Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-02-27

made our own bread. The fare with
out variations was coffee, bread and
meat. In one hut there were foul
of us, which was the rule gen
orally. These nuts were scattered
tor mile along this branch
All told there were about sixty min
srs in the camp, and Of the whole
lot there was but single quarrel.
some man, by the name of Mallory,
an lrishman, and his spite was
against Free Williams, q peaceable
fellow and weakly. In the midst Of
our happiness news came to Us about
six o'clock one evening that the In
dams had defeated Stillwell on Rock
River and were then making their
way toward the Mississippi and
would most likely pass down the
Platte and rob the stores of De
Tantebar at his town and Lorinp
Wheeler at Gibralter and also take
10 our camp. Cox. then Sheriff of
Grant county, had sent q messen ger
from Mineral Point to give US the
warning. Within ten minutes of the
time the news came to our camp
more than forty miners were at Mai.
Anderson's camp. The Major had
been an old Indian fighter and with
one accord we went to him to be
our commander and adviser. IL learn
that the Major died lately ia your
city, There were some fifteen or
twenty Irishmen in the camp that
had come from Gaiena in exits and
q pirogue they had brought their
provisions and tools in this way, and
when the alarm was given they
naturally went for the vessels that
were in branch of the river about
q mile from the camp. Mabny, the
bully, got behind, aud the list Of the
party had got out into The stream
before he got to the river but he
jumped in and was barely s:ved from
drowning. Free Williams Joined
Stephenson's company OF dragons
and made brave soldier. By morn
ing our party had dwindlel down to
thirteen. We then vert to the
Platte to De Tantebar's, md man
by the name of Cornwell, Virgil
man, and went down to Wheeler's
NOW. if alive, is living 10 DeWitt)
Wheeler "had horse and Joined the
dragons" Finding that the In-
dians were in no hurry to come our
way we went hack to the diggings.
| have no record Of the names. and
forty odd years is q long time to
recollect, but we had with US then
Maj. Anderson, . man by the name
of ~~Hillis, Ham and his nephew
Theiskill, Tennesseeans, a man by
the name of Cook, from Mississippi;
Cornwall and Nehemiah Dudley
from Vermont. Nehemiah was the
ugliest man l think l ever saw, but
notwithstanding the antipathy that
was then universal 10 the Missis-
sippi Valley against Yankees, we all
liked Dudley. | have never heard of
him since l left the Mississippi, but l
have often thought of him. These
are all can reoollect, but l think
there were eleven or thirteen of us.
We built blook.house of large
hewed logs and kept a supply Of
provisions ON hand in case of
an attack by the Indians. We
mined through the day and slept in
our block.house at night. The
block house was on the high ground
north of the branch, and 1 UNDER
stood some years ago that there
was Catholic church near bv
and that the old shanty that l had
lived in was standing near the
church.
In 1928 the miners had crossed
over the river. and back of DUBUQUE
had haen Very successful in Adding
lead, so much so that ffsay built q
smelling furnace on the Island, but
the Indians complained to the Gov.
ernment. and troops were sent who
drove off the miners, and an officer
and few men were stationed across
the river on the Illinois side, under
the bluff, to keep the miners from
trespassing on the Indians. These
troops were withdrawn when the
Indian war commenced, and as there
were several fine leads that had been
opened in 1923, we concluded to
make raid on them while the In.
dams were absent. And to that end.
Ham, Cook and Dudley, as l recoI-
lect, made one party, and Cornwall
and myself another, aud we went
down the river Ia skiffs. taking our
provisions and tools. We all stopped
with the old man Jordon, who had
the ferry across the river. At that
time his ferry facilities were a fat
boat that would take one wagon and
team of two horses and half dozen
Indian canoes. The bottom was at
that time dense forest Of rich
growth. Walnut, hickory, burr.oak
and immense cotton woods along the
bank of the river. Jordon's house
or tavern was a double log house
with a passage in the middle, and
supply of out-houses and was on the
side bank few hundred yards back
from the river You could get as
good meal there as any place in
the mines.
commenced to write about Du.
buque, but l have exhausted myself
10 getting there and will have to
rest before l can finish.
HAWKINS TAYLOR.