Histories: Trempealeau Co. Historical Accounts:
"History of Trempealeau County Wisconsin, 1917":
Chapter 10:
James Allen Reed1 -As transcribed from pages 136 - 143 (Eben D. Pierce, Wis. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, 1914, 107 - 117.)
Among the restless Scotch-Irish pioneers that Kentucky, in the early
day, sent into Wisconsin and the Northwest, there are few with a life
so picturesque and full of interesting incidents as James Reed.
Born in Kentucky in 1798, he early became part of the rough, hardy life
of the frontier. As a child he heard with eager delight the
stirring tales related by Indian fighters, trappers, and traders who
enjoyed the hospitality of his father's fireside; tales of thrilling
encounters and hair-breadth escapes from the wild beasts and still
wilder red men of the forest. Like most boys of the frontier he
was unlearned in the lore of books, though he could read and write, but
in the school of nature he early became an adept. To him the
great, deep forest stretching away to the unexplored westland, was an
open book; and he could follow a trail, wield the hunting knife, or
throw the tomahawk with more cunning than the native Indians, while as
a rifle shot he acquired, even on the western frontier where every man
is an expert, wide renown.
When a mere stripling Reed resolved on a military career, and the War
of 1812 furnished his fighting blood and martial spirit an outlet, some
claiming that youthful as he was he saw service in the latter part of
that war. Some time after the close of the War of 1812 Reed
enlisted in the regular army, and was sent to Fort Crawford at Prairie
du Chien. Here his skill with the rifle, his knowledge of
woodcraft and Indian customs, and his utility as a scout, interpreter,
and courier quickly attracted the attention of his superior, and before
his term of enlistment had expired he had risen to the rank of
sergeant. Although Reed was an excellent soldier, his greatest
service to the government was in the capacity of scout, and long after
his term of enlistment was over he was employed by the commander at
Fort Crawford to conduct bodies of soldiers through the wilderness on
expeditions against the Indians.
During his army life Reed married a Potawatomi woman, by whom he had
five children, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Madeline, and James. Upon
her death in 1830 he was married a second time to a Menominee mixed
breed, widow of the trader, Russell Farnham. Two children,
Margaret and John, resulted from this union. He later married the
widow of Amable Grignon, whose son Antoine was the chief source of this
biography.
While in the United States army service at Fort Crawford Reed learned
the carpenter trade and helped in the construction of some of the frame
buildings of Prairie du Chien. He found plenty of work both in
the army and outside, but he had planned to become a fur trader.
Accordingly, after getting his discharge, he entered the employ of the
American Fur Company, devoting his time to hunting, trapping, and
trading with the Indians. He was stationed for over a year at Red
Cedar, Iowa, where he opened a trading post among the Indians, sending
his accumulated furs overland by cart to Prairie du Chien. During
the absence of his cart-train he had but a single companion, a Sioux
boy about sixteen years old. One morning while this boy was alone
a band of fifteen Sauk warriors passing by murdered him, and were in
the act of scalping him when Reed appeared on the scene. Angered
at the brutal murder of his helpless Indian boy he turned his rifle on
the fleeing band of Sauks, and fired, killing one of the
warriors. He then called out to the Indians, daring them to
return and fight like braves, in loud and angry tones naming them
cowards and murderers. They continued their flight, however, over
a distant ridge, being fully convinced that the trapper not only was in
earnest but was an excellent shot as well. Reed, expecting the
Sauks to return that night and give him trouble, prepared everything
for a surprise, sleeping with his loaded rifle on his arm ready for
instant use. For weeks afterwards he was entirely alone at the
trading post. Years later he told Grignon it was the most lonely
and hazardous position of all his life, living in constant expectation
of hostile Indians, and traveling on perilous expeditions through the
surrounding territory in quest of furs. He had no further trouble
with the Indians while at Red Cedar, but after remaining a year he
decided to return to Prairie du Chien, where he again entered the
government service. During the Black Hawk War he was engaged to
help take a keel boat up the Mississippi to Bad Axe. Returning to
Prairie du Chien he was sent as a courier with important messages to
the army, which was nearing Bad Axe. He traveled the distance on
a pony and arrived in time to witness the battle that ensued.2
Although in the government service, Reed always denounce the cruel,
unrelenting slaughter of the half-starved, dispirited Indians, who had
tried in vain to surrender to the army opposing them, and were
peaceably withdrawing with their wives and children to the west side of
the Mississippi. During the battle Reed saw two Indian maidens
embrace each other and jump into the river, and as they rose to the
surface of the water the soldiers fired on them and the crimson streaks
of blood mingling with the tawny waters showed where their lifeless
bodies sank for sight. It was a pitiful sight to watch the
slaughter of the helpless women and children of the unfortunate Sauks,
and what added to the horror was the appearance of the Sioux, who had
been notified of the coming conflict, on the opposite side of the
river, finishing the slaughter by shooting, tomahawking, and scalping
the poor, bedraggled Indians as they landed on the Minnesota shore.
When the struggle was over Reed started on his pony for Prairie du
Chien, and while riding through the woods he came upon a lone Sauk
woman, who had made her escape from the soldiers and ill-fated Indians
and was hiding in the woods in a half-starved condition. Reed
spoke kindly to her, assuring her of his protection, and dismounting
gave her a portion of food from his saddlebags. After she had
eaten he helped her into the saddle, and with his rifle in hand led the
way along the homeward trail. They took turn about riding and
walking until they reached Prairie du Chien, stopping only at night to
camp, and at intervals for refreshments. When their destination
was reached Reed turned his captive over to the military authorities,
who in turn sent her to join her people in Iowa.
After the Black Hawk War Reed was sent among the Iowa Indians on
business for the government. He started on his French train,
which consisted of a sled made of oak hewn from the tree, and fastened
together with wooden pegs. The sled, about three feet wide and
seven feet long, was just wide enough to seat a man comfortably.
It had hewn slabs fastened from runner to runner, on which was placed a
pair of blankets rolled up in a tanned buckskin. Two poles were
attached to the front top of the runners and to these the Indian pony
was hitched by means of a harness made of buckskin straps, sewed
with deer sinews; the whippletree was fastened with the same
material. "I started on my train," said Reed, "taking my old
flintlock rifle and ammunition to last the trip, for I was expected to
kill game enough for my living. On my way I chanced to kill a
big, fat bear, and when I reached the Indian camp and exhibited my game
a howl of joy went up among the redskins. We dressed and cooked
the bear Indian fashion, making soup of him, which I ate with the
natives in their manner, and in order to show my appreciation I ate the
last drop of soup and then licked the dish as the Indians did.
That lick gained for me and the government our point without a thought
of bloodshed, and after shaking hands with my Indian friends I took my
departure on my French train for Prairie du Chien."
The next three years after his return from Iowa Reed occupied himself
as tavern keeper in Prairie du Chien. His reputation as a
fearless hunter and Indian trader, and the many hardy adventures he had
experienced, equipped him with a fund of frontier stories as thrilling
as the varied life of that day afforded. He could speak several
Indian dialects, and his long association with the French at the
Prairie settlement enabled him to acquire a fair command of their
language. To the French he was known as Reed l'Americain; while
by many, on account of his military record, he was called Captain Reed.
Around the fireplace in his tavern was often gathered an interesting
throng of hunters, trappers, traders, and Indians, and the usual town
loafers. Many strange tales of frontier life and backwoods lore
were told, and wanderers from far up the Mississippi brought glowing
accounts of the northern country, where game and fur-bearing animals
abounded, and where Indians roamed wild and undisturbed by white
settlers. The long for the wild, free life of the trapper caused
Reed to abandon tavern keeping and resume his employ with the American
Fur Company. While on his journeys up and down the Mississippi in
the interests of the fur company, as well as when in the government
service, he had remarked the beauty of the situation of Trempealeau and
had decided to locate there whenever a favorable opportunity should
offer. Circumstances delayed him until 1840, and gave his
son-in-law, John Doville, the credit of being the first settler.
However, Reed had chosen the site for a town and had in view plans for
its future settlement some time before Doville came. In the
summer of 1840 he built a log house on his well-selected site a few
rods from the banks of the Mississippi and hither he brought his
family, resolved to make this his permanent home. One day while
hewing logs with his broadax for the construction of his building a
drunken Sioux by the name of Face-on-Fire came along and began to abuse
him. Reed said very little but at last, the taunting continuing,
his temper gave way, and raising his broadax he threw it at the
Indian. It came so dangerously near the Sioux that he was
frightened and left, not daring to show himself again for days.
Reed, after finishing his log house, followed his favorite vocation of
hunting and trapping in the Trempealeau valley. A few months
after his arrival his wife died, and within two years he married the
widow Grignon, who was a relative of the Sioux chief Wabashaw.
her relationship with the noted chief gave Reed great prestige among
this band of Sioux, which together with his experience with the Indians
while in the government service secured for him the position of
government farmer for Wabashaw's band of Indians, who were then living
on the site of Winona, Minnesota. He entered on his new
occupation as government farmer and storekeeper some time in October,
1842, and two years later with the help of L. H. Bunnell, erected the
first house built in Winona. This was a government storehouse,
constructed of white ash logs. Reed retained his appointment
until the signing of the Treaty of 1851.
In May, 1844, an incident occurred at Winona which illustrates the
fearlessness of Reed in a crisis. He had learned from the trader
La Bathe,3 an eye witness, of
the murder of an old friend, Sheriff Lester, by a Sioux of Little
Crow's band named O-mah-haugh-tay. Chancing to be in the tent of
his relative, Wabashaw, when the murderer dropped in for a visit, he
was angered at the consideration with which the fellow was received,
and declined the courtesy of smoking the pipe which was offered
him. The murderer, emboldened by the success of his crime, seized
the pipe and himself presented it to Reed, with unfeigned malignity in
his eye. Reed, whose resentment was kindled into flame by this
fresh act of audacity, dashed the pipe to the ground, and denouncing
the Sioux as a dog, informed him there was one white man who did not
fear him. It was the gravest insult that could be offered to an
Indian, but O-mah-haugh-tay was cowed, and soon after took his
departure from the village.
At the first town election held April, 1851, at La Crosse, James Reed
was elected justice. Trempealeau was then included in La Crosse
County. Whether there were any cases for the justice court during
Reed's term of office is doubtful. Differences were likely to be
settled in the more primitive way of hand to hand encounters, and if
this failed an appeal to the higher court of firearms was taken.
While in Trempealeau Captain Reed had occasional differences with the Indians. He burned the old mission house4
at Trempealeau Bay to keep the Winnebago from catching and riding his
horses which gathered in its shelter, thus galling their backs with
heavy loads.
One autumn day in the early fifties a number of Indians came to
Trempealeau to do some trading, and brought along the usual number of
dogs. Reed had some hogs running loose near his house; the dogs
began to chase them and succeeded in killing one of their number and
injuring several others. When Reed saw the Indians coming he took
down his rifle and, walking into the yard, shot seven of the dogs; this
done he returned to the house, reloaded his gun, and waited
results. Nothing more was heard of the Indians that day, but the
next morning about fifteen of their number returned and began grumbling
about their dogs being killed and demanded pay for them. Reed
listened a while to their complaints, then becoming angry he took down
his rifle and pointed into the muzzle, saying: "I have something
in here which I will give you as pay if you don't all clear out of here
at once." Without waiting for the contents of the well-known
rifle the redskins fled, knowing the old trapper was in earnest.
As a result of this trouble one of the Winnebago, named Hakah, plotted
to kill Reed, and went so far as to hide in ambush behind a pine tree
along the trail where Reed came after his horses every evening towards
sundown. When Reed appeared the Indian noticed the well-known
rifle slung across his shoulder, which so unnerved Hakah, that he kept
in his hiding place until his enemy had passed, not wishing to take a
chance of missing Reed and being killed for his pains.
In 1853 Reed sold his Trempealeau property to Benjamin B. Healy and
moved with his family onto a piece of government land in the Little
Tamarack. This was in some respects a better situation for one of
his temperament, as it was in closer proximity to the most desirable
hunting ground. From here he took the trail over the bluff on
many a long hunting expedition.
When George Luce, formerly of Galesville, was a boy he went on a
hunting trip up the Trempealeau Valley with Captain Reed. They
camped in one of the valleys near the present town of Arcadia, and as
several hunting parties of Indians were in the immediate vicinity Reed
deemed it advisable to take precautions against surprise, inasmuch as
the Indians looked upon the white hunter with jealous eyes.
Therefore the men set to work digging a hole in the ground for their
night's camp fire. After completing this they cooked their
supper, and enjoyed it smoking hot from the fire.
After nightfall the sound of howling wolves disturbed the hunters, and
as the night wore on the howling became louder and more hideous;
apparently the campers were surrounded by wolves, but Reed began to
mistrust the origin of the sounds and called out loudly in the
Winnebago language: "If you want our scalps come and get
them." At this the howling stopped. Reed and Luce sat up
all night with their rifles across their knees, expecting the Winnebago
wolves to return, but no more disturbance occurred, and after finishing
their hunt the men returned home in safety. Luce told of Reed's
skill as a hunter and said the old trapper always rode with his rifle
across the pommel of his saddle Indian fashion.
At the time of the New Ulm massacre in Minnesota during the early part
of the Civil War, the people of Trempealeau and vicinity were one day
thrown into a panic of fear by the announcement that a large party of
hostile Sioux was advancing from Black River upon Trempealeau.
With one impulse the settlers turned to Reed for protection, and the
wary old trapper responded with energy. He knew the cunning
savage and did not proposed to be taken by a night surprise. All
night long he patrolled Trempealeau Prairie, mounted on his favorite
pony and carrying his trusty rifle ready for instant use, but it turned
out that the report was false and no Indians came to disturb the
frightened settlers.
Reed's numerous journeys throughout the Trempealeau country in quest of
furs made him familiar with all of its streams, its ranges of hills,
its numerous valleys as well as its woodland haunts and expanses of
rolling wild grassland and marshes. Indeed he learned the country
as thoroughly as a Mississippi River pilot learns the river, and was
able to make serviceable use of his knowledge of the trails, the short
cuts, the passes, and the divides.
"We were following along a range of hills one day mounted on our
ponies," said Antoine Grignon, "Reed, his son John, and myself.
It was past noon and we were getting mighty hungry. As we came
over a hog's back and neared a rocky peak, Reed pointed down a valley
and said, 'Boys, this is the nearest way to Beaver Creek, where we can
go and catch some trout for dinner.' We gladly turned our ponies
towards the valley, and in a short time came to the creek. Reed
cut a small pole and took from his pocket a fishline and hook and after
catching some grasshoppers for bait started to fish. Inside of
half an hour we had all the trout we needed for dinner, and cutting
some forked sticks to hold them, we built a fire and broiled
them. It was a splendid meal, and I believe that is best way to
cook fish - all you want is a little salt."
As a trapper Reed could not be excelled. He caught all varieties
of the fur-bearing animals which at that time abounded in this region,
such as the muskrat, mink, martin, otter, raccoon, and beaver, but made
a special effort to get beaver.
Late one afternoon in 1863 Reed came to my father's house on foot and
said his pony was mired in a marsh just over the hill from our place.
My father secured the help of two neighbors, and in company with Reed
went over the hill to help extricate it. The men worked hard for
nearly an hour, and succeeded in getting the pony out without injuring
it. On the pony's back was a large pack of beaver pelts and
traps. When the men reached our home it was dark and Reed
remained all night. My father offered him a bed, but he preferred
to sleep on the floor, with his pack of furs for a pillow and a blanket
spread over him. Early in the morning he departed for his home in
the Little Tamarack.
Throughout the upper Trempealeau valley at this time Reed was known as
Trapper Reed, and often the remote settler would see his solitary
figure, mounted on his pony, winding along the hills or threading his
way through some woody solitude over the unblazed trail to the haunts
of the beaver.
While living in the Little Tamarack Reed had two hunting dogs of which
he was very fond. One day while hunting with them near the
present town of Dodge they came upon a panther and chased it into the
bluffs, where it turned and offered fight. The dogs flew at it,
and although they fought furiously, the panther seemed to be getting
the best of them, and had one of the dogs nearly disabled when Reed
came up. He did not dare use his rifle for fear of wounding his
dogs and yet he was bound to help them; so, drawing his tomahawk he
entered the fray, working his way into the fighting mass as best he
could, and at length by a well directed blow succeeded in killing the
panther. The wounded dog recovered and lived to join in many a
subsequent hunt.
James Reed was a man of medium height, with broad shoulders and a large
chest; his complexion was florid, and his hair light brown, almost a
sandy hue, while his eyes were a grayish blue. he was a quick,
active man, alert and ready for any emergency. He often dressed
like the Indians with a blanket thrown over his shoulders and fastened
around his waist with a belt. In disposition he was kind and
genial and he was an accommodating and friendly neighbor.
After the death of his wife Reed lived alone in his log cabin in the
Little Tamarack. He still made journeys on his pony up the
Trempealeau valley on hunting and trapping expeditions, and continued
his backwoods life until a year before his death, when the increasing
infirmities of age caused him to abandon his favorite vocation.
He then lived with his son John for a time, and during his last illness
stayed at the home of his old friend and neighbor, Charles H. Perkins,
where he died in June, 1873.
He had been such a man as the frontier demanded; he understood the
Indians, and dealt with them kindly and severely as occasion demanded;
while his firmness and fairness won for him the respect of all his
associates.
Perhaps a future generation will build a monument to this romantic
character. If so I hope it will be erected on old Liberty Peak,
and will represent Reed mounted on his pony, with his rifle across the
pommel of his saddle, looking out upon the peaceful bosom of the
Mississippi, where the scenes of his eventful life were enacted.
Such a monument, expressive of the pioneer hunter and instinct with the
spirit of a departed age, would fittingly grace the noble crest of
Trempealeau's venerable bluff.
Resources for the above information:
1
- The material for the following sketch was furnished largely by
Antoine Grignon, who was a stepson of Reed, and had a longer
acquaintance with him than any person now living. For Grignon's
"Recollections," see Wisconsin Historical Society Proceedings, 1913,
110. Others who have furnished recollections of Reed are: John
Perkins and Mrs. Mary House, children of Reed's friend, Charles H.
Perkins, Sr., and Mrs. Charles H. Perkins, Jr., a daughter-in-law; Mrs.
John Reed, daughter-in-law of the pioneer; and Mary Brandenberg, who
wrote down at his own dictation the account of Reed's trip into Iowa on
a French train. C. R. McGilvray, whom Reed taught to trap beaver,
furnished many interesting incidents; also S. D. Noyes, William
Huttenow, William Bennett, Mrs. Charles Cleveland. Mrs. Louise
Wilson kindly lent me a daguerreotype of Reed, the only picture of the
old pioneer known to be extant.
Among the
references in print that have been consulted are the volumes of the
Wisconsin Historical Collections, and L. H. Bunnell, Winona and Its
Environs on the Mississippi in Ancient and Modern Days (Winona, Minn.,
1897). Data concerning Reed's career as a soldier and a farmer
for the Sioux at Winona have been furnished by the War Department, and
the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Washington.
2 - See account in Wis. Hist. Colls., XII, 257-261.
3 - For a brief account of this trader, see Wis. His. Soc. Proceedings, 1906, 253.
4 - Ibid., 251, 252.
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