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 HISTORY 
 
 -OF THE- 
 
 mw-i\ . 
 
 Ptl 
 
 INDIANS OP MICHIGAN, 
 
 AND GRAMMAR OF THEIR LANGUAGE 
 
 BY A. d. BLACKBIRD, 
 
 (Mack-e-te-be-nessy, son of the Ottawa Chief, Mack-a-de-pe-nessy). 
 
HISTORY 
 
 Ottawa and Ghippewa Indians 
 
 OF MICHIGAN 
 
 A GRAMMAK OF THEIR LANGUAGE, • 
 AND PERSONAL AND FAMILY HISTORY OF THE AUTHOR, 
 
 By ANDREW J. BLACKBIRD, 
 
 Late U. S. Interpreter, Harbor Springs, Emmet Co., Mich. 
 
 >:'2^">i/■$^.^■■• 
 
 / 
 
 YPSILANTI, MICH.: 
 
 THE YPSILANTIAN JOB PRINTING HOUSIC 
 
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1887, 
 
 By Andrew J. Blackbird, 
 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 Fas 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Andrew J. Blackbird, the author of this little book, is an 
 educated Indian, son of the Ottawa Chief. His Indian name is 
 Mack-aw-de-be-nessy (Black Hawk), but he generally goes by the 
 name of "Blackbird," taken from the interpretation of the French 
 *'L'Oiseau noir." Mr. Blackbird's wife is an educated and intel- 
 telligent white woman of English descent, and they have four 
 children. He is a friend of the white people, as well as of his 
 own people. Brought up as an Indian, with no opportunity for 
 learning during his boyhood, when he came to think for himself, 
 he started out blindly for an education, without any means but 
 his brains and his hands. 
 
 He was loyal to the Government during the rebellion in the 
 United States, for which cause he met much opposition by de- 
 signing white people, who had full sway among the Indians, and 
 who tried to mislead them and cause them to be disloyal ; and 
 he broke up one or two rebellious councils amongst his people 
 during the progress of the rebellion. 
 
 "When Hon. D. C. Leach, of Traverse City, Mich,, was Indian 
 Agent, Mr. Blackbird was appointed United States Interpreter and 
 continued in this office with other subsequent Agents of the De- 
 partment for many years. Before he was fairly out of this office, 
 he was appointed postmaster of Little Traverse, now Harbor 
 Springs, Mich., and faithfully discharged his duties as such for 
 over eleven years with but very little salary. 
 
 He has also for several years looked after the soldiers' claims 
 for widows and orphans, 1 oth for the whites as well as for his 
 own people, in many instances without the least compensation, 
 not even his stamps and paper paid. He is now decrepit with 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 old age and failing health, and unable to perform hard manual 
 labor. 
 
 We therefore recommend this work of Mr. A. J. Blackbird as 
 interesting and reliable. 
 
 James L. Morrice, 
 
 Treasurer of Emmet County. 
 
 C. F. Newkirk, 
 
 Principal Harbor Springs Public Schools. 
 
 Charles R. Wright, 
 
 Ex-President Harbor Springs. 
 
 Charles W. Ingalls, 
 
 Notary Public for Emmet Co. 
 
 Albert L. Hathaway, 
 
 County Clerk, Emmet County. 
 
 Wm. H. Lee, 
 
 Probate Clerk and Abstractor of Titles. 
 
 Arch. D. Metz, 
 
 Deputy Register of Deeds. 
 
 Willard p. Gibson, 
 
 Pastor Presbyterian Church. 
 
 William H. Miller, U. S. A. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I deem it not improper to present the history of the last race 
 of Indians now existing in the State of Michigan, called the Ot- 
 tawa and Chippewa Nations of Indians. 
 
 There were many other tribes of Indians in this region prior 
 to the occupancy of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of this 
 State, who have long ago gone out of existence. Not a page of 
 their history is on record ; hut only an allusion to them in our 
 traditions. 
 
 I have herewith recorded the earliest history of the Ottawa 
 tribe of Indians in particular, according to their traditions. I 
 have related where they formerly lived, the names of their lead- 
 ers, and what tribes they contended with before and after they 
 came to Michigan, and how they came to be the inhabitants of 
 this State. Also the earliest history of the Island of Mackinac, 
 and why it is called " Michilimackinac " — which name has never 
 been correctly translated by white historians, but which is here 
 given according to our knowledge of this matter long before we 
 came in contact with white races. 
 
 I have also recorded some of the most important legends, which 
 resemble the Bible history; particularly the legends with regard 
 to the great flood, which has been in our language for many 
 centuries, and the legend of the great fish which swallowed the 
 prophet Ne-naw-bo-zhoo, who came out again alive, which might 
 be considered as corresponding to the story of Jonah in the Sacred 
 History. 
 
 Beside my own personal and our family history, I have also, 
 quite extensively, translated our language into English and added 
 many other items which might be interesting to all who may 
 wish to inquire into our history and language. 
 
 Andrew J. Blackbird. 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 
 
 The Ypsilanti Auxiliary of the Women's National Indian As- 
 sociation, by whose efforts this book is published, take this op- 
 portunity to express earnest thanks to those who have aided in 
 this work. 
 
 Most generous donations of money from friends of Indians 
 and equally valuable liberality from publishers and papermakers 
 have made possible the preservation of this most rare and im- 
 portant history. 
 
 This is the only instance where a native Indian has recorded 
 the story of his people and given a grammar of their language ; 
 thus producing a work whose immense value, as an account of a 
 race and a language already passing into oblivion, will become 
 even more inestimable with the lapse of time. 
 
 Ypsilanti, Mich., Oct., 1887. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 History of the Ottawas of Michigan — Preliminary Remarks in Regard 
 to Other Histories, Concerning tlie Massacre of the Old British 
 Fort on the Strait* of Mackinac — British Promise to the Ottawaa — 
 Ravages of Small Pox — First Recollection of the Country of Ar- 
 bor-Croche and Its Definition — Uprightness and Former Charac- 
 ter of the Indians. 
 
 I have seen a number of writings by different men who at- 
 tempted to give an account of the Indians who formerly occupied 
 the Straits of Mackinac and Mackinac Island, (that historic little 
 island which stands at the entrance of the strait,) also giving an 
 account of the Indians who lived and are yet living in Michigan, 
 scattered through the counties of Emmet, Cheboygan, Charlevoix, 
 Antrim, Grand Traverse, and in the region of Thunder Bay, on 
 the west shore of Lake Huron. But I see no very correct account 
 of the Ottawa and Chippewa tribes of Indians, according to our 
 knowledge of ourselves, past and present. Many points are far 
 from being credible. They are either misstated by persons who 
 were not versed in the traditions of these Indians, or exaggerated. 
 An instance of this is found in the history of the life of Pontiac 
 (pronounced Bwon-diac), tlie Odjebwe (or Chippewa) chief of St. 
 Clair, the instigator of the massacre of the old fort on the Straits 
 of Mackinac, written by a noted historian. In his account of 
 the massacre, he says there was at this time no known surviving 
 Ottawa Chief living on the south side of the Straits. This point 
 of the history is incorrect, as there were several Ottawa chiefs 
 living on the south side of the Straits at this particular time, who 
 took no part in this massacre, but took by force the few survivors 
 of this great, disastrous catastrophe, and protected them for a 
 while and afterwards took them to Montreal, presenting them to 
 the British Government; at the same time praying that their bro- 
 
8 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 ther Odjebwes should not be retaliated upon on account of their 
 rash act against the British people, but that they might be par- 
 doned, as this terrible tragedy was committed through mistake, 
 and through the evil counsel of one of their leaders by the name 
 of Bwondiac (known in history as Pontiac). They told the Brit- 
 ish Government that their brother Odjebwes were few in number, 
 while the British were in great numbers and daily increasing 
 from an unknown part of the world across the ocean. They said, 
 " Oh, my father, you are like the trees of the forest, and if one of 
 the forest trees should be wounded with a hatchet, in a few years 
 its wound will be entirely healed. Now, my father, compare 
 with this: this is what my br4ither Odjebwe did to some of your 
 children on the Straits of Mackinac, whose survivors we now 
 bring back and present to your arms. O my father, have mercy 
 upon my brothers and pardon them ; for with your long arms and 
 many, but a few strokes of retaliation would cause our brother to 
 be entirely annihilated from the face of the earth! " 
 
 According to our understanding in our traditions, that was the 
 time the British Government made such extraordinary promises 
 to the Ottawa tribe of Indians, at the same time thanking them 
 for their humane action upon those British remnants of the mas- 
 sacre. She promised them that her long arms will perpetually 
 extend around them from generation to generation, or so long as 
 there should be rolling sun. They should receive gifts from her 
 sovereign in shape of goods, provisions, firearms, ammunition, 
 and intoxicating liquors ! Her sovereign's beneficent arm should 
 be even extended unto the dogs belonging to the Ottawa tribe of 
 Indians. And what place soever she should meet them, she would 
 freely unfasten the faucet which contains her living water — whis- 
 ky, which she will also cause to run perpetually and freely unto 
 the Ottawas as the fountain of perpetual spring! And further- 
 more : she said, " I am as many as the stars in the heavens ; and 
 when you get up in the morning, look to the east; you will see 
 that the sun, as it will peep through the earth, will be as red as 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 9 
 
 my coat, to remind you why I am likened unto the sun, and my 
 promises will be as perpetual as the rolling sun ! " 
 
 Ego-me-nay — Corn-hanger— was the head counselor and speak- 
 er of the Ottawa tribe of Indians at that time, and, according to 
 our knowledge, Ego-me-nay was the leading one who went with 
 those survivors of the massacre, and he was the man whio made 
 the speech before the august assembly in the British council hall 
 at Montreal at that time. Ne-saw-key — Down-the-hill — the head 
 chief of the Ottawa Nation, did not go with the party, but sent 
 his message, and instructed their counselor in what manner he 
 should appear before the British Government. My father was a 
 little boy at that time, and my grandfather and my great-grand- 
 father were both living then, and both held the first royal rank 
 among the Ottawas. My grandfather was then a sub-chief and 
 my great-grandfather was a war chief, whose name was Pun-go- 
 wish. And several other chiefs of the tribe I could mention who 
 existed at that time, but this is ample evidence that the historian 
 was mistaken in asserting that there was no known Ottawa chief 
 existing at the time of the massacre. 
 
 However it was a notable fact that by this time the Ottawas 
 were greatly reduced in numbers from what they were in former 
 times, on account of the small-pox which they brought from 
 Montreal during the French war with Great Britain. This small 
 pox w^as sold to them shut up in a tin box, with the strict injunc- 
 tion not to open the box on their way homeward, but only when 
 they should reach their country; and that this box contained 
 something that would do them great good, and their people ! The 
 foolish people believed really there was something in the box su- 
 pernatural, that would do them great good. Accordingly, after 
 they reached home they opened the box ; but behold there was 
 another tin box inside, smaller. They took it out and opened the 
 second box, and behold, still there was another box inside of the 
 second box, smaller yet. So they kept on this way till they came 
 to a very small box, which was not more than an inch long ; and 
 
10 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 when they opened the last one they found nothing but mouldy 
 particles in this last little box ! They wondered very much what 
 it was, and a great many closely inspected to try to find out what 
 it meant. But alas, alas ! pretty soon burst out a terrible sickness 
 among them. The great Indian doctors themselves were taken 
 sick and died. The tradition says it was indeed awful and terri- 
 ble. Every one taken with it was sure to die. Lodge after lodge 
 was totally vacated— nothing but the dead bodies lying here and 
 there in their lodges-entire families being swept off with the 
 ravages of this terrible disease. The whole coast of Arbor Croche, 
 or Waw-gaw-naw-ke-zee, where their principal village was situ- 
 ated, on the west shore of the peninsula near the Straits, which 
 is said to have been a continuous village some fifteen or sixteen 
 miles long and extending from what is now called Cross Village 
 to Seven-Mile Point (that is, seven miles from Little Traverse, 
 now Harbor Springs), was entirely depopulated and laid waste. 
 It is generally believed among the Indians of Arbor Croche that 
 this wholesale murder of the Ottawas by this terrible disease sent 
 by the British people, was actuated through hatred, and expressly 
 to kill off the Ottawas and Chippewas because they were friends 
 of the French Government or French King, whom they called 
 " Their Great Father." The reason that to-day we see no full- 
 grown trees standing along the coast of Arbor Croche, a mile or 
 more in width along the shore, is because the trees were entirely 
 cleared away for this famous long village, which existed before 
 the small-pox raged among the Ottawas. 
 
 In my first recollection of the country of Arbor Croche,* which 
 
 * The word Arbor Croche is derived from two French words: Arbre, a 
 tree ; and Croche, something very crooked or hook-like. The tradition says 
 when the Ottawas first came to that part of the country a great pine tree stood 
 very near the shore where Middle Village now is, whose top was very crooked, 
 almost hook-like. Therefore the Ottawas called the place "Wau-gaw-naw- 
 ke-zee" — meaning the crooked top of the tree. But by and by the whole coast 
 from Little Traverse to Tehin-gaw-beng, now Cross Village, became denom- 
 inated as Wau-gaw-naw-ke-zee. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 11 
 
 is sixty years ago, tliere was nothing but small shrubbery Tiers 
 and there in small patches, such as wild cherry trees, but the 
 most of it was grassy plain; and such an abundance of wild 
 strawberries, raspberries and blackberries that they fairly per- 
 fumed the air of the whole coast with fragrant scent of ripe fruit. 
 Tlie wild pigeons and every variety of feathered songsters filled 
 all the groves, warbling their songs joyfully and feasting upon 
 these wild fruits of nature ; and in these waters the fishes were 
 so plentiful that as you lift up the anchor-stone of your net in the 
 morning, your net would be so loaded with delicious whitefish as 
 to fairly float with all its weight of the sinkers. As you look 
 towards the course of your net, you see the fins of the fishes 
 sticking out of the water in every way. Then I never knew my 
 people to want for anything to eat or to w^ear, as we always had 
 plenty of wild meat and plenty of fish, corn, vegetables, and wild 
 fruits. I thought (and yet I may be mistaken) that my people 
 were very happy in those days, at least I v^as as happy mys'elf as 
 a lark, or as the brown thrush that sat daily on the uppermost 
 branches of the stubby growth of a bass wood tree which stood 
 near by upon the hill where we often played under its shade, 
 lodging our little arrows among the thick branches of the tree 
 and then shooting them down again for sport. 
 
 Early in the morning as the sun peeped from the east, as I 
 would yet be lying close to my mother's bosom, this brown thrush 
 would begin his warbling songs perched upon the uppermost 
 branches of the basswood tree that stood close to our lodge. 
 I would then say to myself, as I listened to him, "here comes 
 again my little orator," and I used to try to understand what he 
 had to say ; and sometimes thought I understood some of its ut- 
 terances as follows : •' Good morning, good morning ! arise, arise ! 
 shoot, shoot! come along, come along!" etc., every word repeat- 
 ed twice. Even then, and so young as 1 was, I used to think that 
 little bird had a language which God or the Great Spirit had 
 given him, and every bird of the forest understood what he had 
 
13 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 to say, and that he was appointed to preach to other birds, to tell 
 them to be happy, to be thankful for the blessings they enjoy 
 among the summer green branches of the forest, and the plenty 
 of wild fruits to eat. The larger boys used to amuse themselves 
 by playing a ball called Paw-kaw-do-way, foot-racing, wrestling, 
 bow-arrow shooting, and trying to beat one another shooting 
 the greatest number of chipmunks and squirrels in a day, etc. 
 
 I never heard any boy or any grown person utter any bad 
 language, even if they were out of patience with anything. 
 Swearing or profanity was never heard among the Ottawa and 
 Chippewa tribes of Indians, and not even found in their language. 
 Scarcely any drunkenness, only once in a great while the old 
 folks used to have a kind of short spree, particularly when there 
 was any special occasion of a great feast going on. But all the 
 young folks did not drink intoxicating liquors as a beverage in 
 those days. And we always rested in perfect safety at night in 
 our dwellings, and the doorways of our lodges had no fastenings 
 to them, but simply a frail mat or a blanket was hung over our 
 doorways which might be easily pushed or thrown one side with- 
 out any noise if theft or any other mischief was intended. But 
 we were not afraid for any such thing to happen us, because we 
 knew that every child of the forest was observing and living 
 under the precepts wiiich their forefathers taught them, and the 
 children were taught almost daily by their parents from infancy 
 unto manhood and womanhood, or until they were separated from 
 their families. 
 
 These precepts or moral commandments by which the Ottawa 
 and Chippewa nations of Indians were governed in their primi- 
 tive state, were almost the same as the ten commandments wliich 
 the God Almighty himself delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai 
 on tables of stone. Very few of these divine precepts are not 
 found among the precepts of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, 
 except with regard to the Sabbath day to keep it holy ; almost 
 every other commandment can be found, only there are more, 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 13 
 
 as there were about twenty of these "uncivilized" precepts. 
 They also believed, in their primitive state, that the eye of this 
 Great Being is the sun by day, and by night the moon and stars, 
 and, therefore, that God or the Great Spirit sees all things every- 
 where, night and day, and it would be impossible to hide our ac- 
 tions, either good or bad, from the eye of this Great Being. Even 
 the very threshold or crevice of your wigwam will be a witness 
 against you, if you should commit any criminal action when no 
 human eye could observe your criminal doings, but surely your 
 criminal actions will be revealed in some future time to your 
 disgrace and shame. These were continual inculcations to the 
 children by their parents, and in every feast and council, by the 
 " Instructors of the Precepts" to the people or to the audience 
 of the council. For these reasons the Ottawas and Chippewas 
 in their primitive state were strictly honest and upright in their 
 dealings with their fellow-beings. Their word of promise was 
 as good as a promissory note, even better, as these notes some- 
 times are neglected and not performed according to their prom- 
 ises; but the Indian promise was very sure and punctual, al- 
 though, as they had no timepieces, they measured their time by 
 the sun. If an Indian promised to execute a certain obligation at 
 such time, at so many days, and at such height of the sun, when that 
 time comes he would be there punctually to fulfill this obligation. 
 This was formerly the character of the Ottawa and Chippewa 
 Indians of Michigan. But now, our living is altogether different, 
 as we are continually suffering under great anxiety and perplex- 
 ity, and continually being robbed and cheated in various ways. 
 Our houses have been forcibly entered for thieving purposes and 
 murder ; people have been knocked down and robbed ; great safes 
 have been blown open with powder in our little town and their 
 contents carried away, and even children of the Caucasian race 
 are heard cursing and blaspheming the name of their Great Cre- 
 ator, upon whose pleasure we depended for our existence. 
 According to my recollection of the mode of living in our 
 
14 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 village, so soon as darkness came in tlie evening, the young boys 
 and girls were not allowed to be out of their lodges. Every one 
 of them must be called in to his own lodge for the rest of the 
 night. And this rule of the Indians in their wild state was im- 
 plicitly observed. 
 
 Ottawa and Chippewa Indians were not what we would call 
 entirely infidels and idolaters ; for they believed that there is a 
 Supreme Kuler of the Universe, the Creator of all things, the 
 Great Spirit, to which they offer worship and sacrifices in a cer- 
 tain form. It was customary among them, every spring of the 
 year, to gather all the cast off garments that had been worn during 
 the winter and rear them up on a long pole while they were hav- 
 ing festivals and jubilees to the Great Spirit. The object of 
 doing this was that the Great Spirit might look down from heaven 
 and have compassion on his red children. Only this, that they 
 foolishl}^ believe that there are certain deities all over the lands 
 who to a certain extent govern or preside over certain places, as 
 a deity who presides over this river, over this lake, or this moun- 
 tain, or island, or country, and they were careful not to express 
 anything which might displease such deities ; but that they were 
 not supreme rulers, only to a certain extent they had power over 
 the land where they presided. These deities were supposed to 
 be governed by the Great Spirit above. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Cases of Murders Among the Ottawas and Chippewas Exceedingly 
 Scarce— Ceding tlie Grand Traverse Kegion to the Chippewas on 
 Account of Murder — Immorality Among the Ottawas not Com- 
 mon — Marriage in Former Times. 
 The murders in cold blood among the Ottawa and Chippewa 
 nations of Indians in their primitive state were exceedingly few, 
 at least there was only one account in our old tradition where a 
 murder had been committed, a young Ottawa having stabbed a 
 young Chippewa while in dispute over their nets when they were 
 fishing for herrings on the Straits of Mackinac. This nearly 
 caused a terrible bloody war between the two powerful tribes of 
 Indians (as they were numerous then) so closely related. The 
 tradition says they had council after council upon this subject, 
 and many speeches were delivered on both sides. The Chip- 
 pewas proposed war to settle the question of murder, while the 
 Ottawas proposed compromise and restitution for the murder. 
 Finally the Ottawas succeeded in settling the difficulty by ceding 
 part of their country to the Chippewa nation, which is now 
 known and distinguished as the Grand Traverse Region. A strip 
 of land which I believe to have extended from a point near 
 Sleeping Bear, down to the eastern shore of the Grand Trav- 
 erse Bay, some thirty or forty miles wide, thence between two 
 parallel lines running southeasterly until they strike the head 
 waters of Muskegon River, which empties into Lake Michigan 
 not very far below Grand Haven. They were also allowed access 
 to all the rivers and streams in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, 
 to trap the beavers, minks, otters and muskrats. The Indians 
 used their furs in former times for garments and blankets. This 
 is the reason that to this day the Odjebwes (Chippewas) are found 
 in that section of the country. 
 
16 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 It may be said, this is not true; it is a mistake. We have 
 known several cases of murders among the Ottawas and Ohippe- 
 was. I admit it to be true, that there have been cases of murders 
 among the Ottawas and Chippewas since the white people knew 
 them. But these cases of murders occurred some time after they 
 came in contact with the white races in their country ; but I am 
 speaking now of the primitive condition of Indians, particularly 
 of the Ottawas and Chippewas, and I believe most of those cases 
 of murders were brought on through the bad influence of white 
 men, by introducing into the tribes this great destroyer of man- 
 kind, soul and body, intoxicating liquors! Yet, during sixty 
 years of my existence among the Ottawas and Chippewas, I have 
 never witnessed one case of murder of this kind, but I heard 
 there were a few cases in other parts of the country, when in 
 their fury from the influence of intoxicating liquors. 
 
 There was one case of sober murder happened about fifty years 
 ago at Arbor Croche, where one young man disposed of his lover 
 by killing, which no Indian ever knew the actual cause of. He 
 was arrested and committed to the Council and tried according to 
 the Indian style ; and after a long council, or trial, it was deter- 
 mined the murderer should be banished from the tribe. There- 
 fore, he was banished. Also, about this time, one case of sober 
 murder transpired among the Chippewas of Sault Ste. Marie, 
 committed by one of the young Chippewas whose name was Wau- 
 bau-ne-me-kee (White-thunder), who might have been released if 
 he had been properly tried and impartial judgment exercised 
 over the case, but we believe it was not. This Indian killed a 
 white man, when he was perfectly sober, by stabbing. He was 
 arrested, of course, and tried and sentenced to be hung at the 
 Island of Mackinac. I distinctly remember the time. This poor 
 Indian was very happy when he was about to be hung on the 
 gallows. He told the people that he was very happy to die, 
 for he felt that he was innocent. He did not deny killing 
 the man, but he thought he was justifiable in the sight of the 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 17 
 
 Great Spirit, as such wicked monsters ought to be killed from off 
 the earth ; as this white man came to the Indian's wigwam in the 
 dead of night, and dragged the mother of his children from his 
 very bosom for licentious purpose. He remonstrated, but his re- 
 monstrances were not heeded, as this ruffian was encouraged by 
 others who stood around his wigwam, and ready to fall upon 
 this poor Indian and help their fellow-ruffian ; and he therefore 
 stabbed the principal party, in defence of his beloved wife, for 
 which cause the white man died. If an Indian should go to the 
 white man's house and commit that crime, he would be killed ; 
 and what man is there who would say that is too bad, this In- 
 dian to be killed in that manner ? But every man will say amen, 
 only he ought to have been tortured before he was killed ; and 
 let the man who killed this bad and wicked Indian be rewarded ! 
 This is what would be the result if the Indian would have done 
 the same thing as this white man did. 
 
 The Ottawas and Chippewas were quite virtuous in their prim- 
 itive state, as there were no illegitimate children reported in our 
 old traditions. But very lately this evil came to exif-t among 
 the Ottawas — so lately that the second case among the Ottawas 
 of Arbor Croche is yet living. And from that time this evil 
 came to be quite frequent, for immorality has been introduced 
 among these people by evil white persons who bring their vices 
 into the tribes. 
 
 In the former times or before the Indians were christianized, 
 when a young man came to be a fit age to get married, he did 
 not trouble himself about w^hat girl he should have for his wife ; 
 but the parents of the young man did this part of the business. 
 When the parents thought best that their son should be separated 
 from their family by marriage, it was their business to decide 
 what woman their son should have as his wife; and after se- 
 lecting some particular girl among their neigbors, they would 
 irake up quite large package of presents and then go to the pa- 
 rents of the girl and demand the daughter for their son's wife, 
 
18 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 at the same time delivering the presents to the parents of the girl. 
 If the old folks say yes, then they would fetch the girl right along 
 to their son and tell him, We have brought this girl as your wife 
 so long as you live ; now take her, cherish her, and be kind to 
 her so long as you live. The young man and girl did not dare to 
 say aught against it, as it was the law and custom amongst their 
 people, but all they had to do was to take each other as man and 
 wife. This was all the rules and ceremony of getting married 
 in former times among the Ottawas and Chippewas of Michigan : 
 they must not marry their cousins nor second cousins. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Earliest Possible Known History of Mackinac Island — Its Historical 
 Definition — Who Resided at the Island — Massacre at the Island 
 by Senecas — Where the Ottawas were Living at That Time — 
 Only Two Escape the Massacre — What Became of Them — The 
 Legends of the Two Who Escaped — Occupants of the Island After- 
 wards — Who Killed Warrior Tecumseh ? 
 
 Again, most every historian, or annalist so-called, who writes 
 about the Island of Mackinac and the Straits and vicinity, tells 
 us that the definition or the meaning of the word " Michilimack- 
 inac" in the Ottawa and Chippewa language, is "large turtle," 
 derived from the word Mi-she-mi-ki-nock in the Chippewa lan- 
 guage. That is, " Mi-she " as one of the adnominals or adjectives 
 in the Ottawa and Chippewa languages, which would signify 
 tremendous in size ; and " Mikinock " is the name of mud turtle 
 — meaning, therefore, "monstrous large turtle," as the historians 
 would have it. But we consider this to be a clear error. Where- 
 ever those annalists, or those who write about the Island of 
 Mackinac, obtain their information as to the definition of the 
 word Michilimackinac, I don't know, when our tradition is so 
 direct and so clear with regard to the historical definition of that 
 word, and is far from being derived from the word " Michimiki- 
 nock," as the historians have told us. Our tradition says that 
 when the Island was first discovered by the Ottawas, which was 
 some time before America was known as an existing country by 
 the white man, there was a small independent tribe, a remnant 
 race of Indians who occupied this island, who became confeder- 
 ated wuth the Ottawas when the Ottawas were living at Mani- 
 toulin, formerly called Ottawa Island, which is situated north of 
 Lake Huron. The Ottawas thought a good deal of this unfortu- 
 nate race of people, as they were kind of interesting sort of peo- 
 
20 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 pie ; but, unfortunately, they had most powerful enemies, who 
 every now and then would come among them to make war with 
 them. Their enemies were of the Iroquois of New York. There- 
 fore, once in the dead of the winter while the Ottawas were 
 having a great jubilee and war dances at their island, now Mani- 
 toulin, on account of the great conquest over the We-ne-be-goes 
 of Wisconsin, of which I will speak more fully in subsequent 
 chapters, during which time the Senecas of New York, of the 
 Iroquois family of Indians, came upon the remnant race and 
 fought them, and almost entirely annihilated them. But two es- 
 caped to tell the stor)- , who effected their escape by flight and by 
 hiding in one of the natural caves at the island, and therefore 
 that was the end of this race. And according to our understand- 
 ing and traditions the tribal name of those disastrous people was 
 " Mi-shi-ne-macki naw-go," which is still existing to this day as a 
 monument of their former existence ; for the Ottawas and Chip- 
 pewas named this little island " Mi-shi-ne-macki-nong " for me- 
 morial sake of those their former confederates, which word is 
 the locative case of the Indian noun " Michinemackinawgo." 
 Therefore, we contend, this is properly where the name Michili- 
 mackinac is originated. 
 
 This is the earliest possible history of this little Island, as I 
 have related, according to the Ottawa traditions ; and from that 
 time forward there have been many changes in its history, as 
 other tribes of Indians took possession of the island, such as the 
 Hurons and Chippewas ; and still lat6r by the whites — French, 
 English, and Americans ; and numbers of battles have been fought 
 from time to time there, by both Indians and whites, of which I 
 need not relate as other historians have already given us the 
 accounts of them. But only this I would relate, because I have 
 never yet seen the account of it: It is related in our traditions 
 that at the time when the Chippewas occupied the island they 
 ceded it to the United States Government, but reserved a strip of 
 land all around the island as far as a stone throw from its water's 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 21 
 
 edge as their encampment grounds wlien they might come to the 
 island to trade or for other business. 
 
 Perhaps the reader would like to know what became of those 
 two persons who escaped from the lamented tribe Mishinemacki- 
 nawgoes. I will here give it just as it is related in our traditions, 
 although this may be considered, at this age, as a fictitious story ; 
 but every Ottawa and Chippewa to this day believes it to be posi- 
 tively so. It is related that the two persons escaped were two 
 young people, male and female, and they were lovers. After 
 everything got quieted down, they fixed their snow-shoes invert- 
 ed and crossed the lake on the ice, as snow was quite deep on the 
 ice, and they went towards the north shore of Lake Huron. The 
 object of inverting their snow-shoes was that in case any person 
 should happen to come across their track on the ice, their track V 
 
 would appear as if going towards the island. They became so 
 disgusted with human nature, it is related, that they shunned 
 every mortal being, and just lived by themselves, selecting the 
 wildest part of the country. Therefore, the Ottawas and Chip- 
 pewas called them " Paw-gwa-tchaw-nish-naw-boy." The last time 
 they were seen by the Ottawas, they had ten children — all boys, 
 and all living and well. And every Ottawa and Chippewa be- 
 lieves to this day that they are still in existence and roaming in 
 the wildest part of the land, but as supernatural beings — that is, 
 they can be seen or unseen, just as they see fit to be; and some- 
 times they simply manifested themselves as being present by 
 throwing a club or a stone at a person walking in a solitude, or 
 by striking a dog belonging to the person walking; and some- 
 times by throwing a club at the lodge, night or day, or hearing 
 their footsteps walking around the wigwam when the Indians 
 would be camping out in an unsettled part of the country, and 
 the dogs would bark, just as they would bark at any strange per- 
 son approaching the door. And sometimes they would be tracked 
 on snow by hunters, and if followed on their track, however re- 
 cently passed, they never could be overtaken. Sometimes when 
 
22 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 an Indian would be hunting or walking in solitude, he would 
 suddenly be seized with an unearthly fright, terribly awe strick- 
 en, apprehending some great evil. He feels very peculiar sensa- 
 tion from head to foot — the hair of his head standing and feeling 
 stiff like a porcupine quill. He feels almost benumbed with 
 fright, and yet he does not know what it is ; and looking in every 
 direction to see something, but nothing to be seen which might 
 cause sensation of terror. Collecting himself, he would then say, 
 " Pshaw ! its nothing here to be afraid of. It's nobody else but 
 Paw-gwa-tchaw-nish-naw-boy is approaching me. Perhaps he 
 wanted something of me." They would then leave something 
 on their tracks — ^tobacco, powder, or something else. Once in a 
 great while they would appear, and approach the person to talk 
 with him, and in this case, it is said, they would always begin 
 with the sad story of their great catastrophe at the Island of Mack- 
 inac. And whoever would be so fortunate as to meet and see 
 them and to talk with them, such person would always become a 
 prophet to his people, either Ottawa or Chippewa. Therefore, 
 Ottawas and Chippewas called these supernatural beings "Paw- 
 gwa-tchaw-nish-naw-boy," which is, strictly, "Wild roaming super- 
 natural being." 
 
 Pine river country, in Charlevoix County, Michigan, when this 
 country was all wild, especially near Pine Lake, was once con- 
 sidered as the most famous resort of these kind of unnatural be- 
 ings. I was once conversing with one of the first white settlers 
 of that portion of the country, who settled near to the place now 
 called Boyne City, at the extreme end of the east arm of Pine Lake. 
 In the conversation he told me that many times they had been 
 frightened, particularly during the nights, by hearing what sound- 
 ed like human footsteps around outside of their cabin; and their 
 dog would be terrified, crouching at the doorway, snarling and 
 growling, and sometimes fearfully barking. When daylight came, 
 the old man would go out in order to discover what it was or if 
 he could track anything around his cabin, bu1 he never could dis- 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN, 23 
 
 cover a track of any kind. These remarkable, mischievous, aud- 
 ible, fanciful, appalling apprehensions M^ere of very frequent 
 occurrence before any other inhabitants or settlers came near to 
 his place ; but now, they do not have such apprehensions since 
 many settlers came. 
 
 That massacre of Mishinimackinawgoes by Seneoft Indians of 
 New York happened probably more than five or six hundred 
 years ago. I could say much more which would be contradictory 
 of other writers of the history of the Indians in this country. 
 Even in the history of the United States I think there are some 
 mistakes concerning the accounts of the Indians, particularly the 
 accounts of our brave Tecumseh, as it is claimed that he was 
 killed by a soldier named Johnson, upon whom they conferred 
 the honor of having disposed of the dreaded Tecumseh. Even 
 pictured out as being coming up with his tomahawk to strike a 
 man who was on horseback, but being instantly shot dead with 
 the pistol. Now I have repeatedly heard our oldest Indians, 
 both male and female, who were present at the defeat of the 
 British and Indians, all tell a unanimous story, saying that 
 they came to a clearing or opening spot, and it was there where 
 Tecumseh ordered his warriors to rally and fight the Americans 
 once more, and in this very spot one of the American musket 
 balls took effect in Tecumseh's leg so as to break the bone of his 
 leg, that he could not stand up. He was sitting on the ground 
 when he told his warriors to flee as well as they could, and fur- 
 thermore said, " One of my leg is shot off! But leave me one or 
 two guns loaded ; I am going to have a last shot. Be quick and 
 go!" That was the last word spoken by Tecumseh. As they 
 look back, they saw the soldiers thick as swarm of bees around 
 where Tecumseh was sitting on the ground with his broken leg, 
 and so they did not see him any more; and, therefore, we always 
 believe that the Indians or Americans know not M^ho made the 
 fatal shot on Tecumseh's leg, or what the soldiers did with him 
 when they came up to him as he was sitting on the ground. 
 
24 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Author's Reason.i for Recording- the History of His People, and 
 Their Language — History of His Nationality — A Slcetch of His 
 Father's History — How the Indians Were Treated in Manitoba 
 Country One Hundred Years Ago — His Father's Banishment to 
 Die on a Lonely Island by the White Traders — Second Misfortune 
 of the Ottawas on Account of the Shawanee Prophet— The Earth- 
 quake. 
 
 The Indian tribes are continnually diminishing on the face of 
 this continent. Some have already passed entirely out of exist- 
 ence and are forgotten, who once inhabited this part of the coun- 
 try; such as the Mawsh-ko-desh, Urons, Ossaw-gees — who for- 
 merly occupied Saw-gi-naw-bay ; and the Odaw gaw-mees, whose 
 principal habitation was about the vicinity of Detroit River. 
 They are entirely vanished into nothingness. Not a single page 
 of their history can be found on record in the history of this 
 country, or hardly an allusion to their existence. My own race, 
 once a very numerous, powerful and warlike tribe of Indians, 
 who proudly trod upon this soil, is also near the end of existence. 
 In a few more generations they will be so intermingled with the 
 Caucasian race as to be hardly distinguished as descended from 
 the Indian nations, and their language will be lost. I myself 
 was brought up in a pure Indian style, and lived in a wigwam, 
 and have partaken of every kind of the wild jubilees of my peo- 
 ple, and was once considered one of the best "Pipe" dancers of 
 the tribe. But when nearly grown up, I was invited by a travel- 
 ing Protestant Missionary, whose name was Alvin Coe, to go 
 home with him to the State of Ohio, with the assurance that he 
 would give me a good education like the white man, and the idea 
 struck me that I could be really educated and be able to converse 
 witl\^ the white people. And although at that time (in the fall of 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 25 
 
 1840) I missed the opportnnity, the idea was never after off of 
 my mind. So some time afterwards I started out voluntarily to 
 obtain an education ; and I had nearly succeeded in completing 
 my professional studies when I called away to come home and 
 look after my aged father, in 1850. And now I have four chil- 
 dren, but not one of them can speak the Indian language. And 
 every one of the little Indian urchins who are now running about 
 in our town can speak to each other quite fluently in the English 
 language ; but I am very sorry to add that they have also learned 
 profanity like the white children. For these reasons it seems de- 
 sirable that the history of my people should not be lost, like that 
 of other tribes who. previously existed in this country, and who 
 have left no record of their ancient legends and their traditions. 
 Before proceeding to record the history of the Ottawas of the 
 State of Michigan, to whom I am immediately connected in their 
 common interests and their future destinies, I propose to re- 
 hearse in a summary manner my nationality and family history. 
 Our tradition says that long ago, when the Ottawa tribes of In- 
 dians used to go on a warpath either towards the south or towards 
 the west, even as far as to the Rocky Mountains, on one of these 
 expeditions towards the Rocky Mountains my remote ancestors 
 were captured and brought to this country as prisoners of war. 
 But they were afterwards adopted as children of the Ottawas, and 
 intermarried with the nation in which they were captives. Sub- 
 sequently these captives' posterity became so famous among the 
 Ottawas on account of their exploits and bravery on the warpath 
 and being great hunters that they became closely connected with 
 the royal families, and were considered as the best counselors, 
 best chieftains and best warriors among the Ottawas. Thus I am 
 not regularly descendad from the Ottawa nations of Indians, but 
 I am descended, as tradition says, from the tribe in the far west 
 known as the Underground race of people. They were so called 
 on account of making their habitations in the ground by making 
 holes large enough for dwelling purposes. It is related that they 
 
'/50 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 even made caves in the ground in wliicli to keep their horses 
 every night to prevent them from being stolen by other tribes 
 who were their enemies. It is also related that they were quite 
 an intelligent class of people. By cultivating the soil they raised 
 corn and other vegetables to aid in sustaining life beside hunting 
 and fishing. They were entirely independent, having their own 
 government and language, and possessing their own national em- 
 blem which distinguished them as distinct and separate from all 
 other tribes. This symbolical ensign of my ancestors was repre- 
 sented by a species of small hawk, which the Ottawas called the 
 " Pe-pe-gwen." So we were sometimes called in this country in 
 which we live the "Pe-pe-gwen tribe," instead of the "Under- 
 grounds." And it was customary among the Ottawas, that if any 
 one of our number, a descendant of the Undergrounds, should 
 commit any punishable crime, all the Pe-pe-gwen tribe or de- 
 scendants of the Undergrounds would be called together in a 
 grand council and requested to make restitution for the crime or 
 to punish the guilty one, according to the final decision of the 
 council. 
 
 There were several great chieftains of the Undergrounds among 
 the Ottawas who were living within my time, and some are here 
 mentioned who were most known by the American people, par- 
 ticularly during the war with Great Britain in 1812. Most of 
 these chieftains were my own uncles. One was called Late Wing, 
 who took a very active part for the cause of the United States in 
 the war of 1812, and he was a great friend to Governor Lewis Cass 
 of Michigan. Wing was pensioned for life for his good services 
 to the United States. He was one of my father's own brothers. 
 Shaw-be-nee was an uncle of mine on my mother's side, who also 
 served bravely for the United States in the war of 1812. He 
 traveled free all over the United States during his lifetime. This 
 privilege was granted to him by the Government of the United 
 States for his patriotism and bravery. He died in- the State of 
 Illinois about twenty years ago from this writing, and a monu- 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 27 
 
 ment was raised for him by the people in that State. Wa-ke-zoo 
 was another great chieftain who died before my time in the 
 country of Manitoba, out north. He was also one of my father's 
 brothers. It is related that he was also a prophet and a great 
 magician. 
 
 My own dear father was one of the head chiefs at Arbor 
 Croche, now called Middle Village or Good Heart, which latter 
 name was given at my suggestion by the Postoffice Department 
 at Washington. My father died in June, 1861. His Indian name 
 was Macka-de-pe-nessy,* which means Black Hawk ; but somehow 
 it has been mistranslated into Blackbird, so we now go by this 
 latter name. My father M^as a very brave man. He has led his 
 warriors several times on the warpath, and he was noted as one 
 who was most daring and adventurous in his younger days. He 
 stayed about twenty years in the country of Manitoba with his 
 brother Wa-ke-zoo, among other tribes of Indians and white 
 fur-traders in that section of the country. Many times he has 
 grappled with and narrowly escaped from the grizzly bear and 
 treacherous buffalo which were then very numerous in that por- 
 tion of the country. This was about one hundred years ago. He 
 has seen there things that would be almost incredible at this pres- 
 ent age: liquor sold to the Indians measured with a woman's 
 thimble, a thimbleful for one dollar ; one wooden coarse comb 
 for two beaver skins ; a double handful of salt for one beaver 
 skin — and so on in proportion in everything else ; the poor In- 
 dian had to give pile upon pile of beaver skins, which might be 
 worth two or three hundred dollars, for a few yards of flimsy 
 cloth. Englishmen and Frenchman who went there expressly to 
 traffic with the Indians, generally started from Quebec and Mont- 
 real, leaving their families at home; but so soon as they reached 
 this wi Id country, they would take Indian wives. When they 
 left the country, they would leave their Indian wives and chil- 
 
 * This name is written variously, the letters d, b, t, and p, being considered 
 identical in the Ottawa language. — [Ed. 
 
28 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 dren there to shift for themselves. Consequently there are in 
 this region thousands of half breeds, most beautiful men and 
 beautiful women, but they are as savage as the rest of the In- 
 dians. No white man there ever told these poor Indians anything 
 about Christianity, but only added unto them their degradations 
 and robbed them. 
 
 My father was once there left to perish on a lonely island by 
 the fur traders, not because he had done any crime, but simply 
 from inliuman cruelty and disregard of Indians by these white 
 men. He was traveling with these traders from place to place in 
 a long bark canoe, which was the only means of conveyance on 
 the water in those days. It appears that there were two parties, 
 and two of these long bark canoes were going in the same direc- 
 tion, one of which my father was paddling for them. He was 
 not hired, but simply had joined them in his travels. But these 
 two parties were thrown into a great quarrel about who should 
 have my father to paddle their canoe. Therefore they landed on 
 this little island expressly to fight amongst themselves ; and after 
 fighting long and desperately, they left my poor father on this 
 little island to die, for they concluded that neither of them should 
 take him into their canoe. He was left to die ! What must be 
 the feelings of this poor Indian, to whom life was as sweet as to 
 any human creature ? What revenge should he take upon those 
 traders ? He had a gun, which he leveled at them as they started 
 off in their canoes. His fingers were on the trigger, when sud- 
 denly a thought flashed across his mind — "Perhaps the Great 
 Spirit will be displeased." So he dropped his gun, and raised a 
 fervent prayer to the Almighty Ruler for deliverance* from this 
 awful situation. After being several days on this little island, 
 when almost dying from starvation, fortunately deliverance came. 
 He spied a small canoe with two persons in it within hail. They 
 came and took him off from his dying situation. It was an In- 
 dian woman with her little son who happened to travel in that 
 direction who saved my father's life. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 29 
 
 From this time hence my father lost all confidence, in white 
 men, whatever the position or profession of the white man might 
 be, whether a priest, preacher, lawyer, doctor, merchant, or com- 
 mon white man. He told us to beware of them, as they all were 
 after one great object, namely, to grasp the world's wealth. And 
 in order to obtain this, they would lie, steal, rob, or murder, if it 
 need be ; therefore he instructed us to beware how the white man 
 would approach us with very smooth tongue, while his heart is 
 full of deceit and far from intending to do us any good. 
 
 He left Manitoba country about 1800, or about the time when 
 the Shawanee prophet, " Waw-wo-yaw-ge-she-maw," who was one 
 of Tecumseh's own brothers, sent his emissaries to preach to the 
 Ottawas and Chippewas in the Lower and Upper Peninsulas of 
 Michigan, who advised the Ottawas and Chippewas to confess 
 their sins and avow their wrongs and go west, and there to wor- 
 ship the Great Spirit according to the old style as their forefathers 
 did,* and to abandon everything else which the white man had 
 introduced into the tribes of Indians, to abandon even the mode 
 of making fire, which was by flint and steel, and to start their 
 fires by friction between the two pieces of dry wood as their fore- 
 fathers made their fires before the white people came to this 
 country, and to eat no flesh of domestic animals, but to eat noth- 
 ing but wild game, and use their skins for their wearing apparel 
 and robes as the Great Spirit designed them to be when He cre- 
 ated them. He taught them that the Great Spirit was angry with 
 them becaupe they conformed to the habits of the white man, 
 and that if they did not believe and practice the old habits, the 
 Great Spirit would shake the earth as an evidence that he tells 
 them the truth. A great many Ottawas believed and went far 
 west accordingly. And it happened about this time the earth did 
 
 * The worship of the Great Spirit consisted mostly in songs and dancing ac- 
 companied with an Indian drum, which has a very deep and solemn sound, al- 
 not very large, about a foot in diameter. I used to think that the sound of it 
 must reach to the heaven where the Great Spirit is. 
 
30 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 quake in Michigan; I think, if I am not mistaken, the earth 
 shook twice within a year, which is recorded in the annals of this 
 country. At the earthquake many Indians were frightened, and 
 consequently many more believed and went west ; but nearly all 
 of them died out there because the climate did not agree with 
 them, Saw-gaw-kee — Growing-plant — was the head chief of the 
 Ottawa nation of Indians at that time, and was one of the believ- 
 ers who went with the parties out west, and he also died there * 
 This is the second time that the Ottawas were terribly reduced in 
 numbers in the country of Arbor Croche. 
 
 ♦This Chief Saw-gaw-kee was Ne-saw-wa-quat's father, the last head chief 
 of Little Traverse. Ne-saw-wa-quat was the only child remaining alive of the 
 whole family of Saw-gaw-kee. Therefore the child was brought back to this 
 country and was the last head chief of Little Traverse, now Harbor Springs. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 31 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Author's Father Appointed Speaker for the Ottawas and Chippe 
 was — The Only Ottawa Who was Friendly to Education — Making 
 Alphabet — Acting as School Teacher — Moving Disposition of the 
 Ottawas — Mode of Traveling — Tradition of William Blackbird 
 Being Fed by Angelic Beings in the Wilderness — His being Put 
 into Mission School by His Father — Studying to be a Priest — His 
 Assassination in the City of Rome, Italy, Almost the Day When 
 He was to be Ordained — Memorial Poem — The Author's Remarks 
 on the Death of His Brother. 
 
 After my father's return to Arbor Croche, he became quite an 
 orator, and consequently be was appointed as the bead speaker 
 in tbe council of tbe Ottaw^a and Cbippevi^a Indians. He contin- 
 ued to bold tbis office until bis frame was beginning to totter witb 
 age, bis memory became disconnected and inactive, and be there- 
 fore gave up bis office to bis own messenger, whose name was 
 Joseph As-saw-gon, who died during tbe late rebellion in tbe 
 United States while Hon. D. C. Leacb, of Traverse City, was 
 tbe Michigan Indian Agent. As-saw-gon was indeed quite an 
 orator, considering bis scanty opportunities. He bad no educa- 
 tion at all, but was naturally gifted as an orator. He was quite 
 logical and allegorical in bis manner of speaking. I have beard 
 several white people remark, who bad listened to bis speeches 
 through tbe imperfect interpreters, that he was as good a speaker 
 as any orator who bad been thoroughly educated. 
 
 My father was tbe only man who was friendly to education. 
 When I was a little boy, I remember distinctly bis making bis 
 own alphabet, which be called "Paw-pa-pe-po." Witb tbis be 
 learned bow to read and write ; and afterwards be taught other 
 Indians to read and write according to bis alphabet. He taught 
 no children, but only tbe grown persons. Our wigwam, which 
 
32 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 was about sixty or seventy feet long, where we lived in the sum- 
 mer time, was like a regular school-house, with my father as 
 teacher of the school, and they had merry times in it. Many In- 
 dians came there to learn his Paw-pa-pe-po, and some of them 
 were very easy to learn, while others found learning extremely 
 difficult. 
 
 We were ten of us children in the family, six boys and four 
 girls. I was the youngest of all who were living at that time. 
 The eldest boy was one of the greatest hunters among the Otta- 
 was. His name was Pung-o-wish, named after our great-grand- 
 father, but he was afterwards called Peter by the Catholic mis- 
 sionaries when he was baptised into the Catholic religion. One 
 of my brothers who was five or six years younger than my eldest 
 brother was a remarkably interesting boy. His name was Pe- 
 taw-wan-e-quot, though he was afterwards called William. He 
 was quick to learn Paw-pa-pe-po, and very curious and interesting 
 questions he would often ask of his father, which would greatly 
 puzzle the old man to answer. 
 
 All the Indians of Arbor Croche used only to stay there during 
 the summer time, to plant their corn, potatoes, and other vege- 
 tables. As soon as their crops were put away in the ground,* they 
 would start all together towards the south, going to different 
 points, some going as far as Chicago expressly to trap the musk- 
 rats, beavers, and many other kinds of furs, and others to the St. 
 Joe River, Black River, Grand River, or Muskegon River, there 
 to trap and hunt all winter, and make sugar in the spring. After 
 sugar making they would come back again to Waw-gaw-naw-ke- 
 zee, or Arbor Croche, to spend the summer and to raise their crops 
 again as before. 
 
 *The mode of securing their corn was first to dry the ears by fire. When 
 perfectly dry, they would then beat them with a flail and pick all the cobs out. 
 The grain was then winnowed and put into sacks. These were put in the ground 
 in a large cylinder made out of elm bark, set in deep in tlie ground and made 
 very dry, filling this cylinder full and then covering it to stay there for winter 
 and summer use. 
 
INDIANS OP MICHIGAN. 33 
 
 In navigating Lake Michigan they used long bark canoes in 
 which they carried tlieir whole families and enough provisions to 
 last them all winter. These canoes were made very light, out of 
 white birch bark, and with a fair wind they could skip very light- 
 ly on the waters, going very fast, and could st-ind a very heavy 
 sea. In one day tliey could sail quite a long distance along the 
 coast of Lake Michigan. When night overtook them they would 
 land and make wigwams with light poles of cedar which they al- 
 ways carried in their canoes. These wigwams were covered with 
 mats made for that purpose out of prepared marsh reeds or flags 
 sewed together, which made very good shelter from rain and 
 wind, and w^re very warm after making fires inside of them. 
 They had another kind of mat to spread on the ground to sit and 
 sleep on. These mats are quite beautifully made out of different 
 colors, and closely woven, of well prepared bull-rushes.* After 
 breakfast in the morning they are off again in the big canoes. 
 
 My father's favorite winter quarters were somewhere above 
 Big Rapids on Muskegon River. He hunted and trapped there 
 all winter and made sugar. A very mysterious event happened 
 to my brother William while my folks were making sugar there. 
 One beautiful morning after the snow had entirely disappeared 
 in the woods, my brother William, then at the age of about eight 
 or nine years, was shooting around with his little bow and arrows 
 among the sugar trees, but that day he never came home. At sun- 
 down, our parents were beginning to feel very uneasy about their 
 little boy, and yet they thought he must have gone to some neigh- 
 boring sugar bush, as there were quite a number of families also 
 making sugar in the vicinity. Early in the morning, my father 
 went to all the neighboring sugar camps, but William was no- 
 where to be found. So at once a search was instituted. Men 
 
 *To prepare these bull -rushes for mats, they are cut when very green, and 
 then they go through the process of steaming, after bleaching by the si n ; they 
 are colored before they are woven. They are generally made about six or eight 
 feet long and about four feet wide. 
 
34 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 and boys were out in search for the boy, calling and shooting 
 their guns far and near, but not a trace of him anywhere could 
 be found. Our parents were almost distracted with anxiety and 
 fear about their boy, and they continued the search three days in 
 vain. On the fourth day, one of our cousins, whose name was 
 Oge-maw-we-ne-ne, came to a very deep gully between two hills. 
 He went up to the top of the highest hill in order to be heard a 
 long distance. When he reached the top, he began to halloo as loud 
 as he could, calling the child by name, Pe-taw-on-e-quot. At the 
 end of his shouting he thought he heard some one responding to 
 his call, '•' Wau?" This word is one of the interrogatives in the 
 Indian language, and is equivalent to " what " in th6 English lan- 
 guage. He listened a few minutes, and again he called as before, 
 and again heard distinctly the same response, " Wau ? " It came 
 from above, right over his head, and as he looked upwards he 
 saw the boy, almost at the top of a tree, standing on a small limb 
 in a very dangerous situation. He said, " Hello, what are you 
 doing up there? Can't you come down?" "Yes, I can," was 
 the answer ; " I came up here to find out where I am, and which 
 way is our sugar camp." "Come down, then; I will show you 
 which way is your home." After he came down from the tree, 
 our cousin offered him food, but the child would not touch a 
 morsel, saying that he was not hungry as he had eaten only a little 
 while ago. "Ah, you have been fed then. Who fed you ? We 
 have been looking for you now over three days." The boy re- 
 plied, " I had every thing that I wanted to eat in the great festi- 
 val of the " Wa-me-te-go-zhe-wog." which is "the white people." 
 *' Where are they now ?" asked our cousin. " That is just what I 
 would like to know, too," said the boy; "I had just come out of 
 their nice house between the two hills, and as I loolied back after 
 I came out of their door I saw no more of their house, and 
 heard no more of them nor their music." Our cousin again 
 questioned the boy, " How did you come to find these Wa-me-te- ' 
 go-zhe-wog here ?" And little William replied, " Those Wa-me- 
 
INDIANS OP MICHIGAN. 35 
 
 te-go-zlie-wog came to our sugar camp and invited me to go with 
 them, but I thought it was very close by. I thought we walked 
 only just a few steps to come to their door." Our cousin believ- 
 ed it was some supernatural event and hastened to take the boy 
 to his anxious parents. Again and again little William told the 
 same story when interrogated by any person, and it is firmly be- 
 lieved by all our family and friends that he was cherished and fed 
 three days in succession by angelic beings. 
 
 When he was about twelve or thirteen years of age the Protest- 
 ant Mission School started at Mackinac Island, and my father 
 thought best to put him to that school. After being there less 
 than a year, he was going around with his teachers, acting as in- 
 terpreter among the Indian camps at the Island of Mackinac. I 
 was perfectly astonished to see how quick he had acquired the 
 English language. After the mission broke up at the island, 
 about the time the Catholic mission was established at Little 
 Traverse, William came home and stayed with us for about two 
 years, when he was again taken by Bishop Reese with his little 
 sister, a very lovely girl, whom the white people call Auntie 
 Margaret, or Queen of the Ottawas. They were taken down to 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, where they were put into higher schools, and 
 there my brother attained the highest degree of education, or 
 graduation as it is called. 
 
 From thence he was taken across the ocean to the city of Rome, 
 Italy, to study for the priesthood, leaving his little sister in Cin- 
 cinnati. It is related that he was a very eloquent and powerful 
 orator, and was considered a very promising man by the people 
 of the city of Rome, and received great attention from the noble 
 families, on account of his wisdom _and talent and his being a 
 native American ; and yet he had a much lighter complexion than 
 his cousin Aug Hamlin, who was also taken over there and repre- 
 sented as half French. 
 
 While he w^as at Rome, the proposition arose in this country to 
 buy out the Michigan Indians by the Government of the United 
 
36 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 States, and he wrote to his people at Arbor Croche and to Little 
 Traverse on this very subject, advising them not to sell out nor 
 make any contract with the United States Government, but to 
 hold on until he could return to America, when he would en- 
 deavor to aid them in making out the contract or treaty with the 
 United States. Never to give up, not even if they should be 
 threatened with annihilation or to be driven away at the point of 
 the bayonet from their native soil. I wish I could produce some 
 of this correspondence, but only one letter from him can now be 
 found, which is here given : 3 
 
 Rome, April 17, 18^3. 
 My Dear Sister: 
 
 It is a long time since I wrote you a few lines. I would write 
 oftener if the time would permit, but I have very few leisure 
 moments. However, as we have a holiday to-day, I determine to 
 write a line or two. I have to attend to my studies from morning 
 till sunset. I thank you very much for your kind letter which I 
 received some time ago by politeness of Rev. Mr. Seajean. My 
 dearest sister, you may have felt loM after I left you ; you must 
 consider who loves you with all the affection of parents. What 
 can we return to those who have done us much good, but humble 
 prayers for them that the Almighty may reward them for the 
 benefit they have done in this poor mortal world. I was very 
 happy when informed by Father Mullen that you had received 
 six premiums at the examination ; nothing else would more im- 
 press my heart than to hear of the success of your scholastic 
 studies. I entreat you, dearest sister, to learn what is good and 
 to despise the evil, and offer your prayers to the Almighty God 
 and rely on Him alone, and by His blessing you may continue to 
 improve your time well. You can have no idea how the people 
 here are devoted to the Virgin Mary. At every corner of the 
 streets there is the image of her, and some of these have lights 
 burning day and night. I think of you very often: perhaps I 
 shall never have the pleasure of seeing you again. I have been 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 37 
 
 unwell ever since I came to this country. However, I am yet able 
 to attend my school and studies. I hope I will not be worse, so 
 that I may be unable to follow my intention. 
 
 There are really fine things to be seen in Rome. On the feast of 
 SS. Sebastian and Fabian we visited the Catacombs, two or three 
 miles out of the city, where is a church dedicated to those saints, 
 which I have already mentioned in previous letters. Perhaps our 
 countrymen would not believe that there was such a place as that 
 place which I saw myself with my own naked eyes. We entered 
 in with lights and saw the scene before us. As soon as we enter- 
 ed we saw coffins on the top of each other, in one of which we 
 saw some of the remains. The cave runs in everj^ direction, 
 sometimes is ascended by steps, and sometimes runs deeper, and 
 one would be very easily lost in it. There are some large places 
 and a chapel ; I am told by the students that the chapel is where 
 Pope Gregory was accustomed to say mass. I assure you it would 
 excite any human heart to behold tliQ place where the ancient 
 Christians were concealed under the earth from the persecution 
 of the anti-christians. Indeed they were concealed by the power 
 of God. They sought Jesus and Him alone they loved. 
 
 It is the custom of the College of the Propaganda, on the feast of 
 Epiphany each year, that the students should deliver a discourse 
 in their own respective languages. This year there were thirty- 
 one different languages delivered by the students, so you may 
 judge what kind of a college this is. At present it is quite full ; 
 there are ninety-three, of which thirteen are from the United 
 States. 
 
 On Easter Sunday the Holy Father celebrated mass in the 
 church of St. Peter. It is very seldom that his holiness is seen 
 personally celebrating mass in public except on great festivals. 
 The church was crowded with spectators, both citizens of Rome 
 and foreigners. On the front part of the church there wa-5 an 
 elevated place beautifully ornamented. After the solemn cere- 
 monies the Holy Father went up. and gave his paternal benedic- 
 
3H THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 tion to the people. There is a large square before St. Peter's, 
 and it was crowded so that it was impossible to kneel down to 
 receive the benediction. 
 
 This week we are quite merry; we seem to employ our minds 
 on the merriment which is always displayed amongst us on such 
 occasions. Our secretary is now Cardinal, and to-morrow he will 
 be crowned with the dignity of the Cardinal. Our college has 
 been illuminated these two evenings. The congregational halls 
 of the Propaganda were opened on this occasion. The new Car- 
 dinal then received all the compliments of the Cardinals, Bishops, 
 Prelates, Ambassadors, Princes, and other distinguished dignities. 
 There are two large beautiful rooms, in one of which the new 
 Cardinal was seated and received all those who came to pay him 
 compliments. The visitors all came through the same passage, 
 and there was a man posted in each room who received them and 
 cried out to others that such man was coming, and so on through 
 all those that were placed for the purpose, and one called the 
 Cardinal gentleman introduced them to the new Cardinal. If 
 there were such a thing in America it would be quite a novelty. 
 
 It is time for me to close, and I hope you will write me some- 
 times. My respects to the Sisters and Father Mullen. Farewell, 
 dear sister ; pray for your Superior and for me. 
 I remain your most affectionate brother, 
 
 William Maccatebinessi. 
 
 After his death, some one at Cincinnati wrote the following, to 
 be repeated before a large audience in that city by his little sister 
 Margaret, who was there at school. The poetry was impressive- 
 ly recited and listened to by many people with wet eyes. This 
 gifted child of nature died June 25, 1833. 
 
 " The morning breaks ; see how the glorious sun, 
 Slow wheeling from the east, new lustre sheds 
 O'er the soft clime of Italy. The flower 
 That kept its perfume in the dewy night, 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. oil 
 
 Now breathes it forth again. Hill, vale and grove, 
 
 Clad in rich verdure, bloom, and from the rocks 
 
 The joyous waters leap. O ! meet it is 
 
 That thou, imperial Rome, should lift thy head. 
 
 Decked with the triple crown, where cloudless skies 
 
 And lands rejoicing in the summer sun, 
 
 Rich blessings yield. 
 
 But there is grief to-day. 
 
 A voice is heard within thy marble walls, 
 
 A voice lamenting for the youthful dead ; 
 
 For o'er the relics of her forest boy 
 
 The mother of dead Empires weeps. And lo! 
 
 Clad in white robes the long procession moves; 
 
 Youths throng around the bier, and high in front, 
 
 Star of our hope, the glorious cross is reared, 
 
 Triumphant sign. The low, sweet voice of prayer, 
 
 Flowing spontaneous from the spirit's depths, 
 
 Pours its rich tones ; and now the requiem swells, 
 
 Now dies upon the ear. 
 
 But there is one* 
 
 Who stands beside my brother's grave, and tho' no tear 
 
 Dims his dark eye, yet does his spirit weep. 
 
 With beating heart he gazes on the spot 
 
 Where his young comrade shall forever rest. 
 
 For they together left their forest home, 
 
 Led by Father Reese, who to their fathers preached 
 
 Glad tiding of great joy; the holy man my brother, 
 
 Who sleeps beneath the soil the Father Reese's labors blessed. 
 
 How must the spirit mourn, the bosom heave. 
 
 Of that lone Indian boy ! No tongue can speak 
 
 The accents of his tribe, and as he bends 
 
 In melancholy mood above the dead, 
 
 *His cousin Hamlin. 
 
40 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Imagination clotlies his tearful thoughts 
 In rude but plaintive cadences. 
 
 Soft be my brother's sleep! 
 At nature's call the cypress here shall wave, 
 The wailing winds lament above the grave, 
 
 The dewy night sliall weep. 
 
 And he thou leavest forlorn, 
 Oh, he shall come to shade my brother's grave with moss, 
 To plant what tliou didst love— the mystic cross, 
 
 To hope, to pray, to mourn. 
 
 No marble here shall rise ; 
 But o'er thy grave he'll teach the forest tree 
 To lift its glorious head and point to thee. 
 
 Rejoicing in the skies. 
 
 And when it feels the breeze, 
 I'll think tliy spirit wakes that gentle sound 
 Such as our fathers thought when all around 
 
 Shook the old forest leaves. 
 
 Dost thou forget the hour, my brother. 
 When first we heard the Cliristian's hope revealed, 
 When fearless warriors felt their bosoms yield 
 
 Beneath Almighty power ? 
 
 Then truths came o'er us fast. 
 Whilst on the mound the missionary stood 
 And thro' the list'ning silence of the wood 
 
 His words like spirits passed. 
 
 And oh, hadst thou been spared, 
 We two had gone to bless our fathers' land, 
 To spread rich stores around, and hand in hand 
 
 Each holy labor shared. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 41 
 
 Bat here the relics of iny brother lie, 
 Where nature's flowers shall bloom o'er nature's child, 
 Where ruins stretch, and classic art has piled 
 
 Her monuments on high. 
 
 Sleep on, my brother, sleep peaceful here 
 The traveler from thy land will claim this spot, 
 And give to thee what kingly tombs have not — 
 
 The tribute of a tear with me, my brother. 
 
 He died almost the very day when he was to be ordained a 
 priest. He received a long visit from his cousin Hamlin that 
 evening, and they sat late in the night, talking on various sub- 
 jects, and particularly on American matters and his ordination. 
 My brother was perfectly well and robust at that time, and full of 
 lively spirits. He told his cousin that night, that if he ever set 
 his foot again on American soil, his people, the Ottawas and 
 Chippewas of Michigan, should always remain where they were. 
 The United States would never be able to compel them to go west 
 of the Mississippi, for he knew the way to prevent them from 
 being driven oft' from their native land. He also told his cousin 
 that as soon as he was ordained and relieved from Rome, he 
 would at once start for America, and go right straight to Wash- 
 ington to see the President of the United States, in order to hold 
 conference with him on the subject of his people and their lands. 
 There was a great preparation for the occasion of his ordination. 
 A great cermony was to be in St. Peter's Church, because a native 
 American Indian, son of the chief of the Ottawa tribe of Indians, 
 a prince of the forests of Michigan, was to be ordained a priest, 
 which had never before happened since the discovery of the 
 Aborigines in America. In the morning, at the breakfast table, 
 my brother William did not appear, and every one was surprised 
 not to &ee him at the table. After breaklast, a messenger was sent 
 to his room. He soon returned with the shocking news that he 
 was dead. Then the authorities of the college arose and rushed 
 
42 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 to the scene, and there they found hira on the floor, lying in his 
 own blood. When Hamlin, his cousin heard of it, he too rushed 
 to the room ; and after his cousin's body was taken out, wiapped 
 up in a cloth, he went in, and saw at once enough to tell him that 
 it was the work of the assassin. 
 
 When the news reached to Little Traverse, now Harbor Springs, 
 all the country of Arbor Croche was enveloped in deep mourn- 
 ing, and a great lamentation took place among the Ottawas and 
 Chippewas in this country with the expression, " All our hope is 
 gone." Many people came to our dwelling to learn full particu- 
 lars of my brother's death, and to console and mourn with his 
 father in his great bereavement. 
 
 No motive for the assassination has ever been developed, and 
 it remains to this day a mystery. It was related that there was 
 no known enemy in the institution previous to his death, but he 
 was much thought of and beloved by every one in the college. 
 It was an honor to be with him and to converse with him, as it is 
 related that his conversation was always most noble and instruct- 
 ive. It was even considered a great honor to sit by him at the 
 tables ; as it is related that the students of the college used to have 
 a strife amongst themselves who should be the first to sit by him. 
 There were several American students at Rome at that time, and 
 it was claimed by the Italians that my brother's death came 
 through some of the American students from a secret plot origi- 
 nating in this country to remove this Indian youth who had at- 
 tained the highest pinnacle of science and who had become their 
 equal in wisdom, and in all the important questions of the day, 
 both in temporal and spiritual matters. He was slain, it has been 
 said, because it was found out that he was counseling his people 
 on the subject of their lands and their treaties with the Govern- 
 ment of the United States. His death deprived the Ottawa and 
 Chippewa Indians of a wise counselor and adviser, one of their 
 own native countrymen ; but it seems that it would be impossible 
 for the American people in this Christian land to make such a 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 43 
 
 wicked conspiracy against this poor son of the forest who had 
 become as wise as any of them and a great statesman for his 
 countr3^ Yet it might be possible, for we have learned that we 
 cannot always trust the American people as to their integrity and 
 stabilit}^ in well doing with us. 
 
 It is said the stains of my brother's blood can be seen to this 
 day in Rome, as the room has been kept as a memorial, and is 
 shown to travelers from this country. His statue in full size can 
 also be seen there, which is said to be a perfect image of him. 
 His trunk containing his books and clothing w^as sent from Rome 
 to this country, and it came all right until it reached Detroit. 
 There it Avas lost, or exchanged for another, which was sent to 
 Little Traverse. It was sent back with a request to forward the 
 right one, but that was the end of it, and no explanation was ever 
 received. 
 
 Soon after the death of my brother William, my sister Margaret 
 left Cincinnati, Ohio, and came to Detroit, Mich., where she w^as 
 employed as teacher of the orphan children at a Catholic institu- 
 tion. She left Detroit about 1835, and came to Little Traverse, 
 where she at once began 1o teach the Indian children for the 
 Catholic mission. She has ever since been very useful to her 
 people, but is now" a decrepit old lady and sometimes goes by the 
 name of Aunty Margaret, or Queen of the Ottawas. She is con- 
 stantly employed in making Indian curiosities — w^earing out her 
 fingers and eyes to make her living and keep her home. Like 
 many others of her race, she has been made the victim of fraud 
 and extortion. Some years ago a white man came to the Indian 
 country and committed many crimes, for some of which he is 
 now in prison. Soon after he came here, this wicked man pre-- 
 tended he was gored by an ox — although there were no marks of 
 of violence — which he claimed belonged to Mr. Boyd, Aunty 
 Margaret's husband, and he therefore sued Mr. Boyd for damages 
 for several hundred dollars; and although the ox which he 
 claimed had injured him did not belong to Mr. Boyd, and there 
 
44 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 was no eye witness in the case, yet he obtained judgment for 
 damages against him, and a mortgage had to be given on tlie land 
 which the Government had given her. The Indian's oath and 
 evidence are not regarded in this country, and lie stands a very 
 poor chance before the law. Although they are citizens of the 
 State, they are continually being taken advantage of by the at^ 
 torneys of the land ; they are continually being robbed and cheat- 
 ed out of their property, and they can obtain no protection nor 
 redress whatever. 
 
 Before Mr. Hamlin, my cousin, left Italy, he was asked by the 
 authorities if William had any younger brother in America of a 
 fit age to attend school. He told the authorities that the deceased 
 had one brother just the right age to begin school — that was my- 
 self. Then there was an order for me to be sent to Rome to take 
 the place of my brother; but when my father heard of it, he said, 
 "No; they have killed one of my sons after they have educated 
 him, and they will kill another." Hamlin came home soon after' 
 my brother's death, and some time after the Treaty of 1836 he 
 was appointed U. S. Interpreter and continued to hold this office 
 until 1861, at which time I succeeded him. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 45 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Account of the Indians' Roving Disposition, Their Feasts and Their 
 Customs— Saluting Arbor Croche Every Spring of the Year— How 
 the Catholic Religion was Introduced Among the Ottawas — The 
 Missions — Signing of the Treaty, March 8, 1836. 
 
 I will again return to my narrative respecting how the Ottawas 
 used to live and travel to and fro in the State of Michigan, and 
 how they came to join the Catholic religion at Arbor Croche. 
 Early in the spring we used to come down this beautiful stream 
 of water (Muskegon River) in our long bark canoes, loaded with 
 sugar, furs, deer skins, prepared venison for summer use, bear's 
 oil, and bear meat prepared in oil, deer tallow, and sometimes a 
 lot of honey, etc. On reaching the mouth of this river we halted 
 for five or six days, Mdien all the other Indians gathered, as was 
 customary, expressly to feast for the dead. All the Indians and 
 children used to go around among the camps and salute one an- 
 other with the words, " Ne-baw-baw-tche-baw-yew," that is to say, 
 " I am or we are going around as spirits," feasting and throwing 
 food into the fire — as they believe the spirits of the dead take the 
 victuals and eat as they are consumed in the fire. 
 
 After the feast of the dead, we would all start for Arbor Croche, 
 our summer resort, to plant our corn and other vegetables. At 
 the crossing of Little Traverse Bay at the point called ''• Ki-tche- 
 ossening," that is to say, "on the big rock," all the Indians wait- 
 ed until all the canoes arrived, after which they would all start 
 together in crossing the bay. When about half way across they 
 would begin to salute Arbor Croche by shooting with guns, hold- 
 ing them close to the water in order that the sound might reach 
 to each side of the bay, to be heard by those few who always 
 made their winter quarters around Little Traverse Bay. Arriv- 
 ing at Arbor Croche, where our big wigwam would be waiting 
 
46 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 for US — of which I have spoken in previous chapters- — the very 
 first thing my parents would do would be to go and examine 
 their stores of corn and beans. After all the Indians arrived and 
 had settled down, they would again have a prolonged merriment 
 and another feasting of the dead and peace offerings. Grand 
 medicine dances, fire dances, and many other jubilant perform- 
 ances my people would have before they would go to work 
 again to plant their corn. I distinctly remember the time, and I 
 have seen my brothers and myself dancing around the fires in our 
 great wigwam, which had two fireplaces inside of it. 
 
 About in 1824, there was an Indian came from Montreal whose 
 name was Andowish, and who formerly belonged to Arbor Croche. 
 He was among the Stockbridge Indians somewhere near Mont- 
 real, and this tribe speak a dialect of the Ottawa and Chippewa 
 languages, and most of them by this time had joined the Catholic 
 church. So Andowish, by their influence, also joined the Catholic 
 religion out there with the Stockbridge Indians. Coming back 
 to Arbor Croche, where he formerly belonged, he began to teach 
 some of his ow6 relatives the faith of the Catholic religion, which 
 some of them were very ready to receive, but he could not bap- 
 tize them. Therefore, parties of Indians went to Mackinac Is- 
 land, headed by the principal chief of the Seven Mile Point band 
 of Indians, whose name was A-paw-kau-se-gun, to see some of 
 their half-breed relations at the island, relating to them how they 
 felt with regard to Christianity, and asking advice as to what 
 they should do in the matter. These half-breed relatives prom- 
 ised they would do all they could to cause the priest to come up 
 to Arbor Croche and baptize all those Indians who felt disposed 
 to receive the religion. Therefore in 1825 Rev. Father Baden, 
 an old priest, came up with his interpreters and landed at Seven 
 Mile Point, and baptized quite a number of grown folks, and a 
 great many children were taken into the Catholic religion. At 
 this time, I was also baptized by Rev. Father Baden ; I was small, 
 but I distinctly remember having the water poured over my head 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 47 
 
 and putting some salt in my mouth, and changing my name from 
 Pe-ness-wi-qua-am to Amable. The mission was then established 
 at Seven Mile Point, where a church was built with poles and 
 covered with cedar bark. This was the very way that the first 
 religion was introduced among the Ottavvas, although everybody 
 supposes that some white people or missionary societies brought 
 the Christian religion among the Ottawa tri"bes of Indians at Ar- 
 bor Croche. 
 
 My uncle, Au-se-go-nock, had before this joined the Catholic 
 religion. He was living at that time at Drummond's Island with 
 the British people, where all the Ottawas and Chippewas used to 
 go every summer to receive presents from the British Government. 
 And when he learned that his people had joined the Catholic 
 faith, he left his home at Drummond's Island and came to Arbor 
 Croche expressly to act as missionary in the absence of the priest. 
 Every Sunday he preached to his people and taught them how to 
 pray to God and to the Virgin Mary and all the saints and angels 
 in heaven. At that time printed books containing prayers and 
 hymns in the Stockbridge Indian language, which is a dialect of 
 the Ottawa and Chippewa languages, were brought from Mont- 
 real, and could be quite intelligently understood by the OttaM'as. 
 By this time many Indians began to be stationary; they did not 
 go south, as heretofore, but remained and made their winter 
 quarters ar Arbor Croche. 
 
 About 1827, after several councils, it was determined to remove 
 the Mission from Seven Mile Point to Little Traverse, and a 
 French priest whose name was Dejan arrived expressly to remain 
 there and carry on the new mission established at Little Tra- 
 verse. A log church was built at the new mission, which stood 
 very near where the present church is now standing, and a log 
 school house was built just where the Star Hotel now stands, and 
 also a log house for the priest to live in, which is standing to this 
 day nearest the church, but it has been covered with siding boards 
 since. In the fall of 1827, my father left his subjects at Arbor 
 
48 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Croclie proper, now Middle Village, in charge of his brother, 
 Kaw-me-no-te-a, which means Good-heart, as he was persuaded 
 by other chiefs to come and establish himself where the mission 
 was and send his children to school. There were only three In- 
 dian log houses at that time in Little Traverse, one belonging to 
 my uncle, Au-se-ge-nock, one for Joseph Au-saw-gon, my father's 
 messenger, and another to Peter Sho-min. But we and all other 
 Indians lived in wigwams, and all the Indians were dressed in 
 Indian style. Rev. Mr. Dejan brought with him one Frenchman 
 from Detroit named Joseph Letorenue as school teacher, and two 
 girls from Mackinac Island as domestic servants, and an old nun, 
 whose real name I never learned, and knew only as "Sister." 
 She was exceedingly kind to Indian children and we all liked 
 her very much. The log school house was used as a dwelling as 
 well as a school house, as all the boys and girls who attended 
 school were kept there continually, same as boarding school. The 
 larger boys and girls were taught household duties and to cook 
 for the scholars. The children were kept quite clean. The French 
 teacher took very great pains to teach them good manners, and 
 they w^ere taught no other but the French language. In the spring 
 of the year each family of Indians contributed one large mocok* 
 of sugar wdiich weighed from eighty to one hundred pounds, 
 which Priest Dejan would empty into barrels, and then go down 
 to Detroit with it to buy dry goods, returning with cloth with 
 which to clothe his Indian children. Rev. Mr. Dejan did not say 
 mass on week days, only on Sundays. He visited the Indians a 
 good deal during the week days, purpose ly to instruct them in 
 the manners and customs of the white man, ordering things gen- 
 erally how to be done, and how the women should do toM'ards 
 their domestic callings, not to work out of doors, and to take 
 good care of what belonged to their household. Mr. Dejim w^as 
 a great friend of Col. Boyd, Indian Agent at Mackinac, and. in the 
 
 * A kind of box made of birch bark. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 49 
 
 second year of the school, Mr. Boyd's two sons, James and George, 
 wintered with the priest at the mission, and were very great 
 friends to the Indians. 
 
 In two years schooling the children progressed very much, both 
 in reading the French language, and in learning the manners and 
 customs of the white man. But, alas, this w^as carried on only 
 two years There was some trouble between Rev. Mr. Dejan and 
 Bishop Reese of Detroit, consequently Mr. Dejan was removed 
 from the mission, and Rev. Mr. Baraga was put in instead in the 
 3xar 1830. He promised to do the same as his predecessor in re- 
 gard to carrying on the Indian school at Little Traverse ; but he 
 did not. He did not give as good care to the children as his pre. 
 decessor, and he did not teach them anything but Indian and the 
 catechism. He, however, made and published a prayer book in 
 the Ottawa language and a short Bible History. Before two years 
 the boarding school was out of existence at Little T.iaverse, and 
 Mr. Baraga went away to Lake Superior, where some time after- 
 wards he w^as made Bishop. After he was in the Lake Superior 
 country he published some more books, sach asOdjebwe diction- 
 ary and Odjebwe grammar, which w^ere very hard to understand 
 to one unacquainted with the Indian language, and he also made 
 a new catechism. Father Simon succeeded Mr. Baraga, and did 
 about the same thing with regard to educating the Indian youths, 
 as did also Father Pierce after Simon, and many others from time 
 to time up to this day. 
 
 The Indians were very strict in their religion at this time They 
 did not allow any drunkenness in their village, nor allow anyone 
 to bring intoxicating liquors within the Harbor. If any person, 
 white or Indian, brought any liquor into the Harbor, by the bar- 
 rel or in small quantities, and it came to the knowledge of the 
 old chief, Au-paw-ko-si-gan, who was the war chief, but was act- 
 ing as principal chief at Little Traverse, he would call out his 
 men to go and search for the liquor, and if found he would order 
 him men to spill the whisky on the ground by knocking the head 
 
50 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 of a barrel with an ax, telling them not to bring any more whisky 
 into the Harbor, or wherever the Ottawas are, along the coast of 
 Arbor Croche. This was the end of it, there being no law suit for 
 the whisky. 
 
 They used to observe many holidays, particularly Christmas, 
 New Years and Corpus Christi. At the New Year's eve, every 
 one of the Indians used to go around visiting the principal men 
 of the tribe, shooting their guns close to their doors after scream- 
 ing three times, " Happy New Year," then bang, bang, altogether, 
 blowing their tin horns and beating their drums, etc. Early on 
 the New Year's morning, they would go around among their 
 neighbors expressly to shake hands one with another, with the 
 words of salutation, "Bozhoo," children and all. This practice 
 was kept up for a long time, or until the white people came and 
 intermingled with the tribes. 
 
 I thought my people were very happy in those days, when they 
 were all by themselves and possessed a wide spread of land, and 
 no one to quarrel with them as to where they should make their 
 gardens, or take timber, or make sugar. And fishes of all kinds 
 were so plentiful in the Harbor. A hook anywheres in the bay, 
 and at any time of the year, would catch Mackinaw trout, many 
 as one would want. And if a net were set anywheres in the har- 
 bor on shallow water, in the morning it would be loaded with 
 fishes of all kinds. Truly this was a beautiful location for the 
 mission. Every big council of the Indians was transacted in the 
 village of Little Traverse. 
 
 I will mention one or two more things which it might be inter- 
 esting to my readers to know. Up to 1835 and some time after- 
 wards, there was a very large double cedar tree, which appeared 
 to have been stuck together while they were growing, but were 
 two separate trees of the same size and height growing very close 
 together, standing very near the edge of the water, and leaning 
 very much towards the bay, almost like a staircase projecting far 
 out into the bay. Under the roots of these trees issued a perpet- 
 
INDIANS OP MICHIGAN. 51 
 
 ual spring of water, which is now called Mr. Carlow's Spring, 
 near the present depot. In the fall of 1835, I was clear at the top 
 of those trees, with my little chums, watching our people as they 
 were about going off in a long bark canoe, and, as we understood, 
 they were going to Washington to see the Great Father, the Pres- 
 ident of the United States, to tell him to have mercy on the Otta- 
 wa and Chippewa Indians in Michigan, not to take all the land 
 away from them. I saw some of our old Indian women weeping 
 as they watched our principal men going off in the canoe. I sup- 
 pose they were feeling bad on account of not knowing their fut- 
 ure destinies respecting their' possession of the land. After they 
 all got in the canoe, just as they were going to start, they all took 
 off their hats, crossed themselves and repeated the Lord's prayer ; 
 at the end of the prayer, they crossed themselves again, and then 
 away they went towards the Harbor Point. We M^atched them 
 until they disappeared in rounding the point. 
 
 March 28th, 1836, a treaty was signed at Washington, not with 
 the free will of the Indians, but by compulsion. That same year 
 we received the first annuity at Mackinac Island, our trading 
 post, $10 cash per head, beside dry goods and provisions. There 
 was a stipulation expressed in the 7th clause of the 4th article of 
 said treaty, that there was to be given to the Ottawa and Chippe- 
 wa Indians of Michigan $150,000 worth of dry goods until all 
 was paid out. There is said to have been paid out on the first 
 payment in 1836, about $10,000, which would then leave a balance 
 of $140,000. At this time the Ottawas and Chippewas held a big 
 council and concluded to ask the Government for cash instead of 
 dry goods ; because they saw that there was a great deal of waste 
 in distributing the goods among them, as there were lots of rem- 
 nants, and much of it left after distribution which they never 
 knew what became of. Therefore their belief respecting it was 
 that the Government officials had appropriated to themselves 
 some of these dry goods and given away freely to their white 
 friends and relatives. After conclusion of the council, they came 
 
52 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 before the Indian agent, Hon. H. Schoolcraft, and presented their 
 views and their request in this matter. He told them that he 
 could not give them any conclusive reply upon this subject, but 
 that he would make known their wishes to their Great Father at 
 Washington, and would inform them thereafter. That was the 
 last of it. In the next payment there were neither goods nor 
 money instead, as they requested, and no reply ever came to this 
 day. It was also stipulated that at the expiration of twenty-one 
 years, $20,000 was to be given to the Ottawa and Chippewa In- 
 dians, that is, one year after the expiration of the payment of 
 their annuities. And where are those lawful promises gone to 
 now ? Alas 1 when we inquire of them to the head department 
 they refer us to the third article of the Treaty of 1855, where it is 
 worded, " That the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians hereby release 
 and discharge the United States from all liability on account of 
 former treaty stipulations, either land or money," etc. But this 
 part of the stipulation was never explained to them at the Council 
 of Detroit, as they would never have consented to it, and would 
 not have signed the contract. We did not know anything about 
 it, but some time after we saw it with our own eyes, printed in 
 the pamphlet form of the contract, where our names had been 
 already subscribed to it. Then it was too late to make any rem- 
 edy in the matter. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 53 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 More Personal History — Suffering and Trials in Early Life— Missing 
 the Opportunity to Go to School — Learning Trade as a Blacksmith 
 — A New Start to Seek for Education — Arriving at Cleveland, O., 
 to Find His Old Friend, Rev. Alvin Coe— Visit with Rev. Samuel 
 Bissell, of Twinsburg, O., Principal of the Twinsburg Institute — 
 Attending School — Returning Home — Advocating Citizenship for 
 His People — Delegated to Detroit and to the State Legislature — 
 His Pleasant Visit with State Authorities — Again Delegated as 
 Councilor to the New Treaty, 1855. 
 
 The first winter we lived at Little Traverse as a permanent 
 home was in the year 1828, and in the following spring my own 
 dear mother died very suddenly, as she was burned while they 
 were making sugar in the woods. She was burned so badly that 
 she only lived four days after. I was small, but I was old enough 
 to know and mourn for my dear mother. I felt as though I had 
 lost everything dear to me and every friend ; there was no one 
 that I could place such confidence in, not even my own father. 
 So my father's household was broken up : we were pretty well 
 scattered after that. He could not very well keep us together ; 
 being the least one in the family, I became a perfect wild rover. 
 At last I left Little Traverse when about 13 or 14 years age. I 
 went to Grreen Bay, Wis., with the expectation of living with an 
 older sister who had married a Scotchman named Gibson and had 
 gone there to make a home somewhere in Green Bay. I found 
 them, but I did not stay with them long. I left them and went 
 to live with a farmer close by whose name was Sylvester. From 
 this place I was persuaded by another man to go with him on the 
 fishing ground, to a place called Sturgeon Bay, Wis. From there 
 I sailed with Mr. Robert Campbell. Mr. Campbell was a good 
 man and Christian. His father had a nice farm at Bay Settle- 
 
54 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 ment, near Green Bay, Wis., where also my sister settled down. I 
 sailed with him one summer. We came to Mackinac Island in 
 the fall of 1840, and there I met my father and all my relations, 
 and great man> Indians as they were about receiving their annu- 
 al payment from the Government. So I left the vessel and 
 hired out in the store to act as clerk during the payment time. 
 
 After all the Indians had gone away from the island, I was 
 still working in the store and thought to make my winter quart- 
 ers there, but did not. One day I met my father's old friend, the 
 Rev. Mr. Alvin Coe, the traveling missionary of whom I have al- 
 ready spoken as having asked me to go with him to the State of 
 Ohio where I might have an opportunity to go to school and be 
 educated like the white man. I told him I will go with him, 
 provided he will take an interest to watch over me, that no one 
 would abuse me out there after getting into the strange country. 
 He faithfully promised that he wonld do all this, and would also 
 do all he could to help me along to obtain my education. He 
 said he was going that night and I must be on hand when the 
 boat arrived ; but I failed to tell him my stopping place. So 
 when the boat arrived I was too sound asleep to hear it. Poor 
 old man ! I was told that he felt disappointed to have to go with, 
 out me. As I woke in the morning I inquired if any boat had 
 arrived during the night. I was told there was. I was also 
 told there was an old man who seemed to be very anxious, and 
 was looking for me all over the crowd on the dock, but he could 
 not find me there. When the boat was pushing out he jumped 
 on board and then turned to the crowd, saying, "Tell my little 
 boy, Jackson, son of the old chief Macka-de-be-nessy, of Arbor 
 Oroche, that I have gone on this boat." 
 
 Thus I was left, and missed the opportunity when I might have 
 been educated while I was yet much younger. A few days after- 
 wards, as I walked out from the store one evening, I met two 
 young men in the street, one of whom I frequently saw during 
 the payment time, but the other was entirely a stranger to me. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 55 
 
 He was a most noble-looking and tall young man, but, behold, he 
 spoke perfectly and freely the Indian language, saying to me, "My 
 boy, would you be willing to take us to that vessel out there?" at 
 the same time pointing to a vessel which was already outside of 
 the harbor, sails up, but in a perfectly dead calm, as there was not 
 a breath of wind. I told them I would, provided I could get the 
 boat to get there ; in which he replied that they will do all that 
 part of the business, but they wanted some one to bring the boat 
 back. As I was walking with another mate of mine, I ask him 
 to go with me to take these folks on board. The next thing we 
 were on the way towards the vessel. Ag we went along this noble 
 young man said to me, "My boy, would you like to come with us 
 to Grand Traverse ?" I replied, " I would like to see Grand Trav- 
 erse, but am not prepared to go just now." " Would joii not like 
 to learn the blacksmith trade ? This man is a government black- 
 smith in Grand Traverse," referring to his companion, "and he 
 needs an assistant in the business. We will give you position as 
 an assistant and a salary of $240 yearly, or $20 per month." I 
 replied, " I will go, for I would be very glad to find a chance to 
 learn a trade and at the same time to get my living." Therefore 
 I also got on board, and my friend had to come back alone with 
 the boat we borrowed. This was the same vessel that I had 
 sailed on that season. We arrived at the place now called " The 
 Old Mission," where there was a nice harbor.* This young man, 
 whose name I now learned was John M. Johnstone, of Sault Ste. 
 Marie, the brother-in-law of Henry Schoolcraft, our Indian agent, 
 said when we arrived, " You have no commission yet to work in 
 the shop; you will therefore have to go back to Mackinac with 
 
 * The Mission was already established by this time, 1840, conducted bj' the 
 Presbyterian Board of Missions. Rev. P. Dougherty, who was indeed a true 
 Christian, and good to Indians, was a preacher for the Mission. Daniel Rod, 
 the half-breed from St. Clair River, Mich., was his interpreter. Mr. Bradky 
 acted as teacher, who afterwards proved himself unworthy for the position, 
 which produced a bad effect among the Indians. The Mission is now out of 
 existence. 
 
56 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 this letter which you will take to Indian agent yourself and no- 
 body else. Then come back at the first opportunity if he tells 
 you to come." 
 
 So I had to return to Mackinac on the same vessel with 
 which we went away. At Mackinac I received my commission 
 without any trouble. On arriving at Grand Traverse the Indians 
 were having a big council which was concocted, I was told, by 
 the brother of my benefactor, who was trading there among the 
 Indians. They were getting up remonstrances and petitioning 
 the Government against my appointment, setting forth as reason 
 of their complaint that I did not belong to that tribe of Indians, 
 and was therefore not entitled to the position, and they would 
 rather have one of their own boys belonging to the tribe put to 
 this trade. But my friend Johnstone told me "not to mind any- 
 thing, but go about my business. The blacksmith shop had been 
 established here for more than two years, and they should have 
 thought of putting their boy in the shop long before this." So 
 accordingly I continued working and minding my own business 
 for five years, when I quit of my own accord. There were no 
 white people there at that time, only such as were employed by 
 the Government, and the missionaries and teachers, and the In- 
 dians were very happy in those days. 
 
 I have told my readers in the previous chapters of this little 
 book, that from the time I was invited by our most estimable 
 friend. Rev. Alvin Coe, to go with him to the State of Ohio in 
 order to receive an education, " that it was never blotted out of 
 my mind," and therefore the very day I quit the blacksmith shop 
 at Grand Traverse, I turned my face toward the State of Ohio, for 
 that object alone. I came to Little Traverpe to bid a good-by to 
 my father and relations late in October, 1845. I did not even stay 
 half a day at Little Traverse. I started for Arbor Croche the 
 same day I bid the last farewell to my folks, in order to ob- 
 tain an opportunity there to get to Mackinac Island, from which 
 I intended to take my passage for Cleveland. Arriving at Arbor 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 57 
 
 Croclie, which is fourteen miles from Little Traverse, I met an 
 orphan boy, Paul Naw-o-ga-cle by name, a distant relative, and 
 proposed to pay his passage to Cleveland. The brother of this 
 little boy had a boat of his own, and offered to take us to Macki- 
 nac Island, and I was vary glad of the opportunity. So the next 
 day we started for Mackinac, not knowing what would become of 
 us if my little means were exhausted and we should be -unsuc- 
 cessful in finding our old friend, Mr. Alvin Coe. 
 
 The day we arrived at Mackinac we took passage for Cleveland. 
 Arriving there we were scared at seeing so many people coming 
 to us who wanted us to get into their cabs to take us to some hotel 
 which might cost us two or three dollars a day. We w^ent to 
 Farmer's Hotel. In the evening the landlady was somewhat 
 curious to know where we hailed from and where we were going 
 to. I told her we came from Michigan, but we did not know yet 
 where we should go to. I asked her if she ever knew or heard 
 of a minister named Alvin Coe. "What," — ^she seemed to be 
 very much surprised — '•' Mr. Alvin Coe the traveling missionary ?" 
 I said, "Yes, the same." " Why, that is my own uncle. What is 
 it about him ? " " O, nothing ; only I would like to know where 
 he lives, and how far." I was equall}^ surprised to think that we 
 happened to meet one of his relatives, and thought at this moment, 
 God must be with us in our undertaking. " You know my uncle, 
 then," she said. I said, " Yes; he is my particular friend, and I 
 am going to look for him." Of course, she told us the name of 
 the town in which he lived, and how far and which road to take 
 to get there. It also happened that there was one gentleman at 
 Farmer's Hotel, who had been out west and came on the same 
 boat on which we came, and he was going the -next day in tliat 
 direction on foot, and said he would guide us as far as he would 
 go, which would be about twenty miles, and there was thirty miles 
 to go after that. So the next day we started. Arriving late in 
 the afternoon at the outskirts of the little village called Twins- 
 burg, our white companion told us this is the place where he in- 
 
58 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 tended to stop for a while, and said, " You better stop with me 
 for tlie night, and after supper you could visit the institution in 
 the village and see the principal of the school here ; you might 
 possibly get a chance to attend that school, as you say that was 
 your object in coming to this part of the country." I was very 
 much surprised, as he had not said one word about it as we came 
 along OTi the road. After supper, I went as he directed. As I 
 approached the seminary I saw a good many boys playing on the 
 square of the village, and I went and stood close by. Very soon 
 one of the young men came up to me, saying, "Are you going to 
 attend our school here?" I told him, "No, sir; I am going 
 thirty miles further to attend some school there." "This is the 
 best school that I know of anywhere about this country," he said. 
 I asked him if he would introduce me to the proprietor of the 
 school. " Most cheerfully," said he ; " will you please to tell me 
 what place you came from, and }■ our name." "I came from Mich- 
 igan, and my name is Blackbird." "All right, I will go with 
 you." So we came to the professor's room, and he introduced 
 me. "Well, Mr. Blackbird, do you wish to attend our school?" 
 I said, " I do not know, sir, how that might be, as I have not much 
 means to pay my way, but I am seeking for a man who invited 
 me to come to come to Ohio some five years ago, and promised 
 that he would help me all he could for my education. His name 
 is Alvin Coe, a traveling missionary, my father's old friend." 
 "We have two Indian boys here attending school, and 1 think 
 you will not be very lonesome if you should conclude to stay with 
 us." "What are their names?" I asked. "One is Francis Petos- 
 key, and the other is Paul Ka-gwe-tosong." I said, "I know them 
 both ; I came from the same place they did, but I did not know 
 they were here, I only knew they were attending school somewhere 
 among the whites." " Can you do any kind of work ? " "I am a 
 blacksmith by trade, sir, and besides I can do most every other 
 kind of work." He said, "If you conclude to stay, I will try to 
 aid you in finding a place where you could work to pay for your 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 59 
 
 lodging and board ; and in the meantime we will cause Mr. Alvin 
 Coe to come and see you, and if he sees fit to take you away he 
 can do so, provided you would be willing to go with him." I told 
 him I would stay, if I found a place to work to pay for my board, 
 and provided that I could make some arrangement for the little 
 companion who came with me. After considering a few moments, 
 he proposed to take my little companion to his boarding house 
 until a better arrangment could be made. This was the end of 
 my conversation with this noble hearted professor and proprietor 
 of this Institution, w^hose name was Rev. Samuel Bissell, of 
 Twinsburg, Ohio. 
 
 In the morning, after breakfast, I went back to the village and 
 found arrangments were already made for both of us, and all we 
 had to do was just to shift our quarters. I came to live with a 
 young blacksmith in the village and work two hours in the morn- 
 ing and two hours in the evening, and many times I finished my 
 hours at sunrise. Some time during the winter, my friend Mr. 
 Alvin Coe came and took me off, with the understanding, however, 
 that if I did not like the school where he was, I was to come back 
 to Twinsburg. So in about two weeks I came back to the old 
 institution, as I did not like the place. At last Dr. Brainsmade, 
 of Newark, New Jersey, took a deep interest in my welfare and 
 education, and he proposed to aid me and take me through the 
 medical college. Therefore I quit working my hours in the shop 
 and boarded at the institution, attending solely to my studies for 
 over four years. 
 
 I have already told my readers in previous chapters how bad I 
 felt when I had to return to Michigan. After I came home I did 
 everything towards the welfare and happiness of my people, be- 
 side attending to my aged father, as I found my people to be very 
 different then from what they were, as they were beginning to 
 have a free use of intoxicating liquors. I immediately caused 
 the pledge to be signed in every village of the Indians, in which 
 I was quite successful, as almost everyone pledged themselves 
 
60 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 never again to touch intoxicating drinks. I also advocated the 
 right of citizenship for my people in the State of Michigan, al- 
 though we were repeatedly told by our white neighbors that we 
 could not very well be adopted as citizens of the State as long as 
 we were receiving annuities from the general government on ac- 
 count of our former treaties. My object of promulgating this 
 cause was, 1 thought it would be the only salvation of my peo- 
 ple from being sent ofl to the west of the Mississippi, where per- 
 haps, more than one-half would have died before they could be 
 acclimated to the country to wiiich the}^ would be driven. I have 
 suffered very great hardships for this cause, as I had to w^alk from 
 Little Traverse through the dense forest, and almost the entire 
 length of the southern peninsula of Michigan, in order to reach 
 the authorities of the State to hold conference with them upon 
 the subject of the citizenship of the Ottawas and Chippewas, and 
 walked on snow-shoes in the middle of winter in company with 
 one of our young chieftains from Cross Village.* We were sub- 
 jected to great exposure with only a camp fire for several days in 
 the month of February. 
 
 After crossing Houghton Lake, which is the head waters of the 
 Muskegon river, that evening we swallowed the last morsel of 
 food, and actually we traveled and camped out with empty stom- 
 achs for two days and a half before we came to any inhabited 
 place. At last we struck the Te-ti-pe-wa-say (Tittabawassee), one 
 of the principal branches of Saginaw river, and following down 
 that stream on the ice we came to an Indian camp which stood 
 by the river side, and also saw many human foot-prints on the ice, 
 but the camp was deserted and we found nothing to eat. We left 
 the place and once more followed the river, and after walking 
 about half a mile we came to another Indian camp, and saw blue 
 smoke coming out of it. As we came up to the camp we found 
 
 * Mr. AVardsworth also accompanied us from Elk Rapids, on his way to 
 Detroit to obtain a commission as surveyor on some part of the Grand Traverse 
 region. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 61 
 
 nothing but women and children (all the men were out hunting). 
 They gave us food, and we went on our journey the next day. 
 
 We went to Detroit to see Judge Wing to obtain his legal opin- 
 ion on the subject of the citizenship of the Ottawa and Chippewa 
 Indians of Michigan. We had a very pleasant visit with him, 
 and he gave us as his legal opinion of this matter, that he did not 
 think that it would debar us from beijig citizens of the State, be- 
 cause the Government owed us a little money on account of our 
 former treaties, provided we should renounce our allegiance to 
 our chiefs and recognize no other chief authority than the 
 President of the United States; and that we would not be re- 
 quired to have any writ of naturalization as we are already natu- 
 ralized by being American born. After a pleasant visit with 
 Hon. Judge Wing, we next turned our faces to the State Legisla- 
 ture and Governor. In this also we thought we were veiy success- 
 ful, for the Governor received us very kindly and gave us much 
 good counsel on the subject of citizenship, giving us some in- 
 structions as to how we should live under the rule of the State 
 if we should become the children of the same. He talked to us 
 as though he was talking to his own son who had just come from 
 a far country and asked his father's permission to stay in the 
 household. 
 
 After a pleasant visit with the Governor, and seeing some of 
 the members of the State Legislature, receiving full assurance 
 that our undertaking and object would be well looked after, we 
 retraced our steps back to Little Traverse, to report the result of 
 our visit. After that, not many Indians believed these flying 
 reports gotten up by our white neighbors. In that year, the 
 clause was put in the revised statutes of the State of Michigan, 
 that every male person of Indian descent in Michigan not mem- 
 bers of any tribe shall be entitled to vote. 
 
 In the year 1855, I was again delegated to attend the council of 
 Detroit for the treaty of 1855, and in that council I made several 
 speeches before the Hon. Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Mr. 
 
63 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Manypenny, of Washington, on the subject of our educational 
 fund, $8000 per annum, which had been expended for the educa 
 tion of the Indian youths for the last nineteen years, and which 
 was to be continued ten years longer. This sum had never been 
 used directly for any scholars, but it was stated that it was given 
 to the religious societies which had missions among the Michigan 
 Indians. In that council I advocated that the said fund be retain- 
 ed in the hands of the general Government for the benefit of those 
 Indian youths who really intended to be educated and who went 
 among the whites or in civilized communities to be educated, 
 and if it need be, to be used for the collegiate education of those 
 Indian youths, but let the children at home be educated at home 
 by taxation, and giving fully my reasons in advancing such prop- 
 osition. The Hon. Commissioner was much taken up with my 
 remarks on this subject, 1 being the youngest member, and told 
 the older members of the council that he would like to hear some 
 of them on this subject. " The young man who has been making 
 remarks on this matter has a very good idea ^ith regard to your 
 educational funds ; now let us hear farther remarks on this sub- 
 ject by some other members of the council." But not one Indian 
 stirred. And again and again the next day, I tried to urge this 
 matter to the Hon. Commissioner and the Indians to cooperate 
 with me, but they would not, because my people were so ignorant 
 they did not know the value of education, or else they misunder- 
 stood the whole subject. On the third day, as I was about getting 
 up to make further remarks upon this subject, one of the old 
 members, who was the most unworthy of all the company, as 
 he got very drunk the day we arrived in Detroit and was locked 
 up in jail as disorderly two or three days, arose and said to the 
 Commissioner that I was not authorized by any of the council to 
 get up here and make such remarks. " We did not come here 
 to talk about education, but came expressly to form a treaty." 
 Then burst into a great laughter all the spectators of the council 
 and some of the members too. I was told afterwards that it was 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 63 
 
 a put lip job to prevent any change by the persons who had been 
 handling for years this Indian educational fund, as there were a 
 number of them in the council hall. Thus was lost one of the 
 most noble objects which ought to have been first looked after^ 
 
 After the council dispersed and came home, I sat down and 
 and wrote a long article, giving the full history of the past in re- 
 gard to this matter; how our educational fund, $8000 per an- 
 num, had been handled and conducted for nearly twenty years, 
 and yet not one Indian youth could spell the simplest word in the 
 English language, and these writings I had published in the De- 
 troit Tribune for public inspection. 
 
64 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Becoming Protestant — Persecutions — Second Attempt to go to School 
 — Trials With Indian Agent — Governor Lewis Cass — Struggles 
 Daring Education — Getting Married — Coming Home — Govern- 
 ment Interpreter and Postmaster. 
 
 The next five years were passed among my people, doing a little 
 of everything, laboring, teaching, and interpreting sermons among 
 the Protestant missions — for there were by this time two Protest- 
 ant missions established among the Ottaw^as of Arbor Croche, one 
 at Bear River, now Petoskey, and another at Middle Village or 
 Arbor Croche proper, where 1 acted as an assistant teacher and 
 interpreter. 1 met much opposition from the Catholic commun- 
 ity, because I had already become a Protestant and left the Rom- 
 ish church, not by any personal persuasion, however, but by ter- 
 rible conviction on reading the word of God — ''That there is no 
 mediator between God and man but one, which is Christ Jesus, 
 who Avas crucified for the remission of sins." One Sunday, some 
 friend persuaded me to come to the church, but when the priest 
 saw me he came and forcibly ejected me out of the room. The 
 same priest left the Indian country soon afterwards, and it seems 
 he w^ent to England, and just before he died he wrote to my sister 
 a very touching epistle, in which he said nothing about himself 
 or any one in Little Traverse, but from the beginning to the end 
 of the letter he expressed himself full of sorrow^ for what he 
 had done to me when in this country among the Indians, and ask- 
 ing of me forgivness for his wrongs towards me. 
 
 Soon after the council of Detroit, I became very discontented, 
 for I felt that I ought to have gone through with my medical 
 studies, or go to some college and receive a degree and then go 
 and study some profession. But where is the means to take me 
 through for completing my education ? was the question every 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 65 
 
 day. So, after one payment of the treaty of 1855, late in the fall 
 of 1856, I went up to Mr. Gilbert, who was then Indian agent, and 
 made known to him my intention, and asked him if he would 
 aid me towards completing my education, by arranging for 
 me to receive the benefit of our educational fund, which was set 
 apart at the last council for the education of the Indians in this 
 State. But he would not. He bluffed me off by saying he was 
 sorry I had voted the " black republican ticket," at the general 
 election, which took place that fall of 1856, This was the first 
 time that the Indians ever voted on general election. Mr. Gilbert 
 was at North Port, Grand Traverse, on election day, managing the 
 Indian votes there, and he sent a young man to Little Traverse to 
 manage the voting there and sit as one of the Board at the Little 
 Traverse election. He sent the message to Indians to vote no 
 other ticket but the democratic ticket. At this election there were 
 only two republican votes in Little Traverse, one of which was 
 cast by myself. As I was depositing my ballot, this young man 
 was so furiously enraged at me he fairly gnashed his teeth, at 
 which I was very much surprised, and from my companion they 
 tried to take away the ticket. Then they tried to make him ex- 
 change his ticket, but he refused. We went out quickly, as we 
 did not wish to stay in this excitement. At that time I felt al- 
 most sorry for my people, the Indians, for ever being citizens of 
 the State, as I thought they were much happier without these 
 elections. 
 
 After payment of our annuities, as the vessel was about starting 
 off to take the Indian agent to Mackinac, they had already hoisted 
 the sails, although there was not much wind, and I thought, this 
 was the last chance to get to Macl:inac. As I looked toward the 
 vessel I wept, for I felt terribly downcast. As they were going 
 very slowly toward the harbor point, I asked one of the Indian 
 youngsters to take me and my trunk in a canoe to the vessel out 
 there. I had now determined to go, in defiance of every opposi- 
 
66 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 tion, to seek my education * I hurried to our house with the boy, 
 to get my trunk and bid good bye to my aged father, and told him 
 I was going again to some school outside, and if God permitted I 
 hoped to return again to Little Traverse. All my father said was, 
 '* Well, my son, if you think it is bes1, go." And away we went. 
 We overtook the vessel somewhere opposite Little Portage, and 
 as I came aboard the agent's face turned red. He said, "Are you 
 going ? " I said, " Yes sir, I am going." So nothing more was said. 
 The greater part of the night was spent by the agent and the captain 
 gambling with cards, by which the agent lost considerable money. 
 We arrived the next day at Mackinac, and again I approached 
 the Indian agent with request if he could possibly arrange for me 
 to have the benefit of our Indian educational fund, set apart for 
 that purpose at the council of Detroit, 1855 ; and again he brought 
 up the subject of my voting. Then I was beginning to feel out 
 of humor, and I spoke rather abruptly to him, saying, "Well, sir, 
 I now see clearly that you don't care about doing anything for 
 my welfare because I voted for the republican party. But poli- 
 tics have nothing to do with my education; for the Government 
 of the United States owes us that amount of money, not politics. 
 I was one of the councilors when that treaty was made, and I will 
 see some other men about this matter, sir." His face turned all 
 purple, and as I was turning about to keep away from him, he 
 called me back, saying, " Mr. Blackbird, how far do you intend 
 to go to get your education?" I said, " I intend to go to Ann 
 Arbor University, sir." "Well, I will do this much for you: I 
 will pay your fare to Detroit. I am going by way of Chicago, 
 but you can go down by the next boat, which will be here soon 
 from Chicago." I thanked him, and he handed me money enough 
 to pay my fare to Detroit. 
 
 So I reached Detroit, and went to Dr. Stuben's house and in- 
 
 *Indians are now forbidden to leave their reservations without permission 
 from the agent, so no ambitious and determined youth can now escape from the 
 Indian Bureau machine. — [Ed. 
 
INDIANS OP MICHIGAN. 67 
 
 quired my way to Governor Cass' residence ; and when I knocked 
 at tlie door, beliold it was lie himself came to the door. I shook 
 hands with him and said, ''My friend, I would like to speak to 
 you a few moments." " Is it I or business ? " he asked. " Yes sir, 
 it is." ' Well, my boy, I will listen to what you have to say." "I 
 therefore began, saying, " Well, my friend, I come from Arbor 
 Croche. I am the nephew of your old friend, '' Warrior Wing," 
 am seeking for education, but I have no means ; and I come to 
 see you expressly to acquaint Yf)u with my object, and to ask you 
 the favor of interceding for me to the Government to see if they 
 could possibly do something towards defraying my expenses in 
 this object. That is all I have to say." The old man raised his 
 spectacles and said, " Why, why! your object is a very good one. 
 I was well acquainted with your uncle in the frontier of Michi- 
 gan during the war of 1812. Have you seen and told the Indian 
 agent of this matter ? " '* Yes sir, I have asked him twice, but he 
 would not do anything for me." " Why, why ! it seems to me 
 there is ample provision for your people for that object, and has 
 been for the last twenty years. What is the matter with him?" 
 I said, " I don't know, sir." " Well, well ; I am going to Wash- 
 ington in a few days, and shall see the Indian Commissioner 
 about this matter, and will write to you from there on the sub- 
 ject. I know they can do something toward defraying your ex- 
 penses. Where do you intend to go ? " I said, '• I don't know, 
 yet, sir, but I thought of going to the Univc sity at Ann Arbor." 
 *'Is it possible? are you prepared to enter such a college?" ■ I 
 told him I thought I was. " Well, sir, I think you had better go 
 to Ypsilanti State Normal School instead of Ann Arbor: it is one 
 of the best colleges in the State." This was the first time I ever 
 heard of that school, and it sounded quite big to me; so I told 
 him that I would gladly attend that school, provided I had means 
 to do so. " Well, then, it is settled. You shall go to Ypsilanti, 
 and I will direct my letter to Ypsilanti when I write to you ; and 
 now mind nobody, but j ust go about your business." After thank- 
 
68 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 ing him for his good counsel I shook hands with the old man 
 and left. 
 
 The next day was a terrible snow storm, but, however, I started 
 out for Ypsilanti, which is only about thirty miles from Detroit. 
 Of course, as I was totally a stranger in the place, 1 put up at a 
 hotel, although my means were getting very short. The next 
 day I went about to find out all about the institution, cost of tui- 
 tion, and private board, etc., and saw some of the professors of 
 the institution, but I did not dare to malie any arrangements for 
 a steady boarding place and begin school for fear Governor Cass 
 should fail of getting help from the Goverment. Therefore, in- 
 stead of beginning to go to school, I went and hired out on a 
 farm about three miles from the city, and continued to work 
 there for about three weeks before I heard from Governor Cass. 
 At last the old farmer brought a package of letters from the post- 
 oflBce, one of which was post marked at Washington, D. C, and 
 another from Detroit. I fairly trembled as I opened the one 
 which 1 thought was from Governor Cass, as between doubt and 
 hope, but my fears were suddenly changed into gladness, and 
 quickly as possible I settled with the farmer, and away I went 
 towards the city, singing as I went along. By intercession of 
 Governor Cass, it was proposed to pay my whole expenses — 
 hoard, clothes, books, tuition, etc. The other letter was from the 
 Indian Agent, calling me to come down to Detroit, as he had al- 
 ready received some instructions from the Commissioner of In- 
 dian Affairs to look after me and to arrange the matters of my 
 schooling at Ypsilanti State Normal School. O, how I did hate 
 to have to meet the Indian Agent again on this subject; to stand 
 hefore him, and to have him think that I had overcome Lim, 
 and succeeded in spite of his opposition to my desire. O, how 
 I wished this matter could have been arranged without his assist- 
 ance. However, I started out for Detroit the same evening I re- 
 ceived these communications, and went to the agent. He never 
 even said, "How do you do?" but immediately began, saying, 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 69 
 
 " Well, sir, how much do you think that it will cost for your 
 schooling at Ypsilanti?" "I don't know, sir," I responded. 
 "Well, who knows? I think you ought to know, as you have 
 been there," he said, in a gruff voice. " I have not been to school 
 at all, sir," I said, "but have been working on a farm up to this 
 morning." " Working on a farm, eh ? I thought you came here 
 on purpose to attend school ? " "I did, sir; but you know I was 
 very short of means, so I had to do something to keep me alive." 
 *' Can't you tell me the cost for your board per week?" "The 
 private board is from $3.50 to $4 per week, sir, as according to 
 accommodation." ''How much for books and clothing?" "1 
 don't know, sir ; but I think I have enough clothing for at least 
 one year." 
 
 In the morning I went back to Ypsilanti, and with the aid of 
 the professors of the institution 1 got a good boarding place. = I 
 attended this institution almost two years and a half, when I; 
 could not hold out any longer, as my allowance for support from 
 the Government was so scanty it did not pay for all my necessary 
 expenses. I have always attributed this small allowance to the 
 Indian Agent wlio was so much against me. I tried to board my- 
 self and to live on bread and water; and therefore hired a room' 
 which cost me 75 cents a week, and bought bread from the baker.- 
 ies, which cost me about 50 cents a week, and once in a while I 
 had fire-wood as I did not keep much fire. I stood it pretty well 
 for three months, but I could not stand it any longer. I was very, 
 much reduced in flesh, and on the least exertion I would be 
 trembling, and I began to bft discouraged in the prosecution of 
 my studies. By this time I was in the D class, but class F was 
 the graduating class in that institution, which I was exceedingly 
 anxious to attain; but I imagined that I was beginning to be sick 
 on account of so much privation, or tliat I would starve to death 
 before I could be graduated, and therefore I was forced to aban^ 
 don my studies and leave the institution. i 
 
 As I did not have any money to pay my passage homeward, I 
 
70 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 went about working and occasionally lecturing on the subject of 
 the Indians of Michigan, and at last I had enough means to re- 
 turn home and try to live once more according to the means and 
 strength of my education. September 4th, 1858, I was joined in 
 wedlock to the young lady who is still my beloved wife, and now 
 we have four active cliildren for whom 1 ever feel much anxiety 
 that they might be educated and brought up in a Chrislian man- 
 ner. Soon after 1 came to my country my father died at a great 
 age. The first year we lived in Little Traverse we struggled 
 quite hard to get along, but in another year I was appointed U. S. 
 Interpreter by the Hon. D. C. Leach, U. S. Indian Agent for 
 Mackinac Indian Agency, to whom I ever feel largely indebted, 
 and I continued to hold this situation under several of his 
 successors in oflBce. 
 
 '> During the Kebellion I was loj^al to the Government, and op- 
 posed the bad wliite men who were then living in the Indian 
 country, who tried to mislead my people as to the question of the 
 war, to cause them to be disloyal. After the war was over, I was 
 appointed as an auxiliary prosecutor of the Indian soldier claims, 
 as quite a number of our people also helped to put down this re- 
 bellion, and many were killed and wounded. But most of this 
 kind of business I performed without reward. 
 ■ Before I was fairly out as Interpreter, I was appointed with a 
 very small salary as postmast*»r at Little Traverse, now Harbor 
 Spring-^, where I discharged my duties faithfully and honestly 
 for eleven years. But the ingress of the white population in this 
 Indian country increased much froni 1872-73 and onward. The 
 office was beginning to be a paying one, and 1 was beginning to 
 think that I was getting over the bridge, when others wanted the 
 office, my opponents b^ing the most prominent persons. Peti- 
 tions were forwarded to Washington to have me removed, al- 
 though no^one ever had any occasion to complain of having lost 
 his money or letter through this office during my adn- inistration. 
 At last, the third assistant postmaster general at "Washington 
 
INDIANS OP MICHIGAN. 71 
 
 wrote me a kind of private letter, stating that the main ground 
 of the complaint was, that my office was too small and inconven- 
 ient for the public, and advising me to try and please the public 
 as well as I could. And consequently I took what little money 
 I had saved and built a comfortable office, but before the 
 building was thoroughly completed I was removed. This left me 
 penniless in this cold world, to battle on and to struggle for my 
 existence ; and from that time hence I have not held any office, 
 nor do I care to. I only wish I could do a little more for the 
 welfare of my fellow-beings before I depart for another world, 
 as I am now nearly seventy years old, and will soon pass away. 
 I wish my readers to remember that the above history of my ex- 
 istence is only a short outline. If time and means permitted, 
 many more interesting things might be related. 
 
72 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Some of the Legends of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Respect- 
 ino: the Great Flood of the World— A Person Swallowed Up Alive 
 Like a Prophet Jonah. 
 Before proceeding with the history of the Ottawas and Chip- 
 pewas some of their most important and peculiar legends will 
 be given. They have a tradition of a great flood, as is recorded 
 it the Bible History, and many other tribes of Indians who speak 
 dialect of the Ottawa and Chippewa languages have the same 
 story. The legends say it was caused, not by a rain, but by the 
 great Ne-naw-bo-zhoo, who was the most remarkable, wonderful, 
 and supernatural being that ever trod upon the earth. He could 
 transfigure himself into the shape of all animals and live with 
 them for a great length of time. He has done much mischief and 
 also many benefits to the inhabitants of the earth whom he 
 called "his nephews;" and he shaped almost everything, teach- 
 ing his nephews what materials they should take for their future 
 utensils. This miscliievous Ne-naw-bo-zhoo spoiled the sugar 
 trees by diluting their sap with water. The legends say, that 
 once upon a time the sugar trees did produce sap at certain sea- 
 son of the year which was almost like a pure syrup ; but when 
 this mischievous Ne-naw-bo-zhoo had tasted it, he said to him- 
 self, "Ah, that is too cheap. It will not do. My nephews will ob- 
 tain this sugar too easily in the future time and the sugar will 
 be worthless." And therefore he diluted the sap until he could 
 not taste any sweetness therein. Then he said, "Now my nephews 
 will have to labor hard to make the sugar out of this sap, and the 
 sugar will be much more valuable to them in the future time." 
 In former times the heart of every tree contained fat from which 
 all inhabitants of the earth obtained delicious oil to eat; but this 
 mischievous Ne-naw-bo-zhoo, in his supernatural way, pushed 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 73 
 
 his staff into the heart of every tree ; and this is the reason why 
 the heart of every tree has a different color. 
 
 There was no great ark in which to float during the great flood, 
 but when Ne-naw-bo-zlioo could not flnd any more dry land to 
 run to when he was pursued with mountains of water, he said, 
 "let there be a great canoe." So there was a great canoe which 
 he entered with his animals and floated. 
 
 As to the origin of Ne-naw-bo-zhee, the legend says, that once 
 upon a time there lived a maiden with her grandmother, who 
 was a very dutiful and obedient child, observing every precept 
 which was taught her by her grandmother, and she spent much 
 time fasting; during which time she had wonderful • dreams 
 which she related to her grandmother every morning during her 
 fast days. She very often had a vision of holding conversation 
 with some deities and finally she was assured in a vision, that 
 her children would be terrible and would redeem all the inhabit- 
 ants of the earth from their various calamities; and accordingly, 
 she bore two sons. The first born was like any other human 
 child, but the last one was a monster which caused the death of 
 its mother, and, although shaped like a human being, as soon as 
 born ran off in the wilderness and was never again seen by any 
 person ; but the first child was nourished and reared by the 
 grandmother. When this child grew to be playful and talkative 
 by the side of its grandmother, he was so strange that very often 
 she would say to him, "Your actions are like a Ne-naw-bo-zhoo." 
 Tlien the child would reply, " I am the great Ne-naw-bo-zhoo on 
 this earth. " The meaning of this word in the Algonquin Ian- 
 guage is "a clown" and therefore he meant that he was the great 
 " clown " of the world. 
 
 Wiien Ne-naw-bo-zhoo became a man he was a great prophet 
 for his nephews and an expert hunter. His hunting dog was a 
 great black wolf. When he learned from his grandmother, that 
 his mother was dead and that his brother was a monster with a 
 body like flint stone which caused her death, Ne-naw-bo-zhoo 
 
74 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 was in a great rage after hearing the story and he determined to 
 seek for this evil being and shiy him. Then he immediately pre- 
 pared for a long journey, and trimmed his ponderous war club 
 nicely and prepared to be in a great battle. So off he went with 
 his great black wolf on the war path. As he passed through the 
 forest, for a trial of his strength and the strength of his war 
 club, he simply made motions with it toward one of the tallest 
 pines of the forest and the gigantic tree came down all into 
 slivers. " Ah," said Ne-naw-bo-zlioo, " who could stand against 
 my strength and the strength of my war club." After many 
 days journey going into eveiy nook and loop hole of the earth, 
 he succeeded at last in having a glimpse of the object of his 
 search. Ne-naw-bo-zhoo ran to overtake him, and chased him 
 all over the world ; and every now^ and then he would be close 
 enough to reach him with his war-club and to strike at him, but 
 he would only break a piece of the monster's siony body, which 
 was like a mountain of hard flint-stone. So the legend says 
 that whenever we find a pile of hard flints lying on the face of 
 the earth, there is where Ne-naw-bo.zhoo overtook his brother 
 monster and struck him with his tremendous war-club. At last 
 he vanquished him on the east shore of Grand Traverse Bay, 
 Michigan, near the place now called Antrim City, but formerly 
 by the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, it was called " Pe-wa-na- 
 go-ing," meaning " Flinty Point," so called because tiiere were 
 great rocks of flint lying near the edge of the lake shore. And 
 so the Ottawas and Chippewas say it is there where the old car- 
 cass of the monster is now lying — the brother of the great Ne- 
 naw-bo-zhoo. After that he traveled over almost every part of 
 this continent sometimes in the shape of an animal and then 
 again in human shape. There is an impression of human foot 
 tracks on a very smooth rock some where along the Ottawa river 
 in Canada, and also a round hole about as large and deep as a 
 common brass kettle on this flat rock near where the track is 
 and every Ottawa and Chippewa calls these " Ne-naw-bo-zhoo's 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 75 
 
 track " and " Ne-naw-bo-zhoo's kettle where he dropped it when 
 chasing his brother," and then they would drop a piece of tobacco 
 in the kettle as a sacrifice, at the same time praying for luck and 
 a prosperous journey to Montreal and back again to Michigan, 
 their native home, when passing this place. 
 
 Now the cause of the great flood was this: The god of the 
 deep was exceedingly jealous about Ne-naw-bo-zhoo's hunting 
 dog (the great black wolf) and therefore, he killed it and made a 
 feast with it and invited many guests, which were represented as 
 sea-serpents, water-tigers, and every kind of monster of the deep, 
 and they had a great feast. When Ne-naw-bo-zoo found out 
 what had become of his hunting dog, he was furiously enraged, 
 and determined to kill this god of the deep. 
 
 There was a certain place where he was accustomed to come 
 on the shore with his hosts, particularly on very fine days, to sun 
 themselves and enjoy the pleasure of being on a dry land. Ne- 
 naw-bo-zhoo knew this lovely spot very well. So right away he 
 strung up his bow and trimmed his arrows nicely, and went there 
 to watch, transforming himself into a black stump, near where 
 these water gods usually lay down to enjoy themselves. And 
 therefore, one very fine day the sea-serpents and water-tigers 
 were very anxious to come on shore as usual and asked their 
 master to accompany them, but he replied: "I feai the great 
 Ne-naw-bo-zhoo might be lurking about there, and he will kill 
 me because I have killed and eaten up his black wolf." But he 
 at last told them to go on shore and examine the place and report 
 if it was all clear ; but they found nothing unusual about the 
 place except the old black stump, which they never before ob- 
 served to be there. Therefore, they went back to their master 
 and reported that nothing was there to be afraid of except the 
 old black stump which they never noticed before. "Go again," 
 said their master " and closely examine the stump; peradventure, 
 it was he transfigured into the shape of the stump." So again 
 they came ashore and one of the water-tigers climbed upon it, 
 
76 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 inserting his long, sharp claws as he went up, but he saw nothing 
 strange. So, also the sea-serpent went up to it and coiled him- 
 self around the stump so tight that Ne-naw-bo-zhoo nearly scream- 
 ed with pain. At last the serpent uncoiled himself and they went 
 back to their master and reported to liim that it was nothing but 
 an old stump. So the god of tlie sea concluded to come ashore 
 with all his hosts, slowly and cautiously looking in every direc- 
 tion as he was still afraid that Ne-naw-bo-zhoo might be lurking 
 around there and watching. Soon they were dozing upon the 
 hot sand of the beach, then Ne-naw-bo-zhoo unmasked himself 
 and fixed one of his best arrows into his bow and shot the god of 
 the deep right through the heart. Then all the host started to 
 pursue the slayer of their master. Ne-naw-bo-zhoo fled for his 
 life; but he was pursued by the host with mountains of water. 
 He ran all over the earth, still pursued with the mountains of 
 water. So when he could not find any more dry land to run to> 
 he commanded a great canoe to be formed in which he and the 
 ainimals who were fleeing before the water, were saved. After 
 they floated, Ne-naw-bo-zhoo wondered very much how deep was 
 the water. Therf-fore, he ordered one of the beavers to go down 
 to the bottom of the deep and bring up some earth if he could, as 
 evidence that he did go to the bottom. So the beaver obeyed, and 
 he went down, but the water was so deep the beaver died before 
 he reached the bottom, and therefore, he came up floating as a 
 dead beaver. Ne-naw-bo-zhoo drew him up into his canoe and 
 resuscitated the beaver by blowing into his nostrils. 
 
 So he waited a little while longer, and afterwards he ordered 
 the muskrat to go down ; but the muskrat did not like the idea, 
 for he had seen the beaver coming up lifeless. So he had to 
 flatter him a little in order to induce him to go down, by telling 
 him, " Now, muskrat, I know that thou art one of the best divers 
 of all the animal creation; will you please go down and ascertain 
 the depth of the water, and bring up some earth in your little 
 paws, if you can, with which I shall try to make another world ? 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 77 
 
 Now go my little brother," — the legend says that he called all the 
 animal creation his little brothers, — "for we cannot always live 
 on the waters," At last the muskrat obeyed. He went down, 
 and descended clear to the bottom of the water, and grabbed 
 the earth and returned. But the water was yet so deep that belore 
 he reached the surface of the water, he expired. 
 
 As Ne-naw-bo-zhoo drew him up into his great canoe to resus- 
 citate him, he observed the muskrat still gi'asping something in 
 his little paws, and behold, it was a piece of earth. Then Ne- 
 naw-bo-zhoo knew that the muskrat went clear to the bottom of 
 the deep. He took this piece of earth and fixed it into a small 
 parcel ; which he fastened to the neck of the raven which was 
 witn him. Now, with this parcel, Ne-naw-bo-zhoo told the raven 
 to fly to and fro all over the face of the waters ; then the waters be- 
 gan to recede very fast, and soon the earth came back to its natu- 
 ral shape, just as it was before. 
 
 Again this same Ne-naw-bo-zhoo was once swallowed by a fish, 
 and after being carried about in the midst of the deep, he came 
 out again and lived as well as ever, like the Prophet Jonah. This 
 Ottawa and Chippewa legend is, that once upon a time there was 
 a great fish that resided in a certain lake, and as the people passed 
 through til is lake in their canoes, this great fish was accustomed 
 to come after those crossing the lake and if he overtook them he 
 would swallow them up, canoe and all, like swallowing a little 
 clam in its shell. So Ne-naw-bo-zhoo said to himself, " This great 
 fish will eat up all my nephews. Now I must somehow dispose 
 of him." And he went to the lake in his canoe expressly to look 
 for the fish, singing daring songs as he went along. After he came 
 in the midst of it, there he stopped, but kept on singing the fol- 
 lowing words : " Mishe-la-me-gwe Pe-le-wi-ko-lishim, Pe-la-wi-ko- 
 lishim " - daring the fish to come and swallow him up. So at last 
 the great fish, Mishi-la-me-gwe, did come and swallow the great 
 Ne-naw-bo-zhoo. But this was just what he wanted. After being 
 swallowed, he was able to dispose of this big fish, for with his 
 
78 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 weapons he caused the fish such pain that he ran on the shore 
 and died. After which, Ne-naw-bo-zhoo came out like the 
 Prophet Jonah, and he went home and sat down to smoke his 
 pipe, perfectly satisfied that he had saved many people by dispos- 
 ing of this great fish. 
 
 These are some of the legends told among the Ottawa and 
 Chippewa Indians, as related in their own language, which are 
 in some things quite similar to the records of the Bible. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 79 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Traditions of the Ottawas Rej^arding Their Early History — Their 
 Wars and Tlieir Confederations With Other Tribes of Indians. 
 
 Very many centuries ago, before the discovery of the American 
 continent by the white people, tlie traditions of the Ottawas say 
 they lived along the banks of one of the largest tributaries of the 
 St. Lawrence, now known as the Ottawa river. The Ottawas 
 spread over the country around the head waters of this stream, 
 subduing all other tribes of Indians which they happened to en- 
 counter, except the Chippewas and Stockbridge Indians. They 
 have been always friendly and closely related with these tribes, 
 and consequently no war-club was ever raised by either of these 
 against the other. Their language is of the same root, as they could 
 quite intelligently understand each other. Their manners and 
 customs in every way correspond. Their legends, particularly 
 respecting the flood, and their belief in the Supreme Being, the 
 great cieator of all things — Ketchi-mat-ne-do — is very much the 
 same ; also their belief in the evil spirit, whose habitation was un- 
 der the earth. To this deity they offered sacrifices as well as to 
 the other gods or deities. These offerings were called in those 
 days peace-offerings and down-offerings. They never sacrificed 
 flesh of animals to the evil spirit. Their offering to this deity 
 was parched corn pounded, then cooked into hominy; this w^as 
 sacrificed to the evil spirit, not because they loved him, but to ap- 
 pease his wrath. 
 
 Although the Chippewas speak almost the same language as the 
 Ottawas and Stockbridge Indians, yet they seem to belong to an- 
 other family of Indians, as tliey are much taller than the Ottawas 
 and Stockbridges, and broader across tlie shoulders — having a full 
 chest, very erect and striding firmly in their walking. They were 
 much more numerous than the Ottawa Indians. They extended 
 
80 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 from lower Canada north-westward up to Manitoba county. There 
 are three kinds of Chippewas, each kind having a different dialect. 
 The Chippewas in Canada, around the Straits of Mackinaw, the 
 islands in Lake Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie, and west of Lake 
 Superior, are much more enlightened and intelligent, and these, 
 we called common Chippewas ; but those on the plains further 
 north or northwest of Lake Superior, ''the wild Chippewas;" and 
 those on the north side of Lake Superior going toward Hudson 
 Bay, we called "the Backwoodsmen." This latter race lived en- 
 tirely by hunting and fishing and endured very great hardships 
 sometimes, particularly, when there was scarcity of game. The 
 Chippewas were very brave people on the war path, and their 
 principal foes w^ere Sioux Indians on the plains. These were 
 called in the Ottawa language " Naw-do-wa-see," and in the Chip- 
 pewa "Au-bwan." The plurals are " Naw-do-wa-see-wog " and 
 " Au-bwan-og." The " Naw-do-wa-see-wog " are deadly enemies of 
 the Ottawas and Chippewas, and they are the most careless of their 
 lives, for they taught their children from infancy not to fear death. 
 But the Ottawas were, however, considered as the most ancient 
 tribe of Indians and were called by the other tride "tlieir big 
 brother." Although they are a smaller race, in stature, then many 
 other tribes, they were known as the most wise and sagacious 
 people. Every tribe belonging to all the Algonquin family of 
 Indians looked up to the Ottawas for good counsel ; and they were 
 as brave as the Chippewas and very expert on the warpath. 
 
 Every tribe of Indians lias a different coat of arms, or symbol- 
 ical sign by which they are know^n to one another. The emblem 
 of the Ottawas is a moose; of the Chippewas, a sea gull; of the 
 Backs woodsmen, a rabbit ; that of the underground tribe, to which 
 I belong, is a species of hawk ; and that of the Seneca tribe of In- 
 dians is a crotch of a tree. The Ottawa Indians are very nearly ex- 
 tinct in the state of Michigan as there are only two or three fam- 
 ilies in the state, whose national emblem is a moose, showing them 
 to be descended from pure Ottawa blood ; but those who represent 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 81 
 
 ed themselves as the Ottawas in this state are descendants from 
 various tribes of Indians, even some are Senecas, of the Iroquois 
 family- — formerly deadly enemies of the Ottawas. The cause of 
 this mixture is by intermarriage, and by prisoners of war in for- 
 mer times. 
 
 The first man who signed the treaty of 1836, one of the Chip- 
 pewas of the Grand River Indians, whose name was "Mixinene," 
 was a descendant of the Backwoodsmen, whose emblem was a 
 rabbit. Tlierefore, all the rest of those Chippewas who went to 
 Washington to form a treaty with the Government felt displeased 
 about this matter and tried to ignore the signature of Mixinene, 
 because they thought that the first signature should have been 
 made by a pure Ottawa or a pure Chippewa, because they had the 
 first right to the land of Michigan. But the " Backwoodsmen,'* 
 they considered, had no claim nor title to this land which they 
 ceded to the Government of the United States. But the Govern, 
 ment did not know the difference, however, — all she wanted was 
 the land. So all the Chiefs of the Ottawas and Chippewas signed 
 this said treaty, not with free will, but by compulsion. 
 
 The tradition gives no reason why the Ottawas continually mov- 
 ed towards the northwest at this early period ; but it is, however, 
 supposed that it was on account of their deadly enemies, the Iro- 
 quois of New York, as they were continually at war with the six 
 nations of Indians. Quite often, the Iroquois would attack them, 
 but the tradition says that in almost every battle the Ottawas would 
 come out victorious over the Iroquois. The Ottawas too, in re. 
 taliation, would go to the Iroquois country to scalp some of the 
 Iroquois; then have their jubilees over these scalps by feasting 
 and dancing around them. At this stage of their existence they were 
 an exceedingly fierce and warlike people, not only contending with 
 these tribes, but also with many others out west and south, even 
 to the Chocktaw and Cherokee country and to the Flatheads, 
 Sioux Indians and the Underground race of people out west. 
 
 As the Ottawas continued moving up on this beautiful stream 
 
82 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 of water, they at last came to a large lake, the head waters of the 
 river. The surrounding scenery of the lake was most surprisingly 
 beautiful. They immediately named this lake Ke-tchi-ne-bissing, 
 which name it bears to this day. Here the Ottawas concluded to 
 stop and occupy the surrounding country. Therefore, they pitch- 
 ed their tents and formed a great village. They continued to re- 
 side around the lake for untold ages. And here too they had 
 many hard battles with the Iroquois ; but the Iroquois were not 
 able to conquer them or drive them from the country. But at last 
 the Ottawas became discontented with the place. They conclud- 
 ed that the place was haunted by some presiding deity who was 
 not favorable to them. They probably obtained this idea through 
 having sometimes great disasters in war with the Iroquois at this 
 place. I will here relate an incident which happened to the Ot- 
 tawas at about this time, and which was the origin of their be. 
 lief that the deity of the place was unfavorable to them. It may 
 be considered as purely fictitious, but every Ottawa and Chippewa 
 to this day believes it to have actually occurred. 
 
 A woman went down to the beach of lake Ke-tchine-bissing to 
 wash some of her clothing, taking along her infant child, which 
 was tied up on a board, according to the fashion of the Indians. 
 When she reached the beach, she set her child down very near 
 the edge of the water that it might watch its mother while at work. 
 Her wigwam stood not far from the lake, and in a few moments 
 she ran to it for something. On her return to the spot she was 
 terribly surprised not to find her child where she had left it 
 but a few minutes before. She ran frantically through the vil- 
 lage, crying and screaming, and saying that some one had stolen 
 her baby. A few days after this, two lovers sat upon the top of 
 the highest hillock which stood back of the village. While they 
 were talking very much love to each other, they heard an infant 
 crying bitterly, in the ground directly under them. Every one who 
 heard the report said at once that it must be the same baby who 
 was mysteriously missing on the beach a few days before. The 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 83 
 
 next day all the magicians were called together and requested to 
 divine this mystery. Some went and put themselves into the 
 state of clairvoyance, which was a very common practice among 
 the Ottawas and Chippewas within my time, and is still practiced 
 to-day where there is no Christianity predominating among the 
 Indians. Other magicians built themselves lodges in which to 
 call their favorite spirits in order to commune with them. This 
 which we might call Spiritualism, was practiced among the In- 
 dians much as among the whites at the present day. The form 
 of these lodges was like a tower in circular form built with long 
 poles set deep in the ground ten or twelve feet high, then covered 
 tight all around with canvass or skins of animals, except the top 
 is left open. Now the magician or the performer comes with the 
 little flat magician's rattle like a tamborine. They always build 
 a fire close to the lodge so that the attendants and spectators could 
 light their pipes, as they generally smoke much during the per- 
 formance. The magician sits by the fire also, and begins to talk 
 to the people, telling them that he could call up various spirits, 
 even the spirit of those who are yet living in the world, and that 
 they should hear them and ask them any questions they wish. 
 After which he begins to sing a peculiar song which scarcely any. 
 one could understand. Then he either goes into the lodge by crawl- 
 ing under, or sits out side with the rest of the audience, and sim- 
 ply throws something of his wear in the lodge — his blanket or his 
 robe or coat. And immediately the lodge begins to tremble, ap- 
 pearing to be full of wind. Then voices of various kinds are 
 heard from top to bottom, some speaking in unknown tongues, 
 and when the spectators ask any questions they would receive 
 replies sometimes with unknown tongues, but among the spirits 
 there is alw^ays a special interpreter to make known what other 
 spirits says. 
 
 After the magicians liad finished their incantations, one of 
 them, whom they thought greatest of all, went down to the beach 
 to the place where the child had been missing. The water was 
 
84 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 very deep there along the beach quite close to the shore. He 
 plunged in the lake and was gone under water for a long time. 
 At last he came up and reported that he had discovered a door- 
 way under deep water for a passage which seemed to lead toward 
 the top of the hill. He believed through this passage the child 
 was conveyed to the top of the hill by some evil monster, and all 
 the rest of the magicians agreed with this opinion. Therefore, 
 they returned to their village to hold another council and they 
 concluded to dig down wherever the magicians would direct and 
 try to find the passage. They found the passage after making a 
 very deep hole which to this day is said to be yet visible at 
 Ke-tchine-bissing. While they were digging, two supernatural 
 monsters ran out of the place ; and at last at the top of the hill 
 they found a cavern where the dead form of the child was dis- 
 covered. 
 
INDIANS OP MICHIGAN. 85 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Ottawas Movin,:^ Again Towards the Setting Sun — Coming to 
 Manitoulin, or Ottawa Island — The Names of Their Leaders — The 
 Wenebago Warriors Coming to Ottawa Island in a Hostile Man- 
 ner, Headed by 0-saw-wa-ne me-kee, "The Yellow Thunder" — 
 Death of Kaw-be-naw, one of the Greatest Prophets and Warriors 
 of the Ottawas — Massacre in the Country of Waw-gaw-na-ke-zhe, 
 or Arbor Croche, Emmet County, Michigan. 
 Soon after the loss of the child, the Ottawas abandoned the coun- 
 try and again moved toward the setting sun until they came to 
 Lake Huron. Here they discovered a great island which is now 
 called Manitoulin, but formerly, the Ottawa Island. Here the 
 Ottawas remained for many more centuries. Here too, was born 
 one of the greatest warriors and prophets that the Ottawas ever 
 had, whose name was Kaw^-be-naw. This word is accented on the 
 last syllable, — its definition is — "He would be brought out." 
 There are many curious and interesting adventures related of this 
 great warrior and prophet, a record of which would require a 
 large book. But I will here give one of the last acts of his life. 
 It is related that he became tired of living and killing so many 
 people. He desired to die ; but he could not. It is also related 
 that the We-ne-be-go tribe of Indians had also one man who was 
 almost equal in power to Kaw-be-naw whose name was " 0-saw- 
 wa-ne-me-kee " — the " Yellow Thunder." Having heard the fame 
 of Kaw^-be-naw, he was very anxious to meet him on the war path 
 that he might have an opportunity to contend with him in battle. 
 And consequently he formed a most enormous expedition to the 
 Island with his numerous warriors expressly to meet Kaw-be-naw. 
 But Kaw-be-naw knowing everything that was going on in the 
 Wenebago country, told his people to prepare for a great war, 
 for numerous Wenebagoes were coming to the Island headed with 
 0-so-wa-waw-ne-me-kee in a very hostile manner. 
 
86 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 At last 0-?aw-wa-neme-kee landed with his warriors on the 
 Island, and marched towards the largest village of the Ottawas, 
 which was situated in the interior of the Island where there was 
 a lake. So Kaw-be-naw starts with his. wife, pretending that he 
 was going after cedar bark, but his real object was to meet the 
 Wenebagoes on their march toward the village. When he saw 
 the Wenebagoes coming, he told his wife to run home quickly 
 and tell nobody what she had seen, and he alone went to meet 
 them. When they saw him he did not try to get away, so they 
 easily captured him. Of course the Wenebagoes knew not that 
 he was the very man they were seeking. They asked him many 
 questions as to the condition of the Ottawas, how many there were 
 in the village, and whether Kaw-be-naw was at home or not. He 
 told them the Ottawas were in good condition to fight, but Kaw- 
 be-naw was not at home just then, but would probabl}' be home 
 jby to-morrow or day after, as he was gone only to get cedar bark 
 somewhere. The Wenebegoes made a deep pit in the ground and 
 after tieing Kaw-be-naw they threw him in the pit and covered 
 him with heavy stones and dirt and then marched on. 
 
 When they came in view of the village they halted. They con- 
 cluded that they would not make the attack until morning. Kaw- 
 benaw, after lying awhile in the pit, magically released himself 
 and went home, and told his people that the Wenebagoes were 
 very close at hand ; and by to-morrow there would be a great battle, 
 so every man must be well prepared. The village was in terrible 
 anxiety that night, the women and children were all gathered in 
 one place and the warriors in another, and the village was well 
 guarded. Early in the morning the war cry was heard, and every 
 warrior went forward to meet the Wenebagoes, but Kaw-be-naw 
 remained in his lodge while his warriors were fighting. The old 
 0-so-waw-ne-me-kee was nearly naked and frightfully painted 
 from head to foot, so that he looked more like a demon than a 
 human being. Of course he did not know who might be Kaw- 
 be-naw among the Ottawas, therefore he sang out, saving, "Where 
 
INDIANS OP MICHIGAN. 87 
 
 is your great Kaw-be-naw? I should like to meet liim in this bat- 
 tle." So one of the warriors replied, "Don't you know that you 
 have buried our great Kaw-be-naw in the pit yesterday ?" " Thanks 
 to the Great Spirit for delivering the Ottawas into my hands," 
 said old 0-so-waw-ne-me-kee triumphantly. Just then, Kaw-be- 
 naw came out of his lodge in full uniform of black bear skins, 
 with his ponderous war club in his hand, and mocked his antag- 
 onist by saying, " Thanks to the Great Spirit, here I am ; and now 
 meet me all you want." Kaw-be-naw looked so grand and noble, 
 and was such an extraordinary personage that 0-so-waw-ne-me-kee 
 did not know what to do with himself, whether to yield or to 
 fight. But remembering his previous threats, he made out to face 
 him. However Kaw-be-naw did not take long to dispose of him; 
 0-so-waw-ne-me-kee was soon slain. When the Wenebagoes saw 
 that their great warriar was no more, they immediately raised a 
 flag of truce, and requested that they might acknowledge them- 
 selves as conquered and depart in peace. 
 
 During the affray with 0-so-waw-ne-me-kee, Kaw-be-naw receiv- 
 ed a little scratch on his nose which drew a few drops of his 
 blood, and therefore when he saw a flag of truce he disarmed him- 
 self and went to the Wenebagoes, saying, " O, you have killed me." 
 The Wenebagoes said, " How and where?" " Don't you see the 
 blood on my nose?" "Pshaw, that is only a scratch," said the 
 Wenebagoes. " Well, that very thing will cause me to die." The 
 Wenebagoes tried to send him away, but he would not leave them. 
 At last they took him prisoner. They tied him with small strong 
 cord which every warrior generally carries in case of capture- 
 As they journeyed towards their home one fine day, they began to 
 council about him, saying, "This man will never die. When we 
 get him into our country, he will make a terrible slaughter among 
 our women and children. We better dispose of him before we 
 reach home." So they concluded to sink him into deep water. 
 Therefore they tied a big stone about his neck and put him over- 
 board. They went on rejoicing and traveled all day in their 
 
»» THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 canoes, thinking that they had disposed of the greatest man in 
 the world and were very much elated at the idea ; forgetting how 
 he had once escaped after being buried in a deep pit. When 
 evening came, they encamped for the night. AVhile they were 
 preparing their food, they saw a man coming along on the beach 
 to^ ard them who appeared to them like Kaw-be-naw. The Wene- 
 bagoes were in terrible consternation. Soon he came up to them, 
 and behold it was he. Then the Wenebagoes were in great ter- 
 ror. But as he came up to them he spoke very pleasently, saying, 
 " Ho, what a pleasent journey we have had to-day. Well, children, 
 have you any meat ? I am getting quite hungry after traveling 
 all day." Of course they had to treat him as well as they could, 
 and Kaw-be naw came into the midst of them. That night the 
 Wenebagoes lay awake all night, and they thought every moment 
 they would be slaughtered by Kaw-be-naw in revenge for trying 
 to drown him. In the morning after breakfast as they were pre- 
 paring to go Kaw-be-naw spoke to them saying, " Children, if you 
 want to kill me, I will tell you how. You must take all the flesh 
 from off my body by cutting it piece by piece with your knives, 
 and leave no flesh upon my bones ; for this is the only way that I 
 can be killed." The Wenebagoes were terribly frightened as they 
 thought that so soon as any one would touch him he would kill 
 every Wenebago. So tbey held a council to determine what they 
 should do. But the majority were in favor of performing this 
 dreadful act, as Kaw-be-naw ordered, for he desired to die. When 
 they came back, Kaw-be-naw persisted that they should begin* 
 and assured them that he would never resist. At last, one of the 
 bravest Wenebagoes went up to him and cut a piece of his flesh. 
 Kaw-be-naw never stirred but simply smiled and said, " That is 
 the way you must do. What are you afraid of ? Come all ye who 
 have sharp knives." Pretty soon they were all around him taking 
 his flesh piece after piece. When it was all done he said, " It is 
 finished; now I shall sur(4y die. But as recompense for my flesh 
 and life a great battle will be made against you by my successor. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 89 
 
 and as many of your best young men shall fall in this battle as 
 pieces have been cut from my flesh." At the end of this sentence, 
 he fell backwards and died. Thus ended the career of the great 
 Kaw-be-naw, the Ottawa warrior and prophet. 
 
 " Shaw-ko-wesy " was the successor of Kaw-be naw and was 
 almost equal in power to his predecessor. It is related that in 
 the following year, he went to the Wenebago country with his 
 numerous warriors and killed many Wenebagoes, as many as 
 Kaw-be-naw predicted, and returned late in the fallto their Island 
 with many of the Wenebagoes' scalps. While they were having 
 jubilees, festivities, and war dances over these scalps of the Wene- 
 bagoes, in the dead of winter, the tribe of Michilimackinawgoes, 
 the remnant race of Indians who resided at the Island now called 
 Mackinac, whose fate has been given in a previous chapter, were 
 destroj^ed. Tliis is the time, according to the Ottawa traditions, 
 that the Iroquois of New York came upon this race of people and 
 almost entirely annihilated them, and the Ottawasand Chippewas 
 called this Island Michilimackinong in order to perpetuate the 
 name of these unfortunate Indians. 
 
 There were also a small tribe of Indians, beside the Chippewas, 
 that resided on the north side of the strait whose principal village 
 was situated at the place now called St. Ignace, but the Ottawas 
 and Chippewas call this place to this day " Naw-do-we-que-yah- 
 mi-shen-ing," which is a compound name from "Naw-do-we," 
 the name of the tribe who resided there, and " Na-yah-me-shen, 
 point of land in water. And afterwards part of the Ottawas came 
 over from their Island and resided with them, during the days of 
 old Saw-ge-maw, who was one of the great warriors and leaders of 
 the Ottawas, But afterwards Saw-ge-maw quarreled with them 
 and broke up the confederacy and drove (hem off. Here, too, at 
 about this time, part of the Ottawas left the country in anger be- 
 cause they were clieated out of one of the great feasts they were 
 having on some particular occasion. These went far west and 
 joined the Sho-sho-nee tribe of Indians, whose country lies on the 
 
90 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 side of the Rocky Mountains, and consequently the Ottawa lan- 
 guage is quite extensively spoken among that tribe of Indians to 
 this day. 
 
 The south side of the straits, which now constitutes Emmet, 
 Cheboygan and Charlevoix counties, our tradition says, was ex- 
 ceedingly thickly populated by another race of Indians, whom the 
 Ottawas called Mush-co-desh, which means, "the Prairie tribe." 
 They were so called on account of being great cultivators of the 
 soil, and making the woodland into prairie as they abandoned 
 their old worn out gardens wliicli formed grassy plains. It is re- 
 lated, this tribe was quite peaceable, and were never known to go 
 on a warpath. The Ottawas of Manitoulin had joined hands Mdth 
 them as their confederates. They called each other "brothers." 
 But on one of the western war trips of the great Saw-ge-maw, who 
 existed about the time America was first discovered by white men, 
 he met with great disaster, as many of his warriors were killed; 
 so on returning homeward with his remaining survivors, they 
 crossed Little Traverse Bay in a canoe and approached the shores 
 of Arbor Croche at the place now c^dled Seven Mile Point, where 
 there was a large village of Mush-co-desh. Saw-ge-maw said to 
 Ms few warriors, "Let us take our sad news to our relations the 
 Mush-co-desh." So as they approached the shore they began to 
 make an unearthly wailing noise, according to the custom of the 
 Ottawas, which was called the death song of the warriors. When 
 the Mush-co-dish heard them they said to one another, 'Hark, the 
 Ottawas are crying. They have been marauding among some 
 tribes in the west ; but this time they have been worsted — good 
 enough for them. See, they are coming ashore. Let us not per- 
 mit them to land." So instead of preparing to join in their 
 mourning, as would have been proper, they rashly determined to 
 express their disapproval of the marauding expeditions and their 
 contempt for those who engaged in them. Before Saw-ge-maw 
 had fairly touched the beach, parties of Mush-co-desh ran down 
 to the shore with balls of ashes wrapped up in forest leaves and 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 91 
 
 with these they pelted Saw-ge-maw and his party as they came 
 ashore. This treatment dreadfully provoked Saw-ge-maw, and 
 the insult was such as could only be wiped out with blood. He 
 told his warriors to pull homeward as quickly as possible. " We 
 will come back here in a few days ; we will not have to go so far 
 again to look for our enemies." Arriving at Manitoulin Island, 
 he immediately prepared for a great war. After they were com- 
 pletely equipped, they came back to the southern peninsula of 
 Michigan, stealthily and carefully landing at the most uninhabit- 
 ed part of the shore. They then marched to one of the largest 
 villages of Mush-co-desh, which was situated between Cross Vil- 
 lage and Little Traverse, in a beautiful valley in the northern part 
 of the township now called Friendship. Arriving late in the 
 afternoon within view of the village, the Ottawas hid in ambush. 
 One of the old women of the Mush-co-dosh was going through the 
 bushes looking for young basswood bark from which to manufac- 
 ture twine or cord. She came right where the Ottawas were lying 
 in ambush. She was terribly surprised, but the Ottawas persuad- 
 ed her not to reveal their presence by telling her they would give 
 her a young man as her husband, pointing to one of the best look, 
 ing young warriors there. They told her, early in the morning 
 they were going to fall upon the village and kill every one of the 
 Mush-co-desh, but when she heard the war-whoop she must run 
 to them and she should not be killed but be protected. The fool- 
 ish woman believed and kept the secret. Early in the morning 
 the war cry was heard, and she ran to the Ottawas to be protected, 
 but she was the first one to be slain. It was indeed a terrible 
 calamity for the Mush-co-desh. At the begining of the noise of 
 massacre, the chief of the Mush-co-desh ran forward and screamed 
 loud as he could, saying, " O ! My father, Saw-ge-maw, what is the 
 cause of your coming upon us so suddenly with death, as we have 
 never wronged your race?" "Have you already forgotten" said 
 Saw-ge-maw triumphantly, "that you have greatly insulted me on 
 your borders ? You have pelted me with ashes when I was la- 
 
92 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 meriting over the loss of my braves." When the Miish-co-desh 
 saw they could not prevail on Saw-ge-maw, nor could withstand 
 an adversary so formidable and such well prepared warriors, 
 they endeavored to flee, but they were overtaken and slaughtered. 
 Only the swift-footed young men escaped, taking the sad message 
 to other villages of Mush-co-desh, and as fast as the news reached 
 them they fled with their women and children toward the south 
 along the shore of Lake Michigan, and continued to fly, although 
 they were not pursued by the Ottawas, till they reached the St. 
 Joseph River, and there they stopped, and formed a union village, 
 and began to cultivate the soil again. 
 
 The tradition says this was the greatest slaughter or massacre 
 the Ottawas ever committed. The inhabitants of this village 
 were probably from forty to fifty thousand. There were many 
 other villages of Mush-co-desh of minor importance everywhere 
 scattered through the northern part of the southern peninsula of 
 Michigan. Where this doomed village was situated is j^et to this 
 day distinctly visible, as there are some little openings and trails 
 not overgrown by the forest. 
 
 V Soon after this the Ottawas abandoned their island and came 
 over and took possession of the country of the Mush-co-desh. 
 Most of them settled at the place now^ called Magulpin's Point, 
 where the present lighthouse is situated, near old Mackinac. At 
 the time the French settled in Montreal, Au-tche-a, one of the 
 Ottawa prophets, told his people there were some strange persons 
 living in this continent, who were far superior to any other in- 
 habitants upon the earth. So Au-tche-a determined to search for 
 these wonderful people and he persuaded five of his neighbors to 
 accompany him in his undertaking. They started out, but they 
 went a very roundabout way, and it was a long time before they 
 came to the Ottawa river; then floating down they came out on 
 the St. Lawrence. They were gone for more than a year. When 
 they came where tlie white men were, they first saw a vessel or 
 ship anchored in the middle of the St. Lawrence, which they 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 93 
 
 thought was a monster waiting to devour them as they came 
 along. But as they neared it they saw some people on the back 
 of the monster. So Autchea and his party were taken on board, 
 add his little frail canoe was hoisted into the ship. They found 
 some Stockbridge Indians there also, who spoke a dialect of their 
 language. After exchanging all they had, and learning how to 
 handle firearms, they started back again to the straits of Mackinac. 
 The tradition says, they arrived at their village on an exceedingly 
 calm day, and the water was in perfect stillness in the straits. 
 The Indians saw the canoe coming towards the shore of the vil- 
 lage, when suddenly a puff of smoke was seen and a terrific clash 
 of sound followed immediately. All the inhabitants were panic 
 stricken, and thought it was something supernatural approaching 
 the shore. But again and again they witnessed the same thing, 
 as it came nearer and nearer. At last they recognized the great 
 prophet Au-tche-a and his party coming back from his long trip, 
 having found his "Manitou" that he was looking after. The 
 reader may imagine how it was, when Au-tche-a landed and ex- 
 hibited his strange articles — his gun with its belongings, his axes, 
 his knives, his new mode of making fire, his cooking utensils, 
 his clothing and his blankets. It was no small curiosity to the 
 aborigines. 
 
 The Ottawas gradually extended their settlements towards the 
 south, along the shore of Lake Michigan. The word Michigan 
 is an Indian name, which we pronounce Mi-chi-gum, and simply 
 means "monstrous lake." My own ancestors, the Undergrounds, 
 settled at Detroit, and they considered this was the extent of their 
 possessions. But the greatest part of the Ottawas settled at Arbor 
 Croche, which I have already related as being a continuous vil- 
 lage some fifteen miles long. But in the forest of this country 
 were not many deer, and consequently when the winter appr<iach- 
 ed most of the Indians went south to hunt, returning again in the 
 spring loaded with dry meat. 
 
 The Mush-co-desh were not long in safety in the southern part 
 
94 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 of the State. Intercourse had been opened between the French 
 and the Ottawas and Chippewas on the straits of Mackinac and 
 being supplied with fire arme and axes by the French people, it 
 occurred to the Ottawas that these impliments would be effective 
 in battle. Anxious to put them to the test, they resolved to try 
 them on their old enemies, the Mush-co-desh, who had not yet 
 seen the white man and were unacquainted with firearms. Ac- 
 cordingly an expedition was fitted out. As the Ottawas approach- 
 ed the village of their enemies, each carrying a gun, the Mush-co- 
 desh thought they were nothing but clubs, so came out with their 
 bows and arrows, anticipating an easy victory. But they soon 
 found out that they were mistaken. As the Ottawas came up they 
 suddenly halted, not near enough to be reached by any arrows of 
 Mush-co-desh, but the Ottawas began to fire away with their guns. 
 Poor Mush-co-desh ; they suffered more than ever in this second 
 crushing defeat. The Ottawas left only on% family of Mush-co- 
 desh at this time and these went west somewhere to find a new 
 home. My father and my uncles in their younger days while 
 they w^ere making a tour out west, happened to come across the 
 descendants of this nearly anihilated tribe of Indians. They had 
 grown to nine lodges only at that time, and they visited them in 
 a friendly manner. The old warriors wept as they w^ere convers- 
 ins with them on their terrible calamities and misfortunes and 
 their being once powerful allies and closely related ; for these few 
 still remembered the past, and what had become of their ancestors. 
 After the Ottawas took complete possession of the southern 
 peninsula of Michigan, they fought some more tribes of Indians, 
 subdued them, and compelled them to form confederation with 
 them as their allies. Such as Po-to-wa-tomies, Mano-me-mis, O- 
 daw-gaw-mies, Urons and Assawgies, who formerly occupied Saw- 
 ge-naw-bay. Therefore the word Saginaw is derived from the 
 name Os-saw-gees, who formerly lived there. They have been al- 
 ways closely united with the L'hippewas and very often they went 
 together on the w arpath, except at one time they nearly fought 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 95 
 
 on account of a murder, as has been herein related. Also the 
 8haw-wa-nee tribe of Indians were always closely related to them. 
 
 But the Ottawa nation of Indians are always considered as the 
 oldest and most expert on the warpath and wise councilors ; and 
 consequently every tribe of Indians far and near, even as far as 
 the Manitoba country, out north, deposited their pipe of peace 
 with the head chief of the Ottawa nation as a pledge of continual 
 peace and friendship. Every pipe of peace contained a short 
 friendly address which must be committed to memory by every 
 speaker in the council of the Ottawas. If there was ever any out- 
 break among these tribes who deposited their pipe of peace with 
 the head chief of the Ottawa nation, a general council would be 
 calJed by the chiefs of the Ottawas, and the pipe of peace belong- 
 ing to the tribe who caused the trouble would be lighted up, and 
 the short address contained in the pipe would be repeated in the 
 council by one of the speakers. When the cause of the outbreak 
 or trouble was ascertained, then reconciliation must be had, and 
 friendly relation must be restored, in which case they almost in- 
 variably succeeded in making some kind of reasonable settlement. 
 This was the custom of all these people; and this is what form- 
 erly constituted the great Algonquin family of Indians. 
 
 There are many theories as to the origin of the Indian race in 
 America, but nothing but speculation can be given on this sub- 
 ject. But we believe there must have been people living in this 
 country before those tribes who were driven out by the Ottawas 
 and Chippewas, who were much more advanced in art and in 
 civilization, for many evidences of their work have been discov- 
 ed. About two hundred and fifty years ago, We-me-gen-de-bay, 
 one of our noted chiefs, discovered while hunting in the wilder- 
 ness a great copper kettle, which was partly in the ground. The 
 roots of trees had grown around it and over it, and when it was 
 taken up it appeared as if it had never been used, but seemed to 
 be just as it came from the maker, as there was yet a round bright 
 spot in the center of the bottom of it. This kettle was large 
 
96 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 enough to cook a whole deer or bear in it. For a long time the 
 Indians kept it as a sacred relic. They did not keep it near their 
 premises, but securely hidden in a place most unfrequented by 
 any human being. They did not use it for anything except for 
 great f eastt. Their idea with regard to this kettle was that it was 
 made by some deity who presided over the country where it was 
 found, and that the copper mine must be very close by where the 
 kettle was discovered. Gne peculiarity of its manufacture was 
 that it had no iron rim around it, nor bail for hanging while in 
 use, as kettles are usually made, but the edge of the upper part 
 was much thicker than the rest and was turned out square about 
 three-fourths of an inch, as if made to rest on some support while 
 in use. When the Indians came to be civilized in Grand Traverse 
 country, they began to use this " Mani-tou-au-kick," as they called 
 it, in common to boil tne sugar sap in it, instead of cooking bear 
 for the feast. And while I was yet in the government blacksmith 
 shop at the Old Mission in Grand Traverse, they brought this 
 magical kettle to our shop with an order to put an iron rim and 
 bail on it so that it could be hanged in boiling sugar, and I did 
 the work of fixing the kettle according to the order. 
 
 From this evidence of working in metals and from the many 
 other relics of former occupants, it is evident that this country 
 has been inhabited for many ages, but whether by descendants of 
 the Jews or of other Eastern races there is no way for us to de- 
 termine. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 97 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Present Condition of the Indians of this State. 
 
 Some histories have been written by white men of events since 
 the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians came in contact with white 
 people in this part of the country, but here is given the history of 
 this race of Indians before that time. This account of the Ottawa 
 and Chippewa Indians is of as much interest to every inquirer 
 into the liistories of nations, as that of any other people ; and all 
 philanthropic people, and those who are endeavoring to enlighten 
 and Christianize the Indians, will feel deeply interested in be- 
 coming acquainted with the past history as well as the present 
 condition of these once numerous and warlike people. 
 
 There are now but comparatively few living in the State of 
 Michigan, trying to become civilized and to imitate their white 
 neighbors in agricultural industries and other civilized labors. 
 The greater part of them are being Christianized and are mem- 
 bers of various Christian churches of the country, erecting houses 
 of worship with their own hands in which to worship the true 
 God in spirit and in truth. A few of them are becoming native 
 preachers and expounders of the Gospel. 
 
 A treaty was concluded in the city of Washington in the year 
 1836, to which my people — the Ottawas and Chippewas — were 
 unwilling parties, but they were compelled to sign blindly and 
 ignorant of the true spirit of the treaty and the true import of 
 some of its conditions. They thought when signing the treaty 
 that they were securing reservations of lands in different localities 
 as permanent homes for themselves and their children in the fut- 
 ure ; but before six months had elapsed from the time of signing 
 this treaty, or soon after it had been put in pamphlet form so that 
 all persons could read it and know its terms, they were told by 
 
98 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 their white neighbors that their reservations of land would ex- 
 pire in five years, instead of being perpetual, as they believed. 
 At the end of this time, they would be compelled to leave their 
 homes, and if they should refuse they would be driven at the 
 point of the bayonet into a strange land, where, as is almost al- 
 ways the case, more than one-half would die before they could be 
 acclimated. At this most startling intelligence more than half of 
 my people fled into Canada ; fled to the protection of the British 
 government ; fled, many of them, even before receiving a single 
 copper of the promised annuities; fled to a latitude like that in 
 which they had been accustomed to live. The balance of them 
 determined to remain and await whatever the consequences might 
 be, and receive the annuities which they were promised for 
 twenty years. But fortunately their expulsion from the State was 
 suddenly stayed, in the years 1850 and '51. By the kindness of 
 the people of the State of Michigan, they were adopted as citizens 
 and made equal in rights with their white neighbors. Their 
 voice was to be recognized in the ballot box in every election ; 
 and I thought, this is what ought to be, for the same God who 
 created the white man created the red man of the forest, and 
 therefore they are equally entitled to the benefits of civilization, 
 education and Christianity. 
 
 At that time I was one of the principal ones who advocated this 
 cause, for I had already received a partial education, and in my 
 understanding of this matter, I thought that was the only salva- 
 tion of my people from being sent off to the west of the Missis- 
 sippi. In laboring for this object, I suffered very great hardship 
 and many struggles, but was at last successful. 
 
 But in order that my people can enjoy every privilege of civil- 
 ization, they must be thoroughly educated ; they must become 
 acquainted with the arts and sciences, as well as the white man. 
 Soon as the Indian youths receive an education, they should be 
 allowed to have some employment among the whites, in order to 
 encourage them in the pursuits of civilization and to exercise 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 99 
 
 their ability according to the means and extent of their educa- 
 tion, instead of being a class of persons continually persecuted 
 and cheated and robbed of their little possessions. They should 
 have been educated amongst the civilized communities in order 
 to learn the manners and customs of the white people. If this 
 method could have been pursued in the first instance, the aborig- 
 ines of this country would have secured all the advantages of 
 civilization, education and Christianity. This was my plan and 
 my proposition at the council of Detroit, in the treaty of 1855, as 
 there was quite a large sum of money set apart and appropriated 
 by the Government for the education of Indian youth of the Ot- 
 tawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan, and I made the propo- 
 sition at this council that the sum for that purpose be retained in 
 the hands of the Government solely to pay for the education of 
 those Indian youths who should be educated in a civilized com- 
 munity, instead of committing this sum of money to the hands 
 of the preachers and teachers in the missions among the Ottawas 
 and Chippewas. If my plan could have been adopted, even as 
 late as thirty-two years ago, we should have had, by this time, 
 many well-educated Indians in this State, and probabl}'- some 
 good farmers, and perhaps some noted professors of sciences 
 would have been developed, and consequently happiness, bless- 
 ings and prosperity would have been everywhere among the 
 aborigines of the State of Michigan. 
 
100 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Lamentation of the Overflowing Heart of the Red Man of the 
 Forest. 
 
 Hark ! What is that I hear, 
 
 So mournfully ringing in my ear, 
 
 Like a death song of warriors. 
 
 For those who fell by their brave sires ? 
 
 Is this the wail now sounding 
 
 For my unhappy future ? 
 
 O my destiny, my destiny 1 How sinks my heart, as I behold 
 my inheritance all in ruins and desolation. Yes, desolation ; the 
 land the Great Spirit has given us in which to live, to roam, to 
 hunt, and build our council fires, is no more to behold. Where 
 once so many brave Algonquins and the daughters of the forest 
 danced with joy, danced with gratitude to the Great Spirit for 
 their homes, they are no more seen. Our forests are gone, and 
 our game is destroyed. Hills, groves and dales once clad in rich 
 mantle of verdure are stripped. Where is this promised land 
 which the Great Spirit had given to his red children as the per- 
 petual inheritance of their posterity from generation to genera- 
 tion ? Ah, the pale-faces who have left their fathers' land, far 
 beyond the ocean, have now come and dispossessed us of our 
 heritage with cruel deceit and force of arms. Still are they roll- 
 ing on, and rolling on, like a mighty spray from the deep ocean, 
 overwhelming the habitations of nature's children. Is it for the 
 deeds of Pocahontas, of Massasoit, of Logan, and hosts of others 
 who have met and welcomed the white men in their frail cabin 
 doors when they were few in numbers, cold and hungry? 
 Is it for this that we have been plundered, and expelled at the 
 point of the bayonet from the hallowed graves of our brothers 
 
INDIANS OP MICHIGAN. 101 
 
 and sires ? O, my father, thou hast taught me from my infancy 
 to love this land of my birth; thou hast even taught me to say 
 that "it is the gift of the Great Spirit," when yet my beloved 
 mother clasped me close to her peaceful breast while she sang of 
 the warlike deeds of the great Algonquins. O, my father, our 
 happiest days are o'er, and never again shall we enjoy our forest 
 home. The eagle's eye could not even discover where once stood 
 thy wigwam and thy peacefnl council fire. Ah, once it was the 
 happy land, and all the charms were there which made every In- 
 dian heart swell with thanks to the Great Spirit for their happy 
 homes. Melodious music was heard in every grove, sung by the 
 wild birds of the forest, who mingled their notes sweetly with 
 the wild chant of my beloved sisters at eve. They sang the song 
 of lullaby to the pawpose of the red man whilst swinging in the 
 cradle from the shady trees, wafted gracefully to and fro by the 
 restless wind. The beautiful old basswood tree bending so grace- 
 fully stood there, and the brown thrush sang with her musical 
 voice. That tree was planted there by the Great Spirit for me to 
 sport under, when I could scarcely bend my little bow. Ah, I 
 watched that tree from childhood to manhood, and it was the 
 dearest spot to me in this wide world. Many happy youthful 
 days have I spent under this beautiful shady tree. But alas, alas, 
 the wliite man's ax has been there ! The tree that my good spirit 
 had planted for me, where once the pretty brown thrush daily sat 
 with her musical voice, is cut down by the ruthless hands of the 
 white man. 'Tis gone ; gone forever and mingled with the dust. 
 Oh, my happy little bird, thy warbling songs have ceased, and 
 thy voice shall never again be heard on that beautiful shady tree. 
 My charming bird, how oft thou hast aroused me from my slum- 
 ber at early morn with thy melodious song. Ah, could we but 
 once more return to our forest glade and tread as formerly upon 
 the soil with proud and happy heart! On the hills with bended 
 bow, while nature's flowers bloomed all around the habitation of 
 nature's child, our brothers once abounded, free as the mountain 
 
103 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 air, and their glad shouts resounded from vale to vale, as they 
 chased o'er the hills the mountain roe and followed in the otter's 
 track. Oh return, return ! Ah, never again shall this time re- 
 turn. It is gone, and gone forever like a spirit passed. The red 
 man will never live happy nor die happy here any more. 'Tis 
 passed, 'tis done. The bow and quiver with which I have shot 
 many thousands of game is useless to me now, for the game is 
 destroyed. When the white man took every foot of my inherit- 
 ance, he thought to him I should be the slave. Ah, never, never ! 
 I would sooner plunge the dagger into my beating heart, and fol- 
 low the footsteps of my forefathers, than be slave to the white 
 man. Macke-te-be-nessy. 
 
INDIANS OF MICHIGAN. 103 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Twenty-one Precepts or Moral Commandments of the Ottawa 
 and Chippewa Indians, by Which They Were Governed in Their 
 Primitive State, Before They Came in Contact With White Races 
 ■ in Their Country— Tlie Ten Commandments, The Creed, and The 
 Lord's Prayer in the Ottawa Language as Translated by the 
 Author. 
 
 1st. Thou shalt fear the Great Creator, who is the over ruler 
 of all things. 
 
 2d. Thou shalt not commit any crime, either by night or by 
 by day, or in a covered place : for the Great Spirit is looking 
 upon thee always, and thy crime shall be manifested in time, thou 
 knowest not when, which shall be to thy disgrace and shame. 
 
 3d. Look up to the skies often, by day and by night, and see 
 the sun, moon and stars which shineth in the firmament, and 
 think that the Great Spirit is looking upon thee continually. 
 
 4th. Thou shalt not mimic or mock the thunders of the cloud, 
 for they were specially created to water the earth and to keep 
 down all the evil monsters that are under the earth, which would 
 eat up and devour the inhabitants of the earth if they were set 
 at liberty. 
 
 5th. Thou shalt not mimic or mock any mountains or rivers, 
 or any prominent formation of the earth, for it is the habitation 
 of some deity or spirit of the earth, and thy life shall be con- 
 tinually in hazard if thou shouldst provoke the anger of these 
 deities. 
 
 6th. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be 
 long upon the land. 
 
 7th. Honor the gray-head persons, that thy head may also be 
 like unto theirs. 
 
 8th. Thou shalt not mimic or ridicule the cripple, the lame, 
 
104 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 or deformed, for thou shall be crippled thyself like unto them if 
 thou shouldst provoke the Great Spirit. 
 
 9th. Hold thy peace, and answer not back, when thy father or 
 thy mother or any aged person should chastise thee for thy 
 wrong. 
 
 10th. Thou shalt never tell a falsehood to thy parents, nor to 
 thy neighbors, but be always upright in thy words and in thy 
 , dealings with thy neighbors. 
 
 11th. Thou shalt not steal anything from thy neighbor, nor 
 covet anything that is his. 
 
 12th. Thou shalt always feed the hungry and the stranger. 
 
 13th. Thou shalt keep away from licentiousness and all other 
 lascivious habits, nor utter indecent language before thy neigh- 
 bor and the stranger. 
 
 14th. Thou shalt not commit murder while thou art in dispute 
 with thy neighbor, unless it be whilst on the warpath. 
 
 15th. Thou shalt chastise thy children with the rod whilst 
 they are in thy power. 
 
 16th. Thou shalt disfigure thy face with charcoals, and fast at 
 least ten days or more of each year, whilst thou are yet young, or 
 before thou readiest twenty, that thou mayest dream of thy fut- 
 ure destiny. 
 
 17tli. Thou shalt immerse thy body into the lake or river at 
 least ten days in succession in the early part of the spring of the 
 year, that thy body may be strong and swift of foot to chase the 
 game and on the warpath. 
 
 18th. At certain times with thy wife or thy daughters, thou 
 shalt clean out thy fireplaces and make thyself a new fire with 
 thy fire-sticks for the sake of thyself and for the sake of thy chil- 
 drens' health. 
 
 19th. Thou shalt not eat with thy wife and daughters at such 
 time, of food cooked on a new fire, but they shall be provided 
 with a separate kettle and cook their victuals therein with an old 
 
INDIANS OF MI€HIGAN. 105 
 
 fire and out of their wigwam, until the time is passed, then thou 
 Shalt eat with them* 
 
 20th. Thou shalt not be lazy, nor be a vagabond of the earth, 
 to be hated by all men. 
 
 21st. Thou shalt be brave, and not fear any death. 
 
 If thou shouldst observe all these commandments, when thou 
 diest thy spirit shall go straightway to that happy land where all 
 the good spirits are, and shall there continually dance with the 
 beating of the drum of Tchi-baw-yaw-booz, the head spirit in the 
 spirit land. But if thou shouldst not observe them, thy spirit 
 shall be a vagabond of the earth always, and go hungry, and will 
 never be able to find this road, "Tchi-bay-kon," in which all the 
 good spirits travel. 
 
 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 1st. Pay-zhe-go ke-zhe-maw-nito me-so-de kay-go kaw-ge-zhe- 
 tod; ke-gaw-pay-zhe-go gwaw-nawdji-aw ane-go-ko-day-a-you ke- 
 gaw-pay-zhe-go saw-ge-aw. 
 
 2d. Kaw-we aw-nesh ke-zhe-maw-nito ke-gaw-wo-we nossi. 
 
 3d. Au-nwe-be-we-ne-ge-zhe-got ke-gaw-kwaw-nawdji-ton. 
 
 4th. Kouss kanie ke-gaw-she ke-gaw-me-naw-tene-mawg ke- 
 nwezh tchi-we-pe-maw-deze-yan aw-zhon-daw aw-king. 
 
 5th. Ke-go au-we-yaw me-saw-wa-ne-maw-gay. 
 
 6th. Ke-go nau-nawe e-nau-de-se-kay. 
 
 7th. Ke-go ke-mou-de-kay. 
 
 8th. Ke-go kawie ke-no-wish-ke-kay tche-baw-taw-maw-de-baw 
 au-we-ya. 
 
 9th. Ke-go mes-sau-we-naw-mau-we-ye-gay ke-dji-pe-maw-de-si 
 o we-de-gay-maM^-gaw-non. 
 
 10th. Ke-go kauie au-we-yaw mes-saw-wendau mau-we-ye-gay 
 ke-go andaw-nedji. 
 
 THE CREED. 
 
 Men da-bwe-taw-waw Pa-zhe-go maw-nito we-osse-mind, me-zo- 
 day ke-go nay-taw-we-tod, kaw-ge-zhe-tod wau-kwee aw-ke kauie. 
 
 *See Dr. Bondinot's work, "The Star in the West," pp. 216 and 225. 
 
106 THE OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Men day-bwe-taw-we-mon knice ogwisson paw-ye-zhe-go-nedjin 
 Jesus Krist te-bay-ne-me-nong. We-ne-zhe-she-nedjin maw-niton 
 o-ge-aw-neshe-naw-bay-we-egoun, Mari-yon kaw-gaw-ge we-nedjin 
 oge-ne-ge-egoun. Ke-go-daw-ge-to me-gwaw o-ge-maw-wit Ponce 
 Pila-tawn, ke-baw-daw-kaw-ko-wou tche-baw-yaw-te-gong, ke-ne- 
 bon ke-naw-gwo-wau kauie au-naw-maw-kaw-mig ke-e-zhaw, waw- 
 ne-so-ke-zhe-te-nig Ke-au-be-tchi-baw. Waw-kwing ke-e-zhaw, 
 naw-maw-daw-be o-day-baw-ne-we-kaw-ning ke-zle-maw-niton way- 
 osse me-medjin me-zo-day ke-go nay tau-we-to-nedjin me-dawst 
 waw-de-be ke-be-ondji-bawd, tche-be-te-baw-ko-nod pay-maw-de-ze- 
 nedjin, nay-bo-nedjin kauie. Men day-bwe-taw-waw Way-ne-zlie- 
 shed maw-nito, men day-bwe-tawn kitclie-two kaw-to-lic au-naw- 
 me-a-we-gaw-mig, kay-tchi-two-wendaw-go-ze-djigo-we-do-ko-daw- 
 de-we-ne-wau paw-taw-do-wene kawss-au-maw-gay-win aw-bedji- 
 baw-win ezbe-owe-yossing kaw-go-ne pe-maw-de-se-win. Aw-pe- 
 inge. 
 
 THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
 Nossinaw wau-kwing e-be-you au-pe-gwish ke-tchi-twaw-wend- 
 oming ke-daw-no-zo-win, au-pe-gish pe-daw-gwe-she-no-maw-gok 
 ke-do-gimaw-o-win, ena-daw-mon au-pe-gish ezhe-wa-bawk, ti-bish- 
 wau-kwing mego kauie au-king. Me-zhe-she-nong nongo au-gi- 
 zhe-gawk nin baw-kwe-zhe-gaw-ne-me-naw menik e-you-yong en- 
 daw-so ke-zhe-gok. Po-ne-ge-tay-taw-we-shi-nong kauie kaw-nish 
 ki-e-nange te-bish-kon ezhe-pone-ge-day-taw-wou-ge-dwaw kaw- 
 neshke-e-yo-mendjig, ke-go kauie ezhe-we-zhe-slie-kong-gay kaw- 
 gwe ti-bandji-gay-we-ning, au-tchi-tchaw-yo-ing dansh etaw eni- 
 naw-maw-we-she-nong maw-tchaw-go-e-wish. Ken maw-ke-daw- 
 yon o-ge-maw-owen, mawsh-kaw-we-se-win kauie pe-she-gain-daw- 
 go-se-win, kaw-ge-gay-kow-mig au-pe-nay dash kau-e-go kaw-ge- 
 nig. Amen. 
 
GRAMMAR. 
 
 107 
 
 c3r:E^.^i^i^JL.':E^ 
 
 — OF THE- 
 
 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA LANGUAGE, 
 
 NOUNS. 
 
 Common nouns in the Ottawa and Chippewa lane:uage are divided 
 into two classes, animate and inanimate. Animate nouns are those 
 which signify living objects or objects supposed to have life, as 
 persons, animals and plants. Inanimate nouns signify objects with- 
 out life. 
 
 A third form of nouns is derived from these two classes, called 
 diminutive nouns. These are formed by the termination *'en8" or 
 "ns" placed upon other nouns. 
 
 The plural of animate nouns is usually formed by adding the sylla- 
 ble "wog" to the singular; if the word ends in a vowel, only the let- 
 ter "g" is added; and sometimes the syllables "yog," "ag," or "og." 
 
 All words are pronounced with accent on the last syllable. 
 
 Sing. PI. Eng-. 
 
 Pe-nay, Pe-nay-wog, Partridge. 
 
 Aw-dje-djawk, Aw-dje-djaw-wog, Crane. 
 
 Waw-mawsli-kay-she, Waw-mawsh-kay-she-wog, Deer. 
 
 Waw-goosh-og, Fox. 
 
 Pezhe-kee-wog, Cattle. 
 
 Pezhe-keens-og, Calf. 
 
 Aw-ni-moush-og, Dog. 
 
 Aw-ni-mouns-og, Puppy. 
 
 Waw-goosh, 
 Pezhe-kee, 
 Pezlie-keens, (dim.), 
 Aw-ni-moush, 
 Aw-ni-mouns, (dim.), 
 
108 
 
 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 The plural of inanimate nouns usually terminates in an, en,on, orn. 
 
 Sing-. 
 
 We-ok-won, 
 
 Wig-worn, 
 
 Mo-ke-sin, 
 
 Maw-kok, 
 
 Maw-kok-ons, (dim.), 
 
 Tchi-mawn, 
 
 Tchi-maw-nes, (dim.). 
 
 PI. Eng. 
 
 We-ok-w on-an, Hat. 
 
 Wig-wom-an, House. 
 
 Mo-ke-sin-an, Slioe. 
 
 Maw-kok-on, Box. 
 
 Maw-kok-on-son, Small box. 
 
 Tchi-mawn-an, Boat. 
 
 Tchi maw-nes-on. Small boat. 
 
 Nouns have three cases, nominative, locative and objective. The 
 locative case denotes the relation usually expressed in English by the 
 use of a preposition, or by the genitive, dative and ablative in Latin. 
 Nom. Aw-kick, Kettle. 
 
 Loc. Aw-kick-ong, In the kettle. 
 
 E-naw-bin aw-kick-ong. Do look in the kettle. 
 This relation can be expressed by the word "pin-je," as "Pin-je aw- 
 kick," — in the kettl-e; "E-naw-bin pin-je aw-kick,"— do look in the 
 kettle; but this form is seldom used. It is employed only for great 
 emphasis or formality. 
 The locative termination is "ong," "eng," or *'ing." 
 The objective ca?e is like the nominative when the subject is in the 
 1st or Qd person, but when the subject is in the 3d person the object 
 takes the termination '*won." 
 
 Example of loeative and objective cases. Chicago is derived from 
 she-gog-ong, the locative case of the Ottawa word she-gog, meaning 
 skunk; nominative, she-gog; locative, she-gog-ong; objective, she- 
 gog or she-gog-won. 
 Locative case — 
 
 She-gog-ong ne-de-zhaw, 
 She-gog-ong ne-do-je-baw, 
 She-gog-ong e-zhawn, 
 Objective case — 
 
 1st p. — She-gog ne-ne-saw, 
 2d p. — She-gog ke-ne-saw, 
 
 I am going to Chicago. 
 I come from Chicago. 
 Go to Chicago. 
 
 I kill the skunk. 
 You kill the skunk. 
 
 3d p. — She-gog-won o-ne-sawn, He kills the skunk. 
 
GRAMMAR. 109 
 
 Gender is distinguished by the word " quay," either prefixed or 
 added to nouns, to indicate the feminine. 
 
 Aw-ne-ne, pi. wog; Man. Aw-quay, pi. wog; Woman. 
 
 Aw-nishnaw-bay ; Indian man. Aw-nesh--naw-bay-quay ; I. woman. 
 Osh-kee-naw-way; Young man. Osh-kee-ne-ge-quay; Y. woman. 
 Que-we-zayns, pi. og; Boy. Quay-zayns, pi. og; Girl. 
 
 Aw-yaw-bay-pe-zhe-kee; Bull. Quay-pe-zhe-kee; Cow. 
 
 Proper names always form the feminine by adding " quay." 
 Ce-naw-day; Irishman. Ce-naw-day-quay ; Irishwoman. 
 
 Some genders are irregular. 
 Aw-ke-wa-zee; Old man. Me-de-mo-gay; Old woman. 
 
 Aw-be-non-tchi, an infant, has no distinction of gender. 
 Os-see-maw, pi. g; Father. 0-gaw-shi-maw, pi. g; Mother. 
 
 Me-kaw-ue-see-maw; Brother. 0-me-say-e-maw; Sister, 
 0-me-shaw-mes-se-maw; Gr.father.O-kee-mes-se-maw; Grandmother. 
 0-me-shaw-way-e-maw; Uncle. 0-nou-shay-e-maw; Aunt. 
 We-taw-wis-see-maw; Malecousin.We-ne-mo-shay-e-maw; Fem.cous. 
 
 Diminutive nouns take the same modifications as the nouns from 
 which they are derived. 
 
 Verbs and adjectives are modified to agree with the animate or in- 
 animate nouns to which they belong, as will be illustrated hereafter. 
 
 PRONOUNS. 
 
 Personal pronouns have no distinction of gender in the third per- 
 son singular. A peculiarity of this language is the two forms for the 
 first person plural. These two forms for pronouns, and for verbs in 
 all moods and tenses, are like each other except in the first syllable. 
 In one form the first syllable is always " Ke," and in the other "Ne." 
 The form commencing with Ke is used only when speaking to one 
 person, and that commencing with Ne, which might be called the 
 multiple form, is used whenever more than one person is addressed, 
 even though no word may appear in the sentence indicating how 
 many. This is an idiosyncracy which perhaps would never have been 
 developed, certainly would not be perpetuated, in any except an un- 
 written language. It is of no efEect except in a language always 
 
ll'O OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 colloquial. The multiple form will be given in this grammar as 
 the first person plural, and, whether indicated or not, the other may- 
 be understood as being the same with the change of the first syllable 
 from Ne to Ke. 
 
 PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 
 
 Sing. PI. 
 
 ^ , TVT • T ^ Ne-naw-wind, (mult.), We. 
 
 Istp.-^Neenornm, I, | Ke-naw-wind; ^ ^ We. 
 
 2d p. — Keen or kin, Thou or you, Ke-naw-waw, You. 
 
 3d p- — Ween or win. He or she, We-naw-waw, They. 
 
 When these personal pronouns are connected with other words, or 
 when they become subjects or objects of verbs, the first syllable only 
 is used or pronounced. In the third person of verbs the pronoun is 
 entirely omitted. 
 
 Sing. PI. 
 
 Ne wob, I see, Ne wob-me, We see. 
 
 Ke wob. You see. Ke wob-em. You see. 
 
 Wo-be, He or she sees, Wo-be-wog, They see. 
 
 The whole pronoun is sometimes used when the emphatic or in- 
 tensive form is desired, as, 
 
 Sing. — Neen-ne wob, I myself see. 
 
 Keen-ke wob, You yourself see. 
 Ween wo-be. He himself, or she herself sees. 
 PI. — Ne-naw-wind ne-wob-me. We ourselves see. 
 
 Ke-naw-waw ke-wob-em, You yourself see. 
 
 We-naw-waw" wo-be-wog, They themselves see 
 
 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS. 
 
 Ne-daw-yo-em, Mine ; Ne-daw^-yo-em-e-naw, Ours. 
 
 Ke-daw-yo-em, Thine, Ke-daw-yo-em-e-waw, Yours. 
 
 O-daw-yo-em, His or hers, 0-daw-yo-em-e-waw, Theirs. 
 
 Emphatic form — nin ne-daw-yo-em, etc., throughout all the differ- 
 ent persons. When these possessive pronouns are used with nouns, 
 
GKAMMAR. Ill 
 
 nearly all the syllables are omitted, except the first, which is added to 
 the noun in the plural; as — 
 
 Sing. PI. 
 
 Ne we-ok-won, My hat, Ne we-ok-won-e-naw, Our hat. 
 
 Ke we-ok-won, Your hat, Ke we-ok-won- e-waw. Your hat. 
 O we ok-won, His hat, O we-ok-won-e-waw. Their hat. 
 
 The emphatic form, "my own hat," is made by prefixing the per- 
 sonal pronouns, as — 
 
 Sing. PI. 
 
 Neen ne we-ok-won, Ke-naw-wind ne we-ok-won-e-naw. 
 
 Keen ke we-ok-won, Ke-naw-waw ke we-ok-won-e-waw, 
 
 Ween o we-ok-won, We-naw-waw o we-ok-won-e-waw. 
 
 THE IMPERSONAL PRONOUN. 
 
 The impersonal pronoun " maw-got," plural " maw-got-on," may be 
 represented by the English impersonal or neuter pronoun it, but it 
 has a wider significance. The inanimate subject of a verb is also 
 represented by maw-got or maw-got-on. Wa-po-tchin-ga maw-got, 
 or wa-po-tchin-ga-sa maw-got, it strikes; plural, wa-po-tchin-ga maw- 
 got-on, or wa-po-tchin-ga-sa maw-got-on, they strike. 
 Au-no-ke maw-got, It works. Pe-me-say maw-got. It walks. 
 
 Ne-bo-we maw-got, It stands. Wo-be maw-got, It sees. 
 
 Pe-me-baw-to maw-got. It runs. 
 
 Au-nish, interrogative pronoun what; au-naw-tchi, relative pro- 
 noun what; e-we, relative pronoun that. 
 
 ADJECTIVES. 
 
 Adjectives take two forms, to agree with the animate or inanimate 
 nouns to which they belong. 
 
 Comparison of adjectives is made by other words: 0-ne-zhe-she 
 (inanimate o-ne-zhe-shin), good; Maw-maw-me (or ne-go-ne) o-ne- 
 zhe (or -shin), better; Au-pe-tchi o-ne-zhe-she (or -shin), best. A 
 fourth degree is sometimes used: Maw-mo-me o-ne-zhe-she (or -shin), 
 very best. 
 
 The words "Me-no" and " Maw-tchi " or "Mau-tchi," do not change 
 when used with other words, and they are the most common adjectives 
 in the Ottawa and Chippewa languages; they are used as adverbs, as 
 well as adjectives. 
 
113 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 *'Me-no," is equivalent to good, right, and well; and " Mau-tchi," 
 is equivalent to bad, wicked, evil; as Me-no au-ne.ne, good man; Me-no 
 au-quay, good woman; Me-no au-way-sin, good animal; Me-no au-ky, 
 good land; Me-no waw-bo-yon, good blanket; Me-no e-zhe-wa-be-sy, 
 good behavior, or kind; Me-no au-no-ky, he works well, or doing good 
 business; Me-no pe-maw-de-sy, he is well; Me-no au-yaw, he is get- 
 ting well, or convalescent from sickness; Me-no au-no-kaw-so-win, 
 good utensil, or handy instrument; Me-no wau-gaw-quat, good ax; 
 Me-no ke-zhi-gut, good day, or pleasant weather; Me-no au-no-kaw- 
 tchi-gon, good goods, or nice goods; Me-no e-zhe-wa-be-sy, he or she 
 is kind or good; Me-no maw-tchaw maw-got, it goes well, etc. 
 
 The word " Mau-tchi" is equally useful; as, Mau-tchi au-ne-ne, bad 
 man; Mau-tchi au-quay, bad woman; Mau-tchi e-zhe-wa-be-sy, bad 
 behavior, or wicked person; Mau-tchi mau-ne-to, evil spirit, or the 
 devil; Mau-tchi ke-ge-to, wicked language, or profanity; Mau-tchi 
 wau-gaw-quat, bad ax; Mau-tchi ke-zhwa, vulgar speaker; Mau-tchi 
 no-din, bad wind; Mau-tchi au-naw-quot, bad cloud; Mau-tchi ke-zhe- 
 got, bad day, or rough weather; Mau-tchi wig-worn, bad house, or 
 wicked house; Mau-tchi au-no-ke-win, bad business, etc. 
 
 Another adjective equally comprehensive is Kwaw-notch: Kwaw- 
 notch au-ne-ne, well-behaved man ; Kwaw-notch au-quay, pretty wom- 
 an; Kwaw-notch au-no-ke-win, good business; Kwaw-notch au-no- 
 kaw-tchi-gon, nice goods; Kwaw-notchi-won, pretty or nice (inani- 
 mate); Kwaw-notchi-we, pretty (animate); Au-pe-tchi kwaw-notchi- 
 we au-quay, very pretty woman. 
 
 The following illustrate the changes of form in adjectives for ani- 
 mate and inanimate: 
 
 Animate. Inanimate. 
 
 Me-no-e-zhe-wa-be-sy, Me-no-e-zhe-wa-bawt, Kind, mild. 
 
 Ke-no-sy, Ke-nwa, Long, tall. 
 
 Ke-zhe-we-sy, Ke-zhe-waw, Hard. 
 
 Mush-kaw-we-sy, Mush-kaw-waw, Strong. 
 
 Ke-zhe-kaw, or ke-zhe-be-so, Ke-zhe-be-ta, Swift, fleet. 
 
 Ko-se-gwan-ny, Ko-se-gwan, Heavy. 
 
 Maw-tchi-e-zhe-wa-be-sy, Maw-tchi-e-zbe-wa-bot, Bad. 
 
 Ma-tchaw-yaw-au-wish, Ma-tchaw-yaw-e-wish, Wicked. 
 
GRAMMAR. 
 
 113 
 
 We-saw-ge-sy, 
 
 Wisli-ko-be-sy, 
 
 Sou-ge-sy, 
 
 8e-we-sy, 
 
 Maw-kaw-te-we-sy, 
 
 Ozaw-we-sy, 
 
 Ozhaw-wash-ko-sy, 
 
 Mis-ko-sy, 
 
 We-bin-go-sy, 
 
 0-zaw won-so, 
 
 Maw-kaw-te won-so, 
 
 We-saw-gun, Bitter. 
 
 Wish-ko-bun, Sweet. 
 
 Sou-gun, Tough. 
 
 Se-won, Sour. 
 
 Maw-kaw-te-waw, Black, 
 
 Ozaw-waw, Yellow. 
 
 Ozhaw-wash-kwaw, Green. 
 
 Mis-kwa, Reel. 
 
 We-bin-gwaw, Blue. 
 
 0-zaw won-day, Yellow color. 
 
 Maw-kaw-te won-day, Black color. 
 Maw-kaw-te au-ne-ne, black man. Maw-kaw-te mo-kok, black box. 
 Mis-ko au-ne-ne, red man. Mis-ko wau-bo-yon, red blanket. 
 
 It will be observed tliatthe last one or two syllables of the adjective 
 are dropped when in conne(;tiou with a noun. 
 
 VERBS. 
 
 Ottawa and Chippewa verbs are changed in their conjugations, to 
 indicate — 
 
 1st. Whether their subjects are animate, or inanimate; 
 2d. Whether their objects are animate, or inanimate; 
 3d. Whether they are transitive, or intransitive; 
 4th. Whether they are active, or passive, or reflective; 
 5th. Whether the expression is common, or emphatic. 
 They also express by their forms all of the distinctions of mood and 
 tense, person and number, found in the English, and form their par- 
 ciples, and are changed into verbal or participial nouns; and these 
 modifications are for the most part regular in form. 
 
 I. Verbs with inanimate subjects correspond to English imperson- 
 al or neuter verbs, but are much more extensively used. They are 
 usually formed by adding the impersonal pronoun, maw-got — it; as. 
 
 Animate Subject. Inanimate Subject. 
 
 Sing.Au-noukee, he works. Au-nou-ke-maw-got, it works. 
 
 Ke-au-nou-ke, he worked. Ke-au-nou-ke-maw-got, it worked. 
 
114 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Plu. Au-nou-ke-wog, tliey work. Au-nou-ke-maw-go-toun, things wrk 
 Ke-au-nou-ke-wog, " wrk'd. Ke-au-nou-ke-maw-go-toun," wrkd. 
 Standing trees, as well as all liviug creatures and personified things, 
 are regarded as animate. 
 
 II, III. The distinctions for animate and inanimate objects, and for 
 transitive and intransitive, are illustrated by the following: 
 Singular — I kill, Thou killest, etc. 
 Intransitive. Transitive. 
 
 Pers. Animate Object. Inanimate Object. 
 
 1 Ne-ne-taw-gay Ne-ne-saw Ne-ne-ton 
 
 2 Ke-ne-taw-gay Ke-ne-saw Ke-ne-toiin 
 
 3 Ne-taw-gay 0-ne-sawn, or son 0-ne-toun 
 
 Plural— Wc kill, You kill, etc. 
 
 1 Ne-ne-taw-gay-ine Ne-ne-saw-naw Ne-ne-tou-naw 
 
 2 Ke-ne-taw-gaym Ke-ne-saw-waw Ke-ne-tou-naw-waw 
 
 3 Ne-taw-gay-wog 0-ne-saw-wawn or won 0-ne-tou-naw-waw 
 
 Singular — I see, Thou seest, etc. 
 
 1 Ne-waub Ne-waub-maw Ne-waub don, or dawn 
 
 2 Ke-wanb Ke-waub-maw Ke-waub-don '* 
 
 3 Wau-be 0-waub-mon, or mawn 0-waub-don " 
 
 Plural — We see. You see, etc. 
 
 1 Ne-waiib-me Ne-waub-maw-naw Ne-waub-daw-naw 
 ^ Ke-wau-bem Ke-waub-maw-waw Ke-waub-daw-naw-wan 
 3 Wau-be-wog 0-waub-naw-won 0-waub-daw-naw-wan 
 
 IV. What is denominated the reflective form of the verb, is where 
 the subject and the object are the same person or thing; as, in Eng- 
 lish, He hates himself. The passive and reflective forms are illustrat- 
 ed in the verb, To See, thus: 
 
 Passive. Reflective. 
 
 Ne-wob-me-go, I am seen. Ne-wau-baw-dis, I see mj^self. 
 Ke-wob-me-go, thou art seen. Ke-wau-baw-dis, thou seest thyself. 
 Wob-maw, he is seen. Wau-baw-de-so, he sees himself. 
 
 Ne-wob-me-go-me, we are seen. Ne-wau-baw-de-so-me, we s. ourslvs. 
 Ke-wob-me-gom, you are seen. Ke-wau-baw-de-som, you s. yourslvs 
 Wob-maw-wag, they are seen. Wau-baw-de-so-wag, tliey s. thmslvs 
 
GRAMMAR. 115 
 
 V. The emphatic form repeats the first part of the pronoun; as, 
 Ne-waub, I see; Nin-ne-waub, I do see (literally, I myself see). 
 
 Intransitive. 
 Common Form — I eat, etc. Emphatic Form — I do eat, etc. 
 
 1 Ne-we-sin Nin-ne-we-sin 
 
 2 Ke-we-sin Kin-ke-we-sin 
 
 3 We-se-ne Win-we-we-sin 
 
 Transitive — Animate Object. 
 
 1 Ne-daw-mwaw Nin-ne-daw-mwaw 
 
 2 Ke-daw-mwaw Kin-ke-daw-mwaw 
 
 3 0-daw-mwaw Win-o-daw-mwaw 
 
 Transitive— Inanimate Object. 
 
 1 Ne-me-djin Nin-ne-me-djin 
 
 2 Ke me-djin Kin-ke-me-djin 
 
 3 O-me-djin Win-o-me-d j in 
 
 The object is frequently placed before the verb— always when in an- 
 swer to a question. Thus, the answer to the question. What is he 
 eating? would be, Ke-goon-yan o-daw-mwawn— Fish he is eating. 
 
 Nouns are formed from verbs by adding " win"; as, waub, to see, 
 wau-be-win, sight; paw-pe, to laugh, paw-pe-win, laughter; au-no-ke, 
 to work, au-no-ke-win, labor. 
 
 Note. — A verb susceptible of both the transitive and intransitive office, and 
 of both animate and inanimate subjects, as, for instance, the verb To Blow, may 
 have no less than fifteen forms for the indicative present third person sing-u- 
 lar. The intransitive may be both animate and inanimate as to subject, and the 
 former both common and emphatic; the transitive would have the same, multi- 
 plied by animate and inanimate objects; and the passive and reflective would 
 each have inanimate, and common and emphatic animate — fifteen. Double these 
 for the plural, and we have thirty forms; and that multiplied by the sixteen 
 tenses of the indicative, potential and subjunctive moods gives 4S0 foi-ms of third 
 person. The first and second persons have the same, minus the inanimate sub- 
 ject, or 20 each for each tense, making 640 more, or 1120 all together in those 
 three moods. The imperative singular and plural, and the infinitive present and 
 past, and the participles, add 25. Then there is the additional form for the first 
 person plural, treated under "Pronouns," running through all the sixteen 
 tenses, common and emphatic, animate and inanimate and intransitive, 96 more 
 — making the astonishing number of 1241 forms of a single verb ! — [Editor. 
 
116 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Conjugation of the Verb To Be. 
 
 Indicative Mood. 
 Pers. Singular. Present Tense — I am, etc. Plural. 
 
 1 Ne-daw-yaw Ne-daw-yaw-me 
 
 2 Ke-daw-yaw Ke-daw-yaw-me 
 
 3 Aw-yaw Aw-yaw-waug or wog 
 
 Imperfect Tense — I was, etc. 
 
 1 Ne-ge-au-yaw Ne-ge-au-yaw-me 
 
 2 Ke-ge-au-yaw Ke-ge-au-yawm 
 
 3 Ke-au-yaw Ke-auyaw-wog 
 
 Perfect Tense — I have been, etc. 
 
 1 Au-zhe-gwaw ne-ge-au-yaw Au-zhe-gwaw ne-ge-au-yaw-me 
 
 2 Au-zhe-gvv^aw ke-ge-au-yaw Au-zhe-gwaw ke-ge-au-yawm 
 
 3 Au-zhe-gwaw ke-au-yaw Au-zhe-gwaw ke-au-yaw-wog 
 
 Pluperfect Tense — I had been, etc. 
 
 1 Ne-ge-au-yaw-naw-baw Ne-ge-au-me-naw-baw 
 
 2 Ke-ge-au-yaw-naw-baw Ke-ge-au-me-naw-baw 
 
 3 Ke-au-yaw-baw Ke-au-yaw-baw-neg 
 
 Future Tense — I shall or will be, etc. 
 
 1 Ne-gaw-au-yaw JSTe-gaw-au-yaw-me 
 
 2 Ke-gaw-au-yaw Ke-gaw-au-yawm 
 
 3 Taw-au-yaw Taw-au-yaw-wag 
 
 Potential Mood. 
 Present Tense — I may or can be, etc. 
 
 1 Ko-maw ne-taw-au-yaw Ko-maw ne-taw-au-yaw-me 
 
 2 Ko-maw ke-taw-au-yaw Ko-maw ke-taw-au-yawm 
 
 3 Ko-maw tau-yaw Ko-maw taw-au-yo-wog 
 
 Imperfect Tense — I might be, etc. 
 
 1 Ko-maw ne-ge-au-yaw Ko-maw ne-ge-au-yaw-me 
 
 2 Ko-maw ke-ge-au-yaw Ko-maw ke-ge-au-yom 
 
 3 Ko-maw ke-au-yaw Ko-maw ke-au-yaw-wog 
 
 Perfect Tense — I may have been, etc. 
 
 1 Au-zhe-gwau ne-tau-ge-au-yaw Au-zhe-gwau ne-tau-ge-au-yaw^-me 
 
 2 Au-zhe-gwau ke-tau-ge-au-yaw Au-zhe-gwau ke-tau-ge-aU-yawm 
 
 3 Au-zhe-gwau tau-ge-au-yaw Au-zhe-gw^au tau-ge-au-yaw-og 
 
GRAMMAR. 117 
 
 Pluperfect Tense — I might have been, etc. 
 
 1 Ko-maw aii-yaw-yom-baw Ko maw au-yaw-wong-ge-baw 
 
 2 Ko-maw ke-au-j^aw-yom-baw Ko-maw au-yaw-ye-go-baw 
 
 3 Ko-maw au-yaw-go-baw-nay Ko-maw au-yaw-wo-go-baw-nay 
 
 Subjunctive Mood. 
 Present Tense — If I be, etc. 
 
 1 Tchish-pin au-yaw-yaw Tcbish-pin au-yaw-wong 
 
 2 Tchish-pin au-yaw-yon Tchish-pin aii-yaw-yeg 
 
 3 Tchish-pin au-yawd Tchish-pin au-yaw-wod 
 
 Imperfect Tense — If 1 were, etc. 
 
 1 Tchish-pin ke-au-yaw-yaw Tchish-pin ke-au-yaw-wong 
 
 2 Tchish-pin ke-au-yaw-yon Tchish-pin ke-au-yaw-yeg 
 
 3 Tchish-pin ke-au-yawd Tchisli-pin ke-au-yaw-w^od 
 
 Perfect Tense — If I have been, etc. 
 
 1 Tchish-pin au-zhe-gaw ke-au-yaw-yaw 
 
 2 Tchish-pin au-zlie-gaw ke-au-yaw-yon 
 
 3 Tchish-pin au-zhe-gwa ke-au-yawd 
 
 Tchish-pin au-zhe-gwa ke-aw-yaw-wog 
 Tchish-pin au-zhe-gwa ke-au-yaw-yeg 
 Tchish-pin au-zlie-gwa ke-au-yaw-wod 
 
 [The syllable "gwa" is often omitted, merely saying-, "aii-zhe."] 
 Pluperfect Tense — If I had been, etc. 
 
 1 Au-zhe ke-au-yaw-yaw-baw Au-zhe ke-au-yaw-wong-o-baw 
 
 2 Au-zhe ke-au-yaw-yawm-baw Au-zlie ke-au-yaw-ye-go-baw 
 
 3 Au-zhe ke-au-yaw-paw Au-zhe ke-au-yaw-wau-paw 
 
 Future Tense — If I shall or will be, etc. 
 
 1 Tchish-pin we-au-yaw-yaw Tchish-pin we-au-yaw-wong 
 
 2 Tcliish-pin we-au-yaw-yon Tchish-pin we-au-yaw-yeg 
 
 3 Tchisli-pin we-au-yawd Tchish-pin we-au-yaw-wod 
 
 Imperative Mood — Be thou, Do you be. 
 
 2 Au-yawm Au-yawg 
 
 Infinitive Mood — To be, To have been. 
 Present — Tchi-au-yong Perfect — Au-zhe tchi-ke-au-yong 
 
 Participles — Being, Been, Having been. 
 
 Au-zhaw-yong Tchi-ge-au-yong Au-zhe-gwaw tchi-ge-au-yong 
 
118 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Synopsis of the Verh To See. 
 I see, Ne-wob. I saw, Ne-ge-wob. 
 
 I have seen, Au-zhe-gwaw ne-ge-wob. I had s'n, Ne-ge-wob-naw-baw 
 I shall see, Ne-gaw-wob. I shall have seen, Au-zhe-ge-wob. 
 
 I may see, Ko-maw ne-taw-wob. I might see, Ko-maw ne-ge-wob. 
 I may have seen, Au-zhe-gwaw ne-taw-ge-wob. 
 I might have seen, Ko-maw wob-yawm-baw. 
 If I see, Tchish-pin wob-yon. If I saw, Tchish-pin ke-wob-yon-baw. 
 If I have seen, ' Tchish-pin au-zhe-gwa wob-yon. 
 If I had seen, Tchish-pin ke-wob yon-baw. 
 
 If I shall see, Tchish-pin we-wob-yon. 
 
 If I shall have seen, Tchish-pin we-wob-yon-baw. 
 See thou, Wob-ben. To see, Tchi-wob-bing. 
 
 Tohaveseen,Tchi-ge-wob-bing. Seeing, Au-wob-bing. 
 
 Having seen, Au-zhe-gwaw au-ge-wob-bing. 
 
 Having been seen, Au-ge-wob-bing-e-baw. 
 I am seen, Ne-wob-me-go. I was seen, Ne-ge-wob-me-go. 
 
 I have been seen, Au-zhe ne-ge-wob-me-go. 
 
 I had been seen, Ne-ge-wob-me-go-naw-baw. 
 
 I shall be seen, Ne-gaw-wob-me-go. 
 
 I shall have been seen, She-gwa-we-wob-me-go-yon. 
 I may be seen, Ko-maw wob-me-go-yon. 
 
 I might be seen, Ko-maw ke-wob-me-go-yon. 
 
 I may have been seen, Ko-maw au-zhe ke-wob-me-go-yon. 
 I might have been seen, Ko-maw au-zhe ke-wob-me-go-yon-baw. 
 If I be seen, Tchish-pin wob-em-go-yon. 
 
 If I have been seen, Tchish-pin au-zhe ke-wob-me-go-yon. 
 
 If I had been seen, Tchish-pin ke-wob-me-go-yon-baw. 
 
 If I shall be seen. Tchish-pin we-wob-me-go-yon. 
 
 If I shall have been seen, Tchish-pin she-gwa-we-wob-me-go-yon. 
 I see myself, Ne-wau-baw-dis. I saw myself, Ne-ge-wau-baw-dis. 
 I shall see myself, Ne-gaw-wau-baw-dis. 
 
 I may see myself, Ko-maw ne-daw-wau-baw-dis. 
 
 See thyself, Wau-baw-de-son. To see thyself, Tchi-wob-on-di-song. 
 
GRAMMAR. 1 19 
 
 MINOR PARTS OF SPEECH. 
 
 Adverbs: When, au-pe, aii-ne-nisli; where, au-ne-pe, au-ne-zhaw; 
 there, e-wo-te, au-zhe-we. [The significance of the double forms is 
 not clear; and comparison, as with Adjectives, seems to be by differ- 
 ent words. — Ed.] 
 
 Prepositions are few, and are oftener embraced in the form of the 
 verb, as in the Latin. The most important are, pin-je, in; tchish-pin, 
 or kish-pin, if. Po-taw-wen pin-je ke-zhap ke-ze-gun, make some fire 
 in the stove; Tchish-pin maw-tchawt, if he go away. Or the same 
 maybe expressed, Po-taw-wen ke-zhap ke-ze-giin-ing ("ing" forming- 
 locative case, with the preposition implied); and, Maw-yaw-tchaw- 
 gwen (the latter form of verb expressing subjunctive mood). The 
 employment of the preposition makes the expression more emphatic. 
 
 The most important Conjunctions are, haw-yea, gaw-ya, ka-ie, and; 
 and ke-maw, or. [Three forms of " and " doubtless due to imperfect 
 orthography.] 
 
 Interjections embrace, yaw! exclamation of danger; au-to-yo! sur- 
 prise; a-te-way! disappointment; taw -wot-to! disgust; ke-yo-o! dis- 
 gust (used only by females). 
 
 There is no Article; but the words, mondaw, that, and maw-baw, 
 this, are often used before nouns as specifying terms, and are always 
 emphatic. E-we is common for that, directed to things at a distance. 
 
 A peculiarity, of uncertain significance, is the termination, sh, or 
 esh, emploATd in connection with the possessive case. It does not 
 change the interpretation, and is perhaps an expression of familiar- 
 ity, or intimate relationship. Illustration: 
 Ne-gwiss, my son ; Ne-gwiss-esh, my son. 
 
 ]^e-daw-niss, my daughter ; ]^e-daw-niss-esli, my daughter. 
 
 Ne-dib, my head ; ]^e-dib-awsh, my head. 
 
 IN^e-wau-ho-yon, my blanket ; Ne-wau bo-yon-esh , my bhmket. 
 Ne-gwiss-og, my sons ; IS'e-gwiss-es-shog, my sons. 
 
 Ne-daw-niss-og, my daughters ; Ne-daw-niss-es-shog, my da'ght'rs. 
 
150 
 
 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 VOCABULARIES. 
 
 One, Pa-zliig. Ten, Me-toss-we. 
 
 Two, ISTezh. Twenty, Nezh-to-naw. 
 
 Three, Ness-we. Thirty, Ke-seme-to-naw. 
 
 Four, Ne-win. Forty, Ne-me-to-naw. 
 
 Five, Naw-non. Fifty, Naw-ne-me-to-naw. 
 
 Six, JSTe-go-twos-we. Sixty, Ne-go-twa-se me-to-naw. 
 
 Seven, Nezh-was-we. Seventy, Nezh-wo-se-me-to-naw. 
 Eight, Nish-shwas-we. Eighty, Nish-wo-se-me-to-naw. 
 Nine, Shong-swe. Ninety, Sliong-gaw-se-me to-naw. 
 
 One hundred, Go-twok. 
 Father, Os-se-maw, pi. g. Motlier, 0-gaw-shi-maw, pl.g. 
 
 Brother, We-kaw-ne-se-maw. Sister, 0-me-say-e-maw. 
 
 Gr'father,0-me-shaw-mes-e-maw. Grr'mother, 0-ko-mes-se-maw. 
 Cousin,m.We-taw-wis-e-maw. Cousin,fm.,We-ne-mo-shay-emaw 
 Uncle, 0-me-sliaw-may-e-mawAunt, 0-nou-shay-e-maw. 
 
 Boy, Que-we-zayns, pi. og. Girl, Quay-zayns, pi. og. 
 
 Man, Au-ne-ne, pi. wog. Woman, Au-quay, pi. wog. 
 
 Old man, Au-ke-wa-ze, pi. yog. Old woman,Me-de-mo-yay, yog. 
 Ae, yes. Kau, no. Nau-go, now. 
 
 Ka-ge-te, truly so. Kau-win, no (emphatic). Au-zhon-daw, here. 
 
 Ka-go, don't. 
 
 Kaw-ga-go, none. 
 
 Pe-nau! hark! 
 Pa-kau, stop. 
 Aush-kwe-yong, behind. 
 Pe-tchi-naw-go, yesterday. 
 Pe-tchi-nog, just now. 
 Au-no-maw-yaw, lately. 
 Au-gaw-won, hardly. 
 Au-pe-tchi, very. 
 Kay-gaw, almost. 
 Mou-zhawg, always. 
 Ne-sawb, alike. 
 Pin-dig, inside. 
 
 E-wo-te, there. 
 
 Ne-gon, before, 
 Ne-se-wo-yaw-ing, between. 
 Wau-bung, to-morrow. 
 Wau-e-baw, soon. 
 Way-wib, quickly. 
 Naw-a-gotch, slowly. 
 0-je-daw, purposely. 
 Saw-kou, for example. 
 Me-naw-gay-kaw ! to be sure ! 
 Kaw-maw-me-daw, can't. 
 Pin-di-gayn, come in. 
 
GRAMMAR. 
 
 121 
 
 We-yaw, 
 
 The body. 
 
 Pe-nay-shen, t 
 
 Bird. 
 
 0-dib, 
 
 Head. 
 
 Wing-ge-zee, 
 
 Eagle. 
 
 0-te-gwan, 
 
 Face. 
 
 Pe-nay-se, 
 
 Hawk. 
 
 Odon, 
 
 Mouth. 
 
 Mong, 
 
 Loon. 
 
 Osli-ke-zlieg, 
 
 Eye. 
 
 Me-zhe-say, 
 
 Turkey. 
 
 O-no-wau-e,* 
 
 Cheek. 
 
 She-sheb, 
 
 Duck. 
 
 Otch-awsli, 
 
 Nose. 
 
 Kaw-yawshk, 
 
 Gull. 
 
 0-daw-me-kon, 
 
 Jaw. 
 
 Tchin-dees, 
 
 Blue] ay. 
 
 0-da-naw-naw, 
 
 Tongue. 
 
 May-may, 
 
 Woodcock. 
 
 We-bid, 
 
 Tooth. 
 
 Pe-nay, 
 
 Partridge. 
 
 We-ne-zes, 
 
 Hair. 
 
 Au-dje-djawk, 
 
 Crane. 
 
 0-kaw-tig, 
 
 Forehead. 
 
 0-me-me, 
 
 Pigeon. 
 
 0-maw-maw, 
 
 Eyebrow. 
 
 Au-pe-tchi, 
 
 Robin. 
 
 Kaw-gaw-ge,* 
 
 Pahite. 
 
 Awn-dayg, 
 
 Crow. 
 
 0-kaw-gun, 
 
 Neck. 
 
 Au-nawk, 
 
 Thrasher. 
 
 0-do-daw-gun, 
 
 Throat. 
 
 Paw-paw-say, 
 
 Woodpecker. 
 
 pe-kwawn, 
 
 Back. 
 
 Ke-wo-nee, 
 
 Prairie hen. 
 
 0-pe-gay-gun, 
 
 Rib. 
 
 Maw-kwa, 
 
 Bear. 
 
 0-me-gawt, 
 
 Stomach, 
 
 Mooz, 
 
 Moose. 
 
 0-naw-gish, 
 
 Bowel. 
 
 Me-shay-wog, 
 
 Elk. 
 
 Osh-kawt, 
 
 Belly. 
 
 Maw-in-gawn, 
 
 Wolf. 
 
 O-kwan, 
 
 Liver. 
 
 Au-mick, 
 
 Beaver. 
 
 0-kun, 
 
 Bone. 
 
 Maw-boos, 
 
 Rabbit. , 
 
 0-nenj, 
 
 Hand. 
 
 Pe-zhen, 
 
 Lynx. 
 
 0-neek, 
 
 Arm. 
 
 Au-ni-moosh, 
 
 Dog. 
 
 O-dos-kwon, 
 
 Elbow. 
 
 Au-ni-mouns, 
 
 Puppy. 
 
 0-kawd, 
 
 Leg. 
 
 Au-zhawshk, 
 
 Muskrat. 
 
 0-ge-dig* 
 
 Knee. 
 
 Wau-goosh, 
 
 Fox. 
 
 bwom, 
 
 Thigh. 
 
 Shaw-gway-she. 
 
 Mink. 
 
 0-zeet, 
 
 Foot. 
 
 A-se-bou, 
 
 Raccoon. 
 
 -don-dim, 
 
 Heel. 
 
 Me-she-be-zhe,J 
 
 Panther. 
 
 0-ge-tchi-zeet, 
 
 Big toe. 
 
 She-gos-se, 
 
 Weasel. 
 
 O-ge-tclii-nenj, 
 
 Thumb. 
 
 an. 
 
 Au-saw-naw-go, 
 
 Squirrel. 
 
 * PI. og-; others 
 
 t PI. yog; :}: eg; others wog, og, g. 
 
122 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Ke-gon,* Fish. Maw-ne-tons, insect. 
 
 Ke-gons| (dim.), minnow. 0-jee, house fly. 
 
 Naw-me-gons, trout, Me-ze-zawli, horse fly. 
 Maw-zhaw-me-gons, brook trout, Au-mon, bumblebee. 
 
 Maw-may, sturgeon. Au-moans (dim.), bee, hornet. 
 
 0-gaw, pickerel. May-may-gwan,* butterfly. 
 
 She-gwaw-meg, dog fish. Au-kou-jesh, louse. 
 
 Au-saw-way, perch. Paw-big, flea. 
 
 0-kay-yaw-wis, herring. 0-ze-gog, woodtick. 
 
 Au-she-gun, black bass. A-naw-go, ant. 
 
 Au-de-kaw-meg, whitefish. A-a-big, spider. 
 
 Ke-no-zhay, pike. 8aw-ge-may, mosquito. 
 
 Paw-zhe-toun,* sheep head. Mo-say, cut worm. 
 
 Maw-maw-bin, sucker. 0-quay, maggot. 
 
 * PI. yog-; t sog; others wog-, eg-, g. 
 Paw-gawn, nut ; (dim. paw-gaw-nays, hazelnut or other small nut) 
 Au-zhaw-way-mish, pi. eg ; beech tree. 
 Au-zhaw-way-min, pi. on; beech nut. 
 Me-te-gwaw-bawk, pi. og; hickory tree. 
 Me-gwaw-baw-ko paw-gon, pi. on ; hickory nut. 
 Paw-gaw-naw-ko paw-gon, pi. on ; walnut. 
 Me-she-me-naw-gaw-wosh, pi. eg; apple tree. 
 Me-she-min, pi. og; apple. 
 
 Shaw-bo-me-naw-gaw-wosh, pi. eg; gooseberry bush. 
 Shaw-bo-min, pi. og ; gooseberry. 
 Paw-gay-saw-ne-mish, pi. eg; plum tree. 
 Paw-gay-son, pi. og; plum. 
 
 Aw-nib, pi. eg; elm. Aw-doup, pi. eg; willow. 
 
 Shin-gwawk, pi. wog ; pine. Ke-zhek, pi. og ; cedar. 
 Au-bo-yawk, pi. wog; ash. We-saw-gawk, pi. og; black ash. 
 
 Me-daw-min, pi. og ; corn. 0-zaw-o-min, pi. og ; yellow corn. 
 
 Mis-kou-min, pi. og ; red raspberry. 
 Wau-be-mis-kou-min, pi. og ; white raspberry. 
 Wau-kaw-tay-mis-kou-min, pi. og ; black raspberry. 
 
GRAMMAR. 123 
 
 Au-KEE ; the world, the earth, land, country, soil. 
 
 Pay-maw-te-se-jeg au-king, the people of the world. 
 
 Taw-naw-ke-win, country or native land. 
 
 Ke-taw-kee-me-naw, our country. 
 
 Maw-k&w-te au-kee, black earth or soil. 
 
 Me-daw-keem, my land. 
 
 Au-ke-won, soiled ; also applied to rich land. 
 
 Ne-besh, water ; ne-be-kaw, wet land. 
 
 Wau-bawsh-ko-kee, marsh land. 
 
 Au-ke-kaw-daw-go-kee, tamarack swamp. 
 
 Ke-zhe-ke-kee, cedar swamp. 
 
 Au-tay yaw-ko-kee, swamp, swampy land. 
 
 Shen-gwaw-ko-kee, pine land. 
 
 Ne-gaw-we-kee, sand ; ne-gaw-we-kaw, sandy. 
 
 Kong-ke-tchi-gaw-me, the ocean. 
 
 Ke-tchi-au-gaw-ming, across the ocean. 
 
 Se-be (pi. won), river ; se-be-wens (dim), (pi. an,) brook. 
 
 Ke-te-gawn (pi. on), farm ; ke-te-gaw-nes (dim.), garden. 
 
 Ke-te-gay we-ne-ne, (pi. wog), farmer. 
 
 Ke-zes, sun ; te-bik-ke-zes, moon ; au-nong (pi. wog), star. 
 
 Ke-zhe-gut, day; te-be-kut, night. 
 
 Ne-bin, summer ; pe-boon, winter. 
 
 Ne-be-nong, last summer ; me-no-pe-boon, pleasant winter. 
 
 Tau-gwan-gee, fall ; me-nou-kaw-me, spring. 
 
 Au-won-se-me-nou-kaw-ming, year ago last spring. 
 
 Maw-tclii taw-gwan-ge, bad or unpleasant fall. 
 
 No-din, wind ; no-wau-yaw, the air. 
 
 No-de-naw-ne-mot, windy. 
 
 To-ke-sin, calm; ne-tche-wod, stormy. 
 
 Au-pe-tchi ne-tche-wod, very stormy. 
 
 Wig-worn, house ; wig-wom-an, houses. 
 
 Au-sin wig-worn, stone house. 
 
 Au-naw-me-a-we-gaw-mig, a church. 
 
 Te-baw-ko-we-ga we-gaw-mig, a court house. 
 
124 
 
 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Me-no-say, handy. 
 Au-no-ls^e, work. 
 Wo-be, he sees. 
 Pe-mo-say, he walks. 
 Pe-me-bot-to, he runs 
 Get him, nawzh. 
 Help him, naw-daw-maw. 
 Call him, naw-doiim. 
 Go to him, naw-zhe-kow. 
 Meet him, naw-kwesh-kow. 
 Ne-dje-mon, my boat. 
 Ne-dje-bawm, my soul. 
 Ne-gwes, mj^ son. 
 Ne-taw-wes, my cousin, 
 Ne-daw-kim, my land. 
 He sleeps, ne-baw. 
 He is sleepy, au-kon-gwa-she. 
 He is white, wau-be?li-ke-zee. 
 He is lonely, aush-ken-dom. 
 He is killed, nes-saw, 
 Ne-tawn, first. 
 Ne-gon, before. 
 Au-ko-zee, sick. 
 Au-gaw-saw, small 
 
 Me-no-sayg, that which is handy. 
 A-no-ket, he that is working. 
 Wau-yaw-bet, he that sees. 
 Pe-mo-sayt, he that is walking. 
 Pe-me-bot-tot, he that runs. « 
 Get it, naw-din. 
 Help it, naw-daw-maw-don. 
 Ask for it, naw-dou-don. 
 Go to it, naw-zhe-kon. 
 Meet it, naw-kwesh-kon. 
 Ne-dje-may, I paddle. 
 Ne-do-ge-mom, my master. 
 Ne-daw-nes, my daughter. 
 Ne-kaw-nes, my brother. 
 Ne-ne-tchaw-nes, my child. 
 He is dead, ne-bou. 
 He died, ke-ne-bou. 
 He is afraid, sa-ge-ze. 
 He is lazy, ke-te-mesh-ke. 
 He is well, me-no-pe-maw-de-ze. 
 Ne-tawm ke-taw-gwe-shin, he came first. 
 Ne-gon-ne, he goes before. 
 Au-ko-ze-we-gaw-mig, hospital. [plate. 
 0-gaw-sawg o-naw-gun pe-ton, bring small 
 
 Au-gaw-won, scarcely. Au-gaw-won ne-wob, I scarcely see. 
 
 Once, ne-go-ting. 
 Not there, ne-go-tchi. 
 Change, mesh-kwot. 
 Full, mosh-ken. 
 Fill it, mosh-ke-naw-don. 
 Saw-kon, go out. 
 Maw-tchawn, go away. 
 Pe-to, to bring. 
 
 Only once, ne-go-ting a-taw. 
 Look elsewhere, ne-go-tchi e-naw-bin. 
 He is elsewhere, ne-go-tchi e-zhaw. 
 It is elsewhere, ne-go-tchi au-tay. 
 Change it, mes-kwo-to-non. 
 
 Pe-saw-kon, come out. 
 
 Pe-maw-tchawn, come away. 
 
 Pe-ton, fetch it. 
 
GRAMMAR. 125 
 
 Ash-kom, more and more. Nos, my father. 
 
 Ash-kom so-ge-po, more and more snow. Kos, your father. 
 
 Ash-komke-me-wau, " " rain. 0-sawn, his father. 
 
 Ash-kom ke-zhaw-tay, hotter and hotter. Ne-gaw-she, my mother. 
 
 Ash-kom ke-se-naw, colder and colder. Ke-gaw-she, your mother. 
 
 E-ke-to, saying. E-ke-ton, say it. 
 
 E-ke-to, he says. Ke-e-ke-to, he said. 
 
 Kay-go mon-daw e-ke-to-kay, do not say that. 
 
 E-wau, he says [the same as e-ke-to, but used only in third person 
 and cannot be conjugated]. 
 
 E-naw-bin, look ; e-naw-bin au-zhon-daw, look here. 
 
 A-zhawd, going ; au-ne-pe a-zhawd ? where did he go ? 
 
 E-wo-te, there ; me-saw e-vvo-te au-daw-yon, there is your home. 
 
 Au-zhe-me, there ; au-zhe-me au-ton, set it there. 
 
 Au-ne-me-kee, thunder; au-ne-me-ke-kaw, it thundered. 
 
 Awsh-kon-tay, fire ; awsh-kon-tay o-zhe-ton, make some fire. 
 
 On-je-gaw, leaked ; on-je-gaw tchi-mon, the boat leaked. 
 
 Kaw-ke-naw, all ; kaw-ke-naw ke-ge-way-wog, all gone home. 
 
 Ke-wen, go home. [This verb always implies home, but the em- 
 phatic expression is ke-wen en-daw-yawn.] 
 
 Son-gon (inanimate), son-ge-ze (animate), tough. 
 
 Se-gwan, spring; se-gwa-nong, last spring (Chippewa dialect). 
 
 Me-gwetch, thanks ; me-gwe-tchi-me-au, he is thanked. 
 
 Taw-kwo, short ; on-sawm taw-kwo, too short. 
 
 Ke-me-no-pe-maw-tis naw ? Are you well ? 
 
 Ae, ne-me-no-pe-maw-tis. Yes, I am well. 
 
 Ke-taw-kos naw ? Are you sick ? 
 
 Kau-win ne-taw-ko-si-sy. No, I am not sick. 
 
 Au-ne-pish kos e-zhat ? Where did your father go ? 
 
 0-day-naw-wing ezhaw. He is gone to town. 
 
 Ke-ge-we-sin naw ? Have you eaten ? 
 
 Ae, ne-ge-aush-kwaw-we-sin. Yes, I have done eating. 
 
 Ke-baw-kaw-tay naw ? Are you hungry ? 
 
 Kaw-win, ne-baw-kaw-tay-sy. No, I am not hungry. 
 
126 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
 
 Pe-mo-say-win, walking (noun); ne-pe-mo-say, I walk. 
 
 Aum-bay paw-baw-mo-say-taw, let us go walking. 
 
 Ne-ge-paw-baw-mo-say, 1 have been walking. 
 
 Ne-ge-paw-baw-mish-kaw, I have been boat riding. 
 
 Aum-bay paw-baw-mish-kaw-claw, let us go boat riding. 
 
 Maw-tchawn, go on, or go away. 
 
 Maw-tchawn we-wib, go on quickly. 
 
 Ke-maw-tchaw-wog, the have gone. 
 
 Aum-bay maw-tchaw-taw, let us go. 
 
 Wau-saw e-zhaw, he is gone far away. 
 
 We-kau-de-win, a feast; we-koum, I invite him (to a feast). 
 
 We-kau-maw-wog, they are invited (to a feast). 
 
 Maw-zhe-aw, overpowered ; maw-zhe-twaw, victorious. 
 
 Mou-dje-ge-ze-win, or, me-naw-wo-ze-win, rejoicing. 
 
 Mou-dje-ge-ze, or, me-naw-wo-ze, he rejoices. 
 
 Au-no-maw-yaw ke-daw-gwe-shin, he came lately. 
 
 Au-pe-tchi ke-zhaw-tay, it is very hot. 
 
 Ke-tchi no-din, it is blowing hard. 
 
 Paw-ze-gwin we-wib, get up quickly. 
 
 Me-no e-naw-kaw-me-got, good news. 
 
 Me-no e-naw-kaw-me-got naw ? Is it good news ? 
 
 She-kaw-gong ne-de-zhaw-me, we are going to Chicago. 
 
 She-kaw-gong on-je-baw, he came from Chicago 
 
 Saw-naw-got, difficult to overcome. 
 
 Saw-naw-ge-ze, he is in difficult3^ 
 
 Saw-naw-ge-ze-wog, they are in difficulty. 
 
 Sa-ge-ze, he is frightened ; sa-ge-ze-win, fright. 
 
 Ke-gus-kaw-naw-baw-gwe naw ? Are you thirsty ? 
 
 Au-pe-tchi ne-gus-kaw-naw-gwe. 1 am very thirsty. 
 
 Me-naw au-we, give him drink. 
 
 Ne-bish me-naw, give him water to drink. 
 
 0-daw-kim o-ge-au-taw-wen, he sold his land. 
 
 0-da paw-gaw-awn, the heart beats. 
 
 0-da me-tchaw-ne, he has a big heart. 
 
GRAMMAR. 137 
 
 Ke-ne-se-to-tom naw ? Do you understand ? 
 Ke-ne-se-to-tow naw? Do you understand me? 
 Kau-win, ke-ne-se to-tos-no. No, I do not understand you. 
 Ke-no-dom naw ? Do you bear ? Ae, ne-no-dom. Yes, I hear, 
 Ke-pe-sen-dom naw ? Do you listen ? 
 Ke-maw-ne-say naw ? Are you chopping ? 
 Maw-tchi e-naw-kaw-me-got naw ? Is it bad news ? 
 We-go-nasb wau-au-yaw mon ? What do you want ? 
 Au-nish au-pe-daw-taw-gwe-she non ? When did you come ? 
 Au-ne-pesh a-zhaw yon ? Where are you going ? 
 Au-ne-pesh wen-dje-baw yon ? Where are you from ? 
 Au-ne-dosb wau-e-ke-to yon ? What shall you say ? 
 Au-nish mon-daw e-naw-gen deg ? What is the price ? 
 Maw-ne-say, he chops ; ma-ne-sayt, he that chops. 
 Ne-bwa-kaw, wise ; ne-bwa-kawt, he that is wise. 
 Na-bwa-kaw-tchig, they that are wise. 
 Wa-zhe-tou-tchig awsh-kou-te, they that make fire. 
 
 0-zhe-tou aush-ko-tay pin-je ke-zhaw-be-ke-se-gun, 
 Make fire in the stove. 
 
 Wen-daw-mow way-naw-paw-nod au-zhon-daw, 
 
 Tell him the cheap place is here. 
 
 Wen-daw-mow e-naw-kaw-me-gok, tell him the news. 
 
 Taw-bes-kaw-be. Taw-be-e-shaw au-zhon-daw. 
 
 He will come back. He will come here. 
 
 On-je-baw. Wow-kwing on-je-baw. 
 
 Coming from. He comes from heaven. 
 
 Nau-go, now ; nau-go a-ge-zhe-gok, to-day. 
 Te-besh-kou, same, even ; ta-te-besh-kon, even with the other. 
 To-dawn mon-daw e-ne-taw, do that as I tell you. 
 Pe-sen-dow, listen to him ; pe-sen-do-we-shin, listen to me. 
 Me-saw-wen-d j e-gay . Me-saw-me-d j e-gay-win. 
 
 He covets. Coveting. 
 
128 OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA GRAMMAR. 
 
 E-zliaw-yon gaw-ya ne-ne-gaw e-zliaw. 
 Ifyouwillgo and also I will go. 
 
 O-je-daw ne-ge-to-tem tchi-baw-ping. 
 Purposely I did it to make laughter. 
 
 Kaw-win ke-taw-gawsh-ke-to-se tchi-gaw-ke-so-taw-wod mau- 
 ni-to, you cannot hide from God. 
 
 Maw-no-a-na-dong taw-e-zhe-tchi-gay, let him do what he thinks. 
 
 A-naw-bid. E-naw-bin a-naw-bid. 
 
 In the way he looks. Do look in the way he looks. 
 
 Au-nish a-zhe-wa-bawk mon-daw? 
 What is the matter with that? 
 
 Au-nish a-zhe-we-be-sit au-we? 
 What is the matter with him ? 
 
 Au-nish a-naw-tchi-moo-tawk ? 
 What did he tell you ? 
 
 E-zhaw. Au-ne-pish kaw-e-zhawd ? 
 
 He went. Where did he go ? 
 
 E-zhaw-wog. Harbor Springs ke-e-zhaw-wog. 
 
 They went. They went to Harbor Springs. 
 
 Ne-daw-yaw-naw e-naw-ko-ne-ga-win. 
 We have a rule, or, a law. 
 
 0-we-o kwon o-ge-au-taw-son. 
 His hat he pawned. 
 
 N"ebe-me-baw-to-naw-baw au-pe pen-ge-she-naw. 
 I was running when I fell. 
 
 Note.— Except some condensation and arfangement in the gram- 
 mar, this work is printed almost verbatim as written by the author.— 
 [Editor. 
 
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