^Bx^xsBmxap^FWJ^^rmssssm LYMA.N COPELAND DRAPER, LI.. D. Secretary of the Society, 1854-86, and Editor of Vols. I-X, Wisconsin Historical Collections. COLLECTIONS OF THK STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN EDITEp BY LYMAN COPELAND DRAPER, LL. D. SECRETARY OF THE SOCIETY VOL. I Being a page-for-page Reprint of the Original Issue of 1855; with the addition of a Memoir of Dr. Draper, and the Early Records of the Society (1849-1854) UNDER THE EDITORIAL DIRECTION OF REUBEN GOLD THWAITES Secretary and Superintendent « • • • • • •••••• •.*...•: •:..:::•.: 2:••••;•.•.......... ' • • • • •• • MADISON PUBUSHBD BY THK SOCIETY 1903 jpfttblialf^ji bg Autlyonta of (Uti^pttt 3B, Jlmo0 nf Ktsurottjstti for 1903 2,000 COPIES PRINTED •:•• •. ••• ••• DEMOCRAT PRINTING CO., MADISON, STATE PRINTER FEB 5 1904 Contents and Illustrations Page PORTRAIT OF LYMAN COPELAND DRAPER, LL. D. Frontispiece PREFACE TO REPRINT EDITION. JR. G. Thwaites. v LYMAN COPELAND DRAPER: A MEMOIR. M, O, Thwaites . ix EARLY RECORDS OF THE SOCIETY, 184:9-54. Charles Lord and John W. Hunt ..... xxx VOL. I. (Edited by LYMAN COPELAND DRAPER.) PHOTOGRAPHIC FACSIMILE OF ORIGINAL TITLE-PAGE. 1 OFFICERS FOR 1855 3 REPORT FOR 1854 5 APPENDIX — 1. TREASURER'S REPORT for 1854. O. M. Conover 19 2. GREEN BAY IN 1726. iDtroduction, The Editor . 21 ILLUSTRATIVE DOCUMENTS: Memoir of Monsieur De Ligney (or Signey), June 7, 1726, 21. 3- LIEUT. JAMES GORRELL'S JOURNAL. Introduction, The Ed­ itor . .24 ILLUSTRATIVE DOCUMENTS: JournalSe^t. 8, 1761—Aug. 13, 1763, 25. Letters~Oi Captain George Ethering- ton, 39, 40, 43. 4. RECOLLECTIONS OF GREEN BAY IN 1816-17. James W. Bid- die . .49 5. RECOLLECTIONS OF A TOUR THROUGH WISCONSIN IN 1832. Charles Whittlesey . .64 6. LEGEND OF THE WINNEBAGOES. Pliny Warriner, in an in­ terview with P. W, Haskins . .86 iy Wisconsin Historical Collections [vol. i APPENDIX — continued Page 7. EARLY TIMES IN WISCONSIN. H. A. Tenney . .94 8. SKETCH OF CALUMET COUNTY. Thomas Cammuck . 103 9. SKETCH OF RICHLAND COUNTY, Ira S, Haseltine . 107 10. WISCONSIN GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES. Alfred Brunson . 110 11. INDIAN NAMES. Joshua Hathaway . 116? 12. INDIAN NOMENCLATURE AND THE CHIPPEWAS. Hiram Calk­ ins ..... 119 13. REMINISCENCES OF WISCONSIN. Alexander F, Pratt, 127 SUBDIVISIONS: 1, The Judiciary of Wisconsin in 1837-38, 127; II, Milwaukee and Solomon Juneau, 130; III, Sketch of Waukesha, 134; IV, Old Settlers, 139. OBJECTS OF COLLECTION DESIRED BY THE SOCIETY. The Editor 146 INDEX (new). B. G. Thwaites . .149 1903] Preface Preface to Reprint Edition One of tlie manifestations of the general revival of interest in American Mstory, so noticeable during the past fifteen or eighteeoti years, Las been the large and ever-increasing demand for materials for the study of local and sectional history. In the case of this Society, the result has been an almost complete exhaustion of the stock of the first ten volumes of Wisconsin Historical Collec­ tions—indeed, it has been many years since any copies of some of its volumes could be supplied. The recent rapid increase in the number of public and school libraries throughout the State, and the marked impiroveiment in the methods and strength of the older of thesei institutions, together with the greater attention now paid by the general public toi the study of Western history, have appeared to necessitate the republishing of these early and rare volumes. The demand for their reprinting, from> the teachers and librarians of the State, has of late been so persistent that the Legislature of 1903 made the necessary provisions therefor. They will accordingly be republished at the rate of two volumes a year. In considering the matter of a second editioni, the first impulse was, by careful renediting to bring the volumes up to date, both in the matter of eliminating the undesirable material and in cor­ recting other matter concerning which there is now more complete information. In 1855, when volume i was issued, the study of Western history was in its infancy. The editor. Dr. Lyman Oopo- land Draper, was then new to the West, and there were few others who had made scholarly researches into its historical sources. The volume was in large measure a tentative publication; it, and sev- vi Wisconsin Historical Collections [voi.i eral of its successors, necessarily contained some contributions which later years and subsequent investigation proved of small value. E^ach volume, as it successively appeareid—and the same is true of the Society's publications of the present day—stood as it were on the shoulders of its predecessors. Each contained, if not refutations of what went before, at least many and often impor­ tant corrections. Such being the case, the project of carefully re- editing the several papers in the first ten volumes (those issued under Draper's editorship) appeared in some respects hopeless; indeed, if only the really enduring material were to be retained, they might readily have been condensed into four or five volumes. More mature consideration of the problem, resulted in the de­ cision to publish a strictly page-for-page reissue, without re-editing. This, because it appeared desirable, bibliographically and histori­ cally, to exhibit the manner of growth in the Collections; to pre­ serve intact the original pagination, in order that the value of thousands of references to the first editions, scattered throughout historical works touching upon Wisconsin and the West, might not be vitiated by a new system of paging; and to present in its original form what is the most enduring monument to Dr. Draper's skillful editorial labors in behalf of Western history. Actuated by these professional and personal considerations, we have, therefore, made an exact reproduction of volume i, as edited by Dr. Draper, save that the mechanical appearance is in accord­ ance with that of the Collections (subsequent to volume x) issued under the direction of the present Editor. Obvious typographical errors in the original have of course been corrected in the present issue; otherwise, the matter upon each page is exactly the same as upon the corresponding page in the original—a convenience which will be appreciated by all scholars who have occasion to cite the series. In addition to the material of the original, we give: (1) A Memoir of Dr. Draper; and (2) the Early Records of the Society, from the original foundation in 1849 un­ til 1854, under the reorganization, when the Eeport in each of the first ten volumes of Collections takes up the story of the So- 1903] Preface vii ciety's progress. Following the issue of volume x, the Society, commencing with 188Y, has published its Proceedings annually, in separate form; the Collections being thereafter reserved strictly for historical material and studies. It is hardly necessary at this late date, to emphasize the great importance of the first ten volumes of Wisconsin Historical Col- lections, the result of D^. Draper's editing. We have said that the enduring material therein might be condensed into four or five volumes; but these would be remarkable books, containing some of the most valuable sources of Wisconsin history—indeed, o ^^tMiei-HJ Western historv. Gorrell's Journal aad the remi­ niscences by Biddle and Whittlesey, given in volume i, could be spared from no collection. Each successive volume contained documents of miarked value, generally of increasing importance— Draper's interview! with Augustin Grignon, in volume iii, being perhaps his most important single contribution to the history of this region. Any original study of Wisconsin's development, or that of the West at large, must take careful note of these ten volumes, as foundation stones. It is a matter for general con­ gratulation that legislative bounty has rendered it possible to place them before the public in new dress, and in number sufficient, it is hoped, to meet all legitimate demands. R G. T. MADISOIT, Wis. October 1, 1903. Lyman Copeland Draper A Memoir By Reuben Gold Thwaites On the night of the twenty-sixth of August^ 1891, there passed from life one who was practically the architect of this Society, and for a third of a century its guiding spirit. In our capacity as an historical association, it has often been our duty to hold exer­ cises in memory of distinguished dead; but never were our funeral tributes more worthily bestowed than now, never was our line of duty nearer to heart We all greatly admired Lyman (Copeland Draper, were aware of his work in the building of this institution, which today is his chiefest monument, and had some knowledge of his national repu­ tation as a collector and editor of historical materials and as an ora­ cle in tlie histoiry of trans-Alleghany pioneering; yet not many of us knew what sort of man was this tireless worker, what his methods were, or his personal characteristics. Of so retiring a dis­ position was he, of so modest^ a demeanor, of so shrinking a habit, that it was given to but few, even of his literary associates, to understand the man as an individual. It was my lot to be as near to him, possibly, as was any other man; and if I may succeed in at least partly lifting for you the veil which seemed to obscure his personality, perhaps the study of his character will interest you as it has me. 1 Address delivered before the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, at its annual meeting, December 10, 1891, and originally published in Wis^ Hist. CoUs.y xii. Revised for the present re-issue. X Wisconsin Historical Collections [voi. i Our friend was bom in the town of Hamburg (now Evans), Erie county, New York, on the fourth of September, 1815.