HISTORY OF GREEN COUNTY. 
 
tor'y to burial, I was first discovered to be alive, 
and by careful nursing and tender care, under 
kind Providence, was restored to health. 
The motives which actuated the Indians to 
commit these terrible murders, are not fully 
understood. The family believed that an in- 
dignity received by "Little Sun," at the hands 
of Registe Gagnier, was the immediate cause. 
The facts on which this belief is based, are told 
by Mrs. Cherrier, as follows:  In those years 
whenever a Catholic priest would visit Prairie 
du Chien, to celebrate mass, a procession would 
be formed by all of oqr Catholic people, and 
would march in line to the house devoted to the 
services of the day. Upon one of these occa- 
sions, among the lookers-on was the Winnebago 
chief, "Little Sun" intentionally or otherwise. 
He was in the line of march, and as the head of 
the procession reached him, refused to move. 
Some confusion ensued. My father leaving his 
place in the line, advanced to the front, and 
seizing th'e chief, threw him one side with such 
force as caused him to fall to the ground. Aris- 
ing with a murderous look and tone, "Little 
Sun" said, "you have thrown me down, but 
when I throw you down, you will never get up 
again." 
My first husband's name was Moreaux. He 
died in 1855. By that marriage we had ten 
children, seven of whom are now [1884] living. 
I was married to-.Mr. Cherrier, March 1, 1862. 
We have had three children-Magdalene, born 
Dec. 6, 1863; Felix, born Oct. 7,1865; and Lou- 
isa, born Feb. 29, 1868. The last named died 
in infancy. 
My mother married again in 1831.  Her sec- 
ond husband's name was St. Germain. They 
had two children David and Hattie.      My 
mother died in 1836 with the small-pox. My' 
step-father died in January, 1882.   Pascal 
Menoir died in Prairie du Chien, in 1882. 
The Winnebago Exodus. 
In 1829 a large part of the territory of the 
Winnebegoes, southwest Wisconsin, lying be- 
tween Sugar river and the Mississippi, aiid ex- 
 
tending to the Wisconsin (including, of course, 
a great part of what is now Green county), was 
sold to the general government. In 1832 all 
the residue of the Winnebago territory south 
and east of the Wiscoisin and Fox rivers of 
Green bay, was disposed of to the United States, 
by which sale they relinquished their right to 
the present county of Green east of Sugar river. 
Finally, in the brief language of the treaty 
between this tribe (which has become unsettled 
and wasteful) and the United States, of the 1st 
of November, 1837, "the Winnebago Nation of 
Indians ceded to the general government "all 
their lands east of the Mississippi."  Not an 
acre was reserved.  And the Indians agreed 
that, within eight months from that date, they. 
would move west of 'the great river."  This 
arrangement, however, was not carried out 
fully; although all, save a few stragglers, left. 
what is now Green county within the time stip- 
ulated. It ended forever the occupation of this 
immediate region by the Indi.ans.  In 1842 
there were only 756 at Turkey River, Iowa, 
their new home, with as many in Wisconsin, 
and smaller bands elsewhere. All had become 
lawless and roving.  Some removed in 1848; 
while a party to the number of over 800 left 
the State as late as 1873.  The present home 
of the tribe is in Nebraska, where they have a 
reservation north of and adjacent to the Oma- 
has, containing over 100,000 acres.  However, 
since their first removal beyond the Mississippi, 
they have several times changed their place of 
abode. The period of Winnebago occupancy 
of Green county and the region of country con- 
tiguous thereto, properly began about the com- 
mencement of the present century, and ended, 
virtually, in 1838. There were two Winnebago 
villages within the present limits of Green coun- 
ty, when the first white men began to "mine" at 
the Sugar river diggings. These were Spotted 
Arm's village and White Breast's village. The 
first named was about eight miles north of the 
diggings just named, and the other between 
twelve and fifteen miles south . This exact boca- 
 
128