THE OHIO VALLEY-GREAT LAKES ETHNOHISTORY
ARCHIVES: THE MIAMI COLLECTION
It is noted that the following work from the Miami Archives should be read and
considered within the historical context in which it was composed and printed.
The opinions expressed and the language used do not reflect the opinions or
standards of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, but are, rather,
indicative of thought in that historical moment during which the document was
published.
History of the Savage Peoples who
are
Allies of New France
La Potherie: from his Histoire de
l'Amerique septrionale, Paris 1753
Blair ed: Indian Tribes of the Upper Great Lakes Region, Volume II, pp. 109-136: 109-121.
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(*PLEASE TAKE NOTE: Due to its length, this section is divided into 2 parts.
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(p. 109)
"Monsieur the Count de Frontenac had reason to believe that the Hurons and
the Outaouaks had spoken to him with open heart in the audiences that he had
given them; but he was much surprised to learn that the Hurons had sent
ambassadors to the Iroquois, and the Iroquois to the Hurons. The French
commandant at Michilimakinak did not doubt that the presence of these latter
would cause a great disturbance, and tried to make the Outaouaks tomahawk them.
Great disorder prevailed, and the savages generally took up arms against him;
they were, however, obliged to send the envoys back to their homes, for fear of
some accident. The Outaouaks departed, the following winter, in order to hunt
game at the rendezvous that they had appointed, where they were to conclude a full
and substantial peace. They had taken the precaution to leave at Michilimakinak
a chief to keep up friendly intercourse with the French, and as a pledge of
their fidelity to Onontio, (p. 110) without letting it
be known that they had any premeditated design-- even asserting that, if they
saw any Iroquois, they would gradually lure them on, in order to "put them
into the kettle." The French affected not to distrust their fidelity, but
sent an envoy to the Bay of Puans to induce our allies to send out meantime
some bands who could hinder this [proposed] interview. At the bay were found
only the old men-- as at that time all the young men were out hunting except
those who had gone down to Montreal, who had [not yet?] returned home-- and one
chief, who was told that a favorable opportunity now offered itself which might
secure for him recommendation to Onontio, from whom he would go to persuade his
people to fight the Iroquois at the rendezvous which the latter had granted to
the Outaouaks. He promised that he would go gladly, for love of Onontio, and
immediately set out without attempting to make a war-feast beforehand. The
Outagamis were weaned from the ardor that they had had for going with their
families to join the Iroquois. The son of their chief, who had returned from
Montreal, made a deep impression on their minds by the account which he gave of
the power of the French. The Sakis had always supported our interests during
that time; they lost some men and various captives were taken from them, for
they found themselves surrounded by six hundred Iroquois who were going to
Montreal for war. It was this army (who had been discovered by our Iroquois of
the Saut), whom the Outagami chief's son and our other allies had gone to
reconnoiter at Lake Frontenac. These Sakis were taken to Onnontague, where the
ambassadors of the Hurons had arrived; and the Onnontaguais censured the (p. 111) Hurons for coming to treat of peace while their
allies the Sakis were killing the Iroquois. The Hurons replied that they did
not regard the Sakis as friends or as allies; and for the purpose of confirming
this assertion they immediately burned the hands and cut off the finger ends of
the Saki prisoners. The Outagamis and the Sakis made every possible effort to
form a peace with the Nadouaissioux. They promised the French that they would,
if the latter would prevent the incursions of the Nadouaissioux, take the
war-path against the Iroquois to the number of twelve or fifteen hundred men;
and even that, if the Outaouaks made peace with that nation, they would strike
higher up-- "in order to clear the road," they said," which the
Outaouaks would proceed to close against the French who should come to trade at
the bay and with the southern tribes." All the Frenchmen who were in those
quarters were called together; and it was decided that an attempt must be made
to restrain the Nadouaissious, to the end that the Outagamis might place in the
field an expedition that would without fail be successful. The French bought
six boys and six girls, the children of chiefs, besides the great chief's wife
whom they already had; and they set out across the country to conduct those
captives to the Nadouaissious. Perrot was selected to transact this business;
he also held special orders from Monsieur de (p.
112)
Frontenac for other enterprises. He arrived in the country of the Miamis, who
sent people to meet him and point out to him their village, having learned from
some one of their people who had come from Montreal that he was coming to see
them again. On his arrival he announced to them that Onontio gave positive
orders that they should quit their [present] fires, and light them at the Saint
Joseph River; for the execution of this order they gave him, on their part,
five collars. He told them that he was going to make efforts to restrain the
Nadouaissioux, and to return to them some slaves whom he had rescued from the
hands of the Maskoutechs; and the Miamis made them presents of eight kettles, a
quantity of Indian corn, and tobacco.
Chapter XXVI
Twelve hundred Nadouaissioux, Sauteurs, Ayoes, and even some Outaouaks were then on the march against the Outagamis and the Maskoutechs, and likewise were not to spare the Miamis. They had resolved to take revenge on the French, if they did not encounter their enemies. These warriors were only three days' journey distant from the Miami village from which Perrot had departed; they learned that he was coming among them with their women and children and the wife of the great chief. This was enough to make them lay down their arms and suspend war until they had heard what he had to say to them. He reached his fort, where he learned these circumstances; he was also told that it was believed that the Miamis were already routed. As he did not know that the Nadouaissioux had the news that (p. 113) he was coming, he sent to them two Frenchmen, who came back the next day with their great chief. I cannot express the joy that they displayed when they saw their women. The remembrance of the loss of the other captives caused at the same time so much grief that it was necessary to allow a day's time to their tears and all the lamentations that they uttered. According to them, Perrot was a chief whose "feet were on the ground and his head in the sky;" he was also the "master of the whole earth," and they heaped on him expressions of joy and endearment, regarding him as a divinity. They were so busy in weeping hot tears on his head and on the captives, and in gazing on the sun with many exclamations, that he could not obtain from them any satisfaction. On the next day they told him that when "the men" arrived they would render him thanks; it is thus that all the savages are designated among themselves, while they call the French "French," and the [other] people from Europe by the names of their respective nations. They are persuaded that in all the world they are the only real men; and the greatest praise that they can bestow on a Frenchman whose worth they recognize is when they say to him, "Thou art a man." When they wish to show him that they have contempt for him, they tell him that he is not a man. The chief desired to bring up all his men near the fort, but the Sauteurs, the Ayoes, and several villages of the Nadouaissioux had made their arrangements for hunting beaver, and there were only two villages, of about fifty cabins each, who came to the fort. After the Nadouaissioux had encamped, this chief sent to ask Perrot to come to his cabin, with all the men who had accompanied him. His brother, seeing a Saki, exclaimed that he was an Outagami, saying, "Behold the man who had eaten me!" This Saki, knowing well that he was not safe, offered (p. 114) him his calumet, which the Nadouaissioux refused. A Miami, who also was with the French, took his own calumet and offered it, which he accepted. Perrot gave his own calumet to the Saki, and told him to offer it; the Nadouaissioux did not dare to refuse, and took and smoked it-- but with the cries and tears of an angry man, calling the Great Spirit, the Sky, and the Earth, and all the spirits to witness that he asked to be pardoned if he received the calumet which his enemy offered him, which he dared not refuse because it belonged to a captain whom he esteemed. There was no one save a woman whom this very Saki had rescued from slavery who could prove who he was. He was so frightened that, if he had not felt some confidence in the outcome, he would have longed to be far away. During several days feats were made, and the result of this conference was, that the Nadouaissioux were very willing to make peace with the Outagamis if the latter would restore the rest of their people; but in regard to the Maskoutechs they had, together with the Miamis, sworn to ruin them; and they parted, each according to his own side. The Miamis were advised not to rely on the Nadouaissioux, and they were more than ever attracted to the idea of abandoning Maramek in order to settle on Saint Joseph River, as Onontio had commanded them. They were given two hundred pounds of gunpowder in order to procure subsistance for their families while on the journey, and to kill any Iroquois whom they might meet. The Sake who had been so frightened in the cabin of the Nadouaissioux chief took to flight, and filled the Outagamis with such alarm that even the women and children worked, day and night, to build a fort in which they could make themselves safe. The arrival of one of their men, who was out hunting beaver, increased their ter-(p. 115) ror. He had indeed seen the camp of the Nadouaissioux army, but had not been able to consider whether it was recently made. The alarm therefore broke out more wildly than ever; they made many harangues to encourage all the warriors to make a stout defense; and each vied with the others in showing the best way of ordering the combat. Word was sent to the bay to inform the tribes of the march of the Nadouaissioux, and at the same time to ask them to furnish aid to that people. Scouts went out in all directions; some reported that they had seen the fires of the army and some freshly-killed animals, at two days' distance; and others, who arrived the next day, said that the army was only one day's march from there. Finally, people came in great haste to say that the river was all covered with canoes, and that, from all appearances the general attack was to be made at night; nothing, however, was visible. Perrot, who was then among them, wished to go in person to reconnoiter; but they prevented him from this, in the fear which they felt, [imagining that] by detaining him the enemy would not come to surprise them. Some hunters, who had been bolder than the others, reported that the [alleged] camp had been made the preceding winter. Their minds began to regain confidence, and they no longer sought for anything save the means for sending back their prisoners in order to secure peace, and for making ready after that to march against the Iroquois; and they again entreated Perrot to be their mediator for peace. He went among them and proposed to them the above arrangement, which they accepted; and promised to conduct their people [to the Nadouaissioux country] in the moon when the [wild] bulls would be rutting. The savages divide the year into twelve moons, to which they give the names of ani- (p. 116) mals, but which are similar to months. Thus, January and February are the first and second moons, when the bears bring forth their young; March is the moon of the carp, and April that of the crane; May is the moon of the Indian corn; June, the moon when the wild geese shed their feathers; July, that when the bear is in rut; August, the rut of the bulls; September, that of the elk; October, the rut of the moose; November, that of the deer; December, the moon when the horns of the deer fall off. The tribes who dwell about the [Great] Lakes call September the moon when the trout milt; October, that of the whitefish; and November, that of the herring; to the other months they give the same names as do those who live inland. Perrot then assured them that at the (p. 117) time of the bulls' rutting he would be present at the mouth of the Ouisconk [i.e., the Wisconsin River], where the peace was to be concluded. He sent word to the Outagamis to have the Nadouaissioux slaves all ready; the chiefs met together for that purpose, and placed all the slaves in one cabin. Then they suddenly heard death-cries from the other side of their river; they believed that the Nadouaissioux had defeated the Miamis, and immediately sent messengers to find out how affairs stood; and these reported that the Nadouaissioux had destroyed forty of the Miami cabins, in which all the women and children and fifty-five men had been killed. This act of hostility against people whom they regarded as friends made them suspect that the Nadouaissioux would not spare them [even] after they had sent back the people of the latter. Twelve Frenchmen immediately set out with Perrot in order to try to overtake the Nadouaissioux, and to induce them to give back the slaves whom they had just taken. They reached the French fort which is in the country of those peoples, and there they obtained information of everything. The French undertook to join the Nadouaissioux, in a village which was inaccessible on account of the numberless swamps, from which they could not extricate themselves; and they traveled through the bogs, without food for four days. All these Frenchmen took refuge on a little island, except two who, still trying to find some exit, encountered two hunters, who conducted them to their village. The Nadouaissioux were unwilling to send for the other Frenchmen, not daring to let them enter [their village] on account of their fear lest the French (p. 118) would kill them in order to avenge the Miamis. The latter sent presents to the Outagamis, with entreaties to furnish them assistance and with them avenge their dead, by a general march [against the Nadouaissioux], which they would make in the approaching winter. The commandant of Michilimakinak, when he heard of the treachery of the Nadouaissioux, wrote to Perrot to make the Miamis hang up the war-club, so that he could go to the Nadouaissioux country and bring away all the Frenchmen, as he did not wish them to become the victims of this new war; and he had even resolved to destroy that people who had so injured our best friends. The Miamis, who had abandoned everything to escape from that furious attack, were destitute of ammunition and of many articles which they obtained only from the French, who exchanged these for peltries. The Outagamis were resolved to give their lives for the cause of the Miamis, in case the French would consent to this; the Kikabous also asked for nothing better. A general expedition was formed to go to join the Miamis, their women and children also going with them. Perrot met on the way four Miamis, whom the chief had sent to ask that he would come to their camp; and he left all that procession, to go thither. The allies, being in sight of the camp, fired some gunshots as a signal of his arrival; and all the Miami young men stood in rows, and watched him pass them. He heard a voice saying Pakumiko! which signifies in their language, "Tomahawk him!" and he rightly judged that there was some decree of death against him; but he feigned to take no notice of this speech, and continued his walk to the chief's cabin, where he called together the most prominent men among them. He set forth to them that, as he had not been able to secure a more favorable opportunity for (p. 119) giving them proofs of the interest which he took in the matters which concerned their tribe, he had engaged the Outagamis and Kikabous who were following him to take up arms to avenge the Miami dead against the Nadouaissioux. These words turned aside the evil design which they had formed against him, and they regaled him. At the same time there arrived a young man, who brought the news that the Frenchmen who were living in the Nadouaissioux country were at the portage. The chief assigned fifty women to transport their bales of peltries; but the young men, who had received a private order to plunder these, carried off everything that they could into the woods, and hid themselves there. The chief, being informed of this act, pretended to make a great commotion in the village, to the end that they should bring back what had been stolen; but there was one of the people who objected that this pillage had been made with the chief's consent, since he had even ordered them to kill the French; and very few of the peltries were brought back. A great tumult arose among the chiefs, who quarreled together, some taking the side of the French, and others that of the tribe. In that place were three different tribes: the Pepikokia, the Mengakokia, and the Peouanguichias (who had conspired against the French). One of their chiefs said that he knew how to plunder merchandise and slay men, (p. 120) and that, since his children had been eaten by the Sioux (who had formerly been his enemies), on whom the French had taken pity, obliging the Miamis to make peace with them, he would now avenge himself on the French. Four of his warriors immediately sang [their war-song], to invite their comrades to join all together in an attack on the French. Two other tribes, who had always had much intercourse with us, at the same time took up arms; they obliged the others to cross the river the next day, after reproaching them with having robbed themselves in pillaging the Frenchmen, who were coming to succor them. "It is we," they said, "who have been ill-treated by the Nadouaissioux, whom we regarded as our allies; why stir up an unreasonable quarrel with the French, with whom you ought not to have any strife?" Those who had been so well-intentioned requested from the French only four men to accompany them to the Nadouaissioux country, in order that, in case the enemy should be entrenched there, the Frenchmen might show them how to undermine the fort. They would not depend at all upon the rest of the Frenchmen, (p. 121) whom they even treated to return to the bay. Orders were given to these four men to desert when they should come within a day's journey from the French fort, in order to give warning there to keep on their guard, and to inform the Sauteurs of the plans of the Miamis, who intended to slaughter them. The Miamis began their march, and crossed the river; only a few chiefs were left, who spent the night with the Frenchmen. At nine o'clock in the evening the moon was eclipsed; and they heard at the camp a volley of three hundred gunshots, and yells as if they were being attacked; these sounds were repeated. These chiefs asked the Frenchmen what they saw in the sky; the latter answered that the Moon was sad on account of the pillage that they had suffered. The chiefs answered, gazing at the moon: "This is the reason for all the gunshots and cries that you hear. Our old men have taught us that when the Moon is sick it is necessary to assist her by discharging arrows and making a great deal of noise, in order to cause terror in the spirits who are trying to cause her death; then she regains her strength, and returns to her former condition. If men did not aid her she would die, and we could no longer see clearly at night; and thus we could no longer separate the twelve months of the year."
The Miamis continued to fire their guns, and only ceased when the eclipse was ended; on this occasion they did not spare the gunpowder that they had taken from us. It would have been very easy for the French to bind these chiefs and sacrifice them to the Nadouaissioux, but the Miamis could have taken vengeance for this on our missionaries, on our Frenchmen at the Saint Joseph River, and on those at Chikagon; and our men took the road to the bay. They met three cabins of Outagamis, who were surprised at their return, and at seeing (p. 122) their canoes; they concluded that the Miamis had stolen these, but the latter were exonerated [by the French] from an act in which they had been suspected of taking part.
When these Frenchmen arrived at the bay they found one hundred and fifty Outaouaks, sixty Sakis, and twenty-five Pouteouatemis, who were going to hunt beavers toward the frontiers of the Nadouaissioux; these savages held a council, to ascertain the decision of the leading Frenchmen regarding their voyage from Michilimakinak. The Miamis of Saint Joseph River had informed the commandant of Michilimakinak of the hostile acts which the Nadouaissioux had committed on them, and demanded his protection. This commandant sent out despatches prohibiting the French in all those regions to go up to the Nadouaissioux country; and ordering those who had come thence to ask the Miamis to hang up the war-club until spring, as he was going to avenge them, with all the French who should be at Michilimakinak. The aspect of affairs had necessarily changed since the Miamis had pillaged the Frenchmen; the Outaouaks therefore held a council, to learn the final resolution of the latter. They set forth that they found no one at Michilimakinak, and that, if these Frenchmen did not choose to join them, they could prevent the ruin of the Sauteurs through the agency of the Outagamis; and the Frenchmen themselves were running a risk, in case they were not backed up, since the Outagamis had been displeased at the intercourse which the former had held with the Nadouaissioux in the past. These arguments were sufficiently strong to induce the greater number of the French to join the Outaouaks. They set out on the march across the country, and a few days later two Sakis were sent to notify the Outagamis
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