towns.

Green bay, the Winnebagoes were found to number one hundred and fifty warriors only; their nearest village being at the lower end of Winnebago lake. They had in all not less than three Their country, at this period, included not only that lake, but all the streams flowing into it, especially Fox river; afterward extended to the Wisconsin and Rock rivers. They readily changed their course of trade-asking now of the commandant at the fort for English traders to be sent among them. In the Indian outbreak under Pontiac in 1763, they joined with the Menomonees and other tribes to befriend the British garrison at the head of the bay, assisting in conducting them to a place of safety. They continued their friendship to the English during the Revolution, by joining with them against the colonies, and were active in the Indian war of 1790-4, taking part in the attack on Fort Recovery, upon the Maumee, in the present State of Ohio, in 1793. They fought also on the side of the British in the war of 1812-15, aiding, in 1814, to reduce Prairie du Chien. They were then estimated at 4,500. When, in 1816, the government of the United States sent troops to take possession of the Green bay country, by establishing a garrison there, some trouble was anticipated from these Indians, who, at that date, had the reputation of being a bold and warlike tribe. A deputation from the nation came down Fox river and remonstrated with the American commandant at what was thought to be an intrusion. They were desirous of knowing why a fort was to be established so near them. The reply was that, although the troops were armed for war if necessary, their purpose was peace. Their response was an old one: "If your object is peace, you have too many men; if war, you have too few." However, the display of a number of cannon which had not yet been mounted, satisfied the Winnebagoes that the Americans were masters of the situation, and the deputation gave the garrison no farther trouble. On the 3d of June, 1816, at St. Louis, the tribe made a treaty of peace and friendship with the General Government; but they continued to levy tribute on all white people who passed up Fox river. English annuities also kept up a bad feeling. At this time, a portion of the tribe was living upon the Wisconsin river, away from the rest of the nation, which was still seated upon the waters flowing into Green bay. In 1820, they had five villages on Winnebago lake and fourteen on Rock river. In 1825, the claim of the Winnebagoes was an extensive one, so far as territory was concerned. Its southeast boundary stretched away from the source of Rock river to within forty miles of its mouth, in Illinois, where they had a village. On the west it extended to the heads of the small streams flowing into the Mississippi. To the northward, it reached Black river and the upper Wisconsin, in other words, to the Chippewa territory, but did not extend across Fox river, although they contended for the whole of Winnebago lake. In 1829, a large part of their territory in southwest Wisconsin, lying between Sugar river and the Mississippi, and extending to the Wisconsin river, was sold to the General Government; and, three years later all the residue lying. south and east of the Wisconsin and the Fox river of Green bay; the Winnebago prophet having before that date supported the Sacs in their hostility. Finally, in the brief language of the treaty between this tribe (which had become unsettled and wasteful) and the United States, of the first of November, 1837, " The Winnebago Nation of Indians" ceded to the General Government "all their lands east of the Mississippi." Not an acre was reserved. And the Indians agreed that, within eight months from that date, they would move west of "the great river." This arrangement, however, was not carried out fully. In 1842, there were only 756 at Turkey river, Iowa, their new home, with as many in Wisconsin, and smaller bands eewhere. All had become lawless, and roving. Some removed in 1848; while a party to the number of over eight hundred left the State as late as 1873. The present home of the tribe is in Nebraska, where they have a reservation north of and adjacent to the Omahas, containing over one hundred thousand However, since their first removal beyond the Mississippi, they have several times

acres.

changed their place of abode. Their number, all told, is less than twenty-five hundred. When the territory, now constituting the northern portion of Wisconsin, became very generally known to the civilized inhabitants of the eastern part of the United States, it was found to be occupied by Indians called the CHIPPEWAS. Their hunting-grounds extended south from Lake Superior to the heads of the Menomonee, the Wisconsin and Chippewa rivers; also farther eastward and westward. At an early day they were engaged in a war with the Siouxa war indeed, which was long continued. The Chippewas, however, persistently maintained their position still occupying the same region when the General Government extended its jurisdiction over the whole country south of the Great Lakes and west to the Mississippi.

By treaties with the Chippewas at different periods, down to the year 1827, the General Government had recognized them as the owners of about one quarter of what is now the entire State.

The same policy was pursued toward this tribe as with neighboring ones, in the purchase of their lands by the United States. Gradually they parted with their extensive possessions, until, in 1842, the last acre within what is now Wisconsin was disposed of. It was the intention of the General Government to remove the several bands of the Chippewas who had thus ceded their lands to a tract reserved for them beyond the Mississippi; but this determination was afterward changed so as to allow them to remain upon certain reservations within the limits of their oldtime hunting grounds. These reservations they continue to occupy. They are located in Bayfield, Ashland, Chippewa and Lincoln counties. The clans are known, respectively, as the Red Cliff band, the Bad River band, the Lac Courte Oreille band, and the Lac de Flambeau band.

Of all the tribes inhabiting what is now Wisconsin when its territory was first visited by white men, the SACS (Sauks or Saukies) and FOXES (Outagamies) are, in history, the most noted. They are of the Algonquin family, and are first mentioned in 1665, by Father Allouez, but as separate tribes. Afterward, however, because of the identity of their language, and their associations, they were and still are considered as one nation. In December, 1669, Allouez found upon the shores of Green bay a village of Sacs, occupied also by members of other tribes; and early in 1670 he visited a village of the same Indians located upon the Fox river of Green bay, at a distance of four leagues from its mouth. Here a device of these Indians for catching fish arrested the attention of the missionary. "From one side of the river to the other," he writes, “they made a barricade, planting great stakes, two fathoms from the water, in such a manner that there is, as it were, a bridge above for the fishes, who by the aid of a little bow-net, easily take sturgeons and all other kinds of fish which this pier stops, although the water does not cease to flow between the stakes." When the Jesuit father first obtained, five years previous, a knowledge of this tribe, they were represented as savage above all others, great in numbers, and without any permanent dwelling place. The Foxes were of two stocks: one calling themselves Outagamies or Foxes, whence our English name; the other, Musquakink, or men of red clay, the name now used by the tribe. They lived in early times with their kindred the Sacs east of Detroit, and as some say near the St. Lawrence. They were driven west, and settled at Saginaw, a name derived from the Sacs. Thence they were forced by the Iroquois to Green bay; but were compelled to leave that place and settle on Fox river.

Allouez, on the twenty-fourth of April, 1670, arrived at a village of the Foxes, situated on Wolf river, a northern tributary of the Fox. "The nation," he declares, "is renowned for being numerous; they have more than four hundred men bearing arms; the number of women and children is greater, on account of polygamy which exists among them-each man having commonly four wives, some of them six, and others as high as ten." The missionary found that the Foxes had retreated to those parts to escape the persecutions of the Iroquois. Allouez established among these Indians his mission of St. Mark, rejoicing in the fact that in less than

two years he had baptized "sixty children and some adults." The Foxes, at the summons of De la Barre, in 1684, sent warriors against the Five Nations. They also took part in Denonville's more serious campaign; but soon after became hostile to the French. As early as 1693, they had plundered several on their way to trade with the Sioux, alleging that they were carrying arms and ammunition to their ancient enemies-frequently causing them to make portages to the southward in crossing from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. Afterward they became reconciled to the French; but the reconciliation was of short duration. In 1712, Fort Detroit, then defended by only a handful of men, was attacked by them in conjunction with the Mascoutens and Kickapoos. However, in the end, by calling in friendly Indians, the garrison not only protected themselves but were enabled to act on the offensive, destroying the greater part of the besieging force.

The nation continued their ill will to the French. The consequence was that their territory in 1716 had been invaded and they were reduced to sue for peace. But their friendship was not of long continuance. In 1718, the Foxes numbered five hundred men and "abounded in women and children." They are spoken of at that date as being very industrious, raising large quantities of Indian corn. In 1728, another expedition was sent against them by the French. Meanwhile the Menomonees had also become hostile; so, too, the Sacs, who were now the allies of the Foxes. The result of the enterprise was, an attack upon and the defeat of a number of Menomonees; the burning of the wigwams of the Winnebagos (after passing the deserted village of the Sacs upon the Fox river), that tribe, also, at this date being hostile; and the destruction of the fields of the Foxes. They were again attacked in their own country by the French, in 1730, and defeated. In 1734, both the Sacs and Foxes came in conflict with the same foe; but this time the French were not as successful as on previous expeditions. In 1736, the Sacs and Foxes were "connected with the government of Canada;" but it is certain they were far from being friendly to the French.

The conflict between France and Great Britain commencing in 1754, found the Sacs and Foxes allied with the former power, against the English, although not long previous to this time they were the bitter enemies of the French. At the close of that contest so disastrous to the interests of France in North America, these tribes readily gave in their adhesion to the conquerors, asking that English traders might be sent them. The two nations, then about equally divided, numbered, in 1761, about seven hundred warriors. Neither of the tribes took part in Pontiac's war, but they befriended the English. The Sacs had migrated farther to the westward; but the Foxes-at least a portion of them-still remained upon the waters of the river of Green bay, which perpetuates their name. A few years later, however, and the former were occupants of the upper Wisconsin; also, to a considerable distance below the portage, where their chief town was located. Further down the same stream was the upper village of the Foxes, while their lower one was situated near its mouth at the site of the present city of Prairie At this date, 1766, the northern portion of what is now Wisconsin, including all that part watered by the streams flowing north into Lake Superior, was the home of the Chippewas. The country around nearly the whole of Green bay was the hunting ground of the Menomonees. The territory of Winnebago lake and Fox river was the seat of the Winnebagoes. The region of the Wisconsin river was the dwelling place of the Sacs and Foxes.

During the war of the Revolution, the Sacs and Foxes continued the firm friends of the English. At the commencement of the nineteenth century, only a small part of their territory was included in what is now Wisconsin, and that was in the extreme southwest. In 1804, they ceded this to the United States; so that they no longer were owners of any lands within this State. From that date, therefore, these allied tribes can not be considered as belonging to the

Indian nations of Wisconsin. A striking episode in their subsequent history the Black Hawk War— comes in, notwithstanding, as a part, incidentally, of the annals of the State.

Deserving a place in a notice of the Indian tribes of Wisconsin is the nation known as the POTTAWATTAMIES. As early as 1639, they were the neighbors of the Winnebagoes upon Green bay. They were still upon its southern shore, in two villages, in 1670; and ten years subsequent to that date they occupied, at least in one village the same region. At the expiration of the first quarter of the eighteenth century, a part only of the nation were in that vicinity — upon the islands at the mouth of the bay. These islands were then known as the Pottawattamie islands, and considered as the ancient abode of these Indians. Already had a large portion of this tribe emigrated southward, one band resting on the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, the other near Detroit. One peculiarity of this tribe—at least of such as resided in what is now Wisconsin — was their intimate association with neighboring bands. When, in 1669, a village of the Pottawattamies, located upon the southeast shore of Green bay, was visited by Allouez, he found with them Sacs and Foxes and Winnebagoes. So, also, when, many years subsequent to that date, a band of these Indians were located at Milwaukee, with them were Ottawas and Chippewas. These "united tribes" claimed all the lands of their respective tribes and of other nations, giving the United States, when possession was taken of the western country by the General Government, no little trouble. Finally, by a treaty, held at Chicago in 1833, their claims, such as they were, to lands along the western shore of Lake Michigan, within the present State of Wisconsin, extending westward to Rock river, were purchased by the United States, with permission to retain possession three years longer of their ceded lands, after which time this "united nation of Chippewas, Ottawas and Pottawattamies" began to disappear, and soon were no longer seen in southeastern Wisconsin or in other portions of the State.

Besides the five tribes - Menomonees, Winnebagoes, Chippewas, Sacs and Foxes, and Pottawattamies—many others, whole or in part, have, since the territory now constituting the State was first visited by white men, been occupants of its territory. Of these, some are only known as having once lived in what is now Wisconsin; others—such as the Hurons, Illinois, Kickapoos, Mascoutens, Miamis, Noquets, Ottawas and Sioux, are recognized as Indians once dwelling in this region; yet so transitory has been their occupation, or so little is known of their history, that they scarcely can be claimed as belonging to the State.

Commencing in 1822, and continuing at intervals through some of the following years, wast the migration to Wisconsin from the State of New York of the remains or portions of four tribes: the Oneidas, Stockbridges, Munsees and Brothertowns. The Oneidas finally located west of Green Bay, where they still reside. Their reservation contains over 60,000 acres, and lies wholly within the present counties of Brown and Outagamie. The Stockbridges and Munsees, who first located above Green Bay, on the east side of Fox river, afterward moved to the east side of Winnebago lake. They now occupy a reservation joining the southwest township of the Menomenee reservation, in Shawano county, and are fast becoming citizens. The Brothertowns first located on the east side of Fox river, but subsequently moved to the east side of Winnebago lake, where, in 1839, they broke up their tribal relations and became citizens of Wisconsin territory.

III. PRE-TERRITORIAL ANNALS OF WISCONSIN.

When, in 1634, the first white man set foot upon any portion of the territory now constituting the State of Wisconsin, the whole country was, of course, a wilderness. Its inhabitants, the aboriginal Red men, were thinly but widely scattered over all the country. JOHN NICOLet, a Frenchman, who had been in Canada since 1618, and had spent several years among the

Indians, was the first of civilized men to unlock the mystery of its situation and people. French authorities upon the St. Lawrence sent him as an ambassador to the Winnebagoes, of whom he had heard strange stories. On his outward voyage he visited the Hurons-allies of the French —a tribe seated upon the eastern side of the lake which bears their name, and Nicolet was empowered to negotiate a peace with them. "When he approached the Winnebago town, he sent some of his Indian attendants to announce his coming, put on a robe of damask, and advanced to meet the expectant crowd with a pistol in each hand. The squaws and children fled, screaming that it was a manito, or spirit, armed with thunder and lightning; but the chiefs and warriors. regaled him with so bountiful a hospitality, that a hundred and twenty beavers were devoured at a single feast." Such was the advent of the daring Frenchman into what is now the State of Wisconsin.

"Upon the borders of Green bay," wrote the Jesuit, Paul le Jeune, in 1640, “are the Menomonees; still farther on, the Winnebagoes, a sedentary people, and very numerous. Some Frenchmen," he continues, "call them the 'Nation of the Stinkards,' because the Algonquin word Winipeg signifies 'stinking water.' Now they thus call the water of the sea; therefore, these people call themselves' Winnebagoes,' because they came from the shores of a sea of which we have no knowledge; consequently we must not call them the 'Nation of Stinkards,' but the 'Nation of the Sea.' From these Men of the Sea, Nicolet passed westward, ascended Fox river of Green Bay, until nigh the portage to the Wisconsin, down which stream he could have floated easily to the Mississippi, the "great water" of his guides, which he mistook for the This adventurous Frenchman, when so near re-discovering the river which has given immortality to De Soto, turned his face to the eastward; retraced his steps to Green bay, and finally returned in safety to Quebec. This was the first exploration of what is now Wisconsinonly fourteen years after the landing of the Pilgrims upon the wild shores of New England.

sea.

At

Wisconsin, for twenty-four years after its discovery, was left to its savage inhabitants. length, in 1658, two daring fur traders penetrated to Lake Superior, and wintered there. They probably set foot upon what is now Wisconsin soil, as they made several trips among the surrounding tribes. They saw, among other things, at six days' journey beyond the lake, toward the southwest, Indians that the Iroquois had driven from their homes upon the eastern shores of Lake Huron. These Frenchmen heard of the ferocious Sioux, and of a great river-not the sea, as Nicolet had supposed-on which they dwelt. This was the Mississippi; and to these traders is the world indebted for a knowledge of its existence; as De Soto's discovery was never used, and soon became well-nigh, if not entirely, forgotten. From these upper countries, in the Summer of 1660, the two returned to Quebec, with three hundred Indians in sixty canoes, laden with peltry. This was, indeed, the dawn-though exceedingly faint—of what is now the commerce of the great Northwest. Nineteen years after flashed a more brilliant light; for, in 1679, the "Griffin," laden with furs, left one of the islands at the mouth of Green bay, on its return— spreading her sails for Niagara, but never more to be heard of.

Following in the footsteps of the fur traders came the Jesuit missionaries to Lake Superior; one of them, Father Menard, as early as 1660, reaching its southern shore as far to the westward, probably, as Kewenaw, in the present State of Michigan. There is no positive evidence, however, that he or his French companions, visited any portion of what is now Wisconsin; although the next year, 1661, some of his associates probably passed down the Menomonee river to Green bay. Following Menard came Father Claude Allouez, arriving on the first day of October, 1665, at "Chagowamigong," or "Chegoimegon," now Chequamegon, or Ashland Bay, "at the bottom of which," wrote the missionary, "is situated the great villages of the savages, who there plant their fields of Indian corn, and lead a stationary life." Near by he erected a small chapel of bark-the