| 74 | HISTORY |
and explorers, but met with a disastrous defeat on a battle field which was given the name of “Hill of the Dead.” The Foxes lost hundreds of their bravest warriors at this place and the remnant of them retreated to the valley of the Wisconsin River.
In the early years of this war the Kickapoos and Mascoutines were allies of the Foxes, but they were finally won over by the French, and in 1732 joined the Hurons, Iroquois and Ottawas against their former friends. In this unequal conflict the Foxes were nearly exterminated, so that in 1736 their warriors were reduced to little more than one hundred. The Foxes now formed a close alliance with the Sacs, in the nature of a confederacy; each tribe, however, reserved the right to make war or peace without the consent of the other. The headquarters of the Foxes was at Prairie du Chien and the Sacs at Prairie du Sac, in Wisconsin. The Foxes had villages on the west side of the Mississippi, while the Sacs remained on the east side. The Sacs could muster about three hundred warriors, and the Foxes about three hundred and twenty. The Sacs had long before occupied the region about Saginaw, in Michigan, calling it Sauk-i-nong, from which came Saginaw. They called themselves Sau-kies, signifying “Man with a red badge.” Red was the favorite color used by them in personal adornment. The Indian name of the Foxes was Mus-qua-kies, signifying “Man with a yellow badge.” The name Fox originated with the French, who called them Reynors. The river in Wisconsin where these Indians had their home, was called by the French “Rio Reynor,” as will be seen on the early French maps. When the English wrested the country from France, they gave the river its English translation Fox. The early English writers called the tribe Reynards. In the latter part of the eighteenth century the Sacs joined the Miamis in an attack upon St. Louis. The Foxes appear to have remained in the vicinity of the lead mines of Galena and Dubuque, for in 1788 they ceded to Julien
