Winona County, Minnesota - Chapter 5, 1883 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 5

A POINT has now been reached in this paper where it will be more convenient to use the pronoun oi the first person singular, and accordingly I will say that my recollections of the passage of Gen. Scott and his troops up the lakes, in 1832 ; my intimacy with Indians, annually renewed by their visits to Detroit and Maiden, Canada, to receive payments ; my acquaintance with all the old-time French fur traders and their offspring, at Detroit, and of the traditions told me by the Snelling boys of their father and their grandfather, Col. Snelling, all conspired to imbue me with a romantic idea of ^'^ going out West " into the Indian territory that has never yet been realized. At my father's table I had heard Col. Boyer, the Indian agent at Green Bay, speak in glowing terms of that beautiful sheet of water and its rock-bound islands and harbors ; and I had also heard the Williams, of Pontiac and Saginaw, as well as my mother's cousin, Dr. Houghton, speak in my presence of Indian traditions relating to silver and copper mines upon Lake Superior. I asked myself then, with boyish fancies, why I could not find one. My dream of the conquest of fortune was at first rather rudely dispelled upon my arrival at my brother's house, but upon mature reflection I decided not to return to Detroit.

I found my brother in very poor health and about to move to the upper Mississippi. The climate of this lovely region, even at that early day, was extolled by the fur traders for its salubrity, and for persons suffering from any form of lung disease it was thought to be almost a specific. Exposures and excesses frequently incident to frontier life had left their marks upon Willard, and I at once decided to aid in his removal to a dryer atmosphere.

Will bought of the Chippewas and fitted out two of their largest bark canoes, and after selling to Mr. Lacy, of Green Bay, all of his stock of furs, and loading his sloop, "The Rodolph," with choice maple sugar, he closed out the remnant of his winter stock of goods to the Indians encamped on the shores of Green Bay, taking in payment their choicest furs and peltries.

Upon his arrival at the city of Green Bay all of the purchases made from the Indians were disposed of at enormous profits, including one of the bark canoes, capable of carrying about four thousand pounds. The other canoe Will loaded with the lighter fabrics of his trade, and, after a few days' delay in procuring a suitable pilot, or guide, started up through the rapids of Fox river.

My brother was accompanied by his wife, nee Matilda Desnoyer, who was of the old French stock of Desnoyers, myself, a voyager, and an old Menominee Indian pilot, who spoke Chippewa well, and said he belonged to the band of Osh-kosh. The Indian went with us only to the head of the rapids, or foot of Lake Winnebago, as agreed upon, but gave us so clear a description of the route to be followed to Fort Winnebago, that we reached that ancient portage without assistance or difficulty.

At tlie Buttes du Mort (the mounds of the dead), we found a most intelligent mixed-blood trader, named Grignon, a descendant of the celebrated French officer Langlade, who oft'ered us generous hospitality and inducements to remain with him. I think that the maiden name of my brother's wife, Desnoyer, influenced the old trader u})on its incidentally becoming known to him, for he spoke in the highest terms of the Desnoyer family as personal friends of his in troubled times. Grignon told us that "the mounds of the dead " had no relation to the battle with the Fox Indians, fought on the opposite side of the stream, but were ancient tumuli, of which none but the most vague traditions existed.

We were not very heavily loaded, our cargo consisting for the most part of calicoes, red, green and blue cloths, blankets, cutlery, beads, and other baubles, so that upon the whole our trip was a very pleasant one. Some of the Winnebagoes encountered on the way were at first inclined to be somewhat surly, and demurred to the prices fixed u]>on the goods, and no doubt our firm and nonchalant demeanor was all that ])revented an attack from one encampment, where it was intimated a tribute would be acceptable. This intimation angered my brother, and in a choice vocabuhiry oilJank Chi})jjewa, which their association with the Menominees of (treen Bay enabled them to understand, Will poured into their unwilling ears sounds that utterly silenced them. Tiie Ho-chunk-o-raws, or "Sweet Singers," as some translate their name, changed their

Personal Recollections

Willard expected to sell the furs collected on this journey at Fort Winnebago, but failed to do so, as the enterprising trader and commercial traveler of the St. Louis, or Choteau Company, had already made his annual rounds, and had started for Prairie Du Chien. However, by some unexpected delay, we met La 'bath after we had started from the Portage, and were assured of a sale at "La Prairie."

At the Portage, our canoe and its bulkj^ cargo were transported by wagon to the Wisconsin, down which, after having been "pocketed" a few times in misleading channels, we journeyed triumphantly.

At Prairie Du Chien, we met Charles Le Grave, a merchant, whose family I had known in Detroit, and also the trader La 'bath, both of whom were willing to purchase our furs, but at reduced rates.

We did not quite realize expectations in the final sale of our Indian commodities, for the season had too far advanced for the profitable sale of furs. Consulting with Le Grave, after a long conversation with La 'bath regarding the upper Mississippi, we took their advice and decided to go to the "Soaking Mountain," known now as Trempealeau.

We were told that in the near future the site of the village would be the emporium of trade, and we were assured of a hearty welcome from a hospitable Kentucky pioneer named Reed. By the treaty of November 1, 1837, the Sioux and the Winnebagoes mixed bloods ceded to the United States all their territory on the east side of the Mississippi, and it was su^jposed by the old traders that town sites would become of great value. Francis La'bath, though a halfbreed Sioux, had the energy, if not the business capacity, of a railroad magnate, and as a trader and collector of furs for the American Fur Company, he had become familiar with the Indian territory of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers.

In addition to his trips of purchase for the fur company he had personal interests to supervise, for he had established small posts and wood-yards at several points for trade on the Mississippi between Prairie du Chien and Lake Pepin. La'bath's first post was at the head of the "Battle Slough," where Black Hawk was defeated, and it was generally managed by La'bath in person. He had another siiuill post on the east side of the river, about three miles below La Crosse, that coninianded the trade of Root river and vicinity and was an important winter post. Root river was known to the Winnebagoes as Caii-he-o-mon-ah, or Crow river, and not the Cah-he-rah, or Menominee river, as stated by some writers. The Sioux also called Root river Cah-hay Wat-pah, because of the nesting of crows in the large trees of its bottom lands. In the wintei- of 1838-9 James Douville and Antoine Reed (Canadians) established themselves at Trempealeau in the interest of La'bath, but more to hold the town site than for the purposes of trading with the Indians. A wood-yard was established on the head of the island opposite Trempealeau, and some land cultivated by Douville, but nothing of consequence done to induce a settlement at Trempealeau. La'bath was a cousin of the last chief Wah-pa-sha, and as a half-breed was allowed to establish himself where white men were prohibited from settling.

In accordance with La'bath's privileges he was interested in the half-breed tract at what is now Wabasha, and had petty posts established at every point where trade might be secured. At or !iear what is now Minnesota City, on the Rolling Stone, Labeth placed his nephew, Joseph Bonette, to trade with the Wah-pa-sha band, and abandoning his lower posts, established one a few miles below the mouth of White-water, at a point known as the Bald Bluff. This i)Ost was known to the Winnebagoes as Nees-skas-hay-kay-roh, or Whitewater Bluff, while his Rolling Stone post was called Nees-skas-honenone-nig-ger-ah, or Little White-water. The Sioux name lor Whitewater is Minne-ska, and for Rolling Stone E-om-bo-dot-tah. Wat-pah, a river or creek, is sometimes added, though not often, as the creek, like many words in Indian, is to be understood. It should be understood that most of the petty posts established on Indian territory were temporary huts of logs for winter quarters, occupied and again abandoned when no longer serviceable to an ever-changing trade.

A short time previous to the breaking out of the Black Hawk war, a war-party of Sauks attacked an encamjjment of Dali-ko-tahs on Money creek. The young daughter of the Sioux war-chief AVah-kon-de-o-tah was captured and was being hurried from the cam]), when her cries were heard by her father. With a spirit worthy of his name he rushed through the rear guard of the foe, and with his own war-club alone brained three of those who had opposed the rescue of his child. At the sound of his war-whoop his braves instantly came to his support, and few of the Saiiks were left to tell of their defeat. This attack, though so bravel}^ repulsed, alarmed the Wah-pa-sha band, and after the fight they made their principal encampment in Wisconsin, near the Trempealeau mountain, until after the treaty of 1837. Their spring gatherings and dances were still held, however, at Keoxa. This statement was recently given me by a half-blood Sioux and Winnebago relative of Wah-pa-sha, who was in the fight of over fifty years ago on Money creek.

This statement is confirmed by the Grignons, who inform me that their uncle La Bath vacated many petty posts when threatened, and reoccupied them again when the supposed danger was past.

The post at the Eolling Stone was finally abandoned in about 1840. Joseph Borrette, who was then in charge of La Bath's trading post, built a small cabin near the site of the Green Bay elevator, at East Moor, which served as a winter post until about 1843, when it too was abandoned. During the winter of 1842-3 I attended a payment held in the oak grove below where the elevator now stands, and which, I think, proved to be the last one made individually to the Wa-pa-sha band. Mr. Dousman and others from Prairie du Chien were present to look after their interests, but with all their sagacity and experience there were transient traders enough with "spirit water" to gobble up a liberal share of the five-iranc pieces then paid the Indians, to the no small disgust of the agent. All after-payments were either paid in goods, or if in coin, the payment was paid in bulk at Fort Snelling. La Bath's relationship to Wahpa-sha gave him great personal influence, and by his advice James Keed was selected and appointed as their farmer and storekeeper. Soon after Reed's appointment he employed Alexander Chienvere, a son-in-law, to break fifteen acres of land at the Gilmore valley for the band, and Charles H. Perkins, who married Miss Farnam, Reed's stepdaughter, was soon after employed to break ten acres more for Wah-pa-sha on the east side of Burns' creek, on what is now Miss Maggie Burns' farm. When that work was done tlie chief declared himself well satisfied, and sent the workmen back to Reed.

La Bath himself was employed by the fur company for a number of years, but his nephew, Joseph Borrette, kept up the trade of his uncle, with varying success, until about 1844, when all of the petty posts were abandoned. Those old cabins served as stopping-places in winter for the old mail-carriers, Lewis Stram, Baptist and Alex. Chienvere, and others, and the one on the Prairie island above

Winona was occupied bj old Goulab, a French Canadian, who had been for some years in the service of La Bath, but, growing too old for journeyings in the wilderness, was placed in charge of a woodyard established by La Bath on the island above the Wah-ma-dee bluffs, now Fountain City. But to return. We renewed our supplies of provisions and left "La Prairie" buoyant with hope, a south wind wafting our harh up the Me-ze-see-bee, or great river, of the Chi])pewas. We arrived at La Crosse in the delightful month of June, 1842, and were received by the trading tirm of Myrick & Miller in a very courteous manner. They then occupied a mere shanty or small log cabin, but were at work upon the foundation of what afterward grew to a house of fair dimensions, though the architecture was somewhat of the composite order. To their original structure they afterward added a hewn block-house, Indian room, and frame addition, and this building, a warehouse, stable, and other outbuildings belonging to the firm, formed the nuclei of La Crosse. There has been some discussion between Mr. Nathan Myrick, of the old firm of Myrick & Miller, relating to the first settlement of La Crosse ; and while I concede the possibility of a house having been erected on the prairie before that of Mr. Myrick's was built, I do not believe it, as no evidence of the fact was seen, or the event talked of, by any of the old traders. On the contrary, Keed, who as a soldier had camped on the prairie some years before 1842, spoke of Myrick & Miller as the pioneer settlers of La Crosse. Even though a small cabin had been built before Myrick's arrival, running fires or government steamboats, the crews of which had to provide wood while on their voyages, would have removed every vestige of the fact of the building s previous existence ; and besides this, until the ratification of the treaty of November, 1837, the Winnebago Indians would allow no permanent settlement upon their domain east of the Mississippi without a special arrangement with them.

Upon landing at La Crosse, Miller was especially hos])itable, and offered to wager us "theskoots" that we would not find another such a chance for settlement as La Crosse afforded, and urged us to remain and helj) build up a city. We were not then very favorably impressed with the advantages claimed for La Crosse, but thanked Miller for his courtesy and interest in our behalf. Finding us firm in our purpose of visiting the "Rattlesnake hills," as he and Dousman called the Trempealeau bluffs, he volunteered to aid us in locating a claim, and to break up sufficient ground for a potato-patch should we return after seeing how immense the rattlesnakes were up at "Jim Reed's town."

Miller was a man of most generous impulses and strong attachment, but crosses rendered him as stubborn as resistance itself, and tliis quality subsequently marred his happiness.

After renewed assurances of good fellowship between "Willard and Miller, mellowed, no doubt, by a few private interviews, we continued on up the broad river, resting in the shade of the forestclad bluffs, while our light canoe ploughed its course at their base, or stopping at other times where a gusliing crystal fountain invited us to blend its limpid waters with our midday lunch.

The Eagle's Nest (the remains of which may still be seen), now knoAvn as the ' ' Queen Bluff, " because of its surpassing beauty and perpendicular height, had living occupants, as we were informed, that had held possession for many years before. Subsequently they were disj)ossessed by Reed and some of his Dah-ko-tah friends to celebrate a war-dance. At Catlin's Rocks, now Richmond, we found the red paint discernible that marked Catlin's name; and had it been used to paint one of his savage chiefs, it would have rendered the canvas more imperishable than the rocks that still bear his name.

James Reed, liis son-in-law, James Danville, Joseph Borrette, and others of the family, came down to the river bank to greet us, and after explaining our purpose in coming, and presenting a letter from Le Grave, Reed invited us to liis house, and soon had his whole household interested in our welfare. We were invited to supper, and the manner in which it was done precluded a declination of the hospitality. We retired early, but not until a sheltered place for a winter home had been suggested for us by Reed.

Reed was at our camp early next morning, and leading the way to a most refreshing spring in a little valley above the jDresent site of the village, Willard selected it for a temporary residence, until, as he said, he should be able to learn something of the country. We asked Reed in reference to danger from rattlesnakes, and were told that, to annoy him, or retaliate for disparaging remarks he had made about a miserably poor dog having been used in naming the " Dog Prairie " (Prairie du Chien), Dousman had retorted by calling his Trempeleau village site "The Rattle-Snake Hills'-; and the worst part of it is, said Reed, "he directs all his letters by steamboat in that way, and nervous people will scarcely land." It was evident to both Willard and myself that Dousman's name was not entirely a iiction, and we adroitly returned to the subject. Reed finally confessed that though he had been there but two years, having established himself in 1840, he had seen quite a number of rattlesnakes; but his hogs, he said, were fast exterminating them, and he hoped they would soon disappear, for, said he, ' ' old hunter as I am, / step high in going through the ferns and grasses of the hhiffs.'*'' The Winnebago name of the locality, Wa-kon-ne-shauah-ga, means the place of rattlesnakes on the river. We were told by Reed that it was the westernmost peak of the range that was called by Hennepin La Montaigne, qui Trompe-a L'eau, and that the name was a translation (probably understood by signs) of the Winnebago name of Hay-nee-ah-chaw, which signified about the same thing, that is, that the mountain was "getting pretty wet." The Sioux called the mountain Pah-ha-dah, "The Moved Mountain." La Crosse was so named by the French, because during peaceful eras the most athletic of the Indian tribes in the surrounding country assembled to play Indian shinny-ball, called Wah-hinliin-ah, staking horses, blankets, wampum, and sometimes even their squaw slaves, on the issues of their national game. The lower end of the prairie, near Michel's brewery, was the place of assembly; but the game of ball was so common among all Indians, that the name of their game was never given to a locality. At one time, along the foot of the bluffs, back of the sandy portion of the prairie, within the memory even of white settlers, that locality was famous for strawberries, and for this reason the Sioux called La Crosse Wah-zoos-te-cah, meaning the place of strawberries, when La Crosse was designated, but the Winnebagoes, more given to naming localities from peculiarities in the geological formation of their country, called the La Crosse valley to its junction with the Mississippi, E-nook-wah-zee-rah, because of the fancied resemblance of two prominent mound-shaped peaks north of La Crosse to a woman's breasts.

Coon creek was called Wah-keh-ne-shan-i-gah, and the mounds situated on Coon prairie were said to have been remarkable for the number of stone and copper implements found in and about them. Black river was appropriately called Minnesap-pah, by the Dah-ko- talis, and ]N"e-slieb-er-ali by the Winnebagoes, both names signitying black-water. The Trempealeau river was called Ne-chaun-neshan-i-gah by the Winnebagoes, and Wat-a-Pah-dah, both meaning the overflowing river. TJie Chippewa was called by the Winnebagoes Day-got-chee, ne-shan-i-ga, meaning the river of the gartered tribe, as they called the Chippewas, and the Sioux called it Haha-tone Wat-pah, meaning the river of the dwellers at the falls (as the Chippewas were known to the Sioux), as it was one of the principal routes of travel to the Chippewa country. Beef slough and Beef river were both called by the Sioux Tah-ton-kah-wat-pah, and by the Winnebagoes Te-chay-ne-shan-i-gah, because of the locality being the last resort of the bufi'alo east of the Mississippi, though some were seen on Trempealeau prairie at a very late date. The Winnebagoes called the site of Winona, De-cone-uck, and the whole prairie Ose-cah-he-aitch-chaw, meaning the prairie village, or its equivalent. The Dah-ko-tahs called it Ke-ox-ah, translated to mean the homestead. The French called it La Prairie Aux-Ailes (pronounced O'Zell), or Prairie of W'iug\s, - for what reason I have been unable to learn, but as the Wah-pa-sha village was colonized from the Eed Wing band, it would appear as if the Indians of the village of Ke-ox-ah might have been known to the early French traders as one of the Red Wing villages.

Ke-ox-ah seems to have a specific meaning, like Tee-pe-o-tah, or 0-ton-we, both of which mean a village or collection of tents, but Reed thought "The Homestead" as good an interpretation as could be given the word. Reed was not a very good linguist, and said that he had been frequently misled like Gov. Doty, who, while mapping Fox river, supposed Ne-nah, or water, to be the Indian name of the river, and at once put it down on his map as ISTe-nah, or Fox river, and for a number of years it so appeared on the official maps of the state. James Reed informed us that he had been in the United States army under Col. Zuchary Taylor at Prairie du Chien, and that during trips to the pineries of the Chippewa, under command of Lieut. Jefferson Davis and others, the beauty of the site of Trempealeau, and the scenery of the river above and below, had so impressed him that he had resolved to settle there when his term of service should have expired. His purpose was delayed for various causes, as he came to Prairie du Chien when quite young, but finally, after many years, Reed had established himself and was in comfortable circumstances. At the time of our arrival Reed had a large drove of cattle and young horses, which tlie Indians never stole, but would ride occasionally, to his great annoyance, as they galled the backs of his horses and thus exposed their brutality. The houses erected by Gavin, the Swiss missionary, and his associates, Louis Stram and others, in 1837-8, upon the land now owned by the Trowbridge brothers, east of tlie Lake of the Mountain, were used by the Winnebagoes and their Sioux relations to catch the horses, as in fly-time the horses would go into the dark log cabins to escape these pests. During the summer of our arrival Reed burnt uj) the cabins to abate the nuisance, saying that they would never be of ftirther use for missionary purposes. By the treaty of 1837 the Sioux, and the Winnebagoes allied to them, had agreed to remove west of the Mississippi. This agreement was not fulfilled until 1840, the year of Reed's settlement at "Monte-ville," as he used to call his location at times, and this fact will account for the persistent efforts of the Swiss to establish their mission. The SiO'Ux Indians, according to Reed, were very willing to have Monsieur Gavin, Lewis Stram, and others on the east side of the Mississippi, cultivate corn and vegetables to give them (all for the love of God), but they preferred their dog-feasts, sun and scalp dances, to the pious teachings of the missionaries, and after one or two years of hopeless work the missionaries left their Trempealeau mission and farm work in disgust.

Like most Kentuckians, Reed was very fond of horses, and had improved his stock by the importation of a young thoroughbred stallion. The brute was a very intelligent animal, and refused to be ridden by any of Reed's family of boys, who were then quite young. Reed bantered me to ride the horse, saying, "If you will subdue him you can use him as your own."

Reed himself was a good horseman, but thought himself rather old to ride the colt. I accepted the old Kentuckian's kindly offer, and so won uj^on him by subduing his stallion that a horse was always at my service. The stallion, a beautiful iron-gray, after a term of service, was sold to an officer at Fort Snelling.

James Reed was a remarkable man in many respects, and one ot the best types of a ])ioneer hunter and trapper I ever knew. His first wife was a Pottawatomie woman, by whom he had five children, four of whom are still living ; his son John, also a great hunter, died from a gunshot wound accidentally inflicted by his own hand while hunting deer. Reed's second wife was the widow of the trader

Peesonal Recollections

Farnam, a partner ot Col. Davenport, who was murdered at Rock Island a number of years since. Reed's stepdaughter, Miss Mary Ann Farnam, married Mr. Charles H. Perkins, and is still living near Ti-empealeau. Reed's last wife was the estimable widow Grignon, mother of Antoine and Paul Grignon, of Trempealeau. Mrs. Grignon was the sister of Francis La Bath, the noted fur-trader, and a cousin to the younger chief Wah-pa-sha. She was first married to a French Canadian named Borrette, to whom was born Joseph Borrette, who so many years managed La Bath's post at the Rolling Stone.

To Mrs. Grignon-Reed and her intelligent family I am much indebted for interesting facts connected with the pioneer settlement of Trempealeau and Winona counties. Mrs. Reed's death was an irreparable loss to her family, and a subject of regret to all who knew her. For several years in succession Reed used the land cultivated by Louis Stram, the first Indian farmer, who had tried to act in concert with his countrymen the Swiss missionaries; and while thanking his stars for finding land already for his use. Reed said that the austere and industrious character of the missionaries rendered them unpopular with Wah-pa-sha and his band.

According to La 'bath, both Stram and the government blacksmith at the present site of Homer were somewhat afraid of the Sioux Indians. Francis du Chouquette, the blacksmith, removed his forge to the island opposite Homer, known as The Blacksmith's Island, and after a raid by a war-party upon the Wah-pa-sha village he left his forge and anvil upon the island and fled to Prairie du Chien. My brother Willard found tlie anvil, and it was in use for some years in Homer. Upon the site of Du Chouqaette's shop in Homer I occasionally find fragments of iron and cinder, and the spring, walled up by him, was intact only a few years since.

The next attempt to proselyte the Sioux and establish in their village at Winona was made by the Rev. J. D. Stevens, who, according to. my information, had an appointment of some kind as farmer and chaplain. His efforts were no more successful than had been his Swiss predecessors Louis Stram and Mr. Gavin. Reed used to regard the discomfiture of Protestant missionaries with resignatioT)., and say that if the Sioux would not receive the Roman Catholics, with the influence of the French mixed bloods to aid them, it was simply out of the question for Protestants to succeed.

to reach the camp of Wah-pa-sha, but was found and kindly treated by one of the band, and after an interview with the chief, in which he was told that/no white man woukl be allowed to settle on their territory, Stevens crossed over to the "Wisconsin shore opposite Winona and made a temporary shelter for himself and assistants, and then left for provisions and to confer with the authorities. He finally abandoned his attempt to make unwilling christians of heathen savages. La 'bath could probably have changed the ordering of affairs in Wah-pa-sha's counsels, but it was not his interest to do so, and besides, he believed that but one revealed religion existed upon earth, the Catholic, which he professed. The half-breeds were all Catholics; and although they exerted a most potent influence against any Protestant interference with the Sioux, they never interfered with the medicine-men, but joined, like Frontenac, in their scalp-dances and ceremonies. Hence their great influence with them.

In 1841 another attempt to settle u])on the site of Winona was made by Thomas Holmes and Eobert Kennedy and their families, but they were not allowed to establish themselves on the prairie. After several offers made to Wah-pa-sha, and his refusal to allow the establishment of those men among his people, they opened a trading-post at the Wah-ma-dee, or Eagle Bluffs. This point of trade was for some years known as Holmes' Landing, but is now called Fountain City, from the numerous fountain-like springs that sujiply its inhabitants. Soon after we arrived at Eeed's village of " Monteville," we made the acquaintance of Holmes and Kennedy and their families, and a man in their employ named Smothers, Tom Holmes, the moving spirit of the trio, was the, most persistent of pioneers, and had aided in the early settlement of Rockford, and other towns in Illinois, and after leaving the "Landing," commenced the settlement of Shockpay on the Minnesota river.

Holmes' first wife was the sister of Kennedy, who was from Baltimore, and both were accustomed to good living and knew how to prepare it, as they had kept a hotel in Maryland. My brother and myself took dinner at tlieir house while aiding Captain Eaton (of the firm of Carson & Eaton) to drive cattle up the Chippewa. Eaton and a man named Darby had had their horses stolen from them by the Winnebagoes near La Crosse, and were left on foot to drive a large drove of cattle. Near the head of what is now called the Mississippi slough six shots were fired at us by a small ])arty of

Sioux from Eed Wing's band, one of which broke a leg of an ox, and the others cut twigs of trees over our heads. While this interesting target practice was going on I ambushed the Sioux riflemen, and but for Captain Eaton and my brother would have killed two of the vxtrjparty, as I had them at mj mercy. While relating our experience to Holmes, I observed a peculiar smile and glance of intelligence from his wife, and upon inquiry found that in our ignorance of Dah-ko-tah, Captain Eaton had offered a deadly insult to the Indians while trying to ask our way. However, the Red Wing band subsequently paid for the ox disabled by the Sioux, as I was informed, a year or two afterward.

Chapter Yi Winona City In Embryo

Afteb considerable exploration of the country, charmed with the scenery and pleased with the soil and water, we decided to build a house in the little valley pointed out to us by Reed, and where we had before built a small cabin. When our determination was made known, Reed, his son-in-law Dauville, and a hired man and team, came at once to aid us, and we soon had raised up a comfortable log house. A year or two after Reed's appointment as farmer and subagent of the Wah-pali-sha band, I returned the favor in part by aiding Reed to construct the body of the first house ever built in Winona. Tlie men who aided me in "carrying up the corners" were Joseph Borrette, Reed's wife's son, a nephew of La Bath, James Dauville, Reed's son-in-law, and a Canadian named Goulet, alternately employed by Reed as cattle-grazer, woodchojiper and storekeeper. Goulet had been previously emjjloyed by La Bath at Minnesota City, knew Wah-pa-sha and his band thoroughly, and was quite a favorite with them. While in Reed's service at Prairie island, he was found by some of the Sioux in a state of intoxication, badly burnt from having fallen in the fire, and died soon after from the effects of his debauch. After the loss of his oflice by the prospective removal of the Sioux, Reed took down the building and floated the sawed lumber, the valuable portion of it, to Trempealeau, where it was used as an addition to his residence. When he settled upon his farm at Little Tamaracli, he sold his residence and lots in the village to Mr. Ben Ilealy, and some clear joists and other lumber that had been used in Reed's Winona building now constitute a part of the large wooden store building of Mr. Fred Kribs, the principal hardware merchant of Trempealeau. During a recent visit Mr. Kribs and Antoine Grignon pointed out to me some of the identical joists used in 1844 by us in the construction of Reed's storehouse for government sup])lies, and which was also used as a residence for himself and men while performing their duties. The body of the house was built of white-ash logs, cut by Jolm La Point and Goulet, Reed's men, and floated from the islands above the present city, and it occupied a spot near the store of S. C. White. It has been supposed by some that the Rev. J. D. Stevens built a temporary abode upon the site of Winona, but there were no inducements offered liim to do so, and after his decided repulse by tlie Wah-pa-sha band, it would have been foolhardy for him to have attempted it. Reed, the Grignons, and the Indians all agree in this, that no missionaries were acceptable to Wah-pa-sha, and when he made his final treaty, he insisted as a condition of the treaty that money alone should be paid him, and that he should be allowed to manage his own affairs without interference of any kind with his band. Some ash logs left by Reed were used in erecting a cabin which was pulled down by Capt. Johnson, and they were finally cut up for firewood.

My brother Willard was much pleased with the game the country afforded, and made frequent excursions with Reed for brook-trout and deer. Reed was a great hunter, but had been too long among- Indians to needlessly offend them by slaughtering their game, but as he had a large family he needed large supplies of meat, and it was no unusual occurrence for him and my brother to return from a fire-hunt with three or four red deer in their canoes, or from a fish" ing excursion with a gross or more of brook-trout. A favorite resort for trout was the S])ring brook or creek upon which the Pick- Wick mills are situated, and which AVillard named Trout creek. The east branch of the creek, where he caught six dozen in about two hours' fishing, he called "Little Trout."

As for deer, there was never a scarcity, for the whole range of bluffs on the Minnesota side, or right bank of the Mississippi, was a favorite resort for them. Here were acorns in plenty, and after they had eaten what satisfied them, the deer wont out upon some promontory of bluff to watch theu' enemies, or descended to some breezy sandbar to escape the stings of the deer-fly. At nightfall the merciless attacks of gnats and mosquitos drove the deer into the waters of creeks and rivers, and as the bewildering firelight of the hunter noiselessly approached them in the light canoe, the deer fell a victim to his curiosity. The flashing eyes of the deer reflected back the torchlight, and told with unerring certainty where to direct the murderous shot. Outside of the timber, on the borders of the prairies but a short distance from Winona, elk were abundant, and a little farther west buffalo were still to be found quite numerous. We were told by Reed that only a few years previous to our arrival buffalowere seen on Trempealeau prairie and on the big prairie slough at the mouth of the Chippewa river known as Buffalo Slough prairie.

Upon one of my numerous excursions to St. Paul and Fort Snelling I remember seeing Gen. Sibley return from a successful buffalo hunt, and he told me that in times past they had been seen, from the knobs almost in sight of his establishment. The General was noted as an expert hunter and scientific rifle-shot, but upon tlieexpedition referred to his delight in the chase was cut short by a sprained ankle received by the fall of his horse.

On the buffalo slough or channel of the Chippewa, around jutting points, deep trails were visible, where buffalo had repeatedly passed to water, and these were in common use by elk and deer at the date of our arrival in the country.

Willard's use of the Chippewa tongue for a time prejudiced his interests as a trader, and he did not embark in the business among the Sioux for some time after his arrival here. In the autumn of 1842 he and a Menominee Indian of great repute went up the Trempealeau river to hunt and trap, and in order to escape observation, and perhaps for convenience, he duplicated his Indian comrade's costume throughout. At that time there was some danger from raiding parties of Chippewas, and Will said that if any should be encountered, his knowledge of their language and liis costume, unlike that of the Sioux, would be his safeguard.

Will made a very successful Imnt, and as furs were quite high in those days, the skins brought in sold for a considerable sum of money. In an oak grove above the site of Dodge my brother killed three bears in one day. His dog, a very noted one, obtained from Capt. Martin Scott, brought the bears to a stand, and he killed them in quick succession. At Elk creek, named during his hunt, he killed a couple of elk, and the Indian killed some also, but how many I have forgotten. The Menominee had, during the fall before, caught over fifty beavers, but while upon the hunt with Willard he had almost totally failed to trap that cunning animal. Finding himself outwitted by the beaver, and surpassed in skill as a hunter, the Indian became moody, and began a fast to propitiate the evil influences that he believed were assailing him. Will tried to reassure him, but to no purpose ; so, after repeated successes on Will's part, and failures of the Menominee to catch the coveted beaver, they dried their meat, and taking tlie skins of the elk killed, they stretched them over a willow boat-frame, and thus equipped, their hunting canoes on each side of their skin boat, they descended the Trempealeau just as the ice was about to close the Mississippi. Will returned alone to that once noted resort of beaver, mink and otter, and as the warm spring branches were seldom closed by ice, he was able to catch those valuable furred animals in winter. The beaver skins were at that time worth about $4 per pound. Game was quite abundant in those early days, for there were no vandal hunters to wantonly destroy it, or if they did the Indians were very likel}^ to destroy them. Wild fowl and pigeons nested in the country and raised their broods undisturbed. As for myself, I was no hunter in its proper sense, and having repeatedly missed deer at short range, and standing broadside to me, I determined to learn the only art that would command the respect of the pioneer settlers, or instill a wholesome dread of my marksmanship among the warlike Sioux. M}^ failure to kill deer was more a habit of preoccupation than a want of ability to shoot, for with my rifle, a target gun, I could ])ick off the heads of grouse or pigeons, and at a mark I had repeatedly excelled AVillard and Reed, who were noted among the Indians even as the best hunters on the Mississippi, excepting, perhaps, Joe Rock, of Wah-pa-sha, and Philo Stone, of the Chippewa river. The grand climax, to my chagrin, was reached when Reed accused me of "buck fever." I repelled the accusation with scorn, and aiming at the eye of the next deer I shot at, it fell in its tracks, and for ever after I was able to kill elk, bear and deer, with about equal facility. In September, 1843, in company with Tom Holmes, Wm. Smothers and my brother, I went up the Trempealeau river for the purpose of hunting elk, but our purpose was frustrated by almost incessant rain while we were on the hunt. A few deer were killed by my brother, who knew the ground hunted over, but I killed nothing but a few pinnated grouse, and a goose which I brought down with my rifle as it was flying over our camp. Neither Holmes nor Smothers killed anything, but they caught a few beavers and muskrats, the skins of which were not prime. While at the mouth of Elk creek we saw an aerolite pass over our camp, which must have been of unusual size, judging from the attending phenomena. We were afterward informed that several had been seen within thememory of some old Indians, to their great bewilderment.

During the winter of 1842-3 we made some improvements, visited La Crosse, Holmes' Landing, Black River Falls, and made a few trading expeditions to winter encampments of the Sioux and Winnebagoes. Our commerce was carried on principally by the sign-language, sticks often representing numerals above the capacity of the fingers and memory of the Indians to carry. Although the Sioux still called my brother Ha-ha-tone, the Chippewa, he was rapidly gaining their esteem, and his success as a hunter commanded their admiration. As a consequence he was in demand as a trader. I made several trij)s with him that were very successful, and one with Nathan Myrick that was memorable. Upon one occasion, while Nathan Myrick and myself were attempting to reach Decorah's camp upon the "Broken Gun Slough," a branch of Black river, during an exceedingly cold night in winter, Myrick drove his horse into an air-hole that had been filled by drifted snow, and but for the well-known war-whoop of Decorah, who I had informed of the event upon running to his camp, the horse would have disappeared under the ice, for Myrick was nearly benumbed with the cold when I returned to him with the aid the war-whoop had instantly called to our assistance. A few minutes sufficed for the Winnebagoes to get the horse out of the Mississippi, but being unable to rise to his feet, the horse was dragged to the shore, blanketed and rubbed until warmth was restored, when he was taken to Decorah's camp and a fire built for his comfort by order of the chief. It is due to savage hospitality that the event be recorded.

The Indians of those early times were not always as humane' and considerate as Decorah. Many times I have been fired at while passing them in a canoe, simply to gratify their innate dislike of white men. Sometimes my canoe would be hit, but as a rule they would direct their shots so as to skim the water at my side or just ahead of me. To vary their diversion, if they caught me preoccupied, they would steal upon me and discharge their rifles sonear as to give the impression that it was not really all fim that was- intended. Reed assured me that I was daily gaining in favor among the Sioux, and that if I would join in one of their sun-dances and go through the ordeal I might become a chief He further informed me that I was called Wali-sheets-sha, meaning the Frenchman, a distinguishing mark of their favor, that most likely had saved my scalp from adornment with vermilion and ribbons. Partly to reciprocate tlieir interest in me, and to confirm them in the good opinion Reed had facetiously said they were forming of me, against the advice of the old ti-aders, I pitched two Winnebagoes out of the house when the next proof of their friendship was offered me, and giving the oldest son of Decorah (then head chief by inheritance) a deserved thrashing for a wanton display of his affection, I was not again troubled by any of their ordeals.

Previous to that time Willard and myself had been frequently annoyed, and sometimes angered, by the insults offered us, although aware that our nerve was simply being tested; but we had decided to put an end to all future attempts at Indian levity; and when soon after five rifles of a hunting party were leveled at me when I was unarmed, I told the Indians, who complemented me for not flinching, that it was well for them I had no rifle to aim at them !

Willard and myself were both able, in due time, to make the Indians respect us, but many white people had their traps stolen and their blankets appropriated by the young warriors anxious to win a reputation for bravery.

Early in the spring of 1843 Peter Cameron, a transient trader aixl fur buyer, came to La Crosse with a kind of keelboat loaded with goods, and after taking possession of an unoccupied cabin, and securing the services of Asa White to manage his aftairs in La Crosse, concluded to make a trading voyage up the Mississippi in advance of an}' steamboat.

Camer(Hi made me a proposition to go with him, allowing me pay for niy services, and the privilege of taking, as a venture in trade, certain goods I wished to dispose of, and of a kind he had not in his cargo.

I had almost an intuitive perception of the draft of water, and had picked up considerable of the Sioux tongue. My prospective usefulness induced Cameron to make me a good offer, and I accepted it.

Winona City In Embryo

a supply boat on Black river. It was about forty feet long, seven or eight feet wide, and eighteen inches deep, too low for safety, in Lake Pepin, but the trader was anxious and adventurous, and Dousman, Brisbois, Kice and Sibley had, by astute management, got possession of the trade, not only at Fort Atkinson, but of the entire upper Mississippi. Hence, if any furs were to be purchased by outside traders, they were required to be sharp and adventurous. It was rumored that the Ewing company of Fort Wayne, Indiana, were first crippled and then floored by Rice, who succeeded Dousman in the management of the Choteau company below, while Gen. Sibley had control of the trade at the mouth of the Minnesota river.

The great St. Louis company were also filling up the spaces between their largest stations with smaller traders in their interest. Therefore transient traders had to watch their opportunities, and pounce down upon the tidbits as occasion aftbrded.

Cameron and myself decided that if we c6uld get safely through Lake Pepin in advance of the steamboat Otter, which it was understood would go through the lake as soon as the ice was out, we would be reasonably sure of making handsome profits on our ventures.

^ My packages were light, but Cameron piled in barrel after barrel of whisky, pork, flour and heavy articles that greatly endangered our safety.

We started as soon as loaded, taking as pilot an old French voyageur named Le Yecq, and a half-breed that had been employed by James Pteed at times, and who was a most excellent hand when on duty. We rigged a large square-sail, and had a long line to run out ahead in swift water, but were so favored by the southerly spring winds that we ran up to the foot of the lake without having had to dip an oar. At the widow Hudson's (now Reed's Landing) we had a good trade, and by my advice Cameron was induced to sell a few barrels of pork and flour to ligliten our boat through the lake. As the nights had been clear we determined to make an attempt to go througli the lake by moonlight if the wind should go down with the sun. Tlie night came on with weird stillness and gloom, but later on toward midnight the moon came through the clouds and all was changed to brightness.

Le Point had been given permission by Cameron to go down to Rock's, or Campbell's, a short distance below where we were to await his coming. Cameron's orders were imperative to be back when the wind fell. The wind lulled to a calm, but Le Point did not come; so after many henedictions had been left at the camp we started through the lake. The upper air had given token by scudding clouds of fleecy vapor that the calmness of the lower stratum might be broken at any time, but my moral courage was not great enough for me to tell my fears. Cameron was very deaf, and unconscious of danger that did not aj^peal to him through his sight; and as for Le Yecq, he seemed to have no judgment, and I had lost all faith in him long before we had reached the lake. We coasted along near the north shore until nearing North Pepin we were forced out from the jutting point by ice lodged upon the coast. Here for some time we halted, uncertain what to do, but discovering a narrow opening in the floe, that seemed to extend up to open water, we ventured in, rowing most lustily. We had got almost through the icy strait when I heard a roar as if Dante's inferno had been invaded and the troubled spirits let loose. The noise came gradually nearer, and I was then able to comprehend its cause. It M^as the ice piling higher and still higher upon the distant point above us,, and as the wind had veered around to the westward a few points, the ice was being driven down upon us with great rapidity.

Time is required to tell the story, but not much was needed for the crisis to reach us. I was steering the boat, while Cameron and Le Vecq were rowing. Cameron at first did not heed my warning to prepare for danger, and showed more courage than discretion ; but when he saw that we had, as if by magic, become blockaded in front, and that no time was allowed us for retreat, he wrung his hands and cried out, as if in agony of grief, "My God, Bunnell ! what shall we do ?" I answered : " Face the danger like men ; our goods, not ourselves, are threatened ; we can run ashore on the ice. "

Our worthy bishop (LeYecq) seemingly was not of my opinion, for dropping upon his knees, he poured forth such a torrent of invective, or invocation, it was uncertain which, as would have moved anything less cold than ice. The ice, however, came crowding on, and I instantly formed a plan to save the boat. All appeals to the devout Frenchman were useless, so I motioned Cameron to my aid, and we drew the boat to the edge of the ice on the north side of the narrowing channel, where we awaited its close. My plan was to tilt up the shore side of tlie boat as the ice approached to crush it, and thus make use of the overlapping ice to carry us up the

I unstepped the mast and placed it in readiness for use as a lever. I placed one oar beside our pilot voyageur, for use when his prayer should end, but all to no purpose - he could not be aroused. I called upon him in most vigorous terms, but in vain. Cameron again offered his services, but I wished him to bale his valuables, and he had scant time to do it ere the floe I knew would be down upon us; besides he was too deaf to hear in the noise, and as the sky was becoming rapidly overcast, sight could not be entirely depended upon. Exasperated beyond further endurance, I jerked our paralyzed guide from his prayerful stupor out uj)on the ice, and having made him comprehend my intention, he took the oar, the boat was tilted up at the right moment, and all was saved.

We were swept toward the shore with great steadiness and power, but as the ice was smooth, without injury of any kind. Le Yecq was sent to sleep on the land, where we had transferred our lighter goods, but Cameron and myself returned to the boat and slept soundly until daylight, when a storm of wind and rain came to break up the ice, and we were able before nightfall to cross to Bully Wells' (now Frontenac) in safety. It was April, and the wind that had subsided with the fall of rain sprang up again. The lake above was all open, but we were held wind-bound to enjoy the pioneer stories of Mr. Wells, who had established himself with a native woman some years before. Cameron chafed at Wells' recitals, and as night fell upon us, insisted that the wind had died out and that we could go on. Wells told him that if we attempted it we would probably swamp or water-log on Point-no-Point, as we could scarcely clear that iron-bound shore with the wind beating on it as it did at the time. I was able to hold Cameron in check until about two in the morning, when, exasperated by his seemingforgetfulnessof the danger we had so narrowly escaped, I told him that if we beached or waterlogged, his, not mine, would be the loss, and we started out into the lake to clear the point.

We got well out into the lake and had made a good ofiing, before we caught the swell, when it was soon made manifest to me that a sail should be set to give us headway, or we would swamp before reaching the point. I proposed the sail, but Le Yecq said to Cameron, ' ' Suppose you hist ze sail, you go to ze dev. '' Just then a white cap broke over the bow gunnel of the boat, and, taking a wooden bucket in liand, Cameron gave it to tlie Canadian, tolling him to bail, and without reservation gave me charge of the boat. I caHed him to the tiller while I bent on the sail, and in a few minutes we were skimming the water like a gull. Dropping a lee-board I had taken the precaution to rig, we crawled off Point-no-point, and rounding into the cove above, landed as daylight appeared. This second display of incapacity in Le Vecq ended his career as principal voyageur, and I was installed as captain and supercargo.

We run on up to lied Wing atler breaking our fast, and had already disposed of a large quantity of our heavy goods, relieving our boat the better to encounter the more rapid current, when looking down the river we saw the Otter steaming to the landing. Le Point was on board, so we at once pulled out for the St. Croix. We made a rapid run to Still-Water and Taylor's Falls, and after soiling out everything at high prices, Cameron commenced buying furs for cash, having ample supplies of coin for that purpose. Taking our way back leisurely, sometimes floating with the current, at others pulling enough for steerage way, we were able to see and stop at every trading post and Indian encampment on our way down to La Crosse. At Wah-pa-sha's Yillage, then situated on the high ground back of the river front, west of Main street, we stayed over night. Wah-pa-sha's sister, We-no-nah, (really a cousin) gave us a tent in which to quarter for the night, saying that it was better than our cloth tent, as there was a cold rain falling at the time. In recognition of the woman's hospitality and forethought, I gave her upon leaving in the morning, a six quart pan of flour from our scanty stores, as we had no goods of any kind left. Cameron's subsequent aireer in La Crosse was unfortunate.

Soon after my return to La Crosse I made a trip to St. Louis, and having an Indian's memory of localities, I was able to flx the course of the Mississippi as far as Galena in my mind. There were but two steamboat pilots in those days for the entire river above Prairie Du Chien, and the services of those wore always retained by the American or Chouteau Company, or by the supply steamers of the United States contractors for the Indian and military departments.

Louis Morrow, one of the pilots, was in the full vigor of mature manhood, and a more noble specimen it would be difflcult to find ; but the other pilot, Lewis De'-Marah, was getting old, and his sight was failing him so fast, that, as he himself said, he would soon have to leave the river to younger eyes. Finding me interested in the course of the channel, De Marah would point it out to me when traveling with him, and in a short time after our first acquaintance he ofi'ered to teach and retain me with him on the river. I declined the offer, but my taste and passion for beautiful scenery led me to study the river while traveling upon it. At that time there were but few boats running above Prairie Du Chien regularly, and those of the smallest kind, such as the Rock River and the Otter. The Harrises of Galena were so successful with the latter boat, that they soon brought out the Light Foot, the Time and Tide, the Senator, the War Eagle and others in quick succession. The demand for those steamers created a demand for pilots, and Sam Harlow, Pleasent Cormack, Rufus Williams and George Nichols came to the front and proved themselves as capable men as ever turned a wheel. Of the lower river pilots I remember Hugh White of St. Louis as one of the best, and his services were always in demand by the Falcon Cecilia, General Brooke and other boats of the lower trade. Although I was never a member of any legislature, I was as welcome to a free ride on any of the boats named, as a modern "dead head" on any of the subsidized railroads. As there was seldom but one pilot on a boat above Prairie Du Chien who knew the river well, my services were thought to be an equivalent for all the favors shown me, and I could go to St. Louis or St. Paul at will. Upon one occasion I saved De Marah from a blunder at night, similar to the one which happened him while on the Lynx in 1844. That new and beautiful steamer was run out in 1844 on the shore below the Keye's residence by De Marah. The night was inky black, and as the fast-running steamboat steered a little hard, the watchman was called to aid De Marah at the wheel. The Lynx was on her down trip from Mendota and St. Paul, and was running at a fair rate of speed. As they reached the shore at Keye's point, a thunderstorm burst upon them ; and as the lightning flashed, the open sky of Pleasant Yalley revealed the overflowing water at the lower end of the prairie, and it was mistaken for the Mississippi.

The annual fires had at that time kept down all arbol growths except at the water's edge, and the sandy ridge of prairie between the river and the open water beyond had been overlooked during the momentary flash of lightning. The shadows of the Min-ne-o-way bluffs joined with the dense foliage of the islands and shut out the view to the east. The Lynx was run out several rods upon the overflowed land before "fetching up," and when she halted, no means at the dis])osal of Captain Hooi)er could get her back into the channel. The most of the men were discharged and with a few passengers left in a yawl for Praii-ie Du Chien.

A few days after, while at work ujion ways to slide the boat into river, the Gen. Brooke came steaming up the channel, and was hailed for assistance. After landing and viewing the situation, Capt. Tlirocmorton decided to go on to Fort Snelling and discharge his cargo, lest some accident might forfeit his insurance, but gave Capt. Hooper assurances of aid on his return. Capt. Throcmorton's great experience suggested work to be done during his absence, and on his return he was enabled to at once pull the disabled boat into the river and take her in tow. The Ljn\ was docked and lengthened, but she never recovered her speed, and was soon disposed of by her builders. The brick and mortar thrown overboard on the prairie in taking out her boilers has been taken by some for the remains of an old building. A short time since, while strolling on the river bank near the locality of the disaster, I picked from the sandy shore an iron pulley- wheel that probably was dropped overboard by some one on the Lynx, as the deeply rust-eaten wheel indicated that it had been many years in the sand. It may be seen in the museum of the Winona Normal school.

On May 21, 1844, a few weeks before the misfortune happened to the Lynx, Robt. D. Lester, sheriff of Crawford county, Wisconsin, was murdered by a Sioux of Little Crow's band, named 0-manhaugh-tay. A fruitless search had been made for the body, which was known to be in the river, but as the boat from the Lynx was descending, on its way to Prairie du Chien, the occupants of the boat found the swollen body in a pile of driftwood, and towed it to La Crosse, where it was buried. Mr. Lester's successor in office, Mr. Lockhart, subsequently had it removed and buried at Prairie du Chien. The murder occurred within the limits of Winona county, opposite the "Queen Bluff," and not "six miles below Reed's Landing," nor "twenty miles from La Crosse," as the historian of La Crosse county has stated.

Mr. Lester was returning from an official visit to the Chippewa mills, and stopped at Trempealeau on his way down in a canoe. His old friend Reed offered him hospitality, which he declined, but accepted a lunch to eat on his way. Lester sto|>ped at a spring rivulet just above the Queen bluff, and while eating his lunch, which was scanty enough, 0-man-liaugli-tay, on his way up from La Crosse in a canoe, landed and demanded a part of it. Lester declined a division of his scanty fare, and soon after started on his journey to Prairie du Chien. He had proceeded but a few rods, his back turned to the Indian, when the rej)ort of 0-man-haugh-tay's rifle, and the body of the sheriff seen falling out of his canoe informed La Bath, who just then came in sight, that a murder had been committed. 0-man-haugh-tay jumped into his canoe and fled from La Bath's approach, but not before he was recognized by La Bath, who knew the Indian as a vicious member of Little Crow's band.

La Bath informed the authorities that though he did not see the Indian until after the shot was fired, there could be no doubt but that 0-man-haugh-tay had committed the murder. After considerable delay and the use of an escort of troops to capture hostages, the murderer was delivered up and taken to Prairie du Chien. He was kept there in prison for some time, and then, for reasons best known to the authorities of that period, he was taken across the river in the night to a landing above McGregor, and was turned loose, as stated by himself to his listening auditors.

James Keed happened to be at Keoxa (Winona) when 0-manhaugh-tay arrived. Wah-pa-sha and his band received the Indian with consideration, and while a repast was being prepared for him. Reed listened to the recital of the murderer, who, among his Indian friends, made no concealments of his motives or of the murder. O-man-haugh-tay's conclusion was that the white men of the prairie were gopd to him, but that they were afi-aid of him. During his recital, after the Sioux custom, a i3ipe of friendship was passed around the circle of the tent, and noticing that Reed declined the proffered pipe, 0-man-liaugh-tay oftered it to Reed in person. The audacity of the Sioux fired the old hunter, and although Reed was the only white man present, he struck the ]3ipe to the ground and told the Indian that there was one white man who was not afraid of a dog. That epithet applied to a Sioux was the greatest insult that could be oftered, but it was not resented, and 0-man-haugh-tay soon took his departure from the village.

Reed was a man of sterling integrity of character, hospitable, and devoted to his friends, and had the murderer of Lester but have made a movement of resentment, his life would probably have paid the forfeit. Reed was a bearer of dispatches in the Black Hawk war, and had good opportunities for observation. He took dis- patches from Prairie du Chien to the commander of the American forces when no other messenger coidd be induced to incur tlie risk, and just after the slaughter at Battle-slough, found a joung squaw whose father and mother had been killed. Heed took her with him on his return to Fort Crawford, from whence she was finally sent to her tribe in Iowa. James Reed had a personal acquaintance with all the historical personages of his time, and it is a subject of regret that his family and friends have not recorded more of his experiences in pioneer life. Charles Reed, of "Reed's Landing," should note down his recollections of early times, for the pioneers of Wapa-sha county have had interesting experiences.

From Reed I learned of the existence in Beef-slough of a large quantity of square timber and shingle logs that had been gotten out under direction of Jefferson Davis and other army officers for use in building Fort Crawford. This timber was said to have been run into the slough under the impression that it was the main channel of the Chippewa river, and as there was no outlet at that time, a large raft of flood- wood and trees obstructing the channel, the lumber was abandoned, and new material prepared and run down the proper channel of the Chi})pewa. Reed's statement was confirmed to me by one made by James T. Ruth, who had also been a soldier at Fort Crawford. In company with James McCain, a Pennsylvanian, we broke the drifts and opened the channel of the slough, and were well rewarded for our labor.

During the spring and summer of 1843 Philip Jacobs and Dr. Snow put up a trading-house in La Crosse, and the Doctor gave some attention to the practice of medicine. During the month of November of that year he attended my brother's wife at the birth of her son Porter, who was the first white child born in Trem- ])ealeau county. My brother's daughter, Frances Matilda Bunnell, now Mrs. Frank Ilampson, of River Falls, Wisconsin, who was bom at Homer, Minnesota, on February 22, 1850, was the first white child born within the limits of Winona county. There were eight children in Willard Bunnell's familj^, five of whom are still living.

In 1843 Nathan Myriek was married and brought his wife to La Crosse. Accom])anying Mrs. Myriek, as companion and friend, was Miss Louisa Pierson, of Burlington, Vermont. Like most Vermont girls. Miss Pierson was rosy and bright, and as fearless as were "The Green Mountain Boys."" If a horse had balked in the sand of the prairie, her hand would soothe the stubborn brute into forgetfulness, and he would then do his duty. No saddle or bridle was needed to ride her favorite chestnut, and at her call, even the pacing Indian ponies belonging to the firm would amble to her feet. Such a woman among frontiersmen would command admiration, and for a time, at least, her conquests were numerous and her influence beneficial, but soon it became but too evident that her preference had been given to Myrick's partner, H. J. B. Miller, and her whilom admirers turned their inconstant devotion to the native daughters of the realm.

Among the traders of that early period there were some who took squaws for wives, either permanent or after the morganatic fashions of the highly civilized courts of Europe. The usual method of obtaining a help-meet from among the Indians was to pay court to the parents of the maiden desired, and after incidentally informing them of the esteem in which their offspring was held, obtain some approximate idea of her value.

It was also thought advisable to make a present to the medicineman, with an intimation that if the spirits were friendly to your suit a larger gift might be expected. Two traders of my acquaintance, Asa White and Tom Holmes, formally espoused native queens, and remained faithfully with them and their children through all changes of fortune and civilization that drove them fartlier and still farther to the frontier. Others, not so true to the parental instinct, because in higher life^ left their squaw wives, but their children remain in the tribe, cared for and reared by their mothers, vigorous emblems of the love once borne for their fathers.

Chaptee Vil Interesting Incidents And Customs

In company with my old-time friend Maj. E. A. C. Hatch, who has quite recently gone to a higher plane of existence, I once attended a virgins' feast at Ke-ox-ah (Winona), presided over by "Wah-pa-sha. The whole band was assembled, and after elaborate preparation and sanctification of the ground, by invocations and incense, and sacrificial offerings had been placed for the vestal at the foot of the altar-pole, Mock-ali-pe-ali-ket-ali-pali, the chief speaker, came forward, and in a sonorous address lauded the virtues of chastity and warned "the denouncers" against the sin of bearing false witness. He also told the young braves that if they knew of the lapse from virtue of any virgin applicant for vestal honors, it was their duty, having in keeping the honor of their tribe, to denounce her. These young men were selected as the flower of Indian chivaby, and in addition to their duties as "denouncers," if occasion required, they guarded the sacred precincts of the assembly from defilement. In this respect Indians surpass white people, as seldom, if ever", has any police regulations to be enforced.

At the conclusion of the chief speakers address, Wah-kon-de-otah, the great war-chief of the band, addressed his warriors in a quiet and affectionate manner, and told his braves to maintain the truth as sacred, and not offend the spirits of their ancestors. "VVahpa-sha then called for the virgins and matrons to come forth, after the manner still in vogue in Mexico, and for some time there was the silence of expectation. Again the call was made for any virgin to come forward and receive her reward. Two maidens came partly forward, but, upon reaching the line of denunciation, faltered and turned back from modesty or fear, when, at this crisis, We-no-nah, the wife of the speaker, and eldest sister (or cousin) of Wah-pa-sha, motioned to her youngest daughter, Witch-e-ain, a maiden of perhaps fifteen summers, and then in confident tones challenged the assembled throng to say aught, if they could, against the purity of her maiden child.

No answer was given to this challenge, and, after repeated calls by the crier of the assembly, Witch-e-ain came modestly forward and was crowned goddess of the feast that immediately followed. Her head was encircled with braids of rich garniture and scented grass, and presents of colored cloths, calicoes, yarns, beads and ribbons were lavished upon her as the tribe's representative of purity. Her fame went out among the traders, and soon after that vestal feast she became the wife of a distinguished trader. Like a caged bird, she soon pined for her prairie home, and died of consumj)tion ere the leaves of spring bloomed to welcome her coming.

* Since writing the above We-no-nah has gone to her spirit-home. She died about November 1, 1882, and was buried near Treuipoaleau. It was she who pave the notice to my brother's wife, Matilda Bunuell,tluit so excited the warspirit of the home-guard of Winona county.

Interesting Incidents And Customs

ally, always referring to the good old times of tlie past, when she was young and Wah-pa-sha in power. Her age is not known with certainty, but it is probably at this time, 1882, not less than ninety years. Cho-ne-mon-e-kah, Green-Walk, a half-blood Winnebago brother of the girl, is still living, and the most expert hunter of his band.

Wah-pa-sha intimated, upon one occasion, his approval of any choice I might make of a wife from among his people; and iinally, an unusual thing for an Indian maiden to do, Witch-e-ain herself told me of her dislike of the engagement made for her with the trader, and asked me to take her as a free-will offering, saying that as she was the niece of Wah-pa-sha she would be allowed to choose between the trader and myself. I was compelled, kindly, to decline her offer, but assured her of my high esteem and faith in the person chosen for her by her mother. Not Rachael herself, in her highest tragedy, could have' thrown from her sparkling orbs such burning glances of hate as were shot forth upon me by Witch-e-ain at my refusal of her love. Such withering but silent contempt can only be expressed by a woman scorned.

Years have passed, and trader and girl are both in the spiritworld, or I would not speak of the incident; but in this article I wish to show that, however different in customs, the Indians still have universal feelings of nature, that make them akin.

At another feast Tom Holmes was so enchanted that he decided at once to make the damsel his wife. His offers were accepted, and, so far as I was able to trace his career, she appeared to have made him a good wife.

Upon another occasion Major Hatch and myself visited Wah-pasha's village in Indian disguise, and if our presence was recognized it was not noticed.

Major Hatch was a man of the finest perceptions and most practical judgment. To a stranger he was polite, though taciturn, but to his friends he was open and generous to a fault. The major's descriptive power was quite remarkable. As early as 1859 he gave me a description of the Yellowstone country, that I urged him to have published, as well as some of his experiences among the Wahpa-sha, Sioux and Blackfeet Indians, with whom he had been intimately associated, as trader and agent, for a number of years. The major was not indifferent to his literary attainments, for lie was a close student, but his reply was to the effect that no description could do the Yellowstone valley justice, and that any one who deviated from Cooper's or Ned Forrest's model of the American savage would be laughed to scorn in the great republic of letters. In speaking of the true inter])retation of the word Minnesota, the major said, "in that word you have a fair example of the extravagant taste for romance of Americans. The word is compounded from Min-ne, water, and Sota, smoke, and means literally smoky or clouded water, because of the clouded or smoky ap])earance the water of the river assumes in its course to the Mississippi." "Skytinted water," said the major, " is entirely fanciful, as any one may see by looking at the river at Mendotah."

Major Hatch served the Federal government long and well. He was postmaster at La Crosse in 1846 ; aided in the removal of the Winnebagoes in 1848 ; was appointed agent of the Blackfeet Indians in 1855, and served in that extremely dangerous position in the Yellowstone and Big Horn country for two years. At that time none but those well versed in Indian character, could by any possibility preserve their scalps among those war-like people. Major Hatch became almost an idol among them, and performed his duties to the entire satisfaction of the government.

On his return to St. Paul he was appointed, in 1860, deputy collector for that port, and in 1863, after again aiding in the removal of the Winnebagoes to the Missouri, he was commissioned major by the war department, and was authorized to raise an independent battalion to serve upon the Indian and British frontier. I was oifered a commission by the major in his battalion. While in command of his battalion, he devised a scheme in which Little Six and Medicine Bottle were finally brought to the gallows. Thomas Le Blanc and an associate in daring crossed the British frontier, and while those Sioux murderers were boasting of their crimes, they were captured and brought into Minnesota, bound on a dog train, and turned over to justice and to death.

Major Hatch died in St. Paul of cholera morbus, September 14, last, aged fifty-seven years, loved and honored by his wife and six children, and esteemed by all who had the privilege of his acquaintance. As for myself, I regret his departure as a long-tried friend. I was one year his senior in age and strength of body, but not of mind, and in our youth had the good fortune twice to save him from assault where his life was endangered, - once by a vicious son of Decorah, and at another time by a no less vicious white mjm, who had assaulted him unawares, and who afterward committed a murder. Those eaily experiences were remembered as a tie between us, that time nor distance could wholly sever, and now that he has left us, I wish to record my esteem and friendship for one of the noblest Romans of them all.

It would be useless to attempt the destruction of a popular idol, for there is too little of romance in this mattei'-of-fact age, but it is well to state here that the Indians laugh when the legend of the "Lover's Leap" is repeated to them.

A very casual survey of the ground at the foot of "The Leap" will show what a prodigious jumper the girl must have been, to have jumped into the lake, as many believe she did. If the legend had any foundation at all, it was most probably based upon the rebellion of some strong-minded We-no-nah (meaning the first-born girl) to a sale of her precious self to a gray-bearded French trader, as James Reed supposed, from a tradition said to exist concerning such an event. As there was an old trading-post, fort and mission established in 1727 on the north shore near the Lovers' Leap, it is more probable that some ti-ader of that post made the purchase, than any at the foot of the lake, as Reed supposed from the Indian account of the affair.

It may be that the girl threatened to jump fro'm the cliif, so near to the old post, but if she did, like Reed, I will venture the prediction that she was cuffed into submission to the will of her dear mother.

I have known of but few instances of rebellion of daughters to the wills of their parents, when sold into matrimony ; hence submission may be said to be almost universal. Extremes will sometimes meet, and here we see the untutored savage, and the belles of Saratoga and of Paris join hands in sympathy.

The American Indians have distinctive customs and traits of character, but none perhaps more peculiar than belong to other barbarous peoples. The language of the Algonquin race may be regarded as the most manly in expression and in poetic beauty, but the character of the Dah-ko-tahs should be deemed the type of all that is possible in human endurance, craft and ferocity. Their sun-dance, or We-wan-yag-wa-ci-pi can only be endured by men of the most determined will, and that, too, sustained by the fanaticism of a heathen devotion. Their sacred dance, Wah-kon-wa-ci-pi, like the Winnebagoes' medicine dance, Mah-cah-wash-she-rah, is as close and exclusive a communion of men of liigli degree, as one given by Kniglits Templars. None but the invited and initiated are ever allowed to be present during some of the ceremonies, but after the ground has been prepared and the dance has been inaugurated by its leader, the less favored barbarians are allowed to witness the splendor of the dresses worn on the occasion, and hear some of the laudations of valor, and the monotonous Hy-yi-yah that forms the burden of their songs.

Tlie poetic element is not absolutely wanting in an Indian, but it requires a good degree of imagination in a white man to comprehend their efforts in song, and considerable ingenuity to connect their disjointed rhythms into rhyme.

For some days previous to any sacred dance the chief medicinemen, or priests, and their neophites fast, or eat sparingly. If a dog is to be eaten at the conclusion of their fast, or if a beaver has been secured for the feast that will follow, they are both lauded for their respective qualities ; the dog for his feithfulness, and the beaver for his wisdom. The dog is well fed and told not to be offended because of the intention of sending him to the spirit-world, as there he will find all that a good dog can desire, and that his bones shall be preserved in the medicine lodges of the band.

The bones of dogs, beaver, bear and eagles are often taken to the high priests for their blessings ; and they are then preserved in bags or pouches and held sacred as charms against evil. These medicinebags are a badge of membership in the sacred order, and are sacredly preserved from generation to generation.

Upon one occasion I witnessed what might be termed the agonized regret of a medicine-chief at the loss of one. While intoxicated his canoe and its cargo of household goods had escaped him, and was picked up by a wood-chopper named Johnson, who robbed the canoe of its contents and then set it adrift. I recovered for the learned priest all but his sacred pouch, which had been cast into the fire as a thing of no value whatever, containing, as Johnson said, nothing but a bear's claw, an eagle's beak, a filthy rag, and some bones that he supposed to have belonged to a human hand. The medicine-man was a half Sioux and half Winnebago, named Xe-rachoose-sep-kah, to whom Black Hawk surrendered after his defeat at Bad-axe, and who, in company with Nee-no-hump-e-cah, delivered him to the military autliorities at Prairie du Chien. Big-nose, as the Indian was more generally known, after vainly searching for the medicine-bag, oftered me, if I would find it, all I had recovered for him, which, including coin, was of at least the value of three hundred dollars. I never told the chief that the bag was burned up, and advised the thief, after compelling restitution of all except the bag, to leave the country, which the rascal did at once. The son of the great chief Big-nose stayed at my house two nights recently, and referring to the loss of his father's medicine-bag, he regretted it, he said, because it contained powerfully-charmed relics of both tribes, besides a piece of cloth given him by Black Hawk as a memento of his friendship for having saved him from butchery. I thought it best' to tell him the bag was burned, and he seemed relieved when told the truth, as now he knew that the bag had not fallen into the hands of an enemy to work his destruction, thus showing that he had faith in "his own medicine. '^

The only way in which a white man can fully understand an Indian and secure his full confidence is to join the tribe and be initiated into their medicine-lodges, like Frank H. Gushing, commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution to investigate the history of the Pueblo Indians as it may be traced in their present life and customs. Few men would be found fitted for such an office, and if a similar attempt were to be made among the Sioux, it would probably involve the taking part in a sun-dance, an ordeal that a white man, however brave, would not have fortitude enough to go through. A sun-dance is sometimes given by an individual who has made a vow to the sun, and in such cases, after having gone through the tortures of the ordeal, he gives away all his property and commences life anew. As a general rule the dance is given as a test of courage and faith in the religious belief of the Dah-ko-tah, that the sun is the allpowerful deity of the universe, who controls their destiny and deser\"es their worship.

The high ground near the present residence of Mayor Lamberton was the dancing-ground of the Wah-pa-sha band, and, strange as it may appear, the scaffoldings for the dead were in the immediate Ticinity. The dance or altar pole was erected on a level place, and various devices and totems were then cut upon it and figured in yellow and vermilion. Conspicuous among the hieroglyphs was a central circle, with rays to represent the sun, and above all were flags and gay streaming ribbons. The ground was sanctified, after the usual Indian method, by incense, down, and evergreens of cedar or juniper, though the white cedar was preferred, and distance marks

Sometimes young dogs were slaughtered and left at the base of the pole, with head a little raised and their legs stretched out as if to climb up. The blood of those innocent victims was sanctified by the great high priest of the band, and, soaking into the sacred earth, it was supposed to be a sweet savor in the nostrils of the spirits whom it was believed were present at the dance. To show the high estimation in which Christianity is held by the Indians, I will state that I was patronizingly told by one of them that the puppies were placed on the altar to call good spirits to the dance, ''just like Jesus."

The final ceremonies, fi'om all I could learn, were regarded as too sacred for the unanointed to witness, but I gleaned, from conversations at various times, that for the most part they consist of cabalistic utterances in dead or extinct languages, or perhaps that of some living but foreign tribes held to be more potent than their own. As morning approaches the camp is aroused, and the whole village moves en masse to the altar-pole. Here quick preparation is made to greet the rising sun with the dance of his votaries and the shouts of his red children. Incisions are quickly made in the skin in various parts of the body of those who are to be tested, and thongs of rawhide are passed through and tied securely to the pole, from which the victim is expected to tear loose during the dance.

As the sun appears a universal shout is given as an all-hail, and the dance begins. Drums are beaten by relays of vigorous drummers, while each dancer pipes a shrill whistle held in his mouth while dancing. At intervals chosen bands of singers shout their approval of the tortures endured, while the dftncer is stimulated to frenzy by his family and friends to tear loose from his fastenings and join in the honored circle of the dance. After many plunges the brave neophyte breaks loose and dances until exhausted, when he is taken to the tepee of his family and cared for as a hero.

Should one of the poor martyrs to his faitli fail to free himself, his friends reproach him, or throw themselves upon him, until their added weight tears loose the thongs, when, without a murmur of pain, he will join in the dance, and, without sustenance of any kind, continue to dance until exhausted. Should it happen that the terrors of the ordeal should overcome the courage and endurance of any who have aspired to the roll of honor, he is at once cast out from among the braves and told to fish or work, but never to bear arms. One Sioux of the Wah-pa-sha band was degraded to the rank of a woman, and made to wear the apparel of a female. He left for a time and joined a western band, but his reputation for cowardice followed him, and he was driven back by the contempt of the squaws, with whom he was again made to associate. He finally settled downto his fate, and learned some of the industries of Sioux womanhood. The festival of the sun is held in midsummer, and lasts several days. During its continuance the whole band join in merriment and games, and the orators and medicine-men receive large donations as a reward for their most important services. The young graduates of the dance have medicine-bags presented them, made up, for the most part, of old relics of battles fought by their sires, together withanything most horribly disgusting that may appeal to the credulity of ignorance. With these sacks the medicine-men pretend to work spells that will cause the death of an enemy or chase sickness from tlieir friends.

The sun-dance is one of the many evidences of the Dah-ko-tahs' southwestern origin, as the same torture is submitted to by the- Indians of New Mexico, who are also sun-worshipers. The Winnebagoes are also sun-worshipers, and usually bury their dead at sunrise, with head to the west. As far as I know, no northern or eastern tribe submits to the torturing pain of a sun-dance, except in a few instances, when it was imposed upon the credulity of one tribe by fanatical emissaries of the Sioux.

The Dah-ko-tahs have many legends, and may be regarded as greatly given to romance. They believe themselves to be the very salt of earth, and that Minnesota was the center of creation. How else can it be, say they,* when the water runs off from our land, are we not above all others ? This idea gave them self-importance and arrogance in their dealings with other nations. The Sioux, though generous and hospitable, are yet quarrelsome, and the establishment of the Wah-pa-sha band was the result of a long continued traditional quarrel, first of the Isanti, and then of the Wah-pe-ton, or New Leaf bands of Sioux. According to this tradition, given me by Le Blanc, the chiefs of the Isanti, or knife band, quarreled about the jurisdiction of the chert, or knifestone quarries in the Mille Lac country, and to avoid bloodshed, the ancestors of Wah-pa-sha established themselves upon the Me-day-wah-kon, or Good Spirit lake. Therethey remained for a number of generations, until by magic the- spirits of maligiuuit chiefs entered into the medicine lodges of the tribe, and again tlie band was torn asunder ; tlie peaceful portion emigrating from their pine forests and rice swamps to a country of earlier and different foliage, and the band then took the name of Wah-pe-tou, or the new leaf band. It is somewhat remarkable that the Chi])pewas call the country and river immediately below the falls of St. Anthony, includingthesiteofSt. Paul, Ish-ke-bug-ge-see-bee, or the New Leaf river, because in the early spring-time the leaves shoot out earlier than above the 'falls. The Sioux tradition goes on to relate that there they established themselves in comfort, some going up the Minnesota, where buffaloes were plenty^ others, as their numbers increased at the Wah-coo-tay village, s]»read themselves along down to the Cannon river and to Rem-ne-cha, or the Red Wing village, where for many, many years they fattened on the game and wild rice of the region about them.

Again they tell that in this paradise of hunters dissensions once more arose among them, and, disregarding the warnings of previous counsels to avoid strife, the great Red Wing and the noble Wah-pasha became involved in that quarrel. The friends and adherents of both were equall}' strenuous in the support of their resjjective chiefs, and after a prolonged council of the entire band, ending in an outburst of angry passion, the respective ])artisans seized theii' war-clubs and quivers and were about to fight, but before the war-whoop was given for battle Wah-pa-sha commanded silence by a wave of his red cap, and telling the assembled multitude to cease their strife, tlii'ew his totem or badge of authority, the red cap, into air. A whirlwind took it up and it instantly disappeared. At the same moment a convulsion of the earth was felt, darkness fell upon them, and in the morning, when all was once again serene*, they found that a portion of tlie bluff containing the bones of their dead, had disappeared. A party of their principal braves were dispatched in search of the lost mountain, and as they descended in canoes they recognized what is now known as the " Sugar Loaf,"" as the red ca]) of their chief, transformed into stone.

The distant peak of Trempealeau mountain was soon discovered to be a part of their lost inheritance, and hastening on. the moving or moved mountain, or Pah-ha-dah, as it is called in the Dah-ko-tah tongue, was overtaken just as it made a vain effort to plunge into the lake of Me-day Pah-ha-dah. The other peaks of the Red Wing range had already caught u])on the sandy ])()iiit of the i)rairie, and

It only remains for me to say, in proof of the entire authenticity of this tradition, that until defaced by the growing wants of a city, the bluff resembled in shape a voyageur cap of ancient date, and the red appearance of the face of the clif justified its Sioux name of Wah-pa-ha-sha, or the cap of Wah-pa-sha.

Chaptek Viti Prehistoric

Judge George Gale, the founder of the university at Galesville, Wisconsin, in his very valuable work, " Upper Mississippi, " says, "To us of the New World there is a 'Greece' that literally 'slumbers in the tomb.' A nation or people which for centuries occupied a territory nearly as large as all Europe, and had a population which probably numbered its millions, have left the graves of their fathers and the temples of their gods so unceremoniously that their very name has disappeared with them, and we only know of their existence by their decayed walls and tumuli, and by their bones, exhibiting the human form, although in a far-gone state of decay. "