Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-05-21
reamu,nnitd1
In Exposure If False Statements made
by an Illinois Romance Writer


the columns ofyour paper TO inform
the public that malicious scoundrel,
Mr. Ellsworth by name, has publish.
ed an account of an adventure with
six robbers and murderers, in which
one Briggs aud two sons seem to
have played a conspicuous part. The
gentleman, Gf | may 80 call him.
commneced and ended with lie
His description of the country from
Prairie du Chen to Galena is false,
and proves the whole story an un-
founded fabrication. Especially is
his description OF the road from Brit>
ish Hollow, on which he had his adj
venture, incorrect. The road runs on
the same ground at the present time
with but little variation. The old
settlers in the town OF Potosi are as
tonished at his des cription and unan>
imously give it the lie,
The distances from place to place
as given by the would-be novelist,
are very far from the truth. At the
time when he Gays he had his Sfearful
adventure" "Judge Lynch" did not
preside over the country, for we had
law and civil officers "Old Briggs"
as the gentleman called him, had
been elected to the office of constable:
and discharged his duties to the sat-
isfaction Of all. The writer's descrip-
ton Of the town of Paris is on par
with the rest of his narrative. Paris
does not now nor never has contained
a hundred inhabitants. Those 'f0rty
store houses, a0dre houses and great tar
ems" which he says werein the "spec-
trail town." have never been seen by
even the coolest inhabitant," and ex-
list only in the imagination ofthe wrl>
ter cold Briggs" and his two sons
who were "desporadoes,Y were rath-
er young to have become such des
perate characters as the writer gives
them, for at the time ofhis adventure,
the eldest was but sixteen and the
youngest four years of age, None of
the old settlers know anything of the
two De longs spoken of by the wri-
ter. He certainly could not have
been very well posted in regard to
the arrest of the murderers Of Col
Davenport, or he would not have sta
ted that he saw them in Paris in De-
cember 1854.
During the time that Briggs kept
the tavern in Potosi, he was the sole
occupant Of the house, and there were
no "slatternly looking women" about.
Briggs, his wife and two daughters,
the eldest twelve and the youngest
eight years of age, were the oecu-
pants of the house 1t is hard to say
what the intention OF the writer was
in publishing such stuff, for no person
who is acquainted with the country
between Prairie du Chen and Galena
but what knows that the writer's
story is piece OF fiction, and very
poor one at that. 1t is supposed by
some that he must have been labor
ing under the influence Of some very
strong stimAIaAt, and the extravagant
narrative written by him emanated
from a heated imagination.
The writer Of tits was not only a
resident of the town Of Paris at the
time OF the geutleman's fearful adj
venture" but is included in the "gang
Of robbers though he was then but
st.r years old Heis of opinion, howev-
cr, that enough has been written to
convince those who are not acquainte
ed with the country, and have no
knowledge Of the family who's char
acter has thus been assailed by Mr..
E., that the whole thing is an unbound
cd fabrication. Suffice it to say that
il is not believed by any of the old
settlers that NJ d. Briggs or his sons
ever had any connection whatever
with a gang Of robbers. The VIII
ter hereof, Enos w. Briggs, son of
VI. y. Briggs. hereby denounces the
narr tive OF Mr.. i. Ellsworth as a
wilfull and malicious lie
Rockville Wis., May s. 1867. EN0S W. BRIGGS
We. the undersigned, do believe,
and by every circumstance do know
that the report given by Mr.. Els
worth to be false,
SEENsER PALMER. = X. DANIELS,
JAMES LINENS, u W PAUGH,
A. b. GARDINER II. c. SAMNoy,
j PEDLER THOMAS DAWES
TBo's STEPHENS.
The undersigned have lived in Poto-
81 81 years, and were we'll acquainted
with Mr.. NJ. ID. Briggs and his fami>
ly, who were as respectable people as
there were in tn village. The sto-
ry told by Mr. Ellsworth is false from
beginning to end,
O STONE,
CELEsTISE KALTgNBAcH.
The undersigned have been resis
dents of Potosi, Grant County, Wis,
over overweight years; were well
acquainted with NJ. d. Briggs and bis
family for long time prior to 1914,
and can testify to the responsibility
of the whole family ever since we
knew them, and up to the time OF the
death of Mr.. Briggs, and believe the
account given by Mr.. Ellsworth to be
wholesale fabrication, and does
great injustice to the surviving por-
ton of the family of said Briggs:
JAMES W. SRaroS s. e. LEWIS
/ y UugBkRp JoHN ). DOM,
JoHN III. WILSON, Nm WILSON,
WM McGoSIGAL, JNo + LENS,
GEORGE KINNEY, j. A. BARBER,
May 5, 1867.
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