NICOLET DISCOVERS THE NORTHWEST.
Notwithstanding Champlain had previously ascended the Ottawa and stood
upon the shores of the Georgian bay of Lake Huron, and although he had
received from western Indians numerous reports of distant regions, his
knowledge of the great lakes was, in 1634, exceedingly limited. He had
heard of Niagara, but was of the opinion that it was only a rapid, such
as the St. Louis, in the river St. Lawrence. He was wholly uninformed
concerning Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Michigan; while, of Lake
Huron, he knew little, and of Lake Superior still less. He was assured
that there was a connection between the last-named lake and the St.
Lawrence; but his supposition was, that a river flowed from Lake Huron
directly into Lake Ontario. Such, certainly was the extent of his
information in 1632, as proven by his map of that date;[12] and that,
for the next two years, he could have received much additional
information concerning the great lakes is not probable.
He had early been told that near the borders of one of these
"fresh-water seas," were copper mines; for, in June, 1610, while moving
up the St. Lawrence to join a war-party of Algonquins, Hurons, and
Montagnais, he met, after ascending the river about twenty-five miles
above Quebec, a canoe containing two Indians--an Algonquin and a
Montagnais--who had been dispatched to urge him to hasten forward with
all possible speed. He entertained them on his bark, and conferred with
them about many matters concerning their wars. Thereupon, the Algonquin
savage drew from a sack a piece of copper, a foot long, which he gave
Champlain. It was very handsome and quite pure. He said there were large
quantities of the metal where he obtained the piece, and that it was
found on the bank of a river near a great lake. He also declared that
the Indians gathered it in lumps, and, having melted it, spread it in
sheets, smoothing it with stones.[13]
Champlain had, also, early information that there dwelt in those
far-off countries a nation which once lived upon the borders of a
distant sea. These people were called, for that reason, "Men of the
Sea," by the Algonquins. Their homes were less than four hundred leagues
away. It was likewise reported that another people, without hair or
beards, whose costumes and manners somewhat resembled the Tartars, came
from the west to trade with this "sea-tribe." These more remote traders,
as was claimed, made their journeys upon a great water in large canoes.
The missionaries among the Hurons, as well as Champlain and the best
informed of the French settlers upon the St. Lawrence, thought this
"great water" must be a western sea leading to Asia.[14] Some of the
Indians who traded with the French were in the habit of going
occasionally to barter with those "People of the Sea," distant from
their homes five or six weeks' journey. A lively imagination on part of
the French easily converted these hairless traders coming from the west
into Chinese or Japanese; although, in fact, they were none other than
the progenitors of the savages now known as the Sioux,[15] while the
"sea-tribe" was the nation called, subsequently, Winnebagoes.[16] Upon
these reports, the missionaries had already built fond expectations of
one day reaching China by the ocean which washed alike the shores of
Asia and America. And, as already noticed, Champlain, too, was not less
sanguine in his hopes of accomplishing a similar journey.
Nicolet, while living with the Nipissings, must have heard many stories
of the strange people so much resembling the Chinese, and doubtless his
curiosity was not less excited than was Champlain's. But the great
question, was, who should penetrate the wilderness to the "People of the
Sea"--to "La Nation des Puants," as they were called by Champlain?
Naturally enough, the eyes of the governor of Canada were fixed upon
Nicolet as the man to make the trial. The latter had returned to Quebec,
it will be remembered, and was acting as commissary and interpreter for
the Hundred Associates. That he was paid by them and received his orders
from them through Champlain, their representative, is reasonably
certain. So he was chosen to make a journey to the Winnebagoes, for the
purpose, principally, of solving the problem of a near route to
China.[17]
If he should fail in discovering a new highway to the east in reaching
these "People of the Sea," it would, in any event, be an important step
toward the exploration of the then unknown west; and why should not the
explorer, in visiting the various nations living upon the eastern and
northern shores of Lake Huron, and beyond this inland sea, create
friends among the savage tribes, in hopes that a regular trade in
peltries might be established with them. To this end, he must meet them
in a friendly way; have talks with them; and firmly unite them, if
possible, to French interests. Champlain knew, from personal observation
made while traveling upon the Ottawa and the shores of the Georgian bay
of Lake Huron--from the reports of savages who came from their homes
still further westward, and from what fur-traders, missionaries, and the
young men sent by him among the savages to learn their languages (of
whom Nicolet himself was a notable example) had heard that there were
comparatively easy facilities of communication by water between the
upper country and the St. Lawrence. He knew, also, that the proper time
had come to send a trusty ambassador to these far-off nations; so, by
the end of June, 1634, Nicolet, at Quebec, was ready to begin his
eventful journey, at the command of Champlain.
"Opposite Quebec lies the tongue of land called Point Levi. One who, in
the summer of the year 1634, stood on its margin and looked northward,
across the St. Lawrence, would have seen, at the distance of a mile or
more, a range of lofty cliffs, rising on the left into the bold heights
of Cape Diamond, and on the right sinking abruptly to the bed of the
tributary river St. Charles. Beneath these cliffs, at the brink of the
St. Lawrence, he would have descried a cluster of warehouses, sheds, and
wooden tenements. Immediately above, along the verge of the precipice,
he could have traced the outlines of a fortified work, with a flag-staff
and a few small cannon to command the river; while, at the only point
where nature had made the heights accessible, a zigzag path connected
the warehouses and the fort.
"Now, embarked in the canoe of some Montagnais Indian, let him cross the
St. Lawrence, land at the pier, and, passing the cluster of buildings,
climb the pathway up the cliff. Pausing for a rest and breath, he might
see, ascending and descending, the tenants of this out-post of the
wilderness: a soldier of the fort, or an officer in slouched hat and
plume; a factor of the fur company, owner and sovereign lord of all
Canada; a party of Indians; a trader from the upper country, one of the
precursors of that hardy race of _coureurs de bois_, destined to form a
conspicuous and striking feature of the Canadian population: next,
perhaps, would appear a figure widely different. The close, black
cassock, the rosary hanging from the waist, and the wide, black hat,
looped up at the sides, proclaimed the Jesuit."[18]
There were in Canada, at this date, six of these Jesuits--Le Jeune,
Masse, De Noue, Daniel, Davost, and Brebeuf; to the last three had been
assigned the Huron mission. On the first day of July, 1634, Daniel and
Brebeuf left Quebec for Three Rivers, where they were to meet some
Hurons. Davost followed three days after. About the same time another
expedition started up the St. Lawrence, destined for the same place, to
erect a fort. The Jesuits were bound for the scene of their future
labors in the Huron country. They were to be accompanied, at least as
far as Isle des Allumettes, by Nicolet on his way to the
Winnebagoes.[19]
At Three Rivers, Nicolet assisted in a manner in the permanent
foundation of the place, by helping to plant some of the pickets of the
fort just commenced. The Hurons, assembled there for the purposes of
trade, were ready to return to their homes, and with them the
missionaries, as well as Nicolet, expected to journey up the Ottawa. The
savages were few in number, and much difficulty was experienced in
getting permits from them to carry so many white men, as other Frenchmen
were also of the company. It was past the middle of July before all were
on their way.
That Nicolet did not visit the Winnebagoes previous to 1634, is
reasonably certain. Champlain would not, in 1632, have located upon his
map Green bay north of Lake Superior, as was done by him in that year,
had Nicolet been there before that date. As he was sent by Champlain,
the latter must have had knowledge of his going; so that had he started
in 1632, or the previous year, the governor would, doubtless, have
awaited his return before noting down, from Indian reports only, the
location of rivers and lakes and the homes of savage nations in those
distant regions.
It has already been shown, that Nicolet probably returned to Quebec in
1633, relinquishing his home among the Nipissing Indians that year. And
that he did not immediately set out at the command of Champlain to
return up the Ottawa and journey thence to the Winnebagoes, is certain;
as the savages from the west, then trading at the site of what is now
Three Rivers, were in no humor to allow him to retrace his steps, even
had he desired it.[20]
It may, therefore, be safely asserted that, before the year 1634, "those
so remote countries," lying to the northward and northwestward, beyond
the Georgian bay of Lake Huron, had never been seen by civilized man.
But, did Nicolet visit those ulterior regions in 1634, returning thence
in 1635? That these were the years of his explorations and discoveries,
there can be no longer any doubt.[21] After the ninth day of December,
of the last-mentioned year, his continued presence upon the St. Lawrence
is a matter of record, up to the day of his death, except from the
nineteenth of March, 1638, to the ninth of January, 1639. These ten
months could not have seen him journeying from Quebec to the center of
what is now Wisconsin, and return; for, deducting those which could not
have been traveled in because of ice in the rivers and lakes, and the
remaining ones were too few for his voyage, considering the number of
tribes he is known to have visited. Then, too, the Iroquois had
penetrated the country of the Algonquins, rendering it totally unsafe
for such explorations, even by a Frenchman. Besides, it may be stated
that Champlain was no longer among the living, and that with him died
the spirit of discovery which alone could have prompted the journey.
Furthermore, the marriage of Nicolet which had previously taken place,
militates against the idea of his having attempted any more daring
excursions among savage nations. As, therefore, he certainly traveled up
the Ottawa, as far as Isle des Allumettes, in 1634,[22] and as there is
no evidence of his having been upon the St. Lawrence until near the
close of the next year, the conclusion, from these facts alone, is
irresistible that, during this period, he accomplished, as hereafter
detailed, the exploration of the western countries; visited the
Winnebagoes, as well as several neighboring nations, and returned to the
St. Lawrence; all of which, it is believed, could not have been
performed in one summer.[23] But what, heretofore, has been a very
strong probability, is now seen clearly to be a fact; as it is
certainly known that an agreement for peace was made some time before
June, 1635, between certain Indian tribes (Winnebagoes and Nez Perces),
which, as the account indicates, was brought about by Nicolet in his
journey to the Far West.[24]
The sufferings endured by all the Frenchmen, except Nicolet, in
traveling up the Ottawa, were very severe. The latter had been so many
years among the Indians, was so inured to the toils of the wilderness,
that he met every hardship with the courage, the fortitude, and the
strength of the most robust savage.[25] Not so with the rest of the
party. "Barefoot, lest their shoes should injure the frail vessel, each
crouched in his canoe, toiling with unpracticed hands to propel it.
Before him, week after week, he saw the same lank, unkempt hair, the
same tawny shoulders, and long naked arms ceaselessly plying the
paddle."[26] A scanty diet of Indian-corn gave them little strength to
assist in carrying canoes and baggage across the numerous portages. They
were generally ill-treated by the savages, and only reached the Huron
villages after great peril. Nicolet remained for a time at Isle des
Allumettes, where he parted with Brebeuf.
To again meet "the Algonquins of the Isle" must have been a pleasure to
Nicolet; but he could not tarry long with them. To the Huron villages,
on the borders of Georgian bay, he was to go before entering upon his
journey to unexplored countries. To them he must hasten, as to them he
was first accredited by Champlain. He had a long distance to travel from
the homes of that nation before reaching the Winnebagoes. There was
need, therefore, for expedition. He must yet make his way up the Ottawa
to the Mattawan, a tributary, and by means of the latter reach Lake
Nipissing. Thence, he would float down French river to Georgian bay.[27]
And, even after this body of water was reached, it would require a
considerable canoe navigation, coasting along to the southward, before
he could set foot upon Huron territory. So Nicolet departed from the
Algonquins of the Isle, and arrived safely at the Huron towns.[28] Was
he a stranger to this nation? Had he, during his long sojourn among the
Nipissings, visited their villages? Certain it is he could speak their
language. He must have had, while residing with the Algonquins, very
frequent intercourse with Huron parties, who often visited Lake
Nipissing and the Ottawa river for purposes of trade.[29] But why was
Nicolet accredited by Champlain to the Hurons at all? Was not the St.
Lawrence visited yearly by their traders? It could not have been,
therefore, to establish a commerce, with them. Neither could it have
been to explore their country; for the _voyageur_, the fur-trader, the
missionary, even Champlain himself, as we have seen, had already been at
their towns. Was the refusal, a year previous, of their trading-parties
at Quebec to take the Jesuits to their homes the cause of Nicolet's
being sent to smoke the pipe of peace with their chiefs? This could not
have been the reason, else the missionaries would not have preceded him
from the Isle des Allumettes. He certainly had to travel many miles out
of his way in going from the Ottawa to the Winnebagoes by way of the
Huron villages. His object was, evidently, to inform the Hurons that the
governor of Canada was anxious to have amicable relations established
between them and the Winnebagoes, and to obtain a few of the nation to
accompany him upon his mission of peace.[30]
It was now that Nicolet, after all ceremonies and "talks" with the
Hurons were ended, began preparations for his voyage to the Winnebagoes.
He was to strike boldly into undiscovered regions. He was to encounter
savage nations never before visited. It was, in reality, the beginning
of a voyage full of dangers--one that would require great tact, great
courage, and constant facing of difficulties. No one, however,
understood better the savage character than he; no Frenchman was more
fertile of resources. From the St. Lawrence, he had brought presents to
conciliate the Indian tribes which he would meet. Seven Hurons were to
accompany him.[31] Before him lay great lakes; around him, when on land,
would frown dark forests. A birch-bark canoe was to bear the first white
man along the northern shore of Lake Huron, and upon Saint Mary's
strait[32] to the falls--"Sault Sainte Marie;" many miles on Lake
Michigan; thence, up Green bay to the homes of the Winnebagoes:[33] and
that canoe was to lead the van of a mighty fleet indeed, as the commerce
of the upper lakes can testify. With him, he had a number of presents.
What nations were encountered by him on the way to "the People of the
Sea," from the Huron villages? Three--all of Algonquin lineage--occupied
the shores of the Georgian bay, before the mouth of French river had
been reached. Concerning them, little is known, except their names.[34]
Passing the river which flows from Lake Nipissing, Nicolet "upon the
same shores of this fresh-water sea," that is, upon the shores of Lake
Huron, came next to "the Nation of Beavers,"[35] whose hunting-grounds
were northward of the Manitoulin islands.[36] This nation was afterward
esteemed among the most noble of those of Canada. They were supposed to
be descended from the Great Beaver, which was, next to the Great Hare,
their principal divinity. They inhabited originally the Beaver islands,
in Lake Michigan; afterward the Manitoulin islands; then they removed to
the main-land, where they were found by Nicolet. Farther on, but still
upon the margin of the great lake, was found another tribe.[37] This
people, and the Amikoueai, were of the Algonquin family, and their
language was not difficult to be understood by Nicolet. Entering,
finally, St. Mary's strait, his canoes were urged onward for a number of
miles, until the falls--Sault de Sainte Marie[38]--were reached: and
there stood Nicolet, the first white man to set foot upon any portion of
what was, more than a century and a half after, called "the territory
northwest of the river Ohio,"[39] now the States of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and so much of Minnesota as lies
east of the Mississippi river.
Among "the People of the Falls,"[40] at their principal village, on the
south side of the strait, at the foot of the rapids,[41] in what is now
the State of Michigan,[42] Nicolet and his seven Hurons rested from the
fatigues of their weary voyage.[43] They were still with Algonquins.
From Lake Huron they had entered upon one of the channels of the
magnificent water-way leading out from Lake Superior, and threaded their
way, now through narrow rapids, now across (as it were) little lakes,
now around beautiful islands, to within fifteen miles of the largest
expanse of fresh water on the globe--stretching away in its grandeur to
the westward, a distance of full four hundred miles.[44] Nicolet saw
beyond him the falls; around him clusters of wigwams, which two
centuries and a half have changed into public buildings and private
residences, into churches and warehouses, into offices and stores--in
short, into a pleasantly-situated American village,[45] frequently
visited by steamboats carrying valuable freight and crowded with parties
of pleasure. The portage around the falls, where, in early times, the
Indian carried his birch-bark canoe, has given place to an excellent
canal. Such are the changes which "the course of empire" continually
brings to view in "the vast, illimitable, changing west."
Nicolet tarried among "the People of the Falls," probably, but a brief
period. His voyage, after leaving them, must have been to him one of
great interest. He returned down the strait, passing, it is thought,
through the western "detour" to Mackinaw.[46] Not very many miles
brought him to "the second fresh-water sea," Lake Michigan.[47] He is
fairly entitled to the honor of its discovery; for no white man had ever
before looked out upon its broad expanse. Nicolet was soon gliding along
upon the clear waters of this out-of-the-way link in the great chain of
lakes. The bold Frenchman fearlessly threaded his way along its northern
shore, frequently stopping upon what is now known as "the upper
peninsula" of Michigan, until the bay of Noquet[48] was reached, which
is, in reality, a northern arm of Green bay.[49] Here, upon its northern
border, he visited another Algonquin tribe;[50] also one living to the
northward of this "small lake."[51] These tribes never navigated those
waters any great distance, but lived upon the fruits of the earth.[52]
Making his way up Green bay, he finally reached the Menomonee river, its
principal northern affluent.[53]
In the valley of the Menomonee, Nicolet met a populous tribe of
Indians--the Menomonees.[54] To his surprise, no doubt, he found they
were of a lighter complexion than any other savages he had ever seen.
Their language was difficult to understand, yet it showed the nation to
be of the Algonquin stock. Their food was largely of wild rice, which
grew in great abundance in their country. They were adepts in fishing,
and hunted, with skill, the game which abounded in the forests. They had
their homes and hunting grounds upon the stream which still bears their
name.[55]
Nicolet soon resumed his journey toward the Winnebagoes, who had already
been made aware of his near approach; for he had sent forward one of
his Hurons to carry the news of his coming and of his mission of peace.
The messenger and his message were well received. The Winnebagoes
dispatched several of their young men to meet the "wonderful man." They
go to him--they escort him--they carry his baggage.[56] He was clothed
in a large garment of Chinese damask, sprinkled with flowers and birds
of different colors.[57] But, why thus attired? Possibly, he had
reached the far east; he was, really, in what is now the State of
Wisconsin.[58] Possibly, a party of mandarins would soon greet him and
welcome him to Cathay. And this robe--this dress of ceremony--was
brought all the way from Quebec, doubtless, with a view to such
contingency. As soon as he came in sight, all the women and children
fled, seeing a man carrying thunder in his two hands; for thus it was
they called his pistols, which he discharged on his right and on his
left.[59] He was a manito! Nicolet's journey was, for the present, at an
end. He and his Huron's "rested from their labors," among the
Winnebagoes,[60] who were located around the head of Green bay,[61]
contiguous to the point where it receives the waters of Fox river.[62]
Nicolet found the Winnebagoes a numerous and sedentary people,[63]
speaking a language radically different from any of the Algonquin
nations, as well as from the Hurons.[64] They were of the Dakota
stock.[65] The news of the Frenchman's coming spread through the
country. Four or five thousand people assembled of different tribes.[66]
Each of the chiefs gave a banquet. One of the sachems regaled his
guests with at least one hundred and twenty beavers.[67] The large
assemblage was prolific of speeches and ceremonies. Nicolet did not fail
to "speak of peace" upon that interesting occasion.[68] He urged upon
the nation the advantages of an alliance, rather than war, with the
nations to the eastward of Lake Huron. They agreed to keep the peace
with the Hurons, Nez Perces, and, possibly, other tribes; but, soon
after Nicolet's return, they sent out war parties against the Beaver
nation. Doubtless the advantages of trade with the colony upon the St.
Lawrence were depicted in glowing colors by the Frenchman. But the
courageous Norman was not satisfied with a visit to the Winnebagoes
only. He must see the neighboring tribes. So he ascended the Fox river
of Green bay, to Winnebago lake--passing through which, he again entered
that stream, paddling his canoe up its current, until he reached the
homes of the Mascoutins,[69] the first tribe to be met with after
leaving the Winnebagoes; for the Sacs[70] and Foxes[71] were not
residents of what is now Wisconsin at that period,--their migration
thither, from the east, having been at a subsequent date. Nicolet had
navigated the Fox river, a six-days' journey, since leaving the
Winnebagoes.[72]
The Mascoutins, as we have seen, were heard of by Champlain as early as
1615, as being engaged in a war with the Neuter nation and the Ottawas.
But, up to the time of Nicolet's visit, and for a number of years
subsequent (as he gave no clue himself to their locality), they were
only known as living two hundred leagues or more beyond the last
mentioned tribe--that is, that distance beyond the south end of the
Georgian bay of Lake Huron.[73] Their villages were in the valley of the
Fox river, probably in what is now Green Lake county, Wisconsin.[74]
They had, doubtless, for their neighbors, the Miamis[75] and
Kickapoos.[76] They were a vigorous and warlike nation, of Algonquin
stock, as were also the two tribes last mentioned. Nicolet, while among
the Mascoutins, heard of the Wisconsin river, which was distant only
three days' journey up the tortuous channel of the Fox. But the accounts
given him of that tributary of the Mississippi were evidently very
confused. A reference to the parent stream (confounded with the
Wisconsin) as "the great water,"[77] by the savages, caused him to
believe that he was, in reality, but three days' journey from the sea;
and so he reported after his return to the St. Lawrence.[78] Strange to
say, Nicolet resolved not to visit this ocean, although, as he believed,
so near its shores.
He traveled no further upon the Fox river,[79] but turned his course to
the southward. And the Jesuits consoled themselves, when they heard of
his shortcoming, with the hope that one day the western sea would be
reached by one of their order.[80] "In passing, I will say," wrote one
of their missionaries, in 1640, "that we have strong indications that
one can descend through the second lake of the Hurons ... into this
sea."[81]
But why should Nicolet leave the Fox river and journey away from the
Mascoutins to the southward? The answer is, that, at no great distance,
lived the Illinois.[82] Their country extended eastward to Lake
Michigan, and westward to the Mississippi, if not beyond it. This nation
was of too much importance, and their homes too easy of access, for
Nicolet not to have visited them.[83] Upon the beautiful prairies of
what is now the state bearing their name, was this tribe located, with
some bands, probably nearly as far northward as the southern counties of
the present State of Wisconsin. It is not known in how many villages of
these savages he smoked the pipe of peace. From their homes he returned
to the Winnebagoes.
Before Nicolet left the country, on his return to the St. Lawrence, he
obtained knowledge of the Sioux--those traders from the west who, it
will be remembered, were represented as coming in canoes upon a sea to
the Winnebagoes; the same "sea," doubtless, he came so near to, but did
not behold--the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers! Although without
beards, and having only a tuft of hair upon their crowns, these Sioux
were no longer mandarins--no longer from China or Japan! Bands of this
tribe had pushed their way across the Mississippi, far above the mouth
of the Wisconsin, but made no further progress eastward. They, like the
Winnebagoes, as previously stated, were of the Dakota family. Whether
any of them were seen by Nicolet is not known;[84] but he, doubtless,
learned something of their real character. There was yet one tribe near
the Winnebagoes to be visited--the Pottawattamies.[85] They were located
upon the islands at the mouth of Green bay, and upon the main land to
the southward, along the western shores of Lake Michigan.[86] On these
Algonquins--for they were of that lineage--Nicolet, upon his return
trip, made a friendly call.[87] Their homes were not on the line of his
outward voyage, but to the south of it. Nicolet gave no information of
them which has been preserved, except that they were neighbors of the
Winnebagoes.[88]
So Nicolet, in the spring of 1635,[89] having previously made many
friends in the far northwest for his countrymen upon the St. Lawrence,
and for France, of nations of Indians, only a few of which had before
been heard of, and none ever before visited by a white man; having been
the first to discover Lake Michigan and "the territory northwest of the
river Ohio;" having boldly struck into the wilderness for hundreds of
leagues beyond the Huron villages--then the Ultima Thule of civilized
discoveries; returned, with his seven dusky companions, by way of
Mackinaw and along the south shores of the Great Manitoulin island to
the home thereon of a band of Ottawas.[90] He proceeded thence to the
Hurons; retracing, afterward, his steps to the mouth of French river,
up that stream to Lake Nipissing, and down the Mattawan and Ottawa to
the St. Lawrence; journeying, upon his return, it is thought, with the
savages upon their annual trading-voyage to the French settlements.[91]
And Nicolet's exploration was ended.[92]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 12: This map was the first attempt at delineating the great
lakes. The original was, beyond a reasonable doubt, the work of
Champlain himself. So much of New France as had been visited by the
delineator is given with some degree of accuracy. On the whole, the map
has a grotesque appearance, yet it possesses much value. It shows where
many savage nations were located at its date. By it, several important
historical problems concerning the Northwest are solved. It was first
published, along with Champlain's "Voyages de la Novelle France," in
Paris. Fac-similes have been published; one accompanies volume third of
E. B. O'Callaghan's "Documentary History of the State of New York,"
Albany, 1850; another is found in a reprint of Champlain's works by
Laverdiere (Vol. VI.), Quebec, 1870; another is by Tross, Paris.]
[Footnote 13: Champlain's _Voyages_, Paris, 1613, pp. 246, 247. Upon his
map of 1632, Champlain marks an island "where, there is a copper mine."
Instead of being placed in Lake Superior, as it doubtless should have
been, it finds a location in Green bay.]
[Footnote 14: This "great water" was, as will hereafter be shown, the
Mississippi and its tributary, the Wisconsin.]
[Footnote 15: Synonyms: Cioux, Scious, Sioust, Naduessue, Nadouesiouack,
Nadouesiouek, Nadoussi, Nadouessioux, etc.
"The Sioux, or Dakotah [Dakota], ... were [when first visited by
civilized men] a numerous people, separated into three great divisions,
which were again subdivided into bands.... [One of these divisions--the
most easterly--was the Issanti.] The other great divisions, the Yanktons
and the Tintonwans, or Tetons, lived west of the Mississippi, extending
beyond the Missouri, and ranging as far as the Rocky Mountains. The
Issanti cultivated the soil; but the extreme western bands lived upon
the buffalo alone....
"The name Sioux is an abbreviation of _Nadoucssioux_, an Ojibwa
[Chippewa] word, meaning _enemies_. The Ojibwas used it to designate
this people, and occasionally, also, the Iroquois--being at deadly war
with both."--Parkman's "La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West"
(revised ed.), p. 243, note.]
[Footnote 16: From the Algonquin word "ouinipeg," signifying "bad
smelling water," as salt-water was by them designated. When, therefore,
the Algonquins spoke of this tribe as the "Ouinipigou," they simply
meant "Men of the Salt-water;" that is, "Men of the Sea." But the French
gave a different signification to the word, calling the nation "Men of
the Stinking-water;" or, rather, "the Nation of Stinkards"--"la Nation
des Puans." And they are so designated by Champlain in his "Voyages," in
1632, and on his map of that year. By Friar Gabriel Sagard ("Histoire du
Canada," Paris, 1636, p. 201), they are also noted as "des Puants."
Sagard's information of the Winnebagoes, although printed after
Nicolet's visit to that tribe, was obtained previous to that event. The
home of this nation was around the head of Green bay, in what is now the
State of Wisconsin. Says Vimont (_Relation_, 1640, p. 35), as to the
signification of the word "ouinipeg:"
"Quelques Francois les appellant la Nation des Puans, a cause que le mot
Algonquin ouinipeg signifie eau puante; or ils nomment ainsi l'eau de la
mer salee, si bien que ces peuples se nomment Ouinipigou, pource qu'ils
viennent des bords d'vne mer dont nous n'auons point de cognoissance, et
par consequent il ne faut pas les appeller la nation des Puans, mais la
nation de la mer." The same is reiterated in the _Relations_ of 1648 and
1654. Consult, in this connection, Smith's "History of Wisconsin," Vol.
III., pp. 11, 15, 17. To John Gilmary Shea belongs the credit of first
identifying the "Ouinipigou," or "Gens de Mer," of Vimont (_Relation_,
1640), with the Winnebagoes. See his "Discovery and Exploration of the
Mississippi Valley," 1853, pp. 20, 21.]
[Footnote 17: It is nowhere stated in the _Relations_ that such was the
object of Champlain in dispatching Nicolet to those people;
nevertheless, that it was the chief purpose had in view by him, is
fairly deducible from what is known of his purposes at that date. He
had, also, other designs to be accomplished.]
[Footnote 18: Parkman's "Jesuits in North America," pp. 1, 2.]
[Footnote 19: This is assumed, although in no account that has been
discovered is it expressly asserted that he visited the tribe just
mentioned during this year. In no record, contemporaneous or later, is
the date of his journey thither given, except approximately. The fact of
Nicolet's having made the journey to the Winnebagoes is first noticed by
Vimont, in the _Relation_ of 1640, p. 35. He says: "Ie visiteray tout
maintenant le coste du Sud, ie diray on passant que le sieur Nicolet,
interprete en langue Algonquine et Huronne pour Messieurs de la nouuelle
France, m'a donne les noms de ces nations qu'il a visitees luy mesme
pour la pluspart dans leur pays, tous ces peuples entendent l'Algonquin,
excepte les Hurons, qui out vne langue a part, comme aussi les
Ouinipigou [_Winnebagoes_] ou gens de mer." The year of Nicolet's visit,
it will be noticed, is thus left undetermined. The extract only shows
that it must have been made "in or before" 1639.]
[Footnote 20: As to the temper of the Hurons at that date, see Parkman's
"Jesuits in North America," p. 51.]
[Footnote 21: The credit of first advancing this idea is due to Benjamin
Sulte. See his article entitled "Jean Nicolet," in "Melanges d'Histoire
et de Litterature," Ottawa, 1876, pp. 426, 436.]
[Footnote 22: Brebeuf, _Relation des Hurons_, 1635, p. 30. He says:
"Jean Nicolet, en son voyage qu'il fit auec nous iusques a l'Isle,"
etc.; meaning the Isle des Allumettes, in the Ottawa river.]
[Footnote 23: Incidents recorded in the _Relations_, and in the parish
church register of Three Rivers, show Nicolet to have been upon the St.
Lawrence from December 9, 1635, to his death, in 1642, except during the
ten months above mentioned. It is an unfortunate fact that, for those
ten months, the record of the church just named is missing. For this
information I am indebted to Mr. Benjamin Sulte. Could the missing
record be found, it would be seen to contain, without doubt, some
references to Nicolet's presence at Three Rivers. As the _Relation_ of
1640 mentions Nicolet's visit to the Winnebagoes, it could not have been
made subsequent to 1639. It has already been shown how improbable it is
that his journey was made previous to 1634. It only remains, therefore,
to give his whereabouts previous to 1640, and subsequent to 1635. His
presence in Three Rivers, according to Mr. Sulte (see Appendix, I., to
this narrative), is noted in the parish register in December, 1635; in
May, 1636; in November and December, 1637; in March, 1638; in January,
March, July, October, and December, 1639. As to mention of him in the
_Relations_ during those years, see the next chapter of this work.
It was the identification by Mr. Shea, of the Winnebagoes as the
"Ouinipigou," or "Gens de Mer," of the _Relations_, that enabled him to
call the attention of the public to the extent of the discoveries of
Nicolet. The claims of the latter, as the discoverer of the Northwest,
were thus, for the first time, brought forward on the page of American
history.]
[Footnote 24: "Le huictiesme de Iuin, le Capitaine des Naiz percez, ou
de la Nation du Castor, qui est a trois iournees de nous, vint nous
demander quelqu'vn de nos Francois, pour aller auec eux passer l'Este
dans vn fort qu'ils ont fait, pour la crainte qu'ils ont des
_A8eatsi8aenrrhonon_, c'est a dire, des gens puants, qui ont rompu le
traicte de paix, et ont tue deux de leurs dont ils ont fait festin."--Le
Jeune, _Relation_, 1636, p. 92.
"On the 18th of June [1635], the chief of the Nez Perces, or Beaver
Nation, which is three days' journey from us [the Jesuit missionaries,
located at the head of Georgian bay of Lake Huron], came to demand of us
some one of our Frenchmen to go with them to pass the summer in a fort
which they have made, by reason of the fear which they have of the
_Aweatiswaenrrhonon_;[A] that is to say, of the Nation of the Puants
[Winnebagoes], who have broken the treaty of peace, and have killed two
of their men, of whom they have made a feast."]
[Footnote A: The figure 8 which occurs in this word in the _Relation_ of
1636, is supposed to be equivalent, in English, to "w," "we," or "oo."]
[Footnote 25: 'Iean Nicolet, en son voyage qu'il fit auec nous iusques a
l'Isle souffrit aussi tous les trauaux d'vn des plus robustes
Sauuages.'--Brebeuf, _Relation_, 1635, p. 30.]
[Footnote 26: Parkman's "Jesuits in North America," p. 53.]
[Footnote 27: The Mattawan has its source on the very verge of Lake
Nipissing, so that it was easy to make a "portage" there to reach the
lake. The Indians, and afterward the French, passed by the Mattawan,
Mattouane, or Mattawin ("the residence of the beaver"), went over the
small space of land called the "portage," that exists between the two
waters, floated on Lake Nipissing, and followed the French river, which
flows directly out of that lake to the Georgian bay.
A "portage" is a place, as is well known, where parties had to "port"
their baggage in order to reach the next navigable water.]
[Footnote 28: Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 3.]
[Footnote 29: "Sieur Nicolet, interpreter en langue Algonquine et
Huronne," etc.--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 35.
The Hurons and Nipissings were, at that date, great friends, having
constant intercourse, according to all accounts of those days.]
[Footnote 30: "The People of the Sea"--that is, the Winnebagoes--were
frequently at war with the Hurons, Nez Perces, and other nations on the
Georgian bay, which fact was well known to the governor of Canada. Now,
the good offices of Nicolet were to be interposed to bring about a
reconciliation between these nations. He, it is believed, was also to
carry out Champlain's policy of making the Indian tribes the allies of
the French. Vimont (_Relation_, 1643, p. 3) says, he was chosen to make
a journey to the Winnebagoes and treat for peace with them _and with the
Hurons_; showing, it is suggested, that it was not only to bring about a
peace _between the two tribes_, but to attach them both to French
interests. The words of Vimont are these:
"Pendant qu'il exercoit cette charge, il [_Nicolet_] fut delegue pour
faire vn voyage en la nation appellee des Gens de Mer, et traitter la
paix auec eux et les Hurons, desquels il sont esloignes, tirant, vers
l'Oueest, d'enuiron trois cents lieues."]
[Footnote 31: "Il [_Nicolet_] s'embarque au pays des Hurons avec sept
Sauuages."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 3.]
[Footnote 32: Saint Mary's strait separates the Dominion of Canada from
the upper peninsula of Michigan, and connects Lake Superior with Lake
Huron.]
[Footnote 33: The route taken by Nicolet, from the mouth of French
river, in journeying toward the Winnebagoes, is sufficiently indicated
by (1) noting that, in mentioning the various tribes visited by him,
Nicolet probably gave their names, except the Ottawas, in the order in
which he met them; and (2) by calculating his time as more limited on
his return than on his outward trip, because of his desire to descend
the Ottawa with the annual flotilla of Huron canoes, which would reach
the St. Lawrence in July, 1635.]
[Footnote 34: The Ouasouarim, the Outchougai, and the
Atchiligouean.--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 34.]
[Footnote 35: Called Amikoueai (_Rel._, 1640, p. 34), from _Amik_ or
_Amikou_--a beaver.]
[Footnote 36: The Manitoulin islands stretch from east to west along the
north shores of Lake Huron, and consist chiefly of the Great Manitoulin
or Sacred Isle, Little Manitoulin or Cockburn, and Drummond. Great
Manitoulin is eighty miles long by twenty broad. Little Manitoulin has a
diameter of about seven miles. Drummond is twenty-four miles long, with
a breadth varying from two to twelve miles. It is separated from the
American shore, on the west, by a strait called the True Detour, which
is scarcely one mile wide, and forms the principal passage for vessels
proceeding to Lake Superior.]
[Footnote 37: The Oumisagai.--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 34.]
[Footnote 38: These falls are distinctly marked on Champlain's map of
1632; and on that of Du Creux of 1660.]
[Footnote 39: In giving Nicolet this credit, it is necessary to state,
that the governor of Canada, in 1688, claimed that honor for Champlain
(N. Y. Col. Doc, Vol. IX., p. 378). He says:
"In the years 1611 and 1612, he [Champlain] ascended the Grand river
[Ottawa] as far as Lake Huron, called the Fresh sea [La Mer Douce]; he
went thence to the Petun [Tobacco] Nation, next to the Neutral Nation
and to the Macoutins [Mascoutins], who were then residing near the place
called the Sakiman [that part of the present State of Michigan lying
between the head of Lake Erie and Saginaw bay, on Lake Huron]; from that
he went to the Algonquin and Huron tribes, at war against the Iroquois
[Five Nations]. He passed by places he has, himself, described in his
book [Les Voyages De La Novvelle France, etc., 1632], which are no other
than Detroit [_i.e._, "the straight," now called Detroit river] and Lake
Erie."--_Mem. of M. de Denonville_, _May 8, 1688_.
The reader is referred to Champlain's Map of 1632, and to "his book" of
the same date, for a complete refutation of the assertion as to his
visiting, at any time before that year, the Mascoutins. In 1632,
Champlain, as shown by his map of that year, had no knowledge whatever
of Lake Erie or Lake St. Clair, nor had he previously been so far west
as Detroit river. It is, of course, well known, that he did not go west
of the St. Lawrence during that year or subsequent to that date.
Locating the Mascoutins "near the place called the Sakiman," is as
erroneous as that Champlain ever visited those savages. The reported
distance between him when at the most westerly point of his journeyings
and the Mascoutins is shown by himself: "After having visited these
people [the Tobacco Nation, in December, 1615] we left the place and
came to a nation of Indians which we have named the Standing Hair
[Ottawas], who were very much rejoiced to see us again [he had met them
previously on the Ottawa river], with whom also we formed a friendship,
and who, in like manner, promised to come and find us and see us at the
said habitation. At this place it seems to me appropriate to give a
description of their country, manners, and modes of action. In the first
place, they make war upon another nation of Indians, called the
Assistagueronon, which means nation of fire [Mascoutins], ten days
distant from them."--_Voyages_, 1632, I., p. 262 [272].
Upon his map of 1632, Champlain speaks of the "discoveries" made by him
"in the year 1614 and 1615, until in the year 1618"--"of this great lake
[Huron], and of all the lands _from the Sault St. Louis_ [the rapids in
the St. Lawrence];"--but he nowhere intimates that he had made
discoveries _west_ of that lake. It is, therefore, certain that the
first white man who ever saw or explored any portion of the territory
forming the present State of Michigan was John Nicolet--not Champlain.
Compare Parkman's "Pioneers of France in the New World," Chap. XIV., and
map illustrative of the text.]
[Footnote 40: Their name, as stated by Nicolet and preserved in the
_Relation_ of 1640, was Baouichtigouin; given in the _Relation_ of
1642, as Paueoitigoueeieuhak--"inhabitants of the falls;" in the
_Relation_ of 1648, as Paouitagoung--"nation of the Sault;" on Du Creux'
map of 1660, "Pasitig8ecue;" and they were sometimes known as
Paouitingouach-irini--"the men of the shallow cataract." They were
estimated, in 1671, at one hundred and fifty souls. They then united
with other kindred nations.
By the French, these tribes, collectively, were called Sauteurs; but
they were known to the Iroquois as Estiaghicks, or Stiagigroone--the
termination, _roone_, meaning men, being applied to Indians of the
Algonquin family. They were designated by the Sioux as Raratwaus or
"people of the falls." They were the ancestors of the modern Otchipwes,
or Ojibwas (Chippewas).]
[Footnote 41: That this was the location in 1641 is certain. Shea's
_Catholic Missions_, p. 184. In 1669, it was, probably, still at the
foot of the rapids, on the southern side. _Id._, p. 361. Besides, when
the missionaries first visited the Sault, they were informed that the
place had been occupied for a long period. The falls are correctly
marked upon Champlain's map of 1632.]
[Footnote 42: The earliest delineation, to any extent, of the present
State of Michigan, is that to be found on Du Creux' Map of 1660, where
the two peninsulas are very well represented in outline.]
[Footnote 43: The names of the tribes thus far visited by Nicolet, and
their relative positions, are shown in the following from Vimont
(_Relation_, 1640, p. 34), except that the "cheueux releuez" were not
called upon by him until his return:
"I'ay dit qu'a l'entree du premier de ces Lacs se rencontrent les
Hurons; les quittans pour voguer plus haut dans le lac, on truue au Nord
les Ouasouarim, plus haut sont les Outchougai, plus haut encore a
l'embouchure du fleuue qui vient du Lac Nipisin sont les Atchiligouean.
Au dela sur les mesmes riues de ceste mer douce sont les Amikoueai, ou la
nation du Castor, au Sud desquels est vne Isle dans ceste mer douce
longue d'enuiron trente lieues habitee des Outaouan, ce sont peuples
venus de la nation des cheueux releuez. Apres les Amikoueai sur les
mesmes riues du grand lac sont les Oumisagai, qu'on passe pour venir a
Baouichtigouin, c'est a dire, a la nation des gens du Sault, pource
qu'en effect il y a vn Sault qui se iette en cet endroit dans la mer
douce."]
[Footnote 44: Lake Superior is distinctly marked on Champlain's map of
1632, where it appears as "Grand Lac." Was it seen by Nicolet? This is a
question which will probably never be answered to the satisfaction of
the historian.]
[Footnote 45: Sault Sainte Marie (pronounced _soo-saint-mary_),
county-seat of Chippewa county, Michigan, fifteen miles below the outlet
of Lake Superior.]
[Footnote 46: The Straits of Mackinaw connect Lake Michigan with Lake
Huron. Of the word "Mackinaw," there are many synonyms to be found upon
the pages of American history: Mackinac, Michillmakinaw,
Michillimakinac, Michilimakina, Michiliakimawk, Michilinaaquina,
Miscilemackina, Miselimackinack, Misilemakinak, Missilimakina,
Missilimakinac, Missilimakinak, Missilimaquina, Missilimaquinak, etc.]
[Footnote 47: Machihiganing was the Indian name; called by the French at
an early day, Mitchiganon,--sometimes the Lake of the Illinois, Lake St.
Joseph, or Lake Dauphin. I know of no earlier representation of this
lake than that on Du Creux' map of 1660. It is there named the "Magnus
Lacus Algonquinorum, seu Lacus Foetetium [Foetentium]." This is
equivalent to Great Algonquin Lake, or Lake of the Puants; that is,
Winnebago Lake. On a map by Joliet, recently published by Gabriel
Gravier, it is called "Lac des Illinois ou Missihiganin."]
[Footnote 48: Bay du Noquet, or Noque. That the "small lake" visited by
Nicolet was, in fact, this bay, is rendered probable by the phraseology
employed by Vimont in the _Relation_ of 1640, p. 35. He says: "Passing
this small lake [from the Sault Sainte Marie], we enter into the second
fresh-water sea [Lake Michigan and Green bay]." It is true Vimont speaks
of "the small lake" as lying "beyond the falls;" but his meaning is,
"nearer the Winnebagoes." If taken literally, his words would indicate
a lake further up the strait, above the Sault Sainte Marie, meaning Lake
Superior, which, of course, would not answer the description of a small
lake. It must be remembered that the missionary was writing at his home
upon the St. Lawrence, and was giving his description from his
standpoint.]
[Footnote 49: Synonyms: La Baye des Eaux Puantes, La Baye, Enitajghe
(Iroquois), Baie des Puants, La Grande Baie, Bay des Puants.]
[Footnote 50: Called the Roquai, by Vimont, in the _Relation_ of 1640,
p. 34--probably the Noquets--afterwards classed with the Chippewas.]
[Footnote 51: Called the Mantoue in the _Relation_ just cited. They were
probably the Nantoue of the _Relation_ of 1671, or Mantoueouee of the
map attached thereto. They are mentioned, at that date, as living near
the Foxes. In the _Relation_ of 1673, they are designated as the
Makoueoue, still residing near the Foxes.]
[Footnote 52: "Au dela de ce Sault on trouue le petit lac, sur les bords
duquel du coste du Nord sont les Roquai. Au Nord de ceux-cy sont
Mantoue, ces peuples ne nauigent guiere, viuans des fruicts de la
terre."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, pp. 34, 35.]
[Footnote 53: The Menomonee river forms a part of the northeastern
boundary of Wisconsin, running in a southeasterly direction between this
state and Michigan, and emptying into Green bay on the northwest side.
The earliest location, on a map, of a Menomonee village, is that given
by Charlevoix on his "Carte des Lacs du Canada," accompanying his
"Histoire et Description Generale de la Nouvelle France," Vol. I.,
Paris, 1744. The village ("des Malonines") is placed at the mouth of the
river, on what is now the Michigan side of the stream.]
[Footnote 54: Synonyms: Maroumine, Oumalouminek, Oumaominiecs,
Malhominies,--meaning, in Algonquin, wild rice (_Zizania aquatica_ of
Linnaeus). The French called this grain wild oats--folles avoine; hence
they gave the name of Les Folles Avoine to the Menomonees.
"Passant ce plus petit lac, on entre dans la seconde mer douce, sur les
riues de laquelle sont les Maroumine."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p.
35.]
[Footnote 55: I have drawn, for this description of the Menomonees, upon
the earliest accounts preserved of them; but these are of dates some
years subsequent to Nicolet's visit. (Compare Marquette's account in his
published narrative, by Shea.) Vimont seems not to have derived any
knowledge of them from Nicolet, beside the simple fact of his having
visited them; at least, he says nothing further in the _Relation_ of
1640.]
[Footnote 56: "Two days' journey from this tribe [the Winnebagoes], he
sent one of his savages," etc.--Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 3. This was
just the distance from the Menomonees. Du Creux, although following the
_Relation_ of 1643, makes Nicolet an ambassador of the Hurons, for he
says (Hist. Canada, p. 360): "When he [Nicolet] was two days distant
[from the Winnebagoes], he sent forward one of his own company to make
known to the nation to which they were going, that a European ambassador
was approaching with gifts, who, in behalf of the Hurons, desired to
secure their friendship." But the following is the account of Vimont
(_Relation_, 1643, p. 3), from the time of Nicolet's departure from the
Huron villages to his being met by the young men of the Winnebagoes:
"Ils [_Nicolet and his seven Hurons_] passerent par quantite de petites
nations, en allant et en reuenant; lors qu'ils y arriuoient, ils
fichoient deux bastons en terre, auquel ils pendoient des presens, afin
d'oster a ces peuples la pensee de les prendre pour ennemis et de les
massacrer. A deux iournees de cette nation, il enuoya vn de ces Sauuages
porter la nouuelle de la paix, laquelle fut bien receue, nommement quand
on entendit que c'estoit vn European qui portoit la parole. On depescha
plusieurs ieunes gens pour aller au deuant du Manitouiriniou, c'est a
dire de l'homme merueilleux; on y vient, on le conduit, on porte tout son
bagage."]
[Footnote 57: Compare Parkman's "Discovery of the Great West," p. xx.
"Il [_Nicolet_] estoit reuestu d'vne grande robe de damas de la Chine,
toute parsemee de fleurs et d'oyseaux de diuerses couleurs."--Vimont,
_Relation_, 1643, p. 3.]
[Footnote 58: Wisconsin takes its name from its principal river, which
drains an extensive portion of its surface. It rises in Lake Vieux
Desert (which is partly in Michigan and partly in Wisconsin), flows
generally a south course to Portage, in what is now Columbia county,
where it turns to the southwest, and, after a further course of one
hundred and eighteen miles, with a rapid current, reaches the
Mississippi river, four miles below Prairie du Chien. Its entire length
is about four hundred and fifty miles, descending, in that distance, a
little more than one thousand feet. Along the lower portion of the
stream are the high lands or river hills. Some of these hills present
high and precipitous faces towards the water. Others terminate in knobs.
The name is supposed to have been taken from this feature; the word
being derived from _mis-si_, great, and _os-sin_, a stone or rock.
Compare Shea's _Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi_, pp. 6
(note) and 268; Foster's _Mississippi Valley_, p. 2 (note);
Schoolcraft's _Thirty Years with the Indian Tribes_, p. 220 and note.
Two definitions of the word are current--as widely differing from each
other as from the one just given. (See Wis. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. I., p.
111, and Webster's Dic., Unabridged, p. 1632.) The first--"the gathering
of the waters"--has no corresponding words in Algonquin at all
resembling the name; the same may be said of the second--"wild rushing
channel." (See Otchipwe Dic. of Rev. F. Baraga.)
Since first used by the French, the word "Wisconsin" has undergone
considerable change. On the map by Joliet, recently brought to light by
Gravier, it is given as "Miskonsing." In Marquette's journal, published
by Thevenot, in Paris, 1681, it is noted as the "Meskousing." It
appeared there for the first time in print. Hennepin, in 1683, wrote
"Onisconsin" and "Misconsin;" Charlevoix, 1743, "Ouisconsing;" Carver,
1766, "Ouisconsin" (English--"Wisconsin"): since which last mentioned
date, the orthography has been uniform.]
[Footnote 59: "Si tost qu'on l'apperceut toutes les femmes et les enfans
s'enfuirent, voyant vn homme porter le tonnerre en ses deux mains (c'est
ainsi qu'ils nommoient deux pistolets qu'il tenoit)."--Vimont,
_Relation_, 1643, p. 3.
Du Creux (Hist. Canada, p. 360) has this rendering of Vimont's language:
"He [Nicolet] carried in each hand a small pistol. When he had
discharged these (for he must have done this, though the French author
does not mention the fact), the more timid persons, boys and women,
betook themselves to flight, to escape as quickly as possible from a man
who (they said) carried the thunder in both his hands." And thus Parkman
("Discovery of the Great West," p. xx.): "[Nicolet] advanced to meet the
expectant crowd with a pistol in each hand. The squaws and children
fled, screaming that it was a manito, or spirit, armed with thunder and
lightning."]
[Footnote 60: Synonyms: Ouinipigou, Ouinbegouc, Ouinipegouc,
Ouenibegoutz--Gens de Mer, Gens de Eaux de Mer--Des Puans, Des Puants,
La Nation des Puans, La Nation des Puants, Des Gens Puants.
By the Hurons, this nation was known as A8eatsi8aenrrhonon (_Relation_,
1636, p. 92); by the Sioux, as Ontonkah; but they called themselves
Otchagras, Hochungara, Ochungarand, or Horoji.]
[Footnote 61: Champlain's map of 1632 gives them that location. La Jeune
(_Relation_, 1639, p. 55) approximates their locality thus:
... "Nous auons aussi pense d'appliquer quelques-vns a la connoissance de
nouuelles langues. Nous iettions les yeux sur trois autres des Peuples
plus voisins: sur celle des Algonquains, espars de tous costez, et au
Midy, et au Septentrion de nostre grand Lac; sur celle de la Nation
neutre, qui est vne maistresse porte pour les pais meridionaux, et sur
celle de la Nation des Puants, qui est vn passage des plus considerables
pour les pais Occidentaux, vn peu plus Septentrionaux."
"We [the missionaries] have also thought of applying ourselves, some of
us, to the task of acquiring a knowledge of new languages. We turn our
eyes on three other nations nearer: on that of the Algonquins, scattered
on every side, both to the south and north of our great lake [Huron]; on
that of the Neuter nation, which affords a principal entrance to the
countries on south; and on that of the nation of the Puants
[Winnebagoes], which is one of the more important thoroughfares to the
western countries, a little more northern."]
[Footnote 62: Fox river heads in the northeastern part of Columbia
county, Wisconsin, and in the adjoining portions of Green Lake county.
Flowing, at first, southwest and then due west, it approaches the
Wisconsin at Portage, county-seat of Columbia county. When within less
than two miles of that river, separated from it by only a low, sandy
plain--the famous "portage" of early days--it turns abruptly northward,
and with a sluggish current, continues on this course, for twelve miles,
to the head of Lake Buffalo, in the southern part of which is now
Marquette county, Wisconsin. It now begins a wide curve, which brings
its direction finally around due east. Lake Buffalo is merely an
expansion of the river, thirteen and one-half miles long and half a mile
wide. From the foot of this lake, the river runs in an irregular,
easterly course, with a somewhat rapid current, to the head of Puckaway
lake, which is eight and one-fourth miles in length, and from one to two
miles wide. At the foot of this lake there are wide marshes through
which the river leaves on the north side, and, after making a long,
narrow bend to the west, begins a northeast stretch, which it continues
for a considerable distance, passing, after receiving the waters of Wolf
river, around in a curve to the southeast through Big Butte Des Morts
lake, and reaching Lake Winnebago, into which it flows at the city of
Oshkosh.
The river leaves Winnebago lake in two channels, at the cities of
Menasha and Neenah, flowing in a westerly course to the Little Butte Des
Morts lake, and through the latter in a north course, when it soon takes
a northeasterly direction, which it holds until it empties into the head
of Green bay. The stream gets its name from the Fox tribe of Indians
formerly residing in its valley. Upon Champlain's map of 1632, it is
noted as "Riviere des Puans;" that is, "River of the Puans"--Winnebago
river. The name Neenah (water), sometimes applied to it, is a misnomer.]
[Footnote 63: "Plus auant encore sur les mesmes riues habitent les
Ouinipigou [Winnebagoes], peuples sedentaires qui sont en grand
nombre."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 35.]
[Footnote 64: "Tous ces peuples entendent l'Algonquin, excepte les
Hurons, qui out vne langue a part, comme aussi les Ouinipigou
[Winnebagoes] ou gens de mer."--Ibid.]
[Footnote 65: The Winnebagoes and some bands of Sioux were the only
Dakotas that crossed the Mississippi in their migratory movement
eastward.]
[Footnote 66: Says Vimont (_Relation_, 1643, pp. 3, 4): "La nouuelle de
sa venue s'espandit incontinent aux lieu circonuoisins: il se fit vne
assemblee, de quartre ou cinq mille hommes."
But this number is lessened somewhat by the _Relation_ of 1656 (p. 39):
"Vn Francois m'a dit autrefois, qu'il auoit veu trois mille hommes dans
vne assemblee qui se fit pour traiter de paix, au Pais des gens de Mer."
"A Frenchman [Nicolet] told me some time ago, that he had seen three
thousand men together in one assemblage, for the purpose of making a
treaty of peace in the country of the People of the Sea [Winnebagoes]."]
[Footnote 67: "Chacun des principaux fit son festin, en l'vn desquels on
seruit au moins six-vingts Castors."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 4.]
[Footnote 68: Shea ("Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi
Valley," p. 20) has evidently caught the true idea of Nicolet's mission
to the Winnebagoes. He says: "With these [Winnebagoes] Nicolet entered
into friendly relations."]
[Footnote 69: Synonyms: Masscoutens, Maskoutens, Maskouteins,
Musquetens, Machkoutens, Maskoutench, etc. They were called by the
French, "Les Gens de Feu"--the Nation of Fire; by the Hurons,
"Assistagueronons" or "Atsistaehronons," from _assista_, fire and
_ronons_, people; that is, Fire-People or Fire-Nation. By Champlain,
they were noted, in 1632, as "Les Gens de Feu a Bistagueronons" on his
map. This is a misprint for "Assistagueronons," as his "Voyages" of that
year shows. I., p. 262 [272].
"The Fire Nation bears this name erroneously, calling themselves
Maskoutench, which signifies 'a land bare of trees,' such as that which
these people inhabit; but because by the change of a few letters, the
same word signifies, 'fire,' from thence it has come that they are
called the 'Fire Nation.'"--_Relation_, 1671, p. 45.]
[Footnote 70: Synonyms: Sauks, Saukis, Ousakis, Sakys, etc.]
[Footnote 71: Synonyms: Outagamis, Les Renards, Musquakies.]
[Footnote 72: The distance by days up the Fox river of Green bay from
the Winnebagoes to the Mascoutins, is given in accordance with the
earliest accounts of canoe navigation upon that stream. The first white
persons to pass up the river after Nicolet were Allouez and his
attendants, in April, 1670. That missionary (_Relation_, 1670, pp. 96,
97, 99), says:
"The 16th of April [1670], I embarked to go and commence the mission of
the Outagamis [Fox Indians], a people well known in all these parts. We
were lying at the head of the bay [Green bay], at the entrance of the
River of the Puants [Fox river], which we have named 'St. Francis;' in
passing, we saw clouds of swans, bustards, and ducks; the savages take
them in nets at the head of the bay, where they catch as many as fifty
in a night; this game, in the autumn, seek the wild rice that the wind
has shaken off in the month of September.
"The 17th [of April of the same year], we went up the River St. Francis
[the Fox]--two and sometimes three arpens wide. After having advanced
four leagues, we found the village of the savages named Saky [Sacs,
Saukis, or Sauks], who began a work that merits well here to have its
place. From one side of the river to the other, they made a barricade,
planting great stakes, two fathoms from the water, in such a manner that
there is, as it were, a bridge above for the fishers, who, by the aid of
a little bow-net, easily take sturgeons and all other kinds of fish
which this pier stops, although the water does not cease to flow between
the stakes. They call this device Mitihikan ["Mitchiganen" or
"Machihiganing," now "Michigan"]; they make use of it in the spring and
a part of the summer.
"The 18th [of the same month], we made the portage which they call
Kekaling [afterwards variously spelled, and pronounced "Cock-o-lin;"
meaning, it is said, the place of the fish. In the fall of 1851, a
village was laid out there, which is known as Kaukauna]; our sailors
drew the canoe through the rapids; I walked on the bank of the river,
where I found apple-trees and vine stocks [grape vines] in abundance.
"The 19th [April], our sailors ascended the rapids, by using poles, for
two leagues. I went by land as far as the other portage, which they call
Oukocitiming; that is to say, the highway. We observed this same day the
eclipse of the sun, predicted by the astrologers, which lasted from
mid-day until two o'clock. The third, or near it, of the body of the sun
appeared eclipsed; the other two-thirds formed a crescent. We arrived,
in the evening, at the entrance of the Lake of the Puants [Winnebago
lake], which we have called Lake St. Francis; it is about twelve leagues
long and four wide; it is situated from north-northeast to
south-southwest; it abounds in fish, but uninhabited, on account of the
Nardoueecis [Sioux], who are here dreaded.
"The 20th [of April, 1670], which was on Sunday, I said mass, after
having navigated five or six leagues in the lake; after which, we
arrived in a river [the Fox, at what is now Oshkosh], that comes from a
lake of wild rice [Big Butte Des Morts lake], which we came into; at the
foot [head] of which we found the river [the Wolf] which leads to the
Outagamis [Fox Indians] on one side, and that [the Fox] which leads to
the Machkoutenck [Mascoutins] on the other. We entered into the former
[the Wolf]....
"The 29th [of April of the same year, having returned from the Fox
Indians living up the Wolf river], we entered into the [Fox] river,
which leads to the Machkoutench [Mascoutins], called Assista
Ectaeronnons, Fire Nation ["Gens de Feu"], by the Hurons. This [Fox]
river is very beautiful, without rapids or portages [above the mouth of
the Wolf]; it flows to [from] the southwest.
"The 30th [of April, 1670], having disembarked opposite the village [of
the Mascoutins], and left our canoe at the water's edge, after a walk of
a league, over beautiful prairies, we perceived the fort [of the
Mascoutins]."]
[Footnote 73: Champlain's "Les Voyages de la Novvelle France," I., p.
262 [272], previously cited. Upon Champlain's Map of 1632, they are
located beyond and to the south of Lake Huron, he having no knowledge of
Lake Michigan. In his "Voyages," his words are: "Ils [the Cheveux
Releves--Ottawas] sont la guerre, a vne autre nation de Sauuages, qui
s'appellent Assistagueronon, qui veut dire gens de feu, esloignez d'eux
de dix iournees." Sagard, in 1636 ("Histoire du Canada," p. 201), is
equally indefinite as to locality, though placing them westward of the
south end of the Georgian bay of Lake Huron, "nine or ten days' journey
by canoe, which makes about two hundred leagues, or more." He says:
"Tous essemble [the different bands of the Ottawas] sont la guerre a une
autre nation nommee Assistagueronon, qui veut dire gens feu: car en
langue Huronne Assista signifie de feu and Eronon signifie Nation. Ils
sont esloignez d'eux a ce qu'on tient, de neuf ou dix iournees de
Canots, qui sont enuiron deux cens lieues et plus de chemin."]
[Footnote 74: Allouez (_Relation_, 1670, p. 99, before cited) is the
first to give their position with any degree of certainty. Unless, under
the name of "Rasaoua koueton," the Mascoutins were not mentioned by
Nicolet, in the list given to Vimont (_Relation_, 1640, p. 35). The "R"
should, probably, have been "M," thus: "Masaoua koueton."]
[Footnote 75: Synonyms: Miamees, Miramis, Myamicks, Omianicks,
Ommiamies, Oumis, Oumiamies, Oumiamiwek, Oumamis, Twightwees. As to
their place of abode, see Shea's _Hennepin_, p. 258.]
[Footnote 76: Synonyms: Kikabou, Kikapou, Quicapou, Kickapoux,
Kickapous, Kikapoux, Quicapouz, etc.]
[Footnote 77: The name of this river is from the Algonquin _missi_,
great, and _sepe_, water, or river. The popular notion that it means
"the father of waters," is erroneous.]
[Footnote 78: "Le Sieur Nicolet qui a le plus auant penetre dedans ces
pays si esloignes m'a asseure que s'il eust vogue trois iours plus auant
sur vn grand fleuue qui sort de ce lac, qu'il auroit trouue la
mer."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 36.]
[Footnote 79: That such was the fact, and that he did not reach the
Wisconsin river, is deduced from the language of the _Relations_; also,
from a consideration of the length of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers below
the "portage," where they very nearly approach each other; and from a
study of the time usually employed, at an early day, in their
navigation. It has, however, been extensively published that Nicolet did
reach the Wisconsin, and float down its channel to within three days of
the Mississippi. Now, Nicolet, in speaking of a large river upon which
he had sailed, evidently intended to convey the idea of its being
connected with "ce lac" (this lake); that is, with Green bay and Lake
Michigan--the two being merged into one by Vimont. Hence, he must have
spoken of the Fox river. But Vimont (_Relation_, 1640, p. 36) understood
him as saying, "that, had he sailed three days more on a great river
which _flows from_ that lake, he would have found the sea."
The _Relation_, it will be noticed, says, "had he sailed three days
more," etc. This implies a sailing already of some days. But such could
not have been the case had he been upon the Wisconsin; as that river is
only one hundred and eighteen miles in length, below the portage, and
the time of its canoe navigation between three and four days only;
whereas, upon the Fox, it was nine days; six, from its mouth to the
Mascoutins, as previously shown, and three from the Mascoutins to the
Wisconsin.
The first white men who passed up the Fox river above the Mascoutins,
were Louis Joliet and Father James Marquette, with five French
attendants, in June, 1673. "We knew," says Marquette, "that there was,
three leagues from Maskoutens [Mascoutins], a river [Wisconsin] emptying
into the Mississippi; we knew, too, that the point of the compass we
were to hold to reach it, was the west-southwest; but the way is so cut
up by marshes, and little lakes, that it is easy to go astray,
especially as the river leading to it is so covered by wild oats, that
you can hardly discover the channel."
That Marquette, instead of "three leagues" intended to say "thirty
leagues" or "three days," it is evident to any one acquainted with the
Fox river from the "portage" down; besides, the mistake is afterward
corrected in his narrative as well as on his map accompanying it, where
the home of the Mascoutins is marked as indicated by Allouez in the
_Relation_ of 1670. See, also, the map of Joliet, before alluded to, as
recently published by Gravier, where the same location is given. Joliet
and Marquette were seven days in their journey from the Mascoutins to
the Mississippi; this gave them three days upon the Fox and four upon
the Wisconsin (including the delay at the portage). Canoes have
descended from the portage in two days.
The _Relation_ of 1670 (pp. 99, 100) says: "These people [the
Mascoutins] are established in a very fine place, where we see beautiful
plains and level country, as far as the eye reaches. Their river leads
into a great river called Messisipi; [to which] their is a navigation of
only six days."
But the question is evidently settled by the _Relation_ of 1654 (p. 30),
which says:
"It is only nine days' journey from this great lake [Green bay and Lake
Michigan--'Lac de gens de mer'] to the sea;" where "the sea," referred
to, is, beyond doubt, identical with "la mer" of Nicolet.]
[Footnote 80: "Or i'ay de fortes coniectures que c'est la mer [mentioned
by Nicolet] qui respond au Nord de la Nouuelle Mexique, et que de cette
mer, on auroit entree vers le Iapon et vers la Chine, neantmoins comme
on ne scait pas ou tire ce grand lac, ou cette mer douce, ce seroit vne
entreprise genereuse d'aller descouurir ces contrees. Nos Peres qui sont
aux Hurons, inuites par quelques Algonquins, sont sur le point de donner
iusques a ces gens de l'autre mer, dont i'ay parle cy-dessus; peut estre
que ce voyage se reseruera pour l'vn de nous qui auons quelque petite
cognoissance de la langue Algonquine."--Vimont, _Relations_, 1640, p.
36.]
[Footnote 81: "The twenty-fourth day of June [1640], there arrived an
Englishman, with a servant, brought in boats by twenty Abnaquiois
savages. He set out from the lake or river Quinibequi in Acadia, where
the English have a settlement, in order to search for a passage through
these countries to the North sea.... M. de Montmagny had him brought to
Tadoussac, in order that he might return to England by way of France.
"He told us wonderful things of New Mexico. 'I learned,' said he, 'that
one can sail to that country by means of the seas which lie to the north
of it. Two years ago, I explored all the southern coast from Virginia to
Quinebiqui to try whether I could not find some large river or some
large lake which should bring me to tribes having knowledge of this sea,
which is northward from Mexico. Not having found any such in these
countries, I entered into the Saguene region, to penetrate, if I could,
with the savages of the locality, as far as to the northern sea.'
"In passing, I will say that we have strong indications that one can
descend through the second lake of the Hurons [Lake Michigan and Green
bay] and through the country of the nations we have named [as having
been visited by Nicolet] into this sea which he [the Englishman] was
trying to find."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 35.]
[Footnote 82: Synonyms: Ilinois, Ilinoues, Illini, Illiniweck,
Tilliniwek, Ilimouek, Liniouek, Abimigek, Eriniouaj, etc.]
[Footnote 83: Vimont (_Relation_, 1640, p. 35) gives information derived
from Nicolet, of the existence of the Illinois (Eriniouaj) as neighbors
of the Winnebagoes. And the _Relation_, 1656 (p. 39), says: "The
Liniouek [Illinois], their neighbors [that is, the neighbors of the
Winnebagoes], number about sixty villages." Champlain locates a tribe,
on his map of 1632, south of the Mascoutins, as a "nation where there is
a quantity of buffaloes." This nation was probably the Illinois.]
[Footnote 84: As Nicolet proceeded no further to the westward than six
days' sail up the Fox river of Green bay, of course, the "Nadvesiv"
(Sioux) and "Assinipour" (Assiniboins) were not visited by him.]
[Footnote 85: Synonyms: Pottawottamies, Poutouatamis, Pouteouatamis,
Pouutouatami, Poux, Poueatamis, Pouteouatamiouec, etc.]
[Footnote 86: Such, at least, was their location a few years after the
visit of Nicolet. The islands occupied were those farthest south.]
[Footnote 87: Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 35. In the _Relation_ of
1643, it is expressly stated that Nicolet visited some of the tribes on
his return voyage.]
[Footnote 88: Says Margry (_Journal General de l'Instruction Publique_,
1862): "Les peuples que le pere dit avoir ete pour la plupart visites
par Nicolet sont les Malhominis ou Gens de la Folle Avoine
[_Menomonees_], les Ouinipigous ou Puans [_Winnebagoes_], puis les
Pouteouatami [_Pottawattamies_], les Eriniouaj (ou Illinois)," etc.]
[Footnote 89: It is highly probable that Nicolet commenced his return
trip so soon, in the spring of 1635, as the warm weather had freed Green
bay of its coat of ice. Leaving the Winnebagoes, as soon as navigation
opened in the spring, he would have only about ten weeks to reach the
St. Lawrence by the middle of July--the time, probably, of his return,
as previously mentioned; whereas, having left Quebec July 2, for the
west, he had about five months before navigation closed on the lakes, to
arrive out. Sault Sainte Marie must, of necessity, therefore, have been
visited in _going to_ the Winnebagoes.]
[Footnote 90: "To the south of the Nation of the Beaver is an island, in
that fresh-water sea [Lake Huron], about thirty leagues in length,
inhabited by the Outaouan [Ottawas]. These are a people come from the
nation of the Standing Hair [Cheveux Releves]."--Vimont, _Relation_,
1640, p. 34. In William R. Smith's translation of so much of this
_Relation_ as names the various tribes visited by Nicolet (Hist. Wis.,
Vol. III., p. 10), what relates to the Cheveux Releves is
omitted--probably by accident. On a large island, corresponding as to
locality with the Great Manitoulin, is placed, on Du Creux' Map of 1660,
the "natio surrectorum capillorum"--identical with the Cheveux Releves,
just mentioned.
The Ottawas were first visited by Champlain. This was in the year 1615.
They lived southwest of the Hurons. It was he who gave them the name
Cheveux Releves--Standing Hair. Sagard saw some of them subsequently,
and calls them Andatahonats. See his "Histoire du Canada," p. 199.
Although, in the citation from the _Relation_ of 1640, just given, the
band of the Ottawas upon the Great Manitoulin are said to have "come
from the nation of the Standing Hair," it does not fix the residence of
those from whom they came as in the valley of the Ottawa river. On the
contrary, Champlain, in his "Voyages" and Map, places them in an
opposite direction, not far from the south end of the Nottawassaga bay
of Lake Huron. Says J. G. Shea (Wis. Hist. Soc. Coll., III., 135):
"There is no trace in the early French writers of any opinion then
entertained that they [the Ottawas] had ever been [resided] in the
valley of the Ottawa river. After the fall of the Hurons [who were cut
off by the Iroquois a number of years subsequent to Nicolet's visit],
when trade was re-opened with the west, all tribes there were called
Ottawas, and the river, as leading to the Ottawa country, got the
name."]
[Footnote 91: As the traffic with the Hurons took place at Three Rivers,
between the 15th and 23d of July, 1635, it is highly probable that
Nicolet reached there some time during that month, on his way to
Quebec.]
[Footnote 92: Vimont (_Relation_, 1643, p. 4) thus briefly disposes of
Nicolet's return trip from the Winnebagoes: "La paix fut conclue; il
retourna aux Hurons, et de la a quelque temps aux Trois Riuieres."]