One other circumstance occurred in the year 1855, to cause an influx of speculators to this region. In August and September, a large amount of the pine lands in this valley, not heretofore offered, were brought into market by the government, and as money was plenty and speculation rife throughout the country, operators in this class of wild lands were attracted in considerable numbers to their rivers. Little did they dream of the long tedious years to follow, when the taxes must be paid, and agents remunerated, year after year to look after and care for them, without any possibility of realizing from the investment, or many would have been less eager to possess such wild and remote domain, and in hundreds of instances these annual assessments could not be met, and tax title deeds accruing, gave opportunity for another on more fortunate class of operator to invest in them. But those who were able to carry such a heavy drafts upon their resources, of course realized handsomely in the end, as they had the choicest selection of land from a vast area, and of course took the cream. The actual settlers and mill owners looked on with alarm and consternation at this absorption of the pine timber, and made strenuous efforts to secure all their means would possibly afford; and in order to forestall others, many choice tracts were pre-empted by their employees who soon found it necessary to realize on their investments, to cover a load made by their employers, to whom they deeded the land for that purpose. The firm of H.S. Allen and Company, at the Falls, were less fortunate than some others in their efforts to purchase at the public sales at Hudson, on this occasion. In addition to the severe losses caused by the terrible freshets, which fell alone on the Chippewa as related in chapter ten, the company sustained another reverse, through the faithlessness of one of the agents. At considerable expense in exploring the lands about to be offered and making selections the company took early and prompt measures as they supposed to have the necessary funds on hand to enter such lands as was deemed requisite for the successful prosecution of its business. A highly esteemed and trusted clerk, by the name of Murphy, was sent down the river to make collections and report at Hudson on the day of the land sale. Mr. Allen was there, and through the courtesy of other bidders was, being and actual settler, permitted to take such lands as he chose at the minimum price, and only needed the funds Murphy had collected, to secure all he coveted, and in painful suspense awaited arrival of every steamboat at the point, in expectation of his coming, but that young worthy had very different views and having received from Mr. Wills, and collected from other parties, some six thousand dollars of the company's money took himself to parts unknown, and no clue to his whereabouts has yet been found. Twenty-seven years had now elapsed, since Street & Lockwood erected the first mill in this valley, and during all the time, the settlers had not exercised that dearest of all rights, to an American citizen - the right of suffrage. A constitution had been adopted, and the territory in which we lived had become a State; Governor, Lieutenant Governors, Senators, Assemblymen, and other State officers, and had been for years chosen by the people in order and more favored sections of the State, but no assertion or recognition of our rights to participate in such elections had been made. The election of town and county officers (the board being one and the same), at Chippewa Falls in 1853, had created very little excitement, being managed by a few individuals and resulted in the election of E.A. Galloway, chairman William Henneman, and Henry O'Neil, supervisors; H.S. Allen, treasurer; B.F. Manahan, clerk of the board. The other officers were appointed. This board designated Eau Claire, Menomonie and Dunnville, as election precincts, but no general election for State Officers, Senator and Assemblymen were held in this valley until the fall of 1855. Candidates for the Assembly had electioneered here in 1854, but no election was held. In the election of 1855, the famous Gubernatorial contest between Barstow and Bashford, was participated in here, and produced the still more famous or infamous bogus, Bridge Creek election returns. The Twenty-eighth Senatorial District chose a member for the first time this year, 1856. In the absence of party organization, local interests had much to do with the nomination of candidates for Senator. The term was for one year only, and the St. Croix politicians conceded the choice to Chippewa, and two aspirants were soon found for the position on the Democratic side. The first was P.M McNally, an Irish lawyer who came from Hudson to Chippewa Falls, the year previous, and had some supporters at the former place; the other was W.H. Gleason of Eau Claire, both were young unmarried men, having very little property interest, but high aspiration and a great deal of pluck. Amongst the Republicans, it was difficult to find and one in this part of the District willing to accept the honor. At the Democratic convention held a Hudson, McNally came out ahead and was declared the unanimous choice of the party, and for some time it seemed as though there would be no one to compete with him for the honr, but in the time, local interest and the self respect of influential business men began to develop an unlooked for opposition. Captain William Wilson, of Menomonie, was after much persuasion induced to allow his name be used in the Republican convention as a candidate, and although he personally made no efforts to secure it, he found himself elected by a handsome majority. The friends of Gleason, it was observed almost every where, not only scratched McNally, but worked hard for Wilson on election day, so that no test of strength of the two political parties was determined by it in this district but outside it was considered a Republican victory, and the 28th has always maintained a strong proclivity for these principles. County officers for Chippewa County were chosen at the same time and although the extra session of the Legislature had passed the act creating the County of Eau Claire approved October 6th 1856, and only a month intervened between this election and the election of county officers in the new county, special pains were take by a few influential parties at the county seat, to elect certain candidates for offices, in the former county, very distasteful to a majority of its electors. This and some other things which occurred, growing out of the separation, and a feeling of rivalry which soon began to develop itself, is adverted to in the first number of the American Sketch Book, from which I take the liberty to extract the following comprehensive description of Eau Clair, and its enterprising citizens at this time: "This year (1856), the country round began to rapidly fill up with farmers. Merchants and mechanics located in the village. Gage and Reed sold out their entire interest in the mills, pineland and half the village plat to Chapman and Thorp. The Presbyterian Church edifice, the first in the valley, was commenced this year, as a mission church, under the supervision of the Reverend Mr. McNair, to whose energy and perseverance its establishment is mainly due. Mr. Chapman and Mr. Thorp entrusted their interest during the first year to supervision of Gilbert E. Porter, an energetic young man from Michigan, now a prominent citizen, and formerly mayor of this city. The Eau Claire House was erected by Adin Randall, and the Bank of Eau Claire went into operation under the free banking law; W.H. Gleason, president; C.H. Gleason, cashier. The former, since so conspicuous as Lieutenant Governor, of Florida, was at the time a young man. A little romance is connection with his adventures here, or rather in this valley. In his peregrinations while in the service of the State, he had some where along the state line between this place and Black River Falls become much interested in a young lady, beautiful and intelligent, and agreeable, and withal very much inclined to favor his suit, which he pressed with much earnestness whenever he could make an interview convenient; but the lady having friends in Chippewa Falls, a place already began to look at with distrust and jealousy upon the rising young sister village, she concluded to spend the summer there. The young bank president found he had a powerful rival, who, having the advantage of continual proximity, eventually carried off the prize, and the lady became Mrs. James A. Taylor, of Chippewa Falls, instead of Mrs. William H. Gleason of Eau Claire. How slight a cause may have induced the choice between these two suitors for her hand, and how widely different might have been the life of all these parties had she chosen the other. This was not the last of the rivalry between these two young villages, nor the last instance in which the first named village won the prize. But long and bitter as the struggle for rights and privileges has been between these interests and often as Eau Claire has suffered defeat, she has kept right on in the even tenor of her way, gathering fresh strength from fresh opposition, and though unable to command all the advantages of her position, has overcome obstacles which seemed at times insurmountable. In the year 1856, the Eau Claire House was completed by Adin Randall; Daniel Shaw & Company, located at Shawtown, (now the Fourth Ward); Ingram & Kennedy bought the site for their first mill, and the race was projected to connect Half Moon Lake with the Chippewa River, which converts it into a safe reservoir for logs, and the year following the village of West Eau Claire was laid out by Adin Randall. A strange composition of reckless energy, of daring and enterprise, with a want of punctuality and an adaptation of means to ends, was this same Adin Randall; with many good business traits, he lacked some element of success that made him always unsafe, and lost to him the confidence of the business community. Two church edifices were also erected during the year 1857, the Congregational (also a mission church), on the West Side, and the Catholic on the North Side, where a town had been laid out by Augustus Huysen, and W.T. Calloway. A weekly newspaper, the Eau Claire Free Press, was started in Octobers of this year, also another bank, called Hall & Brother's Bank. Both banking institutions were banks of issue. But the terrible convulsions in the financial and commercial world which commenced this year, came with crushing effect upon these young lumbering establishments, just struggling into life; even Chapman and Thorp, who brought a capital of quarter of a million into their investment, were reduced to great straits, and only the aid of powerful friends in the east saved them from bankruptcy. A new Land District had been created by Congress, and W.T. Galloway, appointed register and N.B. Boyden, receiver. A large amount of the choicest pinelands in the State were brought on to market, and offered to the highest bidder, but scarcely any were taken, even at the minimum price of the government. Discouraging as the prospects were at this time, Chapman and Thorp brought the entire interest of Carson and Eaton in Eau Claire mill, pinelands, water power, and etc., for $125,000, and set about building a steam mill on the site of the lower mill. The low price of lumber, which prevailed for the ensuing three years, so depressed the business that little progress or improvements were made; but this state of things was not without some benefit to the country, for many people, seeing no other way to live, betook themselves to the soil, and the farming interest, hitherto much neglected around the locality, now became suddenly developed. From a few hundred bushels of wheat in 1857, the first ever shipped from Eau Claire, the shipments have increased to 150,000 bushels in 1861, and now amount to more than 300,000 bushels annually from the county. So it will be seen that this city had some solid commercial advantages aside from its lumber interests. But with the exception of the single item of wheat, all other productions of the farmers, naturally seeking a market at this point, find a ready sale at the hands of the lumbermen. A market is consequently near at hand, and the best of all markets - the home market. It is the meeting of these two great industries at this point, and the exchange of their products the constitutes the main traffic of Eau Claire - a trade that has consistently increased so far and will continue as long as the pine lasts and is manufactured here. Before this fails, we hope the enterprise and good sense of our capitalists and manufacturers will induce them to build up other manufacturing industries instead.

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