• Lynching of a Redskin
• 1862 Indian Scare
• Population of Indians in Chippewa Falls

Lynching of a Redskin

July 4th of 1848 an Indian was lynched in the saw mill at Chippewa Falls. This is the most violent event recorded between the Native Americans and the settlers of Chippewa Falls. An account of what happened can be found in journal that George Warren kept at the post.

The events that follow up to the lynching is as follows. It was the Fourth of July and many of the town’s people had been drinking all day. Tim Hurley a well-known person in town for not liking the Indians decided to get a group of three other people together and make a visit to a teepee outside of town. When the four men arrived outside the teepee they entered the teepee to have their way with the Indians wife. (The name of the Indian is unknown) George Warren refers to the Indian as "Half Thigh", and the newspaper articles refer to him as "Wooden Pipe." As the four men entered the teepee the Indian took out a knife in self-defense and stabbed Marshal Coznobia, a French Canadian. The four men retreated from the teepee and headed back to town. Coznobia made it back to town and made it sound like he was going to die from the knife wounds he had received. Though he was stabbed in the back the cut was not life threatening, but he knew if he made it sound like it was then more people would stand behind him and go find the Indian. The men in the room took off after the Indian, found him and hung him in the saw mill. (footnote)

The following morning 1500 Indians arrived in town demanding the man responsible for this horrific crime to be tried in a white man’s court. When Tim Ingler heard of the Indian's demands he responed by saying, "Let them come. Those damn savages ain't scaring me or anybody else off. We'll take care of them right where they stand."(footnote)Eight Native Americans took Tim Ingler and two of his co-conspirators and headed down the Chippewa River to Prairie Du Chien where they would be tried. As the group headed out of the Chippewa Territory they noticed many Sioux in the woods along the riverbank. As they made their way around a bend the Ojibwe Indians jumped ship and took cover under thick brush. When the trial date came around no one was there at Prairie Du Chien and Tim Ingler and his accomplices were never tried for the murder of the Indian at the saw mill.(footnote) The articles on the left were published by the Herald Telegram. They are the only newspaper articles to published about the lynching.

This instance is the most violent situation that had occurred between the Chippewa Indians and the white settlers of Chippewa Falls. A major reason for this was because Tim Hurley and his friends had been drinking all day and alcohol was a major factor in the events that happened that day. This relationships between the Indians and that certain group of people was not a positive one, but when the 1500 Indians came into town threatening to punish the man guilty of this crime, it was Mr. Allen who talked with them and promised he would be tried in a court of law. Mr. Allen was a well-known man in Chippewa Falls and had a positive relationship with the Indians. It was because of Mr. Allen that the the Chippewa Indians left that day and nothing else happened in town. This specific incidence shows that not everyone got along with each other in town, but it also shows that some prominent leaders in town did have a trusting relationship with the Indians and was able to bring peace.

1862 Indian Scareback to top

The great Indian Scare of Wisconsin started in October of 1862. The news of the great Indian Massacre at New Ulm, Minnesota had quite rapidly made its way across Minnesota and into Wisconsin. The Sioux Indians in Minnesota were upset because they were not given the promises that they said they would and in turn lashed out against the white settlers in New. Ulm. The rumors had been started in the area by a few Indians who were looking to rob houses and thought by telling the citizens many of them would leave and they would be able to rob the house. The news reached Chippewa Falls in late May and can be seen in the letter from Lucy Hastings to her brother and sister on May 11th 1862 and October 27th of 1862.

The citizens of Chippewa Falls took up forces and waited for the Indians to arrive. “Every old gun was put in order, axes, shovels, & hatchets, pitchforks, and in some instances lightning rods were speedily taken down and fixed into spears.”(footnote) The fear of the white people happened only because they did know the Chippewa Indians on a personal level. Had they known them there would not have been the rumors and fear of the Indian Scarel. Another reason to add to the tension was a dam that had just been completed in Rice Lake for a saw mill and that had angered local Indians because it flooded their rice land. This only added to the rumors and tension that was felt in the part of the state. Although nothing ever happened in Chippewa Falls or anywhere in the State related to the Indian Scare of 1862 it shows the citizens of Chippewa Falls were scared of the Native Americans coming into town and killing them. If they would have known the Indians on a one to one basis they would have realized that they would have never done that but because of the lack of day to day interactions between the two groups of people the white citizens had no idea what to expect.

Population of Indians in Chippewa Fallsback to top

While looking through the census data of Chippewa Falls for 1850-1930 there was no record of Indians living in town.(footnote) This goes to show that Indians either were not counted in the census. Many of the Chippewa Indians did intermarry with the French and British. The census did not count them and could mean that a majority of them did not live in town and the ones that did were not counted within the census. They were either not welcome in town or they chose to live their own life style outside of town. Either way this would lead to less interaction between whites and Indians because they were not living together and seeing each other on a day-to-day basis. If they had been the relations between them would have been on a better level then were it was. Everyone would have had a better understanding of each other’s life styles and culture and that would have led to more respect.

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