Page 245 - La Société canadienne d'histoire de l'Église catholique - Rapport 1961

EARLY HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. 241

says, as the result of his inquiries, "soon after their removal
they built a town on thc bank of the Mississippi, near the
mouth of the Wisconsin," near where the Railroad depot stands,
"at a place called by the French, La Prairies les Chiens, which
signified tho Dog's Plains." The Fox chief at this time was
called the Dog, from whom the plain took its name. "It is a
large town (in 1766) and contains about three hundred families,
(1500 souls). The houses are well built, after the Indian
manner, and pleasantly situated on a very rich soil, from which
they raise every necessary of life, in great abundance. This
town is the great mart where all the adjacent tribes-and even
those who inhabit the most remote branches of the Mississippi
-annually assemble, about the latter end of May, bringing
with them their furs to dispose of to the traders."
Here, again, are discrepancies, in dates and numbers, diffi-
cult to reconcile. In 1714, these Foxes were nearly annihi-
lated. In about 1760 or '61, they were still so fern and feeble
as to be obliged to confederate with the Sauks, to preserve
their existence, and now they are three hundred families, or
)fifteen hundred souls strong! They must have been very pro-
lific to have increased from almost annihilation, in 1714, to
fifteen hundred souls in 1766-fifty-two years! And what is
still more difficult, is, that thirty years before this visit of
*CARVER'S, that is in 1736, they had a large town at what is
now Wright's Ferry; which was but twelve years after their
almost annihilation, and twenty-four years before their alli-
ance with the Sauks. And yet CARVER gives to the Saukies
about three hundred warriors, which is about equal to three
hundred families, at the same time. CARVER makes the same
people who were warned from the large town on the Missis-
sippi, or we might suppose that it was another tribe who were
thus warned off. If this were so, the discrepancy is irrecon-
cilable with the other dates. But if he was in error on that
point, and it was another tribe who were thus warned off, by
allowing of the unprecedented increase, or, which is the most
3 Om