Fort Trempealeau was founded in 1685 by Nicholas Perrot and a groupe of Canadiens. In the fall of 1685, Perrot and his men arrived at Mont Trempealeau by canoe. The Winnebagos called this mountain, Hay-nee-ah-cheh, or the mountain in the water. That is why Perrot called it in French, la montagne qui trempe à l'eau, or Tremealeau mountain. There, Perrot and his men built a protective shelter in preparation for winter. Several weeks earlier they had left La Baye Green Bay and crossed Wisconsin via the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers to reach the Mississippi Valley. The purpose of this expedition was to establish alliances with the Ioway and Dakota Indians in order to expand French interests in the fur trade market. Although Perrot's venture was not the first French excursion into the upper Mississi