The exact dates for the arrival of these various dispossessed eastern tribes are not certain. We do know that they probably came to Wisconsin sometime after Nicolet’s visit in 1634. The Mascouten, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Sauk, and Fox were coming into Wisconsin before 1654. Some Huron and Ottawa settled here temporarily at this time, but by 1678 were compelled by the Sioux to flee back to the Sault. The Chippewa stayed around and west of the Straits of Mackinac and actually did not settle in Wisconsin until about 1670.
SAUK AND FOX INDIANS (FROM MAXIMILIAN).
CHIPPEWA INDIANS (FROM GEO. CATLIN).
The Winnebago at first defended themselves vigorously against the invading refugee tribes; however, this constant warfare greatly reduced their numerical strength. Further decimated by plagues, probably smallpox introduced by the whites, and by famine, the Winnebago were compelled to make peace with the invading Algonkians who eventually settled in great numbers along the Upper and Lower Fox rivers, the lower reaches of the Wolf River, and in the vicinity of Green Bay.
Fur trade with the western Indians was successfully blocked by the rampaging Iroquois for twenty odd years after Nicolet’s voyage of exploration into the Middlewest, but with the establishment of a brief peace, the Ottawa, who had assumed the position of middlemen in the fur trade, sent a large canoe fleet to the western Indians and soon returned with large quantities of furs which had been accumulated by the Indians during the Iroquois War.
On the return journey two young Frenchmen, Radisson and Groseilliers, went into Wisconsin with the Ottawa and became the first known white traders in the area. Other traders quickly followed their example, and by 1670, the fur trade in Wisconsin was proceeding at a good pace.
The Indians, even before actually being visited by the whites, had received European implements by trade with other Indians and soon learned the superiority of iron knives and axes over those of stone. The arrival of the white traders with their guns, kettles, cloth, brandy, and many other trade items was eagerly awaited by the Indians of what is now Wisconsin.
As early as 1668, Perrot and traders with him had brought furs to Green Bay (La Baye). Great activity in the fur trade was quick to follow with the French traders using guns and brandy particularly as an inducement to increase the tempo of fur trapping by the Indian. The Indian was as anxious to obtain the white man’s goods as the trader was to obtain the Indian’s furs. This formed the basis for an understanding mutually agreeable to Indian and trader alike.