"A Cloud of Barbed Arrows"
A Frenchman known today only as Ah-wish-to-yah (blacksmith) had ventured into this area - the heart of the best hunting grounds claimed by the Dakota - seeking beaver pelts and other wild game.
Flatmouth survived to later describe to historian William Warren that winter day when 200 "Dakota bravely crossed the stream on the ice" to attack French voyageurs and Ojibwe hunters encamped here with Ah-wish-to-yah.
But the Dakota's "cloud of barbed arrows" were no match for musket balls fired by the French and Ojibwe. It is said that the Dakota, after running out of arrows, buried their dead beneath the river's ice before leaving the area.
Some people believe this incident gave modern day Wadena its name.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Native Americans • Wars, Non-US. A significant historical year for this entry is 1783.
Location. 46° 25.124′ N, 94° 49.652′ W. Marker is in Staples, Minnesota, in Wadena County. Marker can be reached from Old Wadena Circle. On trail at south end of Old Wadena County Park. Touch for map
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 3 other markers are within 11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Here you stand at 4th & Main (approx. 0.4 miles away); Staples Station (approx. 4.7 miles away); Motley, Minnesota (approx. 10.4 miles away).
Additional keywords. fur trade
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on March 21, 2016, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 402 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 21, 2016, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
