The Way It Was; 2

The nearest house was a quarter of a mile away through a thick wood as I did not talk English speaking only a few words and understanding it as a little conversation with my neighbors was not as interesting to me and I did not seek them as I would have done had they spoken French. In consequence my life was very solitary. My husband would mount his horse directly after breakfast and I would not see him again until evening that I shed many tears I cannot deny but they were all wiped away and forgotten. As soon as my husband arrived. The way it was presenting I watched as accounts of historic event. Material for the series was selected from the files and papers of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Today pioneer women of Wisconsin. The women who lived in Wisconsin in the early and middle parts of the last century and the gum there for

many reasons to Reese Fisher moved to Green Bay and 18 24 as the 14 year old bride of Henry Baird. Mrs. John Kinsey departed from Detroit six years later for the a region of romance she had envisioned as a child. The beautiful Mary Bristol came to Green Bay at 18 24 the daughter of the newly appointed Indian agent. Mrs Robert Murray's family started from Michigan in 1838. But her father was convinced by friends to go to Wisconsin instead. I got to leave I came with her husband in 1946 to open a business in lacrosse. And Mary Irwin Mitchell Well she was born in Green Bay in 1924 the first white child born of settlers in Wisconsin. There were hundreds of others that came to Wisconsin in those early years. Wives children teachers missionaries. Some of them left diaries or wrote down their memoirs years later in them they remembered a life of hard work loneliness and

a few simple pleasures and they often recalled the trip that brought them to Wisconsin. It was a bright fine morning in 1838 that we left Boston in the old stagecoach thinking that we were going to Michigan to be farmers on the way. Michigan was given a father mits gentleman who he knew getting ready to go to Milwaukee and he was induced to join the company. This day he took us to a new what sort of conveyance we had from there to Schenectady I cannot remember but I think it was the the first real road. The disconnect we took passage on an Erie canal boat. Look. At the boat to us. It was a great way to feed the passengers could leave the boat and walk along the towpath

for the children to get a good run ahead of the sleepy old horse. We picked pieces of quartz from the rocks called little islands. Some of these I kept for you and we came on to Montezuma where we had been told that they were to pull the side of the point and we saw only ordinary mosquito probably in the sea. We left Perry sheen on the twenty seventh of May. Landed at Cameron's landing in LaCrosse the following morning. My husband's family consisted of himself wife children horse call

dog doo gets whole family hogs and a zip coon hitched to a box of chickens. Most of which he ate up on the voyage. On coming up to our place from the landing grass was so high that I could see but little after straining my eyes I discovered two small houses which we had passed after coming off the boat but which because of our unruly family we had not here before noticed. I found within doors six old bachelors and a dirty house. I could do nothing but go to work cleaning house. It was a dog's rainy evening in the month of September 1830 that we went on board the steamer Henry Clay to take passage for Green Bay. Our

arrival at Green Bay was at an unfortunate moment. It was a time of a treaty between the United States government and the nominees. Consequently not only the commissioners of the treaty but traders claimants and idlers in numerable were upon the ground. Most of them congregated in the only hotel the place afforded. This was a tolerably sized house near the riverside and as we entered the long dining room cold and dripping from the open boat we were infinitely amused at the motley assemblage it contained. The landlord sat indifferent his hands in his pockets exhibiting all the phlegm of a Pennsylvania Dutchman his fat notable spouse was trotting around now stooping to scold him about someone who burned his skin had fallen short in his duty and now laughing good humored Lee until her side show get some witticism addressed to her. She welcomed us very cordially but to our inquiry can you accommodate us. Her reply was not oh I

got twice as many people now as I know what to do with. I had to turn away my own family out of their boarders what with the commissioners and a lot of folks that has come in upon us. What are we to do then. It's too late and stormy to go up to shanty town to seek for lodgings. Well sit you down take your supper. We'll see what we can do. And she actually did contrive to find a little nook in which we were glad to take refuge from the multitudes around us. A slight board petition separated us from the apartment occupied by general route of New York one of the commissioners of the treaty. The steamer in which we came had brought the mail. At that day a rare blessing to the distant settlements. The opening and reading of all the dispatches which the general received about bed time had of course to be gone through with before he could be tired to rest his eyes being weak his secretaries were employed to read the communications. He was a little deaf with all and through the slight division between the two apartments

the contents of the letters and his comments upon them were unpleasantly audible as he continually admonished his secretary to raise his voice in vain we coughed and hammed and knocked over sundry pieces of furniture. But they were too deeply interested to hear aught that passed around them and if we had been politicians we should have had all the secrets of the working man's party at our disposal out of which to have made capital. When there were no hotels or in this for the new settlers on their way or when they were waiting for a new cabin to be built they relied on the hospitality of the older settlers and in turn when they had cabins they would offer food and shelter to the next new arrivals. These new were not as elegant or well furnished as the places back East were

a source of much work and many memories for the women who kept them. Father had logs cut and hauled to build our house and then came the reusing of the house. It was a pleasant day. Thirty or forty the tables were set out of doors in the shade of the tree. There was boiled half baked brown bread and white all the vegetables that could be obtained dried apple custard pie cakes tea coffee. It was the first real dinner given out every day before that they had bread crackers or something else for lunch a jug from which they drank. But no job was had it fathers raising the raising was done by friends and neighbors. I could well remember the

noise they made as they called out he a ho. And we moved into our house before it was quite complete. Part of the roof being put on after we got my first recollection of a home is a house a story and a half high situated on rising ground sloping down to the river. It was built of human logs weather boarded outside and plastered within and furnished comfortably. The only mode of transportation was by sailing vessels and winter setting in early the furniture and carpets did not arrive the first winter so that mother's carpets were colored Indian blankets for bare floors were not to be endured in those severe winters. As a child I thought a beautiful house a pleasant place for that far away land. Our house was a story and a half log cabin. I did very well in hot dry weather but when it rained we had to sit with an umbrella over us. I had a very large fireplace in one of the doctors

tried to surprise me with a good smoking. You forgot to put that in the fireplace so that the smoke would go up. Before little boy. I heard the child to the door and we were both safe. The young men we hired chopped the holder to the house prepared for the fire and carried it in.

He would also bring in the water take care of the horse and milk the cow. The latter he considered that this guy the man would hire out for such work were young and very good Canadians from the bill and it's around they were known as not eating which is synonymous with verdant or roll youth. After a time we can succeed in getting a little out of about 12 years of age while the city. But not this whiplash. The day to day life of a pioneer wife is apt to be filled with endless cycle of cooking washing ironing and sewing some household activities depended on the season of the year in the autumn after the beef and

pork were ready I had to dip and mold more candles. After I had rendered the tallow then the lard had to be rendered and sausage and head cheese were to be made. There were no shops where meat could be chopped. No the feet could foresee. Every fall and spring. Each family had a shoe make a common make shoes for the entire family. And as there was but one shoemaker here we had to wait there when the dressmaker or the when the milliner's. Oh woe to the woman who could not make her own dress. Our fashions came from the east. We will not ask me but some lady would arrive from the east and would be kind enough to lend her dress to some friend to make one by that friend would lend her friend and so on and so on until we were all so well. It made no difference to us if another new dress did not appear but two or three years. We never thought of making over a dress for the fashion.

Were sometimes living miles from the nearest house. Often left alone while her husband went off on business. The Pioneer wife had time for loneliness and memories of friends back east. Letters from home took on great importance in the fall of 46. My husband and his partner took the contract to carry the mail for the season from Prairie du Sheen to St. Paul. My husband was to bring it up from Birdie she is a partner with to carry it on then to St. Paul on his first trip. I rode with his hired man down to a point about 8 miles from here. The man was looking for a game while my husband went on with his horses and the meal by coming to a creek which had frozen

considerably in the night. He started his horse across the little skin of ice broke and rider a mail bag and horse disappeared about this time the other man came up looking for my husband. He called and got no answer. Finally his eyes met moccasins sticking out of the creek expecting to find a pair of legs and maybe pulled them out. Laid my husband on the bank. Had the man very much frightened and didn't know what first. Where to get help. But remember in that he had passed a fancy. He just thought there must be a farmer living near. He left my husband for a day at the horse in the creek and went two miles back to fill up place and then asked for help and I hurried back. But when they got to the place they

found the supposedly dead man on his feet. He had on a very large oil a skin head called a wide awake. That saved him from drowning. Horse was day. I had ADD and broken its neck falling into the creek. At the mailbag was recovered the day on which the male was expected was a gala day. The inhabitants of the village thinking of nothing else and many going out along the trail for several miles to meet the carrier. In the winter the mail was brought by a man once a month from Chicago. The government had not established a mail route and the expenses of the carrier were paid by voluntary subscription of the citizens and the military post fund of Fort Howard. The carrier walked the distance two hundred miles through a trackless wilderness exposed to dangers of starvation of perishing cold of falling into the hands of savage Indians or becoming a prey to wild beasts.

In addition to the mail you had to carry provisions enough to last him during his trip which with the blankets were his bed made no small load and rendered traveling very irksome when the snow was deep. At night he slept on the bare ground or scooped out the snow to form a couch and there lay with the sky above him and the glittering eyes of wild beasts all around him. One of the carriers made a trip with the mail from Green Bay to Detroit nine thousand twenty one and camped one night where Michigan City now stands. He dreamed that he was rolling down the hill when waking suddenly he found that a large black wolf was attempting to make away with his provisions. He is said to have shot the wolf and regained his supplies. There were two kinds of neighbors the pioneer ladies had to get used to the other settlers and the Indians reactions to the letter generally depended on the lady's own preconceived ideas and how long she'd been living in the territory.

About the last week in June we went about a block from our house and picked strawberries. They were very thick on the prairie so we all went including the chickens and pigs. Plenty of nice berries but the chickens were so expert in juicing the ones I wanted. I want a block farther on where I picked a great pony had nearly filled a two gallon pail when what should I behold but a big Indian purse tired seen. They gave me a startling surprise. I gave a scream it scared all the animals out of the strawberries. Poor fellow merely meant to show me where there were more nice strawberries. But I thought I was going to be scalped on the spot. I left the strawberries and everything behind me ran half an hour all over the prairie. About half a dozen times I got my feet tangled on the grass and stuck in the sand till at last worn out I had to stop. All the men in the community were looking at me. When I got home poor Indian had carried my strawberries home for me.

My neighbors were picking them over. All had a good deal of fun over my fright. My mother was in great fear of the Indians for some time. One day she saw a canoe filled with Indians landed the foot of the hill and several of the savages came up and asked in their own language for my father. As my mother did not understand them. She was very much frightened. Supposing they intended to harm her they returned to the canoe and came running up the second time. She thought then they must have gone for their guns or knives and she was in great terror until they came to her with some silver bands which they used to wear on their arms and slipped them on her wrists as a token of good will. Then they paddled down the river to my father's store three miles off was afraid of.

I remember well when Milwaukee was a wilderness and Indians coming from there to the Green Bay agency on foot clothed in the skins of wild animals. They came for ammunition and blankets and so on and often was I cold in the council chamber to smoke the pipe of peace with my brothers younger than myself and to listen to their speeches. It was a great delight to watch them cook. They would sit on the floor and eat. I was often invited to partake. They called my father their father. Of course I was their sister. A young Indian fell in love with me. He followed me everywhere. Getting to know the other settlers was generally a simple matter of visiting the first call I received as a housekeeper was from Judge and Mrs duty. They walked up to

the judge carrying their baby. Mrs. Doherty afterward said that she could not realize at the time that I could not speak English but thought that I was only bashful always served. The other neighbors called in due time. The first call we had was from the lady who had heard that the new family had come out to the prairie to live. It was Mrs. St.. She wanted molasses but we were glad of our abundant supply of groceries as neighbors would wish to trade and things that we wanted for molasses and other things that we had. It was all trading as no one had money. One came for tea is wife or sick and he gave us two hens and a rooster. This made the beginning of a beautiful flock of hens for us never before or since. Were there ever such hands.

We sat by the hour before their coop feasting on their beauty visiting and being visited was a favorite pastime of course expectations of hospitality could be carried too far. Twin brothers Moses lived near us. They often came by on air and air came one day to get some Thanks and said he couldn't stay a minute. He put his hat on the pillow beside him and began to talk. He stayed until late time when my mother told him he had better stay all night or go home. So he stayed. It was two days before he finally went. Among the events to fill the lives of the pioneer women were special trips by boat canoe and on land to various parts of the territory. Often they could claim to be the first white woman to make the trip and there were more every day

matters of schooling and housekeeping. Sometimes during the week travelling clergy would hold prayer meetings in private homes and of course there was church on Sunday. We went to Church Street and they often walked down the bridge pocket for not doing that was a Mr. Wright who lived on a team and focused on the roads bad.

He would take his dinner at the bar. So we each knew when it was. Not known but we didn't see it. While these but not much happy people in general today we were all young from a community with few exceptions and as a matter of course dancing took the lead in popular music dancing and sleigh rides made the windows round. We never danced in summer. Fiddler's were most plentiful in those days and the music with not of the highest order was enjoy the military had a food back to but

the only parties at which they played were those which the officers gave and very handsome but as they were two. Our parties were mostly impromptu affair. One gentleman would meet a friend and would propose to go to another friend's house that evening. Word would be sent to the LAT and he in turn would notify his wife if her house was small or she would clear out one room for doubt. I never knew a lady to start any of these parties herself although always ready to join them at these impromptu affair. The neighbors would assemble as soon after supper as possible seven that they would be accompanied by our fiddler and dancing would begin the immediate had to go. There were other parties for which grade preparations were made. The house if small had to be all ready so as to admit the greatest number.

There was always a room provided with cradles and the nurse person to stay with the babies and rock them while the mother's done. The way it was presenting eyewitness accounts of historic events. Today pioneer women of Wisconsin. Material for this series was selected from the files and papers of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Consultant for the series was Doris Platt. Scripts by Beth helper and music by Kent attempt for production. Ralph Johnson This is the national educational radio network. Mm.

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