjudged his candidate completely
and vastly overestimated his own abilities
evidently did not become apparent until the
next year. But during the campaign of 1900
the financial assistance and organization tech-
nique of Babcock were great factors in its
success.18
The preliminary organization for the cam-
paign went on steadily throughout the early
spring. No doubt La Follette felt that another
unsuccessful effort would eliminate him per-
manently as a candidate for any major office.
The campaign was to be waged on the same
principles of popular government that La
"Isaac Stephenson, Recollections of a Long Life
(Chicago, 1916), 212. Among the reasons for Steph-
enson's disaffection was the election of Quarles to
the United States Senate in 1899. See Stephenson
to Keyes, Sept. 24, 1898, Keyes Papers.
18
Ellis B. Usher to John J. Esch, March 13, 1900,
Esch Papers; La Follette, Autobiography, 228; E.
Keyes to John C. Spooner, March 28, 1900; Keyes
to H. O. Taylor, April 9, 1900, Keyes Papers; Joseph
W. Babcock to James 0. Davidson, July 2, 1900,
Davidson Papers, in the Wisconsin Historical Society
Library; see also Sketch, unpublished manuscript by
Harry W. Barney, Babcock's secretary, concerning
this campaign. Babcock Papers, in the Wisconsin
Historical Society Library.
27
Follette had championed previously, but care
had to be taken not to antagonize segments of
the party. A survey of the State press in-
dicated that La Follette was a much more
popular figure than any of the avowed guber-
natorial candidates.19 His visit to Milwaukee
at the time of the convention to select dele-
gates to the National Republican Convention
was a news-worthy event and aroused much
friendly speculation in both the urban and
rural press.20
The decision definitely to become a candi-
date was made not later than this visit to Mil-
waukee, but for strategic reasons no formal
announcement was made for over two weeks.
In the meantime La Follette and Nils P.
Haugen reached a close understanding and
Haugen undertook to keep the Scandinavian
voters in line.21 La Follette prevailed upon
Albert R. Hall to defer retirement from the
assembly and, despite chronic illness, to cam-
paign for him vigorously in the key tenth
congressional district.22 At the same time the
tempo of the La Follette boom in the State
press increased. The Phillips Bee (Price
County) approved La Follette as the favorite
candidate.23 The Soldiers Grove Advance
(Crawford County) regarded La Follette as
the real leader in Wisconsin and pledged
support to his creed.24 The Manitowoc Press,
which had previously been hostile, suggested
an olive branch among the factions of the
party and indicated that it would not oppose
the La Follette campaign.25
At long last, in a carefully worded state-
ment on May 16, La Follette announced that
he would again seek the Republican nomina-
tion for governor. It was a moderate state-
ment, welcoming the "manifestations of bet-
ter feeling" which existed and promising to
do everything possible to foster it. La Fol-
19
"State Press Notes," quoted in the Milwaukee
Sentinel, April 11, 1900; May 4, 1900.
'"Milwaukee Sentinel, April 27, 1900; April 28,
1900.
2I
R. M. La Follette to Nils P. Haugen, May 7,
11-12, 16, 1900, Haugen Papers.
"Albert R. Hall to Nils P. Haugen, May 7, 1900;
R. M. La Follette to Haugen, May 11, 1900, Haugen
Papers.
23
The Bee (Phillips, Price Co., Wis.), May 9, 1900.
"The Advance (Soldiers Grove, Crawford Co.,
Wis.), April 27, 1900.
2B
Quoted in the Milwaukee Sentinel, May 4, 1900.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
lette pledged his support of the principles
that were adopted in the last State party plat-
form and made an obvious bid for Governor
Scofield's support by praising the progress
made by the last administration towards the
fulfillment of the party pledge. 26 In comment-
ing on his announcement the Sentinel ap-
proved of La Follette's conciliatory tone and
predicted that the campaign would be one of
harmony, with no die-hard, factional candi-
dates, and would provide a fair chance for
everyone, including La Follette. 27 This an-
nouncement, which doubtless had been ex-
pected, was received with approval by a large
part of the State press. The Hudson Star-
Times hoped that "bygones would be by-
gones" and, although committed to Bradford
as first choice, would be friendly to La Fol-
lette. 28 The Fond du Lac Commonwealth com-
mented that no one doubted his ability and
predicted that "if elected Governor, he will
make a good executive." 20
Babcock, Philipp, Tom Gill (attorney for
the Wisconsin Central Railroad), and others
were eager that their candidate should not ap-
pear as a Populist, anti-railroad, anti-corpora-
tion man. Through their efforts a conference
was arranged for La Follette with President
Marvin Hughitt of the Chicago and North
Western Railway. Hughitt welcomed the can-
didate in a friendly manner, and La Fol-
lette responded with a prepared statement
favoring "taxing railroad companies upon the
value of their property, just as other tax-
payers of Wisconsin are taxed. . . ." This
promise of equal and fair treatment was quite
satisfactory to Hughitt, and the railroad com-
panies maintained a benevolent attitude
throughout the campaign. 30
The La Follette boom quickly put the rival
candidates on the defensive. In almost every
case La Follette's campaign seemed to be bet-
ter organized, more expertly led, more widely
" "Pamphlet Announcing La Follette's Candidacy
for Governor," Political Collections, in the Wisconsin
Historical Society Library.
"'Milwaukee Sentinel, May 17, 1900.
"'Hudson Star-Times (St. Croix Co., Wis.), May
18, 1900.
"Tond du Lac Commonwealth, May 18, 1900.
"La Follette, Autobiography, 232; E. W. Keyes to
John C. Spooner, May 21, 1900, Keyes Papers: Ellis
B. Usher to W. H. Mylrea, June 30, 1900, Usher
Papers, in the Wisconsin Historical Society Library.
28
AUTUMN. 1951
publicized, and more adequately financed
than those of his opponents who found them-
selves struggling to retain control of their
own counties and districts. 31 "Long Jones
and others urged that a combination be found
to stop the La Follette drive. 32 But as the
weeks went by it became more and more evi-
dent that no such move would be made. Keyes
feared that the success of La Follette would
endanger the seat of his friend, John C.
Spooner, and would certainly mean a drive to
oust junior Senator Quarles. 33 Quarles, in
turn, dourly predicted that a "new combine is
arising . . . which will be not only thorough
but despotic." 34
In order to quiet the rumors of his designs
upon the Senate seats, La Follette issued a
statement to the press declaring that, if
nominated and elected, he would not be a can-
didate for the United States Senate and would
not use the governor's office to promote the
candidacy of any person. He also extended
an olive branch to the holdover State officers
by disclaiming any "slate" of his own and
urging that all State officials who had been
efficient should be renominated and re-
elected. 35
Despite these professions of friendliness and
cooperation, many observers questioned if the
"harmony campaign" was more than a tem-
porary truce. "Boss" Keyes scoffed at the sin-
cerity of the conference with Railroad Presi-
dent Hughitt and indicated that La Follette's
whole attitude was a pose and subterfuge to
lull his erstwhile opponents to sleep. 1 ' The
Sentinel quoted a Washington source as open-
ly questioning La Follette's so-called "olive
branch" to the railroads and corporations. 37
La Follette, in turn, feared that many of his
31
E. W. Keyes to John W. Whitehead. May 17,
1900; Fred Dennett to Keyes, May 18, 1900: James
J. McGillivray to Keyes, June 6, 1900, Keyes Papers;
R. M. La Follette to Arthur Pugh, June 4. 12, 1900,
Pugh Papers, Wisconsin Historical Society Library.
32
A. M. Jones to Keyes, May 22, 1900, Keyes
Papers.
33
Keyes to J. V. Quarles, May 22, 1900, Keyes
Papers; Ira B. Bradford to John J. Eseh. June 18,
1900, Esch Papers.
"Quarles to Keyes, May 25, 1900, Keyes Papers.
"Milwaukee Sentinel, May 31, 1900: James O. Dav-
idson to O. G. Munson, June 16, 1900. Davidson
Papers.
3e
E. W. Keyes to W. H. Stennett, June 3, 1900,
Keyes Papers.
"Milwaukee Sentinel, May 30. 1900.
 MAXWELL: LA FOLLETTE
avowed supporters had no interest in his pro-
gram of reform and confided to one of his
lieutenants that he would not be shocked at
"treachery" at the hands of the machine.38
The rumors of a "deal" which would deliver
the senate seats and State patronage to the
new La Follette organization continued to cir-
culate. Granville D. Jones, Wausau business
leader and later University regent, felt that
Senator Spooner had been sold out and ques-
tioned if the combination was a La Follette-
Babcock alliance or a Babcock-La Follette
one.39 The opportunistic nature of the coali-
tion caused much speculation in private cor-
respondence concerning its leadership and
commitments.40
As the campaign developed, the popular
support for La Follette multiplied in every
section of the State and various politicians
hastened to climb on the bandwagon. The
Ashland Daily Press observed that his declar-
ations of harmony and his endorsement of
Scofield"s administration would strengthen
him in all parts of the State.41 Even "Boss"
Keyes's son-in-law, John C. Gaveney, felt that
he could not actively oppose La Follette and
be successful in his own campaign for the
State senate.42 With the assistance of Nils P.
Haugen, James O. Davidson, Irving L. Len-
root, and others, the La Follette organization
made a strong and successful bid for the sup-
port of the Scandinavian voters throughout
the State.43
In the key metropolitan area of Milwaukee,
La Follette's supporters set up headquarters
and completed their organization down to
each ward and precinct. Indeed, it appears
that he was the only candidate who had any
real local organization in the city. In spite
3S
R. M. La Follette to James A. Stone, May 3,
1900, Stone Papers.
39
Granville D. Jones to James A. Stone, Inly 6,
1900. Stone Papers.
"James A. Stone to Granville D. Jones, July 7,
1900. Stone Papers; Ellis B. Usher to Judge C. M.
Webb, June 11, 1900; Usher to W. H. Mylrea, June
30, 1900. Usher Papers; P. A. Orton to E. W. Keyes,
June 7, 1900, Keyes Papers.
"The Ashland Daily Press, June 2, 1900.
12
John C. Gaveney to John J. Esch, June 20, 1900,
Esch Papers.
43
R. M. La Follette to Nils P. Haugen, May 25,
1900. Haugen Papers; E. W. Keyes to Ira B. Brad-
ford, May 27, 1900, Keyes Papers; William C. Dono-
van to J. J. Esch, June 26, 1900, Esch Papers.
29
of the recent election of the conservative
Democrat, David Rose, to the mayor's chair,
La Follette's supporters were confident of a
majority of Milwaukee delegates to the State
convention. La Follette made numerous trips
to the urban center where he conferred with
the directors of the State Republican Cam-
paign Committee as well as with his own per-
sonal workers. The relative good feeling and
harmony among elements of the party were
evident on all sides. In response to questions
by a Sentinel reporter, La Follette smilingly
commented that the "contest is a friendly
struggle this year." He consistently refused
to denounce or disparage any of the other
candidates.44
Such expressions of cooperation and mod-
eration only served to infuriate Governor Sco-
field. The two bitter, personal campaigns
which La Follette had waged against him for
the governorship were quite fresh in his mind.
To him the "harmony" campaign was a ruse
and subterfuge by the radicals and Populists
to gain power. He refused to be conciliated.
In an open letter to the Sentinel he assailed
La Follette in direct and personal terms.
Branding his avowed hostility to political
machines as farcical, Scofield warned that, if
elected, La Follette would build up the most
complete and personal machine in the history
of the State. He denounced the candidate as
a radical and party bolter in one section of
his letter; as a would-be dictator in another;
and elsewhere as a tool and ally of the rail-
roads and other special interests. At least
there was no question of Scofield's reaction
to La Follette's compaign.45
If the governor hoped to incite a personal
and bitter reply, his letter failed completely.
La Follette refused to be provoked into
abandoning his "friendly contest" in the cam-
paign. Scofield's letter was entirely ignored.
The State press reacted immediately and
sharply in La Follette's favor. The Oshkosh
Northwestern, which was friendly to Scofield,
regretted the attack and agreed that the gov-
ernor had "surrendered . . . the dignity due
the office.46 The Appleton Evening Crescent
"Milwaukee Sentinel, June 24, 27, 30, 1900.
"Ibid., June 27, 1900.
"Oshkosh Northwestern, June 28, 1900.
(Continued on page 68)
Here's some lively history by a well-
known Wisconsin author. Whether you
are a believer or a skeptic, you can't
afford to miss what Mr. Jacobs has
prepared for you.
The Wisconsin Milk Strikes
by Herbert Jacobs
The economists, of which I am not one, take
a comforting view of strikes. They call them
a product and an indicator of good times.
When production and profits are high, that's
when the worker decides to hit for his share
of the gains. The boss can afford to give a
little, rather than have his plant tied up at
a time when everybody wants to buy his
product, and the workers know it.
But I don't think the economists were
thinking about milk strikes when they laid
down that rule about strikes being an indi-
cator of prosperity. Rather, I think the Wis-
consin milk strikes, concentrated in the year
1933, were a product of desperation. They
climaxed a dozen years of falling farm prices,
when the farmer saw the prices of the things
he sold going down steadily, while the prices
of the things he needed to buy remained the
same or increased. The strikes preceded the
economic upsurge of the New Deal, when an
expanding economy gobbled up dairy prod-
ucts at rising prices. This was followed by
the booming war years when practically any-
body could make money at farming. The
dairy farmer still had plenty of troubles pre-
ceding and during the war years, but they
were not tough enough to make him think of
strikes any more.
It was a time of ferment and turmoil. Look-
ing back at it now, it seems almost as if we
were close to revolution, and perhaps we
were. Milk, the kind that went to cheese and
butter factories and condenseries, brought
the farmer about 75 to 85 cents a hundred
pounds, or slightly over a cent and a half
a quart. In some regions the farmer only
got 60 cents out of which also came hauling
charges. The kings in the business were the
farmers who supplied the fluid market—bot-
30
tled milk for the cities. They got a whole
dollar and a half for a hundred pounds.
Since most Wisconsin milk goes into manu-
factured products, like cheese, butter, and
ice cream mix, these "kings" were less than
10 percent of the farmers.
I'm not certain that the crisis hour calls
forth the right man to cope with it, but
anyway three colorful and dynamic figures
were on hand to translate "farm unrest" into
farm revolt. I think there would have been
some sort of milk strike even if these three
men had not appeared, but they certainly
didn't tend to quiet things down.
All around Wisconsin, in the dozen months
preceding 1933, the Middle West was aflame
with a seething farm violence. Milk strikes,
dumping of milk, livestock embargoes, clashes
between farmers and law officers were the
order of the day, from New York State
through all of the Midwest. The only wonder
is that Wisconsin didn't join the procession
earlier. Many Wisconsin farmers took a hand
in trying to keep livestock from being shipped
to Iowa when the Farm Holiday Association
there called a meat animal strike, and they
watched and read about the rural turmoil in
Illinois, Indiana, and other states. Wisconsin
farmers were spoiling for a fight, and three
men were on hand to lead them to it.
One of them was Arnold Gilberts, a Dunn
County man who headed the Wisconsin Farm
Holiday Association. A gentle, angular, and
good-natured man, he gave an appearance
of great sincerity and earnestness. But he
was capable, under stress, of firebrand state-
ments that surprised his audiences and pos-
sibly himself. For instance, at a mass meeting
of some 5,000 or more farmers at Marshfield,
on September 2, 1932, Gilberts was quoted
 •i)
PA^L
Flaming Logs Stop Car Near New London
as saying: "We'll solve our problems with
bayonets, and I don't mean maybe."
Another of the three musketeers of Wis-
consin farm revolt was Milo Reno, national
president of the Farm Holiday. True, he was
from Iowa, but he came to Wisconsin fre-
quently for speeches, and he did perhaps
more than anyone to lay the groundwork
for what followed. He was a short, school-
teacherish sort of fellow, with a tremendous
shock of white hair, and a wonderful gift of
dramatic speech and homely illustration. I
have seen him sway an audience of 4,000 to
his will, like wind bowing a field of green
oats. It all seemed so simple, the way he put
it, and they ate it up. Everybody forgot that
Iowa was a corn and hog state, where you
could withhold farm products for months
without hurting the farmer much. Nobody
remembered that Wisconsin was a dairy cow
state, and that cows produce milk twice a
day, and you've got to do something with
it right away.
And then there was Walter M. Singler of
Shiocton, president of the Wisconsin Co-op-
erative Milk Pool which had been organized
two years before to give small farmers bar-
gaining power with the dairies. He was a
giant paradox of a man, a roaring dynamo,
where Milo Reno was more a wisecracking
31
salesman. Barrel-chested Singler stood six
feet two, and weighed 230 pounds. Atop his
head was a light-colored Texas style hat—
maybe two gallons instead of ten. His black
hair was luxuriant, he had a conspicuous
mustache, and a ridiculously small goatee,
almost lost in his ruddy complexion. He
sported flamboyant, reddish-colored waist-
coats, and—crowning affront to Wisconsin
farmers—he wore spats. The costume and
appearance were those of a circus barker
rather than a farmer, and by rights the
farmers should have hooted him out of town.
Instead, they practically worshipped him.
Few of them knew that he had been an oil
promoter and land speculator in Texas, and
that his farming experience was extremely
limited. He talked their language, and he
promised action, and that was enough for
them. The Fox River valley and nearby
territory was the stronghold of his milk pool,
but his name was a powerful stimulant
throughout the rest of the State.
But it would be a mistake to think of the
Wisconsin milk strikes only in terms of these
three men. Farm foreclosures, skinny, ragged
kids, the realization that each year you were
farther behind financially than the year be-
fore—all these built up a powerful head of
steam. Somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
farmers turned out for the meeting at Marsh-
field, September 2, 1932, when the Wisconsin
Farm Holiday was organized, while a Holiday
strike was then going on in Iowa. In a few
months the organization claimed a member-
ship of 130,000 out of Wisconsin's 180,000
farmers. Part of this was merely paper, for
the dues were less than a dollar a year, and
the organization never became anything but
a highly sleepy giant, always threatening
action, but never getting up off the ground.
Singler's Milk Pool, on the other hand, had
something like 6,700 members, recruited
largely from the smaller, marginal type of
farmer, shipping milk to small local cheese
factories and condenseries. They literally had
nothing to lose, and they had the courage of
desperation. The more prosperous farmers
(if that term can be applied to conditions of
1933), in general those with good herds, sup-
plying the city markets, actively opposed
Singler and all he stood for. They had a
comparatively good thing, and they didn't
want to take a chance on losing it.
Thus the milk strikes were partly civil
war among the farmers as well as a fight
against the commercial dairy interests, and
this internal battle gave them their peculiar
character.
The State resounded during the winter of
1932-33 with talk of milk strikes and farm
Special Deputy-Guardsmen Charging with Bayonets at Durham Hill
32
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
holidays. Milo Reno spoke several times in
the southern part of the State, but Singler's
star began to eclipse that of Arnold Gilberts
and Reno. He brought things to a head at
a meeting of the Milk Pool directors, February
8, 1933, when he told them bluntly, "Call a
strike or quit."
The directors authorized the strike, to be
called at Singler's discretion. But he refused
to designate it as a strike. He announced
merely that the farm price for milk would be
$1.40 per hundred, starting the morning of
February 15. Everybody was supposed to
hold his milk for that price. But when the
strike deadline came, since the Milk Pool was
outnumbered at least 20 to 1, a lot of farmers
ignored the Singler edict and shipped their
milk.
The Milk Pool was able, by persuasion or
methods close to intimidation, including
dumping of quantities of milk along the high-
ways, to close up most of the small cheese
and butter factories of the Fox River valley,
where the Pool was strongest. Then the Pool
turned its attention to the larger cities, regard-
ing them as the key to break the price dead-
lock. And here they bucked the non-Pool
members. Log chains across the road, barri-
cades of old boxes or logs, and even masses
of men in the road were used to halt milk
trucks. Those who would not turn back had
 JACOBS: MILK STRIKES
their loads dumped. Sheriffs deputies used
tear gas and clubs to break up the picket
groups, but there were too many places, and
too few officers. Even private cars, as well
as trucks, were stopped and searched, to the
great indignation of the public.
Campfires of pickets blazed all night be-
side crossroads leading to big towns like Mil-
waukee. But what the pickets didn't see and
could not stop were the convoys of milk
trucks slipping by them in the dark over side
roads, and the trains carrying extra cars of
milk. There were many cases, too, of farmers
arranging to have their own milk transported,
and then dashing out to the picket lines to
stop the milk of more gullible farmers. The
big cities kept on getting all the milk they
really needed. And the rural milk processing
plants, even though closed, were not worrying,
because there was such a big backlog of
manufactured dairy products.
In spite of some rough spots, it was a
fairly good-humored strike on both sides,
though largely ineffective. Singler called it
off February 22, after an all-night mass meet-
ing at Madison, at which twenty-one farm
organizations refused to go along with him
any farther. Singler claimed a strike victory
because Governor Schmedeman promised to
"study" the milk price question, but detrac-
tors said he quit because he was licked.
The Last of Seven Carloads of Milk Dumped Near
33
They were wrong. Singler and the Pool
were just getting started. On April 11, 1933,
at Appleton, plans were made for a forty-state
strike of farmers, to include other products
besides milk. Arnold Gilberts said his 130,000
Holiday members were going to join the strike.
Possibly in view of this threat, many State
dairies on April 16 agreed to go along with
the governor's suggestion that they increase
the price of condensery milk to $1.00 per hun-
dred, by adding 15 cents to the current price.
This failed to pacify either the Milk Pool
or the Farm Holiday. They went ahead with
plans for a jumbo strike May 12. The gover-
nor countered this, on the eve of the strike,
by ordering an embargo on all milk movement
until each county had a chance to decide
whether or not to go along with the strike.
On May 12, the day the strike began, the
governor lifted the embargo for fifty-two of
the State's seventy-one counties, because a
majority of the farmers in those counties
disapproved of the strike.
Another body blow came to the Milk Pool
the same day, when Milo Reno called off the
Farm Holiday which he had just ordered.
The Milk Pool was going it alone again, but
this time it had more opposition from the
State. Adjutant General Ralph Immell placed
2,500 National Guardsmen at the disposal of
local sheriffs, to be sworn in as special
Burlington
 WISCONSIN .MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
deputies. The State arranged to furnish a
more potent form of gas—not merely tear
gas this time, but tear gas plus a gas that was
an emetic and cathartic, guaranteed to spoil
the day for any striker. Both sides had
learned a lot from the first Milk Pool strike
and were busy putting the learning to use.
The pickets took to cars instead of camping
at crossroads. They swooped down on trucks
when no guardsmen were present, dumped
the loads, and vanished. Near Mukwonago
I saw a new wrinkle, when pickets tossed an
old harrow in front of a line of trucks to stop
ihem by puncturing the tires. But the
authorities were even more forehanded. The
lead truck had a snowplow, which brushed
the harrow off the road. The deputies wore
gas masks when they exploded their triple-
action bombs. And the pickets wore leather
gloves to toss the bombs right back before
they exploded.
The Milk Pool was getting some unexpected
help from jobless city sympathizers, who
transferred their factory strike techniques to
the countryside. East of Waukesha I saw
a man lie down on the tracks to block an
interurban electric freight train carrying milk.
alworth County Farmer-Deputies
34
AUTUMN. 1951
An athletic deputy sheriff rolled him off the
tracks with a flying tackle. But the militant
picket was no farmer. He was an oil truck
driver who just happened to be carried away,
at the moment, by that spirit of deviltry and
opposition which lurks in all of us.
At the big Mukwonago receiving plant,
where the resplendent guardsmen were leap-
ing in and out of trucks for the benefit of the
newsreel cameras, I saw a lone farmer sneak
through the mass of them and dump one can
of milk. He was a farmer all right, but it
turned out that he had only one cow, and
she was dry.
The "Battle of Durham Hill," in the south-
east corner of Waukesha County, was another
memorable occasion. The sheriff had de-
termined to make a show of force and oblig-
ingly set the time to suit the convenience of
newspaper reporters and photographers. 1
had difficulty convincing my office by phone
that the guardsmen this time had not only
guns but bayonets. The office was not really
convinced until the photographer appeared
with pictures, some hours later. The farmer-
pickets were equally hard to convince. After
a barrage of gas, the seventy-five guardsmen
pushed the farmers over the hill at bayonet
point, and the unbelieving pickets kept look-
ing around to see if they really were being
prodded with cold steel. The guardsmen
seemed equally nervous, and looked as if they
would have been glad to drop their guns and
run too. Some pickets took refuge in a farm-
house, and one was brought out by a guards-
man who held a pistol to his head.
"Is this America?" the farm wife stormed
at nobody in particular and, since none of us
at the moment were quite sure, she got no
answer.
By the time I had finished telephoning my
story to the paper, the guardsmen were gone
and the pickets were all back in the road,
stopping cars.
Other scenes of violence were being en-
acted elsewhere in the State, notably around
Shawano and near Appleton, and blood from
noses was flowing almost as freely as milk.
Both sides were beginning to play for keeps,
when Singler called off the strike May 19. It
had cost the State $100,000 for 2,000 troops
and incidentals, and the counties $70,000 for
4,000 special deputies, not to mention the loss
 JACOBS: MILK STRIKES
to farmers from vanished milk checks. The
ostensible reason for calling off the strike was
to give the new Roosevelt administration time
to do something for the farmer. What every-
body wanted was "cost of production." No-
body bothered to define it, or put it down in
dollars and cents, but the sentiment was
unanimous for getting it, preferably by a law
which would simply order it for all farmers.
By the fall of 1933 both the Milk Pool and
the Farm Holiday Association had concluded
that F.D.R. would not come across with cost of
production. The Farm Holiday called a strike
in several states, to begin October 21. This
lime the Milk Pool, having seen the Holiday
group sit out two strikes, decided to wait
until the Holiday proved it meant business.
Reassured that the sleeping giant was really
going to get in there and pitch this time, the
Milk Pool joined the strike on October 31.
Two days later the Farm Holiday called off
the embargo just in Wisconsin, leaving the
Milk Pool to go it alone again. The announced
reason was to give a conference of five Mid-
west governors in Des Moines time to come
up with a plan to save the farmers.
The third strike produced more spectacular
violence than its predecessors. At least seven
bombs were exploded at cheese factories, one
of them resulting in $15,000 damage. Some
')4,000 pounds of milk were dumped at one
time in Racine. Governor Schmedeman
Grants-Iii-Aid of Research
1952-53
"The Institute of Early American His-
tory and Culture announces that it is
prepared to provide a limited number
of Grants-in-Aid of Research to individ-
ual writers or scholars who are carry-
ing on studies in the field of American
History prior to the year 1815. These
Grants are made in conjunction with
the publication program of the Insti-
tute, and upon the condition that the
recipients shall submit the completed
product of their researches to the In-
stitute for consideration for publication.
"For encouragement of projects, al-
ready in progress, . . . the Institute is
ready to make Grants varying in value
35
threatened to call out the National Guard. A
farmer near Madison was shot and killed by
a man in a passenger car who had passed
through the picket line, then came back
fifteen minutes later to argue and fire at the
crowd. A man had been killed in each of the
other two strikes in accidents involving trucks.
One bright spot was furnished near Mil-
waukee when deputy sheriffs cleared a path
for a bootlegger's truck, announcing solemnly,
"The mail, the milk, and the moon must go
through."
The strike "petered out" during the first
third of November. Farmers in county after
county voted to reopen milk plants. Singler
demanded the recall of all sheriffs who had
tried to keep the roads open, but nothing
came of it. The Wisconsin Democrat, at
Madison, estimated that the farmers had lost
$10,000,000. The Milk Pool turned to build-
ing its own plants, but later became quiescent.
Singler sued the Milwaukee Journal for
$100,000, charging slander in statements
made by J. M. Beck, agriculture commissioner,
in a broadcast over the Journal station, but
he lost the case. Later Singler and other Pool
officers were involved in lawsuits growing out
of various Pool operations.
Meanwhile, the lot of the farmer improved.
Whether it was due to the strikes or to better
economic conditions is something I leave
you to decide.
according lo the needs of the individual
during the period for which the Grant is
made, and with the understanding that
the recipient shall devote his entire
energies to the project during that time.
Ordinarily Grants will not exceed $1000.
". . . Grants will not be made to
facilitate the completion of work for
academic degrees. . . . Candidates must
file their applications not later than
March 15, 1952. Announcement of
awards will be made May 15, 1952."
Application forms and other informa-
tion available: Director, Institute of
Early American History and Culture.
Goodwin Building, Williamsburg. Va.
w
by Bertha K. Whytc
Cook Stoves
The fine art of iron casting exhibited in the
making of stoves decorated with Biblical
scenes, angels, cherubs, scrolls, figures, roses,
and the like, disappeared with the develop-
ment of the multiple plate range and the
base-burner. The latter were manufactured
in Wisconsin up to thirty years ago but all
are now out of the market in this State.1 The
following companies of Wisconsin at one time
manufactured cast-iron wood and coal stoves:
(1) The A. J. Lindemann & Hoverson Com-
pany of Milwaukee; (2) Monarch Malleable
Range Company, Beaver Dam; (3) Jungers
Stove Company, Graf ton; (4) Cedar Grove
Stove Company, Cedar Grove; (5) Berg-
strom Stove Company, Neenah.
The Cedar Grove Stove Company is out
of existence. The A. J. Lindemann & Hover-
'The writer is indebted to Herbert Lendved of the
John Pritzlaff Hardware Company, and to A. J. Risch
of the A. J. Lindemann & Hoverson Company for
much of the information contained in this article.
Kitchen Scene from the Miniature Exhibit at the
Century of Progress, Chicago, 1933
36
Ornamented with Elaborate Scrollwork. This Range
Was Manufactured by the A. J. Lindemann &
Hoverson Company, Milwaukee
son Company, now seventy-six years old,
makes only electric stoves, having discon-
tinued cast-iron stoves in 1914 and gas stoves
at the beginning of World War II.
The Pritzlaff Hardware Company of Mil-
waukee still sells cast-iron stoves but pur-
chases them from manufacturers in the South
such as the American Stove Company of
St. Louis, the Dortch Stove Works of Frank-
lin, Tennessee, and the Gray & Dudley Com-
pany of Nashville. The American Stove Com-
pany, however, has discontinued making cook
or wood ranges with the exception of their
"Magic Chef" gas, coal, and wood bungalow
range.
T. F. Lance, president of the Dortch
Stove Works, explains the reason for the
manufacture of coal and wood stoves now
only in the South by stating that "the majority
of coal and wood stoves are cast iron and we
are near the processing point of pig iron,
which is Birmingham, Alabama, and this
enables us to produce them at somewhat
lower cost than the Northern manufacturers
could produce them."
An ornate kitchen range, almost completely
covered with scrollwork, was offered in the
"Gay Nineties" by the A. J. Lindemann &
Hoverson Company. It was described as "not
only elegant in appearance, but practicable
 WHYTE: COOK STOVES

and serviceable"; it burned hard or soft coal

or wood and had six holes, reservoir, and
high closet, all for $51.
Comparison with Lindemann & Hoverson's
latest De Luxe automatic electric range re-
veals the immense strides that have been
made in home-cooking methods in the last
fifty years. Steel increasingly displaced cast
iron throughout the industry after about
1914. Steel had been introduced in about
1900 because it heats about three times as
fast as cast iron; but the tops of the stoves
remained cast iron. Porcelain' enamel, which
came into use in about 1915, won rapid
acceptance because it wouldn't rust and was
easily cleaned.
The Antiques Journal of February, 1951,
contains an interesting article entitled, "Give
Me a Good Old Wood Stove," by Roland B.
Miller. He avers that in Colonial days the "Magic Chef," Manufactured by the American Stove
Pennsylvania Germans were the first to use Company, St. Louis
stoves, of which there were many quaint Miller's article has fifteen excellent illustra-
types previous to Franklin's invention. Mr. tions of old stoves.

LOST and FOUND

Tower Mill
This department boasts another unique mill.
Earl J. Tower, who was born in Towerville,
Crawford County, south of Viroqua, describes
the Tower Mill which was built by John
Hancock Tower in Star Valley in 1856. This
mill, which has been demolished, had an earth
dam and was a combination flour, saw, and
woolcarding mill. The general store built by
pioneer John Tower is still standing but is
now a saloon.
John Tower, Jr., after his father's death
in 1856, established a mill on Rush Creek in
nearby Freeman Township. Both mills suc-
cumbed to the rush of spring flood waters
which overflowed the tiny creeks upon which
they were built. A small private cemetery
across Rush Creek close to the mill site is
surrounded by an iron fence and tall pines.
Seven soldiers of various wars lie buried
there. Albert Wee of Route 3, Soldiers Grove,
who now owns the property along the creek
where the mill stood, told Mr. Tower that a
stipulation in his title deed demands the
maintenance of a bridge over the creek con-
necting with the little cemetery—for all time.
Octagon Settlement
On a recent visit to the Kansas State
Historical Society, where interest had been
aroused by the article in this department on
"Octagonal Houses and Barns," the writer
saw a precious document with the following
frontispiece:
The Octagon Settlement Company
Published by Fowler & Wells
308 Broadway, New York, 1856
It contains a prospectus of a colony to be
situated on the Neosho River near Chanute,
Kansas, across from the Vegetarian Settle-
ment for which forty-seven persons signed up
but of whom few survived the malaria. (One
of the first vegetarian settlements in this
country, called "Fruitlands," was founded by
Bronson Alcott and others in Massachusetts.)
Orson Fowler, the self-styled originator of
the Octagon Mode of Building was one of the
printers of the pamphlet referred to above.
The Octagon Settlement never operated. It
was to have been made up of sixteen wedge-
shaped farms in an octagon of land, with the
farmhouses in the central village and in its
center an octagonal building.

37
 'Local History Is Living History"
Less than two years ago the readers of
this Magazine were introduced to the
building plans of a new Historical Mu-
seum to be erected in Detroit. The dedi-
cation of the first section of this struc-
ture was to coincide with the observance
of Detroit's 250th founding date, which
came about on July 24, as anticipated.
Among the special articles featuring
Detroit's anniversary in the June num-
ber of Michigan History is one by Di-
rector Henry D. Brown of the Detroit
Historical Museum. His discussion, en-
titled "The Detroit Historical Museum:
A Museum of Ideas," overflows with
''new" information.
The Detroit Historical Society, with
nearly 3,000 members, "has fostered the
Detroit Historical Museum since 1928
and during the difficult war years of
1943 and 1944 a building fund repre-
senting gifts of nearly $400,000 was
established." Not only did the Society
accomplish this, but the problem of
maintaining the museum was resolved.
"In 1945, it offered to the citizens of
Detroit," writes Mr. Brown, "through a
charter amendment proposal, the valu-
able collections of museum materials
and the building fund which had been
raised if the city would maintain and
staff the museum." The Detroiters re-
sponded wholeheartedly, and on July 1,
1946, a historical commission composed
of four members took over the respon-
sibility in the name of the city.
Naturally, in making plans, the area
of the museum's interests had to be de-
fined. Lltimately it was decided to limit
this to the city of Detroit and its en-
virons. There are countless ideas for
museum displays, which Mr. Brown em-
phasizes need not necessarily be new
or unique. The aim is first to attract
and then to teach. To illustrate: in the
municipal services section one display
gives the visitors "an opportunity to
cast facsimile ballots as they would
have a century ago and to operate the
modern voting machine of today."
Since Detroit is a great production
center, the largest display area in the
new museum will illustrate the city's in-
38
dustry. Mr. Brown states that "in De-
troit mass production means automo-
biles. Thus the industrial exhibits will
encompass the development of automo-
bile manufacturing techniques plus an
interpretation of the effect upon the
worker in the plant, the man on the
street, and the community at large."
More than a quarter of the exhibit
space will show how Detroit meets its
problems and responsibilities, and will
depict the services of the public utilities,
the fire and police departments, and
so on.
What the writer believes will be the
most dynamic initial exhibit will be "a
full-scale reproduction of typical street
areas of old Detroit. . . . Four typical
periods have been selected, 1840-50,
1870-80, the turn of the century, and
the 1920's. Here the visitor can, in fact,
stroll through history."
In conclusion Mr. Brown writes: "The
central theme around which our pattern
of exhibits will be built is a demonstra-
tion of what has happened to the stand-
ard of living of the typical Detroiter
since this became an American com-
munity. It is the firm belief of the
members of the commission and the
board of trustees of the society that such
a portrayal, done honestly with an ob-
jective selection of material, will be of
real worth to the interpretation of our
heritage. . . . Our idea is to show the
development of the typical Detroiter's
way of life. This typical Detroiter was
not and is not a native. . . . Whether it
was one hundred . . . years ago, or to-
day, the typical Detroiter was motivated
by basically similar reasons in his mi-
gration to our community. . . . In one
word, Detroit then and now has meant
opportunity. It is, therefore, the pur-
pose of our museum program to demon-
strate what these opportunities were and
by so doing make Detroit's history
meaningful to the typical Detroiter of
today."
—The Michigan Historical Commis-
sion gave permission to reprint this
excerpt from Michigan History.
June, 1951.
 First Year of Women's Auxiliary

"A husky, healthy infant with a remarkable record of achievement to its credit"
is the way Dr. Clifford L. Lord, director of the State Historical Society, has described
the Society's new Women's Auxiliary.
Last December 5 the Auxiliary was founded "to assist the Society in its program
of conserving, advancing, and disseminating knowledge in the field of Wisconsin
history."
In this year's time the young offspring has gone far to vitalize the feminine member-
ship of the Society through projects particularly close to women. It has helped
increase the membership of the parent society and it has focused important allenlion
on the State's historical program in general.
Highlight events have been scattered geographically. At Kohler the organization
meeting and luncheon were held with Mrs. Herbert V. Kohler as hostess. More than
400 members attended the reception opening the Van Dyke exhibit April 27 in the
Society's Museum at Madison. There was an equally large turnout for the semi-
annual luncheon at Green Lake on June 1. Modern "pilgrims'' from all parts of
the State took part in the Auxiliary's first historical pilgrimage September 26 in
the Green Bay area. The annual meeting will be held in mid-winter in Milwaukee.
The membership of the Auxiliary now stands at 550 with new friends being added
almost weekly. Membership—the dues for which are only $2.00 annually—is
open to any woman member of the State Historical Society and to any woman in
the family of a member.

Officers of the Women's Auxiliary of the

State Historical Society are, left to right:
Mrs. Clifford L. Lord of Madison, secretary-
treasurer; Mrs. Herbert V. Kohler of Kohler,
chairman; and Mrs. Martin A. Fladoes of Mil-
waukee, vice-chairman. This picture was made
at the December 5 meeting at Kohler.

...

The fifteen-member board of trustees of the Women's Auxiliary

is composed of key women throughout the State. Ten of the
fifteen are pictured here in the Waelderhaus at Kohler, scene
of the organization meeting of the Auxiliary, December 5,1950.
Seated front of table are Mrs. Max Van Hecke of Merrill and
Mrs. George Banta, Jr., of Menasha. Rear, left to right: Mrs.
Harrison E. Fellows of Clearwater Lake; Mrs. Samuel Pickard
of Neenah; Mrs. Bernhard C. Ziegler of West Bend: Mrs.
Hobart S. Johnson of Madison; Mrs. J. P. Lenfestey of De Pere;
Mrs. Douglass Van Dyke and Mrs. Irving Seaman of Milwau-
kee; and Mrs. Philip La Follette of Madison.

First Year of Women's Auxiliary
Mrs. Douglass Van Dyke, left, and Mrs. Stanley
C. Hauxhurst, the former Louise Van Dyke, were
photographed in the library setting of the first
special exhibit of the Women's Auxiliary.
The room was created with furnishings and ac-
cessories which are part of the Van Dyke Collec-
tion given by Mrs. Hauxhurst and Mrs. Van Dyke
to the Historical Society. All of the articles
were from the Milwaukee mansion of the late
Mr. and Mrs. George Douglass Van Dyke.
Two Milwaukee members of the Women's Auxil-
iary are shown with Robert Kazmayer, news analyst
and commentator. In the center is Mrs. Irving Sea-
man, and at the left, Mrs. Frederic Sammond,
both of Milwaukee. Mr. Kazmayer, popular lec-
turer-author, addressed the luncheon meeting of the
Auxiliary last June at Green Lake.
In the Werkzimmer (work-
room ) of the Waelderhaus are
some of the members of the
Women's Auxiliary, who at-
tended the first meeting last
December. Left to right: Mrs.
William M. Chester, Mrs.
Loyal Durand, and Mrs.
George P. Miller of Milwau-
kee ; Mrs. Alice Britten
Speth, P l a t t e v i l l e ; Mrs.
Joseph V. Quarles of Milwau-
kee; and Mrs. H. J. Schubert
of Madison.
The organization meeting of the Women s Auxiliary
of the State Historical Society was held last Decem- The garden scene, part of the
ber at Kohler, Wisconsin. The group, representing first special exhibit of the Auxil-
women from all parts of the State, met in the Saal iary, drew enthusiastic comment
(assembly room) of the Waelderhaus. from the many groups that vis-
ited it the past summer. The
manikins are wearing embroidery
dresses of the. 1900-1910 period.
Mrs. F. P. Price, Jr. of Ocono-
mowoc is chairman of the special
exhibits committee.
At the first special exhibit spon-
sored by the Auxiliary in the
Historical Society Museum, two
members paused to chat before
one of the Van Dyke displays—
Mrs. Bernhard C. Ziegler of
West Bend, left, and Mrs. Loyal
Durand ef Milwaukee.
Neenah guests at the first special exhibit of the Auxiliary held
in April at Madison are pictured at the tea table, Mrs. Harley
Smith of Evansville pouring. Guests are, left to right: Mrs.
S. F. Shattuck, Mrs. A. E. MacQuarrie, and Mrs. George
Banta, Jr. Mrs. Banta is chairman of the committee on col-
lections and a trustee of the new group.
Mss Dorothy Enderis, Milwaukee, left, and Mrs. Bernhard Ziegler of West
laid lunched together at the Green Lake meeting of the Women's Auxiliary.
Iith are members of the board of trustees. Luncheon was served to the mem-
rs in the Roger Williams Inn.
Four hundred members of the Women's Auxiliary, represent- More than 300 members of the Women's Auxiliary
ing all parts of the State from Superior to Kenosha, attended of the State Historical Society participated in a
the first annual Spring Luncheon of the Auxiliary June 1, at day-long pilgrimage to five historic sites at Green
Green Lake. Shown are Mrs. Martin A. Fladoes, Milwaukee, Bay on September 26. Shown here in the parlor
at the right with Mrs. Horace Mellum, Kenosha. of Fort Howard Hospital, inspecting priceless rel-
ics, are, left to right: Mrs. Willard Renkel, Madi-
son: Mrs. Harley A. Smith, Evansville: Mrs.
W. A. Taylor and Miss Olive Rhyme, Portage.
 First Year of Women's Auxiliary

Here in the sewing

room of Tank Cottage
is Miss Selma Bartman
from Marshfield, Wis-
c o n s i n , w i t h Mrs.
Charles Hutchinson of
Green Bay, who acted
as one of the hostesses.
She is dressed in a
gown that was in vogue
in the year 1835.

Linked with Wisconsin's early history is Hazelwood.

this charming colonial mansion built in 1835 by Morgan
L. Martin, one of the State's founding fathers. Mem-
bers of the Women's Auxiliary braved rainy weather to
visit this well-preserved home on September 26.

Madison members of the Auxiliary are shown

here in the charming living room of Hazelwood
at Green Bay. The members are admiring an
exquisite ninety-year-old wedding gown worn by
Mrs. Peter Dorschel of Green Bay. Seated left to
right are: Mrs. Hobart Johnson, Mrs. Dudley
Montgomery, and Mrs. Howard Weiss.

Shown here outside of

Cotton House are, left
to right: Mrs. Edward
Rikkers, Madison;
M r s . H e r b e r t V.
Kohler, Kohler, chair-
man of the Auxiliary:
Mrs. Earl Wheeler,
Madison ; and Mrs.
R. C. Chadbourn, Co-
lumbus, at the climax
of an enjoyable tour.

Stately Cotton House at Green Bay, built in 1842 by

Captain John Cotton, is viewed by several Women's
Auxiliary members. The handsome colonial home, in
a remarkable state of preservation, is considered one
of the finest remaining examples of Jeffersonian archi-
tecture in the Middle West.

Several Auxiliary members paused in this quaint

kitchen in Cotton House while on the historic sites
tour. A hostess, Mrs. Fred Cobb of Green Bay, left,
dressed in a gown of the middle 1800's, explains the
many interesting features of the kitchen to Mrs. D. B.
Dana, Kewaunee; Mrs. A. C. Kieckhofer and Mrs.
William Hausmann, West Bend. Mrs. Dana is chair-
man of the historic sites committee.

"Wisconsin in Rome"
While in Rome I noticed in the Museum
of Ethnographical and Prehistoric Antiqui-
ties a good collection of flint artifacts from
Wisconsin. In the Lateran Museum are red
terra cotta busts of Black Hawk (Falco Nero)
and his son. On the wall in terra cotta is a
battle scene between the Winnebago and
Creek. The latter nation lived on or near
the Gulf of Mexico and, to the best of my
knowledge, the two nations never enjoyed a
shooting acquaintance.
Madison A. W. SCHORGER
Green Lake Meeting
We were very much impressed with the
whole performance at Green Lake. I have
been describing the program to friends here
at the Minnesota Historical Society in St.
Paul. It appeared that you had done a mar-
velous job in getting various groups to par-
ticipate in the activities. This advertised the
work of the society to hundreds of people.
Then, too, by efficient planning the programs
moved along without delays or inconveniences
which added enjoyment to the sessions. The
variety of the program was likewise stim-
ulating.
To us it seemed unfortunate that more out
of state people were not present to capture
a little of the spirit of the occasion, so that
they might carry some of it back to their
respective states. . . . It would seem . . . that
43
in future years, if you could invite some
members of other state societies to be your
guests or to appear on your program, you
would be making a real regional contribution
to the stimulation of the preservation of
history. . . .
Mills College REYNOLD M. WIK
Publications Again
We are in the process of expanding and
improving our publications and activities,
and like many other state historical societies
admire and look to the Wisconsin Historical
Society as one of the most progressive organi-
zations of its kind in the nation.
A. R. MORTENSEN
Utah State Historical Society
Incidentally the now not-so-new format of
[the] Magazine is dandy, as is Badger His-
tory, which, by the way, may inspire us to
do something along the same line here.
CLARENCE S. PAINE
Oklahoma City Libraries
Federal Documents
Loan Collection
I firmly believe you have an interesting
idea in Wisconsin, which has always been
known for progressiveness. I, personally-
have been convinced for a long time thai
depository libraries as a whole acquire far
more publications than they ever really need.
A statewide collection, which could readily
be made available on interlibrary loan with-
in the state, might be the answer to this
whole problem.
JEROME K. WILCOX
City College, New York
Historical Markers
Your plan for these [city-type historical
markers] has appealed to us as the best we
have seen. Almost every community has
some historic interest, and some people in-
terested in marking. States cannot very well
go into cities, yet markers should be stand-
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
ardized as to design. You accomplish this;
get a better price than anyone placing a single
order could; and should get a lot of coopera-
tive effort as a result. This will finally help
the State's own effort on markers. . . .
Marietta, Ohio E. M. HAWES
Medical Records
I am glad to learn that you are working
on the history of medicine in Wisconsin and
think you are fortunate to have the guidance
in this of Dr. Ackerknecht and Professor
Hesseltine, and I am much interested to know
that the State Medical Society is sponsoring
a program for selecting and arranging medi-
cal manuscripts. I think you are quite right
that these have been neglected in the past
and that there is a great dearth of them in
present libraries—a situation that reflects
the older foci of interest within the history
profession. . . . It may well be that the action
taken by the Wisconsin Medical Society is a
clue as to how this could be done on a na-
tional scale. Of course we should try to in-
terest the older historical societies also. . . .
RICHARD H. SHRYOCK
Johns Hopkins University
Historical Railway Data
Requested and Supplied
August 23, 1853. Common Council met and
authorized City of Janesville to issue First
Janesville City Scrip $1000 certificates (20-
years) bearing 8% interest warrants. . . .
Three copies are known to exist in nice read-
able condition; scrip is now a genuine his-
torical relic in our city. I thank you in ad-
vance for any information you can give me
about Scrip or Rock River Valley Union
Railway.
Janesville JAMES F. SPOHN
Briefly, the Madison and Beloit Railroad
Company was organized in 1848 by citizens
of Janesville and Beloit. In February, 1850,
the name was changed to Rock River Valley
Union Railroad Company. In 1851 the Ill-
inois Legislature had chartered the Illinois
44
AUTUMN, 1951
and Wisconsin Railroad, a road designed to
connect with the Rock River Valley line in
Wisconsin. By March, 1855, the Rock River
Valley Union Railroad Company had built
from Minnesota Junction to Fond du Lac,
while the Illinois road had built from Chicago
to Cary, Illinois. At that time the two lines
were consolidated as the Chicago, St. Paul
and Fond du Lac Railway Company. In that
year it extended its line from Cary to Janes-
ville. By 1859, through consolidations and
building, the line had been completed from
Janesville to Fond du Lac. However, in 1859,
the line was forced into bankruptcy, and was
sold under foreclosure on June 2, 1859. A
few days later it was conveyed to the Chicago
and North Western Railway Company, of
which it is a part today.
We have no records concerning the scrip
issued by Janesville in connection with this
railroad. Doubtless the bankruptcy proceed-
ings account for the fact that the scrip was
never paid in. Copies of this scrip are,
doubtless very worthwhile historical relics.
This Society does not have a copy, I am sorry
to say. Should you ever wish to part with
yours, we would indeed be interested, though
the Rock County Historical Society should
have first chance if it does not have a copy.
B.H.W.
Thank you for your nice useful letter to
me. In order that the Society will have a
record on file . . . I am sending a copy of
the words as they appear on the 1853 original
Scrip Bond so that this information can be
of some use to you until you have one of
the original scrips.
Janesville JAMES F. SPOHN
FOUNDERS' DAY
SATURDAY
JANUARY 26, 1952
AT MADISON
readers' choice
Nook Farm, Mark Twain s Hartford Circle. drews delineates in leisurely, ordered, and
By KENNETH R. ANDREWS. (Harvard charming fashion.
University Press, Cambridge, 1950. Pp. The most provocative section of the book
xiv, 288. $4.75.) relates the varieties of religious experiences
In this day of unconscionable advertising, felt by the community under the auspices of
it is with positive delight that one comes upon Horace Bushnell's type of liberal, post-war
a book whose author really makes good the Congregationalism as promulgated by the
publisher's boast that said book is based famous triumvirate of his Hartford disciples,
largely upon "a great mass of recently dis- Nathaniel Judson Burton, Edwin Pond Parker,
covered manuscript and other hitherto un- and Joseph Hopkins Twitchell. The last was
published materials." What is even more in charge of the Asylum Hill Congregational
gratifying is to find that the author has ex- Church, attended by all the Nook Farmers.
plored these materials intelligently and used This good-natured, life-loving extrovert was
them tellingly. Mark Twain's closest Hartford friend, whom
Nook Farm is a social and intellectual his- Mark introduced, when they traveled together,
tory of what was the choicest suburb of Hart- as his private pastor—"kept to remonstrate
ford, Connecticut, from 1851, when the 100- against my drinking—it gives zest and
acre tract known as "Nook Farm" was devel- increase of appetite." There was an abun-
oped by John Hooker into a residential dis- dance of religious experience at Nook Farm
trict, until about 1910, by which time all the besides the organized form of Congregational-
people who made the locality a literary mecca
ism that they professed on Sunday mornings.
had either moved away or had died. John
Harriet Beecher Stowe's book preached "the
Hooker, sixth in direct descent from the fa-
mous Rev. Thomas Hooker who had estab- religion of love," and her famous brother
lished Hartford in 1636, and his wife Isabella, Henry Ward often came from Brooklyn to
of Beecher blood and royal aspirations, con- reinforce her message, although neither, of
sidered it altogether fitting that they should course, went so far as did their friend, the
do something for the old town whose literary feminist disciple of free-love, Victoria Wood-
primacy had lapsed with the dispersal of the hull. The long-drawn-out controversy over
Hartford Wits. In 1860 the Charles Dudley the alleged adulterous relationship between
Warners came there to live. In 1864 Calvin Henry Ward Beecher and Elizabeth Tilton
and Harriet Beecher Stowe's settlement added rocked the community to its foundations with-
luster to the place. Her publication in the out visibly altering its placid exterior. Spir-
Atlantic for September, 1869, of the story of itualism was most actively prosecuted by
Lord Byron's alleged incest gave the com- Isabella Beecher Hooker, and none in the
munity a foretaste of the kind of upheaval entire community escaped the currents of
that was to shake it repeatedly. Mark Twain extrasensory perceptions and mystic experi-
first visited Nook Farm in 1868. By 1871, ences that she evoked—least of all Mark
when the Clemenses took up their residence Twain, despite his growing doubts about the
there, the galaxy was complete. For the next entire realm of the spiritual. The student of
two decades Nook Farm exemplified for the intellectual America finds especially rewarding
rest of the country the ideal of what could be Mr. Andrews' account of the many levels on
accomplished by the happy combination which spiritual and secular experiences
within small compass of wealth, gentility, and touched, and how all religious, economic,
literary fame—all of which Professor An- social, and political thought was colored by

45
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
the Bushnelliau rejection of the old Calvinist
absolutisms, repressions, and Blue Laws.
The Clemenses of course constituted the
royal family of Nook Farm. Their removal in
1891 signalized the dissolution of the com-
munity. Harriet Beecher Stowe died in 1896,
Warner in 1900, John Hooker in 1901, and
only Isabella lingered on at Nook Farm until
1907. Composed as it was of a few great
and many nearly-great individuals, Nook
Farm can be seen today in something like
the proper perspective. Mr. Andrews' account
reminds us that Warner deserves to be
remembered as somewhat more than the con-
tributor of insipidity to Mark Twain's The
Gilded Age, that the once famous and nu-
merous clan of Beechers was a truly potent
force in American society and thought, and
that Mark Twain was powerfully stirred, not
to say motivated and in some degree remade,
by his life and associations at Nook Farm.
HENRY A. POCHMANN
University of Wisconsin
W ar jor the World: A Chronicle of Our
Fighting Forces in World War II. By
FLETCHER PRATT. (Yale University-
Press, New Haven, 1950. Pp. xi, 364.
In this, the 54th volume of the Chronicles
of America series, Fletcher Pratt, war corre-
spondent and prolific writer of military and
naval history, sets forth an account of United
States participation in World War II. His
narrative opens with the Japanese attack at
Pearl Harbor and carries through to August
of 1945. In a series of chapters arranged in
generally chronological fashion, Mr. Pratt
describes operations in all theatres in which ' from photographs. In the light of the time
I nited States forces were engaged. Within
the strict limits of space imposed by the series, note is and can be only a preliminary list of
the author has done remarkably well in de-
scribing in lucid and lively fashion a multi-
tude of campaigns and engagements. He goes
beyond merely listing battles and partici-
pants in aiming, generally with success, to
make clear the significant strategic and tac-
tical considerations involved. Mr. Pratt ex-
presses decided and generally well-founded
judgments as to the wisdom of major plans
adopted and the qualities of commanders who
carried them out.
Although in his conclusion the author sug-
gests that the great and novel contribution of
the United States to the winning of World
War II and to the history of war in general
46
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
was the size and excellence of its logistical
organization and support, the narrative as
a whole does little to support this beyond
statements as to the availability of men and
materials for particular campaigns and opera-
tions. There is no real analysis presented of
this aspect of the war. Diplomatic back-
ground is not a part of the book, and the
reader will have to seek elsewhere even for
an account of the general international and
military situation at the end of 1941. Mr.
Pratt also takes for granted a familiarity with
types, characteristics, and capabilities of ships
and planes and with the scheme of organiza-
tion of United States ground forces which
will present a problem to some readers. The
descriptions of command relationships and
high-level planning are not entirely success-
ful, and the confusion in the text between
the Combined Chiefs of Staff and the Joint
Chiefs of Staff may lead to serious misunder-
standing. The narrative moves from one
theatre of war to another with a minimum of
transition, and sometimes without even a
warning from a chapter title.
Writing only four or five years after the
close of hostilities, it would be surprising if
the author did not make occasional errors
and give some evidence of lack of perspective.
Such faults are surprisingly few, however,
and within the limitation of its subtitle, "A
chronicle of our fighting forces," this is an
excellent summary. It is always interesting
and often vivid. Only time will tell whether
it will really measure up to the standards of
the best books in the series of which it is the
latest member.
There are twenty-five sketch maps by
Robert W. Galvin in addition to four plates
of its composition, the brief bibliographical
significant authorities on the subject in hand.
JOHN HASKELL KEMBLE
Pomona College
From Versailles to the New Deal: A. Chron-
icle of the Harding-Coolidge-Hoover Era.
By HAROLD U. FAULKNER. (Yale Uni-
versity Press, New Haven. 1950. Pp.
366. $6.00.)
The Chronicles of America series has pre-
sented a valuable and scholarly account of
the fifteen years between the "false armistice"
of November 7, 1918, and the national bank
holiday of March 4, 1933. Professor Harold
U. Faulkner of Smith College mav lack the
 READERS CHOICE
sparkling style of William Allen White and
the detachment of Preston William Slosson.
but he feels deeply that the Republican Party
failed to curb the excesses of private capital-
ism in these years; and his careful book car-
ries great conviction.
This eminent economic historian shows that
the Republican Presidents accepted the great
material expansion of the twenties as the
natural prerogative of private business, and
saw no need to criticize free enterprise in the
inflation phase of the business cycle. Great
technological advances and generous philan-
thropy cannot hide a crass period. A lot of
money was made under a most inequitable
tax system, whereby wealthy persons could
avoid income taxation through the manipula-
tion of stock market losses. Wise enough to
give the new American woman great freedom,
we degraded her social standards by failure
to repeal the widely flouted Prohibition
amendment.
Harding, the notorious straddler, at least
gets credit for the end of the twelve-hour day
in the steel industry; this abolition, the author,
a minister's son, reminds us, came into being
partly through the commission and report of
the Interchurch World Movement. All mod-
ern historians—and Professor Faulkner is
no exception—are very hard on Calvin
Coolidge, as present-day economists are com-
ing to be a little hard on thrift itself. In
his opinion, Coolidge's national reputation
through the Boston Police Strike was a lucky
accident, and his six-year record of legislative
inactivity as President had little to recom-
mend itself but the reduction in the national
debt. It is fine to find Faulkner so fair to
Herbert Hoover, who has been so generally
stigmatized as the personal agent for the
Great Depression. He characterizes him as
the first of our Presidents in a depression
period to make active efforts to relieve eco-
nomic misery, and speaks well of his mora-
torium of Europe's indebtedness and of his
creation of the Reconstruction Finance Cor-
poration. But Hoover's failure was the fail-
ure of his generation, an inability to recog-
nize the deep causes of the nation's economic
illness.
From Versailles to the New Deal is a little
hard on such good as there be in business-
men and bankers but is a timely warning on
the pitfalls of prosperity and the unregulated
inflation that can convert it into depression.
DWIGHT W. MORROW, JR.
Englewood, N. J.
47
Charles Sumner: An Essay by Carl Schurz.
Edited by ARTHUR REED HOGUE. (Uni-
versity of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1951.
Pp. 152. $2.50.)
Following the death of Carl Schurz in 1906
his speeches, political papers, and much of
his correspondence were sent to the Library
of Congress. Among these papers there was
found a partially completed essay on the life
of Charles Sumner indicating that an original
draft had been written in the year 1894. The
rough draft was not discovered until 1948
when Prof. Hogue found it together with a
"series of finds" in the safe and vault of a
Chicago real-estate office. Mr. Schurz begins
his essay as follows: "The fame of Abraham
Lincoln has so much overshadowed that of all
other political leaders in the great struggle
which resulted in the abolition of slavery in
this republic that they are in danger of not
receiving the full measure of consideration
due them." Among these political leaders
Carl Schurz places Charles Sumner in the
front rank.
Charles Sumner was elected to the United
States Senate in 1852, succeeding Daniel Web-
ster. In Schurz's opinion the session of Con-
gress which began on December 5, 1853,
marked the beginning of a new epoch in
American politics. The old Whig issues cen-
tering around protection, internal improve-
ments, and the U.S. Bank were at that time
distinctly on the wane. Likewise the old tri-
umvirate of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun had
all but left the scene. Throughout the '50's
the tragic issues which ultimately culminated
in the Civil War, namely, the Fugitive Slave
Laws, the Kansas Nebraska Bill abrogating
the Missouri Compromise, the extension or
prohibition of slavery in states acquiring
statehood predominately absorbed the minds
of men and of Congress. Sumner faced these
issues as "a Puritan idealist without resort to
compromise or conciliation." Following the
election of Lincoln, Sumner worked with a
religious fervor to obtain equal civil and
political rights for colored people. Under
Sumner's theory of the constitution both the
13th and 15th amendments were unnecessary
since in his opinion these matters could have
been taken care of directly through an act
of Congress. Hence he pressed Lincoln at
an early date for the issuance of an emanci-
pation proclamation and during the recon-
struction period he adhered to Negro suffrage
as a condition of the readmission of seceded
states to the Union. Sumner's exemplary
{Continued on page 71)
 Draper Stamp
In behalf of the Diaper Commemora-
tive Stamp SENATOR ALEXANDER WILEY,
introducing Senate Joint Resolution 81,
said:
"Too often we Americans have been
prodigal of our great heritage, ignorant
of it, reckless in its dissipation. We
have failed to preserve many fine, in-
spiring symbols of American history.
But the Draper Manuscripts, containing
the documentation of early Americana,
constitute the sort of heritage which we
must ever preserve for future genera-
tions to enjoy."
—Congressional Record, July 5,
1951, page 7797.
First Christian Science
Church Building in the World
The following information, found in the
Society's pamphlet collection, was sent
to Janice V. Cheeley, Columbus, Ohio,
in reply to her request for such material
while working on her master's thesis:
"It was in 1883 that word of the heal-
ing faith trickled into the saw-mill town
of Oconto. Mrs. Lovina Milledge, who
was ailing at the time, with a few friends
journeyed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to
consult Dr. S. J. Sawyer, who with his
wife, Jennie E. Sawyer, had just re-
turned to Milwaukee from Boston,
where they had been taught by Mrs.
Eddy, and Mrs. Sawyer had been healed
while attending class. Among those
who accompanied Mrs. Milledge to Mil-
waukee were Mrs. Laura E. Sargent,
who was later Mrs. Eddy's companion
and housekeeper, and her sister, Mrs.
Victoria Sargent, who was at one time
custodian at Mrs. Eddy's Chestnut Hill
home. These three ladies, together with
Mrs. Almeda Pendleton, a sister of Mrs.
Milledge, later studied directly with
Mrs. Eddy at the request of Dr. Sawyer.
They returned to Oconto enthused over
what they had learned in the class, and
immediately began further study of the
Christian Science textbook. . . . Meet-
CONGRESSMAN GARDNER WITHROW, in-
troducing House Joint Resolution 283,
said: "By this resolution we seek to
memorialize the life work of Lyman
Copeland Draper, America's most fa-
mous collector of the manuscript docu-
mentation of the history of this great
nation, and the work of all others like
him in all generations, without whose
efforts our knowledge of our country
would, indeed, be most inadequate and
incomplete."
—Congressional Record, July 3.
1951, page 7778.
ings were held in the homes of the little
band, but more particularly in the par-
lor of the Milledge home. . . . As the
interest grew and there was no avail-
able place in which to worship, the
need was felt for a Church Home and
accordingly a Christian Science organi-
zation was formed in Oconto on June
10, 1886, with Lovina Milledge, Victoria
Sargent, Laura E. Sargent, Almeda
Pendleton, Edwin Hart and Eliza Hart
as Charter Members.
"A frame Church Building was erect-
ed at a beautiful spot in the City at
what is now known as the intersection
of State Trunk Highway 41 and 22.
This building was completed in Septem-
ber, 1886, and the first service therein
was held on October 31, 1886. The
Rev. Lanson P. Norcross, a former
Congregational minister, who had been
healed in Christian Science, was called
to the pastorate and remained here un-
til Mrs. Eddy called him to act as Pas-
tor at the Mother Church, in Boston
in 1889. . . ."
—From untitled, undated leaflet, with
a cover picture of the church en-
titled, "First Church for Christian
Science Worship, Built 1886, Ocon-
to, Wisconsin."
This is a succinct, chronological account
of the hostilities between the French,
the English, and the part played by the
Indians in the conquest of the Old
Northwest. The manipulations of the
military leaders, and the adroit handling
of the Indians by the competing forces,
to gain their favor, are told with pre-
cision by the writer.
British Conquest of the Old Northwest1
by John H. Krenkel
By July, 1755, the English had come to the
conclusion that a conflict with the French for
supremacy in the Ohio Valley was inevitable.
It mattered little that the two countries were
preserving the formal intercourse of peace:
plans were formulated whereby General
Braddock was to strike directly at the French
in the Ohio Valley by seizing Fort Duquesne,
William Johnson was to march upon Canada
through Crown Point, and William Shirley
was to cut the line of communication between
the St. Lawrence Valley and the West by
taking Niagara.
The advance toward the Ohio ended with
the well-known defeat of Braddock on July 9.
The Crown Point expedition resulted in
the battle of Lake George, which, if not all
that it might have been from the English
standpoint, was some compensation for the
humiliating defeat near Fort Duquesne.
An attack upon Niagara was considered
more necessary than ever after the Braddock
defeat, for a victory by the English in that
area would recoup to some extent the lost
prestige they had suffered among the In-
dians.2 The route Shirley was to follow on
"The main events of this story are told in the works
of Winsor, Parkman, and others. Such accounts are
generally lacking in documentation. This paper is an
attempt to present a concise documented account of
developments in the Old Northwest during the
French and Indian War, and the Pontiac uprising,
1755-1765.
2
Johnson to Shirley, Papers of Sir William John-
son, ed. by James Sullivan (Albany, 1921-25), 1:790.
49
his expedition lay from Albany to Schenec-
tady, thence to Oswego on Lake Ontario,
where he was to gather a fleet of boats and
skirt the shore to Niagara. The lack of roads
along much of this route made travel for an
army exceedingly difficult. Shirley left Al-
bany on July 24, and it was not until Septem-
ber 2 that the last division of his forces
reached Oswego.3 The fort at Oswego was
found to be in a weak condition, and the
time spent there in making repairs and the
want of dry provisions kept Shirley from
moving on to Niagara.4 These conditions, to-
gether with his timidity, kept Shirley at Os-
wego until the season was far advanced, and
at a council of war on September 27 the
decision was made to postpone further opera-
tions to the spring campaign.5
If the expedition had been pushed with
vigor, it is quite probable that Niagara would
have fallen, for the fort was in a dilapidated
condition and its garrison consisted of but a
handful of men,6 while Shirley had at least
1,400 at Oswego.7 Governor Vaudreuil of
Canada soon saw the value of Niagara, how-
3
Shirley to Morris, Pennsylvania Archives, ed. by
Samuel Hazard (Philadelphia, 1853), 11:387; Shir-
ley to Morris, Ibid., 11:405.
"Shirley to Johnson, Johnson Papers, 11:98.
"Minutes of the council of war at Oswego, Sept.
27, 1755, Pennsylvania Archives, 11:431.
"Vaudreuil to Machault, Documents Relative to the
Colonial History of the State of New York, ed. by
Edmund B. O'Callaghan (Albany, 1858), X:307.
7
Shirley to Morris, Pennsylvania Archives, 11:406.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
ever, and proceeded to strengthen this most
important post. The garrison was increased
to 500 men, including marines, Canadians,
and Indians, the artillery taken from the Eng-
lish at Duquesne was set up, and a competent
engineer, Pouchot, was directed to place
Niagara in the best possible condition of de-
fense.8
In the approaching conflict, the attitude
of the Indians was to be of great importance.
The months immediately following Brad-
dock's defeat were very anxious ones for the
English. The frontiers of Virginia, Mary-
land, and Pennsylvania became the scene of
vicious Indian raids.9 The people of the fron-
tier counties felt helpless in the face of these
surprise attacks and petitioned the colonial
assemblies for protection.10 William Johnson
was given charge of Indian affairs, and dur-
ing the closing months of 1755 and the fol-
lowing year he directed his efforts toward
bringing the Six Nations into active partici-
pation on the side of the English, and in secur-
ing the neutrality of the Western Indians.11
To the south the Cherokee were restless and
in November, 1755, Governor Dinwiddie of
Virginia appointed William Byrd and Peter
Randolph to make peace with them.12 A
treaty made with the Cherokee kept them on
friendly terms with the English for a time.13
At the close of 1755 the Six Nations were
generally neutral, while the Delaware and
Shawnee were engaged in plundering the
western borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland,
and Virginia.14 The tribes of the upper lakes
region and the Illinois country were assisting
the French despite the message which John-
8
Vaudreuil to Machault, New York Colonial Docu-
ments, X:326.
9
Croghan to Johnson, Johnson Papers, 11:29.
^Pennsylvania Archives, 11:385, 450.
"Journals of Johnson's proceedings with the In-
dians, New York Colonial Documents, VII :44, 91,
130, 171, 229.
"Washington to Stephens, The Writings of George
Washington, ed. by John C. Fitzpatrick (Washing-
ton, 1931), 1:237.
"Morris to Dinwiddie, Pennsylvania Archives,
11:711. An account of expenses on the treaties with
the Catawabas and Cherokees—1316 pounds sterling,
Calendar of Virginia State Papers, ed. by William P.
Palmer (Richmond, 1875), 1:251.
"Croghan to Hamilton, Pennsylvania Archives,
11:484.
50
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
son had sent them in an effort to gain their
neutrality.15
The following year brought no great change
in the course of the conflict, except that a
state of war was recognized in a formal dec-
laration. A line of palisaded forts, garrisoned
with from fifteen to twenty men each, was
established along the frontier in Pennsyl-
vania and Virginia.10 Yet the frontier raids
continued in 1756 with an even greater fre-
quency.17 Small bands of marauding Indians,
often under French leaders, pounced down
upon settlements where least expected and
withdrew before the soldiers from the forts
could come up to engage them in battle.
In February, Shirley declared he would go
against Niagara if the Southern colonies
would do their part in raising money and
soldiers.18 Nothing was done to capture Niag-
ara during 1756 since all funds that could be
raised in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Vir-
ginia were expended in protecting the
frontiers.
The English made no determined effort to
dislodge the French during 1756; however,
two expeditions were sent against the Indians.
In April, Andrew Lewis led a small force of
Virginians and Cherokee against the Shawnee
towns, which failed largely in its purpose.19
In August, Colonel John Armstrong with a
detachment of Pennsylvanians raided Kittan-
ning, the rallying point of the hostile Dela-
ware, which, while successful, had little in-
fluence on the course of events.20
The French in the meantime were making
the most of the resources at their command.
Montcalm, with De Levis and Bourlamaque
as subordinates, was appointed by the king
as commander-in-chief of the French troops
in Canada. The defenses undertaken by Pou-
15
Vaudreuil to Machault, New York Colonial Docu-
ments, X:376.
"Morris to Washington, Pennsylvania Archives,
11:565.
"For accounts of Indian raids see Morris to John-
son, Johnson Papers, 11:443; Hardy to Lords of
Trade, New York Colonial Documents, VII:80: Penn-
sylvania Archives, 11:28-31, 40-46; Writings of Wash-
ington, 1:437, 463, 477, 494, 500.
"Shirley to Morris, Pennsylvania Archives, 11:579.
"Washington to Lewis, Writings of Washington,
1:258. Also pp. 285, 293, 301-2, 341, 506.
20
Account of expedition against Kittanning, Penn-
sylvania Archives, 11:267-73.
 KRENKEL: OLD NORTHWEST
chot at Niagara were being rushed to com-
pletion, since, as Vaudreuil expressed it, "the
chief interest of the French lay there," for
with that fort wrested from them, communica-
tion with the West would be cut off.21
Dumas, the commander at Duquesne, made
notable progress in bringing about peace
among the tribes of the Western country, es-
pecially among the Illinois, Kickapoo, Chip-
pewa, and Potawatomi.22 Some of these
tribes showed a desire to strike the English,
and were used by Dumas in the raiding
parties sent out from Duquesne.23
The Illinois country became the chief
source of provisions for the French posts on
the Ohio. In the early summer of 1756,
Chevalier de Villiers, at the request of Dumas,
escorted a convoy of boats with provisions
up the Ohio River to Duquesne.24 Vaudreuil
attached great importance to the maintenance
of communication with the Illinois country.
He recognized the risks from flanking parties
of the English at the Falls (site of the mod-
ern city of Louisville, Kentucky), which ne-
cessitated a wearisome portage, and he con-
sidered building a fort at that point to secure
the transit.
The French could not feel secure at Niagara
as long as the English held Oswego. Vaudreuil
began to make plans with the view to remove
that menace. When the necessary prepara-
tions were completed, Montcalm was recalled
from the Lake Champlain sector and placed
in command of the expedition. Oswego capit-
ulated in August.25 After the stores of pro-
visions had been carried away, the fort was
destroyed. Vaudreuil reported that the In-
dians of the upper lake country appeared
pleased that Oswego had fallen. In reality,
they were not satisfied because it had been
a place where they could buy goods at a
much lower price than from the French.26
As a result of the campaign of 1756 the
French had strengthened themselves against
"Vaudreuil to Machault, New York Colonial Docu-
ments, X:391.
22
Vaudreuil to Machault, Ibid., X:437.
23
Ibid., X:436.
"Ibid.
25
Journal of the siege of Oswego, Ibid., X:440-61.
26
Abstract of despatches from America, Ibid.,
X:479.
51
an English advance into the West, yet the
French were in a critical condition in Canada
as a result of poor crops and a scarcity of
provisions.27 The shortage of supplies and
the lack of presents with which to maintain
the good will of the Indians were to become
important factors in determining the out-
come of the conflict.
The events of 1757 were relatively unim-
portant from the standpoint of military op-
erations. After a period of quiet during the
winter, Indian raids again broke out during
the spring and summer on the frontiers of
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.28 The
colonial assembly of Pennsylvania was
flooded with petitions from the frontier
counties seeking protection against the In-
dians.29 Johnson and his deputy, Croghan,
had little success in quieting the Indians in
spite of a long record of conferences.30 French
reports showed nearly 200 scalps and prison-
ers as being brought to Duquesne and a sim-
ilar number to Niagara.31
An extreme scarcity of provisions pre-
vailed in Canada during 1757.32 Niagara was
not being provided with goods to supply the
Indians, many of whom left their furs in
the post's storehouse and had to be content
with a note from the storekeeper who prom-
ised to fill their demands the next spring.33
The posts on the Ohio were supplied with
provisions from the Illinois country.34
With William Pitt in power the English
began to push their operations in America
during 1758 with a zeal that brought success.
In July, a poorly managed campaign against
Ticonderoga resulted in defeat and failure,
but on the twenty-seventh of the same month
Louisbourg, the naval base controlling the
entrance to the St. Lawrence, was taken. The
"Montcalm to D'Argenson, Ibid., X:491.
2s
Accounts of Indian attacks, Pennsylvania Ar-
chives, 111:190, 211, 218-20, 277, 279, 283, 396.
"Ibid., I l l : 151, 153, 159, 164, 174, 235, 238, 245,
284-85.
""Journals of Indian Conferences, New York Colo-
nial Documents, VII:280-320, 324-29.
31
Montcalm to Paulmy, Ibid., X:670.
"Vaudreuil to Moras, Ibid., X:538.
33
Vaudreuil to Moras, Wisconsin Historical Society
Collections, ed. by Reuben Gold Thwaites (Madison,
1908), XVIII :200.
"New York Colonial Documents, X:584.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
following month Frontenac fell with its stores
of guns, provisions, and Indian goods. The
destruction of the fort there was of little im-
portance, but the loss of provisions destined
for Niagara and the Western posts was a
cause of consternation to the French.35
The lack of provisions made an immediate
peace desirable for the French in America.
It was realized that New France would be lost
if provisions and reinforcements were not
forthcoming, and that seemed unlikely on ac-
count of the English blockade. "Peace!
Peace! My Lord, Pardon me, I cannot too
often repeat these words," was Montcalm's
plea to Belle Isle.36
Military success by the English resulted in
better relations with the Indians. Discontent
among the Indians aiding the French was
arising in the West. The shortages of sup-
plies and the ravages of smallpox together
with the messages distributed by the English
were the chief causes for the troubles ex-
perienced by the French.'7 The Iowa raided
La Baye, killing eleven Frenchmen and pil-
laging the storehouse.38 The Miami were be-
coming exceedingly hostile, and even the
Potawatomi were growing cool in their friend-
ship with the French.39
Indian attacks on the frontier of the Eng-
lish colonies were less frequent in 1758 than
during previous years. Johnson used his
best efforts to promote harmony among the
Indians and to insure just dealings for them
at the hands of the traders. Many presents
were distributed among the tribesmen, and
promises were given them lhat they would
be protected from ill treatment in their sale
of land which had been a major complaint.40
In July, Johnson made peace between the Six
Nations and the Cherokee, and received
promises of assistance from the latter for the
35
Montcalm to Belle Isle, Ibid., X:831.
"Ibid., X:822.
3
'Montcalm's journal, Wisconsin Historical Collec-
tions, XVIII :205.
M 43
Malartic's journal of occurrences in Canada, 1757,
New York Colonial Documents, X:840.
M
Montcalm's journal, Wisconsin Historical Collec-
tions, XVIII :205.
J0
Journal of Indian conference, July, 1758, Penn-
sylvania Archives, 111:456-70.
52
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
projected campaign against Duquesne.41
Christian Frederick Post was dispatched on
a mission to the Ohio tribes during the same
month and again in October.42 Post's nego-
tiations helped in securing the neutrality of
the Indians which made the advance of
Forbes's expedition against Duquesne much
less hazardous than that of Braddock. De-
serted by many of their Indian allies, the
French garrison withdrew from Duquesne,
which the English entered on November 25.
The retreating French forces divided into two
parts, the larger detachment going to Venango
and Presqu' Isle, and the other proceeding
down the Ohio River to the Illinois post.43
The French were decidedly on the defensive
as the campaign opened in 1759. Appeals
to the home government for succor brought
the reply that neither reinforcements nor pro-
visions could be sent because it was feared
that the English would intercept them.44
Montcalm had little hope of holding Canada,
"but save Louisiana," he advised, "because
then it will be possible to make a stand there
sometime, even without succor from France,
provisions can be drawn from Illinois and
by means thereof our Upper Country posts
and Indians preserved."45 But little assist-
ance could be expected from the Indians dur-
ing the coming campaign. Letters which
Montcalm received from Detroit, Michili-
mackinac, and St. Joseph informed Mm that
the tribesmen were not inclined to move down
to attack the English.46
The campaign plans of the English called
for advances at three points—Quebec, Crown
Point, and Niagara. Amherst's fruitless
campaign against Crown Point had no effect
on events in the West, but the fall of Quebec
on September 17 indicated quite clearly what
was to happen in New France, at least from
the military standpoint.
"Summary of Indian transactions, Aug. 3, 1758,
Johnson Papers, 11:884-86.
"Post's journals, Early Western Travels, 1748-1848,
ed. by Reuben Gold Thwaites (Cleveland, 1904),
1:185-291.
De Lancey to Lords of Trade, New York Colo-
nial Documents, VII:352.
"Belle Isle to Montcalm, Ibid., X:943.
45
Memoir on the position of the French and Eng-
lish in America, January, 1759, Ibid., X:929.
K
Wisconsin Historical Collections, XVIII:209-10.
 KRENKEL: OLD NORTHWEST
The expedition against Niagara was to de-
cide the fate of the Ohio country. On July 1,
Brigadier Prideaux set out from Oswego
with 2,200 soldiers and 600 Indians.17 Five
days later a French force fell upon Oswego,
hoping to cut the communications of the Eng-
lish army moving against Niagara, but after
a siege of two days the French were repulsed
by Haldiman's defending garrison.18 Prideaux
and his army appeared before Niagara on
July 7, and Pouchot, the commander there,
immediately sent couriers to Presqu' Isle,
Venango, and Illinois for all detachments of
French and Indians that might be available
to come to his assistance.1" After a futile
attempt to get the Indians within the fort to
declare their neutrality, the English began
the siege. Prideaux was killed on July 20,
and the command of the English forces de-
volved on William Johnson. On the twenty-
fourth a relieving force under Aubry and De
Ligernis from the Western posts appeared,
but the English quickly put it to rout, nearly
250 French being killed or captured, and the
remaining 400 fleeing to Detroit. With all
hope of outside aid gone, one-third of the
garrison killed or disabled, and only enough
ammunition left for another day of defense,
the French decided to capitulate. Terms were
drawn up on July 25; on the next day the
French marched out as prisoners of war and
began their trip to New York by way of Os-
wego and Albany under the escort of Colonel
Massey.50 Niagara, the gateway to the West,
was now in the hands of the English, and
Venango and Presqu' Isle being no longer
tenable were burned and abandoned, their
small garrisons retiring to Detroit.51
The spring of 1760 found the enterprising
English traders penetrating deep into the
Western country. William Johnson held a
large Indian conference at Fort Pitt, with
representatives present from the Six Nations,
"De Lancey to Lords of Trade, New York Colo-
nial Documents, VII:395.
m
Ibid.
49
The account of the siege is based on Pouchot's
journal of the siege of Niagara, Ibid., X:944-92.
""Johnson to Stanwix, Johnson Papers, 111:114.
01
Johnson to Amherst, Ibid.; Vaudreuil to Belle
Isle, New York Colonial Documents, X:1093.
53
Delaware, Shawnee, and Miami.52 Fair deal-
ings at the hands of the English traders were
promised the Indians. The scarcity of, goods
at the French posts was largely responsible
for the change in the Indians' disposition.53
The Shawnee, Delaware, Ottawa, Wyandot,
Miami, and Potawatomi were showing an in-
clination to be friendly with the English.54 In
the meantime the Cherokee had taken up the
hatchet and were committing depredations on
the frontier of the Southern colonies.53 Colo-
nel Montgomery led an expedition into the
Cherokee country during August, but met
with defeat as was feared even before he had
as much as started.56
Not only was there a shortage of Indian
goods at the French posts, but the garrison at
Fort Chartres was weaker than ever in 1760.
The attempted succor of Niagara had cost
the Illinois commandment the elite of his
men.57 Rumors that the English were build-
ing boats at Fort Pitt to send an expedition
down the Ohio led the French to make im-
provements on the forts at Massac and Kas-
kaskia.58
The military operations in Canada during
1760 resulted in complete victory for the Eng-
lish. De Levis made a desperate attempt to
retake Quebec in the early spring, but the
arrival of the British fleet with reinforce-
ments on May 16 caused him to retire.59 In
August, the English converged on Montreal
with three armies, and on September 8
Vaudreuil had to consent to a capitulation by
which all of Canada was surrendered.60 Un-
"2Indian conference held at Fort Pitt, April 6-12,
1760, Johnson Papers, 111:208-17.
e3
Vaudreuil to Belle Isle, Wisconsin Historical
Collections, XVIII :217.
"Conference held by Monckton with Western In-
dians at Fort Pitt, Aug. 12, 1760, Pennsylvania Ar-
chives, 111:844-52.
°sPeters to Monckton, Massachusetts Historical
Society Collections (Boston, 1871), 4th series,
IX: 334.
"'Washington to Richard Washington, Writings of
Washington, 11:345.
"'Vaudreuil to Berryer, New York Colonial Docu-
ments, X:1091.
™Ibid., X-.1093.
B9
VaudreuiFs journal of the siege of Quebec, Ibid.,
X: 1077-89.
""Articles of capitulation for surrender of Canada,
Ibid., X: 1107-20.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
der the articles of capitulation the French
troops at Detroit, Michilimackinac, La Baye,
St. Joseph, Miami, and Ouiatanon were to
lay down their arms and become prisoners
of war. The people were to have the freedom
of their own religion, and private property
was to be respected, but English law was to
govern the conquered territory.
General Amherst, the commander-in-chief
of the English forces, lost little time in taking
over the Western posts. He ordered Major
Robert Rogers to proceed with two companies
of rangers to Niagara, thence to Presqu' Isle,
where he was to secure reinforcements and
provisions from General Monckton in charge
of the Western department.61 Monckton had
but recently sent Colonel Bouquet to take
over Presqu' Isle and to rebuild the fort
there which the French had burned at their
departure. Rogers arrived at Presqu' Isle
on October 8 and, after a hurried trip to
Fort Pitt, left for the West on November 4,
with Detroit as his first objective. Rogers'
force, consisting of the rangers and a com-
pany commanded by Captain Donald Camp-
bell, together with George Croghan of the In-
dian Department and a band of friendly In-
dians, embarked in boats and proceeded
along the south shore of Lake Erie. Detroit
was reached on November 29 and, after an
exchange of letters with Belestre, the com-
mandant there, the fort surrendered.62
The English then set about to administer
the oaths of allegiance to the civilian popula-
tion, and Belestre and his French troops were
sent to Philadelphia under the escort of
Lieutenant Holmes and thirty rangers. On
December 7, Lieutenant Butler and Ensign
Wait were sent with a detachment of eighteen
men to relieve the French garrison at the
Miami and Ouiatanon forts, and Alexander
McKee was ordered to bring in the French
troops from the Shawnee town on the Ohio.
As provisions were scarce at Detroit, Captain
Brewer was directed to repair with the greater
"Bouquet Papers, Michigan Pioneer and Historical
Collections, XIX:37-41.
°2The account of the capitulation of the Western
posts is based on the Journal of Robert Rogers on
His Expedition for Receiving the Capitulation of
Western French Posts, ed. by Victor H. Paltsits
(New York, 1933), 5-14.
54
AUTUMN, 1951
part of the rangers to Niagara. The command
at Detroit was assigned to Campbell.
On December 10, Rogers set out for Michili-
mackinac, but had to turn back because cakes
of ice blocked the passage by water and his
party was without snowshoes to go by land.
He was back in Detroit by December 21, and
two days later was on his way to Fort Pitt.
As these events were taking place, George
Croghan was having conferences with the
tribesmen of the Detroit area.63 The Indians
swore their friendship and promised to give
up the English prisoners which they held.
They asked that the traders sell them goods
at a lower price.
The winter of 1760-61 passed quietly at
all posts. Campbell reported from Detroit
that the Indians were in great distress for
want of ammunition.04 Early in the next
spring, however, the English traders were
transporting goods thither to exchange for
the furs of which there was a large accumula-
tion due to the breakdown of the French
trade.65
Such difficulties as the English experienced
in the West during 1761 were not with the
French, but with the Indians. The Southern
Indians under the lead of the Cherokee were
repeating their ravages of the previous year.
The English received reports that the French
in Louisiana were instigating the attacks.66
In July, an expedition was sent against the
Cherokee under Colonel Grant, who defeated
them so that they sued for peace.67
Dissatisfaction with the treatment received
at the hands of the English traders aroused
the Indians of the Ohio Valley. Captain
Campbell discovered a plot whereby the red
men hoped to surprise the posts at Niagara,
Pittsburg, and Sandusky, and to capture the
provisions in the storehouse.68 This con-
spiracy appeared to emanate from the Seneca,
but the Shawnee and Delaware were involved,
°3Croghan's journal of 1760-61, Early Western
Travels, 1:114-23.
"'Campbell to Bouquet, Michigan Pioneer and
Historical Collections, XIX :50.
G3
Croghan to Trent and Towery, Ibid., XIX :58.
"Croghan to Johnson, Johnson Papers, 111:336.
"'Amherst to Johnson, Ibid., 111:517.
"'Campbell to Bouquet, Michigan Pioneer and
Historical Collections, XIX: 76-77.
 KRENKEL: OLD NORTHWEST
whereas the Indians about Detroit refused to
enter. Campbell was so convinced of danger
that he dispatched messengers to the other
posts, advising their commandants to be on
the alert.69
Apprehension of Indian troubles prompted
General Amherst on June 24 to send instruc-
tions to Johnson for an Indian conference to
be held at Detroit.70 Consequently, Johnson
departed from Fort Johnson for Detroit on
July 5 to conduct the conference.71 Along
the way meetings were held with the Indians
at Oswego and Niagara. Johnson arrived at
Detroit on September 3, and spent two weeks
conferring with the Indians and distributing
presents. He also gave instructions to the
commanding officers at Michilimackinac, St.
Joseph, and Detroit in regard to regulations
to be observed by the traders.
While Johnson was conferring with the
Indians, steps were taken to relieve the
French at the remaining Western posts sur-
rendered by the capitulation of Montreal.
On September 8, Captain Belfour was
ordered to march from Detroit with a de-
tachment of men to take possession of the
forts at Michilimackinac and La Baye.72 The
former was taken over on September 28, and
after leaving twenty-eight men there with
Lieutenant Leslie, the remainder of the de-
tachment sailed for La Baye on October 1,
arriving at their destination on the twelfth
of that month.
There was little activity in the West dur-
ing 1762, except for some transfers among
the English garrisons. Major Henry Glad-
win left Niagara on July 30 to assume com-
mand at Detroit in place of Captain Donald
Campbell, who was ordered to take posses-
sion of the Lake Superior posts.73 Later it
was decided to retain Campbell second in
command to Gladwin at Detroit, and to send
*>Ibid., XIX:81-90.
'"Johnson Papers, 111:421.
"Minutes of the proceedings of Sir William John-
son with the Indians on his way to and at Detroit
from July 1 to Sept. 18, Ibid., 111:428-503.
"Lieutenant James Gorrell's journal, Wisconsin
Historical Society First Annual Report and Collec-
tions for the Year 1854 (Madison, 1855), App. Ill,
p. 25.
"Campbell to Bouquet, Aug. 4, 1762, Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections, XIX: 160.
55
Captain George Ethrington and his company
of Royal Americans to the posts on Lake
Superior.74 On December 10, fire broke out
in the barracks at Sault Sainte Marie, neces-
sitating the abandonment of the post and
the withdrawal of the garrison to Michili-
mackinac.75
Indications of unrest appeared among the
Western Indians during 1762.76 General Am-
herst failed to realize the extent of the dis-
affection, and did nothing to combat the
danger which threatened. He thought the
discontent only the ebullition of the restless
spirit of the tribesmen, and despised rather
than feared their hostility.77 The fact that
the Indians repeatedly broke their promises
to deliver English prisoners, Amherst took
as a sufficient reason for suppressing all pres-
ents.78 Among those Englishmen who were
aware of the existing dissatisfaction among
the Indians was Captain Campbell. In Feb-
ruary he wrote to Bouquet that nothing
would alarm the Indians more than if they
would find out that there was any design to
withhold presents from them.79 Despite the
repeated warnings from Campbell, no effort
was made to appease the tribesmen.80 In-
deed, the hostility of the barbarous savages
seemed little to be dreaded by those who had
just wrested an empire from France.
By the Treaty of Paris, signed February,
1763, the French surrendered the Louisiana
Territory lying east of the Mississippi as well
as Canada. As soon as the terms of the
treaty became known in America, the English
made plans to take possession of the newly
acquired territory in the Illinois country.
General Amherst ordered boats to be pre-
"Campbell to Bouquet, Aug. 16, 1762, Ibid.,
XIX: 161.
'"Ethrington to Bouquet, Jan. 24, 1763, Ibid.,
XIX: 177.
"Campbell to Bouquet, Apr. 26, 1762, Ibid.,
XIX: 139; Thomas Boone to Governor Hamilton,
Aug. 24, 1762, Pennsylvania Archives, IV:67.
"Amherst to Bouquet, June 7, 1762, Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections, XIX: 148.
78
Amherst to Bouquet, July 25, 1762, Ibid.,
XIX: 157.
'"Campbell to Bouquet, Feb. 10, 1762, Ibid.,
XIX: 130.
80
Campbell to Bouquet, Apr. 26, July 3, 1762, Ibid.,
XIX: 139, 153.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
pared at Fort Pitt with the intention of trans-
porting a force of 400 men down the Ohio
River to take possession of the posts on the
Wabash and Mississippi rivers.81 At the
same time Governor Dabbadie of Louisiana
sent dispatches from New Orleans to the Ill-
inois country informing JNeyon de Villiers,
the commandant at Fort Chartres, of the
cession of that territory to the English, with
instructions that preparations be made for
the evacuation of the posts.82 The occupa-
tion of the Illinois country by the English
had to be postponed for nearly three years,
however, for during 1763 the Indian discon-
tent which had threatened for two years broke
into open warfare in the Western country.
This widespread revolt, known as Pontiac's
Conspiracy, had to be dealt with before the
Illinois posts could be occupied.
The causes which led the Indians to take
up the hatchet against the English were sev-
eral in number. Mention has already been
made of the policy of repression of presents
inaugurated by General Amherst. Whether
the Indians would have gone to war if their
demands for presents had been satisfied is
problematical. Nevertheless, it is reasonable
to suppose that, if the Indian department
had been given a free hand in dealing with
the Indians, there would have been less
cause for dissatisfaction. The Indian agents,
understanding Indian character much better
than the military officials, suggested plans
radically different from those put into opera-
tion by General Amherst. George Croghan
did not approve of the plan of distressing
the Indians. He pointed out that the failure
to allow enough presents to satisfy the great
number of Indians with whom the English
had never negotiated would cause discon-
tent.83 In writing to Amherst, Sir William
Johnson sounded a warning that the policy of
withholding presents was making the red men
dissatisfied.84 Johnson thought the best way
81
Bouquet to Amherst, Feb. 12, 1763, Illinois State
Historical Library Collections (Springfield, Illinois,
1915), X:531; Bouquet to Gage, May 27, 1764,
Ibid., X:252.
"Journal of Dabbadie. 1763-64, Ibid., X:163.
s3
Croghan to Bouquet, March 19, 1763, Christopher
Gist's Journals, ed. by William M. Darlington (Pitts-
burg, 1893), 196.
"Johnson to Amherst. June 6. 1763, New York
Colonial Documents, VII:523.
56
AUTUMN. 1951
to counteract the hostile feeling was to pre-
vent the traders from entering the Western
country, and allowing no trade to be carried
on with the Indians except at Oswego, Xiaga-
ra, Pittsburg, and Detroit.80 At the same time
he would give liberally in presents, for, as
he observed a year later, "if we conquer
their prejudices by our generosity they will
lay aside their jealousies, and we may rest
in security."86
The Indians also entertained a fear of the
increasing power of the English.57 To the
Shawnee and Delaware of the upper Ohio
Valley the appearance of the English west of
the Alleghenies presaged trouble. They
recalled well enough that this same people
had driven them from their original homes
east of the mountains. Their first contacts
with the English traders now served to in-
crease their resentment. Whereas the French
had flattered and fed their pride with stories
of how they were the children of the great
king who had sent his people among them
only to protect them, the English treated
them with rudeness and contempt. The ac-
customed presents which the French had be-
stowed on them were now withheld. More-
over, the steady advance of English settlers
over the mountains, occupying their lands,
and scaring away their game was driving the
Indians to desperation.RR
The wrongs and neglect which the Indians
felt were further inflamed by the French. A
number of French traders and hunters re-
mained in the ceded territory. They had many
motives to incite the tribesmen against the
English—their old rivalry, their religious
antipathies, the fear of losing their trade,
and the hope of revenging the loss of an em-
pire, all conspired to make them fabricate art-
ful stories as to English plans, and unwar-
rantably filled the minds of the Indians with
hope of aid from the king of France.89 Re-
85
Johnson to Amherst, Aug. 25, 1763. Ibid.,
VII:543.
'"Johnson to Lords of Trade, Aug. 30. 1764, Illi-
nois Historical Collections, X:307.
''Johnson to Lords of Trade, July 1, 1763, New
York Colonial Documents, VII:525.
ss
William Plunkett to Colonel Shippee. June 20,
1763, Pennsylvania Archives, IV:109.
'"Johnson to Amherst, July 11, 1763, New 1 ork
Colonial Documents, VII:532.
 KREMCEL: OLD NORTHWEST
ports were continually being circulated among
the tribes that the French and Spanish were
soon to retake Quebec.90 Then, too, there
was the fact that a number of French in-
habitants had moved beyond the Mississippi
River, which led the Indians to believe that
they feared to live under English rule.91
A factor in the rebellion which must not
be overlooked is the great unifying work of
Pontiac, the chief of the Ottawa. Perhaps he
saw more clearly than any of his people that
the English, relieved from the rivalry of the
French, would inevitably crush the red man
in their resistless advance. He felt that the
restoration of the French ascendancy would
be the only means of preserving the Indian's
hunting ground. He understood that the In-
dians disunited could not stop the onrush of
the English. Accordingly, he formulated a
plan whereby the Indians would unite, and
with aid from the French would be able to
drive the English back beyond the mountains.
His plans were laid, and late in 1762 his
messengers delivered the message of the great
warrior to the villages of the Ottawa, Potawa-
lomi, Ojibway, Fox, Sauk, Menominee, Mi-
ami,- Illinois, Delaware, Shawnee, Wyandot,
Seneca, and others. In March, Ensign Holmes
of the Miami fort intercepted one of the war-
belts among the Indians of his post.112 This
message showed that the aim of the Indians
was the destruction of the English garrisons
on the frontier, after which the settlements
beyond the mountains were to be attacked.
Early in May a great assembly of Indians
under Pontiac gathered at Detroit. On the
seventh, the chieftain with about sixty of his
warriors, each carrying a gun under the folds
of his blanket, entered the fort with the sec-
ret intention of massacring the garrison; but
Major Gladwin had been forewarned and had
all his men under arms, so that the plan of
the Indians was foiled;93 The next morning
""Campbell to Bouquet, July 3, 1762, Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections, XIX: 153.
"Johnson to Colden, Dec. 24, 1763, Johnson Pa-
pers, IV: 274-75.
92
Indian speech intercepted by Robert Holmes,
March 30, 1763, Michigan Pioneer and Historical
Collections,
93
XIX: 181.
Macdonald to Bouquet, July 12, 1763, Ibid.,
XIX:212.
57
Pontiac returned with only three of his
chiefs; they were admitted, smoked the peace
pipe, and renewed pledges of friendship.94
The following day, Pontiac, with a great mul-
titude of warriors appeared before the fort
and demanded admittance, claiming that all
of his warriors wished to smoke the pipe of
peace. When Gladwin refused admission,
Pontiac turned away and had his warriors
seize and murder all the traders and travelers
who were in the woods about the fort.95 On
May 10, a siege of Detroit was inaugurated,
which was to continue during the summer
and fall months.96
All the English posts in the Western
country were to feel the wrath of the tribes-
men. On May 16, a small group of warriors
appeared at the gate of Fort Sandusky, and
asked to speak with Ensign Paully.97 Upon
being admitted, the Indians immediately
seized him and massacred the garrison.
Paully was taken to Detroit to be killed, but
escaped and made his way into the fort.
Le Boeuf was surrounded on May 18, and
after a furious fight the blockhouse was set
on fire.98 While the Indians were waiting to
murder the inmates as they escaped from the
flames, Ensign Price and his seven remain-
ing men escaped unperceived to the forest,
and, after enduring great hardships, reached
Fort Pitt on June 26. Passing by Venango
on June 20, they found that place in ruins
and the garrison slaughtered.
On May 25, a large party of Indians, show-
ing a great pretense of friendship, collected
at St. Joseph.99 They crowded into the block-
house; then suddenly fell upon the members
of the garrison and massacred all of them
except three, who with Ensign Schlosser
''Ibid., XIX:213.
"5Amherst to Bouquet, June 23, 1763, Ibid.,
XIX: 196.
"Macdonald to Bouquet, July 12, 1763, Ibid.,
XIX:214. The best account of the siege of Detroit
appears in a recent work by Howard H. Peckham,
Pontiac and the Indian Uprising (Princeton, 1947).
"Extract of a court of inquiry held by the order
of Major Henry Gladwin, July 6, 1763, Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections, XXVII:636.
98
Ensign Price to Bouquet, June 26, 1763, Ibid.,
XIX:201-2.
"Extract of a court of inquiry held by the order
of Major Henry Gladwin, July 6, 1763, Ibid.,
XXVII: 636.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
were carried to Detroit, where they were re-
leased in exchange for prisoners held by the
English.
At Miami Ensign Holmes was decoyed
away from his post on May 27 by an Indian
girl, on the pretense of visiting a sick woman,
and was shot down.100 Sergeant Beems came
out to learn the cause of the firing and was
taken prisoner. The garrison surrendered
and was carried to the camp of the Indians
besieging Detroit.
On June 1, the post at Ouiatanon was
taken.101 At that place Ensign Jenkins and
his garrison surrendered without a fight, on
being promised that they would suffer no
harm. The prisoners were taken to Fort
Chartres in the Illinois country.
The following day Michilimackinac was
captured through the use of a clever bit of
stratagem employed by the red men.102 After
the surrender, Ethrington wrote to Gorrell to
evacuate the post at La Baye and to come to
Michilimackinac.103 The letter was received
at La Baye on June 15, whereupon Gorrell at
once made preparation to obey instructions.
The Menominee furnished an escort to pro-
tect Gorrell and his men, and they arrived on
June 30 at L'Arbre Croche, where Ethrington
and the Michilimackinac garrison were being
held.104 The Indians met in a great council
and decided to accept the offer of ransom
presented them. Accordingly, Gorrell, Leslie,
Ethrington, and members of the La Baye and
Michilimackinac garrisons were escorted by
a guard of sixty Ottawa to Montreal, where
they arrived on the sixth of August.105
On June 20, an attack was made by 200
Indians on Presqu' Isle.106 A breastwork was
thrown up from which the red warriors
lm
Ibid., XXVII :637.
101
Jenkins to Gladwin, June 1, 1763, Ibid., XXVII:
635-36.
102
Ethrington to Gladwin, June 12, 1763, Wisconsin
Historical Collections, VII: 162.
M3
Ethrington to Gladwin, July 18, 1763, Ibid.,
XVIII :256.
""Ethrington to Langlade, July 1, 1763, Ibid.,
XVIII :254.
105
Daniel Claus to Johnson, Aug. 6, 1763, Ibid.,
XVIII :256.
106
Ensign Christie to Bouquet, July 10, 1763, Michi-
gan Pioneer and Historical Collections, XIX:210.
58
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
poured a constant fire upon the blockhouse.
After thirty-six hours of desperate fighting,
the members of the garrison surrendered and
were carried prisoners to Detroit, where En-
sign Christie, one soldier, and a woman were
delivered up to the English on July 9.
Fort Pitt was subject to sporadic attacks
from the Indians during June and July. After
much delay, Bouquet set out from Carlisle
with a relieving force. On August 5, the
party was attacked near Edge Hill, twenty-
six miles from Fort Pitt, where it suffered a
loss of sixty killed and wounded.107 The next
day the attack was repeated, but by feigning
a retreat and then turning suddenly on the
red men, Bouquet was able to rout them com-
pletely. The march was resumed and on
August 10 the force reached Fort Pitt, which
had successfully withstood a siege since
July 27.108
The beleaguered garrison at Detroit mean-
while maintained their stubborn defense.
Several attempts to relieve the post resulted in
failure. On May 28, Lieutenant Cuyler, com-
ing from Niagara with a relieving force, was
attacked and forced to turn back, many of his
men having been killed or captured.10" Dur-
ing July, Captain James Dalyell forced his
way to Detroit with a group of 260 men. He
made an ill-advised attack on the camp of
Pontiac on July 31 to disperse the Indians
and raise the siege. In this battle of Bloody
Bridge, the English suffered a severe defeat,
losing fifty-nine men, including Dalyell.110
On September 14, a convoy attempting to
provision Detroit was attacked at the Niagara
Carrying Place, and a heavy loss inflicted.111
A large number of oxen, horses, and wagons
were carried off by the Indians, and six of-
ficers and seventy men were killed and
wounded.
"'Bouquet to Amherst, Aug. 5, 1763, Ibid.,
XIX:220.
108
Bouquet to Amherst, Aug. 11, 1763, Ibid.,
XIX:224.
""Amherst to Johnson, June 16, 1763, Johnson
Papers, IV: 148.
""Johnson to Amherst, Aug. 31, 1763, Ibid.,
IX, 196-97; Amherst to Johnson, Sept. 9, 1763, New
York Colonial Documents, VII:547.
"'Johnson to Lords of Trade, Sept. 25, 1763,
Ibid., VII:562.
 KRENKEL: OLD NORTHWEST
In October, the siege of Detroit came to
an end.112 The cessation of hostilities appears
to have been due to the efforts of Neyon de
Villiers, the French commandant at Fort
Chartres. In reply to a request for aid, Vil-
liers informed the Indians at Detroit that the
French and English had made peace, and he
urged them to lay down the hatchet.113 At
the same time he sent a message to the
French inhabitants of Detroit advising them
to help make peace between the English and
Indians.114
The summer of 1763 was disastrous to the
English, but the plans of Pontiac were like-
wise thwarted. Detroit had resisted his ut-
most efforts and Fort Pitt was in a strong po-
sition after Bouquet arrived with reinforce-
ments. The information from Fort Chartres
that no aid was forthcoming from the French
disheartened the Indians. The disposition
toward peace was further developed by the
proclamation which the English government
issued in October. When word of the out-
break of the Indian war reached England,
plans for reconciling the Indians were at once
considered.115 The outcome was a royal pro-
clamation issued on October 7, which aimed at
the pacification of the Indians by reserving
to them, temporarily, at least, all the lands
west of the Alleghenies, and by laying down
some general regulations for the administra-
tion of the Indian trade.116
Early in 1764, the English made an at-
tempt to take possession of the Illinois
country. In February, Major ArtKur Loftus,
with approximately 350 men, moved from
Mobile to the Mississippi, intending to pro-
ceed up the river and to take over the Illinois
posts.117 The detachment left New Orleans
on February 27, ascended the Mississippi,
112
Colden to Lords of Trade, Dec. 19, 1763, Ibid.,
VII: 589.
113
Neyon de Villiers to the Indians, Sept. 27, 1763,
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections,
XXVII :653.
IU
Neyon de Villiers to the inhabitants of Detroit,
Sept. 27, 1763, Ibid., XXVII :654.
115
Lords of Trade to Johnson, Aug. 5, 1763, New
York Colonial Documents, VII:535.
""Proclamation of Oct. 7, 1763, Illinois Historical
Collections, X:3945.
117
Journal of Dabbadie, 1763-64, Ibid., X: 167-70.
59
and on May 20 a sudden Indian attack at
Davion's Bluff caused the abandonment of the
project.118 No further attempt to occupy the
Illinois posts was made until after the general
peace with the Indians was concluded the
following year.
Meanwhile, plans were set on foot to sub-
due the Indians in the Ohio Valley and the
lake region. General Gage, who had suc-
ceeded General Amherst as commander-in-
chief of the English forces, resolved to carry
the war into the enemy territory. For this
purpose two expeditions were planned. Colo-
nel Bradstreet was ordered to lead an army
against the Indians of the lakes, and Colonel
Bouquet was to proceed with an army against
the Ohio Indians.119
To prepare the way for the northern ad-
vance, Sir William Johnson, on April 3, en-
gaged the Seneca in a peace, by which a
grant of land was secured giving the English
force a route toward Sandusky along the
southern shore of Lake Erie.120 Late in June,
Colonel Bradstreet had collected a large force
and proceeded toward Niagara, where he ar-
rived on the sixth of July.121 Sir William
Johnson arrived at Niagara the next day for
an Indian conference.122 After much bicker-
ing, a treaty was concluded on July 14.123
Colonel Bradstreet remained in Niagara in
order to protect Johnson while the negotia-
tions were in progress. With that done, Brad-
street moved on to Presqu' Isle, where on
August 12, evidently in the expectation of
reaping the glory of closing the war, he
agreed to a peace with an irresponsible party
of Shawnee and Delaware.124 By the terms
of the treaty, the Indians promised to sur-
™Ibid., X:171-77; Loftus to Gage, Apr. 9, 1764,
Ibid., X:137.
I10
Gage to Johnson, Apr. 22, 1764, Johnson Papers,
IV:402.
""Articles of peace concluded with the Seneca
Indians, Apr. 3, 1763, New York Colonial Docu-
ments, VII:621-23.
"'James Dow to Bouquet, July 22, 1764, Johnson
Papers, IV:494.
122
Johnson to Lords of Trade, Aug. 30, 1764, New
York Colonial Documents, VII: 648.
m
A conference with the foreign nations, July 9-14,
1764, Johnson Papers, IV:466-88.
I24
Gage to Halifax, Sept. 21, 1764, New York Colo-
nial Documents, VII:656.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
render at Sandusky within twenty-five days
all prisoners then in their hands, to cede the
captured posts, and to grant sites for any
other forts which the English might wish to
build.120 Bradstreet pushed on to Sandusky,
where he found no trace of the expected
prisoners. Then he proceeded to Detroit,
where his army relieved the weary garrison,
and detachments of troops were sent forward
to take possession of Michilimackinac, La
Baye, and Sault Sainte Marie.126 On Septem-
ber 7, Bradstreet began an Indian conference
at Detroit, but the tribesmen were not well
disposed to treat with him.127
That the Indians were not sincere in their
promises is well illustrated by the treatment
given Captain Morris, whom Bradstreet had
dispatched on August 26 to Fort Chartres to
announce the submission of the Eastern In-
dians and to administer the oath of allegiance
to the French inhabitants.128 After a day's
march into the Miami country, Morris was
stopped by the Indians, made a prisoner, and
threatened with death.1-9 Pontiac was in the
Indian camp, and it was due to his interven-
tion that Morris was allowed to proceed to
the Illinois country. The great chieftain ex-
plained to his warriors that "we must not
kill ambassadors."130
When General Gage heard of Bradslreet's
negotiations with the Indians, he felt resent-
ful that a subordinate official should have
made peace without instructions. In a letter
written on September 2, he ordered Bouquet
to proceed against the Shawnee and Dela-
ware and to ''listen to no peace till they de-
liver the promoters of the war into your hands
to put to death, and send their deputys to
Sir William Johnson to sue for peace."131
= XIX:271.
" Bradstreet's articles of peace, Aug. 12, 1764,
Johnson Papers, IV: 503-8.
""Journal of Captain John Montresor, New York
Historical Society Collections (New York, 1882),
XIV:285-87.
"'Congress with the Western Indians, Sept. 7-10,
1764, Johnson Papers, IV: 526-33.
" s Gage to Halifax, Oct. 12, 1764, Illinois Historical
Collections, X:343.
12s
Morris' journal, Early Western Travels, 1:304.
rm
lbid., 1:307.
"'Gage to Bouquet, Sept. 2, 1764, Michigan Pio-
neer and Historical Collections, XIX:272.
60
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
Colonel Bouquet, who had begun his march
from Carlisle on August 5, heard of Brad-
street's treaty on the twenty-seventh of that
month.132 He saw through the deception that
had been put over on Bradstreet, and took no
account of the treaty, but continued his
march to the Ohio, where he arrived on the
first of October.133 He continued the advance
to the Indian villages in the Muskingham Val-
ley, where on November 15 the Delaware,
Shawnee, Mingoe, and some Wyandot sued
for peace.134 Bouquet insisted on the sur-
render of every prisoner. After about a
month all the prisoners were delivered up,
excepting those held by the Shawnee, for
whom six hostages were given as a pledge
that they would be given up the next year.
The Indians agreed to meet Sir William John-
son the next spring at Johnson Hall.135 With
these arrangements having been made, Bou-
quet returned to Fort Pitt, where he arrived
on November 28.136
Late in 1764, an attempt was made to
approach the Western Indians from the
south. Major Farmar, the commandant at
Mobile, sent forth an expedition under the
command of Lieutenant John Ross, accom-
panied by Hugh Crawford, an Indian trader.
The party set out from Mobile on Decem-
ber 2, and worked its way to the junction of
the Tennessee and Ohio rivers, descended to
the Mississippi, and proceeded thence to Fort
Chartres, arriving there February 18, 1765.13T
St. Ange, who had succeeded Neyon de Vil-
liers at Fort Chartres, received the English
cordially, and tried to influence the Indians to
make peace.138 The red men, however, main-
tained their hatred of the English, and be-
came so hostile that Ross and his companions
l:2
Bouquet to Amherst, Aug. 27, 1764, Ibid.,
1M
Gage to Johnson, Nov. 11, 1764, Johnson Papers,
IV: 583.
134
Bouquet to Gage, Nov. 15, 1764, Michigan Pio-
neer and Historical Collections, XIX:280.
" 5 The promise was kept. See treaty of peace with
the Delaware, May 11, 1765, New York Colonial
Documents, VII:738-41.
""Bouquet to Gage, Nov. 15, 1764, Michigan Pio-
neer and Historical Collections, XIX: 183.
137
Ross to Farmar, May 25, 1765, Illinois Historical
Collections, X:481; Declaration of Hugh Crawford.
July 22, 1765, Ibid., X:483.
138
St. Agne to Dabbadie, Apr. 7, 1765, Ibid., X:471.
 KRENKEL: OLD NORTHWEST
were compelled to leave the country and flee
to New Orleans.139
In the meantime, Major Farmar, Governor
Johnstone of West Florida, and John Stuart,
superintendent of Indian affairs for the
Southern department, assembled another ex-
pedition, which was to proceed up the Missis-
sippi River, and endeavor to negotiate treaties
with the Arkansas and Illinois Indians to pre-
vent them from obstructing the troops which
Major Farmar was going to send to Fort
Chartres to take possession.140 This party,
which was under the command of Captain
De la Gauterais, set out for the Illinois
country sometime in the spring of 1765.141
Their mission like that of Ross was fruitless.
A similar approach was used to prepare
the way for sending troops down the Ohio
from Fort Pitt to Illinois. George Croghan
was appointed late in December to go among
the Indians of the Western country to negoti-
ate a treaty.142 He was to be accompanied by
Lieutenant Fraser, who was to carry letters
from General Gage to the French commandant
at Fort Chartres and a proclamation to the
inhabitants of the country.143 Croghan arrived
at Fort Pitt early in 1765, but was detained
there until May 15 by important conferences
with the Indians.144 Meanwhile Lieutenant
Fraser decided to proceed without waiting
for the termination of Croghan's negotia-
tions.145 On reaching the Illinois villages in
the latter part of April, Fraser found the
tribesmen hostile as a result of the instiga-
tion by the French traders. He was saved
from harm by the intervention of Pontiac,
who was now disposed to make peace with
the English.146 On finding himself powerless
to accomplish anything, Fraser descended the
Mississippi and went to New Orleans.147
""Ross to Farmar, May 25, 1765, Ibid., X:482.
""Stuart to De la Gauterais, Jan. 13, 1765, Ibid.,
X:405.
"'Haldiman to Gage, Feb. 25, 1768, Ibid., X:410.
"2Gage to Bouquet, Dec. 24, 1764, Michigan Pio-
neer and Historical Collections, XIX:293.
M3
Gage to Johnson, Feb. 2, 1765, Illinois Historical
Collections, X:427.
'"Johnson to Lords of Trade, May 24, 1765, Ibid.,
X:509.
"''Croghan's journal, Ibid., XI:3.
"Traser to Gage, May 26, 1765, Ibid., 516.
"'Fraser to Gage, June 7, 1765, Ibid., X:519.
61
After having completed the conferences
at Fort Pitt, Croghan left for the Western
country on May 15, accompanied by several
white companions and a party of Shawnee
Indians.148 On June 8, the party was taken
prisoner by some Kickapoo and Mascoutin
Indians at a point near the mouth of the
Wabash River and carried to Vincennes.
Croghan was separated from his companions
on June 17, and carried to Fort Ouiatanon,
where many Indian deputations came to visit
him. A month later Croghan set out for the
Illinois country, but Pontiac himself was met
on the first day and they all returned to
Ouiatanon, where, at a great council, the
great warrior showed his willingness to make
a permanent peace. Since there was now no
need to go on to Fort Chartres, Croghan, on
July 25, started for Detroit, where, during
August, an important conference was held in
which a general peace was made with all the
Western Indians.149
When word from Croghan reached Fort
Pitt that Pontiac had signified his willingness
to make peace, Captain Thomas Stirling, with
a detachment of about 100 men, started for
the Illinois country on August 24 to take
possession of the posts.150 The expedition ar-
rived at Fort Chartres on October 9, and on
the following day St. Ange and the French
garrison made the formal surrender.151 Major
Farmar finally made his way up the Missis-
sippi, and on December 2 arrived at Fort
Chartres to take over the command from
Captain Stirling.152
Thus after nearly three years of delay, the
English troops were in possession of the last
French posts in the West. Though the num-
ber of men involved in battle was small, the
outcome of the conflict was of tremendous
importance, especially for the future United
States.
148
Croghan's journal, New York Colonial Docu-
ments, VII:779-88.
liB
Ibid., VII:787.
M0
Gage to Conway, Sept. 23, 1765, Illinois His-
torical Collections, XI: 86.
"'Minutes of the Surrender of Fort Chartres, New
York Colonial Documents, X:1161.
W2
Farmar to Gage, Dec. 16, 1765, Illinois Historical
Collections, XI: 131.
 ACCESSIONS
Manuscripts
Gifts and permanent loans continue to aug-
ment the Labor Collection of Manuscripts.
From the International Brotherhood of Elec-
trical Workers. Local 953, at Eau Claire have
come papers, 1935-1943, including corre-
spondence, minutes of executive board meet-
ings, financial reports, and negotiations and
agreements. A small group of similar rec-
ords have been received also from Local 1235
of the International Brotherhood of Elec-
trical Workers at Marinette.
Two local unions of the United Brother-
hood of Carpenters and Joiners have placed
their records in the Society. From Local 1246,
Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee, Mich-
igan, have come minutes of meetings, 1913—
1931. and cash books and other financial rec-
ords, 1896-1949. Local 314 at Madison has
filed its minute books covering the period
1899—1944. The first volume of this series
is of particular interest for it contains also
the minutes kept by the Dane County Popu-
lists, 1894-1896.
The United Automobile Workers, C.I.O.,
Local 121, Janesville, have sent to the Society
correspondence, 1935-1950, four volumes of
minutes, 1934-1938, and charters of affiliation.
Smaller groups of papers include: a com-
mentary on bill 154A, 1939, a bill designed
to prevent unfair labor practices, settle dis-
putes, and create the Wisconsin Employment
Relations Board, received from the Wisconsin
Council of Agriculture at Madison; papers,
1936, of the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employers, including
minutes of the first executive board meeting,
financial statements, and copies of the pre-
liminary and adopted drafts of the constitu-
tion, received from Roy E. Kubista of
Madison.
The new Medical History Project also
promises to add substantially to the Society's
manuscript collections. Papers recently re-
ceived have included a volume of minutes of
the Waukesha Medical Society, 1911-1920,
and a formula book kept by William H.
Brays, 1862-1864, presented by Mrs. J. B.
Noble of Waukesha; a volume of newspaper
clippings concerning Wisconsin physicians,
presented by Miss Elizabeth Best of Ocono-
62
mowoc; a fee table, 1879. adopted and signed
by the physicians and surgeons of Beloit.
presented by Dr. W. W. Crockett of Beloit:
a ledger, 1893-1899, kept and presented by
Dr. M. R. Wilkinson of Oconomowoc; two
ledgers, 1905-1910, kept by Dr. Frederick
A. Thayer in Beloit, presented by his son.
Dr. Richard A. Thayer of Beloit; Civil War
correspondence and reports of Dr. John B.
G. Baxter, Wisconsin surgeon in the Union
Army, presented by Mrs. Frances R. Perry,
of Black River Falls.
Museum
Recent Museum accessions are high-lighted
by the arrival of the long-awaited Trimpey
doll collection, willed by the late Alice Kent
Trimpey of Baraboo.
The collection includes eighty dolls, doll
clothes, accessories, and furniture. One of the
earliest specimens is a fashion doll with fine
porcelain head, hands and feet dating from
1745. Among the more unusual dolls is one
named "Major Du Pont." This wax doll is
dressed in a uniform of the 1850's, and each
hair on its head and eyebrows is individually
set in with a hot needle after the Montanari
fashion.
Another important addition to our doll
collection came from the estate of Amalia C.
Baird of Eau Claire. The Baird collection
comprises ninety-seven dolls and a large
quantity of accessories, furniture, and spare
parts. Notable dolls are "two-headed Annie";
"Virginia Staunton," a doll with parian ware
head created by the Clears; and a Bruyere
thirteen-inch portrait doll which is a likeness
of Mrs. Baird as a small child. Other dolls
have been received from Mrs. John Grinde,
and the C. A. Harper estate, Madison.
Also from the Harper estate have been ac-
quired portraits of Dr. Cornelius A. Harper
and other members of the Harper family, a
fine group of domestic utensils of the 1850's,
costumes and accessories of the same period,
and photographs, including a rare negative of
the second State Capitol.
Fred F. Luedke of the Pritzlaff Hardware
Company, Milwaukee, has donated a brightly
painted iron hitching post, circa 1890.
Two-Headed Annie Two-Headed Annie—One Doll Concealed by Skirt

Virginia Staunton Queen Elizabeth and Major Du Pont

63
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
J. I. CASE (Continued from page 6)
The difficulties of travel and the slowness
of transportation and communication brought
frequent comments. From Monroe in Octo-
ber, 1849, Case wrote that he had driven ten
miles since dark, taken care of his horses,
eaten supper, and written a letter. The weather
had been beautiful, but his rest at night had
been most miserable.20 In Whitewater, in
1851, he found the roads "soft with no bot-
toms in places."21 At Platteville, in February
of the next year, he explained that as he rode
over the wide prairies all alone, "All I have
to do is to think and hang on to the buggy to
keep from blowing out. . . . I wish 1 were
home now."22
If unimproved Wisconsin roads made travel
unpleasant, those of northern Illinois were
equally hazardous. Writing from Ridott,
Illinois, on April 8, 1852, Case explained that
he had been riding a stagecoach from Rock-
ford to Freeport. Eight horses could move
the thirteen passengers through the muddy
roads no faster than two miles an hour. Ten
miles east of Freeport the stage bogged down
in a mudhole where the
horses mired and fell, harness broke and
we could go no further. It was dark as
well could be, and mud, mud on all sides
of us. We tore rails from the fence and laid
them down for the ladies to walk on to the
fields. Finally we reached this house. The
ladies and two children were given beds.
The rest of us being men, are sitting up
and enjoying ourselves as best we can. I
assure you that I am heartily sick of this
way of traveling and when I leave home
again it will be in my own conveyance. It
is now Saturday morning, well past one
a.m. My comrades have stretched them-
selves on the floor trying to sleep, I am
acting as fireman.23
Four days later Case arrived at Galena after
a long and tedious trip in which he rode in
an open wagon, on top of a chest, without a
20
J. I. Case, Monroe, to Lydia Case,
Oct. 30, 1849.
Z1
J. I. Case, Whitewater, to Lydia Case,
Dec. 4, 1851.
22
J. I. Case, Platteville, to Lydia Case,
Feb. 24, 1852.
23
J. I. Case, Ridott, Illinois, to Lydia Case,
\pril 8, 1852.
AUTUMN. 1951
place to put his feet.24 The following day
he reached Prairie La Port, Missouri, covering
part of the distance on a crowded steamboat.
Since there would be no more stages for
another ten days and since steamboat passage
was uncertain, Case planned to walk the re-
maining forty miles to Dubuque, Iowa. He
contemplated hiring a team and lumber wagon
for $7.00, but the "roads are so bad they
wouldn't go faster than a snails pace and my
patience wouldn't allow me to wait for
them " 23
Despite the absence of railroads, the Case
Company was selling machinery beyond the
Mississippi River as early as 1853. The
threshing machines were hauled long dis-
tances in wagons to destinations which could
not be reached by water. When Case sold a
machine to a farmer near Dubuque in 1853,
the customer made a special trip to Racine
to secure the thresher. To conduct business
without adequate transportation and com-
munication facilities created serious diffi-
culties. On one occasion Case worried about
returning from Iowa to Wisconsin because
there were no bridges in the vicinity of
Davenport and the river "may freeze so hard
that the ferry boats cannot run, but not hard
enough for driving across the ice. Should
this be the case, I will be obliged to wait until
it is safe crossing, and you must not worry
about me even if you do not hear from me,
for if I am detained, mail also will be de-
tained. . . . " 26 A few days later Case wrote
that since boats could not run in the partially
frozen river, the mail crossed over the stream
in a skiff which was dragged on the ice as
far as it extended, then launched into the
water and rowed the rest of the way. Some
people, however, waited a week for the river
to freeze hard enough to assure safe cross-
ings.27 To add to the discomfiture of this
business trip, one of the horses became sick.
2
'J. I. Case, Galena, Illinois, to Lydia Case, Racine,
Racine, April 12, 1852.
25
Racine, J. I. Case, Prairie La Port, Illinois [Missouri], to
Lydia Case, Racine, April 13, 1852.
26
Racine, J. I. Case, Dubuque, Iowa, to Lydia Case, Racine,
Dec. 19, 1853.
27
Racine, J. I. Case, Davenport. Iowa, to Lydia Case. Racine,
Dec. 17, 1853.
64
 WIK: J . I. CASE
"I am up to my ears in trouble," Case wrote
from Maquoketa, on December 15, 1853.
Tippy is very sick and I am obliged to
stay here on his account.... It was with
great difficulty that I got him to a tavern
within 15 miles of Davenport. Monday, I
went on foot to Davenport hanging on to
the hind end of a one horse lumber wagon.
I was severely cold and all the prairie
roads are bad as usual. You may judge
with luck and the elements against me, a
long way from home, prospects of the river
closing, and Christmas time near that I
am anything but happy. My composure is
somewhat upset this evening, I am anxious
about my patient, and there is a cotillion
party in the adjoining room.28
During the summer of 1852, Case looked
after his business interests in Indiana. At
Anderson he observed that people were very
sickly with ague, fevers, flux, and cholera.
"Many talk of moving to Wisconsin for better
health," he wrote, "and many strangers ob-
serve how healthy I look, and say that they
know I am from some healthy country. . . ."29
He expressed disappointment in the appear-
ance of the Wabash River valley which
he assumed was a fertile region but, which
in his opinion, "could not be compared
with Wisconsin." The inhabitants were real
Hoosiers and Indianapolis appeared more
like "Yankeedom" than anything he had
seen since he entered the State.30
Of course, the life of a traveling salesman
was not all discouragement and lamentations.
In Galena, Illinois, Case admitted that he was
having a beautiful time, the roads were good,
the weather fine, the horses good, and the
buggy easy.31 He arrived in Chicago in 1852
in good health, had tea with friends, visited
hardware stores, and forwarded a box of nuts
to the factory in Racine.32 The Indiana trip
was an adventure, for he was seeing this
countryside for the first time. At Marion the
28
J. I. Case, Maquoketa, Iowa, to Lydia Case,
Racine, Dec. 15, 1853.
29
J. I. Case, Anderson, Indiana, to Lydia Case, Sept.
9, 1852.
^J. I. Case, Peru, Indiana, to Lydia Case, Sept. 3,
1852.
31
J. I. Case, Galena, Illinois, to Lydia Case, Racine,
Nov. 22, 1850.
32
J. I. Case, Chicago, to Lydia Case, Racine, April
8, 1852.
65
Quaker meetings were impressive; at Peru
he enjoyed good accommodations with a
"front parlor and a nice curtained bed. . . ."33
In these gayer moments he often sent gifts
to his wife at home, gold coins, a necklace,
silk cloth, and a salmon-colored Canton shawl
among them.
To secure adequate capital for operating
the Racine factory proved to be one of the
most serious problems confronting the owner
during the early years of the business. Since
farmers usually bought their machinery direct
from the manufacturer on credit, ranging
from one to four years, the work on collection
of these debts became an important and time-
consuming task. Much unpleasantness ac-
companied this work. In Monroe, Wisconsin,
Case collected enough money to pay his ex-
penses home provided, as he put it, "I cozen
pretty well."3* On another occasion he was
unable to secure payment on a $300 debt be-
cause "the man made away with the property
and had gone East."35 At times Case con-
cluded that he should spend more time in the
country and attend to his customers more
closely. After visiting farmers near Spring
Valley in 1852, he indicated that "cash is
what I am after and I must have it even if
I have to go to California to get it."36 In
order to pay his personal promissory notes at
the Racine banks, Case pleaded with one of
his agents in Fond du Lac County in 1853
to try to raise some money immediately for
"I am really pressed for a large amount and
know not what to do unless you can collect
and remit to me."37 On a collection trip to
Platteville, he revealed a touch of humor by
saying that he was taking cash so fast "I
think I will have to get an extra team of
horses to haul it for me. I think you would
like to know how much I have received. Well,
when all is counted, that is, if I have spent
33
J. I. Case, Marion, Indiana, to Lydia Case, Racine,
Sept. 5, 1852.
34
J. I. Case, Monroe, to Lydia Case, Racine, Oct. 30,
1849.
36
J. I. Case, Janesville, to Lydia Case, Racine, Nov.
4, 1851.
38
J. I. Case, Spring Prairie, to Lydia Case, Racine,
Feb. 18, 1852.
37
J. I. Case, Racine, to James T. Elliott, Rosendale,
Fond du Lac County, March 11, 1853.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
none, $26.74. Is not that a muckle pie? I
have the blues and can't help it. . . . " 38
The financing of the Case Company prior
to the Civil War continued unpredictable. In
good times farmers bought more land and ma-
chinery, for which they signed notes at high
interest rates. When grain prices dropped,
creditors were seized with alarm and took
steps to recover their investments. Curtailment
of the currency, bank failures, and hard times
followed. In addition, crop failures caused
by hail, drouth, floods, chinch bugs, army
worms, and flies intensified the difficulties.
Following the panic of 1857, the Case business
correspondence contained an unusually large
assortment of farmers' hard-luck stories. A
thresherman near Sparta, Wisconsin, unable
to pay for a $375 threshing machine, wrote
on December 27, 1857: "Dear Mr. Case, Sir,
the day is dark and gloomy and unsettled
like my mind as I have disappointed you so
long about your money, but sir, I assure you
I shall get it even if I have to give 3 per cent
per month for it."39 Another debtor at
Farmington, after selling the thresher with a
mortgage on it, explained that times were
so difficult and money so scarce that he was
turning himself over to the county sheriff.40
Excuses for nonpayment of obligations
varied from the legitimate to the most doubt-
ful. Farmers informed Case that they were
in default because impassable roads or frozen
rivers prevented the sale of grain. After 1861
many of the younger men went off to war
without making arrangements for financial
settlements.41 Some claimed they couldn't
pay their debts because they were unable to
write in English. A thresherman in Spring
Prairie asked Case for an extension of time
because he was leaving for India where he
would secure possession of $80,000 which had
fallen to him under peculiar circumstances.42
"Please overlook my account Mr. Case,"
came the plaintive word from Clayton, Illinois,
M
J. I. Case, Platteville, to Lydia Case, Racine, Feb.
24,s0 1852.
Michael Peffer, Sparta, to J. I. Case, Racine, Dec.
27, 1857.
"Thomas Goodman, Farmington, to J. L. Case,
Racine, Feb. 25, 1858.
"L. W. Covell, Wilton, Iowa, to J. I. Case,
Racine, Sept. 18, 1862.
"Albert Francis, Spring Prairie, to J. I. Case,
Racine, Dec. 14, 1861.
66
AUTUMN. 1951
because "my mind is surcharged most of the
time with the cares and difficulties of this de-
crepit world. My trouble originates mainly
from poverty, being in debt and not able to
pay. I have well nigh ruined my slender
frame by hard labor on the farm, for which it
is not sufficient. Wood to God some rich man
like Mr. J. I. Case would in mercy to suffer-
ing humanity, relieve me, that I could redeem
my memory and health and live in peace
and comfort " 43
To complicate financial matters, the scarcity
of coin and the instability of paper money
made collections difficult. Wisconsin's wildcat
banks in the late 1850's issued paper money
backed by such meager security that local
banks soon stopped exchanging it for gold.
Out-of-state banks discounted the Wisconsin
paper money and at times refused it.44
Farmers frequently hesitated to accept "stump-
tail" in exchange for their grain and live-
stock. Inflated paper money tended to drive
specie out of circulation thus adding to the
stringency. A farmer near Rockville, Iowa,
wrote Case that he could not pay for his
threshing machine because "there is not one
thousand dollars of good money in the county,
but more shin plasters than would cover the
Mississippi River for ten miles.... " 4 5 An
agent for the Case Company in Rochester,
Minnesota, informed Case in 1859 that the
derangement of the currency made collections
virtually impossible. "No one has cash on
hand," he complained, "and even if they
have wheat, they are loath to sell it for the
doubtful currency of Wisconsin and Illinois.
Then too, farmers refuse to haul their wheat
100 miles to receive only 38 cents a bushel
for it. . . . " 46
During these hard times Case accepted
hogs, cattle, land, lumber, and secondhand
machinery in lieu of cash. He was a good
horse trader too; in fact, he would trade in
all kinds of commodities, managing usually
to emerge from the transaction with some cash
43
J. C. Quackenbush, Clayton, Illinois, to .1. I. Case,
Racine, March 20, 1861.
"Frederick Merk, Economic History oj Wisconsin
during the Civil War Decade (Madison, 1916), 187-92.
45
R. W. Gates, Rockville, Iowa, to J. I. Case, Racine,
March 9, 1859.
48
S. P. Stewart, Rochester, Minnesota, to J. I. Case,
Racine, Oct. 8, 1859.
 WIK: J . I. CASE
in his pocket. For example, on March 13,1853,
he sold a big bay horse with harness for
$300, a sorrel horse and spring wagon for
$400 on one year's time and interest at 12
percent. He traded another wagon for a
gold watch in spite of the fact that he already
had seven watches.47
Apparently Case could economize on per-
sonal expenditures if it were necessary. On
a collection tour in 1850 he cut expenses by
stopping every night with debtors. His only
expense for several days of traveling included
35 cents for a pocket map and 10 cents for a
"gimet" to fasten his door at night.48
Since the continued existence of the thresh-
ing machine business depended upon the
good will of the farmers, advertising became
extremely important. Case was confident of
his product and aggressive in salesmanship.
"I had three customers," he wrote in 1850.
"They are all pretty tight ones. It took me
some time to pound the fact into their dull
minds that the Case machines are the best
in the world and that they were getting them
at a bargain."49 When customers complained
that a thresher failed to perform as war-
ranted, Case went into the fields to service
the machine. On one occasion an Indiana
farmer refused to pay for a threshing outfit,
saying that it was a Yankee humbug which
could not thresh thirty bushels of grain a day.
Case called on the thresherman, made repairs,
hired a crew of men, and threshed 177 bushels
of wheat in an afternoon, a performance
which satisfied the customer and re-established
the reputation of his product in that region.50
J. I. Case directed the business activities
of the company during its first twenty years.
By 1863, however, the enterprise had grown
to the point where a partnership seemed ad-
visable in order to distribute managerial re-
sponsibilities. M. B. Erskine, R. H. Baker, and
Stephen Bull received an interest in the com-
pany and took charge of production, sales,
and collections. The company produced 300
threshing machines in 1860, 500 in 1865, and
47
48
J. I. Case, Racine, to Lydia Case, March 13, 1853.
J. I. Case, Madison, to Lydia Case, Racine, Nov.
12, 1850.
4
W
*J. I. Case, Racine, to Lydia Case, July 14, 1850.
J. I. Case, Anderson, Indiana, to Lydia Case,
Racine, Sept. 9, 1852.
67
1,300 in 1870.51 In 1878 the company built
300 agricultural steam engines and shipped
them to every grain-growing state in the
United States and Canada, and even entered
the South American trade.52
Meanwhile Case had become wealthy. He
had stables of fine racing horses, farms in
several states, a vast ranch in Texas, and two
schooners on the Great Lakes. He served as
mayor of Racine, became a State senator,
and helped establish the Wisconsin Academy
of Arts and Sciences. At his death in 1891,
the Case Company was valued at $4,000,000.
In 1912 the capital stock totaled $40,000,000,
and the gross sales were $12,000,000 a year.53
The Case Threshing Machine Company, repre-
sented by the aristocratic bald eagle, had be-
come the largest threshing machine company
in the United States, if not in the entire
world.54 The machines which left this factory
helped eliminate much of the drudgery in
farm work and made an important contribu-
tion toward the more complete mechanization
of American agriculture.
51
Merk, Economic History, 146.
s2
Farm Implements and Hardware, 9 (August,
1889).
s3
The Implement Age, 9 (January, 1912).
"Report on the Agricultural Implement and Ma-
chinery Industry, Federal Trade Commission (Wash-
ington, D.C., 1938), 123-240.
Northwestern Celebrates
A great celebration was carried out dur-
ing 1951 when Northwestern University,
at Evanston, Illinois, marked 100 years
of progress. It is an institution which
boasts 70,000 living alumni; 95 build-
ings, with a book value of $31,000,000.
Its endowment totals $60,000,000. From
January through November, 1951, the
program included symposia on science
and the humanities, a festival of the
arts, convocations, reunions, special ath-
letic events, ceremonials honoring the
founders, Centennial Commencement,
and other activities. A campaign also
was launched to obtain capital gifts in
the amount of $8,250,000.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
LA FOLLETTE (Continued from page 29)
thought that Scofield had "made the mistake
of his life."47 Other papers joined in denounc-
ing the diatribe and the Sentinel editorialized
that the attack would not hurt La Follette but
would add to his strength.48
The long and careful organization of
La Follette's campaign was now ready to
bear fruit. He had personally visited most
of the counties of the State and his lieutenants
had covered every township. He had concili-
ated most of the elements in the party and
had expressed a moderate attitude towards
the great corporations. He had avoided an-
tagonizing either the other candidates, or, with
the exception of Governor Scofield, the State's
major political figures. The extent of his
financial backing was evidenced by the activity
of paid workers, the size of the mailing lists,
printing bills, and even the large-scale use
of livery rigs to bring people to the polls.49
Most important, he, alone of the candidates,
offered a clear, intelligible program of reform
including a direct primary, equality of taxa-
tion, and increasing control of monopolies.
The chief danger to his candidacy, the forma-
tion of an anti-La Follette bloc, had been
avoided by his fair, moderate, and reasonable
attitude. The pre-convention "harmony" cam-
paign had produced results. The nomination
of La Follette was conceded as probahle he-
fore the meeting of the first county convention.
The first contest for delegates set the pat-
tern for the nomination. In a sharp but
decisive battle, La Follette carried "Long"
Jones's home city and county of Waukesha
which selected a comfortable majority of
delegates pledged to vote for him at the
State convention. The same day La Follette
carried Scofield's home county of Oconto by
a similar majority, thus administering a re-
buke to the governor for his intemperate
outburst.50
The several local candidates obviously had
no chance. No move had been made by the
"Appleton Evening Crescent, June 27, 1900.
"Milwaukee Sentinel, June 28, 1900; see also the
comments of the State press, quoted in the Milwau-
kee Sentinel, June 28, 1900.
49
Hiram D. Fisher to E. W. Keyes, April 4, 1909,
Keyes Papers.
""Milwaukee Sentinel, June 28, 1900.
68
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
State Republican Committee to organize any
combination against La Follette and by the
time of the first county conventions it was
certain that no such attempt would be made.
On July 1, "Long" Jones, protesting that he
was "not a bit sore," withdrew from the
race and indicated that he would support
La Follette.51 A few days later both Bradford
and Whitehead also retired from the contest.
The La Crosse Republican and Leader, which
had supported Bradford, promptly endorsed
La Follette and praised his friendly and con-
structive campaign.52 In a letter to Nils
Haugen, La Follette confided that the situation
was "in the bag" but he did not intend to let
up. This time he was determined to leave
"as few sore spots" as possible.53 About the
same time Congressman Babcock wrote to
J. O. Davidson gleefully that "we have them
whipped to such a finish that Bob won't have
any opposition when the convention is called."
Then waxing even more confidential, he con-
fided to the State treasurer that "there is one
thing, my dear boy, about this campaign:
the plans were well laid long before Bob made
his announcement."54
It was at this juncture that senior Senator
John C. Spooner confounded the political
observers by announcing, two years before
the expiration of his term, that he did not
intend to seek re-election in 1903 but would
return to his private law practice. In spite
of efforts by Spooner to remain neutral in the
State campaign and assurances by La Follette
that he had only the highest regard for the
senator, rumors of a deal against Spooner's
seat had appeared repeatedly in both the
press and in private correspondence. Perhaps
Spooner, whom reporter Lincoln Steffens
later called a "timid man," preferred to retire
gracefully without a fight. Although most of
the political leaders expressed surprise and
regret at this sudden decision and hoped that
he would reconsider, they at once began to
lay plans to take advantage of the proposed
"Ibid., July 1-2, 1900.
52
La Crosse Daily Republican and Leader, July 3,
1900.
53
R. M. La Follette to Nils P. Haugen, July 7,
1900, Haugen Papers.
"Joseph W. Babcock to James O. Davidson, July
2, 1900, Davidson Papers.
 MAXWELL: LA FOLLETTE
vacancy. Most prominent among the sug-
gested names were Payne, Babcock, and Esch.
All were known to be ambitious.55
The remainder of the pre-convention cam-
paign was like a triumphant procession for
the La Follette forces. County after county
selected La Follette-pledged delegates to the
State convention. The remaining rival candi-
dates, De Wayne Stebbins and General Rogers,
also withdrew and La Follette remained as
the only candidate to go before the convention.
In reviewing the campaign the editor of
the Sentinel praised the manner in which
La Follette had made the race. Not only had
he been moderate and conciliatory, but there
was no evidence that he had "surrendered a
principle, mortgaged an appointment, or given
assurance to any interest or influence unbe-
coming an honorable man."56 As the time for
the State Republican Convention approached,
the press became almost uniformly favorable
to La Follette. The friendliness and modera-
tion of the pre-convention contest was evident
in most of the articles. Only Governor
Scofield threatened to renew the bitter per-
sonal warfare, and he was dissuaded, with
difficulty, by his friends.57 La Follette gave
no recognition that he was aware of the
governor's hostility.
The scene at Milwaukee on August 8 was
a fitting climax to the "harmony campaign."
There the convention nominated La Follette
for governor by acclamation, and the defeated
candidates, Bradford, Whitehead, Stebbins,
and Rogers, joined in pledging their support
to La Follette in the coming general campaign.
It would have been difficult to have discovered
any anti-La Follette sentiment in the entire
convention. He was not a "factional" candi-
date. He had become the choice of the whole
party.58
The party platform was a clear-cut, plain-
spoken La Follette document but contained
the same spirit of moderation and conciliation
"Milwaukee Sentinel, July 6-7, 1900; Ellis B. Usher
to Lute W. Nieman, July 12, 1900, Usher Papers;
P. A. Orton to E. W. Keyes, June 7, 1900; Keyes to
J. J. Esch, June 15, 1900; Keyes to J. C. Gavehey,
July 7, 1900, Keyes Papers.
"Ibid., July 25-26, 1900.
"'Ellis B. Usher to E. T. Wheelock, July 13, 1900,
Usher Papers.
S8
Milwaukee Sentinel, Aug. 9-10, 1900.
69
which had characterized his pre-convention
campaign. It praised the outgoing adminis-
tration of Governor Scofield as "clean, capable
and business-like." It endorsed the services
of Senator Spooner and regretted his an-
nounced determination to retire from public
life. The plank calling for a "primary elec-
tion" system was the keystone of the document
and would provide the principal issue for
La Follette in the coming campaign. Other
major planks urged a "justly proportionate"
basis for corporation taxation, extension of
the anti-pass and anti-lobby laws, and a
general program of regulation and control
of monopolies.59
La Follette was completely exhausted and
near a state of collapse from his efforts in
the preliminary campaign and the convention.
A vacation was in order if he was to take any
important part in the fall contest and elec-
tion. Again Isaac Stephenson came to La Fol-
lette's assistance and organized a week's cruise
on his yacht through the Great Lakes.60
There, away from the heat of Madison
in summer, with only a few close per-
sonal and political friends, La Follette was
able to rest, loll around the deck, and make
plans for the coming campaign. La Follette
returned from the cruise rested and relaxed,
with definite plans for the approaching race.
"Fighting Bob" and "Uncle Ike" became, for
the time being, close friends and political
allies.
In the drive for votes preceding the gen-
eral election, the efforts of La Follette and
the State ticket were merged with the national
campaign. After much preliminary planning,
the formal Republican campaign was opened
at La Crosse with Vice-Presidential candidate
Theodore Roosevelt, flanked on the platform
by Quarles and La Follette, as the featured
speaker. La Follette opened his personal
campaign at Milwaukee on September 19.
The Sentinel described him as "in splendid
voice." His utterances made a deep impres-
sion on the audience who followed him with
close attention. In a typical La Follette ad-
dress, he spoke for three hours hammering in
his points with great force and earnestness.
"•'Wisconsin Blue Book, 1901, pp. 690-91.
""Milwaukee Sentinel, Aug. 11, 1900.
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Always a great actor, he was at his best
before the Milwaukee audience and received
spontaneous outbursts of applause whenever
he paused. This speech, which closed with
a strong plea for the proposed primary elec-
tion law, was carried in full by the Sentinel
and was widely copied throughout the State.61
The Democrats had nominated for governor
Louis G. Bomrich of Milwaukee and had
adopted a typical Bryanite platform, de-
nouncing imperialism, expansion and mo-
nopolies.02 With a strong appeal to the
German voters Bomrich could be expected to
make a vigorous race, but even the most
optimistic Democratic supporters hardly ex-
pected either Bryan or Bomrich to carry the
State in November. On the other hand it
was not difficult to whip up enthusiasm for
the Republican candidates. The popular and
dynamic Roosevelt made numerous speeches
in the State. Senator Spooner compaigned
vigorously for both the National and State
tickets, praising La Follette and the State
platform repeatedly. The Wisconsin congress-
men also took part in the general campaign
supporting the whole ticket. Nils P. Haugen
and James 0. Davidson did yeoman service
in canvassing the Scandinavian neighbor-
hoods and making speeches in Norwegian to
secure the vote of that group. The natural
tendency of many German voters to support
their fellow-countryman Bomrich was counter-
acted by sending popular pro-La Follette
speakers of German descent among them. No
stone was left unturned to gain the support of
every group in the State.63
But perhaps the greatest single load was
carried by La Follette himself. During the
campaign he traveled 6,433 miles, delivered
208 speeches, and spoke to an estimated
200.000 people.64 His oratorical ability and
driving re-emphasis of important issues won
him many supporters who formerly had been
opposed to him. His speeches abounded in
logical reasoning and convincing argument
"Ibid., Sept. 10, 20, 1900.
''•Wisconsin Blue Book, 1901, pp. 699-700.
G3
F. W. Walker to Nils P. Haugen, Oct. 16, 1900,
Haugen Papers; W. H. Rosenstengel to James 0 .
Davidson, Oct. 11, 1900; G. M. Burnham to David-
son, Oct. 24, 1900, Davidson Papers; W. L. Houser
to J. J. Esch, Oct. 1, 1900, Esch Papers.
"Milwaukee Sentinel, Nov. 4, 1900.
70
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
and his emotional and serious approach evi-
dently found great favor with his listeners.
It became evident that La Follette not only
could carry his own weight, but was a tower
of strength to the whole ticket in Wisconsin.
Throughout the campaign La Follette was
quite conscious of the importance of the minor
races taking place in the State. Especially
was he concerned about the personnel of the
incoming Legislature which would hold the
fate of his program of reform. La Follette
feared that the elements in the State who
secretly opposed him would concentrate on
electing a hostile State senate and assembly
which would tie his hands.65 Reports from
the field did nothing to quiet his misgivings
as at least one close supporter bitterly com-
plained that "no olive branch" had been ex-
tended to him and charged that the Repub-
lican organization was backing his opponent.66
Other elements of the party, apparently, felt
under no obligation to support La Follette's
personal followers for State or local office.
The Republican campaign for "Mac and
Teddy and Bob" swept to a smashing victory
in the November election. The size of
McKinley's plurality was even larger than in
1896. La Follette rolled up a plurality of
103,745 votes over his Democratic opponent
and carried all except five counties in the
State. The other State officers were re-elected
by similar margins.67 Just as it had been a
united campaign for the whole Republican
ticket so was it a victory for the entire party
with little outward evidence of any factional
differences or unusual strains or stresses. This
"harmony" coalition, as it turned out, was by
no means permanent. In fact, La Follette
enjoyed one of the briefest "political honey-
moons" on record. No sooner did the Legis-
lature convene than the deep-seated distrust
and antipathy between La Follette and the
"old guard" split the party into warring
factions, each charging the other with double
dealing and lack of good faith. From this
split emerged the "progressive" and "stal-
03
R. M. La Follette to Nils P. Haugen, Aug. 21,
1900, Haugen Papers.
66
James A. Stone to R. M. La Follette, July 5, 1900;
Stone to George E. Bryant, Nov. 8, 1900, Stone
Papers.
"'Wisconsin Blue Book, 1901, pp. 266, 328-36.
 MAXWELL: LA FOLLETTE
wart" wings of the Republican Party which
have contended for control of Wisconsin al-
most without respite to this day. But during
the campaign of 1900 little evidence of this
basic hostility was apparent. The old party
leaders had worked vigorously along with
the personal supporters of La Follette for the
success of the entire ticket, and there had
appeared no important differences within the
party concerning issues and programs.68 Far
ffl
The general good fellowship which existed
among erstwhile political enemies was nowhere more
evident than during the post-election lull. La Fol-
lette, with Keyes, Babcock, George Burrows, and
others, took a much-needed rest at West Baden
READERS' CHOICE (Continued from page 47)
service to his country as chairman of the
Committee on Foreign Relations, especially at
the time of the "Trent" affair, Seward's
change in attitude following the election of
Lincoln, Sumner's opposition to Grant's cor-
rupt administration and why he supported
H. Greeley in the election of 1872, are inter-
estingly told by a distinguished biographer.
The political philosophy of both Schurz
and Sumner was pretty much the same. Espe-
cially is this true of the momentous questions
facing the country during the Civil War
decade and the decade just preceding and
following. Nevertheless, Schurz does resort
to considerable discrimination presenting
both sides of these public questions, and
gives the reader considerable leeway to judge
for himself. This may in part be due to the
fact that the essay was written thirty years
following the close of the Civil War when
these issues had cooled off somewhat. It is
for this reason that this essay together with
an excellent introduction by Professor Hogue,
an authority in this phase of American his-
tory, constitutes a valuable contribution to
the literature of the Lincoln era.
Madison LEONARD B. KRUEGER
The New Nation: A History of the United
States during the Confederation, 1781—
1789. By MERRILL JENSEN. (Knopf,
New York, 1950. Pp. xv, 1-433. $5.00.)
Books for review are divided into three
classes: those of unquestioned excellence and
therefore easy to handle; those so impossible
they can be disposed of readily; and, finally,
71
from being a personal victory or a political
revolution in Wisconsin politics, the success
of La Follette and the Republican ticket in
November, 1900, was the result of excellent
party organization, adequate financing, popu-
lar issues, and vigorous and dynamic leader-
ship. It was a typical story of a Republican
Wisconsin success. It had been a true "har-
mony" campaign.
Springs in Indiana. The ex-Boss returned well
pleased with the prospects of a friendly and peaceful
administration under the new governor. See Keyes
to W. H. Stennett, Nov. 8, 1900; Keyes to J. D.
Gaveney, Dec. 1, 1900; W. D. Hoard to Keyes, Nov.
22, 1900; Keyes to Burrows, Dec. 1, 1900, Keyes
Papers.
those which require long contemplation on
the part of the reviewer before he is willing
to release his judgment. Naturally, this vol-
ume falls in the first category.
Dr. Jensen is well known for his published
papers, and has represented American schol-
arship abroad as visiting lecturer in Britain.
His approach to his study of the period, a
judicial attitude to which historians will not
take exception, is indicated in these two
sentences which should not be paraphrased:
"As one views the achievements of the Con-
federation, it is evident that the story is
not a negative one, But a steady striving
toward a goal. The 'weakness' of the cen-
tral government under the Confederation
was the weakness of any government that
must achieve its ends by persuasion rather
than by coercion" (p. 348).
"There was a new nation (in the 1780's), as
the men of the time agreed; they disagreed
as to whether the new nation should have
a federal or a national government. They
did so from the outset of the Revolution and
men have continued to do so ever since.
The Constitution of 1787 was, as Madison
said, both national and federal. And while
this fact has led to innumerable conflicts
of interpretation, it has also been a source
of strength; for as one political group
after another has gotten control of the cen-
tral government it has been able to shape
the Constitution to its needs and desires"
(p. xiv).
Dr. Jensen deplores the "false lessons" that
have been drawn in the twentieth century
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
from history because, he holds, they have
come largely from John Fiske's Critical
Period, "a book of vast influence but of no
value as either history or example" (p. xii).
It has long been recognized that Fiske was
not entirely accurate in details but, neverthe-
less, much is still to be said for the Fiske
thesis. Many who were brought up on Fiske,
and who came to love history in part because
of his beautiful style, would rather not have
his book termed "a chaos and patriots to the
rescue" interpretation. Fiske's inaccuracies
here and there must be taken in consideration
by a later generation which has had access to
far more sources; Fiske did for his own times
what Beard in his economic interpretation
thesis did for ours. They jarred scholars
loose from their preconceptions; later scholars,
like Dr. Jensen, have been privileged to fur-
nish the correctives.
This book is definitely a contribution. The
publishers are justified in publicizing the vol-
ume as the definitive account of the first years
of the United States.
Louis KNOTT KOONTZ
University of California, Los Angeles
Treason, the Story of Disloyalty and Betrayal
in American History. By NATHANIEL
WEYL. (Public Affairs Press, Washing-
ton, D.C., 1950. Pp. x, 491. $4.50.)
According to the author "there has never
been a period in American history in which
the public has been so concerned with treason
as the present." He therefore undertook to
deal with "the historic record of treason and
other forms of disloyalty against the United
States—with the present as much as with the
past." "The chief significance of the latter,"
we are told, "is the light it sheds on con-
temporary problems. The central theme is
the role treason and sedition have played in
American affairs."
There in the author's words lie the ex-
planation of the virtues and limitations of
this book. The reader may skeptically ques-
tion whether an account, however entertain-
ing, of the misdeeds of Arnold and Burr
sheds much light on what to do about Tokyo
Roses, Dale Maples, or even those found
guilty of perjury about acts that were cer-
tainly not treason as defined by the Consti-
tution. The reader can, however, conclude,
with legitimate pride, that the role of treason
in American affairs has been quite unim-
72
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
portant. It is well, certainly at this time,
to have this fact demonstrated and there,
perhaps, lies the chief merit of the book. Such
a demonstration, however important, is likely
to provide less interesting reading than an
account of some positively significant element
in American development.
The account is presented chronologically
with almost no indication of the sources used.
About 300 pages deal with events from the
Revolution through the Civil War; the final
200 with episodes from the first World War
to the present. More than 50 pages are de-
voted to Aaron Burr. The final 60 or 70 pages
describe acts that were not treasonable. These
are, perhaps, the weakest pages of the book,
partly because they deal with unfinished
business.
It is one of the author's theses that in the
United States the charge of treason has been
used in a much more enlightened and humane
fashion than in European countries, that it
has not, generally, been used to obtain politi-
cal advantage for narrow political groups but
only for clear reasons of national need, and
that the individual has always been well pro-
tected—perhaps even too well protected—
against prosecution. All this is probably true;
it is therefore unfortunate that the author has
generally contrasted post 1776 action in the
United States with pre 1776 action in Europe.
The author has certainly performed a useful
task in putting together in one book brief
accounts of many episodes. Some are frankly
too brief to provide much interest or en-
lightenment; others, for example the accounts
of Burr and John Brown, are quite interesting
and stimulating. Though the author does not
disguise his personal enthusiasms, the mate-
rial is generally presented with a reasonable
degree of impartiality and always the author
gives reasons for his opinions.
While hardly a major contribution to
American historical literature, this book is
generally interesting to read and does seem
to justify one conclusion of major importance
to the present: on the evidence of our national
experience the fear of treason is more to be
feared than treason itself.
Washington, D.C. GEORGE WOODBRIDGE
She Rode a Yellow Stallion. By WARREN
REED. (The Bobbs-Merrill Company,
Inc., Indianapolis, 1950. Pp. 323. $3.00.)
It is pleasant to record a modest success by
a novelist working with a subject in Wiscon-
 READERS CHOICE
sin history. Mr. Reed dredged his memories
of his father's tales of Sheboygan County,
added some solid research into the historical
background, worked in touches of unpreten-
tious dialect and local color, and turned out
an appealing story of lost romance and the
growth of the land. The result was a book
which sold out an edition (although it sold
less readily in Wisconsin than in some rather
distant states) and is an encouragment to
writers who can face up to such a subject
with Mr. Reed's intellectual honesty and
controlled imagination.
The story, laid in the kettle moraine country
of Sheboygan County, traces the lost passion
of an immigrant boy of Scottish descent for
an Irish girl and his triumphs as the father
of a typical American family. The long nar-
rative introduces the reader to some familiar
landmarks of Wisconsin history and touches
with feeling and understanding national events
such as the Civil War. Hiram Smith and the
beginning of factory production of cheese
and Cyrus McCormick and his harvester rub
elbows with the fictitious Scotch boy who be-
comes a successful horse breeder as well as
soldier and dairyman. There is no attempt
at a full-scale, stem-winding, dyed-in-the-wool
historical novel that deals with the principals
of history. But the authenticity of true folk-
lore is to be found in the rich store of anec-
dotes, and Mr. Reed is an engaging story-
teller. Except for transferring contemporary
personal informalities to a formal age there
is little that an ordinary reader can regard as
anachronism.
The book is worth a reading—it is no
longer in print and will be hard to buy—and
more of its kind should do something to ex-
tend the widening circle of those who take an
interest in their State and their locality. We
are glad to hear that Mr. Reed is currently
fascinated by the character of Nicolas Perrot.
W. H. GLOVER
State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Oil! Titan of the Southwest. By CARL C.
RISTER. (University of Oklahoma Press,
Norman, 1949. Pp. 468. Illustrations,
graphs, maps. $5.00.)
At Beaumont, Texas, on the Neches River,
a monument stands on the site of the Spindle-
top gusher. An inscription reads: "Petroleum
has revolutionized industry and transporta-
tion ; it has created untold wealth, built cities,
73
furnished employment for hundreds of thou-
sands, and contributed billions in taxes to
support institutions of government. In a
brief span of years, it has altered man's way
of life throughout the world."
Spindletop burst with a black tower of oil
on January 10, 1901. It flowed at a rate of
3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) an hour.
This was the first big strike in the Southwest,
the beginning of the swift surpassing of
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and In-
diana—whicb had been supplying oil for
lamps, lubricants, and medicine—and the
dawn of the fuel-oil era. For our present
mechanized age the Southwest provides 70
percent of a national oil production of two
billion barrels a year.
It is fortunate that Carl C. Rister, research
professor of American history at the Univer-
sity of Oklahoma, undertook to collect the
pieces of this important story. An enthu-
siast of the Southwest, he is the author of
eight previous books dealing with the region.
Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) made
a grant, without strings, to the University of
Oklahoma Foundation; the university regents
offered Mr. Rister leave of absence; he set
out on a quest that took three years—with
Mrs. Rister as "my faithful assistant."
The result is a valuable historical record
for students of American industry t and all
persons engaged in this specific industry. In
a lively but unhurried narrative style, the
chronicle picks up pioneer efforts in Okla-
homa, Kansas, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas,
and New Mexico, carrying the reader across
the years and into the fields, through periods
of boom and glut, into regulation, technology,
new markets, and Big Inch pipe lines.
Derricks on the landscape mark several
thousand oil fields in the Southwest, and Mr.
Rister acquaints us with the adventures of
the operators who drilled many of these
wells. He does so by means of documented
reporting. He deliberately devotes his book
to "the search for and the development of oil
resources" and does not try to encompass the
social-economic effects. This reviewer hopes
that a new book will be forthcoming from the
same eager mind and trained hand, covering
Part Two, the industrialization of the region.
No doubt such a sequel would be written with
the same clarity and objectivity and produced
with the typographic excellence that the
University of Oklahoma Press has given the
present work.
New York ALFRED LIEF
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
And the War Came: The North and the Se-
cession Crisis, 1860-1861. By KENNETH
M. STAMPP. (Louisiana State University
Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana [1950].
Pp. 298. $4.50.)
Professor Stampp has chosen an import-
ant, indeed a pivotal, period of American
history to write of: the months from the elec-
tion of Lincoln to the attack on Fort Sumter.
The objects of the author's attention are the
Northern States, and his problem is to chart
their actions and reactions to the swiftly
moving events of the time. Buchanan was in
office, but due soon to leave it; Lincoln was
out of office, but during the period held po-
tential presidential powers. Between these
political poles charged currents swept back
and forth, stimulating Northern minds and
provoking political thought and action. One
of the merits of this book is that the author
has enabled us to enter into the feeling-states
of the times, to follow stage by stage the
developing political and social psychologies
of these trying months. Opinion progressed
irregularly and by fits and starts; Stampp
lays bare its halting courses. It is a stirring
tale he unfolds and he has told it well. An-
other of the merits of the book (at least, for
this reviewer) is what the author has done
to clarify the role of Buchanan. "Old Buck"
has been held up to automatic scorn for so
long that it is refreshing to be able to read
an account of his inactions and actions that
is based on a liberal and empirical documenta-
tion. The author shows that Buchanan altered
his policy, after carefully considering the
facts. The shift of his ground occurred in
early January, 1861. By that time he had a
Union cabinet, a Northern, sectional admin-
istration. "This old friend of slaveholding
politicians was now being accused of hostile
aggression against the South! . . . . 'When
Lincoln comes in,' Jefferson Davis wrote
gloomily, 'he will have but to continue in
the path of his predecessor to inaugurate a
civil war. . . .' And Davis was right." So
writes the author.
The book is well documented. Dr. Stampp
has made generous use of manuscript ma-
terials; the reviewer has, counted 86 separate
collections in eight depositories. He has also
consulted 48 newspaper files which have a
geographical range from Maine to Wisconsin,
through Massachusetts, New York, Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, and the rest. Thus his care in
sampling political opinion in the several
74
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
states of his section has been done with
thoroughness. This good harvest of materials
he has skilfully woven together into a read-
able narrative that transmits the dramatic
element without overplaying it.
The author writes on the fundamental as-
sumption that there was the "North." This is
a high form of geographical or sectional
abstraction. There were also the "Northeast"
and the "Northwest," according to oilier
writers. These sectional terms are abstrac-
tions, too, but are not so high; they allow
for some differentiation, some internal con-
trasts and differences. A simple exercise al-
lows us to see something as to the character
of the internal contrasts between these two
sections. Study the average densities per
square mile of the populations of the "North-
eastern" states and the "Northwestern"
states in 1860, and the contrasts inherent in
the figures stand out in bold relief. If Dr.
Stampp had kept such sectional contrasts
(inside the "North") in mind, would his
book have been the gainer thereby? The re-
viewer raises but does not answer the ques-
tion. And now one more questioning of the
assumption on which the book is written, that
"sections" exist, that "their" histories can be
written. What if the author had written of
the area he selected, but had conceived of it
not as one section or even as two sections,
but as a plurality of localities, each with its
economic interests, social ideals, and political
programs? Such an approach may be de-
nominated the approach of pluralistic local-
ism. Had this approach been used, with the
data accumulated so industriously, would the
finished product have been the gainer by it?
Again the reviewer raises the question but
supplies no answer. It is time to raise these
questions, however, because for almost a half
century, now, American historians (under
the originating influence of F. J. Turner)
have been favorably inclined toward the sec-
tional mould for certain kinds of historical
compositions. Stampp's solid contribution
gives one an opportunity to ask the questions.
if only to get them onto the record. The pres-
ent is not the place to explore the possibilities
of the proposed alternative. Suffice to say,
however, that when we think of a homogeneous
"North" are we not in danger of blurring
important considerations, of missing signifi-
cant ideas and policies that, if brought out
into the open, could contribute to a still
deeper understanding of the events that
 READERS CHOICE
Stampp has so skilfully chronicled? In any
event, his is a book to read, and he is a
writer to watch.
University of Texas FULMER MOOD
This Is Your Navy: An Informal History. By
THEODORE ROSCOE. (United States Naval
Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, 1950.
Pp. vi, 737. $3.00.)
Every age produces its own heroic litera-
ture. Ours is apparently obliged to resemble
the Grade B movie or the comic book. No
other conclusion would be possible if This Is
Your Navy is the model for the remembrance
of past greatness and the stimulation of
martial ardor. It has a subject of epic gran-
deur: the United States Navy from Colonial
times to the final Pacific campaigns of 1945.
No doubt is left by the text that it seeks to
teach patriotism by connecting valor at sea
with service to the republic of free men. It
is disappointing that these lofty aims should
be set forth in a style appropriate for a pulp
magazine.
From the format, and the imprimatur of the
United States Naval Institute, a quasi-official
center for naval publications, one may gather
that the book is intended for the bluejacket's
duffel bag. On long cruises it might fill in
the hours between watches. If this is the case,
then the book has a number of important
defects. Its length is not proportionate to the
level of intelligence to which it appeals; over
700 pages of reading assume a perseverance
which these persons are not likely to have.
Digressions into world history will not help
them to concentrate, either. A background so
miscellaneous that it includes the discovery
of the microscope cannot be provided in a
work of this kind. And for a text which in-
cludes a bewildering array of geographical
place names the maps are wholly inadequate.
Perhaps the best solution would have been
less text and more illustrations; these are
generally well selected and supplement the
lively temper that is maintained throughout.
To criticize the historical pretensions of
this book would be impossible in a short
space. Any attempt to write history as a
"success story" is bound to do violence to
the historian's standards. Everywhere the
interpretation has been hammered to fit the
view that the United States Navy always
triumphed, often at great odds, usually with-
75
out assistance from allies or land forces, and
invariably with flourishes that did credit to
Stephen Decatur. It is surprising that this
level of historical naivete can be sustained
for so many pages. The effect will be more
than the common sense of an honest blue-
jacket can tolerate.
WILLIAM 0 . SHANAHAN
Notre Dame University
Main Line of Mid-America: The Story of the
Illinois Central. By CARLTON J. CORLISS.
(Creative Age Press, New York, 1950.
Pp. xviii, 490. $4.75.)
Carlton Corliss, veteran railroader, shrewd
observer, meticulous reporter, deliberately
tackled an impossible job when he went to
work on Main Line of Mid-America. But
railroaders and railway historians are for-
ever undertaking the impossible, and it is
well that they should. Otherwise many key
lines would never have been built, and cer-
tainly no one would ever start out to write
the story of an entire system.
For the simple reason that no history of an
organization so vast, so complex, and so
venerable as the Illinois Central can be fully
told within the covers of a single volume (as
the author himself frankly points out), this
book cannot and will not satisfy everyone.
Is was sponsored by the railroad, presumably,
to bring about a better understanding of the
achievements and spirit of the company.
That, to a very considerable extent, it does.
It is the most complete and reliable general
account in existence and should be (in part,
at least) required reading for anyone seri-
ously interested in the development of Mid-
America. That it is a "must" for railway his-
torians, and for anyone with the faintest at-
tachment for the Illinois Central, is a fore-
gone conclusion.
In 43 chapters, two-thirds of which are
logically devoted to the complex events of
the 19th century, Mr. Corliss has something
to say about every administration, every ma-
jor constituent company, all the important
founding fathers and their principal succes-
sors, and—on a topical basis—each of the
great spheres of the company's traditional
activities: construction and plant, operations,
traffic, agricultural and industrial develop-
ment, public relations, and finance. Some of
these matters are brilliantly treated; on
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
others, quite frankly, I think Mr. Corliss says
far too much. In ten or a dozen chapters,
notably those concerning Stephen A. Douglas,
the Great Central Station, George McClellan.
Mark Twain as pilot, Lincoln and his $5,000
fee, the Cairo bridge, the "Little J," Casey
Jones, the Columbian Exposition, the banana
trade, suburban service, the Harahan ad-
ministration, and so on, the author happily
has a central figure or theme and, in clear
perspective and forceful prose, turns out lucid,
impressive accounts that illustrate admirably
the achievement or idea he wishes to put
across. On the other hand, several chapters
(notably 18, 23, 26, and 43) attempt to
squeeze so many diverse facts into such brief
compass that the reader is in constant danger
of losing the forest for the trees. The remain-
ing chapters fall between these extremes.
The net impression, all the more regrettable
because of the real heights to which Mr.
Corliss can rise when he has room to operate,
is that the author, through choice or other-
wise, has too often sacrificed judicious
sampling in a vain effort to say something
about too many things. Would it not have
been more effective—in full view of the ap-
parent purpose of the book—to incorporate
the endless (and boringly similar) details
about minor companies and events in an
appendix or. better yet, to have summarized
their final import in pictorial charts and small
line maps? None of these helpful devices ap-
pears in the book. As a result, one is al-
ternately charmed and instructed by Mr. Cor-
liss' essay-type chapters, and is left reeling
and puzzled by those crammed full of loosely-
related miscellany.
From a qualitative standpoint, Main Line
of Mid-America has significant omissions
that are difficult to explain, again even in
the light of the volume's own objective. It
is almost exclusively an on-the-property
family account. Except for the portions
dealing with the very early years there is
virtually nothing about the neighboring rail-
roads that have always had such a profound
effect on what the Illinois Central did and
why; except for chapters on early operating
techniques and the two World wars, there
are practically no references to the progres-
sive development of the industry as a whole,
including its relation to business and society
in general. It follows that such basic in-
fluences in the life of any great American
76
AUTUMN, 1951
railroad as competition, public and political
opinion, labor relations, scientific advances,
changing business standards, and regulation
are scarcely mentioned, and never as separate
topics. Hence the broader relevance and sig-
nificance of what happened on and to the
Illinois Central, and why, never clearly
emerge. Painful as it is to charge sins of
omission against an author who frankly ad-
mits he is compromising with the impossible,
the absence of such key conditioning factors
seems unfortunate.
Historians, obviously, will regret the com-
plete lack of documentation even though the
facts presented, with some trivial exceptions,
appear to be meticulously accurate. And
they will have reservations about a bibliog-
raphy that omits a dozen standard works
about such pertinent subjects as Douglas,
Lincoln, Chicago, and land grants, not to
mention neighboring roads. It must be re-
called, however, that Main Line of Mid-
America was prepared for a popular rather
than a professional audience. Yet everyone
will regret that the stark, unimaginative maps
(in no instance keyed to the text or even
listed in the table of contents) are so inade-
quate. On the other hand, the illustrations
are uniformly attractive and informative,
while the index leaves nothing to be desired.
On balance, Main Line of Mid-America is
an honest piece of work, accurate and inform-
ative so far as it goes. Mr. Corliss has—
even when hurrying—a straightforward and
precisely-phrased style and a facility amount-
ing to genius for making smooth transitions.
Even though he is understandably a loyal ad-
mirer of the Illinois Central, he writes with
dignity and restraint, and generally allows
the facts to speak for themselves. From what
he says there emerges an intensely human
organization with a record of achievement
matched by few enterprises in the nation.
Main Line of Mid-America, despite its
shortcomings, is a credit to the author and
to the company which opened its archives
and sponsored its preparations. Not the least
of its contributions are the clues it provides
for future research. Mr. Corliss' book de-
serves a permanent place among the few-
dependable and conscientious single-system
railway histories so far available.
RICHARD C. OVERTON
Northwestern University
 READERS CHOICE
A Pioneer in Northwest America, 1841-1858:
The Memoirs of Gustaf Unonius, Volume
I. Translated from the Swedish by
JONAS O. BACKLUND,- edited by NILS W.
OLSSON; Introduction by GEORGE M.
STEPHENSON. (University of Minnesota
Press, Mineapolis, 1950. Pp. 419. $6.00.)
The Memoirs of Unonius, as a whole, are
the experiences of a Swedish immigrant,
which picture a portion of the rugged and
pleasant years of 1841-58, when his domicile
was in the Wisconsin wilderness. These dates
mark the arrival of Gustaf Unonius in Ameri-
ca and his departure to Sweden, years which
posed two questions which he could never
answer satisfactorily: Why he migrated to
America and why he returned to Sweden.
His arrival and meager farm operations,
about thirty miles west of Milwaukee—the very-
earliest years—are recounted in volume 1;
these show a man at once highly educated
and keenly observing, but not one cut to the
pattern of the frontier. His occasional pro-
phetic shortcomings in predicting the future
add to the interest of the narrative. Now and
again he admits that his observations may be
limited but that he is attempting to write a
truthful account of life in the New World. To
round out his story, he quotes from other
writers of this period.
Fredrika Bremer's Homes in the New World
he regards as "a book of much merit in many
respects," but refutes in part her description
of, and reflections upon, New Upsala—the
Swedish settlement which he founded on Pine
Lake. He naturally writes with assurance
and lucidity about this memorable region,
and when he criticizes Miss Bremer by stat-
ing: "I am afraid she did not really know
what she was talking about," the reader ac-
cepts his censure.
Unonius found much to say about the In-
dians whom, he encountered in the surround-
ing country. Encamped seasonally with their
scanty possessions in the nearby forests, he
visited them in their wigwams, noted their
mode of housekeeping and family life care-
fully, and at one time accompanied the braves
on a hunting expedition. He wished to ob-
serve their accurate marksmanship, but in this
he was frustrated. They were not demonstrat-
ing their methods. His job was shooing the
deer! Among other Indian subjects he writes
of medicine men and prophets, beliefs in
spirits, selection of sacred places, supersti-
77
tions, Indian poetry and pictography, allegor-
ical stories, and the like. In this discussion
he refers to Henry Schoolcraft as the source
of much of his information.
The way of the pioneers: their shelter,
food, and social life; the exposition of re-
ligious beliefs; Indian summer; prairie fires;
the amazing flights of the passenger pigeons:
the beauty of territorial Wisconsin, all are
a part of his record.
A day long remembered by Unonius be-
cause of its effect upon his later life was the
first friendly visit at his Pine Lake cabin of
the Rev. J. Lloyd Breck, an Episcopal mis-
sionary from Prairieville (now Waukesha).
It resulted in Unonius' introduction to the
Episcopal creed and the Book of Common
Prayer; later he enrolled as a student al
Nashotah Seminary, and then followed ordina-
tion into the Episcopal ministry.
The Swedish Pioneer Historical Society
has chosen wisely in beginning its preserva-
tion of Swedish literature with the Unonius
Memoirs. Handsomely begun, readers will
look forward to a delightful concluding vol-
ume of this Wisconsin pioneer.
LlLLIAN KRUEGER
State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Harvey Firestone: Free Man of Enterprise.
By ALFRED LIEF. Foreword by Allan
Nevins. (McGraw-Hill Book Company,
Inc., New York, 1951. Pp. xi, 324. $3.00.)
Success in the late nineteenth century meant
large financial accumulations, and Harvey
Firestone absorbed this ideal as a boy and
young man. Gravitating toward the growing
rubber industry, his abilities and persistence
as salesman and executive brought him the
wealth of his greatest dreams. Then, like other
successful men, he increasingly felt the ideal
of wealth as inadequate and faintly dissatisfy-
ing. He came to talk of "mere" money, and
to stress personal accomplishment, and con-
sideration for the rights and happiness of
others.
Harvey Firestone reminds one strongly of
Henry Ford, who was a close friend; in fact
the camping trips of Ford, Firestone, Edison,
and Burroughs have become practically leg-
endary. Like Ford he was a devoted husband
and father, was proud of his treatment of
his men, knew his business thoroughly, and
expanded mightily; best known was his
Liberia rubber plantation, which today might
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
be called a "Point Four" development but
then was more likely to be labeled economic
imperialism. Like Ford he believed in free
enterprise, even though he backslid in the
matter of crude rubber prices. Also like
Ford, he felt hurt and bewildered when in
spite of his high pay and good working condi-
tions his men turned to unions with outside
leaders. Incidentally, the book treats only
briefly the labor troubles of the 1930's, since
Firestone was no longer in direct personal
charge.
Mr. Lief's book is entirely laudatory, and
while it appears to be based on reasonably
adequate research, it has no listing or discus-
sion of sources. The account reads moder-
ately well, but leaves the reader somewhat
dissatisfied at the lack of very penetrating
economic or psychological analysis. Some of
the episodes have a slightly fictional ring.
McGraw-Hill has done a nice typographical
job and has kept the price comparatively
low, so that the reader gets his money's
worth even though he does not receive a
definitive life of Harvey Firestone.
Dartmouth College ROBERT E. RIEGEL
Field Guide to Early American Furniture. By
THOMAS H. ORMSBEE. (Little. Brown
and Company. Boston. 1951. Pp. 464.
$4.00.)
This little book will fill a need because it
is small enough to be carried in the pocket
or handbag yet it is full of useful informa-
tion about all types of American furniture.
The beginner and seasoned buyer alike will
find it useful as a reference book, as are
comparable handbooks to bird and flower
lovers. There is a section containing the
cabinetmaker's language and defining such
terms as "applied ornament," "bead molding,"
and "broken pediment." There are 360 line
drawings clearly showing types of furniture
and details from early Colonial days until
about 1850. It gives the periods of furniture
and lists the woods used, the construction,
handles, and sizes of each period. In short
but easily understood sentences the book
describes and pictures such furniture as
tavern tables, gaming tables, sideboards, sec-
retaries, chairs, and mirrors. American Em-
pire is covered well, as is Victorian up to
John Belter, the famous cabinetmaker who
worked in New York City from 1844 to 1865
and was famous for his highly decorated
78
AUTUMN, 1 9 5 1
carved furniture. One chapter tells about
the types of furniture peculiar to Pennsyl-
vania, including the gaily painted furniture
so loved by the Pennsylvania Germans. There
is also a section that tells about the hard-
ware used on early furniture, with clear line
drawings showing the various kinds.
Mr. Ormsbee has done something no other
author of books pertaining to antiques has
ever done well—he has given a method by
which the reader may tell approximately
what to pay for a piece of antique furniture.
An "X" under a drawing indicates that a
piece of this type should not cost more than
$25; an "XX" means that $25 to $75 is a
fair price to pay. With this key it would
be possible to go to an auction and buy
wisely.
With this handbook, or field guide, many
will learn to know periods, construction and
worth—all of importance to any one buying
antique furniture.
CHARLES MESSER STOW
New York World-Telegram and The Sun
State Papers and Public Addresses. By
CLARENCE W. MEADOWS. (State of West
Virginia, Charleston, 1950. Pp. 432.
Distributed at State expense to a selected
list.)
This is the fourth volume in a series of
publications of the work of West Virginia's
chief executives. Like the three earlier vol-
umes, concerned with the administrations of
Herman Guy Kump, Homer A. Holt, and
Matthew M. Neely, this one shows careful
compiling and editing. Here are presented
the public addresses, legislative messages,
proclamations, statements to the press and
radio, and correspondence of Governor
Meadows from 1945 to 1949. Two addi-
tional features enhance the value of the book:
the introduction presents a brief, yet illumi-
nating picture of the governor, his training,
personality, methods, and philosophy; and
a feature called "Highlights of the Year" in-
troduces each of the four sections of the vol-
ume by presenting in summary style the ma-
jor problems as well as the outstanding ac-
complishments of each year of the term.
In this collection one finds state history in
the making. When Mr. Meadows, the twenty-
second chief executive of West Virginia, as-
sumed the duties of the gubernatorial office,
he faced state problems as well as urgent
national matters which involved the necessity
for state cooperation. Although World War
 READERS' CHOICE
II was then approaching its final phase, there
was still a need for the continuance of a rigid
war economy at home and a maintenance of
state support for the national government's
wartime program. In his Inaugural Address,
delivered on January 15, 1945, Governor
Meadows gave assurance that the support of
the state to the federal wartime effort would
continue. He also presented some definite
goals to strive for within the state in the
postwar period. Here and throughout his
later addresses and messages he stressed such
items as sound financing of state government,
provision for the needs of returning war vet-
erans as well as civilian workers affected by
industrial reconversion, respect for the mutual
rights and obligations of both employer and
employee, and alert maintenance of civil
liberties and equal rights. Whether address-
ing a legislative session or a college com-
mencement, a governors' conference or a radio
audience, his remarks were forthright and
simple, those of a man with courageous con-
victions.
Here, preserved in convenient and perma-
nent form is a record of the problems con-
fronting a state during an eventful period.
Here, also, is a record of a successful gover-
nor's achievements shown against his philos-
ophy of government.
JAMES G. JONES
West Virginia University
James Wickes Taylor, "A Choice Nook of
Memory, 1842-1844" Edited by JAMES
TAYLOR DUNN. (Ohio State Archaeo-
logical and Historical Society, Columbus,
1950. Pp. 85. $1.50.)
Mid-westerners will find entertaining read-
ing in this law clerk's diary. Mr. Taylor left
New York for Cincinnati in 1842, then a busy
city, the center of Ohio River traffic. He
worked as a newspaper editor for some years
and became associated with the Salmon P.
Chase law firm. After a fourteen-year resi-
dence in Ohio, he established a law office in
St. Paul; in 1870 he was appointed American
consul to Winnipeg, Canada, where he served
acceptably for almost twenty-five years. He
worked for the opening of the great Canadian
wheat lands and the development of railroads.
The Madison Art Association, 1901-1951. By
JANET S. ELA. (n.p.. n.d., 1951. Pp.
109. $1.00.)
This carefully prepared little book presents
a readable historv of the Madison Art As-
79
sociation over a half-century period. Not
only does the writer give recognition to
faculty members of the University of Wis-
consin who helped guide the early endeavors
of the Association, but there were also town
people who owned extensive art collections
and served in developing art interests in the
community. The initial meeting of the As-
sociation took place April 1, 1901, in the
then recently completed State Historical
Society Library, at which time Joseph Jast-
row of the University was elected president.
The writer believes that the "inability to
hold a consistent following through the years
was the lack of physical headquarters in
which to operate," and because there have
not been "private benefactors making the
large gifts which have enabled galleries in
many other cities." The hope is, however, that
eventually there will be an art center of real
vitality in the Madison community.
Among other books received is Indiana at
War, Civilian Directory, Volume IV of the
Indiana in World War II series, compiled
by Lynn W. Turner and Heber P. Walker. It
is "A Directory of Hoosier Civilians Who
Held Positions of Responsibility in Official,
Volunteer and Cooperating War-Time Or-
ganizations." Not only is the State given an
adequate treatment of its war activities, but
the work of the local communities is em-
phasized. (Indiana War History Commis-
sion, Bloomington, 1951. Pp. xxi, 1330.
$12.50.)
Francis S. Philbrick has edited and sup-
plied the Introduction to The Laws of Il-
linois Territory, 1809-1818, Volume V of the
Law series. (Illinois State Historical Li-
brary, Springfield, Illinois, 1950. Pp.
cccclxxvii, 386. $2.50.)
From the Missouri State Historical Society
has come The Messages and Proclamations
of the Governors of the State of Missouri,
Volume XVI. Secretary Floyd C. Shoemaker
and Librarian Sarah Guitar of the Missouri
Society are co-editors. The present volume
relates to Governor Phil M. Donnelly, 1945-
49. In addition to the messages and proc-
lamations there is a biographical sketch and
a portrait of the chief executive. (Missouri
State Historical Society, Columbia. Missouri.
1951. Pp. xv, 621. Price $5.00.)
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
All publications noted hereafter are avail-
able at the Society's library:
Leon R. Pescheret of Whitewater, promi-
nent color etcher, has written a brochure.
An Introduction to Color Etching (18 pp.),
which he considers a "simple primer of a
great art." In it he writes of direct etching,
soft ground etching, drypoint, aquatint,
paper, and the printing process.
Dr. Peter L. Scanlan, retired physician of
Prairie du Chien and long a writer of Wis-
consin history, has recently compiled the
Scanlan Family Tree (34 pp.). Other mem-
bers of the family have also contributed to
his compilation. In it is given detailed in-
formation on the Scanlans, beginning with
the writer's parents, John Scanlan and his
wife Honora, and continuing through their
line of descendants.
Review of the Fight Against Tuberculosis
in Wisconsin and Elsewhere, 1898-1946 (80
pp.) was received by the Society from its
author, Dr. Gustav Schmitt, Milwaukee. Of
the beginnings of the up-hill fight against
tuberculosis in Wisconsin the author states
that when he "entered this barren and chaotic
field of endeavor in 1898, there were no
milestones nor guideposts, and he found the
prevailing conditions terrible and pitiful be-
yond description." Of his, at times dis-
couraging, battle he writes with conviction.
An address which Dr. Schmitt delivered be-
fore the International Congress on Tubercu-
losis at Napoli, Italy, and one before the
Wisconsin State Medical Society are in-
cluded in this Review.
Wisconsin Partners: People . . . and
University is the story of the cooperation be-
tween the State University and the people of
Lake Mills, considered a representative Wis-
consin community (87 pp.). The booklet
was photographed and narrated at Lake
Mills and was issued by the Wisconsin Alumni
Association.
Hamilton N. Ross has written a brief
sketch of The Apostle Islands accompanied
by several maps (24 pp.). Each of the is-
lands, situated off Bayfield Peninsula, "the
northernmost mainland of Wisconsin," is dis-
80
AUTUMN. 1951
cussed separately. It is a helpful booklet for
those who collect information on "near to
nature" country.
As Time Rolls On (18 pp.) is a readable
history of the F. G. Haese retail store estab-
lished at Forest Junction, Wisconsin, sixty-
five years ago. The business is now conducted
by the second Haese generation and is serving
the fifth generation of customers. Profusely
illustrated, showing the growth of the estab-
lishment over the decades, the booklet natu-
rally contains the progress of the small com-
munity as well. Robert Haese, a member of
the firm, writes: "One meets those from within
a ten-mile radius who, when driven hither
and yon by the shortage of some critical item,
will step in, find what they want and admit
with amazement: 'We never knew this place
was here'." This in spite of the fact that it
is a popular establishment in the community.
County Clerk Elmer W. Hills has compiled
the Golden Anniversary Year Book. Rusk
County, Wisconsin (1901-1951) and the An-
nual County Directory (1951-52), bound in
one coven The fifty-two pages contain remi-
niscences of the county, a list of residents of
the county over a period of fifty years or
more, the county board members who served
during a fifty-year period, a doublespread
map of the county, and other material.
Some Milwaukee memories will be found
in Mrs. Louise C. Kammerer's booklet en-
titled, As I Remember Interludes in My Lije
(52 pp.). Not only docs one enjoy family
life in a metropolis, but two European tours
are pleasant reading.
The following church publications, mark-
ing the anniversary dates of the founding
of the churches, have come to the attention
of the Society:
Cambridge, 100th Anniversary: The WMeritp
Methodist Church, 1851-1951 (16 pp.).
Manitowoc, 100th Anniversary, The First
Presbyterian Church, 1851-1951 (32 pp.).
Ripon, Years of Faith, the Story of the Meth-
odist Church, 107th Anniversary. 1844-
1951 (20 pp.).
Two Rivers, A Century of Service to God, St.
Luke's Congregation [Catholic]. 1851-1951
(90 pp.).
 da
EMPIRE IN PINE
The Story of Lumbering in Wisconsin
by ROBERT F. FRIES
269 pages ' 44 illustrations
Priced at Four Dollars
For the first time the history of lumber-
ing in Wisconsin has been written. Empire
in Pine is the story not only of the lumber-
men themselves and their backers but other
groups which left their mark on the Wis-
consin lumbering industry, such as the
landlookers and timber speculators; log-
gers, lumberjacks, and rivermen; rafting
and booming concerns; steamship and rail-
road companies; and the ever growing
body of conservationists.
The book is alive with impact and in-
terest to Wisconsin readers. Hundreds of
Wisconsin towns, cities, places, and people
are woven into the story. Forty-four pictures
of logging operations, lumbering scenes,
and logging towns illustrate the book. The
endsheet maps of lumbering in Wisconsin
are believed to be the first ever compiled.
The book won the first David Clark
Everest SI,000 prize in Wisconsin's Eco-
nomic History. . . . All in all, it is a remark-
able book packed with stories, tales, and
facts about an industry which has made
Wisconsin famous . . . one which you will
not want to miss.
Order from: STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of WISCONSIN
816 State Street • Madison 6, Wisconsin
THREE HUNDRED
YEARS AMERICAN
by ALICE and BETTINA JACKSON
350 pages
Priced at Four Dollars
Three Hundred Years American is a
story of Edward Jackson, Sr., New England
pioneer, his descendants, and their connec-
tions with the Hobbins, Hurd, Wright,
Russell, Badger, and other families.
Three Hundred Years American is a
stirring narrative . . . in the broad scope of
its setting; in the experiences of some of its
characters; in its depiction of those quali-
ties of courage, patriotism, and spirit of
service that made America great; and in
its unfolding of personal inspirations and
achievements, joys and sorrows. From this
intimate view of the lives of these earlier
men and women one gets a new insight
into many of the familiar generalizations
about the social growth of America.
This book is much more than a fascinat-
ing narrative genealogy of a single family.
. . . It epitomizes the age-old saga of family
growth and family lineage, of group migra-
tions to a new soil, of individual and col-
lective adaption to the new milieu, and of
the transformation, through the years, of
the "new" settlers into the "old" families
of their communities.