USA > Wisconsin > Vernon County > History of Vernon County, Wisconsin, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 60
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My neighbors had been very kind, and I made up my mind to exercise my best en- deavors in the cooking line, and tender them a rare feast on Christmas day, which was now near at hand. On Christmas eve my invita- tions were extended to my friends. I had secured the fattest raccoon the Indians could tree ; and defied any one to procure a fatter one, for there was no lean about it. Towards sunset, I set my cook to chop any quantity of venison for stuffing. My raccoon was unusu- ally large, weighing about thirty-two pounds, requiring a large quantity of stuffing to fill it out plump. In the meantime, I had the pepper in a piece of deer skin, pounding it into pulver- ized form, cutting up onions, and a little cedar leaves, to give my viand a pleasant taste. No coonship's body, I am sure, was never so eram- full before. About 8 o'clock it was stitched up, and ready for placing on the spit early the next morning. Then where should it be placed for safety during the night to prevent it from freezing ? Of course by the fire. I went to bed, and my mind was on the raccoon subject all night. But what was my mortification when I got up at day light to hang my coon up to roast to find it putrid and stinking. Oh, misery ! sympathize with me for my lost labor, and with my friends for their lost dinner. I had no cook book. So ended my second attempt at cooking. Of course, I went without
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my dinner, and got laughed at by my half- famished friends.
The Indians, Pottawatamies, in this locality, were docile, and easily managed ; and doing a fair trade, I remained here three years, fre- qnently going on horse-back to Chicago, a distance of sixty ( eighty-five ) miles ; but the ronte was a hard-sand beach ; and having a fleet pony, and a cool breeze from the lake, the distance was soon overcome without fatigue to my young bones.
During my second year at Min-na-wack, or Mill-wack-ie ( 1804-1805 ), Capt. Whistler with his company of American soldiers, came to take possession of Chicago. At this time there were no buildings there except a few dilapidated log hnts, covered with bark. Capt. Whistler had selected one of these as tempo- rary, though miserable residence for bis family, his officers and men being under canvas. On being informed of his arrival, 1 felt it my duty to pay my respects to the authority so much required in the country.
On the morrow I mounted Kee-gekah, or Swift-Goer, and the next day I was invited to dine with the captain. On going to the house, the outer door opening into the dining-room, 1 fonnd the table spread, the family and guests seated, consisting of several ladies, as jolly as kittens. The gents had not yet arrived. I had not been seated ten minutes before the door opened, and in rushed a host of Indian war- riors, hideously painted, scantily dressed, orna- mented with feathers, bear's claws, deer's horns, snake's rattles, etc., etc. The ladies almost fainting, ran off, leaving the captain and my- self to see the end.
The first act of the war chiefs was to walk around the table and pick up the pieces of bread which had been placed, after the old fashion, beside the plate of each guest, which he handed to his young men in attendance. Being acquainted with the chief, and knowing something of the language, I asked him : "What brings you here in this garb ? Your
great Big Knife father has sent his soldiers here to protect you, and to encourage more traders to come among yon ; and instead of being thankful, you come to insult them. You had better go to your camp and bring them some venison, and be kind to them." He shook hands with me, and went off with his followers.
I have ever considered my having been present on that occasion to have been providential, in saving the lives of this detachment ; for, in all probability, had not some one been present acquainted with the Indian character, Capt. Whistler would have called in some of his men to expel the war party, in which case it is easy to imagine what the consequences might have been.
In 1804, while trading with the Pottawatamie Indians at Min-na-wack, or Mill-wack-ie, having no society, and little to do, I was naturally enough very lonely. I, therefore, undertook a journey along the lake shore, to visit my friend, Jacob Frank, at Green Bay. The first day's journey brought me to an encampment of Pot- tawatamies, at Two Rivers, nearly seventy miles distant, reaching there before night. I put up at the lodge of an old Indian chief, named Na-na-bou-jou, who gave the following account of the origin of his tribe, in answer to my inquiry on the subject :
" I take my name," said he, " from my origi nal ancestors, who were the first living man and woman. They found themselves in a big canoe ; all the animals were also in the same canoe, floating on thick water. After a while the ancestors insisted that there must be some- thing much more substantial beneath the water. To test it, they wanted the deer or some other animal, to dive down and ascertain. None would venture on so perilous and uncertain an undertaking. At length a beaver volunteered to make the effort, and jumped overboard, plunging beneath the waters. After a long time he rose to the surface, almost dead, with- out being able to relate anything satisfactory. But the ancestors still persisted that there must
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be a hard substance upon which the waters rested. Finally they persuaded the musk-rat to go on a trip of discovery. He, too, was gone a long time on his sub-watery exploration ; but at length he emerged from the flood of waters quite exhausted. The woman ancestor took him up in her arms, and on nursing and drying him to bring him to, found a little clay adher- ing to one of his fore-paws. This she care- fully scraped off, worked it between her thumb and finger, and placed it on the water to see if it would float. It immediately began to in- crease in size, and in three days it was more than three fathoms broad.
"The wolf now began to grow very trouble- some, snarling and growling at all the other animals, so that the woman ancestor scolded him sharply, but to no purpose. At length she got angry and threw him out upon the little island, which was yet too small to bear him up in one position. He, therefore, had to run round and round the edge of the little island, which is the cause of the shores of lakes and rivers being harder than the rest of the land. The island continued to grow, herbs sprang up on it, so that they could send other animals out of the canoe to find a lodgment there.
"The woman ancestor said to her husband : What a pity we have no trees growing on the island, and proposed to paddle around some- where to find a tree. They soon found a nice little balsam flower, which they brought and planted in the center of the island. It grew in a very short time till it reached the sky. They then observed an object over their heads, mov- ing east and west, day after day. The woman ancestor was quite captivated with it, and she sent her husband up the tree, to set a snare to catch this beautiful object. He went up and found it had the appearance of an old woman. However, he set a snare, and descended. The beautiful object was caught in the net, and there it stuck. The woman ancestor was per- feetly outrageous because it was stopped in its course ; and scolded her husband for setting
the trap. She then desired her husband to ascend the tree, and let the beautiful object go on its course again ; but he declined to do so. She then tried to get the deer and other animals to go up, but they could not climb. At last she induced a raccoon to make the effort. The heat was so great when he got near the object, that it scorched him, and he came tumbling down through the branches of the tree. The good woman was now in a greater rage than ever, when she found she could not have her curiosity gratified, and the object loosened from its captivity. After a long time a mole volun- teered to go up. All the other animals began to laugh at him for his temerity ; but up he went, and when he got near the object, finding it very hot, he managed to burrow along till he reached the snare, and cut the object loose. But in doing so, he scorched his nose, and that is the reason why moles have brown noses and small eyes ; and the sun once loosened from its trap has been going ever since."
Such was Na-na-hou-jou's legend. The earlier portion of this Pottawatamie legend evidently refers to the general deluge. Other tribes have also had handed down to them, more or less vaguely, traditions of the deluge. Some of these traditions are related by School- craft in his History of the Indian Tribes, Vol. I, p. 17; Vol. VI, pp. 571-72, as preserved variously by the Algonquins, Iroquois, Chero- kees, Muscogees and Chickasaws, all agreeing that there was a general cataclism, and that but few persons were saved. The Algonquins, he says, relate, that when the deluge began to submerge the mountains, a benevolent God, called Manabo, ascended a high elevation, climbed a tree, and as the waters rose, he com- manded the tree from time to time to grow taller, which oheyed the injunction ; when at length he directed successively the loon, the beaver, otter, and mink, to dive down and find bottom; but none of them succeeded. At last he sent the musk-rat ; for, said he, your ances- tors were always famous for grasping the
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muddy bottoms of pools with their claws. The animal succeeded in bringing up a morsel of earth in its elaw ; and from this new chaotie mass, the Algic deity re-created the earth.
A recent Des Moines correspondent of the St. Paul Pioneer Press gave this statement, which embodies the same idea : "Several of the leading men of the Musquakie tribe of Indians, from their reservation in Tama county, were here recently. They were in charge of George Davenport, their agent, who was born among the Indians at Rock Island, and in whom they have great confidenee. Mr. Davenport related many incidents in the history of the Sacs and Foxes, who formerly occupied this territory. The Musquakies are the remnants of these tribes. Mr. Davenport says they observe religious rites which elosely resemble those of the ancient Hebrews. They have a Bible, of which there are several copies among the tribe, which are ancient, and preserved with great care. Each Bible consists of twenty-seven parts. It is written in characters and signs known only to them. They utter prayers to a Supreme Being in a language entirely different from that in which they converse usually. What it is, Mr. Davenport has never been able to learn, nor has he been able to get a copy of their Bible. They get from their Bible a tradition which corresponds to our accounts of the deluge ; for, one day, when Mr. Davenport was attempting to explain to them the existence of a God, and his relation to man, and also of Noah and the deluge, one of the chiefs replied: Ugh ! We know that long time. We was all in canoes tied together. On top heap water. We put down musk-rat, one, two, good many times. He come up. Last time he go down, he come up he bring mud. We know water go down.' Their religious rites are held in seeret." After its relation, I elosed my eyes in sleep. Next morning at day-break, I journeyed on my snow shoes, entting aeross a point of land, and after a hard days tramp, I at length reached my destination.
After my third years' winter at Min-na-waek ( 1805-1806 ) and return to Mackinaw, the for- eign markets requiring a better quality of. peltry, I was solicited to go to the Upper Mis- sissippi to the Sioux country. I wintered ( in 1806-1807 ) on the St. Peter's river, about fifty miles above its mouth. I took up my station in a delightful part of the wood-fringe. Each bank of the river was enriched with a strip of timber, which in some places extended back a mile from the stream. Here the deer, wild fowl, and other game were in abundance; and as I had dismissed the Indians to their hunting grounds before reaching this spot, I had all the hunting to myself, and had plenty of meat, roasted geese, ducks, prairie hens, etc., but no vegetables. My French Canadian cook would occasionally treat me with a cake, baked in the ashes, from my scanty allowanee of flour. As a treat, I would sometimes have veni- son fried in deer's tallow in the kettle, or in the long frying pan. These steaks I could not eat hot enough to prevent their congealing in their progress to their throat; consequently the roof of my mouth would become so thickly cased over with tallow as to necessitate the use of my knife to remove it. About the begin- ning of March (1807), the Indians came in from their hunt, encamped around my trading-honse and began to pay their debts and trade for the surplus. A crust had formed on the snow, and all the young Indians and boys went off, and, for amusement, wantonly tomahawked every deer they could find, as the poor ereatures, breaking through the crust, could not get out of the way. Deprived of venison, the wild fowl came in abundance. I made up my paeks, and got ready for a start, trading off the remnant of my goods with scattered bands on my way down to Prairie des Chien.
My returns for the season's trade were good; and I coneluded to operate with the Sioux as long as I should remain in the business. The following winter, (1807-1808,) I re-occupied my last year's trading post on the St. Peter's, but
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under very different circumstances. The wan- tons recklessly killing off the deer last March, brought a judgment upon all. There was not a decr to be seen. The winter was a very mild one, and the buffalo did (not) travel so far south as we were-consequently all were without pro- visions. The nearest tribe of Indians to me were fifty or sixty miles away, on the trail the buffalo usually took in the winter season, and they were in a starving state.
I had consumed every article I had of the eatable kind, including several packs of deer skins. I and my men roamed about in quest of game without success. We set traps of all kinds, in which we occasionally caught wolves, fishers, martens, and. minks, all of which went to the pot, and I could take my share of all ex- cept of the wolf. My cook said he would dress a piece, and dish it up so I would like it; so he cut off a choice bit from one just brought in and put it into the bake-kettle, seasoning it with pepper, salt and mustard, adding some Stoughton bitters and a glass of high wines to give it the taste of chicken. But with all this knowledge of refined cookery, I could not stom- ach what tasted to me like a mouse-nest; for when better food cannot be had, the wolves live on mice. The men, however, devoured it as voraciously as cats would their victims.
Foxes were in great abundance, but they were too cunning to be caught in the traps. They would take the bait, and spring and turn over the traps, but were careful to keep their toes out. So I thought I would trick them and show them my cunning. I took six steel traps, and, with the aid of my tomahawk, set them in such a way that they would have to walk over them to get at the bait which I placed in the circle formed by the traps. On visiting my device the next morn- ing, I found one fox had been out-witted. I discovered him, crouched behind a bunch of grass, as if ashamed of having been over- reached.
On my way home I met a deer, walking leis- urely toward me on the ice; on seeing me, he bolted up the bank, and after a few bounds in the deep snow he stuck fast, and, coming up to him, I soon relieved him from his dilemma by sticking my knife into his vitals.
I left him on the ice with my traps, and, re- turning to the station, sent a couple of men for them, and great was our rejoicing. But I was saving of the venison; all the inwards were cleaned, and served to give a relish to wolf, or such other meat of the kind as Providence was pleased to throw in our way. Time, under such circumstances, I scarcely need say, hung heavy- ily upon me. March, however, at length came, and my hunting host brought in their rich re- turns, and the wild fowl were with us again in clouds, and in due time we recovered our lost flesh.
News reached me that the (Indians) who had gone in the fall to winter on the route usually taken by the buffalo, had been starving; many had died from want. In a small lake in their vicinity, it was said, that forty bodies of men, women and children had been found. It ap- peared that as soon as the ice was out of the lake they waded in, feeling with their feet for turtles and roots for food; but being too weak to return to land, they would fall down in the water, and there remain. Some were found dead on the plains.
My return to Mackinaw was as in former years. The next season [1808-1809], I wintered higher up the the river, at Lac qui Parle. All went well here. I arrived unusually early at my post, so that I went with a party of Indians on a buf- falo hunt to the source of the St. Peter's, the Big Stone Lake, perhaps thirty miles in circum- ference. We went up in canoes; but long be- fore a buffalo could be seen on the plains, my attention was directed to a rumbling noise, like rolling thunder at a distance, which seemingly caused the whole country to quiver and shake; and as we drew nearer, the awful bellowing of 10,000 enraged bulls was truly frightful.
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We were now skulking noiselessly along, en- deavoring to reach a few acres of wood-land before us. A short distance above this was a bay, which was crowded with buffalo swimming in all directions. As far as the eye could reach, the prairie was black with these animals.
On reaching the woods, I was permitted to raise up a little, and peep into the bush, which was also full of them, and some of them within ten yards of us. But I was forbidden to fire. My guides said, when I got on the hill some fifty yards off where there were no trees then I might go ashore, and kill all I could. Ilow the guide got to his place without disturbing them, I know not, for the little bush was swarm- ing with them; but when I made my appearance, they were so excited, running off towards the plains, and I so astonished, that I could not take aim at any one of them; but I fired into a batch, which were brought to bay for a second by my friend on the hill, who had shot three fat cows in as many minutes.
The squaws now went to their work of cut- ting up the meat. The hides were not cared for, so they only took the skin off of such parts as they wanted for immediate use, or to slice up and dry or smoke, the only means they had for preserving it even for a few days.
My friend, Wy-o-be-gah, the marksman, in- vited me to accompany him a couple of miles to a little lake, where he said we would find lots of buffaloes drinking and washing themselves. We did not want meat; but, savage-like, we wanted to kill game. On nearing the lake, we could, as he said, see large numbers of animals drinking and washing. A fringe of strong grass, four feet high, surrounded the water. We ap- proached carefully on all fours; he leading the way in front, reached the grass-fringe, which he divided with his gun, and, at length, made sign for me to look through the opening. Within five yards of us stood a monster bull, which ap- peared to my astonished eyes twenty feet high. I wanted to shoot him; but Wy-o-be-gah shook his head, at the same time giving an un-buffalo
grunt, when the monster animal reared on his hind legs, gave a whirl around, and away he went. Wy-o-be-gah's aim was to kill a cow, but he missed his object, and ran off leaving me to look out for myself, which I did by securing a position behind a large tree, where I intended to attack some lonely passer-by.
I had not remained there long before a big bellower came towards me; but I observed by his line of approach, that he would be too far from the reach of my gun, so I went nearer to where he would pass. Putting two balls in my gun, and hiding in the grass, I waited his com- ing, for he approached within twenty yards of me. I took deliberate aim at his heart. He stopped, and furtively cast about for his enemy. I wished my tree was nearer, for I was sure he would be after me, and my plan was to get the start of him. I was soon on my legs, and he after me; but I beat him, and got safe to the tree before him. But I was too shaky to load my gun, and he passed on not noticing my dodg- ing behind the tree, and he was soon out of sight.
Returning to camp, a plentiful supply of mar- row bones were ready for the hunters. The mode of cooking the marrow is to hold the bones over the fire until they are nicely browned; then break or split them in two with the toma- hawk, and dig the marrow out. It is very nice, and does not clog the stomach like other fat, or congeal in the mouth like deer's. In fact, if we had salt, bread, or vegetables of any kind to eat with it, it would have been doubly delicious. All this time I had not killed a single buffalo of the thousands I had seen, and all because I did not know how; while Wy-o-be-gah had killed seven, and all we took away did not amount to the meat of one animal. We returned home the next day.
My principal occupation during the winter, was making oars, paddles, etc., ready for an early spring start. March at length came, and, to my grief, I got word from my hunters that they were not coming to the trading-house; but
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would pass about two days' journey to the south, on the route for Santa Fe, to get wild horses, etc. The next morning, my interpreter and four men were on their way to their camp, to collect all they could on account of goods advanced to the hunters on credit the preceding fall. They col- lected twenty-five per cent. less than was due; but I had a chance of making up the nominal loss by trade with those who did come to my post, and I sent word to the band who had cheated me, that I would not give them any credit next fall.
In the autumn (of 1809), I delayed reaching my wintering grounds, in the Big Stone Lake region, until the middle of November, and suf- fered much inconvenience in consequence, be- ing obliged to assist the men in breaking the ice in many places, and sometimes to wade up to our middles in water to drag the boat through the ice. We at length, however, reached our old trading-post about 4 o'clock of an after- noon, found fifty or sixty lodges there; and we had just time to stow away my goods in the house, where the men slept. My interpreter, his wife, and I, preferred to spend our nights in my large leathern lodge, or markee, until the necessary repairs should be made in the house for our winter's comfort.
Some of the Indians inquired whether I in- tended to give them credit as formerly; and I, reminding them of their ill treatment of me in only partially paying their last year's debts, said I should not trust them again. We got our supper as usual; and as was the custom, my lodge was soon filled with Indian visitors, smok- ing and telling stories. The interpreter and his wife lay down, and I soon followed suit, and hardly closed my eyes when the interpreter spoke to me in a low voice, not calculated to awaken suspicion, saying his wife informed him, that the Indians were talking of killing us, and seizing the goods. I turned over quietly and took a smoke, and intimated to my interpreter to do the same, meanwhile joking with the In- dians around us in the lodge about swan shoot-
ing, etc. We took down our guns on pretence of getting them ready for the morning's shoot- ing; but, in truth, for our defense, if necessary. I had my tomahawk and knife all ready to kill before being killed.
While the Indians were still smoking their pipes, and I stretched in a sleeping position, a bustle was heard at the door, and in popped a tall, good-looking Indian, painted, feathered, and armed in full war costume. My time has come, I thought; but, being a law-abiding person, it would be wrong in me to break the peace, so I sat on the defensive. But I was soon all right, for my war friend was asked by one of my smoking visitors what was up, that he was thus attired at this late hour? "I am come," he re- plied, "to die with the white people; if they must be killed, I must first be put out of the way, for they shall not be hurt while I live. You had better go to your lodges, and let this man, who has brought us ammunition, etc., to save our lives, go to his rest. I am going to guard him." They all hurried off. He said to me, "go to sleep," and I did so without delay.
At daylight I was preparing a present for the band, as they could not hunt without ammuni- tion, etc. I put up powder, ball and shot to match, tomahawks, knives, and other needful articles. When I had them all in readiness, I said to the principal men who were seated around : "You cheated me last year in not paying your debts as you promised; and for that reason I will not trust you again; but knowing that you cannot live without my help, take these articles, and divide them among your band. If you have the hearts of men, you will think of me next spring." The whole camp was shortly moving, and I got my gun, and was just starting for shooting swan, which were flying over in large flocks; and while emerging from the door of my lodge, I met my guardian, who asked me where I was going. When I informed him, he bade me go back, and stay there until he should ascertain that it was safe for me to expose myself. Now, for the
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