Wisconsin Historical Collections, Volume IX (1882)

              154 wisconsin state historical society a rare feast on christmas day which was now near at hand on christmas eve my invitations were extended to my friends i had secured the fattest raccoon the indians could tree ; and defied any one to procure a fatter one for their was no lean about it towards sun-set i set my cook to chop any quantity of venison for stuff ings my raccoon was unusually large weighing about thirty-two pounds requiring a large quantity of stuffing to fill it out plump in the meantime i had the pepper in a piece of deer skio pound ing it into pulverized form cutting up onions and a little cedar leaves to give my viand a pleasant taste no coonship's body i am sure was never so cram-full before about eight o'clock it was stitched up and ready for placing on the spit early the next morning then where should it be placed for safety during the night to prevent it from freezing ? of course by the fire i went to bed and my mind was on the raccoon subject all night bat what was my mortification when i got up at day light to hang my coon up to roast to find it putrid and stinking oh misery ! sympathize with me for my lost labor and with my friends for their lost dinner i had no cook book so ended my second attempt at cooking of course i went without my dinner and got laughed at by my half-famished friends the indians — pottawotamies — in this locality were docile and easily managed and doing a fair trade i remained here three years frequently going on horse-back to chicago a distance of sixty eighty-five miles ; but the route was a hard-sand beach ; and having a fleet pony and a cool breeze from the lake the dis tance was soon overcome without fatigue to my young bones during my second year at min-na-wack or mill-wack-ie 1804 1805 captain whistler with his company of american soldiers came to take possession of chicago at this time there were no buildings there except a few dilapidated log huts covered with bark captain whistler had selected one of these as a temporary though miserable residence for his family his officers and men being under canvass oil being informed of his arrival i felt it my duty to pay n&y respects to the authority so muqh required in the country on the morrow i mounted utee-ge-jcah or swift-goer and the