Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1922-02-09
WAR LETTERS
FOR SOCIETY

The Sank County Histrical society
has received the following gifts.
Before his death some months ago,
N. G.. Abbott sent package of Civil
the members of his fathers family.
The father, Amos f. Abbot, was first
at Madison, then at st. Louis, Fort
Leavenworth, Omaha and other pla-
ces. He tells of some of the vicissi-
tudes of army life, and not little of
the unpleasant experiences. He was at
Benton Barracks when the news of
Lincoln's assassination reached him,
April Is, 1865. Everything was ready
for a big celebration over the ending
of the war but the tragedy at Wash
ington changed all the plans. A letter
written at the above camp on April
%, 1865, speakes of the cold, snow on
the ground. The family resided in the
town Of West Point and one letter tells
of the taxes on the farm as being $10.-
SO. Wheat at Portage was $110 q
bushel. There was much exchanging
of money between the father and the
other members of his family. Some
times he would not receive his pay for
a long time and then money was sent
from home; again when the pay arriv-
ed he would have more than necessary
and part would be sent to the family.
Mrs. Abbott, the daughters, Emily and
Zoe, and the son, Noel, seemed to
the farm very well, the let
ters giving details of the operations
at home. The package contains
muster roll and CHEEKY letter to the
soldier from E. H. Keysar, Prairie du
Sac. Still another letter was written
by Hirman T. Johnson, one of the
first settlers of West Point, Columbia
county, telling of the death of Ed.
Terrell, his brother-in-law. The letters
give an interesting picture of those
lark days.
Bird Pamphlet
S. Paul Jones of Madison gives a
copy of a separate entitled: Notes
On Few of the Rarer Birds of Sank
and Dane Counties, Wisconsin," by
H. L. Stoddard. Mr.. Stoddard was for
merly of Prairie du Sac and is now
With the Milwaukee museum. The rare
birds he mentions are the following:
American cared grebe, yellow rail,
American goshawk, Cooper's hawk,
hawk, duck hawk, gol-
len eagle, saw-whet owl, northern
)ileated woodpecker, red bellied wood
)ecker, Arcadian flycatcher evening
yrosbeak, purple finch, Bohemian wax
wing, parliamentary warbler, blue
winged warbler, golden-winged warb-
er, cerulean warbler, blackburnian
Kentucky warbler, and yellow
breasted chat. The specimens were
seen or taken along the Wisconsin riv-
n, Honey Creek, Otter Creek, and in
he Baraboo bluffs.
From Cave
w C. English of Wyocena sends
,iece of a bark torch taken from
Vyandotte cave in Indiana Mr.. Eng
ish says that competent authorities
stimate the Indians made and used
he torches at least one thousand
-ears ago in order to obtain the
lodules of black flint for making OF
rrow heads and in quarrying blocks
# alabaster used in making orna-
nents Stone Implements and Orna-
nents made from Wyandotte cave
Material have been found in Ohio
mounds, also much farther south. The
slabaster takes d high polish. Partly
Durned torches, made of strips OF
ark, are tsill found sticking in the
walls of the cave at a considerable
distance from the mouth. Mr.. Eng
ish visited the cave in 1921.
Other Relics
Mrs Beulah Butman of BarabOo
ives a reel on which a skein Of yarn
vas placed in order that it might be
wound into ball.
George H. Hood gives an old gun
which was brought from the Civil
var by his father, Captain T. r.
Hood of the Sixth Wisconsin battery.
The weapon is number IL shotgun
nd he obtained it while in the south.
William Winkelman adds a bayo-
let which his father brought from
,ermany in 1868.