[I-46] Joseph Reinville or Renville was the name of two persons, father and son, former French-Canadian, latter half-breed by a Sioux squaw of the village of Petit Corbeau or Little Raven (Kaposia). Long extolls him for ability and fidelity as an interpreter, remarking that he had met with few men that appeared "to be gifted with a more inquiring and discerning mind, or with more force and penetration," Keating, Exp. of 1823, I. p. 312. Reinville naturally acquired great influence over the Indians, and when the British decided to use such allies in the war of 1812-14, he was selected by Colonel Robert Dickson as the man who could be most relied upon to command the Sioux. In his military capacity he received the rank, pay, and emoluments of a captain in the British army, and distinguished himself as well by humanity as by gallantry in war. After this he entered the service of the H. B. Co.; left it, relinquishing also his British pension, and returned to his old trading-post near the sources of Red r., where he established the successful Columbia Fur Co. Reinville had that energy and independence which enabled him to decide for himself and act upon his decisions; he therefore made bitter enemies as well as warm friends, whose judgments of his character and conduct were, of course, as diverse as their feelings for or against him. Reinville was born at Kaposia, near St. Paul, about 1779, and died in March, 1846: see sketch of his life by Rev. E. D. Neill in Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., I., 2d ed. 1872, pp. 196-206.
[I-47] This Frazer I do not doubt was a relative of the Robert Frazer, Frazier, Fraser, etc., who accompanied Lewis and Clark. The latter was a "Green Mountain boy," and it is highly improbable that two unrelated Frazers came from Vermont to the Western frontiers in the beginning of this century. But I can only conjecture what their degree of kinship was. One Joseph Jack Frazer cut a figure in early Minnesota history, if we may judge from the sketches of his life and adventures which ran through the columns of the St. Paul Pioneer, about 1866 or 1867, from the pen of General Henry Hastings Sibley. In this connection I may be permitted to note the fact, not generally known, that Robert Frazer was one of several annalists of that famous expedition, who went so far as to issue a MS. prospectus of a book he was going to publish about it, with Captain Lewis' own sanction. But this project failed for lack of subscribers to what any publisher would now be glad to accept, could the MSS. be found. See Prof. James D. Butler's review of my L. and C., N. Y. Nation, Oct. 26th and Nov. 2d, 1893.
[I-48] Pike's was luckier than Long's boat-party of 1823, which started from P. du C. as Pike did, but did not get much above Yellow r. It consisted of Thomas Say, the subsequently distinguished naturalist; Prof. W. H. Keating; Mr. Samuel Seymour, the artist; the rascally interpreter Roque or Rocque; and Lieutenant Martin Scott, the latter in command of a corporal and his squad of eight soldiers. These men tapped a keg of liquor, and got too drunk to navigate—the crew did, I mean, for it is well known that officers never drink. Yellow r. is present name of the stream consistently so called since it ceased to be R. Jaune of the French régime; it has been already mentioned as falling in on the W., 3 m. above Bloody Run and N. McGregor. Three miles higher, on the same side, is Paint cr., or Painted Rock cr., near a place full of historic interest; for at one point along the almost unbroken bluffs is the steep escarpment which became known to the F. as Roche Peinte, or Rochers Peints, and which continues to be called Painted Rock or Rocks, from the Indian pictographs with which it was adorned for ages. Beltrami gives it as Pointed Rock, II. p. 196. High places of all sorts, whether the elevation be phallic or terrene, have always been regarded as great medicine by the untutored, from the days of the priests of Baal, Moloch, or Jahveh, to those of the similar shamans and marvel-mongers of Lo. Such theological jugglery is reflected in the present name of Waucon or Waukon Junction, near the mouth of Paint cr., where the Chic., Dub. and Minn. R. R., meandering the river, sends the Waukon branch to Waukon, seat of Allamakee Co., Ia. A town, or something that tried to be one, by the prosaic name of Johnsonsport, is to be found on some maps at the mouth of Paint cr. About 4 m. above Waukon Junction is a place called Harper's Ferry, suggestive of Virginian emigration. The bluffs hug the Iowan bank closely to Paint cr. The opposite side is low for some miles back, with sloughs or bayous known as Marais, Courtois, Sioux, etc., into which drain several creeks, among them one called Fisher's—no doubt for the gentleman who entertained Pike—and another named Pickadee; both these are received in Sioux bayou. But above Paint cr. the channel runs, or recently did run, on the Wisconsin side, having an intricate snicarty on the other, whose various courses are known as Seaman's slough, Big Suck-off, Gordon's bay, Martell's lake, Center, Harper, St. Paul, Crooked, Ferry, etc., sloughs. Wherever the channel was in Pike's time, he says that he camped on the W. side, and I suppose at a point about opposite present town of Lynxville, Crawford Co., Wis., which is reckoned 17 m. above P. du C. by comparatively recent hydrographers. To reach this place he passed Trout cr., which falls in on the right hand nearly opp. Painted Rock, and the site of Viola, at the mouth of Buck cr., also on the right.
[I-49] Say Island No. 142, or head of No. 143, for a present location which exactly fits, being on E. side, 4 or 5 m. below mouth of Upper Iowa r., and opp. De Soto, Wis., on the border of Crawford and Vernon cos. The camp itself is of little consequence, in comparison with the notable points passed to reach it, at Pike's Cape Garlic and in that vicinity. At the head of Harper and Crooked sloughs the channel runs under the Iowan bluffs to Lansing, Allamakee Co., Ia., 12½ m. from Lynxville. On the Wisconsin side for the same distance is a remarkably labyrinthic snicarty, whose principal run is called Winneshiek slough, upon which is Ferryville, Crawford Co., Wis., at or near the mouth of Sugar cr. The series of creeks which fall into these sloughs is as follows, in ascending order: Kettle, above Polander hollow; Copper, above Cumming's hollow; Buck (duplicating a name: see [last note]); the Sugar cr. just said; and Rush, above Ferryville. The river sweeps under the bold Iowan headlands, two prominent points of which became known as Cape Garlic and Cape Winnebago—one from the alliaceous plant growing there, and the other from the incident about to be cited; while two of the four streams which fall in through four breaks on these bluffs were correspondingly called Garlic r. or Cape Garlic cr., and Winnebago r. or Cape Winnebago cr. Authors differ as to which is which; I make the following determinations: 1. At the point where the main channel of the Mississippi divides into Crooked and Harper sloughs, 8 m. below Lansing, and near where Heytman had his landing, a large creek falls in. This is properly Garlic r.—the one on which the town of Capoli is situated. Capoli means Cape Garlic, being a perversion of the F. Cap à L'Ail—a phrase that has been peculiarly unlucky at the hands of compositors and engravers; even on Nicollet's map it stands by accident Cap a´ Lail, though the eminent geographer himself was un Français de France, whose mother-tongue was academic. Beltrami, II. p. 197, expands the phrase to Cape à l'Ail Sauvage. 2. Three miles above the mouth of Capoli cr. a rivulet falls in between two eminences; the lower one of these is present Capoli bluff, formerly Cap Puant or Cape Winnebago; the upper one is now called Atchafalaga bluff, formerly Cap à l'Ail or Cape Garlic; the rivulet just said is Pike's Garlic r. 3. At 4½ m. higher, through a recess in the highlands falls in the stream now called Village cr., which Nicollet maps as Cape Winnebago cr. This is the one on which the town of Village Creek is situated, 3 m. up. Its mouth is exactly a mile below the mouth of Coon or Clear cr., on which Lansing is situated, under Mt. Hosmer—this "mountain" being that part of the bluffs which is isolated between the two creeks just said to fall in a mile apart. With thus much by way of geographical determinations, I must leave to someone more familiar than I am with the local traditions or actual history of the place, to identify the exact scene of the following incident, given in Keating's Long's Exp. of 1823, pub. 1824, I. p. 266: "Two remarkable capes or points were observed on the right bank of the Mississippi below Iowa river; the lower one is designated by the name of Cape Puant, because at a time when the Sioux and Winnebagoes (Puants) were about to commence hostilities, a party of the latter set out on an expedition to invade the territory of the Sioux and take them by surprise; but these being informed of the design, collected a superior force and lay in ambush near this place, expecting the arrival of their enemies. As soon as the Winnebagoes had landed, the Sioux sallied from their hiding-places, pressed upon them as they lay collected in a small recess between the two capes, drove them into the river, and massacred the whole party. Garlic cape, just above [italics mine] this, strikes the voyager by the singularity of its appearance. In shape it represents a cone cut by a vertical plane passing through its apex and base; its height is about four hundred feet." I suppose the "small recess" of this recital to be that between present Capoli (lower) and present Atchafalaga (upper) bluffs, respectively former Cape Winnebago (lower) and former Cape Garlic (upper) bluffs.
[I-50] La Feuille is a name which Pike rarely, and only by accident, spells correctly. But in writings of the period it was extremely variable, being found even as Lefei, Lefoi, Lefoy, La Fye, etc. This French term commonly appears in English as The Leaf, sometimes Falling Leaf, and is conjecturally a translation of the native name of the hereditary chiefs of the Kioxa (Kiyuksa) band of Sioux. This has usually been rendered Wabasha or Wapasha, and explained as derived from wapa, leaf, and sha, red. In one place Long has Wauppaushaw. In Riggs and Pond's Dakota dictionary the name is given as Wapahasha, and etymologized as from wapaha, a standard, and sha, red. In Minn. Hist. Coll., I. 2d ed. 1872, p. 370, J. Fletcher Williams surmises the origination of the name in the chieftainship of the Warpekutes, otherwise Leaf Shooters—though why the tribe was so called, and whether the English term is a proper version of the aboriginal name, seem never to have been satisfactorily shown. Such forms of the chief's name as Wabashaw and Wapashaw, etc., are common, besides which there are some odd and rare ones; e. g., Beltrami, II. p. 180, has: "The Great Wabiscihouwa, who is regarded as the Ulysses of the whole nation." Three chiefs named Wabasha are known to us in history. Wabasha I. was famous during the Revolutionary war. Wabasha II. was his son, and the latter is the one of whom Pike, Long, Beltrami, and many others speak. He was already a great chief in Pike's time, who grew in credit and renown with years. He was seen in 1820 by General Henry Whiting, who describes him as a small man with a patch over one eye, who nevertheless impressed everyone with respect, and whose profile was said to resemble that of the illustrious Condé. "While with us at Prairie du Chien," says Whiting, "he never moved, or was seen, without his pipe-bearer. His people treated him with reverence. Unlike all other speakers in council, he spoke sitting, considering, it was said, that he was called upon to stand only in the presence of his great father at Washington, or his representatives at St. Louis." He was not a warrior, believing that Indians could prosper only at peace with one another and with the whites, and declared that he had never been at war with the latter, though many of his young men, against his advice, had been led astray in the war of 1812. His son, Wabasha III., resided at the village below Lake Pepin until 1853, and in 1872 was living on the Niobrara Reservation.
[I-51] To go up to the mouth of Upper Iowa r., for the conference with Leaf's band of Sioux, who received the Expedition with almost touching warmth, as Pike goes on to narrate. His map letters "Upper Iowa River," and marks "Sioux Vill." on the S. side near the mouth. Pike's text of 1807, p. 7, has Jowa: Beltrami has Yahowa in text, Yawowa on map: for other forms see [note25], p. 22. The river is a large one which, with its tributaries, drains a N. E. portion of Iowa and some adjoining Minnesota land. The river discharges by a set of sloughs in such intricate fashion that it is not easy to locate its principal mouth with entire precision, to say nothing of where it was at Pike's visit; recent hydrographic surveys, on the scale of a mile to the inch, show the largest opening at a point exactly 2½ m. S. of the inter-State line between Iowa and Minnesota, which runs to the Mississippi on the parallel of 43° 30´ N., through the village of New Albin, on Winnebago cr., and cuts through Lost slough. Assuming this position, which is probably right within a fraction of a mile, Pike is precisely opposite the place where was fought the decisive battle of Bad Axe, notable in history as finishing the second Black Hawk war. Black Hawk was the most celebrated chief during the Sac and Fox war, b. about 1768, at the Sac vill. near the mouth of Rock r. in Illinois, d. on the Des Moines, in Iowa, Oct. 3d, 1838. In the campaign of 1832 the Indians were defeated on the Wisconsin r. July 21st, by Colonel Henry Dodge, and again Aug. 2d by General Henry Atkinson. Zach. Taylor had become colonel of the 1st Infantry Apr. 4th, 1832, and had his hdqrs. at Fort Crawford, P. du Chien. He moved his forces under General Atkinson, and caught the Indians opposite the mouth of Upper Iowa r., as they were preparing to cross the Mississippi; the battle of Bad Axe was fought, the hostiles were defeated, and their organization was broken up. Colonel Taylor returned to P. du Chien with the troops he commanded, and soon afterward received the formal surrender of the Sac chieftain, whose sagacity was as great as his courage. Black Hawk was sent by Taylor, with about 60 of his people, as a prisoner of war to General Winf. Scott, and with some of them was confined for a while in Fortress Monroe; released June 5th, 1833. The first stream of any size, on the Wisconsin side, above the scene of action was named and is still called Bad Axe. A place above Battle cr. and Battle isl., very near the battle-field, if not actually on the spot, was started by the name of Victory, which it still bears. This is directly on the river-bank, at the mouth of a rivulet which makes in there, about a mile below the spot where one Tippet had his landing. Tippet's place was nearly opposite the Iowa-Minnesota State line, and 1½ m. S. of the lower mouth of Bad Axe r. As the price of their defeat the S. and F. Inds. were obliged to surrender a large tract of land, about 9,000 sq. m., along 180 m. of the W. bank of the Mississippi, and, perhaps, 50 m. broad; this became known as the Scott or the Black Hawk purchase, and later as the Iowa district; it was attached to the Territory of Michigan for judicial purposes in 1834, and the separate Territory of Iowa was made July 4th, 1838.
[I-52] By the river channel barely over the Iowa State line into Houston Co., Minn., obliquely opposite Tippet's landing, and about a mile below the mouth of Bad Axe r., which falls in on the Wisconsin side. Pike continues to have Wisconsin on his right until he crosses the mouth of St. Croix r.
I suspect that the Upper Iowa r., which Pike has just left, has a longer historical record than that with which it is generally credited. Franquelin, 1688, maps a large river above the Wisconsin and below Root r., thus apparently in the position of the Upper Iowa. He letters Indians on it as Peoueria and Tapoueri. Perrot's Ayoës r. seems to be the same, as is certainly the Ioua r. of Lewis and Clark's map, 1814. Long has Little Ioway r. in 1817, and Upper Iaway r. in 1823.
[I-53] This is not very definite—perhaps Pike forgot to wind up his watch after the Sioux affair. But we shall be about right to set him down at Brownsville, Houston Co., Minn.; this is below Root r., which he passes to-morrow, and within convenient reach of the place, 3 m. beyond La Crosse, to which he comes on that rainy day. Starting from the State line, as already said, he first rounds Bad Axe bend, at the mouth of Bad Axe r., and then comes to the town of Genoa, 8¼ m. above Victoria. Genoa used to be called Bad Axe; but they do not seem to have fancied the name, or perhaps the Victorians crowed over them, and told them stories about George Washington and his little hatchet, so it was changed. Bad Axe r. is also found with the F. name Mauvaise Hache: e. g., Beltrami, II. p. 178. A mile above Genoa the river divides in two courses, inclosing an irregularly oval cluster of islands 6½ m. long; that on the Minnesota side is Raft channel, which runs part of the way under bluffs; the one on the Wisconsin side, which is or was lately the steamboat way, is Coon, Raccoon, or Racoon slough, with a creek of these names coming in about its middle, 3 and 2 m. above Britt's and Warner's ldgs., respectively. The hills are some miles back on this side, with a break where Coon cr. comes in, and so continue all the way to Prairie La Crosse. Brownsville is at the mouth of Wild Cat cr., 1½ m. above the place where the two courses of the river reunite, or rather begin to separate; and this town is 21 m. by the river-channel above Victoria—for Coon slough is very crooked. Britt's ldg. became the site of a place called Bergen; and one by the name of Stoddard is on the slough a little above Coon cr., about opp. Brownsville. The Wisconsin county line between Vernon and La Crosse comes to the river between Stoddard and Mormon creeks.
[I-54] R. aux Racines of the French; Racine or Root r., the latter name now most used, though in the case of a well-known Wisconsin city the F. word persists as the name. Nicollet calls it Hokah or Root r., and so does Owen. The Franquelin map of 1688 marks a certain R. des Arounoues, which some authors identify with Lahontan's semi-mythical R. Morte or Longue, and refer both to Root r.; but this is questionable. Long speaks (I. p. 247) of Root r. as having its Dakotan name Hoka, and being supposed to be the same as the Rivière Long or Rivière Morte of Lahontan, I. p. 112, called by Coxe in 1741, p. 19 and p. 63, Mitschaoywa and Meschaouay. He utterly discredits the Baron's "180 leagues" of this river, as well as his fabulous nations "Eokoros," "Essanapes," and "Gnacsitares." Without prejudice to the perennial question, which it would be a pity to settle now, whether the Baron was a knave or a fool, or most likely both, it may be observed that Major Long is mistaken in supposing his Hoka or Root r. to be the one which Lahontan represents himself to have gone up; for if he went up any real river, that is Cannon r., as Nicollet urges, and would clinch his argument by calling it Lahontan r.: see beyond. Hokah, Racine, or Root r.—to use all three of the sure names—is a large stream which runs E. through several of the lower tier of Minnesota counties, and falls in through Houston Co., 3½ m. directly S. of La Crosse, though the distance is more than this by the winding river-channel. Mormon cr. comes into the slough on the Wisconsin side opposite Root r., immediately below La Crosse prairie. The slough on the Minnesota side above Root r. is called Broken Arrow—and this, by the way, is connected with a certain small Target lake; so that no doubt some actual incident gave rise to both these names. This lake is the outlet of Pine cr.