Chapter IX: Foreword: By Rasmus B. Anderson (3)

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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 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 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.

[95] This contained a short article on “Daniel Webster a
Wisconsin Investor.”

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.

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 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 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 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 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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

[96] The editor of the Society, rather than Father Verwyst,
author of the article is responsible for the footnote
statement which Mr. Sillars calls in question. It is freely
admitted that he “did not know the Presbyterian way of
doing.”

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 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 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 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 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, 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 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.