Wau-Bun

The Early Day in the Northwest

English · 11h 28m · Exploration

Newlywed Juliette Magill Kinzie moved from her home in Connecticut to the newly built Fort Winnebago in central Wisconsin in 1830. Her husband, John Kinzie, the son of a fur trader who had grown up on the frontier, had recently been appointed by the federal government as an Indian sub-agent to the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) people. The couple lived near Fort Winnebago, close to the present-day city of Portage, Wisconsin, until 1833, when they moved to Chicago.

These memoirs focus primarily on the two years Juliette Kinzie spent in the Wisconsin wilderness. She devotes considerable space to the difficulties and dangers she encountered while traveling across Wisconsin to places such as Chicago and Fort Howard (now Green Bay). The Kinzies were frequently in the company of local Indians, and the author recounts many observations and experiences with them. One of the highlights of the memoirs is her account of the Black Hawk War of 1832. In addition to describing her own experiences, she devotes two chapters to the 1812 Battle of Fort Dearborn (Chicago), as witnessed by her husband and mother-in-law.. - Summary by Ted Lienhart