Читать книгу The Collected Works - Henry Rowe Schoolcraft - Страница 17

Table of Contents

Transactions at Leech Lake.—Notice of the Pillager band.—Their chief, Aish Kibug Ekozh, or the Flat Mouth.—He invites the agent and his interpreter to breakfast.—His address on concluding it.—Vaccination of the Indians.—A deputation from the Rainy Lake band is received, and a flag presented to their leader, The Hole in the Sky.—Council with the Pillagers.—Speech of Aish Kibug Ekozh, in which he makes an allusion to Gen. Pike.—He descants on the Sioux war, the Indian trade, and the interdiction of ardent spirits.—Personal notices of this chief.

The domestic manners and habits of a people, whose position is so adverse to improvement, could hardly be expected to present any thing strikingly different, from other erratic bands of the northwest. There is indeed a remarkable conformity in the external habits of all our northern Indians. The necessity of changing their camps often, to procure game or fish, the want of domesticated animals, the general dependence on wild rice, and the custom of journeying in canoes, has produced a general uniformity of life. And it is emphatically a life of want and vicissitude. There is a perpetual change between action and inanity, in the mind, which is a striking peculiarity of the savage state. And there is such a general want of forecast, that most of their misfortunes and hardships, in war and peace, come unexpectedly. None of the tribes who inhabit this quarter, can be said to have, thus far, derived any peculiarities from civilized instruction. The only marked alteration which their state of society has undergone, appears to be referable to the era of the introduction of the fur trade, when they were made acquainted with, and adopted the use of, iron, gunpowder, and woollens. This implied a considerable change of habits, and of the mode of subsistence; and may be considered as having paved the way for further changes in the mode of living and dress. But it brought with it the onerous evil of intemperance, and it left the mental habits essentially unchanged. All that related to a system of dances, sacrifices, and ceremonies, which stood in the place of religion, still occupies that position, presenting a subject which is deemed the peculiar labor of evangelists and teachers. Missionaries have been slow to avail themselves of this field of labor, and it should not excite surprise, that the people themselves are, to so great a degree, mentally the same in 1832, that they were on the arrival of the French in the St. Lawrence in 1532.

“Unknown the measured joys of peaceful art,

Love, hatred, pity, storm, by turns, the heart,

And all the evils of the savage state,

Arise from false conceits of being great.”

Partial exceptions in the acquisition of civil information, are to be found; and the incident I am about to relate, is the more remarkable as connected with the history of a chief, who has passed his life in so very unfrequented a part of the continent, with only the advantages of occasional short visits to the posts of St. Mary’s, St. Peter’s and Michilimackinac. Aish Kibug Ekozh, or the Guelle Plat, is the ruler of the Pillager band, exercising the authority of both a civil and war chief. And he is endowed with talents which certainly entitle him to this distinction. Complying with European customs, he directed his young men to fire a salute on the morning of my arrival. Soon after he sent one of his officials to invite me to breakfast. I accepted the invitation. But not knowing how the meal could be suitably got along with, without bread, I took the precaution to send up a tin dish of pilot bread. I went to his residence at the proper time, accompanied by Mr. Johnston. I found him living in a comfortable log building of two rooms, well floored, and roofed, with a couple of small glass windows. A mat was spread upon the centre of the floor, which contained the breakfast. Other mats were spread around it, to sit on. We followed his example in sitting down after the eastern manner. There was no other person admitted to the meal but his wife, who sat near him, and poured out the tea, but ate or drank nothing herself. Tea cups, and tea spoons, plates, knives and forks, of plain manufacture, were carefully arranged, and the number corresponding exactly with the expected guests. A white fish, cut up and boiled in good taste, occupied a dish in the centre, from which he helped us. A salt cellar, in which pepper and salt were mixed in unequal proportions, allowed each the privilege of seasoning his fish with both or neither. Our tea was sweetened with the native sugar, and the dish of hard bread seemed to have been precisely wanted to make out the repast. It needed but the imploring of a blessing, to render it essentially a christian meal.

This chief brought me a letter from the interior some years ago, at St. Mary’s, in which he is spoken of as “the most respectable man in the Chippewa country.” And if the term was applied to his mental qualities, and the power of drawing just conclusions from known premises, and the effects which these have had on his standing and influence with his own band, it is not misapplied. Shrewdness and quickness most of the chiefs possess, but there is more of the character of common sense and practical reflection, in the Guelle Plat’s remarks, than, with a very extensive acquaintance, I recollect to have noticed in most of the chiefs now living, of this tribe.12 He is both a warrior and a counsellor, and these distinctions he holds, not from any hereditary right, for he is a self-made man, but from the force of his own character. I found him ready to converse on the topics of most interest to him. And the sentiments he uttered on the Sioux war, the fur trade, and the location of trading posts and agencies, were such as would occur to a mind which had possessed itself of facts, and was capable of reasoning from them. His manners were grave and dignified, and his oratory such as to render him popular with his tribe.

During the repast, the room became filled with Indians, apparently the relatives and intimate friends of the chief, who seated themselves orderly and silently around the room. When we arose, the chief assumed the oratorical attitude, and addressed himself to me.

He expressed his regret that I had not been able to visit them the year before, when I was expected.13 He hoped I had now come, as I came by surprise, to remain some days with them. He said, they lived at a remote point, and were involved in wars with their neighbors, and wished my advice. They were not insensible to advice, nor incapable of following it. They were anxious for counsel, and desirous of living at peace, and of keeping the advice which had heretofore been given them. They had been told to sit still on their lands, but their enemies would not permit them to sit still. They were compelled to get up, and fight in self defence. The Sioux continued to kill their hunters. They had killed his son, during the last visit he had made to my office. They had never ceased to make inroads. And he believed there were white men among them, who stirred them up to go to war against the Chippewas. He named one person particularly.

It was necessary, he continued, to take some decisive steps to put a stop to these inroads. This was the reason why he had led out the war party, which had recently returned. This was the reason why I saw the stains of blood before me.

He alluded, in the last expression, to the flags, war clubs, and medals, which decorated one end of the room, all of which had vermilion smeared over them to represent blood. I replied, that I would assemble the Indians at a general council, at my camp, as soon as preparations could be made; that notice would be given them by the firing of the military, and that I should then lay before them the advice I came to deliver from their Great Father, the President, and offer, at the same time, my own counsel, on the subjects he had spoken of.

During the day constant accessions were made to the number of Indians, from neighboring places. And before the hour of the council arrived, there could have been but little short of a thousand souls present. Most of the warriors carried their arms, and were painted and drest in their gayest manner. And they walked through the village with a bold and free air, in striking contrast with the subdued and cringing aspect, which is sometimes witnessed in the vicinity of the posts and settlements. Many applications were made for the extraction of decayed teeth, and for blood letting, the latter of which appears to be a favorite remedy among the northern Indians. Most of the time of the surgeon, (Dr. Houghton,) was however employed in the application of the vaccine virus, which constituted one of the primary objects of the visit. Among the number vaccinated by him, one was past the age of eighty, several between sixty and eighty, and a large number under the age of ten. Little difficulty was found in getting them to submit to the process, and wherever there was hesitancy or refusal, it seemed to arise from a distrust of the protective power of the disease. None had been previously vaccinated. Of the younger classes, it was remarked here, as at other places, that the boys evinced no fear on the display of the lancet, but nearly every female child, either came with reluctance and entreaty of the parents, or was absolutely obliged to be held, during the process. The ravages made by the small pox in this quarter, about the year 1782, were remembered with the distinctness of recent tradition, and had its effects in preparing their minds, generally, not only to receive the vaccine virus, but in imparting a solicitude that all might be included, so as to ensure them from the recurrence of a pestilence, which they regard with horror. Their name for this disease, of Ma Mukkizziwin, suggests the disfiguration of the flesh and skin produced by it.

Among the number of Indians who arrived here, during the day, were a party of nine Rainy Lake Indians under the leadership of a man named Wai Wizhzhi Geezhig, or The Hole in the Sky. He represented himself and party as part of a small band residing at Springing-bow-string Lake, in the middle grounds between Lake Winnipec and Rainy Lake. He said, they had heard of my passing the post of Winnipec, with an intention of returning through Leech Lake. This was the cause of his visit. They lived off from the great lake, and seldom saw Americans. He came to express his good will, hoping to be remembered, as he now saw his father, among his children, &c. I presented him, publicly, with my own hand, with a flag, and directed to be laid before him an amount of presents, committing to him, at the same time, a short address to be delivered to the American portion of the Rainy Lake Indians.

The hour for the council having arrived, and the Mukkundwa, or Pillagers, being present with their chiefs and warriors, women and children, I caused the presents intended for this band, to be displayed in bulk, on blankets spread on the grass, in front of my tent. I called their attention to the subjects named in my instructions, the desire of the government for the restoration of peace, and its paternal character, feelings, and wishes in relation, particularly, to them—reminded them of their solemn treaty of peace and limits with the Sioux, at Prairie du Chien in 1825, enforcing the advantages of it, in its bearings on their hunting, trade, and well being. The presents were then delivered to the chiefs, as an earnest of good will and sincerity on the part of the government, and were by them directed to be immediately divided and distributed.

Aish Kibug Ekozh, or the Guelle Plat, was their speaker in reply. He called the attention of the warriors to his words. He thanked me for the presents, which reminded him, in amount, of the times when the British held possession in that quarter. He pointed across an arm of the lake, in front, to the position formerly occupied by the North West Company’s fort. He said many winters had now passed since the Americans first sent one of their chiefs to that post, (alluding to the visit of Pike.) He remembered that visit. I had now come, it appeared, to remind them that the American flag was flying in the land, and to offer them counsels of peace. He thanked me for them. He had hoped that I was to spend more time with them, that they might consult on a reply, but as they must speak on the instant, (orders had been given for embarking that evening) they would not lose the opportunity of declaring their sentiments.

He had before heard the Americans say, peace, peace! But he thought their advice resembled a rushing wind. It was strong and went soon. It did not abide long enough to choke up the road. At the treaty of Tipisagi,14 it had been promised that the aggressors should be punished; but that very year they were attacked by the Sioux; and almost yearly since, some of their nation had been killed. They had even been fired on by the Sioux, under the walls of the fort at Ishki Buggi Seebi,15 and four of their number had been killed. He had, himself, been present. He here asked one of his subordinates for a bundle of sticks, which he handed to me saying, it is the number of the Leech Lake Chippewas who have been killed by the Sioux, since they signed the treaty of Tipisagi. The number was forty-three.

He then lifted up four silver medals, attached by a string of wampum, and smeared with vermilion. Take notice, he said they are bloody. I wish you to wipe off the blood. I am unable to do it. I find myself irretrievably involved in a war with the Sioux. I believe it has been intended by the creator that we should be at war with this people. I am not satisfied with the result of the last war party. My warriors are not satisfied. They are brave men. It is to them I owe success, and not to myself. Both they, and I, have heretofore looked for help where we did not find it. (He alluded to the American government.) We are determined to revenge ourselves. If the United States does not aid us, I have it in mind to apply for aid elsewhere. (He alluded to the British government.) My warriors are in a restless state. I have sent my pipe and invitations to my friends around, to continue the war. Circumstances control me. I cannot avoid it. My feelings are enlisted deeply in the contest. When the enemy killed my son, I resolved never to lay down the war club. I have sought death in battle but have not met it. All I now can say is this, that perhaps I shall not lead out the next war party.

Other parts of his speech on the war are omitted. This is, however, the thread, although a broken thread of his argument, omitting frequent and glowing appeals to his warriors, who expressed their approbation at every pause.

He proceeded to accuse persons on the waters of the Upper Mississippi, of giving advice to the Sioux to go to war against the Chippewas. He said it was the interest of persons in the trade to induce the Sioux to extend their hunting grounds across the boundary lines. He evinced a familiarity with persons and places. He boldly accused, not only traders, but even some persons holding offices under government, of participating in this course of mal-advice.

He complained of the traders. He criticised their conduct with severity. He declared their prices to be exorbitant, and said they were so intent on getting furs, that they did not deem it necessary to use much formality in their dealings. He complained of the exclusion of ardent spirits, but at the same time admitted, that formerly it was brought in to buy up their wild rice—a practice which left them at the beginning of cold weather, in a destitute situation.

Much of the sentiment of this address appeared to be uttered for popular effect. There was a marked difference between the tone of his private conversation, and his public address, of which more will appear in the sequel. Such parts of it, as required it, were replied to, and the simple truths, political and moral, dictating the visit to them, brought clearly before their minds, so as to leave definite impressions.

So far as related to the traders withdrawing the article of whiskey from the trade, I felt it due to say, that no hard feelings should be entertained towards them. That it was excluded by the Indian Office. They should, therefore, in justice, blame me or blame the government, but not the traders. I was satisfied, I added, that the use of whiskey was very hurtful to them, in every situation of life, and felt determined to employ every means which the control of the agency of the northwest gave me, to exclude the article wholly, and rigidly from the Chippewas, and to set the mark of disapprobation upon every trader who should make the attempt to introduce it.

It was near the hour of sunset when the council closed. Minor duties employed some time after. And while these were in the progress of execution, the Guelle Plat, who had been the principal actor during the day, gave us occasion to observe, that if he had studied effect in speaking, he was also a judge of propriety in dress. At a dinner to which I invited him, at my tent, and also during the public council following it, he appeared in his native costume. But after the close of the council and before we embarked, he came down to the lake shore, to bid us fare well, dressed in a blue military frock coat, with red collar and cuffs, with white underclothes, a linen ruffled shirt, shoes and stockings, and a neat citizen’s hat. To have uttered his speeches in this foreign costume, might have been associated in the minds of his people, with the idea of servility; but he was willing afterwards to let us observe, by assuming it, that he knew we would consider it a mark of respect.

This chief appears to be turned of sixty. In stature he is about five feet nine or ten inches, erect and stout, somewhat inclined to corpulency. He is a native of this lake, of the totem16 of the Owásissi, a kind of fish. He observed at my table, at St. Mary’s, four years ago, that he had been twenty-five times on war parties, either as leader or follower, and had escaped without a wound. He was once surrounded by a party of Sioux, with only three companions. They cut their way out killing two men. He was early drawn into intercourse with the British at Fort William, on Lake Superior, where he received his first medal. This medal was taken from him by Lieut. Pike, in 1806. I renewed it, by the largest class of solid silver medals, July 19th, 1828.

Reciprocating the customary compliment in parting, we embarked and encamped on a contiguous part of the coast, where we could procure fire wood, and be sure of making an early start on the morrow.