DEATH DUEL FOUGHT BY INDIAN BRAVES FIFTY YEARS AGO

Winner, And Lovely Indian Girl He Won, Still Live Near Black River Falls

Black River Falls, Nov. 14. - Although the death of Alexander Hamilton at the hands of Aaron Burr was responsible for banishing dueling from the American continent over a century ago, Wisconsin oldtimers residing in the vicinity of Black River Falls are familiar with a death duel which was fought forty years ago by two Winnebago braves in Jackson county.

Jim Swallow, the victor, still lives near Black River Falls with the squaw for whom he battled nearly a half century ago. He is now old and feeble and refuses to describe the fatal combat, but other Winnebagoes well remember the facts and the true legend is often retold.

Loved Indian Girl

The two husky Winnebago braves, Jim Swallow and George Blackhawk were in love with the same Indian maiden. Blackhawk was heir to the Winnebago chieftainship of Wisconsin and claimed the favor of this Indian beauty, known as Bird Woman. She was the songbird of the tribe and was a most beautiful Indian maid.

For many months Blackhawk and the Swallow threatened each other and had minor quarrels, but the climax to their love affair came on a beautiful September evening, just after the government had paid annuities to the Winnebago Indians. Swallow and Blackhawk had been drinking heavily and the latter, (taunting his rival), challenged Swallow to settle their differences for all time with knives. Swallow, goaded by the other's boasts, finally accepted the challenge.

All Night Fight

A lonely spot not far from the city of Black River Falls was chosen for the fateful meeting place. The duel was to be fought that very night and there were to be no seconds, no spectators, and only the victor was to return. It was understood that Bird Woman, the Indian maid of great beauty, was to become the squaw of the victor.

Chanting the death song of the Winnebagoes, the two braves prepared for the mortal combat. The Indians stripped to their waists, drew their long hunting knives and the death struggle was on, with only the moon and the stars to witness it. No one knows how long they fought, but it was early the next morning when Swallow, weak from the loss of blood, staggered into Black River Falls to tell his story and give himself up to the whiteman's sheriff. He informed the officer that the body of George Blackhawk, heir to the Winnebago chieftainship, could be found cold and dead upon the ground at the dueling place.

Attorney G. M. Perry, then a leading lawyer at Black River Falls, defended Swallow and obtained an acquittal in the court, although the duel broke the long line of Blackhawk heirs to the chieftainship of the Wisconsin Winnebagoes.

Won Songbird

Swallow claimed Bird Woman as his prize and took her as his bride according to the unwritten agreement which was made before the fatal duel was fought. For forty years, Mr. and Mrs. Swallow have resides in Jackson county near Black River Falls. There is a fairly good looking house on their farm which is located on the south fork of Robinson creek, near Shamrock, but like most Indians, the Swallows prefer to live in a tent or wigwam. The present residence is not the Indian teepee of their forefathers, but a white man's factory made tent.

Today, Jim Swallow sits and smokes his pipe, answers questions with a grunt, but he is for the most part uncommunicative. He may feel that is served Blackhawk right to be vanquished in a duel of Blackhawk's choice, but whatever his thoughts, he remains silent when asked about the fatal duel, which has long since passed into history.

The Superior Evening Telegram
20 December 1897

HOW THE WINNEBAGOES ROUND UP THE PREDATORY ANIMALS IN JACKSON.
INDIANS THROW OFF CIVILIZATION AND REVEL IN AN OLD-TIME CHASE AND FEAST.

Black River Falls, Wis., Dec. 20 --- The annual wolf hunt, one of the most exciting and profitable efforts of the Winnebago Indians, will take place in the near future. The wolf hunt, or drive, as it is sometimes called, has been resorted to by the early settlers in most of the communities of the timbered districts of Wisconsin, at some time or other, to rid the neighborhood of the troublesome pests; but such exciting adventures are seldom encountered near communities have been settled for nearly half a century. Yet, in Jackson county such scenes can be witnessed during the holiday hunt.

Jackson county, owing to the vast amount of unoccupied land, affords a good retreat for the big timber wolves, and from the days of the earliest settler, it has been the naturla haunt of wild animals of various kinds. Furthermore, wolf culture is a business not foreign to some of the old timers, who reside among the hills and plains of isolated and outlying districts and make a business of catching solves for what is in it. The Indians will never kill a she-wolf when it can be avoided. He willingly waives the $10 bounty and the value of the pelt, as he knows full well she is the goose that lays the golden egg, so to speak --- to the value of $60 to $80 annually.

Poor Lo is a shrewd man of business in his line: he has been known by various devices to migrate an entire pack of wolves from counties where little or no bounty is paid, to counties which pay liberally for the extermination of the "varmints".

The dismal howl of the wolf is sweet music to the ear of the Winnebago; it means an abundance for his squaw and little ones and a wild, exciting chase for the hunters of the band.

The night preceding the big wolf hunt is a notable one in the Indian village. Amid feasting common to their mode of life, the council is held and all details governing the chase for the morrow are arranged. Each man knows his position from the rude map which is drawn in outlines among the ashes of the fireplace in the lodge of the hunter who will be the guiding spirit of the hunt.

The feasting is continued until a late hour, but the gray streak of dawn in the east finds the camp astir: one tap on the big drum and all is hustle and excitement. The braves fall in line and with several scores of yelping dogs the start is made. The best marksmen of the tribe are established at points of vantage along the line of the drive; the main body swings out on both flanks, frequently making a line two miles in length.

The drives are now started and pandemonium reigns in the forest or among the hills and bluffs, as the case may be. The extreme ends of the line advancing more rapidly than the center in their wild onward rush, and soon the bag is formed. Should the wolves happen to have dens in that vicinity they are driven to cover by the dogs and are guarded by the younger Indians and squaws, who follow in the wake of the drive to render assistance in the way of watching the dens to see that none escape while the big drive is still in progress.

As the circle of shouting hunters closes up, the most intense excitement prevails amid the yelping of a small army of dogs, the shooting and bloodcurdling yells of the Indians which echo through the forest or among the hills, the now frightened wolves rush hither and thither, sometimes showing signs of their savage nature, though regarded as the biggest cowards of the animal kind. Yet few, if any, escape a well-planned hunt, and other kinds of game, caught in the roundup, shares a common fate.

Should the hunt prove a successful one, a dance and feast follows. The orator of the band recounts the story of the hunt to the decrepit braves of other days, bestowing on each lucky hunter the praise he deserves. The dance ends the day's excitement, when, bedecked in their fantastic garbs, the savage nature of the civilized Indian shines forth in all its hideousness. In their wild orgies, they act out the day's doings, living over the stirring scenes of the eventful chase.

Should the weather be favorable, the annual hunt will take place between Christmas and New Year's this season, but the vicinity of the drive has not been determined.