that would be sufficient for a week's camping. The moment 'By' was turned loose among the edibles, they discovered their mistake. The second day's sun went down upon as hungry a crowd as ever sought shelter of a wood, and Elder Brigham and Enny had to start out on a foraging expedition. Chickens and turkeys were roosting high; as they seemed instinctively to dread that crowd. Over hills and through valleys, Enny and the elder plodded nearly all night long, and just at peep of day, come 'the drop' on a couple of old geese, which had the appearance of having stole out under the railing when Noah's shallop was scooting over this portion of the creation. These, they brought into camp.

"Hunger and weariness had done its work upon all the inmates of the camp except Wright; and all save him were in the tightly clasped

arms of

"Tired Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep!' or words to that effect. 'By' was on picket duty; and no sooner did he get sight of the geese, than he claimed the high prerogative of making a breakfast of them, as a compensation for watching over the sleepers all night. Enny and the elder were too nearly exhausted to enter into a muscular contest, and sank down exhausted. The sleepers slept on; and when they awoke, a few scattering feathers were all that told the story of the lost geese, while 'By' sat by the camp-fire looking as portly as an alderman, and indulging in a sardonic smile as he looked upon the sunken faces of the starving party.

"But for the kind hospitality of Capt. Hunt, who sent to camp a barrel of pork and a load of potatoes, the bleaching bones of the whole party, Wright excepted, would have been whitening beneath the scorching rays of an August sun. Such conduct caused unpleasantness; and Tuesday's afternoon train took Wright on board, after which, the rest of the party went to work and filled up sufficiently to make their clothes fit, and had several days of genuine fun. Elder

Brigham says, it is the last time he will ever undertake to camp out with 'By' Wright, unless he can first get a contract with the United States government to furnish rations, and a company of regulars to stand guard over them between meals. And still, on general principles, Wright isn't a bad fellow."

De Witt Clinton Wilson was born in Wakeman, Huron Co., Ohio, May 24, 1827. His parents were James Wilson and Amarilla White Wilson, who were Connecticut people. The subject of this sketch received his early education in the common schools of his town. He afterward attended the Norwalk Seminary one year, and the two succeeding years at Oberlin College, having gone through the Freshman and Sophomore years. He left school at twenty years of age, going to Indiana, and subsequently returning to his native State. At twenty-one, Mr. Wilson was married at Wakeman to Jane McCumber, of that place. Remaining there two years in farming his father's place, he then moved to McDonough Co., Ill., going into a railroad office, on the Quincy division of the C. B. & Q., railroad, where he remained three years. In consequence of ill health, he then removed to Sparta, Monroe Co., Wis., where he soon recovered,—he having at that time a tract of land near by.

Mr. Wilson occupied his land nearly a year. This was in 1859. The next year he moved into Sparta, when he was elected a justice of the peace, the jurisdiction of the office being then co-extensive with the county. His official business was large-more lucrative than any county office of Monroe county. The war coming on, he was called upon to go abroad through the counties of Monroe, Jackson, Vernon and La Crosse, to make war speeches. In October, 1861, entered the service as first lieutenant of company D, 18th Wisconsin regiment, G. S. Alban, colonel. Lieut. Wilson was in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, where he was taken prisoner, remaining such for seven months, when he was exchanged, and returned

to his company and regiment, where he remained until March, 1863, when he was made captain of company A, of the 9th Louisiana (colored) regiment, afterwards changed to the United States 47th (colored) regiment.

Capt. Wilson remained with the 47th until Aug. 18, 1864, when he resigned. During the time of his connection with that regiment he commanded the same at the battle of Yazoo City, in connection with Col. Ransom of the 11th Illinois. This was a very severe conflict, resulting in driving the rebels out of the city, and in rescuing Col. Ransom's regiment which had been surrounded and shut up in a fort.

Capt. Wilson reached his home at Sparta about the 1st of September, 1864. The coming winter he was chosen assistant sergeant-at-arms of the Wisconsin Senate. The following winter he represented Monroe Co., Wis., in the Assembly, and the winters of 1867 and 1868 he represented the ninth senatorial district of his State, composed of the counties of Monroe, Ju. neau and Adams.

Before this date Capt. Wilson had been a regular writer for the Sparta Eagle. Before leaving the Senate, he was employed by the Milwaukee Sentinel to travel as their traveling correspondent during the year 1869. At the

end of that time, he purchased one-half of the Sparta Eagle, which paper he continued to run with two different partners; and in 1872, purchased the entire office, changing the name of the paper to the Monroe County Republican, making it an independent democratic sheet. That paper he edited until 1878, when he sold it to F. A. Brown, and went to Montevideo, Chippewa Co., Minn., where he established the Chippewa County Leader, which he sold on account of his wife's sickness, in 1879.

Capt. Wilson lost his first wife in 1872, at Sparta. He afterward married, in 1873, the widow of Lute A. Taylor, who died in 1880.

After the death of his second wife, Capt. Wilson came to Viroqua and purchased, as already stated the materials of the Herald, and started the Vernon County Leader. Mr. Wilson has three children-Mrs. Mary Booth, of Wakeman, Ohio; James A. Wilson, telegraph operator,, at Sparta, Wis.; and Miss Frank Wilson, now at school, at that place. "Capt. DeWitt C. Wilson, editor of the Vernon County Leader," says the Milwaukee Sunday Telegraph, of Aug. 26, 1883, "is one of the ablest and clearest political writers and speakers in the State. His rhetoric is always good; and his ideas are clear, and his reasoning pointed and able."

Nearly forty years have elapsed since the first white American settler located within the limits of what is now Vernon county. From that date to the present time, there has never been an event of such magnitude—an occurrence so destructive and far-reaching in its results within the boundaries of the county, as the great tornado of June 28, 1865. It was a great and overshadowing calamity—particularly to the village of Viroqua. It is eighteen years and past, since "death rode upon that sulphury siroc," but there are numbers still living who have a vivid recollection of the sudden and awful visitation! Their recitals of what they saw convey to the reader in graphic language the terrors of that never to be forgotten day.

It is easy to draw from the "Recollections" which follows, an outline of the whole picture. It is this: Suddenly there came on, with little or no warning, a horrible screeching sound; and, to the westward, as the awe-stricken farmer, a few miles west of Viroqua, looked out upon the scene, there came, as if "upon the lightning's wing," an immense, rolling, whirling, frightfully dark-looking cloud; and the next instant, almost, a crash! The wind swept everything in its path along the line between townships 12 and 13, through Viroqua, and a number of miles to the east of the village. In that path, was death and dire destruction such as has seldom been witnessed, in so narrow a space, on this earth. But we let the spectators now tell their stories; yet the half can never

be told. We begin, however, with the cotem poraneous account of an editor.

I.-BRICK POMEROY'S REPORT, JULY, 1865. Thursday afternoon we received notice that on Wednesday a storm of wind had swept over a portion of the village of Viroqua, the county-seat of Vernon county, and that several were killed, a large number wounded, and that a large portion of the village was destroyed. At half past six in the afternoon, we started by team, drove to the "Mills" on Coon creek, put up with Andrew Anderson for the night, reaching Viroqua at 9 on Friday morning, arriving home Friday afternoon, having in twenty-three hours driven seventy miles and witnessed the most terrible effects of wind we ever saw in this country, the particulars of which we hasten to lay before our readers.

The county of Vernon, until lately Bad Ax, adjoins La Crosse county on the south and southeast. Viroqua, distant thirty-five miles from La Crosse, is the county-seat and contains about 1000 inhabitants. It is a pleasant inland village, on high table land in the center of a valuable farming district largely under cultivation. The village has always been a quiet, steadily prospering place. The buildings not large but in good taste and repair, and especially in the south part of the place, characterized by an air of ease and refinement desirable to behold.

At 4 o'clock (on the afternoon of June 28, 1865) black clouds rolling heavily in the sky betokened a storm. In a few moments the wind sprang up, and almost immediately could

be seen coming from the northeast a cloud of wind, rolling at times close to the earth-dust, sticks, etc., filling the air. At the same time, there appeared another cloud of like nature, coming directly toward the village from the west. The first current was passing to the southwest, and the points or ends met half a mile west of the village, when it seemed as if a mighty strife was going on between millions of invisible spirits in the two currents. People ran for their houses in terror-the whirlwind, with a shriek and a howl, kept on its eastward course, the larger current turning the smaller one back, the two going on together in their work of destruction. In two minutes its fury was spent at Viroqua, and the southern portion of the place (and the most beautiful) was made a scene of wilder and more terrible devastation than we ever witnessed before.

The first house struck was that of William Vought, which was totally destroyed. Before attempting to depict scenes or itemize incidents we give a list of the killed: J. G. Barstow and wife, whose house was crushed like an eggshell aud themselves so injured that they both died in an hour. A three-year-old child of H. G. Weeden was found dead in the ruins of his house, which was demolished. Lydia Gillett was killed while shutting a door. The house was carried some distance and dashed to fragments. The wife of Dr. Dean and her daughter, Mrs. Moon, were killed; Mr. Dean, seriously injured. Eliza Derby, a girl twelve years old, was killed; so, also, two children of James Daniels; two children of James Cook; one child of Nelson Rhodes, and Mrs. Good, killed and mutilated.

The following were severely wounded: Mr. and Mrs. Drake and son, Phineas. Mr. Drake is eighty-four, his wife seventy-six, and Phineas thirty-five years of age. We doubt if either of the three are now alive. Mrs. Decker had her thigh broken. John Gardner's wife was seriously injured. A servant girl working for W S. Purdy was fatally injured. J. M. Bennett

had his leg broken. Mrs. J. Buckley was seriously hurt; Dr. Dean badly injured; also Dr. Weeden and wife. Peter Hays, wife and four children were badly wounded. Mrs. W. S. S. White, daughter and grandchild, fatally injured. O. C. Smith was seriously injured; J. Dawson, badly hurt. Besides these there are others wounded, but their names we could not learn in the limited time set apart for this purpose. Dr. Tinker informed us that over 100 persons were hurt, forty of whom are seriously injured and about twelve of whom must soon die. In the school house there were twentyfour children and the teacher. Eight children were killed and all more or less cut, bruised or mangled.

Twenty-six houses and barns were completely demolished, and about forty buildings, more or less injured. Below we give a list of buildings destroyed within easy reach of a man's voice: William Vought, house destroyed. Mr. Russell, house destroyed.

H. Green, house and two barns. No one living in the house. C. F. Gillett, house de stroyed; young lady killed.

John Gardner, house destroyed; wife seriously injured.

W. S. Purdy, house destroyed.

D. Ouston, house and blacksmith shop destroyed.

J. Buckley, house and shop destroyed.
Dr. Dean, house destroyed.

J. M. Bennett, house and barn destroyed.
John Barstow, house destroyed.

Dr. Weeden, house and barn destroyed. W. S. S. White, house and barn destroyed. O. C. Smith, house unroofed and otherwise injured.

R. C. Bierce, house and barn destroyed. John Everett, house unroofed and barn destroyed.

J. A. Somerby, house, including printing office, destroyed.

Court house unroofed.

N. C. Nichols, store demolished.

Dr. Rusk's house injured and barn destroyed. O. J. Stillwell, barn destroyed and house slightly injured.

J. Dawson, dwelling destroyed and store badly injured.

C. W. Pitcher, house injured.

horses were whisked off like swallows; rocks were broken down like dry bread!

D. B. Priest, storehouse ruined; occupied by Mr. Lindley, whose goods were injured and himself badly hurt.

Masonic Lodge destroyed.

W. F. Terhune, barn and house injured. John Cummings, house destroyed. Messrs. Russell, Riley, Gillett, Bennett, Purdy, Barstow, W. S. S. White and O. C. Smith, were occupying rented premises; all the others were occupying their own buildings. Mr. Fretwell, Mr. Lindley, Mr. Jones, Levi Garnes, A. R. Burrell, W. F. White, J. H. Tate, H. Trowbridge and others had their houses more or less injured. Fences and outhouses, orchards and shrubbery were swept away on the route, and a large number of horses, cattle and hogs destroyed.

Those who have not witnessed this scene of devastation can form no idea of the terrible power of the whirlwind. The ground is torn as if plowed, Huge rocks ten feet square were hurled a distance of forty rods. Dwellings were razed to the ground, and hurled rods away. Huge oak trees were twisted from stumps like reeds. Timbers sixteen inches square and sixty feet long were hurled through the air as though they were feathers. The scene of desolation is beyond description. The ground over which the whirlwind passed looks as if a mighty stream of water had carried floodwood over it, Houses, outhouses, trees, shrubs, fences, etc., were swept away as if God had, in his anger, rubbed his hand over the spot.

striking on the roof, and dashing the building to atoms. A large portion of the ruins were carried away. Mrs. Gardner was in the house all the time with an infant in her arms. She was taken from the ruins badly injured, but the child was unhurt!

Mr. Bennett's fine house was blown in every direction. Some of the ruins fell in the cellar. Mr. Bennett was hurled in a corner of the cellar. A little girl was blown in beside him. A few seconds after a horse was blown in upon him, breaking Mr. Bennett's leg. The horse struggled to get up but could not; and lest, in struggling, it might kill Mr. Bennett and the little girl, he tried to get a knife from his pocket with which to cut the throat of the animal and so quiet him, when two more horses were hurled in upon him. He was got out with a leg badly broken. The little girl was badly injured. When the blow began a man had just started from a store to go home with his team and lumber wagon. He was whirled from his wagon, falling in the brush thirty rods south. The wagon box has not been found. The running gears were broken and scattered in every direction. The horses were the ones thrown in upon Mr. Bennett.

Herman Greeve lost a splendid house and two large barns. One of the barns was fitted up for holding wheat, with a capacity of 50,000