HISTORY OF GREEN COUNTY. 
 
Gagnier, about twomiles from Prairie du Chien, 
where they remained several hours. At last, 
when Mr. Gagnier least expected it, Red Bird 
leveled his gun  and shot him dead on his 
hearthstone. A person in the building by the 
name of Lip cap, who was a hired man, was slain 
at the same time by We-Kaw. Madam Gagnier 
turned to fly with her infant of eighteen months. 
As she was about to leap through the window, 
the child was torn from her arms by We-Kaw, 
stabbed, scalped and thrown violently on the 
floor as dead. The murderer then attacked the 
woman, but gave way when she snatched up a 
gun that was leaning against the wall, and pre- 
sented it to his breast. She then effected her 
escape. Her eldest son, a lad of ten years, also 
shunned the murderers, and they both arrived 
in the village at the same time. The alarm was 
soon given; but, when the avengers of blood 
arrived at Gagnier's house, they found in it 
nothing living but his mangled infant. It was 
carried to the village, and, incredible as it may 
seem, it recovered. 
A-Wiinebcago Debcauch. 
Red Bird and his companions immediately pro- 
ceeded from the scene of their crime to the ren- 
dezvous of their band. During their absence, 
thirty-seven of the warriors who acknowledged 
the authority of Red Bird, had assembled with 
their wives and children, near the mouth of the 
Bad Ax river, in what is now Vernon county. 
They received the murderers with joy and loud 
approbations of their exploit. A keg of liquor 
which they had secured was set abroach, and 
the Indians began to drink and as their spirits 
rose, to boast of what they had already done 
and intended to do.   They continued their 
revel for two days, but on the third the source 
of their excitement gave out-their liquor was 
gone. They were, at about 4 o'clock in the af- 
ternoon, dissipating the last fumes of their ex- 
citement in the scalp-dance, when they descried 
one of the keel-boats, which had a few days be- 
fore passed up the river with provisions for the 
troops at Fort Snelling, on her return, in charge 
 
of Mr. Lindsay. Forthwith a proposal to take 
her and massacre the crew was made and car- 
ried by acclamation. They counted on doing 
this without risk, for they had examined her on 
her way up and supposed there were no arms 
on board. But in this they were mistaken as 
the sequel shows. 
_First Battle of _Bad Ax. 
There were indications of hostilities on the 
part of the Sioux on the upper Mississippi, and 
the boats when they left Fort Snelling had been 
supplied with arms. In descending the river 
they expected an attack at Wabashaw, where 
the Sioux were dancing the war dance, and 
hailed their approach with insults and menaces, 
but did not offer to attack the boats, or obstruct 
their passage. The whites now supposed the 
danger over, and, a strong wind at that moment 
beginning to blow up stream, the boats parted 
company. So strong was the wind that all the 
force of the sweeps could scarcely stem it; and 
by the time the foremost boat was near the en- 
campment, at the mouth of the Bad Ax, the 
crew were very willing to stop and rest. One 
or two Frenchmen, or half-breeds, who were on 
boarld, observed hostile appearances on shore, 
and advised the rest to keep the middle of the 
stream with the boat, but their counsel was dis- 
regarded. They urged the boat directly toward 
the camp with all the force of the sweeps. 
There were sixteen men on deck. 
The men were rallying their French com- 
panions on their apprehensions, as the boat ap- 
proached the shore; but when within thirty 
yards of the bank, suddenly the trees and rocks 
rang with the blood-chilling, ear-piercing tones 
of the war whoop, and a volley of rifle balls 
rained upon the deck. lHappily, the Winneba- 
goes had not yet recovered from the effects of 
their debauch, and their arms were not steady. 
One man only fell. He was a little Negro 
named Peter. His leg was dreadfully shattered 
and he afterward died of the wound. A second 
volley soon came from the shore; but, as the 
men were lying at the bottom of the boat, they 
 
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