Note 33 — Front matter

(page page 40).—Petit Butte des Morts (little hill of the dead) is a considerable eminence rising from the shores of the Fox River in the western outskirts of the present city of Menasha; a widening of the river at this point bears the name of the butte. The hill, still a striking feature of the landscape, although much reduced from railway and other excavations, commanded the river for several miles in either direction, and appears to have been used in early days as the site of an Indian fort; as such, it was probably the scene of several notable encounters during the Fox War, in the first third of the eighteenth century. Because of these traditions, and the existence of a large Indian mound on its summit, it was long supposed by whites that the entire hill was a gigantic earthwork, reared to bury as well as to commemorate the thousands of Indians whom the French are alleged to have here slain. But this is now known to be mere fancy; the hill is of glacial origin, although no doubt it was at one time used as an Indian cemetery. Grand Butte des Morts, upon the upper waters of the Fox River, above the present Oshkosh, has similar traditions as to its inception, but is of like character; and does not appear to have been the scene of any important fight.