Double Homicide
This purports to be an actual historical event.
Version 2 (1929)
by Merton Edwin Krug
(272) When the first white settlers came to the alder swamp, now the beautiful city of Reedsburg, they heard an Indian legend from the lips of squaws who gathered at the scene to do homage to the fallen braves, who, they said, had met in mortal combat in a grove of quivering aspens near the banks of the Baraboo river, on the site where now stands the Reedsburg Sanitarium.
There were two young Indian braves. Both were slain; each dying from the knife-wounds inflicted by his adversary. Near their lifeless forms lay the carcass of a deer, punctured with arrows, its flesh still warm. A deep silence pervaded the scene, but no explanation was needed. It was the result of a sanguinary chase. Over hills and crags, through thickets and across streams, the lithe hunters had raced in pursuit of the deer. After an exhaustive chase they had finally killed it. Then they quarreled over its possession; quarreling, they fought, and fighting, they died. Had they been wise they would have divided the spoils; but the favor of one “dusky maiden” is said to have depended upon the result of the chase, and neither one was willing to concede his defeat, so both went to his death fighting for victory and for the love of an Indian maid.
Fellow aborigines, dispatched in search of the two braves, found them thus, and buried them side by side on the crest of a large mound. Here, for many years the sorrowing friends and relatives of the dead were wont to gather and bewail their loss. Among the mourners who came most frequently were the mothers of the hunters; and it was from them that the story of the tragedy was first heard. Austin Seeley is said to have been one of the first to hear it. Recollections of the mothers’ lamentations at the graves of their sons were recalled by local townsmen living as late as 1909.
David C. Reed and his party having come in 1847, the tragedy is supposed to have occurred several years prior to their advent.
In the center of the mound, so the story goes, stood a tall tamarack pole, fifteen feet high and five inches in diameter at the (273) ground. On top, around the graves of the Indians, a trail several inches deep had been worn by the feet of mourners who came in large numbers and walked in a circle about them, singing and crying piteously. It was a sad day for these faithful frequenters when the graves of their honored dead were desecrated by the white man who came with pick and ax, cleared away the timber, razed the mounds, and deposited the bones of these scions of American aborigines, together with sand and gravel, in the river, and erected a hotel upon the hallowed spot. The hotel was the Mansion House, built in 1856 by Joseph Mackey.
Version 1 (1880)
by Anonymous
Far back in the misty past, before the dawn of civilization, two Indian hunters — "noble red men" they must have been — met in mortal combat in a grove of quivering aspens upon the banks of the Baraboo. Both were slain; each died from the effects of the other's knife-wounds. Near their lifeless forms lay the carcass of a deer, punctured with arrows, its flesh still hot and jerking. A deep silence pervaded the awful scene, but no explanation of the cause was needed. It was the result of a sanguinary chase. Over hills and crags, through thickets and across streams, the lithe hunters had given pursuit to the deer, each bent upon its capture. The animal finally slain, they quarreled over its possession; quarreling, they fought, and, fighting, they died. Had they been wise men, they would have divided the spoils, one taking the meat and the other the hide; but perhaps the smiles of a "dusky maiden" depended upon the result, and, this being an Indian legend, such is presumed to have been the case.
The fallen braves were buried side by side on the crest of a large mound which stood where now stands the Mansion, or Sallade, House. Here for many years their sorrowing relatives and friends were wont to gather and bewail their loss. Among the mourners who came most frequent were the mothers of the deceased hunters; and it was from the lips of one of these old squaws that the story of the tragedy was obtained by the earliest white settlers in that vicinity. Recollections of the mothers' lamentations at the graves of their sons are yet recalled by residents of Reedsburg. In the center of the mound, it is related, stood a tamarack pole, fifteen feet high and five inches in diameter nearest the ground. On top of the mound, around the graves of the dead Indians, a trail several inches deep had been worn into the earth by the feet of the mourners, who often came in large numbers and walked in a circle about them, singing and crying piteously. It was a sad day for the faithful frequenters of this lonely spot, when the graves of their honored dead were desecrated by the "implements of labor and liberty" — the pick-ax and spade — in the hands of their white brethren. It seems but little less than vandalism. The bones of these scions of American aborigines, together with the gravel and sand that surrounded them, were finally consigned to the current beds of the Baraboo as a part of the dam which, in after years, David C. Reed was glad had washed away — "For now I know what ailed it, and can build a better one; I'm glad on it."
Commentary
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Eric Epstein | |
An Alder Swamp |
"alder swamp" — in neighboring Minnesota, we have a description of such a swamp:1
Northern Rich Alder Swamp: Tall shrub wetlands dominated by speckled alder on mineral, muck, or peat soils. Present in wetland basins on glacial moraines and till plains, along streams and drainage ways, and in laggs along peatland and upland borders. ... Tall-shrub layer is dominated by dense cover (> 50%) of speckled alder (Alnus incana), with red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) common, and swamp gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum), skunk currant (Ribes glandulosum), swamp red currant (Ribes triste), juneberries (Amelanchier spp.), willows — particularly pussy willow (Salix discolor) — and dwarf alder (Rhamnus alnifolia) occasionally present but sparse.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources states that, "It is common and widespread in northern and central Wisconsin, but also occurs at isolated locales in the southern part of the state."2
"squaws" — writers of this period, even liberal ones, have the annoying habit of using a special vocabulary to refer to the social or biological standing of Indians when compared to any other ethnic group — "squaw" for woman, "papoose" for baby, "buck" for young man, "dusky maiden" for young woman. Changing the essay by replacing these terms is really letting the writer and the culture of the time off the hook. The white culture of this time should be seen for what it was, a highly bigoted, racially chauvinistic culture, with a religiously colored sense of "manifest destiny."
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Google Maps | Reedsburg Public Library | |
The Site of the Reedsburg Sanitarium Detailed View |
The Reedsburg Sanitarium 221 S. Walnut St. |
"Reedsburg Sanitarium" — this building was located at 221 South Walnut Street in Reedsburg, but is no longer standing. The address, however, has not altered, so the exact site of the incident can be identified as shown on the map.
"the favor" — in this 1929 version, the desire to seek the favor of a woman becomes the center piece of the conflict, whereas in the 1880 version all this is mere speculation: "but perhaps the smiles of a "dusky maiden" depended upon the result, and, this being an Indian legend, such is presumed to have been the case."
"living as late as 1909" — this remark seems to represent a peculiar inconsistency: if the burial mound was demolished in 1856 and a hotel was built over the site, how is it then that in this late year anyone could return to the grave site, now completely erased from the earth, to mourn their lost sons? However, it is more likely that the expression "living as late as 1909" refers to the townsmen, and the reference could then be to the early 1840s. This is more plausible, as the townsmen would have been in their 70s or 80s at that date.
"David C. Reed" — the man after whom Reedsburg is named. As to his appearance and personality, his cousin Eliza Reed said of him that “He was a tall, slender gentleman with graying hair, very pleasant looking, and with always a twinkle in his blue eyes, always jolly and friendly.”3 He had been born in New York around 1808, where he married Loretta Dixon around 1835. The family moved to Wisconsin in the 1840s, where his wife died in 1846.4 As to David Reed's claim to fame, Joseph Mackey wrote,
In 1847 a person, whose name to me is now unknown, came up to Sauk County, discovered the iron mines and returned to Big Foot Prairie where he was taken sick and died. Prior to his death he communicated to David C. Reed his discovery. Reed immediately packed his belongings and headed for the new settlement. He laid claim to two hundred acres, which included the iron mines, along with the southwest quarter of section 10, T. 12N, R-1E, which is located south of Main Street.5
Thus David Caldwell Reed became the founder of Reedsburg. He set about making a dam on the Baraboo River. "The weather being cold, and working in the water a disagreeable task, a few of the many Indians in the neighborhood were employed to wade into the stream and deposit the material for the dam. They were paid for their labor in economical quantities of whiskey, which with poor Lo is a currency always above par, no matter how freely it may be 'watered'."6 These men no doubt came from the nearby village of Blue Wing. This dam was eventually destroyed, as it illegally blocked that transport of logs down the river. In 1859, gold was discovered at Pike's Peak in what is now Colorado. The town of Reedsburg was seized with "gold fever" and a large band including David Reed and his son Levi, left to seek their fortune in the gold rush. They were too late, and some returned, others fell by the wayside, and still others, like the Reeds, went on to California to try their luck prospecting there. The father and son eventually split up, Levi heading to Idaho, and David finding his way eventually to Stockton, where he was arrested and committed to an insane asylum. However, after a few months, he was released, and he established himself as a farmer in the Monterrey area, where he appears to have died around 1879.7
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Google Maps |
The Location of the Fight and the Burial Mound in Reedsburg Enlarge |
"Mansion House" — this hotel, founded as it was on the immoral disregard for other people's burial grounds, persisted in its ill repute:
Reedsburg Public Library Joseph Mackey
(1822-1882)The [Mansion House] was erected in 1855 by Dr. Mackey as a part of the improvements made by Mackey Brothers. L. Gaylord was an early proprietor and one Cooper had a reputation which caused many whisperings in the village. For years the hostelry had the credit of being the rendezvous for bad characters and on one occasion when an officer searched the place portions of stolen harness were found and other evidence which indicated there was something with an offensive odor in Denmark. The incident is told that a wagon arrived at this place of entertainment one night and when the injunction was given that no one should approach the vehicle, a resident with a bent for the curious made an investigation and found a dead man therein. He said nothing about the matter until after the wagon and men accompanying it were far away.8
The Mansion House was located on 153 Vine street, and was demolished long ago.
"Joseph Mackey" — one of the pioneers of Reedsburg. Dr. Joseph Mackey was born on 17 May 1822, in Schoharie, New York, and married Cornelia Mackey on 12 September 1849, in Gilboa, New York. He moved to Reedsburg in 1853. In the decade in which he lived in there, he established himself as a businessman who contributed substantially to the early build up of the city, including the four Mackey’s Additions. Along with his brothers, he established the first water power, grist mill and saw mill. He created the first bank in Reedsburg, and contributed to the routing of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad through Reedsburg area. He died in Minneapolis on 22 October 1879.9
"as a part of the dam" — according to this earlier version, the mound was leveled to build Reed's dam, whose construction was done by the Indians themselves. The dam was actually destroyed by order of the sheriff for blocking the traffic of logs from upstream. This 1880 version tries to romanticize the situation by making the fate of the dam the result of divine retribution on David Reed, when in fact the mound was destroyed by Mackey to build his hotel.
Notes to the Commentary
1 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources > FpN73 Forested Rich Peatland System, Northern Floristic Region > Northern Rich Alder Swamp (electronic text, viewed: 8 January 2025).
2 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources > Protecting Wisconsin's Biodiversity > Alder Thicket (electronic text, viewed: 8 January 2025).
3 David Caldwell Reed, the Founder of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, compiled by William C. Schuette (Baraboo: Sauk County Historical Society, 7 April 2024) 2.
4 David Caldwell Reed, the Founder of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, 11.
5 David Caldwell Reed, the Founder of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, 3.
6 The History of Sauk County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1880) 557-558.
7 David Caldwell Reed, the Founder of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, 16-31.
8 H. E. Cole, Stagecoach and Tavern Days in the Baraboo Region (Baraboo News Publishing Company, 1923).
9 Reedsburg Public Library > Reedsburg Old Settlers Portraits: Mackey, Joseph, OS-577 (electronic text, viewed: 8 January 2025). FamilySearch, Dr. Joseph Mackey, 17 May 1822 – 22 October 1879, GXWF-HDN. Merton Edwin Krug, History of Reedsburg and the Upper Baraboo Valley (Madison: Author, Feb. 1929), 38-39.
Source
Version 2: Merton Edwin Krug, History of Reedsburg and the Upper Baraboo Valley, "Indian Feuds Fought in Reedsburg. An Ancient Legend." (Madison: Author, Feb. 1929) 272-273.
Version 1: The History of Sauk County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1880) 555.