The new administration--Intellectual contest in the Senate--Sharp contest for mayoralty of Detroit--Things shaping at Washington--Perilous trip on the ice--Medical effects of this exposure--Legislative Council--Visit to Niagara Falls--A visitor of note--History--Character of the Chippewas--Ish-ko-da-wau-bo--Rotary sails--Hostilities between the Chippewas and Sioux--Friendship and badinage--Social intercourse--Sanillac--Gossip--Expedition to Lake Superior--Winter Session of the Council--Historical disclosure--Historical Society of Rhode Island--Domestic--French Revolution.
1830. Jan. 26th. THE NEW ADMINISTRATION.--A friend from Washington writes: "Nothing has yet been touched in the Indian department. It is doubtful whether our code will be considered. The engrossing topic of the session will be the removal of the Indians. It occupies the public mind through the Union, and petitions and remonstrances are pouring in, without number. The article (On the Removal of the Indians) was luckily hit. It has been well received, and is very acceptable to the government."
Feb. 23d. INTELLECTUAL CONTEST IN THE SENATE.--A correspondent from Detroit writes: "I refer you to your papers, which will give you the history of the contest between those intellectual giants, Hayne and Webster, rather Webster and Hayne, on the land question, which seems to absorb public interest entirely. My books containingExtracts of the Eloquence of the British Parliament, furnish me no such models as that second speech. Such clearness, simplicity, and comprehensiveness; such a grave and impressive tread; such imposing countenance and manner; such power of thought, and vigor of intellect, and opulence of diction, and chastened brilliance of imagination, have seldom, I was about to say never, startled the listeners of that chamber."
SHARP CONTEST FOR MAYORALTY OF DETROIT.--A shrewd and observant correspondent writes: "John R. Williams has been elected mayor, after a close election, disputed by Chapin. The enemy practised a good thing on him. During one of the delegate elections, when his ambition seemed to tower higher than it now does, he published a sort of memorabilia, like that of Dr. Mitchell, in which was set forth, with much minuteness of detail, all that he had ever done, and much of all he ever thought, for the good of this poor territory. Such, for instance, as that in 1802, he was appointed town-clerk of Hamtramck; that he offered, in 1811, his services to Congress in a military capacity, which offer was rejected, and 'was the first who received intelligence of the capture of Mackinac,' &c. This thing the remorseless enemy republished, after it had been fervently hoped, no doubt, that the unlucky bantling had descended to the tomb of the Capulets. It was so unaccountably weak and stupid, and so unkindly contrasted at bottom with sundry specifications 'of how' he had, with a pertinacious consistency, opposed every projected public improvement here, that his friends pronounced it aforgery."
April 14th. THINGS SHAPING AT WASHINGTON.--"I reached home," says a friend, "last week, after a pleasant journey. The time passed off, at Washington, pretty comfortably. There was much to see and hear. The elements of political affairs are combining and recombining, and it is difficult to predict the future course of things.
"You will see that, in the fiscal way, the department is better off than last year. Our friend, Col. McKenney, stands his ground well, and I see no difference in his situation."
PERILOUS TRIP ON THE ICE.--My brother James left the Sault St. Marie on the ice with a train, about the 1st of April. He writes from Mackinac, on the 14th of April: "We arrived here on the 12th, after a stay of seven days at Point St. Ignace. We were seven days from the Sault to the Point, at which place we arrived in a cold rain storm, half starved, lame, and tired. I suppose this trip ranks anything of the kind since the days of Henry. I am sure mortals never suffered more than us. After leaving the Sault, disappointment, hunger, and fatigue, were our constant companions. The children of Israel traveled a crooked road, 'tis said, but I think it was not equal to our circuit.
"We found the ice in Muddy Lake very good, in comparison to that of Huron. After leaving Detour, we were obliged to coast, and that too over piles of snow, mountains of ice, and innumerable rocks. In one instance, we were obliged to make a portage across a cedar swamp with our baggage, and drove Jack about a mile through the water, in order to continue the 'voyage in a train.' We were obliged to round all those long points on Huron, afraid if we went through the snow of being caught on some island.
"Jack fell through the ice three times out of soundings, and it was with great difficulty we succeeded in getting him out. We lost all our harness in the Lake, and were obliged to 'rig out' with an old bag, a portage collar, and a small piece of rope-yarn. Jack was three days without eating, except what he could pick on the shore. Take it all in all, I think it rather a severe trip."
MEDICAL OR PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF THIS EXPOSURE TO COLD AND WET.--"I came to this place (Vernon, N.Y.) much fatigued, and not in the best health. I think my voyage from the Sault to Mackinac has impaired my health. I was most strangely attacked on board the Aurora. As I was reading in the cabin, all at once I was struck perfectly blind; then a severe pain in the head and face and throat, which was remedied by rubbing with vinegar; on the whole, rather a strange variety of attack."
KINDNESS TO AN OLD DECAYED "MERCHANT VOYAGEUR."--There lived near me, on the Canadian shore, an aged Frenchman, a native of Trois Rivières, in Lower Canada, whose reminiscences of life in the wilderness, in the last century, had the charm of novelty. He was about seventy years of age, and had raised a family of children by a half-English half-Chippewa wife, all of whom had grown up and departed. His wife and himself were left alone, and were very poor. His education had been such as to read and write French well; he had, in fact, received his education in the College of Quebec, where he studied six years, and he spoke that language with considerable purity. As the cold weather drew on in the fall of 1829, I invited him, with his wife, to live in my basement, and took lessons of him in French every morning after breakfast. He had all the polite and respectful manners of ahabitant, and never came up to these recitations without the best attention in his power to his costume.
Such was Jean Baptiste Perrault, who was from one of the best families in Lower Canada. He had been early enamored with stories of voyageur adventure and freedom in the Indian country, where he had spent his life. He was a man of good judgment, quick perceptions, and most extraordinary memory of things. At my request, he committed to paper, in French, a narrative of his wild adventures, reaching from St. Louis to Pembina, between 1783 and 1820. Most of the facts illustrate the hardships and risks of the Indian trade and Indian manners and customs. They supply something for the history of the region while the country was under the English dominion.
Never was a man more grateful for this winter's attention. He moved back with his wife, who was quite attentive to him, to his little domicil on the opposite shore in the spring, and lived, I am informed, till Nov. 12, 1844, when he was about 85.
FOURTH LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.--I was re-elected a member of the Legislative Council, and as soon as the lakes and river were fairly open, proceeded to Detroit, where I arrived about the middle of May. In this trip I was accompanied by Mrs. S. and my infant son and daughter, with their nurse; and by Miss Charlotte Johnston, a young lady just coming out into society. The council met and organized without delay, the committees being cast much in the manner of the preceding council, as a majority of the members were re-elected. So far as changes of men had supervened, they were, perhaps, for the better.
VISIT TO NIAGARA FALLS.--Early in June, however, it was determined to take a recess, and I embraced this opportunity to proceed with my family to visit Niagara Falls. Miss Elizabeth Cass accepted an invitation to join us, and we had a most interesting and delightful visit. We were, perhaps, the first party of pure pleasure, having no objects of business of any kind, who ever went from the upper lakes to see this grand feature in American scenery. We were most kindly received by friends and acquaintances at Buffalo, where many parties were given. We visited both banks of the falls, and crossed over below the sheet. On passing Black Rock, we were kindly received by Gen. Porter and his accomplished and talented lady. We returned to Detroit with the most pleasing reminiscences of the trip.
A VISITOR OF NOTE.--About the 20th of July, Gen. Erastus Root, long a veteran in the New York Legislature, visited Detroit, having, if I mistake not, some public business in the upper country. Persons who have been long before the public acquire a reputation which appears to make every one familiar with them, and there was much curiosity to see a person who had so long opposed Clinton, opposed the canal, and stood forth in some things as a political reformer. I went with him and his companion, Judge M'Call, after a very hot day, to take some lemonade in the evening at Gen. Cass's. Gen. Root was not refined and polished in his manners and converse. He was purposely rough in many things, and appeared to say things in strong terms to produce effect. To call the N.Y. Canal the "big ditch" was one of these inventions which helped him to keep up his individuality in the legislature. He appeared to me to be a man something after the type of Ethan Allen.
HISTORY.--During this session of the legislature, I delivered the annual discourse before the Historical Society. I felt so much misgiving about reading it before the large assemblage at the State House, that I had arranged with a literary and legal friend to put it in his hands the moment I began to falter. For this purpose he occupied the secretary's desk; but I found myself sufficiently collected to go on and read it through, not quite loud enough for all, but in a manner, I think, to give satisfaction.
CHARACTER OF THE CHIPPEWAS.--Wm. S. Mosely, Esq., writes (July 12th) respecting this influential and wide-spread tribe, proposing a list of queries transmitted to him by Theodore Dwight, Junr., a philanthropist of N.Y. One of the questions is as follows: "What have been the chief impediments between the Indian and civilization? How would it alter their opinions or influence their conduct if they could associate with white people without being despised, imposed upon, or rendered suspicious of their motives? In short, if they came in contact only with the best white men, and were neither furnished with ardent spirits nor threatened with extermination by encroachment?"
ISH-KO-DA-WAU-BO.--I had a pleasant passage up the Lakes in the steamer "Sheldon Thompson." Among the passengers were James B. Gardiner, of Ohio; charged, with duties from Washington, and John T. Mason, Commissioner for treating with the Indians at Green Bay. In a letter of the 13th August, written on his return at Mackinac, Mr. Gardiner, who is quite a philanthropist and a gentleman of most liberal opinions, says: "I conceive it my duty to inform you that I have obtained information from the contractor himself (Mr. Stanard, who is a fourth owner of the Sheldon Thompson), that under the head of 'provisions,' he has contracted to deliver, and has actually delivered, two hundred barrels of whisky, and two hundred barrels of high wines, at the place for the American Fur Company, which, no doubt, is designed to be sent into the Indian country the ensuing fall."
ROTARY SAILS.--John B. Perrault, whose name has been before mentioned, invented a novel boat, to be propelled by the force of rotary sails acting on machinery, which turns paddle-wheels; a very ingenious thing. The result of experiments is, however, unfavorable to its practical adoption.
HOSTILITIES BETWEEN THE SIOUX AND CHIPPEWAS.--These hostilities have reached such a point, that the department has deemed it necessary to interpose its friendly offices in a more formidable manner, by dispatching an expedition into the principal seat of the war. The instructions, however (of Aug. 9th), by which I was designated for that purpose, reached me so late in that month, that it was not deemed practicable to carry them into effect until the next year. I reported the facts, which are deemed necessary to be known at head-quarters, in order to give efficacy to this necessary and proper measure, recommending that the expedition be deferred, and that, in the meantime, suitable means be provided for making it, to the greatest extent, effectual.
FRIENDSHIP AND BADINAGE.--A friend writes from Detroit (Aug. 14th): "For a brief space, that is, about a quarter of an hour, I can borrow a little use of my own soul, though I cannot call it exactly my own. You will not fail to note, I trust, how eminently judicious is the appropriation.
"A few days since, the letter containing the notice of your appointment to the Lake Superior destination, was mailed for you. The purpose of this is to suggest the memory of your doubtful promise, to come down in the fall for the winter session. The Gov. thinks it too late in the season to attempt your expedition this fall; and I presume, that it is, I hope, your papers will not reach you in time to leave this summer, an opinion of questionable correctness.
"You can have your table placed in the corner, and amuse yourself with preparing an article for theN.A., Thus you will discharge a double duty to your country; one to its political interests, and another to its department of letters. Whatever preparations are necessary at your place, can be made in the winter, under directions left there when you come down, and such as could be more conveniently made here, you shall have every aid in forwarding. The fact is, I see not a single objection, Icannotsee one, and more than that, I won't. This I conceive to be the only rational view to be taken of the subject, and, of course, it follows like the consequence to the minor of a syllogism; the only one you take. So don't say any more about it, but come along down, and then you shall, with more pleasure, satisfaction, and comfort,go along up. It is, in fact, just as clear, as that one and one, you and me, will make two."
SOCIAL INTERCOURSE,--Maj. W. writes (21st Aug.): "I was sorry, on my return, to find you gone, for we have left undone that which I hoped to have done, with your assistance, that is, the arrangement of our museum. But circumstances were unlucky. Cases were made wrong, or not made in due time, and absences tooksomefolks away (an allusion to the trip to Niagara), and the councilwouldadjourn, &c. You are, however, I understand, to be down here New Year's day, to which time, for the special accommodation of the up-country members, I presume the council, as it is said, has adjourned. An appropriation for snow shoes ought to have been made."
SANILLAC.--"I made an arrangement in Boston for the printing of my MSS. As I found I was to bear the brunt of the expense, I determined to make it as small as I consistently could, and have, therefore, made the volume somewhat smaller than was in my original plan.
"Mr. Ward showed me a hasty note from you relative to the address (before the Historical Society). I have examined it as published, and I told him your suggestions were out of the question. There is not an error that I could detect that is not clearly typographical; and your fears, that either yourself or the society will be discredited, are all idle. I do not recollect any of your books which, I think, do you more credit."
GOSSIP.--Mr. Ward writes: "We have but little news. The governor and Elizabeth are off to Utica and Troy, and we hope the springs. Mr. Cass, Lewis, and Isabel to the Maumee. Major and Mrs. Kearsley to New York and Philadelphia, with Miss Colt in keeping. For all persons else, one note will answer. They eat drink, and sleep as they did, and are 'partly as usual.'"
EXPEDITION INTO LAKE SUPERIOR.--"I do not answer you officially," says Gov. C. "concerning the expedition into Lake Superior, because I shall expect you will be here in the last vessel, to attend the meeting of the council, and Mr. Brush speaks with certainty-upon the subject. As Mr. Irwin has resigned, and there is no provision for ordering a new election, your district will be wholly unrepresented unless you attend. In the mean time I have received the sum allowed for this service, which you can draw for whenever you please. There is no doubt but the matter will go on. After you arrive here, and We have conversed together, I will restate the project of a more extended expedition, agreeably to your suggestions, and submit it to the department. I agree with you fully, that the thing should be enlarged, to embrace the persons and objects you suggest. It would be an important expedition, and not a little honorable to you, to have the direction of it, as it will be the first authorized by the administration."
WINTER SESSION OF THE COUNCIL.--On the 16th of November, I embarked in a large boat at St. Mary's with a view of reaching Mackinack in season to take the last vessel returning down the lakes. The weather was hazy, warm, and calm, and we could not descry objects at any considerable distance. If we were not in "Sleepy Hollow" while descending the broad valley and stretched out waters of the St. Mary's, we were, at least, in such a hazy atmosphere, that our eyes might almost as well have been shut. It seemed an interlude in the weather, between the boisterous winds of autumn and the severe cold of December. In this maze I came down the river safely, and proceeded to Mackinack, where I remained several days before I found a vessel. These were days of pleasing moral intercourse at the mission. I do not recollect how many days the voyage lasted, but it was late in the evening of a day in December, dark and very muddy when the schooner dropped anchor off the city, and I plodded my way from the shore to theOld Stone Mansion Housein Detroit.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.--Mr. Madison, the Ex-president, transmits a very neat and terse note of acknowledgment for a copy of my address, in the following words, which are quite a compensation for the time devoted to its composition:--
"J. Madison, with his respects to Mr. Schoolcraft, thanks him for the copy of his valuable discourse before 'the Historical Society of Michigan.' To the seasonable exhortation it gives to others, it adds an example which may be advantageously followed." (Oct. 23d.)
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF RHODE ISLAND.--I received a copy of a circular issued by this institution (Nov. 1), asking Congress for aid in the transcription of foreign historical manuscripts. "We alone, (almost,)" say the committee, "among nations, have it in our power to trace clearly, certainly, and satisfactorily, at a very trifling expense, the whole of our career, from its very outset, throughout its progress, down to the present moment--and shall we manifest a supineness, a perfect listlessness and complete indifference respecting a subject, that by every other people has been, and is still esteemed of so vast magnitude, and deep interest, as to have induced, and still to induce them to pour forth funds from their treasuries unsparingly, to aid the historians in removing, if possible, the veil that conceals in dark obscurity their origin?"
DOMESTIC.--Mrs. Schoolcraft writes fromElmwood,St. Mary's (Dec. 6th): "I continue to instruct our dear little girl every day, and I trust you will find her improved on your return, should it please Heaven to restore you in peace and safety. Johnston has quite recovered, and can now stand alone, and could walk,if he would.I have called on Mrs. Baxley, and find her a very agreeable woman. She said she saw you several times at Prairie du Chien. (1825.) I also went to see the mission farm, and was much pleased with the teacher, Miss McComber. The weather has remained very fine, till within two days, when we have had, for the first time, asprinklingof snow. Such a season has never been heard of in this country--not a particle of ice has, as yet, formed anywhere."
FRENCH REVOLUTION.--This political revolution has come like an avalanche, and the citizens have determined to celebrate it, and have a public address, for which Major Whiting has been designated. Thirty-seven years ago the French cut off the head of the reigning Bourbon, Louis XVI., and now they have called another branch of the same house, of whom Bonaparte said: "They never learn anything, and they never forget anything." As the French please, however. We are all joy and rejoicing at the event. It seems the consummation of a long struggle.
Mr. Ward (Ed. Jour.) writes 25th Dec.: "Will you send me, by the bearer, the lines you showed me in Brush's office. They will be quiteaproposnext week. Should like to close our form this evening."
Lecture before the Lyceum--Temperature in the North--Rum and taxes--A mild winter adverse to Indians--Death of a friend--Christian atonement--Threats of a Caliban, or an Indianized white man--Indian emporium--Bringing up children--Youth gone astray--Mount Hope Institution--Expedition into the Indian country--Natural History of the United States--A reminiscence--Voyage inland.
1831. LECTURE BEFORE THE LYCEUM.--The executive committee of this popular institution asks me by a note (Jan. 14th), to lecture before them a short time ahead. Public duty is an excuse, which on such occasions is very generally made by men in office, who in nine cases out of ten seek to conceal the onerousness of literary labor under that ample cloak. To me there is no duty more important than that which diverts a town from idle gratifications, and fixes its attention on moral or intellectual themes. Although the notice was short, I determined to sit up a few nights and comply with it. I selected the natural history of Michigan, as a subject very tangible, and one about which a good deal of interest could be thrown. I had devoted much interest to it for years--understood it, perhaps, better than any one in the territory, and could lecture upon itcon amore.
When the appointed evening arrived, I found a highly respectable and very crowded audience, in the upper chamber of the old Indian council house. It was certainly a better use of the building than paying the price of blood for white men's and women's scalps, during the fierce seven years' struggle of the American Revolution, and the succeeding Indian wars. My lights were badly placed for reading, and I got on indifferently in that respect, for I could not see well, but my facts and matter altogether were well and approvingly received; and the address was immediately published.
TEMPERATURE AT THE FOOT OF LAKE SUPERIOR.--Mr. F. Andrain writes to me from St. Mary's (Jan. 26th): "The weather has been very mild indeed, here, until within a few days: there has not been sufficient snow, as yet, to cover the stubble in the fields. The severe weather commenced on the 23d instant. The thermometer stood as follows:--"
On the 23d, at 9 o'clock A.M., 11 degrees below zero.24th, " " 13 " "25th, " " 2 " "26th, " " 1 " "
RUM AND TAXES.--A trader at St. Mary's writes (26th Jan.) as follows: "It is the wish of several individuals, who keep stores in the village, to be informed whether the sutler in Fort Brady is not obliged to pay taxes as well as we. For he has almost the exclusive trade of the Canadians. It is tempting to purchase liquor at 2s. 6d. per gallon, when they have to pay 4s. in the village. The temperance society is of no use, when any of its members can dispose of liquorat so low a rate." I put the last words in italics.
A MILD WINTER ADVERSE TO THE INDIANS.--Mr. George Johnston observes (8th March): "The weather on Lake Superior has been uncommonly mild the whole winter. The southern shore of the lake from White Fish Point to Ance Kewywenon presents a scene of open lake, not any ice forming to enable the poor Indians to spear fish."
DEATH OF A FRIEND.--Mrs. Schoolcraft says (Feb. 3d): "Mrs. Bingham passed the day with me a short time since, and brought me some Vermont religious papers, which I read yesterday, and found an account of the death of our poor friend Mr. Conant, which took place in November last in Brandon, Vermont, leaving his disconsolate widow and five children. He suffered greatly for five years, but I am happy to find he was resigned in suffering to the will of the Almighty with patience; and I trust he is now a happy member of the souls made perfect in the precious blood of the Lamb." Thus ended the career of a man of high moral worth, mental vigor, and exalted benevolence of feeling and purpose. This is the man, and the family, who showed us such marked kindness and attentions in the city of New York, in the winter of 1825--kindness and attentions never to be forgotten.Feb. 7th. This day is very memorable in my private history, for my having assumed, after long delay, the moral intrepidity to acknowledge,publicly, a truth which has never been lost sight of since my intercourse with the Rev. Mr. Laird, in the, to me, memorable winter of 1824--when it first flashed, as it were, on my mind. That truth was the divine atonement for human sin made by the long foretold, the rejected, the persecuted, the crucified Messiah.
Threat of an Indianized White Man.--A friend at St. Mary's writes: "Tanner has again made bold threats, agreeably to Jack Hotley's statement, and in Doctor James' presence, saying, that had you still been here, he would have killed you; and as the Johnstons were acting in concert with you, he kept himself constantly armed." This being, in his strange manners and opinions, at least, appears to offer a realization of Shakspeare's idea of Caliban.
Indian Emporium.--Col. T. McKenney, who has been superseded in the Indian Bureau at Washington, announces, by a circular, that he is about to establish a commercial house, or agency, on a general plan, for supplying articles designed for the Indian trade and the sale of furs and peltries. This appears to me a striking mistake of judgment. The colonel, of all things, is not suited for a merchant.
Bringing up of Children.--Mrs. Schoolcraft writes: "I find the time passes more swiftly than I thought it would; indeed, my friends have been unwearied in striving to make my solitary situation as pleasant as possible, and they have favored me with their company often. I strive to be as friendly as I possibly can to every one, and I find I am no loser by so doing. I wish it was in your power to bring along with you a good little girl who can speak English, for I do not see how I can manage during the summer (if my life is spared) without some assistance in the care of the children. I feel anxious, more particularly on Jane's account, for she is now at that age when children are apt to be biased by the habits of those they associate with, and as I cannot be with herall the time, the greater will be the necessity of the person to whom she is entrusted (let it be ever so short a time) to be one who has been brought up by pious, and, of course, conscientious parents, where no bad example can be apprehended. I feel daily the importance of bringing up children, not merely to pass with advantage through the world, but with advantage to their souls to all eternity."
I find great pleasure in sister Anna Maria's company. She is to stay with me till you return. Little Janeeimproves rapidly under her tuition. Janee (she was now three and a half years of age) has commenced saying by heart two pieces out of the little book you sent her. One is 'My Mother,' and the other is 'How doth the little busy Bee.' It is pleasant to see her smooth down her apron and hear her say, "So I shall stand by my father, and say my lessons, and he will call me his dear littleTee-gee,and say I am a good girl." She will do this with so much gravity, and then skip about in an instant after and repeat, half singing, "My father will come home again in the spring, when the birds sing and the grass and flowers come out of the ground; he will call me hiswild Irish girl."
"Janee has just come into the room, and insists on my telling you that she can spell her name very prettily, 'Schoolcraft and all.' She seems anxious to gain your approbation for her acquirements, and I encourage the feeling in order to excite attention to her lessons, as she is so full of life and spirits that it is hard to get her to keep still long enough to recite them properly. Johnston has improved more than you can imagine, and has such endearing ways that one cannot help loving the dear child. Oh, that they would both grow up wise unto salvation, and I should be happy."
Youthful Blood.--James --- was a young man of promise--bright mentally and physically, lively and witty, and of a figure and manners pleasing to all. In a moment of passion he dirked a man at a French ball. The victim of this scene of revelry lingered a few months and recovered. This recovery is announced in a letter of Mrs. Schoolcraft's (Feb. 16th), in which she says:--
"Dr. James sent a certificate of the young man's returning health by the last express, and an Indian was also sent to accompany James back to this place; but how great was our astonishment at the arrival of the Indianalone, on the 3d ultimo, and bringing news of James' escape from Mackinack. We felt a good deal alarmed for his safety on the way, and an Indian was sent down the river in quest of him; but we were relieved of our fears by the arrival of James himself on the following day, very much exhausted. I immediately sent to Dechaume to ask how he did, and learnt that his fatigue, &c., had not in the least abated his naturalvivacity and gayety.
"Three days after his arrival (being Sunday) I was at dinner at my mother's, when he came in, and could not refrain from tears. He seemed much affected at what I said, and I felt encouraged to hope some little change in his conduct. The next day, on mature reflection, I thought no time was to be lost in striving by allhumanmeans to reclaim him, and my promise to co-operate with you all I could for that desirable object, induced me to write a note inviting him to come and spend a quiet social evening with sister Anna Maria and myself, and I sent the sleigh to bring him down, so that he could have no excuse to decline coming, and I was pleased that he came without hesitation.
"I conversed a long time with him, pointing out, in the most gentle and affectionate manner I could, where he had erred, and in what way he might have become not only respected and esteemed, but independent, whereas his excesses had brought him to embarrassment and disgrace; and conjured him, as he valued his temporal and spiritual welfare, to abandon some, at least (to begin with) of his evil courses, and to strive with all his might to avert the wrath of that Holy Being whom he had hitherto so despised, and whose just laws he had, in more thanoneinstance, violated, and a great deal more that I cannot now mention. I got him at last to promise to strive to become better.
"We passed the rest of the evening in a rational and pleasant manner by reading chiefly in theLiterary Voyager, thinking it might help to call forth former occupations, which were comparatively innocent, and reading some of his own pieces,renewa taste of what was virtuous and praiseworthy. I inwardly prayed that by such means, feeble as they were, they might tend to draw him off insensibly from his former haunts and habits. I have been enabled to pursue this course of conduct towards him ever since that evening, and I am pleased to find that he comes oftener to Elmwood than I at first expected; but I perceive that there is someotherattraction besides mysage discoursesthat draws him so often to the now leafless shades of Elmwood. And he may fancy that either aroseor alilyhas taken shelter within its walls. Be that as it may, I shall not say a word; most of my thoughts are more occupied with the best method I can take to do him good to all eternity, and I do not forget to ask aid of ONE that never errs.
"Some evenings since, Mr. Agnew and some of the officers gave a ball at one of the French houses, and not doubting but that James was invited to join in the amusement, I instantly addressed a long letter to him, encouraging him in his recent resolution of amendment, and told himnowwas the time to put those wise resolves to the test by practice, and that he ought to know, by sad experience, that attending such low scenes of dissipation was the source of almost all the iniquity in the place. I had afterwards the satisfaction to find that he did not attend; but my fears for him are still very great, and will be justly so as long as he is so taken up by that disgraceful connection where he spends a great deal of his precious time. My ambition is not only tocivilizehim (if I may be allowed that expression, which is not out of the way, after all, as he has despised the forms and restraints of refined society), but my ardent wish is toChristianizehim in every sense of the word--he is, at present, skeptical. But let us only do our duty as Christians, and leave the rest in the hands of the Almighty."
Mount Hope, Baltimore.--My old instructor and friend, Prof. Frederick Hall, sends me a programme of his collegiate institution, at this place, and writes me (April 6th) a most friendly letter, renewing old acquaintanceship and scientific reminiscences. Death makes such heavy inroads on our friends, that we ought to cherish the more those that are left.
Legislation proceeded quietly while these events occurred, and the winter wore away almost imperceptibly till the session closed. I embraced the first opportunity of ascending the Lakes to the entrance of the. St. Mary's, and from thence up the river, and reached home about the 25th of April, making altogether about five months absence. But at home I am not destined long to remain, as the expedition into the Lake, for which I was designated in August, was only deferred till spring.
I had now served four years in the legislature; but, understanding that the President had expressed an opinion that official officers should not engage in the business of legislation, I declined a reelection by a public notice to the electors of my district.
EXPEDITION TO THE REGION OF THE ST. CROIX AND CHIPPEWIA RIVERS.--The Executive of the territory writes from Washington (April 19th): "I arrived here day before yesterday, and this morning talked with Gen. Eaton. You will go into Lake Superior, and I am to submit a project to-day. I shall have it properly arranged. In a day or two, I trust, I shall have the official papers off. I write in a hurry now to apprise you of the fact. The letter you received from Mr. Hamilton, was written before I arrived." The same person, three days later, says: "The official instructions are preparing for your expedition, and will, I hope, be off to-day." They were written on the 3d of May, and are as follows:--
"Your letter of Feb. 13th has been received, and its general views are approved. The Secretary of War deems it important that you should proceed to the country upon the head of the Mississippi, and visit as many of the Indians in that and the intermediate region, as circumstances will permit.
"Reports have reached this department from various quarters, that the Indians upon our frontiers are in an unquiet state,[60]and that there is a prospect of extensive hostilities among themselves. It is no less the dictate of humanity, than of policy, to repress this feeling and to establish permanent peace among these tribes. It is also important to inspect the condition of the trade in that remote country, and the conduct of the traders. To ascertain whether the regulations and the laws are complied with, and to suggest such alterations as may be required. And finally, to inquire into the numbers, standing, disposition, and prospects of the Indians, and to report all the statistical facts you can procure, and which will be useful to the government in its operations, or to the community in the investigation of these subjects."
[60]The Sauc war under Blackhawk broke out within the year.
"In addition to these objects, you will direct your attention to the vaccination of the Indians. An act for that purpose has passed Congress, and you are authorized to take a surgeon with you. Vaccine matter prepared and put up by the Surgeon General, is herewith transmitted to you, and you will, upon your whole route, explain to the Indians the advantages of vaccination, and endeavor to persuade them to submit to the process. You will keep and report an account of the number, ages, sex, tribe, and local situation of the Indians who may be vaccinated, and also of the prevalence, from time to time, of the small-pox among them, and of its effects as far as these can be ascertained."
While preparations for this expedition were being made, some things that transpired deserve notice.
NATURAL HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES.--On the 26th of May, Mr. G.W. Featherstonhaugh, of Philadelphia, sends me a printed copy of a prospectus for a "Monthly American Journal of Natural Science," with the following note: "As the annexed prospectus will explain itself, I shall only say, that I shall be most happy to receive any paper from you for insertion, on subjects connected withNatural History. Your minute acquaintance with the North-western Territory must have placed many materials in your possession, and I trust you may be induced to transfer some of them to the periodical about to be issued.
"We consider Mr. Eaton's geological notions and nomenclature as very empirical here, as they are considered in France and England, and his day has passed by."
The prospectus says: "Amidst these general contributions to science, it is painful to perceive what conspicuous blanks are yet left for America to fill up, and especially in those important branches, American geology and American organic remains. This feeling is greatly increased by the occasional taunts and sneers we see directed against us in foreign scientific works. They are aimed, it is true, against individuals insignificant enough to elude them, and therefore the larger body, the nation, is hit and wounded by them. Neither is there any defence open to us. We send abroad gigantic stories of huge antediluvian lizards, 'larger than the largest size,' and we ourselves are kept upon the stare at our own wonders from Georgia to Maine, until we find out we have been exulting over the stranded remains of a common spermaceti whale. At this present moment, a huge animal dug out of the Big Bone Lick, sixty feet long, and twenty-five feet high, is parading through the columns of the European newspapers, after making its progress through our own. This is, what every naturalist supposed it be, also a great imposition. Within these few days, drums and trumpets have been sounded for other monsters. A piece of one of our common coal plants is conjured into a petrified rattlesnake, and one of the most familiar fossils solemnly announced all the way from Canada, under a name exploded, and long forgotten by naturalists. All these gibes and reproaches we ought to have been spared. There ought to have been the ready means amongst us, together with the independence and intelligence, to put down these impostures and puerilities as they arose."
This is well said, and if it be intended to refer to the popular class, who have not made science a study; to men who make wheelbarrows or sell cotton and sugar--to the same classes of men, in fact, who in England, are busied in the daily pursuits by which they earn their bread, leaving science to scientific men, but respecting its truths, cannot tell "a hawk from a handsaw"--it is all true enough. But if it be applied to the power and determination of American mind, professedly, or as in a private capacity, devoted to the various classes of natural history spoken of, it is not only unjust in a high degree, but an evidence of overweening self-complaisance, imprecision of thought, or arrogance. No trait of the American scientific character has been more uniformly and highly approbated, by the foreign journals of England, France, and Germany, than its capacity to accumulate, discriminate, and describe facts. For fourteen years pastSilliman's Journal of Science, though not exclusively devoted to natural sciences, has kept both the scientific and the popular intelligent mind of the public well and accurately advised of the state of natural science the world over. Before it,Bruce's Mineralogical Journal, though continued but for a few years, was eminently scientific,Cleaveland's Mineralogyhas had the effect to diffuse scientific knowledge not only among men of science, but other classes of readers. In ornithology, in conchology, and especially in botany, geology and mineralogy, American mind has proved itself eminently fitted for the highest tasks.
A REMINISCENCE.--When I returned from the West to the city of New York in 1819, Mr. John Griscomb was a popular lecturer on chemistry in the old almshouse. He apprised me that the peculiar friable white clay, which I had labeled chalk from its external characters, contained no carbonic acid. It was a chemical fact that impressed me. I was reminded of this fact, and of his friendly countenance, ever after, on receiving a letter of introduction from him by a Mr. William R. Smith, with three volumes of his writings (28th May). I am satisfied that we store up the memory of a kind or friendly act, however small (if it be done in a crisis of our affairs), as long as, and more tenaciously than, an unkind one.
VOYAGE INLAND.--At length, all things being ready, I embarked at the head of the portage of the St. Mary's, and proceeded to the small sandy plain at the foot of Point Iroquois, at the entrance into Lake Superior, where I encamped. To this point I was accompanied by Mrs. Schoolcraft and the children, and Lt. Allen and the Miss Johnstons, the day being calm and delightful, and the views on every hand the most enchanting and magnificent. While at Detroit during the winter, I had invited Dr. Douglass Houghton to accompany me to vaccinate the Indians. He was a man of pleasing manners and deportment, small of stature, and of a compact make, and apparently well suited to withstand the fatigues incidental to such a journey. He was a good botanist and geologist--objects of interest to me at all times; but especially so now, for I should have considered it inexcusable to conduct an expedition into the Indian country, without collecting data over and above the public duties, to understand its natural history. I charged myself, on this occasion, more particularly with the Indian subject--their manners and customs, conditions, languages, and history, and the policy best suited to advance them in the scale of thinking beings, responsible for their acts, moral and political.
Lt. Robt. E. Clary, 2d U.S. Infantry, commanded a small detachment of troops, which was ordered to accompany me through the Indian country. I had invited Mr. Melancthon Woolsey, a printer of Detroit, a young man of pleasing manners and morals, to accompany me as an aid in procuring statistical information. I had an excellent crew of experienced men, guides and interpreters, and full supplies of everything suited to insure respect among the tribes, and to accomplish, not only the government business, but to give a good account of the natural history of the country to be explored. It was the first public expedition, authorized by the new administration at Washington, and bespoke a lively interest on the subject of Indian Affairs, and the topics incidentally connected with it. I was now to enter, after crossing Lake Superior, the country of the Indian murderers, mentioned 22d June, 1825, and to visit their most remote villages and hiding places.
It was the 27th of June when we left that point--the exploring party to pursue its way in the lake, and the ladies, in charge of Lt. Allen, to return to St. Mary's.
Lake Superior--Its shores and character--Geology--Brigade of boats--Dog and porcupine--Burrowing birds--Otter--Keweena Point--Unfledged ducks--Minerals--Canadian resource in a tempest of rain--Tramp in search of the picturesque--Search for native copper--Isle Royal descried--Indian precaution--Their ingenuity--Lake action--Nebungunowin River--Eagles--Indian tomb--Kaug Wudju.
1831. LAKE SUPERIOR lay before us. He who, for the first time, lifts his eyes upon this expanse, is amazed and delighted at its magnitude. Vastness is the term by which it is, more than any other, described. Clouds robed in sunshine, hanging in fleecy or nebular masses above--a bright, pure illimitable plain of water--blue mountains, or dim islands in the distance--a shore of green foliage on the one hand--a waste of waters on the other. These are the prominent objects on which the eye rests. We are diverted by the flight of birds, as on the ocean. A tiny sail in the distance reveals the locality of an Indian canoe. Sometimes there is a smoke on the shore. Sometimes an Indian trader returns with the avails of his winter's traffic. A gathering storm or threatening wind arises. All at once thevoyageursburst out into one of their simple and melodious boat-songs, and the gazing at vastness is relieved and sympathy at once awakened in gayety. Such are the scenes that attend the navigation of this mighty but solitary body of water. That nature has created such a scene of magnificence merely to look at, is contrary to her usual economy. The sources of a busy future commerce lie concealed, and but half concealed, in its rocks. Its depths abound in fish, which will be eagerly sought, and even its forests are not without timber to swell the objects of a future commerce. If the plough is destined to add but little to its wealth, it must be recollected that the labors of the plough are most valuable where the area suitable for its dominion is the smallest. But even the prairies of the West are destined to waft their superabundance here.
We passed the lengthened shores which give outline to Taquimenon Bay. We turned the long and bleak peninsula of White Fish Point, and went on to the sandy margin of Vermilion Bay. Here we encamped at three o'clock in the afternoon, and waited all the next day for the arrival of Lieut. Robert Clary and his detachment of men, from Fort Brady, who were to form a part of the expedition. With him was expected a canoe, under the charge of James L. Schoolcraft, with some supplies left behind, and an express mail. They both arrived near evening on the 28th, and thus the whole expedition was formed and completed, and we were prepared to set out with the latest mail. Mr. Holliday came in from his wintering grounds about the same time, and we left Vermilion Bay at four o'clock on the morning of the 29th, J.L.S. in his light canoe, and chanting Canadians for Sault St. Marie, and we for the theatre of our destination.
We went about forty miles along a shore exclusively sandy, and encamped at five o'clock in the evening at Grand Marais. This is a striking inlet in the coast, which has much enlarged itself within late years, owing to the force of the north-west storms. It exhibits a striking proof of lake action. The next day we passed the naked and high dunes called Grand Sable, and the storm-beaten and impressive horizontal coat of the Pictured Rocks, and encamped at Grand Island, a distance of about 130 miles. I found masses of gypsum and small veins of calcareous spar imbedded in the sandstone rock of the point of Grand Sable. Ironsand exists in consolidated layers at the cliff called Doric Rock.
The men and boats were now in good traveling trim, and we went on finely but leisurely, examining such features in the natural history as Dr. Houghton, who had not beenherebefore, was anxious to see. On the 1st of July, we encamped at Dead River, from whence I sent forward a canoe with a message, and wampum, and tobacco, to Gitchee Iauba, the head chief of Ancekewywenon, requesting him to send a canoe and four men to supply the place of an equal number from the Sault St. Marie, sent back, and to accompany me in my voyage as far asLa Pointe.
GEOLOGY.--We spent the next day in examining the magnesian and calcareous rubblestone which appears to constitute strata resting against and upon the serpentine rock of Presque Isle. This rock is highly charged with what appears to be chromate of iron. We examined the bay behind this peninsula, which appears to be a harbor capable of admitting large vessels. We ascended a conical hill rising from the bay, which the Indians callTotösh, or Breast Mountain. Having been the first to ascend its apex, the party named it Schoolcraft's Mountain. Near and west of it, is a lower saddle-shaped mountain, called by the natives The Cradle Top. Granite Point exhibits trap dykes in syenite. The horizontal red sandstone, which forms the peninsula connecting this point with the main, rests against and upon portions of the granite, showing its subsidence from water at a period subsequent to the upheaval of the syenite and trap. This entire coast, reaching from Chocolate River to Huron Bay--a distance of some seventy miles--consists of granite hills, which, viewed from the top of the Totösh, has the rolling appearance of the sea in violent motion. Its chief value must result from its minerals, of which iron appears to constitute an important item.
We reached Huron River on the 4th of July about three o'clock in the afternoon, having come on with a fine wind. At this place we met Mr. Aitkin's brigade of boats, seven in number, with the year's hunts of the Fond du Lac department. I landed and wrote official notes to the Sault St. Marie and to Washington, acquainting the government with my progress, and giving intelligence of the state of the Indians.
TRADERS' BOATS.--Mr. Aitkin reports that a great number of the Indians died of starvation, at his distant posts, during the winter, owing to the failure of the wild rice. That he collected for his own use but eight bushels, instead of about as many hundreds. That he had visited Gov. Simpson at Pembina, and found the latter unwilling to make any arrangements on the subject of discontinuing the sale of whisky to the Indians. That I was expected by the Indians on the Upper Mississippi, in consequence of the messages sent in, last fall. That efforts continue to be made by the agent at St. Peters, to draw the Chippewas to that post, notwithstanding the bloodshed and evils resulting from such visits. That a hard opposition in trade has been manifested by the Hudson's Bay Company. That they have given out medals to strengthen and increase their influence with our Indians. And that liquor is required to oppose them at Pembina, War Road, Rainy Lake, Vermilion Lake and Grand Portage.
DOG AND PORCUPINE.--While at Huron River, we saw a lost dog left ashore, who had been goaded by hunger to attack a porcupine. The quills of the latter were stuck thickly into the sides of the nose and head of the dog. Inflammation had taken place, rendering the poor beast an object of pity and disgust.
BURROWING BIRDS.--At Point Aux Beignes (Pancake Point) one of the men caught a kingfisher by clapping his hand over an orifice in the bank. He also took from its nest six eggs. The bank was perforated by numbers of these orifices. At this point we observed the provisions of our advance camp, putin cache, to lighten it for the trip down the bay. Leaving Mr. G. Johnston and Mr. Melancthon Woolsey at this point to await the return of the canoe, I proceeded to Cascade, or, as it is generally called, Little Montreal River. Johnston and Woolsey came up during the night. Next morning an Indian came from a lodge, leading a young otter by a string. The animal played about gracefully, but we had no temptation to purchase him with our faces set to the wilderness. At the latter place, which is on a part of the Sandy-bay of Graybeast River, the trap formation, which is the copper-bearing rock, is first seen. This rock, which forms the great peninsula of Kewywenon, rises into cliffs on this bay, which at the elevation called Mammels by the French, deserve the name of mountains. Portions of this rock, viewed in extenso, are overlaid by amygdaloid and rubblestone--the latter of which forms a remarkable edging to the formation, in some places, on the north-west shore, that makes a canal, as at the Little Marrias.
KEWEENA PENINSULA.--We were six days in coasting around this peninsula, which is highly metalliferous. At some points we employed the blast, to ascertain the true character and contents of the soil. At others we went inland, and devoted the time in exploring its range and extent. We examined the outstanding isolated vein of carbonate of copper, calledRoche Vertby the French. In seeking for its connection on the main shore, I discovered the black oxide in the same vein. In the range of the greenstone about two leagues south of this point, a vein of native copper, with ores and veinstones, was observed, and specimens taken.
The N.W. coast of the peninsula is greatly serrated and broken, abounding in little bays and inlets, and giving proofs of the terrible action of the storms on this rugged shore.
Notes of these examinations and of a trip inland were made, which cannot here be referred to more particularly.
UNFLEDGED DUCKS.--The men had rare and very exciting sport, in coasting around the peninsula, in catching the young of the onzig--which is the sawbill. In the early part of the month of July, the wings of the young are not sufficiently developed to enable them to fly. They will run on the water, flapping their unfledged wings, with great speed, but the gay Frenchmen, shouting at the top of their lungs, would propel their canoes so as to overtake them whenever the little fugitives could not find some nook in the rock to hide in. They chased down one day thirteen in this way, which were found a most tender and delicate dish. The excitement in these chases was extreme. At theGrand Marrias(now near Fort Wilkins) we obtained from the shore of the inner bay, agates, stilbite, and smoky quartz, &c.
SINGULAR VIVACITY.--In going from this bay through a rock-bound strait, the rain fell literally in sheets. There was no escape, and our only philosophy was to sit still and bear it. The shower was so great that it obscured objects at a short distance. All at once the men struck up a cheerful boat song, which they continued, paddling with renewed energy, till the shower abated. I believe no other people under the sun would have thought of such a resource.
TRAMP IN SEARCH OF THE PICTURESQUE.--The wind rising ahead, we took shelter in an inlet through the trap range, which we called Houghton's Cove. After taking a lunch and drying our things, it was proposed to visit a little lake, said to give origin to the stream falling into its head. The journey proved a toilsome one; but, after passing through woods and defiles, we at length stood on a cliff which overlooked the object sought for--a pond covered with aquatic plants. Wherever we might have gone in search of the picturesque, this seemed the last place to find it. On again reaching the lake the wind was found less fierce, and we went on to Pine River, where we encamped on coarse, loose gravel.
SEARCH FOR NATIVE COPPER.--The next day the wind blew fiercely, and we could not travel. In consequence of reports from the Indians of a large mass of copper inland, I manned a light canoe, and, leaving the baggage and camp in charge of Lesart, went back to a small bay called Mushkeeg, and went inland under their guidance. We wandered many miles, always on the point of making the discovery, but never making it; and returned with our fatigue for our pains. It was seven o'clock in the evening before we returned to our camp--at eight the wind abated, and we embarked, and, after traveling diligently all night, reached the western terminus of the Keweena portage at two o'clock next morning--having advanced in this time about twenty-four miles. Next day, July 10, the wind rose again violently ahead.
ISLE ROYAL DESCRIED.--In coming down the coast of the Keweena Peninsula, we descried the peaks of this island seen dimly in the distance, which it is not probable could have been done if the distance were over sixty miles.
INDIAN PRECAUTION, THEIR INGENUITY.--We found several Chippewa Indians encamped. They brought a trout, the large lake trout, and were, as-usual, very friendly. We saw a fresh beaver's skin stretched on the drying hoop, at the Buffalo's son's lodge. But the women had secreted themselves and children in the woods, with the dried skins, supposing that a trader's canoe had landed, as we had landed in the night. This may give some idea of the demands of trade that are usually made, and the caution that is observed by them when a trader lands.
We here saw the claws-of two owls, with the skin and leg feathers adhering, sewed together so closely and skilfully, by the Indian, women, as to resemble a nondescript with eight claws. It was only by a close inspection that we could discover the joinings.
LAKE ACTION.--The geological action of the lake against the high banks of diluvion, at this spot, is very striking. It has torn away nearly all the ancient encamping ground, including the Indian burials. Human bones were found scattered along the declivity of fallen earth. An entire skull was picked up, with the bark wrappings of the body, tibia, &c.
At seven in the evening the tempest ceased so as to enable us to embark. We kept close in shore, as the wind was off land, a common occurrence on these lakes at night. On turning the point of red sandstone rock, which the Indians callPug-ge-do-wau(Portage), the Porcupine Mountains rose to our view, directly west, presenting an azure outline of very striking lineaments--an animal couchant. As night drew on, the water became constantly smoother; it was nine before daylight could be said to leave us. We passed, in rapid succession, theMauzhe-ma-gwoosor Trout, Graverod's,Unnebish, or Elm, and Pug-ge-do-wa, or Misery River, in Fishing Bay. Here we overtook Lieut. Clary, and encamped at one o'clock A.M. (11th). We were on the lake again at five o'clock. We turned pointa la Peche, and stopped at RiverNebau-gum-o-winfor breakfast. While thus engaged, the wind rose and shifted ahead. This confined us to the spot.
NEBAUGUMOWIN RIVER.--Mr. Johnston, Dr. Houghton, and Mr. Woolsey, made an excursion in a canoe up the river. They went about three or four miles--found the water deep, and the banks high and dry on the right side (going up), and covered with maple, ash, birch, &c. At that distance the stream was obstructed by logs, but the depth of water continued. Dr. H. added to his botanical collection. Altogether appearances are represented more favorable than would be inferred from the sandy and swampy character of the land about its discharge into the lake.
EAGLES.--While at theMauzhe-ma-gwoosRiver, Lieut. Clary captured a couple of young eagles, by letting his men cut down a large pine. One of the birds had a wing broken in falling. They were of the bald-headed kind, to which the Chippewas apply the termMegizzi, or barker. He also got a young mink from an Indian calledWabeno. The men also caught some trout in that river, for which it is remarkable.
At two o'clock the wind had somewhat abated, so as to allow us to take the lake, and we reached and entered the Ontonagon River at half past four o'clock. Mr. Johnston with the store canoe, and Lieut. Clary with his boat, came in successively with colors flying.Kon-te-ka,the chief, and his band saluted us with several rounds of musketry from the opposite shore. Afterwards they crossed to our camp, and the usual exchange of ceremonies and civilities took place. In a speech from the chief he complained much of hunger, and presented his band as objects of charitable notice. I explained to him the pacific object of my journey, and the route to be pursued, and requested the efficient co-operation of himself and his band in putting a stop to war parties, referring particularly to that by Kewaynokwut in 1824, which, although raised against the Sioux, had murdered Finley and his men at Lake Pepin. This party was raised on the sources of the Ontonagon and Chippewa. I told him how impossible it was that his Great Father should ever see their faces in peace while they countenance or connive at such dastardly war parties, who went in quest of a foe, and not finding him, fell upon a friend. He said he had not forgotten this. Even now, I continued, a chief of the Sauks was trying to enlist the Indians in a scheme of extreme hostilities. It was a delusion. They had no British allies to rally on as in former wars. The time was past--past forever for such plans. We are in profound peace. And their Great Father, the President, would, if the scheme was pursued by that chief, order his whole army to crush him. I requested him to inform me of any messages, or tobacco, or wampum they might receive, on the subject of that chief's movement, or any other government matter. And to send no answer to any such message without giving me notice.
At three o'clock on the morning of the next day (12th July), Dr. Houghton, Mr. Johnston, Lieut. Clary, and Mr. Woolsey, with nine Canadians and one soldier, set out in my canoe to visit the copper rock. Konteka sent me a fine carp in the morning. Afterwards he and the other chief come over to visit me. The chief said that his child, who had been very ill, was better, and asked me for some white rice (waube monomin) for it, which I gave. I also directed a dish of flour and other provisions to enable him to have a feast.
INDIAN TOMB.--One of the Indians had a son drowned a few days before our arrival; the grave was neatly picketed in. On the west side of the river is a grave or tomb above ground, resembling a lodge, containing the coffin of a chief, who desired to be thus buried, as he believed his spirit would go directly up.
Konteka has a countenance indicative of sense and benevolence. I asked him the number of his band. He replied sixty-four men and boys, women and girls. Sixteen were hunters, of whom thirteen were men grown.
KAUGWUDJU.--The Porcupine Mountains, which first loomed up after passing Puggedawa Point, were very plainly pictured before us in the landscape. I asked Konteka their Indian name. He replied Kaug Wudju. I asked him why they were so called. He said from a resemblance to a couching porcupine. I put several questions to him to ascertain the best place of ascent. He said that the mountain properly faced the south, in a very high perpendicular cliff, having a lake at its bottom. The latter was on a level with Lake Superior. To see this lake it was necessary to go round towards the south. It was a day's journey from the lake to the top of the cliff. To the first elevation it was as far as to the Red Rocks--say three miles, but through a cedar thicket, and bad walking.
VISIT TO THE COPPER ROCK.--The party returned from this place on the 13th, late in the afternoon, bringing specimens of the native copper. They were nine hours in getting to the forks, and continued the rest of the day in getting to the rack, where they encamped. They had been four hours in descending what required nine in going up. The doctor brought several fine and large masses of the pure metal.