USA > Wisconsin > Winnebago County > History, Winnebago County, Wisconsin: Its Cities, Towns, Resources, People > Part 12
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The Menominee were induced to cede all their lands in Wis- consin at the treaty of Poygan, made October 18, 1848, and they were to be removed to Minnesota; but the district assigned them not being found suitable to their wants they were, with the consent of the Wisconsin Legislature, allowed to remain in the state. In 1852 they were removed to their reservation on Wolf river, nine miles north of Shawano, containing 276,480 acres of timber land. This removal caused them much distress, and the next year "Oshkosh, the renowned chief of this tribe," repre- sented to the Government that his tribe "had never been so poor and destitute of provisions and are starving."
As a sample of local legislation, by a statute law of the Ter-
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ritory of Wisconsin of 1839, it was made a penal offense to fur- nish liquor to the Indians, and in 1840 an act providing "that it should be unlawful to keep within five miles of the mouth of Wolf river," in Winnebago county (then Brown county), "any intoxicating liquors for the purpose of supplying the Indians.". This law was made for the Menominee. Under the constitution of Wisconsin the property of Indians was exempt from taxation and they were allowed to sue or be sued with all judicial rights.
Under the Ordinance of the Northwest, 1787, it was declared that the lands and property of the Indian tribes should never be taken from them without their consent. And this rule was ob- served as to all the lands of this county, which was purchased and paid for by the Government by treaties duly made in coun- cil with the savages.
The Old King bore up for nearly a hundred years the name of Cha-kau-cho-ka-ma. He was the grandfather of Oshkosh, "the brave," and Osh-ka-he-nah-niew, his brother, called "the young man," who was born in 1806.
The Old King died in 1821 at 100 years of age while on a visit at Prairie du Chien with some of his relatives. Though nearly blind, he was a man of good sense, though no public speaker, and he was highly esteemed by his nation. Ilis certificate as grand chief, given by Governor Haldimand, of Canada, in 1778 is in possession of the Historical Society at Madison. In 1728, when the French and Indian army came against the Wisconsin Indians, they attacked a Menominee village on the west shore of Green Bay. At the same time the Sauk were located on the present site of Green Bay. Old King's village was half a mile up river from the old French fort at the bay until the Menominee were removed to Poygan, in Winnebago county, in 1836, and must have been located about 1740. It was there in 1763, and hence was about a century old. His grandsons, Oshkosh and Young Man, led their tribe to Poygan in 1836, and Oshkosh resisted many attempts of the Government to induce them to remove west of the Mississippi river, and in 1852 led most of the tribe up the Wolf river to their present reservation, located within a few miles of their ancient home.
When many years ago Oshkosh, now the second city in Wis- consin, was a hamlet of a few scattered wooden houses along the beautiful forest banks of the deep, wide Fox river, it was known by the classic name of Athens. An election being held to settle on a sure enough name for the future city, the river men, not so
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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
much in love with the ancient glory of the city of Athens as they were with the more appropriate name of the old head chief of the Menominee, came partly in fun and some in earnest and, casting the deciding vote, gave the budding city the name that · has made it known around the world.
Old Chief Oshkosh was entitled to the honor, as he was a very worthy man. His worst enemy was his love for "fire water." He was born in Old King's village, one-half mile up river, or south of the old French fort on the west bank of the Fox river, opposite the small settlement at Green Bay, in 1795. Like all papooses, after he grew out of the basket cradle strapped to his mother's back, he learned to fish and hunt with bow and arrows. He was the grandson of Old King, but was not a chief until he became a warrior. When he came into the world the country about was owned by the Americans, but no government had been established over these tribes except such as was accomplished by the fur trading Englishmen from Canada.
The Americans had a small garrison in the old fort at Mackinac island at the outbreak of the War of 1812. Col. Rob- ert Dickson organized a band of Wisconsin Indians, including the Menominee under their chief, Tomah, with Oshkosh in the party. They proceeded by boats and canoes from Green Bay and easily captured the stockade without any loss to either side. During the war the Americans could not repossess the fort. Colonel Dickson with the Fox river Indians, including the Menominee under Tomah, defended the fort in a hard battle with the Americans to capture the stronghold in 1814. Major Holmes was killed by the Menominee and a chief, Wee-kah, of the Menominee was killed near the same spot. Oshkosh was with this garrison defending the fort, and it was not the first real bat- tle he had ever seen. Oshkosh went on the warpath with Te- cumseh against Fort Meigs in 1813, and later under Proctor and Dickson attacked Fort Sandusky, so gallantly defended by Chro- gan, and everywhere defeated the Menominee, returned home. Doubtless he was with the Menominee war parties who frequently went out against the Chippewa in the northern and western parts of the state. Oshkosh saw the first American soldiers land from their steamboats at Green Bay in 1816, when Fort Howard was constructed.
Prior to 1827 a young halfbreed was hunting up Hell creek, east of Green Bay. As he glided by the tall rushes on the mar- gin very early in the morning he noticed the rushes move, which
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he thought was caused by a deer and, raising his gun, shot at the spot. Hurrying up to the place, to his horror he found an Indian in a canoe which was half drawn on shore, drooping lifeless over its side with a shot through his head. As the killing was acci- dental he had no wish to conceal it; so, placing the body in his own canoe, he brought it to the camp at the bay. On landing he went to Oiscoss, the chief, and told him of it, and the chief, being drunk, plunged his knife into the unfortunate Indian. Oiscoss was arrested, but acquitted by the civil court. The tribal law, however, was not satisfied. The murdered Indian was related to the Jourdains, and Mrs. Jourdain could take a pipe and war club, lay them at the feet of any of the chiefs of the Menominee and insure punishment of death. Oiscoss, wishing to be made chief at Little Butte des Morts, went to her and begged forgive- ness and life, which she granted, after informing him in strong language of her opinion of him.
At the treaty of the Little Butte des Morts, held at the great mound on the west bank of the lake of that name, opposite Menasha, between the Menominee, Winnebago and Gov. Lewis Cass, the Governor announced as the tribe had no one who could speak for them as head chief, he would appoint one next day unless they could agree among themselves. One of the most in- teresting events of the council was the making of Oshkosh head chief over the Menominee and officially recognizing him as such, and presenting him the medal of chieftainship. After the coun- cil was opened Governor Cass addressed the Menominee and said: "We have observed for some time the Menominee to be in a bad situation as to their chiefs. There is no one who can talk as the head of the nation. If anything should happen we want some man who has authority in the nation that we can look to. You appear like a flock of geese without a leader-some fly one way, some another. Tomorrow at the opening of the council we shall appoint a principal chief of the Menominee. We shall make inquiries this afternoon and try to select the proper name. We shall give him the medal and expect the Menominee to re- spect him." On August 7 two young men were called in front of the commissioners-one was named Oiscoss, alias Claw; the other was called Carron. Colonel Mckinney then addressed them and tied medals around their necks. Oiscoss, or Oskosh, as the name is spelled in the treaty, was made head chief and the future organ of communication with the commissioners. The treaty was signed August 11, 1827, and the council ended. Car-
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ron was also made a chief. Both were given medals. This medal cannot be located now.
Oshkosh is the modern spelling, doubtless derived from the English pronunciation of the Menominee name. He was also known as Claw, which perhaps led Louis M. Moran, interpreter for the Chippewas, to interpret the meaning of his name as a "hoof." Lyman C. Draper says he has always understood its meaning was "brave." Augustine Grignon also says the name means "brave."
He joined the small party of Menominees who were with the American soldiers going up river in the Winnebago war in 1827, who arrived at Portage just when the war ended. When the Black Hawk war broke out in 1832 the Menominee, who had been for many years enemies of the Ojibwa, or Chippewa, made peace with them on the Chippewa river, encouraged to do so by their desire to join the Americans against the Foxes and Sauk Colonel Stambough took about 300 of them up river to join the rangers under General Dodge and the frontiersmen protecting the settlers in that war. Rev. Cutting Marsh saw this Menominee band on their way up the Fox river and thus describes them : "They appear, indeed, thoughtless as sheep bound to the slaughter. Their painted faces, ornaments, drums, whistles, war clubs and spears made them appear, indeed, savage and warlike. Their songs, uttered from their throat, consisting of deep gut- teral songs and the occasional whoop, was calculated to make one feel darkness still brooded over this land, removed so far from civilization." Oshkosh was with them. There were about sixty Menominee under Colonel Hamilton, son of Alexander Hamilton, who came up to the battle of Peckatonica just as it was over. The Winnebago took the scalps of the dead Sauk, but the Menominee refused to take any, saying they belonged to the white chief-they had not killed them. One authority says of this Indian contingent after a few days of talking, counseling and "eating up a great deal of beef, they became discontented and departed, frightening the inhabitants of the country through which they returned. They were a cowardly and treacherous set of miserable fellows."
Oshkosh was present at the annuity payment and treaty held by Governor Henry Dodge in 1836 at Cedar Point, opposite Kim- berly. At this treaty the Menominee ceded a portion of their lands west of Lake Winnebago and Fox river, and were removed to Lake Poygan, in the town of Poygan, in Winnebago county.
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where annuity payments were made to them by the government for upwards of twenty years at the payment grounds on the shore of the lake. The Indian boy claimed as the lost child of the Partridges was a Menominee. The speech made by Oshkosh, head chief, in 1855 to the editor of the Milwaukee "Sentinel" and interpreted by Mr. Robert Grignon and Mr. William John- son was as follows: "It was at the payment at Lake Pouwaygan, made by Colonel Jones, that this boy was born. I then lived on the Wisconsin river and was notified to come to the payment with my tribe. The roll had all been made up and the payment was to be made the next day. During the night this boy was born. I was told of it in the morning, and asked Colonel Jones to put his name on the roll. The colonel said it could not be done, but if the chiefs were all willing the child should have his share. They were all willing. The boy's share was given to me, and I gave it to his mother. It is the truth I am telling." The Partridges lived in the town of Vinland. Their child was lost in the woods and, having discovered this boy among the Menominee, they claimed it, although Mrs. Partridge denied it was her child, and a trial was had before Commissioner Buttrick in Oshkosh, who decided in favor of the Indian mother, Nah- kom; but the child was taken from the sheriff by friends of Mr. Partridge and after two years was recovered by the Menominee Indian agent in Indiana and brought to Milwaukee, where before proper legal steps could be had the Partridges smuggled the child out of jail and he grew up among the whites and is now living in Iowa. Solomon Juneau wrote: "I wish you all concerned to know the boy now in jail is the child of the Indian woman, let the decision of the judge be what it may."
To quote from a contemporary news account of this affair in the Menasha "Advocate" of December 28, 1854:
"The residents of our county in the year 1852 will readily recollect the unparalleled excitement that occurred on the occa- sion of the reported discovery among the Indians of a child lost by Mr. Partridge some two years previous. An Indian boy was wrested from his parents under the white man's law, and a legal trial was had as to whether the boy was the son of white parents or of Indians. After a full and fair investigation, in the face of the threats and imprecations of an excited populace, the commis- sioner, E. L. Buttrick, Esq., adjudged the child to be Indian and ordered it restored to its mother. Mr. Partridge, who had by - - courtesy of the court obtained possession of the child during the
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trial, refused to obey the order of that court and return the child to its parents, but took it clandestinely from the state.
"The Indian mother, whose love for her offspring was as deep and strong as that of her white sister, was robbed of her son be- cause Mr. Partridge had lost his boy. But such was the state of public opinion in this neighborhood that it was not safe to utter an opinion against the probability of the boy being the son of Mr. Partridge, Indian though he was in every feature and ap- pearance. Indignation meetings were held and Commissioner Buttrick was condemned in the most unmeasured terms.
"Subsequently to the abduction by Mr. Partridge of the boy and when few but the bereaved mother and friends remembered the event with much interest, the bones of a small child were found near where the boy of Mr. Partridge's had been last seen. The belief then became general that the boy abducted belonged to the Indian woman who had claimed him. Representations on the subject were accordingly made to Dr. Heubschmann, super- intendent of Indian Affairs, who took up the matter warmly, pro- ceeded to trace the missing boy and finally found him among some connections of the Partridge family in McHenry county, Illinois. Dr. H. promptly reclaimed him and returned with him to the state last week, and will no doubt return him without delay to his mother and tribe."
And on January 8 following the "Advocate" had this item : "The Milwaukee papers state that a writ of habeas corpus has been issued by Judge Smith and served upon Dr. Heub- schman, the Indian commissioner, to recover possession of the Indian boy whom the doctor has recently reclaimed from some of the Partridge family in Illinois. The object of the proceeding is to try once more the question of the boy's parentage.
"The writ was made returnable last Saturday and after hear- ing the statement the judge made an order that the child be placed in the custody of the sheriff till the first Tuesday of March, when the case will be determined."
The boy might resemble his white neighbors, as the Menominee are a fine appearing people. Cadillac says of them many years ago that "the men are very white, and the women also rather pretty and more gentle than those of other tribes. There is no nation in which the men are so well built or have so good figures as this one." It was Charlevoix who said of them they are "fine looking men, among the most shapely in Canada and taller than the Potawatami."
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"Oshkosh was of medium size, possessed much good sense and ability, but is a great slave to strong drink, and two of his three sons surpass their father in this beastly vice." (Grignon.) It was because of a brawl, occasioned by too much drink, that he was laid up for a week and died at Keshena, August 20, 1858. The artist Brooks reached Keshena a day or two before his death and painted his picture, which hangs in the room of the His- torical Society at Madison. The artist lacked good taste in per- petuating this noble red man in the scarecrow clothing some wag had given him. Oshkosh in plug hat and high colored ribbons may do for a comic almanac, but it is scant justice to the supple form of the brave warrior of the Menominee. The grave of Chief Oshkosh is at Keshena on the high hill pagan cemetery west of the river on the right bank opposite the village. There is no headstone or monument, but it is marked by a low shack grave house two feet high made of unpainted rough pine boards. In the gable end there is a small opening through which food is frequently placed. No name or mark of any kind indicates that in that grave lies Chief Oshkosh, the brave.
Neopope Oshkosh, dressed in citizen's clothes with a large red- flannel sash wound round his hip and a broad-brim felt hat on his head, is to be seen on the single long street of the village of Keshena, near by which he resides in his clearing. He is about 70 years old and the oldest son of Chief Oshkosh. Neopope is a chief in influence and dignity, though the tribe has no chief now. Their tribal affairs are in the control of a council of fifteen -rep- . resentative men of the tribe of which Neopope is one. He still retains his pagan beliefs, and the religion of the wild woods most appeals to him. He is a forcible orator. Reginald Oshkosh, son of Neopope, is also married and lives in a frame house on the Shawano road. He has been in attendance at Carlisle, Pa., Indian School, and is a ready speaker.
Old Carron, or Vieux Carron, said to be the son of a French trader, was born about 1700 and died in the Old King's village in 1780. He was a fierce old warrior, having served in all the French wars and with Montcalm on the heights of Abraham. IIe assisted Lieutenant Gorrell, with the English garrison, to escape from the Green Bay post in 1763, when the Pontiac Beaver war was on. Sir William Johnson sent a certificate to Ogemaunee for this service, which must have been his Indian name. He was for many years head orator. His children were Glade, Tomah, Shequanene, Iometah and three daughters.
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Glade, or Glode, or Con-note, the son of old Carron, was born in 1739. He was the orator of the tribe and a fine speaker, who made sensible remarks and to the point. He was a very success- ful hunter and trapper and great warrior, going on the warpath for the French and fought on the plains of Abraham, and he took an active part with the English in the American Revolution. In the fall of 1803 when on a hunt, accompanied by his two wives and five children, they all contracted some malady and all died except two children. His only surviving son was an infant named Carron. He was made chief at Little Buttes des Morts in 1827 the same day with Oshkosh. Ile was born in 1803 and was alive in 1858. Glade was a tall and well proportioned man of great personal prowess. At ball play when two or three would pitch on him to keep him back he would dash ahead, not seeming in the least to mind them. He was a splendid athlete.
Tomah, the most noted of the sons of old Carron, was born in 1752 at Old King's village, opposite Green Bay, and died in the summer of 1817 at Mackinac at 65 years of age. He was six feet tall, spare, had dark eyes and handsome features, was very pre- possessing, with lordly bearing. He looked every inch a king. Grignon said he was the finest looking chief he had ever seen. His speeches were not long, but pointed and expressive. He was firm, prudent, peaceable and conciliatory, and he was sincerely beloved alike by white and red men. He was the best deer hunter in the tribe. One city is named for him. He was often called Carron and was for many years head speaker. Three of Tomah's sons were chiefs. One was Mau-kau-tau-pee, who was with Mckay at the capture of Prairie du Chien in 1814 and died in 1820. Another son of Tomah was Chief Josette Carron, who suc- ceeded him as head speaker and died in 1831, and another son of Tomah was Chief Glade, named for his uncle. He spoke French well, had no love for public affairs and died in 1848.
The above Josette Carron had two sons, chiefs in 1857. One was Keshenah, born in 1829, and for whom the present reserva- tion town is named. Another was Shawneon (Shononee), or the "Silver," born in 1827. The city and county of Shawano are named for him.
Iometah, head war chief, brother of Tomah and son of old Car- ron, born in 1772, was in 1859 at 87 years of age the only surviv- ing son of old Carron, and then he was strong enough to walk 200 miles to Milwaukee. He had his village at the Cedars and Little Kaukauna. He was on the warpath in the war of 1812
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and was a great hunter. He was noted for paying his debts, a rare trait of Indian character, and is said to have been an hon- orable man and worthy representative of the Indian in heroic days. His picture by Brooks hangs in the Historical Society's rooms at Madison.
The old chief known to history as Iometah, whose name ap- pears signed to the treaties as Aya-mah-tah, or Fish-spawn, who had his village at Little Kaukauna and Little Chute from 1833 to 1842, was the principal chief and had the authority of the tribe at the treaty of Washington. He took his wife with him and they passed the winter in Washington. He was an honest, quiet and temperate Indian, was born on the Menominee river in 1776 and died at Keshena in 1864. Sho-ne-on was a nephew and Joseph Gauthier was a grandson.
Mr. Davis, the Indian agent at Keshena, says he once had a house built for the old chief and his wife, but he preferred living in a tent.
It is not true that Colonel Stambough gave Grizzly Bear his name, as his father bore it before him, who, though not a born chief, exerted great influence over the tribe and was regarded as such. His son, Kaush-kau-no-naive, or the Grizzly Bear, served under Tomah in the War of 1812, and after the death of Tomah in 1817 was, with Josette Carron, chosen orator of the nation. He served under Colonel Stambough against the Foxes and Sauk in 1832 and died in 1834, aged 52 years. About 1830 he was with Colonel Stambough when he went with the Menominee to Washington to make a better treaty for lands and annuities. While there it is reported of him that, viewing the historic paintings in the rotunda of the capital, he pointed to the illustration of the landing of the Pilgrims and said, "There Injun gave white man corn," then to the Penn treaty, "There Injuns give um land," then to Pocahontas saving the life of Cap- tain Smith, "There Injun give um life," then to a picture of Daniel Boone with his foot on the neck of a savage and plunging his knife into another, said, "There white man kill Injun." He was a savage of great personal dignity. In 1832 Colonel Whittle- sey mentions his village as near the present city of Omro. Ilis other name was the Great Packer. After his death he was suc- ceeded by his son, Wau-pa-men, or the Corn, who was succeeded by his brother, another son of Grizzly Bear, Ok-ke-ne-bo-way, or The Standing Land, who was born in 1820.
Among the chiefs of the Menominee who led their family to
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the heights of Abraham were Osauwishkeno, or the Yellow Bird, and Ka-cha-ka-wa-she-ka, or The Notchmaker.
Souligny was a mixed blood born in 1783. His grandmother was the reputed daughter of Souligny, an early French trader, who was a son-in-law of Sieur de Langlade's second wife. This chief was highly regarded by the tribe and the whites. He led his band with the English in the War of 1812 and the Stambough expedition on 1832, and was a stout, good looking man, though he had lost one eye. He was alive in 1858 at 70 years of age, when he walked 200 miles to Milwaukee. His portrait, painted by Brooks, hangs in the Wisconsin Historical rooms at Madison. His decendants live at Keshena.
Other chiefs in 1858 were Ahkenotoway, who was born in 1821, and Cosagascegay, who was born in 1813, and Poegona, or the Feather Shedder, and Muwasha, or the Little Wolf. The chief of the mixed Menominee band at Milwaukee was Onaugesa, who had married a Potawatomi woman. He was a brother of Mrs. Joseph Roy, of Green Bay, and often visited her as early as 1784. Unlike most of the Milwaukee band, he was a kind and worthy Indian. He died there about 1840. One of the historic Menomi- nee chiefs was We-cha-nequa, or "The Rubber," who is said to have protected an American during the War of 1812 by guarding his escape from Green Bay to Mackinaw. He was chief of a small band and a brother to Oshaw-wah-nem, or the "Yellow Dog," and cousin to l'Espagnol, who distinguished themselves in the killing of Major Holmes at the defense of Mackinac in 1814. The old chief, who formerly lived at the present site of Marinette long prior to 1791, was Te-pak-e-ne-nee. Another chief of dis- tinction was Ap-po-mich-sha, or the White Elk, who also fought at Fort Meigs under Tecumseh, and with Proctor was defeated at Sandusky. Another noted chief at the capture of Mackinac was Pe-wau-te-not, and among others who were on the warpath in 1832 against the Foxes and Sauk there was Old Poegonah and Wau-nau-ko and Na-mothe. Among those who were engaged with MeKay in the' capture of Prairie du Chien were Chiefs Ma- cha-nah, or the Hairy IIand; Kish-kou-nau-kau-hone, or the Cut- ting Off, Yellow Cloud, and Wau-nau-ko, after whom Winneconne is named. In the town of Rushford about the year 1836 and for some years later there was a Menominee village called Waukau, on the north shore of Fox river opposite the old village of Delhi, described by Hon. H. II. G. Bradt, of Eureka, as still in existence at this point when he settled in the town of Rushford in 1849.
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