HISTORY TALKS FROM PRAIRIE DU CHIEN f^" . We came to //ie P/fliws of the Dogs (Prairie t' J du Chien) so called the Great Place fjfof Rendezvous for the Traders and \ndians . ** Here all of the Traders that use that part of the Country and all of the Indians of several tribes meet Fall and Spring where the grealest games are played both by the f. French and Indians. X "'i,.,,, Peter Pond, Prairie du Chien, X "«,>'Ni.M t ^ 1773 Compiled 1985 by James and Valerie Dyrud revised 2011 by James Dyrud Library of Congress Catalog Number # 88-072169 OCLC Number 19323735 Martinus Dyrud THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN S 1 0 STATE STREET f MADISON, w I s C 0 N S IN .5 3 706 / JAMES MORTON SMITH, DIRECTOR Historic Sites and Markers Division June 5, 197 5 Mr. M. J. Dyrud Prairie du Chien Wisconsin 53821 Dear Marty: Perhaps the salutation for this letter could very appropriately read "Dear Mr, History" as surely you must be one of our most knowledgeable historians in the field of Wisconsin history. It was in October 1947 when I was first brought to Prairie du Chien by Clifford Lord, then Director of the State Historical Society, to discuss with you the possibility of the Villa Louis being transferred to state ownership and operation. A Prairie du Chien committee had been studying this possibility for several years and if the transfer had occurred. Director Lord was con­ sidering me as a prospective curator. It was on that night that I first met you and during the quarter- century that followed, I was to learn about your many talents as a researcher, scholar, writer and historian. Your knowledge of history was not limited to the academic, to the written history, but also included great skill and judgment in the collection of maps and artifacts, and in the interpretation of the unwritten history of Indian mounds and other prehistory. During more than twenty—five years, you were a pioneer in the field of historical preservation and the leader in persuading the State Historical Society to assume operation of the Villa Louis, which this month will welcome its one millionth visitor under state operation. As a member of the Board of Curators of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, you were the acknowledged and respected leader of its historic sites and markers committees. Those programs helped to preserve and record history out where history actually happened and converted the State Historical Society into an organization that literally became statewide in its interests and in its service, rather than serving basically the University campus in Madison. Beginning with the Villa Louis as the foundation, the Society now has a family of six sites, extending to Stonefield at Cassville, Pendarvis at Mineral Point, Wade House at Greenbush, and Madeline Island Museum at La Pointe, as well as the Circus World Museum in your old home-town of Baraboo. Your contributions have been numerous, varied and distinguished, and this recognition during the Villa Louis Tea of 1975 is but a small reflection of the profound gratitude we feel for your truly significant contributions. When I met you in October 1947, the negotiations for the Villa Louis were to require nearly five more years before it was trans­ ferred to the state. In the meantime, Director Lord, unable to defeat my persistent requests to work for the Historical Society, finally said that he had sufficient funds to employ me for a three-month period beginning April 1, 1948, to help with the State Centennial program that year. I think I was something of an April Fool joke. That three-month job has lasted more than twenty-seven years and I'm still around. Sincerely, £,,7 Raymond S. Sivesind Director Historic sites and Markers Division TABLE OF CONTENTS Date given Page Origin of County Names 12 Exploring Prairie du Chien 07/06/77 15 The Mystery of the Lost Cave 18 John Muir, A Strange Invention 22 The Passing of the Diamond Jo Steamboat Warehouse 28 Adventure on the Upper Mississippi 06/20/61 36 The Romance of Jeff Davis & Knoxie Taylor 08/21/61 52 Ringling Bros. & the Circus World Museum 01/24/62 67 Circus World 79 Romance on the Upper Mississippi 08/07/62 96 Indian Names & Reminders 107 Our Heritage on the Upper Mississippi 10/24/62 118 Aescalapius and Clio 1962 121 Julien Dubuque & the Mines of Spain 125 Our Heritage on the Upper Mississippi 131 Julien Dubuque , Miner of the Mines of Spain 135 Indian Prints 04/06/63 137 Historic Caya Log House Selected For Preservation 151 Caya Log Cabin 06/22/65 157 Michael Caya 06/22/65 158 Caya Cabin At Lynxville 03/22/65 160 American Eagle 163 Frontier Prairie du Chien as Pictured by Early Artists 07/30/54 170 2nd Frontier Prairie du Chien as Pictured by Early Artist August 1954 177 Artist, Reporter & the Charles Russell Story 189 3rd Frontier Prairie du Chien as Pictured by Early Artist August 1954 190 La Crosse August 1954 197 2nd La Crosse 203 Passenger Pigeon 09/26/54 204 Indian Canoes August 1954 210 Indian Peace Pipes 10/09/54 216 Indian Legends 10/14/54 225 Johnathon Carver 10/22/54 229 The Summer Maker, An Indian Legend 236 The Carver Claim and Doty 10/28/54 240 Judge Doty Wisconsin Promoter 11/07/54 246 Josiah Wedgewood 11/14/54 253 The Indian Horses 11/20/54 258 Local History Letters & Comments 12/04/54 262 Indian Peace Medals 267 Indain Peace Medals II 277 Recollection on the Buffalo Bill Incident 01/15/55 279 Tales of Hidden Gold 1955 284 Indians Spearing Muskrats in Winter 02/05/55 289 Historic Markers, Treasures, Etc. 02/12/55 296 Villa Louis 301 Red Bird Massacre or Winnebago War 311 Cemeteries in Prairie du Chien, Wis. 318 John Marsh 320 Blackhawk War 323 Museum of Medical Progress 08/18/74 337 Pearling in Wisconsin 1956 341 Pontoon Bridges 345 Prairie du Chien Oldest Log House 351 Rambler Car 352 First Passenger Train to Prairie du Chien 353 Winston Churchill 04/16/55 355 Fort Crawford Military Cemetery 04/30/55 365 Zachary Taylor 05/13/55 372 Passenger Pigeon 05/28/55 382 Amusing Incidents in Local History 06/04/55 390 Indian Life 06/17/55 395 Indian Life II 06/22/55 403 Historical Society Convention 07/02/55 408 Paul Bunyan 07/09/55 415 Canadian Trip and Indian Names 08/06/55 420 Prairie du Chien 1898 57 Years ago 08/20/55 424 Indian Customs 08/27/55 436 Indian History in Wisconsin 09/03/55 441 Indian History of Wisconsin— Brunson II 09/17/55 448 Fonda's Recollections of Early Wisconsin 09/23/55 453 Fonda's Recollections of Early Wisconsin II 09/25/55 459 Fonda on Early Wisconsin III 10/06/55 464 Fonda's Recollections of Prairie du Chien IV 10/15/55 468 Fonda's Stories on Prairie du Chien V 10/17/55 472 Fonda's Stories on Prairie du Chien VI 10/29/55 478 Fonda's Stories on Prairie du Chien VII 11/05/55 483 Fonda's Stories on Prairie du Chien VIII 11/12/55 488 Fonda's Stories on Prairie du Chien IX 11/08/55 494 Fonda's Stories on Prairie du Chien X 11/26/55 503 Fonda's Stories on Prairie du Chien XI 12/03/55 509 The Ringling Story 12/10/55 515 Fonda's Stories on Prairie du Chien XII 12/17/57 523 Mississippi River Pearls 530 Mississippi River Pearls II 536 New France & The Fur Trade 01/04/56 539 Prairie du Chien in 1898 01/01/56 545 Indian Customs 559 Chief Blackhawk 01/07/56 565 Early Prairie du Chien 01/14/56 511 Early Explorers in Wisconsin 01/21/56 516 Sioux Indians & The Blackhawk War 02/04/56 582 James H. Lockwood 02/12/56 587 James Lockwood II 02/18/56 593 Historic Events In Wisconsin During February 02/25/57 597 James H. Lockwood III 03/10/56 603 The Great River Roads 03/17/56 607 James H. Lockwood IV 03/24/56 611 James H. Lockwood V 03/31/56 615 James H. Lockwood VI 04/17/56 620 James H. Lockwood VIII 04/14/56 624 Recent History Meetings 05/26/56 629 Prairie du Chien's Three Historic Flags 06/02/57 634 Eve Trough on Pioneer House 06/16/56 641 The Red Bird Incident-Winnebago "War (Part 1) 06/23/56 646 The Red Bird Incident-Winnebago "War (Part II) 06/30/56 652 Indian Scalp Law 658 Indian History in the Badger State 659 Indian Reminders 08/18/56 663 Cultural Sequence in the Upper Mississippi River Valley 09/22/56 667 Nicholas Boilvin (Part I) 10/26/56 671 Nicholas Boilvin (Part II) 10/28/56 677 Nicholas Boilvin (Part EI) 11/03/56 687 Indian Pipe Long's Expedition No. 1 05/30/54 685 The Fur Trade Era 11/09/56 686 The Red Lover (A Chippewa Tale) 11/16/56 691 The Dousman Hotel 696 The PiasaRock 701 Game Hunting-Fur Trade 12/21/56 703 Big Top Elephant Stories 12/28/56 707 Growth of American Territory 01/10/51 711 January Dates.. Historic Events 01/18/57 716 Autobiography of MA-KA-TAI-ME-SHE-KIA-KIAK or Blackhawk 722 Treaty with the Sioux, etc., 1825 805 Treaty with the Chippewa, etc., 1829 817 Father Marquette and Joliet entering the Mississippi River Marquette and Joliet on the Mississippi 'Marquette on the Mississippi" is based upon an 1867 painting by "William Lamprecht entitled Father Marquette and the Indians 10 Plate 31.