Wisconsin School for the Deaf - Tattler Yearbook (Delavan, WI)

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Page fourteen The Tattler prow rapidly after the opening of extensive lend mines in southwestern Wisconsin. Along the winding Mississippi are beautiful rolling lands, and in the Black Hawk War both Indians and the white people fought over them. In 1832 the Sauks. under chief Black Hawk, wore almost wiped out in the conflict and that ended the war. Black Hawk, a year before he died, proved his true loyalty to his people when he said to the white people. “Rock River was a beautiful country. I liked my town, my corn fields, and the home of my people. I fought for them.” Abraham Lincoln, Zachary Taylor. and Jefferson Davis were among those who fought in this war. With the Indian troubles over, cities in Wisconsin sprang up rapidly. Within a generation Wisconsin became u state, and the population grew from three thousand to three-quarters of a million. Although Wisconsin is a long way from the Atlantic Ocean where the American Revolution was in progess. the Northwest, composed of the territories of Ohio. Indiana. Illinois, Michigan. and Wisconsin, pluyed an important part in the struggle for independence. George Rogers Clark was its chief defender, and, although he himself never set foot on Wisconsin soil, yet his agents were active among the Indians as they were trying to overcome the influence of I anglade who was allied with the English. At the close of the Revolutionary War with the Treaty of Peace in 1783, Wisconsin became a part of the Territory of Wisconsin. However, the United tates didn’t take actual possession of it till after the War of 1812. Wisconsin had then been in the possession of France for ninety years and of England for twenty-two years. Before 1826 Wisconsin had been successively parts of the Northwest Territory. Indiana. Illinois, and Michigan Territories. In 1836 it became Wisconsin Territory. The members of the first legislature met in a two-story frame building in a village, now Belmont, on October 25, 1836. There were many things for the legislature to do, but the most important was to select a new site for the seat of government. Several places entered the contest, and at last Madison, then a beautiful place in the wilds between Lake Mcndota and Lake Monona, was chosen. In November 1838 the legislature met in the new capital. During Wisconsin’s twelve years as a territory, newspapers were established, banks were started, and a railroad was chartered. On May 21). 1818. during Polk’s administration. Wisconsin became the thirtieth state, and Nelson Dewey was elected its first governor, and in November of the same year Wisconsin cast its first ballot for president. Wisconsin had a part in the Civil War. and its regiments, loyal to the United States government. were called the Iron Brigade after they had proved their worth at the battle of South Mountain in 1862. One of them adopted for its mascot an eagle, caught by an Indian. Old Abe. screaming defiance amid the roar of cannon, went through battles and skirmishes and became a national figure. In Wisconsin the census of 1910 showed a large percentage of foreign-born persons. Perhaps no other state has as many different people of foreign birth. From its discovery until the lead-mining days, the population was mostly French. During its first years of statehood many Europeans, Germans and Scandinavians. being the most numerous, were attracted to Wisconsin’s fertile lands although many English. Irish. Scotch. Poles. Bohemians, Hollanders. Russians, and Welsh have since come to make Wisconsin their home. During the Civil War and the World War the descendants of these foreign sons of the state proved themselves in most cases real one hundred percent citizens. When Wisconsin became a state in 1818. it chose “Forward” as it motto. Its people from that time to the present have always endeavored to put the state to the front in industry and literature, and. just at present, it annually attracts thousands of tourists seeking rest and quiet in its great northern forests. Few, as they pass over its truly historic ground, realize the prominent part Wisconsin has played in every crisis of the history of North America since the coming of the white man.

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Nineteen thirty-eight attention to breeding and constant testing of individual animals. The dairy products are the most wholesome and economical of foods. They are rapidly increasing. Perhaps there is no other place in the world where so much Swiss cheese is stored as in Marty’s Factory, ft is located in Monroe, a thriving city in Green County, known ns The Swiss Cheese Capital cf the United States. One of the most attractive dairies in Wisconsin is a huge plant at Cameron, Barron County. The Tomah creamery. Monroe County, produces about 1.300,000 pounds of butter a year. In Richland Center 00.000 pounds of milk are hauled every day to supply the condensery. The dairies of Columbia county and Dune County sell a great amount of milk to Madison. Some small towns make their own butter and ice-cream and sell Page thirteen it to their own townspeople, and to farmers. The Wisconsin Dairymen’s Association was organized in 1871 at Watertown. A man named Hazen, Governor William W. Hoard, and five other men met. In the same year a cheese board of trade was organized, in Watertown. Liverpool. ICngland. was the only known market for cheese at that time. This Association’s purpose was to help the dairies sell their raw products where they could. It helps to have farmers cooperate. Wisconsin, being a fine dairy state. I can not help feeling very grateful and proud because I now live on a small farm, and I have been brought up on farms. We all should he proud of our own state, and be thankful, because our farmers make good money from their cattle. The History of Wisconsin By MARY ELLEN WHITLOW WISCONSIN, the land of mirror-like lakes glimmering among the dark forests, with its two great river systems, the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, only three-fourths of a mile apart forming the historic portage, which played a very important part in the early exploration of this state, has a unique place in the history of the whole of North America. Wisconsin got its name from its principal river. The Chippewas, a tribe of Indians named it Wees-konsan and the French called it Ouis-consin. but. by enactment of the territorial legislature in 1845. it became Wisconsin which means, the gathering of the waters. and it is so called because of the great river’s numerous branches. The Indians have a tradition that once a very large serpent living in the Mississippi River went through the prairies of Wisconsin to the Great I ikes. and left a great hollow trail into which was collected water from the rain and thus the Fox River began. In 1634 only fourteen years after the Pilgrims had landed on Plymouth Rock. Jean Nicolet, the first white man to set foot upon Wisconsin soil, came to Green Bay in search of the People of the Sea” which were believed to be living a short distance south of the Men- ominee River. Other French explorers following him were Pierce Radisson, Joliet and Marquette and La Salle, famous for his exploration in the Mississippi Valley. All came to engage in fur trading with the Indians, and this industry still exists in another form, for Wisconsin has numerous, large, fox farms which produce fine pelts for the fur market of today. The Wisconsin and Fox River Valleys became very important to the French fur traders as this was the easiest route to reach the interior of the fur country from the Great I akes. The Fox Indians hud ulmost entire control of this gateway for a long time and the French hated them and wanted to exterminate them. For more than twenty-five years there was constant war between them, and the Indians were almost gone by 1720, and those left were driven into the Mississippi Valley. The first-known permanent white settlers were the Langlade who came to Green Bay in 1764. Charles Langlade took an active part in the French and Indian War and in the American Revolution. The next settlements were made at Prairie du Chien in 1781, Kaukauna in 1790. Portage in 1793. and Milwaukee 1795. Just before 1800, there were about two hundred white people in the state, but the population

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Nineteen thirty-eight Pagefifteen Fish and Fishing By HAROLD WE1NCOLD WISCONSIN has numerous lakes and rivers that have long contained a great abundance of Hah. As a fishing state, it ranks among the best in the United States. Its streams and lakes attract thousands of people every year. Millions are spent in the state by tourists largely lured by the fishing. In recent years the number of fish decreased rapidly. The people of Wisconsin became alarmed at this growing scarcity. They not only desired good fishing for themselves but they also knew that, when the tourists found no fishing in Wisconsin, they would naturally turn to other slates. This meant the state would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. Natural reproduction can not now be depended upon. Modern civilization has brought too many factors destructive to fish life, so fish hatcheries were established by the state and proving their worth as the years went by. more and more were built. Today there are about thirty-five hatcheries in Wisconsin scattered all over the state at suitable sites. In these millions of fish are raised which are transported and planted in the waters of Wisconsin. Since 1935 this work has grown in leaps and bounds. In 1935 the distribution increased from around 80 million fish a year to over 500 million. Last year over a billion fish were planted in Wisconsin waters. This year as many or more will be distributed. Muskellungo has been the most highly prized game fish in Wisconsin because of its size and its fighting qualities. Many people come here just for the muskellunge fishing. The legal size limit is 30 inches. By studying the scales of the fish, it has been found that it takes from five to six years for a muskellunge to reach the legal size. Wisconsin, of course, wants to maintain ami increase the supply of muskies in our waters in order to give the pleasure of catching these fresh water tigers to as many people as possible. The raising of muskies in hatcheries is something which many states have attempted with indifferent success or failure. Wisconsin has succeeded and in 1936 distributed nearly seven million young muskies. Muskellunge rearing hus been a very difficult problem as the eggs are not easily handled and the feeding problem is a hard one but the difficulties have been conquered so we can look forward to more and better musky fishing in many Wisconsin waters. Bass, large and small mouth, brook, rainbow. and brown trout, wall-eyed pike and great northern pike are fish that are widely distributed throughout the state and which are eagerly sought after. All are raised by the millions in the state hatcheries and placed in its lakes, rivers and smaller streams. In Lake Winnebago is caught the armor plated sturgeon of which Longfellow wrote in Hiawatha. This fish grows to great size, but is scarce. It is caught through the ice in winter in I ake Winnebago. The state has many panfish such as perch, sunfish, bluegills. bullheads, crappies and rock bass. Del van Lake was long famous for its bluegills. Beaver Dam Lake once swarmed with bullheads. There is a story that when the early settlers around Beaver Dam wanted fish they removed the tail gate of their wagon box. backed the wagon into the lake until the water filled the box. Then they replaced the tail gate and drove home with a wagon load of bullheads. Besides all these game and food fish Wisconsin has other species called rough fish. The principal rough fish, native to Wisconsin, ure the bufTalo. suckers, red horse, sheephead, eel-pout, dogfish and garfish. The carp is not a native but millions of them are in Wisconsin waters. Rough fish are destructive to game fish. Garfish, dogfish, and sheephead are cannibals and destroy many desirable fish, nevertheless, the carp is the worst enemy though it is only a vegetarian. It stirs up (he mud which then blankets gamefish eggs that soon suffocate and die. Also waterfowl suffer on account of the carp that both eat and destroy aquatic plants, one of the principal food of wild ducks and geese. The history of the carp is interesting. They were imported from Germany in 1877 by the United States. Some were planted in Wise on-