Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/173

 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY 125 for a Long time lived with me. These two men were the pioneers of that nationality in Goodhue county, where the descendants of that race have since occupied so important a place. Both of these men formerly resided in St. Paul. In the spring following, Albert, a Norwegian, an acquaintance of Mr. Peterson, settled here and made a claim at Poplar grove, or Albert's grove, in what is now Featherstone township. "The winter of 1852-53 was passed very pleasantly by our little isolated community. The natives soon left on their win- ter's hunt after their return from the treaty ratification at the fort, and Ave saw but little of them until some time in January; in fact we saw nobody but our own residents. Communication between us and the civilized world was only resumed when the post had rendered traveling safe on the Mississippi river. The mail was carried from Prairie du Chien, through Wisconsin, crossing the Chippew T a near the Menominee river, thence through a wooded wilderness to the very source of Rush river at Baker's station, thence to Stillwater and St. Paul. A trip from Prairie du Chien in the winter required nerve, endurance, and a willing- ness to perform any amount of manual labor that the emergency ■of the case might require. We here got our mail from St. Paul, when we had a chance to send for it. When the ice was safe, trains arrived frequently from below, principally laden with pork and flour. Our isolation was from about the midde of November to some time in January. Such supplies as ran short were obtained of Mr. Potter, whose establishment contained those articles more especially demanded by the Indian trade, and from George W. Bullard. at Wacoota. whose situation at the head of the lake rendered it necessary for him to keep a more extensive assortment of goods, to supply the wants of the lumbering inter- ests; or if these stores were deficient in articles, then St. Paul was the last resort for the winter. "As it is impossible to relate all that I wish to say in chrono- logical order, I may as well give a few of the incidents connected with our county history, even though out of their proper era. "On the Wisconsin side of the river, previous to the settle- ment here, in 1852, the land was ceded, surveyed and opened to settlement. At Diamond Bluff lived John Day, Allen Wilson, Jack Payne and George Day. At the mouth of the Trim Belle, 'Old Hawley' and Jake Meade. At Thing's Landing, now Tren- ton, lived Wilson Thing, E. C. Stevens and Dexter, all more or less engaged in getting out wood for the use of steamboats " 'Old Hawley' was rather a hard case. By his sale of whisky our community was frequently disturbed by the whooping and yelling of drunken Indians. About all the population of natives not engaged in the spree would flee to the houses of the whites