Narrator: IN THE 1780s, THE DECADE AFTER THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
EVENTS WERE ALREADY UNFOLDING
THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY TAME THE WILDERNESS LANDS
WEST OF THE UNITED STATES, ALONG THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
AN OBSCURE FRENCH CANADIAN TRADER
NAMED JULIEN DUBUQUE TRAVELED TO PRAIRIE DU CHIEN
HOPING TO SOLICIT TRADE
WITH PEOPLE FROM THE NUMEROUS AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES
THAT LIVED IN THE AREA.
HE ENDED UP LEASING THE RIGHT TO MINE
THE LEGENDARY NATIVE AMERICAN LEAD MINES
FRENCH EXPLORERS HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT SINCE 1658.
BEGINNING WITH PERROT IN THE 1600s
MANY FRENCH AND SPANISH TRAVELERS HAD TRADED
WITH SAUK, FOX AND WINNEBAGO MINERS
FROM THE FEVER RIVER REGION.
BUT DUBUQUE WAS THE FIRST TO OBTAIN FORMAL PERMISSION
TO SET UP AN EXTENSIVE MINING NETWORK.
AFTER THE 1780s, LEAD MINING
ECLIPSED FUR TRADING IN THIS AREA
WHERE WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS AND IOWA MEET.
IN THOSE DAYS, ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN
WERE IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
AND IOWA WAS IN SPAIN'S LOUISIANA TERRITORY.
BUT IN ACTUALITY
ALL WAS STILL INDIAN LAND.
ITS TRANSFORMATION
TO A SERIES OF MINING BOOMTOWNS
WAS A NATIONAL PHENOMENON
A MAJOR EVENT IN THE AMERICA OF THE EARLY 1800s.
IT WAS NOT THE MIDWEST THEN.
IT WAS THE "WEST."
THE STORY OF HOW IT WAS INVADED BY MINERS
PRECEDES THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH BY ALMOST 25 YEARS.
LIFE ALONG THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI WAS CHANGED FOREVER
BY THE "RUSH FOR GREY GOLD."
AMONG OUR PEOPLE, IT IS MOSTLY THE WOMEN
WHO DO THE LEAD MINING.
SOME OF US PAINT IT ONTO OUR BODIES AS A DECORATION.
WE SAVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PIECES OF THE LEAD ORE
TO BURY WITH OUR LOVED ONES.
Spoon Decorah: SOME DUG LEAD FOR THEIR OWN USE.
BUT MOST OF THEM GOT IT OUT
TO TRADE OFF TO OTHER INDIANS FOR SUPPLIES OF ALL SORTS.
THEY MADE LEAD MINING THEIR REGULAR WORK.
EVERY FALL AND SPRING
HUNTERS WOULD GO DOWN TO THE MINES
AND GET A STOCK OF LEAD FOR BULLETS
SOMETIMES GIVING GOODS FOR IT
AND SOMETIMES FURS.
Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND THAT NATIVE PEOPLE COLLECTED
AND MINED PIECES OF LEAD ORE, CALLED GALENA
FOR AT LEAST 8,000 YEARS PRIOR TO FIRST CONTACT WITH EUROPEANS.
LEAD ARTIFACTS HAVE BEEN FOUND AT OVER 200 SITES
IN THE LOWER GREAT LAKES AND MISSISSIPPI VALLEY REGIONS.
THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS INTRODUCED A NEW USE FOR LEAD
ONE WITH PROFOUND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FOX, SAUK AND WINNEBAGO.
Reuben Gold Thwaites: THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THE AMERICAN ABORIGINES
EVER PRACTICED THE ART OF SMELTING AND CASTING
BEFORE THE ADVENT OF THE WHITES.
THE METHODS IN VOGUE AMONG THE INDIANS
WERE SUCH AS THE WHITES ARE KNOWN TO HAVE EMPLOYED
IN THE EARLIER DAYS OF LEAD MINING.
Mesquaki Woman: WE DIG A HOLE
INTO THE SIDE OF A HILL, LINE THE BOTTOM WITH BIG STONES
THEN FILL IT WITH LEAD ORE AND BUILD A FIRE IN IT.
SOON, THE LEAD MELTS DOWN TO THE BOTTOM.
WE POUR THIS INTO A MOLD WE CAN BRING TO THE FRENCH TRADERS.
Gold Thwaites: JULIEN DUBUQUE WAS A MAN OF REMARKABLE ENERGY
AND SINGULARLY POPULAR AMONG THE INDIANS.
IN 1788, HE OBTAINED FROM A FULL COUNCIL
OF THE SAUK AND FOX INDIANS, HELD AT PRAIRIE DU CHIEN
FORMAL PERMIT TO WORK LEAD MINES TRANQUILLY
AND WITHOUT ANY PREJUDICE TO HIS LABORERS.
HE HAD PREVIOUSLY MADE RICH DISCOVERIES OF LEAD
ON THE WEST BANK OF THE MISSISSIPPI
IN THE BLUFFS AND RAVINES
ADJOINING THE SITE OF THE PRESENT IOWA TOWN
WHICH BEARS HIS NAME.
Narrator: THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT HAD OBTAINED THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY
FROM THE FRENCH IN 1762.
IN 1796, SPANISH LOUISIANA GOVERNOR, BARON DE CARONDELET
GAVE JULIEN DUBUQUE OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION OF THE INDIAN GRANT
FOR THE MINING LANDS THE FRENCH CANADIAN
HAD TACTFULLY NAMED THE "SPANISH MINES."
Gold Thwaites: DUBUQUE DOES NOT APPEAR TO HAVE RESTRICTED HIMSELF
TO THE WEST SIDE OF THE RIVER.
IT IS BELIEVED THAT HIS PROSPECTORS AND MINERS
WHO'VE ALL ENJOYED THE FULL SYMPATHY
AND CONFIDENCE OF THE SAUKS AND FOXES
ROVED ABOUT AT WILL ON BOTH SIDES
AND OPENED LEADS ON APPLE RIVER
NEAR THE PRESENT VILLAGE OF ELIZABETH.
AND AS EARLY AS 1805, EVEN OPERATED THE OLD BUCK
AND HOG LEADS ON FEVER RIVER.
Narrator: THAT SAME YEAR, DUBUQUE WAS LESS THAN THRILLED
WHEN A NOSY U.S. ARMY LIEUTENANT REQUESTED A VISIT TO THE MINES.
LT. ZEBULON PIKE WAS TENACIOUS
A QUALITY THAT WOULD LATER HELP HIM CLIMB A COLORADO PEAK
THAT BEARS HIS NAME.
HE SUBMITTED A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS IN WRITING
WHICH DUBUQUE ANSWERED CURTLY.
Lt. Pike: WHAT IS THE DATE OF YOUR GRANT
AT THE MINES FROM THE SAVAGES ?
Dubuque: THE COPY OF THE GRANT
IS IN MONSIEUR SOULARD'S OFFICE AT ST. LOUIS.
WHAT IS THE DATE
OF THE CONFIRMATION BY THE SPANIARDS ?
THE SAME ANSWER AS TO QUERY FIRST.
WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF YOUR GRANT ?
THE SAME AS ABOVE.
LEAD MADE PER ANNUM ?
AROUND 20,000 TO 40,000 POUNDS.
QUANTITY OF LEAD IN PIGS ?
ALL I MAKE.
AS I NEITHER MANUFACTURE BARS, SHEET LEAD OR SHOT.
Gold Thwaites: DUBUQUE LARGELY EMPLOYED HIS INDIAN FRIENDS
IN PROSPECTING FOR LEAD MINES.
IN MANY CASES, HE WAS CONTENT WITH PROVING THE CLAIM
AND ALLOWING THE INDIANS TO WORK IT THEMSELVES--
THE PRODUCT BEING BROUGHT TO HIS LARGE TRADING HOUSE
ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE RIVER.
IN THIS MANNER, THE ENTIRE REGION
OF THE LEAD MINES IN IOWA
WISCONSIN AND ILLINOIS
BECAME MORE OR LESS OCCUPIED BY DUBUQUE'S MEN
BEFORE ANY AMERICAN SETTLEMENT.
Narrator: DUBUQUE'S PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FOX INDIANS
WAS POTENTIALLY LUCRATIVE, BUT DID NOT GUARANTEE SUCCESS.
THE LEAD AND FUR TRADES WERE FULL OF RISK.
HE WAS NOT A WEALTHY MAN WHEN HE DIED IN 1810, AT AGE 45.
WHAT SUCCESS HE DID ACHIEVE WAS BASED ON HIS ABILITY
TO GET ALONG WITH NATIVE PEOPLE.
Gold Thwaites: THE FRENCH SETTLED AMONG THE INDIANS
FOR THE PURPOSES OF TRADE AND SOCIALABILITY.
THEIR INTERESTS, LIKE THOSE OF THE INDIANS
LAY IN THE DIRECTION OF KEEPING THE FUR PRESERVES IN TACT.
WE ARE PREEMINENTLY AN AGRICULTURAL
AND MANUFACTURING PEOPLE.
AND OUR PLAN OF COLONIZATION AIMS AT THE REDUCTION OF NATURE
WITH THE VIEW TO MAKING THE LAND SUPPORT A LARGE POPULATION.
OUR AIM, OUR METHOD, OUR MANNER
ARE DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO THE STATE OF SAVAGERY.
WE ARE A COVETOUS PEOPLE.
AND IT DID NOT TAKE LONG FOR THE INDIAN TO UNDERSTAND
THAT THE ENGLISH OR AMERICAN BORDERER
WAS THE HERALD OF A RELENTLESS SYSTEM OF CONQUEST.
Narrator: AFTER DUBUQUE'S DEATH, THE FOX-- KNOWN TODAY AS THE MESQUAKI--
BURNED HIS HOUSE AND FENCES AND RECLAIMED THE MINES.
Gold Thwaites: IN THE IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORHOOD OF WHERE GALENA CAME TO BE PLANTED
THERE WERE, IN 1815, ABOUT 20 RUDE INDIAN FURNACES--
THE PRODUCT BEING ALMOST ENTIRELY BOUGHT
BY FRENCH-CANADIAN TRADERS WHO ARE REPORTED
TO HAVE RATED A PECK OF ORE AS WORTH A PECK OF CORN.
THE SAME YEAR, A CREW OF AMERICAN BOATMEN
ATTEMPTED TO GO UP FEVER RIVER BY WATER
BUT THE INDIANS PREVENTED THEM
FEARING THE CUPIDITY OF THE AMERICANS
WHO MIGHT BECOME EXCITED BY THE RICHNESS OF THE MINES
AND ATTEMPT TO DISPOSSESS THE NATIVES.
Narrator: THE WORD WAS OUT, HOWEVER
AND AMERICANS WERE SOON MOVING INTO THE AREA.
SEVERAL TRADERS WERE KILLED BY THE INDIANS.
BUT OTHERS, SUCH AS JESSE SHULL, ESTABLISHED A FOOTHOLD
BY TAKING MESQUAKI WOMEN AS PARTNERS.
IN 1816, COLONEL JOHN SHAW
WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN TO SHIP A BOATLOAD OF LEAD
OUT OF THE FEVER RIVER AREA.
Col. John Shaw: THE TRADERS REQUESTED ME TO GO DOWN TO THE MOUTH
OF THE FEVER RIVER AND THERE AWAIT
THEIR SENDING THE LEAD DOWN.
THIS I REFUSED, BECAUSE I COULD NOT CONSENT TO WAIT SO LONG.
AND ASKED TO GO UP WITH MY BOAT.
THIS REQUEST THE INDIANS REFUSED
BECAUSE THEY WERE PARTICULARLY SUSPICIOUS OF AMERICANS
BUT DID NOT CHERISH THE SAME FEELINGS TOWARD FRENCHMEN.
SPEAKING, AS I DID, THE FRENCH
AS FLUENTLY AS I DID THE ENGLISH
THE TRADERS DECLARED TO THE INDIANS THAT I WAS A FRENCHMAN
AND ALL MY BOATMEN, WHICH WAS TRUE, WERE FRENCH VOYAGEURS.
THE INDIANS, WITH VERY LITTLE PERSUASION
CONSENTED I MIGHT GO TO THEIR SMELTING ESTABLISHMENT.
I LOADED 70 TONS OF LEAD IN MY BOAT
AND STILL LEFT MUCH AT THE FURNACES.
Narrator: DESIRE FOR TRADE GOODS CAUSED MANY MESQUAKI AND SAUK MEN
TO GIVE UP HUNTING FOR MINING.
THEIR SUSPICIONS ABOUT AMERICANS TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE, HOWEVER.
LARGE BOATS FILLED WITH PEOPLE
WHO INTENDED TO MINE THE INDIAN LEAD DEPOSITS
SOON MADE THEIR WAY UP THE FEVER RIVER.
IN 1822, COL. JAMES JOHNSON OF KENTUCKY BROUGHT 74 PEOPLE
INCLUDING MANY AFRICAN AMERICAN SLAVES.
ONE OF THEM, JAMES BECKWOURTH
WAS TO BECOME A LEGENDARY MOUNTAIN MAN OF THE WEST.
Lyman Copeland Draper: BECKWOURTH ENGAGED IN THE CAPACITY
OF A HUNTER TO THE PARTY.
HE STATES THAT THEY HAD A TEDIOUS PASSAGE
OF SOME 20 DAYS FROM ST. LOUIS
TO THE PLACE OF THEIR DESTINATION--
GALENA, OF THE PRESENT DAY.
THEY FOUND THE SAUK
AND FOX INDIANS IN GREAT NUMBERS
AWAITING THEIR ARRIVAL AND DISEMBARKATION
WHO WERE ALREADY ACQUAINTED WITH THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION.
THEY WERE ALL ARMED
AND PRESENTED A VERY FORMIDABLE APPEARANCE
YET RECEIVED JOHNSON AND HIS PARTY PEACEABLY.
AFTER NINE DAYS' PARLEYING
A TREATY WAS EFFECTED WITH THEM
SIGNED ON THE PART OF THE INDIANS BY BLACK THUNDER
YELLOW BANK AND KEOKUK.
BY THIS TREATY, THE LEAD MINES
WERE THEN FIRST OPENED FOR CIVILIZED ENTERPRISE.
BECKWOURTH HAD SO FAR INGRATIATED HIMSELF
INTO THE GOOD GRACES OF THE INDIANS
THAT HE REMAINED AND HUNTED IN THEIR COUNTRY FOR 18 MONTHS
AND LEARNED MUCH OF THEIR HABITS AND CHARACTER.
THIS WAS THE COMMENCEMENT
OF HIS EVENTFUL CAREER OF FRONTIER LIFE AND ADVENTURE
AS MOUNTAINEER, SCOUT, PIONEER
AND AS A CHIEF OF THE CROW INDIANS.
HE SETTLED IN "BECKWOURTH VALLEY," CALIFORNIA, IN 1852.
Narrator: THE RICHEST VEIN OF LEAD IN THE AREA
BELONGED TO A WINNEBAGO MAN
WHO HAD BEEN MINING THERE SINCE DUBUQUE'S TIME.
Moses Meeker: OLD BUCK WAS REPUTED TO BE THE BEST MINER AMONG THE INDIANS.
HE HAD GIVEN UP HUNTING SOME 20 YEARS
BEFORE THE WHITES TOOK POSSESSION OF THE MINES
AND MADE HIS LIVING BY MINING.
Narrator: OLD BUCK HAD EXTRACTED A HUGE NUGGET OF LEAD SO LEGENDARY
THAT HIS MINE QUALIFIES AS THE "SUTTER'S MILL"
OF THE FEVER RIVER LEAD RUSH.
Meeker: COL. J. JOHNSON
HAD PURCHASED THE RIGHT OF WORKING THE BUCK
AND CAVE LEADS OF THE INDIANS IN 1822.
AND THE FOLLOWING YEAR
THE INDIANS WERE AT WORK AT DIFFERENT PLACES
ON THE SAME RANGE.
THE INDIAN WOMEN PROVED THEMSELVES TO BE THE BEST
AS WELL AS THE SHREWDEST MINERS.
WHILE COL. JOHNSON'S MEN WERE SINKING THEIR HOLES OR SHAFTS
IN SOME INSTANCES, THE SQUAWS WOULD DIG UNDER THEM
AND TAKE OUT ALL THE MINERAL OR ORE THEY COULD FIND.
WHEN THE MEN GOT DOWN INTO THE DRIFT MADE BY THE WOMEN
THE LATTER WOULD HAVE A HEARTY LAUGH
AT THE WHITE MAN'S EXPENSE.
( laughter )
Narrator: BUT THEIR SMILES WOULD SOON FADE
AS MORE AND MORE NON-INDIANS INVADED THE FEVER RIVER MINES.
EVEN MORE INSIDIOUS WERE THE DISEASES
AGAINST WHICH NATIVE PEOPLE HAD NO IMMUNITIES.
CHOLERA WOULD CLAIM OLD BUCK.
NATIVE PEOPLE ALSO FELL PREY TO OTHER HAZARDS.
Meeker: THE INDIANS WERE GENERALLY VERY FOND OF WHISKEY
AND AS FRUITFUL OF THEIR RESOURCES
TO PROCURE IT AS THE WHITE MAN.
ONE OF THEIR MODES WAS TO SHOW--
FOR A GIVEN NUMBER OF BOTTLES OF WHISKEY--
WHERE MINERAL COULD BE FOUND.
BY THIS PLAN, THEY PROCURED A GREAT DEAL.
Narrator: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
HAD ITS EYE ON THE FEVER RIVER LEAD DEPOSITS
OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY AS EARLY AS 1783.
THOMAS JEFFERSON NOTED THE RICHNESS OF THE REGION
AND MADE SURE THAT IT WAS INCLUDED
IN A MINERAL LAND RESERVE PROGRAM
CREATED DURING HIS PRESIDENCY, IN 1807.
WITH WAR ON THE HORIZON
HE WANTED A SECURE SUPPLY OF LEAD FOR AMMUNITION.
( gun shot )
THE GOVERNMENT RETAINED OWNERSHIP
OF THE LEAD DISTRICT LANDS
EVENTUALLY SETTING UP A LEASING SYSTEM.
ALTHOUGH THIS SYSTEM WAS REVISED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE YEARS
IT WAS NEVER REALLY EFFECTIVE OR ACCEPTED.
THIS MEANT THAT MEEKER AND JOHNSON
HAD TO OBTAIN LEASES FROM COL. BOMFORD
OF THE ARMY BUREAU OF ORDINANCE.
POSTING A $10,000 BOND
THEY WERE GRANTED MINING PRIVILEGES ON 320 ACRES.
THE GOVERNMENT WAS TO RECEIVE TEN PERCENT
OF THEIR SMELTED LEAD
AS A ROYALTY.
Miner: IT GOES BACK FOR MILES, I BETCHA.
OH, BOY !
NOW THAT'S WHAT WE COME UP HERE FOR.
THAT'S THE STUFF THAT MONEY'S MADE OF.
Meeker: THERE WAS BUT A SLIGHT INCREASE OF EMIGRATION
DURING THE YEAR 1824 TO THE MINES
AND NOT MUCH OF AN INCREASE IN 1825.
I WROTE TO COL. BOMFORD
RECOMMENDING A CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM
OF WORKING THE MINESEN
AND THE GOVERNMENT
TO GIVE LICENSE TO SMELTERS, WHO WOULD BE LIABLE
FOR THE TEN PERCENT OF THE LEAD REQUIRED BY THE GOVERNMENT.
Narrator: THE AUTHORITIES ADOPTED THIS IDEA
AND MADE SEVERAL OTHER CHANGES IN THE REGULATIONS
WHICH ALLOWED PEOPLE TO GET INTO THE MINING BUSINESS
FOR ABOUT $20.
BY 1828, 10,000 PEOPLE HAD RUSHED INTO THE AREA
SEARCHING FOR THE GREY GOLD.
AT FIRST, THE MINERS FOLLOWED THE FEVER RIVER
NORTH FROM JANUARY'S POINT.
THEY SOON FILLED THE STEEP HOLLOWS ALONG THE FEVER
AND ITS TRIBUTARIES WITH EXPLORATORY HOLES.
THE WINNEBAGOES WERE STILL VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN LEAD MINING.
ONE WINNEBAGO MAN
USED THE "INDIRECT METHOD" TO DIVULGE THE LOCATION
OF A RICH DEPOSIT TO JESSE SHULL.
SHULL FOUNDED A TOWN NEARBY--
SHULLSBURG--
BUT SOON FELL OUT OF FAVOR WITH THE WINNEBAGO.
HENRY AND JEAN PIERRE GRATIOT
WERE MUCH MORE SKILLFUL IN DEALING WITH THE INDIANS.
THESE ST. LOUIS BROTHERS OF FRENCH DESCENT
CHOSE A MINE SITE JUST OUTSIDE OF SHULLSBURG.
Adele De P. Gratiot: THEY PROCEEDED IMMEDIATELY TO THE PLACE
AND PROPOSED TO PAY A LARGE AMOUNT TO THE INDIANS
FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF MINING ON THEIR PRAIRIE.
AFTER MUCH CONSULTATION, THEY CONSENTED TO LET THEM WORK
FOR A LARGE AMOUNT OF GOODS AND SUPPLIES
WHICH WERE DELIVERED WITHIN A WEEK.
THESE WERE THE CELEBRATED DIGGINGS OF GRATIOT'S GROVE.
E.B. Washburne: AT THIS TIME, GRATIOT'S GROVE
WAS CONSIDERED TO BE IN ILLINOIS--
AND OUTSIDE OF GALENA, THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT
IN THE FEVER RIVER LEAD MINES.
THE WIFE OF MR. J.P.B. GRATIOT
WAS A FRENCH LADY OF THE HIGHEST EDUCATION
AND WONDERFUL ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
ALL HER FAMILY WERE DRIVEN FROM FRANCE
BY THE STORMS OF THE REVOLUTION.
HER MOTHER WAS A LADY-IN-WAITING TO QUEEN MARIE ANTOINETTE.
IT'S QUITE A TRANSLATION FROM THE COURT OF LOUIS XVI
TO GRATIOT'S GROVE.
BUT SHE MET ALL THE CHANGES WITH CONTENTMENT
AND IN THE MOST ADMIRABLE SPIRIT.
Adele De P. Gratiot: NEVER IN MY WANDERINGS
HAVE I BEHELD A MORE DELIGHTFUL PROSPECT
THE BEAUTIFUL ROLLING PRAIRIE
EXTENDING TO THE BLUE MOUNDS, A DISTANCE OF 30 MILES.
FROM THE SLOPE OF THE HILL
YOU COULD SEE AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD REACH
MINERS' SHANTIES AND WINDLASSES IN ACTIVITY.
Narrator: MANY OF THESE MINERS WERE BEING FINANCED BY THE GRATIOTS
WHO WERE OPERATING SIX SMELTING FURNACES
JUST TO KEEP UP WITH THE LEAD BEING EXTRACTED.
THREE HORSE TEAMS WERE KEPT BUSY
HAULING LEAD TO THE PLACE
ON THE FEVER RIVER CALLED "THE POINT."
THE SETTLEMENT ALSO KNOWN AS "JANUARY'S POINT" WAS GROWING.
IT HAD A POST OFFICE, A SCHOOL AND A NEWSPAPER--
THE MINERS' JOURNAL.
THERE WERE MANY BARS, BUT NO CHURCHES.
STEAMBOATS HAD BEGUN MAKING THE 500 MILE TRIP FROM ST. LOUIS
ON A REGULAR BASIS.
IT WAS THE ENTRY POINT FOR FORTUNE SEEKERS
FROM FRENCH CANADA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY AND MISSOURI.
THEY MINGLED ON THE DOCKS WITH IRISH IMMIGRANTS
AND NEW ENGLANDERS.
IN 1827, THEY ALL BECAME PART OF A NEW ILLINOIS COUNTY
NAMED FOR JO DAVIESS, A PROMINENT KENTUCKIAN
AND TIPPECANOE BATTLE CASUALTY.
THEY RENAMED THEIR TOWN
AFTER SOMETHING THEY WERE ALL SEEKING, GALENA.
BUT ALL WAS NOT WELL IN THE LEAD DISTRICT.
Adele De P. Gratiot: I HAD CLAIMED THE PRIVILEGE
OF ENTERTAINING OUR FRIENDS ON THE FOURTH OF JULY.
MRS. HENRY GRATIOT WAS ASSISTING ME, CARRYING SOMETHING
WHEN WE SAW FOUR TALL INDIANS, WITH GUNS IN HAND
COMING UP TO THE HOUSE.
THE INDIANS GRAVELY ENTERED.
AND WE WERE QUITE RELIEVED
WHEN WE SAW OUR VISITORS STACK THEIR GUNS
AND ACCEPT A SHARE OF OUR DINNER.
BUT ALL APPETITE AND JOYOUSNESS HAD FLED.
OUR HUSBANDS REMAINED IN CLOSE INTERVIEW WITH THE INDIANS.
THEY WERE FRIENDLY WINNEBAGO CHIEFS WHO CAME TO TELL US
THAT ON ACCOUNT OF THE ENCROACHMENT
OF THE WHITES UPON THEIR TERRITORY
THEY COULD NOT RESTRAIN THEIR YOUNG MEN
WHO WERE GOING TO DECLARE WAR.
THEY DID NOT WANT TO HURT THE "CHOUTEAUS," AS THEY CALLED US
BUT THEY HAD BEST REMOVE THEIR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
OUT OF HARM'S WAY.
THE NEWS SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE
AND ALL WAS TERROR AND CONFUSION.
Narrator: THE WINNEBAGO COMMUNITY WAS ALSO RIFE WITH CONFUSION.
RED BIRD, A VILLAGE LEADER FROM NORTH OF LA CROSSE
WAS OUTRAGED WHEN HE HEARD RUMORS
THAT WINNEBAGO PRISONERS AT FORT SNELLING
UP THE MISSISSIPPI, NEAR ST. PAUL
HAD BEEN EXECUTED.
THEN, A FRIEND WARNED HIM THAT HE HAD HEARD THAT U.S. SOLDIERS
WERE COMING TO RED BIRD'S VILLAGE TO KILL HIM.
RED BIRD LAUNCHED A RETALIATORY RAID
ON THE NON-INDIAN TRESPASSERS.
ON JUNE 26, RED BIRD ATTACKED A FAMILY OF SETTLERS
ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER SOUTH OF LA CROSSE
KILLING SEVERAL OF THEM.
A FEW DAYS LATER, HE AND SEVERAL OTHER WARRIORS
OPENED FIRE ON AMERICAN KEEL BOATS
NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE BAD AXE RIVER.
RED BIRD WAS BADLY BEATEN
BUT NEWS OF THE ATTACK SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE LEAD COUNTRY.
Adele De P. Gratiot: FAMILIES WERE FLOCKING TO THE GROVE FROM NEIGHBORING DIGGINGS
WE WERE MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENSE.
AND A STRONG STOCKADE
WAS BEING BUILT AROUND A STORE AND WAREHOUSE.
WE MADE OUR PREPARATIONS TO LEAVE
WITH HEAVY HEARTS--
LEAVING OUR HUSBANDS TO THE DANGERS OF INDIAN WARFARE.
Narrator: IN AUGUST, THE WINNEBAGO WERE CALLED TO A COUNCIL
AT BUTTE DES MORTS
BY THOMAS McKENNEY, HEAD OF THE U.S. OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
AND LEWIS CASS, A U.S. INDIAN COMMISSIONER.
THEY ASKED THE 450 WINNEBAGOES PRESENT
TO GIVE UP RED BIRD, WHO WAS STILL AT LARGE.
HUJOPKA, "FOUR LEGS," AN INFLUENTIAL CHIEF, REPLIED.
Four Legs: FATHER, YOU HAVE ALWAYS TOLD US TO BE STILL
TO RAISE OUR CHILDREN, PROVIDE FOR OUR FAMILIES
AND NOT BE AFRAID OF YOUR MEN.
BUT I AM AFRAID OF YOUR YOUNG MEN AT THE MINES.
THERE ARE A GREAT MANY AMERICANS ON OUR LAND
WORKING IT WITHOUT ANY PERMISSION.
AND I WANT YOU TO TELL OUR GREAT FATHER TO STOP IT--
TO REACH OUT HIS LONG ARM AND DRAW THEM BACK.
FATHER, YOU KNOW WE HAVE A GREAT MANY YOUNG MEN IN OUR NATION
AND I CANNOT TAKE CARE OF THEM.
Narrator: BUT IN SEPTEMBER, AS LARGE NUMBERS OF U.S. SOLDIERS
MOVED INTO WINNEBAGO COUNTRY, RED BIRD DECIDED TO SURRENDER
HOPING TO PREVENT FURTHER BLOODSHED.
Thomas McKenney: THERE WAS SOMETHING HEROIC IN THIS VOLUNTARY SURRENDER.
Narrator: THOMAS McKENNEY WAS PRESENT AT THE SURRENDER OF RED BIRD.
McKenney: THE MURDERS AT PRAIRIE DU CHIEN
WERE NOT WANTON, BUT IN RETALIATION
FOR WRONGS COMMITTED UPON THIS PEOPLE BY THE WHITES.
THE PARTIES MURDERED AT THE PRAIRIE
WERE DOUBTLESS INNOCENT OF THE WRONGS AND OUTRAGES
OF WHICH THE INDIANS COMPLAINED.
BUT THE LAW OF INDIAN RETALIATION
DOES NOT REQUIRE THAT HE ALONE WHO COMMITS A WRONG
SHALL SUFFER FOR IT.
ALL EYES WERE FIXED ON THE RED BIRD.
AND WELL THEY MIGHT BE
FOR OF ALL THE INDIANS I EVER SAW, HE IS, WITHOUT EXCEPTION
THE MOST PERFECT IN FORM, IN FACE, IN GESTURE.
IT WERE IMPOSSIBLE TO COMBINE WITH SUCH A FACE
THE THOUGHT THAT HE WHO WORE IT COULD BE A MURDERER.
IT APPEARS TO BE A COMPOUND OF GRACE AND DIGNITY
OF FIRMNESS AND DECISION
ALL TEMPERED WITH MILDNESS AND MERCY.
Red Bird: I AM READY.
I DO NOT WISH TO BE PUT IN IRONS.
LET ME BE FREE.
I HAVE GIVEN AWAY MY LIFE.
IT IS GONE.
LIKE THAT.
I WOULD NOT TAKE IT BACK.
IT IS GONE.
Narrator: RED BIRD WAS PUT IN IRONS
AND TAKEN TO THE FORT CRAWFORD "DUNGEON."
A WINNEBAGO DELEGATION WENT TO WASHINGTON
AND SECURED A RELEASE AND PARDON FOR HIM.
BUT IT WAS TOO LATE.
RED BIRD DIED OF DYSENTERY IN FEBRUARY 1828
BARELY EIGHT MONTHS AFTER HE HAD FIRST HEARD THE RUMORS
ABOUT WINNEBAGOES DYING IN JAIL.
TODAY, MANY MEMBERS OF THE WISCONSIN WINNEBAGO
NOW KNOWN AS THE HO CHUNK NATION
REMEMBER HIM AS A HERO.
TO AVOID ANOTHER RED BIRD INCIDENT, WINNEBAGO LEADERS
WANTED GENERAL HENRY ATKINSON
TO DELINEATE THE WINNEBAGO BOUNDARY LINES
FOR THE INVADING MINERS.
Old Grayheaded Decora: WHEN SOME LEAD IS FOUND
AND IT WAS KNOWN DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI
WHITE MEN CAME FLOCKING TO THE FEVER RIVER
LIKE THE WOLVES IN THE PLAINS TO THE DEAD BUFFALO.
THEY SPREAD OUT IN EVERY DIRECTION
AND BEGAN TO DIG AND FIND AND CARRY OFF LEAD
ON THE WINNEBAGO LANDS.
WE SAID, "IF WE DO NOT STOP THEM SOON
IT WILL BE TOO LATE."
WE KNOW NOW THAT WE OUGHT TO HAVE SENT WORD
TO OUR GREAT FATHER.
AND THAT HE WOULD SECURE OUR LANDS TO US
AND TAKE AWAY HIS WHITE CHILDREN.
Narrator: A GROUP OF WINNEBAGO LEADERS
WENT TO SEE THAT GREAT FATHER, PRESIDENT JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
HE AGREED TO RELEASE SOME OF THEIR PEOPLE
WHO WERE BEING HELD AT THE PRAIRIE DU CHIEN PRISON.
BUT HE WANTED THE WINNEBAGO
TO GIVE UP THEIR MINERAL LANDS IN EXCHANGE.
ONE LEADER, NAWKAW, REPLIED
THAT THE ILLINOIS LEAD LANDS MIGHT BE CEDED
BUT ONLY IF HONEST INDIAN AGENTS AND COMMISSIONERS
WERE ASSIGNED TO THEIR NATION.
Nawkaw: DO NOT TRY TO CONVERT US
TO HABITS OF YOUR CHILDREN.
WE WISH TO LIVE AS WE HAVE LIVED
AND FOLLOW AND ABIDE BY THE CUSTOMS OF OUR FOREFATHERS.
Narrator: WHEN THE WINNEBAGO MET WITH THEIR COMMISSIONERS
THE FOLLOWING SUMMER
THEY WERE DISMAYED TO FIND THAT THE UNITED STATES
WANTED ALL OF THEIR MINERAL LANDS
INCLUDING THE RICH DEPOSITS FOUND IN THE DEEP VALLEYS
BETWEEN ILLINOIS AND THE WISCONSIN RIVER.
Little Elk: DO YOU WANT OUR COUNTRY ?
YOURS IS MUCH LARGER THAN OURS !
DO YOU WANT OUR WIGWAMS ?
YOU LIVE IN PALACES !
DO YOU WANT OUR HORSES ?
YOURS ARE MUCH BIGGER AND LARGER THAN OURS.
WHY, FATHERS, WHAT CAN BE YOUR MOTIVE ?
MY FATHERS, WE EXPECTED THE PIECE OFFERED WAS LARGE ENOUGH.
WE AND OUR CHIEFS AGREED TO GIVE MORE
AND THOUGHT WE WERE PARTING WITH A LARGE TRACT--
ALTHOUGH, I SUPPOSE YOU THINK IT SMALL.
WE AGREED TO MOVE THE LINE TO SUGAR CREEK;
TO MOVE THE LINE A THIRD TIME
WE CANNOT.
Narrator: FIVE DAYS LATER, THE LINE MOVED
ALL THE WAY UP TO THE WISCONSIN RIVER.
THE WINNEBAGO WERE PROMISED AN $18,000 YEARLY PAYMENT
PLUS $3,000 IN GIFTS.
THEY WERE ALSO FORGIVEN
ABOUT $23,000 IN CLAIMS VARIOUS NON-INDIANS
HAD AGAINST THE TRIBE.
TRADERS OFTEN INFLATED THESE CLAIMS.
ONE BENEFICIARY, THE AMERICAN FUR COMPANY
HAD STRONG CONNECTIONS
TO THE COMMISSIONERS WHO DETERMINED THIS FIGURE.
LITTLE ELK TOOK PARTICULAR NOTE
OF ONE LEAD MINER/MILITIAMAN PRESENT AT PRAIRIE DU CHIEN.
HE COULD HARDLY SUSPECT
WHAT THAT MAN-- COL. HENRY DODGE--
AND THOSE WHO FOLLOWED HIM
HAD IN STORE FOR THE NATIVE PEOPLE OF THE LEAD REGION.
Stephen Taylor: IT WERE IN FALL OF 1827
UPON THE CESSATION OF THE WINNEBAGO DISTURBANCES
THAT THE MORE DARING AND ENTERPRISING
PROMPTED BY THE HOPE
OF DISCOVERING VAST MINERAL TREASURES
BANDED TOGETHER IN WELL-ARMED SQUADS
OVERRUN THE COUNTRY, PROSPECTING IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
History of Iowa County: THE FIRST NOTABLE ARRIVALS ON THE SCENE
WERE HENRY DODGE AND HIS ASSOCIATES, SERVANTS
AND PROBABLY A PORTION OF THE COMMAND
WHO HAD BEEN WITH HIM IN PURSUIT OF THE INDIANS
DURING RED BIRD'S 1827 WINNEBAGO UPRISING.
THEY PUT IN AN APPEARANCE ON THE THIRD DAY OF OCTOBER, 1827.
AND THENCEFORTH, FOR THREE YEARS
THE INCIPIENT TOWN WAS THE THEATER OF UNCEASING ACTIVITY.
Narrator: DODGE IS SOMETIMES CALLED THE "FATHER OF WISCONSIN."
HE WAS TO BE THE FIRST TERRITORIAL GOVERNOR IN 1836
AND WAS ELECTED A U.S. SENATOR
SOON AFTER STATEHOOD, IN 1848.
DURING THE LEAD MINING ERA
HE LED A RABBLE-ROUSING ELEMENT OF SOUTHERNERS
WHO MIGRATED UP FROM THE SSOURI LEAD MINES.
THEY CONFRONTED A BAND OF WINNEBAGOES
AT DIRTY HOLLOW
A SITE THAT WOULD SOON BE KNOWN AS "DODGEVILLE."
( speaking in Winnebago )
Iowa County Historian: GENERAL DODGE HELD A COUNCIL WITH THE INDIANS
WHO AT THAT TIME WERE ENCAMPED ON THE JENKINS BRANCH
AND ENGAGED IN SMELTING LEAD
AND MAKING BULLETS FOR THEIR WINTER HUNTS.
( speaking in Winnebago )
Iowa County Historian: HE TOLD THE CHIEFS AND BRAVES
THAT THE WHITES HAD COME THERE WITH PEACEABLE INTENTIONS
FOR THE PURPOSE OF MINING AND SMELTING
AND THAT IF THEY BEHAVED THEMSELVES
THEY SHOULD BE TREATED WITH AMITY
AND WOULD ALSO BE PRESENTED WITH VARIOUS ARTICLES OF UTILITY.
IF, HOWEVER, THEY DECLINED TO ACCEPT FRIENDLY OVERTURES
AND WANTED WAR, THEY COULD "HAVE IT ON CHEAP TERMS."
Narrator: DODGE'S DISREGARD FOR NATIVE AMERICAN LAND OWNERSHIP
WAS TYPICAL FOR MEN OF HIS BACKGROUND.
HE'D GROWN UP IN FRONTIER AREAS
DEFINED BY HOSTILITY BETWEEN AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS
AND ENCROACHING EUROPEANS.
HIS GRANDMOTHER, AUNT AND FIVE UNCLES
HAD BEEN KILLED IN CONFLICTS WITH INDIANS.
MINERS WHO HAD ARRIVED BEFORE DODGE
WERE ALSO "PERSUADED"
TO ABANDON THE DIRTY HOLLOW LEAD DEPOSITS.
HE CLAIMED A LARGE AREA AND BUILT CABINS
AND A SMELTING FURNACE, AIDED BY FIVE SLAVES
AND FOUR FREED-SLAVES HE HAD BROUGHT FROM MISSOURI.
WITHIN SIX MONTHS
THEY SHIPPED 40 TONS OF LEAD, WORTH $4,000, DOWN TO GALENA.
ALTHOUGH SLAVERY WAS FORBIDDEN IN THIS NORTHWEST TERRITORY LAND
DODGE WAS FROM MISSOURI, WHERE IT WAS LEGAL.
HE WAS NOT THE ONLY SLAVE OWNER.
AN ESTIMATED 150 SLAVES
WORKED THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI MINES IN THE 1820s
HELPING TO SETTLE THE AREA THAT WOULD BECOME WISCONSIN.
Iowa County Historian: MINERAL WAS LIKEWISE DISCOVERED AT LINDEN
IN THE FALL OF 1827 BY PATRICK O'MEARA
FAMILIARLY KNOWN AS THE "DODGEVILLE PEDDLER."
HE CIRCULATED ALL THROUGH THE MINING COUNTRY
BETWEEN GALENA AND DODGEVILLE
RETAILING HIS WARES TO ALL WHO STOOD IN NEED OF SUCH TRIFLES
AS PINS, NEEDLES, CLOTHS AND GENERAL SMALL WARES.
BY A FORTUITOUS MISHAP, IF SUCH AN ANOMALY COULD EXIST
O'MEARA WAS OVERTAKEN ONE NIGHT BY DARKNESS
AND CAMPED ON THE BANKS
OF WHAT HAS SINCE BEEN CALLED "PEDDLER'S CREEK."
WHILE COLLECTING FUEL FOR HIS CAMPFIRE
HE ACCIDENTALLY STUMBLED ACROSS
A PIECE OF LEAD ORE
DISPLACED BY THE BURROWING OF A BADGER.
Patrick O'Meara: YAHOO !
Iowa County Historian: HE PURSUED HIS JOURNEY TO GALENA
WHERE HE CONFIDED HIS SECRET TO A BOSOM FRIEND.
THEY ERECTED CABINS
AND CONTINUED TO EXHUME MATERIAL FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
Narrator: BADGERS NOT ONLY HELPED PATRICK O'MEARA FIND HIS FORTUNE
THEY ALSO INSPIRED A METHOD OF HOUSING
FOR THOSE WHO CAME TO THE LEAD REGION
IN SEARCH OF THE GREY GOLD.
Daniel M. Parkinson: SO INTENT WERE THE NEWCOMERS ON MAKING MONEY BY MINING
THAT THEY COULD NOT TAKE TIME
TO ERECT FOR THEMSELVES AND FAMILIES
EVEN A COMFORTABLE DWELLING PLACE.
THEY USUALLY LIVED IN DENS OR CAVES, A LARGE HOLE
OR EXCAVATION BEING MADE IN THE SIDE OF THE HILL OR BLUFF
THE TOP BEING COVERED OVER WITH POLES, GRASS AND SODS.
FAMILIES LIVED IN APPARENT COMFORT
AND THE MOST PERFECT SATISFACTION FOR YEARS
BUOYED UP BY THE CONSTANT EXPECTATION
OF SOON STRIKING A BIG LEAD.
Narrator: PEOPLE WHO LIVED LIKE THIS, IN "BADGER HOLES"
BECAME KNOWN AS "BADGERS."
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE IN POTOSI
SHOWS THAT THEY PROBABLY DATE
FROM THE EARLIER YEARS
OF THE LEAD BOOM, 1825 TO 1827
AND WERE FEW IN NUMBER.
BUT STORIES ABOUT THEM
CAPTURED THE PUBLIC'S IMAGINATION.
AND THE NAME STUCK, PROBABLY BECAUSE IT EXPRESSED
THE MINERS' ROUGH WAY-OF-LIFE.
THIS WAS NOT CONFINED TO THOSE OF HUMBLE ORIGIN.
Juliette Kinzie: MR. HAMILTON HESITATED TO PRESENT HIMSELF BEFORE ME
BEING UNWILLING THAT ONE WHO HAD BEEN
ACQUAINTED WITH SOME OF HIS FAMILY AT THE EAST
SHOULD SEE HIM IN HIS PRESENT MODE OF LIFE.
HOWEVER, THIS FEELING
APPARENTLY WORE OFF, FOR BEFORE DINNER HE CAME IN
AND WAS INTRODUCED TO ME, AND WAS AS AGREEABLE AND POLITE
AS THE SON OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON WOULD NATURALLY BE.
( horn blowing )
Kinzie: BLOWING THE HORN WAS THE SIGNAL
FOR THE ENTRANCE OF TEN OR TWELVE MINERS
WHO TOOK THEIR PLACES BELOW US AT THE TABLE.
THEY WERE THE ROUGHEST LOOKING SET OF MEN I EVER BEHELD.
AND THEIR LANGUAGE WAS AS UNCOUTH AS THEIR PERSONS.
( laughter )
YOU'RE DISGUSTING !
GEEZ! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO EAT HERE !
Kinzie: THEY WORE HUNTING SHIRTS
TROUSERS AND MOCCASINS OF DEERSKIN
THE FORMER BEING ORNAMENTED AT THE SEAMS
WITH A FRINGE OF THE SAME.
WHILE A COLORED BELT AROUND THE WAIST
IN WHICH WAS STUCK A LARGE HUNTING KNIFE
GAVE EACH THE APPEARANCE OF A BRIGAND.
MR. HAMILTON PASSED MOST OF THE AFTERNOON WITH US.
HE GAVE US MANY PLEASANT ANECDOTES
AND REMINISCENCES OF HIS EARLY LIFE IN NEW YORK
AND SOME OF HIS ADVENTURES
SINCE HE HAD COME TO THE WESTERN WILDERNESS.
WHEN OBLIGED TO LEAVE US FOR A WHILE
HE FURNISHED US WITH SOME BOOKS TO ENTERTAIN US
THE MOST INTERESTING OF WHICH WAS THE BIOGRAPHY OF HIS FATHER.
MR. HAMILTON KINDLY OFFERED TO ACCOMPANY US
TO HIS NEXT NEIGHBOR'S, THE TRIFLING DISTANCE OF 25 MILES.
THE MINER, SOMEWHAT MORE HUMANIZED THAN HIS COMRADES
IN TAKING LEAVE OF US, WISHED US WELL OUT OF THE COUNTRY
AND THAT WE MIGHT NEVER HAVE OCCASION TO RETURN TO IT.
MA'AM, TAKE CARE.
THAT'S SOME ROUGH COUNTRY GOING THROUGH THERE.
Kinzie: "I PITY A BODY," SAID HE
"WHEN I SEE THEM MAKING SUCH AN AWFUL MISTAKE
"AS TO COME OUT THIS WAY
FOR COMFORT NEVER TOUCHED THIS WESTERN COUNTRY."
FIRE IN THE HOLE !
( explosion )
Parkinson: WHEN A LEAD WAS STRUCK
THEN ALL WOULD FLOCK TO THAT VICINITY TO MINE.
AND HENCE, IN THE COURSE OF A FEW YEARS
MINING WAS CONCENTRATED, IN SOME CONSIDERABLE DEGREE
IN CERTAIN LOCALITIES, SUCH AS NEW DIGGIN'S
HARDSCRABBLE, COON BRANCH, FAIR PLAY, PLATTEVILLE
MINERAL POINT, DODGEVILLE, BLUE MOUNDS, ET CETERA.
Narrator: THE LEASING SYSTEM
COULD NOT COULD NOT KEEP UP WITH THIS RUSH.
SOME U.S. SOLDIERS HAD BEEN DEPLOYED
TO HELP WITH ENFORCEMENT, BUT THIS WAS HAMPERED
BY THE SHEER NUMBERS OF MINERS
AND THEIR PROPENSITY FOR CONSTANTLY
EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE MINES.
ONE RULE DID WORK WELL.
MINERS WERE REQUIRED TO WORK THEIR CLAIMS
SIX DAYS A WEEK OR LOSE THEM.
THIS PREVENTED ONE MAN FROM WORKING MULTIPLE SITES.
BUT THE IDEA OF LAYING OUT THE SURVEYS IN TIGHTLY KNIT PARCELS
DEFIED THE PHYSICAL FACT
THAT THE LEAD DEPOSITS WERE SCATTERED.
THIS ILLOGIC ENCOURAGED THE MINERS TO IGNORE THE RULES
AS THEY OPENED UP NEW AREAS.
THE HARDSCRABBLE LEAD, ABOUT EIGHT MILES NORTH OF GALENA
WAS FIRST DEVELOPED BY MOSES MEEKER, IN 1825.
SOON, OTHERS, LIKE CHRISTIAN EBERSOHL
CAPTAIN CHARLES McCOY
AND JEFFERSON CRAWFORD FOLLOWED.
ALTHOUGH NO GREAT LODES WERE STRUCK AT THIS SETTLEMENT
WHICH EVENTUALLY TOOK THE NAME HAZEL GREEN, LEAD WAS PLENTIFUL.
IT WOULD LATER BE A MAJOR ZINC MINING SITE.
ONE MINER, JOHN HAWKINS ROUNTREE
HEADED EVEN FURTHER NORTH.
WHEN HE FIRST ARRIVED IN THE DISTRICT, IN MAY OF 1827
THE 22-YEAR-OLD KENTUCKIAN
DUG A SERIES OF SUCKER HOLES
ON LANDS AROUND NEW DIGGIN'S AND SHULLSBURG.
LACKLUSTER RESULTS DROVE HIM AND A FRIEND FURTHER NORTH.
J.H. Rountree: ON THE MORNING OF THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1827
WE CONCLUDED TO VISIT THE PLATTE MOUNDS.
AND AS IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL, CLEAR, BRIGHT DAY
WE COULD HAVE A FINE VIEW OF THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY
AND SPEND OUR NATION'S 51st BIRTHDAY
ON THE MOST COMMANDING POSITION THAT WE HAD EVER SEEN.
Narrator: ROUNTREE FOUND THAT THE MOUNDS
NAMED AFTER THE LEAD "PLATS" CREATED FROM THE SMELTED ORE
WERE ADJACENT TO SOME RICH DEPOSITS.
HE RETURNED IN THE FALL TO THE PLATTE RIVER DIGGIN'S.
WITHIN A YEAR, HE AND A PARTNER
HAD 15 MEN WORKING AT THEIR MINE.
THEY'D BUILT A SMELTER
AND NAMED THE SETTLEMENT "LEBANON."
THEIR CLAIM, BOUGHT FROM ANOTHER MINER FOR $3,600
WAS SOON YIELDING OVER $30,000 A YEAR.
THE FOLLOWING YEAR
WHEN HE WAS NAMED POSTMASTER OF THE BURGEONING COMMUNITY
ROUNTREE RENAMED IT "PLATTEVILLE."
THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CLAIMED PLATTEVILLE
ALONG WITH MOST OF THE LEAD LANDS
RECENTLY ACQUIRED FROM THE WINNEBAGO.
BUT THEY WERE STILL CONSIDERED PART OF MICHIGAN TERRITORY.
WILLIAM HAMILTON WASN'T THE ONLY LEAD MINER
WITH NATIONAL POLITICAL CONNECTIONS.
NEAR HARDSCRABBLE, GEORGE WALLACE JONES
BROTHER-IN-LAW OF A MISSOURI CONGRESSMAN
LEASED 1,000 ACRES AT SINSINAWA MOUND.
AND COL. JAMES JOHNSON, STILL MINING AT GALENA
WAS THE BROTHER OF POLITICIAN RICHARD JOHNSON
WHO WAS TO BE MARTIN VAN BUREN'S
VICE PRESIDENT IN 1837.
HAVING FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES NO DOUBT HELPED THE MINERS
DEAL WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
Dr. Horatio Newhall: THE LEAD MINES OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI
ARE UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR.
A SUB-AGENT RESIDES AT GALENA, ILLINOIS.
ANY PERSON WISHING TO DIG GETS A PERMIT OF THE AGENT TO DO SO
BY SIGNING CERTAIN REGULATIONS
THE PRINCIPAL OF WHICH IS THAT HE WILL SELL HIS MINERAL
TO NO ONE BUT A LICENSED SMELTER.
ANY PERSON WHO GETS A PERMIT
STAKES OFF 200 YARDS SQUARE.
THIS IS HIS LOT SO LONG AS HE WORKS IT.
AND NO ONE CAN INTERFERE WITH HIS DISCOVERIES.
ANY PERSON WHO WILL GIVE BOND TO THE GOVERNMENT FOR $5,000
CAN HAVE HALF A MILE SQUARE
ON CONDITION THAT HE EMPLOYS 20 LABORERS.
Miners: SEE Y'ALL LATER.
Newhall: THE PUBLIC SMELTERS, OF WHOM I AM ONE
GIVE BOND FOR $20,000.
THEY BUY MINERAL OF ANYONE WHO HAS A PERMIT TO DIG
MANUFACTURE IT INTO LEAD
PAY THE GOVERNMENT ONE-TENTH, MONTHLY
AND ARE THE GREAT MEN OF THE COUNTRY.
Narrator: PEOPLE WERE GETTING RICH IN GALENA--
RICH ENOUGH TO MOVE
OFF THEIR HOMESTEADS INTO FINE HOUSES IN TOWN--
RICH ENOUGH TO AFFORD FINE CLOTHES.
Narrator: THEY WERE ELECTED TO INFLUENTIAL OFFICES
AND HAD FINE OIL PAINTINGS MADE.
BUT SOME PEOPLE DID NOT PUT DOWN SUCH ROOTS.
History of Iowa County: FOR MANY YEARS AFTER THE EARLY SETTLEMENT
DODGEVILLE WAS FREQUENTED BY THOSE TRANSITORY BEINGS
FAMILIARLY KNOWN AS "SUCKERS."
THEY WERE MINERS
FROM ILLINOIS AND MISSOURI WHO OPERATED HERE DURING THE SUMMER
AND RETURNED TO THEIR HOMES IN THE WINTER
THUS ACQUIRING THE TITLE.
THEIR DIGGINGS WERE CALLED "SUCKER HOLES."
Narrator: SUCKERS WERE NAMED AFTER A ROUGH FISH THAT
LIKE MANY OF THE MINERS, MIGRATED SOUTH IN THE FALL.
THIS BOTTOM-FEEDER WAS FOUND
IN MANY OF THE RIVERS OF THE LEAD COUNTRY.
THE REGION'S DISTINCTIVE LANDSCAPE MADE IT CONDUCIVE
TO THE PRIMITIVE LEAD MINING METHODS PRACTICED AT THE TIME.
THE VALLEYS, UNTOUCHED BY THE LAST GLACIER, REMAINED DEEP.
MINERALS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN BURIED
BENEATH HUNDREDS OF FEET OF GLACIAL DEBRIS
STAYED NEAR THE SURFACE.
EASY PICKINGS WITH JUST A LITTLE DIGGING.
BUT THEY STILL HAD TO KNOW WHERE TO DIG.
MINERS' LOGIC WAS BASED ON OBSERVATIONS
OF THE LAND AROUND THEM.
THEY DUG EXPLORATORY HOLES
PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF THE LEAD VEINS
HOPING TO INTERSECT WHAT WAS CALLED A "RICH LEAD."
THE MINERS ALSO DEPENDED ON SOME OF THE LOCAL RESIDENTS
FOR ADVICE ON WHERE TO DIG.
Gen. Rudolph Smith: THE PRAIRIE FLOWERS ARE VARIOUS IN HUE.
THE DARK PURPLE MASONIC OR MINERAL FLOWER
THE TALL BRIGHT PURPLE AND RED FEATHER
THE PRAIRIE SUN FLOWER
THE GOLDENROD, THE SEVERAL SMALL
AND BEAUTIFUL VARIEGATED FLOWERS
INTERSPERSED AMONGST THE GRASS
ALL RENDER THE SCENE INDESCRIBABLY BEAUTIFUL.
Taylor: THE AMORPHA CANESCENS, OR "MASONIC WEED"
PECULIAR TO THE WHOLE COUNTRY
WHEN FOUND IN A CLUSTER OF RANK GROWTH
ALSO ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF THE INDIAN
AS WELL AS THE MORE EXPERIENCED MINER
AS IT WAS SUPPOSED TO INDICATE GREAT DEPTH
OF CLAY OR THE EXISTENCE OF CREVICES
IN THE ROCK BENEATH.
THUS WAS THE MANNER OF DISCOVERY
OF THE PRODUCTIVE MINES AT MINERAL POINT.
IT WAS UPON THIS POINT THAT THE LEADS WERE STRUCK.
THE FAME OF WHICH SPREAD
AND SO QUICKLY BECAME THE CENTER OF ATTRACTION
THE MINERS FLOCKING TO THEM FROM EVERY QUARTER.
Narrator: THIS AREA AROUND MINERAL POINT
WAS STILL WINNEBAGO LAND IN 1827.
SOME MINERS, INCLUDING DODGE FELT THAT THEIR STATUS
AS TRESPASSERS ON LAND NOT OWNED BY THE UNITED STATES
EXEMPTED THEM FROM PAYING THE GOVERNMENT ITS TEN PERCENT.
THE FUTURE U.S. SENATOR
TOLD THE WAR DEPARTMENT THAT HE AND HIS MINERS:
Dodge: COULD WHIP ANY NUMBER OF U.S. SOLDIERS
SENT OVER FROM FT. CRAWFORD TO COLLECT.
Narrator: ANOTHER LEADER WHO DEFIED THE AUTHORITIES
WAS BECOMING INCREASINGLY ANTAGONIZED
TO LEAVE HIS HOME ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
ABOUT 60 MILES SOUTH OF THE LEAD REGION.
HIS NAME WAS MA-KA-TAI-ME-SHE-KIA-KIAK
BLACK SPARROW HAWK IN HIS NATIVE SAUK TONGUE.
BUT HE BECAME KNOWN FAR AND WIDE AS "BLACK HAWK."
Black Hawk: THAT FALL, I PAID A VISIT TO THE AGENT
BEFORE WE STARTED TO OUR HUNTING GROUNDS
TO HEAR IF HE HAD ANY GOOD NEWS FOR ME.
HE HAD NEWS !
HE SAID THAT THE LAND ON WHICH OUR VILLAGE STOOD
WAS NOW ORDERED TO BE SOLD TO INDIVIDUALS.
AND THAT, WHEN SOLD, OUR RIGHT TO REMAIN, BY TREATY
WOULD BE AT AN END.
AND THAT IF WE RETURNED NEXT SPRING
WE WOULD BE FORCED TO REMOVE !
Narrator: IN THE SPRING OF 1829, THE SAUK TRIBE SPLIT IN TWO--
A BAND LED BY KEOKUK LEFT THE SAUK'S VILLAGE, SAUKENUK
AND MOVED ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO IOWA.
BLACK HAWK REFUSED TO LEAVE.
HE HAD LONG PROTESTED
THE 1804 SALE OF SAUK LANDS TO THE GOVERNMENT
SAYING THE U.S.
HAD MADE AN INVALID TREATY WITH FOUR SAUK MEN
WHO WERE NOT EMPOWERED TO BARGAIN AWAY TRIBAL LANDS.
BLACK HAWK SPENT SEVERAL YEARS
TRYING TO CONVINCE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
INCLUDING PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON
TO LET HIS PEOPLE STAY.
IN THE SPRING OF 1831, HE AND HIS BAND FINALLY MOVED
TO THE IOWA SIDE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
GENERAL EDMUND GAINES PROMISED THEM A QUANTITY OF CORN
TO REPLACE WHAT THEY HAD ALREADY PLANTED
IN THE FIELDS OF SAUKENUK.
WHEN IT WAS DELIVERED
THE SAUK FOUND IT TO BE UNACCEPTABLE.
Black Hawk: A SMALL PARTY OF BRAVES WENT OVER IN THE NIGHT
TO STEAL CORN
FROM THEIR OWN FIELDS.
THEY WERE DISCOVERED BY THE WHITES AND FIRED UPON.
COMPLAINTS WERE AGAIN MADE OF THE DEPREDATIONS COMMITTED
BY SOME OF MY PEOPLE, ON THEIR OWN CORN FIELDS !
Narrator: THE FOLLOWING SPRING, IN 1832
BLACK HAWK AND HIS BAND OF ABOUT 1,200 PEOPLE
CROSSED THE MISSISSIPPI AND TRAVELED UP THE ROCK RIVER
TO PLANT CORN AT THE VILLAGE OF WHITE CLOUD
A LEADER AND MYSTIC KNOWN AS THE WINNEBAGO PROPHET.
THEY DID SO KNOWING THAT IT MIGHT FORCE A CONFRONTATION
WITH U.S. FORCES.
GENERAL HENRY ATKINSON SOON ARRIVED WITH HIS TROOPS
INCLUDING COL. ZACHARY TAYLOR AND LT. JEFFERSON DAVIS.
THE ILLINOIS MILITIA, INCLUDING CAPT. ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WERE ALSO IN THE AREA.
ATKINSON SENT A MESSAGE TO BLACK HAWK.
Gen. Atkinson: IF YOU DO NOT COME BACK
AND GO ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER
I SHALL WRITE TO YOUR GREAT FATHER
AND TELL HIM OF YOUR BAD CONDUCT.
YOU WILL BE SORRY IF YOU DO NOT COME BACK.
Narrator: MOVING FURTHER UP THE ROCK RIVER
BLACK HAWK FOUND LITTLE SUPPORT
AMONG OTHER INDIAN BANDS FOR A WAR AGAINST THE WHITES.
ON MAY 14, HE SENT A SMALL PARTY BEARING A WHITE FLAG OF TRUCE
TO A MILITIA UNIT IN THE AREA.
HE INSTRUCTED HIS WARRIORS
TO TELL MILITIA LEADER, MAJOR ISAIAH STILLMAN
THAT THE SAUK WERE READY TO PEACEFULLY RETURN
TO THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
THE DRUNKEN, UNDISCIPLINED MILITIAMEN
KILLED SEVERAL MEMBERS
OF THE TRUCE PARTY.
( gun shots )
FIRST SQUAD ADVANCE !
HALT !
Narrator: STILLMAN LED 275 MEN IN AN ATTACK AGAINST BLACK HAWK
AND A SMALL BAND OF 40 WARRIORS.
THE SAUK ATTACKED THE ADVANCING MILITIA
FULLY EXPECTING TO DIE.
( Indian war cries )
( Indian war cries and gun shots)
RETREAT !
Black Hawk: NEVER WAS I SO MUCH SURPRISED IN MY LIFE
AS I WAS IN THIS ATTACK !
AN AY-- TO RETREAT
WHEN THEY HAD TEN TO ONE-- WAS UNACCOUNTABLE TO ME.
IT PROVED A DIFFERENT SPIRIT
FROM ANY I HAD EVER SEEN AMONG THE PALE FACES !
I EXPECTED TO SEE THEM FIGHT
AS THE AMERICANS DID WITH THE BRITISH DURING THE LAST WAR !
BUT THEY HAD NO SUCH BRAVES AMONG THEM.
Narrator: CAPT. LINCOLN WAS ASSIGNED TO BURIAL DETAIL AFTER THIS BATTLE
WHICH BECAME KNOWN AS "STILLMAN'S RUN."
THE SAUK FLED UP THE ROCK RIVER INTO WISCONSIN
WHICH BROUGHT THEM CLOSE TO THE EASTERN EDGE OF THE LEAD REGION.
BLACK HAWK'S VICTORY ENCOURAGED OTHER SMALL BANDS OF SAUK, FOX
POTAWATOMI, KICKAPOO AND WINNEBAGO
TO BEGIN RAIDING WHITE SETTLERS AND MINERS.
Thomas Forsyth: IT IS VERY WELL KNOWN BY ALL WHO KNOW THE BLACK HAWK
THAT HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN CONSIDERED
A FRIEND TO THE WHITES.
OFTEN, HE HAS TAKEN INTO HIS LODGE THE WEARIED WHITE MAN
GIVEN HIM GOOD FOOD TO EAT
AND A GOOD BLANKET TO SLEEP ON BEFORE THE FIRE.
WHAT RIGHT HAVE WE TO TELL ANY PEOPLE:
"YOU SHALL NOT CROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
ON ANY PRETEXT WHATEVER ?"
WHEN THE SAUK AND THE FOX INDIANS
WISH TO CROSS THE RIVER TO VISIT THEIR RELATIONS
THEY ARE PREVENTED BY US, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE POWER !
Narrator: PRESIDENT JACKSON RESPONDED.
A LARGE ARMY
COMMANDED BY GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT WAS ASSEMBLED
AND BEGAN MARCHING OUT OF CHICAGO.
A LEAD MINERS' MILITIA WAS RAISED
COMMANDED BY COL. HENRY DODGE.
HE MADE EVERY ATTEMPT
TO PREVENT OTHER INDIANS FROM JOINING BLACK HAWK
WARNING THEM
THAT THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR LAND AND ANNUITY PAYMENTS.
A WINNEBAGO LEADER HE MET WITH
AT EBENEZER BRIGHAM'S BLUE MOUNDS LEAD MINE
TOLD DODGE JUST WHAT HE WANTED TO HEAR.
Little Snake: THE BAD SAUKS HAVE COME AMONG US
AND I KNOW THEY HAVE COME TO EXTINGUISH OUR FIRES
AND PUT US IN TROUBLE
AND TO STAIN THE SOIL WITH THE BLOOD OF THE WHITES.
FATHERS, IF I WAS TO COME BACK HERE
AND FIND THE SOIL STAINED
WITH THE BLOOD OF MY WHITE BROTHERS
WHAT WOULD BE MY FEELINGS ?
THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN KIND TO ME.
Narrator: BUT ONE WINNEBAGO LEADER WAS NOT THAT IMPRESSED WITH DODGE.
White Crow: NO GREAT SHAKES OF A FIGHTER.
BLACK HAWK WOULD MAKE MINCEMEAT OF HIM.
THE WHITES WOULD NOT FIGHT.
THEY WERE A SOFT-SHELLED BREED.
THEY WOULD NOT STAND BEFORE THE YELL OF A RED MAN
BUT WOULD RUN UPON THE APPROACH OF DANGER
AND STICK THEIR HEADS IN THE BRUSH LIKE TURKEY OR QUAIL.
Narrator: DODGE ARRESTED WHITE CROW AND FIVE OTHER WINNEBAGOES.
ALL AROUND THEM, THERE WAS PANIC IN THE LEAD REGION.
Moses Strong: THE INHABITANTS OF THE LEAD MINES
WERE NOW THOROUGHLY ALARMED
BY CONSTANT DREAD OF ATTACK FROM BLACK HAWK
AND HIS WARRIORS
WHO HAD SMALL PARTIES SCATTERED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY
BETWEEN THE ROCK, MISSISSIPPI AND WISCONSIN RIVERS.
FORTS, BLOCK HOUSES AND STOCKADES WERE ERECTED
BY THE PEOPLE AT NUMEROUS PLACES FOR THE PROTECTION
AND DEFENSE OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES.
Woman: DO YOU SEE 'EM?
I DON'T SEE ANYTHING.
Man: THEY'LL BE HERE.
YOU SURE ?
Man: THEY SAID THEY'LL BE HERE
DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.
THERE THEY ARE.
THERE'S THE SOLDIERS COMING OUT.
HELLO, CAPTAIN !
COL. PARKINSON SENT US UP TO TAKE YOU TO STOCKADE.
NOW, STAY TOGETHER.
THE PRIVATE WILL BE BEHIND YOU.
YOU WALK RIGHT BEHIND ME.
LET'S GO !
HAS THERE BEEN ANY PROBLEMS ?
I THINK SO.
HAVE YOU SEEN ANY INDIANS ?
NOT YET.
Narrator: BUILT IN A PANIC, MOST OF THESE FORTS WERE NEVER ATTACKED.
A PROUD DESCRIPTION OF ONE NOTED THAT:
"IT WOULD HAVE PROVED QUITE FORMIDABLE
IF THE OPPORTUNITY HAD EVER PRESENTED ITSELF."
THE METTLE OF ONE FORT IN THE LEAD COUNTRY, HOWEVER
WAS TESTED.
Black Hawk: BRAVES AND WARRIORS
THESE ARE THE MEDICINE BAGS OF OUR FOREFATHER, MUK-A-TA-QUET
WHO WAS THE FATHER OF THE SAUK NATION.
THEY WERE HANDED DOWN
TO THE GREAT WAR CHIEF OF OUR NATION, NA-NA-MA-KEE
WHO HAS BEEN AT WAR WITH ALL THE NATIONS OF THE LAKES
AND ALL THE NATIONS OF THE PLAINS
AND HAS NEVER YET BEEN DISGRACED.
I EXPECT YOU ALL TO PROTECT THEM.
WE STARTED WITH ABOUT 200 WARRIORS
FOLLOWING MY GREAT MEDICINE BAGS.
I DIRECTED MY COURSE TOWARD SUNSET
AND DREAMED THE SECOND NIGHT AFTER WE STARTED
THAT THERE WAS A GREAT FEAST FOR US AFTER ONE DAY'S TRAVEL.
I TOLD MY WARRIORS MY DREAM IN THE MORNING
AND WE ALL STARTED FOR NOS-CO-HO-CO-Y-NAK, THE APPLE RIVER.
Narrator: THE SAUK LEADER
AND HIS WARRIORS ENCOUNTERED FOUR MILITARY MESSENGERS
AT TERRAPIN RIDGE, JUST ABOVE THE FORT
AT THE APPLE RIVER MINING SETTLEMENT.
( gun shot )
* ASHES, ASHES, WE ALL FALL DOWN... *
THE INDIANS ARE RIGHT BEHIND US.
THEY'RE COMING IN NOW !
GET INSIDE !
( men yelling and women screaming)
William Johnson: THE BOYS WERE ALL EAGER FOR THE FRAY-- SO MUCH SO
THAT A NUMBER OF 'EM RAN OUTSIDE THE ENCLOSURE
TO MEET THE INDIANS.
BUT CAPTAIN STONE ORDERED 'EM BACK.
THEY HAD NOT LONG TO WAIT.
( Indian war cries )
Johnson: IT WAS AN EASY MATTER TO KEEP DOWN LOW ENOUGH
TO BE PROTECTED BY PICKETS
AND SHOOT AT INDIANS THROUGH THE CRACKS.
BUT GEORGE HERCLERODE INSISTED ON STANDING UP
AND SHOOTING OVER THE TOPS OF THE PICKETS.
GET DOWN, GET DOWN !
Black Hawk: ONE OF THEIR BRAVES
WHO SEEMED MORE VALIANT THAN THE REST
RAISED HIS HEAD ABOVE THE PICKETING TO FIRE AT US
WHEN ONE OF MY BRAVES, WITH A WELL-DIRECTED SHOT
PUT AN END TO HIS BRAVERY.
Johnson: AS GEORGE HERCLERODE'S GUN WAS NOW IDLE
MRS. ELIZABETH ARMSTRONG PICKED IT UP
WITH THE INTENTION OF USING IT HERSELF TO SHOOT INDIANS.
MR. HUGHLETT SUGGESTED THAT SHE SHOULD LOAD
AND HE DO THE SHOOTING.
Narrator: ELIZABETH'S COURAGE INSPIRED THE OTHER WOMEN.
AND SOON, A HAIL OF LOCALLY DUG LEAD
WAS SHOWERED UPON THE SAUK WARRIORS.
COMING DOWN FROM THE LEFT ON THE HILL !
GET THE ONE AT THE SPRING !
Man: CUT MORE NOTCHES !
( Indian war cries and gun shots )
Narrator: IMPRESSED BY THEIR FIREPOWER, BLACK HAWK AND HIS MEN
WERE CONTENT WITH RAIDING NEARBY HOUSES FOR PROVISIONS.
HE CONSIDERED SETTING FIRE TO THE FORT
BUT DID NOT WANT TO ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF NEARBY ARMY TROOPS.
Man: LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE RAIDING OUR CABIN !
DADDY !
WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU LADIES !
THAT'S RIGHT !
Narrator: IN HONOR OF THE BRAVERY OF ELIZABETH AND THE OTHER WOMEN
THE PEOPLE OF THE APPLE RIVER SETTLEMENT
DECIDED TO NAME THEIR TOWN "ELIZABETH."
BLACK HAWK FOUGHT SEVERAL OTHER BATTLES
THEN FLED TO FOUR LAKES, THE FUTURE SITE OF MADISON.
HE DECIDED TO TRAVEL FROM THERE
DOWN THE WISCONSIN RIVER TO THE MISSISSIPPI
WHERE SOME OF HIS PEOPLE COULD FIND SANCTUARY
ON THE WESTERN BANK.
THERE WAS NO CHANCE THAT WHITE CROW'S BAND
COULD HELP THE SAUK.
THE WINNEBAGO LEADER WAS STILL BEING HELD BY DODGE.
MY FATHERS, IF YOU GIVE ME LIBERTY
WE WILL RAISE THE TOMAHAWK AND JOIN THE RED SKINS IN THE FIGHT.
AND WE THINK THE RED SKINS SHOULD ATTACK THEM ON ONE SIDE
AND THE AMERICANS ON THE OTHER
AND HAVE THE SAUKS BETWEEN US.
WE WILL SHOW YOU WHETHER WE ARE SOLDIERS OR NOT !
( gun shots )
Narrator: DODGE'S HOSTAGE PLOY WORKED.
WHITE CROW FOUGHT ALONGSIDE HIM AGAINST BLACK HAWK
AT THE BATTLE OF WISCONSIN HEIGHTS.
THEIR ENTIRE ARMY
WAS HELD AT BAY, HOWEVER, BY THE SAUK WARRIOR
AND ABOUT 50 OF HIS MEN.
Black Hawk: I WAS MOUNTED ON A FINE HORSE
AND WAS PLEASED TO SEE MY WARRIORS SO BRAVE.
I ADDRESSED THEM IN A LOUD VOICE
TELLING THEM TO STAND THEIR GROUND
AND NEVER YIELD IT TO THE ENEMY.
Narrator: MEANWHILE, THE WOMEN, CHILDREN AND ELDERS OF HIS BAND
MADE THEIR WAY TO THE WISCONSIN RIVER.
SOME CROSSED THE RIVER AND ESCAPED OVER LAND.
OTHERS FLOATED DOWN THE WISCONSIN
TOWARD THE MISSISSIPPI.
JEFFERSON DAVIS LATER CALLED BLACK HAWK'S HOLDING ACTION
AT WISCONSIN HEIGHTS:
"A BRILLIANT EXHIBITION OF MILITARY TACTICS."
BUT DODGE HAD A MORE PRAGMATIC VIEW.
Dodge: BE ASSURED THAT EVERY POSSIBLE EXERTION
WILL BE MADE TO DESTROY THE ENEMY
CRIPPLED AS THEY MUST BE WITH THEIR WOUNDED AND FAMILIES
AS WELL AS THEIR WANT OF PROVISION SUPPLIES.
Kinzie: IT MAY SEEM "WONDERFUL" THAT AN ENEMY, SO FEW IN NUMBER
AND SO INSIGNIFICANT IN RESOURCES
COULD HAVE CREATED SUCH A PANIC, AND REQUIRED SO VAST AN AMOUNT
OF OPPOSING FORCE TO SUBDUE THEM.
THE DIFFICULTY HAD BEEN SIMPLY
IN NEVER KNOWING WHERE TO FIND THEM
EITHER TO ATTACK OR GUARD AGAINST THEM.
IN ORDER TO PURSUE EFFECTUALLY AND CATCH THE INDIANS
A PECULIAR TRAINING IS NECESSARY--
A TRAINING WHICH, AT THAT DAY
BUT FEW, EVEN OF THE FRONTIER MILITIA, COULD BOAST.
Narrator: THE BLACK HAWK WAR ENDED A FEW WEEKS LATER
AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THE BAD AXE AND MISSISSIPPI RIVERS.
IGNORING ANOTHER WHITE FLAG OF TRUCE
THE U.S. TROOPS OPENED FIRE.
THEY WERE ASSISTED BY A CANNON ON THE STEAMBOAT WARRIOR.
BLACK HAWK TRIED TO CONVINCE HIS BAND
THAT IT WAS DANGEROUS TO TRY TO CROSS THE MISSISSIPPI.
ONLY A FEW FOLLOWED HIM NORTH.
THE NEXT DAY, THE REST
WERE SURROUNDED BY ATKINSON'S SOLDIERS
AND DODGE'S MILITIA.
Black Hawk: OUR BRAVES, BUT FEW IN NUMBER
FINDING THAT THE ENEMY PAID NO REGARD TO AGE OR SEX
AND SEEING THAT THEY WERE MURDERING
HELPLESS WOMEN AND LITTLE CHILDREN
DETERMINED TO FIGHT
UNTIL THEY WERE KILLED.
AS MANY WOMEN AS COULD
COMMENCED SWIMMING THE MISSISSIPPI
WITH THEIR CHILDREN ON THEIR BACKS.
A NUMBER OF THEM WERE DROWNED
AND SOME SHOT BEFORE THEY COULD REACH THE OPPOSITE SHORE.
Narrator: SIOUX, MENOMINEE, EVEN WINNEBAGOES
ASSISTED THE AMERICANS IN COLLECTING SCALPS AND PRISONERS.
THE 16-WEEK WAR
REDUCED BLACK HAWK'S BAND FROM 1,200 TO 150 SOULS.
BLACK HAWK ESCAPED AND WASN'T APPREHENDED FOR WEEKS.
HE HAD LED THE LAST NATIVE AMERICAN BATTLES
IN ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN
ONE OF THE LAST EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
72 NON-INDIAN CILIANS AND SOLDIERS LOST THEIR LIVES.
WINFIELD SCOTT'S TROOPS ARRIVED IN GALENA
THE DAY AFTER THE FIGHTING ENDED.
THE CHOLERA THEY CARRIED
ULTIMATELY KILLED MANY MORE PEOPLE THAN BLACK HAWK EVER DID.
THE BLACK HAWK WAR DEMONSTRATED TO NATIVE PEOPLE
THE FUTILITY OF RESISTANCE
AND OPENED THE MINERAL DISTRICT TO FURTHER WHITE SETTLEMENT.
IT ALSO MADE DODGE A REGIONAL HERO.
Miners ( singing to Auld Lang Syne):
* SHOULD SAVAGE WARFARE BE FORGOT
* AND NE'ER AGAIN APPEAR
* WITH HANDS UPON OUR BOSOMS PUT
* WE'LL SAY DODGE SHALL LIVE HERE ! *
All: HERE !
Narrator: AFTER THE BLACK HAWK WAR
MANY OF THE MINERS WERE ANXIOUS TO RETURN TO THEIR DIGGINGS.
LOW LEAD PRICES THE PREVIOUS THREE YEARS
HAD BROUGHT HARD TIMES TO MANY.
LEAD ORE HAD BEEN SELLING FOR LESS THAN ONE CENT A POUND.
NOW THE PRICE WAS BACK UP.
ONE MINER, WILLIS ST. JOHN
CAME UPON A PROMISING LOOKING CAVE
ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE MISSISSIPPI
ABOUT TEN MILES UP RIVER FROM DUBUQUE.
Julius McCabe: UPON ENTERING IT, HE WAS SURPRISED TO BEHOLD
AN IMMENSE NUMBER OF LARGE, LIVING SNAKES
WHICH HAD OCCUPIED THE CAVERN...
IN WHICH MR. ST. JOHN IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARD
MADE A VALUABLE DISCOVERY OF EXTENSIVE VEINS OF LEAD ORE.
Hawkins Taylor: HEARING OF THE DISCOVERIES MADE AT SNAKE HOLLOW
I WITH OTHERS, STARTED FOR THAT POINT.
THE NEXT DAY, ALL GOT TO THE MINES AND WENT INTO CAMP.
AND I FOUND EVERYBODY MY FRIEND.
AND THERE NEVER WAS A HAPPIER SET THAN WE MINERS WERE.
Narrator: A FEW YEARS LATER, A YOUNG MINER WAS SHOT TO DEATH AT A LOCAL BAR
BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO SELL HIS LEAD-RICH DIGGINGS.
( gun shot )
SUCH WAS LIFE IN LEAD RUSH COUNTRY.
SOON, THERE WERE 100 MEN MINING AT SNAKE HOLLOW.
IN FACT, MINING WAS PICKING UP AGAIN ALL OVER
PUSHING NEWCOMERS INTO MANY NEW AREAS.
Schoolcraft: MINING, A CARDINAL INTEREST HERETOFORE
HAS NOT CEASED IN THE DEGREE INFERRED
FROM THE DEPRESSION OF THE LEAD MARKET.
THE COUNTRY APPEARS TO BE RICHER IN ORES OF LEAD
THAN ANY OTHER MINERAL DISTRICT IN THE WORLD
AND APPEARS ADEQUATE TO SUPPLY ALMOST ANY AMOUNT
OF THIS ARTICLE THAT THE DEMANDS OF COMMERCE REQUIRE.
Narrator: THE TREATY FOLLOWING THE BLACK HAWK WAR
ALSO MADE IT LEGAL FOR NON-INDIANS
TO WORK THE DUBUQUE MINES.
THEY'D BEEN TRESPASSING THERE ON AND OFF SINCE 1830
WHEN A GROUP OF 50 CROSSED THE MISSISSIPPI
AND BEGAN MINING, IGNORING FEDERAL REGULATIONS.
IN THEIR EYES, THERE WERE NO LAWS
SINCE IT WAS SAUK AND MESQUAKI LAND.
SO, THEY SIGNED A MINERS' PACT
AGREEING TO COOPERATE WITH EACH OTHER.
THE AGREEMENT ALLOWED FOR MULTIPLE LAND CLAIMS
AND LARGER ACREAGES THAN WERE LEGAL IN THE LEAD DISTRICT.
THIS BEGAN THREE YEARS OF EFFORT
BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO PROTECT THE INDIAN LAND.
U.S. TROOPS FROM PRAIRIE DU CHIEN
WERE SENT DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI
BY COL. ZACHARY TAYLOR TO REMOVE THE TRESPASSING MINERS.
Maj. Kearny: SHOULD YOU DISCOVER BUILDINGS ERECTED BY WHITE MEN
NEAR THE MINES IN THE INDIAN LANDS
YOU WILL BURN THEM TO THE GROUND.
ANY TOOLS OR MINING IMPLEMENTS THAT YOU MAY FIND THERE
YOU WILL DESTROY
OR THROW INTO THE RIVER.
NO WHITE MEN HAVE ANY AUTHORITY WHATEVER THERE.
THEY HAVE BEEN REPEATEDLY WARNED OFF.
AND IF NOW FOUND, THEY MUST MEET THE CONSEQUENCES.
Narrator: THESE SKIRMISHES, POSSIBLY EVEN THE BLACK HAWK WAR
COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
IF GEN. WILLIAM CLARK, OF LOUIS AND CLARK FAME
HAD CARRIED OUT INSTRUCTIONS FROM WASHINGTON
TO PURCHASE THE MESQUAKI MINES.
CLARK THOUGHT THE MESQUAKI AND SAUK ASKING PRICE
$32,000 PER YEAR, FOR 50 OR 60 YEARS, WAS TOO HIGH.
THE MESQUAKI ABANDONED THEIR VILLAGE
IN THE AREA, AT CATFISH CREEK, IN JULY 1831
AFTER A SKIRMISH WITH THE MENOMINEE.
BUT THE DUBUQUE MINES DID NOT BECOME U.S. LAND
UNTIL THE BLACK HAWK WAR TREATY WENT INTO EFFECT
ALMOST TWO YEARS LATER.
Man: CANTER MARCH !
Narrator: LT. JEFFERSON DAVIS
AND HIS TROOPS DROVE OUT A LARGE WAVE OF MINERS
WHO INVADED THE AREA AFTER THE 1832 WAR, BUT BEFORE THE TREATY.
THE MINERS RETURNED AND PERSISTED INTO THE WINTER.
BUT U.S. SECRETARY OF WAR, LOUIS CASS
ORDERED THEM REMOVED AGAIN.
MINERS CONTINUED TO SNEAK ONTO THE RICH LEAD FIELDS OF DUBUQUE
UNTIL THEY WERE OPEN.
MATHIAS HAM FILED ONE OF THE EARLIEST CLAIMS
AT THE MESQUAKI MINES AT EAGLE POINT.
HE'D BEEN IN THE AREA SINCE 1826, MINING NORTH OF GALENA
EVENTUALLY FINDING A RICH LEAD AT SNAKE HOLLOW.
A SIGNER OF THE MINERS' PACT
AND A VETERAN OF HENRY DODGE'S DRAGOONS IN THE BLACK HAWK WAR
HE TYPIFIED THE BRASH SOUTHERNERS
WHO BROUGHT A RELENTLESS SPIRIT
TO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI LEAD LANDS.
HAM BUILT A LOG CABIN AT EAGLE POINT
AND PROCEEDED TO MAKE A FORTUNE
MINING AND SMELTING.
HE BUILT A MANSION DESIGNED BY JOHN FRANCIS RAGUE
ARCHITECT OF THE IOWA AND ILLINOIS CAPITOL BUILDINGS.
IT SYMBOLIZED HIS RISE FROM DIGGER TO BUSINESSMAN
WITH INTERESTS IN A RIVER FERRY, A FARM, REAL ESTATE
LIME KILNS AND RAILROADS.
EVENTUALLY, HAM'S ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
WOULD LEAD HIM TO DISASTER.
BUT HE AND OTHERS LIKE HIM
TRANSFORMED THE FRONTIER LEAD LANDS
ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
Sir Charles Augustus Murray: THE MINERS ARE THE MOST WONDROUS MIX OF HUMANITY
THAT EVER I BEHELD.
THEY'RE FROM ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD
BUT CHIEFLY FROM IRELAND, DERBYSHIRE
CORNWALL AND GERMANY.
Narrator: A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY
THE HONORABLE SIR CHARLES AUGUSTUS MURRAY
WAS ENAMORED WITH THE AREA
HE CALLED "THE GREAT UNITED STATES LEAD MINES"
IN HIS BEST-SELLING BOOK
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.
Murray: BESIDES THE EMIGRANTS, THERE ARE FUGITIVES
FROM LAW AND JUSTICE, THIEVES, PIRATES, DESERTERS--
THE WAGES ARE SO HIGH
THAT THEY WORK LITTLE MORE THAN HALF THEIR TIME
AND SPEND THE REMAINING HALF CHIEFLY IN DRINKING, GAMBLING
QUARRELING, DIRKING AND PISTOLING ONE ANOTHER.
THIS PICTURE IS RATHER
MORE FAITHFULLY DESCRIPTIVE OF DUBUQUE
THAN OF GALENA-- IN WHICH LATTER PLACE
THERE ARE SOME WHO HAVE MADE MONEY
AND WHO LIVE SOBERLY AND RESPECTABLY.
I REACHED DUBUQUE ON A SATURDAY NIGHT
AND PROCEEDED TO THE ONLY TAVERN.
THE BAR ROOM WAS CROWDED
WITH A PARCEL OF BLACKGUARD NOISY MINERS.
I FELT MORE THAN EVER ANNOYED
BY THAT ABSURD CUSTOM SO PREVALENT IN AMERICA
OF FORCING TRAVELERS OF QUIET AND RESPECTABLE HABITS
INTO THE SOCIETY OF RUFFIANS.
...THANK YOU, VERY MUCH.
THE LANDLORD, WHOM I HAD MET IN THE STEAMER
ON ASCENDING THE MISSISSIPPI, PROMISED ME A BED TO MYSELF
A LUXURY THAT IS BY NO MEANS EASILY OBTAINED
BY TRAVELERS IN THE WEST.
THE OTHER BEDS CONTAINED TWO TO THREE PERSONS.
I WAS AWAKENED BY VOICES CLOSE TO MY BEDSIDE
AND TURNED 'ROUND TO LISTEN TO THE FOLLOWING DIALOGUE:
A DOCTOR TO A DRUNKEN FELLOW
WHO WAS TAKING OFF HIS COAT AND WAISTCOAT
CLOSE TO THE DOCTOR'S BED
"HELLO, WHERE THE DEVIL ARE YOU COMING TO ?"
DRUNKARD, "TO BED, TO BE SURE."
DOCTOR, "WHERE ?"
DRUNKARD, "WHY, WITH YOU !"
DOCTOR, RAISING HIS VOICE ANGRILY
"I'LL BE DAMNED IF YOU CAN COME INTO THIS BED !"
DRUNKARD, WALKING OFF WITH AN AIR OF DIGNITY
"WELL, YOU NEED NOT BE SO DAMNED PARTICULAR.
I'M AS PARTICULAR AS YOU, I ASSURE YOU !"
I SPENT THE FOLLOWING DAY
IN EXAMINING THE MINES NEAR DUBUQUE
WHICH ARE NOT GENERALLY SO RICH IN LEAD
AS THOSE FOUND ON THE OPPOSITE SHORE, TOWARD GALENA.
HOWEVER, THE WHOLE COUNTRY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
CONTAINS MINERAL.
IT WILL BE, IN MY OPINION, A GREATER AND MORE POPULOUS TOWN
THAN GALENA WILL EVER BECOME.
WE STOPPED A SHORT TIME AT A LARGE SMELTING ESTABLISHMENT
A MILE OR TWO BELOW THE TOWN.
ON A HIGH BLUFF WHICH OVERLOOKS IT
IS THE TOMB OF DUBUQUE.
THE SPOT IS MARKED BY A CROSS AND I CLAMBERED UP TO SEE IT.
THE VIEW FROM THIS BOLD, HIGH BLUFF IS VERY FINE.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE DAY ON WHICH I VISITED, WAS CLOUDY.
Narrator: RENOWNED ARTIST GEORGE CATLIN PAINTED DUBUQUE'S GRAVE SITE
DURING A VISIT THAT SAME YEAR.
HIS WORDS ALSO PAINT A ROSY PICTURE OF THE REGION.
George Catlin: THIS IS CERTAINLY THE RICHEST SECTION OF THE COUNTRY
ON THE CONTINENT.
THOSE WHO LIVE A FEW YEARS TO WITNESS THE RESULT
WILL BE READY TO SANCTION MY ASSERTION
THAT IT IS TO BE THE MINT OF OUR COUNTRY.
Narrator: HOWEVER, THIS HIGH OPINION OF THEIR AREA
WAS NOT UNANIMOUS AMONG THE PEOPLE
WHO ACTUALLY LIVED IN THE LEAD DISTRICT.
Pioneer Travel Journal: ALTHOUGH THE SETTLERS WERE ALL SIMPLY SQUATTERS
BELONGING WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS
TO THE POORER CLASSES OF CITIZENS
WE NEVER HAD THE LEAST DIFFICULTY OR TROUBLE
WITH ANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS.
WHENEVER THERE WAS A CORN HUSKING
OR QUILTING PARTY OR BARN RAISING
WE WERE SURE TO RECEIVE AN INVITATION
AND A CORDIAL RECEPTION.
WE HEARD OF NO VIOLATION OF LAW OR OTHER OUTRAGE.
ALTHOUGH, RUMORS REACHED US OF LAWLESSNESS AT MINERAL POINT
WHICH HAD BECOME A GREAT MINING CENTER.
Strange Palmer: MINERAL POINT, OR AS IT WAS GENERALLY CALLED, "SHAKE RAG"
WAS INDEED A MOST HUMBLE
UNPRETENDING VILLAGE IN APPEARANCE.
THERE WAS NO SHOW OF A WHISKEY BAR IN THE HOTEL
NOT SO MUCH AS EVEN A DECANTERED JUG OR KEG.
THAT VERY NECESSARY APPENDAGE
BEING KEPT IN WHAT WAS CALLED THE GROCERY--
A SMALL BUILDING SOME CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE
FROM THE MAIN BUILDING.
HERE WAS TO BE FOUND AT ALL HOURS MUSIC, DANCING
SINGING, DRINKING AND GAMBLING OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.
THEY WERE OPENLY
AND NOTORIOUSLY ENACTED
IN EVERY SIMILAR ESTABLISHMENT IN THE TOWN.
THERE GOES ANGUS, AGAIN.
HE'S SWEET ON MARTHA.
TWO BITS-- I BET HE GOES TO KISS HER.
SIX BITS-- SHE SLAPS HIM !
( laughter )
Narrator: THE LEASING OF LAND BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
FOR A TEN PERCENT ASSESSMENT HAD BECOME VERY UNPOPULAR.
MANY, LIKE DODGE, REFUSED TO PAY
ESPECIALLY WHEN LEAD PRICES SLUMPED.
OTHERS IGNORED THE PROHIBITION ON FARMING
WHEN PRICES ON FOODS SHIPPED TO THE REGION SKYROCKETED.
THE GOVERNMENT FINALLY RELENTED.
PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON ANNOUNCED
THAT LEAD REGION FARM LANDS WERE FOR SALE.
...THERE'S NO LEAD AROUND HERE...
BUT FEDERAL OFFICIALS INSISTED THAT NO LAND SHOULD BE SOLD
IF THE BUYER SAW SIGNS THAT IT CONTAINED LEAD ORE.
SURPRISINGLY, LITTLE WAS "SEEN."
Theodore Rodolph: THAT FALL, 1834, THE UNITED STATES LAND OFFICE
WAS ESTABLISHED AT MINERAL POINT.
THEN I HAD TO GO TO MINERAL POINT TO ENTER OUR FARM.
WE STARTED ABOUT SUNRISE ON HORSEBACK.
I HAD MY MONEY PACKED IN MY SADDLE BAG.
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SEPTEMBER DAY.
WE FOLLOWED THE RIDGE ROAD THROUGH THE TIMBER.
THE TREES HAD ALREADY ASSUMED THE VARIEGATED HUES
WHICH A FEW LIGHT FROSTS HAD IMPARTED TO THEM.
I NEVER ENJOYED A MORE AGREEABLE RIDE
UNTIL WE CAME WITHIN A FEW MILES OF MINERAL POINT.
HERE, THE HILLS WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR TREES.
AND WINDLASSES, MINERAL HOLES, PILES OF DIRT, ROCKS
AND MINERAL GREETED OUR VIEW ON ALL SIDES.
WE STOPPED AT THE TAVERN OF MRS. JOHN HOOD
WHO KEPT A GOOD HOUSE FOR THOSE TIMES.
EVERY TAVERN WAS FULL TO OVERFLOWING.
SPECULATORS AND GAMBLERS HAD CONGREGATED IN CROWDS.
AND DURING THE LAND SALES, MINERAL POINT WAS ANYTHING
BUT A QUIET AND DESIRABLE PLACE TO LIVE IN.
Narrator: ONE WOMAN WHO LIVED THERE AT THE TIME, HOWEVER
REMEMBERS THE MINERS AS A HARD-WORKING GROUP.
THE MINERS WORE WOOL CAPS, WOOLEN UNDERWEAR.
MANY OF THEM WORE RED FLANNELS AND HOMEMADE UNDERWEAR.
THEY WORE HICKORY SHIRTS, BLUE DENIM JEANS
AND COWHIDE SHOES WITH VERY THICK SOLES.
WE COULD ALWAYS TELL A MINER
BY THE DIGGING DIRT IN HIS CLOTHES AND SHOES.
WE CALLED THEM "DIGGERS."
I NEVER HEARD THE WORD "MINERS" TILL I WAS FULLY GROWN.
WITH THE PICK, THE MINER DISLODGED THE MINERAL.
WITH THE SHOVEL
THEY PUT IT INTO THE BUCKET.
IT WAS THEN HOISTED-- "HISTED" THEY SAID--
TO THE SURFACE WITH A WINDLASS.
LADDERS WERE GOOD-SIZE PIECES OF TIMBER
LODGED INTO THE SIDES OF THE MINES.
I HEARD OF ONE OR TWO CAVE-INS AT THE MINES.
MEN WERE KILLED.
Galena Gazette : THE POPULAR RECORD OF SCIENCE
GIVES US A VERY SIMPLE TREATMENT TO PREVENT THE DISEASE
TO WHICH SMELTERS AND WORKERS IN LEAD ARE LIABLE
FROM THEIR AVOCATION.
THEY ARE TO TAKE TWO BATHS OF SOAP AND WATER EVERY WEEK
OCCASIONALLY ADDING A LITTLE SULFUR
AND ARE CAREFULLY TO WASH
THE UNCOVERED PARTS OF THE BODY WITH SOAP AND WATER
AT EVERY INTERVAL BETWEEN THEIR WORKING HOURS.
THEY ARE TO DRINK ONE OR TWO GLASSES OF LEMONADE
MADE WITH SULFURIC ACID, EVERY DAY
ACCORDING TO THE GREATER OR LESSER QUALITY
OF DUST OR POISONOUS VAPOR
WITH WHICH THE SURROUNDING ATMOSPHERE MAY BE CHARGED.
AH! THAT'LL ROT THE TEETH OUT OF A SUCKER.
Galena Gazette: AT THE SAME TIME, THEY SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL
THAN FOLLOWERS OF ANY OTHER TRADE
TO ABSTAIN FROM SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS.
Narrator: AS PRODUCTION INCREASED, IT BECAME EVIDENT TO SOME
THAT PROCESSING THE LEAD PIGS RIGHT IN THE DISTRICT
RATHER THAN SHIPPING THEM OUT, MIGHT BE LUCRATIVE.
GREEN BAY BUSINESSMAN DANIEL WHITNEY HIRED TWO MEN TO DIG
BY HAND, A 120-FOOT VERTICAL SHAFT IN A SANDSTONE OUTCROP.
IN 1833, THEY CONSTRUCTED A SLENDER
60-FOOT BUILDING OVER THE SHAFT
LOCATED ON THE WISCONSIN RIVER, AT HELENA.
THE LEAD REGION HAD ITS FIRST SHOT TOWER.
George Featherstonhaugh: ALTHOUGH CALLED A TOWER, IT WAS IN FACT
A PERPENDICULAR CYLINDER
CUT FROM THE TOP OF THE ESCARPMENT
THROUGH THE INCOHERENT SANDSTONE TO A DEPTH OF 180 FEET.
Narrator: GEORGE FEATHERSTONHAUGH WAS AN ENGLISH GEOLOGIST
WHO TRAVELED EXTENSIVELY THROUGH THE LEAD DISTRICT.
HIS DIARIES SHOW HOW A PROPER ENGLISH GENTLEMAN REACTED
TO A COUNTRY HE VIEWED AS BARBARIC AND CRUDE.
Featherstonhaugh: THEIR METHOD IN MANUFACTURING OF SHOT
WAS TO PUT TEN POUNDS OF ARSENIC TO EVERY 1,000 POUNDS OF GALENA
TO MAKE THE LEAD BRITTLE AND DISPOSED TO SEPARATE.
THE LEAD IS POURED THROUGH A PERFORATED LADLE
AND FALLS FROM THE TOP OF THE TOWER INTO THE WATER BELOW
IN ALL SORTS OF SIZES AND SHAPES.
WHEN TAKEN OUT AND DRIED
IT IS POURED OVER A SERIES OF INCLINED PLANES
SEPARATED BY SMALL TROUGHS.
THESE GLOBULES, WHICH ARE QUITE ORBICULAR
RUN ALL OVER THE PLANES, WHILE THE IMPERFECT ONES WADDLE ALONG.
THE PERFECT SHOT ARE FINALLY SIFTED IN A MACHINE.
BUT A VERY SHORT TIME AGO, THE WHOLE COUNTRY WAS A WILDERNESS
CONTAINING ONLY A FEW ROAMING WINNEBAGOES.
AND ALREADY, THE WHITE MEN HAVE ESTABLISHED A WELL-CONDUCTED
AND PROSPEROUS MANUFACTORY.
HAVING GOT SOMETHING TO EAT AT THE HOUSE
WE LAY DOWN TO SLEEP ON THE FLOOR
AND SURRENDERED OURSELVES TO MYRIADS OF PITILESS MOSQUITOS.
BLAST !
Narrator: COL. HENRY DODGE WAS ABSENT FROM THE LEAD REGION
FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
HIS OLD FRIEND, PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON
HAD SENT HIM OUT WEST WITH A BATTALION OF MOUNTED RANGERS.
DODGE RETURNED TO MINERAL POINT IN 1836
AND SOON AFTER, EMANCIPATED HIS SLAVES, PERHAPS ANTICIPATING
WHAT WAS TO TRANSPIRE.
IN MAY, PRESIDENT JACKSON APPOINTED HIM GOVERNOR
OF THE NEWLY-CREATED WISCONSIN TERRITORY.
( cheers )
Moses Strong: TO THE 60th ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
THE BIRTHDAY OF WISCONSIN !
WE HAIL IT AS FREE MEN.
WE WELCOME IT AS CITIZENS OF THE TERRITORY.
( cheers )
Governor Dodge: TO THE MEMORY OF THE VOLUNTEERS OF 1832
WHO FELL IN DEFENSE OF THEIR COUNTRY...
William Russell: THE GOVERNOR OF WISCONSIN--
HE NEVER "DODGED" THE MINERS OF HIS COUNTRY.
NEITHER WILL HE "DODGE" OUR INTERESTS OR HIS PUBLIC DUTIES.
( cheers )
Narrator: IT HAD BEEN ONLY 20 YEARS
SINCE THE FIRST BIG LEAD SHIPMENTS OUT OF GALENA.
BUT THE RUSH FOR GREY GOLD
HAD TRANSFORMED NATIVE LANDS INTO A U.S. TERRITORY.
DODGE AND TERRITORIAL SECRETARY, JOHN S. HORNER
TOOK THE OATH OF OFFICE AT MINERAL POINT, JULY 4, 1836.
( cheers )
John Horner: BRAVE MINERS OF WISCONSIN CAN SHOOT, AS WELL AS DIG LEAD !
( cheers )
Sauveur Detchemendy: THE MINING SOLDIERS OF 1832.
THEY COVER THEMSELVES WITH GLORY
AND PROVED TO THE WORLD THAT THE SPIRIT
WHICH ANIMATED OUR FATHERS IN '76
STILL GLOWS IN THE BOSOMS OF THEIR DESCENDANTS.
( cheers )
Moses Strong: THAT MINING POPULATION OF WISCONSIN--
THEY ARE THE SOURCE FROM WHENCE FLOWS
THE LIFE'S BLOOD OF THE TERRITORY !
E. James: MAY CIVILIZATION SOON EXTEND TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
AND THE CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES
BE ESTABLISHED AT JERUSALEM
IN MINERAL POINT !
Narrator: THE NEW TERRITORY EXTENDED
FROM LAKE MICHIGAN TO THE MISSOURI RIVER
ENCOMPASSING ALL OF THE PRESENT STATES
OF WISCONSIN, IOWA AND MINNESOTA
AS WELL AS PORTIONS OF THE DAKOTAS.
BUT THE TERRITORIAL SEAL
LEFT NO DOUBTS ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT BUSINESS IN WISCONSIN.
THE PORTION OF THE TERRITORY
THAT WOULD BECOME THE STATE OF WISCONSIN 12 YEARS LATER
HAD NEARLY 12,000 NON-INDIAN RESIDENTS.
MORE THAN 5,000 OF THESE PEOPLE
LIVED IN THE LEAD REGION.
THE FIRST MEETING OF THE LEGISLATURE
WAS HELD THERE OCTOBER 25, 1836
IN BELMONT.
Henry Baird: THE GOVERNOR AND FAMILY ARE HERE.
I HAVE NOT YET BEEN INTRODUCED TO HIS FAMILY.
BUT AS THEY BOARD AT THE SAME HOUSE
I HAVE SEEN THEM AND LIKE THEIR APPEARANCE MUCH.
THEY MUSTER AT THE TABLE SEVEN LADIES.
AND IF WE HAD A FEW MORE, IT WOULD LOOK QUITE COURT LIKE.
Col. George Jones: I HAVE GIVEN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
THE POWER OF LOCATING THE PERMANENT TERRITORIAL SEAT
OF THE GOVERNMENT
HOPING THAT ALL WOULD UNITE IN MAKING LAWS
FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE OF THE TERRITORY.
IN THAT, I HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN.
SPECULATION AND A THIRST FOR GAIN
APPEAR TO RUN INTO EVERYTHING.
Narrator: DODGE WAS IMMEDIATELY CHALLENGED BY JAMES DOTY
WHO, IN CONTRAST TO THE GOVERNOR
WAS YOUNG, EDUCATED AND POLISHED.
REPRESENTING THE GROWING "LAKESHORE" INTERESTS
OF GREEN BAY AND MILWAUKEE, HE COUNTERED DODGE'S BELMONT SITE
WITH A SUGGESTION OF HIS OWN-- LITERALLY.
DOTY AND A PARTNER
OWNED THE FOUR LAKES SITE HE PROPOSED
LOCATED ON AN ISTHMUS
OF THE TWO LAKES NOW KNOWN AS MENDOTA AND MONONA.
THE OUTCOME WAS A PORTENT OF THE LEAD REGION'S FUTURE.
I CALL TO ORDER THE FIRST LEGISLATURE
OF THE TERRITORY OF WISCONSIN.
Gold Thwaites: DODGE WAS OF FINE PHYSIQUE, BUT SOMEWHAT POMPOUS MANNER.
AT TIMES, AMAZINGLY OBSTINATE IN OPPOSITION
AND OBVIOUSLY DEFICIENT IN EARLY EDUCATION.
HE NEVERTHELESS WAS A CREDITABLE OFFICIAL AND A MAN OF ACTION.
AS AN INDIAN FIGHTER
HE HAD EXHIBITED A DASH AND BRAVERY
THAT APPEALED STRONGLY TO THE POPULACE
WHO OVERESTIMATED HIS OTHER QUALITIES.
Narrator: DODGE WAS SIMPLY OUTMANEUVERED BY DOTY WHO GAVE GIFTS
TO SEVERAL LEGISLATORS
IN AN ATTEMPT TO PERSUADE THEM.
EVEN DODGE'S SON, AUGUSTUS, ACCEPTED ONE OF THE LOTS
THAT DOTY WAS OFFERING NEAR THE PROPOSED CAPITOL.
THESE, OF COURSE, WOULD BE VALUABLE
ONLY IF THE FOUR LAKES SITE WAS CHOSEN.
AFTER ANOTHER DOTY GIFT
A FINE INDIAN BUFFALO ROBE FOR EACH OF THEM
THE LEGISLATORS VOTED FOR FOUR LAKES
WHICH WAS LATER RENAMED "MADISON."
BUFFALO ROBES !
William Smith: GOVERNOR DODGE SENT IN HIS CARRIAGE
AND WE ACCOMPANIED AUGUSTUS, HIS SON, TO BELMONT.
THIS PLACE IS SITUATE ON THE PRAIRIE
AT THE FOOT OF THE PLATTE MOUNDS.
THE TOWN OF BELMONT CONTAINS ABOUT HALF A DOZEN
WELL-BUILT FRAME HOUSES
BUILT AT PITTSBURGH AND SENT AROUND IN STEAMBOATS TO GALENA.
THIS PLACE, SINCE IT HAS LOST THE CHANCE
OF BEING SELECTED AS THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, IS GOING DOWN.
THE LEGISLATURE SAT HERE AT ITS FIRST SESSION LAST WINTER.
IT CANNOT, AT PRESENT
AS THE COUNTY IS NOT SUFFICIENTLY FARMED
BE SUPPORTED AS A TOWN OR PLACE OF BUSINESS.
THE ROADS LEADING TO THE POINT
WERE THEN IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.
THERE WERE SEVEN DRY-GOODS STORES
FOUR PUBLIC HOUSES
FOUR GROCERIES AND LIQUOR STORES
TWO TAILORS, TWO SMITHIES, TWO CARPENTER SHOPS
ONE CABINET MAKER AND ONE BREWERY.
THERE WERE 250 HOUSES
WITH A POPULATION OF FROM 1,200 TO 1,500
400 OF WHOM WERE MINERS.
Featherstonhaugh: THE VILLAGE OF MINERAL POINT
IS BUILT UPON THE EDGE OF A COULEE.
IT WAS AN EXCEEDINGLY MISERABLE PLACE.
IT CONTAINED TWO FILTHY-LOOKING TAVERNS
INTO WHICH I VENTURED TO ENTER FOR A MOMENT
BOTH OF WHICH SEEMED TO BE VERY FULL--
A COURT OF JUSTICE BEING HELD AT THIS TIME.
WE HAD BEEN REFERRED TO THESE TAVERNS FOR LODGING.
BUT I WAS NOT SORRY TO LEARN THAT NONE WERE TO BE HAD
BEING THOROUGHLY DISGUSTED
WITH THE DIRTY APPEARANCE OF EVERYTHING.
HAVING GOT INTO CONVERSATION
WITH SOME OF THE PEOPLE OF THE PLACE
I FOUND THAT THE INHABITANTS
PRODUCED NOTHING OF ANY KIND FOR THEIR SUBSISTENCE--
NOT EVEN A CABBAGE !
FOR THERE WAS NOT A GARDEN IN THE PLACE
AND THAT THEY WERE AS DEPENDENT UPON OTHERS
AS IF THEY WERE ON BOARD A SHIP.
EVERYTHING THEY ATE AND DRANK
WAS BROUGHT FROM A DISTANCE BY WAGONS AT A GREAT EXPENSE.
IT WAS, IN FACT
A COMPLETE NEST OF SPECULATORS
WITH WORKMEN FOLLOWING IN THEIR TRAIN--
TRADERS, AGAIN, UPON THEIR TRACES
TO SELL GOODS AND PROVISIONS;
DOCTORS, TO GIVE PHYSIC AND KEEP BOARDING HOUSES;
AND LAWYERS, TO GET A LIVING
OUT OF THIS MOTLEY AND NEEDY POPULATION.
WITH BUT FEW EXCEPTIONS
THE DIGGINGS FOR METAL WERE QUITE SUPERFICIAL.
SUCH A THING AS A STEAM ENGINE, TO DRAIN A SHAFT
OR HOIST OUT THE "MINERAL," AS IT WAS CALLED, WAS UNKNOWN HERE.
SO THAT, AS SOON AS
THE SUPERFICIAL DIGGINGS WERE EXHAUSTED
THE POPULATION WAS ALWAYS PREPARED
TO FLOCK TO ANOTHER QUARTER.
BUT CHANGE OF PLACE
IS NOT OFTEN ACCOMPANIED WITH WOUNDED FEELINGS
IN THE UNITED STATES.
MEN DO NOT ALWAYS SEEM TO SELECT SITUATIONS IN THAT COUNTRY
WITH A VIEW TO LIVE TRANQUILLY AND HAPPILY
BUT TO FIND READY MONEY BY DIGGING FOR IT
OR TO LIVE UPON OTHERS.
THE MOMENT THEY FIND THERE IS NO LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS
THEY GO TO ANOTHER PLACE.
Smith: THE HILLS ABOUT THE TOWN
ARE PERFECTLY COVERED BY THE EXPLORATIONS OF MINERS
AND INDEED, IT IS DANGEROUS FOR THE BENIGHTED TRAVELER
TO WIND HIS DEVIOUS PATH AMONGST THE EXCAVATIONS.
FOR HE MAY, WITHOUT NOTICE, BE INSTANTANEOUSLY
ENGULFED IN A MINE HOLE.
THE GALENA MINERAL HERE
FOUND YIELDS IN SMELTING FROM 70 TO 75 PERCENT OF PURE LEAD
AND CONSEQUENTLY, IS EQUALLY PROFITABLE
TO THE MINER AND SMELTER.
Featherstonhaugh: NOTHING COULD EXCEED THE IGNORANCE AND FILTHY HABITS
OF THE WORKING MINERS, THE GREATER NUMBER OF WHOM
BEING WITHOUT SKILL
AND BECOMING FINALLY DISAPPOINTED
IN THEIR EXPECTATIONS
HAD FALLEN INTO THE LOWEST STATE OF POVERTY.
Smith: THE TOWN IS LAID OFF INTO STREETS
ONE OF WHICH RUNS UP A RAVINE TO A DELIGHTFUL SPRING
IN THE VICINITY OF THE PLACE
WERE SEVERAL FURNACES DOING A THRIVING BUSINESS.
Featherstonhaugh: A MORE DREARY AND MELANCHOLY PLACE THAN THIS MINERAL POINT
I NEVER EXPECT TO SEE AGAIN.
WE HAVE NOT TASTED A MORSEL
OF FRESH MEAT, OR FISH OR VEGETABLES
SINCE WE HAVE BEEN HERE.
THE POPULATION SEEMED QUIETLY TO HAVE RESIGNED ITSELF
TO AN EVERLASTING AND UNVARYING DIET
OF COFFEE, RICE, TREACLE AND BREAD AND SALT BUTTER
MORNING NOON AND NIGHT
WITHOUT ANY OTHER VARIETY THAN THAT OF OCCASIONALLY
GETTING A DIFFERENT CUP OR SAUCER.
ABOUT FIVE MILES FROM MINERAL POINT
WE CALLED UPON THE GOVERNOR, GENERAL DODGE
AT A QUIET CABIN HE HAD BUILT FOR HIMSELF
IN A SMALL, SECLUDED VALLEY.
THIS GENTLEMAN, AT THAT TIME
THE CHIEF MAGISTRATE OF THE TERRITORY
WAS SAID TO BE A PERFECT WESTERN CHARACTER.
I HAD SEEN HIM ON HORSEBACK IN THE STREETS OF MINERAL POINT
AND WAS STRUCK WITH THE APPEARANCE OF HIS ACCOUTREMENTS
HAVING, ALTHOUGH DRESSED IN PLAIN CLOTHES
IMMENSE HORSE PISTOLS
STARING OUT OF HIS HOLSTERS.
HE HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP ON THE FRONTIERS.
AND SINCE HIS MANHOOD HAD BEEN RATHER NOTORIOUS
FOR HIS DESPERATE FEUDS WITH VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS--
MANY OF WHOM STILL SURVIVING-- HE ALWAYS WENT ARMED
THE INVARIABLE PRACTICE OF BLOODS OF HIS CALIBER
BEING TO FIRE IMMEDIATELY AT ANY HOSTILE APPROACH.
Narrator: IN ADDITION TO BEING GOVERNOR
THE OLD INDIAN FIGHTER
WAS ALSO EX-OFFICIO SUPERINTENDENT
OF INDIAN AFFAIRS FOR THE TERRITORY.
EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THEIR BANDS HAD HELPED HIM DEFEAT BLACK HAWK
HE PUSHED TO RE-LOCATE THE WINNEBAGO
WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
Gov. Dodge: TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. JONES
WASHINGTON CITY:
FROM PRESENT APPEARANCES WITH THE WINNEBAGOES
WE MAY ANTICIPATE TROUBLE WITH THEM.
IN URGING THE NECESSITY OF ORDERING A MOUNTED FORCE
FOR THE PROTECTION OF OUR SETTLEMENT
I HAVE DONE WHAT I CONCEIVE A DUTY I OWE OUR PEOPLE.
I HAVE THE MOST ENTIRE CONFIDENCE
IN THE BRAVERY OF OUR CITIZENS.
WE ONLY WANT ARMS
AND A PROPER ORGANIZATION TO PROTECT OURSELVES.
AND MUCH AS I WISH FOR PEACE ON THIS FRONTIER
I KNOW A LITTLE WAR WITH THE INDIANS
WOULD NOT HURT EITHER MYSELF OR FRIENDS
IN THE ESTIMATION OF THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY.
Narrator: DODGE NEVER GOT HIS WAR.
BUT THE WINNEBAGO LOST THE LAST OF THEIR WISCONSIN LANDS
IN THE DISPUTED TREATY OF 1837.
THE WINNEBAGO WERE FORCED OUT OF WISCONSIN
MANY IN CHAINS, UNDER PRESIDENT JACKSON'S INDIAN REMOVAL ACT.
THE DESCENDANTS OF THOSE WHO RESISTED
COMPRISE TODAY'S HO CHUNK NATION.
MANY NEW EMIGRANTS FROM EUROPE
WERE FLOCKING IN TO SETTLE ON THE FORMER WINNEBAGO LANDS.
History of Iowa County: WILLIAM RABLIN IS A NATIVE OF CORNWALL, ENGLAND.
HE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO MISS LAVINIA PRINCE.
THEY CAME TO THE UNITED STATES
DIRECT TO THE TERRITORY OF WISCONSIN.
AND ARRIVED AT MINERAL POINT ON SATURDAY EVENING.
THE NEXT DAY, SUNDAY, THE FIRST DAY SPENT IN THEIR NEW HOME
THERE WERE SEVEN FIGHTS.
IT WAS A NEW EXPERIENCE TO THEM.
AND IT DID NOT CREATE A VERY FAVORABLE IMPRESSION.
HE ENGAGED IN MINING AT LINDEN
WITH HIS BROTHER.
HE HAD A CABIN OR SOD HOUSE BUILT IN THE SIDE HILL.
HIS WIFE CAME OUT FROM THE POINT TO VISIT HIM.
AND NOTWITHSTANDING HIS PROTESTS
THAT THE PLACE WAS UNFIT FOR HER TO LIVE IN
SHE INSISTED IF IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM
IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR HER, AND SHE DID SO.
Narrator: SOME OF THE BEST MINERS IN THE WORLD CAME FROM CORNWALL.
NEWS OF THE RICH LEAD DEPOSITS OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI
REACHED THE CORNISH AT AN OPPORTUNE TIME.
THE MINES OF THEIR NATIVE COUNTRY
ON THE SOUTHWEST COAST OF ENGLAND, WERE DECLINING.
FROM 1835 UNTIL 1850, 7,000 NATIVES OF CORNWALL
MADE THEIR WAY TO THE LEAD DISTRICT.
Man: ABOUT 50 MINERS FROM CORNWALL, ENGLAND
ARRIVED A DAY OR TWO SINCE.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT A MUCH LARGER NUMBER MAY BE EXPECTED SOON.
THE FREE PRESS, MINERAL POINT, JULY 14, 1837.
Narrator: THE CORNISH MINERS WERE HIGHLY SKILLED
AND WOULD OFTEN WORK OUT OLD MINES LEFT BEHIND BY AMERICANS
WHO HAD ONLY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE FOR QUICK AND EASY MONEY
LEAVING RICH DEPOSITS BELOW.
THE CORNISH KNEW HOW TO USE SAFETY FUSE AND POWDER
TO BLAST THROUGH THE HARD ROCK.
Miner: YOU'VE GOT TO BE CAREFUL WITH THIS STUFF.
ONE LITTLE SPARK WITH THESE METAL SPOONS
AND BOOM !
YOU'VE GOT 'ER IN THERE.
Narrator: THE ARRIVAL OF THE CORNISH COINCIDED WITH THE BOOM YEARS
OF THE LEAD DISTRICT.
FOR SOME, LIFE CONTINUED TO BE EXPLOSIVE OUTSIDE THE MINES.
J. Edward Foster: THE MINERS ARE MOSTLY WELSH, CORNISH AND OTHER FOREIGNERS.
ABOUT 60 TEAMS OF FOUR AND FIVE PAIRS OF OXEN EACH
ARE EMPLOYED TO CARRY LEAD
FROM THE MINES AT MINERAL POINT TO GALENA OR HELENA.
MINERAL POINT IS A COMPACT VILLAGE
WITH NEARLY 1,000 INHABITANTS.
THE TAVERN AT WHICH I PUT UP AT IS AS GOOD AS THOSE OF THE EAST.
I WERE HERE AT A BALL A SHORT TIME SINCE.
A STAGE WAS SENT TO PLATTEVILLE-- 16 MILES--
FOR MOST OF THE LADIES.
ALL SUCH PARTIES BREAK UP IN A DRUNKEN SCRAPE.
THE COURT CONVENED HERE IN NOVEMBER
BUT JUDGE "D" BEING DRUNK, IT WAS ADJOURNED.
JUDGE "F" DIED OF DELIRIUM TREMENS LAST YEAR.
THE GREATER PART OF THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND COUNCIL
ARE INTEMPERATE AND SOME OF THEM GAMBLERS.
MARRIAGES ARE OFTEN BROKEN.
TWO RICH, RESPECTABLE MEN SWAPPED WIVES.
ONE RECEIVED, FOR THE BETTER QUALITIES OF HIS WIFE
IN EXCHANGE, A BARREL OF PORK.
THAT NOT BEING SO GOOD AS REPRESENTED, A LAWSUIT ENSUED.
SUCH ARE THE MORALS OF THE MINES.
Narrator: IN THE MID-1830s, A YOUNG PRIEST FROM MILAN, ITALY
HEARD ABOUT THE LOOSE MORALS OF THE MINING DISTRICT.
HE LEFT HIS MISSION AT MACKINAC ISLAND
AND SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE
BRINGING RELIGION TO THE LEAD REGION.
FATHER SAMUEL MAZUCHELLI BEGAN
BY BUILDING CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN DUBUQUE AND GALENA.
Father Mazuchelli: THE SIMULTANEOUS ERECTION OF TWO CATHOLIC CHURCHES
IN A COUNTRY WHERE PROTESTANTS
ARE FOUR TIMES AS NUMEROUS AS CATHOLICS
WHERE THE PRIEST FINDS HIMSELF ISOLATED
FROM HIS FELLOW PRIESTS, AND WHERE THERE ARE THOSE
WHO DISSEMINATE PREJUDICE AGAINST THE FAITH
WILL SEEM TO SOME PERSONS
AN EXTRAORDINARY THING.
NEVERTHELESS, TO ONE WHO THOROUGHLY UNDERSTANDS
THE POLITICAL SPIRIT WHICH PREVAILS IN A SOCIETY
COMPOSED OF EVERY NATIONALITY
AND EVERY POSSIBLE RELIGIOUS BELIEF
IT WILL NOT BE SURPRISING TO SEE
A SOLITARY, UNLETTERED CATHOLIC
IN ONE OF THE GREAT CITIES OF THE AMERICAN UNION
PROTECTED IN THE PRACTICE OF HIS RELIGION
EVEN THOUGH ALL THE OTHER CITIZENS BELIEVE IT TO BE FALSE.
Narrator: FATHER SAMUEL'S FEELING OF ISOLATION SUBSIDED
AS HE BUILT MORE CHURCHES AND FOUND A SPARK OF DECENCY
IN EVEN THE MOST WAYWARD MINERS.
Mazuchelli: ONE WHO HAS ASSIMILATED SOUND PRINCIPLES
AND HAS ONCE EXPERIENCED
THE SANCTITY OF RELIGION
ALWAYS FINDS AN IMPULSE TO GOOD DEEP IN HIS HEART.
GALENA IS THE PRINCIPAL SITE FROM WHICH THE PRECIOUS METAL
IS FORWARDED ON STEAMBOATS TO OTHER PARTS
OF THE PROSPEROUS REPUBLIC.
HERE, THEREFORE, ARE THE TRADERS WHO BUY THE LEAD
EITHER WITH MONEY
OR NECESSARY SUPPLIES.
DEPRIVED OF THE EFFECTIVE HELP OF RELIGION
WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS, THEY POSSESS THE FAITH
WITHOUT THE WORKS THAT GIVE IT LIFE.
Narrator: MAZUCHELLI, WHOSE NAME
SOME MINERS CORRUPTED TO "MATTHEW KELLEY"
ROLLED UP HIS SLEEVES AND SET TO WORK AS ARCHITECT
BUILDING SUPERVISOR AND LABORER
FOR CHURCHES HE LOCATED NEAR MANY OF THE LEAD DIGGINGS.
SNAKE HOLLOW, NOW CALLED POTOSI
AND NEW DIGGIN'S SOON HAD CATHOLIC CHURCHES.
THE DETAILS MAZUCHELLI INCLUDED IN ST. AUGUSTINE'S
REVEAL AN INSPIRED CRAFTSMAN.
MAZUCHELLI HAD ONE ENTIRE CHURCH BUILT IN GALENA
THEN TRANSPORTED, IN SECTIONS, TO SHULLSBURG.
HE ALSO NAMED THAT TOWN'S STREETS.
AS A HARD-LINE PROMOTER OF TOTAL ABSTINENCE FROM LIQUOR
HE CHOSE NAMES THAT WOULD TWEAK THE CONSCIENCES
OF THE HARD-LIVING MINERS.
IN THE YEARS TO COME
FATHER SAMUEL WOULD BUILD 24 CHURCHES IN THE LEAD REGION.
HE ALSO FOUNDED A COLLEGE
AND DOMINICAN ORDER AT SINSINAWA MOUND.
JUST EAST OF SINSINAWA
ANOTHER GROUP OF EUROPEANS FOUND PROSPECTS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND GOOD MINING IN THE DEEP FEVER RIVER VALLEYS
BETWEEN GALENA AND NEW DIGGIN'S.
THE PEOPLE OF THE YORKSHIRE DALE REGION OF NORTH CENTRAL ENGLAND
HAD BEEN MINING LEAD FOR OVER 500 YEARS.
THEIR NAMES BECAME PROMINENT ALONG THE FEVER
SOON AFTER TALES OF THE LEAD RUSH
BECAME WELL-KNOWN IN THEIR NATIVE LAND.
Reverend John Leekley: AND HE SAID ONTO ME SON OF MAN...
Narrator: JOHN LEEKLEY WAS ONE OF THESE IMMIGRANTS.
HE GREW UP WORKING IN THE TEASDALE LEAD MINES
AND AFTER A BRIEF DALLIANCE WITH WINE, WOMEN AND SONG
EMBRACED RELIGION.
Leekley: I SOUGHT EARNESTLY, AND IN VARIOUS COURSES
THE DELIGHTS WHICH WERE EARTHLY, SENSUAL AND DEVILISH.
THUS I CONTINUED UNTIL I WAS MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF AGE.
AND THEN, I BEGAN TO BE WEARY OF SIN
AND FELT THE MODE OF LIFE I HAD BEEN LIVING
AFFORDED ME NO PERMANENT HAPPINESS.
Narrator: "BROTHER LEEKLEY"
AS HE WAS KNOWN IN THE GRANTHILL AREA
HELD TO THE PRIMITIVE METHODIST FORM OF CHRISTIANITY.
PRIMITIVE METHODIST CONGREGATIONS WERE SELF-RULED
SO THEY COULD BE FORMED EASILY.
THEY STROVE TO HELP FALLEN MEN
A TYPE NOT IN SHORT SUPPLY IN THE LEAD DISTRICT.
OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN HALLOWED BE THY NAME...
Narrator: BACK IN ENGLAND
PRIMITIVE METHODISTS BROKE AWAY FROM THE ESTABLISHED RELIGIONS
TO SEEK A SIMPLER FAITH
BASED ON EACH INDIVIDUAL'S PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
LIKE MAZUCHELLI, BROTHER LEEKLEY FOUND A SPARK OF DECENCY
IN MANY OF THE CRUDE MINERS
AND SOON FOUND HIMSELF AN ITINERANT PREACHER
TRAVELING BETWEEN CONGREGATIONS
AT GRANTHILL, VINEGAR HILL AND NEW DIGGIN'S.
THE AREA HE PASSED THROUGH BECAME KNOWN AS ENGLISH HOLLOW
DUE PRIMARILY TO THE INFLUX OF YORKSHIRE DALE MINERS.
FROM THEIR ORIGINAL SMALL GROUP OF NINE
THE NUMBER OF PRIMITIVE METHODISTS IN THE AREA
GREW TO OVER 1,000 BY 1850.
WHILE MANY EUROPEANS
WERE FINDING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE LEAD DISTRICT
AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE NOT SO FORTUNATE.
ONE FREED SLAVE FROM MISSOURI, KNOWN ONLY AS RALPH
CAME TO DUBUQUE IN 1835 AND BEGAN MINING LEAD.
HE WORKED HARD FOR SEVERAL YEARS
HOPING TO PAY OFF THE $550
HE OWED HIS FORMER MASTER FOR HIS FREEDOM.
IN 1839, TWO VIRGINIANS LIVING IN DUBUQUE
LEARNED OF RALPH'S SITUATION
AND DECIDED THEY COULD MAKE SOME EASY MONEY.
GIVE ME THAT PICK.
YOU WON'T BE NEEDING THAT BACK IN MISSOURI.
Narrator: THEY CAPTURED RALPH WITH THE INTENT OF SELLING HIM BACK
TO HIS FORMER MASTER FOR $100.
DUBUQUE WAS NOW PART OF THE NEW IOWA TERRITORY.
AND IN THE FIRST CASE TRIED BY THE IOWA SUPREME COURT
RALPH WAS FREED ON THE GROUNDS
THAT HE HAD LEFT MISSOURI FREELY WITH THE CONSENT OF HIS MASTER
AND HAD A CONTRACT WITH HIM
SOMETHING A SLAVE COULD NOT DO.
AT DUBUQUE, RALPH WAS PART
OF THE LARGEST POPULATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN IOWA.
HE STRUCK A RICH LODE OF LEAD ORE
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, GAMBLED HIS MONEY AWAY
AND DIED OF SMALLPOX IN THE 1840s.
THAT'S REAL PURE.
DID YOU HAVE TO DIG DOWN DEEP FOR THAT ? YES, SIR.
Narrator: AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE FOUND IN ALL PARTS OF THE LEAD REGION.
IN ADDITION TO DODGE
MANY PROMINENT CITIZENS OVER THE YEARS HAD SLAVES OR SERVANTS
INCLUDING GEORGE WALLACE JONES, THE GRATIOTS
JAMES JOHNSON AND JOHN ROUNTREE.
MOST SLAVES WERE EVENTUALLY FREED.
AND SOME, INCLUDING THE EARLEY FAMILY
BROUGHT TO THE AREA BY DODGE, BECAME PROMINENT CITIZENS.
THERE WAS AN UGLY RACIAL INCIDENT IN DUBUQUE IN 1840.
AN ANGRY MOB HAULED A BLACK MAN ACCUSED OF THEFT THROUGH TOWN
AND EVENTUALLY WHIPPED HIM TO DEATH.
BUT TOLERANCE GREW, AS FAMILIES AND RELIGION
WERE ON THE UPSWING IN THE REGION.
History of Dane County: THE CHARACTER OF THE MINERS, BEING PRINCIPALLY CORNISH
WAS NOT THAT OF A STRICTLY MILD AND MORAL PEOPLE.
STILL, THEY POSSESSED
AND EXERCISED SOME REDEEMING QUALITIES.
AMONG WHICH, TO THEIR PRAISE BE IT SPOKEN
WAS THEIR UNIFORM ATTENDANCE WITH THEIR FAMILIES
AT THE CHURCHES ON SABBATH MORNINGS.
DEAR GOD AND HEAVENLY FATHER...
WE THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR BLESSINGS...
History of Dane County: ALTHOUGH, IN THE AFTERNOON
THEY EMPLOYED THEMSELVES IN VARIOUS RECREATIONS
BUT MAINLY, IN CARD PLAYING AND DRINKING.
Narrator: THE LEAD DISTRICT WAS CHANGING.
THE CORNISH BEGAN TO COME AS FAMILIES
REPLACING THE ROWDY, UNMARRIED "SUCKERS."
( baby crying )
Narrator: THEY BROUGHT A WEALTH OF TRADITIONS FROM CORNWALL.
SNUG, STONE COTTAGES WERE BUILT
REPLACING SHACKS AND BADGER HOLES.
RELIGION BECAME MORE IMPORTANT.
SCHOOLS WERE BUILT.
THE MINES WERE TRANSFORMED
FROM "DIGGIN'S" TO RELIABLE, CONSISTENT PRODUCERS.
THE CORNISH WERE EXPERIENCED IN DE-WATERING THE MINES.
SO, THEY COULD DIG DEEPER UNDERGROUND
THAN THEIR AMERICAN PREDECESSORS.
Mining Manual: AT THIS DEPTH, 40 TO 60 FEET
THE MINERS HAVE CONSIDERABLE TROUBLE WITH WATER.
TO GET RID OF SOME OF IT
THEY SINK A BASIN IN ANOTHER DIRECTION
LOWER THAN THE LAYER OF ORE, TO COLLECT IT.
FROM THE BASIN
THE WATER IS HOISTED TO THE SURFACE IN BARRELS
WHENEVER NECESSARY.
THE WATER, EVEN THOUGH IT MUST RUN THROUGH
AND BE MIXED WITH A GREAT DEAL OF SULFUROUS MATERIAL
IS AS PURE AS THE CLEAREST SPRING WATER.
AND THE MINERS FIND IT FIT TO DRINK WHILE THEY WORK.
Narrator: IN ADDITION TO THE CORNISH
MORE "YANKEES" BEGAN TO ARRIVE FROM THE EASTERN STATES
OF NEW YORK, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, VERMONT AND INDIANA.
SOME MINED, BUT OTHERS BROUGHT DIFFERENT SKILLS.
THIS PORTION OF THE COUNTRY WAS SETTLED BY EMIGRANTS
CHIEFLY FROM THE SOUTHERN STATES
POSSESSING ENLARGED VIEWS OF GENEROSITY
HOSPITALITY AND CONFIDENCE IN THEIR FELLOW MEN.
NOTES, RECEIPTS
MORTGAGES OR BONDS WERE SCARCELY EVER GIVEN IN THOSE DAYS.
AFTERWARDS, WHEN THE YANKEES CAME AMONG US
AND SOUGHT TO INTRODUCE THEIR SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS
WRITTEN NOTES AND OBLIGATIONS, WE LOOKED UPON THEM
WITH GREAT SUSPICION AND DISTRUST.
WE LOOKED UPON THEM AS A SELFISH, SMALL-DEALING
AND NARROW-CONTRACTED PEOPLE.
AND CONSEQUENTLY, ALL INTERCOURSE WITH THEM
WAS AT FIRST, AS MUCH AVOIDED AS POSSIBLE.
AFTER A FEW YEARS, HOWEVER
THESE PREJUDICES IN SOME DEGREE WORE OFF
AND A GENERAL GOOD FEELING PREVAILED.
Narrator: AS THE TERRITORY OF WISCONSIN GREW AND BECAME MORE DIVERSE
THE POLITICAL POWER OF THE LEAD MINING INTERESTS
WAS CHALLENGED BY THE GROWING LAKE MICHIGAN PORT CITIES.
MILWAUKEE AND GREEN BAY
NOW HAD THRIVING POPULATIONS.
WHEN WHIG WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON WAS ELECTED IN 1840
HE DECIDED TO REPLACE GOVERNOR DODGE, A FRONTIERSMAN
WITH THE MORE URBANE JAMES DOTY.
BUT THE RUSH FOR GREY GOLD CONTINUED.
THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI WAS NOW THE LEADING PRODUCER OF LEAD
IN THE UNITED STATES.
Stephen Taylor: THE MODERN BLAST FURNACE REQUIRES LESS FUEL
AND PRODUCES FROM 70 TO 80 PERCENT.
THE LOG FURNACES USED BY THE PIONEERS OF THIS COUNTRY
VERY SELDOM PRODUCED, FROM THE RICHEST ORE
MORE THAN 45 OR 50 PERCENT.
THIS TEDIOUS AND UNPROFITABLE PROCESS OF SMELTING
WAS SUPERSEDED BY THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF CUPOLA OR REVERBERATING FURNACES
WHICH PRODUCE FROM 50 TO 65 PERCENT.
THERE ARE, AT THIS TIME, WITHIN EIGHT MILES OF MINERAL POINT
TEN SMELTING FURNACES IN SUCCESSFUL OPERATION
FIVE OF WHICH ARE BLAST FURNACES.
Narrator: IN THE EARLY 1840s, IOWA COUNTY HAD FOUR GRIST MILLS
SEVEN SAW MILLS
AND 30 SMELTING FURNACES.
OVERALL, IN THE LEAD DISTRICT, FARMING WAS GAINING ON MINING.
IN 1830, 90 PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE WERE MINERS.
BY 1840, THIS WAS DOWN TO 48 PERCENT.
BUT LEAD WAS STILL IN THE LEAD.
The History of Wiskonsan: IOWA COUNTY IS ALSO RICH IN GOOD FARMING LANDS.
BUT OWING TO THE INSATIABLE THIRST FOR IMMEDIATE WEALTH
INSTEAD OF CULTIVATING THE SURFACE
AND BECOMING RICH BY SLOW AND SURE MEANS
THE INHABITANTS
HAVE DUG INTO THE BOWELS OF THE EARTH
AND SO PIT-RIDDLED THE SURFACE
THAT AGRICULTURE IS LITTLE ATTENDED TO.
THE AMOUNT SMELTED IN WISCONSIN
AND IN THE VICINITY GALENA THE PAST YEAR
EXCEEDS THE TOTAL NUMBER
OF POUNDS PRODUCED ANNUALLY
IN THE WHOLE UNITED STATES, FOUR YEARS AGO.
Narrator: THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI LEAD REGION
HAD CAPTURED THE IMAGINATION OF THE NATION.
BUT THE REALITY WAS NOT ALWAYS AS GLAMOROUS
AS THE TALES OF QUICK RICHES
PUBLISHED IN THE NEWSPAPERS BACK EAST.
DEATH VALLEY IN '49: I NOW WENT TO MINERAL POINT AND SEARCHED THE TOWN FOR WORK.
I SLEPT IN AN UNOCCUPIED OUTHOUSE, WITHOUT SUPPER.
I THEN WENT TO VIVIAN'S SMELTING FURNACE.
HE SAID HE HAD A JOB FOR ME, IF I COULD DO IT.
THE FURNACE WAS PROPELLED BY WATER.
HE HAD A SMALL BUZZ SAW FOR CUTTING WOOD INTO BLOCKS.
HE SAID HE WOULD BOARD ME WITH THE OTHER MEN
AND GIVE ME A $1.25 A CORD FOR SPLITTING THE WOOD.
THE BOARD WAS VERY COARSE--
BACON, POTATOES AND BREAD--
...THIS ISN'T EVEN DONE...
A MAN COOK--
AND BREAD MIXED UP WITH SALT AND WATER.
THE OLD LOG HOUSE WHERE WE LODGED
WAS WELL-INFESTED WITH TROUBLESOME INSECTS
WHICH WORKED NIGHTS, AT ANY RATE
WHETHER THEY RESTED DAYS OR NOT.
THE BEDS HAD A MILD ODOR OF POLECAT.
I WAS THE ONLY AMERICAN WHO BOARDED THERE.
I COULD NOT WELL BECOME VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE BOARDERS.
THE COUNTRY WAS ROLLING AND THERE WERE MANY BEAUTIFUL BROOKS
AND CLEAR SPRINGS OF WATER, WITH FERTILE SOIL.
THE CORNISH MINERS WERE IN THE MAJORITY
AND GOVERNED THE LOCALITY POLITICALLY.
Narrator: ONE REASON FOR THIS SUPERIORITY
MAY BE THAT THE CORNISH KNEW HOW TO EAT.
PASTYS-- THICK LARD-CRUSTED TRIANGLES
WITH MEAT, POTATOES, ONIONS AND SOMETIMES TURNIPS--
WERE HEARTY ENOUGH
TO SUSTAIN MEN PUTTING IN LONG HOURS OF PHYSICAL EXERTION
IN THE COOL, DAMP MINE SHAFTS.
THE PASTY WAS TRANSPORTED IN A FOB, A TYPE OF BLOUSE POCKET.
AN OLD CORNISH LEGEND SAYS:
"THE DEVIL HAS NEVER BEEN TO CORNWALL
"BECAUSE THE CORNISH WOULD KILL HIM AND BAKE HIM
IN A PASTY."
SAFFRON CAKE WAS ANOTHER CORNISH TRADITION
ENJOYED BY LEAD REGION MINING FAMILIES
ESPECIALLY AT CHRISTMAS TIME.
* WASSAIL, WASSAIL, WASSAIL, WASSAIL
* AND JOY COME TO OUR JOLLY WASSAIL... *
Narrator: CORNISH GET-TOGETHERS
WERE ALSO A TIME FOR "COUSIN JACK" STORIES.
Man: MR. HOWE, A FARMER LIVING NEAR MINERAL POINT
WISHING TO USE HIS HAMMER
FOR SOME PURPOSE, FOUND THE HANDLE BROKEN.
HE TOLD HIS HIRED MAN, A YOUNG CORNISH MAN
TO MAKE A NEW ONE.
THE MAN TOOK THE HAMMER TO THE WOODSHED
BUT SOON RETURNED AND ASKED HIS EMPLOYER
"MR. 'OWE, MR. 'OWE, WHAT'S BEST--
HASH, HOAK OR HELM TO MAKE A 'AMMER 'ANDLE ?"
( laughter )
Narrator: THE CORNISH PRESENCE IN THE LEAD REGION
HELPED INCREASE PRODUCTION DRAMATICALLY.
IN 1840, IT WAS JUST UNDER 24 MILLION POUNDS OF ORE.
IN 1841, IT JUMPED TO WELL OVER 32 MILLION.
THIS LARGE INCREASE
MADE SHIPPING THE ORE A CHALLENGE.
EXTORTIONATE PRICE OF FREIGHT CHARGED BY THE BOATS LAST SEASON
WILL, IN SELF-DEFENSE, IF PERSISTED IN THIS SEASON
COMPEL THE DEALERS IN LEAD
TO ADOPT ANOTHER MODE OF TRANSPORTATION.
WE ARE INFORMED THAT SOME OF THE STEAMBOATS LAST YEAR
CLEARED NEARLY THEIR FIRST COST
IN A SINGLE TRIP BETWEEN ST. LOUIS AND THIS PLACE.
P. Bequette: TEAMS WANTED !
TO TEAMSTERS, SUCKERS, BADGERS, ET CETERA.
THE SUBSCRIBER IS IN WANT OF
AND WILL EMPLOY A LARGE NUMBER OF TEAMS
FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF LEAD, ET CETERA, TO MILWAUKEE
IF IMMEDIATE APPLICATION BE MADE-- P. BEQUETTE.
Peter Van Vechten, Jr.: ANOTHER NOVELTY WAS THE PRAIRIE SCHOONERS
LOADED WITH PIG LEAD FROM MINERAL POINT
SHULLSBURG AND VICINITY, DRAWN BY FOUR OR SIX YOKE OF OXEN.
THE BULL WHACKERS
WITH THEIR LONG HANDLED WHIP STOCK MADE THE AIR RING
CRACKING THEIR WHIPS LIKE PISTOL SHOTS.
THEY BECAME VERY EXPERT AND DELIGHTED TO SHOW THEIR SKILL
IN PICKING A FLY OFF THE LEFT OX'S EAR
WITHOUT HITTING THE OX.
THE LEAD AT THAT TIME WAS ALL SHIPPED FROM HERE TO BUFFALO.
AND THE OX TEAMS HAULED
THE LOADS OF GOODS BACK FOR COUNTRY MERCHANTS.
THANK YOU. HERE YOU GO.
HERE'S YOUR RYE. THANK YOU.
Wisconsin Tribune: MR. JOHN ROSS, OF THIS PLACE, WAS KILLED ON WEDNESDAY LAST.
HE WAS DRIVING A TEAM OF FOUR MULES
BEFORE A WAGON LOADED WITH 4,000 OF MINERAL.
HE BECAME ENTANGLED IN THE LINES IN SUCH A MANNER
AS TO THROW HIM IMMEDIATELY UNDER THE WAGON
THE WHEELS OF WHICH RAN OVER HIS BODY
KILLING HIM INSTANTANEOUSLY.
Miner: YOU BEST BE CAREFUL AND DON'T STRIKE A SPARK.
( explosion )
Galena Sentinel: AN ACCIDENT HAPPENED AT NEW DIGGIN'S LAST SATURDAY
BY WHICH ONE MAN WAS INSTANTLY KILLED
AND ANOTHER DANGEROUSLY WOUNDED.
THE PERSONS KILLED AND WOUNDED WERE MINERS.
Wisconsin Tribune: WE HAVE THE MELANCHOLY NEWS THIS MORNING
OF THE BURYING ALIVE
OF ONE OF OUR TOWNSMEN, MR. RICHARD JENKINS
BY THE CAVING IN OF A MINERAL HOLE.
OUR CITIZENS ARE NOW DIGGING HIM OUT
HE BEING COVERED ABOUT 25 FEET.
HE LEAVES AN AFFECTIONATE WIFE TO MOURN HIS LOSS
HAVING BEEN MARRIED ONLY ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS.
Mineral Point Tribune: ON THURSDAY LAST, A VALUABLE HORSE OF MR. J.F. BOYNTON
FELL INTO A MINERAL HOLE IN THE CITY TO A DEPTH OF 30 FEET.
HE WAS SOON DRAWN OUT WITH ROPES
AND WAS ABLE TO WALK TO THE STABLE
THOUGH CONSIDERABLY BRUISED.
Galena Gazette: AT THE SOUTH DIGGINGS LAST SATURDAY
A POOR MAN NAMED JOHN HAYS
AN INDUSTRIOUS MINER, MET WITH A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT.
HE HAD JUST SEATED HIMSELF IN THE TUB ATTACHED TO THE WINDLASS
FOR THE PURPOSE OF DESCENDING A DEEP SHAFT
WHEN THE KNOT AT THE END OF THE ROPE GAVE WAY
AND HE FELL TO THE BOTTOM, A DISTANCE OF 58 FEET.
HE WAS TAKEN OUT WITH HIS LIMBS BROKEN IN SEVERAL PLACES
AND HIS BODY HORRIBLY BRUISED.
SOME HOPES WERE ENTERTAINED FOR HIS RECOVERY.
WE LEARNED THAT HAYS IS SINCE DEAD.
Narrator: MINING WAS DANGEROUS WORK.
BUT PRODUCTION CONTINUED TO INCREASE.
AND PEOPLE CONTINUED TO SEEK OUT NEW VEINS.
Miner: FIRE IN THE HOLE !
( explosion )
Peter Woodhouse: AS WE FIRED IT, I KNEW BY THE DULL, HEAVY SOUND
THAT IT HAD BLOWN THROUGH INTO AN OPENING.
I DIDN'T WAIT FOR THE POWDER SMOKE TO WORK OUT
BUT GOT ONTO THE ROPE AND TOLD FATHER TO LOWER ME DOWN AT ONCE.
WITH PICK AND SLEDGE HAMMER, I WORKED LIKE A DEMON.
AFTER TWO HOURS OF HARD POUNDING
I KNOCKED A HOLE THROUGH AND LOADED INTO THE TUB
ABOUT 200 POUNDS OF SHEET MINERAL
AND GAVE THE WORD TO FATHER TO HOIST.
YOU CAN IMAGINE HIS JOY
ON LANDING THAT LOAD OF GLITTERING ORE
KNOWING THAT WE HAD STRUCK IT RICH.
LOOK PA ! OH !
THIS WAS THE DAWN OF A BRIGHTER DAY.
IT MEANT MUCH FOR MY FUTURE.
Narrator: PETER WOODHOUSE MADE THAT STRIKE AT BEETOWN, WISCONSIN, IN 1845.
IT WAS A BRIGHT DAY IN THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI LEAD DISTRICT.
THAT YEAR, THEY WOULD SHIP OUT
A RECORD 54 MILLION POUNDS OF LEAD.
DODGE WAS RE-APPOINTED
AS TERRITORIAL GOVERNOR BY A NEW PRESIDENT--
JAMES K. POLK.
LIFE WAS GOOD IN THE LEAD REGION.
IN 1846, CONGRESS FINALLY GAVE UP ON THE LAND LEASE SYSTEM
AND PASSED A LAW ALLOWING FOR THE SALE
OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI LEAD LANDS.
WHEN WISCONSIN BECAME THE 30th STATE IN 1848
LEAD MINING WAS A KEY INDUSTRY.
BUT THE IMPORTANCE OF LEAD MINING WAS ACTUALLY ON THE WANE.
MINERS WOULD SOON BE LEAVING WISCONSIN
FOR THE 1849 CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH.
AND THEY WOULD FIND THAT THE NEW POLICY
ON MINERAL LAND OWNERSHIP ADOPTED
FOR THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI MINES
WOULD BE APPLIED TO THE CALIFORNIA MINES.
LEAD MINING WOULD CONTINUE TO BE IMPORTANT
IN IOWA, ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN INTO THE 1850s.
THEN, DESPITE A RESURGENCE
DURING THE CIVIL WAR
IT WOULD EVENTUALLY BE DISPLACED
BY ZINC MINING IN THE 1880s.
THE OLD LEAD MINERS
HAD DISCARDED THE ZINC "DRYBONE" AS WORTHLESS.
THE ZINC MINES WERE LARGER.
THE ERA OF SMALL, TWO-MAN OPERATIONS WAS OVER.
BUT THE RUSH FOR GREY GOLD IN IOWA, ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN
HAD BEEN THE IMPETUS FOR THE TRANSFORMATION
OF THIS PORTION OF THE AMERICAN FRONTIER.
THE RECURRING ELEMENTS WERE ALL HERE--
THE DISPLACEMENT OF THE NATIVE PEOPLE;
THE EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
BY FRONTIER OPPORTUNISTS;
THE COLORFUL CHARACTERS;
AND THE IMMIGRATION
OF NEEDY FAMILIES FROM ELSEWHERE.
Spoon Decorah: WHEN THE WHITES BEGAN TO COME AMONG THE MINES
THE BIG FATHER SAID TO HIS WINNEBAGO CHILDREN:
"I WANT THIS LAND
"AND WILL HAVE MY OWN PEOPLE TO WORK IT.
"AND WHENEVER YOU GO OUT HUNTING, COME BY THIS WAY
AND YOU WILL BE SUPPLIED WITH LEAD."
BUT THIS AGREEMENT WAS NEVER CARRIED OUT
BY THE BIG FATHER OR HIS AGENTS.
NEVER WAS A BAR OF LEAD
OR A BAG OF SHOT PRESENTED TO US.
NO, WE NEVER SAW ANY OF OUR LEAD AGAIN
EXCEPT WHAT WE PAID DEARLY FOR.
AND WE NEVER WILL HAVE ANY GIVEN TO US
UNLESS IT BE FIRED AT US OUT OF WHITE MEN'S GUNS
TO KILL US OFF.
Narrator: OTHER MINERAL RUSHES WERE TO FOLLOW.
BUT BEFORE THE GOLD RUSH
CAME THE LITTLE-KNOWN TALE OF THE LEAD RUSH
A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE HERITAGE
OF ALL THE PEOPLE LIVING IN AMERICA.
[Captioning services provided by Wisconsin Public Television.]