it to be a very
Canaan of promise. As a consequence, hundreds of young people, restless
and ambitious, and very many older ones whom the panic of the late 30's
had separated from their business moorings, turned their thoughts and
then their steps toward the new promised land.

When my father was rowed ashore from the steamer at Milwaukee, he could
have taken up "government land" within the present limits of that city,
but the bluffs and swamps of the future metropolis had no charms for him
compared with the vision he had in mind of the Rock River country. So he
crossed Milwaukee River on a ferry at the foot of Wisconsin Street,
walked out on a sidewalk quavering on stilts until solid ground was
reached at Third Street, and then struck the trail for the west.

[Footnote 1: From the Proceedings of the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, 1907.]

Along the shore of Pewaukee Lake, the traveler met a wolf which bristled
and snarled but at last surrendered the right of way before the superior
bluff, which was put up against him, backed by a "big stick." That night
he stayed with a friend named Terry, who had come West the year before,
and preempted a piece of land on the east shore rock, about seven miles
above Watertown. The next morning he saw on the opposite bank a gently
rising slope covered with stately maples and oaks; beneath were the
grass and flowers of mid June, and the swift flowing river, clear as a
spring brook, was in front, making the scene one of entrancing beauty.
It was fully equal to his highest expectations, and he never rested
until he had secured title to that particular block of land.

He at once prepared to build a log house, and, after a few days, the
neighborhood was invited to the raising. Some men came eight and ten
miles, and a big laugh went around when it was found that logs a foot
and a half and two feet in diameter had been cut for the house. Four
large ones were rolled together for a foundation, and then the
inexperienced young man was told that for a house he needed to cut logs
half as large, and they would return in a week and raise them. This they
did, showing the kindly, helpful spirit of the early settlers.

In August my mother came and brought the household furniture from their
Oneida County home, together with a year's provisions. The trip from
Milwaukee to their log house, nearly forty miles, took nearly three days
by ox team. She was delighted and happy with the building and it