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.
Jesuit Relations
Vol. 54, (1670)
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pp. |
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pp. 215-221. The ice did not break up here until the 12th of April, the Winter having been extremely severe this year; and consequently navigation was much impeded.
On the 16th of April, I embarked to go and begin the Mission to the Outagamis, a people of considerable note in all these regions. We slept at the head of the bay, at the mouth of the River des Puans, which we have named for saint Frances.(see 7-A) On our way we saw clouds of Swans, Bustards, and Ducks. The Savages set snares for them at the head of the bay, where they catch as many as fifty in one night, this game seeking in Autumn the wild oats that the wind has shaken off in the month of September.
On the 17th, we ascended the River [57 i.e., 79] saint Francis, which is two, and sometimes three, arpents wide. After proceeding four leagues, we found the Village of the Savages called Saky [Sacs], whose people were beginning a work that well deserves to have its place here. From one bank of the River to the other they make a barricade by driving down large stakes in two brasses of water, so that there is a kind of bridge over the stream for the fishermen, who, with the help of a small weir, easily catch the Sturgeon and every other kind of fish,-- which this dam stops, although the water does not cease to flow between the stakes. (see 8-B) They call this contrivance Mitihikan, and it serves them during the Spring and a part of the Summer.
On the eighteenth we passed the portage called by the natives Kekaling, (see 9-C) our sailors dragging the canoe among rapids; while I walked on the River-bank, where I found apple-trees and vine-stocks in great numbers.
On the 19th, our Sailors ascended the Rapids for two leagues by the use of poles, and I went by land as far as the other portage, which they call Ooukocitiming,--[80] that is to say, "the bank." (see D) We observed on this same day the Eclipse of the Sun predicted by the Astrologers, which lasted from noon until two o'clock; a third of the Sun's disk, or nearly that, appeared to be eclipsed, the other two-thirds making a Crescent. (see E) We arrived in the evening at the entrance to Lake des Puans, which we have named Lake saint Francois; it is about twelve leagues long and four wide, extends from the North-Northeast to the South-Southwest, and abounds in fish; but is uninhabited, on account of the Nadouecis, who are there held in fear. (see 10)
On the twentieth, which was Sunday, I said Mass, after voyaging five or six leagues on the Lake, after which we came to a River, flowing from a Lake bordered with wild oats; this stream we followed, and found at the end of it the River the leads to the Outagamis, in one direction, and that which leads to the Machkoutenck, in the other. (see 11-F) We entered this first stream, which flows from a Lake; there we saw two Turkeys perched on a tree, [81] male and female, resembling perfectly those of France-- the same size, the same color, and the same cry. Bustards, Ducks, Swans, and Geese are in great number on all these Lakes and Rivers,-- the wild oats, on which they live, attracting them thither. There are large and small Stags, Bears, and Beavers in great abundance.
On the twenty-fourth, after turning and doubling several times in various Lakes and Rivers, we arrived at the Village of the Outagamis.
This people came in crowds to meet us, in order to see, as they said, the Manitou, who was coming to their country. They accompanied us with respect as far as the door of the cabin, which we were made to enter.
This Nation is renowned for being populous, the men who bear arms numbering more than four hundred; while the number of women and children there is the greater on account of the polygamy which prevails among them,-- each man having commonly four wives, some having six, and others as many as ten. Six large [82] cabins of these poor people were put to rout this month of March by eighteen Iroquois from Tsonnontouan, (see G) who, under the guidance of two fugitive Iroquois Slaves of the Pouteouatamis, made an onslaught, and killed all the people, except thirty women whom they led away as captives. As the men were away hunting, they met with but little resistance,-- there being only six warriors left in the cabins, besides the women and children, who numbered a hundred or thereabout. This carnage was committed two days' journey from the place of our winter quarters, at the foot of the Lake of the Ilinioues, which is called Machihiganing [Michigan]. (see H)
pp. 223-227. I spoke their language, in the assurance they gave me that they understood me; it is the same as that of the Satzi [sc. Saki]. . .
These Savages withdrew to those regions to escape the persecution of the Iroquois, and settled in an excellent country,-- the soil, which is black there, [85] yielding them Indian corn in abundance. They live by hunting during the Winter, returning to their cabins toward its close, and living there on Indian corn that they had hidden away the previous Autumn; they season it with fish. In the midst of their clearings they have a Fort, where their cabins of heavy bark are situated, for resisting all sorts of attacks. On their journeys, they make themselves cabins with mats. They are at war with the Nadouecious, their neighbors. Canoes are not used by them; and, for that reason, they do not make war on the Iroquois, although they are often killed by them. They are held in very low estimation, and are considered by the other Nations as stingy, avaricious, thieving, choleric, and quarrelsome. They have poor opinion of the French, ever since two traders in Beaver-skins appeared among them; if these men had behaved as they ought, I would have had less trouble in giving these poor people other ideas of the whole French Nation. . . .
On the twenty-sixth, the Elders came into the cabin where I was lodging, to hold council there. The assembly having been convened, the Captain, after laying at my feet a present of some skins, harangued in the following terms: . . . . . "Do thous, black Gown, who art not dispirited and who takest pity on people, take pity on us as thous shalt deem best. Thou couldst dwell here near us, to protect us from out enemies, and teach us to speak to the great Manitou, the same as thou teachest the Savages of the Sault. Thou couldst cause to be restored to us our wives, who were led away prisoners. Thou couldst stay the arms of the Iroquois, and speak to them of [87] peace in our behalf for the future. I have no sense to say anything to thee; only take pity on us in the way thou shalt judge most fitting. When thou seest Iroquois, tell them that they have taken me for someone else. I do not make war on them, I have not eaten their people; but my neighbors took them prisoners and made me a present of them; I adopted them, and they are living here as my children." . . . .
In the evening four Savages, of the Nation of the Oumamis, (see J) arrived from a place two days' journey [88] hence, bringing three Iroquois scalps and a half-smoked arm, to console the relatives of those whom the Iroquois had killed a short time before.
On the twenty-seventh, we took our departure, commending to the good Angels
the first seed sown in the hearts of these poor people, who listened to me with
respect and attention. There is a glorious and rich harvest for a zealous and
patient Missionary. We named this Mission after saint Mark, because on his day
the Faith was proclaimed there.(see 12-K)
__________________
7- (p. 215).-- The river was at first named for the "Puants," as the Winnebagoes were called by the early explorers (vol. xv, note 7). Later, it was known to the French as Riviere des Renards (Foxes), and to the English as Fox River (its present name), in allusion to the tribe of that name, the Outagamis of our text. The Fox River is the outlet of Lake Winnebago, and today furnishes an extensive water-power, which supports various industries. This water-power, developed by aid of the federal government, has built up numerous manufacturing towns along its course,-- Neenah and Menasha (at the north end of Lake Winnebago), Appleton, Little Chute, Kaukauan, and De Pere,-- and several small villages.
The natural obstructions in the lower Fox, ascending from Green Bay, are as follows: Rapides des Peres (in allusion to the Jesuit mission there), at the present De Pere; little Kakalin, now called Little Rapids; the Croche, above Wrightstown; Grand Kakalin, at Kaukauna; Little Chute, still thus named; the Cedars, at the village of Kimberly; Grand Chute at Appleton; and Winnebago Rapids, at Neenah. An interesting description of the river as it appeared in 1830 is furnished by James McCall, a U. S. commissioner appointed in that year to settle the boundaries between the Indian tribes in Wisconsin; see his Journal, Wis. Hist. Colls., vol. xii, pp. 185-188. He stated therein that the descent of the Fox River, between Neenah and Green Bay, was then 145 feet.
A Fox River was first known as Riviere des Puans; after the removal of the Outagami or Fox Indians to its banks (about 1680) it acquired their name, which in varying forms it has since retained. Kellogg, Early Narr. of the Northwest, p. 150, fn. 1.
8- (p. 217).-- At the De Pere rapids, the point named in our text, the river is now about 1,500 feet wide; and the fall of water, as measured by the height of the U. S. government dam built across the river, is eight feet. As the water is shallow at the sides of the stream, the main current being comparatively narrow, the Indians could easily construct the rude weir mentioned in the text. This method of fishing was commonly employed by them in similar locations,-- for instance, at the outlet of Lake Simcoe, as described by Champlain (Laverdiere ed. of Voyages, p. 910). At that place may still be seen in the water some of the stakes used in making the weir; the Ojibwas of the neighborhood say that these were used by the Mohawks who lived in that region before them, but Joseph Wallace, Sr., of Orillia, Ont., thinks that the stakes are part of those seen by Champlain in 1615.-- See his articles in Orillia Packet, May 15 and 22, 1896.
The French Creole fishermen at De Pere still employ a modification of the primitive Indian contrivance. At the foot of the dam are built, at intervals across the river, wooden platforms, to which are fastened large nets.
B This primitive weir was at the rapids later called De Pere from the establishment there of the Jesuit mission. . . Kellogg, Early Narr. of the Northwest, p. 150, fn 3.
9 The name Kaukauna, the modern form of Kekaling, is said by Verwyst (Wis. Hist. Colls., vol. xii, p. 392) to be a corruption of okakaning, "where they fish for pike,"-- or, rather, this should be "pickerel," according to Cuoq's definition of oka (Lexique Algonquin, p. 295). The Kakalin portage was one of the most important geographical points in Wisconsin, in the days of the fur trade. Its name appears in many early letters, accounts of exploration, and official documents; it is said that these show some of these variants (twenty-five different forms of spelling the name.) The most common of these variants are: Cakalin, Kakala (Schoolcraft, 1820), Kaukalau (U. S. P. O. dep't, 1840), and Cockalo (in early local parlance.)-- See H. B. Tanner's interesting paper on the history of Kaukauna, read at the convention of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at Green Bay, Sept. 7, 1899, in the Society's forthcoming report for that year.
The portage called by Allouez Ooukocitiming is evidently that around the rapids at Little Chute (note 7, ante).
C This rapid was at the site of the modern Kaukauna, which is a variation of the Indian name. In all early navigation of the Fox, these rapids had to be portaged. Kellogg, Early Narr. of NW, p. 150, fn. 4.
D Probably Grand Chutes, at the site of the present city of Appleton, Kellogg, Early Narr. of NW, p. 150, fn 5.
E The solar eclipse of April 19, 1670, was total in the northernmost parts of North America. A description of the phenomena observed at Quebec occurs in this Relation just after the portion we extract. Kellogg, Early Narr. of the NW, p. 151, fn 1.
10 Lac des Puans: Winnebago Lake, the largest body of fresh water within the limits of Wisconsin. It is about 30 miles long, and eleven miles wide; its outlet is Fox River (note 7, ante).
11- These rivers are the (upper) Fox and its principal affluent, the Wolf-- which flows into the former at about eleven miles from its entrance into Lake Winnebago. The "lake of wild oats" is Grand Lake Butte des Morts, an expansion of the Fox River, lying N. W. of the city of Oshkosh. The lake where Allouez saw the wild turkeys is Lake Poygan, the eastern arm of which is called Lake Winneconne.
F After crossing Lake Winnebago to the site of Oshkosh, the missionary entered upper Fox River; thence through Lake Butte des Morts, a widening of the stream, he reached the entrance of Wolf River, whose course he followed to the Outagami village. Kellogg, Early Narr. of N. W., p. 151, fn. 3.
G This is the Algonquian-French appellation of the Seneca tribe of the Iroquois confederacy. Kellogg, Early Narr. of the NW, p. 152, fn. 1.
H Lake Michigan. This Iroquois attack occurred near the site of Chicago. Kellogg, Early Narr. of N. W., p. 152, fn. 2.
J The Miami (Oumami) Indians were closely allied in language and customs to the Illinois. Their habitat was in northern Indiana and eastern Illinois, whence they had been driven by the Iroquois into Wisconsin, and had formed a village with the Mascouting (Machkoutench) on the upper Fox; La Salle found the Miami on St. Joseph River in 1678. . . Kellogg, Early Narr. of the NW, p. 154, fn. 1.
12- The location of Allouez's mission of St. Mark has been, and ... some controversy. Verwyst (Miss. Labors, p. 179) places it "at or near Mukwa," Waupaca county, Wis. A local antiquarian, George Gary, of Oshkosh, agrees with him; and Prof. Joseph S. La Boule, of Milwaukee,-- a careful investigator, and author of a forthcoming monograph entitled Claude Jean Allouez, S. J., the Apostle of the Ottawas, to be published about January, 1900,-- locates St. Mark's "near the confluence of the Embarrass and Little Wolf rivers," which would be not far from New London,-- a city in the township of Mukwa. Publius V. Lawson of Menasha, thinks (Milwaukee Sentinel, Sept. 13, 1899) that the site was near the head-waters of the Little Wolf, in township of Iola, Waupaca county.
K St. Mark's Day is April 25.
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