The Fox Wars - (Civilization of the American Indian) by R David Edmunds & Joseph L Peyser (Paperback)

About the Book

The Foxes occupied central Wisconsin, where for a long time they had warred with the Sioux and, more recently, had opposed the extension of the French firearm-and-fur trade with their western enemies. Caught between the Sioux anvil and the French hammer, the Foxes enlisted other tribes' support and maintained their independence until the late 1720s. Then the French treacherously offered them peace before launching a campaign of annihilation against them. The Foxes resisted valiantly, but finally were overwhelmed and took sanctuary among the Sac Indians, with whom they are closely associated to this day.

Book Synopsis

This is the saga of the Fox (or Mesquakie) Indians' struggle to maintain their identity in the face of colonial New France during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

The Foxes occupied central Wisconsin, where for a long time they had warred with the Sioux and, more recently, had opposed the extension of the French firearm-and-fur trade with their western enemies. Caught between the Sioux anvil and the French hammer, the Foxes enlisted other tribes' support and maintained their independence until the late 1720s. Then the French treacherously offered them peace before launching a campaign of annihilation against them. The Foxes resisted valiantly, but finally were overwhelmed and took sanctuary among the Sac Indians, with whom they are closely associated to this day.

Review Quotes

"A dramatic narrative with a tragic conclusion. . . . A lively, readable account of an overlooked episode in Native American history."--Journal of the West

"A fine history that focuses upon diplomacy, the fur trade, and intertribal conflict."--Gary Clayton Anderson, The Journal of American History