Volume 1 — CONTENTS OF VOLUME I (continued 5)

The above mentioned canal, namely from Albany to Buffalo, I have now gotten knowledge of that it was first planned and begun to be worked on in the year 1817 and in 1827 it was ready to be traveled on in a distance of 60 Norwegian miles and cost 9 millions.

In the year 1836 work was begun on a canal which is to go from Schicago to the Mississippi River and which will be 150 miles, that is 26 Norwegian miles. When this is finished one will be able to go by water from New York to New Orleans which is 3500 English miles, whereby one passes, rivers, canals, and fresh water. Likewise there are built tracks for steam cars from Philadelphia nearly to Schicago. Next summer there is to be built a railroad which is to go from the one that comes from Philadelphia to Vaabais [Wabash], a river which empties into the Mississippi and of this railway it is said that it shall go across the Mississippi and clear across America even to the Pacific Ocean. Here we may see there are good institutions and as land becomes settled it becomes Pg 185 supplied with canals and railroads everywhere, so that like a bird one can travel both by land and by water.

In regard to religious sects there are great diversity and I have as yet but little understanding of their teachings; but so far as I understand they nearly all believe in one single, true God, and it looks as if the government took much interest in a good religion. I have examined many school books and so far as I understand, the principles are the same as in Norway. There have been inserted in the newspapers many examples as warnings for the people that they ought to live righteously and pleasing to God. Yes, also in the almanac these things are inserted, yes, and everywhere are many warnings in regard to drunkenness and it is the greatest foolishness that a man does to drink liquor, which it certainly also is. In Norway people are urged and forced to drink liquor but so it is not here, for here the people are induced by warnings to moderation; and when a man accepts these warnings and reports it to his friends who also will be the same, namely never either drink or treat liquor, and thereby can many and large societies be freed from this vice.

A short story of the formation of the country.

When one goes from New York up through the country, it is a perfectly dry, stony field, but quite well wooded and the soil becomes better and better and everywhere fruitful. In the State of New York it is quite mountainous in some places but in the State of Michigan it is flat and level, besides wooded everywhere until one reaches the State of Illinois. Here the land looks like the ocean after a storm when the huge billows are rolling. Here there is timber enough some places, as along rivers and other places; other places timber stands in thick groves where people have settled. For the rest there are only rolling plains which are called prairies and these are everywhere overgrown with grass and are for the most part as the best cultivated farms in Norway. These prairies one can plow and seed with what you please which there grows abundantly without being fertilized. Here the best timber land has been taken, but it pays well to till the soil here, that I can see. The man that I now have been with and worked for, has 160 acres land fenced in and from this piece certainly has a crop for over 3000 dollars, although certainly 40 acres are not seeded; they have little Pg 186 work with planting. 160 acres costs 200 dollars to buy but it costs more to get it fenced in. The size of one acre is 208 feet on each side.

Mr. Bekvald, the man I have been with this winter, told me that if one goes from east to west one always has the best land before him. Hitherto the people have moved east, namely to here; but now they are moving from here more and more to the west where it is also said to be better, although here it looks like being the best land that anyone can desire; but I also have in my mind to go more to the west to look for land.

I will also relate that I have been with a man and worked this winter from the 14th of October to the present day and I have earned 50 dollars in a period of 4 months, in spite of the fact that I did not know the language the least when I came there. Some said to me that I did work for 20 dollars a month. I have done heavy work and the same man has offered me 190 dollars for a year and the best keep that any official can get in Norway. It is my opinion that everyone who has his youth and is unmarried certainly can make up his mind in regard to the journey; but one must consider that he is leaving his home and his relatives and friends. I have heard many, especially among the women, say that if they have ever so good days, they are homesick for Norway. Everyone that starts on the journey must consider that one must first taste sour before he can drink sweet. It is difficult here when one does not understand the language and it is worse when he is unable to work.

I will also report how big day’s wages the workingman gets here. A laborer can get from 12 to 16 dollars a month in the winter and in the summer nearly the double. The price is some places more and some places less. A girl can get from 1 to 2 dollars a week as soon as they have some knowledge of the language.

Baeverkrek in Illinois, the 21st of February, 1838. Ole Knudsen Nattestad.

Postscript: More have I not time to write this time; but this description of travel I send home to you, my relatives and friends! if you have desire to read herein about what I on my long journey have experienced and seen since I was at home with you.

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EDITORIALS

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Every twenty-five years, on the average, the American nation has waged war with an important civilized power. Again, as on previous occasions we find ourselves involved in a great struggle, on the outcome of which our existence as an independent nation probably depends, with practically no preparation having been made in advance to meet the issue. Not to go further back than 1914, for three years the nation gamboled on the brink of war, making practically no effort to prepare for the struggle the imminence of which was apparent to every reasoning person. As we write these lines the daily paper brings to our desk a story from the Secretary of War, intended to be thrilling, of how, after war was declared, an airplane engine was devised for adoption by our government. America was the original home of the aeroplane, yet we began the present war as little equipped, to all practical purposes, to wage it in the air as were our forefathers of 1776.

This is but typical of our situation as a whole. When war was declared we had ample potential resources in men, material, and initiative, but we had no army and only an inadequate navy; and while these are being evolved at a prodigious expenditure of labor and money, the enemy is kept from our gates by virtue of no foresight of ours, but rather by the good fortune which has given us powerful allies whose armies and navies are fighting in our behalf.

OUR MILITARY RECORD

Thus has it ever been when America went to war. The pages of our history teem with disasters for which our happy-go-lucky attitude toward all things military is responsible. Curiously enough, in the very face of such a record, flourishes Pg 188 a popular conviction that the history of our warfare is one of triumph succeeding triumph with monotonous regularity; and that with respect to our armies, if in no other thing, America has far excelled the other peoples of the earth. That this is all a ghastly illusion any one who has access to a respectable library can quickly satisfy himself. The simple truth is that our past military record has been far from extraordinary; that Americans considered as individuals are no braver than other people; and that when these individuals are associated in armies they require much the same degree of organization, equipment, and leadership as other armies do, if the record they make is to constitute pleasant reading for the nation that sends them forth to war.

It behooves us to note in this connection that no other type of human activity calls for so high a degree of organization and discipline as does the waging of civilized war; and further, that as a consequence of the industrial development of the last century the handicap of a nation which is unprepared to defend itself, in a contest with one which has thus prepared, is vastly greater than ever before. The ancient Gauls and Germans were able to wage a respectable fight against so mighty a military machine as the legions of Julius Caesar, and on one notable occasion, a few years later, a great imperial army was utterly destroyed by the forest barbarians. In modern times the small armies of England have marched at will over Africa, and the fanatic bravery of the tribesmen has led to no other result than their more certain and speedy slaughter at the hands of their civilized foemen. Returning to our own history, the American militiaman of Revolutionary days was no match for the British regular; and, popular belief to the contrary, the naval War of 1812 was not won by America. Even were the contrary the case, however, it would avail us nothing at the present time, for the art of warfare and the circumstances of human life have alike undergone a complete revolution during the last hundred years. Mr. Bryan’s fanciful vision of a million men springing to arms at the first note of danger is but an empty myth, but unfortunately it is by no means a harmless one. The nation which neglects to set its defenses in order in advance of the emergency is, under modern conditions, doomed to defeat before war shall have been declared.

Pg 189 WHAT OF THE FUTURE?

But what avail, it may be asked, is it to dwell upon our past military mistakes? None, certainly, unless we are capable as a people of profiting by the school of experience. Thus far, in the matter under discussion, our national good luck, inducing, as it has done, a quite unwarranted feeling of security, has prevented us from doing so. That we are permanently incapacitated from guiding our feet by the lamp of experience, however, the writer at least does not believe. To a limited extent, indeed, in the conduct of the present war, we have already evinced a willingness to avoid repeating our past mistakes. The question of preparation in advance of the conflict aside, the preliminary stage of the current war has been waged in materially better fashion than has that of any of our previous wars. In particular the principle of universal liability to service has been adopted and an earnest effort has been made to provide as officers, men who combine with a high degree of natural capacity at least a modicum of training for the work intrusted to their charge.

These things are well enough in their way, and encouraging as indicative of the development of a more intelligent attitude on the part of our people toward the conduct of the military arm of the government. No longer, apparently, can a runaway boy of sixteen convince a secretary of war, as in the old days, that his desire for a commission in the army entitles him to precedence over graduates of West Point; nor will we again witness the spectacle of our president appointing all the officers of a newly-created military unit direct from civil life on the ground that the country “generally expected” our trained soldiers should thus be ignored. However gratifying this may be, the nub of the present situation lies in the fact that whatever has been done thus far has been with a view solely to meeting a present emergency. The country has not determined upon, and the government has not adopted any permanent or general policy. Sooner or Pg 190 later the present war will end. Shall we then, as in 1815 and 1865, disband our military force and have recourse once more to the old policy of trusting to Providence for the protection of our liberty and our existence as a nation? Or shall we now highly resolve that the destinies of the American people are too precious, that the success of our great experiment in democracy is charged with too much importance, not alone to ourselves but to the remainder of mankind as well, to justify us in leaving it absolutely unprotected in a world of potential enemies? What would be thought today of a city which should maintain no police department, and for protection against fire should depend upon the unorganized efforts of volunteers? Scarcely two centuries ago, however, even the chief city of the world had no police department, while within the memory of men now living our cities depended upon volunteers for protection against fire.

In these matters the obvious lesson of experience has been thoroughly learned. Professional police and fire departments are the standing armies of our cities, highly organized and constantly alert to protect them from the perils of disorder and fire. The American people will not permanently be content to display a lower order of intelligence in national affairs than it does in those of merely municipal concern. Too long, however, have we confided the protection of our national existence to Providence. We believe it to be the duty of every citizen to exert the full measure of his influence upon his governmental representatives to the end that now, before national disaster shall have overtaken us, a permanent military policy adequate to our protection be adopted.

AN APPRECIATION AND A SUGGESTION

The September number of the Magazine contained news of the bequest to the Society by Miss Genevieve Mills of Madison of her interest in the parental homestead. We return to the subject now for a twofold reason. In the first Pg 191 place it is proper to render adequate formal acknowledgment of the fine gift made by Miss Mills to the Society. Of vain or ill-advised memorials to the departed, America affords numerous examples; the wisdom and appropriateness of Miss Mills’s memorial to her parents appears, by contrast with some of these, all the more obvious. Money which might have gone to the building of a useless pile of granite has been devoted to the perpetual enrichment of the commonwealth, to the upbuilding of which Simeon and Maria Mills dedicated their lives. To illustrate concretely the work which the Mills bequest will perform, the annual income from the estimated value of the estate will suffice to pay the entire cost of publication of this magazine; or it will print annually such a volume as those included in the Collections of the Society. If the cost of authorship as well as printing be charged against the fund, it will suffice to produce a volume of our Collections every two or three years. And this work, without exhausting the principal of the fund, is to go on perpetually.

If the present world war has taught any lesson, it is that of the value to a nation of its civic and patriotic ideals. But these cannot be cultivated unless due regard be paid to the preservation and study of the country’s historical records. Thus Miss Mills’s bequest constitutes a permanent factor making for the development of patriotism in our commonwealth. Well would it be if all givers of funds for a public purpose should display equal wisdom. At the present time, we understand, the Norwegians of Wisconsin are contemplating the erection of an expensive memorial to Colonel Heg of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry, the famed Norwegian regiment. That Colonel Heg richly deserves a suitable memorial no one will be disposed to dispute. The establishment of a perpetual fund, the income of which should be devoted to the study of the Norwegian contribution to Wisconsin and American history, would constitute, we respectfully suggest, a more useful and suitable memorial to Colonel Heg than any bronze or granite pile, however costly it may be.

Pg 192 CANNON FODDER

He slipped into the office with a quiet apology for the intrusion, to say that he had enlisted in the naval reserve. Not expecting to be called for a month or more, the call to service had come immediately. His only concern over this was due to the fact that he must leave the Library on such short notice, and he was distressed to think that his leaving thus might inconvenience those who remained behind. Two years ago he had entered our employ, in the hope that proximity to the University would render it possible, while earning his living, to take part-time work on the hill. So thorough was his industry that before long, aside from his full-time employment (with service faithfully rendered), he was carrying two-thirds of normal undergraduate work. How he carried it is indicated by the fact that, though preparing himself for an engineer, he was prevented from winning the annual prize for excellence in English composition only by virtue of the limitation of the award to students doing full-time work.

Thus the Library lost a faithful worker; thus the nation gained an excellent soldier. Of such stuff are the men of our new army made. Unless we mistake greatly, the German nation will live to rue the course by which its government goaded the American people to the point of taking active part in settling the great question whether autocracy or democracy shall perish. Quietly and without heroics our splendid youth have appraised the situation, and having appraised it, with a smile have offered themselves and their hopeful futures upon the altar of human freedom, only regretting as did our particular hero, the inconvenience to others which their sacrifice may involve. We will not offend his modesty by placing his name in type. To him and all his kind we offer a reverent Godspeed. The nobility of their offering is inspiring enough; that it should have been necessary in the full light of the twentieth century is one of the ghastliest facts in human history.

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THE QUESTION BOX

The Wisconsin Historical Library has long maintained a bureau of historical information for the benefit of those who care to avail themselves of the service it offers. In “The Question Box” will be printed from time to time such queries, with the answers made to them, as possess sufficient general interest to render their publication worth while.

DANIEL WEBSTER’S WISCONSIN INVESTMENTS

I have received the Wisconsin History Bulletin[95] for August. It would be interesting to know just how much money Daniel Webster gave for lots in Madison, for lands throughout this state and Iowa, for capital stock in the railway company from LaFontaine and what the evidence of such payment is. Not that I am disposed to charge the godlike Daniel with graft, at least no more than his associates and compeers were chargeable with at that period.

W. A. P. Morris, Madison, Wisconsin.

So far as we can ascertain, Webster’s investments, or speculations, in Wisconsin property were perfectly legitimate and not influenced by political considerations. In his own account thereof, after saying that he wished to resign, and was not permitted to do so, he says: “So, seei’g, then, that I must do something with a view to future means of liv’g I entered on Western investments, partly in company with Col. Perkins, partly in a company of which Gov. Cass was Chief, and partly on my own account. These investments were made by faithful & careful agents, principally in agricultural lands of excellent quality, in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, & Wisconsin. Prospects of profit seemed fair, at the time, & I purchased as far as means & credit would go.”

George Wallace Jones, in his Autobiography, tells of walking along a street in Washington soon lafter the erection of Wisconsin Territory, of which he was congressional delegate. Webster overtook Pg 194 him, invited him to his house, and entered into conversation with him on the subject of investments. Jones became one of Webster’s agents. In cooperation with Webster he made about $20,000 and Webster sold his holdings to the United States bank of Philadelphia for $50,000. Jones states that Webster owed him $15,000 when he died, but as he had made a good thing by him, he never pressed the debt.

With regard to the Madison investment, the amount should be $3,000 and not $5,000 (this was a typographical error). In the biography of Jones is a reference to a letter dated December 24, 1836 from Judge Doty speaking of the association of proprietors for Madison and stating that these were twenty-four in number, each of whom paid in $100. By February, 1837, the dividends on the sales were $170 a share. On the strength of this showing, Jones sold his share to Webster for “about $3,000.”

The only thing that looks like political influence is in connection with the entries of mineral lands in southwestern Wisconsin. Moses M. Strong, whose papers are in the Society’s possession, came to Wisconsin in 1836 as the agent of Hon. Henry Hubbard, United States senator from New Hampshire, and made large investments for him and some of his friends. Part of the entries made by Strong for Hubbard were upon reserved mineral lands, which were not open to general entry, but were leased by the government. Hubbard tried to get some decision, the precise nature of which is not evident, from the United States land commissioner, concerning these mineral lands, and in the course of his correspondence with Strong he mentions Webster’s name, and says he will see the commissioner. There is no evidence that this was in any way an improper proceeding or influence.

As George W. Jones was Webster’s agent in southwestern Wisconsin, Morgan L. Martin seems to have been his agent in the eastern part of the state. In the early part of 1837 Martin went east to be married and incidentally arranged what business he could. In New York he met Webster and interested him in the lands along Fox River and upon Lake Winnebago, describing the projected railroad from La Fontaine, a “paper” city on Fox River, to Winnebago City, another of like importance on the northeastern shore of Lake Winnebago. This railroad, if built, would have been Pg 195 thirteen miles in length, and was planned to transport freight around the Winnebago Rapids at what is now Neenah. This La Fontaine Railroad Company was the first in the Territory to secure a charter, which was granted by the legislature at Belmont, December 3, 1836. Martin succeeded in firing the imagination of Webster by his description of the importance of the Fox-Wisconsin waterway, and March 24, 1837, Webster wrote him from New York to invest $5,000 in the stock of the railroad (Wisconsin Mss. 5C83). June 28, 1837 Martin replied (Ibid, 110) saying that the capital stock was $50,000 “of which we do not think it necessary to call in over one-half. Doty took 20. I put you down for 10 & took the balance myself. I conceived you would prefer that amount since it would only require to be paid the sum for which you authorize me to draw on you.” Martin goes on to discuss the liberal terms of the charter, which they were planning to have amended by still more liberal provisions at the next legislature. He discusses land grants along the right of way. The engineer they expect has not yet arrived. He closes with a cordial invitation to Webster to visit Green Bay and be his guest.

The negotiation seems to have ended at this point. The panic of 1837 came on and Martin was badly hampered by his connections with the bank of Green Bay and by his large speculative enterprises. No action was ever taken on the railway charter, and in all probability Webster was never called upon for his subscription to the company’s stock.

NAMES PROPOSED FOR A NEW TOWN

We would appreciate it if you would let us know where we can get some information relative to the early history of Wisconsin, especially that part of the state through which the Chippewa River flows. We would like to get the names of some early explorers and Indian chiefs that make a part of the history of Sawyer County. Or, could you give us a number of names that you think would be typical of the region referred to that would make a good name for a small village?

Wisconsin Colonization Company, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

We have looked somewhat into the matter suggested in your letter of May 17 and have the following suggestions to make in connection with it.

Pg 196 First, since Sawyer County is drained by the Chippewa River, and since the first person of the English race who is known to have visited that region was the famous traveler, Jonathan Carver, the name Carver would seem to be an appropriate one for the village you have in mind.

Second, the first resident fur traders of Sawyer County were the Warren brothers and John Baptiste Corbin. Either Warren or Corbin would seem to us to make a good name for the town. Either name would also be easy to spell and sufficiently euphonious.

Third, if an Indian name is desired, the first important Chippewa chief of this region was Sha-da-wish. Among his descendants were Ka-ka-ke, Labudee, Mon-so-ne, and Ke-dug-a-be-shew. The last two names mentioned mean respectively moose tail and spotted lynx.

ORIGIN OF THE WORD “WINNEQUAH”

Can you give me any information concerning the origin and historical significance of the name “Winnequah,” applied to the point projecting into Lake Monona?

Frederick Brandenburg, Madison, Wisconsin.

The site of Winnequah was originally known as Strawberry Point, Squaw Point, Old Indian Garden, and Wood’s Point. It was the village home for the Lake Monona Winnebago, and when Madison was first built it was occupied by Abraham Wood, who had a Winnebago chief’s daughter for his squaw. She was one of the illustrious family of Decorah, and her father was chief of the band in the vicinity of Portage. In 1835 William B. Long and Abraham Wood entered the fifty-two acres of the point in the Mineral Point land office, and three years later, March 24, 1838, transferred their interest to Col. William B. Slaughter. After this transaction Wood moved to Poynette. Slaughter kept the land as an investment. Thomas B. Sutherland, one of the founders of the State Historical Society, was wont to relate his experiences as surveyor in 1835 when he spent some time at the Indian village at Strawberry Point. The name “Winnequah” was bestowed upon the point some time in the late sixties by Capt. Francis (Frank) Barnes who ran a steamboat line on Lake Monona. Barnes had a fancy for odd names; one of his boats was named the “Scutanaubequon.” He built a dancing hall on the point and fitted Pg 197 it up for picnic parties and seems to have invented the word “Winnequah.” At least, its meaning is not to be found among the Winnebago vocabularies, nor is it susceptible of any interpretation except that it is made up of Winnebago Squaw Point. Barnes carried on his steamboat line from 1866 to 1873 or 1874, perhaps later. The Madison directory for 1877-78 lists him as “captain of tug.” The owner of Strawberry Point—to revert to its first name—from 1868 or earlier was N. W. Dean. He seems to have rented or leased the land to Barnes for his picnic grounds.

THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE SUPERIOR

In Volume Seven of the American Nation Mr. Thwaites states (page 52) that Lake Superior was discovered in 1616. All other secondary accounts give 1629. Can you tell me whether or not the date 1616 is a misprint? If not where can I get the information about its discovery?

E. G. Doudna, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

The dates of the discoveries of the several great lakes are not definitely known, and there is no uniformity of statement concerning their first exploration. Dr. Thwaites’s works reflect this uncertainty. In the American Nation volume to which you refer he was inclined to accept the theory of Etienne Brulé’s exploration of Lake Superior, and thought it might have occurred after his journey to the Susquehanna in 1615, and before his return in 1618 to Quebec. Therefore he gives the date as 1616. In his Wisconsin, published in 1908, he appears to have rejected the theory of Brulé’s explorations, and states that Jean Nicolet in 1634 was probably the discoverer of Lake Superior. In his school History of the United States (Boston, 1912) he shows his doubt by giving “about 1629” as the date of the discovery. Not all secondary accounts give the date as 1629. Our own opinion is that there is no authority for this date, and that it arises from a misinterpretation of Edward J. Neill’s statement in Justin Winsor’s Narrative and Critical History of America, IV, 165. One of the latest histories of the Great Lakes (Channing and Lansing’s The Story of the Great Lakes, New York, 1909) gives no date for the discovery of Lake Superior, but assigns 1610 to the first white man’s voyage on Lake Huron, five years earlier than the traditional one of 1615 for Pg 198 Champlain’s first voyage. The whole matter turns on the career of Etienne Brulé, one of the youths selected by Champlain to reside among the Indians and learn their language. His adventures were first discussed in detail in C. W. Butterfield’s, Brulé’s Explorations and Discoveries (Cleveland, 1898). A more recent discussion in French, by the eminent Canadian authority Benjamin Sulte, appeared in the Canadian Royal Society Proceedings and Transactions, 3d. series, vol. 1, section 1, 97-125. Butterfield and Sulte substantially agree, and both consider that Etienne Brulé with a companion named Grenolle probably visited Lake Superior and explored it in 1622-23. The evidence is somewhat circumstantial, and the point may never be determined; but Champlain must have had some information, aside from that furnished by the Indians, for upon his map of 1632 appears the outline of Lake Superior entering Lake Huron by the “Sault de Gaston,” as he calls the present Sault Ste. Marie. If one rejects the evidence of Brulé’s voyage, which rests upon inference chiefly, the date 1629 is the last one in which Champlain could have obtained his information for his map published in 1632, since he was deported by English conquerors from his colony in the former year, and did not return until 1633.

Next to Brulé must be placed Jean Nicolet, who visited the Sault in 1634; whether he ascended the strait to the lake itself is conjectural. Then in 1641 came the great gathering of Indians attended by the Jesuit fathers, Jogues and Raymbault. (See L. P. Kellogg’s Early Narratives of the Northwest, New York, 1917, 19-25). The first description of Lake Superior is given by Pierre Esprit Radisson in his Journal. The probable date of his voyage thereon is 1661, but Father René Ménard arrived at Keweenaw Bay in the autumn of 1660.

It appears probable that the date of the discovery of Lake Superior cannot be determined with accuracy, and must remain uncertain unless scholars accept the conclusions of Butterfield and Sulte concerning Brulé. The same is true of the discovery of the upper Mississippi; it has been claimed for Nicolet in 1634, for Radisson in 1659, for La Salle in 1669, all antedating the voyage of Jolliet and Marquette in 1673. The truth is that from the beginning of French settlement on the St. Lawrence there was much roving Pg 199 to the sources of the great river. Many of these coureurs des bois were brave and courageous explorers, but they kept no records. It is thus dogmatic to say that the visit of the first white man to any given point occurred on such or such a date. We can only say when the first records were made describing such an event. The records for the voyage of Brulé and Grenolle in 1622 have not yet been universally accepted.

THE POTAWATOMI DURING THE REVOLUTION: FATHER ALLOUEZ AMONG THE KICKAPOO

I am sending you some more letters from Quitos. In one of these letters he refers to War Chief Thunder fighting with George Washington against the Canadians. I would like to find out what fight that was. Can you tell me?

I would also like to find out whether Fathers Dablon and Claude Allouez visited the Kickapoo Indians on Milwaukee River in 1670 a few years before Jolliet and Marquette discovered the Mississippi. I have seen something to this effect somewhere.

A. Gerend, Cato, Wisconsin.

It is an interesting fact that the Potawatomi of the west shore of Lake Michigan, notably those of Milwaukee, and probably those farther north, under the influence of Siggenauk or the Blackbird made a treaty at Cahokia, Illinois, with George Rogers Clark in September, 1778, and were thereafter for a time American allies. There was no actual service under Gen. George Washington, but the chiefs probably received medals or certificates in his name, and thus considered themselves fighting under his care. The Potawatomi returned to the British allegiance later, and opposed the Americans during all of the Indian wars. If our surmise of what Quitos means about Old Thunder is correct, it is a remarkable instance of the persistence of tradition concerning an American alliance, and a corroboration of Col. George Rogers Clark’s testimony about the attitude of the Milwaukee Potawatomi. Clark calls the two chiefs Saguina or “Mr. Black Bird and Nakiowin, two chiefs of the Bands of the sotairs [Chippewa] and Outaway Nation bordering on Lake Michigan and the River St. Joseph.” De Peyster, the British commandant at Mackinac, speaks in his poem or rhymed chronicle of Pg 200 1779 of “Those runagates at Milwakie” and calls them in a footnote “A horrid set of refractory Indians.” Thus in the Revolution, while most of the Wisconsin Indians were strong British supporters, the mixed band of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi west of Lake Michigan were American sympathizers.

With regard to your second question: There is no record in the Jesuit Relations of any visit of Allouez and Dablon to Milwaukee in 1670. Such a statement was made before Dr. Thwaites’s edition of the Jesuit Relations appeared. Upon the publication in English of the exact text of the Relations it was seen that Allouez visited the Kickapoo in 1670 (not accompanied by Dablon) at their village four leagues (about fifteen miles) from the Mascouten village which was near the site of the modern Berlin, on the upper Fox River. Thus it was impossible for the Kickapoo village to have been at Milwaukee. It is quite probable that Perrot and other traders may have been at Milwaukee and along the shore of Lake Michigan before Jolliet and Marquette, but there is no recorded voyage before theirs.

THE INDIAN TRIBES OF IOWA

Please send me the name and history of any or all the Indian tribes that at first occupied the state of Iowa. Also give me the name and history of any Indian tribe that once lived for a time, either long or short, in Iowa.

Daniel McKenna, Charles City, Iowa.

The Indian tribes who are known to have dwelt in Iowa since historic times are the following:

The Illinois were found there by Marquette and Jolliet in 1673, but returned to the east side of the Mississippi in a few years.

The Iowa (name spelled in a great variety of ways, as Aiouais, Aoyest, Ayoes, Ayouez) were a Siouan or a Dakotan tribe found on the Des Moines River about the close of the seventeenth century.

The Sioux, whose eastern and southern branches extended into northern Iowa, where they were known to the whites in the late seventeenth century. The Kickapoo and Mascouten, allied tribes, driven from Wisconsin into Iowa about 1728. The Kickapoo soon removed; a few of the Mascouten lingered and gave their name to Muscatine.

Pg 201 The Sauk and Foxes, who after their defeat in Wisconsin in 1733 became allied tribes, and made their home thereafter chiefly in Iowa. Their villages in 1805 were along the Mississippi from Des Moines Rapids to Turkey River. By a treaty of 1842 they were to remove from Iowa; many came back and wandered on the Iowa and Des Moines rivers until they purchased lands in Tama County where they still dwell, now called the Musquakie or Meskwaki Indians.

The Winnebago who removed from Wisconsin after the treaty of 1837 to northeastern Iowa where they had a school and agency on Yellow River. In 1848 they were removed to Minnesota. The Omaha or Maha Indians lived in northwestern Iowa when Lewis and Clark ascended the Missouri in 1804. In 1830 they ceded their lands to the United States which in 1833 ceded a portion to the allied Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi tribes. Most of those who lived on this reservation from about 1835 to 1846 were Potawatomi.

For further history of these tribes apply to the Iowa Department of History at Des Moines, Edgar R. Harlan, curator.

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COMMUNICATIONS

OLD COPPERHEADS AND NEW

The editorial in the September number of the Wisconsin Magazine of History entitled “Consolation for the Present Crisis,” has prompted me to enlarge upon one of its themes. Those of our citizens who feel disturbed by the presence among us of an anti-war element may find encouragement in a further recital of the doings of the anti-war advocates in Wisconsin half a century ago.

Shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter, when the North was roused to the utmost pitch of excitement, the democratic members of the legislature together with certain citizens of Madison, arranged for a peace mass meeting in the assembly chamber for the purpose of devising some compromise which should suffice to avert the impending war. At the appointed time the chamber was thronged with citizens, and a number of speeches were made by legislators and townsmen conveying various proposals of compromise which should be tendered the southern people. These addresses were vigorously applauded by a large proportion of the audience. Before the close of the meeting, however, there were calls for Senator Dean, a republican whose loyalty to the government was unquestioned. Greeted with tumultuous applause, he proceeded, after a few stirring sentences about the duties of citizenship, to say: “Compromise? Yes, we will compromise with them! We will send a million free men down through the southern states and drive the whole confederate army into the Gulf of Mexico!” The applause which greeted this sentiment shook the building, and lasted ten minutes or more. The meeting immediately adjourned, leaving the peace advocates without a program.

As the war progressed, and the future seemed dark indeed, another peace meeting was called at Madison, to be held in Capital Park. Noted speakers were engaged, and it was expected that a great demonstration in favor of ending the war would be staged. By this time Camp Randall had come into being as the principal military encampment for Wisconsin’s soldiers. Naturally the men did not Pg 203 look with enthusiasm upon the impending peace meeting. On the appointed day two or three hundred soldiers, having secured leave of absence from camp, dragged a six-pound cannon to capitol square; loading it with canister, they planted it in front of the speaker’s stand, with the quiet assurance to those in charge of the meeting that as soon as a treasonable word should be uttered the orator and all on the platform would be blown to hell. Under these circumstances the meeting proved very tame, the speeches being confined to deprecating the necessity for the war and hoping it would soon be over.

The Copperheads, as they had come to be called, did not omit any opportunity to flaunt their sentiments before the supporters of the government. In Madison alone probably hundreds of old-fashioned copper cents (a coin nearly an inch and a quarter in diameter) were filed down so as to leave only the Indian head in profile. To this a pin was affixed for attachment to the coat lapel, and the coins were worn to afford evidence that the wearer was a Copperhead in sentiment. Loyal citizens responded to this challenge by filing the eagle out of the silver quarter and wearing it as a badge. One prominent citizen, who wore the copperhead for over a year, lived to say that it was the one action of his life of which he was heartily ashamed.

There is today no such villification and abuse of President Wilson as was heaped upon Lincoln during the Civil War. After every Union defeat the Copperheads would say: “What did we tell you? You can never whip the South!” Some of the newspapers were so disloyal in sentiment that they were suppressed by military authority. In fact, the situation was very grave. In comparison with it the current pacifist machinations appear tame and insignificant. The great mass of the people, however, were determined to stand by the government till victory should be achieved. They persevered in this determination and the Union was preserved. So will it be today, whether the end comes in one year or five, whether the cost be five billions of dollars or fifty. There must be no compromise. Let the fight be to the finish.

Sincerely yours,

E. C. Mason.

Madison, October 1, 1917.

Pg 204 A PRESBYTERIAN OBJECTS

I have been reading the report of the sixty-fourth annual meeting of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin which I received yesterday. I was interested in the article by the pioneer missionary, especially as much of his work was done in a part of Wisconsin where I labored years ago. On page 184, in a note about Rev. Isaac Baird, it is said that he was appointed to Odanah, which is correct. Such positions must be filled by appointment. I may say that, unless my memory deceives me, the work at Odanah was of more consequence than Father Verwyst’s remarks would indicate. But it is said that Mr. Baird was removed to Crystal Falls, Michigan. I think it should rather be that Mr. Baird accepted a call to the pastorate of the church at Crystal Falls or to be its stated supply. If the writer of the word had written “Mr. Baird removed,” there would be no objection to the statement from a Presbyterian standpoint. But “was removed,” that is another matter.

In a speech delivered in the British House of Commons, July 9, 1845, Macaulay said, “All staunch Presbyterians think that the flock is entitled, jure divino, to a voice in the appointment of a pastor, and that to force a pastor on a parish to which he is unacceptable is a sin forbidden by the Word of God as idolatry or perjury. I am quite sure that I do not exaggerate when I say that the highest of our high churchmen at Oxford cannot attach more importance to episcopal government and episcopal ordination than many thousands of Scotchmen, shrewd men, respectable men, who fear God and honor the Queen, attach to this right of the people.” And to go to the fountain head, in “The Buke of Discipline” by John Knox, are these words. “It apperteneth to the Pepill and to every severall Congregation, to Elect thair Minister.” I quote verbatim et literatim. There is much more to the same effect. Excuse me for this screed, but I spent a good many years in Wisconsin as a Presbyterian minister and was used to having this question “speired at me” as the Scotch would say, when I returned from a meeting of presbytery, “Have you been sent back for another year?” When I explained to those people the Presbyterian way of doing, no one but said, “I believe that is the best way.” Yet many Presbyterians in Wisconsin wish to deny to the people that right. The note I Pg 205 refer to was written by a man who did not know the Presbyterian way of doing or else was one of the Presbyterians I referred to just above.[96] But those Presbyterians did not know the history of their own church. A great fight for democracy is on and we must fight for democracy in the church as well as in the state if we are to make the democracy of the state a success. See Fiske’s Beginnings of New England. Hence I do not wish the Wisconsin Historical Society to help even by a note the autocratic tendencies of some Wisconsin Presbyterians. Let us advance in democracy by going back to the time when people chose their bishop—you know the story of the election of Ambrose of Milan.

I remain Yours faithfully and gratefully, Angus Sillars.

Fairmount, Ill., July 24, 1917.

Pg 206

SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES

THE SOCIETY AND THE STATE

Seven new members have joined the State Historical Society during the quarter ending September 30; Charles D. Rosa, of Beloit; Edward P. Farley, of Chicago; Earl Murray, of Green Bay; William T. Evjue, of Madison; Frank M. Crowley, of Madison; Charles H. Crownhart, of Madison; and Dr. L.A. Quaife, of Rosalia, Washington. In the same period the Society lost through death two of its valued members, Otto B. Joerns, of Stevens Point, and Henry E. Legler, of Chicago.

In the death of Henry E. Legler on September 13 this Society sustained the loss of a valued friend and member. Many and divers as were the public positions he occupied—newspaper editor, legislator, secretary of the Milwaukee School Board, secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission, librarian of the Chicago Public Library—it is not to the man as a public official that our thoughts involuntarily turn, but to the man as a friend. With unusual business capability, which involved securing the utmost of service and loyalty from his employees, Mr. Legler was possessed of personal characteristics that endeared him as well to the office messenger as to the members of the governing boards under whom he worked. His associations with this Society and the members of the library staff were long and close, and it seems fitting that we should express both sorrow for his loss, and gratification that it had been our privilege to have known him intimately.

Miss Mabel Swerig, for two years a faithful and efficient worker in the reference division of the Historical Library, severed her connection with the Society in September in order to enter upon a course of library training at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. Miss Mary Farley, for three years a member of the library staff, on October 1, assumed direction of the library maintained by Marshall Field and Company for its employees. The new position will afford Miss Farley an excellent opportunity for development in the line of her chosen profession. At the beginning of September Theron Brown, for the past two years assistant in the public documents division of the Library, enlisted for technical service in the United States Navy.

Carl Russell Fish and Frederic Logan Paxson, curators of the Society and professors of American history in the University of Wisconsin, spent the summer in Washington engaged in service for Pg 207 the government. Professor Fish’s time was given to the National Board for Historical Service, of which he is a member. Professor Paxson gave his services to the committee on public information.

Prof. Winfred T. Root, member of the State Historical Society and of the faculty of the State University, conducted history courses at the summer session of the University of Chicago.

Rev. Eugene Updike recently terminated a twenty-seven year pastorate of the First Congregational Church of Madison. In the last fifty-two years this church has had but two pastors, Mr. Updike’s predecessor having served a quarter of a century.

Capt. Arthur L. Conger, who delivered the annual address at the meeting of the State Historical Society in 1916, is now serving on General Pershing’s staff in France. Mrs. Conger has recently gone to France to be near her husband.

At the time of going to press, plans are practically complete for the annual meeting of the State Historical Society to take place October 25. Two events new to the annual program are a luncheon to be tendered by the Society to its members and invited friends and a conference of local historical societies. Because of Prof. Frederic L. Paxson’s work for the government, he was unable to prepare the annual address announced in the September number of the Magazine. In his stead Prof. Carl R. Fish will speak on “The Frontier a World Problem.” A full report of the meeting will appear in a later number of the Magazine.

The use of pageantry in depicting the historical development of a community is rapidly gaining headway in Wisconsin. Among those that attracted state-wide attention was the one given at Portage during the week of the Columbia County Fair, August 22-25, 1917. “America and the Nations” was the title of the pageant, and it was given in three episodes. In the first there was a symbolical scene representing the spirit of the Fox and the Wisconsin rivers. Then followed the Jesuit fathers, French traders, trappers, and pioneers. In the second episode the coming of miners, lumbermen, fishermen, and farmers was witnessed. The closing scene was a grand review of all the leading nations of the world, symbolizing an international unity. Over 700 people took part in the pageant.

The citizens of Chippewa County staged an interesting pageant at Holcombe during the week of their Community Fair, September 13 and 14. The pageant, given under the direction of H. A. Edminster, portrayed the coming of the fur traders in the Chippewa Valley, a bit of Indian life, the coming of the priests, lumbermen, and the first permanent settlers. The closing scene depicted the modern economic and industrial development of that region. One very interesting Pg 208 part of the performance was the appearance of an ox team hitched to an old “jumper,” driven by Mr. and Mrs. Edminister, representing their coming into that region.

Among those working for the cause of history in Wisconsin, none are doing more effective or practical work than some of the history committees of the county councils of defense. Among those that are rendering a real service is the committee of Eau Claire County, headed by William W. Bartlett. Their object is to gather, preserve, index, and make available for public use the proceedings of every event that takes place in Eau Claire County pertaining to the war. A complete file of newspaper clippings that deal with the war will be preserved. Also an effort is being made to secure a photograph and brief sketch of every young man entering the service from Eau Claire County. Such practical work as this commends itself to every patriotic citizen in Wisconsin, and the committees in other counties might do well to follow Eau Claire’s lead.

Mr. Charles E. Brown, chief of the Wisconsin Historical Museum, entertained in September a group of friends who are interested in the study of local Indian history at his attractive home in Nakoma, a suburb of Madison. A picnic supper was served, after which Mr. Brown gave an instructive talk upon Nakoma and its environment. Brief talks relating chiefly to Indian history were made by others present.

The surviving members of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry held a joint meeting with the Scandinavian Veterans’ Association at Madison in September and plans were inaugurated for erecting a monument to the memory of Colonel Heg. Wisconsin had the distinction during the war of sending a regiment to the front composed almost exclusively of Scandinavians. Col. Hans Heg, their famous commander, was born in Norway, and came to America when eleven years old. At the opening of the Civil War he was holding the position of state prison commissioner, which he resigned in order to raise a regiment of troops. The Fifteenth Wisconsin brought credit to itself and to its state, and the name of Colonel Heg deserves a permanent place among the Wisconsin heroes of the Civil War.

At the meeting of the Wisconsin Federation of Women’s Clubs, held in Madison during October, the history section met in the museum of the State Historical Society. The visitors were taken for an automobile ride and sightseeing trip about the city.

The annual meeting of the Sauk County Historical Society was held at Baraboo, October 5, 1917. All the officers of the Society were reëlected for the ensuing year. The report of the Pg 209 treasurer revealed an especially gratifying condition, a considerable sum of money in the treasury and practically all membership dues paid in. A bequest of $200 from the estate of the late W. W. Warner of Madison, was received during the year. The Society voted to send two delegates to the annual meeting of the State Historical Society at Madison, October 25. The address of the evening was given by Mr. M. M. Quaife, Superintendent of the State Historical Society, on the subject, “The Angel of Wisconsin.”

The Old Rivermen’s Association of Minneapolis and St. Paul held their meeting in the latter city on September 4, 1917, and the chief address of the meeting was given by George B. Merrick, of Madison. No group of men in the upper Mississippi Valley has played a more romantic part in the opening up of this region than the old steamboat men. Their membership now numbers about 150, and the experiences which they relate form an interesting chapter in early Wisconsin history.

Wisconsin’s Indian drama entitled “Glory of the Morning,” written by Prof. W. E. Leonard, is being produced by Mrs. Emma Garrett Boyd of the Casino Studio, New York. The proceeds are being devoted to the war fund. This drama was first produced in Madison in 1912 by the Wisconsin Dramatic Society under the direction of Prof. T. H. Dickinson. As a summer festival play it has become one of the most popular in the country.

An interesting old account book kept by Jean Brunet of Brunet Falls (now Cornell), Wisconsin, was recently given to the Society by Mrs. Gustave Robart of Holcombe. The old Brunet tavern was the most widely known of any in the Chippewa Valley, and every traveler who went up and down the valley stopped with Jean Brunet. During its palmy days as many as 150 men were fed there at one time. The entries in the book cover the period from 1862 to 1876. Mrs. Robart, its donor, is a child of the first white settler in that part of the valley.

Recent accessions to the Society’s historical museum include fine examples of early English chinaware, an early American clock, lamp, children’s clothing, laces and embroideries, a steelyard, kitchen fire shovel, boat-builders’ rule, a railroad stock certificate, and other articles of interest. The most valuable single specimen is a large silver trophy cup given by the Army and Navy News and won by the First Wisconsin Infantry in the Second Brigade football contest among the troops stationed on the Mexican border in 1916.

An interesting collection of war relics has been placed on exhibit in one of the rooms of the museum just off the auditorium. The exhibit represents the current history of the present war, as illustrated Pg 210 by relics, war implements, and posters. The contents of the exhibit are changed every few days.

A valuable collection of papers was recently presented to the Society by Dr. Herbert B. Tanner. The collection contains many of the letters of John Lawe, the well-known merchant and fur trader of Green Bay, and some letters of George Boyd, an early Wisconsin Indian agent. Lawe through an inheritance left him by his uncle, Jacob Franks of Montreal, became a very wealthy trader, and following the War of 1812 settled in Green Bay. Here he acted as agent for the American Fur Company and his operations extended from Milwaukee as far west and north as the upper Mississippi. As adviser and counselor for the Indians and fur traders he became the leading citizen in what is now Wisconsin. Dr. Tanner’s donation contains fifty-three letters written by Lawe himself, ranging in time from 1824 until his death in 1846. Their chief interest lies in the additional light that they throw upon the early fur-trading interests of Wisconsin and the Northwest. The collection contains eighteen letters written by Jacob Franks covering the period from 1818 to 1830. Those written during the latter years express a feeling of regret over the gradual disappearance of the fur trade, and the coming in of new settlers. There are several letters of a personal nature that add interest to the collection. The Society is indebted to Doctor Tanner for this contribution of fur-trading documents.

SOME WISCONSIN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, JANUARY-JULY, 1917

The sixty-fourth annual session of the Wisconsin Teachers’ Association was held at Milwaukee, November 2 to 4, 1916. The chief value of its published Proceedings is in the fifty-nine papers and abstracts which it contains. Four of the principal addresses form a symposium on the subject of progress during the last decade in rural schools, secondary schools, normal schools, and the University of Wisconsin, the fourth topic being discussed by Dr. Charles R. Van Hise in his presidential address. Three important papers deal with recent achievements in elementary, rural, and secondary education. Notable addresses by persons from outside the state are those of William Wirt, John Finley, L. D. Coffman, and Dr. Maria Montessori. In addition to the papers, the volume contains minutes of business sessions, committee reports, the constitution and by-laws of the organization, and a list of members.

The twenty-second report of the commissioner of banking deals with the year closing on November 17, 1916. During this period state banks and trust companies gained $774,100 in capital invested, Pg 211 representing in all an investment of $23,672,350. The total resources of $298,617,175.61 show a gain for the year of $44,675,247.15. The increase in deposits amounted to $43,424,626.33. Attention is called to the increase from 21% to 22.7% in the average reserve held by state banks. The conclusion of the commissioner, based upon an analysis of the statistics of which the report largely consists, is that “the financial outlook for Wisconsin is most encouraging.” In a section on legislation the passage of a law to create a uniform system of school savings banks, under state supervision and subject to state control, is recommended. Most of the report is given over to statements of state banks, mutual savings banks, trust companies, land mortgage associations, and national banks.

The Department of English of the University of Wisconsin has issued a small pamphlet with the title A List of Books on the War. Out of the great mass of books on the subject a rigorous selection of some 270 titles has been made. These aim to include the most important works published prior to June 1, 1917. Short pamphlets and tracts have been excluded, and the titles are chiefly English and French. They are grouped into six divisions: “Background and Origins,” “Course and Conduct,” “Personal Narratives,” “Thought concerning the War,” “Peace and Readjustment,” “Miscellaneous.” The selections are discriminating, and the bulletin should prove of great value to students of the war.

An admirable innovation has been made in issuing the Governor’s Memorial Day proclamation as a small pamphlet, very neatly put up, rather than as a broadside of large, awkward size, and difficult to preserve in a series.

The importance of the dairy industry in Wisconsin is clearly brought out in a report of the dairy and food commissioner on Butter Factories and Cheese Factories Operated in 1916; Dairy Statistics for 1915. The gross profits in all branches of the industry for 1915 are estimated at more than $110,000,000. Approximately 235,000,000 pounds of cheese were produced. More than 124,000,000 pounds of butter were made in the state, about 20,000,000 pounds in excess of the production of 1909. The report contains an interesting statistical comparison of cheese and butter production for the years 1909 and 1915. Lists of operators of butter and cheese factories, and of cheese factories operated in 1916 by counties, are included. There is also a list of condenseries in Wisconsin.

Agriculture in the High School, A Manual for the High Schools of Wisconsin has been brought out by the Department of Public Instruction. The authors are Henry N. Goddard and John A. James. Issued as a guide for high schools giving agricultural work, particularly Pg 212 for those maintaining four-year departments, the manual illustrates admirably the new movement in secondary education. A historical sketch contains an account of the various laws which have shaped the agricultural movement in Wisconsin. The proper interpretation and method of applying these laws is made clear. The practical problems of the needs in the organization and management of high school agricultural departments are considered in detail, and a great amount of material helpful to the administration of such a department—particularly as to the scope and character of the work—is included. The manual has been prepared with great care, and appears to be a model of its kind.

The last report of the attorney-general continues the opinions, January 1, 1916, to December 31, 1916, and the eighth biennial report, July 1, 1914 to June 30, 1916. The first 65 pages contain a summary of the work of the attorney-general. An examination of these pages shows that during the period indicated 68 civil, 59 industrial commission, 2 bankruptcy, and 8 forfeiture cases were disposed of. Thirty-six criminal cases were disposed of, 23 in lower courts, 12 in the Supreme Court, and 1 in the United States Supreme Court. The official opinions of the attorney-general, filling 917 pages, embrace in their scope a great amount of state activity. In the printing of these opinions there is no classification or grouping of the material, such as in the reports of the attorney-general of Indiana, for example. A strictly chronological order is followed.

The report of the dairy and food commissioner for the year ending June 30, 1916, illustrates the vital need of protecting the public against the sale of adulterated and misbranded foods. It contains the reports of the state chemist, dealing with the inspection of beverages, canned vegetables, dairy products, dried fruit, and drugs; of the assistant dairy and food commissioner, and of the inspector of weights and measures. Special attention is called to the new dairy and food laws, and the new era in the dairy industry of Wisconsin which these laws introduce. As a result of unsanitary conditions in cheese factories and meat markets, and misrepresentations of foods, 79 convictions were secured. Druggists to the number of 226 were selling spirits of camphor not standard. Between April 17 and June 30, 2,221 factories were inspected. It was found that 35% of the butter factory operators and 24% of the cheese factory operators were complying with the license law and the new regulations. Much has been done in the economic interests of the public by the inspector of weights and measures, for the number of inaccurate computing scales decreased from 17% in 1914 to 8% in 1916.

Pg 213 The Country Church an Economic and Social Force is an interesting bulletin edited by the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin. It points out that the thriving church in a rural community tends to unify agriculture, which in turn serves to nurture the church. The country or hamlet church thrives best where population is constant, and successful farming is advanced through the influence of the church upon daily habits. It is suggested that principles for the re-parishing of rural districts might be established through a joint commission of the national religious bodies, with a view toward creating stronger churches for the farmers. Several descriptions are given of Wisconsin country churches in which the religious leaders are fostering a progressive agriculture through coöperative social development. The remarkable story of a great country pastor, John Frederick Oberlin, who for sixty years labored for the social, industrial, and religious uplift of a poverty-stricken community, is given in illustration of the theories advanced in the bulletin.

The seventeenth biennial report of the Wisconsin state prison is largely statistical. The average number of convicts for the year ending June 30, 1915, was 807; for the year ending June 30, 1916, it was 906. During the latter period 140 to 180 convicts were employed and housed outside of the walls of the institution. Under the chaplain’s direction, school was held from one to two o’clock, three days a week, during six months of the year. There were fourteen classes and an average attendance of 110 men. Instruction was given the illiterate in four grades in reading, arithmetic, writing, and spelling. Earnings of inmates for the year were $35,696.50. New prisoners admitted numbered 511; of these 483 were male; 23 were under twenty years of age, and 117 over fifty years; 495 were white, 12 black, 3 Indian, and 1 mulatto; 230 were Catholic, 148 Protestants, 108 Lutherans, 3 Hebrews, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Seventh Day Adventist; 17 had no religion; 27 were illiterate, 41 had high school education, and 7 were college men; 174 were native to Wisconsin, 28 to Illinois, 29 to Michigan, 19 to Minnesota, 20 to New York, and 11 to Pennsylvania; 26 were born in Austro-Hungary, 20 in Finland, 34 in Germany, 10 in Norway, and 27 in Russia. The others came from various states and countries throughout the world. Statistics are given concerning occupations, residence by counties, crimes, terms of sentences, discharges, pardons, population since the organization of the prison in 1852, the binder twine plant, farm and gardening operations, and many other matters.

The merit system for the public service of Wisconsin was established in 1905, and the sixth biennial report of the Civil Service Pg 214 Commission has now been issued, covering the work done from July, 1914, to July, 1916. The classified service of the state comprises the exempt, competitive, noncompetitive, legislative employee, and labor classes. In these classes there are about 3,200 employees. From July 1, 1914 to July 1, 1916, 4,995 persons took competitive examinations. Of these, 2,903 passed, 2,079 failed; 376 permanent and 147 temporary appointments were made. That is, 58% passed, and 10½% were appointed to positions. The number of applicants for positions at state institutions has decreased, for various reasons. The report contains a map showing the number and distribution of employees in the state classified service. It also presents the results of certain studies aiming to increase the efficiency of the service. Half of the report consists of financial tables and rules.

The chief functions of the state fire marshal, as indicated in his ninth annual report, are two: combatting incendiarism, and doing fire prevention work. Coöperating with the local departments, the fire marshal has investigated 389 fires during the period covered by the report, from July 1, 1915 to December 31, 1916. Forty-six arrests were made, 12 persons were convicted and sentenced, 5 pleaded guilty and were sentenced, 6 were paroled, and 5 were sent to the hospital for the insane. In the year ending December 31, 1915, 3,066 fires in the state damaged buildings and contents to the extent of $5,932,980. These figures show the importance of the educational campaign for fire prevention conducted by the fire marshal. Thirteen newspaper articles were issued. These are printed in full in the report. Some of the titles are: Some Fires and Their Lessons, Safe Homes, Gasoline, Kerosene, Spring Clean Up, Safe Schoolhouses, and Holiday Fires. The report contains tables dealing with values, losses, classification of property, fire causes, number of fires according to classification of risk and cause, and other matters.

The biennial report of the adjutant-general deals with the two fiscal years ending June 30, 1916. It is a survey of the military activities of the state of Wisconsin during a period of trial and service. From July 1, 1914 to June 30, 1916, the Wisconsin National Guard increased from 201 officers and 2,990 enlisted men to a total of 208 officers and 4,224 enlisted men. Of these the report states that “4,168 officers and men are temporarily in the service of the United States in response to the call of the President issued June 18, 1916.” Since the date of this report, the war has placed a new responsibility upon the guard. The adjutant-general’s report gives information in regard to organization and strength, legislation, equipment, instruction, small arms firing, naval militia, medical Pg 215 department, expenses, military reservation, and pensions. The National Defense Act oath, making obligatory a three-year term of reserve service by national guard organizations, was taken by officers and enlisted men of the guard “with fine zeal and loyalty to their country, their state, and their organization.”

The first biennial report of the State Conservation Commission is one of unusual interest. Through a law of 1915 this commission (consisting of three commissioners and a secretary) succeeded to the powers and duties of the Forestry Board, State Park Board, Conservation Commission, Commissioners of Fisheries, and the State Fish and Game Warden Department. The purpose was to consolidate “all the closely related duties and problems of administration over forest and stream, fish and game, and to give powerful impetus to the conservation of the natural resources of the Badger State.” The result has been a notable increase in efficiency and economy. The change, it may be noted, dispensed with the services of twenty-two members of boards and commissions. A strict civil service régime has been inaugurated. The report contains a considerable number of papers and division reports dealing with the conditions, problems, constructive plans and achievements which are shaping the conservation movement in the state. A large number of admirably chosen illustrations show the richness, variety, and beauty of the resources of nature in Wisconsin. These pictures enhance the value of a report which contains information of peculiar interest and significance to the people of the state.

The biennial report of the secretary of state is largely a collection of financial statistics covering the fiscal years ending June 30, 1915 and June 30, 1916. The condition of all state funds, receipts and disbursements, the net disbursements of the state, the valuation of taxable property in the counties, and the apportionment of tax and special charges for 1914 and 1915, collected in 1915, are shown in detailed statements, and various tabular statements.

Part four of the ninth annual report of the Railroad Commission is an elaborate collection of financial and operating statistics of railroad companies for the period from June 30, 1914 to June 30, 1915. The report is divided into three parts: steam railroads, electric railways, and express companies. There are 234 closely printed pages of statistical tables and figures, which lay bare with utmost exactness and detail all phases of the finances and operations of the three classes of public carriers mentioned. The statistics are not confined merely to Wisconsin; for example, the tables exhibiting the income account of steam railroads for the year ending December 31, 1914, show first the accounts of interstate roads in Wisconsin, and Pg 216 thereafter the records of the entire systems of interstate roads which operate in Wisconsin.

The Railroad Commission of Wisconsin has published a digest covering the decisions contained in volumes I to XV of the official reports of the commission. The digest therefore covers all the decisions from July 20, 1905 to February 4, 1915. The compilation has been made by Harold L. Geisse. Its purpose is “to state briefly and yet clearly the principles and facts set forth in the decisions of the Commission….” The subject titles are alphabetically arranged, and carefully supplemented by cross-references. Precise references to sources are given for each decision. The value of such a compilation for lawyers is obvious. It should be noted that the separate volumes of the reports are each provided with an “index-digest.” For example, in volume XVI, recently published, this index covers pages 869 to 936. Volume XVI contains the opinions and decisions of the Railroad Commission from February 10, 1915 to November 15, 1915. Reports are given on hundreds of important cases dealing with railway, telegraph, telephone, express, and public utility problems.

Though the task of administering the income tax law is not at all times pleasant or easy, yet, in the opinion of the Wisconsin Tax Commission, “five years of experience have proved the law workable; taxpayers generally comply with its mandates without objection; and the resulting revenue has exceeded all expectations.” A chapter dealing especially with problems in the administration of the income tax law, and a series of tables showing the results of the income assessments of 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916, form an interesting part of the eighth biennial report of the Wisconsin Tax Commission. This report is a detailed statement of the work of the commission for the years ending June 30, 1915 and June 30, 1916. In addition to the section on the income tax, the chief features of the report are its chapters on “Duties of Tax Commission,” “General Revision of Tax Laws Recommended,” “Assessment and Taxation of Public Service Companies,” “Inheritance Tax,” “Report of Engineers,” “Municipal Statistics,” and “Statistics of Assessments and Taxes.” A thoughtful address by Thomas E. Lyons on the subject “Our Increasing Public Expenditures” is included. Mr. Lyons finds the remedy for the situation in a closer limitation of the taxing and borrowing powers.

The Wisconsin state budget for 1917 was compiled for the use of the legislature of 1917 by the State Board of Public Affairs. In scientific completeness it represents a considerable advance upon former publications of the kind. To aid the legislature in “determining Pg 217 policies, and in working out a definite fiscal program and in the drafting of appropriate measures,” complete information is furnished along six lines. These are as follows: a report of actual receipts and disbursements for the three fiscal years prior to July 1, 1916; departmental estimates of receipts and disbursements for the current year 1916-1917; estimated treasury balances as of July 1, 1917; departmental receipts and disbursements for the biennial period beginning July 1, 1917; appropriations available beginning July 1, 1913; appropriations requested by the state departments, boards, commissions, and institutions for the biennium, beginning July 1, 1917. On January 5, 1917, after hearings and investigations, the Board of Public Affairs issued a typewritten bulletin with its recommendations on the budget. The 344 pages of the budget are mimeographed and bound.

The third biennial report of the Wisconsin Highway Commission deals with the state aid highway operations in the years from January 1, 1914, to January 1, 1916, together with preliminary estimates of operations to December 31, 1916. In the first five years of work under the state aid law, 4,846 miles of all types of roadway have been constructed in Wisconsin; of this mileage, 2,771 miles have been surfaced with various materials; in grading, approximately 10,300,000 cubic yards of earth have been excavated and placed in fills; 8,662 concrete culverts have been built on these roads, containing 100,000 cubic yards of concrete; since July 1, 1911, 2,819 county and state bridges have been constructed in accordance with the plans of the commission; at the height of the working season in 1916 the daily employment in the work included 175 engineers, county highway commissioners, and inspectors, 600 foremen, 6,000 laborers, and 2,500 teams. The daily pay roll for state, counties, and towns was in the vicinity of $22,000. In state aid roads and bridge construction in 1915, there was expended $4,134,830; in 1916, $4,215,183; the report estimates an expenditure of at least $4,600,000 in 1917. The report contains many discussions of phases of the road problem that are of timely importance. Many interesting illustrations of the types of construction built under the state aid law are given.

The address on John Muir delivered by President Van Hise upon the occasion of the unveiling of a bronze bust of the famous naturalist at the University of Wisconsin has been published as a small eighteen page pamphlet. At the age of eleven Muir came to America from Scotland with his father, and settled on a farm a few miles from Portage. He spent four years at the University of Wisconsin, maintaining himself by “doing odd jobs during the term and working in Pg 218 the harvest, fields in the summer.” In speaking of his departure from Madison, Muir writes in his book My Boyhood and Youth, “But I was only leaving one university for another, the Wisconsin University for the University of Wilderness.” President Van Hise gives an eloquent account and interpretation of the life of this noted son of Wisconsin. “The great public service of John Muir,” writes President Van Hise, “was leading the nation through his writings to appreciate the grandeur of our mountains and the beauty and variety of their plant and animal life, and the consequent necessity for holding forever as a heritage for all the people the most precious of these great scenic areas. Probably to his leadership more than to that of any other man is due the adoption of the policy of national parks.”

History of the Civil War Military Pensions, 1861-1885 is the title of a bulletin recently issued by the University of Wisconsin in its History Series (vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-120). It is the doctor’s thesis of John William Oliver. As the title indicates it is a survey beginning with the reorganization of the pension system as a consequence of the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, and it carries the study through a period of twenty-four years. Beginning with a description of the situation before the Civil War, the author examines the succession of acts passed between 1861 and 1870, and the various administrative problems occasioned by the war. “By 1871,” writes Mr. Oliver, “it appears as if Congress had extended the benefits of the pension laws so as to include all possible claimants. Within ten years, over 261,000 Civil War pensioners had been added to the rolls, and the Government had already paid out more than $152,000,000 for their benefit.” The enactment of many contradictory laws led to the codification act of 1873. This act is described in the second chapter of the book, together with attempts at reforming the pension system. A third chapter discusses the act passed January 25, 1879, providing for the payment of arrears——“the most significant and far-reaching piece of pension legislation enacted during the period covered” in the study. The effects of this act may be seen in the increase, during the first six years after its passage, of the number of pensioners from 223,998 to 345,125, and in the amount expended annually from $27,000,000 to $68,000,000. The last chapter of the bulletin deals with the relation of pensions and politics, which assumed considerable importance in the years following the Arrears Act. At the conclusion of the thesis, development to 1885 is summarized. A later monograph is promised, to treat of the new epoch which the pension system then entered.

The biennial report of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin for the years 1914-15 and 1915-16 consists largely of the Pg 219 report of the President, followed by reports of deans, directors, business manager, and other officers. The President’s report contains two main divisions: “The Progress of the University,” and “The Needs of the University.” The faculty numbered 389 in 1913-14. The number increased to 437 in 1915-16. In the year preceding the biennium the total number of students, including the short course and summer sessions, was 6,765. The number increased to 7,596 in 1914-15, and to 7,624 in 1915-16. Though the survey conducted by the Board of Public Affairs resulted in controversy, and led to no direct results, yet in consequence of a spirit of self-inquiry at the University a large committee was appointed by the faculty in the autumn of 1915, which was divided into a number of special committees to consider means of improving the University in undergraduate instruction, research, graduate, and field work, foreign language requirements, faculty organization, faculty records, and University physical plant. As a result of this inquiry, new legislation to be put in effect during the next biennium is expected materially to improve the efficiency of the University. These subjects are considered in some detail in the report. The needs of the University are discussed under the heads of salaries, and constructional needs. The varied activities of the University may be comprehended by a study of the many departmental and other statements included in the report.

The first annual report of the state chief engineer of Wisconsin issued in March, 1917, reveals the enormous work that has been taken over by that department. Five separate divisions known respectively as the railroad and utility, the highway, the architectural, the power plant, and the sanitary divisions have been established, and special experts placed in charge of each. The railroad and utility division was faced with duties greater than those of any other department. In making a physical valuation of all the steam railroads in Wisconsin it was found that there are over 11,000 miles of track in the state. The cost of the rolling stock, terminals, stores, and other equipment exceeds $385,000,000. The twenty-eight electric railways of the state have over 400 miles of track, with properties valued at $57,000,000. The state highway division reported that over $3,600,000 had been expended for state aid construction of roads in 1916. Over a half million dollars was spent in state aid bridge construction and 352 bridges of all types were built. The architectural division has formulated a standard for contracts, plans and specifications for labor and material to be used by the different institutions of the state. The power plant division supervises the operation of the various state plants, the purchase of fuel, specifies the plans for construction work and examines all bids. The sanitary Pg 220 division, aside from conducting the investigation of different water supplies, drainage, and sewage systems, is also vitally interested in enlightening the public upon the importance of sanitation.

According to the Twentieth Annual Report of the Building and Loan Association there are seventy-seven such organizations in Wisconsin. The past two years have been unusually profitable for them. Their total assets amount to $16,873,000 which was an increase of $2,500,000 over the previous year. Their membership now numbers 45,891, showing a 21 per cent increase over the preceding year. Although their business showed a considerable increase, yet the report states in some cases money was so plentiful that it could not always be loaned with profit.

That there exists among the farmers of this state an unusually strong system of coöperation is proved by a bulletin issued by the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin in July, 1917. The industries that are managed on a coöperative basis in this state do an annual business amounting to more than $62,000,000. The creamery industry leads all the others, and in 1916 those plants that were run on a coöperative plan did business amounting to over $19,000,000. The two organizations that are most instrumental in promoting this spirit of coöperation are the American Society of Equity and the Grange. The former has a membership in Wisconsin now in excess of 12,000, while the Grange societies have over 2,200 names on their rolls. In addition to these two organizations there are sixteen others listed that tend to promote unity among the farmers of the state. The most important ones mentioned are the National Agricultural Organization, the farmers’ mutual insurance companies, the community breeders’ associations, feed and elevator companies, coöperative creameries, packing plants and others. The coöperative organizations are so numerous throughout the state that but few farmers can be found who are not identified with one or more of the agencies. The day of individualism among Wisconsin farmers is fast disappearing.

The sixteenth edition of the Manual for Elementary Course of Study in the schools of Wisconsin was issued in July, 1917. The state superintendent of public instruction has rendered a valuable service by discussing many pedagogical questions and in making concrete suggestions to the teachers. The object of the department was to place in the hands of each teacher a brief pedagogical treatise in connection with the subject matter to be taught. This report combines what may rightly be called a textbook on pedagogy with a state manual. More than ever the department of education is emphasizing the importance of bringing about a closer relationship between teacher and pupil, and some very practical and simple suggestions Pg 221 are laid down for promoting this relationship. The method for teaching children how to study properly, the importance of careful assignments of lessons, and the manner in which recitations can be made interesting and spicy are all discussed in a practical way. The policy of reducing the number of daily recitations is suggested, and the combining of classes most closely related is advised, especially in rooms where the work is crowded.

In a leaflet issued by the State Council of Defense, July, 1917, announcement is made of a course of instruction to be given for health aides in several of the larger hospitals of the state. The plan is to offer six months of intensive training to young women in order to prepare them to care for the civilian sick when the regular registered nurses are drawn into military hospitals. The cost of training, board, lodging, and laundry bills will all be paid by the State Council of Defense. In return for this instruction each of the successful candidates is required to sign an agreement to attend the sick in the state of Wisconsin for a period of two years after completing the six months’ course. The first training school was opened at the Milwaukee County Hospital, Wauwatosa, July 1, 1917.

SOME PUBLICATIONS

Merk, Frederick. Economic History of Wisconsin During the Civil War Decade. Publications of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Studies, Vol. I. Published by the Society, Madison, 1916. Pp. 414.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has inaugurated its series of Studies by the most elaborate work of constructive history it has published, which is also the most comprehensive treatment of the economic history of any state during the constitutional period, taking rank with Bruce’s Virginia and Weeden’s New England. The author has produced a book which is of interest not only to the state with which it deals, but to every student of American history.

The American state, at least today and in the West, is an artificial unit, whose political separateness barely justifies that exclusive devotion of the historical student which the vastness of the United States seems to render necessary if the roots of our life are to be discovered. To recognize the influence of national conditions, without making the treatment national, to individualize the community without making it appear a detached entity, requires a variety of skill which can not be produced by scientific study alone, but demands also real literary ability. This skill Merk clearly possesses, and he has created an impression of an economic life, distinctly confined to the area of the state, yet part of that of the Union, and in Pg 222 touch with that outside the national limits. He is fully conscious of the importance of Wisconsin wheat in our relations with Great Britain, and of the interstate functions of a medium of exchange, but he is not betrayed into a discussion of diplomacy or of national banking.

A similar difficulty is always presented when one attempts a cross-section of any history, for periods are even more artificial than state lines. Economically the “Decade” of the Civil War does not have those distinguishing features which are generally used to mark off, for convenience of study, one set of years from another. Doubtless the consideration which determined the selection was again artificial, the United States system of decennial censuses. Mr. Merk, however, allows himself more latitude in this case, and his work actually covers the real economic period, 1857 to 1873.

The chronological difficulty is intensified by the rapid changes of a new community. Wheat growing reaches its apex and declines, lumbering waxes, but neither begins nor culminates, movements feebly originate that are later of absorbing interest. The adjustment of proportions between these conflicting interests is delicately handled. The picture is that of the time, but the stage in the development of each industry is clearly indicated, and the origins of later movements given in some detail. The volume will afford a base for histories of the earlier and later periods, but has not skimmed their cream.

The technical character of the work is high. Newspapers and statistics were not only used, but are analyzed. The great resources of the State Historical Society were supplemented by personal interviews. The volume contains ample footnotes, illustrations, a map, index, but no bibliography. Its make-up is in the new, and more satisfactory, form recently adopted by the Society.

The title indicates that the center of interest is the effect of war on the Wisconsin community. This problem runs throughout, and is of especial interest today. Mr. Merk emphasizes the relative facility of adjustment in an agricultural community. Another general feature is the tendency toward coöperation in industry, particularly agriculture, for the purposes of education and general improvement, which later became so characteristic of Wisconsin.

Agriculture properly opens the volume with its vital but somewhat monotonous progress enlivened by the lively episode of hops. Lumbering receives fewer pages, but two chapters; the first, on the industry, the second, on the lumber wars. Railroads receive five chapters and almost as many pages as both, including two picturesque fights, which formed, in large measure, the basis of state politics during the period. Banking and trade about equal agriculture, and reveal a Pg 223 state youthful but less reckless than many others. A chapter on labor is chiefly concerned with the beginnings of the labor movement, labor in industry being largely discussed in connection with the various fields. There are other chapters on mining, manufacturing, the commerce of the Upper Mississippi, and the commerce of the Great Lakes. No one reading of the lumber wars or the Anti-Monopoly Revolt can complain that economic history is dry.

The most unique contribution is doubtless that on the history of lumbering. Nevertheless the study of railroading reveals the advantages in taking up so vast a subject by localities. Generalizations become vivid by the detail that is given them. One sees how the railroads were unscrupulous, how the voters were unreasonable. The handling of such questions on a scale that involves personalities is a searching test of historical poise, and Mr. Merk shows a candor and a fair-mindedness that are impeccable; he sometimes criticizes action, but never impugns the motive.

The reviewer hesitates to close without adverse criticism, for fear that the review may be considered perfunctory. He could not, with honesty, do otherwise than express his conviction that the work is unusual in the degree and the well-rounded proportion of its excellence. If anything more could be desired, it seems to be a concluding chapter, not to add new facts, but to give a greater sense of development. Each chapter moves, but the topical method brings its inevitable result; one cannot entirely escape the impression of a street corner rather than a river bank.

Carl Russell Fish.

Two of the four leading articles in the October number of the American Historical Review are by Wisconsin men. Prof. Herbert E. Bolton, now of California, discusses “The Mission as a Frontier Institution in the Spanish-American Colonies.” Prof. W. T. Root, of the University of Wisconsin, writes of “The Lords of Trade and Plantations.” Other leading articles in the magazine are “A Case of Witchcraft” by George L. Kittredge, and “The History of German Socialism Reconsidered” by Prof. C. J. H. Hayes.

The September number of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review contains three articles of special interest to Wisconsin readers. The first, “The Rise of Sports,” by Prof. Frederic Logan Paxson, curator of the Society, was delivered as the recent annual presidential address before the Mississippi Valley Historical Association. It traces in interesting fashion the development in America between 1876 and 1893 of a widespread interest in out-of-door exercise. B. H. Schockel writes on the “Settlement and Development of the Lead and Zinc Mining Region with Special Emphasis on Jo Daviess County, Illinois.” The district treated of consisted of Grant, Iowa, and Pg 224 Lafayette Counties in Wisconsin, and of Jo Daviess County, Illinois. Although the latter county affords the particular locus for the study, it applies with almost equal force to the three counties of southwestern Wisconsin included in the lead mining district. Finally, Prof. James A. James, of Northwestern University, writes on “Spanish Influence in the West during the American Revolution.”

The Wisconsin Archeological Society has recently issued two reports, one describing the antiquities of Green Lake, the other describing the early Indian remains of Shawano County. The latter report is based upon the recent surveys made of the Shawano Lake and Wolf River Region by George R. Fox, a former resident of Wisconsin, but now a curator of the Chamberlain Museum in Three Oaks, Michigan. The Society is now making an earnest effort to preserve a fine Indian mound on the shore of Lake Anderson, in Forest County. This mound, 10 feet high and 45 feet in diameter, stands at the edge of an old Indian village site and is the only one in that part of the country. Relic hunters have already begun to dig into it, and the state Archeological Society, realizing its historic value, is urging the owner to preserve it permanently and mark it with a descriptive tablet.

The first issue of the Michigan History Magazine published by the Michigan Historical Commission appeared in July, 1917. Like similar magazines, its chief purpose is that of serving as an historical news bulletin, and as a medium of publication for papers of historical interest. The first number contains five contributed articles, with sections devoted to historical news, notes, and comments. One of the features to be mentioned is that of securing reports from all the county and local historical societies regarding their activities. Since the local societies cannot support a joint publication, this method offers a good substitute. By this exchange of news, each society is kept in touch with the proceedings of the other. A contributed article of more than ordinary merit appears in the first issue by Rev. F. X. Barth on “The Field for the Historian in the Upper Peninsula.” Aside from indicating the numerous points of historical interest found in the Upper Peninsula, many of which are shared jointly by Wisconsin, the paper presents one of the strongest appeals for the value of local history study that can be found anywhere. It is recommended to every reader of our Society.