The Alson Ward Diaries: From the Collections of the Dutchess County Historical Society

DIARYOF ALSON WARD August 1845 26.the shore of the lake appears very. sandy and barren so much so that in some places there were riot the least sigri of vegitation. Since ten ocTock this morning we have been out of sight of land therefore have not had much variety.

The day has been spent by many gambling in the salloon it is reported that one young fellow lost 14 hundred dollars gambling last night ( so says report) Should the Almighty protector demand justice without great mercy this craft of iniquity would sink like a rock from human vision. This day has been quite _windy and rough. At twelve oclock at night we arrived at Milwalkie. Just at dark we packed our trunk putting up our life preservers and other loose property I thought I would sleep a little while asleep Henry saw a shower coming up it being very dark and lightning very sharp and being some windy and rough he got his life preserver from his trunk and blew it up while I during the whole time slept soundly.

27.Slept soundly after getting quarters at the City Hotel. In the morning Henry got up and looked out of the window and said well this is Milwalkie ah As I had lost the heel of my boot at Detroit and Henry1 s wanted mending we sent the porter to a shoe shop with them to get them mended after breakfast and getting our boots fixed we went to call on some relatives of his (Henry1 s) we talked some time with him (cousin) Mr Deceamer and finaly introduced ourselves he appeared very glad to see and hear from his friends at old Dutchess. His friends took great pains to have---- us enjoy ourselves. We had fine fishing at this place and caught some of the largest pickerel I ever saw and caught two that weighed four lbs and several more that came very near it. They oft~P catch them weighing as much as twenty weight we had but little bait and very poor find it more difficult to get bait than to catch the fish after having bait we for the first time sailed in a Indian bark canoe which did not leak a drop and was very light and portable. We had some of our fish for supper up at C.. Deceamers they were fine. After tea we went to our hotel and spent the night 29.After breakfast we hired a horse and wagon and road in the country a few miles which is quite wild and but little cleared up and settled it being so heavily timbered that it is very expensive to clear compared with the prairie land which surrounds Milwalkie a few miles from the city and as long as there is prairie land to be had so cheap as at present it will remain without being much settled. We returned at our hotel at 10 oclock. At half past three I called on Mrs Woolsey formerly Catharine Forman only two doors from our hotel.

Henry went to Mr Deceamer1 s dogurcoty pr rooms and had his likeness taken while I was at Mrs Woolseys. At five oclock we went at Mr Deceamers (there being two brothers in the place)'grocery and went and took tea with him had some fish that we caught yesterday for supper.

30. Last night after midnight we were awakened for the purpose of taking the sterner for Southport. last night bid a long farewell to Milwalkie. Arrived at Southport after breakfast and went to the mansion house to put up. We wanted to go to Mr Clapps as soon as possible and our landlord was going out hunting in the country he told us he would go that way and we could go along with him so he rigged his two horses to the wagon and we jumped in and in short order found ourselves at Mr Clapps who was busy at work and did not notice us sufficiently to recognize us until after shaking hands with our landlord and taking a second look at us. We tied our horses and fitted ourselves with guns and went in the fields a short distance from the house and had the satisfaction to see plenty of game shuch as we Dutchess fellows had never before seen. The proper name for the birds we where hunting for is grout usually called prairie chickens they are nearly as large as the domestic fowl looking some like a partridge. We took dinner at Mr Clapps soon after we returned to the village Mr Clapp with us I wrote a letter after returning. At half past five we had a chicken supper at the hotel from our own game. After supper