IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 0% <5^ y <**:■•' ^j^* 1.0 |50 ■^" II^H ■ii lU ■2.2 £ Hi 1.1 I us ||2g |l.25||,.4 ,,.6 < 6" — ► Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) •72-4503 4r CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHJVI/ICJVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The tot The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ D Couverture endommagie Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicuiie I I Cover title missing/ D D Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes giographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bieue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ D D Planches et>'ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relii avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serrie peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intirieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas M filmies. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppldmentaires: L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a iti possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la m^thode normale de filmage sont indiquis ci-dessous □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommag^es □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur6es et/ou pelliculdes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages ddcolordes, tachetdes ou piqu( D The pos oft film Ori( beg the sior oth( first sior oril Pages ddcolordes, tachetdes ou piquies Pages ddtachdes Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Qualiti in6gale de I'impression Includes supplementary materit Comprend du materiel suppldmentaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible I I Pages detached/ r~l Showthrough/ r^ Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ I I Only edition available/ The sha TIN whi Maf diff( enti begi righ reqi met Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 filmdes d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmi au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Nationai Library of Canada L'exemplaire film6 fut reprodui' grflce d la g6n6rosit6 de: Bibiiothdque nationaie du Canada The inr^ages appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or Illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol ^^> (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettetd de rexemplaire fiim6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est Imprim^e sont fiimis en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la dernidre image de chaque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fiimds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul ciichd, il est fiimd d partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 H] 1 m V4 -i- MATERIALS r FOR THE FDTURB ' / fflSTORY OF MINNESOTA; *^ ■v>"_i^• BEING A REPORT OF ins MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO THK LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, ■» '■'i'M'-. i IX ACCORDANCt! WTTH A .TOIXT RESOIJTnOX. ^ I ■J nFTKHN aCMDItIO COFIKB OBDKBED TO BR PRINTED FOR TBI USK Of TBll UUULATDRK. SAINT PAUL: • JOSEPH R. BROWN, TERRITORIAL PRINTER, PIOXRRR AXD DEMOCRAT OFFICE. 1856. t i s i T :^,/',- "fe? M >e^ To Tins LE0ISI,ATI^^5 Ashemblt of Minnesota: In accordance with a Joint Resolution, the following information obtained from Manuscripid, the Annals of the Society, and other sources, is submitted. By the courtesy of the well known and accurate Photographer and Dagaerrean, Jobi. E. Whit- XKT, of St. Paul, the Society has been enabled to illustrate several subjects. EDWARD D. NEILL, Secretary Minnesota Historical Society. ■ -■■■/:. ■- '. ',- .- .//. ,' ■ . -■ , :'' ■"■* ' " ^■'■*- ; ""■ i« 1#"- --'^ I w %,■' formed for the delegat Ml-NE- The delinea as the stream the Mi stream Mini, V whitisb Institu remar] " Tl bable \ regard cannol silk, it beauti Le guishe in Mil he ren "B residet redact It\ .t.j;: ANNALS I -^i ■t'^r. OF THE MINNESOTA HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. .«'V INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Wnrt- A T the outijct of a Report to the Legislative Assembly of Minuesota, it Boeins _£^ proper to correct some erroneous impressions that are current among well in- formed men. To prevent mistake, a meeting convened at Stillwater, in August, 1848, for the purpose of taking steps to procure a Territorial organization, instructed their delegate to see that the name of the Territory should bo written Min-xe-so-ta, and not Mi-NK-so-TA, as many respectable authorities still continue to write and pronounce. ...^ ■ MINNESOTA — THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME. The discoverer of the stream of this name, was Le Sueur, and in the first map that delineates the stream, which was issued in France mora than a century ago, it is marked as the "Minisota;*' pronounced Min-nee-sotah. It is a Dakota word, applied to the stream in consequence of its peculiar appearance at certain seasons. This nation call the Missouri, Minishoshe, (Minneshoshay) turbid or muddy water, and distinguish the stream from which the Territory derived its name, by the compound word Mini-sota. Mini, written in English minne, means water ; and sota, is a qualifying word, meaning whitish, like the sky. The editor of the Dakota Lexicon, published by the Smithsonian Institute, in a communication published in the '* Pioneer" at St. Paid, July 29, 1853, remarks, " The clear sky of Minnesota is often whitish rather than blueish, and it is most pro- bable that in this appearance, the true idea of ' sota' is to be found. Hence it may be regarded as meaning ' sky colored,' ' sky tinted ' or whitish. But it matters not if wa cannot by any single definition, give the full idea of sota. If, like a lady's changeable silk, it presents various shades and tints, as seen from various points, so much the more beautiful is it, and so much the more full of poetry." r a .1 Le Sueur, in giving it a French name, called it Saint Pierre. At that time a distin- guished man by that name was in the North-West. To him the first English traveller in Minnesota, seems to refer. Describing Lake Pepin, as it appeared ninety years ago he remarks : — " Here I observed the ruins of a French Factory, whore, it is said, Captain St. Pierre resided, and carried on a very great trade with the Naudowessies (Dakotas), before the reduction of Canada." It was never called the "St. Peters" until Americans began to visit the country. ^- t ■r.. »i*4;*' Annals of the By long usage, boats destined for Fort Snelling, were said to be boand for "St. Peters," and soon the name crept upon the maps of the United States. A memorial to the President of the United States, prepared by the Hon. ^Martin McLeod, of Hennepin county, was passed by the Legislative Assembly of 1853, asking that the term " St. Peters " be discontinued. In June of the same year, the following was approved by the President : — "Resolved by the Senate and ] louse of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled. That from and after the passage of this act, the river in the Territory of Minnesota, known as the Saint Peter's, shall be known and desig- nated on the public records as the Minnesota river." HA-UA FALLS. ' These, within a few months, have obtained a world-wide reputation, from the fact that " a certain one of our own poets " has given the name of Minne-ha-ha to the Wife of Hiawatha. Longfellow, in his vocabulary, says : — " Miune-ha-ba — Laughing water ; a waterfall or a streajn running into the Mississippi, between Fort Snelling and the Falls of ot. Anthony." All waterfalls, in the Dakota tongue, are called Ha-ha, never Minm- ha-ha. The " h " has a strong guttural sound, and the word is applied because of the curling of the waters. The verb I-ha-ha primarily means to curi ; secondarily to laugh . beeause of the curling motion of the mouth in laughter. 'The noise of Ha-ha is called by the Dakotas I-ha-ha, because of its resemblance to laoghtcr. \ A drive of less than fifteen minutes from Fort Snelling brings the visitor to a view that makes a life-time impression. The representation given is an engraving taken from a daguerreotype view made by the favorably-known artist, Joel E. Whitney, of St. Paul. * A small rivulet, the outlet of Lakes Harriet and Calhoun, gently gliding over the bluff into an amphitheatA-e, forms this graceful waterfall. It has but little of " the cata- ract's thunder." Niagara symbolizes the sublime ; Saiut Anthony, the picturesque ; Ha-ha, the beautiful. The fall is about sixty feet, presenting a parabolic curve, which drops, without the least deviation, until it has reached its lower level, when the stream goes on its way rejoicing, curling along in laughing childish glee at the graceful feat it has performed in bounding over the precipice. ' - : , r ■■..".'•.. > , ,. •• t ' SAINT CROIX OR HOGAN-WANKE RIVER. ■- ., ' ' » > The Wisconsin Historical Society in a late report erroneously supposes that this name was given to represent the idea of the holy cross, by some Frenchman. In La Harpe's Louisiana, there is an abstract of the Journal of Le Sueur's Voyage to the Mankato in ItOO, from which this extract is taken: — "He made this day three and three-fourth leagues; and on the 16th of September he left a large river on the East side named Saint Croix, because a Frenchman of that name was wrecked at its mouthP Both the Saint Pierre and Saint Croix derived their name from individuals with whom Le Sueur was a co-temporary. The Dakotas call the St. Croix, Hogan-wanke-kin. The legend is, that in the distant past, two Dakota warriors, were travelling on the shores of lake Saint Croix, one of whom was under a vow to one of his gods, not to eat »■*>. r.' ■....' (. •'•-'£'.1 m I m V s^^^^p ii ;! s \ ,<.. . 'A rr4 ■'M M 1. *J Mt .^' ti It '•T#»l 'W: ' "•;*wv i^ s-,««#1S». Ytfcf 1 i ■••si If*; \ r- Minnesota Historical Society. 6 ony flflflb which had touched wntcr. Gnawed by hunger, the two perceived, m they supposed, a raccoon and ponued it to a hollow tree. On looking In, the one who could riot cat flcah that had touched water, saw that the animal was a finh and not a quad- ruped. Turning to hia companion he agreed to throw it to the ground if he was not urge> ■m ;.■'■>• -.ir, W^4 ffWl m w ' g . Annals of the first ever taken, and was well engraved in London. He visited them in November, 1166, and his description of the surrounding scenery is very much the same as that given by modern writers: — "The country around is extremely beautiful. It is not an uninterrupted plain, where the eye finds no relief, but composed of many gentle ascents, which in the summer are covered with the finest verdure, and interspersed with little groves, that give a pleasing variety to the prospect. On the whole, when the Falls are included, which may be seen at a distance of four (?) miles, a more pleasing and picturesque view cannot, I believe, be found throughout the universe." Carver, like Hennepin, speaks of a rocky island dividing tlie Falls, and estimates its width about forty feet, and its length not much more, and about half way between this island and the Eastern shore, is a rock, lying at the very edge of the Fall that appeared to be about five or six feet broad, and thirty or forty long." During the two generations that have elapsed, since this description was penned, some changes have taken place in the appearance of the Falls. Q'he small island about forty feet broad, which is now some distance in front of the falls, was probably once in its midst. The geological character of the bed of the river is such, that an under- mining process is constantly at work. The upper stratum is limestone, with many large crevices, and about fifteen feet in thickness. Beneath is the saccharoid sandstone, which is so soft, that it'cannot resist the wearing of the rapid waters. It is more than pro- bable that in an age long passed, the Falls were once in the vicinity of Fort SnelUng. In the coarse of two years it has receded many feet. The number of pine logs that pitch over the falls, have increased t|je recession. As the logs float down they are driven into the fissures, and serve as levers, other logs and the water communicating the power, to wrench the limestone slabs from their localities. In time the Falls will recede until they become nothing more than rapids. The fall of water on the West side of the dividing island, is several rods above that on the East side, and the difference is occasioned by the greater volume of water on the former side, causing a more rapid recedence. There are two islands of great beauty in the rapids above the Falls. The first juts some feet beyond the Falls, and contains about fifteen acres. It is now generally known as Hennepin^ Island, not as some blunderer says in Harper's Magazine for July, 1853 because the ' Jesuit father teas placed there by the Indians, but in accordance with the following suggestion, in an address before the Historical Society of Minnesota, on Jan- uary 1st, 1850 :— "As a town in the State of Illinois has already taken the name of Hennepin, which would have been so appropriate for the beautiful village of Saint Anthony, we take leave of the discoverer of those picturesque Falls, which will always render that town equally attractive to the eye of the poet and capitalist, by suggesting that the island which divides the laughing waters, be called Hennepin." A. few yards above Hennepin is Nicollet Island, named after a late distinguished man of science, who has done as much as any other in developing the resources of Minnesota. It contains about forty acres, and one of the most delightful spots for a summer residence. About the middle of the island, "a small bluflf rises some ten or fifteen feet high," with a slope rounded as if by the hand of art, which seems to be waiting for a handsome mansion. The U| The Dal with a c1 that the) waters. Pond, fd terian cl worthy When AndsJ 1 love I Oftby Minnesota Historical Society. t The little island once within, but now just below the Ealla, is called the Spirit Island. The Dakota legend saith, that in the mist of the morning, the spirit of an Indian wife, with a child clinging around her neck, is seen darting in a canoe through the spray, and that the sound of her death song is heard moaning in the winds, and in the war of the waters. The incident has been graphically portrayed in verse by the Rev. Samuel W. Pond, formerly a missionary among that nation, now minister of the Shakopee Presby- terian church, and though the mournful ditty of the "dark day woman" is lengthy, it is worthy of perusal : — AN-PE-TU-SA-PA-WIN. ■Tm When winter'a icy reign Is o'er, And ipring has set the waters free, I loye to listen to the roar Of thy wild waves, Saint Anthony. For, gathered here, from lake and glen, The turbid waters deep and blacic, Witli foaming rush and thund'ring din, Pour down the mighty cataract. I lore to watch the rapid course Of the mad surges at my feet, And listen to the tumult hoarse That shakes me In my rocky seat. Entranced with Tiiions strange and new, The wild'ring scene amazed I scan, As with a wild delight I view Nature, unmarred by hand of man. But go through all this earth so broad — Go, search through mountain, rale and plain : Each spot, where human foot e'er trod. Is linked with memory of pain. A sight these rugged rocka have seen. Which scarce^a rock unmoved might see, On the hard hearts of savage men That scene was graved indelibly. And though since then lopg years have fleil, And generations passed away, Its memory dies not with the dead— The record yields not to decoy. ^fo tlieme of love inspires my songs, Such as might please a maiden's e»r ; I sing of hate, and woe and wrong, Of vengeance strange, and wild despair. Cnfkilled to fashion, polished layH, I sing no songs of mirth and glee, A tale of grief, in homely phrase, 1 tell you as 'twas told to me. Long ere tlio white man's eye had seen These flower-decked prairies fair and wide ; Long ere the white man's bark h.id been Borne on the Mississippi tide. So long ago, Dakotas say, An-pe-tU'sa-pa-win was bom : Her eyes beheld these scenes so gay, First op'ning on life's ro'y morn. I, ofher childhood nothing know, And nothing will presume to tell, Nor of extraction high or low, Nor whether she fi;-J is«i^;^ ^. P il M mmmamm 8 Annals of the i- 1 Thui did her hf art with lore overflow, Ind beat, with highest joj elate ; But higher joy brings deeper woe, And love deceived may turn to hate. He, whose smile more than lifi) she prized. Sought newer love and fresher charms', And she, forsaken and despised, Beheld him in a rival's arms. Whate'er she thought, she little said, No tear bedimmed her flashing eye. Her faithful tongue no thought betrayed, Her bosom heaved no tell-tale sigh. Long had the hid her anguish Iceen, When on yon green and sloping shore. The wild Daliotai' tents were seen, With strange devices painted o'er, An-pe-tu-ia-'wln waa there, Painting her face with colore gay, And her loved boy weara in his hair Feathen, aa 'twere a galaday. Why braids ahe her neglected hair Aa though it were her bridal day i Why haa she declied her boy so fair With shining paint and feathers gay t See 1 She bu seized her light canoe. And graapa, with haate, the slender oar, Placea her baby ia the bow. And thus in silence leaves the shore. With steady hand and tearless eje, She nrgea on that frail eanoe— Right OBward to those falls so high— Rijht onward te the gulf below ! Her frantic friends in vain besought. Calmly ahe went her fearful way, Nor turned her head, nor heeded anght, Of all that friend or foe might say. All quake with honor— ahe alone ' Betrays no sign of grief or fear : With gentle words and soothing tone, "' - She strives the timid child to cheer. The laithless husband trembling stood, A fathers's feelings checked his breath, His son is on that raging flood- So full of life — so near to death ! ' - The quiv'iing bark like lightning flies. Urged by the waves and bending oar, No swifter could she seek the prixe Were deatli behind and life before. The fearful brlnlx is just at hand, And thitherward she holda the bow. See eager Death exulting ptand ) No power on earth can save her now ! And now she raises her death-song Above the tumult nhrill and clear : Yet may she not the straind prolong, . Tlie fatal verge is a?l too near. Tlie Kong lias ceased — ll.e dark al>yfis, Swallows witli haste its willing prey ; The bubbling w«tcr.4 round tliem bi^K, llutlier and cliild have passed away. Tlio fragments of the sliattered bark, The boiling waves restored to view, But she and hers, in caverns dark Found refct,thoHgh wliere, none ever knew. Yet that death-song, they say, is heard Above the gloomy waters ro.ir, When tree.s are by the night wind stirred, i\nil darknrsH broods o'nr wave and rhore ! In haste, and with averted eye. Benighted travelers pnssetU by, And when that song of death they hear, Stout hfi.irted warriors quake with fear I" Minnesota Historical Society. ^'I,i The Falls on the west side of Hennepin Island, dashing themselves against the huge slabs of lime stone, approach to gralideor, and are well represented in the engraviog. A mill-dam having been thrown across the Mississippi from the East side to the island, the waters creep over the ledge very quietly, and the beholder experiences dis appointment* i!,: '.', •■7"fiv,.,;.;j ti«** J ^ .i:':&i L -i'.-'- V - ji-^itj-T: .A. » s.Iv .'^' !■>•>'" .,(.» nn'ri ;:;jij ■ fr;> ;fi :'.A- CHAPTER I. WHO WERE THE FIRST MEN? '' '.ri'^'^^'.^_ '^'^Z. BY REV. T. S. WILLIAMSON, M. D., DAKOTA MISSIONABT. , ,.„,>•.. WHEREVER civilized men dwell they inquire with interest, who were the first inhabitants of the country, and where did they come from ? To contribute our mite toward the solution of this query in regard to Minnesota is the object of this pape r The first Europeans who entered this Territory, subsequent to the time of Colnmbus found the Dakotas or Sioux as tliey called them, occupying most of that part of it which lies East of the Mississippi as well as that part watered by this river and the Minnesota. Charlevoix informs us that about the year 1660, two Frenchmen, after having wintered on the borders of Lake Superior, went further, even to the Sionx. These seem to have been the first Europeans who visited the Dakotos, and also, the first who entered what is now Minnesota Territory. It is not easy nor is it important to de- termine the exact point at which these two men found the Sioux. It is sufficient for ns to know that it was somewhere in this Territory, and it is highly probable that it was near Spirit Lake or Knife Lake, near which Hennepin found them about twenty years later. - ■'^'- ' ' '■"^^■'■'^'- ' ' From what was written on this subject by Hennepin, La Hontan, Le Sueur, and Char- levoix, and from the maps published under the superintendence of these authors, it is sufficiently clear that in the latter part of the seventeenth century the principal resi- dence of the Isauyati Sioux, that is of the Mdewakantonwan Warpetonwan, and Sis- sitonwan, (called by Hennepin Chongasketong, and by La Hontan, Songasketons) was aboub the head waters of Rum River, whence they extended their hunts to the St. Croix, and Mississippi rivers and down the latter nearly or quite as far ns the mouth of the Wisconsin. The Titonwau called by Hennepin Tintonha hunted Westward of these, between tlio Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, and to the west and south of the latter. The Ihanktonwan were chiefly to the north of the Isanyati and Titonwan A part of them, however, were to the Southwest of the Titonwan, for Lo Sueur, the most reliable of all the writers concerning these matters, places the Hinhanetons in the neigh- borhood of the Red pipe-stone quarry . The Assiniboin, called by the other Dakotas Hoheh, who, not long anterior to the time of which we are speaking, had separated *ln place of •' hia '' History of the United St«t«B, on page 5, read " her.'' B !im'-^ m 10 TTiiiri Annals of the fromthe Ihanktonwan, hunted to the North of the Sipux and of Lake Superior. A cen- tury later, the situation of these Indians was not mf diferent, though they had all moved Westwardly. Within the last hundred years, most of them have proceeded much far- ther in the same direction. We think it is sufficiently manifest that the Sioux occupied the better part of Minne- sota when Europeans entered it, a little after the middle of the seventeenth century. It does not, however, appear that they were the first, much less the only inhabitants of the country. Their common and most reliable traditions inform us, that when their ances- tors first came to the Falls of Saint Anthony, the lowas — whom they call Ayuhba (Drowzy) — occupied the country about the mouth of the Minnesota river, and the Shiens, called by the Dakotas Sha-i-ena, sometimes written by the French Chaienne, and by others Shienne, dwelt higher up on the same river. We cannot pretend to determine with certainty at what time the Sioux first came to the Falls of Saint Anthony ; but may say with confidence, it was a long time ago, probably before the discovery of America by Columbus. One of the best informed men concerning their . traditions that I have met with among the Dakotas, who has been dead more than ten years, when questioned on this point, told me, that they supposed it to be at least equal to the lifetime of four old men, who should live one after the other ; and as an example of an old man, named his father, who, I suppose, was at the time at least eighty years old. i The Winnebagoes, Otoes, and Omahaws, have been named among the nations driven by the ancestors of the Dakotas from the Minnesota valley. I have not found any evi- dence, satisfactory to my mind, that the Winnebagoes ever had a home in this Territory prior to their late removal into it by the United States Government. As respects the Otoes and Omahaws, it seems not improbable that they were reckoned as a part of the Dakota nation, when the Sioux first hunted on the banks of the Mississippi, and for some time after. The Anthontantas, mentioned as a part of the Nadouesiouz, by Hen- nepin, were probably the same people as the Otoctatas, mentioned in connection with the Ayavois, as owners of the country about Blue Earth river, in the frag- ment of Le Sueur, preserved by La Harpe, and again some further on, as hav- ing recently left their village in that neighborhood, and settled near the Mahas, on the Missouri river, and it is highly probable that the Otoctatas of Le Sueur, are the same people now called Ottoes or Otoes. The Mawhaws, Shiens and Schianuesse, are mentioned by Carver, as bands of the Naudowessiex of the plains. Thus it appears that tlie Shiens, the lowas,* the Omahaws and the Ottoea, were the earliest inhabitants of Minnesota of whom we have any written or certain traditionftl account. I have neither seen nor heard of any artificial mounds, ancient fortifications, or monuments of any kind in or near the Minnesota valley, which might not have been constructed by these Indians. Such mounds are probably as numerous in the lower part of the valley of the Minnesota, and the contiguous part of the Mississippi, as anywhere else between * The lowai?, in the dayi of Charlevoix, appear to Lave lived not far from the Red Pipe stone quarry. This historian describiDg the pipe of peace in use among all cf the Indians of North Amenca, remarks : " It is ordinarily made of a species of red marble, very easily worked, and found beyond the Mississippi among the Aiouez '■ (lowss). Hist. Nouvelle France, vol. 3. page 211. ( E. D. N.) Minnesota Historical Society. 11 the Alla^hany and Rooky Moantains ; bnt they are very small, compared with thbie near the Ohio, not to speak of those farther South. Some of them are still used by the Dakotas, as barying places for their dead, and in this way are receiving a small increase almost every year. , '*' ,i . , •-.- ..... The situation of many others indicates that they had a similar origin. But by far the most numerous class appear from their size and situation, to be what Dakota tradition says they are, the remains of houses, made of poles and bark, covered with earth, Kuch ai^ If ere a few years since, and probably still are, the habitations of the Mandans, and Bom4 other tribes living on the Missouri, and also of the inhabitants of Now Caledonia* as described by Harmon. Mounds of this class are found in clusters, of from less than half a dozen to upwards of fifty, arranged irregularly as we find the bark houses of the Indians at present. Their base usually approaches to an oval form. Their length is from ten to forty feet, and a few exceed this, with a height of from one or two feet, lo three or four. Very few of this class exceed four feet ; though some of those used for places of sepulture are more than twice that height. Back of them we find the land level, or nearly so, dry and fertile. In front it descends towards some water, and almost always there is a lake or morass in sight, indicating that the inhabitants depended for a subsistence partly on cultivating the earth, and partly on waterfowl or roots, which they obtained from wet swampy land. Several clusters of such mounds may be seen about Oak Grove, where the Dakotas say the lowas lived, when their ancestors first came to this country. The path from Mendota to Shakopee, or Prairieville, passes through several. One large one, a little south of what has been called Blackdog's or Greyiron's village, where the lowas are said to have resided after they were driven from Oak Grove. Another is not far from the Tamarack swamp below Shakopee. Many may be found on the bluffs of the Mississippi and Lake Pepin. Such mounds arc very numerous in the prairie near the mouth of Cannon river. .1 . It is somewhat remarkable that the lowas, whose language shows that they are de- scended from the same stock as the Dakotas, should have been viewed and treated by the Dakotas as enemies. While the Shiens, who Gallatin says have a language kindred to the Algonquin, were received as allies, and though speaking a different language were long, if they are not still counted as a part of the Dakota nation. Hence their name, Sha-i-e-na in the Ihanktonwan dialect, being equivalent to Sha-i-api in the Isanyati, both applied to those who speak a different language from the Dokotas, and applied espe- cially to Shiens, because all others speaking a different language were counted as ene- mies. It is also worthy of remark, that notwithstanding the hostility between the lowas and Sioux, the former who are called by latter AyuUba, (they sleep, or sleepy ones,) from which we probably got Iowa, remain much nearer their original location than the Shiens, or any of the other tribes, who dwelt in the Minnesota valley before the Dakotas. When the Dakotas first came in contact with the Shiens, I have not been able to learn, farther tKan that the Shiens formerly planted on the Minnesota, between Blue Earth and Lac qui Parle, whence they moved to a Western branch of Bed river of the North, which still bears their name ; being called by the Dakoias who hunt in that re- gion, Shai-e-na wojupi, (the place where those of another language plant.) The various spellings of this name, all show plainly their origin from the Dakota name. From thiii ■■■•:'P'"*|.| %^p^ ill ■v ■ i ■■+.■. if- 1*, ft '■:i i- ' ■ml '<•$• 'i; n vrp-^g;^ Annals OF THE >;^y.v^1f planting place on the Chaienne, or Shienne of the North, tbis ptople removed aeroM the Missouri, where tbej gave their name to another river ; and having ceased to culti- vate the soil, it is said they now hunt on the head waters of the Platte and of the Ar- kansas. From their retiring so rapidly, it is probable that the Shiens had not occupied the Minnesota valley long before tho arrival uf the Dakotas, and that the first inhabi- tants of it, if not the lowas, were Otoes Onaahaws, or some other family of ^he Dakota stock. The languages of the tribes just named, as well as of the Winnebagoes and Osages, are so similar to the Dakota, as to iodicate a common origin. In the langna of the Mandaas Minetares and Crows or Ups^rokab, ho many Dakota words have found, as to render it highly probable, that they also, in part at least, belong to the same stock.* Whatever shall establish the origin of any one of these tribes, will go far towards doing the same in regard to the others. As the Sioux were undoubtedly the principal occupants of the Territory when visited by Hennepiu, and as we know more of them than of the others, oar subsequent remarks will have special reference to the Dakotas. Various circumstances, some of which we would here mention, but for the apprehen- sion that by so doing, this paper would be extended to an undue length, indicate that the Sioux resided long in the region where Hennepin found them. Many of them suppose that they originated there. They have a tradition however, that their ancestors came thither from the Northeast, where they had resided on a lake. It has been generally supposed, that this lake referred to in this tradition, is Bainy Lake, or Lake of the Woods. It is more probable however, that it was the Northern shore of Lake Superior, or Hudson's Bay, or some of the lakes between those large expanses of water. The Ojibwas have a tradition, that their ancestors drove the Sioux from the shores of Lake Superior. This tradition is corroborated by the name of the Ojibwas in the Dakota language Hahaton-wan, signifies dwellers at the Falls, and corresponds in sense with sauteur, applied to the same people it is said, because of their former residence at the Saut or Falls of Saint Marie. They were probably residing there, and the Sioux hunting and fishing on the shores of Lake Superior, when this name was first given to them. ■•;...•■..•■! -^^ •'• rT!\:r ■ ■ :■■ , . i. ■ ■ -•- - n'-.vf '"{.ii^'Ui ; ! r "' .. ■ ■ ■'pM-a i!i ',^;/r ;•. ;■;-■;-: _ ,f ' ' '■ i" • i'i aic.:;.^ -.-• .;,;;•■ ■■'>;! i- #«. ' CHAPTER II. ..,,.,.,• .. 1^4* ^N HISTORICAL REVIEW. . ; , IN THIS CHAPTER IS PBESENTKl) THE ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR RAMSEY, AT THK SECOKD AKhXAL M£ETIKO OF THE HISTORICAL SOCTETT, IN JANUARY, 1851, OCCASIONED BT HIS TAXING THB CHAIR AB PRESIDENT OF THE EOCIETT. IT may seem a strange thing, even to some among our own citizens, and still stranger to people elsewhf-re, that an Historical Society should have been formed in thisTerri- • The ancient Arkansas teem to have Lelonged to the Dakota family. A letter published in Kip'B Jesuit Mission, written by a Misaionary at the mouth of the Arkansas, in October 17i7 speaks of " a river which the Indians call Ni ska ( Minne ska ) or Whit« Water." Again • '" Thev place the hand upon the mouth, which is a sign of admiration among them." Ouakan tamie thev cry out, " it is the Great Spirit." They said probably, Wakan de. This is wonderful. (ED N ) Minnesota Historical Society. n tory lesii than a year after it« organization, when its history was apparently but a few months old, when the wilderness was, aa it is yet, around us, when the smoke of Indian lodges still intercept our view of the horizon, when our very name was so new, that men disputed as to its orthography, and fomed parties in contesting its literal meaning. :tfli An Historical Society in a laud of yesterday I Such an announcement would indeed naturally excite at the fifst glance, incredulity and wonder in the general mind. Well might it be exclaimed, "the country which has no past, can have no history;** with force could it be asked "where wee your recordsV and if we have thera, it wonld not be sur- prising if it were still demanded, "what those records conld possibly record ? — what negotiations ? — what legislation ?— what progress in arts or intellect could they possi- bly exhibit ?" " Canst thou gather figs from thorns, or grapes from thistles ? " True, pertinent as such queries might seem, yet nevertheless they would be dictated by error — they would be founded in great misapprehension ; for Minnesota has a his. tory, and that not altogether an unwritten one, which can unravel many a page of deep, engrossing interest; which is rich in tales of daring enterprise, of faithful endurances of high hopes; which is marked by the early travellers' foot-prints, and by the ancient explorer's pencil; which is glowing with the myths and traditions of our aboriginal race, sprinkled over with the wah-kaun stones of their teeming mythology. In Europe, nigh two hundred years ago, as in America at this day, Minnesota — I mean that region which is around and about us — was a land towards which many an "eye was turned, and in regard to which fact and fancy wove a wonderous tale of inter- est and romance. In consequence of this, from the time when Father Pierre Menard the devoted Jesuit Missionary, was lost in the forest in 1658 while crossing Kee-wee- pah Peninsula, and his sad fate conjectured only from his cassock and breviary, long afterwards found preserved as "Medicine" charms, amongst the wild Dakotas of our Territory, down to the time when Schoolcraft, in 1832, traced our giant Mississippi — a giant more wonderful than the hundred armed Briareus — to its origin in the gushing fountains of Itasca Lake, Minnesota has continued a favorite field of research, the bourne of many a traveller, and the theme of many a traveller's story. Here Hennepin, in 1680, was first to break the silence of these Northern wilds with a white man's voice, in giving to the foaming waters of St. Anthony's Falls their bap- tismal name in honor of his patron saint. Here was the scene of his captivity among the M'day-wah-kaun-twan Dakotas, and here he experienced the compassion and pro- tection of Wah-zeekoo-tay, the great Nahdawessey chief. . .• :.- li ;.; ; i r; fiiii!" More reliable than Hennepin, the gallant Le Sueur, a brave, enterprising and truth- ful spirit, in 1700 explored the shy-colored vfater of the Minnesota to its Blue Earth tributary, and in the vicinity of his log fort L'Huillier, on the banks of the Mahnkahto, first broke the virgin soil of our territory with the spade and pick-axe, in delving for copper ore, tons of which, or a green earth supposed to be the ore of that metal, he had conveyed to his native France. He it was, also, who appears to have been the first white man or trader, that supplied the "Scioux" and "Aiavvls" (loways) with pro- ducts of civilized labor ; and to his truthful and generally accurate Journal, (but recently brought to our knowledge by the indefatigable researches of our fellow-member, the Rev. Mr. Neill,) we are likewise indebted for the best statistics we possess of the early history of the Dakota race, which then, fully a century and a half ago, as now, occupied the greater portion of our Territory. ^m h: ''iri-l ^'^k^-til. 'J m Ik m 14 'T.!' " Annals of th« "•^'-^'^'^ !,!) i| til; FoUowiDg Le Sueur, after a considerabie interval, came Oaptain Jonathan Carrer, in 1716, and however extravagant we may regard tome of his statements, and however discreditable we may deem bis efforts to engross millions of acres, including nearly all the inhabited portion of Minnesota, and the very land upon which our town stands, by a pretended deed of gift from the Indiaus, still we must concede him to have been an adventurer of no mean courage and enterprise, and his narrative a valuable link in the chain of our early annals. Still later, and within the present century, Ca^s and Schoolcraft, Nicollet and Fre- mont, Long and Keating, have visited and explored our land ; and Pike, too, the heroic Zebulon Pike, who in 1802, during the "Expedition to the Upper Mississippi," of which he has presented so admirable a narrative, gave promise of that fortitude, cour- age and determination, which marked him throughout a glorious career, until his man- gled body surrendered up his noble spirit, happy in the triumph of his country's flag, on the plains of Canada. iwii* 'fn, (f - f. i. .- ■; These are our records — these, in part, our historiographers. Their works form step- ping stones, across at least that portion of the river of time, which in this region, for about two hundred years, has rolled its tide occasionally within view of the white race. The gaps between, it is not unfitly our duty and the object of this society, to lessen and to close up. The materials for this purpose are not scarce, though somewhat difficult to embody iu a tangible or reliable form. Not a foot of ground that wo tread, but has been trod by nations before us. Wild tribes of men liave marched their armies over the site of our towns and fields — fierce battles have been fought where ere long churches may rear their spires — our ploughshares may turn furrows amidst the graves of buried races, and our children play, perhaps, where generations of children have played centuries before them_ Dakota and Ojibway, Sbiann and Ausinabwaun, Winnebago and loway, Ozaukie and Musquakie, each, in turn or together, dwelt in the land, hunted and warred through it> migrated to and from it. When the first Jesuit missionary, one hundred and ninety years ago, visited Lake Superior, he found the Chippewas and Sioux engaged in that war, which has continued, with but little intermission, nearly to the present time. How long before — for how many centuries previous, this contest was waged, we know not — the records are dim, the traditions vague and uncertain. But we do know, that from the St. Groix to the Mille Lacs, the ancient home of tne M'day-wah-kanntwan Sioux, whose rich maple bottoms are a golgotha of hostile bones, through all the midland hunt- ing grounds to Lake Superior, and Northwest by wild rice shallows, to the fertile lands of Red Lake (whose waters have so often drank blood from battles on its shores as to have gained the ensanguined cognomen which we mildly translate " Red,") we can trace the terrible results of this warfare of the Algonquin and Dakota races, — a warfare which in its results completed that general disruption of all the old geographical relations of the various tribes of Minnesota, which the Dakotas, perhaps?, were the first to disarrange when they located on the Upper Mississippi. The incidents of this war — the battles, where fought— the victories, where and by whom Won — the councils held and alliances formed — the advances, the retreats, and the final conquests — are among the inquiries which this society will consider not unworthy !'!;»>! Minnesota. Historical Society. 10 of instituting. By comparlion of the records — by ascertaining corroborating traditions — we can likewise endeavor to fix the period when the fire-arms and iron tomahawk, which their fur trade with the French early placed in the hands of the Chippewas, prcM'ed too powerful for the flint-headed arrows, and wooden war clubs of tlie ancient Sioux ; and when, in consequence, the M'day-wahkawn-twauns moved down from their villages on MlUe Lacs, and the Teetwaun, Yaunktwaun, and Seeseetwaun Council Fires, struck their tents, abandoned their homes upon the Upper Mississippi, and invaded the Western buffalo plains where they now reside, sweeping before them the Shians and other tribes who were then in possession of them. A subject for our investigation, scarcely less interestinf?, is the history of that revolted branch of the Dakota family proper, who in'their own language are called the Hoh-hays, but who are known to us only by their Chippewa name of Assin-abwauns, or Stone Sioux, from their former residence among the rocky ledges about the Lake of the Woods* named by the Jesuits in their maps, more than a century and a half ago, Lake of the Assineboins. The causes which led to, and the period at which occurred, the disruption of the ties of brotherhood, which extinguished one of the grand Council Fires of the Dakota race, and allied its elements with the Algonquin enemy against the parent tribe — whether it originated, as has been said, in a second Helen and a second Paris, like the guilty pair, whose guilty flight lighted the torch of discord among the Pelasgian tribes of Greece, and led to the destruction of Troy — or whether other reasons operated to produce the fratricidal contest — it might be well to determine, — as well as the time at which they too migrated Westward, but in a more Northern line, towards the White Earth and Yellow Stone tributaries of the Missouri. Nor would it be foreign to the object of this association, to question into the degree of credit to be attached to the M'day-wah-kaun-twaun tradition, which assigns to the loways, the former possession of the St. Peters river country to its mouth, where they were found by the Dakotas and driven Southwest j'^^and to what extent this tradition is confirmed by the probable fact, that in 1700, when Le Sueur visited the Mahnkah- toh, the loways yet held the lands in this Territory about the head waters of the Des Moines, from which, subsequently to this time, we know they must have been further driven by the Sioux, low down on that river ; and whether, also, this last retrogression was not immediately occasioned by that Western invasion of the Dakotas of the Upper Mississippi, which has already been alluded to. Another inquiry which suggests itself pregnant with equal interest, is as to the pro- bability, or otherwise, that this expulsion of the loways from the Minnesota, caused the separation from them into distinct bands or tribes, of the Otoes, Omahas and Wiu- nebagoes, who are unquestionably of the same origin with the loways, and that too, not very remotely — if, as I understand, they all speak one language, with slight differ, ences of pronunciation, the result of isolation, but which differences do not prevent their readily comprehending each other — and in this connection, likewise, we may with pro- priety'discuss'the probability of the conjecture that the Winnebagoes, at the separation, were but a band of a few families of loways, who, escaping from the Dakota invasion, Eastward, instead of Southwest, settled at the head of Green Bay, where, near two hundred years since, their village — still a small one — was found by Marquette, who de- 1 • ■ u Ifci f 11^ .■'•■ W t ,,■*■■■ ■f \y* \ *^'? m ■in lit'"' IS \iv 4 W ' Annals oi the ■igoates in hi« map the Bay, as the Bayt du Puans, and the village aa that of the Puatu. Here, aurrounded by Algonqain tribes, the hereditary enemies of their enemy, they were safe from molestation by the Upper Dakotas ; and in the progress of time, the Hoh-tchungk-gpnha, (as they call themselves,) growing strong with continued peace, and increasing gradually in numbers, spread themselves without opposition over a con- siderable extent of country to the Southward, presenting finally to the eyes of men of science, that anomaly which has puzzled even the historian Bancroft, to account for — an outlier of the great Pawnee Dakota group of tribes, situated far towards the East, and entirely amongst the Algonquin family of tribes, with whose cognate languages, their's has not the slightest affinity. Dwelling thus upon the origiu of tribes, it may not be out of place to refer to the prevalent opinion among men, who have investigated the subject, that the Chippewas who are spread over the Northern portion of this Territory and Wisconsin, are emigrants from the East since the discovery of America ; and tlint the Sioux who in ancient times occupied the exact position that the former do now, first knew these indomitable enemies as did the eailiest white men who visited them, as dwellers at the Falls of St. Mary, of Ijake Superior. As Hrah-hrah-twauns, or people of the Falls, is the Dakota proper name for them, just as Saulteurs, having the same signification, is that bestowed upon them by the French, the opinion that they came from the East or North, crossing from the Canada side by the Falls, is not without plausibility to sustain it. ' '''"' '' I have thrown out these hints, embodying speculations and theories, to ha sure, but speculations nevertheless that arc not uninteresting, which may stimulate to research, and I hope eliminate some facts from the chaotic oblivion in which our aboriginal history is covered up. But while attending to these, I would not that we should forget the more tangible objects for which we are associated. A library that shall embrnce works Upon American history, in all its branches ; that shall gather upon its shelves, the nar. ratives of early and later travellers to this and other portions of the great West ; that shall be rich in archaeology and ethnology ; that in books upon the science of languages, and in vocabularies of our aboriglnol dialects, shall presert an inviting field for the stu- dent in comparative philology — such a library we should endeavor to collect and pre- serve. Nor must we rest content with availing ourselves of the labor of others. There is much for each of us individually to do. A great deal that is worth preserving is yet unwritten. While the Indians are within our reach, we should hasten to record their traditions, to describe their manners and customs, their religious rites, their domestic observances, their peculiarities in peace und war ; we should seize the opportunity as well to sketch some of the beautiful, and often most elaborately constructed legends which like that concerning the huge man-fish which spanned the mouth of the St. Croix and dammed its waters, or that of Mannobosho, the Thunderer of Lake Superior, in- vest with a spiritual interest nearly every lake and river, and prominent landmark of tlio country. In tracing the origin of the Indinn races around us, we should not overlook the ne- cessity of preserving their languages, as most important guides in this interesting, though perhaps unavailing pursuit. It must be evident to all, that they are destined to pass T Minnesota. Historical Society. 11 nway with tho tribes who speak them, unlusfi by rocabularies wu promptly arrest their cxtiiiclion. The Dakota language proper — thanks to the arduous labors of the Messrs. Pond, Riggs and Williamson, the devoted missionaries among them, is in no danger of buitfg loHt — an elaborate Dictionary of fifteen thousand words and a Grammar, attest t hti extent of their labors, and are evidences that any work by members of this associa- tion in thut ilircctiou would be superfluoas. But there are other tribes whose dialects will continue to remain, in a great measure, unwritten ones, if some among us do not voluntarily assume the tusk of lexicographers, as I trust some will. .,, While thuB endeavoring to secure the fleeting memorials of the rtd nations who have play?d their parts on this division of the world's great stage, it should not escBjie our recollection, that the white pioneers of the Northwest, who for many a year have toiled nnd struggled with the difficulties of the wilderness — men of intelligence, and energy nnd fortitude — have likewise tales to tell which are not unimportant links in our anuals. Wc cordially invito these to contribute their quota to our local history, and shall be c(|ually obliged to them or to others for contributions to our Museum, in which we de- sign collecting samples of tho domestic manufactures, utensils, arms, dress and relics, peculiar to the old inhabitants of the land. , , ; . Institutions like ours, elevate the character of our young Territory in the eyes of friends nbroiid, and in the estimation of men of character and science, more than would the golden sands of California, if we possessed them. Let us not forfeit their good opinion by either becoming discouraged in the path we have marked out, or neglecting to do nil in our power to work out the plan under which we are associated. Each member should consider it his duty to contribute something to tho common stock, and not rest content with permitting or asking a few only to sustain tho institution by their labors. History is said to be philosophy teaching by example ; and if this be so, historical societies may be characterized as the retorts in which the elements of that philo.sophy are collected and combined. We should be careful then, not to allow our retort to explode from want of attention, nor to collopse for want of aliment, lest our future should derive no instruction from philosophical deductions ou the events of our not uninteresting, though somewhat mythical and traditionary past. m ":-',M ;V;f^ .' *''■■ ,^ ■', IVI'-.'.I*. CHAPTER III. . ,,, EARLY NOTICES OF THE DAKOTAS. Bv EDWARD D. NEILL, r TIHE history of any one nation of the Aborigines of America is to be written I materials of information are a " rude and undigested mass," locked up in ol lie documents or the recent issues of Congress. The mere narratives of hurried travellers, like La Hontan, of a past, and Lanman, of a more recent period, the " Jew Apella may believe," but they can never be looked upon as standards, or guides to the dwellers in future cities on Indian hunting grounds. Our old pub- 18 •' '■■*• Annals of the « In the hope that it may lead ■ome one to prepare « full history, we have collected in the present article, KARI.Y NOTICEa OK TUB PAKOTAS. The region around the vaat lakes of North America, that Hupply tho river Saint Law- rence, was partially explored before the emigrants of the Mayflower ever trod on New England soil. While Massachusetts was an "incognita terra" to the "savans" of Euro])e, the French had gained an inkling of tho Mediterranean of America, Lake Supe- rior, and the rapids of St. Mary. In the map of Charuplain, i.ssued but a few years after his explorations in the Northwest, there ap|)ear both of these, the former as " Grand Lao," tho latter as "Oaston Rapid"; also a grand river flowing from the lake toward the South, which was probably made to represent the Mississippi, of which dim rumors had been heard from the Indians he met on the sliores of Lake Huron. The flrst mention that wo have of tho Dakota family of Indians, is by Nicollet, a public man that bad been sent by the gorernmeut at Quebec, to treat with tribes iu the neighborhood of Qrcen Bay, Wisconsin, as early us 1639, the ycor that the settlers of New-Haven formed themselves into a body politic. This adventurous man visited the Ounipegou (Winnebogo) tribe, according to him "a people called so because they came from a distant sea, but whom some French erroneously called Puante.'"" He appears moreover to have extended his tour to the head of the Fox even to the waters of the Wisconsin. Two years elapse, and in 1641, Joguei and Kaymbault, of the " Society of Jesus," after a journey of seventeen days, in frail barks over tempestuous waves, arrive at the barrier of rocks that prevented the safe passage of the birch canoe into Lake Superior, and then at the Falls of Saint Mary, they learned from the Ojibways, whom they came to visit, of the existence of a powerful nation, now correctly called Dakotas, but fre- quently the Sioux. The Ojibways informed the Jesuits that the Dakotas lived eighteen days journey to the West. " Thus," says Bancroft, in his well known chapter on Jesuit Missions, "did the religious zeal of the French bear the cross to the banks of the St. Mary and the confines of Lake Superior, and look wistfully toward the home of tho Sioux, in the valley of the Mississippi, five years before the apostle Eliot had addressed the tribe of Indians that dwell within six miles of Boston Harbor." Those in the service of Mammon outrun those in the service of God. The " insaeer fames aun " is more impelling than the sacred love for souls. Hence, the trader has ever been the forerunner of the missionary in savage lands. In 1664, two young men, connected \vith the fur trade, accompanied a party of Indians on their hunting excursions, and were probably the first white men who entered the present Territory of Minnesota, and visited the Dakotas. Before we advance, it is proper to state that the Dakotas were called by the early French writers " Nadouechiouek," " Nadouessi," " Nndsuessiouek," and subsequently *' Scioux," or " Sioux." The Ojibway word for nn enemy is Nadouaisi, the plural of which is Nadouaisioug. The Dakotas were to them their enemies above all others, and they are at this day, and whenever they spoke of them, they designated them as such. The voyageur in time, abreviated the word into Sioux. Charlevoix who visited Green Boy in 1121, in his great work on New France, tr^- * Quoted by Shea in Exploration and Discovery of the Missiadppi. Minnesota Historical Society. 19 f I pared bj order of Louis XIV., says : *' The name of 8loux, that we give to these In- diana, it entirely of our own mailing, or rather it is but the Inst two Mjllabiefl of the naim* of Nadoueflsioux, as many natloni call them." In a copy of the Relations of the JeHulta for l(i57— 8 which we fiud in the State Library at Albany, thore k the followiug mention: " Dcs Nadouechiouck, a trente cinq lieuci on environ du \fu- Alimlbig, hc nommo liv nation des Asiinipoulak, rest a diro le« guerrlers de pierre." • After the comin >t aad almost rompiote extermination of tho Huron* by the Irocjuois, a portion of the wandering Hurons fount) a temporary resting place iu the lodges of tliH Dakotas, between the FallN <>f St. Anthony and Loko Superior. About the year 1669, two French traders who had wintered around the shore of Lake Superior visited a village of Hnrons, that had once dwelt among the Dakota.s. Tfav ing claimed superiority on account of their kflowledgc of fire-arms, they taunted and maltreated those who had received them when they were outcasts and fleeing from the warlike Irotjuois. At last provoked boyonil endurance tho once friendly Dakotas decoyed a large num- ber into a rice marsh, and pierced to death, many, with their primitive, but effective stone tipped arrow.s. The remnant of tho Hurons fled to Chegoimegon, now known as La Pointe where the traders appear to have met them. Pushing beyond, the Frenchmen waudored into the Dakota land and snw some Da- kota women with the tips of their noses cut off and heads partly scalped, and were iu- formed that this was the penalty inflicted upon adulteresses. In the summer of 1660, the traders returned to Quebec, with sixty canoes manned by Algonquins, and laden with beaver, fox and buffalo robes. The narrative of these men was received with enthusiasm, and the Jesuits longed to plant the cross beside tho banner of France in tho villages of tho now found nation of Dakotas. The Ojibway tradition agrees with the statement of early French writers that traders preceded missionaries along the shores of Lake Superior. From an intelligent native of La Pointe, lately deceased, the following tradition of the appearance of the whites at the head of Lake Superior was obtained : " While the Ojibways were dwelling on La Pointe, a party of lads who were spearing fish through holes in the ice, discoverd a smoke arising from the Eastern extremity of tho island, which was then seldom visited. Proceeding in that direction, they found in a rough cab- in, tyo white men in the last stages of starvation. Coasting the lake late in the fall, they had been driven by the ice on to the island, and not knowing that any human beings were near, they had almost perished, and had at tiie time of the discovery, saith the tra- dition, been reduced to the necessity of roasting and eating their clothes and blankets." At the receipt of the tale of the royageurs Lallemant, the Superior of the Jesuits at Quebec, longed to be an " angel " of glad tidings to the tribes of the great Lake, but his presence in the town could not be spared. The pioneer selected to be the cross bearer to the barbarians dwelling round about Lake Superior was Rene Menard. He was a man whitened and ripened by age; of large experience and long acquaintance with the peculiarities of the Indian character, he was admirably adapted for the mission. «f' . ■ >■ 1"', 11' m ,m':' . m m m 20 Annals of the ■U Previous to his departure from Three Rivers (Trois Rivieres) he wrote the following note to his Superior. " My Reverend Father : — The peace of Christ be with you : I write to you prob- ably the last, and which I hope will be the seaKof cv.r fricndsbip until eternity. Love whom the Lord Jesus did not disdain to love, though the greatest of sinners, for he loves whom he loads with his cross. Let your friendship, my good Father, be useful to to me, by the desirable fruits of your daily sacrifice. " In three or four months, you may remember me at the memento for the dead, oii ac- count of my old age, my weak constitution, and tbe hardships I lay under amongst these tribes. Nevertheless I am ip peace, for I have not been led to this mission by any tem- poral motive; but I think it was by the voice of God. I was to resist the grace of God, by not coming here. Eternal remorse would have tormented me, had I not come when I had the opportunity. " We have been a little surprised, not being able to provide ourselves with vestments and other things; but he who feeds the little birds and clothes the lilies of the fields, will take care of his servants, and though it should happen, ive should die with want, wo would esteem ourselves happy. I am loaded with affairs. What I can do is to recoin ■ mend our journey, to your daily sacrifices, and to embrace you with the same sentiments of heart, as I hope to do in eternity . My reverend Father, Your most humble and affectionate servant in Jesus Christ, R. MENARD. From the Three Rivers, ) This 26th August, 2 o'clock after midnight, 1C60. j Accompanied by a band of Ottawas, the aged priest started the next day, for the far West. His journey was beset with trials. At one time ridiculed by his wild com- panions, and at another reduced to the extremity of living on pounded bones. On the 15th of October, 1660 he reached u bay on Lake Superior, one hundred leagues West of the rapids of Saint Mary. For more than eight months, surrounded by a few French voyageurs, and many savages, he dwelt, to use his own language, " in a kind of small hermitage, a cabin built of fir branches piled on one another, not so much to shield me from rigor of the season, as to correct my imagination and pursuade me that I was shel- tered," On the return of spring he was prompted to attetnpt a visit to the Ilurons, who after being expelled by the Dakotas had settled at Chegoimegon or La Pointo. On the 20th of August, 1661, while John Guerin, a faithful comrade was making- a portage with the canoe, Menard entered the woods. Guerin, in much distress, called for him at the top of his voice, discharged his gun, and searched the forest, lint iVfo- nard's form was undiscovered. A century ago the report was current that some years after he disappeared, his cas- ■ock and prayer-book were found in a Dakota lodge, and viewed by tlic possessors as " wakan" or supernatural. Though the loss of Menard saddened, it did not deter the Jesuits from the attempt to plant missions among the tribes towards the Western extremity of Lake Superior. On the first of May, 1665, a successor, Allouez had arrived at the Rapids of Saint Minnesota Historical Society. n Mary and the first day of October, bis birch canoe grated on the sands of Chegoime- gon (La Polnte.) His first introduction was to a council of Ojibways called to arrange a war party against their then ancient enemies, the Dakotas. At this point he found also Sauks, Illinois and Pottawattomies, and as it appeared to be a general Algonquin rendezvous, he decided to make it a mission station, and named it that of " the Holy Spirit." In a little while, amid the rude lodges, there arose a frail and humble chapel dedi- cated to the Holy Spirit. In excursions along the Minnesota, even to the North shore of the Lake, he occasion. ally met bands of Dakotas, but could not converse, on account of ignorance of their language. But in his letters he speaks of " Nadouessiouk," and says •' they live on the great Messippi," and this is the first mention in history of that stream, now the world re- nowned Mississippi. In 16 09 the distinguished Marquette succeeded AUouez in the charge of the mis- sion at La Pointe; writing from the mission .of the Holy Spirit Marquette describes the Dakotas in these words. " TheNadouessi are the Iroquois of this country, beyond La Pointe, but less faith- less and never attack till attacked. They lie Southwest of the mission of the Holy Spirit, and we have not yet visited them, having confined ourselves to the conversion of the Ottawas. Their language is entirely different from the Huron and Algonquin; they have many villages, but are widely scattered ; they have very extraordinary customs ; they princi- pally use the calumet ; they do not speak at great feasts, and when a stranger arrives give him to eat of a wooden fork, as we would a child. " All the lake tribes make war on them, but with small success ; they have false oats (wild rice), use little canoes, and keep then- word strictly. I sent them a present by an interpreter, to tell them to recognize the Frenchman everywhere, and not to kill him or the Indians in his company ; that the black gown wishes to pass to the country of the Assinipouars (Assiniboines) and to that or the Kilistinaux (Cnisteneaux) ; that he was already with the Outagamis (Foxes), and that I was going this fall to the Illinois, to whom they should leave a free passage. " They agreed, but as for my present waited till all came from the chase, promising to come to La Pointe in the fall, to hold a council with the Illinois and speak with me. Wonld that all these nations loved God as thev feared the French." To La Pointe the Dakotas came, but not to converse with Marquette in relation to the Prince of Peace. Brandishing their long stone knives, with the dreadful whoop of war, and in their nakedness they sprang upon their enemies and drove them from the extremity of the lake. In a few months, the chapel of the Holy Spirit was invisible, the lodges of the Algonquins were taken down, Marquette and the Huron band had departed in their canoes, never to return to Lake Superior, and pitched their tents at Mackinaw. Shea in the " History of the Catholic Missions " relates a conflict between the Sioux and Algonquins, at the Falls of Saint Mary, at a later day. "In 1674 Father Druilletes beheld his church consumed by fire, during a conflict be- tween some Sioux iind some Algonquins, The former came as embassadors to treat of r I ' 'i <- 1 IS * *> .- J "} 22 Annals op the peace, for the tribe had been worsted in recent engagements. The missionary desirous of founding a Sioux mission, had already some of the tribe in his house under instruc- tions; with the same view he now received the envoys. A council of reception was held at the mission house to deliberate on the proposed peac ;. While thus engaged a Cris- tinaux brandished his knife in the face of a Sioux chief. Fired at the insult the Dahcota sprang to his feet, and seizing the stone knife in his belt, drew from bis long hair a sec ond, which they always cany there. Brandishing these he shouted his war cry, and with his clansmen soon drew the Algonquins from the house. To dislodge them their antago- nists fired the building, killed the Sioux envoys and two women, but lost t wice as many of their own number." CHAPTER IV. LOUIS HENNEPIN, THE FRANCISCAN. THE FIPST BXPLORBR OP THK MISSISSIPPI ABOVE THE WISCONSIN. IN the vast wilderness that intervenes between the Western extremity of Lake Superioi* and the npper Mississippi, there is a large and beautiful lake. Its shores are elevated and strewn with vast boulders, presenting the appearance of a deserted ball ground of the Titans. On the Western side, a knife-like point extends into the lake, shaded by lofty pines. In the immediate v'cinity is an island noted for the fertility of its soil, and which has been tilled by the aborigines, after their manner, for nearly two centuries. Surrounded by forests of maple, the marshes in the vicinity rank in the growth of wild rice, the clear waters the abode of an abundance of fish, its position a Gibralter to foes, it is a place, above all others, desirable as a residence to the Indian. On the isle in this remote lake, two years before the mild and educated Penn conferred with the In- dians on the banks of the broad Delaware, on the site of a portion of Philadelphia, there was an European, a captive among the children of the forest, who, in the grey robe of the Franciscan, was compelled to work with the women, and submit to nil the treatment that the caprice of the chief dictated. The individual had l)een well educated, travelled on the continent, officiated in the capacity of ecclesiastic on the battle field and in poblic institutions beyond the Atlantic, and been the companion of the renowned La Salle in many of his adventures. It was Louis Hennepin, a Recollect Franciscan. Though his reputation was sadly tarnished by some acts, it cannot be dented that he was a shrewd observer, and apt in the acquisition of the languages of the several tribes he visited in the New World. While his charac- ter cannot be admired, as long as the " voice of many waters " is lioard at Niatiara, and the Falls of the Mississippi, his name will be recalled by the historian, While he was a member of the first company of civilized men that visited the Mis- sissippi above the mouth of the Wisconsin, and the first to name and describe the Falls of Saint Anthony, it was also in an edition of his book of travels, that the first engrav- ing of the cataract at Niagara was presented to the world. Minnesota Historical Society. 23 EARLY HISTORY. The account of Hennepin's early life is chiefly obtained from the introduction to the Amsterdam edition of his book of travels. He was born in Alb, an inland tonrn of the Netherlands. From boyhood he longed to visit foreign countries, and it is not to be wondered at that he assumed the priestly office, for next to the army, it was the road, in that age, to distinction. For several years he led quite a wandering lile. A mem- ber of the Recollect branch of the Franciscans, at one time he is on a begging expedition to some of the towns on the sea-coast In a few months he occupies the post of chaplain at an hospital, where he shrives the dying iiud administers extreme unction. From the quiet of the hospital, he proceeds to the camp, and is present at the battle of Seneffe, which occurred in the )ear 1674. His whole mind, from the time that he became a priest, appears to have been in " things seen and temporal," rather than in those that are " unseen and eternal." While on duty at some of the ports on the Straits of Dover, he exhibited the characteristic of an ancient Athenian more than that of a professed successor of the Apostles. He sought out the society of strangers " who spent thoir time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing." With perfect nonchalance he confesses that notwithstanding the nauseating fumes of tobacco, he used to slip behind the doors of sailors' taverns, and spend days, without regard to the loss of his meals, listening to the adventures and hair- breadth escapes of the mariners in lands beyond the sea. VOYAGK TO AMERICA. In the year 1676 he received a welcome order from his superior, requiring him to em- bark for Canada. Unaecustomed to the worId,and arbitrary in his disposition, he rendered the cabin of the ship in which he sailed, any thing but heavenly. As in modem day8,the passengers in a vessel to the new world, were composed of heterogeneous materials. There were young women, going out in search for brothers, or husbands, ecclesiastics, and those engaged in the then new, but profitable commerce in furs. One of his fellow passen- gers was the talented, and enterprising, though unfortunate La Salle, with whom he after- wards associated. If he is to be credited, his intercourse with La Salle was not very pleasant on ship board. The young women tired of being cooped up in the narrow ac- commodations of the ship, when the evening was fair sought the deck, and engaged in the rude dances of the French peasantry of that age. Hennepin feeling that it was im- proper, began to assume the air of the priest, and forbid the sport. La Salle feeling that his interference was uncalled for, called him a pedant, and took the side of the girls, and during the voyage there were stormy discussions. Good humor appears to have been restored when they left the ship, for Hennepin would otherwise have not been the companion of La Salle in his great Western journey. Sojourning for a short period at Quebec, th3 adventure-loving Franciscan, is per- mitted to go to a mission station on or near the site uf the present town of Kingston, Canada West. Here there was much to gratify his love of novelty, and he passed considerable time in rambling among the Iroquois of Kew York, even penetrating as far Eastward as the Dutch fort Orange, now the city of Albany. JOINS LA SALLB'S EXPEDmON. In 1678 he returned to Quebec and was ordered to join the expedition of Robert La Salle. m • J> ■'•' '' 'I Jr.' w w I i'. .''"■'/I m :■ V'l;' iij #1 ' '■.'.'''•1 I 24 Annals op the On the sixth of December Father Hennepin and a portion of the exploring party had entered tbd Niagara river. In the vicinity of the Falls, the winter was passed, and while the artizana were preparing a ship above the falls, to navigate the great lakes the Becolleet wiled away the hours in studying^the manners and customs of the St n- eca Indians, and in admiring the subllmest handiwork of God on the Globe. On the seventh of August, 1679, the ship being completely rigged, unfurled it:) sails to the breezes of Lake Erie. The vessel was named the GriiBn, in honor of the arms of Frontenac, Governor of Canada, the first ship of European construction that had ever ploughed the waters of the great inland seas of North America. After encountering a violent and dangerous storm on one of the lakes, duriii!^- which they had given up all hopes of escaping shipwreck, on the twenty-seventh of the month, they were safely moored in the harbor of " Missilimackinack," From tlicnco the parly proceeded to Green Bay, where they left the ship, procured canoes, and continued along the coast of Lake Michigan. By the middle of January, 1G80, La Salle had conducted his expedition to the Illinois river, and on an eminence near Lake Peoria, lie commenced, with much heaviness of heart, the erection of a fort, which he called Crevecoeur, on account of the many disappointments he had experienced. La Salle, in the month of February, selected Hennepin and two traders for the ardu- ous and dangerous undertaking of exploring the unknown regions of the upper Mississippi- Daring and ambitious of distinction as a discoverer, he was not averse to such a com- mission, though perhaps he may have shrunk from the undertaking at so inclement a season as the last of February is, in this portion of North America. , EMBARKS FOR THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. On the twftnty-nmth of February, 1680, with two voyageurs, named Plcard du Guy and Michael Ako, Hennepin embarked in a canoe on the voyage of discovery. The venerable Ribourde, a member of a Burgundian family of high rank, and a fellow Franciscan, came down to the river bank to see him off, and in bidding him fare- well told him to acquit himself hke a man, and be of good courage. His words were, " Viriliter age et confortetur cor tuum." "^ , . . ,., - The canoe was loaded with about one hundred and fifty dollars worth of merchandize for the purpose of trade with the Indians, and in addition La Salle presented to Hen- nepin ten knives, twelv« awls or bodkins, a parcel of tobacco, a package of needles, and a pound or two of white or black beads. The movements of Hennepin, during the month of March, are not very clearly re- lated. He appears to have been detained at the junction of the Illinois with the Mississippi by the floating ice, until near the middle of that month. He then com- menced the ascent of the river for the first time by civilized man, though Marquette had seven years before descended from the Wisconsin. Surrounded by hostile and unknown natives, they cautiously proceeded. On the 1 Itli of April, 1680, thirty-three bark canoes, containing a Dakota war party against tlie Illinois and Miami nations, hove in sight, and commenced discharging tlieir arrows at the canoe ol the Frenchmen. Perceiving the calumet of peace, they ceased their hostile demonstrations and approached. The first night that Hennepin and his coini)anions passed with the Dakota party was one of anxiety. The next morning, a chief named Narrhetoba asked for the peace calumet, filled it with willow bark, and all smoked. It was then signified that the whit© ineR were to return with them to their villages. '■■■^"\ Minnesota Historical Society. 25 Hennepin's attempt to pray. In his narrative the FraDciscan remarks: — " I found it difficult to say my office before these Indians. Many seeing me move my lips, said in a fierce tone, 'Ouakanche.' Michael, all out of countenance, told me, that if I continued to say my breviary, we should all three be killed, and the Picard begged me at least to pray apart, so as not to provoke them. I followed the latter's advice, but the more I concealed myself, the more I had the Indians at my heels, for when I entered the wooJ, they thought I was going to hide some goods under ground, so that I knew not on what side to turn to pray, for they never let me out of sight. This obliged me to beg pardon of ray canoemen, assur- ing them I could not dispense with saying my office. By the word ' Ouackanche,' the Indiana meant that the book I was reading was a spirit, but by their gesture they never" theless showed a kind of aversion, so that to accustom them to it, I chanted the Litany of the Blessed Vii^in in the canoe, with my l)ook open. They thought that the breviary was a spirit which taught nie to sing for their diverelon, for these people are naturally fV)nd of singing." This is the first mention of a Dakota word in a European book. The savages wore annoyed rather than enraged, at seeing the white man reading a book, and exclaimed " Wakan-de !" this is wonderful or supernatural. The war party was composed of seve- ral bands of the Mdewakan-tonwan Dakotas, and there was a diversity of opinion in relation to the disposition that should be made of the white men. The relatives of those who had been killed by the Miamis were in favor of taking their scalps, but others were anxious to retain the favor of the French, and open a trading intercourse. Perceiving one of the canoemen shoot a wild turkey, they called the gun Manza Ouack- ange — iron that has understanding ; more correctly, Maza Wakande, this is the super- natural metal. .\RR1VE AT lake PEPIS. Aquipaguatin cne of the head men resorted to the following device to obtain merchan- dise. Says the Father, "this wily savage had the bones of some distinguished relative, which he preserved with great care in some skins dressed and adorned with several rows of black and red porcupine quills. From time to time he assembled his men to give it a smoke, and made us come several days to cover the bones with goods, and by a present wipe away the tears he had shed for him, and for his own eon killed by the Miamis. To appease this captious man, we threw on the bones several fathoms of tobacco, axes, knives, beads, and some black and white wampum bracelets. ******* We slept at the point of the Lake of Tears, which we so called from the tears which this chief shed all night long, or by one of his sons whom he caused to weep when he grew tired. DAKOTA METHOD OF OBTAINING FIRE. The next day, after four or five leagues sail, a chief came and telling them to leave their canoes, he pulled up three piles of grass for seats. Then taking a piece of cedar full of little holes, he placed a stick into one, which he revolved between the palms of his hands, until he kindled a fire, and informed the Frenchmen that they would be at Mille Lac in six days. On the nineteenth day after their captivity, they arrived in the vicinity of Saint Paul, not far it is probable from the marshy ground on which the Kaposia band once lived, and now called '* Pig's Eye." The journal remarks, "having arrived on the nineteenth day of our navigation five P mm ■:■'■■'' :l ..■■ ■(■•.i %r:;i:y: ■'I'..,.,' if-i ■m .W'v '■''•■ 26 Annals of the leagues below St. Anthony falls, these Indians landed us in a bay, broke our canoe to pieces, and secreted their own in the reeds." They then followed the trail to Mille Lac, sixty leagues distant. As they approach- ed their villages the various bands began to show their spoils. The tobacco was highly prized and led to some contention. The chalice of the Father which glistened in the sun, they were afraid to touch, supposing it was " wakan." After five days walk they reached the Issati (Dakota) settlements in the valley of the Rum River. The different bauds, each conducted a Frenchman to their village, the chief Aquipaguetin taking charge of Hennepin. After marching through the marshes towards the sources of Rutn River, five wives of the chief, in three bark canoes, met them and took them a short league to an island where their cabins were. ' '■ HENNEPIN AT MILLE LAC. ' • An aged Indian kindly rubbed down the way worn Franciscan — placing him on u bear skin near the fire, he anointed his legs and the soles of his feet with wild-cat oil. The son of the chief took great pleasure in carrying upon his bare back the Priests robe with dead mens bones enveloped. It was called Pere Louis Chinnien — in the Da- kota language Sbinna or Shinnan signifies a buffalo robe. Hennepin's description of his life on the island is in these words : " The day after our arrival Aquipaguetin, who was the head of a large family, cover- ed me with a robe made often large dressed beaver skins, trimmed with porcupine quills. This Indian showed me five or six of his wives, telling them, as I afterwards learned, that they should in future regard me as one of their children. SWEATING CABIN. *' He set before me a bark dish full of fish, and seeing that I could not rise from the ground he had a small sweating cabin made, in which he made me enter naked with four Indians. This cabin he covered with buffalo skins, and inside he put stones red to the middle. He made rae a sign to do as the others before begining to sweat, but I merely concealed my nakedness with a handkerchief. As soon as these Indians had several times breathed out quite violently he began to sing vociferously, the others putting their hands on me and rubbing me while they wept bitterly. I began to faint, but I came out and could scarcely take my habit to put on. When he made me sweat thus three times a week, I felt as strong as ever." ASTOXISHMENT AT COMPASS AND IRON POT. The mariner's compass was a constant source of wonder and amazement. Aquip- aguetin having assembled the braves would ask Hennepin to show his compass. Per- ceiving that tlie needle turned, the chief harangued his men, and told them that the Europeans were spirits, capable of doing anything. In the Franciscans possession waskan iron pot with lion paw feet which tlie Indians would not touch unless their hands were wrapped in buffalo skins. The women looked upon it as " wakan," and would not enter the cabin where it was. THE First Dakota lexicon. Necessity soon forced the Father to compile a Dictionary, and chilr"'; .• were his as- sistants. He writes, " As soon as I could caich the word Taketchia'oihen (Taku-kapi- he) which means " what call you that," I became in a short time able to converse on the familiar objects. At first this difficulty was hard to surmount. If I had a desire to know what " to ran " was, in their tongue, I was forced to incre«ee my speed and ac- W' Minnesota Historical Society. ^m tudlljr run from one end of the lodge to the other, until they understood what I meant and had told me the word, which I presently set down in my Dictionary." "The chiefs of these savages seeing that I was desirous to learn, frequently made me write, naming all the parts of the human body, and as I would not put on paper cer^ tain indelicate words, at whicK they do not blush, they were heartily amused. They often asked the Franciscan questions, to answer which, it was necessary to refer • to his lexicon. This appeared very strange, and as they had no word for paper, they said ♦* That white thing must be a spirit which tells Pere Louis all wc say." OONVERBATION ON MARRIAGE. Hennepin remarks: "These Indians often asked me how many wives and children 1 had, and how old I was, that is how many winters, for so these natives always count. Never illumined by the light of faith, they were surprised at my answer. Pointing to our two Frenchmen, whom I was then visiting, at a point three leagues from our village, I told them that a man among us could only have one wife, that as for me I had prom- ised the Master of life to live as they saw me, and to come and live with them to teach them to be like the French. But that gross people till then, lawless and faithless, turned all I said into ridicule. *' How " said they " would yju have these two men with thee have wives ? Ours would not live with them, for they have hair all over their face, and we have none there or elsewhere." In fact they were never better pleased with me than when I was i^havedr and from a complaisance, certainly not criminal, I shaved every week." BAPTISM OF AX INFANT. " As I often went to visit the cabins, I found a sick child, whose fathers name was Mamenisi. Michael Ako would not accompany me, the Picard du Gay alone followed me to act as sponsor, or rather to witness the baptism. I Christened the child Antoinette, in honor of St. Anthony of Padua, as well us for the Picards uame which was Anthony Auguelle. He was a native of Amiens, and nephew of the Procurator General of the Premoustratensians both now at Paris. Hav- ing poured natural water on the head and uttered these words: "Creature of God, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of tlie Son, and of the Holy Ghost," I took half an altar cloth which I had wrested from the hands of an Indian, who had stolen it from me, and put it on the body of the baptized child; for as I could not say mass for want of wine and vest lents, this piece of linen could not be put to better use, than to enshroud the first Christian child among these tribes. I do not know whether the softness of the linen had refreshed her, but she was the next day smiling in her mothers arras, who belived that I had cured the child, but she died soon after, to my great consolation." ARRIVAL OF DISTANT INDIANS. "During my siay among them, there arrived four savages, who said they were Come alone five hundred leagues from the West, and had been four months upon the way. — They assured us there was no such place as the Straits of Anian, and that they had trav- elled without resting except to sleep, and had not seen or passed over any great lake, by which phrase they always mean the sea. They further informed us that the nation of the Assenipoulacs (Assiniboincs) who lie Northeast of Issati, was not above six or seven da^s journey; that none of the nations within their knowledge, who lie to the East, or Northwest, had any great lake about m Ifel '■,,■ 1.; li fi-rM .1 St ''I i 28 Annals of the their countries, which were very large, but only rivers which came from the North ; they further assured us that there were very few iorests in the countries through which thoy passed, insomuch that now and then, they were forced to make fires of Buil.ilos' dung to boil their food. All these circumstances rat^ke it appear that there is no such place as the Straits of Aniau, as we usually see them set down on the maps. And what- ever eflforts have been made for many years past by the English and Dutch, to find out a passage to the Frozen Sea, they have not yet been able to effect it. But by the help of my discovery, and the assistance of God, I doubt not but a passage may still be found, and that an easy one too. For example, we may be transported ir.to the Pacific Sea, by rivers which are large and capable of carrying great vessels, and from thence it is very easy to go to China and Japan without crossing the equinoctial line and in all 'probability Japan is on the same continent as America." Before proceeding farther with the life of Hennepin, it is necessary that we should know something of De Luth. ! CHAPTER V. SIEUR DU LUTH. THE EXPLOIlKIi BETWEEN M[U.E LACS AM) LAKE SLI'EllIon. ONE of the early Frenr:b writers on Ihc Northwest, remarks: — "In the last year of M. dc Frontenac's first administration, Sieur du Luth, a man of talent anp experience, opened a way to the missionaries and the gospel in many diflTerent nations, turning toward the North of that lake (Superior) whore he even built a fort. He ad- vanced as far as the Lake of the Lssati (Mille Lac), called Lake Buade, from the family name of M. dc Frontenac." This gentleman had been a resident of the city of Lyons and was a cousin of the one-handed Chevalier Tonty, the trnc friend and companion of La Salle. He appears to have been in the neighborhood of Lake Superior, avS early as 16t9 • He was tlie fir.st to build a fort at Pigeon river — the stream with its chain of lakes that, separates Minnesota from the British possessions, — which trading post is still maintained under the name of Fort Charlotte, though in the days of the French regime it was called Kamanistlgoya. While on Lake Superior, he killed two Iroquois, who had assassinated two French- men, and the act so exasperated the Iroquois nation in New York, that it led to the Iroquois war with the French. While trading at the head of Lake Superior, he became acquainted with the Dakotas, and sought out their central residence at Mille Lac. Hennepin, in his map of the Dakota country, calls the St. Croix " the River of the Tomb," and gives a mark for the Falls. In the geographical description of the country, he describes the Saint Croix as "a river full of rapids, by which, striking Northwest, you can reach Lake Conde (Supe- rior) that is as far as Naraissakouat river, which empties into the lake. This first river n .f!'.^.J Minnesota Historical Society. S9 is called Tomb river, because the Issati left there the body of one of their warriora * * ******** Lake Buade, or the Lake of the Issati (Mille Lac) is aboat seventy leagues West of Lake Conde. It is impossible to go from one to the other on account of the marshy ground, though on snow-shoes it might be done. By water it is one hundred and fifty leagues, on account of the Avindings and portages. From Lake Conde, to go conveniently in canoes, you must pass by Tomb (St. Croix) river." This information the Franciscan must have obtained from De Luth, who with a party of Frenchmen, very unexpectedly made his appearance among the Dakotas, who held Hennepin as a captive, in the month of July, 1680. At the time the Indians were on a buffalo hunt in the valley of the Mississippi, Hennepin's account of the meeting wi h Dc Lnth is as follows : The old man on duty, on the top of the bluffs, announced that he saw two warriors in the distance. All the bowmen hastened there with speed, and trying to outstrip the others, bnt they brought back only two of their own women, who came to tell them, that a party of their people were hunting at the extremity of Lake Conde (Superior) and had found five spirits (so they call the French,) who by meaps of a captive had expressed a wish to visit them. On the 26th of July as wc were ascending tlio Colbert (Mississippi) after the buffalo hunt, to the Indian villages we met the Sieur dc Luth who came to the Nadonesseous with five French soldiers, and merchandize." In all probability they came to the Mis- sissippi by way of the St. Croix. De Luth engaged Hennepin as a guide and com- panion while visiting the Mdewakuntonwan Dakotas. On the 14th of August 1680 they arrived at the villages toward the sources of the Rum river. Towards the end of September the Indiana were informed that it would be necessary to return to Canada to procure more merchandise. A great council having been held, they consented. Ouasicoude,* the head chief, prepared for thera a chart of the route, by way of the Mississippi and Wisconsin, to Green Buy. Wiutering at Mackinaw, Do Luth and Hennepin appear to have arrived at Quebec in the spring of 1681. The latter hastened to Franco, never to return to America, but to write a book, which has given him the reputation of an unprincipled and boasting ad' venturer. De Luth appears tor have been a nuin of Influence in Quebec. ./It u conference of some of the distinguished public men in the city, in relation to the dlfliculties with the Iroquois, held October 10th, 1682, De Luth was present. In the month of March, 1684, notwithstanding all the attempts of the French to keep the peace, a band of Seneca and Cayuga warriors, having met seven canoes manned by fourteen Frenchmen, with fifteen or sixteen thousand poimds of merchandise, who were "^'oing to trade with the "Scions," pillaged and made them prisoners, and after detain- ing them nine days, sent Ihem away without arms, food or canoes. This attack caused much alarm in Canada and De Luth, who appeared to have been in command at Green Bay, was ordered by the Governor of Canada to come and state the nunjber of allies he could bring. With great expedition he came to Niagara, tlie place of rendezvous, with a band of Indians, and would alone have attacked the Senecas had it not been for an express order from De La Barre, the Governor, to desist. * The name of the chief in Dakota was Wazi-kute, (Wah-zee-koo-taj,) or the Shooter of the Pines. Long's expedition in 1823 met a Dakota at Red Wing who bore the same name as the chief alludei) to in the travels of Hennepin. ■■r':-m ■■■■ . I m tm h'-^ •'•iT ■'r ■,K"1 ;>■■. ■■■I. ■■ ,, .''.i:.v -/'1'7.,I.,' ,'•;;'!■ >■■ SI-- 30 Annals of the When Louis the Fourteenth heard of this ontbreak, he felt, to use his words, " that it was a grave misfortune for the colony of New France," and then in his letter to the Governor, he adds : " It appears to roe that one of the principal causes of the war, arises from one Du Luth having caused two Iroquois to be killed, who had assassinated two Frenchmen, in Like Suj)crior, and you suflaciently see how much this man's royage, which cannot produce any advantage to the colony, and which was i)ermitted only in the interest of some private persons, has contributed to distract the repose of the colony.' ' The English of New York, knowing the hostility of. the Iroquois to the French, used the opportunity to trade with the distant Indians. In 1685, one Roseboom, with some young men, had traded with the Ottawas in Michigan. In the year 1686, nn old Frenchman who had long lived among the Dutch and Eng- lish in New York, came to Montreal, to visit a child at the Jesuit boarding school ; and he stated that a Major McGregory, of Albany, was contemplating an expedition to Mackinac. Denonville, the new Governor of Canada, ordered Du Luth to proceed to the pre- sent Detroit river, and watch whether the English passed into Lake St. Clair. lu ac- cordance with the order, he left Green Bay. Being provided with fifty armed men, he established a post called fort St. Joseph, some thirty miles above Detroit. In the year 168*?, on the 19th of May, the brave and distinguish vd Tonty, who was a consin of Du Luth, arrived at Detroit, from his fort on the Illiu');*. Durantaye and Du Luth, knowing that he had arrived, came down from fort St, Joseph with thirty captive English. Here Tonty and Du Luth joined forces and proceeded toward the Iroquois country. As they were coasting Lake Erie, they met and captured Major McGregory, of Albany, then on his way with thirty Englishmen, to trade with the In- dians at Mackinac. Du Luth, having reached Lake Ontario, we find him engaged in that conflict with the Senecas of the Gcnessee valley, when Father A ".-leran, the superintendent of the Mackinac mission, was severely but not mortally wounded. After this battle, he re- turned, in company with Tonty, to his post on the Detroit river. In 1689, immediately previous to the burning of Schenectady, wc find him again fighting the Irof|Uois in the ncigliborhood, and there is reason to suppose that he was engaged in the midnight sack of that town. As late as the' year 1696, we find him on duty at Fort Frontenac ; but after the peace of Ryswick, which occasioned a suspen- sion of hostilities, we hear nothing more of this man, who was the first of whom we have any account, who came by Avay of Lake Superior to the upper Mississippi. The letter of one of the Jesuit fathers shows that in some things he was as supersti- tious as the Dakotas, with whom he once traded. While in command of Fort Fronte- nac, in 1696, he gave the following certificate : " I, the subscriber, certify to all whom it may concern, that having been tormented by the gout for the space of twenty-three years, and with such severe pains that it gave nie no rest for the space of three months at a time, I addressed myself to Catherine Tegah- kouita, an Iroquois* virgin, deceased at the Sault Saint Louis, in the reputation of sanc- tity, and I promised her to visit her tomb if God should give me health through her in. tcrcession. I have been so perfectly cured at the end of one novena, which I made in her honor, that after five months I have not perceived the slightest touch of my gout. Given nt Fort Frontenac, this 18th day of August, 1696. J. DE LUTH, Capt. of the Marine Corps, Commander Fort Frotenac. Minnesota Historical Socie y. 31 NICHOLAS PERROT. I'errot was a man of good faiailjr, and in bis youth applied iutiuielf to •!«, j\ «y| i being for a time in tlie service of the Jesuits, became familiar with the onitoms m** languages of the tribes upon the borders of our lakes. A native of Canada, ucvust'"' v od from childhood to the excitement and incidents of a border life, ho was to n ecfii. j extent prepared for the wild scenes witnessed in after days. If the name of Jolict is worthy of preservation, the citizens of the Northwest ought not to be willing to let the name of that man die, who was the first of whom wc have liny account, that discovered the lead mines of the Upper Mississippi. When Du Luth, in 1084, was making preparations at Green Bay, logo to war against the Iroquois, Perrot, who happened to be engaged in trade among the Outagamie, (Foxes,) not very far distant from the bay, rendered him great assistance in collecting nllies. We learn nothing of the subject of our sketch, after tiiis, until about the year 1687. He was then in company with another Canadian nnmed BoiRguillot, trading iti tiie neigh- borhood of the Mississippi. In consequence o( an ordei' from the governor of Canada, with the exception of a guard left to protect his merchandise from the Sioux, he pro. ceeded with all the French in his vicinity, to join the army of defence against the English and Iroquois. In taking leave of the Dakotas, with whom he appears to hn vc been trading, he prom- ised them that if they made war with the Indians who were allies of the French, they would be made to repent. Six years after this, he is sent as envoy to the Miamis to break up their trade with the English. In the year 1696, the Indians dwoHing on the river St. Joseph and vi- ciuity, in Michigan, were attacked by the Dakota?!. To revenge themselves, they made a war party, and went into the Dakota country. They found their enemies secretly en- trenched in a sort of fort, and aided by several courier de bois. After a fierce attack, the Dakotas repulsed them, and while returning to their hunting grounds they hud a skirmish with some Frenchmen who were bearing arms and goods to the Sioux. Filled with a hate towards the Fretch, Nioholas Perrot happened among them, and they would have burned him to death, had it not been for the intervention of the Outagamis, who were his friends. A quarter of a century after the council at the Falls of St. Mary, there was another grand conference of Indian tribes held at Montreal. Here again we find Perrot in at- tendance as the interpreter for the tribes that then resided in the present states of Wis- consin and Illinois. After this second treaty of peace in 1701, the Ottawas requested that he might be their leader, .but did not wish " Eau de vie" brought among them as it broke their spirits While engaged in trade in the Mississippi valley, he traveled as far as Rock Island, and some distance above the Des Moines he discovered some mines of lead, which, as late as 1721, bore his name. Upon Nicollet's, and many other modern maps, on the East side of Lake Pepin, there are marked the ruins of an old French fort. Carver found these when he traveled here in 1766, and states that in that vicinity a trade was carried on with the Sioux or Da- kotas, by the French. Pike in his Journal appears to have this fort in view when he says : " Just below the w m :* - >.^:H ; ■■ v.. 32 *r Annals of the Pt. do Sablv, the French, under Froutenac, who had driven the Reoarda from tlie Wia- uoniin, and chased them up the Mississippi rivor, built a stockade on this lake (Pepin) as II bnrrior against tlie savii^en. It bwanic n noted factory for tlie Sioux." CHAPTER VI. LE SUi:UR*. THi: EXI'LORKR OF THE MINNESOTA RIVER. LK SUEUR, though tho least Itnown of tiie adventurous Frenchmen, who explored the Upper Mississippi in tlie 17tli century, is more wortliy of remembrance i )y the Min- nesotiaii. He was tlio first to discover the Minnesota river, ascended it for considerable distance, and may well be termed the pioneer explorer of the present Minnesota Terri- tory, as Hennepin was n, captive all the ihm of liis visit in the vicinity of Rum River. But little in known of his early history. He visited tliis country as soon as 1683. Previous to his travels South and West, ho was commissioned in 1693, by Frontenac, tho governor of Canada, to cstal'lish a post at Chcgoimegon, (La Pointe) on Lake Superior, and to make an alliance with tho Saulteurs or Chippcwas, and tli« Scioux. Af- ter leaving Lake Superior, he appears to have visited the Mississippi livcT by the way of the Wisconsin. In tho year 1005, he caused a fort to be erected on an island in the Mississippi, 200 leagues above the Illinois, probably Orey-Cloud Island. Charlevoix who was at Now Orleans in 1721, renuirks : " Above the lake is met Isle Pelee, so named because it is a very beautiful prairie, destitute of trees. The French, of Canada have made it a centre of commerce for tho Western jmrts, and may pnss tho winter here, because, it is a good country for hunting." This po,st was built to keep up peaceful re- lations between the Chippewas, who, according to La Harpe, resideti on the shores of a lake 500 leagues in circumference, and 100 leagues to tho East, and the Scioux who re sided on the Upper Missi.ssipi)i. It is worthy of note that u post wns built on the island tt few miles lielow St. Paul, before an Eurpoan vessel had entircd tho mouth of the Missi68i2)pi. The same year ho wont back to Montreal with a Chippewa chiof named Chiugoouabe, and a Scioux called Tioscate, who was the first Dakota in that city. He was leceived very kindly by the governor and other officers. Two days after he came to Montreal, he presented Frontenac as many arrows as there wore " Scioux " villages, and asked that these might be under his protection. Le Sueur had intendeil to have returned to the Dakota country in 1696, with Tioscate, but the chief in the meantime died, after thiity- three days sickness. Le Sueur then went to France, and oljtained permission, in 1697 to open some mines which he claimed to have found in the Dakota country. In June of tliat year, he left Rochelle for tho New World, but was captured by a Brit- ish fleet and taken to England. Being released from captivity, he returned to France, and in 1698 obtained a new commission for mining. Le Sueur published no account of his travels, but in the history of the establishment of the French in Louisiana, by La Harpe, there is an extract from the account of his voyage to the Scioux or Dakota country. •Published in February, 1852, in the Annals of tho Society for that year. MiNNEioTA Historical Society. IS The Hkboryof LoDisiana, by hn Harpo," who was a French olUccr, rtiuftlnod in maniMcript in LouiMiana, more thnu one hundred yonrs. In i80r>, a copy wnn tukrn from tb« original, and deposited among thu (ircliivcH uf th« Aracricaii Phiolosophical Society from which ft few extracts wore piibliHiicd by Professor Keating, irihin nnrrn- tlve of Major Long's Expedition. In the ycnr 1 8:11, the originnl whs puhlisliod nt Pahs, for the first lime, in tlic French languugo. As it has never liceti trftn.*lutoil, nnd is not easy of access, wo transcriiie nil that relotes to tho " Scioux," nnd the mining op- erfttioii of Le Sueur on tho Blue Enrth river. La Hnrpe sayn ; " On the lOth of Feb. rutry M. LoSueur arrived (at the mouth of the Mississippi,) with 2,000 ([uintuls of blue and green earth from the Scioux country. Here i« an extract of tho account of his voyage. It has been seen above, tliat lie arrived at tho tho colony in month of De- cember, 1C99, with thirty workmen, but could not reach Tamarois before the following June, the journey being long from tlic mouth of the river to that place.*' On tho 12th of July, 1700, with one felucca nnd two canoes, and witluiineteen men, he departed. On the 13th, having advanced six leagues nnd a quartc/, ho stopped ot the mouth of tho Missouri river, and kIx leagucii above this he passed the Illinois on the East siile. IIo there met three Canadian voyagours, who came to join his Imnd, and received by them a letter from Father Marcst, Jesuit, dated July lOtli, 1700, nt tho Mis- sion of the Immaculate conception of tho Holy Vir^'in, in Illinois of which tho follow- ing is a copy : " I have the honor to write in order to inform you, that tho Saugicstns have been de- feated by the Scioux and Ayavois. (lowas.) The people have formed an alliance with the Quincapous, (Kickapoos,) some of the Mecoutins, Renards, (Foxes,) and Metes- igamias, and gone to rovcngo themselves, not on the Scioux, for they arc too much afraid of them, but perliaps on the Ayavois, or very likely upon the Paoutees, or more probably upon the Osages, for these suspect nothing, and the others arc on their guard. "As you will probably meet these allied nations, you ought to take precaution against their plans and not allow them to board your vessel, since they are traitors, and utterly faithless. I pray God to accompany you in all your designs." Twenty-two leagues above the Illinois, he passed a small stream which he called the river of Oxen, and nine leagues l)eyond this he passed a smnll river on the West side, where he met four Canadians descending the Mississippi, on their way to tho IllinoiB. On the 30th of July, nine leagues above the last named river, he met seventeen Scioux, ■ in seven canoes, who were going to revenge tho death of three Scioux, one of whom had been burned and the others killed, at Tamarois, a few days before his arrival in that village. As ho had promised the chief of tho Illinois to appease the Scioux, who should go to war against his nation, he made a present to the chief of the party to engage him to turn back. He told them tiie king of Franco did not wish them to make this river more bloody, and that he was sent to tell them, that if they obeyed the king's word, they would receive in future all thing,s necessary for them. The chief answered that he ac- cepted the present, that is to say, that he would do as had been told him. From the 30th of July to the 25th of August, Le Sueur advanced fifty-three and one-fourth leagues, to a small river which he called the river of tho Mine.* At tho mouth it runs from the north, but it turns to the north-east. On the right seven leagues, there is a lead mine iu a prarie, one and a half leagues, is only navigable in high water, that is to say, from early spring till the month of June. ' This is the first Mention of tbe (4aleDa mine*. E -m 84 Annals op the From tbo 25th to tho 27th he made ten leagues, passed two small rivers, and made himself acquainted with a mine of lead from which he took a supply. From the 27th to the 30th, he made eleven and a half leagues, and met five Canadians, one of whom had been dangerously wounded in the head. They were naked, and had no amunition, except a miserable gun, with five or six loads of powder and balls. They said they we.o descending from the Scioux to go to Tamarois, and when seventy leagues above, they perceived niue cauoes in the Mississippi, in which was ninety savages, who robbed and crully beat them. This party were going to war against the Scioux, and were com- posed of four different nations, the Outagamis, (Foxes,) Saquis, (Sacs,) Poutouwatamis, (Pottowattamies,) and Fauns, (Winnebagoes,) who dwell in a country eighty leagues East of the Mississippi from where Le Sueur then was. The Canadians determined to follow the detachment, which was composed of twenty- eight men. This day they made seven and a half leagues. On the 1st of September, he passed the Wisconsin river. It runs into tho Mississippi from the Northeast. — It is nearly one and a half miles wide. At about seventy-five leagues up this river, on the right, ascending, tiiere is a portage of more than a league. The half of this portage is shaking ground, and at the end of it is a small river, which descends into a bay called Winnebago bay. It is inhabited by a great number of nations, who carry their furs to Canada. Monsieur Le Sueur came by the Wisconsin river to the Mississippi, for the first time, in 1683, on his wJiy to the Scioux country, where he had already passed seven years at different periods. The Mississippi, opposite the mouth of the Wisconsin, is less than a half mile wide. From the 1st of September to the 5th, our voyageur advanced fourteen leagues. Ho passed the river "Aux Canots," which comes from the North- east, and then the Quincapous, named from a nation which once dwelt upon its banks. From tho 5th to the 9th, he made ten and a half leagues, and passed the rivers Ca- chee and Aux Ailcs. The .same day he perceived canoes, filled with savages, descending the river, and the five Canadians recognized them as the party who had robbed them. — They placed sentinels in the wood, for fear of being surprised by land ; and when they had approached within hearing, they cried to them that if they approached farth«r they would fire. They then drew up by an island, at half the distance of a gun shot. Soon, four of the principal men of the band approached in a canoe, and a«ked if it was forgot- ten that they were our brethren, and with what design we bad taken arms, when we perceived them. Le Sueur replied that he had cause to distrust them, since they had robbed five of his party. Nevertheless, for the surety of his trade, being forced to be at peace with all the tribes, he demanded no redress for the robbery, but added merely that tho king, their master and his, wished that his subjects should navigate that river without insult, and that they had better beware how they acted. The Indian who had spoken was silent, but another said they had been attacked by the Scioux, and that if they did not have pity on them, and give a little powder, they should not be able to reach their village. The consideration of a missionary, who was to go up among ihe Scioux, and whom these savages might meet, induced them to give two pounds of powder. M. Le Sueur made the same day three leagues; passed a stream on tho Weit and af- terwards another river on the East, which is navigable at all times, and which the Indi- ans call Red river. On the 10th, at daybreak, they heard an elk whistle, on the other side of the river.— Minnesota Historical Society. 35 A Canadian crossed in a small Scioux canoe, which they had found, and shortly returned with the body of the animal, which was very easily killed, quand il est en rut, that is from the beginning of September until th« end of October. The hunters at this time mak e a whistle of a piece of wood, or reed, and when thoy hear an elk whistle, they answer it. The animal believing it to be another elk, approaches, and is killed with ease. From the 10th to the 14th, M. Le Sueur made seventeen and a half leagues, passing the rivers Raisin and Paquilenettes, (perhaps the Wazi Ozu and Buffalo.) The same day he left on the East side of the Mississippi, a beautiful imd large river, which descends from the very far North, and called Bon Secours, (Chippewa,) on account of the great quantity of buflfalo, elk, boars and deers, which are found there. Three leagues up this river, there is a mine of lead, and seven leagues above, on the same side, they found another long river, in the vicinity of which there is a copper mine, from which he had taken a lump of sixty pounds, in a former voyage. In order to make these mines of any account, peace must be obtained between the Scioux and Outagamis (Foxes) because the latter who dwell on the East side of the Mississippi, pass this road continually when go- ing to war against the Scioux. In this region, at one and a half leagues on the Northwest side, commenced a lake, which is six leagues long, and more than one broad, called Lake Pepin. It is bounded on the West by a '"hain of mountains; on the East is seen a prairie, and on the North- west of the lake there is another prairie two leagues long, and one wide. In the neigh- borhood is a chain of mountains quite two hundred feet high, and more than one and a half miles long. In these are found several caves, to waich the bears retire in winter. — Most of the caverns are more than seventy feet in extent, and three or four feet high. — There are several of which the entrance is very narrow, and quite closed up with salt- petre. It would be dangerous to enter them in summer, for they are filled with rattle- snakes, the bite of which is very dangerou.s. Le Bueur saw some of these snakes, which were six fe<5t in length, but generally they are about four feet. They have teeth resem- bling those of the pike, and their gums arc full of small vessels in which their poison is placed. The Scioux say they take it every morning, and cast it away at night. They have at the ta.il, a kind of ^ca\e which makes a noise, and this is called the rattle. Le Sueur made on this day, seven and a half leagues, and passed another river cal- led Hiambouxecate' Ouataba, or the river of Flat Rocks. (This is evidently the Inyan- bosndata, or Cannon Iliver.) On the 15th, he crossed a small river, and saw in the neie;hborhoo.l, several canoes filled with Indians, descending the Mississippi. He supposed they were Scioux, because he could not distinguish whether their canoes were largo or small. The arms were placed in readiness, and f-oon they heard the ciy of the savages, which they are accustom- ed to raise when they rush upon their enemies. He caused them to be answered in the same manner; and after having placed all the men behind the trees, he ordered them not to fire until they were commanded. He remained on shore to see what movement the savages could make, and perceiving that they placed two on shore, on the other side, where from an eminence they could ascertain the strength of his forces, he caused the men to pass and re-pass from the shore to the wood, in order to make them believe that they were numerous. This ruse succeeded, for as soon as the two descended from the eminence, the chief of the party came, bearing the calumet, which is a signal of peace among the Indians. »r - ■:■ •■ ■■I ',"••. if;'. -.-I ■■'■ ■m fill fi'v"''i' ■t- .,.1' ■ 36 Annals of the They said, that never having seea the French navig?te the river with boats like the felucca,* they had supposed them to be English, and for that reason they had raised the war cry, and arranged themtelves on the other side of the Mississippi ; but having recognized their flag, they had conic without'fear to inform them, that one of their number, who was crazy, had accidentally killed a Frenchman, and that they would go and bring his comrade, who would tell how the mischief had happened. The Frenchman they brought, was Denis, a Canadian, and he reported that his com- panion was accidentally killed. His name was Laplace, a deserting soldier from Can- ada, who had taken refuge in this country. Le Sueur replied that Onontio, (the name they give to all the governors of Canada) being their father and his, they ought not to seek justiiicafiou elsewhere than before him ; and he advised them to go and see him as soon as possible, and beg him to wipe off the blood of this Frenchman from their faces. The party was composed of forty-seven men of different nations, who dwell far to the East, about the forty-fourth degree of lattitude. Lc Sueur, discovering who the chiefs were, said the king whom they had spoken of in Canada, had sent him to take possession of the North of the river ; and that ho wished the nations who dwell on it, as well as those under his protection, to live in peace. He made this day three and three-fourth leagues ; and on the ] 6 th of September, he left a large river on the East side, named St. Croix, because a Frenchman of that name was shipwrecked at its mouth. It comes from the N. N. W. Four leagues higher, in going up, is found a small lake, at the mouth of which is a very large mass of cop- per. It is on the edge of the water, in a small ridge of sandy earth, on the West of this lake. From the 16th to the 19th, he advanced thirteen and three-fourth leagues. After having made from Tamarcis two hundred and nine and a half leagues, he left the nav- igation of the Mississippi, to outer the river Saint Pierref on tha West side. By the first of October, he had made in this river, forty-four and one fourth leagues. After he entered into 131ue river, thus named on account of the mines of blue earth found at its mouth, he founded his post, situated in forty-four degrees, thirteen minutes, north lati- tude. Ho met at this place, nine ScionxJ who told him that the river belonged to the Sciou.x of the West, tlic Ayavois, (lowas,) and Otoctatas, (Ottoes,) who lived a little farther off ; that it was not their custom to hunt on ground belonging to others, unlcsg invited to do so by the owners, and that when they would come to the fort to obtain pro- visions, they would be in danger of being killed in ascending or descending the rivers which were narrow, and that if they would show their pity, he must establish himself on the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Saint Pierre, where the Ayauois, the Otocta- tas, and the other Scioux, could go as well as them. Having finished their speech, they leaned over the head of Le Sueur, according to "The felucca is a small vessel propelled both by oars and sails, and h-id never before been seen on the waters of the Upper Mississippi. jTliu Saint PiiTre, like tlie Saint Croi.v. just below it, was evidently named after a Frenchman. Charlevoix speaks of an ollicer by that uame, who was at Mackinac in 1G92, and prominent in the Indian alliiirs of that age. Curver, in 177G, on the shores of Lake Pepin, discovered the ruinH of an extensive trading post, that had been under the coutrol of a Captain Saint Pierre, and there is scarcely a doubt that Le Sueur, named the Minnesota river in honor of his fellow explorer and trader.' X Scioix, is the orthography of Lahontan. Le Sueur, and th« Jesuits of that period, in their relations. Minnesota Historical Society. 37 their custom, crying out '* Oueachiasou ouaepanimanabo," that is to say, " Have pity upon us." Lo Sueur had foreseeu that the establishment of Blue river, would not please the Scionx of the East, who were, so to speak, masters of the other Scioux, and of the nations which will be hereafter mentioned, because they wore the first with whom trade was commenced, and in consequence of which they had already quite a number of guns. As he had not commenced his operations only with a view to the trade of beavers, but also to gain a knowledge of the mines, which he had previously discovered, ho told them he was sorry that he had not known their intentions sooner; and that it was just, since he came expressly for them, that ho should establish himself on their land, but that the season was too far advanced for him to return. He then made them a present of powder, balls and knives, and an armful of tobacco, to entice them to assemble as goon as possible, near the fort which he was about to construct, that when they should be all assembled he might tell them the intention of the king, their and his sovereign. The Scioux of the West, according to the statement of the Eastern Scioux, have more than a thousand lodges. They do not use canoes, nor cultivate the earth, nor gather wild rice. They remain generally in the prairies, wliich are between the Upper Missis- sippi and Missouri rivers, and live entirely by the chase. The Scioux generally say they have three souls, and that after death, that which lias done well goes to the warm coun- try, that which has done evil, to the cold regions, and the other guards the body. Po- lygamy is common among them. They are very jealous, and sometimes figl.> in duel for their wives. They manage the bow admirably, and have been seen several times to kill ducks on the wing. They make their lodges of a number of buffalo skins interlaced and sewed, and carry them wherever they go. They are all great smokers, but their manner of smoking differs from that of other Indians. There are some Scioux who swallow all the smoke of the tobacco, and others who, after having kept it sometime in their mouth, cause it to issue from the nose. In each lodge there are usually two or three men with their families. On the 3d of October, they received at the fort, several Scioux, among whom wag Wahkantape, chief of the village. Soon two Canadians arrived who had been hunting, and had been robbed by the Scioux of the East, who had raised their guns against the establishment whicli M. Le Sueur had made on Blue river. On the 14th the fort was finished and named Fort L'Huillier, and on the 22d two Canadians were sent out to invite the Ayavois and Otoctatas to come and establish a village near the fort, because these Indians are industrious and accustomed to cultivate the earth, and they hoped to get provisions from them and to make them work in the mines. On the 24th, six Scioux Oujalespoitons wished to go into the fort, but were told that they did not receive men who had killed Frenchmen. This is the term used when they have insulted them. The next day they came to the lodge of Le Sueur to beg him to have pity on them. They wished, according to custom, to weep over his head and make liim a present of packs of b«avers, which he refused. Ho told them he was sur- prised that people who had robbed should come to him ; to which they replied that they had heard it said that two Frenchmen had been robbed, but none from their vil- lage had been present at that wicked action. Le Sueur answered, that he knew it was the Hendeoucantous and not the Oujalespoi- tons; "but," continued he, "you are Scioux; it is the Scioux who have robbed me, and l^..' it ■ iP'^ '■■0 IS;. .1 ■■■■:v4,^-. < J. ■• .»..>r^^.»c. ■3f^^? 38 Annals op the ft III m 11^ if I were to follow your manner of acting, I should break your heads; for is it not true, that when a stranger (it is thus that they call the Indians who are not Scioux) has insulted a Scioux, Mendeoucanton, Oujalespoitons or others — all the villages — revenge upon the first one they meet ?" " As th«y had nothing to answer to what he said to them, thoy wept and repeated, according to custom, " Ouaechissou ! ouaopanimanabo !" Le Sueur told them to cease crying, and added that the French had good hearts, and that they had come into the country to have pity on them. At the same time ho made them a present, saying to them, *' Carry back your beavers and say to all the Scioux, thut they will have from me no more powder or lead, and they will no longer smoke any long pipe until they have made satisfaction for robbing the Frenchman." The same day the Canadians, who had been sent off ou the 22d, arrived without having found the road which led to the Ayavois and Otoctataa. On the 25th, Le Su- eur went to the river with three canoes, which he filled with green and blue earth.* It is taken from the hills near which are very abundant mines of copper, some of which was Avorked at Paris in 1696 by L'HuiUier, one of the chief collectors of the king. Stones were also found there which would be curious, if worked. On the 9th of November, eight Mantanton Scioux arrived, who had been sent by their cheifs to say that the Mendeoucantons icere still at their lake on the East of the Mis- sissippi and they could not come for a long time ; and that for a single village which had no good sense, the others ought not to bear the punishment ; and that they were willing to make reparation if they knew how. Le Sueur replied that he was glad that they had a disposition to do so. On the 16th the two Mantanton Scioux, who had been sent expressly to say that all of the Scioux of the East and part of those of the West were joined together to come to the French, because they had heard that the Christianaux and the Assinipoils were ma - king war on them. These two nations dwell above the fort on the East side, more than eighty leagues on the Upper Mississippi. The Assinipoils speak Scioux, and are certainly of that nation. It is only a few years since that they became enemies. The enmity thus originated : The Christianaux, hav- ing the use of arms before the Scioux, through the English at Hudson's Bay, they con- stantly warred upon the Assinipoils, who were their nearest neighbors. The latter being weak, sued for peace, and to render it more lasting, married the Christianaux women . The other Scioux, who had not made the compact, continued to war ; and seeing some Christianaux with the Assinipoils, broke their heads. The Christianaux furnished the Assinipoils with arms and merchandise. On the 16th, the Scioux returned to their village, and it was reported that the Aya- vois and Otoctatos were gone to establish themselves towards the Missouri river, near the Maha, who dwell in that region. On the 26th, the Mantantons and Oujalespoitons arrived at the fort ; and after they had encamped in the woods, Wahkantapef came to beg Le Sueur to go to his lodge. He there found sixteen men with women and chil- dren, with their faces daubed with black. In the middle of the lodge were several buf- falo skins, which were sewed for a carpet. After motioning him to sit down, they wept for the fourth of an hour, and the chief gave him some wild rice to eat, (as was their cus. * The locality was a branch of the Blue Earth, about a mile above the fort, called by Nicollet' Le Saenr river, and on a map publidied in 1773, the river St. Reml. Wakandapi or Esteemed sacred, was the name of one of the head men at Red Wing, in 1860. fi Minnesota Historical Society. 39 torn,) putting the first three spoonsful to his mouth. After which, he said all present were relatives of Tioscate, whom Le Sueur took to Canada in 1(J96, and who died there in 1696. At the mention of Tioscate they began to weep again, and wipe their tears and heads upon the shoulders of Le Sueur. Then Wahkantape again spoke, and said that Tios- cate begged him to forget the insult done to the Frenchmen by the Mondeoucantons, and take pity on his brethren by giving them powder and balls whereby they could defend themselves, and gain a living for their wives and children, who languish in a country, full of game, because they had not the means of killing them. " Look," added the chief, " Behold thy children, thy brethren, and thy sisters, it is to thee to see whether thou wishest them to die. They will live if thou givest them powder and ball ; they will die if thou refusest." Lo Sueur granted them their requeut, but as the Scioux never answer on the spot, es- pecially in matters of importance, and as he had to speak to them about his establish- ment, he went out of the lodge without saying a word. The chief and all those within followed him as far as the door of the fort ; and when he had gone in, they went around it three times, crying with all their strength " Atheouanan !'' that is to ^y, "Father have pity on us." (Ate unyanpi, means Our father.) The next day he assembled in the fort, the principal men of both villages ; and as it is not possible to subdue the Scioux or to hinder them from going to war, unless it be by inducing them to cultivate the earth, he said to them that if they wished to render themselves worthy of the protection of the king, they must abandon their erring life, and form a village near his dwelling, where they would be shielded from the insults of their enemies ; and that they might be happy and not hungry, he would give them all the corn necessary to plant a large piece of ground ; that the king, their and his chief, in sending him, had forbidden him to purchase beaver skins, knowing that this kind of hunting separates them and exposes them to their enemies ; and that in consequence of this he had come to establish himself on Blue river and vicinity, where they had many times assured him were many kinds of beasts, for the skins of which he would give them all things necessary ; that they ought to reflect that they could not do without French goods, and that the only way not to wont them was, not to go to war with our allied nations. As it is customary with the Indians to accompany their word with a present propor- tioned to the affair treated of, he gave them fifty pounds of powder, as many balls, six guns, ton axes, twelve armsful of tobacco and a hatchet pipe. On the 1st of December, the Mantantons invited Le Sueur to a great feast. Of four of their lodges they had made one, in which was one hundred men seated around, and every one his dish before him. After the meal, Wahkantape, the chief, made them all smoke one after another in the hatchet pipe which had been given them. He then made a present to Le Sueur of a slave and a sack of wild rice, and said to him, showing him his men : "Behold the remains of this great village, which thou hast aforotimes seen so numerous ! all the others have been killed in war ; and the few men whom thou seest in this lodge, accept the present thou hast made them, and are resolved to obey the great chief of all nations, of whom thou hast spoken to us. Thou oughtest not to regard us as Scioux, but as French, and instead of saying the Scioux are miser- able, and have no mind, and are fit for nothing but to rob and steal from the French, '"'I •.t,V-« ■; f \i?.i.'\pA m ■„■-■'')'- •' 40 Annals op the thon shalt say my brethren are miserable and have no mind, and we must try to pro- care some for them. They rob us, but I will take care that they do not Inck iron, that is to say, all kinds of goods. If thou dost this, I assure tliec that in a little time, the Mantantons will become Frenchmen, and they will have none of those vices, with which thou reproachest us." Having finished his speech, he covered his face with his garment, and the others imitated him. They wept over their companions wlio had died in war, and chanted an adieu to their country in a tone so gloomy that one could not keep from partaking of their sorrow. Wahkantape then made them smoke again, and distributed the presents, and said that he was going to the Mendeouacmtons, to inform them of the resolution, and invite them to do the same. On the 12th, three Mendeoucanton chiefs and a large number of Indians of the same village, arrived at the fort, and the next day gave satisfaction for robbing the French- men. They brought 400 pounds of beaver skins, and promised that the summer fol- lowing, after their canoes were built and they had gathered their wild rice, that they would command establish themselves near the French. The same day they returned to their village East of the Mississippi. NAMES OF TUE BANDS OF SCIOUX OF THE EAST, WITH THEIR SIGNIFICATION. Mantantons — That is to say, Village of the Great Lake which empties into a small one. Mkndeouoantons — Village of Spirit Lake. QuioPETONs — Village of the Lake with one River. PsiotTMANiTONS — Village of Wild Rice Gatherers. OuADEBATONS — The Rivcr Village. Ouatemanetons — ^Village of the Tribe who dwell on the point of the Lake SoNGASQuiTOMb — The Brave Village. THE SCIOUX OF THE WEST. ToucHocAsiNTONS — The Village of the Pole. , ■ ' PsiNCHATONS — Village of the Red Wild Rice. OuJALESPOiTONS — Village divided into many small Bands. PsiNOUTANHHiNTONS — The Great Wild Rice Village. TiNTANGAOuGniATONs — The Grand Lodge Village. OuAPETONs — Village of the Leaf. „ . . , OcGiiETOEODATOxs — Dung Village. OuAPETONTETOXs — Village of those who Shoot in the Large Pine. HiNHANETONS— Village of the Red Stone Quarry. The above catalogue of villages concludes the extract that La Harpe has made from Le Sueur's Journal. In the narrative of Major Long's second expedition, there are just the same number of villages of the Gens du Lac or Mdewakanton Scioux mentioned, though the names are different. After leaving the Mille Lae region, the divisions evidently were different, and the villages known by now names. Charlevoix, in his large and valuable work, prepared by order of the French Govern- ment, speaking of the Scioux, remarks : " Our geographies divide that nation into the Wandering Scioux and Scioux of the Prairies — into Scioux of the East and Scioux of m Minnesota Historical Society. 41 the West. Such a division to me seems not to be well founded. All the Scioux live lu the same manner, and it happtns that snch camp which was last year on the East bank of the MississippijWill be next year on the West ; and those that we have for a time seen on the river Saint Pierre, are perhaps now a great way ofl" on a prairie. The name of Scioux that we give to those Indians, is entirely of our malcing, or rather it is but the last two syllables of the name of Nadouessionx, as many nations call them. It is the most numerous nation as yet known in Canada. They were peaceable, and not disposed to war, until the Hurons and Iroquois came to their country. They tried to laugh ut their simplicity and trained them up to war, at their expense. The Scioux have many women, and they punish conjugal infidelity with severity. They cut off the tip of their noses, and a piece of the skin of the head, and draw it over. I have seen some who thought that those Indians had a Chinese accent. It would be very eas.y to discover if their language had any affinity with that of the people of China." In Le Sueur's enumeration of the Scioux of the West, the present Warpetwans or People of the Leaf, Titonwan or People of the Lodges, Sisit'wans and Ihanktonwau ai« easily distingnished, and the latter, at that period, appear to have lived near the Red Pipestone Quarry. The Ouadebatons are marked on Hennepin's map as residing North- east of Mille liac, and are called also the People of the River. The Ountcmantons probably resided upon Cormorant Point, which juts into Mille Lac. Of the Mautan- tons. Governor Ramsey, in his valuable and interesting report, remarks : " Another portion, known as the Mantatcnwan, meaning village or community on the Matah ; but where the Matah was, and whether lake or river, is at present unknown." Le Sueur shows that they lived on a large lake which was joined to a small one. Hennepin calls Mille Lac, Changasketon Lake, and far North of this he marks tho residence of the Chongaskabions or the brave band ; and they no doubt are the same as the Songasqui • tons of Le Sueur. Though Le Sueur, through misinformation, or want of observation, often errs, there appears to be no intention to deceive ; and, in reading his narrative, you are impressed with its general truthfulness. He alone of the explorers of Minnesota, can be relied upon. He had men and an outfit that enabled him to make observations with some degree of accuracy ; and it is to be hoped that some town named Le Sueur, will at no distant day spring up on the banks of tho Minnesota River, and thus perpetuate his name. Not only was he the most accurate, but also the last French explorer of the country. Charlevoix, who visited the valley of the Lower Mississippi in 1722, says that Le Sueur spent a winter in his fort on the banks of the Blue Earth ; and that in the following April he went up to the mine about a mile above. In twenty-two days they obtained more than thirty thousand pounds of the substance, four thousand of which were selected and cent to France. In April, 1102, he went back to France, having left men at the post : but on the third of March, 1103, these came back to MobiU, having abandoned Fort L'Huillier on account of ill-treatment from the Indians, and for the want of pecuniary means. The enterprising Le Sueur did not remain on the other side of the Atlantic ; and several years after his explorations on the Blue Earth, he is found busy in leading expeditions iigainst the Natchez and other Indians of the Southwest. It is said that he died on the road while passing through the colony of Loaisiana. r:t. •■'i.i i..';rl:- ma :-."4..J - ■■,•■,♦'■.■* ft 44 Annals of the yearly. If Cauadiv did uot dcsiro to trade with the Fox tribe, they would return to the Miseiiisippi, and that would lake away from the Canadian trade, tea thouptiud yearly." NOTICK 01' THE SIOUX. " If the Siou.\ remain in their own country they are uselosH to u.s, being too distant. Wo could have no commerce with them cxco|)tthat of the beaver. 3/. Lt Sueur who goes to France, to gii-e an arcounf of this counlri/, is the proper poreon to make these raOYO- mcnts. Ho estimates the Sioux at four thousand families, who could scttlo upon the Mis- Houri." . , I .... , .MAIIA3, OTTOE.S, lOWAYH. Ho has spoken to mo of another which he calls the Mahas, composed of more than twelve hundred families, the Ayooucs (loways) and the Octootatas their neighbors, are about three hundred families. They occupy the lands between the Mississippi and the Missouii, about one hundred leagues from the Illinois. These savages do not know the use of arms,' and a descent might be made upon them in a river, which is beyond the Wabash on the West " * * * '" '^ * * =•= * '■'" ASSI.\IB0IN,'0.N'ISTINEAI'X, " The Assinibouel, Quonistinos, and people of the North, who are upon the rivers which fall into the Mississippi, and trade at Fort Nelson (Hudson Bay) are about four huqdrod men. Wo could prevent them from going there if we wish." VAI.l'E OF INPLVN COMMERCK. ■ • " ill four or Hvc years we can establish a commerce with these savages of sixty or eighty thousand bnflalo skins; more than one hundred deerskins, which will prodnca de- livered in France, more than two million four hundred thousand livres yearly. One might obtain for u buffalo skin four or fivo pounds of wool, which sells for twenty sous, two pounds of horse hair at ten sous. ^ ,i , . . :_ Besides from smaller peltries, two hundred thousand livres can be made yearly." TDK EARLIEST CENSUS OF TUK illSSISSIPI'I TRIBES. In the third volume of the History and Statistics of the Indian tribes, prepared under the direction of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, by Mr. Schoolcraft, a manuscript, ji copy of which is in possession of General Cass, is referreil to as containing the earliest enumeration. The following was made thirty-four years before : „ " The Sioux. Families. 4.000 MahaH, 12,000 Octata and .\jouc!>. Canses, (Kansa.^.) . - . . Mifsouri, Akausas. el.'-., • Manton. (Mandau) - - - - . Panis. (Pawnee) . - . . . Illinois, of the great village and Camaroiia (Tamaroa) - - ■ Jleosigamea, (MetchigamiaM) Kikapous and Mascoutens. - - Miamie, Chactas, -.-.-... 300 1.500 1.500 200 100 2,C00 800 200 4.50 500 4,000 Cliicacbas, 2.000 Mobiliens and Chohoraes. - - - . 350 Concaqucs, (Conchas) - - - . . 2.OOO 150 250 100 200 300 150 - 1.500 100 Oiima, (Houmas) Colapissa, - Bayogoula, ---... People of the Fork, - - Counica, etc., (Tonicas) Cacnsa, (Taensa) - - . Nadcches, Belochy, (Biloxi) Pascoboula. Total. 23.850 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE DOMESTICATION OF THE TRIBES. " The savage tribes located in the places I have marked out, make it necessary to estab- lish three posts on the Mississippi. One at the Arkansas, another at the Wabash, (Ohio ;) and the third at the Missouri. At each post it would be proper to have an oflScer with a detachment of ten soldiers, with a sergeant and corporal, All Frenchmen should be Minnesota Historical Society. 46 allowed to settle there with their families, and trade with the Indians, uiid they might establish tanneries for properly dressing the buflfalo and deer skins for transportation . No Frenchman shall be allowed to follow the Indians on their hunts, as it tcndH to keep them hunters as is seen in Canada, and when they are in the woods they do not desire to become tillers of the soil." ♦ * * 'K * >i< =i< >i< " I have said nothing in this memoir of which I have not personal knowledge or the most reliable sources. The most of what I proi)Ose is founded upon personal reflection, in relation to what might be done for the defence and advancement of the colony '■'^ * •''******* It will be absolutely necessary that the king should de- fine the limits of this country, in relation to the government of Canada. It is impossible that the commandant of the Mississippi should have a report of those who inhabit the rivers that fall into the Misslaaippi, and principally those of the river Illinois. " The Canadians intimate to the savages that they ought not to listen to us, but to the Qovernor of Canada, who always speaks to them with large presents ; that the Gov ernor of the Mississippi is mean, and never sends them anything. This is true, and what I cannot do. It is imprudent to accustom the savages to bo spoken to by pre- sents, for with so many, it would cost the king more than the revenue derived from the trade. When they come to us, it will be necessary to bring them in subjection, make them no presents, and compel them to do what wo wish, as if they were Frenchmen. "The Spaniards have divided the Indians int) parties on this point, and we can do the same. When one nation does wrong, we can cease to trade with them, and threaten to draw down the hostility of other Indians. We rectify the diflSculty by having mis- sionaries, who will bring them into obedience secretly. " The Illinois and Mascoutons have detained the French canoes they find upon the Mississippi, saying that the Governors of Canada have given them permission. I do not know whether this is so, but if true, it follows that we have not the liberty to send any one on the Mississippi. " M. Le Sueur would have been taken if he had not been the stMngest. Only one of the canoes he sent to the Sioux was plundered."* * * -y ■■•f * m As in the foregoing census there is the first mention of the Omahos, Ottoes and loways, we append the following: James, in his history of Long's expedition to the Kocky Mountains, remarks, " What length of time the Omawhaws have rf sided on the Missouri is unknown, but it seems highly probable that they were not there when Mr. Bourgmont prepared his journey to the Padoucas, in the year 1724, as he makes no mention whatever of them. It would seem indeed that they had separated from the great migrating nation, that wo shall further notice below, on or near the Mississippi ; and that they had since passed slowly across the country or perhaps up the St. Peters, (Mlncesota) until they finally struck the Missouri at the mouth of the Sioux River. Tliis is rendered highly probable by the circumstoncc of Carver having met with them on the St. Peters (Minnesota) in the year 1766 associated with the Shienne and others, all of whom he represents as bands of the Naudowessie nation. ., OTO NATION. "The Oto nation of Indians is distinguished by the name Wah-toh-ta-na. The perma- nent village of this nation is composed of large dirt lodges, similar to those of the Eon- zosand Omahaws, and is situated on the left bank of the river Platte or Nebraska, about .<[''■'• ■■■vh ■ ■ ■'•[\,i *.'■■■ ■ .. ■■ r ■] ■;:;'v*--::1 t-j;. m u "•^Annals of mt ^f t/ forty miles above ito eonflnence with the Miuoari. Although this niitioii distinguish thcmaelres by the name of Wahtohtata, yet when questioned resi)ecting the signiflcntion of the word, they say it ought to be pronounced Wah-toli-ta-na or Wah-do-tan, which moans those who will copulate. This singular (leoignation which they have adopted, was applied to the nation in conse(|uence of their Chief at the period of their separation from the Missourles on the Mississippi, having carried off a Squaw from that nation. Tim nation however, is only known to white people as Oto, Otto, or Othouoz, It thus np- [lears that their name has been adopted snbiequently to the migration and partition of the great nation, of which they were formally but a band. ' ORIOI^r OP THE WINNEDAQOKS. This great nation they say, originally resided somewhere to the Northward of the great lakes, and on their emigration Southward, after performing a considerable journey, a large band of thorn called Ho-ho-go, or Fish Eaters, from their fondness for fish, sepa- ratsd from the main body, and established their residence on the margin of a lake. — This band is now known by the name of Winnebagocs. During the journey of the great nation, another band separated from them on the Mississippi, nud received the name of Pa-ho-ja or Gray Snow, which they still retain, but are known to the white people as loways, or Aiaoucz. **•**•*••*• The Otos also separated from the nation on the Mississippi and struck the Missouri near the confluence of the great Nemawhaw. Here the Otoes remained a considerable time for the purpose of hunting. * * * * From this locality they proceeded up the river to the Platte, and after hunting for some time near its confluence, they moved still further up the Missouri, and established a village on its band, about fourteen miles below the Council Bluffs. In this position they remained severol years; during which time, a band of the loways took up their residence about one year on the bank of the river, nearly opposite to them. The loways after having resided in a village on the Iowa part of the Mis- souri, a considerable space of time, were rejoined by the band above mentioned, when they abandoned theit position, and returned to the waters of the Mississippi, and erected a village on the Moyene, (Des Moines) where it still remains." — ("Expedition to Rocky Mountains, 1819-20.") CHAPTER VIII. i^',t INTEEVAl. BETWEEX THE EXPLOKATION OF I.E SUEUR IN 1700. ANI) JO.NATHAX CARVEn, IN 1766. IT has been mentioned that those left in charge of the Fort at Mankahto by Le Sueur, returned to Montreal on account of the hostility of the Indiaiis, About this period the Sauks and Foxes, who used to hunt as far North as the Sauk Rapids, though their principal residence was on the l-'ox River, in Wisconsin, formed an iilliancG and waged war against the Ojibways and Illinois, who were the allies of the French. As. a consequence, the Wisconsin for many years ceased to be an avenue of trade to the Mississippi. In 1126 a proposition was made by the French commandant at the post on the lUi- Minnesota Historical Society. 47 uois, to the ofllcor atOrcoii Buy to cxtormiiiatetlic Foxch. Iu re()ly to ih« propositioti th« latter Hays: " Wo agree that tlint would be the beat oxpedioiit, but inunt tuaintaiu thut nothiii(( can ho more dangorouH iu caso it Hhould fail. It would be iiecoMary to ctlect n surprize, and to keep them uhut up in the Fort at in the laat war, for if the Foxeit en- cape to the Sioux, or tho Ayoimis (loways) thoy would return to doHtroy us iu all the upper country." * It was during tho interval referred to in this chapter that the Ojibway incursioDA into Minnesota took place. Aided by French fire-arms and advice, the Ojibways ad- vanced by way of tho St. Louis River. Under Bi-uus-wah, they drove the Dakotns from their village, and from this point they commenced a warfare, which iu time led to the rotireniont of tho Dakotas from Leech, Mille Lac, and other Htrong-holds, North of the Falls of Saint Anthony, nnd West of Lake Superior. Very near the period that France ceded Canada to England the last conflict of tho Foxes and Ojibwnys took place nt the Falls of the Saint Croix. Tho late Anglo-ojib- way, Wm. Warren says: The account which tho Ojibwas give of this battle is, that a famous war chief of Lake Superior, whose namo was Waub-o-jeeg, or White Fisher sent his war club and warn, pum of war to call the scattered bands of the Ojibwa tribes, to collect a war party to march ogainst the Sioux villages on the St. Croix and Mississippi. Warriors from Ste. Maries, Kewenaw, Wisconsin and Grand Portage joined his party, and with three hun- dred warriors Waub-o-jeeg started from Lapointe to march into the enemy's country He had sent his war club to tho villag* of Sandy Lake, and they had sent tobacco in return, with answtr that on a certain day, sixty men from that section of the Ojibwa tribe would meet him at the confluence of Snake river with the St. Croix. On reaching this point on the day designated, and the Sandy Lake party not having arrived as agreed upon, Waub-ojeeg, not confident in the strength of his numbers, continued down the St. Croix. They arrived at tho Falls of St. Croix early in the morning, and while pre- paring to take their bark canoes over the portage, or carrying i)lace, scouts were sent in advance to reconnoitre. They soon retnrned with the information that they had discov- ered a large party of Sioux aud Foxes landing at tho other end of the portage. The Ojibwas instantly prepared for battle, and the scouts of the enemy having discov- ered them, the two hostile parties met as if by mutual appointment, in the middle of the portage. The Foxes after seeing the comparatively small number of the Ojibwas, and over confident in their own superior numbers and prowess, requested the Sioux not to join in the fight, but to sit by and see how quickly they could route the Ojibwas. -This re- quest was grai'tod. The fight between the contending warriors of the two tribes, is said to have been fiercely contested, aud embellished with many darijg acts of personal valor. About noon the Foxes commenced yielding ground, and at last were forced to flee in confusion. They would probably have been driven into the river and killed to a man, had not their allies the Siouxs, who had becH quietly smoking their pipes and calm, ly viewing the fight from a distance, at this juncture, yelled their war whoop, and rushed to the rescue of their discomfited friends.' The Ojibwas resisted their now enemies manfully, and it was not until their nmmuni. tion had entirely failed that they in turn showed their backs in flight. Few would have returned to their lodges to tell the sad tale of defeat, and death of brave men, had not • Wisconsin Hi«. Soc. Report. Pftge 22. ^ -Vr ',:';r ■i ■■ -tt. Mi 48 Annals of the iv the party of sixty warriors from Sandy Lake, who were to have joined them at the mouth of Snake river, arrived at this opportune moment, and landed at the head of the portage. Eager for the fight and fresh on the field, this band withstood the onset of the Siouxs and Foxes, till their retreating friends could rally again to the battle. Tlie Sioux and Foxes in turn fled, and it is said that the slaughter in their ranks was great. Many were driven over the rocks into the boiling flood below ; and every crevice in the cliffs con- tained a dead or wounded enemy. From this time the Foxes retired to the South and forever give up the war with their victorious enemies. The old Ojibwa Chief " Buffalo" of Lapointe, says that the fire of the Foxes was by this stroke nearly extinguished, and they were reduced to fifteen lodges. Tiiey placed themselves under the protection of the Osaukies, who are a family of the Algonquin stock, and by offering to bo their cutters of wood and carriers of water, were at last in- corporated into that tribe. The Foxes speak a distinct language and do jot belong to the Algonquin Council Fires. The Ojibwas term them, 0-dug-aum-eeeg-or people of the opposite side." The Foxes being at last dislodged from the Fox river, French traders began to come from Mackinaw to the Mississippi, by way of Green Bay. In the year 1155, a French fort for the fir.st time was established at Prairie du Chien,* and drew around it a number of voyageurs and coureurs des bois, whoso descendants are found in Minnesota. In an old European Atlas, in the Library of the Philadelphia Athenicum, there is a map with a post called "St. Nicholas" at the mouth of the Wisconsin. ENGUSH TAKE POSSESSION OF THE COUNTRY. In the fall of 1761, a detachment of English soldiers left Detroit to take possession of Green Bay and the adjacent country. The Wisconsin Historical Society has lately published the journal of the commanding officer of the post; from which we make some extracts: " Wo arrived ond took post at La Bay (Green Bay,) the twelfth of October ; fouml the fort quite rotten, the stockade ready to fall, the houses without cover, our fire-woo.l far off", and none to be got when the river closed." Accompanying this officer were two English traders, — the first ever iu the country, — McKay, from Albany, and Goddard from Montreal. WINNEBAGOES AND lOWAYS ASK FOK TRADERS. " August ()th, 1162. Three Puan chiefs with four ambassadors from the Avoy (loway) nation came. I made the same speech to them as to ihe rest. The chief of the third town of Pnans brought me a large belt, confirming what both the others had said before, telling me he had seen the belts I had sent, and that he had never been at war with the English, nor could tho French commander persuade him to it. He brought the other chiefs to confirm what he said, as he never knew any harm the English had done. He made the same demand for trading, with the same promise of protection for them, and also asked for a gunsmith and rum. The Avoys (loways) then spoke, said they had come very far, had brought no belts, as they had come to see if I would shake hands and forgive them as I had done the rest.'' *See petition of old settlers At Prairie du Ciiien, forty years ago, In the "American State Papers." '«•.,'.»■ ■0i^i-P' V'vi..'-'- m: ;;■■•■* ■.',■:. .'•' M s •I O'"! )>'".' i!".:;' ;/, X^^^'^ ' •■■^-: t ■:•■ .'"■ t^^ \mi. }&:^:>' •A-i' V. • .'-• S i .> (■-.V. • ' iiivT''.- &w^y >*..,'-. -f,; 1,''-,MJ ".''- ,."'"' V ;*:;-'::■:■ ■« *^"v.^,:/ »v--' 1^--;,. Si'-'-' I'V W'i*»''^ &'#i^^';. JONATHAN CARVER. '.?■# Minnesota Historical SocietIt. im: fS: Jj!^i.c# Abihiii iNTEBviKjr of thb xkolish and bioux. -< '^^'»^''* imt*(>hi\imii-^(i On March 1, 1163, twelve warriors of the Sons came here. It is certainly the gredt. est nation of Indiana ever yet fonnd. Not above two thousand of them were ever armed with fire-arms, the rest depending entirely on bows and arrows, which they use with more skill than any other Indian nation in America. They can shoot the wildest and largest beasts in the woods at seventy or one hundred yardi distant. They are remarkable for their dancing, and the other nations take the fashions from them. * * * * This nation is always at war with the Chippewas, those who destroyed Mishamakinak. They told me with warmth that if ever the Chippewas or any other Indians wished to obstruct the passage of the traders coming up, to send them word, and they wonld come and cut them off from the face of the earth, as all Indians were then- slaves or dogs. I told them I was glad to see them, and hoped to have a lasting peace with them. — They then gave me a letter wrote in French, and two belts of wampum from their king, in which ho expressed great joy on hearing of their being English at his post. The let- ter was written by a French trader, whom I had allowed to go among them last fall, with a promise of his behaving well, which he did better than any Canadian I ever knew. » * * * yfHh regard to traders, I told them I would not allow any to go amongst them, as I then understood they lay out of the government of Canada, but made no doubt they would have traders from Mississippi in the spring. They went away extremely well pleased. "June 14th, 1763, the traders came down from the Sack country, and confirmed the news of Landsing and his son being killed by the French, There came with the traders some Puans, and four young men with one chief of the Avoy nation to demand traders." * * * *. • i -r On the nineteenth, a deputation of Winnebagoes, Sacs, Foxes, and Menominees arri- ved with a Frenchman named Penneusha. " This Pennenaha is the same man who wrote the letter the Sous brought with them, in French, and at the same time held council with that great nation in favor of the English, by which he much promoted the interests of the latter, as appeared by the behaviour of the Sous. He brought with him a pipe from the Sous, desiring that as tiie road is now clear, they would by no mean^ allow the Chippewas to obstruct it, or give the English any disturbance, or.prevent the traders from coming np to them. If they did so they would send all their warriors and cut them off." V • . . : \-_,i :..•''. Kr •■.;•:_* ■(! "'!; ■;.; > ll ;; '. ' J,* - r ■ .! Ml i< ■ CHAPTER IX. Ml.NXKSOTA AS A BRITISH DOMINIOK— EiPLOIUTTONS OP JONATHAN CABVEU. THOUGH the treaty of 1763, made at Versailles, between France and England, ceded all the Territory comprised within the limits of Wisconsin and Minnesota, to the latter power, the English did not for a long time obtain a foothold. The French traders having purchased wives from the Indian tribes, they managed to preserve a feeling of friendship towards their king, long after the trading posts at Green Bay and Sault St. Marie had been discontinued. • ' The price paid for peltries by those engaged in the fur trade at New Orleans was also G 'ill'.!-. m m m I ym ■m. "^'^ ft:! m no V i:ai:-t ..Annals op tHE higher than that w^ich the British coald afford to give, so that the Indians sought for French goods in exchange for their skins. Finding it useless to compete with the French of the lower Mississippi, the English Gorernment ^tablished no posts of trade or de|ence beyond Mackinac. The country West of Lake Michigan appears to have been trodden by but few British subjects, pre- vious to him who forms the subject of the present article, and whose name had become somewhat famous in consequence of his heirs having laid claims to the site of St. Paul, and many miles adjacent. Jonathan Carver was a native of Conuecticut. It has been asserted, that he was a lineal descendant of John Carver, the first Governor of Plymouth Colony, but the only definite information that the writer can obtain concerning his ancestry, is that his grand- father, Wm, Carver, was a native of Wigan, Lancashire, England, and a captain in King William's army during the campaign in Ireland, and for meritorious services re- ceived an appointment as ak\ officer of the Colony of Connecticut. His father was a justice of the peace in the new world, and in 1732, at Stillwater, or Canterbury, Connecticut, the subject of this sketch was born. At the earlyage of fifteen he was called to mourn the death of his father. He then commenced the study of medicine, but his roving disposition could not bear the confines of a doctor's office, and feeling perhaps that his genius would be cramped by pestle and mortar, at tho age of eighteen he purchased an ensign's commission in one of the regiments Connecticut raised during the French war. He was of medium stature, and of strong mind and quick perceptions. In the year 1767, he was present at the massacre of Fort William Henry, aud narrowly escaped with his life. After the peace of 1763, between France and England was declared. Carver conceiv- ed the project of exploring tho North-west. Leaving Boston in the month of June, 1766, he arrived at Mackinac, then tho most distant British post, in the month of Au- gust. Having obtained a credit on some French and English traders from Major Rod- gersjthe officer in command, he started with them Westward, on tlio third day of Sep- tember. Pursuing the usual route to Green Bay, they arrived there on the. eighteenth. The Freifch Fort at that time was standing, though much decayed. It was some yean previous to his arrival, garrisoned for a short time by an officer and thu:ty English soldiers, but they having been captured by the Menominees, it was abandoned. In company with the traders he left Green Bay on the twentieth, and ascending Fox river, arrived on the twenty-fifth at an island at the East end of Lake Winnebago, con- taining about fifty acres. Here he found a Winnebago village of fifty houses. He asserts that a woman was in authority. In the month of October, the party was at the portage of the Wisconsin, and descending that stream, they arrived on the ninth at a town of the Sacks. While here he visited some lead mines about fifteen miles distant. An abundance of lend was also seen in the village, that had been brought from the mines. PRAIBIB DU CHtEN DESCRIBED, i'"-!-''-- i «''? iih ;'• ''" I On the tenth, they arrived at the first village of the Ottigaumies, (Foxes,) and about five miles before the Wisconsin joins the Mississippi, he perceived the remnants of another village, and learned that it had been deserted about thirty years before, and that the id- habitants soon after their removal built a town on the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Ooisconsin, at a place called by the French La Prairie les Chiens, which signified Minnesota HisxoRicAt Society. 51 1 the Dog Plains. It 13 a large town, and contains about three hundred families. The houses are all well built, after the Indian manner, and pleasantly situated on a dry rich soil. I saw here many horses of a good size and shape. This town is the gr«at mart where all the adjacent tribes, and where those who inhabit the most remote branches of the Mississippi, annually assemble about the latter end of May, bringing with them their furs to dispose of to the traders. But it is not always that they conclude their sale here. This is determined by a general council of the chiefs, who consult whether it would be more conducive to the'r interest to sell their goods at this place, or carry thera on to Louisiana or Michilimackinack. At a small stream called Yellow River, opposite Prairie du Chien, the traders who had thus far accompanied Carver took up their residence for the winter. From this point he proceeded in a canoe, with a Canadian Voyageur, aud a Mohawk Indian, as companions, fCiif.; ,10 -lih-r-ii- ']HJ m:^"^yx,■Vi■ ANCIENT MONUMENTS, ' -'.«' •Vw^i.v.j jsil^Mr) j-i;v. vi.-t Just before reaching Lake Pepin, while his attendants were one day preparing dinner, he walked out and was struck with the peculiar appearance of the surface of the coun- try, and thought it was the site of some vast artificial earth-work. It is a fact worthy of re lembrauce that he was the first to call the attention of the civilized world to the existence of ancient monuments in the Mississippi Valley. We give his own description : " On the first of November, I reached Lake Pepin, a few miles below which I landed; and whilst the servants were preparing my dinner, I ascended the bank to view the country. I had not proceeded far, before I came to a fine, level, open plain, on which I perceived at a little distance, a partial elevation that had the appearance of entrench- ment. On a nearer inspection, I had greater reason to suppose that it had really been intended for this many centuries ago. Notwithstanding it was now covered with grass, I could plainly see that it had once been a breast-work of about four feet in height, ex- tending the best part of a mile, and sufficiently capacious to cover five thousand men. Its form was somewhat circular, and its flanks reached to the river. "Though much defaced by time, every angle was distinguishable, and appeared as regular and fashioned with as much military skill as if planned by Vauban himself. — The ditch was not visible ; but I thought, on examining more curiously, that I could perceive there certainly had been one. From its situation, also, I am convinced that it must have been designed for that purpose. It fronted the country, and the rear was covered by the river, nor was there any rising ground for a considerable way that com- manded it ; a few straggling lakes were alone to be seen neurit. In many places small tracks were worn across it by the feet of the elks or deer, and from the depth of the bed of earth by which it was covered, I was able to draw certain conclusions of its great an- tiquity. I examined all the angles and every part with great attention, and have often blamed myself since, for not encamping on the spot, and drawing an exact plan of it, — To show that this description is not the offspring of a heated imagination, or the chim- erical tale of a mistaken traveler. I find, on enquiry, since my return, that Mons. St. Pierre and several traders have, at different; times, taken notice of similar appeawmcwi, upon which they have formed the same conjectures, but without examining them so minutely as I did. How a work of this kind qo\M exist in a country that has hitherto m m ■rmi: •:■'•>■' m- •Mh. m 52 Annals of the / ! 1:/ (according to the generally received opinion) been the seat of war to untutored Indians alone, Vrhose whole stock of military knowledge has only, till within two centuries, amounted to drawing the bow, and whose only breast -work, even at present, is the thick, ot, I know not. I have given as exact an account as possible of this singular appear- ance, and leave to futnre explorers of those distant regions, to discover whether it is a production of natnre or art. Perhaps the hints I have here given, might lead to a more perfect investigation of it, and give us very different ideas of the ancient state of realms, that we at present believe to have been, from the earliest period, only the tabitations of savages." " ■ "V ' ' lAKE PBPIN. rt I^ake Pepin excited his admiration, as it has that of every traveller Kiuco his day, and here he remarks: " I observed the ruins of a French Factory, where it is said Captain St. Pierre resided, and carried on a very great trade with the Naudawessics, before the reduction of Canada." The first trading houses North of the lUinogs river, were erected in the vicinity of Lake Pepin. As early as l(>8t, Nicholas Perrot was trading in the neighborhood of the Sioux, and Charlevoix, in his History of New France, says that he built a fort near the mouth of the Lake. Upon the map of Nicollet, on the East side of the Lake, near Porcupino-Quill Creek, the ruins of a French fort are marked. Pike, in his Journal of 1805, remarks : "Just below the Point Le Sable, the French, under Froutenac, who had driven the Renardrs from the Wisconsin, and chased them up the Mississippi, built u Stockade on this Lake, as a barrier against the savages. It became a noted factory for the Sioux." .4 In a map published in Europe as early a^ 1*720, there is a fort marked on the Lake. These facts are confirmed by the Dakota tradition, which asserts, that the first trading post was locaUid at the foot of the Lake. • '•■''' • DAKOTAS AT THE ST. CROIX. • ■• '- Carver's first acquaintance with the Dakotas commenced near the river St. Croix. It would seem that the erection of trading posts on Lake Pepin had enticed the Sioux from their old residence on Rum river and Mille Lnc. He says: "Near the river St. Croix, reside bands of the Naudowessie Indians, called the River Bands. This nation is composed at present of eleven bands. They were originally twelve, but the Assinipoilt, some years ago, revolting and separating them- selves from the others, there remain only at this time eleven. Those I met here are termed the River Band?, because they chiefly dwell near the banks of this river; the other eight are generally distinguished by the title of Naudowessies of the Plains, and inhabit a country more to the Westward. The name of the former are Nehogatawonahs, the Mawtawbauntowahs, and Shashweentowahs." On the Otis Farm, above Marine Mills, in the Valley of the St. Croix, there arc nu- merous mounds, and every appearance of an old Indian settlement. Dakota tradition alleges that there was once a small and powerful band that lived above Lake St. Croix. The Mantanton Dakotas, which are spoken of by le Sueur and Carver, may refer to these under the designation of M-awtawbauntowahs. DISCBIPTION OF THE VICIWrTY OF ST. PAUL. " About thirteen miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, at which I arrived the tenth Minnesota Historical Society. 58 day after I left Lake Pepia, is a remarkable cave of &u amazing depth. The Indians term it Wakon-teebe (Wakan-tipi). The entrance into it is about ten feet wide, the height of it five feet. The arch within is near fifteen feet high, and about thirty feet broad ; the bottom consists of fine clear sand. About thirty feet from the entrance, begins a lake, the water of which is transparent, und extends to an unsearchable dis* tance, for the darkness of the cave prevents all attempts to acquire a knowledge of it, I threw a small pebble towards the interior part of it with my utmost strength ; I could hear that it fell into the water, and notwithstanding it was of a small size, it caused an astonishing and terrible noise, that reverberated through all those gloomy regions. I found in this cave many Indian hieroglyphics, which appeared very ancient, for time had nearly covered them with moss, so that it was with diflSculty I could trace them. They were cut in a rude manner upon the inside of the wall, which was composed of n stone so extremely soft that it might be easily penetrated with a knife; a stono every- where to be found near the Mississippi." The remnants of this cave are still visible in Dayton's Bluff, and a full history of it may be found in the Annals of 1852. " At a little distance from this dreary cavern, is the buryiug-placc of several bands of the Naudowessie Indians. Though these people have no fixed residence, being in tents, and seldom but a few months in one spot, yet they always bring the bones of the dead to this place." -• • ■ry-fi.- -'^n -i'm ■■■ ■■•--:> ..] ,.,.! ij :,;!,:.;.•( ins JOURNEY TO, AND IMPRESSIONS OF THE FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY. " Ten miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, the River St. Pierre, called by the natives Wadapaw Menesotor, falls into the Mississippi from the West. It is not men- tioned by Father Hennepin, though a large, fair river. This omission, I consider, must have proceeded from a small island, (Faribault's,) that is situated exactly in its entrance." When he reached the Minnesota river, the ice became so troublesome that he left his canoe in the neighborhood of what is now Findlay's Fewy, and walked to St. Anthony, in company with a young Winnebago chief, who had never seen the curling waters. The chief, on reaching the eminence some distance below Cheevei-'s, began to invoke his gods, and offer oblations to the spirit in the waters. FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY. ' * " ' ' ' " '"" " In the middle of the Falls stands a small island, about forty feet broad, and some- what longer, on which grow a few cragged hemlock and .spruce trees, and about half way between this island and the Eastern shore, is a rock, lying at the very edge of the Falls, in an oblique position, that appeared to be about five or six feet broad, and thirty or forty long. At a little distance below the Falls, stands a small island of about an acre and a half, on which grow a great number of oak trees." .! ; From this description, it would appear that the little island, now some distance in front of the Falls, was once in the very midst, and shows that a constant recession has been going on, and that in ages long past, they were not far from the Minnesota river. A century hence, if the wearing of the last five years is any criterion, the Falls will be above the town of St. Anthony. *^- • '"^' No description is more glowing than Carver's, of the country adjacent: " The country around them is extremely beautiful. It is not an uninterrupted plain, where the eye finds no relief, but composed of many gentle ascents, which in the summer are covered with the finest verdure, and interspeised with little groves that give a -I: m Mil m ■€' .'I ■ v! :'■.* .'f* .-(.',1 64 M'/n Annals op the ■/it/ li? pleasing variety to the prospeet. On the whole, when the Falls are included, which may bo seen at the distance of four miles, a more pleasing and picturesque view I believe cannot be found throughout the universe." He arrived at the Falls on the Utb of November, 1766, and appears to have visited ^Ik river. .lao^i carver's VOYAOK up the MINNESOTA. i. On the twenty-Afth of November, he had returned to the place opposite the Minne. sota, where he bad left his canoe, and this stream as yet not being obstructed with ice, he commenced its ascent, with the colors of Great Britain flying at the stern of his canoe. There is no doubt that he entered this river, but how far he explored it cannot bo ascertained. Ho speaks of the Rapids near Shakopee, and asserts that he went as far as two hundred miles beyond Mendota. He remarks : — ''On the tth of Dceember, I arrived at the utmost extent of my travels towards the West, where I met a large party of the Naudowessie Indians, among whom I resided some months." After speaking of the upper bunds of the Dakotas, and their allies, ho odds that he "left the habitations of the hospitable Indians the latter end of April, Hd?, but did not part from them for several days, as I was accompanied on my journey by near three hundred of them, to the mouth of the river St. Pierre. At this season, these bands annually go to the great cave, (Dayton's Bluflf,) before mentioned." ,, . SPEECH MADE AT DAYTON's OLUFF. " When wd arrived at the great cave, and the Indians had deposited the remains of their deceased friends in the burial place that stands adjacent to it, they held their great council, into which I was admitted. On this occasion I made the following speech, which I insert to give my readers a specimen of the language and manner in which it is necessary to address the Indians, so as to engage their attention. It was delivered on the first day of May, 1761:. :\.tUi... . , , " My brothersl — Chiefs of the namerous and powerful Naudowessles! — I rejoice that through my long abode with you I can now speak to you, though after an imperfect manner, iu your own tongue, like one of your own children. I rejoice also' that I Lave had an opportunity so frequently to inform you of the glory and power of the great king that reigns over the English and other nations; who is descended from a very ;incicnt race of sovereigns, ti» old as the earth and water; whose feet stands on two great islands, longer thau any you have ever seen ; whose head reaches to the sun, and whose arms encircle the whole earth ; the number of whose warriors are equal to the trees in the valleys, the stalks of rice in yonder marshes, or the blades of grass in your great plains; who has hundreds of canoes of his own, of such amazing bigness, that all the waters in your country would not sufiBoe for one of them to swim in ; each of which have guns, not small, like mine, which you see before you, but of such magnitude that an hundred of your stoutest young men would with difficulty be able to carry ouo. , ; " You may remember the other day, when we were encamping at Wadapaw Mene- sotor, (Minnesota river,) the black clouds, the wind, the fire, the stupendous noise, and terrible cracks, and the trembling of the earth which then alarmed you, and gave you reason to think that your gous were angry with you ; not unlike these are the warlike implements of the English, when they are fighting the battles of their great king. ,.. . Several of the (Jhiefs pf your bands have often told mo in times past, when I dwelt way miu( for Minnesota Historical Society. 56 with yon ia your tente, that they much wished to be counted among the obildreik and allies of the great king, my master. * * • * " -no it '»ijci,&h>.';!A tuov For this speech Carver is principally indebted to his imagination, but it is well con- ceived, and RU^ested one of Schiller's poems, called the " Death Song of a Nadowesaie Chief," which Goethe considered one of hin finest productions, and which has received two translations into English, one by Sir John Herschell, and the other by Sir E. L. Bulwer. It appears from other sources that Carver's visit to the Dakotas was of some effect in bringing about friendly intorconrso between tlietn and the commander of the English force at Mackinac. The earliest mention of tiie Sioux, in any public. British documents that we know of, is in the correspondence between Sir Wm. Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Colony of New York, and General Gage, in command of the forces. On the eleventh of September, less than six months after Carver's speech at Dayton's Bluff, and the departure of- a number of Chiefs to the English Fort at Mockinnc, John- son writes to General Gage: — "Though I wrote you some days ago, yet I would not mind saying something again on the score of the vast expenses incurred, and, as I under- stand, still incurring at Michillmackinac, chiefly on pretence of making a peace between the Sioux and Chippeweigbs, with which I think we have very little to do, in good policy or otherwise." Sir William Johnson, in a letter to Lord Hillsborough, one of his Majesty's Ministers dated August llth, 1768, again refers to the subject: " Much greater part of those who go a trading are men of such circumstances and disposition as to venture their persons everywhere for extravagant gaiur, vet the conse- quences to the publii' are not to be slighted, as we may be led into a general quarrel through their means. The Indians in the part adjacent to Michillmackinac have been treated with at a very great exijense for some tinje previous. "Major Rodgera brings a considerable charge against the former for meditating a peace between some tribes of the Sioux and some of the Chippeweighs, which, had it been attended with success, would only have been interesting to a very few French, and others, that had goods in that part of the Indian country, but the contrary has happened, and they are now more violent, and war against one another." carver's foresight. .(.v.. -.--. -i.. Though a wilderness of over one thousand miles intervened between the Falls of St, Anthony and the white settlements of the English, he was fully impressed with the idea that the territory now organized under the name of Minnesota, on account of its beauty and fertility, would attract settlers. Speaking of the advantages of the country, he says that the future population will be " able to convey their produce to the seaports with great facility, the current of the river from its source to its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico, being extremely favorable for doing this in small craft. This might also in time be facilitated by canals or shorter cuts, and a communication opened by water with New York, by way of the Lakes." ^ in -} afif.n tm H)f4 i; XORTIIERU KOtTE TO THE PACIFIC. 'ijW g;.;<. The subject of this sketch was confident that a route could bo discovered by way Minnesota Historical Society. 6r tho Minuoaota river, which " woiikl open n passage for conveying intolligenfo to Chirin, tmd the Knglish settlements in the East luclios." Carver having returned to England, interested Whitworlh, n member of rnrliiimcnt» in the Northern route. Had not the American Revolution commenced, tiiey proposed to have built a fort at Lake Pepin, to have proceeded up tho Minnesota, until thoy found, us they supposed they could, a branch of the Missouri, and from thence journeying over the summit of lands, until thoy came to a river which they called Oregon, which they would descend to the Pacific. In England, Carver appears to have had difficulty, and soon became quite reduced, and in 17 T9 he became a clerk in a lottery office, and married, while his first wife was living in America, After his death, the children of each wife kept np a corres- pondence. He was a ready writer, and prepared, beside.? his travels, a Gazetteer, and aTreatific on the Tobacco Plant, and seems to hive met with some attention from the literary circles. He died in great want, at the age of forty-eight, in KJSO. In 1817, some of his heirs visited this country with the following DBKD PURPORTING TO HAVE HKEN CIVKX AT TUB CAVE IN THE IlLUFF BEI.OW ST. PAUL. " To Jonathan Carver, a Chief under the most mighty and potent George tho Third, King of the English, and other nations, the fame of whoso warriors has reached our ears, and has been now fully told us by onv gooil brother Jonathan, aforesaid, whom wo rejoice to have come among us, and bring us good news from his country. We, Chiefs of the Naudowessies, who have hereunto set our seal's, do by these pre- sents, for ourselves and heirs forever, in return for the aid and other good servioc* done by the said Jouathan to ourselves and allies, give, grant and convoy to him, tlie said Jonathan, and to his heirs aud assigns forever, the whole of a certain tract of territory of land, bounded as follows, viz: from the Falls of St. Anthony, running on tho East bank of tho Mississippi, nearly Southeast, as far as Lak« Pepin, where the Ciiippcwa joins the Mississippi, and from thence Eastward, five days travel, accounting twenty English miles per day, and from thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony, on a direct straight line. We do, for ourselves, heirs, and assigns, forever give unto tlie said Jona. than, his heirs and assigns, with all the trees, rocks, and rivers therein, reserving the solo liberty of hunting and fishing on land not planted or improved by the said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, to which we have affixed our respective seals. At the Great Cave, May 1st, 1767." In 1821, General Leavenworth, in behalf of the United States, made iiujuiries of the Sioux, but could learn nothing of the two Chiefs whose names wore attached to tiie deed. In 1823, a committee of the United States Senate reported adversely to tlie petition of the heirs of Carver. ORIGIN OF THE DAKOTAS. Carver in common with other travellers had his theory. He supposed that tliey came from Asia. He remarks " But this might have been at different times and from various parts; from Tartary, China, Japan, the inhabitants of these places resemble each other. **********'•* "It is verv evident that some of the names and customs of the American Indians re^ I hii ;rV.vi I .;!;r;:: :-k 1 '■ I '-. „ '.« - •f>t. ■• 1 . 4 ■*■■ . i •■ ■■■'•.' ;.■..'.''■■■ ■' ■■'■;■■ ' '44 •'f.'i 58 Annals of the ■emble thote of the Tartan, and I inako no doubt but tlint iu some future era, and this DOt verj diitaat, it will be roduced to certainty that during some of tho warn bclwoon tbt Tartan and the Chinese, a part of the inhabitants of the Northern provinces were driven from their natire country, and took refug..' .fi 62 Annals of the lit ♦«'■ 19- -/ H« remaiaed ia that region of country near Lake Superior for some years, trading with the Indians, receiving liis supplies of goods from Mackinaw, and returning the pro- ceeds of sales also to that pla<.e. In the year 1774 he turned his attention to the Il- linois country, and established stores both at Cabokia and Kaskaskia. He also extend- ed his trade across the Wabash Valley to the waters of the Maumee ; so that his vast operations embraced four or five States of the present Union in the Northwest. In the year 1774, some enterprising men in Montreal, who had a practical knowl- edge of the Indian trade, formed a company, styled the Northwest Company of Mon- treal. The shares of the company were few, a portion of which was owned by those who furnished the capital, and the rest by the traders themselves, each of whom took charge of au interior post. The old Canadian voyageurs were employed by this compa- ny in preference to all others ; and in all probability the father of the late Joseph Ren- ville, Scn'r., whose wife was a native of Kaposia village, was an attache to this company, as his son was subsequently to its rival, the " Hudson Bay." Sandy Lake, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, .became quite a centre of Indian trade. In the year 1785, a scene occurred there, which has not been of infrequent occurrence. For the facts, wo are indebted to Mr. Schoolcraft's Narrative, which he obtained from a manu- script of a voyageur named Perrault. "A trader by the name of Kay, was asked by an Ojibwa to give him some rum. Kay refused, and wallicd him out of the tent. On turning round to enter, the Indian stab- bed him in the back of the neck. Kay at the time was intoxicated, and seizing a long table knife, ran after the Indian. The Indians being also drunk, a general melee took place. The mother of the Indian who had stabbed the trader, ran up and stabbed Kay a second time. A friendly Indian now took up the quarrel of the trader, and plunged a knife into the breast of him who instigated the Indian in the first place to attack the trader. The Indian women, in self-defence, now destroyed all the liquor that could bo found. Kay's wounds were so bad that he determined to go to Mackinac. " Before he started," says Perrault, "he sent for Mr. Harris and myself, to come to his tent, to receive his orders. Ho said to us : — ' Gentlemen, you see my situation. I do not know whcthe ' God will spare my life or not. I have determined to leave you, and at all hazards to set out for Mackinac with seven men, accompanied by the Bras Casse and his wife, to take cure of mo on the road. Assort the remainder of the goo^s, and ascend to Leech lake, and await there for the return of the Pillagers, who are out on the prairies. In short, complete the inland trade. Mr. Pinot is too feeble an opponent to do you much injury. I confide in tiie capacity of you both.' A few moments afterwards Mr. Harris went out, when he said to me particularly, taking hold of my hands — ' My dear friend you understand the language of the Cliippowas. Mr. Harris would go with me, but he must accompany yon. He is a good trader, but he has, like myself and others, a strong passion for drinking, which takes away his judgment. On these occasions, advise iiira. I will myself speak to him before my departure. Prepare everything to facili- taie our passage over the portages and along the lake. I shall set out to-morrow. I find myself loelter every day.' " I left him with his physician, and wont to distribute the provisions and lading for two inland canoes, ono for Mr. Kay, and one for the four men who were to take the furs from Pino river, consisting of nineteen packs of eighty pounds each, and four packs of deer skins, to serve as seats for Mr. Kay's men. The next day Mr. Kay was a little k Minnesota Historical Society. 63 better, which diflfused pleasure among us all. I coDstructcd a litter (w« trciicarc!) for two men to carry him over the portages ; and he set out the same day, being the fifth of May, about two o'clock in the afternoon Mr. Pinot also d«parted the same day. Bras Casse and his wife departed about sunset." The sequel of this tale is briefly told. Mr. Kay reached Mackinac, where Copt. Rob- inson, then in command, had a second operation performed on him by the post-surgeon. He afterwards closed his businos? and went to Montreal. A suppuration of his wound, however, took place at tl'j liake of Two Mountains, which terminated his life on the 26th of August, 1785, three months and twenty-four days after receiving the wound. In 1796, the Northwest Company built a fort at Sandy Lake. In 1805, the fur trade of Minnesota was entirely monopolized by this English company. At Leech lake, and other points in the Ojibwa country, they had posts. The principal traders among the Dakotas, at this time, were Cameron, Dickson, Campbell, Aird, and Crawford. The latter lived much of tiio timo on the Des Moines river. Airs, or Aird, was a partner of a firm at Prairie du Chicn. He was a Scotch, man, from Mackinac, and was met by the returning expedition of Lewis and Clarke* with two cauoes, near the junction of the Au Jacques with the Missouri river. In 1812 he had a post at Mendota. Campbell and Dickson traded at Kaposia and sundry places on the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. Cameron had his post towards the sources of the Minnesota. lie also was a bhrewd and daring Scotchman. He died in the year 1811, and the spot where he was buried, on the Upper Minnesota, is known to this day as Cameron's Grave, One of his voya- geurs. Old Milor, is still living at Mendota; and while in the employ of Cameron, nearly lost his life. Wo tell the story as P'eatherstonhaugh relates it : — " The winter was advancing fast upon Milor and his fellow voyageurs, and they had delayed so long col. lecting their packs of skins, that the ice formed one night too strong to permit tiieir de- scending the stream in a canoe. There was, however, some hoi)cs of a thaw ; and they kept waiting from day to day, until their provision, of which tiiey had but a slight su2> ply, was exhausted. They had nothing left now, but to leave their packs of skins un. der the canoe, and take to the woods in the hopes that Cameron, who was at n distant trading-post below, seeing the state of the weather, would send relief to them. " The snow was too deep to enable them to carry any burden ; and with their last meal in their pockets, they commenced their journey. They mot with no game of any kind, on the way ; and on the night of the second day, they were reduced to the neces- sity of stripping some bark from a tree to masticate. In the morning, the severity of *he weather increased, and no alternative presented itself, but stopping to die on the way, or making the most desperate effort to extricate themselves. On the morning ot" the third day, two of the men became weak, and frequently urged the other to stop • but Milor always opposed these delays. These poor follows were gradually losing their judgment ; they knew that delay would be fatal to the whole party, yet the sense o^ present distress took away all reflection from them. Milor, who was ahead of them all, came before night to a place somewhat sheltered from the wind, which was very.piercc- ing ; and seeing some signs of the bushes having been disturbed, he stepped aside to look, and found a dead Indian beside the remains of a small fire. Milor now shouted to the men to come on; and pointing to the Indian, told them that would be their fate >;• ' m '^if' "J'l ■ ■ I v"'.< lev •S'- •'\-l'.' '■.■■('I-'. ■ ' ! ' ■ 64 Annals of th*: before luoruiug, if thoy stopped. Frightened at this, they kept up a good pace until a late hour ; and Milor being in a part of the country he was acquainted with, took one of the most active of the men with him, and after great exertions, they had the good luck to catch two muskrats. With theie they returned to the man, who had huilt up a good Are ; and having eaten one of the animals, they lay down to sleep, and vested very well. In the morning they ate the other before starting ; and ts they felt a little more cheerful, Milor told them that if they would walk like men, he would take them to a place where there was pl'-rty of muskrats, and that as soon as they had laid in a sup- ply of them, they would strike across the country to Travei-se des Sioux, where thoy would be sure to hear of Cameron and get food. In several days they caught but one mnskrat. " On the morning of the eighth day, they had not been marching au hour, when Mi. lor, looking attentively to the Southeast, declared that he saw smoke :a that direction and that there must be a fii-e. This, as Milor said, had the effect of a glas^ of ean dg vk upon them, and they went briskly on for two or three hours ; but this cheering sign disappeared, and the men were beginning to despond again, when the thought struck Milor, that if any party were coming to their relief, they would naturally be keeping a lookout also. In less than a half hour after, he had gained the bluff to scan a thick column of smoke, not more than three miles distant. He immediately waved his cap, shouted to his companions, and set off in the direction of the expected aid. It was in- deed the relief they expected. Two men, each with a pack containing pork and biscuit, had been despatched from Traverse des Sioux, and 'Cameron with three others, were to leave in a canoe, if an expected thaw admitted of it, and at any rate, were to start with an additional supply. Milor, having reposed himself, set out to meet his oomrads with the reinforcement. ' What did they do when they saw you V I asked Milor. ' Ccr gaillards la ont commences a danser, Monsieur — the happy fellows began to dance,' was his answer. "This incident, iu the adventures of Milor, is very much to the credit of Cameron, who made so resolute an attempt to relieve his poor engages, when the chances wei( much against his siic?eoding. Featherstoohaugh, vol. I, pp. 31.') — 318. I'O so m CHAPTER XI. rNiTKD STATE.? PIONEER EXPi,OR.\Tiox OF THE rprEU mssissippr. WITH the history of Minnesota there is intimately associated the name of General Pike, who fell in battle at York, Upper Canada. While a lieutenant, he was ordered by his commanding officer, the once notorious General Wilkinson, to visit the Indian tribes of the Upper Mississippi, and expel the British traders. The party uiide'" his curamand was small, and his conveniences few, yet his work was well and heroically performed. In the preface to his book, he ?ays : — " In the execution of this voyage I had no gentleman to aid me, and I literally per- formed the duties of astronomer, surveyor, commanding oflBcer, clerk, spy, guide and Minnesota Historical Society. 65 . .'I hunter, frequently preceding the party for miles, in order to reconnoitre, and returning in the evening, hungry and fatigued, to sit down in the open air, by firelight, to copy the notes, and plot the courses of the day." It has been the aim of the Editor to make judicious EXTRACTS FROM HIS JOURNAL. Sept. 1st, Sunday. — Embarked early; wind fair; arrived at the lead mines at 12 o'clock. A dysentery, with which I had been afflicted several days, was suddenly checked this morning; which I believe to have been the occasion of a very violent at- tack of fever about 11 o'clock. Notwithstanding it was very severe, I dressed myself, with an intention to execute the orders of the General relative to this place. We wore saluted with a field-piece, and received with every mark of attention, by Monsieur Du- buque, the proprietor. There were no horses at the house, and it was six miles to where the mines were worked; it was therefore impossible to make a report by actual inspec- tion. I therefore proposed ten queries, on the answers to which my report was founded. Dined with Mr. D., who informed me that the Sioux and Sauteurs were as warmly en- gaged in opposition as ever; that not long since the former killed fifteen Sauteurs, who, on the 10th of August, in return, killed ten Sioux, at the entrance of the St. Peters; and that a war party, composed of the Sacs, Reynards, and Puants, of 200 warriors had embarked on an expedition against the Sauteurs, but that they had heard that the chief having had an unfavorable dream, persuaded the party to return, and that I would meet them on my voyage. A t this place I was introduced to a chief, called the Raven of the Reynards. He made a very flowery speech on the occasion, which I answered in a few words, accompanied by a small present. I had now given up all hopes of my two men, and was about to embark, when a pe- roque arrived, in ^which they were, with a Mr. Blondeau, and two Indians, whom that gentleman had engaged above the rapids of Stony river. The two soldiers had been six days without anylhing to cat except muscles, when they met Mr. James Aird, by whoso humanity and attention their strength and spirits were in a measure restored, and they were enabled to reach the Reynard village, where they met with Mr. B. The Indian chief furnished them with corn and shoes, and shewed his friendship by every possible attention. I immediately discharged the hire of the Indians, and gave Mr. Blondeau a passage to the Prairie des Chien?. Left the lead mines at 4 o'clock. — Distance 25 miles, Sept. 3d, Tueschy. — Embarked at a pretty early hour. Cloudy. Met two peroques of family Indians; they at first asked Mr. Blondeau, "if we were for war, or if going to war ? " I now experienced the good effect of having some person on board who could speak their language, foi they presented mo with three pair of ducks, and a quantity of venison, suflicient for all our crew one day; in return, I made them some trifling presents. Afterwards met two peroques, carrying some of the warriors spoken of on the 2d inst. Tlicy kept at a great distance until spoken to by Mr. B., when they informed him that their party had proceeded up as high as Lake Pepin, without eflcct- ing anything. It is surprising what a dread the Indians in this quarter have of the Americans; I have often seen them go around islands, to avoid meeting my boat. It appears to me evident, that the traders have taken great pains to impress upon the minds of the savages the idea of our being a very vindictive, ferocious and warlike peo. pie. This impression was perhaps made with uo good intention ; but whsn they find 1 i'"'"l ' ■<. ■>i>.'V. ' r" " .■'>V ;/> 'v'<;' "J .•!..!•■ ■■■■•;!;>.,■, l" '1 ". ■:..*i'. M.i, •i' ^6 Annals of the I .'r w that our conduct towards tbeiu is guided by magnanimity and justice, instead of opera- ting in an injurious manner/it will have the offoct to make them reverence, nt the same time they fear up. Distance 2") miles. Sept. 4tli, Wednesday/. — Breakfasted just beio4V the Ouiscousing. Arrived at the Prairie Des Chicns about 11 o'clock; took quarters at Captain Fisher's, and were po- litely received by liim and Mr. Frazer. Sept. 6th, Iriloy. — Had a sniall council with Ihe Puants, and a chief cf the lower band of t^'O Sioux. Visited oiul laid out a position for a post, on a hill called the Petit Gris, on U\^ Ouiscousing, three miles above its mouth. Mr. Fisher, who accompanied me, was taken * ery sick, in conse(incnce of drinking some water out of the Ouisconsing. The Puants never have any white interpreters, nor have the Fols Avoiu Nation. In my council, I spoke to a Frenchman, he to a Sioux, who interpreted to some of the Puants. Sept. 8th, Sinulay. — Embarked at half past 11 o'clock, in two batteaux. The wind fair and fresli. I found myself very much embarrassed and cramped in ray now boats, with provision and baggage. I embarked two interpreters, one to perform the whole voyage, whose name was Pierre Rosseau, and the other, named Joseph lleinuille, paid by Mr. Frazor, to accompany me as high as the Falls of St. Anthony. Mr. Frazer is a young gentleman, clerk to Mr. Blakoly, of Montreal; he was born in Vermont, but has latterly resided in Canada. To th.o attention of thiM gentleman I am much indebted; he procured for mo everything in his power that I stood in need of; despatched his bark canoes and remaiiitd himself to go on witli me. His design was, to winter with some of the Sioux bands. We sailed well, came 18 miles, and encamped on the AV, bank. I must not omit here to licar testimony to the politeness of all tho principal in- habitants of the village. There is, however, a material distinction to be made in the nature of those attentions. Tl:c kindness of [Messrs. Fisher, Frazer, and Woods, (nil Americans,) seemed to be tho spontaneous effusions of good will, and partiality to their countrymen ; it extended to the accommodation, convenience, exercises and pastimes of my men: and whenever tliey proved superior to tho French, openly shewed their pleas- ure. But the French Canadians a-ipcared attentive, rather from their natural good manners than sincere friendship : howovor, it produced from them the same effect that natural good will did in the others. Sept. 10th, Tuesdny. — Eain still continuing, we remained at our camp. Having shot at some pigeuns, tiio report was hoard at the Sioux lodges,. when La Fieulle sent down six of his young men to inform me "that he had waited three days with meat, &c., but that last night they had began to drink, and tliat on the next day he would receive me with his people sober. I returned him for answer, " that the season was advanced, that time was pressing, and that if tho rain ceased I must go on." Mr. Frazer and the interpreter wcntliomc with the Indians. We embarked about 1 o'clock, Frazer returning, informed me that the chief acquiesced in my reasons for pressing for- ward, I)ut that he had prepared a pipe (by way of letter) to present me, to shew to all the Sioux above, with a message to inform them that I was a chief of their new fathers and that ho wished me to bo treated with friendship and respect. On our arrival oppo- 8:te to the lodges, tho men were paraded on the bank, with their guns in their hands. They saluted us (with ball) witli what might be termed three rounds; which I returned with three rounds from each boat with my blunderbusses. This salute, although nothing to soldiers accustomed to fire, would not be so agreeable to many people, as tho Indians Minnesota Historical Society, r. V7 4- had all beon drinking, and as some of them ovou tried their dexterity, to see bow near the boat they could strike. TLcy may, indeed, be said to have struck on every side of us. When landed, 1 had my [)istois in my licit, and .sword in hand. 1 was mot on the bank by the chief, and invited to his lodge. As soon as my guards \verc formed, and sentinels posted, I accompanied him. Some of my men, who were going up with me, I caused to leave their arms behind, as a mark of conlidenco. At the chief's lodge I foir.id a clean mat and piliow for mo to sit on, and the befovementioned pipe, on a pair of small crutclies before mc. The cliief sat on my right hand, my intor[)roter and Mr. Frazer on my left. After .smoking, the cliief spoke to the following purport: " That, 'notwithstanding ho had scon me at the iirairio, he was happy to take me by the hand amongst his own people, and thero to shew his young men the respect duo to their new father. That, when nt St. Louis in the spring, his father had told liim that if ho looked down the river, he would sec one of his young warriors coining ui>. He now found it true, and he was happy to see mc, who know the Great Spirit was the father of all; l)oth the white and the red people; and if ono died, the other could not live long. That ho had never been nt war with their new father, aud ho})cd always to pre- serve the same good understandir.g that now existed. That I;c now jircsonted me with a pipe, to i^liew to the upper band?, a token of our good undcr.standing; and that they might see his work and imitate his conduct. That he hadc;oue to St. Louis on a shame- ful visit, to cp.rry a murderer; but that we luid given tho man his life, aud he thanked us for it. That he had provided «omethiDg to eat, but he supposed I could not eat it, and if not, to give it to my young men." I replied, " that, although I had told him at tho prairie my business up tlio Mississippi, I would again relate it to him. I then mentioned the dilVerent oi)jccts I had in view, with regard to the savages wlio had fallen under our protection by our late purchase from the Spauiard,s. The different posts to be established. Tho objects of these posts as related to them; supplying them with necessaries; having officers and agents of government near them, to attend to their business; and above all, to make peace be- tween the Sioux aud Sautcurs. That it was possible, on my return, I should bring some of the Sauteurs down with me, and take with me some of the Sioux chiefs to St. Louis, there to settle the long and bloody war which had existed between the two na- tions. That I accepted his pipe with pleasure, as the gift of a groat man,* and a brother. That it should be used as he desired." I then eat of tlie dinner he had provided It was very grateful. It was wild rye and vcuLsoii, of which I sent four bowls to ray men. I afterwards went to a dance, the performaucc of which was attended with many curious manojuvrcs. Men and women danced indiscriiiunatelv- They were all dressed in the gayest manner; each had in their hand a small .kin of some description, and would ficqueutly run up, point their skin, aud give a puff with their brealli, when tho person blown at, whether man or woman, would fall, and ai-pear to be almost hfeless, or in great agony; but would recover slowly, rise, and join in the dunce. This they called their great medicine, or as I understood the word, dance of religion. Tho In- dians believing that they actually puffed something into cacli other's bodies, which occasioned tho falling, &c. It is not every person who is admitted; persons wishing to join thorn, must first make valuable presents to tho Society, to the amount of^forty or I feast, and then are admitted with great coromony. fifty dollar.*, gi Mr. Frazev in- Tle iH tie Cliicf of lour band^ ■.'■'1 ',1 ir ^i. ■ '''■'■■': : -J-;.' ;'^■,■'^■^: : . ,vt, M ■ ■ ■ %- .\ m C''\ .-.-/'•.l-l ■ ">''<■ ■ .J f «8 Annals of the formed me, that he was once in the lodge with sonit young ineu, who did not belong to the club; when one of the dancers came in, they immediately threw their blankets over him, and forced him out of the lodge; he laughed, and the youug Indians called him a fool, and said " he did not know what 'the dancer might blow into his body." I returned to my boat, sent for the chief, and presented him with two carrots of tobacco, four knives, half a pound of vermillion, and one quart of suit. Mr. Frozer asked liberty to present them some rum ; we ma^lo thoin up u keg ]}etweeu us, of eight gal- lons.* Mr. Prazer informed the chief that ho dared not give them any without my permission. The chief thanked me for all my presents, and said "they must come free, as he did not ask for them." I replied, " that, to those who did not rtsk for any- thing, I gave freely ; but to those who asked for much, I gave only a little or hone." We embarked about half past 3 o'clock; came three miles, and encamped on the W. side. Mr. Frazer wo left behind, but he came up with his two peroques about dusk. It commenced raining very hard. In the night, a pcroque arrived from the lodges at his camp. During our stay at their camp, there were soldiers appointed to keep the crowd from my boats; who executed their duty with vigilance and rigor; driving men^ women and children back, whenever they came near my boats. At my departure, their soldiers said, " as I had shaken hands with their chief, they must shake hands with my soldiers." In which request I willingly indulged them. Sept. 12th, Thursday. — It raining very hard in the morning, wo did not embark until 10 o'clock. Mr. Frazer's peroques then coming up. It was still raining, and was very cold. Passed the Racine river, also a prairie called liC Cross, from a game of ball played frequently on it by 'the Sioux Indians. This'prairie is vcryjiandsome; it has a small stjuarc hill, similar to some mentioned by Carver. It is bounded in the rear by hills similar to the Prairie Des Ohien. On this prairie Mr. Frazer showed me some holes, dug by the Sioux, when in expectation of an attack,- into which they first put their women and children, and then crawl themselves. They were generally round, and about ten feet in diameter; but some were half moons, and quite a breastwork. This, I understood, was the chief work, which was the pri.icipal redoubt. Their modes of constructing them are, the moment they apprehend or discover an enemy on a prairie, they commence digging with their knives, tomahawks, and a wooden ladle; and in an incredibly short space of time, they have a hole sufficiently deep to cover themselves and their family from the balls or arrows of the enemy. They have no idea of taking those subterraneous redoubts by storm, m they would probably lose a great number of men in the attack; and, although they might be successful in the event, it would be con- sidered as a very imprudent action. Mr. Frazer, finding his canoes not able to keep up, staid at this prairie to organize one of them, intending then to overtake us. Came on three miles further. Sjcit. 16th., Monday — Embarked late, as I wished Mr. Frazer to overtake me, but came on very well. His canoes overtook us at dinner, at the grand encampment below Lake Pepin. We made the sandy peninsula on the East, at the entrance of Lake Pepin, by dusk; passed the Sauteaux river, on the East, at the entrance of the lake. After supper, the wind being fair, we put ofif, with tho intention to sail across. My interpreter (Rosseau) telling rae, that he had passed the lake twenty times, but never once in the day ; giving as a reason, that the wind frequently rose and detained • Two galloQB of Whiskey. Minnesota Historical Society. 69 them by day in the lake. But I believe the traders' true reasou, generally is, tiicir fears of the Sauteurs, as thoy have made several strokes of war, at the mouth of this river, never distinguishing between the Sioux and their traders. However, Iho wiud serving, 1 was induced to go on; and accordingly wo sailed. My boat bringing up the rear, for I had put the sail of my big boat on my batteaux, and a mast of twenty-two feet. Mr. Prazer embarked oa my boat. At first the breeze was very gentle, and wo sailed with our violins and other music playing; but the sky afterwards became cloudy, and quite ;i gdlo aroso. My boat ploughed the swell.'!, sometimw almost bow under. ^Vhen we came to the Traverse, whieh is opposite to Point De Sable, we thought it most ad- visable, the lake being very much disturbed and the gale incroasirg, to take harbor in a bay on the East. One of the canoes, and my boat, came In very v oil, and together; but having made a fire ou the point to give notice to our boats in the roar, they both ran on the bar before they doubled it, and were near foundering ; but by jumping into the lake we brought them into a safe harbor. Distance forty miles. Sfipr. 17th Tuesday,. — Although there was every appearance of a very severe storm, we embarked at half past 6 o'clock, the wind fair, but before we had all hoisted sail , those in front had struck theirs. The wind came on hard ahead. The sky became inflamed and the lightning seemed to roll down the sides of the hills, which bordered the shore of the lake. The storm in all its grandeur, maje&t}', and horror, burst upon us, in the Traverse, while making to Point De Sable ; and it required no moderate e.xortion to weather the point and get to the windward side of it. There wo found Mr. Cameron, who had sailed from the prairie on the 5th; he had throe bark, and one wooden ca- noes, with him. Ho had been laying here two days ; his canoes unloaded and turned up for the habitation of his men ; his tents pitched, and living in all the ease of an Indian trader. Ho app 'ared to be a man of tolerable information, but rather indolent in his habits; a Scotchman by birth, but an Englishman by prejudice. Ue had with him a very handsome young man, by the name of John RudsdcU, and also his own son a lad of fifteen. The storm continuing, we remained all day. I was shown a point of rocks from which a Sioux woman cast herself and was dashed into a thousand pieces, on the rocks below. She had been informed, that her friends intended matching her to u man she displsed; and having refused her the xn\\\ she had chosen, she ascended the hill, singing her death song; and before they could overtake her, and obviate her pur- pose, she took the lover's leap! and ended her troubles with her life. A wonderful dis- play of sentiment in a savage. Distance 3 miles. Seit. 18th, Wednesday. — Embarked after breakfast. Mr. Cameron, with his boats (.•ame on with mo. Crossed the lake, sounded it, and took an observation at the upper end. I embarked in one of his canoes, and wo ciimc up to Canoe river, where there was a small band of Sioux, under the eommand of lied Wing, the second war chief in tiie nation. He made me a speech and presented a pipe, pouch, and buffalo skin. He appeared to be a man of sense, and promised to accompany me to St. Peters; he salu- ted me, and had it returned. I made him a small present. We encamped on the end of the island, and although not more than 11 o'clock, were obliged to stay all night. Distance 18 miles. Seit. ^19th, ?yi!tm/rti/.— Embarked early; dined at St. Croix river. Messrs. Frazer and Cameron, having some business to do with the savages, we left them at the encamp- ment; but they promised to overtake me, though they were obliged to travel until 12 ■•■.^■' i; .,1 'J. ■■^ ]■■-:. ;--iMf| X-y '^m-^rl ■ V I.: '\ 70 Annals op the m o'clock lit night, find u blunderbuss for thom at Tattoo. The cbnla of my watch became unhooked, by lending her to my guard; this wa« a very serious misfortune. Sepf. 21st, SaUrday — Embarked at a seasonable honr, breakfasted at the Sioux village, on the oast side (Pigs Eye.) It consists of eleven lodges and is situated at the head of an island just below a ledge of rocks. The village was evacuated at this time, nil the Indians having gone out to the lands to gather fols avoin. About two miles above, saw throe bears swimming over the river, but at too groat a distance for us to have killed thom ; they made the shore before I conld come up with them. Passed n camp of Sioux, of four lodges, in which I saw only one man, whoso niuiie was Black Soldier. The garrulity of tho women astonished mo, for at the other camps they never opened their lips; but hero they flocked round us, with all their tongues going at tho .same time; the cause of this fiocdom must have been tho absence of their lords and masters. Passed the encampment of Mr. FKnriEUAfLT, who had broken his pcro(|uo and had encamped on the West side of tho river, about throe miles below St. Peters. Wo made our encampment on the N. E. point of the big island, (Pike Island,) oppo- site to St. Peters. The Mississippi became so very narrow this day, that I once crossed in my battoaux with forty strokes of my oars. The water of the Mississippi, since we passed Lake Pepin, has been remarkably red; and where it is deep, appears as black as ink. TIio waters of tho St. Croi.v and St. Peters, appear Hue and ckar, for a consider- able distance below their confluence. I observe a white flag on shore to day, and on landing, discovered it to bo while silk; it was suspended over a scaffold, on which were Inid four dead bodies, two enclosed in boards, and two in bark. They were wrapped up in blankets, which appeared to bo quite new. They were the bodies, I was informed, "of two Sioux women (who had lived with two Frenchmen) one of their children and .some other relative ; two of w horn died at St. Peters and two at St. Croix, but were brought here, to bo deposited upon this scaffold together. This is the manner of the Sioux bu- rial, when persons die a natural death; but when they are killed, they suffer them to lay unbnried. This circumstance brought to my recollection, the bones of a man I found on the hills below tiie St. Croix; the jaw bone I brought on board. Ho must have been killed on that spot. Distance twenty-four miles. Sept. 22d, Sunday, — Employed in the morning, measuring the river; about three o'oclok Mr. Frazer and his perwjucs arrived, and in three hours after, tho Petit Cor- beau, at the head of his band, arrived with one hundred and fifty warriors. They as. ccnded the hill, in tho point between the Mississippi and St. Peters, tho site of Fort Sneliing-, and gave us a salnte, a la mode savage, with balls; after which wo settled the affairs for the council the next day. Mr. Frazer and myself took a bark cnnoc, and went up to the village, in order to see Mr. Cameron. Wo ascended tho St. Pe- ters to tho village and found his camp. (No current in the river.) He engaged to bo at the council the next day, and promised to let me have his barge. The Sioux had marched on a war excursion; but hearing (by express) of my arrival, tlioy relumed by land. We wore treated very hospitably, and hallooed after to 'jo into every lodge, to eat. Keturucd to our camp about 1 1 o'clock, and found the Sioux and ray men peaceably encamped. Sept. 22nr', Monday. — Prepared for the council, which we commenced about twelve o'clock. I had a bower or shade, mode of my sails, on the beach, into which only my gentkmen (the traders) and the chiefs entered. Minnesota Historical Society. 71 I Le Urand Partisan. Lo Demi"Douzen,' J ^" *'^'®^' K*^® l»ii"my fathers toiualiawk, in large boats. There will also be chiefs here, who can attend to the wants of their brothers, without their sending or going all the way to St. Ii0ni-<, and will seethe traders that go up your rivers, and know that they are good men. Brothers — Another object your father hai at heart, is to endeavor to make peace between you and the Chippeways. You have now been a long time at war, and when will you stop ? If neither side will lay down the hatchet, your patlis will always bo red with blood; but if you will consent to make peace, and suffer your father to ))ury the hatchet between you, I will endeavor to bring down some of the Chippeway chiefs with me to St. Louis, where the good work can be completed, under the auspices of your mutual father. I am much pleased to see that the young warriors have halted here to hear my words this day ; and as I know it is hard for a warrior to b? struck and not strike again, I will send (by the first Chippeway I meet) word to their chiefs: — Thnt if they hare not yet felt your tomahawk, it is not because you have no legs, nor the hearts of men, but because you hav« listened to the voice of your father. B ;.^'. :V;i/'l ..i' i ■Mi ;>•:■ 72 Annals or thk r I BuoTiiKus — It' tbo rhiufi do not liNtuii to the voico of their Iktber, und continiio to commit murders on you, tiiid uiir tradcrH, they jv" -nail down the vengeance of the Amoricnns; for they nru not hko n Mind man wulk'ing Into tho tir«. Thoy were onre nt war witli iiH, nnd joined to all tlic Northern Iiuiinnu, were defeated ut Roche He limif, and wore obliKcd to sue for peace — that peuw we grnntod them. They know wo arc not children, but, hko all wise poopli>, arc nIow to shed blood. Brotukkh — Your old men probably know, tluit about thirty yearn ntfo we wore subject to, and governed by the king of the Knglish; but he not treating us like children, wo would no longer ncknowlodgo biin us father — and after ten years war, in whicii ho lost 100,000 men, he acknowledged us a free and independent Nation. They know that not many years since, wo received lietroit, Mich'limnckinuc, and all the jWHts on tho lakes, from the Enj^lisb, nnd now )»ut the other day, Louisiana from the Spanish; ho that wo put one foot on the sea at tho East, and the other on the sea at tho West; and, if once children, are now men; yet, I think tho traders who come from Canada are bad birds amongst tho Chipi)CwayH, nnd instigate them to make war on their red brothers, the Sioux, in order to prevent our traders from going high up tho Mi-sssiHsippi. This I shall enquire into, nnd if so, warn those persons of their ill conduct. Brothrus — Mr. Choteau was sent by yonr father to the Osage Nation, with one of his young chiefs. He .sailed some days before mo, und had not time to procure tho medals which I am toU lie promised to send up, but they will be procured. BnoTHERs — I wish you to have some of your head chiefs to be ready to go down with me in the .spring. From the head of the St. Pierre, also, such other chiefs as you may think proper, to the number of four or five. When I pass here, on my way, I will .send you word nt what time you will meet me at the Prairie des Chieiis. Brotiikrs — I expect that you will give orders to all your young warriors to respect my Jlag nnd protection which I may extend to the Chippeway chiefs who may como down with mo in the spring; for was a dog to run to my lodge for at'otv, his enemy must walk over me to hurt him. Bkothkk.s — Hero is a flag, which 1 wish to send to Oons de Fouillcs, to shew them they are not forgot ))y their father. I wish tho conirndo of their chief to take it on himself to deliver it with my words. Brothers — I am told that hitherto the traders have made a practice of selling rum to / you. All of you, in your right .senses, must know that it is injurious; nnd occasions ' quarrels, murders, (fee. amongst yourselves. For this reason, your father has thought proper to prohibit the traders from selling you any rum. Therefore, I hope my brothers, tho chiefs, when they know of a trader to sell an Indian rum, will prevent that Indiin from paying his credit. This will break up the pernicious practice, and oblige * your father. But 1 hope you will not encourngo yonr young men to treat our trailers ill from this circumstance, or from n hope of the indulgence formerly experienced ; but make your complaints to persons in this country, who will be authorized to do you justice. Brothers — I now present you with pome of your father's tobacco, and some other trifling things, as a meraorandnm of ray good will, and btfore my departure I will givo you some liquor to clear your throats. Whereas, At a conference held between the United States of America and the Sioux Nation of Indians, Lieutenant Z. M, Pike, of the army or the United States, nnd r. Minnesota Historical Society. 73 llio oliieli and the warriors of HuiJ tribe, have agreed tu tho fuilowiiiK' luticlus, wliicli, wliou rnliilcd mid approved of by the proper uutliority, hLuII bo binding on both pnrliod: Aht, 1. That the Sioux Nation grant unto tho United States, for tho purpose ol c!«tnblishmcnt of military pcHt», nine miles scpiare, at tho mouth of tho St. CVoix,* uUt) from below tho conflnenco of tho MisaiasipjH and St. Peters, up the Mis-sissippi, to in elude the Falls of St, Anthony, extending nine miles on each sido of tho river, tlmi tho Sioux Nation grants to tho United States the full sovereignty and power over said district forever. Aht. 2. Tliat, in consideration of tho al)ova grnntt, the United States shall pay (filled up by tho Senate with 2,000 dollars). Anr. ;(. The United States promise, on their part, to permit the Sioux to pass and rc-pass, liinit, or make other uso of tho said districts ns they have formerly done, without liny other cxreption tlian those spccifiod in article first. In testimony whereof, we, tho undersigned, have hereunto sot our banc's and seals, at the mouth of tho River St. Voters, on the ^ 23d day of September, 1805. Z. M.PIKE, [!-..<] lit Lieut., anil agent at the above conferenc*^. lliB LE PETIT COUBEAU, x [ f.. S.] WAY AGO ENAGEE, mark his murk [LS.l Skit. 24tli, Tuesday. — In tho morning I discovered my (lag was missing from oil' my lioat. Being in doubt whether it had been stolen by the Indians, or had fallen over- board and floated away, I sent for my friend, the Original Lave, and sullicicntly evinced to him, )jy tho vehemence of my action, by the immediate punishment of my guard, (having inflicted on one of them corporeal punishment) and by sending down tho shore three miles in search of it ; how much I was displeased, that such a tiling should have occurred. I sent a flag and two carrots of tobacco, by a Mr. Cameron, to tho Sioux, at tho liead of the St. Tcters; made a small draft of tho position at this place ; sent up the boat 1 got from Mr. P'iahcr, to the village of St. Peters, and exchanged her for a I)argc Avith a Mr. Duncan ; my men returned with the barge about sun down. She was a fine light thing, eight men were able to carry her. Employed all day in writing. Seh'. 25tb, Wedncsihy. — 1 was awuK'cned out of my bed by Le. Petit C'arlmu, (head chief) who came up from his village, to sec if wo were all killed, or if any acci- dent had happened to us; this was in consequence of their having found my flag floating two or threo miles below their village, (fifteen miles hence) from which they concluded that some atlVay had taken place, and that it had been thrown overboard. Although I considered this an unfortunate accident for me, I was exceedingly happy nt its eflcct ; for it was the occasion of preventing much bloodshed amonf the-savagcs. A chief called the Outard Blanche, had his lip cut oil', and had como to the Petit Corheaii, and told him, "that his face was his looking glass, that it was spoiled, and that he was determined on revenge." The parties wore charging their * My demand was one league below ; their reply was " fro Ji below."" I imagine (without ini- quity) they may lie made to agree. ;.., 15,' M :& i-nJV, my] <>i I'.*' I I: 74 Annals of the guns, and preparing for action, when lo I tli9 flag appeared; like a messenger of peace, sent to prevent their bloody purposes. They were all astonished to see it; the staff was broke. When the Pt//^ Co;-Jot« arose and spoko to this effect: "That a thing so sacreil, had not been taken from my boat, withoiit violence; that it would be proper fo^ them, to hash all private animosities, until tliey had revenged the cause of their eldest brother; that ho would immediately go up to St. Peters, to know what dogs had done that thing; in order to take stops to got satisfaction of those, who had done the mis- chief." They all listened to this reasoning and ho immediately had the flag pnt out to dry, and embarked for my camp. I was much concerned to hear of the blood likely to have been shed, and gave him flvo yards of blue stroud, three yards of calico, one handkerchief, one carrot of tobacco, and one knife, in order to make peace among his people. lie promised to send my flag by land to the Falls, and make the peace with Oulard Blanchs. j\Ir. Frazer went up to tlio village, and wo embarked late, and en- camped at tlie foot of the rapids. In many places, I could scarce throw a stone over the river. Distance three miles. Srit. 26th, Thursday. — Embarked at the usual hour, and after much labor in pass- ing through the rapids, arrived at the foot of the Falls about three or four o'clock; un- loaded my boat, and had the principal part of her cargo carried over the portage. — With the other boat however full loaded, they were not able to get over the last shoot, and encamped ,bout six hundred yards below. 1 pitched my tent and encamped above the shoot, 'liie rapids mentioned in this day's march, might properly be called a con- tinuation of the falls of St. Anthony, for they are equally entitled to this appellation, with the falls of the Delaware and Susquehanna. Killed one deer. Distance nine miles. Seit. 2Tth, Frtdu)! — Brought over the residue of my loading this morning. Two men arrived, from ]Mr. Frazer, on St. Peters, for ray dispatches. This business, closing and sealing, appeared J.ko a last adien to the civilized world. Sent a large packet to the general, and a letter to Mrs. Pike, with a short note to ]Mr. Frazer. Two young Indians brought my flag across by laud, who arrived yesterday, just as we came in sight of the Fall. I made them a present for their punctuality and expedition, and the dan- ger they were exposed to fromtho journey. Carried our boats out of the river, as far as the bottom of the hill. Seit. 28tii, Salimhi/. — Brought my barge over, and put her in the river above the the Falls — while we were engaged with her three-fourths miles from camp, seven Indians painted black appeared on the heights. We had left our guns at the camp and were entirely defencelcsa. It occurred to me that they were the small party of Sioux who were obstinate, and would go to war, when the other part of the bands came in; the.se they proved to be; they were better armed than any I had overseen; having gunn bows, arrows, clubs, spears, and some of them even a case of pistols. I was at that time giving my men a dram; and giving the cup of liquor to the first, ho drank it off ; but I was more cautious with the remainder. 1 sent my interpreter to camp with them to wait jay coming; wishing to purchase one of their war clubs, it being made of elk horn, and decorated with inlaid work. This and a set of bows and arrows, 1 wished to get as a curiosity. But the liquor I had given him, begining to operate, he came back for me, but refusing to go till I brought my boat, ho returned, and (I suppose being of- fendcdl borrowed n canoo and crossed the river. In the afternoon got the other boat t% ' Minnesota Historical Society. 75 uear the top of the hill, when the props gave way, uud she slid nil the way down to the bottom, but fortunately without in;uring any person. It rniniiig' very hard, we left her. Killed one goose and a racoon. Sepx. 29th, Swnday — I killed a remarkably large racoou. (}ot our large boat over the portage, and put her in the river, at the upper landing ; this night the men gave sufficient proof of their fatigue, by all throwing themselves down to sleep, preferring rest to supper. This day I had but fifteen men ovit of twenty-two ; the others were sick. This voyage could have been performed with great convenience, if we had taken our departure in Juno. But the proper time would be to leave tlie Illinois as soon as the ice would permit, when the river would be of a good height. Sept. 30th, Monday — Loaded my boat, moved over and encamped on the Island. The large boats loading likewise, we went over and put on board. In tie mean time, I took a survey of the Falls, Portage, &c. If it be possible to pass the Falls in high water, of which I am doubtful, it must be on the East side, about thirty yards from shore ; as there are three layor of rocks, one below the other. The pitch off of either, is not more than five feet ; but of this I can say more on my return.* Oct. 4tl), Friday — Rained in the morning, but the wind serving, wc embarked, although extremely raw and cold. Opposite to the month of Crow river we found a bark canoe, cut to pioccs with tomahawks, and the paddles broken on shore ; a short distance higher up we saw five more ; and continued to see the wrecks until we found eight. From the form of the canoes, my interpreter pronounced them to be Sioux ; and some broken arrows to be the Sauteurs. The paddles were also markf^i ; with the Indian sign of men and women killed. From all these circumstances, we drew this inference, that the canoes had been the vessels of a party of Sioux, wlio had been attacked and all killed or taken by the Sauteurs. Time may devclope this transaction, My interpreter was much alarmed, assuring me that it was probable that at our lirst rencounter with the Chipeways,S they would take us for Sioux traders, and fire on us before we could come to an explanation ; that they had murdered three Frenchmen, whom they found on the shore about this time last spring ; but notwithstanding his intbrmation, I was on shore all the afternoon in pursuit of elk. Caught a curious little animal on the prarie, which my Frenchman termed a inairie mole, but it is very difierent from the mole of the States, Killed two geese, one pheasant, and a wolf. Distance .sixteen miles. Oct. 5th, Saturday — Hard water and ripples all day. Pa.sscd several old Sioux en- campments, all fortified. Found five litters, in which sick or wounded men had been carried. At this place a hard b:.ttle was fought between the Sioux and Sauteurs in the year 1800. Killed one goose. Distance eleven miles. Oct. 10th, Thursday — Came to large islands and strong water early in tbe morning. Passed the place at which Mr. Reinville and Mons. Pcrlier, wintered in 1107 ; passed a cluster of islands, more than twenty in the course of four miles ; tlie.sc I called Beaver islands, from the immense sign of those animals, for they have dams on every island and roads from them every two or three rod. I would here attempt a description of this wonderful animal, and its admirable system of architecture, was not the subject already exhausted, by the numerous travelers who have written on this subject. Encamped at the foot of the Grand Sauk Rapids. Killed two geese, five ducks, and four pheasants. Distance sixteen and a half miles. *It is never possible, as I asccrlaintd on my return.] '; ,'.i. •i^-:| Ml--: i 76 Annals of the Oct. lltb, Friday — Both boats passed the worst of the rapids, by eleven o'clock, but we were obliged to wade and lift them over rocks, where there was not a foot of water, when at times the next step would be in the water over our heads. In consequence of this, our boats were frequently in iminent danger of being bilged on the rocks. About five miles above the rapids, our large boat was discovered to leak so fast, as to render it necessary to unload her, which we did. Stopped the leak, and reloaded. !Near a war encampment, I found a piece of buckskin and a piece of scarlet cloth, suspended by the jimb of a tree ; this I supposed to be a sacrifice to Maic/io Mamtan, to render their cnterprizo successful ; but I took the liberty of invading the rights of his diabolical majesty, by treating them, as the priests of old have often done, that is, converting the sacrifice to my own use. Killed only two ducks. Distance eight miles. Oct. ICth, Wednesday — When we arose in the morning, found that snow had fallen during the night ; the ground was covered and it continued to snow. This indeed was but poor encouragement for attacking the rapids, in which we were certain to wado to our necks. I Avas determined, however, if possible to make la riviere de Corleau, the highest point ever made by traders in their bark canoes. We embarked and after four hours work became so benumbed with cold that our limbs were perfectly useless. We put to shore on the opposite side of the river, about two-thirds of the way up the rapids. Built a large fire; and then discovered that our boats were nearly half full of water; both having sprung large leaks .so as to oblige me to keep three hands bailing. My sergeant (^Keunerman) one of the stoutest men I ever knew, broke a blood-vessel and vomited nearly two (juart.s of blood. One of my corporals (Bradley) also evacuated nearly a pint of blood, when he attempted to void his urine. These unhappy circumstances, in addi- tion to tiie inability of four other men whom we were obliged to leave en shore ; con. vinced me, that if I had no regard for my own health and constitution, I should have some for these poor fellows, who were killing themselves to obey my orders. After ve had breakfasted and refreshed ourselves, we went down to our boats on the rocks, where I was obliged to leave them. I then informed my men that we would return to the camp and there leave some of the party and our large boiitri. This information wns pleasing, and the attempt to reach the camp soon accomplished. My rea.sons for this step have partly been already stated. The necessity of unloading and refitting my boats, the beauty and convenience of the spot for building huts, the fine pine trees for peroques, and the quantity of game, were additional inducements. We immediately unloaded our boats and secured their cargoes. In the evening I went out upon a small, but beautiful creek, which empties into the Fails, for the purpose of selecting pine trees to make canoes- Saw five deer, and killed one buck weighing one hundred and thirty-seven pounds. By my leaving men at this place, and from the great quantities of game in its vicinity, 1 was (insured plenty of provision for my return voyage. In the party left behind was one hunter, to V)o continually employed, who would keep our stock of salt provisions good. Distance two hundred and thirty-three and a half miles above the Falls of St. Anthony. <.)cT. oOth, Wednesday — My men labored as usual. .Nothing extraordinary. Oct. olst, Thursday — Enclosed my little work completely with pickets. Hauled up my two boats and turned them over on each side of the gate-ways ; by whicli means a de- fence was made to the river, and had it not been for various political reasons, \ would have laughed at the attack of eight hundred or a thousand savages, if all my party were Minnesota Historical Society. 77 within. For except accidents, it would only have afforded amusenicut, the Indians hav- ing no idea of taking a place by storm. Found myself powerfully attacked with the fantastics of the brain, called ennui, at the mention of which I had hitherto seeded ; but , my books being packed up, I was like a person entranced, and could easily conceive why so many persons who have been confined to remote places, acquired the hal)it of drink- ing to excess, and many other vicious practices, which have been adopted merely to pass time. Nov. 24th, Sundaij — Took Miller and Boley and went in pursuit of buiValo. Came up with somo about ten o'clock. In the afternoon wounded one. Pursued them until night, and encamped on the side of a swamp. Thawing. Nov. 25th, Jl/onr/rt 7/ -Commenced again the pursuit of the bull'alo, and continued till eleven o'clock, when I gave up the chase. Arrived at the camp about sun down, hun- gry and weary, having cat nothing since wo left it. My rifio was too small a ball to kill buffalo ; the balls should not be more than thirty to the pound ; an ounce l)i>ll would I)e still preferable, and the animal should bo hunted on horse-back. I think that, in tlio praries of this country, the bow and arrow could be used to more advantage than the gun ; for you might ride immediately along side, and strike them whore you pleased, leaving them to proceed after others. Thawing. Nov. 25th Tuesday — Proceeded up the river. The ice getting very rotten, the men fell through several times. Thawing. Distance five miles. Nov. 2tth, Wednesdai/ — Took one man and marched to the post. Found all well . My hunter, Bradley, had killed eleven deer since my departure. 8eutail the men down to help the party up. They returned, accompanied by two Indians, who informed me they were two men of a bauil, who resided on Lake Superior, called the Fols Avoius, but spoke tlie language of the Chippeways. They informed me that Mr. Dicksoris and the other trading houses, were cstablishscd about sixty miles below ; that tliere were seventy lodges of the Sioux on the Mississippi. All my men arrived at the post. We brought from our camp below the ballance of seventeen doer and two elks. Nov. 28th, Timrsdaij — The Indians departed much i)leased with their rcceiition. 1 dispatched corporal Meek and one private down to Dickson with a letter, which would at least have the etfect of attaching the most powerful tribes in tliis (-juartcr to my in- terest. Nov. 29th, Frhltni — A Sioux (the son of a warrior called tiie Killeur Ilouge, of the Gens des Feuii/cs) and a Fols Avoiu came to the post. He said that having struck our trail below, and finding some to be shoe tracks, he conceived it to bo tiio establishment of somo traders, took it, and came to the post. Ho informed mo that Mr. Dickson had told the Sioux " that they might now hunt where they pleased, as I hnd gone ahead anil woulu ' ause the Chippewa.? wherever I met them, to treat them with friendship ; that I had bar- red up the mouth of the St. Peters, so that no liquor could ascend that river ; but that, if ihey came on the Mississippi, they should have what liquor they wanted : — also, that 1 was on the river and had a great deal of merchandize to give them in presents." This information of Mr. Dickson to the Tndinns seemed to have .self-interest and Gn\y for its motives ; for, by the idea of having prevented liquor from going up the St. Peters, ho gave the Indians to understand that it was a ; ^gulation ot my own, and not a law of (he United States ; and by assuring them he would sell to (hem on the Mi.^sissippi, ho drew all the Indians from the traders on the St. Peters, who had adhered to the restric- '■■:4 ■-■' ' ■''.-.■■I ;}■ .s.-\ V - -. 1 1 ,-":. m •^:i m I-). 78 Annals of the tiou of not soiling li.iuor, and should any of them be killed, the blame would all lie on me, as ho had (without authority) assured them they might hunt in security. I took care to give the young chief a full explanation of my ideas on the above. Ho remained oil ni^^lit. Killed two deer. Dec. 2d, Momhii/ — Sparks arrived from the party below and informed me that they could not kill any game, but had started up with thj httle peroque : also, that Mr. Dick- son and a Frenchman had passed my detachment about three hours before. He left them on their march to the post. Sparks arrived about ten o'clock at night. Dec. od, Tucsdoi/ — Mr. Dickson, with one engagee and a young Indian, arrived at the I'ort. I received him with every politeness in my power, and after a serious conversation with him on the subject of the information given me -^n the 29th ult. was induced to lie- licve it, in part, incorrect. He assured me that no liquor M'as sold by him, nor by any houses under his direction. He gave mo much useful information relative to my future route, which gave mo great encouragement as to the certainty of my accomplishing the object of my voyage, to the fullest extent. He seemed to be a gentleman of general commercial knowledge, and possessing much geographical information of the Western country, of open, frank, manners. He gave me many assurances of his good wishes for the prosperity of my undertaking. Dkc. 4th, Wednesday — My men arrived with one canoe only. Calculated on return- ing them two days after. Dec. 5th, S'/mw/fl?/— Mr. Dickson, with his two men departed for their station, al'tor having- furnished me with a letter for a young man of his house, in Lake de Sable, and :i ear/c hlanche as to my commands on him. Weather mild. Dkc. 0th, Fridaij — I dispatched my men down, to bring up the other peroiiue with a strong sled on which it was intended to put the canoe about one third, and to let the ond drag on the ice. Throe families of the Fols Avoina arrived and encamped near the tort : also, one Sioux, who pretended to have been sent to me, from the Gfiis des Feuit/es to inibrui mo that the Yauctongs and Sussitongs (two bands of Sioux from the head of tiie St. I'etevs and the Missouri, and the most savage of them) had commenced the war-dauco and would depart in a fev,- days, in which case he conceived it would bo ad- visable for the Fols Avoins to keep close under my protection ; that making a stroke un the Cliippeways would tend to injure the grand object o' my voyage, (tc, &c. Some reasons induced me to believe he was a self-created envoy; however, I offered to pay him, or any other young Sioux, who would go to those bands and ca.ry my word. He prom, ised to make known iny wishes upon his return. My men returned in the evening Avitli- oiit my cauoe, having Ijeen so unfortunate as to .split her in carrying her over the rough iiilly ice in the ripples below. So many disappointments almost wearied out my patience ; but, uotwithstanding, I intended to embark by land and water in a few days. Dko. nth, Mondaji — Prepared to embark. Expecting the Sioux, I had two lai'ge ket- tles of soup made for tlicm. TTad a sliooting-match with four prizes. The Sioux di'd not arrive, and we eat the soup ourselves. Crossed the river and encamped above the rapids. Wind changed and it grew cohl. Dec. 10th, Tuei, aljout five miles above the confluence ; found it frozen ; but in many places, not more than one hundred yards over; mild and still. Indeed nil the appearance of a small river of a low country. Returned and found my party, having broke sleds, etc., had only made good three miles, while I had marched thirty-five. Dec. 31st, Tuesday — Passed Pine river about eleven o'clock. At its mouth there WHS a Chippeway's encampment of fifteen lodges, this had been occupied in the summer, but H now vacant. By the significations of their marks, we understood that they had inarched a party of fifty warriors against the Sioux ; and had killed four men and four women, which were represented by immages carved out of pine or cedar. I'ho four men painted and put in the ground to the middle, leaving above ground those jmrt*^ which are geneiallv concealed ; by their sides were four paii.ted pole.s, sharpcjicd at the end to represent the women Xear this were poles with deer skins, plumes, silk hand- kerchiefs, &c. Also a circular hoop of cedar with something attached, representing u scalp. Xear each lodge they had holes dug in the ground, and boughs ready to cover them, as a retreat for their women and children if attacked by the Sioux, ttc. 1 :, tU i ','■:' m ...4''-'l 80 Annals of the ii iff. I I 'I Jax. 1st, IHOO, WcdmsJay — Passed six very elegant bark canoes, on the bank of tbc river, wbieh liacl been laid up by the Chippeways ; also a camp which wo conceived to have been evacuated about ten days. My interpreter came after me in a great )iurry, conjuring mo not to go so far ahead, and assured me that the Chippeways, encounttring me without an interpreter, party, or flag, would certainly kill me. But notwitlistanding this, 1 went on several miles farther than usual, in order to make any discoveries that were to be made ; conceiving the savages not so barbarous or ferocious, as to lire on two men, (I had one with me) who were apparently coming into their country, trusting to their generosity ; and knowing that if we met only two or three we were equal to thero, I having my gun and i)istols, and he his buck shot. Made some extra presents for new years day. Jav. 2(1, Tluosday — Fine warm day. Discovered fresh sign of Indians. Just as wo were encamping at night, iny sentinel informed us that some Indians were coming full speed upon our trail or track. I ordered my men to stand by their guns carefuUy. They were immediately at my camp, and saluted the flag by a discharge of three pieces ; when four Chippeways, one Englishman and a Frenchman of the X. W. Company presented themselves. Tlicy informed us tliat some women having discovered our trail gave the alarm, and not knowing but it was their enemies, they had departed to make a di.scovery. They had heard of us, and revered our flag. Mr, Grant, the Englishman, had only ar- rived the day before from Lake De Sable ; from which he inarched in one day and a half. I presented the Indians witii half a deer, which they received thankfully, for they had discovered our fires some days ago, and believing it to bo the Sioux, they dared not leave their camp. They returned, but Mr. Grant remained idl night, Jax. 3d, Fri/Jaii — My party marched early, but I returned with Mr. Grant to his es- tablishment on the Red Cedar Lake, having one corporal with me. When we came in sight of his house, I observed the flag of Great Britain flying, I foil indignant and cannot say what my feelings would have excited me to, had he not informed mo, that it belonged to the Indians, This was not much more ag.-eeablo to mo. After explaining to a Chippewny warrior (called Citrli/ Head) the object of my voyage, and receiving his answer, tliut lie would remain tranquil until my retnin. Wc eat a good breakfast for the country, departed and overtook my sleds just at dusk. Killed one porcupine. Distance sixteen miles', Jan. 4tli, Saturday — AVe made twenty-eight points in the river ; broad, gooti bottom, and of the usual timber, In the night I was awakened by the cry of the sentinel, call- ing repeatedly to the men ; at length ho vociferated, " G — d d — n your souls, will yo. Si,. ;_Your address presented on the (Uh inst. has attracted my most serious consid- eration to the several objects of duties on importations, of presents made to, and our consultations with Indians; of enclosing our stores and dwelling houses, and finally, of the custom obtaining to hoist the British fiag on the territory belonging to the United States of America. I shall at as early a period as possible present the agents of the N. W. Company with your representations regarding the paying duties on the importation of goods to be sent to our establishments within the bounds of the Territory of the United States, as also their beitiii' entered at the custom house of Michilimackinac, but I beg to be allowed to present lur consideration, ,that the major part of the goods ne- cessary to be sent to the said establishments for the trade of the ensuing winter, are now actually in our stores at Kamanitiguia, our head quarters on Lake Superior, and that it would cause us vast expense and trouble to be obliged to convey those goods back to Michilimackinac to be entered at the custom house office; we therefore pray that the word of gentlemen with regard to the quantity and quality of the said goods to be sent to said establishment, may be considered as equivalent to the certainty of a custom . r l:i: "^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) i %" ^^ _v ^. z ^ 1.0 I.I ■"US im I'- llig 1.8 11.25 11.4 11.6 9 m n v: ^3 % 7 Photographic Sciences Coiporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 86 Annals of the house register. Our iuteatiou has never been to injure your traders, paying the duties established by law. We liopc those representations to your government respecting our concerns with the Indians, may have been dictated with truth, and not exaggerated by envy to prejudice our interests, and to throw a stain on our character, which may re- quire time to efface from the minds of a people, to whom wo must ever consider our- selves indebted for the lenity of procedure, of which the present is so notable a testi- mony. The enclosures to protect our stores and dwelling houses from the insults and barbarity of savage rudeness, have been erected for the security of my property and person in a country, till now, exposed to the wild will of the frantic Indians: we never formed the smallest idea that the said enclosures might ever be useful in the juncture of a rupture between the two powers, nor do we now conceive that such poor shifts will ever be employed by the British government, in a country overshadowed with wood, so adequate to every purpose. Forts might in a short period of time be built far superior to any stockades we may have occasion to erect. Wc were not conscious, sir, of the error I acknowledge we have been guilty to com- mit, by exhibiting to view on your territory any standard of Great Britain. I will pledge myself to your government, that I will use my utmost endeavors, as soon as possible, to prevent the future display of the British flag, or the preeenting of medals, or the exhibiting to public view, any other mark of European power, throughout the exteat of territory known to belong to the dominion of the United States. The cus- tom has long been established, and we innocently and inoffensively, as we imagined, iiave conformed to it till the present day. Be persuaded that on no consideration, shall any Indiau be entertained on political subjects, or on any affairs foreign to our trade; and reference shall be made to the American agents, should any application be made worthy such reference; and be as- sured that we as a commercial company must find it ever our interests to interfere as little as possible with affairs of government in the course of trade; ignorant as we are in this rude and distant country of the political views of nations. Wc are convinced that the inestimable advantages arising from the endeavors of your government, to establish a more peaceful course of trade in this part of the terri- tory belonging to tlie United States, are not acquired through the mere liberality of a nation, and arc ready to contribute to the expeme necessarily attending them. Wo arc not averse to pay the common duties established by law, and will ever be ready to con- form ourselves to nil rules and regulations of trade that may be established according to common justice. I be"" to be allowed to say, lliat wa have reason to hope, that every meosurc will be adopted to secure and facilitate the trade with the Indians; and these hopes seem to be confirmed beyond the smallest idea of doubt, when we see a man sent among us, who instead of private considerations to pecuniary views, prefers the honor, dignity and lenity of his government, and whose transactions are in ©very respect so comformablc to equity. When v.c l)ehold an armed force ready to protect or chastise as necessity or iiolicy may direct, wo know not how to express our gratitude to that people whose only view seems to ho, to promote Iho happine.ss of all. the t -vagea that rove over the wild confines of their domain not excepted. It is to you, sir, wo feel ourselves most greatly indebted, whose claim to honof, esteem iind respect, will ever be held in high estimation by myself and associates. The dan- Minnesota Historical Society. 81 ger anil liardsbips by your fortitude vanquishetl, and l»y your poiseverauoc overcome, arc signal, and will ever bo preserved in the annals of tbe N. W. Company. Were it solely from the considerations of those who have exposed tlicir lives in a long and per- ilous rnnrcli through a country, where they had every distress to suffer, and many dan- gers to expect (and this with a view to establish peace in a savage country,) we should think ourselves under the most strict obligation to assist thcru ; but wo know wo are in a country where hospitality and gratitude arc to be considered above every other virtao, and therefore have ofifered for their relief what our poor means can allow. Aud, sir, permit me to embrace the opportunity, to testify that I feel myself highly honored by your acceptance of such accommodations as my humble roof could afford. With great consideration and high respect for the governtnont of the United States, allow me to express my esteem and regard for you. I am, sir, your obedient humble servant, (Signed) , H. M'GILLIS, LiEDT. Pike, 01" N. W. Company. 1st. Regt, Uuited States Infantry. ■::< •' Februarv 16th, Sumlay. — Held u council with the chiefs aud warriors at this place, and of Red Lake; but it required much patience, coolness, and management to obtain the objects I desired, viz: That they should make peace with the Sioux; dc. liver up their medals and flags; and that some of their chiefs should follow me to St. Louis. As a proof of their agreeing to the peace, I directed that they should smoke out of the Wabasha's pipe, which lay on the table; they all smoked, from the head chief to the yonugest soldier; they generally delivered up their flags with a good grace; except the Flat Mouth, who saidjie had left both at his camp, three days march, and promised to deliver them up to Mr. M'Gillis, to be forwarded. With respect to their returning with me; the old Sweet thought it most proper io return, to the Indians of the Bed Lake, Red River, and Rainy Lake River. The Flat Moutli said, it was necessary for him to restrain his young warriors, &c. The other chiefs did uot think thcm.selves of consequence suflBcient, to offer any reason for not following me to St. Louis, a journey of between two and three thousand miles through hostile tribes of Indians. I then told tliem, " that I was sorry to find, that the hearts of the Sauteurs of this (juarter, were so weak, that the other nations would say — what, are there no soldiers afc Leech, Red, and Rainy' Lakes, who, had_ the] hearts to carry the calumet of their chief to their fa- ther ? " This had the desired effect. The Bucks and Beaux, two of the most celebrated young warriors, rose an^ offered themselves to me, for the embassy; they were accepted; adopted as my children, and I installed their father. Their example animated tiie oth- ers, and it would have been no diflScult matter to have taken a company; two however were sufficient. I determined that it should he my care, never to make them regret the noble confidence placed in me; for I would have protected their lives with my own. The Beaux is brother to the Flat Mouth. Gave my new soldiers a dance, and a small dram. They attempted to get more liquor, but a firm and peremptory denial convinced them I was not to be trifled with. February 18tb, Tuesday. — We marched for Red Cedar Lake about 1 1 o'clock, with a guide, provided for me by Mr. McGillis; were all provided with snow shoes; marched off amidst the acclamations and shouts of the Indians, who generally had remained to , .■ ' i" •-• J :iM ■:M L':.' /: ■ HA ■W4 ■i v-2 • 1-S '.' 88 Annals of the stie U8 take our departure. Mr. Anderson promised to come ou with letters; he arrived jibout 12 o'clock, and remained all night. He conclndcd to go down with roe, to see Mr. Dickson. February 19tli, Wednesday. — Bradley, Mr, L'Rone, the two young Indians, and myself, left Mr. M'Gilli.s' at 10 o'clock; orossed Leech Lake, in a S. E. direct'on, 24 miles. Mr. M'Gillis' hospitality deserves to be particularly noticed ; he presented me with his dogs and cariole, valued in this country at two hundred dollars; one of the dogs broke out of his harness, and we were not able, during that day, to catch him again, and the other poor fellow was obliged to pull the whole load, at least 150 pounds. This day's march was from lake to lake. rEBRUAiiY 24th, Monday. — We started early, and after passing over one of the worst roads in the world, found ourselves on a lake, about 3 o'clock; took its outlet and struck the Mississippi about one mile below the canoes mentioned on the 1st of January, by which I knew where we were. Ascended the Mississippi about four miles, and en- camped on the West side. Our general course, this day, was nearly South, when it should have been S. E. My young warriors were still in good heart, singing, and shewing every wish to keep me so. The pressure of my racket strings brought the blood through my socks and mockinsons, from which, the pain I marched in may be imagined. Febkuauy 26th, Tucsdaij. — We marched, and arrived at Cedar Lake before noon; found Mr. Grant and De Breche (chief of Sandy Lake) at the house. This gave mo much pleasure, for I conceive ls\x. Grant to be a gontlemnn of as much candor as any with whom I had made an acquaintance in this quarter; and tlie chief (Do Brcclie) is reputed to bo a man of better information than any of the Sauteurs. March 3d, Monday. — Marched early; passed our Christmas encampment at sunrise. I was aheaJ of my party, in my cariole. Soon afterwords, I observed sujoke ou tlic W. shore. I hallooed, and some Indians appeared upon tlie bank. I waited until my in- terpreter came np; we then went to the camp. They proved to bo a party of Cliii)peways, who had left the encampment the same day wo left it. They presented me with some roast nioa^, wliicli I gave my sleigh dogs. They then left their camp, and accompanied us down tlie river. We passed our encampment of the 24th December, at o'clock, of the 23d at 10 o'clock, and of the 22d at 11 o'clock; here the Indians crossed ou to the W. shore; arrived at the encampment of the 21st December, at 12 o'clock where we had a barrel of flour. 1 here found Corporal Meek, and another man, from the post, from whom I heard that the men were all well. They conDimed the account of a Sioux having fired on a sentinel, and added, that the sentinel had first made him drnnk, atul then turned him out of the tent, upon which he fired on the sentinel and ran off, but promised to deliver himself up in the spring. The corporal informed me that the sergeant had used all the elegant hams and saddles of venison, which I had pre- served to present to the Commander-in-chief, and other friends; that he had made away with all the whiskey, including a keg I had for my own use, having publicly sold it to the men, and a barrel of pork; that he had In'oken open my trunk and sold some things out of it, traded >vith the Indian.s, gave them liquor, «fec., and this, too, contrary to my most pointed and particular directions. Thus, after I had used, in going up the river with my party, the strictest economy, living upon two pounds of frozen venison a day, in order that we might have provision to carry us down in the spring, this fellow and Minnesota Historical Society. 89 was squandering away the flour, pork, aud liquor, during the winter, and while we were starving with hunger and cold. I had saved all our corn, bacon, and the meat of six deer, and left it at Sandy Lake, with some tents, my mess boxes, salt, tobacco, &c., a\\ of which we wore obliged to sacrifice by not returning the same route we went, and we consoled ourselves at this loss by the flattering idea that we should find at our little post a handsome stock preserved; how mortifying the disappointment. We raised our barrel of flour, and came down to the mouth of a little river, on the East, which we passed on the 21st December. The ice covered with water. March 6th, Wednesday. — Passed all the encampments between Pine Creek and the post, at which w« arrived about 10 o'clock. I sent a man on ahead, to prevent the salute I had before ordered by letter; this I did from the idea that the Sioux chiefs would accompany me. Eound all well. Confined my Sergeant. About 1 o'clock, Mr. Dickson arrived, with the Killeur Ronge, his son, and two other Sioux men, with two women, who had come up to be introduced to the Sauteurs thoy expected to find with me. Received a letter from Reinville. Mahch 15th, Saturday. — This was the day fixed upon by Mr. Grant and the Chip- peway warriors, for their arrival at my Fort ; and I was all day anxiously expecting them, for I knew that should they not accompany me down, the p«ace partially effected between them and the Sioux would not be on a permanent footing; and upon this I take them to be neither so brave nor generous as the Sioux, who, in all their transactions appear to be candid and brave, whereas, the Chippeways are suspicious, consequently treacherous, and, of course cowards. March 17th, Monday. — Left the Fort with my interpreter and Roy, in order to visit Thomas, the Fols Avoin chief, who was encamped, with six lodges of his nation, about twenty miles below us, on a little river which empties into the Mississippi, on the W. side, a little above Clear river. On our way down, killed one goose, wounded another, and a deer that the dogs had driven into an air hole; hung our game on the trees. Arrived at the creek, took out on it; ascended three or four miles, on one bank, and descended on the other. Killed another goose. Struck the Mississippi below . Encamped at our encampment of the of October, when we ascended the river. Ate our goose for supper. It snowed all day, and at night a very severe storm arose. It may be imagined that we spent a very disagreeable night, without shelter, and but one blanket each. March 18th, Tuesday. — We marched, determined to find the lodges. Met an la- dian, whose track we pursued, through almost impenetrable woods, for about two and a half miles, to the camps. Here there v/as one of the finest sugar camps I almost ever saw, ^he whole of the timber being sugar tree. We were conducted to the chiefs lodge, who received us in the patriarchal style. He pulled ofi" my leggins and mockin- sons, put me in the best place iu his lodge, and ofiered me dry clothes. He then presented us with syrup of the maple to drink, then asked whether I preferred eating beaver, swan, elk, or deer; upon my giving the preference to the first, a large kettle was filled by his wife, of which soup was made; this being thickened with flour, we had what I then thought a delicious repast. After we had refreshed onrselves, he asked whether we would visit his people at the other lodges, which we did ; and in each were presented with something to eat; by some with a bowl of sugar, others, a bearer'a tail, M 4 li^e I ^•sV »'■ "^ ■% h i 90 Annals of the ? &c. After making this tour, we returned to the chiefs lodge, and found a berth pro- vided for each of us, of good soft bear skins, nicely spread, and on mine there was a large feather pillow. I must not here omit to mention an anecdote, which seryes to characterize, more particularly, their manners. This, in the eyes of the contracted mor alist, would deform my hospitable host into a monster of libertinism ; but by a liberal mind, would be considered as arising from the hearty generosity of the wild savage. In the course of the day, observing a ring on one of my fingers, he inquired if it was gold ; he was told it was the gift of one with whom I should be happy to be at that time. He seemed to think seriously, and at night told my interjtreter, " that perhaps his father (as they all called me) felt much grieved for the want of a woman; if so, he could furnish him with one." He was answered, that with us, each man had but one wife, and that I considered it strictly my duty to remain faithful to her. This ho thought strange, (he himself having three,) and replied that " he knew some Americans at his nation, who had half a dozen wives during the winter." The interpreter ob. served, that they were men without character, but that all our great men had each but one wife. The chief acquiesced, but said he liked better to have as many as he pleased. This conversation passing without any appeal to me, as the interpreter knew my mind on those occasions, and answered immediately, it did not appear as an immediate refusal of the woman. Continued snowing very hard all day. Slept very warm. March 29th, Saturday — We all marched in the morning. Mr. Grant and party for Sandy Lake, and I for my hunting camp. I gave him my spaniel dog. He joined me again after we had separated about five miles. Arrived at my hunting camp about eight o'clock in the morning, and was informed that my hunters had gone to bring in a deer ; they arrived with it, and about eleven o'clock we all went out hunting. Saw but few deer, out of which I had the good fortune to kill two. On our arrival at camp found one of my men at the garrison with a letter from Mr. Dickson. The soldier informed me that one Sioux had arrived with Mr. Dickson's men. Although much fatigued, soon as I had eat something, I took one of my men and departed for the garrison one hour before sundown. The distance was twenty-one miles, and the ice very dangerous, being rotten, and the water over it nearly a foot deep; we had sticks in our hands, and in many places ran them through tlie ice. It thundered and lightened, with rain. The Sioux not finding the Sauteurs, had returned immediately. March 30tli, Sunday — Wrote to Mr. Dickson, and dispatthed his man. Considera- bly stiff from my yesterday's march. Caulked our boats, as the ice had every appear- ance of breaking up in a few days. Thus whilst on the wing of eager expectation, every day seemed an age. Received two deers and a half from our hunting camp. April 7th, Monday — Loaded our boats and departed forty minutes past ten o'clock. At one o'clock arrived at Clear river, where we found my cannoe and men. Although I had partly promise! the Fols Avoin chief to remain one night, yet time was too pre. cious, and we put off ; passed the Grand Rapids, and arrived at Mr. Dickson's just before sundown ; we were saluted with three rounds. At night he treated all my men with a supper and dram. Mr. Dickson, Mr. Paulier and myself, sat up until four o'clock in the morning. April 8th, Tuesday— Were obliged to remain this day on account of some infor" mation to be obtained here. I spent the day in making a rough chart of St. Peters' Minnesota Historical Society. 91 making notes on the Sioux, Ac, settling the affairs of the Indian department with Mr. Dickson, for whose commanications, and those of Mr. Paulier, 1 .1111 infinitely indebted. Made every necessary preparation for an early embarkation. April 9th, Wvlrmday — Rose early in the mornin;r mid oomiiicnped my arrangement Having observed two Indians drunk, during the night, anil finding upon enquiry, that the liquor had been furnished them by a Mr. Greignor or Jonnesse, I sent my interpre- ter to them to request they would not sell any strong li(iuor to the Indians, upon whiclj Mr. Jennesse demanded the restrictions in writing, which wore given to him. * Grand Isle, Upper MiHsissippi, April Dth, 180(;. Mb. La Jennesse, Sir : — Being informed that you have arrived hero with an intention of selling si)irlt- uous liquors to the savages of this quarter, together with other merchandize under your charge. I beg leave to inform you, that the making sale of spirituous liquors on the Indian territories to any savages whatsoever, is contrary to the law of the United States for regulating the trade with the savages ; and preserving i.cace on the frontiers. And that, notwithstanding the custom has hitherto obtained on tlio Upper Mississippi, no person whatsoever has authority therefor ; and as the practice may have a tendonc to occasion broils and dissentions amongst the savages, and thereljy occasion bloodshed and an infraction of the good understanding which now (through my endeavors) so hap- pily exists. I have (at your particular request) addressed you this note in writing, in- forming you that in case of an infraction, I shall conceive it my duty, as an officer of the United States, to prosecute according to the ;pains and jpenaliics of the law. I am, sir, with all due consideration, Your obedient servant, (Signed) Z. M. Pike, Lt. On demanding his license, it amounted to no more than merely a certificate that he had paid the tax required by law of the Indiana territory, on all retailers of merchandize ; but it was by no means an Indian licence ; however, I did not think proper to go into a more close investigation. Last night was so cold that the water was covered with floating cakes of ice, of a strong consistence. After receiving every mark of attention from Messrs. Dickson and Paulier, I took my departure at eight o'clock. At four P. M. ar- rived at the house of Mr. Paulier, twenty-five leagues, to whose brother I had a letter. Was received with politeness by hini and a Mr. Veau, who wintered along side of him on the very island at which we had encamped on the night of the Oct., in ascending. April 10th, Thursday — Sailed at half-past five o'clock ; about seven passed Rum river, and at eight were saluted by six or seven lodges of Fols Avoins, amongst whom was a Mr. , a clerk of Mr, Dickson's. Tliose people had wintered on Rum river and were waiting for their chiefs and traders to descend in order to accompany them to the Praric Des Chiens. Arrived at the Falls of St. Anthony at ten o'clock. Carried over all our loading and the canoe to the lower end of the portage, and hauled our boats upon the bank. I pitched my tents at the lower end of the encampment where all the men encamped eicept the guard, whose quarters were above. The appearance of the Falls was much more tremendous than when we ascended ; the increase of water occasioned the spray to raise much higher, and the mist appeared like clouds. How dif 'v,l| m • I ^\m 92 Annals of the y ferent mjr sensations now, from what they woro when at this plaoo before ; at that time not having accomplished more than half mj route, winter fast approaching ; war exist- ing between the most savage nations in the course of my route ; my provisions greatly diminished, and but a poor prospect of an additional supply. Many of my men sick, and the others not a little disheartened ; and our success in this arduous undertaking, very doubtful ; just upon the borders of the haunts of civilized men, about to launch into an unknown wilderness ; for ours was the first canoe that had over crossed this portage, were sufficient to dispossess my breast of contentment and case. But now we have ac- complished every wish, peace reigns throughout the vast extent; we have returned thus far on our voyage, without the loss of a single man, and hoping soon to be blessed with the society of our xelations and friends. The river this morning covered with ice, which continued floating all day. The shores still barricaded with it. April 11th, Friday — Although it snowed very hard, we brought over both boats and descended the river to the island at the entrance of tie St, Peters. I sent to the chiefs and informed them I had something to communicate to them. The Fils do Pin- chow immediately waited on me, and informed rae that he would provide a place for the purpose. About sundown I was sent for and introduced into the council house, where I found a great many chiefs of the Sussitongs, Gens des Feuilles, and the Gens du Lac. The Yanctongs had not yet come down. They were all waiting for my arrival. There were about one hundred lodges, or six hundred people; Avowcre paluted on our crossing the river with ball as usual. The council house was two large lodges, capable of con- taining three hundred men. In the upper were forty chiefs, and as many pipes sot against the poles, along side of which I had the Sauters' pipes arranged. I then inform- ed them in short detail, of my transactions with the Sauteurs ; but my interpreters were not capable of making themselves understood. I was therefore obliged to omit naen- tioning every particular relative to the rascal who fired on my sentinel, and of the scoun- drel who broke the Fols Avoins' canoes, and threatened my life , the interpreters how- ever informed them that I wanted some of their principal chiefs to go to St. Louis ; and that those who thought proper might descend to the prarie where we would give them more explicit information. They all smoked out of the Sauteurs' pipes, excepting three, who were painted black, and were some of those who lost their relations last winter. I invited the Fils de Pinchow, and the son of the Killcur Rouge, to come over and sup with me ; when Mr. Dickson and myself endeavored to explain what I intended to have said to them, could I have made myself understood ; that at the prarie we would have all things explained ; that I was desirous of making a better report of them than Capt. Lewis could do from their treatment of hmi. The former of those savages was the per- son who remained around ray post all last winter, and treated my men so well ; they en- deavored to excuse their people, &c. April 12tli, Saturday — Embarked early. Although my interpreter had been fre- quently up the river, he could not tell me where the cave (spoken of by Carver) could be fonud ; we carefully sought for it, but in vain. At the Indian village, a few miles above St. Peters, we were about to pass a few lodges, but on receiving a very particular invitation to come on shore, we landed, and were received in a lodge kindly ; they pre- sented us sugar, &c. I gave the proprietor a dram, and was about to depart when to demanded a kettle of liquor ; on being refused, and after I had left the shore, he told me, that he did not like the arrangements, and that he would go to war this summer. I Minnesota Historical Society. 93 directed tho interpreter to tell him, that if I retnmed to the St. Peters with tlie troops, I would settle that affair with him. On our arrival at the St. Croix, I found tlie Petit Corbeau with hia people, and Messrs. Frnzer and Wood. We hod a oonfcrorioe, when tho Petit Corbean made many apologies for the misconduct of hit people ; ho represent- ed to us the different manners in which tho young warriors had been inducing him to go to war ; that ho had been much blamed for dismissing his party Inst fall ; but that ho was determined to adhere as far as lay in his power to our instructions ; that ho thought it most prudent to remain here and restrain tho warriors. He then presented mo with a beaver robe and pipe, and his message to the general. That he was determined to preserve peace, and make the road clear ; also a remembrance of his promised medal I made a reply, calculated to confirm him in his good intentions, and assured him that he should not be the less remembered by his father, although not present. 1 was in- formed, that, notwithstanding the instruction of his license, and my particular request Murdoch Cameron had taken liquor and sold it to tho Indians on the river St. Peters ; and that his partner below had been equally imprudent. I pledged myself to i)i08ccute them according to law ; for they have been the occasion of great confusion, and of much injury to the other traders. This day met a canoo of Mr. Dickson's loaded with provis- ions, under tho charge of Mr. Anderson, brother of tho Mr. Anderson at Leech Luke. He politely offered mo any provision ho had on board, (for which Mr. Dickson had given me an order) but not now being in want, I did not accept of any. This day, for tho first time, I observed the trees beginning to bud, and indeed tho climate seemed to have changed very materially since we passed the Falls ^f St. Anthony, April 13th, Sunday — Wo embarked after breakfast. Messrs. Frazer and Wood ac- companied me. Wind strong ahead. They out-rowed us ; the first boat or canoe we met with on the voyage able to do it, but then they were double manned and light. Arrived at the band of the Aile Rouge at two o'clock, where we were saluted as usual^ We had a council, when he spoke with more detestation of the rascals at tho mouth of the St. Peters, than any man I had yet heard. He assured me, speaking of the fellow who had fired on my sentinel and threatened to kill me, that if I thought it requisite, he should be killed ; but that as there were many chiefs above, with whom lio wished to speak, he hoped I would remain one day, when all the Sioux would be down, and Imight have tho command of a thousand •• o of them, that I would probably think it no hon- or; but that the British used to flatie^ them they were proud of having them for soldiers. I replied in general terms, and assured him it was not for the conduct of two or three rascals that I meant to pass over all the good treatment I had received from the Sioux nation ; but that in general council I would explain myself. That as to the scoundrel who fired at my sentinel, had I been at home the Sioux nation would never have been troubled with him, for I would have killed him on the spot, But that my young men did not do it, apprehensive that I would bo displeased. I then gave him the news of tho Santeurs, &c., that as to remaining one day, it would be of no service ; that I was much pressed to arrive below ; as my general expected nie, ray duty called me, and that the state of my provision demanded the utmost expedition ; that I would be happy to oblige him, but that ray men must eat. He replied that Lake Pepin being yet shut with ice, if I went on and encamped on tho ice, it wonld not get me provision. That he would send out all his young men the next day ; and, that if the other bands did not arrive he would depart the day after with me. In short, after much talk, I agreed to a- »! m ' ■ i'\ t ..V ■ 1 •: 'i - >& I?' 4>M *! V;-l •y i fli 94 Annals of the remain ouo day, knowiug that tho Lake was closed, and that wo could proceed only uioe miles if we went ; this appeared to give general satisfaction. I was invited to different feasts, and entertained at one by a person whose father was on- ucted a chief by tho Spaniards. At this feast I saw a man (called by tho French the Ro- man Nose, and by the Indians the Wind that Walks) who was formerly the second chief of tho Siou.x, but being the cause of the death of one of the traders, seven years since, ho volunt u'ily relinquished the dignity, and has frequently requested to be given up to tho whites. But he was now determined to go to St. Louis and deliver himself up where ho said they might put him to death. His long repentance, the great conQdence of the nation in him, would perhaps protect him from a punishment which tho crime merited. But as tho crime was committed long before the United States assumed its authority, and as no law of theirs could affect it, unless it was ex post facto, and had a retrospec- tive effect, I conceive it would ceitainly be dispunishable now. I did not think proper however, to inform him so. I here received a letter from Mr. Rollet, partner of Mr. Cameron, with a present of some brandy, coffee and sugar. I hesitated about receiving those articles from the partner of the man I intended to prosecute ; their amount being trifling however I accepted of them, offering him pay. I assured him that the prose- cution arose from a sense of duty, aad not from any personal prejudice. My cauoe did not come up iu consequence of the head wind. Sent out two men in a canoe to set fish' ing lines ; the canoe overset, and had it not been for tho timely assistance of the sav- ages, who carried them into their lodges, undressed them, and treated them with tho greatest humanity and kiudncss, they must inevitably have perished. At this place I was informed, that the rascal spoken of as having threatened my life, had actually cock- ed his gun to shoot me from behind the hills, but was prevented by the others. Araiii 14th, Monday — Was invited to a feast by the Roman Nose. His conversa- tion was interesting, and shall be detailed hereafter. The other Indians not yet arrived. Messrs. Wood, Frazer, and myself, ascended a high hill called the Barn, from which we had a view of Lake Pepin. The valley through which the Mississippi by numerous chanels wound itself to the St. Croix ; the Cannon River and tho lofty hills on each side, April 15th, Tuesday. — Arose very early and embarked about sunrise, much to the astonishment of the Indians, who were entirely prepared for the council, when they heard I had put off ; however, after some conversation with Mr. Frazer, they acknowl- edged that it was agreeably to what I had said, that I would sail early, and that they could not blame me. I was very positive in my word, for I found it by far the best way to treat the Indians. Tho Ailc liouge had a beaver robe and pipe prepared to present, but was obliged for the present to retain it. Passed through Lake Pepin with my barges, the canoe being obliged to lay by, did not come on. Stopt at a prairie on tho right bank descending, about nine miles below Lake Pepin. Went out to view some hills which had the appearance of the old fortifications spoken of ; but I will speak more fully of them hereafter. In these hollows I discovered a flock of elk, took out fif- teen men, but we were not able to kill any. Mr. Frazer came up and passed on about two miles. We encamped together. Neither Mr. Wood's nor my canoe arrived. Snowed considerably. April 16th, Wednesday. — Mr. Frazer's canoes and my boats sailed about one hour by ' •! Minnesota Historical Society. 06 sun. We waited some time expecting Mr. Wood's barges, und my cnnoo, but bearing a gun fired first jiwt above our encampment, wo were induced to make sail. I'assod the Aiio Prairie, also La Montagne qui Trompe a L'eau, tbc prairie De CroM, mid encninpcd on tbo West shore, a few hundred yords below, where I liad encamped on tlic — day of September, in ascending. Killed a goose flying. Shot at some piilgeons at our (iamp> and was answered from behind on island with two guns; we returned them, and were replied to by two more. This day the trees appeared in bloom. Snow mi^lit still Lo seen on the sides of the hills. Distance seventy-five miles. April 17th, Thmadny. — Put off pretty early nnd arrived at Wnbaslia'.s band at II o'clock, where I detained all day for him; but he alone of all the huutera romnined out all night. Left some powder and tobacco for him. Tlio Sioux presented mo with a kettle of boiled meat and a deer . I here received information tlint the Punnis had killed some white men below. Mr. Wood's and my cnnoo arrived. April 18th, Friday, — Departed from our encampment very early, Stopped to breakfast at the Painted Rock. Arrived at the Pniirio Dos Clieins at two o'( lock; nnd were received by crowds on the bank. Took up my quarters at Mr. Fisher's. My men received a present of one barrel of poik from Mr. Campbell, a bag of biscuit, twenty loaves of bread, and some meat from Mr. Fisher. A Mr. Jearrcau, from Cahok'a, is here, who embarks to-morrow for St. Louia. I wrote to General Wilkinson liy liim . I was called on by a number of chiefs, Reynards, Sioux of the Dcs Moyan, c'cc. Tlio Winnebagoes were hero intending, as I was informed, lo deliver some of tho murderers to mo. Received a great deal of news from tlio States and Europe, both civil and military. April 19th, Saturday. — Dined at Mr. Campbell'.^ in company with Mes.srs. Wilmot Blakely, Wood, Rollet, Fisher, Frazer, nnd .JeaiToau. Six canoe.s arrived from tlie up- per part of tho St. Peters with the Yanctong chiefs from the lio,.d of that river. Their appearance was indeed savage, much more so than any nation I have yet seen. Pre- pared ray boat for sail. Gave notice to the Puants that I had business to do with them tho next day. A band of tho Gens Du Lac arrived. Took into my pay as intorjireter Mr. Y. Reinville. April 20th, Suiiday. — Held a council with tho Puant chiefs, and demanded of them the murdwers of their nation; they required till to-morrow to consider on it; this af- ternoon they had a great game of the cross on the prairie, between the Sioux on tho one side, and the Puants and Reynards on the other. The ball is made of some hard sub- stance and covered with leather, the cross sticks are round and not-work, with handles of three feet long. The parties being ready, and bets agreed upon, (8ometime.s to the amount of some thousand dollars) ihe goals are set up on the prairie at the distance of half a mile. The ball i8"^hrown up in the middle, ard each party strives to drive it to the opposite goal; and when either party gains the first rubber, which is driving it quick round the post, the ball is again taken to the centre, the ground changed, anf^ the con- test renewed; and this is continued until one side gains four times, which decides the bet. It is an interesting sight to see two or three hundred naked savages contending on the plain who shall bear off the palm of victory; as he who drives the ball round the goal is much shouted at by his companions. It sometimes happens^that one catches the ball in his racket, and depending on his sp«ed endeavors to carry it to the goal, and when he I »-/ii ■ ■ M ■ H'^, '* '• } ■ I 1^K■ X I ;t .. f '•■'.■■• ■ ■■f 41 V';.-; i tJ y'f't 'ft r Annals of the flnda biniseir loo closely pursuod, he burls it with great force and dexterity toanomaz ing distancp, where thero are always (lanlcers of both parties ready to receive it; it sel- dom tonches the ground, but is sometimes kept in tlie nir for hours before either party can gain the victory. In the game I witnessed, the Sioux were victorious, morel be- lieve, from tho superiority of their skill in throwing the ball, than by their swiftness, for I thought tho Puants and Reynards tho swiftest runners. I nmdo a written demand of tho magistrates to take deposition concerning tho Into murders. Had n private conver- sation with ^Val)nHha. Ai'UiL 25th, Mmday. — Wos sent for by La Fcnillc, and had a long and interesting conversation with him, in which he spoke of tho general jealousy of his nation towards their chiefs; and that although ho knew it might occasion some of the Sioux displeas- ure, he did not hesitnto to declare that be looked on the Nez Corbeau, as the man of most KCUKO in their nation; and that he believed it would bo generally acceptable if he was reinstated in his rank. Upon my return I was sent for by tho Red Thunder, chief of the Yanctongs, tho most savage band of the Sioux. He was prepared with the most elegant pipes and robes I ever saw; and shortly ho declared, "That white blood had never been shed in tho village of the Yonctongs, even when rum was permitted; that Mr. Murdoch Cameron arrived at his village Ihst autumn; that he invited him to eat, gave him corn as a bird ; that ho (Cameron) informed him of the prohibition of rum, and was tho only person who afterwards sold it in the village.'' After this I had a council with tho Puants. Spent the evening with Mr. Wilmot, on6 of the l)cst in formed and most gentlemanly man in the place. April 22d, Tuesday. — Hold a council with tho Sioux and Tuants, the latter of whom delivered up their medals and Hags. Prepared to depart tomorrow. sot tail CHAPTER XII. AMERICAN TUADB. AFTERthe treaty of 1815, at Portage des Sioux, with tho lower bands of the /\ Sionx, A TJ. S. trading post was established at Prairie du Chien. The United States hoped to be able to sell goods at such low prices, that they could obtain the furs and the confidence of tho Indians, and thus exclude British traders. The factories or trading posts were however often distant from Indian villages. They moreover, did not sell on credit, as private traders were wont to do, and thus they did not secure either the peltries or friendship of the tribes. , The British traders on the Mississippi, always had the advantage of the U. S. facto- ries. Accustomed to Indian life, inured to fatigue, intermarried with the Indians, they followed the hunting parties as far as they could in their canoes. They then stopped and threw up rude huts, and sent engages with goods packed on their shoulders, to ob- tain the furs of those Indians that had not already bought on credit. But not only was theU. S. trading-houses at Prairie du Chien, unable to compete with the British tra- ders in Minnesota, but virtually became an instrument in their hands. Tlie British tra- ders, retnrning to Prairie du Chien with peltries from the Upper Mississippi and Minne- Minnesota Historical Socikty. 97 HuU, would employ Indians to piirchnsf goodH nt United HtatcH prices, and tlm:i ob- tain a new outfit nt leu coat tlian if tltoy had transported from .Mmitron!. From the year 1815, Gov. Edwurdi uiidotliora saw the dofods oi (liu Atnerii'iiii »y«- torn ; but it WHS long before CougreM could bo imliiccd Id muku a change. Tiiu fac- tory at Prairie du Chien traded, not only with the Dakitta)', l)ut with the Sanks nud Foxes, ChippewaH, Wiiinebngoes and Menominecn. From the followin;,' (abltt can be seen the kind and (juantlty of furs received there during the lirHt four years of its o|»<>r.i- tion : Statement showing t/ii'Aiiul (7 Hfl i/ nautili/ of pellrits, rtc, nrnvol at the I'. ^•. 'rroding Post, ni Prairie du Chien : • ' 'I Furs, Peltries, etc., Deer Bear Beaver Otter Raccoon Muskrat Fox Fisher Mink Wild cat, Martin, Lead, Feathers, Cash sales, Fur sales, $3,1 'JU U2 10,364 9;') lU'.),8D-l lbs P34 Ibrt $:J,2G0 VV 24,375 65 4H 67,709 lbs 734 lbs $427 87 5,963 88 The receipts and sales for ihe year 181i), show that the Indian did not loci disposed to continne to trade at the U. S. factory. At the commencement of the year 1822, thcro was much oxcltciucut caused by the controveray in relation to the usefulnesE of the U. S. factory system, and a committee was appointed by the U. S. Senate to investigate the condition of the factories. Many complaints were made against the factor at Prairie du Chiou, liy tho.so who wished to see the factories abolished. Ramsay Crooks, who was largely engaged in trade, and ugent of the American Fur Company, and of course nn interested witness, in a comtuunicatiou to tlio Senate Com- mittee, remarks: — "That the factories have been furnished with goods of a kind not suitable to the Indians, unless the committee should bo of opinion that men and women's coarse and fine shoes, worsted and cotton hose, tea, glaubcr salts, alum and anti-bilious pills, arc necessary to promote the comfort, or restore the health of the Aborigines; or N W\ U |. tw>I ll .• * f ; • ■ I ■t f ? V- ;v<;."i m^ 98 Annals of the 6 thatgreou silk, fancy ribands, and morocco slippers arc itidispeusable to eke out the dress of our ' red sisters.' " * Mr. Crooks also remarked, that in 1S16, the factor at Trairic du Cliien furnished •••oods to a Mr. Aiitoiue Brisbois, whom ho well knew had but a few days before been lefused a license by the proper ollicer, and that in 1|18, a Mr. Michael Brisbois, a brother received goods. A Mr. Scott Campbell was also supplied in 1820, and a Mr. Duncan Campbell, who then traded on the Upper ]Mississippi, was furnished with an outfit, at the very time he was actint;,' as interpreter to the Indian Agency at Fort Snclling, which was then first established. Mr. Crooks concluded his communication with the following remarks ujwn the moral tendency o" the factories: — "Little as I value the factory system, so far as it is con- tiidcred a means of attaching the Indians to the United States, I do think they arc, if possible, still less capable of producing religious information in either the Indians or anybody else. " The factories have now degenerated in.o mere places of trade, to which all colors descriptions, and denominations of people resort for barter; and bear a much more strik- ing resemblance to common country stores, than to the public establishments of a benevolent government. The desperate efibrts which the factors make to secure individ- ually their reputation as traders, and jointly to prop the questionable pecuniary credit of the whole system, are, in my opinion, but little favorable to that serenity of mind, mild- ness of disposition, and undeviating conformity to a strictly moral deportment, which we u civilized society, consider essential qualities in those we trust as our guides to another and belter world. Even we value example as high as precept; with savages, the former as more likely to be efliicacions. " And believing these gentlemen to bo equally fallible with the generality of their brethren in trade, J should imagine they were selected by the Superintendent of Indian Trade more for their trafic/dng than uposlolic abilities, as the head of that department 13 too intimately acquainted with the nature of missions among a rude people, to have appointed the present incumbents to teach repentance and remission of sins to the children of the wilderness. It is hardly necessary to add, that I do not believe that either factories or factors are likely to enlarge the jurisdiction of the church." Shortly after this investigation. Congress resolved to abolish the trading josts, and the buildings at Prairie du Chien were sold. After tlie United States troops arrived, in 1819, to build Fort Snelling, Astor and hjg associates were busy in extending their trade with tlie Ojibwas. As early as 1805, wo find J. B. Faribault encamped opposite Mendota, trading with the Indians. In 1822, the Columbia Fur Company was organized. This was modelled after the Northwest Company, and consisted of few individuals, all of whom had a practical acquaintance with the trade. They received their license from the newly appointed Indian Agent at • Tliose I'oinarks wore iiiail-> in view of tlio following charges on the books of the factory at I'rairie iln Cliicn \ Michael BriBbois. in acc't with .John W. Johni-on: I boxes anti-bilions pills, a 7."}, S;j 00 1 pair fine slioes, j 00 .foseph Moletle, in acc't with J. W. Johnson : 1 fancy silk liandkerchicf. per ;\Irs. IJ., - - - - SI 00 ;5 lbs. tea. delivered La IJlanc. a $3 60. IQ 50 1-2 lb. glauljer salts. - - 60 1-2 yd. green silk per Folly. 1 00 June 2"). ISlIt. Nov. II. •• July lit, 1819. Oct. 25. '• Jan. 24, 1820. Feb. 29. " i 99 Annals of the Fort St. Anthony (Snelling). The principal nieiuljers of the company were RenTille, Faribault, Jeffries, Prescott, and McKen/ic, of St. Louis*. Their principal establish- ment was at Lake Traverse, and they had also some ten or eleven minor posts. The trading houses on the Minnesota river, in 1822, inado up the following packs: / Buffalo, Muskrat, Raccoon, Beaver, Otter, Fisher, Mink, Bear, Red Fox, No. of Paclcs. 168 40 6 4 4 8 4 6 1 Weiglit. No. of slfins in cncli 10 600 100 lbs. 80 100 " 80 100 " 60 prime. 100 " 120 100 " 450 100 " 14 100 " 120 Until the American Fur Company systematized the trade in Minnesota, and Congress took measures to exclude whiskey dealers from the Indians, trade was carried on in a way to make humanity blush. The following letter of Colonel Snelling, written while in command of the Fort that bears his name, and addressed to the Secretary of War, exhibits the disgraceful condition of affairs at that time: " In former letters addressed to the Department of War, I have adverted to the mis- chievous conso(iucnces resulting from the introduction of whiskey, and other distilled spirits, into the Indian country. The pretext is, that our traders caimot enter into successful competition with the British traders without it. If the sale of whiskey could be restricted to the vicinity of the British line, the mischief would be comparatively trivial, but if permitted at all, no limits can be set to it. A series of petty wars and murdere, and tha. introduction of every species of vice and debauchery, by the traders and their engagees, will be the consequence. It becomes, also, a fruitful source of com- plaint with those engaged in the same trade from the West. The traders who obtain their supplies from St. Louis, pass Fort Snelling, where, in obedience to the orders i have received from the President, their boats are searched, and no .spirituous liquors arc permitted to be taken further. The traders who are licensed for the lakes, spread themselves over the whole country between Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi ; their whiskey attracts a large pro- portion of the Indians to their trading houses; and the Western traders not only have to complain of the loss of custom, but, in many instances, the Indians who have ob- tained their goods of them, are seduced by whiskey to carry their winter's hunt to others. Thi^ has long l)een one of the tricks of the trade. The traders, who are not generally restrained by any moral rules, after they pass the boundary, practise it without scruple, whenever opportunity occurs, and he who has the most whiskey generally carries off the furs. They Are so far fron. being ashamed of the practice, that it affords them subject for conversation by their winter fires. I have myself frequently heard them boast of their exploits in that way. The neighborhood of the trading houses where whiskey is sold presents a disgusting scene of drunkenness, debauchery and misery. In my route from St. Peters to this place, (Detroit,) I passed Prairie du Chien, Green Bay and Mack- inac; no language can describe the scenes of vice which there present themselves. Herds of Indians are drawn together by the fascinations of whiskey, and they exiiibit the most degraded picture of human nature T ever witnessed." m »■■'.- L ''C' 1 v^ 1-1 . i -tr^'' nr 1** ■'' is-' . I,- r, . ■ ■ m 100 Annals of the eel ilKIC CHAPTER XIII. NOTI'l) KAllI.Y IVKIAN TliADEIlH— PiCKSOX. MonUMOX AM) JftSKPH RENVn.l.E. was too .sniio'uinc in relation to tlic beneficial effects of his tour upon the PI ti-adois anil savages of Minnesota. Though everything promised well while he >Vii8 in tlio oonntrv, liis back had hardly been tnrned before British influence began to be felt again. Tlio loader of the British party was Dickson. When Pike was at Prairie ,ju Chieu, on his way to the head waters of the Mississippi, Dickson was at Maakinaw; bnt, in the winter of 1.805-0, he had a trading post not very far below Sauk Rapids. In December, 1805, he paid a visit to Pike, who was quartered near Swau river, and made a most favorable impression on the Lieutenant. Pike, recording a note of the visit in his Journal, says: " He gave mo much useful information relative to my future route, which gave rae great enconrngcnient as to the certainty of my accomplishing the object of my voyage to the fullest extent. 1 Ue seemed to be a gentleman of general commercial knowledge, and possessing mnch goograpliical information of the Western country; of open, frank manner.s '' Dickson liad a jiartner by the name of Grant, at Lower lied Cedar Lake, and Pike, on the -Jd of February, 1806, Avrote to Dickson from that point as follows: " >Tr. Grant was prepared to go on a trading voyage amongst the Fols Avoins; but it was what I could not by any means admit of, and I hope, on a moment's reflection, you will admit the justice of my refusal; for what could be a greater piece of injustice, than for me to admit you to send goods, illegally brought into th« country, down into the same quarter, to trade for the credits of men who have paid their duties, regularly taken out licenses, and in other respects acted conformably to law. They might exclaim with justice: — WliatI Lieutenant Pike, not content with suffering the laws to slumber, when it was his duty to have executed them, has now suffered the Northwest Company's agents to oome over iierc, to violate them, and injure the citizens of the United States I certainly, he nnist be corrnpted, to admit this. This, sir, would be the natural conclu- sion of all persons." On the 7th of ^Vpril, 1800, Pike visited the trading post of Dickson, near Sauk Rapids, and talked with him all night about the afftiirs of the Indian Department. Dickson accompanied him to a conference with the Dakotas, on the island in front of Fort Sneliing. In five years from this time, we find him using his whole influence against the United (Stales. In July, 1811, he escorts a party of Menomonees, Dakotas and AVinuebagoes to the British at Mackinac. A few months after this, Governor Ed- wards, of the Illinois Territory, writes to the Secretary of War: " The opinion of Dickson, the celebrated British trader, is, that in the event of a war with Great Britain, all the Indians will be opposed to us, and he hopes to engage them in hostility by making peace between the Sioux and Chippewas, two very large Nations, and in getting them to declare war against us." Tlie title of Dickson was, " Agent and Superinteadent to the Western Nations." On the first of May, 1812, two Indians were apprehended at Chicago, who were on their way to meet Mr. Dickson, at Green Bay. They had taken the precaution to put their letters in their moccasins, and bury them in the ground, and were allowed to pro- Minnesota Historical Society. 101 ceed. A Mr. Frazier, of Prairie du Chien, who went witli Dickson to the portage ol' Wisconsin, and who was present when the letters were recoiveJ, stated that Dickson was informed that the British flag would soon be flyinf^on the American garrison at Mackinaw About the same time, Cadotte, Dice, and John Askins, were at Fond du Lac, Superior, collecting Indians. In February, 1814, while Dickson is collecting and distributing pro. visions among the Indians, at Green Bay, the British post of St. Joseph is captured by the Americans, and Mr. Bailly, and five others, connected with the Mackinaw Company, taken. MILITARY OCCUPAXCY OF PRAIRIE DU CIIIEN BY THE AMERICANS. ' On the first of May, 1814, Governor Clark, with two hundred men, left St. Loui.s, to build a Fort at the junction of the Wisconsin and Mississippi. Twenty days before he arrived at Prairie du Chien, Dickson had started for Mackinaw, with a band of Sioux and Winnebagoes. The place was left in command of Captain Deaco and the Mackinaw Fencibles. Tho Sioux, refusing to co-o[)crate, when tlie Americans made their appearance they fled. The Americans took possession of the old Mackinaw house, in which they found nine or ten trunks, of papers belonging to Dickson. From one they took the following extract : — " Arrived, from below, a few Winnebagoes, with scalps. Gave tiiem tobacco, six pounds powder, and six pounds ball." The Americans built a Fort, named " Shelby," witli two block houses in the angles, and another on the bank of the river, with a communication. Ou the twentieth of July, 1814, they surrendered to a force of two hundred regidais and six hundred Indians, in charge of a British lieutenant. After the surrendei-, the American gun-boats returned .to St. Louis. Among the passengers was a friendly " one-eyed Sioux," who had be- haved gallantly wheu tho boat was attacked by British artillery. In tho fall of tho same year, this one-eyed Sioux, with another of the same Nation, ascended the Missouri, under the protection of the distinguished trader, Manuel Lisa, as far as the Au Jacques river, and from thence he struck across the country, enlisting tho Sioux in favor of the United States, and at length arrived at Prairie du Chien. On his arrival, Dickson ac- costei him, and inquired from whence he came, and what was his business, at tho same time rudely snatching his bundle from his shoulders, and searching for letters. The "one-eyed" warrior told him that he was from St. Louis, and that he had promised the white chiefs there that he would go to Prairie du Chien, and that he had kept his promise. Dickson then placed hi^m in confinement in Fort McKay, as the garrison was called by the British, and ordered him to divulge what information he possessed or he would put him to death. But the faithful fellow said he would impart nothing, and that he was ready for death if he wished to kill him. Finding that confinement had no effect, Dick- son at last liberated him. He then left and visited the bands of Sioux on the Upper Mississippi, with which he passed the winter. When he returned in the spring, Dick- son had gone to Mackinaw, and Captain Bulger was in command of the Fort. While there, on May 23d, 1815, the British evacuated the Fort, the news of peace having arrived. As they retired, they fired the Fort with the American colors flying, and the brave Sioux exposing himself to the flames rushed in and bore off" the Ameri- can flag and an American medal. This one-eyed Sionx, if Dr. Foster of Hastings is correct, is still living. In an arti- ' ''fl ■ » ■ ■ 102 Annals of the cle published in the Minnesota Democrat, May 1854, he speaks of the signers of the treaty between Pike, on the part of the U. S., and the Dakotas. He says : " I have ommitted till the last, mention of J> Original Leir, who, next to Little Crow, appears to have been the most prominent individual present. Pike calls him ' ray friend,' and seems to have made him some marked presents — indeed, the Indian rela- tionship and tic of comradeship was probably adopted between them.' Pike says, he ' was a war chief, and that he gave him, my [his ] father's tomahawk,' though what ho means by that, passes ray comprehension. In the table of Indian chiefs, etc., in the ap- pendix to Pike's Journal, he is set down as belonging to the Medaywokant'wans ; his Indian name is given as Tahatnic, his French as L^ Original Lcrc, and his English as the ' Rising Moose,'' which is stated to be literally translated. " I believe thi« war chief to Ijc identical with the aged Indian, with whommo.stof the old settlers are familiar, by the name of T•*** We wore gre itly alarmed. ■'' * * These Scioux are tlie mcst cruel of all the Indians, and we .should have \)w.n lost had we fallen into their haiulH." Durini^' the French dominion, ecclesiastics never had permanent niisHions except in the vicinity ol' fortified trading posts. The Rev. T. S. Williamson, of the l'ro.sl)ytery of Chillicotlie, arrived at FortSnellin;,' in 183't ; then returned to the East, and in 183.") catno back with assistant missionaries. Renville warmly welcomed him, and rendered liim invalnahlo as-sistance in the Hstalilisli- mont of the mission.s. Upon the arrival of the missioiiaries at Lacs|ni-Parlc, he provid- ed them with a temporary home. Ho acted as interpreter, ho assisted in translntiiii* the Scripture.", and removed many of the prejudices of the Indians against the teachers of the white man's religion. His name appears in connection with several Dakota books. Dr. Watts' second Catechism for children, published in BoHton in 1837, by Crocker &, Brewster, was partly translated by him. In 1839, a volume of extracts from the Old Testament, and a volume containing the Gospel of Mark, was published by Kendell & Henry, Cincinnati, the translation of which was given orally by Mr. Renville, and penned by Dr. Williamson. Crocker >. s Minnesota Historical Society. Ill It appears that Mrs. Clark accompanied her husljand, the Commissary, on liis jour- ney up the Mississippi, to the mouth of the Minnesota. It is stated that — " Several persons went with them from Prairie du Chicn ; tlio voyage being made in keel boats, and the waters so low that the men were obliged frequently to wade in tiio river and draw them through the sand. Six weeks were occupied in passing over tlio distance of three hundred miles, one week of which was spent at Lake Popin. " Having reached the place of destination, the company were obliged to live in their boats till pickets could be erected for their protection against the Indians. * * * "Huts had also to be built, though in the rudest manner, to serve as a shelter cur- ing the winter, from the rigors of a severe climate. After living with her family in the boat for a month, it was a highly appreciated luxury for Mrs. Clark to find herself at home in a log hut, plastered with ciay, and chinked for her reception. It was Decem- ber before they got into winter quarters, and the fierce winds of that exposed region, with terrific storms now and then, were enough to make thpm keep witliin doors as ranch as possible. Once in a violent tempest, the roof of tlieir dwelling was raised l>y the wind, and partially slid off; there was no protection for the inmates, but the baby in the cradle was pushed under the bed for safety. Notwith.standing these discomforts and perils, the inconveniences they had to encounter, and their isolated situation, the little party of emigrants were not without the social enjoyments, they were nenrly all young married persons, cheerful, and fond of gaiety, and had their dancing assemblages once a fortnight. An instance of the kindness of the Commanding officer. Col. I oivor- worth, deserves mention. One of the olTicers having been attacked wiih symptoms of scurvy, and great alarm prevailing on that account, the Colonel took a sleigh, and accompanied by a few friends, set off on a journey through the country inhal)ited Ly Indians, not knowing what dangers he might encounter from their hostililv, or the perils of the way, for the purpose of procurino- medicinal roots. The party was absent several days, and in the meantime collected a suj>ply of licmbrcck (?) and spignnt, (spikenard,) which they used with excellent effect in curing the di.sease. FIRST WHITE AVOMAN AT THE FAU.S OF ST. ANTHONY. "In the ensuing summer (of 1820), when Col. Snelling had the command, Fort Snelling was begun. St. Louis, distant nine hundred miles, was at that time the near- est town of any importance. After the erection of the Fort, Mrs. Clark says: — " Wo made the first clearing at the Falls of St. Anthony, and built a grist mill." The wife of Capt. George Gooding, of the 5th Regiment, was the ,/?«/ v/il/e 'wonuni who ever visited those beautiful Falls. She afterwards married Col. Johnson, and ".vont to reside at St. Louis. FIRST COURTSHIP IX MINNESOTA AMOXO THE WHITE INHABITANTS. "Mrs. Clark remained at Fort Snelling, with the exception of about a year, uniii 1827. The only young lady in the company was married when about fifteen years of age, to a Mr. Dennis, also of the army. The wedding took [»lacc in the winter, and the bridal party was obliged to descend the river three hundred miles, on the ice, to Prairie du Chien, to have the ceremony performed. The monotony of their life was varied by continual alarms and excitements, from the encounters of the hostile trilies of Sioux and Chippewas, who came frequently info their close neighborhood, and were not scrupulous as to deeds of violence and treachery towards each other." INCIDENTS IN 1820. In the spring of this year, the troops were moved from the South side of the Minno- 'S ;,■'!■ .<«~.i' t'!'!- 112 Annals op the sota to a spot near t'ne present St. liOuis Hotel, wlilcli was designated as " Camj) Coldwater." In July, 1820, General Cass and Mr. Schoolcraft, on their way from Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi to Prairie du Chien, visited the post. They were pleased with the fertility of the soil, and learned that green peas had been raised and eaten by tbe fifteenth of Jnnc. Two block-houses, on the site of the present Fort, were erected about this time. During the summer, Leavenworth was relieved, and Colonel Snelling assumed the command. By order from Washington, he demanded of the Sisseton Dukotas the murderers of certain whites, on the Missouri. INTEllESTINO SCENE. One day in November, contrary to his expectation, one of the murderers and an old chief, a substitute for his son, were voluntarily brought to the encampment. The de- livery was accompanied with much ceremony. A procession was formed at some distance from the garrison, and marched to the centre of the ;;iarade. It was preceded by a Sissetoan, bearing the British flag. The murderer and the chief, who oifered him- self as an atonement for his son, followed with their arms pinioned, and large splinters of wood thrust tlirough them above the elbows, to indicate, as it was thought, their contempt of pain and death. The relatives and friends followed, and on their way joined them in the death dirge. When they arrived in front of the guard, the British flag was laid on a fire, prepared for the oeca.sion, and consumed. The murderer then gave up his medal, and both of the prisoners were surrendered. The Indian Agent, in a communication to the Department, on Nov, 10, 1820, soys: " The old chief I have detained as a hostage, the rauideror I have sent to St. Louis for trial, presuming that it is a course you will approve. " I am'much indebted to Mr. Colin Campbell, the interpreter, for his grent exertions in bringing this affair to a happy issue. The delivery of the murderer is to be attributed solely to his influence over the Sussitongs." From the wife of Colonel Snelling, Mrs. Ellett obtained sonio facts illustrative of this period, which are published in the "Pioneer Women of the West." "In the following summer of 1820, Snelling vv:is promoted Cclond of the .Oth Regiment, and ordered up the Mississippi, to relieve Lieut. Colonel Leavcnwoi th, who was also ] romotcd to another Regiment. He hud conducted the 5th Regiment from Detroit to T,ithin eight miles of the Falls of St. Anthony. The jonrnoy v as exceed- ingly tedious and disagreeable, in a keel boat laboriou!. u 9Tob«J iv, vi cjj tr. i.s-, " In September, Mrs. Snelling's fifth child was born. Her sick room was paperedi and carpeted with buflTalo robes, and made quite warm and comfortable. There were three ladies beside her in the garrison, and they were like one family, spending their time instructing their children, and receiving instruction in the French language from a soldier, who, it was said, had been an officer in Bonaparte's army. Mrs. Snelling, Mrs. Clai'k and an officer, comprised the class. During the winter, parties of men were sent ofiF to cut down trees, hew timber, &c., for the permanent fort, which was to be built on the high point of land between the mouth of the St. Peter's and Mississippi, a point se- lected by Gen. Pike, when he ejfplored the river, as a good site for a fort, and on which Col. Snelliug at once decided it should be built. There was a tree standing at the ex- treme point, with the name of Pike carved on it by his own hand. Strict orders were given '• to spare that tree," for it was looked upon by the officers as sacred to his memory and was carefully guarded, but the care was in vain. One morning it was found cut down, and great was the lamentation. It never was known who had done the deed ; there was a mystery about it that was never solved. " The first row of barrackd that were put up, were of hewn logs, the others of atone. The fort was built in a diamond shape, to suit the ground at the extreme point. Where the tree had stood, was a half-moon battery, and inside this was the officers* quarters, a very neat stone building, the front of cut stone ; at the opposite point a tower. The fort was enclosed by a high stone wall, and is well represented in the drawings of it. DBATnOFTHE FmST WHITE CHILD. ' " ■ • .-.•..; ■-'rjnrrr ■ :'1- - -r. ;!-; -- '. • • ' , {* At the expiration of two years, the Regiment moved into the fort, althongh not com- pleted. The families of the officers occupied quarters in the row assigned to them. It was justbeforqUiis time that Mrs. Snelling lost her youngest child — thirteen months old. :■■ ■• . .... The grave stone that marks its earthly remains is still in existence in the grave-yard at the Fort. , , "' ■^'^'f''"'«'' ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST STEAMBOAT, ^''^'■^^'i^'^'' -^'^'^^^^^^ ■■'> In June, 1828, the first steamboat made its appearance at the fort, much to the as- tonishment of the savages, who placed their hands over their mouths — their usual way of expressing astoni,shment, and called it a " fire-boat." A salute was fired from the Fort, as it was expected that the Inspecter General was on board ; and it was returned from the boat. The Indians knew not what to make of it, and they were greatly alarmed, until all was explained. Additions were made to the society of the garrison ; several officer.*!, who had been absent, returned to their regiment, bringing wives and sisters, so that at one time the company numbered ten ladies. There wore six compa- nies, which fully officered, would have given eighteen or t>yenty officers, but there were seldom or never that number present at one time. '.'litiiT i'dh) avo 'libil' 'iO i^doi^r. BKLTRAMI. rUivd . - »-::;iiir %(ii noi .■jii\i>u /'Ui!: ;'/:ui? An Italian gentleman came on the boat, who professed to be travelling for the pUN pose of writing a book, and brought letters of introduetion from Mrs, Snelling's friends Minnesota Historical Society. in St. Louis. Tiie Colonel invit«d him to his house to remain as long as he pleased and he was with them several months. He could not speak English, but spoke French* fluently, and seemed much pleased when he found his fair hostess could speak the Ian. guage, she having learned it when a child at St. Louis. A French school was the first she ever attended, and she thus early acquired a perfectly correct pronunciation. She lamented on one occasion to Mr. Beltrami, that her teacher had received his dischar^, and was about leaving, and he politely oflFered his services in that capacity. She was then translating the life of Caesar in an abridged form, and from the emotion betrayed by the foreigner at a portion of the reading, it was concluded he had been banished from the Pope's dominions at Rome, and that the lesson reminded him of his misfor- tunes. The passport he showed, gave him the title of " Le Chevalier Count Beltrami." " About this time. Major Long's expedition arrived to explore the St. Peter's river, and when they left Beltrami accompanied them. When his book was published at New Orleans, he sent Mrs. Saelling a copy. When at the fort he was busy in collect- ing Indian curiosities. One day he brought a Sioux chief into Mrs. Suelling'i room, who had on his neck a necklace of bears's claws highly polished, saying, ' I cannot tempt this chief to part with his necklace, pray see what you can do with him, he will not refuse you.' * He wears it,' answered the lady, ' as a trophy of his powers, and a badge of honor; however, I will try.' After some time, Wanata said, ' On one con- dition I will consent : if you will cut off your hair, braid it, and let it take the place of mine you may have the necklace.* All laughed heartily at the contrivance to get rid of further importunity. CONTINUATION OK REMINISCEXCE8 OF THE WIFE OF COLONEL SNELLIXti. rwia One day a call was heard from a sentinel ou the river bank, to the corporal of the guard, that a child had fallen into the river, and several ran in the direction the senti- nel pointed. The gardner, who was at work at a short distance, cried out, "It is the Colonel's son, Henry ! Save him ! " His mother heard the cry, " A child is drown- ing ! " and ran out upon the battery to see and hear what was the matter. She saw them draw the boy out, place him on a blanket, and hasten up the hill ; they approached her house, when the Colonel hastened towards her saying, " wc came near losing our child I '' and she saw it was indeed her own. He was pale as death, but soon re- covered, and lives to tell the story of an immense catfish dragging him into the river while fishing. . MURDER OK A RED RIVEK FAMILY, . .- ...■:...., ,..••. " In 1823, news was brought by the traders that two white children were with a party of Sioux, on the St. Peter's. It appeared from what they could learn, that a fam- ily from Red River — Selkirk's settlement — had been on their way to tlio fort, when a war party of Sioux met them, murdered the parents and an infant, and made the boys prisoners. Col. Snelling sent an officer with a party of soldiers to rescue the children. After some delay in the ransom, they were finally brought. An old squaw, who had the youngest, was very unwilling to give him up, and indeed the child did not wish to leave her. The oldest, about eight years old, said his name was John Tully, and his brother, five years old, Abraham. His mother had an infant, but he saw the Indians 4^h its brains out against a tree, then killed his father and mother, Because be cm^ m ■'"■H m '.,v:i' ■*'•;■;■ '.. M. >-:'1} 116 )ij' Annals of the /))/. hej took him by bis hair, nnd cut a small piece from his head, which was a running sore when he was re-taken. Col. Snelling took John into his family, Major Clark the other, but he was ofterwards sent to an orphan asylum in New York The eldcBt died of lockjaw, occasioned, by a cut in the ankle while using an axe. His death-bed con- version was affecting and remarkable. One day, after he had been ill several weeks, he said, * Mrs. Snelling, I have been a very wicked boy ; I once tried to poison my father because he said he would whip me. I stole a ring from you, which you valued much, aud t old it to a soldier, and then I told you a lie about it. I have given you a great deal of trouble. I have been very wicked. I ora going to die the day after to-raor- row, and don't know where I shall go. Oh, pray for rae.' "His benefactress answered, 'John, God will forgive you, if you repent ; but you must pray, too, for yourself. God is more willing to hear than we are to pray . Christ died to save just such a sinner as you are, and you must call upon that Saviour to save you.' All his sins appeared to rise before him as he confessed them, and he seemed to feel that he was too great a sinner to hope for pardon. Mrs. Snelling read to him, and instructed him. He never had received any religious instruction, except in the Sunday school taught by Mrs. Clark and herself, and being accustomed to say his prayers with her children, and always be present when she read the church service on Snndays. The next rooming after the above conversation, when she asked him how he had rested during the night, he said, ' I prayed very often in the nighi; I shall die to morrow, aud I know not what shall become of me.' For several hours he remained tranquil, with his eyes closed, but would answer whenever spoken to; then suddenly he exclaimed, ' Glory I glory!' His friend said, ' John, what do youmeau by that word?' * Oh! Mrs. Snell- ing, I feel so good — I feel so good! Oh! I cannot tell you how good I feel' " PRESENT NAME OF THE FORT GIVEN BY GENERAL SCOTT — 1824. " During this year, the commandant was visited by Gen. Scott and suit, and the Fori was completed. Heretofore it had been called Fort St. Anthony, but Gen. Scott issued an order giving it the name of Fort Snelling. He expressed his approbation of the construction and site of the Fort, etc., spent a week with his friends, and visited the Falls and a chain of lakes where they were used to amuse themselves fishing, and where the water was so clear they could see the fish playing about the hook. One of the Lakes Mrs. Snelling named Scott Lake. '' Another of her amusements was riding on horseback. When a child she had been accustomed to ride every morning with her father, and acquired great confidence in the management of a horse. Her husband seldom would ride with her, but Cnpt. Martin Scott was in the regiment, and often accompanied her. One day they saw a wolf, the dogs gave chase, and they followed until they ran down the poor creature, the bonnet of the fair huntress having fallen back, and horhair streaming loose in the wind. FAMILY DETAINED BY ICE AT LAKE PEPIN. " In 1825, the family left Fort Snelling to visit their I'tiv^da in Detroit. It was lote in the season, October, before they set out homeward, by the way of Green Bay, where Mrs. Snelling'b brother, Lieut. Wellington Hunt, was stationed. They spent a week in \u family, ittd when they reached Lak« Pepin, the ie« was running so rapidly they Minnesota Historical Society. 117 ^ere eompelled to stop ; the ice had cat through the eabia so that it leaked. A tmall log cabin was put up, and an express seat to the Fort, one hundred miles, for sleighs to convey them thither, and provisions, as they bad nothing but corn, which they boiled in ash water with a little salt. Fears were entertained by Col. duelling that the express might not 'reach the Fort, and another was sent a week after. One day, after two weeks, there was a sound of sleigh bells, and Henry, who was the first to hear, ran to meet them, and soon returned with two loaves of bread, which he threw into his moth- er's lap, crying *' eat, mother, eat." The children ate bread as if famished, and even the little Marion, but eight months old, partook of the general joy. They had seen no In- dians, who had gone to their winter grounds. Some of the officers came to meet the Colonel's family, and they were soon on the move agaiu. They were welcomed back joyfully by all their friends, and many of their favorite Indians came to see them. One poor savage, who always furnished them with game, came leaning on his staff, looking pale and emaciated ; he was very sick, he said, and came to see them once more before he died. He could scarcely crawl back to his lodge, and the next day expired. OJIBWAYS KT1.LED AT FORT SNELLINO, V' ■''" " At this time, a party of the Chippewas and Sioux held a council with the Indian agent. There had been war between the two nations for a long time ; the agent de- sired to act as mediator between them, and sent for them to meet him. After the council, the two parties smoked the pipe of peace. The Chippewas killed a dog, made a feast, and invited the Sioux to their lodges, which were under the guns of the Fort. In the evening, about nine o'clock, the firing of guns was heard; the sentinel called "corporal of the guard," repeatedly, in quick succession. The wild cries of women and children were heard, for the Chippewas had their families with them, and several In- dians came rushing into the hall of the commanding officer, trying to tell what was the matter. The officer of the day reported that the Sioux, after partaking of the hospital- ities of the Chippewas, and being apparently good friends, had some of them returned, placed their guns under the wigwams, and fired, killing some and wounding others. The wounded were conveyed into the hospital to have their wounds dressed. Other particulars of this occurrence, with the determination of the Chippewas to have ven- geance, the action of the commanding officer, and the surrender and punishment of the perpetrators of the deed, are related in another memoir. The traders said the Sioux were perfectly satisfied, much more so than if the offenders had been imprisoned and sent tc St. Lcuis. " In 1826, Capt. Thomas Hunt, who was residing at Washington, wrote to his sister, urging her and the Colonel to send their two eldest children to him to be educatt^d. Their daughter Mary was now fourteen, and as Captain Plympton and his wife were going, her parents got her in readiness to accompany them. Her mother thought not it would cost so many tears to part with her child; but when she returned home from the boat she told Mrs. Clark ' it seemed like a death in the family.' Seen an oppor- tnnity offered, and they sent Henry also. " In 182*7, the Indians began to show signs of hostility near Prairie du Chien; they murdered two white men and a young girl, the daughter of one of them, and attacked two boats with supplies for Fort Snelling, killing and wounding several of the crew. •:1M 118 (iHvy Annals OF THE a/./.i!/ I Col. Snelling ordered out as many of hit command as could be spared from the Fort, and with his officers descended the rirer to the relief of Fort Crawfoui, or to attack any hostile force of Indians he might meet. There were two large villages of Indians be- tween the two Forts, and it was expected, when they approached, they would be attacked, but there was not an Indian to be seen. When they reached Prairie du Chien, they ascertained that the outrage had been committed by Winnebap;oes, and not Sioux. When Gen. Atkinson heard this at St. Louis, he sent and seized the Chief, lied Bird, and one or two others, who were tried, convicted, and executed. After an absence of six weeks, the party returned without beingobliged to fire a gun. •''■"" -' ' " '" <» " i" '* One day soon after his return, the Colonel came in to tell his wife the e.xpress had brought them a mail, holding in his hand a letter sealed with black. She exclaimed 'My Mary is dead.' 'No,' said hor husband, • the letter is from Detroit.' It brought the intelligence of her much loved brother Henry's death. He was much loved and respected by all who knew him; was Mayor of the city and Colonel of the militia, and his funeral was the largest ever known in Michigan. After the massacre at French- town, by the Indians, in 1813, he had spent a great deal of money in ransoming pris- oners, many of whom still affectionately cherish his memory. He had proved a father to his sister and family, and was mourned by them deeply and long. "In the fall of 1827, the Regiment was ordered to Jefferson Barracks. When the family arrived at St. Louis, they took lodgings for the winter. Colonel Snelling hav- ing obtained leave to go to Washington to settle some public accounts and to bring home his daughter. He wrote to her mother in glowing terms of her improvement in person and mind, and that she received much attention for one of her age, not yet six- teen. ' As Mary will not again,' he concluded, ' have so good an opportunity, I have encouraged her to accept invitations to the different soirees ; she has had cards for the season from all.' Mary wrote, ' I have attended many parties, but I do not enjoy them, for my dear mother is not with me, and I am so impatient to embrace her.' Alas! the All Wise Disposer of events had ordered it otherwise. One more letter her mother received from her, and hoped before many weeks to see her, but at the time she was expecting her arrival, a letter was written to her sister, Mrs. Soulard, that Mary was dead! ■. . .. • " Col. Snelling wrote afterwards, that on the 2nd of February she had been at Mrs. Clay's party and danced, and had taken cold while standing to wait for the carriage; the cold terminated in a brain fever. Mrs. Adams, the wife of the President, showed great interest in the young stranger, as did many others, and every attention was paid her that could be desired ; but there was no solace for the deep wound in the mother's heart. She had felt a presentiment that she should never more see her daughter, and was in some measure prepared for the stroke which almost crushed her; she was enabled I to look with faith to Him from whose hand it came, to feel that He was too wise to err — too good to afflict willingly, and to bow in humble submission to the most painful dispensation of His Providence. Her husband wrote that he should be obliged to remain still longer in Washington ; it would improve her health to travel, and she must join him without delay. In May, she left St. Louis with her three children and nurse, found her husband and son well, the latter much grown, and received a cordial welconje fronj her brother and «ster-}n-law. ■ s. Minnesota Historical Society. 119 ^ " H«r onp of alflicUou wm not yet full; in two moutba her husband was seized with inflamation- of the brain and died in three week^. In cooirnQnicating the sad event to the army, the General-in-Chief thought it but an act of justice to make a public ac- knowledgment of his services." EOCI.FBTABTICAI. RXMIKIBCENCES 09 70RT bNELLlNG — FIRST CHURCH IS MINNESOTA. Before any clergyman entered Minnesota, a Major in the Army, with an experience and zeal in some respects akin to that of the distinguished British officer, Colonel Gar- diner, was ordered to Fort Snelling. Though a rigid disciplinarian, he at times invited soldiers and officers to his quarters, and read sermons and essays from a paper called the New York Evangelist, in their presence. In May, 1835, the Rev. T. S. Williamson .M D., arrived at the Fort with assistants, for the purpose of commencing the first Missionary operations among the Dakotas. At the request of those at the garrison, and in the vicinity, a church was formed. On one Sabbath in June, miles from the sound of the church going bell, there con- vened in one of the company rooms of the Fort, some twenty whites, consisting "of military officers, Indi an missionaries, and those engaged in Indian trade. Their names being called, in the presence of the assembled soldiei's, the company stood up, entered into church covenant, and elected Elders, who were set apart, in accordance with the solemn ordination service of the Presbyterian branch of the church. After the close of the afternoon sermon, the Rev. Dr. Williamson administered the communion. The church continued to worship at intervals in the Fort, till December, 1840, when it was divided, for the convenience of the members, into the church of Kapoaia, there being a mission station at the Indian village of that name, and the church of Oak Grove. The Rev. Gideon H. Pond was elected the Pastor of the latter, and still con- tinues. Among the original members, was a young Lieutenant, who was one of the first to prepare a vocabulary of the Dakota language. His decease has lately occurred, and from a New York paper, we extract the following: :> r.r SKETCH OF MAJOR CODEX. i ^' ;»(. i Major Edmund A. Ogden, of the United States Army, who recently died of cholera at Fort Riley, Kansas Territory, was bom at Catskill, N. Y., Feb. 20th, 1810. Soon after, he removed to XJnadilla, N. Y. where he remained until he entered the United States Military Academy, On graduating, he was attached as Brevet Second Lieuten- ant to the First Regiment of Infantry, then stationed at Prairie du Chie^. He was subsequently appointed a First Lieutenant in the Eighth Infantry, where he served nntil appointed a Captain in the Quartermaster's Department, in which corps he remained until his death. He served with credit and distinction through the Black Hawk, Flor- ida, and Mexican wars, and was created a Major by brevet, for meritorious conduct, in the last named of these wars. His services ever faithfully performed, have been arduous and responsible. He has disbursed for the Government millions of the public money; he has labored hard, and always to the purpose, and after giving to his country five and twenty years of hard and useful service, he has died poor. For the last six years previous to last spring, Major Ogden was stationed at Fort '' i 120 ''■>• Annals of thb fy. I liMreowortb, wh«i« ha hM r«nd«r«d important serric* to th« army in his capaoitjr of Qaartermaster. Froi^^his poit he was order«d to California, and he removed with bis family to New York with the expectation of embarking on the 20th of April last, when his orders were saddenly suspended, and he was sent back to assist in ontfitting the expedition against the Sionx Indians. He was afterwards charged with the arduous duty of erecting, within three months, barracks, quarters and stables for a Regiment of troops at Fort Riley — a point about 150 miles west of Leavenworth, and which he had himself selected as a suitable place for a government post, when stationed at Fort Leaven- worth. This place was not settled, and was an almost perfect wilderness. He took with him about five hundred mechanics and laborers, with tools and provisions, and com. menced his labors. lu a new and unsettled country, so destitute of resources, many ob- stacles were encountered, but just as they were being overcome, and the buildings were progressing, cholera in its most fate! and frightful form made its appearance among the men, from two to four of them dying every day. Far removed from homes and kindred, and accustomed to depend on Major Ogden for the supply of their daily wants, they turned to him in despair for relief from the pestilence. He labored among them night nnd day, nursing the sick and offering consolation to the dying. At last the heavy hand of death was laid upon him, and worn out with care, watching and untiring laWs, he fell a victim to the disease whose ravages he had in vain attei.yted to stay. " In the death of this ofiicer the army has lost one who wiv an ornament to its list; his own corps has lost one of its most efficient members— one whom they appreciated, and whom they delighted to praise. Among his associates in the army there is but one sentiment — that of regret for his, loss and admiration for his professional and private character, and love for his estimable qualities. His associates in the army are not the only sufferers; but many in various parts of the land have lost u warm and true friend, and the country has lost an honest man and a christian soldier. Major Ogden's christian character was remarkable; he was a meek and child-like follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and daily bji^ght strength and wisdom from above. He made a public profession of his faith soon after his graduation at the Military Aca- demy, and united with a missionary church at Fort Snelling. He was an active chris- tian, and delighted "to do good as he had an opportunity." In the missionary churcli with which he united, and which was at that time but just establiahed at St. Peters, Im took an active part and became one of its elders. In a letter to a christian friend, writ- ten but four days before his death, he thus writes: "Even at Fort Riley we are not without that marked evidence of advancing civilization — a recognized Sabbath. Last Sunday we had Episcopal service in the morning, conducted by the Chaplain and Methodist preaching under the trees in the afternoon. We shall start our prayer meet- ings, and a Sabbath school is already arranged. -..•!...„ In the hour of death, far from all he most loved on earth, lie was cheered by his christian hope. His faith was unshaken and enduring, and proved capable of support- ing him in that last sad hour. Although weak and exhausted, ho said to his friend the chaplain, who was by his side, " Tell ray dear wife and children to try and meet me in heaven," and then sank sweetly and quietly to rest. So died the christian soldier, in the vigor of manhood, and at the post of duty Bound as he was by so many tender ties to this earth, not a murmur escaped hi^ lips' but he met his summons with a cheerful resignation to that Providence whose dealings he bad recognized through life, and in whom he trusted in death. Minnesota ifist«uRio" Societv. K^ ebildrr Th« U. . «,\lcnt of Mur affliction Thi gvui loM, which ail who kiioM Major (igw ^ fed Ui' death, ig ai nothiog when compared with that of his wife at. araso joung that it is probable the; never can fully roallM Ood graot that it may be saacliiied to their eternal good. It is interesting to note the eTidences of the eatlmation /'• «ciiitU Ms^i'^r Qgdcn wa^ held at Fort Rilejr bj the residents and the men in his vmplov. Tiie fnllowing is an extract from the Kansas Ilorald of the 1 0th. " The death of Major Ogden left a deep gloom upon the spiritH of all the men, which time does not obliterate. His tender solicitude for the spiritnal and bodily welfare ol those ander him; hisanceasing labors with the sick, and his forgotfulnoBN of self in his tendance upon others, until he was Inid low, have endeared his niomory to every one there. And, as a token of affection, they are now engaged in erecting a line monu- ment which shall mark their appreciation of the departed. The monument, which will be of the native stone of the locality, is to bo placed ou one of the high protnontoricH at Fort Riley, and can be seen from many a distant point by those approachinr; the place. It will bear the following inscription : " ERKCTED TO THE MEMOllV Of BREVET MAJOR E. A. OGDEN, THE I'OUNDER OF KORT RILEY ; A DISIKTSRKSTKD PATRIOT ANn A GENEROUS FRIKNO; A RSriNTn ►(lf> *f(' ^ \\ • - 1 '.saiinai','.- •■NTLSMAN'; A DETOTED HUSBAND AND FATHER, AMD AN ' •H'kS '• '111 I- KXBMPLART OnRIflTfAN. . !■'■< " 'ii? ' '"i^: ,;■: :v. ..!;.: •[ /; ^^* ''iiifiliiv M n yi) f 1(. viit K.;ii in",': I >,!■ uioi v'i-'i f"ii-.'l ^..'.noT'j .(t . V ,^...ca on the frontier should be held at Prairie du Chion. Tlioy Hocked to the treaty ground (roTn all quarters, to see the sorereignty or iiiiiifsty (wo liiiow not which h tho iKjttcr word) ef the United State*, ably represented l>y (iuvonioi's Cans mid Clnrli, who ndvd nx (/onimissionert. Tiio policy of tiM! I'uitud States on tliis occasion wai fouudod on an error. It su])- )M)H>i(l tliat tlit as I'ar as il roncerncd tlio Dakotas. Tlicy coiiL'iiri'C'l in iho nrrnngetuont of their honndiiries proposed by the Commission- (IS, ns tliey do in uvory mexsure proposed by an American ofBoer, thinking that com- pulsion woiiM olhcrwiRo lio u^icd. But they were not satisfied, nor had they reason to lie, for thoir antiont limits were grievously abridged. Alt the Indians present had, or imagined they had, another cuumo of complaint. They had Ixwu supplied with food, while the congress laxtod, by the United Statci>, an was the reasonable practice, for they eiinuot linnt niul make trcnticN ut one and the 8amo time. Dysentery sapenrened on the eliange olilic). Souic died on tho ground, and a great many perished on tho way tVoni rrniiio dn Chien to their hunting grounds. Always suspicious of the whites, they supposed that their food had Ixicii poisoned; the arguments of their traders could not convince them of the coutrary, nud hundreds will die in that belief. Moreover, thoy did not receive such presents as the British agents had been wont to bestow on thum, and they complained that such stinginess was beneath the dignity of a great people, and that it also showed a manifest disregard of their necessities. Ihey were especially indignant nt being stinted in whiskey. It behoved the commissioners, indeed, to avoid the appearance of effecting any measure by bribery, but the barbarians (lid not view the mutter in that light. To show them that the liquor was not withheld ( fell. A. BtaflTwasBet up on his grave, which became a Inndmnrk, and rccsivcd tbo nniiio of The Murder Pole. The murderora boasted of their achievement nnd willi iinitiiuity. Thej and their tribe thought that they had struck a loir l)|()w on tlii'ir iMnient onuniioy, in a becoming manner. It was only Kaid, thnt Toopunkiih /e/.i> of \W rilla<,'e of the Batlurt aux FUora, and two others, had each ac(iuircd n ri^!it lo woiir ^kiiiik skins on their heels and war-oagles' feathers on their heads. A winter pu«sed, and the murdered man was not revoiigod. hi ilit; ■'>l>l'in^^ wo Imil another striking proof of Indian regard to treaty stipulations, and Iiidiiui love for Ani«r ican citizens; and also of the wisdom of (he Oorerninent tbnt had expected to bind them with strips of pajier or parchment Every ouc knows tliut iu llie Westci'ii country French people make maple sugar in the spriug. M. Mclliudc, rliose lo set up bis suj^ai' camp at the mouth of Yellow river, two luilcH from rruirio dii ( 'iiit ii. His wife, ono nf the most l)eautifal women we ever saw, aeeoiu{ianiod b!iii >>itli ber live cliildrcn. liesidr these, the wolves and the trees were his only eompanion.>. A week .t;lap.<^ed, and bo iiad not been seen at the Prairie. One of IiIk friends, tliinkini;' that lie nii^dit liuvc Item taken ill, and was unabU to come for his supplies, resolved to vi^it liis eainp. On reaching the mouth of Tcllow river the nmn sliouted uloiid, tbat Metbudu ui' Ul. dog might answer, and thereby indicate in what o.xact spot in tlio woods lii.' cunip nnd gone liigber up tlio river, the honest Cauadian turned bouicward. lie bad not t^one teiiste]>s when hvunw liomathing that made him quicken his pace. It was the )iody of MoLbodo's dog. Tlu; animal had been shot with half a sooro of balls, and yot bold in bis deadjnw.s a monlbfiil of scarlet cloth, which, apparently, he had torn from the calf of an Indian's leg. Tbc man raa at full speed to the bank of the river, threw biiiiself into bisrnnoe, and iir.ddlcd with all his might till he was out of guu shot from tbc mhoio Having made what he had seen public, a party was soon usaomblt'd, all good uiou and true, and wbll armed. They soon gained the spot, and began to explore the ruins of the hut. The bodies of the whole family were there, and it was evident tiint accidental fire had not occasioned their death. They were shockingly mangled. Madame Methodo in particular. Her husband's hand grasped a bloody knife, from which it was iufenl'd that he had not fallen unavenged. Yet the stains might have come from bin own person. When the coroner's inquest sat, it appeared that a party of Wiuncbagoes bad been out, notwithstanding the treaty, against the Ohippewas, and bad returned inisucceasful. Fifteen of them had been seen near the Yellow river two days after Motbode'« departure from the Prairie. It was ascertained that two Winuebagues had been bulled that night. The white party returned to the village ; and, the next day, an Indian^ boy of fouftaen admitted that be bad seen Methode's camp while bunting, and had commuui- I'ated his discovery te his companions. To roak« assurance doa1)ly sure, Wftman. ■■'-,■ *-.'■' ■"'1 :.') 124 Annals of the " / . */ gara-Ha, au Indian uf very bad reputation, made his appearance in the Tillage iu a pair of red leggius, one of which had been torn behind. He came to tell the agent, Mr. Bcilevin, liow !nuch he loved the Americans, and that he strongly snspectcd the Sacs of the murder that hud been committed. He demanded a blanket and a bottle of whiskey as a reward for his zealous friendship, ^ir. Boilevin caused the friendly Winnebago to be arrested, and examined him closely. Then the murderer called up his Indian spirit, confessed his guilt, and implicated several others. ' „ A party oi militia forthwith started for the nearest Wicuubago camp. We are able -- to state (and we love to be correct in important particulars) that the captain wore nei- ther plume nor sash, nor any thing else that might have made him conspicuous; that the men did not march in the style most approved on Boston common; that they beat no drum before them; and that none of them had ever seen a sham fight. No; each marched on "his own hook," each carried a good rifle or Northwest gun, and each kept his person as much out of sight as possible. The consequence was, that the Indian camp was surprised and completely surrounded, and the savages saw that their best, and, in- deed, only course, woe to surrender quietly. However, the whites found only one of those they sought in the camp, and took him away with them. The celebrated chief Dcscorrie followed them. • •' . /m v, >.)!(. r/iiii.i:,;ni ■.:; -;i;. "Father,'' said he to Mr. Boilevin, "you know that there arc foolish young men among every people. Those who have done this thing, were foolish yonng men, over whom I and the other wise men have no control. Besides, when they went to Yellow river, they had just drank the last of a keg which you gave them yourselt It was the whiskey, and not they, that killed Methodc and abused his wife. Father, I think you •should excuse their folly this time, and they will never do the like again. Father, their families are very poor, and if you will give them clothing and something to eat, you may be sure that they will never kill another white man. "' '"'^' ^'' ' '" "I shall give them nothing," said the agent, "and still be sure that they will never kill another man. They will assuredly be hanged." " Your heart is very hard father,'' replied Dcscorrie. " Your heart is very hard, but J cannot think that it will be as you say. You know that if yon take our young men's lives, we cannot prevent others from avenging them. Our warriors have always taken two lives lor one. Oor Great Father (the President) is not so hard-hearted as you are. Our young men liave killed a great many of your people, and he has always forgiven them." At that time, Prairio du Chien had no great reason to boast of her administration of justice. A soldier, indeed, had been scourged at the public whipping post, a man of ninety had been fined for lewdness, an Indian had been kicked out of a wheat- tield ou which he was trampling, and the magistracy prided themselves not a little on these energetic acts of duty. A jail there was, but it was of wood, and stood so far from the village, that a prisoner might carve the logs at noon-day without much danger of detection. Scandal says, that the jailor of it used to bolt the door of it with a boiled carrot. Into this stronghold the criminals were put at night — the place did not own a set of fetters — and in the morning they were missing. Had they been left to their own devices, th*re is little doubt that they wouW have remained to brave their fate, but it is thought that some white man advised tbem what their exact legal reapon •ibilities were, and advised them to o«cap'>. ,\f Unnmsmji Wia/9!t%ik^ Society. m Col. Willoughby Moigan commaoded the milituv at Prairi« da Cbien. Tie imiuedl- ately caased two Winnebago chiefs to be seiised, and informed the tribe that they woold not be liberated till the morderere vere delivered up. They were soon brooght in, and as the civil authority had proved unable to keep them, they were committed to the gar- rison guard-house. Shortly after the garrison was broken np by the order of the Sec- retary of War, and the troops were removed St. Peters, two hundred miles farther up. There was no appearance of the district judge to try the prisoners, and they were there- fore tiansferred to St. Peters, there to await his coming. They had long to wait; solong, indeed, that they grew excessively obese and phleg matie. In the following autumn, another party of Chippewas came to St. Peter's, and as they remembered what had happened the year before, they took care to arrive just at day-break, and proceeded directly to the fort. There were twenty-four persons in the band, eight of whom were warriors; the rest were women and children. The chief was Kweeweezaizhisb, or the Flat Mouth, the great man of the Sandy Lake Chip- pewas. He led his little troop straight to the fort, where he nnfurled and planted an American flag, and then demanded an interview with the agent and commanding ofiBcer The Dakotas soon learned what was passing, and by the time the gates were opened a considerable number of them had assembled to gaze upon the enemy. Presently the officers came forth, and desired the visitors to enter. "Be not angry, father," replied the Flat Mouth, "bat I would rather say something here, before I enter your wigwam or eat your bread. I desire that these Nabtooessiee (enemies) should hear it" The Colonel sent for the Chippewa interpreter, and when he had come desired the chief to say on. "Father," said the chief, "you know that more than a year since, we made peace with your Nahtooessie children, because you desired us.. We have kept the peace and listened to your advice, as we always do, for oar American fathers are wise men, and advise as for our good. These men know whether they have done so or not. I speak with a sick heslH;. We are but few here, and these men will not keep the peace with OS. We ask yon to protect us, as we wooki protect you, if yon should come into our country." ' ""•■•■' . ■. i «iti'-i^^tf' ''■';.•- .. .;'":;•-• ^ The Colonel replied that he could have no concern with the quarreln of the Dakotas and Chippewas. If they fought anywhere else, he could not help it; but while they remained under lus flag they should not be molested, provided they did not molest oth- ers. He bade them pitch their lodges on a spot within musket shot of the walls, and there, he said and thought, they would be safe. He would make their cause his own if any harm should come to them tbere- This speech being expounded to the Dakotas, tiliey all exclaimed "Hachee I hachee! huchetool" — that is it I that is right! The Flat Mouth tiien entered the Fort and partook of Ammcan hospitality. He then explained the objea of his visit. It was the old story, repeated the thousandth time. They were very poor; they had left their friends at home with heavy hearts, and b(^d that their father would give them something to make them glad. In short, the endless catalogue of Indian wants was sommed by a humble petition for a little of their father's milk (whisky) "to make them er} " for certain friends they had lost. This shameless beggary should not be taken as proof of want of spirit. The mtin point in their political code is equality of property ; he that has two shirts thinks it a daty to gire one to bin) vvhQ^hu none. He wbe has none thipkfl^it no [ihanie^ to] ask '\i'-- 126 1 1 I I (! ■ A • tut ! 1 a;. >*■>'■ Annals ©f tujb ^A-.-U om of him who has two. The effect of this system is, that they ar« always in waut of every thing, and the application of their own principle of action to their white neighbors makes their company excessively troublesome. It is trae that they are wil- ling to reciprocate, as far ns lies in their power, but then they never have any thing to Ou the occasion in question, our Chippewa friends got, if not all they aslted, yet more than they had expected. Then, after having entered the garrison with the Buf- falo dance, they left the Fort, and set up their lodges as they had been directed. In the the afternoon Toopunkah Zeze arrived from the Batture aux Fievra, with suvca of his own baud and one other. They went directly to the Chippewa camp and entered the largest lodge, where it happened that there were just nine persons. The young Dakota abovo named held in his hand a pipe, the stem of which was guly orna- ineuted with porcupine's quills and hair stained red. The Chippewas spread skins for his party, shook hands with them, invited them courteously to be seated. They also di- rected the women instantly to prepare a feast of venison, c«rn. and maple sugar, all of which articles were mixed together and placed before the Dakotas in brimming bowls. \yhea the entertainment was over, Toopunkah Zeze filled the peace-pipe he had brought AiA passed it round. None rejected it, and all might, therefore, consider themselves pledged to peace, if not to love. The conversation then became general and amicable. The Chippewa women coquetted witli tJie Dakota youths, who seemed in no wise to con- sider them as enemies., I .-^uasuf.) #>is»i>.- nu.y. rstdi^mb -.liWu I :,-•?,; ..«■•,• .4 No Dakota is suffered to wear a war eagle's feather in hia hair till he has killeci his man. Toopunkah Zczc wore one for the Chippewa he had so treacherously slain the year before, as we have already related. One of the fair Chippewas noticed it. "You are young to wear that," said she. .,\.^^ ,,..^ *;«i;,>t .i^HihiJKb »i«^,.: ;«/ v.. .'..^ " I sht^l wear another before I am much older/' he replied. Certainly after so much friendly intercourse and so many demoustratious of good wiil, no one could have suspected any sinister purpose. The Chippewas, too, might have relied on their proximity to the Fort. Bnt, " tho heart of man is desperately wicked.'' The Dakotas had shook hands and smoked the pipe of peace with their for- ;mer foes, had eaten of their fat and drank of their strong. At last, at sunset, they took their gnus and rose to depart. The eight foremost halted dutoide the door, while the last held it aside with his foot, and all discharged tbeur guns into the lodge, except- ing one, whoso piece missed fire. The assassins gave the Indian art de jot, and fled like deer. The guns were heard in the Fort, and the news soon reached^the commanding officer, who immediately ordered an ofHcer to proceed to the nearest village with an hundred men, and apprehend as many Dakotas as possibly he could. No time was to be lost, for the night was fast comin* np the horiaon. The Chippewas who were not hurt, joined the party. Circumstances proved favorable to *he enterprise; just as the party left the gate, upwards] of a hundred armed Dakotas appeared on a low ridge near the Fort. Captain ——divided his force, and di^atohed one party round a small wood to take the enemy in the rear, while he advanced upon them in front. The Da. kot'as kept their ground firmly. Some covered themselves with the scattered scrub oak ti'^sV-others laid dowu in the long grass. Guns were already oocked when the detached -party! a]fpeare'l in thefr rftPf ■ Thw the Indians gav^e way, Most escaped, ^ni thirty k m Minnesota HifttunicAL SuciETii 121 w*re takea and speedily conveyed to the Fort, where accommodations wore provided for them in the gaard-hoase and the black-hole. The Chippewas, too, temoved their lodgea into the Fort, and the wounded were carried to the hospital. "' '■'^'"*"^ "-•' - Eight balls had been fired into the Ohippewa lodge, and every one took effect. The wounds were the most ghastly that we ever saw made by bullets. The party had been lying, or reclining, on their mats; for there is no standing in a Chippewa lodge. Coii- •equently the balls passed through their limbs diagonally tearing and cutting more than it if) usual for pieces of lead to do, though as ragged as chewing can make them. One woman was killed outright, ^one man was mortally, and another severely wounded, the latter being shot through both ancle joints and crippled forever. AH the re.<3t were women and children, and more or less severely wounded. "' '"'''' ""^^-' ''^'**' "«* ,i>*.Ji«n There waii weeping and wailing in the Chippewa lodges that night. he noisy lamentations of the women broke the rest of the wliolo garrison; but no one desired them to be silent, for the rudest soldier there respef^tert the sincerity of their sorrow. Never were Indian knives driven deeper into squaws' flesh in token of grief than on that occasion. The practice of mortifying the body, on the death of friends, seems to be, and to hare been common to all rude people. The Jews clothed themselves in pnck- cloth and threw ashes on their heads; Achilles refused to wash his faco till the funeral rites had been performed over the body of Patroclus. Now, tlio male Chippewas blackened their faces, indeed, but they did not gash their arms. A soldier who spoko their language asked of them why they did not conform to the ancient usage of their nation. "Perhaps we shall have use for our guns to-morrow," replied the Little Soldier. We must loose no blood, though our hearts bleed, for wc must be able to sec stralgh over our gun barrels." . , ^ ,' • , "' ~ ■ ^'^- .■■^-. -..,..■,,.; ^.-j ^^, The Little Soldier was right in his surmise and precaution. At early day dawn the commanding officer visited the wounded Chi|)powas, and asked them if they eould recognize any of their aggressors, in case they should appear before them. Thoy replied eagerly in the affirmative. He then asked them why they had not been more on their guard. " We respected your flag," replied the mortally wounded man, " and thought that our enemies would do the same." The Colonel then asked whether tliey had given the Dakotas no provocation. " None," said the Chipi)ewa, " but we endured much." He presented the peace-pipe which the Dakotas had brought with them, and said that the hair vrith which it was ornamented had belonged to a Chippewa head We know not how he made the discovery, but it is well known to all who have lived on the firontier, that an Indian, on seeing a scalp, can tell, with unerring certainty, to whaj. tribe it belongs. i^f; ^a* ;; !hiif« - ,i ■:.•'•.; ,t-''i ■.•;:^i ',; r.^^j ; .'.lu The wounded men were then, with their own joyful consent, placed on litters and borne to the guard-house. The Dakota prisoners were paraded before them and tbey identified two of the number, as having belonged to the band of a.s6assins. " I deliver them into your hands," said the Colonel to the Chippewa warriors. «' Thoy have deserved death, and you may inflict it, or not, a^ you think proper. If yon do not, they mxnt be tried by the laws which govern ns Amet leans. I have no power to put them to death. You may let them go, if you please ; I wash my hands of the matter.' ' Thia speech waa interpreted faithfully to the Cbippewas, but none of them answered, Initeadefapeaking, they ezammed the flints and priming of their gnns. The Littl« Seldier draw from beneath his robe a few fathoms of oord, cut from an elk skin, and Xil' m 4.NNALS 9f iruti &; njit'i I preMQtly ascond tbt Mo crlmiaak, £uteofaig (hem to^tb«r by tht olbows. it was observad that he drew his knot* rather tighter than it was absolutely necessaiy; but no one blamed him. The Dakotai wer« then lad for(h. As soon as they passed the gate, the Chippewas halted and cocked their guns, for their rengeance was growing impatient " You must not shoot them under our walls," said one of the officers. " I hope you do not expect us to take them veiy far," replied a Chippewa. The procession then moved on. One of the Dukotas struck up the death song. The other attempted it, but did not succeed; his voice sunk into a quaver of consternation. The Chippewas led them to a rising ground, about two furloogs from the Fort, there halted, and bade them run for their Uvea. They were not slow to obey the mandate, and their executioners gave them thirty yards law. At that distance, six guns were discharged at them, and they fell dead. Instantly the prairie rang with the Chippewa cri dejtie, and the execntionen rushed towards the corpses, with their knives bared, yelling like fiends. Twice and thrice did each plunge his weapon into the bodies of the prostrate foes, and then ivipe their blades on their face or blanket. One or two displayed a ferocity which those only who saw, can entirely realize. They drew their reeking knives through their lips, and exclaimed, with a smack, that they had never tasted any thing so good. An enemy's blood was better than even fire water. The whole party then spat upon the body of him who had feared his fate, and spumed it with their feet. They had not tasted his blood. It would, they said, have made their hearts weak. To him who had sung his death song, they offered no indignity. On the contrary, they covered him with a new blanket. They then returned to the Fort. The Colonel met them at the gate. He had prevented all over whom his authority extended from witnessing the scene just described, and had done his best to make the execution the exclusive business of the Chippewas. He now told them that the bodies of the shun must not be suffered to lemain upon his laud, where the spectacle might grieve the Dakotaa who were innocent of their crime. The party retired, and proceeded to the slaughter (pronnd. They took the dead Oakotas by the heels, trailed them over the earth to the bluff, and there threw them over a perpendicular precipice a hundred and fifty feet high. The bodies splashed and sunk, and nothing more wa^ ever seen or heard of them. Among the Dakotas detained in the guard-house was an old man named^Khoya-pa, or the tlagle's Head. We knew him well — ^he once cheated us out of a considerable amount of merchandize; but it was in the way of trade, all fair, accordiag to Indian ethics, and we bear him no malice. He had not slept during the night, but had tramp* cd up and down the floor, deeply agitated, to the extreme disturbance of the soldiers. One of those who were put to death, was his nephew. When this young man was dc signated by the wounded Chippewas as one of the assassins, and led forth to suffer death, his tears flowed; and when be heard the report of the gnns which ended him, his emo. tion became uncontrolable. He immediately sent for the commanding dficer. " Father,*^ said he, '' the band of the Btiiturt a«a: Fieom are bad people. They are always getting themselves into trouble, and others are always sure to suffer with them. It was foolish to shoot the Chippewa last year, but they did it, and perhaps one of my gtaod'ofaildfeB will be scalped for It. What they have jut done was a felly. Th^r pu^* Minnesota Historical Society. 129 luaded mj nephew to join them, and he is dead. Let them take the coudequeiiees of their own act themselves, this time. I know where I can find two more of them, and if you will let me out I will bring them to you, and you may put them to death, as they deserve, or spare them — as you please. If you slay them, I shall be glad ; if you let them go, I shall be sorry. They ought not to be suffered to bring the whole nation into disgrace and trouble." " If the Colonel lets him out, T wonder when we shall see him again?" said one of the guard to another. The Colonel knew the Dakota character better. " How long will it be before you return with the man-slayers ?'' said he to Khoya-pa. " By sunset to-morrow night," replied the Eagle Head, I will be before your gate, and if I come alone, you may give my body to the Chippewas." The ann was high in the heavens when the Eagle Head departed, with h's gun in his hand and his knife and tomahawk in his belt. It is si.xty niiles from St. Peter's to the Batture aux Fievrcs, and he arrived there early the next morning, having slept an hour or two in the woods near the village. He went straight to the lodge of Sagaiidosliee, or tho Englishman, for so was the father of Toopunkah Zeze named. The family were already awake, and the murderer was relating his exploit with great glee when Khoya- pa entered. " You have acted like a dog," said the old man to Toopunkah Zeze. " So have you," he added, turning to the other assassin. " Some one must die for what you have done, and it will be better that your lives be taken, than that others should die for your folly. There are no worse men than yourselves in our nation. I tell you, you must die. Rise and go with me, like men, or I will kill you like dogs where you sit." So saying, the old man cocked his gun and drew his tomahawk from his belt. The women began to scream and scold; the Englishman's brow grew dark, but no opposi- tion was offered. Perhaps the men were afraid to harm the Eagle Head, for though he was not recognized as a chief, his sons and sons-in-law were many, and his influence was considerable. Any one who should have harmed him would have certainly suflTered for it. Besides, his reputation as an upright and valiant man was high; he was tall and erect, audage had not withered his muscles and sinews. Whatever motives might have restrained the families of the criminals from opposing the aged warrior, Toopun- kah Zeze showed no disposition to disobey him. Ho rose with the utmost alacrity, handed the Eagle Head a rope, and tendered his arms to be tied. When he was se- cured he requested his father to thrust sliari) oaken splinters through the muscular parts of his arms, that the Americans might see that ho cared not for pain. The English- man — his father — complied, without uttering a syllable! The other criminal was pale, trembled, and seemed wholly stupefied by terror. How- ever, he submitted passively to be tied. " Now," said the Eagle Head, "start — walk before me, and that briskly, for you must die at tho American Fort before sunset, and it is a long distance." Just before sunset that day, the Colonel and another officer were standing at the gate ol' the Fort. " It is late," said the latter, " and our old friend does not show himself ret. I do not think he will. He would certainly be a fool to come back to what he thinks certain danger: for he had nothing ta do with the murder." R ■'ii. '41 130 Annals of the " If I bad kept biuj," replied the commanding officer, " uo good could have como of it. He was innocent, and could not have been convicted, supposing that any of our courts may be competent to try him. 1 b(.'lie\cd that he would keep his word, and bring the real criminals, uml 1 have no doubt about the propriety of the course I shall adopt with tliem. I trust the Eagle Head yet; aud by heaven, he deserves to he trust- ed! Look! — there he comes, driving llie two black sheep before him." Indeed, the old man and his prisoners canu; in sight at that moment They soon arrived at the gate. " Here t! cy are, father," said the Eagle Head. " Take them, and kill them, and if that is not enongh for the safety of my ixople, take my life, too, I throw away my body freely." The white chief told Khoyapa that ho was at liberty lioui Lliat moment, and made him a liberal present, after which the old man withdrew. A hasty council was then held with the Chippewas, to whom the victims were tendered, as the two first had been. By this time a considerai^lc iiumbcr of the Dakotas had assembled about the prison- ers. "You must die now,'' said one man, "The white chief has given you to the enemy. "^ "I know it," replied Toopuukah Zozo, " and 1 am ready. I shall fall like a man. Bear witness of it. Hero,' Falling- Leaf, take my blanket- I shall have no use for it. Take my ear-rings. Gray Woman." He sat down upon the grounil, aud, with the aid of others, divested himself of his ornaments and apparel, which he distributed to those who stood nighest. His dauntless mein and handsome person made the whites, who looked on, sorry for him. He was in the bloom of youth, not above twenty at most, six feet high, and formed after Na-. ture's best model. Stain the IJclvidere Apollo with walnut juice, and it will be an axact likeness of Toopunkah Zeze. He refused to part with the two eagle's feathers. One of them he had not yet worn two days, ho said, and he would not part with them. The Chippewas would sec that a tear rior was about to die. The companion of Toopunkah Zeze followed his example in giving away his clothing, quite mechanically, it seemed. It was evident, though he did not speak, that ho was not equal to the circumstances in which he was placed. He was a villainous looking fellow; such a man, indeed, as a despotic sovereign would hang for his countenance. He had the most hideous hare lip that we ever saw, and was thence called by the Dako- tas, The Split Upper Lip. He was known to most of the white men present as a noto rious thief, a character very uncommon among Indian men, though not among Indian women. c, . ,,« The Chippewa chief, Flat Mouth, thus addressed the commandinfif officer: — " Father, wc have lost one life, and it is certain that one more will die of his wounds. We have already taken life for life, and it is all that our customs require. Father, do not think that I do not love our people whose blood has been shed. I would fain kill every one of the Nahtooessie tribe to revenge them, but a wise man should be prudent in his revenge. Father, we Sandy Lake Chippewas are a small, a very small band, and we are ill armed. If we provoke the Nahtooessies too far, they will come to our country in a body, and we are not able to resist them. Father, I am a very little, weak chief (The varlet spoke falsely, for he was the biggest and most corpulent Indian we ever saw) Father, we have already had life for life, and I am satisfied. Minnesota Historical Societv 131 Upstarted the Little Soldier; tire m his eye. lie was piopcrly named, being a very little man, almost a dwarf. Yet he was thick set, active and muscular, and his spiri t was great. Little as ho was, he enjoyed the repute of being the bravest and most sue cessful warrior of Sandy Lake. He it was, who.se brother had been slain the year be- fore at the Murder Pole. " Our father with the Flat Mouth, says that he is sHtislieil," said the Little Soldier. "So am not L We have had life for life, as he says, Init I am not satisfied. This man, (pointing to Toopunkah Zoze,) shot my brother latt year, and the sun has not yet set twice since he shot ray wife also, This other aided him. Tlicy deserve to die, and they shall die. Hoh !" he added to the prisoners, signifying tliat they must march. Toopunkah Zeze sprung to his feet and began to sing his death song. It was some- thing like the following, many times repeated: — ■ • ^ ' -. -'-.■J I mtisUlie, J mn.st die, '"[ IJut wminyly I fall. They can take I'rom mo butono life; '' IJut I liave taken two from them. ] Two for one. two for one. two for one, &c. He burst into lie did not dc- The Split Lip was wholly unable to imitate his brave companion tears, and piteously implored the eonmianding officer to spare his life. serve to die, he said, for he was not guiltv. lie had killed no one — his gun had missed fire." Here Toopunkah Zezo ooasod «iuging, and indignantly interrupted him. " You lie dog. Coward, old woman, you know that you lie. Yon know that you are as guilty as I am. Hold your pe.icc, and die like a man — die like mc." Then, turning his face away with an expression of exceeding contompt, he rofiommenced — ■ - ■ ^m Two fiH' one. 'wo foi' Olio— ' "''.'.-l - '''■-■■ and strode forward, dragging the Split Lip al'tur iiim. Arriving at the place of execution, tho Chippcwas ga\o them law, aud fired. The Split Lip was shot dead on tho spot. Toopunkah Zeze was also, stricken through the body, but did not iall. One bullet hint cut the ropo which bound him to his compan- ion, and he instantly started forward with as good speed as if ho had been wholly un- hurt. A shout of joy arose from a neighboring copse, where a few Dakotas had hid- den themselves to witness the spectacle. Their joy was of short duration. The Little Soldier's gun had missed (Ire, but he picked his flint and leveled again. Toopunkah Zeze had gotten a hundred and lifly yards from his foe^", when tho second bull«t struck and killed him instantly. After this catastrojiho, all the Dakotas quittetl the vicinity of Fort Snelling, aud did not return to it for some months. It was said that they formed a conspiracy, to demand a council, and kill the Indian Agent and the commanding officer. If this was fact, they had no opportunity, or wanted tho spirit, to execute their purpose. The Flat Mouth's band lingered in the Fort till their wounded comrade died. He was sensible of his condition, and bore his pains with great fortitude. When he felt his end approach, he desired that his horse might be gaily caparisoned, and brought to the Hospital window, so that he might touch the animal. He then took from his me- dicine bag a large cake of mnplc sugar and held it forth It may seem strange, but it 1. 1 ■ M ■'.'.' M 132 Annals of the i is true, that the bettst eut it iroui liis band. His features were radiant with delight as lie fell back on the pillow exhausted. His hurae had eaten the sugar, he said, and he was sure of a favorable reception, and comfortuble quarterri in tiie other world. Half an hour after, he breathed his last. Wo tried to discover the details of his superstition , but could not succeed. It is a subject on wliich Indians unwillingly discourse. For a short time after the execution of Toopunkuh Zeze and his accomplices, the Indian country remained ((uiet. Thu Dukotas avoided ull intercourse with the whites. They were angry at the death of their ftllows, indeed, and spoke of vengeance among themselves ; but they either were convinced of the justice of what had been done, or knew the superior force of the whites too well to think of taking any active measures. However, they resolved to make cats' paws of the Wiunebagoes, who were, and are, of much more decided character than themselves. The tribe, as their traditions say, were driven from Mexico by the companions of Cortez, or their successors. The tradition is probably correct in point of fact ; for they state that they resisted all attempts to expel them from their native land, till the white invaders hunted thena with dogs of uncommon size and ferocity ; probably, these were the bloodhounds since em- employed to subdue the Maroons in Jamaica. The Dakoias have a similar tradition. Be that us it may, the Winnebagoes retained an inveterate antipathy to the Mexican Spaniards, till \cry lately. They have now transferi-ed it to the people of the United States. Some old men among them still remember the excursions they were wont to make in their youth to the borders of Mexico, whence they brought horses, captives, Ac. These people have more courage and more national character than any tribe of the North-west. Drunkenness is not so common among them as among other tribes, and they are iM so fond of mixing blood with the whites. There arc very few Winnebago half- breeds. A good many of them joined the confederacy of Tecumsch, and sixty of their best and bravest warriors wcsre killed at Tippecanoe. Several years since, when the fifth United States regiment of infantry ascended the Mississippi, they halted at Prairie du Chien, where they were visited by a great many Winnebagoes. An aged warrior accosted Captain Gooding, as he landed on the beach, aftd offered him his hand. "I think," said the Winnebago, " that I could tell what ails your neck, that you should have such a great scar upon it." "Probably you could," replied the captain, "you may have reason to know that there is a Winnebago bullet in my flesh " "Aye," returned the savage, " and 1 could tell you who put it in. But you are a brave man, and wo arc all friends now." Apparently the old man con- sidered this reminiscence an excellent jest, for he laughed heartily. No tribe consider revenge a more sacred duty than do the Winnebagoes. It was iheir ancient custom to take five lives for one, and it is notorious on the frontiers, that no blood of theiis has bi^en shed, even in modern days, that has not been fully avenged. They used, too, to wear some part of the body of a slain enemy about them as o testi- monial of prowess. We well remember a grim Winnebago, who was wont to present himself before the whites, who passed the portage of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, *ith a hnman hand hanging on his breii.st. He had taken it from a Yankee soldier at Tippecanoe. It was not difiicuil to stir up such a jjeuple to liostility, and, moreover, circumstaacSiBii favored the design of the Dakotafc. Ther* is, or was, a village of WiuneliagoeJ? o» the Black river, not far from tlie' Da- Minnesota Historical Society. ■ lii kota town of which Wabashnw is chief. The two trib«t) are deBcended from the same stock, as their languages abundantly prove, and the claims of common ori|;in have been strengthened by frequent intermarriages. Now, it happened that, at the time when Toopunkah Zeze was put to death at Fort Snelliiig, the Red Bird was absent Irom bis Winnebago village, on an expedition against the Chippewas. He returned uusuccess - ful, and consequently, sullen and malcontent . Till this time, he had been noted among his tribe for his friendly disposition towards the " men with hats," as Indians call the whites, and among the traders, for his scrupulous honesty. However, this man, from whom no white iwraon beyond the frontier would have anticijjated injury, was easily in- duced to commit a bloody and unprovoked outrage. Certain Dakota Ambassadors arrived at the Red Bird's village, with a lie iu their mouths. '* You have become a bye-word of reproach among us," said they. ' ' You have just given the Chippewas reason to laugh at you, and the Big Knives also laugh at you. Lo ! while they were among you, they dared not offend you, but now they have caused Wamandoosgarra-Ha and his companion to be put to death, and they have cut theii bod* ies into pieces not bigger than the spots in a bead garter." The tale was believed, and aery for vengeance arose throughout the village. It was decided that something must be done, and the Dakota envoys promised to lend a helping hand. A few days before, two keel boats had ascended the river, laden with provisions for the troops at Fort Snelling. They passed the mouth of Black river with a full sheet, so that a few Winnebagoes, who were there encamped, had some difficulty in reachin^^ them with their canoes. They might have taken both boats, for there were but three firelocks on board ; nevertheless, they offered no injury. They sold iish and venison to the boatmen, on amicable terms, and suffered them to pursue their journey unmolested. We mention this trifling circumstances, merely because it was aftcnrards reported in the St. Lous papers, that the crews of the boats had abused these Widnebagdes shame- fully, which assuredly was not the case. The wind died away before the boats r^ched the village of Wabashaw, which is situated on the West bank of the Mississippi, twelve or fifteen miles above the mouth of Black river. Here the Dakotas peremptorily com- manded them to put ashore, which they did. No reason was assigned for the order Upwards of five hundred warriors immediately crowded on board. A passenger who wa^ well acquainted with tho Dakotas, obseved that they brought no women with them, as was usual ; that they were painted black (which signifies either grief- or hostility ;) (hat they refused to shake hands with the boatmen, and that their speech was brief and sul. len. He instantly comndunicated his observations to Mr. Lindsay, who commanded the boats, and advised him to push ou, before the savages should have discovered that the party were wholly unarmed. Lindsay, a bold-hearted Eeutuckian, assumed the tone of command, and peremtorily ordered the Dakotas ashore. They, probably, thought that big words would be seconded with hard blows, and complied. The boats pushed on. Several Indians pursued them along the shore for several miles, with speech of taunt and defiance ; but they offered no farther molestation. The Dakota villages Iiigber up showed much ill-will, but no disposition, or rather no courage, to attack. Altogether, appearances were so threatening, tbat on ^is arrival at Fort Snelling, Mr. Lindsay communicated what he had seen to the commanding of- ficer, and asked that his crew should be furnished with arms and ammuiiitiqn. The request was granted ; his thirty-two men were provided with tHirty-twb muskets, and ^^i '. ^ -' '■ i I : ■% 134 Annals of the V a barrel of ball-cartridges. Thus scciirttd agaiust attatk, the 'lOatH (.'ommenct'd the de scent of the river. In the meanTt^ilc, the Red Bird had cogitated upon what lio had heard, every tittle of which he believed, and had come to the conclusion, that the honor of his race required (he blood of two Americans at least. He therefore got into Km canoe with Wekaw, or The Sun, and two others, and paddled to Prairie du Chien. When ho got there, he waited npon Mr. Boilevin in the most friendly manner, and begged to be regarded as one of the stnunchost friends of the Americans. The venera- ble agent admitied his claims, but absolutely refused to givo him any whisky. The Winnebago chief then applied to a trader in the town, who, relying on his general good character, did not hesitate to furnish him with an eight gallon kog of spirits, the value of which was to be paid in furs, in the succeeding nulnmn. There was an old colored woman in the village, whoso five sons iiad never heard that they were inferior beings, either from the Indians or the Canadian French. Therefore baying never considered themselves degraded, they were not degraded. On the con. trary, they ranked with the most respectable inhabitants of the place. We know them well. One of them was the village blacksmith ; the others were Riibstantial farmers. Their father was a Frenchman, and their name wn.s Gngnior. One of these men owned a farm throe miles from Prairio du Ohion, where he lived with his wife, (a white woman) two children, and a hired man named Liepcap. Thither the Red Bird repaired with hia throe companions, sure of a fair reception ; for Regis Gagnier had always been noted for his humanity to the poor, especially the Indians. Regis Gagnier invited his savage visiters to enter, hnwf the kettle over the fire, gave them to eat, and smoked the pipe of peace with them. The lied IJird was the last man on earth whom he would have feared ; for thoy were well acquainted with each other, and had reciprocated good offices. The Indians lemaiucd several hour.s under Gagnier's hospitable roof. At last, when tho farmer least expected it, the Winnebago chief levelled his gun and shot him down dead on hia own hearth -stone. Liepcap was slain at the same instant by Wekaw. Madam Gagnier turned to fly with her infant (of eighteen months). As she was about to leap through tho window, tho child was torn from her arms by Wekaw, stabbed, scalped, and thro;\ n violently on tho floor, as dead. The murderer then attacked tho woman; but gave way when she snatched up a gun that was leaning against tho wall, and presented it to his breast.^' She ihcu effect- ed her escape. Her eldest son, a lad of ten years, also shunned the murderers, and they both arrived in the village at about the same time. Tho alarm was soon given ; but when the avengers of blood arrived at poor Regis Gagnier's house, they fou7}d in it nothing living but his mangled infant. It was carried to tho village, an.!, strange as it may seem, recovered. The Red Bird and his companions immediately proceeded from the scene of their crime to the rendezvouz of their band. During their absence, thirty-seven of the war- riors, who acknowledged the authority of the Red Bird, had assembled, with their wives and children, near the mouth of Bad Axo river. They received the murderers with exceeding great joy, and loud approbation of their exploit. The keg of liquor was immediately set abroach, the ml men began to drink, and, as their spirits ro,se, to boast of what they had already done and intended to do. Two days did they continue to revel ; and on the third, the source of their excitement gave out. They were at about four in the afternoon, dissipating the last fumes of their excitement in the pealp dance, MiNNKsoTA Historical Societv. 135 wheu lliuy deburiccl uue of the keol-boats before meDtioned, appiuuchiug. ForthwiUi a proposal to take hci, and masacro tho crew, was mado aud carried by accIamatioD, They counted upon doiiijj this without risk ; for they had examined her on her v»»y up and supposed that there wore no arms on board. Mr, Lindsay's boats had descended tho river together aa fur us tho village of Waba, sliaw, where tlicy expected on attack. Tho Dakotas on shore were dancing the war dance, and hailed their approach with insults and menaces ; but did not nevertheless, offer to obstruct their passage. Tho whites now supposed the danger over, and a strong wind at that moment beginning to blow up stream, the boats parted' company. That which sat deepest in the water had tho advantage of tho under current, and, of course gained several mile." in advance of the other. So strong was tho wind, that all tho force of BWccps coulil .scarcely stcui it, and, by the time the foremost boat was near thc-oncampmcnt, at the mouth of tho Bad Axe, the crew were very willin;^' to stop and rest, One or two Frenchmen, or half-breeda, who wore on board, observed tho hostile appearances on shore, and advised the rest to keep the middle of the stream ; but their counsel was disregarded. Most of the crew were Americans, who, us is usual with our countrymen, combined a profound ignorance of Indian character with a thorough contempt for Indian prowess. They urged the boat directly toward the camp, with all the force of tho sweeps. There were sixteen men on dock. It may be well to observe here, that this, like all keel-boUs nsed in the Mississippi valley, was built almost exactly on tho model of the Kric and Middlesex canal boats. The men wcro rallying their French companious ou their apprehensions, and the boat was within thirty yards of the shore, when suddenly, tho trees and rocks rang with the blood- chilling, ear-piercing tones of the war-whoop, and a volley of rifle-balls rained upon the deck. Happily, the Winnobagoos had not yet recovered from the effects of their debauch, and their arms were not steady. One man only fell by their fire. He was a little negro, named Peter. His leg was dreadfully shattered, and he afterwards diedof the wound. The rest immediately made the best of their way below. Then Peter began to curse and to swear, d g his fellows for leaving him to be shot at like a Christmas turkey ; but finding that his reproaches had none effect, he also managed to drag himself below. All this passed in as little time as it will take to read this para- graph. Presently a voice hailed the boat in the Sac tongue, demanding to know if the crew were English. A half-breed Sac, named Beauchamp, answered in the affirmative. " Then," said the querist, " come on shore, and we will do you no harm, for we are your brethren, the Sacs." " Dog," replied Beauchamp, " no Sac would attack us thus cow- ardly. If you want us on shore, you must come and fetch us." With that, a second volley came from the shore; but as the men were now lying prone in the bottom of the boat, below the water line, they all escaped but one. One man, an American, named Stewart fell. He had risen to return the first fire, and the muzzle of his musket protruding through a loop hole, showed some Winnebago where to aim. The bullet struck him under the left arm, and passed directly through his heart. He fell dead, with his finger on the trigger of his undischarged gun. It was a hot day, and before the fight was over, the scent of the gun powder could not overpower the stench of the red puddle around him. ;;:■ -)• ^3 .'1 ■ t m Annals of thb The WlBDtbagOM •ucouraged bjr the nonreais^anoe, now tathtd to thoir cBnoe^ with intent to board. One venerably old man endeavored to dissuade them. He laid hold on one of the cano^, and would, perhaps, have succeeded in retaining it; but in the heat of his argument, a ball from the boat hit him on the middle finger of the peace-making hand. Verj naturally enraged at such unkind treatment from his friends, he loosed the ca^oe, harri^ to his wigwam for hif gun, and took an active part in the remainder of the action. In the mean while, the white men had recovered from their first panic, and seized their arms. The boarders were received with a very severe discharge. In one canoe two savagev ^ero killed with the same bullet. Their dying struggles upset the canoe, and the rest were obliged to swim on shore, where it was sometime before they could restore their arms to fighting order. Several more were wounded, and those who remained unhurt, put back, satisfiea that a storm wns not the best mode of attack. Two, however, persevered. They were together in one canoe, and approached the ))oat aatern, where there was no hole through which the whites could fire upon them. They soon leaped on board. One seized the long stearing our, or rudder. The other jumped upon deck, where he halteil, and discharged five muskets, which had been left there when the crew fled below, through the deck and bottom of the boat. In this manner he wounded one man very severely. After this exploit, he hurried to the bow, where he seized a long pole, and with the assistance of the steersman, succeeded in grounding the boat on a sand bar, and fixing her fast under the fire of his people. The two Winnebago boatmen then liegan to load and fire, to the no small annoyance of the crew. He at the stem, was soon despatched. One of the whites observed his position through a crack, and gave him a mortal wound through the boards. Still, he struggled to get overboard, probably to save his scalp. But his struggles were feeble, nnd h second bullet terminated them before he could effect liis object. After the figlit wns over, the man who slew him took his scalp. The bow of the boat was open, and the warrior there still kept his station, nut of sight, excepting when be stooped to fire, which he did five times. Ilis third shot broke the arm and passed through the lungs of the brave Beauchamp. At this sight one or two began to speak of surrender. " No, friends," cried the dying man, " You will not save your lives so. Fight to the last; for they will show no mercy. If they got the lietter of you, for God's sake throw me overboard. Do not let them get my hair." He continued to exhort them to resistance, as long an his hreatit lasted, and died with the words, " fight on," on his lips. Before the time, however, his slayer had also taken his leave of life. A sailor, named Jack Mandeville, shot him through the head, and he fell overboard, carrying his gun with him. From that moment Mandeville, assumed tlie conimuntl of the boat. A few had re- solved to take the skiff and leave the rest to their futo. They had already cast off the rope. Jack interposed, swearing that he would shoot the first maji and bayonet the second, who would persevere. They submitted. Two more had hidden them- selves in the bow of the boat, out of sight, but not out of danger. After a while, the old tar missed thctn, sought them, and compelled them by threats of instant death, en- forced by pricks of his bayonet, to leave their biding place, and take share in the business in hand. Afterwards they fought like bull-dogs. It wns well for them that Mandeville acted as he did ; for they had scarcely risen, when a score of bullets at least, passed through the place where they had been lying. Minnesota Historicat. Sociktv. 137 After the two or threo first volleya, tbo firo liwl Mnckcnod; bnt it wns not, thorcforc the les8 dangerous. The Iiiclmns hnd the adviintago of suiKsrior imm»>i;r», and could shift their postures at pleasure. The whites were compelled to lie in the 'wttoni of the boat, below the water-mark, for it<» sides were no bulwark. Every mlif^t passed through and through. It was only at intervals, and very warily, that they could rise to lire; for the flash of every gun showotl the jwaition of the marksman, and was instantly fol- lowed by the reports of two or throe Indian rifles. On the other hand, they were not seen, and being thiidy scattered OTer a largo boat, the Winncl)agors could but guess tlieir positions. The firo, was, therefore, slow; for none on either sid«, cared to waste ammunition. Thus, for upwards of throe hours, the boatmen lay in blood aud bilge water, deprived of the free use of their limlw, and wholly unable to CTtricnte themselves. At lost, as the night fell, Mandeville came to tbo conclusion that diirkness would render the guns of his own party wholly usclesis, while it would not render the aim of tbo Winnebagoes a jot less certain. He, therefore, as soon as it Wiw dark, stoutly called for assistance and sprang into the water. Pour more followed him. Tlie balls rained around them, passing through their clothes; but they persisted, and the lont wn soon afloat. Seeing their prey escaping, the Winnebagoes raised a yell of minglcii rage and despair, and gave the whites a farewell volley. It was returned, with three hearty cheers, and ere a gun could bo rc-loadod, the boat had floated out of shot. For half the night, a wailing voice, apparently that of an old man, was hoard, ffei- lowing tho boat, at a safe distance, however. It was conjectured that it \,'bs the father of hira whose body the boat was bearing away. Subsccpicnt inquiry proved this supposition to bo correct. .^ ".'.',', • • - Thirty-seven Indians were engaged in this battle, seven of whom were killed, and fonrteen were wounded. They managed to put six hundred and ninety-three balls into and through the boat. Two of the crew wore killed outright, two mortally, and two slightly wounded. Jack Mandevillo's courage and presence of mind, undoubtedly, saved the rest, as well as the boat ; but wc have never heard that he was rewarded In any way or shape. Mr. Lindsay's boat reached the mouth of tho Bad Axe about midnight. The In- dians opened a fire upon her, which was promptly returned. There was a light on board, at which the first gun was probably aimed, for that ball only hit the boat. All tho rest passed over harmless in the darkness. Great was the alarm at Prarie du Chien when the boats arrived there. The people left their houses and farms, and crowded into the dilapidated, Fort. Nevertheless, they showed much spirit, itnd speedily established a very effective discipline. An express was immediately sent to Galena, and another to Fort Snelling, for assistance. A com- pany of upwards of a hundred volunteers soon arrived from Galena, and the minds of the inhabitants were quieted. In a few days four imperfect companies of the fifth infantry arrived from Fort Snell- ing. The commanding oflicer ordered a march on the Red Bird's village; but as tho volunteers refused to obey, and determined to return home, he was obliged to counter- mand it. The consternation of the jieople of the lead mines was gi'oat. Full half of them fled from the country. Shortly after, however, when General Atkinson arrived with a full reginaeat, a considerable body of volunteers joined him fiom Galena, and accompanied 1 ill; 138 Annuls Hist. Society. hiin to th« [lortage of Wisconsin, to light witli or receive the aubmisBion of the Winnc bagoM. The Red Bird thoro sppoRrod, iu nil tho parapherualiti of uii Indian chief and warrior ftad sarre«der«d himself to jnstico, iogetlior with liia companions in tho murder of Gag nier, and one of liia band, who had taken an active part in the attack on tho boats' Tbej wore incarcerated at Prairie du Chicn. A dioadful epidemic broke out there about this Um«, and ho died in priwn. lie knew that his deatli was certaini and did not shrink fVom it. ,-.■ „'.«^..;^t..^.,-::i] .■•.-.-.:;.;. <5 v,i*;o-' f,.,'- .if^v !■ the eourse of a jrear, the people of tho lead mines iucrcnscJ in number and in ttrenf th, and encroached upon tho Winnebago lands. Tlie Winnobugocs complained in vaip. Next spring, the murderers of Mcthodo, and the other Indian prisoners, were triedf convicted and sentrnced to death. A deputation of the tribe went to Washing- ton to solicit their pardon. President Adams granted it, pa the implied eonditioa that the tribe would cede the lauds, theu in possession of the minbi's. The Winnebagoes have kept their word — the land has been ceded, and Mudauie Gaguier has been com- pensated for the loss of her husband, and the mutilation of her infant. Wo believe that she received, after waiting for justice two years, the magnificent sum of two thousand dddara-. We will close this true account of Life beyond tho Frontier, with an anecdote which places the Winnebago character iu a more amiable light than any thing already related. The militia of Prairie du Ohien immediately after the affuir of the boats, seized the old ohief Descorrie; the same -who has already been mentioned. He was told that if the Red Bird should not be given up within a certain time, he was to die in his stead. This he steadfastly believed. Finding that confinement injured his health, he requested to be permitted to range the country on his parole. The demand was granted. He was bidden to go whither he pleased during the day, but at sunset he was required to return to tho Fort on pa'n of being considered an old woman. He observed the condition re- ligiously. At the first tap of the retreat, Descorrie was sure to present ^imself at the gate, and this he continued to do, till General Atkinson set him at liberty. : ., ■ ^ ., . U7".r ■iiUA'^ Non. — ^The materiala illustrative of the history of Minacaota, hive proved more numerotis thad WiA SQtioipated. With tlie chapter on Port Snelling It in necessary to conclude tho document. At a future day the history of Minnesota flrom ila occupancy by thn Military in 1819, until the oPCanicmtlon of the Territory in 1840, may be published. Mem. — Owing to the haste in which it was necesfnry to issu^ a portion of the Annals, the rea- der wOl detect some ^pographlcal errors. The onlv one of material importance ia in Gov, Ram- My's aidreai, where Carrn i* said to have been in Minnesota, In 17T0 instead of 1766. ••"•I ' , f .'ii' ,1. !.: Mil •/'li''] INDEX. 1 !-••-;'-■ • ..:.':( (Eiii iili An-petu-sap8-win, - . f American Trade with Incliaus, gO B. Beltrami, Italian Tourist * i' * . 114 Carver, Capt. Jonathan . 49 Carver's description of the Falls of St. Anthony, : . . . gg " Speech at Dayton's Bluff, 54 " • Deed and Claim Examined ----.- 87, 69 Cameron, Indian Trader . . . . , ■ - - - (J8 Charleville, Early Traveler 5 Census of Indian Tribes in 1 702. D. Dakotas, Early Residence of - - f, 11 " " Notices of 11,99 " Name among the Jesuits and Traders It " Marquetto's Description 91 Dickson, Indian Trader - - - - 100 Du Luth, Early Explorer ...-.-.-. 38 B. Earliest Census of Tribes, 4< Expedition of Pike - - - - 04 90 Ecclesiastical Reminiscences, J- 119 Earliest Explorer of Minnesota River, SI P. Faribault, ^8 Falls of St, Anthony, » " Hennepin's Dcsoriptiou * « Charlcville'fi " ^ ♦« Carver's " • « First White Man ut • • - 111 FirstMen in Minnesota, • Fort Snelling, JJJ t« " Name Given **• \4 ']V f1 140 Index. Gratiot, Indiau Trader -' 61 Gooding, Wife of Capt. Ill HaHaFalls, 1 . .' - 4 Hiawatha, - 4 Hogaa, Wanke River i Hennepin, Sketch of - , 22 -'• ' '' " I. Iberville'B Manuscript, - - - - 42 '« Notice of Sioux, 44 " Census of Tribes, - ---.--. 44 . f»i .. .:' ; • :l, -' i ■ J. Joarnal of Le Sueur, ; .',. . . ■ 33,40 L. '•■;r;;' '■'.'■ Legend of St. Croix River, ' . . "■ ' 4 « Falls of St. Anthony, 7 LaPointe, ^ ^>,M-?r i-.b'u.r^ -..^u^ Le Sueur, Sketch of 32 Long, Major 110 Le Sueur's Liat of Sioux Bands, - 40 M. ;,.:: Minnesota, ite Signification - - . - . . >, 3 . " River, Resolve of Congress 4 " " Its First Exploration 36 Mimiella-Ha, - - 4 Menard, Letter of Father - , - - • 20 Morrison, Indian Trader, 103 .r; N. Nicolet, Early Tourist, 18 O. One-Eyed Sioux, - - - - - - - - - 102 Ogdcn, Sketch of Major 119 n . . - . ^ Poem by Rev. S. W. Pond, 1 Perrot, 31 Prairie Du Chieu, Military Occupancy lOO Presbyterian Missions, 108, 109 " Church, Fort Snelling 119 Pond,Rev. 0. II - • - ■ • . - • r ■ - 119 Index, ' 141 R. ■'! Banuey's Gov. Address ^2 BennUe, Indira Trader IO4 Beminiscenoes of Mrs. Snelling, 113,118 Red River Fonuly Mardered, llj^ • S. Saint Pierre River, 4 '• , " Ite Exploration as Saint Croix River, • - - . . 4 Saint Anthony's FaU% •-..-..■. 5 Sioux, Origin of word • . - . - • - - . 18 Sionx, Their Early Residence - • - 9, 11 Saady Lake Fort - . es Snelling, Col. on Indian Trade 99 T. Traders^ Early - - - - • «1 " Gratiot ^\ '^ Kay - - - ■ 62 *' Pennensha - - 49 '* Goddard - - 48 " Cameron 03 ♦' Renville - - - - - - . 104 ^* Morrison ....... 103 " Dickson -------.. 100 Treaty of Pike, .......... 75 Tamahaw. ----.•••... 102 ... W. Williamson, Rev. T. B. . • . .9,108 i H Hi. i 1. :