YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

sisoimaen ®r
(jHE FIBST HOUSE BUILT IN CHICAQQ,'

WAU-BUN,

THE

6 6

EARLY DAY"

IN

THE NORTH-WEST. ,i
BY MES. JOHN H. KINZIE,
OT CHICAGO.
Juliette. Au^ua-Va. (McCJill) H,1"**-1*-
JBfit|f lltastratos.

NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY DERBY & JACKSON,
¦ 119 NASSAU STREET.
CINCINNATI : H. W. DERBY & Co.
1856.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred
and Fifty-six, by '
DERBY & JACKSON
In the Clerk-s Office of tbe District Court for the Southern District of New York.

TO THE

HON. LEWIS CASS,

THE "EARLY DAY" THE TRIED FRIEND

THE PIONEER' AND THE RED MAN

Jfollohmrg gSktraraals

RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.

PREFACE.

Eveby work partaking of the nature of an autobio
graphy, is supposed to demand an apology to the pub
lic. To refuse such a tribute, would be to recognize
the justice of the charge, so often brought against our
countrymen — of a too great willingness to be made ac
quainted with the domestic history and private affairs
of their neighbors.
It is, doubtless, to refute this calumny that we find
travellers, for the most part, modestly offering some
such form of explanation as this, to the reader : " That
the matter laid before him was, in the first place, sim
ply letters to friends, never designed to be submitted to
other eyes, and only brought forward now at the soli
citation of wiser judges than the author himseE"
No such plea can, in the present instance, be offered.
The record of events in which the writer had herself
no share, was preserved in compliance with the sug
gestion of a revered relative, whose name often appears
in the following pages. " My child," she would say,
" write these things down, as I tell them to you. Here-

VI PKEFACE.
after our children, and even strangers will feel inte
rested in hearing the story of our early lives and suf
ferings." And it is a matter of no small regret and
self-reproach, that much, very much, thus narrated was,
through negligence, or a spirit of procrastination, suf
fered to pass unrecorded.
With regard to the pictures of domestic life and ex
perience (preserved, as will be seen in journals, letters,
and otherwise), it is true their publication might have
been deferred until the writer had passed away from the
scene of action ; and such, it was supposed, would have
been their lot — that they would only have been dragged
forth hereafter, to show to a succeeding generation, what
" The Early Day," of our "Western homes had been.
It never entered the anticipations of the most sanguine
that the march of improvement and prosperity would)
in less than a quarter of a century, have so obliterated
the traces of " the first beginning," that a vast and in
telligent multitude would be crying out for informa
tion in regard to the early settlement of this portion of
our country, which so few are left to furnish.
An opinion has been expressed, that a comparison of
the present times with those that are past, would en
able our young people, emigrating from their luxurious
homes at " the East," to bear, in a spirit of patience and
contentment, the slight privations and hardships they
are at this day called to meet with. If, in one instance,
this should be the case, the writer may well feel happy

PKEFACE, VII
py to have incurred even the charge of egotism, in
giving thus much of her own history.
It may be objected that all that is strictly personal,
might have.been more modestly put forth under the
name of a third person ; or that the events themselves
and the scenes might have been described, while those
participating in them might have been kept more in the
back-ground. In the first case, the narrative would have
lost its air of truth and reality— in the second, the ex
periment would merely have been tried of dressing up
a theatre for representation, and omitting the actors.
Some who read the following sketches, may be in
clined to believe that a residence among our native
brethren and an attachment growing out of our peculiar
relation to -them, have exaggerated our sympathies,
and our sense of the wrongs they have received at the
hands of the whites. This is not the place to discuss
that point. There is a tribunal at whiah man shall
be judged, for that which he has meted out to his fel
low-man. May our countrymen take heed that their legislation
shall never unfit them to appear " with joy, and not
with grief" before that tribunal !
Chicago, July, 1855.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
Departure from Detroit ... ig
CHAPTER II.
Michilimackinac— American Fur Company— Indian Trade— Mission School— Point
St. Ignace 18
CHAPTER m.
Antral at Green Bay— Mrs. Arnot— Gen. Root— Political Despatches— A Summerset—
Shantie Town — Mr. Rolette. — Indian Morning-Song — Mr. Cadle's Mission — Party
at Mrs. Doty's— Miss Grignons— Mrs. Baird's. Party— Hamilton A.— Mrs. Beall 39
CHAPTER IT.
Arrangements for Travelling— Pox River— Judge Doty— Judge Reaume— M. Boilvin
—Canadian Voyageurs ; Their Songs— The Kakalia— Wish-tay-yun— Rev. Eleazer
"Williams — Passage through the Rapids — Grande Chute — Chrlstman . 42
CHAPTER V.
Beautiful Encampment— Winnebago Lake— Miss Pour-Legs— Garlic Island— Wild
Rice - - .... 6o
CHAPTER VI.
Breakfast at Betty More's— Judge Law— Fastidiousness; What came of it - 68
CHAPTER VH
Butte des Morts— French Cognomens— Serpentine Course of Fox River— Lake Puck
a-way— Lac de Bceuf— Fort Winnebago --.-.. 74
CHAPTER VHI.
Major and Mrs. Twiggs— A. Davis— An Indian Funeral— Conjugal Affliction— Indian
Chiefs; Talk Engli»h— The Wild Cat-The Dandy 83
9

X CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
Housekeeping ; The First Dinner - - - - 94
CHAPTER X.
Indian Payments-Pawnee Blanc— The Washington Woman— Raising Funds 99
CHAPTER XI.
Louisa— Garrison Life--Dr. Newhall— Affliction— Domestic Accommodations— Ephraim
—New Tear's Day — Native Custom— Day-kau-ray's Views of Education — Capt.
Harney's Mince-Pie 109
CHAPTER XH.
Lizzie Twiggs— Preparations for a Journey— The Regimental Tailor 128
chapter xrn.
Departure from Fort Winnebago— Duck Creek— Upset in a Canoe— Pillou— Encamp
ing in Winter— Four Lakes— Indian Encampment— Blue Mound— Morrison's— A
Tennessee Woman . t j^q
CHAPTER XIV.
Rev. Mr. Kent— Losing One's Way-A Tent Blown Down— Discovery .of a Fence-
Hamilton's Diggings— Frontier Housekeeping— Wm. S. Hamilton— A miner— Hard
Riding— Kellogg's Grove . 142
CHAPTER XV.
Rock River-Dixon's-John Ogie-Missing the Trail-Hours of Trouble-Famine in
the Camp— Relief . - 166
CHAPTER XVI.
A Potawatamie I.odge-A Tempest-Piche's-Hawley's-The Dupage-Mr. Dougherty
— The Desplaines— Mrs. Lawton— Wolf Point— Chicago ' 17i
CHAPTER XVn.
Fort Dearborn-Chicago in 1831-First Settlement of Chicago-John Kinzie, Sen -
Fate of George Forsyth-Trading Posts-Canadian Voyageurs-M. St. Jean-
Louis la Liberte 183
CHAPTER XVIII.
Massacre at Chicago * • - . _ n™

CONTENTS. XI

CHAPTER XIX.

Massacre continued— Mrs. Helm— Ensign Ronan— Capt. Wells— Mrs. Holt— Mrs. Heald
—The Sau-ga-nash— Sergeant Griffith— Mrs. Burns— Black Partridge and Mrs.
Lee— Nau-non-gee and Sergeant Hays  228

CHAPTER XX.
Treatment of American Prisoners by the British— Captivity of Mr. Kinzie— Battle on
Lake Erie— Cruelty of Gen. Proctor's Troops— Gen. Harrison— Rebuilding of Fort
Dearborn— Red Bird— A Humorous Incident— Cession of the Territory around
Chicago - - -'  S*8
CHAPTER XXI.
Severe Spring Weather— Pistol-Firing— Milk Punch— A Sermon— Pre-emption to
"Kinzie's Addition"— Liberal Sentiments ----- 260
CHAPTER XXH.
The Captive  - - 266
CHAPTER XXLU.
Capt. McKillip— Second Sight— Ball at Hickory Creek— Arrival of the "Napoleon"—
Troubles of Embarkation ------- 288
CHAPTER XXIV.
Departure for Fort Winnebago — A Frightened Indian— Encampment at Dunkley's
Grove— Horses Lost— Getting Mired— An Ague Cured by a Rattlesnake— Crystal
Lake-Story of the Little Rail - 300
CHAPTER XXV.
Return Journey Continued— Soldiers' Encampment— Big Foot Lake— Village of
Maunk-suck— A Young Gallant— Climbing Mountain-Passes— Turtle-Creek—
Kosh-ko-nong— Crossing a Marsh— Twenty-Mile Prairie— Hasting's Woods— Duck
Creek— Brunet— Home - - ... 815
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Agency— The Blacksmith's House— Building a Kitchen— Four-Legs, the Dandy-
Indian Views of Civilization— Efforts of M. Mazzuchelli— Charlotte 334
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Cut Nose— The Fawn— Visit of White Crow— Parting with Friends— Ohristman—
Louisa again— The Sunday School - - 3*6
CHAPTER XXVHI.
Plante— Removal— Domestic inconveniences— Indian Presents— Grandmother Day
kau-ray— Indian Customs— Indian Dances— The Medicine Dance— Indian Graves
—Old Boilvin's Wake - - 8M

Xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Indian Tales— Story of the Red Fox ... - 367
CHAPTER XXX.
Story of Shee-shee-banze - - - 377
CHAPTER XXXI.
Visit to Green Bay— Disappointment— Return Journey— Knaggs'— Blind Indian
— Mau-zhee-gaw-gaw Swamp— Bellefontaino - - 387
CHAPTER XXXH.
Commencement of Sauk War— Winnebago Council— Crely—Follett— Bravery— The
Little Elk— An Alarm— Man-Eater and his Party— An Exciting Dance 400
CHAPTER XXXTIT.
Fleeing from the Enemy— Mata— Old Smoker— Meeting with Menomonees— Raising
the Wind— Garlic Island— Winnebago Rapids— Tbe Wnu-be-nau-kees— Thunder-
Storm— Vitelle—Guardapie— Fort Howard - 414
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Panic at Green Bay— Tidings of Cholera— Green Bay Flies— Doyle, the Murderer-
Death of Lieut. Foster— A Hardened Criminal— Good News from tbe Seat of
War— Departure for Home— Shipwreck at the Grand Chute— A Wet Encampment
—An Unexpected Arrival— Re-inforcement of Volunteers— La Grosse Americaine
—Arrival at Home *¦ * - 431
CHAPTER XXXV.
Conclusion of The War— Treaty at Rock Island— Cholera among the Troops— Wau
kaun-kaw— Wild -Cat's Frolic at the Mee-kan— Surrender of tbe Winnebago
Prisoners 44g
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Delay in the Annual Payment— Scalp Dances— Groundless Alarm— Arrival of Gov.
Porter— Payment — Escape of the Prisoners — Neighbors Lost — Re-appearance
— Robineau— Bellair 460
CHAPTER XXXVH.
Agathe— " Kinzie's Addition''— Tomah— Indian Acuteness— Indian Simplicity 471
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Famine- Day-kau-ray's Daughter — Noble Resolution of a Chief — Bread for the
Hungry-Rev. Mr. Kent— An Escaped PriBoner-The Cut-Nose Again- Leave-
taking with our Red Children- Departure from Fort Winnebago - 481
iPPENDIX - - ... . ... mn

'% "(ferlj gaf of % l0ri|-»st.

CHAPTER I.
DEPARTURE FROM DETROIT.
It was on a dark, rainy evening in the month of
September, 1830, that we went on board the steamer
" Henry Clay," to take passage for Green Bay. All our
friends in Detroit had congratulated us upon our good
fortune in being spared the voyage in one of the little
schooners, which at this time afforded the ordinary
means of communication with the few and distant set
tlements on Lakes Huron and Michigan.
Each one had some experience to relate of his own or
of his friends' mischances in these precarious journeys —
long detentions on the St. Clair flats— furious head
winds off Thunder Bay, or interminable calms at
Mackinac or the Manitous. That which most enhanced
our sense of pecuhar good-luck, was the true story of
one of our relatives having left Detroit in the month
of June, and reached Chicago in the September follow
ing, having been actually three months in performing
(18)

14 THE "EARLY DAT" OE THE NORTH-WEST.
what is sometimes accomplished by even a sail-vessel
in four days.
But' the certainty of encountering similar misadven
tures would have weighed httle with me. I was now
to visit, nay more, to become a resident of that land
which had, for long years, been to me a region of
romance. Since the time when, as a child, my highest
dehght had been in the letters of a dear relative, de
scribing to me his home and mode of life in the "Indian
country," and still later, in his felicitous narration of a
tour with General Cass, in 1820, to the sources of the
Mississippi — nay, even earher, in the days when I stood
at my teacher's knee, and spelled out the long word
Mich-i-li-mack-i-nac, that distant land, with its vast
lakes, its boundless prairies, and its mighty forests,
had possessed a wonderful charm for my imagination.
Now I was to see it ! — it was to be my home !
Our ride to the quay, through the dark by-ways, in
a cart, the only vehicle which at that day could navi
gate the muddy, unpaved streets of Detroit, was a
theme for much merriment, and not less so, our descent
of the narrow, perpendicular stair-way by which we
reached the httle apartment called the Ladies' Cabin.
"We were highly delighted with the accommodations,
which, by comparison, seemed the very climax of com
fort and convenience; more especially as the occupants
of the cabin consisted, beside myself, of but a lady and
two httle girls.

DEPARTURE FROM DETROIT. 15
Nothing could exceed the pleasantness of our trip
for the first twenty -four hours. There were some
officers, old friends, among the passengers. "We had
plenty of books. The gentlemen read aloud occasion
ally, admired the solitary magnificence of the scenery
around us, the primeval woods, or the vast expanse of
water unenlivened by a single sail, and then betook
themselves to their cigar, or their game of eucre, to
while away the hours.
For a time the passage over Thunder Bay was de
hghtful, but alas ! it was not destined, in our favor, to
belie its name. A storm came on, fast and furious —
what was worse, it was of long duration. The pitch
ing and 'rolling of the httle boat, the closeness, and
even the sea-sickness, we bore as became us. They
were what we had expected, and were prepared for.
But a new feature of discomfort appeared, which
almost upset our philosophy.
The rain, which fell in torrents, soon made its way
through every seam and pore of deck or moulding.
Down the stair- way, through the joints and crevices,
it came, saturating first the carpet, then the bedding,
until, finally, we were completely driven, "by stress
of weather," into the Gentlemen's Cabin. "Way was
made for us very gallantly, and every provision re
sorted to for our comfort, and we were congratulating
ourselves on having found a haven in our distress,
when lo ! the seams above opened, and down upon our

16 THE "EARLY DAY" OE THE NORTH-WEST.
devoted heads poured such a flood, that even umbrellas
were an insufficient protection. There was nothing left
for the ladies and children but to betake ourselves to
the berths, which, in this apartment, fortunately re
mained dry ; and here we continued ensconced the live
long day. Our dinner was served up to us on our
pillows. The gentlemen chose the dryest spots, raised
their umbrellas, and sat under them, telling amusing
anecdotes, and saying funny things to cheer us, until
the rain ceased, and at nine o'clock m the evening we
were gladdened by the inteUigence that we had reached
the pier at Mackinac.
"We were received with the most affectionate cordi
ality by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Stuart, at whose hospi
table mansion we had been for some days expected.
The repose and comfort of an asylum like this, can
be best appreciated by those who have reached it after
a tossing and drenching such as ours had been. A
bright, warm fire, and countenances beaming with
kindest interest, dispeUed aU sensations of fatigue or
annoyance. After a season of pleasant conversation, the servants
were assembled, the chapter pf God's word was sol
emnly read, the hymn chanted, the prayer of praise
and thanksgiving offered, and we were conducted to
our place of repose.
It is not my purpose here to attempt a portrait of
those noble friends whom I thus met for the first time.

DEPARTURE PROM DETROIT. \f
To an abler pen than mine, should be assigned the
honor of writing the biography of Robert Stuart. All
who have enjoyed the happiness of his acquaintance,
or still more, a sojourn under his hospitable roof, wiU
carry with them, to their latest hour, the impression
of his noble bearing, his genial humor, his untiring
benevolence, his upright, uncompromising adherence
to principle, his ardent phUanthropy, his noble disin
terestedness. Irving in his " Astoria," and Franchere
in his "Narrative," give many striking, traits of his
early character, together with events of his history of
a thrilling and romantic interest, but both have left the
most valuable portion unsaid, his after-life, namely, as
a Christian gentleman.
Of his beloved partner, who still survives him,
mourning on her bereaved and .solitary pUgrimage, yet
cheered by the recollection of her long and useful
course as a " Mother in Israel," we wiU say no more
than to offer the incense of loving hearts, and prayers
for the best blessings from her Father in Heaven.

CHAPTER II.
MICHILIMAOKINAO.
Michilimackinac ! that gem of the Lakes ! How
bright and beautiful it looked as we walked abroad on
the foUowing morning ! The rain had passed away,
but had left aU things ghttering in the light of the sun
as it rose up over the waters of Lake Huron, far away
to the east. Before us was the lovely bay, scarcely yet
tranqml after the storm, but dotted with canoes and
the boats of the fishermen already getting but their
nets for the trout and whitefish, those treasures of the
deep. Along the beach were scattered the wigwams
or lodges of the Ottawas who had come to the island
to trade. The inmates came forth to gaze upon us.
A shout of welcome was sent forth, as they recognized
Shaw-Tiee-aiu-kee, who, from a seven years' residence
among them, was weU-known to each individual.
A shake of the hand, and an emphatic " Bon-jour —
bon-jour" is the customary . salutation between the
Indian and the. white man.
" Do the Indians speak French?" I inquired of my
husband. "No; this is a fashion they have learned
of the French traders during many years of inter-

(18)

MICHILIMACKINAO. 19
Not less hearty was the greeting of each Canadian
engage, as he trotted forward to pay his respects to
"Monsieur John," and to utter a long string of felici
tations, in a most incomprehensible patois. I was
forced to take for granted aU the good wishes showered
upon " Madame John," of which I could comprehend
nothing but the hope that I should be happy and con
tented in my " vie sauvage."
The object of our early walk was to visit the Mission-.
house and school which had been some few years
previously estabhshed at this place, by the Presbyte
rian Board of Missions. It was an object of especial.
interest to Mr. and Mrs. Stuart, and its flourishing
condition at this period, and the prospects of extensive
future usefulness it held out, might well gladden their
philanthropic hearts. They had lived many years
on the island, and had witnessed its transformation,
through God's blessing on Christian efforts, from a
worldly, dissipated community to one of which it
might almost be said, " Rehgion was every man's busi
ness." This mission estabhshment was the beloved child
and the common centre of interest of the few Protestant,
families clustered around it. Through the zeal and
good management of Mr. and Mrs. Ferry, and the fos
tering encouragement of the congregation, the school
was in great repute, and it was pleasant to observe the
effect of mental and rehgious culture in subduing
the mischievous, tricky propensities of the half-

20 THE "EARLY DAY" OF THE NORTH-WEST.
breed, and rousing the stolid apathy of the genuine
Indian. These were the palmy days of Mackinac. As the
head-quarters of the American Fur Company, and the
entrepot of the whole North-West, all the trade in
supplies and goods on the one hand, and in furs and
products of the Indian country on the other, was in
the hands of the parent establishment or its numerous
outposts scattered along Lakes Superior and Michigan,
the Mississippi, or through stiU more distant regions.
Probably few are ignorant of the fact, that aU the
Indian tribes, with the exception of the Miamis and
the Wyandots, had, since the transfer of the old French
possessions to the British Crown, maintained a firm
aUiance with the latter. The independence achieved
by the United States did not alter the pohcy of the
natives, nor did our Government succeed in winning
or purchasing their friendship. Great Britain, it is
true, bid high to retain them. Every year the leading
men of the Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottowattamies, Me
nomonees, Winnebagoes, Sauks and Foxes, and even
still more remote tribes, journeyed from their distant
homes to Fort Maiden in Upper Canada, to receive their
annual amount of presents from their Great Father
across the water. It was a master-policy thus to keep
them in pay, and had enabled those who practised it
to do fearful execution through the aid of such allies
in the last war between the two countries,

MICHILIMACKINAC. 21
The presents they thus received were of considerable
value, consisting of blankets, broadcloths or strouding,
calicoes, guns, kettles, traps, silver-works (comprising
arm-bands, bracelets, brooches, and ear-bobs), looking-
glasses, combs, and various other trinkets distributed
with no niggardly hand.
The magazines and store-houses ofthe Fur Company
were the resort of aU the upper tribes for the sale of
their commodities, and the purchase of aU such articles
as they had need of, including those above enumerated,
and also ammunition, which, as weU as money and
Hquor, their British friends very commendably omitted
to furnish them.
Besides their furs, various in kind and often of great
value — beaver, otter, marten, mink, silver-gray and
red fox, wolf, bear, and wild cat, musk-rat, and smoked
deer-skins— the Indians brought for trade maple-sugar
in abundance, considerable quantities of both Indian
corn and petit-ble* beans and thefolles avoines,\ or wild-
rice, while the squaws added to their quota of mer
chandize a contribution in the form of moccasins,
hunting -pouches, mococks, or httle boxes of birch-
bark embroidered with porcupine quiUs and fiUed with
maple-sugar, mats of a neat and durable fabric, and
* Corn wliich has heen parboiled, shelled from the cob, and
dried in the sun.
f laterally, crazy oats. It is the French name for the Meno
monees.

22 THE "EARLY DAY" OF THE NORTH-WEST.
toy-models of Indian cradles, snow shoes, canoes,
&c, &c.
It was no unusual thing, at this period, to see a
hundred or more canoes of Indians at once approach
ing the island, laden with their articles of traffic ; and
if to these we add the squadrons of large Mackinac
boats constantly arriving from the outposts, with the
furs, peltries, and buffalo-robes coUected by the distant
traders, some idea may be formed of the extensive
operations and important position of the American.
Fur Company, as weU as of the vast circle of human
beings either immediately or remotely connected with it.
It is no wonder that the phflanthropic mind, survey
ing these races of uncultivated heathen, should stretch
forward to the time when, by an unwearied devotion
of the white man's energies, and an untiring sacrifice
of self and fortune, his red brethren might rise in the
scale of social civilization — when Education and
Christianity should go hand in hand, to make "the
wfiderness blossom as the rose."
Little did the noble souls at this day rejoicing in the
success of their labors at Mackinac, anticipate that in less
than a quarter of a century there would remain of aU
these numerous tribes but a few scattered bands, squalid,
degraded, with scarce a vestige remaining of their
former lofty character — their lands cajoled or wrested
from them — the graves of their fathers turned up by
the ploughshare — themselves chased farther and far-

MICHILIMACKINAC. 23
ther towards the setting sun, until they were UteraUy
grudged a resting place on the face of the earth!
Our visit to the Mission school was of short duration,
for the " Henry Clay" was to leave at two o'clock, and
in the meantime we were to see what we could of the
village and its environs, and after that, dine with Mr.
MitcheU, an old friend of my husband. As we walked
leisurely along over the white graveUy road, many of
the residences of tne old inhabitants were pointed out
to me. There was the dwelling of Madame Lafram-
boise, an Ottawa woman, whose husband had taught
her to read and write, and who had ever after contin
ued to use the knowledge she had acquired for the
instruction and improvement of the youth among her
own people. It -was her custom to receive a class of
young pupfis daily at her house, that she might give
them lessons in the branches mentioned, and also in
the principles of the Roman Cathohc religion, to which
she was deeply devoted. She was a woman of a vast
deal of energy and enterprise — of a taU and command
ing figure, and most dignified deportment. After the
death of her husband, who was killed while away at
his trading-post by a Winnebago named White Ox,
she was accustomed to visit herself the trading-posts,
superintend the clerks and engage's, and satisfy herself
that the business was carried on in a regular and prof
itable manner.
The Agency-house, with its unusual luxuries of

24 THE "EARLY DAY" OF THE NORTH-WEST.
piazza and gardens, was situated at the foot of the hill
on which the fort was built. It was a lovely spot, not-
¦withstanding the stunted and dwarfish appearance of
all cultivated vegetation in this cold northern latitude.
The coUection of rickety, primitive-looking bufld-
ings, occupied by the officials of the Fur Company,
reflected no great credit on the architectural skill of
my husband, who had superintended their construc
tion, he told me, when httle more than a boy.
There were, besides these, the residences of the
Dousmans, the Abbotts, the Biddies, the Drews, and
the Lashleys, stretching away along the base of the
beautiful hiU, crowned with the white walls and build
ings of the fort, the ascent to which was so steep, that
on the precipitous face nearest the beach staircases
were bunt by which to mount from below.
My head ached intensely, the effect of the motion
of the boat on the previous day, but I did not like to
give up to it ; so after I had been shown aU that could
be seen of the little settlement in the short time al
lowed us, we repaired to Mr. MitcheU's.
We were received by Mrs. M., an extremely pretty,
delicate woman, part French and part Sioux, whose
early hfe had been passed at Prairie du Chien, on the
Mississippi. She had been a great belle among the
young officers at Fort Crawford ; so much so, indeed,
that the suicide of the post-surgeon was attributed to
an unsuccessful attachment he had conceived for her.

MICHILIMACKINAC. 25
I was greatly struck with her soft and gentle manners,
and the musical intonation of her voice, which I soon
learned was a distinguishing peculiarity of those wo
men in whom are united the French and native blood.
A lady, then upon a visit to the Mission, was of the
company. She insisted on my lying down upon the
sofa, and ministered most kindly to my suffering head.
As she sat by my side, and expatiated upon the new
sphere opening before me, she inquired:
" Do you not realize very strongly the entire de
privation of religious privUeges you wUl be obhged to
suffer in your distant home ?"
y " The deprivation," said I, " wiU doubtless be great,
but not entire ; for I shaU have my Prayer-Book, and
though destitute of a church, we need not be without a
mMe of worship."
How often afterwards, when cheered by the consola
tions of this precious book in the midst of the lonely
wUderttess, did I remember this conversation, and bless
God that I could never, while retaining it, be without
" rehgious privUeges."
We had not yet left the dinner-table, when the bell
of the httle steamer sounded to summon us on board,
and we bade a hurried fareweU to all our kind friends,
bearing with us their hearty wishes for a safe and pros
perous voyage.
A finer sight can scarcely be imagined than Macki
nac, from the water. As we steamed away from the
2

26 THE "EARLY DAY" OF THE NORTH-WEST.
shore, the view came fuU upon us— the sloping beach
with the scattered wigwams, and canoes drawn up here
and there— the irregular, quaint-looking houses— the
white walls of the fort, and beyond one eminence still
more lofty, crowned with the remains of old Fort
Holmes. The whole picture completed, showed the
perfect outline that had given the island its original
Indian name, Mich-i-li-mack-i-nack, the Big Turtle.
Then those pure, hving waters, in whose depths the
fish might be seen gliding and darting to and fro,
whose clearness is such that an object dropped to the
bottom ma'y be discerned at the depth of fifty or sixty
feet, a dollar lying far down on its. green bed, looking
no larger than a half dime. I could hardly wonder at
the enthusiastic lady who exclaimed: "Oh! I could
wish to be drowned in these pure, beautiful waters !"
As we passed the extreme western point of the
island, my husband pointed out to me, far away to the
north-west, a promontory which he told me was Point
St. Ignace. It possessed great historic interest, as one
of the earhest white settlements on this continent. The
Jesuit missionaries had established here a church and
school as early as 1607, the same year in which a
white settlement was made at St. Augustine, in Flori
da, and one year before the founding of Jamestown,
Virginia. All that remains of the enterprises of these devoted
men, is the remembrance of their labors, perpetuated,

MICHILIMACKINAO. 27
in most instances, only by the names of the spots which
witnessed their efforts of love in behalf of their savage
brethren. The tittle French church at Sandwich, op
posite Detroit, alone is left, a witness of the zeal and
self-sacrifice of these pioneers of Christianity.
Passing " Old Mackinac," on the main land, which
forms the southern border of the straits, we soon came
out into the broad waters of Lake Michigan. Every
iraveUer, and every reader of our history, is familiar
with the incidents connected with the taking of the old
fort by the Indians, in the days of Pontiac. How, by
means of a game of baU, played in an apparently
friendly spirit outside the waUs, and of which the offi
cers and soldiers, had come forth to be' spectators, the
baU was dexterously tossed over the waU, and the sav
ages rushing in, under pretext of finding it, soon got
possession and massacred the garrison.
The httle Indian village of L'Arbre Croche gleamed
far away south, in the hght of the setting sun. With
that exception, there was no sign of living habitation
along that vast and wooded shore. The gigantic forest-
trees, and here and there the httle glades of prairie
opening to the water, showed a landscape that would
have gladdened the eye of the agriculturist, with its
promise of fertihty ; but it was evidently untrodden by
the foot of man, and we left it, in its solitude, as we
took our course westward across the waters.
The rainy and gusty weather, so incident to the

28 THE "EARLY DAY" OF THE NORTH-WEST.
equinoctial season, overtook us again before we reached
the mouth of Green Bay, and kept us company until
the night of our arrival upon the flats, about three
miles below the settlement. Here the httle steamer
grounded " fast and hard." As almost every one pre
ferred braving the elements to remaining cooped up
in the quarters we had occupied for the past week, we
decided to trust ourselves to the httle boat, spite of
wind, and rain, and darkness, and in due time we
reached the shore.

CHAPTER III.
GREEN BAY.
Our arrival at Green Bay was at an unfortunate
moment. It was the time of a treaty between the
United States Government and the Menomonees and
Wau-ba-na-kees. Consequently, not only the commis
sioners ofthe treaty,, with their clerks and officials, but
traders, claimants, traveUers, and idlers innumera
ble were upon the ground. Most of these were con
gregated in the only hotel the place afforded. This
was a tolerably-sized house near the river-side, and as
we entered the long dining-room, cold and dripping
from the open boat, we were infinitely amused at the
motley assemblage it contained. Various groups were
seated around. New comers, hke ourselves, stood
here and there, for there were not seats enough to ac
commodate all who sought entertainment. Judge
Arndt, the landlord, sat calm and indifferent, his hands
in his pockets, exhibiting aU the phlegm of a Pennsyl
vania Dutchman.
His fat, notable spouse was trotting round, now
stopping to scold about some one who, " burn his
(29)

30 THE
skin !" had faUen short in his duty, now laughing good
humoredly until her sides shook, at some witticism
addressed to her.
She welcomed us very cordially, but to our inquiry,
"Can you accommodate us?" her reply was, "Not I.
I have got twice as many people now as I know what
to do with. I have had to turn my ownfamUy out of
their quarters, what with the commissioners arid the
lot of folks that has come in upon us."
" What are we to do then ? It is too late and stormy
to go up to Shanty-towri to seek for lodgings."
"WeU, sit you down and take your supper, and we
will see what we can do."
And she actually did contrive to find a httle nook,
in which we were glad to take refuge from the multi
tudes around us.
A shght board partition separated us from the apart
ment occupied by General Root, of New York, one of the
commissioners of the treaty. The steamer in which we
came had brought the maU, at that day a rare blessing
to the distant settlements. The opening and reading
of aU the dispatches, which the General received about
bed-time, had, of course, to be gone through with, be
fore he could retire to rest. His eyes being weak, his
secretaries were employed to read the communications.
He was a little deaf withal, and through the shght di
vision between the two apartments the contents of the
letters, and his comments upon them, were unpleasant-

GREEN BAY. 31
ly audible, as he continually admonished his secretary
to raise his voice.
" What is that, Walter ? Read that over again."
In vain we coughed and hemmed, and knocked over
sundry pieces of furniture. They were too deeply in
terested to hear aught that passed around them, and if
we had been politicians we should have had aU the se
crets of the working-men's party at our disposal, out of
which to have made capital.
The next morning it was still rain ! rain ! nothing
but rain! In spite of it, however, the gentlemen
would take a smaU boat to row to the steamer, to bring
up the luggage, not the least important part of that
which appertained to us, being sundry boxes of sUver
for paying the annuities to the Winnebagoes at the
Portage. I went out with some others of the company upon
the piazza, to witness their departure. A gentleman
pointed out to me Fort Howard, on a projecting point
of the opposite shore, about three-quarters of a mile
distant — the old barracks, the picketed inclosure, the
waUs, aU looking quaint, and, considering their mod
ern erection, really ancient and venerable. Presently
we turned our attention to the boat, which had by this
time gained the middle of the river. One of the pas
sengers was standing up in the stern, apparently giv
ing some directions.
" That is rather a venturesome fellow," remarked

32 THE "EARLY DAY" OF THE NORTH-WEST.
one ; " if he is not careful he will lose his balance."
And at this moment we saw him actuaUy perform a
summerset backward, and disappear in the water.
" Oh !" cried I, "he wUl be drowned!"
The gentlemen laughed. " No, there he is ; they
are helping him in again."
The course of the boat was immediately changed,
and the party returned to the shore. It was not until
one disembarked and came dripping and laughing
towards me, that I recognized him as my own pecuhar
property. He was pleased to treat- the matter as a
joke, but I thought it rather a sad beginning of west- ,
em experience.
He suffered himself to be persuaded to intrust the
care of his effects to his friends, and having changed
his dress, prepared to remain quietly with me, when
just at this moment a vehicle drove up to the door,
and we recognized the pleasant, famihar face of our
old friend, Judge Doty.
He had received the news of our arrival, and had
come to take us at once to his hospitable mansion.
We were only too happy to gather together our bags
and travelling baskets, and accompany him without
farther ceremony.
Our drive took us first along the edge of Navarino,
next through Shanty-town (the latter a far more ap
propriate name than the former), amid mud and mire,
over bad roads, and up and down hiUy, break-neck

GREEN BAY. 33
places, until we reached the httle brick, dwelling of our
friends. Mrs. Doty received us with such true, sisterly
kindness, and everything seemed so full of welcome,
that we soon felt ourselves at home.
We found that, expecting our arrival, invitations
had already been prepared to assemble the whole cir
cle of Green Bay society to meet us at an evening par
ty — this, in a new country, being the estabhshed mode
of doing honor to guests or strangers.
We learned, upon inquiry, that Captain Harney, who
had kindly offered to come with a boat and crew of
soldiers from Fort Winnebago, to convey us to that
place, our destined home, had not yet arrived; we
therefore felt at hberty to make arrangements for a few
days of social enjoyment at " the Bay."
It was pleasant to people, secluded in such a degree
from the world at large, to hear aU the news we had
brought — aU the particulars of life and manners — the
thousand httle items that the newspapers of that day
did not dream of furnishing — the fashions, and that
general gossip, in short, which a lady is erroneously
supposed more aufait of, than a gentleman.
I weU remember that, in giving and receiving in
formation, the day passed in a pretty uninterrupted
stream of communication. All the party except my
self had made the journey, or rather voyage, up the
the Fox River and down the Wisconsin to the Missis
sippi. 2*

34 THE ''EARLY DAY" OF THE NORTH-WEST.
There were plenty of anecdotes of a certain trip
performed by them in company, along with a French
trader and his two sisters, now making their delrat as
western travellers. The manner in which MademoiseUe
Julie would borrow, without leave, a fine damask nap
kin or two, to wipe out the ducks in preparation for
cooking — the difficulty of persuading either of the sis
ters of the propriety of washing and rinsing their table
apparatus nicely, before packing it away in the mess-
basket, the consequence of which was, that another
nice napkin must be stealthUy whisked out, to wipe
the dishes when the hour for meals arrived — the fun
of the young gentleman in hunting up his stray arti
cles, thus misappropriated, from the nooks and corners
ofthe boat, tying them with a cord, and hanging them
over the stern, to make their way down the Wisconsin
to Prairie du Chien.
Then there was a capital story of M. Rolette him
self. At one point on the route (I think in crossing
Winnebago Lake), the travellers met one of the Com
pany's boats on its way to Green Bay for supphes.
M. R. was one of the agents of the Company, and the
people in the boat were his employes. Of course, after
an absence of some weeks from home, the meeting on
these lonely waters and the exchanging of news was
an occasion of great excitement.
The boats were stopped — earnest greetings inter
changed — question foUowed question.

GREEN BAY. 35
" Eh! bien — have they finished the new house?"
" Qui, Monsieur."
" Et la cheminee, fume-t-elle ?" (Does the chimney
smoke ?)
"Non, Monsieur."
" And the harvest — how is that ?"
" Very fine, indeed."
"Is the mill at work?"
" Yes, plenty of water."
" How is Whip ?" (his favorite horse.)
"Oh! Whip is first-rate."
Everything, in short, about the store, the farm, the
business of various descriptions being satisfactorily
gone over, there was no occasion for farther delay. It
was time to. proceed.
" Eh! bien — adieu! bon voyage!"
"Arrachez — mes gens!" (Go ahead, men !)
Then suddenly — " Arritez — arritez /" (Stop, stop !)
" Comment se portent Madame Rolette et les enfans? "
(How are Mrs. Rolette and the chUdren ?)

This day, with its excitement, was at length over,
and we retired to our rest, thankful that we had not
General Root and his secretary close to our bed's head,
with their budget of pohtical news.
My slumbers were not destined, however, to be quite
undisturbed. I was awakened, at the first shght peep

36 THE "EARLY DAY" OF THE NORTH-WEST.
of dawn by a sound from an apartment beneath our
own — a plaintive, monotonous chant, rising and then
faUing in a sort of mournful cadence. It seemed to
me a waU of something unearthly — so wUd — so strange
— so unaccountable. In terror I awoke my husband,
who reassured me by teUing me it was the morning
salutation of the Indians to the opening day.
Some Menomonees had been kindly given shelter
for the night in the kitchen below, and having fulfiUed
their unvarying custom of chanting their morning
hymn, they now ceased, and again composed themselves
to sleep. But not so their auditor. There was to me
something inexpressibly beautiful in this morning song
of praise from the untaught sons of the forest. What
a lesson did it preach to the civilized, Christianized
world, too many of whom he down and rise up without
an aspiration of thanksgiving to their Almighty Pre
server — without even a remembrance of His care, who
gives his angels charge concerning them ! Never has
the impression of that simple act of worship faded from
my mind. I have loved to think that, with some, these
strains might be the outporing of a devotion as pure as
that of the Christian when he utters the inspiring
words of the sainted Ken —
" Awake, my soul J and with the sun," &c.

Among the visitors who caUed to offer me a wel-

flBEEN BAY. 37
come to the West, were Mr. and Miss Cadle, who were
earnestly engaged in the first steps of their afterwards
flourishing enterprise for the education of Indian and
half-breed chUdren. The school-houses and chapel
were not yet erected, but we visited their proposed
site, and listened with great interest to bright antici
pations of the future good that was to be accomphshed
— the success that was to crown their efforts for taming
the heathen, and teaching them the knowledge of their
Saviour, and the blessings of civilized life. The sequel
has shown how httle the zeal of the few can accom
plish, when opposed to the cupidity of the many.
Our evening party went off as parties do elsewhere.
The most interesting feature to me, because the most
novel, was the conversation of some young ladies to
whom I was introduced, natives of Green Bay, or its
vicinity. Their mother was a Me-no-mo-nee, but their
father was a Frenchman, a descendant of a settler some
generations back, and who, there is reason to beheve,
was a branch of ihe same family of Grignon to which the
daughter of Madame de Sevigne' belonged. At least, it
is said there are in the possession of the famUy many old
papers and records which would give that impression,
although the orthography of the name has become
slightly changed. Be that as it may, the Miss Grig-
nons were strikingly dignified, weU-bred young ladies,
and there was a charm about their soft voices, and

38 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTHWEST.
original, unsophisticated remarks, very attractive to a
stranger. They opened to me, however, a new field of appre
hension; for, on my expressing my great impatience to
see my new home, they exclaimed, with a look of
wonder, " Vous n'avez done pas peur des serpens?"
" Snakes ! was it possible there were snakes at Fort
Winnebago?" " At the Portage ! oh ! yes — one can never walk out
for them — rattle-snakes — copper-heads — aU sorts!"
I am not naturally timid, but I must confess that
the idea of the serpens sonnettes and the siffleurs was not
quite a subject of indifference.
There was one among these young ladies whose taU,
graceful figure, rich, blooming complexion, and dark,
glancing eye, would have distinguished her in any
drawing-room — and another, whose gentle sweetness
and cultivated taste made it a matter of universal re
gret that she was afterwards led to adopt the seclusion
of a convent.
Captain Harney and his-boat arrived in due time, and
active preparations for the comfort of our journey com
menced under the kind supervision of Mrs. Doty.
The mess-basket was stowed with good things of every
description — ham and tongue — biscuit and plum-cake
— not to mention the substantial of crackers, bread,
and boUed pork, the latter of which, however, a lady

GREEN BAY. 39
was supposed to be too fastidious to think of touching,
even if starving in the woods.
We had engaged three Canadian voyageurs to take
charge of our tent, mess -basket, and matters and
things in general. Their business it was to be, to cut
the wood for our fires, prepare our meals, and give
a helping hand to whatever was going forward. A
messenger had also been sent to the Kakalin, or rapids,
twenty-one imles above, to notify Wish-tay-yun (the
blacksmith), the most accomphshed guide tlirough the
difficult passes of the river, to be in readiness for our
service on a specified day.
In the meantime, we had leisure for one more party,
and it was to be a "real western hop." Every
body wiU remember that dance at Mrs. Baird's. AU
the people, young and old, that would be gathered
throughout, or, as it was the fashion to express it, on
Green Bay, were assembled. The young officers were
up from Fort Howard, looking so smart in their uni
forms. Treasures of finery, long uncalled forth, were
now brought to light. Everybody was bound to do
honor to the strangers by appearing in their very best.
It was to be an entertainment unequaUed by any given
before. AH the house was put in requisition for the
occasion. Desks and seats were unceremoniously dis
missed from Mr. B.'s office, which formed one wing, to
afford more space for the dancers. Not only the front
portion of the dwelling, but even the kitchen was made

40 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
fit for the reception of company, in case any primitive
visitor, as was sometimes the case, should prefer sitting
down quietly there and smoking his cigar. I do not
know that this was actuaUy done, but it was an emer
gency that, in those days, had always to be provided
for. Nothing could exceed the mirth and hUarity of the
company. No restraint, but of good manners — no ex
cess of conventionalities — genuine, hearty good-humor
and enjoyment, such as pleasant, hospitable people, with
just enough ofthe French element to add zest to any
thing hke amusement, could furnish, to make the en
tertainment agreeable. In a country so new, and
where, in a social gathering the number of the compa
ny was, in a shght degree more important than the
quahty, the circle was not always, strictly speaking,
select. For instance, the connexions of each famUy
must be invited, even if there was something " a httle
peculiar" in their appearance, manners, or perhaps vo
cation, which might make their presence not quite de
sirable. I was aware of this, and was therefore more amused
than surprised when a clumsy little man, with a broad,
red, laughing face, waddled across the room to where I
had taken my seat after a dance, and thus addressed
me :
" Miss K  , nobody hain't never introduced you
to me, but I've seen you a good many times, and I

GREEN BAY. 41
know your husband very weU, so I thought I might
just as weU come and speak to you — my name is
A— at"
" Ah ! Mr. A  , good evening. I hope you are
enjoying yourself. How is your sister?"
" Oh ! she is a great deal worse — her cold has got
into her eye, and it is all shot up."
Then turning fall upon a lady* who sat near, radiant
with youth and beauty, sparkling with wit and genu
ine humor :
" Oh ! Mrs. BeaU," he began, " what a beautiful gown
you have got on, and how handsome you do look ! I
declare you're the prettiest woman in the room, and
dance the handsomest."
" Indeed, Mr. A  ," replied she, suppressing her
love of fun and assuming a demure look, "lam afraid
you flatter me."
"No, I don't — I'm in earnest. I've just come to
ask you to dance."
Such was the penalty of being too charming. Poor
A  , in a cotillion, was not the least enlivening part
of this evening's entertainment.
* A niece of James Fennimore Cooper.

CHAPTER IV.
VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER.
It had been arranged that Judge Doty should ac
company us in our boat as far as the Butte des Morts,
at which place his attendant would be waiting with
horses to convey him to Mineral Point, where he was
to hold court, y
It was a bright and beautiful morning when we left
his pleasant home, to commence our journey up the Fox
River. Capt. Harney was proposing to remain a few
days longer at "the Bay," but he called to escort us to
the boat, and instal us in all its comforts.
As he helped me along over the ploughed ground
and other inequahties in our way to the river-bank,
where the boat lay, he told me how impatiently Mrs.
Twiggs, the wife of the commanding officer, who, since
the past spring had been the only white lady at Fort
Winnebago, was now expecting a companion and
friend. We had met in New York, shortly after her
marriage, and were, therefore^ not quite unacquainted.
I, for my part, felt sure that when there were two of
us — when my piano was safely there — when the Post
Library which we had purchased should be unpacked —
42

VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER. 43
when aU should be fairly arranged and settled, we
should be, although far away in the wUdemess, the
happiest httle circle imaginable. AU my anticipations
were of the most sanguine and cheerful character.
It was a moderate-sized Mackinac boat, with a crew
of soldiers, and our own three voyageurs in addition,
that lay waiting for us — a dark-looking structure of
some thirty feet in length. Placed in the centre was a
framework of shght posts, supporting a roof of can
vas, with curtains of the same, which might be let
down at the sides and ends, after the manner of a coun
try stage-coach, or roUed up to admit the light and air.
In the midst of this httle cabin or saloon was placed
the box containing my piano, and on it a mattress,
which was to furnish us a divan through the day and a
place of repose at night, should the weather at any
time prove too wet or unpleasant for encamping. The
boxes of sUver were stowed next. Our mess-basket was
in a convenient vicinity, and we had purchased a couple
of large square covered baskets of the Waubanakees,
or New York Indians, to hold our various necessary
articles of outward apparel and bedding, and at the
same time to answer as very convenient httle work or
dinner tables.
As a true daughter of New England, it is to be
taken for granted I had not forgotten to supply myself
with knitting-work and embroidery. Books and pen
cils were a matter of course.

44 THE EARLY DAY IN 'THE NORTH" WEST.
The greater part of our furniture, together with the
various articles for housekeeping with which we had
supplied ourselves in New York and Detroit, were to
foUow in another boat, under the charge of people
whose business it professed to be to take cargoes safely
up the rapids, and on to Fort Winnebago. This was
an enterprise requiring some three weeks of time and a
great amount of labor, so that the owners of the goods
transported might think themselves happy to receive
them at last, in a wet, broken, and dUapidated condi
tion. It was for this reason that we took our choicest
possessions with us, even at the risk of being a httle
crowded. UntU now I had never seen a gentleman attired in a
colored shirt, a spotless White collar and bosom being
one of those "notions" that "Boston," and conse
quently New England " folks," entertained of the be
coming in a gentleman's toUette. Mrs. Cass had laugh
ingly forewarned me, that not only cahco shirts, but
patchwork pUlow-cases were an indispensable part of
a travelhng equipment ; and, thanks to the taste and
skUl of some tidy httle Frenchwoman, I found our
divan pillows all accommodated in the brightest and
most variegated garb.
The Judge and my husband were gay with the
deepest of blue and pink. Each was prepared, besides,
with a bright red cap (a bonnet rouge, or tuque, as the
voyageurs- caU it), which, out of respect for the lady,

VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER. 48
was to be donned only when a hearty dinner, a dull
book, or the want of exercise made an afternoon nap
indispensable. The Judge was an admirable traveUing companion.
He had hved many years in the country, had been with
General Cass on his expedition to the head waters of the
Mississippi, and had a vast fund of anecdote regarding
early times, customs, and inhabitants.
Some instances of the mode of administering justice
in those days, I happen to recall.
There was an old Frenchman at " the Bay," named
Reaume, excessively ignorant and grasping, although
otherwise tolerably good-natured. This man was ap
pointed justice of the peace. Two men once appeared
before him, the one as plaintiff, the other as defendant.
The justice listened patiently to the complaint of the
one, and the defence of the other ; then rising, with
dignity, he pronounced his decision :
"You are both wrong. You, Bois-vert," to the
plaintiff, "you bring me one load of hay; and you,
Crely," to the defendant, "you bring me one load of
wood ; and now the matter is settled." It does not
appear that any exceptions were taken to thjs verdict.
This anecdote led to another, the scene of which was
Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi.
There was a Frenchman, a justice of the peace, who
was universaUy known by the name of " Col. BoUvin."
His office was just without the waUs of the fort, and it

46 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
was much the fashion among the officers to lounge in
there of a morning, to find sport for an idle hour, and
to take a glass of brandy-and-water with the old gen
tleman, which he called "taking a httle quelque-chose."
A soldier, named Fry, had been accused of stealing
and killing a calf belonging to M. Rolette, and the
constable, a bricklayer of the name of BeU, had been
dispatched to arrest the culprit and bring him to trial.
WhUe the gentlemen were making their customary
morning visit to the justice, a noise was heard in the
entry, and a knock at the door.
" Come in,"' cried the old gentleman, rising and walk
ing toward the door.
BeU. Here sir, I have brought Fry to you, as you
ordered. Justice. Fry, you great rascal ! What for you kUl
M.Rolette's calf?
Fry. I did not kUl M. Rolette's calf.
Justice (shaking his fist). You he, you great rascal !
BeU, take him to jaU. Come gentlemen, come, let us
take a leetle quelque-chose.

The Canadian boatmen always sing whUe rowing, or
paddling, and nothing encourages them so much as to
hear the "bourgeois"* take the lead in the music. If
* Master— or to use the emphatic Yankee term— boss.

VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER. 47
the passengers, more especially those of the fair sex,
join in the refrain, the compliment is aU the greater.
Their songs are of a hght cheerful character, generally
embodying some little satire or witticism, calculated to
produce a spirited, sometimes an uproarious chorus.
The song and refrain are carried on somewhat in the
following style :
Bourgeois. Par derriere chez ma tante,
Par derriere chez ma tante,
Chorus. Par derriere chez ma tante,
Par derriere chez ma tante.
Bourgeois. H-y-a un coq qui chante,
Des pommes, des poires, des raves, des choux,
Des Agues nouvelles, des raisins doux.
Chorus. Des pommes, des poires, des raves, des choux,
Des Agues nouvelles, des raisins doux.
Bourgeois. Il-y-a un coq qui chante,
Il-y-a un coq qui chante,
Chorus. Il-y-a un coq qui chante, &c.
Bourgeois. Demande une femme §, prendre
Des pommes, des poires, des raves, des choux, &c.
Chorus. Des pommes, des poires, &c.
Bourgeois. Demande une femme a prendre,
Demande une femme a, &c.
And thus it continues untU the advice is given suc
cessively. Ne prenez pas une noire,
Car elles aiment trop a boire,

48 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Ne prenez pas une rousse,
Car elles sont trop jalouses.
And by the time all the different qualifications are re
hearsed and objected to, lengthened out by the inter
minable repetition of the chorus, the shout of the bour
geois is heard —
" Whoop la ! a terre, a terre— pour la pipe !"
It is an invariable custom for the voyageurs to stop
every five or six miles to rest and smoke, so that it
was formerly the way of measuring distances — " so
many pipes," instead of " so many miles."
The Canadian melodies are sometimes very beau
tiful, and a more exhUarating mode of travel can hardly
be imagined than a voyage over these waters, amid aU
the wUd magnificence of nature, with the measured
strokes of the oar keeping time to the strains of " Le
Rosier Blanc" " En roulant ma Boule" or " Leveton
pied, maplie Bergere."
The climax of fun seemed to be in a comic piece,
which, however oft-repeated, appeared never to grow
stale. It was somewhat after this fashion :
Bourgeois. Michaud est monte dans un prunier,
Pour treiller des prunes.
La branche a cass£ —
Chorus. Michaud a tombe ?
Bourgeois. Ou est-ce qu-il est ?
Chorus. H est en bas.

VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER. 49
Bourgeois. Oh ! reveille, reveille, reveille,
Oh I reveille, Michaud est en haut !*
It was always a point of etiquette to look astonished at
the luck of Michaud in remaining in the tree, spite of
the breaking of the branch, and the joke had to be re
peated through all the varieties of fruit-trees that Mi
chaud might be supposed able to climb.
By evening of the first day we arrived at the Kakalin,
where another branch of the Grignon family resided.
We were very pleasantly entertained, although in my
anxiety to begin my forest life, I would fain have had
the tent pitched on the bank of the river, and have
laid aside, at once, the indulgences of civUization.
This, however, would have been a slight, perhaps an
affront, so we did much better, and partook of thegeod
cheer that was offered us in the shape of hot venison
steaks and crepes, and that excellent cup of coffee
which none can prepare hke a Frenchwoman, and
which is so refreshing after a day in the open air.
The Kakalin is a rapid of the Fox River, sufficiently
important to make the portage of the heavy lading of a
boat necessary; the boat itself being poled or dragged
up with cords against the current. It is one of a se
ries of rapids and chutes, or falls, which occur be-
* Michaud climbed into a plum-tree, to gather plums. The
branch broke. Michaud fell .' "Where is he ? He is down on the
ground. No, he is up in the tree.
3

50 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
tween this point and Lake Winnebago, twenty mUes
above. The next morning, after breakfast, we took leave of
our hosts, and prepared to pursue our journey. The
bourgeois, from an early hour, had been occupied in su
perintending his men in getting the boat and its load
ing over the Kakalin. As the late rains had made the
paths through the woods and along the banks of the
river somewhat muddy and uncomfortable for walking,
I was put into an ox-cart, to be jolted over the unequal
road ; saluting, impartially, all the stumps and stones
that lay in our way, the only means of avoiding which
seemed to be, when the little, thick-headed Frenchman,
our conductor, bethought him of suddenly guiding his
cattle into a projecting tree or thorn-bush, to the great
detriment, not only of my straw-bonnet, but of my
very eyes.
But we got through at last, and arriving at the head
of the rapids, I found the boat lying there, aU in readi
ness for our re-embarking.
Our Monomonee guide, Wish-tay-yun, a fine, stal
wart Indian, with an open, good-humored, one might
almost say roguish countenance, came forward to be
presented to me.
" Bon- jour, bon-jour, maman," was his laughing
salutation. Again I was surprised, not as before at
the French, for to that I had become accustomed, but
at the respectable title he was .pleased to bestow upon
me.

VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER. 51
" Yes," said my husband, " you must make up your
mind to receive a very numerous and well-grown fam
ily, consisting of all the Winnebagoes, Pottowattamies,
, Chippewas, and Ottawas, together with such Sioux,
Sacs, and Foxes, and lowas, as have any point to gain
in applying to me. By the first named tribe, in virtue
of my office, and by the others as a matter of courtesy,
I am always addressed as -father- — you, of course,
wUl be their ' mother.' "
Wish-tay-yun and I were soon good friends, my hus
band interpreting to me the Chippewa language in
which he spoke. We were impatient to be off, the
morning being already far advanced, and aU things
being in readiness, the word was given.
" Pousse au large, mes gens I" (Push out, my men).
At this moment a boat was seen leaving the oppo
site bank of the river and making towards us. It con
tained white men, and they showed by signs that they
wished to detain us until they came up. They drew
near, and we found them to be Mr. Marsh,- a mission
ary among the Wau-ba-na-kees, or the New York
Indians, lately brought into this country, and the Rev.
Eleazar Williams,* who was at that time hving among
his red brethren on the left bank of the Fox River.
To persons so situated, even more emphaticaUy than
to those of "the settlements," the arrival of visitors
from the " east countrie" was a godsend indeed. We
* The supposed Dauphin of Prance.

52 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST
had to give all the news of various kinds that we had
brought— political, ecclesiastical, and social — as weU as
a tolerably detaUed account of what we proposed to do,
or rather what we hoped to be able to do, among our
native chUdren at "the Portage."
I was obhged, for my part, to confess that, being
almost entirely a stranger to the Indian character and
habits, I was going among them with no settled plans
of any kind — general good-wUl, and a hope of making
them my friends, being the only principles I could lay
claim to at present. I must leave it for time and a
better acquaintance to show me in what way the prin
ciple could be carried out for their greatest good.
Mr. WUliams was a dark-complexioned, good-looking
man. Having always heard him spoken of, by his
relations in Connecticut, as " our Indian cousin," it
never occurred to me to doubt his belonging to that
race, although I now think that if I had met him else
where, I should have taken him for a Spaniard or a
Mexican. His complexion had decidedly more of the
ohve than the copper hue, and his countenance was
grave, almost melancholy. He was very sUent during
this interview, asking few questions, and offering no
observations except in reply to some question addressed
to him.
It was a hard puU for the men up the rapids. Wish-
tay-yun, whose clear, sonorous voice was the bugle of
the party, shouted and whooped — each one answered
with a chorus, and a still more vigorous effort. By-

VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER. 53
and-by the boat would become firmly set between two
huge stones —
" Whoop la ! whoop ! whoop !"
Another puU, and another, straining every nerve —
in vain.
" She wUl not budge!"
"Men, overboard!" and instantly every rower is
over the side and into the water.
By pulling, pushing, and tugging, the boat is at,
length released from her position, and the men walk
along beside her, helping and guiding her, untU they
reach a space of comparatively smooth water, when
they again take their seats and their oars.
It wUl be readily imagined that there were few songs
this day, but very frequent pipes, to refresh the poor
feUows after such an arduous service.
It was altogether a new spectacle to me. In fact, I
had hardly ever before been caUed upon to witness
severe bodily exertion, and my sympathies and sensi
bilities were, for this reason, the more enlisted on the
occasion. It seemed a sufficient hardship to have to
labor in this violent manner ; but to walk in cold water
up to their waists, and then to sit downin their soak
ing garments without going near a fire ! Poor men !
this was too much to be borne ! What then was my
consternation to see my husband, who, shortly after
our noontide meal, had surprised me by making his
appearance in a pair of duck trowsers and light jacket,
at the first cry of " fast, again !" spring over into the

54 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
water with the men, and "bear a hand" throughout
the remainder of the day.
When he returned on board, it was to take the oar
of a poor, delicate-looking boy, one of the company of
soldiers, who from the first had suffered with bleeding
at the nose on every unusual exertion. I was not sur
prised, on inquiring, to find that this lad was a recruit
just entered the service. He passed by the name of
Gridley, but that was undoubtedly an assumed name.
He had the appearance of having been delicately nur
tured, and had probably enlisted without at aU appre
ciating the hardships and discomforts of a soldier's life.
This is evident from the dissatisfaction he always con
tinued to feel, untU at length he deserted from his post.
This was some months subsequent to the time of which
I am writing. He was once retaken, and kept for a time
in confinement, but immediately on his release deserted
again, and his remains were found the foUowing spring,
not many mUes from the fort. He had died, either of
cold or starvation. This is a sad interlude — we wUl
return to our b6ating.
With all our tugging and toUing we had accomplished
but thirteen mUes since leaving the Kakalin, and it
was already late when we arrived in view of the
" Grande Chute," near which we were to encamp.
We had passed the "Little Chute" (the spot where
the town of Appleton now stands) without any farther
observation than that it required a vast deal of extra

VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER. 55
exertion to buffet with the rushing stream, and come
off, as we did, victorious.
The brilliant hght of the setting sun was resting on
the high wooded banks through which broke the beau
tiful, foaming, dashing waters of the Chute. The boat
was speedily turned toward a httle headland project
ing from the right bank, which had the. advantage of
a long strip of level ground, sufficiently spacious to
afford* a good encamping ground. I jumped ashore
before the boat was fairly pulled up by the men, and
with the Judge's help made my way as rapidly as pos?
sible to a point lower down the river, from which, he
said, the best view of the Chute could be obtained. I
was anxious to make a sketch before the daylight quite
faded away.
The left bank of the river was to the west, and over
a portion less elevated than the rest the sun's parting
rays fell upon the boat, the men with their red caps
and belts, and the two tents already pitched. The
smoke now beginning to ascend from the evening fires,
the high wooded bank beyond, up which the steep
portage path could just be discerned, and more remote
still, the long stretch of waterfaU now darkening in
the shadow of the overhanging forests, formed a lovely
landscape, to which the pencU of an artist could alone
do justice.
This was my first encampment, and I was quite en
chanted with the novelty of everything about me.
The fires had been made of smaU saplings and under-

56 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
brush, hastUy collected, the mUdness of the weather
rendering anything beyond what sufficed for the pur
poses of cooking and drying the men's clothes, super
fluous. The soldiers' tent was pitched at some dis
tance from our own, but not too far for us to hear dis
tinctly their laughter and apparent enjoyment, after
the fatigues of the day.
Under the careful superintendence of Corporal KU-
gour, however, their hilarity never passed the bounds
of respectful propriety, and, by the time we had eaten
our suppers, cooked in the open air with the simple
apparatus of a tea-kettle and frying-pan, we were, one
and aU, ready to retire to our rest.
The first sound that saluted our ears in the early
dawn of the following morning, was the far-reaching
call of the bourgeois :
" How ! how ! how !" uttered at the very top of his
voice. All start at that summons, and the men are soon
turning out of their tents,or rousing from their slumbers
beside the fire, and preparing for the duties of the day.
The fire is replenished, the kettles set on to boU, the
mess-baskets opened, and a portion of their contents
brought forth to be made ready for breakfast. One
Frenchman spreads our mat within the tent, whence
the bedding has all been carefully removed and packed
up for stowing in the boat. The tin cups and plates
are placed around on the new-fashioned table cloth.
The heavy dews make it a little too damp for us to

VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER. 57
breakfast in the open air, otherwise our preparations
would be made outside, upon the green grass. In an
incredibly short time our smoking coffee and broUed
ham are placed before us, to which are added, from
time to time, slices of toast brought hot and fresh from
the glowing coals.
There is, after aU, no breakfast hke a breakfast in
the woods, with a well-trained Frenchman for master
of ceremonies.
It was a hard day's work to which the men now
apphed themselves, that of dragging the heavy boat
up the Chute. It had been thought safest to leave the
piano in its place on board, but the rest of the lading
had to be carried up the steep bank, and along its
summit, a distance of some hundreds of rods, to the
smooth water beyond, where all the difficulties of our
navigation terminated.
The Judge kindly took charge of me, whUe " the
bourgeois" superintended this important business, and
with reading, sketching, and stroUing about, the morn
ing ghded away. Twelve o'clock came, and stiU the
preparations for starting were not yet completed.
In my rambles about to seek out some of the finest
of the wild flowers for a bouquet, before my husband's
return, I came upon the camp fire of the soldiers. A
taU, red-faced, light-haired young man in fatigue dress
was attending a kettle of soup, the savoury steams of
which were very attractive.
Seeing that I was observing his occupation, he
3*

58 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
politely laded out a tin cup fuU of the liquid and offer
ed it to me.
I dechned it, saying we should have our dinner im
mediately. " They left me here to get their dinner," said he,
apparently not displeased to have some one to talk to ;
" and I thought I might as weU make some soup. Down
on the German Flats, where I come from, they always
like soup."
" Ah ! you are from the German Flats — then your
name must be BeUinger or Weber."
"No it isn't— it's Christman."
> " WeU, Christman, how do you hke the service ?"
"VeryweU. I was only recruited last summer. I
used to ride horse on the Canawl, and as I can blow a
horn first-rate, I expect I wUl soon be able to play on
a bugle, and then, when I get to be musician, you
know, I shaU have extra pay."
I did not know it, but I expressed due pleasure at
the information, and wishing Christman aU manner of
success in his dreams of ambition, or rather I should
say, of avarice, for the hopes of " extra pay" evidently
preponderated over those of fame, I returned to my
own quarters.
My husband, with his French tastes, was inclined
to be somewhat disappointed when I told him of
this httle incident, and my refusal of Christman's
soup ; but we were soon gratified by seeing his tall,
awkward form bearing a kettle of the composition,

VOYAGE UP FOX RIVER. 59
which he set down before the two gentlemen, by whom,
to his infinite satisfaction, it was pronounced exceUent.
Every thing being at length in readiness, the tents
were struck and carried around the Portage, and my
husband, the Judge, and I foUowed at our leisure.
-The woods were briUiant with wild flowers, although
it was so late in the season that the glory of the
summer was weU nigh past. But the lupin, the moss-
pink, and the yeUow wallflower, with aU the varieties
of the hehanthus, the astor, and the solidago, spread
their gay charms around. The gentlemen gathered
clusters of the bitter-sweet (celastrus scandens) from
the overhanging boughs to make a wreath for my hat,
as we trod the tangled pathway, which, hke that of
ChristabeUe, was
" Now in glimmer and now in gloom,''
through the alternations of open glade and shady
thicket. Soon, hke the same lovely heroine,
" We reached the place — right glad we were,"
and without further delay, we were again on board
our httle boat and skimming over the now placid
waters.

CHAPTER V.
WINNEBAGO LAKErMISS FOUR-LEGS.
Our encampment this night was the most channing
that can be imagined. Owing to the heavy service
the men had gone through, in the earher part of the
day, we took but a short stage for the afternoon, and
having puUed some seven or eight nhles to a spot a
short distance below the "httle Butte," we drew in at
a beautiful opening among the trees.
The soldiers now made a regular business of en
camping by cutting down a large tree for their fire,
and applying themselves to the preparing of a sufficient
quantity of food for their next day's journey, a long
stretch, namely, of twenty-one mUes across Winne
bago Lake. Our Frenchmen did the same. The fire
caught in the hght dry grass by which we were sur
rounded, and soon all was blaze and crackle.
Fortunately the wind was sufficient to take the
flames aU in one direction, and besides, there was not
enough fuel to have made them a subject of any alarm.
We hopped upon the faUen logs, and dignified the
httle circumscribed affair with the name of " a prairie
(60)

WINNEBAGO LAKE — MISS FOUR-LEGS. 61
on fire." The most serious inconvenience was its
having consumed all the dry grass, some armfuls of
which, spread under the bearskin in my tent, I had
found, the night before, a great improvement to my
place of repose.
Our supper was Irruly dehghtful, at the pleasant sun
set hour, under the taU trees beside the waters that
ran murmuring by ; and when the bright, broad moon
arose, and shed her fioodof hght over the scene, so
wtid yet so beautiful in its vast sohtude, I felt that I
might weU be an object of envy to the friends I had
left behind.
But aU things have an end, and so must at last
my enthusiasm for the beauties around me, and, albeit
unwillingly, I closed my tent, and took my place
within, so near the faU of canvas that I might raise it
occasionaUy and peep forth upon the night.
In time aU was quiet. The men had become sUent,
and appeared to have retired to rest, and we were just
sinking to our slumbers, when a heavy tread and
presently a bluff voice were heard outside.
" Mr. Kinzie — Mr. Kinzie !"
" Who is there ? What is it ?"
"I'm Christman ; didn't you mean, sir, that the men
should have any liquor to-night?"
" Of course I did. Has not Kilgour given out your
rations ?"
" No ! he says you did not say anything particular
about it, and he was not coming to ask you if you for-

62 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
got it ; but I thought I wouldn't be bashful— I'd just
come and ask."
" That is right. Tell Ktigour I should hke to have
him serve out a ration apiece."
" Thank you, sir," in a most cheerful tone; " I'll teU
him." Christman was getting to be quite a character with
us. A row of a few miles, on the following morning,
brought us to Four-Legs' village,* at the entrance to
Winnebago- Lake, a picturesque cluster of Indian huts,
spread around on a pretty green glade, and shaded
by fine lofty trees.
We were now fairly in the Winnebago country, and
I soon learned that the odd-sounding name of the
place was derived from the principal chief of the nation,
whose residence it was. The inhabitants were absent,
having, in all probabUity, departed to their wintering
grounds. We here took leave of our friend Wish-tay-
yun, at the borders of whose ' country we had now
arrived. " Bon-jour, Ohon!" (John) "bon-jour, maman." A
hearty shake of the hand completed his adieu, as we
pushed off into the lake, and left him smoking his kin-
nee-kin-nick, f and waiting until the spirit should move
him to take up his long Indian trot towards his home
in the Menomonee country.
* The site of the town of Nee-nah
t The bark of the red willow, scraped fine, which is preferred by
the Indians to tobacco.

LKSI ¥ILlME~!MTMe[E.!(g> WCTOEIMIQ
(the- present town or neenah.]

WINNEBAGO LAKE — MISS FOUR-LEGS. 63
With him our sunshine seemed to have departed.
The skies, hitherto so bright and serene, became over
cast, and instead of the charming voyage we had anti
cipated over the sUver waters of the lake, we were
obhged to keep ourselves housed under our canvas
shelter, only peeping out now and then, to catch a
glimpse of the surrounding prospect through the pour
ing rain.
It was what might have been expected on an au
tumnal day, but we were unreasonable enough to find
it tedious ; so, to begutie the time and lessen my dis
appointment, my husband related to me some incidents
of his early history, apropos to the subject of " Four-
Legs." WhUe he was hving at Prairie du Chien, in the em
ploy of the American Fur Company, the chiefs and
other Indians, from the Upper Mississippi, used fre
quently to come to the place to seU their furs and pel
tries, and to purchase merchandise, ammunition, trin
kets, &c.
As is usual with aU who are not yet acclimated, he
was seized with chtils and fever. One day, whUe
suffering with an unusUaUy severe access of the latter,
a chief of the Four-Legs family, a brother to the one
before-mentioned, came in to the Company's warehouse
to trade. There is no ceremony or restraint among the
Indians, so hearing that Shaw-nee-aw-kee was sick,
Four-Legs instantly made his way to him, to offer his
sympathy and prescribe the proper remedies.

64 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Every one who has suffered from ague and the in
tense fever that succeeds it, knows how insupportable
is the protracted conversation of an inconsiderate person,.
and wiU readUy beheve that the longer Four-Legs
continued his pratings the higher mounted the fever of
the patient, and the more intolerable became the pain
of head, back, and limbs.
At length the old man-arrived at the climax of what
he had to say. " It was not good for a young man, suf
fering with sickness, and away from his family, to be
without a home and a wife. He had a nice daughter
at home, handsome and healthy, a capital nurse, the
best hand in aU the tribe at trapping beaver and
musk-rats. He was coming down again in the spring,
and he would bring her with him, and Shaw-nee-aw-
kee should see that he had told no falsehood about
her. Should he go now, and bring his daughter the
next time he came ?"
Stunned with his importunate babble, and anxious
only for rest and quiet, poor Shaw-nee-aw-kee eagerly
assented, and the chief took his departure.
So nearly had his disorder been aggravated to de
lirium, that the young man forgot entirely, for a time,
the interview and the proposal which had been made
him. But it was recalled to his memory some months
after, when Four-Legs made his appearance, bringing
with him a squaw of mature age, and a very Hecate
for ugliness. She carried on her shoulders an im
mense pack of furs, which, approaching with her awk-

( WINNEBAGO LAKE — MISS FOUR-LEGS. 65
ward criss-cross gait, she threw at his feet, thus marking,
by an Indian custom, her sense of the relation that
existed between them.
The conversation with her father now flashed across
his mind, and he began to be sensible that he had got
into a position that it would require some sktil to extri
cate himself from.
He bade one of the young clerks take up the pack
and carry it into the magazine where the furs were
stored, then he cooUy went on talking with the chief
about indifferent matters.
Miss Four-legs sat awhile with a sulky, discontented
air, at length she broke out,
" Humph ! he seems to take no more notice of me
than if I was nobody !"
He again, turned to the clerk — " Give her a calico
shirt and half a dozen bread tickets."
This did not dissipate the gloom on her countenance.
Finding that he must commence the subject, the father

" WeU, I have brought you my daughter, according
to our agreement. How do you like her ?"
" Ah ! yes, she is a very nice young woman, and
would make a first-rate wife, I have no doubt. But
do you know a very strange thing has happened since
you were here ? Our father, Govenor Cass,* has sent
for me to come to Detroit ; that he may send me among
* General Cass was then Governor of Michigan, and Superinten
dent of the North-western Indians.

66 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
the Wyandots and other nations to learn their customs
and manners. Now if I go, as I shall be obhged to do,
I shall be absent two or three years— perhaps four.
What then ? Why, the people wtil say, Shaw-nee-aw-
kee has married Four-Legs' daughter, and then has
hated her and run away from her, and so everybody
wtil laugh at her, and she wiU be ashamed. It wtil be
better to take some good, valuable presents, blankets,
guns, &c, and to marry her to one of her own people,
who wtil always stay by her and take care of her."
The old man was shrewd enough to see that it was
wisest to make the best bargain he could. I have no
doubt it cost a round sum to settle the matter to the
satisfaction of the injured damsel, though I have never
been able to ascertain how much. This, I know, that
the young gentleman took care not to make his next
bargain while in a fit of the ague. The lady up on
the Mississippi is called, in derision, by his name to
this day.
About midway of the lake we passed Garlic Island —
a lovely spot, deserving of a more attractive name. It
belonged, together with the village on the opposite
shore to " Wtid Cat," a fat, joUy, good-natured fejlow,
by no means the formidable animal his name would
imply. He and his band were absent, like their neighbors
of Four-Legs vUlage, so there was nothing to vary the
monotony of our saU. It was too wet to sing, and the
men, although wrapped in their overcoats, looked like

WINNEBAGO LAKE — MISS FOUR-LEGS. 67
drowned chickens. They were obliged to ply their
oars with unusual vigor to keep themselves warm and
comfortable, and thus probably felt less than we, the
dullness and hstlessness of the cold, rainy, October
day. Towards evening the sun shone forth. We had
passed into the Fox River, and were just entering that
beautiful little expanse known as Butte des Morts Lake,
at the further extremity of which we were to encamp
for the night.
The water along its shores was green with the fields
of wild rice, the gathering of which, just at this season,
is an important occupation of the Indian women.
They push their canoes into the thiek masses of the
rice, bend it forward over the side with their paddles,
and then beat the ripe husks off the stalks into a cloth
spread in the canoe. After this, it is rubbed to sepa
rate the grain from the husk, ahd fanned in the open
air. It is tiien put in their cordage bags and packed
away for winter use. The grain is longer and more
slender than the Carolina rice — it is of a greenish, olive
color, and, although it forms a pleasant article of food,
it is far from being particularly nutritive. The Indians
are fond of it in the form of soup, with the addition of
birds or venison.

CHAPTER VI.
BREAKFAST AT BETTY MORE'S.
The earth, the trees, and the shrubbery were aU too
much filled with the heavy rain which had faUen to
allow us to think of encamping, so we made arrange
ments to bestow ourselves in our httle saloon for the
night. It was rather a difficult matter to light a fire,
but among the underbrush, in a wtid, undisturbed spot,
there wUl always be found 'some fragments of dried
branches, and tufts of grass which the rain has not
reached, and by the assistance of the spunk, or tight-
wood, with which traveUers always go weU provided,
a comforting fire was at length blazing brightly.
After our chUling, tedious day, it was^pleasant to
gather round it, to sit on the end of the blazing logs,
and watch the Frenchmen preparing our supper — the
kettle, nestling in a little nook of bright glowing coals —
the slices of ham browning and crisping on the forked
sticks, or " broches," which the voyageurs dexterously
cut, and set around the burning brands — the savory
messes of " pork and onions" hissing in the frying pan,
always a tempting regale to the hungry Frenchmen.
Truly, it needs a wet chtily journey, taken nearly fast-
(081

BREAKFAST AT BETTY MORE's. 69
ing, as ours had been, to enable one to enjoy to its full
extent that social meal — a supper.
The bright sun, setting amid brUhant masses of
clouds, such as are seen only in our western skies, gave
promise of a fine day on the morrow, with which com
forting assurance we were glad to take our leave of
him, and soon after of each other.
We had hardly roused up the foUowing morning, in
obedience to the caU of the bourgeois, when our eyes
were greeted with the sight of an addition to our com
pany — a taU stalwart, fine-looking, young " mitiff," or
half-breed, accompanied by two or three Indians.
Vociferous and joyous were the salutations of the lat
ter to their " father" and their new " mother." They
were the first Winnebagoes I had seen, and they were
decidedly not the finest specimens of their tribe. The
mitiff, a scion of the wide-spreading tree of the Grig-
nons, was the bearer of an invitation to us from Judge
Law, who, with one or two Green Bay friends, was
encamped a few miles above, to come and breakfast
with him in his tent. We had not dreamed of finding
white neighbors here, but our vicinity could be no
secret to them, as long as there was an Indian in the
neighborhood. So, delaying only for the soldiers to
finish their breakfast, we pushed on for the " Butte des
Morts," or, as old Mrs. Amdt always persisted in caU
ing it, Betty Mere's.
The white tent of the Judge gleamed in the morning

70 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
sun as we approached the httle rising ground on which
it stood. The river was filled with canoes paddled
principaUy by squaws. Many Indians were to be
seen on the banks, aU with their guns and hunting
accoutrements, for the air was filled in every direction
with flocks of teal, which at this season are most abun
dant and delicious. The immense fields of wtid rice
abounding here and in the httle lake below, make this
vicinity their favorite place of resort in the autumn
months. The effect of this nourishing food is, to make
the flesh of the birds so fat, so white, and so tender,
that a caution is always given to a young sportsman
to fire only at such as fly very low, for if shot high in
the air they are bruised to pieces, and rendered unfit
for eating by their fall to the ground.
We were hemmed in by a tittle fleet of canoes which
surrounded us, the women chattering, laughing, and
eagerly putting forward their httle wooden bowls of
fresh cranberries as an offering of welcome to me.
I amused myself with tossing crackers to them, some
of which would reach them, others would fall into the
water, and then such a scrambling and shouting!
Hands and paddles were in requisition, and loud was
the triumph of her who was successful in reaching a
floating one.
Among the Indians with whom Shaw-nee-aw-kee
was now engaged in shaking hands, and who ati seem
ed old friends, were some fine, straight, well-formed

BREAKFAST AT BETTY MORE'S. 71
figures, aU of them exhibiting frames capable of en
during fatigue and the hardships of their mode of life.
One was describing with much gesticulation the abun
dance of the game in the neighborhood, and he seemed
greatly delighted at receiving a quantity of ammuni
tion, with which he instantly departed to make good
his boasts in the matter.
After walking a short distance we reached the tent
where I was introduced to Judge Law and a pleasant
httle gray-haired French gentleman of the name of
Porlier. Several voyageurs and half-breeds were near,
the former busily at work, the latter lounging for the
most part, and going through with what they had to
do with a sort of listless indifference.
The contrast between the " all-alive" air of the one
class and the apathetic manner of the other, was quite
striking. After a short conversation among the members ofthe
party, breakfast was announced, and we entered the
tent and took our seats on the ground around the In
dian mat, which supphed the place of a table.
The post of honor, namely, the head of the table,
was of course given to me, so that I could not only look
around upon the circle of the company, but also enjoy
a fine view out of the open door of the tent, and take
an observation of all that was going on at the side-table
outside. Judge Doty sat opposite me, with his back
to the opening of the tent, and the other gentlemen on

72 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST
either hand. We had for our waiter the taU " mitiff"
who had been the messenger of the morning. He was
still in the same garb — calico shirt, bright colored scarf
around his waist, and on his head a straw hat encircled
with a band of black ostrich feathers, the usual dress
of his class.
The tin cups which were to hold our coffee were
duly set around, then breakfast plates of the same
metal, with knives and forks, then followed the viands,
among the most conspicuous of which was a large tin
pan of boUed ducks.
The Judge, wishing to show, probably, that although
we were in the vast wUderness, all fastidious nicety had
not been left 'behind, took up the plate which had been
set before him, and seeing something adhering to it
which did not exactly please him, handed it over his
shoulder to Grignon, requesting him to wipe it carefully.
Grignon complied by pulling a black stik barcelona
handkerchief out of his bosom, where it had been
snugly tucked away to answer any occasion that might
present itself, and giving the tin a furious polishing,
handed it back again. The Judge looked at it with a
smile of approbation, and giving a glance round the
table as much as to say, "You see how I choose to have
things done," applied himself to his breakfast.
The traU for Fort Winnebago then led from the
shore opposite Butte des Morts, through Ma-zhee-
gaw-gaw swamp, and past Green Lake, and itwasweU

BREAKFAST AT BETTY MORE'S. 73
for the Judge that his horses stood waiting for him to
" mount and away" as early as possible after breakfast,
or I am afraid the story I should have been tempted to
teU, would have made his ride an uncomfortable one
throughout the day.
We had hardly finished breakfast when our hunter,
who had received the ammunition, returned, bringing
with him about fifty fine ducks, which he had shot in
little more than an hour. From that time untU the
close of our journey, our supply of these dehcate birds
was never wanting.

CHAPTER Til
BUTTE DES MORTS -LAKE PTJCKAWAY.
The Butte des Morts, or Hillock of the Dead, was
the scene long since* of a most sanguinary battle be
tween the French and the Mis-qua-kees, or Foxes.
So. great was the carnage in this engagement, that the
memory of it has been perpetuated by the gloomy
appellation given to the mound where the dead were
buried. The Foxes up to this time had inhabited the
shores of the river to which they had given their name,
but being completely overwhelmed and beaten in this
conflict, they retired to the neighborhood of the Mis
sissippi, and sought an asylum among their allies, the
Saukies, or as they are now caUed, the Sauks, with
whom they became graduaUy incorporated, until the
combined tribes came to be known, as at present, by
the name of " Sauks and Foxes."
Among the French inhabitants of the upper country,
each tribe of Indians has a particular appeUation, de
scriptive of some peculiarity of either their habits or
their personal appearance. Thus the Chippewas from
their agUity are denominated " Sauteurs" or Jumpers ;
* In the year 1714
TO

BUTTE DES MORTS. — LAKE PUCKAWAY. 75
the Ottawas, the " Courtes-oreUles" or Short-ears. The
Meenomonees, from the wUd rice so abundant in their
country, are caUed the "FoUes Avoines" — the Winne
bagoes from their custom of wearing the fur of a pole
cat on their legs when equipped for war, are termed
" les Puans" — the Pottowattamies, from their uncleanly
habits, "les Poux" — the Foxes, are "les Renards,"
&c, &c.
Hence you wtil never hear a French or half-breed
resident of the country mention an Indian in any other
style. " Such a person is a ' Court-o*eUle.' " "Is that
woman a 'Winnebago?' " "No, she is a 'FoUe, Avoine.' "
In this manner a stranger is somewhat puzzled at first
to classify the acquaintances he forms.
AU the native friends with whom we were here sur
rounded were " les Puans," or to use their own eupho
nious apphcation, the " So-tshung-rahs"
Having with great regret said adieu to our friend
Judge Doty, whose society had contributed so much
to the pleasure of our trip, and whose example more
over, had given us a valuable lesson to take things as
we find them ; we bade good-bye at an early hour after
breakfast to our kind hosts, and set forward on our
journey. From Butte des Morts to the Portage, the distance
by land is about seventy mties ; by water, it is not less
than a hundred and thirty, so serpentine is the course
of the river through the low swampy prairies which
stretch over a great portion of this part of the country.

76 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
About six miles above the Butte, a tolerably broad
stream called Wolf River joins the Fox, and as it is
much the more direct and promising ofthe two, stran
gers have sometimes mistaken it for the main stream,
and journeyed up it a considerable distance before
discovering to their great chagrin that they must re
trace their steps.
Beyond this place, the river begins to play its pranks
with the compass. As I was always looking out for
pretty scenery to sketch, I was at one spot much at
tracted by a picturesque group on a bank quite close
to the stream. There were broad overhanging trees,
and two or three wigwams nestled under their shade.
Bright-looking httle chUdren, quite unencumbered with
clothing, were sporting about, and their two mothers
were sitting on the ground, engaged in the manufac
ture of a mat for their lodge. It was a pretty scene,
and I commenced a sketch. As usual, the whole party
on the bank set up a shout when they recognized Shaw-
nee-aw-kee — ' ' Be-awn-chee- wee-rah, Hee-nee-kar-ray-
kay-noo."* It was an occasion on which they became
demonstrative. After a little time we proceeded, and I
went oh to complete my drawing. The sun kept
coming more and more into the wrong place. He had
been just behind me, presently he was on my left hand,
now he was straight a-head. I moved from time to
* Father ! How do you do ?

BUTTE DES MORTS. — LAKE PUCKAWAY. 77
time ; at length the sun was decidedly on my right hand.
What could be the matter ? I looked up. " Oh, here
is a pretty scene, I must have this too ! But how sur
prisingly like the one I have just finished, only in a
different direction." Again we were greeted with shouts
and laughter; it was the same spot which we had
passed not an hour before, and having taken a circuit
of nearly four mties, we had returned to find that we
had made an actual progress of only the width of the
bank on which the trees and wigwams stood. Decidedly
not very encouraging to an impatient traveller.
We reached Lake Puck-a-way late in the evening
of' our second day from Butte des Morts. Here hved
a white man named Gleason, the same of whom, owing
to his vast powers of exaggeration, poor Hooe was
fond of uttering his little pun, "All is not gold that
Gleasons." We did not seek shelter at his house, for
late as the season was, we found the shore so infested
with musquitoes that we were glad to choose a jspot as
far as possible from the bank, and make ourselves
comfortable in our boat.
This lake has its name from the long flags or rushes
which are found in its waters in great abundance, and
of which the squaws manufacture the coarse matting
used in covering their wigwams. Their mode of fab
ricating this is very primitive and simple. Seated on
the ground, with the rushes laid side by side, and
fastened at each extremity, they pass their shuttle, a

78 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
long flat needle made of bone, to which is attached a
piece of cordage, formed ofthe bark of a tree, through
each rush, thus confining it very closely, and making
a fine substantial mat. These mats are seldom more
than five or six feet in length, as a greater size would
be inconvenient in adjusting and preparing their lodges.
It is a species of labor usually assigned to the elder
women of the famUy. When they become broken
down and worn out with exposure and hardship, so
that they cannot cut down trees, hoe corn, or carry
heavy burdens, they are set to weaving mats, taking
care of the chUdren, and disciplining the dogs, with
which every Indian lodge abounds.
Lac de Boeuf, or Buffalo Lake, into which our
course next brought ,us, is a lovely sheet of water. In
some places its banks are exceedingly picturesque, with
beautiful headlands jutting out into the clear depths,
where they and the magnificent groups of trees which
crown them he reflected as in a mirror. Now and
then we would catch a glimpse of deer darting across
the glades, which at intervals opened through the
woodlands, or a pair of sand-hill cranes would rise,
slowly flapping their wings, and seek a place of more
undisturbed repose. The flocks of teal now skimming
the surface, ofthe water, now rising higher towards the
shelter of the forests, tempted our sportsman sorely ;
but as there was httle prospect of finding his game
when it was brought down, he did not give way to

BUTTE DES MORTS. — LAKE PUCKA WAY. 79
the wanton pleasure of shooting merely to destroy
life. In quitting this charming lake, and again entering
the narrow, tortuous course ofthe river, we bade adieu
to everything like scenery, until we should reach our
journey's end.
We had now seventy mUes to pass through a
country perfectly monotonous and uninteresting, the
distastefulness of which was aggravated by the know
ledge that we could, had we been provided with horses
or a carriage of any kind, have crossed over to the
Portage from Gleason's, through a pleasant country, in
little more than three "hours. Even our great resource,
the cheering, animating songs of our voyageurs were
out of the question ; for the river, though deep, is so
narrow that, in many places, there is no room for the
regular play ofthe oars; and the voices of Frenchmen
can never "keep tune" unless their oars can "keep
time." Lapierre, one of our men, did his best with a
paddle, or, as he caUed it, the --little row," but it was
to no purpose — it would not go. Besides this, the wild
rice abounds to that extent in many places, that it
almost completely obstructs the progress of even a
moderate-sized boat, so that a passage through its tan
gled masses is with difficulty forced by the oars.
Tedious and monotonous as was the whole course of
the two foUowing days, the climax of impatience and
discouragement was only reached when we arrived in

80 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
sight of the white walls of Fort Winnebago, looking
down from a rising ground upon the vast expanse of
low land through which, the river winds.
The Indians have a tradition that a vast serpent
once hved in the waters of the Mississippi, and that
taking a freak to visit the Great Lakes, he left his trail
through the prairies, which, collecting the waters from
the meadows and the rains. of heaven as they feU, at
length became the Fox River.
The httle lakes along its course were probably the
spots where he flourished about in his uneasy slumbers
at night. He must have played aU the antics of a
kitten in the neighborhood ofthe Portage. When
the Fort was first pointed out to me, I exclaimed
with delight, "Oh, we shall be there in half an
hour!" "Not quite so soon," said my husband, smiling.
" Wait and see." We sat and watched. We seemed
approaching the very spot where we were to disem
bark. We could distinguish the officers and a lady on
the bank waiting to receive us. Now we are turning
our backs on them, and shooting out into the prairie
again. Anon we approach another bank, on which
is a range of comfortable-looking log-houses. "That
s the Agency," — the largest house belongs to Paquette,
the interpreter, and the others are the dwellings of
our Frenchmen.- The little building, *just at the foot
ofthe hill, is the blacksmith's shop, kept there by the

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3

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'Z^&r'.'-i-

Jfrj J A-K,«*u get - *

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portage city.)

BUTTE DES MORTS. — LAKE PUCKAWAY. 81
Government, that 'the Indians may have their guns
and traps mended free of expense."
" But are we going to stop there ?"
"No; do you not see we are going back to the
fort?" And, to be sure, our course was now turned, and
we were setting in our first direction. In this manner,
after tacking to the right and left,' and putting back
wards and forwards during the greater part of two
hours, we at length reached the little landing, on
which the assembled party stood ready to greet us.
4*

CHAPTER VIII.
PORT WINNEBAGO.
Major and Mrs. Twiggs, and a few of the younger
officers (for nearly all of the older ones were absent),
with our brother Robert, or, as he is caUed throughout
aU the Indian tribes " Bob," gave us a cordial welcome
— how cordial those alone can know who have come,
like us, to a remote, isolated home in the wUderness.
The Major insisted on our taking possession at once of
vacant quarters in the fort, instead of at " the Agency,"
as had been proposed.
" No — we must be under the same roof with them.
Mrs. Twiggs had been without a companion of her
own sex for more than four months, and would certainly
not hear of a separation now. But we must be their
guests until the arrival of the boats containing our fur
niture," which, under the care of .our old acquaintance,
Hamilton Arndt, was making its way slowly up from
Green Bay.
A dinner had been prepared for us. This is one of
the advantages of the zig-zag approach by the Fox
River — travellers never take their friends by surprise —

FORT WINNEBAGO. 83
and when the whole circle sat down to the hospitable.
board, we were indeed a merry company.
After dinner Mrs. Twiggs showed me the quarters
assigned to us, on the opposite side of the spacious
hall. They consisted of two large rooms on each of the
three floors or stories of the buUding. On the ground
floor the front room was vacant. The one in the rear
was to be the sleeping apartment, as was evident from
a huge, unwieldy bedstead, of proportions amply suffi
cient to have accommodated Og, the King of Bashan,
with Mrs. Og and the chUdren into the bargain. We
could not repress our laughter, but the bedstead was
nothing to another structure which occupied a second
corner of the apartment.
This edifice had been butit under the immediate su
perintendence of one of our young lieutenants, and it
was plain to be seen that upon it both he and the sol
diers who fabricated it had exhausted aU their archi
tectural skill. The timbers of which it was composed
had been grooved and carved; the pUlars that sup
ported the front sweUed in and out in a most fanciful
manner; the doors were hot only paneUed, but radi
ated in a way to excite the admiration of all unso
phisticated eyes. A simUar piece of workmanship had
been erected in each set of quarters to supply the de
ficiency of closets, an inconvenience which had never
occurred, until too late, to the bachelors who planned
them. The three apartments of which each structure

84 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
was composed, were unquestionably designed for
clothes-press, store-room, and china-closet; such, at
least, were the uses to which Mrs. Twiggs had appro
priated the one assigned to her. There was this slight
difficulty, that in the latter the shelves were too close
to admit of setting in even a gravy-boat, but they
made up in number what was wanting in space. We
christened the whole affair, in honor of its projector,
a " Davis ;" thus placing the first laurel on the brow of
one who was afterwards to signalize himself at Buena
Vista, and in the Cabinet of his country.
The bold promontory on which Fort Winnebago was
butit looked down upon the extended prairie and the
Fox River on one side, and on the other stretched
away into the thickly wooded ridge that led off to
Belle Fontaine and Lake Puckaway.
In front lay an extent of meadow, across which was
the Portage road, of about two miles in length, leading
between the Fox and the Wisconsin rivers. Teams of
oxen and a driver were kept at the Agency by the Gov
ernment, to transport the canoes of the Indians across
this place, which at many seasons was wet, miry, and
almost impassable.
The woods were now briUiant with the many tints
of autumn, and the scene around was further enlivened
by groups of Indians, in all directions, and their lodges,
which were scattered here and there, in the vicinity of
the Agency buUdings. On the low grounds might be

FORT WINNEBAGO. 85
seen the white tents of the traders, already prepared to
furnish winter supplies to the Indians, in exchange for
the annuity money they were about to receive.
A great concourse had been for many days assem
bling in anticipation of the payment, wliich was ex
pected to take place as soon as Shaw-nee-aw-kee should
arrive with the stiver.
Preparatory to this event, the great chief of the
nation, Four-Legs, whose vtilage we had passed at the
entrance to Winnebago Lake, had thought proper to
take a little carouse, as is too apt to be the custom
when the savages come into the neighborhood of a
sutler's establishment. In the present instance, the fa
cilities for a season of intoxication had been augmented
by the presence on the ground of some traders, too
regardless of the very stringent laws prohibiting the
sale of liquor to the Indians.
Poor Four-Legs could not stand this full tide of
prosperity. Unchecked by the presence of his "father,"
the agent, he carried his indulgence to such excess that
he feU a victim in the course of a few days. His funeral
had been celebrated with unusual pomp the day before
our arrival, and great was my disappointment at find
ing myself too late to witness all the ceremonies.
His body, according to their custom, having been
wrapped in a blanket, and placed in a rude coffin, along
with his guns, tomahawk, pipes, and a quantity of

86 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
tobacco, had been carried to the most elevated point
of the hill opposite the fort, foUowed by an immense
procession of his people, whooping, beating their drums,
howling, and making altogether what is emphatic'aUy
termed a "pow-wow."
After the interment of the body a stake was planted
at its head, on which was painted in vermilion a series
of hieroglyphics, descriptive of the great deeds and
events of his life. The whole was then surrounded with
pickets of the trunks of the tamarack trees, and hither
the friends would come for many successive days to re
new the expression of their grief, and to throw over the
grave tobacco and other offerings to the Great Spirit.
It was a consolation to find that, although delayed,
we were yet in time to furnish a quantity of white
cotton for a flag to wave over the grave, and also to
pay a considerable btil at the sutler's, for the different
articles that had been found necessary for the funeral
parade — it being a duty expected of their father to
bury the dead suitably.
The funeral observances in honor of the chief had
not yet ceased. Throughout the day, and all that
night, the sound of instruments, mingled with doleful
lamentations, and with the discordant whoops and yells
of those in a partial state of intoxication, filled the air,
and disturbed our repose. To these were added occa
sionally the plaintive sounds of the Indian flute, upon

FORT WINNEBAGO. 87
which the young savage plays when he is in love.
Grief and whiskey had made their hearts tender, and
the woods resounded to their melancholy strains.
Early the foUowing morning, before I left my room,
I was startled by the sounds of lamentation and woe
proceeding from the adjoining apartment On enter
ing it, I found several squaws seated on the floor, with
downcast looks expressive of condolence and sym
pathy, while in their midst sat a httle ugly woman, in
tattered garments, with blackened face and dishevelled
hair, sobbing and wailing bitterly.
Not doubting they were the famtiy of the deceased
chief, I was quite troubled at my inabUity to express,
otherwise than by gestures, my participation in their
sorrows. Unacquainted as I was with their customs, I took it
for granted from1 their wretched appearance that poverty
and destitution formed one of the sources of their afflic
tion. One of the party, at least, seemed in the very
depths of misery. " Can it be possible," said I to my
self, " that this poor creature has only these scanty rags
to cover her ?"
Stepping back to my own room, I brought out a
pretty calico wrapper, which I presented to the little
dirty, blackened object. She took it, and commenced a
fresh series of sobbing and sighing. I made signs to
her to put it on, opening it and explaining to her how
it was to be worn, and recommending to her, by ges-

I 88 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
tures, to lose no time in making herself more comfort
able. At this, the other women burst into a laugh.
"Very mal-a-propos," thought I, "and somewhat
unfeeling." At that moment my husband entering,
explained to me that the chief mourner was Madame
Four-Legs, the widow ; that she had undoubtedly a com
fortable wardrobe at home, but that it was part of the
etiquette of mourning to go for a season with neglected
persons and blackened faces. All this was told me in
the intervals of shaking hands, and offering and re
ceiving condolences in the most uncouth, guttural lan
guage I had ever heard. Their "father" at length
dismissed them, with a promise of some presents to
help dry up their tears. It must not be inferred that
the grief of the poor little widow was not sincere. On
the contrary, she was greatly attached to her husband,
and had had great influence not only with him but
with the nation at large. She was a Fox woman, and
spoke the Chippewa, which is the court language among
aU the tribes, so that she was often caUed upon to act
as interpreter, and had, in fact, been in the habit of
accompanying her husband, -and assisting him by her
counsels upon aU occasions. She was a person of great
shrewdness and judgment, and as I afterwards expe
rienced, of strong and tenacious affections.
After breakfast I received a visit from the principal
chiefs, who had put on their best of apparel and paint,
to receive their new " mother."

FORT WINNEBAGO. 89
There was Naw-kaw, or Kar-ray-mau-nee, "the
Walking Rain," now the principal chief of the nation, a
stalwart Indian, with a broad, pleasant countenance, the
great peculiarity of which was an immense under
lip, hanging nearly to his chin. There was the old
Day-kau-ray, the most noble, dignified, and venerable
of his own, or indeed of any other, tribe. His fine
Roman countenance, rendered still more striking by
his bald head, with one sohtary tuft of long stivery
hair neatly tied and falling back on his shoulders ; his
perfectly neat, appropriate dress, almost without orna
ment and his courteous demeanor, never laid aside,
under any circumstances, all combined to give him the
highest place in the consideration of all who knew him.
It wtil hereafter be seen that his traits of character were
not less grand and striking, than were his personal ap
pearance and deportment.
There was Black- Wolf, whose lowering, surly face
was weU described by his name. The fierce expres
sion of his countenance was greatly heightened by the
masses of heavy black hair hanging round it, quite
contrary to the usual fashion among the Winnebagoes.
They, for the most part, remove a portion of their hair,
the remainder of which is drawn to the back of the
head, clubbed and ornamented with beads, ribbons;
cock's feathers, or, if they are so entitled, an eagle's
feather for every scalp taken from an enemy.
There was Talk-English, a remarkably handsome,

90 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
powerful young Indian, who received his name in the
foUowing manner. He was one of a partyof sixteen
Winnebagoes, who had, by invitation accompanied their
Agent and Major Forsyth (or the Chippewa as he was
caUed), on a visit to the President at Washington, the
year previous.
On the journey, the question naturaUy addressed to
them by people not famihar with Western Indians was,
"Do you talk Enghsh?"
The young feUow being very observant, came to his
" father." " What do they mean by this ? Everybody
says to me, talk English !"
The Agent interpreted the words to him. "Ah,
very weU."
The next place they arrived at was Lockport, in the
State of New York. Jumping off the canal-boat upon
the lock, he ran up to the first man he met, and thrust
ing forward his face cried out, " Talk Eengeesh?"
" Yes," said the man ; " do you talk English?"
"Ya-as."
From that time forward, he always bore the name of
Talk-English, and was registered on the pay-rolls by a
title of which he was not a tittle proud.
Hoo-wau-nee-kah, "the Little Elk," was another of
the distinguished men of the tribe. He had likewise
been at Washington. Henry Clay, when he visited
them, after looking carefully at the countenances and
bearing of aU the members of the deputation, had inch-

FORT WINNEBAGO. 91
cated him as the one possessing the greatest talent ; and
he was greatly pleased when informed that he was the
principal orator. of the nation, and decidedly superior
in abilities to any other individual of the tribe.
WUd-Cat, our Indian Falstaff, in all save the coward
ice and falsehood, I have already mentioned.
Then there was Kau-ray-kaw-saw-kaw, " the White
Crow," or Rock River Indian, who afterwards distin
guished himself as the friend of the whites during the
Sauk war. He was caUed by the French "le Borgne,"
from having lost an eye; and the black silk handker
chief, which he wore drooping over the left side of his
face to disguise the blemish, taken with his native
costume, gave him a very singular appearance.
There was a nephew of the defunct chief Four-Legs,
to whom was with justice given, by both whites and
Indians, the appeUation of "the Dandy." When out
of mourning his dress was of the most studied and
fanciful character. A shirt (when he condescended to
wear any) of the brightest colors, ornamented with
innumerable rows of stiver brooches, set thickly to
gether ; never less than two pairs of stiver arm-bands ;
leggings and moccasins of the most elaborate embroi
dery in ribbons and porcupine quills ; everything that
he could devise in the shape of ornament hanging to
his. club of hair behind ; a feather fan in one hand, and
a mirror in the other, in which he contemplated him
self every five minutes ; these, with the variety and

92 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
brtiliancy of the colors upon his face, the suitable
choice and apphcation of which occupied no small
portion of the hours aUotted to his toilet; such made
up the equipment of young Four-Legs.
This devotion to dress and appearance seemed not
altogether out of place in a youthful dandy, but we
had likewise an old one of the same stamp. Pawnee
Blanc, or the White Pawnee, if possible, surpassed his
younger competitor in attention to his personal at
tractions. v
Upon the present occasion he appeared in aU his
finery, and went through the customary salutations with
an air of solemn dignity, then entered, as did the others,
into the parlor (for I had received them in the hati),
where they aU seated themselves upon the floor. For
tunately, the room was . now bare of furniture, but
" alas !" thought I, "for my pretty carpet, if this is to
be the way they pay their respects to me !" I watched
the falling of the ashes from their long pipes, and
the other inconveniences of the use of tobacco, or
" kin-ni-kin-nick," with absolute dismay.
The visit of the chiefs was succeeded by one from
the interpreter and his wife, with all the Canadian and
half-breed women, whose husbands found employment
at the Agency, or at the American Fur Company's
establishment. \
By this time my piano had been taken from its case
and set up in our quarters. To our great joy, we

*,

FORT WINNEBAGO. 93
found it entirely uninjured. Thanks to the skUl of
Nunns and Clark, not a note was out of tune,
The women, to whom it was an entire novelty, were
loud in their exclamations of wonder and delight.
' ' Eh-h-h I regardez clone ! Quelles inventions ! Quelles
merveilles !"*
One, observing the play of my fingers reflected in
the nameboard, caUed in great exultation to her com
panions. She had discovered, as she thought, the hid
den machinery by wliich the sounds were produced, and
was not a tittle mortified when she was undeceived.
* Only look ! what inventions 1 what wonders 1

¦ ©il, i^'iBMISK*

CHAPTER IX. f
HOUSEKEEPINQ.
As the boats' might be expected in a few days, it
was thought best to begin at once what preparations
were in my power towards housekeeping. These were
simply the fitting and sewing of my carpets, in which I
was kindly assisted by Mrs. Twiggs ; and the wife of
one of our Frenchmen having come over from the
Agency, and made everything tidy and comfortable,
the carpets were soon tacked down, and ready for the
reception of the rest of the furniture.
I had made many fruitless attempts, both in Detroit
and Green Bay, to procure a servant-woman to accom
pany me to my new home. Sometimes one would pre
sent herself, but, before we could come to a final agree
ment, the thoughts of the distance, of the savages, the
hardships of the journey, or, perhaps, the objections of
friends, would interfere to break off the negotiation ; so
that I had at length been obhged to rest satisfied with
the simple hope held out by my husband, that one or
the other of his French employe's, with his wife, would
be contented to take up their abode with us.
In this state of things, aU difficulties seemed to be
(94)

HOUSEKEEPING. 95
obviated by the proposal of Major Twiggs, that we
should take into our service a young colored girl, whom
he had brought from Buffalo, in the spring, to wait on
Mrs. T. until her own servants should arrive from the
South. Louisa was accordingly sent for, an uncommonly
handsome young negress, with an inteUigent but very
demure countenance, who called herself fifteen years
of age, but who, from the progress in vice and iniquity
I afterwards discovered her to have made, must have
been at least several years older. Be that as it may,
she now seemed to have no fault but carelessness and
inexperience, of both of which I had great hopes she
would improve, under careful training.
My first week's visit with Mrs. Twiggs had just
expired when word was given that the boats were in
sight — the boats that contained our furniture — and the
expected arrival of Louis Philippe to visit Queen Vic
toria could scarcely have created a more universal
sensation, than did this announcement in our httle
community. Although we knew that some hours
must yet elapse before they could reach the spot for
disembarkation, we were constantly on the watch, and
at length all the young officers, foUowed by as many
of the soldiers as were off duty, accompanied Mr.
Kinzie down the bank to the landing, to witness, and
if necessary, to assist in helping everything safe to land.
Sad was the plight in which matters were found.

96 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
The water poured out of the corners of the boxes as
they were successively hoisted on shore. Too impa
tient to wait untU they could be carried up to the fort,
the gentlemen soon furnished themselves with hammers
and hatchets, and feU eagerly to work, opening the
boxes to explore the extent of the damage. Alas for
the mahogany ! not a piece from which the edges and
veneering were not starting. It had aU the appearance
of having lain under the Grande Chute for days. Poor
Hamtiton was loud in his protestations and excuses.
It was the fault of the men, of the weather, of the
way the things were packed. " Confound it ! he had
taken the best care of the things he possibly could —
better than he had ever taken before — it wouldget done !"
There was nothing but to be patient and make the
best of it. And when the pretty sideboard and work-
table had been thoroughly rubbed and set up, and all
the little knickknacks arranged on the mantel-piece —
when the white curtains were hung at the windows,
and the chairs and dining-table each in its proper place
in relation to the piano, our parlor was pronounced
" magnificent." At least so seemed to think Hamilton,
who came to give one admiring look, and to hear the
music of the piano, which was a perfect novelty to
him. His description of it to the young officers, after
his return to the Bay, was expressive of his admiration
and wonder — " There it stood on its four legs ! Any
body might go up and touch it !"

HOUSEKEEPING. 97
In due time the dinner and tea sets were carefully
bestowed in the "Davis," together with sundry jars of
sweetmeats that I had prepared in Detroit ; the iron
and tin utensils were placed in a neat cupboard in the
kitchen, of which my piano-box supplied the frame;
the barrel of eggs and tubs of butter, brought aU the
way from Ohio, were ranged in the store-room ; a suit
able quantity of salt pork and flour, purchased from
the Commissary ; and there being no lack of game of
every description, the offering of our red children, we
were ready to commence housekeeping.
The first dinner in her own home is an era in the
life of a young housekeeper. I shall certainly never
forget mine. While I was in the lower regions super
intending my very inexpert little cook, my husband
made his appearance to say that, as the payment (then
the all-absorbing topic of interest) would not com
mence until afternoon, he had invited M. Rolette, Mr.
Hempstead, and four other gentlemen to dine with us.
" So unexpected — so unprepared for?"
" Never mind; give them anything you have. They
have been hving for some days in tents, and anything
wtil taste well to them."
My dinner had been intended to consist chiefly of a
venison pasty, and fortunately the only dish among
my store was of very large proportions, so that there
was already smoking in the oven a pie of a size nearly
equal to the famous Norwich pudding ; thus, with some
5

98 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
trifling additions to the bill of fare, we made out very
well, and the master of the house had the satisfaction
of hearing the impromptu dinner very much com
mended by his six guests.

**

CHAPTER X.
INDIAN PAYMENT-MRS. WASHINGTON.
There were two divisions of the Winnebago
Indians, one of which was paid by the Agent, at the
Portage, the other at Prairie du Chien, by Gen. Street.
The first, between four and five thousand in number,
received, according to treaty stipulations, fifteen thou
sand doUars annually, besides a considerable amount
of presents, and a certain number of rations of bread
and pork, to be issued in times of emergency through
out the year.
The principal viUages of this division of the tribe were
at Lake Winnebago, Green and Fox Lakes, the Barri-
bault, Mud Lake, the Four Lakes, Kosh-ko-nong, and
Turtle Creek. Messengers were dispatched, at or
before the arrival of the annuity-money, to all the dif
ferent villages, to notify the heads of families or
lodges to assemble at " the Portage."
When arrived, the masters of famUies, under their
different chiefs, give in their names, and the number
in their lodges, to be registered. As in paying a cer
tain sum of money is apportioned to each individual,
it is, of course, an object to make the number registered

100 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
as great as possible. Each one brings his.little bundle
of sticks, and presents it to the Agent to register.
Sometimes a dialogue like the foUowing occurs :
" How many have you in your lodge ?"
The Indian carefully, and with great ceremony,
counts his bundle of sticks — " Fifteen."
" How many men ?"
" Two." The Agent lays aside two sticks.
" How many women ?"
" Three." Three more sticks are separated.
" How many children ?"
" Eight." Eight sticks are added to the heap.
"What is the meaning of these two sticks that
remain?" The culprit, whose arithmetic has not served him to
carry out his deception, disappears amid the shouts
and jeers of his companions, who are always well
pleased at the detection of any roguery in which they
have had no share.
The young officers generally assisted in counting out
¦Jnd delivering the money at these payments, and it
was no unusual thing, as the last band came up, for
the chiefs to take a quantity of stiver out of the box,
and request their " father " to pay his friends for ¦then-
trouble, seeming really disturbed at his refusal. In
this, as in almost every instance, we see the native
courtesy and pohteness, which are never lost sight of
among them. If a party comes to their " father," to

INDIAN PAYMENT — MRS.' WASHINGTON. 101
beg for provisions, and food is offered them, however
hungry they may be, each waits patiently untU one of
the company makes an equal distribution' of the whole,
and then, taking his share, eats it quietly, with the
greatest moderation. I never saw this rule violated,
save in one instance.
Our friend, Pawnee Blanc, the Old Dandy, once
came with a party of Indians, requesting permission to
dance for us, in the open space before the door. It
was a warm, dusty afternoon, and as our friends grew
heated and fatigued with the violent and long-continued
exercise, a pitcher of raspberry negus was prepared and
sent out to them. Pawnee received the pitcher and
tumbler, and pouring the latter about half full, gave it
to the first of the circle, then filled the same for the
next, and so on, until it suddenly occurred to him to
look into the pitcher. What he saw there determined
his course of action, so, setting the tumbler upon, the
ground, he raised the pitcher with both hands to his
lips and gave a hearty pull, after which he went on,
giving less and less, until he was eatied to have the
pitcher replenished. AU present agreed it was the
only instance they had ever witnessed, of an Indian's
appearing afraid of getting less of a thing than his
share. During the payment a good many kegs of whiskey
find their way into the lodges of the Indians, notwith
standing the watchfulness of both officers and Agent.

102 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Where there is a demand there wtil always be a sup
ply, let the legal prohibitions be what they may. The
last day of the payment is, too often, one of general
carousing. When the men begin their frolic, the women care
fully gather all the guns, knives, tomahawks, and
weapons of every description, and secrete them, that
as little mischief as possible may be done in the absence
of all restraint and reason. I am sorry to record that
our httle friend, Pawnee Blanc, was greatly addicted to
the pleasures of the bottle.
Among the presents for the chiefs, which Shaw-nee-
aw-kee had brought from the east, was a trunk of blue
cloth coats, trimmed with broad gold lace, and a box
of round black hats, ornamented in a similar manner.
All who are familiar with Indians, of whatever tribe,
wtil have observed that their first step towards civil
ization, whether in man or woman, is mounting a
man's hat, decorated with tinsel, ribbons, or feathers.
Pawnee was among the happy number remembered in
the distribution, so. donning at once his new costume,
and tying a few additional bunches of gay-colored rib
bons to a long spear, that was always his baton of cer
emony, he came at once, followed by an admiring
train, chiefly of women, to pay me a visit of state.
The solemn gravity of his countenance, as he mo
tioned away those who would approach too near, and
finger his newly-received finery — the dignity with

INDIAN PAYMENT— MRS. WASHINGTON. 103
which he strutted along, edging this way and that to
avoid any possible contact from homely, every-day
wardrobes, augured well for a-continuance of propriety
and self-respect, and a due consideration of the good
opinion of all around. But, alas, for Pawnee ! Late
in the day we saw him assisted towards his lodge by
two stout young Indians, who had pulled him out of
a ditch, his fine coat covered with mud, his hat battered
and bruised, bis spear shorn of its gay streamers, and
poor Pawnee, himself, weeping and uttering all the
doleful lamentations of a tipsy Indian.

Among the women with whom I early made ac
quaintance was the wife of Wau-kaun-zee-kah, tlie
Yellow Thunder. She had accompanied her husband,
who was one of the deputation to visit the President,
and from that time forth she had been known as "the
Washington woman." She had a pleasant, old-ac
quaintance sort of air in greeting me, as much as to
say, " You and I have seen something of the world."
No expression of surprise or admiration escaped her
lips, as her companions, with child-like, laughing sim
plicity, exclaimed and clapped their hands at the dif
ferent wonderful objects I showed them. Her deport
ment said plainly, "Yes, yes, my children, I have
seen all these things before." It was not until I put to
her ear some tropical shells, of which I had a little

104 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
cabinet, and she heard it roaring in her ear, that she
laid aside her apathy of manner. She poked her finger
into the opening to get at the animal within, shodk it
violently, then put it to her ear again, and finally;
burst into a hearty laugh, and laid it down, acknow-,
ledging, by her looks, that this was beyond her com
prehension. I had one shell of peculiar beauty— my favorite in
the whole collection — a small conch, covered with rich,
dark veins. Each of the visitors successively took up
this sheU, and by words and gestures expressed her
admiration, evidently showing that she had an eye for
beauty — this was on the occasion of the parting visit
of my red daughters.
Shortly after the payment had been completed, and
the Indians had left, I discovered that my valued shell
was missing from the coUection. Could it be that one
of the squaws had stolen it ? It was possible — they
would occasionaUy, though rarely, do such things
under the influence of strong temptation. I tried to
recoUect which, among the party, looked most likely
to have been the culprit. It could not have been the
Washington woman — she was partly civilized, and
knew better. ,
A few weeks afterwards Mrs. Yellow Thunder again
made her appearance, and carefully unfolding a gay-
colored chintz shawl, which she carried roUed up in
her hand, she produced the shell, and laid it on the

INDIAN PAYMENTS — MRS. WASHINGTON. 105
table before me. I did not know whether to show, by
my countenance, displeasure at the trick she had
played me, or joy at receiving my treasure back again,
put at length decided that it was the best policy to
snanifest no emotion whatever.
^ She prolonged her visit until my husband's return,
am he then questioned her about the matter.
t She had taken the shell to her village, to show to
some of her people, who did not come to the payment."
ly had she not asked her mother's leave before
carryW it away ?"
" Because she saw that her mother liked the sheU,
and sm was afraid she would say — No."
This Was not the first instance in which Madame;
Washington had displayed the shrewdness which was
a predominant trait in her character. During the visit
of the Indkns to the eastern cities, they were taken to
various exhibitions, museums, menageries, the theatre,'
&c. It did not escape their observation that some
stiver was Vlways paid before entrance, and they
inquired the ieason. It was explained to them. The
woman brightened up, as if struck with an idea.
" How much do you pay for each one?"
Her father told her.
" How do you\say that in English?"
" Two shillings"
" Two shinnin^\umph " (good).
The next day, wi^en as usual, visitors began to flock
5*

\ \

106 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
to the rooms where the Indians were sojourning, the
woman and a young Indian, her confederate, took their
station by the door, which they kept closed. When any
one knocked, the door was cautiously opened, and the
woman extending her hand, exclaimed — "Two shinnin.''
This was readily paid in each instance, and the game
went on, untU she had accumulated a considerable sun.
But this did not satisfy her. At the first attempt of a
visitor to leave the room, the door was held close, as
before, the hand was extended, and "Two shinnin"
again met his ear. He tried to explain that, having
paid for his entrance, he must now go out free. With
an inexorable shake of the head, " Two shinnin" was
all the English she could understand.
The Agent who had entered a short time before, and
who, overhearing the dialogue, sat laughing iehind his
newspaper, waiting to see how it would all. end, now
came forward and interfered, and the guesjs were per
mitted to go forth without a further contribution.
The good woman was moreover admonished that it
was far from the custom of white people to tax their
friends and visitors in this manner, and.that the prac
tice must be laid aside in future.
Another instance of the disposition, of the Indians
to avail themselves of all the goods that fortune throws
in their way, was the following :
Upon the same trip, while passing through Ohio,
one of the party inquired of the Agent,

INDIAN PAYMENT— MRS. WASHINGTON. 107
" Do you pay for all those provisions that are set
before us at the hotels ?"
" Yes, why do you ask ?"
"Nothing: I thought you perhaps paid for just
what we ate of them."
At the next stopping place a fine breakfast was set
upon the table, of which^ as usual, they partook plen
tifully. Just as they had finished, the horn sounded
for all to take their places in the stage-coaches. Each
sprang to his feet. One seized the plates of biscuits and
poured them into the corner of his blanket ; another
the remains of a pair of chickens ; a third emptied
the sugar-bowls ; each laid hold of what was nearest
him, and in a trice nothing was left upon the table but
the empty plates and dishes. The landlord and waiters,
meanwhile, stood laughing and enjoying the trick as
much as any of the spectators.
Upon another occasion, their "father" had endeav
ored to impress upon them the unseemliness of throw
ing their refuse pieces, bones, and fragments of food
about on the table-cloth, pointing out to them the or
derly maimer of the whites at table, and the propriety
of keeping everything neat and nice around them.
At their next meal, they were served first with a
chicken-pie, of which they ate very heartily, and the
accumulation of bones on their plates was very abun
dant. Presently another and more favorite dish ap
peared. A fine large roasted turkey. A gentleman

108 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
sat near, and was evidently preparing to carve it. No
time was to be lost. What was to be done with the
bones ? They looked around in some perplexity. A
large apple-pie was standing near. The most eager
drew it towards him, and quick as thought all the bones
were deposited upon it, while with a triumphant laugh
at the happy idea, he coolly transferred the bird to his
own dish, and proceeded to distribute it among his
companions. The amazed stranger soon joined in the
laugh at the unceremonious manner in which his share
of the dinner had vanished.

CHAPTER XI.
LOUIS A-DAY-KATJ-R AY ON EDUCATION.
The payment was now over, and the Indians had
dispersed and gone to their wintering grounds. The
traders too, had departed, laden with a good share of
the stiver, in exchange for which each family had pro
vided itself, as far as possible, with clothing, guns,
traps, ammunition, and the other necessaries for their
winter use. The Indians are good at a bargain. They
are not easily overreached. On the contrary, they un
derstand at once when a charge is exorbitant; and a
trader who tries his shrewdness upon them is sure to
receive an expressive sobriquet, which ever after clings
to him.
For instance, M. Rolette was called by them
" Ah-kay-zaup-ee-taV^w more — because, as they said,
let them offer what number of skins they might, in
bartering for an article, his terms were invariably " five
more." Upon one occasion a lady remarked to him, " Oh,
M. Rolette, I would not be engaged in the Indian
trade ; it seems to me a system of cheating the poor
Indians." (109)

110 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
"Let me teU you, madame," replied he with great
naivete, "it is not so easy a thing to cheat the Indians
as you imagine. I have tried it these twenty years, and
have never succeeded !"

We were now settled down to a quiet, domestic life.
The military system under which everything was con
ducted — the bugle-call, foUowed by the music of a
very good band, at "reveille;" the tight, animated
strains for "sick-call," and soon after for "breakfast;"
the longer ceremony of guard-mounting; the "Old
English Roast-beef," to announce the dinner hour; the
sweet, plaintive strains of "Lochaber no more,"
followed most incongruously by "the Little Cock-
Sparrow," at "retreat;" and finally, the long, rolling
tattoo, late in the evening, made pleasant divisions of
our time, which, by the aid of books, music, and draw
ing, in addition to household occupations, seemed to
fly more swiftly than ever before. It was on Sunday
that I most missed my eastern home. I had planned
beforehand what we should do on the first recurrence
of this sacred day, under our own roof. " We shall
have, at least," said I to myself, " the Sabbath's quiet
and repose ; and I can, among other things, benefit
poor Louisa by giving her some additional lessons of
a serious character."
So, while she was removing the breakfast things, I
said to her,

LOUISA — DAY-KAU-RAY ON EDUCATION. Ill
" Now, Louisa, get your work all finished, and every
thing put neatly aside, and then come here to me
again." " Yes, ma'am."
We sat down to our books, and read and waited ;
we waited and read another hour — no Louisa.
There was music and the sound of voices on
the parade in front of our windows, but that did
not disturb us; it was what we were datiy accus
tomed to.
I must go at length, and see what could be keeping
my damsel so. I descended to the kitchen. The
breakfast things stood upon the table — the kettles and
spider upon the hearth — the fire was out— the kitchen
empty. Passing back into the hall, which extended the whole
length of the house, and opened in front upon the
parade, I perceived a group collected in the area, of all
shades and colors, and in the midst, one round, woolly
head which I could not mistake, bobbing up and down,
now on this side, now on that, whtie peals of laughter
were issuing from the whole group.
" Louisa," I called, " come here ; what are you doing
there?" "Looking at inspection."
"But why are not your breakfast things washed, and
your kitchen swept ? Did I not tell you I wished you
to come up and learn your lessons ?"

112 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
" Yes, ma'am ; but I had to see inspection- first
Everybody looks at 'inspection' on Sunday."
I found it was in vain to expect to do more for
Louisa than give her an afternoon's lesson, and with
that I was obliged to content myself.
I felt that it would be very pleasant, and perhaps
profitable, for all the inmates of the garrison to assem
ble on this day; one of our number might be found
who would read a portion of the church-service, and a
sermon from one of our different selections. '
I approached the subject cautiously, with an inquiry
to this effect :
" Are there none among the officers who are reli
giously disposed ?"
" Oh, yes," replied the one whom I addressed, " there
is S  ; when he is half-tipsy, he takes his Bible and
'Newton's Works,' and goes to bed and cries over
them ; he thinks in this way he is excessively pious."
S  was among the officers who had never called
upon us ; it was fair to infer that if his rehgious prin
ciples did not correct his own evti habits, they would
not aid much in improving others ; therefore, it seemed
useless to caU in his co-operation in any scheme for a
better observance of the Lord's Day.
We had to content ourselves with writing to our
friends at the east to interest themselves in getting a
missionary sent to us, who should officiate as chaplain
in the garrison, a plan that seemed to find favor with

LOUISA — DAY-KAU-RAY ON EDUCATION. 113
the officers. The hope of any united religious services
was, for the present, laid aside.
The post-surgeon having obtained a furlough, his
place was supplied by Dr. NewhaU, of Galena, and
thus, by the addition of his gentle, quiet wife, our
circle of ladies was now enlarged to three. Here we
were, in a wUderness, but yet how contented and
happy! A gloom was soon to replace this envied tranqutility
in our home. A Frenchman, named Letendre, one
day suddenly presented himself. He had come from
Chicago, with the distressing inteUigence of the ex
treme, indeed hopeless tilness of our dear relative, Dr.
Wolcott. My husband immediately commenced his
preparations for instant departure. I begged to be
permitted to accompany him, but the rapidity with
which he proposed to journey obhged him to refuse
my entreaties. In a few hours his provisions, horses,
and all other things necessary for the journey were in
readiness, and he set off with Petatile Grignon, his
usual attendant on such expeditions, leaving Letendre
to follow as soon as recruited from his fatigue.
Sad and dreary were the hours- of his absence, not
withstanding the kind efforts of our friends to cheer
me. In a few days I received the news of the fatal
termination of Dr. W.'s tilness, brought by another
messenger. That noble heart, so full of warm and
kindly affections «had ceased to beat, and sad and deso-

114 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
late, indeed, were those who had so loved and honored
him. As soon as he could possibly leave his family, my
husband returned, and it was fortunate that he had
delayed no longer,' for the winter now began.to set in,
and with severity.
Our quarters were spacious, but having been con
structed of the green trees of the forest, cut down and
sawed into boards by the hands of the -soldiers, they
were considerably given to shrinking and warping,
thus leaving many a yawning crevice. Stuffing the
cracks with cotton batting, and pasting strips of paper
over them, formed the employment of many a leisure
hour. Then the chimneys, spite of all the currents of air,
which might have been expected to create a draught,
had a sad habit of smoking. To remedy this, a, couple
of gun-barrels had been sawed off and inserted in the
hearth, one on each side of the fire place, in the hope
that the air from the room below might help to carry
the smoke into its proper place, the chimney.
The next morning after this had been done, Louisa
was washing the hearth.
"Pray, ma'am," said she, "what are these things
put in here for ?"
I explained their use.
" Oh, I am so glad it is only that. Uncle Ephraim.
(Major Twiggs' servant) said they were to be fiUed

LOUISA — DAY-KAU-RAY ON EDUCATION. 115
with powder and fired off Christmas Day, and he was
terribly afraid they would blow the house up, and. we
in it."
Ephraim, who was a most faithful and valuable ser
vant, often amused himself with playing upon the cre
dulity of the younger portions of the colored fraternity.
" Is it true," asked Louisa, one day, " that Ptilon and
Plante were once prairie-wolves ?"
" Prairie-wolves !¦ what an idea ! Why do you ask
such a foolish question ?"
" Because uncle Ephraim says they, and all the
Frenchmen about here, were once prairie-wolves, and
that, living so near the white people, they grow, after
a time, to be like them, and learn to talk and dress
tike them. And then, when they get to be old, they
turn back into prairie- wolves again, and that all the
wolves that the officers bait with their dogs used to be
Frenchmen, once."
After a time, however, I ceased to straighten" out
these stories of uncle Ephraim, for I was gradually
arriving at the conviction that my httle colored damsel
was by no means so simple and unsophisticated as she
would have me believe, and that I was, after all, the
one who was imposed upon.
The snow this winter was prodigious, and the cold
intense. The water would freeze in our parlors at a
very short distance from the fire, for, although the
"fatigue parties " kept the haU filled with wood, almost

116 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
up to the ceiling, that did not counterbalance the in
convenience of having the wide doors thrown open to
the outer air for a great portion ofthe day, to allow of
their bringing it in. We Northerners should have
had wood-houses specially for the purpose, and not
only have kept our great haU-doors closed, but have
likewise protected them with a "hurricane house."
But the Florida frontier was not a station for our
southern bachelors to have acquired the knowledge
that would have been available when the thermometer
was twenty-five degrees below zero — at a point that
brandy congealed in the sideboard.
The arrival of Christmas and New Year's brought
us our Indian friends again. They had learned some
thing of the observation of these hotidays from their
French neighbors, and I had been forewarned that I
should see the squaws kissing every white man they
met. Although not crediting this to its full extent, I
could readily believe that they would each expect a
present, as a " compliment of the season," so I duly
prepared myself with a supply of beads, ribbons, combs,
and other trinkets. Knowing them to be fond of
dainties, I had also a quantity of crullers and dough
nuts made ready the day before, as a treat to them.
To my great surprise and annoyance, only a mode
rate share of the cakes, the frying of which had been
entrusted to Louisa, were brought up to be placed in
the " Davis."

LOUISA — DAU-KAU-RAY ON EDUCATION. 117
" Where are the rest ofthe cakes, Louisa?"
" That great fellow, Hancock, came in with the
fatigue party to fill the water-barrels, and whUe I had
just stepped into the store-room to get some more
flour, he carried off all I had got cooked."
And Louisa made a face and whined, as if she had not
herself treated every soldier who had set his foot in
the premises.
At an early hour the next morning I had quite a
levee of the Ho-tshung-rah matrons. They seated
themselves in a circle on the floor, and I was sorry to
observe that the apphcation of a httle soap and water
to their blankets had formed no part of their hohday
preparations. There being no one to interpret, I
thought I would begin the conversation in away intel
ligible to themselves, so I brought out of the sideboard
a china dish, filled with the nice brown crullers, over
which I had grated, according to custom, a goodly
quantity of white sugar. I handed it to the first of
the circle. She took the dish from my hand, and de
liberately pouring all the cakes into the comer of her
blanket, returned it to me empty. " She must be a
most voracious person," thought I, " but I wUl manage
better the next time." I refilled the dish, and ap
proached the next one, taking care to keep a fast hold
of it as I offered the contents, of which I supposed she
would modestly take one. Not so, however. She
scooped out the whole with her two hands, and, like

118 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
the former, bestowed them in her blanket. My sense
of politeness revolted at handing them out one by one,
as we do to children, so I sat down to deliberate what
was to be done, for evidently the supply would not
long answer such an ample demand, and there would
be more visitors anon.
Whtie I was thus perplexed .those who had received
the cakes commenced a distribution, and the whole
number was equitably divided among the company.
But I observed they did not eat them. They passed
their fingers over the grated sugar, looked in each
other's faces, and muttered in low tones — there was
evidently something they did not understand. Pre
sently one more adventurous than the rest wet her
fingers, and taking up a few grains of the sugar put it
cautiously to her mouth.
" Tah-nee-zhoo-rah !" (Sugar!) was her delighted
exclamation, and they all broke out into a hearty
laugh ; it is needless to say that the cakes disappeared
with all the celerity they deemed compatible with
good-breeding. Never having seen any sugar but the
brown or yellow maple, they had supposed the white
substance to be salt, and for that reason had hesitated
to taste it.
Their visit was prolonged until Shaw-nee-aw-kee
made his appearance, and then, having been made
happy by their various gifts, they all took their depar
ture.

LOUISA — DAY-KAU-RAY ON EDUCATION. 119
About this time, Mr. Kinzie received a letter from
Col. Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky.. This gentle
man had interested himself greatly in a school estab
lished in that State, for the education of Indian youths
and children. The purport of his letter was to re
quest the Agent to use every endeavor to induce the
Winnebagoes not only to send their children to this
institution for their education, but also (what was still
more important) to set apart a portion of their annuity
money, to assist in sustaining it.
There happened to be, at this holiday season, a num
ber of the chiefs in the neighborhood of the Portage,
and a messenger was sent to convene them all at the
house of Paquette, the interpreter, that their "father"
might hold a talk with them.
On the day appointed they all assembled. The sub
ject matter of the letter was laid before them, and all
the advantages of civilization and education duly set
forth — the benefits which would arise to their nation,
if even a small portion of the younger members could
be weU-taught by the whites, and then return to their
tribe, to instruct them in the learning, the arts, manu
factures, and habits of civilized life. To each para
graph, as it was uttered to them, they gave a -unanimous
"Humph!" (Good.)
When their "father's" address was ended, Day-
kau-ray, the oldest and most venerable among the
chiefs, rose and? spoke as follows: —

120 THE EARLY DAY iN THE NORTH-WEST.
"Father, — The Great Spirit made the white man
and the Indian. He did not make them alike. He
gave the white man a heart to love peace, and the arts
of a quiet life. He taught him to live in towns, to
butid houses, to make books, to learn aU things that
would make him happy and prosperous in the way of
life appointed him. To the red man the Great Spirit
gave a different character. He gave him a love ofthe
woods, of a free life, of hunting and fishing, of making
war with his enemies and taking scalps. The white
man does not live hke the Indian — it is not his nature.
Neither does the Indian love to live like the white
man — the Great Spirit did not make him so.
" Father, — We do not wish to do anything contrary
to the will of the Great Spirit. If he had made us
with white skins, and characters like the white men,
then we would send our chtidren to this school to be
taught like the white chtidren.
" Father,— We think that if the Great Spirit had
wished us to be like the whites, he would have made
us so. As he has not seen fit to do so, we believe he
would be displeased with us, to try and make our
selves different from what he thought good.
"Father, — I have nothing more to say. This is
what we think. If we change our minds, we will let
you know."
It wtil be seen from these remarks of Day-kau-ray,
that the Indians entertain a conviction that the Great

LOUISA — DAY-KAU-RAY ON EDUCATION. 121
Spirit himself teaches the white man the arts and
sciences, and since he has given the red man no instruc
tion in these branches, it would be unbecoming in him
to attempt to acquire them in an irregular manner.
With little incidents of this kind, and with an occa
sional dinner or tea-party to the young officers, some
times given at the Major's quarters, sometimes at our
own, our course of life passed pleasantly on. At times
I would amuse myself by making " something very
nice" in the form of a fruit cake or pie, to send to the
quarters of the young officers as a present, it being
supposed that possibly, without a lady1 to preside over
their mess, it might be sometimes deficient in these
delicacies. Mrs. Twiggs was so fortunate as to have
well-trained servants to do for her that which, thanks
to my little dark handmaid, always fell to my share.
One day I had made some mince pies, which the
major and my husband greatly approved, and I thought
I would send one to each of the young officers.
It happened that my husband, that day, in returning
from superintending his men on the other side of the
river, had occasion to caU on some errand at Captain
Harney's quarters.
Dinner had just been placed upon the table, and the
Captain insisted on his visitor's sitting down and par
taking with him, and another gentleman who was
present. The pork and beans were pronounced excel
lent, and being removed there foUowed a mince pie.
6

122 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
The Captain cut it, and helped his guests, then tak
ing a piece himself, he commenced tasting it. Pushing
back his plate with an exclamation and a sudden jerk,
he called to his servant, a httle thick-set mulatto who
waited — " David, you yellow rascal, how dare you put
such a pie on my table ?" And turning to the com
pany apologetically, he said —
" If there is anything on earth David does under
stand, it is how to make a mince pie, and here he has
filled this with brandy, so we cannot eat a morsel of
it!" " Please, sir," said David, modestly, "I did not make
the pie — it is one Mrs. Kinzie sent as a present."
The poor Captain was now in a predicament. He
raved at himself, at the same time conjuring my hus
band most earnestly not to tell me what a mistake he
had made — an injunction that was lost sight of as soon
as he returned to his home. As for the unlucky Cap
tain, he did not venture to caU on me again until he
felt sure I had forgotten the circumstance.

CHAPTER XII,
PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY.
Early in January the snow fell in great abundance.
We had an unusual quantity at the Portage, but in
"the diggings," as the lead-mining country was called,
it. was of an unheard-of depth — five or six feet upon a
level. An express had been dispatched to Chicago by the
officers to take our letters, and bring back the mail from
that place. A tough, hardy soldier, named Sulky,
acted as messenger, and he had hitherto made hght of
his burden or the length of the way, notwithstanding
that his task was performed on foot with his pack upon
his shoulders. But now Sulky had been absent some
weeks, and we had given him up entirely, persuaded
that he must have perished with cold and starvation.
< At length he appeared, nearly blind from travelling
in the snow. He had lain by three weeks in an Indian
lodge, the snow being too deep to permit him to jour
ney. The account he gave put an end to the hopes I
had begun to entertain of being able to visit our friends
at Chicago in the course of this winter.
We had, before the last heavy fall of snow, been
CI28)

124 THE EARLY DAY IN xHE NORTH-WEST.
forming plans to that effect. Captain Harney had
kindly commenced preparing some trains, or boxes
placed on sledges, which it was thought would, when
lined with buffalo skins, furnish a very comfortable
kind of vehicle for the journey ; and I was still inclined
to think a good, deep bed of snow over the whole coun
try no great obstacle to a sleigh-ride. The whole mat
ter was, however, cut short by the commandihg officer,
who from the first had violently opposed the scheme;
declaring that he would order the sentinels to fire on
us if we attempted to leave the fort. So, finding the
majority against us, we were obhged to yield.
The arrival of sweet, lovely, tittle Lizzie Twiggs,
before January was quite past, was an event that shed
light and joy in at least two dwellings. It seemed as if
she belonged to aU of us, and as she increased in size
and beauty, it was hard to say who, among us aU, was
most proud of her. If we had ever felt any languid
hours before, we could have none now — she was the
pet, the darting, the joint-property of both households.

Whatever regret I might have had previous to this
event, at the idea of leaving my friend for the three
weeks to which we proposed to limit our visit to Chi
cago, I felt now that, she would scarcely miss me, and
that we might hold ourselves in readiness to take ad
vantage of the first improvement in the weather, to put
this favorite project in execution.

PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY. 125
During the latter part of February the cold became
less severe. The snows melted away, and by the be
ginning of March the weather was so warm and genial,
that we were quite confident of being able to make
the journey on horseback without any serious diffi
culty. Our plans once settled upon, the first thing to be
provided was warm and comfortable apparel. A riding-
habit of stout broadcloth was pronounced indispensa
ble to my equipment. But of such an article I was
destitute. Nothing among my wedding traveUing gear .
seemed in any way to offer a substitute. What was to
be done? The requisite material was to be found in
abundance at the sutler's store (the shantee as it was
technically termed), but how to get it manufactured
into a suitable garment was the question.
The regimental tailor was summoned. He was cook
to one of the companies, and there were at first some
doubts whether he could be permitted to forsake the
spit for the needle, during the time I should require
his services. All his tailoring-work had, heretofore,
been done at odd times on a bench in the company
kitchen, and thither he now proposed to carry the
riding-habit. I suggested that, in order to superintend
the work, I should thus be driven to take up my abode
for the time being in the barracks, which would be a
decided inconvenience.
To remedy the difficulty, he was finally so happy as

126 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
to find a soldier in "Company D," who consented to
officiate in his place as cook until his term of service
to me should expire.
Behold, then, a httle, solemn-looking man in his stock
ing feet, seated cross-legged on an Indian mat by my
parlor window. He had made all his arrangements him
self, and I deemed it wisest not to interfere with him.
The cutting-out was the most difficult part, and as he
had never made a lady's riding-habit, that task fell to
my share. I was as great a novice as himself, and I
must admit that this, my first effort, was open to criti
cism. But the httle taUbr was of a different opinion.
He was in an ecstasy with our joint performance.
"Upon my word, madam," he would exclaim, sur
veying it with admiring eyes, " we shall have a very
respectable garment!" I do not know how many times
he repeated this during the three days that the work
was in progress.
' I believe he had not perfect confidence in the culi
nary powers of his comrade of "Company D," for
regularly a half-hour before beat of drum, his work
was folded and laid aside, his snips gathered up, and
ati things being restored to order, he would shp out,
resume his shoes, which, Turk-like, he had left outside
the door, and speed over to the barrack-kitchen to see
how matters were going on.
In the meantime, great preparations were making
below, under the supervision of our tidy, active, tittle

PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY. 127
French servant, Mrs. Ptilon, the wife of one ,of the
engages, by whom the irregular and unmanageable
Louisa had been replaced.
Biscuits were baked, a ham, some tongues, and
sundry pieces of salt-pork were botied, coffee roasted
and ground, sugar cracked, isinglass cut in pieces of
the size requisite for a pot of coffee. For the reception
of all these different articles cotton bags of different
sizes had been previously prepared. Large sacks df
skin, called by the Oanadians^orc/ies, were also provided
to hold the more bulky provisions, for our journey was
to be a long one.
The distance from Fort Winnebago to Chicago was
not very formidable, it is true, if the direct route were
taken, but that we knew to be impossible at this season
of the year. The route by Kosh-ko-nong was out of
the question ; all the Indians being absent from their
viUages in the winter, and the ice being now gone, we
could have no means of crossing the Rock River at
that place.
There remained therefore no alternative but to pro
ceed south to Dixon, or, as it was then called, Ogie's
Ferry, the only certain means of crossing this broad and
rapid stream. This route being so much out of our
direct course that we could not hope to accomplish it
in less than six days, it was necessary to prepare
accordingly. While the wardrobe and provisions were thus in pre-

128 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
paration, arrangements were also to be made as to our
retinue and mode of conveyance.
Mr. Kinzie decided to take with him but two men :
Plante and Pierre Roy. The former to act as guide, on.
the assurance that he knew every mile of the way, from
the Portage to Ogie's Ferry, and from Ogie's Ferry to
Chicago. The claims of the different saddle-horses were dis
cussed, and the most eligible one selected for my use.
We hesitated for a time between "Le Gris" and
"Souris," two much-vaunted animals, belonging to
Paquette, the interpreter. At length being deter
mined, hke most of my sex, by a regard for exterior,
I chose "Le Gris," and " Souris" was assigned to young
Roy ; my own httle stumpy pony, " Brunet," being pro
nounced just the thing for a pack-saddle. My husband
rode his own bay horse " Tom," while Plante, the gayest
and proudest of the party, bestrode a fine, large animal
called "Jerry," which had lately been purchased for my
use, and thus was our cortege complete.

CHAPTER XIII.
DEPARTURE FROM FORT WINNEBAGO.
Having taken a tender leave of our friends, the
morning of the 8th of March saw us mounted and
equipped for our journey. The weather was fine — the
streams, already fringed with green, were sparkling in
the sun — everything gave promise of an early and
genial season. In vain, when we reached the ferry at
the foot of the hill on which the fort stood, did Major
Twiggs repeat his endeavors to dissuade us from com
mencing a journey which he assured me would be
perilous beyond what I could anticipate. I was reso
lute. Our party was augmented by an escort of all the
young officers, who politely insisted on accompanying
us as far as Duck Creek, four miles distant. Indeed,
there were some who would gladly have prosecuted
the whole journey with us, and escaped the monotony
of their sohtary, uneventful life. In our rear followed
an ox-cart, on which was perched a canoe, destined to
transport* us over the creek, and also an extensive
marsh beyond it, which was invariably, at this season,
overflowed with water to a considerable depth. We
6* fl29)

130 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
had much amusement in watching the progress of this
vehicle as it bumped and thumped over the road, un
conscious hitherto of the dignity of a wheeled carriage.
Our little shock -headed, sun -burnt, thick-lipped
Canadian (who happened most miraculously to be the
husband of my pretty servant, Mrs. Ptilon), shouted
vociferously as the animals lagged in their pace, or
jolted against a stump, " Mar -chez, don-g" "regardez,"
" prenez-garde," to our infinite diversion. I was in
high spirits, foreseeing no hardships or dangers, but
rather imagining myself embarked on a pleasure excur
sion across the prairies. It had not even suggested
itself to me that a straw bonnet and kid gloves were
no suitable equipment for such an expedition. Never
having travelled at so inclement a season, I was heed
lessly ignorant of the mode of preparing against it,
and had resisted or laughed at my husband's sugges
tions to provide myself with blanket socks, and a wool- ,
len capuchon for my head and shoulders. And now,
although the wind occasionally lifted my headgear
with a rude puff, and my hands ere long became swol
len and stiffened with the cold, I persuaded myself
that these were trifling evils, to which I should soon
get accustomed. I was too well pleased with the nov
elty of my outfit, with my hunting-knife in a gay
scabbard "hanging from my neck, and my tin cup at
my saddle-bow, to regard minor inconveniences.
On reaching Duck Creek, we took leave of our young

DEPARTURE FROM FORT WINNEBAGO. 131
friends, who remained on the bank long enough to wit
ness our passage across — ourselves in the canoe, and
the poor horses swimming the stream, now filled with
cakes of floating ice.
Beyond the rising ground which formed the oppo
site bank of the stream, extended a marsh of perhaps
three hundred yards across. To this the men carried
the canoe which was to bear us over. The water was
not deep, so our attendants merely took off the pack
from Brunet and my side-saddle from Le Gris, for
fear of accidents, and then mounted their own steeds,
leading the two extra ones. My husband placed the
furniture of the pack-horse and my saddle in the centre
ofthe canoe, which he was to paddle across.
" Now, wifie," said he, "jump in, and seat yourself
flat in the bottom of the canoe:"
"Oh, no," said I ; "I will sit on the little trunk in
the centre ; I shall be so much more comfortable, and
. I can balance the canoe exactly."
" As you please, but I think you will find it is not
the best way."
A vigorous push sent us a few feet from the bank.
At that instant two favorite greyhounds whom we had
brought with us, and who had stood whining upon the
bank, reluctant to take to the water as they were
ordered, gave a sudden bound, and alighted full upon
me. The canoe balanced a moment — then yielded —

132 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
and, quick as thought, dogs, furniture, and lady were
in the deepest of the water.
My husband, who was just preparing to spring into
the canoe when the dogs thus unceremoniously took
precedence of him, was at my side in a moment, and
seizing me by the collar of my cloak; begged me not to
be frightened. I was not, in the least, and only laugh
ed as he raised and placed me again upon the bank.
The unfortunate saddle and little trunk were then
rescued, but not Until they had received a pretty tho
rough wetting. Our merriment was still further in
creased by the sight of the maladroit Ptilon, who was
attempting to ride my spirited Jerry across the marsh.
He was clinging to the neck of the animal, with a
countenance distorted with terror, as he shouted forth
all manner of French objurgations. Jerry pranced and
curvetted, and finally shot forward his rider, or rather
his burden, headforemost, a distance of several feet
into the water.
A general outcry of mirth saluted the unfortunate
Frenchman, which was redoubled as he raised himself
puffing and snorting from his watery bed, and waddled
back to his starting-place, the horse, meanwhile, very
sensibly making his way to join his companions, who
had already reached the further bank.
"WeU, wifie," said Mr. Kinzie, "I cannot trust you
in the canoe again. There is no way but to carry you

DEPARTURE FROM FORT WINNEBAGO. 133
across the marsh like a papppose. Will you take a
ride on my shoulders ?"
" With all my heart, if you wiU promise to take me
safely " — and I was soon mounted.
I must confess that the gentleman staggered now and
then under his burden, which was no shght one, and I
was sadly afraid, more than once, that I should meet a
similar fate to old Ptilon, but happily we reached the
other side in safety.
There my husband insisted on my putting on dry
shoes and stockings, and (must I confess it) drinking a
tittle brandy, to obviate the effects of my icy bath. He
would fain have made a halt to kindle a fire and dry
my apparel and wardrobe properly, but this I would
not listen to. I endeavored to prove to him that the
delay would expose me to more cold than riding in my
wet habit and cloak, and so indeed it might have been,
but along with my convictions upon the subject there
was mingled a spice of reluctance that our friends at
the fort should have an opportunity, as they certainly
would have done, of laughing at our inauspicious com
mencement. Soon our horses were put in order, and our march
recommenced. The day was fine for the season. I
felt no inconvenience from my wet garments, the exer
cise of riding taking away all feeling of chilliness. It
was to me a new mode of travelling, and I enjoyed it
the more from having been secluded for more than

134 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
five months within the walls of the fort, scarcely vary
ing the tenor of our hves by an occasional walk of
half a mile into the surrounding woods.
We had still another detention upon the road, from
meeting Lapierre, the blacksmith, from Sugar Creek,
who with one of his associates was going into the Por
tage for supphes, so that we had not traveUed more
than twenty-three miles when we came to our proposed
encamping ground. It was upon a beautiful stream, a
tributary of one of the Four Lakes,* that chain whose
banks are unrivalled for romantic loveliness.
I could not but admire the sagacity of the horses,
who seemed, with human inteUigence, to divine our
approach to. the spot where their totis were to cease.
While still remote. from the "point of woods" which
foretold a halt, they pricked up their ears, accelerated
their pace, and finally arrived at the spot on a full
gallop. We alighted at an open space, just within the verge
of the wood, or, as it is called by western traveUers,
"the timber." My husband recommended to me to
walk about until a fire should be made, which was
soon accomplished by our active and experienced
woodsmen, to whom the felling of a large tree was the
work of a very few minutes. The dry grass around
furnished an excellent tinder, which soon ignited by
* Between two of these lakes is now situated the town of Madi
son—the capital of the State of Wisconsin.

DEPARTURE FROM FORT WINNEBAGO. 135
the sparks from the flint (there were no loco-focos in
those days), and aided by the broken branches and bits
of light-wood, soon produced a cheering flame. " The
bourgeois," in the meantime, busied himself in setting
up the tent, taking care to place it opposite the fire,
but in such a direction that the wind would carry the
smoke and flame away from the opening or door.
Within upon the ground were spread, first a bearskin,
then two or three blankets (of which each equestrian
had carried two, one under the saddle and one above
it), after which, the remainder of the luggage being
brought in, I was able to divest myself of all my wet
clothing and replace it with dry. Some idea of the
state of the thermometer may be formed from the fact
that my riding-habit, being placed over the end of the
huge log against which our fire was made, was, in a
very few minutes, frozen so stiff as to stand upright,
giving the appearance of a dress out of which a lady
had vanished in some unaccountable manner.
It would be but a repetition of our experience upon
the Fox River to describe the ham broUed upon the
" broches," the toasted bread, the steaming coffee — the
primitive table furniture. There is, however, this dif
ference, that of the latter we carry with us in our jour
neys on horseback only a coffeepot, a teakettle, and
each rider his tin cup and hunting-knife. The deport
ment at table is marked by an absence of ceremony.
The knife is drawn from the scabbard — -those who

136 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
remember to do so, vouchsafe it a wipe upon the nap
kin. Its first office is to stir the cup of coffee— next
to divide the piece of ham which is placed on the half
of a travelling biscuit, which is held in the left hand,
and fulfils the office of a plate. It is an art only to be
acquired by long practice, to cut the meat so skilfully
as not at the same to destroy the dish.
We take our places around the mat to enjoy what,
after our fatiguing ride, we find delicious food. The
Frenchmen are seated at a httle distance, receiving
their supplies of coffee, meat, and bread, and occasion
ally passing jokes with " the bourgeois," who is their
demigod, and for whom^ their respect and devotion are
never lessened by any affability or condescension.
The meal being finished, the table furniture is rinsed
in hot water and set aside until morning. A wisp of
dry prairie-grass is supposed, in most cases, to render
the knife fit to be restored to the scabbard, and there
being, at this season of the year, no amusement but
that of watching the awkward movements of the span-
celled horses, in their progress from spot to spot in
search of pasturage, we are usually soon disposed to
arrange our blankets and retire to rest.
At break of day we are aroused by the shout of
"the bourgeois,"
"How! how! how!"
All start from their slumbers. The fire which has
been occasionally replenished through the night, is soon

DEPARTURE FROM FORT WINNEBAGO. 137
kindled into a flame. The horses are caught and sad
dled, while a breakfast, similar in kind to the meal of
the preceding evening is preparing — the tent is struck
— the pack-horse loaded — " tout demancM," as the Ca
nadian says. The breakfast finished, we rinse our
kettles and cups, tie them to our saddle bows, and then
mount and away, leaving our fire, or rather our smoke,
to tell of our visit.
March 9th. Our journey this day led us past the
first of the Four Lakes. Scattered along its banks was
an encampment of Winnebagoes. They greeted their
"father" with vociferous joy: — " Bon-jour, bon-jour,
Shaw-nee-aw-kee." " Hee-nee-karray-kay-noof" (how do
you do ?) To this succeeded the usual announcement,
" Wys-kap-rah tshoonsh-koo-nee-no!" (I have no
bread.) This is their form of begging, but we could not
afford to be generous, for the uncertainty of obtaining
a supply, should our own be exhausted, obliged us to
observe the strictest economy.
How beautiful the encampment looked in the morn
ing sun! The matted lodges, with the blue smoke
curling from their tops — the trees and bushes powdered
with a hght snow which had fallen through the night, —
the lake, shining and sparkling, almost at our feet —
even the Indians, in their peculiar costume, adding to
the picturesque !
I was sorry to leave it, as we were compelled to do,

138 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
in all haste, Souris, the pack-horse, having taken it
into his head to decamp while we were in conversation
with our red friends. As he had, very sensibly, con
cluded to pursue his" journey in the right direction,
we had the good fortune to overtake him after a short
race, and having received much scolding and some
blows from young Roy, whose charge he specially was,
he was placed in the middle of the cavalcade, as a
mark of disgrace for his breach of duty.
Our road, after leaving the lake, lay over a " rolling
prairie," now bare and desolate enough. The hollows
were filled with snow, which, being partly thawed,
furnished an uncertain footing for the horses, and I
could not but join in the ringing laughter of our
Frenchmen, as occasionaUy Brunet and Souris, the two
ponies, would flounder, almost imbedded, through the
yielding mass. Even the vain-glorious Plante, who
piqued himself on his equestrian skUl, was once or
twice nearly unhorsed, from having chosen his road
badly. Sometimes the elevations were covered with a
thicket or copse, in which our dogs would generally
rouse up one or more deer. Their first bound, or
" lope," was the signal for a chase. The horses seemed
to enter into the spirit of it, as "halloo" answered
"halloo;" but we were never so fortunate as to get a
shot at one, for although the dogs once or twice caught,
they were not strong enough to hold them. It was
about the middle of the afternoon when we reached the

DEPARTURE FROM FORT WINNEBAGO. 139
" Blue Mound." ,. I rejoiced much to have got so far,
for I was sadly fatigued, and every mile now seemed
two to me. In fact, the miles are unconscionably long
in this country. When I was told that we had still
seven mties to go, to "Morrison's," where we proposed
stopping for the night, I was almost in despair. It was
my first journey on horseback, and I had not yet
become inured to the exercise.
When we reached Morrison's I was so much ex
hausted that, as my husband attempted to lift me from
the saddle, I fell into his arms.
"This will never do," said he. "To-morrow we
must turn our faces towards Fort Winnebago again."
The door opened hospitably to receive us. We were
welcomed by a lady with a most sweet, benignant coun
tenance, and by her companion, some years younger.
The first was Mrs. Morrison — the other; Miss Elizabeth
Dodge, daughter of General Dodge.
My husband laid me upon a smaU bed, in the room
where the ladies had been sitting at work. They took
off my bonnet and riding-dress, chafed my hands, and •
prepared me some warm wine and water, by which I
was soon revived. A half hour's repose so refreshed me
that I was able to converse with the ladies, and to re
lieve my husband's mind of all anxiety on my account.
Tea was announced soon after, and we repaired to an
adjoining building, for Morrison's, like the establish
ment of all settlers of that period, consisted of a group

140 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
of detached log-houses or cabins, each containing one
or at most two apartments.
The table groaned with good cheer, and brought to
mind some .that I had seen among the old-fashioned
Dutch residents on the banks of the Hudson.
I had recovered my spirits, and we were quite a
cheerful party. Mrs. Morrison told us that during the
first eighteen months ' she passed in this country she
did not speak with a white woman, the only society
she had being that of her husband and two black serv
ant-women. A Tennessee woman had called in with her tittle
son just before tea, and we amused Mr. Kinzie with a
description of the pair. The mother's visit was simply
one of courtesy. She was a little dutopy woman, with
a complexion burned perfectly red by the sun — hair of
an exact tow-color, braided up from her forehead in
front and from her neck behind, then meeting on the
top of her head, was fastened with a small tin comb.
Her dress was of checkered homespun, a " very tight
• fit," and as she wore no ruff or handkerchief around
her neck, she looked as if just prepared for execution.
She was evidently awe:struck at the sight of visitors,
and seemed inclined to take her departure at once; but
the boy, not so easily intimidated, would not understand ¦,
her signs and pinches until he had sidled up to Mrs.
Morrison, and drawing his old hat still farther over
his eyes, begged for a whang, meaning a narrow strip

DEPARTURE FROM FORT WINNEBAGO. 141
of deer-skin. The lady very obligingly cut one from
a large smoked skin, which she produced from its
receptacle, and mother and son took their leave, with
a smiting but rather a scared look.
After tea we returned to Mrs. Morrison's parlor,
where she kindly insisted on my again reposing my-
«
self on the tittle bed, to recruit me, as she said, for the
ensuing day's journey. My husband, in the meantime,
went to look after the accommodation of his men and
horses. During the conversation that ensued, I learned that
Mrs. Morrison had passed much time in the neigh
borhood of my recent home in Oneida county — that
many of the friends I had loved and valued were hke
wise her friends, and that she had even proposed to
visit me at Fort Winnebago on hearing of my arrival
there, in order to commence an acquaintance which
had thus been brought about by other and unexpected
means. Long and pleasant was the discourse we held to
gether until a late hour, and mutual was the satisfac
tion with which we passed old friends and by-gone
events in review, much to the edification of MissDodge,
and of the gentlemen when they once more joined us.

CHAPTER XIV.
WILLLAM S. HAMILTON — KELLOGG'S
GROVE.
The next morning, after a cheerful breakfast, at
which we were joined by the Rev. Mr. Kent, of Galena,
we prepared for our journey. I had reconciled my
husband to continuing our route towards Chicago, by
assuring' him that I felt as fresh and bright as when I
first set out from home.
There seemed some apprehension, however, that we
might have difficulty in "striking the trail" to Hamil
ton's diggings, our next point of destination.
The directions we received were certainly obscure.
We were to pursue a given trail for a certain number
of mties, when we should come to a crossing info which
we were to turn, taking an easterly direction — after a
time, this would bring us to a deep trail leading straight
to " Hamilton's." In this open country there are no
landmarks. One elevation is so exactly like another,
that if you lose your trail there is almost as tittle hope
of regaining it as of finding a pathway in the midst of
the ocean*
* I speak, it will be understood, of things as they existed a
quarter of a century ago.

W. S. HAMILTON. — KELLOGG'S GROVE. 14-3
The trail, it must be remembered, is not a broad
highway, but a narrow path, deeply indented by the
hoofs of the horses on which the Indians travel in
single file. So deeply is it sunk in the sod which
covers the prairies, that it is difficult, sometimes, to
distinguish it at a distance of a few rods.
It was new ground to Mr. Kinzie, whose journeys
from the Portage to Chicago had hitherto been made
in the direct route by Kosh-ko-nong. He therefore
obliged Mr. Morrison to repeat the directions again and
again, though Plante, our guide, swaggered and talked
big, averring that " he knew every htil and stream,
and point of woods from that spot to Chicago."
We had not proceeded many miles on our journey,
however, before we discovered that Monsieur Plante
was profoundly ignorant of the country, so that Mr.
Kinzie was obliged to take the lead himself, and make
his way as he was best able, according to the directions
he had received. Nothing, however, hke the " cross
trails" we had been promised met our view, and the
path on which we had set out diverged so much from
what we knew to be the right direction, that we were
at length compelled to abandon it altogether.
We travelled the live-long day, barely making a
halt at noon to bait our horses, and refresh ourselves
with a luncheon. The ride was as gloomy and deso
late as could well be imagined. A rolling prairie,
unvaried by forest or stream — htilock rising after hil-

144 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
lock, at every ascent of which we vainly hoped to see
a distant fringe of " timber'' But the same cheerless,
unbounded prospect everywhere met the eye, diversi
fied only here and there by the oblong openings, like
gigantic graves, which marked an unsuccessful search
for indications of a lead mine.
So great was our anxiety to recover our traU, for
the weather was growing more cold, and the wind
more sharp and piercing, that we were not tempted to
turn from our course even by the appearance, more" than
once, of a gaunt prairie-wolf, peering over the nearest
rising-ground, and seeming to dare us to an encounter.
The Frenchmen, it is true, would instinctively give a
shout and spur on their horses, whtie the hounds, Kelda
and Cora would rush to the chase, but the " bour
geois" soon called them back, with a warning that we
must attend strictly to the prosecution of our journey.
Just before sunset we crossed, with some difficulty, a
muddy stream, which was bordered by a scanty belt of
trees, making a tolerable encamping-ground ; and of
this we gladly availed ourselves, although we knew
not whether it was near or remote from the place we
were in search of.
We had ridden at least fifty mties since leaving
"Morrison's," yet I was sensible of very httle fatigue;
but there was a vague feeling of discomfort at the idea
of being lost in this wild, cold region, altogether differ
ent from anything I had ever before experienced. The

W. S. HAMILTON. — KELLOGG'S GROVE. 145
encouraging tones of my husband's voice, however,
" Cheer up, wifie — we wtil find the trail to-morrow,"
served to dissipate all uneasiness.
The exertions of the men soon made our " camp"
comfortable, notwithstanding the difficulty of driving
the tent-pins into the frozen ground, and the want of
trees sufficiently large to make a rousing fire. The
place was a stony side-hill, as it would be called in New
England, where such things abound ; but we were not
disposed to be fastidious, so we ate our salt ham and
toasted our bread, and lent a pleased ear to the chatter
of our Frenchmen, who could not sufficiently admire
the heroism of " Madame John," amid the vicissitudes
that befel her.
The wind, which at bed-time was sufficiently high
to be uncomfortable, increased during the night. It
snowed heavily, and we were every moment in dread
that the tent would be carried away; but the matter
was settled in. the midst by the snapping of the poles,
and the falling of the whole, with its superincumbent
weight of snow, in a mass upon us.
Mr. Kinzie roused up his men, and at their head he
sallied into the neighboring wood to cut a new set of
' poles, leaving me to bear the burden of the whole upon
my shoulders, my only safety from the storm being to
keep snugly housed beneath the canvas.
With some difficulty a sort of support was at length
adjusted for the tent covering, which answered our
7

146 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
purpose tolerably well until the break of day, when
our damp and miserable condition made us very glad
to rise and hang round the fire until breakfast was
dispatched, and the horses once more saddled for our
journey. The prospect was not an encouraging one. Around
us was an unbroken sheet of snow. We had no com
pass, and the air was so obscured by the driving sleet,
that it was often impossible to tell in which direction
the sun was. I tied my husband's silk pocket hand
kerchief over my veU, to protect my face from the
wind and icy particles with which the air was filled,
and which cut like a razor; but although shielded in
every way that circumstances rendered possible, I suf
fered intensely from the cold.
We pursued our way, mile after mile, entering every
point of woods, in hopes of meeting with, at least, some
Indian wigwam at which we could gain intelligence.
Every spot was solitary and deserted, not even the
trace of a recent fire, to cheer us with the hope of
human beings within mUes of us.
Suddenly, a shout from the foremost of the party
made each heart bound with joy.
" Une cloture! une cloture!" — (a fence, a fence).
It was almost like life to the dead.
We spurred on, and indeed perceived a few strag
gling rails crowning a rising ground at no great dis
tance.

W. S. HAMILTON. — KELLOGG'S GROVE. 147
Never did music sound so sweet as the crowing of
a cock which at this moment saluted our ears.
Following the course of the inclosure down the oppo
site slope, we came upon a group of log-cabins, low,
shabby, and unpromising in their appearance, but a
most welcome shelter from the pelting storm.
1 Whose cabins are these?" asked Mr. Kinzie, of a
man who was cutting wood at the door of one.
" Hamilton's," was the reply ; and he stepped for
ward at once to assist us to alight, hospitality being a
matter of course in these wild regions.
We were shown into the most comfortable-looking
of the buildings. A large fire was burning in the clay
chimney, and the room was of a - genial warmth, not
withstanding the apertures, many inches in width, be
side the doors and windows. A woman in a tidy
calico dress, and shabby black silk cap, trimmed with
still shabbier lace, rose from her seat beside a sort of
bread-trough, which fulfiUed the office of cradle to a
fine, fat baby. She made room for us at the fire, but
was either too timid or too ignorant to relieve me
of my wrappings and defences, now heavy with the
snow. I soon contrived, with my husband's aid, to disem
barrass myself of them ; and having seen me comfort
ably disposed of, and in a fair way to be thawed after
my freezing ride, he left me to see after his men and
horses.

148 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
He was a long time absent, and I expected he would
return, accompanied by our host ; but when he reappear
ed, it was to tell me, laughing, that Mr. Hamilton hes
itated to present himself before me, being unwilling
that one who had been acquainted with some of his
family at the east, should see him in his present mode
of life. However, this feeling apparently wore off, for
before dinner he came in and was introduced to me,
and was as agreeable and polite as the son of Alex
ander Hamilton would naturally be.
The housekeeper, Who was the wife of one of the
miners, prepared us a plain, comfortable dinner, and a
table as long as the dimensions of the cabin would ad
mit was set out, the end nearest the fire being covered
with somewhat nicer furniture and more delicate fare
than the remaining portion.
The blowing of a horn was the signal for the en
trance of ten or twelve miners, who took their places
below us at the table. They were the roughest-looking
set of men I ever beheld, and their language was as
uncouth as their persons. They wore hunting-shirts,
trowsers,, and moccasins of deerskin, the former being
ornamented at the seams with a fringe of the same,
whUe a colored belt around the waist, in which was
stuck a large hunting-knife, gave each the appearance
of a brigand.
Mr. Hamilton, although so much their superior, was
addressed by them uniformly as "Uncle Billy;" and

W. S. HAMILTON. — KELLOGG'S GROVE. 149
I could not but fancy there was something desperate
about them, that it was necessary to propitiate by this
familiarity. This feeling was further confirmed by the
remarks of one of the company who lingered behind,
after the rest of the gang had taken their departure.
He had learned that we came from Fort Winnebago,
and having informed us that " he was a discharged
soldier, and would like to make some inquiries about
his old station and comrades," he unceremoniously
seated himself and commenced questioning us.
The bitterness with which he spoke of his former
officers made me quite sure he 'was a deserter, and I
rather thought he had made his escape from the service
in consequence of some punishment. His countenance
was fairly distorted as he spoke of Captain H, to whose
company he. had belonged. "There is a man in the
mines," said he, "who has been in his hands, and if
he ever gets a chance to come within shot of him, I
guess the Captain wtil, remember it. He knows well
enough he darsn't set his foot in the diggings. And
there's T. is not much better. Everybody thought it
a great "pity that feUow's gun snapped when he so
nearly had him at Green Bay."
Having delivered himself of these sentiments, he
marched out, to my great relief.
Mr. Hamilton passed most of the afternoon with us ;
for the storm raged so without that to proceed on our
journey was out of the question. He gave us many

150 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
pleasant anecdotes and reminiscences of his. early life
in New York, and of his adventures since he had come
to the western wilderness. When obliged to leave us
for a. while, he furnished us with some books to enter
tain us, the most interesting of which was the biogra
phy of his father.
Could this illustrious man have foreseen in what a
scene — the dwelling of his son — this book was to be
one day perused, what would have been his sen
sations ?
The most amusing part of our experience was yet to
come. I had been speculating, as evening approached,
on our prospects for the night's accommodation. As
our pale, melancholy-looking landlady and her fat baby
were evidently the only specimens of the feminine gen
der about the establishment, it was hardly reasonable,
to suppose that any of the other cabins contained
wherewithal to furnish us a comfortable lodging, and
the one in which we were offered nothing of the sort
to view, but two beds, uncurtained, extended against
the farther wall. My doubts were after a time resolved,
by observing the hostess stretch a cord between the
two, on which she hung some petticoats and extra gar
ments, by way of a partition, after which she invited
us to occupy one of them.
My only preparation was, to wrap my cloak around
me and tie down with my face to the wall ; but the
good people were less ceremonious, for at the distance

W. S. HAMILTON. — KELLOGG'S GROVE. 151
of scarcely two feet, we could not be mistaken in the
sound of their garments being, not " laid aside," but
whipped over the partition wall between us.
Our waking thoughts, however, were only those of
thankfulness for so comfortable a lodging after the
trials and fatigues we had undergone ; and even these
were of short duration, for our eyes were soon closed
in slumber.
The next day's sun rose clear and bright. Refreshed
and invigorated, we looked forward with pleasure to a
recommencement of our journey, confident of meeting
no more mishaps by the way. Mr. Hamilton kindly
offered to accompany us to his next neighbor's, the
trifling distance of twenty-five mties. From KeUogg's
to Ogie's Ferry, on the Rock River, the road being
much travelled, we should be in no danger, Mr. H.
said, of again losing our way.
The miner who owned the wife and baby, and who,
consequently, was somewhat more humanized than his
comrades, in taking leave of us " wished us well out
of the country, and that we might never have occasion
to return to it I"
" I pity a body," said he, " when I see them making
such an awful mistake as to come out this way, for
comfort never touched this western country."
We found Mr. Hamilton as agreeable a companion
as on the preceding day, but a most desperate rider.
He galloped on at such a rate that had I not exchanged

152 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
my pony for the fine, noble Jerry, I should have been
in danger of being left behind.
Well mounted as we all were, he sometimes nearly
distanced us. We were now among the branches of
the Pickatonick, and the country had lost its prairie
character, and become more rough and broken. We
went dashing on, sometimes down ravines, sometimes
through narrow passes, where, as I followed, I left
fragments of my veil upon the projecting and inter
woven branches. Once my hat became entangled, and
had not my husband sprung to my rescue, I must have
shared the fate of Absalom, Jerry's ambition to keep
his place in the race making it probable he would do
as did the mule who was under the unfortunate prince.
There was no halting upon the route, and as we kept
the same pace until three o'clock in the afternoon, it
was beyond a question that when we reached " Kel-
logg's," we had travelled at least thirty mUes. One
of my greatest annoyances during the ride had been
the behavior of the little 'beast Brunei. He had been
hitherto used as a saddle-horse, and had been accus
tomed to a station in the file near the guide or leader.
He did not relish being put in the background as a
pack-horse, and accordingly, whenever we approached
a stream, where the file broke up to permit each horse
man to choose his own place of fording, it was invari
ably the case that just as I was reining Jerry into. the
water, Brunei would come rushing past and throw

W. S. HAMILTON. — KELLOGG'G GROVE. 153
himself into our very footsteps. Plunging, snorting,
and splashing me with water, and sometimes even
startling Jerry into a leap aside, he more than once
brought me into imminent danger of being tossed into
the stream. It was in vain that, after one or two such
adventures, I learned to hold back and give the vexa
tious little animal the precedence. His passion seemed
to be to go into the water precisely at the moment
Jerry did, and I was obhged at last to make a bargain
with young Roy to dismount and hold him at every
stream until I had got safely across.
" KeUogg's"* was a comfortable mansion, just with
in the verge of a pleasant " grove of timber," as a smati
forest is caUed by western traveUers. We found Mrs.
KeUogg a very respectabkvlooking matron, who soon
informed us she was from the city of New York. She
appeared proud and delighted to entertain Mr. Hamil
ton, for whose family, she took occasion to tell us, she
had, in former days, been in the habit of doing needle
work. The worthy woman provided us an excellent dinner,
and afterwards installed me in a rocking-chair beside a
large fire, with the " Life of Mrs. Fletcher" to enter
tain me, whtie the gentlemen explored the premises,
visited Mr. KeUogg's " stock," and took a careful look
at their own. We had intended to go to Dixon's the
* It was at this spot that the unfortunate St. Vrain lost his life,
during the Sauk war, in 1832.
7*

154 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
same afternoon, but the snow beginning again to faU,
obliged us to content ourselves where we were.
In the meantime, finding we were journeying to
Chicago, Mr. Kellogg came to the determination to ac
company us, havingj as he said, some business to ac
complish at that place, so Mrs. Kellogg busied herself
in preparing him to set off with us the following
morning. I pleaded hard to remain yet another day,
as the following was Sunday, on which I objected to
travel ; but in view of the necessities of the case, the
uncertainty of the weather, and the importance of get
ting as quickly as possible through this wild country,
my objections were overruled, and I could only obtain a
delay in starting until so late in the afternoon, as would
give us just time to ride the sixteen miles to " Dixon's"
before sunset.
No great time was required for Mr. KeUogg's pre
parations. He would take, he said, only two days'
provisions, for at his brother-in-law Dixon's we should
get our supper and breakfast, and the route from there
to Chicago could, he well knew, be accomplished in a
day and a half.
Although, according to this calculation, we had suf
ficient remaining of our stores to carry us to the end
of our journey, yet Mr. Kinzie took the precaution of
begging Mrs. Kellogg to bake us another bag of bis
cuits, in case of accidents, and he likewise suggested
to Mr. K. the prudence of furnishing himself with

W. S. HAMILTON. — KELLOGG'S GROVE. 155
something more than his limited allowance ; but the
good man objected that he was unwilling to burden
his horse more than was absolutely necessary, seeing
that, at this season of the year, we were obliged to
carry fodder for the animals, in addition to the rest of
their load. It wtil be seen that we had reason to re
joice in our own foresight.
My experience of the previous night had rendered
me somewhat less fastidious than when I commenced
my journey, so that, when introduced to our sleeping
apartment, which I found we were to share with six
men, travellers like ourselves, my only feeling was one
of thankfulness that each bed was furnished with a full
suit of blue checked curtains, which formed a very to
lerable substitute for a dressing-room.

CHAPTER XV.
ROOK RIVER — HOURS OF TROUBLE.
It was late on the following day (March 13th), when
we took leave of our kind hostess. She loaded us with
cakes, good wishes, and messages to her sister Dixon
and the chUdren. We journeyed pleasantly along
through a country, beautiful, in spite of its wintry ap
pearance. There was a house at " Buffalo Grove," at which
we stopped for half an-hour, and where a nice-looking
young girl presented us with some maple-sugar of her
own making. She entertained us with the history of
a contest between two rival claimants for the patronage
of the stage wagon, the proprietors of which had not
decided whether to send it by Buffalo Grove or by an
other route, which she pointed out to us, at no great
distance. The driver, she took care to. inform us, was
in favor of the former ; and the blush with which she
replied in the affirmative to our inquiry, "Was he a
young man ?" explained the whole matter satisfactorily.
At length, just at sunset, we reached the dark, rapid
waters of the Rock River. The " ferry" which we had
travelled so far out of our way to take advantage of,
C156)

ROCK RIVER — HOURS OF TROUBLE. 157
proved to be merely a small boat or skiff, the larger
one having been swept off into the stream, and carried
down in the breaking up of the ice, the week previous.
My husband's first care was to get me across. He
placed me with the saddles, packs, &c, in the boat,
and as, at that late hour, no time was to be lost, he
ventured, at the same time, to hold the bridles of the
two most docile horses, to guide them in swimming the
river. When we had proceeded a few rods from the shore,
we were startled by a loud puffing and blowing near
us, and looking around, to our great surprise, disco
vered tittle Brunei just upon our "weather-bow."
Determined not to be outdone by his model, Jerry, he
had taken to the water on his own responsibility, and
arrived at the opposite shore as soon as any of the
party. AU being safely landed, a short walk brought us to
the house of Mr. Dixon. Although so recently come
into the country, he had contrived to make everything
comfortable around him, and when he ushered us into
Mrs. Dixon's sitting-room, and seated us by a glowing
wood fire, whtie Mrs. Dixon busied- herself in pre
paring us a nice supper, I felt that the comfort over
balanced the inconvenience of such a journey.
Mrs. Dixon was surrounded by several chUdren.
One leaning against the chimney-piece was dressed in
the full Indian costume — calico shirt, blanket, and leg-

158 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
gings. His dark complexion, and full, melancholy
eyes, which he kept fixed upon the ashes in which he
was making marks with a stick, rarely raising them to
gaze on us, as children are wont to do, interested me
exceedingly, and I inquired of an inteUigent tittle girl,
evidently a daughter of our host :
"Who is that boy?"
"Oh ! that is John Ogie," answered she.
" What is the matter with him? he looks very sad."
" Oh ! he is fretting after his mother."
" Is she dead then ?"
" Some say she is dead, and some say she is gone
away. I guess she is dead, and buried up in one of
those graves yonder" — pointing to two or three tittle
picketed inclosures upon a rising ground opposite the
window. I felt a strong sympathy with the child, which was
mcreased when the tittle spokeswoman, in answer to
my inquiry, " Has he no father," replied- — -
" Oh, yes, but he goes away, and drinks, and don't
care for his children."
"And what becomes of John, then ?"
" He stays here with us, and we teach him to read,
and he learns dreadful fast."
When the boy at length turned his large dark eyes
upon me, it went to my heart. It was such a mother
less look. And it was explained, when long afterward,
I learned his further history. His mother was still

ROCK RIVER — HOURS OF TROUBLE. 159
living, and he knew it, although with the reserve pe
culiar to his people, he never spoke of her to his young
companions. Unable to endure the continued til-
treatment of her husband, a surly, intemperate Cana
dian, she had left him, and returned to his famtiy
among the Pottowattamies. Years after, this boy and
a brother who had also been left behind with their father
found their way to the Upper Missouri, to join their
mother, who, with the others of her tribe, had been re
moved by the Government from the shores of Lake
Michigan. •
A most savoury supper of ducks and venison, with
their accompaniments, soon smoked upon the board,
and we did ample justice to it. Travelling is a great
sharpener of the appetite, and so is cheerfulness, and
the latter was increased by the encouraging account
Mr. Dixon gave us of the remainder of the route yet
before us.
" There is no difficulty," said he, " if you keep a
tittle to the north, and strike the great Sauk trail. If
you get too far to the south, you will come upon the
Winnebago Swamp, and once in that, there is no
telling when you will ever get out again. As for the
distance, it is nothing at aU to speak ^of. Two young
men came out here from Chicago, on foot, last fall.
They got here the eyening of the second day; and
even with a lady in your party, you could go on horse
back in less time than that. The only thing is to be sure

160 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
and get on the great track that the Sauks have made,
in going every year from the Mississippi to Canada, to
receive their presents from the British Indian Agent"
The following morning, which was a bright and
lovely one for that season of the year, we took leave
of Mr. and Mrs. Dixon, in high spirits. We traveUed
for the first few mties along the beautiful, undulating
banks of the Rock River, always in an easterly direc
tion, keeping the beaten path, or rather road, which led
to Fort Clark, or Peoria. The Sauk traU, we had been
told, would cross, this road, at the distance of about
six miles.
After having travelled, as we judged, fully that dis
tance, we came upon a trail, bearing north-east, and a
consultation was held as to the probability of its being
the one we were in search of.
Mr. Kinzie was of opinion that it tended too much
to the north, and was, moreover, too faint and obscure
for a traU so much used, and by so large a body of In
dians in their annual journeys.
Plante was positive as to its being the very spot
where he and " Pich6" in their journey to Fort Winne
bago, the year before, struck into the great road. -" On
that very rising-ground at the point of woods, he re
membered perfectly stopping to shoot ducks, which
they- ate for their supper."
Mr. Kellogg was non-committal, but sided alter
nately with each speaker.

ROCK RIVER — HOURS OF TROUBLE. 161
As Plante was "the guide," and withal so confident
of being right, it was decided to follow him, not with
out some demurring, however, on the part of the
" bourgeois," who every now and then called a halt, to
discuss the state of affairs.
"Now Plante," he would say, "I am sure you are
leading us too far north. Why, man, if we keep on
in this direction, foUowing the course of the river, we
shall bring up at Kosh-ko-nong, instead of Chicago."
"Ah! mon bourgeois," would the light-hearted Ca
nadian reply, " would I teU you this is the road if I
were not quite certain ? Only one year ago I travelled
it, and can I forget so soon ? Oh ! no — I remember
every foot of it."
But Monsieur Plante was convinced of his mistake
when the trati brought us to the great bend of the
river with its bold rocky .bluffs.
" Are you satisfied, now, Plante ?" asked Mr. Kinzie.
" By your leave, I wtil now play ptiot myself," and he
struck off from the traU, in a direction as nearly east
as possible.
The weather had changed and become intensely cold,
and we felt that the detention we had met with, even
should we now be in the right road, was no trifling
matter. We had not added to our stock of provisions
at Dixon's, wishing to carry as much forage as we
were able for our horses, for whom the scanty picking
around our encamping grounds afforded an insufficient

162 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
meal. But we were buoyed up by the hope that we
were in the right path at last, and we journeyed on
until night, when we reached a comfortable " encamp
ment," in the edge of a grove near a smaU stream.
Oh ! how bitterly cold that night was ! The salted
provisions, to which I was unaccustomed, occasioned
me an intolerable thirst, and my husband was in the
habit of placing the tittle tin coffee-pot filled with
water at my bed's head when we went to rest, but this
night it was frozen sohd long before midnight We
were so well wrapped up in blankets that we did
not suffer from cold while within the tent, but the
open air was severe in the extreme.
March 15th. We were roused by the " bourgeois"
at peep of day to make preparations for starting. We
must find the Sauk traU this day at all hazards. What
would become of us should we fail to do so ? It was
a question no one liked to ask, and certainly one that
none could have answered.
On leaving our encampment, we found ourselves
entering a marshy tract of country. Myriads of wild
geese, brant, and ducks rose up screaming at our
approach. The more distant lakes and ponds were
black with them, but the shallow water through which
we attempted to make our way was frozen by the
severity of the night, to a thickness not sufficient to
bear the horses, but just such as to cut their feet and
ankles at every step as they broke through it Some-

ROCK RIVER — HOURS OF TROUBLE. 163
times the difficulty of going forward was so great that
we were obliged to retrace our steps and make our
way round the head of the marsh, thus adding to the
discomforts of our situation by the conviction, that
while journeying diligently, we were, in fact, making
very tittle progress.
This swampy region at length passed, we came upon
more sotid ground, chiefly the open prairie. But now
a new trouble assailed us. The weather had moder
ated, and a blinding snow storm came on. Without a
trail that we could rely upon, and destitute of a com
pass, our only dependence had been the sun to point
out our direction, but the atmosphere was now so
obscure that it was impossible^*) tell in what quarter
of the heavens he was. ""^
We pursued our way, however, and a devious one
it must have been. After travelling in this way many
miles, we came upon an Indian trail, deeply indented,
running at right angles with the course we were pur
suing. The snow had ceased, and the clouds becoming
thinner, we were able to observe the direction of the
sun, and to perceive that the trail ran north and south.
What should we do ? Was it safest to pursue our
easterly course, or was it probable that by following
this new path we should fall into the direct one we
had been so long seeking ? If we decided to take the
trail, should we go north or south? Mr. Kinzie was
for the latter. He was of opinion we were still too far

164 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
north — somewhere about the Grand Marais, or Kish-
wau-kee. Mr. Kellogg and Plante were for taking the
northerly direction. The latter was positive his bour
geois had already gone too far south — in fact, that we
must now be in the neighborhood of the Illinois river.
Finding himself in the minority, my husband yielded,
and we turned our horses' heads north, much against
his wtil. After proceeding a few mties, however, he
took a sudden determination. " You may go north, if
you please," said he, "but I am convinced that the
other course is right, and I shall face about — follow
who wtil."
So we wheeled round and rode south again, and
many a long and weary mtie did we travel, the
monotony of our ride broken only by the querulous
remarks of poor Mr. Kellogg. " I am really afraid we
are wrong, Mr. Kinzie. I feel pretty sure that the
young man is right. It looks most natural to me that
we should take a northerly course, and not be stretch
ing away so far to the south."
To aU this, Mr. Kinzie turned a deaf ear. The
Frenchmen rode on in stience. They would as soon
have thought of cutting off their right hand as show
ing opposition to the bourgeois when he had once
expressed his decision. They would never have
dreamed of offering an opinion or remark unless caUed
upon to do so.
The road, which had continued many miles through

ROCK RIVER — HOURS OF TROUBLE. 165
the prairie, at length, in winding round a point of
woods, brought us suddenly upon an Indian village.
A shout of joy broke from the whole party, but no
answering shout was returned — not even a bark of
friendly welcome — as we gatioped up to the wigwams.
All was sfient as the grave. We rode round and
round, then dismounted and looked into several of the
spacious huts. They had evidently been long deserted.
Nothing remained but the bare walls of bark, from
which everything in the shape of furniture had been
stripped by the owners and carried with them to their
wintering-grounds ; to be brought back in the spring,
when they returned to make their corn-fields and occu
py their summer cabins.
Our disappointment may be better imagined than
described. With heavy hearts, we mounted and once
more pursued our way, the snow again falhng and
adding to the discomforts of our position. At length
we halted for the night. We had long been aware
that our stock of provisions was insufficient for another
day, and here we were — nobody knew where — in the
midst of woods and prairies — certainly far from any
human habitation, with "barely enough food for a slen-
der evening's meal.
The poor dogs came whining around us to beg. their
usual portion, but they were obliged to content them
selves with a bare bone, and we retired to rest with
the feeling that if not actually hungry then, we should
certainly be so to-morrow.

166 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
The morrow came. Plante and Roy had a bright
fire and a nice pot of coffee for us. It was our only
breakfast, for on shaking the bag and turning it inside
out, we could make no more of our stock of bread than
three crackers, wliich the rest of the party insisted I
should put in my pocket for my dinner. I was much
touched by the kindness of Mr. KeUogg, who drew
from his wallet a piece of tongue and a slice of fruit
cake, which he said " he been saving for the lady since t
the day before, for he saw how matters were a-going."
Poor man! it would have been well if he had
listened to Mr. Kinzie, and provided himself at the
outset with a larger store of provisions. As it was,
those he brought with him were exhausted early the
second day, and he had been boarding with us for the
last two meals.
We still had the trail to guide us, and we continued
to follow it until about nine o'clock, when, in emerging
from a wood, we came upon a broad and rapid river.
A collection of Indian wigwams stood upon the oppo
site bank, and as the traU led directly to the water, it
was fair to infer that the stream was fordable. We had
no opportunity of testing it, however, for the banks
were so lined with ice, which was piled up tier upon
tier by the breaking-up of the previous week, that we
tried in vain to find a path by which we could descend
the bank to the water.
The men shouted again and again in hopes some

ROCK RIVER— HOURS OF TROUBLE. 167
straggling inhabitant of the vtilage ntight be at hand
with his canoe. No answer was returned save by the
echoes. What was to be done ? I looked at my hus
band and saw that care was on his brow, although he
still continued to speak cheerfully. " We will follow
this cross-trail down the bank of the river," said he.
" There must be Indians wintering near in some of
these points of wood."
I must confess that I felt somewhat dismayed at our
prospects, but I kept up a show of courage, and did
not allow my despondency to be seen. All the party
were dull and gloomy enough.
We kept along the bank, which was considerably
elevated above the water, and bordered at a tittle dis
tance with a thick wood. All at once my horse, who
was mortaUy afraid of Indians, began to jump and
prance, snorting and pricking up his ears as if an enemy
were at' hand. I screamed with delight to my husband,
who was at the head of the file, " Oh John ! John !
there are Indians near — look at Jerry !"
At this instant a tittle Indian dog ran out from
under the bushes by the roadside, and began barking
at us. Never were sounds more welcome. We rode
directly into the thicket, and descending into a tittle
hollow, found two squaws crouching behind the bushes,
trying to conceal themselves from our sight.
They appeared greatly relieved when Mr. Kinzie
addressed them in the Pottowattamie language —

168 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
" What are you doing here ?"
" Digging Indian potatoes" — (a species of artichoke.)
" Where is your lodge?"
" On the other side of the river."
" Good — then you have a canoe here. Can you take
us across ?"
"Yes — the canoe is very smaU."
They conducted us down the bank to the water's
edge where the canoe was. It was indeed very small.
My husband explained to them that they must take me
across first, and then return for the others of the party.
"WiU you trust yourself alone over the river?"
inquired he. "You see that but one can cross at
time." " Oh ! yes" — and I was soon placed in the bottom
of the canoe, lying flat and looking up at the sky,
while the older squaw took the paddle in her hand,
and placed herself on her knees at my head, and the
younger, a girl of fourteen or fifteen, stationed herself
at my feet. There was just room enough for me to
lie in this position, each of the others kneeling in the
opposite ends of the canoe.
While these preparations were making, Mr. Kinzie
questioned the woman as to our whereabout. They
knew no name for the river but " Saumanong." This
was not definite, it being the generic term for any large
stream. But he gathered that the vUlage we had passed
higher up, on the opposite side of the stream, was

ROCK RIVER — HOURS OF TROUBLE. 169
Wau-ban-see's, and then he knew that we were on
the Fox River, and probably about fifty mties from
Chicago. The squaw, in answer to his inquiries, assured him
that Chicago was " close by."
"That means," said he "that it is not so far off as
Canada. We must not be too sanguine."
The men sat about unpacking the horses, and I in
the meantime was paddled across the river. The old
woman immediately returned, leaving the younger one
with me for company. I seated myself on the fallen
trunk of a tree, in the midst of the snow, and looked
across the dark waters. I am not ashamed to confess
my weakness — for the first time on my journey I shed
tears. It was neither hunger, nor fear, nor cold which
extorted them from me. It was the utter desolation of
spirit, the sickness of heart which "hope deferred"
ever occasions, and which of all evils is the hardest to
bear. The poor little squaw looked into my face with a
wondering and sympathizing expression. Probably
she was speculating in her own mind what a person
who rode so fine a horse, and wore so comfortable a
broadcloth dress, could have to cry about. I pointed
to a seat beside me on the log, but she preferred stand
ing and gazing at me, with the same pitying expres
sion. Presently she was joined by a young companion,
and after a short chattering, of which I was evidently
8

170 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
the subject, they both trotted off into the woods, and
left me to my own solitary reflections.
" What would my friends at the East think," said I
to myself, " if they could see me now ? What would
poor old Mrs. Welsh say ? She who warned me that
if I came away so far to ihe West, I should break my
heart? Would she not rejoice to find how likely her
prediction was to be fulfilled?"
These thoughts roused me. I dried up my tears,
and by the time my husband with his party, and *all
his horses and luggage, were across, I had recovered
my cheerfulness, and was ready for fresh adventures.

CHAPTER XVI.
RELIEF.
We followed the old squaw to her lodge, which
was at no great distance in the woods. I had never
before been in an Indian lodge, although I had occa
sionaUy peeped into one of the many, clustered round
the house of the interpreter at the Portage on my visits
to his wife.
This one was very nicely arranged. Four sticks of
wood placed to form a square in the centre, answered
the purpose of a hearth, within wliich the fire was
built, the smoke escaping through an opening in the
top. The mats of which the lodge was constructed
were very neat and new, and against the sides, depend
ing from the poles or frame-work, hung various bags
of Indian manufacture, containing their dried food
and other household treasures. Sundry ladles, small
kettles, and wooden bowls also hung from the cross-
poles, and dangling from the centre, by an iron chain,
was a large kettle, in which some dark, suspicious-
looking substance was seething over the scanty fire.
On the floor of the lodge, between the fire and the
outer wall, were spread mats, upon which my husband
invited me to be seated and make myself comfortable.
(1T1)

172 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
The first demand of an Indian on meeting a white
man is for bread, of which they are exceedingly fond,
and I knew enough of the Pottowattamie language to
comprehend the timid ¦' pe-qua-zhe-gun choh-kay-go"
(I have no bread), with which the squaw commenced
our conversation after my husband had left the lodge.
I shook my head, and endeavored to convey to her
that, so far from being able to give, I had had no
breakfast myself. She understood me, and instantly
produced a bowl, into which she ladled a quantity of
Indian potatoes from the kettle over the fire, and set
them before me. I was too hungry to be fastidious,
and owing partly, no doubt, to the sharpness of my
appetite, I really found them delicious.
Two little girls, inmates of the lodge, sat gazing at
me with evident admiration and astonishment, which
was increased when I took my little prayer-book from
my pocket and began to read. They had, undoubtedly,
never seen a book before, and I was amused at the
care with which they looked away from me, while they
questioned their mother about my strange employment
and listened to her replies.
WhUe thus occupied, I was startled by a sudden
sound of "hogh!" and the mat which hung over the
entrance of the lodge was raised, and an Indian entered
with that graceful bound which is peculiar to them
selves. It was the master of the lodge, who had been
out to shoot ducks, and was just returned. He was a tall,

RELIEF. 173
finely-formed man, with a cheerful, open countenance,
and he listened to what his wife in a quiet tone related
to him, while he divested himself of his accoutrements
in the most unembarrassed, well-bred manner imagin
able. Soon my husband joined us. He had been engaged
in attending to the comfort of his horses, and assisting
his men in making their fire, and pitching their tent,
which the rising storm made a matter of some diffi
culty. From the Indian he learned that we were in what
was caUed "the Big Woods,"* or "Pichtfs Grove,"
from a Frenchman of that name hving not far from the
spot — that the river we had crossed was the Fox
River — that he could guide us to PichSs, from which
the road was perfectly plain, or even into Chicago if
we preferred — but that we had better remain encamped
for that day, as there was a storm coining on, and in
the mean time he would go and shoot some ducks for
our dinner and supper. He was accordingly furnished
with powder and shot, and set off again for game
without delay.
I had put into my pocket, on leaving home, a roll of
scarlet ribbon, in case a stout string should be wanted,
and I now drew it forth, and with the knife which
* Probably at what is now Oswego. The name of a portion of
the wood is since corrupted into Specie's Grove.

174 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
hung around my neck I cut off a couple of yards
for each of the tittle girls. They received it with great
dehght, and their mother, dividing each portion into
two, tied a piece to each of the little clubs into which
their hair was knotted on the temples. They laughed,
and exclaimed " Saum !" as they gazed at each other,
and their mother joined in their mirth, although, as I
thought, a tittle unwilling to display her maternal
exultation before a stranger.
The tent being all in order, my husband came for
me, and we took leave of our friends in the wigwam
with grateful hearts.
The storm was raging without. The trees were
bending and cracking around us, and the air was com
pletely filled with the wild-fowl screaming and quack
ing as they made their way southward before the blast.
Our tent was among the trees not far from the river.
My husband took me to the bank to look for a moment
at what we had escaped. -The wind. was sweeping
down from the north in a perfect hurricane. The
water was filled with masses of snow and ice, dancing
along upon the torrent, over which were hurrying thou
sands of wild-fowl, making the woods resound to their
deafening clamor.
Had we been one hour later, we could not possibly
have crossed the stream, and there seems to have
been nothing for us but to have remained and starved

RELIEF. 175
in the wilderness. Could we be sufficiently grateful
to that kind Providence that had brought us safely
through such dangers?
The men had cut down an immense tree, and built
a fire against it, but the wind shifted so continually
that every five minutes the tent would become com
pletely filled with smoke, so that I was driven into the
open air for breath. Then I would seat myself on
one end of the huge log, as near the fire as possible,
for it was dismally cold, but the wind seemed actu
ated by a kind of caprice, for in whatever direction I
took my seat, just that way came the smoke and hot
ashes, puffing in' my face until I was nearly blinded.
Neither veil nor silk handkerchief afforded an effectual
protection, and I was glad when the arrival of our
huntsmen, with a quantity of ducks, gave me an op
portunity of diverting my thoughts from my own suf
ferings, by^tiding the men to pick them and get them
ready for our meal.
We borrowed a kettle from our Indian friends. It
was not remarkably clean ; but we heated a httle water
in it, and prairie-hay 'd it out, before consigning our
birds to it, and with a bowl of Indian potatoes, a pre
sent from our kind neighbors, we soon had an excel
lent soup.
What with the cold, the smoke, and the driving
ashes and cinders, this was the most uncomfortable
afternoon I had yet; passed, and I was glad when night

176 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
came, and I could creep into the tent and cover my
self up in the blankets, out of the way of all three of
these evtis.
The storm raged with tenfold violence during the
night. We were continuaUy startled by the crashing
ofthe falling trees around us, and who could teU but that
the next would be upon us ? Spite of our fatigue, we
passed an almost sleepless night. When we arose in
the morning, we were made fully alive to the perils by
which we had been surrounded. At .least fifty trees,
the giants of the forest, lay prostrate within view of
the tent.
When we had taken our scanty breakfast, and were
mounted and ready for departure, it was with difficulty
we could thread our way, so completely was it ob
structed by the fallen trunks.
Our Indian guide had joined us at an early hour,
and after conducting us carefully out-of the^^od, and
pointing out to us numerous bee-trees.tf forKuch he
said that grove was famous, he set off at a long trot,
and about nine o'clock brought us to Piches', a log-
cabin on a rising ground, looking off over the broad
prairie to the east. We had hoped to get some re
freshment he-re, Piche' being an old acquaintance of
some ofthe party ; but alas ! the master was from home.
* The honey-bee is not known in the perfectly wild countries of
North America. It is ever the pioneer of civilization, and the In
dians call it " the white man's bird."

RELIEF. 177
We found his cabin occupied by Indians and travellers
— the latter few, the former numerous.
There was no temptation to a halt, except that of
warming ourselves at a bright fire that was burning in
the clay chimney. A man in Quaker costume stepped
forward to answer our inquiries, and offered to become
our escort to Chicago, to which place he was bound
— so we dismissed our Indian friend, with a satisfactory
remuneration for all the trouble he had so kindly taken
, for us.
A long reach of prairie extended from Piche°s to the
Du Page, between the two forks of which, Mr. Dog-
herty, our new acquaintance, told us we should find the
dwetiing of a Mr. Hawley, who would give us a com
fortable dinner.
The weather was intensely cold. The wind, sweep
ing over the wide prairie with nothing to break its force,
chtilediQurHtary hearts. I beat my feet against the sad
dle to« B the, circulation, when they became be-
numbedmth the cold, until they became so bruised I
could beat them no longer. Not a house or wigwam,
not even a clump of trees as a shelter, offered itself for
many a weary mtie. At length we reached the west
fork of the Du Page. It was frozen, but not suffi
ciently so to bear the horses. Our only resource was
to cut a way for them through the ice. It was a work
of time, for the ice had frozen to several inches in
¦ thickness, during the last bitter night. Plante went
8*

178 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
first with an axe, and cut as far as he could reach,
then mounted one of the hardy httle ponies, and with
some difficulty broke the ice before him, until he had
opened a passage to the opposite shore.
How the poor animals shivered as they were reined in
among the floating ice ! And we, who sat waiting in
the piercing wind, were not much better. Probably
Brunet was of the same opinion ; for with his usual
perversity, he plunged in immediately after Plante, and
stood shaking and quaking behind him, every now
and then looking around him, as much as to say, " I've
got ahead bf you, this time !" We were all across at
last, and spurred on our horses, untU we .reached Haw-
ley's* — a large, commodious dweUing, near the east
fork of the river.
The good woman welcomed us kindly, and soon
made us warm and comfortable. We felt as if we were
in a civilized land once more. She procaJB^pmedi-
ately to prepare dinner for us ; and wfl Red her
with eager eyes, as she took down a huge namfrom the
rafters, out of which she cut innumerable slices, then
broke any quantity of fine fresh eggs into a pan, in
readiness for frying — then mixed a johnny-cake, and
placed it against a board in front of the fire to bake.
It seemed to 'me' that even with the aid of this fine
* It was near this spot that the brother of Mr. Hawley, a Meth
odist preacher, was killed by the Sauks, in 1832, after having been
tortured by them with the moat wanton barbarity.

RELIEF. 179
bright fire,' the dinner took an unconscionable time to
cook; but cooked it was, at last, and truly might the
good woman stare at the travellers' appetites we had
brought with us. She did not know what short com
mons we had been on for the last two days.
We found, upon inquiry, that we could, by pushing
on, reach Lawton's, on the Aux Plaines, that night — we
should then be within twelve mties of Chicago. Of
course we made no unnecessary delay, but set off as
soon after dinner as possible.
The crossing of the east fork of the Du Page was
more perilous than the former one had been. The ice
had become broken, either by the force of the current,
or by some equestrians having preceded us and cut
through it, so that when we reached the bank, the ice
was floating down in large cakes. The horses had to
make a rapid dart through the water, which was so
high, andjygshing in such a torrent, that if I had not
been mooted on Jerry, the tallest horse in the caval
cade, I must have got a terrible splashing. As it waSj
I was well frightened, and grasped both bridle and
mane with the utmost tenacity. After this we tra-
veUed on as rapidly as possible, in order to reach our
place of destination before dark.
Mr. Dogherty, a taU, bolt upright man, half
Quaker, half Methodist, did his best to entertain me,
by giving me a thorough schedule of his religious
opinions, with the reasons from Scripture upon which

180 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
they were based. He was a good deal of a perfection
ist, and evidently looked "upon himself with no small
satisfaction, as a living illustration of his favorite doc
trine. " St. John says," this was the style of his discourse,
" St John says, ' He that is born of God, doth not
commit sin.' Now, if I am born of God, I do not com
mit sin."
I was too cold and too weary to argue the point, so
I let him have it all his own way. I believe he must
have thought me rather a dull companion; but at
least, he gave me the credit of being a good listener.
It was almost dark when we reached Lawton's.
The Aux Plaines* was frozen, and the house was on
the other side. By loud shouting, we brought out a
man from the building, and he succeeded* in cutting the
ice, and bringing a canoe over to us ; but not until it
had become difficult to distinguish objects in the dark
ness. A very comfortable house was Lawton's, after we
did reach it — carpeted, and with a warm stove — in
fact, quite in civilized style. Mr. Weeks, the man who
brought us across, was the major-domo, during the
temporary absence of Mr. Lawton.
Mrs. Lawton was a young woman, and not til-look
ing. She complained bitterly of the loneliness of her
* Riviere Aux Plaines was the original French designation, now
changed to Desplaines, pronounced as in English.

RELIEF. 181
condition, and having been "brought out there into
the woods ; which was a thing she had not expected,
when she came from the East" We did not ask her
with what expectations she had come to a wild, un
settled country ; but we tried to comfort her with the
assurance that things would gro'w better in a few years.
She said, " she did not mean to wait for that She
should go back to her famtiy in the East, if Mr. Law-
ton did not invite some of her young friends to come
and stay with her, and make it agreeable."
We could hardly realize, on rising the foUowing
morning, that only twelve mties of prairie intervened
between us and Chicago le Desire", as I could not but
name it.
We could look across the extended plain, and on its
farthest verge were visible two tall trees, which my
husband pointed out to me as the planting of his own
hand, when a boy. Already they had become so lofty
as to serve as landmarks, and they were constantly in
view as we travelled the beaten road. I was con--
tinually repeating to myself, " There live the friends I
am so longing to see ! There will terminate all our
trials and hardships !"
A Mr. Wentworth joined us on the road, and of
him we inquired after the welfare of the famtiy, from
whom we had, for a long time, received no intelli
gence. When we reached Chicago, he took us to a
little tavern at the forks of the river. This portion

182 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
ofthe place was then called Wolf Point, from its hav
ing been the residence of an Indian named "Moa-
way," or " the Wolf."
"Dear me," said the old landlady, at the tittle
tavern, "what dreadful cold weather you must have
had to travel in! Why, two days ago the river was
all open here, and now it's frozen hard enough for
folks to cross a-horseback!"
Notwithstanding this assurance, my husband did
not like to venture, so he determined to leave his
horses and proceed on foot, to the residence of his
mother and sister, a distance of about half a mile.
We sat out on our walk, which was first across the
ice, then down the northern bank of the river. As we
approached the house we were espied by Genevieve, a
half-breed servant of the family. She did not wait to
salute us, but flew into the house crying,
" Oh ! Madame Kinzie, who do you think has
come? Monsieur John and Madame John, all the
way from Fort Winnebago on foot !"
Soon we were in the arms of our dear, kind friends.
A messenger was dispatched to " the garrison " for the
remaining members of the family/ and for that day at
least, I was the wonder and admiration of the whole
circle, " for the dangers I had seen."

[=3

<B>

%J

CHAPTER XVII.
CHICAGO IN 1831.
Fort Dearborn at that day consisted of the same
butidings as at present. They were, of course, in a
better state of preservation, though stUl considerably
dilapidated. They had been erected in 1816, under
the supervision of Captain Hezekiah Bradley, and
there was a story current that, such was his patriotic
regard for the interests of the government, he obliged
the soldiers to fashion wooden pins, instead of spikes
and nails, to fasten the timbers of the butidings, and
that he even caUed on the junior officers to aid in their
construction along with the soldiers, whose business it
was. If this were true, the captain must have labored
under the delusion (excusable in one who had hved
long on the frontier) that government would thank its
servants for any excess of economical zeal.
The fort was inclosed by high pickets, with bastions
at the alternate angles. Large gates opened to the
north and south, and there were small portions here
and there for the accommodation of the inmates. The
bank of the river which stretches to the west, now
covered by the light-house butidings, and inclosed, by
(188)

— *,

184 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
docks, was then occupied by the root-houses of the
garrison.- Beyond the parade-ground which extended
south of the pickets, were the company gardens, weU
filled with currant-bushes and young fruit-trees.
The fort stood at what might naturally be supposed
to be the mouth of the river, yet it was not so, for in
those days the latter took a turn, sweeping round the
promontory on which the fort was- built, towards the
south, and joined the lake about half a utile below ;
so that these butidings, in fact, stood on the right bank
of the river, the left being formed by a long spit of
land extending from the northern shore, of which it
formed a part. After the cutting through of this
portion of the left bank in 1833 by the United States
Engineers employed to construct a harbor at this
point, and the throwing out of the piers, the water
overflowed this long tongue of land, and continuaUy
encroaching on the southern bank, robbed it of many
valuable acres ; while, by the same action of the vast
body of the lake, an accretion was constantly taking
place on the north of the harbor.
The residence of Jean Baptiste Beaubien stood at'
this period between the gardens and the river-bank,
and stUl further south was a rickety tenement, built
many years before by Mr. John Dean, the sutler of
the post. A short time after the commencement of the
growth of Chicago, the foundations of this building
were undermined by the gradual encroachment of the

CHICAGO IN 1831. 185
lake, and it tumbled backward down the bank, where
it long lay, a melancholy spectacle.
On the northern bank of the river, directly facing
the fort, was the family mansion of my husband. It
was a long, low butiding, with a piazza extending along
its front, a range of four or five rooms. A broad
green space was inclosed between it and the river, and
shaded by a row of Lombardy poplars. Two immense
cotton-wood trees stood in the rear of the buUding, one
of which still remains as an ancient landmark. A
fine, well-cultivated garden extended to the north of
the dwelling, and surrounding it were various build
ings appertaining to the establishment — dairy, bake
house, lodging-house for the Frenchmen, and stables.
A vast range of sand-hills, covered with stunted
cedars, pines, and dwarf-willow trees, intervened be
tween the house and the lake, which was, at this time,
not more than thirty rods distant.
Proceeding from this point, along the northern bank
of the river, we came first to the Agency House,
" Cobweb Castle," as it had been denominated while
long the residence of a bachelor, and the sobriquet
adhered to it ever after. It stood at what is now the
south-west corner of Wolcott and N. Water streets.
Many wtil still remember it, a substantial, compact
little butiding of logs hewed and squared, with a
centre, two wings, and, strictly speaking, two tails,
since, when there was found no more room for addi-

186 THE EARLY DAY IN 'THE NORTH-WEST.
tions at the sides, they were placed in the rear, where
on a vacant spot could be found.
These appendages did not mar the symmetry of the
whole, as viewed from the front, but when, in the
process of the town's improvement, a street was mali
ciously opened directly in the rear, of the building, the
whole estabhshment, with its comical little adjuncts,
was a constant source of amusement to the passers-by.
No matter. There were pleasant, happy hours passed
under its odd-shaped roof, as many of Chicago's early
settlers can testify.
Around the Agency House were grouped a coUec
tion of log-buUdings, the residences of the different
persons in the employ of Government, appertaining to
that establishment — blacksmith, striker, and laborers.
These were for the most part Canadians or half-breeds,
with occasionaUy a stray Yankee, to set aU things-
going by his activity and enterprise.
There was still another house on the north side of
the river, built by a former resident of the name of
Miller, but he had removed to " Riviere du Chentin,"
or TraU Creek, which about this time began to be
called " Michigan City."* This house, which stood
near the forks ofthe river, was at this time vacant.
* I can now recall a petition that was circulated at the garrison
about this period, for " building a brigg over Michigan City." By
altering the orthography, it was found to mean, not the stupendous
undertaking it would seem to imply, but simply " building a bridge

CHICAGO IN 1831. 187
There was no house on the southern bank of the
river, between the fort and " The Point," as the forks of
the river were then caUed. The land was a low wet
prairie, scarcely affording good walking in the dryest
summer weather, while at other seasons it was abso
lutely impassable. A muddy streamlet, or as it is
called in this country, a slew* after winding around
from about the present site of the Tremont House, fell
into the river at the foot of State street.-)-
At the point, on the south side, stood a house just
completed by Mark Beaubien, sen. It was a preten
tious white two-story building, with bright blue
wooden shutters, the admiration of ati the httle circle
at Wolf Point. Here a canoe ferry was kept to trans
port people across the south branch of the river.
Facing down the river from the west was, first a
smati tavern kept by Mr. Wentworth, familiarly
known as "Old Geese," not from any want of shrewd
ness on his part, but in compliment to one of his own
over at Michigan City." An accommodation much needed by
travellers at that day.
* The proper orthography of this word is undoubtedly slough, as
it invariably indicates something like that which Christian fell into
in flying from the City of Destruction. I spell it, however, as it ia
pronounced. f A gentleman who visited Chicago at that day, thus speaks of
it : ." I passed over the ground from the fort to the point, on horse
back. I was up to my stirrups in water the whole distance. I
would not have given sixpence an acre for the whole of it."

188 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
cant expressions. Near him were two or three log-
cabins occupied by Robinson, the Pottowattamie chief,
and some of his wife's connexions. BUly CaldweU,
the Sau-ga-nash, too, resided here occasionaUy, with
his wife, who was a daughter of Nee-scot-nee-meg, one
of the most famous chiefs of the nation. A little
remote from these residences was a small square log
buUding, originally designed for a school-house, but
occasionally used as a place of worship whenever any
itinerant minister presented himself.
The famtiy of Clybourn had, previous to this time,
estabhshed themselves near their present residence on
the North Branch — they called their place New Vir
ginia. Four mties up the South Branch was an old
butiding which was at that time an object of great
interest as having been the theatre of some stirring
events during the troubles of 1812.* It was denomi
nated Lee's Place, or Hardscrabble. Here lived, at
this time, a settler named Heacock.
Owing to the badness of the roads a greater part of
the year, the usual mode of communication between
the fort and " The Point " was by a boat rowed up the
river, or by a canoe paddled by some skilful hand.
By the latter means, too, an intercourse was kept up
between the residents of the fort and the Agency
House. There were, at this time, two companies of soldiers
* See Narrative ofthe Massacre, p. 202.

CHICAGO IN 1831. 189
in the garrison, but of the officers one, Lieutenant Fur-
man, had died the autumn previous, and several of the
others were away on furlough. In the absence of
Major Fowle and Capt Scott, the command devolved
on Lieut. Hunter. Besides him, there were Lieuts.
Engle and Foster — the latter unmarried. Dr. Finley,
the post surgeon, was also absent, and his place
was supptied by Dr. Harmon, a gentleman from
Vermont. My husband's mother, two sisters, and brother
resided at the Agency House — the famtiy residence
near the lake being occupied by J. N. Bailey, the post
master. In the Dean House live d a Mr. and Mrs. Forbes, who
kept a school. Gholson Kercheval had a small
trading establishment in one of the log buildings at
" Wolf Point," and John S. C. Hogan superintended
the sutler's store in the garrison.
There was also a Mr. See lately come into the coun
try, living at the Point, who sometimes held forth in
the little school-house on a Sunday, less to the edifica
tion of his hearers than to the unmerciful slaughter of
the "King's English."
I think this enumeration comprises all the white
inhabitants of Chicago, at a period less than a quarter
of a century ago. To many who may read these
pages the foregoing particulars wtil, doubtless, appear
.uninteresting. But to those who visit Chicago, and

190 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
sttil more, to those who come to make it their home, it
may be not without interest to look back to its first
beginnings ; to contemplate the almost magical.change
which a few years have wrought; and from the past to
augur the marvellous prosperity of the future.
The origin of the name Chicago is a subject of dis
cussion, some of the Indians deriving it from the
fitch or polecat, others from the wtid onion with
which the woods formerly abounded; but aU agree
that the place received its. name from an old chief, who
was drowned in the stream in former times. That this
event, although so carefully preserved by tradition,
must have occurred in a very remote period, is evident
from an old French manuscript brought by Gen. Cass
from France.
In this paper, which purports to be a letter from M.
de Ligney, at Green Bay, to M. de Siette, among the
Illinois, dated as early as 1726, the place is designated
as " Chicagoux." This orthography is also found in
old famtiy letters' of the beginning of the present cen
tury.

In giving the early history of Chicago, the Indians
say, with great simplicity, "the first white man who
settled here was a negro."
This was Jean Baptiste Point-au-Sable, a native of
St. Domingo, who, about the year 1796, found his way

CHICAGO IN 1831. 191
to tins remote region, and commenced a life among the
Indians. There is usually a strong affection between
these two races, and Jean Baptiste imposed upon his
new friends by making them believe that he had been
a "great chief" among the whites. Perhaps he was
disgusted at not being elected to a similar dignity by
the Pottowattamies, for he quitted this vicinity, and
finally terminated his days at Peoria, under the roof of
his friend " Glamorgan," another St. Domingo negro,
who had obtained large Spanish grants in St. Louis
and its environs, and who, at one time, was in the
enjoyment of an extensive landed estate.
Point-au-Sable had made some improvements at
Chicago, which were taken possession of by a French
man named Le Mai, who commenced trading with the
Indians. After a few years Le Mai's establishment
was purchased by John Kinzie, Esq., who at that time
resided at Bertrand, or Pare aux Vaches, as it was then
called, near Niles, in Michigan. As this gentleman
was, for nearly twenty years, with the exception of the
military, the only white inhabitant of Northern Illinois,
some particulars of his early life may not be uninter
esting. He was born in Quebec (L. C.) in 1763. His mother
had been previously married to a gentleman of the
name of Halibufton. The only daughter of this mar
riage was the mother of Gen. Fleming and Nicholas
Low, Esq., of New York. She is described as a lady of

192 THE EARLY DAY IN, THE NORTH-WEST.
remarkable beauty and accomplishments. Mr. Kinzie
was the only child of the second marriage. His father
died in his infancy, and his mother married a third
time a Mr. Forsyth, after which they removed to the
city of New York.
At the age of ten or eleven years he was placed at
school with two of his half-brothers at Williamsburg,
L. I. A negro servant was sent from the city every
Saturday, to bring the chtidren home, to remain until
the following Monday morning. Upon one occasion,
when the messenger arrived at the school he found aU
things in commotion. Johnny Kinzie was missing!
Search was made in all directions ; every place was
ransacked. It was all in vain; no Johnny Kinzie
could be found.
The heavy tidings were carried home to his mother.
By some it was supposed the lad was drowned; by
others that he had strayed away, and would return. •
Weeks passed by, and months, and he was at length
given up and mourned as lost. In the meantime the
boy was fulfiUing a determination he had long formed,
to visit his native city of Quebec, and make his way
in life for himself.
He had by some means succeeded in crossing from
Williamsburg to the city of New York, and finding
at one of the docks on the North- River a sloop bound
for Albany, he took passage on board of her. Whtie
on his way up the river, he was noticed by a gentle-

CHICAGO IN 1831. 193
man, who, taking an interest in the little lonely pas
senger, questioned him about his business.
"He was going to Quebec, where he had some
friends." " Had he the means to carry him there ?"
" Not much, but he thought he could get along."
It happened, fortunately, that the gentleman himself
was going to Quebec. He took the boy under his care,
paid his expenses the whole distance, and finally parted
with him in the streets of the city, where he was, in
truth, a stranger.
He wandered about for a time, looking into various
"stores" and workshops. At length, on entering .the
shop of a silversmith, he was satisfied with the expres
sion he read in the countenance of the master, and he
inquired if he wanted an apprentice.
" What, you, my little fellow ! What can you do ?"
"Anything you can teach me."
" Well, we wtil make a trial and see."
The trial was satisfactory. He remained in the
family of his kind friend for more than three years,
when his parents, who, in removing to Detroit, had ne:
cessarily returned to Canada, discovered his place of
abode, and he was restored to them.
There were five younger half-brothers of the name
of Forsyth. In the old family Bible, we find the fol
lowing touching record of an event that occurred after
the famUy had removed to Detroit.
9

194 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
"George Forsyth was lost in the woods 6th August,
1775, when Henry Hays and Mark Stirling ran away
and left him. The remains of George Forsyth were
found by an Indian the 2d of October, 1776, close by
the Prairie Ronde."
It seems a singular fatality that the unhappy mother
should have been twice called to suffer a similar afflic
tion — the loss of a chtid in a manner worse than death,
inasmuch as it left room for all the horrors that imagi
nation can suggest. The particulars of the loss of this
little brother were these. As he came from school one
evening, he met the colored servant boy on horseback,
going to the common for the cows. The school-house
stood quite near the old fort, and all beyond that, all
that now lies west of Fort street, was a wild, unculti
vated tract called " The Common." The chtid begged
of the servant to take him up and give him a ride, but
the other refused, bidding him return home at once.
He was accompanied by two other boys, somewhat
older, and together they followed the negro for some
distance, hoping to prevail upon him to give them a
ride. As it grew dark, the two older boys turned
back, but the other kept on. When the negro returned
he had not again seen the child, nor were any tidings
ever received of him, notwithstanding the diligent
search made by the whole httle community, until, as
related in the record, his remains were found the fol
lowing year by an Indian. There was nothing to iden-

CHICAGO IN 1831. 195
tify them, except the auburn curls of his hair, and the
tittle boots he had worn. He must have perished very
shortly after having lost his way, for the Prairie Ronde
was too near the settlement to have prevented his hear
ing the calls and sounding horns of those in search of
him. Mr. Kinzie's enterprising and adventurous disposition
led him, as he grew older, to live much on the frontier.
He early entered into the Indian trade, and had estab
lishments at Sandusky and Maumee, and afterwards
pushed further west, about the year 1800, to St. Joseph's.
In this year he married Mrs. McKtilip, the widow of a
British officer, and in 1804 came to make his home at
Chicago. It was in this year that the first fort was
built. By degrees more remote trading-posts were estab
lished by him, all contributing to the parent one
at Chicago ; at MUwaukie with the Meenomonees ;
at Rock River with the Winnebagoes and the Pot-
. towattamies ; on the Illinois River and Kankakee with
the Pottowattamies of the Prairies, and with the Kick-
apoos in what was caUed uLe Large," being the wide
ly extended district afterwards erected into Sangamon
County. Each trading-post had its superintendent, and its
complement of engages — its train of pack-horses and
its equipment of boats and canoes. From most of the
stations the " furs and peltries" were brought to Chicago

196 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
on pack-horses, and the goods necessary for the trade
were transported in return by the same method.
The vessels which came in the spring and fall (sel
dom more than two or three annuaUy), to bring the
supplies and goods for the trade, took the furs that
were already coUected to Mackinac, the depot of the
South- West and American Fur Companies. At other
seasons they were sent to that place in boats, coasting
around the lake.

Of the Canadian voyageurs or engages, a race that
has now so nearly-passed away, some notice may very
properly here be given.
They were unlike any other class of men. Like the
poet, they seemed born to their vocation. Sturdy, en
during, ingenious and light-hearted, they possessed a
spirit capable of adapting itself to any emergency.
No difficulties baffled, no hardships discouraged them ;
whtie their affectionate nature led them to form attach
ments of the warmest character to their "bourgeois,"
or master, as well as to the native inhabitants, among
whom their engagements carried them.
Montreal, or according to their own pronunciation,
Marrialle, was their depot. It was at that place that
the agents commissioned to make up the quota for the
different companies and traders found the material for
their selections.

CHICAGO IN 1831. 197
The terms of engagement were usually from four to
six hundred livres (ancient Quebec currency) per an
num as wages, with rations of one quart' of lyed corn,
and two ounces of taUow per diem, or " its equivalent
in whatever sort of food is to be found in the Indian
country." Instances have been known of their sub
mitting cheerfully to fare upon fresh fish and maple
sugar for a whole winter, when cut off from other
supplies. It was a common saying, " Keep an engage to his
corn and tallow, he will serve you weU — give him
pork and bread, and he soon gets beyond your man
agement." They regard the terms of their engage
ment as binding to the letter. An old trader, M.
Berthelet, engaged a crew at Montreal. The terms of
agreement were, that they should eat when their
bourgeois did, and what he did. It was a piece of fun
on the part of the old gentleman, but the simple Ca
nadians believed it to be a signal instance of good luck
that had provided them such luxurious prospects. The
bourgeois stuffed his pockets with crackers, and when
sure of being quite unobserved, would sltiy eat one.
Pipe after pipe passed — the men grew hungry, but ob
serving that there were no preparations of a meal for
the bourgeois, they bore their fast without complaining.
At length the matter became too serious — they could
stand it no longer. In their distress they begged off
from the bargain, and gladly compounded to take the.

198 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
customary rations, instead of the dainty fare ihey had
been promising themselves with their master.
On arriving at Mackinac, which was the entrepdt of
the Fur Trade, a small proportion of the voyageur's
wages was advanced him, to furnish his winter's outfit,
his pipes and tobacco, his needles and thread, some
pieces of bright-colored ribbons, and red and yellow
gartering (quality binding), with which to purchase
their tittle necessaries from the Indians. To these, if
his destination were Lake Superior, or a post far to the
north, where such articles could not be readily ob
tained, were added one or two smoked deer-skins for
moccasins. Thus equipped, he entered upon his three years'
service, to toil by day, and laugh, joke, sing, and tell
stories when the evening hour brought rest and
liberty. There was not wanting here and there an instance
of obstinate adherence to the exact letter of the agree
ment in regard to the nature of employment, although,
as a general thing, the engage- held himself ready to
fulfil .the behests of his bourgeois, as faithfully as ever
did vassal those of his chief.
A story is told of M. St. Jean, a trader on the Upper
Mississippi, who upon a certain occasion ordered one
of his Frenchmen to accompany a party to the forest
to chop wood. The man refused. "He was not
hired," he said, " to chop wood."

CHICAGO IN 1831. 199
"Ah! for what then were you hired?"
" To steer a boat."
" Yery well; steer a boat, then, since you prefer it."
It was mid-winter. The recusant was marched to
the river-side, and placed in the stern of the boat, which
lay fastened in the ice.
After serving a couple of hours at his legitimate
employment, with the thermometer below zero, he was
quite content to take his place with the chopping-party,
and never again thought it good pohcy to choose work
for himself
There is an aristocracy in the voyageur service
which is quite amusing. The engagement is usually
made for three years. The engage* of the first year,
who is caUed a " mangeur-de-lard," or pork-eater, is
looked down upon with the most sovereign contempt
by an " hivernant," or one who has already passed a
winter in the country. He wtil not only not associate
with him, but if invited by him to join him in a
friendly glass, he wtil make some excuse for declining.
The most inveterate drunkard, whUe tortured by a
longing to partake his favorite indulgence, wtil yet
never suffer himself to be enticed into an infringement
of this custom.
After the first winter, the mangeur-de-lard rises from
his freshman class, and takes his place where he can in
turn lord it over aU new-comers.
Another peculiarity of the class is their fancy for

200 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
transforming the names of their bourgeois into some
thing funny, which resembles it in sound. Thus
Kinzie would be catied by one " Quinze nez " (fifteen
noses), by another " Sing'e" (monkeyfied). Mr. Ker-
cheval was denominated Mons. Court-cheval (short
horse), the Judge of Probate, " le Juge Trop-Ute" (too
foohsh), &a. &c. The following is an instance in point.
Mr. Shaw, one of the agents of the Northwest Fur
Company, had passed many years on the frontier, and
was by the voyageurs called Monsieur Le Chat* On
quitting the Indian country he married a Canadian
lady and became the father of several children. Some
years after his return to Canada, his old foreman, named
Louis la Liberie*, went to Montreal to spend the winter.
He had heard of his old bourgeois' marriage, and was
anxious to see him.
Mr. Shaw was walking in the Champ de Mars with
a couple of officers when La Liberie* espied him. He
immediately ran up, and seizing him by both hands,
accosted him —
"Ah! mon cher Mens, le Chat; comment vous por-
tez vous ?"
" Tres bien, Louizon."
"Et comment se porte Madame la Chatte?" (How
is the mother cat ?)
" Bien, bien, Louizon; elle est tres bien." (She is
very well.) * Mr. Oat.

CHICAGO IN 1831. 201
"Et tous les petits Chatons?" (And all the kittens.)
This was too much for Mr. Shaw. He answered
shortly that the kittens were all well, and bidding him
call at his house, turned away with his military friends,
leaving poor Louizon quite astonished at the abrupt
ness of his departure.
Cut off, in the manner described, from the world at
large, with no society but the military, thus lived the
famtiy of Mr. Kinzie, in great contentment, and in the
enjoyment of all the comforts, together with most of
the luxuries of life.
The Indians reciprocated the friendship that was
shown them, and formed for them an attachment of no
ordinary strength, as was manifested during the scenes
of the year 1812, eight years after Mr. Kinzie came to
live among them.
Some of the most prominent events of that year are
recorded in the following Narrative.

CHAPTER 'XVIII.
MASSACRE AT CHICAGO.*
It was the evening of the 7th April, 1812. The •
chUdren of Mr. Kinzie were dancing before the fire to-
the music of their father's violin. The tea-table was
spread, and they were awaiting the return of their
mother, who had gone to visit a sick neighbor about a
quarter of a mile up the river.
Suddenly their sports were interrupted. The door
was thrown open, and Mrs. Kinzie rushed in, pale
with terror and scarcely able to articulate, "The In
dians! the Indians!"
"The Indians? What? Where?" eagerly demand
ed they all.
"Up at Lee's Place, killing and scalping !"
With difficulty Mrs. Kinzie composed herself suffi
ciently to give the information, " That while she was
up at Burns', a man and a boy were seen running
* This Narrative is substantially the same as that published in
pamphlet form, in 1836. It was transferred with little variation to
Brown's " History of Illinois," and to a work called " Western An
nals." It was likewise made, by Major Eichardson, the basis of
his two tales, " Hardscrabble," and," Wau-nan-gee."

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 203
down with all speed on the opposite side of the river ;
that they had called across to give notice to Burns'
family to save themselves, for the Indians were at Lee's
Place, from wliich they had just made their escape.
Having given this terrifying news, they had made all
speed for the fort, which was on the same side of the
river that they then were. >
All was now consternation and dismay. The family
were hurried into two old pirogues, that were moored
near the house, and paddled with all possible haste
across the river to take refuge in the fort.
All that the man and boy who had made their
escape were able to tell, was soon known ; but in order
to render their story more intelligible, it is necessary
to describe the scene of action. </^
Lee's Place, since known by the name of Hardscrab
ble, was a farm intersected by the Chicago River, about
four mties from its mouth. The farm-house stood on
the western bank of the south branch of this river.
On the same side of the main stream, but quite near
its junction with Lake Michigan, stood (as has already
been described) the dwelling-house and trading estab
lishment of Mr. Kinzie.
The fort was situated on the southern bank, directly
opposite this mansion — the river, and a few rods of
sloping green turf on either side, being all that inter
vened between them.
The fort was differently constructed from the one

204 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
erected on the same site in 1816. It had two block
houses on the southern side, and on the northern a
sally- port, or subterranean passage from the parade
ground to the river. This was designed either to facili
tate eseape, in case of an emergency, or as a means of
supplying the garrison with water during a siege.
The officers in the fort at this period were Capt.
Heald, the commanding officer, Lieut Helm, the son-
in-law of Mr. Kinzie, and Ensign Ronan — the two last
were very young men — and the surgeon, Dr. Van
Yoorhees. The command numbered about seventy-five men ;
very few of whom were effective.
A constant and friendly intercourse had been main
tained between these troops and the Indians. It is
true that the principal men of the Pottowattamie
nation, like those of most other tribes, went yearly to
Fort Maiden, in Canada, to receive a large amount of
presents, with which the British Government had, for
many years, been in the habit of purchasing their alli
ance ; and it was well known that many of the Potto
wattamies, as well as Winnebagoes, had been engaged
with the Ottawas and Shawnees at the battle of Tippe
canoe, the- preceding autumn; yet, as the principal
chiefs of all the bands in the neighborhood appeared to
be on the most amicable terms with the Americans, no
interruption of their harmony was at any time antici-
cipated.

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 205
After the 15th August, however, many circumstances
were recollected that might have opened the eyes of
the whites, had they not been lulled in a fatal security.
One instance in particular may be mentioned.
In the spring preceding the destruction of the fort,
two Indians of the Calumet band came to the fort on a
visit to the Commanding Officer. As they passed
through the quarters, they saw Mrs. Heald and Mrs.
Helm playing at battledoor.
Turning to the interpreter, one of them, Nau-non-
gee, remarked : " The white chiefs' wives are amusing
themselves very much ; it wtil not be long before they
are hoeing in our cornfields!"
This was considered at the time an idle threat, or at
most, an ebullition of jealous feeling at the contrast
between the situation of their own women and that of
the " white chiefs' wives." Some months after, how
bitterly was it remembered!

The farm at Lee's Place was occupied by a Mr.
White, and three persons employed by him in the care
ofthe farm.
In the afternoon of the day on which our narrative
commences, a party of ten or twelve Indians, dressed
and painted, arrived at the house, and according to the
custom among savages, entered and seated themselves
without ceremony.

206 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Something in their appearance and manner excited
the suspicions of one of the family, a Frenchman, who
remarked, "I do not like the appearance of these
Indians — they are none of our folks. I know by
their dress and paint that they are not Pottowatta
mies." Another of the famtiy, a discharged soldier, then
said to the boy who was present, "If that is the case,
we had better get away from them if we can. Say
nothing ; but do as you see me do."
As the afternoon was far advanced, the soldieT
walked leisurely towards the canoes, of which there
were two tied near the bank. Some of the Indians in
quired where he was going. He pointed to the cattle
which were standing among the haystacks on the oppo
site bank; and made signs that they must go and fod
der them, and then they should return and get their
supper. He got into one canoe, and the boy into the other.
The stream was narrow, and they were soon across.
When they had gained the opposite side, they pulled
some hay for the cattle — made a show of collecting
them — and when they had gradually made a circuit,
so that their movements were concealed by the hay
stacks, they took to the woods, which were close at
hand, and made for the fort.
They had run about a quarter of a mile, when they
heard the discharge of two guns successively, which

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 207
they supposed to have been levelled at the companions
they had left behind.
They stopped not nor stayed until they arrived op
posite Burn's,* where, as before related, they called
across to advertise the family of their danger, and then
hastened on to the fort
It now occurred to those who had secured their own
safety, that the family of Burns was at this moment
exposed to the most imminent peril. The question
was, who would hazard his own life to bring them to
a place of safety? A gallant young officer, Ensign
Ronan, volunteered, with a party of five or six soldiers,
to go to their rescue.
They ascended the river in a scow, took the mother,
with her infant of scarcely a day old, upon her bed to
the boat, in which they carefully conveyed her and
the other members of the family to the fort.
A party of soldiers, consisting of a corporal and six
men, had that afternoon obtained leave to go up the
river to fish.
They had not returned when the fugitives from Lee's
Place arrived at the fort, and fearing that they might
encounter the Indians, the commanding officer ordered
a cannon to be fired, to warn them of danger.
They were at the time about two miles above Lee's
Place. Hearing the signal, they took the hint, put out
* Burns' house stood sear the spot where the Agency building,
or " Cobweb Castle," was afterwards erected.

208 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
their torches (for it was now night), and dropped down
the river toward the garrison, as silently as possible.
It will be remembered that the unsettled state of the
country since the battle of Tippecanoe, the preceding
November, had rendered every man vigilant, and the
slightest alarm was an admonition to beware of "the
Indians." When the fishing-party reached Lee's Place, it was
proposed to stop and warn the inmates to be upon
their guard, as the signal from the fort indicated dan
ger of some kind. All was still as death around tiie
house. They groped their way along, and as the cor
poral jumped over the small enclosure, he placed his
hand upon the dead body of a man. By the sense of
touch he soon ascertained that the head was without a
scalp, and otherwise mutUated. The faithful dog of
the murdered man stood guarding the lifeless remains
of his master.
,The tale was now told. They retreated to their
canoes and reached the fort unmolested about eleven
o'clock at night. The next, morning a party of the
citizens and soldiers volunteered to go to Lee's Place,
to learn further the fate of its occupants. The body
of Mr. White was found pierced by two balls, and
with eleven stabs in the breast. The Frenchman, as
already described, lay dead, with his dog still beside
him. Their bodies were brought to the fort and buried
in its immediate vicinity.

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 209
It was subsequently ascertained, from traders out in
the Indian country, that the perpetrators of this bloody
deed were a party of Winnebagoes, who had come into
titis neighbourhood to " take some white scalps." Their
plan had been, to proceed down the river from Lee's
Place, and kUl every white man without the walls of
the fort. Hearing, however, the report of the cannon,
and not knowing what it portended, they thought it
best to remain satisfied with this one exploit,- and forth
with retreated to their homes on Rock River.
The inhabitants outside the fort, consisting of a few
discharged soldiers and some families of half-breeds,
now entrenched themselves in the Agency House. This
stood on the esplanade west of the fort, between the
pickets and the river, and distant about twenty rods
from the former.*
It was an old-fashioned log-building, with a hall
running through the centre, and one large room on
each side. Piazzas extended the whole length of the
building in front and rear. These were planked, up,
for greater security, port-holes were cut, and sentinels
posted at night.
As the enemy were believed to be lurking still in
the neighborhood, or, emboldened by former success,
likely to return at any moment, an order was issued
prohibiting any soldier or citizen from leaving the
vicinity of the garrison without a guard.
* The present site of the lighthouse.

210 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
One night a sergeant and private, who were out on
a patrol, came suddenly upon a party of Indians in the
pasture adjoining the esplanade. The sergeant fired
his piece, and both retreated toward the fort. Before
they could reach it, an Indian threw his tomahawk,
which missed the sergeant and struck a wagon stand
ing near. The sentinel from the block-house immedi
ately fired, and with effect, whUe the men got safely
in. The next morning it was ascertained, from traces
of blood to a considerable distance into the prairie, and
from the appearance of a body having been laid among
the long grass, that some execution had been done.
On another occasion the enemy entered the esplanade
to steal horses. Not finding them in the stable, as
they had expected, they made themselves amends for
their disappointment by stabbing all the sheep in the
stable, and then letting them loose. The poor animals
flocked towards the fort. This gave the alarm — 'the
garrison was aroused — parties were sent out, but the
marauders escaped unmolested.

The inmates of the fort experienced no further alarm
for many weeks.
On the afternoon of the 7th August, Winnemeg, or
Catfish, a Pottowattamie chief, arrived at the post,
bringing despatches from Gen. Hull. These announced
the declaration of war between the United States and

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 211
Great Britain, and that Gen. Hull, at the head of the
North- Western army, had arrived at Detroit; also,
that the island of Mackinac had fallen into the hands
of the British.
The orders to Captain Heald were, " to evacuate the
fort, if practicable, and in that event, to distribute all
the United States' property contained in the fort, and
in the United States' factory or agency, among the In
dians in the neighborhood."
After having delivered his despatches, Winnemeg
requested a private interview with Mr. Kinzie, who
had taken up his residence in the fort. He stated to
Mr. K. that he was acquainted with the purport ofthe
communications he had brought, and begged him to
ascertain if it were the intention of Captain Heald
to evacuate the post. He advised strongly against
such a step, inasmuch as the garrison was well
supplied with ammunition, and with provisions for
six months. It would, therefore, be far better, he
thought, to remain until a reinforcement could be
sent to their assistance. If, however, Captain Heald
should decide upon leaving the post, it should by all
means be done immediately. The Pottowattamies,
through whose country they must pass, being ignorant
of the object of Winnemeg's mission, a forced march
might be made, before those who were hostile in their
feelings were prepared to interrupt them.
Of this advice, so earnestly given, Captain Heald was

212 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
immediately informed. He replied that it was his in
tention to evacuate the post, but that, inasmuch as he
had received orders to distribute the United States'
property, he should not feel justified in leaving it un
til he had collected the Indians of the neighborhood,
and made an equitable division among them.
Winnemeg then suggested the expediency of march
ing out, and leaving all things standing — possibly
whtie the Indians were engaged in the partition of
the spoUs, the troops might effect their retreat unmo
lested. This advice was strongly seconded by Mr.
Kinzie, but did not meet the approbation of the Com
manding Officer.
The order for evacuating the post was read next
morning upon parade. It is difficult to understand
why Captain Heald, in such an emergency, omitted the
usual form of calling a council of war with his officers.
It can only be accounted for by the fact of a want of
harmonious feeling between himself and one of his ju
nior officers— Ensign Ronan, a high-spirited and some
what overbearing, but brave and generous young man.
In the course ofthe day, finding that no council was
called, the officers waited on Captain Heald to be in
formed what course he intended to pursue. When
they learned his intentions, they remonstrated with
him, on the following grounds :
First— It was highly improbable that the command
would be permitted to pass through the country in

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 213
safety to Fort Wayne. For although it had been said
that some of the chiefs had opposed an attack upon the
fort, planned the preceding autumn, yet it was weti
known that they had been actuated in that matter by
motives of private regard to one family, and not to any
general friendly feeling toward the Americans; and
that, at any rate, it was hardly to be expected that
these few individuals would be able to control the
whole tribe, who were thirsting for blood.
In the next place — their march must necessarily be
slow, as their movements must be accommodated to
the helplessness of the women and chtidren, of whom
there were a number with the detachment. That of
their small force, some of the soldiers were superannu
ated, others invalid ; therefore, since the course to be
pursued was left discretional, their unanimous advice
'was, to remain where they were, and fortify themselves
as strongly as possible. Succors from the other side
of the peninsula might arrive before they could be at
tacked by the British from Mackinac, and even should
there not, it were far better to fall into the hands of the
latter than to become the victims of the savages.
Captain Heald argued in reply, " that a special order
had been issued by the war department, that no post
should be surrendered without battle having been
given, and his force was totally inadequate to an en
gagement with the Indians. That he should unques
tionably be censured for remaining, when there ap-

214 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
peared a prospect of a safe march through ; and that,
upon the whole, he deemed it expedient to assemble
the Indians, distribute the property among them, and
then ask of them an escort to Fort Wayne, with the
promise of a considerable reward upon their safe ar
rival — adding, that he had full confidence in the friendly
professions of the Indians, from whom, as well as from
the soldiers, the capture of Mackinac had been kept a
profound secret, u«*'',^
From this time the officers held themselves aloof,
and spoke but little upon the subject, though they con
sidered the project of Captain Heald httle short-of mad
ness. The dissatisfaction among the soldiers hourly in
creased, until it reached a high pitch of insubordination^
Upon one occasion, as Captain Heald was conversing
with Mr. Kinzie upon the parade, he remarked, "I
could not remain, even if I thought it best, for I have
but a small store of provisions."
" Why, captain," said a soldier who stood near, for
getting all etiquette in the excitement of the moment,
"you have cattle enough to last the troops six
months." " But," replied Captain Heald, " I have no salt to
preserve it with."
" Then jerk* it," said the man, " as the Indians do
their venison."
* This is done by cutting the meat in thin slices, placing it upon

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 215
The Indians now, became daily more unruly. En
tering the fort in defiance of the sentinels, they made
their way without ceremony into the officer's quarters.
On one occasion, an Indian took up a rifle and fired it
in the parlor of the Commanding Officer, as an ex
pression of defiance. Some were of opinion that this
was intended among the young men as a signal for an
attack. The old chiefs passed backwards and for
ward among the assembled groups, with the appear
ance of the most lively agitation, whtie the squaws
rushed to and fro, in great excitement, and evidently
prepared for some fearful scene.
Any further manifestation of til-feeling was, how
ever, suppressed for the present, and Captain Heald,
strange as it may seem, continued to entertain a con
viction of having created so amicable a disposition
among the Indians, as would insure the safety of the
command on their march to Fort Wayne.
Thus passed the time until the 12th August. The
feehngs of the inmates of the fort during this time
may be better imagined than described. Each morn
ing that dawned seemed to bring them nearer that
most appalling fate — butchery by a savage foe — and at
night they scarcely dared yield to slumber, lest they
should be aroused by the warwhoop and tomahawk.
Gloom and mistrust prevatied, and the want of una-
a scaffold, and making a fire under it, which dries it and smokes it
at the same time.

216 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
nimity among the officers, debarred them the consola
tion they might have found in mutual sympathy and
encouragement The Indians being assembled from the neighbouring
villages, a council was held with them on the after
noon of the 12th. Captain Heald only, attended on
the part of the military. He requested his officers to
accompany him, but they declined. They had been
secretly informed that it was the intention of the young
chiefs to fall upon the officers and massacre them whtie
in council, but they could not persuade Captain Heald
of the truth of their information. They waited there
fore only until he had left the garrison, accompanied
by Mr. Kinzie, when they took command of the block
houses which overlooked the esplanade on which the
councU was held, opened the port-holes, and pointed
the cannon so as to command the whole assembly. By
this means, probably, the tives of the whites who were
present in council were preserved.
In councU, the Commanding Officer informed the In
dians that it was his intention to distribute among them
the next day, not only the goods lodged in the United
States' Factory, but also the ammunition and provi
sions, with which the garrison was well supphed. He
then requested of the Pottowattamies an escort to Fort
Wayne, promising them a liberal reward on arriving
there, in addition to the presents they were now about
to receive. With many professions of friendship and

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 217
good-will, the savages assented to all he proposed, and
promised ati he required.
After the council, Mr. Kinzie, who understood well,
not only the Indian character, but the present tone T>f
feehng among them, had a long interview with Captain
Heald, in hopes of opening his eyes to the present
posture of affairs.
He reminded him that since the troubles with the
Indians upon the Wabash and its vicinity, there had
appeared a settled plan of hostilities toward the
whites, in' consequence of which it had been the policy
of the Americans to withhold from them whatever
would enable them to carry on their warfare upon the
defenceless inhabitants of the frontier.
Mr. Kinzie recaUed to Captain Heald how that he
had himself left home for Detroit the preceding autumn,
but, receiving when he had proceeded as far as De
Charme's* the intelligence of the battle of Tippecanoe,
he had immediately returned to Chicago, that he might
dispatch orders to his traders to furnish no ammuni
tion to the Indians ; in consequence of which all they
had on hand was secreted, and such of the traders as
had not already started for their wintering-grounds
took neither powder nor shot with them.
Captain Heald was struck with the impolicy of fur
nishing the enemy (for such they must now consider
their old neighbors) with arms against himself, and
* A trading establishment — now Ypsilanti.
10

218 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST
determined to destroy aU the ammunition except what
should be necessary for the use of his own troops.
On the 13th the goods, consisting of blankets, broad
cloths, calicoes, paints, etc., were distributed, as stipu
lated. The same evening the ammunition and liquor
were carried, part into the sally-port, and thrown into
a weU which had been dug there to supply the garri
son with water in case of emergency ; the remainder
was transported as secretly as possible through the
northern gate, the heads of the barrels knocked in,
and the contents poured into the river.
The same fate was shared by a large quantity of
alcohol belonging to Mr. Kinzie, which had been
deposited in a warehouse near his residence opposite
the fort.
The Indians suspected what was going on, and crept,
serpent-like, as near the scene of action as possible,
but a vigUant watch was kept up, and no one was suf
fered to approach but those engaged in the affair. AU
the muskets not necessary for the command on the
march were broken up and thrown into the weU,
together with the bags of shot, flints, gunscrews, and,
in short, everything relating to weapons of offence.
Some relief to the general feeling of despondency
was afforded by the arrival, on the 14th of August, of
Captain Wells* with fifteen friendly Miamis.
* Captain Wells when a boy was stolen from his friends, the
family of Hon. Nathaniel Pope, in Kentucky. Although recovered

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 219
Of this brave man, who forms so conspicuous a
figure in our frontier annals, it is unnecessary here to
say more than that he had been residing from his
boyhood among the Indians, and consequently pos
sessed a perfect knowledge of their character and
habits. He had heard, at Fort Wayne, of the order for
evacuating the fort at Chicago, and knowing the hos
tile determination of the Pottowattamies, he had made
a rapid march across the country, to prevent the ex
posure of his relative, Captain Heald, and his troops
to certain destruction.
But he came "all too late." When he reached the
post he found that the ammunition had been destroyed,
and the provisions given to the Indians. There was,
therefore, now no alternative, and every preparation
was made for the march of the troops on the following
morning. On the afternoon of the same day, a second councU
was held with the Indians. They expressed great
indignation at the destruction of the ammunition and
liquor. Notwithstanding the precautions that had been taken
to preserve secresy, the noise of knocking in the heads
of the barrels had betrayed the operations of the pre-
by them, he preferred to return and live among his new friends.
He married a Miami woman, and became a chief of the nation.
He was the father of the late Mrs. Judge Wolcott, of Maumee, 0.

220 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
ceding night; and, so great was the quantity of liquor
thrown into the river, that the taste of the water the
next morning was, as one expressed it, " strong grog."
Murmurs and threats were everywhere heard among
the savages. It was evident that the first moment of
exposure would subject the troops to some manifesta
tion of their disappointment and resentment.
Among the chiefs were several who, although they
shared the general hosttie feeling of their tribe toward
the Americans, yet retained a personal regard for the
troops at this post, and for the few white citizens of
the place. These chiefs exerted their utmost influence
to allay the revengeful feelings of the young men, and
to avert their sanguinary designs, but without effect.
On the evening succeeding the councU, Black Par
tridge, a conspicuous chief, entered the quarters of the
Commanding Officer.
" Father," said he, "I come to deliver up to you the
medal I wear. It was given me by the Americans,
and I have long worn it, in token of our mutual friend
ship. But our young men are resolved to imbrue their
hands in the blood of the whites. I cannot restrain
them, and I wUl not wear a token of peace while I
am compelled to act as an enemy."
Had further evidence been wanting, this circum
stance would sufficiently have proved to the devoted
band, the justice of their melancholy anticipations.
Nevertheless, they went steadily on with the necessary

MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 221
preparations ; and amid the horrors, of their situation,
there were not wanting one or two gallant hearts, who
strove to encourage, in their desponding companions,
the hopes of escape they were far from indulging them
selves. Of the ammunition there had been reserved but
twenty-five rounds, beside one box of cartridges, con
tained in the baggage-wagons. This must, under any
circumstances of danger, have proved an inadequate
supply, but the prospect of a fatiguing march, in their
present ineffective state, forbade the troops embarrass
ing themselves with a larger quantity.

CHAPTER XIX.
NARRATIVE OF THE MASSACRE
CONTINUED.
The morning ofthe 15th arrived. AU things were
in readiness, and nine o'clock was the hour named for
starting. Mr. Kinzie had volunteered to accompany the troops
in their march, and had entrusted his family to the
care of some friendly Indians, who had promised- to
convey them in a boat around the head of Lake Michi
gan to a point* on the St. Joseph's river ; there to be
joined by the troops, should the prosecution of their
march be permitted them.
Early in the morning Mr. Kinzie received a message
from To-pee-nee-bee, a chief of the St. Joseph's band,
informing him that mischief was intended by the Potto
wattamies who had engaged to escort the detachment;
and urging him to relinquish his design of accompa
nying the troops by land, promising him that the boat
containing himself and family should be permitted to
pass in safety to St. Joseph's.
* The spot now called Bertrand, then known as Pare aux Vaches,
from its having been a pasture ground to an old French fort in the
neighborhood.

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 223
Mr. Kinzie declined according to this proposal, as he
believed that his presence might operate as a restraint
upon the fury of the saYages, so warmly were the
greater part of them attached to himself and his family.
The party in the boat consisted of Mrs. Kinzie and
her four younger children, their nurse Grutte,* a clerk
of Mr. Kinzie's, two servants and the boatmen, besides
the two Indians who acted as their protectors. The
boat started, but had scarcely reached the mouth of
the river, which, it will be recollected was here half a
mtie below the fort, when another messenger from
To-pee-nee-bee arrived to detain them where they were.
In breathless expectation sat the wife and mother.
She was a woman of uncommon energy and strength
of character, yet her heart died within her as she
folded her arms around her helpless infants, and gazed
upon the march of her husband and eldest chtid to
certain destruction.
As the the troops left the fort, the band struck up
the Dead March. On they came in military array, but
with solemn mien. Captain Wells took the lead at the
head of his little band of Miamis. He had blackened
his face before leave the garrison, in token of his im
pending fate. They took their route along the lake
shore. When they reached the point where com
menced a range of sand hills intervening between the
prairie and the beach, the escort of Pottowattamies,
* Afterwards Mrs. Jean Baptiste Braubien.

224 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
in number about five hundred, kept the level of the
prairie, instead of continuing along the beach with the
Americans and Miamis.
They had marched perhaps a mile and a half, when
Captain Wells, who had kept somewhat in advance
with his Miamis, came riding furiously back.
" They are about to attack us," shouted he ; "form,
instantly, and charge upon them."
Scarcely were the words 'uttered, when a volley was
showered from among the sand-hitis. The troops were
hasttiy brought into line, and charged up the bank.
One man, a veteran of seventy winters, feU as they
ascended. The remainder of the scene is best described
in the words of an eye-witness and participator in the
tragedy, Mrs. Helm, the wife of Captain (then Lieu
tenant) Helm, and step-daughter of Mr. Kinzie.

"After we had left the bank the firing became
general. The Miamis fled at the outset. Their chief
rode up to the Pottowattamies and said :
"You have deceived the Americans and us. *You
have done a bad action, and (brandishing his toma
hawk) I wtil be the first to head a party of Americans
to return and punish your treachery." So saying, he
galloped after his companions, who were now scouring
across the prairies.
" The troops behaved most gallantly. They were

NARRATIVE OE THE MASSACRE. 225
but a handful, but they seemed resolved to sell their
tives as dearly as possible. Our horses pranced and
bounded, and could hardly be restrained as the balls
whistled among them. I drew off a tittle, and gazed
upon my husband and father, who were yet unharmed.
I felt that my hour was come, and endeavored to for
get those I loved, and prepare myself for my approach
ing fate.
" Whtie I was thus engaged, the surgeon, Dr. Van
Voorhees, came up. He was badly wounded. His
horse had been shot under him, and he had received a
ball in his leg. Every muscle of his face was quiver
ing with the agony of terror. He said to me — ' Do
you think they wtil take our lives? I am badly
wounded, but I think not mortally. Perhaps we
mignt purchase our tives by promising them a large
reward. Do you think there is any chance?'
" ' Dr. Van Voorhees,' said I, ' do not let us waste
the few moments that yet remain to us in such vain
hopes. Our fate is inevitable. In a few moments we
must appear before the bar of God. Let us make what
preparation is yet in our power.'
" ' Oh ! I cannot die,' exclaimed he, ' I am not fit to
die — if I had but a short time to prepare — death is
awful!' "I pointed to Ensign Ronan, who though mortally
wounded and nearly down, was stUl fighting with
desperation on one knee.
10*

226 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST,
" ' Look at that man,' said I, ' at least he dies like a
soldier.' *' ' Yes,' replied the unfortunate man, with a convul
sive gasp, 'but he has no terrors of the future — be is
an unbeliever!'
" At this moment a young Indian raised his toma
hawk at me. By springing aside, I avoided the blow
which was intended for my skull, but which alighted
on my shoulder. I seized him around the neck, and
while exerting my utmost efforts to get possession of
his scalping-knife, which hung in a scabbard over his
breast, I was dragged from his grasp by another and
an older Indian.
"The latter bore me struggling and resisting
towards the lake. Notwithstanding the rapidity with
which I was hurried along, I recognized as I passed
them the lifeless remains of the unfortunate surgeon.
Some murderous tomahawk had stretched him upon
the very spot where I had last seen him.
" I was immediately plunged into the water and held
there with a forcible hand, notwithstanding my resist
ance. I soon perceived, however, that the object of
my captor was not to drown me, for he held me firmly
in such a position as to place my head above water.
This reassured me, and regarding him attentively, I
soon recognized, in spite of the paint with which he
was disguised, The Black Partridge.

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 227
" When the firing had nearly subsided, my preserver
bore me from the water and conducted me up the sand
banks. It was a burning August morning, and walk
ing through the sand in my drenched condition was
inexpressibly painful and fatiguing. I stooped and
took off my shoes to free them from the sand with
which they were nearly filled, when a squaw seized
and carried them off, and I was obliged to proceed
without them.
" When we had gained the prairie, I was met by my
father, who told me that my husband was safe and but
slightly wounded. They led me gently back towards
the Chicago River, along the southern bank of which
was the Pottowattamie encampment. At one time I
was placed upon a horse without a saddle, but finding
the motion insupportable, I sprang off. Supported
partly by my kind conductor, Black Partridge, and
partly by another Indian, Pee-so-tum, who held dang
ling in his hand a scalp, which by the black ribbon
around the queue I recognized as that of Capt. Wells,
I dragged my fainting steps to one of the wigwams.
" The wife of Wau-bee-nee-mah, a chief from the
Illinois River was standing near, and seeing my ex
hausted condition she seized a kettle, dipped up some
water from a stream that flowed near,* threw into it
some maple sugar, and stirring it up with her hand
gave it me to drink. This act of kindness, in the midst
* Just by the present State street Market.

228 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
of so many horrors, touched me most sensibly, but my
attention was soon diverted to other objects.
" The fort had become a scene of plunder to such as
remained after the troops marched out. The. cattle had
been shot down as they ran at large, and lay dead or
dying around. This work of butchery had com
menced just as we were leaving the fort. I well re-
memembered a remark of Ensign Ronan, as the firing
went on. ' Such,' turning to me, ' is to be our fate —
to be shot down tike brutes !'
" 'WeU sir,' said the Commanding Officer who over
heard him, ' are you afraid V
" 'No,' replied the high spirited young man, 'I can
march up to the enemy where you dare not show your
face;' and his subsequent gallant behaviour showed
this to be no idle boast.
" As the noise of the firing grew gradually less and
the stragglers from the victorious party came dropping
in, I received confirmation of what my father had hur
riedly communicated in our rencontre on the lake
shore ; namely, that the whites had surrendered after
the loss of about two-thirds of their number. They
had stipulated, through the interpreter, Peresh Leclerc,
for the preservation of their tives, and those of the re
maining women and chUdren, and for their delivery at
some of the British posts, unless ransomed by traders
in the Indian country. It appears that the wounded
prisoners were not considered as included in the stipu-

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 229
lation, and a horrible scene ensued upon their being
brought into camp.
" An old squaw infuriated by the loss of friends, or
excited by the sanguinary scenes around her, seemed
possessed by a demoniac ferocity. She seized a stable-
fork and assaulted one miserable victim, who lay
groaning and writhing in the agony of his wounds,
aggravated by the scorching beams of the sun. With
a delicacy of feeling scarcely to have been expected
under such circumstances, Wau-bee-nee-mah stretched
a mat across two poles, between me and this dreadful
scene. I was thus spared in some degree a view of its
horrors, although I could not entirely close my ears to
the cries of the sufferer. The foUowing night five more
of the wounded prisoners were tomahawked.
" The Americans after their first attack by the Indians
charged upon those who had concealed themselves in
a -sort of ravine, intervening between the sand banks
and the prairie. The latter gathered themselves into a
body, and after some hard fighting, in which the num
ber of whites had become reduced to twenty-eight, this
little band succeeded in breaking through the enemy,
and gaining a rising ground, not far from the Oak
Woods. The contest now seemed hopeless, and Lt.
Helm sent Peresh Leclerc, a half-breed boy in the ser
vice of Mr. Kinzie, who had accompanied the detach
ment and fought manfully on their side, to propose
terms of capitulation. It was stipulated that the

230 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
lives of all the survivors should be spared, and a ran
som permitted as soon as practicable.
" But, in the mean time, a horrible scene had been
enacted. One young savage, climbing into the bag
gage-wagon containing the children of the white fami
lies, twelve in number, tomahawked the chtidren of
the entire group. This was during the engagement
near the Sand-hills. When Captain Wells, who was
fighting near, beheld it, he exclaimed :
" 'Is that their game, butchering the women and
children ? Then I will kill too !'
" So saying, he turned his horse's head, and started
for the Indian camp, near the fort, where had been
left their squaws and chtidren.
" Several Indians pursued him as he galloped along.
He laid himself flat on the neck of his horse, loading
and firing in that position, as he would occasionaUy
turn on his pursuers. At length their balls took effect,
killing his horse, and severely wounding himself. At
this moment he was met by Winnemeg and Wau-ban-
see, who endeavored to save him from the savages who
had now overtaken him. As they supported him
along, after having disengaged him from his horse, he
received his death-blow from another Indian, Pee-so-
tum, who stabbed him in the back.
" The heroic resolution of one of the soldier's wives
deserves to be recorded. She was a Mrs. Corbin, and
had, from the first, expressed the determination never

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 231
to fall into the hands of the savages, believing that
their prisoners were always subjected to tortures worse
than death.
"When, therefore, a party came upon her, to make
her a prisoner, she fought with desperation, refusing
to surrender, although assured, by signs, of safety and
kind treatment, and literally suffered herself to be cut
to pieces, rather than become their captive.
" There, was a Sergeant Holt, who, early in the en
gagement, received.a ball in the neck. Finding himself
badly wounded, he . gave his sword to his wife, who
was on horseback near him; telling her to defend her
self — he then made for the lake, to keep out of the way
of the batis. Mrs. Holt rode a very fine horse, which
the Indians were desirous of possessing, and they
therefore attacked her, in hopes of dismounting her.
" They fought only with the butt-ends of their guns,
for their object was not to kill her. She hacked and
hewed at their pieces as they were thrust against her,
now on this side, now on that. Finally, she broke
loose from them, and dashed out into the prairie. The
Indians pursued her, shouting and laughing, and now
and then calling out :
" ' The brave woman ! do not hurt her !'
" At length they overtook her again, and while she
was engaged with two or three in front, one succeeded
in seizing her by the neck behind, and dragging her,'
although a large and powerful woman, from her horse.

232 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Notwithstanding that their guns had been so hacked
and injured, and even themselves cut severely, they
seemed to regard her only with admiration. They
took her to a trader on the Illinois River, by whom she
was restored to her friends, after having received
every kindness during her captivity*
"Those of the famtiy of Mr. Kinzie, who had re
mained in the boat, near the mouth of the river, were
carefully guarded by Kee-po-tah and another Indian.
They had seen the smoke — then the blaze — and im
mediately after the report of the first tremendous dis
charge sounded in their ears. Then all was confusion.
They realized nothing untU they saw an Indian come
towards them from the battle-ground, leading a horse
on which sat a lady, apparently wounded.
" ' That is Mrs. Heald,' cried Mrs. Kinzie. ' That
Indian wUl kUl her. Run, Chandonnai,' to one of Mr.
Kinzie's clerks, take the mule that is tied there, and
offer it to him to release her.'
" Her captor, by this time, was in the act of disin-
gaging her bonnet from her head, in order to scalp
her. Chandonnai ran up, offered the mule as a ran
som, with the promise of ten bottles of whiskey, as
soon as they should reach his vUlage. The latter was
a strong temptation.
" ' But,' said the Indian,' ' she is badly wounded — she
wtil die. Will you give me the whiskey, at all events ?'
* Mrs. Holt is believed to be still living in the State of Ohio.

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 233
" Chandonnai promised that he would, and the bar
gain was concluded. The savage placed the lady's bon
net on his own head, and after an ineffectual effort on
the part of some squaws to rob her of her shoes and
stockings, she was brought onboard the boat, where she
lay moaning with pain from the many bullet wounds
she had received in both arms.
" The horse she had ridden was a fine spirited animal,
and, being desirous of possessing themselves of it un
injured, the Indians had aimed their shots so as to
disable the rider, without injuring her steed.
" She had not lain long in the boat, when a young
Indian of savage aspect was seen approaching. A
buffalo robe was hasttiy drawn over Mrs. Heald, and
she was admonished to suppress all sound of complaint,
as she valued her life.
" The heroic woman remained perfectly silent, whtie
the savage drew near. He had a pistol in his hand,
which he rested on the side of the boat, while, with a
fearful scowl, he looked pryingly around. Black Jim,
one of the servants who stood in the bow of the boat,
seized an axe that lay near, and signed to him that if
he shot, he would cleave his skuU; telling him that
the boat contained only the family of Shaw-nee-aw-kee.
Upon this, the Indian retired. It afterward appeared
that the object of his search was Mr. Burnett, a tradei
from St. Joseph's, with whom he had some account to
settle.

234 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
" When the boat was at length permitted to return to
the mansion of Mr. Kinzie, and Mrs. Heald was re
moved to the house, it became necessary to dress her
wounds. " Mr. K. applied to an old chief who stood by, and
who, like most of his tribe, possessed some skill in
surgery, to extract a ball from the arm of the sufferer.
" ' No, father,' replied he. ' I cannot do it — it makes
me sick here' — (placing his hand on his heart).
" Mr. Kinzie then performed the operation himself
with his penknife.
"At their own mansion the famtiy of Mr. Kinzie were
closely guarded by their Indian friends, whose inten
tion it was, to carry them to Detroit for security. The
rest of the prisoners remained at the wigwams of their
captors. "The following morning, the work of plunder being
completed, the Indians set fire to the fort. A very
equitable distribution of the finery appeared to have
been made, and shawls, ribbons, and feathers flut
tered about in all directions. The ludicrous appear
ance of one young fellow who had arrayed himself in
a muslin gown, and the bonnet of one of the ladies,
would, under other circumstances, have afforded
matter of amusement.
"Black Partridge, Wau-ban-see, andKee-po-tah, with
two other Indians, having established themselves in the
porch of the building as sentinels, to protect the famtiy

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 235
from any evti that the young men might be excited to
commit, all remained tranquti for a short space after
the conflagration.
" Very soon, however, a party of Indians from the
Wabash made their appearance. These were, de
cidedly, the most hostile and implacable of all the
tribes of the Pottowattamies.
" Being more remote, they had shared less than some
y£ their brethren in the kindness of Mr. Kinzie and his
famtiy, and consequently their sentiments of regard for
them were less powerful.
" Runners had been sent to the villages to apprize
them of the intended evacuation of the post, as well as
of the plan of the Indians assembled to attack the
troops. "Thirsting to participate in such a scene they hurried
on, and great was their mortification on arriving at the
river Aux Plaines, to meet with a party of their
friends having with them their chief Nee-scot-nee-meg,
badly wounded, and to learn that the battle was over,
the spoils divided, and the scalps all taken.
" On arriving at Chicago they blackened their faces,
and proceeded towards the dwelling of Mr. Kinzie.
" From his station on the piazza Black Partridge had
watched their approach, and his fears were particularly
awakened for the safety of Mrs, Helm (Mr. Kinzie's
step-daughter), who had recently come to the post, and
was personally unknown to the inore remote Indians.

236 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
By his advice she was made to "assume the ordinary
dress of a French woman of the country ; namely, a
short gown, and petticoat, with a blue cotton handker
chief wrapped around her head. In this disguise she
was conducted by Black Partridge himself to the house
of Ouilmette, a Frenchman with a half-breed wife, who
formed a part of the estabhshment of Mr. Kinzie, and
whose dwelling was close at hand.
"It so happened that the Indians came first to this
house, in their search for prisoners. As they ap
proached, the inmates, fearful that the fair complexion
and general appearance of Mrs. Helm might betray her
for an American, raised a large feather-bed and placed
her under the edge of it, upon the bedstead, with her
face to the wall. Mrs. Bisson, the sister of Ouilmette's
wife, then seated herself with her sewing upon the
front of the bed.
" It was a hot day in August, and the feverish excite
ment of fear and agitation, together with her position,
which was nearly suffocating, became so intolerable,
that Mrs. Helm at length entreated to be released and
given up to the Indians.
" ' I can but die,' said she ; ' let them put an end to
my misery at once.'
" Mrs. Bisson replied, ' Your death would be the
destruction of us aU, for Black Partridge has resolved
that if one drop of the blood of your famtiy is sptiled, he
will take the lives of all concerned in it, even his nearest

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 237
friends, and if once the work of murder commences,
there will be no end of it, so long as there remains one
white person, or half breed, in the country.'
" This expostulation nerved Mrs. Helm with fresh
resolution. " The Indians entered, and she could occasionaUy see
them from her hiding-place, gliding about, and stealth
ily inspecting every part of the room, though without
making any ostensible search, until apparently satisfied
that there was no one concealed, they left the house.
" AU this time Mrs. Bisson had kept her seat upon
the side of the bed, calmly sorting and arranging the
patchwork of the quilt on which she was engaged, and!
preserving an appearance of the utmost tranquillity,
although she knew not but that the next moment she
might receive a tomahawk in her brain. Her self-
command unquestionably saved the lives of all present
" From Ouilmette's house the party of Indians pro
ceeded to the dwelling of Mr. Kinzie. They entered
the parlor in which the family were assembled with
their faithful protectors, and seated themselves upon
the floor in silence.
" Black Partridge perceived from their moody and
revengeful looks what was passing in their minds, but
he dared not remonstrate with them. He only ob
served in a low tone to Wau-ban-see —
" 'We have endeavored to save our friends, but it is
m vain — nothing wUl save them now.'

238 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
" At this moment a friendly whoop was heard from a
party of new comers on the opposite bank of the river.
Black Partridge sprang to meet their leader, as the
canoes in which they had hastily embarked touched
the bank near the house.
" ' Who are you?' demanded he.
" ' A man— who are you ?'
" ' A man like yourself, but tell me who you are ' —
meaning, tell me your disposition, and which side you
are for.
" ' I am the Sau-ga-nash !'
" ' Then make aU speed to the house — your friend is
in danger, and you alone can save him.'
" Billy Caldwell* for it was he, entered the parlor
with a calm step, and without a trace of agitation in
his manner. He deliberately took off his accoutre
ments and placed them with his rifle behind the door ;
then saluted the hostile savages.
" ' How now, my friends ! A good day to you. I
was told there were enemies here, but I am glad to
find only friends. Why have you blackened your
faces ? Is it that you are mourning for the friends you
have lost in battle?' (purposely misunderstanding this
* Billy Caldwell was a half-breed, and a chief of the nation. Iii
his reply, "lama Sau-ga-nash,'' or Englishman, he designed to con
vey, "lama white man." Had he said, "lama Pottowattamie,"
it would have been interpreted to mean, "I belong to my nation,
and am prepared to go all lengths with them."

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 239
token of evil designs). ' Or is it that you are fasting ?
If so, ask our friend herek and he wtil give you to eat.
He is the Indian's friend, and never yet refused them
what they had need of.'
" Thus taken by surprise, the savages were ashamed to
acknowledge their bloody purpose. They, therefore,
said modestly that they came to beg of their friends
some white cotton in which to wrap their dead, before
interring them. This was given to them with some
other presents, and they took their departure peaceably
from the premises.
" Along with Mr. Kinzie's party was a non-commis
sioned officer who had made his escape in a singular
manner. As the troops were about leaving the fort it
was found that the baggage-horses of the surgeon had
strayed off. The quarter-master-sergeant, Griffith, was
sent to coUect them and bring them on, it being abso
lutely necessary to recover them, since their packs
contained part of the surgeon's apparatus, and the
medicines for the march.
" This man had been for a long time on the sick
report, and for this reason was given the charge of the
baggage, instead of being placed with the troops. His
efforts to recover the horses being unsuccessful, he was
hastening to rejoin his party ; alarmed at some appear
ances of disorder and hostile indications among the
Indians, when he was met and made prisoner by To-
pee-nee-bee.

240 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
" Having taken from him his arms and accoutrements,
the chief put him into a canoe and paddled him across
the river, bidding him make for the woods and secrete
himself. This he did, and the foUowing day, in the
afternoon, seeing from his lurking-place that all ap
peared quiet, he ventured to steal cautiously into the
garden of Ouilmette, where he concealed himself for a
time behind some currant-bushes.
" At length he determined to enter the house, and
accordingly chmbed up through a small back window,
into the room where the family were. This was just
as the Wabash Indians left the house of Ouilmette for
that of Mr. Kinzie. The danger of the sergeant was
now imminent. The famUy stripped him of his uni
form and arrayed him in a suit of deer-skin, with belt,
moccasins, and pipe, like a French engage*. His dark
complexion and large black whiskers favored the dis
guise. The family were all ordered to address him in
French, and although utterly ignorant of the language
he continued to pass for a Weem-tee-gosh* and as such
to accompany Mr. Kinzie and his famtiy, undetected by
his enemies until they reached a place of safety.
" On the third day after the battle, the family of Mr.
Kinzie, with the clerks of the establishment, were put
into a boat, under the care of Francois, a half-breed
interpreter, and conveyed to St Joseph's where they
remained untU the following November, under the pro-
* Frenchman.

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 241
tection of To-pee-nee-bee' s band. They were then con
ducted to Detroit, under the escort of Chandonnai and
their trusty Indian friend, Ke-po-tah, and detivered up
as prisoners of war, to Col. McKee the British Indian
Agent. " Mr. Kinzie was not aUowed to leave St. Joseph's
with his famtiy, his Indian friends insisting on his re
maining and endeavoring to secure some remnant of
his scattered property. During his excursions with
them for that purpose, he wore the costume and paint
of the tribe, in order to escape capture and perhaps
death at the hands of those who were still thirsting
for blood. In time, however, his anxiety for his fam
ily induced him to foUow them to Detroit, where, in
the month of January, he was received and paroled
by Gen. Proctor.
" Capt. and Mrs. Heald had been sent across the lake to
St. Joseph's the day after the battle. The former had
received two wounds, the latter seven in the engagement.
" Lieut. Helm, who was likewise wounded, was car
ried by some friendly Indians to their village on the
Au Sable, and thence to Peoria, where he was libe
rated by the intervention of Mr. Thomas Forsyth, the
half-brother of Mr. Kinzie. Mrs. Helm had accompa
nied her parents to St. Joseph, where they resided in
the famtiy of Alexander Robinson,* receiving from
* The Pottowattamie chief, so well known to many of the citi
zens of Chicago, now residing at the Aux Plaines. ;Q

242 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
them ati possible kindness and hospitality for several
months. " After their arrival in Detroit, Mrs. Helm was joined
by her husband, when they were both arrested by or
der of the British commander, and sent on horseback,
in the dead of winter, through Canada to Fort George
on the Niagara frontier. When they arrived at that
post, there seemed no official appointed to receive them,
and notwithstanding their long and fatiguing journey,
in weather the most cold and inclement, Mrs. H., a de
licate woman of seventeen years, was permitted to sit
waiting in her saddle without the gate for more than
an hour, before the refreshment of fire or food, or even
the shelter of a roof, was offered them. When Col.
Sheaffe, who had been absent at the time, was informed
of this brutal inhospitality, he expressed the greatest
indignation. He waited on Mrs. Helm immediately,
apologized in the most courteous manner, and treated
both her and Lieut. H. with the most considerate kind
ness, until, by an exchange of prisoners, they were
liberated, and found means to reach their friends in
Steuben County, N. Y.
" Capt. Heald had been taken prisoner by an Indian
from the Kankakee, who had a strong personal regard
for him, and who, when he saw the wounded and en
feebled state of Mrs. H. released her husband that he
might accompany his wife to St. Joseph's. To the
latter place they were accordingly carried, as has been

NARRATIVE OP THE MASSACRE. 243
related, by Chandonnai and his party. In the mean
time, the Indian who had so nobly released bis prison
er returned to his' village on the Kankakee, where he
had the mortification of finding that his conduct had
excited great dissatisfaction among his band. So great
was the displeasure manifested, that he resolved to make
a journey to St. Joseph's and reclaim his prisoner.
"News of his intention being brought to To-pee-nee-
bee and Kee-po-tah under whose care the prisoners
were, they held a private council with Chandonnai,
Mr. Kinzie, and the principal men of the vtilage, the
result of which was, a determination, to send Capt.
and Mrs. Heald to the island of Mackinac, and deliver
them up to the British.
" They were accordingly put in a bark canoe, and pad
dled by Robinson and his wife a distance of three hun
dred miles along the coast of Michigan, and surrendered
as prisoners of war to the Commanding Officer at Mac
kinac. " As an instance of the procrastinating spirit of Capt.
Heald it may be mentioned that even after he had re
ceived certain inteUigence that his Indian captor was
on his way from the Kankakee to St. Joseph's to re
take him, he would still have delayed another day at
that place, to make preparation for a more comfortable
journey to Mackinac.
" The soldiers, with their wives and surviving chil
dren, were dispersed among the different villages of

244 the Early day in the north-west.
the Pottawattamies upon the Illinois, Wabash, Rock
River, and at Milwaukie, until the following spring,
when they were, for the most part, carried to Detroit,
and ransomed.
"Mrs. Burns, with her infant, became the prisoners of
a chief, who carried her to his vtilage and treated her
with great kindness. His wife, from jealousy of the
favor shown to " the white woman" and her child, al
ways^ treated them with great hostility. On one occa
sion she struck the infant with a tomahawk, and nar
rowly missed her aim of putting an end to it altogether.*
They were not left long in the power of the old
hag, after this demonstration, but on the first op
portunity carried to a place of safety.
" The famtiy of Mr. Lee had resided in a house on the
Lake shore, not far from the fort. Mr. Lee was the
owner of Lee's Place, which he cultivated as a farm.
It was his son who ran down with the discharged sol
dier to give the alarm of " Indians" at the fort on the
. afternoon of the 7th of April. The father, the son, and
all the other members of the family had fallen victims
on the 15th of August, except Mrs. Lee and her
young infant. These were claimed by Black Partridge,
* Twenty-two years after this, as I was on a journey to Chicago in
the steamer Uncle Sam, a young woman, hearing my name, intro
duced herself to me, and raising the hair from her forehead, showed
me the mark of the tomahawk which had so nearly been fatal to
her.

NARRATIVE OF THE MASSACRE. 245
and carried to his village on the Au Sable. He
had been particularly attached to a tittle girl of Mrs.
Lee's, about twelve years of age. This child had been
placed on horseback for the march, and as she was
unaccustomed to the exercise, she was tied fast to the
saddle, lest by any accident she should slip off or be
thrown. "She was within reach of the balls at the commence
ment of the engagement, and was severely wounded.
The horse set off on afull gallop, which partly threw
her, but she was held fast by the bands which confined
her, and hung dangling as the animal ran violently
about. In this state she was met by Black Partridge,
who caught the horse and disengaged her from the sad
dle. Finding her so much wounded that she could not
recover, and that she was suffering great agony, he put
the finishing stroke to her at once with his tomahawk.
He afterward said that this was the hardest thing he
ever tried to do, but he did it because he could not
' bear to see her suffer.
"He. took the mother and her infant to his village,
where he became warmly attached to the former — so
much so, that he wished to marry her, but, as she very
naturally objected, he treated her with the greatest
respect and consideration He was in no hurry to
release her, for he was in hopes of prevailing on her
to become his wife. In the course of the winter her
chtid fell til. Finding that none of the remedies within

246 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
their reach were effectual, Black Partridge proposed
to take the little one to Chicago, where there was now
a French trader living in the mansion of Mr. Kinzie,
and procure some medical aid from him. Wrapping up
his charge with the greatest care, he sat out on his
journey. " When he arrived at the residence of M. Du Pin,
he entered the room where he was, and carefully placed
his burthen on the floor.
" ' What have you there ?' asked M. Du Pin.
'"A young racoon, which I have brought you as a
present,' was the reply, and opening the pack, he
showed the tittle sick infant.
" When the trader had prescribed for its complaint,
and Black Partridge was about to return to his home,
he told his friend his proposal to Mrs. Lee to become
his wife and the manner in which it had been received.
" M. Du Pin entertained some fears that the chief's
honorable resolution might not hold out, to leave it to
the lady herself whether to accept his addresses or not,
so he entered at once into a negociation for her ransom,
and so effectually wrought upon the good feelings of
Black Partridge that he consented to bring his fair
prisoner at once to Chicago, that she ntight be restored
to her friends.
" Whether the kind trader had at the outset, any other
feeling in the matter than sympathy and brotherly
kindness we cannot say — we only know that, in pro-

NARRATIVE OF THE MASSACRE. 247
cess of time Mrs. Lee became Madame Du Pin, and
that they tived together in great happiness for many
years after.
" The fate of Nau-non-gee, one of the chiefs of the
Calumet village, and who is mentioned in the early
part of the narrative, deserves to be recorded.
" During the battle of the 15th of August, the chief
object of his attack was one Sergeant Hays, a man from
whom he had received many acts of kindness.
" After Hays had received a ball through the body,
this Indian ran up to him to tomahawk him, when the
Sergeant, collecting his remaining strength, pierced him
through the body with his bayonet. They fell together.
Other Indians running up soon dispatched Hays, and
it was not untU then, that his bayonet was extracted
from the body of his adversary.
" The wounded chief was carried after the battle to
his village on the Calumet, where he survived for se
veral days. Finding his end approaching, he called
together his young men, and enjoined them in the
most solemn manner, to regard the safety of their pris
oners after his death, and to take the tives of none of
them from respect to his memory, as he deserved his
fate from the hands of those whose kindness he had so
til-requited."

CHAPTER XX.
CAPTIVITY OF J. KINZIE, SEN.  AN
AMUSING MISTAKE.
It had been a stipulation of Gen. HuU at the sur
render of Detroit that the inhabitants of that place
should be permitted to remain undisturbed in theti
homes. Accordingly the famtiy of Mr. Kinzie took up
their quarters with their friends in the old mansion,
which many wtil still recoUect as standing on the north
east corner of Jefferson avenue and Wayne street.
The feelings of indignation and sympathy were con
stantly aroused in the hearts of the citizens during the
winter that ensued. They were almost daily called upon
to witness the cruelties practised upon the American
prisoners brought in by their Indian captors. Those
who could scarcely drag their wounded, bleeding feet
over the frozen ground, were compeUed to dance for
the amusement of the savages, and these exhibitions
sometimes took place before the Government House,
the residence of Col. McKee. Some of the British
officers looked on from theti windows at these heart
rending performances ; for the honor of humanity we
will hope such instances were rare.
Every thing that could be made avatiable among the

CAPTIVITY OF J. KINZIE, SENIOR. 249
effects of the citizens were offered, to ransom their
countrymen from the hands of these inhuman beings.
The prisoners brought in from the River Raisin — those
unfortunate men who were permitted after their sur
render to Gen. Proctor, to be tortured and murdered
by inches by his savage aUies, excited the sympathies
and called for the action of the whole community.
Private houses were turned into hospitals, and every
one was forward to get possession of as many as pos
sible of the survivors. To effect this, even the articles
of their apparel were bartered by the ladies of Detroit,
as they watched from their doors or windows the miser
able victims carried about for sale.
In the dwelling of Mr. Kinzie one large room was
devoted to the reception of the sufferers. Few of them
survived. Among those spoken of as objects of the
deepest interest were two young gentlemen of Ken
tucky, brothers, both severely wounded, and their
wounds aggravated to a mortal degree by subsequent
til-usage and hardships. Their solicitude for each
other, and their exhibition in various ways of the most
tender fraternal affection, created an impression never
to be forgotten.
The last bargain made was by black Jim, and one
of the chtidren, who had permission to redeem a negro
servant of the gallant Col. Allen, with an old white
horse, the only available article that remained among
their possessions. 11*

250 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
A brother of Col. AUen afterwards came to Detroit,
and the negro preferred returning to servitude rather
than remaining a stranger in a strange land.
Mr. Kinzie, as has been related, joined his family at
Detroit in the month of January. A short time after
suspicions arose in the mind of Gen. Proctor that he
was in correspondence with Gen. Harrison, who was
now at Fort Meigs, and who was believed to be medi
tating an advance upon Detroit. Lieut. Watson of the
British army waited upon Mr. Kinzie one day with an
invitation to the quarters of Gen. Proctor on the opposite
side of the river, saying he wished to speak with him,
on business. Quite unsuspicious, he complied with the
invitation, when to his surprise he was ordered into
confinement, and strictly guarded in the house of his
former partner, Mr. Patterson of Sandwich. Finding
that he did not return to his home, Mrs. Kinzie in
formed some of the Indian chiefs, his particular friends,
who immediately repaired to the head-quarters of the
Commanding Officer, demanded their "friend's" release,
and brought him back to his home. After waiting a
time until a favorable opportunity presented itself, the
General sent a detachment of dragoons to arrest him.
They had succeeded in carrying him away, and cross
ing the river with him. Just at this moment a party
of friendly Indians made their appearance.
"Where is the Shaw-nee-aw-kee ?" was the first ques
tion. "There," replied his wife, pointing across the

CAPTIVITY OF J. KINZIE, SENIOR. 251
river, " in the hands of the red-coats, who are taking
him away again."
The Indians ran to the river, seized some canoes that
they found there, and crossing over to Sandwich, com
pelled Gen. Proctor a second time to forego his
intentions. A third time this officer was more successful, and
succeeded in arresting Mr. Kinzie and conveying him
heavily ironed to FortMalden, in Canada, at the mouth
of the Detroit River. Here he was at first treated with
great severity, but after a time the rigor of his con
finement was somewhat relaxed, and he was permitted
to walk on the bank of the river for air and exercise.
On the 10th of September, as he was taking his
promenade under the close supervision of a guard of
soldiers, the whole party were startled by the sound of
guns upon Lake Erie, at no great distance below.
What could it mean? It must be Commodore Barclay
firing into some of the Yankees. The firing continued.
The time allotted the prisoner for his daily walk ex
pired, but neither he nor his guard observed the lapse
of time, so anxiously were they listening to what they
now felt sure was an engagement between ships of war.
At length Mr. Kinzie was reminded that the hour for
his return to confinement had arrived. He petitioned
for another half-hour.
"Let me stay," said he, "till we can learn how the
battle has gone."

252 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Very soon a sloop appeared under press of sail,
rounding the point, and presently two gun-boats in
chase of her.
" She is running — she bears the British colors," cried
he— "yes, yes, they are lowering — she is striking her
flag ! Now," turning to the soldiers, "I wtil go back
to prison contented — I know how the battle has gone."
The sloop was the Little Belt, the last of the squad
ron captured by the gallant Perry on that memorable
occasion wliich he announced in the immortal words;
" We have met the enemy, and they are ours !"
Matters were growing critical, and it was necessary
to transfer aU prisoners to a place of greater security
than the frontier was now likely to be. It was resolved
therefore to send Mr. Kinzie to the mother country.
Nothing has ever appeared, which would explain this
course of Gen. Proctor, in regard to this gentleman.
He had been taken from the bosom of his famtiy, where
he was living quietly under the parole which he had
received, and protected by the stipulations of the sur
render. He was kept for months iu confinement. Now
he was placed on horseback under a strong guard, who
announced that they had orders to shoot him through
the head, if he offered to speak to a person upon the
road. He was tied upon the saddle in a way to pre
vent his escape, and thus they sat out for Quebec. A
tittle incident occurred, which will help to illustrate the
course invariably pursued towards our citizens at this

NARRATIVE OF THE MASSACRE. 253
period; by the British army on the North-western
frontier. The saddle on which Mr. Kinzie rode had not been
properly fastened, and owing to the rough motion of
the animal on which it was, it turned, so as to bring
the rider into a most awkward and painful position.
His limbs being fastened, he could not disengage him
self, and in this manner he was compelled by those
who had charge of him to ride until he was nearly
exhausted, before they had the humanity to release
him. Arrived at Quebec, he was put on board a smaU
vessel to be sent to England. The vessel when a few
days out at sea was chased by an American frigate and
driven into Halifax. A second time she set sail, when
she sprung a leak and was compeUed to put back.
The attempt to send him across the ocean was now
abandoned, and he was returned to Quebec. Another
step, equaUy inexplicable with his arrest, was now
taken. This was his release and that of Mr. Macomb,
of Detroit, who was also in confiement in Quebec, and
the permission given them to return to theti friends
and families, although the war was not yet ended. It
may possibly be imagined that in the treatment these
gentlemen received, the British Commander-in-chief
sheltered himself under the plea of their being " native
born British subjects," and perhaps when it was ascer-

254 ' THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
tained that Mr. Kinzie was indeed a citizen of the
United States, it was thought safest to release him.
In the meantime, General Harrison at the head 6f
his troops had reached Detroit. He landed on the
29th September. All the citizens went forth to meet
him — Mrs. Kinzie, leading her chtidren by the hand,
was of the number. The General accompanied her to
her home, and took up his abode there. On his ar
rival he was introduced to Kee-po-tah, who happened
to be on a visit to the famtiy at that time. The
General had seen the chief the preceding year, at the
CouncU at Vincennes, and the meeting was one of great
cordiality and interest.

In 1816, Mr. Kinzie and his family again returned
to Chicago. The fort was rebutit on a somewhat larger
scale than the former one. It was not untti the return
ofthe troops that the bones of the unfortunate Ameri
cans who had been massacred four years before, were
collected and buried.
An Indian Agency, under the charge of Charles
Jewett, Esq., of Kentucky was established. He was
succeeded in 1820 by Dr. Alexander Wolcott, of Con
necticut, who occupied that position untti his death in
1830. The troops were removed from the garrison in 1823,

CAPTIVITY OF J. KINZIE, SENIOR. 255
but restored in 1828, after the Winnebago war. This
was a disturbance between the Winnebagoes and white
settlers on and near the Mississippi. After some mur
ders had been committed, the young chief, Red Bird,
was taken and imprisoned at Prairie du Chien to await
his trial, where he died of chagrin and the tiksomeness
of confinement. It was feared that the Pottowattamies
would make common cause with the Winnebagoes,
and commence a general system of havoc and blood
shed on the frontier. They were deterred from such
a step, probably, by the exertions of Billy CaldweU,
Robinson, and Shau-bee-nay, who made an expedition
among the Rock River bands, to argue and persuade
them into remaining tranquil.
The few citizens-of Chicago in these days, lived for
the most part a very quiet unvaried life. The great
abundance of game, and the immense fertUity of the
lands they cultivated, furnished them with a super
abundance of aU the luxuries of garden, corn-field, and
dairy. The question was once asked by a friend in
the " east countrie :" ;
" How do you dispose of all the good things you
raise? You have no market ?" "No." "And you
cannot consume it all yourselves?" "No." "What
then do you do with it ?"
" Why, we manage, when a vessel arrives to per
suade the Captain to accept a few kegs of butter, and

256 THE- EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
stores of corn and vegetables, as a present, and that
helps us to get rid of some of it."
The mails arrived, as may be supposed, at very-
rare intervals. They were brought occasionally from
Fort Clark (Peoria), but more frequently from Fort
Wayne, or across the peninsula of Michigan which
was still a wilderness peopled with savages. The
hardy adventurer who acted as express was, not un-
frequently, obliged to imitate the birds of heaven and
"lodge among the branches," in order to ensure the
safety of himself and his charge.
Visitors were very rare, unless it was a friend who
came to sojourn some time, and share a life in the
wilderness. A traveller, however, occasionaUy found
his way to the spot, in passing to or from "parts un
known," and such a one was sure of a hospitable and
hearty welcome.
A gentleman journeying from the southern settle
ments once arrived late -in the evening at Wolf Point,
where was then the small establishment of George
Hunt and a Mr. Wallace. He stopped and inquired
if he could have accommodation for the night for him
self and his horse. The answer was, that they were
ill provided to entertain a stranger — the house was
small, and they were keeping " bachelor's hall."
"Is there no place," inqutied the traveUer, " where
I can obtain a lodging?"
" Oh 1 yes — you will find a very comfortable house,

CAPTIVITY OF J. KINZIE, SENIOR. 257
Mr. Kinzie's, about half a mile below, near the mouth
of the river."
The stranger turned his horse's head and took the
road indicated. Arrived at the spot, his first inquiry
was: " Is this the residence of Mr. Kinzie ?"
"Yes, sir."
" I should be glad to get accommodation for myself
and horse."
" Certainly, sir — walk in."
The horse was taken to the stable, while the gentle
man was ushered into a parlor where were two ladies.
The usual preliminary questions and answers were
gone through, for in a new country people soon become
acquainted, and the gentlemen ere long found himself
seated at a comfortable hot supper — we wtil venture
to say a fine supper — since the table in this domestic
establishment has always been somewhat famous.
Apparently, the gentlemen enjoyed it, for he made
himself quite at home. He even called for a boot-jack
after tea, and drew off his boots. The ladies were a
tittle surprised, but they had lived a good whtie out of
the world, and they did not know what changes, in
etiquette ntight have taken place during their retire
ment. Before taking his leave for the night, the traveller
signified what it would please him to have for break
fast, whictiwas duly prepared. The next day proved

258 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
stormy. The gentleman was satisfied with his quar
ters, and having taken care to ascertain that there was
no neglect, or deficiency of accommodation so far as
his horse was concerned, he got through the day very
comfortably. Now and then, when he was tired of reading, he
would converse with the famtiy, and seemed, upon the
whole, by no means disposed to hold himself aloof,
but to indulge in a little becoming sociability, seeing
they were all there away in the woods.
The second day the weather brightened. The trav
eller signified his intention to depart. He ordered his
horse to the door — then he catied for his btil.
" My house is not a tavern, sir," was the astounding
reply. " Not a tavern ! Good heavens ! have I been mak
ing myself at home in this manner in a private family?"
The gentleman was profuse in his apologies, which,
however, were quite unnecessary, for the famtiy had
perceived from the first, the mistake he had fatien into,
and they had amused themselves during his whole
visit in anticipating the consternation of their guest
when he should be undeceived.

It was in the year 1816 (the same year of the rebuild
ing of the fort, after its destruction by the Indians),
that the tract of land on which Chicago stands, together

CAPTIVITY OP J. KINZIE, SENIOR. 259
with the surrounding country, was ceded to the United
States, by the Pottowattamies. They remained" the
peaceful occupants of it, however, for twenty years
longer. ¦ It was not untti 1836 that they were removed
by Government to lands appropriated for their use on
the Upper Missouri.
In the year 1830 the town of Chicago was laid out
into lots by commissioners appointed by the State. At
this time the prices of these lots ranged from ten to
sixty doUars.

Mr. Kinzie, who from the geographical position of
this place, and the /vast fertility of the surrounding
country, had always foretold its eventual prosperity
and importance, was not permitted to witness the
realization of his predictions. He closed his useful
and energetic life on the 6th of January, 1828, having
just completed his sixty-fifth year.

CHAPTER XXI.
A SERMON.
Chicago was not, at the period of my first visit, the
cheerful, happy place it had once been. The death of Dr.
Wolcott, of Lieut. Furman, and of a promising young
son of Mr. Beaubienpall within a few weeks of each
other, haoTthrown a gloom over all the different
branches of the social circle.
The weather, too, was inclement and stormy, beyond
anything that had been known 'before. Only twice,
during a period of two months, did the sun shine out
through the entire day. So late as the second week in
April, when my husband had left to return to Fort Win
nebago, the storms were so severe, that he and his
men were obliged to tie by two or three days in an
Indian lodge.
Robert Kinzie, Medard Beaubien, and BUly Caldwell
had gone at the same time to the Calumet to hunt, and
as they did not make their appearance for many days,
we were persuaded they had perished with cold. They
returned at length, however, to our infinite joy, having
only escaped freezing by the forethought of Robert
and Caldwell, in carrying each two blankets instead of
one.

A SERMON. 261
Our only recreation was an occasional ride on horse
back when the weather would permit, through the
woods on the north side of the river, or across the
prairie, along the lake shore on the south.
When we went in the former direction, a tittle bri
dle-path took us along what is now Rush street. The
thick boughs of the trees arched over our heads, and
we were often compeUed, as we rode, to break away
the projecting branches of the shrubs which impeded
our path. The little prairie west of Wright's Woods,
was the usual termination of our ride in this direction.
When we chose the path across the prairie towards
the south, we generally passed Dr. Harmon, superin
tending the construction of a sod fence, at a spot he had
chosen, near the shore of the lake. In this inclosure
he occupied himself, as the season advanced, in plant
ing fruit stones of all descriptions, to make ready a
garden and orchard for future enjoyment.
We usuaUy stopped to have a tittle chat. The two
favorite themes of the Doctor were horticulture, and
the certain future importance of Chicago. That it was
destined to be a great dity, was his unalterable convic
tion ; and indeed, by this time, all forest and prairie as
it was, we half began to believe it ourselves.
On the pleasant afternoons which we occasionaUy
enjoyed as the season advanced, we found no small
amusement in practising pistol-firing. The place ap
propriated to this sport was outside the pickets, the

262 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
mark being placed on a panel in one of the bastions.
The gentlemen must not be offended if I record that,
in process of time, the ladies acquired a degree of skill
that enabled them, as a general thing, to come off tri
umphant. One of the ladies was a great shot, having
brought down her grouse on the wing, to the no smaU
delight of Capain Scott — with regard to the others
I am afraid it was more politeness than want of
sktil, which induced the gentlemen to yield the palm
to them.
Now and then there was a tittle excitement within
the fort, aroused by the discovery that a settler had
been engaged in selling mUk-punch, instead of milk, to
the soldiers, thereby interfering in no small degree
with the regularity and perfect discipline of the ser
vice. The first step was to "drum out" the offender
with aU the honors of war — that is, with a party-
colored dress, and the Rogue's March played behind
him. The next, to place aU the victims of this piece
of deception in the guard-house, where the Command
ing Officer's lady supptied them bountifuUy with coffee
and hot cakes, by way of opening their eyes to the
enormity of their offence. It is not to be wondered at
that the officers sometimes complained of its being
more of a strife with the soldiers who should get into
the guard-house, than who should keep out of it The
poor fellows knew when they were well off.
Once, upon a Sunday, we were rowed up to "the

A SERMON. 263
point" to attend a rehgious service, conducted by Fa
ther S — , as he was caUed.
We saw a tall, slender man, dressed in a green frock
coat, from the sleeves of which dangled a pair of hands
giving abundant evidence, together with the rest of his
dress, that he placed smaU faith in the axiom — " clean
liness is a part of holiness."
He stepped briskly upon a tittle platform behind a
table, and commenced his discourse. His subject was,
"The fear of God."
" There was a kind of fear," he told us, "that was
very nearly afee-a-nated to love : so nearly, that it was
not worth while splitting hairs for the difference." He
then went on to describe this kind of fear. He grew
more and more involved as he proceeded with his de
scription, until at length, quite bewtidered, he paused
and exclaimed, '^Come, lets stop a little while, and
clear away the brush." He unravelled, as weU as he
' was able, the tangled thread of his ideas, and went on
with his subject. But soon again losing his way, he
came to a second halt. "Now," said he, wiping the
perspiration from his forehead-with a red cotton hand
kerchief many degrees from clean, " now, suppose we
drive back a little piece." Thus he recapitulated what
he wished to impress upon us, of the necessity of cher
ishing a fear that maketh wise unto salvation, " which
fear," said he, "may we all enjoy, that together we
may soar away, on the roUing clouds of aether, to a

264 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
boundless and happy eternity, which is the wish of
your humble servant." And, flourishing abroad his
hands, with the best of dancing-school bows, he took
seat. It will be readily imagined that we felt our own
rehgious exercises at home to be more edifying than
such as this, and that we confined ourselves to them
for the future.
The return of our brother, Robert Kinzie, from Pal
estine (not the Holy Land, but the seat of the Land
Office), with the certificate of the title of the family to
that portion of Chicago since known as "Kinzie's
Addition," was looked upon as establishing a home
for us at some future day, if the glorious dreams of
good Dr. Harmon, and a few others, should come to be
realized. One little incident wtil show how moderate
were, in fact the anticipations of most persons at that
period. The certificate, which was issued in Robert's name,
he representing the famtiy in making the application,
described only a fractional quarter section of one hun
dred and two acres, instead of one hundred and sixty
acres, the river and Lake Michigan cutting off fifty-
eight acres on the southern and eastern lines of the
quarter. The applicants had liberty to select their
compliment of fifty-eight acres out of any unappropri
ated land that suited them.
" Now, my son," said his mother, to Robert, " lay

A SERMON. 265
your claim on the cornfield at Wolf Point It is fine
land, and will always be valuable for cultivation —
besides, as it faces down the main river, the situation
wtil always be a convenient one."
The answer was a hearty laugh. " Hear mother,"
said Robert. " We have just got a hundred and two
acres — more than we shall ever want, or know what
to do with, and now she would have me go and claim
fifty-eight acres more !"
" Take my advice, my boy," repeated his mother "or
you may live one day to regret it."
" WeU, I cannot see how I can ever regret not getting
more than we can possibly make use of." And so the
matter ended. The fifty-eight acres were never claimed,
and there was, I think, a very general impression that
asking for our just rights in the case would have a
very grasping, covetous, look. How much wiser five-
and twenty years have made us !

During my sojourn of two months at Chicago, our
mother often entertained me with stories of her early
life and adventures. The following is her history
of her captivity among the Senecas, which I have put
in the form of a tale,, although without the slightest
variation from the facts as I received them from her
lips, and those of her sister, Mrs. Wtiliam Forsyth, of
Sandwich (C. W.), the tittle Maggie of the story.
12

CHAPTER XXII.
THE CAPTIVES.
It is well known that previous to the war of the
Revolution, the whole of the western portion of Penn
sylvania was inhabited chiefly by different Indian
tribes. Of these, the Delawares were the friends of the
whites, and after the commencement ofthe great strug
gle, took part with the United States. The Iroquois,
on the contrary, were the friends and allies of the
mother country.
Very few white settlers had ventured beyond the
Susquehannah. The numerous roving bands of Shawa-
noes, Nanticokes, &c, although sometimes professing
friendship with the Americans, and acting in concert
with the Delawares or Lenape as allies, at others, suf
fered themselves to be seduced by theti neighbors, the
Iroquois, to show a most sanguinary spirit of hostility.
For this reason, the life of the inhabitants of the
frontier was one of constant peril and alarm. Many
a scene of dismal barbarity was enacted, as the history
of the times testifies, and even those who felt them
selves in some measure protected by their immediate
neighbors, the Delawares, never lost sight of the cau
tion required by their exposed situation.

THE CAPTIVES. 267
The vicinity of the military garrison at Pittsburgh,
or Fort Pitt, as it was then called, gave additional
security' to those who had pushed further west, among
the fertile valleys ofthe Alleghany and Monongohela.
Among these were the famtiy of Mr. Lytle, who, about
two years previous to the opening of our story, had
removed from Path VaUey, near Carlisle, and settled
himself on the banks of Plum River, a tributary of the
Alleghany. Here, with his wife and five chtidren, he
had continued to live in comfort and security, undis
turbed by any hostile visit, and only annoyed by occa
sional false alarms from his more timorous neighbors,
who having had more experience in frontier life, were
prone to anticipate evil, as well as to magnify every
appearance of danger.

On a bright afternoon in the autumn of 1779, two
children of Mr. Lytle, a girl of nine, and her brother,
two years younger, were playing in a tittle dingle
or hollow in the rear of their father's house. Some
large trees, which had been recently felled, were lying
here and there, stiU untrimmed of their branches,
and many logs, prepared for fuel, were scattered
around. Upon one of these the children, wearied with
their sports, seated themselves, and to beguile the time
they fell into conversation upon a subject that greatly
perplexed them.

268 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
WhUe playing in the same place a few hours pre
vious, they had imagined they saw an Indian lui king
behind one of the' fallen trees. The Indians of the
neighborhood were in the habit of making occasional
visits to the family, and they had become familiar and-
even affectionate with many of them^ but this seemed
a .stranger, and after the first hasty glance they fled in
alarm to the house.
Their mother chid them for the report they brought,
which she( endeavored to convince them was without
foundation. "You know," said she, " you are always
alarming us unnecessarily— the neighbors' children
have frightened you to death. Go back to your play
and learn to be more courageous."
So the chUdren returned to their sports, hardly per
suaded by their mother's arguments. Whtie they
were thus seated upon the trunk of the tree, their dis
course was interrupted by the note, apparently, of a
quail not far off.
"Listen," said the boy, as a second note answered
the first, ''do you hear that?"
"Yes," was the reply, and after a few moments'
sUence, " do you not hear a rustling among the branches
of the tree yonder ?"
" Perhaps it is a squirrel — but look ! what is that ?
Surely I saw something red among the branches, It
looked like a fawn popping up its head,"
¦ At this moment, the chtidren who had been gazing

THE CAPTIVES. 269
so intently in the direction of the fallen tree that all
other objects were forgotten, felt themselves seized
from behind and t pinioned in an iron grasp. What
were their horror and dismay to find themselves in the
arms of savages, whose terrific countenances and ges
tures plainly showed them to be enemies !
They made signs to the children to be silent, on pain
of death, and hurried them off, half dead with terror,
in a direction leading from theti father's habitation.
After travelling some distance in profound silence, the
severity of their captors somewhat relaxed, and as night
approached the party halted, after adopting the usual
precautions to secure themselves against a surprise.
In an agony of uncertainty and terror, torn from
their beloved home and parents, and anticipating all
the horrors with which the rumors of the times had
invested a captivity among the Indians — perhaps even
a torturing death — the poor chtidren could no longer
restrain their grief, but gave vent to sobs and lamen
tations. Their distress appeared to excite the compassion of
one of the party, a man of mild aspect, who approached
and endeavored to soothe them. He spread them a
couch of the long grass which grew near the encamp
ing place, offered them a portion of his own stock of
dried meat and parched corn, and gave them to under-
understand by signs that no further, evil was intended
them.

270 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
These kindly demonstrations were interrupted by"
the arrival of another party of the enemy, bringing
with them the mother of the tittle prisoners with her
¦youngest chtid, an infant of three months old.
It had so happened that the father of the family,
with his serving-men, had gone early in the day to a
raising at a few miles' distance, and the house had thus
been left without a defender. The long period of
tranquillity which they had enjoyed, free from all
molestation or alarm from the savages, had quite
thrown them off their guard, and they had recently
laid aside some of the caution they had formerly found
necessary. These Indians, by lying in wait, had found the
favorable moment for seizing the defenceless family
and making them prisoners. Judging from theti paint,
and other marks by which the early settlers learned
to distinguish the various tribes, Mrs. Lytle conjec
tured that those into whose hands she and her children
had fallen were Senecas. Nor was she mistaken. It
was a party of that tribe who had descended from their
village with the intention of faiting upon some isolated
band of their enemies, the Delawares, but failing in
this, had made themselves amends by capturing a few
white settlers.
It is to be attributed to the generaUy mild disposi
tion of this tribe, together with the magnanimous
character of the chief who accompanied the party,

THE CAPTIVES. 271
that their prisoners in the present instance escaped the
fate of most of the Americans who were so unhappy as
to fall into the hands of the Iroquois.
The chtidren learned from their mother that she was
profoundly ignorant of the fate of their remaining
brother and sister, a boy of six and a tittle girl of four
years of age, but she was in hopes they had made good
their escape with the servant girl, who had likewise
disappeared from the commencement.
After remaining a few hours to recruit the exhausted
frames of the prisoners, the savages again started on
their march, one of the older Indians proffering to
relieve the mother from the burden of her infant, which
she had hitherto carried in her arms. Pleased with
the unexpected kindness, she resigned to him her tender
charge. Thus they pursued their way, the savage who car
ried the infant lingering somewhat behind the rest of
the party, untti finding a spot convenient for his pur
pose, he grasped his innocent victim by the feet, and
with one whirl, to add strength to the blow, dashed
out its brains against a tree. Leaving the body upon
the spot, he rejoined the party.
The mother, unsuspicious of what had passed,
regarded him earnestly as he reappeared without the
¦ child — then gazed wildly around on the rest of the
group. Her beloved little one was not there. Its
absence spoke its fate, yet, suppressing the shriek of

272 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
agony, for she knew that the tives of the remaining
ones depended upon her firmness in that trying hour,
she drew them yet closer to her and pursued her
melancholy way without a word spoken or a question
asked. From the depths of her heart she cried unto Him
who is able to save, and He comforted her with hopes
of deliverance for the surviving ones, for she saw that
if blood had been their sole object the scalps of herself
and her chUdren would have been taken upon the spot
where they were made prisoners.
She read too in the eyes of one who was evidently
the commander of the party an expression more mer
ciful than she had even dared to hope. Particularly
had she observed his soothing manner and manifest
partiatity towards her eldest child, the tittle gtil of
whom we have spoken, and she built many a bright
hope of escape or ransom upon these slender foun
dations. After a toilsome and painful march of many days,
the party reached the Seneca vtilage, upon the head
waters of the Atiegany, near what is now called Olean
Point. On their arrival the chief, their conductor, who
was distinguished by the name of the Big- White-Man,*
* Although this is the name our mother preserved of her bene
factor, it seems evident that this chief was in fact Corn-Planter, a
personage well known in the history of the times. There could
hardly have been two such prominent chiefs in the same village.

THE CAPTIVES. 273
led his prisoners to the principal lodge. This was oc
cupied by his mother, the widow of the head-chief of
that band, and who was called by them the Old Queen.
On entering her presence, her son presented her the
tittle girl, saying :
"My mother — I bring you a chtid to supply the
place of my brother, who was killed by the Lenape* six
moons ago. She shall dwell in my lodge, and be to
me a sister. Take the white woman and her children
and treat them kindly — our father wUl give us many
horses and guns to buy them back again."
He referred to the British Indian agent of his tribe,
Col. Johnson, an excellent and benevolent gentleman,
who resided at Fort Niagara, on the British side of the
river of that name.
The old queen fulfilled the injunctions of her-son.
She received the prisoners, and every comfort was pro
vided them that her simple and primitive mode of life
rendered possible.

We must now return to the place and period at
which our story commences.
Late in the evening of that day the father returned
to his dwelling. Ati within and around was silent and
desolate. No trace of a living creature was to be found
throughout the house or grounds. His nearest neigh-

274 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
bors lived at a considerable distance, but to them he
hastened, frantically demanding tidings of his family.
As he aroused them from their slumbers, one and
another joined him in the search, and at length, at the
house of one of them, was found the servant-maid who
had effected her escape. Her first place of refuge, she
said, had been a large brewing-tub in an outer kitchen,
under which she had, at the first alarm, secreted her
self until the departure of the Indians, who were evi
dently in haste, gave her an opportunity of fleeing to
a place of safety. She could give no tidings of her
mistress and the children, except that they had not
been murdered in her sight or hearing.
At length, having scoured the neighborhood without
success, Mr. Lytle remembered an old settler who tived
alone, far up the valley. Thither he and his friends
immdediately repaired, and from him they learned that,
being at work in his field just before sunset, he had
seen a party of strange Indians passing at a short dis
tance from his cabin. As they wound along the brow
of the hill, he could perceive that they had prisoners
with them — a woman and chtid. The woman he
knew to be a white, as she carried her infant in her
arms instead of upon her back, after the manner of the
savages. Day had now begun to break, for the night had been
passed in fruitless researches, and the agonized father
after a consultation with his kind friends and neigh-

THE CAPTIVES. 275
bors, accepted their offer to accompany him to Fort Pitt
to ask advice and assistance of the Commandant and
Indian Agent at that place.
Proceeding down the valley, as they approached a
hut which, the night before they had found apparently
deserted, they were startled by observing two chUdren
standing upon the high bank in front of it. The de
lighted father recognized two of his missing flock, but
no tidings could they give him of theti mother and the
other lost ones. Their story was simple and touching.
They were playing in the garden,* when they were
alarmed by seeing the Indians enter the yard near the.
house. Unperceived by them, the brother who was
but six years of age, helped his little sister • ovei
the fence into a field overrun with bushes of the black
berry and wild raspberry. They concealed themselves
among these for a while, and then, finding all quiet,
they attempted to force their way to the side of the
field furthest from the house. Unfortunately the little
girl in her play in the garden had puUed off her shoes
and stockings, and the briars tearing and wunding her
tender feet, she with difficulty could refrain from cry
ing out. Her brother took off his stockings and put
them on her feet. He attempted, too, to protect them
with his shoes, but they were too large, and kept slip
ping off, so that she could not wear them. For a time,
they persevered in making what they considered their
escape from certain death, for, as I have said, the chtid-

276 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
ren had been taught by the tales they had heard to re
gard all strange Indians as ministers of torture, and of
horrors worse than death. Exhausted with pain and
fatigue, the poor tittle girl at length declared she could
go no further.
" Then, Maggie," said her brother, "I must kill you,
for I cannot let you be killed by the Indians."
"Oh! no, Thomas," pleaded she, "do not, pray do
not kill me— I do not think the Indians will find us !"
" Oh 1 yes they wtil, Maggie, and I could kill you
so much easier than they would !"
For a long time he endeavored to persuade her, and
even looked about for a stick sufficiently large for his
purpose, but despair gave the little creature strength,
and she promised her brother that she would neither
complain nor falter, if he would assist her in making
her way out of. the field.
The idea of the little boy\that he could save his
sister from savage barbarity by taking her life himself,
shows what tales of horror the chtidren of the early
settlers were famihar with.
After a few more efforts they made their way out of
the field, into an unenclosed pasture-ground, where to
their great delight they saw some cows feeding. They
recognized them as belonging to Granny Myers, an old
woman who lived at some tittle distance, but in what
direction from the place they then were, they were
utterly ignorant. t.

THE CAPTIVE. 277
With a sagacity beyond his years, the boy said:
"Let us hide ourselves till sunset, when the cows
will go home, and we will foUow them."
They did so, but to their dismay, when they reached
Granny Myers' they found the house deserted. The
old woman had been called by some business down the
valley and did not return that night.
Tired and hungry they could go no further, but after
an almost fruitless endeavor to get some milk from the
cows, they laid themselves down to sleep under an old
bedstead that stood behind the house. Their father
and his party had caused them additional terror in the
night. The shouts and calls which had been designed
to arouse the inmates of the houses they had mistaken
for the whoop of the Indians, and not being able to
distinguish friends from foes, they had crept close to
one another, as far out of sight as possible. When
found the following morning, they were debating what
course to take next, for safety.
The commandant at Fort Pitt entered warmly into
the affairs of Mr. Lytle, and readily furnished htm with
a detachment of soldiers, to aid him and his friends in
the pursuit of the marauders. Some circumstances
having occurred to throw suspicion upon the Senecas,
the party soon directed their search among the vUlages
of that tribe.
Their inquiries were prosecuted in various directions,
and always with great caution, for all the tribes of the
12

278 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Iroquois, or, as they pompously called themselves, the
Five Nations, being allies of Great Britain, were con
sequently inveterate in theti hostility to the Americans.
Thus, some time had elapsed before the father with his
attendants reached the vUlage of the Big- White-Man.
A treaty was immediately entered into for the ran
som of the captives, which was easily accomplished in
regard to Mrs. Lytle and the younger chtid. But no
offers, no entreaties, no promises, could procure the re
lease of the little Eleanor, the adopted child of the
tribe. "No," the chief said, "she was his sister;
he had taken her to supply the place of his brother
who was kitied by the enemy — she was dear to him,
and he would not part with her."
Finding every effort unavailing to shake this reso
lution the father was at length compeUed to take his
sorrowful departure with such of his beloved ones as
he had had the good fortune to recover.
We wtil not attempt to depict the grief of parents
compeUed thus to give up a darling chtid, and to leave
her in the hands of savages, whom untti now they had
too much reason to regard as mercUess. But there was
no alternative. Commending her to the care of their
Heavenly Father, and cheered by the manifest tender
ness with which she had thus far been treated, they
sat out on their melancholy journey homeward, trust
ing that some future effort would be more effectual for
the recovery of their little girl.

THE CAPTIVE. 279
Having placed his family in safety at Pittsburg, Mr.
Lytle, stUl assisted by the Commandant and the Indian
Agent, undertook an expedition to the frontier to the
residence of the British agent, Col. Johnson. His rep
resentation of the case warmly interested the feehngs
of that benevolent officer, who promised him to spare
no exertions in his behalf. This promise he religiously
performed. He went in person to the vtilage of the
Big- White-Man, as soon as the opening of the spring
permitted, and offered him many splendid presents of
guns and horses, but the chief was inexorable.
Time rolled on, and every year the hope of recover
ing the tittle captive became more faint. She,. in the
meantime, continued to wind herself more and more
closely around the heart of her Indian brother. Noth
ing could exceed the consideration and affection with
which she was treated, not only by himself, but by his
mother, the Old Queen. All their stock of brooches
and wampum was employed in the decoration of her
person. The principal seat and the most delicate viands
were invariably reserved for her, and no efforts were
spared to promote her happiness, and to render her for
getful of her former home and kindred.
Thus, though she had beheld, with a feeling almost
amounting to despair, the departure of her parents and
dear little brother, and had for a long time resisted
every attempt at consolation, preferring even death to
a life of separation from all she loved, yet time, as it

280 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
ever does, brought its soothing balm, and she at length
grew contented and happy.
From her activity and the energy of her character;
qualities for which she was remarkable to the latest
period of her life, the name was given her of The Ship
under full sail.

The only drawback to the happiness of the tittle
prisoner, aside from her longings after her own dear
home, was the enmity she encountered from the wife
of the Big- White-Man. This woman, from the day of
her arrival at the vUlage, and adoption into the family
as a sister, had conceived for her the greatest animosity,
which, at first, she had the prudence to conceal from
the observation of her husband.
It was perhaps natural that a wife should give way
to some feelings of jealousy at seeing her ,own place
in the heart of her husband usurped, as she imagined,
by the child of their enemy, the American. But these
feelings were aggravated by a bad and vindictive tem
per, and by the indifference with which her husband
listened to her complaints and murmurings.
As she had no chUdren of her own to engage her
attention, her mind was the more engrossed and in
flamed with her fancied wrongs, and with devising
means for their address. An opportunity of attempt
ing the latter was not long wanting.

THE CAPTIVES. 28l
During the absence of the Big- White-Man upon
some war-party, or hunting excursion, his little sister
was taken ill with fever and ague. She was nursed with
the utmost tenderness by the Old Queen, and the wife
of the chief, to lull suspicion, and thereby accomplish
her purpose, was likewise unwearied in her assiduities
to the tittle favorite.
One afternoon, during the temporary absence of the
old Queen, her daughter-in-law entered the lodge with
a bowl of something she had prepared, and stooping
down to the mat on which the child lay, said, in an
affectionate accent,
" Drink, my sister, I have brought you that which
wtil drive this fever far from you."
On raising her head to reply, the tittle girl perceived
a pair of eyes peeping through a crevice in the lodge,
and fixed upon her with a very peculiar and significant
expression. With the quick perception acquired partly
from nature, and partly from her intercourse witii this
people, she replied faintly,
" Set it down, my sister. When this fit of the fever
has passed, I wtil drink your medicine."
The squaw, too cautious to use importunity, busied
herself about in the lodge for a short time, then with
drew to another, near at hand. Meantime, the bright
eyes continued peering through the opening, untti they
had watched their object fairly out of sight, then a

282 THE EARLY DAY, IN THE NORTH-WEST.
low voice, the voice of a young friend and play-feUow
spoke, " Do not drink that, which your brother's wife has
brought you. She hates you, and is only waiting an
opportunity to rid herself of you. I have w,atched her
ati the morning, and have seen her gathering the most
deadly herbs. I knew for whom they were intended,
and came hither to warn you."
" Take the bowl," said the tittle invalid, "and carry
it to my mother's lodge."
This was accordingly done. The contents of the
bowl were found to consist principally of a decoction
of the root of the May-apple, the most deadly poison
known among the Indians.
It is not in the power of language to describe the in
dignation that pervaded the little community when
this discovery was made known. The squaws ran to
and fro, as is their custom when excited, each vying
with the other in heaping invectives upon the culprit
No further punishment was, however, for the present
inflicted upon her, but the first burst of rage over, she
was treated with stient abhorrence.
The little patient was removed to the lodge of the
Old Queen, and strictly guarded, whtie her enemy was
left to wander in stience and sotitude about the fields
and woods, until the return of her husband should
determine her punishment.

THE CAPTIVES. 283
In a few days, the excursion being over, the Big-
White-Man and his party returned to the village. Con
trary to the usual custom of savages, he did not, in his
first transport at learning the attempt on the life of his
tittle sister, take summary vengeance on the offender.
He contented himself with banishing her from his lodge,
never to return, and condemning her to hoe corn in a
distant part of the large field or enclosure which served
the whole community for a garden.
Although she would stUl show her vindictive dispo
sition whenever, by chance, the tittle gtil with her
companions wandered into that vicinity by striking
at her with her hoe, or by some other- spiteful manifes
tation, yet she was either too well watched, or stood too
much in awe of her former husband to repeat the at
tempt upon his sister's life.

Four years had now elapsed since the capture of
little NeUy. Her heart was by nature warm and affec
tionate, so that the unbounded tenderness of those she
dwelt among had caUed forth a corresponding feeling
of affection in her heart. She regarded the Chief and
his mother with love and reverence, and had so com
pletely learned their language and customs as almost
to have forgotten her own.
So identified had she become with the tribe, that the
remembrance of her home and famtiy had nearly faded

284 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
from her memory; all but her mother — her mother
whom she had loved with a strength of affection na
tural to her warm and ardent character, and to whom
her heart still clung with a fondness that no time or
change could destroy.
The peace of 1783 between Great Britain and the
United States now took place. A general pacification
of the Indian tribes was the consequence, and fresh
hopes were renewed in the bosoms of Mr. and Mrs.
Lytle. They removed with their famUy to Fort Niagara,
near which, on the American side, was the great Council
Fire of the Senec'as. Col. Johnson readily undertook a
fresh negociation with the Chief, but in order to ensure
every chance of success, he again proceeded in person
to the vUlage of the Big- White-Man.
His visit was most opportune. It was the "Feast
of the Green Corn," when he arrived among them.
This observance which corresponds so strikingly with
the Jewish feast of Tabernacles that, together with
other customs, it has led many to believe the Indian
nations the descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel,
made it a season of general joy and festivity. Ati other
occupations were suspended to give place to social en
joyment in the open air, or in arbors formed of the
green branches of the trees. Every one appeared in
his gala dress. That of the tittle adopted chtid con
sisted of a petticoat of blue broadcloth, bordered with

THE CAPTIVES. 285
gay-colored ribbons ; a sack or upper garment of black
silk, ornamented with three rows of stiver brooches, the
centre ones from the throat to the hem being of large
size, and those from the shoulders down being no
larger than a shilling-piece, and set as closely as pos
sible. Around her heck were innumerable stringsof
white and purple wampum, an Indian ornament manu
factured from the inner surface of the muscle-shelL
Her hair was clubbed behind, and loaded with beads
of various colors. Leggings of scarlet cloth, and moc
casins of deer-skin embroidered with porcupine quills,
completed her costume.
Col. Johnson was received with all the consideration
due to his position, and to the long friendship that had
subsisted between him and the tribe.
Observing that the hilarity ofthe festival had warmed
and opened all hearts, he took occasion in an interview
with the chief to expatiate upon the parental affection
which had led the father and mother of his little sister
to give up their friends and home, and come hundreds
of mties away, in the single hope of sometimes looking
upon and embracing her. The heart of the chief soft
ened as he listened to this representation, and he was
induced to promise that at the Grand CouncU soon.to
be held at Fort Niagara he would attend, bringing his
tittle sister with him.
He exacted a promise, however, from Col. Johnson,
that not only no effort should be made to reclaim the

286 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
child, but that even- no proposition to part with her
should be offered him.
The time at length arrived when, her heart bound
ing with joy, little NeUy was placed on horseback to
accompany her Indian brother to the great CouncU of
the Senecas. She had promised him that she would
never leave him without his permission, and he relied
confidently on her word thus given.
As the chiefs and warriors arrived in successive
bands to meet their father, the agent, at the council-fire,
how did the anxious hearts of the parents beat with
alternate hope and fear ! The officers of the fort had
kindly given them quarters for the time being, and the
ladies, whose sympathies were strongly excited, had
accompanied the mother to the place of council, and
joined in her longing watch for the first appearance
of the band from the Alleghany river.
At length they were discerned, emerging from the
forest on the opposite or American side. Boats were
sent across by the Commanding Officer, to bring the
chief and his party. The father and mother, attended
by all the officers and ladies, stood upon the grassy
bank awaiting their approach. They had. seen at ' a
glance that the little captive was with them.
When about to enter the boat, the chief said to some
of his young men, " stand here with the horses, and
wait untti I return."
He was told that the horses should be ferried across
and taken care of.

THE CAPTIVES. 287
"No," said he, "let them wait"
He held his darting by the hand until the river
was passed — untti the boat touched the bank — untti
the chtid sprang forward into the arms of the mother
from whom she had been so long separated.
When the Chief witnessed that outburst of affection
he could withstand no longer.
" She shall go," said he. " The mother must have
her chUd again. I wUl go back alone."
With one stient gesture of farewell he turned and
stepped on board the boat. No arguments or en
treaties could induce him to remain at the council, but
having gained . the other side of the Niagara, he
mounted his horse, and with his young men was soon
lost in the depths of the forest.
After a sojourn of a few weeks at Niagara, Mr. Lytle,
dreading lest the resolution of the Big- White-Man
should give way, and measures be taken to deprive
him once more of his child, came to the determination
of again changing his place of abode. He therefore took
the first opportunity of crossing Lake Erie with his
famtiy, and settled himself in the neighbourhood of
Detroit, where he continued afterward to reside.
Little Nelly saw her friend the Chief no more, but
she never forgot him. To the day of her death she
remembered with tenderness and gratitude her brother
the Big- White-Man, and her friends and playfellows
among the Senecas.

CHAPTER XXIII.
SECOND SIGHT  HICKORY CREEK.
At the age of fourteen the heroine of the foregomg
story married Captain McKtilip, a British officer. This
gentleman was killed near Fort Defiance, as it was after
ward called, at the Miami Rapids, in 1794. A detach
ment of British troops had been sent down from De
troit, to take possession of this post. Gen Wayne was
then on a campaign against the Indians, and the British
Government thought proper to make a few demonstra
tions in behalf of their aUies. Having gone out with
a party to reconnoitre, Captain McKtilip was returning
to his post after dark, when he was fired upon and killed
by one of his own sentinels. Mrs. Helm was the
daughter of this marriage.
During the widowhood of Mrs. McKtilip she resided
with her parents at Grosse Pointe, eight miles above
Detroit, and it was during this period that an event
occurred, which, from the melancholy and mysterious
circumstances attending it, was always dwelt upon by
her with peculiar interest.
Her second brother, Thomas Lytle, was, from his
amiable and affectionate character, the most dearly be-
(288)

SECOND SIGHT" — HICKORY CREEK. 289
loved by her of all the numerous family circle. He
was paying his addresses to a young lady who resided
at the river Trench,* as it was then called, now the
river Thames, a stream emptying into Lake St. Clair,
about twenty mties above Detroit. In visiting this
young lady, it was his custom to cross the Detroit river
by the ferry with his horse, and then proceed by land
to the river Trench, which was, at some seasons of the
year, a fordable stream.
On a fine forenoon, late in the spring, he had taken
leave of his mother and sister for one of these periodical
visits, which were usually of two or three days' duration
After dinner, as his sister was sitting at work by an
open window which looked upon a tittle side enclosure
filled with fruit-trees, she was startled by. observing
some object opposite the window, between her and the
light. She raised her eyes and saw her brother Thomas.
He was without his horse, and carried his saddle upon
his shoulders.
Surprised that she had not heard the gate opening
for his entrance, and also at his singular appearance,
laden in that manner, she addressed him, and inquired
what had happened, and why he had returned so soon.
He made her no reply, but looked earnestly in her
face, as he moved slowly along the paved walk that
led to the stables.
* From the French — Tranche, a deep cut.
18

290 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
She waited a few moments expecting he would re
appear to give an account of himself and his adven
tures, but at length, growing impatient at his delay, she
put down her work and went towards the rear of the
house to find him.
The first person she met was her mother. " Have
you seen Thomas ?" she inquired.
" Thomas ! He has gone to the River Trench."
" No, he has returned — I saw him pass the window
not fifteen minutes since."
"Then he wtil be in presently."
His sister, however, could not wait. She proceeded
to the stables, she searched in all directions. No
Thomas — no horse — no saddle. She made inquiry of
the domestics. No one had seen him. She then re
turned and told her mother what had happened.
"You must have fallen asleep and dreamed it," said
her mother.
" No, indeed ! I was wide awake — I spoke to him,
and he gave me no answer, but such a look !"
All the afternoon she felt an uneasiness she could not
reason herself out of.
The next morning came a messenger from the River
Trench with dismal tidings.
The bodies of the young man and his horse had been
found drowned a short distance below the ford of the
river. It appeared that on arriving at the bank of the river,

SECOND SIGHT? — HICKORY CREEK. 291
he found it swollen beyond its usual depth by the re
cent rains. It being necessary to swim the stream with
bis horse, he had taken off his clothes and made them
into a packet which he fastened upon his shoulders.
It was supposed that the strength of the rapid torrent
displaced the bundle which thus served to draw his
head'under water and keep it there, without the power
of raising it All this was gathered from the position
and appearance of the bodies when found.
From the time at which he had been seen passing a
house which stood near the stream, on his way to the
ford, it was evident that he must have met his fate at
the very moment his sister saw, or thought she saw
him, passing before her.
I could not but suggest the inquiry, when these sad
particulars were narrated to me.
" Mother, is it not possible this might have been a
dream?" " A dream ? No, indeed my child. I was perfeotly
wide awake — as much so, as I am at this moment. I
am not superstitious. I have never believed in ghosts
or witches, but nothing can ever persuade me that this
was not a warning sent from God, to prepare me for
my brother's death."
( And those who knew her rational good sense-r^-her
freedom from fancies or fears, and the calm self-posses
sion that never deserted her under the most trying

292 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Gticumstances, would almost be won to view the mat
ter in the tight she did.

The order for the evacuation of the post, and the
removal ofthe troops to Fort Howard (Green Bay)^ had
now been received. The family circle was to be broken
up. Our mother, our sister Mrs. Helm, and her tittle
son, were to return with us to Fort Winnebago — the
other members of the famtiy, except Robert, were to
move with the command to Green Bay.
Before the time for our departure, however, Colonel
Owen, the new Indian Agent, arrived to take up his
residence at the place. Col. R. J. Hamilton, also, on
a visit of business, expressed his determination to make
Chicago his future home. This may be considered the
first impulse given to the place — the first step towards
its subsequent unexampled growth and prosperity.
The schooner Napoleon was to be sent from Detroit
to convey the troops with their goods and chattels to
their destined post. Our immediate party was to make
the journey by land — we were to choose, however, a
shorter and pleasanter route than the one we had taken
in coming hither. My husband with his Frenchmen,
PetaUle Grignon and Simon Lecuyer, had arrived, and*
ati hands were now busily occupied with the necessary
preparations for breaking up and removal.

SECOND SIGHT — HICKORY CREEK. 293
I should be doing injustice to the hospitable settlers
of Hickory Creek were I to pass by, without notice,
an entertainment with which they honored our Chicago
beaux about this time. The merry-making was to be
a ball, and the five single gentlemen of Chicago were
invited. Mr. Dole, who was a new-comer, declined —
Lieut Foster was on duty, but he did what was still
better than accepting the invitation, he loaned his beau
tiful horse to Medard Beaubien, and he, with Robert
Kinzie and Gholson Kercheval, promised themselves
much fun in eclipsing the beaux and creating a sensa
tion among the belles of Hickory Creek.
Chicago was then, as now, looked upon as the City
par excellence. Its few inhabitants were supposed to
have seen something of the world, and it is to be in
ferred that the arrival of the smart and dashing young
men was an event looked forward to with more satis
faction by the fati of the tittle settlement than by the
swains whose rivals they might become.
The day arrived and the gentlemen set off in high
spirits. They took care to be in good season, for the
dancing was to commence at two o'clock in the after
noon. They were well mounted, each priding himself
upon the animal he rode, and they wore their best
, suits, as became city gallants who were bent on cutting
out their less fashionable neighbors, and breaking the
hearts of the admiring country damsels.
When they arrived at the place appointed, they

294 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
were received with great potiteness — theti steeds were
taken care of — a dinner provided them, after which
they were ushered into the dancing-hall.
All the beauty of the neighboring precincts was
assembled. The ladies were for the inost part white, or
or what passed for such, with an occasional dash of
copper color. There was no lack of bombazet gowns
and large white pocket-handkerchiefs, perfumed with
oti of cinnamon; and as they took their places in
long rows on the puncheon floor, they were a merry
and a happy company.
But the city gentlemen grew more and more gallant
— the girls more and more delighted with their atten
tions — the country swains, alas 1 more and more scowl
ing and jealous. In vain they pigeon- winged and
double-shuffled — in vain they nearly dislocated hips
and shoulders at " hoe corn and dig potatoes" — they
had the mortification to perceive that the smart young
sprigs from Chicago had their pick and choose among
their very sweethearts, and that they themselves were
fairly danced off the ground.
The revelry lasted until daylight, and it was now
time to think of returning. There was no one ready
with obtiging potiteness to bring them their horses
from the stable.
"Poor fellows !" said one of the party, with a com
passionate sort of laugh, "they could not stand it
They have gone home to bed !"

SECOND SIGHT — HICKORY CREEK. 295
" Serves them right/' said another, " they'd better
not ask us down among their girls again !"
They groped their way to the stable and went in.
There were some animals standing at the manger, but
evidently not their horses. What could they be?
Had the rogues been trying to cheat them, by putting
these strange nondescripts into their place ?
They led them forth into the gray of the morning,
and then, such a trio as met theti gaze !
There were the original bodies, it is true, but where
were theti manes, and tails? A scrubby, picketty
ridge along the neck, and a bare stump projecting
behind were all that remained of the flowing honors
with which they had come gallivanting down to " bear
away the bell" at Hickory Creek, or, in the emphatic
language of the country, "to take the rag off the
bush." Gholson sat down on a log and cried outright
Medard took the matter more philosophically— the
horse was none of his — it was Lieut. Foster's.
Robert characteristically looked around to see whom
he could knock down on the occasion, but there was
no one visible on whom to wreak their vengeance.
The bumpkins had stolen away, and in some safe,
quiet nook, were snugly enjoying their triumph, and
doubtless the deceitful fair ones were, by this time,
sharing their mirth and exultation.
The unlucky gallants mounted their steeds, and set

296 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
their faces homeward. Never was there a more crest-
faUen and sorry-looking cavalcade. The poor horses
seemed to realize that they had met the same treatment
as the messengers of King David at the hands of the
evil-disposed Hanun. They hung their heads, and
evidently wished that they could have " tarried at Jeri
cho " for a season. Unfortunately there was in those
days, no back way by which they could steal in, un
observed. Across the prairie, in view of the whole
community must their approach be made, and to add
to their confusion, in the rarity of stirring events, it
was the custom of the whole settlement to turn out
and welcome the arrival of any new-comer.
As hasty a retreat as possible was beaten, amid the
shouts, the jeers, and the condolences of their acquain
tances, and it is on record that these three young gen
tlemen were in no hurry to accept, at any future time,
an invitation to partake of the festivities of Hickory-
Creek.

In due time ihe Napoleon made her appearance.
(Alas 1 that this great name should be used in the
feminine gender!) As there was at this period no
harbor, vessels anchored outside the bar, or tongue of
land which formed the left bank of the river, and the
lading; and unlading were carried on by boats, puUing
in and out, through the mouth of the river, some dis
tance below.

SECOND SIGHT — HICKORY CREEK. 297
Of course it always was a matter of great impor
tance to get a vessel loaded as quickly as possible
that she ntight be ready to take advantage of the first
fair wind, and be off from such an exposed and haz
ardous anchoring ground.
For this reason we had tived packed up for many
days, intending only to see our friends safe on board,
and then commence our own journey.
Our heavy articles of furniture, trunks, &c, had
been sent on board the Napoleon to be brought
round to us by way of Fox River. We had retained
only such few necessaries as could be conveniently
carried on a pack-horse, and in a light dearborn wagon
lately brought by Mr. Kereheval from Detroit (the
first luxury of the kind ever seen on the prairies), and
which my husband had purchased as an agreeable mode
of conveyance for his mother and tittle nephew.
It was a matter requiring no small amount of time
and labor to transport, in the slow method described, the
effects of so many families of officers and soldiers —
the company's stores, and all the various et ceteras
incident to a total change and removal. It was all,
however, happtiy accomplished — everything, even the
last article sent on board — nothing remaining on shore
but the passengers, whose turn it was next.
It was a moment of great rehef, for Capt. Hinckley
had been in a fever and a fuss many hours, predicting
a change of weather, and murmuring at what he
13*

298 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
thought the unnecessary amount of boat-loads to be
taken on board.
Those who had leisure to be looking out toward
the schooner which had continued anchored about
half a mile out in the lake, had, at this crisis, the
satisfaction to see her hoist sati and leave her station
for the open lake — those who were a little later could
just discern her bearing away to a distance, as if she
had got aU on board that she had any idea of taking.
Here we were, and here we might remain a week or
more, if it pleased Capt. Hinckley and the schooner
Napoleon, and the good east wind which was blowing
with all its might.
There was plenty of provisions to be obtained, so
the fear of starvation was not the trouble, but how
were the cooking and the table to be provided for ?
Various expedients were resorted to. Mrs. Engle, in
her quarters above stairs, ate her breakfast off a shingle
with her husband's jack-knife, and when she had
finished, sent them down to Lieut. Foster for his accom
modation. We were at the old mansion on the north side, and
the news soon flew up the river that the Napoleon had
gone off with "the plunder," and left the people
behind. It was not long before we were supplied by
Mrs. Portier (our kind Victotie), with dishes, knives,
forks, and all the other conveniences which our mess-
basket failed to supply.

SECOND SIGHT — HICKORY CREEK. 299
This state of things lasted a couple of days, and
then, early one fine morning the gratifying intelligence
spread tike wild-fire that the Napoleon was at anchor
out beyond the bar.
There was no unnecessary delay this time, and at an
early hour in the afternoon we had taken leave of our
dear friends, and they were sailing away from Chicago*
* It is a singular fact that all the martins, of which there were
great numbers occupying the little houses constructed for them by
the soldiers, were observed to have disappeared from their homes
on the morning following the embarkation of the troops. After an
absence of five days they returned. They had perhaps taken a
fancy to accompany their old friends, but, finding they were not
Mother Carey's chickens, deemed it most prudent to return and re-
occupy their old dwellings.

CHAPTER XXIT.
RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO.
A great part of the command, with the cattle
belonging to the officers and soldiers, had a day or
two previous to the time of our departure, set out on
their march by land to Green Bay, via Fort Winnebago.
Lieut. Foster, under whose charge they were, had lin
gered behind that he ntight have th^pleasure of joining
our party, and we, in turn, had delayed in order to see
the other members of our family safely on board the
Napoleon. But now, all things being ready, we set
our faces once more homeward.
We took with us a tittle bound-girl, Josette (a daugh
ter of Ouilmette, a Frenchman who had lived here
at the time of the Massacre, and of a Pottowattamie
mother), a bright, pretty ehild of ten years of age. She
had been at the St. Joseph's mission-school, under Mr.
McCoy, and she was now full of detight at the prospect
of a journey all the way to the Portage with Monsieur
and Madame John.
We had also a negro boy, Harry, brought a year
before from Kentucky, by Mr. Kereheval. In the trans
fer at that time from a slave State to a free one, Harry's
position became somewhat changed — he could be no
aoo

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 301
more than an indentured servant. He was about to
become a member of Dr. Wolcott's household, and it
was necessary for him to choose a guardian. All this
was explained to him on his being brought into the
parlor, where the famtiy were assembled. My husband
was then a young man, on a visit to his home. " Now,
Harry," it was said to him, "you must choose your
guardian ;" and the natural expectation was that Harry
would select the person of his acquaintance of the
greatest age and dignity. But, rolling round his great
eyes, and hanging his head on one side, he said,
" I'll have Master John for my guardian."
From that day forward Harry felt as if he belonged,
in a measure, to Master John, and at the breaking up
of the family in Chicago he was, naturally, transferred
to our establishment.
There were three ladies of our travelling party — our
mother, our sister Mrs. Helm, and myself. To guard
against the burning effect of the sun and the prairie
winds upon our faces, I had, during some of the last
days of my visit, prepared for each of us a mask of
brown linen, with the eyes, nose, and mouth fitted to
accommodate our features ; and to enhance the hide-
ousness of each, I had worked eye-brows, lashes, and
a circle around the opening for the mouth in black
silk. Gathered in plaits under the chin, and with
strings to confine them above and below, they furnished
a complete protection against the sun and wind, though

302 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
nothing can be imagined more frightful than the ap
pearance we presented when fully equipped. It was
who should be called the ugliest.
We left amid the good wishes and laughter of our
few remaining acquaintances, of whom we now took
leave. Our wagon had been provided with a pair of
excellent travelling horses, and sister Margaret and
myself accommodated with the best pacers the country
could afford, and we set off in high spirits toward the
Aux Plaines — our old friend, BUly CaldweU (the Sau-
ga-nash), with our brother Robert and Gholson Ker
eheval accompanying us to that point of our journey.
There was no one at Barney Lawton's when we
reached there, but a Frenchman and a small number
of Indians. The latter in their eagerness to say " bon-
jour," and shake hands with Shaw-nee-aw-kee, passed
us by, apparently without observation, so my sister
and I dismounted and entered the dwelling, the door
of which stood open. Two Indians were seated on the
floor smoking. They raised theti eyes as we appeared,
and never shall I forget the expression of wonder and
horror depicted on the countenances of both. Their
lips relaxed until the pipe of one fell upon the floor.
Their eyes seemed starting from their heads, and rais
ing their outspread hands, as if to wave us from them,
they slowly ejaculated, " Manitou !" (a spirit).
As we raised our masks, and, smiling, came forward
to shake hands with them, they sprang to their feet and

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 303
fairly uttered a cry of delight at the sight of our familiar

"Bonjour, bonjour, Maman !" was their salutation,
and they instantly plunged out of doors to relate to
their companions what had happened.
Our afternoon's ride was over a prairie stretching
away to the north-east. No living creature was to be
seen upon its broad expanse, but flying and circling
over our heads were innumerable flocks of curlews,
" Screaming their wild notes to the listening waste."
Their peculiar shrill cry of "crack, crack, crack —
rackety, rackety, rackety," repeated from the throats
of dozens as they sometimes stooped quite close to our
ears, became at length almost unbearable. It seemed
as if they had lost their senses in the excitement of so
unusual and splendid a cortege in their hitherto deso
late domain.
The accelerated pace of our horses as we approached
a beautiful, wooded knoll, warned us that this was to
be our place of repose for the night. These animals
seem to know by instinct a favorable encamping-
ground, and this was one of the most lovely imagin
able. The trees which near the lake had, owing to the
coldness and tardiness of the season, presented the
pale-yellow appearance of unfledged goslings, were
here bursting into full leaf. The ground around

304 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
was carpeted with flowers — we could not bear to have
them crushed by the feUing of a tree and the pitching
of our tent among them. The birds sent forth theti
sweetest notes in the warm, lingering sunshine, and
the opening buds of the young hickory and sassafras
filled the air with perfume.
Nothing could be more perfect than our enjoyment
of this sylvan and beautiful retreat* after our ride in
the glowing sun. The children were in ecstacies.
They delighted to find ways of making themselves
useful — to pile up the saddles — to break boughs for
the fire — to fill the little kettles with water for PetaUle
and Lecuyer, the Frenchmen who were preparing our
supper. Their amusement at the awkward movements of
the horses after they were spancelled knew no bounds.
To Edwin everything was knew, and Josette, who had
already made more than one horseback journey to
St. Joseph's, manifested aU the pride of an old travel
ler in explaining to him whatever was novel or unac
countable. They were not the last to spring up at the caU " how !
how!" on the foUowing morning.
The fire was replenished, the preparations for break
fast commenced, and the Frenchmen dispatched to bring
up the horses in readiness for an early start.
* It is now known as Dunkley's Grove.

RETDRN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 305
Harry and Josette played their parts, under our
direction, in preparing the simple meal, and we soon
seated ourselves, each with cup and knife, around the
table-mat. The meal was over, but no men, no horses
appeared. When another half hour had passed, my
husband took Harry and commenced exploring in
search of the missing ones.
The day wore on, and first one and then another
would make his appearance to report progress. PetaUle
and Lecuyer at length brought two of the horses' but
the others could nowhere be found. In time, Mr.
Kinzie and Harry returned, wet to their knees by the
dew upon the long prairie-grass, but with no tidings.
Again the men were dispatched after having broken
their fast, but returned as unsuccessful as before.
The morning had been occupied by our party at the
encampment in speculating upon the missing animals.
Could they have been stolen by the Indians ? Hardly
— these people seldom committed robberies in time of
peace — never upon our famtiy, whom they regarded as
their best friends. The horses would doubtless be
found. They had probably been carelessly fastened
the preceding evening, and therefore been able to stray
further than was their wont.
A council was held, at which it was decided to send
Grignon back to Chicago to get some fresh horses from
Gholson Kereheval, and return as speedily as possible.
If on his return our encampment were deserted, he

306 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
might conclude we had found the horses and proceeded
to Fox River, where he would doubtless overtake us.
Upon reflection, it was thought best to send him
once more in the direction of Salt Creek, when, if
still unsuccessful, the former alternative could be
adopted. He had not been gone more than an hour, before,
slowly hopping out of a point of woods to the north
of us (a spot which each of the seekers averred he had
explored over and over again), and making directly for
the place where we were, appeared the vexatious
animals. They came up as demurely as if nothing had
happened, and seemed rather surprised to be received
with a hearty scolding, instead of being patted and
caressed as usual.
It was the work of a very short half-hour to strike
and pack the tent, stow away the mats and kettles,
saddle the horses and mount for our journey.
" Whoever pleases may take my place in the car
riage," said our mother. " I have travelled so many
years on horseback, .that I find any other mode of con
veyance too fatiguing."
So, spite of her sixty years, she mounted sister Mar
garet's pacer with the activity of a girl of sixteen.
Lieut. Foster had left us early in the morning, feel
ing it necessary to rejoin his command, and now, hav
ing seen us ready to set off, with a serene sky above
us, and all things " right and tight" for the journey,

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 307
our friend, the Sau-ga-nash took leave of us, and re
traced his steps towards Chicago.
We pursued our way through a lovely country of al
ternate glade and forest, until we reached the Fox river.
The current ran clear and rippling along, and as we
descended the steep bank to the water, the question, so
natural to a traveller in an unknown region, presented
itself, "Isitfordable?"
PetaUle, to whom the ground was famtiiar, had not
yet made his appearance. Lecuyer was quite ignorant
upon the subject. The troops had evidently preceded
us by this very trail. True, but they were on horse
back — the difficulty was, could we get the carriage
through ? It must be remembered, that the doubt was
not about the depth of the water, but about the hard
ness of the bottom of the stream.
It was agreed that two or three of the equestrians
should make the trial first. My mother, Lecuyer and
myself, advanced cautiously across to the opposite bank,
each choosing a different point for leaving the water,
in order to find the firmest spot. The bottom was hard
and firm until we came near the shore, then it yielded
a little. With one step however, we were each on dry
ground. "Est-ti beau?" called my husband, who was driv
ing. "Oui, Monsieur."
"Yes, John, come just here, it is perfectly good."

308 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
" No, no — go a little further down. See the white
gravel just there — it wUl be firmer stUl, there."
Such were the contradictory directions given. He
chose the latter, and when it wanted but one step more
to the bank, down sunk both horses, untti tittle more
than their backs were visible.
The white gravel proved to be a bed of treacherous
yellow clay, which gleaming through the water, had
caused so unfortunate a deception.
With frantic struggles, for they were nearly suffo
cated with mud and water, the horses made desperate
efforts to free themselves from the harness. My husband
gprang out upon the pole. " Some one give me a knife,"
he cried. I was back in the water, in a moment, and
approaching as near as I dared, handed him mine from
the scabbard around my neck.
" Whatever you do, do not cut the traces," cried his
mother. He severed some of the side-straps, when just as he
had reached the extremity of the pole, and was stretch
ing forward to separate the head-couplings, one of the
horses gave a furious plunge, which caused his fellow
to rear, and throw himself nearly backwards. My
husband was between them. For a moment we thought
he was gone — trampled down by the excited animals,
but he presently showed himself nearly obscured by
the mud and water. With the agUity of a cat, Harry,
who was near him, now sprung forward on the pole,

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 309
and in an instant, with his sharp jack-knife which he
had ready, divided the straps that confined their heads.
The horses were at this moment lying floating on
the water — one apparently dead, the other as if gasping
out his last breath. But hardly did they become sensi
ble of the release of their heads from bondage than
they made simultaneously, another furious effort to free
themselves from the pole to which they were still at
tached by the neck-strap.
Failing in this, they tried another expedient, and by
a few judicious twists and turns, succeeded in wrenching
the pole asunder, and finally carried it off in triumph
across the river again, and up the bank, where they
stood waiting to decide what were the next steps to be
taken. Here was a predicament ! A few hours before we
had thought ourselves uncomfortable enough, because
some of our horses were missing. Now, a greater evil
had befallen us. The wagon was in the river, the
harness cut to pieces, and, what was worse, carried off
in the most independent manner, by Tom and his com
panion ; the pole was twisted to pieces, and there was
not so much as a stick on that side of the river with
which to replace it.
At this moment, a whoop from the opposite bank,
echoed by two or three hearty ones from our party, an
nounced the re-appearance1 of PetaUle Grignon. He dis
mounted and took charge of the horses, who were

310 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
resting themselves after their fatigues under a shady
tree, and by this time Lecuyer had crossed the river
and now joined him in bringing back the delinquents.
In the meantime we had been doing our best to min
ister to our sister Margaret. Both she and her little
son Edwin had been in the wagon at the time of the
accident, and it had been a work of some difficulty to
get them out and bring them on horseback to shore.
The effect of the agitation and excitement was to throw
her into a fit of the ague, and she now lay blue and
trembling among the long grass of the tittle prairie,
which extended along the bank. The tent which
had been been packed in the rear of the wagon, was too
much saturated with mud and water to admit of its
being used as a shelter ; it could only be stretched in
the sun to dry. We opened an umbrella over our poor
sister's head, and now began a discussion of ways and
means to repair damages. The first thing was to cut a
new pole for the wagon, and for this, the master and
men must recross the river and choose an iron-tree out
of the forest.
Then, for the harness. With provident care, a tittle
box had been placed under the seat of the wagon, con
taining an awl, waxed-ends, and various other tittle
conveniences exactly suited to an emergency like ihe
present. It was question and answer, like Cock Robin :
"Who can mend the harness ?"

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 311
" I can, for I learned when I was a young girl to
make shoes as an accomplishment, and I can surely now,
as a matter of usefulness and duty, put all those wet,
dirty pieces of leather together."
So, we all seated ourselves on the grass, under the
shade of the only two umbrellas we could muster.
I stitched away diligently, blistering my hands, I
must own, in no small degree.
A suitable young tree had been brought, and the
hatchets, without which one never travels in the woods,
were all busy, fashioning it into shape, when a peculiar
hissing noise was heard, and instantly the cry,
" Un serpent sonnette ! A rattlesnake !"
All sprang to their feet, even the poor shaking in
valid, just in time to see the reptile glide past within
three inches of my mother's feet, whtie the men assailed
the spot it had left with whips, missives, and whatever
would help along the commotion.
This tittle incident proved an excellent remedy for
the ague. One excitement drives away another, and
by means of this, (upon the homcepathic principle),
sister Margaret was so much improved that by the
time all the mischiefs were repaired, she was ready to
take her place in the cavalcade, as bright and cheerful
as the rest of us.
So great had been the delay occasioned by all these
untoward circumstances, that our afternoon's ride was
but a short one, bringing us no further than the shores

312 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
of a beautiful sheet of water, now known as Crystal
Lake. Its clear surface was covered with Loons, and
Paules d'Eau, a species of RaU, with which, at certain
seasons, this region abounds.
The Indians have, universaUy, the genius of iEsop
for depicting animal life and character, and there is,
among them, a fable illustrative of every peculiarity in
the personal appearance,, habits, or dispositions of each
variety of the animal creation.
The back of the little Rati is very concave, or hol
low. The Indians tell us it became so in the following
manner : —
STORY OF THE LITTLE RAIL, OR Pouh d'Eau.
There is supposed, by most of the North-westem
tribes, to exist an invisible being, corresponding to the
" Genius" of oriental story. Without being exactly
the father of evil, Nan-nee-bo-zho is a mischievous spirit,
to whose office it seems to be assigned to punish what
is amiss. For his own purposes too, he seems con
stantly occupied in entrapping and malting examples
of all the animals that come in his way.
One pleasant evening, as he walked along the banks
of a lake, he saw a flock of ducks, sailing and enjoying
themselves on the blue waters. He called to them :
" Ho ! come with me into my lodge, and I will teach
you to dance !" Some of the ducks said among them
selves, "It is Nan-nee-bo-zho, let us not go." Others

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 313
were of a contrary opinion, and his words being fair,
and his voice insinuating, a few turned their faces to
wards the land — all the rest soon foUowed, and with
many pleasant quackings, trooped after him, and en
tered his lodge.
When there, he first took an Indian sack, with a
wide mouth, which he tied by the strings around his
neck, so that it would hang over his shoulders, having
the mouth unclosed. Then placing himself in the
centre of the lodge, he ranged the ducks in a circle
around him.
"Now," said he, "you must all shut your eyes tight,
whoever opens his eyes at ati, something dreadful will
happen to him. I wtil take my Indian flute and play
upon it, and you will, at the word I' shall give, open
your eyes, and commence dancing, as you see me do."
The ducks obeyed, shutting their eyes tight, and keep
ing time to the music by stepping from one foot to the
other, all impatient for the dancing to begin.
Presently a sound was heard tike a smothered
" quack," but the ducks did not dare to open theti eyes.
Again, and again, the sound of the flute would be
interrupted, and a gurgling cry of " qu-a-a-ck" be heard.
There was one tittle duck, much smaUer than the rest,
who, at this juncture, could not resist the temptation.
to open one eye, cautiously. She saw Nan-nee-bo-zho,
as he played his flute, holding it with one hand, stoop
a tittle at intervals and seize the duck nearest him,
14

314 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
which he throttled and stuffed into the bag on his shoul
ders. So, edging a little out of the circle, and getting
nearer the door which had been left partly open to
admit the light, she cried out :
" Open your eyes — Nan-nee-bo-zho is choking you
all and putting you into his bag !"
With that she flew, but the Nan-nee-bo-zho pounced
upon her. His hand grasped her back, yet, with des
perate force, she released herself and gained the open
air. Her companions flew, quacking and screaming
after her. Some escaped, and some fell victims to the
sprite. The tittle duck had saved her life, but she had lost
her beauty. She ever after retained the attitude she
had been forced into, in her moment of danger — her
back pressed down in the centre, and her head and neck
unnaturally stretched forward into the air.

CHAPTER XXY.
RETURN JOURNEY CONTINUED.
The third day of our journey rose brilliantly clear,
like the two preceding ones, and we shaped our course
more to the north than we had hitherto done, in the
direction of Big-foot lake, now known by the somewhat
hackneyed appellation, Lake of Geneva.
Our journey this day was without mishaps or dis
asters of any kind. The air was balmy, the foliage of
the forests fresh and fragrant, the little brooks clear
and sparkling — everything in nature spoke the praises
of the beneficent Creator.
It is in scenes tike this, far removed from the bustle,
the strife, and the sin of civilized life, that we most fully
realize the presence of the great Author of the Uni
verse. Here can the mind most fully adore his majes
ty and goodness, for here only is the command obeyed,
" Let aU the earth keep silence before Him !"
It cannot escape observation that the deepest and
most solemn devotion is in the hearts of those who, shut
out from the worship of God in temples made with
hands, are led to commune with him amid the bound
less magnificence that his own power has framed.
sis

316 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
This day was not wholly without incident. As we
stopped for our noontide refreshment, and dismounting
threw ourselves on the fresh herbage just at the verge
of a pleasant thicket, we were startled by a tender
bleating near us, and breaking its way through the low
branches, there came upon us a sweet little dappled
fawn, evidently in search of its mother. It did not
seem in the least frightened at the sight of us. As
poor Selkirk might have parodied,
It was so unacquainted with man,
Its tameness was charming to us.
But the vociferous detight of the children soon drove
it bounding again into the woods, and all hopes of
catching it for a pet were at once at an end.
We had travelled well this day, and were beginning
to feel somewhat fatigued when, just before sunset, we
came upon a ridge, overlooking one of the loveliest
tittle detis imaginable. It was an oak opening, and
browsing under the shade of the tall trees which were
scattered around, were the cattle and horses of the
soldiers who had got thus far on their journey. Two
or three white tents were pitched in the bottom of the
vaUey, beside a clear stream. The camp-fires were
already lighted, and the men, singly or in groups, were
dispersed at their various preparations for their own
comfort, or that of their animals.
Lieut. Foster came forward with great delight to

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 317
welcome our arrival, and accepted without hesitation
an invitation to join our mess again, as long as we
should be together.
We soon found a pleasant encamping-ground, far
enough removed from the other party to secure us
against all inconvenience, and our supper having re
ceived the addition of a kettle of fine fresh milk, kindly
brought us by Mrs. Gardiner, the hospital matron, who
with her little covered cart formed no unimportant
feature in the military group, we partook of our even
ing meal with much hilarity and enjoyment.
H people are ever companionable, it is when thrown
together under circumstances like the present. There
has always been sufficient incident through the day to
furnish a theme for discourse, and subject of merriment,
as long as the company feel disposed for conversation,
which is, truth to tell, not an unconscionable length of
time after their supper is over.
The poor Lieutenant looked grave enough when we
sat out in advance of him the next morning. None
of his party were acquainted with the road, but after
giving him directions both general and particular, Mr.
Kinzie promised to blaze a tree, or set up a chip for
a guide, at every place which appeared unusually
doubtful. We now found ourselves in a much more diversified
country than any we had hitherto travelled. Gently
swelling hills, and lovely vaUeys, and bright sparkling

318 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
streams were the features of the landscape. But there
was little animate life. Now and then, a shout from
the leader of the party, (for, according to custom, we
travetied Indian file), would call our attention to a
herd of deer "loping," as the westerners say, through
the. forest ; or, an additional spur would be given to
the horses on the appearance of some small dark ob
ject, far distant on the trail before us. But the game
invariably contrived to disappear before we could
reach it, and it was out ofthe question to leave the beaten
track for a regular hunt
Soon after mid-day, we descended a long, sloping
knoll, and by a sudden turn came full in view of the
beautiful sheet of water denominated Gros-pied by the
French, Maunk-suck by the natives, and by ourselves
Big-foot, from the chief, whose vUlage overlooked its
waters. Bold, swelling hills jutted forward into the
clear blue expanse, or retreated slightly to afford a
green, level nook, as a resting-place for the foot of man.
On the nearer shore stretched a bright, gravelly beach,
through which coursed here and there a pure, sparkling
rivulet to join the larger sheet of water.
.On a rising ground, at the foot of one of the bold
bluffs in the middle distance, a coUection of neat wig
wams formed, with their surrounding gardens, no un- ,
pleasant feature in the picture.
A shout of delight burst involuntarily from the
whole party, as this charming landscape met our view.

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RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 319
" It was like the Hudson, only less bold— no, it was
tike the lake of the Forest Cantons, in the picture of
the Chapel of Wtiliam TeU 1 What could be imagined
more enchanting ? Oh I if our friends at the east could
but enjoy it with us!"
We paused long to admire, and then spurred on,
skirting the head of the lake, and were soon ascending
the broad platform, on which stood the village of
Maunk-suck, or Big-foot
The inhabitants, who had witnessed our approach
from a distance, were all assembled in front of theti
wigwams to greet us, if friends — if otherwise, whatever
the occasion should demand. It was the first time such
a spectacle had ever presented itself to their wondering
eyes. Their salutations were not less cordial than we
expected. "Shaw-nee-aw-kee" and his mother, who
was known throughout the tribe by the touching appel-
ation "Our friend's wife," were welcomed most kindly,
and an animated conversation commenced, which I could
understand only so far as it was conveyed by gestures
— so I amused myself by taking a minute survey of all
that met my view.
The chief was a large, raw-boned, ugly Indian, with
a countenance bloated by intemperance, and with a
sinister, unpleasant expression. He had a gay-colored
handkerchief upon his head, and was otherwise attired
in his best, in compliment to the strangers.
It was to this chief that Chambly, or as he is now

320 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
called Shaw-bee-nay, BUly CaldweU and Robinson were
despatched, during the Winnebago war, in 1827, to use
their -earnest endeavors to prevent him and his band
from joining the hostile Indians. With some difficulty
they succeeded, and were thus the means, doubtless, of
saving the lives of all the settlers who lived exposed
upon the frontier.
Among the various groups of his people, there was
none attracted my attention so forcibly as a young man
of handsome face, and a figure that was striking, even
where all were fine and symmetrical. He too had a
gay handkerchief on his head, a shirt of the brightest
lemon-colored calico, an abundance of stiver ornaments,
and, what gave his dress a most fanciful appearance, one
leggin of blue, and the other of bright scarlet. I was
not ignorant that this peculiar feature in his toilette
indicated a heart suffering from the tender passion. The
flute, wliich he carried in his hand, added confirmation
to the fact, while the joyous, animated expression of his
countenance showed with equal plainness that he was
not a despairing lover.
I could have imagined him to have recently returned
from the chase, laden with booty, with which he had,
as is the custom, entered the lodge of the fair one, and
throwing his burden at the feet of her parents, with an
indifferent, superb sort of air, as much as to say, "Here
is some meat — it is a mere trifle, but it will show you
what you might expect with me for a son-in-law." I

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 321
could not doubt that the damsel had stepped forward
and gathered it up, in token that she accepted the offer
ing, and the donor along with it. There was nothing
in the appearance or manner of any of the maidens by
whom we were surrounded, to denote which was the
happy fair, neither, although I peered anxiously into
all their countenances, could I there detect any blush
of consciousness, so I was obliged to content myself
with selecting the youngest and prettiest of the group,
and go on weaving my romance to my own satisfac
tion. The village stood encircled by an amphitheatre of
hills, so precipitous, and with gorges so steep and narrowj
that it seemed almost impossible to scale them, even on
horseback — how then could we hope to accomplish the
ascent of the four-wheeled carriage? This was the
point now under discussion between my husband and
the Pottowattamies. There was no choice but to make
the effort selecting the pass that the inhabitants pointed
out as the most practicable. PetaUle went first, and I fol
lowed on my favorite Jerry. It was such a scramble
as is not often taken. Almost perpendicularly, through
what seemed the dry bed of a torrent, now fiUed with
loose stones, and scarcely affording one secure foothold
from the bottom to the summit ! I clung fast to the
mane, literally at times clasping Jerry around his neck,
and amid the encouraging shouts and cheers of those
below, we at length arrived safely, though nearly
14*

322 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
breathless on the pinnacle, and sat looking down, to
view the success of the next party.
The horses had been taken from the carriage, and
the luggage it contained placed upon the shoulders of
some of the young Indians, to be toted up the steep.
Ropes were now attached to its sides, and a regular
bevy of our red friends, headed by our two French
men, placed to man them. Two or three more took
their places in the rear, to hold the vehicle and keep
it from slipping backwards — then the labour com-
mencd. Such a pulling! such a shouting! such a
clapping of hands by the spectators of both sexes !
such a stentorian word of command or encouragement
from the bourgeois ! Now and then there would be a
stigh halt, a wavering, as if carriage and men were
about to tumble backwards into the plain below — but
no — they recovered themselves, and after incredible
efforts they too, safely gained the table land above. In
process of time all were landed there, and having re
munerated our friends to their satisfaction, the goods
and chattels were collected, the wagon repacked, and
we set off for our encampment at Turtle Creek.
The exertions and excitement of our laborious ascent,
together with the increasing heat of the sun, made this
afternoon's ride more uncomfortable than anything we
had previously felt. We were truly rejoiced when the
"whoop" of our guide, and the siglit of a few scattered
lodges, gave notice that we had reached our encamping

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 323
ground. We chose abeauttiul sequestered spot, by the
side of a clear, sparkling stream, and having dismounted,
and seen that our horses were made comfortable, my
husband, after giving his directions to his men, led me to
a retired spot where I could lay aside my hat and mask,
and bathe my flushed face and aching head, in the cool,
refreshing waters. Never had I felt anything so grate
ful, so delicious. I sat down, and leaned my head
against one of the taU, overshadowing trees, and was
almost dreaming, when summoned to partake of our
evening meal.
The Indians had brought us, as a present, some fine
brook trout, which our Frenchmen had prepared in the
. most tempting fashion, and before the bright moon rose
and we were ready for our rest, ati headache and
fatigue had alike disappeared.

One of the most charming features of this mode of
travelling is the joyous, vocal life of the forest at early
dawn, when all the feathered tribe come forth to pay
theti cheerful salutations to the opening day.
The rapid, chattering flourish of the bob-o'-tink, the
soft whistle of the thrush, the tender coo of the wood-
dove, the deep warbling bass of the grouse, the drum
ming of the partridge, the melodious trill of the lark,
the gay carol of the robin, the friendly, familiar caU of
the duck and the teal, resound from tree and knoll and

324 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
lowland, prompting the expressive exclamation of the
simple half-breed, " Voila la forSt qui parle !"*
It seems as if man must involuntarily raise his voice,
to take part in the general chorus — the matin song
of praise.
Birds and flowers, and the soft balmy airs of morn-
ping ! Must it not have been in a scene like this that
Milton poured out his beautiful hymn of adoration,
" These are thy glorious works, Parent of Good."
This day we were journeying in hopes to reach, at
an early hour, that broad expanse of the Rock River
which here forms the Kosh-ko-nong. The appellation
of this water, rendered doubly affecting by the subse
quent fate of its people, imports " the lake we live on."
Our road for the early part of the day led through
forests so thick and tangled, that Grignon and Lecuyer
were often obliged to go in advance as pioneers with
their axes, to cut away the obstructing shrubs and
branches. It was slow work, and at times quite dis
couraging, but we were through with it, at last, and
then we came into a country of altogether a different
description. Low prairies, intersected with- deep, nar
row streams like canals, the passage of which, either
* How the woods talk !

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 325
by horsesi or carriage, was often a matter of delay and
even difficulty.
Several times in the course of the forenoon the
horses were to be taken from the carriage and the
latter pulled and pushed across the deep narrow chan
nels as best it might.
The wooded banks of the Kosh-ko-nong were never
welcomed with greater detight than by us, when they
at length broke upon our sight. A ride of five or six
miles through the beautiful oak openings, brought us to
Man-eater's village, a coUection of neat bark wigwams,
with extensive fields on each side of corn, beans, and
squashes, recently planted, but already giving promise
of a fine crop. In front was the broad blue lake, the
shores of which, to the south, were open and marshy,
but near the village, and stretching far away to the
north, were bordered by fine lofty trees. The vtilage
was butit but a short distance below the point where
the Rock River opens into the lake, and during a con
versation between our party and the Indians at the
village, an arrangement was made with them to take
us across at a spot about half a mile above.
After a short halt, we again took up our line of march
through the woods, along the bank of the river.
A number of the Winnebagoes (for we had been
among our own people since leaving Gros-pied Lake),
set out for the appointed place by water, paddling their

326 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
canoes, of which they had selected the largest and
strongest. Arrived at the spot indicated, we dismounted, and
the men commenced the task of unsaddling and un
loading. We were soon placed in the canoes, and pad
dled across to the opposite bank. Next, the horses
were swum across — after them was to come the carriage.
Two long wooden canoes were securely lashed together
side by side, and being of sufficient width to admit of
the carriage standing within them, the passage was
commenced. Again and again the tottering barks
would sway from side to side, and a cry or a shout
would arise from our party on shore, as the whole mass
seemed about to plunge sideways into the water, but
it would presently recover itself, and at length, after
various deviations from the perpendicular, it reached
the shore in safety.
We now hoped that our troubles were at an end,
and that we had nothing to do but to mount and trot
on as fast as possible to Fort Winnebago. But no.
Half a mile further on was a formidable swamp, of no
great width it is true, but with a depth of from two to
three feet of mud and water. It was a question
whether, with the carriage, we could get through it at
ati. Several of the Indians accompanied us to this
place, partly to give us their aid and counsel, and partly
to enjoy the fun of the spectacle.

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 327
• On reaching the swamp, we were disposed to laugh
at the formidable representations which had been made
to us. We saw only a strip of what seemed rather low
land, covered with tall, dry rushes.
It is true the ground looked a tittle wet, but there
seemed nothing to justify all the apprehensions that
had been excited. Great wasmy surprise, then, to see
my husband, who had been a few minutes absent, re
turn to our circle attired in his duck trousers, and
without shoes or stockings.
" What are you going to do ?" inquired I.
" Carry you through the swamp on my shoulders.
Come PetaUle, you are the strongest — you are to carry
Madame Kinzie, and To-shun-nuck there, (pointing to
a tall stout Winnebago), he wtil take Madame Helm."
" Wait a moment," said I, and seating myself on the
grass, I deliberately took off my own boots and stock
ings. "What is that for?" they all asked.
" Because I do not wish to ride with wet feet all the
rest of the day."
"No danger of that," said they and no one fol
lowed my example.
By the time they were in the midst of the swamp,
however, they found my precaution was by no means
useless. The water through which our bearers had to
pass was of such a depth that no efforts of the ladies
were sufficient to keep theti feet above the surface:

328 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
and I had the satisfaction of feeling that my burden
upon my husband's shoulders was much less, from
my being able to keep my first position instead of
changing constantly to avoid a contact with the water.
The laugh was quite on my side when I resumed
my equipment and mounted, dry-shod, into my saddle.
It will be perceived that journeying in the woods is,
in some degree, a deranger of ceremony and formality ;
that it necessarily restricts us somewhat in our conven
tionalities. The only remedy is, to make ourselves
amends by a double share when we return to the civ
ilized walks of life.
By dint of much pulling, shouting, encouraging and
threatening, the horses at length dragged the carriage
through the difficult pass, and our red friends were left
to return to their village, with, doubtless, a very ex
aggerated and amusing account of all that they had
seen and assisted in.
We had not forgotten our promise to Lieut. Foster to
put up a "guide-board" of some sort, for his accom
modation in following us. We had therefore, upon
several -Occasions, carried with us from the woods a
few pieces, of three or four feet in length, which we
had planted at certain points, with a transverse stick
through a cleft in the top, thus marking the direction
he and his party were to take.
We therefore felt sure that, although a few days
later, he would probably find our trail, and avati him •

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 329
self of the same assistance' as we had, in getting through
the difficulties of the way.
Our encamping ground, this night, was to be not far
distant from the Four Lakes. We were greatly fa
tigued with the heat and exercise of the day, and most
anxiously did we look out for the clumps of willows
and alders, which were to mark the spot where water
would be found. We felt hardly equal to pushing on
quite to the bank of the nearest lake. Indeed, it
would have taken us too much off our direct course.
When we, at a late hour, came upon a spot fit for
our purpose, we exchanged mutual congratulations
that this was to be our last night upon the road. The
next day we should be at Winnebago !
Our journey had been most delightful — a coritinufed
scene of exhtiaration arid enjoyment ; for the various
mishaps, although for the moment they had perplexed,
had, in the end, but added to our amusement. StUl,
with the inconstancy of human nature, we were pleased
to exchange its excitement for the quiet repose of
home. Our next morning's ride was of a more tranquil
character than any that had preceded it ; for at an
early hour we entered upon what was known as the
" Twenty-mile Prairie," although it is, in fact, said to
be no more than sixteen or eighteen mties. I can only
observe, that if this is the case, the miles are wonder
fully long on the prairies. Our passage over this Was,

330 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
except the absence of the sand, like crossing the des
ert. MUe after mtie of unbroken expanse — not a tree
— not a living object except ourselves.
The sun, as if to make himself amends for his two
months' seclusion, shone forth with redoubled bril
liancy. There is no such thing as carrying an um
brella on horseback, though those in the wagon were
able to avati themselves of such a shelter.
Our mother's energies had sustained her in the sad
dle until this day, but she was now fairly obliged to
give in, and yield her place on tittle Brunet to Sister
Margaret. Thus we went on, one tittle knoll rising beyond an
other, from the summit of each of which, in succes
sion, we hoped to descry the distant woods, which
were to us as the promised land.
" Take courage," were the cheering words, often
repeated, " very soon you wtil begin to see the tim
ber." Another hour would pass heavily by.
" Now, when we reach the rising ground just ahead,
look sharp."
We looked sharp — nothing but the same unvarying
landscape. There were not even streams to allay the feverish
thirst occasioned by fatigue and impatience.
At length a whoop from Shaw-me-aw-kee broke the
silence in which we were pursuing our way.

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 331
" Le votia ! " (" There it is I")
Our less practised eye could not at first discern the
faint blue strip edging the horizon, but it grew and
grew upon our vision, and all fatigue and discomfort
proportionably disappeared.
We were in fine spirits by the time we reached
" Hastings' Woods," a noble forest, watered by a clear,
sparkling stream.
Grateful as was the refreshment of the green fotiage
and the cooling waters, we did not allow ourselves to
forget that the day was wearing on, and that we must,
if possible, complete our journey before sunset, so we
soon braced up our minds to continue our route,
although we would gladly have lingered another
hour. The marsh of Duck Creek was, thanks to the heat
of the past week, in a very different state from what it
had been a few months previous, when I had been so
unfortunately submerged in its icy waters.
We passed it without difficulty, and soon found our
selves upon the banks of the creek.
The stream, at this point, was supposed to be always
fordable ; and even were it not so, that to the majority
of our party would have been a matter of tittle mo
ment. To the ladies, however, the subject seemed to
demand consideration.
" This water looks very deep — are you sure we can
cross it on horseback ?"

332 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
" Oh, yes ! PetaUle, go before and let us see how
the water is."
PetaUle obeyed. He was mounted on a horse like a
giraffe, and, extending his feet horizontaUy, he cer
tainly managed to pass through the stream without
much of a wetting.
It seemed certain that the water would come into
the wagon, but that was of the less consequence, as in
case of the Worst, the passengers could mount upon
the seats.
My horse, Jerry, was above the medium height, so
that I soon passed over, with no inconvenience but
that of being obliged to disengage my feet from the
stirrups, and tuck them up snugly against the mane of
the horse.
Sister Margaret was sttil upon Brunet. She was
advised to change him for one of the taller horses, but
whUe the matter was under debate, it was settled by
the perverse tittle wretch taking to the water most un-
cermoniously, in obedience to the example of the other
animals. He was soon beyond his depth, and we were at once
alarmed and diverted at seeing his rider, with surpris
ing adroitness, draw herself from the stirrups, and
perch herself upon the top of the saddle, where she
held her position, and navigated her tittle refractory
steed safely to land.
This was the last of our adventures. A pleasant

RETURN TO FORT WINNEBAGO. 333
ride of four mties brought us to the Fort, just as the
sun was throwing his last beams over the glowingland-
scape ; and on reaching the ferry, we were at once
conducted, by the friends who were awaiting us, to the
hospitable roof of Major Twiggs.

CHAPTER XXYI. 4
FOUR -LEGS, THE DANDY.
The companies of the first regiment which had
hiterto been stationed at Fort Winnebago, had received
orders to move on to the Mississippi as soon as relieved
by a portion of the fifth, now at Fort Howard.
As many of the officers of the latter regiment were
married, we had reason to expect that all the quarters
at the post would be put in requisition. For this rea
son, although strongly pressed by Major Twiggs to take
up our residence again in the Fort, until he should go
on furlough, we thought it best to establish ourselves
at once at " the Agency."
It seemed laughable to give so grand a name to so
very insignificant a concern. We had been promised,
by the heads of department at Washington, a comfort
able dwelling so soon as there should be an appropria
tion by Congress sufficient to cover any extra expense
in the Indian Department It was evident that Con
gress had a great spite at us, for it had delayed for two
sessions attending to our accommodation. There was
nothing to be done, therefore, but to make ourselves
comfortable with the best means in our power.
884

335
Major Twiggs had given Mr. Kinzie the old log
barracks, which had been butit for the officers and
soldiers on the first establishment of the post, two years
previous, and his Frenchmen had removed and put
them up again upon the little htil opposite the Fort.
To these some additions were now made in the shape
of dairy, stables, smoke-house, etc., constructed of the
tamarack logs brought from the neighboring swamp.
The whole presented a very rough and primitive ap
pearance. The main butiding consisted of a succession of four
rooms, no two of which communicated with each other,
but each opened by a door into the outward air. A
small window cut through the logs in front and rear,
gave tight to the apartment. An immense clay chim
ney for every two rooms, occupied one side of each,
and the ceiling overhead was composed of a few rough
boards laid upon the transverse logs that supported
the roof.
It was surprising how soon a comfortable, homelike
air was given to the old dilapidated rooms, by a few
Indian mats spread upon the floor, the piano and other
furniture ranged in their appropriate places,- and even
a few pictures hung against the logs. The latter, alas !
had soon to be displaced, for with the first heavy
shower the rain found entrance through sundry crev
ices, and we saw ourselves obhged to put aside, care
fully, everything that could be injured by the moisture.

336 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
We made light of these evils, however — packed away
our carpets and superfluous furniture upon the boards
above, which we dignified with the name of attic, and
contentedly resolved to await the time when Govern
ment should condescend to remember us. The greatest
inconvenience I experienced, was from the necessity
of wearing my straw bonnet throughout the day, as I
journeyed from bedroom to parlor, and from parlor to
kitchen. I became so accustomed to it, that I even
sometimes forgot to rdmove it when I sat down to table,
or to my quiet occupations with my mother and sister.
Permission was however, in time, received to butid
a house for the blacksmith — that is, the person kept in
pay by the Government at this, station to mend the
guns, traps, &c. of the Indians.
It happened most fortunately for us that Monsieur
Isidore Morrin was a bachelor, and quite satisfied to
continue boarding with his friend Louis Frum, dit
Manaigre, so that when the new house was fairly com
menced, we planned it and hurried it forward entirely
on our own account.
It was not very magnificent, it is true, consisting of
but a parlor and two bedrooms on the ground-floor,
and two low chambers under the roof, with a kitchen
in the rear; but compared with the rambling old
stable-like buUding we now inhabited, it seemed quite
a palace. Before it was completed, Mr. Kinzie was notified

FOUR-LEGS, THE DANDY. 337
that the money for the annual Indian payment was
awaiting his arrival in Detroit to take charge of it, and
superintend its transportation to the Portage, and he
was obtiged to set off at once to fulfil this part of
his duty.
The workmen who had been brought from the Mis
sissippi to erect the main building, were fully competent
to carry on their work without an overseer, but the
kitchen was to be the task of the Frenchmen, and the
question was, how could it be executed in the absence
of the bourgeois ?
"You wtil have to content yourselves in the old
quarters untti my return," said my husband, " and then
we will soon have things in order." It was to be a
long and tedious journey, for the operations of govern
ment were not carried on byTatiroad and telegraph
in those days.
After his departure I said to the men, " Come, you
have all your logs cut and hauled — the squaws have
brought the bark for the roof— what is to prevent our
finishing the house and getting all moved and settled
to surprise Monsieur John on his return?"
"Ah! to be sure, Madame John," said Plante, who
was always the spokesman, "provided the one who
plants a green bough on the chimney-top is to have
a treat !"
" Certainly. All hands fall to work, and see who
will win the treat." 15

338 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Upon the strength of such an inducement to the. one
who should put the finishing stroke to the building,
Plante, PUlon and Manaigre, whom the waggish Plante
persisted in caUing "mon negre," whenever he felt
himself out of the reach of the other's arm, all went
vigorously to work.
BuUding a log-house is a somewhat curious process.
First, as will be conceived, the logs are laid one upon
another and jointed at the corners, until the walls have
reached the required height. The chimney is formed
by four poles of the proper length, interlaced with a
wicker-work of small branches. A hole or pit is dug,
near at hand, and with a mixture of clay and water, a
sort of mortar is formed. Large wisps of hay are filled
with this thick substance, and fashioned with the
hands into what are technically called " clay cats," and
then are,ftiled in among the frame- work of the chimney
until not a chink is left. The whole is then covered
with a smooth coating of the wet clay, which is denom
inated, "plastering."
Between the logs which compose the walls of the
buUding, small bits of wood are driven, quite near to
gether ; this is called " chinking," and after it is done,
clay cats are introduced, and smoothed over with the
plaster. When all is dry, both walls and chimney are
whitewashed, and present a comfortable and tidy ap
pearance. The roof is formed by laying upon the transverse

FOUR-LEGS, THE DANDY. 339
logs, thick sheets of bark, and around the chimney, for
greater security against the rain, we took care to have
placed a few layers of the palisades that had been left,
when Mr. Peach, an odd tittle itinerant genius, had
fenced in our garden, the pride and wonder of the sur
rounding settlement and wigwams.
While all these matters were in progress, we re
ceived frequent visits from our Indian friends. First
and formost among them was "the young Dandy,"
Four-Legs. One fine morning he made his appearance accom
panied by two squaws, whom he introduced as his
wives. He could speak a httle Chippewa, and by
this means he and our mother contrived to keep up
something of a conversation. He was dressed in all
his finery, brooches, wampum, fan, looking-glass and
all. The paint upon his face and chest showed that
he had devoted no small time to the labors of his toilet
He took a chair, as he had seen done at Washington,
and made signs to his women to sit down upon the
floor. The custom of taking two wives is not very general
among the Indians. They seem to have the sagacity
to perceive that the fewer they have to manage, the
more complete is the peace and quiet ofthe wigwam.
Nevertheless, it sometimes happens that a husband
takes a foolish fancy for a second squaw, and in that

340 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST
case he uses all his cunning and eloquence to reconcile
the first to receiving a new inmate in the lodge. Of
course it is a matter that must be managed adroitly, in
order that harmony may be preserved.
" My dear, your health is not very good, it is time
you should have some rest. You have worked very
hard, and it grieves me that you should have to labor
any longer. Let me get you some nice young squaw
to wait upon you, that you may tive at ease all the rest
of your life."
The first wife consents — indeed, she has no option.
If she is of a jealous, vindictive disposition, what a
life the new comer leads ! The old one maintains all
her rights of dowager and duenna, and the husband's
tenderness is hardly a compensation for all the evils
the young rival is made to suffer.
It was on Sunday morning that this visit of the
Dandy was made to us. We were all seated quietly,
engaged in reading. Four-Legs inquired of my mo
ther, why we were so occupied, and why everything
around us was so still.
My mother explained to him our observance of the
day of rest — that we devoted it to worshipping and
serving the Great Spirit, as he had commanded in his
Holy Word.
Four-Legs gave a nod of approbation. That was
very right, he said — he was glad to see us doing our

FOUR-LEGS, THE DANDY. 341
duty — he was very religious himself, and he liked to
see others so. He always took care that his squaws
attended to their duty, not reading perhaps, but such
as the Great Spirit liked, and such as he thought
proper and becoming.
He seemed to have no fancy for listening to any
explanation of our points of difference. The impres
sion among the Winnebagoes " that if the Great Spirit
had wished them different from what they are, he
would have made them so," seems too strong to yield
to either argument or persuasion.
Sometimes those who are desirous of appearing
somewhat civilized will listen, quietly to all that is ad
vanced on the subject of Christianity, and coolly say
ing, "Yes, we believe that, too," wtil change the con
versation to other subjects.
As a general thing, they do not appear to perceive
that there is anything to be gained, by adopting the
retigion and the customs of the whites. "Look at
them," they say, " always toiling and striving — always
wearing a brow of care — shut up in houses — afraid pf
the wind and the rain — suffering when they are de
prived of the comforts of life ! We, on the contrary,
live a life of freedom and happiness. We hunt and
fish, and pass our time pleasantly in the open woods
and prairies. If we are hungry, we take some game ;
or, if we do not find that, we can go without. If our
enemies trouble us, we can kUl them, and there is no

342 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
more said about it. What should we gain by chang
ing ourselves into white men?"*
I have never heard that Christian missionaries, with
ati their efforts to convert them, have made much pro
gress in enlightening their minds upon the doctrines
6f the Gospel. Mr. Mazzuchetii, a Roman Catholic
priest, accompanied by Miss Elizabeth Grignon as in
terpreter, made a missionary visit to the Portage dur
ing our residence there, and, after some instruction to
them, about forty consented to be baptized. Christian
names were given to them with which they seemed
much pleased ; and not less so, with the tittle plated
crucifixes which each received, and which the women
wore about their necks. These they seemed to regard
with a devotional feeling ; but I was not sufficiently
acquainted with their language to gather from them
whether they understood the doctrine the symbol was
designed to convey. Certain it is, they expressed no
wish to learn our language, in order that they might
gain a fuller knowledge of the Saviour, nor any solici
tude to be taught more about him than they had re
ceived during the missionary's short visit.
One woman, to whom the name of Charlotte had been
given, signified a desire to learn the domestic ways of
the whites, and asked of me as a favor through,
* It will be remembered that these were the arguments used a
quarter of a century ago, when the Indians possessed most of the
broad lands on the Upper Mississippi and its tributaries.

FOUR-LEGS, THE DANDY. 343
Madame Paquette that she might be permitted to come
on " washing-day," and learn of my servants our way
of managing the business. A tub was given her, and
my woman instructed her, by signs and example, how
she was to manage. As I was not a tittle curious to
observe how things went on, I proceeded after a time
to the kitchen where they all were. Charlotte Was at
her tub, scouring and rubbing with all her might at
her tittle crucifix. Two other squaws sat upon the floor
near her, watching the operation.
"That is the work she has been at for the last half
hour," said Josette, in a tone of great impatience.
" She'll never learn to wash."
-Charlotte, however, soon fell diligently to work, and
reaUy seemed as if she would tear her arms off, with
her violent exertions.
After a time, supposing that she must feel a good
deal fatigued and exhausted with unaccustomed
labor, I did what it was at that day very much the
fashion to do, — what, at home, I had always seen done
on washing-day, — what, in short,- 1 imagine was then a
general custom among housekeepers. I went to the
dining-room closet, intending to give Charlotte a glass
of wine or brandy and water. My ' ' cupboard " proved
to be in the state of the luckless " Mother Hubbard's —
nothing of the kind could I find but a bottle of orange
shrub. ' Of this I poured out a wine-glass full, and, carrying

344 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
it out, offered it to the woman. She took it with an
expression of great pleasure ; but, in carrying it to her
lips, she stopped short, and exclaiming "Whiskee!"
immediately returned it to me. I would still have
pressed it upon her; for, in my inexperience, I really
believed it was a cordial she needed ; but, pointing to
her crucifix, she shook her head and returned to her
work. I received this as a lesson more powerful than
twenty sermons. It was the first time in my life that
I had ever seen spirituous liquors rejected upon a reli
gious principle, and it made an impression upon me
that I never forgot.

CHAPTER XXYII.
THE GUT-NOSE.
Among the women of the tribe with whom we early
became acquainted, our greatest favorite was a daugh
ter of one of the Day-kau-rays. This family, as I have
elsewhere said, boasted in some remote generation a
cross of the French blood, and this fact may account
for the fair complexion and soft curling hair which dis
tinguished our friend. She had a noble forehead, full
expressive eyes, and fine teeth. Unlike the women of
her people, she had not grown brown and haggard with
advancing years. Indeed, with the exception of one
feature, she might be called beautiful.
She had many years before married a Mus-qua-kee,
or Fox Indian, and, according to the custom among ati
the tribes, the husband came home to the wife's famtiy,
and tived among the Winnebagoes.
It is this custom, so exactly the reverse of civilized
ways, that makes the birth of a daughter a subject of
peculiar rejoicing in an Indian famtiy. "She will
bring another hunter to our lodge," is the style of
mutual congratulation.
The Mus-qua-kee continued, for some few years, to
15* (846)

i-^vrwffits'

346 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
live among his wife's relations ; but, as no chtidren
blessed their union, he at length became tired of his
new friends, and longed to return to his own people.
He tried, for a time, to persuade his wife to leave her
home, and accompany him to the Mississippi, where the
Sacs and Foxes tive, but in vain. She could not re
solve to make the sacrifice.
One day, after many fruitless efforts to persuade her,
he flew into a violent passion,
" Then, if you will not go with me," said he, " I wtil
leave you ; but you shall never be the wife of any other
man — I wtil mark you !"
Saying this, he flew upon her, and bit off the end of
her nose. This, the usual punishment for conjugal infi
delity, is the greatest disgrace a woman can receive — it
bars her forever from again entering the pale of matri
mony. The wretch fled to his own people ; but his
revenge fell short of its aim. Day-kau-ray was too
well known and too universaUy respected to suffer op-
probium in any member of his famtiy. This bright,
loving creature in particular, won all hearts upon a first
acquaintance — she certainly did ours, from the outset.
She suffered much from rheumatism, and a remedy
we gave her soon afforded her almost entire relief. Her
gratitude knew no bounds. Notwithstanding, that from
long suffering she had become partially crippled, she
would walk all the way from the Barribault, a distance
of ten mties, as often as once in two or three weeks, to

THE CUT-NOSE. 347
visit us. Then, to sit and gaze at us, to laugh with
childish glee at everything new or strange that we em
ployed ourselves about — to pat and stroke us every
time we came near her — sometimes to raise our hand
or arms and Mss them — these were her-demonstrations
of affection. And we loved her in return. It was
always a joyful announcement when, looking out over
the Portage road, somebody called out, " the Cut-nose
is coming!" In time, however, we learned to call her
by her baptismal name of Elizabeth, for she, too, was
one of Mr. Mazzuchelti's converts.
She came one day, accompanied by a half-grown
boy, carrying a young fawn, she had brought me as a
present I was delighted with the pretty creature —
with its soft eyes and dappled coat ; but having often
heard the simile, "as wild as a fawn," I did not anti
cipate much success in taming it. To my great sur
prise, it soon learned to follow me like a dog. Where-
ever I went, there Fan was sure to be. At breakfast,
she would tie down at my feet, under the table. One
of her first tokens of affection was to gnaw off ati the
trimming from my black silk apron, as she lay pre
tending to caress and fondle me. Nor was this her
only style of mischief.
One day we heard a great rattling among the crock
ery in the kitchen. We ran to see what was the mat
ter, and found that Miss Fan had made her way
to a shelf of the dresser, about two feet from the

348 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
ground, and was endeavoring to find a comfortable place
to lie down, among the plates and dishes. I soon ob
served that it was the shelter ofthe shelf above her head
that was the great attraction, and that she was in the
habit of seeking out a place of repose under a chair, or
something approaching to an "umbrageous bower."
So after this I took care, as the hour for her morning
nap approached, to open a large green parasol, and set
it on the matting in the corner — then when I called
Fan, Fan, she would come and nestle under it, and
soon fall fast asleep.
One morning Fan was missing. In vain we called
and sought her in the garden — in the enclosure for the
cattle — at the houses of the Frenchmen — along the htil
towards Paquette's — -no Fan was to be found. We
thought she had asserted her own wtid nature and sped
away to the woods.
It was a hot forenoon, and the doors were all open.
About dinner time, in rushed Fan, panting violently,
and threw herself upon her side, where she lay with
her feet outstretched, her mouth foaming, and exhibit
ing all the signs of mortal agony. We tried to give
her water, to soothe her, if perhaps it might be fright
that so affected her ; but in a few minutes, with a gasp
and a spasm, she breathed her last. Whether she had
been chased by the greyhounds, or whether she had
eaten some poisonous weed, which, occasioning her
suffering, had driven her to her best friends for aid,

THE CUT-NOSE. 349
we never knew ; but we lost our pretty pet, and many
were the tears shed for her.

Very shortly after the departure of my husband, we
received a visit from "the White Crow," "the Little
Priest," and several others of the principal chiefs of the
Rock River Indians. They seemed greatly disap
pointed at learning that their father was from home,
even though his errand was to get "the stiver." We
sent for Paquette, who interpreted for us the object of
their visit.
They had come to inform us that the Sac Chief,
Black Hawk and his band, who, in compliance with a
former treaty, had removed sometime previous to the
west ofthe Mississippi, had now returned to theti old
homes and hunting grounds, and expressed a determi
nation not to relinquish them, but to drive off the
white settlers who had begun to occupy them.
The latter, in fact, he had already done, and having,
as it was said, induced some of the Pottowattamies to
join him, there was reason to fear that he might
persuade some of the Winnebagoes to follow their
example. These chiefs had come to counsel with their father,
and to assure him that they should do all in their
power to keep their young men quiet. They had
heard that troops were being raised down among the

350 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
whites in Illinois, and they had hopes that their people
would be wise enough to keep out of difficulty. Fur
thermore, they begged that their father, on his return,
would see that the soldiers did not meddle with them,
so long as they remained quiet and behaved in a
friendly manner.
White Crow seemed particularly anxious to impress
it upon me, that ii any danger should arise in Shaw-
nee-aw-kee's absence, he should come with his people
to protect me and my famtiy. I relied upon his
assurances, for he had ever shown himself an upright
and honorable Indian.
Notwithstanding this, the thoughts of "Indian
troubles" so near us, in the absence of our guardian
and protector, occasioned us many an anxious moment,
and it was not until we learned of the peaceable re
treat of the Sacs and 'Foxes, west. of the Mississippi,
that we were able wholly to lay aside our fears.
We were now called to part with our friends, Major
Twiggs and his famtiy, which we did with heartfelt
regret. He gave me a few parting words about our
old acquaintance, Christman.
" When I went into the barracks the other day,"
said he, " about the time the men were taking their
dinner, I noticed a great six-foot soldier standing
against the window-frame, crying and blubbering.
' Halloo,' said I, ' what on earth does this mean ?'
« « Why, that fellow there,' said Christman, (for it

THE CUT-NOSE. 351
was he), ' has scrowged me out of my place !' A
pretty soldier your protege will make, madam !"
I neyer heard any more of my hero. Whether he
went to exhibit his prowess against the Seminoles and
Mexicans, or whether he returned to tUl the fertile soti
of his native German Flats, and blow his favorite boat
man's horn, must be left for some future historian to
tell. There is one more character to be disposed of—
Louisa. An opportunity offering in the Spring, the
Major had placed her under the charge of a person
going to Buffalo, that she might be returned to her
parents. In compliment to the new acquaintances she
had formed, she shortened her skirts, mounted a pair
of scarlet leggins, embroidered with porcupine quills,
and took her leave of military life, having deposited
with the gentleman who took charge of her, sixty dol
lars, for safe keeping, which she remarked " she had
saved up, out of her wages at a dollar a week through
the winter."

A very short time after we were settled in our new
home at the Agency, we attempted the commencement
of a tittle Sunday School. Edwin, Harry and Josette,
were our most reliable scholars, but besides them, there
were the two tittle Manaigres, Therese Paquette, and
her mother's half sister, Florence Courvtile, a pretty

352 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST. /
young girl of fifteen. None of these girls had even
learned their letters. They spoke only French, or
rather, the Canadian patois, and it was exceedingly
difficult to give them at once the sound of the words,
and their signification, which they were careful to in
quire. Besides this, there was the task of correcting
the false ideas, and remedying the ignorance and su
perstition which presented so formidable an obstacle
to rational improvement. We did our best, however,
and had the satisfaction of seeing them, after a time,
making really respectable progress with their spelling-
book, and what was stUl more encouraging, acquiring
a degree of light and knowledge in regard to better
things. In process of time, however, Florence was often
absent from her class. " Her sister," she said, " could
not always spare her. She wanted her to keep house
whtie she, herself, went over on Sunday to visit her
friends, the Roys, who lived on the Wisconsin."
We reasoned with Madame Paquette on the subject
" Could she not spare Florence on some hour of the
day ? We would gladly teach her on a week day, for
she seemed anxious to learn, but we had always been
told that for that there was no time."
" Well — she would see. Madame AUum (Helm)
and Madame John, were so kind 1"
There was no improvement, however, in regularity.
After a time Manaigre was induced to send his chtidren

THE CUT-NOSE. 353
to Mr. Cadle's mission-school at Green Bay. Therese
accompanied them, and very soon Florence discon
tinued her attendance altogether.
We were obliged, from that time forward, to confine
our instructions to our own domestic circle.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
INDIAN CUSTOMS AND DANCES.
Before we had any right to look for my husband's
return, I one day received a message inviting me to
come up to the new house. We all went in a body,
for we had purposely staid away a few days, expect
ing this summons, of which we anticipated the mean
ing. Plante, in full glee, was seated astride of a small keg
on the roof, close beside the kitchen chimney, on the
very summit of which he had planted a green bough.
To this he held fast with one hand, whtie he exultingly
waved the other and called out,
"Eh! ban, Madame John! d cette heure, pour le
rigall" " Yes, Plante, you are entitled to a treat, and I hope
you will not enjoy it the less that Ptilon and Manaigre
are to share it with you."
A suitable gratification made them quite contented
with their " bourgeoise," against whom Plante had some
times been inclined to grumble, "because," as he said,
" she had him called up too early in the morning."
(854)

INDIAN CUSTOMS AND DANCES. 355
He might have added, because, too, she could not un
derstand the philosophy of his coming in to work in
his own garden, under the plea that it was too wet and
rainy to work in Monsieur John's.
It was with no ordinary feelings of satisfaction, that
we quitted the old log tenement for our new dwelling,
small and insignificant though it was.
I was only too happy to enjoy the luxury of a real
bed-chamber, in place of the parlor floor which I had
occupied as such for more than two months. It is
true that our culinary arrangements were still upon
no improved plan. The clay chimney was not of suf
ficient strength to hold the trammel and pot-hooks,
which', at that day had not been quite superseded by the
cooking-stove and kitchen-range. Our fire was made
as in the olden time, with vast logs behind, and
smaUer sticks in front, laid across upon the andirons
or dogs. Upon the sticks were placed such of the
cooking-utensils as could not be accommodated on the
hearth, but woe to the dinner or the supper, if through
a little want of care or scrutiny one treacherous piece
was suffered to burn away. Down would come the
whole arrangement — kettles, saucepans, burning brands
and cinders, in one almost inextricable mass. How
often this happened under the supervision of Harry or
little Josette, while the mistress was playing lady to
some visitor in the parlor, " 'twere vain to teti."
Then, spite of Mons. Plante's palisades round the

356 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
chimney, in a hard shower the rain would come pelt
ing down, and, the hearth unfortunately sloping a little
the wrong way, the fire would become extinguished ;
whUe the bark on the roof, failing to do its duty, we
were now and then so completely deluged, that there
was no resource but to catch up the breakfast or dinner
and tuck it under the table untti better times — that is,
till fair weather came again. In spite of all these
little adverse occurrences, however, we enjoyed our
new quarters exceedingly.
Our garden was well furnished with vegetables, and
even the currant bushes which we had brought from
Chicago with us, tied in a bundle at the back of the
carriage, had produced us some fruit.
The Indian women were very constant in their visits
and their presents. Sometimes it was venison — some
times ducks or pigeons — whortleberries, wild plums,
or cranberries, according to the season — neat pretty
mats for the floor or the table — wooden bowls or ladles,
fancy work of deer-skin or porcupine quills. These
they would bring in and throw at my feet. If through
inattention I failed to look pleased, to raise the articles
from the floor and lay them carefully aside, a look of
mortification and the observation, "Our mother hates
our gifts," showed how much their feelings were
wounded. It was always expected that a present
would be received graciously, and returned with some
thing twice its value.

INDIAN CUSTOMS AND DANCES. 357
Meantime, Week after week wore on, and still was
the return of " the master" delayed.
The rare arrival of a schooner at Green Bay, in
which to take passage for Detroit, made it always a
matter of uncertainty what length of time would be
necessary for a journey there and back again — so that
it was not until the last of August that he again reached
his home. Great was his surprise to find us so nicely
"moved and settled," and under his' active supervi
sion, the evils of which we had to complain were soon
remedied. My husband had met at Fort Gratiot, and brought
with him, my young brother, Julian, whom my parents
were sending, at our request, to reside with us. Edwin
was overjoyed to have a companion once more, for
he had hitherto been very solitary. They soon had
enough to occupy their attention, for, in obedience to
a summons sent to the different villages, the Indians
very shortly came flocking in to the payment.
There was among their number this year, one whom
I had never seen before — the mother of the elder Day-
kau-ray. No one could tell her age, but all agreed
that she must have seen upwards of a hundred win
ters. Her eyes dimmed, and almost white with age —
her face dark and withered, like a baked apple — her
voice tremulous and feeble, except when raised in fury
to reprove her graceless grandsons, who were fond of

358 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
playing her all sorts of mischievous tricks, indicated
the very great age she must have attained.
She usuaUy went upon aU fours, not having strength
to hold herself erect. On the day of the payment,
having received her portion, which she carefully hid
in the corner of her blanket, she came crawling along
and seated herself on the door-step, to count her treas
ure. My sister and I were watching her movements from
the open window.
Presently, just as she had, unobserved as she thought,
spread out her stiver before her, two of her descendants
came.suddenly upon her. At first they seemed beg
ging for a share, but she repulsed them with angry
gestures, when one of them made a sudden swoop, and
possessed himself of a tolerable handful.
She tried to rise, to pursue him, but was unable to
do more than clutch the remainder, and utter the most
unearthly screams of rage. At this instant the boys
raised their eyes and perceived us regarding them.
They burst into a laugh, and with a sort of mocking
gesture they threw her the half-dollars, and ran back to
the pay-ground.
I think there was but little earnest in their vexatious
tricks, for she seemed very fond of them, and never
failed to beg something of " her father," that she could
bestow upon them.

INDIAN CUSTOMS AND DANCES. 859
She crept into the parlor one morning, when straight
ening herself up, and supporting herself by the frame
of the door, she cried in a most piteous tone — " Shaw-
nee-aw-kee ! Wau-tshob-ee-rah Thsoonsh-koo-nee-noh!"
(Stiver-man, I have no looking-glass.) Her " father "
smiling and taking up the same little tone, cried in re
turn, " Do you wish to look at yourself, Mother ?"
The idea seemed to her so irresistibly comic, that
she laughed until she was fairly obtiged to seat herself
upon the floor and give way to her enj oyment. She then
owned that it was for one of the boys that she wanted
the little mirror. When her father had given it to her,
she found that she had " no comb," then that she had
" no knife," then that she had "no calico shawl," until
it ended, as it generaUy did, by Shaw-nee-aw-kee pay
ing pretty dearly for his joke.

When the Indians arrived and when they departed,
my sense of " woman's rights " was often greatly out
raged. The master of the famtiy, as a general thing,
came leisurely bearing his gun and perhaps a lance in
his hand. The woman, with the mats and poles of her
lodge upon her shoulders, her pappoose, if she had
one, her kettles, sacks of corn, and wild rice, and not
¦(infrequently, the household dog perched on the top of

360 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
all. If there- is a horse or pony in the list of .family
possessions, the man rides, the squaw trudges after.
This unequal division of labor is the result of no
want of kind, affectionate feeling on the part of the hus
band. It is rather the instinct of the, sex to assert
their superiority of position and importance, when a
proper occasion offers. When out of the reach of ob
servation, and in no danger of compromising his own
dignity, the husband is willing enough to relieve his
spouse from the burden that custom imposes on her,
by sharing her labors and hardships.
The payment had not passed without its appropriate
number of complimentary and medicine dances. The
latter take place only at rare intervals — the former
whenever an occasion presents itself — demanding ( a
manifestation of respect and courtesy.
It is the custom to ask permission of the person to
be complimented, to dance for him. This granted,
preparation is made by painting the face elaborately,
and marking the person, which is usually bare about
the chest and shoulders, after the most approved pat
tern. All the ornaments that can be mustered, are ad
ded to the hair,, or head dress. Happy is he, who, in
virtue of having taken one or more scalps, is entitied
to proclaim it by a corresponding number of eagle's
feathers. The less fortunate make a substitute of the,
feathers of the wUd turkey, or, better still, of the first
unlucky " rooster " that falls in their way. My poor

INDIAN CUSTOMS AND DANCES. 361
fowls, during the time of payment, were always thor
oughly plucked.
When their preparations are completed, the dancers
assemble at some convenient place, and then come
marching to the spot appointed, accompanied by the
music of the Indian drum and shee-shee-qua or rattle.
They, range themselves in a circle and dance with vio
lent contortions and gesticulations, some of them grace
ful, others only energetical, the squaws, who stand a
tittle apart, and mingle their discordant voices with
the music of the instruments, rarely participating
in the dance. OccasionaUy, however, when excited
by the general gaiety, a few of them wUl form a circle
outside and perform a sort of ungraceful, up and down
movement, which was no merit, save the perfect time
which is kept, and for which, the Indians seem, with
out exception, to possess a natural ear.
The dance finished, which is only when the strength
ofthe dancers is quite exhausted, a quantity of presents
are brought and placed in the middle of the circle, by
order of the party complimented. An equitable dis
tribution is made, by one of their number ; arid the ob
ject of aU this display having been accomplished, they
retire. The medicine-dance is. carried on chiefly to celebrate.
the skill of the " Medicine-man," in curing diseases.
This functionary belongs to a fraternity who are sup
posed to add to their other powers- some sktil in
16

362 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
interpreting the wUl of the Great Spirit in regard to
the conduct of his people. He occasionally makes
offerings and sacrifices which are regarded as propitia
tory. In this sense, the term " priest" may be deemed
applicable to him. He is also a " prophet" in so far
as he is, in a limited degree, an instructor, but does not
claim to possess the gift of foretelhng future events.
A person- is selected to join the fraternity of the
" Medicine-man" by those already initiated, chiefly on
account of some skUl or sagacity that has been observ
ed in him. Sometimes it happens that a person who
has had a severe tilness which has yielded to the pre
scriptions of one of the members, is considered a pro
per object of choice from a sort of claim thus estab
lished. When he is about to be initiated, a great feast is
made, of course at the expense of the candidate, for in
the most simple, as in the most civilized life, the same
principle^ of politics holds good, " honors must be paid
for." An animal is killed and dressed, of which the
people at large partake — there are dances and songs
and speeches in abundance. Then the chief Medicine
man takes the candidate and privately instructs him in
all the ceremonies and knowledge necessary to make
him an accomplished member of the fraternity. Some
times the new member selected is sttil a.chtid. In that
case he is taken by the Medicine-man so soon as he
reaches a proper age, and qualified by instruction

INDIAN CUSTOMS AND DANCES. 363
and example to become a creditable member of the
fraternity. Among the Winnebagoes, there seems a considera
ble belief in magic. Each Medicine-man has a bag or
sack, in which is supposed to be enclosed some animal,
to whom in the course of their pow-wows, he addresses
himself, crying to him in the note common to his im
agined species. And the people seem to be persuaded
that the answers which are announced are really com
munications in this form, from the Great Spirit.
The Indians appear to have no idea of a retribution
beyond this life. They have a strong appreciation of
the great, fundamental virtues of natural religion — the
worship of the Great Spirit, brotherly love, parental
affection, honesty, temperance and chastity. Any in
fringement of the laws of the Great Spirit, by a
departure from these virtues, they believe wiU excite
his anger, and draw down punishment. These are
their principles. That their practice evinces more and
more, a departure from them, under the debasing
influences of a proximity to the whites, is a melan
choly truth, wliich no one wUl admit with so much
sorrow as those who tived among them, and esteemed
them, a quarter of a century ago, before this signal
change had taken place.

One of the first improvements that suggested itself
about our new dwelling, had been the removal of some

364 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
very unsightly pickets surrounding two or three
Indian graves, on the esplanade in front of the house.
Such, however, is the reverence in which these burial-
places are held, that we felt we must approach the sub
ject with great delicacy and consideration.
My husband at length ventured to propose to Mrs.
" Pawnee Blanc," the nearest surviving relative of the
person interred, to replaee the pickets with a neat
wooden platform.
The idea pleased her much, for through her intimacy
in Paquette's famtiy, she had acquired something of
a taste for civilization. Accordingly a little struc
ture about a foot in height, properly finished with a
moulding around the edge, was substituted for the
worn and blackened pickets, and it was touching to
witness the mournful satisfaction with which two or
three old crones would come regularly every evening
at sunset, to sit and gossip over the ashes of their de
parted relatives.
On the fine, moonlight nights too, there might often
be seen a group sitting there, and enjoying what is to
them a solemn hour, for they entertain the poetic be
lief that " the moon was made to give tight to the
dead." The reverence of the Indians for the memory of their
departed friends, and their dutiful attention in visiting
and making offerings to the Great Spirit, over their
last resting-places, is an example worthy of imitation

INDIAN CUSTOMS AND DANCES. 365
among their more enlightened brethren. Not so,
however, with some of their customs in relation to the
dead. The news of the decease of one of their number is a
signal for a general mourning and lamentation — it is
also, in some instances, I am sorry to say, when the
means and appliances can be found, the apology for a
general carouse.
The relatives weep and howl for grief— -the friends
and acquaintance bear them company through sym
pathy. A few of their number are deputed to wait
upon their "father," to inform him of the event, and
to beg some presents "to help them," as they express
it, " dry up their tears."
We received such a visit one morning, not long after
the payment was concluded.
A tittle drunken Indian, named by the French peo
ple around, " Old Botivin," from his resemblance to an
Indian Agent of that name, at Prairie du Chien, was
the person on account of whose death the application
was made. "He had been fishing," they said, "on
the shores of one ofthe tittle lakes near the Portage,
and having taken a little too much ' whiskee,' had fall
en into the water and been drowned." Nothing of him
had been found but his blanket on the bank, so there
could be no funeral ceremonies, but they were pre
pared to make a great lamentation about him.
Their father presented them with tobacco, knives,

THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
calico and looking-glasses, in proportion to what he
thought might be their reasonable grief at the loss of
such a worthless vagabond, and they departed.
There was no difficulty, notwithstanding the stringent
prohibitions on the subject, in procuring a keg of whis
key from some of the traders who yet remained, so
armed with that and their other treasures, they assem
bled at an appointed spot, not far from the scene of the
catastrophe, and sitting down with the keg in their
midst, they commenced their affliction. The more
they drank the more clamorous became their grief, and
the faster flowed their tears.
In the midst of these demonstrations a little figure,
bent and staggering, covered with mud and all in dis
order, with a countenance full of wonder and sympa
thy, approached them and began,
"Why's what? what? Who's dead?"
" Who ! dead ?" repeated they, looking up in aston
ishment, " Why, you're dead I you were drowned in
Swan Lake ! Did not we find your blanket there ?
Come, sit down and help us mourn."
The old man did not wait for a second invitation.
He took his seat and cried and drank with the rest,
weeping and lamenting as bitterly as any of them, and
the strange scene was continued as long as they had
power to articulate, or any portion of the whiskey was
left.

CHAPTER XXIX.
STORY OF THE RED FOX-
The Indians, of whatever tribe, are exceedingly
fond of narrating or listening to tales and stories,
whether historical or fictitious. They have their pro
fessed story-tellers, tike the oriental nations, and these
go about, from village to village, coUecting an admir
ing and attentive audience, however oft-told and famil
iar the matter they recite. *
It is in this way that their traditions are preserved
and handed down unimpaired from generation to gen
eration. Their knowledge of the geography of their
country is wonderfuUy exact. I have seen an Indian
sit in his lodge, and draw a map in the ashes, of the
North- Western States, not of its statistical but its geo
graphical features, lakes, rivers, and mountains, with
the greatest accuracy, giving their relative distances,
by day's journeys, without hesitation, and even extend
ing his drawings and explanations as far as Kentucky
and Tennessee.
Of biography they preserve not only the leading
events in the life of the person, but his features, ap
pearance and bearing, his manners, and whatever httle
trait or peculiarity characterized him.

368 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
The women are more fond of fiction, and some of
their stories have a strange mingling of humor and
pathos. I give the two which follow as specimens.
The Indian names contained in them are in the Ottawa
or " Courte Oreilles " language, but the same tales are
current in aU the different tongues and dialects.

STORY OF THE RED FOX.
This is an animal to which many peculiarities are
attributed. He is said to resemble the jackal in his
habtt of molesting the graves of the dead, and the
Indians have a superstitious dread of hearing his bark
at night, believing that it forebodes calamity and death.
They say, too, that he was originally of one uniform
reddish-brown color, but that his legs became black in
the manner related in the story.
There was a chief of a certain village who had a
beautiful daughter. He resolved upon one occasion
to make a feast, and invite all the animals. When the
invitation was brought to the red fox he inquired,
" What are you going to have for supper?"
" Mee-dau-mee-nau-bo," was the reply.
This is a porridge made of parched corn, slightly
cracked. The fox turned up his tittle sharp nose.
" No, I thank you," said he, " I can get plenty of that
at home."

STORY OF THE RED FOX. 369
The messenger returned to the chief, and reported
the contemptuous refusal of the fox.
" Go back to him," said the chief, " and tell him we
are going to have a nice fresh body,* and we will have
it cooked in the most delicate manner possible."
Pleased with the prospect of such a treat, the fox
gave a very hearty assent to the second invitation.
The hour arrived, and he sat off for the lodge of
the chief to attend the feast. The company were all
prepared for him, for they made common cause with
their friend who had been insulted. As the fox en
tered, the guest next the door with great courtesy rose
from his place, and begged the new comer to be seated.
Immediately the person next him also rose, and insisted
that the fox should occupy his place, as it was still
nearer the fire— the post of honor. Then the third,
with many expressions of civility, pressed him to ex
change with him, and thus, with many ceremonious
flourishes, he was passed along the circle, always ap
proaching the fire, where a huge cauldron stood, in
which the good cheer was still cooking. The fox was
by no means unwilling to occupy the highest place in
the assembly, and besides, he was anxious to take a
peep into the kettle, for he had his suspicions that he
might be disappointed of the delicacies he had been
expecting. * The Indians in relating a story like this, apologize for alluding
to a revolting subject. " You will think this unpleasant," they say.
16*

370 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
So, by degrees, he was ushered nearer and nearer
the great blazing fire, until by a dexterous push and
shove he was hoisted into the seething kettle.
His feet were dreadfully scalded, but he leaped out,
and ran home to his lodge, howling and crying with
pain. His grandmother, with whom, according to the
custom of animals, he lived, demanded of him an ac
count of the affair. When he had faithfully related
all the circumstances (for, unlike the civilized animals,
he did not think of telling his grandmother a story),
she reproved him very strongly!
" You have committed two great faults," said she.
" In the first place you were very rude to the chief
who was so kind as to invite you, and by returning
insult for civUity, you made yourself enemies who were
determined to punish you. In the next place, it was
very unbecoming in you to be so forward to take the
place of honor. Had you been contented modestly
to keep your seat near the door, you would have
escaped the misfortune that has befallen you."
All this was not very consolatory to the poor fox,
who continued to whine and cry most piteously, while
his grandmother, having finished her lecture, proceeded
to bind up his wounds. Great virtue is supposed to
be added to all medical prescriptions and applications
by a little dancing, so, the dressing having been ap
plied, the grandmother fell to dancing with all her
might, round and round in the lodge.

STORY OF THE RED FOX. 371
When she was nearly exhausted, the fox said,
"Grandmother, take off the bandages and see if my
legs are healed."
She did as he requested, but no — the burns were
still fresh. She danced and danced again. Now and
then, as he grew impatient, she would remove the
coverings to observe the effect of the remedies. At
length, towards morning, she looked, and, to be sure,
the burns were quite healed. "But oh!" cried she,
"your legs are as black as a coal! They were so
badly burned that they will never return to their
color!" The poor fox, who, like many another brave, was
vain of his legs, fell into a transport of lamentation.
"Oh! my legs! My pretty red legs! What shall
I do ? The young girls will all despise me. I shall
never dare to show myself among them again !"
He cried and sobbed until his grandmother, fatigued
with her exercise, fell asleep. By this time he had
decided upon his plan of revenge.
He rose and stole softly out of his lodge, and pur
suing his way rapidly towards the vtilage of the chief,
he turned his face in the direction of the principal
lodge and barked. When the inhabitants heard this
sound in the stillness of the night, their hearts trem
bled. They knew that it foreboded sorrow and trouble
to some one of their number.
A very short time elapsed before the beautiful

372 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
daughter of the chief fell sick, and she grew rapidly
worse and worse, spite of medicines, charms, and
dances. At length she died. The fox had not in
tended to bring misfortune on the vUlage in this shape,
for he loved the beautiful daughter of the chief, so he
kept in his lodge and hiourned and fretted for her
death. Preparations were made for a magnificent funeral,
but the friends of the deceased were in great perplex
ity. " If we bury her in the earth," said they, "the fox
will come and disturb her remains. He has barked
her to death, and he will be glad to come and finish
his work of revenge."
They took counsel together, and determined to hang
her body high in a tree as a place of sepulture. They
thought the fox would go groping about in the earth,
and not lift up his eyes to the branches above his
head. But the grandmother had been at the funeral, and
she returned and told the fox all that had been done.
" Now, my son," said she, " listen to me. Do not
meddle with the remains of the Chief's daughter. You
have done mischief enough already — leave her in
peace." As soon as the grandmother was asleep at night, the
fox rambled forth. He soon found the place he sought,
and came and sat under the tree where the young girl
had been placed. He gazed and gazed at her, all the

STORY OF THE RED FOX. 373
live-long night, and she appeared as beautiful as when
in life. But when the day dawned, and the light ena
bled him to see more clearly, then he observed that
decay was doing its work — that instead of a beauti
ful, she presented only a loathsome appearance.
He went home sad and afflicted, and passed all the
day mourning in his lodge.
"Have you disturbed the remains of the Chief's
beautiful daughter?" was his parent's anxious ques
tion. "No, grandmother," — and he uttered not another
word. Thus it went on for many days and nights. The
fox always took care to quit his watch at the early
dawn of day, for he knew that her friends would sus
pect him, and come betimes to see if all was right.
At length he perceived that, gradually, she looked
less and less hideous in the morning light, and that she
by degrees, resumed the appearance she had presented
in life, so that in process of time, her beauty and look
of health quite returned to her.
One day he said, "Grandmother, give me my pipe,
that I may take a smoke."
" Ah !" cried she, '.' you begin to be comforted. You
have never smoked since the death of the chief's beau
tiful daughter. Have you heard some good news ?"
"Never you mind," said he, "bring the pipe."
He sat down and smoked, and smoked. After a time

374 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
he said, " Grandmother, sweep your lodge and put it
all in order, for this day you wtil receive a visit from
your daughter-in-law."
The grandmother did as she was desired. She swept
her lodge, and arranged it with all the taste she pos
sessed, and then both sat down to await the visit.
" When you hear a sound at the door," said the
Fox, "you must give the salutation, and say, Come
in." When they had been thus seated for a time, the
grandmother heard a faint, rustling sound. She looked
towards the door. To her surprise, the mat which
usually hung as a curtain was rolled up, and the door
was open.
" Peen-tee-geen n'dau-nis!"* cried she.
Something hke a faint, faint shadow appeared to
glide in. It took gradually a more distinct outline.
As she looked and looked, she began to discern the
form and features of the Chief's beautiful daughter,
but it was long before she appeared like a reality, and
took her place in the lodge like a thing of flesh and
blood. They kept the matter hid very close, for they would
not for the world that the father or friends of the
bride should know what had happened. Soon, how
ever, it began to be rumored about that the chief's
beautiful daughter had returned to life, and was hving
* Come in, my.daughter.

STORY OF THE RED FOX. 375
in the Red Fox's lodge. How it ever became known
was a mystery, for, of course, the grandmother never
spoke of it.
Be that as it may, the news created great excitement
in the village. " This must never be," said they all.
" He barked her to death once, and who knows what
he may do next time."
The father took at once a decided part. " The Red
Fox is not worthy of my daughter," he said. "I had
promised her to the Hart, the finest and most elegant
among the animals. Now that she has returned to
life, I shall keep my word."
So the friends ati went in a body to the lodge of
the Red Fox. The bridegroom, the bride and the
grandmother, made aU the resistance possible, but they
were overpowered by numbers, and the Hart having
remained conveniently, waiting on the outside where
there was no danger, the beautiful daughter of the
chief was placed upon his back, and he coursed away
through the forest to carry her to his own home.
When he arrived at the door of his lodge, however,
he turned his head, but no bride was in the place
where he expected to see her. He had thought his
burden very light from the beginning, but that he sup
posed was natural to spirits returned from the dead.
He never imagined she had at the outset glided from
her seat, and in the midst of the tumult slipped back,
unobserved, to her chosen husband.

876 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
One or two attempts were made by the friends, after
this, to repossess themselves of the young creature,
but all without success. Then they said, "Let her re
main where she is. It is true the Red Fox occasioned
her death, but by his watchfulness and care he caressed
her into life again ; therefore she rightfully belongs to
him." So the Red Fox and his beautiful bride tived
long together in great peace and happiness

CHAPTER XXX.
¦
STORY OF SHEE-SHEE-BANZE.
There was a young man named Shee-shee-banze
(the Little Duck), paddling his canoe along the shore
of the lake.
Two girls came down to the edge of the water, and
seeing him, the elder said to the younger, " Let us
call to him to take us a saU."
It must be remarked that in all Indian stories where
two or more sisters are the dramatis persona?, the elder
is invariably represented as sUly, ridiculous and dis
gusting — the younger, as wise and beautiful.
In the present case the younger remonstrated. " Oh !
no," said she, "let us not do such a thing. What will
he think of us?"
But the other persevered, and called to him, " Ho !
come and take us into your canoe." The young man
obeyed, and approaching the shore, he took them with
him into the canoe.
" Who are you?" asked the elder sister?
"I am Way-gee-mar-kin," replied he, "the great
Chief." This Way-gee-mar-kin was something of a fairy, for
(8TT)

378 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH WEST.

when surrounded by his foUowers, and wishing to con
fer favors on them, he had a habit of coughing slightly,
when there would fly forth from his mouth quantities
of silver brooches, ear-bobs and other ornaments, for
which i it was the custom of his people to scramble,
each striving, as in more civUized life, to get more than
his share.
Accordingly, the elder sister said, " If you are Way-
gee-mar-kin, let us see your cough."
Shee-shee-banze had a few of these silver ornaments
.which he had got by scrambling, and which he kept
¦stowed away in the sides of his mouth in case of emer
gency. So he gave some spasmodic coughs and brought
forth a few, which the girl eagerly seized.
After a time, as they paddled along, a fine noble elk
came forth from the forest, and approached the water
to drink.
"What is that?" asked the spokeswoman ; for the
younger sister sat sUent and modest all the time.
"It is my dog that I hunt with."
" Call him to us, that I may see him."
Shee-shee-banze caUed, but the elk turned and fled
into the woods.
" He does not seem to obey you, however."
" No, it is because you inspire him with disgust, and
therefore he flies from you."
Soon a bear made his appearance by the water's
edge.

STORY OF SHEE-SHEE-BANZE. 379
"What is that?"
" One of my servants."
Again he was requested to call him, and as the caU
was disregarded, the same reason as before was assigned.
Their excursion was at length ended. There had
been a little magic in it, for although the young girls
had supposed themselves to be in a canoe, there was,
in reality, no canoe at all. They only imagined it to
have been so.
Now Shee-shee-banze tived with his grandmother,
and to her lodge he conducted his young friends.
They stood outside while he went in.
" Grandmother," said he, " I have brought you two
young girls, who will be your daughters-in-law. In
vite them into your lodge."
Upon this, the old woman called, "Ho! come in,"
and they entered. They were made welcome and
treated to the best of everything.
In the meantime, the real Way-gee-mar-kin, the
great chief, made preparations for a grand feast. When
he was sending his messenger out with the invitations,
he said to him, " Be very particular to bid Shee-shee-
banze to the feast, for as he is the smallest and mean
est person in the tribe, you must use double cere
mony with him, or he will be apt to think himself
slighted." Shee-shee-banze sat in his lodge with his new friends,
when the messenger arrived.

380 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
" Ho ! Shee-shee-banze," cried he, " you are invited
to a great feast that Way-gee-mar-kin is to give to
night, to all his subjects."
But Shee-shee-banze took no notice of the invitation.
He only whistled, and pretended not to hear. The
messenger repeated his words, and finding that no
attention was paid to them, he went his way.
The young girls looked at each other, during this
scene, greatly astonished. - At length the elder spoke.
" What does this mean ?" said she. " Why does he
call you Shee-shee-banze, and invite you to visit Way-
gee-mar-kin?"
< "Oh!" said Shee-shee-banze, "it is one of my
•foUowers that always likes to be a little impudent.
I am obliged to put up with it sometimes, but you
observed that I treated him with silent contempt."
The messenger returned to the chief, and reported
the manner in which the invitation had been re
ceived. " Oh !" said the good-natured chief, "it is because
he feels he is poor and insignificant. Go back again
— call him by my name, and make a flourishing speech
to him."
The messenger fulfilled his mission as he was bid.
" Way-gee-mar-kin," said he, pompously, " a great
feast is to be given to-night, and I am sent most re
spectfully to solicit the honor of your company!"
"Did I not tell you?" said Shee-shee-banze to the

STORY OF SHEE-SHEE-BANZE. 881
maidens. Then nodding- with careless condescension,
he added, " Tell them I'll come."
At night, Shee-shee-banze dressed himself in his very
best paint, feathers and ornaments — but before his de
parture he took his grandmother aside.
"Be sure," said he, "that you watch these young
people closely until I come back. Shut up your lodge
tight, tight. Let no one come in or go out, and above
all things, do not go to sleep."
These orders given, he went his way.
The grandmother tried her best to keep awake, but
finding herseti growing more and more sleepy, as the
night wore on, she took a strong cord and laced across
the mat which hung before the entrance to the lodge, as
the Indians lace up the mouths of their bags, and hav
ing seen ati things secure and the girls quiet in bed,
she laid down and soon fell into a comfortable
sleep. The young girls, in the meanwhile, .were dying with
curiosity to know what had become of Shee-shee-banze,
and as soon as they were sure the old lady was asleep,
they prepared to follow him, and see what was going on.
Fearing, however, that the grandmother might awake
and discover their absence, they took two logs of wood,
and putting them under the blanket, so disposed them
as to present the appearance of persons sleeping quietly.
They then cut the cords that fastened the door, and,
guided by the sounds of the music, the dancing, and the

382 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
merry-making, they soon found their way to the dwell
ing of Way-gee-mar-kin.
When they entered, they saw the chief seated on a
throne, surrounded by light and splendor. Everything
was joy and amusement Crowds of courtiers were in
the apartment, ati dressed in the most brilliant array.
The strangers looked around for theti friend Shee-shee-
banze, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Now and then the chief would cough, when a
shower of silver ornaments and precious things would
fly in all directions, and instantly, a scramble would
commence among the company, to gather them up and
appropriate them. As they thus rushed forward; the
brides elect saw their poor little friend crowded up into
a corner, where nobody took any notice of him, except
to push him aside, or step on him whenever he was in
the way. He uttered piteous little squeaks as one and
another would thus maltreat him, but he was too busy
taking care of himself to perceive that those whom he
had left snug at home in the lodge were witnesses of all
that was going on.
At length the signal was given for the company tc
retire, all but the two young damsels, upon whom
Way-gee-mar-kin had set his eye, and to whom he had
sent, by one of his assistants, great offers to induce
them to remain with him and become his wives.
Poor Shee-shee-banze returned to his lodge, but what
was his consternation to find the door open !

STORY OF SHEE-SHEE-BANZE. 383
" Ho ! grandmother," cried he " is this the way you
keep watch?"
The old woman started up. " There are my daugh
ters-in-law," said she, pointing to the two logs of wood.
Shee-shee-banze threw himself on the ground between
them. His back was broken by coming so violently in
contact with them, but that he did not mind — he thought
only of revenge, and the recovery of his sweethearts.
He waited but to get some powerful poison and pre
pare it, and then he stole softly back to the wigwam
of Way-gee-mar-kin. All was silent, and he crept in
without making the slightest noise. There lay the
chief, with a young girl on each side of him.
They were all sound asleep, the chief lying on his
back, with his mouth wide open. Before he was aware
of it, the poison was down his throat, and Shee-shee-
banze had retreated quietly to his own lodge. .
The next morning the cry went through the village
that Way-gee-mar-kin had been found dead in his bed.
Of course it was attributed to over indulgence at the
feast. Ati was grief and lamentation. " Let us go and
tell poor Shee-shee-banze," said one, "he was so fond
of Way-gee-mar-kin."
They found him sitting on a bank fishing. He had
been up. at peep of day, to make preparation for re
ceiving the intelligence.
He had caught two or three fish, and, extracting their
bladders, had filled them with blood, and tied them un-

384 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
der his arm. When the friends of Way-gee-mar-kin
saw him, they called out to him,
" Oh ! . Shee-shee-banze, your friend, Way-gee-mar-
kin, is dead !" With a gesture of despair, Shee-shee-
banze drew his knife and plunged it, not into his
heart, but into the bladders filled with blood that he
had prepared. As he fell, apparently lifeless to the
ground, the messengers began to reproach themselves :
" Oh! why did we tell him so suddenly ? We might
have known he would not survive it. Poor Shee-shee-
banze ! he loved Way-gee-mar-kin so.
To their great surprise, the day after the funeral,
Shee-shee-banze came walking toward the wigwam of
the dead chief. As he 'walked, he sang, or rather
chaunted to a monotonous strain* the following :
Way-gee-mar-kin is dead, is dead,
I know who killed him.
I guess it was I — I guess it was I.
All the viUage was aroused. Every body flew in
pursuit of the murderer, but he evaded them, and es
caped to a place of safety.
Soon after, he again made his appearance, mincing
as he walked, and singing to the same strain as before,
If you wish to take and punish me,
Let the widows come and catch me.
It seemed a good idea, and the young women were
* The Indians sing these words to an air peculiar to themselves.

STORY OF SHEE-SHEE-BANZE. 385
recommended to go and entice the culprit into the vti
lage, so that the friends of the deceased could lay hold
of him.
They went forth on their errand. Shee-shee-banze
would suffer them to approach, then he would dance
off a tittle — now he would allow them to come quite
near ; anon he would retreat a little before them, all the
time singing, Come, pretty widows, come and catch me.
Thus he decoyed them on, occasionally using honied
words and flattering speeches, untti he had gained their
consent to return with him to his lodge, and take up
their abode with him.
The friends of the murdered chief were scandalized
at such inconstancy, and resolved to punish all three,
as soon as they could catch them.
They surrounded his lodge with cries and threaten-
ings, but Shee-shee-banze and his two brides had con
trived to elude their vigilance and gain his canoe, which
lay in the river, close at hand.
Hardly were they on board, when their escape was
discovered. The whole troop flew after them. Some
plunged into the stream, and seized the canoe. In the
struggle it was upset, but immediately on touching the
water, whether from the magical properties of the ca
noe, or the necromantic skill of the grandmother, they
were transformed into ducks, and flew quacking away.
17

386 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Since that time, the water-fowl of this species, are
always found in companies of three — two females and
a male.

The Canard de France, or Mallard, and the Bran-
cheuse, or Wood Duck, are of different habits from the
foregoing, flying in pairs. Indeed, the constancy of
the latter is said to be so great that if he loses his mate
he never takes another partner, but goes mourning to
the end of his days.

CHAPTER XXXI.
A VISIT TO GREEN BAY-MATJ-ZHEE-
GAW-GAW SWAMP.
The payment over, and the Indians dispersed, we
prepared ourselves to settle down quietly in our little
home. But now, a new source of disturbance arose.
My husband's accounts of disbursements as Agent
of the Winnebagoes, which he had forwarded to the
Department at Washington, had failed to reach there,
of which he received due notice — that is to say, such a
notice as could reach us by the circuitous and uncer
tain mode of conveyance by which intercourse with
the eastern world was then kept up. If the vouchers for
the former expenditures, together with the recent pay
ment of $15,000, annuity money, should not be forth
coming, it ntight place him in a very awkward posi
tion, so he decided to go at once to Washington, and
be the bearer himself of his duplicate accounts.
"Should you like to go and see your father and
mother," said he to me, one morning, " and show them
how the west agrees with you?"
It was a most joyful suggestion after a year's separa
tion, and in a few days ati things were in readiness for
our departure. (88T)

388 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
There was visiting us, at that time, Miss Brush, of
Detroit, who had come from Green Bay with Mr. and
Mrs. Whitney and Miss Frances Henshaw, on an ex
cursion to the Mississippi. Our tittle india-rubber
house had contrived to expand itself for the accom
modation of the whole party during the very pleasant
visit they made us.
The arrival of two young ladies, was, as may be
imagined, quite a godsend to the unmarried lieuten
ants, and when, tired of the journey, or intimidated by
the snow which fell eight inches on the 4th of October,
Miss Brush determined to give up the remainder of
her excursion, and accept our pressing invitation to
remain with us, until the return of her friends, we
were looked upon as public benefactors. She was
now to accompany us to Green Bay, and possibly to
Detroit. Our voyage down the river was without incident,
and we reached Green Bay just as all the place was
astir in the expectation of the arrival of one of Mr.
Newbery's schooners. This important event was the
subject of interest to the whole community, from Fort
Howard to " Dickenson's." To some its arrival would
bring friends, to some supplies — to the ladies, the fash
ions, to the gentlemen, the news, for it was the happy
bearer of the mails, not for that place alone, but for
aU the " upper country."
In a few days the vessel arrived. She brought a

VISIT TO GREEN BAY. 389
mail for Fort Winnebago, which in the winter season
only was carried by land to that place, via Niles- Settle
ment and Chicago.
In virtue of his office as Post Master, my husband
opened the mail-bag, and took possession of his own
letters. One informed him of the satisfactory appear
ance of the missing accounts, but oh ! sad disappoint
ment, another brought the news that my parents had
gone to Kentucky for the winter — not to any city or
accessible place, but up "the Sandy," and over among
the mountains of Virginia, hunting up old land claims
belonging to my grandfather's estate.
It was vain to hope to follow them. We might
hardly expect to find them during the short period
we could be absent from home — not even were we to
receive the lucid directions once given my father by
an old settler during his explorations through that
wild region.
" You must go up Tug," said the man, " and down
Troublesome, and fall over on to Kingdom-come." *
We did not thing it advisable to undertake such an
expedition, so we made up our minds to retrace our
steps to Fort Winnebago.
No boats were in readiness to ascend the river.
Hamilton Arndt promised to have one in preparation
at once, but time passed by, and no boat was made
ready. * Three streams or water-courses of that region.

390, THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
It was now the beginning of November. We were
passing our time very pleasantly with the Irwin s and
Whitneys, and at the residence of Colonel Stambaugh,
the Indian agent, but still this delay was inconvenient
and vexatious.
I suggested undertaking the journey on horseback.
" No, indeed," was the answer I invariably received.
"No mortal woman has ever gone that road, unless it
was on foot, nor ever could."
" But suppose we set out in the boat and get frozen
in on the way. We can neither pass the winter there,
nor possibly find our way to a human habitation. We
have had one similar experience already. Is it not
better to take it for granted that I can do what you
and others of your sex have done?"
Dr. Finley, the post-surgeon at Fort Howard, on
hearing the matter debated, offered me immediately'
his favorite horse Charlie. " He was very surefooted,"
the Doctor aUeged, "and capital in a marsh or trouble
some stream."
By land, then, it was decided to go, and as soon as
our old Mee-no-mo-nee friend, " Wish-tay-yun," who
was as good a guide by land as by water, could be
summoned, we set off, leaving our trunks to be for
warded by Hamilton Arndt, whenever it should please
him to carry out his intention of sending up his boat.
We waited untti a late hour on the morning of our
departure for our fellow-travellers, Mr. Wing, of Mon-

A VISIT TO GREEN BAY. 391
roe* and Dr. Phtileo, of Galena; but finding they did
not join us, we resolved to lose no time, confident that
we should all meet at the Kakatin in the course of the
evening. After crossing the river at what is now Despere, and
entering the wild, unsettled country on the west of the
river, we found a succession of wooded hills, separated
by ravines so narrow and steep that it seemed im
possible that any animals but mules or goats could
make their way among them.
Wish-tay-yun took the lead. The horse he rode
was accustomed to the country, and well trained to this
style of road. As for Charlie, he was perfectly ad
mirable. When he came to a precipitous descent, he
would set forward his fore-feet, ahd slide down on his
haunches in the most scientific manner, while my only
mode of preserving my balance was to hold fast by the
bridle, and lay myself almost flat upon his back. Then
our position suddenly changed, and we were scaling
the opposite bank, at the imminent risk of falling back
ward into the ravine below.
It was amusing to see Wish-tay-yun, as he scrambled
on ahead, now and then turning partly round to see
how I fared. And when, panting and laughing, I at
length reached the summit, he would throw up his
hands, and shout with the utmost glee, "Mamma
Manitou!" (My mother is a spirit).
* At that time a delegate to Congress from the Territory.

392 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Our old acquaintances, the Grignons, seemed much
surprised that I should have ventured on such a
journey. They had never taken it, although they had
tived so long at the Ka-katin, but then there was no
reason why they should have done so. They could
always command a canoe or a boat when they wished
to visit " the bay."
As we had anticipated, our gentlemen joined us at
supper. " They had delayed to take dinner with Col^
Stanbaugh — had had a dehghtful gallop up from the
bay — had seen no ravines, nor anything but fine smooth
roads — might have been asleep, but if so, were not
conscious of it." This was the account they gave of
themselves, to our no small amusement.
From the Ka-kalin to the Butte des Morts, where now
lived a man named Knaggs, was our next day's stage.
The country was rough and wild, much like that we
had passed through the spring before, in going from
Hamilton's diggings to KeUogg's Grove, but we were
fortunate in having Wish-tay-yun, rather than Mr H,
for our guide, so that we could make our way with
some degree of moderation.
We had travelled but forty miles when we reached
Knaggs', yet I was both cold and fatigued, so that
the sight of the cosy little room in which we found
Mrs. Knaggs, and the bright fire, were most cheering
objects; and as we had only broken our fast since
morning, with a few crackers we carried in our pockets,

A VISIT TO GREEN BAY. 393
I must own we did ample justice to her nice coffee and
cakes, not to mention venison-steaks and bear's meat,
the latter of which I had never before tasted, and which,
truth to tell, I never wished to taste again.
Our supper over, we looked about for a place of re
pose. The room in which we had taken our meal was
of small dimensions, just sufficient to accommodate a
bed, a table placed against the wall, and the few
chairs on which we sat.. There was no room for any
kind of a " shake down."
" Where can you put us for the night?" inquired my
husband of Mr. Knaggs, when he made his appearance.
" Why, there is no place that I know of, unless you
can camp down in the old building outside."
We went to look at it. It consisted of one room,
bare and dirty. A huge chimney, in which a few
brands were burning, occupied nearly one side of the
apartment. Against another was built a rickety sort
of bunk. This was the only vestige of furniture to be
seen. The floor was thickly covered with mud and
dirt, in the midst of which, near the fire, was seated an
old Indian with a pan of boiled corn on his lap, which
he was scooping up with both hands, and devouring
with the utmost voracity.
We soon discovered that he was blind. On hearing
footsteps and voices, he instinctively gathered his dish of
food close to him, and began some morose grumblings ;
but when he was told that it was " Shaw-hee-aw-kee"
17*

394 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
who was addressing him, his features relaxed into a
more agreeable expression, and he even held forth his
dish and invited us to share its contents.
" But are we to stay here ?" I asked. " Can we not
sleep out of doors ?"
" We have no tent," replied my husband, " and the
weather is too cold to risk the exposure without one."
" I could sit in a chair aU night, by the fire."
" Then you would not be able to ride to Bellefon-
taine to-morrow."
There was no alternative. The only thing Mr.
Knaggs could furnish in the shape of bedding was a
small bear-skin. The bunk was a trifle less filthy than
the floor, so upon its boards we spread first the skin,
then our saddle-blankets, and with a pair of saddle
bags for a bolster, I wrapped myself in my cloak, and
resigned myself to my distasteful accommodations.
The change of position from that I had occupied
through the day, probably brought some rest, but
sleep I could not. Even on a softer and more agree
able couch, the snoring of the old Indian and two or
three companions who had joined him, and his fre
quent querulous exclamations as he felt himself en
croached upon in the darkness, would have effectually
banished slumber from my eyes.
It was a relief to rise and prepare for the journey
of the day. Where our fellow-travetiers had bestowed
themselves I knew not, but they evidently had fared

MAU-ZHEE-GAW-GAW SWAMP. 395
no better than we. They were in fine spirits, however,
and we cheerfully took our breakfast and were ferried
over the river to continue on the trail from that point
to Bellefontaine, twelve miles from Fort Winnebago.
The great "bug-bear" of this road, Mau-zhee-gaw-
gaw Swamp, was the next thing to be encountered.
We reached it about nine o'clock. It spread before
us a vast expanse of morass, about half a mile in width,
and of length interminable, partly covered with water,
with black knobs rising here and there above the sur
face, to afford a precarious foothold for the animals in
crossing it Where the water was not, there lay in
place of it, a bed of black oozy mud, which threatened
to give way under the foot, and let it, at each step,
sink into an unknown depth.
This we were now to traverse. All three of the
gentlemen went in advance of me, each hoping, as he
said, to select the surest and firmest path for me to
follow. One and another would call, " Here, madam,
come. this way !" " This is the best path, wifie^-follow
me," but often Charlie knew better than either, and
selected a path according to his own judgment, which
proved the best of the whole.
Once he went picking his way so slowly and cau
tiously, now pausing on one little hillock, now on
another, and anon turning aside to avoid a patch
of mud that seemed more than usually suspicious,
that aU the company had got some little distance

THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
ahead of me. On raising my eyes, which had been
kept pretty closely on my horse's footsteps, I saw my
husband" on foot, striving to lead his horse by the
bridle from a difficult position into which he had got,
Mr. Wing and his great white floundering animal,
lying sideways in the mud, the rider using all his
efforts to extricate himself from the stirrups, and Dr.
Philleo standing at a little distance from his steedi
who was doing his best to rise up from a deep bog
into which he had pitched himself. It was a formida
ble sight ! They all called out with one accord,
" Oh ! do not come tins way I"
" Indeed," cried I, " I have no thought of it. Char-
he and I know better" — and trusting to the sagacious
creature, he picked his way carefully along, and car
ried me safely past the dismounted company. I could
not refrain from a httle triumphant flourish with my
whip, as I looked back upon them, and watched their
progress to their saddles once more.
Three hours had we been thus unpleasantly engaged
and yet we were not over the " Slough of Despond."
At length we drew near its farthest verge. Here ran
a deep stream of some five or six feet in width. The
gentlemen, as they reached it, dismounted, and began
debating what was to be done.
" Jump off, jump off, Madam," cried Mr. Wing, and
"Jump off, jump off," echoed Dr. Phtileo — we are just
consulting how we are to get you across."

MAU-ZHEE-GAW-GAW SWAMP. 397
" What do you think about it ?" asked my husband.
" Charlie wtil show you," replied I. " Come, Charlie,"
and as I raised his bridle quickly, with a pat on his
neck and an encouraging chirp, he bounded over the
stream as lightly as a deer, and landed me safe on
terra firma.
Poor Mr. Wing had fared the worst of the company ;
the clumsy animal he rode seeming to be of opinion
when he got into a difficulty that he had nothing to do
but to lie down and resign himself to his fate ; whtie
his rider not being particularly light and agtie, was
generally undermost, and half- imbedded in the mire
before he had quite made up his mind as to his course
of action.
It was therefore a wise movement in him, when he
reached the tittle stream, to plunge into it, and wade
across, thus washing out, as much as possible, the tra
ces of the morning's adventures, from himself and his
steed, and the other gentlemen, having no alternative,
concluded to follow his example.
We did not halt long on the rising ground beyond
the morass, for we had a long stretch before us to Belle-
fontaine, forty-five miles, and those none of the shortest
Our horses travelled admirably the whole afternoon,
Charlie keeping a canter all the way, but it was now grow
ing dark, and there were no signs of the landmarks
wliich were to indicate our near approach to the de
sired haven.

398 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
" Can we not stop and rest us for a few moments
under one of the trees?" inquired I, for I was almost
exhausted with fatigue, and to add to our discomfort,
a cold, November rain was pouring upon us.
"If it were possible, we would," was the reply, "but
see how dark it is growing. If we should lose our
way, it would be worse than being wet and tired."
So we kept on. Just at dark we crossed a clear
stream. " That," said my husband, " is, I think, two
miles from Bellefontaine. Cheer up — we shall soon
be there." Quite encouraged we pursued our way
more cheerfully. MUe -after mile we passed, but still
no tight gleamed friendly through the trees.
" We have certainly travelled more than six mties
now," said I.
"Yes — that could not have been the two mile
ereek." It was eight o'clock when we reached BeUe-
fontaine. We were ushered into a large room made
cheerful by a huge blazing fire. Mr. Wing and Dr.
PhUleo had arrived before us, and there were other
traveUers, on their way from the Mississippi. I was
received with great kindness and volubility, by the
immense hostess, " la grosse Americaine," as she was
called, and she soon installed me in the arm-chair, in
the warmest corner, and in due time set an exceUent
supper before us.
But her hospitality did not extend to giving up her
only bed for my accommodation. She spread aU the things

MAU-ZHEE-GAW-GAW SWAMP.
she could muster on the hard floor before the fire, and
did what she could to make me comfortable ; then, ob
serving my husband's solicitude lest I might feel til
from the effects of the fatigue and rain, she remarked
in tones of admiring sympathy, "How kind your
companion is to you!" An expression which, as it
was then new to us, amused us not a little.
Our travelling companions started early in the morn
ing for the fort, which was but twelve mties distant,
and they were so kind as to take charge of a note to
our friends at home, requesting them to send Plante
with the carriage to take us the rest of the distance.
We reached there in safety, and thus ended the first
journey by land that any white woman had made from
Green Bay to Fort Winnebago.

CHAPTER XXXII.
COMMENCEMENT OF SAUK WAR.
Late in the autumn, after our return, my husband
took his mother to Prairie du Chien for the benefit of
medical advice from Dr. Beaumont of the U. S. Army.
The journey was made in a large open boat down the
Wisconsin river, and it was proposed to take this op
portunity to bring back a good supply of corn for the
winter's use of both men and cattle.
The ice formed in the river, however, so early, that
after starting with his load, he was obliged to return
with it to the Prairie, and wait untti the thick winter's
ice enabled him to make a second journey, and bring
it up in sleighs — with so great an expense of time,
labor, and exposure, were the necessaries of hfe con
veyed from one point to another, through that wild and
desolate region !

The arrival of my brother Arthur from Kentucky,
by way of the Mississippi, in the latter part of AprU,
brought us the uncomfortable intelligence of new trou
bles with the Sauks and Foxes. Black Hawk had,
with the flower of his nation, recrossed the Mississippi,
(400)

COMMENCEMENT OF SAUK. WAR. 401
once more to take possession of their old homes and
cornfields.* It was not long before our own Indians came flocking
in, to confirm the tidings, and to assure us of their in
tention to remain faithful friends to the Americans.
We soon heard of the arrival of the HLinois Bangers
in the Rock River country, also of the progress of the
regular force under Gen. Atkinson, in pursuit of the
hostile Indians, who, by the reports, were always able
to elude their vigUance. It not being their custom to
stop and give battle, the Sauks soon scattered them
selves through the country, trusting to some lucky ac
cident (and they arrived, alas ! only too often), to
enable them to fall upon their enemies unexpectedly.
The experience of the pursuing army was, for the
most part, to make their way, by toilsome and fa
tiguing marches to the spot where they imagined the
Sauks would be waiting to receive them, and then to
discover that the rogues had scampered off to quite a
different part of the country.
Wherever these latter went, their course was marked
by the most atrocious barbarities, though the worst had
not, at this time, reached our ears. We were only as
sured that they were down in the neighborhood of the
"Rock river, and Kishwaukee, and that they lost no
opportunity of falling upon the defenceless inhabitants,
and cruelly murdering them.
* See Appendix.

402 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
As soon as it became certain that the Sauks and
Foxes would not pursue the same course they had on
the previous year, that is, retreat peaceably across the
Mississippi, Mr. Kinzie resolved to hold a councU with
all the principal chiefs of the Winnebagoes, who were
accessible at this time. He knew that the Sauks would
use every effort to induce theti neighb'ors to join them,
and that there existed in the breasts of too many of the
young savages a desire to distinguish themselves by
" taking some white scalps." They did not love the
Americans — why should they? By them they had
beeu gradually dispossessed of the broad and beautiful
domains of theti forefathers, and hunted from place to
place, and the only equivalent 'they had received in
exchange had been a few thousands annually in silver
and presents, together with the pernicious example,
the debasing influence, and the positive ill-treatment of
too many of the new settlers upon their lands.
With all these facts in view, therefore, their " father''
felt that the utmost watchfulness was necessary, and
that the strongest arguments must be brought forward,
to preserve the young men of the Winnebagoes in their
atiegiance to the Americans. Of the older members
he felt quite sure. About fifty lodges had come at the
commencement of the disturbances, and encamped
around our dwelling, saying, that if the Sauks attacked
us, it must be after kilting them ; and, knowing them
weU, we had perfect confidence in their assurances.

COMMENCEMENT' OF SAUK WAR. 403
But their vicinity, while it gave us a feeling of pro
tection, likewise furnished us with a channel of the
most exciting and agitating daily communications. As
the theatre of operations approached nearer and nearer,
intelligence was brought from one of their runners
— now, that "Captain Harney's head had been re
cognized in the Sauk camp, where it had been brought
the day previous," next, that "the Sauks were car
rying Lieut. Beati's head on a pole in front of them
as they marched to meet the whites." Sometimes it
was a story which we afterwards found to be true, as
that of the murder of their agent, Mr. St. Yrain, at
Kellogg's Grove, by the Sauks themselves, who ought
to have protected him.
It was after the news -of this last occurrence, that
the appointed council with the Winnebagoes was to be
held at the Four Lakes, thirty-five miles distant from
Fort Winnebago.
In vain we pleaded and remonstrated against such an
exposure. "It was his duty to assemble and talk to
them," my husband said, " and he must run the risk,
if there were any. He had perfect confidence in the
Winnebagoes. The enemy, by aU he could learn, were
now far distant from the Four Lakes— probably at
Kosh-ko-nong. He would set off early in the morn
ing with Paquette, hold his council, and return to us
the same evening."
It were useless to attempt to describe our feelings

404 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
during that long and dreary day. When night arrived
the cry of a drunken Indian, or even the barking of a
dog, would fill our hearts with terror.
As we sat, at a late hour, at the open window, listen
ing to every sound, with what joy did we at length
distinguish the tramp of horses — we knew it to be
Griffin and Jerry ascending the hill, and a cheerful
shout soon announced that all was weU. They had
ridden seventy miles that day, besides holding a long
" talk " with the Indians.
The Winnebagoes in council had promised to use
their utmost endeavors to preserve peace and good
order among their young men. They informed their
father that the bands on the Rock river, with the ex
ception of Win-no-sheek's were aU determined to remain
friendly, and keep aloof from the Sauks. To that end,
they were all abandoning their villages and corn-fields,
and moving north, that theti Great Father, the Pres
ident, might not feel dissatisfied with them. With
regard to Win-no-sheek and his people, they professed
themselves unable to answer.
Time went on, and brought with it stories of fresh
outrages. Among these were the murders of Auberry,
Green, and Force, at Blue Mound, and the attack on
Apple Fort. The tidings of the latter were brought by
old Crely, the father of Mrs. Paquette, who rode express
from Galena, and who averred that he once passed a
bush behind which the Sauks were hiding, but that his

COMMENCEMENT OF SAUK WAR. 405
horse smelt the sweet-scented grass with which they
always adorn their persons when on a war-party, and
set out on such a gallop that he never stopped untti he
arrived at the Portage.
Another bearer of news was a young gentleman
named Follett, whose eyes had become so protruded,
and set fi-0111 keeping an anxious lookout for the ene
my, that it was many days after his arrival at a place
of safety, before they resumed their accustomed limits
and expression.
Among other rumors which at this time reached
us, was one that an attack upon the fort was in con
templation among the Sauks. That this was certainly
in no state of defence, the Indians very well knew.
All the effective men had been withdrawn, upon a
requisition from General Atkinson, to join him at his
newly-built fort at Kosh-ko-nong.
Fort Winnebago was not picketed in — there were
no defences to the barracks or officers' quarters, except
slight panelled doors and Venetian blinds — nothing
that would long resist the blows of clubs or hatchets.
There was no artillery, and the Commissary's store was
without the bounds ofthe fort, under the hill.
Mr. Kinzie had, from the first, called the attention
ofthe officers to the insecurity of their position, in case
of danger, but he generally received a scoffing answer.
"Never fear," they would say — "the Sauks are not
coming here to attack us."

406 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
One afternoon we had gone over on a visit to some
friends in the garrison, and several officers being pres
ent, the conversation, as usual, turned upon the present
position of affairs.
" Do you not think it wiser," inquired I, of a blus
tering young officer, " to be prepared against possible
danger?" " Not against these fellows," replied he, contempt
uously — "I do not think I would even take the trouble
to fasten the blinds to my quarters."
" At least," said I, "if you some night find a toma
hawk raised to cleave your skull, you will have the
consolation of remembering that ypu have not been
one of those foolish fellows who keep on the safe side."
He seemed a little nettled at this, and still more so
when sister Margaret observed :
" For my part, I am of Governor Cass' opinion. He
was at Chicago during the Winnebago war. We were
all preparing to move into the fort on the first alarm.
Some were for being brave and delaying, like our
friends here. 'Come, come,' said the Governor, 'hurry
into the fort as fast as possible — there is no merit in
being brave with the Indians. It is the height of folly
to stay and meet danger which you may by prudence
avoid.' "
In a few days our friends waked up to the conviction
that something must be done at once. The first step
was to forbid any Winnebago coining within the gar-

COMMENCEMENT OF SAUK WAR. 407
rison, lest they should find out what they had known
as well as ourselves for three months past — namely,
the feebleness of the means of resistance. The next
was to send "fatigue-parties" into the woods, under
the protection of a guard, to cut pickets for enclosing
the garrison.
There was every reason to believe that the enemy
were not very far distant, and that their object in
coming north was to break away into the Chippewa
country, where they would find a place of security
among their friends and allies. The story that our
Indian runners brought in most frequently was, that
the Sauks were determined to fall upon the whites at
the Portage and Fort, and massacre all, except the
families of the Agent and Interpreter.
Plante and Ptilon with their families had departed
at the first word of danger. There only remained with
us Manaigre, whose wife was a half-Winne"bago, Isidore
Morrin, and the blacksmiths from Sugar Creek, MatS,
and Turcotte.
At night we were all regularly armed and our posts
assigned us. After every means had been taken to
make the house secure, the orders were given. Sister
Margaret and I, in case of attack, were to mount with
the children to the rooms above, whtie my husband
and his men were to make good their defence as long
as possible against the enemy. Since I had shown my
sportsmanship by bringing down accidentally a black-

408 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
bird on the wing, I felt as if I could do some execution
with my little pistols, which were regularly placed be
side my pUlow at night, and I was fully resolved to
use them, if necessity required it, and I do not remem
ber to have had the slightest compunction at the idea
of taking the hves of two Sauks, as I had no doubt I
should do, and this explains to me what I had before
often wondered at, the indifference of the soldier on the
field of battle to the destruction of human life. Had I
been called upon, however, to use my weapons effect
ually, I should no doubt have looked back upon it with
horror. Surrounded as we were by Indian lodges, which
seldom became perfectly quiet, and excited as our
nerves had become by all that we were datiy in the
habit of hearing, We seldom slept very soundly. One
night, after we had as much as possible composed our
selves, we were startled at a late hour by a tap upon
the window at the head of our bed, and a caU of
"Chon! Chon!"*(John! John!)
" Tshah-ko-zhah ?" (What is it ?)
It was Hoo-wau-ne-kah, the tittle Elk. He spoke
rapidly, and in a tone of great agitation. I could not
understand him, and I lay trembling, and dreading to
hear his errand interpreted. Now and then I could
* The Indians who had " been at Washington," were very fond
of calling their father thns. Black Wolf's son would go farther and
vociferate " K'hizzie," to show his familiarity.

COMMENCEMENT OF SAUK WAR. 409
distinguish the words Sau-kee (Sauks) and Shoonk-hat-
tay-rah (horse), and they were not very reassuring.
The subject I soon learned was /this : A fresh trati
had been observed near the Petit Rocher, on the Wis
consin, and the people at the villages on the Barribault
were in a state of great alarm, fearing it ntight be the
Sauks. There was the appearance of a hundred or
more horses having passed by this traU. Hoo-wau-ne-
kah had been dispatched at once to tell their father,
and to ask his advice.
After listening to all he had to communicate, his
father told him the trati was undoubtedly that of Gene
ral Henry's troops, who were said to have come North,
looking for the enemy. That as the marks of the
horses' hoofs showed them, by this report, to have been
shod, that was sufficient proof that it was not the trail
of the Sauks. He thought that the people at the vil
lages need not feel any uneasiness.
"Very weU, father," replied Hoo-wau-ne-kah, "I
will go back and tell my people what you say. They
will believe you, for you always tell them the truth.
You are not like us Indians, who sometimes deceive
each other." So saying, he returned to his friends,
much comforted.
The completion of the picketing and other defences,
together' with the arrival of a detachment of troops
from Fort Howard under Lieut. Hunter, at our, fort
now seemed to render the latter the place of greatest
18

410 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORT,H:WEST.
safety. We therefore regularly, evejry evening before
dusk, took up our line of march for the opposite side
of the river, and repaired to quarters that had been
assigned us within the garrison, leaving our own
house and chattels to the care of the Frenchmen and
our friends, the Winnebagoes.
It was on one of these days that we were sitting, at
the windows which loooked out on the Portage — in
deed, we seldom sat anywhere else, our almost constant
occupation being to look abroad and see what was com
ing next — when a loud, long, shrill whoop from a dis
tance gave notice of something to be heard. "The
news — halloo! what could it portend? What were
we about to hear?" By gazing intently towards the
farthest extremity of the road,, we could perceive a
moving body of horsemen, which, as they approach
ed, we saw to be Indians. They were in full cos
tume. Scarlet streamers fluttered at the ends of their
lances — their arms glittered in the sun. Presently, as
they drew nearer, their paint, and feathers and brooches
became visible. There were fifty or more warriors.
What could it denote ? They passed the road which
turns to the fort, and rode directly up the hill leading
to the Agency. Shaw-nee-au-kee was absent. 'The
Interpreter had been sent for on the first distant ap
pearance of the strangers, but had not yet arrived.
The party having ascended the hill, halted near the
blacksmith's shop, but did not dismount.

COMMENCEMENT OF SAUK WAR. 411
Our hearts trembled — it must surely be the enemy.
At this moment my husband appeared in the direction
of the Interpreter's house. We called to entreat him
to stop, but he walked along towards the new comers.
To our infinite joy we saw the Chief of the party
dismount, and all the others foUowing his example,
and approaching to shake hands.
A space was soon cleared around the leader and my
husband, when the former commenced an oration, flour
ishing his sword and using much violent gesticulation.
It was the first time I had seen an Indian armed with
that weapon, and I dreaded to perceive it in such
hands. Sometimes he appeared as if he were about to
take off the head of his auditor at a blow, and our
hearts sank as we remembered the stratagems at Mack
inac and Detroit in former days. At length the speech
was concluded, another shaking of hands took place,
and we saw my husband leading the way to his
storehouse, from which some of his men presently
brought tobacco and pipes, and laid them at the feet
ofthe Chief.
Our suspense was soon relieved by being informed
that the strangers were Man-Eater, the principal Chief
of the Rock "River Indians, who had come with his
band to "hold-a talk," and bring information.
These Indians were under the special care of Mr.
Henry Gratiot, and his efforts had been most judicious

412 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
and unremitting in preserving the good feeling of this,
the most dangerous portion of the Winnebagoes.
The intelligence that Man-Eater, who was a most
noble Indian in appearance and character, brought
us, confirmed that already received, namely, that the
Sauks were gradually drawing north, towards the
Portage, although he evidently did not know exactly
their whereabouts.
There was, soon after their departure, an arrival of
another party of Winnebagoes, and they requested
permission to dance for their father.
The compliment having been accepted, they assem
bled, as usual, on the esplanade in front of the house.
My sister, the children and myself, stationed ourselves
at the open windows, according to custom, and my hus
band sat on the broad step before the door, which
opened from the outer air directly into the parlor
where we were.
The performance commenced, and as they proceeded,
following each other round and round in the progress
of the dance, my sister, Mrs. Helm, remarked to me,
" Look at that small dark Indian, with the green boughs
on his person — that is a Sauk ! They always mark
themselves in this manner with white clay, and orna
ment themselves with leaves when they dance !" In
truth, I had never seen this costume among our own
Indians, and as I gazed at this one, with a green chaplet
round his head and his legs, and even his gun wreathed in

COMMENCEMENT OF SAUK WAR. 413,
the same manner, while his body displayed no paint
except the white transverse streaks with which it was
covered, I saw that he was, indeed, a stranger. With
out owing anything to the exaggeration of fear, his
countenance was truly ferocious. He held his gun in
his hand, and every time the course of the dance
brought him directly in front of where we sat, he
would turn his gaze full upon us,, and club his weapon
before him with what we interpreted into an air of de
fiance. We sat as still as death,, for we knew it would
not be wise to exhibit any appearance of fear, but my
sister remarked in a low tone,, "I have always thought
that I was to lose my life by the hands of the Indians
— this is the third Indian war I have gone through,
and now, I suppose, it will be the last."
It was the only time I ever saw her lose her self-
possession. She was always remarkably calm and reso
lute, but now I could see that she trembled. Still we
sat there — there was a sort of fascination as our imagin
ations became more and more excited. Presently,
some rain-drops began to fall. The Indians continued
their dance for a few minutes longer, then, with whoop-
ings and shoutings, they rushed simultaneously towards
the house. We fled into my apartment and closed the
door, which my sister at first held fast, but presently
came and seated herself by me on the bed, for she saw
that I could not compose myself. Of all forms of
death that by the hands of savages, is the most

414 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
difficult to face calmly, and I fully believed that our
hour was come.
There was no interruption to the dance, which the
Indians carried on in the parlor, leaping and yelling
as if they would bring down the roof over our heads-
In vain we tried to persuade my husband and the
chUdren through, a crevice of the door, to come and
join us. The latter, feeling no danger, were too much
delighted with the exhibition to leave it, and the for
mer only came for a moment to reassure me, and then
judged it wisest to return, and, manifest his satisfaction
at the compliment by his presence. He made tight of
our fears, and would not admit that the object of our
suspicions was in fact a Sauk, but only some young
Winnebago, who had, as is sometimes the custom,
imitated them in costume and appearance.
It may have been " good fun" to him to return to
his village and teU how he frightened "the white
squaws." Such a trick would not be unnatural in a
white youth, and perhaps, since human nature is every
where the same, it might not be out of the way in an
Indian.

chapter Xxxiii.
FLEEING FROM THE INDIANS.
The danger now appeared to have become so immi
nent that my husband determined to send his famtiy to
Fort Howard, a point which was believed to be far out
of the range of the enemy. It was in vain that I
pleaded to be permitted to remain — he was firm.
"I- must not leave my post," said he, "while tiiere
is any danger. My departure would perhaps be the
signal for an immediate alliance of the Winnebagoes
with the Sauks. I am certairi that as long as I am here,
my presence will act as a restraint upon them. You
wish to remain and share my dangers ! Your doing
so would expose us both to certain destruction in case
of attack. By the aid of my friends in both tribes, I
could hope to preserve my own life if I were alone,
but surrounded by my family, that would be impossi
ble—we should all fall victims together. My duty
plainly is to send you to a place of safety.
An opportunity for doing this soon occurred. Pa
quette; the interpreter, who was likewise an agent of
the American^Fur jConipany, had occasion to send a
boat load of furs to Green Bay, on their way to Mack-
(415)

416 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
inac. Mr. Kinzie having seen it as comfortably fitted
up as an open boat of that description could be, with a
tent-cloth fastened on a framework of hoop-poles over
the centre, and lined with a dark-green blanket ; and
having placed on board an abundant store of provi
sions and other comforts, he committed us to the joint
care of my brother Arthur and his faithful blacksmith,
Mata. This latter was a tall, gaunt Frenchman, with a
freckled face, a profusion of crisp, sandy hair, and an
inveterate propensity to speak English. His know
ledge of the language was somewhat limited, and he
burlesqued it by adding an s to almost every word, and
giving out each phrase with a jerk.
"Davids,'' he was wont to say to the little yellow
fiddler, after an evening's frolic at the the Interpreter's,
"Davids, clear, away the tables and the glasses, and
play fishes hornspikes."* But he was a kind, affectionate
creature, and his devotion to "Monsieur Johns" and
" Madame Johns" knew no bounds.
Besides these two protectors, three trusty Indians,
the chief of whom was called Old Smoker, were engaged
to escort our party. The crew of the boat consisted
entirely of French engage's in the service of the Fur
Company. They were six gay-hearted, merry feUows,
lightening their labor with their pipe and their songs,
* Fisher's Hornpipe.

FLEEING FROM THE INDIANS. 417
in which they always esteemed it a great compliment
to be joined by any gentleman or lady who listened
to them — but our hearts, alas ! were now too heavy
to participate in their enjoyment. ,
The Fourth of July, the day on wliich we left our
home4was a gloomy one indeed to those who departed,
and to the one left behind. Who knew if we should
ever meet again? The experience which some of the
circle had had in Indian warfare, was such as to justify
the saddest forebodings. There was not even the con
solation of a certainty that this step would secure our
safety. The Sauks ntight, possibly, be on the other side
of us, and the route we were taking might, perhaps,
though not probably, carry us into their very midst.
It was no wonder then that our leave-taking was a
solemn one — a parting which all felt might be for this
world. Not all, however, for the gay, cheerful Frenchmen
laughed and sung and cracked their jokes, and " assured
Monsieur John that they would take Madame John
and Madame Alum safe to "the bay," spite of Sauks or
wind or weather."
Thus we sat out on our journey. For many miles
the fort was in sight, as the course of the river alter
nately approached and receded from its walls, and it
was not until nearly mid-day that we caught the last
glimpse of our home.
At the noon-tide meal, or "pipe," as it is called by
18*

418 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
the voyageurs, an alarming discovery was made — no
bread had been put on board for the crew ! How this
oversight had occurred, no one could tell. One was
certain that a large quantity had been brought from
the garrison bakery for their use that very morning —
another had even seen the sacks of loaves standing in
Paquette's kitchen. Be that as it may, here we were'
many mties on our journey, and with no provisions
for the six Frenchmen, except some salted pork, a few
beans, and some onions. A consultation was held in
this emergency. Should they return to the Portage
for supplies ? The same danger that made their de
parture necessary, still existed, and the utmost dispatch
had been enjoined upon them. We found upon exam
ination that the store of bread and crackers with which
our party had been provided, was far beyond what we
could possibly require, and we thought it would be
sufficient to allow of rations to the Frenchmen until we
should reach Powell's, at the Butte des Morts, the day
but one following, where we should undoubtedly be
able to procure a fresh supply.
This decided on, we proceeded on our journey,
always in profound silence, for a song or a loud laugh
was now strictly prohibited untti we should have passed
the utmost limits of country where the enemy might
possibly be. We had been warnett beforehand that a
certain point, where the low marshy meadows, through
which the river had hitherto run, rises into a more

FLEEING FROM THE INDIANS. 419
firm and elevated country, was the border of the
Menomonee territory, and the spot where the Sauks,
if they had fled north of the Wisconsin towards the
Chippewa country, would be most likely to be encoun
tered. As we received intimation on the forenoon of the
second day that we were drawing near this spot, I must
confess that "we held our breath for awe."
The three Winnebagoes were in the bow of the boat
Old Smoker, the chief, squatted upon his feet on the
bench of the foremost rowers. We looked at him.
He was gazing intently in the direction of the wooded
point we were approaching. Our eyes followed his,
and we saw three Indians step forward and stand upon
the bank. We said in a low voice to each other, u if
they are Sauks, we are lost, for the whole body must be
in that thicket." The boat continued to approach —
not a word was spoken — the dip of the paddle, and
perhaps the beating hearts of some, were the only
sounds that broke the stillness. Again we looked at
the chief. His nostrils were dilated — his eyes almost
glaring. Suddenly, with a bound, he sprung to his feet and
uttered his long shrill whoop.
"Hoh! hoh! hoh! neetehee (friend) Mah-no-mo-nee!"
All was now joy and gladness. Every one was for
ward to shake hands with the strangers as soon as we
could reach them ' .. token of our satisfaction that they

420 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
were Menomonees and not Sauks, of the latter of whom,
bythe way, they would give us no intelligence.
By noon of that day, we considered ourselves to be
out of the region of danger. Still caution was deemed
necessary, and when at the mid-day pipe the boat was
pushed ashore under a beautiful overhanging bank,
crowned with a thick wood, the usual vigilance was
somewhat relaxed, and the young people, under the
escort of Arthur and Mata were permitted to roam about
a little, in the vicinity of the boat.
They soon came back with the report that the woods
were " alive with pigeons," — they could almost knock
them down with sticks, and earnestly did they plead
to be allowed to shoot at least enough for supper.
But no — the enemy might be nearer than we imagined,
the firing of a gun would betray our whereabouts — it
was most prudent to give no notice to friend or foe.
So, very reluctantly, they were compelled to return to
the boat without their game.
The next morning brought us to Powell's, at the
Butte des Morts. Sad were the faces of the poor
Frenchmen at learning that not a loaf of bread was to
be had. Our own store, too, was, by this time, quite
exhausted. The only substitute we could obtain, was
a bag of dark-looking, bitter flour. With this provis
ion for our whole party, we we forced to be contented,
and we left the Hillock of the Dead feeling that it had
been indeed the grave of our hopes.

FLEEING FROM THE INDIANS. 421
By dint of good rowing, our crew soon brought us
to the spot where the river enters that beautiful sheet
of water, Winnebago Lake. Though there was but
tittle wind when we reached the lake, the Frenchmen
hoisted their sail, in hopes to save themselves the la
bour of rowing across ; but in vain did they whistle,
with all the force of theti lungs — in vain did they sup
plicate La Vierge, with a comical mixture of fun and
reverence. As a last resource, it was at length sug
gested by some one that their only chance lay in pro
pitiating the goddess of the winds with an offering
of some cast-off garment.
Application was made all round by Guardapie.. the
chief spokesman of the crew. Alas ! not one of the
poor voyageurs could boast a spare article. A few old
rags were at length rummaged out of the little recep
tacle of food, clothing, and dirt, in the bow of the boat,
and cast into the waves. For a moment all flattered
themselves that the experiment had been successful —
the sail fluttered, swelled a little, and then flapped idly
down against the mast. The party were in despair,
until, after a whispered consultation together, Julian
and Edwin stepped forward as messengers of mercy.
In a trice they divested themselves of jacket and vest
and made a proffer of their next garment to aid in
raising the wind.
At first there seemed a doubt in the minds of the
boatmen whether they ought to accept so magnificent

422 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
an offer, but finding, on giving them a preparatory
shake, that the value of the contribution was'less than
they had imagined, they, with many shourfi, and much
laughter, consigned them to the waves, r To the great
delight and astonishment of the boys, a breeze at this
moment sprung up, which carried the tittle vessel
beautifully over the waters for about half the distance
to Garlic Island. By this time the charm was exhaust
ed, uot was it found possible to renew it by a repeti
tion of similar offerings. All expedients were tried
without success, and, with sundry rather disrespectful
reflections upon the lady whose aid they had invoked,
the Frenchmen were compeUed to betake themselves
to their oars, until they reached the island.
Two or three canoes of Winnebagoes had arrived at
the same moment, and their owners immediately
stepped forward with an offering of some sturgeon
which they had caught in the lake. As this promised to
be an agreeable variety to the noon-tide meal, (at least
for the Frenchmen,) it was decided to stop and kindle
a fire for the purpose of cooking it. We took advan
tage of this interval, to recommend to the boys a stroll
to the opposite side of the island, where the clear, shal
low water and pebbly beach offered temptation to a
refreshing bath. While they availed themselves of
this, under the supervision of Harry, the black boy, we
amused ourselves with gathering the fine red raspber
ries with which the island abounded.

FLEEING FA0M THE INDIANS. 423
Our enjoyment was cut short, however, by discover
ing that the whole place, vines, shrubs, and even, ap
parently, the earth itself, was infested with myriads of
the wood-tick, a tittle insect, that, having fastened to the
skin, penetrates into the very flesh, causing a swelling
and irritation exceedingly painful, and even dangerous.
The alarm /was sounded to bring the boys, back in all
haste, to the open and more frequented part of the
island. But we soon found we had not left our tor
mentors behind. Throughout the day, we continued
to be sensible of their proximity. From the effects of
their attacks we were not relieved for several succeed
ing days ; those which had succeeded in burying them
selves in the flesh, having to be removed with the
point of a penknife, or a large needle. After partaking
of our dinner, we stepped on board our boat, and the
wind having risen, we were carried by the breeze to
.the opposite verge of the lake, and into the entrance of
the river, or, as it was called, the Winnebago rapids.
On the point of land to the right stood a collection
of neat bark wigwams — this was Four-Legs' vtilage.
It was an exciting and somewhat hazardous pas
sage down the rapids and over the Grande Chute,
a fall of several feet ; but it was safely passed, and
at the approach of evening the boat reached the
settlement of the Wau-bee-na-kees at the head of the
Little Chute. These are the Stockbridge or Brothertown
Indians, the remains of the old Mohicans, who had, a

424 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
few years before, emigrated from Oneida County in the
¦State of New York, to a tract granted them by the United
States, on the fertile banks of the Fox River. They
had already cleared extensive openings in the forest,
and built some substantial and comfortable houses near
the banks, of the river, which were here quite high, and
covered for the most part with gigantic trees.
It was determined to ask hospitality of these people,
to the extent of borrowing a corner of their fire to
boil our tea kettle, and bake the short-cake which had
been now, for nearly two days, our substitute for bread.
Its manufacture had been a subject of much merri
ment. The ingredients, consisting of Powell's black
flour, some salt and a little butter, were mixed in the
tin box which had held our meat. This was then re
versed, and having been properly cleansed, supptied
the place of a dough-board. The vinegar bottle served
the office of rolling-pin, and a shallow tin dish, set
upon the coals at our previous encamping places, had
formed the appliance for baking. The Wau-bee-na-kees
were so good as to lend us an tion bake-kettle, and
superintend the cooking of our cake after Harry had
carried it up to theti dwelling.
So kind and hospitable did they show themselves,
that the crew of the boat took the resolution of asking
a lodging on shore, by way of relief, after their crowded
quarters in the boat for the last three nights. Arthur
and Mata soon adopted the same idea, and we were in-

FLEEING FROM THE INDIANS. 425
vited to follow their example, with the assurance that
the houses were extremely neat and orderly.
We preferred, however, as it was a fine night, and
all things were so comfortably arranged in the centre
of the boat, to remain on board, keeping Edwin and
Josette with us.
The boat was tightly moored, for the Little Chute
was just below, and if our craft should work loose in
the rapid current, and drift down over the falls, it
would be a very serious matter. As an additional pre
caution, one man was left on board to keep all things
safe and in order, and these arrangements having been
made, the others ascended the bank, and took up their
night's lodgings in the Wau-bee-na-kee cabins.
It was a beautiful, calm, moonlight night, the air
just sufficiently warm to be agreeable, whtie the gentle
murmur of the rapids and of the fall at no great dis
tance, soon lulled our party to repose. How long we
had slumbered we'knew not, when we were aroused by
a rushing wind. It bent the poles supporting the awn
ing, snapped them, and another gust succeeding, tent
and blanket were carried away on the blast down the
stream. The moonlight was gone, but a flash of light
ning showed them sailing away like a spectre in the
distance. The storm increased in violence. The rain began
to pour in torrents, and the thunder and lightning to
succeed each other in fearful rapidity. My sister sprang

426 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
to waken the Frenchman. " Get up Vitelle, quick,"
cried she, in French, "run up the bank for Mata and
Mr. Arthur — tell them to come and get us instantly."
The man made her no reply, but fell upon his knees,
invoking the Virgin most vociferously.
"Do not wait for the Virgin, but go as quickly as
possible. Do you not see we shall all be killed?"
" Oh ! not for the world, Madame, not for the world,"
said Vitelle, burying his head in a pack of furs, " would
I go up that bank in this storm." And here he began
crying most lustily to all the saints in the calendar.
It was indeed awful. The roaring of the thunder
and the flashing of the lightning around us, were tike
the continued discharge of a park of artillery. I had
with difficulty drawn forth my cloak, and enveloped
myself and Josette — sister Margaret had done the
same with Edwin.
" Oh! Madame," said the poor little girl, her teeth chat
tering with cold and fright, "won't we be drowned?"
"Very well," said my sister to the Frenchman, " you
see that Madame John is at the last agony — if you will
not go for help I must, and Monsieur John must know,
that you left his wife to perish."
This was too much for Vitelle. "HI must, I must,"
said he, and with a desperate bound he leapt on shore
and sped up the hill with might and main.
In a few minutes, though it seemed ages to us, a
whole posse came flying down the hill. The incessant

FLEEING FROM THE INDIANS. 427
lightning made all things appear as in the glare of day.
M&ta's hair fairly stood on end, and his eyes rolled with
ghastly astonishment at the spectacle.
" Oh ! my God, Madame Johns ! what would Monsieur
Johns say, to see you nows?" exclaimed he, as he seized
me in his arms and bore me up the hUl. Arthur fol
lowed with sister Margaret, and two others with Ed
win and Josette. Nobody carried Vitelle, for he had
taken care not to risk his precious life by venturing again
to the boat. ,
On arriving at the cabin where Arthur and Mata1
had been lodged, a fire was, with some difficulty,
kindled, and our trunks having been brought up from
the boat, we were at length able to exchange our
drenched garments, and those of the children, for others
more comfortable, after which we laid ourselves upon
the clean, but homely bed, and slept untti daylight.
As it was necessary to ascertain what degree of damage
the cargo of furs had sustained, an early start was pro
posed. Apparently, the inhabitants of the cottages had
become weary in well doing, for they declined pre
paring breakfast for us, although we assured them they
should be well compensated for their trouble. We,
consequently, saw ourselves compelled to depart with
very slender prospects of a morning meal.
When we reached the boat, what a scene presented
itself! Bed-clothes, cloaks, trunks, mess-basket, packs
of furs, all bearing the marks of a complete deluge!

428 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.-
The boat ankle-deep in water — literally no place on
board where we could either stand or sit After some
baling out, and an attempt at disposing some of the packs
of furs, which had suffered least from the flood, so as to
form a sort of divan in the centre of the boat, nothing
better seemed to offer than to re-embark, and endure
what " could not be cured."
Our position was not an enviable one. Wherever a
foot or hand was placed, the water gushed up, with a
bubbling sound, and, oh ! the state of the bandboxes
and work-baskets ! Breakfast there was none, for on
examining the mess'-basket everything it contained was
found mingled in one undistinguishable mass. Tea,
pepper, salt, short-cake, all floating together — it was a
hopeless case.
But this was not the worst. As the fervid July sun
rose higher in the heavens, the steam which exhaled
from every object on board was nearly suffocating.
The boat was old — the packs of skins were old — their
vicinity in a dry day had been anything but agreeable —
now, it was intolerable. There was no retreating from
it, however, so we encouraged the chtidren to arm
themselves with patience, for the short time that yet re
mained of our voyage.
Seated on our odoriferous couch, beneath the shade of
a single umbrella, to protect our whole party from the
scorching sun, we glided wearily down the stream,
through that long, tedious day. As we passed sue

FLEEING FROM THE INDIANS. 429
cessively the Kakalin, the Rapids, Dickinson's, the
Agency, with what longing eyes did we gaze at human
habitations, where others were enjoying the shelter of a
roof, and the comforts of food, and how eagerly did we
count the hours which must elapse before we could
, reach Fort Howard.
There were no songs from the poor Frenchmen this
day. Music and fasting do not go well together. At
length we stopped at Shantee-town, where the boat was
to be unloaded. AU hands fell to work to transfer
the cargo to the warehouse of the Fur Company, which
stood near the landing. It was not a long operation,
for all worked heartily. This being accomplished, the
voyageurs, one and all, prepared to take their leave. In
vain Mata stormed and raved, in vain Arthur remon
strated. " No," they said, " they had brought the boat and
cargo to the warehouse — that was all of theti job," and
they turned to go.
" Guardapie," said I, "do youintend to leave us here?"
" Bien, Madame ! it is the place we always stop at"
"Does Monsieur John pay you for bringing his fam
ily down ?"
" Oh, yes ; Monsieur John has given us an order on
the sutler, at the fort down below."
" To be paid when you deliver us safe at the fort
down below. It seems I shall be there before you, and

430 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH WEST.
I shall arrange that matter. Monsieur John never
dreamed that this would be your conduct."
The Frenchmen consulted together, and the result
was that Guardapie and two others jumped into the
boat, took their oars, and rather sulktiy rowed us the
remaining two miles to Fort Howard.

CHAPTER XXXIV.
FORT HOWARD — OUR RETURN HOME.
We soon learned that a great panic prevailed at
Green Bay on account of the Sauks. The people
seemed to have possessed themselves with the idea
that the enemy would visit this place on their way to
Canada to put themselves under the protection of the
British Government. How they were to get there from
this point — whether they were to stop and fabricate
themselves bark canoes for the purpose, or whether
they were to charter one of Mr. Newberry's schooners
for the trip, the good people did not seem fully to have
made up their minds. One thing is certain, a portion
of the citizens were nearly frightened to death, and
were fully convinced that there was no safety for them,
but within the walls of the old dUapidated fort, from
wliich nearly all the troops had been withdrawn and
sent to Fort Winnebago, Some time previous.
Their fears were greatly aggravated by a report,
brought by some traveller, that he had slept at night
on the very, spot where the Sauks breakfasted the next
morning. Now, as the Sauks were known to be reduced
to very short commons, there was every reason to sup-
(481)

432 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
pose that if the man had waited half an hour longer,
they would have eaten him ; so he was considered to
have made a wonderful escape.
Our immediate friends and acquaintances were far
from joining in these fears. The utter improbability
of such a movement was obvious to all who considered
the nature of the country to be traversed, and the effi
cient and numerous body of whites by whom they
must be opposed on their entrance into that neighbor
hood. There were some, however, who could not be
persuaded that there was even any security but in
flight, and eagerly was the arrival of the "Mariner"
looked for, as the anxiety grew more and more intense.
The "Mariner" appeared at last. It was early in
the morning. In one hour from that, time the fearful
news she brought had spread the whole length of " the
bay." The cholera was in this country ! It was in
Detroit — it was among the troops who were on their
way to the seat of war! Whole companies had died
of it in the river St. Clair, and the survivors had been
put on shore at Fort Gratiot, to save their lives as best
they might ! We were shut in between the savage foe
on one hand and the pestUence on the other !
To those who had friends " at the East," the news
was most appalling. It seemed to unman every one
who heard it. A relative, an officer who h^ad exhibit
ed the most distinguished courage in the battle-field,
and also in some private enterprises demanding une-

FORT HOWARD — OUR RETURN HOME. 433
quaUed courage and daring, was the first to bring us
the news. When he had communicated it, he laid his
head against the window sUl and wept like a chtid.
Those who wished to rejoin friends near and dear,
left " the bay " in the " Mariner ;" all others considered
their present home the safest, and so it proved, for the
dreadful scourge did not visit Green Bay that sea
son. The weather was intensely hot, and the musquitoes
so thick that we did not pretend to walk on the parade
after sunset, unless armed with two fans, or green
branches to keep constantly in motion, in order to dis
perse them. This, by the/way, was the surest method
of attracting them. C-^We had somehow forgotten the
apathetic indifference which had often excited our
wonder in old Smoker, when we had observed him
calmly sitting and allowing his naked arms and person
to become literally gray with the tormenting insects.
Then he would quietly wipe off a handful, the blood
foUowing the movement of the hand over his skin, and
stoically wait for an occasion to repeat the movement.
It is said that the musquito, if undisturbed untti he has
taken his fill, leaves a much less inflamed bite than if
brushed away in the midst of his feast.
By day, the air was at this season filled with what is
called thtf Green Bay fly, a species of dragontiy, with
which the outer walls of the houses are at times so cov-
vered that their color is hardly distinguishable. Their
19

434

THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.

existence is very ephemeral, scarcely lasting more than
a day. Their dead bodies are seen adhering to the
waUs and windows within, and they faU without in
such numbers that after a high wind has gathered them
into rows along the sides of the quarters, one may walk
through them and toss them up with their feet like the
dry leaves in autumn.
As we walked across the parade, our attention was
sometimes called to a tapping upon the bars of the dun
geon in which a criminal was confined — it was the
murderer of Lieutenant Foster.
It may be remembered that this amiable young offi
cer had been our travelling companion in our journey
from Chicago the preceding year. Some months after
his arrival at Fort Howard, he had occasion to order a
soldier of his company, named Doyle, into confinement
for intoxication. The man, a few days afterward, pre
vailed on the Sergeant of the Guard to escort him to
Lieutenant Foster's quarters on the plea that he wished
to speak to him. He ascended the stairs to the young
officer's room, whtie -the sergeant and another soldier
remained at the foot, near the door.
Doyle entered, and addressing Lieutenant Foster,
said, " Will you please tell me, Lieutenant, what I am
confined for?"
"No, sir," replied the officer, "you know your
offence well enough ; return to your place of confine
ment"

FORT HOWARD — OUR RETURN HOME. 435
The man ran down stairs, wrenched the gun from
the sergeant's hand, and bushing back, discharged it at
the heart of Lieutenant Foster.
He turned to go to his inner apartment, but exclaim
ing, "Ah! me," he fell dead before the entrance.
Doyle, having been tried by a civil court, was now
under sentence, awaiting his execution. He was a
hardened villain, never exhibiting the slightest com
punction for his crime.
The commanding officer, Major Clark, sent to him
one day to inquire if he wanted anything for his com
fort. "H the Major pleased," he replied, "he should like
to have a tight and a copy of Byron's Works."
Some fears were entertained that he would contrive
to make way with himself before the day of execution,
and to guard against it, he was deprived of every
thing that could furnish him a weapon. His food was
served to him in a wooden bowl, lest a bit of broken
crockery might be used as a means of self-destruction.
One morning he sent a little package to the com
manding officer as a present. It contained a strong
rope, fabricated from strips of his blanket, that he had
carefully separated, and with a large stout spike at the
end of it. The message accompanying it was : " He
wished Major Clark to see that if he chose to put an
end to himself, he could find means to do it in spite of
him."

436 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
And this hardened frame of mind continued to the
last When he was led out for execution, in passing
beyond the gate, he observed a quantity of lumber re
cently coUected for the construction of a new Company's
store. "Ah! Captain, what are you going to butid here?"
inqutied he of Captain Scott, who attended him.
"Doyle," replied his Captain, "you have but a few
moments to live— you had better employ your thoughts
about something else."
"It is for that very reason, Captain," said he, "that
I am enquiring — as my time is short, I wish to gain all
the information I can whtie it lasts."

We were not suffered to remain long in suspense in
regard to the friends we had left behind. In less than
two weeks Old Smolcer again made his appearance. He
was the bearer of letters from my husband, informing
me that Gen. Dodge was then with him at Fort' Win-
nebagoi/that Generals Henry and Alexander were tike-
Avise at the fort, and that as soon as they had recruited
their men and horses, which were pretty well worn
out with scouring the country after Black Hawk, they
would march again in pursuit of him towards the head
waters of the Rook river, where they had every reason,
from information lately brought in by the Winneba
goes, to believe he would be found.

FORT HOWARD — OUR RETURN HOME. 437
As he charged us to lay aside all uneasiness on his ac
count, and moreover held forth the hope of soon coming
or sending for us, our minds became more tranquti.
Not long after this, I was told one morning, that " a
lady" wished to see me at the front door. I obeyed the
summons, and, to my surprise, was greeted by my
friend, Madame Fourlegs. After much demonstration
of joy at seeing me, such as putting her two hands to
gether over her forehead, and then parting them in a
waving kind of gesture — laughing and patting me on
my arms, she drew from her bosom a letter from my
husband, of which she was the bearer, to this effect —
" Generals Dodge and Henry left here a few days since,
accompanied by Paquette ; they met the Sauks near
the Wisconsin, on the 21st A battle ensued in which
upwards of fifty of the enemy were killed — our loss
was one killed, and eight wounded. The citizens are
well pleased that all this has been accomplished with
out any aid from Old White Beaver* The war must
be near its close, for the militia and regulars together
will soon finish the remaining handful of fugitives."
The arrival of Lieut. Hunter, who had obtained
leave of absence in order to escort us, soon put all
things in train for our return to Fort Winnebago. No
Mackinac boat -gas to be had, but in lieu of it a Dur
ham boat was procured. This is of a description
* General Atkinson.

438 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
longer and shallower than the other, with no conve
nience for rigging up an awning, or shelter of any
kind over the centre ; but its size was better fitted to
accommodate our party, which consisted of Mr. and
Mrs. H., the wife of another officer now stationed
at Fort Winnebago, and our cousin, Miss Forsyth, in
addition to our own immediate famtiy. We made up
our minds, as wUl be supposed, to pretty close quar
ters. Our crew was composed partly of Frenchmen,, and
partly of soldiers, and aU things being in readiness, we
sat off one fine, bright morning, in the latter part of
July. Our second day's alternate rowing and poling brought
us to the Grande Chute early in the afternoon.
Here, it is the custom t© disembark at the foot of the
rapids, and, ascending the high bank, walk around the
fall, while the men pull the boat up, through the foam
ing waters.
Most of our party had already stepped on shore,*
when a sudden thought seized one of the ladies and
myself. " Let us stay in the boat," said we, and be pulled up
the Chute." The rest of the company went on, whtie
we sat and watched with great inte^ t the prepara
tions the men were making. They were soon over
board in the water, and attaching a strong rope to the
bow of the boat, all lent their aid in pulling as they

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FORT HOWARD — OUR RETURN HOME. 439
marched slowly along with their heavy load. The
cargo, consisting only of our trunks and stores, which
were of no very considerable weight, had not been re
moved. We went on, now and then getting a tremendous
bump against a hidden rock, and frequently splashed
by a shower of foam as the waves roared .and botied
around us.
The men kept as closely as possible to the high, pre
cipitous bank, where the water was smoothest. At the
head of the cordel was a merry simpleton of a French
man, who was constantly turning .to grin with delight
at our evident enjoyment and excitement.
We were indeed in high glee. "Is not this charm
ing?" cried one — "I only wish — "
The wish, whatever it was, was cut short by a shout
and a crash. " Have a care, Robineau ! Mind where
you are taking the boat !" was the cry, but it came too
late. More occupied with the ladies than with his
duty, the leader had guided us into the midst of a
sharp, projecting tree that hung from the bank. The
first tug ripped out the side of the boat, which imme
diately began to fill with water.
My companion and I jumped upon the nearest rocks
that showed their heads above the foam. Our screams
and the shouts of the men brought Lieut. Hunter and
some Indians, who were above on the bank, dashing
down to our rescue. They carried us in their arms to

440 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
land, while the men worked lustily at fishing up the con
tents of the boat, now thoroughly saturated with water.
We scrambled up the high bank, in a miserable
plight, to join in the general lamentation over the pro
bable consequences of the accident
" Oh ! my husband's new uniform !" cried one, and
" Oh ! the miniatures in the bottom of my trunk !"
sighed another — whtie, " Oh ! the stik dresses, and the
ribbons, and the finery," formed the general chorus.
No one thought of the provisions, although we had
observed in our progress to shore, the barrel of bread
and the tub of ice, which Lieut. Hunter had provident
ly brought for our refreshment, satiing away on the
dancing waves. Among the boxes brought to land,
and "toted" up the steep bank, was one containing
some loaves of sugar and packages of tea, which I had
bought for our winter's supply, from the sutler at
the post. The young Indian, who was the bearer of it,
set it upon the ground, and soon caUed my attention to
a thick, white stream that was oozing from the corners.
I made signs for him to taste it. He dipped his finger
in it, and exclaiined with delight to his companions,
when he perceived what it was. I then pointed to his
hatchet, and motioned him to open the box. He did
not require a second invitation — it was soon hacked to
pieces. Then, as I beckoned up aU the rest of the young
sters who were looking on, full of wonder, such a

FORT HOWARD  OUR RETURN HOME. 441
scrambling and shouting with delight succeeded as put
us all, particularly the boys, into fits of laughter. Bowls
dippers, hands, everything that could contain even the
smallest quantity were put in requisition. The squaws
were most active. Those who could do no better,
took the stoutest fragments of the blue paper in which
the sugar had been enveloped, and in a trice, nothing
remained but the wet, yellow bundles of tea, and the
fragments of the splintered box which had contained it.
By this time, fires had been made, and the articles
from the trunks were soon seen covering every shrub
and busti in the vicinity. Fortunately, that containing
the "new uniform, "had been ptied high above the others,
in the centre of the boat, and had received but little
damage, but sad was the condition of the wardrobes in
general. Not a white article was to be seen. All was mot
tled, blue-green, red, and black, intermingling in
streaks, and dripping from ends and corners.
To add to the trouble, the rain began to fall, as rain
is apt to do, in a wild, unsheltered country, and soon
the half-dried garments had to be gathered out of the
smoke, and huddled away in a most discouraging con
dition. The tent was pitched, wet as it was, and the blan
kets, wrung out ofthe water, and partially dried, were
spread upon the ground for our accommodation at night.
A Hamburgh cheese which had been a part of my
19*

442 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
stores, was voted to me for a ptilow, and, after a sup
per, the best part of which, was a portion of one of the
wet loaves which had remained in a barrel too tightly
wedged to drift away, we betook ourselves to our re
pose. The next morning rose hot and sultry. The mus-
quitoes, which the rain had kept at bay through the
night, now began to make themselves amends, and to
torment us unmercifully.
After our most uncomfortable and unpalatable break
fast, the first question for consideration was, what we
were to do with ourselves. Our boat lay submerged at
the foot of the hUl, half way up the rapids. The nearest
habitation among the Wabeenakees was some miles dis
tant, and this there was no means of reaching, but by an
Indian canoe, if some of our present friends and neigh
bors would be so obliging as to bring one for our use.
Even then it was doubtful if boats could be found
sufficient to convey all our numerous party back to
Green Bay.
In the midst of these consultations a whoop was
heard from beyond the hill, which here sloped away
to the north, at the head of the rapids.
"There is John! that is certainly his voice!" cried
more than one of the company.
It was, indeed, my husband, and in a moment he
was amongst us. Never was arrival more opportune,
more evidently providential.

FORT HOWARD — OUR RETURN HOME. 443
Not having learned our plans, for the unsettled state
of the country had prevented our sending him word,
he had come provided with a boat, to take us to Fort
Winnebago. Our drying operations, which we had recommenced
this morning, were soon cut short. Everything was
shuffled away in the most expeditious manner possible,
and in an incredibly short time we were transferred to
the other boat, which lay quietly above the Chute, and
were pulling away towards Winnebago Lake.
We had resolved to go only so far as the vicinity of
the lake, where the breeze would render the musquitoes
less intolerable, and then to stop and make one more
attempt at drying our clothing. Accordingly, when
we reached a beautiful high bank near the Little Butte,
we stopped for that purpose again, unpacked our
trunks, and soon every bush and twig was fluttering
with the spoils of the cruel waves.
Hardly had we thus disposed of the last rag, or
ribbon when the tramp of horses was heard, foUowed
by loud shouts and cheers ringing through the forest.
A company of about twenty-five horsemen, with
banners flying, veils fluttering from their hats, and
arms glittering in the sun, rode into our midst, and
amid greetings and roars of laughter, inquired into the
nature and reasons of our singular state of confusion.
They were Colonel Stambough and Alexander Irwin
of Green Bay, with a company of young volunteers, and

444 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
followed by a whooping band of Menomonees, all bound
for the seat of war. We comforted them with the assur
ance that the victories were by this time all won, and
the scalps taken ; but, expressing the hope that there
Avere yet a few laurels to be earned, they badeus adieu,
and rapidly pursued their march.
We crossed Lake Winnebago by the clear beautiful
tight of a summer moon. The soft air was just enough
to swell the sail, and thus save the men their labor at
the oar.
The witchery of the hour was not, however, suffi
cient to induce us to forego our repose after the heat
and annoyances of the day — we therefore disposed
ourselves betimes to be packed away in the centre of
the boat. How' it was accomplished, no one of the
numerous company could tell. If any accident had
occurred to disturb our arrangement, I am sure it
would have been a Chinese puzzle to put us back again
in our places. The men on the outside had much the
best of it, and we rather envied those who were 'off
watch their ability to snore and change as the humor
took them.
We reached Powell's just in time to have gone
ashore and prepare our breakfast, had we had where
withal to prepare it. We had hoped to be able to
procure some suppties here, for hitherto we had been
living on the remains of my husband's ample stock.
That was now so nearly exhausted that when we found

FORT HOWARD — OUR RETURN HOME. 445
the mess-basket could not be replenished at this place,
we began to talk of putting ourselves on allowance.
The wet bread, of which there had remained an
ample store had, as may be readily imagined, soon
fermented under the influence of a July sun. The tea
too, notwithstanding our careful efforts at drying it on
newspapers and pieces of board., ere long became musty
and unfit for use. There was, literally, nothing left,
except the sotted meat, and a few crackers, hardly suf
ficient for the present day.
The men were therefore urged to make all the speed
possible, that we might reach Gleason's at Lake Puck-
way in good season on the following day.
At evening, when we stopped to take our tea at a
beautiful tittle opening among the trees, we found our
old enemies, the musquitoes worse than ever. It was
necessary to put on our cloaks and gloves, and tie
our veils close around our throats, only venturing to
introduce a cracker or a cup of tea under this protec
tion in the most stealthy manner.
The men rowed well, and brought us to Gleeson's
about eleven o'clock the next day. We were greeted
with the most enthusiastic demonstrations by my old
friend La Grosse Americaine who had removed here
from Bellefontaine.
"Oh! Mrs. Armstrong," cried we, "get us some
breakfast — we are famishing."
At that instant who should ' appear but our faithful

446 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
MSta, driving the little old calash in which we were
in the habit of making our little excursions in the
neighborhood of the fort. He had ridden over, hoping
to meet us, in the idea that some of us would prefer
this method of reaching our home.
With provident thoughtfulness he had brought tea,
roasted coffee, fresh butter, eggs, etc., lest we should
be short of such luxuries in that advanced stage of our
journey. His "Good morning, Madame Johns! How do you
dos ?" was a pleasant and welcome sound.
We could not wait for our breakfast, but gathered
round La Grosse Americaine like a parcel of children
while she cut and spread slices of bread and butter
for us.
After our regular meal was finished it was decided
that sister Margaret should take Josette, and return
with Mata to open the house and make it ready for
our reception. It had been the head-quarters of mi
litia, Indians, and stragglers of various descriptions
during our absence, and we could easily imagine that
a little "misrule and unreason" might have had sway
for that period.
We had yet seventy-two miles, by the devious wind
ing course ofthe river, over first the beautiful waters of
Lac de Boeuf, and then through the low marshy lands
that spread away to the Portage. An attempt was made
on the part of one of the gentlemen to create a httle

FORT nOWARD — OUR RETURN HOME. 447
excitement among the ladies as Ave approached the spot
Avhere it had been supposed the Sauks might pass on
their way to the Chippewa country.
" Who knows," said he gravely, "but they may be
lurking in this neighborhood — yet if so, we shall prob
ably have some signal — we must be on the alert !" Some
of the ladies began to turn pale and look about them.
After an interval of perfect stience, a low prolonged
whistle Avas heard. There was so much agitation, and
actual terror, that the mischievous author of the trick
was obtiged to confess at once, and receive a hearty
scolding for the pain he had caused.
Just before sunset of the second day from Gleason's
we reached our home. Every thing was radiant with
neatness and good order. With the efficient aid of our
good Manaigre and his wife the house had been white
washed from the roof to the door sill — a thorough
scrubbing and cleansing effected — the carpets unpacked
and spread upon the floors, the furniture arranged, and
though last not least, a noble supper smoked upon the
board by the time we had made, once more, a civUized
toUette. Many of our friends from the fort were there to greet
us, and a more happy or thankful party has seldom
been assembled.

CHAPTER XXXV.
SURRENDER OF WINNEBAGO PRISONERS.'
The war was now considered at an end. The news
of the battle of the Bad Axe, where the regulars, the
militia, and the Steamboat Warrior combined, had
made a final end of the remaining handful of Sauks,
had reached us and restored tranqutility to the hearts
and homes of the frontier settlers.
It may seem wonderful that an enemy, so few in
number, and so insignificant in resources, could have
created such a panic, and required so vast an amount
of opposing force to subdue them. The difficulty had
been simply in never knowing where to find them,
either to attack or guard against them. Probably at
the outset every military man thought and felt like the
noble old veteran General Brady, " Give me two In
fantry companies mounted," said he, "and I wtil
engage to whip the Sauks out of the country in one
week ! "
True, but to whip the enemy, you must first meet
him ; and in order to pursue effectually, and catch the
Indians, a peculiar training is necessary — a training
which, at that day, but few, even of the frontier militia,
could boast. (448)

SURRENDER OF WINNEBAGO PRISONERS. 449
In some portions of this campaign there was another
difficulty. The want of concert between the two
branches of the service. The regular troops looked
with some contempt upon the unprofessional move
ments of the militia — the mUitia railed at the dilatory
and useless formalities of the regulars. . Each avowed
the conviction that matters could be much better con
ducted without the other, and the militia being prompt
to act, sometimes took matters into their own hands,
and brought on defeat and disgrace, as in the affair of
"Stillman'sRun." The feeling of contempt wliich some of the army
officers entertained for the militia, extended itself to
their subordinates and dependants. After the visit of
the Ranger officers to Fort Winnebago, before the battle
of the Wisconsin, the officer of the mess where they
had been entertained, called up his servant one day to
inquire into the Sutler's accounts. He was the same
httle "Yellow David" who had formerly appertained
to Captain Harney.
"David," said the young gentleman, "I see three
bottles of cologne-water charged in the month's account
of the mess at the Sutler's. What does that mean ?"
"If you please, Lieutenant," said David respectfully
"it was to sweeten up the dining-room and quarters,
after them mtiish officers were here visiting."
Black-Hawk and a few of his warriors had escaped
to the north, where they were shortly after captured by

450 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
the One-eyed Day-kay-ray and his party, and brought
prisoners to General Street .at Prairie du Chien. The
women and chUdren of the band had been put in
canoes and sent down the Mississippi, in hopes of being
permitted to cross and reach the rest of theti tribe.
The canoes had been tied together, and many of
them had been upset, and the chtidren drowned, their
mothers being too weak and exhausted to rescue them.
The survivors were taken prisoners, and starving and
miserable, they were brought to Prairie du Chien. Our
mother was at the ' fort at the time of their arrival.
She described their condition as wretched and reduced,
beyond anything she had ever witnessed. One wo
man who spoke a tittle Chippewa gave her an account
of the sufferings and hardships they had endured — it
Avas truly appalling.
After having eaten such of the horses as could be
spared they had subsisted on acorns, elm-bark, or even
grass. Many had died of starvation, and their bodies
had been found lying in their trail by the pursuing
Avhites. This poor woman had lost her husband in
battle, and all her chUdren by the upsetting of the
canoe in which they were, and her "only wish now
was, to go and join them. Poor Indians ! who can
wonder that they do not love the whites ?
But a very short time had we been quietly at home,
when a summons came to my husband to collect the
principal chiefs of the Winnebagoes and meet Gen.

SURRENDER OF WINNEBAGO PRISONERS. 451
Scott and Gov. Reynolds at Rock Island, where it was
proposed to hold a treaty for the purchase of aU the
lands east and south of the Wisconsin. Messengers
were accordingly sent to coUect them, and, accompa
nied by as many as chose to report themselves, he set
off on his journey.
He had been gone about two weeks, and I was be
ginning to count the days which must elapse before I
could reasonably expect his return, when, one afternoon,
I went over to pay a visit to my sister at the fort. As
I passed into the large hall that ran through the quar
ters, Lieut. Lacy came suddenly in, from the opposite
direction, and almost without stopping, cried,
" Bad news, madam ! Have you heard it ?"
"No. What is it?"
" The cholera has broken out at Rock Island, and
they are dying by five hundred a day. Dr. Finley has
just arrived with the news." So saying, he vanished
without stopping to answer a question.
The cholera at Rock Island, and my husband there !
I flew to the other door of the hall, which looked out
upon the parade ground. A sentinel was walking
near. " Soldier," cried I, " wtil you run to the young
officers' quarters and ask Dr. Finley to come here for
a moment?" The man shook his head— he was not allowed to
leave his post.
Presently, Mrs. Lacy's servant girl appeared from a

452 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
door under the steps. She was a worthless creature,
but where help was so scarce, ladies could not afford to
keep a scrupulous tariff of moral qualification.
"Oh! Catherine," said I, "will you run over and
ask Dr. Finley to come here a moment ? I must hear
what news he has brought from Rock Island." She
put on a modest look and said,
"I do not hke to go to the young officers' quarters."
I was indignant at her hypocrisy, but I was also wtid
with impatience, when to my great joy Dr. Finley
made his appearance.
" Where is my husband?" cried I.
" On his way home, madam, safe and sound. He
will probably be here to-morrow." He then gave me
an account of the ravages the cholera was making
among the troops, which were indeed severe, although
less so than rumor had at first proclaimed.
Notwithstanding the Doctor's assurance of his safety,
my husband was seized with cholera on his journey.
By the kind care of Paquette and the plentiful use of
chicken-broth which the poor woman at whose cabin
he stopped administered to him, he soon recovered,
and reached his home in safety, having taken Prairie
du Chien in his route and brought his mother with
him again to her home.
The Indians had consented to the sale of their beauti
ful domain. Indeed, there is no alternative in such
cases. H they persist in retaining them, and become

SURRENDER OF WINNEBAGO PRISONERS. 453
surrounded and hemmed in by the white settlers, their
situation is more deplorable than if they surrendered
their homes altogether. This they are aware of, and
therefore, as a general thing, they give up their lands
at the proposal of Government, and only take care to
make the best bargain they can for themselves. In
this instance, they were to receive as an equivalent a
tract of land* extending to the interior of Iowa, and
an additional sum of ten thousand dollars annuaUy.
One of "the stipulations of the treaty was, the surren
der by the Winnebagoes of certain individuals of their
tribe accused of having participated with the Sauks in
some of the murders on the frontier, in order that they
might be tried by our laws, and acquitted or punished
as the case might be.
Wau-kaun-kau (the little Snake) voluntarily gave
himself as a hostage until the delivery of the suspected
persons. He was accordingly received by the Agent,
and marched over and placed in confinement at the
fort, untti the other seven accused should appear to re
deem him.
It was a work of some tittle time on the part of the
nation to persuade these individuals to place them
selves in the hands of the whites, that they might re
ceive justice according to the laws of the latter. The
* A belt of land termed the Neutral Ground of the different op
posing Nations.

454 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
trial of Red Bird, and his languishing death in prison,
were stiU fresh in their memories, and it needed a good
deal of resolution, as well as a strong conviction of con
scious innocence, to brace them up to such a step.
It had to be brought about by arguments and per
suasions, .for the nation would never have resorted to
force to compel the fulfilment of their stipulation.
In the mean time a solemn talk was held with the
principal chiefs assembled at the Agency. A great
part of the nation were in the immediate neighborhood,
in obedience to a notice sent by Governor Porter, who,
in virtue of his office of Governor of Michigan Terri
tory, was also Superintendent of the North West Divi
sion of the Indians. Instead of caUing upon the Agent
to take charge of the annuity money, as had heretofore
been the custom, he had announced his intention of
bringing it himself to Fort Winnebago, and'being pres
ent at the payment. The time appointed had now
arrived, and with it, the main body of the Winne
bagoes. Such of the Indians as had not attended the treaty at
Rock Island, and been instrumental in the cession of
their country, were loud in their condemnation of the
step, and their lamentations over it. Foremost among
these was Wild-Cat, the Falstaff of Garlic Island and
its vicinity. It was little wonder that he should shed
bitter tears, as he did, over the loss of his beautiful
home on the blue waters of Winnebago Lake.

SURRENDER OF WINNEBAGO PRISONERS 455
" H he had not been accidentatiy stopped," he said,
" on his way to the. treaty, and detained untti it was too
late, he would never, never have permitted the
bargain." If
His " father," who knew that a desperate frolic into
which Wild-Cat had been enticed by the way was the
cause of his failing to accompany his countrymen to
Rock Island, replied gravely,
" That he had heard of the chiefs misfortune on this
occasion. How that, in ascending the Fox River, a
couple of kegs of whiskey had come floating down the
stream, which, running foul of his canoe with great
force, had injured it to such a degree that he had been
obtiged to stop several days at the Mee-kan, to repair
damages." The shouts of laughter which greeted this explana
tion were so contagious that poor Wild-Cat himself
was compeUed to join in it, and treat his misfortune as
a joke. The suspected Indians, having engaged the services of
Judge Doty in their defence on their future trial, notice
was at length given, that on a certain day they
would be brought to the Portage and surrendered to
their " father,'' to be by him transferred to the keeping
of the military officer appointed to receive them.
It was joyful news to poor Wau-kaun-kaw, that the
day of his release was at hand. Every time that we
had been within the walls of the fort, we had, been

456 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
saluted by a call from him, as he kept his station at the
guard-room window :
" Do you hear anything of those Indians ? When
are they coming, that I may be let out ?"
We had endeavored to lighten his confinement by
seeing that he was well supplied with food, and his
" father" and Paquette had paid him occasional visits,
but notwithstanding this, and the kindness he had re
ceived at the fort, his confinement was inexpressibly
irksome. On the morning of a bright autumnal day, notice was
given that the Chiefs of the Nation would preg ent them
selves at the Agency to deliver the suspected persons
as prisoners to the Americans.
At the hour of ten o'clock, as we looked out over
the Portage road, we could descry a moving concourse
of people, in which brtiliant color, glittering arms,
and, as they approached still nearer, certain white ob
jects of unusual appearance could be distinguished.
General Dodge, Major Plympton, and one or two
other officers took their seats with Mr. Kinzie on the
platform in front of the door to receive them, while
we stationed ourselves at the window where we could
both see and hear.
The procession wound up the hill, and then came
marching slowly toward us. It was a grand and sol
emn sight. First came some ofthe principal chiefs in
their most brilliant array. Next, the prisoners all hab-

SURRENDER OF WINNEBAGO PRISONERS. 457
tied in white cotton, in token of their innocence, with
girdles round their waists. The music of the drum and
the Shee-shee-qua accompanied their death-song, which
they were chaunting. They wore no paint, no orna
ments — their countenances were grave and thoughtful.
It ntight well be a serious moment to them, for they
knew but httle of the custom of the whites, and that
httle was not such as to inspire cheerfulness. Only their
"father's" assurance that they should receive "strict
justice," would probably have induced them to comply
with the engagements of the nation in this manner.
The remainder of the procession was made up of a
long train of Winnebagoes, all decked out in their
holiday garb.
The chiefs approached and shook hands with the
gentlemen who stood ready to receive their greeting.
Then the prisoners came forward, and went through
the same salutation with the officers. When they of
fered their hands to their " father," he declined.
" No," said he, " You have come here accused of
great crime — of having assisted in taking the lives of
some ofthe defenceless settlers. When you have been
tried by the laws of the land, and been proved- inno
cent, then, your ' father ' wtil give you his hand."
They looked still more serious at this address, as if
they thought it indicated that theti father, too, believed
them guilty, and stepping back a little, they seated
themselves, without speaking, in a row upon the ground
20

458 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
facing their " father " and the officers. The other In
dians all took seats in a circle around them, except
the one-eyed chief, Kau-ray-kau-say-kah, or the White
Crow, who had been deputed to deliver the prisoners
to the Agent.
He made a speech in which he set forth that, " al
though asserting their innocence of the charges preferred
against them, his countrymen were quite willing to be
tried by the laws of white men. He hoped they would
not be detained long, but that the matter would be in
vestigated soon, and that they would come out of it clear
and white.
In reply he was assured that all things would be con
ducted fairly and impartially, the same as jf the accused
were white men, and the hope was added that they
would be found to have been good and true citizens,
and peaceful children of their Great Father, the Presi
dent. When this was over, White Crow requested permis
sion to transfer the medal he had receivQd from the
President, as a mark of friendship, to his son, who stood
beside him, and who had been chosen by the nation to
fill his place as chief, an office he was desirous of resigning.
The speeches made upon this occasion, as interpreted
by Paquette, the modest demeanor ofthe young man, and
the dignified yet feeling manner of the father through
out, made the whole ceremony highly impressive, and
when the latter took the medal from his neck and hung

SURRENDER OF WINNEBAGO PRISONERS. 459
it around that of his son, addressing him a few appro
priate words, I think no one could have witnessed the
scene unmoved.
Ihad watched the countenances of the prisoners as they
sat on the ground before me, while aU these ceremonies
were going forward. With one exception they were
open, calm, and expressive of conscious innocence. Of
that one I could not but admit there might be reasona
ble doubts. One was remarkably fine-looking — another
was a boy of certainly not more than than seventeen, and
during the transfer of the medal he looked from one to
the other, and listened to what was uttered by the speak
ers with an air and expression of even child-like interest
and satisfaction.
Our hearts felt sad for them as, the ceremonies fin
ished, they were conducted by a file of soldiers and
committed to the dungeon of the guard-house, untti
such time as they should be summoned to attend the
Court appointed to try their cause.

. \

CHAPTER XXXYI.
ESCAPE OF THE PRISONERS.
The Indians did not disperse after the ceremonies of
the surrender had been gone through. They contin-
tinued still in the vicinity of the' Portage, in the con
stant expectation ofthe arrival of the annuity money,
which they had been summoned there to receive. But
the time for setting out on his journey to bring it, was
postponed by Gov. Porter from week to week. Had
he foreseen all the evils this delay was to occasion, the
Governor would, unquestionably, have been more
prompt in fulfilling his appointment.
, Many causes conspired to make an early payment
desirable. In the first place, the Winnebagoes, having
been driven from their homes by their anxiety to avoid
all appearance of fraternizing with the Sacs, had made
this year no gardens nor cornfields. They had, there
fore, no provisions on hand, either for their present
use, or for their winter's consumption, except their
scanty supplies of wild rice. WhUe this was disap
pearing during their protracted detention at the Port
age, they were running the risk of leaving themselves
quite unprovided with food, in case of a bad hunting
season during the winter and spring.
(460)

ESCAPE OF THE PRISONERS. 461
In the next place, the rations which the Agent had
been accustomed, by the permission of Government,
to deal out occasionally to them, were now cut off by
a scarcity in the Commissary's department. The fre
quent levies of the militia during the summer cam
paign, and the reinforcement of the garrison by the
troops from Fort Howard had drawn so largely on the
stores at this post, that there was every necessity for
the most rigid economy in the issuing of supplies.
Foreseeing this state of things, Mr. Kinzie, as soon
asthe war was at an end, commissioned Mr. Kereheval
then sutler at Fort Howard, to procure him a couple
of boat-loads of corn, to be distributed among the In
dians. Unfortunately, there was na corn to be ob
tained from Michigan ; it was necessary to bring it
from Ohio, and by the time it at length reached Green
Bay, (for in those days business was never done in a
hurry,) the navigation of the Fox river had closed, and
it was detained there, to be brought up the foUowing
spring. As day after day wore on and " the stiver " did not
make its appearance, the Indians were advised by their
father to disperse to their hunting grounds to procure
food, with the promise that they should be summoned
immediately on the arrival of Gov. Porter ; and this
advice they foUowed.
WhUe they had been in our neighborhood, they had
more than once asked permission to dance the scalp

462 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
dance before our door. This is the most frightful, heart-
curdling exhibition that can possibly be imagined. The
scalps are stretched on tittle hoops, or frames, and car
ried on the end of a pole. These are brandished about
in the course of the dance, with cries, shouts and furi
ous gestures. The women who commence as specta
tors, becoming excited with the scene and the music
which their own discordant notes help to make more
deafening, rush in, seize the scalps from the hands
of the owners, and toss them franticaUy about with the
screams and yells of demons. I have seen as many as
forty or fifty scalps figuring in one dance. Upon one
occasion one was borne by an Indian who approached
quite near me, and I shuddered as I observed the long,
fair hair, evidently that of a woman. Another
Indian had the skin of a human hand, stretched
and prepared with as much care as if it had been some
costly jewel. When these dances occurred, as they
sometimes did, by moonlight, they were peculiarly
horrid and revolting.

Amid so many events of a painful character, there
were not wanting occasionally some that bordered on
the ludicrous.
One evening, while sitting at tea, we were alarmed
by the sound of guns firing in the direction of the Wis
consin. All started up, and prepared, instinctively,

ESCAPE OF THE PRISONERS. 463
for flight to the garrison. As we left the house, we
found the whole bluff and the meadow below in com
motion. Indians running with their guns and spears
across their shoulders, to the scene of alarm ; squaws
and chtidren standing in front of their lodges and look
ing anxiously in the direction of the unusual and unac
countable sounds — groups of French and half-breeds,
all hke ourselves, fleeing to gain the bridge and place
themselves within the pickets so lately erected.
As one company of Indians passed us hurriedly,
some weapon carelessly carried hit one of our party on
the side of the head. " Oh !" shrieked she, " I am
killed ! an Indian has tomahawked me !" and she was
'only reassured by finding she could still run as fast as
the best of us.
When we reached the parade-ground, within the
fort, we could nQt help laughing at the grotesque ap
pearance each presented. Some without hats or shawls
— others with packages of valuables hastily secured at
the moment —one with her piece of bread and butter
in hand, which she had not the presence of mind to
lay aside Avhen she took to flight.
The alarm, was, in the end, found to have proceeded
from a party of Winnebagoes from one of the Barri-
bault vUlages, who, being about to leave their home
for a long period, were going through the ceremony of
burying the scalps they and their fathers had taken.
Like the military funerals among civilized nations,

464 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
their solemnities were closed on this occasion by the
discharge of several volleys over the grave of theti
trophies.

At length, about the beginning of November, Gov
ernor Porter, accompanied by Major Forsyth and Mr.
Kereheval arrived with the annuity money. The In
dians were again asssembled-the payment was made, and
having supplied themselves with a larger quantity of
ammunition than usual, for they saw the necessity of a
good hunt to remedy past and present deficiencies, they
set off for their wintering grounds.
We were, ourselves, about changing our quarters, to
our no small satisfaction. Notwithstanding the Indian
disturbances, the new Agency House (permission to
build which had at length been accorded by Govern
ment) had been going steadily on, and soon after the
departure of the Governor and our other friends, we
took possession of it.
We had been settled but a few weeks, when one
morning Lieut. Davies appeared just as we were sitting
down to breakfast, with a face full of consternation.
" The Indian prisoners had escaped from the black-hols!
The Commanding officer, Col. Cutler, had sent for Mr.
Kinzie to come over to the fort, and counsel with him what
was to be done."

ESCAPE OF THE PRISONERS. 465
The prisoners had probably commenced their opera
tions in planning escape very soon after being placed
in the black-hole, a dungeon in the basement of the
guard-house. They observed that their meals were
brought regularly, three time a day, and that in the in
tervals they were left entirely to themselves. With
their knives they commenced excavating an opening,
the earth from which, as it was withdrawn, they spread
about on the floor of their prison. A blanket was
placed over this hole, and one of the company was al
ways seated upon it, before the regular time for the
soldier who had charge of them to make his appear
ance. When the periodical visit was made, the Indians
were always observed to be seated, smoking in the most
orderly and quiet manner. There was never anything
to excite suspicion.
The prisoners had never read the memoirs of Baron
Trenck, but they had watched the proceedings of the
badgers; so, profiting by their example, they worked on,
shaping the opening spirally, until, in about six weeks,
they came out to the open air beyond the walls of the
fort. That they might be as little encumbered as possible
in their flight, they left their blankets behind them,
arid although it was bitter cold December weather,
they took to the woods and prairies with only their
calico shirts and leggings for covering. We can readily
believe that hope and exultation kept them comfortably

466 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
warm, until they reached an asylum among their
friends. It would be compromising our own reputation as
loyal and patriotic citizens, to tell of aU the secret re
joicings this news occasioned us.
The question now was, how to get the fugitives back
again. The agent could promise no more than that he
would communicate with the chiefs, and represent the
wishes of the officers that the prisoners should once
more surrender themselves, and thus free those who
had had the charge of them from the imputation of
carelessness, which the Government would be very
likely to throw upon them.
When, according to their custom, many of the chiefs
assembled at the Agency, on New Year's day, their
father laid the subject before them.
The Indians replied, that if they saw the young men,
they would tell them what the officers would like to
have them do. They could, themselves, do nothing in
the matter. They had fulfilled their engagement by
bringing them once and putting them in the hands of
the officers. The Government had had them in its
power once and could not keep them — it must now go
and catch them itself.
"The Government" having had some experience the
past summer in "catching Indians," wisely concluded
to drop the matter.

ESCAPE OF THE PRISONERS. 467
About this time another event occurred which occa
sioned no small excitement in our little community.
Robineau, the striker from the blacksmith establish
ment at Sugar Creek, near the Four Lakes, arrived one
very cold day at the Agency. He had come to procure
medical aid for Mate's eldest daughter, Sophy, who,
whtie sliding on the lake, had fallen on the ice and
been badly hurt Her father was absent, having gone
to Prairie du Chien, to .place his youngest daughter at
school. Two or three days had elapsed since the acci
dent had happened, but as a high fever had set in, and
the poor girl was in a state of great suffering, it had
been thought best to send Robineau to us for advice
and aid, leaving Turcotte and a friendly Indian woman
from a neighboring lodge to take charge of poor Sophy.
The commanding officer did not think it prudent,
when the subject was laid before him, to permit the
surgeon to leave the post, but he very cheerfully granted
leave of absence to Currie, the hospital steward, a young
man who possessed some knowledge of medicine and
surgery. As it was important that Sophy should have an ex
perienced nurse, we procured the services of Madam
Bellair, the wife of the Frenchman who was generally
employed as express to Chicago — and as an aid and
companion, Agatha, daughter of Day-kau-ray, who
lived in Paquette's famtiy, was added to the party.

THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Of Agatha I shaU have more to say hereafter, but
at present I must proceed with my story.
The weather was excessively cold when Robineau,
Currie and the two women set out for Sugar Creek,
a distance of about forty miles. We had taken care
to provide them with a good store of rice, crackers,
tea and sugar, for the invalid,' all of which, with their
provisions for the way, were packed on the horse
Robineau had ridden to the Portage. It was expected
they would reach their place of destination on the
second day.
What, then, was our surprise, to see Turcotte make
his appearance on the fourth day after their departure,
to inquire why Robineau had not returned with aid
for poor Sophy ! There was but one solution of the
mystery. Robineau had guided them as til as he had
guided the boat at the Grande Chute the summer be
fore, and although he could not shipwreck them, he
had undoubtedly lost them in the woods or prairies.
One comfort was, that they could not well starve, for the
rice and crackers would furnish them with several
days' provisions, and with Agatha, who must be ac
customed to this kind of life, they could not fail in
time of finding Indians, and being brought back to the
Portage. Still, day after day went on and we received no
tidings of them. Turcotte returned to Sugar Creek
with comforts and prescriptions for Sophy, and the

ESCAPE OF THE PRISONERS. 469
commanding officer sent out a party to hunt for the
missing ones, among whom poor Currie, from his deli
cate constitution, was the object of the greatest com
miseration. As the snow fell, and the winds howled, we could
employ ourselves about nothing but walking from
window to window watching, in hopes of seeing some
one appear in the distance. No Indians were at hand
whom we could despatch upon the search, and by the
tenth day we had almost given up in despair.
It was then that the joyful news was suddenly
brought us, " They are found! They are at the Fort!"
A party of soldiers who had been exploring had en
countered them at Hastings' Woods, twelve mties dis
tant, slowly and feebly making their way back to the
Portage. They knew they were on the right track,
but had hardly strength to pursue it.
Exhausted with cold and hunger, for their provisions
had given out two days before, they had thought
seriously of killing the horse and eating him — nothing
but Currie's inability to proceed on foot, and the dread
of being compelled to leave him in the woods, to per
ish, had deterred them.
Agatha had from the first been convinced that they
were on the wrong track, but Robineau, with his usual
obstinacy, persevered in keeping it untti it brought
them to the Rock River, when he was obtiged to ao-

470 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
knowledge his error, and they commenced retracing
their steps.
Agatha, according to the custom of her people, had
carried her hatchet with her, and thus they had always
had a fire at night, and boughs to shelter them from the
storms, otherwise they must inevitably have perished.
There were two circumstances which aroused in us
a stronger feeling even than that of sympathy. The
first was, the miserable Robineau having demanded of
Currie, first, all his money, and afterwards his watch,
as a condition of his bringing the party back into the
right path, which he averred he knew perfectly well.
The second was, Bellairehavinggivenhiskind, excel
lent wife a hearty flogging "for going off," as he said,
" on such a fool's errand."
The latter culprit was out of our jurisdiction, but
Mons. Robineau was discharged on the spot, and
warned that he might think himself happy to escape
a legal process for swindling.
I am happy to say that Sophy MitiS, in whose be
half all these sufferings had been endured, was quite
recovered by the time her father returned from " the
Prairie."

CHAPTER XXXVII.
AGATH E — T O M A H.
Agathe was the daughter of an Indian who was
distinguished by the name of Rascal Day-kau-ray.
Whether he merited the appellation must be deter
mined hereafter. He Avas brother to the grand old chief
of that name, but as unlike him as it is possible for
those of the same blood to be.
The Day-kau-rays were a very handsome family,
and this daughter was remarkable for her fine personal
appearance. A tall, well-developed form, a round
sweet face, and that peculiarly soft, melodious voice
which belongs to the women of her people, would
have attracted the attention of a stranger, while the
pensive expression of her countenance irresistibly
drew the hearts of all towards her, and prompted the
wish to know more of her history. As I received it
from her friend, Mrs. Paquette, it was indeed a touch
ing one.
A young officer at the fort had seen her and had
set, I wtil not say his heart — it may be doubted if he
had one — but his mind upon her. He applied to
Paquette to negotiate what he called a marriage with
(471)

472 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
her. I am sorry to say that Paquette was induced to
enter into this scheme. He knew full well the sin of
making false representations to the family of Agathe,
and he knew the misery he was about to bring upon her.
The poor girl was betrothed to a young man of .her
own people, and, as is generally the case, the attach
ment on both sides was very strong. Among these
simple people, who have few subjects of thought or
speculation beyond the interests of their datiy life,
their affections and their animosities form the warp
and woof of their character. All their feelings are
intense, from being concentrated on so few objects.
Family relations, particularly with the women, engross
the whole amount of their sensibilities.
The marriage connection is a sacred and indissoluble
tie. I have read, in a recent report to the Historical
Society of Wisconsin, that, in former times, a tempo
rary marriage between a white man and a Menomonee
woman was no uncommon occurrence, and that such
an arrangement brought no scandal. I am afraid
that if such cases were investigated, a good deal of
deceit and misrepresentation would be found to have
been added to the other sins of the transaction ; and
that the woman would be found to have been a vic
tim, instead of a willing participant, in such a con
nexion. At all events, no system of this kind exists among
the Winnebagoes. The strictest sense of femala pro-

AGATHE — TOMAH. 473
priety is a distinguishing trait among them. A woman
who transgresses it, is said to have " forgotten herself,"
and is sure to be cast off and " forgotten " by her friends.
The marriage proposed between the young offi
cer and the daughter of Day-kau-ray, was under
stood as intended to be true and lasting. The fa
ther would not have exposed himself to the contempt
of his whole nation by selling his daughter to become
the mistress of any man. The Day-kru-rays, as I have
elsewhere said, were not a tittle proud of a remote
cross of French blood which mingled with the aborigi
nal stream in their veins, and probably in acceding to
the proposed connection, the father of Agathe was as
much influenced by what he considered the honor to
be derived, as by the amount of valuable presents
which accompanied the overtures made to him.
Be that as it may, the poor girl was torn from her
lover, and transferred from her father's lodge to the
quarters of the young officer.
There were no ladies in the garrison at that time.
Had there been, such a step would hardly have been
ventured. Far away in the wilderness, shut out from
the salutary influences of religious and social culti
vation, what wonder that the moral sense sometimes
becomes blinded, and that the choice is made, "EvU,
be thou my good !"
The first step in wrong was followed by one stiU
more aggravated in cruelty. The young officer left

474 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
the post, as he said, on furlough, but he never re
turned. The news came that he- was married, and
when he again joined his regiment it was at another
post. There was a natural feeling in the strength of the
" woe pronounced against him " by more tongues than
one. "He will never," said my informant, "dare
show himself in this country again ! Not an Indian
who knoAvs the Day-kau-rays but would take his life
if he should meet him !"
Every tie was broken for poor Agathe but that
which bound her to her infant. She never returned
to her father's lodge, for she felt that, being deserted,
she was dishonored. Her sole ambition seemed to be
to bring up her chtid like those of the whites. She
attired it in the costume of the French chUdren, with
a dress of bright calico, and a cap of the same, trim
med with narrow black lace. It was a fine chtid, and
the only time I ever saw a smile cross her face, was
when it was commended and caressed by some mem
ber of our family.
Even this, her only source of happiness, poor
Agathe was called upon to resign. During our absence
at Green Bay, while the Sauks were in the neighbor
hood, the chtid was taken violently ill. The house
at Paquette's, which was the mother's home, was
thronged with Indians, and of course there was much
noise and disturbance. A place was prepared for her

AGATHE — TOMAH. 475
under our roof, where she could be more quiet, and
receive the attendance of the post physician. It was
all in vain — nothing could save the tittle creature's
life. The bitter agony of the mother, as she hung
over the only treasure she possessed on earth, was de
scribed to me as truly heart-rending. When compeUed
to part with it, it seemed almost more than nature
could bear. There were friends, not of her own nation
or color, who strove to comfort her. Did the father
ever send a thought or an inquiry after the fate of his
chtid, or of the young being whose life he had rendered
dark and desolate ? We wtil hope that he did — that
he repented and asked pardon from above for the evil
he had wrought.
Agathe had been baptized by M. Mazzuchelli. Per
haps she may have acquired some religious knowledge
wliich could bring her consolation in her sorrows, and
compensate her for the hopes and joys so early blasted.
She came, some months after the death of her chUd,
in company with several of the half-breed women of
the neighborhood, to pay me a visit of respect and.
congratulation. When she looked at her "little bro
ther," as he was called, and took his soft tiny hand
within her own, the tears stood in her eyes, and she
spoke some little words of tenderness, which showed
that her heart was full. I could scarcely refrain from
mingling my tears with hers, as I thought on all the

476 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
sorrow and desolation that one man's selfishness had
occasioned.

Early in February, 1833, my husband and Lieut
Hunter, in company with one or two others, sat off on a
journey to Chicago. That place had become so much
of a town, (it contained perhaps fifty inhabitants), that
it was necessary for the proprietors of "Kinzie's Ad
dition " to lay out lots and open streets through their
property. All this was accomplished during the pres
ent visit.
While they were upon the ground with a surveyor,
the attention of my husband was drawn towards a very
bright-looking boy in Indian costume, who went hop
ping along by the side of the assistant who carried the
chain, mimicking him as in the course of his operations
he cried, " stick !" " stuck !" He inquired who the lad
was, and to his surprise learned that he was the brother
of the old famtiy servants, Victoire, Geneveive and
Baptiste. Tomah, for that was his name, had never
been arrayed in civilized costume ; he was in blanket
and leggins, and had always tived in a wigwam. My
husband inquired if he would like to go to Fort Win
nebago with him, and learn to be a white boy. The
idea pleased him much, and his mother having given
her sanction to the arrangement, he was packed in a
wagon, with the two gentlemen and their travelling
gear, and they set forth on their return journey.

AGATHE — TOMAH. 477
Tomah had been equipped in jacket and pants, with
the other articles of apparel necessary to his new
sphere and character. They were near the Aux
Plains, and approaching the residence of Glode (Claude)
Laframboise, where Tomah knew he should meet ac
quaintances. He asked leave to get out ofthe wagon
and walk a tittle way. When they next saw him, he
was in full Pottowattamie costume, and although it
was bitter winter weather, he had put on his uncom
fortable native garb rather than show himself to his
old friends in a state of transformation.
On his arrival at Fort Winnebago, our first care was
to furnish him with a complete wardrobe, which, hav
ing been placed in a box in his sleeping apartment,
was put under his charge. Words cannot express his
delight as the valuable possessions were confided to
him. Every spare moment was devoted to their con
templation. Now and then Tomah would be missing.
He was invariably found seated by the side of his little
trunk, folding and refolding his clothes, laying them
now lengthwise, now crosswise, the happiest of mor
tals. The next step was, to teach him to be useful. Such
httle offices were assigned to him at first as might be
supposed not altogether new to him, but we soon
observed that when there was anything in the shape
of work, Tomah stipt off to bed, even if it were before
he had taken his supper. Some fish were given him

478 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
one evening to scale ; it was just at dark ; but Tom,
according to custom, retired at once to bed.
The cook came to inquire what was to be done. I
was under the necessity of caUing in my husband's aid
as interpreter. He sent for Tomah. When he came
into the parlor, Mr. Kinzie said to him in Pottowatta
mie: —
" There are some fish, Tomah, in the kitchen, and
we want you to scale them."
"Now?" exclaimed Tom, with an expression of
amazement, " it is very late."
A young lady, Miss Rolette, who was visiting us,
and who understood the language, could not refrain
from bursting into a laugh at the simplicity with
which the words were uttered, and we joined her for
sympathy, at which Tom looked a little indignant, but
• when he understood that it was the white custom to
scale the fish at night, and put salt and pepper on
them, he was soon reconciled to do his duty in the
matter. His next office was to lay the table. There was a
best service of china, which was to be used when we
had company, and a best set of teaspoons, which I
kept in the drawer of a bureau in my own room
above stairs. I was in the habit of keeping this
drawer locked, and putting the key under a small
clock on the mantel-piece. The first time that I had
shown Tomah how to arrange matters for visiters, I

AGATHE — TOMAH. 479
had brought the silver and put it on the table myself
Soon after, Ave were to have company to tea again
and I explained to Tomah that the best china must be
used. What was my surprise, on going through the
dining-room a short time after, to see not only the new
china, but the "company silver" also on the table. I
requested my mother to inquire into the matter.
Tomah said, very coolly, " He got the stiver where
it was kept."
" Did he find the drawer open ?"
" No — he opened it with a key."
" Was the key in the drawer?"
" No — it was under that thing on the shelf."
"How did he know it was kept there."
This was what Mr. Tomah declined telling. We
could never ascertain whether he had watched my
movements at any time. No one had ever seen him in
that part of the house, and yet there could scarcely an
article be mentioned of which Tomah did not know
the whereabout. H any one was puzzled to find a
thing it was always,
" Ask Tomah— he will tell you." And so in fact
he did. He was a subject of much amusement to the
young officers. We were to have " a party" one eve
ning—all the families and young officers at the fort.
To make Tomah's appearance as professional as possi
ble, we had made him a white apron with long sleeves
to put on while he was helping Mary and Josette to

480 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
carry round tea — for I must acknowledge that Tomah's
clothes were not kept in as nice order out of the trunk
as in it.
Tom was delighted Avith his new costume, as well as
with the new employment. He acquitted himself to
perfection, for he had never any difficulty in imitating
what he saw another do. After tea we had some
music. As I was standing by the piano at which one
of the ladies was seated, Lt. Yancleve said to me in a
low tone,
" Look behind you a moment."
I turned. There sat Tom between two of the com
pany, as stately as possible, with his white apron
smoothed down, and his hands clasped before him,
listening to the music, and on the best possible terms
with himself and all around him. Julian and Edwin
were hardly able to restrain their merriment, but they
were afraid to do or say anything that would cause
him to move before the company had had a full enjoy
ment of the scene. It was voted unanimously that
Tomah should be permitted to remain and enjoy the
pleasures of society for one evening — but, with charac
teristic restlessness, he got tired as soon as the music
was over, and unceremoniously took his leave of the
company.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CONCLUSION.
What we had long anticipated of the sufferings of
the Indians, began to manifest itself as the spring drew
on. It first came under our observation by the ac
counts brought in, by those who came in little parties
begging for food.
As long as it was possible to issue occasional rations
their father continued to do so, but the suppties in the
Commissary Department were now so much reduced
that CoL Cutler did not feel justified in authorizing any
thing beyond a scanty relief, and this in extreme cases.
We had ourselves throughout the winter used the
greatest economy with our own stores, that we might
not exhaust our slender stock of flour and meal before
it could be replenished from " below." We had even
purchased some sour flour which had been condemned
by the commissary, and had contrived by a plentiful
use of saleratus, and a due proportion of potatoes, to
make of it a very palatable kind of bread. But as we
had continued to give to party after party, as they
would come to us to represent their famishing condi-
11 («i)

482 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
tion, the time at length arrived when we had nothing
to give.
The half-breed families of the neighborhood, who
had, like ourselves, continued to share -with the needy
as long as their own stock lasted, were now obliged,
of necessity, to refuse further, assistance. These women
often came in to lament with us over the sad accounts
that were brought from the wintering grounds. It
had been a very open winter. The snow had scarcely
been enough at any time to permit the Indians to track
the deer, in fact, ati the game had been driven off by the
troops and war parties scouring the country through
the preceding summer.
We heard of their dying by companies from mere
destitution, and lying stretched in the road to the Por
tage, whither they were striving to drag their exhausted
frames. Soup made of the bark of the slippery elm,
or stewed acorns, were the only food that many had
subsisted on for weeks.
We had for a long time received our food by daily
rations from the garrison, for things "had got to such a
pass that there was no possibUity of obtaining a barrel
of flour at a time. After our meals were finished, I
always went into the pantry, and collecting carefully
every remaining particle of food set it aside to be given
to some of the wretched applicants by whom we were
constantly thronged.
One day as I was thus employed, a face appeared at

CONCLUSION. 483
the window with "which I had once been familiar. It
was the pretty daughter of the elder Day-kau-ray. She
had formerly visited us often, watching with great
interest our employments — our sewing, or weeding and
cultivating the garden, or our reading. Of the latter,
I had many times endeavored to give her some idea,
showing her the plates in the Family Bible, and doing
my best to explain them to her, but of late I had quite
lost sight of her. Now, how changed, how wan she
looked ! As I addressed her with my ordinary phrase,
" Tshah-ko-zhah?" (What is it?) she gave a sigh that
was- almost a sob. She did not beg, but her counte
nance spoke volumes.
I tbok my dish and handed it to her, expecting to
see her devour the contents eagerly, but no — she took .
it, and making signs that she would soon return, walked
away. When she brought it back, I was almost sure
she had not tasted a morsel herself.

The boats— the boats with the corn! Why did
they not come? We both wrote and sent to hasten
them, but alas! everything and everybody, moved so
slowly in those unenterprising times ! We could only
feel sure that they would come when they were ready,
and not a moment before.
We were soon obtiged to keep, both doors and
windows fast, to shut out the sight of misery we could

484 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
not relieve. If a door was opened for the admission
of a member of the family, some wretched mother
would rush in, grasp the hand of my infant, and plac
ing that of her famishing child within it, tell us plead-
irigly, that he was imploring " his little brother" for
food. The stoutest-hearted man could not have beheld
with dry eyes the heart-rending spectacle which often
presented itself. It was in vain that we screened the
lower portion of our windows with curtains. They
would climb up on the outside, and tier upon tier of
gaunt, wretched faces would peer in above, to watch
us, and see if, indeed, we were as ill-provided as we
represented ourselves.
The noble old Day-kau-ray came one day, from the
Barribault, to apprise us of the state of his village.
More than forty of his people, he said, had now been
for many days without food, save bark and roots. My
husband accompanied him to the commanding officer
to teU his story, and ascertain if any amount of food
could be obtained from that quarter. The result was,
the promise of a small allowance of flour, sufficient
to alleviate the cravings of his own family.
When this was explained to the chief, he turned
away. "No," he said, " if his people could not be re
lieved, he and his family would starve with them !"
And he refused, for those nearest and dearest to him,
the proffered succor, untti all could share alike.

CONCLUSION. 485 '
The announcement, at length, that " the boats were
in sight," was a thrilling and most joyful sound.
Hundreds of poor creatures were at once assembled
on the bank, watching their arrival. Oh ! how tortur
ing was their slow approach, by the winding course of
the river, through the extended prairie ! As the first
boat touched the bank, we, who were gazing on the
scene with anxiety and impatience only equaUed by
that of the sufferers, could scarely refrain from laugh
ing, to see old WUd-Cat, who had somewhat fallen off
in his huge amount of flesh, seize "the Washington
Woman" in his arms, and hug and dance with her in
the ecstasy of his delight.
Their father made a sign to them aU to fall to work
with their hatchets, which they had long held ready,
and in an incredibly short time, barrel after barrel Avas
broken open and emptied, while even the little child
ren possessed theinselves of pans and kettles full, and
hastened to the fires that were blazing around to parch
and cook that which they had seized.
From this time forward, there was no more destitu
tion. The present abundance Avas folloAved by the
arrival of supplies for the Commissary's Department .
and refreshed and invigorated, our poor children de
parted once more to their villages, to make ready their
crops for the ensuing season.

» 486" THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
In the course of the spring, we received a visit from
the Rev. Mr. Kent, and Mrs. Kent, of Galena. This
event is memorable, as being the first occasion on which
the Gospel, according to the Protestant faith, was preach
ed at Fort Winnebago. The large parlor of the hospi
tal was fitted up for the service, and gladly did we
each say to the other, " Let us go to the house of the
Lord !"
For nearly three years had we lived here without
the blessing of a public service of praise and thanks
giving. We regarded this commencement as an omen
of better times, and our tittle " sewing society" worked
with renewed industry, to raise a fund which might
be available hereafter, in securing the permanent ser
vices of a missionary.

Not long after this, on a fine spring morning, as we
were seated at breakfast, a party of Indians entered the
parlor,, and came to the door of the. room where we
were. Two of them passed through, and went out
upon a small porticor-the third remained standing in
the door-way at which he had at first appeared. He
Avas nearly opposite me, and as I raised my eyes, spite.
of his change of dress, and the paint with which he was
covered, I at once recognized him.
I continued to pour the coffee, and as I did so, I re-

CONCLUSION. 487
marked to my husband, " The .one behind you,
with whom you are speaking, is one of the escaped
prisoners." Without turning his head, he continued to listen to
all the directions they were giving him about the re
pairing of their guns, traps, &c, which they wished to
leave with the blacksmith. As they went on, he cau
tiously turned his head towards the parlor door, and
replied to the one speaking to him from there. When
he again addressed me, it was to say,
" You are right, but it . is no affair of ours. We
are none of us to look so as to give him notice that we
suspect anything. They are undoubtedly innocent,
and have suffered enough already."
Contrary to his usual custom, their father did not
ask their names, but wrote their directions, which he
tied to their different implements, and then bade them
go and deliver them themselves to M. Morrin.
The rest of our circle were greatly pleased at the
young fellow's audacity, and we quite longed to tell the
officers that we could have caught one of their fugitives
for them, if are had had a mind.
The time had now come when we began to think
seriously of leaving our pleasant home, and taking up
our residence at Detroit, while making arrangements
for a permanent settlement at Chicago.

THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
The intelligence, when communicated to our Winne
bago children, brought forth great lamentations and
demonstrations of regret. From the surrounding
country they came flocking in, to inquire into the truth
of the tidings they had heard, and to petition earnestly
that we would continue to live and die among them.
Among them all no one seemed so overwhelmed with
affliction as Elizabeth, our poor CuPnose. When we
first told her of our intention, she sat for hours in the
same spot, wiping away the tears that would find their
way down her cheeks, with the corner of the chintz
shawl she wore pinned across her bosom.
" No ! never, never, never shall I find such friends
again," she would exclaim. "You wtil go away, and I
shall be left here all alone"
Wild-Cat too, the fat, jolly WUd-Cat, gave way to
the most audible lamentations.
" Oh ! my little brother," he said to the baby, on the
morning of our departure, when he had insisted on
taking him and seating him on his fat, dirty knee,
" you will never come back to see your poor brother
again!" And having taken an extra glass on the occasion, he
wept tike an infant.
It was with sad hearts that on the morning of the
1st of July, 1833, we bade adieu to the long cortege
which followed us to the boat, now waiting to convey
us to Green Bay, where we were to meet Governor

CONCLUSION. 489
Porter and Mr. Brush, and proceed, under their escort,
to Detroit.
When they had completed their tender fareweUs,
they turned to accompany their father across the Port
age, on his route to Chicago, and long after, we could
see them winding along the road, and hear their loud
lamentations at a parting which they foresaw would
be forever.

mmtmm

'

,1-ili-r^

APPENDIX.
As I have given throughout the Narrative of the
Sauk War, the impressions we received from our own
observation, or from information furnished us at the
time, I think it but justice to Black Hawk and his
party to insert, by way of Appendix, the following
account, preserved among the manuscript writings of
the late Thomas Forsyth, Esq., of St. Louis, who, after
residing among the Indians many years as a trader,
was, until the year 1830, the Agent of the Sauks and
Foxes. The manuscript Was written in 1832, whtie
Black Hawk and his compatriots were in prison at
Jefferson Barracks.
" The United States troops under the command of
Major Stoddard arrived here,* and took possession
of this country in the month of February, 1804. In
the spring of that year, a white person (a man or boy),
was killed in Cuivre Settlement by a Sauk Indian.
Some time in the summer foUowing, a party of United
* St. Louis, Mo.

492 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
States troops -were sent up to the Sauk vtilage on Rocky
river, and a demand made of the Sauk Chiefs for the
murderer. The Sauk Chiefs did not hesitate a moment,
but detivered him up to the commander of the troops,
who brought him down and delivered him over to the
civti authority in this place (St Louis).
" Some time in the ensuing autumn some Sauk and
Fox Indians came to this place, and had a conversation
with General Harrison (then Governor of Indiana Ter
ritory, and acting Governor of this State, then Terri
tory of Louisiana), on the subject of liberating their
relative, then in prison at this place for the above-
mentioned murder.
" Quash-quame, a Sauk chief, who was the head irian
of this party, has repeatedly said, ' Mr. Pierre Choteau,
Sen., came several times to my camp, offering that if
I would sell the lands on the east side of the Mississippi
river, Governor Harrison would liberate my relation,
(meamng the Sauk Indian then in prison as above
related), to which I at last agreed, and sold the lands
from the mouth of the Illinois river up the Mississippi
river as high as the mouth of Rocky river (now Rock
river), and east to the ridge that divides the waters of
the Mississippi and Blinois rivers, but I never sold
any more lands.' Quash-quame also said to Governor
Edwards; Governor Clark and Mr. Auguste Chouteau,
Commmissioners appointed to treat with the Chippewas,
Ottowas, and Pottowattamies of Illinois river, in the

APPENDIX. 493
summer of 1816, for lands on the west side of Illinois
river: " ' You white men may put on paper what you please,
but again I tell you, I never sold any lands higher up
the Mississippi than the mouth of Rocky river.'
" In the treaty first mentioned, the line commences
opposite to the mouth of Gasconade river, and running
in a direct line to the headwaters of Jefferson* river,
thence down that river to the Mississippi river — thence
up the Mississippi river to the mouth of the Ouisconsin
river — thence up that river thirty-six miles — thence in
a direct line to a little lake in Fox river of Illinois,
down Fox river to Illinois river, down Hlinois river
to its mouth, thence down the Mississippi river to the
mouth of Missouri river, thence up that river to the
place of beginning. See Treaty dated at St. Louis,
4th November, 1804.
" The Sauk and Fox nations were never consulted,
nor had any hand in this Treaty, nor knew anything
about it. It was made and signed by two Sauk chiefs,
one Fox chief and one warrior.
"When the annuities were delivered to the Sauk and
Fox nation of Indians, according to the treaty above
referred to (amounting to $1,000 per annum), the
Indians always thought they were presents, (as the
* There is no such river in this country, therefore this treaty is
null and void — of no effect in law or equity. Such was the opin
ion of the late Gov. Howard. (T. F.)

494 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
annuity for the first twenty years was always paid in
goods, sent on from Georgetown, District of Columbia,
(and poor articles of merchandize they were, very often
damaged and not suitable for Indians), until I, as their
Agent, convinced them of the contrary, in the summer
©f 1818. When the Indians heard that the goods
detivered to thetn were annuities for land, sold by
them to the United States, they were astonished, and
refused to accept of the goods,. denying that they ever
sold the lands as stated by me, their Agent. The Black
Hawk in particular, who was present at the time, made
a great noise about this land, and would never receive
any part of the annuities from that time forward. He
always denied the authority of Quash-quame and others
to sell any part of their lands, and told the Indians not
to receive any presents or annuities from any Ameri
can — otherwise their lands would be claimed at some
future day.
" As the United States do insist, and retain the lands
according to the Treaty of *Nov. 4, 1804, why do they
not fulfil their part of that Treaty as equity demands?
" The Sauk and Fox nations are allowed, according
to that Treaty, 'to live and hunt on the lands so
ceded, as long as the aforesaid lands belong to the
United States.' In the spring of the year 1827, about
twelve or fifteen families of squatters arrived and took
possession of the Sauk vUlage, near the mouth of the
Rocky river. They immediately commenced destroy-

APPENDIX. 495
ing the Indians' bark boats. Some were burned, others
were torn to pieces, and when the Indians arrived at
the village, and found fault with the destruction of
their property, they were beaten and abused by the
Squatters. " The Indians made complaint to me, as their Agent
I wrote to Gen. Clark * stating to him from time to
time what happened, and giving a minute detail of
everything that passed between the whites (Squatters)
and the Indians.
" The squatters insisted that the Indians should be re
moved from their village, saying that as soon as the
land was brought into market they (the squatters)
would buy it all. It became needless for me to show
them the treaty, and the right the Indians had to re
main on their lands. They tried every method to
annoy the Indians, by shooting their dogs, claiming
their horses; complaining that the Indians' horses
broke into their cornfields— selling them whiskey for
the most trifling articles, contrary to the wishes and
request of the chiefs, particularly the Black Hawk,
who both solicited and threatened them on the subject,
but all to no purpose.
" The President directed those lands to be sold at the
Land Office, in Springfield, Illinois. Accordingly
when the time came that they were to be offered for
* Superintendent of Indian Aflairs at St Louis. (Ed.)

496 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
sale (in the Autumn of 1828), there were about twenty
families of squatter at, and in the vicinity of the old
Sauk vtilage, most of whom attended the sale, and but
one of them could purchase a quarter-section (if we
except George Davenport, a trader who resides in
Rocky Island). Therefore, all the land not sold, still
belonged to the United States, and the Indians had
stUl a right, by treaty, to hunt and live on those lands.
This right, however, was not allowed them^-they must
move off.
"In 1830, the principal chiefs, and others of the Sauk
and Fox Indians who resided at the old village, near
Rocky river, acquainted me that they would remove
to their village on Ihoway river. These chiefs advised
me to write to General Clarke, Superintendent of In
dian Affairs at this place (St. Louis), to send up a few
militia — that the Black Hawk and his followers would
then see that everything was in earnest, and they'would
remove to the west side ofthe Mississippi, to their own
lands. " The letter, as requested by the chiefs, was written
and sent by me to General Clarke, but he did not think
proper to answer it — therefore everything remained as
formerly, and, as a matter of course, Black Hawk and
his party thought the whole matter of removing from
the old village had blown over.
" In the Spring of 1831, the Black Hawk andhis party
were augmented by many Indians from Ihoway river.

^ t APPENDIX. 497
This augmentation of forces made the Black Hawk
very proud, and' he supposed nothing would be done
_ about removing him and his party.
^ "General Gaines visited the Black Hawk and his
party this season, with a force of regulars and militia,
and comoeUed them to remove to the west side of
the Mississippi river, on their own lands.
"When the Black Hawk and party re-crossed to the
east side of the Mississippi river in 1832, they numbered
three hundred and sixty-eight men. They were, ham
pered with many women and chtidren, and had no in
tention to make war. When attacked by General
Sttilman's detachment, they defended themselves like
men, and I would ask, who would not do so, likewise?
Thus the war commenced. * * * *
"The Indians had been defeated, dispersed, and 'some
of the principal chiefs are now in prison and in chains,
at Jefferson Barracks. * * * *
"It is very well known, by all who know the Black
Hawk, that he has always been considered a friend to the
whites. Often has he taken into his lodge the wearied
white man, given him good food to eat, and a good
blanket to sleep on before the fire. Many a good meal
has the Prophet given to people travelling past his vti
lage, and very many stray horses has he recovered
from the Indians, and restored to their rightful owners,
without asking asking any recompense whatever. * *
"What right have we to tell any people, "You shall
* Jt

498 THE EARLY DAY IN THE NORTH-WEST.
not cross the Mississippi river on any pretext whatever ? "
When the Sauk arid Fox Indians wish to cross the
Mississippi, to visit their relations among the Pottawaf-
tamies, of Fox river, Illinois, they are prevented by
us, because we have the power !"
I omit, in the extracts I have made, the old gentle
man's occasional comments upon the powers that dic
tated, and the forces which carried on the warfare of this
unhappy Summer. There is every reason to believe
that had his suggestions been listened to, and had he
continued the Agent of the Sauks and Foxes, a sad
record might have been spared. I mean the untimely
fate of the unfortunate M. St. Yrain, who, a compara
tive stranger to his people, was murdered by them, in
their exasperated fury, at KeUogg's Grove, soon after
the commencement of the campaign.

8564