Legends of Butte des Morts

 February 3, 1900 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

There is a school of thought lately that the above legend isn't necessarily true.  Some will say that the burial area on the western shore of the lake was in use for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years before the Fox Wars when French forces conspired with the Menominees to massacre the Fox living near there. In the above article, Mr. Lawson himself seems skeptical.  But in spite of whatever you might think about the origins of the term "hill of the dead," no one can argue that the name "Butte des Morts" in all its variations is with us for the long term.