(This chapter incomplete at end) I remained a week at Prairie du Chien,
and left my kind entertainers with regret; but an opportunity offering
of going up to St Peters in a steam-boat, with General Atkinson, who
was on a tour of inspection, I could not neglect so favourable a chance.
St Peters is situated at the confluence of the St Peters River with
the Upper Mississippi, about seven miles below the Falls of St Anthony,
where the River Mississippi becomes no longer navigable; and here,
removed many hundred miles from civilisation, the Americans have an
outpost called fort Snelling, and the American Fur Company an
establishment. The country to the north is occupied by the Chippeway
tribe of Indians; that to the east by the Winnebagos, and that to the
west by the powerful tribe of Sioux or Dacotahs, who range over the
whole prairie territory between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
The river here is so constantly divided by numerous islands, that its
great width is not discernible: it seldom has less than two or three
channels, often more: it courses through a succession of bold bluffs,
rising sometimes perpendicularly, and always abruptly from the banks or
flat land, occasionally diversified by the prairies, which descend to
the edge of the stream. These bluffs are similar to those I have
described in the Wisconsin river and Prairie du Chien, but are on a
grander scale, and are surmounted by horizontal layers of limestone
rock. The islands are all covered with small timber and brushwood, and
in the spring, before the leaves have burst out, and the freshets come
down, the river rises so as to cover the whole of them, and then you
behold the width and magnificence of this vast stream. On the second
day we arrived at Lake Pepin, which is little more than an expansion of
the river, or rather a portion of it, without islands. On the third, we
made fast to the wharf, abreast of the American Fur Company's Factory, a
short distance below the mouth of the River St Peters. Fort Snelling
is about a mile from the factory, and is situated on a steep promontory,
in a commanding position; it is built of stone, and may be considered as
impregnable to any attempt which the Indians might make, provided that
it has a sufficient garrison. Behind it is a splendid prairie, running
back for many miles.
The Falls of St Anthony are not very imposing, although not devoid of
beauty. You cannot see the whole of the falls at one view, as they are
divided, like those of Niagara, by a large island, about one third of
the distance from the eastern shore. The river which, as we ascended,
poured through a bed below the strata of calcareous rock, now rises
above the limestone formation; and the large masses of this rock, which
at the falls have been thrown down in wild confusion over a width of
from two hundred to two hundred and fifty yards, have a very picturesque
effect. The falls themselves, I do not think, are more than from thirty
to thirty-five feet high; but, with rapids above and below them, the
descent of the river is said to be more than one hundred feet. Like
those of Niagara, these falls have constantly receded, and are still
receding.
Here for the first time, I consider that I have seen the Indians in
their primitive state; for till now all that I had fallen in with have
been debased by intercourse with the whites, and the use of spirituous
liquors. The Winnebagos at Prairie du Chien were almost always in a
state of intoxication, as were the other tribes at Mackinaw, and on the
Lakes. The Winnebagos are considered the dirtiest race of Indians, and
with the worst qualities: they were formerly designated by the French,
_Puans_, a term sufficiently explanatory. When I was at Prairie du
Chien, a circumstance which had occurred there in the previous winter
was narrated to me. In many points of manners and customs the red men
have a strong analogy with the Jewish tribes: among others, an eye for
an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, is most strictly adhered to. If an
Indian of one tribe is killed by an Indian of another, the murderer is
demanded, and must either be given up, or his life must be taken by his
own tribe: if not, a feud between the two nations would be the
inevitable result. It appeared that a young Menonnomie, in a drunken
fray, had killed a Winnebago, and the culprit was demanded by the head
men of the Winnebago tribe. A council was held; and instead of the
Menonnomie, the chiefs of the tribe offered them whisky. The Winnebagos
could not resist the temptation; and it was agreed that ten gallons of
whisky should be produced by the Menonnomies, to be drunk by all parties
over the grave of the deceased. The squaws of the Menonnomie tribe had
to dig the grave, as is the custom,--a task of no little labour, as the
ground was frozen hard several feet below the surface.
The body was laid in the grave; the mother of the deceased, with the
rest of the Winnebago squaws, howling over it, and denouncing vengeance
against the murderer; but in a short time the whisky made its
appearance, and they all set to, to drink. In an hour they were all the
best friends in the world, and all very drunk. The old squaw mother was
hugging the murderer of her son; and it was a scene of intoxication
which, in the end, left the majority of the parties assembled, for a
time, quite as dead as the man in the grave. Such are the effects of
whisky upon these people, who have been destroyed much more rapidly by
spirituous liquors than by all the wars which they have engaged in
against the whites.
The Sioux are a large band, and are divided into six or seven different
tribes; they are said to amount to from 27,000 to 30,000. They are, or
have been, constantly at war with the Chippeways to the north of them,
and with Saucs and Foxes, a small but very warlike band, residing to the
south of them, abreast of Des Moines River. The Sioux have fixed
habitations as well as tents; their tents are large and commodious, made
of buffalo skins dressed without the hair, and very often handsomely
painted on the outside. I went out about nine miles to visit a Sioux
village on the borders of a small lake. Their lodges were built
cottage-fashion, of small fir-poles, erected stockade-wise, and covered
inside and out with bark; the roof also of bark with a hole in the
centre for the smoke to escape through. I entered one of these lodges:
the interior was surrounded by a continued bed-place round three of the
sides, about three feet from the floor, and on the platform was a
quantity of buffalo skins and pillows; the fire was in the centre, and
their luggage was stowed away under the bed-places. It was very neat
and clean; the Sioux generally are, indeed, particularly so, compared
with the other tribes of Indians. A missionary resides at this village
and has paid great attention to the small band under his care. Their
patches of Indian corn were clean and well tilled; and although, from
demi-civilisation, the people have lost much of their native grandeur,
still they are a fine race, and well disposed. But the majority of the
Sioux tribe remain in their native state: they are _Horse_ Indians, as
those who live on the prairies are termed; and although many of them
have rifles, the majority still adhere to the use of the bow and arrows,
both in their war parties and in the chase of the buffalo.
During the time that I passed here, there were several games of ball
played between different bands, and for considerable stakes; one was
played, on the prairie close to the house of the Indian agent. The
Indian game of ball is somewhat similar to the game of golf in Scotland,
with this difference, that the sticks used by the Indians have a small
network racket at the end, in which they catch the ball and run away
with it, as far as they are permitted, towards the goal, before they
throw it in that direction. It is one of the most exciting games in the
world, and requires the greatest activity and address. It is, moreover,
rendered celebrated in American History from the circumstance that it
was used as a stratagem by the renowned leader of the northern tribes,
Pontiac, to surprise in one day all the English forts on and near to the
lakes, a short time after the Canadas had been surrendered to the
British. At Mackinaw they succeeded, and put the whole garrison to the
sword, as they did at one or two smaller posts; but at Detroit they were
foiled by the plan having been revealed by one of the squaws.
Pontiac's plan was as follows. Pretending the greatest good-will and
friendship, a game of ball was proposed to be played, on the same day,
at all the different outposts, for the amusement of the garrisons. The
interest taken in the game would, of course, call out a proportion of
the officers and men to witness it. The squaws were stationed close to
the gates of the fort, with the rifles of the Indians cut short,
concealed under their blankets. The ball was, as if by accident, thrown
into the fort; the Indians, as usual, were to rush in crowds after it;
by this means they were to enter the fort, receiving their rifles from
their squaws as they hurried in, and then slaughter the weakened and
unprepared garrisons. Fortunately, Detroit, the most important post,
and against which Pontiac headed the stratagem in person, was saved by
the previous information given by the squaw; not that she had any
intention to betray him, but the commanding officer having employed her
to make him several pairs of moccasins out of an elk skin, desiring her
to take the remainder of the skin for the same purpose; this she
refused, saying it was of no use, as he would never see it again. This
remark excited his suspicions, and led to the discovery.
The game played before the fort when I was present lasted nearly two
hours, during which I had a good opportunity of estimating the agility
of the Indians, who displayed a great deal of mirth and humour at the
same time. But the most curious effect produced was by the
circumstance, that having divested themselves of all their garments
except their middle clothing, they had all of them fastened behind them
a horse's tail; and as they swept by, in their chase of the ball, with
their tails streaming to the wind, I really almost made up my mind that
such an appendage was rather an improvement to a man's figure than
otherwise.
While I was there a band of Sioux from the _Lac qui parle_, (so named
from a remarkable echo there,) distant about two hundred and thirty
miles from Port Snelling, headed by Monsieur Rainville, came down on a
visit to the American Fur Company's factory. Monsieur Rainville, (or
_de_ Rainville, as he told me was his real name,) is, he asserts,
descended from one of the best families is France, which formerly
settled in Canada. He is a half-breed, his father being a Frenchman,
and his mother a Sioux; his wife is also a Sioux, so that his family are
three-quarters red. He had been residing many years with the Sioux
tribes, trafficking with them for peltry, and has been very judicious in
his treatment of them, not interfering with their pursuits of hunting;
he has, moreover, to a certain degree civilised them, and obtained great
power over them. He has induced the band who reside with him to
cultivate a sufficiency of ground for their sustenance, but they still
course the prairie on their fiery horses, and follow up the chase of the
buffalo. They adhere also to their paint, their dresses, and their
habits, and all who compose his band are first-rate warriors; but they
are all converted to Christianity.
Latterly two missionaries have been sent out to his assistance. The
Dacotah language has been reduced to writing, and most of them, if not
all, can write and read. I have now in my possession an elementary
spelling-book and Watts's catechism, printed at Boston, in the Sioux
tongue, and many letters and notes given to me by the missionaries,
written to them by the painted warriors; of course, they do not touch
spirituous liquors. The dress of the band which came down with Mr.
Rainville was peculiarly martial and elegant. Their hair is divided in
long plaits in front, and ornamented with rows of circular silver
buckles; the ear is covered with ear-rings up to the top of it, and on
the crown of the head they wear the war-eagle's feathers, to which they
are entitled by their exploits. The war-eagle is a small one of the
genus, but said to be so fierce that it will attack and destroy the
largest of his kind; the feathers are black about three inches down from
the tips, on each side of the stem, the remainder being white. These
feathers are highly valued, as the bird is scarce and difficult to kill.
I saw two very fine feathers carried by a Sioux warrior on the point of
his spear, andI asked him if he would part with them. He refused, saying
that they cost too dear. I asked him how much, and he replied that he
had given a very fine horse for them. For every scalp taken from the
enemy, or grisly bear killed, an Indian is entitled to wear one feather,
and no more; and this rule is never deviated from. Were an Indian to put
on more feathers than he is entitled to, he would be immediately
disgraced. Indeed, you can among this primitive people know all their
several merits as warriors. I have now the shield of Yank-ton Sioux, a
chief of a tribe near the Missouri. In the centre is a black eagle,
which is his totem, or heraldic distinction; on each side hang war-
eagle's feathers and small locks of human hair, denoting the number of
scalps which he has taken, and below are smaller feathers, equal to the
number of wounds he has received. These warriors of Mr. Rainville's were
constantly with me, for they knew I was an English warrior, as they
called me, and they are very partial to the English. It was really a
pleasing sight, and a subject for meditation, to see one of these fine
fellows, dressed in all his wild magnificence, with his buffalo robe on
his shoulders, and his tomahawk by his side, seated at a table, and
writing out for me a Sioux translation of the Psalms of David.
Mr. Rainville's children read and write English, French, and Sioux. They
are modest and well-behaved, as the Indian women generally are. They had
prayers every evening, and I used to attend them. The warriors sat on
the floor round the room; the missionary, with Mr. Rainville and his
family, in the centre; and they all sang remarkably well. This system
with these Indians is, in my opinion, very good. All their fine
qualities are retained; and if the system be pursued I have no doubt but
that the sternness and less defensible portions of their characters will
be gradually obliterated.
A half-bred, of the name of Jack Fraser, came up with us in the steam-
boat. He has been admitted into one of the bands of Sioux who live near
the river, and is reckoned one of the bravest of their warriors. I
counted twentyeight notches on the handle of his tomahawk, every one
denoting a scalp taken, and when dressed he wears eagle's feathers to
that amount. He was a fine intellectual-looking man. I conversed with
him through the interpreter, and he told me that the only man he wished
to kill was his father. On inquiring why, he replied that his father had
broken his word with him; that he had promised to make a white man of
him (that is to have educated him, and brought him up in a civilised
manner), and that he had left him a Sioux. One could not help admiring
the thirst for knowledge and the pride shown by this poor fellow,
although mixed up with their inveterate passion for revenge.
The following story is told of Jack Fraser:—When he was a lad of twelve
years old he was with three other Sioux Indians, captured by the
Chippeways. At that period these tribes were not at war, but they were
preparing for it; the Chippeways, therefore, did not kill, but they
insulted all the Sioux who fell into their hands.
The greatest affront to a Sioux is to cut off his hair, which is worn
very long before and behind, hanging down in plaits ornamented with
silver brooches. The Chippeways cut off the hair of the three Sioux
Indians, and were about to do the same office for Jack, when he threw
them off, telling them that if they wanted his hair, they mnst take it
with the scalp attached to it.
This boldness on the part of a boy twelve years old astonished the
Chippeways, and they all put their hands to their mouths, as the Indians
always do when they are very much surprised. They determined, however,
to ascertain if Jack was really as brave as he appeared to be, and
whether he had fortitude to bear pain.
One of the chiefs refilled his pipe, and put the hot bowl of it to
Jack's nether quarters, and kept it there in close contact until he had
burnt a hole in his flesh as wide as a dollar, and half an inch deep.
Jack never flinched during the operation, and the Indians were so
pleased with him that they not only allowed Jack to retain his hair, but
they gave him his liberty.
The Sioux are said to be very honest, except on the point of stealing
horses; but this, it must be recollected, is a part of their system of
warfare, and is no more to be considered as stealing than is our taking
merchant-vessels on the high seas. Indeed, what are the vast rolling
prairies but as the wide ocean, and their armed bands that scour them
but men-of-war and privateers, and the horses which they capture but
unarmed or defenceless convoys of merchant-vessels? But sometimes they
steal when they are not at war, and this is from the force of habit, and
their irresistible desire to possess a fine horse. Mr. Rainville
informed me that three hundred dollars was a very common price for a
good horse, and if the animal was very remarkable, swift, and well-
trained for buffalo hunting, they would give any sum (or the equivalent
for it) that they could command.
In many customs the Sioux are closely allied to the Jewish nation;
indeed, a work has been published in America to prove that the Indians
were originally Jews. There is always a separate lodge for the woman to
retire to before and after childbirth, observing a similar purification
to that prescribed by Moses. Although there ever will be, in all
societies, instances to the contrary, chastity is honoured among the
Sioux. They hold what they term Virgin Feasts, and when these are held,
should any young woman accept the invitation who has by her misconduct
rendered herself unqualified for it, it is the duty of any man who is
aware of her unfitness, to go into the circle and lead her out. A
circumstance of this kind occurred the other day, when the daughter of a
celebrated chief gave a Virgin Feast: a young man of the tribe walked
into the circle and led her out; upon which the chief led his daughter
to the lodge of the young Sioux, and told him that he gave her to him
for his wife, but the young man refused to take her, as being unworthy.
But what is more singular (and I have it from authority which is
unquestionable), they also hold Virgin Feasts for the young men, and
should any young man take his seat there who is unqualified, the woman
who is aware of it must lead him out, although in so doing, she convicts
herself; nevertheless it is considered a sacred duty and is done.
The shells found in their western rivers are very interesting. I had
promised to procure some for Mr. Lea, of Philadelphia, and an old squaw
had been despatched to obtain them. She brought me a large quantity, and
then squatted down by my side. I was seated on the stone steps before
the door, and commenced opening and cleaning them previous to packing
them up. She watched me very attentively for half an hour, and then got
up, and continued, as she walked away, to chuckle and talk aloud. "Do
you know what the old woman says?" said the old Canadian interpreter to
me; "she says, the man's a fool; he keeps the shells, and throws the
meat away.”
The French Canadians, who are here employed by the Fur Company, are a
strange set of people. There is no law here, or appeal to law; yet they
submit to authority, and are managed with very little trouble. They bind
themselves for three years, and during that time (little occasional
deviations being overlooked) they work diligently and faithfully; ready
at all seasons and at all hours, and never complaining, although the
work is often extremely hard. Occasionally they return to Canada with
their earnings, but the major part have connected themselves with Indian
women, and have numerous families; for children in this fine climate are
so numerous, that they almost appear to spring from the earth.
While I remained at St. Peters, one or two of the settlers at Red River
came down. Red River is a colony established by Lord Selkirk, and at
present is said to be composed of a population of four thousand. This
settlement, which is four degrees of latitude north of St. Peters, has
proved very valuable to the Hudson Bay Company, who are established
there; most of their servants remaining at it after their three years'
service is completed, and those required to be hired in their stead
being obtained from the settlement. Formerly they had to send to
Montreal for their servants, and those discharged went to Canada and
spent their money in the provinces; now that they remain at the
settlement, the supplies coming almost wholly from the stores of the
Company, the money returns to it, and they procure their servants
without trouble. These settlers informed me that provisions were
plentiful and cheap, beef being sold at about two-pence per lb.; but
they complained, and very naturally, that there was no market for their
produce, so that if the Company did not purchase it, they must consume
it how they could; besides that the supply being much greater than the
demand, of course favour was shown. This had disgusted many of the
settlers, who talked of coming down further south. One of the greatest
inducements for remaining at Red River, and which occasioned the
population to be so numerous, was the intermixture by marriage with the
Indian tribes surrounding them. They do not like to return to Canada
with a family of half-breeds, who would not there be looked upon with
the same consideration as their parents.
I give the substance of this conversation, without being able to
substantiate how far it is true: the parties who gave me the information
were certainly to be classed among that portion of the settlers who were
discontented.