Early times and events in Wisconsin

              1818-19] Lockwood's Narrative 115
Prairie, for many years after the Goveirnment took possession of it as a military post. There were not, until 1835^ any Americans that emigrated to the Prairie for settlement; and even thien, as the co'untry abo'Ut was not in market, very few came.
In the winter of 1818-19, Illinois Was admitted as a Stete into the Union, and all that part of the country formerly belonging to" the territories of Indiana, and Illinois was attached to Michigan, then under the governorship of Gem. Lewis 0a,ss. In the spring of 1819, he set ofl" the county of Brown, including all the country East of a North and South line running through the Portage of Wisconsin to the Illinois line; and at the same time, set oflF the county of Crawford, including all the country West and Sou-th of the aforesaid line to the Missouri line, including what is now the State of Iowa and T'erritory of Minnesota.
Governor Oass sent blank commissions for the different officers of the counties, to be filled up by the inhabitants. These had been sent by Lieut. Ool. Leavenworth, then on his way, with the Fifth Eegiment of U. Si. Infantry, to occupy Forts. Crawford and Armstrong, and to build a fort, at the mouth of St. Peters. Mch- olas Boilvin, Esq., was appointed to administer the oath to the officers of Crawford county. TVo companies of the regiment were sent to Fort Annstrong, Eock Island, under comman,d of Btevet Major Mas tin, and two ciompanies to Fort Crawford under Major Muhlenberg. Shortly after receiving the blank oonunis- sions, the principal inhabitants assembled at the house of Nicholas Boilvin, Esq., and then the difficulty was to find personfs sufficiently acquainted with the business to fill the offices and per¬ form the duties. Finally John W. Johnson, the U. S. factor, was selected as the Chief Justice of the Comity Cburti. I was so'licited to take the office of Associate Justice, or Judge of Probate, but being then yo-ung, and appea,ring much younger than I really was, and knoiving very little a,boxit the proceeding of courts., and thinking that I had neither the practice nor dignity to hold a judicial office, and that I should probably mal?;e myself ridiculous,