I walked about ten miles to the house of a friend named A. Bennett, who was a hunter and lived on the bank of the Picatonica River with his wife and two children.  I had to take many a rest on the way, for I was very weak.

Resting the first few days, Mrs. Bennett’s father, Mr. J.P.  Dilly, took us out about six miles and left us to hunt and camp for a few days.  We were quite successful, and killed five nice, fat deer, which we dressed and took to Mineral Point, selling them rapidly to the Cornish miners for twenty-five cents a quarter for the meat.  We followed this business till about January first, when the game began to get poor, when we hung up our guns for a while.  I had a little money left yet.  The only money in circulation was American silver and British sovereigns.  They would not sell lead ore for paper money nor on credit.  During the spring I used my traps successfully, so that I saved something over board and expenses.

In summer I worked in the mines with Edwin Buck of Bucksport, Maine, but only found lead ore enough to pay our expenses in getting it.  Next winter I chopped wood for thirty-five cents per cord and boarded myself.  This was poor business; poorer than hunting.  In summer I found work at various things, but in the fall Mr. Buck and myself concluded that as we were both hunters and trappers, we would go northward toward Lake Superior on a hunting expedition, and, perhaps remain all winter.  We replenished our outfit, and engaged Mr. Bennett to take us well up into the north country.  We crossed the Wisconsin River near Muscoda, went then to Prairie du Chien, where we found a large stone fur trading house, owned by Mr. Brisbois, a Frenchman, from whom we obtained some information of the country further on.  He assured us there was no danger from the Indians if we let them alone and treated them fairly.

We bought fifty pounds of flour for each of us, and then started up the divide between the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers.  On one side flowed the Bad River, and on the other the Kickapoo.  We traveled on this divide about three days, when Mr. Bennett became afraid to go any further, as he had to return alone and the Indians might capture him before he could get back to the settlement.  We camped early one night and went out hunting to get some game for him.  I killed a large, black bear and Mr. Bennett took what he wanted of it, including the skin, and started back next morning.

We now cached our things in various places, scattering them well.  Some went in hollow logs, and some under heaps of brush or other places, where the Indians could not find them.  We then built a small cabin about six by eight feet in size and four feet high, in shape like a A. We were not thoroughly pleased with this location and started out to explore the country to the north of us, for we had an idea that it would be better hunting there.