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: 122-136.
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(p. 123) of it, and to ask them not to go to Ouiakonch until this army had reached their village; they were also requested to inform the Miamis that Perrot was going to find them, without positively telling the latter, however, that he was coming to furnish them assistance in their war. These two Sakis reported that the Outagamis and Kikabous, having heard of the plunder of the French by the Miamis, were all dispersed through the country in search of means for subsistence-- having been unwilling, since that news, to take up the cause of these tribes against the Nadouaissioux; that they were grieved because Sieur Perrot had not gone to find them after the pillage, since they would have sacrificed themselves in order to secure the restitution of his goods; that they were going to send for all their people, so as to receive them on the shore of Ouiakonche, which they would not cross until everybody should arrive there. They said also that they had found the chief of the Miamis, with two of those Frenchmen who were to accompany them to the Nadouaissioux; this chief was urgently soliciting the Outagamis to march with the Miamis as they had promised, but the latter had replied that the Miamis could continue their course if they would not wait for the arrival of the French and the Outaouaks. The bad roads and the lack of provisions obliged the Outaouaks to remain [on the way] for some time; finally they reached the nearest cabins of the Outagamis, among whom they were well entertained. The chiefs of twenty-five [Outagami] cabins, and fifteen of the Kikabou cabins, becoming impatient because the Outaouaks did not arrive, had gone a little too far ahead, in order to gain Ouiskonch; the Miamis who met them constrained them to go to their camp, where they displayed little consideration for the newcomers. The latter sent in (p. 124) haste a Saki and a Frenchman to urge the Outaouaks to hasten their arrival as soon as possible, saying that meanwhile they would try to divert the Miamis and prevent them from beginning the march.
Two or three Frenchmen set out at once, and at night reached the cabin of the Outagami chief, who immediately had their arrival made public. The Miamis promptly made their appearance there, and demanded, "Where are the other warriors?" On both sides deputies were sent to fix the place for the general rendezvous, which was at the entrance of a little river. The Miamis, who numbered five villages, desiring to break camp, sent out some men from each group to kindle fires, which was the signal of departure; they built five of these, abreast, the Outagamis two, and the Kikabous one. When these fires were kindled the call to break camp was uttered; all the women folded up the baggage, and gathered at the fires of their respective tribes, at which the men also assembled. All the people being ready, the war-chiefs (with their bags on their backs) began to march at the head, singing, making their invocations, and gesticulating; the warriors, who were on the wings, marched in battle array, abreast, and forming many ranks; the convoy for the women composed the main body, and a battalion of warriors formed the rear-guard. This march was made with order; some Frenchmen were detailed to go to meet the Outaouaks. The latter, having arrived in sight of the Miami camp, began to defile, and fired a volley of musketry. The Outagamis refused to return the salute to them; on the contrary, they sent word to the Miami camp to make no commotion, for fear of frightening their brothers, the Outaouaks-- because the Outagamis feared lest the Miamis, already entertaining evil thoughts, might lay violent hands on them, under (p. 125) pretext of receiving them as friends. The Outaouaks having made their camp, their chiefs entered the cabin of the chief of the Outagamis, with two guns, twelve kettles, and two collars made of round and long porcelain beads; but they sent to call the Miamis, without making them any present. They asked from the Outagamis permission to hunt on their lands, intending to devote themselves only to the beavers and [other] quadrupeds, as they had come under the protection of the French. The Outagamis divided their presents into three lots; they gave the largest to the Miamis, the second to the Kikabous, and reserved the smallest for themselves.
The Miamis did not show to the Outaouaks the resentment which they felt at the affront which they had just received. They assembled about three hundred warriors to perform their war-dances, and in these they chanted the funeral songs, in which they named the persons who had been slain by the Nadouaissioux. They should, according to the custom in war, make the round of the camp while singing and dancing; it was their design [while doing so] to kill at the same time all the dogs belonging to the Outaouaks, in order to make a war-feast with them. The Outagamis, fearing that they would go to this extreme, came to meet them, so as to prevent the Miamis from acting toward the Outaouaks as they had done in regard to the Outagami dogs. The Outaouaks had already placed themselves on the defensive; however, everything went off without a disturbance.
After this last people had ended their council, the Miamis assembled at night with the Fox Outagamis; they imagined that the French-[especially] two among them- had come only to prevent the Outagamis from (p. 126) uniting with them. A war-chief, desiring to irritate his tribe against the Frenchmen, was urging his people to burn them; the report of this ran through the camp. An Outagami, hearing the discourse of this chief, went out and told the Miamis that after having eaten the Outagamis they would probably eat these two Frenchmen; he gave the alarm to the men of his tribe, who placed themselves under arms. Another Miami, addressing his people, said that it was absolutely necessary to burn them. All the night there was nothing but commotions on the part of the Miamis, who only longed for the moment to attack the Outaouaks-- whom they called friends of the Sioux and the Iroquois had eaten them. The Outagamis did not pay much attention to all these incivilities; their only endeavor was to follow the wishes of the Frenchmen. When the day had come, the Miamis beat the salute, and defiled in battle array, the Outagamis and the Kikabous remaining stock-still. The decision which the French advised the Outagamis to make was, to join their forces with the Miamis, saying: "Go with them; they mean to slay the Frenchmen who are in the country of the Nadouaissioux, without sparing the Sauteurs. Even though the latter be your enemies, spare their lives; and prevent the Miamis from attacking them or insulting the French. Go, then, to assist them, rather than to wage war against the Nadouaissioux. If they engage in fighting, remain in the reserve force, and quit it only when the enemy shall take to flight." The old men of the Miamis had remained at the camp in order to know the final decision of the Outagamis; they came into the council cabin, where these Frenchmen were present. The eldest of them offered his calumet to one of the latter, who smoked it, and told the other that he had heard the (p. 127) clamor of their speechmaker, who was inciting all the Miamis to burn his body so as to put it into the kettle; and had heard this man's brother, who said that it was necessary to lay violent hands on the Outaouaks whom the French had brought, although they had come to avenge the dead of the Miamis. He said that, since he found in them so little good sense and was aware of their misconduct, the French would abandon their enterprise, and would join the four other Frenchmen who had been furnished to accompany them into the Nadouaissioux country. "Eat," said the Frenchman to the old man, "eat the French who are among the Nadouaissioux, but thou wilt no sooner take them in thy teeth than we will make thee disgorge them." Then every one arose; and all the Outagamis and the Kikabous had their bundles tied up by the women, so as to go to join the Miamis in their camp- excepting the old men, and some people who were not very alert.
The first news that came after their departure was, that the Miamis had been defeated; that the Outagamis and the Kikabous had lost no men; and that the Outagamis had saved the Sauteurs and the French. Four of the Outagami youth arrived some days later, sent by the chiefs to give information of all that had occurred since the departure of the army. At the outset, they were heard to utter eight death-cries, but without saying whether they were Miamis or of some other tribe. A kettle was promptly set over the fire for them, and even before the meat was cooked they were set to eating. After they had satisfied their hunger, one of them spoke before the old men and some Frenchmen. He said:
"A chief of the Chikagons having died from sickness, the Miamis made no present to his body; but our chiefs, touched by this lack of feeling, brought some kettles to (p. 128) cover it. The Miamis of Chikagon were so grateful for this that they told our chiefs that they would unite with them, to the prejudice of their allies- who paid them no attention when they were dying, even though they had come to avenge them. A Piouanguichias also died, a little father on; we went to bury him, and made him presents; but the Miamis did nothing. I tell you, old men, that these two tribes would have turned the war-clubs of the Miamis against us if we had undertaken to do the same by them. When we arrived at one of the arms of the Mississippi, eight Miamis who had gone out as scouts brought to the camp two Frenchmen who were coming from the Sauteur country; it was planned to burn them, but our warriors opposed this, loudly declaring that we had set out to wage war on the Nadouaissioux. They kept one of the prisoners, and sent back the other, with some Miamis, to the Sauteurs, who received them well. This Frenchman remained there only one day; on the next day ten Sauteurs and Outaouaks accompanied him to come after the Miamis, to whom they made a present of twelve kettles. Our people were displeased that the Sauteurs were not divided between them and us in the cabins, and that they had presented to the Miamis seven kettles, while the Kikabous and we received only five; but what we considered extraordinary was, that at night the Miamis came to find our chiefs with the kettles of the Sauteurs, and other goods which they had added to these, to invite us to eat these ambassadors with them. It is true that our chief immediately drew out a collar which a Frenchman had given to him, without our knowledge, by which he asked our chief not to attack his people who were among the Nadouaissioux, or the Sauteurs, or any of the allies of Onontio. This collar, I say, restrained us all. Then (p. 129) they allowed the Sauteurs to go away; the latter pointed out the village of the Nadouaissioux, who had built a strong fort in order to take refuge in it in case of need. A part of the Miamis resolved to carry them away from it; but we also followed, so as to hold them back. The Ouaouyartanons and the Peouanguichias, remembering the obligations which they were under to us for the care which we had taken of their dead, broke their camp, in order to thwart the designs of their allies. While they were making up their bundles, a young Sauteur arrived who had had some dispute with a Nadouaissioux; he said that he came to join our party; but a Miami immediately tomahawked him and cut off his scalp. This proceeding obliged us to pack our baggage and follow the Ouaouyartanons and the Peouanguichias. The Miamis, seeing that they were not strong enough to attack the Nadouaissioux, broke camp as we had done, and followed us. At evening they concluded that it was necessary to go toward the Mississippi, where they would find more game than upon the road which they had so far taken. They sent forty of their warriors to the French Fort, and imagined that they could enter it as they would one of our cabins. The dogs of the fort, discovering them, barked at them. The French, seeing men who were marching with hostile aspect, seized their arms and told them to advance no farther; the Miamis derided them, but the French fired over their heads and made them retire. The Miamis who had broken camp on the day after this detachment had set out took the same route as the latter. When we saw that they were going toward the French post we followed them, fearing lest they would go to make trouble for the French; the Ouaouayartanons and the Peouanquichias refused to abandon us. We saw the arrival of the above-mentioned (p. 130) [Miami] detachment, who as they came cried out that the French had fired on them; and by that we knew that they had attempted to take the French fort by surprise. This was enough to make our chiefs reproach the Miamis for trying to ruin the land and redden it with the blood of the French. The Ouaouyartanons stoutly supported us; we declared to them that we would go to visit the French, and that we felt sure we would be well received. At the same time our young chief set out with forty warriors; on arriving at the fort, they called out to the Frenchmen, and the chief had no sooner told his name than three of those who had been plundered with Metaminena recognized him. Immediately they made our people enter, who had a hearty meal, and whom the French loaded with Indian corn and meat- also warning them to beware of the Miamis, who were planning treachery toward them. After they had eaten they came to join us at the cam;, where they related the friendly reception which the French had given them; but when the Miamis saw that their design had been unmasked they acknowledged that they could no longer hope for any success- that Metaminena was against them, and that Heaven seconded him. They gave up, therefore, their design of going to attack the French, but that did not prevent them from going afterward to encamp in the vicinity of the fort; the French defended its approaches from them by volleys of musketry, and even defied them to come on to the attack, asking us to remain neutral. The chief of the Miamis, however, asked them to [let him] enter the fort alone, which was granted. He asked the French to inform the Nadouaissioux that the Miamis were going to hunt, in order to make amends for the theft of merchandise which they had committed on the French; and to accompany them (p. 131) to the Nadouaissioux village, in order to obtain their women and children whom the latter were holding as slaves. What happened? The French were simple enough to send this message, believing that this chief had spoken in good faith. The Miamis encamped meanwhile at a place two leagues below the fort, and sent three hundred warriors, with forty of our men, to go among the Nadouaissioux. The French, who had done their errands, heard on their return many gunshots; they saw plainly that they had been deceived, and immediately suspected that the Miamis were under the guidance of a slave who had recently escaped. The French hastened to find again the Nadouaissioux, who were abandoning their fort for lack of provisions. When they knew of the Miami expedition, they went back into the fort, and on the morrow at daybreak, they were attacked; a Nadouaissioux went out with the calumet, in order to hold a parley, but a Miami shot him dead, and his men brought him back to the fort. The Miamis came against the fort to cut it away, with great intrepidity; but they were charged at so vigorously that they were compelled to abandon the attack with much loss of men. We all withdrew from the siege, and after making a general retreat we separated, five days later. Our chiefs have sent us ahead, to give you the detailed account of all that I have just related to you; they have remained to get(?) the young men at hunting, and will arrive in a little while."
The conduct of the Outagamis on this occasion was altogether discreet; for the Outaouaks who were in those regions were not attacked by the Miamis (who were seeking a quarrel with them), the Sauteurs escaped falling into the hands of their enemies, the French profited by the warning that was given them to be on their guard, (p. 132) and the Nadouaissioux were not worsted [in the fight]. The tribe, certain that Monsieur de Frontenac would be pleased at the services which they had just rendered him, sent him several chiefs, to whom he gave a most friendly reception. The Outaouaks, who were then at Michilimakinak, kept them there a fortnight, in order to entertain them. Everything seemed to turn to the advantage of the Colony, when an event occurred which was of infinite benefit to it; this was a great quarrel between the Iroquois and the Outaouaks, which resulted in overthrowing all the schemes of the former. After I have given an account of a battle that was fought on Lake Herier between these two people, I will also finish describing the disturbances which occurred among all those tribes.
Chapter XXVII
Among the Outaouaks of Michilimakinak, who always joined with the Hurons in favor of the Iroquois, there were some chiefs who did not fail to support our cause manfully. One day, loud reproaches passed between the Hurons and our partisans, who told the former that Le Baron was, with impunity, deceiving Onontio with the protestations of friendship and alliance that he was again making to the governor, even while he was employing all sorts of stratagems to injure our allies; and that it was very well known that the Hurons intended to go with the Iroquois to Saint Joseph River to destroy the Miamis. On both sides there were long explanations. The Hurons acknowledged their design; but, as they felt piqued, they told the Outaouaks that if they would accompany them they would together attack the Iroquois, for whom they cared very little to show any consideration. They also said that, in order that the Outaouaks might not think that they intended to sacri- (p. 133) fice them, they would give up their women and children to them, and the Outaouaks should be masters of these in case there were any treachery; they departed, accordingly, in equal numbers. In the middle of Lake Herier they found three canoes of Sakis, who were seeking refuge from a defeat which they had suffered from the Iroquois- who had slain their chief, with two of his brothers and one of his cousins, while the Iroquois had lost on their side eight men. The Sakis joined the Hurons and Outaouaks; they fired several gunshots, in order to notify the Iroquois [of their coming]; and, having descried a great cloud of smoke, they sent four men to reconnoiter, who marched through the woods. When they were on the shore, nearly where they could catch a glimpse of any one, they saw four men who were walking of the edge of the lake; they went back into the woods, from which they fired a volley at these Iroquois, and then immediately gained their own canoes. The Iroquois, who were at work making canoes of elm-bark (of which they had at the time only five made), numbered three hundred; they rushed into these, to attack the Outaouaks, with such headlong haste that they broke asunder two of the canoes, and then went in pursuit with the three others; the first contained thirty men, the second twenty-five, and the third sixteen. The Hurons, the Sakis, and the Outaouaks, who had a like number of men, saw that they were on the point of being captured, but rallied, and resolved to endure the first fire of their enemies. The war-chief of the Outaouaks and a Huron were killed at the outset, but the others steadily advanced until they were close up to the Iroquois; then they fired their volley at the canoe of thirty men, of whom so many were killed that the dead bodies caused it to capsize, so that all the thirty perished-- some by drowning, some by the war-club, some by arrows. The (p. 134) canoe of twenty[-five] met the same fate, but five of the braves were made prisoners. The great chief of the Taonnontouans was mortally wounded in this encounter; they tomahawked him, and carried away his scalp. At last these prisoners arrived at Michilimakinak, and they appeared deeply hurt because their people had been duped by the Hurons, whom they were regarding as their best friends; see in what manner they complained of it:
"The Hurons have killed us. Last autumn they invited us by collars to be on hand near the Saint Joseph River, where they were to assemble. They had promised to give us the village of the Miamis to eat; and after this expedition they were to take us to Michilimakinak to deliver to us the Outaouaks, and even their own people who might be there. For this purpose our chiefs raised the war-party that you have seen; but the Hurons have betrayed us. Believe us, we are among your friends. We know well that it is the Pouteouatemis who have drawn you in with them to attack us, when you have defeated us, ten cabins in all. We do not blame you, but them; and we have never plotted against you." This defeat of the Iroquois confirmed the Hurons and all our allies on our side. [End of Volume II.]
[Volume iv (see footnote 36) contains four letters, which are occu- (p. 135) pied with the relations existing between the French and Iroquois-- and, more or less, those of the western tribes (p. 136) with both peoples-- during the years 1695-1701. The record is mainly one of hostilities with the Iroquois (who are, as usual, fierce and treacherous), varied by negotiations for peace, which is finally concluded in the summer of 1701. Much space is given to detailed reports of the various conferences held by Frontenac and his successor Callieres with the deputations of Indians who come to Quebec to settle their affairs with the governor; and the speeches on both sides are given in extense. At one of these (in 1695) a Sioux chief named Tioskatin participated; he was the first of his tribe to visit Canada, conducted thither by Pierre C. La Sueur, who afterward made explorations on the Upper Mississippi. At the great conference of all the tribes held at Montreal, beginning July 25, 1701, the most noted of their chiefs were present and made speeches-- including the Ottawa Outoutaga (also known as Le Talon, and as Jean le Blanc); Chingouessi, another Ottawa; the Huron Le Rat; Ounanguice, a Potawatomi, who spoke for all the Wisconsin tribes; Quarante-Sols, a Huron; Chichikatalo, a Miami; Noro (or "the Porcupine"), of the Outagamis; Ouabangue, head of the Chippewas of the Sault; Tekaneot, Tahartakout, and Aouenano, from the various Iroquois tribes. A general peace was concluded, after long discussion and much giving of presents, on August 7-- an event which crowned the long efforts of Frontenac to end the Iroquois Wars, which had so long wasted the resources and population of the French settlements, paralyzed their industries, and interrupted the trade with the Indians on which almost their life depended. This peace was negotiated by Calliered, Frontenac having died on Nov. 28, 1698.--Ed.]
Footnote 36 deleted, p. 134, Vol. II.
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