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CC

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The residents of Wisconsin, who 
are now of the busy world of

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civilization and enlightenment, 
seldom, if ever,

00:13.523 --> 00:17.068
think of those days when the
pioneer of this fair state

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had very different
living surroundings.

00:20.965 --> 00:21.865


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There are those among us
who could narrate many

00:25.329 --> 00:28.766
a true thrilling tale
of that early date.

00:28.767 --> 00:30.444


00:30.444 --> 00:33.232
Michili-Mackinac 
(the great turtle) Island

00:33.232 --> 00:36.581
was the great 
emporium of the West.

00:36.582 --> 00:39.527
All the fur traders came
there to sell their furs

00:39.527 --> 00:41.403
and buy other goods.

00:42.371 --> 00:46.576
I was an only and a spoiled 
child, but afforded much

00:46.577 --> 00:51.297
amusement to my great-aunt, 
a fur trader on Mackinac Island.

00:51.297 --> 00:53.297


00:55.609 --> 00:59.212
A bride of but fourteen years, 
I went with my husband

00:59.213 --> 01:03.029
to live in Green Bay, 
and thenceforth my lot was cast

01:03.030 --> 01:07.009
with the new and growing 
Territory west of Lake Michigan.

01:07.010 --> 01:11.112
The resources of our small
community were meager.

01:11.113 --> 01:15.035
In those days there were 
few schools, no churches,

01:15.036 --> 01:17.916
no markets,
no bakeries,

01:17.917 --> 01:21.465
no one who sold 
cooked food in any form.

01:21.465 --> 01:23.711
Everyone had to do 
their own cooking,

01:23.712 --> 01:26.584
which was all very well 
for those who knew how;

01:26.585 --> 01:32.287
but only think of the plight of
those who, like myself, did not!

01:32.288 --> 01:34.163


01:34.164 --> 01:37.616
At this time, I was trying to
master the English language,

01:37.616 --> 01:39.291
and learn to read.

01:39.302 --> 01:42.072
I did not seek my neighbors,
as I would have done

01:42.073 --> 01:44.096
had they spoken French.

01:44.096 --> 01:48.686
In consequence, 
my life was very solitary.

01:48.687 --> 01:50.166


01:50.167 --> 01:54.527
I was alone all day, 
with not a human being near me.

01:54.527 --> 01:57.376
This day and generation can 
know little of the excitement

01:57.377 --> 02:00.265
that overwhelmed us
when the mail was expected.

02:00.266 --> 02:02.331
Once a month a mail arrived.

02:02.332 --> 02:06.530
For two years I received but two
letters a year from Mackinac.

02:06.531 --> 02:07.878


02:07.879 --> 02:10.985
In 1831, my husband 
bought a farm.

02:10.985 --> 02:12.671
My husband thought 
that he could be

02:12.671 --> 02:17.445
both farmer and lawyer, but it
turned out as I had predicted:

02:17.456 --> 02:20.956
he would be the lawyer 
and I the farmer’s wife.

02:20.994 --> 02:22.083
<i>Pf-ft...</i>

02:22.084 --> 02:24.838
Mr. Baird’s father and 
mother came in August.

02:24.839 --> 02:29.108
It was hard, indeed, to offer
such a home to any city lady,

02:29.108 --> 02:32.203
she “could not see how a
lady could put her hands

02:32.204 --> 02:34.362
into the dirty ground.”

02:34.363 --> 02:35.084


02:35.085 --> 02:37.527
Never had I been so
near breaking down

02:37.528 --> 02:39.282
as when the cow kicked me.

02:39.283 --> 02:41.401


02:41.401 --> 02:44.988
My aunt, Madame Laframboise, 
was a remarkable woman.

02:44.999 --> 02:48.004
When my grandfather became ill, 
my maternal grandmother and

02:48.004 --> 02:50.967
great aunt bravely continued 
the business of fur trade

02:50.968 --> 02:52.502
with the Indians.

02:52.503 --> 02:53.166


02:53.167 --> 02:56.864
Remembering her, 
I became not easily discouraged.

02:56.865 --> 03:01.063
I worked hard, because, indeed,
who did not in those days?

03:01.064 --> 03:02.721


03:02.721 --> 03:05.197
The first government 
land sale that took place

03:05.198 --> 03:07.752
brought many moneyed 
men to this place.

03:07.753 --> 03:08.872


03:08.872 --> 03:11.721
Mr. Baird, being 
the recorder of deeds,

03:11.721 --> 03:16.816
his work became very great, so 
I became the recorder of deeds.

03:16.817 --> 03:18.420


03:18.420 --> 03:21.579
Our town was growing
fast for those days,

03:21.579 --> 03:24.498
civilization crawled
in among us.

03:24.499 --> 03:27.937
At this time our town
became quite joyous.

03:27.938 --> 03:31.266
As a matter-of-course
dancing took the lead.

03:31.267 --> 03:34.251
I still have the 
keenest recollection of it.

03:34.252 --> 03:38.607
To the people of today this
would seem a life of romance.

03:38.608 --> 03:40.537


03:40.537 --> 03:44.827
One who lived the sturdy life 
of those early days, did indeed,

03:44.828 --> 03:49.386
pass through scenes strange and
of more than ordinary interest.

03:49.387 --> 03:50.419


03:50.419 --> 03:55.123
But like many other things,
it may have been forgotten

03:55.124 --> 04:00.820
if it had not been a 
marked event of my little life.

04:00.820 --> 04:01.820