Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
scenery along the Great River Road
Accommodations and catfish-cheek dinners are found at
Big River Inn
(500 Main St.,
608/689-2652, rooms from $44).
For grub, there's a decent burger pub, and then you can head for the
Old Settlers Over-
look
nearby for a picnic.
De Soto
Miles of birds hovering over waters lead to De Soto, named for you-know-who, the
European commonly held as the first to reach the Mississippi River (and who eventually
wound up in its watery clutches—his soldiers depositing his body there to protect it from
the “desecration of savages”) back in 1541.
De Soto served as the western endpoint to one of the state's least proud moments, the
pursuit of Chief Black Sparrow Hawk (immortalized erroneously as Black Hawk) and his
Sauk and Fox Indians across the state, culminating in the Battle of Bad Axe at the mouth
of the river of the same name, two miles north. The battle had two effects: It ended serious
Indian resistance, and, when Black Hawk became a nationally prominent figure, a flood of
settlers poured into the state. Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has established a
