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Post by Rivergal on Aug 5, 2012 7:34:37 GMT -6
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Post by Rivergal on Aug 5, 2012 10:24:43 GMT -6
Excerpt from the ebook:
"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 blood, 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 accumu-
lated 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, kill-
ing 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, sleep-
ing 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 po-
sition of all his life, living in constant expectation of hostile In-
dians, and traveling on perilous expeditions through the sur-
rounding territory in quest of furs. He had no further
trouble with the Indians while at Red Cedar, but after remain-
ing 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 near-
ing Bad Axe. He traveled the distance on a pony and arrived
in time to witness the battle that ensued.
Although in the government service, Reed always denounced
the cruel, unrelenting slaughter of the half-starved, dispirited
Indians..."
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Post by Rivergal on Aug 5, 2012 11:19:07 GMT -6
In 1836 James Lockwood swore that Antoine Reed resided in Prairie du Chien and was a foreigner [meaning not eligible to vote ?]. Joseph [also called Antoine] Reed was a French Canadian not related to James Reed. Antoine Reed was attached to Thomas McNair's company in the Winnebago War of 1827 www.geocities.com/old_lead/winwarmcnair02co.htm |
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