Traditions of De-Coo-Dah

Originally published in 1858, Traditions of DE-COO-DAH is William Pidgeon’s chronicle of befriending an Indian named De-coo-dah, last of the Elk Clan from Northern Iowa and Southwestern Wisconsin. After a mutual trust is accomplished, De-coo-dah takes Pidgeon on a walking tour of his ancestors’ city sites and ceremonial earthworks. Pidgeon surveys, records data and illustrates most of the locations. Today, one can use De-coo-dah’s directions on the Wisconsin River and the Mississippi River and actually locate earthworks still standing after all these ages past. This historical document is a fantastic read and a window into old Wisconsin and its river systems.