The Baraboo news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1884-1911, 1905-08-09

so Mr.. Bassett suffered no injurl
from his political opponents. A
small man of quick movement
swarthyin complexion, with blacl
beard cropped rather close, he wa'
a pleasing figure to contemplate
Though born, [ will not say, aris
tocrat, yet he could mingle with
the farmers, especially the wheat
growers, on the most familiar terms
and enjoyed their confidence, anc
more than respect, for very many
years. His flower mills we're almost
the business center of the town in
those days and the output had to
seek an outside market. It was be-
fore the days of easy transporta-
tion. For many years the only mar
ket was Milwaukee, hundred miles
distant, TO which the wheat grow
ers bad to haul their surplus over
the most wretched of roads and re-
Ceive perhaps but fifty cents a bush
el. Sometimes in case of a break
down the grain would have to be
nnloaded and left perhaps in or un.
der a sheltering cove along the
way until repair shop, sometimes
a long distance of, could be reached
aud the journey resumed. Quite
all the supplies and stocks for the
merchants had to come from Mil
waukee, brought by the returning
farmers after selling their wheat.
To find an outlet for his flour Mr..
Bassett employed enormous wagons
with high spreading boxes each
drawn by long line of OK teams to
reach the Milwaukee road then re-
Gently completed to Kilbourn. That
was greatgain over former condi-
tions, and it seemed as though the
world did move, but only the dream
ers ever thought of railroad to
Baraboo.
But sales outside required flour
barrels, so Mr.. Bassett built barrel
factories near his mills and installed
the latest machinery, such as pom
derous machines to slice slaves from
the oak bolts and others to trim the
edges ready to set into the new
barrels for the making of which
scores of young men of the country
and town were steadily employed
during many years; and it provided
a very satisfactory employment
during long cold winters. The busi-
ness was so great he found it prof
liable to manufacture barrels for
sale alone. II was no uncommon
sight to see great and expansive
loads of these barrels on sort of a
high skeleton rack, being hauled
over the south bluffs to Madison
or Mazomanie. In the winter time
this was perilous. Sometimes in
the descent, something would give
way, and then what a sight, defy
ing description. The barrels each
sprinting down the smooth bluff
road as if in a race which should
get to the bottom first, looking
more like a flock of sheep than any
thing else. More than one driver
lost his life under such circumstan-
ces, falling from the high load upon
the frozen ground of the roadway.
So extensive was this manufacture
that even the slender trimmings of
the edges of the slaves made filling
for large areas along the shore of
the mill pond.
The roar of the water going over
the dam those early years was
something great. New corners living
near were kept awake by the sound
until accustomedf froml lapse of time.
1t gave the locality an air of busi-
ness and certainly made it conspic-
uous as the busy center of the town.
The spring freshets we're sometimes
alarming and threathened to wash
out the mills. To show the real in
terest felt far and wide in this part
of the village, when such threat
ming floods came, throngs of peo-
pie would volunteer with teams and
tools to help stay the impending
danger. Great trees were hauled
and thrown into the angry waters
L |.