the Esquimaux, a singular race, who live, during the long winter which
reigns around them, shut up in their huts, and, at the opening of
their brief summer, go forth to provide the means of subsistence by
fishing and hunting. They seem to be a different race from the red
Indian, as they are generally low in stature, and of a complexion
approaching to white. In the interior, however, they are said to be
taller. They possess great skill in the management of their canoes or
boats, and the training of their dogs in sledges, which serve them as
the reindeer does its Lapland master. Their history is principally
comprised in the benevolent and successful efforts of the Moravians
to extend to them the blessings of the Christian religion. Some of
them, especially those in Labrador, have thus been civilized and
Christianized. The progress of missionary exertion among them has been
most interesting, and is fully recorded in the history of Moravian
missions. For a long period, these self-denying men toiled amid
hardships which might have discouraged others actuated by less exalted
motives. Year after year rolled by, and still the frigid hearts, like
the icy rocks of their native land, responded not to the warm appeals
of the Christian missionary; but at last the heart was melted, and they
were found anxious to learn yet more of the spiritual tidings which had
been brought to their frozen zone.
The adventurous explorer of the far northern regions, by land or by
sea, occasionally meets the Esquimaux roaming over the ice-clad plains;
but there has been little, in that land of wintry barrenness, to tempt
the invasions of cupidity; and thus they have remained comparatively
at peace, except that some prowling bands of the northern tribes of
Indians have, now and then, assaulted them while on their hunting
expeditions.
In the travels of Mackenzie, Hearne, Franklin, Back, and the voyages
of Ross and Parry, we find occasional notices of the different tribes
which roam over the extended territory towards the north pole. But as
they are mostly descriptions of individuals or families, they scarcely
claim a place in these pages.
The Chippewas, who were formerly called Algonquins, are an extensive
though scattered band, and have heretofore been engaged in bloody wars
with other tribes, particularly the Otagamies and Saukies. These were
once much inferior to their adversaries both in numbers and strength;
but on a particular occasion, as related by Carver, they gained a great
advantage in war, which resulted, at last, in an enduring friendship
between the rival nations.
Bordering on the Esquimaux on the west, and also near the Chippewas,
are the Knistenaux, or Cree Indians, who inhabit a wide space of
country. They are a well formed race, and their women are the
handsomest of the Indian females. They are said to be hospitable,
generous, and mild; not very careful of speaking the truth, but
otherwise honest, so that they are permitted to go about the trading
posts without restraint. They have carried on long and bloody wars
with the Blackfeet. These are more powerful in frame, as well as more
numerous; and though the Knistenaux warriors have been much reduced,
they have often proved themselves, by their superior agility, a full
match for their warlike foes. They are probably a portion of the
Chippewas, whom they are said much to resemble both in appearance and
language.
The Assinniboins, or Stone Indians, though their appearance is
prepossessing, are represented as great thieves, stealing whatever they
can lay their hands on, especially horses. They are at perpetual war
with the Slave Indians, who live further west, and whom they resemble.
They are desperate and daring. The Assinniboins are supposed to have
belonged originally to the Sioux, as they are very much like them both
in their features and manners.
The Chippewayans, being the same as the Chippewas in the United
States, are divided into many tribes. They differ from the Crees as to
hospitality, for they never give or receive with a good grace. Their
disputes are generally settled by wrestling, and the victor of the
match may carry off the wife of the vanquished as his prize.
The powerful nation of the Sioux, or Dahcotahs, occupy in part the
region west of the Mississippi, near the Falls of St. Anthony, though
the main body of them are found on the Upper Missouri. These are the
same Indians whom Carver calls the Naudowessies, and have always been
great warriors. They are divided into numerous bands, each called after
the name of its chief, as the Black Dog’s band, the Red Wing’s band,
&c. They have ever been at war with the Chippewas, and are the mortal
foes of the Osages, whom they have greatly reduced, and who hold them
in great dread. They occupy a wide extent of country, and the main
object of their contention with the Chippewas, for two hundred years,
is stated to have been the territory from Rum River to the Rivière de
Corbeau, both parties claiming it as their own. They have conquered and
destroyed vast numbers of their red brethren, and have swept the whole
region extending from the banks of the Mississippi to the mouth of the
Great Platte, together with the plains that lie to the north, between
the Mississippi and the Black Hills. They form six distinct tribes,
comprising about 28,000 souls, subsisting chiefly on buffalo’s meat and
the wild fruits of the forest. They also use the native rice, of which
they gather many thousand bushels. A revolted band of this nation,
called the Osinpoilles, said to consist of 8,000 persons, live near the
Rocky Mountains.
Catlin divides the Sioux nation into the Mississippi Sioux and the
Missouri Sioux. He says that they are separated into forty-two bands,
or families, each having a chief; these acknowledge a head chief, to
whom they are subordinate.
The Mississippi branch, being near to the white settlements, are
somewhat advanced in civilization, yet form but an imperfect sample of
the nobler warriors who live on the banks of the Missouri, and roam
over the plains between that river and the Rocky Mountains. At the
time Catlin visited them, the head chief of the Sioux was Hawanjetah,
greatly renowned for his prowess in war and the chase. Of him we are
furnished with the following story.
Hawanjetah had, in some way, been the accidental cause of the death
of his only son, a very fine youth; and so great was the anguish of
his mind, at times, that he became frantic and insane. In one of these
moods he mounted his favorite war-horse, with his bow and arrows in his
hand, and dashed off at full speed upon the prairies, repeating the
most solemn oath, “that he would slay the first living thing that fell
in his way, be it man or beast, friend or foe.” No one dared to follow
him, and after he had been absent an hour or two, his horse came back
to the village with two arrows in his body, and covered with blood!
Fears of the most serious kind were now entertained for the fate of the
chief, and a party of warriors immediately mounted their horses, and
retraced the animal’s tracks to the scene of the tragedy, where they
found the body of their chief horribly mangled and gored by a buffalo
bull, whose carcase was stretched by his side.
A close examination of the ground was then made by the Indians, who
ascertained by the tracks, that their unfortunate chief, under his
unlucky resolve, had met a buffalo bull, in the season when the animal
is stubborn, and unwilling to run from any one, and had incensed the
creature by shooting a number of arrows into him, which thus brought
him into furious combat. The chief had then dismounted, and, turning
his horse loose, shot a couple of arrows into his body, which sent
him home at full speed. He had then thrown away his bow and quiver,
encountering the infuriated buffalo with his knife alone,--the
desperate battle resulting in the death of both. Many of the bones of
the chief were broken, as he was gored and stamped to death; and his
huge antagonist had laid his body by the side of him, weltering in
blood from a hundred wounds, made by the chief’s long and two-edged
knife.
The Sacs, or Sauks, and Foxes, called Renards by the French, are said
to be among the most warlike of these northern savages. “No Indian
tribe, except the Sioux, has shown such daring intrepidity and such
implacable hatred towards other tribes. Their enmity, when once
excited, was never known to be appeased till the arrow or tomahawk had
for ever prostrated their foes. For centuries, the prairies of Illinois
and Iowa were the theatre of their exterminating prowess; and to them
is to be attributed the almost entire destruction of the Missouris, the
Illinois, Cahokias, Kaskaskias, and Peorias. They were, however, steady
and sincere in their friendship to the whites, and many is the honest
settler on the borders of their old dominion, who mentions, with the
warmest feelings, the respectful treatment he has received from them,
while he cut the logs for his cabin, and ploughed his potato-patch on
that lonely and unprotected frontier.”
This tribe formerly owned a great part of the northern portion of
Illinois and much of the State of Missouri. Their friendly relations to
the United States were first broken in the year 1832. A treaty had been
formed between their chiefs and the commissioners of the United States,
by which they sold their lands north of the Rock River in the State
of Illinois. This portion of the country contained the old villages
and burial-places of the nation. Though their chiefs had seen fit to
dispose of this tract, yet the tribe could not, without a struggle,
yield up the loved and sacred places where every thing was associated
with their former history. Some of the chiefs, and among them Black
Hawk, declared that they had been deceived by the whites, and that
they had not consented to such a sale as was attempted to be enforced
upon them. They therefore took up the hatchet for redress; but the
contest terminated, as we have related, in their being driven across
the Mississippi, and the capture of that noted chief.
Among them are still found some able chiefs, of whom Catlin has given
portraits and sketches. Keokuck, the head of the tribe, who is now
dead, was said to possess superior abilities, and will be recollected
by many persons who saw him on his visit to Washington and some of the
Atlantic cities in 1837.
The Sacs and Foxes were formerly two distinct tribes, but have become
incorporated, in the course of years, into one nation. The following
account is given of them, by the commanding officer of Fort Armstrong,
in 1820. “Question to Masco, a Sauk chief. ‘What is the name of your
nation?’ Answer. ‘Since we can remember, we have never had any other
name than Saukie or Saukie-uck’ (Saukie is singular, Saukie-uck,
plural). Question. ‘What is its original name?’ Answer. ‘Since the
Great Spirit made us, we have had that name and no other.’ Question.
‘What is the name by which it has been known among Europeans?’ Answer.
‘The French called us by that name; but since then, the white people
have called us Sauks.’
“Question to Wahballo, principal chief of the Fox nation. ‘What is
the name of your nation?’ Answer. ‘Musquak-kie, or Musquak-kie-kuck.’
Question. ‘What is its original name?’ Answer. ‘Since the Great Spirit
made us, we have had that name and no other.’ Question. ‘What are
the names by which it has been known among Europeans?’ Answer. ‘The
French called us Renards, and since, the white people have called
us Foxes.’ Question. ‘Are any portion of your tribes scattered in
other parts?’ Answer. ‘Yes.’ Question. ‘Where?’ Answer. ‘There are
some of our people on the Missouri, some near Fort Edwards, and some
among the Potawatomies.’ Question. ‘To what nations are you related
by language?’ Answer. ‘The Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo are related by
language.’ Question. ‘By manners and customs?’ Answer. ‘The Sauk,
Fox, and Kickapoo’s manners and customs are alike, except those who
have intercourse with the whites.’ One of the chiefs added, that the
Shawanese descended from the Sauk nation. Question. ‘What tribes do
you call grandfather?’ Answer. ‘The Delawares call us and all other
Indians grandchildren, and we, in return, call them grandfather; but we
know of no relationship between them and us.’ Question. ‘What tribes
are grandchildren?’ Answer. ‘There are no tribes or nations we call
grandchildren.’ Question. ‘Where is the great council-fire for all the
tribes connected with your own tribes?’ Answer. ‘We have no particular
place; when we have any business to transact, it is done at some one of
our villages.’”
The Otoe Indians consist in part of Missouri’s, to whom they became
united after the Sacs and Foxes had succeeded in dispersing that tribe.
When the French first came into the country, the Missouris were the
most numerous tribe in the vicinity of St. Louis. They are said to have
been an energetic race, till they were nearly all cut off by their
Indian foes and the small-pox. This disease has reduced and destroyed
many an Indian nation, and is still, from time to time, performing its
part in wasting them away. The site of the ancient village of the
Missouris is yet to be seen on the north bank of the river which bears
their name, just below the point at which the Grand River enters it.
Their territory is said to have embraced the fertile country lying a
considerable distance along the Missouri above their village, and down
to the mouth of the Osage, and thence to the Mississippi.
One of the most celebrated chiefs of this tribe was Shongmunecuthe,[15]
or the Ietan. The following particulars relate to scenes which occurred
during a tour of the United States commissioner, in the year 1833. The
party were approaching the Otoe village. “The old warrior,” says the
narrator, “welcomed us cordially; then, turning round, he rode with
us in the direction of the village. While he was speaking with the
commissioner, several dusky forms clambered the high bluff before us,
and stood upon its dizzy verge, watching our movements. Suddenly the
Ietan galloped a few yards in front, and waved his arm, uttering a
long, shrill yell. It was answered by a whoop from those on the hill,
who instantly commenced whirling their blankets around their heads.
Then all was silent.
“For a few moments, we were in doubt as to the meaning of the manœuvre;
but suddenly a loud roar rose from behind the bluff, and a dark troop
of wild horsemen burst round its base, and came pouring down upon us.
There must have been several hundred of them. Every man was naked,
but glaring with paint. They dashed onward, pealing out scream upon
scream, brandishing their spears, and whirling their tomahawks around
their heads. The old chief was unmoved, and sat like a statue upon his
horse. The soldiers who accompanied us, unaccustomed to such an Indian
welcome, began to prepare for action. The band had now approached
within a hundred yards. We could perceive the flashing eyes of the
straining horses, with the bare teeth, scowling brows, and starting
muscles of the riders. Bow clattered against bow, tomahawk clashed
against tomahawk, and voice was blended with voice, until the whole
din rose in the air, like the wild, tumultuous roar of a raging sea.
They were close upon us,--another moment, and it might seem that we
were lost; yet at that moment, at a signal from Ietan, the wild horde
separated, and, whirling round, were enveloped in a cloud of dust.
“The old chief smiled, with an air of grim satisfaction, as he observed
the effect produced upon us by his warriors; then, raising his voice,
he joined in the wild _mêlée_ around us. Horse dashed against horse, as
the band swept onward in a large circle. Some were hurled from their
seats; others clung to the manes of the maddened horses. The strong
poured down upon the weak, and brushed them from their paths. Ever and
anon, some little pepper-spirited horse, vexed with the hustling, would
pause to discharge his heels into the ribs of his next neighbour; but
before it could be done, the crowd would pass on, and he would be borne
forward, in the rushing course of the whirlpool. No one regarded his
neighbour; each was under the influence of a mad excitement. A giant
Indian was dashing around, upon a horse as powerful as himself, at the
inner verge of the ring. In front of him was another, on a little nag,
who kept near the border for safety. Suddenly they came in contact.
The powerful steed swept onward as if he had met with no obstacle. The
little horse spun out of his path, and his rider threw a somerset in
the air, landing in the very midst of the throng. Fifty hoofs clattered
over his head; but he scrambled out, caught his horse, bounded on his
back with a whoop and a flourish of his tomahawk, and pursued his
course as if nothing had happened.
“After this scene of hubbub and confusion had continued for about
fifteen minutes, the crowd gradually ceased its clamor, and formed in
a large circle round us, with their horses’ heads towards the party.
Presently the ring broke, and was extended in two lines, through which
a band of about thirty warriors slowly advanced, to a long, solemn
chant, sung by the whole troop, and accompanied by a kind of drum. This
band was formed of the flower of the Indian village. None were admitted
except those who could boast of having taken a certain number of
scalps, or of having performed an equally honorable service in stealing
a large number of horses.” In this manner was the commissioner welcomed
to the Indian village.
A singular story is related by the writer of the above extract,
respecting one of the braves of the Otoes. “One squaw attracted our
attention, from her gigantic height. As we approached her, there was a
masculine coarseness in the features of her face, which rendered her
hideously ugly, and formed a contrast highly in favor of the group
around her. We afterwards learned that this strange being, though now
clad in the garb of a female, and performing the most menial of their
offices, was in reality a man, and had once ranked among the proudest
braves of the Otoe nation. His name had once stood foremost in war and
in council. He had led on many an expedition against their noble, but
bitter foes, the Osages. In the midst of his bright career, a change
came over him. The cause was this. He had been for several weeks absent
upon a war expedition against the enemies of his tribe. At a little
before sunset, on a fine afternoon, this band of Indians were seen
coming over the hills, returning towards their village. The troop of
way-worn warriors counted less than when they started; but their bundle
of scalps, and their fierce brows, declared that their lost comrades
had been avenged. In front of them strode the form of the giant brave.
He was wearied with toil and fasting, and, without staying to receive
the greetings of his fellow-townsmen, he hastened to his lodge and
threw himself upon one of the bear-skins which form an Indian bed.
“He remained for the night. In the morning he arose from his couch;
but he was an altered man. A change, fearful and thrilling, had come
over him. His eye was quenched; his proud step wavered; and his
haughty frame seemed almost sinking beneath the pressure of some heavy
calamity. He collected his family around him. He told them that the
Great Spirit had visited him in a dream, and had said to him that he
had now reached the height of his fame; that no voice had more weight
at the council-fire than his; that no arm was heavier in battle; and
concluded by commanding him henceforth to relinquish all claim to
the rank of a warrior, and assume the dress and duties of a female.
The communication was listened to with deep sorrow, but with implicit
confidence. He then made known his determination to the nation. They,
too, listened gravely and sadly, but admitted the justness of his
views. He next returned to his lodge, took down his bow, broke it into
atoms, and threw them in the fire. He buried his tomahawk and rifle,
washed the war-paint from his face, and took out the eagle-plume from
his scalp-lock. After this, he was seen no more among the warriors,
and took no part in the councils; but, attired as a female, occupied
himself in the most servile and degrading employments, and lived
abject, neglected, and scorned by those who once gloried in being his
followers!”
The Osages are said to have been formerly a brave and warlike people,
and in good circumstances. But disease, and the attacks of the Sioux,
of whom they were once the hardiest and fiercest enemies, have reduced
their tribe so that not more than 5,500 now remain. Treaties have been
made with them, and various efforts have been used, but with small
success, to civilize and teach them. They have secured to them, for the
education of their tribe, by an arrangement for the sale of their lands
to the United States, about seventy thousand dollars. Stipulations have
also been entered into to teach them agricultural pursuits.
This tribe are still distinguished for their tall, fine forms, though
they have lost their fame as warriors. They have repeatedly moved
and jostled along from the head-waters of the White River, and even
from the banks of the Mississippi, to the Indian territory bordering
on the Creeks, where they now are. The Kansas, formerly a portion of
this nation, have seceded from them, and thus impaired their strength.
They have been, till recently, engaged in war with the Pawnees and
Camanches, and, though thereby reduced, they have a number of able men
as chiefs and warriors.
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTE:
[15] See “Lives of Famous American Indians.”
THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
The Omahaws are said to have formerly been a much larger tribe than
they are at present, and a terror to their neighbours, being able
to muster not less than a thousand warriors. But in the year 1802,
they were attacked by the small-pox, and the tribe was reduced to
about three hundred souls. The survivors, unwilling to remain in a
place that had proved so fatal to them, burned their village, and
became, for a time, a wandering people. But they have since returned
to their country, north of the River Platte, and built a village on
the southwest bank of the Missouri. The Pancas, having been nearly
destroyed by the Sioux, after several removals from the Red River of
Lake Winnipeg, joined the Omahaws, and, for a time, were merged in that
tribe, but have now resumed their separate existence. These two tribes
are allied with the Pawnees, and, some twenty years since, their chiefs
accompanied some Pawnees and other Indian warriors to Washington, where
Big Elk, the Omahaw chief, thus addressed the President.
“My great father, look at me! look at me, my father! My hands are
unstained with your blood; my people have never struck the whites,
and the whites have never struck them. It is not the case with other
red-skins. Mine is the only nation that has spared the Long Knives. I
am a chief, but not the only one in my nation; there are other chiefs
who raise their crests by my side. I have always been the friend of
the Long Knives, and, before this chief” (pointing to Major O’Fallon)
“came among us, I suffered much in support of the whites. I was often
reproached for being their friend; but when my father came among us, he
strengthened my arms, and I soon towered over the rest.”
In reference to the proposition made him to have people come among them
to teach them the arts of agriculture, he said:--“The Great Spirit
made my skin red, and he made us to live as we do now; and I believe,
that, when the Great Spirit placed us upon this earth, he consulted
our happiness. We love our country, we love our customs and habits. I
wish that you would permit us to enjoy them as long as I live. When
we become hungry and naked; when the game of the country becomes
exhausted, and misery encompasses our families; then, and not till
then, do I want those good people among us. Then they may lend us a
helping hand; then show us the wealth of the earth; the advantages and
sustenance to be derived from its culture.”