USA > Wisconsin > Buffalo County > History of Buffalo County Wisconsin 10847607 > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43
154:
THE, INDIANS.
of Trempealeau, Buffalo, Pepin and Pierce, and parts of Dunn and St. Croix county, as they are now constituted. In Minnesota it included the Mill Lacs country, the ancient seat of the ' Dakotas; who claimed to have been created on that lake; and who were still in possession of it, when Hennepin was a prisoner among them in 1680.
Judge Gale enumerates the following bands:
Wapahkoota Resided in Minnesota and originated the mas- Medawakauton S sacre in 1862.
W.ahpaton Sisseton
Resided in Minnesota and were called "upper bands." These four bands are often called Santees. Re- servation at Fort Randall.
Yankton Yanktonai Brule
Two Kettle or Teton Blackfeet Minnecongou . Oucpapas Sans. Arc
Ogallalas Assiniboins
Reside in Dakota Teritory and will no further be mentioned in this history.
From a note in the Minnesota Atlas it appears that the three original tribes of the Dakotas were the Isanti, on the east side of the Mississippi. the Yanktons on the Minnesota, and the Titon- wans west of the Yanktons. From the earliest reports we have of the Assiniboins as to their situation, we must suppose that they belonged to the Isanti, from which name that of Santee was de- rived, but for some time the Assiniboins had joined the Algonkins against the Dakotas and made war upon their own relations. In fact the Sioux were originally situated much farther east and made during the earlier times of the French explorations several excur- sions nearly up to Sault St. Mary. The Knisteneaux, or Kriste- neaux, between Lake Superior and Hudson's Bay, the ancesters of the Crees on the Saskatchewan, prominent in the Riel Rebellion, had become armed with guns by the English traders on the Bay, and forming an alliance with other Algonkins, notably the Chip- pewas, and with the Assiniboins, had begun war upon the Santee Sioux, driving them slowly westward, occupying, the Kisteneaux to the north, and the Chippewas south of Lake Superior the land of the Sioux. This was the origin of the hereditary war between
THIS PAGE IS LOCKED TO FREE MEMBERS Purchase full membership to immediately unlock this page
DELVE INTO FANTASY, MAGIC, MYTHOLOGY & FOLKLORE
Forgotten Books Full Membership gives access to 797,885 ancient and modern, fiction and non-fiction books.
Continue
*Fair usage policy applies
156
THE INDIANS.
and Great Britain for the sole possession of the northern part of the new world. The French called on all the friendly tribes of In- dians for assistance, and most tribes, even the far-off Winnebagoes, responded to the call, with the exception of the Sioux. Whether they had war enough at home, or whether the distance alarmed them, as it well might, they staid about home. During that time there were probably few traders among them, the delivery of goods from France, and even from Canada had become risky. At the termination of the struggle the English were slow to take posses- sion of the distant posts, and abandoned Green Bay two years after taking possession, to prevent the garrison from falling into the hands of the Pontiac conspirators. Prairie du Chien had pro- bably no garrison. The Sioux, though not on British territory to any great extent, did not join the Pontiac conspiracy, but are said to have offered Col. Johnson, general Indian Agent of the British government five thousand warriors against this conspiracy. We find no notice of any participation of Dakotas in the struggle be- tween England and the Colonies. As they were always at war with the Chippewas and very often with Sacs and Foxes and others of their neighbors, they did unintentionally good service to the cause of the United States by preventing large detachments of their enemies to be sent to aid the British. They also seem to have remained neutral during the Ohio troubles, which terminated in the defeat of the Indians by General Wayne at the Maumee in 1794. It appears, however, that as early as 1780, Joseph Aird and Duncan Graham, both Englishmen, traded with the Sioux at Prai- rie du Chien, spending the winter among them, and the summer at the village. Some time later, perhaps in the beginning of the present century, Col. Robert Dickson engaged in the same trade in the same locality. He, also, was an Englishman, and a very shrewd and able officer. How he he got into possession of the in- formation, can not be told, but he collected a body of two hundred Sioux, one hundred Winnebagoes, some Chippewas, and most of the Menomonees, and with some Canadians, attacked and took the fort at Mackinaw, being the first person to inform Lieutenant Hanks, the American commander of that post, of the declaration: of war between the United States and Great Britain. The leading spirits at Prairie du Chien, among them Joseph Rolette, who had commanded the Canadians at the surprise of Mackinaw, planned
157
THE INDIANS.
an expedition to Prairie du Chien, for which as early as 1813 can- nons and other materials of war had already been forwarded to the portage between Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. In 1815 the United States had sent up a company of regulars, and some gun- boats, also some militia recruited in Missouri. Gen. Clarke went up with them, but returned again to St. Louis, leaving Lieut. Per- kins in command of the regulars and of the old Fort Crawford, which had been hastily repaired. The commander of Fort Macki- naw sent the two hundred Sioux, the hundred Winnebagoes, and some Chippewas and Menomonees to Green Bay, together with two companies of fur-trade engages raised by Rolette and Anderson. Here they were joined by about seventy-five of the Canadian set- tlers, and then ascended by the common route the Fox and de- scended the Wisconsin. Their first attack was directed against the gun-boats, which moved down the river, carrying with them pro- visions and ammunition. Lieutenant Perkins defended the defective fort for four days, until Col. Mckay, the commander in chief of the British party. began to shoot red-hot cannon balls against the wooden stockade. A surrender was then arranged, and the Ame- rican troops were after a few days shipped to St. Louis, not without having been in great danger of being massacred during the time of their detainment, and followed by the Indians as far as Rock Island. This was the first open hostility of the Sioux against the United States. After the treaty of Prairie du Chien, the Sioux had no part in any war with the United States, though they were some- what restless during the Winnebago war. During the Blackhawk War the Sioux, at least some of them, assisted in the fights against the Sacs and Foxes, especially at and after the battle of the Bad Axe. This was partly a quarrel of their own, since they had been at war for a long time with the same tribes, and had in 1830 killed seventeen of them in the neighborhood of Prairie du Chien. The United States had as early as 1806 established a peace with them, .through the agency of Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike, who purchased of them in 1805 a tract of land of about six miles wide and ten miles long above the mouth of the Minnesota River, on a part of which Fort Snelling was built in 1820, and maintained as a permanent military station, until the war of the Rebellion broke out.
We have seen where the Sioux were located about sixty years ago, At that time the Medawakautons being the nearest to our
158
THE INDIANS.
own location. consisted of seven bands, gentes or clans, each under a chief, the tribe being under a head-chief. We have no authentic records regarding the succession of these chiefs. Among the eastern Indians this succession was not hereditary as we have seen in the abridgement on " Wyandot Government," although a certain class of chiefs was always taken from the same gens, clan, or band. For want of better information, and because it agrees with some experiences and traditions among the earlier settlers, I .will here insert what the " Minnesota Atlas" says about the matter.
"Wabasha was the leading hereditary chief of the People of the Leaf, (or M'day-wa-kantons,) and in all intertribal affairs of importance his word was law. He was living in 1819, and visited Major Forsyth at Prairie du Chien, on his expedition with Col. Leavenworth, to establish the post at Fort Snelling. Major For- syth was the first Indian agent who ever visited Minnesota, and has been considered good authority on Indian matters. He also states that he had a visit from Red Wing, another noted chief, dur- ing the same expedition. Red Wing was then an old man about sixty years of age, which would show that he was born about 1759.
The " Atlas" mentions another chief, who seems to have been appointed as such by Governor Clark, of St. Louis, but seems to have been a chief only in title. This is Ta-ha-ma, the " Rising Moose." He was one of the most remarkable men of his nation, a great orator and diplomatist, and a character of great influence. among the Dakotas. He was born at Prairie aux Ailies (Alliers ?) now Winona, and in his younger days was noted for his intelli- gence, daring and activity. During a-game in boyhood he lost one of his eyes, which circumstance caused the French afterward to call . him " Bourgne," or " One-Eyed " a name by; which, he was commonly known, though he was. sometimes called the ." .. Old Priest." ... He.figured prominently in the treaty. between Pike, and . the Dakotota Chiefs in 1805. . Pike, refers to him in terms . of. res- pect and confidence as "my friend.". During the war .of. 1812 he rendered valuable service to the American cause. Governor Clark of St. Louis employed him as a scout and messenger, in which capacity he braved many dangers and hardships. The governor ":gave him in 1816 a commission as Chief of the Sioux nation, together
THIS PAGE IS LOCKED TO FREE MEMBERS Purchase full membership to immediately unlock this page
----
Rijs YoGs
RiJA YOGA
Rig: Boc
RAJA YOGA
Answers
€
RAJA YOGA
RAJA YOGA
Za&cce PC
Never be without a book!
Forgotten Books Full Membership gives universal access to 797,885 books from our apps and website, across all your devices: tablet, phone, e-reader, laptop and desktop computer A library in your pocket for $8.99/month
Continue
'Fair usage policy applies
160
THE INDIANS.
display his blue coat, brass buttons, shoulder-straps, and beaver hat again on a new raid on the compassion, etc. of travelers.
Another chief of prominence was To-way-a-ta-doo-tah or Lit- tle Crow. There were two of the same name, father and son. The old chief was very anxious that ,his people should be taught to rely for subsistence upon the products of the soil, rather than the precarious fruits of the chase, and set them a good example by working industriously in his own field. It would have been well for the whole tribe if his oldest son, who succeeded him in the chieftainship, although the father was very sorry, that he had no other son left, on whom the dignity could be bestowed. Gen. H. H. Sibley, who relates his last visit to the old chief, in company with Alexander Faribault the interpreter, mentions his admoni- tions to the young man, but forgets to state when the event hap- pened. Little Crow, sr., died the next day ..
Originally the power of the chiefs was very great, but from the date of the first treaties with the government it began to decline, until finally the chief was merely considered as the mouth-piece of the Soldiers Lodge, the members of which constituted the only real power in the bands.
We must now return to events next following the often men- tioned treaty of 1825. Sept. 29th 1837 a treaty was concluded by which the Sioux ceded to the United States all their lands East of the Mississippi. This included all the land they had in what is now Wisconsin and a larger tract in Minnesota between the St. Croix and the Mississippi including, among other things the sites of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Two treaties, one in 1830 and the other in 1836 relate almost exclusively to changes in the southern boundary line. In the treaty of 1851 the Sioux, or those bands of them that were parties to the treaty ceded all their lands in Iowa and Minnesota to the United States, receiving instead of it a reservation, from the west boundary line of the tract ceded along the Minnesota River, to Yellow Medicine River on the south side and Tchay-tam Bay River on the northside, being not less than ten miles on each side of the general course of the river. The treaty was changed by the Senate of the United States. This change was a radical one, as it involved the removal of the Indians to the westside of the line where the reservation was to begin. The Indians being dissatis.
161
THE INDIANS.
fied, they were allowed to stay on a smaller reservation, the re- mainder being sold for their benefit. From about that time dates the effort made for the civilization of the annuity Indians. This was strenuously opposed by most of the tribes and their members, because it involved some ceremonies, that cast an indirect reproach on their mode of life and their ancient legends and traditions, be- sides conferring upon individuals some benefits, to which the greedy crowd also considered themselves entitled. To tell the truth, the annuity system was corrupting the Indians more and more and their idea was that each of them had a right to claim all the desires of his savage heart, and some one to do his biddings besides. His money he squandered and gambled away, and when he suffered he charged it to the government, and, as that was way off, he hated the white people, because they were under that gov- ernment. This, of course, was the state of mind among other Indians besides the Sioux. But the latter being a numerous, and as they thought, powerful nation, were proud and testy, and although under such agents, as understood their ways and notions and at ordinary times, when payments were made. punctually, they remained manageable and quiet, yet it was only because there was a sufficient military force among them to keep some order and subejction. Hence, when in 1861 the war began, and troops had to be called to the defence of the nation's capital even from the most distant posts, and when whole regiments of men were enlisted and sent off, the Indians began to become restless. Emissa- ries from the rebellious states or from the sympathizing British settlements of the Northwest, came among them and told them of the danger of the government, of its financial embarrassments, and that their annuities would not be paid. The government has always been proverbially stupid in the selection of its Indian agents, and in displacing those, who did well enough in such agen- cies, for partisan reasons. Hon. Joseph .R. Brown, who had been among Indians for almost forty years; and understood their ways, and how to manage them, was dismissed in 1861, and one Gal- braith appointed in his place. The latter was a stranger, and, as his actions show, a sort of an erratic character, in whom the In- dians had no confidence. There being no military guard to subdue the Indians, and no confidence, but numerous-causes of complaint, true and imaginary; it needed but the spark to explode the whole
162
THE INDIANS.
powder-magazine. This was done by the outbreak commencing August 18th 1862, and lasting until about October of the same year. None of the actions of this struggle having happened on our soil we may refer the curious to other sources of information about it. But we cannot omit to mention the effect this outbreak had on the people in this neighborhood. In .Minnesota every one was scared out of his wits, even sometimes fifty or hundred miles from the point of danger, and well they might be. Of course, some resistance was soon organized, but if one-half of the men who ran away, would have united in small squads, armed as they probably all were, they would soon have found themselves superior in num- ber and equipment to those Indians, who were actually engaged in the work of destruction either from their own choice or by com- pulsion. Yet I do not want to cast any doubts upon their cour- age, considering that in Wisconsin, perhaps two hundred and fifty miles from the outskirts of the depredations so many sensible per- sons were scared out of all powers of reasoning.
I was at that time mayor of the City of Buffalo in this county. Knowing the distance between our place and the Indians, and the fact that the most populous part of Minnesota lay between them and the Mississippi, I laughed at the idea that the war would ex- tend to us. But then there were a few hundred Chippewas up somewhere above Eau Claire, who in the imagination of some of my valiant fellow-citizens could be expected every moment. So one evening two men, both of them friends of mine, but neither of them fit for military service, rushed into our house, where my wife lay in confinement, clamoring about the supposed danger, scaring every one in the house, excepting myself. I did not attempt to allay their fears, but told them to go to-drilling their company, if they wanted to do so. The company was never formed, nor attempted to be formed, the only effect of the rude intrusion was a more or less serious attack of sickness of Mrs. Kessinger, caused by fright.
But it was not only at Buffalo City that people were scared, for in the words of T. E. Randall in his history of the Chippewa Valley: "Many other villages were equally alarmed, and just as prompt to defend their homes; and all that seems wanting to make a bright page in our valley's history is the enemy. " . This last out- break of the Sioux was, among other things the cause of the
THIS PAGE IS LOCKED TO FREE MEMBERS Purchase full membership to immediately unlock this page
DELVE INTO FANTASY, MAGIC, MYTHOLOGY & FOLKLORE
Forgotten Books Full Membership gives access to 797,885 ancient and modern, fiction and non-fiction books.
Continue
*Fair usage policy applies
164
THE INDIANS.
We now turn to their ancient and constant enemies: THE OJIBWA, CONFEDERATION.
Indian government, including what might be called " foreign affairs," which in this case means simply the relations to neighbor- ing and related tribes, was largely based on, and probably influ- enced by kinship. On that basis we might expect to hear of an Algonquin confederacy, but when we reflect on the relative situation. of the tribes belonging to the great Algonquin relationship, we need not be surprised at the absence of a confederacy based on the common stock of language. I am rather unwilling to admit the stories told of the Ojibwas and much inclined to think it one of shallow accounts of the French, who never entered into the original meaning of a nation's name, but substituted one of their own, ex- pecting every other nation to submit to this incongruous nomen- clature. Their ancient prestige having departed, we take the lib- erty to reject the name of Sauteurs, Jumpers in English, tor the Ojibwas. They, or at least a tribe of their name, were first noticed as dwelling on the east side of the straits connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron, said straits being called, from the falls and rapids in the same, Sault St. Marie. This circumstance induced the superficial French to call them Sauteurs. Their nearest of kin were the the tribe of Missasaguas, though the latter name never became popular. They were also by language related to the Me- nomonees, or People of the Wild Rice, and to the Kinisteneaux, Kilistinaux, Cristineaux, or Cris, written Crees, who are yet exist. ing in Manitoba and the adjoining British possessions. It appears that the Menomonees, who gave their name to one of the rivers in the northeastern boundary of our state, were really never a very strong or numerous nation, and their habitat was east of the Me- nomonee River toward Little Bay de Noquet, and that at some time the Ojibwas began a movement toward the Gitchi Gummee, the Shining Big Sea Water, as it is called in Hiawatha, and that they thereafter occupied the southern shores of Lake Superior. They were the neighbors of the Dakotas, probably of the Assini- boin band of them, and found reason to call them " Nadonussioux," that is enemies, a name naturally reduced to Sioux (Soo) for con- venience. It seems that the Kristineaux and the Assiniboins were also at fighting terms, and that about 1679 Capt. Daniel Greysolon Du Luth negotiated the first peace between the contending parties,
165
THE INDIANS.
who lived about the southwest corner of Lake Superior. Some Sioux of the southern bands found Kristineaux among the Assini- boins, and killed them, which exasperated the latter so much that they separated from the Dakota confederacy and made common cause with the Ojibwas and Kristineaux. There was, after the Indian manner, a continued state of war, the issue of which was the extension of the Chippewa power and the gradual forcing of the Sioux towards the Mississippi. At the treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1825 almost every one was astonished at the claims of Hole-in-the-day regarding the boundary line between his people and the Dakotas. Being questioned in regard to it, he raised him- self up in his full dignity and said: "We conquered it!" This boundary line is fully described in the history of the Dakota Con- federation . The Chippewas, like most other Indian tribes or na- tions bartered away their lands in Wisconsin to the United States, and but very few of them remain in Wisconsin on reservations, some located on the shores of the lake, others on the head waters of the river, which bears their name and drains a very considerable part of our state. There is no evidence of their ever having held possession of any part of this county, but it is very probable that they made frequent incursions into the land claimed by the Da- kotas. These incursions continued even after the Sioux had sold their lands east of the Mississippi to the United States which hap- pened in 1837. Both sides acted in perfect disregard of this treaty. In 1841 a party of Sioux came up to Eau Claire by invitation of the Chippewas to hold a friendly meeting and to smoke the pipe of peace.
A still more formal meeting was held in October 1846, when 150 braves, all mounted on ponies, came up to the Falls, and thence to Chippewa City and held a treaty of peace with their hereditary foes. Thomas E. Randall, the historian of the Chippewa. Valley, was present on the occasion and describes it as follows:
Among them were the great chiefs, Wabasha, Red Wing and Big Thunder. Their first meeting took place at the Falls, about sunset, and was rather informal, owing to some misunderstanding. as to the place of meeting. The writer, (Mr.Randall) was present and heard part of the Reception Address, and subsequently learned from Ambrose -- one of the -- interpreters the substance of, what was said on both sides .; The Sioux remained mounted on their ponies during
166
THE INDIANS.
the entire interview. The Chippewa chiefs and braves were painted after their mode indicating peace, and the head chief advanced toward their guests with a large red pipe, made of stone from Pipe- stone mountain, in one hand, and in the" other a hatchet, which was thrown with considerable force, so as to partially bury it in the earth; then raising the pipe to his mouth, and taking a whiff or two, and, turning the stem toward the Sioux Chief, presented it to his acceptance. All was done in silence; the Sioux Chief re- ceived the pipe of peace also in silence, smoked a few whiffs, bowed respectfully as he handed back the pipe, reined his pony to the right, and awaited the next salution. The substance of it was: "Friends, we are glad you have come; we are anxious to make peace with the Sioux nation. . As you have seen us throw down and bury the hatchet, so we hope you are inclined to make peace." The Sioux Chiefs then threw down whatever arms they held, and declared their purpose to maintain permanent peace. They said, their great father, the President, with whom they had never been at war, had requested them to conclude a lasting peace with the Chip- pewa nation; and although they had sold their lands on the east- side of the Mississippi, they still wanted to hunt there, and were glad that in future they could do so without fear."-This was all done through interpreters, several of whom were present on each side, and closed every sentence they repeated with the expression: "That's what we say."
The delegation met a much larger number of Chippewa Chiefs and braves the next day at Chippewa City, where the ceremonies were still more imposing, and a dinner was served, of which both parties partook. These demonstrations were so earnest, and seemed so sincere, that outsiders really supposed these hitherto mortal enemies had become fast friends. But in the summer of 1849 an event occurred that showed that one party to this treaty reposed very little confidence in the faith of the other.
This event, which Mr. Randall details fully, was the hanging of an Indian by some lawless ruffians at Chippewa Falls, for hav- ing wounded a Frenchman in defense of his home and honor. Hole-in-the-day, the Chippewa Chief, demanded the punishment of the parties, and they were arrested and sent to Prairie du Chien to jail under a guard of eight Chippewa braves, who volunteered for the purpose. But as the party approached that point on the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.