Rice County, Minnesota - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 5 of those read), 1882

Chapter with an unread heading (no. 5 of those read)

Le Sueur Visits Lafce Pepm. - Stationed at La Pomte. - Establishes a Post on an Island Al'ove Lake Pepin. - Island Described by Pcnicant. - Kirst S-oux Chief at Montreal. - Ojibw-ay Chiefs' Speeches, - Speech of Sioux Chief. - Teeoskahtay's Death. - he Sueur Goes to France. - Posts Kest of Mackinaw Abandoned - Le Sueur's License Revoked. - Second Visit to France. - Arrives in Gulf of Mexico with D'Iberville. - Ascends the Mississippi. - Lead Mines. - Canadians Fleeing from the Sioux. - At the Mouth of the Wisconsin. - Sioux Robbers, - Elk Hunting. - Lake Pepin Described. - Rattlesnakes. - La Place Killad. - St. Croix Biver Named After a Frenchman. - Le Sueur Reaches St. Pierre, now Minne* sota River. - Enters Mankalito, or Blue Earth, River.- Sioux of the Plains. - Fort L'Huillier Completed. - Conferences with Sioux Bands - Assinaboincs a Separated Sioux Band. - An Indian Feast. - Names of the Sioux Bands. - Charlevoix's Account. - Le Sueur Goes with D'Iberville to France. - D'Iberville's Memorial.- Early Census of Indian Tribes. - Penic.aut's Account of Fort L'Huil lier. - Le Sueur's Departure fioiii the Fort. - D'Evaqe Left in Charge. - Return' to Mobile. - Juehereau at Mouth of Wisconsin.- Bondora Montreal Merchant. - Sioux Attack Miainis. - Boudor Robbed by the Sioux.

Le Sueur was a native of Canada, and a relative of D"lber\ille, the early Governor of Louisiana. He came to Lake Pepin in 1683, -with Nicholas Perrot, and liis name also appears attached to the document prepared in !May, 16S9, after Perrot had re-occupied his post just above the entrance of the lake, on the east side.

In 1692, he was sent by Governor Frontenac of Canada, to La Pouite, on Lake Superior, and m a dispatch of 1693, to the French Government, is the following : '- Le Sueur, another voyageiu-, is to remain at Chagmiamagon [La Poiiite] to endeavor to maintain the peace lately concluded betvs'een tlie Saulteurs [Chippeways] and Sioux. This is of the greatest consequence, as it is now the sole pass by which access can be had to the latter nation, whose trade is very profitable ; the comitry to the south being occupied by the Foxes and ilaskoutens, who several times plundered the French, ou the ground they were carrying ammunition to the Sioux, their ancient enemies."

Entering the Sioux country in 1694, he establislied a post upon a prairie island in the Mississippi, about nine miles below the present towni of Hastings, according to Bellin and others. Penicaut, who accompanied him hi the exploration of the Minnesota, writes, " At the extremity of the lake [PepinJ you come to the Isle Pelee, so called because there are no trees ou it. It is on this island that the French from Canada established their fort and storehouse, and they also winter here, because game is very .ibundant. In the month of September they bring their store of meat, obtained by hunting, and after having skinned and cleaned it, hang it upon a crib of raised scaffolding, in order that the extreme cold, which lasts from September to JIarcli, may preserve it from spoiling. During the whole winter they do not go out except ftu- water, when they have to break the ice every day, and the oabin is generally built upon the bank, so as not to have far to go. "When spring arrives, the savages come to the island, bringing their merchandize."

On the fifteenth of July, 169.5, Le Sueur arrived at ilontreal with a party of Ojibways, and the first JJakotah brave that had ever visited Canada.

The Indians were much impressed with the power of France by the marching of a detachment of seven hunilred picked men, under Chevalier Cresali, who' were on their way to La Chine.

" That he was come to pay his respects to Onontio [the title given the Ciovernor of Canada] in the name of the young warriors of Point Chagouamigon, and to thank him for having given them some Frenchmen to dwell with them; to testify their sorrow for one Jobin, a Frenchman, who was killed at a feast, accidentally, and not maliciously. "We come to ask a favor of you, which is to let us act. "We are allies of the Scion. Some Out<agamies, or JMascouthis, have been killed. The Sciou came to mourn with us. Let us act, Father; let us take revenge.

Explobebs And Pioneebs Of Minnesota

Teeoskahtay, the Dahkotah chief, before he spoke, spread out a beaver robe, and, laying anotlier with a tobacco pouch and ytter sldn, began to weep bitterly. After dryiug his tears, he said:

" All of the nations had a father, who afforded them protection; all of them have iron. B'lt he was a bastard m quest of a father; he was come to see him, and hopes that he will take pity on him."

He then placed upon the beaver robe twentytwo arrows, at each arrow naming a Dahkotah village that desired Frontenac's protection. Resuming his speech, lie remarked:

" It is not on account of what I bring that I hope him who rules the earth will have pity on me. I learned from the Sauteurs that he wanted nothing; that he was the Master of the Iron; that he had a big heart, hito which he could receive all the nations. This has induced me to abandon my people and come to seek his protection, and to beseech bim to receive me among the number of his children. Take com'age, Great Captain, and reject me not; despise me not, though I appear poor in yoiu' eyes. All the nations here present know that I am rich, and the Uttle they offer here is taken from my lands."

Count Frontenac in reply told the chief that he would receive the Dahkotahs as his children, on condition that they woidd be obedient, and that he would send back Le Sueur with him.

Teeoskahtay, taking hold of the governor's knees, wept, and said: " Take pity on us; we are well aware that we are not able to speak, being children; but Le Sueur, who imderstands our language, and has seen all oiu- villages, will next year inform you what will have been achieved by the Sioux nations represented by those arrows before you."

Having finished, a Dahkotah woman, the wife of a great chief whom Le Sueur liad purchased from captivity at Mackinaw, approached those in authority, and, with downcast eyes, embraced their knees, weeping and saying:

" I sjieak like a man penetrated with joy. The Great Captain; he who is the Master of Iron, aifsures me of his protection, and I promise him that if he condescends to restore my children, now prisoners iimong the Foxes, Ottawas and IIiu'ous, I will return hither, and bring with me the twenty-two villages whom he has just restored to life by promising to send them Iron."

On the 14th of August, two weeks after the Ojibway chief left for his home on Lake Superior, Nicholas Perrot arrived with a deputation of Sauks, Foxes, Menomonees, Miamis of Maramek and Pottowatomies.

" I see that you are a young man; your nation has quite tiu'ned away from my wishes; it has pillaged some of my yoiuig men, whom it has treated as slaves. I know that your father, who loved the French, had no hand in the indignity. You only imitate the example of your father who had sense, when you do not co-operate with those of your tribe who are wishing to go over to my enemies, after they grossly insulted me and defeated the Sioux, whom I now consider my son. I pity the Sioux; I pity the dead whose loss I deplore. Perrot goes up there, and he will speak to your nation from me for the release of their prisoners; let tliem attend to liim."

Teeoshkahtay never returned to his native land. While in Monti-eal he was taken sick, and in thirty-three days he ceased to breathe; and, followed by white men, his body was interred in the white man's grave.

Le Sueur instead of going back to Minnesota that year, as was expected, went to France and received a license, in 1697, to open certain mines supposed to exist in Minnesota. The ship in which he was returning was captured by the English, and he was taken to England. After his release he went back to France, and, in 1698, obtained a new commission for mining.

AVhile Le Sueur was in Europe, the Dahkotas waged war against the Foxes and Miamis. In retaliation, the latter raised a war party and entered the land of the Dahkotahs. Finding their foes intrenched, and assisted l)y " coureurs des bois," they were mdignant; and on their return they had a skirmish with some Ficnchmen, who were carrying goods to the Dahkotahs.

friendly Foxes. Tlie Jliamis, after this, were disposed to be friendly to the InKjuois. In 169(>, the year ]irevious, the authorities at Quebec decided that it was expedient to abandon all the posts west of Mackinaw-, and withdraw the French from Wiseonsin and ]Miiniesota.

Tlie voyageurs were not disjiosed to leave the country, and the governor wrote to Pontcbartrain for instructions, in October, 1608. In his dispatch be remarks:

" III this conjunctiire, and nnder all these circumstances, we consider it our duty to posti)one, imtil new instructions from the court, the execution of Sieur Le Sueur"s enterprise for the mines, though the promise had already been given him to send two canoes in advance to ilissilimackinac, for the purpose of purchasing there some provisions and other necessaries for his voyage, and that he would be permitted to go and join them early in the spring with the rest of his bands. led ns to adopt this resolution has been. that the French who remained to trade off with the Five Xations the remainder of their merchandise, might, on seeing entirely new comers arriving there, consider themselves entitled to dispense with coming do'mi, and perhaps adopt the resolution to settle there; whilst, seeing no arrival there, with permission to do what is forbidden, the rellection they will be able to make during the winter, and the apprehension of being guilty of crime, may oblige them to return in the spring.

" This would be very desirable, in consequence of the great difficulty there will Ije in constraining them to it. should they be inclined to lift the mask altogether and become buccaneers; or should Sieur Le Sueur, as he easily could do, furnish them with goods for their beaver and smaller peltry, which he might send down by tlie return of other Frenchmen, whose sole desire is to obey, and who have remained only because of the impossibility of getting their effects down. This would rather induce those who would continue to lead a vagabond life to remain there, as tlie goods tliey would receive from Le Sueur's people would afford them the means of doing .so."

execution of the license granted to the man named Le Sueur to proceed, with fifty men, to explore some mines on the banks of the Mississi]ipi. He has revoked said license, and desires that tlie said Le Sueur, or any other person, be prevented from leaving the colony on ]iretence of going in search of mines, without his majesty's express permission."

Fortimately for Le Suenr, D'Iberville, who was a friend, and closely connected by marriage, was appointed governor of the new territory of Louisiana. In the month of December be arrived from France, v\dth thirty workmen, to proceed to the supposed mines in Jlinnesota.

On the thirteenth of .July, 1700, with a felucca, two canoes, and nineteen men, having ascended the Mississippi, he had reached the mouth of the Missouri, and six leagues above this he passed the Illinois. He there met three Canadians, who came to join him, with a letter from Father Marest, who had once attempted a mission among the Dahkotabs, dated .July 1.3, Mission Immaculate (.'onception of the Holy Virgin, in Illinois.

" I have the honor to write, in order to inform you that the Sangiestas have been defeated 1 ly the .Scioux and Ayavois [lowas]. The people have formed an alliance with the Qiiincapous [Kickapoos], some of the Mecoutins, Renards [Foxes], and Iiletesigamias, and gone to revenge themselves, not on the Scioux, for they are too much afraid of them, but perhaps on the Ayavois, or very likely upon the Paoutees, or more probably upon the Osages, for these suspect nothing, and the others are on their guard.

"As you will probably meet these allied nations, you ought to take precaution against their plans, and not allow them to board yom- vessel, since tlicij arc tmilnrs, and utterly faithless. I pray (iod to accompany you in all your designs.''

Twenty-two leagues above the Illinois, he passed a small stream which he called the River of Oxen, and nine leagues beyond this he passed a small river on the west side, where he met four (,'anadians descending the Mississipi)i. on their way to the Illinois. On the 30th of -Inly, nine leagues above the last-named river, he met seventeen Scioux, in seven canoes, who were going to re- venge the death of three Scioux, one of whom had been burned, and the others killed, at Tamarois, a few days before liis arrival in that village. As he had promised the chief of the IlUnois to appease the Scioux who should go to war against his nation, he made a present to the chief of the party to engage him to turn back. He told them the King of France did not msh them to make this river more bloody, and that he was sent to tell them that, if they obeyed the king's word, they would receive in future all things necessary for them. The chief answered that he accepted the present, that is to say, that he would do as had been told him.

From the 30th of July to the 25th of August, Le Sueur advanced fifty-ttoee and one-fourth leagues to a small river which he called the River of the Mine. At the mouth it runs from the north, but it turns to the northeast. On the right seven leagues, there is a lead mine iu a prairie, one and a half leagues. The river is only navigable in high water, tliat is to say, from early spring tUl the month of June.

From the 2.5tli to the 27th he made ten leagues, passed two small rivers, and made himself aequauited with a mine of lead, from wliich lie took a supply. From the 27th to the 30th he made eleven and a half leagues, and met five Canadians, one of wliom had been dangerously wounded in the head. They were naked, and had no ammunition except a miserable gun, with five or six loads of powder and balls. They said they were descending from the Scioux to go to Tamarois, and, when seventy leagues above, tliey perceived nine canoes in the Mississippi, in which were ninety savages, wlio rol)bed and cruelly beat tliem. Tills party were going to war against the Scioux, and were composed of. four different nations, the Ontagamies [Foxes], Poutouwatamls [Pottowattamies], and Puans [Winnebagoes], who dwell in a connti'y eighty leagues east of the Mississippi from where Le Sueur then was.

Tl le ( 'anadians determined to follow the detachment, which was composed of twenty-eight men. This (lay they made seven and a half leagues. On the 1st of September he passed the Wisconsm river. It runs into the Mississippi from the northeast. It is nearly one and a half miles wide. At about seventy-five leagues up this river, on the right, ascenduig, there is a portage of more than a league. The half of this portage is shaking ground, and at the end of it is a small river which descends into a bay called AVimiebago Bay. It is inhabited by a great nmuber of nations who carry their fiu-s to Canada. Monsieiu: Le Sueur came by the Wisconsin river to the ^Mississippi, for the first time, in 1683, on his \\ay to the Scioux country, where he had already passed seven years at different periods. The Mississippi, opposite the month of the Wisconsm, is less than half a mile wide. From the 1st of September to the -ith, our voyageur advanced fourteen leagues. He passed the river " Aux Canots," which comes from the northeast, and then the Quincapous, named from a nation which once dwelt iipou its banks.

From the 5th to the 9th he made ten and a half leagues, and passed the rivers Cachee and ^Vux Ailes. The same day he perceived canoes, filled with savages, descending the river, and the five Canadians recognized them as the party who had robbed them. They placed sentinels in the wood, for fear of being surprised by land, and when they had approached within hearing, they cried to them that if they approached farther they would fire. They then drew up by an island, at half the distance of a gun shot. Siion, four of the principal men of the band approached in a canoe, and asked if it was forgotten that they were our brethren, and with what design we had taken arms when we perceived them. Le Sueur replied that he had cause to distrust them, since they had robbed five of his party. Jfevertheless, for the sm-ety of his trade, being forced to ))e at peace with all the tribes, he demanded no redi'ess for the robbery, but added merely that the king, their master and his, wished that his sulijects should na\'igate that river without insult, and that they had better beware how they acted.

The Indian who had spoken was silent, but another said they had been attacked by the Scioux, and that if they did not have pity on them, and give them a little jjowder, they should not be able to reach their villages. The consideration of a missionary, who was to go up among the Scioux, and whom these savages might meet, mduced them to give two pounds of powder.

M. Le Sueur made the same day three leagues; passed a stream on the west, and afterward another river on the east, which is navigable at aU times, and which the Indians call Ked River.

On the 10th, at daybreak, they heard an elk whistle, on the other side of the river. A Canadian crossed in a small Scioux canoe, which they had found, and shortly retimied with the body of the animal, which w'as very easily killed, (juand 11 est en rut," that is, from the beginnhig of September nntil the end of October. The hunters at this time made a whistle of a i)iece of wood, or reed, and when they hear an elk whistle they answer it. The animal, lielieviiiij; it to be another elk, ajiproaclies, and is killed with ease.

From the 10th to the 14th, ]M. Le Sueur made seventeen and a half leagues, passing the rivers Eaisin and Paquilenettes (perhaps the Wazi O/.u and Buffalo.) The same day he left, on the east side of the ^lississippi, a beautiful and large river, which descends from the very far north, and called Bon Secours (Chippeway), on account of the great quantity of buffalo, elk, bears and deers which are found there. Three leagues up this river there is a mine of lead, and seven leagues above, on the same side, they found another long river, in the vicinity of which there is a copjjer mine, from A^hich he had taken a lump of sixty pounds in a former voyage. In order to make these mines of any account, peace must be obtained between the Scioux and Ouatagamis (Foxes), because the latter, who dwell on the east side of the Mississippi, pass this road continually when going to war against the Sioux.

Penicaut, in his journal, gives a brief description of the ilississippi between the AMsconsin and Lake Pepin. He writes: "Above the Wisconsin, and ten leagues higher on the same side, begins a great prairie extending for sixty leagues along the bank; this prairie is called Aux Ailes. Opposite to Aux Ailes, on the left, there is another prairie facmg it called Paquilanet which is not so long by a great deal. Twenty leagues above these prairies is found Lake Bon Secours " [Cood Help, now Pepin.]

In this region, at one and a half leagues on the northwest side, commenced a lake, which is six leagues long and more than one broad, called Lake Pepin. It is bounded on the west by a chain of mountains; on the east is seen a prame; and on the northwest of the lake there is another prairie two leagues long and one wide. In the neighborhood is a chain of mountains quite two hundred feet high, and more than one and a half miles long. In these are found several caves, to which the bears retire in winter. Most of the caverns are more than seventy feet in extent, and two hundred feet high. There are several of which the entrance is very narrow, and qinte closed up with saltpetre. It woidd be dangerous to enter them in summer, for they are filled with rattlesnakes, the liite of which is very dangerous. Le Sueur saw some of these snakes which were six feet in length, but generally they are about four feet. They have teeth resembling those of the pike, and their gums are full of small vessels, in which their poison is placed. The Scioux say they tqke it every mornin ;, and cast it away at night. They have at the tail a kind of scale which makes a noise, and this is called the rattle.

Le Sueur made on this day seven and a half leagues, and passed another river, called Iliambouxeeate Ouataba, or the Elver of Flat Rock. [The Sioux call the ("aiuion river Inyanbosndata.]

On the loth he crossed a small river, and saw in the neighborhood several canoes, fdled with Indians, descending the ^lississippi. lie supposed they were Scioux, because he could not distinguish whether the canoes were large or small. The arms were placed in readiness, and soon they heard the cry of the savages, which they are accustomed to raise when they rush upon their enemies. He caused them to be answered in the same mamier; and after having placed all the men behind the trees, he ordered them not to fire until they were commanded. He remained on shore to see what movement the savages woidd make, and perceiving that they placed two on shore, on the other side, where from an eminence they could ascertain the strength of his forces, he caused the men to pass and rejiass from the shore to the wood, in order to make them believe that they were numerous. Tliis ruse succeeded, for as soon as the two descended from the eminence the chief of the party came, bearing the calumet, which is a signal of peace among the Indians. They said that having never seen the French navigate the river with boats like the felucca, they had supposed them to be English, and for that reason they had raised the war cry, and arranged themselves on the other side of the Mississippi; but having recognized their flag, they had come without fear to inform them, that one of their number, who was crazy, had accidentally killed a

Explorers And Pioneers Of Minnesota

The Frenclunan they brought was Denis, a Canadian, and he reported tliat his companion was accidentally killed. His name was Laplace, a deserthig soldier from Canada, liad tahen refuge in this country.

Le Sueur replied, that Onontio (the name they give to all the governors of ('anada), being their father and his, they ought not tt) seek justification elsewhere than before him; and he advised them to go and see him as soon as possible, and beg him to wipe of£ the blood of tliis Frenchman from their faces.

The party was composed of forty-seven men of different nations, who dwell far to the east, about the forty-fourth degree of latitude. Le Sueur, discovering who tlie chiefs were, said the king whom they had spoken of in Canada, had sent him to take possession of the north of the river; and that he wished the nations who dwell on it, as well as those under his protection, to live in peace.

He made this day three and tin-ee-fourtlis leagues; and on the Kith of September, he left a large river on tlie east side, named St. Croix, hecause n FnnrliDian (if tliat name icris nhipa-ricJced at its mouth. It comes from the north-northwest. Four leagues higher, in going up, is foinid a small lake, at the mouth of which is a very large mass of copper. It is on the edge of the water, in a small ridge of sandy earth, on the west of this lake. [One of La Salle's men was named St. Croi.\.]

From the liitli to the 19th, he advanced thirteen and tliree-fourths leagues. After liaving made from Taniarois two hundred and nine and a half leagues, he left the navigation of the Mississippi, to enter the river St. I'ierre, on the west side. By the 1st of October, he had made in this river forty-foui- and one-fourth leagues. After he entered I'jlue river, thus named on account of the mines of blue earth found at its mouth, he fomided his post, situated in forty-four degrees, thirteen minutes north latitude. He met at this place nine Scioux, wlio tol<l liim tliat the river belonged to the Seiotix of the west, the Ayavois (lowas) and Otoctatas (Ottoes). who lived a little farther off: that it was not their custom to hunt on ground belonging to others, unless invited to do so by the owners, and that when they would come to the fort to obtain provisions, they would be in danger of being killed in ascending or descending the rivers, v.'hich were narrow, and that if they woidd show their pity, he must establish iiimsclf on the llississippi, near the mouth of the St. Pierre, where the Ayavois, the Otoctatas, and the other Scioux could go as well as they.

Having finished their speech, they leaned over the head of Le Sueur, according to their custom, crying out, "Onaechissou ouaepanimanabo," that is to say, " Have pity upon us." Le Suenr had foreseen that the establishment of Blue Earth river would not please the Scioux of the East, who were, so to speak, masters of the other Scioux and of the nations wliich will 1)6 hereafter mentioned, hec(tuse they icere the first with whom trade leas commenced, and in consequence of which they had already quite a number of guns.

As he had commenced his operations not only with a view to the trade of beaver but also to gain a knowledge of the mines which he had previously discovered, he told them that he was sorry that he had not known their intentions sooner, and that it was .iust, since he came expressly for them, that he sh(udd establish himself on their land, liut tliat the season was too far advanced for him to return. He then made them a present of powder, balls and knives, and an armful of tobacco, to entice them to assemble, as soon as possible, near the fort he was about to construct, that when they should be all assembled he might tell them the intention of the king, their and his sovereign.

The Scioux of the "West, according to the statement of the Eastern Scioux, have more than a thousanil lodges. They do not use canoes, nor cultivate the earth, nor gather wild rice. They remain generally on the prairies which are between the Upper Mississippi and jNIissouri rivers, and live entirely by the chase. The Scioux generally say they have three souls, and that after death, that which has done well goes to the warm country, that which has done evil to the cold regions, and the other guard.s the body. I'olygamy is common among them. They are very jealous, and sometimes fight in duel for their wives. Tliey manage the bow admirably, and have been seen several times to kill ducks on the wmft. They make their lodges of a imnilier of bulTalo skins interlaced and sewed, ami cany them wlierever they go. They are all great smokers, but their manner of smoking differs from that of other Indians. There are some Sciou.x who swallow all the smoke of the tobacco, and others who, after having keiit it some time in their mouth, cause it to issue from the nose. In each lodge there are usually two or three men witli their families.

On the third of October, they received at the fort several Scioux, among whom was AVahkanlape, cliief of the village. Soon tu-o Canadians arrived wlio liad been hunting, and who had been robbed by the Scioux of the Kast. who had raised their guns against the establishment which M. Le Sueur had made on IJhie Karth river.

On the fourteenth the fort was linished and named Fort L'lluillier. and on Die twenty-second two Canadians were sent out to invite the Ayavois and Otoctatas to come and establish a village near the fort, because tliese Indians are mdustrious and accustomed to cultivate the earth, and they hoped to get provisions from them, and to niake them work in the mines.

On the twenty-fourth, six Scioux Oujalespoitons wished to go into tlie fort, but were told that they did not receive men who had killed Fi'enclmien. This is the term used when they have instdted tliem. The next day Ihey came to the lodge of Le Sueur to beg liim to have pity on them. They wished, according to custom, to weep over his head and make him a present of packs of beavers, which he refused. He told them he was surprised that people who had rol)- bed should come to him ; to which they replied that they liad heard it said that two Frenchmen had been robbed, but none from their village had l)eeu present at tliat wicked action.

Le Sueur answered, that he knew it was tlie Mendeoncantons and not the Oujalespoitons : " but." continued he, "yon are Scioux; it is the Scioux who have robbed me. and if I were to follow your manner of acting I should break yomheads; for is it not true, tiiat when a stranger (it is thus they call the Indians wlio are not Scioux) has insulted a Scioux, ilendeoucanton. ( )ujale.spoitons. or others - all the villages revenge upon the lirst one they meetV" As they had nothing to answer to what he said to them, they wept and rejieated, ac('oi'ding to custom, " Ouaecliissou I ouaepanimaual)o !"' Le Sueur told them to cease crying, and added that the French had good liearts, and tliat they had come into tlie country to have pity on tliem. At the same time lie made them a present, saying to them. Carry liack your beavers and say to all the Scioux. that tliey will have from me no more powder or lead, and they will no longer smoke any long pipe until they have made satisfaction for robbing the Frenchman.

Tlie same day the Canadians, who had been sent off on the 22d. arrived without liaving found the road which led to the Ayavois and Otoctatas. On the 26tli, Le Sueur went to the river with three canoes, which he tilled with green and blue earth. It is taken from the hills near which are very abundant mhies of copper, some of which was worked at Paris in IH'.id. liy I/IIuillier. one of the chief collectors of the king. Stones were also found there wliicli would be curious, if worked.

On the ninth of Novemlier, eight iSIautanton Scioux arrived, who had been sent li\- their chiefs to say that the Mcndcoucantona wci-e still at their hdr on tin east of tlie Mississiiqji- and they could not come for a long time ; and that for a single village wliich had no good sense, tlie otliers ought not to bear the punishment ; and that they were willing to make reparation if tliey knew how. Le Sueur replied that he was glad that they had a disposition to do so.

On the loth the two Mantanton Scioux. wlio had been sent expiessly to say that all of the Scioux of the east, and part of those of the west, were joined together to come to the French, because they had heard that the Christiaiiaux and the Assiniiioils were making war on them. These two nations dwell aliove llie fort on the east side, more than eiglity leagues on tlie Upper Mississippi.

Tlie xVssinipoils speak Scioux, and are certainly of that nation. It is only a few years since that they became enemies. The enmity thus originated: The Cliristianaiix, having the use of arms before the Scioux, through tlie English at Hudson's Bay, they constantly warred upon the Assiuipoils, wlio were their nearest neighbors. The latter, being weak, sued for peace, and to render it more lasting, married the Christianaux women. The other Scioux, who had not made the compact, continued tliewar; and, seeing some Christianaux with the Assinipoils, broke tlieir heads. The Christianaux furnished the Assinipoils with arms and merchandise.

On the l(5th the Scioux returned to their village, and it was reported that tlie Ayavois and Otoctatas were gone to establish themselves towards the jNIissouri River, near the Maha, who dwell in tliat region. On the 2{5th the Mantantons and Oujalesi)oitons arrived at the fort; and, after they had encamped in the woods, Wah kantape came to beg Le Sueur to go to his lodge. He there finuid sixteen men willi women and children, with their faces daubed with black. In the middle of the lodge were several buffalo skins wliicli were sewed for a carpet. After motioning liim to sit down, they wept for the fourth of an liour, and the chief gave him some wild rice to eat (as was their custom), putting the first three spoonsful to his mouth. After which, he said all present were relatives of Tioscate, whom Le Sueur took to Canada in 1695, and who died there in 1696.

At the mention of Tioscate they began to weep again, and wipe tlieir tears and heads upon the shoulders of Le Sueur. Tlien AVabkantape again spoke, and said tliat Tioscate liegged him to forget the insult done to the Frenchmen by the Mendeoucantons, and take pity on his brethren by giving them powder and balls whereby they could defend tliemselves, and gain a living for their wives and clnldren,who languish in a country fidl of game, because they had not the means of killing them. " Look," added the chief, " Behold tliy cliildreu, thy brethren, and thy sisters; it is to thee to see wlietlier tliou wisliest them to (lie. They will live if thou givest them powder and Ijall; they will die if thou refusest."

Le Sueur granted them tlieir request, but as the Scioux never answer on the spot, especially in matters of importance, and as he had to speak to them aliout his establishment he went out of tlie lodge witliout saying a word. The chief and all tliose witliiu followed liim as far as tlie door. of the fort; and wlieu he had gone in. tliey went around it tlirce times, crying with all their strengtli, " Atlicouanaii! " that istosay, " Father, have pity on us."' [Ate unyanpi, means Our Father.]

The next day, he assembled in the fort the principal men of both villages; and as it is not possible to subdue the Scioux or to hinder them from going to war, unless it be by inducing them to cultivate the earth, he said to them that if they wished to render themselves worthy of the protection of the king, tliey must abandon tlieir erring life, and form a village near his dwelling, where they would be shielded from the insults of of their enemies; and that they might be happy and not hungry, he would give them all the corn necessary to plant a large piece of ground; that the king, their and his chief, in sending liim, had forbidden bira to purchase beaver skins, knowing that tliis kind of liunting separates tliem and exposes tliem to their enemies; and that in consequence of tliis he had come to establish himself on Blue River and vicinity, where they had many times assured him were many kinds of beasts, for the skins of which he would give tlietn all tilings necessary; that they ought to reflect that they could not do without French goods, and that tlie only way not to want them was, not to go to war with our allied nations.

As it is customary with the Indians to accompany their word with a present proportioned to the affair treated of, he gave them fifty pounds of jiowder, as many ball's, six guns, ten axes, twelve armsful of tobacco, and a hatchet pipe.

On tlie first of December, the JIantantons invited Le Sueur to a great feast. Of four of their lodges they liad made one, in which were one hundred men seated around, and every one his dish before him. After the meal, Wahkantape, llie chief, made them all smoke, one after another, in the hatchet pipe which had been given them, lie then made a present to Le Sueur of a slave and a sack of wild rice, and said to him, showing him his men: " Behold the remains of this great village, which thou hast aforetimes seen so numerous! All the others have been killed in war; and the few men whom thou seest in this lodge, accept the present thou hast made them, and are resolved to oliey the great chief of all nations, of whom tliou hast spoken to us. Thou ouglitest not to regard us as Scioux, but as French, and instead of saying tlie Scioux are miserable, and liave no mind, and are fit for nothing but to rob and steal from the French, thou shalt say my brethren are miserable and have no mind, and we must try to procure some for tliem. They rob us, but I will take care that they do not lack iron, that is to say, all kinds of goods. If thou dost this, 1 assure thee that in a little time the Mantantons will become Frenchmen, and they will have none of those vices, with which thou reiiroachest us."

Having finished his speech, he covered his lace with his garment, and the others imitated him. They wept over their companions who had died in war, and chanted an adieu to their country in a tone so gloomy, that one could not keep from partaking of their sorrow.

Wahkantape then made them smoke again, and distributed the presents, and said that he was going to the ^lendeoueantons, to inform them of the resolution, and invite them to do the same.

On the twelfth, three Mendeoucauton chiefs, and a large number of Indians of the same village, arrived at the fort, and the next day gave satisfaction for robbing the Frenchmen. They brought four hundred pounds of beaver skins, and promised that the summer following, after their canoes were built and they had gathered their wild rice, that they would come and establish themselves near the French. The same day they returned to their village east of the Mississippi.

Names Of Tue Bands Of Scioux Of The The Scioux Of The West

In the narrative of Major Long's second expedition, there are just as many villages of the Gens du Lac, or M'dewakantimwan ScioiLX mentioned, though the names are different. After leaving the iliUe Lac region, the divisions evidently were different, and the villages known by new names.

Charlevoix, who visited the valley of the Lower Mississippi in 1722, says that Le Sueur spent a winter in his fort on the banks of the Blue Earth, and that in the following April he went up to the mine, about a mile above. In twenty-two days they obtained more than Uiirty thousand pounds of the substance, four thousand of which were selected and sent to France.

On the tenth of February, 1702, Le Sueur came back to the post on the Gulf of Mexico, and fomid DTben-ille absent, who, however, arrived on the eighteenth of the next month, with a ship from France , loaded with supplies. After a few weeks, the Governor of Louisiana sailed again for the old coiintry, Le Sueur being a fellow passenger.

On board of the ship, DTberville wrote a memorial upon the Mississippi valley, with suggestions for carrying on commerce therein, which contains many facts furnished liy Le Sueur. A copy of the manuscript A\ns in jiossession of the Historical Society of Minnesota, from which are the followmg extracts:

"If the Sioux remain in their own countiy, they are useless to us, being too distant. We could have no commerce with them except that of the beaver. M. Le Sueur, tcho goes to France to give an account of this country, is the proper person to make these movements. He estimates the Sioux at four thousand famiUes, who could settle upon the ^Missouri.

"He has spoken to me of another which he calls the Mahas, composed of more than twelve hundred famiUes. The Ayoones (loways) and the Octoctatas, their neighbors, are about three hundred families. They occupy the lands be- tween the Mississippi and the Missouri, about one hundred leagues from the lOinois. Tiiese savages do not Isuow the use of arms, and a descent might be made upon them in a river, Mhicli is beyond ttie AVabash on the west. * * *

" The Assmibouel, Quenistinos, and people of the north, who are upon the rivers which fall into the Mississippi, and trade at Fort Kelson (Hudson Bay), are about four hundred. We could prevent them from going there if we wish."

" In four or five years we can establish a commerce with these savages of sixty or eighty thousand buffalo skins; more than one hundred deer skins, AAliidi 'will produce, delivered in France, more than two million four hundred thousand livres yearly. One might obtain for a Iniffalo skin four or five pounds of wool, which sells for twenty sous, two potinds of coarse hair at ten sous.

In the third \-olume of the " History and Statistics of the Indian Tribes," prepared under the direction of the Commissioner of Indian affairs, by Mr. Schoolcraft, a manuscript, a copy of which was in possession of General Cass, is referred to as containing tlie first enumeration of the Indians of the Mississippi A'alley. The following was made thirty-fo>ir years earlier by DTberville:

" The savage tribes located in the places I have . marked out, make it necessary to establish three posts on the Mississippi, one at the Arkansas, another at the AVabash (Ohio), and the third at the ilissouri. At each post it would be proiJer to have an officer with a detachment of ten soldiers with a sergeant and corporal. All Frenchmen should be allowed to settle there with their families, and trade with the Indians, and they might establish tanneries for properly dressmg the buffalo and deer skins for transportation.

" Xo Frenclunan Khali be allnwcd to folloic the Indians on their hunts, as it tends to keep tlumi hunters, as is seen in Canada, and when they are in the woods, they do not desire to become tilters of the soil. *******

" I have said nothing in this memoir of which I have not personal knowledge or the most reliable sources. The most of what I propose is founded upon personal reflection in relation to what might be done for the defence and advancement of the colony. ***** * * * It will be absolutely necessary that the long should define the limits of this country in relation to the government of Canada. It is important that the commandant of the Mississippi should have a report of those who inhabit the rivers that fall into the Mississippi, and principally those of the river Illinois.

" The Canadians intimate to the savages that they ought not to listen to us but to the governor of Canada, who always speaks to them with large presents, that the governor of JSIississippi is mean and never sends them any thing. This is true, and what I cannot do. It is iinjirudent to accustom the savages to be spoken to by presents, for, with so many, it would cost the king more than the revenue derived from the trade. AVhen they come to us, it will be necessary to bring them in subjection, make them no presents, and compel them to do wliat we wish, ((.s if they were Frenchmen.

trade them, and threaten to draw down tlic hostility of otlier Indians. AVe rectify the difficulty by h<iviiig missionaries, who will bring them into obedience secretly.

" Tlie Illinois and JSIascoutens luivc detained the French canoes they find iipouthe Mississippi, saying that the governors of Canada have given them permission. I do not know whether this is so, but if true, it follows tliat we liave not the liberty to send any one on the Mississijipi.

Penicaut'S account varies in some particulars from that of La Ilarpe's. lie calls the JMahkalito Green River instead of Blue and -writes: ^\'e took our route by its mouth and ascended it forty leagues, when we found another river falling into the Saint Pierre, which we entered. "We Jailed this the Green Piver because it is of that color by reason of a green earth which loosening itself from from the copper mines, becomes dissolved and makes it green.

" A league up this river, we found a pomt of land a quarter of a league distant from the woods, and it was upon this point that M. Le Sueur resolved to build his fort, because we coidd not go any higher on account of the ice, it being the last day of Septemlier. Half of our people \vent hunting whilst the others worked on the fort, "\^'e killed four himdred buffaloes, which were our provisions for the winter, and which we placed upon scaffolds in om- fort, after having skinned and cleaned and quartered them. "We also made cabins in the fort, and a magazine to keep our goods. After having drawn up our shallop within the inclosm-eof the fort, we spent the winter m our cabins.

" When we were working in our fort in the begimiing seven French traders from Canada took refuge there. They had been pillaged and -stripped naked by the Sioux, a wandering nation living only Ity hunthig and plundering. Among these seven persons there was a Canadian gentleman of Le Sueur's acquamtance, whom he recognized at once, and gave him some clothes, as he did also to all the rest, and whatever else was necessary for them. They remained with us during the entire winter at our fort, where we had not food enough for all, except buffalo meat which we had not even salt to eat with. AVe had a good deal of trouble the fii'st two weeks in accustoming ourselves to it, having fever and diarrluea and becoming so tired of it as to hate the smell. Put by degrees our bodies became adapted to it so well that at the end of six weeks tliere was not one of us who could not eat six pounds of meat a day, and drink four bowls of broth. As soon as we were accustomeil to this kind of living it made us very fat, and then there was no more sickness.

" AMien spring arrived we went to work in the copper mine. Tins was the beginning of Ajiril of this year [1701.] "We took with us tweh-e laborers and four hunters. This mine was situated aljout three-quarters of a league from our post. "We took from the mine in twenty days more than twenty thousand pounds weight of ore, of which we only selected four thousand pounds of the ilnest, wliicli M. Le Sueur, who \\as a very good judgaof it, had carried to the fort, and whicli has since been sent to France, though I have not learned the result.

'- This mine is situated at the beginning of a very long mountain, which is uijon the bank of the river, so that Itoats can go right to the mouth of the mine itself. At this place is the green earth, which is a foot and a half ui thickness, and above it is a layer of earth as Arm and hard as stone, and black and burnt like coal by tlie exhalation from the mine. Tlie copjjcr is scratched out with a knife. There are no trees upon this moinitain. * * * ^Vf ter twenty-two days' work, we returned to our fort. When the Sioux, who belong to tlie nation of savages who pillaged the Canadians, came they brought us merchandize of furs.

" They had more than four hundred beaver robes, each robe made of nine skins sewed together. M. Le Sueur purchased tliese and many other skins which he bargained for, in the week he traded with the savages. * * * * We sell in return wares wliich come very dear to tlie buyers, especially tobacco from Brazil, in the jiropeniion of a hundred crowns tlie pound; two little horn-handled knives, and four leaden liullets are equal to ten crowns in exchange for skins ; and so with the rest.

earth that had been taken ont of the river, and with tlie furs we luid traded for, of wliicli we liad three canoes full. M. Le Sueur before gomg held council with M. D'Eva(iue [or Eraque] the Canadian gentleman, and the three great chiefs of the Sioux, three brothers, and told them that as he had to return to the sea, he desired them to live in peace with M. D'Evaque, whom he left in command at Fort L'lIuilUer, with twelve Frenchmen. M. Le Sueur made a considerable present to the three brothers, chiefs of the savages, desiring them to never abandon the Frencli. Afterward we the twelve men whom he had chosen to go down to the sea with him embarked. In setting out, M. Le Sueur promised to M. D'Evaque and tlie twelve Frenclimen who remained with him fo guard the fort, to send up munitions of war from the Illinois country as soon as he sliould arrive there ; which he did, for on getting there he sent off to him a canoe loaded with two thousand pomids of lead and powder, \\itli three of our pe()i)Ie in charge."

Le Sueur arrived at the French fort on the Gulf of Mexico in safety, and in a few weeks, in the spring of 1701, sailed for France, with his kinsman, D'lberville, the tirst govei'uor of Louisiana.

In the spring of the next year (1702) D'Evaque came to Mobile and reported to D'Iberville, who had come back from France, that lie had Ijeen attacked by the Foxes and ^Nlaskoiitens, who killed three Frenchmen who were workhig near Fort L'lluillier, and that, being out of jiowder and lead, he had been oV)liged to conceal the goods wliicli were left and abandon tlie post. At the Wisconsin Kiver he had met .Juchereau, formerly criminal judge in Montreal, with thirty-flvo men, on Ids way to establish a tannery for bulfalo skins at the Wabash, and that at the Illinois he met the canoe of supplies sent by Bienville, DT)erville"s lirother.

La JNIotte Cadillac, in command at Detroit, in a letter w^ritten on August 31st, 17o;i, alludes to Le Sueur's expedition in these words: Last year they sent Mr. IJoudor, a Montreal merchant, into till- country of the Sioux to join Le Sueur. He succeeded so well in that journey he trans]iorted thither twenty-five or thirty thousand pounds of merchandize with which to trade in all the country of the Outawas. This proved to liim an imfortunate investment, as he has been robbed of a part of the goods by the Outagamies. The occasion of the robbery by one of our own allies was as follows. I speak with a full linowledgo of the facts as they occurred while I was at Michillimackianc. From time immemorial our allies have been at war with the Sioux, and on my arrival there in conformity to the order of ^1. Frontenac, the most able man who has ever come into Canada, I attempted to negotiate a truce between the Sioux and all our allies. Succeeding in this negotiatiou I took the occa- .sion to turn their arms against the Iroquois with whom we were then at war, and soon after I effected a treaty of peace between the Sioux and the French and theirallies which lasted two years.

"At the end of tha time the Sioux came, in great numbers, to the villages of the Miamis, under pretense of ratifying the treaty. They were well re(;eived by tlie Miamis, and, after spending several days in tlieir villages, departed, apparently perfectly satistied with their good reception, as they certainly had every reason to be.

" The Miamis, believing them already far distant, slept quietly; but the Sioux, who had premeditated the attack, returned the same night to the i)riiicipal village of the Miamis, where most of the tribe were congregated, and, taldng them by surprise, slaughtered nearly three tliousaud('r') and put the rest to (light..

"This perfectly infuriated all tne nations. They came with their complauits, begging me to join with them and exterminate the Sioux. But the war we then had on our hands did not permit it, so it became necessary to play the orator in a long harangue. In conclusion I advised them to ' weep their dead, and wrap them up, and leave them to sleep coldly till the day of vengeance should come;' telling them we must sweep the land on this side of the InKjuois, as it was necessary to exlingiush even their memory, after which the allied tribes could more easily avenge the atrocious deed that the Sioux had just committed upon them. In short, I managed them so well that the aflfah' was settled in the manner that I proposed.

-- But the twenty-live permits still existed, and the cupidity of the French induced them to go among the Sioux to trade for beaver. Our allies cumplained bitterly of this, saying it was injust- ice to them, as they had taken up arms in our' quarrel against the Iroquois, wliile tlu! French traders were carrying munitions of war to tlie Sioux to enahle them to kill the rest of our allies as they had the Miamis.

I immediately informed M. Frontenac, and M. Champigny having read the communication, and commanded that an ordinance be pnblished at iMontreal forl)id(ling the traders to go into the (.'ountry of tlie Sionx for the purpose of trallic under penalty of a thousand francs fine, the confiscation of the goods, and other arbitrary penalties. The ordinance was sent to me and faithfully executed. The same year [1699] I descended to (Quebec, having asked to be reUeved. Since that time, in spite of tins prohibition, the French have contmued to trade with the Sioux, but not without being subject to affronts and indignities from our allies themselves which bring dishonor on the French name. * * * I do not consider it best any longer to allow the traders to carry on commerce with the Sioux, mider any pretext whatever, especially as M. Boudor has just been robbed by the Fox nation, and M. Jncheraux has given a thou.sand crowns, in goods, for tlu^ right of passage through the country of tlie allies Id his habitation.

'- Tlie allies say that Le Sueur has gone to tlie Sioux on the Mississippi; that they are resolved to oppose him, and if he offers any resistance they will not be answerable for the consequences. It would be well, therefore, to give Le Sueur warning by the Governor of Mississippi.

"The Sauteurs [(!hippeways] being friendly with the Sioux wished to give passage through their country to M. Boudor and others, permitting tlieni to carry arras and other munitions of war to this nation; but the other nations liemg opposed to it, differences have arisen between them which have resulted in the robbery of M. Boudor. This has given occasion to the Sauteurs to make an outbreak upon the Sacs and Foxes, killing thirty or forty of them. So thero is war among the people."