Page 254 - La Société canadienne d'histoire de l'Église catholique - Rapport 1961

250 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS.

The next settler was of the name of GANIER, whose decend-
ants still remain here. The settlers continued to increase. In
1782, when MICHAEL BRISBOIS came here, there must have
been twenty or thirty, and previous to 1793, the whole Prairie
had been claimed and occupied, amounting to forty-three farma,
and thirty to forty village lots, most or all of which had been
built upon. This fact was proven when the evidence of the
Private Land Claims was taken by Judge LEE, in 1823.
The greater portion of the original settlers here, came to the
country as hunters, traders or employees, and taking wives of
the natives, commenced farming upon a small and primitive
scale, while they also hunted, trapped, and voyaged, as occa-
sions occurred. They probably raised their bread, vegetables
and some meat, while their skins and furs bought their clothing,
and what else they needed out of the store.
The first fort or trading post, was built just below the site
of the present rail-road depot. Afterwards it was removed to
the Island, where the old village and United States Fort were
built. The high waters of 1826 and 1828, overflowing the
Island, most of the inhabitants moved on to higher ground, and
built up St. Friole. The present Fort Crawford was built be-
tween 1829 and 1834.
About the year 1826, or earlier, the miners from Galena ex-
tended their diggings into what is non Grant, Iowa and Lafay-
ette counties, Wisconsin, and though one or two treaties had
been previously made with the Iowas, and other Indians who
claimed that region, yet the Winnebagoes and Sauks and Poxes
still claimed it, and it is said that the NTinnebago troubles in
1827, grew out of these encroachments upon what they consid-
ered their soil. But they relinquished their claims in 1829
and 1832, after which the Mining Region increased in population
very rapidly.
Until since the Black Hawk war of 1832, the whole State
might with propriety be considered Indian country. There
were but a few hundred settlers, and these? except the miners,