Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-09-08
AN OLD DEED.

| recently
in Milwaukee paper reads:
inquiries are being made in Milwau-
kee by firm of eastern attorneys in
regard to an old deed which may in
yolye more than 7,O0O,O 900 acres of land
in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The in
strument upon which the inquiries are
being made is dated 1888, but the record
shows that the original deed was exc
cuted in 1867, long before Wisconsin
was named. By it's terms the land
comprising more than ten of the lead
ing lumber counties of Wisconsin was
conveyed by two Indian chiefs to one
Jonathan Carver"
| Another Milwaukee paper says:
In tracing the title of $40 acres of
land in Clark county, Wis, in response
to request from firm of attorneys in
Boston, Register of Deeds Charles Mas
has unearthed unique story of the
early days of Wisconsin.
'"The record in question pertains to a
deed to nearly 100000 acres of land,
embracing the greater portion of eleven
counties in the northern part of Wis
consin. The exact amount of land con-
veyed by the deed in question was
6,819, $40 acres.
"The deed was given to Jonathan
Carver, in May, 1867, just a few years
after the close of the French and Indian
war. 1t was given by two chiefs of the
Nowadassa Indian tribe, which was the
controlling tribe in the territory
affected. The names of the makers of
the deed were Chiefs Snake and Turtle,
and the deed was given to Carver for
favors extended by him to the Indians
The instrument was later recorded in
Whitehall, London, and all owners of
property in the counties affected re-
ceived title to their lands through the
deed in question as its legality was
never attacked.
According to the peculiar terms of
the deed, Carver was given all land en-
braced within in the following boun-
deries:
Starting from St. Anthony's Falls,
Mimi, the line proceeded east as far as
the Mississippi river, then down that
river as far as Lake Pepin. Thence due
east six days travel at the rate of twen-
ty miles day, which brought the east
ern boundary to a point in the immed-
late vicinity of where now is located
the town of Pittsville, in Wood county.
From there the line went north for a
distance of five days journey at the
rate of twenty miles a day, which
would bring the northern boundary
near the town of Mercer in what is now
Iron county. From that point the
boundary was formed by line drawn
directly to st. Paul. MINI.
Lines drawn in this manner include
all of Pepin, Eau Claire, Clark, Taylor,
Price, Ashland, Chippewa, Dunn and
Pierce counties. while the counties of
st. Croix, Barron, Sawyer, Iron, Wood
and Marathon counties are partially in
cluded.
The records in the vault of Register
of Deeds Mas also show that the
greater portion of this land was later
decided away by Carver to a man by
the name of Simon King, to whose
heirs it later descended and thus the
tract became broken. An abstract of
the title to any of the land in the coun-
ties affected would show the original
grantees and the manner in which it
has descended to its present owner.
"Ihe inquiry received by Mr.. Mas
from Boston lawyers was respecting
the title to one particular section of this
tract which is now situated in Clark
county. The title to the land was about
to change hands at the time the letter
was written, and some question arose
as to the abstract and in this manner
the story happened to be dug up by
the register of deeds"
The PILOT some time ago gave to its
readers the wording of the deed referred
to. A copy of it is on file in the court
house in this city. 1t is a curiously
worded instrument and worth ones
time to read. By its terms about all of
southwestern Wisconsin was decided by
the Indians to Carver.