Blue Wing's Village


Jones, Madison, Wisconsin
Chief Blue Wing, prior to 1874

(1a) When the early settlers began to take up land in the western portion of Sauk County, an Indian village existed at the head of the valley leading west from the county Poor Farm. Its location was on what is now known as the Klagus farm, in section 29, Town of Reedsburg.

The village contained 10 or 12 permanent Indian lodges, with a burying ground near by. An additional number of wigwams were put up every fall as transient quarters for the natives who only wintered there and shifted their camps to other quarters when spring came, thus making the population of the village greater in winter than during the summer season.

This village was the headquarters of Ah-ho-cho-ka, the Winnebago chief so well known to the white settlers. June 20, 1851, Ah-ho-cho-ka purchased from the government, 40 acres of land on which the Indian village was situated.

Indian pow-wows were of frequent occurrence at the village when 400 or 500 Indians were present taking part in the ceremony. These pow-wows were often visited by the early settlers, who bore witness to the fact that the social festivities of the Indians, squaws, papooses (and dogs) on these occasions were spectacular and motley.

The principal hunting ground of these Indians at the time the whites came, was the country lying to the south and west of them, now comprised by the towns of Westfield, Washington, Franklin and Bear Creek. Deer were then very plentiful in this region and late in the fall bands of Indians (1b) with their ponies, would make their yearly hunting trip southward for deer. After a couple of weeks hunting they would return to the Indian village with a bountiful supply of venison. On one of their hunting trips as they returned thru Loganville, in addition to a large quantity of deer meat on the backs of their pack ponies, there also hung the pelts of a wolf and a lynx. From statements made by the Indians, the lynx was shot after being put up a tree by one of their dogs. The wolf was routed by some of their party while hunting, and in attempting to make its escape ran near another of the Indians who had stationed himself on a deer runway and who shot the wolf as it was passing by him at a close range.

In 1857, George, the oldest son of Ah-ho-cho-ka, was with much ceremony, initiated as a chieftain. Soon after this event, George went to Minnesota. It was afterwards reported that he participated in the Minnesota Massacre at New Ulm.

When the Whites came, these Indians subsisted mainly on fruits, nuts and wild game, but raised some corn and potatoes, and hay for their ponies. The potatoes, for winter use, instead of being stored away as done by the Whites, were cut into small slices or pieces and dried, similar to the manner of drying apples. The dried potatoes were light and easy to carry, were not easily injured by frost, and were even ready for the camp kettle when desired for eating.

   
U.S. Forest Service  
A Bull Elk  

In the winter of 1850, Ah-ho-cho-ka accompanied by two other Indians, shot and killed a bull elk in what is now the town of Washington. They went out hunting deer when the large tracks of the elk were discovered in the snow. The hunters at once took up the trail finally killing the animal. Elk were then scarce in Wisconsin. This noble creature no longer existed in bands of considerable numbers, but only as scattered individuals, and the killing of this elk by the Indians, (2a) constituted an event which was the occasion for a pow-wow at the village, in which a large number of their tribe took an active part. A large fire was built and the elk venison was roasted. After feating freely on the meat the Indians smoked, chanted tribal songs, and engaged in dancing to the music of the tom-tom which made the woods about resound with genuine Indian melody.

We learn from the records of the early French traders and trappers that black bears were formerly very numerous in the valley of the Baraboo River. Their trails were everywhere presenting the woods and swamps and the animals were even more plentiful than deer. The western portion of Sauk County was no exception to the rule and in the early days bears were often seen by the settlers, who occasionally lost a pig or sheep from a night raid by these marauders.

The Indians were very fond of bear meat, and were ever ready to engage in a bear hunt, with ... the excitement of the chase and to obtain food. With the Indians the Bear and the Deer were ever staple objects of pursuit. The flesh of each afforded excellent food and the pelts were also valuable to them. Bear grease was used extensively in cooking and to them it was very palatable.

M. Baker of Reedsburg, has stated that on one of his visits to the Indian village, he saw hanging up on trees, the carcasses of no less than five full grown bears and two cubs, that the Indians had killed and brought into camp.

In hunting the bear the Indians would often use a pack of dogs to impede its travel or to bring it to bay, when they would close in on the animal and dispatch it with their rifles.

In the autumn of 1856, a bear in prowling thru the woods near the Indian village, was discovered by one of the squaws, who immediately imparted to others what she had seen. Hoonch! Hoonch! was the cry and the whole village was soon astir with excitement. (2b) In a short time a half dozen Indians with their rifles and dogs, made haste to the spot where the Bear had been seen. The pack of dogs took up the trail by the scent and followed it to the southward, while the Indians raced after them as fast as they could travel. The bear led the procession thru the town of Westfield passing west of Loganville, into Franklin, thence westward into Bear Creek. The bear then circled northward into the Town of Washington, where it finally took a stand and bid defiance to its pursuers. The dogs circled around the bear and kept it busy in defending itself, until the Indians finally arrived and killed it with their guns. One of the dogs that ventured too close to the bear, was killed by a blow from its paw.  This bear was killed on the Richard Inman farm in section 25, town of Washington. Mr. Inman hearing the barking of the dogs, took his rifle and went out to learn the cause of the commotion, arriving upon the scene of action a short time after the bear had been killed.

The bear was skinned and cut up into pieces convenient for carrying. Before the Indians left the spot however, a fire was kindled and portions of the bear meat were roasted. When all hands, including the dogs, had feasted to their fill, the dusky hunters started back to their village carrying the bear hide, the carcass of the dead dog and what remained of the bear meat.

Incidents of this nature were of frequent occurrence during the early years of settlement by the Whites.

Like other Indian tribes, the Winnebagoes are fond of dog meat. Mrs. Angie Craker, now on the working force of the Free Press, states that her mother, who lived not far distant from the Indian village and who made a number of visits to the place, on one occasion found the Indians preparing for a special feast. The dainty to be served was a large white dog. The canine was skinned and put into a large kettle for boiling. There were several carcasses of deer and other (3a) wild game hanging about in the camp, but the dog in process of cooking appeared to be the attraction of the day, and groups of squaws and native children clustered about the fire in evident gleeful anticipation of the time when the delicacy would be done and in condition for eating with the soup.

The location of Indian villages was usually on the bank of a lake or river, but this village was inland. There was however a large spring near by, which at all times of the year was a bountiful source to a tributary of Narrows Creek. This afforded an ample supply of water for the village, and hills on all sides except to the east, have an excellent protection from the chilling winds of winter. There was plenty of hard wood timber in the region about, and all thing considered it was an ideal spot for a camping ground, and wisely selected for a native village.

In the latter part of the year 1861, Ah-ho-cho-ka (Blue Wing) sold the forty acres of land including the Indian village site, to W. W. Henderson of Reedsburg, Wis. The village was then abandoned, the Indians making their quarters on the south bank of the Baraboo River about 2 miles northwest of Reedsburg, where their lodges could be found in varying numbers until about 1915.


Commentary. "the Klagus farm" — on a 1906 plat map of the Reedsburg Township, the Klagus farm is on the northern border of section 36 just south of the border with section 29.1 However, at some time prior, it may well have been the case that Klagus owned the land on the section 29 side of the border. In any case, the Klagus house is right on the border, and was probably but a short walk to the Hōcąk village.

"Ah-ho-cho-ka" — for ’Āhúcoga, "Blue Wing," from ’āhú, "wing"; co, denoting a color spanning the spectrum from green through blue; and -ga, a definite article suffix used in personal names.

Google Maps
The Quarters of Section 29
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"40 acres of land" — this was located at S.E. ¼ of S.W. ¼, Section 29, Township 15N, Range 4E.2

"pow-wows" — for such a pow-wow held in 1883 in Blue Wings Tomah area village, see "The Gift Dance."

Google Maps
The Hunting Grounds South of Reedsburg
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"the principal hunting ground" — the hunting grounds south of Reedsburg extend as far as 12 miles away. The townships mentioned in the text can be seen on the map above.

Anton Gag
Attack on New Ulm
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"Massacre at New Ulm"this so-called massacre was an episode in the Dakota War of 1862. Some bands of the Dakota Nation in Minnesota had been reduced to starvation. The promised treaty payments by which food could be obtained, were delayed perhaps owing to some extent to the ongoing Civil War. When these bands of Dakota asked for credit for food, they were told by their agent that they "could eat grass or their own dung." Infuriated, they launched a general attack on white settlements in Minnesota. One of these settlements was New Ulm, which, as its name suggests, was largely made up of German immigrants. A force of Dakota passed through Milford Township where the real massacre occurred. There 53 settlers were killed and some taken captive. Discovery of this attack led to panic in nearby New Ulm. The next day, August 18, 1862, about 100 warriors attacked the town. The residents, who were poorly armed, set up a barricade. A thunderstorm ended the first day's siege, which left six settlers dead, and five wounded. The next day reinforcements arrived. The Dakota attacked again on August 23, driving the whites from their first barricade back to the more substantial defensive works near the center of the city. A white counterattack prevented the Dakota from flanking this last line of defense. During the night it was decided to burn the 190 structures lying outside the central city barricades. On August 25, 1862, 2000 people, employing 153 wagons, evacuated New Ulm for Mankato without incident. Consequently, the citizens of New Ulm narrowly avoided being massacred.3

"drying apples" — this is how apples were dried by the pioneers: "Most apples were sun-dried, a process that required about two sunny days. Apples were peeled, cored, sliced, and placed on clean cloths or feed sacks on the ground or roof of a shed."4 Presumably, the same process was applied by the Indians to their potatoes.

"Hoonch" — for hų̄c, "bear."

   
Google Maps   Google Maps
Section 25 of Washington Township
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  Section 25, Detail
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"Richard Inman farm in section 25" — Richard Spencer Inman was born on 19 January 1809 in Pennsylvania to Israel Inman (1779 - 1861) and Sarah Himmelreich (1783 - 1866). He married Delilah Applegate, in Pennsylvania on 1 June 1833, and they had seven children, four of whom served in the Army during the Civil War. The couple first moved to Rock, Wisconsin in 1841, then moved to the site mentioned here in 1854. So when the bear incident happened, he had been there for only two years.5 The exact location of his property is uncertain, but Section 25, only a square mile in area, is seen in the maps above.

About-Bicycles
The Baraboo North of Reedsburg
in the Vicinity of the Little Sioux's Village

"the south bank of the Baraboo River" — this village was designated by Kinsie with the rather bureaucratic name of "Baraboo Village Nr. 3." However, in the literature, it was in that same year of 1832 called "Little Sioux's village."6


Notes to the Commentary

1 Reedsburg Township, from Sauk County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Geo. A. Ogle, 1906) Item #US43915.
2 Dr. F. D. Hulburt, "Ah-ho-cho-ka (Blue Wing)," Reedsburg Free Press (Feb. 23, 1922) 10-12.
3 Micheal Clodfelter, The Dakota War: the United States Army versus the Sioux, 1862-1865 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 1998) 42. Oscar Garrett Wall, Recollections of the Sioux Massacre (Lake City, Minnesota: The Home Printery, 1908) 124-127. "Taken by Surprise Historical Marker."
4 NC State > Drying Apples Connects Us to Southern History, electronic text, viewed: 1.5.2025.
5 Obituary of Mrs. Lelilah Applegate Inman (26 Nov. 1814 - 20 Apr. 1902), Reedsburg Free Press (May 1, 1902); Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100154202/delilah-inman: accessed January 7, 2025), memorial page for Delilah Applegate Inman (26 Nov 1814–20 Apr 1902), Find a Grave Memorial ID 100154202, citing Westfield Cemetery, Loganville, Sauk County, Wisconsin, USA; Maintained by mmel (contributor 47686399); Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30617989/richard_spencer-inman: accessed January 7, 2025), memorial page for Richard Spencer Inman (18 Jan 1809–11 Nov 1883), Find a Grave Memorial ID 30617989, citing Westfield Cemetery, Loganville, Sauk County, Wisconsin, USA; Maintained by GenealogyNora (contributor 46855416).
6 John T. de la Ronde, "Personal Narrative," Wisconsin Historical Collections, 3 (1857): 345-365 [351].


Source

"Winnebago Indian Village in Town of Reedsburg," The Reedsburg Free Press, Dec. 15, 1921 (clipping, pp. 1-3).