The Iroquois Do It Right! Part 3

The Fox sent a volley of bullets toward the top of the hill. The Iroquois and Wyandotte return the fire with two quick volleys of their own. The chiefs told them not to amuse themselves with gunfire but instead to lay down their firearms. They wanted to deal with Fox by hand to hand combat in the deep snow because they were well experienced in manoeuvring on snowshoes and the Fox were not.

The Iroquois and Wyandotte rushed their enemy before they could reload. They each had a tomahawk in one hand and a knife in the other. The Fox were outmaneuvered and forced back into their fort but not without great carnage. There were 70 Fox warriors were killed on the spot and 14 taken prisoner. They pursued the fleeing warriors into the fort where they killed 80 women and children and took 140 prisoner. Ten warriors escaped but were not dressed for the cold winter air.They later died of exposure. The Wyandotte had five killed and several wounded with the Iroquois having no casualties.

After the attack they dressed the wounded leg of a Fox chief and released him and 6 women. They were to carry a message to their nation. They were to say that the Iroquois and Wyandotte had just eaten up their main village and they would be staying there for 2 days. After that if they wished to follow them they could, however as soon as they were spotted they would begin by breaking the heads of all the women and children. They would then make a rampart of their bodies and afterward pile the remainder of the Fox Nation upon them. 

The Fox chief arrived at a small fort of 9 lodges on the banks of the Mississippi River. When they heard of the attack they sent word to a group of 3 lodges nearby. Sieur Dorval and 2 other Frenchmen were wintering there. They had left Montreal with Monsieur de Linetot for Sioux country but were unable to make it. The Monsieur had built a fort on the Mississippi at a place called the Mountain Whose Foot is Bathed by the Water. This is now Mount Trempealeau, near the village of Trempealeau, Wisconsin about 90 miles above the mouth of the Wisconsin River. De Linetot found himself short of provisions so he sent some of his party out to winter with the Fox. Dorval and his two compatriots were some of these.

One Fox chief said to Dorval that it was Onontio, the French Governor, that had caused them to be killed because neither the Iroquois nor the Wyandotte rise from their mats unless commanded to do so by the governor. Dorval replied that the Wyandotte were from Detroit and no doubt the expedition started from there without Onontio’s knowledge. He didn’t know that Governor Beauharnois had told them that although he couldn’t give them permission because he had promised the Fox their lives he would not interfere in any disputes the First Nations might have amongst themselves.

The Fox chief said that if the French had nothing to do with the attack then Dorval should make them return his three children whom they were taking away. Dorval accepted the errand and the chief gave him a robe and seventeen beaver pelts as a ransom.

The Fox disarmed the Frenchmen, took them to their main village where the attack had taken place then led them to the spot where the victors had lit their last fire. Then he was told to return when he had ransomed the three children. Dorval quickly overtook the Wyandotte and Iroquois but instead of completing his errand for the Fox chief he returned to Detroit with the Iroquois and Wyandotte.

The Fox lost over 300 people killed or captured in this incident. The Wyandotte returned to Detroit with less than 100 prisoners. They killed 13 women and two men trying to escape on the way back to Detroit. They killed another 56 on the journey home because of the difficulty of leading such a large group of prisoners and the fear that many could escape. They were of the opinion that there were only about 30 Fox left living on the Mississippi and that their enemies, the Puants or others, would destroy them as well.

The only ally the Fox had at this point were the Sauk and they quickly abandoned them when they saw all the surrounding nations lifting the tomahawk against them. Most of the Sauk returned to their home at Green Bay although a few went to settle at the St. Joseph River. After over twenty years of warfare the great Fox Nation had been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Thus ended the so called Fox Wars. 

NEXT WEEK: The Affair of the Wyandotte of Detroit