Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years with the Indian Tribes On The American Frontiers Part 70

In those times the Indians made use of the Pazhikewash, or buffalo-weed, which is still used by some of them to this day, especially on war excursions. This made them invulnerable to b.a.l.l.s. They made a liquor from it, and sprinkled themselves and their implements, and carried it in their meda bags. They are under the belief that this medicine not only wards off the b.a.l.l.s and missiles, but tends to make them invisible.

This, with their reliance on the guardian spirits of whom they have dreamed at their initial fasts, throws around them a double influence, making them both invisible and invulnerable.

There is a root used by the Pillagers, to which they attribute similar protecting influences, or attribute the gift of courage in war. It is called by them OZHIGAWAK.

_22d_. Theodoric (_vide ante_, April 19th,) writes me from Detroit in terms of the kindest appreciation for my kindness of him. On his arrival at Mackinack he most acceptably executed several trusts--writing a good hand, being of gentlemanly manners and deportment, and an obliging disposition, and withal a high moral tone of character--as the winter drew on, I judged he would make a good representative for the county in the legislature, and started him in political life. He received the popular vote, and proceeded to the Capitol accordingly.

He writes: "I wish to say to you that my reception here, both in my public and private capacity, has been all that my best friends could desire, and far above what I had any reason to expect. I allude to this subject because it furnishes me with an occasion to acknowledge my deep indebtedness to your kindness, and it affords me pleasure to recognize it, under G.o.d, as the chief instrument in conferring on me my present advantages. And I a.s.sure you my great and constant anxiety shall be, so to conduct myself as not to disappoint any expectations which you may have been instrumental in raising in regard to me."

_28th_. A zealous and pious missionary of the Church of England came to the Chippewas located on the left, or British, side of the St. Mary's River some years ago, under the patronage of the ecclesiastical authorities of Toronto. At this place he married one of the daughters of the Woman of the Green Valley (Ozhawuscodawaqua) heretofore noticed as the daughter of Wabojeeg. He now writes from Canada West: "Charlotte and myself are very much obliged to you for your kind offer of a.s.sistance, of which we will avail ourselves. Although I have now a promise of this Rectory, or I may say, a former one has been confirmed by Bishop Strachan two or three days ago."

_31st_. A friend--a trustee of one of the princ.i.p.al churches at Detroit, writes: "You may think it strange that we of the first Protestant Society of this city are not able to pay our very worthy and deserving pastor, and so it is; but it is no less strange than true! Some of our subscribers are dead; some have failed, and so they can pay nothing, and others have left the country in search of a more congenial clime, and those remaining and much difficulty in meeting their money engagements, though nearly all are in the habit of attending the preaching of this best of men, and we are driven to the necessity of making a call on you, though at a distance.

"Mr. Duffield is continuing his Sunday evening lectures, with his Thursday evening Bible cla.s.s exercises, and they are constantly increasing in interest. We think him a _wonder;_ he renders every subject he touches, simple, and gives the doctrines he treats upon, what the Scriptures p.r.o.nounce them to be, 'A man, though a fool, need not err therein.'

"Our legislature is moving on slowly; the shafts of wit wielded at each other by ----, and ----, are, as the common phrase is, 'a caution;' it requires a man of more than common discernment to see their point. You have, doubtless, before this, seen the announcement of the appointment of Hastings and Stuart, as Auditor and Treasurer; what will become of the Internal Improvement system, is doubtful. Committees are now engaged in examining the Bank of Michigan, and the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank."

Another friend, who was _au fait_ on fiscal affairs (5th Feb.), says: "We get on quite well. The legislative committee will be compelled to state facts, and if they do nothing more they must give us a clean bill of health. I miss you much this winter, and hope, if we are spared, you will not immure yourself again so long."

The fiscal crisis that was now impending over Michigan, it was evident was in the process of advance; but it was not possible to tell when it would fall, nor with what severity. All had been over-speculating--over-trading--over-banking, overdoing everything, in short, that prudence should dictate. But the public were _in_ for it, and could not, it seems, back out, and every one hoped for the best. My best friends, the most cautious guides of my youth, had entered into the speculating mania, and there appeared to be, in fact, n.o.body of means or standing, who had been proof against the temptation of getting rich soon. I "immured" myself far away from the scene of turmoil and strife, and was happy so long as I kept my eyes on my books and ma.n.u.scripts.

_Feb. 8th_. The mission recently established by the Presbyterian Board at Grand Traverse Bay, flourishes as well as it is reasonable to expect.

Mr. Johnston writes: "The chief Kosa, and another Indian, have cut logs sufficient for their houses. This finishes our pinery on this point. We cannot now get timber short of the river on the south-east side of the bay, or at the bottom of it, twelve miles distant. Mr. Dougherty has a prayer meeting on Sat.u.r.day night, and Bible cla.s.s on Sabbath afternoon.

His meetings on Sunday are regularly attended by all the Indians who spend the winter with us; they continue to manifest a kind feeling towards us, and appear anxious to acquire useful knowledge."

_March 7th_. While politicians, financiers, speculators in real estate, anxious holders of bank stock, and missionaries careful of the Indian tribes are thus busy--each cla.s.s animated by a separate hope--it is refres.h.i.+ng to see that my little daughter (Jane) who writes under this date from her school at Philadelphia, is striving after p's and g's. "I am getting along in my studies very well. I love music as much as ever.

I like my French studies much. I have got all p's for my lessons, but one g. G is for good, and p for perfect." What a pity that all cla.s.ses of adult men were not pursuing their g's and p's with equal simplicity of emulation and purity of purpose.

_10th_. Prof. L. Fasquelle, of Livingston, transmits to me a translation of the so-called "Pontiac ma.n.u.script." This doc.u.ment consists of an ancient French journal, of daily events during the siege of the fort of Detroit by that redoubtable chief and his confederates in 1763. It was found in the garret of one of the French _habitants_, thrust away between the plate and the roof; partly torn, and much soiled by rains and the effects of time.

_13th_. The Chippewa Indians say that the woods and sh.o.r.es, bays and islands, are inhabited by innumerable spirits, who are ever wakeful and quick to hear everything during the summer season, but during the winter, after the snow falls, these spirits appear to exist in a torpid state, or find their abodes in inanimate bodies. The tellers of legends and oral tales among them are, therefore, permitted to exercise their fancies and functions to amuse their listeners during the winter season, for the spirits are then in a state of inactivity, and cannot hear. But their vocation as story tellers is ended the moment the spring opens.

The shrill piping of the frog, waking from his wintry repose, is the signal for the termination of their story craft, and I have in vain endeavored to get any of them to relate this species of imaginary lore at any other time. It is evaded by some easy and indifferent remark.

But the true reason is given above. Young and old adhere to this superst.i.tion. It is said that, if they violate the custom, the snakes, toads, and other reptiles, which are believed to be under the influence of the spirits, will punish them.

It is remarkable that this propensity of inventing tales and allegories, which is so common to our Indians, is one of the most general traits of the human mind. The most ancient effort of this kind by far, in the way of the allegorical, is in the following words: "The Thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the Cedar, saying, give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there pa.s.sed by a wild beast and trod down the Thistle." (2 Kings, xiv. 9.)

_April 5th_. A representative in Congress writes from Was.h.i.+ngton: "The House moves very slowly in its business--that is, the business of the nation. The princ.i.p.al object seems to be to make or unmake a President."

_6th_. The Rev. Benj. Dorr, of Christ Church, Philadelphia, commends to my attentions a Mr. Wagner, a gentleman of intelligence, refinement, and scientific tastes, who leaves that city on a tour to the lakes and St.

Anthony's Falls. "His object is to see as much as possible, in one summer's tour, of our great Western World, and I hope he may stop a short time at Mackinack, that he may have an opportunity of forming your acquaintance, of seeing your beautiful island, and examining your splendid cabinet of minerals, which would particularly interest him, as he, has a taste for geological studies."

_8th_. Hon. A. Vanderpool, M.C. from N.Y., observes: "The Senate has, by the casting vote of the Vice President, decided in favor of the Seneca treaty, i.e., that the Indians shall be removed. Much opposition has been made to the treaty, as you will perceive from the speech of Senator Linn, which I send you."

It has been alleged against this treaty that it was carried through by the zealous efforts of the persons holding (by an old compact) the reversionary right to the soil after the Senecas should decide to leave it, and that the obvious interests of these persons produced an undue influence on this feature in the result. It is averred that the Tonewonda band of the Senecas, who hold a separate and valuable reservation on the banks of the Tonewonda River, opposed the proposition altogether, and refused to place their signatures to the instrument.

It was supposed that small Indian communities, living on limited reservations, surrounded entirely on all sides by white settlements, could not sustain themselves, but must be inevitably swept away. But the result, in the case of the Senecas and other remnants of the ancient Iroquois, does not sustain this theory. It is true that numbers have yielded to dissipation, idleness, and vice, and thus perished; but the very pressure upon the ma.s.s of the tribes, and the danger of their speedy destruction without resorting to agriculture, appear to have brought out latent powers in the race which were not believed to exist.

They have taken manfully hold of the plough, cultivated crops of wheat and corn, and raised horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs. They have adopted the style of houses, fences, implements, carriages, dress, and, to some extent, the language, manners, and modes of transacting business, of their neighbors. And, perceiving their ability to sustain themselves by cultivation and the arts, now turn round and solicit the protecting arms of the State and General Government to permit them to develop their industrial capacities. Too late, almost, they have been convinced of the erroneous policy of their ancestors, &c. Every right-thinking man must approve this.

_May 12th_. Prof. Orren Root, of Syracuse Academy, New York, appeals to me to contribute towards the formation of a mineralogical cabinet at that inst.i.tution.

_30th_. The new farming station and mission for the Chippewas of Grand Traverse Bay is successfully established. The Rev. Mr. Dougherty reports that a school for Indian children has been well attended since November.

A blacksmith's shop is in successful operation. The U.S. Farmer reports that he has just completed ploughing the Indian fields. He has put in several acres of oats, and the corn is about six inches above the ground. The Indians generally are making large fields, and have planted more corn than usual, and manifest a disposition to become industrious, and to avail themselves of the double advantage that is furnished them by the Department of Indian Affairs and by the Mission Board which has taken them in hand.

CHAPTER LXX.

Death of Col. Lawrence Schoolcraft--Perils of the revolutionary era--Otwin--Mr. Bancroft's history in the feature of its Indian relations--A tradition of a noted chief on Lake Michigan--The collection of information for a historical volume--Opinions of Mr. Paulding, Dr.

Webster, Mr. Duer, John Quincy Adams--Holyon and Alholyon--Family monument--Mr. Stevenson, American Minister at London--Joanna Baillie--Wisconsin--Ireland--Detroit--Michilimackinack.

1840. _June 7th_. The first of June found me in Detroit, on my way to Was.h.i.+ngton, where I was in a few days met by the appalling intelligence of the death of my father (Col. Lawrence Schoolcraft), an event which took place on this day at Vernon, Oneida County, New York. He had reached his eighty-fourth year, and possessed a vigor of const.i.tution which promised longer life, until within a few days of his demise. A dark spot appeared on one of his feet, which had, I think, been badly gashed with an axe in early life. This discoloration expanded upwards in the limb, and terminated in what appeared to be a dry mortification.

In him terminated the life of one of the most zealous actors in the drama of the American Revolution, in which he was at various times a soldier and an officer, a citizen and a civil magistrate. "Temperate, ardent and active, of a mind vigorous and energetic, of a spirit bold and daring, nay, even indomitable in its aspirations for freedom, he became at once conspicuous among his brethren in arms, and a terror to his country's foes." [97]

[Footnote 97: Nat. Intell. July 31, 1840.]

His grandfather was an Englishman, and had served with reputation under the Duke of Marlborough in some of his famous continental battles, in the days of Queen Anne, and he cherished the military principle with great ardor. He spoke fluently the German and Dutch languages, and was thus able to communicate with the ma.s.ses of the varied population, originally from the Upper Rhine and the Scheldt, who formed a large portion of the inhabitants of the then frontier portions of Albany County, including the wild and picturesque range of the Helderbergs and of the new settlements of Schoharie, the latter being in immediate contact with the Mohawk Iroquois. The influence of the British government over this tribe, through the administration of Sir William Johnson, was unbounded. Many of the foreign emigrants and their descendants were also under this sway, and the whole frontier was spotted with loyalists under the ever hateful name of Tories. These kept the enemy minutely informed of all movements of the revolutionists, and were, at the same time, the most cruel of America's foes, not excepting the Mohawks. For the fury of the latter was generally in battle, but the former exercised their cruelties in cold blood, and generally made deliberate preparations for them, by a.s.suming the guise of Indians. In these infernal masks they gave vent to private malice, and cut the throats of their neighbors and their innocent children. In such a position a patriot's life was doubly a.s.sailed, and it was often the price of it, to declare himself "a son of liberty," a term then often used by the revolutionists.

He had just entered his seventeenth year when the war against the British authorities in the land broke out, and he immediately declared for it; the wealthy farmer (Swartz) with whom he lived, being one of the first who were overhauled and "spotted" by the LOCAL COMMITTEE OF SAFETY, who paraded through the settlement with a drum and fife. He was at the disarming of Sir John Johnson, at Johnstown, under Gen. Schuyler, where a near relative, Conrad Wiser, Esq., was the government interpreter. He was at Ticonderoga when the troops were formed into hollow square to hear the Declaration of Independence read. He marched with the army that went to reinforce Gen. Montgomery, at Quebec, and was one of the besieged in Fort Stanwix, on the source of the Mohawk, while Gen. Burgoyne, with his fine army, was being drawn into the toils of destruction by Gen. Schuyler, at Saratoga--a fate from which his _supersedeas_ by Gen. Gates, the only unjust act of Was.h.i.+ngton, did not extricate him.

The adventures, perils, and anecdotes of this period, he loved in his after days to recite; and I have sometimes purposed to record them, in connection with his name; but the prospect of my doing so, while still blessed with an excellent memory, becomes fainter and fainter.

_8th_. Otwin (_vide ante_) writes from La Pointe, in Lake Superior, in the following terms:--

"I often look back to the happy days I spent in your family, and feel grateful in view of them. A thousand blessings rest on your head, my dear friend, and that of your wife, for all your kindness to me, when first a stranger in a distant land. I cannot reward you, but know that you will be rewarded at the resurrection of the just."

_9th_. "I know of no good reason," says a correspondent, "why a man should not, at all times, stand ready to sustain the truth." This is a maxim worthy Dr. Johnson; but the experience of life shows that such high moral independence is rare. Most men will speak out, and even vindicate the truth, _sometimes_. But the worldling will stand mute, or _evade_ its declaration, whenever his interests are to be unfavorably affected by it.

I reached Was.h.i.+ngton on public business during the heats of June, and, coming from northern lat.i.tudes, felt their oppressiveness severely.

_27th_. Mr. Bancroft, the historian, pursues exactly the course he should, to ferret out all facts, new and old. He does not hold himself too dignified to pick up information, or investigate facts, whenever and wherever he can find them. In what he has to say about the Indians, a subject that lies as a superstratum under his work, he is anxious to hear all that can be said. "Let me hear from you," he adds in a letter of this date, "before you go back. I want to consult you on my chapter about the Indians, and for that end should like to send you a copy of it."

The chief, Eshquagonaby, of Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan, relates the following traditions: When Gezha Manido (the Good Spirit) created this island (continent), it was a perfect plain, without trees or shrubs. He then created an Indian man and woman. When they had multiplied so as to number ten persons, death happened. At this the man lamented, and went to and fro over the earth, complaining. Why, he exclaimed, did the Good Spirit create me to know death and misery so soon? The Good Spirit heard this, and, after a.s.sembling his angels to counsel, said to them, What shall we do to better the condition of man?

I have created him frail and weak. They answered, O, Good Spirit, thou hast created us, and thou art everlasting, and knowest all things; thou alone knowest what is best.

Six days were given to this consultation. During this time not a breath of wind blew to disturb the waters. This is now called _unwatin_ (a calm). On the seventh day not a cloud was seen; the sky was blue and serene. This is called _nageezhik_ (excellent day) by the Indians.

During this day he sent down a messenger, placing in his right bosom a piece of white hare skin, and in his left, part of the head of the white-headed eagle. Both these substances had a blue stripe on them of the nature and substance of the blue sky, being symbols of peace.

The messenger said to the man that complained: "Your words are heard, and I am come from the Good Spirit with good words. You must conform yourself to his commands. I bring pieces of the white hare skin and the white eagle's head, which you must use in your MEDAWA (religico-medical rites), and whatsoever is asked on those occasions will be granted, and long life given to the sick." The messenger also gave them a white otter skin, with a blue stripe painted on the back part of the head. Other ceremonial rites and directions were added, but these may suffice to indicate the character of Mr. Eshquagonaby's tradition, which has just been sent to me.

_July 1st_. I was now anxious to collect materials for the publication of a volume of collections by the Michigan Historical Society, and addressed several gentlemen of eminence on the subject. Mr. J. K.

Paulding, Sec. of the Navy (July 9th), pleads official engagements as preventing him from doing much in the literary way while thus employed.

Dr. Noah Webster, of New Haven, expresses his interest in the history of the country generally, and his willingness to contribute to the collection and preservation of pa.s.sing materials. "In answer to the request for aid in collecting national doc.u.ments, I can sincerely say it will give me pleasure to lend any aid in my power. Respecting the State of Michigan, I presume I could furnish nothing of importance. Respecting the history of our government for the last fifty years, I might be able to add something to the stock of information possessed by the present generation, for I find men in middle life absolutely ignorant of some material facts which have a bearing on our political concerns. But little can be expected, however, from a man of _eighty-two,_ whose toils must be drawing to a close."

The Hon. John A. Duer, Prest. Col. College (July 15th), while expressing a sympathy in the object, declares himself too much occupied in the duties of his charge to permit him to hold forth any promise of usefulness in the case specified.

Hon. John Quincy Adams forwarded, with the expression of his interest in the subject, twelve pamphlets of historical value, the t.i.tles of each of which he carefully recites in his letter. "It will give me much pleasure," he says, "to transmit to the society, when it may be in my power, any of the articles pertaining to the history of the country and mentioned in your letter, as suited to promote the purposes for which it was inst.i.tuted."