Butte  des  Morts  was  undoubtedly  a  tratling  post  during
the  period  of  French  and  British  occupancy,  but  the  earlier
references  to  it  are  only  casual.  Later  the  name  occurs
frequently  in  the  records  of  the  Green  Bay  traders,  and  it
seems  to  have  been  a  winter  and  summer  post,  unlike  some
of  the  minor  trading  posts  that  were  occupied  during  the
winter  only.  Augustin  Grignon  was  an  agent  at  the  Butte
des  Morts  trading  post  for  a  number  of  years  before  he
became  a  permanent  resident.  His  nephew,  Robert  Grignon,
located  about  three  miles  farther  up  the  river  and  on  the
opposite  side,  near  the  traditional  site  of  the  battle  between
the  French  and  the  Fox  Indians.  Augustin  was  undoubt-
edly the  ablest  of  the  Grignon  family,  and  many  stories  are
told  of  his  courtesy  and  hospitality.  A  grandson  of  Charles
de  Langlade,  he  inherited  much  of  the  energy  of  his  dis-
tinguished ancestor.  He  was  well  educated  for  his  time,
and  his  home  at  Butte  des  Morts  was  a  rendezvous  for  the
noted    men   of   early    Wisconsin.     Eleazar   Williams,    who


Historic  Spots  in  ]]^isconsin  287

posed  as  tlie  "lost  Dauphin,"  was  a  guest  in  Grignon's
home  in  18o2.  In  1858  Dr.  Lyman  Draper  spent  consider-
able time  with  Grignon,  then  seventy-eight  years  of  age,  and
heard  from  his  lips  the  well  known  "Recollections"  which
make  such  a  valuable  addition  to  early  Wisconsin  history.
