The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-06-19
left Davis in Wisconsin.

1
left Davis in Wisconsin.
Madison. Wis, june ls.-Jeferson Davis.
president of the Confederate states. was in
his young manhood one Of the principal fig
ures in the early days Of the American oc-
| cupation Of Wisconsin. As an officer. ot
the regular army, il was chance detail OF
the war department that led him to the
state, still, the early American pioneers
we're largely vsrginians. Kentuck.ans and
| Tennesseeans, who followed the courses Of
the great rivers, and even had he not been
an army officer he might have been part Of
| the northumberland wave of emigration
proceeding from his section
| In ls2s a lieutenant Of infantry, he was
GENT with two companies Of h.s regiment 20
construct what was to be known as Fort
Crawford at Prairie du Chen, Wis, a
startegic point both because II was the juno
ton Of the Mississippi and the Wisconsin
and because Il was the northern limit OF
| the Illinois tribe and the starting point for
| their raids against The Iroquois.
An old French post had existed Prairie
| du Chen when IL was an important link in
! the chain of posts guarding the waterways
between Quebec and New Orleans. but
| there was not fort there when the two COM
| pan.es arrived under the command of Zach
| ary Taylor, afterward president of the Unit
| ed States, and, accordingly. Lieutenant
DAVIS was dispatched UP the Mississippi
| river TO reach the nearest pine forest and
| CIT some logs and raft them down TO Prai-
| RE du Chen, to be used for building a fort.
At the mouth of the Chippewa he left the
! Mississippi and al the mouth Of the Memo
monte ne turned into that river, ascending &
| IL to the site Of the present city OF Memo
| monte. with its 5000 inhabitants. A grea:
| raft was built, but it was caught in a side
| current Of the Chippewa and wrecked and
| four drift oxen were drowned. c.rcum-
stance which gave TO the locality the name
| still retained-of Beef Slough. The work
| had to be done over again, ard during the
operations a scouting party of Indians land
ed but luckily abandoned their invest;ga-
| tons when within a dozen feet of the spot
where the soldiers lay concealed. This was
not the extent of Davis connection with
| the numbering industry. The first Ameri-
can to operate in Wisconsin pineries, the
first man 20 drive logs in the northwest, in
1881 he put up the first Wisconsin sawm.l!,
located on the Yellow river.
1t Is singular to what an extent Davis was
associated with future Confederate officers
there in the Wisconsin wilderness. General
Gustave Rousseau, who had much to do
with saving Kentucky for the Union, was
the only officer of the Fort Crawford gar
rison surviving at the time of the war who
did not enter the Confederate service, three
becoming generals, one colonel and Davis
himself president Notwithstanding that he
was the one usually selected for scouting
and exploring expeditions. he found time
10 fall in love with the daughter OF mis-
commanding officer, Miss Mary Knox Tay-
Tor. Although ''Old Rough and Ready"
liked Davis personally, he was much oppos-
ec to having his daughter marry an army
officer. The army women of that period
either had to endure long separations from
their husbands or live with them in spots
far removed from civilization, and some
times the latter alternative could not be
chosen because many of the posts provided
no accommodations for women. However,
Taylor showed some signs Of relenting un-
Ill Davis had the misfortune to incur his
dislike by voting with Taylor's enemy on a
court martial case. Taylor swore that ION
man who voted with Tom Smith shall mar
ry my daughter" The courtship dragged
on for some years until Miss Taylor finally
ended the whole matter by boarding a
vas met by Davis and little later their
marriage took place. General Taylor was
aware that his daughter was to depart and
she was escorted abord the boat by the next
in command, but ne made no attempt to
stop her.
Many strange and perilous adventures fell
to Davis lot in Wisconsin. Once he was
pursued by fleet of hostiles in canoes on
the Wisconsin river and escaped by hoist
ing blanket for sail. At another time
he was at an inn on the Rock river with a
coach load of travellers who could not pass
the river. II was in the winter and though
the river was ice-bound the swift current
OF the bank-full stream prevented the zee
becoming thick enough for crossing he
water was too high for fording, the ice too
thick for ferrying and too thin to be cross
ed. Assembling the party Devils set them
to cutting blocks where the ice was thick
in the still water near shore: joining these
blocks together and pouring water on them
he constructed an ice-raft brigde, over
which they crossed in safety While at
Yellow river he was admitted to member
ship in an Indian tribe and by the exchange
or blood, according 70 the worldwide Gus
tom OF barbaric people, was admitted to
the sacred band OF brotherhood and later
created chief. His explorations took him
all over Wisconsin's principal water courses
and he commanded Fort Winnebago at Por-
tage and served through the Black Hawk
war. taking part in the pursuit that ended
with the battle of the Bad AK on the Wis
consn. His most dramatic experience in
that war. as seen in the light of after his
tory, was one which al the tine possessed
10 significance. In company with a fel-
low-l!eutenant he was sent from Fort Smell
ing 10 Dixon. Ills. 10 muster in a company
OF Illinois volunteers. The lieutenant who
went with him was Robert Anderson, af-
terward major in command Of Fort Sum-
ter when the first shot Of the war was
fired, and the captain OF the company they
mustered in was Abraham Lincoln