In 1827, a band of Ho-Chunk militants were misled by scheming informants and attacked settlers around Prairie du Chien. On June 28, a warrior named Red Bird and three companions following the Indian code of justice executed two farmers. Three days later they fired on a Wisconsin River keelboat, killing two of the crew and wounding several others.

With a full-scale war brewing, Col. Josiah Snelling took as a hostage the popular Ho- Chunk chief Decorah, who was then more than 80 years old. Snelling threatened to kill him in 10 days if Red Bird was not surrendered. When Decorah requested permission to come and go in the town and swore that he would not try to escape, Snelling allowed the elder statesman this limited freedom.

Decorah's advisers immediately urged him to flee, but he replied, "Do you think I prize life above honor? Or that I would betray a confidence reposed in me for the sake of saving my life?" Every day at sunset the aged chief returned to his cell. On the ninth day, as his death seemed inevitable, no one saw any change in his attitude or behavior. Snelling's superiors, impressed by Decorah's demeanor, overturned the death sentence and let him go home.

A few weeks later, a similarly dignified Red Bird appeared at Fort Winnebago, carrying a white flag. Chanting his death song and clad in pure white elk-skin, he expected to die on the spot. Instead, he was held for trial and wasted away in prison.

- Wisconsin Historical Society
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org

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