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of most hardy and adventuresome boys in the freedom of country life, less than four years of schooling being his portion in the educational line; yet so well were his advantages improved and so scholastic was the bent of his mind, that when but seventeen years of age he found himself teaching instead of taught. The thirst was upon him with these meagre draughts of learning and would not allow him to remain content; and in 1844, when but nineteen years of age, he turned his face toward the new west of which there was praise and much advertisement all about him. He spent the winter of the year named and the summer of 1845 at Rock River seminary, at Mt. Morris, Illinois. A part of his time immediately thereafter was spent in a dual exercise and development that of mind by school teaching and of muscle in the lead mines of Galena. His labors in the line first named took him to Prairie du Chien in 1848, and into the study of the law, in which he was compelled to dispense with an instructor and the interest and knowledge that come with office work. Yet such was his application that he stood the test of the examination and was admitted to practice in 1849, at the Crawford county circuit court. He immediately made his desire and purpose known by the modest shingle of the young lawyer, and practiced in a small way until 1854. Mr. Johnson had long before this discovered himself in possession of an unusual literary faculty, and with that irreclaimable purpose that forever holds a man who has been touched with printer's ink, he

made use of the first temptation and opportunity to enter upon an editorial life. The Prairie du Chien Courier, a weekly newspaper only recently started in that place, was offered for sale, and he purchased a half interest in it, and eventually became entire proprietor. The sheet was neutral when purchased, but as Mr. Johnson had been a Whig who was merged into the Republican party with the main body of that old organization, he made his paper reflect and earnestly advocate his political principles. He continued in the editorial harness until 1856, when he sold out and once more entered upon the practice of law, his partner being W. R. Bullock, a nephew of Vice-President John C. Breckenridge, the firm name being Johnson & Bullock-a connection which lasted until the breaking out of the war, when the junior partner made haste to demonstrate his southern principles by joining the Confederates and securing a place on Jeff Davis' staff.

In 1860 Mr. Johnson was elected to the first of several official positions which he has filled with honor to himself and credit to those who called him to the discharge of public trusts. He became a member of the lower body of the state legislature, as the representative of the counties of Crawford and Bad Ax, now Vernon. It was a season of unusual interest and responsiblity, as his term covered the troubled times that fell at the opening of the civil war, and the wisdom and patriotism of the state law-makers were drawn upon to a degree far beyond that in days of peace.

War measures were pressing themselves upon attention, a war fund having to be raised, and the quota of troops assigned to Wisconsin to be filled. The legislature was composed almost entirely of new men, and among them Mr. Johnson was one of the foremost and most active, being chairman of the all-important committee on ways and means and a member of the committee on education. A special session of the assembly was held in the summer to complete the measures already under way.

After the adjournment of the legislature, Mr. Johnson, in looking about for some larger and more advantageous place of location, paid a visit to La Crosse with a purpose of remaining, but soon changed his mind. In the fall of 1861 he was again called into public life, being appointed assistant attorney-general of the state, under Attorney-General Howe. He made an excellent reputation in this position as an able lawyer and a safe and wise counselor, and discharged its duties until May, 1862, when he went south as a clerk in the paymaster's department of the Union army, remaining there until November 1. He then returned to Wisconsin and moved his family to Milwaukee, having chosen the metroplis of the state for his future home. His ability and capacity for efficient and intelligent public work were soon recognized in his new home, and when, in 1867, a convention was held in Milwaukee for the purpose of framing a new city charter, he was made a member thereof and took a leading part in

its deliberations. The fact that the product of the convention's labor was voted down by the people when made the subject of their will, reflects in no sense upon its value-as measures of that character are usually condemned upon their first presentation, the voter who does not feel entirely satisfied with some small point being sure to cast his vote against the whole. Many of the measures proposed in the new charter, and all that were of importance, had passed directly under his inspection, in his capacity as chairman of the committee on revision. In the fall of 1868 Mr. Johnson was again elected to the legislature, from the Seventh ward of Milwaukee, and upon the expiration of his term was returned for another year. While in this position he was enabled to largely perform, in another shape, the good work that he and his colleagues had attempted in the charter convention, and by the aid of the other Milwaukee members was enabled to have passed nearly all the measures that had been embodied in the unsuccessful charter. In the first of these terms he was chairman of the committee on education, and during the second was chairman of that upon judiciary. It was during the second term that he nearly secured for Milwaukee the honor of being the capital of Wisconsin, as well as its metropolis. The bill he introduced to that end caused an endless amount of excitement and discussion, and rendered the people of Madison so choleric that, as one has aptly expressed it, they "would hardly furnish food or shelter to the members from Milwau

kee." It looked at one time as though the measure would go through, as Milwaukee generously offered for a capitol the grand new court-house she was then building-content to occupy less ambitious quarters for herself, until her needs should come closer to the demands of the great structure she had already under way. In 1871 Mr. Johnson was once more called upon to enter the arena of political contest, being chosen as the candidate of the Republican party for the state senate, against John L. Mitchell, the Democratic nominee. The latter was elected.

The course of the National administration in Grant's first term that brought about the great Liberal Republican opposition of 1872, found the subject of this sketch in the ranks of the new organization, independent in his views, free to express them and hopeful that the abuses that had grown up within the Republican party might be corrected, and a better system of political things evolved. He was a member of

the Cincinnati convention of Liberals that placed Horace Greeley in nomination for President, although he voted for and supported Charles Francis Adams from first to last. While Judge Johnson is not and never has been a politician in any acceptation of the word, he has ever taken a deep interest in public affairs, has studied the questions of the day deeply, and is always ready to give free and fearless expression to any belief to which his investigations may lead. Since the Liberal movement above described he has acted with the Democratic party.

In 1878 he was again called to the front in the municipal affairs of Milwaukee, being elected city attorney, which office he held for two years. In the spring of 1887, when the Democrats and Republicans of Milwaukee forgot for a time their ancient differences and united forces for the purpose of defeating the then formidable Labor party, Mr. Johnson was turned to as the strongest and most popular man who could be nominated for circuit judge; and in the nominating convention the proposition to place him in that position upon the ticket was received without a dissenting vote and that selection was ratified by the people at the polls. He goes upon that high and important bench on January 1, 1888, for a term of six years; and from what is already known of his success as a lawyer and a law-maker, we can rest assured that he will not only properly and justly fulfill the duties of his office, but that he will grace and dignify a position which has already been held by eminent and able In this reference to Judge Johnson's legal work, it may be of interest to note that since coming to Milwaukee he has been a member of the following well-known legal firms: Wyman & Johnson; Austin, Pereles & Johnson; Rogers & Johnson; and Markham & Johnson. In the spring of 1871 the firm of Johnson & Rietbrock was formed— Mr. Freid. Rietbrock being the junior member thereof; Mr. Halsley came into the partnership in 1876, and the firm has since existed as then formed-Johnson, Rietbrock & Halsley. The firm in addition to a large and lucrative law

men.

practice, also owns and controls some large sections of lumber land, to the development of which they are.

books other than those of the law, that he has a wonderful memory and the power to properly analyze and fluently present

successfully giving a great deal of at- the things that reading and observation tention.

That Judge Johnson has unusual ability and knowledge as a lawyer goes without the saying to those who have seen the many important legal positions which he has been called upon to fill, and wherein his work is the best evidence that can be given of the qualities that are within him. Besides an extensive practice in the lower courts, he has been busy in the state supreme courthis first case therein being argued in 1854, since when we can find his causes in every volume of the reports since issued. During his two years as city attorney he was engaged continuously in the most severe labor, working day and night, and proving himself almost a stranger in the office of his firm. While he is strong upon any question of law, he is unusually able as a pleader. He makes no great pretensions as .an advocate, although earnest, clear and eloquent; but upon questions of law, of pleading and of practice he has few equals at the Milwaukee bar. In personal qualities and the graces of discussion or conversation of any sort, he is one among a thousand, and those who are permitted to meet him in social life are charmed by his manner, informed by his knowledge, and surprised at the fund of varied information he has been enabled to pick up while so busy in life's pressing practical cares. The answer to the query this fact suggests is that he has found time to read

have laid away in the store-house of his mind. In addition to this, he possesses such qualities of moral and material honesty as give him a reputation for unsullied integrity, and make him one of the strong and influential men in the community of which he is a part.

I have reserved until the last any mention of Judge Johnson's remarkable literary skill and the unusual bent toward fiction of the higher sort that he has shown in the few sketches and stories that have fallen from his pen, in order to show the public of the northwest that they have secured an able jurist and a just judge at the cost of a man of letters; for had he cast aside at any point of his career the purpose of making a life's work of the law and given himself studiously and earnestly to any department of imaginative or descriptive literature, he would have commanded a place in the front rank and made a name that would have been known far beyond the bounds of his city and state. There lies a possible retrieval of this loss in the hope that in the leisure of these latter days, when he is not compelled to struggle for a position and wealth, he may be able to "unloosen the reins" and give his undoubted ability free course in paths chosen heretofore only as the humor offered. These encomiums are based entirely upon knowledge of work that Judge Johnson has already done; and any reader of his story "Our Paris Letter," that ap

peared in the Atlantic Monthly of December, 1868, or "Broke Jail," which appeared subsequently in the same magazine, or several lighter pieces notably "The Hazel Green Man's Story," that have seen the light of print in other publications, will give a ready endorsement to all that has been said. In the one first named we have a gem in a curious setting-a story of wild Canadian life as told by one of its participants from the great city of France--and told in such manner as makes the lights and shades stand out like those upon the face of nature in the noon-day sun. In plot, the choice of words in description, command of dialect and skill of portrayal of character and purpose in the acts of women and men, it belongs to the

higher order of literature and has a right to rank with Miss Woolson's "Castle Nowhere" or the best among Miss Spofford's idyllic sketches. The pen of a born writer of fiction was employed in its production, and it is a loss of which all readers are partakers that it has not been followed by many more of the kind. The second story "Broke Jail" is equally fresh and original in structure and execution, and was received with great favor. In his own opinion and that of many of his friends, the "The Hazel Green Man's Story," which appeared in the Milwaukee monthly, is superior in some respects to either of the more ambitious efforts above noted.

J. H. KENNEDY.

THE GLACIERS OF ALASKA.

GLACIER is the name given to the immense masses of ice which accumulate on the peaks and slopes and in the upper valleys of the lofty mountains. The phenomena of glaciers form one of the most interesting subjects of scientific investigation, whether we regard their formation, structure or appearance. In all parts of the globe they have the same general characteristics; but though the glaciers of other countries have often been described by geographers and naturalists, it is chiefly in respect to those of Switzerland that we possess detailed information. In that country, as indeed in every other, those parts of the mountains that rise

above the line of congelation are covered with perpetual snow, which, being partially thawed during the summer months, is on the approach of cold converted into ice, thus constituting what is called a glacier. The ice so formed descends along the slopes of the mountains into the valleys, by which their ridges are furrowed, where it accumulates into large beds or fields, presenting, where the descent is gradual, a very level surface, and with few crevices, but where there is a rapid or rugged declivity, being rent with numerous chasms. These chasms are frequently many feet wide and more than one hundred feet deep. Their formation, which never takes

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