Waupaca County WI Archives History - Books .....Chapter II 1890
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Book Title: History Of Waupaca Co., WI

CHAPTER II.
A TRAGIC AFFAIR—KILLING OF AN INDIAN BY JAMES, NEAR MUKWA—STATEMENT OF DR.
LINDE—CAPTAIN POWELL.

  The aborigines who inhabited this territory at the advent of the whites among
them were, in the main, a quiet, inoffensive race. They knew that their white
neighbors had come to disposers them of their favorite hunting grounds—had come
to desecrate the burial places of their ancestors—had come to drive them and
their wives and children into hopeless exile—in short, had come to stay. The
thought was humiliating, and they must have keenly felt the humiliation. And yet
they quietly submitted—with the quietness of despair—the stoicism of expiring
barbarism. Civilization was about to pluck the last laurel from the brow of
barbarism, Christianity to complete its grand triumph over heathenism.

  As might have been expected, occasional quarrels occurred between them and the
"whites. But those quarrels could generally be traced to the evil influence of
bad white men, or bad whisky; for an Indian, like his white brother, is
sometimes quarrelsome while in drink.

  We shall take the liberty of relating a tragical affair which occurred near
Mukwa, between a white man and some Indians, in 1856. Dr. Linde and Walter
James, a son of the great English novelist, G. P. R. James, Esq., went to Mukwa,
in this county, on a hunting expedition. While James was out fire-hunting, one
night, a difficulty occurred with some Indians, which resulted in the death of
one Indian and the wounding of two others.

  It is, perhaps, hard to say where the blame should rest, although at the time
many very strongly blamed James, not deeming the provocation sufficient to
justify him in staining his hands with the blood of the Indian.

  We give an account of the unfortunate occurrence as given by Dr. Linde in
Harney's History of Winnebago County. The doctor will be remembered by many of
our old settlers:

ENCOUNTER WITH INDIANS.

  Dr. Linde gives the following recital of a most tragical event which occurred
near his place at Mukwa, during his residence there:

  "On a fine hunting-night in the latter part of June, 1856, Mr. Walter James
went to a small lake near Mukwa, with his canoe, for the purpose of
night-hunting deer. Fortunately he took the doctor's hunting-knife, a formidable
weapon, made of the best steel, and weighing two and a half pounds. He found
plenty of deer, but they would not take the water on account of the carousals of
three Indians, who, with their families, were encamped near the lake. James,
being familiar with the Indians, and not anticipating any trouble, went to their
wigwams and asked them not to make so much noise, and let him have a chance at
the deer. The Indians, who had drunk just about whisky enough to make them
excitable and quarrelsome, then attacked him. One grabbed him by the throat,
when James pulled out his big hunting-knife; then the Indian grasped him by the
fore arm, to prevent James from striking with it. But his desperation lent him
strength, and the great weight of the weapon enabled him, by the strength of his
wrist alone, to strike a blow which split the Indian's skull, when he fell
unconscious. This was the work of a few seconds. The Indian had no sooner
released his hold on James and fallen, than another made a thrust at him with a
knife; but James, being a skillful swordsman, easily parried the thrust, and
struck his antagonist on the right arm, with the intention of crippling him. The
blow severed the bone between the elbow and the shoulder, barely leaving the
artery uncut, and a shred by which the arm dangled. At the same instant that the
second Indian made the thrust with the knife, the other grabbed the gun which
James held in his left hand. The latter clung to the gun, which was loaded with
buckshot, well knowing that his life depended on keeping it in his possession;
but, after he had disabled the second Indian, the third kept beyond reach of the
knife, holding the gun by the barrel, while James held it by the breech.

  " Seeing that he could not get within reach of the Indian without releasing
his hold on the gun, he let go, and at the same instant jumped forward and made
a desperate stroke at the Indian's head. The latter threw his head back, and
received the blow in the left breast. It partly cut four of the ribs, and
exhausted its force on the wrist, cutting deeply into the bone. The Indian then
fled with the gun, and James followed in close pursuit, knowing well that it was
a race for life; for, if the Indian could get a sufficient distance ahead to
turn and get a shot at him, he was gone. After running a short distance, in
which the Indian barely succeeded in keeping but a little more than an arm's
length from James, the latter was tripped by a wild grape vine, and fell. At the
same instant the Indian turned and leveled the piece at him, and pulled the
trigger. When James saw the muzzle of the glistening barrel that contained
twenty-four buckshot, he felt, for an instant, that his chances for life were
narrow. The Indian, however, failed to discharge the gun, and James, quickly
comprehending the reason, which was that the gun was at half-cock, jumped up and
plunged down the bank of the stream, which was the outlet of the lake.

  "As the place where he happened to fall was near where he had left his canoe,
it was the work of but a few moments to reach it, when he quickly paddled out
into the lake, trusting that the obscurity of the night would prevent the Indian
from getting a shot at him. This desperate encounter, up to the time when the
Indian fled with the gun, occupied but a few seconds, as the three Indians
attacked James simultaneously; and, in fact, it was but a few minutes from the
time he had landed to visit the Indians, until he was again out upon the lake.

  "Another man was on the lake in a canoe, watching for a chance at deer, a Mr.
Jerroux, who owned the adjoining land. As the Indians were making such a racket,
he had lain down in his canoe to rest till the noise subsided, and had fallen
asleep, unconscious of the tragical events transpiring so near him. James
paddled out to him and, awakening him, related what had occurred, and requested
him to go to the wigwam and see what condition the wounded were in. He went,
came back, and reported to James, who immediately started for Dr. Linde, feeling
that his services were much needed; but the doctor, who had been at Weyauwega,
was then on his return on a steamboat, which met James' canoe in the river. The
latter was taken on board, and gave a recital of what had occurred. He showed
the marks of the encounter, his neck still retaining the indentations of all the
finger nails of the hand which had grasped it.

  "On their arrival at Mukwa, the doctor took his surgical instruments, and,
accompanied by James, went immediately to the wigwam. The Indian whose skull was
cleaved was still alive, but unconscious and beyond the reach of surgical skill.
He soon died. The one whose arm was nearly severed was attended to. The arm
being cut slanting, it was found necessary to cut off the points, so as to
square the ends, which was done. In due time the bone united, but the main nerve
had been severed, causing paralysis of the arm, and leaving him a cripple for
life. The wounds of the other were dressed, and the gashes sewed up; but about a
year afterwards he died, it was reported from necrosis of the ribs, occasioned
by the injury.

  "The fatal quarrel caused great excitement among the Indians, who flocked from
all directions to the scene of the tragedy, and congregated in large numbers in
the vicinity of Linde's, assuming a most threatening attitude. The settlers were
in such great fear that the Indians had assembled for the purpose of taking
revenge, that they dared not afford Linde any protection. He thought it a
necessary precaution to send his little son, Fred, to Oshkosh. The doctor seemed
to be involved in the trouble, from the fact that it was supposed hostility to
him that provoked the attack on James, the Indians having, in the night, and in
the frenzy of the moment, mistaken James for Linde, as the latter had caused the
arrest and fine of some parties who had been selling whisky to the Indians, for
the purpose of suppressing the evil, considering his life in danger when the
Indians were in liquor, whereas, he had no fear of them when they were sober.

  "The doctor resolved to brave out the excitement, which for a time ran very
high. One of his neighbors deserves to be remembered in this connection—a man by
the name of John Thorn, a blacksmith, who offered to help Linde in the event of
any attack on him. Linde believed if any hostile demonstrations were to be made
it would be immediately;  so, the night he had sent Fred, he determined to keep
a vigilant watch. Knowing that his dogs would give prompt notice of any hostile
approach, it was arranged that he should give Thorn notice, if he were needed,
by discharging a gun. The night passed without any disturbance, and in the
morning Linde decided to empty one of his revolvers, that had been loaded for a
long time. Forgetting his arrangement with Thorn, he commenced discharging the
piece. After firing a few shots he happened to look in the direction of Thorn's
house, which was just across a little marsh, when he discovered Thorn running
toward him at full speed, with his rifle in one hand and hunting-knife in the
other. There was, however, no need of his services, so they amused themselves
for some time in shooting at a mark.

  "James Clark, of Winchester, as soon as he heard of the danger surrounding his
friends, promptly came to their defense, and offered to stand by them till the
danger was over.

  "After the Indians and their friends had fully investigated the sad encounter,
it was settled —Indian fashion—one of the conditions of the settlement requiring
James to consent to be adopted by the tribe as one of its members, taking the
place of the one who was killed. He therefore became a Menominee by adoption.

  "Many who read the foregoing statement of James' desperate struggle on that,
to him, memorable night may deem it an exaggeration ; but the people who were
living here at the time know the facts to be substantially as they are here
stated, and will distinctly remember the circumstances. There were, it is true,
some differences of opinion as to where the chief blame of the encounter rested,
some alleging that the Indians had cause of provocation in former attempts to
drive them from Linde's hunting grounds; but the general opinion seemed to be
that it was not reasonable to suppose that James would go alone in the night,
with any hostile intentions, to a wigwam of three able-bodied Indians, and that
the reasonable conclusion was that he thought he could get them to quiet down
and give him a chance to hunt—but they, mistaking him in the night for Linde,
and being in the first stages of intoxication, construed the visit into an
attempt to drive them off, and, feeling belligerent, attacked him."

  We will add further that soon after the tragical affair at Mukwa, mentioned in
the foregoing statement made by Dr. Linde, some one made complaint before Ira
Sumner, Esq., a Fremont Justice of the Peace, who issued a warrant for the
arrest of James. When the officer appeared in Fremont -with his prisoner, the
Justice was away from home, and not expected back very soon; so James was
allowed to go free.

  We believe the case went before the Grand Jury at the next term of our Circuit
Court, but that body refused to find a "true bill."

  A short time after the killing of the Indian, Mr. James called on us and
requested us to see Captain Powell, long an interpreter among the Indians, and
very influential with them, whom we had for some time been acquainted with, and
who was then at Butte des Morts, and get him to use his influence to prevent
violence on the part of the Indians, saying, "There has been blood enough spilt
already."

  Upon our stating the business to Captain Powell, he said that James needn't be
excited, the Indians didn't seek redress that way, they proposed to obey the
laws. After a few moments pause he continued: "If it had been a nigger that was
killed the whole community would be up in arms, but now it is only a d____d
Indian!"


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

HISTORY OF WAUPACA COUNTY, WISCONSIN.

By J. WAKEFIELD,
Historian of Old Settlers' Society of Waupaca County.

WAUPACA, WIS.: D. L. STINCHFIELD,
1890.

COPYRIGHT, 1890, BY J. WAKEFIELD AND D. L. STINCHFIELD.

Printed by D. L. STINCHFIELD, Waupaca, Wis. 
Bound by W. B. CONKEY, Chicago.


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