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.
An Account of the Discovery of Some
New Countries
and Nations in North America in 1673.
Marquette, Pere Joseph, and Joliet,
In: B. F. French,
Historical Collections of Louisiana, Pt.
II, 1850. pp. 279-297.
|
pp. |
|
|
|
|
|
(p. 282) The French have never before passed beyond the Bay of Puans (Green Bay). This Bourg consists of three several nations, viz., Miamies, Maskoutens, and Kickapoos. The first are more docile than the others, better formed, and more liberal. They wear long hair over their ears, which gives them a good appearance. They are esteemed good warriors, and so cunning that they never return from their warlike excursions without booty. They are quick to learn anything. Father Allouez told me they were so desirous to be instructed that they would never give him any rest at night. The (p. 283) Maskoutens and Kickapoos are more robust, and resemble our peasants more than the former. As the bark of the birch tree is scarce in this country, they are obliged to make their wigwams with rushes, which serve as well for covering them as for walls. It must be owned that they are convenient, for they take them down and carry them wherever they please, without any trouble.
When I arrived there I was very glad to see a great cross, set up in the middle of the village, adorned with several white skins, red girdles, bows and arrows, which the converted Indians had offered to the great Manitou, to return him their thanks for the care he had taken of them during the winter, and granting them a prosperous hunting. Manitou is the name they give in general to all spirits whom they think to be above the nature of man. I took pleasure in looking at this bourg. It is beautifully situated on an eminence, from whence we look over an extensive prairie, interspersed with groves of trees. The soil is very fertile, and produces large crops of corn. The Indians also gather large quantities of grapes and plums. As soon as we had arrived we assembled the chiefs together, and informed them that we had been sent by our governor to discover new countries, and teach them the knowledge of their Creator, who being absolute master of all his creatures will have all nations to know him, and that therefore to comply with his will we did not value our lives, and were willing to subject ourselves to every kind of danger, adding that we wished them to furnish us with two guides, and enforced our request with some presents, which were kindly accepted by them, in return for which they gave us mats, with which we made our beds during the voyage. They also furnished us with two guides to accompany us for some days.
The next day, being the 10th of June, the two guides (Miamies) embarked with us in sight of all the village, who were astonished at our attempting so dangerous an expedition. We were informed that at three leagues from the Maskoutens, we should find a river which runs into the Mississippi, and that we were to go to the west-southwest to find it, but there were so many marshes and lakes, that if it had not been for our guides we could not have found it.
The river upon which we rowed and had to carry our canoes from one to the
other, looked more like a corn-field than a river, insomuch that we could
hardly find its channel. As our guides had been frequently at this portage,
they knew the way, and helped us to carry our canoes overland into the other
river, distant about two miles and a half; from whence they returned home,
leaving us in unknown country, (p. 284) Having nothing to
rely on but Divine Providence. We now left the waters which extend to Quebec,
about five or six hundred leagues, to take those which would lead us hereafter
into strange lands.
Before embarking we all offered up prayers to the Holy Virgin, which we continued to do every morning, placing ourselves and the events of the journey under her protection, and after having encouraged each other, we got into our canoes. The river upon which we embarked is called Mesconsin (Wisconsin); the river is very wide, but the sand bars make it very difficult to navigate, which is increased by numerous islands covered with grape vines. The country through which it flows is beautiful; the groves are so dispersed in the prairies that it makes a noble prospect; and the fruit of the trees shows a fertile soil. These groves are full of walnut, oak, and other trees unknown to us in Europe. We saw neither game nor fish, but roebuck and buffaloes in great numbers. After having navigated thirty leagues we discovered some iron mines, and one of our company who had seen such mines before, said these were very rich in ore. They are covered with about three feet of soil, and situate near a chain of rocks, whose base is covered with fine timber. After having rowed ten leagues further, making forty leagues from the place where we had embarked, we came into the Mississippi on the 17th June (1673).
The mouth of the Mesconsin (Wisconsin) is about 42 1/2o N. lat. Behold us, then, upon this celebrated river, whose singularities I have attentively studied. The Mississippi takes its rise in several lakes in the North. Its channel is very narrow at the mouth of the Mesconsin, and runs south until it is affected by very high hills. Its current is slow, because of its depth. In sounding we found nineteen fathoms of water. A little further on it widens nearly three-quarters of a league, and the width continues to be more equal. We slowly followed its course to the south and south-east to the 42o N. lat. Here we perceived the country change its appearance. There were scarcely any more woods or mountains. The islands are covered with fine trees, but we could not see any more roebucks, buffaloes, bustards, and swans. We met from time to time monstrous fish, which struck so violently against our canoes, that at first we took them to be large trees, which threatened to upset us. We saw also a hideous monster; his head was like that of a tiger, his nose was sharp, and somewhat resembled a wildcat; his beard was long; his ears stood upright; the color of his head was gray; and his neck black. He looked upon us for some time, but as we came near him our oars frightened him away. (p. 285) When we threw our nets into the water we caught an abundance of sturgeons, and another kind of fish, like our trout, except that the eyes and nose are much smaller, and they have near the nose a bone like a woman's bust, three inches broad and a foot and a half long, the end of which is flat and broad, and when it leaps out of the water the weight of it throws it on its back.
Having descended the river as far as 41o 28', we found that turkeys took the place of game, and the Piskious that of other animals. We call the Pisikious wild buffaloes, because they very much resemble our domestic oxen; they are not so long, but twice as large. We shot one of them, and it was as much as thirteen men could do to drag him from the place where he fell. They have an enormous head, their forehead is broad and flat, and their horns, between which there is at least a foot and a half distance, are all black and much longer than our European oxen. They have a hump on the back, and their head, breast, and a part of the shoulders are covered with long hair. They have in the middle of their forehead an ugly tuft of long hair, which, falling down over their eyes, blinds them in a manner, and makes them look hideous. The rest of the body is covered with curled hair, or rather wool like our sheep, but much thicker and stronger. They shed their hair in summer, and their skin is as soft as velvet, leaving nothing but a short down. The Indians use their skins for cloaks, which they paint with figures of several colors. Their flesh and fat is excellent, and the best dish of the Indians, who kill a great many of them. They are very fierce and dangerous, and if they can hook a man with their horns, they toss him up and then tread upon him. The Indians hide themselves when they shoot at them, otherwise they would be in great danger of losing their lives. They follow them at great distances till, by loss of blood, they are unable to hurt or defend themselves. They graze upon the banks of rivers, and I have seen four hundred in a herd together.
We continued to descend the river, not knowing where we were going, and having made an hundred leagues without seeing anything but wild beasts and birds, and being on our guard we landed at night to make our fire and prepare our repast, and then left the shore to anchor in the river, while one of us watched by turns to present a surprise. We went south and south-west until we found ourselves in about the latitude of 40o and some minutes, having rowed more than sixty leagues since we entered the river. On the 25th June we went ashore, and found some traces of men upon the sand, and a path which led into a (p. 286) large prairie. We judged it led to an Indian village, and concluded to examine it. We therefore left our canoes in charge of our men, while M. Joliet and I went to explore it; a bold undertaking for two men in a savage country. We followed this little path in silence about two leagues, when we discovered a village on the banks of a river, and two others on a hill about half a league from the first. We now commended ourselves to God, and having implored his help, we came so near to the Indians that we could hear them talk. We now thought it time to make ourselves known to them by screaming aloud. At the sound of our voices, the Indians left their huts, and probably taking us for Frenchmen, one of us having a black robe on, and seeing but two of us, and being warned of our arrival, they sent four old men to speak to us, two of whom brought pipes, ornamented with different colored feathers. They marched slowly, without saying a word, but presenting their pipes to the sun, as if they wished to smoke them.
They were a long time coming from their village, but as soon as they came near, they halted to take a view of us, and seeing the ceremonies they performed, and especially seeing them covered with cloth, we judged that they were our allies. I then spoke to them, and they said that they were Illinois, and as a sign or friendship they presented us their pipes to smoke. They invited us to their village, where all the people had impatiently waited for us. These pipes are called by the Indians calumets, and as this word is so common among them, I shall make use of it in future, when I want to speak of pipes. At the door of the cabin in which we were to be received, we found an old man in a very remarkable posture, which is the usual ceremony in receiving strangers. He was standing up, all naked, with his hands lifted up to Heaven, as if he wished to screen himself from the rays of the sun, which nevertheless passed through his fingers to his face. When we came near to him, he said, "What a fair day, Frenchmen, this is to come to visit us! All our people have waited for thee, and thou shalt enter our cabin in peace." He then took us into his, where there were a crowd of people who devoured us with their eyes, but who kept a profound silence. We only occasionally heard these words in a low voice, "These are our brothers who have come to see us."
As soon as we sat down, they presented us, according to custom, their calumet, which one must accept, or he would be looked upon as an enemy, and it is sufficient to place it only to your mouth, and pretend to smoke. While the old men smoked in our cabin to entertain us, the great chief of the Illinois sent us word to come to his village, (p. 287) where he wished to hold a council with us. We went accordingly to him, and were followed by all the people of this village, for they had never seen any Frenchmen before. They never appeared tired of gazing at us. They went backwards and forwards to look at us, without making any noise, and this they esteemed as a mark of respect. Having arrived at the borough of the chief, we espied him at the door of his cabin, between two old men, who were likewise naked, and standing, holding the calumet towards the sun. He made us a short speech, to congratulate us on our arrival in his country, and presented us with his calumet, which we had to smoke before we could enter into his cabin. This ceremony being over, he conducted us and desired us to sit down upon a mat, and the old men of the nation being present, I thought fit to acquaint them with the subject of our voyage, and therefore I told them, 1st. that we designed to visit all nations that were on the river, down to the sea. 2d. That God, who had created them, took pity on them, and had sent me to bring them to a knowledge of Him, and to repent. 3d. That the great captain of the French had commanded me to tell that he had conquered the Iroquois, and wished to live in peace with them. 4th. And lastly, that we desired them to tell us all about the sea and the nations we were to pass through before we arrived there.
After we sat down, the chief placed a slave near us, and made us a present of the mysterious calumet, which he thought more valuable to us than the slave. He showed to us by this present his respect for our great captain, and he begged us to remain among them, because of the dangers to which we were exposed in our voyage. I told him that we did not fear death, and that I would esteem it a happiness to lose my life in the service of God, at which he seemed to be much surprised. The council being over, we were invited to a feast which consisted of four dishes. The first was a dish of sagamite, that is some Indian meal boiled in water, and seasoned with grease; the master of ceremonies holding a spoonful of it, which he put thrice into my mouth, and then did the like to M. Joliet. The second dish consisted of three fish, whereof he took a piece, and having taken out the bones, and blown upon it to cool it, he put it into my mouth. The third dish was a large dog, which they had killed on purpose, but understanding that we did not eat this animal they sent it away. The fourth was a piece of buffalo meat, of which they put the fattest pieces into our mouths.
As soon as we had feasted, we were taken to a village of three hundred cabins, attended by an officer, who kept the people from crowding (p. 288) upon us. They presented us with belts, garters, and other articles made of the hair of bears and buffaloes. We slept in the chief's hut, and, on the following morning, we took leave of him, promising to return to his village in four moons. He escorted us to our canoes with nearly six hundred persons, who saw us embark, evincing in every way the pleasure our visit gave them. It will not be improper for me to relate here, what I observed of the customs and manners of this people, which are very different from any I have ever before visited. The word Illinois in their language signifies men; as if they looked upon all other Indians as beasts. And truly it must be confessed that they are more humane than any others I have ever seen. The short time I remained with them did not permit me to inform myself of their customs and manners as much as I desired. They are divided into several villages, some of which I have not seen. They live so remote from other nations, that their language is entirely different. They called themselves "Perouarca." Their language is a dialect of the Algonquin. They are very mild in their dispositions. They keep several wives, of whom they are very jealous, and watch them closely. If they behave unchastely, they cut off their ears or nose, of which I saw several who carried those marks of their infidelity.
The Illinois are well formed and very nimble. They are skillful with their bows and rifles, with which they are supplied by the Indians who trade with our Frenchmen. This makes them formidable to their enemies, who have no firearms. They make excursions to the west to capture slaves, which they barter with other nations for the commodities they want. Those nations are entirely ignorant of iron tools; their knives, axes, and other instruments, are made of flint and other sharp stones. When the Illinois go upon a war expedition, the whole village is notified by an outcry at the door of their huts the morning and evening before they set out. Their chiefs are distinguished from the soldiers, by red scarfs made of the hair of buffaloes, curiously wrought, which are taken only a few days' journey from their village. They live by hunting, and on Indian corn, of which they always have a plenty. They sow beans and melons, which are excellent, especially those whose seed is red. They dry them, and keep them till the winter and spring.
Their cabins are large; they are covered and carpeted with rushes. Their dishes are of wood, but their spoons are made with the bones of the buffalo, which they cut so as to make them very convenient to eat their sagamite with. They have physicians among them to whom, in (p. 289) cases of sickness, they are very liberal. Their clothing consists of the skins of wild animals, which serve to clothe their women, who dress very modestly, while the men go most of the year almost naked. Some of the Illinois and Nadonessians wear women's apparel, and when they put it on in their youth, they never leave it off. There must certainly be some mystery in this. They never marry, but work in the cabins with the women, which the other men think it beneath them to do. They assist in all the juggleries and the solemn dance in honor of calumet, but they are not permitted either to dance or sing. They are called to their councils, and nothing is determined without their advice; for because of their extraordinary manner of living, they are looked upon as manitous or persons of consequence.
It now only remains for me to speak of the calumet, the most mysterious thing in the world. The sceptres of our kings are not so much respected; for the Indians have such a deference for it, that one may call it "The God of Peace and War, and the arbitrer of life and death." One with this calumet may venture amongst his enemies, and on the hottest battles they lay down their arms before this sacred pipe. The Illinois presented me with one of them, which was very useful to us in our voyage. Their Calumet of Peace is different from the Calumet of War; they make use of the former to seal their alliances and treaties, to travel with safety, and receive strangers; and the other is to proclaim war. It is made of a red stone, and smooth as a marble. The head is like our common tobacco pipe, but larger, and fixed to a hollow reed, to hold it for smoking. They ornament it with the head and neck of different birds, to which they add large feather of different colors, and call it The Calumet of the Sun, to whom they present it when they want fair weather, or rain, believing that this planet cannot have less respect for it than they themselves, and therefore they will obtain their wishes. They do not dare to wash themselves in the rivers in the beginning of summer, or eat new fruit, before they have danced the calumet.
The dance of the calumet is a solemn ceremony among the Indians, which they only perform on important occasions, such as to confirm an alliance, or make peace with neighbors. They also use it to entertain any nation that comes to visit them; and in this case we may consider it as their grand entertainment. They perform it in winter time in their cabins, and in the open field in the summer. They (p. 290) choose for that purpose a place under the trees, to shelter themselves against the heat of the sun, and lay in the middle of it a large mat, to place the god of the chief of the company upon, who gives the entertainment. For every one has his peculiar god, whom they call manitoa. It is sometimes a stone, a bird, a serpent, or anything else that they dream of in their sleep. They believe that this manitoa will prosper their sports, of fishing, hunting, and other enterprises. To the right of their manitoa they place the calumet, their great deity, making round about it a kind of trophy with their arms, namely, their clubs, axes, bows, quivers, and arrows. Things being thus arranged, and the hour for dancing having arrived, the men and women who are to sing take the most honorable seats under the trees or arbors. Every one, then, who comes in afterwards sits down, in a ring, as they arrive, having first saluted the manitoa by puffing tobacco smoke upon it, which signifies as much as making it an offering of incense.
Then the Indians, one after the other, take the calumet, and, holding it with both hands, dances, with it, following the cadence of the songs, by making different attitudes, turning from side to side, and showing it to the whole assembly. This being over, he who is to begin the dance appears in the middle of the assembly, and having taken the calumet, presents it to the sun, as if he would invite him to smoke. Then he places it in an infinite number of positions, sometimes laying it near the ground, then stretching its wings, as if he wanted it to fly, and afterwards presents it to the spectators, who smoke it, one after another, dancing all the time, as in the first scene of a ballet. The second scene is a combat, accompanied with vocal and instrumental music, for they have a large drum which agrees pretty well with their voices. The person who dances with the calumet gives a signal to one of their warriors, who takes a bow and arrows from the mat, already mentioned, and fights the other, who defends himself with the calumet alone, both of them dancing all the while. This spectacle is very amusing, especially when it is done in time, for the one attacks, and the other defends; the one thrusts, and the other parries; the one runs, and the other pursues; which is all done so well, with measured steps, and at the regular sound of voices and drums, that it would already pass for a French ballet.
The fight being over, the third scene consists of a speech made by him who holds the calumet, relating the battles he has been in, the victories he has won, and the scalps he has taken; and to reward him, the chief presents him with a buffalo robe, and, having received it, he then goes and presents the calumet to another, and this one to a third, and so on until they all make speeches, when the head chief presents it to the nation that has been invited to the feast as a mark of their friendship, and a continuation of their alliance. There is a song they sing, to which they give a certain turn of expression which is extremely agreeable, and which begins thus:--
"Ninahani, Ninahani, Ninahani, Nane ango."
We took leave of our guides about the end of June, and embarked in presence of all the village, who admired our birch canoes, as they had never before seen anything like them. We descended the river, looking for another called Pekitanoni (the Missouri), which runs from the north-west into the Mississippi, of which I will speak more hereafter."
Return
to TOC, p. 3
Continue to
next part of Miami Collection
[return to Miami
Collection Menu]
[return to Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology List of Publications]
[return to Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology Home]
Last updated: 15 December 2000
URL: http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/home.html
Comments: webmaster@www.gbl.indiana.edu
Copyright 1996, Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology and The Trustees of
Indiana University