Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years With the Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers

CHAPTER IV.

Sit down to write an account of the mines--Medical properties of the Mississippi water--Expedition to the Yellow Stone--Resolve to visit Washington with a plan of managing the mines--Descend the river from St. Genevieve to New Orleans--Incidents of the trip--Take passage in a ship for New York--Reception with my collection there--Publish my memoir on the mines, and proceed with it to Washington--Result of my plan--Appointed geologist and mineralogist on an expedition to the sources of the Mississippi.

CHAPTER V.. Set Out on the Expedition to the North-West--Remain a Few

Set out on the expedition to the north-west--Remain a few weeks at New York--Visit Niagara Falls, and reach Detroit in the first steamer--Preparations for a new style of traveling--Correspondents--General sketch of the route pursued by the expedition, and its results--Return to Albany, and publish my narrative--Journal of it--Preparation for a scientific account of the observations.

CHAPTER VI.. Reception by the Country on My Return--Reasons for Publishing My

Reception by the country on my return--Reasons for publishing my narrative without my reports for a digested scientific account of the expedition--Delays interposed to this--Correspondents--Locality of strontian--Letter from Dr. Mitchell--Report on the copper mines of Lake Superior--Theoretical geology--Indian symbols--Scientific subjects--Complete the publication of my work--Its reception by the press and the public--Effects on my mind--Receive the appointment of Secretary to the Indian Commission at Chicago--Result of the expedition, as shown by a letter of Dr. Mitchell to General Cass.

CHAPTER VII.

Trip through the Miami of the lakes, and the Wabash Valley--Cross the grand prairie of Illinois--Revisit the mines--Ascend the Illinois--Fever--Return through the great lakes--Notice of the "Trio"--Letter from Professor Silliman--Prospect of an appointment under government--Loss of the "Walk-in-the-Water"--Geology of Detroit--Murder of Dr. Madison by a Winnebago Indian.

CHAPTER VIII.

New-Yearing--A prospect opened--Poem of Ontwa--Indian biography--Fossil tree--Letters from various persons--Notice of Ontwa--Professor Silliman--Gov. Clinton--Hon. J. Meigs--Colonel Benton--Mr. Dickenson--Professor Hall--Views of Ex-presidents Madison, Jefferson, and Adams on geology--Geological notices--Plan of a gazetteer--Opinions of my Narrative Journal by scientific gentlemen--The impostor John Dunn Hunter--Trip up the Potomac--Mosaical chronology--Visit to Mount Vernon.

CHAPTER IX.

Appointed an agent of Indian affairs for the United States at Saint Mary's--Reasons for the acceptance of the office--Journey to Detroit--Illness at that point--Arrival of a steamer with a battalion of infantry to establish a new military post at the foot of Lake Superior--Incidents of the voyage to that point--Reach our destination, and reception by the residents and Indians--A European and man of honor fled to the wilderness.

CHAPTER X.

Incidents of the summer during the establishment of the now post at St. Mary's--Life in a nut-shell--Scarcity of room--High prices of everything--State of the Indians--Their rich and picturesque costume--Council and its incidents--Fort site selected and occupied--The evil of ardent spirits amongst the Indians--Note from Governor De Witt Clinton--Mountain ash--Curious superstitions of the Odjibwas--Language--Manito poles--Copper--Superstitious regard for Venus--Fine harbor in Lake Superior--Star family--A locality of necromancers--Ancient Chippewa capital--Eating of animals.

CHAPTER XI.

Murder of Soan-ga-ge-zhick, a Chippewa, at the head of the falls--Indian mode of interment--Indian prophetess--Topic of interpreters and interpretation--Mode of studying the Indian language--The Johnston family--Visits--Katewabeda, chief of Sandy Lake--Indian mythology, and oral tales and legends--Literary opinion--Political opinion--Visit of the chief Little Pine--Visit of Wabishkepenais--A despairing Indian--Geography.

CHAPTER XII.

A pic-nic party at the foot of Lake Superior--Canoe--Scenery--Descent of St. Mary's Falls--Etymology of the Indian names of Sault Ste. Marie, and Lake Superior--The wild rice plant--Indian trade--American Fur Company--Distribution of presents--Death of Sassaba--Epitaph--Indian capacity to count--Oral literature--Research--Self-reliance.

CHAPTER XIII.. My First Winter At the Foot of Lake Superior--Copper Mines--White

My first winter at the foot of Lake Superior--Copper mines--White fish--A poetic name for a fish--Indian tale--Polygamy--A reminiscence--Taking of Fort Niagara--Mythological and allegorical tales among the aborigines--Chippewa language--Indian vowels--A polite and a vulgar way of speaking the language--Public worship--Seclusion from the world.

CHAPTER XIV.

Amusements during the winter months, when the temperature is at the lowest point--Etymology of the word Chippewa--A meteor--The Indian "fireproof"--Temperature and weather--Chippewa interchangeables--Indian names for the seasons--An incident in conjugating verbs--Visiting--Gossip--The fur trade--Todd, McGillvray, Sir Alexander Mackenzie--Wide dissimilarity of the English and Odjibwa syntax--Close of the year.

CHAPTER XV.

New Year's day among the descendants of the Norman French--Anti-philosophic speculations of Brydone--Schlegel on language--A peculiar native expression evincing delicacy--Graywacke in the basin of Lake Superior--Temperature--Snow shoes--Translation of Gen. i.3--Historical reminiscences--Morals of visiting--Odjibwa numerals--Harmon's travels--Mackenzie's vocabularies--Criticism--Mungo Park.

CHAPTER XVI.. Novel Reading--Greenough's "geology"--the Cariboo--Spiteful

Novel reading--Greenough's "Geology"--The cariboo--Spiteful plunder of private property on a large scale--Marshall's Washington--St. Clair's "Narrative of his Campaign"--Etymology of the word totem--A trait of transpositive languages--Polynesian languages--A meteoric explosion at the maximum height of the winter's temperature--Spafford's "Gazetteer"--Holmes on the Prophecies--Foreign politics--Mythology--Gnomes--The Odjibwa based on monosyllables--No auxiliary verbs--Pronouns declined for tense---Esprella's letters--Valerius--Gospel of St. Luke--Chippewayan group of languages--Home politics--Prospect of being appointed superintendent of the lead mines of Missouri.

CHAPTER XVII.. Close of the Winter Solstice, and Introduction of a Northern

Close of the winter solstice, and introduction of a northern spring--News from the world--The Indian languages--Narrative Journal--Semi-civilization of the ancient Aztec tribes--Their arts and languages--Hill's ironical review of the "Transactions of the Royal Society"--A test of modern civilization--Sugar making--Trip to one of the camps--Geology of Manhattan Island--Ontwa, an Indian poem--Northern ornithology--Dreams--The Indian apowa--Printed queries of General Cass--Prospect of the mineral agency--Exploration of the St. Peter's--Information on that head.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Rapid advance of spring--Troops commence a stockade--Principles of the Chippewa tongue--Idea of a new language containing the native principles of syntax, with a monosyllabic method--Indian standard of value--Archaeological evidences in growing trees--Mount Vernon--Signs of spring in the appearance of birds--Expedition to St. Peter's--Lake Superior open--A peculiarity in the orthography of Jefferson--True sounds of the consonants--Philology--Advent of the arrival of a vessel--Editors and editorials--Arrival from Fort William--A hope fled--Sudden completion of the spring, and ushering in of summer--Odjibwa language, and transmission of Inquiries.

CHAPTER XIX.

Outlines of the incidents of the summer of 1823--Glance at the geography of the lake country--Concretion of aluminous earth--General Wayne's body naturally embalmed by this property of the soil of Erie--Free and easy manners--Boundary Survey--An old friend--Western commerce--The Austins of Texas memory--Collision of civil and military power--Advantages of a visit to Europe.

CHAPTER XX.

Incidents of the year 1824--Indian researches--Diverse idioms of the Ottawa and Chippewa--Conflict of opinion between the civil and military authorities of the place--A winter of seclusion well spent--St. Paul's idea of languages--Examples in the Chippewa--The Chippewa a pure form of the Algonquin--Religion in the wilderness--Incidents--Congressional excitements--Commercial view of the copper mine question--Trip to Tackwymenon Falls, in Lake Superior.

CHAPTER XXI.. Oral Tales and Legends of the Chippewas--First Assemblage of a

Oral tales and legends of the Chippewas--First assemblage of a legislative council in Michigan--Mineralogy and geology--Disasters of the War of 1812--Character of the new legislature--Laconic note--Narrative of a war party, and the disastrous murders committed at Lake Pepin in July 1824--Speech of a friendly Indian chief from Lake Superior on the subject--Notices of mineralogy and geology in the west--Ohio and Erie Canal--Morals--Lafayette's progress--Hooking minerals--A philosophical work on the Indians--Indian biography by Samuel S. Conant--Want of books on American archaeology--Douglass's proposed work on the expedition of 1820.

CHAPTER XXII.

Parallelism of customs--Home scenes--Visit to Washington--Indian work respecting the Western Tribes--Indian biography--Professor Carter--Professor Silliman--Spiteful prosecution--Publication of Travels in the Mississippi Valley--A northern Pocahontas--Return to the Lakes--A new enterprise suggested--Impressions of turkeys' feet in rock--Surrender of the Chippewa war party, who committed the murders in 1824, at Lake Pepin--Their examination, and the commitment of the actual murderers.

CHAPTER XXIII.. Trip to Prairie Du Chien on the Mississippi--Large Assemblage of

Trip to Prairie du Chien on the Mississippi--Large assemblage of tribes--Their appearance and character--Sioux, Winnebagoes, Chippewas, &c.--Striking and extraordinary appearance of the Sacs and Foxes, and of the Iowas--Keokuk--Mongazid's speech--Treaty of limits--Whisky question--A literary impostor--Journey through the valleys of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers--Incidents--Menomonies--A big nose--Wisconsin Portage.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Descent of Fox River--Blackbirds--Menomonies--Rice fields--Starving Indians--Thunder storm--Dream--An Indian struck dead with lightning--Green Bay--Death of Colonel Haines--Incidents of the journey from Green Bay to Michilimackinack--Reminiscences of my early life and travels--Choiswa--Further reminiscences of my early life--Ruins of the first mission of Father Marquette--Reach Michilimackinack.

CHAPTER XXV.

Journey from Mackinack to the Sault Ste. Marie--Outard Point--Head winds--Lake Huron in a rage--Desperate embarkation--St. Vital--Double the Detour--Return to St. Mary's--Letters--"Indian girl"--New volume of travels--Guess' Cherokee alphabet--New views of the Indian languages and their principles of construction--Georgia question--Post-office difficulties--Glimpses from the civilized world.

CHAPTER XXVI.

General aspects of the Indian cause--Public criticism on the state of Indian researches, and literary storm raised by the new views--Political rumor--Death of R. Pettibone, Esq.--Delegate election--Copper mines of Lake Superior--Instructions for a treaty in the North--Death of Mr. Pettit--Denial of post-office facilities--Arrival of commissioners to hold the Fond du Lac treaty--Trip to Fond du Lac through Lake Superior--Treaty--Return--Deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Epidemical condition of the atmosphere at Detroit--Death of Henry J. Hunt and A.G. Whitney, Esqrs.--Diary of the visits of Indians at St. Mary's Agency--Indian affairs on the frontier under the supervision of Col. McKenney--Criticisms on the state of Indian questions--Topic of Indian eloquence--State of American researches in natural science--Dr. Saml. L. Mitchell.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Mineralogy--Territorial affairs--Vindication of the American policy by its treatment of the Indians--New York spirit of improvement--Taste for cabinets of natural history--Fatalism in an Indian--Death of a first born son--Flight from the house--Territorial matters--A literary topic--Preparations for another treaty--Consolations--Boundary in the North-west under the treaty of Ghent--Natural history--Trip to Green Bay--Treaty of Butte des Morts--Winnebago outbreak--Intrepid conduct of General Cass--Indian stabbing--Investment of the petticoat--Mohegan language.

CHAPTER XXIX.. Treaty of Butte Des Morts--Rencontre of an Indian With Grizzly

Treaty of Butte des Morts--Rencontre of an Indian with grizzly bears--Agency site at Elmwood--Its picturesque and sylvan character--Legislative council of the Territory--Character of its parties, as hang-backs and toe-the-marks--Critical Reviews--Christmas.

CHAPTER XXX.. Retrospect--United States Exploring Expedition to the South

Retrospect--United States Exploring Expedition to the South Sea--Humanity of an Indian--Trip to Detroit from the Icy Straits--Incidental action of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Historical Societies, and of the Montreal Natural History Society--United States Exploring Expedition--Climatology--Lake vessels ill found--Poetic view of the Indian--United States Exploring Expedition--Theory of the interior world--Natural History--United States Exploring Expedition--History of early legislation in Michigan--Return to St. Mary's--Death of Governor De Witt Clinton.

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