North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1868-07-22
Prairie du CHEN.

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A flying writer Of the Oshkosh Times
one Of our very best exchanges, says n
good many good things. His 'history of
sawlog' when it rolls from the forest till
it is driven" "boomed' and 'rafted' is
very interesting to us, because Capt.
Flemming in one of our late cool evenings
gave us an account Of the business Of log
ging, but we have no space for it at pres
ent, and besides we think Car. can give
us a better story about it when he gets
ready. We give portion of the Prairie
du Chcn report it will interest many of
our readers. The history ofPra. du Chen
should be written by Col. Brisbois. In
the early settlements of the west, but few
places furnish more incidents than our over.
the-river sister city. The truth of what
follows, we not endorse because we do not
know. 1t strikes us that jeff Davis was
not the son-in-law of Gen. Taylor until
some time after he left Ft. Crawford:
FORT CRAWFORD.
In this year, 1882, the old Fort, on "the
island" as it was called, near the bank of
the Mississippi was abandoned, and new
fort further inland, the remains Of which
still exist, was completed and occupied.
The fort was in command of Col. Zach
Taylor, afterwards President, who had,
with part of his regiment, left the post
to Join Gen. Atkinson resuming command
after the battle of Bad Axe. JEFF Davis
was at that time old Zach's son-in-law,
though it was generally understood ''along
the line that jeff was not in good repute
with his Father-in- n-law. Major Bliss, also
Taylor's son in law, and his private secre-
tary, was there, and had accompanied the
army through the Indian campaign. There
were then but few traders at that point,
and no white inhabitants except such as
were in some way connected with the
army or employed as agents or voyageurs.
Rolette was the principal trader, and
greatly censured for melting the Indians
to hostility. He was hostile to the whites,
and as far back as 1923, so open was he
in his declarations of enmity that his life
was threatened by the whites and he was
forced to secrete himself for months from
motives of personal safety.
AIl Iuc SetlltIDentS NClC III thC hCdi
vicinty Of the old fort, on the island.
The French residences were few and rude,
being covered with cedar bark. The boat
men, trappers and voyageurs who lived in
these houses, We're nearly all of French
descent, being half bloods, marrying with
and conforming readily to the habits and
customs Of the natives. They were the
descendants Of trappers, and many OF them
had been in the employ of the American
Fur Company light hearted, jovial
thcughtless class of people, hardy and
adventurous, ut home only in the forests,
or along the borders, in close association
with the red men. No roads lead to the
interior, nothing but the trail of the In
dian conducted into the interior of the
then wilderness, now cultivated fields, of
that rich section of Wisconsin.
Abeut the lst Of October. 1882, a COM
pany Of troops were sent back to Ft. Win.
nebago, by water, up the Wisconsin, in
batteaux, having in charge several derters
sent up for trial. This Co. had gone
down the river in May, and on returning
found an island formed, sufficient to afford
camping ground, in place Of the channel,
six months before. No trouble was ex-
perienced in the trip, and the Green Bay
troops, on this company's reaching TT.
Winuebago left for TT. Howard.