History, Tradition and Adventure in the Chippewa Valley

History, Tradition and Adventure in The Chippewa Valley ••«XiiiiK»» Wm. W. Barde« .i>iiii<» To My Grandchildren BARBARA RUTH BARTLETT WILLIAM BARTLETT KELLMAN WILLIAM CASWELL YOUNG PRINTED BY THE CHIPPEWA. PRINTERY CHIPPEWA FALLS, WIS. Copyrighted 1929 by Wm. W. Bartlett, Eau Claire, Wis. 'iSÄJ^-— <"* v".-rrm^ ' 'OlOGY TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FEUD 1 II ARMSTRONG REMINISCENCES 67 III FUR TRADE LORE OF THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY 95 IV CARTWRIGHT REMINISCENCES 1. AN ADVENTUROUS TRIP TO CALIFORNIA - - - - 145 2. EARLY ADVENTURES IN WISCONSIN 171 V JEAN BRUNET LIFE SKETCH 1. THE MAN - 183 2. JEAN BRUNET'S LEDGER 191 VI A CURIOUS OLD BILL 200 VII BIG GAME IN EAU CLAIRE COUNTY - - 203 VIII OLD ABE - THE WAR EAGLE 225 IX LOGGING CAMP DIVERSION AND HUMOR - 232 X A TRIP TO THE LOGGING CAMPS 237 I- Wis. Co«. FOREWORD Forty or more years ago the writer began in a small way to gather pictures and other material pertaining to the early history, first, i of his own city and county of Eau Claire, and later as related to the larger field of the Chippewa Valley. Qs^ There was no thought in mind of any public use being made of this material. ln fact, it was many years before any except a few intimate friends knew of its U existence. ^ During the past twelve or fifteen years a very considerable amount of this \ historical matter has appeared in the local press. The credit, or blame, for this lies largely with William P. Welch, a former editor of the Eau Claire Telegram, and with his successor, Otto Lund. The insistence of these two newspaper men that the local history material was really worth while, and their continual re- .^^. ' quests for more, to meet a public demand, as they have stated, is the reason for ^ the numerous articles furnished. The writer wishes to express his appreciation of the interest shown and the painstaking care taken by them in the editorial oversight. It has been a pleasure to furnish them copy. No richer field for historical research can be found anywhere than that af forded by our own Chippewa Valley. In addition to many single articles on vari ous phases of local history, several series of articles have appteared covering the early Indian occupancy of these parts, including the centuries-long Sioux-Chippewa feud, the early fur trade of this valley and northern Wisconsin, reminiscences of hunting and trapping, and perhaps more important than all these combined, the story of the great lumbering industry of this region. In so far as possible all material has been given in the wording of the original documents or of the narra tors of the reminiscences secured. From heads of historical societies, librarians and educators has come a call that this material be put into more permanent and available form for public use. The volume now furnished is a partial response to these requests. Without touch ing to any extent upon the lumbering story, the material of which alone would make a fair sized book, the present volume includes a varied assortment of the other material referred to. TNÄ, The free, unconventional form of the original newspaper articles has been , retained with little change. ^ \ The book is not presented as a finished history of the subjects mentioned, but rather as source material, in a form which not only may be found of interest I to the general reader but also of assistance to those who in later years may wish ' to complete the work begun by the writer. ^*>^ With the above explanation, the book is presented to the reader. ^^xj^arch, 1929 William W. Bartlett CJ5 CD ««t WILLIAM W. BARTLETT THE SIOUX-CHiPPEWA FEUD One of the interesting chapters in the story of Indian Ufe in America is that of the centuries long conflict commonly known as the Sioux-Chippewa feud. This designation is not entirely correct, as it implies that only two distinct tribes were concerned in it, which was not the case. Instead it was a conflict between two confederacies of tribes, complicated in some instances by the withdrawal of cer tain tribes, or parts of tribes, from further participation in the struggle, or, as in some cases, the going over and joining forces with their former opponents. Local interest is added by the fact that our own Chippewa Valley and Nor thern Wisconsin form a part of the battle ground of these warring tribes. The feud was so fierce and long continued that probably there are few areas of any considerable extent in this entire region which were not the scenes of these bloody encounters. The name Sioux is not of early ori gin and is an abbreviation of the word Naudouessioux, signifying enemy. They called themselves Dakotas. When Fath er Hennepin first came in contact with this tribe, in 1680, they were located in the vicinity of the Great Lakes but laid claim to indefinitely defined territory ex tending west to the Rocky Mountains. It is to be regretted that so little of the history and traditions of this tribe prior to the advent of the white races has been preserved. It was the common be lief or understanding of the Sioux at that time that the tribe had its origin in the region of Mille Lac or the Thousand Lakes, in what is now Northern Minne sota, from whence they had later been driven by the Chippewas. No tradi tions had been handed down of any earlier place of residence. In general they were of the open country and were expert horsemen. WILLIAM WHIPPLE WARREN The name Chippewa is a corruption, by English speaking people, of the Indian name Ojibway. We are especially interested in this tribe. Not only did they represent a high type of Indian character, but our entire up>per Chippewa Valley, up to the time of its transfer to the U. S. government, less than a hun dred years ago, had for several centuries been their home. The Chippewas are THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FEUD the only Indians with whom residents of this region have come in contact to any appreciable extent. Although constantly at war with others of their own race, they were never in serious conflict with the whites. What few minor cases of individual trouble that did occur were in the majority of cases blamable to drunk en or disolute members of the white race, rather than to the Indians. When, in 1862, soon after the massacre at New Ulm, Minnesota, by the Sioux, a general Indian scare swept the whole Northwest, rumors spread that the Chippewas had taken the war path and were about to attack the white residents. There was ab solutely no foundation for the reports. Their falsity was soon established and in a few days the scare was over. There are persons still living who can recall the panic here in Eau Claire. Fortunately for us and largely to the credit of a single individual, William Whipple Warren, we are not, as in the case of the Sioux, left without record of Chippewa life, history and legends. The Warren family were of such high grade and were so intimately associated with the story of the Chippewa tribe in this region as to warrant somewhat extended mention and same will be found in connection with the fur trade story in this volume. Probably no person that ever lived was, by reason of racial and family con nections, environment and education, better fitted to speak concerning the Chippe wa tribe than William Whipple Warren. In general we will let him tell the Sioux-Chippewa story in his own words. Of course, only a limited portion of the text can be utilized, also, wherever practicable, the unpronouncable original Indian names will be omitted, the English equivalent being used instead. The Chippewas or Ojibways form one of the principal branches of the Al gonquin or Algic stock, and they are a well marked type, and at present the most numerous section or tribe of this grand divbion of the aboriginal inhabitants of North America. They are now (1850) scattered over, and occupy a large extent of country comprising all that portion of the State of Michigan lying north of Green Bay and west of Straits of Michillmackinac bordering on Lake Superior, the nor thern half of Wisconsin and the northeastern half of Minnesota Territory. Be sides this they occupy the country lying from the Lake of the Woods, over the entire north coast of Lake Superior to the falls of St. Mary's and extending even east of this point into Upp)er Canada. They literally girdle the great "Father of Lakes," and the largest body of fresh water in the world may emphatically be called their own 'Great Water' or We-che-gum-me. They occupy, through con quest in war against the Sioux or Dakotas, all those numerous lakes from which the Mississippi and Red River of the north derive their sources. The Chippewas reside almost exclusively in a wooded country; their lands are covered with deep and interminable forests abounding in beautiful lakes and murmuring streams, whose banks are edged with trees of the sweet maple, the useful birch, the tall pine, fir, balsam, cedar, spruce, tamarac, poplar, oak, ash, elm, basswood, and all the plants indigenous to the climate in which they reside. The Chippewas came in contact with the white race in the vicinity of La Pointe on Lake Superior, where they had resided for many generations. In fact, as far as the general knowledge of the tribe was concerned, they did not know THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FEUD 3 of any earlier home.

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