** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ***YELLOW THUNDER**Chief of the Winnebago**Born 1774—Died 1874**——**And His Squaw**Died 1868*** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
Yellow Thunder, a noted warrior and chief of the Winnebago, was "to the manor born." With his tribe he probably took part, on the side of the British, in the War of 1812.
He was buried three days after he had passed to the happy hunting grounds, his body laid in a box in a horizontal position with face to the west, and his pipe and various trinkets around. His squaw was interred in similar fashion except that the body was placed in a sitting position. The ceremonies in both instances were conducted by Indians, white neighbors assisting only in bearing the bodies to the graves.
Yellow Thunder is said to have been a "man of great respectability among his people, and an able councilor in all their public affairs. He was a zealous Catholic."
In an interview, (see Wisconsin Historical Collections) Moses Paquette said of him that he was a fine looking Indian, tall, straight, and stately,but had an overweening love for firewater. This was his only vice.
YELLOW THUNDERYELLOW THUNDER
In 1840 the Indians from this section were forcibly removed by United States troops under the command of Colonel Worth, down the Wisconsin River in boats and canoes to lands west of the Mississippi river. Yellow Thunder and others were invited to Portage to obtain provisions, but instead of that, according to John T. de la Ronde, "were put into the guardhouse, with ball and chain, which hurt the feelings of the Indians very much, as they had done no harm to the government." It is said Yellow Thunder felt the disgrace so keenly he wept. They were afterwards released and taken down the river.
Yellow Thunder, his squaw, and others, however, soon returned, walking some 50 miles and arriving amid familiar scenes before the troops that had taken them away came back. The chief secured forty acres in the town of Fairfield from the government and there he spent much of his time until his death in 1874.
After the demise of his squaw in 1868, Yellow Thunder lived but little in the log house which stood about three-fourths of a mile northeast of the pillar. A few weeks before his death in November, he located his tent on the bank of the Wisconsin river about a mile north of his land in the woods. Here the neighbors ministered to his simple wants, death resulting from an injury to one of his knees, followed by blood poison.
In 1909, it was decided by members of the Sauk County Historical Society to remove the remains of Yellow Thunder and his squaw to a new location, fearing that by clearing and cultivating the land the graves would become obliterated. An excavation was made, the bones were placed in a large vitrified tile, and the cairn erected, the earthen receptacle becoming a part of the boulder-made ossuary. Here, near a familiar trail, not far from the white neighbors with whom the Indians often mingled and sometimes ate, the remains rest in this enduring sepulcher.
The following incidents taken from Wau-Bun, a narrative of the early days at Fort Winnebago, by Mrs. J. H. Kinzie, show some of the characteristics of the squaw of Yellow Thunder.
Among the women with whom I early made acquaintance was the wife of Wau-kaun-zee-kah, the Yellow Thunder. She had accompanied her husband, who was one of the deputation to visit the President, and from that time forth she had been known as "the Washington woman." She had a pleasant, old-acquaintance sortof air in greeting me, as much as to say, "You and I have seen something of the world." No expression of surprise or admiration escaped her lips, as her companions, with childlike laughing simplicity, exclaimed and clapped their hands at the different wonderful objects I showed them. Her deportment said plainly, "Yes, yes, my children, I have seen all these things before." It was not until I put to her ear a tropical shell of which I had a little cabinet, and she heard its murmuring sound, that she laid aside her apathy of manner. She poked her finger into the opening to get at the animal within, shook it violently, then raised it to her ear again, and finally burst into a hearty laugh, and laid it down, acknowledging by her looks, that this was beyond her comprehension.
I had one shell of peculiar beauty—my favorite in the whole collection—a small conch, covered with rich, dark veins. Each of the visitors successively took up this shell, and by words and gestures expressed her admiration, evidently showing that she had an eye for beauty—this was on the occasion of the parting visit of my red daughters.
Shortly after the payment had been completed and the Indians had left, I discovered that my valued shell was missing from the collection. Could it be that one of the squaws had stolen it? It was possible—they would occasionally, though rarely do such things under the influence of strong temptation. I tried to recollect which among the party, looked most likely to have been the culprit. It could not have been the Washington woman—she was partly civilized and knew better.
A few weeks afterward Mrs. Yellow Thunder again made her appearance and carefully unfolding a gay colored chintz shawl, which she carried rolled up in her hand, she produced the shell, and laid it on the table before me. I did not know whether to show by my countenance displeasure at the trick she had played me, or joy at receiving my treasure back again, but at last decided it was the best policy to manifest no emotion whatever.
She prolonged her visit until my husband's return, and he then questioned her about the matter.
"She had taken the shell to her village, to show to some of her people, who did not come to the payment."
"Why had she not asked her mother's leave before carrying it away?"
"Because she saw that her mother liked the shell, and she was afraid she would say, No."
This was not the first instance in which Madame Washington had displayed the shrewdness which was a predominant trait in her character. During the visit of the Indians to the Eastern cities, they were taken to various exhibitions, museums, menageries, theatres, etc. It did not escape their observation that some silver was always paid before entrance and they inquired the reason. It was explained to them. The woman brightened up as if struck with an idea.
"How much do you pay for each one?"
Her father told her.
"How do you say that in English?"
"Two shillings."
"Two shinnin——humph" (good).
The next day, when as usual, visitors began to flock to the rooms where the Indians were sojourning, the woman and a young Indian, her confederate, took their station by the door, which they kept closed. When any one knocked, the door was cautiously opened, and the woman, extending her hand exclaimed—"Two shinnin."
This was readily paid in each instance, and the game went on, untilshe had accumulated a considerable sum. But this did not satisfy her. At the first attempt of a visitor to leave the room, the door was held close, as before, the hand was extended, and "two shinnin" again met his ear. He tried to explain that, having paid for his entrance, he must go out free. With an innocent shake of the head, "Two shinnin" was all the English she could understand.
The agent, who had entered a short time before, and who overhearing the dialogue, sat laughing behind his newspaper, waiting to see how it would all end, now came forward and interfered, and the guests were permitted to go forth without further contribution.
When Wisconsin was on the frontier, as a protection against the Indians, three forts were built—Fort Howard at Green Bay, Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien, and Fort Winnebago at Portage. The central object of interest in this little journey is the early outpost at the Fox-Wisconsin portage.
Leaving Baraboo on Trunk Line 33, leading directly east of the city, where open fields now greet the eye on either side, was once a treeless tract known as Peck's Prairie. This was named for Eben Peck, an early settler whose residence was on the present highway a short distance west of the fair ground.
After passing a road which turns to the left and leads to the man mound, a roche moutonnee, sheep shaped surface of the quartzite, may be seen about a half-mile to the left. The surface of the outcrop was rounded during the invasion of the glacial ice into this region.
Just before reaching the Baraboo River the road swings to the left, approaching the talused slope of the rugged north range of the Baraboo Bluffs. Two species of cacti grow on the summit here, also to the west—Opuntia humifusa, the western prickly pear, and Opuntia fragilis, the brittle opuntia.
The road runs on the verge of a dry ravine, where an Indian effigy mound reposes on the opposite bank, near the Baraboo River. Other mounds were to the west and an Indian ford crossed the stream here. About 1906 an Indian skeleton was unearthed on the bank of the gully, nearly opposite the farmstead.
In the region about the ravine, Mrs. Ann Garrison, in pioneer times, laid out a paper city, much to the regret of lot purchasers in Philadelphia and elsewhere. The sawmill, the pottery, the hotel, and the "salted" gold mine are but memories now.
The gap where the river escapes from the valley into the lowland to the north, has a geological history similar to that of Devil's Lake. No talus covers the slopes, however, the loose stones having been swept away when the ice sheet flowed slowly through in glacial times.
At seven localities about the outer margin of the quartzite region, igneous rocks have been found—at Alloa, near the Devil's Nose, at Baxter's Hollow, three near Denzer and the Lower Narrows.
By far the largest area, fully described by Professor Samuel Weidman in "The Baraboo Iron-Bearing District," is found at the Lower Narrows, distributed over the width of more than half a mile along the north slope, to the east and west of the gap. At the bridge the road to the left leads to a point less than a mile distant, here the igneous rock or rhyolite comes boldly within a few feet of the highway. By climbing upon the ledge one stands on a surface older than the Baraboo Hills, older than any deposit in the whole region. As lava the rhyolite flowed, then cooled and during the upheaval of the north range was forced upon its edge, remaining so to this day. Upon this cooled lava the whole later geologic formation of the region rests—to be upon it is to be upon the floor of the world.
JEFFERSON DAVISJEFFERSON DAVIS
Eastward from the bridge over the Baraboo River, the highway hugs the bluff. A few Indian mounds may be seen less than half a mile to the north after passing the first farm house. To the east of these mounds the skeletons of about sixty Indians were uncovered when one was leveled a number of years ago. The Indian corpses had been seated in a circle and buried in one heap of earth. Evidently there had been a battle or pestilence amongst them.
FORT WINNEBAGO IN 1834FORT WINNEBAGO IN 1834
Reduced facsimile of oil painting by Ira A. Ridgeway of Portage in 1896, based on contemporary plans and recollections of early settlers. The view is from the southwest. The building to the right of the gate is the guardhouse; to the left, the armory. On the opposite side of the square, to the left, were the officers' quarters. The peakedroof building at the left corner was a blockhouse, and a similar structure was in the corner diagonally opposite. The magazine appears in the corner adjacent to the guardhouse, and at its side to the right were soldiers' quarters. The chapel was in the corner diagonally opposite the magazine, but is not visible; as is the case with some of the other smaller buildings. The log building near the end of the bridge over the Fox river, to the right, was Henry Merrell's sutler's store. The low structure a little to the east was the ice cellar. A little further along was the surgeon's headquarters and to the right the hospital. In the distance, looking between the hospital and surgeon's quarters, may be seen the old stone bakery; the blacksmith shop and the carpenter shop were close by, but do not appear in the picture. At the left of the bridge is a commissary building; just to its rear was Jones's store, a portion is discernible. Beyond the fort to the left (out of the above picture) was a log theatre. Still further to the left, was the Indian Agency building. An enormous well was in the exact center of the stockade. It is in use at the present time.
Reduced facsimile of oil painting by Ira A. Ridgeway of Portage in 1896, based on contemporary plans and recollections of early settlers. The view is from the southwest. The building to the right of the gate is the guardhouse; to the left, the armory. On the opposite side of the square, to the left, were the officers' quarters. The peakedroof building at the left corner was a blockhouse, and a similar structure was in the corner diagonally opposite. The magazine appears in the corner adjacent to the guardhouse, and at its side to the right were soldiers' quarters. The chapel was in the corner diagonally opposite the magazine, but is not visible; as is the case with some of the other smaller buildings. The log building near the end of the bridge over the Fox river, to the right, was Henry Merrell's sutler's store. The low structure a little to the east was the ice cellar. A little further along was the surgeon's headquarters and to the right the hospital. In the distance, looking between the hospital and surgeon's quarters, may be seen the old stone bakery; the blacksmith shop and the carpenter shop were close by, but do not appear in the picture. At the left of the bridge is a commissary building; just to its rear was Jones's store, a portion is discernible. Beyond the fort to the left (out of the above picture) was a log theatre. Still further to the left, was the Indian Agency building. An enormous well was in the exact center of the stockade. It is in use at the present time.
To the right of the highway are many hidden beauty spots all along the way to the Baraboo River, especially where the streams come down from the high land above. The most attractive of these is Fox's Glen, to the right and just east of the rural school building facing the river.
The high ground on the right, just before crossing the bridge over the Wisconsin River, is the site of an Indian village. The pioneers crossed the river here on a ferry, the first bridge being built in 1857. It was destroyed by a cyclone in 1903, and the present structure was then erected.
After entering West Cook Street, the main thoroughfare of Portage, and reaching the third street to the right, the car should be swung one block south to pass the home of Miss Zona Gale. The residence, 506 West Canal Street, is southern colonial in architecture, and stands on the bank of the winding Wisconsin, the rear lawn sloping back to the waterway.
One block to the left and one block to the north, brings the visitor to the intersection of West Cook and Mac Streets; here Pierre Pauquette, the Indian trader, interpreter, and portager was killed by an aborigine. The deed was committed, it is said, a little southwest of the intersection of the streets.
Pauquette was one of the most picturesque figures in the early days of Wisconsin, indissolubly identified with those who cast their lot at the portage.
Crossing the canal bridge near the Wisconsin River and continuing south several blocks, a granite monument marks the place where Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, the first white men to visit this region, crossed the portage on June 14, 1673, and floated down the Wisconsin.
Many noted persons crossed the portage in early times. Duluth and Hennepin were here in 1680 and Nicolas Perrot, the Baron Lahontan, and Charles Pierre Le Sueur were three famous travelers in the late seventeenth century. An expedition to build a French fort on the upper Mississippi, passed here in 1727; Johnathan Carver tells of his visit in 1766; and here was the rendezvous for Indian forces during the American Revolution. An expedition against St. Louis gathered here in 1780. Then came the much passing of troops between Fort Howard at Green Bay and Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien. Here in 1827 occurred the dramatic surrender of Red Bird, bringing to a close the Winnebago War.
In 1793 Laurent Barth came to transport baggage with oxen, in 1801-2 Augustin Grignon wintered at the portage as a fur trader, and in 1810 the overland division of the Astorian expedition to the Pacific coast went westward over this historic route.
During the war of 1812 Robert Dixon, British Indian agent, collected his savage allies at this point; and the expedition which drove the Americans from Prairie du Chien, passed thither in 1814. By this route the British forces, following the treaty of Ghent, retreated in 1815.
Carpenter's place was on the corner to the south of the monument. In a building near the pioneer hotel, Abe Wood killed Pawnee Blanc, buried in a mound near the Portage-end of the Wisconsin River bridge.
Continuing on Bronson Avenue to the east and after crossing the railroad tracks, the location of the FranklinHouse may be seen several rods to the right. A large elm tree with a small house back of it marks the location of the pioneer Portage hotel where dignitaries of the early days were entertained.
The Riverbend Place, the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Stace, is the last house before crossing the Fox River. To the rear of this house is where Henry Merrill, the sutler of Fort Winnebago, resided.
After crossing the stream, the location of the commissary building of the fort will be observed a few rods to the left. Goods from boats plying the Fox were unloaded into the building; a fragment of the wall still remains, hidden in the weeds and grass.
The frame house to the right, somewhat modified, was the fort hospital.
The well at the farmstead at the left was in the center of Fort Winnebago when completed in 1830. The portage was made a military post in 1828, Major David E. Twiggs erecting the fortification. During the Black Hawk War the outpost was useful in checking the hostile tribesmen, it remained a garrison until 1845, and was sold in 1853, the nineteen and fifteen-hundredths acres bringing $23.94. The old deed is in the Portage Library.
Colonel Zachary Taylor, afterward president of the United States, visited the fort with Captain Hugh Brady, Indian fighter, in 1836, and Lieutenant Jefferson Davis, later president of the confederacy, came with the military force to construct and garrison the place. Judge D. Doty, afterward territorial governor, often was there, while General Lewis Cass, and Captain Frederick Marryat, celebrated English novelist, were among the many noted visitors. Miss Marcy, later the wife of General George B. McClellan, was a child here, the daughter of a lieutenant.
Continuing on the central of the three roads about a quarter of a mile, the Fort Winnebago cemetery will be found in a grove to the right. Near the west fence is the grave of Cooper Pixley, a soldier of the Revolution, who died in 1855, aged 86.
A little to the east is the grave of William Sylvester, a soldier of the War of 1812, and the first mayor of Portage. He was born October 28, 1792, and died November 20, 1875. His two wives sleep beside him.
Near the center of the cemetery is the grave of Henry Carpenter, a soldier in the Black Hawk War, and hard by are the graves of Civil War veterans, while the body of Archie White Eagle, a Winnebago Indian veteran of the World War, also sleeps in the enclosure.
Those who died in the fort are buried along the south fence. The boards marking their graves burned years ago and their locations are now lost.
Some of the graves in the cemetery are those who came to the lead region in early times and later to the portage.
Returning toward Portage, cross the canal at the eastern extremity of the city, turn sharply to the right and follow the road on the bank of the artificial waterway to the Agency or Waubun House, now owned by Attorney E. S. Baker. John H. Kinzie came with his bride to the portage in 1830 and this house was soon after erected for them. Mrs. Kinzie brought her piano up the Fox River in a boat, mention of which is made in her delightful Wau-Bun.
Near the Agency House Four Legs, chief of the Winnebago, was buried.
The lock where the canal joins the Fox is a short distance to the east of the historic house, and the blacksmith shop was in the field forty rods or more to the west.
Returning along the canal, crossing the railroad, and traversing East Cook street near the center of the city, a turn is made to the right at the Baptist Church. Between the church and the parsonage to the rear stood the first French Mission between Depere and Prairie du Chien, erected with logs by Pierre Pauquette in 1833-34. He was killed by an Indian in 1836 and beneath the rude place of worship was buried. According to a tablet on the parsonage, the remains of Pauquette were exhumed in 1904. They now repose in the Catholic cemetery.
Before making this journey, by all means read "My Boyhood and Youth," by John Muir, naturalist and author, a cherished volume in public libraries. To visit an historic spot or home of a famous character without familiarizing oneself with the associations and incidents that make the place of interest, is to lose the keenest enjoyment. What we fully appreciate, affords the greatest delight. Therefore, before seeking the lake and farm homes once dear to the heart of this Scotch boy of rare endowments, the mind should be fresh with the details of his early struggles and attainments as well as those of his later years.
Trunk Line 33 takes one from Baraboo to Portage and after leaving the eastern extremity of the main street in the latter city, the highway winds over the Fox River, then up a slight incline to where three roads meet. The one to the left, known as the Montello road, leads to the earliest Muir home. The historic Fox River is often visible from the highway. Arriving at the first school building, where Annie and Joanna Muir, sisters of the naturalist, taught, the road makes a turn to the right a quarter of a mile, then deflects to the left to another school located on the right where the Muir children were given instruction after their arrival in Wisconsin from Scotland in 1849. Neither of the school buildings is that actually familiar to the Muirs as the early structures have long since yielded to the ravages of time.
Just beyond the last named school, some ten miles from Portage, a little stream murmurs across the highway and a few rods farther on is a weather-beaten farm house. The stream flows from Ennis or Fountain Lake to the Fox River and the simple dwelling is near the site of the first home of the Muirs after their emigration to the western wilderness.
The old frame house, with its curious hand-carved frieze boards at the gable ends of the roof, is not the original home of the Muirs, their pioneer abode being located to the rear of the present domicile. It was a little farther from the highway and long since destroyed by fire.
LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOMES OF JOHN MUIR (1) Fort Winnebago (2) Fort Winnebago Cemetery (3) School Where Annie and Johanna Muir Taught (4) School Where Muir Children Attended (5) Fountain Lake, first home of Muir family. (6) Muir church. (7) Second home of the Muir family.LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOMES OF JOHN MUIR(1) Fort Winnebago(2) Fort Winnebago Cemetery(3) School Where Annie and Johanna Muir Taught(4) School Where Muir Children Attended(5) Fountain Lake, first home of Muir family.(6) Muir church.(7) Second home of the Muir family.
But the lake still shimmers in the sun as of old. No ridge of rock encroaches on its shores, which are low and lush with grasses, ferns and other vegetation. Over this water John Muir rowed, in it he swam, and on one occasion nearly lost his life, as related in the story of his youthful days. The diversions which the lake afforded were never ending. Muir speaking of it says: "The water was so clear that it was almost invisible, and when we floated slowly out over the plants and fishes, we seemed to be miraculously sustained in the air while silently exploring a veritable fairyland."
Bluejays, kingbirds, blackbirds, buntings, kingfishers and other descendants of the feathered comrades of John Muir and his brothers, still inhabit its shores, delighting the visitor as they flit from tree to tree.
Ennis Lake is the name given on the government topographical maps to this sheet of water but it was known as Fountain Lake when the Muirs resided there. It should bear the name of Muir.
This Muir farm is now owned by James McReath, son of the Mr. McReath (spelled McRath in the book) mentioned by Muir. The present owner of the old homestead knew the Muir family and will tell the visitor interesting things about the household. Here it was the pet coon fished in the sparkling stream and was called "my little man" by the Highland Scotchman. He would say:
"Coonie, ma mannie, Coonie, ma mannie, how are ye the day? I think you're hungry," as the comical pet began to examine his pockets for nuts and bread,—"Na, na there's na-thing in my pocket for ye the day, my wee mannie, but I'll get ye something."
The McReaths came to Wisconsin in 1850, the year following the Muirs.
The father of John Muir was of a religious mind, an earnest student of the Bible. He was a member of the Disciple or Christian Church and often held services in the Fountain Lake home.
Returning toward Portage about one mile from the site of the first Muir home, then going about as far to the east over a sandy road, one observes a church standing near the tombs in the churchyard. Here it was that the senior Muir conducted service, no doubt pronouncing the last rites for some of those who sleep there. The gravestones are marked with many names familiar to Scotts, among them are Mair, Owen, Thompson, Graham and McDougal.
Turning to the right almost a mile, then to the left a slightly greater distance, brings one to Hickory Hill Farm, the second Muir home. The house is located some distance from the highway and may be approached through the farm, either from the south or east. The farm is not as sandy as the one near the Fox River and when the Muirs came to this location the father purchased five 80's and a 40 in one tract. The family occupied the land for many years. While residing here, John Muir arranged numerous clever contrivances on gates and doors about the farm and buildings, but none of these remained when, long after he had become a famous naturalist, he visited the farm about 1898. The house, with some changes, still stands; the cellar into which John retreated to study and work remains; the well in which he almost lost his life yields abundant water; and some of the apple trees planted by the Muirs rejoice the present owners with juicy fruit each returning autumn. The barn has been elevated and moved but the old timbers familiar to the Muir family havewithstood the storms of many seasons. Much of the land on this farm was plowed for the first time by the naturalist and from this home he went to the University of Wisconsin, loaded with curious contraptions, to realize after a sojourn there a new world of natural wonders.
This farm was sold to John C. McHaffy when the Muirs moved to Portage and after two years passed to Thomas Kearns, the present owner, who talks entertainingly of the famous family.
Father—Daniel Muir, born in England in 1802 or 1803 (date is not certain), and died in Kansas City, Mo., 1883.
Mother—Mrs. Daniel Muir, nee Anne Gilrye, born in Dunbar, Scotland, March 17, 1813; married Daniel Muir, 1833. They were married in Dunbar, Scotland, and there John Muir was born. Mrs. Muir died in Portage, Wis., June, 1896.
The Children—
Margaret, born September, 1834; married John Reid, December 1860; died at Martinez, California, June, 1910.
Sarah, born February 19, 1836; married David M. Galloway, December, 1856; lives in Pacific Grove, California.
John, born April 21, 1838; died in Los Angeles, California, December 24, 1914; buried near Martinez, California.
David Gilrye, born July 11, 1840; died at Pacific Grove, California, October 28, 1916; buried at Martinez, California.
Daniel Muir, born June 29, 1843; lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Mary and Annie, twins, born October 5, 1846; Mary married Willis Hand; her home is at Kearney, Nebraska; Annie died January 15, 1903, at Portage, Wisconsin, seven years after the demise of her mother.
Joanna Gilrye, born on September 7, 1850; married L. Walter Brown September 1, 1880; lives in Ivyland, Pennsylvania.
Angling is the road from this farm to Portage, a distance of some ten miles.
The memorable battle of Wisconsin Heights, between U. S. troops and the famous Indian chief, Black Hawk, and his Sac and Fox warriors, was fought about a mile southwest of Sauk City. This encounter, so disastrous to the forces of Black Hawk, took place June 21, 1832, when Wisconsin still was a part of Michigan territory and settlements were chiefly in the lead region, now the southwestern section of the state.
The major portion of the journey to this historic battlefield is over Trunk Line No. 12, which climbs the terminal moraine two miles southwest of Baraboo, traverses an outwash plain, crosses Skillet Creek, rounding the point recorded by geologists as the mouth of an ancientstream as shown by successive layers of fluvial deposit, and skirting a bold outcrop of quartzite, ascends the range to the summit of the bluff. From the elevated highway one obtains a charming view of beautiful Sauk Prairie where, year after year, the horn of Amalthaea is most prodigal with gifts. This outwash plain was a veritable paradise of bloom in the days before the advent of the plow.
At the bottom of the bluff, between the first and second roads which course to the right, lies the village plat of New Haven. The surveyor's map of this "paper" town is preserved in the courthouse in Baraboo.
The last mile of the road leading into Prairie du Sac follows one of the oldest highways in the county. It was part of a stage line to Baraboo in an early day and the progenitor of the present scenic system of roads among the Baraboo hills.
Just above the villages of Prairie du Sac and Sauk City, the Wisconsin River has been harnessed and many thousand horse-power from the great dam provides light and force for an extensive area.
From Prairie du Sac the road leads along the river a mile into Sauk City. The villages have been rivals since they came into existence in the early 40's, when they were the first centers of population north and west of the river in this section of the state. Many of the dwellings in Sauk City follow a fashion in architecture common in central Europe but rarely seen in this country.
Crossing the Wisconsin River at Sauk City, turning to the right and following the Mazomanie highway about one mile, a crossroad is reached beyond which is a small stream spanned by a bridge. Ahead of this bridge and to the left looms Wisconsin Heights, a rugged elevation from which the battle between the forces of General Dodge and Black Hawk and his warriors takes its name.
The causes leading up to the battle of Wisconsin Heights were numerous. On the Rock River, near its confluence with the Mississippi was the Sac village, the inhabitants of which were more in sympathy with the British than the Americans at that time. Treaties had been signed by the Indians transferring to the whites their common lands but when the time came for them to give up their holdings, the red men declared their chiefs had not authority to sign away the territory and refused to leave. As early as 1823 white squatters enraged Chief Black Hawk and his people by burning their lodges, destroying their crops, and insulting their squaws, while the chief and his braves were absent on the hunt. Black Hawk was advised to seek a village site beyond the Mississippi to avoid the advancing tide of settlement but the warrior was obstinate and prepared to fight for his lands. A crisis was reached in 1830 when pioneers plowed over an Indian cemetery, preempted a village site, and took possession of the planting grounds of the red men. Black Hawk, after consulting with the British agent, threatened the squatters with force, but a military demonstration so frightened the Indians that they gave up the idea of fighting and fled across the Mississippi.
On April 6, 1832, the Hawk, with about five hundred warriors, mostly Sac Indians, crossed into Illinois, creating wild excitement in the settlements there and in Wisconsin. Soon eighteen hundred volunteers, some mounted and some on foot, were on the march. Black Hawk sent anote of defiance, retreated up the Rock River, and made a stand at Stillman's Creek. Disappointed in not receiving assistance from other tribes, he sent messengers with a white flag to his pursuers, asking that he might return peaceably beyond the Mississippi. Those bearing the white flag were brutally slain by the militia, Black Hawk was enraged, and from an ambush routed a larger party, killing a number and wounding others.
About this time settlers were killed at a number of places and the name of Black Hawk was connected with every stump, tree, and projecting rock in the region. The entire section was terrified. Forts sprang up at a dozen place and additional troops were summoned.
In the meantime Black Hawk moved up Rock River to near Lake Koshkonong and, being hotly pursued, retreated with his warriors and the women and children to the present site of the city of Madison.
The Indians and the militia were on the move early on the morning of July 21, 1832. Their camps had been near each other but neither cared to make an attack at night. While passing along the shore of one of the lakes at Madison, an Indian was seen to come up from the water and pause near a newly made grave. In a moment he was pierced with bullets. The grave was probably that of his squaw who had died from exhaustion and the disconsolate red man had decided to await the approaching foe and there, also, meet his fate.
It was not long until the rear of the band was sighted. The day was warm. The Indians threw away kettles, blankets and other weighty articles in order to accelerate their speed. Some forty horses belonging to the soldiers became exhausted, and the riders leaped from the animals and hurried along as fast as possible on foot. Two or three times the Indians showed fight but melted away as soon as any number of their enemies appeared. These feints but served to spur the militia forward. The pursuit was ruthless, exciting, and determined, a chase from dawn to late afternoon.
Black Hawk did not have over 500 warriors, while General Henry had about 600 soldiers and Colonel Dodge 150 more. In the ardour of their pursuit, over a country possessing many difficulties, the immediate commands of Colonel Dodge and Colonel Ewing had outstripped the rest of General Henry's brigade. About five o'clock in the afternoon, when they arrived at Wisconsin Heights, they were met by a spy company which had preceded them and which had been driven back, the enemy having shown fight. The command of Dodge, with Ewing in the center, dismounted, formed in line, and advanced to the edge of the bluff. The Indians were secreted in the high grass growing on the level ground on both sides of the stream. Dodge maintained his position for about an hour; General Henry's brigade then arriving. His soldiers were deployed to the right and left, the line thus being formed with Dodge's command in the center.
From five o'clock until sundown the conflict continued. The Indians in the meantime had been driven from their initial position, some of them escaping up the bank south of the stream and others falling back in the rank verdure toward the Wisconsin. Rain fell and the high grass becoming wet, it was found impossible for the men to keep their arms dry in passing through it, so the firing ceased.
Chief White Crow, father of Yellow Thunder's squaw, buried a few milesnorth of Baraboo, a number of Winnebago, and Pierre Pauquette, their interpreter, were in the battle as aids to the whites. They had joined a detachment which had left Fort Winnebago (Portage) to go to Rock River, and were in the wild chase across the unbroken country to the place of the battle. They left the scene during the night and returned to Fort Winnebago.
WISCONSIN HEIGHTS BATTLEFIELDWISCONSIN HEIGHTS BATTLEFIELD
On the mountain overlooking the battlefield, an Indian chief gave orders during the fight and a little before dawn the morning after, a voice was heard from the same eminence. This greatly disturbed the troops and General Henry had all of his men parade in order of battle. The individual speaking in the darkness was Neapope, endeavoring to make a conciliation, thinking the Winnebago were still in the camp and would understand him. Just before daylight the harangue ceased and Neapope disappeared. When morning came troops found a few horse tracks which appeared to have been made during the night.
But one soldier was killed, John Short, who is buried on the bank among the trees, a few rods south of the stream and east of the highway. All trace of his grave is lost. A young woman, Mary Hackett, who died in pioneer times, was buried at the eastern extremity of the level ground, not far from where the soldier was interred. No one has since been buried here.
During the battle Colonel Jones had a horse shot from under him and several soldiers were wounded. The day after the fight was spent in preparing to transfer the injured to the fortat Blue Mounds.
The number of Indians killed will never be known, but was in the neighborhood of fifty or sixty. Many of the survivors, with hearts of lead, crossed the Wisconsin River during the night, and moved through the wilderness in a northwesternly direction toward the Mississippi.
NATURAL BRIDGE NEAR LELANDNATURAL BRIDGE NEAR LELAND
In his autobiography, Black Hawk says that "Whatever may be the sentiments of the white people in relation to this battle, my nation, though fallen, will award to me the reputation of a great brave in conducting it." Evidently he was proud of his conduct in this particular fight.
Jefferson Davis, later president of the Southern Confederacy, likewise participated in the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. After he had fought with distinction in the Mexican war, and had served as secretary of war in President Pierce's cabinet, and after holding the position of commander-in-chief of the southern armies for four years during the Civil War, he supported Black Hawk's claim to the military skill he had displayed in this battle. Davis speaks of the tactics employed by the chief as the most brilliant he had ever witnessed, saying: "Had it been performed by white men, it would have been immortalized as one of the most splendid achievements in military history."
A few days after the battle, troops crossed the Wisconsin at Arena, marched up the bank of the river until the trail was found, and pursued the retreating Indians. The savages killed horses along the way in order to sustain themselves with food; some perished from their wounds, and still others died from fatigue. At the mouth of the Bad Axe River, thetroops from the rear, the fire from the Warrior on the Mississippi, and the Indians in Minnesota, almost annihilated the band of the deluded, deceived, and defeated Black Hawk. A few of his braves and families who descended the Wisconsin river in boats, met a similar fate near the mouth of the stream, bringing to an end the cons'n.
A. L. Taylor resides on a farm a short distance east of the battlefield. When a youth he accompanied a soldier who fought in the battle, also his father, over the ground. Mr. Taylor has a clear recollection of the description of the fight given by the participant in the battle. Years ago Mr. Taylor's father found on the field a gun and saddle, afterwards destroyed in a farmhouse fire.
A short distance south of where John Short is buried there is a fine group of Indian mounds.
From the Mazomanie road near the battlefield, one may drive east about a mile to the Roxbury Cemetery, on Trunk Line 12. Near the center of this Catholic burying ground lies a soldier who served one year against Napoleon and three years under him, a not uncommon circumstance when the whole of Europe was torn by the great Corsican. The inscription above the grave reads: