Indigenous Dandy, Milwaukee | Chapter 13: A Journey on the Lakes | Forty Years of American Life (1821-1861)

Forty Years of American Life 1821-1861
Thomas Low Nichols

An Indigenous Dandy

The casual life of a savage is the same as the casual life of those at the forefront of fashion. The young Indian dandy I saw in Green Bay had his face painted with vivid red and blue stripes, wore very elegant leggings shimmering with beads and wampum, adorned his head with feathers and glittering ornaments, and possessed manners worthy of the front row of an opera.

Milwaukee

We landed in Milwaukee. There was no harbor, but a small steamboat came out and brought us and our cargo to shore. There were warehouses along the creek and five or six small houses on the cliff. That was Milwaukee in 1839. Just 20 years later, I found the most beautiful town in the Western Hemisphere in that same spot. It had become a city with a magnificent harbor, miles of warehouses, and 45,000 inhabitants.

When I first visited Milwaukee, a white-skinned Indian trader named Juneau welcomed us on a small steamboat. Twenty years later, Juneau was buried in the cemetery of the cathedral in the heart of the city, but I found his name everywhere—on streets, squares, and banks. The past few decades feel like a single day. It was as if magic had been cast while I was sleeping, and a magnificent city had appeared before my eyes.