USA > Wisconsin > Vernon County > History of Vernon County, Wisconsin, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 51
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111
The next day, July 27th, Gen. Street ordered Mr. Burnett to "proceed with Washington Decori to LaCrosse, and such other points as you may deem important, and tell the Winne- bagoes I wish to see them at the agency. I wish Winneshiek certainly to come. Much must be left to your own judgment in the case. The object is to get what information you can relative to the Sauks and Foxes, and to draw all the Winnebagoes from the Upper Mississippi, and with them the means of passing the river. If you can, extend the news to the Sioux."
The following day Mr. Burnett reported to Gen. Street: "In obedience to your order of yesterday, I went on board the steamer Enter- prise last evening, and started for LaCrosse. We arrived early this morning at the entrance of the lower mouth of Black river and found the Winnebagoes encamped on the shore. I took Wekon Decori, and went on shore immedi- ately to see the Indians. I found the one- eyed Decori and the Litte Thunder at the lodges, but found that most of the band had left the village sometime since. Winneshiek and Waumarnarsar, with about fifteen men and their families, had been gone near a month to hunt and dry meat about fifty miles up LaCrosse and Black rivers. The rest of the band were in the camp. I told them that you wished to see them immediately; that the Americans under Gen. Dodge had defeated the Sauks and Foxes on the Wisconsin, and after killing a great many, bad driven them across the river; that the defeated Indians were endeavoring to make their escape to the Mississippi for the purpose of crossing it and regaining their own country; and that it was probable they would attempt to reach that point, that they might get the Winnebago canoes to cross in, and that they must get away from that place before the Sauks and Foxes arrived.
"They said they would come down immedi- ately on the return of the absent party; that they were afraid of the Sauks, and did not wish to leave a small part of their band behind, who
375
HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
were too few to resist if they would meet them. I then told them to send two of their best young men on horseback to bring in the hunt- ing party. They very promptly complied, and in a short time the young men were mounted and on their way. I charged the express to carry to the absent Indians the message I had delivered, and to tell Winneshiek especially, that his presence was required at the agency. The chiefs present told me that they thought they would all be here certainly in six days, and probably sooner. I told them it was of great importance to them to come as soon as possible, and bring all their canoes on the river; that if the Sauks should come to that point they were not strong enough to prevent them from taking their canoes (if they did not kill them), and crossing over the river; that should they effect a passage to the west side of the river, at any point above this place, within their country, they would be suspected of assisting them, and if it should be known that they had done so, they would lose their annuities and be treated as allies of the Sauks and Foxes. They promised to start for this place on the return of the absent party and bring all their canoes with them. From their apparent anxiety, I think they will be here in three or four days at the farthest, though they said it might be six.
"The Sionx chief, L'Ark, who left this place on the evening of the 25th inst, passed Black river this morning before our arrival, and will reach his people with the news (which he re- ceived from here) to-day. Having done all we could, we left LaCrosse at 10 A. M., and reached this place at 3 p. M., making ninety miles in five hours."
It was but a few days after this, the ed of August, 1832, that Gen. Atkinson over-hauled the broken fragments of Black Hawk's army, fatigned, hungry and dispirited, and attacked them on the bottoms of the Mississippi, a few miles below the month of Bad Ax river, about forty-five miles above Prairie du Chien, and to- tally defeated and scattered them, as related in a
previous chapter. Black Hawk was soon after taken prisoner by a company of Winnebagoes.
Mr. Burnett met them soon after the capture, to whom Black Hawk gave a piece of red rib- ron which was tied to his hair.
AFTER THIE BATTLE OF BAD AX. (By John A. Wakefield, 1833.)
As .soon as the battle was over all the wounded were collected to one place, and, with those of our enemy, were examined and their wounds dressed; there was no difference here between our men and our enemy. The different surgeons did their best for both. They were no longer able to do ns any harm, but were in our power and beg- ging for merey, and we acted like a civilized people, although it was with the worst kind of enemies, and one that had done so much mis- chief and had taken away so many of the lives of our fellow citizens.
We had killed and wounded a great many of these wretched wanderers, that have no home in the world, but are like the wild beasts, more than man-wandering from forest to forest, and not making any improvement in the natural mind. All their study is how to proceed in the chase, or take scalps in time of war. But, although they are a miserable race of people, and live a wretched life, they are much fright- ened when they see death staring them in the face, which was the case at this time. When we came upon the squaws and children, they raised a scream and cry loud enough to affect the stoutest man upon earth. If they had shown themselves they would have come off much better, but fear prevented them, and in their retreat, trying to hide from us, many of them were killed, but contrary to the wish of every man, as neither officer nor private intended to have spilt the blood of those synaws and children. But snch was their fate; some of them were killed, but not intentionally by any man, as all were men of too much sense of honor and feeling to have killed any but those who were able to harm us. We all well knew
376
HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
the squaws and children could do us no harm and could not help what the old Black Hawk and the other chiefs did.
The prisoners we took seemed to lament their ever having raised arms against the Uni- ted States, and appeared to blame the Black Hawk and the Prophet for the miserable con- dition that their tribe was then in, but at the same time appeared to rejoice that they were prison- ers of war, which plainly showed that they had some faith in our humanity and that they would exchange the life they were then living for any other. They appeared to manifest every token of honesty in their examination. They stated that Black Hawk had stolen off up the river at the commencement of the battle, with some few of his warriors and a few squaws and children. I think the number of warriors was ten, and thirty-five women and children, or, in other words, four lodges, which is the Indian phrase, as they do not know how to count by numbers. They were examined respecting the first battle we had with them on the Wisconsin and they stated that we killed sixty-eight on the fiekl of action, and that twenty-five had died since from their wounds, making in all ninety-three that we are certain we killed in that battle, besides a number more that there is no doubt still lin- gered and died with their wounds.
Putting together what were killed in the two battles, and all the little skirmishes, we must have destroyed npwards of 400 of these un- happy and miserable beings, which was occa- sioned, no doubt, by the superstitious ideas which were instilled into their minds by the Prophet. Although I have already stated that those unhappy wanderers make no improve- ment in the natural mind, they still, by in- stinct, believe in an overruling Providence, and are the most credulons people upon earth. They pay much attention to their dreams,and if one of their Nation dreams much,he soon takes the name of prophet, as they believe it to be a visitation of the Great Spirit. One morning I chanced to rise very early, and taking a walk through the
encampment, accidentally wandered to where the Indians were encamped. It was just at the dawn of day, and they were just beginning their morning worship of the Great Spirit. I had often heard that these uninformed children of the forest believed that there was a God, and tried to worship him, which made me call a halt to see if what I had heard respecting this unhappy people was true. They commenced by three of them standing up with their faces to the east ; one of them commenced a kind of talk, as though he was talking to some person at a distance, at the same time shaking a gourd, which from the rattling, I should have taken to be full of pebbles or beans. The other two stood very still, looking towards the east ; the others were all sitting around in the most perfect silence, when the old prophet, priest, or what- ever they called him, commenced a kind of song, which I believe is the common one sung by the Indians on all occasions. It was as near as I could make it out, in the following words : "lle-aw-aw-he-aw-how-he aw-hum," with a great many elevations and falls in their tone, and beating time with the gourd of pebbles. When this song was sung, they commenced a kind of prayer, which I thought the most solemn thing I had witnessed. It was a long, monotonous note, occasionally dropping by a number of tones at once, to a low and nnearthly murmur. When he had done he handed the gourd of peb- bles to one of the two that stood by him, who went, as near as I could ascertain through the same ceremony, still shaking the gourd. When he had done, he handed it to the third, who went through the same motions, and making use of the same words that the first two had done, which I suppose was a supplication or prayer to the Great Spirit to give them plenty to eat, and strength to conquer their enemies. It is stated by those who are acquainted with this race of people, that they are very much afraid of offending the Great Spirit. If they have bad luck in hunting; they think it is caused by their having offended the Great Spirit,
377
HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
and they make an atonement, by offering up or making sacrifice of something that they set much store by, such as burning their tobacco, or something else that they dote upon very much, but there is nothing in this world that they think more of than tobacco, as smoking they think is almost as indispensably necessary as eating.
I must now return to the battle ground with my subject. After the battle was all over, and the wounded all attended to, the prisoners and the wounded of both parties were put on board of the steamboat Warrior, and taken down to Prairie du Chien, where the wounded were taken to the hospital and the prisoners put in confinement.
The boat returned to us the next morning. We are still at the battle ground, or near it; whilst we lay there our men were still picking up scattering Indians. They brought in an old chief who was wounded. Ile was very poor. was between six and seven feet high, what hair was on his head was gray, but that was not much, as the most of it was shaved off, just leaving enough for hand-hold to scalp him by, as these superstitions beings think it would be a mark of cowardice to cut off this tuft of hair, which they call their scalp. These superstitions beings believe that if they are maimed or disfig- ured in this world they will appear in the next in the same form, which is the reason they scarcely ever bury their dead. If he should chance to lose his scalp they think that it would show in the next world that he had been con- quered and scalped by an enemy which would go to show that he was not a great warrior.
Gen. Atkinson now thought that he had taken just retribution for the blood these Indians had spilt on our frontiers, and saw that it would be useless to cross the river in pursuit of those wretched beings, for they were now scattered and hid in the swamps, so that it was an impos- sible thing to take many of them. Ile finally came to the conclusion to drop down to Prairie du Chien and have a talk with the Winneba- !
goes, for it was now manifest that they had been allies to the Sacs and Foxes, for the prison- ers that we took in this action put all doubts to rest on this score. We had a long time be- lieved that they were acting treacherously and Gen. Atkinson now thought that it was time to bring them to an account for their conduct. He accordingly on the second day after the bat- tle, which was the 4th of August, took up the line of march for Prairie du Chien, but before Gen. Atkinson left the battle ground he provisioned a number of Sioux and some Winnebagoes and sent them in search of Black Hawk to see if they could not capture him, and bring him in as a prisoner, which the Sioux appeared to be anx- ious to do as the Sacs and they had been at vari- ance a long time and they saw that there was no chance of taking revenge for the many injuries the Sacs had done them. Gen. Atkinson and the infantry went down on the steamboat War- rior and reached Prairie De Chien the same day we started. The mounted men, baggage and all went down by land and reached Prairie du Chien the next day, which was the 5th of August. On entering the settlement of Prairie du Chien we witnessed a very novel scene. The Monomonee Indians were rejoicing at the defeat of the Sacs and Foxes, and were express- ing it by music and dancing. They had ob- tained several scalps, amongst which were some of the squaws, which they always gave to their squaws. They bad given their squaws several of them and were making music for them to dance around them. It was, as near as I could observe, in the following way: The men all stood in a row with gourds in their hands, shaking them in a very regular order, while one old fellow was beating on the head a kind of drum, which is generally a deer skin stretched over a hollow gum, sawed to the length of our drums. They never use but one stick and that very slow. The squaws were all paraded in front of the men, facing them, and the squaws, who were related to those whoin the Sacs and Foxes killed in 1831, held
378
HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
scalps of the Sacs and Foxes squaws, on long poles and stood in the center between the two lines, shaking them while the other squaws and the men danced around them, ap- parently trying to keep time with the rattling of the gourds and the sound of the drum and all at the same time singing the song usually sung by all Nations of Indians, consist- ing only of a few simple words that I have al- ready repeated; but they rise and fall very sin- gularly and always beat time to the song with their feet; when the song gets to the highest pitch they jump up very high and sometimes stamp with their feet. They generally bend forward toward each other, sometimes with their noses so close as to touch. The squaws appeared to exert all the power they were mas- ter of in shaking the scalps, and nsing their feet at the same time with the drummer and the gourd shaker, and from their countenances they appeared to be perfectly happy.
Gen. Atkinson, on the second day after we arrived at Prairie du Chien, had the principal chiefs of the Winnebagoes, and a few of the Menomonees, at Gen. Street's, the Indian agent at Prairie du Chien, and had a talk with them. lle told them that they had given him reason to think they were not true to him, as he had caught them in many lies, which they tried to deny. He then aceused Winneshiek of aiding the Saes, and inquired of him where his two sons were. The answer of Winneshiek was, that he did not know where they were. Gen. Atkinson then asked him if they were not with Black Hawk. His answer was that one had been with him, but he did not know where he was then. Gen. Atkinson then ordered him to be put in prison until his sons could be pro- duced. IIe then had a talk with the Menomo- nees, who had never been at war with the United States. They professed all the friend- ship in the world for our government; and stated that they had never done us any harm, and did not tell lies, and that if they wanted to do any harm now that they would not know how. This
was a little Menomonee chief, whose name I do not recollect. Gen. Atkinson talked very friendly to him and advised him to pursue the same friendly course towards the United States, and they would be well treated. When this chief was done, he made a request of Gen. At- kinson, whom he termed father, to give each of his young men a pair of shoes, and stated that their feet were worn out with walking. He then went on to explain that when he said shoes he meant horses, and stated that his young men had been promised a horse apiece, and had not got them. Gen. Atkinson promised that they should have them, or that he would see to it, I do not recolleet which. On the next day, about 11 o'clock, Winneshiek's sons were brought in, both badly wounded, which went to confirm that he and his sons were allies to the Sacs and Foxes. They had been wounded in the battle on the Mississippi. They were put in confinement August 7th.
Gen. Scott and suite arrived this morning in the steamboat Warrior, and assumed the com- mand of the whole army, to which station he had been appointed some time previous, but was unable to come on sooner, in consequence of cholera breaking out in his army. He came past several posts and discharged the men wherever he found them.
Gen. Scott concluded to discharge the army (or the mounted volunteers) that were then in the field, and demanded Black Hawk, of Keo- kuk, as both men and horses were nearly worn out with fatigue. Accordingly, on the 8th day August, we left the tented fields and took up our line of March to Dixon's, on Rock river, the place appointed for us to be discharged at (or mustered out of the service of the United States). All now were eager to press forward. We had turned our faces toward our respective homes, and notwithstanding that we, as well as our horses, were nearly worn out with the fatiguing marches, through the swamps and over the mountains, yet all were cheerful, and every heart seemed to leap for joy, at the thought of
$79
HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
being free from the toils and hardships of a soldier, to return again to the embraces of a wife and children, or a father and mother, brothers and sisters, and to mingle, once more, in the walks and society of the fair sex, which appears to be a sovereign balm to man in all his afflictions.
On this day, just at night, we met abont 300 Menomonee Indians in company of an American officer from Green Bay, coming to join in pursuit of the Sac and Fox Indians. We happened to meet them in a prairie. The officer advanced and met us, or we certainly would have fired upon them. When we came up to them they appeared ahnost to lament that they had not got in before we had the last battle, in order that they could have had an opportunity of assisting us in the work of death to our common enemy. For they are, as I have already stated, great enemies to the Menomonee Indians. When they left us they seemed to press forward with more vigor, as it was their object to pursue the balance of the Saes and Foxes, who had made their escape.
On the next day we began to reach the set- tlements in the mining country. This was again a solemn scene. The farms had mostly been sown in grain of some kind or other. Those that were in small grain were full ripe for the sickle ; but behold ! the husbandman was not there to enjoy the benefits of his former labor by thrusting in the scythe and sickle and gathering in his grain ; which was fast going to destruction. All appeared to be solitary, and truly presented a state of mourn- ing. But as we advanced a little further into the more thickly settled parts we would oc- casionally see the smoke just beginning to make its appearance from the tops of the ehim- neys ; as some of the inhabitants thought that it would be as well to risk dying by the toma- hawk and sealping knife as to lose their grain and die by famine ; and others had received information that we had slain in battle their troublesome enemy, who had driven them from
their homes and had slain many of their neigh- bors. Whenever we approached a house there is no telling the joy it would give to the deso- late man who had lately emerged from some fort, and had left his wife and children still in it while he ventured to his home to save some- thing for them to subsist upon.
I must confess that it filled my heart with gratitude and joy to think that I had been in- strumental, with many others, in delivering my country of those merciless savages, and restoring those people again to their peaceful homes and firesides, there to enjoy in safety the sweets of a retired life ; for a fort is to a husbandman what jail is to a prisoner. The inhabitants of this district of country had been shut up in forts for the last three months, through fear of becoming a prey to Indian barbarity.
Nothing very interesting occurred on our march to Dixons. Lieut. Anderson, of the United States army, met us at this point, and by the 17th of August mustered us all out of the service of the United States. We sheathed our swords and buried our tomahawks and each man again became his own commander and shaped his own course towards his home, to enjoy the social society of his relatives and friends, in the pursuit of their different avoca- tions in life.
CAPTURE OF BLACK HAWK AND THE PROPHET.
After the Battle of Bad Ax when Black Hawk's band was totally defeated, Brevet Brigadier-General Il. Atkinson, of the United States Army, and Joseph M. Street, agent for the Winnebagoes at Prairie du Chien, told the principal chiefs of that Nation, that if they would bring in the Black Hawk and the Prophet, it would be well for them, and that the govern- ment of the United States would hold them in future as friends and treat them kindly, and that they would not, by so doing, be considered any longer the friends of the hostile Sacs and Foxes.
380
HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
On this declaration, the one-eyed chief, called the Decori, and Cheater took some of their men with them and went in pursuit of these Saes chiefs, in order, if possible, to take them prisoners and bring them and deliver them up to the Indian agent at Prairie du Chien. On the 27th of August, these two Winnebago chiefs returned, bringing with them the Black Hawk and the Prophet, the principal movers and instigators of the war. The interview with them at Prairie du Chien, I have been told, was a very interesting seene. I will give the reader the substance of their talk with Indian Agent Street and Col. Zachary Taylor, which will go to show how vigilant and with what perseverence these Winnebago chiefs acted to take these prisoners. They were upwards of twenty days gone, after they left Prairie du Chien, before they returned with them.
When they arrived, Black Hawk desired to speak to Indian Agent Street. The amount of what he said was, that he was not the originator of the war; that he was going where he would meet Keokuk, and then he would tell the truth; that he would then tell all about this war which had caused so much trouble; that there were chiefs and braves of his Nation who were the cause of the continuance of the war; that he did not want to hold any council with him; that when he got where Keokuk was he would tell the whole of the origin of the difficulties and of those who committed it; that he wanted to surrender long ago, but others refused; that he wanted to surrender to the steamboat Warrior, and tried to do so until the second fire; that he then ran and went up the river and never re- turned to the battle ground; that his determin- ation then was to escape if he could; that he did not intend to surrender after that, but that when the Winnebagoes came upon him, he gave np; and that he would tell all about the disturb- ance when he got to Rock Island.
The one-eyed Decori and the Cheater both in like manner addressed Mr. Street, whom they term their father; which almost all the
Indians do their agents. The one-eyed Decori rose first and addressed him in the following manner:
"My father, I now stand before you. When we parted I told you we would return soon; but I could not come any sooner. We had to go a great distance (to the Dale, Dells, on the Wis- consin river above the portage); you see we have done what you sent us to do. These are the two you told us to get (pointing to Black llawk and the Prophet). We always do what you tell us to do, because we know it is for our good. My father, you told us to get these men, and it would be the cause of much good to the Winnebagoes. We have brought them, but it has been very hard for us to do it. That one- Macatamish Kakacky-was a great way off. You told us to bring them alive; we have done so. If you had told us to bring their heads alone, we would have done so; and it would have been less difficult for us to do, than what we have done. My father, we deliver these men into your hands; we would not deliver them even to our brother, the chief of the warriors, but to you, because we know you and believe you are our friend. We want you to keep them safe. If they are to be hurt, we do not wish to see it; wait until we are gone before it is done. My father, many little birds have been flying about our ears of late, and we thought they whispered to us that there was evil intended for us; but now we hope the evils birds will let our ears alone.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.