Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/226

 174 HISTOKY OF GOODHUE COUNTY Wenona was a very beautiful maiden. Maidens who are heroines of romantic tales are always beautiful, no matter what their color may be. Of course "Wenona had lovers. There was a rich old chief who had polecat skins without number, and ponies and whatever else in the way of personal possessions that made an Indian a desirable suitor in those days. To be sure, he was old, but that did not matter — in the eyes of Wenona 's parents. AYenona herself had given her young heart and love to a brave and handsome warrior named Chaska, who, however, being young, had not yet had time to accumulate polecat skins, and so on. He was therefore not at all desirable in the eyes of the parents, as is often the ease with poor young lovers and prudent old folks. The maiden's parents argued that love is an illusion, and that wealth, represented by polecats or any other commodity, is a very substantial fact, which is a very foolish thing for a maiden to ignore. So these cruel parents forbade their daughter to see the young brave any more and insisted that she marry the rich old chief with the pelts. They thought that settled the question ; but a few evenings later there came floating down from the summit of the Rock, nearly a hundred feet higher, the death song of the heart-broken and faithful AYenona. AVhen it was finished the maid leaped out and fell, a bruised and broken corpse, on the jagged rocks below, almost at the feet of her heartless parents." James AY ells, the Indian trader, and others accuiainted with Indian character and ways, were asked some fifty years ago what they thought of this tradition, but all agreed that it was unlike the Indian, and that the Indians themselves put little faith in the story. Moreover, Chaska and AYenona are names signifying simply the oldest born son and daughter, respectively, and occurred in every Dakota family. Modern Frontenac had a beginning in the late forties of the nineteenth century, when the old Indian trader, James Wells, more familiarly known as "Bully" AVells. AVells sold his build- ing in 1854 to Everett AVestervelt, and removed to Fairbault, k afterward meeting with a tragic fate at the hands of the Sioux during the frontier outbreak of 1862. In October of that year Israel Garrard and Louis Garrard spent some time along the shores of Lake Pepin, and greatly prepossessed with the historic associations and beautiful scenery, concluded to secure an inter- est along the lake shore. Dr. L. II. Garrard went to Europe, where he remained two years, Avhile General Israel Garrard, afterward one of the county's most distinguished citizens, re- mained at the trading post with Everett AVestervelt. In 1857, when the half-breed scrip was. issued, Frontenac was purchased by Air. AVestervelt and Israel Garrard and divided into quarter interests, Air. AVestervelt owning one, L. H. Garrard one, Israel