The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1892-04-14
OLD SETTLERS.

the biography OF beOTge W MES family
the Oldest white resident of Calumet Co.
| In October 1884 my father who was
Methodist preacher stationed some where
near Utica, New York was sent by the
Methodist Conference to Green Bay as
missionary to the Indians. | remember
wildly the scene at Buffalo just previous
| ly TO our departure, although [ was then
only eight years of age. The church
members at Buffalo and for miles around
gathered on the pier to bid good bye.
| Father delivered a short sermon AID
/ then the whole congregation joined IN a
/ well known missionary hymn. The Black
| Hawk war with all its attendant horror s
had been fought only few years before
and the idea that we were gong to Green
Bay which was then an outpost in the
center of the great northwest, and be-
| yond humanIty's reach, where we were
liable to be devoured by the wild ami
mails of the forest or scalped by the In
dams, affected many of the congregation
/ to tears.
Our family consisting of father, mother
and four children took passage on the
Lady of the Lake, small schooner then
plying between Buffalo and Green Bay.
[ remember but few OF the incidents of
the passage until we arrived at Deaths
Door and stopped at one of the unin-
habited islands. We all went on shore
anc remained there the greater part of
the day picking berries and wandering
around III the woods. In few days we
landed in Green Bay, L think Nov. 4th
1884.
/ Green Bay was at this time a village of
from ten to fifteen hundred inhabitants
being the only place of any account east
of Prairie du Chen and northwest of
| Buffalo, com prising mostly Adventures
of all nationalities. The Indians, half
breeds and French Canadians being in q
large majority. There were but few
Americans.
The officers and one or two companies
of soldiers at Fort Howard, Daniel Whit
ney, George Johnson, Post Sutler Ebene-
yer Childs, A G. Ellis, Henry S. Bar1l,
Judge Doty, John P. Arndt, Morgan S.
| Martin and VIM. Bruce were the princi-
pal Americans at this time In 1926 the
! first frame house was erected at Green
| Bay, by James Duane Doty who was after
| wards Governor of this territory. There
was not at that time in Brown County
which then covered all of The territory
now organized as Milwaukee, Manitowoc,
| Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Portage, Mar
| quette, Calumet, Washington Ozaukie,
Dodge, Outagamie, Door, Waupaca,
| Kewaunee and Shawano counties, a
single township organized except the
town of Green Bay. No government sur
veys had yet been made. The present
| State of Wisconsin then contained about
eight thousand inhabitants at least one
| half Of whom were Canadians and half
| breeds. The village was often full of
| Menominees, Potowatamies, 'Winnebagos
and Chippewas, who either came there to
| trade or moving from place to place,
made the village their objective point
At such times you could see their camp
fires, scattered up and down Fox river
| hundred canoes either moored at the
shore or padding noiselessly up and down
and across the river. One could hardly
pass through the main street without
having drunken Indian hideous in war
paint and feathers, stagger against him.
When night came the music began. You
could hear at one camp the monotonous
song and drum of the dancers at another
the war whoop and yelling of half drunk
en- Indians andat another the snarling of
drunken Indians having a regular fist fight
One not accustomed to such sights and
sounds would think that all the fiends of
Hades had broken loose. It was seldom
that any one was killed although black
eyes and broken heads were common,
noses and ears bitten off, hair pulled out
by the handful, for they fought with
clubs, teeth and nails, and made rule
to give up their knives, hatchets and
guns to the squaws before they CON-
nenced their sprees.
At one of these drunken fights one In
dian had killed another (now according
to the laws Of their tribe the next of kin
had the right to take the life of the muir
derer at any time and place but if the
murderer remained at the spot where the
deed was done unlnterruptedly for ten
days and no ayenger appeared it was an
evidence that the offense had been for.
given.) This Indian remained upon the
spot with his blanket over his head
dronlng his death song during ten days
and nights. The people in the village
went to visit him ana took him victuals
and water. He never noticed or spoke
to them. The victuals were deposited
on the ground near him. One could see
that he every moment expected the death
dealing blow but none came and he was
then free man. Then sitting on the
log he took out his looking glass which
every Indian carries, rubbed the black
from his face and painted himself in a
fanciful style and strutted away free
man as proud as peacock
1t was wild frontier life: but little
attention was paid to the law, each one
taking that into his own hands and deal |
ing out justice in his own way and time
Ii life was taken vengence followed. If
blow was struck it was answered by |
blow with the knife or tomahawk. Men |
were dare devils Injured to hardships |
and suffering and counting life as sought, |
unless accompanied with excitement of |
some kind. In the spring after the trap
ing season was over and the rivers were