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Commemorative biographical record of the Fox River Valley counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families
(1895)
Biographical, pp. [unnumbered]-[1232]
PDF (429.7 MB)
Page 9
COMMIEMORATIVE BIOGRAPICIUAL RECORD. Fox-Wisconsin route, and made the first approximately correct map of that water highway; later, on my return from Galena to Prairie du Chien, I did the same for the Mississippi; we then put our notes to- gether and gave the result to a prominent eastern map-maker who adopted it as part of the geography of the country. It was published in 1829 or 183o, an(d was the first real map of the country betwx een Green Bay and Galena. I was much gratified, afterward, to see that later official surveys of the Mississippi corres- ponded exactly with mine. Lyon and I started down the Mississippi from Prairie du Chien on a very primitive sort of steamer; there were two xessels like Mackinaw boats, with a platform between and a shed built on that-it was, in fact, a steam catamaran. During the entire time court was in session at the Prairie, we staid at Galena, and then Judge Dot) and Rowland came down and joined us there. After a few days, Lyon and I went on what was then a decidedly novel trip, an expedition through the mining region north of Galena," which they found over- flowing with prospectors, miners, and a certain nondescript class that might be catalogued as " camp followers," in all fully two thousand men. After their in- spection of the mining country, the party returned home from Galena the way they had gone, meeting with no special ad- venture. In the spring of 1829, in company with Wistweaw, a Menomonee Indian, and Alexander Grignon, a young half- blood Menomonee, as assistants, Judge Martin and judge Doty, starting from Green Bay on horseback, traversed the, up to that time little known, region south of the Fox and Wisconsix rivers, and are believed to have been the first party to make the trip by land between the ex- treme outposts of this section-Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. At the latter place judge Doty held a term of court, and Judge Martin officiated as United States district attorney, pro tlen. Their return trip was also by overland, but with some change of trail, and on both jour- neys they were greatly struck with the beauty of the lake country and its adapta- bility for becoming the abode of civilized life. They passed along the north bank of Fourth lake, where eight years after- ward, in 1836, Judge Martin laid out the - City of the Four Lakes," and the coun- try they traversed on this novel journey was 'in the words of Judge Martin him- self), "after reaching a distance of thirty miles from Green Bay, more charming than any we had ever beheld, with its ex- tensive oak openingsand almost unlimited prairies. There was not, however, a trace of occupancy or any indication that it had ever before been traversed by white men.i In October, 1829, the first public meeting in the history of Green Bay was held there, Louis Grignon being chair- mnan, and Judge Martin, secretary. Con- gress was petitioned to build a road from Green Bay to Chicago, and also to im- prove the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. In 1833 the Judge paid his first visit to Mil- xwaukee, while on a horse-back tour of exploration, on which occasion he was accompanied by Daniel Le Roy and P. B. Grignon, and as far as Fond du Lac their course lay on the same trail our sub- ject and Judge Doty had made in I829. After that they struck southeast to the shore of Lake Michigan, following it closely until the Milwaukee river was reached. At their destination they met Solomon Juneau, the trader, whose home was the " old trading house," and he and Judge Martin became fast friends, their business relations continuing many years -in fact they were joint owners of the original plat of Milwaukee; and such con- fidence had they in each other, that no written memorandum of the terms of their partnership was ever made between them; yet at the end of three years ac- counts between them were adjusted, and " property valued at hundreds of thous- ands divided with as little difficulty as 9
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