USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people, its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume I > Part 11
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CUSTOMS OF PRIMITIVE MENOMINEES
The quivers used by the Menominees in early days were made of skin with the fur on, or bnekskin tanned and embroidered with beads or porenpine quills.
Two forms of traps were used by them for animals: the dead fall, and the snare of rope, or sinew. Another trap, or weir, for taking fish. was made by setting across a stream stakes interwoven with branches close enough to stop the fish, but not the flow of water; the top forming a crude bridge. The fish were taken in fiber dip nets. This device was called Mitchegamen, Mitchi kan or Mackihiganing (from which the word Michigan is derived). This form of fishing was used in spring and summer. In the winter fish were speared through the ice, often by
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torchlight at night. The pipe, which was of equal importance and more highly valued than weapons, because of its mysterious attributes, was originally made of stone. Red pipe-stone, obtained by barter from the Minnesota Indians, was a favorite material owing to the case with which it could be carved when first quarried, as well as its beauty when hard- ened by exposure. These pipes were large, sometimes four inches deep. They were often ornamented with earving, and were used with or with- out a long reed stem. The Menominees had tobacco which they pre- ferred, but when the supply was short, or for medicinal purposes, they smoked Kin-ni-kinie, made from the inner bark of the red willow, also from leaves of the red sumac, bear-berry and other plants. When smok- ing socially the indulgence was individual and the pipe was not passed. When in council, the chief filled the pipe, passed it to his right-hand neighbor who lighted it, gave a few whiffs, and passed it back to the chief, who gave the ceremonial whiffs with it, and passed it to the man on his left. It continued around the circle to the left ; the last man re- moving the ashes and returning it to the owner. The Menominees used both pipe and tobacco as offerings to their Manidos.
The primitive Menominee wigwam was made of saplings set in the ground and brought together at the top in a conical form. These were covered with bark, or rush mats leaving a smoke hole at the top. They made varions temporary shelters, while hunting or fishing, by tying the tops of bushes together and covering with bark or brush or any convenient article. Sometimes short stakes were driven parallel and roofed with brush or bark; being merely high enough for a man to lie down in.
The beds in early days were pine or fir boughs covered with fur skins, though, if the wigwam was to be somewhat permanent, a frame- work was made of notehed stakes driven into the ground and poles laid upon thein, then bags of grass or moss, or boughs were placed upon these for mattresses. For babies. the eradle-board was used, the mother carrying it shung upon her back when traveling; the tump line being across her forehead-a favorite way of carrying heavy pareels. When too large for the eradle-board, the child slept in a crude hammock. In- dian babies seldom ery.
The Menominee women were experts at weaving mats of cat-tails, bull rushes and splints or bark fiber. The leaves of rushes were picked green and steeped in boiling water to bleach, and were often colored with poke berry, squaw-root, or other vegetable dyes. The warp was made of basswood fiber. Various figures were woven in by means of the different colored filling.
Cord, twine, thread and rope were also made from the basswood fiber, the bark being removed in sheets and boiled in lye-water made from wood-ashes. When the material was soft it was drawn in bunches through holes made for the purpose in the shoulder bone of a deer. or any large bone. Sometimes flat stones with holes drilled in them were used for the same purpose. After the hard woody substance was re-
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moved the fiber was made into hanks, and afterward twisted to form twine for nets, rice bags, or whatever was needed.
The Menominee snow shoes were similar to those in use at present, made with an ash frame, somewhat boat-like in shape, divided into three sections; the space between being filled with network of sinew, or buek- skin. The heel was thicker than the rest of the frame. They differed from the Chippewa shoes by having a transverse toe ; though children's snow shoes were often made with a somewhat pointed toe. They varied, however. to suit the owner.
For packing the granulated maple sugar the squaws made mokaks of birch bark, oblong and larger at the bottom than at the top. A cover was stitched on. They were of many sizes, some holding fifty pounds of sugar. The buckets for gathering sap were also made of birch-bark folded at the bottom, and the seams which were stitched with fibre thread, were covered with pine pitch. These were carried, two at once, suspended from a wooden yoke which fitted around the neck and shoul- ders. Mortars and pestles, troughs for sap and trenches for food, as well as spoons and bowls, were formerly made of wood-usually basswood. Spoons were also made from shells. Sap was boiled originally in bark dishes by means of heated stones. Many shapes and sizes of baskets were made from black elm splints and osiers which grow abundantly along the swamps; these were often colored and woven in figures.
The women tanned the deer-skins used for moccasins, clothing and so on, and they are still more successful than the whites in this process. The skin was scraped on the inside with knives of shell or stone ; soaked in water; rubbed, kneaded and twisted around a post to remove the water; stretched upon the ground or a large piece of wood, and the hair scraped off, rubbed with the brains of a deer to keep it supple, stretched and pulled until dry, and finally cured by hanging over a low fire. The Menominee women were formerly skillful at embroidering with beads and porcupine quills; the latter being brilliantly colored for the pur- pose. The art is nearly forgotten now.
The Menominees made fine birch-bark canoes; the men sharing this labor with the women. White cedar was usually used for the frame work and after the bark was stitched in place the seams were covered with pine pitch, and the inside lined with thin slats of wood to protect the bark. The paddle was usually about four feet long. about one-half being handle. When alone the occupant sits or kneels at the stern, or narrower end of the canoe; if there are two one sits in the bow and pad- dles on the opposite side from the steering paddle. Frequently a canoe would be loaded almost to the water's edge with women and children. but so expert were the boatmen that an accident seldom occurred. Dugouts were more common than birch bark canoes, requiring less labor to construct. Butternut was a favorite wood for these. When not in use the canoe was pulled ont and overturned to allow the bottom to dry.
Cooking over an open fire would be almost as novel now to a Menomi- nee woman as to a white one, but that was formerly their only method.
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The food was mostly game, fish, maple sugar and rice, supplemented with berries, fresh and dried. The Indians made festivals of the berry picking, beech and butternut gathering, as well as of the sugar making. The gathering of wild rice was an important affair as this grain was their staple article of food.
When the proper season came, women and sometimes men, paddled through the dense growth along the lakes and rivers, usually two work- ing together. One managed the canoe, while the other bent the rice stalks, often three or four feet high, over the edge of the boat and beat the heads off upon a mat in the bottom. After a load had been col- lected, a hole was made in the ground, about six inches deep, and two feet long, lined with buck-skin, or a mat, and the rice was put in and beaten with a stick covered at the end. To separate the hulls from the grain, a windy day was usually chosen, and sometimes the rice was laid on a mat and fanned with a bark tray, or, sometimes it was put into a fiber bag and beaten, and the hulls fanned off, after having been placed on mats or bark trays. When clean and dry it was preserved in bags, In serving, it was boiled and eaten with maple sugar, salt appearing to have been unknown to the Menominees, though an article of barter between many tribes. Sometimes rice was cooked with meat, or with vegetables, or fruits, or as soup. The Me- nominee housewife varied her cuisine just as her white sister does.
After the whites came, berries as well as maple sugar had a commner- cial value. The Indians also gathered snake-root, ginseng, and sarsa- parilla, which they sold to the whites, or used themselves. Snake-root and ginseng are somewhat rare in the Upper Peninsula at the present time.
Long after this northern country began to be settled by whites the Indians kept up their ancient customs. There are people still living who remember their method of building a long fence by felling trees in wind-rows along the edge of a favorite feeding ground. The hunters lay upon platforms, built upon top of this fence concealed by the branches; as the deer reached this barricade they turned and fed beside it, or ran along to find the openings purposely left in it, making them an easy prey. As late as 1854 the Indians from Mackinac still followed the custom of going to Flat Rock (Escanaba) where they had such a fence twenty miles long, extending from the shore towards the interior. In a short time they could get hundreds of deer.
Their ancient marriage customs also were celebrated as lately as 1908. At a feast given at White Rapids, after the civil marriage had taken place, the ceremonial smoke, beating of drums, chanting and ora- tions, were all carefully observed; while the bride remained in custo- mary seclusion for three days.
THE STURGEON WAR
No history of the Menominee Indians is complete without a reference to the Sturgeon war; the beginning of hostilities which permanently
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INDIANS GATHERING WILD RICE: ILLUSTRATIVE OF EARLY MENOMINEE DAYS [From painting in the Capitol at Washington, D. C.]
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weakened the Menominee tribes. The version quoted is by George Johnson.
"Long before the white men set foot upon Indian soil, or made any discovery of this continent, a bloody and cruel war took place, and the after warfare between Sioux and Chippewas originated at this early period. At the mouth of the Menominee river there existed an extensive Menominee town governed by a head chief (name unknown) of great power and influence, who had control of the river at its outlet. There also existed four Chippewa towns upon the river in the interior, governed by a chief whose fame and renown were well known. This Chippewa chief married the Menominee chief's sister. The two tribes lived happily together as relatives and allies until the Chippewa chief's son had attained the age of manhood. At this period the Menominee chief gave directions that the river should be stopped at its mouth in order to pre- vent the fish, particularly the sturgeon, from ascending it. This high- handed measure caused a famine among the Chippewas who depended upon the fish as a food supply.
"The Chippewa chief was informed that his brother-in-law, the Menominee chief, had directed the barring of the river at its mouth, and so caused the famine among the Chippewas. Upon this information the Chippewa chief held a Smoking Council with his tribe, and gave direc- tions to his son to visit his uncle, the Menominee chief, and request him to throw open the river, in order to allow the fish to ascend and thereby stop the existing famine. In the meantime the Menominee chief heard that his nephew was preparing to visit him, and gave orders to have a small bone taken from the inner part of a moose's fore-leg. This was pointed and sharpened. The Chippewa youth, in obedience to his father's com- mands, proceeded upon his voyage to visit his uncle, the Menominee chief, and, upon his arrival at the Menominee town, called upon him and be- sought him in a respectful manner to throw open his river to relieve their brethren and starving children. 'Very well,' replied the haughty Menominee chief; 'You have come, my nephew to request me to throw open my river, alleging that your people are in a starving state. All I ean do for you, my nephew. is this,' and taking the sharpened bone in his right hand, with his left hand he seized his nephew's hair upon the crown of his head and passed the bone through the skin between it and the skull, and letting go his hold the sharpened bone remained eross- wise upon the youth's head. 'Now,' said the chief, 'this is what I can do conformably with your request.'
"The young Chippewa withdrew from his uncle's presence without making any comments upon the reception he had met with, and imme- diately proceeded on his way homeward, encamping several nights and avoiding the different villages. Finally he reached his father's village, with his head covered. On entering his father's lodge he laid himself down without saying a word or uncovering his head. The heralds soon proclaimed this throughout the village. On the following morning the young man broke silence and, calling for his father's messengers. or-
Vol. 1-5
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dered them to cut and mix a sufficient quantity of tobacco for the whole tribe. When the tobacco was prepared he was informed that it was ready, and he forthwith directed that the elders and all the braves and warriors should be sent for. When all were assembled the young man got up and uncovered his head and showed the assembled multitude the condition he was in; the bone still sticking upon the crown of his head, and his face and head much inflamed. He related to them the reception he had met with from his unele, and then, addressing himself to his father, said to him that he must not on this occasion say a word of dissuasion for it would be of no avail. He then addressed the tribe, and told them that he had been shamefully treated, and that they must prepare their war-clubs and be ready to start on the following morning. The consent was unanimous, the war-party was formed, and on the fol- lowing morning took their departure. The young man was on this occasion leader and war chief. On reaching the Menominee town strict orders were given to take the Menominee head chief alive and destroy all who resisted.
"This order was fully obeyed and every living soul in the town met with the fate thus decreed at the hands of an exasperated foe, except the head chief, who had been overpowered and bound with leather thongs so that escape was hopeless. The young Chippewa leader then ordered the young men to catch, on the shoals of the barred up river, small sturgeon of various sizes. One was selected of the size of a carp, and the bound Menominee chief was then accosted by his nephew and reminded that he had caused the outlet of the river to be barred up and so caused a grievous famine among the Indians of the interior, and for that outrage and the penurious love he bore for the sturgeon, he would be permitted to keep and cherish that fish. But the punishment of the Menominee chief was such as conld scarcely be described in print. After his degra- dation he was unbound and allowed to reflect upon his folly and seek his tribe. The barred up river was thrown open and relief soon reached the famished Chippewas. This was the beginning of a war replete with murders and cruelties unparalleled in Indian history.
"The Menominee tribe then passed their wampum belts and war-pipe to the following tribes, and formed an alliance with them: Saes and Foxes, Pottawottomies, Kickapoos, Winnebagoes, Sioux, Opan-anagoes, Shawnees, Nautowas and Wabanakees-all were engaged in the warfare against the Chippewas.
"Fortunately for them, the Chippewas had three mighty and val- orons warriors of great power at Sault Ste. Marie. The principal leader was Nabanois, of the crane totem, the other two were the great chief at La Pointe, of the tribe of Ah-ah-wai (whose name is unknown) and the great chief and war-leader of Nipigon, of the tribe of the king-fisher, or Kish-kemanisee. The latter chief pushed his warfare east, among many tribes, and finally reached the Atlantic coast in pursuit of his enemies. His hieroglyphics have been discovered on one of the islands in Boston bay. The same signs also exist on Lake Superior, near the Yellow Dog
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river, and upon the north shore near Gargantwois. This chief pursued his enemies with unrelenting fury, winter and summer, and maintained and kept possession of the Chippewa country. One of their great war- paths was along the Tahquahminong and Manistie rivers and from Chocolate river into the Shoshquomabi ( Escanaba) ; and another from the L'ance-Kewynon (La Anse) and down the Menominee river. The Menominees never recovered their lost prestige."
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CHAPTER V THE CHIPPEWAS AND OTTAWAS
ANCESTORS OF THE CHIPPEWAS-HISTORY OF THE OJIBWAY NATION- NOTED CHIEFS-DOMESTIC AND FAMILY LIFE-RELIGION AND MYTH- OLOGY-DANCES-MOURNING FOR THE DEAD-DISPLACE THE MAS- COUTENS-OTTAWAS AND HURONS.
When Jean Nicolet, with his Huron companions, ascended the St. Mary's river on his famous journey which brought him finally to Green bay, he passed the nation of Beavers, formerly called Amicways. They lived at one time upon the Beaver islands near the Michigan shore, but afterward moved to the Manatoulin islands, a locality to which all In- dians in the vicinity attached much importance, believing it was the abode of spirits, a belief easily suggested by their natural beauty and the frequent mirage in their neighborhood. The Beaver tribe was no doubt a branch of the great Algonquin nation, which had separated from the main body in its westward migration. The tribe was esteemed one of the noblest, and claimed descent from the Great Beaver, a Manido next in importance to the Great Hare, which was the principal Algon- quin divinity.
ANCESTORS OF THE CHIPPEWAS
At Sault Ste. Marie Nicolet found a powerful nation. They were called Baouichtigonin by the early French writers ("Relations" of 1640). There are several variations of this name given in the different "Relations." The Iroquois called them Estiaghicks, or Stagigroone; the Sioux called them Raratwaus, and the French called them Saulteurs. All of these names refer to their location near the Falls. The Iroquois word contains also an allusion to their Algonquin descent. (The French traders called all northern Indians Ottawas, or Saulteurs, regardless of tribal distinctions.)
These "Men of the Falls" were the immediate ancestors of the Chip- pewa or Ojibway nation, one of the largest and most powerful of the northwest tribes. Like the Menominees, they came from the Nipissing country. Their territory when discovered by the whites extended along
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the St. Mary's river, which they held in company with their kinsmen and allies, the Ottawas, elear across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Lake Superior, and as far south as the headwaters of the Menominee river. They controlled many islands including Mackinaw, and across northern Wisconsin west to the headwaters of the Mississippi and south to the Chippewa rivers.
There were many roving bands of Chippewas, known by local names. The most noted and powerful of these was the Muk-kund.was, or pillagers. They claim to have separated from the main tribe at La Pointe, and moving westward, settled at Leech lake, Cass lake and Lake Winnibeegush. They were fierce fighters and had many noted chiefs. Their exploits often brought disaster on the other Chippewa bands. In all traditions the Chippewas are called Anishon-abeg (original people), and, like all Algonquin tribes, have traditions of their eastern origin. They refer to old wars with eastern tribes. Their progress from the east was no doubt slow, covering many generations perhaps, and they drove before them all weaker tribes that stood in their way. Among these were the Sauks and Mascoutins, whoin the Algonquins displaced and compelled to find new homes.
When first visited by the whites, the Chippewas were powerful enough to maintain themselves against the Sioux on the west and the Iroquois on the south. They had at this time (1634) long been in possession of their tribal seat at Sault Ste. Marie, and referred to ancient tribal stations at Chegoimagon ( La Pointe) on Lake Superior and Poo wateeg, on St. Mary's river. Their language, which is the purest form of Al- gonquin, helps to identify them as the Nipercineans, or old Algonquins who inhabited the western part of Canada when it was discovered in 1608 (approximately). These Indians were under the government of a Mudjekeewis or chief, ruling by blood descent. They told the French that formerly their language was much purer, and their manners less barbarous. Many Indian tribes have traditions of a golden age when they dwelt in peace and happiness. The name Chippewa, or Ojibway. is comparatively recent. Some writers have supposed the word to be derived from Chemaun (canoe) and Abwi (paddle), owing to their un- doubted skill as boatmen. There seems to be no strong authority for this derivation, however. In appearance the Chippewas were tall, well developed and good looking, dignified and self possessed in manner, active and intelligent, fine hunters and skillful trappers; and many of them fine orators. With these people the French made an early and unbroken alliance. The traders easily learned the Algonquin language which brought them in close commercial relations with many tribes who spoke dialeets of this language. The Indians seemed to acquire the French language more readily than they did the English when it came to them. Their close affiliation is demonstrated by the fact that the Indians of today speak a French patois, as well as their own language. Friendly relations between the French and Indians were eemented by mutual interests, and soon by family relationship, owing to inter-mar- riage by the traders with Chippewa women.
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Nicolet has recorded this friendly attitude of the Indians toward the whites at their first meeting, and Fathers Raymbault and Isaac Jogues. who visited Sault Ste Marie in 1741, corroborated this. They were given a cordial reception. rest and refreshment by the Chippewas. They also obtained much information from these Indians, concerning the Great Lake (Superior), and the fierce tribe called Nadoussioux (Sioux, or Enemies-snake-like-ones) who lived beyond its borders and would not permit the Chippewas to enter their hunting grounds. The history of the Jesnit fathers in Michigan is closely woven into that of the Chippewas and Ottawas.
HISTORY OF THE OJIBWAY NATION
The Chippewas were allies of the French in their colonial wars with England which broke out in 1754. after years of bickering. Many of them were in the siege of Quebec; and Montealm was a great hero to them. Led by Pontiac, whose mother was a Chippewa, under Sieur Charles de Langlade, they helped defeat Braddock in his ill-starred campaign against Fort du Quesne (1755). It was with great difficulty that the English gained their allegiance after the French had been over- come.
In the period which elapsed between the surrender of the French in 1759 and the treaty of peace of 1763, much ill feeling had been en- gendered among all Indians by their untactful treatment by the Eng- lish. The Chippewas, naturally warlike and full of a deadly hatred for the English, fell readily in with the schemes of Pontiac, the Ottawa. In the massaere at Fort Mackinaw in 1763 they took the lead. In spite of repeated warnings Captain Etherington, who was in command, neg. leeted all precautions and was trapped by a simple trick. The Indians of whom there were many, including Menominees and Ottawas as well as Chippewas, organized a game of baggattaway, or La Crosse. In this game there are two post goals at a long distance apart and the players, who are evenly divided as to numbers, seek to drive the ball (pik wak- wad) by means of a long handled racquet (pagaadowan) to opposite points. Captain Etherington was watching the game on which he had laid wagers. As if by chance the ball was thrown into the fort. the In- dians rushed in pell-mell after it; and, once within, the Chippewas seized the weapons which the squaws had already carried in under their blankets, and the massaere began. Most of the inmates were killed but a few were taken prisoners, and among the latter were Captain Ether- ington and Father Jonois, missionary at L'Arbe Croche. They were reserved for a more ernel fate, but happily escaped, partly through the good offices of the Ottawas and Sauks. A trader, Alexander Henry, who escaped through the friendly offices of an Indian named Wawatam, who had adopted him for a brother, has related that the scene was horri- ble. "The Indians, with reeking scalps at their belts. tore out the en- trails of the dead, or dying, and, scooping up the blood, drank it in handfuls." Afterwards many of the slain were boiled and eaten by the
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