Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-04-24
SKETCHES OF THE MINES
Major John Il. Coops.
BY A v ETRRAN.

%. ln these brief Sketches of the Mir
al winch fancy has led me 10 wr,
y, more to ill up an idle hour than
It, interest or profit the public, nv mi,
is mas naturally reverted TO some Of i
8. manly wrecks" that have been
"a oast ashore from pleasures boisterous suro
[, ANA lett to rot and moulder in the winds .,
"a rains Of heaven" -
K All who came and went ont FRI,
, tue mines were not failures. Man
q succeeded In business, beyond tbei
# most sanguine expectations and 9th
ers arose from the humble occunat;o
e OF miners to fill the most resnops;h,
and exalted positions in the land
, many were in affiuent circumstance
} ana from the first ranks of soc,et,
ana came here for the purpose of ex
.ehuing their business and addino n
their wealth. :.
"A well preserved and fine examole
Oh the latter class who engaged INV
respect and admiration, thirty wears
ago, was Major John r. Ccons %
man who derived his patent of noh;l
NY from the hand Of nature He
nailed from the "Blue Grass Staten~
the land OF Henry Clay, of Prentice
.he Brekenridges, the Marshalls3
those men of giant intallects and nm;
versal fame,-the home - -.
and some OF the fairest specimee.'
the "gentler sex" that ever can't
from the land O. Divine Creator.
springing from such source, the
Major was no exception 10 his race,
or disparagement to his kind. His
gentlemanly bearing-his pleasing
conversation-his generous nature
and abiding friendship-tespoke the
true kentuckian-and the truer man.
He was no adventurer or common
fortune hunter, but with good busi-
ness qualification, sound constitu-
ton, aud will to encounter and
overcome all difficulties, he sought
to win his way by true merit aud
probity alone. Coming to st. Louis
in 1908 while yet boy and while it
was but a small French village, his
chances for an education were linn
tied, though he became an adept in
penmanship, good calculator, and
stored his mind with useful miscella-
neous reading. The French patois
of the place he spoke with the glib
ness and familiarity of his mother
tongue. At this time the old French
habitues who were gathered in and
around ST Louis and Carondolet, in
their modes of living, habits, Gus.
toms and social intercourse, were a
peculiar people, and in all things, q
law unto themselves. Hunting and
fshiD The sc ;n Of tie fssti7es vfolii
filled the air and the Creole girls,
dressed in their gauzy robes of pink
and white tarlatans, the sweet carna
ton of the rose glowing on their
warm, olive cheeks, and love beam
ing from every nook and corner Of
their "soit, dark eyes," moved with
angelic grace through the "mystic
mazes of the dance" and led captive
many willing heart. The quaint
gable roofs of their houses-theiI
vine covered balconies and jessamine
: wreathed windows that greeted the
first glow of morning and around
which tenderly fingered the last beam
of the evening sun, reminded the
elders of the SUMMER skies of theil
once beloved France, and made the
life of the younger float like an Idly
set to the sweet, monotonous melody
, of whispering trees and the still mu
J sic of the ceaseless flow of the might,
river. In heavenly scenes like these
' what cared they.for the grosser thing
9 of life? The earth, air and waters
0 yielded the supplies of nature with
t out coaxing or cultivation; and Eden
e before the fall, was not happie
f place,-"Mirtn with thee, / mean t.
r live" was their motto and they forgo
i it not. Little dreamed these light
!. hearted, tun.loving Frenchmen Of tn
h great change that was so soon to b
}. wrought in their vine covered gar
e dens and primitive cabins. And We
many of them are still living to loo
9 abroad upon vast city, its street
!: surging with the ever restless tbron
It of trade and the mighty river, o
D; whose beautiful moon-lit banks, the
1t danced the gay quadrille, converte
into the mart OF continent and tn
d highway of q nations commerce.
o Gigantic steamers now moor in tn
!" place of the frail bark canoe an
rough bateaux, in which the hard
uoyageurs of fifty years since, pursue
their dangerous travels; the ligh
ning-winged train usurps the patti
u of the patient mule across the plat
y instead of peltries and robes from Il
80 mountains. bringing the exhaustle
50 treasures of then unknown lar
10 aud teas, spices and the golden pr
:. ducts OF Far Cathay. Such has be-
~ the change witnessed by a gener
III ton still living, and in place of Il
:, rude hamlet. city has sprung u
"a, rivaling in wealth, influence poten'
20 and Importance, many of the most l
" nowned cities of the old world. VIII
ne young man dwelling here, Maj
~ Coons witnessed these gay seen
OF and the rapid changes TAXI
10 place around him, and became il
~ bued with the spirit and enterpri
S. of its people. For long period
''a American Fur Company made
le' Louis one of the principal points
&c, its extensive business; and FRI
w here, in the spring, annually VIZ
Ie forth the long wagon trains of 81
ere plies, to the plains, the mountai
ga, the head waters of the majestic riv
u that lave this inland city, to the
Vi, mote trading point of Santa Fe, a
nss returned again in the fall, laden W
a y. fur, peltries, silver and the rich spt
Tue their emissaries had gathered in.
Gu OF this wealthy and widely IN
. entail company, the Major becam'
Tue trusted employee, and, in the y
tue 1927 was sent to the Upper l.
aP' Mines, and assigned to clerks
ION with Gratiot, Choteaux 81 TO
ses, branch Of this famous house, loca
'ane at Gratiot Grove, Wisconsin. III
.ne business was smelling, selling go
mp and trading with the Indians for
and Uncle Sans annuities, and
for doubt, at this period of uncerI
values. IL was found a very profit