Why is it called Big Bull Falls?

Why is it called Big Bull Falls? (HMTS4)

Location: Wausau, WI 54403 Marathon County
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Country: United States of America
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N 44° 57.673', W 89° 38.037'

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Inscription
If you were a french voyageur in the 1600s or arrived with George Stevens in 1838, you would have heard and seen large rapids churning and bubbling here in front of you. Without dams, the river was much shallower than it is now. It swirled and crashed over large rocks.

Voyageurs may have called it "Grand Bulle Chute," which in English is "Big Bubbling Falls." Possibly, "bulle" stuck in the English translation, thus "Big Bull Falls."

[photo captions]
← Earliest know photograph of Big Bull Falls, circa 1856.
Courtesy of Marathon County Historical Society, Wausau, Wisconsin.

How did Big Bull Falls become Wausau?
Native people living here were probably the very first to call this place "Wausau." In several native languages, "wau-sau" means "far away place" or "place from which one can see far away." Also, a similar Cree word means "thundering sound."

Walter McIndoe, one of the most influential settlers here, is believed to have made the name "Wausau" official in 1850.
Courtesy of Marathon County Historical Society, Wausau, Wisconsin.

Big Bull Falls was tribal territory until the 1830s.
Courtesy of Marathon County Historical Society, Wausau, Wisconsin.

[logos of] River Edge Parkway · Welcome Home Wausau
Details
HM NumberHMTS4
Tags
Placed ByRiver Edge Parkway, Welcome Home Wausau
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, September 4th, 2014 at 8:24pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16T E 292264 N 4982017
Decimal Degrees44.96121667, -89.63395000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 44° 57.673', W 89° 38.037'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds44° 57' 40.38" N, 89° 38' 2.22" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)715
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 4 Scott St, Wausau WI 54403, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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