t^54 tt^ (SU vttn Illustrated F Qass /, c^ O/fi Green Bay 3A e^V^o-raV-i '5>€-3\'\':^^^t lV\a-ri:\r\ Old GREEN BAY ILLUSTRATED ^ Printed at The Cheltenham Press of New York M D C C C X C I X ■01 D£ Copyrighted by i-%a fj Deborah Beaumont Martin ,?? Sv Sophie Beaumont _»8 ||C MDCCCXCIX ^jl A List of the pictures in this Book Map Frontispiece Page Green Bav 7 Red Banks 9 Lime-Stone Ridge 12 Tablet on Site of Mission 13 Ostensorium 14 Rapides des Peres 1 15 Dutchman's Creek 16 Site of Masca's Mill 17 Fort Howard, Major Haller Landing at Green Bav Pier from Government Barge 20 Coffee- Pot belonging to General Brooks 21 Fort Howard in 1863 22 Part of General Taylor's Dinner Set 23 Surgeon's Quarters 24 lames D. Dotv's Residence at Menomineeville . . . . 2^ Henry S. Baird's Office 2^ [ames D. Dotv's Office 26 Ruins of the Agency House 27 The Old fohn Lawe Mansion, now owned bv David H. Grignon 29 5 A L/// of Pictures Page The Pollv Lawe Piano 30 The Tank Cottage 31 The Martin Homestead 3^ The Whitnev House 3 ^ Old Stone Tower 36 Sailing Craft 37 Captain John Cotton's Homestead, Built in 1842 ... 38 The Hagemeister Doorwav 38 The [ourdan House 39 The House was solidlv built of' Hewn Logs .... 40 Ruined Log Cabin of the Reputed Dauphin 40 Miniature of Williams 41 Tureen belonging to Williams's Dinner-Set 41 A Bit of Holland 43 The Lawton House 44 A Typical Green Bav Street 45 Octagon House 46 Old Brewerv 46 Homestead of I. G. Beaumont 47 A. C. Robinson Residence, 47 Irwin Homestead 48 The Wilco.x House, De Pere, Built by Randall \^'ilco.\ . 49 The ^^'hitne\• Doorwa\- 49 Green Bay Green Bay " ^ T length, helzuccii the Luke of the Illinois and Lake ±^^Si/ perior appecired a long bax Ciilled ' (L\\ Pi/ants,' at the end of -ichich is the JMission of Saint Francois Xavier. " The most enlightened and best instructed in the Uiith Lire those -icho live at the e\tren/it\ of this ba\. It bci/rs this /kime, zuhich is the same as the savages give to those zcho dicell near the sea, perhaps because the odor of the marshes ichich surround the ha\ is so/iieichat simihir to that of the sec/." — Relations des Jesuites iLins Li Nou- velle France, idyi. Red Banks Red Banks K I SH-K E-K W AX-TE-NO '* Here is the land. Shaggy with wood. With its old valles. Mound and flood. But the heritors ? Fled like the flood^ s foamy THE traditional Garden of Eden of the Winnebago tribe. The Winnepig'ous, or " Men of the Sea," belonged neither to Alg'onkin nor Dakota stock, and were, therefore, distinct and alien from the surround- ing Indian tribes. It was to this mysterious nation that Jean Nicolet, first of Northwestern explorers, was sent by Champlain in the summer of 1634. They were then dwelling-, it is supposed, near the mouth of Fox River, where the city of Green Bay now stands. The red slope of sandy bluff some twelve miles to the northeast, known to later generations as Red Banks, was old Green Bay to them a sacred spot — the birthplace of their nation. It was, moreover, advantageous as a point of defence, and within a few years a Hne of ancient earthworks could be distinctly traced, running parallel with the bluff, and at right angles in an easterly direction. Forty years ago the ruins of this fortification are described 'as most interest- ing. It was computed at that time that the earthworks were originally seven feet high and provided on the three exposed sides with regular bastions, while a double inden- tation through the centre of the inclosure showed where the great lodge stood. Down the steep bank to the water below could be noted the remains of steps cut into the clay soil. A few rods to the northward, outside the walls, was a high mound of earth partially carried away by the wearing of the cliff, Imt of which traces remain to-day. Bits of clay pottery and copper ornaments found here from time to time, go to show that it was a popular camping-ground for the Indian while living, and a much desired resting place in death, while the fragments of flint with which the soil is strewn tell the story that in some remote summer day an arrow-cutter here plied his trade, and sitting at the door of his wigwam looked forth, as we do now, on the misty blue of the bay and the shaggy woods to the eastward. It was the ]\Ienominee Indians who bestowed upon this grassy plateau the name of Kish-ke-kwan-te-no. '" The place that slopes to the cedars ; " the French named it " La Cap des Puants." The legend of Red Banks, as told many years ago by Okeewa, an Indian wise-woman, is this : Two powerful tribes. Sauks and Outagamies, entered into a league to gain control of the land and intrenched themselves on this height. They ruled the whole coun- try. The forests, eastward, were full of deer, the waters of the bay were full of fish, and they possessed the whole. The IMenominees or Folle-Avoines across the bay, feared and dreaded their powerful neighbors, and in the early spring of a year long ago they sent messengers to the tribes toward Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, calling old Green Bay on them to join in driving away these over-aggressive peo- ple who wished to rule the land. The allies responded \villingly enough, for the Indian was ever ready for the war-path. The birch-l)ark canoes crowded through Porte de Mort in shoals, bearing Chippewas, Pottowattomies, and Ottawas ready equipped for war, hideous in paint and feathers, their faces barred in black and red, their hair tied up in strange device, great bows and quivers filled with fiint-tipped arrows, slung on their backs. The ren- dezvous was at Red River, and for two miles along the beach the canoes were packed so thick that no more could be crowded in. Then, when night fell, swiftly and noiselessly the besiegers put out from shore. Silently they paddled their light craft to where, on a wide plateau some eighty-five feet in height, a line of earthworks showed black against the blackness of the forest. The canoes were beached under the shadow of the bluff and out of reach of arrows from above : then, following the curving shore to where the land sloped to the valley, a party of warriors made their way to the wooded heights, in numbers sufficient to surround the fort so that none could escape. One only of the doomed inmates discovered the enemy — a girl who had that day been given, against her will, to be the wife of a Sauk lover, made her way back to her father's lodge. She slipped through the lines of besiegers like a wraith, and so noiselessly that the super- stitious savages believed they had seen a spirit. Rushing into the fort she gave the alarm. " We are all dead," she cried, but the drowsy inmates gave no heed : what had they to fear, the most powerful confederation of the West ? They knew when gray dawn disclosed the well-laid plan of siege. Protected by the bluff,- the Menominees con- trolled the water supply, and torture of thirst was soon added to the horrors of siege. Clay vessels attached to cords were let down at night into the water below, but the cords were cut before they touched the coveted wave, and the taunt of their tormentors rang mocking on the still air — " Come down and drink, there is water cold and clear, dashing on the shore." Desperate sorties were made O/d Green Bay with death and torture as the result, but at last super- natural aid came to their rescue. To a young brave, after an absolute fast of ten days, was vouchsafed a vision, and he thus addressed his compan- ions — " Listen ! last night there stood by me a young man clothed in white raiment, who said, ' He whom you behold was alive once like you. I died and now live forever. Trust in me and I will deliver you. At night a deep sleep will fall upon your enemies ; go forth boldly and silently and you shall escape.' " The weary battle-worn remnant within the fort be- lieved the vision. As was predicted, they eluded their tor- mentors, but never again was Red Banks inhabited as before. " A NOTHER prominent feature in the topography LjL of eastern Wisconsin is the cliff or escarpment of X .^ lime-stone resembling the ' Mountain Ridge ' of western New York, extending along the shore of Green Bay. " It constitutes the cliff along the east shore of Lake Winnebago and intercepts the flow of the rivers west of it, in their course toward Lake Michigan, turning them northward into Green Bay." — Lapham's " Antiquities of Wisconsin." NEAR THIS SPOT STOOD THE CHAPEL OF ST FRAN^" BUILT IN THE WINTER OF 16'^ FATHER CLAUDE ALLOlj AS THE CENTRE OF HIS WORK' , !N CHRISTIANISING THE INDIANS OF WISCONSIN. THIS MEMORIAL TABLET WAS ERECTED BY THE CITIZENS OF DE PEKE AND UNVEILED BY THE - STATE hISrORlCAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN SEPTEMBER b. 1899. fc^ ON the second day of December, 1669, Claude Al- louez, Priest of the Society of Jesus, landed at the extremity of Green Bay. He passed the winter in this vicinity and when spring- opened made a canoe trip up the Outagamie River, which took its name from the brave, dominant tribe of Outagamies or Fox Indians. At a point just below the last dash of rapids, where the river foams over its rocky bed before it sweeps out on its five- mile course to the Bay, Pere Allouez decided to erect his mission house. It was a central point from which to carry on the work of evangelization, for all along the Fox-Wisconsin water- ways, and on the Bay shore, was massed a great aggre- gation of Indian humanity, Algonkins driven westward by their fierce enemies, the Iroquois, to this safe retreat. In the summer of 1670, the mission house was built of rough bark, after the Indian mode of construction. This structure was superseded later by a more substantial one of timber with surrounding stockade. At Saint Francois Xavier, Nicolas Perrot, first Gov- ernor of the great Northwest, made his headquarters. Perrot held his commission from Le Febvre de la Barre, Governor of New France, and the power vested in him 13 O/d Green Bay was absolute. He was a shrewd, intelligent man, a coiircur dc bois of the best type, trained by the Jesuits, and a devoted servant of the church. With the Indians he ex- hibited keen insight and comprehension : he trapped them in their own wily fashion, and confounded them with what they regarded as supernatural knowledge. It was at times desperately dangerous work, but during his administra- tion, Perrot held successfully for New France the ter- ritory from Mackinac to the Mississijipi River and gained the respect and confidence of his Indian allies. Within the hospitable shelter at Rapides des Peres Father Jacques Marquette rested after his difficult jour- ney to the Illinois, and here he transcribed and enlarged his journal from brief notes made by the way. 14 Old Green Bay The mission house was on the direct route to the Mis- sissippi, and men famous in history lod.e^ed there on their journey westward. Greysolon Dukith, the gallant leader of courciirs dc bois, young Baron La Ilontan, who had crossed the ocean to view the sights of the New World, and Father Louis Hennepin, whose book narrating his wanderings gave a picturesque, if not an entirely ac- curate, account of his adventures in the West. In 1687 the mission house was almost entirely dcstroved by fire, the work of treacherous savages. In the terror and confusion that ensued the priests were mindful of their most valued treasure — a beautiful silver ostensorium— presented to the mission by 'Sieur Perrot. This with all haste they buried, intending to recover it at some future time, and then took flight for Mackinac, to tell of the ruin that had befallen their home. The mission house was never rebuilt, for the power of France was on the wane, and Jesuit priest, as well as fort commandant and courcur de bois, found it expedient to remain within the shelter of the home colony. In 1802, one hundred and fifteen years after this final departure of the Jesuit fathers, a French habitant at La Baye determined to build his cabin at Rapides des Peres; scratching the ground with his queer forked stick for plough, he unearthed an ostensorium of fine workmanship, bearing around its base the legend, " Ce soldi a este dotiiic par M. Nicolas Perrot a la mission de St. Francois Xa-rier en la Bave des Pnants. 1686." Rapides des Peres 15 Dutchman s L'lerk Du TCHMAN S Cr EEK A SLEEPY l)ro\vn stream, gliding smoothly along between overhanging bushes, at intervals form- ing shallow rapids over ledges of glistening stone, ■ Dutchman's Creek " is little changed from the early days of the century, when it was known as " La Riviere Glaise." It was on the north shore of this creek that Charles Reaume, that quaint figure in Wisconsin history, pur- chased an arpcnt of land and erected a snug cabin accord- ing to voyagcnr fashion. It was of logs firmly fitted to- gether with stout wooden pins, slab-covered, chinked with nuul plaster, and with a rough stone chimney of irregular proportions ; there was a garden and a spreading corn- jjatch watched over by a trusty dog, Robasto, trained by Reaume to chase away the thievish l)lackl)irds. Charles Reaume, jugc a paix, de la Daye Vcrtc, exer- cised legal jurisdiction from Prairie du Chien to Vin- cennes, and from the mists of the past rises this odd per- sonality so alien to modern prejudices and methods — his scantily furnished log cabin close to the little stream, his law library — a volume of Blackstone and a copy of the i6 O/d Green Bay " Coutunie dc i'aris " — his irascible questioning^ of cul- prits, his seemingly absurd decisions, his old clumsy jack- knife that summoned a witness as surely as a printed war- rant. It was the period when land was meted out by arpcnts, and boundaries defined by a crooked stick or an indenta- tion in the river bank, when agreements were made until " Such time as the sugar trees should stop running " and when a Frenchman bound himself to put up for an Indian cabin " a stone chinmey with mortar, from the ground to the raising plate, for one keg of fine maple sugar." There were marriage ceremonies to be performed, the binding of engages to employers, and looking over the legal docu- ments of that day all signed by one hand, one realizes that the duties of Charles Reaume, jnge a paix, were no sine- cure. In 1812 a primitive saw-mill stood on La Riviere Glaise, owned by Pierre Grignon and operated by Dominick Bru- nette, a typical Creole. What King George did not own was not worth owning in Baye Verte at that time, and when war was declared betw^een the United States and Site of Masca's Mill 17 old Green Bay Great Britain, mill and miller were claimed as royal prop- erty. The Green Bay Canadians were all royalists in those days, swore by King George and made great bonfires in his honor, but all the same Dominick, or Alasca, as he was nick-named, refused to grind corn for the King without toll, and thereby trouble ensued. " Masca shall not cheat the King, though he may cheat all the rest of the world," swore Colonel Robert Dickson, the King's deputy, but threats and curses alike slipped easily ofif the genial Creole. while the mill ground out slowly its meagre allotment of grain. As Colonel Dickson put it, " Times are hard, two ruf- fles and no shirt, plenty of land but no wheat," when one day in early spring came a courier with the glad news that peace was concluded and that the Americans were to take possession. In the year 1818 Peter Ulrich. the " Dutchman." mi- grated to Green Bay, and settled himself on the southern shore of La Riviere Glaise. and lo ! within a year's space the French appellation had disappeared, and Dutchman's Creek was the assured name for all time. Colonel John Bowyer, first of American settlers and government representatives, reached Green Bay the sum- mer after peace had been declared. President IMadison made good choice when he selected this gallant officer, with a dash of French blood in his veins, to make the initial step toward ])lacating the grouty English traders at La Baye and their Indian allies. Judge Reaume hav- ing by this time removed to Little Kakalin, Colonel Bowyer took possession of the old man's home on Dutch- man's creek. The mill still stood at the head of the stream, Peter Ulrich was his neighbor on the opposite bank, and at cer- tain seasons the water was so shallow that stepping-stones were all-sufificient in order to make crossing. To the northeast across Fox River stood the more pretentious homes of the patroons of Green Bay — the (jrignons and Lawes — but Colonel Bowyer's hospitality matched their 18 Old Green Bay own, and canoes were in constant demand to ferry across the water ; while over their wine Colonel Bowyer and Louis Grignon discussed a possible marriage between the Colonel's nephew, Henry Bowyer, and Grignon's hand- some daughter Charlotte. This scheme was frustrated by the drowning of young Bowyer. Charlotte — Mrs. Harteau — died an old woman many years after. Where the railroad spans the creek to-day a timber from the original mill-dam juts out into the stream; the foundation logs of the wagon bridge are of the same old stufT, with a wooden pin of Acadian days still visible in the water-fretted wood. -l/^^^-^ ^->^i^^ Major Haller Landing at (Jrct-n Bay Fier tVoni Cro\crnnifnt Barge Fort Howard OX the twenty-sixtli day of July, 1816, sailed from .Mackinac for Green Bay the schooners Wash- intrton, Wayne. Mink, and the sloop Amelia. On board were Colonel Miller of the Third Reg'iment, Colonel Chambers of the Rities. Major Gratiot of the Enq;ineers, a detachment of artillery under Captain Pierce, and four companies of the Third Infantry. The fleet, beating up against adverse winds, entered the mouth of Fox River on August 7th ; the troops disembarked and Major Gratiot immediately looked for a proper site on which to erect fortifications. He finally fixed on the position where the old h>cnch fort La Baye formerly stood. The appropriation by Government for fortifications at Green Bay, in the years 1816-19, inclusive, was $21,000; old Green Bay the amount expended, ac- cording to official author- ity, was $20,477.60. A generous stipend, gauged by the standard of those days. It was a tidy httle fort when completed, with broad-roofed, roomy quar- ters for officers and men, a sally-port fronting the river with guard - house at the side, and corner block-houses from which frowned ordnance suffi- cient to intimidate the hordes of hostile redskins in the vicinity — one twelve-pound iron cannon, an excel- lent gun, one six-pounder, and one nine-pound brass how- itzer, pronounced unserviceable. The name of Howard was bestowed upon the fort when completed in memory of General Benjamin Howard, U. S. A. Major Zachary Taylor commanded at the Green Bay post in these first years of its existence and the officers under him numbered six captains, three first lieutenants, and three second lieutenants, in all 506 men, with a regi- mental band of sixteen musicians. This early mention of a fine military band at once places a student of Fort Howard's history in touch with its dis- tinctive characteristic. For, though conducted with all the pomp and rigid discipline of a much larger garrison, it was from the first a peaceful retreat ; a life interspersed with much blithe pleasuring and love-making, with social events, informal but charming. The commanding officer was invariably a man who could be depended upon to keep up the dignity of the post, and if a bit overbearing in enforcing discipline, for military law governed Green Bay in the first ten years of O/d Green Bay the garrison's existence, he was nut lacking in the line courtesies of Hfe. So Fort Howard set the pace in so- ciety and municipal government, and helped still more to make Green Bay what the courcur de bois had called it from very early times, " The City " ; where the chance traveller was certain to find cordial welcome and excellent diversion so long as he chose to stay. There was ever a lurking danger of an uprising of the large Indian popu- lation surrounding the fort, but it only served to give life zest and furnish a picturesque feature when the red- skins bartered furs or maple sugar at the sally-port, or played lacrosse for the amusement of the garrison and its guests. From this green and quiet spot many of the younger officers went to meet death on the sun-baked plains of Mexico, many made noble records in the Civil War, but ever through the heat and turmoil of later years echoed the memory of the old Green Bay post. The white cantonment gleaming against its background of forest, Christ Church with its square, straight-backed pew^s, to which every Sunday morning, rain or shine, the troops w^ere marched in stiff holiday attire, and the wide river highway on which the government barge lay ready manned, the rowers napping on their oars during the long drowsy stuiimer afternoons, till a whistle from the sentry on the sally-j)ort gave notice that the officers and their ladies proposed to make a call on civilian friends in .Meno- mineeville. Fort Howard in 1863 22 old Green Bay Fart of General Taylor's Dinner Set Here and there, through letters and bits of manuscript, we glean the story of old Fort Howard, and the folk who lived and found life pleasant there in days gone by. Now it is a tweeting glimpse of Governor Lewis Cass landing at the pier with a distinguished party, or Captain Marryat at the height of his literary fame dining with Captain Cleary and his pretty wife. Here is an invitation to Reverend Eleazer Williams for a theatrical entertainment, the first given in Wisconsin, on which occasion a youthful lieutenant makes his debut as " Miss Hardcastle " in the " School for Scandal " ; and another letter that never reached its destination, written aw^ay back in the twenties and bearing a w^ild appeal from young Lieutenant Loring to Caroline Whistler, daughter of the commanding officer. Then we read of a rout in the long dancing-hall, and Colonel Hugh Brady, that veteran of many battles, is lead- ing off in Money Musk, regardless of his years and wood- en leg. The pretty creole girls from La Baye are there in full force, and charming Americans from Shanty-town. 2 3 Old Green Bay " All the jolly tides of laughter Fall and ebb in a happy smile." The hoarse clamor of the frogs comes from the marsh to the northward, mingled with the lapping of the river and the manifold murmurs of the great surrounding forest, but within — " 'Tis Money Musk by merrie feet And the Money Musk by heart." The music throbs rhythmically, and we have the word of one who often trod a measure in those old days, that it was entrancing. " All swiftly weave the measure deft Across the woof in loving weft, And the Money Musk is done. " The candles waver and darken, the nnisic dies, march- ing orders come, and the whole picture is swept away like a vapor. " Good-night sweethearts, 'tis growing dusk, Good-night for aye to Money Musk, For the heavy march begun." Fort Howard. Surgeons' Quarters 24 James U. Uotv s KesiiifiiLL- .ir Menomineeville JAMES DUANE DOTY, the first American who held the ofiice of Judge in the Green Bay district, received liis appointment on February i, 1823, with jurisdic- tion extending from MichiHmackinac to Prairie du Chien. Previous to this time the law courts in this section were conducted in somewhat indifferent style. At Green Bay Judge Jacques Porlier was the incumbent, a man of education and painstaking in the discharge of his duties, but much hampered by his inal)ility to speak the English language. Henry S. Baird's Office. 25 d'^'"'- "a }^^g»-'^x:j]g "^Rffp m L.i^1r • II James D. Dots' s Otiice Under Judge Doty the judiciary rose at once to dignity and importance. In canoe or on horseliack, as the case might be, he and his coadjutor, Henry S. 15aird, first of Wisconsin lawyers, travelled their extended circuit, hold- ing terms of court in Mackinac, the Prairie, and Green Bay. 20 Ruins of the Ag encv House "The woodbine tvith the lilae interlaced. The sturdy burdock choked its slender neighbor The spicy pink. All traces were effaced Of human care and labour. ' ' BUILT in 1825 by James D. Doty, and sold two years later to the Government, to be used as a residence for the agent of Indian afifairs. It was the first frame dwelling erected in Wisconsin. The agents sent out by the Government at an early day to look after the welfare of the Bay Indians were, for the most part, men of dignity and reputation. Colonel George Boyd, the incumbent at the time the Agency house burned in 1838, was in especial a note- worthy character, a man of sharp individuality, who brought to his work education, good breeding, and ability. Shortly after Colonel Boyd's appointment to the Green Bay post occurred the Black Hawk outbreak. Around the Agency house gathered the friendly Indians of the vicinity, and here they camped during the summer of 1832, fishing the river during the day, and at night practising hideous war-dances, to the monotonous beat of the Indian drum. 27 Old Green Bay Across the river lies Ashwaubenon Creek, made historic by the legend of the young Ottawa warrior, Ash-wau-be- mie, who rescued the maiden, ]Morning Star, when the fierce Chippewas stole her from her own tribe. The old chief of the Menominees. Ah-kee-nee-be-way, rewarded the youth's valor and diplomacy by giving to him Wau-be-nuk-qua (Morning Star) for a wife, at the same time bestowing upon him a grant of land, running from Ashwaubenon River to the foot of the Des Peres rapids. Until quite recent years Ash-wau-be-mie's descend- ants, the La Rose family, were still in possession of his original grant of land. Up the green bank that slopes to the river tripped one summer morning seventy-odd years ago pretty Marie Brevoort, the agent's daughter. After dancing all night at a garrison ball, she and her escort. Lieuten- ant Kirby Smith, undertook to reach home in a small row-boat, in preference to the roomy government barge. A storm swept Fox River, the fine clothes of the revellers were drenched with rain, their cockle craft nearly capsized and filled with water, and they were finally forced to wade ashore. There was a stern parent in waiting at the other end of the line, for Colonel Brevoort was noted as a strict disciplinarian, and held a tight rein over his handsome, wayward daughter. Yet with all these drawbacks, it was a light-hearted and plucky pair who climbed to the Agency house as the sun rose over the eastern forest. We hardly care to recall that Kirl)y Smith, twenty years later, fell mortally wounded in the fatal charge at Molino del Rey, or that Marie Brevoort married wealth and in- fluence and left frontier life for a seacoast home. It is just a glimpse of youth and brightness and inno- cent frolic, of which there were many such touches when Fort Howard and the fur trade ruled Crccn Bav. wammmmmmmm The old John Lawe Mansion, now owned by David H. Grignon THE house looms up ag'ainst the sky as though sketched in charcoal — all deep, soft tones of black and gray. It was built in 1836 by Judge John Lawe, and replaced an earlier one of logs, that stood some twenty feet to the northward. On a green patch of sward that stretched to the river stood in those days the John Lawe trading-house, where in spring-time the Indians flung down great peltry packs, in payment for strouds, blankets, firearms, and gew- gaws, purchased by them the preceding autumn. No better picture of fur-trading times could be given than through one of Lawe's letters, written to a constitu- ent in the American Fur Company, and preserved in the archives of the State Historical Society. It is late in November, the " Tygre " and " Pontiac " have made the last trip of the season, and Green Bay has relapsed into winter isolation ; the weather is lowering, and an epi- demic of small-pox threatens the little village. Fort Howard insists upon strict quarantine, so that pleasant social intercourse between military and civilian has ceased for the time being. The trading-house as he writes is full 29 old Green Bay of drunken Indians, squabbling, ill-smelling, and striking bargains, which, to do them justice, they usually kept to the letter. But the outlook was not always so grim. There were merry-makings, many and gay, in the great wide-cham- bered house, and an ever present, large-hearted hospital- ity that included alike stranger and familiar friend, and re- sembled, in its lavish observance, traditionary plantation life before the war. The PoUv Lawc Fiano 30 The Tank Cottage THE old house stands not a stone's throw from Fox River. On either side the low-lying shore is claimed by saw-mills and stacks of lumber, but just about the cottage all remains undisturbed, while wild rice and rushes on the water side form, in summer, a green barrier murmured over by birds and whispered to by wandering winds as in the days, ninety years ago, when the foundation logs of the structure were laid. A gener- ous stone chimney stands at either gable, the small-paned square windows have solid wooden shutters, painted a dull green, and the roof, which slopes low and joins that of the rickety piazza at a queer angle, is tinted a dull brown by years and weather. Never in its most prosperous days could the house have been a noticeable feature in the land- scape; just a comfortable home for a retired voyageur — small, snug, and accessible to the river highway ; but time, the busy architect, has shaped it and colored it in harmony with trees and sedge and river, so that the eye rests upon it gratefully, so wholly has it become a part of nature. Its builder was one of the Roy family very early in the present century, but the first known occupant was Jacques Porlier, an educated Frenchman, who came to Baye Verte 31 old Green Bay in 1795, and gained the distinction of being- the first school-master west of Lake Michigan, and later by ap- pointment of Governor Cass, judge of the first court established under American government. During the war of 1812, when England, conscious that the seaboard territory was lost to her, still held on desper- ately to her Northwest possessions, the Fox River settle- ment of some two hundred souls was fiercely loyal to King George, and Porlier, with his neighbors, served under the royal flag; but war times became a thing of the past, American settlers crowded westward, an American fort exercised military rule throughout the Fox River valley: while to and fro, from Michilimackinac to Green Bay, swe])t the long black pointed bateaux belonging to the American Fur Company, manned by crews of chanting voyagciirs — a picturesque and inspiring sight. Porlier acted as agent for this far-reaching monopoly, and from his small-paned windows could watch the ebb and flow of country traffic ; see Indian canoes skimming like great water-flies up and down the brimming river, going forth in shoals when autumn came, to the winter hunt, and in spring time, after the ice broke up, returning weighted with peltries. Unfamiliarity with practical business methods proved rather disastrous to native traders in their dealings with the Astor Company, and at his death Porlier owned little of the valuable land acquired by him at an early day ; but his house withstood x\merican encroachment better than its owner, and passed into the possession of Otto Tank, a Norwegian gentleman, who hoped to found a colony of his countrymen on the shores of Fox River. The cabin was enlarged by the addition of two wings, that to the north being used for religious purposes and called a prayer room. Gradually the interior underwent a change complete and marvellous, for Tank's wnfe belonged to the wealthy and distinguished Dutch family of Von Botzlaer, and year by year ocean vessels brought to American ports coffers of oak and cedar, and curious Holland chests Old Green Bay packed closely with all manner of ancient and rare house- hold furnishings, all bearing the address of a little out-of- the-way place called " Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Wis- consin." Strolling through the rooms in this later time one can recall their former individuality. Here to the left, where the gaping fire-place of French habitant days is thriftily buttoned in with a tin fireboard, the floor is lowered sev- eral inches to allow for the height of a tall clock of superb finish in carved wood and brass mountings. In yonder corner stood an old wheezy piano, spindle-legged and un- dersized after the fashion of an old time spinriet, and di- rectly opposite an inlaid ebony writing-desk presented by Princess Pauline of Holland to Madame Tank's mother, who for many years served as maid of honor to her High- ness. There were heavy mahogany arm-chairs, a massive claw-foot table, and on the floor a Persian rug, its deep, rich coloring strangely out of place in the low-ceilinged apartment. In 1891, Madame Tank, last of her family, died, and the old house with the remainder of her extensive property was sold, her will directing that the proceeds should be donated to the Society for Foreign Missions. The hand- some antique silver, furniture, and jewelry were sent to Chicago, and there brought large prices among curio lovers, while in the Art Institute of that city stands to- day the beautiful marquetry cabinet, which, when it graced the tumbledown wing of the cottage, was packed with Holland linen and gowns of stifif brocade. But the cream of the rare collection — fine porcelains and pottery, pewter, brass, and spelter ware, cut glass and satinv Dutch napery — was sold at auction in Green Bay and will make the city a Mecca for a hundred years to come to collectors of ceramics and primitive Holland furnishings. Meantime the quaint dwelling, kept in careful preserva- tion, custodian of a never-to-be-repeated past, bids fair to stand the seasons of another century — an interesting mon- ument of one of our city's earliest pioneers, and a reminder of a family antedating that period by many generations. > lirtin Homestead THE Martin homestead, erected in 1837 by Mor- gan L. Martin. To the south is the grove, where, tradition tells, pagan Indians held in ancient days their sacrifices. The house is built in colonial style, the heavy grooved woodwork being made entirely by hand. It was furnished, originally, with a basement kitchen, and the great kitchen fireplace, with wide hearth, crane, and brick oven, is still intact. Named " Hazelwood " because of the tangle of hazel bushes that covered the hillside. 34 Tlif \\'hitiu-\ Houjt " Loved of wise men was the shade of this roof- tree, The true word of welcome was spoken at the door — Dear days of old, with the faces in the firelight, Kind folks of old you come again no more." THE Whitney house was the first built in Navarino. The plat of this prospective city was made in 1829 by Daniel Whitney, and its boundaries were Doty Street to the south and the great marsh across Devil River to the north. The land extending south, between Doty and Grignon Streets, was owned by the American Fur Company, and known as the town of Astor. A fierce jealousy existed between the two embryo cities, but they were ultimately united in 1838 under the name of the borough of Green Bay. 35 Old Stone Tower Thk Oi.u Stone Tower THE sands of Long Tail Point shift with every passing season. Sometimes the island stretches out a long green finger to the southward, and again the waters of Green Bay ripple almost to the foot of the old stone tower that has stood sentinel for many years over its changeful surroundings. Gray and grim and dis- mantled it rises among the glistening green of tall grasses and reeds that fringe the sand-dunes around it. It looks as though it might have a story to impart dating back a century or more, but investigation brings to light the fact that it was really built during the forties for a government light-house. The stones were laid and ce- mented as strongly as though it were to stand as a place of defence. There were winding stairs that led to the summit lighted at intervals by narrow loop-holes and a great iron lantern fitted with small panes of glass held the beacon light. It was dreary work for the keeper on a wild night to cross 36 old Green Bay from his little house hard by, in order to trim the lamp at midnight. Compared with the highly improved meth- ods of modern light-houses, the primitive oil-lamp seems meagre and unsatisfactory enough, but its rays were a welcome sight to the mariner who, in sailing craft or steamer, battled through the uncertain channels of the Bay. On every fair day during the summer season shoals of pleasure-seekers visit the rugged old tower and speculate as to its history. When a hundred years or more have passed, doubtless tradition and romance will render doubly interesting what is even now a remarkably picturesque ruin. Sailing Ciatt 37 VHl Buiit in L.ipt.im Jiilm (..ittuji m 1^4: T HE aspect of this venerable mansion has always affected me like a human countenance, bearing traces not merely of outward storm and sunsliine, but expressive also of the long lapse of human life and accompanying vicissitudes that have passed within ; were these to be worthily recounted, they would form a narra- tive of no small interest and instruction." The Hagemeister Doorway. Built bv A. G. Ellis, 1835 38 "**«9WXf?J"; '^^Alf'.-i^'^^ I The Old Jourdam SOME forty years ago there appeared in " Putnam's Magazine " a bit of interesting historical evidence. Through well authenticated data the author, Rever- end Doctor Hanson, sought to prove that Louis XVII., of France, the little Dauphin whose last hours had remained shrouded in mystery, did not in reality die in the Temple Prison. The royalists, so ran the story, had substituted another child in place of the Prince, who had been spirited to America, placed with an Indian tribe near Saint Regis, Canada, and was at that time — 1853 — serving as mission- ary' to the Oneidas under the name of Eleazer Williams. Five miles from De Pere, on a height overlooking the rapids of Little Kakalin, stood until the summer of 1897 the ruined homestead of the reputed Dauphin — just four log walls over which a great tree spread protecting arms, as though to shield and make one with itself, this rough fragment of man's constructive skill. Fifty-eight years have passed since gay Prince de Join- ville and his following of French officers galloped down this same road, after their taste of Green Bay hospitality and interview with the mysterious clergyman. The con- tradictory crossfire of argument that blazed up smartly 39 old Grrrn Bay over the Bourbon pretensions, a half century back, has died down to ashes, yet the story still cling-s to the im- agination and hammer though the iconoclast may at this figment of royalty, certain significant facts connected with Williams's history defy prosaic explanation. A dozen years ago the old house on the river remained practically as it had been during the life-time of the orig- inal owner. In its quaint form and furnishings it served as interesting environment for the traditionary and im- posing figure of Priest Williams, with his striking re- semblance in feature to the Bourbons, his dignity and charm of manner. The house was solidly built of hewn logs, the raftered rooms were low and mean, the windows were set with tiny panes of imperfect glass, indeed, the entire dwelling in- dicated crude workmanshi]) and a poverty-stricken purse. But from the depths of a dim corner one caught the gleam of an old-fashioned gilt frame mirror, and substantial spindle-backed chairs stood straight and comely against the whitewashed w^alls. Tall brass firedogs of majestic proportions, and others of iron, lilliputian in size, sur- mounted by tiny brass knobs, shone forth from the black- ened interiors of rude stone fireplaces. The table appoint- ments were as far removed from the primitive contriv- ances of an Indian wigwam as one can well imagine. The tl inner service *'!^>: was in that nice old Stafi'ordshire ware, sent forth by Job Ridgway & Sons in the latter part of the eigh- teenth century, decorated in deep blue azure with a varied panorama of river and heights and man- The house was solidly built ot hewn logs darill peopled 40 O/d Green Bay junks and pagodas. Did there chance to be a brew of tea in the missionary's modest larder it was poured from a Britannia pot of most aUuring design and served in cups of pink- lustre, flaring delicately at the edge, or in others of opaque white ware, sprin- kled with tiny knots of flowers in pale blue relief. A visit to the cob- webbed garret brought to light books and manuscript that revived an interesting past. Bulky brown vol- umes that filled the place of romances to literary folk in the seventeenth century, each with its sionificant book Tureen belonging to Williams's Dinner 41 Eleazer Williams -plate, old journals dating back to 1666, proper- ty of the Williams family in Massachvi- setts, and sermons preached by New England divines a century before. Of these family ser- mons it is said the wily Eleazer made capital on his own ac- count and thundered them forth to his meek Indian converts at Oneida mission or in chapel service at Fort Howard, while prayer set was read from an en- O/d Green Bay ormous sheepskin bound volume, " Presented to the Rev- erend Mr, Wilhams by the rector, wardens, and ves*ry of King's Chapel in Boston." Calvinistic doctrine was, however, strangely out of keep- ing with the look and bearing of Cure Williams. He was no Pui'itan ascetic, but an accepted type of good comrade, fond of " dinings " in garrison with the gay officers of Fort Howard, and of reunions in the village of La Baye with the jovial Creole kinfolk of Madame Williams. Toward the close of life, under the heavy lash of old age and poverty, retrospection transmuted the years spent in his isolated cottage on Fox River into the happiest of Williams's life, yet when he looked forth from his low- eaved porch upon the fair view of water and islet and wooded bank opposite, it was with only a vague compre- hension of its beauty. The place was marred for him by restless longings and illusive vagaries until the narrow confines of his habitant cabin became intolerable, and he wandered forth never to return, in true voyageiir fashion, foot loose, light of purse, but inspired by the interest of his quest, a typical adventurer. 42 A Bit of Holland A Bit of Holland THE stone wind-mill was built in 1850, to be used as a grist mill. It never proved a success, as it stood too low to catch any breeze except that com- ing from off the bay, and after waiting a day for a west- erly wind a countryman would be forced to carry home his bag of wheat unground. The mill's greatest capacity was ten bushels per day, the grain being simply cracked with no separation of bran or middlings. The erection of a water-power mill, a half day's journey away, was a death-blow to the old mill, for, although the new one ground slow, it was sure, and the necessity of waiting for a grinding wind was unknown. 43 The Lawton House. Built in 1858 by Joseph G. Lawton " r I ^llE old home stands on the river liank in a grove I of oaks, the growth of more than a century. M The house is large, built of stone in the hospitable style of fifty years ago, with broad halls, endless suites of rooms, deep windows, and large chimneys." 4-4 L.ofC. ^^^^^■■IB^HH * i^ * ^ A Typical Green Bay Street <' Where^ the long drooping boughs be- tween^ Shadows dark and sunlight sheen h^lternately come and goT 45 I Octagon House HA\'E a love for the out-of-the-way places of the earth when they bristle all over with the quaint and the odd and the old, and are mouldy with the pict- OUi Brewery 46 B UT here is an in-the-way place, all sunshine and shimmer, with never a fringe of mould upon it, and vet vou lose vour heart at a glance. " Ittp^^' .>^ ,. -)« ii!ik£fil H^^^ F -^ . • "'^^V.^ .^^^ r«f-. . ' ^B yi^^ttl MHhHI . 4 ' ^ll L A. v.. Robinson Residence 47 Iruin Homestead. Built in 1836 bv Charles Brush d: OWN the lon<^ vista of years comes the memory I of tlie old mansion chiefly as it was wont to look on a midsummer afternoon, when the ragged pinks were in fiower and the trees cast deep shadows on the cool grass. And yet this pleasant picture is only after all a blended and harmonious background for the kindly people who lived under this rooftree their happy and sor- rowful days ; for it is human life and influence that colors our associations with any spot and creates the interest that surrounds it." 4S Built bv Randall Wilcox THERE is some, of the same fitness in a man's building his own house that there is in a bird's building its own nest. What of aichitectural beauty I now see, I know has gradually grown from within outward, out of the necessities and character of the indweller, who is the only builder. It is the life of the inhabitants whose shells they are, and not any peculiarity in their surfaces merely, which makes them picturesque." The Whitney Doorway. Built in 1835 by Ebbitt 49 + CHELTENHAM F < i O + NEW-YORK Vft A + Arranged and Printed at The Cheltenham Press 25 West nth Street New York SEP 18 1901 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 016 098 090 4 •v*^.