of the Lake, where we unpacked our goods, and made the bales smaller,
having, by the Indian accounts, one hundred and eighty carrying places
to the part where I intended to winter. On our landing we discovered at
some distance a number of Indians, which induced us to accelerate the
arrangement of the cargo, in case of barter, and be prepared to embark
when the business was finished. Every thing being properly secured, I
made up to the Savages, and calculated their number at one hundred and
fifty: most of them were of the Chippeway tribes; the rest were of the
nation of the Wasses. They gave me fish, dried meat, and skins, which I
returned with trifling presents. The chief, whose name was Matchee
Quewish,[51] held a council, and finding I understood their language,
proposed to adopt me as a brother warrior. Though I had not undergone
this ceremony, I was not entirely ignorant of the nature of it, having
been informed by other traders of the pain they endured in their
adoption, though they declared they were favoured exceedingly; I
determined however to submit to it, lest my refusal of the honour
intended me should be attributed to fear, and so render me unworthy of
the esteem of those from whom I expected to derive great advantages, and
with whom I had engaged to continue for a considerable time.
The ceremony of adoption is as follows.——A feast is prepared of dog’s
flesh boiled in bear’s grease, with huckle berries, of which it is {46}
expected every one should heartily partake. When the repast is over, the
war song is sung in the following words.
“Master of Life, view us well; we receive a brother warrior who appears
to have sense, shews strength in his arm, and does not refuse his body
to the enemy.”
After the war song, if the person does not discover any signs of fear,
he is regarded with reverence and esteem; courage, in the opinion of the
Savages, being considered not only as indispensible, but as the greatest
recommendation. He is then seated on a beaver robe, and presented with a
pipe of war to Smoke, which is put round to every warrior, and a wampum
belt is thrown over his neck.
The calumet, or Indian pipe, which is much larger than that the Indians
usually smoke, is made of marble, stone, or clay, either red, white, or
black, according to the custom of the nation, but the red is mostly
esteemed; the length of the handle is about four feet and a half, and
made of strong cane, or wood, decorated with feathers of various
colours, with a number of twists of female hair interwoven in different
forms; the head is finely polished; two wings are fixed to it, which
make it in appearance not unlike to Mercury’s wand. This calumet is the
symbol of peace, and the Savages hold it in such estimation, that a
violation of any treaty where it has been introduced, would in their
opinion be attended with the greatest misfortunes.[52]
Wampum is of several colours, but the white and black are chiefly used;
the former is made of the inside of the conque, or clam shell; {47} the
latter of the muscle: both are worked in the form of a long bead, and
perforated in order to their being strung on leather, and made up in
belts.
These belts are for various purposes: When a council is held, they are
given out with the speeches, and always proportioned in their size, and
the number of the rows of wampum which they contain, to the idea the
Indians entertain of the importance of the meeting; they frequently
consist of both colours. Those given to Sir William Johnson, of immortal
Indian memory, were in several rows, black on each side, and white in
the middle: the white being placed in the centre, was to express peace,
and that the path between them was fair and open. In the centre of the
belt was the figure of a diamond, made of white wampum, which the
Indians call the council fire.
When Sir William Johnson held a treaty with the Savages, he took the
belt by one end, while the Indian chief held the other: if the chief had
any thing to say, he moved his finger along the white streak; if Sir
William had any thing to communicate, he touched the diamond in the
middle.
These belts are also the records of former transactions, and being
worked in particular forms, are easily deciphered by the Indians, and
referred to in every treaty with the white people. When a string or belt
of wampum is returned, it is a proof that the proposed treaty is not
accepted, and the negotiation is at an end.
But to return from this digression. When the pipe has gone round, a
sweating house is prepared with six long poles fixed in the ground, {48}
and pointed at the top; it is then covered with skins and blankets to
exclude the air, and the area of the house will contain only three
persons. The person to be adopted is then stripped naked, and enters the
hut with two chiefs; two large stones made red hot are brought in, and
thrown on the ground; water is then brought in a bark dish, and
sprinkled on the stones with cedar branches, the steam arising from
which puts the person into a most profuse perspiration, and opens the
pores to receive the other part of the ceremony.
When the perspiration is at the height, he quits the house, and jumps
into the water; immediately on coming out a blanket is thrown over him,
and he is led to the chief’s hut, where he undergoes the following
operation. Being extended on his back, the chief draws the figure he
intends to make with a pointed stick, dipped in water in which gunpowder
has been dissolved; after which, with ten needles dipped in vermilion,
and fixed in a small wooden frame, he pricks the delineated parts, and
where the bolder outlines occur, he incises the flesh with a gun flint;
the vacant spaces, or those not marked with vermilion, are rubbed in
with gunpowder, which produces the variety of red and blue; the wounds
are then seared with punk wood, to prevent them from festering.
This operation, which is performed at intervals, lasts two or three
days. Every morning the parts are washed with cold water, in which is
infused an herb called Pockqueesegan, which resembles English box, and
is mixed by the Indians with the tobacco they smoke, to take off the
strength. During the process, the war songs are sung, accompanied by a
rattle hung round with hawk bells, called chessaquoy, {49} which is kept
shaking, to stifle the groans such pains must naturally occasion.[53]
Upon the ceremony being completed, they give the party a name; that
which they allotted to me, was _Amik_, or Beaver.
In return for the presents given me by Matchee Quewish, which I had only
acknowledged by some trinkets, and to shew how much I was pleased with
the honour they had conferred on me, I resolved to add to my former
gifts; I accordingly took the chiefs to a spot where I had directed my
men to place the goods intended for them, and gave them scalping knives,
tomahawks, vermilion, tobacco, beads, &c. and lastly rum, the _unum
necessarium_, without which (whatever else had been bestowed on them) I
should have incurred their serious displeasure. Our canoes being turned
up, and the goods properly secured, I told the Canadians to keep a
constant watch, night and day, while we were encamped. This precaution
is absolutely necessary, as the Indians generally do mischief when they
are intoxicated. On this occasion our care was of infinite service, for
with the rum we gave them, they continued in a state of inebriety three
days and nights, during which frolic they killed four of their own
party; one of whom was a great chief, and was burnt by his son: having
been a famous warrior, he was buried with the usual honours peculiar to
the Savages, viz. a scalping knife, tomahawk, beads, paint, &c. some
pieces of wood to make a fire, and a bark cup to drink out of in his
journey to the other country.
On the 21st we embarked, leaving the band extremely well satisfied with
our conduct, which they acknowledged in the most expressive language;
but as it was customary to take conductors from one Lake to another, I
engaged twenty of the Chippeways to accompany me in passing {50} by land
the Grande Côte de la Roche, which is the rout that all the traders are
obliged to take, on account of the great cataract, which is reckoned six
hundred feet in height near the entrance of the Nipegon River. This
journey is extremely fatiguing to the men, who are obliged to ascend a
steep hill with considerable burdens, and for this reason it is
customary to rest two or three days to recruit their strength.
We left la Grande Côte de la Roche in good spirits, and continued our
voyage to Lake Alemipigon, where we met another band of Savages of the
same nation. A council was held, and mutual presents exchanged. We
stayed here ten days, encamped by the side of the Lake; during which
time a skirmish happened among the Indians, in which three men were
killed, and two wounded, after a dreadful scene of riot and confusion,
occasioned by the baneful effects of rum.
Lake Alemipigon, or Nipegon,[54] is about one hundred miles in length,
and supplies the Savages with great quantities of fish. The land affords
abundance of wild roots, and the animals are very numerous. The Indians
who hunt here are in number about three hundred, and are remarkably wild
and superstitious.
On the first of August we departed with fifteen Indians, not only to
serve as guides, but to assist us across the portages. We lived on
animal food and roots, reserving our corn and hard grease for the
winter. Every evening at sun set we encamped, and got into our canoes at
break of day. We continued our march to Lac Eturgeon, or Sturgeon Lake,
but did not stay there a sufficient time to enable me to give a
particular account of it; I have, however, described it in the narrative
{51} of my journey to Lake Manontoye, where I encamped for three days on
account of the badness of the weather.
On the twenty fifth of September we arrived at Lac la Mort, or Dead
Lake, situate to the northeast of Lake Alemipigon. This Lake is about
sixty miles in circumference, the land low and swampy, and the water
very unpleasant to the palate: it has been much frequented by the
Indians, for, during the time I wintered there, I discovered no less
than thirty-five different roads, about three feet wide, leading from
the woods to the Lake side: it abounds with fish, and is frozen over in
the winter, the ice not breaking away till April. The Indians who resort
to it are good hunters, but very wild. The Chippeways are not so fond of
dress as the other Savages, particularly those tribes who live very
remote from Michillimakinac; this is easily accounted for; as the ice
remains almost to the last spring month in England, and the winter
season begins early in the month of October, the intermediate time is
employed in making and repairing canoes, taking short excursions for
food, amusing themselves in swimming, and other pastimes peculiar to the
Savages. The luxury of dress can be little regarded by those whose
constant necessities require the utmost exertions for their daily
supply, and who are not provident enough to lay up a store of provisions
for winter. Indians in general are extremely indolent, from the wildest
to the most civilized, and value themselves upon being so; conceiving it
beneath the dignity of a warrior to labour, and that all domestic cares
and concerns are the province of women alone. This aversion for labour
does not arise from dread, or dislike of fatigue; on the contrary, no
people encounter or endure it with more chearfulness, particularly in
their amusements, which are of various kinds, and many of them {52}
violent and laborious. They are calculated to make them athletic, and at
the same time by the profuse perspiration which they occasion, they
render the joints supple, and enable them to hunt with more facility.
_Playing at ball_, which is a favourite game, is very fatiguing. The
ball is about the size of a cricket ball, made of deer skin, and stuffed
with hair; this is driven forwards and backwards with short sticks,
about two feet long, and broad at the end like a bat, worked like a
racket, but with larger interstices: by this the ball is impelled, and
from the elasticity of the racket, which is composed of deers’ sinews,
is thrown to a great distance: the game is played by two parties, and
the contest lies in intercepting each other, and striking the ball into
a goal, at the distance of about four hundred yards, at the extremity of
which are placed two high poles, about the width of a wicket from each
other; the victory consists in driving the ball between the poles. The
Indians play with great good humour, and even when one of them happens,
in the heat of the game, to strike another with his stick, it is not
resented. But these accidents are cautiously avoided, as the violence
with which they strike has been known to break an arm or a leg.[55]
_Athtergain_, or miss none but catch all, is also a favourite amusement
with them, in which the women frequently take a part. It is played with
a number of hard beans, black and white, one of which has small spots,
and is called the king: they are put into a shallow wooden bowl, and
shaken alternately by each party, who sit on the ground opposite to one
another; whoever is dexterous enough to make the spotted bean jump out
of the bowl, receives of the adverse party {53} as many beans as there
are spots: the rest of the beans do not count for any thing.[56]
The boys are very expert at _trundling a hoop_, particularly the
Cahnuaga Indians, whom I have frequently seen excel at this amusement.
The game is played by any number of boys who may accidentally assemble
together, some driving the hoop, while others with bows and arrows shoot
at it. At this exercise they are surprisingly expert, and will stop the
progress of the hoop when going with great velocity, by driving the
pointed arrow into its edge; this they will do at a considerable
distance, and on horseback as well as on foot. They will also kill small
birds at fifty yards distance, and strike a halfpenny off a stick at
fifteen yards. Spears and tomahawks they manage with equal dexterity.
{54} _Settlement at Lac la Mort, with the Proceedings of a Trading
Party._
The fatigue my Canadians had undergone rendered it necessary to prepare
for wintering, and induced me to settle at Lac la Mort. The weather was
also setting in cold, and threatened to be very severe, which was an
additional motive. Having refreshed ourselves, and secured the canoes, I
took two Indians to shew me a spot proper for building upon. We fixed
close to the lake side, where we erected a loghouse, thirty feet long,
and twenty feet wide, divided into two apartments, into which we
deposited our goods. The next concern was to conceal our canoes in the
woods, and to hide the rum under ground, except a small quantity for
immediate use, knowing by experience the necessity of keeping it from
the Indians, as our safety so essentially depended on it.
Having arranged every domestic concern, and spread our table in the
wilderness, we prepared our winter firing, as wood is very difficult to
bring home in severe weather. At leisure times we hunted, to increase
our stock of provisions, which would not have been sufficient to support
our household, and not choosing to risk the uncertainty of the arrival
of Savages, who sometimes bring animal food to the traders. As the snow
began to fall very heavy, we were prevented from making {55} long
excursions, without using snow shoes. For the space of a fortnight we
hunted with great success, and caught a number of small animals, on
which we feasted daily; these proved a seasonable relief, and saved the
corn and grease. We had been settled about three weeks, when a large
band of Savages arrived; having only eight Canadians with me, I desired
them to act with the utmost precaution, as our number was comparatively
small, and in case of a drunken frolic, the property might be pillaged,
and our lives sacrificed: fortunately for me I had very steady men, who
were well accustomed to the Northwest Indians. We were mutually pleased
with each other, as no trader had wintered there before. The great
chief, whose name was _Kesconeek_, made me a present of skins, dried
meat, fish, and wild oats; a civility which I returned without delay,
and in a manner with which he seemed highly gratified. The rest of the
Savages then came into my house, one by one, which is called Indian
file, singing war songs, and dancing. All of them, except the chief,
placed themselves on the ground; he, standing upright with great dignity
in the centre of the tribe, delivered the following speech.
“_Angaymer Nocey, wa haguamissey kaygo arwayyor kee zargetoone oway
barthtyage Nishinnorbay nogome cawwickca kitchee Artawway winnin,
kitchee morgussey cargoneek neennerwind zargetoone artawway neennerwind
debwoye Nocey barthtyage meekintargan omar appeemeenequy, mackquah,
amik, warbeshance menoach kegonce._”——
“It is true, Father, I and my young men are happy to see you:—as the
great Master of Life has sent a trader to take pity on us Savages, we
shall use our best endeavours to hunt and bring you wherewithal to
satisfy you in furs, skins, and animal food.”
{56} This speech was in fact intended to induce me to make them further
presents; I indulged them in their expectations, by giving them two kegs
of rum of eight gallons each, lowered with a small proportion of water,
according to the usual custom adopted by all traders, five carrots of
tobacco, fifty scalping knives, gun-flints, powder, shot, ball, &c. To
the women I gave beads, trinkets, &c. and to eight chiefs who were in
the band, each a Northwest gun, a callico shirt, a scalping knife of the
best sort, and an additional quantity of ammunition. These were received
with a full yo-hah, or demonstration of joy.
The women, who are on all occasions slaves to their husbands, were
ordered to make up bark huts, which they completed in about an hour, and
every thing was got in order for merriment. The rum being taken from my
house, was carried to their wigwaum, and they began to drink. The frolic
lasted four days and nights; and notwithstanding all our precaution
(securing their guns, knives, and tomahawks) two boys were killed, and
six men wounded by three Indian women; one of the chiefs was also
murdered, which reduced me to the necessity of giving several articles
to bury with him, to complete the usual ceremony of their interment.
These frolics are very prejudicial to all parties, and put the trader to
a considerable expence, which nevertheless he cannot with safety refuse.
On the fifth day they were all sober, and expressed great sorrow for
their conduct, lamenting bitterly the loss of their friends.
On the 26th of October they departed for the hunt, which gave us great
satisfaction, as we had scarcely rested during their abode with {57} us.
When they got into their canoes, they sung the dead war
song.—“_Wabindam, Kitchee Mannitoo, haguarmissey hapitch
neatissum_:”—or, “Master of Life, view me well, you have given me
courage to open my veins.”
Having piled the winter’s firing at a convenient distance from the house
to prevent accidents, we prepared the nets for fishing. The ice was
three feet thick, and the snow very deep; this we were obliged to clear
away, before we could cut holes in which to put our nets. For the space
of two months we had uncommon success, having caught about eighteen
thousand weight of fish, which we hung up by the tails across sticks to
freeze, and then laid them up for store. This was to us an important
acquisition, as fishing in the middle of winter is precarious, and the
return of the Indians to supply the wants of the traders very uncertain.
In summer the fishers go up the lakes, as well as rivers, and are
generally most successful at the foot of a deep stream, or the mouth of
a creek. In the beginning of winter they cut a large opening, and set
nets. In the depth of winter they make a small hole, in which they
angle; and sometimes they cut two holes in a right line through the ice,
and pass a line at the end of a stick from hole to hole, by which they
haul the net under the ice, frequently with good success. In winter,
fishing is the daily employ of half the men, though in very severe
weather it is a fatiguing service.
In the beginning of January, 1778, our provisions run short, having
nothing left but some spawn of fish, which we beat up with {58} warm
water and lived upon. The intense severity of the weather would not
allow us to look after the nets; and although thus distressed for want
of better food, we were obliged to stay at home, keeping a large fire,
and lying almost continually on our blankets, which weakened us
exceedingly. Having remained in this inactive state for some time, and
hunger pressing hard, I roused myself, and proposed to my men to make
marten traps, which they went about with the utmost cheerfulness. When
they had finished a sufficient number, they set them in the woods, at
the distance of about two miles from the house. While they were employed
in this service, I was left alone, it being necessary for some one to
remain, in case of the arrival of Savages. The first day my men were
successful, and returned with two racoons, three hares, and four
musquashes; on these we feasted the next day; and though we were not
satisfied, they proved a seasonable relief, and enabled us to pursue the
business we were engaged in with greater spirits, fondly expecting more
prosperous days.
In a little time we were again destitute, and the men became
disheartened; this induced me to propose a journey to Lake Manontoye,
where we knew Mr. Shaw,[57] a brother trader, had wintered, to endeavour
to procure some wild rice, which the Indians told me grew in the swamps
at that place. The Canadians approved of the plan, and said they hoped
they should be able to provide for their subsistence till my return.
Previous to my departure, we were compelled to kill a favourite dog,
belonging to Joseph Boneau, one of my people, which most sensibly
affected us, because, independent of the attachment we had towards him,
he was a very useful animal. The next morning I put on my snow shoes,
and persuaded an Indian and his wife, who were with {59} me
occasionally, and had accidentally come in from the hunt with six hares,
to accompany me, promising them payment in rum at my return: they agreed
to go, and it was very fortunate they did, as I could not have found the
way without a guide.
We set off with the six hares, and travelled four days without killing
any thing; this was a disappointment, but with the little stock we
carried with us, we subsisted tolerably well. About an hour before
sunset on the fourth day, we stopped at a small creek, which was too
deep to be forded, and whilst the Indian was assisting me in making a
raft to cross over, rather than swim through in such cold weather,
against a strong current, I looked round, and missed his wife: I was
rather displeased, as the sun was near setting, and I was anxious to
gain the opposite shore, to encamp before dark. I asked the Indian where
she was gone; he smiled, and told me, he supposed into the woods to set
a collar for a partridge. In about an hour she returned with a newborn
infant in her arms, and coming up to me, said in Chippeway, “_Oway
Saggonash Payshik Shomagonish_,” or, “Here, Englishman, is a young
warrior.” It is said that the Indian women bring forth children with
very little pain, but I believe it is merely an opinion. It is true they
are strong and hardy, and will support fatigue to the moment of their
delivery; but this does not prove they are exempt from the common
feelings of the sex on such trying occasions. A young woman of the Rat
Nation has been known to be in labour a day and a night, without a
groan. The force of example acting upon their pride, will not allow
these poor creatures to betray a weakness, or express the pain they
feel, probably lest the husband should think her unworthy of his future
attention, and despise both mother and child: at any rate, he would tell
her the infant, {60} if a boy, would never be a warrior; and if a girl,
would have a dastardly spirit, and of course neither of them be fit for
a Savage life.